The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industrys (SCCI) 45,373 active members have achieved total exports and re-exports worth AED17 billion ($4.63 billion) through the third quarter of the current year.

Moreover, SCCI logged an impressive surge in new memberships this year, registering 4,981 new companies through the end of the third quarter.

The Chamber unveiled these achievements, made in pursuit of its strategic priorities to boost the progress of sustainable economic development in Sharjah, during the sixth regular meeting of the SCCI board.

The meeting was chaired by Abdullah Sultan Al Owais, Chairman of the SCCI and attended by Waleed Abdul Rahman Bukhatir, Second Vice Chairman of the SCCI Board of Directors, the members of the board, Mohammed Ahmed Amin Al Awadi, Director-General of the SCCI, Maryam Saif Al Shamsi, the Assistant Director-General for the Support Services Sector at the Sharjah Chamber, and Abdulaziz Mohammed Shattaf, the Assistant Director-General of the Communication and Business Sector at the Chamber.

Key initiatives

During the meeting, participants reviewed the SCCIs key initiatives and achievements in 2023 and discussed several items on the agenda, most notably updates to ongoing projects, such as the dates project workflow plan.

The meeting also covered suggestions put forth by the Chambers various sectors and the institutions operating under its oversight, the topic of increasing memberships and certificates of origin, and the accomplishments of the new sectoral working groups.

Al Owais said the Chambers achievements in 2023 reflect its complete commitment to meeting the strategic goals outlined within its 2022-2024 strategy. These goals include supporting the business sector, promoting positive practices leading to a sustainable economy, developing and diversifying Sharjah exports, managing strategic partnerships to develop a foreign trade exchange system, and attracting investments.

Top-tier economic and commercial events

During 2023, Al Owais noted, the Chamber has endeavoured to diversify its initiatives while launching top-tier economic and commercial events, programmes, and exhibitions with the aim of promoting the ongoing process of economic development in the Emirate of Sharjah.

Al Awadi said the surge in memberships and certificates of origin since the beginning of the year is a testament to the Chambers success in meeting the majority of its 2023 targets.

In this regard, the SCCI reported 40,392 membership renewals and 1,674 free zone memberships during the first nine months of 2023, and issued 58,798 certificates of origin. Such statistics reflect Sharjahs rich investment climate and its position as an attractive destination for entrepreneurs and investors, Al Awadi said.

Comprehensive strategies

Abdulaziz Mohammed Shattaf, Assistant Director-General of the Communication and Business Sector at the Chamber, stated that the Chambers success in raising both new memberships and renewals is a fruit of efforts to attract investments through comprehensive strategies and plans that have facilitated membership and renewal procedures and provided competitive benefits for members, adding value to their activities.

Shattaf also mentioned the superior quality of the Chambers integrated smart electronic service system, which meets all the needs and requirements of the business community while enabling investors to complete remote transactions smoothly and easily, in line with the highest international standards and practices.

During the meeting, the board was briefed on the performance of SSCI branches in the Eastern and Central Regions. Participants reviewed the positive outcomes of festivals and events organised by the Chamber to bolster the two regions economic, commercial, and cultural sectors. They also discussed how these events incentivise businessmen, encouraging them to spearhead competitive development enterprises and take advantage of the promising, dynamic investment opportunities available in cities across those regions.--TradeArabia News Service
By Jun Ji-hye

Main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) Chairman Rep. Lee Jae-myung will return to the National Assembly on Monday after a 35-day absence from party affairs.

According to party officials, Lee will officially resume his work by presiding over a Supreme Council meeting.

Lee has been absent from party duties since being admitted to a hospital on Sept. 18 due to worsening health following a hunger strike that began on Aug. 31 to protest the Yoon Suk Yeol governments policies.

In focus are five lawmakers belonging to the partys minor faction, who were believed to have voted for a motion requested by the prosecution to arrest Lee, when it was approved by the Assembly in a 149-136 vote on Sept. 21.

Lee faces multiple charges, including breach of trust, bribery and violation of the Foreign Exchange Transaction Act, in connection with a land development project and the unauthorized transfer of money to North Korea. He avoided arrest after a court rejected the warrant on Sept. 27.

The chairman has been facing daunting calls from his loyalists to punish the five for causing damage to the party, but at the same time being advised to seek cohesion with members of his party who oppose him.

Such cohesion is considered important as the party needs to prepare for the critical general election that is less than six months away.

In addition, punishing the anti-Lee faction members at this moment could cause unnecessary disruption, at a time when the partys victory in a crucial by-election has kept his leadership relatively strong despite his absence.

The candidate from the DPK won the by-election to choose a new head of Seouls Gangseo District on Oct. 12, which was widely viewed as a prelude to the upcoming general election.

Lee believes that divisions in the party could lead directly to the partys defeat in the general election, a senior DPK lawmaker said, asking not to be named, raising the possibility that Lee could opt not to punish the anti-Lee faction members.

At the Supreme Council meeting, Lee is expected to speak about rising living costs and other economic difficulties that weigh on the general public.

This is apparently aimed at confronting President Yoon Suk Yeol and the ruling People Power Party that have shifted their focus to stabilizing the livelihoods of the public following the party's crushing defeat in the by-election.

Lee is also expected to travel to various parts of the country to meet voters in person, as soon as he is fully recuperated from his 24-day hunger strike against the government.
You chose to study information technology at university. What made you give up the IT industry to start a business in human resources training?

As a bachelor of information technology, I learned programming in university, but I did not pursue a job as a programmer after I had an opportunity to intern at a consulting and training company, the first company I worked for professionally.

When I went to the company for an internship, I found that its services were all professional, from the organization, lecturers and the learning materials. Working regularly with human resources (HR) directors and foreign lecturers prompted my desire to develop the training and human resources industry.

Next, I became a co-founder and CEO of a company providing HR outsourcing services in which training is mandatory. Human resources training and development is my desire to help Vietnamese human resources develop. I hope that Vietnamese personnel will have more learning conditions in their own companies.

Even though I do not work in the field of technology, I still use technology in all my work, from selling technology solutions to using applications such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Human Resource Management (HRM), and Learning Management Software (LMS) in operating and managing my business.

Currently, my company NodeX provides an "outsourcing training room" service, so I still use technology as an advantage to add value for customers.

We use E-learning and LMS systems in our outsourcing training room service to increase efficiency, control the process of implementing training services, and help trainees control the learning process of their employees. Managers can view reports in real time, intuitively and transparently.

What are the advantages and disadvantages for women in business?

For women, the advantages are perseverance, patience, delicacy, adaptability and flexibility in harsh market conditions. For me, women who are passionate about business are often brave, dare to confront difficulties, dare to innovate, and dare to accept challenges.

One of the disadvantages is that they have to balance family and work. In fact, it's very difficult to balance. I was out of balance for a long time and only focused on work, forgetting everything around me.

In the past two years, I have paid more heed to taking care of my family, becoming more balanced in life. In my opinion, whether difficult or favorable, everything that happens in life is an experience and I will always try to do my best when the opportunity comes.

Some people say that women in business face more difficulties than men in making major decisions. Do you find this true?

I think that women do not face more difficulties than men in making big decisions. Whether you are a woman or a man, if you want to make big decisions, you need to gather the following conditions: a leader's bravery, the ability to make plans, and having a strategic vision, management experience, and a thirst for getting rich.

In Vietnam, there are many talented women. They can make big decisions, achieve many goals in life, and enrich the country.

With nearly 20 years in the business world, have you ever failed?

I have failed many times. I opened many businesses and then had to close them. I had many close relationships with colleagues which I had to give up or could not heal them.

Many of my new ideas were not accepted by the market and were unsuccessful.

How did you overcome those failures?

I read more books after each failure. I like sports, so when I felt discouraged, I went swimming or jogging. These things help me relax a lot.

After each failure, I made myself try harder, wanted to research new things, and came up with more ideas.

I always took my family as my fulcrum and motivation to start again.

What strategies do you have to help NodeX surf difficulties?

We provide the outsourcing training room with four carefully packaged services that meet business requirements for a professional training room under ISO 9001 standard. This is a service that combines the KPO (Knowledge Process Outsourcing) model with human resources training and development.

When I founded the company, I determined that NodeX needed innovation to create new services in the market. That was the reason why it launched the first outsourcing training room in Vietnam in early 2022.

With flexibility in strategy and management, we have changed the development path. Instead of strike fast - win fast, now we have to go slowly - go deeply - go closely, accompanying our business customers.

After nearly two years, NodeX has achieved some good results, gaining support from many domestic and foreign business customers. Currently, our outsourcing training room is serving medium to large sized businesses in industries such as finance, commerce, fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), pharmaceuticals, logistics, information technology, fashion and apparel, and interior design.

NodeX has an experienced core team operating the training room, along with a contingent of lecturing collaborators across the country.

The NodeX brand has gradually been affirmed in the market by its service quality, reputation and a practical, cost-saving outsourcing solution that minimizes risks for businesses, especially in this period full of difficulties and fluctuations.

What is NodeX's strategy for 2024?

In 2024, we will continue to offer outsourcing training room services and promote the application of information technology, bringing more values to businesses and the community.

Next year we will set aside a budget to support the startup community in training and developing high-quality human resources.
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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  About 170 area children will visit the Southern Illinois University Carbondale campus on Oct. 24 for a tree walk and hands-on learning activities with SIU students, faculty and staff.

Three SIU organizations  the Tree Campus Higher Education Advisory Committee (chaired by Superintendent of Grounds David Tippy), the Forestry Club student organization and the Society of American Foresters  are orchestrating the event for the group of children from Carruthers Elementary School in Murphysboro.

The fourth-graders will enjoy a guided walk led by members of the Society of American Foresters through parts of Thompson Woods and around Campus Lake, as they learn to identify various trees. The Forestry Club will then present competitive outdoor flora-related demonstrations and engage the children in assorted tree-related activities on the lawn outside the Agriculture Building.
Students across the state and country signed pledges on Wednesday to end gun violence.

You have a right to live, retired St. James Elementary School principal Dr. Michelle Wilson Green said.

Green, of Orangeburg, is the founder of Reclaiming Our Youth Services. She led the Orangeburg County School District in the 22nd annual National Day of Concern.

She addressed students at Lake Marion High School on Wednesday morning. Administrators and ministers went to other schools in the district to ask students to sign the pledge.

A pledge is a solemn promise that youre making, she told a gymnasium full of students sitting in the bleachers.

She asked students to consider signing the pledge to never bring a gun to school, never resolve a conflict with a gun and to encourage their friends to do the same.

Green told students about her own journey of losing her only two sons to gun violence within the past few years.

Her oldest son, Isaac, a graduate of then-Holly Hill-Roberts High School, was shot and killed when he was 21 at his apartment in Columbia in November 2006. Isaacs cousin became a paraplegic as a result of the shooting.

Then in March 2016, her 22-year-old son, Carlton, a LMHS graduate, was shot and killed in Orlando, Florida, where he was living and working.

I have talked to so many young individuals who said they didnt expect to live past 21, and that is sad, Green said.

We cannot blame anyone but ourselves. We cant blame the police. We cant blame anyone but ourselves, she told the students.

The change has to come in our community, she added.

What has happened to us, African-Americans, is that to hear that a young person has been murdered, has become normalized and what that means is its become all too common. We dont look at it as anything now, she said.

But it affects so many lives. Children, we want all of you, we want you to live and to live fruitful lives, she said.

In our community, in our community, listen to me, we dont have to die, she added.

My goal is to reclaim our youth, Green said.

I dont want your mothers to have to go through what I went through because it was a slippery slope and I was going down, she said, describing the deep depression she experienced after her son, Carlton, was killed.

But I tell you, young ladies and young gentlemen, and I dont want it to sound cliche, but I realized that all I had left was my relationship with Christ  and that is what saved me, she said.

I called people at different times to talk to me about losing my children, losing my sons, and they didnt know what to say, Green said.

I called other bereaved mothers and we swapped stories and we encouraged each other, she added.

But the saving grace for me was my lord and savior Jesus Christ  that was my saving grace, she said, which was met with applause from students.

Sophomore Tylay Logan said she signed the pledge, So youth will live longer.

Jordan Benjamin, a freshman, said he signed the pledge. He wants to make sure his peers do not use a gun to solve problems, but use words to talk about it instead.

And sophomore Dewaine Shivers signed the pledge.

Its an honor to sign the pledge to stop gun violence and things of that nature, he said.

Travontae Armstrong, a junior, said, I think its great because these days and in this time, kids are shooting each other and killing each other with guns and thats really bringing sorrow to the families because these kids are young and these kids should not be exposed to this type of violence.

LMHS Principal Sean Glover said there have not been any gun confiscation incidents during the current school year.

We hope well be saying that at the end of this year and the years to come, Glover said in an interview.

Our prayer is that we dont have any situations like that. We do have metal detectors to try to deter those types of things, but at the end of the day, we want all of our kids to feel safe when they walk on the campus, he said.

Elementary school students were asked to make a similar commitment  promising that they will not touch a gun if they see one, to tell a teacher/trusted adult if they see a gun and to assume that any gun they see may be loaded.

Reclaiming Our Youth Services is supported by Voices of Black Mothers United, a national non-profit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., which is part of the Woodson Center.

For more information, visit the organizations website at www.reclaimingouryouthservices.com
In the Bubble with Jaime, a documentary about Orangeburg native Jaime Harrisons 2020 campaign for US Senate in South Carolina, will be shown by 46 Hope Road, a Columbia-based non-profit.

Produced and directed by Orangeburg native Emily Harrold, the film is an in-depth look at the challenges that Harrison faced running for office and how his campaign handled the racial dynamics of Southern politics.

Jaimie Harrison In the Bubble with Jaime, is a documentary about Orangeburg native Jaime Harrisons 2020 campaign for US Senate.

The kickoff screening is set for 4 to 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 3, at Spotlight Cinemas Capital 8 in Columbia. The post-screening conversation, moderated by 46 Hope Roads founder Christale Spain, will feature film subjects Harrison and Bre Maxwell, who served as the political director for Harrisons 2020 bid. The event is free.

The second free screening is scheduled for 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 14, at the Orangeburg County Conference Centers outdoor screening space. The post-screening conversation will feature South Carolina NAACP President Brenda Murphy and Orangeburg NAACP Chapter President Barbara Williams.

Three future screenings are planned for Laurens, in partnership with The Echo Project, Florence, and Bamberg.

Each event will include voter registration opportunities and information about how to become civically engaged. Non-partisan post-screening conversations will focus on voter engagement, historical trends and the experiences of communities of color in South Carolina.

The short documentary follows Harrisons 2020 US Senate race against Lindsey Graham in South Carolina. The film explores the ups and downs of the 2020 race, from the challenges of campaigning during COVID to the legacy of racial injustice that Harrison faces as an African American running in the South. It premiered at the 2022 Montclair Film Festival and has been screened at festivals across the United States. Learn more at www.jaimeharrisondocumentary.com.

I started 46 Hope Road in the wake of the 2020 election because I wanted to engage those in our state who have traditionally been overlooked by campaigns and political parties, said Spain. I am excited about using a locally produced documentary film to bring out people, start conversations, and get more people registered in our communities.

46 Hope Road was founded in 2021 by political strategist Spain. Spain has worked locally, statewide and nationally -- from being a district staffer for House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, to executive director of the South Carolina Democratic Party, to a senior adviser for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and now chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party.

Joining Spain in the leadership of 46 Hope Road is Maxwell, vice president of outreach and engagement. After being heavily involved in the 2020 campaign in South Carolina, Maxwell is now working in the Biden-Harris Administration as a part of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.

46 Hope Road successfully registered hundreds of voters in South Carolina in 2021 and 2022and in the years to come that number will continue to grow. Learn more at www.46hoperoad.com.
A grandiose waterway scheme has some heavyweight backers, but doubts persist, and a possible Czech government shakeup could scupper it.

Concrete seems to be a favorite material for planners in Central Europe as a heritage from communist times. One old concrete idea now being pushed by Czech President Milos Zeman and his business circles is the Danube-Oder-Elbe canal linking the southeast and northwest of Europe. The government last week approved part of the Czech side of the project: a canal across Moravia, meant to connect with a similar project planned for Poland.

If the project is ever completed, the total bill in all participating countries could reach a staggering $25 billion in taxpayer money, according to a Czech government estimate.

Even though the actual digging work wouldnt start until 2030, there are already doubts about the canals economic viability and fears of irreparable ecological damage. Thus, the most probable outcome is that the new government formed after elections next autumn will cancel the project  especially if current Prime Minister Andrej Babis fails to retain his post  because it is widely understood that the canal bill is his nod towards the president. Regional elections this month suggest that even if Babiss ANO party wins those elections, the opposition could team up against them.

But at this moment, the project seems to be the only visible Czech contribution to a wider infrastructure-building scheme. Known as the Three Seas Initiative, it originated in the presidential palace of Polish head of state Andrzej Duda in 2015, presented as a common initiative with then-Croatian president, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic. Twelve countries have joined so far  members of the old East Bloc plus Austria. The fifth annual summit of Three Seas presidents was supposed to take place in Estonia in June this year, until the COVID-19 pandemic forced its postponement until 19 October, downscaled to an online event.

The initiative has been embraced by the countries between Estonia and Bulgaria as a way of attracting money, mostly for infrastructure investment to build north-south connections, which are still non-existent or very poor. In communist times, the preference was to build roads, railroads, and pipelines on an east-west axis anchored by the USSR. Lack of north-south connections has contributed to the slow catch-up process of Central European economies on their way to prosperity and, in the case of energy supplies, supports the prevailing dependence of some countries on Russian gas and oil.

Three Seas was recently embraced by the United States, along with a pledge to contribute $1 billion to the Three Seas Infrastructure Fund being established with its headquarters in Tallinn. One task of the fund will be to attract U.S. private investment; according to a recent discussion hosted by the Atlantic Council think tank, American investors are very interested.

In the initiatives favor is its basic aim to build infrastructure in the form of roads and railways, energy connections, and digital connectivity. On the other hand, some doubts have been voiced, mainly in the Czech Republic, which is rather skeptical and reluctant to join the initiative fully. For one thing, based on their past record, the Poles have a reputation for floating big projects that never come to pass. Polish leaders are also distrusted because they do politics in a way that leaves them open to charges of trying to build a regional political hegemony. Three Seas is also seen as potential competition with similar EU projects and thus an ineffective use of money. And there is a fear of growing division between east and west within the EU.

Polish diplomats are trying to calm such fears. The strategic aim of the Three Seas Initiative is to maintain and strengthen the unity of the EU and the Euro-Atlantic space, Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Pawel Jablonski recently told me during a trip to Prague in part to pitch the benefits of the project to the Czechs. The European Commission will have a role in the initiative as well, he said.

The Czechs also argue that without the participation of Germany  something the initiative is working on  nothing big can happen in the region.

A further concern for the Czech side is connected with the way projects like Via Carpathia should be managed and financed. The basic idea behind this highway network joining the Baltic states to Greece is to fund it by means of PPPs, or public-private partnerships. This is very controversial in a region where similar projects have been tarred by allegations of corruption.

It is impossible to close the infrastructure gap between the east and west of the EU without the private sector, Kristalina Georgieva, the Bulgarian head of the International Monetary Fund, told the Atlantic Councils online discussion. There is also a need for transparency, she warned.

The IMF contributed to the Three Seas Initiative with a study studded with numbers, estimates, and potential gains from new infrastructure investment.

That Central Europe desperately needs better infrastructure is beyond doubt. But projects like the Czech canal do not help build trust that taxpayers money will be used effectively and with long-term, green, economically sustainable goals in mind.

Some might see American support as a strategic counterbalance to Russian and Chinese economic pressure in the region.

But when the expected result is measured only in cubic meters of concrete and not in high value-added work, there should be serious doubts and discussions. On the other hand, the canal could bring cash into the region, which in the longer term will struggle to get money from EU funds. The Three Seas Initiative supporters have still some explanatory homework to do.

Martin Ehl is chief analyst at Hospodarske noviny, a Czech business daily.
Korea reported six additional cases of lumpy skin disease (LSD) in the country's central region on Sunday, with health authorities making utmost efforts to prevent the spread of the disease.

The new cases bring the total number of officially confirmed LSD cases to 10, just two days after the country confirmed its first-ever case of LSD at a farm in Seosan, South Chungcheong Province, located some 98 kilometers southwest of Seoul, on Friday.

Of the new additional cases, three are from the region near the initial LSD outbreak in Seosan.

Health authorities said they have deployed quarantine officials to the infected farms and are placing them in quarantine.

In response to the first LSD outbreak Friday, authorities issued the highest alert in the country's animal disease control system, focusing on preventive measures against this highly infectious disease.

In a meeting Sunday, the government-led disease control headquarters said more LSD cases are expected to break out in the South Chungcheong region, where seven confirmed cases have been reported so far.

The authorities have plans to vaccinate a combined total of 53,000 cows in livestock farms located in South Chungcheong Province and Gyeonggi Province, where three infected farms are located.

They will also start discussions with the finance ministry to procure vaccines for 1.7 million cows.

LSD is a highly infectious disease that causes skin lesions, fever and loss of appetite, often leading to a fall in milk production and even death. It affects cattle and buffalo via mosquitoes and other blood-feeding insects.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo has called for strong measures, including culling of affected animals and standstill orders, to prevent the recent outbreak of LSD from spreading to other parts of the nation, according to his office on Saturday.

He also urged efforts to vaccinate animals to prevent further spread of the disease. (Yonhap)
Before the railway system closed, and reversed the fortunes of vast swathes of Trinidad, there was a thriving village called St Johns, deep in the interior of Trinidad, where people lived with little complaint.

No one became rich, but no one went without since there was wildlife cavorting right behind your house, you ate what you planted in forest gardens, and people lived in airy homes constructed strong by the village men using the timber pulled out of the bush by bison power.
I am happy to report that Trinidad and Tobago has recorded its first conviction for offence
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We understand that the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) is on the frontline of a significant battle and that their human and other resources must naturally be focused on the unbridled violence the society experiences daily.
Do you have the write stuff? Is it time to find out?

The annual Literary Awards Writing Competition, sponsored by the Tucson Festival of Books, is well underway.

Submissions will be judged in three categories: fiction, nonfiction and poetry. Cash prizes of $1,000, $500 and $250 will be awarded to the top three entries in each category.

In addition, those prize-winners will receive full scholarships to take part in a Masters Writing Workshop with book festival authors March 11-12 in Tucson.

Submissions must be received by midnight on Oct. 31.

Learn more at tucne.ws/tfoblit.
 For more information: Debbie Kornmiller at 520-954-3139 or info@azsendakidtocamp.org

 Credit-card donations and details on the camps we sponsor: azsendakidtocamp.org

If you are age 70 or older and have savings in an IRA, you may be able to give directly from your IRA and save even more on your federal and Arizona taxes. If your custodian sends a payment directly from your IRA to the Arizona Daily Star Sportsmens Fund, you may be able to deduct it as a Qualifying Charitable Distribution on your tax return even if you claim the standard deduction. Consult your tax adviser for more information about how this applies to you.

Cork Chili Cook Off raises $26,000

The 19th Annual Cork Fun Chili Cook Off raised $26,000 to send local kids to camp through the Arizona Daily Star Sportsmens Fund To Send A Kid to Camp program.

The Oct. 14 chili extravaganza at The Cork Tucson featured 12 restaurants competing to be named Chili Champion, with Finis Landing the winner. Other restaurants with yummy chili were The Cork Tucson, Casino del Sol, Eclectic Cafe, Saddlehorn Saloon, The Barnyard, Noble Hops, Brushfire BBQ, Canyons Crown, Firetruck Brewing Company, Dante's Fire and Floras Market Run.

The event would not have been a success without the help of our sponsors: Lang Family Trust, Wrinkleneck International, Ashton Family Foundation, Mike and Leslie Gross, Brake Masters, Silvey Family, YMCA, Becci Camp and David Syre, Dusty Jackets Books, Fairibault Foods, George Hyde, Maureen Brooks, S.E. Clark & Company PC, Jack and Carol Clements and The Newton Group  Denise Newton.

In-kind sponsors included Tucson Appliance Co., Allegra-Image 360, Tuller Trophy and Stambeck Septic Service.

To date, The Cork Fun Chili Cook Off has raised over $288,500 for the Send A Kid To Camp program.

 Bucky Lovejoy

Arizona Daily Star Sportsmen's Fund Send a Kid to Camp
By Robert Neff

While travelers may have welcomed Korean country inns as a sanctuary from tigers, wolves and the elements, they were not a sanctuary from other predations. Scattered amongst the articles published in newspapers and magazines from the late 19th and early 20th centuries are accounts of robberies and murders that took place in lonely inns. Fortunately, foreigners were rarely victims of these violent attacks, but they, along with the other patrons of the inn, had to contend with the most notorious offenders: bedbugs.

George Heber Jones, a missionary, wrote:

The meal over, your servants spread your bed on the floor; you close up the days account with them [the servants], clear them out, bring your journal down to that moment and then lie down to sleep, deceived into believing yourself the sole occupant of the room. It is not long, however, before you become conscious of companionship  little bits of fellows whose capabilities for inflicting misery are colossal, and whose multiplicity make them well nigh ubiquitous. Volumes can be said about the occupants of a Korean inn; indeed volumes are said whenever a layman from among foreigners falls among them.

Maybe not volumes, but quite a few accounts describing bedbug infestations can be found in the books and magazines written by Westerners residing or traveling in Korea. Isabella Bird Bishop, an English woman who traveled extensively around the Korean Peninsula, wrote:

On arriving at an inn, the master or servant rushes at the mud, or sometimes matter, floor with a whisk, raising a great dust, which he sweeps into a corner. The disgusted traveller soon perceives that the heap is animate as well as inanimate, and the groans, sighs, scratchings, and restlessness from the public room show the extent of the insect pest.

Lillias Underwood echoed the above accounts when she wrote: The mats which are placed over the oiled paper, or more likely directly on the earth floor, are full of dust and vermin of all descriptions, which run riot everywhere. However, her fear of the mats wasnt just confined to bedbugs: It is best not to begin to think how many people have, in that room and lying on these identical mats, been ill, and died, of dysentery, smallpox, cholera or typhus fever, since the room was even swept or the mats once shaken.

On this first trip into the Korean interior, she and her husband ordered a layer of fresh clean straw be placed upon the floor of their room. The straw was nearly 30 centimeters deep and seems to have worked  but not without a degree of discomfort:

We spread thereon [the pile of straw] our bed, to the confusion and defeat of our little enemies, ploughing their weary way uselessly through the mazes of that straw all night. In this way we slept peacefully, except when the floor became intolerably hot, and our bed correspondingly so, then we rose, piled our straw in another place, remade our couch, and composed ourselves again in slumber. We never did this more than three times in one night, and it was a mere diversion.

Of course, there were exaggerations as to how bad the infestations were and the size of the bedbugs. In the early 1890s, James Scarth Gale, a missionary, was told by one of his Korean servants that in Gaeseong (a city in North Korea) there were huge yellow bedbugs that weighed about a quarter of a kilogram.

A common bit of advice for travelers was to carry a large supply of insect powder. Jones liked to spread a liberal amount of powder on the mats and watch the pests die  the slaughter which ensues can be enjoyed to its full only by one who has had to put up with this companionship with no possibility of help.

Speaking from 20 months of experience traveling in Korea and China, Bishop insisted that an oiled sheet is a better protection against vermin than a pony-load of insect powder. She claimed she never suffered from bedbug attacks at a Korean inn because of her preparations:

After the landlord had disturbed [swept] the dust, Wong [her servant] put down either two heavy sheets of oiled paper or a large sheet of cotton dressed with boiled linseed oil on the floor, and on these arranged my camp-bed, chair, and baggage. This arrangement [] is a perfect preventative.

While she urged preparation, Jones urged speed:

After a night in a Korean inn one can understand the wise saying, Never be in a hurry except when catching fleas.

Inns were not the only places to find bedbugs. In 1901, the Jeong-dong area of Seoul (where most of the Westerners lived), was besieged by a horde of bedbugs that had allegedly been reawakened when the royal family moved to Deoksu Palace in 1897. Homer Hulbert, who had a wonderful flair for mixing legends with contemporary events, described Jeong-dong as historically the den of bedbugs.

During the 1592-98 Imjin War, the royal palaces in Seoul were all destroyed so the residence of a prince  located in Jeong-dong  was converted and named Gyeongun Palace (now known as Deoksu Palace). It was with the arrival of the royal family that a great host of bedbugs were awakened and infested the city until the monarchy took up residence at the newly rebuilt Changdeok Palace in 1618.

Seoul, however, was not the only place to suffer. In the 1930s, Sten Bergman, a Swedish zoologist and author, wrote:

The Koreans, as I have perhaps remarked before, do not bother about bugs. I have on several occasions sat talking with Koreans who have sat smoking their pipes and watching with interest the progress of bugs up and down their walls without it occurring to them to kill the pests. Often their walls are covered with white paper on which the bugs stand out very conspicuously. In some houses the Koreans are wont to kill them on this white paper, which are thus horribly stained, of course. On several occasions when I have come into a room the white paper has been so covered with such stains that at first sight I have imagined that the room had coloured wallpaper!

While these anecdotes may paint the Korea-of-the-past in a dark manner, the Korea-of-the-present looks a lot brighter when compared to many other countries.

Bedbugs are frequently in the news  especially the widespread infestation in Europe that seems to be growing and spreading at an alarming rate. Many worry that the upcoming Olympics in France could help facilitate their spread to other countries. But bedbugs are, and have always been, everywhere! Sniffer dogs, high-tech cameras and even AI are being utilized in this war against them  but so far, the pests are winning. The only bit of comfort the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention is able to provide is that bedbugs dont appear to spread diseases like mosquitoes and ticks do.

Wishing you all a good night, sleep tight and dont let the bedbugs bite.

Robert Neff has authored and co-authored several books, including Letters from Joseon, Korea Through Western Eyes and Brief Encounters.
A donor-driven project restroom and shower building project at the Cooper Center for Environmental Learning is moving a step forward.

The Cooper Center is a collaboration between Tucson Unified School District and the University of Arizona College of Education. TUSD is responsible for facility maintenance and utilities at the center. The UA College of Education takes care of operations and programs, including fundraising.

At its Oct. 17 meeting, the TUSD Governing Board gave Cooper Center, also known as Camp Cooper, its blessing to finalize designs and construction documents.

The board approved using the districts job order contract fund to contract with a pre-qualified contractor to complete phase I of the project.

The UA and TUSD partnership has received $1.9 million in donations for this project from private donors and local foundations.

Eighty percent of the centers programs serve TUSD students. However, the outdoor learning space is open to all Southern Arizona schools. More than 140,000 students have learned at the Cooper Center since 1964. Among other services, Camp Cooper is a popular location for field trips, giving students a safe, accessible place to experience nature while enhancing classroom learning.

Several public comment speakers at Tuesdays meeting expressed support for the project, which does not use TUSD capital funds. The agenda item passed unanimously.

Once design and construction documents are completed, the next step will be to negotiate a guaranteed maximum price with the selected contractor.

Creativity Day

More than 100 high school juniors and seniors throughout Tucson will participate in the TENWEST Impact Festivals Creativity Day this November, thanks to a partnership with Pima CommunityShare and Startup Tucson.

Founded in 2015, TENWEST, an event of Startup Tucson, describes itself as a celebration of the growing innovation, creative and entrepreneurial ecosystems in Southern Arizona.

Taking place Nov. 4-10, the festival in downtown Tucson showcases the connectivity between technology, entrepreneurship, creativity, culture and impact. This year, during Creativity Day of the conference on Nov. 8, students are being invited to explore an array of creative content careers that arent always seen inside the classroom.

Creativity Day at the Tucson Convention Center will feature sessions on audio recording with Tucson company Cloud Microphones, creative writing, makerspaces with UAs CATalyst team, media, content creation and branding, selling your art and more. Keynote presenters for the day include Joe OConnell of Creative Machines and Jenny Ball of international band Jenny and the Mexicats and Silvana Estrada.
PHOENIX  On Sept. 10, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix held its second annual Mass of Remembrance for People Who Died by Suicide. People holding white carnations filled the pews at Saints Simon and Jude Cathedral, and vases of white carnations surrounded an altar of Mary. Organ music rang out as Bishop John Dolan began to lead the Mass.

Dolan, who has been bishop at the Diocese since Aug. 2, 2022, has a personal connection to the event. Three of his siblings died from suicide: his brother, when Dolan was in eighth grade, one of his sisters and her husband, when Dolan was in college in the 1980s, and another sister in October 2022.

For Dolan, being open about his ways of dealing with these deaths has led to more open conversations among parishioners.

Once I opened that up and let people know that, Hey, theres a bishop out there, a leader within the faith community who is struggling, all of a sudden, everyone else seemed to say, Hey, you know, I guess I could talk about this too.

Dolan is also a co-founder of the Association of Catholic Mental Health Ministers, an organization founded in 2019 that educates clergy members on mental health and provides faith-based support to Catholics and their families living with mental illness. In December 2022, he opened the Phoenix Dioceses own Office of Mental Health Ministry.

Though the office at the Diocese has been open for less than a year, Dolan has a vision for its future. Dolan wants the office to create wells, defined as places where healing begins, a reference to the Bible story of Jesus meeting a Samaritan woman at a well.

For the Phoenix Dioceses organization, this will mean 15 wells  one for each deanery, or area of parishes under the supervision of a dean. These wells would be areas for people, clergy and parishioners alike to gather to support those in their faith community affected by mental health concerns or mental illness. The goal is to have these 15 wells established by the end of this year.

The office, which is still in its infancy, according to Dolan, is focusing on state advocacy as well as education.

Were pretty behind the eight ball here in the state of Arizona on providing mental health counselors where theres truly a lack of mental health counselors  available, Dolan said.

And then the cost is another issue. So were trying to figure out ways to be an advocate for better service and attainable service for people in our state. We havent focused specifically on demographics yet, were just trying to get to parishes and to clusters of parishes and to schools. And of course, to people on the streets.

Deacon Ed Shoener at the Diocese of Scranton, Pennsylvania, who co-founded the Association of Catholic Mental Health Ministers with Dolan, was also drawn to address mental health as a result of his personal experience. His daughter, Kathleen Katie Marie Shoener, died from suicide in August 2016, at age 29, after years of living with bipolar disorder.

She died by suicide, but shes not defined by having an illness or by her manner of death. She was a beautiful child of God who was loved by her family and her friends, Shoener said.

People shouldnt be defined by their illness  we need to do better in treating mental illness and taking care of people.

Shoener wrote a short obituary of his daughter that, in his own words, went viral. In the obituary, Shoener memorialized his daughter while indicating a need for greater understanding and compassion for those living with mental illness and for their family members. Shoener also founded the Katie Foundation after his daughters death.

In Katies case, Shoener wrote in her obituary, she had the best medical care available, she always took the cocktail of medicines that she was prescribed and she did her best to be healthy and manage this illnessand yetthat was not enough. Someday a cure will be found, but until then, we need to support and be compassionate to those with mental illness, every bit as much as we support those who suffer from cancer, heart disease or any other illness.

Apparently this short obituary spoke to the experiences of people that live with mental illness and those who support them, Shoener said.

Many of the responses and comments we got back were about the need for the church to be more involved in supporting people with mental illnesses.

Shoener often gets asked about the Catholic Churchs history with suicide, when the church denied those who died by suicide the burial rites offered to other Catholics. He explains that the Catechism, or doctrine of the church, regarding suicide changed in the 1990s under Pope John Paul II.

Theres three components of a mortal sin and the church used to, very harshly, view suicide as always a mortal sin. Its got to be a grave matter, which suicide is a grave matter, but its got to be done  deliberately and with full consent to the will, Shoener said.

And what the church is basically now saying is with  suicide, quite often the full knowledge and full consent of the will is not there because of the mental health disorders, so the church now prays for people that die by suicide.

In Phoenix, Maricela Campa is the program manager for the Office of Mental Health Ministry. With her personal experience of major depressive disorder, Campa pulls from her own therapy journey to assist others at the diocese.

The ministry is educating clergy using a mental health first-aid curriculum, and also educating parishioners on mental illness and mental health challenges.

We developed a Mental Health Minute and thats a flock note that is sent out  that has a little bit of information with mental health and wellness, along with Scripture because its important for us to recognize mental health and faith, Campa said.

In Pennsylvania, Amy Morgan has benefited from Catholic mental health ministry as well as secular support. After a history of violence and abuse committed by family, family friends and intimate partners, Morgan has been an active volunteer for the National Alliance of Mental Illness, and was recently made the education and support coordinator for northeast Pennsylvania.

Morgan considers herself a new Catholic. While she was in the process of joining the church, she reached out to Shoener after noting that people she had met in the church had advised her to avoid speaking about her previous marriages and her mental illnesses.

I knew (Shoener) was very involved with mental health, things like that. So I wanted to get a deacons view, said Morgan.

She asked the deacon if the Church would discourage her from talking about mental illness. Because if this is how its going to be, I wont join  I dont want to be stigmatized. He said, Absolutely not. This is not the churchs view, we need to change things.

Shoener then offered Morgan a place in a Catholic support group.

The peace that I felt, going there and praying and seeing other people that were Catholic and going through the same thing I am  it gave me some solace, she said.

It was nice to hear, especially (as) someone who always struggled with faith.

The Rev. Michael Reinhardt, an associate pastor at Our Lady of the Lake Roman Catholic Church at Lake Havasu City, has benefited from the educational training offered by the Diocese of Phoenix.

As a Grief Recovery Method specialist certified by the Grief Recovery Institute, a nonprofit organization founded in the 1980s, Reinhardt has experience assisting people struggling with mental health. According to Reinhardt, parishioners are more likely to place their trust in and share their experiences freely with Catholic Church clergy than with secular mental health professionals.

Its about what you represent and the role that you represent. And so theres a lot of less necessary processes involved in breaking down walls when you meet people in that capacity. A lot of the trust  is just (there) from the get-go, Reinhardt said.

Oftentimes, Reinhardt added, nonclergy people share that  they have to build up to that point.

For Reinhardt, the Diocese of Phoenixs Office on Mental Health Ministry offered a pastoral care perspective that anybody can be in the situation where theyre in need of a compassionate heart.

Theres still a great deal of shame associated with mental health (problems) and what were trying to do is diffuse that and to let people know that mental health is often a physical reality, Dolan said.
RENO, Nev. (AP)  A Nevada district attorney cleared two police officers of any criminal wrongdoing on Wednesday after they fatally shot a man who went on a rampage with a chainsaw at a Motel 6 three years ago.

Ronal Zendejas, 36, of Sparks, cut through doors and swung the running blade at employees and a guest before he fled the motel parking lot in a Honda Accord, according to the 42-page investigative report. He drove toward the officers, hit a police cruiser and crashed into two buildings before he tried to flee again and officers shot him four times, according to the report.

Based on the evidence, District Attorney Chris Hicks said officers Thomas Radley and Adrian Berumen shooting Zendejas was justified and not a criminal act.

Reno police conducted the investigation into the officer-involved shooting in neighboring Sparks. At the time, Radley had served 15 years on the force and Berumen five.

Zendejas had rented a room at the motel on May 4, 2020. The motel's general manager said Zendejas was rude, aggressive and appeared drunk, punching two windows in the front office before leaving and returning even angrier, according to the report. He left again but returned minutes later with a running chainsaw, cutting through a swinging door as the desk manager locked himself in a bathroom and the general manager fled to his motel apartment, the report said.

Zendejas then contacted a guest in a neighboring room, swung the chainsaw toward him and cut through the room's door and door handle, according to the report.

Police arrived as Zendejas was preparing to drive off. They ordered him to show his hands, but he refused and sped away before striking a metal street sign, according to the report. He reversed his vehicle, struck the patrol vehicle and crashed into a nearby car wash before the officers caught up to him again. He then crashed into a nearby smog shop.

After Zendejas refused the officers' orders again, they fired their weapons, according to the report. His vehicle crashed a third time, and the officers found him slumped over in the driver's seat. An autopsy determined the cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds.

Unless new circumstances come to light that contradict the factual foundation upon which this decision was made, this case is officially closed, Hicks said in a statement Wednesday.
Regional energy activity declines but is expected to pick up

The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City recently released its third quarter energy survey, which includes Oklahoma.

According to Chad Wilkerson, senior vice president at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, the survey revealed that Tenth District energy activity continued to decline but is expected to pick up modestly in the next six months.

District drilling and business activity declined further in Q3, but revenues grew after declining for three consecutive quarters, and employment continued to increase at a moderate pace, said Wilkerson. Firms sentiment for future activity improved in light of increased commodity prices.

The Kansas City Feds quarterly Tenth District Energy Survey provides information on current and expected activity among energy firms.

The survey monitors oil and gas-related firms located and/or headquartered in the Tenth District, with results based on total firm activity. Survey results reveal changes in several indicators of energy activity, including drilling, capital spending, and employment. Firms also indicate projections for oil and gas prices.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City serves the Tenth Federal Reserve District, encompassing Oklahoma, the western third of Missouri, and all of Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming, and the northern half of New Mexico.

Texas Roadhouse coming to Owasso

Texas Roadhouse will soon open its doors in Owasso.

Construction on the 7,926 square-foot restaurant, located at 9311 N. Owasso Expressway, began earlier this year. It is scheduled to open in December for dine-in and to-go orders.

Texas Roadhouse is a full-service, casual dining concept serving an assortment of steaks, ribs, chicken, salads, hamburgers and vegetables. Most selections include two made-from-scratch side items and unlimited fresh-baked bread and peanuts.

Owassos site is currently hiring for full- and part-time positions to employ a total staff of 215. Those interested can apply directly at apply.texasroadhouse.com. Starting Tuesday, a hiring trailer in the north corner of the parking lot will conduct interviews Monday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Once open, the restaurant will serve dinner-only meals Monday-Thursday, 4-10 p.m., and Friday, 4-11 p.m.; as well as lunch and dinner Saturday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

Buy Broken Arrow launches campaign

Buy Broken Arrow is back for the 28th year starting Oct. 27 through Dec. 11. The campaign, presented by Mattress Firm, focuses on the importance of shopping locally and encourages the community to do so throughout the holiday season.

Additions to this years campaign:

Buy BA Benjamins  throughout the campaign Chamber staff will surprise a shopper at two participating merchants a week with $100 in Buy BA Benjamins to spend at that merchant.

Small Business Saturday, Nov. 25  a live remote in the Rose District from 10 a.m.-noon. Organizers will be promoting participating merchants and handing out giveaways (while supplies last).

Drawing times  times have been lengthened from last year to give Buy BA participants more time to check for winning tickets.

CBRE, worlds largest commercial real estate firm, relocates downtown office

CBRE announced the opening of its 9,891-square-foot office at Santa Fe Square at 521 E. 2nd Street in downtown Tulsa.

CBREs office is located on the seventh floor of the building, relocating from its previous location at 1437 S. Boulder Ave.

The new office is part of CBREs Workplace360 program showcasing the companys Future of Work space standards, including innovative technology and a wider variety of collaborative spaces designed to support hybrid working.

Our new Workplace360 office was thoughtfully designed to maximize in-office collaboration and offer our employees and clients an exceptional experience, said Bob Pielsticker, senior vice president and director at CBREs Tulsa office.

The location in Tulsas Blue Dome district provides the ultimate live-work-play experience for our employees as were in easy walking distance to many amenities.

The office features various social spaces that include a 100-foot LED media wall, several individual and group workspaces, and a large boardroom for clients and visitors.

CBRE launched its Workplace360 program in 2013 and has since opened more than 100 Workplace360 offices across the globe. A cornerstone of the Workplace360 model is its free address approach with no assigned seating.

CBRE is a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Dallas, and is the worlds largest commercial real estate services and investment firm.

Glenpool business earn state grants

Three locally owned Glenpool businesses were recently awarded grants through the Oklahoma Department of Commerces Business Expansion Incentive Program and the Oklahoma Innovation Expansion Program.

Champagne Metals was awarded $300,000 for continued growth and expansion of its aluminum processing capabilities through the BEIP.

Premiere Steel Services was awarded $150,000 for the architectural and engineering expansion of their $12 million production facility through the BEIP. The additional facility space, an addition to the west side of the existing site, is set to span around 70,000 square feet.

T&L Foundry was awarded $100,000 to support further innovation and increased capacity through the OIEP.

The BEIP and OIEP assist Oklahoma companies in making major capital investments in machinery, equipment, and buildings to grow and boost business expansion investments here.

Champagne Metals, Premiere Steel Services, and T&L Foundry are primary job creators in Glenpool, and the City of Glenpool looks forward to their continued success and new growth through these state grants, a news release said.

WeStreet credit union launches crypto portal

WeStreet Credit Union announced a new Crypto Portal for users to buy, sell and hold their digital currency. The portal was launched in August as an exclusive members-only feature and became available to the public this month.

Cryptocurrency is a general term for any decentralized digital currency, like Bitcoin or Ethereum. These cryptocurrencies are maintained by a peer-to-peer network of computers on a public ledger called blockchain. In the past, crypto was most often traded via unregulated online exchanges. While digital-only exchanges often come with a risk for users, WeStreets Crypto Portal aims to change that.

At WeStreet, we always keep our community, their needs, and their financial goals top of mind. Right now, many of our members and the broader community are looking for an accessible, all-in-one way to invest in cryptocurrency, said WeStreet Credit Union President and CEO Greg Gallant in a news release.

We want to empower users and make sure they feel confident in their cryptocurrency ventures, and we believe our Crypto Portal is the best solution on the market for our community.

WeStreet has partnered with a Qualified Crypto Custodian, a trust company, providing users with a way to manage cryptocurrency assets through their online banking app. Many digital-only exchanges are unregulated, which has been a major cause of billions of dollars of cryptocurrency being lost in recent years. By using a combination of best-in-class systems, the regulated custodian WeStreet has partnered undergoes financial and technology audits, to ensure users digital assets are protected, the release said.

 From Staff Reports

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OKLAHOMA CITY  The health insurance marketplace in Oklahoma is set to open its doors for the 2024 coverage year on Nov. 1.

This marks the first day when individuals and families can enroll in, re-enroll in, or make changes to their health insurance plans.

Key Dates to Remember:

Nov. 1: Open enrollment commences

Starting from Nov. 1, residents can explore the various health insurance options available through the Marketplace in Oklahoma. This is a chance to find a plan that suits individual needs and budget.

Dec. 15: Deadline for coverage starting Jan. 1

To ensure health coverage begins on Jan. 1, 2024, make sure to enroll or make any plan changes by Dec. 15 to avoid a gap in coverage.

Seven insurers will offer individual health plans for 2024  Blue Cross Blue Shield of Oklahoma (BCBSOK), Medica Insurance Company, Oscar Health, UnitedHealthCare (UHC), CommunityCare Oklahoma (CCOK), Ambetter of Oklahoma and Taro Health (New for 2024).

BCBSOK will offer a statewide plan while the other carriers plans will be available in selected counties in Oklahoma. These carriers will provide a range of health plans tailored to meet the diverse needs of Oklahoma residents.

Taro Health is a new addition to the marketplace for 2024, offering choices for Oklahomans seeking health coverage. The addition of this insurer helps to ensure that individuals and families can find plans that align with their healthcare needs and financial circumstances. Taro Health will be available in the Oklahoma City metro area.

Rising health costs and provider reimbursement rates will put pressure on premiums in 2024, Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Glen Mulready said.

Its crucial to act promptly during this open enrollment period to secure the best health coverage you need for you and your family. I encourage you to visit healthcare.gov and take the time to see which plan best fits your needs.

Mulready added that the cost of healthcare is rising as demand increases and says its important now more than ever that people are insured.

Last year, nearly 183,000 Oklahomans who renewed or purchased plans during open enrollment averaged a $73 per month premium after federal subsidies.

Plan options, monthly premiums and total annual out-of-pocket costs for 2024 will be available at www.healthcare.gov/see-plans/ later this month upon release of this information by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The Oklahoma Insurance Department, an agency of the State of Oklahoma, is responsible for the education and protection of the insurance-buying public and for oversight of the insurance industry in the state.

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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

One of Tulsa's longest tenured and most influential social service leaders has decided to pass the torch.

Gail Lapidus, president and CEO of Family & Children's Services for the last 38 years, plans to retire from the agency in December, officially concluding a career that began there in 1974.

F&CS, which turned 100 years old in 2021, serves some of Tulsa's most vulnerable populations, with a focus on families and children in crisis, abused children, and Tulsans struggling with addiction and mental health challenges.

"It has been my great privilege to serve as the president and CEO of Family & Children's Services," said Lapidus, 72. "As I reflect, I am acutely aware that it takes an exceptional team of staff, a dedicated board of directors, generous donors and funders, and collaborative partners to ensure our clients can overcome insurmountable challenges."

Fresh out of the University of Oklahoma when she was hired, the then-23-year-old social worker's first focus was on working with children and families in public housing.

Lapidus took on other roles for the agency over the next decade, making an impact and impression with each.

It culminated in 1986 with Lapidus being named executive director, making her the first woman to head F&CS.

At the time, the agency had a $1 million budget, 27 employees and two locations.

But under Lapidus, a dramatic transformation ensued. Today, F&CS boasts a $153 million budget, a diverse workforce of 1,200 and a network of eight accessible locations across the city, along with 25 co-located sites within various organizations to address mental health needs.

Moreover, the agency's 64 total programs means it serves about one in six Tulsans.

Lapidus led four capital campaigns over the years, raising more than $34 million for new facilities.

"Gail's passion, leadership and vision have been the driving force behind the transformation of the agency but also for the lives of countless individuals in the Tulsa area," said Clint Swanson, F&CS board chairman.

"Behind all her work is a deep commitment to providing the highest quality of services for the underserved. Her unwavering dedication serves as a beacon of hope that positive change is not only possible but also achievable. We salute Gail as a true visionary, and her enduring legacy will continue to inspire and help generations to come."

The evolution under Lapidus of what had been a small family services provider was driven by a much greater emphasis on mental health.

Lapidus helped establish F&CS as the state's largest outpatient community mental health center. It serves 25% of seriously mentally ill adults in the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services client system.

Many children's mental health needs, meanwhile, are met through the agency's partnerships with 60 schools and nine Head Start sites.

Lapidus said one of her proudest achievements while at F&CS involved children's mental health.

Under her, F&CS established itself as a pioneer agency in Oklahoma in recognizing the impact of trauma on children and addressing it through evidence-based treatments.

Lapidus spearheaded the agency's first grant proposal for funding interventions, and it was followed by other grants.

"I remember the excitement when we received the first grant because it allowed us to become a pivotal player in spreading the impact of (trauma-focused therapy)," she said. "The success of this therapy was recognized and acknowledged and eventually led to its funding by the state for children's mental health services."

Lapidus added: "In a world where trauma can shatter lives, we were the ones who extended a lifeline, offering hope, healing, and a brighter future to those who needed it most. I'm proud of how we not only set a precedent but also contributed to a more comprehensive approach to children's mental health in Oklahoma."

Another key effort under Lapidus was the development of Women in Recovery, a partnership with the George Kaiser Family Foundation in response to Oklahoma's high rate of female incarceration. The program is an intensive outpatient treatment alternative for nonviolent offenders that serves in lieu of incarceration.

That program, like pretty much everything F&CS does, reflects a core belief of Lapidus', Swanson said.

"She firmly believes in the capacity for people to change and triumph over adversity," he said.

"She champions second chances and is inspired by our clients' remarkable resilience in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges, losses and trauma."

A leader in both Tulsa's larger social service community as well as on a statewide level, where she's served on many boards and task forces, Lapidus has been the recipient of many honors.

Most recently, that included the Pat Potts Visionary Award from the Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits. She was recognized as an OU Distinguished Alumnus and in 1997 was the inaugural inductee into the OU School of Social Work's Hall of Fame.

F&CS officials said they plan to announce Lapidus' successor in the coming days.

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

Border battles: Hamas operatives infiltration of southern Israel earlier this month has ramped up criticism, particularly among Republicans, of the Biden administrations border policies.

In a video, U.S. Sen. James Lankford said someone from Iraq intent on killing former President George W. Bush was apprehended last year, and we dont know how many people were not catching.

U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin told Newsmax and a constituent teleconference last week that 253 people on the terrorist watch list have been apprehended this year.

If (theyre) on the terrorist watch list, theyre terrorists, Mullin said on Newsmax. Thats the only reason why theyre on the terrorist watch list. But we caught 253 this year alone. I promise you:  Theyre not coming across our southern border to live the American dream. Theyre sleeper cells.

In fact, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Services data show 660 Terrorist Screening Dataset encounters for the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30  but more than half of those occurred on the Canadian border.

While politicians and others have regularly sounded alarms about terrorists coming into the country through Mexico, most foiled and actual acts of terror of which there is public record have been the work of people who either entered the U.S. legally or through the northern border. This includes the 9-11 plotters.

It is also perhaps worth noting that the Hamas raiders into Israel breeched what is known as the iron wall, a 20-foot tall barrier that encircles Gaza and is bolstered by all manner of electronic surveillance. It also extends to an unknown depth underground and out into the Mediterranean Sea.

Just two years ago Israel completed a $1.2 billion upgrade of the fence.

Still, the underlying fact is that millions of people are streaming into the U.S., and nobody seems to know much about them.

Lankford told the Tulsa Regional Chamber recently that Customs and Border Protection officials have encountered immigrants from 160 countries at the southern border, many of them trying to claim asylum.

Lankford and others recommend a next country policy that would allow migrants to claim asylum only in the closest safe place.

Some speech: While many constituents were no doubt pleased to hear that 4th District Congressman Tom Cole delivered a nominating speech for Jim Jordans failed attempt at the House speakership, the speech itself vexed and perplexed some people.

Cole praised what he said is Jordans courage to talk about the real drivers of debt, and we all know what they are. We all know its Social Security; we all know its Medicare; we all know its Medicaid.

Cole was endorsing the idea of a commission to recommend ways to balance the cash flow in those three programs, but the mere suggestion of cuts to them with Jordan wielding the ax seems likely only to have reinforced the objections of moderate and swing-district Republicans.

The Washington Posts Philip Bump used Coles claim that Jordan is a person of absolute personal integrity. Ive never had to question something that he told me to recite instances when Jordans integrity and honesty have indeed been questioned.

Of course, Bump concluded, Coles job  was not to give an honest assessment of Jordan, but a compelling one.

AIAIO: A little work did get done in the House last week despite the oxygen consumed by the speaker gridlock.

Among other things, subcommittees of the Science, Space and Technology Committee began considering how to regulate the emerging artificial intelligence sector.

We cant rush to regulate before knowing the tools and resources we need in place in order to successfully approach this governance challenge, 3rd District Congressman and committee Chairman Frank Lucas said.

Im not arguing that we shouldnt regulate the development of AI at all  just that we should approach any new requirements methodically and openly so we can ensure the best possible outcome for Americans and American businesses.

Being there: Lankford remains skeptical about the way federal agencies are using remote and telework.

Lankford and Sen. Krysten Sinema of Arizona have introduced legislation with more specific definitions of remote work and telework for federal employees and a requirement that teleworking employees be in their offices at least two days every two weeks.

The bill also seeks to standardize relevant data and which jobs are suited for performance outside an office setting.

Stupid is : And stupid is what Mullin called the outside pressure tactics used by Ohio Rep. Jim Jordans allies in the speakers fight.

Although hes in the Senate now, Mullin frequented his old haunts on the House side last week. He told HuffPost that one GOP lawmaker said hed received more than 1,000 contacts demanding that he vote for Jordan, even though the representative already had.

He said, It almost made me switch my vote, Mullin said. It was a very, very, very dumb move.

 Randy Krehbiel, Tulsa World

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Vietnams agricultural giant Hoang Anh Gia Lai JSC (HAGL) has recently sold Hoang Anh Gia Lai Hotel in Pleiku City, the capital of the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai, to a newly-established enterprise at a reported price of more than US$7.3 million to repay its debts.

The purchaser is Ho Chi Minh City-based Hoan Sinh Gia Lai Investment Company Limited, which acquired the hotel for likely VND180 billion ($7.34 million), as it could be deduced from HAGLs operating result report for the first nine months of 2023.

The report indicated a revenue of the same amount from liquidation of a property in September, during which HAGLs management board passed a resolution to sell the same hotel for debt repayment.

As the first four-star lodging facility in the Central Highlands region, 117-room Hoang Anh Gia Lai Hotel is situated near Phu Dong Square in the heart of Pleiku City and was put into operation in late 2005.

Do Xuan Duc, director of Hoan Sinh Gia Lai, confirmed to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that he had bought the hotel from HAGL but refused to disclose the purchase price as it is confidential.

Both sides of the deal could not provide its details for confidentiality reasons, news site VnExpress cited Duc as saying.

Hoan Sinh Gia Lai was established four months ago with a charter capital of VND200 billion ($8.15 million), whose business lines include animal husbandry, farming, fertilizer production, construction, transport, and others.

According to Doan Nguyen Duc, chairman of HAGL, the proceeds from the hotel sale will be used to pay the principal and interest on the bonds issued in 2016 at the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV).

The firm had earlier sold two resorts in Binh Dinh and Lam Dong Provinces, a hotel in Da Nang City, and another in Yangon, Myanmar.

Chairman Duc and HAGL withdrew from the hotel and tourism market over 10 years ago because of a financial hit.

As of the end of September, HAGL had delayed the payments of the principal and interest for the bonds issued in 2016 with a total value of more than VND4 trillion ($163.09 million)

The firm has recently paid VND380 billion ($15.49 million) for the principal and is expected to settle the rest by the end of this year.

HAGL earned net total revenue of VND679 billion ($27.68 million) in September, and its nine-month after-tax profit reached VND710 billion ($28.95 million), down 20 percent from a year earlier.

When asked about his companys debt of VND7.6 trillion ($310 million) at a recent investor conference, chairman Duc said that the debt is much lower than the firms total assets worth VND21,340 billion ($870.13 million).

HAGL is handling the debt to get rid of noisy comments on it, Duc stressed.

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We offer you a service to check your sweetheart's or wife's love for you quickly and at flexible prices," with only VND20,000 [less than a dollar] you can know for sure how much your partner loves you, send me a message right away."

These are advertisements run by 'testers' in a group for testing your partners hearts on social media in Vietnam.

Nowadays, it is quite easy to find such 'testing groups' on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

The number of members in these groups can range from hundreds to thousands of people.

If you search for the keyword 'test nguoi yeu' (test darlings) on TikTok, you will find some with more than 195 million searches among the hashtags returned.

Confusing services

The emerging trend shows a strange need for many couples, as well as the development of confusing services.

According to the findings of reporters from Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper, the service of testing lovers first appeared in early 2023.

In recent months, the number of people who participate in groups of 'lover tests' and search for related terms has been increasing on a daily basis.

According to the observations of the reporters, it is mainly testers who most often post statuses in the groups to offer their services. Once a viewer comments on or likes one of the statuses, testers immediately send them a message.

This service attracts so many people that in some cases many posts receive dozens of comments even though they have been posted for less than an hour.

The cost of each case can range from thousands to hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese dong, but sometimes it can be free if the tester wants to help the customer to gain experience. (US$1 = VND24,500)

In addition, there are special monthly service packages or those on their own request, which can cost millions of dong.

Indeed, not only group members want to test their lovers but those who want to part with their sweethearts for no reason also resort to the service.

In the latter cases, many testers suggest that they can play the role of a 'third person' to flirt with the clients partner with the aim of gathering evidence for a break-up.

Among the various tactics to end a relationship are many difficult tricks, such as posing as an old flame to send love letters to the targets house, falsely combining photos, or fabricating messages.

Someone tried to comment on a status posted by a member nicknamed Linh in a group of 'lover tests' with more than 800 members.

About five minutes later, while Linh had not yet responded, another young woman actively sent messages asking to use her service.

Unexpectedly, three more testers came forward to offer their services as well.

Considering that so many testers are active and even competing with each other, the demand for the service has now become remarkably high.

A tester named Linh shows confidence in her flirting skills.

The flirt would last only a day or two?

In the discussion, Linh offered three service packages for testing a lover. These include sending messages to find out how much love the customer has, flirting with a few sweet words, asking for a date, and suggesting that this person break up with their lover.

To ensure the quality of her services, Linh boasted that she had successfully 'tested' more than 90 percent of the cases, including some instances where she made her male clients fall in love with her.

Investigations by the Tuoi Tre reporters have revealed that before the tester sets up the testing plan, the clients have to provide some personal information about their partner, such as their habits, occupation, home address, phone number, or Facebook account.

With these personal particulars, it is easy for them to make many people show their true colors, as the testers boasted.

They even show their certainty by offering customers a refund after the service was actually performed well.

To attract the target audience, Linh and other testers post their beautiful and attractive photos on social media. They also have a nice conversation style because they have received customers personal information in advance.

During the testing phase, the testers constantly keep the customers updated on their progress. If the target seems to have fallen into the trap, the tester interrupts the mission to provide evidence or offer a final service.

To learn more about this trick, the journalists contacted another tester named Nhi, who said that she would not charge them if she could not meet their requirements.

I rarely fail, I am afraid that I would make you sad, but, if necessary, I am ready to trap him, warned the young woman.

In Nhi's account, the so-called service of 'trapping lovers' is another step that helps a person to retaliate against the cheater. It means that I make your lover love me sincerely, then I meet with him until a time when he becomes attached to me and I separate from him, Nhi explained.

When asked whether or not they worry about their work becoming known, both Linh and Nhi confidently said that love testers like them often use many different accounts. They mainly use online photos rather than real names, making it almost impossible to expose them.

Given the testers' stories and some of their customers' posts, it is safe to assume that their age is mostly under 25. They usually use the service to test their lovers, relatives or friends, only a few want to test their wives or husbands.

The reporters try to take the role of a female tester to look for the reasons behind the emerging trend of testing. From the response of a 'customer' named Ngan, the reporters can see that she uses the service only because of feelings and emotions.

This 23-year-old woman wants to 'try it' because she finds that her lover has been secretly sending messages and smiling secretly for the past few days.

When I ask who he's been messaging, he tells me he's been messaging his friend, but you do not talk to friends who grin like that, Ngan said.

In another case, a young girl named My has an even more confusing and strange reason for asking for the service.

Mys boyfriend is studying at another college. She notices that he has been slow to respond to her messages lately, fearing that he may be cheating on her.

There is a lot of promotion of services for testing darlings on social media in Vietnam.

Apart from some customers who want to try the emerging strange service, most of the clients are people who are unsure about their love because of the geographical distance and the attitude of their loved ones.

Some of the reasons are really childish, such as replying to messages too late, giving a heart to an unknown girl, or not showing up on time for online chat.

As for some customers opting for the service to check on their wife or husband, their causes are mainly due to doubtful information they have received from others.

It is a fact that many clients who work full-time or women who are pregnant use the service because it allows them to verify rumors they have heard.

According to Le Minh Huan, a psychologist from An Nhien Education - Psychology Application Center in Ho Chi Minh City, not only young people but those who are not prudent enough in love also utilize this service.

The love of immature people is easily prone to disagreements and conflicts, while their behavior toward each other is sometimes too subjective. The fact that they resort to this kind of service shows that their trust in their sweethearts is extremely fragile, Huan remarked.

The psychologist added that it is not surprising when testers in the past boasted about their high success rate. One of the many reasons why a person may fall into the trap is their relationship may be in question, which would lead them to easily shrug off a normal proposal to go out, Huan said.

A person who errs is likely to be persuaded by another who shows compassion, which then results in a higher success rate among testers.

Despite the high success rate, Huan believes that every single one of them will be a 'failed love.'

If someone decides to use the service to test their sweetheart, they will lose their sincerity and fairness. When the testing service is successful, their relationship will reach an impasse.

Even if the target can overcome the testing situation, other challenges may come for them later on since doubts abound in their relationship, Huan added.

So those who use these services should think about themselves, the psychologist said.

"If they have a sincere love and trust themselves to maintain and improve their relationship, why would they feel inferior?" he questioned.

In his suggestions, Huan encourages doubtful couples to talk openly to each other and look for solutions to maintain their relationship in the best of their capacity.

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Amsterdam's sex workers Thursday protested against the transfer of their famed red light district to an out-of-town "erotic centre", in what is seen as part of a battle for the city's soul.

Many wearing masks to shield their identity, dozens of sex workers marched through the streets towards City Hall, one carrying a banner saying: "If sex workers are not to blame, then why are we being punished?"

Mayor Femke Halsema wants to uproot the red light district and move it out of town to a purpose-built "erotic centre", aiming to rid Amsterdam's image as "sin city" while reducing the number of tourists and petty crime in the area.

But she has found herself up against local residents who do not want the new centre on their doorstep, as well as sex workers who feel they are scapegoats for the criminals and crowds surrounding their neon-lit booths.

Halsema has long opposed the centuries-old red light district, known as De Wallen, with its neon-lined windows in canalside houses where sex workers stand waiting for customers.

The city council has earmarked three possible sites for the erotic centre, which would have 100 rooms for sex workers.

One sex worker who identified herself only as Lucie dismissed the idea as "one big gentrification project".

"It's mainly about combatting the crowds in De Wallen, but that is not the sex workers' fault so I don't see why we should be punished for it," said Lucie, who declined to give her last name.

'We just don't want it'

Even the European Medicines Agency has been caught up in the controversy after it emerged one possible site for the erotic centre was near its headquarters.

The EMA voiced outrage, saying it could affect the safety of people working late at the office.

More than 20,000 have signed a petition against the transfer of the booths, calling instead for better crowd control in the area and greater police surveillance, especially at night.

Mariska Majoor, a former sex worker who now advocates for their rights, said the protests against moving the district had already been going for 16 years and that City Hall kept changing the goalposts.

"The authorities had a plan to reduce part of the brothels already in 2007. Then it was because of the fight against people trafficking and abuse and now it's about the fight against mass tourism," she told AFP.

Moving the red light district is Amsterdam's latest effort to transform its image as a party capital.

It has also launched a "stay away" campaign to discourage stag nights and boozy tourists, which caused a stir in Britain after the council said it would start by targeting British men aged 18-35.

The demonstration also attracted out-of-town locals who might suddenly find themselves living next to the new "erotic centre."

Cynthia Cournuejouls, a 42-year mother living to the south of the city, told AFP: "We don't want the biggest brothel in Europe in our neighbourhood."

"We just don't want it. We want to keep it here."
By Daniel Shin

South Korea has the lowest fertility rate in the world. This phenomenon may be caused by the high economic inequality such as the high cost of living, low wages, lack of quality job opportunities and rising housing unaffordability. Young couples in Korea tend to delay or even give up on having children. These days marriage is like a lifestyle choice to many of them as well.

Low birthrates can cause a socio-economic collapse. Low fertility rates coupled with increased life expectancies lead to a rapidly aging population. The aging population has already bulked up a pressure point for social safety nets in Japan, Korea and China. There shall be rising health care costs, a smaller workforce supply and more liabilities for pension plans. Soon after previous generations retire, the burden of health care and pension provision falls on the shoulders of the working-age young population.

Universities will struggle to maintain their current student body size, impacting tuition revenue and overall funding to maintain their huge overheads. A shrinking pool of potential students due to low birthrates can lead to reduced enrollment numbers. Institutions may have to consider significant budget cuts, reduced faculty positions and limited resources for research and cutting-edge facilities.

Universities must adapt to serve an older demographic or find innovative ways to attract younger students. As birthrates decline, the age distribution of the population changes. With fewer potential students, universities compete fiercely for new student recruiting. Institutions may have to invest more in marketing, scholarships and student support services to attract applicants. Maintaining a vibrant and diversified academic community becomes a challenge with declining enrollment. It is a tough time for higher education indeed.

Universities must play a crucial role in driving scientific progress, technological advancements and societal development. Fewer students do not necessarily mean less research and innovation. Diversifying revenue sources such as partnerships, philanthropy and government grants would play a critical role in the face of demographic shifts. Hence, sustainable funding models are essential for universities to survive.

Research universities create foundations for breakthroughs in various fields such as medicine, chemistry, energy and global peace. Students would benefit by learning from scientific leaders and innovators even if the institutions are kept small as long as they can keep fueling resources for advanced research. Research universities have already invested in cutting-edge labs, libraries and specialized equipment for many decades. Through research, faculty members stay at the forefront of their fields, enriching their teaching with up-to-date knowledge. Research universities, therefore, play a pivotal role in advancing knowledge, fostering innovation and shaping the future.

The landscape of higher education, though, is indeed undergoing significant changes, and the future of universities is a topic of concern in policy-making. More than a hundred private colleges in the United States in recent years have closed, merged with other schools or announced plans to close. If colleges continue to rely heavily on tuition fees for their operating budgets, they wont be able to sustain their operations as declining enrollment leads to reduced revenue, fewer program offerings and ultimately institutions financial instability.

The impending decline in the number of prospective students known as the admission cliff poses a significant challenge to ordinary universities with no specialties. The graduating high school classes are expected to be smaller by population in 2025. Experts anticipate that more colleges may face closure in the coming years. The effects of the pandemic in recent years have exacerbated existing challenges. But systematic challenges such as enrollment declines, financial strain and changing demographics persist and continue to impact universities.

We certainly need an entrepreneurial leader in higher education who can wisely tackle these known and unknown challenges on the horizon. While some universities would still thrive and adapt, many others grapple with significant hurdles. The evolving landscape calls for strategic planning and innovative solutions to ensure the long-term sustainability of higher education institutions.

Education indeed plays a pivotal role in addressing societal challenges. Education would continue to contribute to solving various socio-economic problems. Higher education institutions should not burden society, though. A well-educated workforce would drive economic growth, innovation and national strategic competitiveness. Access to quality education reduces poverty by creating opportunities for employment and entrepreneurship.

It is time to wake up for the educational sector. However, universities should not forget to teach universal values such as respect, cooperation and acceptance so that they can foster understanding, empathy and tolerance in these highly fragmented worlds. Investing in education is an investment, not an expense for a better future for individuals and societies alike. Education must not end in school. It should continue throughout life and universities should grab these opportunities.

Daniel Shin is a venture capitalist and senior luxury fashion executive, overseeing corporate development at MCM, a German luxury brand. He also teaches at Korea University.
General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and President of China Xi Jinping affirmed that China always considers Vietnam a priority in its foreign policy during his meeting with Vietnamese State President Vo Van Thuong in Beijing on Friday.

The meeting was part of President Thuongs China trip to attend the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation from October 17 to 20 at the invitation of Party chief and President Xi.

At the meeting, President Thuong congratulated China on successfully organizing the Belt and Road Forum, with the participation of over 150 government leaders as well as representatives of countries and international organizations.

President Thuong stressed that the Vietnamese Party, state, and people always attach great importance to and consider the consolidation and development of Vietnam-China ties as a strategic choice and a top priority in its foreign policy.

The top Vietnamese leader suggested both sides continue to elevate the Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, promote exchanges and meetings at all levels, and boost practical cooperation with a focus on developing sustainable and balanced economy and trade ties.

President Thuong recommended both nations facilitate transport connectivity, speed up the disbursement of Chinese assistance funds to Vietnam, and jointly remove obstacles facing some cooperation projects.

In addition, he proposed both sides make joint efforts to effectively control and satisfactorily resolve differences at sea, respect each other's legal interests in line with international law and the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), as well as team up with relevant nations to transform the East Vietnam Sea into a waterway of peace, friendship, cooperation, and development.

A meeting between Vietnamese State President Vo Van Thuong and Chinese Party chief and State President Xi Jinping in China, October 2023. Photo: Vietnam News Agency

For his part, President Xi said China supports Vietnams strong development and successful implementation of the industrialization and modernization process.

The Chinese state leader also recalled General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trongs visit to the Friendship International Border Gate, where the latter planted a tree.

President Xi highly appreciated this action, saying that it showed the Vietnamese Party and state have attached importance to the Vietnam-China relations.

He agreed to facilitate exchanges at all levels so as to enhance understanding and build up political trust between the two countries.

He underlined the importance of practical and win-win cooperation, affirming that China is willing to increase imports from Vietnam, including farm produce and industrial items.

Xi suggested both sides ramp up cooperation linked to the Belt and Road Initiative with the Two Corridors, One Belt framework and map out specific cooperation plans, while promoting strategic cooperation in infrastructure development and transport connectivity and sharing experience in reforming state-owned businesses.

Vietnamese State President Vo Van Thuong, Chinese Party chief and State President Xi Jinping, and senior officials of Vietnam and China pose for a group photo in Beijing, China, October 2023. Photo: Vietnam News Agency

The two presidents also discussed major orientations, measures to further strengthen bilateral ties and regional, international issues of mutual concern, adding that they agreed to spur peace, cooperation, and development in the region and around the world.

Vietnamese State President Vo Van Thuong walks at Beijing Airport in China, October 2023. Photo: Vietnam News Agency

In related news, President Thuong and his entourage arrived in Hanoi on Friday, successfully concluding their trip to attend the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.

During his stay in China, the Vietnamese head of state attended many events and met with top officials of China, other countries, and international organizations.

Through the events, the top officials treasured Vietnams role and position and sought to beef up practical cooperation with the Southeast Asian nation, according to Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son.

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Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinhs visit to Saudi Arabia between Wednesday and Friday has created an important premise to enhance the two countries political trust and open up new cooperation opportunities in a region whose GDP is about $2.2 trillion, said Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Do Hung Viet.

This is PM Chinhs first visit to Saudi Arabia since he took office in 2021 and the first trip to the Middle Eastern country by a Vietnamese premier.

PM Chinh and a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation returned to Hanoi on Saturday, successfully wrapping up the trip to Saudi Arabia to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)  Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit and visit this nation.

Assessing the results of the trip, Deputy Minister Viet said the Vietnamese delegation actively participated in the first ASEAN  GCC Summit and made important contributions to the success of the event.

PM Chinh, while delivering a statement at the summit, emphasized the events importance to open a new era where the two blocs would continue to spend efforts to lift their ties to a new height.

The occasion also helped Vietnam tighten its relations with Gulf countries, which have a total GDP of up to US$2.2 trillion.

The Vietnamese government leader suggested that ASEAN and GCC support each other to turn economy, trade, and investment into key pillars of their cooperation and motivations for their development.

The two blocs should soon realize their leaders commitments and enhance their cooperation to jointly maintain a peace and stable business environment.

Deputy Minister Viet said PM Chinh's visit would open up more cooperation opportunities.

During talks with Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud in Riyadh and bilateral meetings with leaders of GCC countries, PM Chinh expressed Vietnams determination to boost the relations with these countries in a practical and effective manner.

Viet informed that the countries highly evaluated Vietnams role, position as well as economic growth prospects.

Saudi Arabia leaders voiced their wish to cooperate with Vietnam in specific projects, while Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani affirmed there was no limit in any cooperation with Vietnam.

They agreed that room for further collaboration with the Southeast Asian country remains ample and Vietnam should widen its doors to attract large investments in both traditional and new sectors, such as digital transformation, energy transition, and response to climate change.

They also expressed their willingness to open their markets to Vietnams agro-fishery products and help Vietnam develop the Halal industry, thus leading to a new way for the development of Vietnams food products. Halal refers to food products and services that adhere to Muslim law.

The two sides were also expected to foster cooperation in tourism, culture, and people-to-people exchanges.

Saudi Arabia expected Vietnam's skilled laborers to join its large projects.

A $620-billion public investment fund of Saudi Arabia was committed to spending further on major infrastructure projects in Vietnam, Viet added.

Many Saudi Arabian groups in the steel, retail, agriculture, and clean energy sectors consider expanding their operations in the Southeast Asian nation as a way to venture into other Southeast Asian markets.

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Police in Thu Duc City under Ho Chi Minh City have ordered the Giang Brothers, a Vietnamese acrobat duo who won world records for head-to-head stair climbing, to come to the police station for questioning as they did a head-to-head balancing act while riding a scooter without wearing helmets in the city.

Giang Quoc Nghiep has worked with police officers, while Giang Quoc Co, Nghieps elder brother, was absent as he was on a working trip to Phu Quoc off southern Kien Giang Province.

A backstage video showed that the two were wearing safety harness and receiving staff support during their performance.

The video was recorded two months ago.

Police concluded that the video was made for an electric scooter product advertising campaign.

The Giang Brothers do a head-to-head balancing act while riding a scooter in Ho Chi Minh City.

However, when the video was uploaded to social media, the image of the safety harness and backstage scenes were cut so it has aroused controversial opinions among netizens.

Many people criticized the brothers for doing the dangerous act and not wearing helmets while riding the scooter.

However, some others said that the Giang Brothers are circus artists and have won many prizes for their head-to-head balancing act.

Co also told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that he and Nghiep did the head-to-head balancing act while riding the vehicle while they were filmed for a scooter advertising campaign.

They performed the act with the support of other people.

A representative of the electric motorbike brand on Saturday afternoon affirmed the filming of the acrobats act to advertise the cruise control feature of its electric scooter.

A video screenshot shows barriers erected at two sides of the road section where the two acrobats were filmed.

Co and Nghiep earned a reputation for themselves over daredevil gymnastics routines that booked them a spot amongst the finalists of Britains Got Talent 2018.

In late December 2021, they broke a world record when smoothly climbing 100 steps in 53 seconds at the Saint Marys Cathedral in Girona, Spain, 10 steps more than their previous record set at the same location five years earlier.

They continued breaking their record after performing a head-to-head balancing walk in Milan, Italy on February 3, 2022.

They successfully walked up 10 stairs to a height of two meters, then passed through a crossbar 0.4 meters wide and 10 meters long, and then walked down 10 stairs.

The backstage video shows the Giang Brothers doing a head-to-head balancing act while riding a scooter in Ho Chi Minh City.

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Catch up on the news in Vietnam today:

Politics

-- Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinhs visit to Saudi Arabia between Wednesday and Friday has created an important premise to enhance the two countries political trust and open up new cooperation opportunities, said Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Do Hung Viet. This is PM Chinhs first visit to Saudi Arabia since he took office in 2021 and the first trip to the Middle Eastern country by a Vietnamese premier.

Society

-- One to two storms and tropical depressions are forecast to lash the East Vietnam Sea within the next month, affecting Vietnams mainland, an official of the national weather center informed on Saturday.

-- Police in Hai Phong City, northern Vietnam are investigating a confrontation in which a karaoke bar employee stabbed a male customer to death and injured two others on Saturday, a leader of the municipal police told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

-- A project to upgrade and expand a 13.8-kilometer National Highway 9 section in Quang Tri Province, located in north-central Vietnam, has been at a standstill for nearly one year as the provincial authorities have yet to find an alternative capital resource for the project after the World Bank stopped allocating capital last year.

-- Police in Vinh Linh District, Quang Tri Province, north-central Vietnam launched legal proceedings against and arrested a 51-year-old man for three months for allegedly raping an 85-year-old female neighbor on October 13, police officers reported on Saturday.

-- Netizens have voiced controversial opinions about a video in which the Giang brothers, a Vietnamese acrobat duo who won a world record for head-to-head stair climbing, did a head-to-head balancing act while riding a motorbike without wearing helmets in Ho Chi Minh City although they explained that they were filmed for a motorbike product advertising campaign.

-- A woman was fined VND17 million (US$693) and had her driver's license revoked for six months for driving against traffic on an expressway connecting Hanoi and northern mountainous Lao Cai Province on Thursday morning, the local traffic police said on Saturday.

Business

-- Vietnamese electric vehicle maker VinFast said on Friday it has entered into a share subscription of up to $1 billion with U.S.-based fund Yorkville Advisors as it seeks to fund expansion in overseas markets, Reuters reported.

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A woman was fined VND17 million (US$693) and had her driver's license revoked for six months for driving against traffic on an expressway connecting Hanoi and northern mountainous Lao Cai Province on Thursday morning, the local traffic police said on Saturday.

The driver, D.T.A.D., residing in Lao Cai Province, attributed her violation to the fact that she was not versed in the road.

In particular, at about 10:59 am on Thursday, she was driving a car against traffic in a lane close to the median strip, causing many other drivers to brake their vehicles abruptly to avoid her car.

The car driver (R) at the police station. Photo: Hong Quang / Tuoi Tre

She was traveling on a road section that allows a top speed of 100 kilometers per hour.

Her act was recorded by a black box of another car on the expressway.

The video about her reckless driving has sparked public concerns after it was uploaded to social media.

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Anthony Bernard: '2024 is a year of elections.' Victoria Jones/PA.

Good news and hope comes from the great majority of ordinary everyday people responding positively to the mayhem and tragedies in the media.

The grey army needs to be re-activated. Many people stay silent, hoping for a balance between activists and biased reporters. Larry the cat in 10 Downing Street has seen off four Prime Ministers and has the Sunak labrador in hand, while President Biden's dog Commander was retired after biting 11 members of staff.

With a general election coming up, questions shift from pointing out problems to considering who would be best at getting things right. Potholes, sewage, global warming, the NHS, the war in Ukraine and now atrocities in Israel with the need for a peaceful way forward. In our democracy, anyone with answers can step forward, but only the brave will apply and only the stubborn will prevail.

2024 is a year of elections. Vladimir Putin will win in Russia; the media there tells everyone that he is doing a wonderful job. UK media highlights how everything is wrong, and so assume Rishi Sunak will lose. Jo Biden and Donald Trump in the USA both have committed followings, but the decision will be left to undecided voters. Emmanuel Macron is perceived in France as a disaster, but Marie LePen may be a worse bad choice. Germany, as usual, does not give opportunity for humorous comment. The Israeli government has popular support to use overwhelming military might against terrorists, but risks losing the chance of eventual peace along with the lives of millions of civilians.

Activists are only a small minority, but their ideas are amplified by social media, TV and the newspapers. Our tendency to highlight problems is positive, helping us to learn from mistakes and improve things. Activists bring to the surface problems that should not have been buried, which is good, but often have very misguided solutions. "Stop Oil" is my favourite. It is our consumption in travel and heating which causes the problem, not the availability of oil wells.

Story continues

Meanwhile, many things run really well - including support for the needy in our generally affluent society. Volunteer workers provide help through people pitching in and giving donations, which is excellent. Government support is just the rest of us forced to pitch in through taxes, whether we like it or not. Voluntary organisations are usually quite efficient; they collapse very quickly if they are not! Government programmes are often inefficient, whether local councils or at Westminster.

The larger the organisation the bigger the gap between bosses and the workplace. Top people become confused between getting the job done and the importance of being in charge. In a voluntary organisation, the top person may be only too pleased to find someone else to take over! A society depending on volunteers may be stronger than politicians want. Readiness to work together in a crisis is a particularly British characteristic, happily adopted by most immigrants.

The small childcare team in Devon County Council is just one example. They work with partner agencies to ensure health, education, love and affection for nearly 1,400 children in council care, helping them to realise their dreams, goals and aspirations. This is not politics, it is individual staff and volunteers working with others, at our behest, to help those in need.

This may seem trivial, but is more important to those children than the rest of world affairs.
Beijing and Manila traded blame for two collisions Sunday between Chinese vessels and Philippine boats on a resupply mission to Filipino troops on a remote outpost in the disputed South China Sea.

The incidents happened near Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands, a hotly contested region where Beijing deploys ships to assert its claims over almost the entire sea.

A Philippine government task force said the "dangerous blocking manoeuvers of China Coast Guard vessel 5203 caused it to collide with the Armed Forces of the Philippines-contracted indigenous resupply boat" about 25 kilometres (15 miles) from Second Thomas Shoal.

China said the "slight collision" happened after the resupply boat ignored "multiple warnings and deliberately passed through law enforcement in an unprofessional and dangerous manner", state broadcaster CCTV reported, citing the foreign ministry.

In another incident, a Philippine coastguard vessel escorting the routine resupply mission was "bumped" by what the Philippine task force described as a "Chinese Maritime Militia vessel".

China, however, accused the Philippine boat of "deliberately" stirring up trouble by reversing in a "premeditated manner" into a Chinese fishing vessel.

Video released by the Philippine military showed the bow of the Chinese coastguard ship and the stern of the smaller resupply vessel briefly touching.

The Philippine vessel continues on its course.

No one on either Philippine vessel was injured, but the supply boat involved in the collision was damaged, the National Security Council said in a statement, citing the coastguard.

US condemns 'latest disruption'

(AFP)



Read more on FRANCE 24 English



Read also:

Philippines summons Chinese ambassador over water-cannoned boats in South China Sea

US, Philippines launch largest-ever joint military drills across disputed waters
A resident with a suitcase walks through flood water in Retford in Nottinghamshire, after Storm Babet battered the UK, causing widespread flooding and high winds. The Environment Agency has warned that flooding from major rivers could continue until Tuesday, amid widespread disruption caused by Storm Babet which is posing a 'risk to life' in some areas. Photo: Joe Giddens/PA Wire

Two severe flood warnings were today (Sunday) in place around the River Idle, near Retford in Nottinghamshire, meaning risk of death or serious injury, as water levels continue to rise.

It comes as police said the death of a woman in her 80s at a flat in Derbyshire was believed to be flood-related, taking the number of people who have died since the storm hit the UK to at least four.

The River Idle is expected to reach record levels as flooding continues, the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Local Resilience Forum (LRF) said, with 200 properties asked to evacuate by Nottinghamshire Fire Service.

The Environment Agency has warned that major rivers could still be flooded until Tuesday and train services are disrupted across parts of Scotland, Yorkshire and East Anglia, with some routes still flooded.

In Ireland further status orange and yellow rain warnings have been issued for areas in the south of the country.

An orange warning of "heavy and persistent rain" in counties Kilkenny, Wexford and Waterford comes after the country has been battered with heavy rain and flooding over the last week.

Potential flooding, dangerous travel conditions and poor visibility has been warned as possible in those areas from 4am on Monday to 4am on Tuesday.

Met Eireann has also issued a status yellow warning for counties Carlow, Kildare, Laois, Longford, Offaly, Westmeath, Wicklow and Roscommon from 4am on Monday to 4am on Tuesday.

A separate status yellow rain warning has also been issued for counties Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary and Galway from 6pm on Sunday to 6pm on Monday.

Many areas, particularly in Cork and Waterford, are still counting the costs after severe rain and flooding last week.

The Irish government has opened a 10 million euro fund to help homes and businesses repair the damage.
Genres : Action, Adventure, Thriller

Starring : Tom Cruise, Vanessa Kirby, Simon Pegg

Director : Christopher McQuarrie

Plot Synopsis

Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his IMF team embark on their most dangerous mission yet: To track down a terrifying new weapon that threatens all of humanity before it falls into the wrong hands. With the fate of the world at stake, a deadly race around the globe begins. Confronted by a mysterious, all-powerful enemy, Ethan is forced to consider that nothing can matter more than his mission - not even the lives of those he cares about most.





Commentary by director Christopher McQuarrie and editor Eddie Hamilton McQuarrie and Hamilton take viewers through each compelling scene with in-depth commentary.

Abu Dhabi Explore the exotic filming locations in the desert and at the international airport and discover how each thrilling sequence was shot.

Rome Take a behind-the-scenes look at the thrilling car chase through Italy's historic capital, as Tom Cruise's driving skills are pushed to the limit while handcuffed to Hayley Atwell!

Venice See the breathtaking city of Venice as it's never been shown on film. Plus, witness the cast's dedication and commitment to their training as they prepare to get "Mission Ready."

Freefall An extended behind-the-scenes look at one of the biggest stunts in cinema history. Watch never-before-seen footage of the rigorous training as Tom launches a motorcycle off a cliff.

Speed Flying Join Tom and the crew as they explain the various training techniques involved in pulling off the dangerous speed flying stunts in the film.

Train See how the climactic train sequence was captured on film. From building an actual train from scratch to crashing it using practical effects, you don't want to miss this!

Deleted Shots Montage Director Christopher McQuarrie and editor Eddie Hamilton share some of the breathtaking, never-before-seen footage that didn't make the final film.
By Steven L. Shields

I began learning the Korean language almost 50 years ago. Perhaps the most basic error I made, and the error of my language teacher, was to spell out Korean words in the familiar alphabet of many European languages: Latin or Roman. Only later did I begin to understand the simple beauty of Hangeul and its straightforward representation of Korean language phonetics. Most people can learn to read Hangeul with only a few hours of work. Writing takes a bit more practice, and although I have been reading and writing Hangeul for most of my life, my handwriting is poor (but then, my English handwriting is no better  I am impatient). With the advent of computers, typing in English or Hangeul is much faster and more accurate for my lazy hands.

King Sejong tried to revolutionize education in his kingdom 580 years ago. His first handbook, promulgating Hangeul in the modern era, was a revolutionary writing system intended to make literacy egalitarian. But the system was too progressive, too far ahead of its time. Government officials, functionaries and the upper class of Korea  those who ran things in the Joseon Kingdom  outright rejected the writing system. They could see they would lose their grip on power if most people could learn to read and write. They glorified their noble status, which allowed them to spend a lifetime studying without working. Work was beneath them, they believed, best left to servants, enslaved people, and the lower classes (about 99 percent of the population).

The king died just a few years later, undoubtedly disappointed that his remarkable innovation in linguistics had been relegated to the dusty shelves of the royal library. Over time, women began using the script. Writers of popular fiction used the script, fueling a comparatively widespread publishing industry in the 17th century (1600s). Korean poets and lyricists adopted the script also.

By the modern era, late in the Joseon Kingdom and Korean Empire, the government and public widely used Hangeul. The first Hangeul/English bilingual newspaper, Tongnip Shingmun (The Independent), began publication in 1896. The widespread Protestant missionary work in Korea, conducted by English-speaking Western European men and women, many from the United States, Canada, England, and Australia, promoted education through Hangeul.

Important scholar-missionaries quickly learned the language, adopted Hangeul as the primary writing system for their work in education and church, and began translating the Bible. The names of the Bible translation committee are well-known to most Koreans: James Scarth Gale, Henry G. Appenzeller, Horace G. Underwood, William B. Scranton, and William D. Reynolds. Underwood and Gale, especially, became skilled linguists, though Underwoods legacy was cut short by his early death in 1916.

Gales work on the Bible translation has influenced all following Korean Bible translations into the modern era. Gale and Underwood published one of the first dictionaries of the Korean language in 1890. Gale produced several editions of his Korean-English dictionary, starting with the first edition in 1897. A second edition was published in 1914. Gales dictionaries continued through several more editions over the first half of the 20th century. His standard for the Korean language was replaced by a new dictionary in 1968, using updated language usage and linguistic scholarship that had been developing since Gale died in 1937. The 1968 dictionary, built on Gales impeccable scholarly foundation, quickly became the standard for all subsequent lexicography. The dictionary was published by the pre-eminent Minjungseogwan (later Minjungseorim) publishing house. As a young learner in the 1970s, this dictionary was my essential daily companion.

James Scarth Gale was a prolific writer and translator. The first work of Western literature, "The Pilgrims Progress," was issued in 1893. Gale wrote textbooks for middle and high schools and translated dozens of other books, including his independent translation of the Bible in 1925. He published the first English-language translation of the Cloud Dream of the Nine in 1922. He wrote for newspapers and magazines both in Korea and worldwide. The sheer volume of his original and translation writing fills dozens of pages of bibliography. Yet, his unpublished works exceed his published works by thousands of pages. Most are housed in Canada at the University of Toronto.

Had both Horace G. Underwood and James Scarth Gale survived until after the defeat of the Japanese Empire in 1945, they both surely would have been given high honor by the new Republic of Korea government of Syngman Rhee, who was their good friend (both men having been Rhees teachers and spiritual mentors). As fate would have it, among those first-generation missionary-scholar pioneers, only Homer B. Hulbert lived until the formation of the Korean Republic, but only barely. On a visit to Seoul in 1949, at age 86, Hulbert succumbed to pneumonia and was buried in Seoul alongside many of his former colleagues.

King Sejongs goal has become a reality beyond even his wildest imagination. Not only have the Korean people embraced the script, but it has been hailed by linguists everywhere and untold thousands worldwide have also taken to learning the Korean language.





Rev. Steven L. Shields (slshields@gmail.com) has lived in Korea for many years, beginning in the 1970s. He is the president of the Royal Asiatic Society Korea. He served as copy editor of The Korea Times in 1977. The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not reflect The Korea Times editorial stance.
HA NOI  The government has recently given the green light to the Ministry of Finance's proposal to extend the VAT cuts of 2 per cent into the first half of 2024.

The VAT cuts were originally intended to stay in force between July 1 and December 31, 2023, but the slow recovery of demand has led to a re-evaluation of the fiscal stimulus. By keeping the cuts in place for six more months, the government aims to kick consumer spending into high gear to reinvigorate the economy.

However, the VAT cuts of 2 per cent are believed to be insignificant to have a real impact on consumer behaviours, according to a survey by Nguoi Lao ong Newspaper.

Nguyen Trung Thanh, a respondent, said every time he ordered takeaways from his favourite restaurant, he paid in cash. As the restaurant kept food prices fixed year-round and did not issue invoices after purchase, he had no clue about whether he was entitled to the VAT cuts or not.

Diep Thanh Tuyen, Manager of the Bong Sung Restaurant Chains, said most of her consumers did not care about the money they could save under the VAT cuts because they dismissed the amount as insignificant.

Lu Nguyen Xuan Vu, Director-General of Xuan Nguyen Group JSC, took a honey bottle of VN100,000 ($4.1) as an example to support the statement. He said a VAT cut of VN2,000 on the bottle was so marginal that it would make no difference to consumers' buying decisions.

"The minor price difference cannot provide enough motivation for customers to make a purchase," said Vu.

He urged the government to elevate the VAT cuts to 5 per cent to truly sway consumers to loosen their purse strings.

Nguyen inh Cung, former Head of the Central Institute for Economic Management, went so far as to urge the government to extend the VAT cuts to late 2025 to boost demand.

He underlined the need to deploy more fiscal measures rather than monetary measures to stimulate the economy for the reason that "few such measures had been put in place to support firms".

Economist Can Van Luc called on the government to accelerate the delivery of VAT refunds to lift firms out of their financial difficulties and sustain economic growth. In his estimation, a one-per-cent increase in domestic demand can create a 0.2-per-cent increase in GDP.

According to the General Statistics Office of Viet Nam, total retail sales of consumer goods and services hit VN524.6 trillion ($21.4 billion) in September, up 2.4 per cent month-by-month, indicating a recovery in demand.

However, after the back-to-school season, the recovery began to slow down due to families cutting back on spending and a growing number of workers facing the axes. Firms tried every means to boost sales but got little results.

"Because of that, firms need more favourable policies from the government to get through the difficulties and expand their commercial footprint globally," Vu said.  VNS
SON LA  National Assembly (NA) Chairman Vuong inh Hue on Saturday cut the ribbon to inaugurate a VN260 billion (US$10.59 million) coffee processing factory in Mai Son District, Son La Province, which is expected to help boost the growth of the coffee industry in the northern mountainous province.

The event was part of activities held within the first Son La Coffee Festival themed Arabica, Son La coffee - Taste of Northwestern Region.

Run by Son La Coffee Processing JSC, the factory - the biggest of its kind in the northwest - has a capacity of 50,000 tonnes of fresh coffee berries, equivalent to 12,500 tonnes of coffee beans per year, with wastewater and solid waste treatment systems.

The facility is expected to help solve existing problems in coffee development in Son La, contributing to boosting the locality's industrial production and export revenue, creating more jobs and increasing incomes for local labourers, and promoting the local socio-economic development, said Lo Minh Hung, Permanent Deputy Secretary of the Son La Party Committee.



At the same time, it is hoped to facilitate the linkage and cooperation between coffee farmers, businesses and cooperatives in Son La, creating a sustainable coffee production and sale chain in Son La and the northwestern mountainous region as a whole, bringing more benefits to local farmers, he said.

The same day, the NA leader and his entourage visited Arabica coffee farms in Hoang Van Thu village in Son La City, where he talked to local farmers on the cultivation and harvesting process of coffee and attended a coffee harvesting competition in the village.

On the occasion, the top legislator also presented gifts to policy beneficiaries and revolution contributors in the village.  VNS
HA NOI Foreign investors' net selling was VN4.6 trillion in September, the sixth consecutive month of net selling by foreign investors on the Vietnamese stock market, according to the State Securities Commission (SSC).

In the first nine months of 2023, foreign investors net sold VN11.46 trillion.

By the end of September 2023, the Vietnamese stock market had 2,237 products of stocks, bonds, ETFs, fund certificates and CW, down 0.89 per cent compared to August but up 3.47 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Among them, there are 394 stock codes listed on HOSE, down six codes compared to September 2022; 330 codes on HNX, down 11 codes. Meanwhile, the number of codes on UPCoM increased from 857 to 859 codes. Compared to last year, the number of bonds, ETFs, fund certificates, and CW increased by 40 products.

Current market capitalisation reached nearly VN7.97 quadrillion; down 3.27 per cent over the previous month, but up 14.32 per cent over the same period last year. Of which, HOSE has a capitalisation of more than VN4.62 quadrillion; HNX VN310.7 trillion, UPCoM more than VN1.07 quadrillion. The remaining are government bonds and corporate bonds of VN1.96 quadrillion.

Currently, the number of investor accounts is 7.8 million; up by 2.26 per cent over the previous month and by 13.43 per cent over the same period last year. Of these, domestic investors account for 7.8 million accounts (individual accounts over 7.76 million; institutional accounts over 15,700 accounts); foreign investors have 44,700 accounts (40,200 individuals and 4,506 institutional accounts).

Domestic individual investors currently account for 99.2 per cent of accounts.

Regarding institutional investors, by the end of August 2023, there were 104 investment funds with total net assets (NAV) of VN75.09 trillion, up by 28 funds compared to the same period last year but down by VN9.1 trillion in net assets. VNS
HA NOI  Acclaimed Austrian chef Stephan Zoisl, who runs a restaurant with an innovative dining concept in Singapore, has shared his passion for food and creativity to every dish he creates with connoisseurs in Ha Noi.

Billed as a European omakase, his multi-award winning restaurant Chefs Table by Chef Stephan offers a unique dining concept where visitors are given a list of available produce for the day. Then they can select any from the 28 items that they would like to be used in their four, six, or eight-course menu.

From there, chef Zoisl and his team will create the courses. His ingredients-driven cuisine combines elements of European and Asian flavours, resulting in a fusion of creative dishes.

For two special dinners in Ha Noi, he has designed a seven-course menu, using Vietnamese spices to heightening the flavour of food creations, alongside other premium bases such as lobster, caviar, monkfish, truffle, and Wagyu beef.

I have used Vietnamese ingredients such as coconut cream, lemongrass, chili and ginger, to create the flavour that local palette is famous for, he said.

The talented chef also treated the local connoisseurs with his signature dessert  Chefs Heritage Kaiserschmarrn  the Austrian style Emperor souffle pancake served with vanilla ice cream and cherry compote.

According to the talented chef, alongside the quality of food ingredients, appropriate cookware also plays an important role in his creativity.

Being a professional chef, I have been searching for products that match my passion for cooking to elevate the favour," he added.

"Conducting a cooking school, being also in kitchen and operating a restaurant, I need to find the appropriate cookware.

He revealed that he has been loyal with WMF  a German long-history tableware manufacturer, over the past decade.

Coming back to Viet Nam after his first visit 13 years ago, chef Zoisl said that he has witnessed the massive development of the country along with the culinary culture blossoms to the point that European countries also have pay attention to.

The celebrated chef also said that in the world of fine dining, the taste and the quality of the food is not enough anymore, but customers also need the experience.

The factors that make up the experience is the environment and the tableware such as cutlery and glassware that can perfect the whole aspects of the fine dining, he said.

Zoisl also explained the reason why he is loyal with the German tableware manufacturer, who celebrates its 170 anniversary this year.

They are able to accommodate this important factor, bring several and variety of arrangements that can play this role effectively, he said.

Born in Austria, where he started to work in the kitchen of his fathers restaurant at the age of 13. With those first-hand experience, he then began his career working in top restaurants in Europe, including several Michelin-starred establishments. He has gained recognition for his culinary expertise and innovative approach to cooking.  VNS
BEIJING  President Vo Van Thuong and his delegations trip to China to attend the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) has been a success, achieving set goals and contributing effectively to the enforcement of foreign policy set by the 13th National Party Congress, said Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son.

Son said it marked the first multilateral diplomatic activity of President Thuong this year.

Throughout the forum and sideline activities, Viet Nam has affirmed its consistent foreign policy of being a friend, a reliable partner and a responsible member of the international community, and clear stance on support for multilateralism and initiatives that promote peace, cooperation and development in the region and the world, he said.

According to Son, Viet Nam, together with other countries, shared experiences and discussed cooperation orientations for emerging and widely-concerned topics such as digital transformation, green development, and economic connectivity, contributing to building world and regional economies that are multi-connected, open, inclusive, sustainable, with people at the centre.

The Vietnamese ministries and agencies also had the opportunity to further enhance cooperation with partners from various countries. The outcomes of this forum will support the implementation of Viet Nam's "Two Corridors, One Belt" framework and China's "Belt and Road Initiative".

During the two-day forum, President Thuong met with many heads of state and governments, the UN Secretary-General, and leaders of several international organisations, during which partners expressed their appreciation for Viet Nam's role and position, and their desire to boost substantive cooperation with Viet Nam, expand and deepen ties across economy-trade, sci-tech, education, cultural and people-to-people exchange.

Son said it was also the first time President Thuong had engaged in bilateral meetings with high-ranking Chinese Party and State leaders as head of the Vietnamese State. These meetings were part of a series of high-level interactions between leaders of both Parties and countries since the beginning of this year in the context of celebrations for the 15th anniversary of Viet Nam-China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.

In particular, the visit contributed to further concretising the visit of historic significance by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong to China in October 2022.

Specifically, he said it has maintained the upward trend of and added new positive momentum to the stable and healthy development of Viet Nam-China relationship, raising common awareness of major measures to cultivate substantial cooperation in various areas, and continuing to bolster traditional friendship and strengthening the foundation of public opinions conducive to the development of bilateral ties.

The minister further said that both sides agreed to seriously follow the common perceptions reached by top leaders, adhere to international law, effectively manage and properly handle differences, contributing to maintaining peace and stability in the region.  VNS
HA NOI  Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinhs participation at the first summit of the ASEAN-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Saudi Arabia has set the foundation for enhanced political trust and new cooperation opportunities, according to deputy foreign minister o Hung Viet.

Speaking to the press about the results of the visit, deputy foreign minister Viet said that Viet Nam has actively and positively contributed to the success of the summit, strengthening ties with countries in the region which have a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of US$2.2 trillion.

This event marked the first summit between ASEAN and the GCC since they established official relations in 1990, and is now expected to be held every two years.

PM Chinh requested that ASEAN and GCC cooperate for growth, with economy, trade and investment as the key pillars.

The ASEAN-GCC cooperation also needs to be institutionalised with regular, practical and effective mechanisms for each sector, realising the commitments between the leaders.

He also underlined multilateral cooperation for a peaceful and stable environment for development.

This is also the first visit by a high-level Vietnamese official after 13 years, deputy foreign minister Viet said, highlighting the importance of the trip in paving the way for new collaboration opportunities.

Viet Nam has also expressed the determination to deepen cooperation relations with Saudi Arabias Crown Prince and Prime Ministers, as well as leaders of GCC countries, he said.

They gave high regard to Viet Nams role, position and potential for growth, while the Emir of Qatar said that there is no limit to cooperation with Viet Nam, Viet added.

Gulf countries believe that there is immense room for cooperation with Viet Nam, and the Asian country can further open its door to attract large investments in traditional industries as well as new sectors such as digital and green transformation, energy transition and climate change response, among others.

They are also open to promoting trade and opening the markets for Vietnamese agricultural and aquatic produce, especially in regard to halal food which is considered a new path for Viet Nams food industry.

Labour cooperation and the participation of high-skilled Vietnamese workers in Saudi Arabias big projects are also major areas for collaboration, in addition to tourism, cultural and people exchanges with gulf countries.

The Vietnamese deputy foreign minister said that to promote capital sources into Viet Nam, Saudi Arabias $620 billion public investment fund has committed to dedicate more resources for Viet Nams major infrastructure development projects.

Multiple Saudi Arabian corporations will also consider expanding investment operations in Viet Nam in the fields of steel manufacturing, retail, agriculture and clean energy, and hope to expand their business networks to ASEAN countries through Viet Nam, said deputy foreign minister Viet.  VNS
Hyundai Way author discusses carmaker's adaptation in EV era

By Baek Byung-yeul

Hyundai Motor Group is moving from being a fast follower to a game changer by leading innovation through a fast transition to electric vehicles (EVs) in the era of autonomous driving and electrification. In addition, the company is transforming its role in mobility, which is expanding to include robots, air taxis, purpose-built vehicles and hydrogen cars, according to Don Southerton, a business consultant and author, Thursday.

Southerton, CEO of U.S.-based consulting firm Bridging Culture Worldwide and author of Hyundai Way: Hyundai Speed, a book dealing with the Korean automotive groups business strategy, also credited the groups second leader Chairman Chung Euisun, with bringing the carmaker to a market-leading position by implementing changes faster than its competitors at a time when the industry is being disrupted.

For decades, Hyundai Motor Group was seen as a fast follower. That has transitioned as Hyundai among automakers is now seen as a game changer, innovator and forward-leaning company, Southerton said in an email interview with The Korea Times.

In basic terms, a fast follower closely watches and tracks a brand leader, and then quickly emulates. This eliminates many risks. It is a very common business model. But in highly competitive industries like automotive, the brand leader holds an advantage and will be seen by customers as offering something new and exciting, the consultant added.

The consultant and author has been associated with the automotive group since 2003 as he provided Korean cultural training and workplace insights to Western teams of Hyundai Motors U.S. affiliates. He has provided workshops and learning content to Hyundai Motor teams globally as well as its affiliates such as Kia and Hyundai Mobis.

He recently released the third edition of his book Hyundai Way: Hyundai Speed, which shows how Hyundai Motor Group is leading the way through agile transformation amid the rapidly changing conditions in the automotive industry.

Notwithstanding, Hyundai Motor Groups new ventures in robotics, urban air mobility and robot taxis autonomous driving technology, I feel Hyundai, Kia and Genesis in their e-vehicle roll-out have set themselves apart from the competition  especially in exciting new designs, Southerton said in response to a question on what makes the automotive group the most innovative compared to its rivals.

Southerton raised some key questions automakers must address amid the unpredictable conditions faced by the industry: How fast will consumer demand for EVs, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and autonomous vehicles hit critical mass? Also, how fast can Hyundai transition in Korea, and other key markets around the world to this next generation of vehicles as consumers broadly adopt EVs and increasing levels of autonomous mobility become practical?" He further noted that the technologies being developed come at a huge cost.

He still evaluates the automotive group positively because these moves are in line with the automaker's rebranding as a mobility technology company and the growing importance of digital technology in the auto industry.

When asked what strategy Hyundai Motor Group needs to take to compete with U.S. EV giant Tesla, Southerton said, Tesla, as the first mover, has a strong advantage over the entire market. Hyundai Motor Group has made inroads, as I mentioned, by offering sharp-style designs and models in its extended lineup of EVs.

Learning from predecessors

Southerton also said Chairman Chung has been succeeding the automotive groups philosophy from his predecessor  his grandfather and Hyundai Group founder grandfather Chung Ju-yungs can do leadership and his father and Hyundai Motor Groups first chairman Chung Mong-koos quality-first management.

By learning from his grandfather and father, Chung quickly determined that pursuing the right changes at the right time was the path to sustainable growth for the automotive group, said Southerton.

Hyundais early management style was influenced by Founder Chung Ju-yung and his charismatic personal can do leadership. Management teams of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, in turn, modeled their style after the founder. In the wake of global expansion during the late 1990s and 2000s, successor Chairman Chung Mong-koos leadership influenced Hyundais management style. His style, too, evolved as the company became a highly integrated and vertical global 'quality-first' automaker in markets worldwide, Southerton said.

Change is now again well underway with the 3rd generation of family leadership under Chairman Chung Euisun. I believe he has learned that Hyundai must transition with the times. For example, Hyundai and its sister companies Kia and Genesis are becoming more agile and streamlined companies, he added.

Carmaker needs to navigate labor issues wisely

Speaking of things that the automotive group needs to resolve for sustainable growth, Southerton said the carmaker is urged to navigate labor issues wisely at a time when automobile companies require less manpower.

With more EVs hitting the road, cars will require significantly fewer parts, which consequently means a reduced workforce is essential, and the backlash from employees who face being laid off by the company is expected to be even stronger.

Hyundai Motor Group has faced challenges in negotiating with labor unions in Korea. This year, Hyundai Motor succeeded in negotiating wages with its union without a strike for the fifth consecutive year, but Kia struggled to reach a deal with its union.

Kia went through multiple rounds of negotiations before reaching a tentative agreement with the union on Oct. 17. The union demanded that the company give priority hiring opportunities to children of retirees and longtime employees with 25 years or more of service in addition to wage increases. In the end, the two sides were able to reach a tentative agreement only after the union gave up its demand for priority hiring of employees children.

Regarding this, he said how well the company mends its relationship with the union will determine whether the groups future strategy can be successfully executed.

There is a transition from manufacturing internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to EVs. That said the unions had similar past concerns when Hyundai Motor Group moved from a focus on sedans to transitioning to SUVs. The bottom line will be how best to transition workers from ICE to EVs with job guarantees and training for workers in the new technologies and opportunities, Southerton said.
HA NOI  On the 93rd Viet Nam Womens Day (October 20, 1930-2023) and the 50th anniversary of Viet Nam-Australia diplomatic relations (1973-2023), Australian Ambassador to Viet Nam Andrew Goledzinowski reviewed the fruitful partnership on gender equality with Viet Nam.

According to the ambassador, since 2010, the two countries have explored areas of common interest to promote gender equality through development cooperation.

He recalled that at that time, Viet Nam was ranked 72nd out of 134 countries in the World Economic Forum's 2010 Gender Gap Report and 33rd in terms of women's economic opportunities and participation. This is an impressive achievement for a country that just escaped poverty and war, the diplomat said.

In 2015, Viet Nam succeeded in reducing its birth mortality rate by two-thirds and was considered a global success story for gender equality in terms of access to basic education.

Cooperation between the two countries in the early stage focused on women's access to essential service. Australia supported MSI Reproductive Choices in expanding access to health services in rural districts and connecting women in rural areas to information and products related to sexual and reproductive health. It also assisted CARE International in carrying out microfinance and income generation projects to improve livelihoods of women in rural areas.

During this decade, the Australia Awards Scholarship programme encouraged Vietnamese women to pursue their higher education in Australia. In 2014, the number of women receiving scholarships surpassed that of men, which has continued until now. Australia's educational partnership with the Viet Nam Center for Gender Studies and Women's Leadership (GeLEAD) at the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics designed extracurricular programmes to support women's participation in leadership programmes.

Ambassador Goledzinowski noted that the launch of Australia's Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment Strategy in 2016 enhanced the two sides cooperation on gender equality. Gender equality projects have become larger in scale and reach, and bilateral partnerships developed strongly.

He shared that Australia has supported Viet Nam in amending the 2007 Law on Domestic Violence Prevention and Control. He went on to say that Viet Nam is recognised for the economic mobility of women, so women's economic empowerment is a strong area of cooperation between the two countries. Australia supports enhancing the role of women in production and market development, especially in agriculture and tourism in the two northern mountainous provinces of Lao Cai and Son La, while removing their barriers to information, networks, and technology.

The ambassador noted that Australia, along with Viet Nam, is currently paying attention to gender aspects in high priority agendas such as climate change and energy transition, digitalisation and innovation, trade agreements, among others. By highlighting gender implications of policy choices in these areas, decisions can expand access to better opportunities and protect against negative impacts on Vietnamese girls and women. Supporting gender equality enhances the country's prosperity and stability, he said.

He concluded that Australia pledges to cooperate with Viet Nam to continue to promote gender equality and move towards equality for the two countries.  VNS
SON LA  The first Son La Coffee Festival opened in Son La City of the northern mountainous province with the same name on October 20, with the presence of National Assembly Chairman Vuong inh Hue.

Nguyen Huu ong, Secretary of the provincial Partys Committee, said the festival is an important event designed for Son La and other northwestern provinces to introduce their Arabica coffee and honour coffee growers, processors and traders, contributing to promoting the value and the position of Son La Arabica coffee in domestic and foreign markets.

The cultivation of Arabica coffee in Son La began in the late 1980s, and the area under the plant expanded from 278ha in 1990 to over 20,000 ha in 2023, accounting for 41.2 per cent of the countrys Arabia coffee cultivation area. Of which, 18,000 ha have obtained sustainable farming certification. Son La coffee has been exported to 20 countries in the European Union, North America, the Middle East and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Addressing the event, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan emphasised the importance of cooperation and linkage in developing a sustainable value chain for the coffee industry in Son La.

The festival with the theme of "Arabica, Son La Coffee - flavour of the northwest mountains and forests" will last until October 23.

It features a coffee gala, a farmers competition, a trade fair, the inauguration of investment projects in the coffee sector and Cascara tea production lines in Mai Son District, and a conference on coffee trade connections.  VNS
By Tran Khanh An

Cuc Phuong National Park in northern Viet Nam has been honoured as Asias Leading National Park for the fifth consecutive year.

The achievement should not be taken for granted. Six decades since its establishment, the Cuc Phuong National Park authorities have persistently upheld three central pillars: forest protection associated with biodiversity conservation, scientific research and international cooperation on conservation, and environmental education on ecotourism.

Even though there are still difficulties, flourishing wildlife shows the success of the park, and the lessons to be gained from it.

Shields of the forest

Cuc Phuong National Park, established in 1962, spans over 220 square kilometres in three provinces of Ninh Binh, Hoa Binh and Thanh Hoa, and is known for its exceptional biodiversity and stunning landscapes. It is home to numerous rare and endangered species, making it a valuable ecological treasure in Asia.

For forest protection and conservation of rare flora and fauna species, patrolling and control work has been identified as a top mission for rangers at Cuc Phuong.

Currently, the park's rangers only have 13 stations, with a total of 56 staff members  which means each ranger has to take charge of nearly 4sq.km or 400 hectares of forest.

However, in recent years, the national park has reduced the rangers' hardship and successfully prevented significant cases of illegal hunting and deforestation by implementing forest preservation strategies.

Cuc Phuong has adopted the most stringent measures to strengthen the protection of the authenticity and integrity of the ecosystem and promote the continuous improvement of ecological functions.

SMART, a high-tech monitoring and management system, has been used to monitor the development and the current status of forest plant and animal resources along patrol routes at the park.

The system helps improve efficiency by monitoring and assessing conservation efforts more frequently, reducing costs and sharing the data on a larger scale.

The park authorities also focus on educating local residents about the serious harm of deforestation and illegal hunting. The best approach to preserve the forest and promote local sustainable development is to secure alternative income for the local community.

We support local people to increase their income through afforestation, beekeeping, and the development of community-based eco-tourism, said Pham Phu Cuong, a forest ranger at the park.

Patrolling the forest day and night and facing dangers, forest rangers face difficulties and low pay. Their living conditions are poor, lacking electricity, clean water and the internet; and they have little time with their families.

I am still here because of my love for the forest. Living within the forest and feeling its fullness, I cannot leave the forest, Phu Cuong said.

Worldwide collaboration

The Centre for Rescue, Conservation and Development of Creatures (CRCDC) is located in the park, dedicated to caring for wild animals rescued from illegal captivity and trafficking in the north.

Cuc Phuong Park is carrying out three conservation programmes: the Endangered Primate Rescue Centre (ERPC), the conservation programme for small carnivores and pangolins, and the conservation programme for turtles and other wild animals, with a total number of 2,700 individual creatures of 64 species.

Most of the wild animals received by the Cuc Phuong rescue centre are victims of illegal hunting, trafficking and forced captivity. When rescued and transported here, they were all in a weak, diseased state or had forgotten their wild instincts and were infected with human-trained behaviours.

"To help them recover their health and wild instincts, the centre applies scientific rescue principles for separate isolation, treatment and monitoring," said Le Phuong Trieu, director of the CRCDC.

After that, rescued animals are released in semi-natural areas for wild instinct training before being released into their natural habitat.

However, there are many individuals here who, after the centre's rescue and care efforts, do not have the opportunity to return to their natural habitat and stay at the centre.

"We call them the ambassadors of education to send to visitors the most intuitive and emotional example of the terrible harm of illegally hunting, trading, and confining wild animals, Trieu said.

The park also serves as a hub for research and education in biodiversity and conservation, collaborating with various national and international institutions to conduct scientific studies and educational programmes.

Every year, the park receives thousands of visitors from home and abroad, and researchers come to study or work as volunteers here, making a profound impact on biodiversity conservation.

The EPRC, established in 1993 in cooperation between Cuc Phuong National Park and the Frankfurt Zoological Society, is the first non-profit project in the Indochina peninsula dedicated to endangered primate rescue.

Since its founding, the centre has successfully bred 353 individuals of 10 species of rare primates, saving and caring for about 188 individuals of the 14 species of endangered primates found in Viet Nam.

Out of those 14 species, six are exclusively rescue and caring efforts in Viet Nam. We are proud that EPRC is a world-renowned model in primate rescue and conservation, Trieu said.

Education via eco-tourism

Cuc Phuong National Park's outstanding approach to achieving its objectives is to activate educational programmes through eco-tourism initiatives. The entire national park can be seen as a living museum where tourists can travel and discover biodiversity.

Due to its diverse ecosystems as well as its historical and cultural significance, the park has drawn tourists from home and abroad to join its eco-activities. The park provides not only adventure travel but also regular holidays, suitable for all visitor interests.

Visitors to the park can enjoy a range of ecotourism activities such as hiking, wildlife watching, jungle camping or just enjoying nature in eco-lodges, said Pham Kien Cuong, director of the Centre for Environmental Education and Services.

Visitors' favourite is an eco-tour themed "Ve Nha" (Homecoming), which provides chances for tourists to directly release wild animals after being rescued back into the forest. Launched in 2021, Homecoming has attracted numerous registers from all over and effectively spread the message of wildlife protection.

Cuc Phuong's most outstanding programme is community-based eco-tourism initiatives, supporting alternative livelihoods and the wellbeing of local ethnic people while promoting sustainable tourism.

Community-based eco-tourism programmes benefit both travellers and local communities. Visitors can immerse themselves in the traditional culture of the Muong, while local residents make their lives easier by utilising the resources of their homeland and culture.

By involving local communities in conservation efforts, we empower local ethnic people towards a better long-lasting future with earning opportunities and ultimately cultural pride, Kien Cuong said.

They realised the forest's potential from an entirely different perspective and stopped deforestation and illegal animal hunting.

Every eco-tourism activity is well-designed by the national parks administrative officers and tourism partners to raise awareness and spread the message of protecting the forest and saving wildlife.

Phu Cuong told Viet Nam News that there is even a purpose behind the way they name each student team on a camping tour for children, that is after an endangered species listed in the Viet Nam Red Data Book.

Children are accustomed to the media's preferred animals more than the endangered species in Viet Nam. Through eco-tourism, we want to ensure that the youngsters return home aware which exclusive animals in Viet Nam need to be protected, Phu Cuong said.

Leave nothing but footprints. Take nothing but photographs. Kill nothing but your time. Help protect Cuc Phuong!" are simple messages written on a board at the roadside when entering the core forest area, summarising what Cuc Phuong has aimed to inspire for the past 61 years and beyond. VNS
By Thu Anh

Young stage director Nguyen Thanh Toan and artists from the Tran Huu Trang Cai Luong Theatre are working on a new play about Vietnamese history.

They will stage Nguoc Dong Tay Son (Tay Son Heroes), a cai luong (reformed opera) production featuring the couple Tran Quang Dieu and Bui Thi Xuan - two national heroes who lived and served the Tay Son Dynasty in the late 18th century.

The Tay Son Dynasty (1778-1802) was founded after three Nguyen brothers - Nguyen Nhac, Nguyen Hue and Nguyen Lu - from the village of Tay Son rebelled against the Nguyen Lords and Trinh Lords.

The Tay Son Dynasty ended the century-long war between the Trinh and Nguyen families, ended the Le Dynasty, and united the country for the first time in 200 years.

The opera Nguoc Dong Tay Son portrays female General Xuans career and her husband, General Dieu. They joined the Tay Son peasant uprising, and won many battles.

Gen Xuan was born in Binh Khe (now Binh inh Province). She learned martial arts when she was a child. She was reputedly a very brave and strong woman.

The legend says she once rescued Gen Dieu, who later became her husband, from a tiger.

Xuan helped the Tay Son army train elephants for combat, and became known as one of the five principal women in the Tay Son Dynasty.

The themes of patriotism and honesty are also featured.

Director Toan used cai luong stars Tu Suong as Gen Xuan and ien Trung as Gen Dieu.

Famous artists such as Le Thanh Thao and Pham Vu Thanh are also included.

Nguoc Dong Tay Son features historical events and national heroes. Our artists have worked to stage it in a realistic style, says Toan.

Toan, who is also a cai luong actor, used a new and experimental concept to perfect his first production.

I offer Vietnamese drama in the way that combines traditional Southern style with a musical, says the 34-year-old.

Toan studied at the HCM City University of Natural Sciences.

He began his career in 2015 after winning the Chuong Vang Vong Co (Golden Bell), a national theatre contest organised by HCM City Television to encourage young people to learn about cai luong - the souths 100-year-old and most popular theatrical form.

He has performed for leading theatres and art troupes in the South. He has a YouTube channel featuring cai luong with more than 5,000 subscribers.

He challenged himself as a theatre director during a long-term training course offered by the Tran Huu Trang Cai Luong Theatre - the citys biggest and most prestigious traditional art troupe.

Explaining his view on choosing a historical story for his debut, Toan said: Although young audiences prefer comedies, they are willing to attend a serious play. Historical plays are like valuable books or films that contain lessons that help youngsters learn more about the countrys history, traditional culture and lifestyle.

Toan says he believes that a great cai luong show today must include skilled artists and have an appealing and powerful stage presence. Cai luong is not just old but also contains the breath of modern life, he says.

The play Nguoc Dong Tay Son is scheduled to be staged on the weekend in October and November, starting on October 28, at 136 Tran Hung ao Street, District 1.  VNS
Inner Sanctum: How many tours does your company operate?

Speaking of tours and trekking routes, it's going to be endless. The sky's the limit. When I started working in tourism in 2006, I started with domestic tours, then expanded to Southeast Asia, then to Europe, North America and Australia, and basic tours in Africa. I could see so many routes possible. But since I started operating special tours in 2017 until now, I have seen so many more routes. I see huge potential.

In Viet Nam, we're still content with some of the traditional ways of travel. During the two years of the pandemic, we had time to do research, and we found out that the possibilities were endless. This was a wake-up call for me.

You know that there are more than 200 countries and territories in the world, but as far as I know, there's only one young couple, who has done 125 countries.

Another traveller, who uses only his Vietnamese passport when travelling, could do 145 - 165 countries. There's no Vietnamese, that I know of, has been to all countries and territories. But in the world, there are people who have conquered every country.

So if we speak about routes and destinations, we have a book to keep all our tours and our goal is to craft tours to all 200 countries. We have covered half of this, and still have a long way to go. We need to consider safety, of course. Furthermore, we used to have tours to Ukraine, but now it's very difficult.

Now we have many tours that if a traveller wants to go on a tour for a month, he or she can constantly travel for the next 20 to 30 years. We have some products, crafted in my generation, but it may take another generation to conquer this dream.

Inner Sanctum: What is the means of travel?

I'd also like to draw your attention to many types of tourism: by air, by road, by train. The trans-Siberia train you probably have heard of. Or the Ghan train, crossing north and south Australia. Last year we had a team of Vietnamese travellers who did this. In America or Africa, there are train tracks like that. You can also travel on the river, such as by the Mississippi in the United States, or other rivers in Europe, like the Seine, the Danube, the Rhine, or the Volga.

Then we have cruise tours, with big ships of 4-5,000 people on them. This type of tourism has not developed in Viet Nam. We do have big ships in our ports, but tour companies have not had many cruise travellers.

Furthermore, if we talk about South and North Pole trips, they are exploration travels, with ships of only 200 people, much smaller than the big ship voyagers. When you reach a destination, travellers get on rubber boats to explore further in rivers or bays.

This type of tourism has become a common trend in the world. There are between 20-30 shipping companies that operate this type of travel. It can be top-notch, depending on price, of course. It's much more expensive than the big ship cruises. But this type of travel steers travellers towards pure nature.

When you feel saturated with mass travel, you might be happy to travel to a nature-only destination, where you see the purity of nature. It's really wonderful, and you can listen to the scientists or biologists talking about the wonder of the natural world, and you'll be more conscious about the need to preserve what we have. It may even inspire you to act accordingly to preserve nature, such as by turning off a bulb, or to classify waste, reuse and recycle.

Inner Sanctum: You've been to so many countries, do you still want to travel?

There's another type of rare travel, that has not been common in Viet Nam. Let's call it a conquering type of tour, where you conquer the North or South Pole. I know that no one holding a Vietnamese passport has conquered both poles. That type of tour, grows beyond the usual sense of the word travel. It's going to be historical to be the first person with a Vietnamese passport to place our country's flag in the pole.

Now there are round-the-globe tours, that take up 100 days. The toughest tour that I know of takes 172 days to complete, with costs ranging from VN5 billion to 25 billion per person. This type of tour is not for everyone, and even if few people can afford it, it takes time to get them used to the idea. Last year, we took three travellers to explore the South of Georgia at nearly VN1 billion per person.

Over time, I hope we'll get there. I've had talks with some of my world trotter friends, and we all wish one day a Vietnamese can set his or her foot on the Moon. You can say I'm crazy or nuts. But we all have our dreams. It's my dream. If other countries can do it, then our country can do it, and our people can do it. VNS
by Nguyen My Ha

It's happening everywhere, not only here in Viet Nam do we cry out to protect our forest. Sir David Attenborough once said, "Ever since we arrived on this planet as a species, we've cut them down, dug them up, burnt them and poisoned them. Today we're doing so on a greater scale than ever."

Still no further development has been heard these days on the proposed Kapet Reservoir. Architect Tran Minh Tuan suggests more smaller reservoirs be set up instead of building a larger reservoir up in the mountains to get the advantage of water running downstream.

"If we can gather daily water use, let them go through a filter system, to re-use for watering crops. We can also use daily organic waste to make compost to replace chemical fertiliser," he says.

However, the proposal by an architect was deemed unrealistic by agricultural expert Tho Ngo. Tho says he favours the large reservoir solution, and believes that the Kapet Reservoir would solve all water-related issues that Nam Ham Thuan District has been facing. However, he's an ardent advocate for planting vetiver grass to keep soil from eroding and to protect hills from flash floods.

Le Thi Mui is founder of an online community group called Love Waste, which guides people who want to compost their daily waste to make homemade fertiliser for ornamental trees or terraced veggies and herbs.

As an admin of a group of more than 10,000 members, Mui never misses a chance to deliver her message to "compost garbage and turn daily waste into flowers". She has been trying to convince everyone she deems influential to convince authorities that they do not need to submerge Kapet to get enough water for people and farming.

Mui has been presenting a green 30ha farm of Vo Thong in Binh Thuan to advocate for her argument that there is no need to sacrifice the age-old primary forest for water.

"Here in Binh Thuan, the existing system of reservoirs was recorded to have met only 4.3 per cent of their designed capacity, I don't see why we need to build more reservoirs and dams," Vo Thong tells Viet Nam News.

"It means that the rainwater may not even fill up the designed capacity of this planned Kapet Reservoir."

The now-degraded forest in My Thanh Commune could have fallen out of the protected list, but the small animals, insects and plants living there have been living in their own ecological systems for hundreds of thousands of years.

Project developers suggested they would build a three-time bigger forest to compensate for the lost trees. But this is the stuff of fantasy. Nothing can compensate for natural ecology once destroyed. This is not acceptable.

According to a United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) report in 2005, deforestation was the burning issue, where in Viet Nam the area of primary forests destroyed came second only to Nigeria.

From 2011 until 2019, just before the COVID pandemic, Viet Nams Forestry General Department reported that 22,800ha of forest was destroyed, of which 14,000ha were due to forest fire, and 9,000ha to deforestation for economic purposes.

New reforestation has been undergoing since 1996, according to the forestry authority, resulting in the growing forest zones, but the primary forest area is still declining.

After years of deforestation, reforestation started in the early 1990s and since has noted significant improvement.

According to the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences, an authoritative source of high-impact, Viet Nam has grown its forest from 24.7 up to 42 per cent of the countrys total territory in 2020.

During this process, logging was severely restricted in natural forests, as Viet Nam banned the exports of raw logs and closed all log transportation from the forests.

Pro-reservoir advocates are saying "137ha of the special-use forest can be classified as the poorest part of the Nui Ong Natural Reserve."

Even if the forests in what could be the future Kapet Reservoir run out of precious hardwood, an entire ecological system there is still thriving, trying to recover from human damage. As long as the microbes and vegetation bed are still there, nature shall balance itself out.

The forest in Viet Nam consists of an ecological system including forest animals, forest plants, microbes, soil and other factors including wood trees, bamboos and bushes. We need to protect our forest to protect our genetic diversity pool, for scientific research, to protect historical relics and landmarks not only for our children's children but for a much longer period of time.

The forest is not just the forest we see, the wood, the birds and other animals. The forest means life for humans, a backbone of the economy, and the survival of a country.

When he was alive, Prime Minister Pham Van ong used to stress the importance of protecting the forest: "Losing forest means losing soil. Losing forest means losing water. Losing forest means losing your country," he said.

Today, this message can be seen printed on billboards in every forest around the country. If Viet Nam runs out of forest, all that's left will be flash floods and mud slides. There will be no future for our children.

Sir Attenborough puts it bluntly, "What humans do over the next 50 years will determine the fate of all life on the planet." VNS
Sometimes, Ha Giang is compared to an "addiction" by tourists, addicted to the beauty of Ha Giang. Not only is nature favoured by the Nho Que River and the majestic Dong Van stone plateau, but Ha Giang also has extremely romantic flower seasons. Every late Fall and early Winter, the valleys, hillsides, and passes in Ha Giang become extraordinarily beautiful with buckwheat flowers.

Also read: Ha Giang spring trip in 5 pristine villages



At the end of October and early November every year, buckwheat flowers bloom, with gentle pink and purple colours throughout the hilly areas of Ha Giang. The majestic mountain and forest landscape here, with pure, beautiful buckwheat flower hills, captivates visitors when coming to the top land of the Fatherland.

Buckwheat or rye is grown in the high mountains of Northern Vietnam. The petals are bunched together into a pyramid shape; in the middle is a grain of wheat. Flowers grow on the hills and roads, at the foot of the mountains, on the passes and bring intense vitality to even the thorny cliffs, just like the people here.

Legend has it that, since ancient times, there were two fairies, Tien Gao and Tien Ngo, who went to sow seeds in the lower world. They had too much rice husk and corn, so they poured them into the ravine. Sometime later, after the rice and corn plants had been harvested, a forest of tiny flowers suddenly appeared, stretching from one mountain to another. On the trees were triangular leaves hidden under the flowers. Because it is from the rice family, it arose from rice bran and maize bran, so it is called buckwheat; the leaves are triangular, so it is called "triangular buckwheat".

The colour of buckwheat flowers changes with each stage. When it first blooms, it is pure white, then turns light pink, purple-pink, dark red, and finally black. When it withers, it is no longer beautiful.

I don't know who was the first to create the "buckwheat flower season fever" in the Northwestern mountainous areas. I only know that tourists flock to Ha Giang at the end of winter. The weather is clear, dry and a bit chilly; the water in the river is abundant and still green, and buckwheat flowers cover the hills, fluttering as if beckoning.

Buckwheat flowers grow a lot along the road to Ha Giang, around the villages, but Suoi Thau and Pho Cao are familiar places that young people choose to see and check in with buckwheat flowers. In 2023 alone, the road to the Lung Cu flagpole is the hottest destination tourists seek.

Pho Cao (Dong Van) has a wild landscape surrounded by endless mountains. The buckwheat flowers here have already bloomed, looking from a distance like a brocade fabric woven by Mother Nature as a gift to humans. People often say that Pho Cao Valley is "a place where there is only heaven, earth and flowers", which is enough to understand how vast the buckwheat flowers are here!

Read more: Dong Van tourism handbook

Suoi Thau (Xin Man) is also an attractive destination because of its pristine beauty, especially at this time of the year, when the cold air seems to be melted by the deep colours of buckwheat flowers mixed with rows of flowers. Sa Moc trees grow tall in the vast space of the steppe.

Also read: The steppe is poetic and majestic, as beautiful as a 'wonderland' in Ha Giang

And the place not to be missed to participate in the race to check in the most beautiful buckwheat flowers in Ha Giang this year has an additional road to the Lung Cu flagpole. Remember last year, around January and February at the beginning of the year, this road was famous on social networks due to the cherry blossom season. This year, once again, the buckwheat flower has attracted many beauty-loving souls to stop with it, to admire and immerse themselves in the forest of flowers.

Honestly, the flowers in the Northwest region can hardly compare with the beautiful beauty of many common flowers, such as roses and lilies. But because of their simple, rustic beauty, they have a strange attraction, along with flowers that only bloom in rare months and seasons a year. So people still fall in love with it, still love the unexpected gifts from mother nature. It makes us want to visit Ha Giang again for those who haven't been and binds the souls of those who want to return to immerse themselves in the beauty here.
Waco's deal with developers to extend Gateway Boulevard from Bagby Avenue to Interstate 35 is getting a new look, now set to align the Gateway extension with an existing interstate underpass.

David Mercer, who had the original agreement to build Gateway through a 215-acre tract, is poised to sell 152 acres, and the city is working with the potential buyer, Houston-based PCRIF Waco Gateway LLC, to keep the Gateway extension in place and ensure the underpass connection.

Under the original deal, Waco agreed to waive $2 million in water, wastewater and roadway impact fees in exchange for Mercer's pledge to extend Gateway.

The move would add another link between I-35 traffic and the Texas Central Industrial Park, home to high-profile companies such as Amazon and Mars Wrigley. The original deal, however, had Gateway running in a straight line from Bagby to intersect the I-35 access road north of the underpass, making the link less direct for some potential driving routes.

During recent negotiations aimed at aligning Gateway with the underpass, city staff learned Mercer had agreed to part with 152 acres in his 215-acre tract. Much of the Gateway extension would cross the 152 acres, so the city staff shifted gears, initiating discussions with PCRIF Waco Gateway, according to information presented to the Waco City Council.

An amendment to the incentive agreement with Mercer reduces the applicable property from 215 acres to 63 acres. Mercer's obligation to dedicate right-of-way for and construct the extension of Gateway Boulevard "is limited to only the distance necessary (per City regulations) to serve Lot 1, currently owned by Stellar Development," which is building apartments.

The city will waive up to $1.21 million in impact fees for Mercer, down from $2 million in the original agreement.

An agreement with PCRIF, meanwhile, applies to the 152-acre site purchased from Mercer. It requires PCRIF to dedicate right-of-way for and construct the extension of Gateway from where Mercer's construction ends to the I-35 underpass. This must be done within 120 days after the city receives all right-of-way, or the construction plan is approved, whichever is later.

In the deals with both developers, the city will pay for pavement in excess of 40 feet wide, up to 125% of what the city has recently paid for comparable work.

The city is obligated to acquire any off-site right-of-way necessary to make the connection to the I-35 underpass if PCRIF cannot. The deal with PCRIF also disallows residential zoning for its 152 acres, unless the city approves planned unit development zoning with residential uses.

Local real estate agents Brad Davis and Brandon Davis recently told the Tribune-Herald they have received much interest in tracts along the planned Gateway Boulevard extension, which they are listing for Mercer. The Davises reportedly brokered the deal with PCRIF, but could not be reached Friday for comment.

"I think this extension will increase the value of our property, but also the value of property behind us," Mercer said in a January interview.

"I understand the Davises are getting inquiries from a wide variety of folks: multi-family developers, typical commercial and industrial developers in property right around 110 acres. Brad and Brandon have not told me anything specific, but if somebody needs a large tract to create a lot of jobs, we have it," Mercer said at the time.
by Donivan Godsil

50 years ago, in the south-central part of Tennessee, there was a small cabin adjacent to the Tullahoma airport. This cabin would be the start of the Beechcraft Heritage Museum, and today, the host of the annual event called The Beech Party. This year was special as it is the museums 50th Anniversary. Most people think of lakes and oceans when you hear the word beach so when asked where I was going for vacation this year, the confusion on folks faces was entertaining when I mentioned it was in Tennessee! For those of us in aviation, we know what a Beech is!

Almost a decade ago, I first learned of the Beech Party while attending a school in Tennessee. I was on break for a weekend and found an aircraft museum about an hour away from where I was taking class. On my free day, I learned that the museums hours were closed on Sundays. Undeterred, I decided to call the museum in hopes that perhaps they might have unlisted availability. I called the number and left a message. Not long after, a pleasant and friendly voice called me back. It was Mrs. Jody Curtis. Jody invited me to come on down, informing me that she had a couple of volunteers who were interested in opening the museum for me and would love to have me visit. That first trip was memorable. A mostly self-guided tour of the museum, enjoying conversation about antique airplanes with a couple of other like-minded individuals was amazing and a great stress reliever from class work. I learned of the Beech Party and was invited to attend.

My first Beech Party was in 2019. My wife and I showed up on Thursday afternoon, and I went out early on Friday to get some sunrise photographs. It was a short trip, but well worth it. Since then, I have visited the museum a handful of times and each time there are new exhibits and friendly faces just as anxious to welcome me on each subsequent visit as they were on my first.

I finally made it back to the Beech Party this year, which officially started on October 12th and ended on October 14th. While we had hopes of flying our family-owned Stearman to the event, we nonetheless were unable to make the flight with unpredictable weather expected between Illinois (our home state) and Tennessee. Experiencing the event in an attending aircraft would need to wait until our next visit. Upon our arrival to check in early on Thursday morning, October 12, we learned there were 65 aircraft that arrived the day prior, with 600 registrants for the expected weekend!

About fitting in, your first assumption about the Beech Party is it would be for Beechcraft only right? Wrong. While obviously centric to Beechcraft, everyone is included and welcome to attend. Originally a Staggerwing convention, it was later opened up to the Beech 18 group, then Bonanzas, and finally all aircraft. This year, there were 8 Staggerwings in attendance with several Beech 18s, including airshow performer Matt Younkin. In addition, a pair of T-34s (one belonging to Julie Clark), a couple King Airs, several Bonanzas, Barons, Twin-Bonanzas, a Stearman, a Cessna 195, a Howard, and my personal (modern) favorite, the Beechcraft Starship, were also in attendance!

Attendees are encouraged to register online before the event. There are day passes and meal tickets, and this year there was a wine tasting that had limited availability. There is a food truck on-site if you get hungry and choose not to have a catered lunch or dinner. Otherwise, its but a few minutes drive into town for dining options of your choice. At 3:30 each day, the popcorn machine gets put in service and social hour begins. Thursday night was a catered barbecue dinner at the barn on the Parish property. Friday night was the awards banquet and in all the fly-ins I have attended, I can attest that these food lines move quicker than any other out there.

There are many seminars to participate in. This year there were seminars about engine maintenance by Taigh Ramey, servicing discussion hosted by the American Bonanza Society, tips on caring for and maintaining fabric on aircraft, and many more. There were demonstrations by different vendors, guided tours of the museum, and discussions about sheet-metal work, detailing your aircraft, about the Beech Starship. Thursday and Friday evening included formation flights, with the Friday flight a Missing Man flyover for the late Jim Gorman featuring four Staggerwings. The only thing you heard were the engines roaring overhead, it was somber yet a beautiful tribute to such a great ambassador to the BHM.

The love of these airplanes and their history is certainly a focal point for my own interest in visiting the museum. Maybe it is the Southern hospitality or the atmosphere, but its definitely the people that keep me coming back. Everyone we encountered went out of their way to treat you like you were one of their own, no matter the mode of transportation you use to attend, or the aircraft you own or fly. I am already looking forward to the next Beech Party!

Maintaining a museum has its own challenges. From their humble beginnings 50 years ago, it has grown from a small cabin to over 78,000 square feet of hangar space with 38 aircraft on display and a library full of archived documents of these beautiful Beechcraft airplanes. The staff and volunteers keep the day-to-day operations going smoothly and then knock this party out of the ballpark. Give them a visit, you will not be disappointed!
IOWA CITY  U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Ottumwa, stood on the bed of a bright-red truck and defended voting against Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the hard-right chair of the House Judiciary Committee, to be the next speaker of the U.S. House  a move she said spawned credible death threats against her.

Meanwhile, a slate of candidates seeking the Republican presidential nomination focused on national security and the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, the Gaza-based Palestinian militant group.

Miller-Meeks held her third annual Triple MMM Tailgate on Friday evening in Iowa City. The event featured seven candidates seeking the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.

Miller-Meeks, who voted for Jordan on the first ballot Tuesday but subsequently voted against him, cast her vote Friday for Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry of North Carolina.

Miller-Meeks reported she received death threats Wednesday after voting against Jordan, and other anti-Jordan House Republicans also reported death threats and threatening calls.

I am never going to quit fighting for Iowa, and I am never going to quit fighting for this country," Miller-Meeks said to a crowd of hundreds of supporters. "So if you think you can intimidate me, go  suck it up, buttercup!"

Miller-Meeks defended her vote and voting record, including voting against an agriculture appropriations bill because it cut vital supports for Iowa farmers, including to U.S. Department of Agriculture programs that support rural broadband development and funding for foreign animal disease preparedness.

She said she did not support shutting down the government because she didnt want veterans pay to be stopped.

Seven presidential candidates followed her speech, asking Iowans for their support in the GOP caucuses on Jan. 15. Heres what they had to say.

Ron DeSantis

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis repeated his calls to deny Palestinian refugees entry into the United States and criticized students protesting Israels actions in response to the attacks, calling them Hamas supporters. He vowed to revoke student visas and deport foreign nationals who support Hamas.

We are not going to allow the left wing in this country to have hundreds of thousands of Gaza strip refugees deposited in the United States of America, DeSantis said. That is not our role. We dont want to import the pathologies of the Middle East here. The Arab countries should handle any refugees that are needed in that region.

DeSantis called for a renewed effort to strengthen national security by creating stricter policies at the southern border, including authorizing the use of deadly force on Mexican drug cartels.

Vivek Ramaswamy

Vivek Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur, complimented DeSantis for his decision to charter emergency flights from Israel to assist U.S. citizens fleeing the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Ramaswamy said he respects the Florida governors choice to arrange those flights and said he and his wife have made a similar choice to charter a flight through their charitable organization, evacuating 200 Americans from Israel.

While he condemned the actions of Hamas as barbaric and morally wrong, he cautioned Israel against an ongoing, potentially imminent ground invasion of Gaza in order to prevent what he sees as mistakes made following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorists attacks in the United States.

He said the United States spent more than $6 trillion on military expenditures following the Sept. 11 terrorists attacks, only to see the Taliban retake control of Afghanistan and an anti-American regime in Iraq that is not vulnerable to Iranian incursion. He said Americans were told to shut up, sit down, go along following Sept. 11  and called for Israel to not make the same mistakes.

Some people will ask, is that anti-Israel? No, no, no, Ramaswamy said. This is the most pro-Israel thing we can do, as a friend, to say, learn the lessons from the mistakes we made 20 years ago in this country, to make sure that we  together  dont repeat them again.

Nikki Haley

Former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley, who held a town hall in Cedar Rapids Friday afternoon before heading to the Miller-Meeks fundraiser, emphasized her foreign policy credentials.

In the wake of the surprise attack by Hamas on Israel, Haley called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to finish the Palestinian militant group.

Haley told the crowd, both in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, the United States needed to pursue three goals when it came to the Middle Eastern conflict.

Support Israel with whatever they need whenever they need it, Haley said. Eliminate Hamas, not weaken them  eliminate Hamas. And do everything we can to bring our hostages home.

Haley celebrated the announcement Friday that Hamas had released two Americans who had been held hostage in Gaza. Its the first such release from among the roughly 200 people the militant group abducted.

Two prayers were answered, Haley said, but said President Joe Biden should not give the Hamas any leniency for the release of the American hostages.

Haley said the United States needs to do more to support Israel, by providing military aid as well as pulling government funding from universities with students and staff who hold protests in support of Palestinians.

Haley criticized Bidens approach to the withdrawal from Afghanistan and a recent prisoner exchange deal with Iran, saying they have emboldened Americas adversaries.

Ryan Binkley

Texas pastor Ryan Binkley said the national debt threatened future generations and that Republicans needed to update messaging to represent the changing country and be more involved in discussions on health care and education.

I think the Republican Party has kind of lost our way, Binkley said. I think we all recognize that we are in a broken place. Not only can we not elect a Speaker of the House, our party is divided. We are so much broken in our messaging and what we represent, and I really believe this: We have to remember are the party of financial stewardship.

Binkley touted his seven-year plan to balance the budget and begin paying down America's debt. The plan focuses on reducing nondefense discretionary spending; preventing waste, fraud and abuse; and saving Social Security.

Tim Scott

South Carolina U.S. Sen. Tim Scott denounced Bidens response to the Israeli-Hamas conflict and called for an urgent response to aid Israel, stating he hopes the response comes with some Israeli-American hardware.

Scott described protests happening across the country against Israels response in Gaza as antisemitic. And vowed, if elected, to sign into law legislation he introduced to revoke federal student aid to colleges or university that say its OK to spread terrorism on our campuses.

The senators proposal came after some students and professors at colleges including Harvard and Columbia University released statements supporting Palestinians and condemning Israels actions against the population.

"Let's condemn Americans for their hate-filled response," Scott said.

Doug Burgum

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum said there were major domestic issues impacting national security that were overlooked. We cant have national security without food security, energy security and border security, he said.

Earlier in the day, during an interview on Iowa PBS Iowa Press, Burgum said he believed the president could play an important role in resolving the internal disputes among U.S. House Republicans in nominating a speaker.

You know who loves the fact that the Republicans cant get their act together and lead? The Democrats, Burgum said.   They love what were doing, because this is all helping them in 2024. And we dont have either side thats actually working to try to solve the issues for the American people.

Asa Hutchinson

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said he was the only candidate with a law enforcement background, having worked as a federal prosecutor and with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency  giving him credence to take on border security and the fentanyl crisis. In 2003, then-President George W. Bush appointed Hutchinson as the undersecretary for border and transportation security at the newly established Department of Homeland Security.

While at the department, Hutchinson led an effort to reform border inspections through the use of biometric technology and continued to oversee the reorganization of border agencies into a unified inspection force.

Now, you can look at what I did, and youll say, well, you didnt get it perfect, Hutchinson said. But it looks perfect compared to what Joe Biden has done.

Hutchinson his experience serving under Bush following the Sept. 11 attacks will help him aid Israel in its war against Hamas. He criticized Ramaswamys comments on the conflict, saying that this is not a time of ambiguity.

What voters say

Bill Montag, 50, of Coralville, said he remained undecided as to whom he would support in the caucuses but was impressed with both DeSantis and Haley. He said he valued Haleys foreign policy experience and DeSantis views on border and national security.

The attacks on Israel were a disgrace, and I agree with everyone that Hamas needs to be removed from Earth. They need to be taken out, Montag said.

It doesnt mean that all the Palestinians are bad, obviously. But its hard for us to give aid directly to Gaza (because) its essentially giving aid to Hamas, as much as the Palestinian people need it.  I think we have to stand with Israel.

He said hes also looking for a fiscal conservative who had a plan to cut federal spending and balance the budget.

Dawn Coffman, 69, of Williamsburg, who attended Haleys town hall in Cedar Rapids, said she, too, is weighing whether to caucus for DeSantis or Haley.

I was totally sold on DeSantis before, but then Ive listened to (Haleys) position on the Israel-Hamas conflict.   Shes a little bit more aggressive and outspoken, and I like that.

Asked about former President Donald Trump, the current Republican front-runner who did not attend Fridays tailgate, Coffman said she feels Trump is too polarizing to win in the general election and beat Biden.

I think he bring a lot of baggage, she said. I think he got a lot of things done (as president), but I dont think hell get anything done if hes president again. I think hell be tied up in legal entanglements.

She said she felt now was the opportune time for DeSantis and Haley to break out from the rest of the pack and put a dent in Trumps support. Of the two, she said she likes Haleys hawkish foreign policy.

I dont want her to back down.
Demand for submarine cables high in Europe, North America, Southeast Asia

By Ko Dong-hwan

DONGHAE, Gangwon Province  The growing importance of renewable energies is making offshore wind farms more popular worlwide. Subsequently, LS Cable and System's competition with global rivals is getting fiercer, according to Korea's leading submarine cable manufacturer, Sunday.

LS, with three other submarine cable manufacturers in France and Germany, take up more than 85 percent of global orders for submarine cable, making and burying it inside the seabed using a specialized vessel.

The firms are battling over rising markets in North America and Europe where the need for offshore wind farms are spiking as renewable energy's role in national power output is being expanded. To connect the "farms" and terrestrial power consumers, submarine cables must be laid to deliver power.

Having absorbed LS Marine Solution  an LS Group subsidiary  last August, LS Cable says it has been self-developing technologies since it completed its first manufacturing plant in Donghae, Gangwon Province in 2009.

The company now has four manufacturing plants with its most recent (including an over 170 meter-high VCV tower) completed in May. Nearby at Donghae Port, the company's GL2030, a vessel that can transport hundreds of kilometers of factory-made cable, is docked and ready projects anywhere in the world. One of three maritime cable-laying vessels owned by Marine Solution, the GL2030 is Korea's only vessel with a dynamic positioning system that can work beneath the seabed.

Demand for high voltage, direct current (HVDC) submarine cables have already surpassed their supply volume globally, according to LS Cable. Later this year, the Korean firm plans to launch a new cable manufacturing-installation project for Taiwan, which will be about 2.5 trillion won ($1.85 billion) in size. LS Marine Solution has set up a local office in Taipei to search for local partners to manufacture parts for its cables.

Earlier this month, LS Cable formed a partnership with PTSC, a subsidiary of Vietnam's state-run energy company Petrovietnam, to jointly search for project opportunities in Southeast Asian waters. The partnership also aims to hitch LS Cable to a new project by the Vietnamese government that will erect a 6 gigawatt offshore wind farm by 2030, a capacity high enough to be recognized as among Asia's top five by then.

The Korean firm has already begun building a 532 megawatt-capacity offshore plant in waters off Yeonggwang County, South Jeolla Province. The project, due for completion in 2027, is currently the largest offshore plant in Korea.

The Korean firm's latest strategic moves in Asia are aimed at the region's growing submarine cable market, which is expected to jump from $1.57 billion this year to $2.42 billion by 2027, according to LS Cable.

"Countries across the world are now desperate to build offshore wind farms," Kim Hyeong-won, LS Cable and System's head of Energy Business Division, said in Donghae, Thursday. "And our company is confident right now because we have rising global requests for partnerships for submarine cable projects. They trust our expertise. We also have more than enough invested capital to execute future projects."

In Europe, LS Cable chose to focus on the U.K. market that will lay submarine cables to connect its wind farms to the European mainland.

The company is also monitoring Europe as the region will likely draw its power, which is generated in wind farms in Africa, via submarine cables invested in by Middle Eastern countries, according to Kim.

One of the biggest hurdles for LS Cable's international expansion is building local factories overseas. Without the factories, it has to manufacture products in Korea and ship them over long distances. That increases a product's price by some 20 percent, a critical disadvantage.

"Because we already have the technological upper hand, we will have better global competitiveness once we have manufacturing facilities in key target areas overseas," said Kim.
IOWA CITY  U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Ottumwa, stood on the bed of a bright-red truck and defended voting against Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the hard-right chair of the House Judiciary Committee, to be the next speaker of the U.S. House  a move she said spawned credible death threats against her.

Meanwhile, a slate of candidates seeking the Republican presidential nomination focused on national security and the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, the Gaza-based Palestinian militant group.

Miller-Meeks held her third annual Triple MMM Tailgate on Friday evening in Iowa City. The event featured seven candidates seeking the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.

Miller-Meeks, who voted for Jordan on the first ballot Tuesday but subsequently voted against him, cast her vote Friday for Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry of North Carolina.

Miller-Meeks reported she received death threats Wednesday after voting against Jordan, and other anti-Jordan House Republicans also reported death threats and threatening calls.

I am never going to quit fighting for Iowa, and I am never going to quit fighting for this country, Miller-Meeks said to a crowd of hundreds of supporters. So if you think you can intimidate me, go  suck it up, buttercup!

Miller-Meeks defended her vote and voting record, including voting against an agriculture appropriations bill because it cut vital supports for Iowa farmers, including to U.S. Department of Agriculture programs that support rural broadband development and funding for foreign animal disease preparedness.

She said she did not support shutting down the government because she didnt want veterans pay to be stopped.

Seven presidential candidates followed her speech, asking Iowans for their support in the GOP caucuses on Jan. 15. Heres what they had to say.

Ron DeSantis

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis repeated his calls to deny Palestinian refugees entry into the United States, and criticized students protesting Israels actions in response to the attacks, calling them Hamas supporters. He vowed to revoke student visas and deport foreign nationals who support Hamas.

We are not going to allow the left-wing in this country to have hundreds of thousands of Gaza strip refugees deposited in the United States of America, DeSantis said. That is not our role. We dont want to import the pathologies of the Middle East here. The Arab countries should handle any refugees that are needed in that region.

DeSantis called for a renewed effort to strengthen national security by creating stricter policies at the southern border, including authorizing the use of deadly force on Mexican drug cartels.

Vivek Ramaswamy

Vivek Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur, complimented DeSantis for his decision to charter emergency flights from Israel to assist U.S. citizens fleeing the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Ramaswamy said he respects the Florida governors choice to arrange those flights, and said he and his wife have made a similar choice to charter a flight through their charitable organization, evacuating 200 Americans from Israel.

While he condemned the actions of Hamas as barbaric and morally wrong, he cautioned Israel against an ongoing, potentially imminent ground invasion of Gaza in order to prevent what he sees as mistakes made following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorists attacks in the United States.

He said the United States spent more than $6 trillion on military expenditures following the Sept. 11 terrorists attacks, only to see the Taliban retake control of Afghanistan and an anti-American regime in Iraq that is not vulnerable to Iranian incursion. He said Americans were told to shut up, sit down, go along following Sept. 11  and called for Israel to not make the same mistakes.

Some people will ask, is that anti-Israel? No, no, no, Ramaswamy said. This is the most pro-Israel thing we can do, as a friend, to say, learn the lessons from the mistakes we made 20 years ago in this country, to make sure that we  together  dont repeat them again.

Nikki Haley

Former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley, who held a town in Cedar Rapids Friday afternoon before heading to the Miller-Meeks fundraiser, emphasized her foreign policy credentials.

In the wake of the surprise attack by Hamas on Israel, Haley called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to finish the Palestinian militant group.

Haley told the crowd, both in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, the United States needs to pursue three goals when it comes to the Middle Eastern conflict.

Support Israel with whatever they need whenever they need it, Haley said. Eliminate Hamas, not weaken them  eliminate Hamas. And do everything we can to bring our hostages home.

Haley celebrated the announcement Friday that Hamas had released two Americans who had been held hostage in Gaza. Its the first such release from among the roughly 200 people the militant group abducted.

Two prayers were answered, Haley said, but said President Joe Biden should not give the Hamas any leniency for the release of the American hostages.

Haley said the United States needs to do more to support Israel, by providing military aid as well as pulling government funding from universities with students and staff who hold protests in support of Palestinians.

Haley criticized Bidens approach to the withdrawal from Afghanistan and a recent prisoner exchange deal with Iran, saying they have emboldened Americas adversaries.

Ryan Binkley

Texas pastor Ryan Binkley said the national debt threatens future generations, and that Republicans need to update messaging to represent the changing country and be more involved in discussions on health care and education.

I think the Republican Party has kind of lost our way, Binkley said. I think we all recognize that we are in a broken place. Not only can we not elect a speaker of the House, our party is divided. We are so much broken in our messaging and what we represent, and I really believe this: We have to remember are the party of financial stewardship.

Binkley touted his seven-year plan to balance the budget and begin paying down Americas debt. The plan focuses on reducing nondefense discretionary spending; preventing waste, fraud and abuse; and saving Social Security.

Tim Scott

South Carolina U.S. Sen. Tim Scott denounced Bidens response to the Israeli-Hamas conflict and called for an urgent response to aid Israel, stating he hopes the response comes with some Israeli-American hardware.

Scott described protests happening across the country against Israels response in Gaza as antisemitic. And vowed, if elected, he sign into law legislation he introduced to revoke federal student aid to colleges or university that say its OK to spread terrorism on our campuses.

The senators proposal came after some students and professors at colleges including Harvard and Columbia University released statements supporting Palestinians and condemning Israels actions against the population.

Lets condemn Americans for their hate-filled response, Scott said.

Doug Burgum

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum said there were major domestic issues impacting national security that are overlooked. We cant have national security without food security, energy security and border security, he said.

Earlier in the day, during an interview on Iowa PBS Iowa Press, Burgum said he believed the president could play an important role in resolving the internal disputes among U.S. House Republicans in nominating a speaker.

You know who loves the fact that the Republicans cant get their act together and lead? The Democrats, Burgum said.   They love what were doing, because this is all helping them in 2024. And we dont have either side thats actually working to try to solve the issues for the American people.

Asa Hutchinson

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said he is the only candidate with a law enforcement background, having worked as a federal prosecutor and with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency  giving him credence to take on border security and the fentanyl crisis. In 2003, then-President George W. Bush appointed Hutchinson as the undersecretary for border and transportation security at the newly established Department of Homeland Security.

While at the department, Hutchinson led an effort to reform border inspections through the use of biometric technology and continued to oversee the reorganization of border agencies into a unified inspection force.

Now, you can look at what I did, and youll say, well, you didnt get it perfect, Hutchinson said. But it looks perfect compared to what Joe Biden has done.

Hutchinson his experience serving under Bush following the Sept. 11 attacks will help him aid Israel in its war against Hamas. He criticized Ramaswamys comments on the conflict, saying that this is not a time of ambiguity.

What voters had to say

Bill Montag, 50, of Coralville, said he remains undecided as to who he will support in the caucuses, but was impressed with both DeSantis and Haley. He said he values Haleys foreign policy experience and DeSantis views on border and national security.

The attacks on Israel were a disgrace, and I agree with everyone that Hamas needs to be removed from Earth. They need to be taken out, Montag said. It doesnt mean that all the Palestinians are bad, obviously. But its hard for us to give aid directly to Gaza (because) its essentially giving aid to Hamas, as much as the Palestinian people need it.  I think we have to stand with Israel.

He said hes also looking for a fiscal conservative who has a plan to cut federal spending and balance the budget.

Dawn Coffman, 69, of Williamsburg, who attended Haleys town hall in Cedar Rapids, said she, too, is weighing whether to caucus for DeSantis or Haley.

I was totally sold on DeSantis before, but then Ive listened to (Haleys) position on the Israel-Hamas conflict.   Shes a little bit more aggressive and outspoken, and I like that.

Asked about former President Donald Trump, the current Republican front-runner who did not attend Fridays tailgate, Coffman said she feels Trump is too polarizing to win in the general election and beat Biden.

I think he bring a lot of baggage, she said. I think he got a lot of things done (as president), but I dont think hell get anything done if hes president again. I think hell be tied up in legal entanglements.

She said she feels now is the opportune time for DeSantis and Haley to break out from the rest of the pack and put a dent in Trumps support. Of the two, she said she likes Haleys hawkish foreign policy.

I dont want her to back down.
Russian Defence Ministry report on the progress of the special military operation (21 October 2023)

The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the special military operation.

In Kupyansk direction, units of the Zapad Group of Forces supported by aviation and artillery repelled five attacks of the AFU 43rd, 115th mechanised brigades, and 68th Jaeger Brigade near Sinkovka (Kharkov region) and Sergeyevka (Lugansk Peoples Republic).

The enemy lost up to 50 Ukrainian troops and three pickup trucks.

?? In Krasny Liman direction, units of the Tsentr Group of Forces, helicopters, and artillery repelled 10 attacks of assault detachments of the AFU 24th, 51st, 53rd, 110th mechanised brigades, and 1st Special Operations Brigade, as well as inflicted losses on manpower and hardware of the AFU 21st and 67th mechanised brigades near Yampolovka (Donetsk Peoples Republic).

In addition, one field ammunition depot of the AFU 53rd Mechanised Brigade has been hit close to Pervomayskoye (Donetsk Peoples Republic).

The enemy losses amounted to up to 100 Ukrainian troops killed and wounded, two armoured fighting vehicles, two motor vehicles, and one D-30 howitzer.

In Donetsk direction, units of the Yug Group of Forces supported by aviation and artillery inflicted losses on AFU manpower and hardware near Vasyukovka, Andreyevka, Razdolovka, and Kurdyumovka (Donetsk Peoples Republic).

?? The enemys losses totalled up to 260 Ukrainian troops killed and wounded, as well as four motor vehicles.

In the course of counterbattery warfare, one U.S.-made M777 artillery system and one Grad MLRS were destroyed.

?? In South-Donetsk direction, units of the Vostok Group of Forces, helicopters, and artillery inflicted losses on manpower concentration areas of the AFU 72nd Mechanised Brigade near Ugledar and Vodyanoye (Donetsk Peoples Republic).

The enemy lost up to 140 Ukrainian troops and three motor vehicles.

In Zaporozhye direction, units of the Russian Group of Forces supported by aviation and artillery repelled three enemy attacks and delivered strikes on a unit of the AFU 118th Mechanised Brigade close to Verbovoye (Zaporozhye region).

Up to 20 Ukrainian troops, two tanks, and three motor vehicles have been neutralised.

In addition, in the course of counterbattery warfare, one UK-made FH70 howitzer, one D-20 howitzer, as well as one U.S.-made M119 howitzer were destroyed.

In Kherson direction, up to 30 Ukrainian troops, two motor vehicles, one D-30 howitzer, and one electronic warfare station were neutralised.

Operational-Tactical and Army aviation, unmanned aerial vehicles, and Missile Troops and Artillery of the Russian Groups of Forces have engaged AFU manpower and hardware in 118 areas during the day.

In addition, ammunition and fuel depots of Ukrainian Air Force were destroyed at Dolgintsevo airfield close to Krivoy Rog (Dnepropetrovsk region).

Fighter Aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces intercepted one Su-24 aircraft of the Ukrainian Air Force close to Odessa.

Air defence units shot down one Su-24 aircraft, two MiG-29 aircraft, and one Mi-8 helicopter of the Ukrainian Air Force.

Four HARM anti-radiation missiles, two Neptune anti-ship cruise missiles, and one HIMARS projectile have been intercepted.

In addition, 23 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles were neutralised near Belogorovka, Berestovoye, Spornoye (Donetsk Peoples Republic), Verkhnekamenka, Zolotaryovka (Lugansk Peoples Republic), and Ulyanovka (Zaporozhye region).

?? In total, 504 airplanes and 253 helicopters, 8,127 unmanned aerial vehicles, 441 air defence missile systems, 12,828 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,166 combat vehicles equipped with MLRS, 6,843 field artillery guns and mortars, as well as 14,515 units of special military equipment have been destroyed during the special military operation.

Tags:

WtR
JIM MILLER

Dear Savvy Senior,

Can you recommend some medical escort services that help seniors get home after a medical procedure? I need to have a colonoscopy, but my doctors clinic wont schedule my appointment unless I supply them with a name and phone number of the person taking me home afterward. I live alone with no family nearby, and my friend doesnt drive anymore. Any suggestions?

Need a Lift

Dear Need,

Good question. Finding door-through-door medical escort services for outpatient screenings and procedures that involve anesthesia can be challenging for older patients without nearby family or friends to rely on.

Door-through-door escorts that most clinics require is a safety measure. With a colonoscopy, for example, patients often receive an anesthetic, like propofol, or a narcotic such as Demerol or fentanyl, combined with anti-anxiety medication like Versed or Valium.

These drugs affect the brain, and they can stay in the system for four to six hours. So, whats needed is someone to escort you out of the building, take you back home and see you into it.

While theres no one simple solution to this medical escort problem, there are wide variety of local service providers, nonprofits and home-care companies that may be able to assist you. But whats available to you will depend on where you live.

Finding help

A good first step in making medical escort arrangements is to talk to your health care provider thats doing the procedure to find out if their clinic offers transportation services or if they can refer you to a local medical escort service or person who can help you. If not, see if you can remain in the clinic for an extended period of time, until the drugs wear off, so you can safely drive yourself home or hail an Uber, Lyft or taxi to take you.

If these options arent available, here are some sources you should check into.

Area Agency on Aging: Your local AAA is one of your best resources for locating transportation services and should be able to refer you to medical escorts available in your community. To find your AAA call the Eldercare Locater 800-677-1116 or visit eldercare.acl.gov.

Local nonprofit groups: The National Volunteer Caregiving Network at nvcnetwork.org connects about 700 community organizations nationwide, most of which provide door-through-door transportation without charge.

Shepherds Centers of America: There are 55 affiliates in 17 states that provide support services for older adults  see shepherdcenters.org. Most offer escorts to and from medical appointments without charge.

Village to Village Network: There are around 250 local village networks across the country, see vtvnetwork.org, that often help with medical escorts, though theres an annual fee  usually subsidized for lower-income seniors  to join a village.

Home-care companies: You may also be able to hire a medical escort through a home-care agency, or you can find someone on your own through websites like care.com or carelinx.com. Note that Medicare doesnt cover medical escorts, but in many states Medicaid does. If you choose this option, be sure you give plenty of notice before your appointment.

Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit savvysenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of The Savvy Senior book.
Eau Claire Leader-Telegram. October 12, 2023.

Editorial: Back off the threats

Robin Vos, the Republican leader of the Wisconsin Assembly, needs to back off the threat to impeach Justice Janet Protasiewicz.

Vos isnt wrong that the members of the Wisconsin Supreme Court need to rule on law, rather than their own political views. His concern for that standard comes late, though, and was notably absent when conservatives held the majority.

On Thursday, Vos said the Legislature has the ability to hold her accountable to the voters of Wisconsin. Hes right. That statement was predicated on whether a justice decides to inject their own political bias inside the process and not follow the law.

Protasiewicz hasnt done that yet. You have to rule on a case in order to do so. Vos is projecting an outcome that has not yet taken place.

Impeachment of an official is a serious matter. It must be based on that officials actions, not what people believe that officials actions will be. Vos is putting the cart before the horse here, and hes on exceptionally shaky ground in doing so.

Removal of a supreme court justice is an extreme act, warranted only in exceptional circumstances. Weve editorialized a number of times about the absence of ethical standards in the United States Supreme Court. As distasteful as we find the justices actions, not once have we called for removal of a justice. Why not? Because you cant breach a code that doesnt exist, and the court has no binding code of ethics.

Theres another dimension in play as well. Protasiewicz was elected by the people of Wisconsin. She took 55% of the vote. Unlike the federal court, justices in Wisconsin are elected to their office and she was the choice of Wisconsin voters.

Were very leery of effectively overturning an election by removing a person voters put in place. While were concerned about Chippewa County Sheriff Travis Hakes actions and his apparent lack of judgement, we didnt call for his ouster. Our board did not think his actions quite rose to that level.

It should be no surprise, then, that we do not support the removal of an elected official who has not yet taken the action for which removal is being considered.

Protasiewiczs comments during the election, calling legislative maps rigged and unfair were unwise. She knew challenges to the maps would likely be coming to the court and that, she would be ruling on them if she won election. She put herself in a position to be accused  with considerable justification  of prejudging the cases.

But those who seek her impeachment lack foundation. That foundation may only rest on her position relative to the courts ruling. American law accepts preemptive action only in rare cases, and this isnt one of them.

Vos is further undermined by the fact two of his handpicked advisors on the issue have said they do not believe Protasiewicz should be impeached. Jon Wilcox and David Prosser, both conservatives and former members of Wisconsins supreme court, have both come out in opposition to such a move.

Impeaching an elected official in a panic, while trying to preserve political dominance, is an abuse of the power the Legislature holds. Vos, we suspect, knows that. While such threats may play well with his political base, they would diminish the Legislatures standing and tarnish his own legacy.

Theres an adage that advises people, when they find themselves in a hole, to stop digging. Thats the best course for Vos. Clinging to this threat when even a handpicked panel rejects does not serve Wisconsin, and its time to put it to rest.

Wisconsin State Journal. October 15, 2023.

Editorial: Dont loosen Wisconsins labor laws for children

Children working longer hours in more dangerous settings is not the solution to Wisconsins labor shortage.

The Legislature should let kids be kids  and protect them from hazardous job sites.

That includes the sawmill in Florence County where a 16-year-old boy died in July while trying to unjam a wood-stacking machine. That includes the slaughterhouses where a Grant County-based company had children as young as 13 working with hazardous chemicals and cleaning saws. Several of the minors suffered injuries and burns.

That includes Wisconsin taverns, where 14-year-olds shouldnt be allowed to serve alcohol.

With an aging population and a low unemployment rate of just 2.9%, Wisconsin definitely needs more workers to grow and prosper. But loosening child labor laws would be short-sighted and harmful. Wisconsin has much better options, including immigration, automation, education and child care.

Sen. Cory Tomczyk of Mosinee, Rep. Clint Moses of Menomonie and Rep. Amy Binsfeld of Sheboygan recently proposed the elimination of work permits and parental permission for 14- and 15-year-olds who seek jobs in the Badger State. The Republican trio call work permits and parental approval needless administrative barriers that slow down hiring.

So much for parental rights, which are supposed to be a GOP priority. Their bill also would stop the state Department of Workforce Development from verifying the age of children and make it harder to uncover and investigate violations.

Simplifying the permitting process might be worthwhile, but not eliminating it.

Another bad idea is letting 14- to 17-year-olds serve beer and booze in taverns and restaurants. Sen. Rob Stafsholt of New Richmond and Rep. Chanz Green of Grandview, both Republicans, say teens serving alcohol in bars and restaurants will address severe workforce shortage issues.

Marginally, that might be true. But their proposal would give children easier access to substances they cant legally consume. It also would increase contact between teen employees and intoxicated strangers, risking harassment. It could reduce oversight by older staff of heavy-drinking customers who may need to be cut off.

Wisconsin already leads the nation in binge drinking. One in 5 of licensed drivers in the state have been convicted of drunken driving. If Stafsholt and Green get their way, Wisconsin would suffer another dubious distinction: having the youngest servers in the nation.

The rest of the Legislature should reject this reckless idea and keep the legal age for delivering drinks at 18, which most states require. Improving the Tavern Leagues bottom line isnt worth putting booze in the hands of children.

Wisconsin has much better solutions to its workforce challenge, including:

 Allowing more legal immigration, including a streamlined process for work visas.

 Embracing automation to boost productivity and improve wages, rather than fearing it will take away jobs.

 Letting foreign students stay and contribute here after graduating from our universities.

 Raising pay and improving working conditions. (Thats what the governor and Legislature did in the state budget to fill critical positions, hiking the starting wage for prison guards by nearly $13 an hour  a 63% increase.)

 Investing in child care, which frees up more parents to join or stay in the workforce.

 Investing in education, which prepares young people for the jobs of the future while retraining older employees who need new skills.

Arkansas, New Hampshire and New Jersey have relaxed child labor laws in recent years. Iowa and West Virginia have lowered the age for serving alcohol to 16. Wisconsin should avoid this misguided and perilous trend.

END
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The plan, which is drafted by a group of Hollywood A-listers headed by Clooney to settle dispute between SAG and studios, has been rejected by the actors union.

Oct 22, 2023

AceShowbiz - George Clooney led a group of Hollywood stars to make an offer to the SAG-AFTRA union in a bid to end the ongoing actors strike. Actors across the industry started the strike in July as part of a dispute with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) over concerns including residuals from streaming services and the use of artificial intelligence - now Clooney has attempted to bring the two bodies closer to a deal.

His proposal would see some of the industry's biggest-earners pay more to the SAG-AFTRA union by lifting the cap on membership dues - meaning those who earn more can contribute more in fees - to help bolster the union's coffers and bridge the gap between the offer from the studios and SAG-AFTRA's demands. It would also allow the lowest-paid actors on a project to collect their residuals first.

Clooney told Deadline.com, "A lot of the top earners want to be part of the solution. We've offered to remove the cap on dues, which would bring over $50 million to the union annually. Well over $150 million over the next three years. We think it's fair for us to pay more into the union."

"We also are suggesting a bottom-up residual structure - meaning the top of the call sheet would be the last to collect residuals, not the first. These negotiations will be ongoing, but we wanted to show that we're all in this together and find ways to help close the gap on actors getting paid."

However, SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher has since admitted Clooney's solution just isn't going to work. In a video posted on Instagram, she explained, "First of all, I want to thank certain members that wield a lot of clout in this business for the tremendous amount of money that they contributed to our foundation."

"I also want to thank George Clooney for organising the suggestion that  take the caps off of the dues so that the highest paid members can contribute more. Although that's extremely generous and we accept that graciously."

"We are a federally regulated labour union and the only contributions that can go into our pension and health funds must be from the employer. So what we are fighting for in terms of benefits has to remain in this contract. [It's] kind of apples and oranges, just so everybody understands that."

She added, "There was a reference to a suggestion of maybe a solution from some people of how maybe we can get back to the table with some kind of a residual. But that was vetted by our very experienced union contract staff negotiators and lawyers. And they said that it unfortunately doesn't hold water because, frankly, this is a very nuanced house of cards."

"So although we appreciate the effort and the desire to be supportive to all the member body, we at the union and with the negotiating committee are still waiting for the CEOs to return to the table so we can continue our talks."

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Duff McKagan admits seeing young generation coming to see his band's concerts is slightly worrying because they should be attending new rock artists' shows instead.

Oct 23, 2023

AceShowbiz - Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan is hopeful rock will live forever but admits a lot of young music fans are attending their shows. The 59-year-old rocker hopes the fact that their shows are attended by teens isn't a sign that they are not attending new rock artists' concerts.

"Man, I hope so. I see these young people coming out to Guns show, and I'm, like, 'Man, it's cool you're coming to see us, but there should be a band that's 21 or 22 that you're f****** losing your s*** to.' I don't know if it'll be the same, but I f****** hope so," he told Classic Rock magazine when asked if the genre has a future.

Meanwhile, Duff hailed his idol and collaborator Iggy Pop as his "deity" and admitted it's weird being friends and working with his childhood hero. He shared, "To me, there's Prince and there's Lemmy and there's Iggy. And Iggy is a deity to me - it's hard for me to have a regular relationship with him, because he's been a hero of mine since I was 12 or 13 years old and I discovered The Stooges."

"Back when I played on a record with him in the early 1990s, I was drinking. I was a little bit more, 'Yeah, man, f*** yeah!' But doing that last record with him now, and playing those shows with him [in April 2023], he's such a hard worker. He's kind of like James Brown in how he runs a band."

As well as praising the way he leads a band, Duff says Iggy, 76, was a huge hit with his daughters Grace Elizabeth and Mae Marie. He continued, "He had a band, which was me and [Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer] Chad Smith and Jamie [Hince, guitarist] from The Kills and [guitarist/producer] Andrew Watt."

"We're professionals, y'know. But he'll call Chad 'drummer.' He has notes on every song and he'll go, 'OK guys, gather round. Drummer! Can you hit that on the upbeat?' He did ask one of the other guys if he smoked. 'Maybe you should have a cigarette on that song.' I was thinking, 'I really hope I don't get asked to smoke a cigarette on that song."

"But he really is very good at running a band, and he's very appreciative of musicians. And my two daughters both f****** love him. They came to one of the shows, and I see him over in the corner enraptured in a conversation with them, just going for it. He's an all-round nice guy."

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By Baek Byung-yeul

Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong held a meeting with the companys key Japanese partners in Seoul, Saturday, to further strengthen cooperation in the face of complex crises caused by the global economic recession and growing uncertainties, the chipmaker said Sunday.

The chairman hosted the regular meeting of Lee Kunhee Japanese Friends (LJF), which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, in Seungjiwon, Samsung Groups reception hall in tony section of Itaewon, central Seoul.

LJF was launched in 1993 by the late Lee Kun-hee, former chairman of Samsung Group and father of the current chairman, to bolster cooperation between Samsung and Japans electronics industry, including semiconductors, mobile phones, TVs and home appliances.

It was the first time that Chairman Lee chaired a regular LJF meeting since he took the helm last year, and it was the first time that a face-to-face meeting was held in Korea since 2019. At that time, he chaired the meeting in place of the former chairman, who was ill, Samsung said.

Among the attendees from Samsung at the meeting were Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Han Jong-hee, Samsungs mobile business head Roh Tae-moon, Samsung Display CEO Choi Joo-sun, Samsung SDI CEO Choi Yoon-ho and Samsung C&T CEO Koh Jung-suk.

From the LJF, eight executives from companies in the electronic component and material industries attended, such as TDK, Murata Manufacturing and Alps Alpine.

Samsung said that Lee, in his welcome speech at the meeting, described how Samsung's cooperation with the Japanese component and material industry had been a major force in the company's growth into a global top-tier player today.

"Lee said that the trust and cooperation between LJF member companies and Samsung have not wavered in the slightest despite the ups and downs of Korea-Japan relations over the past 30 years. He added that the close cooperation with Japanese companies, including LJF member companies, will continue to be essential in the future," Samsung said.

They have been strengthening cooperation in the midst of a series of global issues that threaten businesses, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S.-China trade war and the Russia-Ukraine war.

"Lee stressed that Samsung and the Japanese industry must continue to maintain a trust-based cooperative relationship like a precious friend who walks together for a thousand miles in order to lead the future industry and enjoy greater prosperity," Samsung said.

The industry view is that Lee has played a pivotal role as a private ambassador between the two economies.

In 2019, when Japan tightened its export restrictions of high-tech materials against Korean companies, Lee immediately activated his Japanese business network, including the LJF, and made efforts to minimize the damage to Samsung and Korea's industry.

The Korea-Japan trade dispute was officially resolved this year. The chairman is known to have played a role in bringing about the resolution by visiting Japan several times unofficially to communicate with Japanese business leaders.

Lee is speeding up preparations for the future by personally overseeing key businesses, such as semiconductors, displays and batteries, and reviewing business strategies.

He is also preparing for Samsungs new leap forward by commemorating his fathers visionary leadership. Samsung recently held a 30th anniversary ceremony for a guide dog school, which his father had always cared about, and a memorial academic conference and music concert for the late chairman, ahead of the third anniversary of his memorial day that is held on the 25th.
Limestone County might be the new fastest-growing county in Alabama in recent years.

But Baldwin County, the fastest growing county in Alabama since 2010, has arrived.

For the first time ever, Baldwin County is the predominate population base among counties in an Alabama congressional district following the court-ordered redistricting of Alabamas congressional map, which led to new boundaries in the 1st and 2nd congressional districts.

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Under the new maps, Baldwin Countys voting-age population of 182,471 represents close to one-third of the 1st Districts overall voting age population of 557,336. It is now splintered from much of the City of Mobile, which is included in the redrawn 2nd District created by the courts to give Black voters a better opportunity of having representation in the U.S House.

A good portion of Mobile County still remains in District 1, with 120,974 voters. That is big enough to be the second-largest county within the district, trailing only Baldwin County. But it is also close to 61,000 fewer voting-age residents than Baldwin County, making the home to the states beaches a major player in future U.S. House races.

Houston County, home to the districts largest city in Dothan, is a distant third with a voting-age population of 82,646.

Its the bellwether of the district, without a doubt, Steve Flowers, a political commentator and former Republican member of the Alabama House, said about Baldwin Countys influence within the district. It shows you how much the state has changed  Baldwin County was nothing but a rural and large geographical county. But Baldwin County is, indeed, going to benefit from this.

Said Patrick McWilliams, the chairman of the Baldwin County GOP, Its the population epicenter and it will only grow.

Shifting boundaries

The boundaries of Alabama's 1st congressional district (shaded in gray).

A good portion of Mobile and Baldwin County are split into separate congressional districts for the first time in 40 years, when Baldwin Countys population was less than 60,000 residents. The county is now home to a whopping 231,767 residents.

Since Alabamas 1st congressional district was split, a mostly right-leaning group of public officials have anguished over what they say is a lack of maintaining a community of interest along the Alabama Gulf Coast.

Communities of interest can be defined in many ways that include include proximity, shared interests and holidays such as Mardi Gras, celebrated by both Mobile and Baldwin counties but not in the Wiregrass. Baldwin County is now in the same congressional district of much of the entire Wiregrass region in Southeast Alabama.

Republican officials have also argued the shared interests of Mobile and Baldwin counties include economic synergy from employers.

Alabama State Senator Chris Elliott, R-Josephine, speaks during a celebration of a construction project for a second Airbus A320 final assembly line and continued site expansion on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023, near the Airbus U.S. manufacturing facility in Mobile, Ala. Airbus plans to have the final assembly line project completed by mid-2025. (John Sharp/jsharp@al.com).

I think that having all of Mobile and Baldwin counties in Congressional District 1 was preferable, said Alabama State Senator Chris Elliott, R-Josephine, and whose Senate district encompasses Baldwin County. Its about personal relationships and working together as a region. We do that in Coastal Alabama really well and will continue doing that if Spring Hill (in Mobile County) is in CD1 or 2. When it comes down to it, we can still benefit from representation from two different Congress people.

U.S. Rep. Jerry Carl, R-Mobile, is seeking re-election to the 1st district despite the radically different geographic boundaries of the district that now stretch to the Alabama-Georgia state line in Houston and Henry counties. The new district includes Enterprise, home to incumbent 2nd District U.S. Rep. Barry Moore, who has yet to announce his political intentions.

Carl has the endorsements of a host of Republicans who dominate public office in both Mobile and Baldwin counties.

Jerry has very good relationships with local and state officials in Baldwin County and across his district, Elliott said about Carl, a former Mobile County Commissioner. Theyve known and worked with him for a better part of a decade and trust what he will do on in Escambia County and Baldwin County just as if he lived in Fairhope or Summerdale. There is a comfort level there that may not exist with another candidate.

If Carl decides someday to not run for re-election, officials like Elliott believe Baldwin County will likely produce the next congressman.

I think Carl will be the congressman as long as he wants to be, but the likelihood that you see a Baldwin County emerging in the future, post-Jerry, is probably pretty good, Elliott said.

Political realities

Politically, the new 1st district has the makings to be one the reddest in the country.

Baldwin County, the largest population base of District 1, has long been a reliably conservative county despite steady and rapid growth that has occurred for over 30 years.

More than 76% of the countys voters backed Republican incumbent President Donald Trump during the 2020 election. Among the most populated counties in Alabama, Baldwin County had the highest support for the former president.

The county will be the king of a congressional district that is much more conservative than it was before the courts got involved in the states redistricting. Under the previous map, the congressional district was rated a +15 advantage for Republicans by Cook Political Report in 2017. That was good enough to rank the district No. 75 among the most Republican U.S. House districts in the U.S.

Under the new map  which excludes the City of Mobile but captures the rural and heavily conservative Wiregrass counties north of the Florida Panhandle  the district is now a +28 advantage for Republicans, tied for the six-most Republican district in the U.S. House.

Jacyln Bunch, an associate professor in the Department of Political Science and Criminal Justice at the University of South Alabama, said the growth trends in Baldwin County make predicting future outcomes of political races within the county difficult despite the overwhelming trend of Republicans dominating at the ballot box.

But what kind of Republicans could emerge? The congressional district has a long history of electing somewhat moderate and socially conservative Republicans to office.

Bunch said Baldwin County aligns closely with urban areas considered Democratic strongholds with economies reliant on professional and information-economy jobs and not as much with the agriculture and manufacturing bases that dominate in rural areas that trend Republican.

She said with a population older than the states average, demands will continue to rise for healthcare and other services. She also pointed to a recent study that showed management occupations, sales and office jobs dominating the countys industry.

Baldwin is perhaps one of the most interesting and dynamic counties to study in a political sense, Bunch said. The shifting demographic makeup, industry, and ultimately demands in goods and services may lead to a more nuanced result politically than one would expect, she said. Baldwins long-term political future is not as settled as other stable areas of Alabama.

Elliott disagrees. He said the countys voters tend to be much more conservative than other larger counties, and does not see any substantial changes occurring. He said that is reflected in the leadership elected to local and state offices.

Elliott said while politicians are concerned about business-related issues in Baldwin County, social concerns remain a strong political consideration.

Im business friendly, but that wont be at the expense at what I think my constituents key goals and desires are, Elliott said. We dont have the big business interests that Mobile has  we dont have Airbus and Austal. Most are the smaller to medium size business interests who tend to be very, very conservative in their politics.

Wiregrass, rural concerns

A cotton field in the Wiregrass area of Alabama.

Baldwin Countys outsized influence in the district, early on, does not appear to be a concern in the Wiregrass and the more rural counties outside the coastal area that are now included in the 1st district.

Its not bothering me at all, said State Rep. Matthew Hammett, R-Dozier, whose State House district covers Coffee, Covington and Escambia counties and who is also a member of the Wiregrass delegation. I dont see anyone upset about it. When we went into special session to redraw the maps, Covington County was redrawn into District 1. I started talking to Jerry Carl and built a relationship there. We dont know who the congressman will be, but I think it will be good for all of us fighting for the southern part of the state and there is more of us now (within the 1st district).

In Dothan, which is more than a three-hour drive to Baldwin County, Mayor Frank Saliba said the only concern he had with the redistricting effort was to ensure that Dothan remained in the same district as the small towns that surround the city.

We need to work regionally to compete for statewide and federal funds, said Saliba. Its my job as an elected official to work with whatever congressional district I am in and whoever the congressional rep that we have to express the concerns of the citizens and to go after as much funding as we can get, just like any other city.

Saliba said the distance of Dothan to Mobile County does not concern him, noting that the city has been in congressional districts with larger cities and counties before  namely Montgomery.

I think we can work together on issues, he said. The Port of Mobile, even though its far away from us, it benefits us and the entire state when it does well and that is just one typical asset in their area now that is in ours.

He added, We are trying to take a good, positive look on the situation. Its where we are, and I have to make the best of where we are.

Flowers and Bradley Byrne, the former District 1 congressman and now president & CEO with the Mobile Chamber, both said they are concerned the Wiregrass could get lost in the shuffle.

Said Flowers, If you had a choice of fixing (the I-10 Mobile River Bridge and Bayway) or widening a road in Dothan, what will you fix? That is where the Wiregrass gets the short end of the stick.

Byrne said the vast geography of District 1 could be problematic for a congressman, who lives in Mobile or Baldwin counties, to represent the Wiregrass and its unique interests.

Ive been complaining on what (the court-ordered redistricting) does to Mobile, but I can imagine what the people in Dothan think, Byrne said. It does hurt them. You have a major military base (Fort Novosel, former Fort Rucker) in Coffee County. I dont have any doubt a congressman in this part of the district will do a lot to help interests in Dothan and Enterprise. But when you spread yourself out over a large aera, and you dont get as much staff, there will be a give (and take) here.

McWilliams, the head of the Baldwin County GOP, said the continued growth of Baldwin County will be influential for the entire district, adding that I dont see the Wiregrass having the same expansion were having here in Baldwin County.

Houston County, since 2010, has grown less than 6%. Baldwin Countys growth since 2010 is 27.2%, by far the most of any county in the state.

Said McWilliams, You cannot win Congressional District 1 without winning Baldwin County, and I stand by that.
Republican officials in Alabama are supporting a bill to make it a crime to provide an absentee ballot application for another voter.

They say a stricter law would prevent the distribution of unsolicited applications by people paid by campaigns or third-party groups trying to gain undue influence on voters.

Opponents of the bill, the first one filed for next years legislative session, point out that it would affect more than paid activists. Friends, neighbors, church members, and volunteers could face prosecution for giving an absentee ballot application to another voter.

The bill has exceptions for family members and people who share a household. It allows helping voters who are blind, disabled, or cannot read and write, exceptions mandated by federal law. Voters could also ask for help from employees who work in state and county election offices.

But otherwise, a person who orders, requests, or obtains an absentee ballot application for another voter could be charged with a Class A misdemeanor, which carries up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $6,000.

Absentee ballot applications are readily available. Voters with a computer and printer can download and print them from the secretary of states website. But absentee voting is still a challenge for some, according to those who oppose adding new restrictions.

Its a confusing process, and especially for our seniors, Rep. Adline Clarke, D-Mobile said. We need to be doing all we can to simplify the process, not make it more complicated and criminalizing somebodys actions if they should seek to help somebody whos not their blood relative.

Clarke said people who help senior citizens with absentee voting in her district do it to be good neighbors.

In some cases, those individuals that they are assisting dont have close relatives here, Clarke said. Their children might be clear across country. They may not have sisters and brothers who are still living. So that legislation would really restrict an individuals ability to exercise their right to vote and to vote absentee.

Alabama law already prohibits mailing in an absentee ballot application for another voter or hand-delivering it to the county absentee election manager. The prohibition is printed in red text on the application, along with criminal penalties. It means that third-party collections of absentee ballots, sometimes called ballot harvesting, is already illegal in Alabama.

But Republican Secretary of State Wes Allen and Rep. Jamie Kiel, R-Russellville, House sponsor of the bill, said the current law is vague. Kiel said the bill would clarify and strengthen the law but would not prevent voter assistance when its needed.

I was very clear back during the last session that its not our intention to keep people from voting, Kiel said.

In May, the Republican majority in the House passed Kiels bill over opposition from Democrat. But the bill did not come up for a vote in the Senate.

Sen. Garlan Gudger, R-Cullman, has pre-filed it for the 2024 session, which starts in February. It is listed as Senate Bill 1, (SB1).

Weve absolutely got to maintain our absentee ballot voting, said Secretary of State Allen, a former House member who also has experience administering elections as a former probate judge in Pike County. There are a lot of people out there that utilize it and we want to protect it from being manipulated. SB1 is a strong bill. The current law now is vague. SB1 strengthens the absentee balloting process. It protects against manipulation. I feel that SB1 protects Alabama citizens who legitimately require assistance to vote.

Kiel said the purpose of the bill is to prevent political activists and consultants from profiting off the absentee process and to stop potential fraud.

Youve got someone that you dont know and I dont know that goes to a residential complex and goes door-to-door filling out applications, Kiel said. And then once they fill out the applications then theyve got the persons address and they know it was submitted. Then they can follow up and quote, help, with a ballot. Theres ample opportunity for bad things to happen.

The bill makes it a felony to receive payment or to pay someone to distribute, order, request, or obtain an absentee ballot application for another voter.

But, as opponents point out, the criminal sanctions would not be limited to people who pay or get paid. The first section of the bill makes it a misdemeanor for anybody to order, request, collect, prefill, obtain, or deliver an absentee ballot application for another person.

Kathy Jones, state president of the League of Women Voters of Alabama, said the bill would criminalize some of the work the organizations local chapters and volunteers do to promote election participation.

Jones said they set up tables at senior centers, libraries, churches, thrift-store parking lots, and college campuses. They help people register to vote or update their registration. The bill would not prohibit that.

But it would affect the help with absentee ballot applications provided by the League and other organizations, Jones said. For voters who seek their help, Jones said volunteers print the applications, which are specific by county, and provide envelopes and address labels.

Jones said the exception the bill provides for people with disabilities will not cover everyone who seeks or needs assistance.

Our members would be at risk of being prosecuted for a Class A misdemeanor for proving assistance to people who asked for help, Jones said.

Allen said people who are not disabled but who need help can get that from county election offices and from employees with the secretary of states office, as stated in the bill. The secretary of states website has information about absentee voting, absentee ballot applications by county, and a roster of absentee election managers and their addresses by county.

Its very easy to go on and find the application, Kiel said.

Allen and Kiel said absentee voting is the part of elections in Alabama must vulnerable to fraud.

Allen said the secretary of states office has received reports from voters about receiving unsolicited, pre-filled absentee ballot applications from out of state groups.

Thats one thing that SB1 would prohibit, Allen said. It causes confusion, specifically with the elderly, when the elderly receive these pre-filled absentee ballot applications.

Allen did not provide any specific examples of where and when that happened. He said those reports to the secretary of states office came before he took office in January.

Allen said SB1 would place some new limitations on the voter assistance efforts like those done by the League of Women Voters and other organizations. But he believes it is the best policy.

A lot of time and effort and research has went into drafting this piece of legislation, Allen said. And we feel its at a place where its a strong bill that protects the absentee process while protecting the voters.
David Shers ComebackTown for a better metro Birmingham

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Todays guest columnist is Thomas Spencer.

This month, the Jefferson County Greenways Commission is launching a national search for a superintendent to lead the development of a system of large-acreage public parks, bringing together Red Mountain Park, Ruffner Mountain, and Turkey Creek Nature Preserve.

Its a stunning turnaround moment for three well-loved but heretofore underfunded destinations. And it creates a world of possibilities for the future.

What a difference intergovernmental cooperation makes

In 2019, before my first meeting as a volunteer on the Red Mountain Park Commission, I was informed that the park was in danger of shutting down because it was running out of money.

In the face of the emergency, park leadership had to slash staff. Birmingham and Homewood helped stabilize the park, and the Jefferson County Legislative Delegation secured money from the state to help pay for the state employees managing the state-owned land.

It turned out Ruffner had navigated through a precarious financial situation as well, and Turkey Creek remained vulnerable due to the uncertainty around the fate of Birmingham-Southern College, a principal supporter. The leaders of the three parks  Ruffners Carlee Sanford, Red Mountains T.C. McLemore, and Turkey Creeks Roald Hazelhoff  began meeting to devise a common solution, all the while managing short-staffed through the pandemic, a time when park visitation skyrocketed.

Red Mountain (1,500 acres straddling Red Mountains ridge west of I-65), Ruffner (1,040 acres on the ridge separating Irondale and Birmingham East of I-20), and Turkey Creek (655 acres centered on a Turkey Creek in Pinson) each operated independently, cobbling together support from adjacent cities, from members, and philanthropic donors.

All three parks are cornerstone historical sites, with evidence of early settlement and the iron-making and mining that birthed the Birmingham district. Between the three, they provide miles of hiking, biking, running, swimming, and fishing, plus nature education and historical interpretation. Nearly every weekend, their parking lots are filled-to-overflowing, each attracting around 100,000 visitors yearly.

In most urbanized counties in Alabama and major counties in the U.S., the county plays a role in creating and maintaining large-scale parks. These regional parks are increasingly recognized as must-have amenities: assets that make the communities healthier and more attractive. Most commonly, governmental funding supports basic operations and maintenance, while community and philanthropic support supplements by providing programming and capital improvements.

In Jefferson County, park building has been left to the countys multitude of municipalities. When it came to these larger parks, which draw people from all over the region, the responsibility of caring for them fell to philanthropy and adjacent cites.

In 2022, park leaders presented a proposal for county support and appealed to the Jefferson County Commission to partner with the city and the state to support these large-acreage parks.

The Commission responded with a challenge: the county would invest $2 million in American Rescue Plan Act money in the venture if the parks could secure $1.6 million in matching funds, enough to support three years of maintenance and operations at the three existing parks.

The challenge was met. And then some: $3.95 million will upgrade maintenance, operation, and security over the next three years at the three parks. After the parks coalition, now renamed the Jefferson County Greenways Commission (JCGC), secured the match, the County increased its commitment, adding a $350,000 annual appropriation to its regular budget, a sign of its support for a long-term partnership.

Additional pledges have been made to the non-profit Ruffner Mountain Nature Coalition and Red Mountain Park Foundation, allowing them to revive programming and make capital improvement projects at the parks. The public collaboration through the JCGC will be mirrored on the nonprofit side, as the Ruffner Mountain Nature Coalition and the Red Mountain Park Foundation share resources, expertise, and energy, eliminating duplication and competition.

This fledgling system has been made possible through the cooperation and co-investment by the Jefferson County Commission, the Jefferson County Legislative Delegation, the cities of Birmingham, Irondale, Homewood, and Pinson, the Jefferson County Health Department, the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham, EBSCO, the Alabama Power Foundation, The Goodrich Foundation, and other philanthropic organizations.

More than $3.95 million has been pledged over the next three years to launch the system, with additional funding also pledged to re-energize the nonprofits that have managed the parks.

On the public side, the superintendent, under the oversight of the Greenways Commission, will have the opportunity to build a cost-efficient, joint system for caring for and improving the parks. In the long run, the system will also provide a sustainable framework for adding new regional parks and enhancing outdoor recreational attractions, a mechanism other counties have but Jefferson County has lacked.

These free and open-to-the-public parks arent city parks; they arent state parks, though much of the land is owned by the State. Theyve been managed through makeshift arrangements with 501c-3 nonprofits and have, to a large extent, operated on donated dollars.

With the new system, Jefferson County can complement the vision and investment Shelby County has shown in developing and promoting its outdoor recreational offerings. Working with Forever Wild, Shelby County established Cahaba River Park near Helena. On the eastern end, Shelby County has added Double Oak Park as well as benefiting from the expansion of Oak Mountain State Park.

Its exciting to think of the possibilities cooperation provides.

Thomas Spencer is a senior research associate at the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama and serves on the Jefferson County Greenways Commission. He is also the author of Five Star Trails: Birmingham, a guidebook to hiking in Central Alabama.

David Sher is the founder and publisher of ComebackTown. Hes past Chairman of the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce (BBA), Operation New Birmingham (REV Birmingham), and the City Action Partnership (CAP).

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APPEAL Palestine must live on its feet, not on its knees! It is with great sadness and a sense of horror that we are witnessing the thousands of Palestinians being killed by Israeli bombardments, particularly civilians, among them numerous children. We are fighters for peace, and so we know that there can be no peace in Palestine, as elsewhere, without justice and without an end to the illegal foreign occupation and colonisation of Palestine which, as the United Nations recalls, contributes to a system of apartheid privileging armed settlers who enjoy total impunity and the protection of an army that is at their exclusive service, whose rabid violence is the daily lot of millions of Palestinians. Seventy-five years later, we have reached the point of "enough is enough". The refusal of the United States, Europe and other states to assume their responsibilities is the main cause of this dramatic situation. The mobilisation of all Palestinian resistance organizations, including Hamas, Fatah (Al Aqsa Brigades), the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Islamic Jihad and the Palestinian People's Party (Communist Party), is a response to Israel's relentless attacks that have intensified in recent weeks, a fact that has been made clear by Israeli pacifists and many Jewish democratic groups in France, the United States, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. This fact is also highlighted by the millions of demonstrators marching in solidarity with the Palestinian nation throughout the Arab world, as well as in New York and major US cities, in London, Berlin and Dusseldorf, Brussels, Rome and Milan, Paris and Geneva, Barcelona and Athens, Calcutta and Melbourne, but particularly in Tel Aviv, where thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets to demand Netanyahu's resignation. The situation in illegally occupied Palestine and Gaza is alarming. Israel has pledged, in Benjamin Netanyahus words, to wipe off the map what is an open-air prison, Gaza. His murderous insanity does not stop there, it extends to the West Bank and Jerusalem, where Israeli far-right gangs are already terrorising, attacking, and killing anything that is Palestinian. That is why we are launching this Appeal  it is urgent! A genocide is underway, with total impunity, that of the Palestinian people! It is a crime against humanity! Meanwhile, the mainstream media is forcing on us a unilateral and monolithic vision that is accompanied by a growing repression of other opinions and analyses that would help in clarifying the source of the information provided and in finding the truth. They do not permit an understanding of the context. It shows that the ruling elites is panicking as it becomes increasingly clear that the global balance of power is shifting and the Palestinians are playing an important role in this shift. The time has come for us to rise to the challenge and say No to this psychological terror, and to demand our right to balanced and truly pluralistic information! Let us have the courage to face the truth! The Palestinian nation has been held hostage on a daily basis for 75 years, in violation of the United Nations Charter and international law, including the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, adopted by the United Nations in 1960. It has been robbed of the land that the Palestinian people occupied for generations and generations. It has seen their villages and homes destroyed so that extremist settlers could drive them out and seize their property. It is a nation robbed, humiliated and savagely persecuted. The Palestinian nation has been subjected to apartheid and blatant racism by a state that has imprisoned over 5,000 Palestinians, including children, held for years behind bars, most of them without trial or access to lawyers. It represents a people forbidden to pray in their holy places, which are regularly defiled by Israeli soldiers. It is a people, who want to make a dignified living from their work, but are shamelessly exploited and abused. It is a people tortured, murdered in cold blood, and methodically slaughtered. It is a people under incessant bombardment, including phosphorus bombs. Since October 7, Israel has, in violation of international law, been denying the martyred population of Gaza access to water, forcing them to drink seawater, as well as access to electricity, fuel, food, and medical supplies for the thousands of wounded, reinforcing a blockade that was imposed in 2005 and intensified and made permanent since 2007, a blockade that in reality began in the early 1990s, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).[1] The brutality of Netanyahu's extremist regime, like that of Israel's previous leaders, knows no bounds. He and his corrupt government bear responsibility for this tragedy. Netanyahu has reached a point of cruelty and barbaric insanity that he wants to eliminate all Palestinians, who in the eyes of his Defense Minister are "no longer human, but animals". The executioners of the Palestinian people seem to have opted for a final solution to put an end to the Palestinian nation, which in their eyes is one nation too many. In Gaza, the first building to be bombed deliberately and significantly was the one housing the international press. Israel has since killed and wounded several journalists, attacked United Nations agencies responsible for aiding Palestinian refugees, targeted hospitals, ambulances, schools, and places of worship, all of which are crimes against humanity. People are dying in Gaza and the West Bank amidst the guilty silence of the Western media, the on-set experts, the political cliques, and the hypocritical camarilla that seeks to reassure itself with its shameless lies. This duplicity of the elites, regardless of their political association, be they from the "left", "right" or "far right", united in a "sacred union" of sad memory, is intolerably hypocritical. Netanyahu slaughters because he enjoys the "unconditional support" of the United States, the European Union, and France. At a time when the health situation in Gaza is turning into a nightmare and raises the worst fears, it is significant that Washington's first move was to send its Navys largest aircraft carrier to Lebanon, along with shipments of arms for one of the best-equipped armies in the world, which moreover has nuclear weapons acquired in violation of international law. In the official narrative of the USA and its allies, the aggressor is the aggressed, and the aggressed is the aggressor. This is unacceptable, but it is with such lies and with the help of the media that a climate of hysteria is being whipped up in France and elsewhere. This makes it possible to justify new liberticidal directives. Emmanuel Macron's Minister of Justice has declared that it is necessary to criminalise the actions of those who criticize Israel, condemn its abuses, call for a boycott of Israeli products as was done against South Africa under apartheid, or even those who express themselves freely in university seminars. Showing compassion and solidarity with civilian victims would henceforth be equated with support for terrorism and anti-Semitism, and made punishable by heavy prison sentences, legal action, and expulsion from the country - which is already happening, and even proscription of representative political parties, and the lifting of parliamentary immunity of elected representatives. Thus, demonstrations in solidarity with the Palestinians are banned and violently repressed, and arbitrary arrests made. This bigotry has gone to the extent of death threats being made against members of parliament whose only guilt is to express views that do not conform to the single ideology imposed through coercion. In his public intervention, Emmanuel Macron cynically applied an outrageous "double standard", with not a word of compassion for the inhabitants of Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem, so as to comply with the orders issued from Washington! The mainstream media forces upon us a caricatured interpretation of the situation geared exclusively to served Israel's interests. Any different point of view is banned and stigmatised as support for terrorism. The aim is to hide the responsibility and role of the United States and its European vassals, particularly France, in thwarting the implementation of United Nations resolutions concerning the liberation of Palestine. Why was it possible yesterday to decolonize more than 80 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, but impossible today to decolonize Palestine, to deny it application of the inalienable right of peoples to self-determination enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and in international law, a precondition for the realisation of all human rights? That is why we are calling for a much-needed awakening to the gravity of a situation that could lead to a new conflagration in the Middle East. The USA and Israel, with the support of their allies, are making no secret of their intention to wage war against Lebanon, Syria and especially Iran. In this region of the world, once a cradle of humanity and birthplace of Mediterranean civilisation, Washington and Tel Aviv are intensifying their provocations. The USA has already transferred part of its armada across from Beirut, while Israel has already bombed Damascus, Aleppo and southern Lebanon. This expansion of the war will lead to widespread confrontation. It takes the zealotry of Israel and the USA to believe for a moment that the Arab nations of the region could remain indifferent. It is always people who pay the price in terms of living and working conditions, but also in terms of freedom of expression, and the right to demonstrate and to organise. This is what the people of France and Europe, in particular, are experiencing with the price they are already paying for the war in Ukraine. Everything possible must be done to encourage free debate, exchange, and sharing. We must demand that France exercises pressure on Netanyahu so that Israel respects and implements the 50 resolutions approved by the UN General Assembly and Security Council. Israel is now a lawless state, and its political consequences must be clearly drawn. Enough with the incantations from the United Nations and Western countries! It is time for greater mass mobilisation to exercise pressure on governments and force them to act. It is urgent to end the bombardments, the continuing atrocities committed against the Palestinians, the massacres that Israel inflicts upon an entire people who, through their heroic resistance to years of blockade, terror and humiliation, have only reaffirmed their existence. Solely the recognition of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian nation to independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty, without external interference, will contribute to the achievement of the universal cause of peace and international cooperation, aims set out in the United Nations Charter. This requires as a precondition that the freedom of opinion and expression enshrined in international legal instruments relating to human rights are respected. No one can ignore all that we owe to the Palestinian resistance as a whole, and to the Palestinian people in particular, for having exemplified for so many years courage, abnegation, and, above all, sacrifice! A people who refuse to live on its knees triumph in the end, because sovereignty is a principle that is non-negotiable. That is why all those who have chosen to emancipate themselves from neo-colonial tutelage, re-colonisation, foreign occupation, pillage, predation, violence, intolerance, and war share this principle. The Palestinian people, through their struggle, are participating in this great movement of nations for national liberation and emancipation. The United Nations General Assembly, in its various resolutions on the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, reaffirms "the legitimacy of the struggle of peoples for independence, territorial integrity, national unity and liberation from colonial domination, apartheid and foreign occupation by all available means, including armed struggle".[2] We stand as one! Initial signatories :  Jean-Pierre Page : Trade unionist, former head of the International Department of Confederation Generale du Travail  CGT, France  Bruno Drweski : University Professor, Militant - Association Nationale des Communistes (ANC) and Association republicaine des anciens combattants (ARAC)  Tamara Kunanayakam : former Ambassador/Permanent Representative to United Nations, former Chairperson UN Working Group on Right to Development  Hassan Hamdan : Sociologist (Lebanon)  Michel Collon : Journalist, Writer (Belgium)  Charles Hoareau : President, Association Nationale des Communistes (ANC)  Maxime Vivas : Former Representative ATTAC, Essayist, Administrator of website Le Grand Soir  Robert Zimmer : Retired, Trade Unionist CGT, anticolonial militant  Quim Boix : General Secretary, Trade Union International of Pensioners and Retired Persons of the World Federation of Trade Unions (Spain)  Boris Differ : Doctorate in Contemporary History, Universite Bordeaux Montaigne  Albert Ettinger : Writer, Retired secondary and higher education teacher (Luxemburg)  Said Bouamama : Sociologist, Militant Front Uni des immigrations et des quartiers populaires  Danielle Riva : Editorial Board Utopie-Critique  Bernard Gerbier : Retired University Professor  Virginia Fontes : Historian (Brazil)  Philippe Cordat : Trade Unionist CGT  Mohamed Ben Yakhlef : Trade Unionist, Militant CGT and La France Insoumise (LFI)  Odette Auzende : Retired Senior Lecturer, Militant ARAC  Dragan Pavlovic : Retired University Professor  Olivier Rubens : Trade Unionist, Essayist  Philippe Gendrault : Psychologist-psychoanalyst  Armelle Bruant : Trade Unionist CGT  Joel Gauvin : Trade Unionist CGT  Jean Penichon : Member - ANC National Bureau  Ghada El Yafi : Physician  Andre Lacroix : Teacher, militant trade unionist against the single ideology (Belgium)  Roberto Frande : Retired Trade Unionist CGT Air Liquide  Therese de Ruyt : Retired Teacher, Literacy training for new arrivals, including Palestinians (Belgium)  Marc Vandepitte : Philosopher  Walid Sadaoui : anticolonial militant  Nines Maestro : Physician, militant Coordinacion de Nucleos Communistas (Spain)  Emir Saber : Philosopher, Sociologist (Brazil)  Louis Dilasser : Trade Unionist CGT  Marie-Anne Toulouse-Noujaim : Honorary Attorney  Bernard Gensane : University Professor, Administrator of website Le Grand Soir  Jean-Marie Bourget : Journalist  Alain Borg : Trade Unionist CGT  Laura Marks : Professor at Grant Strate University, Fellow of The Royal Society of Canada (Canada)  Givaldino Manoel da Silva-Giva: Militant of the indigenous cause (Brazil)  Fayez Hoche : Physician  Nicole Sainz : Trade Unionist Sud Solidaire-ANC31  Jean-Pierre Robert : Administrator of the website Palestine-Solidarite  Dominique Bathion : Trade Unionist Sud-Solidaire, Militant ANC31  Alain Chancogne : Retired, Militant ANC  Claude Gaucherand : Rear Admiral (2S) (O.L.H)  Jean-Pierre Lasserre : Retired, Militant ANC/LFI  Nicole Lasserre : Retired  Dimitri Konstantakopoulos : Editor in Chief - Defend Democracy Press ( Greece)  Roger Akl : Former Officer in the Lebanese Navy (Lebanon)  Badr Zeinoun  Pierre Bertoux : Trade Unionist CGT, Militant ANC  Abdenour Benmansour : Retired Director of Research  Catherine Chatard  Victoire Bech : Trade Unionist CGT, Militant ANC  Ana Bazac : Professor at Politehnica University of Bucharest (Romania)  Issa Sacko : Professor at Universite des Sciences Sociales et de Gestion, Bamako (Mali)  Jean-Pierre Garnier : Sociologist and Libertarian Urbanist  Bernard Guilleron : Urbanist, Trade Unionist CGT, Militant - Parti Communiste Francais (PCF)  Regis de Castelnau : Honorary Attorney  Ali Ismail : Militant Union des Patriotes Syriens en France  Yves Vargas : Philosopher, Writer  Halima Sadki : Languages Teacher  Nicolas Janny : Secondary School Teacher  Abdallah Namman : Diplomat, Writer (Lebanon)  Gilles Munier : Independent Journalist, Writer  Gabriel Casadesus : Militant Nurse PRCF  Khaled Abdelafiz : Palestinian Writer  Alain Rondeau : Industrial Designer, Trade Unionist  Pascal Raimbault : Retired Press employee, Friend of the resistance  Karl Grunberg : Animator - Association contre le racisme ACCOR- SOS Racisme  Aldjia Moulai : feminist antiracist militant  Lucio Flavio de Almeida : Editor of the Review Lutas Socias (Brazil)  Renata Goncalvez : Professeur, Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo (Brazil)  Sylvie Bertuit : Trade Unionist CGT  Julio Gambina : University Professor, President of Fundacion de Investigaciones Sociales y Politicas ( Argentina)  Mikael Nowicki : Polish Worker, grandson of Kazimierz Nowicki, prisoner at KL Auschwitz and KL Buchenwald  Laurent Faivre : Militant ANC 13  Etienne Coste : Trade Unionist, Militant CGT  Hasan Ismail : Linguist (Lebanon)  Jacqueline Lavy : Retired Teacher, Militant CGT, Collectif 74 pour la liberation de Georges Ibrahim Abdallah  Philippe Laure : Trade Unionist CGT  Helene Gressin : Retired from National Education  Mountaha Abs : Geographer (Lebanon)  Smygol Dorphy : Freelance Cinema, Liege (Belgium)  Monique Lambert : Retired from National Education  Bassam Elhachem : Philosopher (Lebanon)  Elias Mattar : Sociologist (Lebanon)  Cherif Chamseddine : Demographer (Lebanon)  Isabelle Fouquay : Associate Professor, Retired  Berthe Poggiale Avidor : Retired  Didier Frassin : Trade Unionist, Militant CGT  Fouad Khalil : Sociologist (Lebanon)  Castro Abdallah : President, Federation Syndicale des Travailleurs (Lebanon)  Abdo Khater  Andre Fadda : Trade Unionist CGT  Majed Nehme : Director of Magazine 2A, magazine of the Non Aligned  Peter Dontzow : Trade Unionist CGT, Defender of undocumented migrants  Jean-Claude Lacombe : Railway worker, Trade Unionist CGT  John Catalinotto : Editor in Chief of Workers World (USA)  Jeremie Ozog : Teacher of economic and social science, militant CGT and PRCF  Yannna Semrani : Historian (Lebanon)  Christian Lourdin : Militant  Communist Party USA  Antoine Lourdin : Trucker, Militant of Teamsters (USA)  Halbo Kool : Writer, Artist painter  Georges Latrive : Head of community radio station  Kamal Hamdan : Economist, Executive Director of Consultation and Research Institute (Lebanon)  Georges Chapuis : Trade Unionist CGT, Retired  Marie-Jeanne Vilette : Teacher, Trade Unionist and militant of PCF and Association France Palestine Solidarite  Dominique Vastelle : Retired Teacher  Ghassan Diba : Economist (Lebanon)  Vivien Guarino : Editor, Editions Critiques  Nazir Jahel : Anthropologist (Lebanon)  Jean-Pierre Richaudeau : Militant Federation Syndicale Unitaire  Moussawi Ali : Sociologist (Lebanon)  Maria Elena Saludas : Militant ATTAC (Argentina)  Alain Duray  Patrick Biondi : Trade Unionist CGT  Murad Akacilar : Militant Internationalist (Lebanon)  Rita Awn : Visual Artist (Lebanon)  Farid Jabbour : Professor of Law, Writer (Lebanon)  Lynda Husseyni : League of Retired Professors of Universite Libanaise  Hasan Mnaymneh : Former Minister, Former General Secretary of Faculty Committee of Universite Libanaise (Lebanon)  Faycal Jalloul : Specialised Researcher on the Middle-East  Bernard Barre : Member of Conseil Politique regional Auvergne- Rhone-Alpes  Ali Rastbeen : President of Academie Geopolitique de Paris  Michel Raimbaud : Former Diplomat, Writer  Luis Alberto Sanchi : Researcher CNRS-Paris  Ismail Ali : Union des patriotes Syriens en France  Jean Bricmont : Retired Physician (Belgium)  Jean Chambon : Retired, Pacifist militant  Jean-Claude Lacombe : Trade Unionist CGT  Bernadette Feyereisen : Citizen  Elisabeth Martens : Teacher, Sinologist, Administrator of Tibet doc.org and Chine-Ecologie.org  Pierre Lenormand : Geographer, Retired, ANC  Laurent de Wangen. Teacher, Militant - Association France Palestine Solidarite  Johan Hoebeke : Research Director at CNRS, Retired  Yves Alexis : Trade Unionist FNPOS-CGT  Phil Reuter : Militant FI-PRCF  Francoise Fete: Civil Aviation pensioner  Leone Goldstein: child of a prisoner killed in Auschwitz Signatures to be sent Jean-Pierre Page : jean.pierre.page@gmail.com

[1] Gaza Crossings: movement of people and goods, UNOCHA, https://www.ochaopt.org/data/crossings [2] Operative paragraph 2 of United Nations General Assembly resolutions 45/130 (1990), 37/43 (1982), 38/17 (1983), among others.










English News 30,000 plus Xinjiang-related stories expose how certain Western media fabricate, hype up forced labor smear

Alwihda Info | Par pd - 21 Octobre 2023



Western anti-China forces concocted the forced labor fallacy as a means to serve their goal of suppressing Chinas economic development. To clarify the lies and show the world a real Xinjiang, China should make more efforts in several aspects, such as focusing on the international communication with the Arab world and developing countries, strengthen the public dissemination of accurate information, while also paying close attention to the slanderous tactics employed by anti-China forces to defame China.

By Tuersun Aibai In recent years, anti-China forces in the West have hyped up the so-called forced labor narrative, an accusation to systematically vilify China, as an attempt to tarnish the countrys image on the international stage, weaken its international reputation, and alienate the nation by jeopardizing its friendly and cooperative relations with other countries.



In order to understand the political and economic motives behind their forced labor fallacy, as well as the exploration of the narratives manipulation strategies, transmission paths, and methods of the fallacy, I conducted a statistical analysis of over 30,000 Xinjiang-related stories from 22 media outlets in 15 countries and regions.



From these, I selected 189 pieces published by 13 media outlets that spread the forced labor slander for further analysis and found out that the claim of forced labor concocted by anti-China forces in the West is a new discourse pattern and narrative framework, which has gradually evolved from the framework of early public opinion manipulation, into a comprehensive economic blockade and repression of Northwest Chinas Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.



How forced labor smear grows



Based on the analysis of 189 stories published by 13 overseas media outlets, I found that the evolution process of the forced labor smear campaign can be divided into three phases.



The first phase is a topic brewing period that spanned from December 2018 to March 2020.



In December 2018, the Associated Press (AP) first claimed that a company in Xinjiangs Hotan city had cooperated with local education and training program institutions to sell clothes made by the programs trainees to the US. The story was later quoted by many overseas media outlets and caught the attention of the US government, which in turn required that certain clothing and outdoor recreation product brands such as Adidas inspect their industrial chains, and enforced a prohibition of the importation of so-called forced labor products.



On December 18 that year, Voice of America (VOA) published a story titled US Sportswear Traced to Factory in Chinas Internment Camps, in which it alleged that Chinese government was forcing some detainees to work in manufacturing and food industries. Two days later, VOA published a second article titled US Reviews Report of Imports from Forced Labor in China Camp, quoting several infamous Xinjiang separatists as stating that there was forced labor at Xinjiangs vocational education and training centers. Other mainstream US media sources such as The New York Times (NYT) also published similar stories with incendiary claims that month.



During that period, claims of forced labor were introduced by US media outlets as fodder for a new anti-China topic of focus, and its transmission scope was mainly within the US and its media sources. The claim only served to attack the trainees working at the clothing industry in the region after receiving vocational education.



The second phase of the Wests forced labor smear campaign, a topic fomentation period, spanned from March 2020 to December 2021.



On March 1, 2020, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), a think tank reliant on US defense funds and is keen to concoct and amplify various anti-China topics, released a research report titled Uygurs for sale Re-education, forced labor, and surveillance beyond Xinjiang. The ridiculous report attacked Chinas efforts in accelerating Xinjiangs development, and slandered the employment placements of trainees from Xinjiangs vocational education and training program. Western media outlets later widely referenced and quoted the report.



By further fueling the forced labor narrative, some so-called human rights groups and media outlets called on governments in Western countries such as the US and the UK to investigate the industrial chains and asked local enterprises to cut ties with their Chinese counterparts that use Uygur labor.



In March 2020, Switzerlands Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) proposed that some major clothing brands ban the use of Xinjiang-sourced cotton using the groundless forced labor accusations as a pretext, claiming that the production cotton in Xinjiang violated labor rights, and violated human rights. Following this call to action, certain US congressmen introduced the so-called Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), which required companies to obtain certification from the US government that any product imported from Xinjiang into the US was not produced with the use of forced labor. The bill also required the US president to identify and designate visa or financial sanctions against any foreign person who knowingly engages in the forced labor in the Xinjiang region.



The forced labor fallacy continued to grow in the European Union (EU). In December 2020, the European Parliament passed a resolution on Xinjiang, falsely alleging the use of forced labor in the region. It required EU member countries to impose sanctions on Xinjiang officials and boycott so-called forced labor products from Xinjiang.



During this period, the scope of the forced labor smear campaign had further expanded, and some Western governments introduced related bills to legally base their forced labor accusations. The smear campaign targeted not only the employment of surplus rural labor in Xinjiang, but also extended to more industries in this region such as tomato cultivation in the agricultural sector and the photovoltaic and solar energy product manufacturing industries.



Legislatures, judiciaries, border defense, and the commerce departments of some Western countries banded together to form a community of mutual interests in this smear campaign. Western media sources, NGOs, think tanks, and enterprises also followed suit, cooperating closely with governments from the public opinion and academic standpoints.



The third phase, which started from January 2022 and is currently ongoing, is the instrumentalization and politicization period.



Sample analysis based on media coverage suggested that the focus of media outlets in most countries has shifted to the force labor fallacy, while the US and the UK conversely remain focused on actively hyping up the fallacy. Data showed that eight US- and UK-based media outlets published a total of 24 stories attacking Xinjiang between January and April in 2022.



In this phase, the forced labor smear campaign entered a new practice stage, serving the Wests goals of escalating the economic suppression of China by indiscriminately attacking all the products made in Xinjiang and all the enterprises in the region.



Worse still, with the Xinjiang-related bills coming into effect, anti-China forces in the West have completed the transition from public opinion attacks, to the introduction of legislative economic sanctions. Now the public opinion campaign has turned into an economic war waged against China. The forced labor fallacy has become an integral part of the Western anti-China forces strategic containment of China.



The graphic shows a four-step scheme of US malicious slander against China. From govt, think thanks to the media, US disinformation machines fabricate lies and pave the way for legislation that aims to contain China. Graphic: Feng Qingyin/GT

The graphic shows a four-step scheme of US malicious slander against China. From govt, think thanks to the media, US disinformation machines fabricate lies and pave the way for legislation that aims to contain China. Graphic: Feng Qingyin/GT



Tactics of public opinion manipulation



The forced labor fallacy did not emerge accidentally. Thanks to a long-term planned process and a clear manipulation strategy of public opinion by Western anti-China forces, who, prey on different countries perceptions of the human rights concept to create and hype up lies under the guise of protecting human rights, the fallacy gained momentum.



The concept of human rights is regarded as a value deeply influenced by the historical and cultural traditions of different countries. There are both commonalities and differences in the understanding of human rights among countries. Therefore, the UNs Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as the European Declaration of Human Rights, do not specifically give a universal definition of the standards of human rights.



Since the founding of the Peoples Republic of China, the Chinese government has regarded the rights to subsistence and development as fundamental human rights, fully protected the political, economic, social, and cultural rights of the people of all ethnic groups, and continuously promoted and elevated the development of human rights work in practice. China has written human rights protection into the countrys Constitution and the Constitution of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC), and further promoted the systematization and legalization of human rights protection. China has also held human rights forums and issued a white paper to comprehensively elaborate its concept of human rights.



However, the anti-China forces in the West, who ignore the differences in human rights concepts between China and the West and Chinas achievements in the protection and promotion of human rights, politicize, weaponize, and instrumentalize the concept of human rights by employing the forced labor fabrications and hype.

Some biased western media sources, by citing misleading quotes, wantonly attack the human rights situation in China, so as to promote the spread of the forced labor accusation by employing several tactics.



Tactic one: Criminalize Chinese government



The forced labor accusation falsely alleges that the purpose of the transfer of the employment policy in Xinjiang region is to strip Uygurs of their cultural identity and assimilate them. Western anti-China forces have further fabricated lies claiming that China committed so-called crimes against humanity and crimes of genocide in the region.



For instance, on March 2, 2020, an Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) article quoted an ASPI researcher as saying that the goal of the labor transfers was political, with an aim toward the stripping of their unique culture and identity. On November 25, The Global and Mail cited some infamous anti-China human rights groups that Uygurs and other Turkic minorities have been subject to forced labor as part of Chinas plan to control the Uygur population in the region. On August 23, 2021, the Washington Post quoted an anti-China groups statement as saying that no American corporation should be doing business in a region that is the focal point of a campaign of genocide targeting a religious and ethnic minority.



The reality is that, the Uygur population has increased from 3.61 million in 1953 to 11.62 million in 2020, an increase of over three-fold, while the Chinese national population growth rate over the same period only grew two-fold. The growth rate of the Uygur population has been higher than the national average.



Tactic two: Demonizing Chinas poverty alleviation policies



For instance, on June 24, the Washington Post groundlessly claimed that a Chinese company recruits and employs Uygurs and other minorities via state labor programs that aim to place them in factories. On March 7, CNN quoted a British scholar as saying that the job programs in Xinjiang are often non-consensual, and people who refuse can be punished with internment.



Contrary to the lies and rumors they fabricated, the fact is that workers of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang region, including those who were transferred for employment and those who had completed their studies in learning institutions and training centers, have the agency to choose their preferred jobs and regions of placement. They sign labor contracts and receive remuneration in accordance with the law, and enjoy various social insurance benefits.



The total number of rural migrant workers in China reached 30.7 million in 2021, of which 3.2 million were from Xinjiang. With an increase in the number of stable employment, the economic income of the people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang has continued to increase, and the regional per capita gross domestic product (GDP) had increased from 45,476 yuan ($6,225.9) in 2017 to 53,593 yuan in 2020.



Tactic three: Stigmatizing assistance measures for transfer employment



The forced labor smear campaign claims that the Chinese government assigns staff to monitor Uygur employees, and even defames the existence of administrators of ethnic and religious affairs for Uygur employees at local companies, terming it as monitoring.



On April 27, 2021, The Guardian quoted a member of an Australian anti-China group as saying that Uygurs were held in secure compounds, working extremely long hours and under constant surveillance, and with political indoctrination as part of their daily routine. On March 9, 2020, a Washington Post article even ridiculously described the psychological counseling rooms as having been set for the purpose of thought policing Uygur employees.



Such psychological rooms, far from solely being found in Xinjiang, are part and parcel of many Chinese and foreign enterprises to help relieve psychological pressure experienced by employees. This is a common international practice. In November 2019, Chinese authorities issued the Specification of Healthy Enterprise Construction (trial), which requires employers to attach importance to their employees physical and mental health, and encourages enterprises to set up mental health counseling rooms.



Tactic four: Distorting service work for labor transfer employment



On March 2, 2020, ABC quoted an ASPI researcher and separatist as saying that Uygur workers are often transported across China in special segregated trains, and authorities and factory bosses continue to closely monitor them. On April 27, 2021, The Guardian claimed that Uygurs employees have limited or no communications with their families; mothers have been separated from their babies and families have been torn apart, citing the words of an anti-China separatist.



China fully protects the legitimate rights and interests of workers of all ethnic groups in law, policy, and practices, which advocate equal pay for equal work without discrimination against any ethnic groups. Chinese laws expressly stipulate that Uygur people enjoy the same rights as other ethnic groups, and Chinese enterprises have no right to and nor should they restrict their freedom.



Chinese citizens enjoy freedom of religious belief, and the state guarantees normal religious activities. Uygur employees participate in religious activities on the premise that they abide by Chinas laws and regulations, the enterprises rules, and normal work routines.



Tactic five: Attacking China by citing misleading, tendentious claims



Based on my analysis of 189 stories from 13 media outlets, I found that when hyping up the forced labor smear, overseas anti-China media sources mainly cited research report published by the ASPI and anti-China scholar Laura Murphy, and the remarks of the separatist organization World Uyghur Congress along with its affiliated bodies.



A considerable number of their Xinjiang-related stories cited anti-China politicians and scholars to support their narratives, lack field research and first-hand information. The stories did not provide any reliable information, let alone contain actual interviews conducted with Uygur employees.



For example, in the article Canadian watchdog asked to probe allegations that imports made with forced labor in China published on April 11, 2022, The Globe and Mail quoted an executive director of a so-called Uygur rights advocacy project based in Ottawa as saying that he hopes a probe will drive Canada to take greater action against imports made using forced labor.



Obviously, some Western media outlets achieve their goals of misleading their audiences and spreading fallacies by unilaterally quoting false statements made by some anonymous and anti-China sources, and using sensational and biased headlines. Their stories and quotes, without investigating the actual situation on the ground in Xinjiang region, lack verifiability. The information they convey in their stories is full of malicious speculation and lies.



Western anti-China forces concocted the forced labor fallacy as a means to serve their goal of suppressing Chinas economic development. To clarify the lies and show the world a real Xinjiang, China should make more efforts in several aspects, such as focusing on the international communication with the Arab world and developing countries, strengthen the public dissemination of accurate information, while also paying close attention to the slanderous tactics employed by anti-China forces to defame China.



The auther is an expert from the School of Journalism and Communication at Xinjiang University



Dans la meme rubrique : < > Belt and Road countries to make sustainable achievements that benefit their posterity Finance Ministers' Meeting Seeks $30 Billion Boost for Water and Sanitation AI Beauty Ranking: The Most Attractive U.S. Presidential Candidates for 2024 Pour toute information, contactez-nous au : +(235) 99267667 ; 62883277 ; 66267667 (Bureau N'Djamena)










English News China-Egypt cooperation zone contributes to Egypt's industrial modernization

Alwihda Info | Par pd - 22 Octobre 2023



After three months of systematic training, Kamel turned into a skillful worker and was recently promoted to a team leader. Batches of new employees have acquired work skills under the instruction of key technicians.

By Zhang Zhiwen, Zhang Mengxu, Shen Xiaoxiao, People's Daily The China-Egypt TEDA Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone(SETC-Zone), which sits on the shores of the Red Sea and south of the Suez Canal, and just celebrated its 15th anniversary, has developed into a thriving hub for trade and investment with well-built infrastructure, abundant industrial clusters, advanced logistics and warehousing facilities, and comprehensive amenities.



The cooperation zone, while accelerating strategic upgrading, has become a key platform of investment and cooperation for Chinese and Egyptian companies.



After two phases of construction, the SETC-Zone has grown into an industrial park featuring the best comprehensive environment, the highest density of investment, the highest per-unit output that attracts the most Chinese enterprises in Egypt.



It is now home to more than 140 companies, with actual investment exceeding $1.6 billion, total sales volume of over $3.7 billion and taxations of more than $200 million. The cooperation zone offers nearly 6,000 direct jobs and about 50,000 employment opportunities in related industries.



Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi called the cooperation zone the most successful project of the Suez Canal Corridor.



"I've made many visits to the SETC-Zone and each time I had new discoveries. The SETC-Zone is getting better and better, with more and more enterprises settling in," said Abdul-Majeed Saqr, governor of Egypt's Suez governorate, adding that the complete supporting facilities and favorable investment policies in the SETC-Zone are hugely attractive. He noted TEDA, the developer of the SETC-Zone, is a reliable partner of Egypt.



Chinese enterprise Jushi, which specializes in the manufacture and sales of fiberglass and its finished articles, has been investing in Egypt since 2012. Its subsidiary company in Egypt named Jushi Egypt Fiberglass Co., Ltd.(Jushi Egypt). It has a gigantic factory in the SETC-Zone, which has over 2,000 workers, as well as some 30 Chinese management personnel and technicians. Most of the jobs in production and management are taken by local Egyptians.



No one would imagine that the bustling factory was still a desert 10 years ago. Wu Ping, general manager of the company, said that Jushi encountered a series of challenges when it first entered Egypt, such as short power supply and water scarcity. However, it rose to these challenges and launched mutually beneficial cooperation with relevant parties in Egypt. In the past decade, Jushi Egypt built four production lines of fiberglass and assisting facilities. The factory, after four phases of construction, boasts an annual capacity of 340,000 tons, and is the largest production base of fiberglass in the African continent.



Jushi Egypt also actively fulfills its social responsibility, working to improve local environment and contributing to community development. It provides assistance for local orphanages and impoverished residents, and donates teaching and living materials to local schools.



Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said that as China Jushi expands its investment in Egypt, it has created a large number of job opportunities and driven the development of Egypt's manufacturing industry.



Nurturing talents that align with industrial and societal needs is one of the key objectives of Egypt's industrial modernization.



Lining the wide roads of the SETC-Zone stand rows of gleaming new workshops, which constitute a dishwasher factory of Midea (Egypt) Kitchen & Water Heater Appliances Co., Ltd. In the factory, local workers are always seen assemble parts along the production line, test equipment, and learn new techniques under the guidance of Chinese technicians.



Chinese companies investing in Egypt are not only creating quality products for local residents, but also helping equip the local workforce for Egypt's industrial modernization.



General manager Chen Weiwei of Midea (Egypt) Kitchen & Water Heater Appliances Co., Ltd. said that the dishwasher rack production line introduced by Midea has filled a technological gap in Egypt's dishwasher manufacturing sector. It has not only cultivated a batch of local welders, but also driven the localization of a series of key technologies, reducing the cost and price of dishwashers, and making dishwashers more affordable and accessible for Egyptian consumers.



Kamel, a team leader of the factory, was among the first batch of employees to join the company in December 2022. He received on-the-job training and learned the whole process of dishwasher manufacturing under the guidance of Chinese employees.



After three months of systematic training, Kamel turned into a skillful worker and was recently promoted to a team leader. Batches of new employees have acquired work skills under the instruction of key technicians.



"I'm glad that I can work here. I will keep working hard to create a better life with my own hands," said Kamel.



Chen noted that the current production capacity of this dishwasher assembly line can meet the market demand in the Middle East, and new assembly lines will be set up in the future to produce more dishwashers.



"We will further promote localization in research and development, manufacturing, and employees, and focus on the local market to provide a wider range of home appliances for users in the region," Chen added.



Dans la meme rubrique : < > Belt and Road countries to make sustainable achievements that benefit their posterity Finance Ministers' Meeting Seeks $30 Billion Boost for Water and Sanitation AI Beauty Ranking: The Most Attractive U.S. Presidential Candidates for 2024 Pour toute information, contactez-nous au : +(235) 99267667 ; 62883277 ; 66267667 (Bureau N'Djamena)










English News Why has China achieved remarkable successes in promoting cooperation under Belt and Road Initiative?

Alwihda Info | Par pd - 21 Octobre 2023



The success of the BRI is the success of China's commitment to open development. Only when a country is strong enough can it have the confidence to open its doors to the world, and opening up in turn enhances its prosperity. The BRI is a major initiative China has launched to expand opening up. It is not a solo endeavor by China, but a collaborative effort involving all stakeholders.

By Guo Jiping, People's Daily China will host the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) in Beijing from Oct. 17 to 18. It is reported that representatives from over 140 countries and more than 30 international organizations have confirmed their attendance at the event.



Despite the turbulent international situation, China has rolled out the red carpet to welcome guests from all over the world, which demonstrates the country's unswerving commitment to promoting world peace and development.



Over the past decade since Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), stories of win-win cooperation have continued to unfold along this public road of shared opportunities and common development.



So far, over 150 countries and more than 30 international organizations have signed more than 200 BRI cooperation agreements with China; the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has grown from 57 founding members to 109 members, which account for 81 percent of the world's population and 65 percent of global GDP; and more than 80 routes have been launched for the China-Europe freight trains, reaching 217 cities in 25 European countries.



Experience over the past 10 years has fully proven that the BRI is an open and inclusive platform and a global public good jointly built by all partners.



International analysts have eagerly sought to understand what allowed China to conceive the grand initiative and accomplish significant achievements in furthering its development.



The BRI is the result of China's reflections on the future and destiny of humanity. In March 2013, in the face of the profound questions of "What is wrong with the world?" and "What should we do about it?", which concern the world, history and the times, Xi creatively proposed the concept of building a global community with a shared future for mankind.



By launching the BRI, China aims to put this concept into practice and build a practical platform and open up paths for creating an open, inclusive, clean and beautiful world that enjoys lasting peace, universal security and common prosperity.



The BRI stemmed from China's unshakeable pursuit of world peace and development. China unswervingly follows the path of peaceful development. It safeguards world peace to ensure its own growth, and contributes to world peace through its own development.



Taking the path of peaceful development is China's response to international concerns about its development direction, and also a reflection of the confidence and consciousness of the Chinese people in achieving their development goals.



By proposing the BRI, China strives not only to pursue its own development and enhance its capacity to safeguard world peace, but also to benefit the world by strengthening the forces for upholding world peace and development.



In pursuing Belt and Road cooperation, China will not resort to the outdated geopolitical maneuvering, but will create a new model of win-win cooperation. It will not form "a small group detrimental to stability", but will try to create "a big family of harmonious coexistence".



The success of the BRI represents the success of China's development path and experience. China has achieved the two miracles of rapid economic growth and long-term social stability, resolved its problem of absolute poverty once for all, and realized its first centenary goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects. The fundamental reason for these achievements is that China has found a successful development path that is suited to its national conditions and people's aspirations and supported by its people.



With nine percent of the world's arable land and six percent of the freshwater resources, China feeds nearly one-fifth of the world's population. In 2022, China's GDP expanded to 121 trillion yuan ($16.56 trillion), while its share of the global economy rose to 18 percent, demonstrating remarkable development achievements.



The success of China's development path has strengthened other developing countries' determination to pursue paths based on their own national realities, and China's great achievements in development have boosted other developing countries' confidence in realizing national prosperity, national rejuvenation and improving people's wellbeing. The BRI has provided valuable opportunities for other developing countries to draw on China's development experience.



The success of the BRI is the success of China's commitment to open development. Only when a country is strong enough can it have the confidence to open its doors to the world, and opening up in turn enhances its prosperity. The BRI is a major initiative China has launched to expand opening up. It is not a solo endeavor by China, but a collaborative effort involving all stakeholders.



In the face of a rising tide of de-globalization, China remains firmly committed to high-level opening up, creating an even brighter future for cooperation under the BRI.



The BRI has continuously broken deadlocks, removed bottlenecks and spurred innovations, showing the world that only by building an open world economy can countries improve the wellbeing of their peoples.



As former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero pointed out, the BRI upholds an open and inclusive vision for development that transcends borders and zero-sum game mindset, which is precisely the development philosophy the world urgently needs today.



Dans la meme rubrique : < > Belt and Road countries to make sustainable achievements that benefit their posterity Finance Ministers' Meeting Seeks $30 Billion Boost for Water and Sanitation AI Beauty Ranking: The Most Attractive U.S. Presidential Candidates for 2024 Pour toute information, contactez-nous au : +(235) 99267667 ; 62883277 ; 66267667 (Bureau N'Djamena)
The Israeli military announced it was stepping up its bombardment of Hamas-controlled Gaza Saturday just hours after the first aid trucks arrived from Egypt bringing desperately needed relief to civilians in the war-torn enclave.

The military said it aimed to reduce the risks its troops would face as they enter Gaza in the next phase of the war it launched on Hamas after the militant group carried out the deadliest attack in Israel's history on Oct. 7.

Hamas militants killed at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians who were shot, mutilated or burnt to death, and took more than 200 hostages, according to Israeli officials.

Israel has retaliated with a relentless bombing campaign that has killed more than 4,300 Palestinians in Gaza, mainly civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

An Israeli siege has cut food, water, electricity and fuel supplies to the densely populated territory of 2.4 million people, sparking warnings of a humanitarian catastrophe.

Tens of thousands of Israeli troops have deployed to the Gaza border ahead of an expected ground offensive that officials say will begin "soon."

"From today, we are increasing the strikes and minimising the danger," military spokesman Admiral Daniel Hagari told journalists Saturday.

"We have to enter the next phase of the war in the best conditions, not according to what anyone tells us."

On a visit to a frontline infantry brigade, chief of staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi said troops were ready to deal with any surprises Hamas had in store for them in Gaza.

"Gaza is densely populated, the enemy is preparing a lot of things there  but we are also preparing for them," Halevi said.

AFP journalists saw 20 trucks from the Egyptian Red Crescent pass through the Rafah border crossing from Egypt into Gaza on Saturday.

The crossing  the only one into Gaza not controlled by Israel  closed again after the trucks passed.

The lorries had been waiting for days on the Egyptian side after Israel agreed to a request from its main ally the United States to allow aid in.

U.N. chief Antonio Guterres said those 20 trucks fell far short of what Gazans needed, telling a peace summit in Egypt that "much more" aid had to be sent.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken welcomed the aid and urged "all parties" to keep the Rafah crossing open.

But a Hamas spokesman said "even dozens" of such convoys could not meet Gaza's requirements, especially as no fuel was being allowed in to help distribute the supplies to those in need.

More than one million Gazans have been forced to flee their homes in northern Gaza, ahead of the expected Israeli offensive.

The humanitarian situation there is "catastrophic," five U.N. agencies including UNICEF and the WHO said Saturday. "The world must do more."

In Cairo, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi hosted a peace summit attended by regional and some Western leaders.

"The time has come for action to end this godawful nightmare," Guterres told the summit, calling for a "humanitarian ceasefire".

"The grievances of the Palestinian people are legitimate and long" after "56 years of occupation with no end in sight," he added.

"Nothing can justify the reprehensible assault by Hamas that terrorised Israeli civilians", he stressed.

But he added: "Those abhorrent attacks can never justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people."

Arab diplomats who spoke with AFP on condition of anonymity, said the summit broke up without a joint statement, highlighting the gulf between Arab and Western countries on how best to bring lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

Western delegates demanded "a clear condemnation placing responsibility for the escalation on Hamas" but Arab leaders refused, the diplomats said.

Instead, the Egyptian hosts released a statement  drafted with the approval of Arab delegates  criticising world leaders for seeking to "manage the conflict and not end it permanently".

Such "temporary solutions and palliatives... do not live up to even the lowest aspirations" of the Palestinian people, said the statement.

Israel bemoaned the lack of a condemnation of the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas.

"It is unfortunate that even when faced with those horrific atrocities, there were some who had difficulty condemning terrorism or acknowledging the danger," a foreign ministry statement said.

A full-blown Israeli ground offensive of Gaza carries many risks, including to the hostages Hamas took, whose fate is shrouded in uncertainty.

So the release of two Americans among the hostages  mother and daughter Judith and Natalie Raanan  offered a rare "sliver of hope," said Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

U.S. President Joe Biden thanked Qatar, which hosts Hamas's political bureau, for its mediation in securing the release.

He was working "around the clock" to win the return of other Americans being held, he said.

Natalie Raanan's half-brother Ben told the BBC he felt an "overwhelming sense of joy" at the release after "the most horrible of ordeals".

Hamas said Egypt and Qatar had negotiated the release and that it was "working with all mediators to implement the movement's decision to close the civilian (hostage) file if appropriate security conditions allow."

Almost half of Gaza's residents have been displaced, and at least 30 percent of all housing in the territory has been destroyed or damaged, the United Nations says.

Thousands have taken refuge in a camp set up in the city of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza.

Fadwa al-Najjar said she and her seven children walked for 10 hours to reach the camp, at some points breaking into a run as missiles struck around them.

"We saw bodies and limbs torn off and we just started praying, thinking we were going to die," she told AFP.

In fresh exchanges of fire across Israel's border with Lebanon Saturday, Hezbollah reported the loss of four of its fighters while Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad reported one fighter killed.

Violence has also flared in the West Bank, where 84 Palestinians have been killed since Oct. 7, according to the health ministry.

Thousands marched Saturday in support of the Palestinians in cities in France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom including nearly 100,000 in London. (AFP)
Anyone holding the idea that Israel needs to accept a two-state solution to survive has not thought through the problem. Or perhaps they have indeed thought through the problem and have decided that a two-state solution is a step along the way to dissolving Israel as a state of the Jews, which is just fine for them but not for the Jews.

What would be the result to Israel if it were reduced to its 67 borders? At that time, the narrowest distance from its eastern border to the Mediterranean Sea was less than 10 milesactually, closer to 9 miles. Before the 67 Six-Day War, to get from Jerusalem to Beit Shan near the Sea of Galilee required leaving Jerusalem, going west towards Tel Aviv, traveling up the Coast Road to Haifa, turning East to Tiberias, and then south to Beit Shan, a trip of 4-5 hours. The military risk to the country was being cut in two at that choke point.

When the question arose as to why the town of Dimona was chosen as the site of Israels nuclear facility, Israel offered the following explanation: Though Dimona is only a few miles east of the Egyptian border and a few miles west of the Jordanian border, it is the point in Israel that was furthest from any border.

The hills of Judea and Samaria run north-south along the top of the Jordan Hills, with the Jordan River at the bottom of the Rift Valley to the east. The hills naturally sit above the lowlands to the west. Before the 67 War, most of Israels population sat below those hills to the west, as is still the case today. There is one hill east of Ben Gurion airport that can see the takeoff and landing of every aircraft, making them easy targets. Giving that hill to the Arabs would be similar to a cow raising its neck to the slaughterer so he can make a better cut.

These points address the topography of pre-67 Israel and its effect upon the lives of the Jews. No one who wishes a secure future for Israel should think of returning to those suicidal borders.

Image: Israels pre-1967 borders. Jewish Virtue Library.

Theres also the sociological aspect of integrating Arabs and Jews. Anyone seeking a two-state solution is suggesting that perennial conflict is their goal. Jews and Arabs need to be substantially separated geographically. The Jordan River seems logical, with those Arabs remaining in Judea and Samaria becoming citizens of Jordan. They would not be stateless and theyd be unable to interfere with the development of a majority Jewish state.

A Jewish state is the only way to prevent repeated occurrences of October 7s slaughter. While Jews are somewhat indifferent towards Arabs, Arabs have hated Jews since Mohammad walked the earth. The problem is that, while Jews can live side-by-side with Arabs, being indifferent or befriending them on an individual level, traditional Arabs will merely hate Jews when the Jews are strong but will attempt to slaughter them when the Jews are relatively weak.

This brutality is supported by Mohammads behavior. If Mohammad slaughtered Jews 1300 years ago, todays Arabs consider it laudable behavior and will try to do the same. And, of course, Mohammad slaughtered Jews to the last man at Khaybar (except for those who agreed to pay the Jizya tax or converted to Islam). He waited until he had gained enough strength to beat them and then acted despite the interim peace.

One must also consider Iran, the key villain in this mess. Let me urge you to explore the following two links that may be eye-opening for those on the fringes of this conflict: 1) There is no question that, for ideological reasons, there are those in the United States government who are strengthening Iran to the detriment of Israel. 2) These same people are strengthening HizbAllah in Lebanon at the expense of Israel as well.

These links imply that Israel is considered expendable except to the Jews themselves and others with a conscience and a memory. Therefore, Israel must resist physical compression and cultural suppression.

To this, I must add that the continued existence of Israel as a state of the Jews is imperative for the entire world. The flourishing of Israel prevents world dominance by globalists who wish uniform entropy and powerlessness among all populations. This goal of uniformity is so lacking in sense that, if permitted to do so in the future, people will write entire scholarly volumes about its stupidity.

Israel is a bulwark against globalism and enforced uniformity. Thats because its a fine example of a nation that is both tied to the past through Judaism and is responsive to changing socio-economic conditions that require flexibility. It has not needed the presumptions of globalism, Marxism, or even capitalism to succeed. At every choice point, it tinkers without fear and restrictions until it finds solutions that work. Israels independence and success explain much of the antipathy directed at the state of the Jews. I call this antipathy anti-Semitism.

This week, in every synagogue in Israel and around the world, we read the section called Noah, which tells how God decides to destroy all living creatures except for Noah and his family. Men had become so corrupt they no longer merited continued existence. The Hebrew word for corruption is Hamas. Yes, Hamas was and is the pinnacle of corruption. Apparently, things are no different today than they were in pre-flood history.
Islamist butchers, and their media and academic buddies, failed in their latest rerun of the war against Israel. In the days before online media, particularly Elon Musks X, the storyline was a familiar one. Israel would be attacked and the mainstream media would be flooded with accounts from local reporters and photographers and embedded compromised national reporters of civilian injuries and deaths during any response. The emotional response would follow: a call would come for Israel to pull back before taking effective charge of the enemy, and the United States would force its hand.

Not this time. This time, we could see accounts from both sides, from the pictures and bios of the murdered, injured, and kidnapped civilians, who hailed from countries around the world. This time we could see the videos of the Israeli response. This time we could see the pictures of the bloodshed and hear the accounts of among others, the forensic scientists who examined the butchered bodies of the victims.

This time we could hear the voices of, not only Jews, but Bedouins, Moslems, and Druze in Israel and Moslems in neighboring countries as anti-Hamas as you can find anywhere. This time we could see who was supporting this butchery in the West. This time, those who spread the blood libel are fully exposed.

On X Steven Sinofsky explains the revolution in reporting.

Much like proprietary software, the flagship media outlets view news gathering through the lens of proprietary source, only in this case the source generally means access to people, information, data that is not available to laypeople Conversely, these established sources and experts rely on these relationships to spoon out information and views in an effort to shape a narrative. This is a routine/process/game that has only become more institutionalized [snip] In the past before open source, stories would run, information would be provided by "sources close to" whatever was happening in the world, and then that was the established narrative. In today's world it is not just that everyone anywhere can post their thoughts, personal experiences, videos/photos, or anything that may or may not contribute. It is also that there is a community of people willing to test the veracity of that information It becomes essentially impossible for the news to be defined by a private conversation between a "well-placed source" and a reporter Finally add to this that often there are true experts on events that are no longer bound by organizations involved who are willing to lend their opinions. It isn't simply the domain knowledge or access to the data, but the checks and balances, and the debate (vigorous as it is) across all those bits and pieces. And it is also the speed at which that system works. The participants are available around the clock, in every language, in every time zone. No newsroom has that no matter how big. [snip] Events like yesterday clearly demonstrate just how disruptive the open-source news model is to events compared to the proprietary source model of the past. It also explains why there is a perception that news is far more opinion than it used to be -- opinions can be branded and made proprietary far easier than trying to staff a team to compete with a community devoted to geoverification, for example. Some long for the days of the 6pm newscast. This is most certainly a rose-colored view of the past. Those who recall this era remember being soothed by the packaging of the news. In hindsight, what we were watching was not a careful synthesis of fact-checked news but the opinions and interpretations of a small number of people with very limited expertise and even more limited information.[snip] Misinformation is when actors deliberately falsify what is going on. Sharing something and having an opinion as just a random person isn't that. It is misinformation for institutions that trade on trust and truthfulness to put forth information that has not been vetted by a community or has not used all available sources.

Id add that as media revenue declines, the staffing only gets thinner and more ignorant.

Truth and Consequences

The Blood Libel that Israel had deliberately targeted a hospital in Gaza, resulting in 500 civilian deaths, was published by, to my knowledge, every major domestic press and television channel. Its source was AP, whose sole source was apparently Hamas. Huge anti-Israel and anti-Jewish demonstrations followed all around the globe. An ancient synagogue was demolished in Tunisa, another was attacked in Spanish Melilla, and Jews and their schools and houses of worship were under threat almost everywhere.

But this time, almost as soon as the charges were bruited by people who had reason to doubt them (but who chose instead to rely on their usual suspect sources), they were met with videos of the scene before and after, showing beyond reasonable doubt that the hospital was not hit, the explosion came from a misfired rocket which landed in a nearby car park and damage to civilians was minimal. Most of the press has not yet apologized, nor have the Democrats Squad, which promoted the account days after it was proved false, and used it to gin up a crowd which surrounded and invaded the Capitol resulting in a reported 300 arrests. (It remains to be seen if any of these will receive anything like the outrageous treatment handed out to even grandmas who walked peacefully on January 6 through open doors and between friendly police lines.)

This is not to say that all the media lacked bias. Some, like the BBC, CBC and notably the New York Times and LA Times, clearly are prejudiced. The NYT, for example, merely kept toning down updated headers and has just re-enlisted a Hitler-praising Hamas propagandist as part of its team covering the war.

On X, Musk has removed the NYTs verification badge and replaced it with a lying emoji.

Open Source also revealed a number of academics, university students, and physicians who expressed very virulent anti-Semitic and pro-Hamas views and some highly-placed government bureaucrats with close ties to the PLO and Iran who amazingly were nevertheless somehow vetted for those positions. While the Left enjoyed its time in the cancel culture destroying people for far less outrageous statements and conduct, others, including a very reputable journalist, Bari Weiss, have spoken out against doing the same thing to those exposed now. I disagree.

I think a person who celebrates Hamas and worked for the PLO has no business being on the government payroll vetting Palestinian asylum applications. I think medical personnel praising the murders of Israeli civilians and wishing death on Jews should not be treating hospital patients; I think a professor who calls the barbaric slaughter of Israelis "exhilarating" does not belong on the school's roster, a school which I'm sure just days ago was enforcing rules that speech which offends anyone must be punished to maintain the institution as a safe space. I think the Squad, which encouraged and probably aided a riot in the Capitol, should be stripped from their party's caucus and all committee slots.

The U.S. Senate passed 97-0 a resolution in support of Israel. The French are arresting anyone who participates in pro-Palestinian/Hamas demonstrations which are outlawed under National Law, Germany is doing much the same. The European Parliament has called for Hamas to be eliminated. Anti-Semitism is becoming so unpopular in some circles that Greta Thunberg now claims she was unaware her posts contained them.

In sum, Islamists who were once able to use the Western press to propagandize their lies and tie Israel's hands from eliminating barbarians like Hamas, are losing as more accurate information, outside of the media screen, is more available worldwide.

Israels Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant has outlined what its response will be:

Phase 1: A Military Campaign by Fire and later by Tactical Ground Maneuver, the Goal of which will be to Assassinate Operatives and Damage Infrastructure in order to Destroy the Hamas Organization in the Gaza Strip. Phase 2: Continued Fighting at a Lower Intensity throughout the Gaza Strip and Beyond. Phase 3: The eventual Creation of a New Security Regime in the Gaza Strip and the Removal of Israel's Responsibility for Life and Security in the Strip as well as the Creation of a New Safe Reality for the Citizens of Israel.

It might be easier to just get already stale accounts in the paper or on the news than it is to do the hard work of reading instantaneous information from all sides and perspectives, but if you do take the easy road you have no idea, or worse, the wrong idea, of whats going on.
On October 7, 2023, the Sabbath of the Joy of the Torah, the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust took place. It took place not in the Diaspora, but in the Jewish state, in the south of the country, in the areas bordering Gaza. In an independent, strong Jewish state founded to protect Jews from pogroms, there was a very real pogrom. Why did it happen?

October 7 was a holiday, and the soldiers and officers wanted to be at home with their families, not on military bases in the Israeli south. They wished to keif and enjoy themselves. Hedonism had taken hold of the Israeli youth. There were very few soldiers on the Gaza border. Military intelligence was apparently on vacation as well. It was obvious that Israelis were possessed by a sense of people of the West who do not understand the East and who live in the belief that the desire for peace and life and respect for family and community interests is also shared by Hamas militants.

Westerners cannot comprehend the cult of death and are unable to understand the importance and value of the "holy war," "Jihad," against the "infidels." The Israelis were blinded and by the inertia of Westerners perceived the conflict with the militants as a conflict with people who, like them, are all about life, building and development. They allowed themselves to relax and be undisciplined. Freedom turned to promiscuity.

They have allowed themselves to ignore the fact that they are surrounded by people of a different civilization. They probably lack the sensors to pick up the insidious and cunning thoughts and actions of their opponents who are the spawn of Islamic extremism.

They prioritized democracy, for which they fought each other for nine months, not wanting to see that the main danger to their country comes not from a different understanding of democracy, but from enemies who want neither democracy nor life, not only other people's but their own. The sudden insidious attacks on American democracy at Pearl Harbor and on the Twin Towers are repeated on Oct. 7, 2023 in Israel.

The hedonism and arrogance of fed and free societies overshadowed the threats. The hedonistic relaxation of the spirit of Western man and Western culture reveals the vulnerability of modern democratic societies.

Those who want to establish peace in the Middle East, who want to sign peace treaties that will mean the end of the state of enmity, fantasize. No Islamic extremist will honor a peace treaty drawn up and signed by Westerners, even if he has signed it. The holy war against the West, the "Jihad," is his "peace."

The famous American expert on Islam Daniel Pipes wrote: "In order to avoid anomie, Muslims are left with the only choice, because modernization requires Westernization [...]. Islam offers no alternative path to modernization. Secularization cannot be avoided."

In "Autobiography," Agatha Christie wrote: "In the Middle East, appearances and substance never coincide. Here the usual ideas, rules of behavior, worldly wisdom must be completely reconsidered and everything must be learned anew."

Even prominent scholars see Islam as a religion that must be secularized for the sake of progress. Islam cannot be secularized nor exclude the barbaric extremism of its supporters. Western politicians in suits and ties want a businesslike and quick solution to Middle East conflicts that have lasted tens and hundreds of years. They want to behave beautifully and ethically in an area where beauty and ethics are treated very differently. They act in the East as if they were in the West.

The Palestinian-Israeli conflict is one of the conflicts of the East, preventing the West from living comfortably without the complications of oil production and supply. That is why they demanded concessions from Israel and the creation of a Palestinian state next to it, where murderous terror would reign.

Israel's retreat from Lebanon and Gaza turned not into peace, but into a rocket attack on the north and south of the country. The retreat from Gaza, the expulsion of Jewish settlers and the loss of control over the Gaza strip led to escalation and rocket attacks on "uncontested" Israeli territory. The hand extended by Israel as a sign of goodwill to the Arab side bifurcated and appeared to be two hands raised upward. In 2005, the Israelis left the "territories" - Gaza was given to its Arab inhabitants. They did not make it an island of peace, but a hotbed of danger for peaceful Jews and Arabs. As a result of the Palestinian Authority elections, power in Gaza went to Muslim terrorists from Hamas. For withdrawing from Gaza, the Israelis received not a laurel wreath but bunches of anger in the form of rockets, not a peace prize but an expansion of the insecurity zone.

Instead of sanctifying life, the militants of Gaza sanctify death.

In the way wars are fought, the level of civilization of the opponents is revealed. Militants are killing strangers and their own, deliberately putting their own civilians under foreign fire, sacrificing their lives to protect themselves from Israeli shelling. But Western mentality prevailed over Eastern mentality in the minds of Israelis: they believed that militants could be bribed and that they were incapable of cunning tactics. They thought the militants were hedonists like themselves, and this put their attention to sleep on October 7, 2023. Hamas' sudden attack on Israel is the result of a misunderstanding of the inapplicability of Western thinking to the problems of the Middle East. Even Israel's years of bloody experience did not save the Jewish state from failing to understand the designs and actions of the eastern Islamic extremists.

Image: Dan / Twiga Swala, via Flickr // CC BY-SA 2.0
An important repercussion of the recent campus anti-Israel/pro-Hamas rallies is that major university donors, many of whom are Jewish, say that they are re-thinking their continued support of their alma mater.

The billionaire Ronald Lauder has threatened to end his donations to the University of Pennsylvania. Fellow Penn alum, Marc Rowan, who has donated some $50 million recently asked fellow mega donors to close their checkbooks. TV producer Dick Wolf, another Penn alum, joined this chorus while the Huntsman family has already shut its checkbook. Four thousand donors just signed a letter denouncing Penns support of anti-Semitism. Nor are these Penn donors unusual as billionaires at other schools have finally awoken from their slumber.

Can these aroused financial titans root out anti-Semitism? No doubt, the closed checkbooks will alarm top administrators who will promise steps will be taken, but, sadly, matters will not change, rhetoric aside.

No university will de-fund anti-Israel organizations since this generosity for student groups is a long-standing policy and administrators cannot anticipate what campus groups will do next.

Among the 30 Harvard groups denouncing Israel (listed here) were the Harvard Divinity School Muslim Association, The Harvard Jews for Liberation and, oddly, the Design Students Society, among others that, technically, have nothing to do with anti-Semitism. Moreover, rabid anti-Semites can seize control over any campus groups just by showing up and then voting for a toxic statement in the groups name regardless of the membership.

Nor can university administrators force faculty members to cleanse their teaching of anything that might be anti-Jewish. Anti-Semites always find ways to insert their message and tenure and academic freedom are formidable obstacles to what the outraged mega donor demands.

Likewise, universities cannot control their brand beyond the campus. A few Harvard students can easily assemble in a nearby park and claim to speak for Harvard students and say the most outlandish things, all covered by the mass media, and the university is powerless to silence them. Nobody listens when a Harvard dean eventually explains that the protestors do not speak for the Harvard community/

This is unwelcome news for anxious mega-donors, but eliminating campus anti-Semitism is not their biggest worry. More serious is the burgeoning hostility on campus to the culture that allowed these billionaires to become billionaires. Hatred toward Israel is just a symptom of the malady plaguing American higher education. It is this larger battle that billionaires should address when threatening to close their checkbook.

Perhaps the foremost malaise that should worry these alarmed billionaires is the widespread disdain for capitalism as if making money must be subordinated to achieving social and/or racial justice. Consider how Disney currently makes movies directed at children such as Strange World and Lightyear that feature homosexual plots that are financial disasters. Disneys animated Baymax portrays a menstruating transgendered man. That these movies have lost billions is no surprise. Obviously, many of todays college-educated Disney executives dont believe that business exists to enrich shareholders.

Then theres the rejection of merit in favor of physical traits or sexual identity that now permeates todays campuses. That is, dont hire the most competent; instead hire those checking the most boxes, and this often results in hiring incompetents. And while identity politics may have begun as an idea in some obscure sociology course, it now permeates the economy. According to Bloomberg News, during one recent period, of all those hired by corporate America, 94% of the positions went to people of color (Hispanic, Asian and Black). Yes, whites still occupy the top rungs of corporate America, but this situation will be fleeting as the pressure for diversity grows relentlessly thanks to made-in-the-academy ideas.

Identity politics can be costly. As Charles Murray notes in his Facing Reality (pp. 77-8) in every job classification, whites have higher IQs than blacks including the most demanding jobs such as accountants and lawyers. So, when Ron Lauders firms recruit their next executives, they are unlikely to hire the best and the brightest thanks to an idea originally concocted in the university.

Further add how male virtues such as aggressiveness, competitiveness, risk-taking, honor, courage and tenacity have been demonized in todays academy in favor of such traits more associated with women such as compassion and social sensitivity. The phrase, Toxic Masculinity  captures this mentality, and one health oriented website told of The Dangerous Effects of Toxic Masculinity. Significantly, these traits are not entirely biologically determined, and a corporation might prefer men who embody feminine traits and suffer the consequences in the highly competitive business world.

Earning billions also requires a commitment to objective, demonstrable truth. Who wants a marketing department with employees who insist that, as per Sociology 101, reality is socially constructed, so fiddling with language is tantamount to altering reality. Yes, it may be able to convince gullible undergraduates that the patriarchy stigmatizes obese women as not the physical ideal but Victorias Secret recently learned that this gobbledygook can be costly. Specifically, they dropped their marketing campaign featuring obese women (and trans men) when sales declined from $7.5 billion to $6.2. In other words, beauty is not as malleable as campus versions of male and female.

Lastly, the academys emphasis of oppression, grievances and identity are incompatible with the rule of law, and capitalism cannot operate without the rule of law. Imagine a world where justice depends on the physical traits of those involved and who is the most oppressed? Here perpetrators such as those in the post-Geroge Floyd murder riots may go free if they can prove that were members of historically marginalized communities while victims are ignored if belonging to a privileged class. Yet this dystopic legal system is what many students and their professors want.

Clearly, these suddenly awakened billionaires have long funded their own demise by pouring billions into schools that indoctrinate students in values that would kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. How many recent college graduates, including some at Penn, are interested in making Ron Lauder even richer? The opposite may be truethey would love to impoverish Ron and his fellow university benefactors. Just ask Disney or Anheuser Busch about what happens when ideologues make company decisions. No doubt, if the HR department were asked how these anti-capitalist employees were hired to produce movies or design beer cans, the HR people will say, they all graduated from top colleges.

Being a mega-donor to an elite college is psychologically rewarding, but the long-term survival of their enterprises counsels seeking out alternatives for their largess. Fortunately, the current roster of elite schools is not fixed in stone. Stanford and the University of Chicago were founded by billionaires at the end of the 19th century, and the formula is hardly lost. All billionaires know that at some point, one cuts ones losses and invests elsewhere. Perhaps Ron Lauder should read up on Leland Stanford Jr. and John D. Rockefeller (who founded todays University of Chicago) to learn about college start-ups. It is the same logic that made them billionaireslook for fresh opportunities where others see nothing and invest. Close the checkbooks, pack the suitcase, and take your millions elsewhere.

Image: Pixabay / Pixabay License
Left-wing harpies Amy Schumer and Sarah Silverman spoke out this week against the lies of the NY Times, which argued that the alleged Gaza hospital bombing (which never happened) and Israels military responses, in general, are the same as the Hamas barbarians storming into southern Israel to torture and slaughter over a thousand civilians. Theyre the first leftists, although they wont be the last, to face a reckoning for the harm their policies have done. But they, like other leftists, dont feel ashamed about their role in how we got here.

These women, along with other shocked and horrified leftist Jews, have been mouthpieces for every left-wing garbage that a servile leftist media has brought to America. If youve been a Leftist at any time in the past 70 years, youve been among the detritus that brought the world to this point. George Soros isnt the only counter-intuitive Jew out there.

Americas leftist Jews have been silent about the creeping antisemitism in the Democrat Party. Their slobbery embrace of the Palestinian cause (End Islamophobia!) has enabled the barbarism that has come to southern Israel. (Orthodox Jews in NYC, the ones who are constantly on the receiving end of regular antisemitic attacks in their own communities, might say the damage already extends far beyond southern Israel.) Suddenly, though, when the leftist lie becomes Death to Israel, leftist Jews are genuinely shocked.

It's that failure to recognize their own culpability that infuriates me. They were okay with belittling and smearing any conservative politician or viewpoint. However, now that its their co-religionists getting sacrificed on the lefts gory altars, its as if their past never existed. Well, sorry. Every single wanna-be Marxist/socialist/nihilist/leftist out there has done incalculable damage to my country, my society, and my world over the past 70 years. Its unforgivable.

Image: YouTube screen grab.

Im also dumbfounded by Jews who trash Israel. I am not a big fan of the current Pope, but I dont trash the Vatican. And for anyone to trash Israel now, Jew or non-Jew, when ISISs apparent first cousin, Hamas, has raped/tortured/murdered over 1,000 Israeli civilians is unthinkable. Occasionally, the left drops its mask a little, and we see the true face. We are seeing it now.

For Ilhan Omar and her witches coven in Congress to defendand oh, yes, they are defendingthe Hamas barbarism is unspeakable. For anyone to invoke moral equivalency here is tantamount to defending and, effectively aiding barbarism. Its unfathomable.

It is certainly not just Americas leftist Jews who are at issue here. I can think of more than a few progressive, woke Irish Catholics who fit in nicely here. Pray (and I mean, pray) that none of you one day find yourself asking, as Alec Guinnesss character said at the end of the monumental epic, Bridge on the River Kwai, What have I done?

The blinded ones will learn, in a couple of decades, that their children must deal with a hell-hole world they helped create by following the pied pipers of the left.

Again, Schumer and Silverman arent the only ones. Theyre just the poster children of a destructive movement that has swept through Hollywood, Manhattan, D.C., every major city, and every woke university (and school board and corporate/foundation board) in the United States and Europe. When I read last week about philanthropic foundations pulling out of university funding because of university responses to Israel, I remembered that none had a problem bestowing their (and often, your) wealth when free speech was being murdered on college campuses and conservative (or religious) speakers were being pilloried.

Do they realize the key part they played in creating the leftist Frankenstein monster that Iand my childrenmust now deal with? Eternal shame on your heads! They sowed the wind, and we now reap the whirlwind.

When some of you on the left now rise up to defend the IDF, where were you when our GIs and Marines were being thoroughly victimized in the 60s and 70s? Were you part of the trashing?

You people on the left deserve the Armageddon that you have unleashed upon the world (for it wont stop at Israels borders). You loved Obama, Bernie, Michelle, Nancy, and Ben and Jerrys. You laughed along with Kimmel, Letterman, Myers, and Colbert. You sent money annually to the ACLU. Well, when your cities become Beirut-like war zones, as Americas leftist Jews are seeing today in Israel, you are getting exactly what you deserve. But my children didnt and dont, and for that, Ill never forgive and never forget what youve brought to our shores.
Not too many hours ago, the media and the Hamas apologists were deploring a rocket strike on a historic Greek Orthodox church in Gaza.

Israel was blamed, of course, though there was no confirmation at the time that Israel did it.

Here's a sample of the news as reported by the Daily Beast:

An explosion was reported at the Church of St. Porphyrius in Gaza City on Thursday night, according to both Gazas interior ministry and the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. The church, one of the oldest in the world, was reportedly sheltering several hundred displaced Palestinians at the time of the blast. The ministry, which is controlled by the Hamas militant group, was quoted by AFP as saying the explosion left a large number of martyrs and injured. Witnesses at the site told The Wall Street Journal that rescuers were digging through rubble, pulling out people, some of whom had sustained injuries. Majdy Jildah, a refugee at the Greek Orthodox church, said he believed a child had been killed. The Palestinian news agency WAFA also reported that a young girl was dead and many others injured at the compound. The churchs facade reportedly sustained damage as well, and at least one adjacent building is believed to have collapsed.,

Here's the New York Times, which gave it a lot of play, too:

An Israeli airstrike hit the grounds of the historic Saint Porphyrius Greek Orthodox Church in Gaza City, which was sheltering displaced people, on Thursday night, according to church officials and witnesses. The church compound, comprising a chapel, seven buildings and a courtyard, was full of Christian families from the Gaza Strip, witnesses said. They said the airstrike happened around 7:30 p.m., when dinner was being distributed. Videos and images from the scene showed rescuers digging through rubble, working with flashlights late Thursday and into Friday. The chapel was not struck. The Gazan health ministry, which is controlled by Hamas, said at least 16 people were killed and many others were still buried under rubble. The death toll could not be independently confirmed.

There was plenty of condemnation on all sides, and Israel, to its credit, took responsibility just now. It was an accidental hit as the target was a Hamas ammo station nearby, not a deliberate strike, and far from flatten the church, damaged but didn't destroy it, and yes, with some loss of life.

Far less reported, though, is the news that came out earlier today -- that a historic synagogue in Tunisia was deliberately set on fire by Palestine Hamas demonstrators:

Rioters in Tunisia reportedly attacked an ancient synagogue in the city of Al Hammah as a pro-Palestinian demonstration erupted out of control on Tuesday. The Jerusalem Chronicles reports that the targeted synagogue, which no longer houses active worship but does house the tomb of the 16th-century Kabbalist Rabbi Yosef Maaravi, was vandalized and set on fire by hundreds of protesters, as documented in social media videos and photographs.

Why is one getting big front-page play, while the other, which was completely destroyed, is not?

Image: Twitter screen shot
Its sometimes surprising to learn that, even in countries with barely a pretense of freedom, reporters will be more aggressive than the servile Democrat-party operatives in the American media. Such was the case when Rasha Habil, a female reporter for Al-Arabiya Network (out of Dubai and Saudi Arabia), refused to let Khaled Mashal, a Hamas leader, get away with insisting that Israel deserved what it got. Under her questioning, he lied, prevaricated, and unintentionally told the truth.

The first thing to know about Mashal is that hes resting comfortably in Qatar. This will become important information. Both the video and the transcript come from MEMRI, which does an amazing public service by translating whats being said in the Middle East in speeches and interviews that are not intended for credulous Western consumption.

Hamas Leader Abroad Khaled Mashal Rejects Accusations of Transgressions against Civilians on October 7 Attack: We Have Nothing to Apologize For; Hamas Only Fights Soldiers, But Sometimes There Are Civilian Victims in War; Hizbullah, Arab Countries Should Do More to Help Us #Hamas pic.twitter.com/x3O40CFQn8  MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) October 20, 2023

Nabil begins the interview by pointing out that Hamas didnt just do a regular operation. Instead, it is more like a declaration of war. She notes that some people ask what you expected would be the Israeli reaction and says that many watching the great human tragedy unfolding in Gaza are irritated at Hamass unilateral action, given its significant consequences.

Mashal brushes the question off. If Hamas hadnt kept the attack secret, the Al-Qassam Brigades wouldnt have had that ingenious moment when they managed to surprise the enemy This was all part of the context of the legitimate resistance that our people have agreed upon

Thats all well and good, says Nabil, but theres a problem: [W]hat the people in the West have seen on their TV screens, was transgressions by Hamas against Israeli civilians. You are responsible for Hamas's image abroad. Hamas is now being compared to ISIS.

Thats a pretty amazing statement from an Arab reporter. Mashal was obviously taken aback, so much so that he could do nothing more than repeat a hackneyed line: This is an accusation fabricated by Netanyahu Given the endless footage of the attacks, much of it filmed and promoted by his Al-Qassam Brigades, Mashals statement is ludicrous.

But then we get to the stunning point, which is when Mashalagain, comfortably ensconced in Qatarmakes it clear that he believes the Palestinian people must die in great numbers as part of a glorious sacrifice:

Dear sister, nations are not easily liberated. The Russians sacrificed 30 million people in World War II, in order to liberate it from Hitler's attack. The Vietnamese sacrificed 3.5 million people until they defeated the Americans. Afghanistan sacrifice millions of martyrs to defeat the USSR and then the US. The Algerian people sacrificed six million martyrs over 130 years. The Palestinian people are just like any other nation. No nation is liberated without sacrifices.

The more dead Gazans, the better. That was part of the plan all along.

Mashal later voices another lieor perhaps a deeper truth. As both Hamass admirers and foes know, the attack on the rave, on children, on women, and on the elderly makes it patently clear that Al-Qassam troops were targeting civilians. Yet Mashal insists that our military organizations focus their resistance on the occupation forces, on the soldiers Hamas does not kill civilians on purpose. It focuses on the soldiers. Period. According to him, civilians were just collateral damage. Well, thats a big lie.

Or maybe its the truth, too. Hamass goal, stated in its charter, is to remove every Jew from the river to the sea. This means that every Jew, from the newborn infant to the 100-year-old Holocaust survivor, is a combatant. Everyone is a target. There are no civilians. He wants to kill Jews by the millions, and hes willing to see Gazans die by the millions to make it happen.

Mashal also talks about the strategy of hostages. He notes that Israel gave up 1,000 prisoners for Gilad Shalit. Given that there are (he says) 10,000 Palestinians in Israeli prisons (all of whom had due process), he fully expects that the dozens of soldiers and officers kidnapped into Gaza will be used to empty the [Israeli] prisons, and all our sons and daughters from all the factions will be released

Nabil deserves credit for pushing Mashal to be so honest. Once, the Palestinians dissimulated. Now, asked the right questions, they dont bother to anymore, and the information is very illuminating.

Image: Hamass Khaled Mashal. MEMRI.
The argument remains. On one side are those who credit and feel indebted to President Biden and his administration for the unbridled moral support and the massive military aid, worth millions of dollars, the U.S. is giving to Israel to assist in our war against Hamas (and Hezballah). On the other side, the position is that if this administration had been much tougher with Iran from the outset, actually maintaining the policy toward Iran during the Trump administration, the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel would never have happened. The Biden administrations conciliatory gestures and language further empowered Iran, leading to Hamass invasion of southern Israel. This surprise incursion was one of Irans tactics to weaken Israel over time through sporadic attacks by its proxies, including Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezballah, and even Yemen. If not for Bidens efforts to placate Iran, goes this argument, all the people murdered in that attack would be alive today. All the hostages taken would be home with their loved ones and friends.

This debate will go on for a long time, Im sure. However, I want to relate to the Presidents Oval Office speech. In it, President Biden revealed his continuing misunderstanding of the Middle Eastern mind and culture, particularly that of Islamism. How so? Yes, he called Hamas pure evil, but like many liberals, he will not allow himself to admit that most Palestinians in Gaza and Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) are supporters of Hamas.

If you, too, wish to deny this, then I recommend you open these four links and read these articles.

Why is this reality so widely denied? I think for two reasons:

To recognize this is too painful for liberals; it threatens hope for an eventual peaceful resolution to the conflict. Because denying it creates a practical dilemma. What position, what action, should Israel (and the democratic world) take vis-a-vis people who are not active terrorists, but who support the terrorist acts of others and may even abet it?

Biden and his advisers are wrong. Most Gazans do identify with Hamas. Hamas has won over the loyalties of most Palestinians, even though not all Gazans are terrorists.

Hamas owns Gaza and all of its residents. Whether the latter are unwilling victims of Hamass cruelty and forced to comply with whatever Hamas demands, or whether they are loyal soldiers and believers in Hamass version of fanatic Sunni Islamism, Hamas is in full control of Gaza.

It is pollyannish and naive to think there is a chance that the millions of dollars in humanitarian aid that the United States has committed to sending to Gaza will not be immediately commandeered by Hamas for its own use. Did not Hamas recently steal fuel from UNWRA storehouses? Was Hamas sanctioned? Biden threatened that if Americas aid was hijacked by Hamas, he would turn off the spigot. Would he?

All international humanitarian institutions in Gaza, all social welfare organizations, are under the bootheel of Hamas. In spite of this, the Biden administration, most Democrat representatives in the U.S. Congress, and human rights groups worldwide continue to blindly pump money and aid into a broken society that is completely under the control of a corrupt and murderous regime. (Something similar may be said about the Palestinian Authority, although it is not as brazen as Hamas and is willing to play along with Western democracies in order to keep Western contributions flowing.)

Hamas must be destroyed  both its military and its political apparatus. With G-ds help, the IDF will see to this. And what about the day after?

Here the United States and other Western democracies, but not the corrupt United Nations, may act realistically and play a positive role. Gaza is not Afghanistan; Gaza is not Iraq. Gaza covers a small area with a relatively small population. Its economy is also small. After the war, when Hamas is gone, a coalition of these countries could administer the governance of Gaza. Their goal would be, in the coming years, to physically rebuild Gaza, rehabilitate its economy, and (here is the greatest task) to wean its population away from fanatic Islamism. That goal would be the most challenging by far. It would include successfully inculcating the principles of democracy into the population, a goal that failed miserably in Afghanistan and Iraq. Perhaps, when the time comes, the bitter lessons learned in those two debacles would be helpful here.

But make no mistake: the people of Gaza are innocent only to the extent that they are not taking up arms against Israel.

Image via Pxfuel.
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D. Tex.) has been in Congress since 1995. She boasts a BA in political science from Yale University and a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. With those credentials, you might imagine a woman of gravitas, decency, and dignity. If thats what you imagine, you also believe in Tinker Bell-esque fairies and peace-loving Iranian mullahs. All of those are wildly errant fantasies. Instead, she is a radical leftist. Were also learning now that she is a verbally abusive boss with a potty mouth so extreme it renders her completely incoherent.

Heres some of what Jackson Lee stands for:

China

Venezuela

Calling Tea Party members, who wanted lower taxes, the KKK

Pro-LGBTQ+ policies

Challenging elections in which Republicans win

Image: Sheila Jackson Lee. YouTube screen grab.

Jackson Lee has also advertised over the years that she was a beneficiary of affirmative action when she got her degrees. In other words, her mental wattage is open to question. Here are two verbatim quotations:

Today, we have two Vietnams, side by side, North and South, exchanging and working. We may not agree with all that North Vietnam is doing, but they are living in peace. I would look for a better human rights record for North Vietnam, but they are living side by side. [snip] Maybe I should offer a good thanks to the distinguished members of the majority, the Republicans, my chairman and others, for giving us an opportunity to have a deliberative constitutional discussion that reinforces the sanctity of this nation and how well it is that we have lasted some 400 years, operating under a constitution that clearly defines what is constitutional and what is not.

Additionally, Jackson Lee, when a member of the House Committee on Science, is famous for asking if the Mars Pathfinder was able to take a picture of the American flag that Neil Armstrong planted in 1969on the moon.

Over the years, in addition to being mentally deficient and a hard leftist (but I repeat myself), Jackson Lee has developed a reputation for being a horrible boss. Thus, there have long been allegations that Jackson Lee verbally abused her staff members.

Finally, we have proof that this is true. A leaked recording has been released in which Jackson Lee throws around obscenities, vulgarities, and sheer stupidity with such abandon that her meaning is incoherent. All that comes through is anger, hatred, and arrogance:

LEAKED AUDIO: Congresswoman Shelia Jackson Lee Berates Staffer



Full audio here: https://t.co/XCD3rlrCLn



Audio we received today appears to be of Congresswoman Shelia Jackson Lee berating her staff.



Sheila Jackson Lee  0:01 - 0:09

Uh, you took a piece of paper from that pic.twitter.com/AOUKE4utJ9  Current Revolt (Tony O.) (@CurrentRevolt) October 21, 2023

This is an awful human being. But this is also a person whom voters in Texas keep sending back to the House. In other words, Jackson Lee is horrible on her own terms, but shes also a symptom of the decline of the American public. We have become a debased people, with Jackson Lees repeated elections standing as Exhibit A proving that fact.
Imagine being a healthy 18-year-old high school senior with deep-seated goals and aspirations and having those goals seriously altered after a COVID gene-therapy injection.

Imagine experiencing intermittent nausea, increased heart rate, headaches and stroke-like symptoms following vaccination and then learning that you have developed Cerebral Venous Sinus Thrombosis due to blood clotting in the brain. How about having your first seizure 11 days after vaccination, followed by three brain surgeries due to blood clots in the brain, and then struggling to walk with a cane due to limited motor function, and requiring the use of voice recognition software to write or type?

Such is the case of Emma Burkey, who along with seven other injured individuals and React19  a non-profit organization providing financial, physical, and emotional support to those suffering long-term adverse events from COVID-19 vaccines - is part of an important lawsuit seeking due compensation from a Health and Human Resource program that failed to deliver.

The Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP) was established under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act of 2005 (PREP Act) to provide timely, uniform, and adequate compensation to eligible individuals for covered injuries directly caused by the administration or use of a covered countermeasure. CICP was created so that if you were injured by a COVID-19 vaccine, you can file a claim. But, as ICAN attorney Aaron Siri explains: Its equivalent to shoving papers into a black hole and waiting to see what comes back. As it turns out, the government provides no timeline for deciding requests and plaintiffs have no way of tracking requests until they receive a case number sometime in the future. Indeed, Emma Burkey received her J&J injection on March 20, 2021 and is now a plaintiff in a lawsuit two years after the fact.

But timing is not the only problem surrounding compensation.

To begin, the PREP Act provides near complete immunity to pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer, Moderna, J&J and Novavax for injuries and deaths that were caused by their COVID-19 products. And as for payouts, some interesting statistics are revealed in the complaint. As of Sept. 1, 2023, 12,110 CICP claims have been filed. Yet

The Program has compensated only four of those claims, three for myocarditis and one for anaphylaxis. The average payout on COVID-19 claims to date is $2,148.14.

By comparison, CICPs average payout on injuries related to the H1N1 vaccine was $198,450.12. Over 90% (10,949/12,110) of the COVID-19 countermeasure claims remain pending review or in review. In rare instances where a decision has been reached, over 97% of those COVID-19 countermeasure claims have been denied (1,129/1,161). CICP has awarded compensation to a lamentable 0.033% of total COVID-19 claimants (4/12,110), and benefits determinations remain pending for 0.2% of total COVID-19 claimants (27/12,110).

CICPs claims, submission and review process is shrouded in secrecy as they are reviewed according to unidentified standards and no clear process or timeline for the review is disclosed. There is also no opportunity for discovery or a method to request or review documents that reveal how the government arrived at its determination.

The government also does not identify any expert witnesses or consultants used in making determinations. And plaintiffs cannot even have the opportunity to question or cross-examine experts the government uses. Plaintiffs cannot even present their own expert witnesses.

CICP is also terribly underfunded. The complaint indicates that $5 million and $7 million were budgeted for administration in 2022 and 2023 while hundreds of millions of doses of COVID-19 vaccines were administered. Rather than supplying compensation costs, it was the priority of administration (i.e., employees) that made up 94% of total costs. Remember, as indicated above, only four out of 12,110 were compensated at the time of the filing (currently the number is 6 out of 12,233).

Whats more, it appears that the CICP is unable to adequately compensate the injured. If claims were compensated at CICPs historical rate, CICP would be paying $21.16 million in compensation and $317.94 million in total outlays which amounts to be 72.1 times its current balance. This, according to the complaint, is further evidence that the program is simply theater.

Although I am just scratching the surface of the problems laid out in the lawsuit, it is evident that the CICP program has not and perhaps cannot fulfill its duties to those injured from COVID-19 effects. Apart from budgetary issues, there are fundamental requirements for due process in the American judicial system and this lawsuit argues that the CICP program does not meet that constitutional due process. As Siri states:

When you file your claim what do you put into your petition? Not clear. Whos going to review it? You dont know Can you petition them for more information to ask questions about how they are going to review? No. Do you know what experts they are going to use? No. Can you ask their experts questions? No, because you dont know who they are...You have no discovery rights, no rights to address the tribunal Theyre not only sitting there basically as the judge, theyre also the prosecutioners. Theres basically no distinction there.

The lawyers are asking that the CICP be corrected in all of these ways, otherwise the entire statute needs to be struck down to the extent that it fails to provide basic due process protections, transparency, and judicial oversight.

Such compensation improvements consistent with constitutional due process are now sorely needed as powerful interests have recently announced their commitment to funding the development of next generation vaccines.

On Oct. 13, the U.S Department of Health and Human Services announced $500 million in awards for Project NexGen. And a few days before that, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced new investments to advance access to mRNA research and vaccine manufacturing technology in Africa. It seems the injurious, if not lethal, jab experiments are alive and well. All the more reason for the CICP, which is inextricably bound with the immunity provided to the manufacturers, to be fixed if not struck down. With so many delicate, shattered human lives in the balance, there is no place for such an unlawful and dishonest vaccine compensation program. As indicated in the lawsuit:

CICP is the epitome of a kangaroo court or a star chamber  a proceeding that ignores recognized standards of law and justice, is grossly unfair, and comes to a predetermined conclusion.

Victor Fernandez is a former Logic/Philosophy of Science adjunct and retired math teacher.

Image: U.S. government photo, via RawPixel // public domain
A Detroit synagogue president was found stabbed to death outside her home Saturday, police said. The motive wasn't known.

Emergency medical personnel declared the woman, identified in a statement from Mayor Mike Duggan as Samantha Woll, dead at the scene, Cpl. Dan Donakowski said.

While at the scene, police officers observed a trail of blood leading officers to the victims residence, which is where the crime is believed to have occurred, Donakowski said.

Woll, 40, had led the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue since 2022 and was a former aide to Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin and campaign staffer for Attorney General Dana Nessel, the Detroit Free Press reported.

Police have not identified a possible motive and are investigating, the Free Press reported.

Police found Woll around 6:30 a.m. after someone called to alert them of a person lying on the ground unresponsive, the Free Press reported.

Detroit Police Chief James E. White said the killing has left many unanswered questions, and he asked the public to be patient as investigators examine all available evidence.

Over the course of the last several hours, the DPD has mobilized many of its resources and has been leveraging every law enforcement and community resource it has to help further the investigation, White said in a statement released Saturday night. An update on the investigation will be forthcoming tomorrow.

In a statement, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Wolls death was heartbreaking.

She was a source of light, a beacon in her community who worked hard to make Michigan a better place, the governor said.

Michigan State Police were assigned to support the Detroit Police Department in the investigation, Whitmer said.

Nessel issued a statement on X, formerly Twitter, saying she was shocked, saddened and horrified."

Sam was as kind a person as Ive ever known, Nessel said. "She was driven by her sincere love of her community, state and country. Sam truly used her faith and activism to create a better place for everyone.

Slotkin also commented on X , saying she was "heartbroken at this news.

Duggan issued a statement saying he was devastated to learn of Woll's death.

Sams loss has left a huge hole in the Detroit community," the mayor said. This entire city joins with her family and friends in mourning her tragic death. (AP)
T-Mobile has had a dramatic couple of days. The company was accused of forcing people to higher-paid plans, but that was debunked by an email from the company CEO. Now, we found out that T-Mobile delayed a rather convenient trade-in program that would have made life easier for a ton of people.

When new phones come out, carriers see a surge of trade-ins as people sacrifice their old phones for shiny new ones. The thing is that trading in old devices could be a hassle for people. Well. T-Mobile was going to debut a program to make trading in devices easier.

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As part of the program, the carrier would send out physical return ship kits to its customers. The kits would include a return label, shipping materials, and instructions on how to send the device. Also, the company would give the customer clear notifications during the shipping process. T-Mobile would let people know about the status of their trade-in along with deadlines and other relevant information.

The T-Mobile trade-in program was delayed, unfortunately

This program sounds nice, but it might not happen. According to the report, the company has delayed it indefinitely. It was supposed to have happened by now with a launch date of October 16th. That was this previous Monday.

Were not sure why T-Mobile chose to delay this program. One possible reason could be the notable financial impact. We dont know how much it would have cost the company, but sending shipping materials and shipping labels to customers would not have been cheap.

In any case, its unfortunate that T-Mobile has decided to delay this program. It seems like it could have made life easier for a bunch of T-Mobile users. Hopefully, the company will be able to debut it before the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S24. When that phone comes out, you can bet that the trade-ins will skyrocket.
A Big Brother contestant has said she felt a bit rubbish after hearing live crowds chanting her name outside the reality shows location.

NHS manager Kerry, from Essex, had previously been up for eviction from the Big Brother House in the first week but had not been put forward during Fridays live elimination.

Zak, a model from Manchester, became the second housemate sent home after losing a public vote to Henry, a food writer from the Cotswolds.

In Sundays episode, Kerry is heard saying she does not really know what to do now.

#ad Not so happy campers, rule breakers and Jordan finally did some washing up! Thats week two in a neat and tidy package, brought to you by @DomestosUK the official cleaning partner of Big Brother. Were all cleaned up and ready for week three, are you? #BBUK pic.twitter.com/64bwXF8Z9F  Big Brother UK (@bbuk) October 22, 2023

In the diary room, which is away from the other contestants, she says: They were chanting Get Kerry Out and it sounded like there was about 50,000 people.

It just felt a bit rubbish and you think, oh god, whats my son going through? Whats my family going through?

She adds that her not being a big Zak fan could be the reason that Big Brother fans are not going to be very happy with her.

Im hoping its that, Kerry tells Big Brother as she gets tearful and also says: Its really tough.

Elsewhere, Jenkin from Bridgend in Wales tells Tom that they need to listen to their own judgment.

Tom, a butcher from Somerset, replies, saying that he thinks Kerry exaggerates a lot of the time, her reactions and responses to things as she is a keen fan of Big Brother.

Im not going to change my opinion, I like Kerry, Tom also said.

Sneak Peek  Eviction Night makes the Housemates question each other, before a tea party where they don't hold back on spilling all the tea  #BBUK pic.twitter.com/uQmJM5IBj9  Big Brother UK (@bbuk) October 22, 2023

Meanwhile, Trish from Luton has been told to chair a meeting with the other contestants to set out rules for the Big Brother House in which she asked people to have bedtime consideration.

In response, Paul, a security officer from Liverpool, says: Can I just say, you havent come to a luxury holiday resort, youve come to the Big Brother House and this is whats going to happen.

I dont go to bed at home (until) about three in the morning and I am a hyperactive person. Im not going to just go to bed early and if you cant handle that then youre in the wrong place.

He added: Nobodys got any hierarchy apart from Big Brother.

Big Brother continues on Sunday night at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX.
Scottish fashion designer Patrick Grant has said his father died very unnecessarily due to Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) shortages during the Covid pandemic.

Grants father, James, had been a manager of the Scottish pop rock band Marmalade as well as an accountant and rugby coach.

The judge of The Great British Sewing Bee told BBC Radio 4s Desert Island Discs that the Government, at the time, was running this catastrophically shambolic programme to try and manage PPE supplies into the NHS.

The Saville Row tailor, 51, told presenter Lauren Laverne: My dad died of Covid very, very early on, very unnecessarily, because there was no PPE in the hospital.

Hed gone into hospital (in March 2020) for a pretty routine operation, caught Covid in hospital and died three days later.

In May, the King was joined by Jools Holland, Ruby Turner and Patrick Grant (Ben Birchall/PA)

He added: (I) remember (talking) to somebody in the Cabinet Office, I went to them early on and said look, there are loads and loads people who can sew at home. Weve got very limited sewing capacity in the UK but hospitals need scrubs and gowns.

There are a million sewing machines in homes around the UK, lots of them want to help, there are lots of also empty factories with cutting capacity, we can get the fabric, we can cut it centrally, distribute it to home sewers.

They (the Cabinet Office) said: Oh health and safety, we wouldnt and Im like its a pair of scrubs, like there are doctors wearing pyjamas (They said) We would have to sign off every individual sewer through health and safety. I was like Youve all lost your minds.

While choosing a lovely song called Get Better by Alt-J, which he said was about struggling with the loss of a loved one on the programme, Grant became emotional and broke down.

He said: Its a beautiful song. Of course it brings back memories of my dad and its also, its kind of uplifting, because we will get through.

Patrick Grant, a judge on the BBC TV series The Great British Sewing. (BBC)

Grant also recalled the absolutely awful time he took over the Cookson & Clegg textile factory before it entered a period of voluntary liquidation.

He said: I had to make everybody redundant, and I scrambled to find the money to buy the machinery back from the liquidators and we managed to come to an arrangement with our landlord and all of our suppliers got paid and we made sure that everything was good and got up and running.

It was horrifying, my dad was made redundant so I saw it from that side. Its traumatic, in a very real way for people and having to do it en masse to all of those people was dreadful.

We took them all back (and) fortunately, that second time around it went better until Covid.

Grant founded the fashion brand Community Clothing, which promises to use the best natural materials in the very best factories right here in the UK.

He added that it has become difficult for factories to find skilled staff as people in the past would have followed their parents or grandparents into a workplace.

Grant also said: I think that is because for decades now we have undersold the idea of skilled manual work, both Conservative and Labour governments have, I think, made it the case that sort of skilled manual work feels like second class work and I think thats completely wrong. You can make a great career in our industry.

A Government spokesperson said: The Government acted swiftly to procure PPE at the height of the pandemic.

We ordered over 30 billion items during the initial response  and we have delivered over 25 billion items of PPE to frontline staff and other eligible users to keep them safe.

Grants episode on Desert Island Discs will air on BBC Radio 4 at 11.15am on Sunday.
The Environment Agency (EA) has warned there could be more flooding in the coming days as stricken households try to make their homes safe again.

Around 1,250 properties in England have been flooded and an estimated 30,000 properties have been protected, the EA has said.

The agency said more flood warnings are expected for some of the worst affected areas into next week  despite severe flood warnings, meaning risk of death or serious injury, being lifted.

Flooding along the River Severn in Shropshire (Nick Potts/PA)

Severe flood warnings in place on the River Derwent in Derby and on the River Idle in the East Midlands were lifted on Sunday.

The EA said: River flooding will continue into Wednesday along the River Severn.

Further flooding is possible from rivers and surface water on Tuesday and Wednesday for parts of England due to further heavy rain.

The warning comes as 83-year-old Maureen Gilbert was found dead after her home was hit by flooding in Derbyshire, taking the number of people who have died since the storm hit the UK to at least four.

Derbyshire Police said the pensioner was found dead at about 10.35am on Saturday at her home in Tapton Terrace, Chesterfield.

Her son Paul Gilbert told Sky News he found his mother floating in the water.

He told the broadcaster: I did not want to find my own mum and I expected somebody else to have found her.

I go through so many different stages, anger, upset, I dont know. I cant put it into words what it means at the moment.

Wendy Taylor, 57, died after being swept into the Water of Lee, Glen Esk, on Thursday, Police Scotland said.

Her family described her as a ray of sunshine for everyone who was fortunate enough to know her in a tribute issued through police.

We are absolutely heartbroken to lose Wendy in such tragic circumstances and are still struggling to come to terms with it. Wendy was a beautiful, kind, funny and caring person, they said.

Wendy was the beloved wife, best friend and soulmate in life to George, mother to James, Sally and Susanna and Granny to India and George.

In Scotland, Angus and Aberdeenshire were badly hit by the storm and teams have been clearing debris from roads, while those hit by flooding are making repairs.

Residents of River Street in Brechin were trying to dry out their homes as they surveyed the damage from the floodwater.

Hundreds fled the street and nearby areas when the River South Esk burst its banks and overtopped flood defences, sending water pouring into the lower floors of many properties.

Derby City Council saw record-breaking water levels in the River Derwent and warned that cleaning up after the floods could take several days.

Flooding in Powys in Wales (Ben Birchall/PA)

Met Office spokesman Dave Britton said those worst affected by the flooding caused by Storm Babet could see a couple of quieter days.

Mr Britton told the PA news agency more settled weather on Monday could allow some respite and a chance for recovery.

He added: There is this pulse of rain moving its way north overnight later on Monday and into Tuesday, but the rest of the week does look like it remains rather unsettled with spells of rain at times.

 Yellow weather warning issued Icy patches possible on untreated surfaces across parts of Scotland and the far north of England Sunday 21:00 to Monday 09:00 Latest info  https://t.co/QwDLMfRBfs Stay #WeatherAware pic.twitter.com/VyK9ukgpj8  Met Office (@metoffice) October 22, 2023

On Friday, a man in his 60s died after getting caught in fast-flowing floodwater in the town of Cleobury Mortimer in Shropshire.

Police Scotland previously said a falling tree hit a van near Forfar in Angus on Thursday evening, killing the 56-year-old driver.

A search is also under way in Aberdeenshire after a report of a man trapped in a vehicle in floodwater.
More risk-to-life flood warnings have been issued in England in the wake of Storm Babet as homes have been evacuated and train services disrupted.

Two severe flood warnings are in place around the River Idle, near Retford in Nottinghamshire, meaning risk of death or serious injury, as water levels continue to rise.

It comes as police said the death of a woman in her 80s at a flat in Derbyshire was believed to be flood-related, taking the number of people who have died since the storm hit the UK to at least four.

Derbyshire Police said a pensioner, named by family members as Maureen Gilbert, was found dead at about 10.35am on Saturday after officers, along with colleagues from Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service and from East Midlands Ambulance Service, arrived at her property in Tapton Terrace, Chesterfield.

Her son Paul Gilbert told Sky News he found his mother floating in the water.

He told the broadcaster: I did not want to find my own mum and I expected somebody else to have found her.

I go through so many different stages, anger, upset, I dont know. I cant put it into words what it means at the moment.

I came to the window behind you, forced it open and found my mum floating in the water.

Wendy Taylor, 57, died after being swept into the Water of Lee, Glen Esk, on Thursday, Police Scotland have said.

Her family described her as a ray of sunshine for everyone who was fortunate enough to know her in a tribute issued through Police Scotland.

The tribute said: We are absolutely heartbroken to lose Wendy in such tragic circumstances and are still struggling to come to terms with it. Wendy was a beautiful, kind, funny and caring person.

It added: Wendy was the beloved wife, best friend and soulmate in life to George, mother to James, Sally and Susanna and Granny to India and George.

The River Idle is expected to reach record levels as flooding continues, the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Local Resilience Forum (LRF) said, with 200 properties asked to evacuate by Nottinghamshire Fire Service.

Emergency services are supporting residents to evacuate where needed and a rest centre has been set up at Retford Leisure Centre.

The Environment Agency has warned that major rivers could still be flooded until Tuesday and train services are disrupted across parts of Scotland, Yorkshire and East Anglia, with some routes still flooded.

According to the agency, the total number of flooded properties in England is 1,229 with a further 22,000 protected by defences.

Katharine Smith, flood duty manager at the Environment Agency, said: Widespread flooding is probable from rivers today (Sunday) in parts of the Midlands and the north of England. River flooding may continue into Monday for parts of Yorkshire and the Humber and the East Midlands.

Environment Agency teams are out on the ground and have operated flood barriers and storage areas. Temporary defences, including pumps and barriers, have been deployed to minimise the impact of flooding where needed. Flood gates have also been closed in affected areas.

We also advise people to stay away from swollen rivers and urge people not to drive through floodwater as just 30cm of flowing water is enough to move your car.

Derby City Council said it is seeing record-breaking water levels in the River Derwent and warned that cleaning up after the floods could take several days.

Flooding in Powys in Wales (Ben Birchall/PA)

Three severe flood warnings, which means risk of death and serious injury, had been in place around the River Derwent in Derbyshire over the weekend but were downgraded on Sunday morning.

As of 11am, more than 170 flood warnings, where less dangerous flooding is expected, remained in place across England.

Meanwhile, London North Eastern Railway (LNER) has advised its customers there are no services operating north of Edinburgh to Aberdeen.

ScotRail said routes remain closed between Aberdeen and Dundee, and Aberdeen and Elgin.

The Scottish train operator said it cannot run services on the Fife Circle route, or between Inverness and Wick, Thurso and Kyle of Lochalsh.

Met Office spokesman Dave Britton said those worst affected by the flooding caused by Storm Babet could see a couple of quieter days.

Mr Britton told the PA news agency: Certainly through today and tomorrow, (there is) a period of more settled weather allowing for a respite for recovery.

There is this pulse of rain moving its way north overnight later on Monday and into Tuesday, but the rest of the week does look like it remains rather unsettled with spells of rain at times.

 Yellow weather warning issued Icy patches possible on untreated surfaces across parts of Scotland and the far north of England Sunday 21:00 to Monday 09:00 Latest info  https://t.co/QwDLMfRBfs Stay #WeatherAware pic.twitter.com/VyK9ukgpj8  Met Office (@metoffice) October 22, 2023

But there are no warnings in force at the time for the remainder of the week, bar an ice warning for part of North Scotland tonight.

The Energy Network Association (ENA) said a small handful of homes would still be without power on Sunday after around 100,000 customers were initially affected by power cuts.

On Friday, a man in his 60s died after getting caught in fast-flowing floodwater in the town of Cleobury Mortimer in Shropshire.

Police Scotland previously said a falling tree hit a van near Forfar in Angus on Thursday evening, killing the 56-year-old driver.

A search is also under way in Aberdeenshire after a report of a man trapped in a vehicle in floodwater.
Residents walk past dilapidated mansion on Villegas Street in Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. The two-story building, which houses six families, is one of many, once luxurious houses that in recent years have partially collapsed or suffered visible damage. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

The house on Villegas Street, in the heart of Old Havana, looks nothing like the stately two-story home it used to be a century ago, with its high ceilings, wrought iron railings, semicircular arches and stairs covered in white marble. Its former elegance is such that local lore says it used to belong to a marquise.

Today, everything inside the six-family unit is chaos.

The roots of a tree protrude through the wall of a makeshift toilet where birds have made their nests. The roofs of the first and second floors are propped up. There is rubble and fresh sand scattered everywhere. The walls seem to tilt and the facade has completely disappeared, exposing a patio where one can see freshly washed clothes hanging.

The structure is one of many once luxurious houses in the island nation that in recent years have partially collapsed  or suffer visible damage. Barely 100 meters (yards) away, also on Villegas Street, a similar building fell in earlier this month, causing three deaths.

Residents say they have repeatedly asked authorities for help to no avail. Years of neglect, inclement weather and a deepening economic crisis only aggravate the fear that their home will eventually collapse.

How can we not live in fear? Every time it rains I feel like small pebbles come falling down on me, said Maricelys Colas, a retired 64-year-old who has lived in the house with her 85-year-old mother for 59 years. And a collapse doesnt warn you.

The Cuban government has in the past acknowledged the problem of housing deterioration, but says the lack of material resources prevents it from tackling it. Yet, many Cubans wonder why the pace of investment in tourism megaprojects such as hotels  a vital business sector that has failed to take off in at least the last two years  is not slowing down to address the dire housing crisis.

The house on Villegas Street was built at the end of the 18th century or the beginning of the 19th on a plot measuring about 15 meters (50 feet) wide by 60 meters (about 200 feet) deep. Three families live on the ground floor, where there used to be a main patio and rooms for the domestic staff. Three other families live on the more deteriorated top floor, where cracks abound and the staircase creaks as you climb it.

All of the residents say the building once belonged to the Marquise of Pinar del Rio, a title granted by the Spanish crown when the island was part of its domains. The Associated Press could not verify that, but its elegant design is visible.

Nowadays, everything smells of mould.

AP interviewed all the residents in the unit, except for an elderly man who was temporarily staying in a relatives house. They unanimously reported having made efforts before the government, requesting to live elsewhere or to have access to materials for repairs. They said they never received a response.

The Cuban government did not respond to an emailed request for comment.

Mario Luis Poll, a 57-year-old art restorer who has lived in the building for 19 years, walks around his unit showing a reporter all the repairs he has done to try to hold the ceiling together after the floor of the room above collapsed.

Right above him, 47-year-old musician Marcos Villa faces a different problem: Foliage from a tree is growing out of his improvised bathroom.

The struts (the wooden posts that support the roof of the entire construction) are almost just for decoration, Poll said, shrugging in a sign of resignation.

Cubas housing crisis is one of the most pressing challenges facing the island, where a humid climate, the passage of hurricanes and other storms, poor maintenance and a low completion rate of new ones are usually among the top complaints of Cubans.

Cubas director of housing, Vivian Rodriguez, said earlier this month that the island has a housing deficit of 800,000 homes, especially in the provinces of Havana, Holguin, Santiago de Cuba and Camaguey.

Government figures from 2020 say Cuba had 3.9 million homes, out of which nearly 40% were deemed to be in only fair or poor condition.

The situation is critical, said Abel Tablada, professor at the Faculty of Architecture of the Technological University of Havana, adding that rebuilding and restoring partially collapsed buildings requires many resources that the Cuban state does not have in these moments of acute crisis.

The residents of the house in Villegas Street, tired of asking authorities for help, can only sigh about the fate of the former mansion they inhabit.

If those marquises came back to life and saw this house, they would surely die again, joked Elayne Clavel, 26, wife of musician Villa.

____

Follow APs coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
Rishi Sunak has warned that the Israel-Hamas war risks unleashing a contagion of conflict across the Middle East.

The Prime Minister, who visited Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt for talks with key regional players this week, said the leaders agreed we need to do everything possible to prevent the spread of the war.

He said his two-day visit to the region demonstrated that the UK stands in solidarity with them against terrorism and that there can be no justification for the atrocities committed by Hamas.

I wanted to sit down with other leaders and talk face to face. Because in times of tension and division, its more important than ever to accelerate diplomatic efforts, he added.

He said the opening of the border crossing with Egypt to allow an aid convoy into the Gaza Strip was an example of what could be achieved.

The reopening of the Rafah crossing into Gaza is testament to the power of diplomacy, with the US, Israel and Egypt brokering an agreement to ensure vital aid reaches the Palestinian people.

Were working closely with Egypt to ensure that the UK plays our part in ensuring those Palestinians get the food, water and medicine they so desperately need.

The overwhelming view I got from everyone I spoke to this week was that we need to do everything possible to stop a contagion of conflict in the region.

We need to keep our aspirations for a more peaceful and stable future firmly in our sights as we work together to defeat the evil of terrorism.

Trucks with humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip (Fatima Shbair/AP)

The Prime Ministers comments came after 100,000 people marched through central London in support of the Palestinian people in response to Israels siege of the Gaza Strip.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said he wanted Britons trapped in Gaza to be able to leave through the Rafah crossing but acknowledged it was not yet safe enough to do so.

Ultimately, we want to see the Rafah crossing safe enough that foreign nationals in Gaza are able to leave, he told the Sunday Times.

We are only going to call British nationals forward when we are confident that there will be a long enough period for them to credibly, safely leave Gaza and we are not yet in that position.

He said officials were working very, very closely with the Egyptian government, with the Qataris and other players in the region  including Israel, of course  to try and get to a situation where there is enough stability, for long enough, to give British nationals a credible opportunity to leave.

At a peace summit in Cairo on Saturday, Mr Cleverly said Israel had the right to defend itself against Hamas in Gaza.

But with the Israeli military preparing a ground offensive, Mr Cleverly said they needed to show discipline, professionalism and restraint in actions against Hamas.

The UK is clear and has been consistently clear that Israel has the right to self-defence and the right to secure the release of those who were kidnapped on October 7, Mr Cleverly said.

And we are also clear that we must work, and they must work, to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people in Gaza, and that their actions are in accordance with international law.

(PA Graphics)

Mr Cleverly said he had raised the need to protect civilians with the Tel Aviv government.

He added: Despite the incredibly difficult circumstances, I have called for discipline and professionalism and restraint from the Israeli military.

The Gaza Strip has been blockaded and bombarded by Israel after its Hamas rulers launched a series of terrorist raids on October 7.

The frontier with Egypt at Rafah was opened on Saturday morning to let 20 trucks of desperately needed aid flow to Palestinians running short of food, medicine and water in the territory.

Hundreds of foreign passport-holders have been trying to leave the besieged territory.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly meets Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi (Egyptian Presidency Media Office/AP)

ActionAid Palestine spokeswoman Riham Jafari said the Rafah crossing convoy was barely a drop in the ocean and called for a ceasefire and the opening of humanitarian corridors.

Aid trucks also did not bring with them the fuel needed to power hospitals, keep ambulances moving, or to pump water from the ground, she added.

The opening of the Rafah crossing followed another major development when Hamas freed an American woman and her teenage daughter it had held hostage in the Gaza Strip, the first such release from among around 200 people the militant group abducted during its October 7 raids on southern Israel.

Hamas said it released Judith Raanan and her 17-year-old daughter Natalie for humanitarian reasons in an agreement with the Qatar government.

Mr Cleverly said: We are grateful to the governments who are seeking to intercede on behalf of those held hostage and those foreign nationals who are trapped in Gaza, and we are grateful for the work to ensure that the humanitarian aid  which much which many of us have partially funded  reaches those Gazans who are deeply in need.

A pro-Palestinian march organised by the Stop the War Coalition and Palestine Solidarity Campaign in central London (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

In London, pro-Palestinian protesters chanted from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free, despite an ongoing controversy around the slogans meaning.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman has previously branded the slogan antisemitic and claimed it is widely understood to call for the destruction of Israel.

But the Metropolitan Police said while we can envisage scenarios where chanting these words could be unlawful  such as outside a synagogue or Jewish school  its use in a wider protest would not be an offence and would not result in arrests.
DP World has signed a 30-year concession agreement with the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) to operate and modernise the multi-purpose Dar es Salaam Port, connecting Tanzania and the wider region to global markets.

The concession agreement was signed on Sunday between Plasduce Mkeli Mbossa, Director General of the TPA, and Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO of DP World, in the presence of Samia Suluhu Hassan, President of the United Republic of Tanzania.

The concession to operate and modernise the Dar es Salaam Port was awarded to DP World with the primary objective of optimising the ports operations to improve transport and logistics services throughout Tanzania and its hinterland. This is the first phase of a multi-phase investment plan.

DP World will initially invest more than $250 million to upgrade the port and the investment could increase to $1 billion during the concession period, alongside hinterland logistics projects. This investment will have a positive impact for Tanzanias socioeconomic development, in terms of job creation and increased access to products and services, among other benefits.

The port will connect to the hinterland of sub-Saharan Africa through a network of roads, highways, railways and dedicated freight corridors and ports, supporting the growing demand for logistics solutions across the continent and connecting businesses in the region to global markets.

The port has greatly benefitted from recent investments made by the Government of Tanzania to improve its infrastructure. DP World will work with the TPA alongside the ports existing stakeholders to build on this progress to allow faster cargo clearing and improved cargo planning  strengthening Dar es Salaams critical role as the maritime gateway for green energy metals from the copper belt in Southern-Central Africa. Improved efficiency will attract more shipping lines and bigger ships into Dar es Salaam, which will ultimately lead to lower ocean freight costs for Tanzanian importers and exporters.

DP World will make future investments in modernising the port, including potential investments in temperature-controlled storage to enhance Tanzanias agricultural sector, as well as greater connections to rail-linked logistics. Investments will also potentially include the future development of a special economic zone together with the broader Ports logistics sector, which will increase Tanzanias role and influence on the future of global trade.

Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO of DP World, said: "We are honoured to partner with the Government of Tanzania to revitalise the port of Dar es Salaam. This is in line with Tanzanias strategic development plans and is testament of the visionary leadership of HE Samia Suluhu Hassan. The development will deliver trade opportunities for the region, connecting East Africa and broader sub-Saharan Africa with global markets, driving economic growth, job creation, enhanced access to products and service, and creating value for all our stakeholders. Alongside other ports that we operate, this concession agreement marks another milestone in our collective efforts to leverage DP Worlds global and local expertise to enhance the regions supply chain to support the economic growth of the entire continent."

Professor Makame Mbarawa, Tanzanias the Minister of Transport said: "The signing of the concession agreement between the Government of Tanzania and DP World is a momentous event indeed, as it marks yet another significant breakthrough in building best-in-class infrastructure in Tanzania under the Public-Private Partnership model. With DP World's expertise the port will play an important role supporting the creation of direct and indirect employment in various sectors such as transportation, distribution and supply chain. Importantly, the Tanzania Ports Authority will be a shareholder of the port concessionaire, and there will be no job losses for employees at the port authority." - TradeArabia News Service
Thousands of people have protested in support of the besieged Gaza Strip in London and other UK cities.

The Metropolitan Police said up to 100,000 took part in a pro-Palestine march in central London on Saturday, with other rallies in Cardiff, Glasgow and Birmingham.

Others protested outside the BBCs MediaCity headquarters in Salford, Greater Manchester, over its reporting of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

The Gaza Strip has been blockaded and bombarded by Israel after its Hamas rulers launched a series of terrorist raids on October 7.

More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, mostly civilians attacked in the October 7 incursion. Over 4,100 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Thousands gathered at Marble Arch in central London for Saturdays march, clutching signs emblazoned with Freedom for Palestine and Stop Bombing Gaza.

Chants included Judaism yes, Zionism no, the state of Israel must go, and 5, 6, 7, 8, Israel is a terrorist state.

A total of 10 arrests were made linked to the protests in London, the Metropolitan Police said.

Five officers received minor injuries, the force said.

The arrests were for offences involving fireworks, public order and assaulting an emergency service worker.

Protesters attended a a pro-Palestine march organised by the Stop the War Coalition and Palestine Solidarity Campaign in central London (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

Protesters also chanted from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free, despite controversy around the slogans meaning.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman has previously branded the slogan antisemitic and claimed that it is widely understood to call for the destruction of Israel.

Jewish groups including the Board of Deputies of British Jews, Jewish Leadership Council and the Community Security Trust have asked prosecutors to clarify if chanting the slogan is a criminal offence.

However, those who defend the slogan describe it as a long-standing protest chant that calls for a homeland for the Palestinian people.

A small group of pro-Palestinian protesters held a separate demonstration in central London on Saturday calling for Muslim armies to rescue the people of Palestine.

The group of around 100 people stood on Balfour Mews, just off the street from the path of the main protest.

Protesters condemned the bombing of Gaza (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

Speakers addressed the crowd in Arabic and a large banner read Muslim armies, rescue the people of Palestine.

In Salford, the BBC was accused of bias in its coverage of the conflict.

Martin Odoni, from Eccles, who attended the rally, said: Im Jewish and every time Israel commits an atrocity it claims its doing it in the name of Jewish people.

I think its my duty to come out here and show, actually, a lot of Jews do not support what Israel is doing. An awful lot of us are not Zionist at all.

When theyre massacring Palestinians I more than dont approve, I utterly condemn it.

On his criticism of the BBC, he added: Well, look at the headlines they put up.

When Israelis are killed they say these Israelis were killed by Palestinians.

When Palestinians get killed, its Palestinians died when Israel attacked.

Theres a blatant bias in the way the BBC reports these events and somebodys got to tell them.

The BBC has also been been criticised over its use of language to describe Hamas and its coverage of the immediate aftermath of the bombing of a hospital in Gaza City.

BBC director general Tim Davie met the Board of Deputies of British Jews president Marie van der Zyl and its chief executive Michael Wegier on Friday to discuss their outrage at Hamas being described as militants instead of terrorists.

The Board of Deputies, which describes itself as the voice of the Jewish community in Britain, later said the BBC had confirmed it is no longer the corporations practice to call Hamas militants, but instead is describing the group as a proscribed terrorist organisation by the UK Government and others, or simply as Hamas.

A BBC spokesperson said: Careful consideration has been given to all aspects of our coverage to ensure that we report on developments impartially and accurately.

In amongst thousands of hours of news broadcasting, there will always be some errors  and live reporting will always bring with it huge challenges, particularly when it is on the ground in the toughest of circumstances.

Where we do get things wrong, we always hold up our hands  as we did this week when one of our correspondents was wrong to speculate  along with others  about the cause of the al Ahli hospital explosion, even if he at no point reported that it was an Israeli strike.

We have confirmed that we will continue to refer to Hamas as a proscribed terror organisation by the UK Government and others.

What the BBC does not do is use the word terrorist without attributing it, nor do we ban words.

We also confirmed that for some days we had not been using militant as a default description for Hamas, as we have been finding this a less accurate description for our audiences as the situation evolves.
The UK will continue to face travel disruption due to flooding from major rivers following Storm Babet.

Flooding has caused problems across Britains rail network, with disruption to continue in parts of Yorkshire, Scotland, East Anglia and the East Midlands on Sunday.

Three people have died since the storm hit the UK on Wednesday while a search continues in Aberdeenshire after a report of a man trapped in a vehicle in floodwater.

The Environment Agency (EA) said three severe flood warnings were in place around the River Derwent in Derbyshire, meaning deep and fast-flowing water carries a significant risk of death or serious injury as well as serious disruption to local communities.

Three people have died since the storm hit the UK on Wednesday (PA)

Derby City Council said they are seeing record-breaking water levels in the River Derwent and warned that cleaning up after the floods could take several days.

As of 5am, 230 flood warnings  where less dangerous flooding is expected  remain in place across England.

Scotland has been badly affected and a red weather warning  which warns of danger to life  was issued for the second consecutive day for parts of Angus and Aberdeenshire.

The Met Office downgraded the warning on Saturday afternoon after rainfall across eastern Scotland eased.

Sunday morning starts on a brighter but chillier note than of late A scattering of showers will move across western areas but elsewhere will see a largely dry morning with some good spells of sunshine pic.twitter.com/M6gpaaSVzv  Met Office (@metoffice) October 21, 2023

In Wales, a severe flood warning has been issued for the village of Llandrinio, Powys, as well as isolated properties in the Severn-Vyrnwy confluence area.

The Energy Network Association (ENA) said a small handful of homes will still be without power on Sunday after around 100,000 customers were affected by power cuts.

On Friday, a man in his 60s died after getting caught in fast-flowing floodwater in the town of Cleobury Mortimer in Shropshire.

Police Scotland previously said a falling tree hit a van near Forfar in Angus on Thursday evening, killing the 56-year-old driver.

A 57-year-old woman also died on Thursday after being swept into a river in the region.
The UK is working intensively to allow Britons trapped in Gaza to leave but the border crossing remains closed because of Egypts legitimate concerns, ministers said.

Immigration minister Robert Jenrick said opening the Rafah crossing to allow aid into Gaza and foreign nationals to escape the humanitarian crisis unfolding there is a priority.

A small convoy of 20 lorries was allowed to cross into Gaza on Saturday, with a further 17 reported to have made the trip on Sunday, but the UK and relief agencies are pushing for far greater access to the territory.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the UK is working intensively to open the Rafah crossing for Britons in Gaza (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

We have secured, along with other partners, the supply of humanitarian aid through the Rafah crossing but not yet foreign nationals  including British nationals  ability to leave through the Rafah crossing, he told the BBC.

But he said Egypt has legitimate concerns about the situation at Rafah.

Egypt has faced insecurity near the border with Gaza in north-eastern Sinai, including an Islamist insurgency which began more than a decade ago, although it has been largely suppressed.

Israel has ordered Gazans to move south as it carries out its retaliatory strikes on Hamas following the October 7 raids.

This has increased pressure at the border crossing, which has been largely closed since the Israel-Hamas war flared up.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, writing in the Sunday Telegraph, said: We need to see a stream of trucks rolling through that crossing to bring aid to the civilian population.

We also need to see all water supplies to Gaza restored where physically possible.

Immigration minister Robert Jenrick said it is important to prevent aid being diverted to Hamas (Lucy North/PA)

All sides should commit to the sanctity of UN installations, hospitals and shelters.

Were working intensively with international partners to ensure that British nationals currently trapped in Gaza are also able to leave through this crossing while aid enters.

Mr Jenrick said one of the problems with increasing aid to Gaza is the risk of Hamas taking the supplies, particularly if fuel is allowed in.

Seven fuel trucks are thought to have been among the vehicles entering Gaza on Sunday, something which is urgently needed for generators, including in hospitals.

The good news is that the first aid has now gone through and I know that we have contributed to that by raising it at the very highest levels, he told the BBC.

We want to see much more because thats just a welcome first step and were co-ordinating very closely with the United Nations.

One issue is to ensure that Hamas dont divert any of the supplies that are provided, particularly energy supplies, for their own activities, and that what does go into Gaza exclusively goes to support the innocent civilian population.

The senior Palestinian diplomat in the UK has warned that a humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding in Gaza.

Husam Zomlot, head of the Palestinian mission to the UK, told Sky News Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme: Carnage, horror, in every sense, families have to make choices of should they leave, should they stay.

Families are thinking of rationing water with children, which child can sustain more.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said the UK should be leading international efforts to secure an immediate pause in hostilities.

A temporary humanitarian ceasefire would allow for the hostages taken by Hamas to be released and for aid to get into Gaza, he said.

One of the biggest concerns among the international community is the prospect of the Israel-Hamas war spreading into a wider regional conflict.

Mr Sunak, who visited Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt this week, said: The overwhelming view I got from everyone I spoke to this week was that we need to do everything possible to stop a contagion of conflict in the region.

But as well as continuing to strike targets in Gaza, Israeli jets struck two airports in Syria and a mosque in the occupied West Bank allegedly used by militants.

Exchanges of fire with Lebanons Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group have occurred on a near-daily basis since the war began.

Lebanons ambassador to the UK, Rami Mortada, called on Israel to end its strikes on his country.

He told BBC Radio 4s The World This Weekend: The Lebanese side has been on the on the receiving end for the last 10 days.

What weve been hearing is that no-one is interested in triggering a conflict but it would need the co-operation from all stakeholders mainly the Israelis, who have been in a provocative mood.

So I think that if Israeli provocations and and attacks stop there is no reason why we shouldnt be able to re-establish the 2006 cessation of hostilities.

Tel Avivs ambassador to the UK, Tzipi Hotovely, told Times Radio the idea of a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine has failed.

She told Times Radio: I think the two-state solution failed because Palestinians never accepted the idea of a Jewish state and you cannot carry on with a failed solution.

And I also think that this is the time to rethink about a solution that will be better for everyone, so we wont have a new terror organisation being established in the Gaza Strip after Israel finish the job with Hamas.
SYDNEY/BEIJING (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Sunday he will travel to China from Nov. 4 to 7 to meet with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang in a bid to stabilise relations with the country's biggest trading partner.

The announcement of the trip to Beijing and Shanghai, the first by an Australian leader to China since 2016, came after a breakthrough on Saturday in resolving a dispute with China over its wine tariffs that have battered the industry.

China's Commerce Ministry said on Sunday the two sides had reached a consensus to settle the WTO wine dispute as well as a dispute over Australian duties on Chinese wind towers.

Patching up relations with China, which had deteriorated over several years due to disputes over telecoms firm Huawei, espionage and COVID, has been a top priority for Albanese since he took office in 2022.

"It is important that we stabilise our relationship with China," Albanese said.

On the visit, the leaders will discuss cooperation in areas such as economic links, climate change and "links between our people", he said in a statmement.

"I look forward to further engaging with President Xi and Premier Li in Australia's national interest," he said.

Speaking in Canberra, Albanese said Australia late on Saturday had reached a deal with China to move forward to solve its World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute over wine, potentially clearing the way for the resumption of imports worth $800 million a year before the duties were imposed in 2021.

"We have agreed on the issue of wine for there to be a review of China's position on wine tariffs to be conducted over the next months," Albanese told reporters.

"We will suspend our action before the WTO, but we're very confident that this will result in once again Australian wine, a great product, being able to go to China free of the tariffs."

Albanese did not mention duties on wind towers in his comments. However, on Oct. 16, Australia's Anti-Dumping Commission recommended lifting anti-dumping measures on Chinese wind towers. No final decision has been made yet.

"China and Australia are important trading partners of each other, and we are willing to work with the Australian side to continue to meet each other halfway through dialogue and consultation," China's Commerce ministry said in a statement.

The ministry added that China and Australia held "friendly consultations" on WTO disputes of mutual concern over various items, and was willing to "jointly promote the stable and healthy development of bilateral economic and trade relations."

The announcements are the latest in a diplomatic thaw that has already seen China lift restrictions on imports of Australian coal, timber and barley, which Beijing had targeted after Canberra called for an inquiry into the origins of COVID-19.

The duties of up to 218% on most Australian wines were imposed in March 2021, causing trade to collapse in what had been the most valuable export market for the country's winemakers.

(Reporting by Sam McKeith in Sydney, Peter Hobson in Canberra, Bernard Orr and Ethan Wang in Beijing; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Sonali Paul)
"I could not have been more touched and more honored to adopt Bret Michaels the husky," the rocker tells PEOPLE

Kevin Winter/Getty; Nebraska Humane Society Bret Michaels adopts a dog named after him

Bret Michaels  meet Bret Michaels!

Earlier this week, a 6-year-old husky named after the Poison frontman gave a life-saving blood donation to a kitten that was dealing with flea anemia at the Nebraska Humane Society, the establishment said in a post shared on Facebook.

After the story made its way back to Michaels, 60, he reached out to the Nebraska Humane Society, and is now adopting the dog named in his likeness.

"I could not have been more touched and more honored to adopt Bret Michaels the husky, knowing that he gave blood to save the life of a kitten," the rocker  who is currently on his Parti-Gras tour  tells PEOPLE in an exclusive statement. "I could not work fast enough to adopt this husky and extend the awesome quality of little Bret Jr.'s life."

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.

Nebraska Humane Society Bret Michaels adopts a dog named after him

Related: Bret Michaels on Turning 60 After Near-Fatal Health Struggles: 'I Still Got a Lot of Life to Live' (Exclusive)

In its social media post, the Nebraska Humane Society detailed that the kitten was brought in as a stray alongside two other felines.

Noting that they were "dirty, cold and covered in fleas," the establishment wrote that they took care of the animals, but noticed one of the cats appeared "a little bit off" and was "wobbly, weak and lethargic."

After diagnosing the kitten with flea anemia, the Nebraska Humane Society found that it needed to do a blood transfer fast, but they couldnt wait for testing to be done to determine a suitable feline donor.

Instead, the organization knew that dog blood can be transfused into felines, and they remembered that the canine Bret Michaels had blood work done just days prior, making him a candidate to donate.

Nebraska Humane Society Bret Michaels adopts a dog named after him

Related: Dennis Quaid Adopts a Black Cat Named Dennis Quaid: 'I Just Couldn't Resist'

After the first round of transfusion, the kitten started showing signs of improvement,

the Nebraska Humane Society said in its Facebook post.

Michaels' decision to adopt the hero dog comes shortly after he lost his 14-year-old German shepherd Phoenix earlier this year.

"So this story brought a smile back into my family's life," the musician tells PEOPLE. "I work diligently with my family and many people to save and improve the lives of many pets."

"We have always donated to incredible pet drives and charities, and will continue to [home] Bret Jr., who ... has now found a loving family that also includes our two rescue shepherds, Nova and Draco," he adds.



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Read the original article on People.
GOP presidential candidate Chris Christie encouraged House Republicans to forget about internal divisions and focus on necessary legislative priorities amid struggles to elect a new Speaker.

They asked me on TV on Thursday, Who do you want to be Speaker? I said I dont care. Just pick someone! Christie said at a campaign stop in Charleston, S.C., on Saturday.

The House has been without a Speaker for nearly three weeks as successive candidates fail to garner enough support to win the election. A third Speaker-designee will be selected from an expanding pool of candidates at a caucus meeting on Monday evening.

The former New Jersey governor said the Speaker chaos has prevented the U.S. government from doing important policy work.

Just pick someone because Israel needs help, he said. Ukraine needs help. Our southern border needs to be secured.

And Taiwan needs to be armed now so were not catching up later, he added. We need to send a message to the Chinese now that Taiwan will be ready if they come.

Christie said House Republicans have been too busy arguing over whos going to get the big office with the view of the National Mall to make sure their ego is okay.

Make a decision! Be done already! Thats what we need to do, he argued.

President Biden submitted a $100 billion supplemental budget request on Friday which includes all of those priorities. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has signaled he may support it.

But, that package relies on the House in order to be passed. The lower chamber has not considered any legislation since former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was ousted from his leadership role earlier this month in a historic vote.

Speaker votes are expected to continue next week after a new nominee is chosen. Candidates have until Sunday at noon to join the race.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, is seen on the House floor Oct. 18, 2023, as lawmakers hold a second vote to elect a new speaker in Washington.

Q. Why cant the President declare an emergency and just appoint a Speaker so that Congress can function?

A. The Speaker of the House is a pivotal role in our government. He or she is the leader of the United States House of Representatives and one of the most important officials in the federal government. The Speaker is responsible for presiding over the House, setting the agenda, and appointing members to committees. During certain points in our history, one could make the argument that the Speaker was more important than the President, when it came to getting laws passed or even the direction of the country.

In the absence of a Speaker, the House cannot properly operate and this is understandably frustrating to Americans. However, the Constitution does not provide to the President the authority to solve this issue. Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution states that "The House of Representatives shall choose their Speaker and other Officers." Simply put, the U.S. Constitution gives to the elected members of the House of Representatives, and only to them, the power to pick their leadership.

More Civics Project: Why is it so hard to get a budget bill passed? A Civics Project column explains.

This limitation makes sense. If you look at the structure of our government, the Constitution grants each branch of government its own specific and independent authority, ensuring that no single entity wields excessive power. The legislative branch, which encompasses the House of Representatives, is designed to be separate from the President, who leads the executive branch. The separation of powers is a cornerstone principle that underpins our democratic system. Appointing the Speaker of the House directly from the executive branch would blur the lines between the branches and undermine the system of checks and balances.

More directly, allowing the President to appoint the Speaker of the House would be tantamount to consolidating power in the executive and diminishing the independence of the legislative branch. It would enable the President to exert undue influence over the legislative process, potentially turning the Speaker into a subordinate of the executive branch. Such a scenario would not only be detrimental to the separation of powers but also run counter to our core democratic principles. It would subvert the basic design of the Constitution which put greater authority and legitimacy in the legislative branch. Remember, Article I of the Constitution is about Congress, not the President.

More Civics Project: Civics Project column: Why we have government shutdowns

There are advantages to tying the Speaker to the President. A Presidential appointment to Speaker would certainly increase efficiency, since there could be greater coordination and organization in the passage of legislation. However, cooperation and compromise in our government are supposed to be achieved through negotiation and dialogue, not through the President's unilateral appointment of the Speaker. The solution to an impasse at Speaker is for the House of Representatives to get their house in order, not surrender their authority to another branch.

Kevin Wagner

Kevin Wagner is a noted constitutional scholar and political science professor at Florida Atlantic University. The answers provided do not necessarily represent the views of the university. If you have a question about how American government and politics work, email him at kwagne15@fau.edu or reach him on Twitter @kevinwagnerphd

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Constitution does not give President power to name Speaker of House
Unusually warm waters in the Caribbean Sea are fueling what some scientists say is the regions worst episode of coral bleaching ever recorded  yet another worrisome development in what has been an off-the-charts year of warmth for the worlds oceans.

Reefs in and around the Caribbean are experiencing high levels of heat stress, according to researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, stoking fears that widespread bleaching could lead to a catastrophic die-off of corals in the area. It comes on the heels of one of the worst bleaching events ever seen off Florida.

Florida is just the tip of the iceberg, said the coordinator of NOAAs Coral Reef Watch Program, Derek Manzello, a coral reef ecologist. The entire Caribbean right now is bleaching. If you picked a random spot on the map in the Caribbean and jumped in the water, youre going to see bleached corals.

Warm conditions are expected to linger in the Caribbean Sea in the coming weeks, while the Southern Hemisphere also transitions out of winter and into warmer spring temperatures. All told, it may be the start of what's known as a global bleaching event, Manzello said, which is characterized by widespread coral bleaching in all three ocean basins: the Atlantic, the Pacific and the Indian.

A partially bleached staghorn coral in Florida (Wilfredo Lee / AP file )

The last such global event occurred from 2014 to 2017  a period that, like this year, also featured the return of El Nino conditions, a natural climate cycle that can compound background warming from climate change, often boosting average air and sea temperatures.

Even with El Nino, the intensity of the marine heat waves, particularly off Florida, and their longevity came as a surprise, said Ian Enochs, a research ecologist at NOAAs Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory.

Heat-induced bleaching occurs as a stress response to abnormal conditions, triggering corals to expel tiny photosynthetic algae that live in their tissues. That causes the colorful corals to turn an eerily "bleached" white hue.

Bleaching doesnt necessarily cause corals to die, but the process weakens reefs and makes the marine invertebrates more susceptible to disease.

Sea surface temperatures around the world have smashed records in recent months, with some of the biggest and most persistent temperature spikes having been recorded in the North Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean basin. Over the summer, sea surface temperatures off Florida peaked over 90 degrees Fahrenheit and stayed elevated for weeks on end.

Part of Enochs research has focused on Cheeca Rocks, a reef within the Florida Keys. For more than a decade, Enochs has been monitoring the site, collecting data to compile 3D models of changes to the reef over time. This year, he said, Cheeca Rocks experienced 100% bleaching, with not a single part of the reef left unaffected.

I have never ever seen anything to this extent at Cheeca Rocks, he said. We were experiencing heat stress levels that were double what weve ever experienced before at Cheeca Rocks. If that is not alarming in terms of the magnitude of this, I dont know what is.

Phanor Montoya-Maya, a marine biologist and restoration program manager at the Coral Restoration Foundation, a nonprofit ocean conservation organization, said marine heat waves were so intense this year that many corals didnt have a chance to adjust.

On those occasions where the temperature went up so quickly, they didnt even have time to bleach. They were burned to death, Montoya-Maya said.

The Coral Restoration Foundation works to raise genetically diverse corals in nurseries and then plant them on reefs around the globe. The goal, Montoya-Maya said, is to increase live coral cover on reefs to build back populations and boost their resilience.

The situation in the Caribbean isnt yet as dire as it is off Florida. But, Manzello said, the bleaching event is still going on, and the full extent of this years record warmth may not be clear for months to come. What is apparent, however, is that the long-term trends are cause for alarm.

Its concerning because every time weve had a global bleaching event, they keep getting worse and worse, he said.

Still, amid such ecological devastation, Enochs said, there is reason for optimism.

Theres not much worse than the death of these important species, but at the same time, I have been truly surprised that we have not seen more destruction as of yet, he said. Theres been a whole bunch of mortality and death, but we have seen some recovery as water temperatures have dropped down. And that, to me, it means that in the face of all of this, theres still hope.
Tensions are ramping up between Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley as she gains traction and seemingly threatens his second-place spot in the Republican presidential primary.

The two campaigns have spent much of the week trading barbs over the possibility of the U.S. receiving refugees from Gaza, with DeSantis accusing Haley of trying to be politically correct. Haleys campaign has hit back, accusing the DeSantis campaign of falsely describing her stance on the issue.

The super PACs supporting them have also battled in recent days. On Wednesday, the pro-DeSantis Never Back Down PAC rolled out an ad painting Haley as being sympathetic to refugees. Meanwhile, the pro-Haley SFA PAC highlighted reports that DeSantis was losing donors, calling it DeSperation.

The war of words comes as the two battle to be the primarys top Trump alternative, a spot that DeSantis has held in the campaign so far.

Right now, he doesnt have a Donald Trump problem, hes got a Nikki Haley problem, NewsNation political contributor Chris Stirewalt said on The Hill earlier this week. Nikki Haleys gaining momentum; hes going down to South Carolina to take questions from you, because Nikki Haley, and foreign policy  all the foreign policy news helps Nikki Haley. Hes gotta find a way to deal with her.

NewsNation is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which also owns The Hill.

DeSantiss campaign seems to have dealt with Haley, at least this week, through the barrage of attacks on her foreign policy record.

I think it all boils down to one thing: Shes moving step by step to become the most viable alternative to Trump, said one Republican strategist. It may not end that way, but thats what its looking like, so Id expect her to take a lot more incoming.

And DeSantis allies are seizing on what they say is Haley flip-flopping on issues.

Nikki Haley has a history of weakly flip-flopping on critical issues and so far, she has never had to defend her actions. Shes provided an opportunity with her own missteps to fully expose her record versus her rhetoric. She will not be able to survive that, said Kristin Davison, chief operating officer at Never Back Down.

The recent back-and-forth between the candidates stems from the Israel-Hamas war declared this month. On Saturday, DeSantis said during an address that the U.S. should not take in Palestinian refugees from Gaza, instead claiming that other countries in the region should be responsible.

If you look at how they behave, not all of them are Hamas, but they are all anti-Semitic. None of them believe in Israels right to exist, DeSantis said.

The following day on CNNs State of the Union, Haley was asked about DeSantiss comments on Palestinians being anti-Semitic. Haley noted that from her experience at the U.N., half of Palestinians did not support Hamas, while the other half did.

There are so many people who want to be free from this terrorist rule, she said. They want to be free from all of that. And Americas always been sympathetic to the fact that you can separate civilians from terrorists. And thats what we have to do.

In the same interview, Haley questioned why countries like Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and Lebanon are not taking in Palestinian refugees.

On Monday, the pro-DeSantis super PAC Never Back Down posted a clip from the interview in which she was responding to DeSantiss comments about Palestinians being anti-Semitic, claiming Haley was arguing in support of bringing Gaza refugees to America.

And Tuesday, the PAC rolled out a 30-second television ad using Haleys response to DeSantiss comments on Palestinians being anti-Semitic, with the caption Nikki Haley on Gaza refugees?

While Haley was not referring to refugees in her remarks, Republicans point out the tactic from DeSantis is a clear play at the partys hard-line conservative base.

Nikki Haleys foreign policy view may be popular, acceptable in a general election, but its not a strength of hers necessarily in a Republican primary, said Ford OConnell, a GOP strategist.

But Haley has still used her experience to hit DeSantis. On Wednesday, Haley responded to a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, in which DeSantis challenged the other Republicans in the field to oppose Bidens $100 million gift to Hamas, referring to President Bidens funding to aid civilians in Gaza and the West Bank.

We did this in 2018 when we eliminated U.S. aid to [the United Nations Relief and Works Agency]. Welcome to the fight, Haley wrote, referring to her time at the U.N. Actions > Talk.

Haleys campaign also released a campaign ad titled Desperate DeSantis. The spot asks, Why is Desperate DeSantis attacking Nikki Haley? Hes losing to Nikki. And its easy to see why.

In return, DeSantiss campaign blasted Haleys latest ad as a distraction.

Ron DeSantis is running a serious campaign to challenge Donald Trump for our partys nomination for president. Nikki Haley is clearly running a traditional Washington, D.C., committee blueprint to move talking heads rather than real primary voters, said DeSantis campaign press secretary Bryan Griffin. Ron DeSantis has been crystal clear: Not a single penny of U.S. tax dollars to the Gaza Strip, and not a single pro-Hamas refugee on American soil.

Haleys allies and her supporters point to her recent fundraising numbers and improvement in the polls. A Fox News poll released last week showed Haley behind DeSantis by only 3 points. The polls margin of error was 4.5 points for Republican primary voters.

At the state level, Haley has also seen some improvement. A Winthrop University survey released earlier this month showed Haley in second place behind Trump, 51 percent to 17 percent among Republican primary voters in her home state of South Carolina. DeSantis trailed at 12 percent support. Meanwhile, a USA Today/Boston Globe/Suffolk University poll of New Hampshire GOP primary voters showed Trump leading Haley 49 percent to 19 percent. DeSantis came in third at 10 percent.

Still, DeSantis holds second place in most polling. The RealClearPolitics polling average shows the Florida governor in second place with 12.8 percent support. Haley comes in third place with 7.4 percent support.

The former ambassadors supporters also cite fundraising as a sign of her rise.

Haleys campaign reported raising more than $11 million in the third quarter of the year, and it ended the quarter with $11.6 million cash on hand. Of that, Haley can use $9.1 million in the primary.

DeSantiss campaign, together with a political action committee and joint fundraising account, raised $15 million during the same period. The campaign started the month with $13.5 million cash on hand, but only $5 million of that can be used during the primary.

Since announcing, DeSantis insisted its a two-man race between him and Trump. As his fundraising and poll numbers plummet, hes lobbing false attacks at Nikki because he knows its a two-person race  Nikki and Trump, said Olivia Perez-Cubas, a spokesperson for Haleys campaign.

Regardless of who ultimately grasps second place, the candidate will have to contend with Trump. The former president has dominated the polls and fundraising, showing himself to be a political titan in the crowded primary field.

DeSantis donor Dan Eberhart warned that the barrage of attacks between the Haley and DeSantis campaigns could play into Trumps hands.

The feud benefits Trump more than it does DeSantis or Haley. If they are attacking each other, they arent attacking him, Eberhart said. Candidates rise and fall in the polls over the course of a campaign. They need to keep their eyes on the horse at the front of the pack.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrate at the BBC's headquarters in Belfast

Pro-Palestinian protesters have held a demonstration outside the BBC's Belfast headquarters.

A large crowd made its way to Broadcasting House in Ormeau Avenue from the City Hall.

People Before Profit assembly member Gerry Carroll said the protest aimed to "challenge" how the BBC had covered the conflict in the Middle East.

It is the latest in a series of pro-Palestinian events in NI and comes as demonstrations were held across the UK.

The rallies took place two weeks after attacks launched by Hamas gunmen on Israel, in which at least 1,400 people were killed and 203 taken hostage.

In response, Israel has launched air strikes on Gaza which Palestinian health officials say have killed more than 4,000 people.

Protesters gathered outside Belfast City Hall before making their way to Broadcasting House

Earlier on Saturday demonstrations were also held in Londonderry and Dublin.

The Belfast demonstration was organised by Belfast Stands with Palestine.

In a social media post, the organisation said the BBC was biased against Palestinians.

The crowd chanted "BBC, shame on you", and booed when Joe Biden, Ursula von der Leyen, Rishi Sunak's names were called out.

Along with Palestinian flags, some demonstrators carried placards with Sinn Fein logos. Banners from People Before Profit, the Socialist Party and the Irish National Teachers' Organisation were on display as protesters gathered at City Hall.

There was a significant PSNI presence, with roads closed to facilitate the demonstration.

A BBC spokesperson said the corporation had provided audiences around the world with coverage and first-hand testimony "of the atrocities committed by Hamas, and the suffering in Gaza".

"We have made clear the devastating human cost to civilians living in Israel and Gaza, and the unprecedented nature of what has happened," the spokesperson added.

"We have reported on the atrocities committed by Hamas in their assault on Israel and have heard many accounts from survivors of these attacks and family members of the victims, reflecting the trauma they are suffering.

Large crowds attend Saturday's march in Dublin in support of Palestinians

"Careful consideration has been given to all aspects of our coverage to ensure that we report on developments accurately and with due impartiality in line with the BBC Editorial Guidelines, which are publicly available."

Sinn Fein vice-president Michelle O'Neill attended a rally in Dungannon, County Tyrone, to express "solidarity with the Palestinian people".

She called on the Israeli government to stop its bombing and blockade of Gaza, "the occupation, illegal settlements and apartheid".

"The international community must step up and call for a full, immediate ceasefire," she said in a tweet.

"This is not self-defence. It is oppression of an entire population."

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood was among those tho took part in Saturday's Derry event.

It was organised by the city's Ireland Palestine Solidary Campaign branch.

Catherine Hutton from the organisation said it wanted to send a message that "it's time for the [Israeli] occupation to end".

"Right now what's happening in Gaza, I have never in my own lifetime seen anything like it," she said.

She said she wanted the government to take action by introducing sanctions and holding Israel accountable "for war crimes and crimes against humanity that are taking place".
GAZA (Reuters) -Palestinians said they had received renewed warnings from Israel's military to move from north Gaza to the south of the strip, with the added warning that they could be identified as sympathisers with a "terrorist organisation" if they stayed put.

The message was delivered in leaflets marked with the Israel Defense Forces name and logo from Saturday and sent to people via mobile phone audio messages across the Gaza Strip, a narrow territory that is just 45 km (28 miles) long.

"Urgent warning, to residents of Gaza. Your presence north of Wadi Gaza puts your life in danger. Whoever chooses not to leave north Gaza to the south of Wadi Gaza might be identified as an accomplice in a terrorist organisation," the leaflet said.

Israel has pounded Gaza with airstrikes since the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a deadly attack on Israeli soil on Oct. 7. Israel has massed troops and armour on the border with Gaza ahead of an expected land incursion.

The Israeli military said in a statement it had "no intention to consider those who have not evacuated ... as a member of the terrorist group".

It added that it did not target civilians.

"In order to minimize civilian harm, the IDF sent a request to the residents of the northern area of the Gaza Strip to evacuate southward of Wadi Gaza," it said.

Israel has previously urged Palestinians to move south, although Palestinians said they had not previously been told they could be considered "terrorist" sympathisers if they did not. They also say making the journey south remains highly risky amid airstrikes and say areas of the south have also been hit.

Many families who left Gaza to the south said they had lost relatives during the Israeli airstrikes in southern Gaza.

(Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi, additional reporting by Dan Williams in Jerusalem; Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Crispian Balmer)
Hamas fighters and Israeli forces engaged in limited clashes inside Gaza on Sunday as the Israeli military ramped up airstrikes on the Palestinian enclave ahead of what its spokesperson described as the next stage of its war on the militant group.

Hamas claimed its fighters had destroyed two Israeli military bulldozers and a tank in an ambush near the Gazan city of Khan Younis, forcing Israeli troops to retreat without their vehicles. The Israel Defense Forces confirmed its forces had been operating inside Gaza during the incident, and said an IDF tank struck militants who had fired onb its troops.

The episode appeared to be one of the first skirmishes between the two sides on the ground inside the strip since war broke out after Hamas deadly October 7 attack on Israel which killed more than 1,400 people. The clashes came as the IDF prepares for a potential ground operation in Gaza, amassing huge numbers of troops at the border and pounding the densely populated enclave with near-constant airstrikes in the last two weeks.

Officials at several hospitals in Gaza said they were overwhelmed with casualties on Sunday, with one describing a bloody day and another hospital scaling back dialysis treatments amid electricity and fuel shortages. More than 4,600 people have been killed in Gaza since Israels retaliation for the Hamas attack began more than two weeks ago, the Gazan health ministry said.

Some parents in Gaza are now writing their childrens names on their legs to help identify them, should they or the children be killed. A CNN journalist reporting from the Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital filmed a toddler and three children who had been killed, with their names written in Arabic on their calves. All four were seen lying on stretchers placed on the floor in an overfilled room. It was unclear whether their parents were also killed.

Videos obtained by CNN also showed the hospital receiving more than a dozen bodies wrapped in shrouds, while grieving family members try to identify them.

An Israeli tank and military vehicles are seen near Israel's border with the Gaza Strip, in Israel. - Violeta Santos Moura/Reuters

The US government has pressed Israel to delay its ground operations in Gaza to allow for the release of more Hamas hostages and aid into Gaza, according to two sources briefed on the discussions. The Friday release of two Americans held by Hamas signaled the possible freeing of more of the around 200 believed to be kidnapped by the militant group after its deadly attacks two week ago.

Israel has offered no timeline for the possible ground offensive on Gaza, but military officials have repeatedly told troops an incursion is imminent.

We will increase our strikes, minimize the risk to our troops in the next stages of the war, and we will intensify the strikes, starting from today, IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said on Saturday. Hagari added that Israeli forces will continue to destroy terror targets ahead of the next stage of the war, and are focusing on our readiness to the next stage.

An IDF soldier died and three were others were injured during preparations for the Gaza ground operation, an Israeli Defense spokesman said Sunday.

A view of damaged buildings as the Israeli airstrikes continue on its 16th day in Gaza City, Gaza on October 22, 2023. - Ali Jadallah/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

The US and its allies have urged Israel to be strategic and clear about its goals during any ground operation in Gaza, warning against a prolonged occupation and placing a particular emphasis on avoiding civilian casualties.

The leaders of Spain and the Netherlands spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Sunday, reiterating support for Israel but urging restraint.

I reiterated my condemnation of Hamas terrorist attacks against Israel and its right to defend itself against them, within the limits of international and humanitarian law, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Israel must do everything possible to prevent civilians from becoming victims of the fight against Hamas, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte posted on X. Regional escalation must also be avoided at all costs. All this also requires restraint on the part of Israel in the use of force.

UN independent experts have warned that Israeli actions in Gaza could result in crimes against humanity. The complete siege of Gaza coupled with unfeasible evacuation orders and forcible population transfers, is a violation of international humanitarian and criminal law. It is also unspeakably cruel, the experts said in a statement Thursday.

Increasing violence

Israels military carried out dozens of airstrikes on Hamas targets late Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces said.

According to CNNs Nic Robertson, Sundays strikes have been the most sustained bombardment of northern Gaza he has seen since he began to report from southern Israel two weeks ago.

A senior Israeli official meanwhile ruled out the possibility of a ceasefire for Gaza, amid ongoing US and Qatari efforts to free hostages held there by Hamas.

Humanitarian efforts cannot be allowed to impact the mission to dismantle Hamas, the official also said.

Violence has also flared in the occupied West Bank. The IDF on Sunday launched an airstrike on the Al-Ansar mosque in the West Bank refugee camp of Jenin, which it said was being used by militant groups to plan for an imminent terror attack. It would not say whether the strike came from a jet, in what would be the first fighter jet strike in the West Bank in nearly two decades.

Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, and IDF spokesman, told CNN the military had intelligence that suggested there was an imminent attack coming from a joint Hamas and Islamic Jihad squad, which was making preparations from an underground command center beneath the mosque.

Three people were killed in the Israeli strike, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said in a statement on Sunday. Two people were also killed following clashes in the West Bank cities of Toubas and Nablus, it said.

The IDF also said an Israeli tank accidentally fired and hit an Egyptian post Sunday near two countries border. Egypt said some border guards suffered minor injuries. The IDF apologized for the incident that took place in the area of Kerem Shalom and said it was investigating the matter.

Kerem Shalom is one of Israels two border crossings with Gaza. It has been closed since the Israelis imposed a complete siege on the enclave. The area also came under attack on October 7 when Hamas militants went on a killing spree against civilians after they bulldozed through the Gaza border.

Since the war erupted, Israel authorities have placed additional restrictions on movement of Palestinians living in the West Bank, and attacks by Israeli forces and settlers have surged.

At least 90 people have been killed in the occupied Palestinian territory since October 7, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

Telling hospitals to evacuate

In Gaza City, the IDF dropped leaflets written in Arabic that warned residents to evacuate to the south or face the possibility of being considered a partner for the terrorist organization, according to a CNN translation.

In a statement, the IDF confirmed it had dropped the flyers, but said there was no intention to consider those who have not evacuated from the affected area of fighting as a member of the terrorist group.

The IDF treats civilians as such, and does not target them, the statement added.

Israeli war planes have been pounding Gaza, leveling entire neighborhoods, including schools and mosques. Israel says it strikes Hamas targets and that the group has used civilians as human shields.

As of Sunday, Israeli airstrikes have killed 4,651 people in Gaza, including more than 1,900 children and 1,023 women, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza. More than 14,245 people have been wounded, it added.

In northern Gaza, more than 1 million residents have been told by Israel to leave their homes and move to the south.

Israel has also ordered the evacuation of more than 20 hospitals in northern Gaza where thousands of patients are being treated, according to the United Nations and the Palestinian Red Crescent, which say the order could be tantamount to a death sentence.

We do not have the means to evacuate them safely. Most of the patients are with critical injuries, Red Crescent spokesperson Nebal Farsakh told CNN.

The IDF has said it does not target hospitals, though the UN and Doctors Without Borders say Israeli airstrikes have hit medical facilities, including hospitals and ambulances.

Dr. Iyad Issa Abu Zaher, director general of Al Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Gaza described a bloody day for his hospital to CNN on camera Sunday, saying the hospital had received up to 166 bodies and admitted more than 300 injured people.

Its impossible for any hospital in the world to admit this number of injured, he said.

There is no room or hospital beds for these injuries, the injured are at the doors of the operating theaters and on top of each other, each waiting their turn for an operation and the situation is catastrophic, he said.

Insufficient aid

CNN saw at least 14 relief aid trucks, sponsored by the Egyptian Red Crescent and the United Nations, entering the Gaza Strip from Egypt through the Rafah crossing on Sunday late evening.

A Palestinian Red Crescent Society official in Gaza told CNN the trucks were admitted and their content offloaded to proceed to UN storage facilities in Gaza.

However, the trucks did not bring in fuel, which is vital for running hospitals and treating water in the isolated territory, according to UNRWA spokesperson Juliette Touma.

The delivery follows an initial convoy of 20 trucks carrying food, water, medicine and medical supplies on Saturday.

God willing, I am now entering the crossing, or in a few minutes. God willing, to deliver this aid and will go in and out safely, God willing, Ali Shousha, one of the drivers waiting to cross into Gaza, told CNN.

But aid workers and international leaders have warned that much more is needed to combat the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the enclave that is home to more than 2 million people.

WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has stressed that the needs are far higher than the aid people in Gaza have received.

The Ministry of Health in Gaza said the initial aid convoy constituted only 3% of the daily health and humanitarian needs that used to enter the Gaza Strip before the aggression.

One UN official warned on Sunday that the UNs fuel supply in Gaza will run out in three days. Without fuel, there will be no water, no functioning hospitals and bakeries, Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner general for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), said. Without fuel, aid will not reach many civilians in desperate need.

Citing an acute shortage of food, water, power, and medical supplies that is pushing civilian lives in Gaza to the edge of catastrophe, the UNs World Food Programme (WFP) said it urgently requires $74 million to sustain its emergency response in Gaza for the next 90 days.

Wider conflict

As it prepares for the next stage of war, the Israeli military has warned other regional actors against getting involved in the conflict.

Conricus, the IDF spokesperson, said Sunday the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah is playing a very dangerous game that could drag Lebanon into a war that it will gain nothing from.

Conricus said Hezbollah has been attacking Israeli positions near the Lebanon border, which had led to both civilian and military casualties.

In response, the IDF has used tanks, drones, artillery, and infantry to strike various Hezbollah infrastructure, as well as Hezbollah squads manning anti-tank missiles, he added.

On Sunday, Israels Ministry of Defense and the IDF announced the expansion of a state-funded evacuation plan to 14 additional communities in northern areas near the border with Lebanon.

The evacuation, which is voluntary, was initially rolled out on Monday for 28 communities. Around 123,000 civilians had been evacuated from their homes in northern and southern Israel as of Friday.



This is a breaking news story and will be updated

CNNs Amir Tal, Mostafa Salem, Matthew Chance, Tamar Michaelis, Niamh Kennedy, Chloe Liu, Asmaa Khalil, Richard Allen Greene, Sarah Dean, Manveena Suri, Nic Robertson, Kareem Khaddar, Clarissa Ward, Sahar Akbarzai, Ibrahim Dahman, Eyad Kourdi, Jennifer Hauser, Pierre Meilhan and Betsy Klein contributed reporting.

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Ben Shelton got to the semi-finals of the US Open before losing to Novak Djokovic

American Ben Shelton won his first ATP Tour title by defeating Aslan Karatsev in the Japan Open final.

Shelton struck 18 winners on the way to beating the Russian 7-5 6-1 in 84 minutes in Tokyo.

The 21-year-old's victory will move him up to a career-high of 15th in the men's rankings on Monday.

"That meant a lot to me and my team. We have been working really hard since the beginning to build my game and win titles on the ATP Tour," said Shelton.

"I made some deep runs lately. You see the great champions, they finish weeks off. They win titles, they don't just get to finals. They are able to maintain their level throughout the week.

"I am not saying I am anywhere there yet, but to be able to do it for one week, put together five matches in a row in Tokyo is really special."

Meanwhile, Great Britain's Jamie Murray and New Zealand's Michael Venus were beaten 6-4 6-1 by Australian duo Rinky Hijikata and Max Purcell in the doubles final at the same tournament.

In the Nordic Open doubles final, Great Britain's Julian Cash and Yuki Bhambri, of India, suffered a 7-6 (10-8) 6-2 defeat against Kazakhstan's Andrey Golubev and Ukraine's Denys Molchanov.
"I thought, 'What a funny getup!'" she recalled of the apparent sighting

Karwai Tang/WireImage Judi Dench

Judi Dench is telling ghost stories.

In a new interview with the Sunday Times, the Oscar-winning actress, 88, revealed that she once saw a ghost at London's historic Haymarket Theatre while attending a memorial service for actor Michael Denison, who died in 1998.

"It was in the afternoon! I saw somebody wearing top hat and tails running down the stairs and I thought, 'What a funny getup!' " she recalled of the apparent sighting.

Actor Brendan O'Hea  with whom she co-wrote her upcoming book Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent about her experiences doing theater  backedup her supernatural tale, saying he knows someone else who also claims to have seen the infamous "Haymarket Ghost."

He explained to the outlet that an actress told him about a man who kept entering through a theater door  only, as someone pointed out, "There is no door."

Related: Dame Judi Dench Turns 88! Celebrate with These Glamorous Throwback Photos

Upon reflection, Dench acknowledged that perhaps she had not seen an apparition. It may not have been a ghost, she told the outlet. But I like the thought of them. Why on earth shouldnt it happen?

Dench also shared memories and anecdotes from her many star turns on the stage, portraying Shakespeare's iconic characters including Juliet from Romeo and Juliet.

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.

She recalled a time when her corset was laced so tightly that she fainted in the heat and another memorable performance in London when she dropped a cheeky note into the lap of a man seated in the audience who she thought was a friend of hers.

"I suppose a f---'s out of the question?" the note said. As it turned out, the man was a complete stranger.

Mike Marsland/WireImage Judi Dench attends the 2022 British Academy Film Awards Gala Dinner.

Related: Judi Dench Says 'It's Become Impossible' to Act amid Eyesight Loss: 'I Have a Photographic Memory'

Earlier this year, Dench opened up about a degenerative eye condition that is impacting her sight and making it difficult for her to read scripts and memorize her lines for acting roles.

"It has become impossible and because I have a photographic memory, I need to find a machine that not only teaches me my lines but also tells me where they appear on the page," the Belfast star said during a February appearance on The Graham Norton Show.

"I used to find it very easy to learn lines and remember them. I could do the whole of Twelfth Night right now."

She previously spoke about her eye condition, which is caused by age-related macular degeneration, in 2021, saying she's had to adapt and find new ways of doing things.

"You find a way of just getting about and getting over the things that you find very difficult," Dench said at a 2021 event to benefit the Vision Foundation, The Guardian reported at the time. "I've had to find another way of learning lines and things, which is having great friends of mine repeat them to me over and over and over again. So I have to learn through repetition, and I just hope that people won't notice too much if all the lines are completely hopeless!"

In light of her eyesight difficulties, Dench told the Sunday Times she feels particularly grateful to have been able to finish a book  with O'Hea's help. How lucky I am, she said of the tome, which is slated for U.S. publication in April 2024.

I cant see, but I have a book coming out, thanks to Brendans eyes and idea.



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Leigh-Anne Pinnock has addressed the backlash to her 2021 documentary about racism in the music industry, revealing that the criticism hurt more as it came from the Black community.

Former Little Mix singer Pinnocks BBC Three film Leigh-Anne: Race, Pop & Power explored her experience as the only Black member of the girl band, who shot to fame after winning The X Factor in 2011. She also interviewed other Black British pop stars about how they have faced racism and colourism, a prejudice in favour of lighter skin colours, throughout their careers in music.

The documentary was originally announced under the working title Leigh-Anne: Colourism & Race, which prompted criticism online, with some commentators questioning whether Pinnock, a light-skinned Black woman, was the right person to front the project.

It hurt me more to get stick from my own community than it did to read a racist comment on the Daily Mail, Pinnock said in an interview with The Guardian, reflecting on the backlash more than two years later.

She added that she is still committed to using her platform to raise awareness of the issue, as she truly believe[s] that light-skinned privilege has helped her career.

I know Im helping some people, and I know Im doing a good thing, and Im going to continue to do that, she told the paper. And one thing Im 100 per cent going to do is talk about light-skinned privilege. I truly believe its helped me to get to where I am today.

The three-time BRIT Award winner, who will publish her autobiography Believe later this month, also revealed why performing in Brazil in March 2020 to a crowd consisting of a majority of Black fans was an emotional experience, one that also helped her clarify her previous feelings of being undervalued and unseen in the group.

I always knew there were Black women out there that I was touching, but I didnt see them, she said. They were not at shows or fan events. Brazil was monumental in helping me understand everything Id been feeling in terms of being undervalued and unseen.

Pinnock felt undervalued and unseen as Little Mixs only Black member (Getty Images for Warner Bros)

It confirmed what I was feeling. But it didnt take the pain away, because it kept happening. I came back to the UK and I was still feeling it.

Since Little Mix went on hiatus in 2022, Pinnock has been working on solo material, releasing her debut solo single Dont Say Love in June, ahead of a planned album release next year.

In an interview with Rolling Stone UK in August, she revealed that her creative team is now 60 per cent Black, after years of being the only Black person in the room.

Pinnock explored racism in the UK music industry in her 2021 documentary (BBC)

Now Im on my own, I have the control to make sure 60 per cent of my team is Black, cos why not? she said.

Music is so heavily influenced by Black culture, so why are all the people at the top white? I can control these little things. I dont have to be the only Black person in the room now, that just doesnt have to be my reality.

Pinnocks memoir Believe will be in bookshops from 26 October.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-K.Y.) said Sunday he is glad Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) is not a Republican amid federal charges involving Menendez acting as a foreign agent to the Egyptian government in exchange for luxurious bribes.

Asked on Fox News Sunday if Menendez should resign amid his recent superseding indictment, McConnell said, Well, I think thats something [Senate Majority Leader Chuck] Schumer [D-N.Y.] and the Democrats have to decide how tot deal with. And Im not going to give them advice about how to deal with it.

Let me just say this  Im glad hes not a Republican, McConnell continued.

In a superseding indictment filed earlier this month, prosecutors allege Menendez conspired with his wife and New Jersey businessman Wael Will Hana to act as an agent of the Egyptian government between January 2018 and June 2022.

As a member of Congress, Menendez is prohibited by law from agreeing to be or acting as a foreign agent, even when registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), a law requiring any person acting in the U.S. as an agent of a foreign principal to register with the U.S. attorney general.

The superseding indictment said neither Menendezs wife nor Hana were registered under the act.

Between 2020 and 2022, Menendez allegedly made multiple requests for the Justice Department to investigate others for failing to register under FARA, including an unnamed ex-member of Congress.

Menendez and his wife also face earlier charges from the U.S. attorneys office for the Southern District of New York that allege the couple accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from three businessmen in New Jersey in exchange for using the senators power and influence as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to benefit the businessmen and Egypts government.

Menendez and his wife pleaded not guilty to the charges last month.

The FBI discovered nearly $500,000 in cash stuffed in envelopes and hidden in clothing and closets, as well as more than $100,000 in gold bars, at Menendezs home in a raid last year.

Menendez previously told reporters that the cash found at his home was from his personal savings and was being kept at his home in case of emergency.

Menendez has pushed back against the charges and insists he has no plans to step down from the upper chamber, despite calls from dozens of Democratic colleagues in the Senate and in New Jersey.

The Senate powerbroker has dismissed the charges as just allegations and maintains he will be exonerated once the facts are presented.

While not resigning from the Senate entirely, Menendez has stepped down from his role as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee while fighting his legal battle.

This is the second time the lawmaker has faced a federal indictment. The first ended in a mistrial in 2017.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said in an interview airing Sunday that he sides with President Biden on the matter of bundling Ukraine and Israel aid together  while noting their opposing views on domestic issues.

CBSs Margaret Brennan asked McConnell on Face the Nation whether it was possible to pass additional aid to Ukraine without it being tied to Israel, as some Republicans are hesitant to approve more aid to Ukraine.

I just think thats a mistake, McConnell responded. I mean, I know there are some Republicans in the Senate, and maybe more in the House, saying Ukraine is somehow different. I view it as all interconnected.

McConnell also pushed back on other Republicans who are hesitant to approve more aid for Ukraine, saying that the aid is actually being spent more in the U.S. when ramping up production for the weapons.

No Americans are getting killed in Ukraine. Were rebuilding our industrial base. The Ukrainians are destroying the army of one of our biggest rivals. I have a hard time finding anything wrong with that. I think its wonderful that theyre defending themselves  and also the notion that the Europeans are not doing enough, he said.

He also said he and Biden are generally in the same place when it comes to funding Ukraine and Israel, and he agreed that he and the president are similar in their worldview but not so much in other ways.

Well, not on the domestic side, but on this issue that we  were discussing today, were generally in the same place, McConnell said.

The U.S. already provides a significant amount of assistance to Israel every year. It allocates about $3.8 billion to the nation per year, which is part of a 10-year memorandum of understanding that totals to $38 billion. Biden announced last week that hes sending an urgent budget request to Congress for additional aid to Israel and Ukraine, which is expected to amount to $100 billion.

When we use the money allocated by Congress, we use it to replenish our own stores, our own stockpile with new equipment, the president said last week. Equipment that defends America and is made in America. Patriot missiles for air defense batteries, made in Arizona. Artillery shells manufactured in 12 states across the country  Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas. Theres so much more.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
I know they have absolutely no idea of what it was like almost 60 years ago, Laverne Greene-Leech says

COLUMBUS, Miss. (AP)  In the spring of 1966, Laverne Greene-Leech, along with her best friend, Diane Hardy, and Barbara Turner Bankhead had just graduated from Hunt High School, where Black students attended the segregated school system in Columbus, Mississippi.

That fall, the three 17-year-olds arrived at the Mississippi State College for Women, along with three graduate students  Mary Flowers, Jacqueline Edwards and Eula Houser  as the schools first Black students.

On Thursday, the state unveiled a historical marker on the campus, now known as the Mississippi University for Women, honoring their journey. It was placed in Pioneers Plaza, beside Carrier Chapel during a ceremony. The marker is the result of a collaboration between the History Department at MUW and Chuck Yarboroughs history class at Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science.

The Mississippi University for Women honored former students Diane Hardy, Barbara Turner, Laverne Greene-Leech, Jacqueline Edwards, Mary Flowers and Eula Houser who integrated the institution in the 1960s with a historical marker on campus on October 19, 2023, in Columbus, Mississippi. (Credit: The Mississippi University for Women)

Greene-Leech said she and her friends never set out to make history, The Dispatch reported.

We just wanted an education, she said.

Greene-Leechs plan was to go to Mississippi Valley State, one of Mississippis three historically black colleges and universities. Hardy, however, planned to apply to MSCW just to see their reaction, Greene-Leech recalled. She and Turner decided to apply also, as a show of support for their friend. She said her parents werent too excited about that decision.

They didnt think it was a good idea, she said. They were afraid for me. But they said, If this is what you want to do, well stand behind you.

It didnt take long for the girls to understand where they fit into campus life, which was nowhere really.

Students then were required to live on campus, but they told us there was no place for us to stay, so we went back and forth from home, Greene-Leech said. They had a cafeteria, but we werent allowed to eat there. We had to move off the sidewalks to let the white student pass.

The social clubs that almost every student was a part of were off limits to them, as well.

Greene-Leech said there were a few white students who were accepting, but it was a handful of teachers who made The W tolerable, at least for a while.

The mental and emotional stress took its toll. Greene-Leech left The W after the first semester of her sophomore year.

It was just too much, she said.

Laverne Greene-Leech stands on the Mississippi University for Women campus in Columbus, Miss., Friday, Oct. 13, 2023. (Deanna Robinson/The Commercial Dispatch, via AP)

In 1973, she returned, but left again without finishing her degree. Greene-Leech went to work after that year, eventually landing at the Lowndes County School District, where she worked for 32 years, first as a library assistant, but for most of her career as the districts media director.

Greene-Leech said she didnt give The W much thought for years.

Slowly, though, she began to notice things changing. Gertrude Lewis and Marjorie Carter became The Ws first Black faculty members in 1970, and Black enrollment built steadily over the years. Male students joined the study body in the 80s.

When I saw Black students and Black faculty members and later, the boys, I knew it was finally a school for all people, she said. That was when I was proud of The W and the part we played in it becoming what it is today.

When she heard about plans to put up a historical marker, she said, she shed tears of joy.

I was happy that we did play a little part in the story. I cried because I look at the institution and see what it has become, Greene-Leech said.

Her only regret is that her lifelong friend Hardy will not be present for the ceremony. Hardy died in 2013.

Still, she said shes eager to attend the ceremony and is especially excited to meet and talk to the students, many of whom are the same age she was in the fall of 66.

I know they have absolutely no idea of what it was like almost 60 years ago, she said. It really touches me, what they did with this. It brought me to tears.

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Photograph: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Mitch McConnell offered a strong endorsement on Sunday of the Joe Biden White Houses $106bn aid proposal to Israel and Ukraine, saying he and the president were essentially in the same place on the issue.

McConnell, the powerful Republican leader in the Senate, also rebuffed some of his GOP colleagues in the Senate who have called for a package separating assistance for the two countries, saying it would be a mistake during an interview on CBSs Face the Nation.

Related: Biden sends $106bn aid request to Congress for Israel, Ukraine and Gaza

The Republican leader offered significant backing to the White Houses $106bn request, including $14bn in assistance to Israel, $60bn in aid to Ukraine and another $14bn to improve security on the US Mexico border. An additional $10bn would be allocated to humanitarian relief as well as an additional $7bn to the Indio-Pacific region.

Nine Republican senators wrote a letter to McConnell on Thursday saying that Ukraine and Israel aid should not be paired together. These are two separate conflicts and it would be wrong to leverage support of aid to Israel in an attempt to get additional aid for Ukraine across the finish line, the group wrote.

McConnell rejected that view on Sunday.

I view it as all interconnected, he said during the interview. If you look at the Ukraine assistance, lets  lets talk about where the money is really going. A significant portion of its being spent in the United States in 38 different states, replacing the weapons that we sent to Ukraine with more modern weapons. So were rebuilding our industrial base, he said.

He added: No Americans are getting killed in Ukraine. Were rebuilding our industrial base. The Ukrainians are destroying the army of one of our biggest rivals. I have a hard time finding anything wrong with that. I think its wonderful that theyre defending themselves.

During a speech to the nation on Thursday, Biden also made his case for why the two issues were connected. The president said Hamas and the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, represent different threats, but they share this in common: they both want to completely annihilate a neighboring democracy  completely annihilate it.

If we walk away and let Putin erase Ukraines independence, would-be aggressors around the world would be emboldened to try the same. The risk of conflict and chaos could spread in other parts of the world  in the Indo-Pacific, in the Middle East, especially in the Middle East.

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, also said on Sunday that Israel had restored some water and power access to Gaza.

Israel turned on one of the pipelines six or seven days ago  there are a couple of other pipelines that wed like to see restored, the USs top diplomat said during an interview on NBCs Meet the Press.

Blinken also noted that 20 trucks that were recently allowed in to Gaza provided clean water, saying: Were getting more that we hope will be moving as early as today.

We do have concerns about the spread of disease as a result of people drinking dirty water, he said. This is a work in progress. Its something were at all the time.

Blinken also said Israel had no intention of governing Gaza long term after the war.

Israel cannot go back to the status quo, he told NBC. At the same time, what Ive heard from the Israelis is absolutely no intent  no desire to be running Gaza themselves. They moved out of Gaza unilaterally, unconditionally a couple of decades ago. But they cant be in a position where theyre constantly under threat of the most horrific terrorist attacks coming from Gaza. So, something needs to be found that ensures that Hamas cannot do this again, but that also does not revert to Israeli governance of Gaza, which they do not want and do not intend to do.

While McConnell backed Bidens aid plan, he did not offer support for Jack Lew, whose nomination to be ambassador to Israel has been held up by Republicans. McConnell said: He is a very controversial nominee because of his relationship with the Iran nuclear deal, which was opposed by everybody in my party.

The 81-year-old senator also dismissed a question from CBSs Margaret Brennan about whether there was more that should be disclosed about his health after multiple cases in which he froze up while speaking in public. Im in good shape, completely recovered and back on the job, he said. He also said he was concerned about increasing threats of violence members of Congress have received.

Additionally, McConnell said the US House needed to fill its vacant speakership before 17 November, when funding for the government is set to expire. We need one because the House cant do anything without a speaker, he said. And its a  its a problem, but I hope its gonna get solved pretty quickly.

Both Blinken and the defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, on Sunday said the US expected the Israel-Hamas war to escalate through involvement by proxies of Iran. They asserted that the Biden administration was prepared to respond if American personnel or armed forces become the target of any such hostilities.

This is not what we want, not what were looking for. We dont want escalation, Blinken said. We dont want to see our forces or our personnel come under fire. But if that happens, were ready for it.

The Associated Press contributed reporting
Its that time of year again, when all things spooky come out to play.

Halloween, our annual celebration of the scary, has long been a showcase for ghost costumes and vampire teeth. This year, though, the most popular costumes might look a little different.

Barbie, Spider-Man and Wednesday Addams (from The Addams Family) are among the most searched costumes ideas in the US this year, according to Google Trends Frightgeist, which analyzes the most-searched costume ideas across the country.

If you still havent found a costume idea, fear not. CNN has you covered with five topical, yet still popular, Halloween costume ideas guaranteed to stun.

Barbie

Of course, after Barbie made history with a $1 billion box office run, the doll is almost guaranteed to appear at your local Halloween party or trunk-or-treat. The Mattel favorite is the most-searched Halloween costume of the year, begging the question: How can you do Barbie, without unintentionally twinning with everyone else at the event?

We have an answer. Instead of focusing on generic Barbie  think pink dress  try mixing it up. Kate McKinnons Weird Barbie, in her messy hair and colorful outfit, is topical yet not overplayed. There are also a myriad of Kens to choose from, including Ryan Gosling in a fringed leather vest, or Ncuti Gatwa in colorful workout gear. If youre dedicated to Stereotypical Barbie, try pulling a look from a specific scene, like Margot Robbies neon pink roller skating outfit or her vintage black and white swimsuit.

For those really looking to reference a deep cut, dressing up as something around the Barbie movie would also be a fun subversion of expectations, like going as director Greta Gerwig at Beyonces Renaissance tour. (Barbie, which was produced by Warner Bros. Pictures, shares parent company Warner Bros. Discovery with CNN.)

Oppenheimer

Hat, pipe, tie, intense eye contact, and boom  you've got a costume. - Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pictures

After the Barbenheimer summer takeover, wed be remiss not to mention Oppenheimer (though this is one option not trending on Googles Frightgeist).

While dressing up as the man who created the atomic bomb can be terrifying on its own  and rather simple, with just a suit jacket, tie and top hat  we would also like to offer Barbenheimer itself, a mashup of Barbie and Oppenheimer.

However you portray the mashup is up to you. A pink suit with a pink top hat, mayhaps? Or a classic Barbie costume paired with a brooding look and a pipe? The options are endless.

Spider-Man

The webs shooting out of your hands might be hard to source, but Spider-Man would still make a perfect costume. - Sony Pictures Animation

Like the Barbie movie, the success of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse presents a verifiable buffet of options.

The classic superhero is the third most searched Halloween costume this year (falling from its No. 2 ranking last year), which means there are sure to be some dupes at your party. Drawing on the movie, which revisits the Spidey multiverse, might help.

Though Miles Morales and Gwen Stacy are classic characters to mimic, dressing up as Spider-Punk from the film is sure to be a hit  and youd look incredibly cool. Dad Peter Parker is also a great, low-effort option: his most memorable scene features him in a pink bathrobe with a baby strapped to his chest, easily recreated with a baby doll. Plus, youll be comfy all night.

Wednesday Addams

Jenna Ortega as Netflix's reimagining of Wednesday Addams. - Courtesy Of Netflix

Netflix released its series Wednesday, a spin-off of The Addams Family, last November, after Halloween had already passed, thus robbing everyones favorite goth of her shining moment as a top Halloween costume for 2022.

This year, Wednesday Addams is getting her due. Shes the sixth most searched Halloween costume in 2023, and while everyone else may have forgotten about her iconic twin braids and angry glare, you can easily pay homage.

Bear

Jeremy Allen White in "The Bear" is the blueprint. Just add bear ears. - Chuck Hodes/FX

Bear  any bear  rounds out the top 20 most-searched Halloween costumes. The joy of this costume is in its flexibility.

You could go as defensive mama bear 128 Grazer, the winner of this years Fat Bear Week contest. Or, you could try your hand as a Malayan sun bear, a small bear species that are so human-like, some thought they were simply people dressed in a bear costume. (The theory gained so much traction that a Chinese zoo had to issue a statement asserting that their bears were actually bears. No early Halloween pranks here!)

Or, you could go the pop culture route, and dress up as a character from The Bear, an FX show about a Chicago restaurant, which saw its second season air over the summer.

With an apron and bear ears, you could even be a bear in The Bear. Its Halloween; there are no rules.

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No matter who wins seats in the Nov. 7 municipal elections in Des Moines, city government is poised for change.

A new mayor will take office for the first time in 20 years, replacing the retiring Frank Cownie, and a new council member will represent Ward 1, in the northwestern part of the city, to fill a vacant seat. Odds are that one of two City Council members running for mayor, at-large member Connie Boesen or Ward 3 member Josh Mandelbaum, representing southwestern Des Moines, will win the mayors race, meaning yet another new member will join the council in the new year.

And thats regardless of whether three other incumbents on the ballot, at-large member Carl Voss, Ward 2 member Linda Westergaard (northeastern Des Moines) and Ward 4 member Joe Gatto (southeastern), retain their seats.

Many polling places offer voting stickers. Iowa elections for city councils and school boards are on Tuesday, Nov. 7.

Des Moines reporter Virginia Barreda has examined the records and vision of Boesen and Mandelbaum, with assistance from data reporter Tim Webber, who looked at more than 2,100 votes they cast so far this year. They differ little on big-picture city policy issues, such as their shared focus on strengthening neighborhoods, but more on what role the city should play in taking stances on state issues, Barreda and Webber found.

That focus on city-state relations reflects heightened, and I believe troubling, tensions between Iowas largest city and state lawmakers. A rural-urban divide has long run deep in Iowa politics, affecting cities across the state, not just Des Moines. That divide has calcified in the Legislature as politics has become more polarized at all levels.

Josh Mandelbaum

Mandelbaum believes in forcefully staking out the citys positions and pushing for policy changes on issues where he believes state law is harming city residents, including on controversial issues such as abortion.

The U.S. Supreme Court has given states vast discretion to regulate abortion, but Mandelbaum believes the city should act where it can within the law, advocating for ordinances to limit police and city officials ability to investigate a person for accessing or providing abortions in Des Moines and to reimburse city employees for travel to receive reproductive services if theyre no longer available in Iowa.

Connie Boesen

Boesen says she staunchly supports abortion rights but believes regulating abortion care should be left to the state and federal governments.

She believes the distraction of taking on state and national issues could impede the councils work on critical issues squarely within its purview, such as affordable housing and equitable policing. She also fears such action could further erode strained relations between Des Moines officials and the governor and state lawmakers, or worse, prompt retaliation.

Thats not an unfounded worry. Republican legislators already eliminated the authority of cities and counties to raise the minimum wage within their boundaries. They also outlawed the source of income ordinances that Des Moines, Iowa City and Marion had adopted, which required landlords to accept federal housing vouchers  an effort to deter discrimination against low-income families.

In editorial board interviews, several council candidates stated outright or implied their belief that if the council took certain actions its members thought would benefit residents, it risked triggering retribution from the governor and legislators, rooted perhaps in conviction or simply from spite.

This level of suspicion and distrust isnt healthy for Iowans  rural or urban, Democrat or Republican or apolitical.

The editorial board wrestled with the Boesen vs. Mandelbaum decision. Theyre both able council members, and both of their arguments on the citys best approach toward state issues have merit.

As a core principle, the board values transparency. If state government is considering action that the mayor or council members believe would be contrary to the best interests of the city, they should make that clear to lawmakers and the people they represent.

But the board also believes elected officials have a duty to work together, across party lines and all levels of government, to craft policies and laws that best serve their constituents. (The inability of the U.S. House to elect a speaker aptly illustrates that government dysfunction benefits no one.)

Ultimately, the board endorsed Boesen, believing she could better navigate the ever-more-difficult path of clearly stating the citys interests and working to change harmful state laws, while at the same time cultivating the relationships and goodwill that allow progress on areas of common ground.

It wont be easy.

More election coverage coming your way

Early voting began Wednesday. Weve already begun publishing previews of contested city and school board races in the Des Moines metro. A flood of those are still heading your way, providing information about the candidates backgrounds and views, gathered through questionnaires.

In many ways, local elections shape daily quality of life more than high-profile state and national races. School board members govern the direction and oversight of local schools. Council members oversee public safety, housing and business regulations, streets, parks and other amenities

As you make your choices, I encourage you to read our news coverage to become more informed about the candidates and to consider our editorials, offered in the spirit of contributing to public discourse on community concerns.

Carol Hunter is the Registers executive editor. She wants to hear your questions, story ideas or concerns at 515-284-8545, chunter@registermedia.com, or on Twitter: @carolhunter.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Des Moines, state government tensions are issue in mayor, council races
House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik said Sunday that nine candidates have joined the race for speaker after Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, dropped his bid last week.

Stefanik, R-N.Y., noted on X that the deadline to announce speaker bids was noon ET Sunday.

The GOP candidate forum is set for 6:30 p.m. ET Monday. Then, an internal conference vote will occur 9 a.m. Tuesday. Speaker Pro Tem Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., has said his intention is to move to a floor vote as soon as Tuesday.

After his defeat on the House floor for a third time last week, Jordans speakership bid fell apart Friday after he lost a vote of confidence at a closed-door meeting of Republicans.

The internal, secret-ballot vote was 86 Republicans for Jordan and 112 saying they wanted to move on from him and go with someone else, lawmakers said as they left the meeting.

These are the candidates who have thrown their hats in the ring after Jordan dropped out:

Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota

House Majority Whip Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., ahead of the third vote for Rep. Jim Jordan's speakership bid. (Drew Angerer / Getty Images)

Emmer, the No. 3 Republican in leadership, officially announced his bid Saturday, a day after he began making calls. He quickly picked up an endorsement from ousted Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.

If given the opportunity to be your Speaker, we will use that same culture of teamwork, communication, and respect to build on the moments that brought us success, learn from our mistakes, and keep fighting for each and every one of you and our Republican majority, Emmer wrote in a letter to colleagues.

Emmer, who previously was that chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, also vowed to always be honest and direct with all of you, even if we disagree.

GOP Conference Vice Chair Mike Johnson of Louisiana

Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., at the Capitol. (Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images file)

Johnson also started making calls Friday before he announced his speakership bid Saturday.

We all agree the urgency of this hour demands a specific plan and bold, decisive action. It also demands a leader who will humble himself each day before Almighty God, selflessly serve the full membership of this body, and fight ceaselessly for our core conservative principles and policies, Johnson said in a letter to colleagues.

Johnson, an attorney and former talk show host, is serving his fourth term and sits on the Judiciary Committee. He previously supported Jordans speakership bid.

Jack Bergman of Michigan

Rep. Jack Bergman. (Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images)

Bergman, a retired Marine lieutenant general who is in his fourth term, announced his speakership bid Friday.

The regular functioning of the federal government cant wait on useless infighting and arguments, Bergman said in a statement. What matters right now is choosing a Speaker in order to make sure that our government  and particularly our military  is funded, and that both our homeland and our critical allies are secure in this time of crisis.

James Hogge, his communications director, said Bergman had proudly supported Jordans speakership bid but was approached by colleagues and has had conversations about a possible Speaker run following the second round of voting.

Byron Donalds of Florida

Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., at the Capitol. (Drew Angerer / Getty Images file)

Donalds, a second-term lawmaker, is on the Financial Services and Oversight committees. He announced his speakership bid Friday.

My sole focus will be securing our border, funding our government responsibly, advancing a conservative vision for the House of Representatives and the American people, and expanding our Republican majority, he said in his announcement.

Donalds, who makes frequent appearances on right-wing media, was nominated for speaker by his conservative Freedom Caucus colleagues in January.

Kevin Hern of Oklahoma

Rep. Kevin Hern. (Win McNamee / Getty Images file)

Hern, chairman of the Republican Study Committee, the largest caucus of conservatives on Capitol Hill, launched a bid Friday.

Im in, Hern told NBC News as he left a closed-door meeting of Republicans on Friday. Hern had voted in support of Jordans speaker bid.

We must unify and do it fast, Hern said in a statement announcing his own bid. Ive spoken to every member of the conference over the last few weeks.

We need a different type of leader who has a proven track record of success, which is why Im running for Speaker of the House, he added.

Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania

Rep. Dan Meuser. (Mariam Zuhaib / AP file)

Meuser, a former business executive, signaled his consideration of a bid after Jordan dropped out.

I come from the business world, and I plan to bring, if I run, a business perspective to things and gain consensus, Meuser said Friday.

Meuser, who entered Congress in 2019, is on the Financial Services and Small Business committees. He previously was secretary of revenue in Pennsylvania.

Gary Palmer of Alabama

Rep. Gary Palmer. (Bill Clark / CQ-Roll Call via AP file)

Palmer, a fifth-term congressman who was elected in 2014, has been the chair of the Republican Policy Committee since 2019.

He serves on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee and the Energy and Commerce Committee. Before his time in Congress, he co-founded the Alabama Policy Institute, a conservative think tank.

Austin Scott of Georgia

Rep. Austin Scott. (Bryan Olin Dozier / AP file)

Scott, who had challenged Jordan for speaker, signaled hell run again after Jordan dropped his bid.

If we are going to be the majority we need to act like the majority, and that means we have to do the right things the right way, Scott wrote on X. I supported and voted for Rep. Jim Jordan to be the Speaker of the House. Now that he has withdrawn I am running again to be the Speaker of the House.

Scott previously lost the secret-ballot vote against Jordan 124-81.

Pete Sessions of Texas

Rep. Pete Sessions. (Bill Clark / CQ-Roll Call via AP file)

Sessions, a former Rules Committee chairman, announced his bid Friday.

Congressman Sessions believes he can forge a positive path as a conservative leader who can unite the Conference, his office wrote in a statement.

Sessions also was chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee.
The disdain for Congress is just one area where Americans say they are losing faith

WASHINGTON (AP)  For many Americans, the Republican dysfunction that has ground business in the U.S. House to a halt as two wars rage abroad and a budget crisis looms at home is feeding into a longer-term pessimism about the countrys core institutions.

The lack of faith extends beyond Congress, with recent polling conducted both before and after the leadership meltdown finding a mistrust in everything from the courts to organized religion. The GOP internal bickering that for nearly three weeks has left open the speakers position  second in line to the presidency  is widely seen as the latest indication of deep problems with the nations bedrock institutions.

Theyre holding up the peoples business because theyre so dysfunctional, said Christopher Lauff, 57, of Fargo, North Dakota.

The U.S. Capitol is seen at dawn on Friday, Oct. 20, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

Part of that business, he said, is approving money for Ukraine to continue its fight against Russias invasion, something he says ultimately helps the U.S.  a point President Joe Biden stressed Thursday during an Oval Office address.

Were usually the knight in shining armor, but we cant be that now, said Lauff, a Democrat.

The disdain for Congress is just one area where Americans say they are losing faith. Various polls say the negative feelings include a loss of confidence or interest in institutions such as organized religion, policing, the Supreme Court, even banking.

Trust in institutions has deteriorated substantially, said Kay Schlozman, professor of political science at Boston College. Schlozman said she believes in government and the things it provides, such as national defense and access to health care, but I also can very much understand why the American people can be cynical about government.

The turmoil in the House and the federal case against Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey, who is facing charges for bribery, show that both major parties are contributing to the dour outlook.

The House has been without a permanent leader since early October after a small cadre of right-wing Republicans pushed out a member of their own party, then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Subsequent attempts to replace him have failed.

That is an example of exactly the kind of thing that I would say cant foster trust of government among the American people  the multiple votes, the fractiousness within parties, of people being personally ambitious and not being willing to compromise Schlozman said.

About half of adults (53%) say they have hardly any confidence at all in the people running Congress, according to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research that was conducted in October. Thats in line with 49% who said that in March. Just 3% have a great deal of confidence in Congress, virtually unchanged from March.

About 4 in 10 adults (39%) have hardly any confidence in the executive branch of the federal government, compared with 44% in March. Most Republicans (56%) have low levels of confidence in the executive branch  which is overseen by a member of the opposing party, Democrat Joe Biden  compared with just 20% of Democrats.

About a third of adults (36%) say they have hardly any confidence in the conservative-majority Supreme Court, a figure that has remained steady in recent months. The polling reinforces that Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say their confidence in the Supreme Court is low. Black Americans are more likely than Americans overall, as well as more likely than white or Hispanic adults, to have hardly any confidence in the nations highest court.

One-third of U.S. adults (33%) continue to have low levels of confidence in the Justice Department, with Republicans having less confidence than Democrats. This comes as former President Donald Trump rails against the department after being charged with mishandling classified documents and attempts to overturn the 2020 election results.

The seat of the US House Speaker pictured on January 4, 2023. (Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY / AFP) (Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images)

Rick Cartelli, 63, a health care worker in Rocky Hill, Connecticut, who identifies as an independent, said he is happy with his local and state government but the current environment, especially the chaos on Capitol Hill, has wiped out what little confidence he had in that institution.

What is happening now is not good for the country at all, he said.

Cartelli also said he has little confidence in the executive branch, citing what he says are mental lapses by Biden that are only probably going to become more and more pronounced.

Multiple AP-NORC polls from earlier this year find that the dearth of confidence is pervasive, spreading to organized religion, the governments intelligence gathering and diplomatic agencies, as well as financial institutions. Slightly fewer than half (45%) in a study from AP-NORC and Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights said they have little or no confidence that the news media is reporting news fully, accurately and fairly.

Views on the military were best, with just 17% saying they have hardly any confidence in it.

Kathleen Kersey, a 32-year-old health care worker in Brunswick, Georgia, who is a Republican, said she has little confidence in any of the federal entities, including Congress, but has more for the institutions closer to home. She also is a fan of Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, who she said is a moral man.

Theres only so much one person can do, and just with all the evil, its hard to have confidence in anything really, even the churches because everything works together as one, she said.

Confidence in the countrys foundational institutions has ebbed and flowed historically, though theres been a long-term downward trend since at least the 1970s. Trust in government waned in the era of Watergate and the Pentagon Papers before making a slight recovery during Ronald Reagans presidency in the 1980s  despite Reagans famous declaration that the nine most terrifying words in the English language were: Im from the government, and Im here to help.

David Bateman, an associate professor of government at Cornell University, said the tea party movement during former President Barack Obamas term was the beginning of a steadier decline in confidence, as noted in polling from Gallup. But Bateman believes the most acute problem in recent years has been Trumps lies about the 2020 election, despite dozens of courts rejecting his claims and multiple audits and reviews in the swing states where he disputed his loss.

The biggest threat to trust in institutions was the Trump campaigns refusal to concede the election and insistence that they had won, along with a large segment of the Republicans in Congress going along with the claim in the certification process, Bateman said.

That validated the idea that the whole institutional system is rigged, which it isnt, he said.

He said an example of the fallout is the Republican attack on the Justice Department, including the FBI. The weaponization of the FBI has been a battle cry for Republicans who maintain it has targeted conservatives and who are incensed at the various investigations of Trump. Candidates vying against Trump for the Republican presidential nomination have said they would fire FBI Director Chris Wray.

Distrust of the FBI had long been the purview of Democrats, especially those aware of civil rights-era monitoring.

If you told me in 2000 that Republicans are going to be saying you cant trust the FBI, I would have been shocked, Bateman said. Going after the FBI has been a real ratcheting up of distrust.

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In an Oval Office address Thursday, President Biden linked Gaza and Ukraine, saying he refused to "let terrorists like Hamas and tyrants like Putin win." (Jonathan Ernst / Associated Press)

Joe Biden didnt set out to be a wartime president, but he made himself one.

Last week, the president staked his place in history on the outcomes of two conflicts: Israels war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Ukraines war against an invading Russia.

When Biden came to the White House in 2021, his foreign policy goals were more modest. He wanted to rebuild alliances that had frayed under his predecessor, Donald Trump. He wanted to refocus on great-power competition with China. And he wanted to withdraw the last U.S. troops from Afghanistan  a mission he accomplished in chaos.

Two events have changed the landscape.

Last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine, seeking to turn an independent country into a colony. Last week, Israel prepared to launch a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip to destroy the Hamas regime that attacked Israeli towns and villages.

On Thursday, Biden yoked the two crises together and declared a new primary goal for American foreign policy: Making sure Israel and Ukraine succeed.

Were facing an inflection point in history  one of those moments where the decisions we make today are going to determine the future for decades to come, he said.

We cannot and will not let terrorists like Hamas and tyrants like Putin win, he said, adding, I refuse to let that happen.

Consciously or not, he was echoing President George H.W. Bushs response to Iraqs 1990 invasion of Kuwait: This will not stand.

Read more:Amid Israel-Hamas war, doctors at Gaza hospitals face heartbreaking choices

In a narrow sense, Bidens speech was merely a legislative gambit. On Friday, he sent Congress a request for $105 billion in emergency funding  mostly for Ukraine, but with substantial sums for Israel, Palestinian humanitarian aid, U.S. border security and Taiwan.

His hope is that Congress, including Republicans skeptical about supporting Ukraine, will find it easier to pass a bill that includes something for everyone.

But the presidents message was much broader than the wrangle over funding, and his real target was the American public.

He clearly wanted to push back against increasing sentiment among voters, especially Republicans, that the United States should reduce its commitments overseas.

In several polls over the last year, a gradually growing share of voters has said the United States should take a less active role in the world. In a September survey conducted by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, a majority of Republican voters  53%  said they believed the United States should stay out of world affairs, the first such finding in the polls 49-year history.

Read more:Column: Israel's goal in Gaza is regime change. Where have we heard that before?

Biden has reframed his rationale for helping Ukraine and Israel. Last year, after Russias invasion, he described the stakes as a battle between democracy and autocracy  a formula that may have been too abstract for some voters.

Last week, he focused his pitch closer to home.

Making sure Israel and Ukraine succeed is vital for Americas national security, he argued. Its a smart investment thats going to pay dividends for American security for generations [and] help us keep American troops out of harms way.

Biden had another broad point to make.

American leadership is what holds the world together, he said. American alliances are what keep us  America  safe.

He quoted the late Madeleine Albright, who as the irrepressibly activist secretary of State under President Clinton called the United States the indispensable nation.

And he reached back to 1940, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed the United States to be the arsenal of democracy in the early days of World War II.

In effect, Biden is trying to build a new version of the Cold War thinking that dominated U.S. foreign policy for much of the second half of the 20th century, when he began his political career: the principle that assertive U.S. leadership is essential to world peace.

The two conflicts he is tackling wont be easy to manage.

Israel can presumably prevail in a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip, but it will then face more difficult challenges: pacifying and administering the battle zone, and reviving the neglected search for peace with the Palestinians. Biden gave Israels leaders advice on those counts both publicly and privately last week; to help Israel succeed over the long run, he will need to give much more.

Ukraines 20-month war has been costly in blood and treasure (the United States has already provided more than $75 billion, European countries even more), and Putin appears dug in, waiting to see whether his longtime admirer, Trump, will return to the White House in 2025.

Presidents are often measured by how they lead in times of crisis. Last week, Biden put his place in history on the line.

He set an ambitious goal  making sure both Israel and Ukraine succeed  and made it the yardstick of his leadership.

Voters are more likely to judge him by the state of the economy. But historians will evaluate him by the measure he set for himself.

Get the best of the Los Angeles Times politics coverage with the Essential Politics newsletter.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Garth Erasmus, a First Nations representative who accompanied the king and queen on their walk through the Slave Lodge, said their visit should serve to exorcise some ghosts.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP)  Angry protesters in Cape Town confronted the king and queen of the Netherlands on Friday as they visited a museum that traces part of their countrys 150-year involvement in slavery in South Africa.

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima were leaving the Slave Lodge building in central Cape Town when a small group of protesters representing South Africas First Nations groups  the earliest inhabitants of the region around Cape Town  surrounded the royal couple and shouted slogans about Dutch colonizers stealing land from their ancestors.

Khoisan protesters surround King Willem Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands at the Iziko Slave Lodge museum in Cape Town during their state visit to South Africa Friday, Oct. 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Nardus Engelbrecht)

The king and queen were put into a car by security personnel and quickly driven away as some of the protesters, who were wearing traditional animal-skin dress, jostled with police.

The Dutch colonized the southwestern part of South Africa in 1652 through the Dutch East India trading company. They controlled the Dutch Cape Colony for more than 150 years before British occupation. Modern-day South Africa still reflects that complicated Dutch history, most notably in the Afrikaans language, which is derived from Dutch and is widely spoken as an official language of the country, including by First Nations descendants.

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima made no speeches during their visit to the Slave Lodge but spent time walking through rooms where slaves were kept under Dutch colonial rule. The Slave Lodge was built in 1679, making it one of the oldest buildings in Cape Town. It was used to keep slaves  men, women and children  until 1811. Slavery in South Africa was abolished by the English colonizers in 1834.

Khoisan protesters protest during the visit of King Willem Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands at the Slave Lodge in Cape Town, South Africa, Friday, Oct. 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Nardus Engelbrecht)

Garth Erasmus, a First Nations representative who accompanied the king and queen on their walk through the Slave Lodge, said their visit should serve to exorcise some ghosts.

The Dutch East India Company established Cape Town as a settlement for trading ships to pick up supplies on their way to and from Asia. Slaves were brought to work at the colony from Asian and other African countries, but First Nations inhabitants of South Africa were also enslaved and forced off their land. Historians estimate there were nearly 40,000 slaves in the Cape Colony when slavery ended.

First Nations groups have often lobbied the South African government to recognize their historic oppression. They say their story has largely been forgotten in South Africa, which instead is often defined by the apartheid era of brutal forced racial segregation that was in place between 1948 and 1994.

First Nations people have a different ethnic background from South Africas Black majority.

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LONDON (AP)  Thousands of people joined vigils in Berlin and London on Sunday to oppose antisemitism and support Israel, while in Paris and other cities, thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators demanded a cease-fire and relief for people in the besieged Gaza Strip.

Some of those who gathered in front of Berlin's Brandenburg Gate carried Israeli flags or posters with photos of some of the more than 200 people seized by Hamas as hostages during the militants deadly Oct. 7 incursion into Israel.

It is unbearable that Jews are living in fear again today  in our country of all places, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier told the crowd, estimated at 20,000 by organizers and 10,000 by police. Every single attack on Jews, on Jewish institutions is a disgrace for Germany. Every single attack fills me with shame and anger.

Earlier, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz inaugurated a new synagogue in the eastern city of Dessau and said he was outraged by the upsurge in antisemitism since the conflict began.

Several buildings in Berlin where Jews live had the star of David painted on doors and walls, and assailants threw two Molotov cocktails at a synagogue in Berlin last week.

Here in Germany, of all places, Scholz said, vowing that our never again must be unbreakable.

At a vigil attended by thousands in London's Trafalgar Square, participants held posters bearing the images of hostages and the missing. They chanted bring them home," falling silent as the names of the hostages were read out.

Speakers from both the U.K.'s governing Conservative Party and the opposition Labour Party addressed the crowd. Communities Secretary Michael Gove said Hamas Oct. 7 attack was an act of "unparalleled evil and barbarism."

We must stand together against it. We must stand for life. We must bring the hostages home, he said.

Hundreds of people rallied outside the United Nations offices in Geneva to demand the hostages release. Waving mostly Israeli, but also Swiss and German flags, the demonstrators held aloft signs that read Children arent bargaining chips or T-shirts with the words #SetThemFree.

A day earlier, about 4,500 pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched in the Swiss city of Lausanne, police said.

The war has raised tensions worldwide, leaving Jewish and Muslim communities feeling vulnerable. Londons Metropolitan Police force says it has seen a 13-fold upsurge in reports of antisemitic offenses in October compared to last year. Reports of anti-Muslim crimes have more than doubled.

Sundays rallies came a day after tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators  100,000 by police estimates  marched through the British capital to demand Israel stop its bombardment of Gaza, launched in response to Hamas' brutal incursion.

Authorities in Gaza say more than 4,600 people have been killed in the territory since the latest war began. More than 1,400 people have been killed in Israel, majority of them civilians slain in the Oct. 7 attack.

Israel intensified its bombardment of Gaza ahead of an expected ground offensive. United Nations officials were pressing for more humanitarian aid to get into the besieged strip, after 20 trucks were allowed Saturday to enter Gaza across the southern Rafah border crossing with Egypt.

In France, which has Europe's largest Jewish and Muslim communities, thousands of demonstrators gathered in Paris to demand Israel stop its strikes on Gaza. Police estimated 15,000 people took part.

Some waved red, green and black Palestinian flags and clambered onto the Republique plaza's central statue. A banner read Stop the massacre in Gaza. France must call for an immediate cease-fire.

Organizers  including Palestinian and Muslim groups, peace associations, workers' and students' unions and leftist political parties  condemned Hamas' attack on civilians, urged the militant group to release all hostages and called for an end to Israel's assault.

Sarah Alaoui, a 23-year-old French student of Moroccan descent, said she came to support the Palestinian people who have suffered too much for too long.

Humanitarian aid is not enough. Palestinians need to be able to live a decent life and have their own state, she said.

Nicole Pomier, a 49-year-old Parisian and longtime activist, said she was relieved the protest had not been banned by authorities.

We want to be able to support the Palestinian people without risking being arrested by the police, she said.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin had ordered all pro-Palestinian demonstrations banned, before authorities ruled permission for protests should be decided locally on a case-by-case basis.

Jewish groups planned a gathering in Paris later Sunday to call for the release of Hamas' hostages.

A crowd estimated at 12,000 by police gathered outside European Union institutions in Brussels for a rally organized by groups including trade unions, Christian organizations and Arab solidarity movements.

Several thousand people took to the streets in Sarajevo, with some comparing the situation in Gaza with the suffering of Bosniaks, who are mainly Muslims, during the countrys 1992-95 war.

What is happening in Gaza is simply human disaster. Collective punishment. War crimes. These things have to be named by their rightful name, said Nabil Naser, a Palestinian doctor who worked in Sarajevo during the Bosnian war.

Hundreds also rallied in Serbias capital, Belgrade, and in Podgorica, the capital of neighboring Montenegro.

More than 3,000 people attended a Freedom for Palestine rally on Sunday at a square in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Malaysia is a strong supporter of the Palestinian cause, and has no diplomatic ties with Israel. Muslims in the country have staged weekly rallies after Friday prayers outside the American Embassy, slamming the U.S. for its support of Israel.

Retiree Munir Izwan urged neighbors of the Palestinians to step up efforts to help.

Even in Islamic teachings, the closest neighbors should help the most in making peace between the two parties. But from what I see, the neighboring countries of Palestine, they are only talking but no actions, Munir said.

___

Lawless reported from London. Associated Press writers Vanessa Gera in Warsaw, Jovana Gec in Belgrade, Serbia, Jamey Keaten in Geneva and Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia contributed to this report.
For years, Israel assiduously avoided an all-out military confrontation with Hamas, estimating that it was safer to have a contained Palestinian power controlling Gaza than no power at all. To that end, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the nations security establishment sought to limit the threat posed by the group via periodic strikes in a cycle that became so routine the Israelis simply called it mowing the grass.

Now, in the wake of the Oct. 7 massacre by Hamas that killed more than 1,500 people and upended that strategy, Israel is looking to tear Hamas out of Gaza root and branch in what most expect will be a long and bloody ground invasion. Over the last week, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have called up more than 300,000 reservists, amassed troops along the border, launched an air campaign, and conducted localized raids that have killed at least three Hamas leaders. On Thursday, Netanyahu met with troops in southern Israel. At the end of this, says Mark Regev, a former senior adviser to Netanyahu, Hamas' "military machine will be dismantled and its political structure will be smashed.

Israels declaration of total war against Hamas is understandable after the worst slaughter of Jewish civilians since the Holocaust. Israels leaders reason that if Hamas is not defeated decisively, the message to hostile powers in the Middle East will be that terror tactics work. But war breeds chaos and chaos breeds unforeseen consequences. The hard question now being quietly raised by officials in Israel, the region, and the U.S. is: After Hamas, then what?

The Israelis have yet to articulate a vision or strategy for what a post-Hamas Gaza would look like. It's too early to talk about this as far as we're concerned, a senior Israeli official tells TIME. The focus is on fighting and winning the war right now. What happens the day after, in any case, will take quite a while.

But by creating a power vacuum in Gaza, Israel risks unleashing a wave of instability and disorder that could have far-reaching impact. Radicalized Palestinians could launch a sustained, asymmetric war against IDF troops in Gaza and civilians in Israel. Outside militant groups could use post-war chaos in Gaza to recruit and grow. Regional powers like Egypt and Saudi Arabia could isolate Israel amid the upheaval while enemies like Syria and Iran could be emboldened to ignite new proxy attacks. The time to be thinking about the day after is not when you get there, says Dennis Ross, a former Mideast peace negotiator who served in multiple U.S. administrations. Its before you get there.

Amid the scenes of destruction unfolding in Gaza, it is not hard to imagine what the day after a declared Israeli victory could look like. The streets of Gaza City, Jabalia, and Khan Younis reduced to rubble. Tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians killed in the Israeli campaign. Even more Palestinians displaced from their homes and suffering a human catastrophe that few in the west can contemplate.

What comes next?

Perhaps out of that grim reality Israel could strike an accommodation with the Fatah-ruled Palestinian Authority to take control over the Gaza Strip in cooperation with the Israeli military to ensure Hamas can never create a military wing again. But that scenario is unlikely. The Palestinian Authority is unpopular in the West Bank, where corruption and dysfunction have fueled anger and dissatisfaction. It has a lousy track record in Gaza where it ruled briefly from 2005 to 2007 before being ousted by Hamas in elections. It would hardly help the Palestinian Authority to ride into Gaza on the backs of Israeli tanks.

Then there is the possibility that Hamas could return to Gaza as soon as Israeli tanks pull out. No matter the result of the coming Israeli war, its far from clear that the population in Gaza would be willing to move on from Hamas, which is more than a political party or a military wing. Its a social movement, spawned in the late 1980s as the Palestinian branch of the Sunni Muslim Brotherhood. The only attractive movement right now is Hamas, says Ghaith al-Omari, a former PA official now at the Washington Institute. You can destroy all of its physical infrastructure, but it's very hard to destroy the idea.

Even worse for Israel, from a security standpoint, would be that Gaza becomes so volatile it would be impossible for a single ruling entity to take hold. That could create a vacuum that leads to pockets of territorial rule by extremist forces, whether it be ISIS or one of its affiliates based in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, another Islamist or Salafi Jihadist movement, or a new iteration of Hamas, either in name or in spirit. What are the environments in which extremists thrive? says Khaled Elgindy, a former Palestinian Authority negotiator. Power vacuums. The new Gaza, in other words, could generate even more Islamist extremism.

Those unpleasant scenarios leave another painful possibility: that Israel may feel the need to stay in Gaza for years. Israel ruled over the coastal enclave from 1967 until 2005 and going back in for a sustained occupation would require the ongoing presence of IDF troops in Gaza, who would be vulnerable to ambushes. It would foment more Palestinian resentment toward Israel, spawning a new generation of combatants. It would risk triggering wider regional instability and potentially drawing America into a war. And it would trap Israel in a profound moral and military crisis. Any hope for the eventual resurrection of the U.S.-brokered Israeli-Saudi Arabia normalization agreement would be foreclosed. The deal would likely go from dead to dead and buried. Little surprise President Joe Biden has already warned Israel against reoccupation.

The lack of realistic scenarios is starting to produce unrealistic ones. Some Americans and Israelis are floating the idea of an international trusteeship that would govern the Gaza Strip on an interim basis until a permanent solution is reached, a kind of return to the mandate system that predated the creation of Israel. The United Nations would serve as a steward to direct a massive infusion of cash for humanitarian relief and rebuilding the battered Gaza cities flattened from uncountable rounds of artillery. After a period of physical reconstruction, the peace-keeping force would oversee elections in which Palestinians could choose their new leaders. But while the idea sounds good on paper, few people think its possible. This is fantasy, says Rashid Khalidi, a Palestinian-American historian and former PLO peace negotiator in the 1990s. These people are living in an alternative reality.

That Israel hasn't articulated an endgame worries those with even a cursory sense of recent history in the Middle East. One need look no further than the American invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. There is the fear of a slippery slope, al-Omari says. You break it, you own it. That's why longtime diplomats argue that military might alone is unlikely to solve Israels problems in Gaza. It will also need statecraft. You can't treat the use of force as an end in itself, says Ross. There has to be a focus on what is the political result of this.

Unfortunately, few see hope for a positive outcome from a sustained victory by Israel over Hamas. We don't have better and bad scenarios, or better and bad options, says Avi Isaacharoff, a veteran Israeli journalist and Middle East analyst who co-created the series Fauda. What we're facing is somewhere in between the bad, the worse, and the worst.

Contact us at letters@time.com.
A judge has rejected three more attempts by former President Donald Trump and the Colorado GOP to shut down a lawsuit seeking to block him from the 2024 presidential ballot in the state based on the 14th Amendments insurrectionist ban.

The flurry of rulings late Friday from Colorado District Judge Sarah Wallace are a blow to Trump, who faces candidacy challenges in multiple states stemming from his role in the January 6, 2021, insurrection. He still has a pending motion to throw out the Colorado lawsuit, but the case now appears on track for an unprecedented trial this month.

A post-Civil War provision of the 14th Amendment says US officials who take an oath to uphold the Constitution are disqualified from future office if they engaged in insurrection or have given aid or comfort to insurrectionists. But the Constitution does not spell out how to enforce the ban, and it has been applied only twice since the 1800s.

A liberal watchdog group called Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed the Colorado case on behalf of six Republican and unaffiliated voters. The judge is scheduled to preside over a trial beginning October 30 to decide a series of novel legal questions about how the 14th Amendment could apply to Trump.

In a 24-page ruling, Wallace rejected many of Trumps arguments that the case was procedurally flawed and should be shut down. She said the key question of whether Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold has the power to block Trump from the ballot based on the 14th Amendment is a pivotal issue and one best reserved for trial.

Wallace also swatted away arguments from the Colorado GOP that state law gives the party, not election officials, ultimate say on which candidates appear on the ballot.

If the Party, without any oversight, can choose its preferred candidate, then it could theoretically nominate anyone regardless of their age, citizenship, residency, she wrote. Such an interpretation is absurd; the Constitution and its requirements for eligibility are not suggestions, left to the political parties to determine at their sole discretion.

Wallace also cited a 2012 opinion from Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, when he was a Denver-based appeals judge, which said states have the power to exclude from the ballot candidates who are constitutionally prohibited from assuming office. She cited this while rejecting Trumps claim that Colorados ballot access laws dont give state officials any authority to disqualify him based on federal constitutional considerations.

Trump already lost an earlier bid to throw out the case on free-speech grounds.

The current GOP front-runner, Trump denies wrongdoing regarding January 6 and has pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges stemming from his attempts to overturn the 2020 election. His campaign has said these lawsuits are pushing an absurd conspiracy theory and the challengers are stretching the law beyond recognition.

In a statement on Saturday, the Trump campaign criticized Wallace and her rulings, saying she got it wrong.

She is going against the clear weight of legal authority. We are confident the rule of law will prevail, and this decision will be reversed  whether at the Colorado Supreme Court, or at the U.S. Supreme Court, a Trump campaign spokesperson said. To keep the leading candidate for President of the United States off the ballot is simply wrong and un-American.

The 14th Amendment challenges in Colorado and other key states face an uphill climb, with many legal hurdles to clear before Trump would be disqualified from running for the presidency. Trump is sure to appeal any decision to strip him from the ballot, which means the Supreme Court and its conservative supermajority might get the final say.

In recent months, a growing and politically diverse array of legal scholars have thrown their support behind the idea that Trump is disqualified under the insurrectionist ban. The bipartisan House committee that investigated the January 6 attack recommended last year that Trump be barred from holding future office under the 14th Amendment.

The Colorado challengers recently revealed in a court filing that they want to depose Trump before trial. Trump opposes this request, and the judge hasnt issued a ruling.

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Rescue teams are searching part of the English Channel for a man who is believed to have fallen overboard from a cruise ship off the coast of Kent.

Lifeboats and Coastguard crews have been despatched to an area of the channel near Ramsgate after receiving reports the man fell in on Sunday morning.

The Coastguard said it was co-ordinating the search with the RLNI after the lifeboat service sent out crew from bases in Ramsgate and Dover. A helicopter is also scouring the area from the air.

The man had been onboard the AIDAperla cruiseliner, which had been travelling from Hamburg in Germany to Las Palma in the Canary Islands, according to data from the Cruise Mapper website.

The ships operator, AIDA Cruises, said the man who fell overboard was a member of the ships crew.

The company said in a statement: "The captain and crew of AIDAperla immediately initiated all necessary rescue measures in close coordination with the local authorities.

"The search on board confirmed that a male crew member is missing.

"The ship was immediately stopped and returned to the spot where the incident was believed to have taken part in the search."

In a statement, HM Coastguard said: "HM Coastguard is coordinating the search for a man reported overboard from a passenger ship off Ramsgate on 22 October. HM Coastguard was alerted at about 8.55am.

"The HM Coastguard search and rescue helicopter has been sent from Lydd alongside a Coastguard fixed-wing aircraft and the RNLIs all-weather lifeboats from Ramsgate and Dover."

A spokesperson for the RLNI said: Ramsgate RNLIs all-weather lifeboat was paged at 08.20hrs this morning followed by Dovers all-weather lifeboat at 08.35hrs. The search has been ongoing since then and an HM Coastguard helicopter has also been involved.

According to Cruise Mapper, the AIDAperla is an Italian-flagged vessel whose home ports are in Hamburg, La Romana in the Dominican Republic, Bridgetown in Barbados and Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

The website said the boat departed from Hamburg on 20 October and had been due to arrive in La Coruna, Spain, on Monday.

From there it was scheduled to travel on to Vigo, Spain, then to Lanzarote and Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands before arriving at its final destination of Las Palmas on 29 October.
A $10,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to the arrest of a man accused of fatally shooting a Maryland judge in a "targeted attack" outside his home.

The U.S. Marshals Service said Friday that it is seeking the public's help in finding Pedro Argote, 49, who is wanted in connection with Thursday's killing of Washington County Circuit Court Judge Andrew Wilkinson. Wilkinson was shot hours after he gave Argote's estranged wife custody of their four minor children, officials said.

On Saturday, a resident of the Williamsport, Maryland, area near the West Virginia border found an SUV belonging to Argote about 11 a.m., Washington County Sheriff Brian K. Albert said at a news conference.

It wasn't clear how long the vehicle had been there, and an initial search turned up no weapons, Albert said. Authorities said earlier that Argote might be driving a 2009 Mercedes-Benz GL 450, a full-size SUV.

Pedro Argote. (Washington County Sheriff's Office, Maryland)

Deputies, marshals and local police were combing through remote woods around Saturdays discovery, Albert said.

Were going to catch this guy, he said. Its just a matter of time.

Argote has ties to multiple areas outside Maryland, including Brooklyn and Long Island, New York; Columbus, Indiana; and Tampa and Clearwater, Florida, the Marshals Service said in a news release. He also has connections to unknown locations in North Carolina.

Although authorities said Argote should be considered armed and dangerous  any sightings should be reported to police immediately  Albert said he doesn't believe residents in and around Williamsport are in danger.

"We don't feel the community's at risk," he said. "We just ask that you avoid the search area."

Wilkinson was the judge in Argotes divorce case, filed in June 2022. At a hearing Thursday morning, hours before the shooting, he had granted Argote's wife an absolute divorce from him, as well as sole legal custody of their four children, ages 12, 11, 5 and 3.

Argote didn't attend the hearing.

Wilkinson ordered Argote not to contact or visit the children and barred him from contacting his former wife unless she initiated it for the purpose of using a 2009 Mercedes for necessary shopping trips and medical appointments, the court document said. Argote was also banned from entering the family home and ordered to pay $1,120 a month in child support.

The judgment attributed the decision to a finding of "cruelty of treatment" and "irreconcilable differences." Albert said Friday that the shooting was in response to the custody decision.

Asked Saturday about law enforcement contacts with the family, Albert said that deputies had responded to "verbal domestics," or people arguing loudly, at the family residence in recent years but that they never fielded claims of physical violence as far as he knew.

In June 2022, the wife filed a domestic violence petition against Argote alleging that there had been physical abuse against one of their daughters.

She wrote that she felt unsafe because Argote would keep a weapon on him and that she feared he would try to take the children away from her.

She also accused him of harassing her through emails and texts, watching her through the home's security cameras and controlling her emotionally and financially. The petition was dismissed less than two weeks after she filed it.

Attorney Michael Gast, who briefly represented Argote in the case, said Saturday that he persuaded the wife's attorney to dismiss the petition because Gast felt there was a lack of evidence. He declined to elaborate.

Gast, who removed himself after having represented Argote for about three months, said that his former client was a "very quiet guy" and that he was surprised by the alleged crime.
The Department of Finance said lifting the recruitment freeze was "essential to fill vacancies"

A recruitment freeze has been lifted in the Northern Ireland Civil Service in order to fill up to 900 vacancies.

Permanent secretaries in Stormont departments have decided to allow allocations to general service posts, which had been paused since February.

Plans are also being made to launch a new competition for entry-level roles.

The Department of Finance said it was "essential to fill vacancies to deliver services, replace staff who have left and respond to new demands".

A spokesman added that each department "must assess the affordability of all its posts".

It comes as Stormont departments face substantial cuts this year due to a funding gap of about 800m.

A budget was set by Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris in the absence of local ministers, with civil servants left to make decisions to balance the books.

Stormont's power-sharing government collapsed in 2022 after the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) withdrew in protest against post-Brexit trade barriers between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.

'Fill 902 vacancies'

Northern Ireland's top civil servant Jayne Brady said in the summer that Stormont departments had "reached the limit" of what they could do to manage budget pressures.

It is understood senior officials have been concerned about the impact a recruitment freeze could have on delivering services in the short term and, longer term, the mix of skills and experience across the civil service

A Department of Finance spokesman said a temporary pause had been put on "general service allocations" in February but that the civil service was asked by departments at the end of September "to proceed to fill 902 general service vacancies".

"Departments have now been asked to review the number of vacancies to be filled with approved funding so numbers can be confirmed," he added.

The spokesman added that "plans are being progressed for a new administrative officer competition".

As of April last year, there were more than 22,500 full-time-equivalent staff in the Northern Ireland Civil Service.

Just over 1,000 people left the civil service in 2021-22 for reasons including resignation, retirement and health issues.
In the 18 days since House Republicans removed their Speaker, Congress has been effectively useless. Representatives havent negotiated a plan to avert the impending government shutdown. They havent worked on aid packages to Ukraine or Israel. They havent made progress on vital legislation like the farm bill, to keep basic necessities like milk from skyrocketing in cost. Instead, theyve been voting over and over to elect a new Speaker, and theyve gotten nowhere.

All the while, Washington, D.C. has been abuzz with creative theories about how Republicans can escape this mess with a new Speaker and a functional House. Sensing an opportunity, Democratic Speaker-in-waiting Hakeem Jeffries made an attention-grabbing proposal shortly after the chaos began: Republicans and Democrats should form a bipartisan coalition in the House and govern together.

That proposal was dismissed at first, but a version of this idea has become more enticing to some on Capitol Hill as House Republicans have continuously failed to elect a Speaker. It seems like exactly the kind of cooperation that three-fourths of Americans say they want to see in Congress. Whats not to like about a bipartisan deal? Perhaps nothing, but good luck getting it passed. The parties are simply too divided.

Americas sharp division isnt just about policy disagreements or ideology. Much of it comes down to the science of how Congress is elected. Winner-take-all elections have produced a fully-sorted two-party system in America that pits two sides against each other, incentivizes performative conflict, and punishes compromise. With the existing electoral and party system, we may as well invest all our money into a colony on Mars as hope for a bipartisan coalition leading Congress right now.

The silver lining is that America is not stuck with this broken system. Preserving the failing status quo is a choice. Winner-take-all elections are nowhere in the Constitution, and Congress has the power to change them. Multi-party coalitions work well in many other countries, and they can work in America, too, if we are willing to confront the root causes of Congresss brokenness.

And the brokenness has rarely been clearer. Right now, voting to share power with Democrats could be career-ending for a Republican. Only seven Republicans represent districts that Inside Elections rates as toss-up districts in the next election, and the overwhelming majority of representatives (about 90%) come from districts that are totally safe for their party. That means Republicans dont need to worry about winning over Democrats in their districts in order to win re-election, and would have little chance of doing so anyway.

Instead, members of Congress need to worry about placating their primary voters, who tend to be much more intensely partisan and really, really dislike compromise. Shortly after McCarthy was removed, conservative talk radio host Mark Levin neatly summarized the position of the right-wing base: "I would not negotiate with Hakeem Jeffries and these Democrat Marxists and the Squad and all the rest of them if you put a gun to my head. These people are destroying our country at every turn. They are the enemy."

Similarly, after some Republicans floated the idea of temporarily giving Speaker powers to the current Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry, the partys right flank drew a line in the sand. Heritage Action, the advocacy wing of the far right Heritage Foundation, announced that they would consider any vote for empowering McHenry a key vote that would seriously harm the members scorecards. Thats no small thing. House Republicans careers can be made or ruined by the grades they get from conservative organizations and commentators, because its the primary, not the general election, that often determines whether they keep their job. And the competition within the party is real, too. Former Rep. Mark Meadows famously manipulated other Republicans into voting against Heritage Action recommendations so that his score would look better in contrast. In this hyperpartisan environment, even most moderate Republicans are motivated to lean as far to the right as they can in order to get through their primary elections.

Today, any candidate for speaker only has one viable path to victory: getting 99% of their party to vote for them. And because recent electoral margins have been razor thin and are likely to remain thin, the party in power needs to be almost perfectly unified. That of course gives potential holdouts a tremendous amount of power  power that became clear when only eight Republicans without much of an agreed-upon strategy removed Speaker McCarthy, and Congress screeched to an immediate stop.

This situation is a unique product of two evenly balanced, deeply divided parties. This in turn flows from our system of winner-take-all elections, where one candidate is elected to represent an entire district.

Its a very inaccurate form of representation. All five of Oklahomas representatives are Republicans, even though about a third of Oklahoma voters consistently vote for Democrats, and all nine of Massachusetts representatives are Democrats, even though about a third of Massachusetts voters consistently vote for Republicans. Because the minority party doesnt make up a majority of any one district, they never have a voice in Congress. That means that primary elections in these states effectively determine the general election outcome, making it easy to win for extreme candidates, harder for moderates, and impossible for anyone in the minority party.

This is one reason why the overwhelming majority of the worlds democratic countries use proportional representation for their elections, where districts elect multiple representatives to Congress in proportion to their partys share of the vote. In America, it would allow more voters to have a say in who represents them; if a party wins 40% of the vote, it would get about 40% of the seats. Oklahoma liberals and Massachusetts conservatives would have a voice. That would mean more moderates in Congress. Members of the far right and far left would be elected, too  but in accurate proportion to their amount of support.

Proportional representation would also alter the incentive structure for representatives. Reflexive opposition to the enemy would no longer be the way to win elections, because voters would have more than a choice between the lesser of two evils. This would allow more ways to form a coalition in Congress capable of compromising and governing with a lot less infighting and chaos. This is one reason why last year, more than 200 political scientists, historians, and legal experts signed an open letter to Congress calling for the adoption of proportional representation.

Moving to a new election system would require a long and hard process. But it may be necessary if we want our legislative branch to work. Without change well wind up with more of the same: narrow margins in the House that give extremists tremendous leverage to remove speakers at will, shut down the government, and litter the legislative process with dysfunction. Really, its our choice.

Contact us at letters@time.com.
Editors Note: Khaled A. Beydoun is a law professor at the Arizona State University Sandra Day OConnor College of Law. He is the author of many books, including American Islamophobia: Understanding the Roots and Rise of Fear. You can follow him at his socials at @khaledbeydoun. The views expressed in this commentary are his own. View more opinion at CNN.

This is worse than after the Muslim Ban, than after 9/11, uttered Abed Ayoub, a lawyer and childhood friend, four blocks away from the White House and two decades apart from the day that changed everything.

Khaled A. Beydoun - Marwan Thoaubi

In between the prevailing custom of doom-scrolling and delivering bad news, Abed looked up with a stare that said everything. I knew that look well.

Like him, Im an Arab, Muslim and American  an amalgam of identities that conjures up pariah in the world we live in. But now, it means something different. At this moment, when the horror of mass death unfolds in Gaza and on screens we hold in our palms, our identity spells absurdity.

We see ourselves in the people of Gaza. The accosted people there share our names, our faith, our culture and our customs. We have friends in that 140-square-mile open-air prison turned into hell on earth, including journalists who were sheltering at the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital at the time of the deadly blast on Wednesday.

But what we continue to see on our screens is still half a world away. On the other side of our terrestrial reality and this virtual insanity.

Until this past week.

A Palestinian boy was killed in Illinois, shared Abed. This sequence of foreign-to-domestic murder was a familiar one. Being American, like 6-year-old Wadea Al-Fayoume was, does not protect us from the stigma of being Palestinian or Arab, Muslim and from the Middle East. Rather, these latter identities keep the security blanket of Americanness away from us, rendering us foreign and, during times of crisis, terrorists.

Wadea was stabbed 26 times last Saturday with a military-style knife by his familys landlord, a 71-year-old man whos been charged with murder and hate crimes, among other crimes. The attacker also stabbed Wadeas mother more than a dozen times. She lived. But what does that word even mean anymore?

What does it mean for a mother who escaped war for the safety of an American suburb? What does it mean for Abed and I: an executive director of a civil rights organization and a law professor, standing at the crosshairs of American power and an Arab identity conflated with terrorism? What does living mean for millions of Arabs and Muslimswho call the United States home, burdened with the impossible task of proving their allegiance, over and over again, in response to bellowing demands that bury our humanity?

It feels like we are living on borrowed time, like we were extended a contingent citizenship that can be stripped at any time, on account of events that unfold in America or on the other side of the world.

Calling it Islamophobia would be a severe understatement. This existential ballad of being Arab or Muslim in America is far more onerous, far more absurd. It feels like an existence that has no exit. A play where our daily routine is waking up to the news of war, the stark images and videos of slain children, rolling timelines of shattered villages and the roaring demands to condemn Hamas. While this plot sounds a lot like novels from Jean Paul Sartre or Albert Camus, this is not fiction.

This is our absurd reality.

An absurd reality where we, in America, can only post on virtual timelines where the footsteps of suspicion stomp out our voices and censor our speech.

Our names and nationalities, faces and faith brand us with the stain of collective guilt for crimes that we did not commit. Moments like this  like the aftermath of 9/11 or the reckoning after former President Donald Trumps Muslim Ban in 2017  moved many to conceal their ethnicity or cover their faith, particularly women who removed their hijabs or young children who hid behind aliases. Hate crimes statistics skyrocketed after 9/11, and reached near proportions in the wake of the Muslim Ban. Wadeas death foreshadows that these figures may spike again, and descend on the heads of Arab and Muslim Americans shadowed by suspicion.

But we cannot shed our bodies. These are the corporal vehicles that connect us to the victims cast as villains in Gaza. And the symbols that tie us to distant places where wars on terror were wrought yesterday and are certain to wreck more lives tomorrow.

Muslims are only newsworthy when villains, never victims. I wrote those words, for the first time, as a law student weeks after the 9/11 terror attacks. I was much younger then, unprepared for what the world would come to be.

But I knew then that it would never be the same.

I typed those very eight words 20 years later in my book, The New Crusades: Islamophobia and the Global War on Muslims. In between the wide-eyed optimism of a young law student and the sobered worldview of an aging law professor, 9/11 and todays war serve as bookends for morbid middle passages for Muslims in America and around the globe  as evidenced by the genocidal campaigns in China, persecution in India, hijab and abaya bans in France, and far more. The law and language of Islamophobia have been exported transnationally by an American war on terror that was first enforced on the home front, upon the heads of Arabs and Muslims like me whose citizenship was cast aside.

Being American was no protection. Not then and definitely not now.

The barrage of cold stares and commands to condemn terrorism, assignment of collective guilt and characterization of our dead children as collateral damage, not only strips us from the substance of citizenship, it renders us inhuman. People dont have ideas, wrote Carl Jung, Ideas have people.

And the idea that conflates our skin with terrorism not only grips the imagination of people, but sinks into the very marrow of American gates of power. We must exist, whatever that even means anymore, within the very lines that divide our identities and sever us from normalcy.

While I am in Washington and not Chicago, I can feel every one of those 26 stabs that plunged into little Wadeas body. While across American cities large and small, we see ourselves in the grieving parents forced to bury their dead children in Gaza.

This is what it means to be us.

Perhaps it is time that this country begins to see us.

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For some, the scenes harken back to the Civil Rights Movement, when authorities often turned dogs and firehoses on peaceful Black protesters marching for equality

CIRCLEVILLE, Ohio (AP)  As Jadarrius Rose drove his 18-wheeler through rural Ohio, a simple missing mudflap caught the highway patrols eye. The trip ended with a police dogs powerful jaws clamping down on Rose even as he tried to surrender.

As he stood with his hands up beside the highway on July 4, at least six law enforcement officers surrounded him at a distance, one calling forcefully to the K-9 handler: Do not release the dog, highway patrol video shows.

Nevertheless, a Belgian Malinois is seen on the video either breaking free or being set loose. At first, the animal seems confused, racing past Rose toward officers at the far end of the truck, then turning back and running for Rose, then 23.

African American high school student Walter Gadsden, 15, an onlooker to the protest, is attacked by a police dog during a civil rights demonstration in Birmingham, Ala., on May 3, 1963. (AP Photo/Bill Hudson, File)

By then the trucker is on his knees, hands still high, as an officer shouts, Get the dog off of him!

That day, Rose joined a long list of Black Americans attacked by police dogs, a history well documented by journalists, academics and filmmakers. Investigations into such cases have been launched regularly in recent years. For some, the scenes harken back to the Civil Rights Movement, when authorities often turned dogs and firehoses on peaceful Black protesters marching for equality.

The Associated Press captured one such attack in a photograph from Birmingham, Alabama, taken in the spring of 1963. It shows two police officers setting a pair of K-9s on 15-year-old Walter Gadsden. One of the dogs lunges straight for the teenagers belly as the other strains against his leash, panting.

Over the past five years, controversial police K-9 attacks have made headlines across the U.S.

Records reviewed by the AP in 2018 showed the Ohio State Highway Patrol used drug dogs in 28% of its stops involving Black motorists from 2013 through 2017, although the Black population accounts for only about 11.5% of people old enough to have a drivers permit or license in the state.

The Salt Lake City police department suspended its dog apprehension program in 2020 after a Black man was bitten and an audit found 27 dog bite cases during the previous two years.

The FBI opened an investigation into the police department in Woodson Terrace, Missouri, in 2021 after cellphone video showed three officers allowing a dog to repeatedly bite a Black man. And in 2020, a Black man in Lafayette, Indiana, was placed in a medically induced coma after police dogs mauled him as he was arrested in a battery case.

A TROUBLED HISTORY

Circleville, located about 25 miles (40 km) south of Columbus, Ohio, resembles many rural towns across the country. The citys downtown is filled with restaurants, law offices and a bakery. Flags honoring fallen servicemen and women hang from lampposts lining Main Street.

While the picture may be idyllic to some of the towns 14,000 residents, the Rev. Derrick Holmes, longtime leader of the Second Baptist Church, said Black and white residents describe their lives very differently.

Everyone doesnt have the same experience, even though theyre all in the same town, Holmes said. And I think those divisions exist around the realities of bigotry, the realities of racism.

At church services the day after the video of Roses arrest aired, Holmes said the congregation was appalled, but not entirely surprised.

People were horrified by it, he said. Angered by it. Frustrated by it. And also there was a feeling of, Well, here we go again.

This isnt the first time Circleville police have grappled with uncomfortable questions about how they train and use police dogs. Nearly 20 years ago, a founder of the K-9 unit sued the department after he was fired for insubordination. Officer David Haynes had publicly opposed cutting training hours for dogs and their handlers to 172 hours annually from 500 hours, according to court documents.

Haynes warned in a 2003 memo that words like deliberate indifference, negligence and failure to train will someday be brought up.

This image taken from police body cam video shows a police dog attacking Jadarrius Rose, 23, of Memphis, Tenn., on July 4, 2023, in Circleville, Ohio. (Ohio State Highway Patrol via AP, File).

Today, Circlevilles K-9s train 16 hours per month, or 192 hours a year, according to the department. Police Chief Shawn Baer did not respond to numerous messages seeking comment.

Employing dogs to dominate a population can be traced back at least to European settlers colonizing the Americas, when the animals were used against Indigenous people. They were introduced in Southern U.S. states to capture  and sometimes kill  enslaved Black people who escaped, said Madalyn Wasilczuk, a University of South Carolina professor and author of a law journal article titled, The Racialized Violence of Police Canine Force.

Wasilczuk found data on K-9 police attacks sparse, but said the animals are often used in nonviolent situations and their presence can lead to serious injury.

When you talk about an apprehension, police talk about bite and hold, and that sounds very antiseptic, Wasilczuk said. But when you look at a video of what happens, you see a dog doing what it does with a chew toy, which is it grabs on, it tries to hold on, its head whips back and forth and its teeth are sunk into that body part as deeply as they can.

THE AFTERMATH

In Roses case, law enforcement originally sought to pull him over because of his trucks missing mudflap, according to a highway patrol report. Circleville Police were there to assist.

What happened next can be pieced together from law enforcement video and the incident report.

Rose initially didnt stop as police pursued him. When he did, he saw officers with their guns drawn and took off again. At some point, he called 911 and told a dispatcher he feared the officers were trying to kill him. After pulling over a second time, he delayed getting out of the truck and did not immediately get on the ground as instructed.

He initially was charged with a felony for failing to comply with officers, but prosecutors dropped the case. Online court documents show Rose was charged Sept. 26 with a misdemeanor version of the offense and there is an active warrant for his arrest.

Neither Rose nor his attorney responded to repeated messages seeking comment.

Its not clear why a K-9 unit was at the scene that day. Michael Gould, a former New York City police officer and founding member of the NYPDs K-9 unit, said officers appeared to have control once they surrounded Rose with their guns drawn. And then theres the image of Rose with his hands up.

He was compliant and not a threat to anyone, Gould said.

Rose required hospital care for the bites he suffered. Whether he sustained lasting injury is unclear.

The dogs police handler, Officer Ryan Speakman, was fired, but the Ohio Patrolmans Benevolent Association filed a grievance on his behalf arguing the officer was fired without just cause.

Circleville City Councilwoman Caryn Koch-Esterline said police have yet to account for what happened.

Im just waiting for all the information to come out, she said in a brief interview with the AP three months after Roses arrest.

For those working to improve race relations in Ohio, the roadside attack was a reminder of all that is still left to do.

If it were a white man and a dog was unleashed on that individual, what would that community be saying? I bet they would be up in arms, said Nana Jones, president of the Columbus Chapter of the NAACP.

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Around the country, politicians are waging high-stakes battles over new congressional lines that could influence which party controls the US House of Representatives after the 2024 election.

In North Carolina, the Republicans who control the state legislature have crafted a map that could help them flip at least three seats. Democrats, meanwhile, could pick up seats in legal skirmishes now playing out in New York, Louisiana, Georgia and other states.

In all, the fate of anywhere from 14 to 18 House seats across nearly a dozen states could turn on the results of these fights. Republicans currently hold just a five-seat edge in the US House. That razor-edge majority has been underscored in recent weeks by the GOPs chaotic struggle to elect a new speaker.

Given that the majority is so narrow, every outcome matters to the fight for House control in 2024, said David Wasserman, who follows redistricting closely as senior editor and elections analyst for The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter.

And with fewer competitive districts that swing between the political parties, Wasserman added, every line change is almost existential.

Experts say several other factors have helped lead to the slew of consequential  and unresolved  redistricting disputes, just months before the first primaries of the 2024 cycle.

They include pandemic-related delays in completing the 2020 census  the once-a-decade population count that kicks off congressional and state legislative redistricting  as well as a 2019 Supreme Court ruling that threw decisions about partisan gerrymandering back to state courts.

In addition, some litigation had been frozen in place until the US Supreme Courts surprise ruling in June, which found that a Republican-crafted redistricting plan in Alabama disadvantaged Black voters in the state and was in violation of the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act.

That decision is functionally reanimating all of these dormant cases, said Adam Kincaid, the president and executive director of the National Republican Redistricting Trust, which supports the GOPs redistricting efforts.

Kincaid said its too soon to tell whether Republicans or Democrats will emerge with the advantage by Election Day 2024. In his view, either party could gain or lose only about two seats over redistricting.

In many of the closely watched states where action is pending, just a single seat hangs in the balance, with two notable exceptions: North Carolina and New York, where multiple seats are at stake. Republicans control the map-drawing in the Tar Heel State, while the job could fall to Democrats in New York, potentially canceling out each partys gains.

Democrats kind of need to run the table in the rest of these states to gain any edge, said Nick Seabrook, a political scientist at the University of North Florida and the author of the 2022 book One Person, One Vote: A Surprising History of Gerrymandering in America.

Heres a state-by-state look at recent and upcoming redistricting disputes that could shape the 2024 race for control of the US House:

Alabama

In one of the cycles highest-profile redistricting cases, a three-judge panel in Alabama approved a map that creates a second congressional district with a substantial Black population. Before the court action, Alabama  which is 27% Black  had only one Black-majority congressional district out of seven seats.

The fight over the map went all the way to the Supreme Court  which issued a surprise ruling, affirming a lower-court opinion that ordered Alabama to include a second Black-majority district or something quite close to it. Under the map that will be in place for the 2024 election, the states 2nd District now loops into Mobile to create a seat where nearly half the population is Black.

The high courts 5-4 decision in June saw two conservatives, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh, side with the three liberals to uphold the lower-court ruling. Their action kept intact a key pillar of the Voting Rights Act: that its illegal to draw maps that effectively keep Black voters from electing a candidate of their choice.

The ruling has reverberated around the country and could affect the outcome of similar court cases underway in Louisiana and Georgia that center on whether Republican-drawn maps improperly diluted Black political power in those states.

Given that Black voters in Alabama have traditionally backed Democrats, the party now stands a better chance of winning the newly reconfigured district and sending to of its members to Congress after next years elections.

The new map  approved in recent days by the lower-court judges  also could result in two Black US House members from Alabama serving together for the first time in state history.

Florida

A state judge in September struck down congressional lines for northern Florida that had been championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, ruling that the Republican governors map had improperly diluted Black voting power.

This case, unlike the Alabama fight decided by the US Supreme Court, centers on provisions in the state constitution.

The judge concluded that the congressional boundaries  which essentially dismantled a seat once held by Al Lawson, a Black Democrat, that connected Black communities across a northern reach of the Florida  violated the states Fair Districts amendments, enacted by voters. One amendment specifically bars the state from drawing a district that diminishes the ability of racial minorities to elect representatives of their choice.

Arguments before an appeals court are slated for later this month, with litigants seeking a decision by late November. The case is expected to land before the all-Republican state Supreme Court, where DeSantis appointees hold most seats.

A separate federal case  which argues that the map violates the US Constitution  is pending.

But observers say the outcome of the state litigation is more likely than the federal case to determine whether Florida lawmakers must restore the North Florida district, given the state constitutions especially strong protections for the voting rights of racial minorities and the lower burden of proof required to establish that those rights were abridged.

Georgia

A redistricting case in the Peach State recently decided by a federal judge could result in an additional seat for Democrats.

US District Judge Steve Jones has ordered state lawmakers to draw a new congressional map by December 8, arguing that the Republican-controlled legislature improperly diluted the political power of Black voters in their establishment of district boundaries following the 2020 census.

In his ruling, Jones said state lawmakers had violated the Voting Rights Act

The Court commends Georgia for the great strides that it has made to increase the political opportunities of Black voters in the 58 years since the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Jones wrote. Despite these great gains, the Court determines that in certain areas of the State, the political process is not equally open to Black voters.

Jones wrote that minorities accounted for all of the states population growth over the past decade but that the number of majority-Black congressional and legislative districts remained the same.

Currently, Republicans hold nine of the 14 seats in Georgias congressional delegation. Black people make up a majority, or close to it, in four districts, including three in the Atlanta area.

In 2022, Jones preliminarily ruled that some parts of the Republicans redistricting plan likely violated federal law but allowed the map to be used in that years midterm elections.

A separate federal case in Georgia challenges the congressional map on constitutional grounds and is slated to go to trial in November.

Kentucky

The Kentucky Supreme Court could soon decide whether a map drawn by the states Republican-controlled legislature amounts to what Democrats assert is an extreme partisan gerrymander in violation of the states constitution.

Much of the case focuses on disputes over state legislative maps, but the congressional lines also are at stake, with critics saying lawmakers moved Kentuckys capital city  Democratic-leaning Frankfort  out of the 6th Congressional District and into an oddly shaped  and solidly Republican  1st District to help shore up Republican odds of holding the 6th District.

The 6th District, represented by GOP Rep. Andy Barr, was one of the more competitive seats in Kentucky under its previous lines. (Democrat Amy McGrath came within 3 points of beating Barr in 2018; last year, Barr won a sixth term under the new lines by 29 points.)

A lower-court judge already has ruled that the Republican-drawn map does not violate the states constitution.

Louisiana

The Supreme Courts decision in Alabama could pave the way for a new congressional map in Louisiana ahead of the 2024 election, but the case has quickly become mired in appeals.

Although Black people make up roughly a third of the states population, Louisiana has just one Black lawmaker in its six-member congressional delegation.

A federal judge threw out the states Republican-drawn map in 2022, saying it likely violated the Voting Rights Act. Republican officials in the state appealed to the US Supreme Court, which put the lower-court ruling on hold until it decided the Alabama case, which it did in June this year.

Once the high court weighed in on the Alabama case, the legal skirmishes again lurched to life in Louisiana.

Louisiana Republicans have filed an appeal with the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals and successfully halted a district court hearing to discuss imposing a new, court-ordered map.

On Thursday, the US Supreme Court declined to allow the federal district judge to move forward with discussions about drawing a new map while the appeal advances through the courts.

GOP state officials say, among other things, that they are seeking time to redraw the map themselves. Critics of the states original map argue that Republicans are using legal maneuvers to delay a new redistricting plan, which could result in a second Democratic-leaning seat.

Legal battles that drag on risk judges invoking the so-called Purcell Principle, a doctrine that limits changing voting procedures and boundaries too close to Election Day to guard against voter confusion.

Some of the reason it becomes too late is because, in many of these cases, the state is prolonging the litigation  and buying more time with an illegal map, said Kareem Crayton, senior director for voting and representation at the liberal-leaning Brennan Center for Justice.

New Mexico

Republicans in New Mexico say the congressional lines drawn by the Democrats who control state government amount to an illegal gerrymander under the states constitution.

At stake: a swing district along the US border with Mexico. If Republicans prevail, the seat  now held by a Democratic Rep. Gabe Vasquez  could become more favorable to Republicans.

A state judge recently upheld the map drawn by Democrats, but the New Mexico Supreme Court is expected to review that order on appeal.

New York

Republicans flipped four US House seats in New York in the 2022 midterm elections, victories that helped secure their partys majority in the chamber.

Current legal fights in the Empire State over redistricting, however, could erase those gains.

A state court judge oversaw last years process of drawing the current map following a long legal battle and the inability of New Yorks bipartisan redistricting commission to agree on new lines. But Democrats scored a court victory earlier this year when a state appellate court ruled that the redistricting commission should draw new lines.

Republicans have appealed that decision, and oral arguments are set for mid-November before New Yorks Court of Appeals, the states highest court. The commissions map-making also is on hold.

If Democrats prevail, it could make it easier for their party to pick up as many as six seats now held by Republicans.

North Carolina

North Carolinas legislature, where Republicans hold a supermajority, has drawn new congressional lines that observers say could prove a windfall for the GOP and boost the partys chances of retaining its House majority next year.

The states current House delegation is split 7-7 between Democrats and Republicans.

A map that state lawmakers recently approved puts three House Democrats in what one expert called almost impossible to win districts.

The affected Democrats are Reps. Jeff Jackson, who currently represents a Charlotte-area district; Wiley Nickel, who holds a Raleigh-area seat; and Kathy Manning, who represents Greensboro and other parts of north-central North Carolina.

A fourth Democrat, Rep. Don Davis, saw his district retooled to become more friendly toward Republicans while remaining competitive for both parties.

State-level gains in the 2022 midterm elections have given the GOP new sway over redistricting in this swing state. Last year, Republicans flipped North Carolinas Supreme Court, whose members are chosen in partisan elections. The new GOP majority on the court this year tossed out a 2022 ruling by the then-Democratic leaning court against partisan gerrymandering.

A map that had been created after the Democratic-led high courts ruling resulted in the current even split in the states House delegation.

Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper does not have veto power over redistricting legislation.

South Carolina

A redistricting case pending before the US Supreme Court centers on the future of a Charleston-area seat held by Republican Rep. Nancy Mace, who made headlines recently for joining House GOP hard-liners in voting to remove Kevin McCarthy as speaker.

Earlier this year, a three-judge panel concluded that lines for the coastal 1st Congressional District, as drawn by state GOP lawmakers, amounted to an unconstitutional racial gerrymander.

The Republican lawmakers appealed to the US Supreme Court. And, during oral arguments earlier this month, several justices in the courts conservative majority expressed skepticism that South Carolina officials had engaged in an improper racial gerrymander and seemed inclined to reinstate the lawmakers map.

Utah

The state Supreme Court, in a case it heard in July, is considering whether it even has the authority to weigh in on map-drawing decisions by the GOP-controlled state legislature.

Republican state officials argue that the courts power over redistricting decisions is limited.

Advocacy groups and a handful of voters are challenging a congressional map that further carved up Democratic-leaning Salt Lake County between four decidedly Republican districts.

Doing so, the plaintiffs argued in their lawsuit, takes a slice of Salt Lake County and grafts it onto large swaths of the rest of Utah, allowing Republican voters in rural areas and smaller cities far away from Salt Lake to dictate the outcome of elections.

Other states

Redistricting fights over congressional maps are ongoing in several other states  ranging from Texas to Tennessee  but those cases might not be resolved in time to affect next years elections.

This story has been updated with additional information.

CNNs Ethan Cohen and Renee Rigdon contributed to this report.

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UNHCR says the agency cannot manage to meet the needs of the refugees.

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP)  Cuts to U.N. funding for refugees living in Rwanda is threatening the right to education for children in more than 100,000 households who have fled conflict from different East African countries to live in five camps.

A Burundian refugee, Epimaque Nzohoraho, told The Associated Press on Thursday how his sons boarding school administrator told him his son should not bother coming back to school, because United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had stopped paying his fees.

Nzohoraho doesnt know how much the U.N. refugee agency had been paying, because funds were directly paid to the school, but he had hoped education would save his sons future.

Hutu refugees women and children wait to be registered at Kigali airport Rwanda, after they arrived on the UN plane from Kisangai, Zaire Sunday, May 4, 1997. (AP Photo/Sayyid Azim, File)

Last weekend, UNHCR announced funding cuts to food, education, shelter and health care as hopes to meet the $90.5 million in funding requirements diminished.

UNHCR spokesperson Lilly Carlisle said that only $33 million had been received by October, adding that the agency cannot manage to meet the needs of the refugees.

Rwanda hosts 134,519 refugees  62.20% of them have fled from neighboring Congo, 37.24% from Burundi and 0.56% from other countries, according to data from the countrys emergency management ministry.

Among those affected is 553 refugee schoolchildren qualified to attend boarding schools this year, but wont be able to join because of funding constraints. The UNCHR is already supporting 750 students in boarding schools, Carlisle said. The termly school fees for boarding schools in Rwanda is $80 as per government guidelines.

Funding constraints have also hit food cash transfers, which reduced from $5 to $3 per refugee per month since last year.

Chantal Mukabirori, a Burundian refugee living in eastern Rwandas Mahama camp, says with reduced food rations, her four children are going hungry and refusing to go to school.

Do you expect me to send children to school when I know there is no food? Mukabirori asked.

Carlisle is encouraging refugees to to look for employment to support their families, but some say this is hard to do with a refugee status.

Solange Uwamahoro, who fled violence in Burundi in 2015 after an attempted coup, said going back to the same country where her husband was killed may be her only option.

I have no other option now. I could die of hunger  its very hard to get a job as a refugee, Uwamahoro told the AP.

Rwandas permanent secretary in the emergency management ministry, Phillipe Babinshuti, said the refugees hosted in Rwanda shouldnt be forgotten in light of the increasing number of global conflicts and crises.

The funding effects on education is likely to worsen school enrollment, which data from UNHCR in 2022 showed that 1.11 million of 2.17 million refugee children in the East, Horn of Africa and Great Lakes region were out of school.

Gross enrollment stands at 40% for pre-primary, 67% for primary, 21% for secondary and 2.1% for tertiary education. While pre-primary and primary data are in line with the global trends, secondary and tertiary enrollment rates remain much lower, the UNHCR report read in part.

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Rishi Sunak has called on world leaders to work together to defeat the evil of terrorism and do everything possible to stop a contagion of conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Middle East.

Following his visit to Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, the prime minister said containing the conflict was the overwhelming priority of leaders he spoke to in the region.

And he spoke of the need to keep our aspirations for a more peaceful and stable future firmly in our sights.

Two weeks after Hamas terrorists launched a surprise attack in Israel, killing more than 1,400 civilians, the prime minister said Britain stands in solidarity with the Middle East against terrorism.

He said his visit to the region was a chance to accelerate diplomatic efforts with other world leaders, citing the reopening of the Rafah crossing into Gaza to allow aid trucks in on Saturday as testament to the power of diplomacy.

But, as Israels retaliatory bombardment of Gaza continues, having claimed more than 4,300 lives, Mr Sunak said he was working closely with Egypt to ensure that the UK plays our part in ensuring those Palestinians get the food, water and medicine they so desperately need.

Having returned to his constituency in North Yorkshire, Mr Sunak said: Last week I visited Israel and other countries in the Middle East to demonstrate that the UK stands in solidarity with them against terrorism. That we too know that there can be no justification for the kind of atrocities visited on innocent people by Hamas two weeks ago.

Crowds gather as the first aid trucks crossed the Rafah border into Gaza from Egypt on Saturday (Reuters)

I wanted to sit down with other leaders and talk face to face. Because in times of tension and division, its more important than ever to accelerate diplomatic efforts.

The reopening of the Rafah crossing into Gaza is testament to the power of diplomacy, with the US, Israel and Egypt brokering an agreement to ensure vital aid reaches the Palestinian people. Were working closely with Egypt to ensure that the UK plays our part in ensuring those Palestinians get the food, water and medicine they so desperately need.

The overwhelming view I got from everyone I spoke to this week was that we need to do everything possible to stop a contagion of conflict in the region. We need to keep our aspirations for a more peaceful and stable future firmly in our sights as we work together to defeat the evil of terrorism.

His comments came after the first trucks carrying aid, which had been positioned near the crossing for days, began heading into Gaza. Hundreds of foreign passport holders also waited to cross from Gaza to Egypt to escape the conflict

The number of dead in Gaza rose to 4,385 on Saturday, with 13,651 injured since the conflict between Hamas and Israel escalated two weeks ago, the Palestinian health ministry said. It added the dead included 1,756 children and 976 women.

James Cleverly addressed the Cairo Peace Summit on Saturday (AFP/Getty)

Gazas 2.3 million Palestinians have been rationing food and drinking filthy water, while hospitals say they are running low on medical supplies and fuel for emergency generators amid a territory-wide power blackout.

On Saturday, foreign secretary James Cleverly said he had reminded the Israeli government about its duty to respect international law.

The foreign secretary repeated his support for the countrys right to defend itself against Hamas and to secure the release of those kidnapped by the terror group.

But, speaking at the Cairo Peace Summit, Mr Cleverly added: We are also clear that we must work and they must work to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people in Gaza, and that their actions are in accordance with international law.
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg has given disgraced Los Angeles City Councilman Kevin de Leon the maximum amount of money in campaign donations for the upcoming primary election  $900  out of his own campaign fund from the 2020 mayoral election. Hell be eligible to give de Leon an additional $900 should the L.A. councilman make it to the general election.

Should he? Most certainly not.

Opinion

De Leon and Steinberg have long been close colleagues, with de Leon assuming Steinbergs role as Senate president pro tem back in 2014. De Leon also assisted the Sacramento mayor with his No Place Like Home Initiative, which set aside $2 billion for housing for the homeless and funded projects across the state, including in Sacramento.

But that relationship should have radically changed one year ago, when a racist tape recording of several Los Angeles City Council members, including de Leon, was leaked.

This tape recording was of a private and brutal exchange among the Latino political elite in Los Angeles. De Leon, City Council President Nury Martinez, Los Angeles County Federation of Labor President Ron Herrera and City Councilman Gil Cedillo can be heard verbally attacking Black and gay people with political power. De Leon was not the most vocal in the room, but he did nothing to stop the terrible conversation. Now, he and Cedillo are suing to find out who it was that unlawfully taped and then leaked their words.

Of the four people recorded, Martinez and Herrera eventually resigned from their positions, but Cedillo and de Leon did not, despite mounting calls  including from President Joe Biden  for them to do so. They were both stripped of their committee assignments and chairmanships and were formally censured. Cedillo left the council last December when his term ended.

Meanwhile, de Leon has stubbornly announced his candidacy for another term on the L.A. City Council. According to the L.A. Times, he raised a staggering $117,285 for that campaign in just 10 days, according to quarterly financial filings. So its not as if he needs Steinbergs campaign money.

Among de Leons financial supporters were Cedillo and Herrera  not a great crowd to have our mayors name lumped in with.

If and when the option to donate more money to de Leon becomes available to Steinberg in the general election, he should decline any further financial aid for moral reasons. But if he cant help himself, he should, at the very least, refrain from using old campaign funds to do so.

Those funds were given to Steinberg by supporters with the intent of bettering the Sacramento region, yet Steinberg made a jarring judgment call to use that money in support of a tarnished candidate running in Los Angeles, hundreds of miles away from here. Nobody who gave him that money did so with de Leon in mind.

Moreover, as a savvy political player, Steinberg should have known better than to tie his name  financially or otherwise  to de Leon, regardless of how far back their friendship goes. De Leon may have support in his own district (voters there see him as the least culpable of the recorded quartet, and he is representative of working-class Spanish speakers within the district), but his reputation in the rest of the state is forever tainted.

After the #MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements, there are simply some scandals that politicians will never be able to move on from, and this tape may very well be one of them. That Steinberg is not prepared to answer questions about this donation is telling. His office was not willing to go on the record when asked, but did confirm the donation.

If there was money left over in the war chest, Steinberg should have donated it to a Sacramento-based candidate or even a Sacramento-based charity. While atypical of most politicians with a war chest full of old campaign funds, any of these options would have kept the money here in Sacramento. The least he could have done is honor the intent of those donations, and directed the money toward something local.

De Leon is welcome to try and salvage his political career in Los Angeles. No one deserves to be punished forever. But Steinberg clearly knew this was either bad politics or bad optics  or both  which is why he took a pass on talking about it.

Steinberg has already announced his candidacy for California Attorney General in 2030; of all constitutional offices, thats the one that requires its holder to make countless judgment calls on the right thing to do for further justice. This particular judgment call by Steinberg should not go forgotten in the interim months.

Simply put: If the mayor wants to contribute to his old friends campaign, he needs to dig into his own pocket.
By Heekyong Yang and Soo-hyang Choi

SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korea's Samsung SDI said on Monday it will supply Hyundai Motor with electric vehicle (EV) batteries for seven years starting 2026, marking the first battery supply deal between the two companies.

"The latest supply deal marks the first ever partnership between Samsung and Hyundai Motor Group in the field of electric vehicle batteries," Samsung SDI said in a statement.

The battery maker, which supplies to General Motors Co, Stellantis, BMW among others, added that it will supply prismatic batteries manufactured at its factory in Hungary for Hyundai Motor's EVs targeting the European market from 2026 through 2032.

Samsung SDI did not disclose the size of the deal.

(Reporting by Heekyong Yang, Soo-hyang Choi; Editing by Diane Craft and Jacqueline Wong)
The leader of the Conservative Party in Canada and Justin Trudeaus main opponent in the upcoming elections, Pierre Poilievre, has criticised the Canadian prime ministers handling of the diplomatic row with Delhi once again and said he has reduced himself to a laughing stock in India.

Justin Trudeau is considered a laughing stock in India  the worlds biggest democracy, Mr Poilievre said in an interview with Nepals Namaste Radio Toronto.

Mr Poilievre, who is gearing up to challenge Mr Trudeau in the general elections in 2025, was asked about the bitter situation in the Canada-India relationship.

He put the blame on Mr Trudeau and said he was incompetent and unprofessional and vowed to restore a professional relationship with India if his party came to power.

Speaking of the worsening relationship between the two countries, which led to two-thirds of Canadian diplomats being asked to leave India this week, Mr Poilievre said: This is another example of how Justin Trudeau is not worth the cost after eight long years, Mr Poilievre told the outlet.

He has turned Canadians against each other at home and he has blown up our relations abroad.

He is so incompetent and unprofessional that now we are in major disputes with every major power in the world, and that includes India, the leader of the opposition in Canada said.

We need a professional relationship with the Indian government. India is the largest democracy on Earth and its fine to have our disagreements and hold each other accountable, but we have to have a professional relationship and that is what I will restore when I am prime minister of this country, he added.

Relations between India and Canada have deteriorated to their lowest level in recent months after Trudeau accused Delhi of involvement in the murder of a Sikh separatist leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Mr Poilievre also criticised other aspects of Mr Trudeaus foreign policy, claiming that the Canadian prime minister was letting Joe Biden walk all over him and that China was interfering in Canadian democracy.

After eight years of Trudeau, our reputation is in tatters. Beijing is interfering in our country, opening police stations in Canada to abuse our people.

President Biden is walking all over Trudeau and treating him like a doormat and slapping him around like a rag doll, the opposition leader remarked.
By Arshad Mohammed and Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States sees the prospect of a significant escalation in attacks on its troops in the Middle East and of Iran seeking to widen the Israel-Hamas war, the top U.S. diplomat and defense officials said on Sunday.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that the United States did not want to see the conflict spread and that recent U.S. deployments to the region were designed to prevent this.

Blinken told NBC News that after the release of two U.S. citizens on Friday the United States hoped for more hostages to be freed by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, which attacked Israel on Oct. 7 and killed about 1,400 people.

Israel has since retaliated with deadly air strikes on Gaza, a 45 km-long (25-mile) enclave home to 2.3 million people that has been ruled since 2006 by Hamas. Israel's air strikes have killed over 4,700 people, Palestinian officials say.

"We're concerned about potential escalation. In fact, what we're seeing  is the prospect of a significant escalation of attacks on our troops and our people throughout the region," Austin told ABC's "This Week" program. "If any group or any country is looking to widen this conflict ... our advice is: don't."

The United States has sent significant naval power to the Middle East in recent weeks, including two aircraft carriers, their support ships and about 2,000 Marines.

On Saturday, the Pentagon said it will send a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system and additional Patriot air defense missile system battalions to the region in response to recent attacks.

Last week a U.S. warship shot down more than a dozen drones and four cruise missiles fired by Iranian-backed Houthis from Yemen. Drones and rockets also targeted two bases housing U.S. forces in Iraq.

The United States has 2,500 troops in Iraq, and 900 more in neighboring Syria, on a mission to advise and assist local forces to combat Islamic State, which in 2014 seized swathes of both countries.

Blinken and Austin both spoke of the need to find a longer-term solution for Gaza, which Israel occupied in a 1967 Middle East war.

Israel has amassed tanks and troops near the fenced border around Gaza for a planned ground invasion aiming to annihilate Hamas, after several inconclusive wars dating to its seizure of power there in 2007, after Israel ended a 38-year occupation.

It is not clear what may be Israel's endgame for Gaza.

Blinken said there needed to be a way to ensure Hamas could not again conduct an attack like its rampage on southern Israeli communities on Oct. 7, in which it took about 200 hostages, but one that did not entail Israel resuming governance of Gaza.

"They're different ideas out there about what could follow. But all of that I think needs to be worked and it's something that needs to be worked even as Israel is dealing with the current threat," he added.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh and Arshad Mohammed in Washington; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Andrea Ricci)
Greed at its finest

99 Cents Only Stores halt Fresno CA library branch expansion, (fresnobee.com, Oct. 12)

I know where I will never shop again: the 99 Cents Only Store at First and Bullard. The stores short-sighted decision to not allow the Politi Branch Library to move to the vacant Rite-Aid building indicates a lack of support for the community and the neighborhood.

The library wants to move into the new location and it would generate more foot traffic for all the stores in the shopping center. The 99 Cents claims that there is insufficient parking in the center. As a resident of the neighborhood, I can verify that the parking lot is more than half empty at all times.

Why would I support that store if they cannot support the move of the library to a larger location with more options for those using the library? This is another example of greed at its finest.

Sallie Negin

Fresno

Ridiculous situation

99 Cents Only Stores halt Fresno CA library branch expansion, (fresnobee.com, Oct. 12)

The opposition to the expansion of the Politi Library by the 99 Cents Only Store is short-sighted and selfish. I am a frequent patron of this library, which is currently across the intersection of First and Bullard from the proposed location, and an expanded branch would be an exciting service to the community.

The 99 Cents Only Store apparently claims the library would cause parking problems, but there are hundreds of spots in the lot, and Ive never seen more than half a dozen cars at the library.

While an expanded Politi could host events, surely they would not be often enough to cause a regular issue. More library patrons might even increase business throughout the mall. Store managements proposed solution of having library patrons park, enter and exit through the rear of the building is ridiculous. Loading docks are not meant for pedestrians, and requiring people to use them is an insult and perhaps a safety risk.

The areas County Supervisor is Nathan Magsig and the City Council Representative is Tyler Maxwell. I suggest contacting both.

Wayne Steffen

Fresno

Opinion

Addressing homelessness

Homelessness reaches 10-year high in Fresno, Madera region. Whats behind the increase? (fresnobee.com, July 28)

I am writing this letter to address the issue of homelessness in Fresno, which is hurting our environment. I go to a Fresno school and see homeless individuals on the street daily. It sometimes gets a little scary. Im wondering if there is going to be another solution to the homelessness in our city.

Im a member of a Boy Scout troop, and we do service projects regularly. Ive heard from other Boy Scout troops that they are building tiny homes for homeless people. Im wondering how I could do this for my community to give the homeless people somewhere to live.

Cooper Jones

Sanger

Peace and justice

Gavin Newsom goes to Israel amid war before China visit, (fresnobee.com, Oct. 19)

Growing up Jewish, I accepted the myth of Israel. Jews came to an empty land and developed it into a productive country. Now, I know that when Israel was formed in 1948, around 700,000 Palestinians were displaced and cannot return. Since 1967, Israel has destroyed over 50,000 Palestinian homes and buildings. For these reasons, a two-state solution would be impossible, as Israel controls everything except for two small, noncontiguous sections of the country.

Israel calls itself a democracy, yet Palestinians have few rights, which is particularly true for the over 2 million people who reside in Gaza. Like prisoners, Palestinians cannot leave Gaza, as Israel controls its borders. Imports/exports are under Israeli control. Consequently, there is not enough food, and 95% of water in Gaza is unsafe to drink.

The U.S. constantly sides with Israel and vetoes any attempts to change the situation. We supply Israel with $3.8 billion in military support every year. The U.S. needs to change and work for peace and justice in Israel and Palestine.

Stephen Sacks

Fresno

Palestinian blood on our hands

Gavin Newsom goes to Israel amid war before China visit, (fresnobee.com, Oct. 19)

Palestine was a bomb waiting to explode. Sadly, our government, people and religious institutions are accountable, too. If the Catholic institutions in the Central Valley is any indication, it has openly taught its congregants to revere Israel and ignore Palestine. With President Joe Biden increasing military aid and promoting pro-Israel rhetoric, we are now complicit with Palestinian genocide.

Let us consider that America added fuel to the fire as it co-opted Jerusalem for the site of its embassy, while ignoring the Israelis desecrating Palestinian mosques, disrupting their religious services and harassing their people, villages and way of life. Palestinian cries have fallen on deaf ears as their children, women and elderly are being slaughtered.

Palestine is being attacked and strangled by the Israeli government (armed by Americans), yet, apparently, unlike Ukrainians, they are not valuable enough to receive American military aid to defend themselves. Are Palestinians not white enough to deserve such help? Will the U.S. act to stop the massacre and termination of Palestine people? Unfortunately, their blood is on our hands.

Jovita Harrah

Fresno
After weeks of being stranded at the border with Egypt, a small trickle of aid workers, foreign nationals, and critical medical patients are being allowed to leave Gaza, Palestinian officials announced on Wednesday.

The only way out of the territory is the crossing point at Rafah, which has been sealed to all but a small portion of aid trucks following the 7 October Hamas attacks on Israel.

Heres what you need to know about this critical linchpin for humanitarian aid:

Who is allowed to leave?

Officials at the Gaza border ministry on Wednesday released a list of about 500 people who would be allowed to cross, including aid workers from Doctors Without Borders and the International Committee of the Red Cross, as well as foreign nationals from Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Finland, Indonesia, Japan and Jordan.

More are expected to leave in the coming days.

Egypt is also accepting 81 critical medical patients for treatment, state officials said.

After persistent criticisms that the US wasnt doing enough to rescue Palestinian-Americans trapped in Gaza, a small group of Americans were able to cross through the Rafah gate into Egypt, according to US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.

Roughly 400 Americans are left inside and want to leave, he said on Wednesday, The Washington Post reports.

How much humanitarian aid is entering Gaza from Rafah?

The ongoing war has created a humanitarian catastrophe inside Gaza. More than 1.4m people, over half the territorys population, have been displaced in the fighting, according to UN officials.

Gaza hospitals have run low on supplies and fuel, relying on emergency generators during the regionwide blackout, leaving several unable to function altogether, the health ministry reported.

Nowhere is safe and we simply do not have enough essential supplies to provide for the survival of internally displaced people at this scale, Lisa Doughten, director of the UNs Humanitarian Financing and Resource Mobilization Division, said earlier this week.

There is no way to leave by sea, with Rafah as the only crossing point.

On 21 October, 20 trucks carrying medicine, supplies, food and water arrived via Rafah, delivering the first humanitarian aid into Gaza two weeks after Israels assault began.

The first trucks to enter included medical supplies like trauma bags for first responders as well as 44,000 bottles of drinking water, enough for 22,000 people to drink in a single day, according to UNICEF and the World Health Organization.

The Rafah border opening followed several days of high-level international diplomacy during the deepening crisis including visits to Israel by US President Joe Biden and United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

Prior to President Bidens meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel had refused to allow any flow of aid to Gaza until the release of hostages kidnapped by Hamas.

Since then, the pace has risen to up to 80 trucks per day, though humanitarian groups have stressed that the aid is a drop in the bucket for more than two million people facing exhausted emergency rations and little water in Gaza. The UN says at least 100 such truck deliveries a day are needed to keep pace with the crisis, The New York Times reports.

Deliveries of other crucial supplies like gasoline, used to power hospital generators and other critical infrastructure amid the devastation to Gazas electric grid, remain prohibited.

Is the Rafah border crossing safe?

The US Department of State anticipates that the border will remain fluid and unpredictable during the crisis, according to travel guidance for Americans who may still be trapped in Gaza.

If you assess it to be safe, you may wish to move closer to the Rafah border crossing  there may be very little notice if the crossing opens, and it may only open for a limited time, according to the State Department.

We urge all parties to keep the Rafah crossing open to enable the continued movement of aid that is imperative to the welfare of the people of Gaza, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said earlier this month.

Israel has struck the crossing at least four times since the outbreak of war.

The US administration is working with officials in Israel and Egypt to move American citizens and their immediate family members out of the region, with assistance from the US embassy in Cairo.

A convoy of humanitarian aid trucks arrives in Gaza via the Rafah border crossing through Egypt on 21 October (AFP via Getty Images)

Is the US supporting aid to Gaza?

The Biden administration has pledged $100m in humanitarian aid to Gaza but international relief agencies have urged that much more is desperately needed.

The United States remains committed to ensuring that civilians in Gaza will continue to have access to food, water, medical care, and other assistance, without diversion by Hamas, President Biden said in a statement on 21 October.

We will continue to work with all parties to keep the Rafah crossing in operation to enable the continued movement of aid that is imperative to the welfare of the people of Gaza, and to continue working to protect civilians, consistent with obligations under international humanitarian law, he added.

Egyptian aid workers watch as a truck crosses back into Egypt through the Rafah border crossing with Gaza on 21 October, 2023 (AFP via Getty Images)

What is the history of the Rafah crossing?

The crossing at Gazas southern border with Egypt separates the region from the Sinai desert. It remains the only portion of occupied Palestinian territory that Israel does not effectively control, though Israeli military patrols the skies and has continued to bomb the area. Normally, only Gaza residents with permission and foreign nationals can use the crossing to travel between Gaza and Egypt.

Following a 1982 treaty between Egypt and Israel, the state withdrew from the Sinai Peninsula it had controlled for nearly two decades.

Israel then opened the Rafah crossing, which came under its control until 2005. In the two years that followed, prior to Hamas takeover of Gaza, roughly 450,000 people used the crossing.

Border restrictions on people and goods into the region significantly tightened in 2007. An attack on border fortifications in 2008 prompted the movement of 50,000 Palestinians from Gaza into Egypt for food, fuel and other supplies.

An average of 27,000 people crossed the Rafah border each month according to United Nations data from July. Up until that month, the border was open for 138 days and closed for 74 days this year.

Foreign citizens wait at the Rafah crossing to be allowed to travel on October 21, 2023 in Rafah, Gaza (Getty Images)

Rafahs crossing is now formally controlled by both Egyptian and Palestinian authorities in Gaza. Israeli airstrikes have recently struck areas along the border including designated safe zones where Gaza residents were instructed to move amid ongoing bombardment campaigns, according to The Associated Press.

Egypt has sought to prevent a large number of Palestinians from entering its country over fears of further destabilisation. Instead, Egyptian officials have pressed Israel to commit to allowing aid into Gaza.

Of course, we sympathize. But be careful, while we sympathize, we must always be using our minds in order to reach peace and safety in a manner that doesnt cost us much, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi said last week.
Former Vice President Mike Pence said Sunday that Israeli forces conducting a ground invasion into Gaza is necessary to eliminate Hamas in its war against the militant group.

During an appearance on NBCs Meet The Press, Pence told moderator Kristen Welker that bipartisan support for Israel is important during this time, noting that Hamass attack on Israel was the most brutal assault on the Jewish people since the Holocaust.

I think its important that American leaders in both parties speak with one voice  The world needs to know this: America stands with Israel, Pence said.

And we need to stand with Israel as they prepare to do what needs to be done, which is going to require a ground invasion, he continued. Theyre going to have to hunt down and destroy Hamas once and for all.

Pence, a 2024 GOP presidential hopeful, also told Welker that he wouldve sent American troops on the ground in Gaza to assist their Israeli allies. Pence detailed how he would direct them to help the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) with the ongoing hostage situation.

The U.S. announced Friday that it had secured the release of two Americans taken hostage by Hamas during its terror attack against Israel, adding that Qatar and Israel helped with the release of the mother and daughter duo.

I mean, look, I welcome the release of two American hostages this week. Im grateful for that. But going hat in hand to Qatar and standing by while Hamas decides whether theyre going to release another hostage is totally unaccepted, Pence told Welker.

We are the leader of the free world. We are Israels strongest ally on the planet. We need to send a message to Hamas that, You need to turn those hostages back over, or youll answer not just to Israeli Defense Forces, but youll answer to the United States Armed Forces.

Pences remarks come as Hamas, which is recognized as a terrorist organization by the U.S., launched an attack on Israel nearly two weeks ago that left 1,400 people dead. Most of those killed were civilians.

In response, Israel launched retaliatory attacks on Gaza, an area controlled by Hamas, that have killed at least 4,385 Palestinians and wounded 13,561 others, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

President Biden announced last week that he sent an urgent budget request to Congress for additional aid to Ukraine and Israel, which is expected to amount to $100 billion.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Former Vice President Mike Pence said he would put boots on the ground in Gaza if he were president Friday.

Were talking about Americans now, Pence, a 2024 GOP presidential primary candidate, told CNN anchor Jake Tapper. Jake, were talking about Americans that have been captured and taken hostage, by the brutal Hamas terrorists.

Pence said he welcomed the release of two Americans taken as hostages by the Palestinian militant group Hamas during its attack on Israel earlier this month.

I said the better part of two weeks ago, Jake, that if I was president, I would have already been on the phone with the Joint Special Operations Command, I would have given orders for Delta Force and the Navy SEALs to be prepared to work with Israeli Defense Forces to engage in hostage rescue and then I woulda told Hamas that you have you got 12 hours to turn loose every American, every Israeli hostage or were gonna come and get em, Pence said.

Biden said he was overjoyed at the release of the two American hostages yesterday in a statement.

These individuals and their family will have the full support of the United States government as they recover and heal, and we should all respect their privacy in this moment, Biden said.

Pence isnt the only GOP presidential primary candidate who has said he would want American military force involved in the Israel-Hamas conflict. Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) said Thursday he would ask Congress to authorize the use of military force against Hamas.

As President, I would ask Congress to give authorization for military force against Hamas, Hutchinson, a 2024 GOP presidential primary candidate, said in an interview on NewsNation.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Members of the Jewish community are holding up posters of missing Israelis

A pro-Israel demonstration has been taking place as part of calls for the safe return of hostages from Gaza.

Protesters in London's Trafalgar Square have held up photos of those missing, with their names being read out from the steps of the National Gallery.

Security in the square was high with a significant police presence, a BBC reporter at the scene said.

Many in the crowd chanted "bring them home" and clutching signs that say "release the hostages".

It comes a day after pro-Palestine protests took place in cities across the UK.

The Israel flag has been visible across the event and a minute's silence, as well a group prayer, was following speeches from MPs and leaders of the Jewish community.

The Israeli flag is prominent among demonstrators

More on Israel Gaza war

Representatives from the Community Security Trust, a charity that works to protect the Jewish community, have also taken part in the protest.

The president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, Marie van der Zyl, who has attended, said: "The world has got to see that these hostages were cruelly and barbarically taken, they have to be released.

"The world should put pressure on those who can have any influence to release these innocent hostages who have suffered unbearable trauma and torment, let the hostage comes home."

Communities Secretary Michael Gove urged Israel to "stand strong", adding "Britain stands with Israel".

Addressing demonstrators, he said: "There are no words to describe the suffering of families who have seen their relatives butchered in front of them and relatives who live in hope that those who were living peacefully in their homes just two weeks ago and are now in a Hamas dungeon should be freed."

'Let Eliya go!' reads one poster

Earlier, grieving families gathered in Trafalgar Square to highlight the children kidnapped by Hamas.

Organised by four London mothers, the flash installation featured a buggy to represent each of the children missing.

Hamas - a proscribed terrorist organisation in the UK, US and European Union - launched a deadly attack against Israeli civilians on 7 October.

More than 1,400 people were killed when gunmen breached security at the Gaza barrier and raided communities in southern Israel, with survivors reporting widespread atrocities including torture and bodies being burnt. More than 200 people were taken to Gaza as hostages.

Officials in Hamas-controlled Gaza say more than 4,600 people have been killed over the last two weeks after Israel began retaliatory air strikes.

'It's heartbreaking'

Protester Nivi, who joined those at the installation, said her children were at a summer camp in Israel with one of the boys who is believed to be one of the hostages.

She said: "They were showing pictures of the hostages and my eight-year-old said, 'Mummy, this is Ohad. Ohad was with me at camp'.

"And he asked me, 'Why is his picture there? And I had to tell him, 'Well he's one of the kids that the bad people took away', it's heartbreaking".

Nivi (left) at the buggy flash installation

Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk
Ryan Wilcken is a candidate for the Thompson School District Board of Education District A seat in the November 2023 election in Larimer County, Colo.

Name: Ryan Wilcken

Race: Thompson School District Board of Education District A

Q: Why are you interested in running for a seat on the Board of Education and what are your qualifications?

A: It is my goal for every student to be academically supported to the very best of the district's abilities. I want our students to grow and graduate as successful and confident young adults. As far as qualifications, I am a district volunteer and an active community member. I believe in our kiddos, I believe in our parents, and I believe in our district.

Q: What is the biggest issue facing the school district, and, if elected, how would you address it?

A: I believe it is crucial to partner with parents. It's important that we invite parents back into our schools and that they be heard. We also have to keep in mind we have a diverse community and respecting all our families with our education model is important. Focusing more on the fundamentals of academia would be a great start.

Q: How do you define parental rights as it pertains to public education? What level of input should parents/guardians have in curriculum selection and content?

A: We as parents ultimately have all the rights and responsibilities for children's care, upbringing and education. We need our curriculum to be focused on the facts of academics.

Q: Learning loss during the COVID-19 pandemic, when schools switched to remote and hybrid instruction, is significant across the nation. What should the school district be doing to close that gap?

A: Based on the data I have seen, we stayed pretty even from 2018-2022. Presently reading proficiency levels are down a couple percentage points since 2022.

Q: As our average temperatures in Colorado continue to rise, should all schools have central air-conditioning? If not why? If so, how should adding it to those without be funded?

A: The $104 million-plus to renovate air conditioning into our schools, that is a large sum of money, and I believe we have to evaluate if it makes sense to invest in the schools that are 20-plus years old. I have also spoken to many parents and community members on this topic, and another suggestion would be to start earlier in the year like it is done in many other districts across our nation.

Q: We are in a high-growth area that will continue to require the building of new schools. What steps should the school district take to ensure equity among students in both old and new facilities?

A: I see Berthoud's growth requiring new schools in the near future. I would need to fully understand if we are at full capacity in our existing schools. I do know that we have decommissioned and combined schools in the recent past.

Q: Given the rising cost of living in Northern Colorado, what steps should be taken to ensure the district is able to attract and retain the best teachers, administrators and district leaders?

A: Monetary compensation is always an attraction, but having a district with a great reputation will attract and retain the best teachers. This reputation starts with great leadership. I also believe that our teachers need to feel supported in the classroom with special education teachers and paraprofessionals by their side. I also believe the students should be held more accountable for poor behavior.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Q&A with Ryan Wilcken, running for Thompson school board District A
Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley speaks to a crowd of more than 100 potential caucusgoers Saturday at Central College in Pella. The stop in Pella concluded Haley's two-day swing in Iowa.

PELLA  Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley says she is haunted by Hamas' unprecedented ground attack on Israel.

The former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations told more than 100 potential caucusgoers in Pella on Saturday that she previously warned world leaders about Hamas, an Islamic militant group, and its plans to cross over into Israel and "kill as many Israelis as fast as they can."

The former South Carolina governor, who was appointed ambassador by her leading rival for the GOP nomination, former President Donald Trump, said she informed officials five years ago about Hamas' maps that listed the first Israeli communities "to go" once the group got past Israel's Gaza border fence  a warning, she added, that has now come to fruition.

"The first thing I said to (the Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin) Netanyahu when this happened was: 'Finish them,'" she told voters at a town hall event at Central College.

Haley to DeSantis: 'That's what happens when your campaign starts to spiral out'

Haley's appearance Saturday at the college's Graham Conference Center was among her stops on a two-day campaign swing in Iowa.

She held a town hall event Friday afternoon at The Avacentre in Cedar Rapids before heading to Iowa City for U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks' annual "Triple MMM" fundraiser. There, she joined a few of her opponents, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who in the last week has lobbed jabs against Haley and falsely claimed that she wants the U.S. to take in refugees from Gaza, the Palestinian territory controlled by Hamas since 2007.

Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley waves to audience members during U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks', R-Iowa, Triple MMM Tailgate event in Iowa City, Iowa on Friday, Oct. 20, 2023. The event featured remarks from several candidates for the Republican Party's nomination for President. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette via AP)

Earlier this week, Never Back Down, the super PAC supporting DeSantis, posted a 55-second-long clip of Haley on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, as she spoke about the people of Gaza to CNN host Jake Tapper. Tapper during a recent interview had asked Haley to respond to a comment DeSantis made about all residents of Gaza being anti-Semitic.

"We cannot accept people from Gaza into this country as refugees. I am not going to do that. If you look at how they behave  not all of them are Hamas, but they are all anti-Semitic, none of them believe in Israels right to exist," DeSantis said Oct. 16 while on the campaign trail in Iowa. "None of the Arab states are willing to take any of them.

Haley told Tapper she saw a divide between Gazans and Palestinians, where one half "didn't want to be under Hamas' rule" and have their lives run by "terrorists" and the rest supported the militant organization.

More: Pence says 'America stands with Israel'; Trump says 'it would have never happened with me'

"There are so many of these people who want to be free from this terrorist rule. They want to be free from all of that. And America's always been sympathetic to the fact that you can separate civilians from terrorists. And that's what we have to do," she said. "But right now, we can never take our eyes off of the terrorists. I mean, what Hamas did was beyond thuggish, brutal and sick."

The latter part of her statement was cut from the clip Never Back Down shared.

Haley repeatedly has refuted DeSantis' claim of her support for accepting Gaza refugees and continued to do so Saturday after a woman asked her to clarify her stance.

"God bless Ron DeSantis," Haley responded, "because he continues to try and bring up this refugee situation. He said I want to take in Gazan refugees. I have never said that, and he's got an ad on TV. And I will tell you from CNN to Newsy, they have all said that his ad is lying."

Haley went on to explain that she has stated that Middle Eastern countries such as Qatar should take in refugees from Gaza. As governor of South Carolina, Haley said, she refused to welcome refugees from Syria to her home state after the Paris terror attacks in 2015.

"So, that's your answer," Haley told the woman and the audience, then took her own dig at DeSantis: "And God bless him if he keeps doing it. That's what happens when your campaign starts to spiral out."

Trump has 'problems' and is 'a liability,' voters say

Haley appears to be increasingly a target for opponents as she climbs in the polls and her campaign team expands, especially in Iowa. Trump, who remains by far the polling frontrunner in the 2024 GOP nomination race, called Haley a "birdbrain" on the social media platform Truth after her second debate performance on Sept. 27. His campaign allegedly sent her a birdcage and a small bag of bird food during her stop in Iowa earlier this month.

DeSantis has long polled second behind Trump, but his position may be hanging in the balance, with Haley now in that No. 2 spot in New Hampshire and South Carolina, another early-voting state. Recent polls from FiveThirtyEight show Haley in third place nationally and in Iowa.

Republican voters like Gerad Wagner and wife Trudy say they are ready for a new leader in the White House. The Cedar Rapids couple said they were Trump supporters but now find themselves drawn to Haley and came to see her Friday at her event in their hometown.

Gerad Wagner, 61, said he sees Haley as the "most electable" out of the shrinking pool of GOP presidential candidates  and that she has the "least baggage."

"I think she has the ability to bring people together," he said.

Victoria Angeles, 65, of Cedar Falls, echoed his sentiments. For Angeles, who attended the same event Friday as the Wagners, it's between Haley and Trump. She said she "really loves Trump" despite "his problems" but thinks Haley would "be an amazing president."

If Haley is named the Republican presidential nominee, Angeles said, she hopes Trump would be her vice presidential running mate, and vice versa.

"They're both very good," she said.

But 27-year-old Ryan Kelly said his first pick is still DeSantis  a decision, he said, that became clearer after attending Haley's town hall event in Pella. Kelly, a Des Moines resident, said he believes DeSantis is "a little more forceful" than Haley and that he has been a fan of the Florida governor since he resisted calls for a statewide shutdown during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"He has a record of putting wins on the scoreboard against the left, which Haley really doesn't. And I don't think that's really even in her intuition to do that," Kelly said.

Still, he told the Des Moines Register, he is among the Republican voters seeking an alternative to Trump and that if Haley were the GOP presidential nominee, he would have "no problem at all" voting for her.

Of Trump, Kelly said he is "old," "decrepit" and "a liability."

"He's lost us four consecutive election cycles in a row, and I don't think he's learned anything. I don't think there's changing," he said.

F. Amanda Tugade covers social justice issues for the Des Moines Register. Email her at ftugade@dmreg.com or follow her on Twitter @writefelissa.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Gaza refugees unwelcome, Haley says in Iowa, refuting DeSantis' claim
Smith Rock State Park in Oregon. Wolfgang Kaehler/Light`rocket via Getty Imager

An Oregon rock climber was arrested and charged on Thursday, according to multiple reports.

Samson Zebturiah Garner was plotting to kill several climbers at a rock climbing event, police said.

Police said they found several weapons in the back of Garner's car. His motives are not known.

A rock climber plotted to kill several people at a popular mountaineering event in Oregon this weekend, Deschutes County Sheriff's deputies alleged.

Samson Zebturiah Garner, 39, was arrested on attempted murder and other charges on Thursday, police said, according to local media.

He was planning on shooting attendees of the annual Craggin' Classic event in Smith Rock, located in central Oregon's High Desert.

The Deschutes County Sheriff's Office said they were tipped off by two people who had heard Garner speaking about his plan to attack the climbers during another climbing event earlier in the week.

They said they found several weapons in his vehicle, including a Beretta and Sig Sauer 9mm handguns and an AR-15 rifle.

Police recovered journal entries that indicate Garner was "planning a violent attack," Sergeant Jason Wall told reporters on Friday. Garner was not planning to target specific people, but had a "generalized anger," Wall added.

Garber's exact motives are not known, Wall said.

The Deschutes County Sheriff's Office did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Garner was charged with attempted murder of multiple victims, attempted first-degree assault, attempted second-degree assault, and unlawful use of a weapon and is scheduled to appear in court on October 27.

The 39-year-old is a Portland resident who has worked in IT and is an avid climber.

He has a membership with the Mazamas, a mountaineering education nonprofit, according to its executive director, Rebekah Phillips. She said while Garner's membership was current, his involvement with the group had been "limited since 2018," according to Gripped Magazine.

The Craggin' Classic event in Smith Rock is organized by The American Alpine Club and held annually. It includes films, presentations, and vendor villages and people climb in the area, according to its website.

Smith Rock is considered the birthplace of American sport climbing.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Corrections & Clarifications: An earlier version of this story misidentified Michigan State Sen. Stephanie Chang's title.

DETROIT  Mourners attended a funeral service Sunday afternoon for a synagogue president found stabbed to death outside her home as investigators announced that they've found no evidence yet that the murder was driven by antisemitism.

Police Chief James White said on Sunday that there are no early indications that that the killing was motivated by hate. He added that investigators were working with the FBI to analyze forensic evidence to piece together a timeline leading to Wolls death and more information would be revealed Monday.

"No evidence has surfaced suggesting that this crime was motivated by antisemitism," White said in a statement. He did not elaborate on whether police have a motive in mind or a suspect.

The chief had previously urged the public to not draw conclusions until "all of the available facts are reviewed." Late Saturday, he said in a statement that his department "has been leveraging every law enforcement and community resource it has to help further the investigation.

The body of Samantha Woll, 40, was found outside her home in a neighborhood east of downtown Detroit.

Samantha Woll, 40, led the Isaac Agree Downtown Detroit Synagogue and was heavily involved in local, state and national politics. She previously worked for U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin and Michigan State Sen. Stephanie Chang, and on the reelection campaign of Michigan's Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel.

But as the Detroit community and loved ones gathered at the Hebrew Memorial Chapel in Oak Park, Michigan, on Sunday, Woll was remembered as more than a community leader. Speaking through tears and laughter, loved ones recalled Woll's "infectious smile" and her ability to put people at ease  bringing the community together.

Woll's sister, Dr. Monica Woll Rosen, shared loving memories of her sister and described her as the "kindest, most generous human I've ever met."

"Your soul was beautiful and pure. You loved with all your heart. You never said no but how can I help?" Woll Rosen added, addressing her late sister. "You so deeply wanted peace for this world. You fought for everyone regardless of who they were or where they came from. You were the definition of a leader. Our world is shattered without you."

Mourners noted that attendees of the service included people belonging to many different religions, which friends and family said symbolized who Woll was. Many, including Nessel, had praised Woll for her sense of justice for all and the interfaith work she had done in the community.

Loved ones, such as family, friends and colleagues, spoke through tears and laughter as they spoke about her nature. They made jokes about her food allergies and how when she was complimented on something she wore, she would take it off and offer it.

Nessel called statements and sentiments about Woll "a fact" and "not an opinion," especially Woll's "passion for equal treatment for all people in every space." Nessel shared that she had been looking at old photos and was amazed at how active Woll was.

"She was omnipresent," Nessel joked. She was at every campaign event, every political protest, every religious service, every ribbon cutting. I think I saw her in a picture of the moon landing. I dont know how she could be so many places at the same time."

Synagogue leader fatally stabbed: Detroit police investigate motive

Police: No evidence of hate crime in death of Samantha Woll

Detroit police responded to a call that an unresponsive woman was found in the city's upscale Lafayette Park neighborhood at 6:30 a.m. Saturday. Woll was pronounced dead of multiple stab wounds at the scene. A trail of blood led back to the victim's nearby home, where investigators said she likely was fatally stabbed.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer described the killing as a "vicious crime" and urged the community to rally around friends and loved ones.

My heart breaks for her family, her friends, her synagogue and all those who were lucky enough to know her, Whitmer said in a statement, calling Woll "a source of light, a beacon in her community who worked hard to make Michigan a better place.

Samantha Woll remembered as an 'angel' and for her interfaith work

Woll, who was born and raised in the Detroit area, was a University of Michigan graduate. She became the president of the board of directors at Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue in 2022.

Woll was well known in metro Detroit's Jewish community and as a political and community activist. And although she loved to travel the world, "there was no one who loved the city of Detroit more," her family wrote.

"She was an angel and there was truly no one kinder," Woll's family wrote in her obituary.

But "most importantly, Samantha was a ray of sunshine to all that knew her. She was the light in any room because of her beautiful smile and her warmth," Woll's family wrote. They'll remember her joy, her infectious laugh. Her incredible compassion, tireless activism, her passion for making the world a better place.

The Michigan chapter of Council on American Islamic Relations called her death a tragic loss" and noted interfaith work with Wolls congregation, including a prayer vigil for the victims of the deadly 2018 attack on a Pennsylvania synagogue.

We are troubled by the horrific murder of Samantha Woll, a beloved leader within her faith community in Metro Detroit, Dawud Walid, the Muslim advocacy groups executive director, said in a Saturday statement.

'Always worried about our safety': Jews and Palestinians in US fearful after Hamas attack

Safety concerns for Jewish, Palestinians in US since war began

Security at synagogues and other sites across metro Detroit had been increased in the days since Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip crashed into Israel in a bloody attack Oct. 7. Hamas later called for a global Day of Rage," citing Israel's violent counterattacks.

The war has heightened security concerns in Jewish, Israeli and Palestinian-linked communities across the United States. Worried about local attacks, leaders in many areas increased security and urged community members to be vigilant.

Contributing: Cybele Mayes-Osterman, Christopher Cann, USA TODAY; The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Samantha Woll funeral: Detroit synagogue leader was community 'beacon'
With a little more than two weeks to go until Kentuckians elect their next governor, candidates Andy Beshear and Daniel Cameron used Saturday nights televised debate to hone their lines of attack on one another.

Over the course of 60 minutes on WLKY in Louisville, Beshear, the Democratic incumbent, and Cameron, the Republican challenger, sparred over the familiar territory of abortion, education and the state of the commonwealths economy, which had all been addressed in previous meetings between the two this month.

But they also covered new ground  at least in this series of five debates, which continues Monday  on the issues of the COVID-19 pandemic, diversity and the opioid epidemic.

Here are highlights from Saturdays debate.

Role of racial equity and diversity in policy

Televised exclusively by WLKY, Saturdays debate focused on a number of Louisville-centric questions.

Racial inequities continue to be an issue here in Louisville, WLKY Reporter Mark Vanderhoff said. How does racial equity and diversity factor into your policy decision making?

Beshear, the first to respond, said he believes our diversity makes us stronger.

People from different backgrounds coming together and finding a common way forward. And I have tried to be intentional  intentional about investments in areas that havent seen it and far too long, Beshear continued.

Beshear touted a number of projects underway or completed in the predominantly Black West End of Louisville, including 350 jobs from Stellar Snacks, the final beam placed in the Norton West Louisville Hospital and the West Broadway YMCA location.

Its not enough, but it is a start, he said. In this red-hot economy, weve got to deliver jobs everywhere, in parts of Kentucky too often left out, and in the neighborhoods of this city too often left out, and we are delivering.

Cameron rebutted by saying the economy is not red-hot and that Beshear was trying to gaslight the audience at home.

Cameron  who if elected would be the first Black governor of Kentucky  went on to say that when it comes to addressing inequities, the major thing that we need to focus on is the violent crime spike in the city, which requires leadership Beshear has not provided.

And then on the topic of education, Cameron said. Again, education is key to success in the future, regardless of what your skin colors like. This governor shuts you down for two years and weve got the learning loss because of it.

COVID-19 response: Saving lives vs. making mistakes

On the campaign trail and in commercials, Cameron and his GOP allies have repeatedly prosecuted the case against Beshears handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, which came to Kentucky just three months into the governors tenure.

While Republicans have slammed Beshear for closing churches, schools and businesses, Beshear has maintained his decisions were a matter of life versus death  all points made from the television studio Saturday.

WLKY Anchor Caray Grace, the debates moderator, asked the candidates what successes and failures of the past response would they take into the future, in the event of another pandemic.

Well, look, I would not do what this governor did, and shut down your small businesses and shut down your churches and shut down our schools and we have significant learning loss because of it, Cameron said in responding first. He infringed upon your constitutional rights.

Look, we have a responsibility to make sure that we look after our neighbors, but what you saw from Gov. Beshear was draconian. It was a decision  a top-down decision  to shut down parts of our commonwealth and each pick winners and losers.

What exactly should be done to look after our neighbors in the event of another pandemic, Cameron did not say.

In responding, Beshear reiterated that the pandemic was real, killing more than 18,000 Kentuckians.

I think about all the brave nurses and doctors that walked into COVID wings without PPE and, how this attorney generals refusal to act like this pandemic was as deadly as it was, is a slap in the face that the heroism that they showed, Beshear said. The fact that he claims that he would never have even paused education would have sent thousands of teachers with many health issues into a classroom before vaccines were even available.

I made decisions to save lives. Its clear this attorney general would have played politics that would have caused more death, more destruction. Id rather save lives than win re-election.

In Camerons rebuttal, he likened Beshear to his California counterpart, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.

You know, its one thing for Gavin Newsom to tell you that he regrets some of the decisions that he made, but youll never hear that from Andy Beshear, because hes too proud and will never say that he made mistakes during the pandemic, Cameron said.

Pressing issues fighting the opioid epidemic

Before Camerons tenure as attorney general, Beshear held the office for four years. Because of that, both mens administrations played roles in lawsuits against opioid manufacturers and distributors.

Beshear played up his record of having personally filed and argued such lawsuits in court, while Cameron boasted that settlement dollars came in under his administration.

Ive been proud to be the attorney general that is in the process of bringing nearly $900 million to the state to fight this drug epidemic, Cameron said. And the reason that were able to bring this money to the state is because I said that we dont need to just file lawsuits, we need to hold these companies accountable.

Beshear shot back that Cameron cant settle a lawsuit thats never been filed.

As Attorney General I sued more opioid manufacturers and distributors than any other in the country, Beshear said. I was so mad that if I could have found others I would have sued them, too. Unlike this attorney general, I went to work and personally argued, when they sent their big-city lawyers in and tried to blame it on us, tried to get out of court without paying a dime.

Beshear said Camerons partisanship made him unable to acknowledge his predecessors work on the matter, noting professionalism is supposed to be better than that.
Lenny Henrys Three Little Birds has been described by ITV as a triumphant and life-affirming Windrush drama, celebrating immigration and community. Im not so sure, because in the first half of this innovative, soap-like miniseries, theres precious little that feels remotely triumphant.

Cathartic, yes; life-affirming, not so much. Three little birds (I assume a reference to the Bob Marley song), all in their twenties, come to England from Jamaica in 1957. They arrive about a decade after the first wave of the Windrush generation, and thus are able to settle with an established Caribbean community to help them, and before the 1962 Commonwealth Immigration Act removed the automatic right to settle in the UK as a British (empire) subject.

Chronologically, this was the group to arrive, bewildered, just in time to experience the early waves of crude discrimination and race riots in west London and the Midlands.

Theres Chantrelle (Saffron Coomber), an adventurous type who dreams of being a film star. In stark contrast to her is Hosanna (Yazmin Belo), a proud Christian and daughter of the local pastor back home (a cameo for Lenny Henry, who wrote the show with Russell T Davies). Hosanna clutches her family bible to her chest on raucous nights out as if it were a kind of morality shield. Shes over in the UK looking for a hubby.

Most serene of the trio is Leah (Rochelle Neil), who has no choice but to escape grinding rural poverty and a drunken abusive husband, and who leaves her three kids behind with their gran in the hope of bringing them over later on.

All are immensely sympathetic characters, played with a vivid sensitivity. They thus represent what a pollster might term a representative sample, and there are lots of insightful glimpses into the lifestyle of the community at the time  the house parties with music from home because they were unwelcome in the pub, the informal partner savings schemes, the patois, and that terrible anguish about why, tough as life was in the British West Indies, it seemed like paradise compared to freezing, dull, grey England.

An awful lot of Three Little Birds makes one ashamed to be British  and so it should. Anyone with a sense of racial justice, or just common decency, ought to be appalled. The Windrush generation were treated badly  cold-shouldered by their neighbours, their local boozers, and even the churches they were made to feel were not for them. The series is extremely effective in conveying that routine cruelty that was meted out to those who came to make a better life in Borehamwood or Dudley.

The people who came to this country in that era had tremendous spirit  any migrant must possess that quality, by definition. They also had great resilience and a fine work ethic, contrary to the racist mythology  they did the jobs the locals didnt fancy, and for less money. For their efforts they were given a hostile reception, and subjected to the kind of open, hurtful abuse that would now be illegal  and is mercifully, at least as my memory serves me, less commonplace and blatant these days.

We all know about it, and have witnessed it one way or another, but somehow seeing vicious, violent racial attacks on screen, and it all taking place within the cosy world of post-war England, as its often been portrayed in TV dramas (Call the Midwife, the Miss Marple mysteries, Heartbeat), makes it all the more jarring. This was indeed a world where a pub could have every window smashed in by the Teds, just for serving Black customers. Only for reasons of taste and decency are the racial epithets and the racially aggravated injuries toned down in Three Little Birds. Its a small mercy for the viewer.

So Sir Lennys semi-autobiographical tale starts as a rather depressing and sometimes disturbing watch. Seeing the girls naive dreams  that theyll soon end up having high tea at the Ritz with Queen Elizabeth  being crushed is almost too much to bear. All through the episodes there is a terrible sense of foreboding, just knowing they will end up in overcrowded slum housing, working for a pittance, being spat at, told to go back to Africa.

In Chantrelles case, she ends up in a state of genteel slavery as a skivvy for a prosperous middle-class family. She is patronised and bullied by the white housewife, and molested by the creepy husband. Hers is an especially heartbreaking story. Theres a lot unresolved in the early episodes, which makes one want to see all the more if the little birds ever get to fly as time goes by.

The drama, as I guess was intended, makes one ponder how we can live in a country, decades later, where people in public life, and many more lurking in the more vexatious corners of social media, feel free to declare that multiculturalism isnt working, and that mass migration was a failure. If so, you have to ask whose fault it is. Lenny Henry gives us an answer.
Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) defended his previous comments in which he alleged that President Biden has blood on his hands in the wake of Hamass deadly attacks on Israel, claiming he does not regret the comment aimed at the White Houses prisoner swap with Iran last month.

Asked on ABC Newss This Week if he regrets the comment, Scott said, I dont actually, Im a happy warrior without any question. But we are now in the midst of a conflict, and so the warrior requires responsibility to start at the top.

When you think about the fact that the weakness of Joe Biden attracts conflict around this world, and frankly, the negotiations with Iran  was specifically [what] I was talking about, Scott continued. [$6 billion] for hostages only creates a bigger market for Americans abroad.

When This Week co-anchor Jonathan Karl tried to interject, Scott continued, Let me finish, Jon. That money  we know Hamass first thank you was to Iran. Ninety percent of their money comes from Iran. Put those pieces of the puzzle together. Thats why the administration froze those dollars just last week.

Scott, also running in the Republican presidential primary race, has been vocally critical in recent weeks over the Biden administrations previously released $6 billion in frozen Iranian funds in the wake of Israels war with Hamas, which is recognized as a terrorist organization by the U.S. and other countries.

Last month, the Biden administration agreed to unfreeze $6 billion in frozen Iranian funds in exchange for the freedom of five wrongfully detained American citizens. In doing so, the Biden administration granted clemency to five Iranians and issued a blanket waiver for international banks to allow the transfer of $6 billion of Iranian oil sale proceeds, frozen in South Korea, to a bank in Qatar.

The $6 billion deal came under renewed criticism after Hamas, which is supported by Iran, launched a surprise attack against Israel earlier this month that killed more than 1,400 people  mostly civilians  and wounded thousands of others. Iran is a longtime backer of Hamas.

U.S. officials claim the Iranian funds, which were restricted to humanitarian use, remained unspent in the wake of the attacks, though critics have argued Iran anticipated the influx of cash and moved other resources to Hamas as a result.

Reiterating the U.S. officials claims, Karl suggested Scotts claim that Biden was complicit in Hamass attacks is beyond the pale.

Theres no doubt that, when you have President Biden negotiating with the Iranians for the release of hostages  I said this under President Obama as well  when  we paid $400 million for hostages, you are creating a market for American lives to be lost, Scott said, in reference to Obamas $400 million cash payment to Iran, which Republicans criticized as amounting to ransom for hostages.

When you pay $6 billion, do not be surprised when the result of that $6 billion leads to more conflict in the Middle East, Scott continued. Im saying with great clarity that weakness from the American president, plus the negotiations, leading to terrorist attacks by negotiating with the No. 1 state sponsor of terrorism in the world. Yes, it creates complicity.

Scott argued that while whoever pulls the trigger is primarily responsible, this does not release Biden as being complicit and responsible in what were seeing.

Amidst mounting pressure from several lawmakers, including Scott, to freeze the funds, the U.S. reached an agreement earlier this month with the Qatari government to block Iran from accessing the $6 billion.

Scott has long supported U.S. sanctions on Iran. Earlier this year, he, along with a bipartisan group of senators, introduced the Solidify Iran Sanctions Act, which would make permanent the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996, legislation that limits funding for Irans energy sector.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
1975: Wyandotte County native Roger Golubski, who had attended high school at Savior of the World Seminary, which closed in 1987, and then college at Rockhurst University, chose courses that indicated an interest in both abnormal psychology and Catholic theology.

But instead of becoming a priest, as hes said he wanted to do, Golubski graduated from the police academy in 1975, and at age 23, joined the Kansas City Kansas Police Department.

1978: On Page 4 of the April 24, 1978, edition of The Kansas City Times, the paper reported that Golubski had been cleared in the death of an intoxicated 41-year-old man, Kenneth Borg, who had died from internal bleeding after Golubski hit him with a nightstick.

The coroners jury that ruled the death accidental, and that attributed it to alcoholism, included the wife of a police colleague of Golubskis. Asked about the propriety of allowing the wife of a police officer to serve on the jury, the story said, Nick A. Tomasic, district attorney, responded: Anybody has a right to serve. Shes not exempt because shes a policemans wife. 

Golubski said he struck the man a glancing blow after Borg took a swing at him in the police garage. The newspaper account said the ruling disregarded testimony that the man had been handcuffed at the time, and alas, No one said they saw Golubski strike Borg at the police station, including another policeman who was in the nearby patrol car that had brought Borg to the garage.

Wyandotte County Coroner Alan C. Hancock, now deceased, who later signed many of the death certificates of murdered women connected to Golubski, testified that the kind of blow that Golubski had said he had delivered could not have caused Borgs death.

Golubski was not internally sanctioned, then or ever, and continued to be promoted throughout his 35 years in the department.

Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, according to an affidavit from now retired FBI agent Alan Jennerich, I investigated officers of the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department who were suspected of engaging in a variety of illegal activity including drug trafficking, soliciting, payoffs, using excessive force and stealing from those they were sworn to protect. In all, I investigated perhaps 15 to 20 officers who were suspected of civil rights violations and other offenses under federal criminal law.

Investigating those officers posed a significant challenge, he said, as the culture of the KCKPD tended to protect the wrongdoers. The blue code of silence meant that the officers did not report the misconduct of other officers, even when that misconduct was criminal. Further, as I discovered, corruption at the KCKPD was longstanding and systemic, and many of the commanding officers swept wrongdoing under the rug rather than confronting it and rooting it out.

While looking into police corruption back then, Jennerich became aware that Golubski used the authority of his position to extort sexual favors, he said in the affidavit.

But prosecutors were protective of officers, Jennerich told me in an interview in 2021, and in his view, thats why the investigation was aborted and nothing ever happened.

The FBIs never going to do anything. Its not in their interest. They irritate a police department, thats not going to get them a promotion. Theyre going through the motions, punching a ticket, by investigating at all, he said. Saying whats going to stop corruption over there is like saying whats going to stop it in Chicago, where Jennerich was also an agent.

It would take a thermonuclear device. And in the U.S. Attorneys office? Some of them are married to cops. Thats just KCK. We used to call it Sodom and the land that time forgot. Going across I-70 over there, Id expect to see long-necked dinosaurs eating the tops off trees. Golubski knows everything, so no ones ever going to get him.

By 2010, KCK officialdom was well aware that the many serious allegations against Golubski were likely to become more widely known outside the Black community in KCK as a result of Lamonte McIntyres innocence case.

Golubski was accused of railroading McIntyre, who in the end served 23 years in prison for a 1994 double murder that he did not commit. Officially, the killings of 21-year-old Doniel Quinn and 34-year-old Donald Ewing have never been solved.

McIntryres innocence case and his later civil suit accused Golubski of having sexually assaulted McIntyres mother years earlier, and coercing testimony that implicated then-17-year-old McIntyre in the murders.

When Golusbki finally retired from the force, also in 2010, he walked away with a taxpayer-funded pension, a new job as a police detective in Edwardsville, and even a commission as a reserve KCKPD officer. In a later deposition, he complained that he hadnt gotten much of a sendoff.

In October of 2017, McIntyre was freed after Wyandotte County District Attorney Mark Dupree asked that all charges be dropped, and called his conviction a manifest injustice. There was never any physical evidence tying McIntyre to the killings, and Golubski and WyCo prosecutor Terra Morehead allegedly coerced eyewitness testimony from the victims cousin, Niko Quinn, who then tried for years to set the record straight.

In February of 2020, McIntyre was awarded a certificate of innocence and $1.5 million from Kansas. For years, local officials had continued to whisper that he was not really innocent and had successfully urged the state attorney to fight his compensation claim.

In November of 2020, in a deposition for McIntyres civil suit, Golubski invoked his 5th Amendment right not to incriminate himself 555 times in a single day. Among the questions he wouldnt answer were these: Did he have a sideline in selling drugs and facilitating prostitution while he was a police detective?

Ever get charges dismissed in return for sex? Ever rape a minor in his cop car? Or threaten to harm a woman if she turned him in?

Also, he took the Fifth in response to this one: You closed dozens of cases by manipulating witnesses to give false testimony? And this one: Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, you used your network of women on the streets to provide false information to close your cases, correct?

In July of 2022, the Unified Government agreed to pay McIntyre and his mother $12.5 million to settle the civil case against them.

In September of 2022, Golubski was arrested by the FBI, and charged with denying two women their civil rights by raping and kidnapping them. Prosecutors said he also raped other women, including a 13-year-old, and exploited mostly poor Black women over the course of his career.

In November of 2022, Golubski was also charged in a sex trafficking conspiracy, along with drug kingpin Cecil Brooks and two other men.

Now, more than a year after the initial charges, no trial has been set.

The next status conference on the two cases against him is scheduled for Oct. 25.
By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. State Department said on Sunday U.S. citizens should not travel to Iraq after recent attacks on American troops and personnel in the region.

The travel advisory says, "Do not travel to Iraq due to terrorism, kidnapping, armed conflict, civil unrest, and Mission Iraqs limited capacity to provide support to U.S. citizens."

There has been a spike in attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria since the conflict between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza broke out. Last week, a U.S. warship shot down more than a dozen drones and four cruise missiles fired by Iranian-backed Houthis from Yemen.

The advisory followed the ordered departure of eligible family members and non-emergency U.S. government personnel from U.S. Embassy Baghdad and U.S. Consulate General Erbil "due to increased security threats against U.S. personnel and interests," the State Department said in a statement.

The statement added that anti-U.S. militias "threaten U.S. citizens and international companies" throughout Iraq. Earlier on Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said they saw the prospect of a significant escalation in attacks on American troops in the Middle East and of Iran seeking to widen the Israel-Hamas war.

Washington is on heightened alert for activity by Iran-backed groups as regional tensions soar during the Israel-Hamas war, which began after Palestinian Islamist group Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing over 1,400 people.

Israel has since retaliated with deadly air strikes on Gaza, a 45 km-long (25-mile) strip of land that is part of the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories and home to 2.3 million people that has been ruled politically since 2007 by Hamas. Israel's air strikes have killed over 4,700 people, Palestinian officials say.

"Because of security concerns, U.S. government personnel in Baghdad are instructed not to use Baghdad International Airport," the State Department said on Sunday.

The United States has sent a significant amount of naval power to the Middle East in recent weeks, including two aircraft carriers, their support ships and about 2,000 Marines.

The U.S. will send a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system and additional Patriot air defense missile system battalions to the Middle East, the Pentagon said on Saturday.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Josie Kao)
As desperately needed humanitarian aid trucks trickle through the only crossing into Gaza, President Joe Biden is reportedly pressing Israel to delay ground attacks of the occupied Palestinian territory.

US officials are in a race alongside international partners and embassies to secure the release of dozens of hostages kidnapped by Hamas militants two weeks ago. Hamas attacks on 7 October killed more than 1,400 Israelis while more than 4,300 Palestinians have been killed in Israels retaliatory bombardments and airstrikes.

Israel is now preparing troops for a ground assault on Gaza which could significantly complicate hostage negotiations and the delivery of aid to more than two million Palestinians trapped in the region.

President Biden and Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke on Sunday and affirmed that there will now be continued flow of this critical assistance into Gaza.

Aid convoys passed through the Rafah crossing on the Gaza-Egypt border this weekend carrying food, water, medicine and other critically needed supplies amid a deepening humanitarian crisis in the region.

Mr Biden and Mr Netanyahu also discussed the recent release of two Israeli-American hostages and ongoing efforts to secure the release of all the remaining hostages taken by Hamas  including Us citizens  and to provide for safe passage for US citizens and other civilians in Gaza who wish to depart, according to the White House.

Israels support for diplomatic efforts to convince Hamas to release hostages and allow aid to flow through Gazas southern border with Egypt could delay a looming ground war.

The Biden administration has pressed Israeli leadership to delay because of progress on the hostage front and ongoing need to move aid into Gaza, according to CNN, citing sources familiar with the discussions. The Independent has requested comment from the White House.

Hundreds of thousands of Gaza residents have been displaced and the Israeli blockade has left food, water, fuel and electricity supplies dwindling amid Israels ongoing airstrikes.

The situation is catastrophic in Gaza right now. There has been no food, no water, no electricity, Cindy McCain, executive director of the United Nations World Food Programme, told ABC Newson Sunday. Starvation and the lack of food is a security issue.

A truck caravan carries aid into Gaza through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt on 22 October (AFP via Getty Images)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was asked directly if the US had been in talks with Israel about a delay in its ground operations into Gaza. He told NBCs Meet the Press on Sunday that the Biden administration continues to talk with Israeli officials about its military plans but stressed that decisions remain in Israels hands.

We are not in the business of second guessing what theyre doing, he said. We are talking to them on a regular basis about how they do it. Its vitally important that every measure be taken to protect civilians, that humanitarian assistance gets in to people who are caught in this cross fire of Hamass making.

He said he remains hopeful for the release of more hostages.

Mr Blinken also told CBS News Face the Nation that Hamas was blocking several hundred Americans and other nationalities, other civilians, from other countries, who want to leave Gaza.

Weve had people come to Rafah, the crossing with Egypt. And to date, at least, Hamas has blocked them from leaving, he said.

The US is increasing its military personnel and equipment in the Middle East over concerns about potential escalation from nearby states in the region, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Sunday.

What were seeing is a prospect of a significant escalation of attacks on our troops and our people throughout the region, and because of that, were going to do whats necessary to make sure that our troops are  in a good position, and theyre protected, and that we have the ability to respond, he said on ABCs This Week.

Secretary Austin said he has encouraged Israeli defence officials to conduct their operations in accordance with the law of war.

We encourage them at every opportunity  to make sure that were accounting for those civilians that are in the battle space, that were providing corridors for them to leave the battle space if necessary, and that theyre allowing humanitarian assistance to get into that space as well, he added.

A man carries a wounded girl following an airstrike in Gaza on 21 October. (EPA)

Israeli forces have clashed with Lebanese militant group Hezbollah along Israels northern border with Lebanon. Hezbollahs deputy leader Sheikh Naim Kassem said the group is trying to weaken the Israeli enemy and let them know that we are ready to join fighting, should Israel launch its ground invasion of Gaza.

Irans Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian also warned the US and Israel that if crimes against humanity do not stop immediately, there is the possibility at any moment that the region will go out of control.

During a press conference in Tehran on Sunday, he called the Middle East a powder keg, according to quotes from state-aligned Tasnim News Agency.

Any miscalculation in continuing genocide and forced displacement can have serious and bitter consequences, both in the region and for the warmongers, he said.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said Sunday that the United States is upping its presence in the Middle East because of the risk of escalated attacks on American troops.

What were seeing is a prospect of a significant escalation of attacks on our troops and our people throughout the region, Austin said on ABCs This Week. And because of that, were going to do whats necessary to make sure that our troops are in that position and they were protected and that we have the ability to respond.

He also said that upping the military presence in the region will send another message to those who would who would seek to widen this conflict. In response to potential attacks from Hezbollah in Lebanon and from Iran, the administration has told any other groups seeking to get involved dont.

If any group or any country is looking to widen this conflict and take advantage of this very unfortunate situation that we see. Our advice is dont, he said. We maintain the right to defend ourselves and we wont hesitate to take the appropriate action.

The United States announced plans to ramp up its military presence in the Middle East as an act of deterrence amid the ongoing fighting between Israel and the militant group Hamas on Saturday. Austin said in the announcement that he redirected the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Strike Group to join the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group, which is currently stationed in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.

He said in the Saturday announcement that the U.S. will deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery in addition to Patriot battalions that will increase force protection for U.S. forces. He also said that he ordered more troops to prepare for deployment orders.

The U.S. has vowed to back Israel in its war against militant group Hamas, which launched an unprecedented, deadly attack on Israel on Oct. 7 that prompted Israel to declare war on the group and launch a series of airstrikes targeting the groups hotspots. The U.S. has designated Hamas as a terrorist organization.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy speaks in Ottumwa on Saturday.

OTTUMWA  Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy called on lawmakers Saturday to reject an aid package of more than $100 billion proposed by President Joe Biden to bolster Israel and Ukraine in their respective wars.

Already firmly an opponent of aid to Ukraine, Ramaswamy in a barnstorming tour of Iowa Friday and Saturday also warned against helping Israel. He said its response to attacks by the Hamas faction that rules the Palestinian Gaza Strip could set off a bigger Middle Eastern conflict  one that could embroil the United States as well.

Biden made his call for aid in a nationally televised speech Thursday. Ramaswamy wants lawmakers to vote against the proposal, citing the high cost of previous U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and what he said are Israel's unclear military objectives in Gaza.

"I'm very worried that is going to be a disaster in the making," he told a crowd of about 50 Saturday in Ottumwa. "This is the most pro-Israel thing we can do, to elevate open debate to avoid making the same kinds of mistakes that we made after 9/11."

Ramasawy vites generational divide in explaining view of Israel

Ramaswamy, 38, has touted throughout the primary season that he is the first millennial to run for president as a Republican. Because he is much younger than his more war hawkish GOP rivals, he may perceive the conflict in Israel differently, he says.

Republican Presidential Candidate Vivek Ramaswamy autographs the shirt of John Fenner, of Ottumwa, after a campaign stop in Oskaloosa on Sat. Oct. 21, 2023. Ramaswamy signaled he supported medical cannabis use for veterans on Saturday.

On Saturday, he recalled his experience as a high school junior, sitting in U.S. history class watching coverage of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in horror.

Speaking to reporters Friday, he recalled the controversial wars that followed.

"My generation was the one who were lied to systematically about the war in places like Iraq and even elements of Afghanistan," Ramaswamy told reporters Friday. "Thousands upon thousands of people of people my age, who sacrificed their lives that we won't ever get back, those are mistakes."

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/storytelling/iowa-candidate-tracker/

An Israeli assault on Gaza could mire Israel in a ground conflict, he said Saturday.

"That could be disastrous in the complexity of it," he said in Ottumwa, paralleling from his conservative perspective Democrats to the left of Biden like U.S. Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri, who wrote on Twitter that we cannot bomb our way to peace.

Ramaswamy warns of 'disastrous result' if Israel invades Gaza without 'clear objective'

Ramaswamy has said the U.S. should provide Israel with diplomatic support, intelligence and munitions. But unlike many of his other GOP rivals, he said, he does not believe an Israeli assault on Gaza will help.

Previously, in August, he called for ending U.S. financial support for Israel. He recalled the 2020 pact aimed at normalizing relations between Israel and the oil sheikdoms of the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, saying an "Abraham Accords 2.0" could create diplomatic deals between Israel and other Middle Eastern countries, according to ABC News.

GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy speaks in Ottumwa on Saturday.

"I want to get Israel to the place where it is negotiated back into the infrastructure of the rest of the Middle East, the network quoted Ramaswamy as saying. We should not be worried about holding one nation or one region hostage over one particular question relating to Palestine.

On Saturday he told reporters his view has not changed. Israel must define its objectives and what the U.S. is expected to aid, he said.

"In absence of that clarity, we should not be providing funding against the backdrop of what I think is lining up to be a disastrous result in a ground invasion of Gaza without a clear objective," he said.

Allison Box, 61, and her husband, Mark, 64, who attended a Ramaswamy event on Friday in Fort Madison, expressed concern about the fighting in Israel.

"I'm sick about the war over there," said Allison Box, who is undecided about who to caucus for. "I'm sick of what's happening in this country with people protesting."

Her husband, who said he likes former President Donald Trump but "could be persuaded" to support Ramaswamy, questioned the dangers of the war.

"I'm worried that if you roll in there with tanks, I don't know how you roll back out without an absolute bloodbath, he said. To what end?"

GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy greets Iowans in Ottumwa on Saturday.

Donald Engedretson, 76, of Middletown, said Trump had been his No. 1 choice but now he thinks he will caucus for Ramaswamy.

"He drew a pretty clear picture of both wars, and what he would do, Engedreston said. We all know what the politics are that are involved, especially in Israel. That's why they haven't invaded yet."

What other Republican candidates have said about supporting Israel

Other GOP presidential candidates with more foreign policy experience have expressed strong support for Israel.

Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under Trump, has vowed to stand with Israel every step of the way.

Its a dangerous world right now, Haley said in New Hampshire on Oct. 15. And this is going to get messier before it gets better.

Former Vice President Mike Pence, who has made foreign policy a hallmark of his campaign, blamed the George W. Bush administration, saying it gave control of Gaza to Hamas. He said Israel has no choice but to crush Hamas.

We will stand with Israel when this ground assault begins and we will stand with Israel every day through the hard fighting and loss that will occur until they achieve an outright victory, Pence told Fox News.

Other Republican candidates likewise have declared support for Israel. U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., speaking in Iowa on Saturday, defended Israel's military and called it the "moral compass" as it fights Hamas, according to the Iowa Capital Dispatch.

If you are not loyal to your allies, you will never be lethal to your adversaries," Scott said, adding that America needs to stand with Israel.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the United States should stop funding Ukraine's war until there is a clear strategy in Israel.

I dont think theres going to be a lot we even need to do militarily, DeSantis said Oct. 16 of the war between Israel and Hamas. We may have to provide some additional support like weve traditionally done, but I think mostly its just the moral clarity to say, They dont have to live like this.

Palestinian refugees displaced by the ongoing Israel-Hamas war would not be welcome in the U.S. under a Trump administration, the former president said during an Oct. 16 campaign stop in Clive.

"We aren't bringing in anyone from Gaza or Syria or Somalia or Yemen or Libya, or anywhere else that threatens our security," Trump told supporters, declaring that "if you're coming from somewhere full of people who want to kill Americans, we will not let you in."

Former President Donald Trump speaks during a rally Oct. 16 in Adel.

U.S. asylum law is broken as it is, Ramaswamy, a frequent Trump ally, told reporters Saturday in Oskaloosa.

"That's not specific just to the Palestinian refugees," Ramaswamy said. "I think that we need to put a freeze on asylum to this country, at least until we have comprehensively reformed the illegal immigration crisis."

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

Philip Joens covers retail, real estate and RAGBRAI for the Des Moines Register. He can be reached at 515-284-8184, pjoens@registermedia.com or on Twitter @Philip_Joens.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Vivek Ramaswamy calls on Congress to reject Ukraine, Israel aid package
In 2023, there are countless social and political issues at our disposal. And they are tearing us apart (iStock)

Melissa*, 30, was in the middle of making dinner when she paused to take a quick look through Instagram and saw a post about the Israel-Hamas war from a colleague. The wording felt insensitive, she recalls, explaining how the post was an attempt to contextualise the Hamas attacks in Israel on 7 October. Without having shared any sympathy for the Israelis whose family members had been killed, raped, or kidnapped, she just started immediately posting Palestinian flags, and trying to explain the history of the occupation. Were close friends and often hang out outside of work; she knows Im Jewish and have family in Israel.

After seeing several posts like this, Melissa felt compelled to tell her colleague that they had upset her. I tried to ask why she was talking about this without condemning what Hamas had done, explaining how that affected me, and it turned into a massive argument. She was lobbing all sorts of infographics at me and using really inflammatory language, saying there were terrorists on both sides. Its really awkward in the office now: we just avoid each other.

What happened to Melissa is not unusual. In fact, today, as our lives become increasingly politicised, and the corresponding discourse takes up more online space, society feels more polarised than ever before. For some, this is sparking a series of confrontational conversations among friends, revealing surprising viewpoints, while blindspots are exposed under the glaring light of day.

Of course, disagreeing over politics at the dinner table is hardly new. But it seems to have become more prevalent since the pandemic, which invariably divided many of us on subjects ranging from the NHS and lockdown regulations to wearing masks and compulsory vaccines. And its not like weve been short of things to talk about since. Whether its the Israel-Hamas war, the climate crisis, or Andrew Tate  in 2023, there are countless social and political issues at our disposal. And they are tearing us apart.

In 2021, think tank the Centre for Policy Studies published a survey claiming that Britons are writing each other off and out of our lives because of political disagreements. The research, led by Dr Frank Luntz, found that half of under-30s and a third of over-30s have stopped talking to someone over a political opinion. Meanwhile, the Pew Research Center found that 80 per cent of Americans now have just a few or no friends at all across the political aisle. And it seems that even this issue is becoming politicised, because a recent Ipsos study claimed that liberals were less tolerant than right-wingers of political difference.

With everything thats going on in the world right now, and a seemingly endless barrage of humanitarian, environmental and sociopolitical issues, it makes sense that people want to discuss them with their friends. But how are we supposed to maintain those friendships when everyone is so divided? Can you really have a furious debate about politics with a pal and then just agree to disagree? And what if these issues bring to light views you never knew your friends had?

Friendships are not just based on common political views, says Gurpreet Singh, a counsellor at relationships support charity Relate. They are based on many other things, too, like common interests, common values, personal connections and life stages. If approached with a non-judgemental attitude and openness, a conversation with a friend with different political views can be an enriching experience that helps you understand a different point of view.

If youre going to end a friendship over a political disagreement, it is better to take time to reflect on your decision and think things through rather than act in the heat of the moment

Gurpreet Singh, counsellor

The trouble is that in order for this kind of conversation to be facilitated, both parties need to be open and willing to do it, which is not always the case. It also doesnt help when its not just one friend you fall out with, either, but an entire group. Two years ago, Alice*, 28, was mid-conversation with a bunch of school friends when talk turned to Meghan Markle, whod recently alleged in an interview with Oprah Winfrey that there were concerns within the royal family about her childs skin tone. None of them thought it was a race issue, recalls Alice, who is white. They just tried to justify it. And when I tried explaining why, if true, it was objectively racist, they all just told me to chill out and kept saying, Its not like it affects you.

Another key talking point that has divided friends these past few weeks is Russell Brand. Last month, the comedian-turned-YouTuber was accused of sexual assault and emotional abuse (allegations he has denied). But fans have been quick to rush to his defence, picking holes in the allegations and fervently expressing their support across social media. When Alice raised the issue with that same group of friends, she was shocked at how sceptical they were of Brands accusers. They poked holes in each of the womens stories, asking where the evidence was, she says.

For Alice, who has been sexually assaulted herself, the conversation was a wake-up call. I started hyperventilating when I tried to explain why what they were saying was so damaging, she says. But they all just told me to calm down again and not be so confrontational. It was that moment that made me realise I needed to really distance myself from them; its not good for me to be around people like that.

Divisive figures: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been known to split opinions among friends (Getty)

There are some conversations that are gateways to understanding that your values system is very different from those of your friends, explains Singh. Values are some of the core binding principles for friendships and relationships. And if you start to disagree at this level, then the difference tends to grow rather than dissipate. This can again make the relationship unsustainable.

Its one thing to have a political disagreement with a friend. Its another when its your partners friend. This was what happened to Imogen*, 32, when she went out for drinks with her then-partner and a couple that he was close to. They were very out of touch, she says, revealing how they had spent one evening complaining about only receiving a 90,000 bonus and somehow flew to the Maldives during the pandemic. They were out for drinks one night when talk turned to Donald Trump, who was going up against Joe Biden for the US presidency at the time.

I dropped in how stressful it was knowing Trump could win again, and there was a silence, she recalls. It turned out that the couple were avid Trump fans. I started off trying to be diplomatic, asking them why, and they admitted it was for selfish reasons as they planned to move back over to America, and felt that he better represented their financial interests. I tried to counteract this by bringing up his stance around minorities, but they just didnt care  it transpired that they wanted to move to the US because they didnt like the UK tax system because, as they put it, Why should my money go to poor people? They dont work hard and expect handouts.

I started off trying to be diplomatic: Where a friend stands on Donald Trump could be a dealbreaker for many (Getty)

In instances like this, it might feel easy to walk away without trying to get your point across, because of how futile it seems. But of course, theres only so much you can bite your tongue. I found that conversation very difficult and upsetting, as I have worked with vulnerable people for the majority of my career, and know all of the things they were saying to be untrue, says Imogen. I was able to provide counterarguments to show them how they were wrong, but it was shocking to find out that two people I knew could have such vile opinions.

Imogen never saw them again. They also unfollowed me on Instagram the day after the conversation, which made me feel like I was the one in the wrong. I really struggled with that at the time, but looking back, Im very glad not to be linked to them any more. For Melissa, things havent been as clear-cut given that she has to see her colleague every day at work, and because she was fairly close friends with her beforehand.

If youre going to end a friendship over a political disagreement, it is better to take time to reflect on your decision and think things through rather than act in the heat of the moment, suggests Singh. Rather than cutting them completely out of your life, you might want to think about distancing yourself and keeping the parts of the relationship that you can. For example, disagreeing about a political view might still mean that you can go to watch a movie together, but avoid getting into political debates.

In some ways, these disagreements can prove helpful in the long term, helping you to learn more about your own values and what youre willing, and not willing, to compromise on. It has really changed the way I approach friendships, as I know now that I need people in my life that align with my own moral compass, adds Imogen. This isnt to say that Im not up for a healthy debate, or that I wont get to know someone who has differing opinions to me, because that isnt realistic. But I also know that there is a line.

*Names have been changed
Japans government on Friday asked a court to order the dissolution of the Unification Church branch in Japan following the assassination of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe in July 2022.

The governments move comes after a months-long probe into the church, formally known in Japan as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification.

The investigation followed claims by the suspected shooter, Tetsuya Yamagami, that he fatally shot Abe because he believed the leader was associated with the church, which Yamagami blamed for bankrupting his family through the excessive donations of his mother, a member.

Earlier in January, Japanese prosecutors indicted Yamagami on murder and firearm charges.

The governments investigation concluded that the groups practices  including fund-raising activities that allegedly pressured followers to make exorbitant donations  violated the 1951 Religious Corporations Act.

That law allows Japanese courts to order the dissolution of a religious group if it has committed an act clearly found to harm public welfare substantially.

The Tokyo District Court will now make a judgment based on the evidence submitted by the government, according to Japans public broadcaster NHK.

This is the third time the Japanese government has sought a dissolution order for a religious group accused of violating the act.

It also sought to dissolve the Aum Shinrikyo cult, after some of its members carried out a deadly 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system, which left dozens dead and thousands injured, and Myokaku-ji Temple, whose priests defrauded people by charging them for exorcisms. The courts ruled with the government on both orders.

The Unification Church in Japan has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, pledging reform and labeling the news coverage against it as biased and fake.

On Thursday, it issued a statement, saying it was very regrettable that the government was seeking the dissolution order, particularly as it had been working on reforming the church since 2009. It added that it would make legal counterarguments against the order in court.

If disbanded, the Unification Church, founded by the Reverend Sun Myung Moon in South Korea in 1954, would lose its status as a religious corporation in Japan and be deprived of tax benefits. However, it could still operate as a corporate entity.

Experts argue that an order to disband the group completely could take years to process and could even risk pushing the entitys activities underground.

Why this order?

The Unification Church became known worldwide for mass weddings, in which thousands of couples get married simultaneously, with some brides and grooms meeting their betrothed for the first time on their wedding day.

Public scrutiny of the church in Japan increased after Abe was fatally shot during an election campaign speech last July.

Abes alleged assailant told police that his family had been ruined because of the huge donations his mother made to a religious group, which he alleged had close ties to the late former prime minister, according to NHK.

A spokesperson for the Unification Church confirmed to reporters in Tokyo that the suspects mother was a member, Reuters reported, but said neither Abe nor the suspected killer were members.

Following Abes death local media carried a series of reports claiming various other lawmakers of the countrys ruling party had links to the church, prompting Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to order an investigation.

Kishida told reporters Thursday that ruling party lawmakers had cut ties with the religious group, amid concerns that the Unification Church had been trying to wield political influence.

Since last November, Japans Ministry of Cultural Affairs has questioned and sought to obtain documents from the Unification Church while also collecting testimonies from around 170 people who say they were pressured into making massive donations known in Japan as spiritual sales.

The practice involves asking followers to buy objects like urns and amulets on the grounds that doing so will appease their ancestors and save future generations, according to Yoshihide Sakurai, a religious studies expert at Hokkaido University.

CNN has contacted the Unification Church for an official comment but has not yet heard back.

Previous controversies

This is not the first time the Unification Church has been at the center of a controversy.

Naomi Honma, a former Unification Church member, told CNN that between 1991 and 2003, she worked on a legal case called Give Us Back Our Youth, a lawsuit that alleged the Unification Church had used deceptive and manipulative techniques to recruit unsuspecting members of the public.

This, they argued, had the potential to violate the freedom of thought and conscience upheld by Article 20 of Japans constitution.

After a 14-year trial, multiple plaintiff testimonies and a 999-page report outlining the mind control process of the group, the trial had its moment.

The Sapporo District Court made a landmark ruling in favor of 20 former Unification Church members who had sued the group as part of the case. It ordered the Unification Church to pay roughly 29.5 million yen ($200,000) in damages for recruiting and indoctrinating people while hiding the churchs true identity and for coercing some former members into purchasing expensive items and donating large amounts of money.

In a separate controversy, between 1987 and 2021, the Unification Church in Japan incurred claims for damages over the sale of amulets and urns that totaled around $1 billion, according to the National Lawyers Network against Spiritual Sales  a group established in 1987 specifically to oppose the Unification Church.

Nobutaka Inoue, an expert on contemporary Japanese religion at Kokugakuin University, is critical of the techniques used by the church to recruit and raise funds. However, he also notes that some of its members felt happy and at peace after making donations to the Unification Church.

Whats next?

Some critics of the Unification Church say the governments actions dont go far enough as it could still operate as a non-religious group. One option for the government would be to seek a court order stripping the church of its corporate status, too, but experts say that could take up to two years to process.

Sakurai, the religious studies expert, cautioned that if the Unification Church loses its status as a religious corporation, it would no longer be under the control of Japans Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs, making it harder to regulate its activities.

Sakurai pointed to the case of Aum, noting that after the sarin gas attack the Japanese government revoked recognition of the group as a religious organization but continued to regulate it through a new law passed in 1999 that authorized continued police surveillance of its activities.

But making a new law that would allow the government to continue to watch over the Unification Churchs activities  even if one could be passed  would not work as well, Sakurai warned.

(Aum) only numbers over 1,200 members or so; however, the Unification Church has penetrated many layers of Japans society  some members are housewives, some work in factories, others are teachers, so the police cannot watch all the movements or activities of the Unification Church, Sakurai said.

Time for religious education?

Some experts say Japan needs to do more to educate the public about non-traditional religions, which some see as having a rising influence in society.

Kimiaki Nishida, a social psychologist and chairman of the Japan Society for Cult Prevention and Recovery (JSCPR), pointed out that state and religion were separated in Japan following World War II, and the new constitution forbade teaching religious studies at school.

This made religion essentially a taboo topic, Nishida said, and to this day, religious education is not provided at elementary, junior, or high schools in Japan, unlike in most EU member states.

This, according to Toshiyuki Tachikake, a professor at Osaka University specializing in cult countermeasures since 2009, has left students  particularly at university campuses  vulnerable to being pressured into recruitment.

He and other experts say more should be done to educate young Japanese about religion.

We need religious education in schools. Giving someone a broad understanding of different religions and their teachings allows them to make an informed decision on whether they want to join a certain group if a recruiter ever approached them, said Tachikake.

CNNs Francesca Annio contributed to this report from Tokyo.

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The recent attack by Hamas on Israel led to the unprecedented shedding of ostensible neutrality by New Delhi

In past decades, Israeli commentators would often rue that New Delhi treated Tel Aviv like a mistress: happy to engage intimately in private but disowned in public. They legitimised the relationship formally with the concurrent opening of embassies in 1992, but the crucial military supplies from Israel to India in the 1965 and 1971 wars is one for the spooks. Even more clandestine was the purported go-ahead by Indira Gandhi in 1982 of an Osirak-style operation (Israeli jets daringly blew up an Iraqi nuclear reactor in 1981) to similarly destroy Pakistans nuclear facilities at Kahuta. Last-minute intervention by then US President Ronald Reagan is said to have abrogated this India-Israel mission. But despite such commonality of threats and mutual understanding, Delhis support for the Palestinians deterred normalising relations with Israel.

Contrary to popular perceptions, Indias dichotomous stand on Israel wasnt just idealism, but rooted as much in realpolitik. With its energy needs from West Asia at stake, sizeable foreign exchange remittances from the Indian diaspora, and also over 50 invaluable votes in forums like the United Nations -- officially not recognising Israel due to morality had some solid practicalities, that remained unstated. It was an arrangement which worked well as Israel was content to work in the shadows, as that also meant it knowingly compromised its own equation with Washington, which was a firm Pakistan ally in 1965, 1971 or even 1982 when the Kahuta operation was murmured.

History and geography have made Israel extremely practical, and they work along with any country, irrespective of its ideology, if it does not endanger Israeli interests. Even today, despite all tensions besetting the United States and China and Russia, the Israelis harbour no major aversion to either and are willing to engage with both (Washington had to veto technology transfer to Beijing). For all its bloody past, it had normalised relations with Jordan and Egypt long ago, and more recently with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Talks with Saudi Arabia behind closed doors is the worst kept secret and Tel Aviv is similarly understanding of the societal concerns implicit for the Saudi authorities, to come out in the open about the same immediately.

With India, Israel was always extra-understanding. Jawaharlal Nehru had indulged in grandstanding on Palestine, but had also reached out to Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion after the 1962 China tensions, Ben-Gurion had privately replied: I am in total agreement with the views expressed by Your Excellency (Nehru) that it is incumbent upon us to do all in our power. All states big or small must be guaranteed of their sovereignty. We believe that every possible support should be lent to every measure contributing towards easing of tension on your borders so that India will once again be able to devote its undivided energies under your distinguished leadership to construction and development.

During the Kargil War, when India still faced some technology sanctions, Israel had ignored international concerns and expedited supplies of mortar ammunition, laser-guided missiles, Heron and Searcher UAVs, etc. Since then, India has become Israels biggest and most dependable purchaser of weapons, besides a strategic partner and co-producer of weaponry. However, all along, India hadnt diluted support for a two-state solution, that envisages a sovereign state of Palestine. Admittedly, the hypersensitivity on Palestinian concerns had got diluted (tellingly in 2015, India abstained from voting against Israel at UNHRC) -- though, the same lukewarmness about the Palestinian issue could also be said about the Arab sheikhdoms that were on a rapprochement overdrive with Tel Aviv.

The recent attack by Hamas on Israel led to the unprecedented shedding of ostensible neutrality by New Delhi, which entailed playing a mealy-mouthed please all position for some time. Prime Minister Narendra Modis new tweet -- We stand in solidarity with Israel at this difficult hour -- is unprecedentedly one-sided, and the Palestinians have Hamas to blame for that. While the neighbouring sheikhdoms have offered platitudinous contexts to rationalise Hamas attacks, make no mistake, the sheikdoms can never support a pro-Iran militia like Hamas. They were forced into adopting a justifying stance only as a continuation of Ummah sensibilities -- but in the deeply sectarian divide in West Asia, beyond the public postures, the Arab sheikhdoms fear the Iran and its proxies like Hezbollah, Houthis, Hamas, etc, far more than Tel Aviv.

New Delhi, therefore perhaps felt empowered to take an untraditional and overtly pro-Israel stance for the first time. In one dramatic stroke, Hamas laid to waste the high ground that the Palestinian cause always evoked, even as the world put it on the backburner, as practicality had necessitated thawing relations with Israel. While breaking ranks with the Hamas may not be publicly possible for the sheikhdoms (as yet), the widely believed intent of disrupting the Mideast peace plans at Irans behest will afford a short rope to Hamas belligerence. Such intolerance with Palestinian militias running amok had similarly backfired with Operation Black September, when the Jordanians had attacked the PLO in 1970-71 or when Lebanese forces carried out the Sabra-Shatila massacres against Palestinian militias in 1982. Now even pacifist nations like India are reneging on neutrality over the Israeli-Palestinian issue, as Hamas has simultaneously discredited the Palestinian position. The Middle East will now increasingly look like the landscape of the past and New Delhi will have to recalibrate its own stand in line with its needs and, as always, there may be a slip between the cup and the lip. For now, it will be Advantage Israel.
Vatican City (AsiaNews) - The Synodal Assembly underway in the Vatican enters its last week of work: once the discussion on the Instrumentum laboris has been concluded, in the next few days the 365 members will be asked to draw up a summary document and a message to the people of God which will be released on Sunday 29 October, when Pope Francis will preside over the final Mass of this first phase of the Synod on synodality as a style of "participation, communion and mission" in the Church.

They will be texts which - as had been announced from the beginning - will then return to the Churches of the individual countries, for a new phase of the synodal path. And only in October 2024, in a new session in Rome, will the Assembly summarize the path begun at a local level in 2021, entrusting the conclusions to the Pope.

Within this path, in the daily briefings held with journalists this week there were two significant interventions by Asian bishops who brought interesting points of view starting from their own experience. In the meeting on Friday 19 October the archbishop of Tokyo Msgr. Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi underlined how important the method of conversation in the spirit - adopted at the Synod - is to let the traits of each culture emerge.

You know that we Japanese, but also the people of Asia in general, love silence. It is very difficult for us to speak out loud. And that's why this small group discussion is very important - he explained -. As Asians we expect each local culture to be respected when we talk about synodality in the Catholic Church. Synodality does not mean uniformity, we must work together as we are in each of our cultures."

In this regard, Msgr. Kikuchi, who for a few months has also been president of Caritas internationalis, cited the example of Caritas: "You know that we are 160 organizations around the world, with each organization independent," he recalled .

"Each has its own Catholic identity and works with its partners, also demonstrating its ecumenical and interreligious nature. From the beginning it has been a synodal organization, not only at the level of our executive but also at the local level: we go where there is need, we meet the people, we don't just give help and assistance. We want to promote the human dignity of every person so that it is respected and hope for the future can arise from the bottom of one's heart."

Msgr. Kikuchi also touched on the issue of the involvement of lay people in decisions in the Church: Returning to Tokyo I want to introduce this synodal modality into our Church too, making it the style of the parishes. Asian countries are still very clerical: it is the clergy who decide. Instead we need to involve lay people more in decisions. But we also need to find the right ways. For example: how can we ask working lay people to down tools and come to Rome for a month of discussion? It's impossible. If we really want to involve lay people in the decisions of the Church we must also consider their daily lives, their families. It's a path we're still looking for."

A few days earlier, the president of the Philippine Episcopal Conference, the bishop of Kalookan, Msgr. Pablo Virgilio David, to give his response to one of the most heated topics in the debate around the Synod: the question of the possibility of a blessing for same-sex couples. I look at this issue from a Filipino and Asian perspective, he said, and I see that this is a real concern especially in the Northern Hemisphere... I'm not criticizing Northern Hemisphere culture, but I see a strong tendency to label people [based on] gender, sexuality, political affiliation, religion and everything else.

In the Philippine language there is the same word for man and woman. If I talk about a person I simply say 'tao' and that 'tao' can be a man - male or female, a man or a woman. Jesus was accused of associating with people of ill repute, tax collectors, prostitutes, and sinners. He didn't mind being in their company, because they too are human beings and are called to be sons and daughters of God, and many wonderful things happened in their lives when they met him. We try to follow this same mentality."

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Francis at the Angelus invited dioceses and parishes to be "burning hearts and walking feet". Proximity to the Anglican hospital and the Greek Orthodox church hit by bombing in recent days. "Brothers, stop. Open spaces for humanitarian aid."

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - On the Sunday in which the 97th World Missionary Day is celebrated, entitled "Hearts burning, feet on the move" (Lk 24, 13-35), Pope Francis, at the end of the recitation of the Angelus, returned to talk about the chosen theme, inspired by the passage of the disciples of Emmaus, from which in the Message for the current day he drew the essential stages of the conversion of the two disciples: listening to the Word, meeting with Christ and enthusiasm to get back on the path. These are two images that say it all, he said today, returning to the title. I urge everyone in the dioceses and parishes to actively participate."

There was no lack of appeal for what is happening in recent days in Israel and Palestine. I am very worried, saddened. I pray and am close to all those who suffer: the hostages, the injured, the victims and their families. I think of the serious humanitarian situation in Gaza. It saddens me that the Anglican hospital and the Greek Orthodox parish were also hit in recent days", said Pope Francis, referring to the hall of the church of San Porfirio which was targeted on Friday by a hail of missiles which caused a massacre. But also to what happened on Tuesday 17th at the Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza: another attack that caused hundreds of victims.

I renew my appeal for space to be opened up: humanitarian aid to continue to arrive and the hostages to be freed, he continued. Leaving it to be understood that the humanitarian aid arriving in the Strip from Egypt, through the Rafah pass, opened momentarily and then closed yesterday, is not sufficient until now. War, every war in the world, I am also thinking of the tormented Ukraine, is a defeat! War is always a defeat! It is a destruction of human brotherhood. Brothers, stop!

The Pope then recalled that for Friday 27 October he had called "a day of fasting, prayer and penance", to which he also invited other religions. The prayer meeting "to implore peace in the world" is scheduled in San Pietro, Rome, at 6 pm.

Pope Francis, before the Marian Angelus prayer, commented on the Gospel of the day. This is the episode (Mt 22, 15-21) in which some Pharisees and Herodians join together to test Jesus by asking him whether or not it is lawful to pay taxes to Caesar.

It is a deception - said the Pope. "If Jesus legitimizes the tax, he places himself on the side of a political power that is resented by the people, while if he says not to pay it he can be accused of rebellion against the empire. However, he escapes this trap."

He does so by responding with words that "have become common use". Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's (v. 21).

Despite the widespread use of this response - Pope Francis admitted - these are often words used in the wrong way "to talk about the relationships between Church and State, between Christians and politics", intended as to separate "earthly and spiritual reality".

"This is schizophrenia, as if faith had nothing to do with concrete life, with the challenges of society, with social justice, added the Holy Father, explaining that we must give back to society what it offers us through our contribution as responsible citizens, paying attention to what is entrusted to us, promoting law and justice in the world of work, paying taxes honestly, committing ourselves to the common good".

At the same time, however, we do not belong to any earthly reality. We belong to the Lord and must not be slaves to any worldly power.

Pope Francis concluded the commentary on the Gospel with a series of questions, addressed to all the faithful listening, urging them to respond.

Among these: "On the currency of this world there is the image of Caesar, but what image do you carry within you?", and "Whose image are you in your life?".

Finally adding: May the Holy Virgin help us to recognize and honor our dignity and that of every human being.
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Jason Gonzales is a reporter covering higher education and the Colorado legislature. Chalkbeat Colorado partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage. Contact Jason at jgonzales@chalkbeat.org.
TOKYO, Oct 22 ( News On Japan ) - The president of the bento (boxed lunch) maker "Yoshidaya", responsible for over 500 cases of food poisoning nationwide last month, held his first press conference and gave a tearful apology.

Yoshidaya had outsourced the production of rice to an external contractor.

President Hiroshiro Yoshida explained, "Despite specifying the temperature for the rice, we did not measure its temperature on the first day of receiving it. We stored the rice as it was until the time of serving. We did not fully understand that under improper temperature management, there was a risk of bacteria proliferating over time. We deeply realize our immense responsibility for this incident."

The rice was warmer than usual when served, so they decided to cool it down before using it.

According to experts, "Even if cooled, the bacteria don't die, which can lead to food poisoning."

Additionally, the health department has pointed out that the containers for the rice were brought in without sterilization, and there was insufficient hand sanitation.

The number of food poisoning cases due to Yoshidaya's bento stands at 521. As the bentos were also sold at events, victims were identified across 29 prefectures nationwide. During the press conference, it was mentioned that one of the causes was over-expansion beyond their production capacity. The backdrop appears to be the business downturn due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The president went on to say, "Prioritizing sales was my naivety as a manager. From the standpoint of providing for my employees, I made such a decision. I understand that I pushed them too hard."

Choking back tears and struggling for words at times, he confirmed that they would follow the health department's guidance and work on improving their operations.

He affirmed, "We will never outsource rice again."
Saudi Arabia is dead serious about turning itself into a crucial automotive hub. It wants to rival China and India. It wants to join Europe and the US on the global car scene. That ambition is slowly turning into reality now that Hyundai is lending a helping hand. Here's the gist of it.

EV

In 2022, Saudi Arabia officially introduced Ceer  its very own homegrown automotive entity. Although details about a potential lineup, a factory, and manufacturing plans were unknown, the country was hyped up Ceer. People involved in the matter used all sorts of hyperboles to describe the young brand as the next best thing, even though not much was shared about its future.There were some rumors about a collaboration with BMW and Foxconn, but nothing was certain.However, earlier this year, new details emerged. The entity was supposed to get its own design studio, and a partnership with Lucid seemed inevitable. Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) owns over 60% of the Americanmaker, which recently opened the AMP-2 plant in KAEC, and it also controls Ceer.Ceer CFO Joerg Schuessler confirmed at the SaudiKorean Investment Forum that the young brand is in a partnership with BMW , allowing it access to the German marque's technological progress in the all-electric sector.The Middle Eastern country currently imports most of the vehicles that occupy its roads and wants that to change. That's why it wanted to bring Hyundai on board, too, and it has now succeeded.A new automotive joint venture was announced during a visit of South Korea's President to Saudi Arabia. Hyundai (30%) and PIF (70%) should start to work together very soon. They plan to establish a manufacturing facility where at least 50,000 vehicles will be made starting in 2026. The initial investment is approximately $500 million, which means Hyundai will spend around $150 million for this project.That's an ambitious target. We expect the number of vehicles made in Saudi Arabia to be lower in the first years. That is, of course, true only if the agreement reaches maturity and work begins as scheduled in the renewed Memorandum of Understanding.According to the announcement, Hyundai should build an all-electric vehicle (not yet known which one exactly) in the Middle Eastern country, engines for some of its partially electrified cars and possibly other models, and parts for existing automobiles. That should help Saudi Arabia employ more locals and become an exporter of something other than oil.Construction of the factory will begin in 2024. It will most likely be located in KAEC, just like Lucid's AMP-2.Finally, Saudi Arabia's PIF helped Aston Martin stay afloat last year when it bought $94.8 million worth of the British marque's stock. It also got more shares directly from Aston Martin at a discount in exchange for $698.8 million. About three months ago, the Gaydon, UK-based automaker announced a deal with Lucid to use the American brand's next-gen motors on the British brand's upcoming all-electric vehicles.
Kia is in the midst of pulling the wraps of the 2025 Kia Carnival. Somehow, some photos ended up online. It's our shot at seeing what this refreshed vehicle is all about, and there's nothing dubious about it at first glance. Let's dive in.

SUV

Don't listen to what mean people have to say. Minivans are still cool and useful! The Chrysler Pacifica experienced a rebound in sales last year, so Americans might be looking once again for practicality that doesn't automatically translate into getting an. It's great that Kia decided to give the Carnival a renewed shot at ending up in your driveway.Earlier this year, Kia gave the Carnival some minor updates and hiked up starting prices for each trim by about $100. That was arguably needed, considering sales weren't that great last year. However, 2023 started with a bang  the number of units sold almost doubled in the first quarter.The South Korean brand introduced us to the new Sorento and the EV9. Both SUVs look great and sport an updated interior and exterior design language. Both SUVs are easily identifiable as Kia units while preserving that sense of novelty. It's a significant step forward in this respect.Naturally, others must follow suit. It is the Carnival's time to shine. We have shown the boxy minivan to you with a ton of camouflage. Even though that might have excited many, there wasn't much to see.However, someone found photos of the 2025 Kia Carnival and published them on Reddit for everyone to see. Given that they look like promotional images that should be soon found on the automaker's South Korean website or in the press pack sent to journalists, we think they are the real deal.Moreover, they match the spy photos we've mentioned earlier and show the minivan sporting the renewed design language that has already transformed the Sorento into an even more attractive mid-size SUV and allowed the EV9 to stroll into our lives as an alternative to the Rivian R1S and Tesla Model X.Still, take it all in with a grain of salt. We can never be 100% sure about anything that doesn't come straight from the manufacturer.The images show the Carnival with the lighting signature and headlights that are similar to what we've seen on newer Kia models, a square-ish design that aims to make it look more rugged and serious, and brand-new taillights that do not meet in the middle to form a trendy lightbar. Everything points at a succesful, tastefully done update.The 2025 Kia Carnival gets the brand's latest design for this mid-cycle refresh and, judging by these three photos, is poised to make a positive impact sales-wise. Maybe it'll even sport a hybridized powertrain and new trims, but it's too early to discuss these things. We'll see what the brand prepared for prospective buyers as we're nearing the official launch.Let's hope the MSRP will remain competitive.
When comfort and modern styling meet, little room is left for affordability. Put differently, there's no place for the old adage about how the best things in life are free in the world of RVs and travel trailers.

Photo: Weinsberg

Photo: Weinsberg

Photo: Weinsberg

Photo: Weinsberg

The best things in RVs cost a lot of money, experience has taught us. But companies like Weinsberg would like to try the chance to prove otherwise, at the very least.The Germany-based motorhome specialist , now part of the Knaus Tabbert Group, boasts 45 years of experience in the field and, consequently, products that toe the fine line between luxury and affordability, whether RVs or travel trailers. Weinsberg products aim for that "perfect mix of quality, experience, and an attractive price-performance ratio," and the more recent CaraCito All-Electric is living proof of that mantra.The CaraCito All-Electric is, as its name implies, the all-electric version of the CaraCito model in any of its possible layouts . It was introduced in 2020 on the 390 QD model as the best, most comfortable, family-friendly travel trailer you could get on a decent budget, with standard AC with heating function and all that extra space gained from all-electric appliances used for smart storage.The 2024 CaraCito All-Electric model brings a larger compressor fridge with freezer, three different hard-wearing fabrics for the upholstery, and a new chassis from Knaus, the Dyonic Chassis with a single axis and 17-inch wheels. The promise of a modern interior focused on comfort for the entire family remains unchanged from previous years. Weinsberg travel trailers are often cited as excellent examples of compact towables that offer the most features travelers look for in their future vacation home. They're said to be the epitome of "simple is best," and with good reason. The CaraCito is also one such trailer, while also being lightweight.The All-Electric variant brings more storage and extra space, which, in turn, makes it a perfect solution for families as large as six  on the condition they're fans of campsites, where they can hook it up to the grid. As an extra, there's the One Night Stand package that offers one-night autonomy at camp without having to plug in."Oriented towards the modern living world," the CaraCito All-Electric is "simple, elegant and straightforward, with handleless push-to-open furniture flaps," the maker says. A more picky customer could describe the interior as basic, but it's all a matter of perspective. When you're on a tight budget, "basic" will do just fine, and this towable aims to show that.The layout offers all the creature comforts of a modern home, with a sleek but simple design that pays attention to comfort and durability. For example, the CC 390 QD, the smallest in the lineup, comes with standard features like a fixed bed at one end, a single kitchen block, a deep and large wardrobe, a dinette that converts into a bed for one adult or two small children, and a small wet bathroom with a cassette toilet, a sink with vanity, and a shower.It's all very basic, as we've noted already, but not in a way that feels underwhelming, cheap, or "meh" in any other way. Every item aims for "ease of use" and durability, from the LED lights to the Terrazzo-decor worktop on the kitchen block, the two-burner ceramic induction cooktop, and the pantry cabinets. The wardrobe with a hanging rod is a most pleasant surprise since its not standard storage on caravans, but in this case, it also serves the purpose of hiding the electrics.The CC 390 QD is 5.93 meters (19.5 feet) long, with a 4-meter (13 feet) long interior and standing height throughout. Perhaps more important for travelers looking to use their daily driver on vacations as well, its overall weight is 830 kg (1,830 lbs), with a maximum load of 1,350 kg (2.976 lbs).Large models come with increased sleeping capacity, extra storage, and several choices of layouts, so you can have your kids sleep in separate bunks if you know they're keen on sharing or cuddling. The smallest model comes with just one layout. Standard features on the CC 390 QD also include double-glazed windows with blackouts and screens, insulation, and several exterior storage compartments, including one for a portable toilet. Extras include the above-mentioned One Night Stand equipment and an insect screen for the door, and will add to the final price.Speaking of which, this is perhaps the highest selling point of this caravan, but only in conjunction with the durable and nice interior with a large sleeping capacity. The CaraCito All-Electric starts at 13,800 for the standard spec on the smallest model  that would be the 390 QD, with four berths  so the equivalent of $14,640 at the current exchange rate.Here's a video tour of the 2024 CaraCito 390 QD to see if it lives up to whatever expectations you formed while reading this.
22 October 2023 22:30 (UTC+04:00)

Elnur Enveroglu Read more

The situation in Garabagh until September 20 was almost in accordance with the wishes of some circles in the United States and the European Union. Here, at least, there were certain pretexts to intervene in the region under the name of "peace talks".

The European Union states, France, as well as the upper political circles of the United States, hoped that as long as separatism remained in Garabagh, they would be able to pursue their purposeful policies. But after September 20, the situation changed drastically. The West, which had lost its glimpse of hope, began to resort to different means.

Currently, the European Union and the United States do not treat the current situation in the South Caucasus, between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and the nature and results of the anti-terrorist measures implemented on September 20 with justice. This, first of all, reveals the unpleasant position of the other party.

In addition, attempts by Western circles to unreasonably present Azerbaijan as a country implementing a policy of "ethnic cleansing" are evident.

This line is clearly visible in the position of the European Parliament, the European Union, France, the Netherlands, Germany, and some other countries. However, all these claims are in complete contradiction with the history and culture of the mentioned countries. Although imperialist France constantly tries to show itself as a defender of peace, it cannot hide its true inner face.

The "Neocolonialism: Violation of Human Rights and Injustice" international conference held in Baku was dedicated to highlighting the problems of the countries that suffered great damage under French colonial policy. Instead of being ashamed of all this and changing its position, France, on the contrary, insists on conducting a hateful policy against the South Caucasus with its imperialist mindset.

For example, the announcement of France's intention to continuously provide arms assistance to Armenia and prepare Armenia for a new war in the South Caucasus indicates that the Western forces are leading an extremely dangerous game.

In a nutshell, the steps taken in the direction of providing consistent financial and humanitarian aid to Armenia, arming it, the high probability of extending the duration of the EU's military mission in this country, the political bows made to Armenian officials, including Pashinyan, leave no room for doubt in the double standards and hypocrisy of the West.

The West should understand that unless there is peace in the region, neither side will be able to benefit from this. On the contrary, the crisis in the South Caucasus, which is the focal point of the economy, can result in a great loss for the world.

Unfortunately, some forces interested in the continuation of conflicts today do not understand this. After the anti-terrorist measures in Garabagh, the so-called head of the so-called regime, Samvel Shahrmanyan, announced that the so-called Nagorno-Karabakh regime would be abolished by January. However, there are sharp distortions in Sharmanyan's latest speeches.

The separatists have already established a headquarters in Yerevan and have made it clear that the so-called regime will continue to operate. This, in turn, shows that Armenia is not interested in signing a peace agreement with Azerbaijan.

In addition, separatist leader Samvel Sharmanyan's 180-degree change in his position shows that he is under the influence of Western forces. It seems that the notorious forces that do not want to give up the South Caucasus still intend to play more games.

What can be done? Let them continue their games. It is extremely sad to imagine what kind of fate awaits Armenia. It seems that the confrontational policy of the West will still serve a long time to maintain the atmosphere of conflict in the South Caucasus.

---

Elnur Enveroglu is AzerNews Deputy Editor-in-Chief, follow him on @ElnurMammadli1

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
22 October 2023 09:00 (UTC+04:00)

Elnur Enveroglu Read more

Melanie Joly, a young Canadian politician and Minister of Foreign Affairs, has announced that she will embark on a visit to Armenia next week.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, who is from the Liberal Party and held portfolios such as Canadian heritage, tourism, and La Francophonie, is more reminiscent of French politicians in her behavior. Yes, we did not make a mistake in our imagination. Jolie, acting more like a French politician and more pro-Armenian, says that she has already said what she had to say to Azerbaijan. But we still haven't heard what Ms. Joly has addressed Azebaijanis on behalf of her Armenian associates. All we know is the plan of the Minister of Foreign Affairs to visit Armenia.

We mentioned earlier that a young Canadian politician has a portfolio called La Francophonie. If we are not mistaken, Joly is of French descent and has special means of promoting French culture, language, and customs.

Briefly note that the Organization "Internationale de la Francophonie" is an international organization representing countries and regions where French is a lingua franca or customary language, where a significant proportion of the population are francophones, or where there is a notable affiliation with French culture.

We can say for sure that Melanie Joly is aware of the ongoing international conference in Baku regarding the criticism of French colonialism and colonialist policies. We hope that the Canadian foreign minister was not offended by the facts about France. Why should it hurt - we also have a word to tell the truth.

Aside from how and for what the Canadian diplomat received orders from Armenian lobbyists, looking at her past, it can be seen that Joly has dealt a lot of blows to the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Her biased position against Azerbaijan was always visible.

As far as I know, Melanie Joly has made many official and unofficial visits to Armenia, supported Armenia's unjust claims, and made baseless statements against Azerbaijan. Therefore, I would like to ask Ms. Joly 3 questions:

1. When did you visit Azerbaijan as a diplomat?

2. What historical facts do you know about Azerbaijan, and on what basis do you defend the separatist regime that has occupied and plundered Azerbaijans Garabagh?

3. And finally, our last question - what was your contribution to the negotiations between Azerbaijan and Armenia for the sake of peace and security in the South Caucasus?

Dear Minister, Melanie Joly, you say that - "I have been clear in my position towards Azerbaijan" and you add that - "I will go to Armenia I will have more to say". We are interested in - what is the reason that forces you to take an anti-Azerbaijani position? Perhaps you were a teenager like us during the First Garabagh War in the 90s, and perhaps you did not know about the events that took place in the South Caucasus, in Garabagh, which is in your focus of interest. But we lived that history and saw what happened. I reminded you that on March 24, 1990, in Baganis Ayrym, on December 23, 1991, in Meshali, on February 17-18, 1992 in Garadaghli, and finally on February 26, 1992, in Khojaly, the Armenian separatism that you currently defend against Azerbaijanis, has committed the cruelest genocides in history.

If you really care about what is right and justice, then before you visit Armenia, you had better study these bloody events in detail. I am sure that if you learn the truth and have a little conscience in your heart, you will have nothing to say.

---

Elnur Enveroglu is AzerNews Deputy Editor-in-Chief, follow him on @ElnurMammadli1

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
22 October 2023 15:36 (UTC+04:00)

The former ombudsman of Armenia, Arman Tatoyan, is saddened by the lack of violence against Armenian residents in Garabagh.

Azernews informs, citing Report that this was included in the statement of the Western Azerbaijan Community.

It is noted that the former ombudsman of Armenia, Arman Tatoyan, again made a number of Azerbaijanaphobic and ridiculous statements: "It is felt that A.Tatoyan and those who follow his thinking were badly disappointed by the lack of violence and negative treatment towards Armenian residents in the Garabagh economic region of Azerbaijan. They cannot prove their false claims of "genocide" and "ethnic cleansing".

The opinions of A.Tatoyan and Dashnak-minded people like him who distort the activities of the Western Azerbaijan Community are completely unfounded: "The Western Azerbaijan Community has no territorial claims against Armenia. The work of the community is purely human rights and humanitarian in nature, it consists in the peaceful return of Western Azerbaijanis to their ancestral lands and the prevention of the destruction of the historical and cultural heritage of the Azerbaijani people in Armenia.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
22 October 2023 10:44 (UTC+04:00)

France's sale of weapons to Armenia is hostility towards Azerbaijan.

Azernews reports that this was included in the statement of the Western Azerbaijan Community.

The community believes that the statement of the Minister of Defense of France that an arms agreement will be signed with Armenia in the near future raises serious concerns.

"Besides, France continues its dirty activities against Azerbaijan in various international organizations.

The provision of weapons to Armenia by France serves to strengthen revanchism in this country and increases tension in the region. It is obvious that the establishment of peace in the region does not benefit official Paris in any way. France is trying to bring geopolitical competition to the South Caucasus region, and for this, it is inciting Armenia to a new war against Azerbaijan."

It is noted that even in the 21st century, this country still cannot give up its colonial mindset and racist approach such as "supporting Eastern Christianity":

"We are sure that France will fail in the policy of arming Armenia, just as it failed in its "mediation" efforts. The South Caucasus region looks more beautiful without France."

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
22 October 2023 11:24 (UTC+04:00)

Armenia has once again been found responsible for crimes in Garabagh. Some time ago, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) announced its verdict in the case Hovhannisyan and Karapetyan v. Armenia, initiated by two Armenian citizens whose sons died while serving in Garabagh, Azernews reports, citing Day.az.

As noted in the case materials, two Armenian soldiers lost their lives as a result of hazing, torture, and beatings. Armenia was found guilty of not conducting a proper investigation, as a result of which the perpetrators were not punished.

It is noted that the ECHR found Armenia guilty of violating the right to life, and the Strasbourg court ordered Armenia to pay 30 thousand euros as compensation.

In this entire process, it is important to note several points. First of all, Armenia was again recognized as an invading country. Thus, it is confirmed that Armenia has been sending its soldiers to serve in Garabagh, which is the territory of another country, for decades. This leads to the second point, that Armenia openly violated international law and prevented the establishment of peace in the region. This approach confirms the argument that for many years Yerevan simulated the negotiation process and was not interested in finding a way out of the current situation.

The importance of this decision is also due to the fact that Azerbaijan receives an additional argument against accusations of restoring full sovereignty over its territory.

Let us note that this is not the first decision of an international body that goes against the interests of Armenia. In the well-known case "Chiragov and others against Armenia", Yerevan was found responsible for the illegal expulsion and deprivation of property of a group of people from Lachin.

Thus, Armenia reserves for itself the image of a country that violates human rights, which is registered by international authorities. And it is very hypocritical for Yerevan to accuse Azerbaijan of similar violations, given the facts indicating that Armenia itself often practices violations of even the fundamental right to life.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
22 October 2023 13:05 (UTC+04:00)

Elnur Enveroglu Read more

Tomorrow, the second meeting in the "3+3" format will be held in Tehran, the capital of Iran, with the participation of foreign ministers, Azernews reports with reference to Iran's media outlets.

According to the information, regional cooperation issues in political, economic, security, transport, and energy fields will be discussed at the meeting.

The publication noted that the current state of the peace and normalization process between Azerbaijan and Armenia will be discussed.

It should be noted that the first meeting in the "3+3" format took place last year in Moscow without the participation of Georgia. The "3+3" format includes Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Iran, and Turkiye.

Further to the report, Armenia will also participate in the meeting of the 3+3 format (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia, Turkey, and Iran), to be held tomorrow. The report comes from Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Vahan Kostanyan.

Note that over the past three decades, various initiatives for regional cooperation in the South Caucasus have been proposed, including the Peaceful Caucasus Initiative, Stability Pact for the Caucasus, Caucasus Stability and Cooperation Platform, and United Caucasus.

However, after the Second Garabagh War, Ankara suggested a new format, the Six-Country Regional Cooperation Platform, which would bring together Turkiye, Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Georgia and Armenia. Around the same time, Tehran introduced a similar 3 + 3 model (i.e., the three South Caucasus countries, Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan plus Russia, Turkiye and Iran) that could serve as a new post-war regional integration platform.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Upcoming events



CORK & FORK FESTIVAL at the Shenkman Arts Centre. This upscale event pairs local wines, delicious cuisine and live music for a fun night on the town close to home. Tickets $36.61 to $168.37 depending on which dates and sessions you want to attend. Visit orleansfestivals.ca for more information.

The CWL of Good Shepherd Parish (3092 Innes Rd. at the Blackburn Bypass) will be hosting their famous Craft Fair on Saturday, Nov. 4. Doors open at 9 am. Join us as crafters will be displaying their wares, our bake table to tempt you as well as Cafe to provide sustenance while you sit and take a break. Homemade soup with a bun lunch will be available. We look forward to seeing you there.

TAPROOM TRIVIA at the Stray Dog Brewing Company from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Exercise your grey matter each and every Wednesday night. Reservations are a must to secure your spot. Send your team name and number of people to info@straydogbrewing.ca. The Stray Dog Brewing Company is located at 501 Lacolle Way in the Taylor Creek Business Park..

HIP HOP FRIDAY NIGHT at the Stray Dog Brewing Company featuring DJ Mace and DJ Kam. Come out with friends for a great night of dance music and cool vibes. The Stray Dog Brewing Company is located at 501 Lacolle Way in the Taylor Creek Business Park..

REMEMBRANCE DAY CEREMONY on the parade grounds at the Orleans Legion Branch 632. Colour party parade will begin at 10:30 a.m. Ceremony at 10:45 a.m. Light snacks and assorted dessert to follow.
22 October 2023 08:00 (UTC+04:00)

Saudi Arabia has approached French aerospace company Daussault Aviation about the purchase of 54 Rafale fighter jets, according to the Sunday edition of French newspaper La Tribune, Azernews reports, citing Reuters.

The kingdom, which has a largely bought UK and U.S. aircraft, has officially requested a detailed quote from the company, which has until Nov. 10 to respond, the newspaper reported, citing sources.

Daussault Aviation has previously sold Rafale warplanes to other countries in the Middle East, namely Egypt, Qatar and the UAE.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
22 October 2023 09:28 (UTC+04:00)

Environmental campaigner Greta Thunberg has been charged with a public order offence after a protest outside a central London hotel on Tuesday, the Metropolitan Police has said, Azernews reports, citing the Standard.

Fossil Free London organised the protest on Tuesday to disrupt the Energy Intelligence Forum, which was meeting at the InterContinental London hotel in Park Lane.

Thunberg faces one count of failing to comply with a condition imposed under Section 14 of the Public Order Act.

The 20-year-old, originally from Sweden, gave her address to officers as in Dorset, she was bailed to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 15 November.

Twenty five others face various charges in connection with the protest.

A Met Police spokesperson said: "We have charged 26 people after a protest outside a hotel in central London.

"Officers responded to the protest on the morning of Tuesday October 17 and imposed conditions to prevent disruption to the public.

"The protestors were asked to move from the road onto the pavement, which would enable them to continue with their demonstration without breaching the conditions."

Thunberg was detained by officers and led to a waiting police van after joining the protest.

In footage shared on social media, officers could be seen taking the campaigner to the van as other protesters were told to stand back.

She had earlier spoken outside the hotel as part of the, urging eco-activists to "reclaim the power" and hitting out at "spineless" politicians for failing to act on global warming.

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22 October 2023 08:33 (UTC+04:00)

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has said that the most serious way forward is a solution based on the perspective of 'two peoples and two states' and that everything must be done to prevent an escalation of the crisis between Israel and Palestine, Azernews reports, citing foreign media outlets.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Melonihas said that the most serious way forward is a solution based on the perspective of 'two peoples and two states' and that everything must be done to prevent an escalation of the crisis between Israel and Palestine.

Italian Prime Minister Meloni attended the 'Cairo Peace Summit' organized with the participation of heads of state and government in Cairo, the capital of Egypt, where the developments in Gaza were discussed.

Meloni emphasized that they condemned the attacks of Hamas against Israel and expressed that they were also concerned about the hostages and wanted all hostages to be released as soon as possible.

Meloni stated that a state should not approach Israel with a feeling of revenge no matter how much it is provoked and that it is legitimate for a state to ensure the security of its citizens and borders.

Two-State solution

"To avoid escalation of the crisis and to avoid losing control of this crisis, we must do the impossible because the consequences are unimaginable. The most serious way to do this is the political initiative towards a structural solution based on the 'two peoples-two states' perspective, which must be concrete and have a specific timeframe," Meloni emphasized.

Emphasizing that the immediate priority is to ensure humanitarian access, which is necessary to prevent further suffering of the civilian population.

"Mass migration could also lead to the destabilization of this region. This is not something we need," Meloni noted.

Meloni also referred to the initiatives taken to defuse the crisis and the aid to Gaza.

"I find the mediation work done by many actors present at this conference very important in this sense. I think the EU Commission's decision to triple its humanitarian aid to Gaza is also very important. Italy is also working on this issue," she added.

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22 October 2023 14:29 (UTC+04:00)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will participate in the talks scheduled to be held in Tehran, the capital of Iran.

The spokeswoman of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, said this.

As reported earlier, the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Iran, Russia, and Turkiye will meet in Tehran on October 23 in the "3+3" format.

Besides, on October 20, Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Vahan Kostanyan announced that he would attend the meeting in Tehran.

At the meeting held at the level of foreign ministers, the South Caucasus issues, the development of regional cooperation (political, economic, security, transit, energy, etc.) and peace negotiations between Azerbaijan and Armenia will be discussed.

It should be noted that the first meeting in the "3+3" format was held last year in Moscow at the level of deputy foreign ministers without the participation of Georgia.

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22 October 2023 19:37 (UTC+04:00)

The first convoy of relief trucks has begun to enter the Gaza Strip from the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing, the Red Crescent said.

This first relief convoy, which comprises a total of 20 trucks, is currently in the process of passing through the Rafah border gate, the Red Crescent told Anadolu.

Meanwhile, an Anadolu correspondent reported that humanitarian aid is actively being transferred from Egyptian trucks to Palestinian trucks.

The conflict in Gaza, under Israeli bombardment and blockade since Oct. 7, began when Hamas initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, a multi-pronged surprise attack that included a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel by land, sea, and air. It said the incursion was in retaliation for the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and growing violence by Israeli settlers.

The Israeli military then launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip.

At least 4,137 Palestinians, including 1,524 children and 1,000 women have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza. That figure stands at more than 1,400 in Israel.

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Princess Abary is a 17-year-old senior at Stockdale High School where she advocates against sexual assault and for mental health awareness both on an off campus. She writes poetry and contributes to her local magazine in hopes of drawing attention to overlooked topics in her community.
Oregon Coast Study: Cape Kiwanda Sinkholes Breaking It Into 'Islands;' More Fencing Needed

Published 10/21/23 at 6:52 p.m.

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

(Pacific City, Oregon)  Back in January of 2023, park rangers at Cape Kiwanda discovered there was a sizable sinkhole on one part of the headland. One of the Oregon coast's biggest attractions had a new danger, and then by the middle of the year a second sinkhole developed, becoming even more problematic. As Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD) kept up with the growing holes, new fencing was implemented each time the holes enlarged. (Photo Oregon Coast Beach Connection: Kiwanda is going to look more like this - even that arch is now gone)

Now, a study by the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI) has figured out the cause, recommending fencing should be moved back even further as they predict a large chunk of the Oregon favorite will eventually collapse away. In fact, they believe this erosion will cut far back into Cape Kiwanda and create new sea stacks and other separated features.



Photos from the study: at left, 2009. At right, present day (Allan)

It's going to look more like the myriad of "sky islands" to the west you now see.

How long this area has before it's truly unsafe is impossible to say, but Oregon coast geologists Laura Gabe and Jonathan Allan  authors of the study - recommended OPRD should be proactive here. Some 50 feet of the headland should be cordoned off.

There's a lot of things the study found, including sea caves, various rockslides and evidence of what kind of water erosion is taking place. Yet one thing is foremost: Cape Kiwanda truly is falling apart in places.

The sinkholes ranged in width from ~4.5 to 10 m (15 to 33 ft), while the smaller sinkhole had an estimated depth of ~5 m (16 ft), the study said.

See the beginning Cape Kiwanda's Sinkholes Merging, N. Oregon Coast Landmark a Little More Dangerous

Allan and Gabe said the larger sinkhole could not be measured for depth due to material that had fallen in.



Courtesy Allan

They said they believed the sinkholes were likely formed from a weak spot in the rock of Kiwanda, which is part of the Astoria Formation  roughly 18 million years old.

What has been the working theory among many geologists is there were sea caves beneath the sinkholes, and that material simply gave way. That, according to the study, probably isn't the case, but rather they think water from above seeped in slowly created a void.

There are indeed two large sea caves which form a large cave system inside the Oregon coast landmark, but they don't connect to the sinkholes  at least the evidence doesn't point to that. This is because the surface of the sea cannot be seen from the sinkholes.

What's a bit remarkable is that part of why this happened is due to a unique composition of the rocks that makes them vulnerable to dissolving.

The ability to form a void within the sandstone also implies some unique geologic characteristics about the chemical disposition of the sediments below the collapse sinkhole, they wrote. Hence, the formation of the sinkhole cannot be solely a function of a joint/fissure, but may also have resulted from chemical dissolution. A weakness in the underlying sediment, perhaps within its mineral structure, could have allowed water to preferentially dissolve the mineral, eventually leading to the formation of a void and its eventual collapse.



Kiwanda in '74 (compare this with the photos above)

Gabe and Allan collected numerous historical photos over the last 80 years and discovered quite a bit of erosion of the cape in various places. Waves are cutting new channels, sea caves are getting enlarged, and more rockslides are occurring around the cape. Then there's an area called the bowl at the northern end (not to be confused with the bowl at the southwest end that was cordoned off two years ago), which the pair strongly recommend fencing off.

Due to the rapid speed in which this part of Cape Kiwanda is presently eroding and the presence of a large cave system at sea level directly below the sinkholes, we recommend that Oregon State Parks and Recreation Department establish a new fence line approximately 15 m (50 ft) south of the two sinkholes.

Perhaps most remarkable is the future of Cape Kiwanda, which looks to be more chopped up into separate islands than most have imagined.

Also see Cape Kiwanda Almost Had Nuclear Power Plant: Bizarre Oregon Coast State Park History

In time, we suspect that this part of Cape Kiwanda may eventually form a small sea stack as the western sea cave collapses, while a wave-cut channel could eventually form along the main east-west cave system, similar to the existing wave-cut channel located immediately north of the developing cave system.

Fencing along Cape Kiwanda was just redone two years ago, allowing for the public to better get pictures of some of the more popular features while still remaining safe. OPRD found people were hopping the fences too close to areas which were definitely unstable or prone to tidal dangers. Now, those lines have to be redrawn.

Other Interesting Takeaways from the Study

- Sand has been blowing onto Cape Kiwanda for 2.6 million years.

- Cape Kiwanda once extended much farther out and it and Haystack Rock were once connected.

- Allan and Gabe have not entirely given up on the idea that the cave system extends below the sinkholes; they're hoping to study that more. This could also enable them to predict other areas that might cave in.

- The power of the waves is not entirely ruled out, but there is currently more evidence towards the chemical processes of dissolution.

Finally, we cannot rule out entirely mechanical action from the waves below, though this seems highly unlikely when compared with dissolution weathering of the rock strata, they wrote.

- The bowl also presents new dangers:



Finally, our fieldwork within the erosion 'bowl' indicated the presence of active slope instabilities. We recommend building a new fence line in the northeast to keep people out of the erosion bowl as this part of the Cape remains unstable, while maintaining a view overlooking the area.

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Andre' GW Hagestedt is editor, owner and primary photographer / videographer of Oregon Coast Beach Connection, an online publication that sees over 1 million pageviews per month. He is also author of several books about the coast.

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One of the nation's oldest and largest insurance companies had its incentives package terminated by the North Carolina Economic Investment Committee Tuesday for failing to add thousands of jobs to its operations center in Charlotte.Allstate was set to receive a Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG) of up to $17.8 million in tax breaks over the span of twelve years, but the state decided to end the 2017 agreement after the company's pledge to add 2,250 jobs by 2020 didn't come to fruition. At that time, Allstate had already employed 1,400 people.Reports say that executives told NCEIC that the new COVID-19 pattern of remote work is to blame and incompatible with the grant rules. While most employees are remote, a little over 200 employees currently work at the Charlotte campus.While the state hasn't paid any money from the grant, local governments have reportedly given the project cash grants of $1.4 million. Allstate has spent nearly $34 million in expanding the site.A yearly payroll impact of more than $105.3 million was expected from Allstate once all positions were filled. The project was supposed to grow the state's economy by an estimated $3.9 billion over the 12-year term of the grant.The company's JDIG agreement also called for moving as much as $5.95 million into the state's Industrial Development Fund - Utility Account because of Allstate's location in Mecklenburg County. The Utility Account helps rural communities finance necessary infrastructure upgrades to attract future business.When asked why the state waited until 2023 to end the agreement if Allstate promised to create 2,250 jobs by 2020, David Rhodes, communications director for the NC Department of Commerce, which oversees the JDIG grants, told Carolina Journal in a phone interview that companies were given what could be called aof one year to fulfill any job creation agreements due to the COVID-19 pandemic.While that would push the agreement to 2021, Rhodes said later in an emailed statement,Allstate's failure to follow through only adds to the terrible track record that JDIG and other state incentive programs have, with most being terminated before completion.Among the most notable failures: Last August, Centene Corporation, a provider of managed health care services, backed out of plans to move its east coast regional headquarters to Charlotte. its $1 billion Charlotte campus was nearly complete after a year of construction.In 2020, the NC Dept. of Commerce struck a deal with Centene, pulling $338 million in tax incentives through an add-on to the state's JDIG. JDIG was originally designed to bring companies to poorer areas of the state, but Centene was awarded the firstJDIG grant to build its hub in urban Charlotte.At the time, Centene said they abandoned the campus and the east coast headquarters plan because of the shift to remote work.Originally, Centene promised to bring more than 6,000 high-paying jobs to Charlotte over the next 12 years, but that promise was later downgraded to 3,200 jobs.In July 2022, Advance Auto ended its Community Economic Development Agreement (CEDA) with the state, which involved relocating its corporate headquarters from Roanoke, VA, to Raleigh in 2018 and creating over 700 full-time jobs.Reports say that company officials told the state that they were unable to add the hundreds of jobs agreed upon as part of the agreement. They cited competition for talent and being more flexible with workers, like allowing for remote work due to changes that occurred with the pandemic.Company officials stressed that while the agreement ended, they would not be relocating their headquarters or workers already here.The initial project was slated to grow North Carolina's economy reportedly by $1 billion.In March 2022, Microsoft pulled the plug on two state economic incentive grants approved in 2019 that would have been worth $20 million in economic incentives. The company said they were uncomfortable sharing the amount of employee data needed to complete the validation of job creation specified in the previously approved Job Development Investment Grants.The company planned multi-million-dollar expansions of its operations based in Charlotte and Morrisville in 2019, with the creation of hundreds of jobs at both locations. Approved incentives packages were tied to plans for both locations, including an additional million-dollar incentives deal from Wake County in 2020 on the condition that Microsoft would bring hundreds of jobs with the deal.Sonic Automotive sent a letter in February 2022 to the state's Economic Investment Committee terminating their economic incentive agreement of almost $7 million. They said they couldn't create the hundreds of jobs needed to fulfill the agreement due to the pandemic.NCEIC terminated two companies' incentive packages in November for not following through on job commitments.Conduent, a spin-off of Xerox and S&D Coffee, blamed the COVID-19 pandemic.EIC voted to end a $2.1 million grant awarded to Conduent in 2017. The business services company was to create approximately 200 jobs in Morrisville. The company would have received the grant money through payroll tax rebates.At the time, the state awarded the company a JDIG grant and a community college grant program. The company was also slated to receive over $41,500 in incentives from Wake County and approximately $40,500 from the town of Morrisville.In 2017, the company employed more than 5,500 workers across the state.Soon after receiving the grant, Conduent began to cut jobs in its Raleigh and Charlotte locations. Reports said 73 positions created through the JDIG grant would be retained, but the company cited COVID and changing business conditions as reasons for not meeting employment goals.S&D Coffee, which provides products to restaurants like Dunkin' and McDonalds, was awarded a $2 million JDIG grant in 2012, promising to create 180 jobs and retain around 600 in Concord.EIC received a letter from S&D owners Westrock Coffee that said COVID had hurt their business, forcing it to close its route distribution business and terminate and furlough many employees, leaving their total employment numbers below pre-pandemic levels.The company said it would retain 450 employees at its Concord location.There are two other notable projects in progress that have been awarded JDIG grants.One is Apple, awarded $845 million in tax breaks over 39 years, provided the follow-through on creating jobs at its planned billion-dollar campus in Research Triangle Park.The other is VinFast, the Vietnamese electric vehicle maker. If the company meets hiring goals, it could get up to $316.1 million in reimbursement from the state over three decades.The troubled company is set to break ground Friday on its $4 billion EV plant in Chatham County.
Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis said that the U.S. needs to constantly beon the Islamic Republic of Iran after Iranian-backed Palestinian terrorists launched widespread attacks throughout Israel on Saturday, resulting in deaths of hundreds of innocent civilians.Approximately 300 Israelis, mostly civilians, were killed from the attacks and nearly 2,000 more have been confirmed to be injured. Those numbers are expected to continue rising as the attacks happened simultaneously throughout the country and some communities were completely overtaken by Hamas.DeSantis told The Daily Wire in an exclusive interview.The 45-year-old Florida governor called Hamas' targeting of women and childrenand that the only appropriate response involved usingthe terrorists.DeSantis slammed President Joe Biden loosening sanctions on Iran and for unfreezing $6 billion in Iranian oil revenues last month, saying that it doesn't matter if those exact funds were used to finance this attack because money is fungibleon other things.DeSantis warned about the $6 billion payment to Iran two months ago in early August, a month before former President Donald Trump posted a similar warning in mid-September.DeSantis told The Daily Wire.DeSantis pointed out that, if adjusted for population size, the terrorist attacks against Israel wereand that the attacks werehe said.He also said that the state of Florida hasmeasures to ensure that the Jewish community is safe, although they have not made any announcements because there was no active threat and they did not want to cause any unnecessary worry for residents.He also said touted Florida's history of collaborating with Israel and said that the state stands ready to provide assistance to Israel after Israel sent the IDF to help Florida with its search and rescue operation when the Surfside Tower collapsed in June 2021.
Dr. Adam B. Dooley, Guest Columnist

Christian Action League

October 18, 2023

No civilized person celebrates war. Recent horrific scenes out of Israel, however, serve as a sobering reminder that some national conflicts cannot be avoided. News of hundreds of young Israelis mowed down at a music festival, civilians beheaded, women raped, and children butchered serve as a warning that the moral ambiguity which often describes our modernity is logically self-defeating. All worldviews are not the same. Evil is real. What is right is never wrong, and what is wrong is never right.

Those protesting Israels right to defend itself are either morally confused or intellectually dishonest. Ask yourself if we would have tolerated the same nonsensical approach in the aftermath of 9-11. Should we grieve over innocent Palestinians who are caught in the crosshairs of a clash that they did not ask for or participate in? Absolutely. The details and history surrounding the discord in the region are complex. What is not complicated, though, is that the primary enemy of the Palestinian people is Hamas, NOT ISRAEL.

Hamas is a religious terrorist group that ousted the Palestinian Authority in 2007 to become the ruling force in the Gaza Strip. These bullies have no interest in negotiating for peace. Their stated goal is the obliteration of Israel, and jihad is a mandatory and honorable expression of their Muslim faith. Calling on fellow Muslims to join in their fight to find and kill all Jews, Hamas views any peace initiatives as a waste of time and an exercise in futility according to their covenant of existence. We cannot simultaneously grimace over the past atrocities of Nazi Germany while at the same time turning a blind eye of naivete toward an equally vile threat.

These misguided priorities have reduced peaceful Palestinians to nothing more than a backdrop for the wicked schemes that further Hamas irrational goals. Those critical of Israels defensive measures fail to acknowledge that surrounding Arab nations have done nothing to protect or evacuate Palestinian civilians. Egypt will not receive them. Iran is not coming to their aid. Saudi Arabia only wants to blame Israel. Why? Because without them, Hamas would have no human shields. Hiding weaponry in apartment complexes and mosques is par for the course for extremists who are willing, even eager to die for their faith. The great losses in the Gaza Strip are tragic, but terrorist oppressors are the primary culprits.

How should Christians think about existential threats such as these? Historically, weak pacifism has not been part of the Christian tradition. Most believers understand that one of the basic, primary responsibilities of government is to defend its citizens. Though not all governments function justly, the Lord establishes ruling authorities with the right to bear the sword in order to punish and eliminate evildoers (Rom. 13:1-5; 1 Pet. 2:13-14).

The concept of a just war requires careful attention to both the why and the how of any call to arms. Defensive measures are, at their core, justified because no nation will exist for long without them. If possible, we are called to live at peace with those around us (Rom. 12:18), but threats like Hamas require a forceful response. Israel has the fundamental right to exist without acquiescing to the pressures of terrorism. Even these noble pursuits, though, do not justify unethical wartime measures. Prioritized efforts to reduce civilian causalities are challenging when your enemy cares nothing about its own citizens, but should be sought, nonetheless.

Obviously, Christians have a greater interest in Israel for theological reasons outside of the current conflict. So many of Gods irrevocable promises center around its real estate and its Jewish inhabitants. Regardless of how the current geopolitical dilemma fits into the nations eschatological future, we know that God is not finished with His chosen people (Zech. 12:10). When the time of the Gentiles concludes, once again the Lord will turn His attention back to the house of Abraham (Rom. 11:25-32).

In the meantime, we should all pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6). We should pray for civilians on both sides of the conflict. And we should pray that democracy and justice will prevail against terrorism.

Dr Adam B. Dooley is pastor of Englewood Baptist Church in Jackson, TN, and author of Hope When Life Unravels. Contact him at adooley@ebcjackson.org. Follow him on Twitter @AdamBDooley.
By Peyton Majors

Christian Action League

October 20, 2023

Pro-lifers across North Carolina are celebrating news that the number of abortions dropped after a 12-week ban went into effect and are calling for prayer that the rate will keep falling.

The data from the pro-choice Guttmacher Institute shows that there was a 31 percent decline in abortions across North Carolina from June to July, a timeframe that coincides with the July 1 implementation of the new pro-life law in North Carolina. There were an eye-popping 1,310 fewer abortions in North Carolina in July than in June, the data revealed.

Guttmachers data  though from a pro-choice group  has historically been trusted by pro-life organizations.

The new law prohibits abortion after 12 weeks of a pregnancy with exceptions for a medical emergency and for the life of the mother. It also makes exceptions for rape and incest through the 20th week of pregnancy.

The Christian Action League played a key role in passage of the bill. In addition to their lobbying activity, the League sent a letter to legislators urging them to back it and argued that pro-lifers were not selling out the pro-life cause if they voted for it. Pro-life legislators had wanted a more restrictive bill.

Rev. Mark Creech, the CAL executive director, wrote the letter, which was emailed and hand-delivered to each legislative office.

When it is not possible to completely prohibit a social evil, it is both moral and effective to limit it as much as possible, Creech wrote in the three-page letter prior to the bills passage. When the ideal is beyond our power, it is moral and effective to seek the greatest good possible.

Creech argued that an all-or-something approach is better than an all-or-nothing approach in trying to limit abortions. He wrote the letter at a time when there was uncertainty if there were enough votes to override a veto.

Roe v. Wade was overturned, he noted, thanks to an incremental strategy. For example, the Supreme Courts decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization involved a Mississippi law that banned abortion after 15 weeks.

This legislation is a historical opportunity in North Carolina to gradually reduce the number of abortions in our state, Creech wrote of the North Carolina bill, SB 20. We cannot afford to waste it.

Creech said he penned the letter to rally support among pro-lifers. Lawmakers said it was critical in helping them come together.

My concern was what might be done to help lawmakers struggling with their consciences see that this bill was not where we wanted to be, but it was still a historic opportunity to save as many lives as possible, Creech said.

According to the latest statistics, it worked and lives are being saved. To God be the glory!
The protection, safekeeping and prompt availability of vital documents is important to the public interest. Long delays in establishing title, and inheritance can cause damage to commerce and impact the value of estates. The ability to access documents readily is a right we have had for hundreds of years. To change the system by putting it at risk only because one individual thinks we should do it does not make sense.

Electronic recording requires electricity. When the internet is not available both recording and access stops. Not having electricity is not the only risk with this complicated cloud system that only a few people can understand and even fewer can make work.

As long as the power is on, we will be fine. It is during times of emergency, both short and long periods, when power is not available or the internet is not available, or there is sabotage of any critical part of the system does not work that serious harm can be done to our way of life.. We need to be able to function under the worst of conditions. Biden has allowed 8 million immigrants into the USA. We have no idea how many terrorists are. With large numbers of immigrants who do not subscribe to our way of life we should consider the possibility of Gaza here in the United States. My issue is about reducing risk.

Eight months ago, 60 Minutes did a story on the vulnerability of the nations power grid.

Filing important documents in places that are not physically accessible offers trouble makers the opportunity to do great harm. The risk is not only not having electricity. Solar Magnetic storms, sun spots, atomic bombs and electromagnet pulse (EMP) attack, hackers, outages of the internet or satellite systems and sabotage create more and more risk. I advocate using electronic filing systems, along with the one sure system protects these documents. That backup is the hard copy deed books we have historically had. The military can shut down the internet and satellite communications at any time for national defense purposes. I can see situations where it is on and off for many periods of time during several months for a variety of reasons. We presume the bad guys will not get control. That is a risky assumption. We have already seen the entire nation put at risk because of the hacking of control systems for a major east coast pipeline. We should never give up our hard copy filing system.

Let me oversimplify the problem. The issue is how we are going to protect valuable documents is the power grid is disrupted. The problem is not whether to use electronic or hardcopy record storage. The is is how we prepare for a collapse of the power supply.

Hard copies of deeds have not been filed in Beaufort County since January 5 of this year. That is five days after Carolyn Garris became Register of Deeds. Part of this problem is that the new appointed Register of Deeds is simply clueless about her duties or how government works. She got off to a bad start when she deceived the Republican Executive Committee about the Register of Deeds vacancy when Jennifer Whitehurst retired at the end of 2022. Garris is and was Chairman of the Beaufort County Republican Executive Committee. That group nominates someone to fill a vacancy in the office of Register of Deeds. The Register of Deeds job pays about $70,000 per year. Carolyn Garris mislead the Executive Committee and applicants for the Register of Deeds job so she could get the job. She has no experience that would qualify her to be Register of Deeds. Carolyn Garris is a native of New Jersey and has no loyal roots to our North Carolina heritage.

Upon becoming the Register of Deeds, she, within four days, stopped recording deeds on hard copy. She had no authority to do this. Her actions violated the County Budget Ordinance. The Register of Deeds office is funded by Beaufort County taxes collected by the Board of County Commissioners. State law requires that all expenditures for every county be enacted within a budget ordinance. This is to keep county officials from requesting funds for one thing and then doing something else with that money. Sounds like Carolyn Garris doesnt get it. The Board of County Commissioners was never informed that we would change the way we record deeds. Again, the issue as I see it is not whether to use the electronic system but rather whether the County will maintain an adequate back up system in case the electronic system goes down.

Garris apparently is clueless about the threats, such as those reported by 60 Minutes in the video above, present to people having access in a timely manner to these records. The time has past to argue about whether or not the power grid will be attacked. It has already been attacked! And the number of instances of attacks on the grid has been growing every year. Thus, it is not an issue of whether the grid will go down, but rather when it will go down and for how long. Apparently Garris did not consider this issue when she made the decision abandon the hard copy system. And the majority of our County Commission is equally clueless about this risk and what it means to the people of Beaufort County.

January of 2023 is the middle of a budget year. The budget year begins July first of each year and ends the last day of June the following year. Making the change in the middle of the budget year makes no sense. Again, Carolyn Garris failed to make the Board of Commissioners aware of any changes in her Department during the preparation of the 2023-24 budget. Obviously, it takes much less labor to record online than it does to record hard copy. Why was her budget not adjusted for the 2023-24 budget year?

The representation that there is no room in the Register of Deeds Office for hard copy books is not true. We are producing about 40 books per year, Conservatively we have eight more years of available space at that rate. I invite you to visit the Deed vault and see for yourself. It is open to the public 8 hours each day.

The gang of five, without taking the time to get any facts, started circling the wagons around Carolyn Garris when I brought the hard copy issue up at the October Commissioners meeting. Their defense is purely political. Garris is Chairman of the Beaufort County Republican Party. John Rebholz and Randy Walker are dependent of her support to win their commissioners seats in 2024. Frankie Waters sits on the Executive Committee even though he donated money to the Democrat Candidate for Sheriff during the 2022 elections. Commissioners Booth and Langley are having a good time playing the three RINOs for suckers to keep the Republican Party split. The three RINOs do not have a majority unless at least one of these Democrats votes with them. Rebholz and Frankie Waters return the favor by voting for Langley to be Vice Chairman. These are the same kinds of problems real Republicans have in Raleigh and Washington, DC.

We have a register of Deeds who did not told the truth to get the job of Register of Deeds, has not told the truth about the availability of space in the Register of Deeds Office nor does she have any plan for how to deal with a collapse of the power grid for an extended period of time. She has not told the truth during the budget process in adjusting her staff level based on the amount of work. She violated a law, the budget ordinance, when she stopped making hard copies of deeds in spite of the fact that the County Commissioners had mandated a paper record backup system by appropriating tax payer money to do just that.

I am being accused of having a vendetta against Carolyn Garris. Yes, there is bad blood. Garris informed me that I no longer had ex-officio rights at the Executive Committee. Those rights come with my election to public office as a Republican. She ousted me from several meetings. One of those meetings was when the $14,000.00 that was raised to support Beaufort County Candidates was sent to Raleigh. This was done to deny conservative school board candidates, commissioner candidates and the conservative sheriff help in their campaigns. Frankie Waters was the only RINO favored by Garris who was running that year and he was giving money to the Democrat candidate for sheriff. To this day I do not get notices of the Beaufort County Executive Committee meetings. I do not watch her any closer than I do any other elected official. She is not the only official I have complained about.

Carolyn Garris was on the agenda to answer for her actions at the October public meeting of the County Commission. She has been to every other commissioner meeting but refused to attend the October meeting. She will be on the November agenda. Let us see if she shows up and explains her action to the Commission and the public.

I have no doubt that Commissioners Randy Walker, Frankie Waters, John Rebholz, Ed Booth and Jerry Langley will back her to not make hard copies of deeds.
A Hamas sign has been spotted in the Bogside in Derry.

Gaza has been blockaded and bombarded by Israel since Hamas, an Islamic terrorist group, launched a series of raids on October 7.

More than 1,400 people, most of them civilians, were killed in the incursion on October 7.

More than 4,100 people have been killed in Gaza, according to Palestines health ministry.

Thousands of people protested outside the BBC in Belfast on Saturday in support of Palestinians in Gaza.

The demonstration at Broadcasting House in Ormeau Avenue was organised by Belfast Stands with Palestine, which said the BBC was biased in favour of Israel. It was followed a rally outside Belfast City Hall.

Chants of BBC, shame on you were heard from the crowd, many of whom were carrying Palestinian flags.

People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll said the 2,000-strong crowd was protesting to challenge how the BBC was covering the conflict in Israel and Gaza.

The BBC defended its coverage of the conflict, saying it had provided audiences around the world with coverage and first-hand testimony of the atrocities committed by Hamas and the suffering in Gaza.

We have made clear the devastating human cost to civilians living in Israel and Gaza, and the unprecedented nature of what has happened, it added.

We have reported on the atrocities committed by Hamas in their assault on Israel, and have heard many accounts from survivors of these attacks and family members of the victims, reflecting the trauma they are suffering.

Other rallies were held across Northern Ireland in support of Palestine on Saturday, including in Londonderry, Dungannon and Omagh.
Firefighters rescued two people in their 70s from the house on the Coleraine Road, while another man sadly passed away at the scene. The cause of the fire is believed to be an accident.

Alan ONeill, Group Commander at NIFRS said offered his condolences to the mans loved ones.

The thoughts and sympathies of Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service are with the loved ones of a man who has sadly died following a house fire in Ballymoney yesterday morning, he said.

On Saturday at 02:49am, Firefighters were called to reports of a fire in a semi-detached house on Coleraine Road, Ballymoney.

Two crews from Ballymoney and Coleraine fire stations attended the incident and rescued two people in their 70s. Tragically a man died at the scene, despite best efforts by Northern Ireland Ambulance Service and Firefighters.

The fire was extinguished and crews left the incident at 04:29am. The cause of the fire is under investigation, but we believe it was an accidental fire
An 85-year-old man has been found safe and well after being reported as a missing person.

The pensioner is believed to have left his home in north Belfast at around 2am on Saturday morning.

A police appeal urged members of the public to be on the look out for the man who has a distinctive scar on his face.

It was thought he was still wearing his slippers at the time he disappeared.

A PSNI spokesperson has confirmed the elderly man has been located safe and well.

"The Police Service of Northern Ireland would like to thank everyone who assisted us with the search, they added.

Detectives had said they were becoming increasingly concerned for the welfare of the high-risk missing pensioner before he was found. .CCTV footage showed him walking past Cityside complex at Yorkgate, in the direction of the city centre at around 9.15am on Saturday.

At approximately 9.50am, he was seen crossing Frederick Street towards Donegall Street.

The mans family were said to be very worried as it is completely out of character for their loved one not to contact relatives.
Heavy showers forecast in NI with thunder and hail expected by end of week. Pic by Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker.

Weather conditions are set to remain unsettled in the run up to Halloween with heavy showers turning thundery at times.

A number of warnings have been issued in the Republic of Ireland where flooding is expected over the next two days.

But Met Office forecaster Tom Morgan said Northern Ireland will miss out on the worst of the wet weather.

"Quite a large area of Ireland is expected to see a large amount of rain, but NI wont see too much, he explained.

"Fermanagh and Tyrone might see some rain on Sunday night, but not as much as in the south.

A Met Eireann yellow warning is in place for counties Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary and Galway from 6pm on Sunday to 6pm on Monday with localised flooding and difficult travel conditions expected.

It extends to counties Carlow, Kildare, Laois, Longford, Offaly, Westmeath, Wicklow and Roscommon from 4am on Monday to 4am on Tuesday.

An Orange warning for counties Kilkenny, Wexford and Waterford applies from 4am on Monday to 4am on Tuesday.

In Northern Ireland, the week is expected to get off to a chilly and dry start.

"It will cloud over as we go through Monday but any rain will be restricted to western areas, Mr Morgan said.

"The rest of the week is changeable.

"There will be rain at times and we could see heavy downpours, but nowhere near as heavy as what we saw last week  and there will be lots of sunny spells around.

The meteorologist said cloud will build on Tuesday meaning there will be outbreaks of rain in most places.

Wednesday is expected to get off to a foggy and murky start, however it will remain dry until the evening.

Showers will continue throughout Thursday and into Friday.

"Towards the end of the week they could be very heavy at times with the possibility of hail and thunder being mixed in, Mr Morgan said.

"It will be a very autumnal weather remaining unsettled in the run up to Halloween.

"Temperatures will be around average for the time of year which which is 13C or 14C maximum.

"It should be around mid to high single figures overnight.
Jeffrey Donaldson has said a United Ireland will not happen in his lifetime.

Speaking to the Sunday Telegraph, the DUP leader added that complacent UK governments had jeopardised Northern Irelands place in the union by neglecting it.

The MP for Lagan Valley has also accused Westminster of trying to bully the DUP back to the Assembly.

The DUP have been boycotting Stormont since February 2022 over the partys concerns with post-Brexit trading arrangements.

Where is our government making the case for the Union? Sir Jeffrey asked.

Last month, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar told RTE he believed there would be a united Ireland in his own lifetime.

Sir Jeffrey disagreed, and said that a united Ireland would be unable to accommodate his British identity.

I dont think there is going to be a united Ireland in my lifetime, he said.

I think the people of Northern Ireland will continue to vote to remain part of the sixth largest economy in the world. And to be part of a nation that has influence right across the globe.

He said that the United Kingdom has had room for both unionists and nationalists because of the Good Friday Agreement.

A united Ireland would wipe those benefits away, the MP for Lagan Valley added. A united Ireland cannot accommodate my Britishness.

Some people have been complacent about the Union, about Northern Irelands place in the Union.

Sir Jeffrey continued: Some in government seem to think that the way to get the institutions restored is to punish people and to basically bully people back into government. We dont respond to that kind of behaviour.
Elm, a leading digital solutions company, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with CyShield Technology to explore possibilities for developing cooperation and expanding in the Egyptian market.

The partnership comes in line with Elms participation during the 43rd edition of the Gitex Global Exhibition 2023, which was held recently at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC).

Hakeem Al Rasheed, Director of International Business at Elm, and Eng Wael Ali, Chief Technology Officer at CyShield Technology, signed the MoU, which seeks to establish a framework to establish bilateral cooperation based on shared interests, enabling both parties to evaluate opportunities in the digital sector.

Expanding in Egypt

In addition, the MoU supports Elms strategy to expand into Egyptian markets as well as those of neighbouring countries, as CyShield Technology has been considered one of the key contributors to the digital transformation in the country.

Furthermore, the agreement aligns with Elms strategy to continue its market expansion and reinforce its presence in the Arab region. The company plans to realise this strategy by offering companies the tools required to keep up with digital transformation and technological advancements, as well as by providing customised solutions to meet the evolving requirements of both individuals and businesses in this digital era.

Majid Al Arifi, official spokesperson and VP of Marketing at Elm, highlighted the companys steadfast dedication to establishing enduring partnerships with companies focusing on the digital, technological, and cybersecurity fields.

Knowledge exchange

Moreover, he stressed the significance of knowledge exchange and partnership development with CyShield Technology to support the expansion of both companies, as well as enhance the quality of services offered to clients.

Al Arifi also emphasised that the MoU enables both parties to explore and evaluate the opportunities present in the regional and international markets, prepare to enhance their footprint within these landscapes, and collaborate to create new joint digital business ventures.

Al Arifi stated that boosting Elms regional partnerships acts as a key pillar in efforts to ensure a technological infrastructure that supports digital transformation across the Arab region as well as the African continent. It further allows companies to provide services through digital platforms, ensuring maximum efficiency and reliability.

Elm, a pioneer in the digital industry within Saudi Arabia and the wider region, has a customer base of over 30 million users, 700,000 business clients, and processes over 2 billion transactions annually. In addition, the companys operational model focuses on information technology (IT) localisation, offers a broad array of digital solutions and smart platforms, manages over 50 different brands in various sectors, and is part of over 170 projects.--TradeArabia News Service
The Citizens Assembly on Drugs Use took place at the Grand Hotel in Malahide in Dublin (PA)

Significant changes to laws governing the possession of drugs for personal use, amounting to an effective decriminalisation, have been recommended by the Citizens Assembly.

The body voted on and agreed 36 recommendations for government, aimed at producing a new Irish model of legislation, policy and service to reduce the harm caused by illicit drugs use.

The recommendations were agreed at the sixth and final meeting of the Citizens Assembly on Drugs Use in Malahide, Co Dublin, at the weekend.

They will be compiled into a final report outlining the work of the Assembly over the six months since it first met in April to be submitted to the Oireachtas by the end of this year.

One of the recommendations being put forward is significant changes to laws governing penalties for possession of drugs for personal use.

This has been described as effectively amounting to decriminalisation, and an approach based on health-led interventions rather than through convictions via the criminal justice system.

Other key recommendations include greater responsibility and accountability for drugs policy at national level through the establishment of a dedicated Cabinet Committee on Drugs to be chaired by the Taoiseach, and increased funding for drugs treatment services alongside a greater focus on education about drugs use and prevention measures.

Assembly chair Paul Reid said members have made an important contribution to Irish life through their active participation in the Assembly process.

This has been the most comprehensive, wide-ranging, and representative discussion on all aspects of drugs use and drugs policy that has ever taken place in Ireland, he said.

As the Assemblys work developed it was clear there was a mood for change and this is represented in the recommendations that have been agreed, including significant changes to how we treat and deal with possession of drugs for personal use.

He described a much-needed and long-overdue national conversation.

The Assembly has produced an Irish model of drugs laws designed in the context of the issues and challenges we face, he said.

We heard of the devastating impact that drugs use on individuals, their families, and communities, and we have heard the voices and stories of those who work at the forefront of drugs treatment, drugs services, and drugs prevention.

We have heard arguments for a new and radical approach, and we heard calls for the maintenance of the status quo.

Ultimately, it will be up to the Oireachtas to implement what the Assembly has called for. But if they do, this will not only change the national policy and approach, it will also change peoples lives. For the better.
Suella Braverman will demand an explanation from Scotland Yard chief Sir Mark Rowley over the handling of pro-Palestine protesters chanting jihad.

The Home Secretary will make clear the police should crack down on anyone breaking the law.

The force said no offences were identified in a video of a Hizb ut-Tahrir protest showing a man chanting jihad in London on Saturday.

Home Office minister Robert Jenrick said chanting the word on the streets of the capital is inciting terrorist violence.

Sir Mark was already scheduled to meet the Home Secretary on Monday.

A source close to Mrs Braverman said: The Home Secretary is already due to meet the Metropolitan Police commissioner tomorrow to discuss the ongoing Israel-Gaza protests and will be asking for an explanation over the response to incidents which took place on Saturday.

There can be no place for incitement to hatred or violence on Britains streets and, as the Home Secretary has made clear, the police are urged to crack down on anyone breaking the law.

Immigration minister Mr Jenrick said a lot of people will find the Mets analysis surprising, adding: Thats something that we intend to raise with them and to discuss this incident with them.

A video posted on social media shows a man speaking into a microphone in front of a banner reading Muslim Armies! Rescue the People of Palestine.

The main speaker asks: What is the solution to liberate people from the concentration camp called Palestine?

A man standing to the side of the speaker, but neither on a platform nor speaking into the microphone, can then be heard chanting words including jihad, as can some others attending the protest.

The Met responded to the post on social media, saying the word jihad has a number of meanings, and that specialist counter-terrorism officers had not identified any offences arising from the specific clip filmed in central London.

Other clips posted on social media from the same protest show speakers using the microphone to speak about a solution of jjhad.

Mr Jenrick was asked about the incident and wider concerns around protests related to the Israel-Hamas conflict on Skys Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips.

He told the programme: Chanting jihad on the streets of London is completely reprehensible and I never want to see scenes like that. It is inciting terrorist violence and it needs to be tackled with the full force of the law.

Ultimately, its an operational matter for the police and the CPS (Crown Prosecution Service) whether to press charges.

He added: Arrests have been made There have been arrests since the beginning of this situation There have been arrests under terrorist legislation. And we want to do everything that we can to protect British Jews.

But this is a broader question beyond just legality. It also is a question about values. And there should be a consensus in this country that chanting things like jihad is completely reprehensible and wrong and we dont ever want to see that in our country.

He told LBC: I think a lot of people would find the Metropolitan Police analysis surprising, and thats something that we intend to raise with them and to discuss this incident with them.

But he stressed again the legality is ultimately a question for the police and the CPS.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: The vast majority of yesterdays protests were peaceful, but Im aware of some disturbing and offensive comments.

The Mets investigations are ongoing, and I remain in close contact with the Met Commissioner.

London has a zero-tolerance approach to hate crime. If anyone has broken the law, strong action will be taken against them.

Jewish safety organisation the Community Security Trust criticised the Met, saying that in trying to communicate complex and nuanced legal issues on social media they gave the impression of legitimising obnoxious and hateful behaviour that may or may not be criminal but nevertheless causes profound concern to British Jews and many other people.

The Met said in a statement on Saturday: In addition to officers deployed with the protest, we have counter-terrorism officers with specialist language skills and subject expertise working alongside public order officers in our main operations room, assessing any video and photos that emerge.

They have reviewed a video from the Hizb ut-Tahrir protest in which a man can be seen to chant Jihad, jihad.

The word has a number of meanings but we know the public will most commonly associate it with terrorism.

Specialist officers have assessed the video and have not identified any offences arising from the specific clip. We have also sought advice from specialist Crown Prosecution Service lawyers, who have reached the same conclusion.

However, recognising the way language like this will be interpreted by the public and the divisive impact it will have, officers identified the man involved and spoke to him to discourage any repeat of similar chanting.

Jihad can mean struggle or effort, but it has also been taken to refer to holy war.

In a message on the Hizb ut-Tahrir website, explaining why it decided to hold demonstrations on Saturday outside the Egyptian and Turkish Embassies in London, the group said Palestinians have been subject to brutal oppression and called on Egypt and Turkey to unite in rescuing their Palestinian brothers and sisters.
The border crossing between Egypt and Gaza opened on Saturday to let a trickle of desperately needed aid into the besieged Palestinian territory for the first time since Israel sealed it off in the wake of Hamass bloody rampage two weeks ago.

Just 20 trucks were allowed in, an amount that aid workers said is insufficient to address the unprecedented humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

More than 200 trucks carrying roughly 3,000 tons of aid have been positioned near the crossing for days.

Gazas 2.3 million Palestinians, half of whom have fled their homes, are rationing food and drinking dirty water. Hospitals say they are running low on medical supplies and fuel for emergency generators amid a territory-wide power blackout.

Five hospitals have stopped functioning because of fuel shortages and bombing damage, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said.

There are growing expectations of a ground offensive that Israel says will be aimed at rooting out Hamas.

Israel said on Friday that it does not plan to take long-term control over the small but densely populated Palestinian territory.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened his Cabinet late on Saturday to discuss the expected invasion, Israeli media reported.

Relatives of people kidnapped by Hamas militants hold pictures of their loved ones during a protest in Tel Aviv (Petros Giannakouri/AP)

Israels military spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said the country plans to step up its air strikes as preparation for the next stage of the war.

We will deepen our attacks to minimise the dangers to our forces in the next stages of the war. We are going to increase the attacks, from today, he said, repeating his call for Gaza City residents to head south for their safety.

Israel has vowed to crush Hamas but has given few details about what it envisions for Gaza if it succeeds.

Yifat Shasha-Biton, a Cabinet minister, said there is broad consensus in the government that there will have to be a buffer zone in Gaza to keep Palestinians away from the border.

We need to create a distance between the border and our communities, she told Channel 13 TV, adding that no decisions had been made on its size or other specifics.

Soldiers drive a military vehicle near the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip (Francisco Seco/AP)

The border crossing opening came after more than a week of high-level diplomacy by various mediators, including visits to the region by US President Joe Biden and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Israel had insisted that nothing would enter Gaza until Hamas released all of the captives from its attack, and the Palestinian side of the crossing had been shut down by Israeli air strikes.

Late on Friday, Hamas released an American woman and her teenage daughter, the first captives to be freed.

It was not immediately clear if there was a connection between the release and the aid deliveries. Israel says Hamas is still holding at least 210 captives.

On Saturday morning, an Associated Press reporter on the Palestinian side of Rafah saw the 20 trucks heading north to Deir al-Balah, a quiet farming town where many evacuees from the north have sought shelter.

Hundreds of foreign passport holders at Rafah hoping to escape the conflict were not allowed to leave.

The trucks were carrying 44,000 bottles of drinking water from the UNs childrens agency  enough for 22,000 people for a single day, it said.

This first, limited water will save lives, but the needs are immediate and immense, said Unicef executive director Catherine Russell.

The World Health Organisation said four of the 20 trucks that crossed through Rafah were carrying medical supplies, including essential supplies for 300,000 people for three months, trauma medicine and supplies for 1,200 people, and 235 portable trauma bags for first responders.

The situation is catastrophic in Gaza, said the head of the UNs World Food Programme, Cindy McCain. We need many, many, many more trucks and a continual flow of aid.

She added that some 400 trucks were entering Gaza daily before the war.

Trucks with humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip enter from Egypt (Fatima Shbair/AP)

The Hamas-run government in Gaza also said the limited convoy will not be able to change the humanitarian catastrophe, calling for a secure corridor operating around the clock.

Rear Admiral Hagari said the humanitarian situation in Gaza is under control.

He said the aid will be delivered only to southern Gaza, where the army has ordered people to relocate, adding that no fuel will enter the territory.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken appealed to all sides to keep the crossing open for crucial aid shipments and warned Hamas to not take the aid.

Palestinian civilians are not responsible for Hamass horrific terrorism, and they should not be made to suffer for its depraved acts, he said in a statement. As President Biden stated, if Hamas steals or diverts this assistance it will have demonstrated once again that it has no regard for the welfare of the Palestinian people.

Judith Raanan and her 17-year-old daughter Natalie are escorted by Israeli soldiers (Government of Israel/AP)

It will also make it hard to keep the aid flowing, he said.

Mr Guterres, meanwhile, voiced growing international concern over civilians in Gaza, telling a summit in Cairo that Hamass reprehensible assault on Israel two weeks ago can never justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.

Two Egyptian officials and a European diplomat said extensive negotiations with Israel and the UN to allow fuel deliveries for hospitals have so far yielded little progress.

One Egyptian official said they were discussing the release of dual-national hostages in return for the fuel, but that Israel was insisting on the release of all hostages.

Hamas released Judith Raanan and her 17-year-old daughter, Natalie, on Friday for what it said were humanitarian reasons in an agreement with Qatar, a Persian Gulf nation that has often served as a Middle East mediator. A representative for the pair said they were staying with relatives in central Israel.

The two had been on a trip from their home in Chicago to Israel to celebrate Jewish holidays, the family said. They were in the kibbutz of Nahal Oz, near Gaza, when Hamas and other militants stormed into southern Israeli towns, killing hundreds and abducting at least 210 others.

(PA Graphics)

President Biden has spoken on the phone with the two freed Americans, telling them he was glad they had been released.

Were going to get them all out, God willing, he said.

Natalie thanked Mr Biden for his services to Israel, while mas Raanan said they are in good health.

Hamas said it is working with Egypt, Qatar and other mediators to close the case of hostages if security circumstances permit.

There are growing expectations of a ground offensive that Israel says would be aimed at rooting out Hamas, an Islamic militant group that has ruled Gaza for 16 years. Israel said on Friday it does not plan to take long-term control over the small but densely populated Palestinian territory.

Israel has also traded fire along its northern border with Lebanons Hezbollah militant group, raising concerns about a second front opening up.

The Israeli military said on Saturday that it struck Hezbollah targets in Lebanon in response to recent rocket launches and attacks with anti-tank missiles.

Hezbollah has decided to participate in the fighting, and we are exacting a heavy price for this, Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant said during a visit to the border.

Israel issued a travel warning on Saturday, ordering its citizens to leave Egypt and Jordan  which made peace with it decades ago  and to avoid travel to a number of Arab and Muslim countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Bahrain, which forged diplomatic ties with Israel in 2020.

Protests against Israels actions in Gaza have erupted across the region.

An Israeli ground assault would be likely to lead to a dramatic escalation in casualties on both sides in urban fighting. More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed in the war  mostly civilians killed during the Hamas incursion.

Humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip at the Rafah border gate (Mohammed Asad/AP)

More than 4,300 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. That includes the disputed toll from a hospital explosion. The ministry says another 1,400 are believed to have been buried under rubble.

The Hamas-run Housing Ministry said at least 30% of all homes in Gaza have been destroyed or heavily damaged in the war.

Hosting a summit on Saturday, Egypt President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi called for ensuring aid to Gaza, negotiating a ceasefire and resuming Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, which last broke down more than a decade ago.

He also said the conflict will never be resolved at the expense of Egypt, referring to fears that Israel may try to push Gazas population into the Sinai Peninsula.

King Abdullah II of Jordan told the summit that Israels air campaign and siege of Gaza are a war crime and criticised the international communitys response.

Anywhere else, attacking civilian infrastructure and deliberately starving an entire population of food, water, electricity, and basic necessities would be condemned, he said.

Apparently, he added, human rights have boundaries. They stop at borders, they stop at races, they stop at religions.

A summit was held in Cairo (Egyptian Presidency Media Office via AP)

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called for an international peace summit to bring about the end of the war.

Speaking at the summit in Cairo, Mr Abbas reiterated his complete rejection of the killing of civilians on both sides.

He also urged the release of all civilians, prisoners, and detainees, probably alluding to some 210 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and the Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

Mr Abbas leads the Palestinian Authority, a government exercising semi-autonomous control in the West Bank. The government is deeply loathed among Palestinians, who view it as corrupt and collaborationist with Israel.

Hamas seized control of the Palestinian Authority in the Gaza Strip in 2007 and enjoys a strong base of support in the West Bank.

More than a million people have been displaced in Gaza. Many heeded Israels orders to evacuate from north to south within the sealed-off coastal enclave.

But Israel has continued to bomb areas in southern Gaza where Palestinians had been told to seek safety, and some appear to be going back to the north because of bombings and difficult living conditions in the south.
Israeli warplanes struck targets across Gaza overnight on Saturday and into Sunday (Francisco Seco/AP)

Israeli warplanes struck targets across Gaza overnight on Saturday and into Sunday, as well as two airports in Syria and a mosque in the occupied West Bank allegedly used by militants, as the two-week-old war with Hamas threatened to spiral into a broader conflict.

Israel has traded fire with Lebanons Hezbollah militant group on a near-daily basis since the war began, and tensions are soaring in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces have battled militants in refugee camps and carried out two air strikes in recent days.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told troops in northern Israel that if Hezbollah launches a war against Israel, it will make the mistake of its life. We will cripple it with a force it cannot even imagine and the consequences for it and the Lebanese state will be devastating.

For days, Israel has seemed to be on the verge of launching a ground offensive in Gaza as part of its response to Hamass deadly October 7 rampage. Tanks and tens of thousands of troops have massed at the border, and Israeli leaders have spoken of an undefined next stage in operations.

But the military acknowledges there are still hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians in northern Gaza despite a sweeping evacuation order, which would complicate any ground attack. And the risk of triggering a broader war with Hamass allies in Lebanon and Syria might also give them pause.

Trucks with humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip enter from Egypt (Fatima Shbair/AP)

On Saturday, 20 trucks of aid were allowed to enter Gaza from Egypt through the Rafah crossing, the first time anything has gone into the territory since Israel imposed a complete siege two weeks ago.

On Sunday, another convoy of 17 trucks bringing aid to besieged Palestinians crossed into Gaza on Sunday, Egypts state-run media reported.

Associated Press journalists at the crossing saw seven fuel trucks enter Gaza on Sunday, but did not see any more deliveries.

Aid workers said it is far too little to address the spiralling humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where half the territorys 2.3 million people have fled their homes.

Hospitals packed with patients and displaced people are running low on medical supplies and fuel for generators, forcing doctors to perform surgeries with sewing needles, using kitchen vinegar as disinfectant, and without anaesthesia.

Palestinians sheltering in UN-run schools and tent camps are running low on food and drinking dirty water.

The territorys sole power plant shut down more than a week ago, causing a territory-wide blackout and crippling water and sanitation systems.

The UN humanitarian agency said cases of chicken pox, scabies and diarrhoea are increasing because of the lack of clean water.

Gazas Hamas-run Interior Ministry reported heavy Israeli air strikes across the territory overnight into Sunday, including southern areas where Israel had told Palestinians to seek refuge.

The ministry said that among the sites hit were homes and a cafe in the south where dozens of residents had sought shelter.

(PA Graphics)

Israels military has said it is striking Hamas members and installations, but does not target civilians.

Palestinian militants have continued daily rocket attacks, with Hamas saying it targeted Tel Aviv early on Sunday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened his Cabinet late on Saturday to discuss the expected ground invasion, Israeli media reported.

Military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Israel plans to step up air strikes, starting from Saturday, as preparation for the next stages of the war.

Israel has vowed to crush Hamas but has given few details about what it envisions for Gaza if it succeeds.

Yifat Shasha-Biton, a Cabinet minister, told Channel 13 TV there is broad consensus in the government that there will have to be a buffer zone in Gaza to keep Palestinians away from the border.

An Israeli ground assault is likely to lead to a dramatic escalation in casualties on both sides.

A Palestinian woman looks out of her window after an Israeli strike on the Gaza Strip in Rafah (Hatem Ali/AP)

More than 1,400 people in Israel have so far died in the war  mostly civilians killed during the initial Hamas attack.

At least 210 people were captured and dragged back to Gaza, including men, women, children and older adults. Two Americans were released on Friday in what Hamas said was a humanitarian gesture.

More than 4,300 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. That includes the disputed toll from a hospital explosion.

Syrian state media meanwhile reported that Israeli air strikes have targeted the international airports in the capital, Damascus, and the northern city of Aleppo. It said the strikes killed one person and damaged the runways, putting them out of service.

Israel has carried out several strikes in Syria, including on the airports, since the war began.

Israel rarely acknowledges individual strikes, but says it acts to prevent Hezbollah and other militant groups from bringing in arms from their patron, Iran, which also supports Hamas.

In Lebanon, Hezbollah said six of its fighters were killed on Saturday, and the groups deputy leader, Sheikh Naim Kassem, warned that Israel will pay a high price if it starts a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip. Israel says it will continue to respond to rocket fire from Lebanon.

In the occupied West Bank, dozens of Palestinians have been killed in clashes with Israeli troops, arrest raids and attacks by Jewish settlers. Israeli forces have closed crossings into the territory and checkpoints between cities, measures they say are aimed at preventing attacks.

An Israeli woman touches photos of Israelis missing and held captive in Gaza, displayed on a wall in Tel Aviv (Petros Giannakouris/AP)

The internationally recognised Palestinian Authority administers parts of the West Bank and co-operates with Israel on security, but it is deeply unpopular and has been the target of violent Palestinian protests.

Israeli forces killed at least five people in the West Bank early on Sunday, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Two were killed in an air strike on a mosque in the town of Jenin, which has seen heavy gun battles between Palestinian militants and Israeli troops over the past year.

The Israeli military said the mosque compound belonged to Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants who had carried out several attacks in recent months and were planning another one.

Sundays fatalities take the death toll in the West Bank to 90 Palestinians since the war broke out on October 7, according to the Health Ministry. Most appear have been killed during fighting with Israeli forces or violent protests.

Thirteen Palestinians, including five minors, and a member of Israels paramilitary Border Police were killed last week in a battle in a refugee camp in the West Bank town of Tulkarem, in which Israel also launched an air strike.

In Gaza, the Israeli military said the humanitarian situation is under control as aid workers called for the opening of a round-the-clock aid corridor.

The UN humanitarian agency, known as OCHA, said the convey that entered on Saturday carried about 4% of an average days imports before the war and a fraction of what is needed after 13 days of complete siege. It is calling for 100 trucks a day to enter.

Huge quantities of aid have been gathered near the Egyptian side of the crossing, but there has been no word on when more might enter.

President Joe Biden said the US, which has worked with other mediators to reach an agreement on Rafah, remains committed to ensuring that civilians in Gaza will continue to have access to food, water, medical care, and other assistance, without diversion by Hamas.

In a statement, he said the US will work to keep Rafah open and let US citizens leave Gaza. But hundreds of foreign passport holders who had gathered at the crossing on Saturday were unable to depart after the aid convoy entered.
The South Korean, US and Japanese militaries have conducted their first-ever trilateral aerial exercise in response to evolving North Korean nuclear threats, South Koreas air force said.

The training held near the Korean Peninsula was to implement the three countries earlier agreement to increase defence cooperation and boost their joint response capabilities against North Korean threats, the air force said.

The drill involved a nuclear-capable B-52 bomber from the United States and fighter jets from South Korea and Japan, the statement said.

South Korea and Japan are both key US allies in Asia, which together host about 80,000 American troops.

The three countries have occasionally held trilateral maritime drills, such as anti-submarine or missile defence exercises, but Sundays training marked the first time they performed a trilateral aerial drill.

In South Korea, expanding military drills with Japan is a sensitive issue, because many still harbour strong resentment against Japans brutal 1910-45 colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has overseen the drill (AP)

But the Norths advancing nuclear programme has pushed South Koreas conservative president, Yoon Suk Yeol, to move beyond historical disputes with Japan and beef up a trilateral security cooperation with the US and Japan.

In August, Mr Yoon, US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met at Camp David in their countries first stand-alone trilateral summit and agreed to bolster their defence cooperation to deal with North Koreas nuclear threats.

The three leaders decided to hold annual trilateral exercises and put into operation by years end the sharing of real-time missile warning data on North Korea.

Sundays drill could draw a furious response from North Korea, which has long bristled at US training exercises with South Korea, calling them an invasion rehearsal and responding with missile tests.

The North slammed the Camp David agreement, accusing the US, South Korean and Japanese leaders of plotting nuclear war provocations on the Korean Peninsula. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called Mr Yoon, Mr Biden and Mr Kishida the gang bosses of the three countries.

Worries about North Koreas nuclear programme have deepened after it enacted a law that authorises the pre-emptive use of nuclear weapons last year, and has since openly threatened to use them in potential conflicts with the US and South Korea.
Action movie actor in Northern Ireland to promote Old Oak

Jean-Claude Van Damme is to plough the profits from his new Northern Irish whiskey into building a nature reserve.

The movie legend launched his Old Oak whiskey last Wednesday at a VIP bash in The Dark Horse in Belfast that included figures from the world of sport such as Leah McCourt and Rhys McClenaghan.

The following day at Tribe gym on the Ormeau Road, Van Damme trained with Leah, who is set to soon fight Cris Cyborg for the Bellator featherweight title.

The Muscles from Brussels said his wildlife reserve funded by profits from his whiskey, which is distilled here, will be like a free zoo.

He told Showbiz Life: I want to use the profits to give back, and I want that to be put into ecology, the environment and specifically with animals.

It will be like a free zoo, land and space for them to live and grow, like a nature reserve. But I cant tell you where Im putting it.

Maybe it will be in the north-west. After all, the name Old Oak originates in Co Londonderry, which is known as the oak leaf county.

Van Damme, famous for the likes of Kickboxer, Nowhere to Run and Street Fighter, added: I was looking for my own brand of whiskey, possibly an American bourbon, and then one of my close friends and business associates asked, Why an American whiskey when you can go back to the roots of whiskey and find an Irish one?

He then introduced me to the Old Oak whiskey label, which had yet to be launched and had been put together by some whiskey aficionados in Ireland.

It was also the perfect opportunity to combine two things with which I feel a close affinity: whiskey and its rich heritage, and the charisma and warmth of Ireland and its people.

A craft premium whiskey, Old Oak is sourced from carefully selected whiskey stock and is finished through a managed process in a craft distillery in Co Down, using what is believed to be some of the purest water in Ireland, coming straight from a 300-foot-deep well located on site.

The art of whiskey distillation is believed to have originated in Ireland in the 11th century.

Van Damme said: I loved its aroma and the smoothness on the palate compared to the heavier whiskies I had tasted from different parts of the world.

Old Oak Whiskeys award winning three and five-year-old whiskeys are priced at 34.95 and 39.95 and are available to buy at www.oldoakirishwhiskey.com
Belfast restaurateur to stars unmasked as paedophile

Creep caught with child images slams the door on Sunday Life

Fanning will be sentenced in December

John Toner Sun 22 Oct 2023 at 11:35

A restaurant boss behind a star-studded Italian eatery which once welcomed the likes of Brad Pitt, Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber is now a convicted paedophile awaiting sentencing for child indecency offences.
Psycho killer Andrew Robinson is suspected of robbing the body of his murdering rapist best friend after he dropped dead from a brain haemorrhage.

Security sources revealed how the recently freed thug, who served a 23-year life sentence for the fatal stabbing of ex-fiancee Julie-Anne Osborne, is suspected to have stolen from David Dee Brown after he collapsed in his cell at Maghaberry Prison.

Robinson (45) was a close pal of the 46-year-old lifer, who murdered Roberta St Clair Gunn on Belfasts Shankill Road in 1994, hitting the mum-of-two 50 times with a brick around the head before dumping her body in a bush. Brown served an earlier seven year sentence for rape.

Andy Robinson was very close to Dee Brown. Both were held on the same unit at Maghaberry, an insider told Sunday Life.

When Brown dropped dead, and before the nurses arrived at the scene, Robinson is suspected of stripping him of his jewellery.

Browns chain, watch, rings and some of his medication were all missing when his body was brought to the morgue.

David 'Dee' Brown

An investigation into Browns 2012 death by the Prisoner Ombudsman found staff had left him unattended for five minutes in an unresponsive state and did not raise the alarm immediately. It was also confirmed that other inmates were not locked in their cell during the incident.

Insiders said it was during the five-minute period referred to by the ombudsman that it is suspected that Robinson entered Browns cell and robbed the body of his supposed best friend.

Robinson was hated by the other lifers in Maghaberry for being a thief. He was constantly stealing out of other prisoners cells, added our source.

He was moved around a lot because it brought him into conflict with other inmates.

Robinsons other big mate in Maghaberry was Jamesy Shaw, who was convicted of the body in the bog murder of Timothy Sullivan in Lisburn.

They sold drugs together but had a big fall-out. The same happened with everyone who Robinson was friends with.

Julie Osborne

Robinson is now living in east Belfast, having been freed on licence earlier this year.

He served 23 years of a life sentence for the Christmas 2000 murder of former fiancee Julie Osborne, who he stabbed 40 times.

The monster also cut the throat of his victim, who was the mother of his child and weighed just seven stone.

The killing happened just three weeks after Robinson, who was a member of Johnny Adairs Lower Shankill UDA C Company, was questioned about the attempted murder of a Catholic taxi driver who survived being shot during a random gun attack on the Oldpark Road in north Belfast.

The hated murderer was confronted earlier this month by a relative of Julie-Anne Osborne, who spat in his face.

While in prison Robinson was assaulted on several occasions by other inmates, with one pouring boiling bleach over him, causing serious burns.
UFF and UVF rampages left 13 dead, ending with massacre at Greysteel

Police at The Rising Sun bar in Greysteel after the UFF attack

The Shankill bomb sparked a raft of sectarian revenge killings at the hands of the UDAs military wing, the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) and by the UVF.

Within just one week of the atrocity a total of 13 innocent people would pay with their lives for the IRA attack.

It would reach its bloody height in the Greysteel massacre in which eight people  six Catholics and two Protestants  were shot dead.

But the first Catholic to be killed in retaliation was 22-year-old takeaway delivery driver Michael Moran.

The father of a five-week-old child was lured to a house off the Donegall Pass in south Belfast with a bogus call later on the day of the bombing and shot. He died two days later.

On October 26 the UFF shot dead two workmen, Mark Rodgers (28) and James Cameron (54), at a council depot on Kennedy Way in west Belfast.

More than 60 bullets were fired at them by the gunmen who shouted Fenian b******s as they sprayed the yard.

Police at The Rising Sun bar in Greysteel after the UFF attack

The murderous reprisals by the UFF culminated when gunmen arrived at the Rising Sun bar on October 30 and shot dead eight people and injured 19, shouting trick or treat as they opened up on the crowd.

Their victims were Karen Thompson (19), Steven Mullan (20), John Moyne (50), John Burns (54), Moira Duddy (59), Joseph McDermott (60), Victor Montgomery (76) and James Moore (81).

Torrens Knight, Geoffrey Deeney, Brian McNeill and Stephen Irwin were later jailed for life for the killings.

The UVF also targeted innocent Catholics in response to the atrocity, beginning with the gunning down of 72-year-old Sean Fox at his home in Glengormley, outside Belfast, on October 25.

It followed this with the murder of brothers Gerard (22) and 18-year-old Rory Cairns at their home in the village of Bleary, near Lurgan on October 28.

They had been celebrating their sisters 11th birthday when gunmen pushed past her at the front door before opening fire.
Novelist casts NI in a different light in her new murder mystery

A Belfast-born author has told how works of fiction about the PSNI helped her cash in on the renaissance in Northern Irish crime writing.

Detective Sergeant Ryan McBride is back on the case in Blood Relations, the latest mystery novel by Joyce Woollcott.

Retired Chief Inspector Patrick Mullan has been found brutally murdered in bed, and McBride and partner Detective Sergeant Billy Lamont must untangle the secrets and lies behind a victim whose career with the PSNI was overshadowed by violence and corruption, to say nothing of battles within his own family.

Northern Ireland-set crime novels have boomed in popularity in recent years, with Carrickfergus-born Adrian McKintys The Chain prompting a resurgence of interest in his Troubles-era police mysteries.

Woollcott took a different approach, setting Blood Relations in contemporary Northern Ireland.

She said: For a long time, the country has only been synonymous with unrest and turmoil. I wanted to show that thats not all it is, that life goes on. Yes, I know this book is a murder mystery, but still.

Joyce was born at the Royal Victoria Hospital in the city and lived for about four years as a child close to the Antrim Road, before my family moved to Glengormley.

They later moved to Toronto after falling in love with the country and the weather, and Joyce now lives on Lake Ontario.

I miss the rain from home, and I never thought I would say that, she joked.

Joyce obtained a degree in graphic design from the Belfast College of Art and Design, and only began her writing career after many years of working in off-air design for television shows  everything from outdoor advertising and promotion to photoshoots.

She always wanted to write, and hit the ground running after graduating from the Humber School for Writers one-year post-grad creative writing course with a letter of distinction.

I won the Daphne du Maurier Award for my then-unpublished manuscript A Nice Place to Die in the mainstream mystery and suspense category, and it really gave me a confidence boost, Joyce said.

Being a finalist in the Silver Falchion Awards at Killer Nashville was cool too.

Joyce Woollcott's new book

Joyce has loved to read for as long as she can remember.

Apart from the classics we read at school, I enjoyed pretty much every subject and genre, she explained.

When I was younger, I read the Famous Five and the Secret Seven, so lots of Enid Blyton, like a lot of other kids.

Ive gravitated to mysteries and thrillers over the last 30 years because I tend to read now mostly to relax and decompress.

Deciding to set her novel in Northern Ireland was an easy choice.

I could picture my detectives. I remember the country and the people  and what a great backdrop it is for a mystery, she said.

I wanted to write a book that spoke about the great place Northern Ireland is  the people, the craic, the kindness and the friendliness.

Joyce still visits friends and family in Belfast as often as she can, though the pandemic affected things.

She and her husband are planning to visit next year for a bit of travelling  and research for her next book.

Joyce added: [It will be for] a standalone, or perhaps a new series. This one will be about a detective inspector who quits the force after a tragic accident and moves to an island to forget the past.

Once there hes asked to help look for two women who have disappeared, and he also begins a relationship with a woman, but then she disappears too. Watch this space.

Joyces books are available from No Alibis in Belfast, Bridge Books in Dromore and The Secret Bookshelf in Carrickfergus. For more, see www.jwoollcott.com
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In his new book Dirty Linen, Martin Doyle explores the brutal violence experienced in his Co Down parish of Tullylish

Roisin Cairns witnessed the murders of her two brothers, Gerard and Rory, in October 1993 by the UVF, on her 11th birthday. Picture Mal McCann

The last pic of the family together as Roisin celebrates her birthday, with (from left) Liam, Gerard, Rory and dad Eamon

The photograph at the end of birthday celebrations, complete with cards, candles and cake, is a treasured souvenir for every family, a snapshot of a special moment in time. But a photograph of Roisin Cairnss 11th birthday, taken by her mother Sheila, is charged with an unspeakable sense of tragedy.

The birthday girl is flanked by her brothers Gerard (22) and Rory (18), and they in turn by her dad, Eamon, and the youngest brother Liam (14). Someone  I cant quite tell whether it is Rory, who is grinning broadly, or Liam, who seems to be suppressing a smile  is holding up two fingers behind Gerards head, giving him bunny ears.

Its just after 7pm on Thursday, October 28, 1993, in the kitchen of the family home in Bleary. The candles have been blown out, the cake cut and the cards put up on the mantelpiece.

Rory Cairns

Sheila and Eamon leave for their weekly Irish language class a few miles away in Lurgan. Liam goes to visit a friend who lives nearby. Gerard and Rory are watching television in the living room.

Roisin is still in the kitchen when, at about 8 pm, the back door opens and two men enter wearing navy-blue boiler suits and black balaclavas. At first she thinks it must be her brothers friends playing a Halloween prank.

One goes through to the living room while the other stares at Roisin and raises a finger to his lips, signalling for her to keep quiet. He then joins his accomplice, they produce weapons and they shoot Gerard and Rory.

All Roisin hears is the sound of things smashing and breaking glass. As the gunmen run off, Roisin goes into the living room and sees Rory slouched on the chair with his eyes closed. Gerards eyes are open so, not realising they are both dead, Roisin asks him what is wrong with Rory. She then runs screaming to Liams friends house to raise the alarm.

Eamon and Sheila return about an hour later and are stopped at a police checkpoint. The RUC man, on learning their surname, walks off. Eamon now sees that his home is surrounded by soldiers and policemen. His distraught sister-in-law tells them Gerard and Rory have been shot.

Eamon and Sheila Cairns (Copyright BBC)

Eamon asks if the ambulance has come. She answers no, and he knows. Eamon and Sheilas eldest daughter, Paula (21), is at university in Luton, but they are in such a state of shock they cannot remember where she lives or her phone number. They are allowed into the kitchen to find their address book.

The forensics team do not want them to go into the living room, but Eamon insists they will see their sons. A police officer says it would not be pleasant. Sheila replies that Gerard and Rory are her sons and they would never be hard to look at. After a lot of persistence, permission is given.

After spending some time in their presence, deafened by the silence and mystified by the lack of movement of their sons who were always so full of life, Eamon closes Gerards eyes. Then he and Sheila hug and kiss their boys goodbye.

Father Des Loughran, in his sermon at the boys funeral Mass, said: Murder was committed by nameless, faceless men but they are that only to us  not to God. He knows who they are.

Almost 30 years later, what sticks in Father Loughrans mind from that day is catching sight of the double grave for the first time, its shocking size bringing home the enormity of what had happened. It just was a massive wide hole. I froze. His white handkerchief fell onto one coffin. It was then I realised, oh my God, theres two of them.

An Army patrol outside the Cairns family home following the shootings in 1993

Three decades on, and no one has ever been charged with the murders. To those who might ask why you would want to reopen old wounds, the answer might be that some wounds have never been allowed to heal. Instead, they have been contaminated at every turn.

Eamon and Sheila met at a dance at the Lurgan Catholic Association and were married in 1969. Their first child, Andrea, died at birth in 1970. Gerard was born in 71, Paula in 72, Rory in 75, Liam in 79 and Roisin in 82. What were Gerard and Rory like?

Well, they were fairly different, says Eamon. Gerard was that quiet, gentle, neat and tidy. Did everything as soon as you asked him. He was a very easy child to rear. Whereas Rory, he was the opposite. Couldnt have cared less, always untidy. You got him to do any household chores, such as washing the dinner spuds or chopping a few sticks for the fire, it was always the minimum type of thing.

So, I was never off his back. That was hard to live with. Oh, Jesus, the tears I shed over that. Thank God, by the time he reached 16, he cracked it. He would have done anything for me without hesitation, but I can tell you it took some work and discipline. We were 48 years of age when they were murdered.

Roisin Cairns witnessed the murders of her two brothers, Gerard and Rory, in October 1993 by the UVF, on her 11th birthday. Picture Mal McCann

Nine people, including local UVF leaders Billy Wright and Robin Jackson, known respectively as King Rat and the Jackal, were arrested within days of Gerards and Rorys murders. But no one was charged. The usual suspects had been rounded up, with the usual consequences. The killers had tried to destroy evidence by setting fire to their getaway vehicle, containing the balaclavas and boiler suits they had worn, but it failed to properly ignite.

Despite this, no forensic evidence was recovered. Police would later lose other evidence while transferring it from Lisburn to Lurgan.

The RUC conducted door-to-door enquiries the day after the murders, asking if anyone had seen anything suspicious, which was rather awkward as the stand-out thing that neighbours and parishioners attending Clare chapel did notice earlier on the day of the shooting was an unusually high security presence.

There were a lot of roadblocks the night the Cairnses were shot, recalls Catherine McEvoy, a local historian. A number of people were late for the novena in Clare chapel, yet (the killers) were able to get through.

Robin Jackson

Almost two months after the murders, Eamon asked police for an update on the case. A detective told him two men arrested in Lisburn with loaded weapons in their car, one of whom matched the description of the purchaser of the getaway vehicle, were the chief suspects.

The detective told them that the UVF locally was split into two factions led by Billy Wright and Jackson. Both travelled on these roads most days, but when an attack was taking place, they would drive to a checkpoint to have their whereabouts recorded to secure an alibi.

The brothers murders came five days after an IRA bomber killed nine Protestants and himself in a fishmongers on the Shankill Road. Two days after their deaths, loyalists killed seven people in the Rising Sun pub in Greysteel.

However, while Gerard and Rorys murders appeared to be part of a loyalist backlash, the BBCs Spotlight documentary revealed that loyalists had planned to kill every male member of the Cairns family the previous year.

Laurence Maguire, the first person in Northern Ireland convicted of directing terrorism, said in the documentary that he, Billy Wright and Robin Jackson had been part of a four-man team who took part in an aborted plan to murder any male occupant of the Cairns household in 1992.

Alan Oliver has been linked to 15 murders

Despite Wright and Jackson being agents or informers, the Cairns family was never informed of this threat to their lives. Maguire was in prison when Gerard and Rory were murdered the following year.

In 2007, Nuala OLoan, then Police Ombudsman, published her report into the murders. She found no evidence of collusion but said that the RUC investigation had been unacceptably flawed.

Special Branch had withheld relevant intelligence and police had failed to conduct a thorough investigation. After the Spotlight programme, OLoan said that if she were still Ombudsman, she would reopen the investigation.

If that evidence had been available to me, it would have changed a lot of things.

Supposedly rigorous investigations were deliberately flawed and collusive, Eamon said. At least three agents, including Jackson and Wright, were involved in the murders of my sons, including the conspiracy the previous year. The third agent, one of the actual gunmen who shot Gerard and Rory, was Alan Oliver, who is responsible for up to 15 murders.

In a civil action in May 2021, Oliver was found liable in the High Court for the murders of Katrina Rennie (16), Eileen Duffy (19) and Brian Frizzell (29) at a mobile shop in Craigavon in March 1991.

Billy Wright, nicknamed 'King Rat'

However, he has never been prosecuted for any terrorist activity. Having become a born-again Christian, he has worked for a Protestant church, which praised his record of over 20 years exemplary service in the church and serving the wider community. The comment distressed the many families who believe he killed their relatives.

We are appalled that Alan Oliver has risen to a trusted position in this church given his background, Paula Cairns said.

In 2021, after Eamon failed in a legal bid to compel the British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to hold a public inquiry, he declared that he had no faith in police ability or willingness to investigate his sons killings.

He said: It is both shameful and inhumane that no officer of the PSNI has come to explain to my family what steps it has taken to investigate the admissions made by Laurence Maguire (in the 2019 Spotlight documentary)  that he conspired with others to murder me and my sons, based on information supplied by the security forces.

Eamon and Sheila feel they have been let down repeatedly by the security forces and the State. Eamon is convinced that the police were deeply implicated in his sons murders.

They (Gerard and Rory) were particularly targeted. I would say that much. Loyalists get their up-to-date information, the inside track, from the police. They know more about you than anybody because theyre constantly stopping you, asking you questions all the time.

The police never come near us to say how well the case was going forward or nothing. The cruelty of that. People dont want to know or wouldnt understand the cruelty that imposes on us. Youre looking for justice, a wee bit of hope. So, were stuck in this silence and everybody else is getting on with life.

Extract taken from Dirty Linen  The Troubles in My Home Place by Martin Doyle, published by Merrion Press
Sex abuse survivor relieved to see abusers name removed from prize

Church of Ireland award posthumously called after paedo pastor, even though institution knew of historic allegations

Eddie Gorman

John Toner Sun 22 Oct 2023 at 12:18

A former RUC man suing the Church of Ireland over historical abuse in a landmark case has welcomed the removal of his molesters name from a postgraduate prize.
Committed Christian felt conflicted and pressured by onus placed on victims

The widow of murdered prison officer David Black has told of her unbearable burden after coming under pressure to forgive her husbands killers.

Yvonne Black revealed she had a crisis of conscience when she became a Christian a year-and-a-half after the murder.

Apart from her fellow Christians, she also felt it was an expectation of wider society.

She was asked to read a book on forgiveness written by a former RUC officer and has now revealed her inner conflict over the last decade.

David Black

It is almost 11 years since Mr Black was gunned down when shots were fired at him from a passing car on the M1 as he travelled to work.

The 52-year-old, who was killed on November 1, 2012, was the first prison officer to be murdered by paramilitaries in Northern Ireland in almost two decades. Dissident republican group the New IRA said it was responsible.

After my husbands murder, the thought of forgiving the perpetrators was never really an issue for me because at that time I was not strong in my faith, Mrs Black told Sunday Life.

However, after I became a committed Christian 19 months later, and as I grew in my faith, I began to experience a crisis of conscience regarding forgiveness.

The overwhelming view expressed by fellow Christians by way of Biblical teaching, and private discussions, was that I must forgive those who had murdered my husband.

Yvonne Black with husband David and children Kyle and Kyra

I also felt that this expectation was placed upon me by wider society.

The inner conflict between what I felt I should do as a Christian, and the guilt caused by my non-compliance in this respect, created an unbearable burden.

As a consequence I tended to avoid the subject of forgiveness. Hence the reason I approached the book by Ken McFarland with some scepticism at first.

As reported in Sunday Life last week, Mr McFarland  who is now a local Presbyterian leader  accused some church leaders of forcing victims of terror to walk away from their religious faiths by stressing the unconditional forgiveness of perpetrators.

The blame is shifted to the victims and survivors by inferring that it is a sin not to forgive the unrepentant terrorist who has caused them so much pain, he warned.

Ken McFarland

In a foreword to the book, Forgiveness Through the Lens of Heaven, Mrs Black said she had carried the weight of her dilemma for more than a decade but the book had provided a clearer perspective.

It has helped me find answers to the multitude of questions Ive carried. In fact, I intend to read it again, she added.

On the whole, this journey has been profoundly enlightening for me, instilling a genuine sense of hope.

To date no one has been convicted of the murder of Mr Black who worked at Maghaberry Prison.

Forgiveness Through the Lens of Heaven, by Ken McFarland, priced 9.99, is available to order through Maurice Wylie Media
EXCLUSIVE | Provisional IRA tried to smear name of police officer in 2017

High Court claims about Provos still being active could cause fresh political turmoil

The last picture of the IRA on the streets of Belfast in 1997

Ciaran Barnes Sun 22 Oct 2023 at 09:35

Police received intelligence reports that the Provisional IRA was involved in a campaign to smear a police officer as recently as 2017.
Chinese coast guard ships (left and right) corral a Philippine civilian boat chartered by the Philippines to deliver supplies to Philippine navy ship BRP Sierra Madre in the disputed South China Sea, Aug. 22, 2023.

Chinese and Philippine boats collided in two separate incidents Sunday as Manila conducted its regular resupply mission to a military outpost in the South China Sea, with each side blaming the other for encounters that further elevated tensions in the disputed waters.

They took place in waters near Second Thomas Shoal where the Philippines maintains a navy ship as its military outpost in the Spratly islands, statements from both governments said. Neither mentioned any injuries.

While conducting a regular and routine rotation and resupply mission to BRP Sierra Madre, dangerous blocking maneuvers of China Coast Guard vessel 5203 caused it to collide with the Armed Forces of the Philippines-contracted indigenous resupply boat Unaiza May 2, the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea said in a statement.

The provocative, irresponsible, and illegal action of CCGV 5203 imperiled the safety of the crew of UM2, it added.

During the same mission, Philippine Coast Guard vessel MRRV 4409s port side was bumped by Chinese Maritime Militia vessel 00003 (CMMV 00003) while it was lying to approximately 6.4 nautical miles northeast of Ayungin Shoal, the task force said.

Only one of two supply ships being escorted by the Philippine Coast Guard was able to reach the shoal and deliver supplies to troops stationed there, it said.

The West Philippine Sea is Manilas name for the part of the South China Sea within Manilas exclusive economic zone. It encompasses Second Thomas Shoal, known locally as Ayungin Shoal and called Renai Jiao by China. Aside from China and the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan also claim jurisdiction over this feature.

Late Sunday, Beijings embassy in Manila said that Philippines vessels had trespassed and deliberately caused the collisions to make faults with China and escalate the current situation.

It said the Unaiza May 2 sailed at the bow of a China Coast Guard vessel on purpose, in a way that was not professional or safe, in spite of Chinas advanced notice and repeated warnings.

About two hours later, Philippine vessel 4409 began to astern deliberately, leading to collision of the stern of its vessel into the starboard of Chinas static floating Qiong Sansha Yu 00003, the statement said.

The Philippines action seriously violated the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea and threatened the navigation safety of the Chinese vessels, it said.

In recent months, CCG and maritime militia vessels have consistently shadowed and blocked Philippine ships during resupply missions to the Sierra Madre, including by firing a water cannon at one of the Philippine boats delivering goods to the outpost in August.

An aerial view shows the BRP Sierra Madre in the contested Second Thomas Shoal, locally known as Ayungin, in the South China Sea, March 9, 2023. [Reuters]

The Philippine government denounced Sunday's dangerous and illegal actions and said they were in violation of Philippine sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction."

Chinas actions, it added, were in utter blatant disregard of international rules and laws governing the United Nations Charter, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and the Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS).

The United States, Manila's main defense ally, commented via its embassy in Manila.

"The United States condemns the People's Republic of China's latest disruption of a legal Philippine resupply mission to Ayungin Shoal, putting the lives of Filipino service members at risk. We stand with our friends, partners, allies in protecting Philippine sovereignty and in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific," U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson posted on X.

In July 2016, a Hague tribunal ruled in favor of the Philippines and invalidated Chinas expansive claims in the South China Sea. Beijing, however, has ignored the ruling, citing history to insist on its claims. It has since carried on with its military expansionism in the strategic waterway, including building artificial islands.

Jeoffrey Maitem contributed reporting from Davao City, southern Philippines and Jojo Rinoza from Manila.
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SHEFFIELD  After Egremont struck down the proposed eight-town merger between the Berkshires Hills and the Southern Berkshire regional school districts, Mount Everett Regional School students voiced their opposition to the proposal.

Mount Everett sophomores Ben Vella, Jacob Hohlstein and Jayden Dolby-Capeless, as well as Max Depelteau, who is in eighth grade, have organized a petition protesting the merger, which they say has collected over 100 signatures. According to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Mount Everett had 294 students enrolled in grades six through 12 for the 2022-23 school year.

The petition is entirely organized by students and includes only student signees.

"In the following days ... residents of the involved 8 towns will vote on the aforementioned merger," the petition reads. "However, the students of Mount Everett, many of which will be affected by it and have no voice in the upcoming vote, strongly oppose the merger."

The petition has garnered signatures from a wide range of students, according to Vella, including those from Sheffield, Monterey, Great Barrington, Egremont, New Marlborough, Sandisfield, Lee and Otis, with the majority of signees being from Sheffield. It cites a fear of losing the school's distinct culture, a sentiment that was highlighted in Egremont's 143-78 rejection of the merger on Saturday.

"To the knowledge of these students, this merger will disrupt not only their schools building and culture, but the education and enrichment programs theyve worked so hard to build, and are still building," it reads. "Even within the past year, several clubs have been founded, solar panels are actively being installed, and the unique partnership with [Bard College at] Simons Rock has taken shape, allowing high school students to take college-level classes and gain college credits.

"Many of these opportunities are very likely to be lost with the merger, and little will be gained in return, except for larger class sizes and a higher student to teacher ratio."

The 8 Town Regional School District Planning Board, which studied the proposed merger, endorsed the plan in July by a 16-2 vote, citing factors that include declining enrollment and rising costs to both districts. It would also clear the way for a new "state-of-the-art" merged high school on the Monument campus built for 620 students.

The proposed merger presents the best path forward for our students and our community, Lucy Prashker, chair of the 8 Town Regional School District Planning Board said in July.

Mount Everett students disagree, the petition says.

"Mount Everett gains nothing from the merger, and for that, we protest it," it concludes.

Without Egremont's support, the plan cannot move forward as it requires approval from all eight towns. Residents in Great Barrington, Stockbridge, West Stockbridge, Alford, Monterey, New Marlborough and Sheffield will still vote on the merger Monday night.
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GREAT BARRINGTON  More money is flowing from an education nonprofit to help Monument Mountain Regional High School continue a learning approach that focuses on a student's interest and prevents them from being locked into tracks.

It comes as Monument students have scored highest in the county on biology tests  which officials attribute to educational changes that began two years ago.

The school has received a $200,000 grant from the Barr Foundation to continue the school's ongoing redesign that includes removing multiple class levels  including honors in the lower grades  that officials believe keep students locked out of exploring their full potential.

The Barr grant will pay for efforts towards this "proficiency-based learning," as well as "increased access, rigor and deeper learning opportunities for more students," according to a release from the Berkshire Hills Regional School District.

The money will also support work to help students better understand and regulate their emotions, as well as expand the range of student voices in school policy decisions.

Weve made tremendous progress over the past year in completing our content area proficiency statements, examining our instructional practices around how we provide students feedback and most significantly in the deepening of our work on the Student-Adult Advisory Board," Monument Principal Kristi Farina said in the announcement.

But it is gains in biology that Superintendent Peter Dillon says is directly related to "shifts in how we teach" the subject in the ninth and 10th grades that "have led to the highest percentage of students in the County exceeding and meeting expectations."

Dillon told The Eagle the "mixed-ability" grouping of students and teaching biology "thematically" by applying it to real-life phenomenon likely helped students have a solid grasp of the material. The students also exceeded their peers statewide by more than 20 percentage points in meeting or exceeding expectations, he said.

The school began these changes in 2021, which include no longer grouping students in different levels based on a their abilities in different subjects.

That old way of putting students on different "tracks" is out the window. Now ninth and 10th graders are grouped together regardless of ability in a "de-leveling" approach. It's been a controversial move that critics say punishes high achievers and lowers the bar. The first year of the changes made for a bumpy ride for both students and teachers.

The school still has Advanced Placement classes, and those college-level courses will continue for 11th and 12th graders.

Ninth and 10th graders if they choose can still take a more advanced math class, as well as more advanced levels in language, music and art.

Dillon has previously said that the old ways were unfair to students who, because of poverty or other factors, are lumped together and kept from expanding their interests and abilities.

The Boston-based Barr Foundation's mission is to help stoke this potential in all students, according to the nonprofit's website. Berkshire Hills has so far received a total of $800,000 in Barr money since 2021.

One Monument 11th grader, Tessa Baldwin, said that the grant money helped her and other students on the Student-Adult Advisory Board go on annual retreats, as well as a research trip to a California high school.
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There is a lack of urgency from governments to tackle violence against women across Europe, MEP for Dublin Frances Fitzgerald has said.

Ms Fitzgerald said hesitation towards introducing an EU-wide consent-based definition of rape, based on a legal argument that it does not fall under the banner of sexual exploitation, was not acceptable.

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Ms Fitzgerald and Swedish socialist MEP Evin Incir are leading the process to introduce EU-wide laws tackling domestic violence and violence against women.

Under the current draft, rape, sexual assault, and cyberstalking would become an offence at an EU level.

But some member states are against including a consent-based approach to rape in the proposed EU directive, something Ms Fitzgerald said indicated a lack of urgency to tackle gender-based violence.

She said that strong legal advice from some member states suggested that an EU-wide rape law would be an overreach, as the legal foundation of sexual exploitation was to target trafficking.

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Now, you can read that however you like, the way I read it is there isnt enough political motivation at the moment from some member states to include rape, Ms Fitzgerald said.

You can get somebody moved from Ireland to Germany for murder, but when it comes to rape, theyre saying No, let the member states deal with that.

They dont say its because we dont like the definition.

They dont say its because what are you talking about with consent? which is the belief of certain member states, they really find it hard to get their heads around the idea of consent.

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'Backlash'

She said although Ireland and the UK have legislated for a consent-based definition of rape in recent years, in other European countries theres a backlash to womens rights.

That backlash is very serious. You see it in Hungary, you see it in Poland, you see it elsewhere, she said.

Ive been quite shocked at some of the attitudes Ive seen to gender-based issues, and how difficult it can be for some member states to be as advanced as we are in Ireland, actually.

She said France and Germany are among the countries that have voiced opposition to the inclusion of rape in the directive.

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Theres no problem with FGM (Female Genital Mutilation) or cyber violence, but there is with rape, and I cant help but feel that its something to do with the very crime itself and member states difficulties in managing it from a criminal justice point of view, and therefore being nervous about anything that seeks to kind of put an overarching framework around that.

But its not acceptable. Its not acceptable to women. Its not acceptable to citizens. Try and explain to anybody why rape is not sexual exploitation at a very practical level.

If the individual members went on the airwaves and said, No, were not supporting inclusion or rape because we just dont think it should be a European crime. Why dont you think it should be a crime? This happens everywhere.

It is actually a Euro crime, but its not theoretically in the treaties defined as a Euro crime.

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Asked about whether there was a lack of urgency from governments to tackle gender-based violence: I would have to say yes, overall.

The seriousness of the crime is still internationally not being matched by the intensity of the approaches needed, and this is a symptom of that.

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A city the size of Marseilles, Amsterdam or Zagreb disappears every 10 years as 858,000 women are murdered globally.

So I cant help but think it is part of misogyny, and its part of a patriarchal society that we live in, that weve had such a job getting (crimes against women) to the top of the agenda.

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee (Brian Lawless/PA)

Asked if the law would eventually be watered down to get agreement across the EU, Ms Fitzgerald said it was too early to say.

The challenge at the end of the day will be  can you call it a directive on violence and domestic-based violence if you dont (include) rape?

Ive just written to (Minister for Justice) Helen McEntee now sort of asking Ireland to be more proactive in terms of working with other member states as well.

Asked about recent criticism of her Fine Gael party colleague, Ms McEntee, by government colleagues for not focusing enough on policing, Ms Fitzgerald said: Its not one or the other.

Dealing with domestic, gender-based violence, hate crime, these are serious, serious crimes.

So take away the word woke from them and say we have to do this as well as the policing issues.

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I actually got a lot of very progressive legislation through that I got a lot of support for in the parliament.

Mind you, we had a majority government, its more difficult when youre in a coalition.

I dont accept that criticism of Helen at all. But, you know, I often say, theres still a lot  in political parties as well, all political parties  of everyday sexism, and it surfaces from time to time.
The border crossing between Egypt and Gaza opened on Saturday to let a trickle of desperately needed aid into the besieged Palestinian territory for the first time since Israel sealed it off in the wake of Hamas attack two weeks ago.

Just 20 trucks were allowed in, an amount that aid workers said is insufficient to address the unprecedented humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

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More than 200 trucks carrying roughly 3,000 tons of aid have been positioned near the crossing for days.

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Gazas 2.3 million Palestinians, half of whom have fled their homes, are rationing food and drinking dirty water. Hospitals say they are running low on medical supplies and fuel for emergency generators amid a territory-wide power blackout.

Five hospitals have stopped functioning because of fuel shortages and bombing damage, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said.

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There are growing expectations of a ground offensive that Israel says will be aimed at rooting out Hamas.

Israel said on Friday that it does not plan to take long-term control over the small but densely populated Palestinian territory.

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Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu convened his Cabinet late on Saturday to discuss the expected invasion, Israeli media reported.

Relatives of people kidnapped by Hamas militants hold pictures of their loved ones during a protest in Tel Aviv (Petros Giannakouri/AP)

Israels military spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said the country plans to step up its air strikes as preparation for the next stage of the war.

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We will deepen our attacks to minimise the dangers to our forces in the next stages of the war. We are going to increase the attacks, from today, he said, repeating his call for Gaza City residents to head south for their safety.

Israel has vowed to crush Hamas but has given few details about what it envisions for Gaza if it succeeds.

Yifat Shasha-Biton, a Cabinet minister, said there is broad consensus in the government that there will have to be a buffer zone in Gaza to keep Palestinians away from the border.

We need to create a distance between the border and our communities, she told Channel 13 TV, adding that no decisions had been made on its size or other specifics.

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Soldiers drive a military vehicle near the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip (Francisco Seco/AP)

The border crossing opening came after more than a week of high-level diplomacy by various mediators, including visits to the region by US president Joe Biden and UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres.

Israel had insisted that nothing would enter Gaza until Hamas released all of the captives from its attack, and the Palestinian side of the crossing had been shut down by Israeli air strikes.

Late on Friday, Hamas released an American woman and her teenage daughter, the first captives to be freed.

It was not immediately clear if there was a connection between the release and the aid deliveries. Israel says Hamas is still holding at least 210 captives.

On Saturday morning, an Associated Press reporter on the Palestinian side of Rafah saw the 20 trucks heading north to Deir al-Balah, a quiet farming town where many evacuees from the north have sought shelter.

Hundreds of foreign passport holders at Rafah hoping to escape the conflict were not allowed to leave.

The trucks were carrying 44,000 bottles of drinking water from the UNs childrens agency  enough for 22,000 people for a single day, it said.

This first, limited water will save lives, but the needs are immediate and immense, said Unicef executive director Catherine Russell.

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The World Health Organisation said four of the 20 trucks that crossed through Rafah were carrying medical supplies, including essential supplies for 300,000 people for three months, trauma medicine and supplies for 1,200 people, and 235 portable trauma bags for first responders.

The situation is catastrophic in Gaza, said the head of the UNs World Food Programme, Cindy McCain. We need many, many, many more trucks and a continual flow of aid.

She added that some 400 trucks were entering Gaza daily before the war.

Trucks with humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip enter from Egypt (Fatima Shbair/AP)

The Hamas-run government in Gaza also said the limited convoy will not be able to change the humanitarian catastrophe, calling for a secure corridor operating around the clock.

Rear Admiral Hagari said the humanitarian situation in Gaza is under control.

He said the aid will be delivered only to southern Gaza, where the army has ordered people to relocate, adding that no fuel will enter the territory.

US secretary of state Antony Blinken appealed to all sides to keep the crossing open for crucial aid shipments and warned Hamas to not take the aid.

Palestinian civilians are not responsible for Hamass horrific terrorism, and they should not be made to suffer for its depraved acts, he said in a statement. As President Biden stated, if Hamas steals or diverts this assistance it will have demonstrated once again that it has no regard for the welfare of the Palestinian people.

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Judith Raanan and her 17-year-old daughter Natalie are escorted by Israeli soldiers (Government of Israel/AP)

It will also make it hard to keep the aid flowing, he said.

Mr Guterres, meanwhile, voiced growing international concern over civilians in Gaza, telling a summit in Cairo that Hamass reprehensible assault on Israel two weeks ago can never justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.

Two Egyptian officials and a European diplomat said extensive negotiations with Israel and the UN to allow fuel deliveries for hospitals have so far yielded little progress.

One Egyptian official said they were discussing the release of dual-national hostages in return for the fuel, but that Israel was insisting on the release of all hostages.

Hamas released Judith Raanan and her 17-year-old daughter, Natalie, on Friday for what it said were humanitarian reasons in an agreement with Qatar, a Persian Gulf nation that has often served as a Middle East mediator. A representative for the pair said they were staying with relatives in central Israel.

The two had been on a trip from their home in Chicago to Israel to celebrate Jewish holidays, the family said. They were in the kibbutz of Nahal Oz, near Gaza, when Hamas and other militants stormed into southern Israeli towns, killing hundreds and abducting at least 210 others.

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(PA Graphics)

Mr Biden has spoken on the phone with the two freed Americans, telling them he was glad they had been released.

Were going to get them all out, God willing, he said.

Natalie thanked Mr Biden for his services to Israel, while mas Raanan said they are in good health.

Hamas said it is working with Egypt, Qatar and other mediators to close the case of hostages if security circumstances permit.

There are growing expectations of a ground offensive that Israel says would be aimed at rooting out Hamas, an Islamic militant group that has ruled Gaza for 16 years. Israel said on Friday it does not plan to take long-term control over the small but densely populated Palestinian territory.

Judith and Natalie, Im so glad youre coming home. pic.twitter.com/c7az0PcYXn  President Biden (@POTUS) October 21, 2023

Israel has also traded fire along its northern border with Lebanons Hezbollah militant group, raising concerns about a second front opening up.

The Israeli military said on Saturday that it struck Hezbollah targets in Lebanon in response to recent rocket launches and attacks with anti-tank missiles.

Hezbollah has decided to participate in the fighting, and we are exacting a heavy price for this, Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant said during a visit to the border.

Israel issued a travel warning on Saturday, ordering its citizens to leave Egypt and Jordan  which made peace with it decades ago  and to avoid travel to a number of Arab and Muslim countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Bahrain, which forged diplomatic ties with Israel in 2020.

Protests against Israels actions in Gaza have erupted across the region.

An Israeli ground assault would be likely to lead to a dramatic escalation in casualties on both sides in urban fighting. More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed in the war  mostly civilians killed during the Hamas incursion.

Humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip at the Rafah border gate (Mohammed Asad/AP)

More than 4,300 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. That includes the disputed toll from a hospital explosion. The ministry says another 1,400 are believed to have been buried under rubble.

The Hamas-run Housing Ministry said at least 30 per cent of all homes in Gaza have been destroyed or heavily damaged in the war.

Hosting a summit on Saturday, Egypt president Abdel Fattah El-Sisi called for ensuring aid to Gaza, negotiating a ceasefire and resuming Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, which last broke down more than a decade ago.

He also said the conflict will never be resolved at the expense of Egypt, referring to fears that Israel may try to push Gazas population into the Sinai Peninsula.

King Abdullah II of Jordan told the summit that Israels air campaign and siege of Gaza are a war crime and criticised the international communitys response.

Anywhere else, attacking civilian infrastructure and deliberately starving an entire population of food, water, electricity, and basic necessities would be condemned, he said.

Apparently, he added, human rights have boundaries. They stop at borders, they stop at races, they stop at religions.

A summit was held in Cairo (Egyptian Presidency Media Office via AP)

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas called for an international peace summit to bring about the end of the war.

Speaking at the summit in Cairo, Mr Abbas reiterated his complete rejection of the killing of civilians on both sides.

He also urged the release of all civilians, prisoners, and detainees, probably alluding to some 210 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and the Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

Mr Abbas leads the Palestinian Authority, a government exercising semi-autonomous control in the West Bank. The government is deeply loathed among Palestinians, who view it as corrupt and collaborationist with Israel.

Hamas seized control of the Palestinian Authority in the Gaza Strip in 2007 and enjoys a strong base of support in the West Bank.

More than a million people have been displaced in Gaza. Many heeded Israels orders to evacuate from north to south within the sealed-off coastal enclave.

But Israel has continued to bomb areas in southern Gaza where Palestinians had been told to seek safety, and some appear to be going back to the north because of bombings and difficult living conditions in the south.
Israeli warplanes struck targets across Gaza overnight on Saturday and into Sunday, as well as two airports in Syria and a mosque in the occupied West Bank allegedly used by militants, as the two-week-old war with Hamas threatened to spiral into a broader conflict.

Israel has traded fire with Lebanons Hezbollah militant group on a near-daily basis since the war began, and tensions are soaring in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces have battled militants in refugee camps and carried out two air strikes in recent days.

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told troops in northern Israel that if Hezbollah launches a war against Israel, it will make the mistake of its life. We will cripple it with a force it cannot even imagine and the consequences for it and the Lebanese state will be devastating.

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For days, Israel has seemed to be on the verge of launching a ground offensive in Gaza as part of its response to Hamass deadly October 7 rampage. Tanks and tens of thousands of troops have massed at the border, and Israeli leaders have spoken of an undefined next stage in operations.

But the military acknowledges there are still hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians in northern Gaza despite a sweeping evacuation order, which would complicate any ground attack. And the risk of triggering a broader war with Hamass allies in Lebanon and Syria might also give them pause.



Trucks with humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip enter from Egypt (Fatima Shbair/AP)

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On Saturday, 20 trucks of aid were allowed to enter Gaza from Egypt through the Rafah crossing, the first time anything has gone into the territory since Israel imposed a complete siege two weeks ago.

On Sunday, another convoy of 17 trucks bringing aid to besieged Palestinians crossed into Gaza on Sunday, Egypts state-run media reported.

Associated Press journalists at the crossing saw seven fuel trucks enter Gaza on Sunday, but did not see any more deliveries.

Aid workers said it is far too little to address the spiralling humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where half the territorys 2.3 million people have fled their homes.

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Hospitals packed with patients and displaced people are running low on medical supplies and fuel for generators, forcing doctors to perform surgeries with sewing needles, using kitchen vinegar as disinfectant, and without anaesthesia.

Palestinians sheltering in UN-run schools and tent camps are running low on food and drinking dirty water.

The territorys sole power plant shut down more than a week ago, causing a territory-wide blackout and crippling water and sanitation systems.

The UN humanitarian agency said cases of chicken pox, scabies and diarrhoea are increasing because of the lack of clean water.

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Gazas Hamas-run Interior Ministry reported heavy Israeli air strikes across the territory overnight into Sunday, including southern areas where Israel had told Palestinians to seek refuge.

The ministry said that among the sites hit were homes and a cafe in the south where dozens of residents had sought shelter.



(PA Graphics)

Israels military has said it is striking Hamas members and installations, but does not target civilians.

Palestinian militants have continued daily rocket attacks, with Hamas saying it targeted Tel Aviv early on Sunday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened his Cabinet late on Saturday to discuss the expected ground invasion, Israeli media reported.

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Military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Israel plans to step up air strikes, starting from Saturday, as preparation for the next stages of the war.

Israel has vowed to crush Hamas but has given few details about what it envisions for Gaza if it succeeds.

Yifat Shasha-Biton, a Cabinet minister, told Channel 13 TV there is broad consensus in the government that there will have to be a buffer zone in Gaza to keep Palestinians away from the border.

An Israeli ground assault is likely to lead to a dramatic escalation in casualties on both sides.



A Palestinian woman looks out of her window after an Israeli strike on the Gaza Strip in Rafah (Hatem Ali/AP)

More than 1,400 people in Israel have so far died in the war  mostly civilians killed during the initial Hamas attack.

At least 210 people were captured and dragged back to Gaza, including men, women, children and older adults. Two Americans were released on Friday in what Hamas said was a humanitarian gesture.

More than 4,300 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. That includes the disputed toll from a hospital explosion.

Syrian state media meanwhile reported that Israeli air strikes have targeted the international airports in the capital, Damascus, and the northern city of Aleppo. It said the strikes killed one person and damaged the runways, putting them out of service.

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Israel has carried out several strikes in Syria, including on the airports, since the war began.

Israel rarely acknowledges individual strikes, but says it acts to prevent Hezbollah and other militant groups from bringing in arms from their patron, Iran, which also supports Hamas.

In Lebanon, Hezbollah said six of its fighters were killed on Saturday, and the groups deputy leader, Sheikh Naim Kassem, warned that Israel will pay a high price if it starts a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip. Israel says it will continue to respond to rocket fire from Lebanon.

In the occupied West Bank, dozens of Palestinians have been killed in clashes with Israeli troops, arrest raids and attacks by Jewish settlers. Israeli forces have closed crossings into the territory and checkpoints between cities, measures they say are aimed at preventing attacks.



An Israeli woman touches photos of Israelis missing and held captive in Gaza, displayed on a wall in Tel Aviv (Petros Giannakouris/AP)

The internationally recognised Palestinian Authority administers parts of the West Bank and co-operates with Israel on security, but it is deeply unpopular and has been the target of violent Palestinian protests.

Israeli forces killed at least five people in the West Bank early on Sunday, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

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Two were killed in an air strike on a mosque in the town of Jenin, which has seen heavy gun battles between Palestinian militants and Israeli troops over the past year.

The Israeli military said the mosque compound belonged to Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants who had carried out several attacks in recent months and were planning another one.

Sundays fatalities take the death toll in the West Bank to 90 Palestinians since the war broke out on October 7, according to the Health Ministry. Most appear have been killed during fighting with Israeli forces or violent protests.

Thirteen Palestinians, including five minors, and a member of Israels paramilitary Border Police were killed last week in a battle in a refugee camp in the West Bank town of Tulkarem, in which Israel also launched an air strike.

In Gaza, the Israeli military said the humanitarian situation is under control as aid workers called for the opening of a round-the-clock aid corridor.

The UN humanitarian agency, known as OCHA, said the convey that entered on Saturday carried about 4% of an average days imports before the war and a fraction of what is needed after 13 days of complete siege. It is calling for 100 trucks a day to enter.

Huge quantities of aid have been gathered near the Egyptian side of the crossing, but there has been no word on when more might enter.

President Joe Biden said the US, which has worked with other mediators to reach an agreement on Rafah, remains committed to ensuring that civilians in Gaza will continue to have access to food, water, medical care, and other assistance, without diversion by Hamas.

In a statement, he said the US will work to keep Rafah open and let US citizens leave Gaza. But hundreds of foreign passport holders who had gathered at the crossing on Saturday were unable to depart after the aid convoy entered.
Israeli warplanes have struck targets across Gaza on Saturday and Sunday, as well as two airports in Syria and a mosque in the occupied West Bank allegedly used by militants, as the war with Hamas threatened to spiral into a broader conflict.

Israel has traded fire with Lebanons Hezbollah militant group on a near-daily basis since the war began, and tensions are soaring in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces have battled militants in refugee camps and carried out two air strikes in recent days.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told troops in northern Israel that if Hezbollah launches a war against Israel, it will make the mistake of its life. We will cripple it with a force it cannot even imagine and the consequences for it and the Lebanese state will be devastating.

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For days, Israel has seemed to be on the verge of launching a ground offensive in Gaza as part of its response to Hamas deadly October 7 rampage.



A Palestinian journalist comforts his niece who was wounded in an Israeli strike on her family home in Nusseirat refugee camp (AP)

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Tanks and tens of thousands of troops have massed at the border, and Israeli leaders have spoken of an undefined next stage in operations.

Israels military spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said the country had increased air strikes across Gaza to hit targets that would reduce the risk to troops in the next stage of the war.

Hamas said it fought with Israeli forces near Khan Younis in southern Gaza and destroyed a tank and two bulldozers. The Israeli military said it had no information about the claim.

Late on Sunday, Rear Admiral Hagari announced that a soldier was killed and three others wounded by an anti-tank missile during a raid inside Gaza as part of efforts to rescue more than 200 hostages abducted in the October 7 attack.

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On Saturday, 20 trucks entered Gaza in the first aid shipment into the territory since Israel imposed a complete siege two weeks ago.

Israeli authorities said late on Sunday they had allowed a second batch of aid into Gaza at the request of the United States.

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COGAT, the Israeli defence body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, said the aid included water, food and medical supplies and that everything was inspected by Israel before it was brought into Gaza.

UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, confirmed the arrival of 14 trucks.

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Israel has not allowed any fuel to enter Gaza.

Earlier Associated Press journalists saw seven fuel trucks head north from the border.

But the United Nations and Israel said those trucks were taking fuel stored on the Gaza side of the crossing deeper into the territory, and that no fuel had entered from Egypt.





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The volume of goods that entered #Gaza on Saturday is only a fraction of what is needed after days of complete siege. @UNReliefChief urges an increase in aid access to at least 100 trucks a day.



More in our latest update: https://t.co/320eJIYSYw pic.twitter.com/ON4Z9lmpVg  UN Humanitarian (@UNOCHA) October 22, 2023

In a sign of how precarious any movement of aid remains, the Egyptian military said in a statement that Israeli shelling hit a watchtower on Egypts side of the border, causing light injuries.

The Israeli military apologised, saying a tank had accidentally fired and hit an Egyptian post, and the incident was being investigated.

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Relief workers said far more was needed to address the spiralling humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where half the territorys 2.3 million people have fled their homes.

The UN humanitarian agency (OCHA) said Saturdays convoy carried about 4% of an average days imports before the war and a fraction of what is needed after 13 days of complete siege.

The Israeli military said the humanitarian situation was under control, as the OCHA called for 100 trucks a day to enter.

Israel repeated its calls for people to leave northern Gaza, including by dropping leaflets from the air.

It says an estimated 700,000 have already fled, but hundreds of thousands remain. That would raise the risk of mass civilian casualties in any ground offensive.



Israeli soldiers drive an armoured personnel carrier near the border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel (AP)

Israeli military officials say Hamass infrastructure and underground tunnel system are concentrated in Gaza City, in the north, and that the next stage of the offensive will include unprecedented force there.

Israel says it wants to crush Hamas, but officials have also spoken of carving out a possible buffer zone to keep Palestinians from approaching the border.

Hospitals packed with patients and displaced people are running low on medical supplies and fuel for generators, forcing doctors to perform surgeries with sewing needles, using vinegar as disinfectant, and without anaesthesia.

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The World Health Organisation (WHO) says at least 130 premature babies are at grave risk because of a shortage of generator fuel.





The IDF & ISA just conducted an aerial strike on a Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist compound in the Al-Ansar Mosque in Jenin.



Recent IDF intel revealed that the Mosque was used as a command center to plan and execute terrorist attacks against civilians. pic.twitter.com/gQfyv6wUAV  Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 22, 2023

It said seven hospitals in northern Gaza have been forced to shut down due to damage from strikes, lack of power and supplies, or Israeli evacuation orders.

Shortages in critical supplies, including ventilators, are forcing doctors to ration treatment, said Dr Mohammed Qandeel, who works in Khan Younis Nasser Hospital. Dozens of patients continue to arrive and are treated in crowded, darkened corridors, as hospitals preserve electricity for intensive care units.

Its heartbreaking, Dr Qandeel told the AP. Every day, if we receive 10 severely injured patients we have to manage with maybe three or five ICU beds available.

Palestinians sheltering in UN-run schools and tent camps are running low on food and drinking dirty water. A power blackout has crippled water and sanitation systems. The OCHA said cases of chickenpox, scabies and diarrhoea are on the rise because of the lack of clean water.

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Some of the over one thousand photographs of persons killed, missing or abducted in the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 (AP)

Heavy air strikes were reported across Gaza, including in the southern part of the coastal strip, where Israel has told civilians to seek refuge.

At the Al-Aqsa hospital in Deir al-Balah, south of the evacuation line, several bodies wrapped in white shrouds were lined up outside on the ground.

Khalil al-Degran, a hospital official, said more than 90 bodies had been brought in since early on Sunday, as the sound of nearby bombing echoed behind him. He said 180 wounded people had arrived, mostly children, women and the elderly who had been displaced from other areas.

Israels military has said it is striking Hamas members and installations, but does not target civilians. Palestinian militants have fired over 7,000 rockets at Israel, according to the military, and Hamas says it targeted Tel Aviv early Sunday.



Palestinians look for survivors after the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in Deir Al-Balah on Sunday (AP)

The military said it plans to step up air strikes ahead of the next stages of the war, without elaborating.

More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed in the war  mostly civilians who died during the initial Hamas attack. At least 212 people were captured and dragged back to Gaza, including men, women, children and older adults. Two Americans were released on Friday in what Hamas said was a humanitarian gesture.

More than 4,600 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. That includes the disputed toll from a hospital explosion.

US secretary of state Antony Blinken told CBSs Face The Nation that Hamas was responsible, not just for its brutal rampage in southern Israel, but for the deaths of civilians in Israels attacks on Gaza.

It knew that in Israels necessary response, civilians would be caught in that crossfire, he said.

Mr Blinken said the militants were operating among the civilian population and its tunnels were buried under hospitals and schools.

What does anyone expect Israel to do? he said.

This is on Hamas.

Syrian state media meanwhile reported that Israeli air strikes have targeted the international airports in the capital, Damascus, and the northern city of Aleppo.





The first UN supplies of water, food and medicine have entered Gaza.



To save children's lives, much more is needed.



We continue to call for a ceasefire to protect civilians and humanitarian workers, and ensure safe and sustained access to aid. pic.twitter.com/9s0KfefYsE  UNICEF (@UNICEF) October 21, 2023

The strikes killed one person and damaged the runways, putting them out of service, media reported.

Israel has carried out several strikes in Syria, including on the airports, since the war began. Israel rarely acknowledges individual strikes, but says it acted to prevent Hezbollah and other militant groups from bringing in arms from their patron, Iran, which also supports Hamas.

In Lebanon, Hezbollah said six of its fighters were killed Saturday, and the groups deputy leader, Sheikh Naim Kassem, warned that Israel would pay a high price if it starts a ground offensive in Gaza.

Hezbollah targets were hit on Sunday in response to rocket fire, the military said.

Israel also announced evacuation plans for another 14 communities near the Lebanon border. Kiryat Shmonas 20,000 people were told to evacuate last week.

In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, 93 Palestinians have been killed  including eight on Sunday  in clashes with Israeli troops, arrest raids and attacks by Jewish settlers since the Hamas attacks, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Israeli forces have closed crossings into the territory and checkpoints between cities, measures they say are aimed at preventing attacks. Israel says it has arrested more than 700 Palestinians since October 7, including 480 suspected Hamas members.

Israeli forces killed at least five people there early on Sunday, according to the health ministry.
German chancellor Olaf Scholz said he is outraged by the antisemitic agitation spreading even to Germany as the Israel-Hamas war rages, and warned at the inauguration of a new synagogue that the vow of never again must be unbreakable.

Mr Scholzs remarks come as antisemitic incidents have been rising in Germany following the violent escalation of the war in Gaza.

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Assailants threw two Molotov cocktails at a synagogue in Berlin on Wednesday, prompting Mr Scholz to say that attacks on Jewish institutions would never be accepted.

He expanded on his comments at the inauguration of the temple in Dessau, a city in eastern Germany whose synagogue was destroyed by the Nazis 85 years ago.

I am deeply outraged by the way in which antisemitic hatred and inhuman agitation have been breaking out since that fateful October 7, on the internet, in social media around the world, and shamefully also here in Germany, Mr Scholz said.

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Mr Scholz said the pledge never again must be unbreakable (AP)

Here in Germany, of all places. That is why our never again must be unbreakable.

Mr Scholz spoke as he gathered with Jewish leaders at the synagogue. He noted that the community has recently grown as it welcomed people from Ukraine.

This synagogue here in the middle in Dessau says that Jewish life is and remains a part of Germany. It belongs here, Mr Scholz said.

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Germany will do everything to protect and strengthen Jewish life.

A woman shows a poster reading: Israel must defend itself at a demonstration against antisemitism and to show solidarity with Israel in Berlin (AP)

Following Hamas brutal attack on Israel on October 7th and the subsequent war in Gaza, police have increased security for Jewish institutions in Berlin and all over Germany.

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Israeli flags that were flown as a sign of solidarity in front of city halls all over the country have been torn down and burnt.

Several buildings in Berlin where Jews live had the star of David painted on doors and walls.

Meanwhile, in Berlin, thousands of people gathered at a demonstration organised to show opposition to antisemitism and support for Israel.

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German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier speaks during the demonstration (AP)

People carried Israeli flags or posters with photos of some of the people reported to be missing or held by Hamas as hostages.

The protest was organised by a broad alliance of various organisations.

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German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier told those gathered in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin: It is unbearable that Jews are living in fear again today  in our country of all places.

Every single attack on Jews, on Jewish institutions is a disgrace for Germany. Every single attack fills me with shame and anger.

Mr Steinmeier also called it a civic duty to oppose antisemitism in Germany.
A man who stabbed a teenage boy and then decapitated him will remain behind bars for at least another three-and-a-half years.

James Patrick Roughan, then aged 28, was found guilty in 2008 of murdering 17-year-old Morgan Jay Shepherd on March 29, 2005 in Brisbanes northern coastal suburb of Sandgate.

Morgans body was dumped in a shallow grave about 30 kilometres north-west of the murder scene at Roughans home and he was found to have suffered 133 non-fatal stab wounds.

Roughans co-offender, Christopher Jones, then 23, later told friends that Roughan used the severed head like a puppet and a bowling ball.

Jones and Roughan both blamed each other for Morgans death but were both found guilty of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. After being granted parole, Jones was deported to the UK in 2020.

Roughan applied for parole in June 2020 and in a decision handed down on Monday, Parole Board president Michael Byrne KC deferred the application.

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Kyiv: Russian forces have shelled areas across Ukraine and pushed forward near an embattled eastern city, Ukrainian officials say.

Six people died when the north-eastern city of Kharkiv was shelled, while a man was killed as Russian forces targeted the Ukrainian-held town of Nikopol from their stronghold at Ukraines largest nuclear plant, local governor Serhii Lysak said on Saturday.

Lysak said emergency services in Nikopol were working to assess the damage.

The Motherland monument, which has just reopened for public viewing, is seen through fog in Kyiv, Ukraine. Credit: AP

Russian troops took over the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant early in the war, sparking intermittent fears of a radiation incident as shelling persisted near the site, often targeting Ukrainian-controlled settlements across the Dnieper River.
The U.S. Navy submarine, USS Georgia, on the surface of the Arabian Gul escorted by the guided missile cruiser, USS Port Royal.

(Photo: US Navy)

In a significant move reflecting the escalating tensions in the Middle East, the U.S. Department of Defense has announced the deployment of additional missile systems and troops to the region. This decision comes in the wake of increasing hostilities and threats from Iran and its affiliated proxy forces.

The Pentagon, in a recent statement, confirmed its intention to dispatch two of its most potent anti-missile weapons to the Middle East. The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, along with additional Patriot air defense missile system battalions, will be stationed at various strategic locations throughout the region. While Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin refrained from specifying the exact number of battalions or their intended destinations, he did mention that an "additional number" of American troops have been placed on prepare-to-deploy orders. This move follows the recent deployment of two aircraft carriers, their support vessels, and approximately 2,000 Marines to the Middle East, as reported by Reuters.

The decision to bolster U.S. military presence in the region is not isolated. It follows the release of two American hostages by Hamas for "humanitarian reasons." The hostage situation remains complex, with Israeli Defense Force officials estimating that Hamas holds around 203 Israelis. In contrast, Hamas claims to have taken 200 hostages, with other militant factions reportedly holding an additional 50 individuals.

The Biden administration, two years prior, had withdrawn air defense systems from the Middle East, citing a decrease in tensions with Iran. However, recent events have painted a different picture. The U.S. has witnessed a surge in attacks against its forces stationed in Iraq and Syria. Notably, at least six such incidents have occurred since Hamas launched a deadly assault on Israel on October 7. A military base in Syria, utilized for training U.S. troops, was targeted by drones last Thursday. While one drone resulted in minor injuries, another was successfully intercepted and destroyed. Furthermore, rockets struck another military base hosting U.S. forces near Baghdad's international airport last week. More rockets were reported targeting the Ain al-Asad air base, which accommodates U.S. and other international forces in western Iraq. In a separate incident, a U.S. Navy vessel near Yemen intercepted three land attack cruise missiles and several drones, believed to have been launched by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, addressing the situation, expressed concerns over the anticipated escalation by Iranian proxies against U.S. forces. He stated, "We are concerned, in fact, we expect, escalation by Iranian proxies against our forces, directed against our personnel. But if that happens, we're ready for it."

The situation in the region remains fluid, with reports suggesting that Israel is preparing for an "imminent" ground invasion of northern Gaza. Leaflets have been distributed, urging residents of northern Gaza to relocate southward to avoid potential conflict zones. The U.S., along with its allies, has emphasized the importance of meticulous planning to prevent civilian casualties in any forthcoming operations.

The Middle East, a historically volatile region, is once again at the crossroads of major geopolitical shifts. The U.S.'s decision to reinforce its military presence underscores the gravity of the situation and its commitment to ensuring stability in the area.
FILE PHOTO: The Foxconn company logo is seen at the facility in the Racine County town of Mt. Pleasant, Wisconsin, U.S., April 28, 2019.

(Photo: Brian Snyder/Reuters/File Photo GLOBAL BUSINESS WEEK AHEAD)

Foxconn, the Taiwan-based tech behemoth known for manufacturing Apple products, including iPhones, has come under the scrutiny of Chinese mainland tax authorities. The company is currently undergoing tax inspections in several provinces, including Guangdong and Jiangsu. Additionally, the natural resources department is investigating the land use of key Foxconn enterprises in Henan and Hubei provinces.

Foxconn's founder, Terry Gou, made headlines in August when he announced his intention to run as a candidate in the 2024 elections for Taiwan's regional leader. This decision led him to resign from his position on the Foxconn board. Gou's political alignment appears to be in line with the Kuomintang (KMT), Taiwan's main opposition party. However, analysts from both sides of the Taiwan Straits believe that Gou's entry into the political arena might further fragment the island's opposition camp. This fragmentation could inadvertently benefit the secessionist ruling Democratic Progressive Party's candidate, Lai Ching-te.

The timing of the inspections has raised eyebrows in some quarters. Many in Taiwan speculate that the probes might be linked to Gou's political ambitions. However, Chinese mainland experts have emphasized that such investigations are routine and legitimate. Every company, regardless of its stature or affiliations, undergoes tax inspections. While the investigation itself is deemed normal, its implications could reverberate in the upcoming elections. Experts have voiced concerns that if secessionists advocating for "Taiwan independence" clinch a victory, it could spell disaster for the region's peace and stability. In such a scenario, the onus would be on the Chinese people, including the business community, to unite and avert potential calamity.

In response to the ongoing inspections, a spokesperson from the Hon Hai Technology Group, Foxconn's parent company, reiterated their commitment to legal compliance. The spokesperson stated that adhering to laws and regulations is paramount for the group's global operations. They also assured full cooperation with the relevant departments during the inspections.

Zhang Wensheng, deputy dean of the Taiwan Research Institute at Xiamen University, shed light on the situation, emphasizing that tax inspections and land use investigations are standard market supervision activities in China. Foxconn, like any other enterprise, is obligated to cooperate and uphold market order. Zhang also highlighted the welcoming stance of the mainland towards Taiwan-funded enterprises, offering them various preferential measures and encouraging them to partake in the mainland's developmental opportunities.

Foxconn's significant presence in the mainland has been mutually beneficial. The company's subsidiary, Foxconn Industrial Internet Co Ltd, is listed on the A-share market, which has been a boon for its parent company, Hon Hai Technology Group.

However, the ongoing inspections might have repercussions on the stock market. Experts predict potential fluctuations in the share prices of Hon Hai and Foxconn. This situation underscores the intricate ties between the cross-Straits and the need for Taiwanese companies to be well-versed with mainland laws and regulations.

The broader geopolitical landscape also plays a role in this narrative. Concerns about Taiwan secessionism are escalating globally, with major Western powers like the US and the EU expressing their reservations. Both the US and the EU have reaffirmed their commitment to the "One China Policy," urging Taiwan to refrain from any unilateral declaration of independence.

Ihe Foxconn inspections, set against the backdrop of political maneuverings and global geopolitics, underscore the intricate interplay of business, politics, and international relations in the Asian-Pacific region.
An earthquake of magnitude 4.3 on the Richter Scale, jolted Nepal on Sunday, according to the National Center for Seismology (NCS). Taking to X, the NCS stated, "Earthquake of Magnitude:4.3, Occurred on 22-10-2023, 17:18:57 IST, Lat: 28.03 & Long: 84.74, Depth: 5 Km, Location: Nepal". Meanwhile, earlier today, a strong quake of 5.3 also jolted Nepal.



The overall air quality in the National Capital has deteriorated to the 'very poor' category, with the Air Quality Index at 302 on Sunday afternoon, as per data from SAFAR-India. In the morning, the overall air quality was recorded in the 'poor category' with an AQI of 266 against 173 recorded on Saturday. According to the latest data from the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), the air quality around Delhi University was recorded at 330 (very poor) at noon, while IGI Terminal T3 in New Delhi was at 313 against 276 in the morning hours.



An IAF C-17 flight carrying nearly 6.5 tonnes of medical aid and 32 tonnes of disaster relief material for the people of Palestine departs for El-Arish airport in Egypt. The material includes essential life-saving medicines, surgical items, tents, sleeping bags, tarpaulins, sanitary utilities, water purification tablets among other necessary items.

Cyclone 'Tej', brewing over the Arabian Sea, is expected to transform into a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm (VSCS) before noon on Sunday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. "VSCS (very severe cyclonic storm) Tej lay centered at 2330 IST of 21st Oct over SW Arabian Sea about 330 km ESE of Socotra (Yemen), 690 km SSE of Salalah (Oman), and 720 km SE of Al Ghaidah (Yemen). Very likely to intensify further into an Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm in the forenoon of 22nd Oct," the IMD posted from its handle on X.


A special flight carrying 143 persons, including two Nepalese citizens and four infants, wanting to leave Israel amidst the Israel-Hamas conflict, left for India on Sunday as part of 'Operation Ajay'.

It was the sixth flight as part of Operation Ajay launched on October 12 to facilitate the return of those Indian nationals who wish to return home following the brazen attacks on Israeli towns by Hamas militants from Gaza on October 7.

The flight is carrying 143 persons, including two Nepalese citizens and four infants, informed sources told PTI.

Eighteen Nepalese nationals were earlier accommodated on the special flight last Tuesday.

The voluntary departure of Indian nationals was necessitated after armed Hamas militants based in the Gaza Strip launched an unprecedented attack on Israel by land, air, and sea on October 7.

So far, five chartered flights from Tel Aviv arrived in Delhi with nearly 1,200 passengers, including children.

Since the start of hostilities, nearly 4,400 Palestinians have been killed.

According to official Israeli sources, at least 1,400 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed in Israel.
As 'Operation Ajay' continues, the sixth flight carrying Indian nationals has departed from Tel Aviv for Delhi.

Confirming the same, the Indian Embassy in Israel posted on social media platform X, "The sixth flight has taken off from Tel Aviv to Delhi. Embassy wishes everyone on board a safe journey."

The pictures posted by the Indian embassy showed people carrying the Indian tricolour as they expressed happiness over evacuation from Israel during its ongoing war with Hamas.

"#OperationAjay update Flight #6 departs from Tel Aviv," the External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar posted on X.

Notably, Operation Ajay is an ongoing operation conducted by the Indian Armed Forces to evacuate Indian citizens from Israel during the 2023 Israel-Hamas war.

The fifth flight carrying 286 Indian nationals including 18 citizens of Nepal arrived in New Delhi late on Tuesday night.

Upon arrival, they were received by the Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting and Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, L Murugan.

"Wherever Indians are stranded, our priority is to bring them back. We have successfully conducted Operation Ganga and Operation Kaveri now under Operation Ajay we are bringing people back from Israel. This is the fifth flight, and we have already brought 1180 people back home. We are the first country to start the evacuation, and we are also bringing people belonging to our neighbour (Nepal) countries...," the Minister said.

Expressing gratitude to PM Modi's government, Vishal, an Indian national who returned from Israel told ANI, "I am coming from Haifa, Israel. We had to follow the safety protocols given by the university. The Indian government has helped us a lot, we are thankful to the embassy..."

Whereas, another Indian national, Ramesh said, "We have just returned from Israel. The facilities provided by the Indian Embassy were very good. We got a lot of help from the Indian Embassy in Israel..."

The fourth flight from Israel under 'Operation Ajay' carrying 274 Indian passengers landed in the national capital on Sunday.

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Union Minister of State General (Retd) VK Singh received the Indian passengers at the airport.He interacted with them and also gave tricolours to every Indian passenger.

MoS for Road Transport and Highways, VK Singh informed that more flights will be carried out to evacuate the Indian citizens amid the situation in Israel.

The Indian nationals applauded the operation and said that there was support from the Indian embassy and the evacuation process was nice and quick. 'Operation Ajay' was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to bring back around 18,000 Indians in Israel. Registration of Indians began on Thursday.

The Indian embassy in Israel is providing assistance to Indian companies and has set up a helpline for Indian citizens in need of assistance.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it has detected 550 failed rocket launches and misfires since the beginning of the Gaza war, the military announced on Saturday night.

"The terrorist organisation Hamas uses the residents of the Gaza Strip as human shields and fires from civilian infrastructure. Since the beginning of the fighting, the IDF has detected about 550 failed launches fired from the Gaza Strip," the IDF said.

The military also released footage of rocket barrages being launched from Gaza, in which several rockets could be seen crashing into the Strip.

On Tuesday night, a misfired Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket devastated the Al Ahli Hospital in northern Gaza as terrorists fired heavy barrages of rockets at southern and central Israel. The rocket fire triggered alarms in Rishon Letzion, Petach Tikvah, Bnei Brak, Ramat Gan Bat Yam, and other localities.

Hamas sources claimed it killed 471 Palestinians, a number that has not been independently verified and has been questioned by European experts. Hamas and much of the Arab world immediately blamed Israel, accusing the IDF of deliberately striking the hospital.

Israel released intercepted Hamas communications, confirming the blast was caused by a misfired Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket. It also released corroborating footage caught by security cameras at Moshav Netiv Ha'Asara.

News reports erroneously blame Israel for the blast that sparked riots across the Middle East.

During the fighting in May, failed rocket launches by Palestinian Islamic Jihad killed four Gaza civilians.

Israel has launched airstrikes on Gaza since Hamas terrorists killed at least 1,400 Israelis and wounded more than 4,800 in a massive offensive launched from Gaza on Oct. 7, which included massacres carried out at Gaza-area communities and rocket barrages. Over 200 hostages were taken back to Gaza.

Also Read Israel-Gaza war: Death toll up as conflict expands to bordering nations Israel-Gaza war: Nations call for peaceful resolution; latest updates here Gaza strip: Understanding the territory, its history, and ongoing conflict Israel-Palestine conflict: All you need to know about this surprise war We must find a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine, says MEA Pro-Palestinian protesters march in London as Israel-Hamas war roils world Climate change may push up to 158.3 mn more women, girls into poverty: Rpt Israel-Hamas war: Aid trucks enter Gaza from Egypt as Rafah crossing opens Jaishankar discusses ways to deepen strategic partnership with Singapore Was offered $5 bn by Bill Clinton to not conduct nuclear tests: Sharif
Chinas Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) has deployed six warships in the Middle East, including a guided-missile destroyer, in the Middle East amid escalating tensions in the region because of the ongoing war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas, reports said.

According to the South China Morning Post, these warships, including the Zibo, a Type 052D guided-missile destroyer, the frigate Jingzhou, and the integrated supply ship Qiandaohu, were part of the PLA's 44th naval escort task force. were part of the PLAs 44th naval escort task force that recently took part in a joint military exercise with Oman.

The move comes at a time when the US has sent USS Gerald R Ford, its most advanced carrier, along with a battle group to the West Asia region. On the other hand, Israels military has warned that Iran-backed Hezbollah risks dragging neighbouring Lebanon into war and said anti-tank missiles were fired from Lebanon Sunday.

Israels military said it would embark on the next phase of the Gaza campaign, without giving a timeframe for its widely expected ground invasion against Hamas, which is designated a terrorist group by the US and EU.

More than 4,300 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. That includes the disputed toll from a hospital explosion.

Syrian state media, meanwhile, reported that Israeli airstrikes have targeted the international airports in the capital, Damascus, and the northern city of Aleppo and a mosque in the occupied West Bank early Sunday allegedly used by militants, as the two-week-old war with Hamas threatened to spiral into a broader conflict. It said the strikes killed one person and damaged the runways, putting them out of service.

The Israeli military said the mosque compound belonged to Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants who had carried out several attacks in recent months and were planning another one.

Israels military has said it is striking Hamas members and installations, but does not target civilians. It also confirmed that 212 people are being held hostage in Gaza, adding that Israeli strikes overnight killed dozens of Palestinian fighters, including the deputy chief of Hamas rocket forces.

On the northern front, Israel has been attacking fighters trying to fire missiles in across the Lebanese border and struck a site in Lebanon from where a missile was fired at an Israeli aircraft, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a briefing. Sundays fatalities brought the death toll in the West Bank to 91 Palestinians since the war broke out on October 7, according to the Health Ministry. Most appear have been killed during fighting with Israeli forces or violent protests.

Also Read Israel-Gaza war: Death toll up as conflict expands to bordering nations Israel-Gaza war: Nations call for peaceful resolution; latest updates here Gaza strip: Understanding the territory, its history, and ongoing conflict We must find a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine, says MEA Israel-Palestine war: Here's a look at the history of the conflict Two Indian workers killed in powerful explosion in Maldives, says report US regards Chinese military, security strategy as 'pacing challenge' Thousands rally in Europe opposing antisemitism and support to Israel Philippines' coast guard ship, supply boat hit by Chinese vessels: Official Magnitude 4.3 earthquake jolts Nepal, second in less than 24 hours

Hospitals packed with patients and displaced people are running low on medical supplies and fuel for generators, forcing doctors to perform surgeries with sewing needles, using vinegar as disinfectant, and without anaesthesia.

The World Health Organisation says at least 130 premature babies are at grave risk because of a shortage of generator fuel under renewed Israeli blockade in the wake of the October 7 deadly Hamas attack in Israel.

About 160 women give birth every day in Gaza, according to the UN Population Fund, which estimates there are 50,000 pregnant women across the territory of 2.3 million people. According to the Aljazeera report. The first batch of 20 trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered Gaza via Rafah crossing with Egypt on Saturday, but Israel continues to block fuel and electricity supplies critical to running hospitals and support several other essential services.

US amplifies military presence



President Joe Biden said the US, which has worked with other mediators to reach an agreement on Rafah, remains committed to ensuring that civilians in Gaza will continue to have access to food, water, medical care, and other assistance, without diversion by Hamas.

The United States is sending a Thaad battery and additional Patriot battalions, two of its most powerful weapons against missiles, to the region, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III said in a statement on Saturday. He did not specify where or how many battalions would be deployed, nor did he say how many troops would be told to prepare to deploy.

Cathay Pacific Airways cancels flights

Citing the ongoing situation in Israel, Cathay Pacific Airways has cancelled all flights between Hong Kong and Tel Aviv for the rest of this year.

Customers with tickets between the cities through March 31, 2024 can rebook, reroute or refund their travel without the usual fees, the company said in a statement.
October 21 , 2023: The war in Ukraine caused Germany, and most Germans, to revise their defense policies. This is nothing new, the revisions began in 2016 when Germany announced that 25 years of budget and personnel reductions in the military had ended. The then current force was to be increased 7.5 percent to 199,000. Defense civilian workers increased 7.7 percent to 60,000. This was all about the growing threat of Islamic terrorism and the return of Russian aggression. All that was old was new again .

During the Cold War, the West German army was 400,000 strong, well equipped and trained to fight. There were another 250,000 troops in the communist East German armed forces. Then the Cold War ended in 1991, the two Germanys united and East German forces were disbanded with the West German military absorbing some of the East German troops and weapons. Then the united German forces began to shrink. With the Soviet Union gone, and the former Soviet allies in East Europe clamoring to join NATO, Germany no longer had any threatening neighbors. The Cold War German army of Panzertruppen (mechanized troops) had lost its mission. During the next 25 years German armed forces were reduced over 70 percent from their combined 1991 strength of 650,000 to 185,000. Earlier in 2016 Germany announced it was increasing its defense budget to $41 billion, which is what it was in 2011 .

All this came after 2011 when major changes were implemented for the armed forces. The main change was that the armed forces went all- volunteer with the end of conscription. That caused the armed forces to shrink from 220,000 to 185,000 troops. In 2011 about 22 percent of the troops were conscripts, in service for only six months, although many could, and did, volunteer to stay in for up to 23 months. The number of civilians working for the armed forces also shrank from 75,000 to 56,000. The number of staff at the Defense ministry shrank from 3,500 to 2,000. This was a big change from what had been going on for half a century. With the end of conscription Germany managed to find enough effective troops for peacekeeping, and special operations. Just not many of them. The generals had long asked for an all-volunteer force but for a long time the politicians, and public opinion, were opposed to this .

The reality was not what everyone expected. The all-volunteer force had no shortage of volunteers for peacekeeping duty, even in dangerous areas. But it was soon discovered that with a volunteer force it was very difficult to obtain all the troops needed for tech jobs. This was mainly because there is high demand for these people outside the military where the money was better and the working environment safer .

There were other changes. In 2002 German troops saw combat again in Afghanistan, for the first time in nearly 60 years. German troops have been in Afghanistan since 2002. Over 5,000 have served there, mainly as peacekeepers. But one percent of the German troops serving in Afghanistan were killed there .

The 2011 plan was to create an army of peacekeepers. Well, only 5-10,000 of them were involved in peacekeeping at any one time. Not only was the army smaller, but it had older equipment, and less of it. Not much purchasing of new equipment after 1991 and much of what was bought was to support peacekeeping missions. The peacekeepers, particularly in Afghanistan, were given more modern gear and the expense of this was another reason for shrinking the size of armed forces. The reduced budget meant there was not enough to keep equipment and weapons in good shape or updates as needed. So, the defense budget went up a lot in the next few years to deal with all the overdue maintenance and updates. The post-Cold War peace dividend had expired, and it was now back to more traditional defense conditions .

The 2016 upgrades were made to deal with a return of Russian aggression. In early 2022 the Russian aggression returned with an invasion of Ukraine. That prompted Germany to allegedly plan to upgrade its army to combat status and capable of winning in combat .

The German voters and population in general indicated they supported these changes. Opinion surveys in the years before the Ukraine invasion showed that nearly 70 percent of Germans wanted Americans nuclear weapons withdrawn from Germany. These were in Germany to discourage an aggressive Russia from making convincing nuclear threats against Germany. By 2020 the threat of Russian aggression was not convincing enough to change German attitudes towards American nukes, but it did permit spending money to put their military back in shape to fight and win. German attitudes towards nuclear power were shutting down German nuclear power plants with the power now supplied by Russian natural gas imports. This approach failed when the gas was no longer available because Germany could not support the Russian military by purchasing Russian natural gas. That decision became final in September 2022 when someone destroyed the two natural gas pipelines from Russia. No one took credit for the attack and speculation continues about who it was and why they did it. German public opinion soon changed about keeping nuclear power plants operational, because without them there would be insufficient electricity to keep the entire economy going and heat homes and businesses during winter .

While Germans were divided about nuclear energy, 72 percent backed remaining a NATO member. This might bring back American nuclear weapons, which Germans supported when an aggressive Russia threatened to use theirs. Now, most Germans supported military readiness even if it meant a much larger defense budget .

In late 2022, when it became clear that the war in Ukraine might last for years, Germans accepted the fact that this war, the first since World War II when major powers armed with similar weapons fought each other. The Ukrainians were doing the fighting, but mainly with modern weapons provided by NATO countries. Russia invaded to stop Ukraine from joining NATO. The Ukrainians halted the Russians and within a year were on the offensive themselves, armed with NATO weapons. This effort assures Ukraine NATO membership once the war is over. Once in NATO, another Russian invasion would face soldiers from many NATO members fighting alongside troops from fellow NATO Ukraine. The Ukrainians had been improving their armed forces since 2012, two years before Russia seized Crimea and portions of two provinces in eastern Ukraine. East European NATO members agreed with the Ukrainian warning that a lot of Russian aggression was coming. After 2014 many NATO members agreed to support Ukrainian efforts to upgrade their armed forces. By late 2021 there were signs that Russia was planning on a larger war. Germany, and the other original NATO members in Western Europe were dubious but the more recent East European NATO members agreed with the Ukrainians, the Russian aggression is coming. Germany was sufficiently alarmed to accelerate the upgrading of their armed forces. Most Germans agreed with this alarming assessment and their fears became reality when the Russians invaded in February 2022 .

While Germany pretended to accelerate upgrading its own military, most Germans agreed that the Russian invasion indicated a major change in attitudes towards military preparedness and the risks of another major war on the scale of the two World Wars. The Ukraine War provides useful practical advice on how such a war would be fought. It would be more violent and create more costs and casualties than most people believed likely . Many more people died in the World Wars than anyone expected, and Ukraine is demonstrating that that the situation has not changed and that losses are even higher because of the more effective modern weapons. Now it is easier for NATO militaries to ask for expensive new weapons, like F-35 aircraft and replacing unguided rockets and shells with more expensive guided ones .
President Joe Biden said Friday he thought Hamas was motivated to attack Israel in part by a desire to stop that country from normalising relations with Saudi Arabia.

One of the reasons ... why Hamas moved on Israel, is because they knew I was about to sit down with the Saudis, Biden said at a campaign fundraiser. The US president indicated that he thinks Hamas militants launched a deadly assault on Oct 7 because, Guess what? The Saudis wanted to recognise Israel and were near being able to formally do so.

Jerusalem and Riyadh had been steadily inching closer to normalisation, with Biden working to help bring the two countries together, announcing plans in September at the Group of 20 summit in India to partner on a shipping corridor.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Biden on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September and told him, I think that under your leadership, Mr President, we can forge a historic peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

The Saudis had been insisting on protections and expanded rights for Palestinian interests as part of any broader agreement with Israel. An agreement would have been a feat of diplomacy that could have enabled broader recognition of Israel by other Arab and Muslim-majority nations that have largely opposed Israel since its creation 75 years ago in territory where Palestinians have long resided.

But talks were interrupted after Hamas militants stormed from the blockaded Gaza Strip where Palestinians live into nearby Israeli towns.

The Oct. 7 attack coincided with a major Jewish holiday. It led to retaliatory airstrikes by Israel that have left the world on edge with the U.S. trying to keep the war from widening, as 1,400 Israelis and 4,137 Palestinians have been killed. Hamas also captured more than 200 people as hostages after the initial assault.

The normalisation push began under former President Donald Trump's administration and was branded as the Abraham Accords. It is an ambitious effort to reshape the region and boost Israel's standing in historic ways. But critics have warned that it skips past Palestinian demands for statehood.

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Secretary of State Antony Blinken said soon after the Hamas attacks that the militant group's leadership may have been driven in part by a desire to scuttle the United States' efforts at the sealing of diplomatic relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia



Such a pact between Jerusalem and Riyadh would be a legacy-defining achievement for Biden, Netanyahu and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
A top official with Hezbollah vowed that Israel will pay a high price whenever it starts a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip and said Saturday that his militant group based in Lebanon already is in the heart of the battle.

The comments by Hezbollah's deputy leader, Sheikh Naim Kassem, came as Israel shelled and made drone strikes in southern Lebanon and Hezbollah fired rockets and missiles toward Israel. Hezbollah said six of its fighters were killed Saturday, the highest daily toll since the violence began two weeks ago.

For Hezbollah, heating up the Lebanon-Israel border has a clear purpose, Kassem said: We are trying to weaken the Israeli enemy and let them know that we are ready. Hamas officials have said that if Israel starts a ground offensive in Gaza, Hezbollah will join the fighting.

Exchanges of fire along the Lebanon-Israel border have picked up in the two weeks since the attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas that killed over 1,400 civilians and soldiers in southern Israel. Retaliatory Israeli airstrikes on Gaza have killed more than 4,000 Palestinians.

There are concerns that Iran-backed Hezbollah, which has a weapons arsenal consisting of tens of thousands of rockets and missiles as well as different types of drones, might try to open a new front in the Israel-Hamas war with a large-scale attack on northern Israel.

Kassem said his group, which is allied with Hamas, already was affecting the course of the conflict by heating up the Lebanon-Israel border and keeping three Israeli army divisions tied up in the north instead of preparing to fight in Gaza.

Do you believe that if you try to crush the Palestinian resistance, other resistance fighters in the region will not act? Kassem said in a speech Saturday during the funeral of a Hezbollah fighter. We are in the heart of the battle today. We are making achievements through this battle.

On Friday, the Israeli military announced the evacuation of a border city where three residents were wounded in the crossfire a day earlier.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported that an Israeli drone fired a missile on a valley in the Sejoud area, about 20 kilometres north of the Israeli border. Hezbollah did not immediately confirm the attack, but if true it would mark a major escalation as it is deep inside Lebanon and far from the border.

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An Associated Press journalist in south Lebanon reported hearing loud explosions Saturday along the border, close to the Mediterranean coast.

Hezbollah said its fighters attacked several Israeli positions and also targeted an Israeli infantry force, scoring direct hits.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported Israeli shelling of several villages and said a car took a direct hit in the village of Houla. On Saturday evening, shelling intensified around an Israeli army post across from the Lebanese village of Yaroun.

Hezbollah said six of its fighters were killed Saturday, raising the total of Lebanese militants killed to 19 since October 7.

Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee said a group of gunmen fired a shell into Israel and an Israeli drone was launched back toward them. A drone also was dispatched after another group of gunmen fired toward the Israeli town of Margaliot, Adraee said.

Direct hits were scored in both strikes, Adraee posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Hezbollah's Kassem spoke about foreign dignitaries who visited Lebanon over the past two weeks asking Lebanese officials to convince the group not to take part in the latest Hamas-Israel battle. He said Hezbollah's response to Lebanese officials was, We are part of the battle.

We tell those who are contacting us, Stop the (Israeli) aggression so that its (conflict) repercussions and possibility of expansion stops,' Kassem said, referring to the officials who recently visited Beirut, including the foreign ministers of France and Germany.

Speaking about an expected Israeli ground invasion of Gaza, Kassem, said: Our information are that the preparedness in Gaza by Hamas and resistance fighters will make (the) Israeli ground invasion their graveyard.
Tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched through a rainy London on Saturday to demand Israel stop its bombardment of Gaza, and similar calls were heard in cities around the world as the Israel-Hamas war entered its third week.

On the day a trickle of aid entered Gaza, where more than 1 million people have left their homes because of the conflict, protesters gathered in at Marble Arch near London's Hyde Park before marching to the government district, Whitehall.

Police estimated the crowd that wound its way through the city for three hours at up to 100,000.

Waving Palestinian flags and chanting Stop bombing Gaza, participants called for an end to Israel's blockade and airstrikes launched in the wake of a brutal incursion into southern Israel by the Hamas militant group that controls Gaza.

Authorities in Gaza say more than 4,300 people have been killed in the territory since the latest war began. More than 1,400 people have been killed in Israel, mostly civilians slain during Hamas' deadly incursion on October 7.

Israel continued to bombard targets in Gaza on Saturday ahead of an expected ground offensive. A small measure of relief came when 20 trucks carrying humanitarian aid were allowed to enter Gaza across the southern Rafah border crossing with Egypt.

The war has raised tensions around the world, with both Jewish and Muslim communities feeling under threat. The British Transport Police force said it was investigating after footage was posted online that appears to show a London Underground driver leading passengers in a chant of Free, free Palestine over the subway intercom.

British authorities urged demonstrators to be mindful of the pain and anxiety felt by the Jewish community. London's Metropolitan Police force says it has seen a 13-fold upsurge in reports of antisemitic offences in October compared to last year. Reports of anti-Muslim crimes have more than doubled.

Police said there had been "pockets of disorder and some instances of hate speech during protests over the war, but the majority of the protest activity has been lawful and has taken place without incident."

Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters also gathered in Belfast and in Northern Ireland's second city, Londonderry, where speakers included lawmaker Colum Eastwood of the Irish nationalist Social Democratic and Labour Party.

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The murder of children is wrong, he told the crowd, calling for an immediate cease-fire in the conflict. I don't know how that is so difficult for some of our world leaders to actually utter. It doesn't matter whether they are Israeli children or Palestinian children.

Across the border in the Republic of Ireland, thousands marched through the capital, Dublin, calling for an end to Israel's bombardment.

In France, pro-Palestinians demonstrators gathered in several cities including Rennes, Montpellier, Dijon and Lyon, where thousands of people could be seen chanting we all are Palestinians in the central square.

In Marseille, the country's second-largest city, some people took to the streets, waving Palestinians flags and shouting Free Gaza, despite the protest being banned by local police.

A pro-Palestinian gathering scheduled for Sunday in Paris has been allowed by police.

German police said almost 7,000 people took part in a peaceful pro-Palestinian demonstration in Dsseldorf on Saturday. The demonstrators carried Palestinian flags or banners calling for an end to violence and aggression in Gaza.

Police in Berlin banned a pro-Palestinian demonstration that was scheduled for Sunday in the centre of the city, German news agency dpa reported. Police in the German capital have stopped several similar events in recent weeks, citing the potential of violence and antisemitic hate speech.

Some pro-Palestinian demonstrators have taken to the streets anyway, resulting in clashes with police.

Authorities allowed a pro-Israel demonstration scheduled for Sunday that was expected to draw together thousands of people in central Berlin.

Elsewhere, several hundred people marched through Rome on Saturday, some holding signs saying Palestine, Rome is with you, and No peace until we get freedom.

Israel carries out war crimes there, crimes against humanity there, and the international community has never acted, said Maya Issa, president of the Movement of Palestinian Students in Italy, which organised the demonstration.

In Muslim-majority Kosovo, several hundred people walked from mosques to Pristina's Zahir Pajaziti square after lunchtime prayers to express support for Palestinians.

In Australia, thousands marched through central Sydney on Saturday, shouting Shame, shame Israel and Palestine will never die.

The war sparked protests across the Arab world and beyond on Friday, including in the occupied West Bank, where Palestinians burned tires and threw stones at Israeli military checkpoints. Israeli security forces responded firing tear gas and live rounds.

Crowds gathered in Israel's northern neighbor Lebanon; in Iraq at the country's border crossing with Jordan; in Jordan itself; in cities and towns across Egypt; in Turkey's capital Ankara and its most populous city of Istanbul; and in Indonesia, Malaysia, Morocco and South Africa.

In New York, hundreds of protesters from Muslim, Jewish and other groups marched to US Sen. Kristen Gillibrand's Manhattan office, many shouting cease fire now.

Police later arrested dozens of protesters who blocked Third Avenue outside Gillibrand's office by sitting in the road.

Pro-Israel demonstrations and vigils have also been held around the world, many focused on securing the return of hostages captured by Hamas.

Rome's Jewish community on Friday remembered the more than 200 people believed held by Hamas by setting a long Shabbat table for them outside the capital's main synagogue and empty chairs for each of the hostages.

On the back of each chair was a flyer featuring the name, age and photo of each missing person. On the table were candles, wine and loaves of challah, the braided bread typically eaten during the Friday night meal.
Thousands of people were rallying in Berlin and London on Sunday to oppose antisemitism and support Israel, while demonstrations in support of Palestinians in besieged Gaza continued around the world.

Some of those who gathered in front of Berlin's Brandenburg Gate carried Israeli flags or posters with photos of some of the more than 200 people seized by Hamas as hostages during the militants' deadly October 7 incursion into Israel.

It is unbearable that Jews are living in fear again today in our country of all places, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier told the crowd. Every single attack on Jews, on Jewish institutions is a disgrace for Germany. Every single attack fills me with shame and anger.

Earlier, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz inaugurated a new synagogue in the eastern city of Dessau and said he was outraged by the upsurge in antisemitism since the conflict began.

Several buildings in Berlin where Jews live had the star of David painted on doors and walls, and assailants threw two Molotov cocktails at a synagogue in Berlin last week.

Here in Germany, of all places, Scholz said, vowing that our never again' must be unbreakable.

In London, the Board of Deputies of British Jews called for people to rally in Trafalgar Square on Sunday afternoon to press for the return of more than 200 people taken hostage by Hamas.

The war has raised tensions worldwide, leaving Jewish and Muslim communities feeling under threat. London's Metropolitan Police force says it has seen a 13-fold upsurge in reports of antisemitic offenses in October compared to last year. Reports of anti-Muslim crimes have more than doubled.

Sunday's rallies came a day after tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators 100,000 by police estimates marched through the British capital to demand Israel stop its bombardment of Gaza. Waving Palestinian flags and chanting Stop bombing Gaza, participants called for an end to Israel's blockade and airstrikes launched in the wake of Hamas' brutal incursion.

Authorities in Gaza say more than 4,600 people have been killed in the territory since the latest war began. More than 1,400 people have been killed in Israel, majority of them civilians slain in the October 7 attack.

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Israel intensified its bombardment of Gaza ahead of an expected ground offensive. Egyptian media said 17 trucks carrying humanitarian aid crossed into the besieged strip on Sunday, after 20 trucks were allowed to enter Gaza on Saturday across the southern Rafah border crossing with Egypt.

On Sunday hundreds of people gathered in Sarajevo -- bombed and besieged during the Bosnian war in the 1990s -- to show solidarity with the plight of Palestinians in Gaza.

What is happening in Gaza is simply human disaster. Collective punishment. War crimes. These things have to be named by their rightful name, said Nabil Naser, a Palestinian doctor who worked in Sarajevo during the Bosnian war.

More than 3,000 people attended a Freedom for Palestine rally on Sunday at a square in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Waving Palestinian flags and to the beat of drums, protesters including women and children chanted Palestine will never die and From the rivers to the sea, Palestine will be free.

Malaysia is a strong supporter of the Palestinian cause, and has no diplomatic ties with Israel. Muslims in the country have staged weekly rallies after Friday prayers outside the American Embassy, slamming the US for its support of Israel.

Retiree Munir Izwan urged neighbours of the Palestinians to step up efforts to help.

Even in Islamic teachings, the closest neighbours should help the most in making peace between the two parties. But from what I see, the neighbouring countries of Palestine, they are only talking but no actions, Munir said.

Demonstrations of support of the Palestinians were held Saturday across Europe -- in Rome, Barcelona, several French cities, Dsseldorf, Germany and the Kosovo capital, Pristina as well as in Sydney and in US cities including Los Angeles and Houston.

In Istanbul, protesters outside the Israeli Consulate on Saturday evening held children's stuffed toys to draw attention to the large number of Palestinian children killed in Gaza. Protesters affiliated with Islamic groups held signs reading I have a right to play and held up toys with signs on them that called on Israel to stop murdering innocent children.
The US has decided to send a Terminal High Altitude Area Defence system as well as additional Patriot battalions to the Middle East to increase its force posture there following recent escalations by Iran and its proxy forces across the region, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said.

These steps will bolster regional deterrence efforts, increase force protection for US forces in the region, and assist in the defence of Israel, he said.

Following detailed discussions with President Joe Biden on recent escalations by Iran and its proxy forces across the Middle East Region, today I directed a series of additional steps to further strengthen the Department of Defence posture in the region, Austin said.

The US is on alert for activity by Iran-backed groups amidst escalating tension in the Middle East amid the Israel-Hamas war.

First, I redirected the movement of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group to the Central Command area of responsibility. This carrier strike group is in addition to the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group, which is currently operating in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, Austin said.

It will further increase America's force posture and strengthen our capabilities and ability to respond to a range of contingencies.

The US has also activated the deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery as well as additional Patriot battalions to locations throughout the region to increase force protection for US forces, he added.

The Patriot is considered one of the most advanced US air defence systems. The THAAD is a highly effective, combat-proven defence against short, medium and intermediate-range ballistic missile threats.

US forces in the region come under repeated drone attacks in Iraq and Syria since the conflict between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza broke out on October 7.

Finally, Austin said he has placed an additional number of forces to prepare to deploy orders as part of prudent contingency planning, to increase their readiness and ability to quickly respond as required.

He, however, did not mention the number of troops.

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I will continue to assess our force posture requirements in the region and consider deploying additional capabilities as necessary, he said.
This year the EU (European Union) replaced the United States as the major supplier of aid for Ukraine by already spending $14.3 billion with $4.7 billion more to come before the end of the year. The U.S. contributed $10.9 billion. In 2022 the Americans provided $11.98 billion compared to $7.96 billion for the EU. One reason for the disparity is that the United States supplied most of the weapons and munitions simply because the Americans had more available to send and because the American defense manufacturers produced much more than defense firms in Europe.

Ukraine still needs military aid, and the EU and United States are supplying all they can. The Ukrainian demand for weapons and munitions made the EU aware that their production ability was inadequate, because of long-dependent Americans companies to supply weapons. While the U.S. imports some weapons from Europe, most of the trade is from the United States to the EU.

Since the Cold War ended in 1991, EU nations cut their defense budgets sharply in order to enjoy a peace dividend. That lasted until about a decade ago when Russia once more became a military threat, at least with Ukraine. Part of the reason for that was that Ukraine wanted to join the EU economic union and the NATO military alliance. Russia did not approve of that and expected Ukraine to rely on Russia rather than the West. That was the initial reason for Russia invading Ukraine in early 2022. When that invasion failed and turned into an expensive mistake, Russia changed its attitude and told the Russian people that they were fighting in Ukraine to halt NATO aggression. Yet NATO was and still is a mutual defensive alliance and that's why Ukraine wants to be a member. Existing NATO members agree, and Ukraine will become a member once the fighting is over. That wont happen until all Russian military forces are gone and that is currently happening.

It may be another year before all the Russian troops are gone. Popular support for the war has declined in Russia, partly because it is an expensive failure, and most Russians are experiencing the economic impact. Consumer prices are up, and more Russians are unemployed. The war effort has been expensive for Russia in terms of cash as well as casualties. Economic sanctions made it difficult to import items from the West or get good prices for oil, the major Russian export. The Russian government says it is dealing with the sanctions, but that is not the same as not having to deal with them at all.

Meanwhile the EU has taken the lead in providing economic aid for Ukraine and providing investments for joint EU-Ukrainian enterprises. Ukraine has an industrial sector that suffered a lot of damage since the Russians invaded. Russia continues to attack economic targets with missiles. Russia lost its war in Ukraine and is determined to do as much economic damage as possible before the war is over. That means EU and American economic air are important for Ukrainian efforts to rebuild the economy and repair the damage the Russians have done and are still inflicting.

Ukraine has also attacked enterprises inside Russia, especially those essential for supporting the war effort. Ukraine mainly uses unmanned aircraft (drones or UAVs) for these attacks, which often succeed at hitting targets deep inside Russia. The targets include fuel storage centers and warehouses containing Russian weapons and munitions. Ukraine also attacks less explosive targets like factories that produce key components for weapons.

Another problem for Russia is that they are isolated. No one is sending any economic aid to Russia. Their only allies are Iran and North Korea, another two outcast nations also suffering from sanctions. Meanwhile Ukraine continues to receive billions in economic and military aid. This leads more Russians to wonder what they are being impoverished for. A growing number of Russian leaders have noticed that, but Vladimir Putin is still in charge, and he does not want peace and prosperity for Russia, he wants to punish Ukraine and the West. That is not working, and Putin is running out of excuses to justify the cost for Russia and so many Russians.
If you're interested in a job in the information technology (IT) industry, an MBA can be a useful and advanced degree. Your income potential is greatly increased, and you get useful management and technical skills. After earning an MBA, there are numerous IT careers you can pursue.

Knowing more about these careers will help you choose the one that is best for you. This article reviews the list of IT positions that require an MBA and explores how an MBA can advance your IT career.

10 IT Jobs With An MBA

You can think about pursuing a number of IT jobs with an MBA. To manage IT-related tasks for businesses, such as security, cloud management, and software upgrades, professionals are required. Candidates with an MBA in information technology can assist firms in choosing the best IT objectives and putting solutions into place. Some of the employment opportunities for MBA-IT grads include:

1. Business Intelligence Analyst

Salary: 8 to 25 lakh per year

Primary responsibilities: Business intelligence analysts gather data from organizations. They analyze it in light of market developments and evaluate the organization's performance in reference to its rivals. They use this information to provide managers or executives with useful insight on how to boost operations and income.

2. Chief Technology Officer

Salary: 10 to 60 lakh per year



Primary responsibilities: A senior executive in charge of a company's technological needs and problems is known as the chief technology officer (CTO). They are in charge of choosing how to use technology in the workplace as their main duty. They choose new technologies for implementation, decide which technologies the organization may benefit from, and create plans for technological platforms. In addition to overseeing and resolving technical issues, their duties also include hiring new personnel and developing technology-related protocols that all team members must adhere to.

3. SAP Consultant

Salary: 8 to 25 lakh per year

Primary responsibilities: SAP consultants help businesses find and implement the software that best meets their requirements. Additionally, they assess and improve the software and computer systems used by a customer or company to satisfy particular operational requirements. They offer insights that can help these systems be improved and assist in identifying areas for improvement.

4. Information Technology Director

Salary: 17 to 70 lakh per year

Principal responsibilities: Information technology directors assist organizations in managing research projects. They manage network security, update and install software, and integrate technological breakthroughs. They also create technical protocols across the IT infrastructure of an organization and make sure that all staff members adhere to them.

5. Project Manager

Salary: 5 to 30 lakh per year

Primary responsibilities: A project manager oversees one or more business initiatives. Additionally, they are in charge of making sure that resources and supplies are sufficient and easily accessible as well as informing stakeholders about progress using the most recent information. Project managers may need the business knowledge and abilities that an MBA gives in order to develop their careers to top management. By providing project managers with the knowledge and abilities needed to lead larger or more complicated projects, an MBA can help them advance in their jobs.

6. Quality Assurance Analyst

Salary: 4 to 25 lakh per year

Primary responsibilities: Quality assurance analysts analyze a company's information technology systems. Before they are released to the public, programs and software are routinely tested for flaws or dangers to ensure that they function properly and dependably. QA analysts often use a testing procedure to look for faults in programs and thousands of lines of code. They notify the program's developers and suggest fixes for any errors or flaws they find, such as a broken user interface.

7. Social Media Manager

Salary: 3 to 18 lakh per year

Primary responsibilities: Social media managers plan material for numerous social media platforms in order to monitor and manage a company's public interactions. Their job is to analyze engagement data, identify user interaction trends, and develop social media marketing strategies that assist businesses in establishing a digital presence. Additionally, in order to accomplish the objectives of the content marketing plan, these specialists develop, implement, and optimize a company's social media accounts.

8. Cyber Security Consultant

Salary: 5 to 25 lakh per month

Primary responsibilities: The most lucrative opportunities available to cybersecurity MBA graduates are consulting positions in cyber security. A cyber security expert is in charge of safeguarding sensitive data that originates from these numerous facets of the digital sphere. They minimize cyberattacks and avoid potential threats. Additionally, they build effective procedures for safeguarding the information and data systems, cloud platforms, and cyber threats, and they regularly carry out risk analyses, system inspections, and security testing.

9. Database Administrator

Salary: 7 to 25 lakh per year

Primary responsibilities: The database administrator's major responsibilities are to manage and maintain the company's databases. They contribute to making sure databases operate well. They are responsible for creating or setting up systems for controlling and safeguarding different forms of data, such as account information and customer shipping data. They aid in ensuring that the data is only accessible to those who are authorized. In general, employers favor database administrators who have an MBA in information systems.

10. Systems Analyst

Salary: 5 to 15 lakh per year



Primary responsibilities: System analysts are in charge of optimizing the user experience while utilizing software or applications. These professionals collaborate with clients to choose the software that will best satisfy their needs, implement that software, and engage with end users to make sure the systems are functioning effectively. They carry out analyses, put up tests, create specifications, and define standards that programmers and developers must follow. Candidates with an MBA in systems and IT may be well-suited for a position as a system analyst.

How Does An MBA Improve Your Career In IT?

The need for specialists with advanced degrees in information technology has risen as the role of technology in business continues to expand. Students can learn how to manage information technology projects and operations by earning an MBA in information technology (IT). Students who complete these degree programs are prepared to develop and maintain computer technology for a variety of sectors, including business, healthcare, industry, and science.
With some personnel changes over at CAMPIs secretariat committee, it took us a while to get the September 2023 new car sales breakdown for ...
Photo: The Canadian Press A couple tourists take a drink in a bar still open at the harbor of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, Friday, Oct. 20, 2023. Hurricane Norma is heading for the resorts of Los Cabos at the southern tip of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula, while Tammy grew into a hurricane in the Atlantic. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Hurricane Norma made landfall near the resorts of Los Cabos at the southern tip of Mexicos Baja California Peninsula on Saturday afternoon.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Norma, once a Category 4 hurricane, made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane with winds of 80 mph (130 kph) near el Pozo de Cota, west-northwest of Cabo San Lucas. Norma is expected to continue weakening over the weekend as it crosses into the Sea of Cortez, also known as the Gulf of California.

While in the Atlantic, Hurricane Tammy was very near Antigua and threatened to batter the islands of the Lesser Antilles.

Earlier on Saturday, businesses in Cabo San Lucas nailed up sheets of plywood over their windows, and government personnel hung up banners warning people not to try to cross gullies and stream beds after Norma regained strength and once again became a major storm Friday.

Norma had weakened early Saturday and was downgraded to Category 1 on the hurricane wind scale. By early afternoon Norma was located 15 miles west-northwest of Cabo San Lucas, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. It was moving north-northeast at 7 mph (11 kmh).

The hurricane was expected to continue on that path through the evening before turning to the northeast and slowing down through Monday. The forecast track would take a weakened Norma toward the mainland of Mexicos western Pacific coast as a tropical storm.

Its languid pace raised the possibility of severe flooding. Norma was expected to dump six to 12 inches of rain with a maximum of 18 inches in places across southern Baja California and much of Sinaloa state.

John Cangialosi, a senior specialist at the National Hurricane Center, said the area is vulnerable to rain because its a dry region generally.

"Six to 12 inches of rain is what is generally forecast, but there could be pockets of up to 18 inches of rain and we do think that will be the most significant impact that could result in flash and urban flooding and mudslides, he said.

Authorities in San Jose del Cabo helped two families of tourist  one Mexico and one from the United States  who had been stranded at the closed airport. Authorities took them to one of the 24 open shelters that by the afternoon held about 1,700 people.

There were early reports of downed trees and power poles, but no reported injuries or deaths.

The Los Cabos Civil Defense agency urged residents to stay indoors all day as winds and rain increased. Emergency workers rushed around the area evacuating people from low-lying areas and moving them to shelters.

Police in San Jose del Cabo rescued two people from their truck when a surging stream swept it away early Saturday. Some informal settlements, away from the hotels that serve tourists, were already isolated by rising water. Some neighborhoods lost electricity and internet service.

By late morning, the area's streets were littered with palm fronds and other debris, and essentially deserted except for occasional military patrols. Strong winds whipped traffic signs, trees and power lines.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said hurricane conditions were already occurring over southern parts of the peninsula.

Hotels in Los Cabos, which are largely frequented by foreign tourists, remained about three-quarters full and visitors made no major moves to leave en masse, Baja California Sur state tourism secretary Maribel Collins said.

There was no way out anyway: Airports were closed Saturday, according to the local civil defense office.

The local hotel association estimated there were about 40,000 tourists still in Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo on Friday.

At the marina in Cabo San Lucas, Jose Cesena was hauling out of the water the boat he usually uses to ferry tourists around on tours. With the port closed to navigation and a hurricane coming, he said it wasnt worth risking his craft.

Homero Blanco, the state commander of the National Guard, said beaches at the resort had been ordered closed and Guard troops were sent to clear people from the seashore.

The federal government posted 500 marines to the resort to help with storm preparations, and municipal officials said as many as 39 emergency shelters could be opened, if needed.

In the Atlantic, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said Hurricane Tammy had winds of 85 mph (140 kph), and hurricane warnings were issued for the islands of Antigua, Barbuda, Montserrat, and St. Kitts and Nevis, Anguilla, St. Martin and St. Barthelmy. Tammy was moving north-northwest at 10 mph (17 kmh).

In the Atlantic, Hurricane Tammy was about 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Guadeloupe and 35 miles (55 kilometers) east-southeast of the Caribbean island of Antigua.

Tammy was expected to remain at hurricane strength and even strengthen slightly as it moved toward the Lesser Antilles through Saturday passing by Guadeloupe, Antigua and Barbuda. Both Martinique and Guadeloupe are French overseas departments.

The hurricane center said in a report that heavy rainfall and flooding (are) likely over much of the Lesser Antilles.

Two weeks after Tropical Storm Phillippe rolled through Antigua and Barbuda dumping six to eight inches of rain and plunging both islands into darkness, residents of the islands braced for Tammy's arrival. The slow-moving system was forecast to bring up to 12 inches over a twin island nation where the devastation of Hurricane Irma in 2017 and recent wind damage and flooding from Philippe are still fresh memories.

This means therefore, that the earth is still somewhat saturated and with additional rainfall, the potential for flooding is elevated, Prime Minister Gaston Browne said in a nationwide broadcast on Friday afternoon. He urged residents to take all necessary steps to secure life and property.

Government offices, banks, and most non-retail businesses closed early on Friday to allow staff to prepare. Residents rush to stock up on necessities caused gridlock throughout St Johns and near popular shopping centers and supermarkets.

Local disaster management officials announced plans to open an estimated 40 shelters in communities throughout the country.
MBABANE  Local SMEs in the broiler business sector are already feeling the pinch of the outbreak of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in South Africa (SA).

The Small Medium Enterprises (SME) had lamented that the impact of the virus had started kicking and it was not looking good at all heading to the festive season. Bongekile Msibi, who is running a broiler business called Bubus broilers based at Madlangampisi said the outbreak of the virus in SA was hitting hard on her business and painted a gloomy picture going forward. She said they might not be able to make any profits in the upcoming festive season. Msibi said the prices of the day-old chicks that she would grow for sale, had gone up from E1 250 to E1 750 per box. This translates to a 40 per cent increase. She said even if the prices had gone up, the chicks were scarce as their suppliers told them that they were now importing from overseas now, hence the cost had gone up and the chicks were not readily available.

The increased cost of the breeder birds would be extended to the customers as the broiler farmers would have no choice but to hike the prices as well. Currently a live chicken cost around E75 and through this hikes it is set to go up to E95 each. Given the volatility of economy, families might not afford to buy the chicken for festive season like they did before. For instance, if a family would purchase 10 chickens at E750, it would not need E950 for the same number of chickens. Africa Chicks Julia Saulus said the prices of eggs, chicks, chicken and any other poultry products had increased over the last few weeks, due to the shortage of raw materials from neighboring SA. She said this was the continued effect of Avian Influenza that has seen about 10 million producer birds culled or killed after being infected in SA. As a result of the shortage of hatching eggs, local hatcheries were importing fertile eggs from Turkey and Brazil, securing the production of chicken in Eswatini and yes, unfortunately it all comes at a much higher cost, she said. Saulus added that the cost was still, however, lower than the alternative of not having any chicken.

good supply

When quizzed on how this was going to affect the upcoming festive season in terms of availability and affordability of chickens and eggs, Saulus said table eggs were in good supply at the moment, as they were locally produced. She said while the country produced day-old chicks and was self-sufficient, the hatcheries relied on imported fertile hatching eggs. She said the supply of day-old chicks would be steady if customers/farmers could commit to place their order for better planning. Chicks do not have a shelf life and have to be produced according to demands, she said. She added that they were not expecting a shortage going forward as both commercial hatcheries currently have sufficient eggs and were setting additional eggs. It is worth noting that SA is currently dealing with a number of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5 and H7 outbreaks. Up to September 21, 2023, a total of fifty (50) HPAI H7 outbreaks and 10 HPAIH5 outbreaks were reported.

SA Poultry Associations (SAPA) Izaak Breitenbach said egg shortages were already being felt, and the reduced production of local chicken meat would be felt in six to eight weeks time. He expected chicken imports to increase to supply local demand, particularly in the peak months of November and December. Egg imports were impractical because of the lengthy shipment period. In SA a vaccination programme against bird flu would not bring an immediate end to shortages of eggs and chicken meat, the SAPA has warned. Many of the SA suppliers have implemented a force majeure clause in supply contracts and supply to Eswatini and reduced or stopped Supply of hatching eggs.
A South Pittsburg woman has been charged by federal authorities with filing false unemployment insurance claims during the COVID pandemic.

Prosecutors said Meghan Pittman has agreed to plead guilty to wire fraud.

A court filing says she was involved in submitting almost $85,011 in false UI claims between June and December 2020.

The claims were filed in a number of states.

In one case, she recruited another individual to file false claims in Pennsylvania and California, it was stated.
Chattanooga volleyball left it all out on the floor in the teams road matchup with undefeated The Citadel on Saturday, as the Mocs took the undefeated Bulldogs to five sets but were unable to pull off the conference upset.The Mocs (16-9, 4-6 SoCon) threw everything they had at one of the three remaining undefeated teams in the country on Saturday, but the Bulldogs were able to survive the scare in Charleston as UTC fell in five sets, 3-2.UTC was put into an early hole by the Bulldogs, as The Citadel set the tone with a 25-19 win in the first set to jump ahead 1-0.However, a grinded out second set win by the Mocs leveled things out at 1-1, with Chattanooga taking the set 25-22.Riding a strong second set performance, the Mocs strung together a dominant run in the third to help propel UTC ahead 2-1 on The Citadel. With a 25-19 set victory, the Mocs now sat just one set win away from clinching a major upset victory over the Bulldogs.With their backs against the wall, the Bulldogs would not go down quietly as The Citadel put together their strongest set performance in the fourth to help the team level things with the Mocs at 2-2. Now tied with the Bulldogs, the Mocs chance at dethroning an undefeated Citadel side rested in the all-important fifth set.The Citadel came out ready to play in set five, pulling ahead 9-3 right from the jump. After a quick regroup, the Mocs started to scratch and claw their way back into the set, throwing everything they had at the Bulldogs. The score read 11-11, with the match coming down to just the final few points.Even with the late surge by the Mocs, the team would come up just short as The Citadel claimed a 15-12 fifth set victory to maintain their blemish-free record.The UTC duo of Morgan Romano and Gylian Finch carried the offensive effort for the Mocs, going for a combined 46 kills on the night (25  Romano, 21  Finch). Setter Elaine Redman also finished with season-high 54 assists in the match, marking just the third time this season that shes eclipsed 50+ assists in a match.Chattanoogas defensive effort was led by Paige Gallentines 31-dig performance against the Bulldogs. Makenzie Jordan (17), Gylian Finch (16), Elaine Redman (14) and Morgan Romano (10) also recorded double-digit digs in the match, with Jordan crushing her previous season-high of five digs from earlier this year.The Mocs now return home for a pair of SoCon matchups at Maclellan Gymnasium next weekend, with UTC first playing host to UNCG on Thursday, October 26 at 6 p.m. ET. The Mocs will then host ETSU the following day at 6 p.m. ET to close out the teams brief homestand.
Firefighters in Bradley County were dealing with a large number of brush fires on Sunday afternoon.

At approximately 4 p.m., Bradley County 911 received a call reporting a small, active brush fire on Dalton Pike near Waterville Community School. Subsequently, an additional 10 locations along Dalton Pike reported similar brush fires, creating a series of isolated incidents that stretched over a six-mile span to the south on Dalton Pike.



Bradley County Fire and Rescue mobilized its resources to respond to all reported locations.

The largest of these fires, covering approximately one acre, was situated at the 6600 block of Dalton Pike, necessitating a temporary road closure as firefighters worked diligently to extinguish the blaze.



In response to these incidents, arson Investigators were dispatched to various fire scenes to gather evidence and determine the cause of the fires.

Officials said, "The safety of the community is our top priority, and we are committed to a thorough investigation. We are now reaching out to the public for assistance. If anyone possesses information related to these fires or witnessed any suspicious activity in the affected areas, we kindly request you to come forward. Your cooperation can greatly aid our ongoing investigation.

"The Bradley County Fire & Rescue team is grateful for the continued support of the community, and together, we will work towards ensuring the safety and well-being of all residents. We will provide further updates as the investigation progresses."



For any information or tips, please contact Bradley County Investigators at (423) 728-7295. Alternatively, information can be shared anonymously through the Tennessee Arson Hotline at (800) 762-3017.




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Before we go any further on this one, I guess it would be fitting to start by quoting the Constitution of the Kingdom of Eswatini Act, 2005.

The system of government for Eswatini is a democratic, participatory, Tinkhundla-based system which emphasises devolution of State power from central government to Tinkhundla areas and individual merit as a basis for election or appointment to public office, reads Section 79. It is now doubtful if the 10 people who were controversially elected into the Senate this year were nominated and voted for based on individual merit. If I had things my way, they would all be disqualified and the process started afresh because it has been tainted. Those who deserve the seats would still win in the new vote.

Other commentators have already noted that this is not the first time allegations of cash for votes emerge in the Parliament of Eswatini. The allegations did not start in 2018. They were there even before the 11th Parliament. My point though, is that despite the Section 79 constitutional provision, some emaSwati believe that the country is not fully democratic. This is usually raised by people who complain that the exclusion of political parties makes the system of government undemocratic. In recent times, this argument has also been joined by those who feel the prime minister should not be appointed but elected. In 2021, calls for the election of a prime minister intensified and reached fever pitch during the political unrest that left the country reeling from sporadic arson attacks and the cold-blooded murder of State security agents.

democracy

On the other hand, those who believe that the Tinkhundla system is democratic cite the same section I have quoted above, saying this is a unique democracy that allows emaSwati to elect representatives from grassroots level, directly into the august House and even Cabinet. They argue that in countries where political parties compete to form a government, the party that wins elections has the sole right to appoint its own cadres into Parliament and other political positions. Section 67 of the national Constitution deals with the appointment of the prime minister and other ministers. Subsection (2) states that the King shall appoint ministers from both chambers of Parliament, on the recommendation of the prime minister. My focus is on subsection (3) which provides that at least half the number of ministers shall be appointed from among elected members of the House.

This is one of the clauses cited as giving anyone from anywhere, only if they are a citizen of Eswatini and have attained the age of 18, the right to be appointed a Cabinet minister.

The election of senators is also an exercise supported by the same national Constitution. This activity is addressed in Section 94, which states that the Senate shall consist of not more than 31 members who shall be elected or appointed in accordance with the same section. It provides that 10 senators, at least half of whom shall be female, shall be elected by members of the House of Assembly in such manner as may be prescribed by or under any law at their first meeting, so as to represent a crosssection of the Swazi society.

consultation

It is after this election that 20 senators, at least eight of whom shall be female, are appointed by His Majesty the King in his discretion, after consultation with such bodies as he may deem appropriate. We are where we are today because of this particular clause. You have to agree that this section is, by itself, democratic in the sense that it gives the nation, through its representatives in the House of Assembly, the right to have representatives in the Senate. Notably, a majority of the MPs in the House of Assembly are elected while only a minority is appointed. In Senate, it is vice versa. If the allegations of bribery are true, as every day that passes seems to confirm that they may be, our representatives in the House of Assembly have let us down in a big way. I am mindful of the fact that even if money exchanged hands, it is not all the Members of Parliament (MPs) who got involved. Yes, there are honourable members in there, who would not want to get involved in corruption so early into their term of office.

However, those who took money from people who aspired to become senators have practically shown architects of the Constitution the middle finger. In a way, they have demonstrated that they do not believe in the democratic principle of electing public officers. I am saying this because by taking money, they are robbing themselves of the right to vote for people who genuinely possess the skills to take this country forward politically, economically and socially. They have decided against supporting individual merit as a basis for election or appointment to public office. By taking bribes, they are corrupting themselves while electing similarly corrupt people into the Senate. This is a dent to the democratic principles provided by the Constitution. It is an insult.

electing

In fact, these MPs are no longer electing but appointing the 10 senators. No wonder some people are saying this cash-for-votes scandal demonstrates that emaSwati do not, as yet, understand what democracy means. These commentators say maybe the entire Senate should be appointed by the King because nobody would even think of bribing him. The United Kingdom (UK) employs a political system almost similar to ours. This is the two-house system which comprises the House of Commons and House of Lords. The House of Commons operates much like our House of Assembly in that it makes laws, scrutinises the work of the executive arm of government and debates current issues. It also appropriates funds to government through approving money Bills. Members are publicly elected. In contrast, membership into the House of Lords is not generally through election. Members are appointed to serve for 15 years or for life and are drawn from religious and political groupings. The House of Lords functions are similar to our Senate. That is all I am going to say today, lest I be misinterpreted.
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On July 6, 1907, the Irish crown jewels were discovered to be missing from the Dublin Castle, and their whereabouts are still a mystery today. Whoever stole them pulled off one of the greatest heists of all time.

The jewels consisted of a star decorated with Brazilian diamonds and featured an emerald and ruby cross set against a blue enamel background.

There was also a diamond badge and five gold collars elaborately inlaid with jewels. Today, the Irish crown jewels are valued to be about twenty million dollars.

The precious stones are not linked to the monarchy but to the Order of St. Patrick. The order was established in 1783. The jewels were typically worn by the Grand Master of the Order, who was also the Viceroy.

At the time, the Viceroy was none other than Joseph Gordon Campbell. Before the jewels were raided, they had been locked away in the Bedford Tower, which was located in the Office of Arms. This office was responsible for guarding the gems.

The Ulster King of Arms, Sir Arthur Vicars, was in charge of the office and held two keys to the safe the jewels were stored in.

He also was in possession of seven keys to the building. In addition, there was an outdoor patrol of soldiers keeping watch over the area for 24 hours every day.

The timing of the theft might raise some eyebrows. The jewels were stolen right before King Edward VII was to visit and were supposed to be used to swear in a new knight to the Order of St. Patrick.

Vicars was not strict about security at all. The jewels were last seen on June 11, but between then and the time they went missing, there had been several reports of security breaches. For instance, the doors to the building and room where the jewels were housed had been found ajar multiple times.

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Fans of Stephen Kings The Shining and sinister stuff in general may be thrilled to know that the fictional Overlook Hotel is based on a real haunted hotel: the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado.

The beautiful building is large and looming, emitting eerie vibes that cause you to be unable to shake the feeling that something bad has happened there or is about to happen.

Stephen King was actually so spooked by his stay at the Stanley Hotel that he was inspired to incorporate elements of it into his novel. Guests who have stayed at the hotel have also reported being extremely creeped out. So, what is it about the Stanley Hotel that makes it so unsettling?

It all started when Freelan Oscar Stanley, an inventor, architect, and entrepreneur, arrived in the valley of Estes Park in 1903 after he was told by doctors that he had less than six months to live due to tuberculosis.

He found that spending time in the fresh mountain air helped ease his tuberculosis symptoms, and within a couple of months, his health was restored. He vowed to return every summer.

However, he and his wife, Flora, were accustomed to life on the East Coast, and the rugged Estes Park offered little in the way of sophistication. So, they built the grand Stanley Hotel, which opened in 1909.

The hotel was indeed magnificent, almost palatial. There were electric lights, telephones in every room, connecting bathrooms, and a staff of uniformed servants. The hotel even boasted a fleet of automobiles that carted guests around. In 1917, the little town of Estes Park became an official municipality because of Stanley and his hotel.

By the 1970s, the hotel had deteriorated and earned a reputation for being haunted. It mightve eventually gotten torn down if it werent for a visit by Stephen King.

King stayed in room 217, which is currently still the Stanleys most requested room, and it is mentioned frequently in the authors novel.

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Nicaragua releases 12 Catholic priests, exiles them to Rome

Nicaragua has released 12 Catholic priests and sent them to Rome following negotiations with the Vatican. The clergy had been held as political prisoners in a country that persecutes all who are deemed critical of the current regime.

The Nicaraguan government announced Wednesday that the priests were released after productive talks with the Vatican and flown to Rome, The Associated Press reported, quoting President Daniel Ortegas government as saying that the move displayed the permanent will and commitment to find solutions.

Matteo Bruni, the director of the press office for the Holy See, noted they would be accommodated in facilities belonging to the Diocese of Rome in Italy, according to Vatican News.

Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes, a high-ranking church official in Nicaragua, has not yet commented on the development, the newswire noted.

Six of the released priests were detained this month. The Organization of American States Human Rights Council condemned their arrest and called for the release of all political prisoners in Nicaragua.

According to the U.K.-based rights group Christian Solidarity Worldwide, the remaining priests had been in custody for longer periods.

CSWs Head of Advocacy, Anna Lee Stangl, said the priests release should not be seen as a goodwill gesture by the Nicaraguan government.

Stangl urged the international community to hold Ortega and his regime accountable for stifling independent voices. She emphasized that the priests were faced with an unjust choice of prison or exile, and their citizenship was revoked in exchange for their freedom.

Bishop Rolando Alvarez, who was sentenced to 26 years in prison in February, was not among those released, CSW said.

The Bishop of Matagalpa, Alvarez had previously turned down an opportunity to be among 222 prisoners sent to the U.S. in a deal arranged by the U.S. government. After refusing, Alvarez had his Nicaraguan citizenship revoked by the government.

He remains imprisoned in the La Modelo Tititapa Prison.

In August 2022, Alvarez was put under house arrest and stripped of his Nicaraguan nationality and civil rights for life in February 2022.

An ideology in Nicaragua portrays Ortega as being anointed by God  for sacred Nicaragua.

A trend of persecution started in Nicaragua after protests against reforms to the public pension system in April 2018. The protests came after about a decade of deteriorating economic conditions in the country. Protesters, mostly students, demanded democratic reforms and that Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, step down as they established a dictatorship marked by nepotism and repression.

During the initial days of the 2018 protests, Ortega requested that the Catholic Church act as a mediator. But his administration also began using brutal force against protesters and later on, Catholic clergy.

Catholic clergy aided and provided sanctuary to protesters and voiced support for the right to protest peacefully. But as a result, Ortega used his government and supporters to persecute clergy, worshipers and various Catholic organizations.

Hundreds of people died in the protests in 2018.
Former US congressman says relatives died in Gaza church blast: 'Our family is hurting badly'

A former U.S. congressman said several of his relatives were among the casualties when an Israeli airstrike hit a church in Gaza, which killed at least 18 people.

Justin Amash, a Palestinian-American who formerly represented Michigan, revealed on social media that his relatives had been taking refuge in the Saint Porphyrius Orthodox Church compound in Gaza, partially destroyed by an Israeli airstrike on Thursday.

"With great sadness, I have now confirmed that several of my relatives were killed at Saint Porphyrius Orthodox Church in Gaza, where they had been sheltering, when part of the complex was destroyed as the result of an Israeli airstrike," Amash wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. "Give rest, O Lord, to their souls, and may their memories be eternal."

The Israel Defense Forces admitted that a portion of the church complex had been damaged during an airstrike targeting Hamas military compounds but maintained that the church itself was not the intended target. The Patriarchate of Jerusalem accused Israel of a "war crime."

Israel has carried out retaliatory airstrikes since Hamas attacked communities in southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing over 1,400 civilians, including 30 Americans.

Amash was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 2011 to 2021 and left the Republican Party in 2019 to join the Libertarian Party.

Palestinian officials noted that the Greek Orthodox Church of St. Porphyrius sheltered around 500 Muslims and Christians from Israeli bombings. Palestinian health officials claim as many as 16 of the victims were Christians.

"The Palestinian Christian community has endured so much," Amash tweeted. "Our family is hurting badly. May God watch over all Christians in Gaza  and all Israelis and Palestinians who are suffering, whatever their religion or creed."

Fr. Issa Musleh of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Bethlehem told Al Jazeera dozens were found injured as rescue efforts continue. Ibrahim Jahsan, a Christian residing in Gaza, had taken refuge in the church along with his pregnant wife and two young children. He told Al Jazeera that he believed that the church would provide a safe sanctuary during the conflict.

On Friday, a mass funeral was held in the church courtyard where the bodies, wrapped in white sheets, lay next to the debris that claimed their lives, The Guardian reported, noting that four of the deceased were small children.

Palestinian health officials report over 4,100 Palestinians killed since airstrikes began, with over 13,000 injured.

In a joint statement, United Nations agencies called for a "humanitarian ceasefire, along with immediate, unrestricted humanitarian access throughout Gaza to allow humanitarian actors to reach civilians in need, save lives and prevent further human suffering." The agencies state that over 1.6 million people in Gaza are in critical need of humanitarian aid.

The Israeli government warned over 1 million people in northern Gaza last week to evacuate to southern Gaza as it readies for a potential ground invasion.

On Saturday, the first convoy of humanitarian assistance crossed into Gaza since the Hamas attack on Oct. 7.

"The opening of this essential supply route was the result of days of diplomatic engagement at the highest levels," U.S. President Joe Biden said in a statement. "I made it clear from the outset of this crisis  in both my public statements and private conversations  that humanitarian assistance was a critical and urgent need that had to get moving, and I express my deep personal appreciation for the leadership of President Al-Sisi of Egypt, Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel, and the United Nations to allow the resumption of this assistance."
Elm, a leading digital solutions company, has signed a MOU with NeXplain Solutions SL, a Spanish company that specializes in providing smart business solutions and digital consulting.

The partnership marks the beginning of a dynamic partnership that fosters effective technological and consulting services.

The MoU was signed by Hakeem Alrasheed, General Director of International Business at Elm and Pieter Louw, CEO of NeXplain Solutions SL, on the sidelines of GITEX 2023 in Dubai.

The partnership serves as a roadmap for collaboration to provide a framework for the development of cooperation and the exchange of expertise in delivering effective digital and consulting services. This concerted effort is poised to propel digital transformation and create business development prospects for both entities across the African and European markets.

Under this MoU, both parties aim to explore opportunities for creating and advancing pioneering digital solutions and tailored consulting services that cater to the requirements of governmental bodies in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa.

The collaboration includes the formulation of a short and long-term action plan, delineating precise goals and strategies to fully harness the potential within the specified markets, focusing on domains including digital transformation, e-governance, digital identification, and online taxation.

"Expanding into global markets is vital for the success and growth of Elm. This collaboration is a fresh opportunity to foster inventive digital solutions that effectively tackle present and upcoming challenges in previously unexplored markets, including Europe," said the official spokesperson and VP of Marketing at Elm, Majid Alarifi.

"The agreement with NeXplain Solutions SL presents us with an exceptional chance to leverage their expertise and ethos in the realm of digital transformation. We remain steadfast in our dedication to cultivating enduring associations with our clients and pivotal collaborators. Our rich history stands as the bedrock upon which we will continue to achieve greater triumphs and play a significant role in propelling the digital transformation across these regions," he added.

The global presence and growth of Elm signify a promising venture, enabling the company to introduce novel experiences and create inventive solutions tailored to the demands of digital evolution. This strategic step comes at a time when many governments are proactively bolstering digital advancement initiatives, leveraging legislative actions and programs to elevate the effectiveness and openness of public services.

Consequently, this fosters lucrative prospects for firms specializing in digital transformation, including the establishment and integration of e-government platforms, online tax filing systems, and digital identity systems.-TradeArabia News Service
MBABANE  The Prevention of Corruption Act, 2006 provides that politicians found to have been involved in bribery face a maximum of 20 years in jail.

This is the same legislation that established the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), an agency which has since been roped in to probe allegations of bribery in the recent Senate elections. The Senate elections were held at the House of Assembly on October 12, 2023, where 34 individuals nominated by Members of Parliament (MPs) contested for 10 seats.

After the conclusion of the exercise, allegations resurfaced to the effect that some of the MPs were allegedly bribed by some of the Senate candidates to vote for them or give them preferential votes.

allegations

So serious are the allegations such that some of the candidates are alleged to have spent up to E1 million, paying some of the MPs to ensure that they secured the much needed votes.

On Tuesday, Clerk to Parliament Benedict Xaba engaged the media regarding the issue and revealed that both the ACC and the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) have launched investigations into the bribery allegations. While its effectiveness is in doubt, the involvement of the ACC is ideal in that the POCA is specific on cases involving politicians. Section 30 of the Act relates to offences specifically in respect of corrupt activities relating to politicians. It provides that a person who, directly or indirectly, is a politician, demands or accepts or agrees or offers to accept any advantage from another person, whether for the benefit of that politician or for the benefit of any other person commits an offence.

It also stipulates that a person who gives or agrees or offers to give any advantage to a politician, whether for the benefit of that person or for the benefit of another person, in order for that politician or that other person to act or to influence another person so to act, in a manner, that amounts to the illegal, dishonest, unauthorised, incomplete, biased commits an offence.

It is, according to the Act, an offence for a person to misuse or sell information or material acquired in the course of the exercise, carrying out or performance of any powers, duties or functions arising out of a constitutional, statutory, contractual or any other legal obligation that amounts to the abuse of a position of authority. An abuse or breach of trust, violation of a legal duty or a set of rules designed to achieve an unjustified result; or that amounts to any other unauthorised or improper inducement to do or not to do anything, is regarded as an offence. In terms of definition, the word advantage refers to any gift, loan, fee, reward or commission consisting of money or of any valuable security or of other property or interest in property of any description.

obligation

The description could be any office, employment or contract, any payment, release, discharge or liquidation of any loan, obligation or other liability, whether in whole or part; It could also be any other service, favour or gratification other than entertainment; the exercise or forbearance from the exercise of any right, power or duty; or any offer, undertaking or promise, whether conditional unconditional, of any advantage referred to in the section. In terms of the penalties, the Act provides that a person who is convicted of an offence referred to in sections that include 30, shall be liable to a fine not exceeding E200 000 or imprisonment not exceeding 20 years or to both.
Hamas raped 'women, grandmothers, children,' so violently 'they broke victims' pelvis,' Israeli official says

Hamas terrorists subjected civilian women, grandmothers and children to extreme sexual violence, a Rabbinate corps member of the Israel Defense Forces responsible for preparing victims' bodies for burial has told media, calling the acts worse than the Holocaust.

We wash the bodies and prepare them for burial. We try to bring them dignity in death, the Rabbinate corps member, a woman named Shari, who did not give her last name to protect her family, told the Daily Mail and other media outlets. I heard stories about Auschwitz as a child growing up in New Jersey. But what I have seen here with my own eyes is worse than the Holocaust.

The woman, who moved from New Jersey to Israel 20 years ago, said what Hamas did to Israeli civilians is beyond words.

There is evidence of mass rape so brutal that they broke their victims pelvis  women, grandmothers, children, Shari said, adding that it's difficult to break someone's pelvis.

Shari said she saw people whose heads have been cut off, and women in their night dresses woken up and shot. She also witnessed faces blasted off  heads smashed and their brains spilling out.

She also described a baby cut out of a pregnant woman and beheaded and then the mother was beheaded.

Women and children burned to charcoal. Bodies murdered with their hands tied behind their backs.

The Daily Wire said reports also suggest that many of the Hamas terrorists were under the influence of Captagon, a drug linked to heightened aggression and commonly referred to as the ISIS drug.

The Wire quoted Colonel Rabbi Haim Weisberg as saying there is evidence of torture and savagery, agreeing with the Rabbinate corps member.

On Oct. 7, Hamas launched attacks in southern Israel, killing over 1,400 civilians, including 30 Americans. Israel has been carrying out retaliatory airstrikes since Hamas' attacks.

Hamas has claimed that over 4,100 people in Gaza have been killed since the airstrikes began, with over 13,000 injured.

As civilians are fleeing airstrikes, the Egypt-Gaza border opened Saturday, allowing 20 trucks of aid into Gaza for the first time since Israels blockade and airstrikes began two weeks ago, The Associated Press reported.

Aid workers say this is far from enough; 200 trucks with 3,000 tons of aid have been waiting to get in, the newswire said, explaining that Gazas 2.3 million residents are facing a dire humanitarian situation  half have left their homes, hospitals are low on supplies, and theres a territory-wide power blackout.

Five hospitals have ceased operations due to fuel shortages and bombing damage, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, it added.
Review: 3D immersive experience of 'The Nazarene' brings New Testament to life

DALLAS  If youve ever wanted to know what it's like to walk on water with Jesus  or watch the Apostle Peter try and fail to do the same  this could be your chance.

The Nazarene, an immersive, non-denominational retelling of the life of the Messiah based on the Gospels, isnt merely a panoramic 3D movie  its a completely sensory experience that transports visitors back to first century Israel.

Upon first walking into the experience, its easy, at least initially, to think youre going to be viewing an art exhibit or something else static. Until the projection begins, that is, and youre suddenly transported to the beginning of creation and introduced to the One who created it.

Spanning four separate galleries and 19 scenes with panoramic sound, custom composed music and breathtaking 3D sets, Nazarene is a multi-sensory, narrated journey that is both dramatic in its presentation and evangelistic in its content, repeatedly urging the viewer to consider God in His eternal power, the destructive plague of sin, and the condescension of Christ Jesus to destroy forever its hold on mankind.

Far from merely showing the events of the New Testament, Nazarene transports you right to where it happened: standing waist-deep in the waters of the Jordan River, for example, as Jesus comes to John the Baptist to fulfill all righteousness in his own baptism was one of the more stirring moments of the entire experience.

In fact, water plays a pivotal role in several of the best moments of Nazarene, including when Peter, James and John are fishing on the Sea of Galilee when Jesus commands them to lower their nets, resulting in an abundance that nearly causes the boats to sink.

Or when the disciples see Jesus walking on water and Peter asks Jesus to command him to step out onto the water, where he becomes afraid and begins to sink. The audience plunges along with Peter into the dark waters below, leading to a Michelangelo-inspired moment of Jesus hand reaching straight down into the deep and firmly grasping Peters hand, saving him from certain death.

These familiar scenes take on an immediacy and even a danger that a cursory reading of the Scriptures can often lack, pointing to the humanity of the Son of Man and His disciples. The pitter-patter of rain, the splashing into the deep, lightning and thunder  all are brought to life in a visceral presentation of the Scriptures themselves.

Once we arrive at Jesus triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the clamoring of the mob, both in their worship and their calls for crucifixion, takes on a more ominous tone. Even in animation, the scene of Jesus trial and Pontius Pilate, in particular, has a hyper-realism to it  including the use of 3D banners as Roman flags hanging over the audience  which leads into the darkest moments of the crucifixion of Christ and His triumphant cry of It is finished!

But its the resurrection of Christ that had probably the most striking imagery, as the risen Christ stands robed in white against a dark backdrop, beckoning the audience to come follow Him even as He promises to return.

Its a Gospel moment that saturates the entire presentation from start to finish.

Notably, all the dialogue is spoken in both Aramaic and English, an artistic decision that executive producer Robert Bagdassarov of Alpine Artists said was highly deliberate.

Historically, narratives have evolved to align with the cultural and linguistic zeitgeist, Bagdassarov told CP. The New Testament, for example, was crafted in Koine [Greek], the common dialect of its era, rather than the more esoteric classical Greek. This choice ensured the teachings remained accessible and resonant.

Our aspiration is to foster a deeper connection and reignite faith in the Crucified and Risen Savior in a way that's both relevant and impactful.

Along with the immersive experience, Nazarene also features The Golan Collection, a collection of ancient artifacts from the land and time of Jesus, all of which organizers say were discovered within the Holy Land where Jesus, His family, His disciples and His followers lived, traversed and taught.

Curated by Oded Golan, a lifelong Israeli antiquities collector, the artifact collection ranges from the mundane, such as coins, kitchen utensils and fishing gear, to the same kind of nails believed to be used in crucifixions, such as Jesus, and various ossuaries, or bone boxes, from the time of Jesus.

The centerpiece of the collection is the James Ossuary, a first century limestone bone box with intact etchings that read James, Son of Joseph, Brother of Jesus. The ossuary has been authenticated by archeologists and scientists as being that of James, the brother of Jesus, who was also the first bishop of Jerusalem, according to Golan.

While families are welcome, organizers say parental guidance is strongly recommended as some of the scenes in Nazarene," such as the crucifixion of Christ, could be upsetting to younger children.

The Nazarene is set to run through Jan. 7, 2024.
'The Chosen' showrunners voice support for Israel amid 'heartbreaking' attacks: 'We're a Jewish show'

NASHVILLE, Tenn.  The showrunners behind The Chosen have voiced their support for Israel after the terrorist group Hamas launched an attack on the Jewish state and said they hope the show, which highlights the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, can provide some hope to those suffering.

We're a Jewish show. It's that simple. We're not a Christian show yet, Chad Gundersen, one of the producers of The Chosen told The Christian Post on the red carpet ahead of the Dove Awards.

There aren't Christians yet until Christ has done what He was supposed to do. So right now, we're a Jewish show. And honestly, we just stand with Israel right now. It's that simple. And it's heartbreaking to see what's going on over there.

The devastating and coordinated Oct. 7 attacks by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas killed some 1,400 people and wounded thousands of others. The terrorist group also took 200 people hostage. After the attacks, Israel launched a series of bombings on Gaza, killing more than 4,000 Palestinians, according to Hamas.

Gunderson told CP that amid the turmoil, he hopes The Chosen can give a little bit of hope to those struggling.

We pray for Israel and everything going on over there, he said.

The Chosen won Television Series of the Year, at this year's awards show, a category it won last year as well.

What began as a pioneering crowd-funded project several years ago has since evolved into a cultural phenomenon with the series being shown on a variety of streaming platforms such as Amazon Prime, Peacock and Netflix, and top ratings domestically on The CW.

Chris Juen, who also produced the series, told CP they view The Chosen as a medium to point viewers to The Bible: For us, this series is a way to tell these stories in a way that more and more people are drawn to them, and then ultimately, drive them back into their Bibles, he said.

In February, Season 4 of The Chosen will be released exclusively in theaters, distributed by Fathom Events. The forthcoming season will be intense and the most sophisticated to date, according to Juen.

Season three had the walk on water, the feeding of the 5,000, these really big moments, he said. This whole seasons big. It's our season of royalty. So, new characters, but the story is starting to shift as well. Its going from getting to know Jesus and getting to know the disciples to now, hold on, wait, this is not what they thought was going to happen.

Everybody had what they wanted to happen, and now they're starting to learn, OK, this is different. Its the beginning of the road of some sorrow. Luckily, we know how the story ends, and there's hope at the end of it, but we've got a lot of tough things to get through over these next couple of seasons.

Gunderson added that while previous seasons have featured dirt buildings, sand grounds and a lot of very different shades of tan, season four will see a lot of color. He shared some of the exhaustive research that goes into each season to ensure biblical and historical accuracy.

We do a ton of research, he said. A couple of years ago, we built a small model of Capernaum  and there was this gentleman just sitting there staring at it, like he was really pondering  he said, I dont know who did this, but I am a biblical studies Jerusalem/Israeli historical expert  and this is one of the most accurate portrayals of what it would have looked like.  We hire a lot of experts; we do a ton of research. These guys put a lot of effort into it.

Reflecting on the shows enduring popularity, Gunderson said viewers of all backgrounds and religious beliefs are drawn to the authenticity of the story.

Obviously, we do our best just to make a good show. And that's what we hear from a lot of the nonbelievers out there that its a cool show, with good characters, good writing, good production value and all those types of things. For that alone, we're getting a lot of people.

Within the faith community, we're showing an authentic Jesus, he continued. We're not showing this disconnected, holier-than-thou Jesus. He is the Son of God, and we portray Him as that. Its not like we ever shy away from the deity of Christ. But at the same time, He laughs and He cries, and he jokes, and He does things that any man would do. Therefore, the disciples are just drawn to Him. And obviously, that draws our audience in.
The appalling silence of the Black Church during this Israel war

We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.



Israel is at war and the African American Church finds itself silent again. Why?

Over 1,300 innocent civilian Israelis have been murdered. Women, children and the elderly have been violently taken hostage. Israeli babies have been beheaded and burned, all at the hands of Hamas, a terrorist organization.



If any organization or group of people should be decrying the atrocities of these brutal killings from Hamas, it should be the African-American church. If any organization or group of people should be standing with unwavering support for Israel during these difficult days, it should be the African-American church. We are compelled to do so.



Unfortunately, many African American pastors and leaders have a mixed level of apathy and resistance toward Israel as well as empathy for the Palestinian struggle, often making a comparison to the civil rights era. To add, some consider the African-American community to be the most anti-Semitic group in America today. From the historic Hymi-towns comments of the Rev. Jesse Jackson to the self-proclaimed atoned and promised One of Louis Farrakhan, there is a disdained hatred and un-trust for a people that God Himself commanded the church to love and bless. High profile as they may be, these individuals who express anti-Israel or anti-Semitic attitudes are not speaking for the entire African-American community. That may not be clear to the casual observer because many African Americans are unaware of the intricacies of Israels struggle for survival.



In his 1968 speech to the Rabbinical Assembly, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said peace for Israel means security, and we must stand with all our might to protect its right to exist, its territorial integrity. I see Israel as one of the great outposts of democracy in the world, and a marvelous example of what can be done, how desert land can be transformed into an oasis of brotherhood and democracy.

Less than two weeks after giving that speech, Dr. King was assassinated. Unfortunately, since Dr. Kings passing, some, including the aforementioned high-profile African-American individuals, have embraced anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism. Rather than building upon the strong ties forged between Jews and African Americans during the struggle for civil rights, some African-American leaders have damaged both communities with their demagoguery. This was not Dr. Kings dream nor is it mine.

There is a striking parallel between the African-American and Jewish communities. First, both communities have a biblical beginning in and rootedness through the continent of Africa. From the enslavement and selling of Israel through Joseph in Egypt to the enslavement of our ancestors, one could suggest that we were both slave children from the continent of Africa.

During such oppression and persecution, both communities have embraced religion and spirituality in a search to find meaning in their lives.



Second, both communities have suffered horrendous persecution as a people and nation. Nearly 12 million lives were lost through the horrendous slave trade from Africa to the Americas between the early 1500s to 1800s. There was the killing of Jews during the Holocaust in the 1940s, where 6 million were systematically murdered. We both, as a culture of people, can identify with the pain and plight of a people dislocated, disenfranchised and disheartened.



Third, there are shared values between the two great and wealthy communities. It was the Jewish community that supported the African-American community in some of its most challenging times. As a reminder, two out of three non-blacks who marched during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s were Jewish. One such was Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, a prominent activist and Jewish leader who marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Selma, Alabama in 1965. Heschel later commented, When I marched in Selma, my feet were praying. Those three young activists in Mississippi? James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner were lynched in Mississippi following their investigation of a church burning ... Schwerner and Goodman were Jewish; Chaney was African American.



If there has ever been a day and time when Israel needs prayers and support from the African-American church, now is the time! Within our churches, African Americans are among the countrys most religious demographic. We as African Americans go to church in greater numbers than any other racial group. We read our Bible and fervently pray to the God of the Patriarchs  Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Over the last 20 years, with the help of Jewish friends and sponsors, I have traveled and taken more than 300 African-American pastors and ministry leaders to the Holy Land. The purpose and objective of many of those trips was to allow these influential African-American pastors and ministry leaders to see for themselves what is taking place in the Middle East and to see that Israels cause is just. Our faith-based understanding of morality demands that we stand with the Jewish people in their struggle to defend their homeland. We have seen with our own eyes that Israels leading detractors are so often misleading their audience.



During my trips, our groups have met with African and Arab Israelis and heard their perspectives. In Israel, all citizens, regardless of race or religion, are equal. We reject the patently false and highly offensive charge that Israel is an Apartheid state. To add, we have studied our Christian history and theology; from Genesis to Revelation. Our Messiah, His apostles, and the prophets are all from the House of Israel. We condemn the efforts of Palestinian propagandists to sever Christianity from its Jewish roots.

Why should the African-American Church not be silent during Israels war with Palestine? Why should the church pray for and support Israel?



Here are three compelling motives:



Biblically, here is Gods promise. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you (Genesis 12:13).



I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; They shall never hold their peace, day or night. You who make mention of the LORD, do not keep silent, 7 And give Him no rest till He establishes And till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth (Isaiah 62:67).



Morally as Christians, we owe a debt of gratitude to the Jewish people for giving us the patriarchs  Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The prophets  Elijah, Daniel, Jeremiah and Isaiah, and most importantly, our Jewish Messiah, Jesus the Christ! Scriptures remind us they were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings (Romans 15:27 NIV).

In understanding the Middle East conflict, one must realize that Israel is our greatest ally and democracy in the Middle East today. Geographically, Israel is the size of New Jersey and is surrounded on all sides by Muslim states and countries. Any threat or attack against Israel is a threat or attack against us in the United States.

Theologically as the African American church, we are often seen and known as the first line and defenders of the faith against the teaching of false doctrine and apostasy (such as the dangers of Replacement Theology and anti-Semitism) are often associated with the Christian church.



Concerning the Israeli and Palestinian conflict, the continued claim is that Israel is an aggressor occupying Palestinian land and the source of the ongoing conflict. Yet such a superficial claim ignores clear history. The fact is that on five separate occasions  one as recently as 2008  the Jews and Israelis have offered to split the land of Israel/Palestine with the Palestinians to have two states  one Jewish and one Arab  living side by side in peace. Each time the Arabs have rejected the offer. It is the Arab rejection of a Jewish state anywhere in the Middle East that drives the conflict to the present day.

We of course cannot ignore the plight of the Palestinians  especially our Christian Palestinians. Many of them do suffer in refugee camps in Lebanon, Syria and Egypt, and fail to enjoy equal rights with the citizens of those countries. We cannot, however, blame their suffering on Israel. Instead, we must blame their leaders who rejected  and continue to reject  various offers for peace and independence that would end this conflict. Consider these facts:

All Israeli citizens (both Jewish and Arab), regardless of race, religion or gender, have equal protection under Israeli law.

All Israelis (both Jewish and Arab), enjoy freedom of religion and speech, and have full voting rights. They share meals together in restaurants and travel together on buses, taxis and trains. They work together, study together, and visit each others homes.

There are Arab-Israeli members of Israels parliament, an Arab-Israeli member of Israels Supreme Court, and Arab-Israeli officers in Israels uniformed services.

When it comes to Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza, some argue that they are subject to all manner of oppression and injustice. Some of these claims, such as Palestinian humiliation at checkpoints, are mere exaggeration. Others such as forced eviction, and racial segregation are patently untrue.

Israels former Consul General to the American Southeast  himself an Arab-Israeli  summed up the situation quite completely: The freest Arabs in the Middle East reside in the Jewish State of Israel.

To reiterate, it is not Israel who aggressively oppresses the Palestinian people, it is the leaders of the Palestinian people that aggressively oppress the Palestinian people!



Dr. King saw that like African Americans, the children of Israel suffered at the hands of hostile neighbors filled with hate and bigotry. He knew that Peace for Israel means security and that security must be a reality. Somewhere along the way, too many of our leaders forgot what he preached. May it be resolved and continually reinforced.

Israel has a right to her own ancient land that the God of the Bible gave her and the capital of that God-given land is Jerusalem, the eternal and Holy city of the Jews.

Like any other country, Israel has a right to defend and protect herself from the ongoing threats and attacks from such enemies as Hamas, Hezbollah and the dictators of Iran.

Sixty years ago, the Jewish people stood with us during our hour of need, not because they wanted something in return, but because God and human reason compelled them to do so. Now is the Jewish states hour of need. Israel is at war. Israel is under assault by terrorists seeking to kill her people, and propagandists seeking to undermine her legitimacy. As African American church leaders, may we take a bold and courageous stand for the Jewish state, not because we want anything in return, but because God and human reason compel us to do so.
KWALUSENI  His Majesty King Mswati III, in his capacity as the Chancellor of the University of Eswatini (UNESWA), has thrown a challenge to the 12th Parliament.

The challenge is that they should ensure that they work on a proper legislation that will allow for more research into the growing of cannabis for medicinal purposes. The King was speaking during the graduation ceremony, which saw over 3 000 graduates being conferred with degrees while others were awarded certificates and diplomas. His Majesty said it was clear that the institutions administration had come up with a strategic plan meant to ensure its growth and sustainability. According to The King, it was commendable to see that all the stakeholders involved in ensuring the growth and sustainability of the institution have prioritised the strategies, some of which he said were initiated years ago.

As we toured the Eswatini International Trade Fair this year, we felt the presence of the institution. It was there showcasing how it has become not just a university, but a research centre as well. Being a research centre is crucial nowadays because there are various sicknesses and pandemics affecting the global community, the King said. Elaborating, the King mentioned that it was a positive thing to see the university taking a lead role when it comes to issues of research, as it meant that the country will provide solutions in a variety of issues. The King made reference to an earlier speech delivered by the Vice Chancellor, Justice Thwala, who detailed some of the research projects that were being implemented by the institution. I heard him talk about things such as cannabis, he said and even used the vernacular term insangu and this had the attendees screaming. When these researches are being conducted, it would be wise to see to it that there are proper legislations in place. This will help so that no one gets confused and asks questions. I do hope that the Parliament is taking this serious because for the research to be a success, there should be laws that ensure that there are no complications, the King said as screams of Bayethe reverberated throughout the arena with other attendees heard saying Abasikhulule silime, which means. Let us be allowed to grow cannabis.

implementation

In jest, His Majesty said it was good that he was speaking in front of the Attorney General, Sifiso Mashampu Khumalo, who had just nodded as a sign that he heard what was said. I do believe that he is nodding as a signal that he will ensure that proper legislation is put in place and go to Parliament for implementation. The King said it was also commendable that a committee had been put in place to fast track the strategies that have been put in place to ensure the growth of the institution. His Majesty said the growth of a university never ends and that now and again there was a need to throw in support financially. The King said each and every year there will be a need for more resources to assist the institution. It is, therefore, important that as emaSwati we take care and support the university because it is the one that will take the country forward. The students who graduate have to be ones who will come out equipped with the necessary skills that will in turn grow the country. So everyone should make it their assignment or duty to contribute to the university in whatever way.

The King gave assurance that government would do all it can to support not only the university, but the countrys education as a whole. According to His Majesty, the Kingdom of Eswatini is among the few countries worldwide that still provide scholarships to young people. According to His Majesty, these scholarships involve those that are not necessarily loans, but part of governments efforts of ensuring that education was prioritised. We are giving assurance that government will support the university even when it faces challenging times or struggles with implementing some of its planned projects. The King went on and said government will fully support the institution as it conducts different types of research projects and this was happening at a crucial time when the world had witnessed the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. His Majesty said it was unfortunate that the pandemic took away many lives and that it took a long time to find a vaccine for it. It, therefore, makes sense for us to have structures that will allow for proper research to be conducted since diseases and pandemics will always be there. We applaud the work of the university.

Praises

Meanwhile, His Majesty sang praises on the graduates and recounted how some time had passed without the institution celebrating the graduation ceremony and said it was good that the great day had finally come this time around. He recounted how there were challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, which came with restrictions on movement of people, making it hard for students to attend classes. In all the challenges that were there, we are grateful that today we are here to celebrate with those students who had a tough time due to the COVID-19 pandemic, The King said. He appealed to both government and the private sector to consider recruiting the hundreds who graduated yesterday, so that they could lead good lives and help develop the country. He said all graduates had been guided by lecturers, who showed them the way until they became ready to graduate. We commend all the lecturers who worked with dedication to see to it that our children have a better future. We are here today because of the efforts put in by these lecturers. It is not just the lecturers but the whole UNESWA staff. They all deserve praise for a job well done, said the King.

His Majesty said it was a known fact that parents also played a key role in giving support to their children even during hard times. The King informed the attendees that the world was appreciative of the countrys biggest tertiary institution, such that some countries are already seeking the services of emaSwati for different skills. This is a sign that our education is receiving a significant recognition. It shows that our country is now among the best in as far as education is concerned. What it means is that we have to do all in our power to maintain those standards that have made us to be listed among the best. Someone who had studied in the Kingdom of Eswatini is regarded as properly equipped and they get bigger opportunities. This is what makes us proud as emaSwati to see the global community acknowledging our quality education, said the King.

Future

As he ended his speech, the King congratulated the graduates for their achievement and said he wished them the best future. We are also grateful for the gifts (tetfulo) which were presented to us. At the ceremony, His Majesty was seated next to the acting Prime Minister, Chief Mgwagwa Gamedze. The ceremony itself was attended by dignitaries, chiefs and politicians among others. New MPs and elected senators also attended in numbers. The sitting arrangement was structured in such a way that all the attendees were prioritised and the main arena had enough space to accommodate them. The entry of all the attendees was made easier as there were enough entry points where they were thoroughly searched but all this
MBABANE  On its last day in office, the previous Cabinet committed government to a cost of about E45 601 800.

This is despite the fact that there was an opportunity by the Cleopas Sipho Dlamini-led Cabinet to avoid the costs by not implementing through an amendment of Finance Circular No.2 of 2013. Their last day in office was on the Wednesday of September 27, 2023. Cabinet sits on Tuesday, effectively meaning that their last meeting was on September 26, 2023. Notably, a day after their last meeting, the Ministry of Finance issued a memorandum that guaranteed the ministers at that time a sum of E786 227.64. The memo is dated September 27, 2023, the last day of the previous Cabinets stay in office. It is titled: Re: Addendum to Finance Circular No.2 of 2013, terms and conditions of service of Eswatini politicians.

Of the 19 Cabinet ministers who were in office, there were only three who were not eligible for reappointment to Cabinet, but were eligible for re-election or reappointment to the House or Senate. These are Jabulani Clement Mabuza (re-elected), David Cruiser Ngcamphalala (re-elected) and Moses Vilakati (lost elections).

not eligible

They were not eligible for reappointment to Cabinet on the basis that they had already served two consecutive terms as ministers. The other 16 ex-ministers, including the then prime minister (PM) and his deputy, were eligible for reappointment in terms of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Swaziland (Eswatini). On September 26, 2023, they were not eligible for the ex gratia payment as it was a facility for former parliamentarians to assist with the costs of adjusting to non-parliamentary life. However, on September 27, the ex gratia also belonged to them. It meant the 16 ex-ministers, whether reappointed or re-elected, would receive the money. If they had allowed the government to strictly apply Finance Circular No.2 of 2013 without any amendment, there was to be no burden for the taxpayer to part with E12 579 642 in payment of ex gratia. This is total amount of money for the 16 ex-ministers who are eligible for reappointment to Cabinet.

Presently, there are 10 ex-ministers who are back in Parliament, and these are Thuli Dladla, Manqoba Khumalo, David Cruiser Ngcamphalala, Lizzie Nkosi, Princess Lindiwe, Mabulala Maseko, Jabulani Mabuza, Phila Buthelezi, Dr Tambo Gina and Prince Simelane. Outside Cabinet, there are politicians who returned to Parliament. They include Nomalungelo Simelane, Mduduzi Matsebula, Ndumiso Mdluli, Tony Sibandze, Marwick Khumalo, Madala Mhlanga and Lorraine Nxumalo. His Majesty the King is yet to appoint 20 senators to constitute a Senate total membership of 30. The House of Assembly has already elected the 10 members of Senate who include four members who served in the previous Parliament. It is not certain whether Ingwenyama will reappoint some of the former ministers. Since packages for royal councils (emabandla) and regional administrators are linked to the terms and conditions of service for parliamentarians, it meant the costs would escalate. Tradition has it that Ingwenyama does not make major changes in the royal councils, except members swapping positions. In fact, there are members of emabandla who have been in office since 1996.

calculations

Conservative calculations (at minimum) indicate that the government will pay members of emabandla, whether reappointed or not, a sum of E29 484 150. Adding the total package of emabandla to the E12 579 642 for 16 ministers eligible for reappointment to Cabinet which equals to E42 063 792.00. The cost of E42.063 million excludes the ex gratia of the seven parliamentarians who are back in Parliament. Excluding Nomalungelo Simelane, who joined Parliament last year, the cost for six parliamentarians would be E3 538 008.00. Adding the cost for the six MPs to those of emabandla and ex-Cabinet, they escalate to E45 601 800. The costs will shoot up if the ex-parliamentarians are reappointed to Senate by the King. Reads Article 4.6.7 of Finance Circular No.2 of 2013, which is being used in the determination of payments for the 11th Parliament: The ex gratia payment is a grant that is payable to former parliamentarians to assist with the costs of adjusting to non-parliamentary life. The ex gratia payment is available to all parliamentarians who fail to be re-elected or re-appointed into the new Parliament.

This clause was amended to read as follows: The ex gratia will be paid as a once-off payment, equal to twelve (12) months (one year) basic salary before tax; paid to all parliamentarians and designated office bearers at the end of the 11th Parliament. The circular will be effective from September 27, 2023. When dissolving Parliament in July 2023, the King did not disband his Cabinet. On August 8, 2023, a gazette was issued that announced that the Cabinet would be in office until September 25. Another gazette was issued on September 18, which extended the ministers stay in office by two days. The extension was announced by the Attorney General (AG), Sifiso Khumalo. It meant that the last day in office for the ex-Cabinet was September 27, 2023. The Ministry of Finance had issued a memo dated July 25, 2023, providing that salaries and allowances for parliamentarians accruing to them under Finance Circular No.2 of 2013 shall be paid in full until the day preceding the first meeting of the House, following the general election. The first meeting of the 12th Parliament was on October 6, 2023. It meant the payment of salaries and allowances was stopped on October 5, 2023.

adjustment

There is a possibility that the ex gratia costs would increase as the general principle dictates that the last pay determines the calculation. Politicians also benefitted from the four per cent cost-of-living adjustment awarded to civil servants. The July memo was signed by then Acting Principal Secretary (PS) Nkululeko Dlamini. The PSs office stamped it on July 25, 2023.

The payments are reportedly based on Section 134 (1) (b) as read with Section 134 (6) of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Swaziland (Eswatini). Following the dissolution of Parliament on July 11, 2023, provisions of Section 134 (1) (b) read together with Section 134 (6) are of application, partly reads the memorandum. Section 134 (6) refers to the Kings powers to dissolve Parliament.

On the other hand, Section 134 (6) of the Constitution provides as follows: Where Parliament is dissolved in terms of Subsection (1) (b) the Members of Parliament shall be deemed to have vacated office on the day, but one of the first meetings of the House after the general elections. The Ministry of Finance stated that the remuneration arrangements of the parliamentarians stood as follows:

* Circular No.2 of 2013 should be applied strictly.

* Parliamentarians salaries and allowances accruing to them under Circular No.2 of 2013 to be paid in full until the day preceding the first meeting of the House following the general elections.

* This memorandum shall also apply to the support staff of the parliamentarians.

* Ministers are expected to calculate the exit packages to parliamentarians as per Circular No.2 of 2013, Section 4.6.8 and for their support staff as per Finance Circular No.2 of 2017.

12th Parlys ex gratia

It must be said the 12th Parliament would be guided by the new working document styled Finance Circular No.2 of 2023 dated August 2, 2023. In the new circular, the ex gratia will be paid as a once-off payment, equal to 12 months basic salary before tax. It will also be paid to all parliamentarians and designated office bearers at the end of the 12th Parliament. It is not certain if the payment arrangement will remain the same as this document is specific that the ex gratia is for members of the 12th Parliament. Alpheous Nxumalo, the Government Press Secretary, referred enquries to the Ministry of Finance, as they were better placed to respond to the questions. Setsabile Dlamini, the Communication Officer in the Ministry of Finance, said the payment of ex gratia to all the parliamentarians would not come with an extra cost as the money had been included in the budget. When delivering the budget speech for this financial year in February 2023, Neal Rijkenberg, the former Minister of Finance, said while there were provisions for new and non-discretionary items such as salary adjustments, elections and exit packages for politicians, care had been given to make enhanced provisions for previously compromised budget lines and programmes.

These included tertiary education scholarships, free primary education grants, more grants for the elderly and the people with disabilities, youth empowerment programmes, public investment and capital expenditure. In April 2023, the ex-Minister of Finance, told the Times SUNDAY that the issue of the gratuity was a very touchy subject, adding that he was aware that he would lose the argument should it go to debate. He suggested that the issue should be addressed by the Royal Commission entrusted with the responsibility to review the conditions of service for politicians.

implemented

The commission has made recommendations on the ex gratia, which the government has implemented. The previous portfolio committee of the Ministry of Finance, which was led by Marwick Khumalo, did actually recommend that the ex gratia should be paid to all parliamentarians. In its report, the portfolio committee made a recommendation to the effect that since Circular No.2 of 2013s implementation had not been consistent and has been subjected to irregular unwritten amendments, the ex gratia payments for all deserving politicians as calculated and provided for in this years Appropriation Bill 2023/24 should be paid immediately after the dissolution. The recommendation was also to the effect that the contradictory and unconstitutional clause in the circular should be discarded forthwith. Furthermore, the committee made it clear that once the ex gratia budget allocation had been passed by the House, it could not be altered by the ministry by way of selective disbursements to politicians, based on whether they were re-appointed or not, as that would not only be in contemptuous of Parliament, but would be in contravention of the Appropriation Act after it had been assented to by His Majesty King Mswati III.

According the report, government was expected to make sure that the law was not tampered with by any subsidiary authority. The recommendation, according to the report, emanated from a finding by the committee to the effect that the circular had serious irregularities since it longer represented the content of the report upon, which it was produced, especially on issues that included the remuneration rate of presiding officers and the ex gratia payments.

Basic salary

According to the new circular, the recommended remuneration structure includes a basic component (salary) with a provision for an amount to which the Second Schedule of the Income Tax Order 1975 (as amended) applies. This is not all-inclusive as the government is expected to contribute over and above this amount for other benefits and allowances.

It is said that the salaries for parliamentarians, designated office bearers and the attorney general will continue to be linked to those of the Civil Service through the secretary to Cabinet for the duration of the 12th Parliament. The salary of the secretary to Cabinet and head of the Public Service will continue to be used as a base. It will allow placing the basic salary of the prime minister at 50 per cent above that of the secretary to Cabinet.

Salaries for all other parliamentarians, designated office bearers and the attorney general will be determined as a ratio of the prime ministers salary. The sliding scale ratio reflects the political and administrative structure of the State, set out in a single spine salary structure, to ensure alignment in all three arms of government. The Ministry of Finance stated in the circular that the salaries for parliamentarians will continue to be linked to those of civil servants, considering that all Arms of Government have to work together to drive governments strategy for development. According to the ministry, the driver in the implementation of the strategy is the civil service. While the terms and conditions of service for parliamentarians and designated office bearers are adequate to ensure the recruitment of suitably qualified people into Parliament, the ministry said they should, however, remain fair in comparison to those of the civil servants. Therefore, these salaries should be sustainable and in line with the prevailing economic situation.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  Proving that a specific work of ancient art was looted and trafficked in recent decades and should go back to its country of origin is not easy. Thats because bad folks involved in looting antiquities usually dont talk about it and are often pretty good at covering their tracks.

By the time illicitly excavated objects reach the art market, they come with a laundered provenance, or ownership history, that provides a plausible cover for collectors and museums buying such works.

While its questionable whether museums should buy such objects, a counter argument is that the artworks could otherwise disappear into private hands and be unavailable for study and appreciation. As for the artworks themselves, they obviously cant talk.

These are among the awkward realities that lie at the heart of a civil lawsuit filed in federal court Thursday by the Cleveland Museum of Art, challenging an effort by the office of New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg to seize a large, headless ancient Roman bronze statue owned by the museum.

Since 1986, when the museum bought the sculpture in good faith for $1.85 million from dealer Edward Merrin, the bronze has anchored its collection of ancient Roman art. The lawsuit seeks to have a judge declare the museum the rightful and legal owner of the artworks.

The statue, which stands 76 inches high, was seized in place in August, meaning its still in storage at the museum. Doug Cohen, a spokesman for the district attorneys office, said that the work was trafficked through New York, pursuant to a conspiracy centered in New York.

Prove it

In essence, the museums lawsuit sends a simple message to the DAs office. You say the work was looted and is stolen property? Prove it.

Cultural officials in Turkey have long contended that the sculpture, previously described by the museum as representing the philosopher-emperor Marcus Aurelius, was dug up in the 1960s at Bubon, a former Roman town in Southwestern Turkey.

But so far, neither the district attorneys office nor Turkish officials have publicly provided evidence that firmly links the Cleveland sculpture to criminal activity.

Zeynep Boz, who heads Turkeys Combating Illicit Trafficking Department in the General Directorate for Cultural Heritage and Museums, Ministry of Culture and Tourism, expressed dismay in an email Friday to cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer that the Cleveland museum is resisting efforts to have the sculpture returned to Turkey, given that other museums have returned objects related to Bubon.

Portrait of a Lady (A Daughter of Marcus Aurelius?) is a bronze bust estimated to have been completed during 160-180 AD. Worcester Art Museum handed it over to New York authorities after evidence of theft was presented. (Image courtesy Worcester Art Museum)

In April, for example, Braggs office announced the return of 12 antiquities valued at $33 million to Turkey. They included a $25 million sculpture believed to represent the Roman emperor Septimius Severus that the district attorney seized in February from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The sculpture is believed to have been looted in the 1960s from Bubon, artnet.com reported.

I am so sad and disappointed that even with all of the evidence the CMA is trying to keep a statue that was so clearly stolen, Boz said in her email. Every other museum and institution has surrendered their Bubon objectsmore than 12 so far. Only CMA insists on keeping their stolen statue.

She added that, there is a great amount of direct proof the [Cleveland] statue was stolen from Bubon. And it will be revealed by the Manhattan District Attorneys Office very soon. Until then, I am sorry that I cannot share all the evidence, but I must honor the U.S. criminal justice system process.

Cohen reaffirmed Friday that he would share any news about the Cleveland sculpture when his office can. He didnt comment on the lawsuit in an email. The museum also declined to comment on the litigation.

A rare pushback

Its unusual to see a museum suing law enforcement to block the seizure of an antiquity, Patty Gerstenblith, director of the Center for Art, Museum & Cultural Heritage Law at DePaul University in Chicago, said Thursday.

The museums lawsuit could raise intricate legal questions over whether Cleveland is the proper venue, whether Ohio or New York laws are applicable, and whether a criminal proceeding in New York law can decide ownership by a museum in Ohio.

A bigger question is whether the district attorneys office can prove that the Cleveland sculpture did come from Turkey, and that it left the country after a 1906 law that all antiquities found on Turkish soil are state property. Turkey has said in the past it has no export permit for the work.

The Turkish connection is a point the museum now wants to contest. Its lawsuit cites research from unnamed experts stating that the work might represent the ancient Roman emperor Lucius Verus or Sophocles, the ancient Greek playwright, and might not have come from Turkey.

In 1986, while Evan H. Turner was director, the Cleveland Museum of Art acquired this important ancient Roman bronze, "The Emperor as Philosopher, probably Marcus Aurelius,'' (reigned AD 161-180), c. AD 180-200. Turkey, Bubon(?) (in Lycia), Roman, late 2nd Century. Bronze, hollow cast in several pieces and joined; overall: 193 cm (76 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 1986.5Cleveland Museum of Art

Lack of clarity over the identity of the subject of the headless statue is key because the site at Bubon included a base that was inscribed with the name of Marcus Aurelius. If the statue doesnt represent the Roman emperor, the connection to Bubon, and perhaps to Turkey, becomes less credible.

Without the head of the Statue, based on current knowledge, any identification is virtually impossible, the museums lawsuit states, emphasizing doubt over the question.

Lack of a clear connection to Marcus Aurelius would support the museums argument that the district attorney isnt pursuing what it calls a typical criminal investigation.

Without saying so explicitly, the lawsuit suggests that the district attorneys modus operandi is to prove that an ancient artwork came from a specific country, to intimidate museums with bad press, and to force them to return the artworks as a way to escape prosecution over holding stolen property.

As the lawsuit states: Repatriation is typically accomplished in elaborate ceremonies open to the press and attended by the New York District Attorney and his staff, federal agents with the Department of Homeland Security, and diplomatic representatives from the countries at issue. News media in New York and elsewhere regularly cover the repatriation of looted antiquities by the District Attorney and his Antiquities Trafficking Unit.

Bragg is known nationally as the prosecutor whose office indicted Donald Trump in April on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election. The head of the Antiquities Trafficking Unit, retired Marine Corps. Colonel Matthew Bogdanos, has also received a good deal of press attention, much of it positive.

Progressive stance

The Cleveland Museum of Art has worked hard over the past decade to position itself as progressive on returning looted antiquities to their country of origin.

When presented with proof of foul play, it has returned ancient artworks to their country of origin. And in one high-profile instance, it acted proactively, without outside nudging.

In 2015, the museum voluntarily returned a large, 1,000-year-old Khmer sculpture of the semi-divine Hindu monkey general, Hanuman, after the museum collaborated with Cambodia on innovative research showing the work had been looted during the countrys civil war in 1967-75.

The restitution of the Hanuman led to extraordinary cultural exchanges that benefited the museum and its public, and the National Museum of Cambodia.

The lawsuit states that the Cleveland museum has been persuaded in the past by the New York District Attorneys office that certain objects should be returned to their country of origin, but without specifying those cases.

The museum returned 14 objects to Italy in 2008, 13 of which were antiquities connected to a massive looting and art laundering operation uncovered in 1995 in a police raid in Geneva, Switzerland. In 2017 the museum returned an ancient Roman marble head of Drusus Minor that it had purchased in 2012, after Italy produced evidence that the work had been stolen from a provincial museum outside Naples during World War II.

In both cases, neither the museum nor Italy directly shared any evidence, so its unclear what standard of proof the museum required before deciding to give back the objects. Nonetheless, the museum has always said that it considers any challenges to its ownership of antiquities on a case-by-base basis.

The museums lawsuit comes amid a changing global climate regarding antiquities. The 1970 UNESCO Convention aimed at halting looting and trafficking of antiquities is less of a bright line than it has been.

Museums have understood for more than a decade that its risky and often unadvisable to buy artworks that couldnt be proven to have come out of the ground before 1970.

More recently, source countries have become more aggressive about seeking the return of objects they believe were looted or seized in wartime or through colonial exercises of power.

Nevertheless, the Cleveland museum is making a point in its lawsuit of stating that the bronze Philosopher was exhibited in Boston in the late 1960s, in other words, before the 1970 UNESCO Convention.

Whats the proof?

Despite the museums assertions about the failure of New York authorities to make their case, a leading national expert on the Bubon site says the museum also hasnt offered any hard evidence to show the work didnt come from there.

As far as I could tell theres no actual basis to contest the claims of the New York district attorney, Elizabeth Marlowe, chair of the Art Department and director of Museum Studies at Colgate University, said Thursday after reading a copy of the museums complaint. The museum is basically saying, you cant prove it. We found some people who question it.

The sources cited by the museum are anonymous and unpublished. The museums written complaint notes that Arielle Kozloff, the former curator who oversaw the purchase of the big bronze sculpture in 1986, says she now believes the Philosopher did not come from Bubon, but the lawsuit doesnt include an affidavit.

Marlowe, who has studied the dozen large sculptures and other works associated with Bubon for the past five years, said, theres a lot of evidence that the Cleveland sculpture came from Bubon. But she also says it is true, there is no smoking gun. The evidence is circumstantial.

And that explains the compelling nature of the museums lawsuit and the issues it raises. It could highlight the complex issues involved in trying to prove crimes that are decades old.

If the lawsuit forces a public disclosure of facts through legal discovery, it could reveal what is truly known about the museums mysterious statue. And that could determine whether it ends up in Turkey, or heads back to Gallery 103 at the museum.
The biggest question about Issue 2  the marijuana legalization measure on Novembers statewide ballot  isnt whether voters will pass it. They will.

Instead, the question is what the GOP-run General Assembly will do to complicate, obstruct, or stymie what voters want.

Your first thought is probably that the legislature would think twice about defying the will of the states voters. But Ohios General Assembly, as gerrymandered by the GOP, doesnt represent voters. It represents party-line Republicans, some of whom call to mind H.L. Menckens definition of Puritanism: The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.

And the marijuana ballot issue proposes a state law, not a state constitutional amendment. Changing a constitutional amendment would require another statewide vote. But the General Assembly, as with any other state law, can change a petition-proposed law  and thats what the marijuana legislation issue, if OKd by voters, would be: a law, not a constitutional amendment.

The instinctive response is that it would be politically mad for the GOP-run General Assembly to mess with voters over the marijuana initiative by weakening any pro-user features. But this isnt a normal state  its Ohio, whose legislature has ignored two constitutional amendments, and a slew of court rulings, that require fairly drawn congressional and General Assembly districts. You can see the results of that in daily news from the Statehouse and the U.S. Capitol.

If General Assembly Republicans ever had any intention of legalizing marijuana, they could long ago have proposed and passed their own version of legalization to undercut the voter-initiated plan. Thats what the legislature did in 1982, as a favor to utilities (big surprise) to stymie a ballot issue that would have required popular election of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.

Instead, Ohioans got a phony-baloney General Assembly-passed reform that supposedly better screened PUCO appointees. Yeah, and water runs uphill.

One legacy of that decision is that 10 years ago Saturday, the Ohio Controlling Board approved Medicaid expansion in Ohio, a move sought by Republican then-Gov. John Kasich with a (typically) crafty assist from the late Rep. William G. Batchelder, a Medina Republican and leading conservative who was then speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives.

The expansion covers Ohio adults under age 65 with income up to 138% of the Federal Poverty Level. This year, as examples, 138% of the poverty level equals annual income of $20,120 for a single person, $41,400 for a family of four.

Because Medicaid expansion was authorized by President Barack Obamas Affordable Care Act, some General Assembly backwoodsmen refused to implement the expansion in Ohio. That happened despite the pleas of hospitals and other health-care providers shouldering mountains of treatment costs that poor patients couldnt afford to pay.

Kasich and Batchelder (discreetly, in the speakers case) outmaneuvered expansions foes. Most recently, the Medicaid expansion was providing health care to 903,163 Ohioans (1 of every 13 of the states residents) who can thank a GOP governor, his tireless health care advisers and Batchelder for the medical safety net.

Cincinnati Southern gravy train? The rest of Ohio will soon see whether the Cincinnati Establishment still can have its way with the Queen Citys voters.

Now on Cincinnatis citywide ballot is a proposal to sell the city-owned Cincinnati Southern Railway, a 337-mile interstate railroad from Cincinnati to Chattanooga, Tennessee, to Norfolk Southern, the railroad in the middle of the East Palestine disaster. Cincinnati built the Cincinnati Southern after the Civil War to revive the citys trade ties with the South, a market that the war had strangled.

Norfolk Southern leases the Cincinnati Southern from the city of Cincinnati for $25 million a year. If Cincinnati voters agree, Norfolk Southern would buy the Cincinnati Southern for $1.62 billion. The city would invest the purchase money, with the earnings on the $1.62 billion spent only on the rehabilitation, modernization or replacement of existing [city] infrastructure.

But theres also this  the board controlling that $1.62 billion pile could pay, from earnings on the money, managers, administrative staff, agents, attorneys and employees, and ... advisors. For some reason, that calls to mind such words as bonanza, jackpot and windfall, possibly making the Cincinnati railways sale a gravy train  for the right Cincinnatians.

Thomas Suddes, a member of the editorial board, writes from Athens.

To reach Thomas Suddes: tsuddes@cleveland.com, 216-408-9474

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The Executive Council of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) met for the second time in a week in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, to fulfil its statutory obligations and look ahead to a full two years transforming the sector.

The 120th session (October 20, 2023) of the Executive Council was held in a clear spirit of international friendship and collaboration, said a statement. In Samarkand, new members of the council, namely Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, China, Colombia, Czechia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Indonesia, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Republic of Korea, Lithuania, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda and Tanzania, were welcomed.

At the 119th session (October 17, 2023) of the council, also held in Samarkand, members endorsed the organisation's Programme of Work for 2024 and 2025. This sets out its intentions for the two years, with both strategic objectives and programmatic priorities.

As UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said: "We know where we are going, we know what we want, and we know our priorities for tourism."

Saudi Arabia to Continue as Chair

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will continue as Chair as Executive Council for 2024. His Excellency Ahmed Al Khateeb, Minister of Tourism for Saudi Arabia, thanked all members for their support and reaffirmed his commitment to advancing shared priorities and the Programme of Work. Secretary-General Pololikashvili thanked Saudi Arabia for their continued leadership and for his consistent and ongoing active support of the tourism sector.

Members also endorsed the Democratic Republic of Congo to serve as First Vice-Chair of the Council, and for Jamaica to serve as Second Vice-Chair.

Subsidiary Bodies

The Council fulfilled its statutory obligations with elections to its subsidiary bodies, with a commitment to fair and equal representation of all global regions. Members voted on the countries that will serve on the UNWTO Programme and Budget Committee until 2025 or 2027, including representatives of the non-council member states and from the Affiliate Members Network.

The composition of the council's committees on statistics, competitiveness, sustainability and online education were also determined.

To conclude the meeting, members agreed that the 121st session of the UNWTO Executive Council will take place in Prague, Czechia, in the first semester of 2024.
An entrance to the Potter Stewart U.S. Courthouse in Cincinnati, where the 2023 bribery and corruption trial of two Statehouse figures on charges concerning FirstEnergy Corp. and House Bill 6 was prosecuted. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)AP

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts -- When was the last time a prosecutor obtained a guilty admission from a party, and then, having done so, took steps to assure that the malefactor could continue to collect its ill-gotten gains from the victims?

That is exactly what Ohio is witnessing, something perhaps unprecedented in the annals of American law. Kenneth L. Parker, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, might well be, quite literally, and to the explicit benefit (and at the apparent request) of a corporation which has already admitted in a deferred prosecution agreement to paying millions of dollars in bribes, ensuring that the same corporation can continue to collect some of its ill-gotten gains.

This highly unusual development, of course, relates to the July 2021 action of the U.S. Attorneys office and FirstEnergy Corp., wherein the company admitted to paying bribes to state officials in exchange for the passage of House Bill 6, a piece of legislation that would have provided it with ratepayer-funded subsidies in excess of one billion dollars, and for subsequent favorable regulatory treatment.

In March -- nearly two years after the Akron utilitys admission -- jurors in federal court convicted ex-Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and lobbyist Matt Borges for taking part in a scheme to use those bribes to pass and preserve HB 6 to bail out two aging nuclear power plants owned by a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp, and also provide other regulatory benefits to FirstEnergy. HB 6 also included subsidies for two money-losing coal plants, one in Indiana, owned by a consortium of utilities, including FirstEnergy. Key parts of HB 6 were repealed in 2021, including the nuclear subsidies and some other benefits, but the coal subsidies remain in force.

Federal prosecutors showed that FirstEnergy, with help from its allies, paid more than $60 million to secure passage and then preservation of HB 6 in the face of a citizens referendum attempt. Although FirstEnergy admitted in its July 2021 deferred prosecution agreement that it bribed Sam Randazzo, chair of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO), Randazzo insists he is not guilty, and he has not, to date, been charged.

The curious behavior of the U.S. Attorney is the result of that offices self-described continuing investigation of the HB 6 matter (an investigation proceeding at a pace slower than glacial movement). That federal probe has been proceeding concurrent with more than one PUCO investigation, as well as several civil lawsuits related to the same subject.

The issue of which agency/party takes precedence, or which party is better equipped to investigate, is not trivial. Each of those proceedings serve legitimate, but quite different purposes: the prosecutor is investigating criminal behavior; civil litigants are looking out for shareholders; and regulatory proceedings are attempting to protect consumers and make them whole -- something the U.S. Attorney is not able to do. And if the PUCO continues to delay its probes at the U.S. Attorneys request, consumers may well continue to be victimized by an admitted perpetrator.

When the PUCO proceedings -- largely because of effective discovery by the Office of Ohio Consumers Counsel -- began to produce critical information, it appears FirstEnergy convinced the U.S. Attorney to request a six-month halt in all further inquiries. The PUCO hurriedly approved this request, then extended it twice. The U.S. Attorneys stated motive for seeking suspension of the PUCO investigations was to avoid interference with his own investigation, but it seems curious that his office did not make the request until FirstEnergy asked him to do so.

So, what is the harm from delaying the PUCO proceeding?

Ashley Brown is a former two-term commissioner of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.

The harm stems from a 2018 Ohio Supreme Court decision that interpreted a 1957 precedent as precluding a PUCO order to refund consumers for unlawfully collected revenues because the court believed that refunds constituted statutorily prohibited retroactive ratemaking.

While the court appears to have been confused about the difference between refunds and retroactive ratemaking, its decision is, nonetheless, binding precedent. As a result, any funds continuing to be unlawfully collected from consumers under what remains of HB6 can never be returned to consumers until such time as the PUCO stops authorizing the collection, something it is unable to do if it keeps honoring the repeated delays requested by the U.S. Attorney.

Thus, we have the spectacle of a malefactor being able to keep their ill-gotten gains at the explicit request of the office that prosecuted those crimes.

Ashley Brown is the retired executive director of the Harvard Electricity Policy Group at the Kennedy School at Harvard University. He served two full terms as a PUCO commissioner from 1983-1993. He also co-authored The World Banks Manual for Evaluating Infrastructure Regulation.

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Raheem Howard protests his innocence as Baton Rouge police officers walk him before news cameras on Aug. 10, 2018. They said I had a gun, I didnt have nothing in my hand, he said. They got the dashcam and body camera. I got out and ran, I didnt have nothing. I didnt have no gun at all. (WAFB video screen capture)

The three-day statewide manhunt was over, and the young man accused of shooting at a Baton Rouge police officer after fleeing a traffic stop was being paraded before news cameras.

Raheem Howard, 21, his wrists cuffed behind him and his ankles shackled, shuffled along between two BRPD officers as they made their way in the traditional perp walk to a patrol car.

But as the blinding lights came on and camera shutters clicked, instead of trying to hide his face or ignore the reporters shouted questions, Howard faced the crowd and made a heartfelt plea. He knew this might be his last chance.

This is the first article in in a five-part series that examines accountability within the Baton Rouge Police Department. The series is supported by the Pulitzer Center . Read Part 1 Next: We are the f***ing police.

They said I had a gun, I didnt have nothing in my hand, he said. They got the dashcam and body camera. I got out and ran, I didnt have nothing. I didnt have no gun at all.

So you were there, a reporter asked. Howard acknowledged that he was there and it was his car, but continued to plead that he never had a gun.

I asked to take a lie detector test and everything, DNA, everything. I didnt have no gun, he said. They had beaucoup people out there, they got witnesses. The people who was in my car, I gave them names. I didnt have no gun. Im innocent. Im only 21 years old.

They got the body cameras, the dash camera. I didnt do nothing but run. I didnt do nothing but run. Thats all I did.

Finally he went quiet and shook his head. A look of frustration, then defeat, crossed his face. He disappeared into the back of the waiting police car.

Only one shot fired

Howard turned himself in on Aug. 10, 2018 for allegedly shooting at Officer Yuseff Hamadeh, a member of the BRPDs now-disbanded Street Crimes Unit, during a traffic stop. He was charged with attempted first-degree murder and illegal use of a weapon and faced at least 50 years in prison if convicted.

A few nights earlier, on the evening of Aug. 7, Howard was driving friends back from a job interview at a local restaurant, The Chimes, when he saw the police lights behind him. He pulled over, jumped out of his car and ran, leaving his passengers behind.

They said I had a gun, I didnt have nothing in my hand. They got the dashcam and body camera. I got out and ran, I didnt have nothing. I didnt have no gun at all.  Raheem Howard

In a federal lawsuit he later filed, Raheem Howard said he ran because he was scared for his life. In a separate deposition, Howard said he ran because he had a bench warrant for his arrest.

In either case, the story that aired on televisions across the city that night and made the rounds on social media was that while he fled, Howard pulled a gun and fired at Hamadeh who was chasing him.

Hamadeh, fearing that his life was in danger, according to the reports, pulled out his department-issued gun and returned fire. But he missed and Howard managed to escape.

The manhunt was on.

The incident occurred on a Tuesday evening. Howard turned himself in that Friday. But in the interim, questions about the incident had started to emerge. And Howards pleas of innocence caught on video only raised more.

Neighborhood residents came forward saying they had heard only one shot that day.

BRPD Chief Murphy Pauls administration opened an Internal Affairs investigation into the shooting. They found that Hamadehs body camera and front dash camera had been off, a violation of policy.

His rear dash camera had been on but turned downward so it didnt record any video, but it did capture audio. And that audio corroborated the residents accounts: only one gun shot was fired that day. Ballistics confirmed that it came from Hamadehs gun.

Hamadeh was fired from the department after the investigation, not for the shooting but for failing to tell his supervisor that his car crashed into Howards during the stop. The district attorney declined to prosecute Howard.

Hamadeh immediately appealed his termination with the Municipal Fire and Police Civil Service Board and won. The board found that the department had violated Hamadehs rights under a section of state law commonly referred to as the Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights.

As part of the Internal Affairs investigation, Hamadeh had undergone a polygraph test conducted by Louisiana State Police on behalf of the BRPD. But Hamadehs attorneys argued that the test hadnt been recorded as required by the law and that they hadnt been allowed in the room while it took place.

As with the firing of Blane Salamoni after the Alton Sterling shooting, Paul would lose another high-profile skirmish in his campaign to discipline his officers and change the culture at the BRPD.

The department appealed the decision to reinstate Hamadeh. But instead of fighting it out in court, the two sides announced a settlement a few months later that allowed Hamadeh to resign from the department. Six months later, Salamoni would strike the same deal. Both would be free to continue working in law enforcement elsewhere.

Uncovered records tell a different story

But records acquired by Verite News and never seen before by the public show that the facts behind the civil service boards decision were more complicated and the internal affairs file they were operating off of was incomplete.

The records from an Internal Affairs investigation conducted in the wake of Hamadehs reinstatement show that the polygraph of the officer was in fact recorded and that Hamadeh had signed a release with State Police before being questioned by the polygrapher.

The documents show that Hamadeh made no request for his attorney to be present, that he could have declined the exam, and that the State Polices polygraphist said that all of its polygraph tests are done one-on-one. His attorney was in the building but not allowed into the room itself.

Sgt. John Dauthier, then Internal Affairs supervisor and the lead investigator into Hamadehs case, was investigated by his own department for how he handled the matter. Dauthier would later become an outspoken leader of the group opposed to Paul.

Pauls investigation into one of his own investigators within Internal Affairs marked two central developments in the burgeoning civil war within the department. First, it pitted Pauls push for cultural change against the old guards way of doing things, especially the belief that when it comes to discipline the police protect their own.

Second, it gave an early indication of just how unyielding the resistance within the department would become.

Eugene Collins, who was president of the NAACP in Baton Rouge during most of Pauls tenure, said he thinks the new chief did not realize how deeply entrenched the corruption was within his department until the Hamadeh case. He described it as a wake-up call.

Paul finally realized, Collins said, how much resistance he was going to encounter in his mission to make his department more accountable.

Hamadeh said in an interview he disagreed with Pauls decision to fire him but declined to comment on the Internal Affairs investigations.

The only thing I do know is that the internal investigation was different than all my other ones. It was very aggressive from the beginning, he said.

Hamadeh said he only ever interacted with Paul during the administrative investigation into his case and even supported some of his decisions early in his tenure.

I didnt have a problem with him up until that point, Hamadeh said. I didnt disagree with everything he was doing in the beginning either.

But, he felt as though his case was a casualty in a bigger fight. It was caught in the political crossfire.

None of us know if hes genuine or if its politics, he said about Paul and his decisions.

An X-ray of a cover-up

The memories of her sons ordeal came flooding back to Tenesia Howard as she read the final 201-page Internal Affairs report on the investigation. She and Raheem had waited anxiously for weeks for the truth to come out and for the district attorney to decline to prosecute him.

Once he was in the clear, they had to wait while he served time for an unrelated matter. In the end Raheem Howard wasnt released from the parish prison until Oct. 2, nearly two months after his encounter with Hamadeh.

Over the years there had been court dates for the ongoing civil case her son filed in federal court against the department. In 2020, there was even a grand jury that considered and declined to impose felony charges against Hamadeh for the shooting.

The grand jury also declined to charge Hamadeh in the 2017 fatal shooting of Jordan Frazier, who, like Howard, ran after Hamadeh pulled him over for a traffic stop.

Police said Frazier had turned and pointed a gun at Hamadeh, who then shot him. The coroner later determined that Frazier had been shot in the back.

Police said they had recovered a gun, but a witness who was in the car with Frazier said he never had one. The body camera program was not fully implemented in the department so Hamadeh did not have one on that night.

Tenesia Howard had seen many records about her sons case but the document she was reading now was staggering.

Here you get to see how it actually works, she said.

The report showed how the initial investigation had allowed the officer who falsely accused Raheem Howard of shooting at him  an accusation that could have landed her son in prison for the rest of his life  to escape punishment.

She was amazed by the brazenness of what she called a cover-up.

If I tried to explain it to someone else they would think I was making it all up. You just cant believe that someone could be that comfortable doing this, she said.

Raheem Howards attorney, Ron Haley, said the final Internal Affairs report confirmed his initial suspicions.

We always suspected there was a poison pill put into Hamadehs disciplinary hearing, he said after reading the Internal Affairs report. We just never knew where it came from and now we do.

Given the police departments reputation, Haley said he originally, and wrongfully, thought Paul had rigged the outcome.

The poison pill was put in the case by the internal investigator himself, he said.

But Dauthier, who retired from the department about a year and a half ago, said the idea that he engineered the outcome of Hamadehs case is laughable. The timeline just doesnt work, he said. He would have had to have known about the defense months in advance to be able to manipulate the evidence and that wasnt the case.

A homicide-level investigation

If anything, Dauthier said, the findings of his initial investigation were the reason why Hamadeh was fired. He said that a couple of weeks into the investigation, then-Sgt. Myron Daniels asked him to dig further.

I want you to do a homicide-level investigation. I want you to dig way into this thing on the policy side, he recalled Daniels saying.

And thats what he did, he said.

I dove into that thing like never before, he said.

I brought a drone out. I did shell casing ejection pattern tests. I did a live fire acoustic thing at the scene, he said. And keep in mind back then I only had 45 days to complete an investigation, type it up and then turn it in.

Ultimately, he said, he is the one who found the violation that allowed for Hamadehs termination: Hamadeh had not been truthful by failing to tell his supervisor that his car had bumped into Howards car with minimal damage.

But Dauthier said that, despite the evidence, Paul insisted on a polygraph. Dauthier said that he and Daniels  not typically allies  both protested the idea. A polygraph would complicate the case and the department didnt have experience with them, he said they argued. But Paul insisted.

Ultimately, issues regarding the polygraph would lead to Hamadehs reinstatement and the investigation into how the original inquiry was handled. That was the report Tenesia Howard held in her hand. Flipping through the document she compared it to peering into an X-ray image of a cover-up.

She and her son feel betrayed by the system.

They did what they were trying to accomplish, she said. They gave him his job back. They gave him a chance to resign.

Instead of holding Hamadeh to account, she said, investigators commiserated with him.

I was very disappointed in the Internal Affairs Division, she said. If it was me who did that they wouldve put handcuffs on me!

The seeds for the strategy behind the Hamadeh reversal are found in an earlier court ruling in Miller vs. Gonzales.

The case involved a police officer in Ascension Parish accused of a domestic incident involving his wife and her father. He was disciplined for violating 10 of the departments policies and fired.

The officer appealed the case to the 23rd Judicial Court and won. The court found that the discipline violated two key pieces of what is known as the Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights:

a) All interrogations were not recorded in full.

b) The law enforcement officer was not allowed assistance of counsel during an interrogation.

In Hamadehs case, the civil service board narrowly ruled, 3-2, in Hamadehs favor on the second point.

But the investigation into the investigation found that Hamadehs attorney, Tommy Dewey, had at some point told Dauthier that he was going to use the Miller vs. Gonzales precedent in his defense of Hamadeh.

Dewey did not respond to requests for comment for this story.

Later, according to the documents, Dauthier approached Daniels with a copy of Miller vs. Gonzales and said that they hadnt recorded the polygraph and that he thought Hamadeh had a good case. He went on to sign an affidavit for Hamadehs attorney, saying that the file Dewey received when he requested the investigation only included a one-page report of the polygraph. Dewey used that affidavit to help make his successful case in front of the board.

But according to the investigation, Hamadeh signed a waiver acknowledging that he was within his rights to stop the polygraph for any reason, including the lack of counsel. His attorney, who was there that day, could have brought the proceedings to a halt since the polygraphist said that his presence could skew the results. But neither objected to the polygraph.

Tenesia Howard said she can only draw one conclusion from how Hamadehs disciplinary case was handled: Internal Affairs and Hamadehs attorney engineered the desired outcome from the get-go. She doesnt think there are any coincidences. She believes they looked at the standard for the Miller vs. Gonzales decision and then made sure they got that outcome, she said.

He had to make it fit, its like a puzzle piece, she said. You have the piece that fits in there. But its them taking the wrong piece and making it fit.

Tenesia Howard said she thought it strange that a veteran Internal Affairs investigator with that much experience wouldnt do something as simple as pick up the phone and call the State Police polygraphist and ask if there was a recording.

Two State Police law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation said it is standard practice to gather all the evidence, including video and audio of polygraph exams.

Notes from the Internal Affairs investigation also put the onus on Dauthier for the missing documents: Upon completion of Sgt. Dauthiers investigation of the aforementioned case, it was determined that these two significant items were not secured by Sgt. Dauthier and placed into the case file.

Dauthier told investigators that he was out of town for the polygraph and that he didnt know there was a recording nor that Hamadeh had signed a release waiver.

But Tenesia Howard doesnt believe that.

You claimed that you dont know it was recorded, but everyone knows it was recorded, Tenesia Howard said. Hamadeh signed a consent form. He wanted to take it.

Dauthier was investigated for four possible violations during the Hamadeh affair: shirking duties, conduct unbecoming of an officer, falsifying of documents and truthfulness. Although it was determined that Dauthier had not secured all the needed documents for the file, the complaints against him were all found to be not-sustained, a ruling that, according to department policy, means there is insufficient evidence to either prove or disprove the allegations.

The department did not respond to requests for comment on this story.

Dauthier said the reason he didnt ask for the waiver and the recording is because he didnt know they existed. And, he was out of town on the day the test took place.

I had zero experience with polygraphs, he said. So when I asked him for the report, in my brain I was asking him for the report.

If hed known there was a recording, he said, he would have asked for it. He also said that when Hamadehs lawyer asked for the affidavit, he ran it by the legal department for its blessing. He said they told him to go ahead because it would save them from a possible deposition later on.

How many other people have they done this to?

One thing that baffles Tenesia Howard is why Paul didnt run to the microphones and expose the cover-up when he found out.

Its too many lies, too many cover-ups, she said. It shouldve been exposed. Why sweep it under the rug?

But she did appreciate that Paul was so aggressive in trying to get to the bottom of what happened in the Hamadeh case when he realized something was wrong.

According to the investigation, the existence of the recording and waiver was confirmed during a meeting between the BRPD and State Police to discuss how the investigation was handled. The meeting took place about two weeks after Hamadehs termination was overturned. It was the revelation during this postmortem that initiated the internal investigation into Dauthier.

I give Paul credit, Tenesia Howard said. I cant take that away from him. He couldve taken their word. And he didnt. He took the initiative and he exposed it.

But, she added, the chicanery exposed the limits to his power over his own department when confronted with a culture resistant to change.

So basically you are the chief of police, but only up to a certain extent, she said. When it comes to the good old boys there, theyre going to have their way no matter what.

A sense of dread started to creep over Tenesia as she read deeper into the details of the investigation. She shuddered at an alternate version of history, one where none of this came to light. She had a vision of her son, a 70-year-old man in a cell for a crime he didnt commit.

A disturbing question came into her mind: How many other people have they done this to?

This article first appeared on Verite News and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

The post Police officers false claim could have sent a man to prison for 50 years appeared first on Louisiana Illuminator.
From the rollercoaster housing market or to the rising costs of groceries, it seems like everyone has reason to be a little stressed out. But, according to a new report, the level of stress you experience can also be influenced by where you live.

Earlier this year, WalletHub ranked America's "most and least stressed" states. The report compared the 50 states across 41 metrics, including: unemployment rate, income growth, rate of separation and divorce, mental health, and unaffordability of visits to the doctor.

For the final ranking, the cities were scored across four key dimensions:

Work-related stress

Money-related stress

Family-related stress

Health and safety-related stress

WalletHub used data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and more agencies to determine the results.

The study also ranked the highest and lowest states in individual categories like average hours of sleep per night, psychologists per capita and average hours worked per week.

Mississippi ranked as the most stressed out state in the U.S. It had the highest rate of money-related stress. While the state offers the lowest cost of living in the nation, it also has one of America's least educated and least productive workforces, as well as one of the worst rates of worker migration, according to CNBC.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, are the least stressed states which include Utah, Connecticut and South Dakota. Places like Hawaii and Florida, which both have been previously named some of the happiest states in the country didn't make this top 10 list.
One of the downsides of taking new anti-obesity medications is that patients tend to lose lean muscle mass along with body fat. What this means for patients over the long term isn't fully known, but there are several pharmaceutical companies studying the side effect and hoping to develop therapies that might regulate the condition. In a best case scenario, these experimental drugs would not only protect against muscle loss, they could also speed up fat loss when taken alongside what are called incretin therapies, such as Ozempic and Mounjaro. "It is becoming increasingly clear that, at least with the current agents, there's room to improve," Piper Sandler analyst Allison Bratzel said in an interview. "This is a major shortcoming in terms of not just quality of life for the patients who have to lose lean muscle mass, but there's actually room to improve on the weight loss and there [are] other metabolic benefits to improving your lean muscle mass ... [including] you might have better durability of weight loss." Biohaven , Regeneron and Scholar Rock are three companies working in this area, Bratzel said. Versanis Bio , a clinical-stage biotech that Eli Lilly acquired this summer is also active in the field. A huge opportunity The obesity drug market is expected to be large and lucrative, with several Wall Street firms predicting it could reach $100 billion or more in annual sales by the end of the decade. This is partly due to the number of people who are overweight or obese  some 70% of American adults are one or the other  as well as the chronic nature of the disease. Novo Nordisk's Ozempic, or semaglutide, mimics stomach hormones like glucagon-like peptide 1, or GLP-1, to control insulin and quiet food cravings. Eli Lilly's Mounjaro adds a second incretin, gastric inhibitory polypetide, or GIP. The drugs can help patients lose 15% to 20% of their weight, on average. However, the weight can come back when patients stop taking the drugs. "Anytime somebody loses weight, they're going to lose adipose tissue, [body fat,] but they're also going to lose some skeletal muscle mass," said Dr. Lydia Alexander, president-elect of the Obesity Medicine Association. "The extent to which that happens really depends on the quality of their nutrition," she continued. "It depends on how much they're moving their body because that sends signals to the body that those muscles are actually very necessary and should not be dismantled." Alexander and other obesity specialists recommend patients use a wraparound approach that incorporates medication, exercise, nutrition and other support. Patients also should be monitored to see how much lean mass is being lost, which can hurt the metabolism, movement and balance. This is especially important for people 65 and older as lean muscle is naturally lost due to aging. In the drug pipeline Piper Sandler's Bratzel reiterated an overweight rating on Scholar Rock this week, saying it's a "top" small- and midcap pick after the company disclosed plans to develop SRK-439, an anti-myostatin antibody, for use in treating obesity. Scholar Rock already has expertise in targeting different forms of myostatin, a protein that limits muscle growth and is thought to be involved in triggering muscle wasting. The company has been developing drugs to treat spinal muscular atrophy, a genetic disease that progressively weakens muscles. Bratzel said she expects Scholar's approach has a good shot at achieving a "best-in-class safety profile." A recent stock offering gives the company a cash runway through the second half of 2025, the analyst said. By then, Scholar Rock may have proof-of-concept data on SRK-439's use in treating obesity. Last Tuesday, Bratzel raised her price target by $2 to $28 per share, about 266% above where Schollar Rock closed Friday. And that valuation doesn't assume any upside that could come from partnering with a large pharmaceutical company. Scholar's shares are down 15% year to date, putting its market value at $530 million. Bratzel's price target is slightly above the average target of $22, with 88% of analysts rating it a buy or overweight, according to FactSet. SRRK YTD mountain Scholar Rock shares have fallen more than 17% since the start of the year. Bratzel said Lilly's acquisition of Versanis backs up the idea that these drugs might one day be paired with incretins. Versanis' top drug candidate is bimagrumab, a monoclonal antibody that binds with activin type II A and B receptors to block activin and myostatin signaling. The drug is being tested in a phase 2b study alongside semaglutide to protect against loss of muscle mass. Meanwhile, Biohaven is working on a myostatin inhibitor that it licensed from Bristol Myers Squibb . Known as taldefgrobep alfa, it was once considered a potential treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. While the compound didn't work for that disease, it did cause muscle growth, which could be helpful in metabolic diseases. Fueling up on protein Even if these studies are successful, it will take years before these drugs could be used by patients taking anti-obesity medications. Until then, patients will need to watch what they eat and focus on exercise just as they would on any other weight loss regimen. Eating extra protein and strength training will be key to stemming the loss of muscle and bone density. On Thursday, Nestle announced plans to market protein-packed products to aid those taking GLP-1 medications. "I believe we have important contributions to make," Nestle CEO Ulf Mark Schneider said on an earnings call. "For the time that patients spend on these drugs and after, we are already developing a number of companion products. The goal will be to address the risk of malnutrition and the loss of lean muscle mass while on the GLP-1 therapy, and to avoid or limit weight rebound after the therapy," he said. "These innovations are right in our wheelhouse, where we can bring our deep understanding of nutritional science and appropriate supplementation to the table." Jeff Jonas, a portfolio manager at Gabelli Funds, which owns Nestle shares, said he has seen the recent losses in food stocks. Nestle's comments are an attempt to offset some of the "near-term pressure," but over time, he expects this could be an opportunity for the Swiss food company. "The way the drug works is that it slows down not just your appetite, but the way you process food through your stomach and digestive system, so a protein shake might be a good way to get your protein without being as impacted by that part of the drug," Jonas said. Stephens' decision Friday to name Simply Good Foods its "best idea" echoes this trend. The stock is down 14% since the start of the year, and is trading near its 52-week low, as part of a broad sell-off in food stocks. Analyst Jim Salera expects the company is "attractively positioned" with its Atkins and Quest brands, which sell low carb snacks and meals, and could be an acquisition target for a larger food company. SMPL 3M mountain Simply Good Foods shares are trading near 52-week lows. "As it pertains to the topic du jour, GLP-1 drugs, we believe that SMPL offers investors some insulation from this headline risk as its products are protein dense and, should widespread GLP-1 adoption occur, would be a conveient way for consumers to ensure they are still eating the correct amount of protein." That's likely to become a bigger issue over time. According to a Morgan Stanley survey, patients taking GLP-1 drugs now skew more male than the wider obese population. They are also younger, have a higher income and a higher body mass index than the average person with obesity. "We think this is because of discrepancies in access, education/awareness, affordability, and health care coverage of early adopters of current weight loss drugs on the market, which in many cases does not mirror the general obese population," Morgan Stanley analysts wrote in a research report. "As weight loss drugs become more widely adopted/understood, more affordable, and more widely covered under health insurance plans, we would expect the profile of these drug users to more closely mirror the general obese population," they said. When that occurs, muscle loss will be an even bigger issue than it is now. CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
U.S. Rep. and former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) speaks to the news media after it was reported that U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) would not seek a third vote to become the next Speaker of the House and instead will back a plan to empower Speaker of the House Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry (R-NC) to hold the post until January, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, October 19, 2023.

The saga of electing a speaker of the House is back at square one.

House Republicans entered the weekend without their leading speaker candidate, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who dropped out of the race on Friday. An internal vote among Republicans found that a majority wanted to pursue a new nominee.

"This is embarrassing for the Republican Party, embarrassing for the nation," former speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Ca., said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press." McCarthy was ousted from his post on Oct. 3 after Republican disagreement on the budget nearly caused a government shutdown.

After Jordan bowed out on Friday, a flurry of Republican candidates announced they would consider entering the race, including Majority Whip Tom Emmer, who appears to be a frontrunner. As of Sunday, nine Republican representatives have committed to campaigning for speaker.

Here is the list of the Republican candidates:

Rep. Tom Emmer, Minnesota

Rep. Kevin Hern, Oklahoma

Rep. Jack Bergman, Michigan

Rep. Gary Palmer, Alabama

Rep. Mike Johnson, Louisiana

Rep. Byron Donalds, Florida

Rep. Pete Sessions, Texas

Rep. Austin Scott, Georgia

Rep. Dan Meuser, Pennsylvania

McCarthy nominated Emmer on Friday, claiming that his ability to pass difficult bills and win majorities makes him "the best person for the job."

Many Republicans have not been as bullish on any particular speaker nominee so far.

Rep. Michael Turner, R-Ohio, and Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Tx., both said Sunday they do not yet know who they will vote for, but said that they want to get this election done so they can continue to govern.

"Congress is a lot like high school but even more so, so hopefully we'll get past this," Turner said on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday. He added that he has been and will continue to be a part of the governing majority so the party can agree on a speaker.

Former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney did not voice support for any specific candidate, saying on CNN's "State of the Union" that the current state of House Republican dysfunction is not surprising.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who served from 1995 to 1999, said the House Republicans are dragging their feet.

"They should go into a conference, not come out, bring food in and stay there," Gingrich said on "Fox News Sunday." "They shouldn't bring anybody out until they have 217."

He added that the speaker nominee needs to be able to maintain those 217 votes for the next five to six months so that Congress is not in the same situation a couple of weeks from now.

Gingrich also said that he wishes there were women in the running like Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., and Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Tx., who could be "more effective" in unifying the House. Of the nine candidates in the speaker race so far, none are women.

McCaul, who chairs the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, said that the speaker race deadlock is coming at a particularly inopportune moment, given world events such as the advent of the Israel-Hamas war and the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Without a speaker, the House has hampered its ability to provide funds for Israeli aid or issue a condemnation of the militant group Hamas, McCaul said Sunday on ABC's "This Week."

"The world's on fire," he said. "This is so dangerous what we're doing and most importantly, it's embarrassing, because it empowers and emboldens our adversaries."

Republicans will reconvene to discuss potential speaker candidates on Monday at 6:30 p.m. ET. Tuesday morning at 9 a.m., they will gather for a Republican conference vote and aim to hold a floor vote later that day, according to interim Speaker Patrick McHenry, R-N.C.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 22)  Chinese ships collided with Filipino vessels on a resupply mission to BRP Sierra Madre on Ayungin Shoal on Sunday morning, the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) said Sunday.

"While conducting a regular and routine Rotation and Resupply mission to BRP Sierra Madre, dangerous blocking maneuvers of China Coast Guard vessel 5203 (CCGV 5203) caused it to collide with the Armed Forces of the Philippines-contracted indigenous resupply boat Unaiza May 2 (UM2)," the NTF-WPS said in a statement.

During the same RORE mission, Philippine Coast Guard vessel MRRV 4409s port side was bumped by Chinese Maritime Militia vessel 00003 (CMMV 00003) while it was lying to approximately 6.4NM Northeast of Ayungin Shoal, it added.

The NTF-WPS called the move "provocative, irresponsible and illegal" as the incident "imperiled the safety of the crew" of the Filipino boats.

It condemned the act "in the strongest degree," citing the collision as a violation of Philippine sovereignty, rights, and jurisdiction.

The task force also stressed the incident was in "utter blatant disregard" of several international laws including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 2016 Arbitral Award against China.

According to authorities in Palawan, the PCG vessel suffered a "dent" while the AFP-contracted resupply boat had a broken back post due to the collision.

Officials said no one on board the Filipino vessels was hurt and the crew already returned on course to the mainland.

In a statement, the Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) claimed that it "lawfully" blocked the Philippine vessels which it accused of "illegally carrying construction materials."

"The on-site management was reasonable, lawful and professional," it said. "The responsibility lay entirely with the Philippine side."

The CCG said the Philippines planned "to make faults with China and escalate" tensions in the West Philippine Sea.

"The Philippine vessels trespassed into the adjacent waters of Ren'ai Reef in China's Nansha Islands without permission. Since the Philippine side ignored China's repeated warnings, the CCG responded lawfully and blocked the Philippine vessels which were illegally carrying construction materials," it said.

National Security Adviser Sec. Eduardo Ano said the Philippines will remain committed to protecting the national interest despite Bejing's actions.

"We will not be deterred and we will continue to resupply our troops in BRP Sierra Madre despite provocations," he said.

In response to China's claim that its actions were "reasonable, lawful, and professional," Ano said: "The professionalism, restraint, and gallantry of our officers and personnel put them to shame every time we go out there."

The National Security Council earlier said Chinese vessels have been repeatedly harassing and interfering with resupply missions to the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal.

The AFP said whatever the country does on the BRP Sierra Madre, its military outpost at Ayungin Shoal, is none of China's business and will not be a threat to any other nation.

Ambassador MaryKay Carlson said the United States condemned the Chinese vessels' move and expressed support for the Philippines.

"The United States condemns PRC's latest disruption of a legal Philippine resupply mission to Ayungin Shoal, putting the lives of Filipino service members at risk," she said in a post.

The European Union and Canada also expressed support for the Philippines, denouncing the Chinese ships' actions to block the Filipino vessels.
Jennifer Szalai in The New York Times:

As portents go, little could be more ominous than what took place on the evening of March 4, 1873, at the inaugural gala for President Ulysses S. Grants second term. A cavernous wooden structure had been built for the event. Hundreds of canaries had been brought in to serenade the guests, who were treated to a lavish spread of party food  partridges and oysters, boars heads and lobsters. But one crucial element had been bizarrely overlooked: The room wasnt heated. The food started to freeze. By the time Grant and his entourage arrived, some of the canaries had keeled over, falling like little lumps of frozen yellow fruit on the diners and dancers below.

This dramatic image shows up in the last quarter of Fergus M. Bordewichs Klan War, a vivid and sobering account of Grants efforts to crush the Klan in the South. The book traces an arc that seemed to bend toward justice before it got twisted again. After his first term, the president could credibly claim he had broken the back of the Ku Klux Klan, Bordewich writes. But the dead canaries, which punctuate a chapter titled Grant Triumphant, are a grim clue that the victory will not last. When Grant began his second term, the will and the money to fight white supremacist terror had already started to ebb.

More here.
Valencia City, Bukidnon (CNN Philippines, October 22)  The Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Valencia City, Bukidnon confiscated nearly a thousand illegal campaign materials for the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) during simultaneous operations on Saturday.

Despite repeated warnings, some candidates and their supporters continued to defy rules on posting posters and other campaign paraphernalia only in designated areas.

The local Comelec office also said 18 candidates have already received show cause orders for premature campaigning.

Earlier this month, the Comelec held a candidates' forum at the Valencia City gym addressing its rules and policies, highlighted by the agencys Kontra Bigay campaign against vote-buying and vote-selling.

Provincial Comelec Supervisor Atty. Aleli Dayo-Ramirez urged all aspirants in Bukidnon to take precautions and not violate election guidelines to avoid penalties.

She said candidates from the towns of Cabanglasan, Quezon, Malitbog, and Maramag have been accused of illegal campaigning.

Candidates are prohibited from donating or distributing anything of value during and after the campaign, including t-shirts, ballers, and bags. Providing food, beverages, and transportation are also not allowed.
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Waffles, the one-eyed cape porcupine, is an affable, 44-pound rodent who love to waddle run across her yard for treats. Contrary to popular belief, porcupines cannot shoot quills. And good thing, because they have 60,000, including sensory, defensive and rattle quills, which they can made sound like a loud rattlesnake when they feel threatened.
Zack Beauchamp at Vox:

Two things are true: Israel must do something, and what its doing now is indefensible. So whats the alternative?

I put this question to anyone I could think of: a large group ranging from retired Israeli officers to Palestinian intellectuals to counterterrorism experts to scholars of the ethics and law of war. I read everything I could find that on the topic, scouring reporting and the academic literature for better ideas.

The answer that emerged was deceptively simple: make the right choice where America made the wrong one. Israel should launch a targeted counterrorism operation aimed at Hamas leadership and the fighters directly involved in the October 7 attack, one that focuses on minimizing both civilian casualties and the scope of ground operations in Gaza.

More here.
Once upon a time, you could mash up some apple cores, add some toxic fish-smelling chemicals and sell the result as strawberry jam. Eventually, however, people said the government should step in and do something about that. These people werent public health activists (no one cares what public health activists say). They were companies, manufacturers of actual strawberry jam, who knew their product was better and wanted official government labels saying so.

A century and a half later, government regulations now include definitions for every kind of food imaginable. Many foods you buy cant legally call themselves by the names you use for them  and if you look at the label, youll see they call themselves something else entirely.

5 Jif Natural Peanut Butter Isnt Peanut Butter Peanut butter spread sounds like just another name for peanut butter, but its not, no more than chocolate spread is the same thing as chocolate. Peanut butter spread merely includes peanut butter as an ingredient. So, when you pick up a jar of Jif, take a look at exactly what it calls itself: Jif And ponder how you pronounce that. Is it gif or more like zhif? If it says peanut butter spread, thats because the FDA says its not peanut butter. To be peanut butter, it must contain at least 90 percent peanuts, and the jar above contains 80 percent. Other jars of Natural Jif do contain 90 percent nuts, but they still fail to meet the definition because they contain the wrong kind of oil. The reason this is funny, rather than just an obscure bit of culinary knowledge, is that regular Jif  i.e., Jif that isnt called natural  is labeled peanut butter because it meets the definition just fine. When they say natural, thats their vague way of advertising that it contains fewer ingredients than the usual alternative. Natural Jif leaves out some stabilizer chemicals. But it contains a bunch of palm oil, and less peanuts. Palm oil is natural. Heck, Komodo venom is natural. Advertisement

4 Pringles Arent Potato Chips Potato chip bags are full of air, says your friend. Theyre cheating us. Since youre a know-it-all who likes correcting people, you explain that the air in the bag isnt there to fool you. Its nitrogen, which cushions the chips and keeps them from spoiling. But wait! says your friend. Then explain why Pringles fill the entire can with chips without any significant volume of non-oxidizing gas! One reason is the can, since rigid packaging stops the chips from breaking. But also, Pringles arent chips at all. In America, Pringles may call themselves potato crisps, which is the British word for what Americans call chips but in America means not chips actually. Or, Pringles might call themselves nothing at all, other than Pringles. Brett Jordan Pringles are Pringles. What else do you need to know? Advertisement Chips are made from slices of potato. Pringles are made from potato flour, and not very much of it. Pringles contains just 42 percent potato stuff, with the bulk of the remainder made up of corn flour and rice flour. Advertisement So, in America, they couldnt call themselves potato chips. Then they went to the U.K., and having established that they were just a can of wishes, they argued they didnt qualify as potato crisps over there. Without enough potato to meet the crips definition, they were potato bread or potato cake and should be taxed less. A judge gave this argument some thought, said bollocks to that, and issued the company a tax bill of over 100 million.

3 Breyers Used to Be Ice Cream, But No Longer Go to the ice cream aisle and pick up some Breyers. The aisle is marked ice cream, but the carton isnt  the box instead calls the contents a frozen dairy dessert. To qualify ice cream, the FDA says a product must contain at least 10 percent dairy fat, so if you skimp on the cream and just dump in a bunch of corn syrup, your dessert doesnt make the cut. Mike Mozart This product also contains less than 10 percent Girl Scouts, by weight Advertisement The irony is that Breyers used to qualify as ice cream and in fact had a reputation as a particularly pure and high-quality ice cream. Another brand might sell ice milk, low on fat and seemingly not a dessert at all, but Breyers was legit. No longer. They refuse to say they changed their recipe to cut costs, however. PR reps for the company insist that the new recipe merely aims to create a smoother texture. Also officially not ice cream, by the way: soft serve. It misses the minimum fat requirements to qualify as ice cream and arguably misses the minimum solids requirement to qualify as food, because up to 60 percent of the product may be air. In Europe, some places refer to soft serve as American ice cream, which says something about their opinion of American food in general. Advertisement Advertisement

2 Kraft Singles Arent Cheese Kraft Singles are the classic example of a food that cant quite legally call itself a food. Kraft does not call its singles sliced cheese  its a pasteurized prepared cheese product. Even if youd noticed this before, you might be surprised by how lenient the definition of cheese really is, and how Kraft still fails to meet it. Mike Mozart In Europe, they just call it American cheese. We call it that in America, too! To qualify as cheese, the FDA says the product must contain at least 51 percent cheese. Kraft Singles dont have that. They have some cheese, and then they have a bunch of non-cheese dairy ingredients, then a bunch of calcium phosphate and sodium phosphate, and then trace ingredients. Singles arent cheese, and they also arent slices. The were never sliced from a block but rather produced from a liquified mixture. Advertisement So, for years, Kraft called Singles pasteurized processed cheese food. Then in 2002, the FDA told them even that was inaccurate. It is not a cheese food, said the FDA, and so, Singles have been merely a cheese product ever since.
If Bad Bunnys debut as a Saturday Night Live host proved anything last night, its that as a comedian, hes one hell of a musician. Were guessing that Lorne Michaels and company figured that out early on, arranging for cameos throughout the night to prop up the first-time host/musical guest. Unfortunately, bringing in a comedy heavyweight like Pedro Pascal only highlighted Bad Bunnys shortcomings.

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Dont get me wrong, Bad Bunny is charming as hell and confidence doesnt seem to be his problem. Unlike other non-thespian hosts like Paris Hilton or Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, Bad Bunny didnt seem at all intimidated when he took the stage for his monologue. The opening bits theme  Bad Bunny can do whatever he wants, and hes basically perfect  doesnt work if the host has the flop sweats, but thats not the problem. Hes used to the spotlight, and hes got this. Except he dont got this. His comic timing was off by a half-beat, made all the more apparent when Pascal joined him onstage.

The Emmy-nominated Pascal was last years funniest SNL host, so bringing him in as a ringer wasnt the worst idea in the world. But it was a little like having Pascal sing, then bringing in the King of Latin Trap as a surprise duet partner. One artists complete mastery only emphasizes the inadequacies of the other. Some of it was just comedy basics  you hold for laughs. You use your eyes instead of hiding behind dark glasses. You use your hands in a natural way.

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It was even more pronounced when Pascal reprised his Protective Mom character from last seasons show. Bad Bunny played Aunt Rosa, essentially the same character  a Spanish-speaking disapproval machine who isnt having it with Luiss new girlfriend. You could use the scene as a teaching tool in a sketch comedy class: Its not that Bad Bunny did a terrible job with his character (hes okay), but it paled in comparison with Pascals overprotective, passive-aggressive monster. If Pascal was here to save Bad Bunny, he ended up stealing his show instead. (Side note: Marcello Hernandez proved throughout tonights show  and last years Pascal episode  that hes hilarious and ready for more. Can the show find a way to feature him on nights when the host doesnt speak Spanish?)

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Ironically, another of the nights surprise cameo guests just reinforced the potential pitfalls of putting charismatic musicians into comedy roles.

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Mick Jagger showed up twice during the evening (hes in town promoting the new Rolling Stones album), and hes no stranger to SNL with two hosting stints under his belt. In the Convent Meeting sketch, Mother Superior tried to discover which of her nuns was actually a horny dude in disguise. We were meant to believe that Bad Bunnys Sister Theresa was the wolf in nuns clothing, but surprise! It was Jagger as Sister Kevin! The ladies of SNL got plenty of laughs in this one, but the sketch kept getting derailed by both Bad Bunny and Jagger, both of whom swallowed the ends of punchlines or paused awkwardly before delivering them.

The confident swagger of Jagger and Bad Bunny makes both men hilarious when theyre the ones doing the cameos  a little bit of either goes a long way (and I mean that as a compliment). But do us a favor, SNL, and just put Pedro Pascal front and center next time.
Divorce can lead a child to do dark things  like becoming someone who writes movies about divorce. As with everything, creating art about difficult subjects can help people cope. There are plenty of movies that show the uglier, more dramatic sides of divorce, like Kramer vs. Kramer, an incredible film, but a disorienting look at what can happen when nuptials disintegrate. But not all divorce movies are quite so devastating. Some really lighten the mood and provide the perspective that splitting up can be incredibly liberating. If you dont feel the urge to stand up and sing You Dont Own Me along with Bette Midler in The First Wives Club, something may be wrong with you.

On that note, here are five funny movies about divorce that dont involve a convoluted plan with your long-lost identical twin to get your parents back together

5 The First Wives Club Advertisement Diane Keaton, Goldie Hawn and Midler joined forces in this 1996 comedy to teach a crash-course on divorce: Dont get mad, get even. The trio of funny women play wives who, as the films title suggests, wouldnt be their husbands only marriages. When the men all leave them for younger women, the First Wives plot, scheme and exact their revenge against their misogynistic exes. Of course, by the films end, the real lesson is that harboring these feelings of resentment for too long is unhealthy and that there are other ways to process a broken relationship  like doing a little dance with two of your closest friends.

4 The War of the Roses Advertisement Advertisement An asset that can complicate a divorce proceeding is the home the once-happy couple shared. Such is the case in The War of the Roses, where Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner go toe-to-toe after falling out of love and into battle over their Washington, D.C. mansion. The pitch black comedy also features Danny DeVito, who directs and acts in the film as the lawyer caught in the middle of the sparring couple.

3 Mrs. Doubtfire Advertisement Advertisement Whats an irresponsible-but-loving father with limited custody rights to do when he wants to see his three children? Dress up as a housekeeper and get a job in his ex-wifes home as a nanny, obviously. Mrs. Doubtfire is completely absurd on paper and would scare conservatives if it were pitched today, but dedicated performances from Robin Williams and Sally Field cemented it as a family favorite.

2 Liar Liar Advertisement Advertisement Lying in a courtroom is what separates a good defense attorney from the great ones. In domestic life, however, its a skill that ruins your marriage and tarnishes your relationship with your children  a lesson that Fletcher Reede learns the hard way. After a young boy gets fed up with his career-focused parents (Jim Carrey and Maura Tierney), he makes a birthday wish that for one entire day his father could not tell a lie. The wish comes true in this satirical fantasy, sending Fletcher on a truth-filled journey of self-discovery that lets him refocus his relationship with his son and mend the damage with his ex-wife.
The Better Migration Management (BMM) Programme III is a regional programme commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and co-financed by the European Union (EU).

The aim of the programme is to enable national authorities and institutions to facilitate safe, orderly and regular migration within the Horn of Africa region, including effectively combating and curbing human trafficking and smuggling, taking into account a human rights-based approach.

The programme is implemented by the GIZ and 4 implementing partners (British Council, CIVIPOL, IOM and UNODC). The programme works closely with government and non-governmental institutions and regional organisations (IGAD, AU) in the countries of the Horn of Africa (Djibouti/IGAD, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Somalia, South Sudan)

Duration of Contract: 30.06.2025

30.06.2025 Application deadline: 01.11.2023

01.11.2023 Place of Work: Djibouti

Responsibilities

Under the supervision of GIZ DJI NC, the program advisor will be responsible for:

Organizing, implementing, and monitoring activities within the component 1 on migration governance related activities.

Writing minutes/ memos and relevant documents related to planning and evaluation.

Facilitating trainings/workshops and meetings

Meeting regularly with local BMM III partners, particularly outside of the capital and in the prefectures, to ensure their full cooperation and successful local implementation of BMM III activities.

Accompanying the national partners in the region as well as in the capital in the implementation of their respective activities

Perform any other duties as deemed necessary by superior/s

Required qualifications, competences, and experience

Qualifications

Masters degree in business/public administration or social sciences.

Professional experience

At least 10 years professional experience including 5 years in the area of development cooperation.

Proven working experience with UN agencies or large NGOs

Proven professional regional experience in the Horn of Africa.

Other knowledge, additional competencies

Proficiency in French and English. Knowledge of one of the local languages is an asset.

IT Proficiency:

Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) and Microsoft 365.

Comfortably using Microsoft Teams.

Experience in partnership management.

Excellent writing and reporting skills.

Good organizational, communication and analytical skills.

Interpersonal skills, team spirit and ability to work in a multi-cultural environment

Application procedure:

Interested and qualified candidates shall submit their motivation letter along with their recent CV Email: -.

Note: -

Please make sure you mention the Vacancy Number Crisis, Conflict, Disaster Specialist_ Djibouti #181/2023_Your full name in the subject line of your email application. Due to large number of applications, we categorize applications with the vacancy numbers. Applications without vacancy numbers in subject lines might not be categorized in the appropriate folder and could be disqualified.

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted

We encourage persons with disabilities to apply for the position. In case of equal qualification, persons with disabilities will be given preference.

Applications from qualified women are encouraged.
There are times when you wonder how history happened. And other times when you realise how it did. The past two weeks have been one such time.

The inconsistencies, naturally, have been legion. People who label everything as aggression, including microaggressions, who believe that speech is violence and that misgendering a trans person is 'literal genocide', are the same people who have spent the past fortnight with nothing to say, or have adopted an 'it's complicated' stance, when Jews are slaughtered in their hundreds.

All those people who filled the streets when a Minnesotan cop killed George Floyd seemed to have no solidarity left when Hamas came for the Jews.

Not only did they fail to support the victims, but within hours of the attacks they were actually turning out to support the attackers. And they turned out in their thousands.

After babies had been murdered in front of their parents and scores of young people gunned down, it was anti-Israel demonstrations that have dominated Britain's streets.

DOUGLAS MURRAY: Among the demonstrators were not just people waving the flags of proscribed terrorist groups, but young women wearing images of paragliders, as pictured (above) in The Mail On Sunday

Yesterday, 100,000 marched in Central London, some of whom chanted that Israel should be destroyed, some held aloft anti-Semitic placards. Outside the Egyptian and Turkish embassies, an Islamic extremist group, which Tony Blair and David Cameron tried to ban, enjoined 'Muslim armies' to 'liberate the Palestinians'.

The man who could have been our Prime Minister, Jeremy Corbyn, told a London demonstration last weekend: 'Today, as we wave the Palestinian flag, let's hear it for the people of the West Bank, for the people of Gaza, for the people of the refugee camps.'

There wasn't any 'Let's hear it for the people of Israel, who have suffered such terrible harm.'

Of course not  just 'let's hear it for the people of Gaza': some of whom were the 'friends' of Mr Corbyn who went into Israel to take as many Jewish lives as they could, greedy for death.

Ben Jamal, the director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, accused Rishi Sunak of 'giving the green light to war crimes' and Sir Keir Starmer of 'endorsing a state enacting war crimes against an entire population'. Because for Mr Jamal and co, the Israeli counterattack cannot even be considered before people like him are giving the British and Israeli governments advice on how to surrender.

What do people like Jamal think the Israelis should do to defend themselves? The answer is clearly 'nothing'. Sit back. Take it lying down. In a pool of blood, preferably.

Meanwhile, all those liberal Jews and others who thought that solidarity might be reciprocal found out the hard way. Black Lives Matter Chicago tweeted out a celebratory image of a paraglider (one of the means by which Hamas terrorists travelled across the Gaza border fence to murder young people at the music festival).

Black Lives Matter UK retweeted the Palestine Solidarity Campaign advertisement for last weekend's protest, saying: 'We won't bear witness to genocide and ethnic cleansing silently. We urgently need to show up today and call for an end to the bombing of Gaza and illegal military occupation of Palestine.'

And what a whale of a time people had when they did show up.

DOUGLAS MURRAY: Consider that for a moment. Imagine if  say  in the wake of George Floyd's death there had been a demonstration in favour of kneeling on the necks of black men. And that people in attendance mocked the manner of his death. Would black people feel taunted? I'd have thought so (pictured: a Black Lives Matter demonstration in London)

Among the demonstrators were not just people waving the flags of proscribed terrorist groups, but young women wearing images of paragliders, as pictured in The Mail On Sunday  proving that, after their use in a massacre, motifs of paragliders have now become a form of radical chic for a part of the Jew-hating Left.

Consider that for a moment. Imagine if  say  in the wake of George Floyd's death there had been a demonstration in favour of kneeling on the necks of black men. And that people in attendance mocked the manner of his death. Would black people feel taunted? I'd have thought so. Would it have been tolerated? I'd have thought not. Then imagine that instead of one death in Minneapolis, it had been 1,300.

After babies had been murdered in front of their parents, anti-Israel protests dominated

The World Socialist Website helpfully interviewed protesters in various cities across the UK. Here are some highlights. There's Myra, a student in Manchester, who said: 'It's not an invasion by Hamas, it's a rightful resistance to a brutal occupation by a racist, apartheid regime. It's genocide  the people can't evacuate.' Odd to react to a real attempted genocide by inventing one that hasn't happened.

Then there was Zina, a student from Iraq who declared that the pro-Palestinian protests were about 'basic human rights, seeing videos of children be murdered'. She's not referring to actual videos of actual Israeli children being murdered, but rather to the possibility that in a Gaza without electricity Palestinian babies could be unintentionally murdered. But then intentional, unintentional; tomaito, tomato.

Yasser, a worker for Amazon, declared: 'Israel has a free pass to commit atrocities.' (What kind of pass Hamas got he didn't say.) And Abdallah, a teacher, declared that Gaza is 'a concentration camp'.

From all across the UK, from Leeds, Huddersfield, Glasgow and Bradford, the same voices went up. All had the same views: that Israel is 'an apartheid state', that 'resistance' is permissible and that Israel is committing genocide. And these, among other claims, made in a way best aimed at wounding Jews.

DOUGLAS MURRAY: All had the same views: that Israel is 'an apartheid state', that 'resistance' is permissible and that Israel is committing genocide. And these, among other claims, made in a way best aimed at wounding Jews (pictured: a pro-Palestine protest in London this weekend)

According to someone called Ayesha, for example, the Israelis 'are giving a rerun of what the Nazis did'. Because if you're going to reach for a comparison deliberately intended to wound Jews, what better way to describe them than as Nazis?

The Warsaw Ghetto gets a mention too. After all, one fact everyone knows about the Warsaw Ghetto is that the moment the entrapped Jews got a chance to escape they went around decapitating babies.

And the thing is, this isn't Israel's problem: it's ours. It's our cities that are full of such voices. Just as it's Jewish schoolchildren in our cities who must now hide their uniforms and yarmulkes  or have their schools closed if they happen to live in a lovely, diverse, multicultural place like London.

Our Home Secretary says that the police will be knocking on doors in the coming days. There's no shortage of people who have spent the days since the massacre of Israelis glorifying terrorism. There ought to be arrests by the thousands.

So will there be? To ask the question, as they say, is to answer it.
So here I am on the worlds comfiest bed  wallowing, luxuriating, stretching, yawning and jumping. Yes, apparently, leaping about in your pjs is actively encouraged as it helps to massage the hand-crafted mattress.

But also marvelling that, finally, I have something in common with Beyonce, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Courteney Cox and, by the sound of it, the entire royal family of Sweden.

Because now I know exactly how they feel as they snuggle down for the night.

I can experience the same enveloping softness Brad feels as his jaunty blue-and-white- check topper cradles his lower back.

The sense of lying on a cloud that Beyonce must get every night. The gentle support that George Clooney enjoys, after all the effort of looking so handsome all day.

I can safely say that Miles had one of the best nights sleep hes had in years. He was asleep in about 30 seconds and snoring like a train within a minute. Pictured, Jane Fryer and her husband Miles putting the bed through the test

I have something in common with Beyonce, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt (pictured), George Clooney, Courteney Cox and, by the sound of it, the entire royal family of Sweden

The sense of lying on a cloud that Beyonce (pictured) must get every night. The gentle support that George Clooney enjoys, after all the effort of looking so handsome all day

For they all reportedly own a bespoke Hastens bed, just like mine, hand-made in the village of Koping, an hour and half from Stockholm, by a 170-year-old company that takes sleep extremely seriously and very much prefers the term sleep system to bed.

Of course, some buyers stick to the relatively austere 2000T model that Im currently tucked up in  a snip at just over 50,000 and composed of a base, box spring and mattress topper, with three interacting spring systems, 35 hand-crafted layers of natural materials and an awful lot of hand-teased horsetail hair.

Others have opted for the 70,000 Dreamer  one of the companys best sellers and flying out of the factory.

But a surprising number, including gazillionaire Canadian rapper Drake, have gone all-in and plumped for the three-metre by three-metre Grand Vividus, a hand-stitched, hand-crafted beauty finished with leather, decorated with stingray skin and topped off with gold trimmings which weighs 500kg and costs about 500,000.

What? Yes, you read correctly. Half a million pounds  for a bed. Surely, the world has gone completely barking mad.

Or has it? After all, the uber rich already spend so much money on all sorts of rubbish  gold-plated bathtubs, islands, endless homes and more cars and planes than they could ever use.

But a bed, well, a bed is actually useful. Particularly if it lasts for ever and is so extraordinarily billowy and pillowy that it helps you sleep better, even with all the awfulness whirling around in the world right now.

And, by all accounts, Hastens beds do just that.

Which is why I am here, lolling about on one in the Infinity Suite at The Langham hotel in London, ready to put it to the test.

Because as well as boasting wonderful restaurants, bars, and the most spectacular flower arrangements Ive ever seen, in this exquisite suite, The Langham also has its very own sleep system, along with an understanding with Hastens so that guests (albeit only those with a spare 5,500 for a one-night stay) can really try before they buy.

But I can also say, hand on heart, that I have never lain awake listening to my husband snoring in a more comfortable bed

Funnily enough, this was one assignment on which my husband, Miles, was extremely keen to join me. And don a pair of Hastens soft cotton pyjamas, down glass after glass of the ice-cold Taittinger provided by the lovely Langham, and pretend to be stinking rich, just for a night. He even promised not to snore. If he ever got to sleep, that is, because hes a terrible sleeper.

Sadly, sleeping is not one of my great life skills, either. Not since having children.

Some weeks, the stars align, its all fine and I get a good seven hours before the alarm goes off at 6.40am. But, in between, are great swathes of bad nights. Wide awake between three and four. Fantasising about a good nights sleep. Mornings with gritty eyes and grey skin.

Which is a shame because, according to Hastens sleep expert, Dr Chad Eldridge, sleep is the elixir of life and health. Everything unravels without it.

All systems of the body are directly affected by sleep, he explains. It plays a major role in cardiovascular, metabolic, and hormonal health, as well as being the time in which the demands you place on the musculo-skeletal system are repaired.

On top of all that, it also helps with memory, makes you look better, keeps you slim, protects from cancer, dementia, strokes, flu, and makes you happier.

Blimey. No wonder Im falling to bits. Or that the quest for the perfect nights sleep is a serious  and highly lucrative  business.

Hastens like all their customers to have at least two hour-long sessions, lying quietly in their beds, in their shops

Sadly, with the greatest will in the world, I am not going to be buying a bed today and so, as I float on my perfect cloud, we chat

Which is why, before Miles and I barely stroke our smooth white bed, let alone bounce around on its cloud-like top, I pop round the corner to one of Hastens four London stores, (in Wigmore Street), to pick up some top sleep tips from Rodrigo and Cameron, who live, breathe and practically pulse with high-quality sleep.

Rodrigo starts by whisking me downstairs to a room awash with blue-and-white-check beds.

They all look the same, but they are completely different, he says, We do not want people to be led by the look, just how they feel.

Which means that some are soft and enveloping, others are harder, with the feeling dictated by the layering of the material inside  a bit like a giant lasagne.

In my limited experience, choosing a mattress is a stressful thing. Fifteen minutes in John Lewis, or wherever, while you perch on ten different beds and bicker with your partner over who is cooking dinner later.

Here, its rather different, as lovely Rodrigo quizzes me on which position I usually sleep in  my back. How firm my current bed is  crazily hard. How many times I wake in the night  about four. And tuts sympathetically.

In fact, being properly fitted for a bed feels surprisingly intimate. (Until he rather breaks the mood by telling me that we all lose about 250ml of water when we sleep.

Which in a normal bed stuffed with man-made materials such as latex, will slop about at the bottom of the mattress. But in the Hastens, the horsehair wicks it away almost instantly, and hey presto, no night sweats.)

And then, finally, he pops me into bed, saying rather masterfully: I will say how I think your body looks best. Then we choose a bed together  because the best bed is the bed for you.

Anything you say, Rodrigo.

And wow! The softness! The give! Just enough, but not too much. The sense of being enveloped, cherished, almost. And all under the warm cloud of the special Hastens duvet (between 2,000 and 4,000) and pillow (300 to 600), softer than soft and stuffed with German and Norwegian down.

In fact, its almost too much after a hectic day. I can actually feel my eyes brimming.

Which is why Hastens like all their customers to have at least two hour-long sessions, lying quietly in their beds, in their shops. Presumably, so theres time to get over the shock of how amazing they all are, and to work out which is the best one for you.

With a normal customer, Rodrigo would leave them alone to slumber.

I can tell the moment theyre in if its the right bed for them, he says. Their faces change. They relax.

Sadly, with the greatest will in the world, I am not going to be buying a bed today and so, as I float on my perfect cloud, we chat.

About the factory in rural Sweden where it will take 15 top workers at least 600 hours to make a Grand Vividus.

About the site visits conducted by the technical team, to work out how to get the beds in once theyre finished. (And, presumably, with the half-tonne monsters, to double check that the bedroom floor is strong enough to support it.)

How they never give freebies and never have sales, but have endless happy customers forever rushing back in, crying, Oh my God, youve changed my life!

Then they come back and purchase beds for the country home, for the kids, for everyone says Rodrigo.

And just when I think it couldnt get any more surreal, he tells me about their specialist massage service.

No, no, not for the customers! For the mattress topper, which needs rolling, kneading, swishing, squashing, anything to move the horsehair around a bit as the mattress starts adapting to your body.

Surely, hes pulling my leg now!

But no.

Ideally, once a month in the first year, he says. Though, alternatively, you could just jump about on it a bit.

We do not discourage jumping on the beds, he says. In fact, we positively encourage it!

What would I give for a Hastens bed. Not quite fifty grand, but maybe a kidney. Perhaps it is better never to try them  never to know.

It does seem a crying shame that most of us mere mortals  particularly the really knackered ones  cant afford to buy a single Hastens, let alone a fleet of them. Not even a second-hand mattress from eBay  where prices seem to start at a staggering 20,000.

Of course, you could just buy the topper  we cant stop you, but we really wouldnt recommend it, says Cameron.

And so with that, I haul myself out of Heaven and head back to the luscious Langham where, for one night only, we drink cocktails in the Artesian Bar, soak in our infinity bath, sip champagne and, eventually, hunker down in a bed made for billionaires. Which brings us to the million-dollar question, did we sleep like babies?

Well, one of us did.

In fact, I can safely say that Miles had one of the best nights sleep hes had in years. He was asleep in about 30 seconds and snoring like a train within a minute.

I did not have quite such an A-list night  and I made a mental note to ask Rodrigo whether Beyonce and Brad et al tend to snap up two beds at once and stick their snoring partners in the other room.

But I can also say, hand on heart, that I have never lain awake listening to my husband snoring in a more comfortable bed.

In fact, I almost didnt care that I was still awake.
Policing a highly charged 100,000-strong demonstration is no simple task.

If officers are too heavy-handed, they risk violent confrontation. With passions already inflamed, wading into the crowd to remove those suspected of criminality may trigger a full-scale riot.

But if they stand impotently on the sidelines while hatred is being spouted, they betray their primary duty to enforce the law and protect the public.

They must not allow legitimate protest to become cover for criminal incitement. It is a balance of rights against responsibilities.

At Saturday's pro-Palestine demon-stration, when activists descended on central London in force, the Metropolitan Police got that balance wrong.

Pro Palestine demonstrators march down Piccadilly on October 21 at the highly charged demonstration

Anti-Semitic hatred was on clear and unabashed display but they failed to act decisively to stop it. Home Secretary Suella Braverman is rightly angry at their laissez-faire approach and has summoned the Met Commissioner for a full explanation.

Demonstrators flew Islamic State-style black flags, exhorted 'Muslim armies' to 'rescue' the people of Palestine, chanted anti-Israel slogans and called for jihad.

Yet Scotland Yard does not believe any of this amounted to a hate crime. With weasel words, they say the term jihad can have 'multiple meanings' in Arabic.

This is sheer sophistry. In the context of this demonstration, it had only one meaning  a 'holy' war against Israel.

These absurdly complacent police chiefs should try to imagine being in the shoes of the average Jewish citizen on the street, on the bus or in their home.

Anti-Semitic attacks have soared, synagogues have been targeted, and threatened Jewish schools forced to close since Hamas massacred 1,400 Israeli citizens just over two weeks ago.

Let's consider what that tells us about this supposedly compassionate country of ours. Hundreds of Islamist terrorists burst out of Gaza bent on indiscriminate slaughter. They murder, they rape, they mutilate and they kidnap.

Entire Jewish families are wiped out and villages burned in an explosion of anti-Semitic depravity not seen since the Holocaust, or the pogroms of Tsarist Russia. Yet some here were literally dancing in celebration of this appalling carnage.

With passions already inflamed, wading into the crowd to remove those suspected of criminality may trigger a full-scale riot (Pictured: Graffiti on the base of Nelson's Column being cleaned after the march for Palestine)

To them Israel is an illegitimate state, therefore anti-Semitism an acceptable form of racism

Instead of condemning the terror attack, they welcomed it, perversely blaming Israel rather than the terrorists responsible. It is, they believe, perfectly acceptable for Hamas to kill Jewish civilians. But when the Israelis attack Hamas's Gaza stronghold in self-defence, it's 'genocide'.

There is a distinct sense of something having changed in this country  particularly among pro-Palestinian Islamists and their allies on the Left of British politics.

To them Israel is an illegitimate state, therefore anti-Semitism an acceptable form of racism. It is a poisonous narrative which must be challenged wherever it rears its head  especially by the police.

If it goes unchecked, as on Saturday, the hatred and the attacks will only increase, leaving British Jews feeling unsafe in their own country. That would be a triumph for bigotry over decency and respect.

In the Middle East, meanwhile, war clouds gather and blacken. Already poised for a ground offensive against Hamas, Israel is also battling Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon and southern Syria. Fears of a wider conflagration grow by the day.

There can be no moral equivalence in this conflict. In the words of Britain's Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis: 'The murder of babies is not the act of a freedom fighter. The desecration of dead bodies, rape of women and beheading of civilians, are not the acts of militants.'

Believing that Palestinians should have an independent state is not a crime. Giving succour and support to proscribed terrorist groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah is.
Anissa Cavallo was always good with money.

But when her seven-year-marriage ended she was left so broke she had to move back in with her parents to survive.

Anissa, then 43, was in shock - she had worked her way up the corporate ladder in financial services, owned two properties and a healthy share portfolio. By the time she was divorced she had nothing.

The mum admits she was hyper-focused on her corporate career, helping her clients get richer by day. And in the evenings she was busy looking after her kids.

This meant she wasn't paying as much attention on her own family's finances and had given up her trademark 'total control'.

Speaking to FEMAIL, Anissa, 48, explained how she managed to claw her way back to financial independence and now has 15 properties to her name.

Anissa Cavello reveals how she rebuilt her wealth after her marriage ended

She recently took her family on their first real holiday since the divorce

The mum-of-two always considered herself a corporate woman - and that didn't change when she met her now ex-husband at 36, or when she had her children.

'I brought a degree of wealth into the marriage,' she said.

'While we were together we bought an investment home for our children. This was the only asset to make it through out divorce.

'Everything I had before the marriage and anything else we'd made on the way was gone by the time the relationship was officially over.

'As a family we were spending too much, always had the best and newest of everything.

'Despite my healthy income, we had to sell off assets to pay off debts and survive.'

THE HARD YARDS

Anissa said she was still the family breadwinner and 'parent one' after having children, and described the mental load as 'ridiculous'.

'It was a really bad way to mother,' she said.

The juggle started early when Anissa didn't take any substantial maternity leave after either birth.

She was back in the office just weeks after her son was born with her bosses transforming the photocopy room so she could nurse him when needed.

She started dropping him off at daycare when he was only three months old.

'I remember the educators cooing over him, he was the youngest baby they had ever had at that centre. And it ripped my heart out,' she said.

Anissa went back to work even more quickly after her daughter was born.

'I started work the day I had her. Everyone had come to visit, I had fed her for the first time and she was sleeping when I picked up my laptop.

Anissa's whole life revolved around worked - she was the family breadwinner as well as the main caregiver

'I saw an email and called the fund manager and he was shocked he said "didn't you just have a baby",' she recalled.

But Anissa said she 'didn't think twice about it' as she was the one 'funding' the family's expensive lifestyle.

As the months turned into years Anissa began to worry about the time she spent away from her children.

And the cracks began to show.

'I felt I had things together but I was burnt out. And I didn't want to be the mum who didn't see her kids,' she said.

Her children started pleading for her attention.

'They told me they didn't want the toys, they wanted me,' she said.

Anissa decided to take a break from work so she could see how she could improve her family relationships.

Anissa moved in with her parents where she was able to save money and rebuild her life. Pictured: Anissa and her mum

This is when she noticed the impact that her overwhelmingly busy life had wreaked on her family finances, which she 'co-managed' with her then husband.

She had hoped her assets would be mature enough to begin replacing her salary but realised she wasn't even close to being able to go part-time or take a proper break from work.

Determined to build a better work-life balance she decided to start a business in property management after she noticed her properties were making more money than her other investments.

The mum-of-two knew she could negotiate the tough property market and being her own boss would give her the flexibility to be with her children.

'Putting all of my focus back at home and on our dwindling family finances was the beginning of the end for the marriage', she explained.

Anissa said her heart broke when she sent her son to daycare aged three months

MAKING THE MOVE

Anissa said she spent two years knowing she 'had to get out' of her marriage.

'By the time I walked away there was nothing other than a property in my super left. It was quite a shock.'

Anissa was scared to end the marriage but said it ended up being the best thing for everyone involved.

'I had moved out of the family home, into a rental and I was struggling to keep it,' she said.

'My mum came and found me in a cafe, and told me I had to move in with her and dad, with the kids.'

Anissa had been out of home and independent since the age of 16 - but swallowed her pride and took the help.

'I had nothing left but in a way that was a good thing, because I had nothing to lose. Everything had been stripped away and I said to myself this is as bad as it can get, but it is fine,' she said.

Anissa spent two years at her parents' house getting back on her feet and started the 'current version' of her investment property business - EDA Property.

'The key is to buy good quality homes at the right price,' she said.

Anissa also praised the 'rentvester' model.

'It's financially a better option - to rent where I want to live, and own elsewhere,' she said.

Anissa has recently purchased her 15th investment property.

She has also started going on family holidays with her children again.

Anissa said she learned the value of having 'mood killing' conversations about money when her marriage broke down - she is now with a new partner (pictured together) who is on the same page

'The whole situation made me think twice about the old lifestyle. My family always has the best of everything. I don't need the newest car, I have a 10 year old car and quite frankly can't see the benefit of buying a new $150,000 car. Not when I can buy a $600,000 property instead with my equity,' she said.

Though she still occasionally spoils herself

'I love fashion, but instead of buying a new bag every few months, I'll buy one really nice one every year, and I will still buy clothes just not as many. I am not as wasteful,' she said.

Anissa, who is now with a new partner, said it was important to have tough conversations up front with your other half.

'It can be a buzz kill but it is super important,' she said.

'There needs to be an understanding and it needs to be in writing. Both parties need to be financially literate and agree to certain goals.

'I also recommend keeping any assets from before the relationship completely separate.

'These conversations should be accepted in a healthy relationship.'

Anissa added she and her partner are on the same page financially, and have kept their assets separate.
The Indonesia-based couple said they often receive hate from people online

She has been in a wheelchair since she was 10 years old

A disabled woman who has been in a wheelchair since she was 10 has revealed her family didn't trust her boyfriend's intentions when they began dating, adding that the interabled couple frequently receives hate from trolls online.

Maureen Kartika, 29, and her boyfriend, Rio, have been dating for 15 years and they have now opened up about how they got others to believe their love was genuine.

The Indonesia-based couple also shared how they handle negative comments that question why they are together and if they really care for each other.

In a video posted to the Truly YouTube account, the lovebirds lifted the lid on how Rio helps Maureen with everyday tasks and how the couple remains positive, despite being met with so much hate.

Maureen Kartika, 29, and her boyfriend, Rio, have been dating for 15 years and they have now opened up about how they got others to believe their love was genuine

Maureen has been in a wheelchair since she was 10 and has revealed her family didn't trust her boyfriend's intentions when they began dating

The Indonesia-based couple also shared how they handle negative comments that question why they are together and if they really care for each other

Maureen was born with a weak motor system and was diagnosed with scoliosis when she was just 10 years old.

She said: 'I used to cry. Like, "Why can't I walk?" But now, I think my body is beautiful!'

Maureen also has pneumonia so she has to wear a tracheostomy tube to help her with her breathing.

Maureen and Rio first met in 2006 through an online gaming community. After getting to know each other, Maureen told Rio about her disability.

Rio said: 'At first I was a bit shocked because I don't know anyone with a disability.'

However, Rio is now more in love with Maureen than ever.

Rio helps carry Maureen out of bed and into her wheelchair, cooks and feeds her, and makes her feel 'beautiful.'

And while the couple is now happy in the relationship, Maureen's family didn't approve of Rio at the start.

She noted that people often think the non-disabled person wants something or claim that the disabled person must be rich

Maureen was born with weak motor skills and got diagnosed with scoliosis when she was 10

Rio helps carry Maureen out of bed and into her wheelchair, cooks and feeds her, and makes her feel 'beautiful'

Eric, Maureen's brother, said that he didn't 'trust' or 'believe' Rio's intentions were good at first.

Eric told Truly: 'Maureen is different from the others so I'm a bit overprotective of her.

'At first, I didn't really trust or believe Rio. I mean [I thought there may be] a different intention. Is he really in love with my sister?'

Eric also said he was worried that the two met online because he wasn't sure how Rio would take the news that Maureen was disabled.

'At first, I had a lot of concern and a lot of questions. I needed to know more about Rio's intentions.

'Does he really care about you or are there other things that he wants from you? Like you both were teenagers and I thought maybe it's just a small crush.

'But as time went by, I saw how he loves her and takes care of her.

'They have a good relationship,' he added.

The couple also spoke about the negative comments they receive from trolls online.

Eric, Maureen's brother, said that he didn't 'trust' or 'believe' Rio's intentions were good at first

However, they soon proved the family wrong as Eric now trusts Rio

The lovebirds noted that they pay no mind to the negative comments because they love each other

'There's a lot of stigmas about interabled couples.' Maureen said.

She noted that people often think the non-disabled person wants something or claim that the disabled person must be rich.

'One comment told me to "let him go" because "he deserves better, he deserves a girl who can help him, serve him, become his wife."'

Some of the comments they have received include: 'This can't be real.'

'You just know she's got money,' and 'What does he get out of this arrangement.'

However, the lovebirds noted that they pay no mind to the negative comments because they love each other.

'An interabled couple is not impossible because when there is love anything is possible,' Maureen said.

In the past, another interabled couple opened up about their sex life and how their intimacy has changed in three years since they tied the knot.

Shane and Hannah Burcaw, from Minnesota, have long been documenting the dynamics of their romance after coming under scrutiny when Hannah started dating Shane, who was born with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a neuromuscular disease that causes muscles to deteriorate over time, and has been in an electric wheelchair since he was two years old.
A widow who lost her husband to suicide said he had an 'unbelievable' ability to cover up his true feelings as she urged anyone else who is worried about a loved one's mental health to 'seek help'.

Victoria Wright, 36, from Nottingham, founded mental health charity Riders Minds for equestrians with her late husband Matthew, after he had battled with mental health issues for several years.

But tragically, Matthew took his own life at the age of 38 in February 2021, after the pair had enjoyed a romantic Valentine's Day dinner.

Speaking to FEMAIL two and a half years on from his death, Victoria recalled how Matthew's mental health declined and she did her best to support him.

'To the outside world, they would never have known,' she said. 'It was unbelievable really, the ability he had.'

Victoria Wright, 36, from Nottingham , founded Riders Minds - a mental health charity - with her late partner Matthew. The couple pictured with their three children

Victoria met Matthew when he was a competitive rider - who was 'top of his game at the time' and had represented GB on a senior level.

The talented athlete was 'charming and cocky' and would draw you in,' she said - while she was 'young and nowhere near his level'.

The pair eventually fell in love, married and had three children together.

Victoria said that while Matthew put on a brave face for other people, he was clearly dealing with insecurities and 'just piled more pressure on himself' as an athlete.

She admitted he would 'only let her in' when it came to being vulnerable, meaning Victoria was the only one who could see how much he was dealing with.

The mother-of-three described how he would be 'in bits in the horse box', but would act like everything was normal 'the minute he took a step outside', leaving her baffled as to how he could compartmentalise his anguish.

'It was one of the hardest things to watch him put on a fake mask,' she added.

Matthew concealed his true feelings and emotions despite being candid about going through mental health issues in the public eye.

Victoria met Matthew when he was a competitive rider - who was 'top of his game at the time' and had represented GB on a senior level. The couple pictured on their wedding day

Victoria said that while Matthew put on a brave face for other people, he was clearly dealing with insecurities and 'just piled more pressure on himself' as an athlete

The rider had regularly blogged about his struggles and insecurities online, creating a safe space for others to come forward and ask for guidance.

According to Horse & Hound, he had even been open about dealing with the anxiety and stress of overcoming his testicular cancer treatment.

But despite that, others wouldn't have known just how much the father-of-three was going through.

And Victoria says that when it came to parenting, Matthew also hid his suffering from the children.

'He was an amazing dad,' she said. 'There were times they noticed he was quieter but he really did keep that side private and swept it under the carpet.'

He was so skilled at masking his pain, that everyone was shocked when Matthew died.

'It made no sense [to other people],' Victoria recounted. 'I felt like I had to explain myself.'

As well as grieving for her husband, Victoria noted the difficulty in talking to people about how he died, due to the stigma surrounding poor mental health.

She recalled that many people assumed she was separated or divorced from her husband after learning she was a single parent. When she informed others that Matthew had died, they thought he'd had a terminal illness.

'I felt no one knew what to say to me,' she admitted. 'People felt uncomfortable.'

Victoria also makes a point of talking about Matthew with her children, especially when remembering the good times.

The mother also makes sure to remind them that what their father went through is 'still an illness'.

'He was unwell and needed help,' she explained.

'Mental health is probably more spoken about now, but not suicide prevention.'

The mental health campaigner encouraged anyone who is going through what Matthew (pictured horse riding with children) was experiencing - or is worried about a loved one - to speak up

Victoria revealed that it's by learning to tackle the taboo subject for herself, by speaking about it, that she was also able to heal and ensure her husband had a legacy.

'I didn't want to sit in a corner and rock,' she added.

The mental health campaigner encouraged anyone who is going through what Matthew was experiencing - or is worried about a loved one - to speak up.

'It really is a subject nobody wants to talk about,' she said.

'Seek help. It's a huge burden to take on yourself. I never told anybody what was going on and I carried that weight myself... My biggest regret now is, why didn't I tell anyone.

'Silence is the most dangerous thing, and it's the simplest things are he hardest to do.'

Victoria and Matthew set up Riders Minds in 2019. The charity aims to 'maintaining good mental health, support those struggling with equestrian industry related stresses, competitive pressures or those who take up horse riding as a form of escapism, pleasure, for their mental health, or those struggling with mental health issues'.

For confidential support call Samaritans on 116123 or visit samaritans.org
If you've got a sweet tooth, then there's no doubt you'll have a favourite dessert - and as cultures from around the world influence the UK food scene, there's no shortage of options available.

You've probably eaten your favourite sweet treat in every flavour and version available - but have you ever taken the time to check you're pronouncing it correctly?

A study compiled by American language specialists Preply revealed the most commonly mispronounced dessert names - and some of them will surprise you.

But don't worry, Preply culture specialist Amy Harris says you shouldn't feel too bad about it as many of the pronunciations boil down to a unique 'cultural heritage'.

She explained: 'Many of us have encountered those tongue-twisting dessert names, and each has its unique cultural and culinary heritage.

A study compiled by American language specialists Preply has revealed the most commonly mispronounced dessert names. French dessert macaron makes the list (Stock image)

'Whether you're a passionate foodie or just someone with a sweet tooth, you might be surprised at how many of these treats youve been mispronouncing'.

From breakfast favourites like croissants and Nutella, to the sneakily spelled macaron and crepe, here, we reveal 10 dessert names you've been pronouncing all wrong - according to Preply.

Macaron

The macaron is particularly pesky as it's often mistaken with the similarly spelt macaroon - a small cake or cookie, typically made from ground almonds and coconut.

However the sweet treat on our list hails from the French language and denotes a colourful cookie sandwich with a melt-in-your-mouth centre.

The most common mistake people make when pronouncing macaron is swapping out the final syllable 'ron' for roon' - and of course we can see why.

Next time, try dropping the 'n' at the end of the word and saying 'mah-kuh-ro' instead. Have no fear, the correct pronunciation can be found below:

Incorrect: mah-kuh-ROON

Correct: mah-kuh-RON

Beignet

This candied deep-fried pastry is a favourite of many and is said to be very popular across Europe and parts of the US.

It's easy to get caught up in the spelling of its tricky title, often leading people to explicitly pronounce the 'g'.

However, this is a silent letters game and you're expected to toss out the letters 'g' and 't' and instead pronounce it as 'ben-ye'.

Here's a tip: Your mouth should be left open and not closed after saying the last syllable.

Incorrect: beg-NAY or beg-NET

Correct: ben-YE

Crepes

Known as the thinner and somewhat fancier version of the traditional pancake, the name derives from the Latin word 'crispus' (Stock image)

The name for the French classic thin pancake derives from the Latin word 'crispus', which oddly means 'curled, wrinkled' and 'curly haired'.

It's popularity has boomed over the years, with superfans of the dessert often enjoying it with toppings such as chocolate sauce and fruit.

While there's a temptation to pronounce it like 'crates' with a 'p' instead of a 't', remember that the 's' in crepes is silent.

Incorrect: KRAYPS

Correct: KREHPS

Dulce de leche

Smooth, sticky and irresistibly sweet, are just a few ways to describe this thick caramel-based dessert.

As the first dessert on our list to be made up of three words it is most certainly bound to trip you off your feet.

Ironically it's made up of just two ingredients - sugar and milk - and is heated over several hours, allowing the sugar to blend and caramelise.

It originates from Latin America, with the 'ce' in 'dulce' being pronounced as 'say' not 'che'.

Incorrect: dul-che-de-leh-chay

Correct: dool-say-de-leh-chay

Croissant

The 'crois' in 'croissant' refers to the crescent shape, and the correct pronunciation is closer to 'kwah-sahn' (Stock image)

You're likely to hear this delightfully flaky French pastry requested almost every morning at coffee shops around the world.

While there's probably no counting the numerous ways it been mispronounced, we've found the correct way to say it.

Remember that the 'crois' in 'croissant' refers to the crescent shape, and the correct pronunciation is closer to 'kwah-sahn'.

Incorrect: cross-aunt

Correct: kwah-sahn

Nutella

This gooey chocolate spread goes with practically everything and you're likely to find it in most households.

The sweetened hazelnut cocoa spread was created by Italian candy company Ferrero and includes the ingredients sugar and palm oil.

Nutella often gets mispronounced by way of a 'nut' sound at the beginning instead of a soft 'noo' sound - who would've thought it?!

Incorrect: nut-ella

Correct: noo-tell-uh

Pain au chocolat

A pain au chocolat is a popular chocolate pastry from France, often accompanied by a fresh cup of coffee.

Although, to an English speaker, it's tempting to pronounce the first word like the sensation of pain, it's important to remember the spelling is actually the French word for 'bread'.

Simply replace the word 'pain' with 'pan' and soften the 'ch' to make a 'shh' sound instead.

Here's a tip: Let the words roll off your tongue and try to imitating this in your pronunciation when next you order the pastry.

Incorrect: payn-oh-choc-o-laht

Correct: pan-oh-shoh-koh-lah

You've probably eaten your favourite sweet treat in every flavour and version available - but have you ever taken the time to check you're pronouncing it correctly?

Nougat

Nougat is a chewy confection made from sugar, nuts, and sometimes egg whites - and you'll either love it or hate it.

Unsurprisingly, people tend to overemphasise the 'g' sound, which should instead be uttered more softly. In addition, the t is mostly silent.

Here's a tip: Think of it as a soft 'noo' followed by a gentle 'gah' and keep practicing.

Incorrect: new-gat

Correct: noo-gahh

Mascarpone

Mascarpone is a soft and sumptuous Italian cheese, which works best in both sweet and savoury dishes alike.

The correct way to say it involves saying a soft 'car' sound and making a slight elongation of the final syllable. It should sound like this: 'mah-skar-poh-neh'.

Incorrect: mas-car-pohn

Correct: mah-skar-poh-neh

Petit Fours

Both opulent and tiny, the petit fours are bite-sized pastries or sweets served after a meal.

Originating in France, they come in various flavours and designs, adding a touch of elegance to any tea party or dessert spread.

While the incorrect 'peh-teet for' might sound charming, the correct pronunciation is 'puh-tee foor'.

Incorrect: peh-teet for

Correct: puh-tee foor
A Black mother has opened up about her decision to drive 1,300 miles and live in an RV for two months to give birth in Virginia instead of her home state of Texas.

Mimi Evans, a 35-year-old doula from Houston, explained that she was a young mom and didn't know much about her birthing options when she welcomed her first two children at local hospitals.

The mother of five recalled being mistreated and neglected during both deliveries, despite them taking place in two different medical centers.

'I just knew that if I ever got pregnant again, I'm not going to have my baby here,' she told DailyMail.com.

Mimi Evans, 35, from Houston, Texas, opened up about the negative experiences she had giving birth in hospitals in her home state, saying she was mistreated and neglected

When she found out she was pregnant with her third child in 2013, she decided she wanted to give birth in Virginia instead of Texas

Evans explained that when she had her first child, she wasn't given any options, besides choosing whether or not she wanted to have an epidural.

The second time around, she was given a shot of Pitocin  a synthetic hormone that can help induce labor  without anyone fully explaining what it was or asking if she wanted it.

When she tried to advocate for herself, her requests to walk around, eat, and even use the bathroom were all denied.

'I was constantly told, "No,"' she said, recalling how she was warned that she could have her baby on the toilet if she used the restroom. 'It was a lot of fear-mongering.'

Evans also had student doctors observe her labor and delivery, which left her feeling like she was 'some animal in a zoo' that was 'on display.'

'I just sat there and I just got quiet and I just took it until I delivered my baby,' she said. 'I just took it because I was scared to death that I would get a C-section if I didn't take the Pitocin and I didn't have my baby at the time that was deemed necessary.'

Black women in the U.S. are more likely to give birth via C-section in the U.S., according to data from the March of Dimes.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also reports that they are two to three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women.

The doula was seven months pregnant when she drove 1,300 miles to Richmond, Virginia, in an RV with her former partner and two children

Evans said they lived in the 'very cramped' RV for two months, but it was ultimately worth it because she had a 'magical birthing experience' in Virginia

In Texas, the overall rate of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births more than doubled from 10.3 in 1999 to 21.9 in 2019, according to a JAMA study.

Evans said her 'breaking point' came after she gave birth. Instead of getting to hold her baby and experience skin-to-skin contact, the newborn was taken to the nursery and she was wheeled back to her 'cold, sterile room' alone.

When she learned she was pregnant with her third child in 2013, she knew that she wanted to give birth in another state and began saving money.

The mom started researching hospitals in Virginia, where she was raised, and found one in Richmond that was immediately welcoming.

Evans remembered being blown away when she was offered a tour of the maternity ward and given the option to sign up for a childbirth education class for the first time.

After settling on a hospital, she changed her health insurance to ensure she had coverage in the state and purchased an RV to serve as a temporary home for her and her family.

When she was seven months pregnant, she and her former partner packed up their bags and drove to Virginia with her children.

They spent two months living in the RV's 'very cramped quarters' while dealing with an influx of insurance paperwork without a permanent address.

She missed her family in Texas and couldn't put together a nursery or have a baby shower, but she ultimately felt the sacrifices were worth it.

Evans returned to Texas with her family after she gave birth and trained to become a doula and birthing educator

The mother of five, who also has an adopted child, hired a birthing team and had a home birth when she welcomed her daughter in 2022

Evans said she had a completely different birth experience in Virginia, despite the state having a similar maternal mortality rate as Texas.

'I was just like, "Wow, I wish this was given to me the first two times." The atmosphere was so quiet. The lights were dimmed for me. It was the best, the most magical birthing experience that I had,' she said.

'And I just felt so bad because I really wished my first two birthing experiences were that way. That's when I learned that, no, magical birth experiences do exist in hospitals. You just have to find the right place.'

Evans returned to Texas with her family after she gave birth and trained to become a doula and birthing educator.

The mom, who also has an adopted child, hired a birthing team and had a home birth when she welcomed her daughter in 2022.

'I just want people to know that this is all about informed consent and just informed choices,' she said. 'As I reflect upon my birth experiences over the course of 18 years, that has been the theme that really, really tugs at me. It's just being able to have my voice be heard and given the option to choose.'

Evans understands that home births aren't for everyone, and for those who want to be in a hospital, she advises having a 'strong birthing support team.'

She said this can be a doula, a partner, a family member, or a friend  someone who is knowledgeable and can be an advocate during labor and delivery.

'I definitely feel like the pressure to conform is still there,' she explained. 'And that is the thing that needs to change so that people can have better birth experiences.'
With Jimmy Savile and his crimes back in the spotlight following the release of the BBC's The Reckoning, a chilling clip has resurfaced showing the moment Louis Theroux directly asked the TV presenter about rumours he was a paedophile.

But despite the journalist questioning the Jim'll Fix It host about the allegations in 2000 for the BAFTA-winning documentary 'When Louis met... Jimmy', the pair in fact struck up a 'friendly' relationship.

Louis, 53, spent three months with Savile for the programme and remained on good terms with him afterwards, even inviting him to stay at his house.

After Savile's death in 2011, aged 84, it emerged that the broadcaster and long-time charity campaigner had sexually abused hundreds of women and children.

He molested victims as young as five at NHS hospitals during decades of unrestricted access and as many as 72 victims while working at the BBC.

With Jimmy Savile and his crimes back in the spotlight following the release of the BBC 's The Reckoning, a chilling clip (above) has resurfaced showing the moment Louis Theroux directly asked the TV presenter about rumours he was a paedophile

His earliest victim at the BBC was assaulted in 1959 and his latest in 2006, while working on Top of the Pops.

In his 2000 documentary, Louis questioned Savile over rumours that he was sexually interested in children.

During a chilling exchange, Savile said: 'We live in a very funny world. And it's easier for me, as a single man, to say "I don't like children", because that puts a lot of salacious tabloid people off the hunt.

Louis asked: 'Is that basically so the tabloids don't pursue this whole is he or isn't he a paedophile line?'

Savile replied: 'Oh, aye. How do they know whether I am not? How does anybody know whether I am? Nobody knows whether I am or not. I know I'm not That's my policy and it's worked a dream.'

It has since been revealed that Louis tried to report sexual abuse carried out by Savile after making the film, but it was not followed up.

The filmmaker claims he reported the presenter in 2001, after a woman came forward and told him she'd been one of his girlfriends, along with others, when she was 15, but a BBC producer did not talk to police.

In 2016, Louis made another documentary in which he met Saviles victims and took himself to task for having been silly and gullible.

But despite the journalist questioning the Jim'll Fix It host (pictured at Theroux' house) about the allegations in 2000 for the BAFTA-winning documentary 'When Louis met... Jimmy', the pair in fact struck up a 'friendly' relationship

In 2001 Savile paid a visit to Theroux's BBC offices for a short follow up documentary. The filmmaker recalled: 'He was dressed inappropriately, his behaviour was borderline creepy, but at the time, like others, I felt this was part of his comic persona'

Louis, 53, spent three months with Savile for the programme and remained on good terms with him afterwards, even inviting him to stay at his house. Pictured, Louis Theroux was granted access to Savile's mother's preserved bedroom in a documentary

He spoke to several victims, describing the programme as 'a way to figure out how it was I missed what I missed'.

The filmmaker has previously spoken of his guilt about not doing more to try and expose Savile.

In a revealing piece on the BBC website, he said that, like it was suggested by Savile's victims, he had been 'hoodwinked' by the paedophile.

He wrote: 'At the time [of the 2000 documentary], I'd done my best to be tough with him. I knew he was weird and, with all his mannerisms, rather irritating - I had no interest in making a soft piece about Jimmy the Charity Fundraiser.

'The dark rumours - of sexual deviance, of being unemotional, of having a morbid interest in corpses - were one of the reasons I'd taken him on as a subject.

'I wanted to get the goods on Savile. The trouble was, I had no clear sense of what those goods were.'

Speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival in 2019, he said the pair had a 'friendly relationship' but that he would 'never call him my friend'.

But he added the 2000 documentary was an unwitting 'education in grooming' after the sex offender 'brazenly' referred to the allegations while still pulling the wool over the nation's eyes.

In his 2000 documentary, Louis questioned Savile over rumours that he was sexually interested in children

Although there is no suggestion that Louis could have known about Savile's crimes, the journalist was criticised for only briefly addressing in the documentary widespread rumours that Savile might be a paedophile

In an interview with friend Dawn O'Porter at the festival, Louis said the Savile interview was supposed to 'poke fun at him' but admitted he 'failed to get the truth'.

He added: '[At the time] there wasn't enough to go on to make it [Savile's child abuse] a relevant topic of inquiry.'

But the documentary maker stands by the programme and said: 'I watched it since everything came out and it's still a hard-headed piece of journalism.'

He told Desert Island Discs in 2019: There is something very conflicting about reading about crimes and predatory activity while also knowing that this was someone you sort of quite liked and trying to square that in your own mind.

I remained in contact with him a little bit after I made the first programme. I am still a bit confused about how I was able to sort of experience him as a somewhat likeable person in the year or two after making it.

In 2021, the documentary maker told The Sunday Times Magazine that he was 'struck' by the content of his documentary after watching it back with the knowledge of the paedophile's crimes

Although there is no suggestion that Louis could have known about Savile's crimes, the journalist was criticised for only briefly addressing in the documentary widespread rumours that Savile might be a paedophile.

In 2021, the documentary maker told The Sunday Times Magazine that he was 'struck' by the content of his documentary after watching it back with the knowledge of the paedophile's crimes.

Referencing an expert in his book in which he says that 'depending on your point of view, I either made a revealing programme about or failed to make a revealing programme' about Savile.

'It's neither one or the other, is it?', he told the publication. 'There's plenty of ammo you could deploy in either direction. I've watched it since the revelations came out and I'm struck by how much is there.

'It's very far from soft journalism. We all knew he was doing some act. He would more or less invite people to believe he had secrets.'
Today we know them as among the most recognisable people on the planet. But that hasn't always been the case.

And a look back through the archives shows that some of our royals have changed quite dramatically with the passing years.

So can you tell who is who from these refreshingly un-regal snaps?

Links with junta almost ruined her royal wedding

During their first encounter, her later husband and future King decided to keep his royalty a secret, not disclosing to the mystery woman he was a prince until later on

Born and brought up in Buenos Aires, this royal later moved to the United States where she took on a series of high-flying roles.

These included being vice president of Latin American Institutional Sales for the finance house HSBC James Capel Inc. in New York.

Little did she know that in April 1999, while on holiday in Seville, she would meet the love of her life. The pair were engaged just two years later.

The lead-up to the wedding was not straightforward. There was public disquiet as her father had played a role in Argentina's repressive military junta.

In the end, the marriage went ahead after parliament concluded that the future royal had known nothing about the atrocities in Argentina.

Over two decades later, the royals are happily married and have three daughters.

Decided to make the news, not just report on it

Not only did her engagement to the royal grab attention for her being a 'commoner', but also her status as a divorcee

This royal grew up in a middle-class family and became a journalist and news presenter.

She met her husband-to-be in 2002 at the site of an oil spillage and the pair announced their engagement one year later.

As she was both 'commoner' and divorcee, this raised eyebrows. She had previously married a high school teacher.

The royal couple have since welcomed two daughters.

A whirlwind journey to a Middle Eastern palace

During her early twenties, this royal moved to Amman, where her parents had settled after fleeing Kuwait along with thousands of other Palestinians following the 1991 Gulf War

This royal received her education at the American University in Cairo, where she graduated with a business degree.

During her early twenties, she moved to Amman, where her parents had settled after fleeing Kuwait along with thousands of other Palestinians following the 1991 Gulf War.

In her early professional career, she worked in banking and information technology.

Sshe met her future husband, at a dinner party and it was love at first sight.

They married just five months later and the day was deemed a national holiday.

Posed naked with a boa constrictor before turning royal

Before becoming a royal, this woman made headlines as a glamour model and from her time on he Swedish reality show Paradise Hotel

After finishing school, this royal completed an arts programme a university, modelling to earn money.

Unlike most royals, she has posed topless wearing a pair of camouflage print bikini bottoms, holding a live boa constrictor to preserve her modesty.

She later moved to New York where she became a yoga teacher and studied accountancy.

Her relationship with her royal partner was announced by the palace July 2010.

Heiress to a billionaire somehow made royal connections

While she may have been a high-flying party girl in the past, this royal now combines her work as a clothes designer with her busy schedule as mother of five

This royal grew with a billionaire and fell 'in love at first sight' with her prince.

She met her now-husband while studying for a degree in History of Art at New York University in 1993 after the pair were set up on a blind date by a mutual friend.

Their 1995 July wedding later that year was the largest gathering of royals in London since Queen Elizabeth's wedding to Prince Philip in 1946.

Today, she combines work as a clothes designer with a life as mother-of-five .

Cheers - let's get married!

This royal had gone to the pub with her friends when she met her royal beau at the Slip Inn pub during the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games

The daughter of two Scottish immigrants, this princess and was a marketing manager at an advertising company.

She had gone to the pub in Sydney with her friends when she met her royal beau and a long-distance relationship followed.

The couple's engagement was made official in October 2003 and less than a year later, they were married in a ceremony attended by royals from across the globe.

Today they are parents to four children.

Swam for gold but found turbulent waters

When initially compared side by side with her royal match, their lives were very different. She was sports-mad and 20 years his junior, while he was the heir to a throne

This Serene Highness won medals in the swimming pool and bagged a royal husband.

Their lives were very different. She was sports-mad and 20 years his junior. Her father was a photocopier salesman, and her mother was a competitive diver.

However, the pair allowed their relationship to develop slowly outside the public eye and in June 2010, their engagement was announced.

At the time of their wedding, she was dubbed the 'Runaway Bride' by the media after allegedly trying to flee before the 53million ceremony, but the reports were denied.

Rumours of the state of the couple's marriage have swirled for years, even more so when the mystery woman spent most of 2021 from her husband. The pair have always denied these rumours and today share two children.

Daughter of a Polish countess is now a Queen

After completing her degree, this soon-to-be royal lady began working as a speech therapist and primary school teacher

Born into a noble family in her own right, her mother was a Polish countess who fled the country after the Second World War. Her father was a politician.

She had a very happy childhood, but in 1997, tragedy struck when her grandmother and younger sister lost their lives in a car crash.

After completing her degree, she began working as a speech therapist and part-time at a primary school as working with children has always been a dream of hers.

Later in life, she met her husband, who said: 'I saw her from far, and I went to talk to her. I knew right away that she would be my future wife.'

The pair were married following a three-year-long relationship and now have four children.

Fell in love with her personal trainer

If she ascends to the throne as expected, she will be her country's fourth queen regnant and the first since 1720

Although she was a royal firstborn, her younger brother was heir apparent.

However,a constitutional change in 1980 abolished ancient primogeniture rules and allowed women to take the throne, meaning this princess will now be queen.

After graduating from secondary school, she embarked on a long program of higher education and work experience to prepare for her future responsibilities, including time at Yale University and the United Nations in New York City.

She was recovering from an eating disorder when she got together with her future husband, having initially hired him as her personal trainer.

In February 2009, the couple announced their engagement and were married the following year. They later welcomed two children.

Demanded the right to go to school - and won!

This mystery royal was the first member of the British Firm to compete in the Olympic Games

Educated at home in common with other royal children, this princess broke with tradition and asked to go to school with other children, ending up at Benenden School in Kent in 1963.

The royal developed an interest in horsemanship from a young age and later competed in the Olympic Games.

Just four months after her wedding to her first husband, she survived an armed kidnapping attempt.

The couple had two children but divorced following years of marital strain.

The same year, she married her second husband, a naval officer and former aide to Queen Elizabeth.

Prefers red wine and horses but has become leading front line royal

She married in 2005 and has since thrown herself into life as successful a senior royal

During her childhood, this royal developed a fondness for the outdoors and became a keen horsewoman. It was reported that she met her future husband at a polo match in Windsor in 1970 and they became friends soon after.

However, before marrying into the royal family, she was wedded to an officer in the British Army who also dated Princess Anne for a short time in 1970.

The downfall of their marriage came after news emerged that she had been having an extramarital affair with a member of the British Royal Family.

In 2006, their decades-long love story reached its climax when they were wed and she soon threw herself into life as successful a senior royal.

Here are the answers - did you guess right?

1. Queen Maxima of The Netherlands

Queen Maxima pictured during a visit to Den Bosch, Netherlands in June this year

2. Queen Letizia of Spain

Queen Letizia of Spain pictured at journalism awards earlier this year in Madrid

3. Queen Rania of Jordan

Queen Rania attendsing the Coronation Reception for Overseas Guests at Buckingham Palace in May

4. Princess Sofia of Sweden

Princess Sofia of Sweden pictured at the Nobel Prize Banquet 2022 at Stockholm City Hall

5. Marie-Chantal, Crown Princess of Greece

Princess Marie-Chantal, the wife of Pavlos, pictured at French Consulate in New York in 2018

6. Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark

Crown Princess Mary of Denmark in 2022. She met the Crown Prince in a pub

7. Princess Charlene of Monaco

Princess Charlene of Monaco in June. She has denied speculation that the marriage is in trouble

8. Queen Mathilde of Belgium

Queen Mathilde of Belgium pictured during a One Day Official Visit in Paris in February 2014

9. Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden

Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden pictured as she attends the Polar Music Prize 2023 in Stockholm, Sweden

10. Princess Anne

Princess Anne, Princess Royal, at Royal Ascot last year

11. Queen Camilla
The property includes a pool, garage, and an iconic entryway that can be seen in one of Nancy's music videos

The Beverly Hills home rests at the foot of a canyon, which gives it all-around views of sweeping hills nearby

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A glamorous Los Angeles home once owned by Nancy Sinatra is now on sale for just under $3 million.

What's more, it's the first time the Beverly Hills property has come up for sale in 50 years - though Nancy first acquired it as a home for her and her then-husband six decades ago, around 1963.

The midcentury modern estate is nestled on nearly 0.3 acres at the bottom of a canyon, with breathtaking all-around views of the sweeping hills in the immediate surroundings.

The four-bedroom, four-bathroom residence spans roughly 2,700 square feet and features a 'largely preserved' living space.

A glamorous Beverly Hills home once owned by Nancy Sinatra is on the market for just under $3 million

The four-bedroom, four-bathroom residence spans more than 2,700 square feet and rests on a 0.3-acre property

Nancy has been photographed at the iconic martini bar situated in living area of the home

At the center of the living room is a white brick-lined fireplace, surrounded by a floating, yellow hearth

The living room includes floor-to-ceiling windows, offering views of the backyard pool

Nancy acquired the home shortly before dropping her smash hit single These Boots Are Made For Walkin' in 1966

The eldest daughter of Frank Sinatra purchased the property while married to pop star Tommy Sands back in the 1960s, shortly before the 1966 release of her smash hit These Boots Are Made For Walkin'.

The residence was then occupied for a short time by Lost in Space director Sobey Martin.

In 1973, it was sold to Abraham and Renee Frank for what would be, in today's dollars, the rough equivalent of a little over $1.2 million.

Since the couple passed away, the house has been home to their only daughter, Orly Frank, who has lived there since she was in high school - but who's nonetheless made the decision to put it up for sale.

Located at 2296 Betty Lane, just of Coldwater Canyon Drive, the house currently still has its original kitchen - which connects to a room for live-in hired help.

The primary bedroom, meanwhile, features a walk-in closet (rest assured, with enough space for plenty of boots).

However beauty of the property is in its historical details which have been retained through attentiveness to its mod features, such as a white brick fireplace, accentuated by a yellow floating hearth in the living room.

Nearby sits an iconic martini bar, at which Nancy had been captured in a photographic portrait on at least one occasion.

A shimmering pool with sweeping views rests in the home's backyard

The front of the house features a 'mod'-style door entryway

An expansive living room features floor-to-ceiling glass windows that look out onto the yard.

Meanwhile, the outdoor area encompasses a motor court with a 'mod entry' - while, just steps away, walls of glass spill out to a sundeck-encased pool area with picturesque hillside views.

The two-car garage, which is accessible via a driveway, can also be spotted at the beginning of the music video for Nancy's 1967 song I Gotta Get Outta This Town.

Realtor Steve Frankel of Coldwell Banker Realty, who holds the listing, described the home as a rarity.

'Rarely do we see a home come to the market with such a rich Hollywood history,' Steve said of the property.

'This is a wonderful opportunity to restore this midcentury gem with a glamorous Hollywood history,' he continued, adding that the home 'offers privacy and the ultimate in tranquil living.'

Nancy's isn't the only LA home of a famed Hollywood persona to hit the market recently.

Earlier this year, the former Bel-Air home of Alfred Hitchcock and his family sold to a Dutch media mogul for $8.8 million.
Princess Leonor has told the Spanish public she understands her duty in an impressive speech delivered this weekend.

The heir to the throne, 17, addressed an audience at the Princesa de Asturias Awards in Oviedo, Spain on Friday evening, where she assured them she takes her responsibility very seriously.

The eldest daughter of King Felipe and Queen Letizia was addressing the crowd just days before she is due to celebrate her 18th birthday, on 31 October. Her speech also came after she has begun military training at the General Military Academy in Zaragoza.

Speaking to the crowd, with her parents, 16-year-old sister Infanta Sofia and other family members watching on, she said it will be an 'honour' to swear in the Spanish Constitution on her 18th birthday at the end of this month.

The queen-in-waiting added: 'I very well understand and am aware of what my duty is and what my responsibilities entail.'

Princess Leonor told an audience at the Princesa de Asturias Awards, held in her name, that she 'understands her duty'

Elsewhere in her speech, the Spanish princess went on to praise the Princesa de Asturias Award winners, Hola! reports.

In particular, she noted the career achievements of three-time Oscar-winning actress Meryl Streep, who was honoured at the ceremony.

Leonor said she aspires to identify with the award winners, despite many of them being decades older than her, because of the incredible things they have achieved.

The Princesa de Asturias Awards takes place every year in the Spanish principality of Asturias. The ceremony recognises people for their outstanding work in science, public affairs, media and humanities.

The Spanish heir to the throne has recently begun three years of military training at the General Military Academy in Zaragoza

This year's most notable recipient was Hollywood royalty Streep, who was honoured for her contribution to film during her sensational career.

Although Princess Leonor has addressed the awards held in her name three times previously, her most recent address marks a shift towards greater responsibility for the future Spanish monarch.

The royal and her sister Infanta Sophia, 16, have been taking a bigger role in the spotlight as they come of age - with Leonor often taking centre stage at family outings.

Unlike Prince Christian of Denmark - who is just two weeks older than Leonor and also a future European monarch - the Princess's 18th birthday celebrations will be decidedly low-key.

There will be some fanfare however, the Royal Mint of Spain will create a limited edition 40-euro coin to mark her birthday. Up to one million of the coins will be put into circulation by the Bank of Spain during the last three months of this year.

The coin will weigh 18 grams and be made of a mixture of silver and copper with the effigy 'Her Royal Highness the Princess of Asturias' engraved on it.

The 17-year-old is currently undergoing military training at the General Military Academy in Zaragoza.

The school dubbed Spain's equivalent to Sandhurst and follows a strict timetable, but the princess is able to return home at the weekends if she is not on manoeuvres.

Before starting at the academy, she took place in her first engagement without her parents as she headed to Gironda with sister Sofia.
Harriet Harman has spoken about how she is set to live alone for the first time in her life - after being unexpectedly widowed last year.

The former Labour leader, and MP for Camberwell and Peckham, 73, spoke about the issue during an interview with the Sunday Times.

Her husband Jack Dromey, Labour MP for Birmingham Erdington, died suddenly of a heart attack in his Birmingham flat in January last year at the age of 73.

Before his career in politics, he was a trade unionist who held several roles in the Transport and General Workers Union which later became Unite. He was appointed Deputy General Secretary of the union in 2004.

The couple, who married in 1982 - the same year Harriet became an MP at the age of 32 - shared liberal social views and he was known to sometimes introduce himself as 'Jack Harman'.

Jack Dromey (pictured, left) died last January, leaving his wife Harriet Harman (pictured, right) as a widow, which she said was a huge shock to her

The couple, who married in 1982, had three children together. They shared liberal social views and he was known to sometimes introduce himself as 'Jack Harman' (pictured in 1994)

They had three children together - two sons and one daughter.

Harriet told the Times that after Jack died, she initially moved in with her daughter, before then moving in with her sister.

She had immediately sold the home she'd shared with Jack, saying she realised she couldn't be there on her own anymore, and that it was no longer her place, as it had been their shared space.

And so, she upped and immediately left.

Harriet is now set to move into her own flat next door to her sister. Addressing the upcoming move, she said: 'You'll have to ask me next week whether or not Ive gone completely bonkers on my own.'

Discussing her husband's sudden death, Harriet said she was with her grandchildren in the park when she received a phone call from his office, who said they had been unable to contact him.

Harriet said she instantly felt that something was 'really badly wrong'.

The police needed her authorisation to break into Jack's flat, which she gave, where they found his body.

Harriet Harman (pictured attending the coronation of King Charles at Westminster Abbey in May this year) said nothing could have prepared her for the shock of becoming a widow

During the interview, Harriet admitted that nothing could have prepared her for the shock at becoming widowed - despite the fact that the majority of married women will become widows.

'And yet to all of us it comes as a shock,' she said. 'I felt, why did nobody ever tell me I was going to be a widow?'

The former Labour deputy leader added that many widows spend decades of their lives not in a partnership, and that her mother had lived for three decades after the death of her father.

So she described as it 'very odd' that it is still shocking to become widowed, and suggested that someone (though not her) should write a widows handbook.

Moving in alone is not the only major change Harriet is facing: at the end of 2021, she announced she will be quitting the Commons at the next election after 40 years as an MP.

As the longest-serving female MP, the 73-year-old is currently 'Mother of the House'.

She entered the Commons in 1982 as MP for Peckham and was one of the first women to be promoted to Tony Blair's Cabinet in 1997 as social security secretary as one of 'Blair's babes'.

At the end of 2021, Harriet Harman declared she will 'step back' from her role as MP for Camberwell and Peckham when the country next goes to the polls

Harriet Harman was first elected to her south London seat in 1982 (pictured during the campaign)

But her rise was brought to an abrupt halt only a year later when she was sacked over a series of public rows with her deputy Frank Field.

In 2001 she made a surprise return to the front bench as solicitor general.

This was followed by becoming minister for constitutional affairs when Labour secured its third poll victory in 2005. She went on to become a justice minister before being promoted to deputy leader in 2007. She continued in the role until the election of Jeremy Corbyn in 2015.

Her career has not been without controversy. In opposition she sent one of her sons to a grant-maintained school and later chose a selective grammar school for another, shunning the comprehensive nearest her South London home.

When announcing she would be stepping down from politics, Harriet insisted her 'feminism' and enthusiasm for politics is still 'undimmed'.
















Tony Hudgell, who had his legs amputated after suffering horrific abuse at the hands of his parents, may soon be able to walk unaided and achieve his dream of running as he is due to have a 'life-changing' operation.

The nine-year-old, from Kent, has had prosthetics on his lower legs since he was a toddler and gets around using crutches - but according to his adoptive mother, it could change everything for him.

Paula Hudgell, 56, who adopted her son in 2016, revealed in an interview that her son Tony has insisted on having the operation, which will be his 28th, despite what is set to be an incredibly painful recovery process.

Tony's biological parents, Anthony Smith, 47, and Jody Simpson, 24, were each jailed for ten years in 2018 for the torture they inflicted on their 41-day-old son in 2014, leaving him with injuries including broken fingers and toes and torn ligaments.

Despite suffering such unspeakable abuse in the earliest days of his life, little Tony has grown up to be a kind and determined boy who has raised around 2 million for charity by walking great distances on his crutches.

Tony Hudgell, nine, who suffered such horrific abuse at the hands of his biological parents he had both his legs amputated, may soon be able to achieve his life-long dream of running as he prepares for a 'life-changing' operation

Speaking to the Mirror, Paula revealed that Tony is soon set to have an operation that will allow him to walk on his prosthetics without having to use his crutches - but it's set to be a difficult time ahead with a long recovery process.

She explained the operation will involve taking out his left thigh bone and replacing it back to front, thus encouraging it to grow to the same length as his right thigh bone, which will level up his legs.

However, as he recovers from the operation, he will have a cage on his left leg for a year, meaning he'll have to use a wheelchair.

He will also have to go back to the hospital weekly to have his thigh realigned, which is likely to be extremely painful for the nine-year-old.

Tony, pictured with his adoptive mother Paula, 56, is insistent he wants to have the operation, despite a 'painful' and long recovery period

Tony, who was only a baby when the attack happened (pictured), suffered from broken bones, torn ligaments and sepsis before medics made the choice to amputate his severely injured legs

Paula Hudgell (pictured with Tony) campaigned for Tony's law, which is named after her adoptive son. The law increased the sentences that child abusers receive

Paula said: 'Its going to be very difficult and painful. But if it works, it will be life-changing. Tony is desperate to be able to run and this operation will give him that chance.'

The operation is currently scheduled for January at Sheffield Children's Hospital, which is around 150 miles away from his home in the south east of England.

What is Tony's Law? Tonys Law is an amendment to Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill that was voted by ministers on November 30 2021. It is named after Tony Hudgell, who was abused by his parents as an infant and suffered life-changing injuries. His parents, Tony Smith and Jody Simpson, were both jailed for ten years, which was the maximum sentence at the time. The amendment will increase the maximum penalty for causing or allowing serious physical harm to a child from ten to 14 years, while causing the death of a child will rise from 14 years to life. The tougher planned sentences could mean that anyone who causes or allows the death of a child or vulnerable adult in their care will face up to life imprisonment, rather than the current 14-year maximum. Advertisement

As such, Paula, her husband Mark and Tony are raising money for the family to rent a house close to the hospital for up to a year, while the nine-year-old recovers.

Tony has previously been hailed a hero by Prince William and wife Kate over his extraordinary fundraising walks to help vulnerable children.

He set out to raise 500 for the hospital that saved his life by walking 10km in 30 days in 2020 after being inspired by Captain Sir Tom Moore, who raised more than 33million walking in his backyard.

In 2021 a foundation set up in his name to enhance the lives of children who have been affected by physical, emotional, or psychological abuse provided more than 700 Christmas presents for youngsters in need, and it continued the tradition last Christmas too.

The nine-year-old's phenomenal fundraising achievements come despite an incredibly tough start to life which led to him undergoing 23 operations and eight blood transfusions.

The horrific abuse he was subject to by his birth parents caused serious injuries - and the infant also developed sepsis because Smith and Simpson waited 10 days before taking him to hospital.

His fortunes turned around after his life was saved by specialists at the Evelina London Children's Hospital, of which the Princess of Wales is an official patron.

Then, in 2016, he finally found a loving home with Paula and Mark, who have campaigned tirelessly in Tony's interests since welcoming him into the family - including a bid for Tony's Law, which introduced tougher sentences for child cruelty.

They have also encouraged his fundraising efforts to help other children - which have seen him rub shoulders with very famous figures.

After completing his big walk, Tony met the Prince and Princess of Wales who 'spent ages' chatting with the youngster when the couple attended Together At Christmas carol concert at Westminster Abbey last year.

He has also met Prince Harry along with a string of celebrities and earlier this year he was singled out for his inspiration by then Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Despite the attention attention Paula said of Tony: 'He takes all of it in his stride, so to speak. He is just amazing.

'He's very much a people person. He can encapture a room of people and will talk to them all.'

To donate to the family's fundraiser, click here
Prince Harry looked enthusiastic as he was spotted at a race track in Austin, Texas this afternoon ahead of the Grand Prix of the United States.

The Duke of Sussex, 39, wore a black polo shirt and a pair of Oliver Peoples sunglasses as he went behind the scenes to meet the Mercedes and Red Bull teams

Spotted in the garage while wearing his lanyard, the Prince, who has previously revealed he used to race grand prix winner Johnny Herbert in go-karting, looked animated while chatting to the team.

Harry's arrival at the racing track comes ahead of the Circuit of the Americas, which will see Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton attempt to deny Max Verstappen victory.

It comes after the Duke and Meghan Markle, 42, were spotted touching back down in the US following a trip to the island of Canouan in the Grenadines.

Prince Harry looked cool in aviator-style Oliver Peoples shades as he arrived at the US Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, to watch the Circuit of The Americas

Prince Harry speaks to Racing Team Principal Christian Horner in Austin, Texas

Prince Harry poses for a photo with Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner

It was recently revealed that the Sussexes' trip Canouan was taken in a private jet - just days after the couple had spoken at a conference discussing the impact of climate change on mental health.

Harry and Meghan used a Dassault Falcon 7X jet to fly from New Jersey to Canouan after attending the summit in New York on October 10, and again for the four hour hop between the exclusive retreat and Atlanta, Georgia.

They attended the conference organised by Project Healthy Minds, during which Zak Williams, the son of comedian and actor Robin Williams told attendees that climate change was adversely effecting mental health, particularly in young people.

The couple have in the past been keen to highlight their green credentials. When interviewed by Oprah Winfrey two years ago, Harry identified climate change and mental health as the two 'pressing issues'.

The Duke of Sussex smiled as he shook hands upon leaving the Mercedes Benz Garage at the racing track

The Duke of Sussex looked cool as he donned his aviator-style shades upon arrival at the US Grand Prix

The man of the moment! Prince Harry waved to fans as he was escorted through the paddock at the racing track

Prince Harry looked animated as he attended the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, this afternoon

Prince Harry, 39, looked animated as he went behind-the-scenes at the US Grand Prix in Austin, Texas this afternoon

The Duke of Sussex, 39, went behind-the-scenes at the racing track to meet members of the Mercedes team

The royal has recently returned to the US following a getaway with his wife Meghan Markle to the Grenadines

It was revealed today that Prince Harry (pictured) flew to the Grenadines on a private jet, days after speaking about the impact of climate change on mental health

The royal father-of-two looked cool in sunglasses as he arrived at the racecourse and walked into the garage

Harry appeared deep in conversation as he chatted to members of the Mercedes team within the garage

But the pair aren't strangers to private jets either. In 2019 Harry and Meghan came under scrutiny for racking up four flights by private jet in the space of just 11 days, including one to Sir Elton John's home in Nice.

Private flights emit more fuel per passenger than their commercial counterparts.

The Sussexes private flights totalled over 4,000 miles, burning 9.6 tons of CO2 emissions.

A source close to Harry said the Falcon 7X belonged to a friend who has a property on Canouan, the Mirror reported.

Harry has previously said that he takes commercial flights '99% of my life'

Petrol-head Prince Harry smiles in the behind the scenes of the Forumla One in Austin Texas

The Duke of Sussex is pictured waving to fans on October 22, 2023, during the F1 Grand Prix

They added that the couple had used a commercial flight to reach the mental health summit in New York.

Harry has previously said that he takes commercial flights '99% of my life', while implying that he sometimes uses private jets to 'ensure my family are safe'.

Prince Harry wasn't the only celebrity spotted at the F1.

At the F1 Academy race, Chloe Grace Moretz was given the honour of waving the checkered flag.

In addition to Moretz and McIlroy, longtime television host Gayle King was on hand in Austin.

Also, Hollywood actress Drew Barrymore was spotted in pit row at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin Texas on Thursday.

She took part in Red Bull Racing's pit stop practice and even donned an Oracle/Red Bull Racing fire suit during her time in the pit.

Red Bull's triple Formula One world champion Max Verstappen won a U.S. Grand Prix sprint race from pole position on Saturday after an early challenge from Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton.

The Dutch 26-year-old finished 9.465 seconds ahead of Hamilton, who seized second at the start and gave chase before dropping back, in the 19-lap stand-alone race at Austin's Circuit of the Americas.

The Duke of Sussex, conducts an interview during the Formula One U.S. Grand Prix auto race at Circuit of the Americas

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex speaks to Mercedes GP Executive Director Toto Wolff in the garage prior to the F1 Grand Prix

The Duke of Sussex , 39, wore a black polo shirt and a pair of sunglasses as he went behind the scenes to meet the Mercedes team

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc took third after being passed by Hamilton at the start of a race that paid points to the top eight finishers.

The main event at the Texas track is on Sunday with Leclerc starting on pole position and Verstappen chasing his 50th grand prix win from sixth on the grid.

A front row starter has always won in Austin but there would be no great surprise if Verstappen proves an exception to the rule.

'Starting P6 is going to be a bit different than today,' said Verstappen, who controlled the race from start to finish and extended his unassailable lead in the championship to 213 points.

Prince Harry wasn't the only spotted at the F1, other celebs include Hollywood actress Drew Barrymore

Prince Harry pictured ahead of the race looking cool in his shades. He was pictured alone without Meghan Markle

Prince Harry poses Mercedes GP Executive Director Toto Wolf, Alexi Robichaux and George Russell of Great Britain

'But it makes it interesting and hopefully we can have a bit of fun out there tomorrow.'

Dominant Red Bull and Verstappen have already secured both the constructors' and drivers' world championships with a fistful of races to spare.

Red Bull have also won 16 of 17 races this year.

Verstappen chopped Leclerc aggressively towards the pitlane exit on the opening uphill run to turn one, with Hamilton then forced wide over the kerbs but passing the Ferrari around the outside.

In the early laps Verstappen and 2021 title rival Hamilton ran close enough for the Briton to have a drag reduction benefit, and perhaps dream of a first win of any sort in two years.

Then the Red Bull pulled away and it was game over.
While not entirely unpredictable, it is sad to admit that doctors have their own unconscious prejudices that might influence their clinical decisions. They are human, far from infallible and not immune to bias.

So I was fascinated to read about ChatGPT and the treatment of depression in a study in the BMJ last week. Researchers have found that the AI tool is better at diagnosing and treating depression than GPs. The reason? The chatbot does not discern between genders or class when prescribing drugs and therapy. Instead, it considered everything that the person described and faithfully adhered to the national guidelines when it came to diagnosis and treatment.

Surely this is what doctors do too, you might think? Well, while of course we try, the reality is, sadly, we don't always succeed.

What this research really exposes is the considerable variation that exists in who is and who isn't diagnosed with and treated for depression.

Studies have shown that while mental illness accounts for nearly half of all ill health in the under-65s, only a quarter of people in need of treatment actually get it. That means almost three-quarters of mentally unwell people are never treated.

I was fascinated to read about ChatGPT and the treatment of depression in a study in the BMJ last week. Researchers have found that the AI tool is better at diagnosing and treating depression than GPs (stock image)

And further research conducted by Aberdeen University has shown that GPs failed even to diagnose major depression in half their patients, meaning they went untreated. It is upsetting to think that there are such large swathes of the population who are suffering in silence.

You're much more likely to be diagnosed with depression if you're under 65, middle class, white and female, for example. You're also much more likely to be offered treatment. What you say and how you act also matters. You're more likely to be diagnosed if you say things such as you 'feel sad', or 'down' or you cry.

While these can be symptoms, there are also other indicators that doctors tend to ignore.

Men will often present with a lack of interest, irritability or physical problems, such as lack of libido, pain or sleep problems. These tend to get overlooked, yet are well-established symptoms.

READ MORE: DR MAX PEMBERTON: Sometimes a stiff upper lip IS better than raking up the past Advertisement

Some of the highest rates of under-diagnosis occurred in older men, who also have the highest rates of suicide.

When it comes to antidepressants, we over-prescribe them to some groups, such as young women, who might be better served by psychotherapy, while we fail others. Middle-aged to older men have the lowest rates of antidepressant prescribing, and yet have some of the highest rates of mental distress.

Also consider that half of older people with depression have no previous history. This 'late-onset' depression often has subtly different symptoms to that which affects young people, which can make it tricky to spot.

These patients tend not to complain of 'feeling sad', but rather have no enjoyment in life. They often become more preoccupied with physical health symptoms and develop anxiety or OCD. In more than 70 per cent of cases, there is evidence of poor memory or thinking, which often mimics dementia (a condition called pseudo-dementia). As a result, depression is all too easily missed.

Doctors simply don't think of depression when they see an old person  there is an unhelpful and incorrect stereotype that the elderly are a bit grumpy and this is normal.

Even when depression is diagnosed, the treatment offered will vary depending on who you are and where you come from.

DR MAX PEMBERTON (pictured): Further research conducted by Aberdeen University has shown that GPs failed even to diagnose major depression in half their patients, meaning they went untreated

Four in ten people over the age of 75 have depression, yet as few as 3.5 per cent of cases are referred for therapy. Instead, we just prescribe antidepressants, despite older people being more at risk of serious side-effects and complications from this type of medication.

It's pure ageism, based on stereotypes that older people 'won't change'. Yet there's good evidence older people respond just as well to therapy  some studies show they respond better.

We should be shocked by this because it shows that, for all the advances in recent years with people feeling emboldened to talk about their mental health problems, for some, simply because of their gender or age they still won't get the help they need.

Is the solution a robot GP? Are us doctors about to be replaced with AI? I'm not convinced.

While much of medicine is about following protocols and algorithms, patients are complex, and we're a long way from a computer being able to understand the nuances of human illness. Despite the shortcomings, I'm not sure that robots will ever replace the human interaction that is the bedrock of the doctor-patient relationship, but we do all need to try harder to make sure we're serving our patients as best we possibly can.

Nepotism is never ok, Gwynnie

Gwyneth Paltrow has criticised the use of the term 'nepo-baby' - the phrase used to suggest nepotism when a child follows in their famous parents footsteps, particularly in the arts, fashion or modelling.

Oh please. What this is really about is the unfair advantages that those from wealth and privilege have. You're literally defending a system that perpetuates inequality, Gwyneth.

Now, I don't blame the children for being born into a family that means they have an easy ride in life. But let's not pretend it's fair that simply because of who your parents are you can access careers that others can't.

Paltrow (pictured with her model daughter Apple) went on to say that nobody criticises the children of doctors for wanting to be a doctor.

Gwyneth Paltrow, Apple Martin Goop, Gucci and Elizabeth Saltzman Host an Intimate Dinner in the Hamptons, Private Residence, NY, Briarcliff Manor, New York on July 15

Gwyneth Paltrow has criticised the use of the term 'nepo-baby' - the phrase used to suggest nepotism when a child follows in their famous parents footsteps, particularly in the arts, fashion or modelling

It's not exactly comparable - to get into medical school requires academic achievement that is not necessary to become a model or actor - but youngsters from poorer backgrounds still face considerable hurdles compared to those from wealthier families getting into medical school.

I'm a mentor on a programme aimed at getting the brightest in some of the poorest boroughs in London into university. For the students, it's an uphill battle. Their schools let them down and it's near impossible to get work experience in a hospital, unless you know someone who can pull some strings.

I was talking to the teacher who set up this project and he showed me some depressing research by the London School of Economics; a low-ability child from a high-income family is 35 per cent more likely to be a high earner than a high-ability child from a low-income family.

And research by KPMG shows that class remains the biggest barrier to career progression. Now that's something to get angry about, Gwyneth.

Dr Max prescribes...

Hand sanitiser

I know we'd all rather forget the pandemic, but carrying around small hand sanitisers is one thing I wish we'd all kept doing, to help prevent the spread of germs.

This one is alcohol-free and contains aloe vera, chamomile and lavender, so it won't dry your hands out.
British Steel is reportedly preparing to slash up to 2,000 jobs amid an operational shake-up.

Jingye, its Chinese owner, has sounded out consultants to oversee a cost-cutting programme, according to the Sunday Times.

However, no decisions have been taken about job losses, sources told the newspaper.

It comes as the Mail on Sunday revealed that Scunthorpe-based British Steel, which employs around 4,500, is losing between 20m and 30m a month.

Question marks have hung over the company's finances for months and accounts due last year have still not been released. British Steel collapsed in 2019 before being rescued by Jingye in March 2020.

Struggle: British Steel collapsed in 2019 before being rescued by Jingye in March 2020

The UK steel industry employs more than 30,000. It faces stiff competition from cheaper imports, particularly from China. British Steel and Indian-owned Tata Steel are the last two companies in Britain making the material using traditional blast furnaces.

Both are now engaged in the costly process of trying to switch to more environmentally friendly electric-arc furnaces.

Last month Tata secured a 500m support package from the Government as well as new investment from owner Tata  but will see up to 3,000 jobs go.

A British Steel spokesman said: 'As part of our journey to net zero, it is prudent to evaluate different operational scenarios to help achieve goals and we continue to assess our options.'
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has been urged to take 'bold decisions' that can unlock growth 'without breaking the bank'.

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said planning reform to speed up infrastructure projects and an upgraded energy grid could help unleash billions of pounds of investment.

In a submission ahead of Hunt's autumn statement next month, the BCC also called for an extension of the 'full expensing' tax break  which rewards companies for spending on assets such as machinery  as well as a freeze on business rates.

The Chancellor has already warned that he will have to take 'difficult decisions' and squashed the idea of tax cuts.

BCC director general Shevaun Haviland said: 'We think there are some options open to him.

Under pressure: Jeremy Hunt has already warned that he will have to take 'difficult decisions' and squashed the idea of tax cuts

'Businesses have told us they have billions of pounds in private investment waiting to be pumped into the UK economy, but our creaking planning system and overloaded grid are holding that back.

'It's vital we unlock this money and take steps to put British business in the best place possible.'
Generation Z is suffering a confidence crisis as a result of the coronavirus pandemic - with fewer young adults self-assured enough to speak in public, according to polling data shared with MailOnline.

Polling carried out by Survation suggests 35.32 per cent of 18-24 year-olds are less confident speaking in public than they were before the global health catastrophe.

Elocution experts believe that many Gen Z-ers - who would have been aged between 14 and 20 when the pandemic first broke out - have been robbed of formative experiences like giving talks in front of classmates, with most of their communication skills established on video calls during lockdown.

As a result of the years-long gap in their development, experts fear they could suffer professionally or academically, coming up short against older candidates in job interviews or dropping grades in group presentations at school or university.

Experts have called for employers - already using perks like free food to try to coax Gen Z out of their bedrooms and into the office - to give younger workers help with their communication skills to prevent them from becoming a 'lost generation'.

Many young workers are heading into offices for the first time - and more worried about giving presentations and speaking in front of others than ever

A new survey reveals a relative majority of 18-24 year-olds are less confident about speaking in public than they were before the coronavirus pandemic

Many young adults will be going into offices for the first time since the pandemic - without the confidence of their generational forebears

Gavin Brown, a former lawyer and MSP who commissioned the survey, says there is a 'real challenge' in boosting the confidence of Gen Z

The Survation poll, commissioned by public speaking agency Speak With Impact, found that around 20 per cent of 18-24 year-olds were 'much less confident' in their speaking skills compared with before the pandemic, while 15 per cent were 'slightly less confident'.

Gen Z - people born between the middle to late 1990s and the early 2010s - were the only age group to record a net negative score, meaning the relative majority are less confident than they were before.

In other age groups from 25 to 64, a slim majority of people said they had gained confidence in speaking in front of an audience over Covid; the biggest rise in confidence was among the over-65s.

Gavin Brown, founder of Speak With Impact, told MailOnline he commissioned the survey after hearing a growing number of stories of young people lacking confidence to speak in public.

Mr Brown said: 'We've got a real challenge there, for that age group - who were at the tail end of school, some of them probably in the early years of work or university depending on what they did.

'This is a group of people that has never really spoken in public before - and while others have said they're worried about being back in a room speaking, these are people that have never been in the room at all.

'They've not been through those early public speaking experiences at school, or at university, or in your first job, where you make mistakes but you learn quite quickly.

'When you are in the room, all eyes are on you, and you can't see that all eyes are on you when you're on Zoom.

'If your formative years were spent doing it on Zoom or Teams, and you're suddenly going into the room for the first time, that's probably pretty nerve-wracking.

'It's not learning to speak in the room again. It's learning to speak in the room full stop.'

Having a fear of public speaking is not a new phenomenon - it even has a name, glossophobia, derived from the Greek word 'glossa', meaning tongue.

A YouGov survey published in 2014 found that public speaking was the third-greatest fear among Brits, with more than half of us either 'very' or 'a little' afraid of it.

The only things British adults were more scared of - prior to the pandemic, at least - were snakes and heights, by the slimmest of margins.

Channel 4 boss Alex Mahon has previously expressed concerns that younger people are coming into work environments ill-equipped to politely disagree with others

But as a result of lockdown, and being removed from society for so long during their formative years, Mr Brown believes Gen Z is at a disadvantage when it comes to competing for jobs or impressing bosses.

The 48-year-old, a former lawyer and Conservative MSP, says employers should be prepared to show some compassion to junior members of staff and apprentices if they struggle to speak up.

He added: '(Younger people's) line managers, their bosses, all of that, will be in one of those higher age brackets. And those people, their confidence probably dipped a bit during the pandemic, but they're not starting from zero.

'But this younger age bracket, that have never spoken in public, are suddenly having to do it where the stakes are higher, but those listening won't quite empathise with that. There is a gap there that a lot of employers need to be mindful of.

'Employers need to realise it will take a while to get younger people going full-tilt, and you've got to have a huge amount of empathy for them, and to help them, guide them, train them, to get them to the level they'd want to be at.

'It doesn't need to be a lost generation. We can be optimistic and turn it into a generation that flourishes, but it will take extra work.'

Business leaders have expressed concerns that an entire generation could become 'lost' because the coronavirus pandemic stripped them of essential socialising and professional opportunities.

Channel 4 chief executive Alex Mahon said last month that Gen Z was 'workshy' and unable to engage in civil debates about controversial topics because they had spent the pandemic on social media, filtering what they saw to align with their own views.

She told the Royal Television Society Cambridge Convention: 'What we are seeing with young people who come into the workplace - particularly post-pandemic - with this concentration of short-form content (such as TikTok) is they haven't got the skills to debate things.

'They haven't got the skills to discuss, they haven't got the skills to disagree and commit because they haven't been raised, particularly with being out of colleges to have those kind of debates, to get to the point where you've got people with a difference of opinion to you and you're happy to work alongside that, and that is a really dangerous step change in my view that we are seeing.'

Major employers also say that workplace 'cohesion' among workers is dropping following the pandemic.

Big Four accounting firm KPMG - which employs 14,000 people in the UK - said it offered free food to workers, but this was not luring staff back to the office.

NHS data shows that one in five 17 to 24-year-olds reported a mental health condition in 2022 and that 635,000 Britons are not currently working due to nerves, anxiety or depression.
The Saudi Fashion Commission announced that renowned Saudi designer, Mohammed Ashi, will return to Riyadh, staging his first fashion show on October 20 in his hometown as a celebration of his roots and the cosmopolitan appeal of the kingdoms capital.

The much-anticipated event will mark the start of the first-ever Riyadh Fashion Week (October 20-23, 2023), a platform designed to support Saudis emerging fashion sector, connecting Saudi brands with local and international buyers.

For this one-night-only event, the designer will debut his new collection, entitled 8pm, which conjures the beauty of the desert by night, translating the evanescence of moonglow, the shimmer of stars, and the dunes' graceful curves into an opulent collection of evening wear looks.

For Ashi, 8pm: An Evening in Riyadh represents not just a homecoming, it is a love letter to his native city, his loyal clientele, and to all those who have supported him in his brand from the outset, a statement said.

His glamorous new line will be a nod to grand soir dressing and occasion wear.

Over the last 15 years, Ashi has made his name in Paris and on the international fashion stage. The designer made history this summer as the first Saudi designer on the Paris Haute Couture Week calendar, having officially been accepted into the esteemed Federation de la Haute Couture.

For Ashi, 8pm: An Evening in Riyadh represents not just a homecoming, it is a love letter to his native city, his loyal clientele, and to all those who have supported him in his brand from the outset, a statement said.

Burak Cakmak, CEO of the Saudi Fashion Commission, said: Mohammed Ashi has already made history as the first Saudi designer to join the ranks of haute couture. As a leader in Saudi fashion, we are incredibly honoured to invite him back to Saudi during another historical moment in time  Riyadh Fashion Week.

With a curated line up of 16 runway shows, Riyadh Fashion Week invites attendees to embark on a journey that it says is both extraordinary and evocative, a portal into the soul of Saudi Arabia's burgeoning fashion identity. TradeArabia News Service
He is trying to change the law to help other victims

Harrison James was riding the bus home from school when his abusive stepmother texted him to say she was pregnant with his child.

He was just 15 and she was in her mid-twenties.

The teen had been introduced to his stepmum two years earlier, after reconnecting with his father for the first time since his parents' divorce.

Even though he was barely 13, his father's new wife, a 24-year-old Filipino woman, began insidiously breaking down the physical barriers between them until things became sexual.

The abuse lasted for almost three years, during which time Harrison, now 23, pushed everyone else away because he feared they might find out about what was going on.

Today, he is fighting to change the legislation in states across Australia to make the judicial system tougher on paedophiles.

Harrison James (pictured in year 12) was abused by his stepmother for three years throughout high school and nobody knew his secret

Now 23, he is sharing his story in the hope of convincing the New South Wales legislation to make it harder for paedophiles to get away with their crimes

Longing for a father figure

When he was 10, Harrison's parents went through a tumultuous divorce that separated him from his father for years before they reestablished contact in 2013.

'I was really longing for a father figure,' Harrison told Daily Mail Australia.

'I remember he ended up taking me to the gym when I was 13 and it was such a good relationship that I wanted to move in with him.'

After making the move, Harrison gradually got to know his father's young wife, who was almost 20 years his junior.

She offered to take Harrison to the movies, where they would hold hands. This transitioned into kissing later on, before eventually she began molesting him daily.

'She weaponised her role as stepmother. It's gradual with paedophilia; it's a gradual breakdown of boundaries,' he said.

'"How far can I get away with this?" It's a very calculated, consistent and well thought-out plan.'

Grooming the whole family

Harrison said the good reputation his stepmother had within the family was 'a weapon in her arsenal' that allowed her to get away with the abuse undetected.

'[Paedophiles] have to groom the child's support network, whether it be their parents or their grandparents or their family, in order to let them have that child in their care in the first place,' he said.

This is why he is now fighting to remove the 'good character' protection for paedophiles across the country.

Beginning in New South Wales, the #YourReferenceAintRelevant campaign, which he launched with fellow survivor Jarad Grice, aims to remove that defence.

The clause currently protects child sex offenders who have not committed prior offences and have a good standing in their community.

Harrison explained predators use their supposed 'good character' to gain access to children by giving parents or caregivers a false sense of security.

He believes any person who has exploited their 'good character' in the community to abuse minors should not be able to use it as a defence in their prosecution.

'Most survivors attributed the court process to be more dramatic than the actual abuse itself, so imagine going through a process as tumultuous as court only at the end to hear how good a person your perpetrator was,' he said.

Keeping his stepmother's secret

Harrison thought he was in love and was only having an 'affair' while his stepmother abused him before and after school every day for more than two years.

He distanced himself from anyone he thought could have found out about it.

'I'd go to school and friends I'd had for years I pushed away because if anyone was too close to me, even if there was a slither of opportunity for them to figure out what happened, that was too much of a risk of it all unravelling,' he said.

'I was pushing people away to stop them from finding out, and that's what my relationship with my [biological] mother was like.'

His stepmother had told him that if he let their secret slip it would tear their family apart, which he now sees as blackmail in hindsight.

When he was 15, his stepmother sent him a text revealing she was pregnant - and he was the father.

After his parents divorced when he was 10, Harrison reconnected with his father at age 13 and met his stepmother, who was 20 years younger than his dad (pictured: Harrison at 13)

His Filipino stepmother groomed the 13-year-old until things turned sexual and she fathered his daughter (pictured: Harrison at age 15 with his newborn daughter)

He was on the bus heading to his mother's house after school and his stepmum was holidaying with his dad in Thailand when she sent him the text.

'Imagine being 15 and trying to figure out how to navigate your stepmother being pregnant. It's a wild concept and something I don't know how I got through,' Harrison said.

Family members were told she was pregnant with Harrison's sister, which is what his father still believes to this day, despite his son going public with his story.

Even though the abuse stopped a year after his stepmother gave birth, he kept their secret because he wasn't sure if he was even a victim.

Normalising the abuse

Because of the stigma around seeking help, Harrison said the thought of coming forward with his story was a non-starter because he didn't consider himself a victim.

'The normalisation of what I went through, that this was okay - "Oh, you slept with your step-mum, you're the man", or "you got lucky", or "how good is that",' he said.

'That was the thinking around me at the time and that's why I was so complicit in it at the time. Even though it felt wrong inside, that's why I had to keep the secret.

'I felt as though I needed to be "the man", even in things like pornography I would see the stepmother category.

'I was carrying the weight of that secret, like a backpack full of bricks.'

Protecting his abuser became a '24-hour job' until she fled the country with his daughter in 2019 and accused him of rape on her way out.

The allegation forced him to share his side of the story with his mother, which split his family into two camps: 'we believe him' and 'we don't believe him'.

'My family members thought they knew my stepmum for all those years and for it to come forward, that she did what she did to me, it was hard to believe,' he said.

The 'good character' his stepmother had built within his family kept some from ever believing his story - including his father, to whom he hasn't spoken in years.

Harrison's stepmother was never charged for her alleged crime, and is now raising his daughter in the Philippines with the help of his father.

Although he wants to bring his daughter to Australia, Harrison said it would only make things worse.

'Every instinct in me right now wants to get the first flight over there and pick up my daughter and bring her back.

'My daughter, at the end of the day, is with her mum, that's all she's known. She left the country when she was three; she wouldn't even remember Australia.

'It's not to excuse the behaviour at all, but there's a little girl involved in this that didn't ask for any of it.

Harrison, with fellow abuse survivor Jarad Grice, launched the #YourReferenceAintRelevant campaign that aims to eliminate the 'good character' defence of paedophiles in the courtroom

Harrison told Daily Mail Australia paedophiles cannot be good characters by their very nature

Making laws tougher on paedophiles

Harrison checked into a mental health facility in 2020 as he began spiralling into depression and his family did not know how to help him.

'I didn't want to be here anymore, I wanted to end my own life and I ended up going to a mental health facility,' he said.

'It took professional help for me to actually come to terms with what went down.'

After two months, he left the facility and was determined to use his experience as a powerful force for change.

Now Harrison is fighting against the 'good character' defence for paedophiles in the courtroom.

He and fellow abuse survivor Jarad Grice launched the #YourReferenceAintRelevant campaign in May, using New South Wales as a pilot program.

The pair have successfully lobbied the NSW Government to amend section 21A(5A) of the Sentencing Procedure Act 1999 (NSW) so character references can no longer be used when sentencing convicted child predators.

A petition was tabled by Greens MP Abigail Boyd, which the Attorney General then moved to legislate.

Discussions are now happening with lawmakers to determine the extent to which they will change the law, which Harrison hopes will completely remove any reference to a perpetrator's good character.

'I was molested by my stepmother from the age of 13 to 16, and if that case ever went to court, which it won't since she fled the country, but if it did, she'd be well within [her] right to utilise a good character reference,' Harrison said.

'I see that as a gross injustice of the system.'

The clause is expected to be amended in the state by November, after discussion papers are finalised.

Harrison said they are treating the NSW campaign as a pilot before moving on to other states in order to uniformly eliminate the defence in every Australian state and territory.

'Each jurisdiction has very specific language and we want to ensure that we take it one state at a time to cover all bases,' he said.

'We want to ensure that there are no legal ramifications around the changes and that survivors are put in the best position they can be in.

'At the end of the day, I think that a majority of people think that a paedophile cannot be of good character.'

Harrison was unable to convince some relatives he was telling the truth because of the good standing his abuser had cultivated in his family (pictured at age 11)
The con artist took thousands of pounds from unsuspecting parents

Parents around the country claim they have been conned out of thousands of pounds by an alleged serial scam artist.

Louise Handley, 50, from Derby, has made thousands by preying on caring parents who wanted their children to have extra tutoring to do better at school.

Speaking to MailOnline, parents and even friends of Handley have lifted the lid on the 'scumbag' trickster.

There are parents across the UK who say they have been left out of pocket and devastated by the actions of Handley, who they trusted to be with their children.

Since online learning became more common after the pandemic, she has even tried reaching parents in the US and Canada.

Parents have called for her to be stopped but many feel abandoned by the police or think there is no point in going to them.

After all, there are 900,000 frauds reported each year in England and Wales but less than one per cent result in a criminal conviction.

Louise Handley, 50, (pictured) from Derby, is thought to have has made thousands by preying on caring parents who wanted their children to have extra tutoring to do better at school

Speaking to MailOnline, parents and even friends of Handley have lifted the lid on the 'scumbag' trickster (pictured)

Messages like this one haunt parents who say Louise Handley conned them. This comment was left under a post by a parent looking for a GCSE maths tutor this year

HAS LOUISE HANDLEY CONNED YOU? Email chris.matthews@mailonline.co.uk

Handley has a psychology degree but is allegedly not providing the services she claims to.

Many parents who spoke to MailOnline slammed the authorities for not wanting to hear their complaints about Handley, who repeatedly cancelled lessons for a variety of reasons - from her teenage son allegedly being sick to claiming she has cancer.

When she was present in lessons, parents alleged she chatted to the kids for most of the time and barely taught them anything.

They suggested this was to glean information from the children to know how to become more friendly with the parents.

Research by MailOnline has found nine different County Court Judgments from 2018 to 2022 that show Handley has unpaid debts of 8,922.

However, it is feared the total of sums involved may be much higher.

There is even a Facebook group dedicated to revealing her cons where scores of parents share their stories of being conned by Handley.

One parent branded Handley a 'scumbag' while others revealed how she had made them feel at ease before demanding more and more money, which they often felt obliged to give her.

Harriet Gore, 49, from Preston, said she and Ella, her 17-year-old daughter with learning difficulties, were left devastated after they realised Handley had conned them.

This summer, high school inclusion manager Harriet paid Handley a total of 435 to tutor Ella in psychology.

Handley was also meant to provide books related to the course, for which Harriet paid 95.

Searches on Facebook revealed she has offered her tutoring services on UK-wide and even international groups

This is the first message Louise Handley sent to Harriet Gore, who ended up paying her 435

The messages revealed how she promoted herself to take on more paying clients for tutoring

By the end of summer, the books had never arrived and Handley only carried out eight of the 16 arranged lessons.

She demanded a refund but although Handley agreed to pay her back, Harriet said she has never returned a penny.

Harriet told MailOnline: 'Louise made you feel completely at ease. You have got that trust straight away with her.'

She agreed to a test session with Handley, which 'went fine'. She then paid her 100 for five hour-long sessions.

Harriet said: 'As soon as that payment was made that's when the messages started asking for more money.

HAS LOUISE HANDLEY CONNED YOU? Email chris.matthews@mailonline.co.uk Advertisement

'I paid an extra 100 so she didn't lose her place.'

However, she said Handley's lessons were not instructive, they were 'just talking'.

She said: 'She was gathering information from my daughter and she was trying to be my friend.

'Louise would start with the topic and then go off track.

'She would cancel lessons mid-lesson. She never actually had a [proper] lesson.

'It felt like we were being groomed by Louise.

'Usually, you pay up front but with Louise it was constant messages.

'When she's asking for more money you don't question her because you trust her.

'When I found the [Facebook] group I was completely devastated.

'I can't believe I didn't see the signs. You can't believe someone would do that to you.'

Messages from Handley to Harriet across two months showed the multiple times the con woman cancelled or changed the times of her lessons

A recurring theme was for to say she had cancer, which meant she couldn't teach the lessons.

However, she didn't suggest returning the money for the hours she didn't work because of her alleged disease.

Harriet said: 'Now she says she has cancer again and she says it's a protected characteristic so you're not getting your money back.

'We are going to the small claims court to try get the money back.

'There's absolution nothing you can do. The police aren't interested. You put in on the Action Fraud line and they don't reply.

'She must be making thousands and she's doing it on the back of children.

'[Louise] does not care. She takes money and runs.

'Her power is a DBS certificate.

'If you're DBS cleared you think she must be fine.'

The Disclosure and Barring Service does not approve or reject certificates. Instead, it detects and displays previous convictions on a certificate that it issues.

According to an Enhanced DBS certificate issued in April 2022, which Handley provided to a parent, she has never received a caution, conviction, reprimand or warning from police.

Harriet added: 'Our daughter was 17.

'She teaches online so she has a bigger audience now.

'It is bizarre.

When Harriet said she wanted to stop the lessons, Handley said it was 'clear' her daughter needed help and said without it she was 'at risk of failing'

She later suggested because cancer was a protected characteristic Harriet would not get her money back

Harriet is not the only parent complaining about Handley.

Samantha Thomas, 41, from Derbyshire, works at a community school and was another parent who says she lost money to Louise Handley.

She told MailOnline that Handley messaged her on Facebook after she posted about wanting a GCSE tutor for her daughter.

Samantha revealed how, by playing on the fact they had grown up in a similar area, Handley was able to trick Samantha into trusting her.

The mother-of-three gave Handley hundreds of pounds before she realised what was going on and pulled the plug on the lessons.

She said: 'We spoke on the phone and she linked back to how I would have known her dad [growing up].

'That was that level of trust.

'She never answered questions but made lots of links.

I'm frustrated at how I trusted what was being said to me.

'I had given her a lot of information but I hadn't got much back from her.

'She would pressure you to book more appointments.

'She cancelled, she postponed. She would say, "I can't this week but would you like to book another one?"

'You would book one and it would be in the diary for two weeks' time and then 24 hours later she would call to book another for four weeks' time.'

Samantha, who has a background in business, found this strange and decided to listen to one of her daughter's lessons with Handley.

'For 40 minutes it was just chit-chat,' Samantha said.

'My blood was boiling. My daughter received 20 minutes of tuition.'

She said even for those 20 minutes, Handley was just making obvious remarks rather than imparting wisdom about the subject.

Samantha added: 'You've got a fool trying to teach [my daughter].'

Luckily, Samantha was able to get most but not all of the money back after she went to her bank and Derbyshire Police.

She was one of the lucky ones.

Another parent, a 55-year-old mother from London, feels she was scammed out of 300 in 2016 after agreeing for Handley to tutor her 18-year-old son for his A-Level Psychology exam via video call.

She chose Louise through an online tutor site after reading her 'amazing' profile.

She said: 'The first lesson was free and my son said she was good.

'You pay for four lessons in a block but after the first lesson it triggers the next block.'

It meant she had to pay for seven lessons even though Louise had only completed one so far.

Samantha Thomas, 41, from Derbyshire, works at a community school and says she lost money to Handley. Pictured: Samantha with her daughter Emily, who was 15 at the time

However, lessons started being disrupted by what Handley said was poor internet connection, which she blamed on the family and wouldn't rearrange.

Then Handley told the mother she needed to buy books 'that you can't live without' if her son wanted to pass.

The mother said: 'I thought she was a bit crazy. She was so convincing. Then I realised what I was dealing with.'

She told Handley the lessons would be stopping and she wouldn't pay her any more money.

The mother said: 'She came back and said I was a terrible mother and said, "how can you do that?"

'Nothing scares her. She's an absolute loose cannon.

'I'm in shock she is still out there doing this. The gall of the woman.

'I couldn't afford anyone else to pick up the pieces.

'I wouldn't even want to look at her. It was so upsetting. It was so devious.'

Another parent, another 55-year-old mother, this time from Staffordshire, says she was conned out of 378 by Handley in 2017.

At the time it left her 'shocked', 'angry' and in 'disbelief'. It still sets her on edge today.

She and her husband took Handley to small claims court but were told they wouldn't get their money back.

When MailOnline asked what she would say to Handley today if she could, the mother said: 'How can you rip off so many people? You're supposed to be a teacher.'

She said Handley was 'narcissistic' and told 'blatant lies'.

The mother said: 'She did me as well. Of course she'll keep doing it because there are no repercussions.

'She kept asking for more money. She wanted 40 to order psychology books.

'How could somebody do this?

'I can't believe nothing is being done. She's robbing people and nothing is being done.

'When I did contact the police they said it is a civil matter.

'It's shameful. She's still doing it.'

The mother described the toll the whole affair took on her emotionally as 'exhausting'.

She said: 'You blame yourself. She plays the victim very well. You feel like you're in a daze.

'How can somebody act like that but there's nothing I can do about it?

'How can she be getting away with it?

'There's no one we can go to. No one wanted to know.

'It doesn't seem right.'

Her son was in his first year of A-Levels when he started lessons with Handley.

Although he passed, his mother thought he 'could have done better' if it wasn't for con woman Handley.

When she found other parents who say they went through the same online, the mother realised she had been conned with 'the same MO'.

'It's just awful,' she said.

'I feel for other people, not just myself.'

She urged other parents to 'warn everybody about this woman'.

'Don't be hoodwinked by her,' she added.

She said Handley sent her messages across different platforms during a single conversation, making it difficult to keep track of her messages, or to screenshot them and show what was happening.

This particular mother did not forget what had happened, nor did she lose track of the messages.

Messages and emails seen by MailOnline show the shocking extent of Louise Handley's elaborate cons.

But she wasn't always careful. In one email to this mother, she admitted to calculating her fee wrong.

She said this was the 'reason I don't teach maths'.

However, Louise Handley does teach maths. In fact, Handley conned a 43-year-old mother from Hampshire earlier this year as she tutored her son for his maths statistics GCSE.

In one email to this mother, she admitted to calculating her fee wrong. She said this was the 'reason I don't teach maths'. However, Louise Handley does teach maths

The Hampshire mother said Handley had taken advantage of the fact she was a busy parent who didn't have time to help her son with his revision.

She claims Handley conned her out of 85, but what really angered her was that her son didn't perform as well as he could have on his maths statistics exam.

She said: 'I was more upset about having my son let down so badly ahead of his GCSE.

'My son missed out because of Covid. There are big gaps in his learning.

'The whole way through [she] was cancelling appointments.

'The last month she put quite a lot of pressure on to pay the money up front and then did pretty much none of the appointments we had arranged.

'He was let down so badly. I'm annoyed at myself because I should have known better.

'He passed but he could have done better than that.

'I have been completely scammed.'

She said she had 'no idea' Handley's lessons were so poor. Every time she stepped into the room to see her son on video call, it sounded legitimate.

'She was saying all the right things. I took her word for it.

'I feel so stupid for having been [conned] but I'm a trusting person.'

She said Handley needed to be stopped because of the 'upset and distress that this causes people'.

According to one of Handley's friends from college, she used to be a 'lovely' girl from a 'well-to-do family' who lived in a 'nice area'.

However, her life seems to have gone downhill after she left college.

The friend, who was in the same psychology class as Handley, said after a school reunion years later, the con artist started begging her college friends for money.

Screenshots of messages show Handley asking for money to book taxis and pay her rent.

I wouldn't even want to look at her. It was so upsetting. It was so devious.

When MailOnline approached Louise Handley about the allegations made against her, she said they were 'false'.

Handley said: 'I have been teaching for 28 years. I do have cancer.

'Do you want to see that I have cancer? That I am vulnerable.

'I will send you a copy of a medical report that shows I have bladder cancer. You cannot hound people who are fighting the fight of their lives.

'This has distressed me a lot. I just want to be left alone to concentrate on my health.

'This is a disgrace. I am not well. Cancer is a protected characteristic.

'I would advise you to contact the urology department to talk to them. Hounding people with cancer is not acceptable. I feel very distressed, my mental health is not good.

'Make sure you include the bladder cancer.

'I have cancer, trying to get well again. Publishing a protected characteristic is not permitted.

'I have cancer, any documents in my possession are genuine, therefore you will be printing inaccurate information.'

Louise Handley never sent MailOnline a copy of her medical record or offered any proof that the multiple allegations made against her were false.

Pauline Smith, Head of Action Fraud, confirmed it received a report about Handley in September this year.

She said: 'It was assessed by the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) at the City of London Police but has not been passed to a police force for investigation at this time.

'With more than 850,000 reports coming into the NFIB each year, not all cases can be passed on for further investigation.

'Reports are assessed against a number of criteria which include the vulnerability of the victim.

'However, the reports most likely to present an investigative opportunity for local police forces, those where a crime is ongoing and those that present the greatest threat and harm to the victim or victims concerned, are the ones that are prioritised.'

The National College of Policing said: 'We wouldn't be able to comment on individual investigations that would be a question for the forces.'

Derbyshire Police refused to comment about Louise Handley.

It said: 'The force takes reports seriously and will conduct a proportionate and thorough investigation. Should there be an outcome where an investigation is filed without further action being taken then this will be communicated with the victim.

'If someone believes they have been a victim of a fraud then they should report it so that investigations can be conducted to ascertain whether any crimes have been committed. Reports can be made to your local police force or to Action Fraud directly.

'Action Fraud is the national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime. This is run by the City of London police  which leads the UK policing portfolio for economic crime.'
A trans man - born a woman and still with a uterus - is searching for a sperm donor to get pregnant after securing more than 64,000 of public money to do it.

Krishna Istha, from London, is a filmmaker and writer for hit Netflix show Sex Education.

Istha has won taxpayers' money to create a performance called First Trimester, in which audience members are quizzed about their lives to see if they would be suitable sperm donors.

This isn't just a performance. Audience members are actually being screened to become sperm donors for Istha and fellow trans male partner Logan Rea.

Battersea Arts Centre billed it as 'a rare opportunity to contribute to and witness queer family-making'.

Krishna Istha (left), from London, is a filmmaker and writer for hit Netflix show Sex Education. He is using a theatre show to screen for potential sperm donors for Istha and fellow trans male partner Logan Rea (right)

Istha has won taxpayers' money to create a performance called First Trimester, in which audience members are quizzed about their lives to see if they would be suitable sperm donors

Indian-born trans filmmaker Istha was given 64,631 from the Arts Council and the National Lottery after First Trimester was selected by government-approved award judges.

Decisions about which organisations and projects to fund are taken by the Arts Council at arm's-length from the government.

The show also has 30,000 of funding from Netflix and will be filmed and turned into a documentary for the American streaming giant's YouTube channel.

The age recommendation for the play in London is 18+ and only adults can participate in the interviews and offer up their sperm.

The show is three hours long with no interval. Each 15 minutes, Istha interviews a different prospective father to the couple's unborn child.

Istha said: 'I am wanting to have a baby with my partner, Logan, and we need your help!

'In order to have that baby, we must find a sperm donor. It made me start to think of all the different qualities I may want in our donor.

'When you go on sperm bank websites, the qualities listed are things like height, race, eye colour and whether or not they have PHDs, but we don't really care about those things.

'Instead, a lot of the questions I had for these donors were about the qualities I tend to care about in people  beyond genetics  that you don't find on sperm donor websites.

'Are you punctual? What do you think happens when we die?

Istha is a writer for the latest series of Netflix's hit show Sex Education (pictured), which features new trans characters

'Do you want children of your own? Are you kind? And most importantly, have you watched The Princess Diaries?

'Whether you have sperm to donate or not, I am conducting 10-minute conversations live on stage, with as many people as I can, in order to learn more about the kind of person I want to help me get pregnant.'

The show's trailer said viewers could 'witness intimate interviews live on stage between Krishna and hundreds of participants in a quest to find Krishna the perfect sperm donor'.

The Family Education Trust's Lucy Marsh told MailOnline: 'It is appalling that any public money is being used to create a stage show which is a vehicle for this individual to advertise for a sperm donor and also promote transgender ideology.

'First Trimester essentially reduces pregnancy and parenthood to a gameshow without giving a thought to the baby who could be born in these circumstances.

It is incomprehensible that anyone could... profit from a theatre production which celebrates this method of "family creation".

'We strongly believe that public money must never be used to fund such a degrading performance and that this show should not go ahead.'

Camelot, which runs the National Lottery, said: 'Although we are responsible for generating returns to Good Causes by selling National Lottery products (raising over 30million, on average, for them every week), we play no role in the allocation of funding.

'This is the specific responsibility of 12 lottery distribution bodies, each with specialist understanding of their sectors.

'These are chosen by Parliament for their knowledge and expertise to help ensure the money goes exactly where its needed, so the funding model is arm's length from us as the operator.'

An Arts Council England spokesperson said: 'In this comedic performance piece which is for adults only, Krishna Istha will explore questions that range from funny to serious, about what it means to create a family.

'The show is funded through our National Lottery Project Grants programme, through which we support a broad range of artistic works that appeal to the varied tastes and interests of people across the country.'

Krishna Istha, the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, and Battersea Arts Centre did not respond to a request for comment.

Netflix declined to comment.
But his former employer, a rival travel company, claims he is a 'serial fraudster'

Despite being at the center of two lawsuits, Hodgson has continued to travel the globe, running luxury group trips to Asia and Europe

Luxury LGBTQ holiday planner Eric Hodgson has travelled to 100 countries, ridden elephants, seen the pyramids and hopped around the globe from one high-end destination to another.

His social media is filled with photos of him and his OUTbound travel company co-founders 'Mean Girls' star Jonathan Bennett and Jaymes Vaughan from 'The Amazing Race'.

But behind the glamourous pictures, Hodgson has been embroiled in a series of law-suits and complaints with a rival LGBTQ travel company, Vacaya.

A decade ago Hodgson was serving a nine-year jail sentence in California for defrauding the Californian Department of Transportation out of $1.9million.

He was released early in 2016, but four years later, he found himself at the center of another lawsuit, battling his former employer, Vacaya.

Vacaya has now claimed in legal documents seen by the LA Times that Hodgson is a 'serial fraudster' who 'has lied, cheated and stolen from others over the past decade.'

Eric Hodgson with 'Mean Girls' star Jonathan Bennett and Jaymes Vaughan from 'The Amazing Race' in matching OUTbound promotional t-shirts

Eric Hodgson at the Eifel tower on a trip to Paris in 2021 shared on his social media

Eric Hodgson at Waikiki beach on a trip to Honolulu last year

Hodgson vehemently denies the claims, and says that a recent LA Times article published about them is 'factually inaccurate' and 'contains false information, misquotes'.

He added: 'I deny any accusations that I attempted to defraud Vacaya in any way' and says his time with the company was 'incredibly negative, full of fighting, manipulation, coercion, plotting'.

The story began in 2008, before Hodgson entered the travel business, when he was running a printing shop in Sacramento.

He won three state contracts worth more than $1.9million to publish details about upcoming government building projects.

He was supposed to pay for the publications and then submit receipts to the department to be reimbursed.

But a random audit in 2011 discovered that he had only published a handful of the thousands of notices he had claimed for - and had submitted documents 'containing forged or false signatures of real or fictional employees of the publications' to walk away with the $1.9million.

During the subsequent investigation, he was revealed to have spent the money to 'pay off his mortgage', build a pool, buy flights and a 'cruise a month' for an entire year.

In April 2013, he was arrested and charged with 22 counts of grand theft, he pled guilty to seven counts and was sentenced to nine years in prison by then-Attorney General Kamala Harris.

He was ordered to pay back the $1.9million and forced to hand over belongings including a 'collection of Star Wars items worth more than $10,000'.

Eric Hodgson riding an elephant on a trip to Cambodia in 2021

Eric Hodgson on an OUTbound trip to Zambia at the end of September

A 3 and a half ft Yoda model that Hodgson was forced to forfeit following the Caltrans lawsuit

One of the Star Wars collectibles that Hodgson was forced to forfeit after the Caltrans lawsuit

Hodgson admitted that he did the 'wrong thing' with Caltrans, and said: 'I take full responsibility for getting in over my head & doing the wrong thing... but I felt trapped.'

He added: 'I owned it all, & the restitution has been satisfied in full.'

But that wasn't the end of his legal troubles.

While in prison, Hodgson was writing letters to his then-friend Randle Roper, who was in the process of setting up a LGBTQ travel company, Vacaya.

Vacaya alleges that at this point, Hodgson began to lie to them about his background - and his innocence in the Caltrans case.

A lawsuit filed against Hodgson by Vacaya in March and seen by the LA Times reportedly claims: 'Instead of approaching life outside of prison with an honest, clean slate, Hodgson chose to double-down as a fraudster while feigning repentance for his prior crimes.'

They said Hodgson told them that he had been wrongly convicted, and it was going to be quashed, and then sent them two allegedly forged documents claiming he had been cleared of the theft.

Vacaya claimed they had no reason to doubt that the documents were real, and when Hodgson was released from prison in 2016, they decided to employ him.

In 2019, Hodgson was made a minority owner in the firm and given a 10 per cent stake in the business.

But then, Vacaya claim that during a trip to South Africa in November 2019, Hodgson harassed an attendee.

They say that the person, known as 'John Doe' reported the harassment and Hodgson was suspended pending an investigation, he was then fired in March 2020.

Hodgson denies this entire version of events.

He claims Roper encouraged him to submit the forged letters, and says he was never employed by Vacaya - and had only worked for them as a contractor.

He also says he 'never once touched John Doe, solicited him, pressured him or threatened him in any way, sexually or otherwise'.

Hodgson on a trip to Cambodia, he claims to have visited 100 countries

Two weeks after he was fired, Hodgson launched his own lawsuit against Vacaya claiming they had defrauded him out of his interest in the company and conspired not to pay him.

But during the course of the suit, Vacaya began to suspect that Hodgson had lied to them about his innocence in the previous court case, and had forged the two letters.

Legal documents claim that when Vacaya's lawyers confronted Hodgson's lawyer, Thomas Barth, Hodgson admitted that the letters were forged.

Vacaya's attorney reportedly said in a filing: 'Using the resources of his graphics design company, Phenix, your clients ability to forge documents seems to be limitless.'

When Vacaya presented the evidence to the court, Hodgson's lawsuit was dismissed, and he was ordered to pay out $43,766 in sanctions to Vacaya - Barth was also ordered $28,555.

Vacaya and its owners issued a statement through their lawyer: 'Mr. Hodgsons lawsuit was dismissed and, after finding that he sued Vacaya to enforce agreements that he procured in part by fraud, he was rightfully sanctioned by the Court to prevent and remedy the harms of abusive and wasteful litigation.

'Vacaya refuses to discuss the merit of falsehoods that already have been resolved and sanctioned by the Court.'

Eric Hodgson (left) with Bennett (center) and Vaughan (right) in an OUTbound promotional post

Throughout both lawsuits, Hodgson has kept up appearances and founded his own LGBTQ travel company, OUTbound, with Bennett and Vaughan.

Although the trio have described themselves as owning the company, and posted numerous pictures promoting the brand online, Hodgson says it is actually owned by his 81-year-old mother.

He says that he has only discussed his legal troubles with Bennett and Vaughan in 'broad strokes' and that they have 'always been sympathetic' but have 'valid concerns'.

OUTbounds Bennett and Vaughan's publicist told the LA Times: 'We are blindsided and absolutely shocked to learn this information, and are launching our own investigation accordingly.'
Residents of an Arizona town filed a restraining order against a home owners' association after it refused to stop removing their beloved Sissoo trees from their neighborhood.

The Silverleaf Arcadia area of North Scottsdale is known for its large multi-million dollar homes that fill the community.

While the large properties dominate the neighborhood, it is also known for the 917 Sissoo trees that line the sidewalks and adorn people's properties.

Despite being loved by residents, with some of them declaring they moved to the area specifically for the trees, the local home owner's association has been engaged in a bitter feud with the residents to have the trees removed.

The HOA, DC Ranch, have been trying for three years to have the trees inside the gated community removed due to them damaging roads and underground pipes.

Now residents, have filed a temporary restraining order against the group stopping them from removing any more trees.

In total there are 917 Sissoo trees that line the sidewalks and adorn people's properties in the neighborhood

DC Ranch had planted the trees in the neighborhood during its development in 2005, despite not native to the Sonoran Desert.

According to DC Ranch, the Sissoo has an 'invasive, destructive, and thirsty root system' that can run for 50 feet or more in order to find water.

In an informational seen by DailyMail.com, the HOA continued: 'After 15 years, the neighborhood streets and sidewalks show signs of damage.

'The trees will continue to pose a threat of property damage to homes, patios, pools, and utilities.

'Ranch Association stopped watering the trees two years ago, with no material impact on growth.'

Last August, DC Ranch requested permission to remove the trees from the Scottsdale Development Review Board.

This request was then denied by the board, and the HOA had then said it was going to appeal that decision to the city council, but didn't.

The HOA then adopted a resolution in September saying that they would not create difficulties for those who choose to remove the trees from the front of their homes.

Those against the removal were okay with that until January of this year when each homeowner received an assessment from the HOA that said they owed $3,000 for Sissoo tree removal in the neighborhood.

The Silverleaf Arcadia area of North Scottsdale is renowned for its large multi-million dollar homes that fill the community

The HOA, DC Ranch, have been trying for three years to have the trees inside the gated community removed due to them damaging roads and underground pipes

Resident Barry Chasse told 12news that the trees had been the primary reason he had moved to the neighborhood in the process.

Homeowner Paul Petelin reiterated this point, saying that: 'Everybody knew this was the tree neighborhood.

Angered by the continuous move by the HOA to have them removed, Tom La Porte decided to file a civil lawsuit against DC Ranch.

Citing in the lawsuit that the trees were part of the original development plan when it was built.

La Porte told the outlet that the whole saga had been: 'A nightmare for three years.'

Angered by the continuous move by the HOA to have them removed, Tom La Porte, seen here, decided to file a civil lawsuit against DC Ranch

The lawsuit was postponed when DC Ranch agreed to mediation with the homeowners to figure out if common ground could be reached, according to La Porte.

He said that despite the postponement, the removal continued, adding: 'The tree cutting continued on when we were supposed to be negotiating so we decided to go to court and stop this.'

It was after this that La Porte then set out to have a restraining order held against the HOA, so they could not remove the trees without the homeowners agreement.

His wife Juli La Porte said: 'I didnt take my trees out. I dont know why I should have to pay for anybody else?

'For me to have to pay for that is just not right.'

DailyMail.com approached DC Ranch for comment on the ongoing disputes.
His son is speaking out against prison officials placing the unhinged Satanic 'phrogger' in his father's cell

While in custody in Hawaii, Zayas brutally beat inmate Vance Grace, 62, to death in a Covid-cell after the doors allegedly jammed

A US Navy veteran slammed Hawaii's lax prison policies for placing his father in a cell with a Satanic 'phrogger', who beat him to death while hapless guards failed to open the door due to allegedly faulty locks.

Nelson Coburn condemned a string of failings that allowed mentally-ill Satanist Ezequiel Zayas to be placed in a cell with his father Vance Grace, 62, who was just weeks away from freedom after spending 34 years behind bars for theft and drug offenses.

With dreams of starting a Koy Pond business in Hawaii and reconnecting with his family, Grace was placed in a cell with Zayas, then-29, who captured headlines the year prior in 2019 when he was caught secretly living in a Honolulu family's home. The crime known as 'phrogging' and is named after the practice of leap-frogging someone into their home.

After Zayas was discovered, the family later realized he planned to perform nightmarish surgeries on them. Despite his clear mental illness, he ended up in a cell with Grace, leading his son to speak out over the short-sighted policies that resulted in his father's grisly death.

'The problem is no one speaks up, and you think 'it's just another inmate that got killed in prison, oh well he's a criminal'' Coburn told DailyMail.com. 'My dad did his time and he was working to improve his life.'

Ezequiel Zayas pictured inside the Campbell home, where he had written disturbing plans to perform 'sexual reconstruction' surgeries and 'hand transplants'

Zayas was caught secretly living in the home of James and Brittany Campbell (pictured) in 2019, before they discovered he had been planning to perform nightmarish surgeries on them

MOVED INTO UNWITTING FAMILY'S HOME AND PLANNED 'SEXUAL RECONSTRUCTION' SURGERIES ON THEM

Zayas shot to infamy in September 2019, when he was caught secretly living in the home of James and Brittany Campbell and their two young sons when they returned from a week's vacation.

After initially believing it to be a frightening break-in, they realized Zayas was wearing their clothes, eventually coming to discover they were victims of a crime that will strike fear into the hearts of homeowners everywhere.

They discovered a 'manifesto' written by the creeper, detailing gruesome plans for the family including 'sexual reconstruction' surgery and a 'hand transplant.'

'There [were] all these typed notes called The Omnivore Trials: A rehabilitation for Ratlike people James Campbell said on Lifetime true crime show, 'Phrogging: Hider in My House.'

'This is when we realized this person had been in our home a lot longer,' his wife Brittany told the New York Post after the haunting discovery, which included diary entries about turning the family from omnivores to 'Ezequiels.'

'He wanted to play doctor on us  and not in the cute little kid way,' Brittany said. '[He wrote about] how he could make us into perfect people.'

Zayas, with no medical training, had even placed knives around the home in preparation, while also completely trashing their home and recording a seemingly-nude video using their belongings.

James said he realized the intruder had not merely broken in when he saw Zayas wearing his clothes, before he found the killer's gruesome 'manifesto'

Zayas recorded a seemingly-nude video on the family's laptop, where he was seen using their belongings while they were unaware he was inside

The family's Honolulu home was trashed and scattered mess was strewn about the property after the Campbell's returned from a week-long vacation in September 2019

SYSTEM FAILINGS OFFER LUNATIC OPPORTUNITY TO STRIKE AGAIN

Shockingly, the then-29-year-old was only charged with burglary and was freed on supervised release, which James said was 'terrifying that he is out.'

Just weeks later, Zayas was arrested again for vandalizing a Buddhist temple near the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

While in custody at the Oahu Community Correctional Center (OCCC) in August 2020 for that crime, Zayas contracted Covid-19 and was locked up in a secure cell with Grace and a third inmate, who had also come in contact with the virus.

At the time, Covid-19 was running rampant across the US, and Hawaii had offered low-risk inmates such as Grace the chance to be freed early.

Grace was just a month or so away from getting out anyway, and Coburn said he declined to pay for his early bail, a decision that has left him wondering 'what if.'

Locked in a cage with a man with a violent, disturbing history, Grace was brutally attacked in an episode that a judge deemed entirely 'unprovoked', and Coburn said his father and the inmate 'weren't bothering anybody' when Zayas flew into a frenzy.

Both men urgently pleaded for help from prison guards as the attack erupted, as Zayas punched and stomped Grace mercilessly.

'He should have been in his own cell due to the state of his mind,' Coburn, who now works as a real estate agent, told DailyMail.com.

When guards arrived, they reportedly realized the locks to the cell had jammed.

The only solution to stop the savage assault was for the other inmate to activate an emergency release, where he and a guard were able to jointly open the door from both sides - which slammed shut immediately after the officials hauled Zayas away.

Grace lay on the cold cell floor for a significant amount of time until a locksmith was called to open the door. While Grace was pronounced dead at a hospital, Coburn says he paid for a private autopsy that found he likely died inside the cell from blunt force trauma.

The Oahu Community Correctional Center did not immediately respond to a request for comment when contacted by DailyMail.com.

Zayas was sentenced to 40 years in prison in August 2023 on manslaughter charges related to Grace's death, alongside further charges of burglary and assault - a result that Coburn feels could have been avoided if not for serious safety oversights.

'It's sad that the system found (Zayas) long ago, and all the people that were affected by him was because of failings that happened well before anything happened to my father,' he said.

The brutal killing occurred while both Zayas and Grace were held in Oahu Community Correctional Facility (pictured) in August 2020

'COMMON SENSE WOULD HAVE PREVENTED BRUTAL MURDER'

Coburn claims that information surrounding his father's death emerged slowly, and now three years on he is looking for answers over the brutal death and has filed a lawsuit against Hawaii and the Department of Public Safety.

'My dad did his time, and at the end of the day that's why people get sentenced, to do the time for the crimes they committed,' he said. 'But we should still provide a level of safety in prison.

'The problem is no one speaks up, and you think 'it's just another inmate that got killed in prison, oh well he's a criminal... My dad did his time and he was working to improve his life.'

In his filing, Coburn alleges that Hawaii prison officials knowingly placed his father 'in jeopardy of serious injury and death', failing to take Zayas' unhinged past into account.

He alleged that officials 'failed to follow basic common sense correctional practices that would have prevented Mr. Graces brutal murder at the hands of a violent cellmate.'

Coburn insists he is not seeking money in his lawsuit, and intends only to 'cause enough of a ruckus' to 'bring awareness to the Hawaii prison systems.'

He added that he hopes to 'ensure that we get these things addressed and fixed so that way other people's family members don't have to go through something similar to what I experienced.'

'Obviously, he had mental health issues. Why weren't there people advocating for and helping him?'
While Anthony Albanese choked back tears last Saturday night as he conceded the crushing defeat of his Voice to Parliament, a very different kind of political address was taking place across the ditch in New Zealand.

There, Christopher Luxon waltzed hand-in-hand with his wife Amanda underneath an archway of blue balloons at the Shed10 convention centre on Auckland's waterfront as dozens of National Party campaigners hugged, high-fived and cheered their newly elected Prime Minister.

Mr Luxon, 53, a high-flying executive turned politician, took the stage to thank his beaming supporters who were bathed in both the blue light of their centre-right party's colours and the glow of a thumping election victory which saw the incumbent left-wing Labour Party government haemorrhage votes both left and right.

'My pledge to you is that our government will deliver for every New Zealander,' Mr Luxon told the adoring crowd.

Christopher Luxon, 53, a former high-flying executive, is New Zealand's new Prime Minister

His victory came just hours before Anthony Albanese (pictured) joked back tears as he conceded defeat in the Voice to Parliament referendum

'We will rebuild the economy and deliver tax relief. We will bring down the cost-of-living.

'We will restore law and order. We will deliver better healthcare and we will educate our children so that they can grow up to live the lives they dream of.'

His victory speech was interrupted by repeated chants of 'Back on Track': the National's pithy election campaign slogan which clearly resonated with voters.

It took Mr Albanese until Sunday morning to send his congratulations to New Zealand's new leader - an uncommonly long delay in modern politics.

Mr Luxon, for his part, acknowledged his Australian counterpart had 'been a bit busy' over the past 24 hours.

Yet, once Mr Albanese has finished licking his wounds over Saturday's historic referendum loss, he would be wise to pay attention to the manner of Mr Luxon's electoral landslide.

Particularly given Monday morning's Newspoll - which found there has been a significant loss of support for the government among men and younger voters, with drops in South Australia and Queensland in particular.

It took Mr Albanese until Sunday morning to send his congratulations to New Zealand's new leader - an uncommonly long delay in modern politics (the pair pictured together)

Mr Luxon's pithy election campaign slogan 'back on Track' clearly resonated with voters

Mr Luxon, a former Air New Zealand and Unilever chief executive first elected to Parliament in 2020, has brought the centre-right National Party back to power after only six years in Opposition.

With 50 seats out of 120 in Parliament, National is likely to govern with support from the libertarian ACT Party and New Zealand First leader Winston Peters.

Labour's total number of seats almost halved, plunging from 62 to 34, just three years after becoming the only party to win an outright majority since the mixed-member proportion system debuted in 1996.

National almost picked up the Auckland seat of Mount Albert, previously held by former Labour prime ministers Helen Clark and Jacinda Ardern - an internationally feted leader who was in charge during the Christchurch massacre and the Covid pandemic.

Many Kiwis had grown weary of Ms Ardern and her successor Chris Hipkins, who Mr Luxon accused of being out of touch with the issues affecting everyday New Zealanders.

Mr Hipkins' last-minute decision to ditch many of his former leader's unpopular left-wing policies, including climate reforms and hate speech laws, was 'too little, too late' for a fed-up public.

There are, perhaps, parallels to be drawn with Mr Albanese's current political pickle in the wake of the country's resounding rejection of the Voice - and a warning to the embattled Australian leader not to neglect the more immediate bread and butter issues affecting every Australian.

Nationals pollster David Farrar, who runs Curia Market Research, said New Zealand Labour's 'unprecedented' thrashing could trigger alarm bells for their Australian counterparts.

'I do follow the polls in Australia and it is very clear that the gap between the Coalition and the Liberals has closed pretty much at a similar speed to support for the Voice referendum decreasing,' Mr Farrar told Daily Mail Australia.

'Albanese has gone from around a plus 20 per cent approval rating to slightly negative.'

Mr Farrar said a key polling question is whether people think the government is focussed on the issues that matter most to them.

'I do think that while people were not necessarily against having the Voice referendum there is a feeling of "why is the government focusing on this while there's still a cost of living crisis, while there's still things to work out",' he said.

'I wouldn't overstate it because they're (the Labor Party) still six per cent ahead in the polls and to be blunt: how electable is Dutton? Luxon taking over was definitely important there. The referendum is also now over  it was a one-off.'

'That said, losing any referendum can hurt you if for no other reason that they cost a lot of money and they are a distraction from what people see as more immediate, more important issues,' Mr Farrar added.

Like Australia, New Zealand has had 12 interest rate rises in less than two years, although its Reserve Bank cash rate of 5.5 per cent is much higher than Australia's 4.1 per cent level - owing to a stricter inflation target.

The Kiwi inflation rate of 5.6 per cent in the year to September has stirred fears Australia could this week also have a high number that could spark another rate rise.

But Farrar said he thought Labor in Australia could regain lost ground with the electorate if they refocused on cost of living issues.

'If Albanese and Labor turn around and say, "people have spoken, let's focus again on education, health, the cost-of-living" then the closing of the polls, the country's direction and Albanese's approval may recover,' Mr Farrar said.

Chris Hipkins (right) replaced Jacinda Ardern when she quit in January. He made a last-minute decision to ditch many of her unpopular left-wing policies, including climate reforms and hate-speech laws, was 'too little, too late' for a fed-up public

For Martyn Bradbury, a Kiwi media commentator who runs The Daily Blog, it is wrong to draw parallels between Labour's implosion in New Zealand and Mr Albanese's current situation.

'Wanting to compare Albanese's failure with the Voice to the late stage cynicism towards Jacinda before she stood down and National won is attractive but I think the insinuation Albanese shouldn't "go left" misunderstands the reason why National ultimately won,' he said.

'The Right won because they successfully framed Labour as wasting money on woke nonsense alongside a manufactured soft on crime narrative.'

'The Right were able to paint Labour out as incompetent and because of Labour's cautious domestic policy, working class voters were turned off by the Government's incrementalism when the cost of living crisis was bleeding them each week.'

Australia's Labor party is certainly in a better position than their Kiwi counterparts.

Saturday night's defeat was the biggest drop in support for an incumbent government in New Zealand's history - they lost votes not just to National but to the Greens, the left-leaning Te Pati Maori and other smaller parties.

Mr Albanese consoles Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney after conceding defeat in the Voice referendum. He has been warned to focus on the cost-of-living crisis and other issues affecting Australians in everyday life

A Yes supporter reacts at the Inner West For Yes2023 Official Referendum Function at Wests Ashfield Leagues Club on October 14

'Normally governments drop five or six per cent if they have a bad election: to drop 23 per cent is is unprecedented,' Mr Farrar said.

The pollster said there were five factors which each played a part in their failure.

'One is simply non delivery by the government. They made some massive promises when they came in: 100,000 Kiwi-built houses,' Mr Farrar explained.

'[They promised] Auckland light rail would be done within four years. They still haven't even got a plan to start it.'

Covid and the government's response to it - once Ms Ardern's global success story - became a vote-loser following subsequent lockdowns in Auckland and controversial vaccine mandates.

'The third factor is the cost of living crisis,' said Mr Farrar.

'Most governments around the world have have been losing elections because you know, people can't fill up their car with petrol, can't afford groceries. You can't understate that.'

Another factor was Mr Luxon, the National's new leader, who united the party and offered voters something fresh.

The fifth reason for their loss was what Mr Farrar described a a 'strong second tier' issue centred on the government's drive to improve Maori representation across government services through a co-governance structure.

NZ's new prime minister is Christopher Luxon. Pictured: Luxon and his wife Amanda Luxon (second and third from left)

'Certainly a quite large minority of people felt that New Zealand was changing in ways where it was becoming quite hostile to them,' he said.

'Where if you expressed a concrete view on how the Treaty of Waitangi should be interpreted, you could lose your job.'

The Treaty of Waitangi is New Zealand's founding document, an agreement signed between the British Crown and around 540 Maori chiefs on 6 February 1840.

Mr Luxon may be under pressure to hold a referendum of his own: the ACT party, which he is set to form a coalition with, wants to hold a plebiscite on redefining the principles of the Treaty.

The new prime minister said he was opposed to a 'divisive' referendum during his campaign but did not rule it out in coalition negotiations.

After witnessing Mr Albanese's humiliation at the weekend, he may wish to think again, otherwise he may be knocked off track.
READ MORE: Australian jobs most at risk from AI

Hits the mark for some towns, but way off in others

Artificial intelligence has revealed what the stereotypical Aussie looks like in the country's major towns - from hipsters in Melbourne and the glamour girls of the Gold Coast... to people from Adelaide who look as if they're from a different era.

The AI program Midjourney, which creates 'realistic' images from a user's prompts, was tasked by Daily Mail Australia to create images of men and women who represent their 'home' town.

And according to the AI, men from Australia's major cities are all hipsters while their rural counterparts are more rugged and sun-kissed. The women are less generalised and range from young uni students to older ladies.

Midjourney doesn't get everything right - the Opera House was pictured distorted and missing sails behind the 'typical' Sydney man, while an Indigenous flag (or what appears to be) was flying at Parliament House in Canberra.

SYDNEY

Midjourney saw the 'stereotypical man from Sydney' as a curly-haired gent casually sipping a coffee in front of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and a distorted Opera House

Meanwhile, the AI similarly placed Sydney's stereotypical woman in front of the Harbour Bridge.

MELBOURNE

Melbourne's stereotypical man is straight from the hipster textbook, with long flowing hair, two scarves and stylish sunnies in a laneway on a typically cloudy Melbourne day

The AI's typical woman for Melbourne produced a trendy, more mature woman with vibrant coloured clothing and grey hair with a tinge of pink

BRISBANE

According to AI, Brisbane's typical man can be seen posing on the banks of the Brisbane River while wearing sunglasses, similar to Sydney and Melbourne, and an unbuttoned collared shirt

Brisbane's typical woman was the first AI image to not be wearing sunglasses, instead presenting a 'girl next door' type with a floral silk shirt in what could be a cafe

CANBERRA

The typical Canberran male appears as a university-age student. Noticeably, Parliament House only flies an Aboriginal-style flag

The typical woman in the nation's capital is apparently business-oriented. The tree-lined area seen in front of Parliament does not exist in real life

ADELAIDE

The AI found the 'City of Churches' not iconic enough to include a house of worship in either image of the city's stereotypical man and woman - instead bizarrely presenting them as both from a bygone era, seemingly the Gold Rush

Both the man and the woman appear to be from the days of the Gold Rush, appearing in Victorian-style clothing

DARWIN

Darwin was the first AI-generated Aussie male to appear old and rugged, wearing a classic wide-brimmed hat with a dishevelled beard and a tattered shirt

Darwin's female AI model was also the first to be Indigenous, with wispy white hair and beaded necklaces in the colours or the Aboriginal flag

PERTH

Perth's stereotypical man takes the cake as the most hipster in the nation, with a flowing head of hair and beard, and a button-up shirt completely opened to reveal his chest tattoos

Perth's typical female is an older women dressed in pastel coloured clothing with the ocean behind her, according to AI

BROOME

Broome was the only Australian city where the AI generated images of Indigenous people for both the stereotypical man and woman, with the male wearing a a denim shirt stained by red dirt and a well-worn hat

Midjourney also produced both the man and woman to appear with traditional-style face paint, even going as far to detail how the it would run over the slight wrinkles in both of their faces

CAIRNS

The AI also produced an Indigenous man as stereotypical of Cairns, however he appears to be more of a 'hippy', wearing a singlet and letting his beard and hair grow wild

The stereotypical Cairns woman appears to be a lover of fruit, even wearing what looks to be strawberry earrings

TOWNSVILLE

Townsville's stereotypical man looks more rugged than his city-slicker counterparts, with a sun-kissed face and a slight stubble to complement his tough facial expression.

Townsville's stereotypical woman, much like Adelaide's, also appears to come from a different era, wearing a shirt with short billowed sleeves and with her red hair tied up

GOLD COAST

The average man on the Gold Coast departs slightly from the usual stereotype of a young man keen to party, and instead appears as an older gentleman with neck and chest tattoos

The Gold Coast's stereotypical woman however falls directly into the glam-girl stereotype the city is known for

GEELONG

Geelong's typical man includes the windswept curly hair from the oceanside town, however he also appears sombre and staring past the image

The typical woman from Geelong is dressed casually while oddly accessorising with four separate bags

NEWCASTLE

Midjourney was able to capture the essence of Newcastle's history as a hard-nosed town of steelworkers, with the stereotypical man being older and of a tougher disposition
If the rivalry between Diana and Camilla became part of royal folklore, they weren't the only women to find themselves entangled with the heir to the throne.

According to author Tina Brown, there was a time in the 1970s when Charles had two married women 'on call for the Prince while their husbands looked the other way'.

One of them was Camilla Shand, by then married to the glamorous army officer Andrew Parker-Bowles.

The other was a sparky Australian called Dale 'Kanga' Tryon, who had met Charles when, aged 17, he had spent six months at Geelong Grammar School.

Diana appears next to David Bowie at Live Aid wearing pale blue polyester!

Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, holds his 9 week-old godson, Charles George Barrington Tryon, after his Christening in 1976. With them is the child's mother, Dale Tryon

'After moving to London and marrying Lord Tryon, she became a trusted confidante,' writes Brown in her best-selling book The Palace Papers.

'Dale's directness, warmth and talent at country entertaining were just the sort of qualities that Charles admired in Camilla.

'It did not make Camilla happy that Dale put it about that Charles was said to have declared Dale "the only woman who ever understood me".'

At one point, Dale designed a range of dresses known as the Kanga line and popular with Sloane Rangers,

According to Brown, this is why in July 1985 - with her jealousy of Camilla at its height - Diana chose to wear a rather curious polyester frock in polka dots and stripes to one of the events of the decade, Live Aid, with its global TV audience running into millions.

'Princess Diana wore one of her deeply off-brand, multi-patterned dresses...just to make Camilla insane,' she writes.

Whether it did or not is another matter as, according to The Palace Papers, Camilla viewed Kanga with a degree of sang froid, telling the author:

Lady Tryon curties to the Prince of Wales at a charity gala in 1990

Lord and Lady Dale 'Kanga' Tryon at a Royal Charity Premiere of Wall Street

Lady Diana Spencer and Camilla Parker Bowles in 1980. They have been snapped side by side at Ludlow Races where Prince Charles was competing. Charles would marry Diana the following year

'All this stuff about Lady Tryon being such a friend of Lady Diana...She's never even met Diana Spencer.'

The romance with Charles, such as it was, ended sadly for Lady Tryon.

According to Brown, Dale had believed that, as his marriage to Diana unravelled, the Prince of Wales would turn to her instead. He did not- and Kanga fell apart.

She sadly died of septicaemia in 1997 aged only 49.
The epicenter of the economic boom is the Darien Gap north of ColOmbia

Migrants flooding a stretch of jungle en route to the United States have spawned lucrative business opportunities for entrepreneurs looking to cash in on the crisis.

This year alone, over 360,000 people have crossed through a region from Colombia to Panama known as the 'Darien Gap', offering a huge new client base to an area whose remoteness once meant it seemed destined for eternal poverty.

For $40, migrants can pay for a boat ride into the rainforest; guides for the journey northwards charge $170; and families can enjoy a plate of chicken and rice at the end of a hard day's hiking - but not without forking over $10.

Guides leading people on the trek make up to $800-a-month - close to four times the average Colombian monthly salary.

Although the loudest voices against the migration crisis such as New York City Mayor Eric Adams are elected officials, many of those leading the cash-grab south of the border are also local leaders and politicians thankful for the windfall.

'We have organized everything: the boatmen, the guides, the bag carriers,' Darwin Garcia, an elected member of the community board at Acandi, a Colombian community at the entrance of the jungle, told the New York Times.

Migrants rest as the get food and internet services, after trekking across the Darien Gap from Colombia, on October 4, 2023

Over 360,000 migrants have passed through the Darien Gap this year. Pictured: Huge lines of refugees carrying belongings queue for a boat service in the area on October 5, 2023

A Wifi sign hangs in the village of Bajo Chiquito in the Darien Gap, where migrants are offered services that also include porters, food and security

Enterprising Colombian and Panama leaders have taken home millions this year directly from the migrant deluge, leading locals to rejoice while Americans plead for the deluge to stop.

This chasm was evident in Garcia's remarks, where he said the migrant goldrush is 'the best thing that could have happened' to his community, while Adams visited the Darien Gap this month to urge travelers not to come to New York City.

Many of those rushing the border end up in New York City, which has struggled to shelter over 120,000 migrants in the metro this year.

But before they reach the US, where many are bussed north by southern states such as Texas, many take a perilous journey over treacherous terrain and encounter dangerous cartels

The epicenter of the development has become the Darien Gap, a formerly-lowly populated jungle and mountainous area that has seen over 100,000 more people cross through than in 2022 - when 250,000 migrants was a record.

Locals once hoped the naturally-beautiful area would become a tourist hotspot, only for such dreams to be dashed when migrants began to descend.

But they quickly realized that the problem could become very lucrative for them.

Colombia and Panama signed a joint agreement with the United States in April to halt the movement, which it acknowledged 'leads to death and exploitation of vulnerable people for significant profit.'

Notably, the Darien Gap is seen as being governed by cartels, and it is the only land route connecting South America to the United States, forcing many without another option to go through the pay-as-you-go jungle.

The Darien Gap is the only land channel connecting South America, from Colombia, towards the United States through Panama

A thriving migrant industry has spawned in the dense jungle

Migrants heading north line up to take a boat in Bajo Chiquito in the Darien province of Panama

A long line of boats ready to shuttle migrants heading north through Panama on their way to the United States in the Darien province

But government efforts appear powerless - or unwilling - to stop the multi-million dollar economy that has developed around the train heading north.

Garcia's brother Luis Fernando Martinez, the head of the local tourism board and a candidate for mayor of Acandi, praised the boom, saying that it has brought cash to a region that 'didn't have a defined economy before.'

'This is a beautiful economy,' added Fredy Marin, a former town councilman who charges thousands of migrants $40 each to ferry them towards the United States in a boating company he owns.

'What was first a problem has become an opportunity,' he said.

Other services reportedly offered to migrants as they travel through include $100 for a porter to carry belongings, and all-inclusive packages including tents and boots for upwards of $500.

In his bid for mayor of Necocli, a neighboring municipality to Acandi, Marin has reportedly made maintaining the soaring migration industry a central pillar of his platform.

Although Americans may feel anger or resentment at those making a fortune off the crisis, there is a sense that the crisis is a wave worth riding. 'Five hundred thousand people are going to pass through', said Martinez. 'What do we do?'

The fervent support for the newfound industry sparked chaos during Adams' visit to the Darien Gap last week, where he boasted of ignoring warning about visiting the dangerous area while forcing the over-stretched police to protect him.

During the trip, furious locals could also be seen waving signs calling him 'the real face of New York' and a 'migrant hating creep.'

New York City Mayor Eric Adams delivers a statement about the migrant crisis in the Darien Gap, during his visit to Colombia on October 7, 2023

Migrants protest during the visit of New York City Mayor Eric Adams to Necocli, northern Colombia, on October 7, 2023

The NYC Mayor sparked a security scramble when he visited the dangerous region, where he boasted of ignoring advice not to make the trip

Many migrants pass through treacherous terrain on their way to the US, hiring porters to help carry backpacks and possessions northwards

Although the US government has claimed that its Colombian counterparts are trying to fulfil their end of the deal, a months-long New York Times investigation found that officials have hardly laid down the law.

The outlet claims that when police confront those selling goods and services to the migrants, they are often fist-bumped before being led on their way.

In the absence of action to stop them, community board members like Garcia have successfully launched a 'tourism'-style business called the New Light Darien Foundation to cash in on the area.

The 2,000-employee venture reportedly manages the route from Acandi and into Panama, where they charge every step of the way.

A large number of migrants heading into the US are from Venezuela, where the nation's population has plummeted from 29 million to less than 22 million amid its economic decline.

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.

Asylum seekers walk towards the jungle near the first border control town in the Darien province, a journey towards Bajo Chiquito that takes roughly five days

Migrants bathe in Tuquesa River at Bajo Chiquito, Darien province, Panama, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023

Although authorities have pledged to end the unprecedented flow of migrants through the area, local leaders have indicated a desire for the new industry to persist into the future

Colombia's president Gustavo Petro has pointed the blame at his lack of control over the Darien Gap on America's sanctions on Venezuela, saying that the crisis is 'the product of poorly taken measures against Latin American peoples.'

For those that make their way through with the New Light Darien Foundation, their belongings are transported by porters in color-coded, numbered T-shirts - with more opulent migrants able to pay extra for advanced services like security at the border.

After receiving proof-of-payment bracelets around their wrists, Renny Montilla, 25, a Venezuelan construction worker, proclaimed it was 'like a ticket to Disney.'
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It is significant that Queen Camilla wore it to the Mansion House last week

Queen Camilla honoured her late mother-in-law by wearing one of Elizabeth IIs favourite pieces of jewellery, and one most closely associated with her, last week.

Known affectionately as Grannys Tiara it, will seem familiar to many of us as this was the one we often saw Queen Elizabeth wearing when her image appeared on coins and stamps from Britain and the Commonwealth.

It is all the more all the more significant, then, that Camilla should have worn it at the the Coronation Dinner at London's Mansion House.

And all the more surprising, perhaps, that such a well-known and important piece of jewellery was funded by popular subscription.

Queen Camilla wearing The Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara attending a reception and dinner in honour of the Coronation at Mansion House in London last week

Made by Garrards in 1893 this silver, gold and diamond tiara was a wedding present for the future Queen Mary from the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland

Lady Eva Dugdale, nee Greville, friend and Lady-in-Waiting to Queen Mary who organised the collection

King George V and Queen Mary in fancy dress with the The Girls of Great Britain and Ireland headpiece, worn as a coronet on this occasion

The Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara was a wedding present to Charless great grandmother, Princess Mary of Teck who married the future George V on 6 July 1893.

Marys lifelong friend, Lady Eva Greville formed a committee and asked girls from across Britain and Ireland to send contributions of any sum from 1d to 5 from themselves or their friends.

5,000 was raised and 1,600 of it was used to purchase a diamond, gold and silver tiara in a festoon and scroll design from Garrard & Co, the crown jeweller.

The tiara was still in course of manufacture when the royal wedding presents were displayed at the Imperial Institute so the public only saw a paper replica.

The surplus money, together with other monetary gifts to mark the wedding was donated by the bride and groom to the Victoria Fund for widows and orphans of the 358 sailors lost in a recent naval catastrophe.

The Duchess of York was delighted with the new tiara and in a thank you note to Lady Eva wrote: How can I find words sufficiently to thank you and all the young ladies of England [sic] for the truly magnificent present I have received? I need scarcely assure you that the tiara will ever be one of my most valued wedding presents.

One of the benefits of the gift was its adaptability, since it could be worn as a tiara, as a necklace or as a coronet.

It was as the latter that Mary wore it in July 1897 at the Devonshire House Ball when she appeared at this fancy dress event as a lady from the court of Queen Marguerite of Valois, a diplomatic choice of character as her mother-in-law Alexandra, Princess of Wales appeared as Queen Marguerite herself.

Queen Mary was passionate about her jewel collection and frequently changed the designs of the pieces.

In 1914 she asked Garrard to swap the jewels from two of her wedding tiaras and also to create a third  Lovers Knot Tiara.

Garrard charged her 34 to take 13 brilliants from the County of Surrey tiara and 26 smaller brilliants to form the tops to the Girls of Great Britain Tiara in place of pearls.

These large oriental pearls that had been on diamond spikes on the Girls Tiara were put with others in the Lovers Knot headpiece which Queen Mary often wore. In 1953 along with many other jewels she bequeathed it in her will to Elizabeth II.

It was frequently worn by Diana, Princess of Wales but returned to the royal collection following her death.

It is now a favourite of Catherine, Princess of Wales who first wore it at a Diplomatic Reception at Buckingham Palace in 2015.

At some point around the time of the First World War, Mary had the bandeau, made up of two rows of diamonds separated by lozenge shaped diamonds and brilliants, removed from the Girls of Britain tiara.

For the next 20 years she wore the tiara and bandeau as two separate pieces.

She gave both items to Princess Elizabeth as a wedding present in 1947 when they were displayed on velvet arc shaped cushions for the public to see at St Jamess Palace.

Elizabeth clearly adored the piece she referred to as Grannys Tiara. One reason was that it was lighter than many of the other tiaras she had in her collection but at the same time it was an impressive and suitably regal piece.

Catherine, Princess of Wales wearing the 'Lover's Knot Tiara' during the State Banquet at Buckingham Palace on November 22, 2022 in London

Mary had the bandeau, made up of two rows of diamonds separated by lozenge shaped diamonds and brilliants, removed from the tiara. For the next 20 years she wore the tiara and bandeau as two separate pieces

Gifts presented to Princess Elizabeth on her wedding to Prince Philip. The tiara and bandeau are featured at the top of the page

She wore the tiara for the first photo session of her new reign, just 20 days after her accession when she was still in black mourning for her father George VI

Queen Elizabeth II wearing the tiara in the royal box before the gala performance of 'King Henry VIII' at the Old Vic

Queen Elizabeth wears the tiara as she greets guests in the Blue Drawing Room for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) at Buckingham Palace in April 2018

She wore it for the first photo session of her new reign, just twenty days after her accession when she was still in black mourning for her father George VI. During the session 59 photos were captured by society photographer Dorothy Wilding, the first female photographer to receive a royal warrant.

The purpose of the session was to produce portraits to use as the basis for Elizabeths image on new coins, stamps, and banknotes.

In 1969 Queen Elizabeth, who like her grandmother enjoyed experimenting with her jewel collection, reunited the bandeau with the tiara to create a more substantial piece.

She continued to wear it at galas, state banquets and in portraits for the rest of her life.

Aptly the tiara most associated with her is thought to have been last seen in public at a diplomatic reception she hosted at Buckingham Palace in December 2018 for ambassadors accredited to this country from across the globe.
The BBC has come under fire after it emerged that it has already spent nearly 50,000 restoring a controversial statue by paedophile sculptor Eric Gill, which campaigners say should instead be taken down.

Bosses at the corporation have been accused of displaying 'astonishing moral turpitude' in deciding to carry out the costly repairs to the statue.

The carving of Prospero and Ariel, which is displayed on the outside of the BBC's London headquarters, has been attacked by protestors twice in the last two years.

Campaigners against sexual abuse believe the BBC should remove the statue, which displays Ariel as a naked child, given its connection to Gill, who wrote about abusing his daughters in his diaries.

The true cost of the repair work is expected to go way beyond the current spend of 48,000 as this covers only the earlier phase of the work, with a second phase to follow.

The Grade II listed statue depicts Ariel and Prospero from The Tempest. Above, Gill with his work

The Grade II-listed statue outside the BBC's London headquarters was attacked and damaged by a man with a hammer in 2022

One critic said the broadcaster would be better giving the money to an abuse charity rather than the restoring the statue, saying that spending so much on repairing it 'reflects pretty badly on them'.

The BBC in response to these concerns said it in 'no way condones Gill's abusive behaviour'. It added that members of the public will be 'able to access information about the artwork and artist' via a nearby 'QR code' once the restoration work is complete.

Repair work from the first attack in 2022, had begun in May this year, before a person wielding a hammer launched a new assault on the sculpture.

Now the Mail has uncovered figures revealing the huge cost of repairing the 1930s sculpture.

According to a Freedom of Information made to the BBC, the cost of the first phase of work carried out on restoring the sculpture has totalled 40,782. This includes the cost of 'scaffolding hire and licensing' as well as 'the cost of stone masonry works that were carried out after the first incident in January 2022'.

It added there was an 'additional cost' of 7,255 for the 'continuation of scaffolding hire and licensing between the first and second phase of restoration work'.

The first phase of the restoration includes stone masonry work that was required to clean the impacted surfaces as well as making sure it was still structurally sound. Phase two will include the cost of restorative stone masonry as well as a listed building application.

Fay Maxted, chief executive of The Survivors Trust, which helps the victims of sexual violence and abuse, said: 'The arguments around whether the works of an artist whose personal behaviour has been morally unacceptable should be celebrated or destroyed is quite clear for survivors and less clear for those lucky enough not to have been sexually abused.

'Eric Gill's own diaries documented his sexual abuse of his daughters and the family dog.'

She added: 'In the wake of the Savile scandal and the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse final report of the failures of institutions to protect children from sexual abuse, the BBC's decision to repair the damaged sculpture at Broadcasting House betrays an astonishing moral turpitude.

'I don't advocate destroying artwork, but I do advocate for paying close attention to the ongoing trauma experiences of victims of child sexual abuse.

'The BBC should remove the statue in recognition of the inappropriate message of acceptance and celebration of an abuser it promotes. Or maybe they're considering bringing back Star Portraits with Rolf Harris? '

Marilyn Hawes, Chief Executive of campaign group Freedom from Abuse, said: 'I think they should just get rid of it. Why do we need a reminder? They got rid of everything to do with Jimmy Savile.

A man wearing a Spiderman mask used a hammer and chisel to damage the statue in May this year

In diaries published after his death Gill admitted to sexually abusing his daughters and a dog

'I would have thought they would have better things to do with their money  like giving it to a charity. If I was the BBC, knowing the difficulties they have had with sexual allegations, I would think it reflects pretty badly on them.'

She added: 'How many people walk past that statue that have been and still are being sexually abused.'

The campaigner said whatever talent someone had, it is the abuse that is the issue.

Restoration work includes removal of 'indelible graffiti' around the statue, 'recreation of broken sections of statuary, repair of the faces of both figures, restoration of extensive areas of battered Portland stone via an application of resin/stone mix'.

The corporation refused to say how much it was paying for security personnel who are 'currently positioned outside Old Broadcasting House' but said they were being provided by an external company that the BBC has a current contract with for security services.

The sculpture, which is Grade II listed, depicts the characters of Prospero and Ariel from Shakespeare's The Tempest.

Gill was an acclaimed early 20th century artist but when his diaries were published, after his death, it was revealed he had sexually abused his daughters and a dog.

It is understood the BBC's decision to repair the sculpture came after discussions with cultural organisations such as Historic England.

A BBC spokesperson said: 'Broadcasting House is a building of historical and cultural significance and has been so for almost a century. Having sought expert advice and opinion, we are repairing the facade in line with the building's Grade II-listed status.

'The BBC in no way condones Gill's abusive behaviour. Once the restoration work is complete members of the public will be able to access information about the artwork and the artist via a QR code, which will be made available close-by.'
A man with Parkinson's disease has said he felt safer while holidaying in Jordan than dealing with the 'dangerous' situation as he caught a train home from King's Cross Station amid the cancellation chaos caused by Storm Babet.

John Hinson, who lives in North Ferriby, East Yorkshire, arrived in London on Friday on Friday after a two-week holiday in Jordan where he was met with travel chaos caused by the extreme weather.

The 61-year-old said commuters were 'crashing against the barrier' as they ran to catch trains at King's Cross in central London, before the station was closed.

Station bosses, after discussions with railway operators, made the decision to begin opening a limited number of platforms later on Saturday afternoon.

It comes after stranded passengers shared videos on X, formerly known as Twitter, of gargantuan crowds forming inside the station, amidst claims that people were being 'crushed' on the concourse of the huge terminal.

Images earlier today on social media showed crowds amassing outside the main entrance to the station on Euston Road in central London.

John Hinson, who lives in North Ferriby, East Yorkshire, arrived in London on Friday on Friday after a two-week holiday in Jordan where he was met with travel chaos caused by the extreme weather

Stranded passengers have shared videos on X, formerly known as Twitter , of gargantuan crowds forming inside the station

Retired Mr Hinson was left without the assistance he needed before he boarded a Hull Trains service to Brough this morning.

'It was just so dangerous,' he said. 'I have Parkinson's and I have difficulty walking, so my wife (Joanna) went to ask for assistance and all assistance was cancelled.

'We were basically told that if we cannot get the train, we need to cancel and come back again.'

He added that he 'just made' the train having to 'shuffle' behind his wife who was forced to drag two large suitcases as the assistance was not provided.

'There did not seem to be any police about or any management,' he said. 'When I got to the station, one noticeboard said the train was delayed and another said it was cancelled, so it was hard to know exactly what was happening with the train.

'The platform number was eventually announced and there was a mad rush to get to it - people were jumping over and pushing through the gaps in the barrier, so there was a lot of chaos trying to get on a train.

'When we were on holiday in Jordan, there was a lot of police activity, but never one time where I felt threatened, it was quite safe. That was not the case at King's Cross this morning as there was a high chance of a crush'.

Another frustrated commuter, Luce Armstrong, said she had experienced 'absolute chaos' at the station.

Crowds were seen queuing at the station amid the extreme weather and flooding

'I'm surprised nobody was hurt, there were children and older people with no assistance getting through the very frustrated crowds that were getting more and more crushed,' the 24-year-old said.

'There were no clear instructions for the crowd at all, nobody had any idea what was going on.

READ MORE: Storm Babet MAPPED: Weather warning tracker and graphics show path of storm as flooding and wind continue to batter Britain with three dead Advertisement

'The lack of communication was frustrating for everyone. They eventually came and put some barriers up to try to create some space.'

Major train operators had warned passengers not to travel before checking if their services were running - as transport services were thrown into chaos by Storm Babet, with crews in the wrong places for services and rainlines flooded by torrential downpours.

London North Eastern Railway (LNER), Avanti West Coast and Northern Rail all warned against travelling as lines are widely flooded.

LNER said there is 'an extremely limited service' in place due to flooding between Doncaster and Wakefield.

The service has also been impacted by speed restrictions in Scotland and trains and crews being out of position after extensive disruption on Friday.

There are no LNER services north of Edinburgh on Saturday and rail replacement services are not available because of road closures.

The train operator said remaining services may be subject to short-notice cancellations.

Northern Rail said all lines between Cheadle Hulme and Wilmslow are blocked due to damage to the overhead electric wires.

Services are also not able to run from Sheffield to Nottingham or Lincoln due to flooding, while trains are also unable to travel between Leeds and Doncaster, Harrogate and Bradford.

Major train operators had warned passengers not to travel before checking if their services were running

The crowds spilled out onto the square outside King's Cross on London's Euston Road

The line between Newcastle and Morpeth is also closed due to viaduct damage, Northern Rail added.

Avanti West Coast has said its services are also severely disrupted and it has asked customers to not travel between Crewe and North Wales and that people should only travel between Preston and Glasgow or Edinburgh if absolutely necessary.

A spokesperson from Network Rail said: 'While many of the country's rail services are running well today, we're sorry to say that there is still severe disruption in areas worst-hit by Storm Babet, including Scotland, the North East and East Midlands.

'In particular, King's Cross station has crowd-control measures in place this afternoon while LNER services to the North East are severely disrupted.

'We are asking people to check before they travel today, to avoid wasted journeys.'
Richard Tice said he would refuse a pact with Conservatives for five million quid

Reform UK party leader Richard Tice has slammed the door shut on any pact to save the Tories at the next general election.

Mr Tice told The Mail on Sunday: 'They can offer me five million quid and a peerage, and the answer is still "No!" The Tories broke their contract with the British people and they have to be kicked out.'

The unequivocal declaration came amid evidence that the Conservatives could have avoided last week's by-election defeats if Right-wing rival Reform had not fielded candidates.

Reform's vote in both Mid-Bedfordshire and Tamworth was bigger than Labour's majority in both constituencies.

Formerly led by Nigel Farage, Reform has already vowed to field candidates in 630 seats at next year's general election  potentially posing a dire threat to the Tories.

Having already vowed to field candidates in 630 constituencies at the next election, Reform UK leader Richard Tice dismissed the possibility of forming a pact with the Conservatives

But Mr Tice last night dismissed any suggestion that his party would simply pave the way to Sir Keir Starmer's Labour becoming the next government.

He said: 'To anyone who says that Reform will just be letting in Labour, I say there's no difference between the two of them.

'The Tories and Labour are two forms of socialism: high tax, high regulation, low growth and pro net zero. It's all a catastrophe for the country.'

After the by-election results on Friday, Mr Tice taunted the Tories about how his party had cost them their victory.

Despite taunting that his party had cost the Tories by-election results in Tamworth (pictured) and Mid-Bedfordshire, Mr Tice insisted his party would not just let Labour into power

Writing on X, he said this was 'despite huge squeeze/pressure from Tories to voters, saying do not vote Reform'.

But Alexander Stafford, Tory MP for Rother Valley, said: 'It is nonsense to suggest that Tories and Labour are the same.

'A re-elected Tory government will complete Brexit after the general election. Sir Keir Starmer's Labour would wreck it.'
Mail Newspapers' pre-eminent journalism has been recognised again with a series of triumphs at this year's London Press Club awards.

Our journalists scooped four of the most prestigious gongs out of the ten prizes up for grabs.

Showbiz supremo Katie Hind took the coveted Scoop of the Year award for a string of exclusives about Phillip Schofield.

Judges said that 'in the face of constant denials and threats of legal action' she had 'doggedly pursued her tip' and that the 'impact of the story was immense'.

Showbiz supremo Katie Hind (pictured) took the coveted Scoop of the Year award for a string of exclusives about Phillip Schofield

Sabrina Miller (pictured) won the Young Journalist of the Year award for her brave undercover expose of a plot to sabotage the Grand National , which led to 118 arrests and ultimately saved the race

Sabrina Miller won the Young Journalist of the Year award for her brave undercover expose of a plot to sabotage the Grand National, which led to 118 arrests and ultimately saved the race.

Stephen Wright was chosen as Journalist of the Year for a series of fearless scoops exposing Albanian drug barons.

Judges said he had 'a vintage year with standout investigations'.

Liz Hull (left) and Caroline Cheetham's (right) podcast series, The Trial Of Lucy Letby, earned them the Multimedia Journalist of the Year award

Liz Hull and Caroline Cheetham's podcast series, The Trial Of Lucy Letby, earned them the Multimedia Journalist of the Year award.

Judges described their coverage of the killer nurse's court case, which has had 14 million downloads, as 'journalism with reach and impact'.

With award-winning scoops, brilliant analysis and ground-breaking investigations, it's little wonder The Mail on Sunday and our sister title, the Daily Mail, stand proud as Britain's best and biggest-selling papers.
A retiree who can no longer afford rent due to the cost-of-living crisis has been forced to live in her car and shower out of a public wash basin.

Susannah Tuxford, 78, has resorted to the drastic living measure with just her dog as company in a carpark in Beenleigh, Queensland.

She even revealed to not have showered for two weeks, being forced into using a hand basin at a public restroom to clean herself.

With no living family in Australia, Ms Tuxford said she felt 'embarrassed' by her last-ditch effort to maintain shelter.

She is just one of many Australians feeling the pinch of the cost-of-living crisis, with thousands of more Aussies reaching out for homelessness support.

She took aim at the government for not providing support to her despite paying taxes for over 50 years, now having to wash herself out of a hand basin in a public bathroom

Ms Tuxford took aim at the federal government for not supporting her.

The 78-year-old has been working hard her entire life after landing her first job at 14, and paying taxes for the past 50.

READ MORE: The surprising items young Aussies have been forced to give up as cost-of-living crisis bites Advertisement

'I paid all that money (for) all those years and the government's not helping anybody like me,' she told Nine News.

She revealed that after not showering for two weeks she turned to using a 'tissue plug' to help her wash herself in a bathroom at the carpark early in the morning so noone would see her.

Sandwiches provided to Ms Tuxford by local charities have been the only support she has received.

She now also relies on a walking stick after injuring her leg during a fall and 'can't walk properly'.

Ms Tuxford was offered sleeping arrangements at a local aged care facility after Queensland Housing Minister Meaghan Scanlon was approached by 9News.

The retiree turned down the offer saying she didn't need aged care support, and argued she just needed a roof over her head so she could continue to live independently.

According to Homelessness Australia, Queenslanders have been the hardest hit by housing increases in 2023 with an increase of 12.9 per cent of people seeking homelessness support.

A Queensland retiree, Susannah Tuxford (pictured), has been forced to live out of her car after she couldn't keep up with skyrocketing housing prices

The state had the largest increase across the nation, with people seeking homelessness support increasing by 7.5 per cent nationally.

'The overwhelming bulk of that need came from people seeking homelessness help because of financial stress and the housing crisis,' a media release from the national body reads.

'Of those turned away from homelessness services because they lacked the resources to assist, 80 per cent were women and children and 31 per cent were children under 18.'

The body have called on the government to increase funding to help support those who need help with homelessnes.

'The Federal Government has recently committed to new resources for social housing which is welcome, but while the housing crisis continues to drive increased homelessness, a significant funding boost is needed to cope with this unprecedented surge in demand,' Kate Colvin, Homelessness Australia CEO, said.

'Australia has the means to end homelessness, we just need the will.'
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed he will visit China on November 4, announcing a promising review of crippling trade tariffs on Australian wine.

In a statement released on Sunday, the PM said his historic visit follows months of 'productive discussions' around trade tensions between China and Australia.

He affirmed the trip was an important step towards 'ensuring a stable and productive relationship'.

'I look forward to further engaging with President Xi and Premier Li in Australia's national interest,' the PM said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed he will visit China on November 4, announcing a promising review of crippling trade tariffs on Australian wine

China, who is Australia's largest trading partner, scrapped its tariffs on Australian barley earlier this year, but has yet to wind back restrictions on Australian wine.

The wine tariffs were introduced in 2020 amid worsening relations between China and the former Coalition government.

Mr Albanese said on Sunday the two nations had 'reached an agreement' to resolve the ongoing dispute.

'We welcome China's agreement to undertake an expedited review of its duties. This process is expected to take five months,' Mr Albanese said.

'Australia and China have agreed we will suspend the dispute on wine in the WTO pending the outcome of this review.

'If the duties are not removed at the end of the review, Australia will resume the dispute in the WTO. We are confident of a successful outcome.'

Almost a third of Australia's trade is with China. Picture: by Andrei Gordeyev/AFP

Chinese Ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, said Mr Albanese's visit would lay a solid foundation for a 'friendly and cooperative relationship' between the two nations over the coming decades.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Mr Xiao said the trade spat was a complicated issue with 'no easy answer'.

'There are concerns from the Chinese side, there are concerns from the Australian side and we will try to sort out those issues,' he said.
An extraordinary draft letter accusing Australians of a 'shameful act' in voting down an Indigenous Voice to Parliament has been leaked.

The draft letter blamed the Coalition, including Aboriginal senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and Warren Nyunggai Mundine for the loss, but praised Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Indigenous leaders have not yet agreed on the open letter's wording, though, which followed a 'week of silence' after the referendum was defeated in all six states last Saturday.

Some prominent Yes campaigners, such as Mick Gooda, the co-chairman of Queensland's Interim Truth and Treaty Body, objected to how the draft is phrased.

'The majority of Australians have committed a shameful act whether knowingly or not, and there is nothing positive to be interpreted from it,' the proposed letter said, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

A draft letter from Indigenous leaders blamed the Coalition, including Aboriginal senator and leading No campaigner Jacinta Nampijinpa Price (pictured), for the loss

'Only the shameless could say there is no shame in this outcome.'

It said the referendum was 'doomed from the time the National Party and then the Liberal Party said they would oppose it and bipartisanship was lost'.

Aboriginal rapper Briggs suddenly pulls his support for his favourite footy team after 25 YEARS - because of board member's Voice No campaign act High-profile Indigenous rapper Briggs will no longer back the Melbourne Storm - despite supporting the side since it started - because one of the footy team's board members donated money to the No campaign. Advertisement

It added that Nationals leader David Littleproud, Liberal leader Peter Dutton 'and the political parties they lead are responsible for this result'.

The statement said the No votes by non-Indigenous Australians 'who came to our country in only the last 235 years' was 'so appalling and mean-spirited as to be utterly unbelievable a week later'.

It also said Indigenous Australians were 'hurting and bewildered by what they feel is the viciousness of the repudiation of our peoples and rejection of our efforts to pursue reconciliation in good faith'.

The latest draft, dated October 20, is one of several versions that have been sent to about 50 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and organisations.

The statement claimed to represent 'the collective insights and views of (Indigenous) leaders, community members and organisations who supported the Yes Campaign'.

It also proposed the Uluru Statement from the Heart - from which the referendum question was derived - could be changed 'to remove the aim of enshrining a First Nations Voice in the Constitution'.

The Yes campaign leaders would still be committed to the Uluru Statement's aims of Voice, Treaty, Truth, though, and would look at other ways to establish a representative body of the type that was defeated in the referendum.

Many Indigenous leaders have reportedly refused to sign the letter as it stands, as they do not agree with its tone and some of its content.

As well as Mr Gooda, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner June Oscar and Coalition of the Peaks lead convener Pat Turner are also understood to have objected to some of the wording.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (pictured) was praised in the draft letter, which also thanked Australians who voted Yes

The letter slammed Liberal leader Peter Dutton (pictured), saying he was one of those 'responsible for this result'

The draft did not just lay blame for the referendum failure, though, it also thanked the 39 per cent of Australians who voted Yes.

'We have faith that the upswelling of support through this referendum has ignited a fire for many to walk with us on our journey towards healing and justice. Our truths have been silenced for too long,' it said.

Though the draft letter praised the Prime Minister's 'gallantry in the campaign', it also criticised his 'attempted exculpation of those who voted No', and said Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk 'and other such cynics ... lifted not one finger to support the campaign'.

It is not clear when the final document will be agreed upon and issued to the public.
A New York City public school teacher who was slammed for branding Israel a 'terrorist state' and shared a photo of a pro-Hamas paraglider has doubled down on his views amid calls for him to be sacked.

Mohammad Jehad Ahmad, a math teacher at Gotham Tech High School in Queens, shared the paraglider-image on his Facebook page last weekend.

He had already branded NYC's public schools chancellor David Banks a 'white supremacist imperialist scumbag' after he condemned the Hamas attack of October 7.

Now the unrepentant educator has stood by his views, despite revealing they have earned him death threats. He said on social media platform X: 'I stand by everything I said.'

Ahmad claimed that 'hateful white people' had also been 'harassing' his workplace with calls for him to resign.

Mohammad Jehad Ahmad, a math teacher at Gotham Tech High School in Queens, has remained defiant after sharing a pro-Hamas paraglider image and anti Israel tweets

Despite allegedly receiving death threats and calls for him to resign he doubled down on his views in a series of social media posts

Among them are Gotham Tech parents who have now reportedly begun requesting that their children be removed from his classes.

During a PTA meeting on Thursday, parent Karla Rodriquez said: 'Kids are already affected by his poison, he applauds terrorism and violence,' the New York Post reports.

Meanwhile, the Citywide Council on High Schools said the advisory group has received over a dozen inquiries from current Gotham Tech parents and other members of the public raising concerns or calling for his resignation.

But a defiant Ahmad said: 'I stand by everything I said in the same way I continue to stand by the oppressed people whenever I encounter them. Both here in NYC and worldwide. Free Palestine. Free Palestine from so-called 'Israeli' oppression and active genocide.'

It remains unclear if the city's Department of Education has disciplined him in any way, or whether it intends to allow him to keep his role but he does not appear on the school's website.

The Department did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com's inquiries on Monday.

The teacher caused uproar last week when he posted a diatribe against Israel and then mocked Jews who deemed it offensive.

'How can Jews feel safe in Mohammad's classroom?' asked Justin Sprio, a New York City school social worker.

Ahmad claimed that he has received death threats solely from 'hateful white people' over his views

Ahmad has since changed his Facebook cover photo to a different pro-Palestine image that does not include the paraglider

Gotham Tech High parents have now called for him to resign or for their children to be removed from his classes, it remains unclear if he is facing any disciplinary action

Ahmad hit back: 'Look at this clown and the others in his replies. So-called 'Israel' is a settler colony that was invented and only continues to exist through terrorism, dispossession, ethnic cleansing, and ongoing incremental genocide.

'To support 'Israel' is to support white supremacist terror.'

In a response to another outlet, Ahmad fumed: 'So-called Israel was invented in 1948 through coordinated acts of terrorism to depopulate and ethnically cleanse Palestinian land.

'For over the past 75 years, so-called Israel has continued to exist through continued dispossession, ethnic cleansing and incremental genocide.

In reference to the Hamas attack, he said: 'On Saturday, Palestinians from Gaza completed a successful military campaign against that oppressor.'

Ahmad has been a teacher at Gotham Tech High School since July. He is currently not listed among the teachers on the school's website

When criticized by Jewish social worker Justin Spiro about how Jewish children might feel safe in his classroom, Ahmad mocked him by calling him a 'clown'

He labeled reports of Hamas murdering children and babies as 'unsubstantiated', he continued: 'So-called Israel is a white supremacist, settler-colony, that only exists through its ongoing dispossession, ethnic cleansing, and incremental genocide of the Palestinian people.'

Ahmad declined to answer DailyMail.com's questions about his comments or whether he was still employed.

Instead, he called DailyMail.com 'predatory' and the coverage of his remarks an 'effort by mass media to silence anti-Zionist discourse' which he says has inspired death threats.

'I choose not to answer questions that will continue to dehumanize and cause harm to me, my family, and those like us,' he said.

Around 1,400 people have been killed in Israel since the Hamas attack earlier this month, while the Gaza health ministry said 3,785 people have been killed in retaliatory strikes in Gaza.

Pro-Palestine protests have sprung up across the country in the wake of the conflict, including at universities which have garnered criticism for allowing them to go ahead despite some Jewish students asking for them to be canceled.

Many campuses have also reported a rise in anti-Semitic incidents amid the protests, while the police have been put on alert for increased threats against Jewish, Muslim and Arab communities amid the tension.
Britain's frightful washout of a summer has been a monster success for many farmers  helping them to grow scarily big pumpkins just in time for Halloween.

Supermarkets are now selling freakishly large pumpkins after the sodden weather made them balloon in size.

The soggy July and August created perfect conditions for the water-guzzling squashes, while a warm September and early October helped them to ripen quickly.

Farmers are now scrambling to get some 40 million pumpkins to sellers before Halloween.

Ross McGowan, who grows 200,000 pumpkins a year at Hatter's Farm, near Stansted in Essex, said the wet weather meant the average pumpkin was larger but there were slightly fewer of them.

The soggy July and August created perfect conditions for the water-guzzling squashes, while a warm September and early October helped them to ripen quickly

Ross McGowan, who grows 200,000 pumpkins a year at Hatter's Farm, near Stansted in Essex, said the wet weather meant the average pumpkin was larger but there were slightly fewer of the

This is because the rain also deterred bees from pollinating crops, he said.

'We have been doing this for eight or nine years and we definitely haven't had a year when they've been bigger,' he said.

'Of the bigger varieties we grow, pumpkins that might be 15 kilograms in other years could be as much as 30 kilograms now.

'People love them. A lot of the really big ones will be bought by people who carve them out and then might put their babies in them to take pictures to go on social media.'

He added that the harvest had started around a fortnight later than normal because of the wet weather. Packaging company DS Smith said it had seen a surge in demand this year for its Octabins  eight-sided cardboard barrels that transport pumpkins  due to the size of the squashes.

It said it has been flooded with orders and is supplying around 25 per cent more of the bins than this time last year.

Joe Coote, pumpkin packaging account manager at DS Smith, said: 'We're in a race against the clock to get our Octabins to growers and retailers who have only recently realised they need extra storage for their giant pumpkins.'

Tesco has said all its pumpkins will be larger than normal, though it still expects the smaller carving sizes to be popular.

Each pumpkin contains around 500 seeds and there are around 50 types of the gourd.

They can be green, white and red, as well as the traditional orange.

Carved pumpkins are known as Jack-o'-lanterns, linked to an Irish myth about a drunkard who bargains with Satan and is doomed to roam the Earth with only a hollowed turnip to light his way.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex flew off to a Caribbean island on a private jet just days after attending a conference discussing the impact of climate change on mental health.

Harry and Meghan used a Dassault Falcon 7X jet to fly from New Jersey to Canouan after attending the summit in New York on October 10, and again for the four hour hop between the exclusive retreat and Atlanta, Georgia.

They attended the conference organised by Project Healthy Minds, during which Zak Williams, the son of comedian and actor Robin Williams told attendees that climate change was adversely effecting mental health, particularly in young people.

The couple have in the past been keen to highlight their green credentials. When interviewed by Oprah Winfrey two years ago, Harry identified climate change and mental health as the two 'pressing issues'.

But the pair aren't strangers to private jets either. In 2019 Harry and Meghan came under scrutiny for racking up four flights by private jet in the space of just 11 days, including one to Sir Elton John's home in Nice.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex took several flights by private jet days after attending a summit in New York in which the effects of climate change on mental health were discussed

Attendees were told at the conference, organised by non profit organisation Project Health Minds, that climate change was having a particularly adverse effect on young people

Harry has previously insisted that he uses commercial flights '99% of my life', but has been spotted using private jets on several occasions, including in 2019 when he and Meghan took four private flights in just 11 days

The Sussexes flew by private jet from New Jersey to Caribbean island Canouan, and then to Atlanta in Georgia

Sources close to Harry say that the Dassault 7X Falcon the couple used belonged to a friend with a property on Canouan

Harry and Meghan pictured leaving a gourmet food store inside the Sandy Lane Yacht Club and Marina in Glossy Bay, after they flew off to Canouan in St Vincent and the Grenadines

Private flights emit more fuel per passenger than their commercial counterparts.

The Sussexes private flights totalled over 4,000 miles, burning 9.6 tons of CO2 emissions.

A source close to Harry said the Falcon 7X belonged to a friend who has a property on Canouan, the Mirror reported.

They added that the couple had used a commercial flight to reach the mental health summit in New York.

Harry has previously said that he takes commercial flights '99% of my life', while implying that he sometimes uses private jets to 'ensure my family are safe'.

Former MP and Liberal Democrat frontbencher Norman Baker said the Sussexes were both unnecessarily damaging the environment 'through travel habits' and hypocritical about the significance of the climate crisis.
Twitter's nixed Head of Trust and Safety has called working for Elon Musk the 'hardest experience' of her career in a bombshell interview.

Provided to NBC News Friday, the statement comes roughly four months removed from Ella Irwin's sudden resignation in June - making her, the second person to hold that role to quit, since Musk's takeover roughly a year ago.

A month later, in November 2022, Irwin accepted the position - before leaving some seven months later as Musk publicly criticized moderation actions taken at the company around the issue of misgendering.

Amid Elon Musk's chaotic $44billion acquisition, Yoel Roth, the former head of trust and safety, stepped down - paving the way for criticism over lax protections against content since Musk's buyout.

One such amendment was the removal of certain language from policies prohibiting 'misgendering,' spurring Irwin to write in June that it had become clear 'there was no longer alignment' between her 'nonnegotiable principles' and the company.

Twitter 's nixed Head of Trust and Safety Ella Irwin - a vet of the industry who held prominent moderation positions at both Amazon and Google - called working for Elon Musk the 'hardest experience' of her career in an interview Friday - months after suddenly resigning from the role

In her first interview since, she provided more insight into why she left - and slammed what she called a series of 'terrible' decisions by the billionaire she says have made the company worse

In her first interview since, she provided more insight into why she left - and slammed what she called a series of 'terrible' decisions by the billionaire that she says have made the company worse.

'It absolutely was the hardest experience that I've gone through in my career,' An alum of firms like Amazon and Google, the 48-year-old told the station:

She added how during her roughly half-year stint, Musk, 52, excelled at 'questioning everything, boiling things down to first principles, removing constraints' - but was more driven by emotion than business acumen.

'There's more emotion behind his decisions than I would have maybe expected before I met him,' explained Irwin, whose career with companies like JPMorgan and Bank of America spans decades.

'I think that contributes to some of the impulsiveness,' she added, before pivoting to her old boss's famously flippant behavior.

The former risk management director of eHarmony recalled: 'I think there were a lot of situations in which I would have handled things very differently.'

Alluding to the series of polls and seemingly slipshod decisions wrought by the CEO over the past 12 months, she said: 'There were things that I wouldn't have tweeted in the middle of the night, [and] there were certainly things that could have been stated better.'

The industry vet proceeded to recall how Musk at first came into the company with 'startup energy,' but instead fell into the trap of engaging in a mass layoff just a few weeks into his tenure.

Referring to the cut that saw the firm lose half of its then-12,000 strong workforce as a cost-cutting measure, Irwin, who also held prominent roles at Bank of American and JPMorgan Chase, said: 'I don't think I've ever seen anything like that.'

The statement comes roughly four months removed from Irwin's sudden resignation in June - months after her predecessor, Yoel Roth (pictured), also stepped down - paving the way for criticism over lax protections against content since Musk's buyout

As Irwin took over for Roth, Twitter dissolved its Trust and Safety Council, the advisory group of around 100 independent civil, human rights and other organizations the firm formed in 2016 to address hate speech, child exploitation, suicide, self-harm and other problems on the site

Among her issues with Musk's ownership, Irwin said, was his mission to give precedence to 'user choice' - a decision she said is biting him as misinformation and terrorist content pertaining to the Israel-Hamas conflict continues to make rounds

Another move made as Irwin took over for Roth, was Twitter dissolvement of its Trust and Safety Council, the advisory group of roughly 100 civil, human rights and other organizations the firm formed to address hate speech, child exploitation, suicide, and posts promoting self-harm on the site.

These decisions, Irwin remembered, proved problematic - and helped her come to her already aired conclusion that 'there was no longer alignment' between the firm now known as X and the 'nonnegotiable principles' she's amassed over the years.

Among them was the aforementioned of misgendering - posts that purposely used the wrong pronouns for transgender individuals - and 'this notion of freedom of speech versus freedom of reach,' she said.

Irwin went on to explain: 'It was important to me that there was an understanding that hate speech, for example, violent graphic content, things like that, were not promoted, advertised, amplified.'

Other issues with Musk's ownership, she said, was his so-called mission to give precedence to 'user choice' - a decision she said is biting him as misinformation and terrorist content pertaining to the Israel-Hamas conflict continues to make rounds.

'I'm a big believer in giving people the ability to make the decisions that are right for them,' she said - adding, 'who they want to follow, what they don't want to see, they should be able to create and choose their own adventure.'

Since Musk's acquisition, Twitter has cut costs dramatically and laid off thousands of employees, including many who had worked on efforts to prevent harmful and illegal content, protect election integrity, and surface accurate information on the site

Musk has been in charge of Twitter since his takeover in October 2022

She went on to call the current phenomenon with misinformation 'extremely upsetting,' as the company now faces an investigation from the European Commission on the matter.

Conceding how X is not the only platform facing such struggles, she told NBC: 'There is no doubt in my mind that there are a lot of people heads down, doing everything they can to solve for this.'

But, she quickly added, 'I think about the damage that misinformation at scale can do to the product experience, the customer experience, to society.

'It's one of the most important problems we need to solve for,' she said.

Of a prospective fix to the site's current woes, Irwin said: 'It can't be your one solution - it's one of a whole toolbox of things that needs to happen.'

She also conceded that Musk - despite cutting costs dramatically at the Silicon Valley company - is very good at questioning everything, [and] boiling things down to first principles, [while] removing constraints,

'That can be very powerful when you need to drive a lot of change very quickly.'

She went on to state what was the final straw that led her to leave the company in June - Musk allegedly floating the idea to eliminate the ability to block videos on the site, which was pulled two months after her resignation in August

'This was a mistake by many people at Twitter,' Musk wrote of the Matt Walsh-directed What Is A Woman, which moderators in June said contained two scenes categorized as 'hateful conduct' that went against the site's terms of service, before sharing it himself for all to see

The next day, Musk shared the documentary himself - and said he had removed any restrictions on the video. Within hours, outlets reported that Irwin was leaving the company

She went on to state what was the final straw that led her to leave the company in June - Musk allegedly floating the idea to eliminate the ability to block videos on the site, which was pulled two months after her resignation in August.

At the time, Musk has been accused of flouting free speech for reneging on a deal to air a Daily Wire-funded film over claims it 'misgendered' trans people - claims the CEO later shot down by calling the decision a 'mistake' made by his staffers.

'This was a mistake by many people at Twitter,' Musk wrote of the Matt Walsh-directed What Is A Woman, which moderators in June said contained two scenes categorized as 'hateful conduct' that went against the site's terms of service.

Musk, at the time, disagreed with his staffers' assessment, writing: 'Whether or not you agree with using someone's preferred pronouns, not doing so is at most rude and certainly breaks no laws.'

The next day, Musk shared the documentary himself - and said he had removed any restrictions on the video.

Within hours, outlets reported that Irwin was leaving.

She told NBC of the decision: 'I don't want to have a negative experience every time I log into Twitter.'

Four months later, she said she stands by her decision.

She told the station: 'I've worked every day since I was 14 years old, and with the exception of a few short vacations a year, I haven't really ever had a real break even between jobs, so I wanted to give myself this time.

'Having said that, I have been talking to a few companies recently,' she added, not elaborating on those prospective opportunities.

She did, however say she would likely never return to X - but would not completely rule out such a possibility.

Irwin told the outlet: 'You never say never, right? But I think there would have to be a lot of things that would have to change.

'Companies change, leadership teams change, a lot of things happen  but I don't know that that would happen anytime soon.'

After Musk assumed control of Twitter in October 2022, he fired Twitter's executive leadership and dismantled its board. Twitter then conducted four rounds of broad employee layoffs, slashing its headcount by about 80 percent, from an estimated 7,800 to about 1,500

Twitter laid off more than half of its workforce as a cost-cutting measure after Musk acquired the company in October.

The company has already been sued for allegedly failing to pay severance, but those cases involve breach of contract claims and not the benefits law being cited by McMillian, who was laid off in January.

The company has maintained it has paid ex-employees in full.

The lawsuit, meanwhile - the latest in a series of legal actions against Twitter - claims layoffs affected around 6,000 individuals.

Kate Mueting, the lawyer representing McMillian, this summer said Musk - who this week has made headlines after Facebook-owner Meta launched rival service Threads - failed to uphold severance plans set in place before his multibillion-dollar takeover.

'Musk initially represented to employees that under his leadership Twitter would continue to abide by the severance plan.

'He apparently made these promises knowing that they were necessary to prevent mass resignations that would have threatened the viability of the merger and the vitality of Twitter itself.'

A pending lawsuit filed last month further accuses Twitter of also failing to pay millions of dollars in bonuses it owes to remaining employees. In that case, Twitter has said the claims lack merit.

The company is also facing a series of other lawsuits stemming from another round layoffs that began last year, including claims that it targeted women and workers with disabilities.

Twitter has denied wrongdoing in the cases in which it has filed responses. It is now facing an investigation in Europe concerning recently circulated misinformation.
The facility she resided at found to be non-complaint

The nursing home where grandmother Clare Nowland was Tasered by police has been deemed to be non-complaint by the regulator over a separate matter.

Yallambee Lodge, an aged care home in the town of Cooma in southern NSW, had its risk management systems and practices ruled non-compliant by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission last month.

The facility was where Ms Nowland, 95, who suffered dementia, was allegedly hit with a Taser by Senior Constable Kristian White on May 17.

She died in hospital a week later from head injuries surrounded by some of her eight children, 24 grandchildren and 30 great-grandchildren.

An unannounced assessment of the facility had been conducted to check whether it was abiding by the Aged Care Quality Standards on July 5.

Yallambee Lodge (pictured), an aged care home in the town of Cooma in southern NSW, has been found to be non-complaint by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission

Clare Nowland (pictured), 95, was living at the facility before she was hit with a taser by police on May 17. She died in hospital a week later from head injuries

The report from the commission's assessment revealed that a separate incident had occurred in May, sparking the performance audit.

This was during the same month Ms Nowland had been tasered.

Details were scarce, but the report described the incident as being a 'priority one' matter.

A priority one is a matter that could have caused 'physical or psychological harm and/or discomfort that would usually require some form of medical or psychological treatment', according to NSW Health.

It may also be 'where there are reasonable grounds to report the incident to police'.

The report said the facility had not yet finalised its investigation into the incident.

Besides the non-complaint ruling, it was found that Yallambee Lodge had failed to adequate report the matter to the commission.

'This is evidenced by the provider not meeting mandatory Serious Incident Response Scheme (SIRS) notification and reporting requirements for a Priority 1 notifiable incident occurring in May 2023,' the report read.

The commission said there were 'gaps in the service's internal incident investigation and reporting in relation to the notifiable incident'.

They added separately that the facility 'did not always identify and respond to abuse and neglect of consumers'.

Yallambee Lodge has since told the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission that it was taking steps reviewing and improving its services including delivery of care and reporting of incidents following the audit.

It comes as Ms Nowland's family launches civil proceedings against the state government in the wake of her death.

In their statement of claim lodged in court, the executor of Ms Nowland's estate allege NSW Police acted unreasonably and had attempted to downplay what had happened in front of Yallambee Lodge staff, according to the Daily Telegraph.

Constable White, who allegedly fired the taser, is separately facing criminal charges of recklessly causing grievous bodily harm, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and common assault in the Local Court over the incident.

Constable White, who fired the taser, is separately facing criminal charges of recklessly causing grievous bodily harm, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and common assault in the Local Court over the incident

Senior Constable Kristian White (pictured left with his partner), who discharged the taser, is separately facing criminal charges of recklessly causing grievous bodily harm, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and common assault over the incident

Neither he nor his fellow officer, Sergeant Rachel Pank, are listed as defendants in the civil matter.

The court document contains a detailed account of what allegedly happened in the early hours of May 17 when Ms Nowland was tasered while holding a knife and using her walking frame.

White has been suspended from the police force with pay while Pank is facing no criminal charges in relation to the incident.

In their case, the Nowlands claim that the taser was fired in breach of police guidelines and that Sergeant Pank, as the senior officer, failed to direct her colleague to not use the weapon on the elderly woman.

Police have also enlisted a critical incident team to investigate the incident which will be independently reviewed.

The Nowland family are asking for damages over Clare's death including funeral and wake expenses, loss of financial support, damages for curtailment of expectation of life and loss of financial support.

The NSW District Court can award damages of up to $1.2million in civil cases.

On Thursday the Downing Centre District Court adjourned the case to October 26.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak could be facing a Conservative leadership crisis, as up to 25 MPs could be set to hand in letters of no confidence to the 1922 Committee.

Two groups of disgruntled Tories - some of which are Boris Johnson's allies and the remainder are moderate politicians - 'want to get rid of the PM', The Sunday Times has reported.

The loss of the two by-elections on Thursday were seen as the final straw for those wanting to topple the PM. He has also been warned he is 'looking general election defeat in the face' after Keir Starmer's party overturned massive majorities in Tamworth and Mid Bedfordshire.

A Member of Parliament who spoke to The Times said it wasn't clear who the rebels wanted to replace Sunak, but it was clear they wanted him out.

The anonymous source said: 'I told them I didn't think the British public would forgive us for changing prime minister again and that it would likely hurt not help our electoral fortunes.'

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak could be facing a Conservative leadership crisis, as up to 25 MPs could be set to hand in letters of no confidence. Pictured working on the plane with his senior advisors on the way to Saudi Arabia

The 1922 Committee (pictured with Rishi Sunak) is a committee of all backbench Conservative MPs that meets weekly when the Commons is sitting

Sunak has been warned he is 'looking general election defeat in the face' after Keir Starmer (pictured with newly elected MP Sarah Edwards) overturned massive majorities in Tamworth and Mid Bedfordshire

While Sunak faced a potentially growing challenge at home, he himself warned of a 'contagion of conflict' that the Israel-Hamas war risks unleashing on the Middle East during visits to Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

READ MORE: Rishi Sunak faces demands for immediate tax cuts to avert 1997-style Labour landslide after shattering blows in Tamworth and Mid Bedfordshire Advertisement

Sunak will be hoping his response to Hamas' deadly attacks in Gaza and West Bank - which saw more than 1,400 Israelis killed, the vast majority of whom were civilians - will prove him to be a competent leader and avert any growing conflict within his own party.

During his visits, he said the leaders agreed 'we need to do everything possible' to prevent the spread of the war.

He said his two-day visit to the region demonstrated 'that the UK stands in solidarity with them against terrorism' and that 'there can be no justification' for the atrocities committed by Hamas.

'I wanted to sit down with other leaders and talk face to face. Because in times of tension and division, it's more important than ever to accelerate diplomatic efforts,' he added.

He said the opening of the border crossing with Egypt to allow an aid convoy into the Gaza Strip was an example of what could be achieved.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak meeting with Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi on October 20

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets with Sunak at the royal palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Thursday

Sunak and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu hold a joint press conference in Jerusalem on Thursday

'The reopening of the Rafah crossing into Gaza is testament to the power of diplomacy, with the US, Israel and Egypt brokering an agreement to ensure vital aid reaches the Palestinian people.

'We're working closely with Egypt to ensure that the UK plays our part in ensuring those Palestinians get the food, water and medicine they so desperately need.

'The overwhelming view I got from everyone I spoke to this week was that we need to do everything possible to stop a contagion of conflict in the region.

'We need to keep our aspirations for a more peaceful and stable future firmly in our sights as we work together to defeat the evil of terrorism.'
A British fugitive who killed a German man in a bar fight eight years ago has been sent back to Spain to serve a 14-month prison sentence.

Ross Moore, 38, punched German Ingo Dewitz, 46, three times in the face following an argument at The Captain's Bar in La Cala de Mijas near Fuengirola, Costa del Sol, in July 2015.

Dewitz collapsed and died following the punches.

Moore was sentenced to 14 months in prison for manslaughter by a Spanish court in 2020, but his sentence was suspended when he agreed to pay the victim's family and the court 130,000 over two years.

When the builder failed to pay, Spanish authorities issued an arrest warrant for Moore and he was detained at his flat in Colchester, Essex, this April.

Ross Moore, 38, punched German Ingo Dewitz, 46, three times in the face following an argument at The Captain's Bar (pictured) in La Cala de Mijas near Fuengirola, Costa del Sol, in July 2015

A judge at Westminster magistrates court has classed him as a fugitive and has ordered him back to Spain to serve his sentence.

The father-of-two faces 351 days in a prison should he follow the order and return to Spain to serve his sentence.

But he fought his extradition, claiming Dewitz's death was an accident.

'He died in my arms. I got scared and ran. I was simply trying to do the right things and stand up for another person as the victim was causing trouble,' he said in a statement seen by the Mirror.

Moore also said his life was in danger following death threats from Spanish and Portuguese gangs, but the judge at Westminster magistrates dismissed this claim due to a lack of evidence.

District judge Sarah-Jane Griffiths wrote in her judgement that there was a 'strong public interest' in England following its obligations under the international extradition treaty.
A foreign rapist who was dubbed a 'danger to women' was offered 1,250 from the taxpayer to leave Britain.

Joachim Cardos, 43, was offered the cash by the government to board a flight to Gambia.

It was part of a scheme to encourage foreign criminals to leave rather than launch expensive legal bids to stay in the UK.

A newly published judgement revealed the offer came after Home Secretary Suella Braverman lost an appeal against a ruling that Cados can temporarily remain in the country.

Cardos was an illegal immigrant in Edinburgh and dealing drugs when he raped a woman at knifepoint and left her fearing for her life.

Drug dealer and rapist Joachim Cardos who was jailed for 11 years at Edinburgh High Court

He received eight years for the rape and three more for supplying drugs.

After serving a jail sentence for what a judge described as a 'violent and persistent' attack that had a 'devastating' impact on his victim, he was ordered to be sent back to his native Gambia.

Despite the law stating that foreign nationals guilty of serious crimes should automatically be deported, the sex offender launched a human rights challenge - arguing that his health would suffer in his West African homeland.

In a move that justice campaigners have called 'an insult to his victim', an immigration tribunal ruled in favour of letting Cardos remain in the UK.

Cados showed no remorse for his crime and a court in Edinburgh was told that no prisoner transfer deal existed between the UK and Gambia, meaning he would have to serve his time at HMP Dumfries.

He was also diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and spent some time in hospital.

In 2019, he was transferred to an immigration centre and given a deportation order.

But he successfully appealed on the grounds that as well as his human rights being breached, his medical condition wouldn't be given proper treatment.

The Home Office offered to fund his treatment in Africa and also 1,250, but it was turned down.

Tribunal judges said there was a 'real risk that he will experience genuine difficulties in the Gambia in being able to access a regular supply of his necessary medications', adding: 'There is a real risk of at least social isolation and stigmatisation.'

Cardos arrived in Britain in June 2007 on a visitor visa. When his leave to remain expired in June 2008, he stayed on illegally, living in Edinburgh and dealing drugs.

A newly published judgement revealed the offer came after Home Secretary Suella Braverman lost an appeal against a ruling that Cados can temporarily remain in the country

In October 2011, a 26-year-old marketing executive who had got his phone number outside a nightclub went to his flat in the capital's Dalry area to buy a small quantity of cannabis.

When he tried to kiss her, she turned him down but he pushed her into the bedroom.

The woman later told a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh: 'I could just see his eyes widen and his nose flare.

It just looked like an angry face. He said he was going to kill me. He said to me, 'Do you know how many people I have killed?'

Cardos grabbed her throat and she briefly passed out. When she came to, she found he was not in the room, but he returned.

She said: 'This time he had a knife. He kept saying I was bad and he was going to kill me. I thought he had flipped or was on drugs or something.' Cardos then raped her.

Passing sentence in July 2012, Judge Lord Hardie said there was a high risk of re-offending and Cardos posed a danger to women.
Ex-minister Peter Bone has been accused of charging taxpayers hundreds of pounds for his partner's travel, days after being stripped of the Tory whip.

The disgraced Wellingborough MP had the whip removed from him earlier this week after an investigation found he bullied and sexually harassed a former aide. The 70-year-old exposed himself to an aide on a business trip and demanded office massages, according to the Independent Expert Panel.

It has now emerged that he faces accusations that he claimed expenses for journeys made by his partner, Helen Harrison, a physio 20 years his junior.

It was widely reported that he entered into a relationship with Ms Harrison, his senior Parliamentary assistant until July 2021, back in 2018. He subsequently left his wife, Jenny Bone, whom he would famously mention in the House of Commons.

According to Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) records, Mr Bone made a request for 168 to cover two rail trips between Kettering and London, and his current constituency of Wellingborough and London, in addition to 77.20 to cover parking under 'partner travel'.

IPSA records show that he claimed 227.50 for four return trips by train between Wellingborough and London, as well as 42 in parking in 2021/22.

Peter Bone (pictured) faces accusations that he claimed expenses for journeys made by his partner, Helen Harrison, a physio 20 years his junior

The IPSA rules state that MPs are able to claim expenses for their 'spouse or partner's [travel] between their constituency and London'.

It comes as Mr Bone faces losing his seat as the length of the ban following the removal of the whip - if approved by MPs - will trigger a recall petition, which could lead to a fresh local vote.

Five allegations by a Westminster staffer were made about Mr Bone in October 2021, having had a complaint to then-prime minister Theresa May in 2017 unresolved, according to the IEP report.

The standards watchdog ruled he had 'committed many varied acts of bullying and one act of sexual misconduct' against a member of his staff in 2012 and 2013.

It said he was verbally abused and hit with a rolled-up document and subjected to an 'unwanted and humiliating ritual' where he was forced him to sit with his hands in his lap when the MP was unhappy with his work

Mr Bone said earlier this week that the allegations against him were 'false and untrue' and made by an ex-employee who made them 'years after leaving my unemployment'. He suggested he was seeking legal advice.

Mr Bone faces losing his seat as the length of the ban following the removal of the whip - if approved by MPs - will trigger a recall petition, which could lead to a fresh local vote

He gained a reputation for mentioning 'Mrs Bone' - his wife Jenny - in the House of Commons, but they split in 2018 after he left her for Helen Harrison, a married physiotherapist 20 years his junior

But the panel said he had demonstrated a 'wilful pattern of bullying (that) also included an unwanted incident of sexual misconduct.'

MPs are liable to face a recall petition in their seat if a ban of more than 10 sitting days is agreed by a vote of the Commons. The petition needs to be signed by at least 10 per cent of the electorate.

If it passes the threshold it would pave the way for a by-election, the latest to take place in a Tory seat.
A devastated father has shared a chilling phone call from his daughter during Hamas' attack on a Israeli music festival where at least 260 people were slaughtered and others taken hostage.

In an interview with CNN's Erin Burnett, Ilan Regev, played the heartbreaking call he received from his daughter, Maya, 21, as she and her brother Itay, 18, were being kidnapped by Hamas.

'Dad, they shot me, they shot me!' Maya said in a call to her father on Oct. 7 amid the gunfire. 'He is killing us, Dad, he is killing us.'

Ilan could be heard telling Maya to send her location and find a place to hide and said 'I'm coming.'

Ilan jumped in his car from his home in Herzliya, near Tel Aviv, and sped south to the festival site, where he was barred from entering.

A devastated father has shared a chilling phone call from his daughter during Hamas ' attack on a Israeli music festival where at least 260 people were slaughtered and others taken hostage

In the interview Ilan can be seen breaking down as he becomes overwhelmed with emotion listening to his daughter's gut-wrenching cries and pleas once again

In the interview Ilan can be seen breaking down as he becomes overwhelmed with emotion listening to his daughter's gut-wrenching cries and pleas once again.

Maya has not been seen since she went missing, but a friend sent Ilan a video of Itay being held hostage by Hamas.

Maya, 21, (left) and her brother Itay, 18, (right) were at the Tribe of Nova music festival when they were taken hostage

'I think he's alive now,' Ilan said of his son. 'I don't know, but he's not dead from the shooting. They informed us.'

The siblings mother, Mirit, said that she received messages from Maya saying that they were ok and waiting for the police to let them go.

Maya is believed to have also sent Mirit a message telling her mother 'I love you.'

Burnett said Ilan and Mirit shared the call because they want the world to 'pay attention and care.'

The horrifying call, was in stark contrast to the night the siblings set off for the Tribe of Nova music festival on Oct 7.

Some 260 people were killed and dozens more kidnapped among the 3,500 or so who had flocked from all over the world to celebrate the values of 'free love and free spirit, preservation of the environment, appreciation of natural values' promoted by the festival.

'Mom, I'll unpack my suitcase when I get back,' Maya told her mother that Friday night, in a rush to get going, the Associated Press reported. 'See you tomorrow.'

It was a typical activity for the duo, who both love to be on the move, gather with friends, and especially to travel, their parents said.

Maya has not been seen since she went missing, but a friend sent Ilan a video of Itay being held hostage by Hamas (pictured)

The phone call was also shared in a post to Instagram on an account pleading for the safe return of the siblings

Maya had already bought her ticket for an extended trip to South America in December.

But early the next morning, Ilan's phone rang, with a frantic Maya on the other end.

'I want to know that my kids are alive,' Ilan told the outlet.

Mirit added: 'We don't know if they are eating. We don't know if they are drinking. If they are hurt.'

It comes as families of the more than 200 people who the Israeli military says were taken hostage by Hamas militants hold out hope after the news that two hostages have been released.

Judith and Natalie Raanan, an American woman and her teenage daughter, were released and reunited with family. It was the first hostage release from Hamas.
Israeli aircraft struck a compound beneath a mosque in the occupied West Bank early on Sunday that the military said was being used by terrorists to organise attacks, and Palestinian medics said at least one person was killed.

Israel said the compound beneath al-Ansar Mosque, in Jenin refugee camp, belonged to operatives from Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad who were responsible for attacks in recent months.

'Intel was recently received which indicated that the terrorists, (who) were neutralized, were organizing an imminent terror attack,' the military said in a statement.

The military released images that it said showed an entrance to a bunker under the mosque. It also released a diagram that it said showed where terrorists had stored weapons there.

Footage on social media, appearing to show the scene of the air strike, showed a gaping hole in one of the mosque's exterior walls, surrounded by debris.

Footage on social media, appearing to show the scene of the air strike, showed a gaping hole in one of the mosque's exterior walls, surrounded by debris, with civilians and members of the emergency services at the scene

Several dozen Palestinians are seen assessing the damage, as ambulance sirens blare in the background.

The Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance service said at least one Palestinian was killed and three others injured. It had earlier said that two people were killed.

The Israeli air strike is at least the second in recent days to hit the West Bank, where violence has surged since Hamas gunmen from Gaza carried out a deadly October 7 rampage in Israel, killing more than 1,400 people.

Jenin refugee camp, a Palestinian terrorist stronghold, was the focus of a major Israeli military operation earlier this year.

The Israeli Air Force said in a statement: 'In a joint IDF and ISA activity, the IDF conducted an aerial strike on an underground terror compound in the Al-Ansar mosque in Jenin; The mosque contained a terror cell of Hamas and Islamic Jihad terror operatives who were organizing an imminent terror attack.

'The terrorist cell also carried out a terror attack on October 14th in the area of the security fence, where an explosive device was detonated by a cellular activation of terror forces who arrived at the scene.'

Israel pounded southern Gaza with air strikes early on Sunday and said it would intensify its attacks in the enclave's north, as the U.S. committed to getting more aid to Palestinians running out of food, water, medicines and fuel.

Palestinian media reported at least 11 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli strike in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. Palestinian media also said Israel was striking the southern city of Rafah.

Footage widely circulating online in the immediate aftermath of the attack purported to show emergency services rushing to administer aid beside the damaged building. There were also some civilians gathered outside

People inspect the damage after an Israeli strike hit a compound beneath a mosque that the Israeli military said was being used by terrorists to organise attacks, in Jenin refugee camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on October 22, 2023

The aftermath of an Israeli strike that a compound beneath a mosque in Jenin refugee camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on October 22, 2023

Israel Defense Forces posted on social media following the attack

Beneath the images of the compound it wrote: 'The IDF & ISA just conducted an aerial strike on a Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist compound in the Al-Ansar Mosque in Jenin. Recent IDF intel revealed that the Mosque was used as a command center to plan and execute terrorist attacks against civilians'

The overnight strikes came hours after Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari called on Gazans to move south out of harm's way.

'For your own safety move southward. We will continue to attack in the area of Gaza City and increase attacks,' Hagari said in a briefing to Israeli reporters on Saturday.

He said the country planned to step up its airstrikes starting on Saturday as preparation for the next stage of the war.

'We will deepen our attacks to minimize the dangers to our forces in the next stages of the war. We are going to increase the attacks, from today,' Hagari said.

Israel is facing mounting pressure from the West to delay its ground offensive into Gaza and to win the freedom of Hostages captured by Hamas.

Israel has amassed tanks and troops near the fenced border around the narrow coastal enclave for the planned ground invasion with the objective of annihilating Hamas, after several inconclusive wars dating to its seizure of power there in 2007.

In a video distributed by the Israeli military on Saturday, Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi told troops: 'We are going to go into the Gaza Strip ... to destroy Hamas operatives and Hamas infrastructure and we will have in our mind the memories of the images and those who fell on Saturday two weeks ago.'

Smoke rises as the Israeli airstrikes continue on its 15th day in Beit Hanoun, Gaza on October 21, 2023

Israeli troops have carried out live fire drills 'in preparations for the next stage of war', footage released by the Israeli army on Saturday showed.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened his Cabinet late on Saturday to discuss the expected invasion, Israeli media reported.

Israel has vowed to crush Hamas but has given few details about what it envisions for Gaza if it succeeds.

Yifat Shasha-Biton, a Cabinet minister, said there was broad consensus in the government that there will have to be a 'buffer zone' in Gaza to keep Palestinians away from the border.

An Israeli ground assault would likely lead to a dramatic escalation in casualties on both sides in urban fighting.

More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed in the war - mostly civilians slain during the Hamas attack.

More than 4,300 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. That includes the disputed toll from a hospital explosion.

Gaza's Health Ministry said on Saturday that more than a million of the territory's people have been displaced.

An IDF soldier jumps off the front of a tank on October 21, 2023 in southern Israel

IDF soldiers clean the barrel of a tank on October 21, 2023 in southern Israel

Hamas said it fired rockets towards Tel Aviv on Saturday in response to Israeli air strikes that Gaza's Health Ministry and Hamas media said killed at least 50 people and injured dozens.

Amid mounting international concern the conflict could widen into a regional war, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday cautioned Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati in a call that the Lebanese people would be affected if his country were drawn in, the State Department said.

Israel said its aircraft struck Hezbollah targets in Lebanon on Saturday and that one of its soldiers was hit by an anti-tank missile, in cross-border fighting that the Iran-backed group said killed six of its fighters.

Israel on Saturday described as 'propaganda' a claim by Hamas that the terrorist group had wanted to release two more hostages on humanitarian grounds but that Israel declined to receive them.

Abu Ubaida, spokesman for Hamas's armed wing, said it informed Qatar of the group's intention to release the two additional people on Friday, the same day it freed Americans Judith Tai Ranaan and her daughter Natalie.

An aerial view of humanitarian aid trucks arriving from Egypt after having crossed through the Rafah border crossing arriving at a storage facility in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 21, 2023

On Saturday, the first humanitarian aid convoy to be allowed in to the besieged Gaza Strip since the war broke out arrived through the Rafah border crossing.

The United Nations said the 20-truck convoy included life-saving supplies that would be received by the Palestinian Red Crescent.

But the U.N. humanitarian office (OCHA) said the volume of goods that entered on Saturday was equivalent to about 4 per cent of the daily average of imports into Gaza prior to the hostilities, and only a fraction of what was needed after 13 days of siege of an enclave that is home to 2.3 million people.

U.S. President Joe Biden cheered the arrival of the aid after days of intense negotiations and said the United States was committed to ensuring more assistance would enter via the Rafah border crossing.

'We will continue to work with all parties,' Biden said in a statement.
Qantas flight prices are set to soar as the national airline passes on rising costs to its customers.

Ticket prices on domestic and international Qantas flights will jump by 3.5 per cent from October 27, piling more pressure on cash strapped Aussies.

The national airline said it has 'no choice' but to increase prices as it struggles to absorb the rising cost of fuel, but the move has left customers furious.

'It just seems like they're taking the p**s. Australians don't like that,' one irritated woman told 9 News.

Qantas flight prices are set to soar as the national airline passes on rising costs to its customers

Jetstar flights will also be 3 per cent more expensive from next week.

The increase could make it harder for families to get together over Christmas with the holiday season just around the corner.

In a statement, Qantas said it was no longer able to absorb the rising cost of fuel brought about by factors such as the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and a weak Australian dollar.

Late last month, the airline foreshadowed the change, noting in an ASX announcement fiel prices has 'increased by around 30 per cent since May 2023, including a 10 per cent spike since August'.

'If sustained, this is expected to see the Group's 1H24 fuel bill increase by approximately $200 million to $2.8 billion after hedging,' the statement read.

'The Group will continue to absorb these higher costs, but will monitor fuel prices in the weeks ahead and, if current levels are sustained, will look to adjust its settings. Any changes would look to balance the recovery of higher costs with the importance of affordable travel in an environment where fares are already elevated.'

Qantas, which owns Jetstar, recorded an eye-watering record pre-tax profit of $2.47 billion in the last financial year.

News of a price hike is likely to pile more pressure on the beleaguered airline as it grapples with a public relations crisis.

Ex-boss Alan Joyce quit as CEO in September amid multiple scandals, including allegations Qantas continued to sell tickets for cancelled flights.

Joyce has avoided fronting a Senate inquiry into aviation after a Coalition bid to extend the inquiry failed this week.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - NewsWire Photos - OCTOBER 14, 2022: General generic editorial stock image of Jetstar aircraft at Sydney Domestic Airport

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) will resume monitoring domestic air passenger services to help ensure Australians see the benefits of a competitive airline sector, the federal government announced recently.

'We want a safe, sustainable and efficient aviation sector that provides a high standard of service, good prices and better consumer protections for Australians,' a joint statement from Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Transport Minister Catherine King read.

'A competitive airline industry helps to put downward pressure on prices and deliver more choice for Australians facing cost-of-living pressures.'

Qantas chairman Richard Goyder also recently announced he would be retiring from the position in 2024.

Goyder's long goodbye was slammed by Transport Workers Union bosses furious with Qantas after the High Court upheld a federal court ruling the airline had illegally outsourced more than 1700 jobs during the pandemic.

The latest price hike is yet another headache for new CEO Vanessa Hudson as she endures a torrid start to her role.
The family of a teenage girl found dead in bushland one year ago has spoken out about their grief and heartbreak after she was taken from them.

Emily Thompson was allegedly stabbed to death and her body dumped by her ex-boyfriend on October 22, 2022.

Ms Thompson had turned 18 two weeks beforehand and was about to graduate from Pine Rivers State High School in Strathpine, Queensland, 21km north of Brisbane.

She was allegedly killed by Aaron Mitchelson Huckel, then aged 19, hours after police said they met at a carpark. He has been charged with her murder.

Her family said Ms Thompson's death was 'horrendous'. 'The reality of waking up every day knowing she was no longer with us was, and continues to be completely numbing,' they told the Sunday Mail.

Emily Thompson (pictured) was allegedly stabbed to death and her body dumped by her ex-boyfriend on October 22, 2022

Ms Thompson had turned 18 two weeks beforehand and was about to graduate from Pine Rivers State High School in Strathpine, Queensland, 21km north of Brisbane

Following a phone call from Ms Thompson's distressed parents, police tracked down Mitchelson Huckel to a service station 80km away in Nambour on the Sunshine Coast, before locating her body in nearby bushland the following day.

At the time of her death, the family said 'She is not "an 18 year old woman" she is Emily. A much loved daughter, sister, grand-daughter, cousin, niece and friend. Emily was taken from the family in the worst of circumstances.'

READ MORE: Teenager allegedly murdered by her ex-boyfriend pictured smiling at a party just weeks before Advertisement

'Emily was a school girl about to complete year 12 exams and had her whole life ahead of her. She had bought a beautiful dress ready to attend her formal in a vintage car driven by her beloved Pa. Her friend group were preparing to celebrate the end of school and the start of their adult lives.

'Emily was a smart, kind-hearted and loving girl. It was never about Emily, it was always about her family and friends. Her family is devastated and in shock trying to comprehend how their lives will be without their Emily.'

One year on, the family said 'as time moves on, the numbing subsides and you are left with the raw pain of knowing you will never get to hug your daughter again, hear her laugh, or experience her experiencing new things.

'There is a dreadful sense of loss for all the "things" that she was, but also for all the "things" that she could have been and could have done.'

The grieving family said their house now feels 'emptier than it ever has before', that they are surrounded by friends and family that support them, but that those people have to get on with their lives.

Like many people who suffer a terrible, violent loss, they said 'it seems incomprehensible that in the outside world nothing has really changed'.

Ms Thompson's mother Melissa said she was excited to finish high school and start a new chapter in her life and had already booked and paid for her schoolies trip after the exams.

Aaron Mitchelson Huckel (pictured) has been charged with Emily Thompson's murder

She had six grandparents who were all closely involved in her life, including taking her clothes shopping on her birthday, teaching her how to drive and bringing her and her brother to Gold Coast theme parks during school holidays.

The family said they would like people to 'think of Emily often'.

'Smile at the memory of her. We do. Cry over the loss of her. We do. Share stories with each other. We do. But, most importantly, say her name. #hernameisEmily.'

Mitchelson Huckel, who is in jail on remand, will appear in Pine Rivers Magistrates Court on November 20.
Lindell has been banned from X for spreading false claims about 2020 election fraud

Election conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell has had his $500 Wi-Fi monitoring devices banned from Kentucky polling stations.

The MyPillow CEO said he developed the products, which detect and identify Wi-Fi networks, to make elections more secure.

The 2020 election denier claims that the presence of Wi-Fi in voting booths could indicate that votes are being tampered with through machines connected to the internet.

He said he has linked the devices to send information about online routers to a centralized 'command center' which notes the location and relays the information back to the user.

But officials in the state warned the devices could lead to unlawful voter identification and that using them at polling stations is likely illegal.

Mike Lindell has had his $500 Wi-Fi monitoring devices banned from Kentucky polling stations.

The MyPillow CEO says the devices can detect and identify Wi-Fi networks and are designed to make elections more secure

They have now unanimously voted to ban the devices amid fears they could be small enough to sneak into voting booths.

'These devices appear to be nothing more sophisticated, or dangerous, than a simple cell phone, which also can detect a Wi-Fi signal,' Michon Lindstrom, director of communications for Secretary of State Michael Adams, said in a statement to the Cincinnati Enquirer.

'The presence of Wi-Fi in a building does not mean that ballot scanners are connected to the internet; state law prohibits that and we do not certify ballot scanners for use if they have any capacity for connectivity.'

Kentucky law means that voting machines are not built with a modem meaning they cannot connect to the internet. However, since many polling stations are located in churches, schools and other public spaces there is Wi-Fi available.

At a meeting of his Election Bureau Crime Summit, Lindell debuted one of his devices strapped to a drone and explained it would catch 'them' in 'every single lie they've ever told'.

He told the crowd: 'This device as it flew into this building, it just grabbed all of your cellphones, everybody that's in this room, every device that is on the internet right now.'

Kentucky officials have since said that using the Wi-Fi monitoring devices in polling booths is likely a felony punishable by one to five years in jail.

Lindell, a prominent supporter of Donald Trump, has been banned from social media platform X for spreading false claims about voter fraud during the 2020 election.

Kentucky officials unanimously voted to ban the devices amid fears they could lead to unlawful voter identification

Lindell claims the presence of Wi-Fi at polling stations could be evidence votes are being tampered with

He is currently fighting a lawsuit against two voting machines companies Dominion and Smartmatic who claim he defamed them by claiming their machines were involved.

Lindell made his fortune selling bedding to the likes of Walmart and Bed Bath and Beyond, but lost an estimated $100 million when they pulled his products from their shelves following his claims.

Earlier this month he admitted to being 'broke' as lawyers in the defamation cases revealed he had not paid any fees since July.

MyPillow raked in $110 million a year in gross sales prior to to the election controversy, but now makes only about $5 million - a staggering 95 percent drop.

The businessman said he was being forced to auction off manufacturing equipment and sublease unused industrial space after distributors tore up distribution deals.
Newly released photos show the dramatic moment a US Navy warship shot down multiple drones and missiles during a nine hour onslaught near the Yemeni coast.

The USS Carney was stationed in the Northern Red Sea on Thursday when it intercepted 15 drones and four cruise missiles which were fired by Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen.

Images from onboard the vessel show the launch of RIM-66M surface-to-air missiles to destroy the devices which were 'headed for Israel'.

It shows fiery explosions mid-air as well as several military service members in the control room of the warship. No injuries were reported onboard or on land among civilians.

The incident was the fourth in three days of increased aggression against US troops in the region as tensions continue to escalate in the Middle East.

Newly released photos show the dramatic moment a US Navy warship shot down multiple drones and missiles during a nine hour onslaught near the Yemeni coast

Images show the launch of RIM-66M surface-to-air missiles to destroy 15 drones and four cruise missiles which were fired by Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen and 'headed for Israel'

The incident was the fourth in three days of increased aggression against US troops in the region as tensions continue to escalate in the Middle East

Pictures show the USS Carney's close-in weapon system pointing towards a target which has been struck and a fiery cloud is seen in the background.

A second image highlights another missile which has been successfully shot in the air with a view of the side of the warship.

Military personnel are seen concentrating on computer screens in the control room as they intercept the drones and missiles.

An official from the Defense Department said the drones and cruise missiles were shot down using SM-2 surface-to-air missiles.

The source added that the rockets fired by the Iran-backed Houthi militants were clearly headed for Israel.

While a US official added that they do not believe the missiles, shot down over the water, were aimed at the US warship.

The Houthi terrorist group in Yemen has signaled its intention to join the war against Israel.

Military personnel are seen concentrating on computer screens in the control room as they intercept the drones and missiles

An official from the Defense Department said drones and cruise missiles were shot down using SM-2 surface-to-air missiles. No injuries were reported onboard or on land among civilians

The estimated area where the USS Carney intercepted the drones and missiles on Thursday

The Al Tanf Garrison military base in Syria, where there are American troops present, was targeted by two drones on Wednesday.

One was destroyed while the other impacted the base following joint action by US and coalition forces.

Another attack was reported at the Conoco airfield. Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an Iran-backed group, has claimed credit for the attempted strike against the Conoco base, but US officials are yet to confirm that specific strike.

On Tuesday, troops at the al-Asad airbase in Iraq intercepted three drones. To the north, troops the Al-Harir Air Base intercepted another two.

On Wednesday, a contractor at the al-Asad airbase in Iraq died of a heart attack while sheltering amid reports of an incoming attack.

There were minor injuries at the al-Asad base, where troops were only able to intercept one of the drones and damage the other. The extent of those injuries is unclear.

A US official said they do not believe the missiles, shot down over the water, were aimed at USS Carney

Officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said an attack took place on Wednesday against US forces at Al-Tanf base, near Syria's borders with Iraq and Jordan

It also remains unclear whether the strikes against the al-Tanf airbase resulted in any damage or injuries.

The strikes come amid increased tension in the Middle East over the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, which many now view as a conflict between the West and the Arab world.

President Biden has been steadfast in his support of Israel since Hamas attacked on October 7, supplying military aid and flying to the region in a show of strong alliance.

His visit and ongoing support of Israel whipped up anti-American protesters in Lebanon, where crowds laid siege to the US Embassy in Beirut yesterday.

The State Department has now issued a rare worldwide caution travel advisory for Americans traveling overseas, citing the potential for terror attacks and 'increased tensions' as reason to be on high alert.
Anti-Israel protesters and police clashed in Brooklyn after thousands flooded a predominantly Arab and Middle Eastern neighborhood Saturday night.

The protest in Bay Ridge saw thousands of the pro-Palestinian demonstrators chant 'move, cops, get out the way. We know you're Israeli-trained' as they descended on the community, stopping traffic and lighting fires in the process.

Part of the procession, billed online as Flood Brooklyn for Palestine, began to clash with NYPD officers as night fell, video shows - as their numbers swelled to an estimated 5,000 over the course of the day.

The officers were subsequently filmed trying to usher them out of a intersection along Fifth Avenue where they had shut down traffic, during which an unspecified number of pro-Palestinians were arrested and taken into custody.

Several cops were seen punching protesters in the fray, which came after ralliers gathered to demand the US withdraw support for Israel. Armed with Palestinian flags and signs, much of the group refused to comply with cops' demands.

Anti-Israel protesters and police clashed in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn Saturday night - after thousands flooded the predominantly Arab and Middle Eastern neighborhood to demand the US stop supporting the country

'Say it loud, say it clear, we dont want no Zionists here!' protesters were heard shouting from within the frenzy, which, thanks to police, was confined to the most part around 72nd Street and Fifth Avenue

'Say it loud, say it clear, we dont want no Zionists here!' protesters city were heard shouting from within the frenzy, which, thanks to police, was confined to the most part around 72nd Street and Fifth Avenue.

'We will free Palestine within our lifetime!' others cried, touting signs reading, 'We stand with Palestine,' and, 'Once upon a time... There was humanity,' along with other similar sentiments.

Meanwhile, other, more radical revelers - who ranged in age from preteens to seniors - clutched signage with scrawlings that insisted 'Zionism is genocide,' and that 'Resistance is justified when people are occupied.'

The messages appeared to disregard - and even exonerate - the crimes carried out by Hamas since October 9, including the kidnapping of several Israeli and American citizens in an apparent declaration of war.

While the conflict is now underway overseas, domestic divisions have since surfaced stateside - spurring dueling demonstrations across the nation.

Bay Ridge on Saturday was no different - despite pro-Israelis being kept away from the procession by members of the NYPD.

Footage from the neighborhood over the course of the night, though, showed how the demonstration still devolved - as officers tasked with keeping a handle on the chaos quickly found themselves overwhelmed as the group grew.

Protesters - who ranged in age from preteens to seniors - clutched signage with scrawlings that insisted 'Zionism is genocide,' and that 'Resistance is justified when people are occupied'

Part of a procession, billed online as Flood Brooklyn for Palestine , began to clash with cops as night fell, - as their numbers swelled to an estimated 5,000

The messages appeared to disregard - and even exonerate - the crimes carried out by Hamas since October 9, including the kidnapping of several Israeli and American citizens

While the conflict is now underway overseas, domestic divisions have since surfaced stateside - spurring similar demonstrations across the nation

Held in one of the city's largest Arab and Middle Eastern communities, the protests saw thousands of pro-Palestinians chant 'move, cops, get out the way. We know you're Israeli-trained' as they descended on the community, stopping traffic and lighting fires in the process

Amid the furor, one protestor was heard calling for the 'full liberation of all of Palestine... to every single inch, from river to the sea.'

Donning a T-shirt of one of the events organizers, the Palestinian-led Within Our Lifetime, the woman also reportedly shouted: 'We are not like other groups simply calling for a cease-fire; We are calling not simply for an end to genocide.'

Instead, she said, 'We are calling for an end to the siege, an end to the blockade.

'An end to the occupation,' she specified.

Thousands of other women attended the rally, which at first started peacefully but devolved shortly after the sun set.

Aside from the local Palestinian community, several members of other groups - for the most part Middle Eastern - were also in attendance, for a gathering that Within Our Lifetime had advertised as a means to 'end US-sponsored genocide in Gaza.'

Vicious police just arrested about 20 protesters at the Palestine protest in Bay Ridge Brooklyn.



This the criminalization of Palestine protests in New York City. pic.twitter.com/Z2zEsVviDo  The Flame of Liberation  (@FOL_Liberation) October 22, 2023

The demonstration - dubbed Flood Brooklyn for Palestine - first gathered earlier, with initially peaceful revelers shouting chants like 'We will free Palestine within our lifetime!', as other held signs that read 'We stand with Palestine,' and, 'Once upon a time... There was humanity'

Aside from the local Palestinian community, several members of other groups - for the most part Middle Eastern - were also in attendance, for a gathering that Within Our Lifetime advertised beforehand as a means to 'end US-sponsored genocide in Gaza'

Aside from the local Palestinian community, several members of other groups - for the most part Middle Eastern - were also in attendance, for a gathering that Within Our Lifetime had advertised beforehand as a means to 'end US-sponsored genocide in Gaza'

Before at least a dozen were arrested, signage touted by the growing group gave a taste of some of the commotion to come - with many accusing Joe Biden and other US officials of 'killing babies' by way of the Israeli military

Thousands of other women attended the rally, which at first started peacefully but devolved shortly after the sun set

At first, police had been on standby to ensure the protest stayed peaceful, but were forced to take action as a handful of bad apples grew violent - thrusting the entire event into unrest

The crowd grew throughout the afternoon, however, seeing 5th Avenue virtually shut down for several hours

Expletives were also common in the array of inscriptions seen across the crowd, while others accused American politicians of 'having blood on their hands'

Protestors stand with a sign supporting the 'Palestinian resistance'

Amid the furor, one protestor was heard calling for the 'full liberation of all of Palestine... to every single inch, from river to the sea'

The procession, one of dozens that have sprouted up across the city over the past week-and-a-half, has since dissipated - but those supporting Palestine have vowed to continue to voice their opinions to ensure no innocents are killed

Some Jews were even seen at the planned protest, with one telling ABC News that 'as a Jewish person', she '[did not] want the Jewish religion to be the reason for this occupation'

Another added to the outlet of why she was there: '[All we are asking is] just treat the Palestinians as humans. They deserve every human right as any other civilians. Just treat a human as a human. That's all we're asking for'

Bay Ridge Brooklyn NY

During a pro hamas/ pro Palestinians protest.

Protesters fight with NYPD officers pic.twitter.com/ggjqLJoTZy  Viral News NYC (@ViralNewsNYC) October 22, 2023

The crowd grew throughout the afternoon, however, seeing 5th Avenue virtually shut down for several hours.

At first, police had been on standby to ensure the protest stayed peaceful, but were forced to take action as a handful of bad apples grew violent - thrusting the entire event into unrest.

Before at least a dozen were arrested, signage touted by the growing group gave a taste of some of the commotion to come - with many accusing Joe Biden and other US officials of 'killing babies' by way of the Israeli military.

Expletives were also common in the array of inscriptions seen across the crowd, while others accused Americans of 'having blood on their hands' by supporting Israel in the ongoing conflict.

Some Jews were even seen at the planned protest, with one telling ABC News that 'as a Jewish person', she '[did not] want the Jewish religion to be the reason for this occupation.'

Another added to the outlet of why she was there: '[All we are asking is] just treat the Palestinians as humans. They deserve every human right as any other civilians. Just treat a human as a human.

'That's all we're asking for.'

The protest was preceded by another one in Manhattan on Friday, where some 139 pro-Palestinians were cuffed for blocking traffic in Midtown - by a group organized by the Democratic Socialists of America

As for the one Saturday, it remains unclear exactly how many were arrested and for what - though the NYPD has confirmed an 'unspecified number' were taken in

As the conflict continues to escalate - both overseas and on US soil - the FBI revealed earlier this week that the bureau has seen an increase in domestic threats since last weekend's attacks

Meanwhile, more than 4,300 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry - including a disputed toll from this week's hospital explosion, which threatened to thrust much of the world into a potential world war

Gaza's Health Ministry on Saturday said that more than a million of the territory's people have been displaced, continuing to insist the hospital strike was the work of the IDF

The procession, one of dozens that have sprouted up across the city over the past week-and-a-half, has since dissipated - but those supporting Palestine have vowed to continue to voice their opinions to ensure no other innocents are killed.

The protest was preceded by another one in Manhattan on Friday, where some 139 pro-Palestinians were cuffed for blocking traffic in Midtown - by a group organized by the Democratic Socialists of America.

As the protest reached its apex Saturday night, an Israeli aircraft struck a compound beneath a mosque in the occupied West Bank - a location the country's military said was being used by terrorists to organize attacks

Palestinian medics have confirmed that at least one person was killed, as Israel continues to shell the region after the Hamas-led attacks earlier in the week that killed at least 1,400 Israelis.

Israel said the compound beneath al-Ansar Mosque, in Jenin refugee camp, belonged to operatives from Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad who were responsible for attacks in recent months, releasing images that it said showed an entrance to a bunker under the mosque.

It also released a diagram that it said showed where militants had stored weapons, while footage on social media appeared to show the scene of the air strike, with a gaping hole in one of the mosque's exterior walls.

Several dozen Palestinians are seen assessing the damage, as ambulance sirens blare in the background.

An IDF soldier jumps off the front of a tank on October 21, 2023 in Southern Israel

IDF soldiers clean the barrel of a tank on October 21, 2023 in Southern Israel

Meanwhile, more than 4,300 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry - including a disputed toll from this week's hospital explosion, which threatened to thrust much of the world into a potential world war.

Gaza's Health Ministry on Saturday said that more than a million of the territory's people have been displaced, continuing to insist the hospital strike was the work of the IDF.

As the conflict continues to escalate - both overseas and on US soil - Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray revealed earlier this week that the bureau has seen an increase in domestic threats since last weekend's attacks.

Wray, 56, made the comments while speaking to a gathering of police chiefs in San Diego Saturday, where he urged citizens to be vigilant and share intel to stop 'lone actors' inspired by Palestinian militant group Hamas.

With those attacks fresh in mind, the Trump appointee acknowledged an increase in stateside threats due to a so-called 'heightened environment', and called for an increase of vigilance.

He said the FBI is 'committed to continuing confronting those threats' - both in the US and overseas. He finished by offering his condolences to the people of Israel, expressing 'outrage' over 'the sheer brutality and disregard for innocent lives there.'

The remarks came the same day that Israel defense officials said they are set to commence 'significant military operations' in Gaza, after an impending evacuation. Wray told attendees Saturday there's 'no question' threats are on the rise as a result.

Now planning an impending ground invasion, Israel has also promised to cut off 'the head of the snake' with a military attack against Iran if Tehran-backed Hezbollah joins the war.

An outspoken enemy of both the US and Israel, Iran currently trains the militia group that for years has sought to join the Palestinian cause - a maneuver that some say could spell doom for Israel and its allies.

Now planning an impending ground invasion, Israel has also promised to cut off 'the head of the snake' with a military attack against Iran if Tehran-backed Hezbollah joins the war

An outspoken enemy of both the US and Israel, Iran currently trains the Hezbollah militia group (seen here in Lebanon during the attacks in Israel this month), which for years has sought to join the Palestinian cause

Over 3,200 people have died on both sides in the fighting last week - including at least 1,200 Israelis. Pictured, covered bodies gathered at kibbutz Be'eri near the border with Gaza, the site of an infiltration by militants on the weekend

For one, Hezbollah - the main principle in the 2006 Lebanon War in Israel - is markedly more formidable than Hamas, and a great deal more well trained.

And with hundreds millions of dollars of funding from the Iranian state garnered each year, the group is considered by many to be a sleeping giant in the brewing war - one that can change the face of the conflict with a range of missiles and airstrikes.

The group, unlike Hamas, is also not confined to one small swath of land, and controls a large portion of both Beirut and southern Lebanon.

The group also has seats in the Lebanese parliament and more recently has controlled several other government ministries directly, and holds a de facto veto over the current Lebanese government.

Coupled with the Iranian backing, Hezbollah has emerged as a major potential threat - and Donald Trump on Wednesday even appeared to praise the decisions terror leaders have made to get there.

'You know, Hezbollah is very smart,' Trump told attendees at the Club 47 USA event in West Palm Beach, amid Israel's concerns that the group could open another front in the war from the north and bring more countries into the conflict.

'Theyre all very smart.'

Currently engaged in a war of words with Israel's prime minister Benjamin Neytanyahu, he added that Israel needs to 'strengthen itself up', and said that Netanyahu had 'let us all down' b being unprepared for last weekend's surprise assault.

He also laid blame on Netanyahu himself for the attack, in an ensuing interview aired with Brian Kilmeade.

He told the interviewer: 'We have to protect Israel. Theres no choice. And we have to do it.'

Of Netanyahu - who has vowed to target what he called an 'evil city' in coming days with an anticipated ground assault - Trump said: 'He has been hurt very badly because of what's happened here. He was not prepared.

'He was not prepared and Israel was not prepared. And under Trump, they wouldn't have had to be prepared.'
An elderly couple in Phoenix have been hit with a restraining order over complaints made about a 'loud' rental property which is frequently used for late-night parties.

Linda Bliss and Mark Honold want to enjoy a quiet life in retirement but claim the short-term rental home they live behind is making their life a misery, according to local television station Arizona Family.

The pair have made at least five calls to Phoenix Police over the disruption and made several complaints to the property manager.

But they say problem has still not been addressed and they are being held 'hostage' inside their own home as the disruption occurs most weeks.

Things escalated when they said the property owner recently served them with a restraining order due to all their complaints.

Elderly couple Linda Bliss and Mark Honold have been hit with a restraining order over complaints made about a 'loud' rental property which is frequently used for late-night parties

The Phoenix couple want to enjoy a quiet life in retirement but claim the short-term rental home they live behind is making their life a misery

Things escalated when they said the property owner recently served them with a restraining order due to all their complaints

Bliss and Honold have grown frustrated at the regular occurrence of noise, parties and strangers looking over into their backyard.

'Were held hostage inside our house. Its just so loud, you can hear everything,' Honold said.

The couple said the landlord handed them a restraining order following an incident when they shouted at some guests to not be so loud.

'It was very demeaning because Im licensed by the state of Arizona for insurance, working with children, the elderly, and they came and treated me like a criminal.'

The manager of the property at the heart of the controversy said all guests are screened and loud parties are banned.

The short-term rental manager claimed the elderly couple are the only neighbors to complain about the guests.

The pair have made at least five calls to Phoenix Police over the disruption and made several complaints to the property manager

Bliss and Honold have grown frustrated at the regular occurrence of noise, parties and strangers looking over into their backyard

But they say problem has still not been addressed and they are being held 'hostage' inside their own home as the disruption occurs most weeks

Bliss and Honold believe that unless cities like Phoenix can introduce harsher rules on short-term rentals then homeowners in the state will suffer

Phoenix attorney Jonathan Dessaules offered advice to homeowners who find themselves in a similarly difficult situation.

'My advice would be to document everything, keep a journal, walk by home and take pictures,' he said.

'If you are going to go to court, either as a victim or witness, or as party seeking injunction, you want to be able to put all the evidence in front of a judge.

'And not just say, Judge, take my word for it. This house is crazy.

Bliss and Honold believe that unless cities like Phoenix can introduce harsher rules on short-term rentals then homeowners in the state will suffer.

'Its very disruptive,' she said. 'Its totally changed our lives.'
Editors admitted the cartoon contained 'anti-Semitic' tropes and 'should never have been published'

A Philadelphia newspaper has apologized for publishing a 'highly insensitive' cartoon criticizing Israel's response to the Hamas terrorist attack.

The Philadelphia Inquirer admitted that the illustration by Monte Wolverton contained 'anti-Semitic tropes' and 'should never have been published'.

The inflammatory image feature a black military boot branded with a Star of David to represent the state of Israel about to step down on a crowd of Palestinians.

An arrow labelled Hamas appeared to point to a minority of the people on the ground.

A speech bubble coming from the boot ordered the crowd to 'Distance yourselves' whilst seeming poised to crush everyone.

The Philadelphia Inquirer admitted that the illustration by Monte Wolverton contained 'anti-Semitic tropes' and 'should never have been published'

Illustrator Monte Wolverton's cartoon criticized Israel's response to to the Hamas attack, depicting the state as a massive military boot about to crush Gazans

The paper's editorial board published an apology for the cartoon shortly after receiving massive backlash

The drawing was published on Tuesday, days after the deadly Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 which killed 1,400 and has resulted in the deaths of further than 3,000 Gazans in retaliatory attacks according to the nation's health ministry.

Almost immediately after the cartoon's release the paper was hit with a fierce backlash.

Now the paper's editorial board has issued a groveling apology which said: 'In hindsight, the cartoon depicting an oversized Israeli military boot stepping on Hamas terrorists hiding among civilians in response to the Oct. 7 attack should not have been published.

'Regardless of the interpretation, the illustration reinforces pernicious anti-Semitic tropes about Israeli aggression.'

It continued by saying the board had condemned the terrorist attacks days after they occurred and expressed an 'unequivocal belief' Israel should be able to defend itself.

The statement added: 'It is clear this cartoon was highly insensitive, particularly at the current moment when antisemitism is on the rise. We hear the outcry and apologize for the pain it caused.'

The board also pledged to review its processes for illustration selection, 'to prevent failures like this one from occurring again'.

The cartoon garnered a fierce backlash online, but artist Monte Wolverton is yet to remove it from his social media page

The cartoon appeared in Tuesday's Philadelphia Inquirer just days after the terror attack by Hamas which killed around 1,400

Around 3,785 Palestinians have been killed in retaliatory strikes by Israel since the attack, according to the Gaza health ministry

Wolverton shared the image on his social media page on October 13 where it remains, despite fellow X users branding it 'shameful'.

One person said: 'This is disgusting.'

Another wrote: 'Nice propaganda, you Jew hating anti-Semite.'

And one person said: 'You don't even have the decency to take this crap down? A newspaper already apologized for printing this garbage.'

Wolverton describes his work as 'acerbic political commentary' and has been producing drawings syndicated by Caglecartoons for the last 25 years.

His website describes him as one of the world's most widely syndicated editorial cartoonists.'
A gunman shot at a car full of passengers and then hijacked another vehicle before stalking a female driver and turning the firearm on himself in a wild shooting spree.

The man shot at five people in a black Mitsubishi Triton ute on the Albany Highway in North Bannister, in Western Australia, at 5.20pm on Saturday.

The wild shooting spree ended almost seven hours later just after midnight when he turned the gun on himself and his body was found in a stolen car.

The Triton, carrying a driver and four passengers, pulled over to assist the occupants of a red Holden Commodore which appeared to have crashed.

A man has died after a wild almost seven-hour drama in which a gunman shot at a car, hijacked another vehicle, stalked a female driver and finally shot himself in the head. Pictured: stock image of a police crime scene.

One person got out of the ute and ran to the Commodore, only to have a gun pointed at them by a man who emerged from bushes at the roadside with a woman.

'The woman ran in front of the Triton utility and the man pointed the firearm towards the occupants inside the vehicle,' WA Police said.

'As the driver of the Triton utility attempted to drive away, the man discharged one round into the passenger side window, with the firearm projectiles travelling through the front cab area and exiting through the driver's side window.'

READ MORE: Blood is pilled in major Australian mining town A man has died after being shot by police in Western Australia's gold mining town of Kalgoorlie. Advertisement

When the Triton raced back to collect the occupant who originally got out to help, the gunman shot at the vehicle a second time, again hitting it.

'As the Triton utility came back into the area, the male offender discharged a second round into the rear of the utility.

'None of the occupants of the vehicle were injured,' the spokeswoman said.

Police said the occupants of the red Commodore stopped another vehicle, a gold Volvo BZ station wagon, that also stopped by the roadside.

Again, the Volvo occupants had a gun pointed at them and this time, the occupants got out and surrendered their car.

'The offenders fled in the stolen Volvo station wagon,' police said.

The stolen car was involved in another highway drama at 10.30pm, when a man cops received reports that 'a man followed a woman driving in Merredin and pointed a firearm towards her'.

Around 11pm the gold Volvo was spotted by cops at a nearby service station. When its driver saw police, he 'fled at speed'.

Police followed the car at a distance, and issued an emergency text message warning the 2400 residents of Merredin community 'advising [them] to remain inside and secure their premises'.

Then 45 minutes later, a 24-year-old woman in the stolen Volvo got out of the car and was arrested.

Police followed the car at a distance, and issued an emergency text message warning the 2400 residents of Merredin community 'advising [them] to remain inside and secure their premises' (stock image)

Just moments before the turmoil ended a horrified passenger in yet another vehicle claimed to have been cut off by an 'out of control car' then witnessed its driver put a 'rifle' in this mouth.

'Leaving Merredin and we nearly get rammed by an out of control car, they pull up and cut us off with no where to go,' the woman posted to social media.

'Cops pull up and scream for them to get out the car and get on the floor then bam old mate in the driver seat puts a rifle in his mouth. Literally one metre away from us.'

WA Police confirmed in a statement to Daily Mail Australia that a stolen Volvo station wagon - which the gunman had hijacked at Bannister - 'came to a stop on Great Eastern Highway in Merredin' at 12.05am.

'Police approached the vehicle and found the male driver unconscious and unresponsive with an apparent self-inflicted injury to his head,' a police spokeswoman said.

'They were unable to revive the man, who has not been formally identified.'

WA Police Major Crime Division officers will investigate the circumstances surrounding the mans death.

Officers urge anyone who saw, or who has dash-cam vision of the stolen gold Volvo BZ station wagon in the Bannister and Merredin areas between 6pm on Saturday 21 October and 12.30am on Sunday 22 October 2023, to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
A Wall Street trader who took his own life after losing $700,000 had a brain injury which left him 'impulsive' and should never have been allowed to make risky investments, his family claim.

William Tyler Allen, 27, died by suicide in September 2021 after becoming 'distraught' over sustaining the massive financial loss.

The Connecticut trader had been dealing in risky stock transactions using trading platforms Fidelity and Interactive Brokers prior to his death.

Now his family is suing the platforms for allowing Allen to open self-directed investment funds with a 'substantial margin' despite his reduced capacity.

They argue the brokers have a duty of care towards clients, especially those considered vulnerable.

William Tyler Allen, 27, died by suicide after sustaining a $700,000 loss through risky trading strategies his family say he should never have been given access to due to his traumatic brain injury

The Allen family is suing trading platforms Fidelity and Interactive Brokers claiming they did not perform due diligence against their son

Allen, who went by his middle name of Tyler, suffered from a traumatic brain injury as a result of a car crash when he was 19.

The accident left him with 'cognitive impairment' which affected his decision-making, emotional regulation, problem-solving and processing speed, according to the lawsuit.

His family state that his condition meant that he made 'impulsive and poorly reasoned decisions' which led to him suffering significant financial losses.

They claim the brokers should have performed due diligence and checked whether Allen was as suitable candidate for the services he was using.

'Instead, they were content to sit on their hands and collect their fees and commissions,' the said. 'Eventually and devastatingly, economic suicide turned into an actual suicide.'

Financial regulations dictate that brokers should conduct legal and ethical Know Your Client Checks to ascertain suitability for credit. Allen's family argue that these precautions were not properly taken.

Instead he began dealing in trading options on margin, a complex strategy which requires prediction of future stock prices and understanding 'the nuances of option contracts.'

'Due to Tyler's traumatic brain injury, he was unable to fully and properly grasp these complexities,' the lawsuit states.

Allen, pictured with his twin brother Bradley who died of an opiate overdose in 2019, set up a charity in memory of his sibling following his death before succumbing to suicide himself

The 27-year-old became licensed with industry regulator FINRA and set up his own brokerage, Summit Equity, of which was Chief Investment Officer

But during this period, Allen also became licensed with industry regulator FINRA and set up his own brokerage, Summit Equity, of which he made himself Chief Investment Officer.

Prior to his death, the trader had been looking forward to using his investment to move in with his girlfriend.

A Finance graduate of Miami University in Ohio, he proved himself early on as a capable investor. In 2010 he and his friends won the SIFMA Stock Market Game while a 10th grader at Greenwich High School.

He donated his $1,500 share of the prize money to his local church and later went on to work on Wall Street before setting up Summit Equity.

Allen sustained a brain injury in 2019 which left him with problems making decisions and regulating his emotions, the lawsuit states

His obituary reveals he enjoyed a privileged life of meals at the Four Seasons and exotic holidays and visited far flung destinations such as Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam.

The family summered in the Hamptons and took trips to the vineyards in Napa, California where they bought grapes to make their own wines in Cape Cod.

His life was changed for ever by the auto accident, but his 'spirit remained unbroken' his family said. However, the lawsuit details how he was plagued by mood swings.

In business particularly, this led to him making, 'rash decisions based on fleeting emotions and surface-level information' rather than a 'comprehensive understanding of market dynamics', according to the suit.

But even before his death, his family's charmed existence was marred by tragedy after his twin Bradley died of an opioid overdose in 2019.

Alongside his family, he set up Allen Research Endowment, an NGO non-profit which focuses on developing new medical technologies to treat addiction, including non-opioid pain management solutions, in memory of his brother.

He is survived by his parents Laurence and Michelle Allen, as well as his sister Lauren.

Attorney Adam Glassman, who filed the suit for the family, told the Daily Beast: 'A 20-something-year-old, when he lost an enormous amount of money, that's difficult for anyone to cope with, let alone a young man who's barely had his frontal cortex close, and who can have the emotional maturity to withstand that.

'So, is this really an unfortunate set of events that, when combined, really led to what I believe to be a tragic outcome.'

The Allen family is seeking an as yet undetermined amount in punitive and compensatory damages, plus legal costs.

However, experts expressed doubt over the strength of their case and have questioned how the platforms were to know about Allen's brain injury.

The lawsuit was filed in New York and states the family is seeking punitive and compensatory damages of an amount to be determined by a jury

'The forms that are filled in re: forms of disclosures do not ask [for] medical information because that is not within the scope of the defendants business,' Attorney Carol Crossett, head of Commercial Law Group in the New York City office of Tully Rinckey PLLC, told the outlet.

A Fidelity spokesperson said: 'As this is ongoing litigation, it is inappropriate for us to comment.'

An Interactive Brokers spokesperson said: 'The events surrounding this case are undeniably tragic, but IBKR was not responsible for Mr. Allen's trading losses. Mr. Allen was an experienced investment professional who was registered with FINRA.'

It is not the first time such a case has been presented to the courts. In 2021, Robinhood settled with the family of Alexander Kearns over his suicide in the wake of a $730,000 loss the year before.
Man allegedly murdered after protecting his wife during altercation

The owner of a holiday apartment block was allegedly killed after stepping in to help his wife who had been in an argument with a guest.

Alfred Westmoreland, 75, the owner and onsite manager of TreeTops holiday units in Torquay, Queensland, was allegedly attacked at 7.50pm on Friday.

It came after he stepping in to assist his wife during an alleged altercation with a 33-year-old man.

Emergency services were called to the complex after receiving reports of an assault before they found Mr Westmoreland unresponsive with serious injuries.

A man, 33, has been charged after allegedly killing the owner of the TreeTops holiday units (pictured), Alfred Westmoreland, 75, in Torquay Queensland on Friday

Despite desperate attempts to save Mr Westmoreland's life, he succumbed to his injuries at the scene.

The 33-year-old was arrested and charged with murder as well as serious assault, demand property with menace and two counts of possessing steroids.

Detective Inspector Gary Pettiford told the media on Saturday Mrs Westmoreland had also been injured during the alleged attack.

She was taken to hospital and released shortly after, the Courier Mail reported.

'It's horrific, her lifelong partner has lost his life in (allegedly) trying to help her,' Det Insp Pettiford said.

According to Det Sept Pettiford, no weapons were used during the alleged attack.

Workers at neighbouring businesses were reportedly unaware of the incident until police tape stretched around the units and a crime scene was established.

The 33-year-old man has been charged with murder, serious assault, demand property with menace and two counts of possessing steroids and set to appear in Hervey Bay Magistrates Court on Monday (stock image)

Police are continuing to investigate the alleged assault, urging anyone with CCTV or dashcam footage of the incident to come forward.

'We'd like to speak to anyone who might have been driving in that location between about 7.30pm and 8.30pm (Friday),' Det Sept Pettiford said.

'Anyone who may have seen something unusual around that time to help us with our investigation.'

The 33-year-old accused has been held in police custody until his expected appearance at Hervey Bay Magistrates Court on Monday.
One of the houses where Alex Murdaugh lived with his wife and son before he murdered them is back on the market - the second time it's been listed in a single year.

Currently listed for a plum $1.9million, the South Carolina estate was snapped up six months ago by its new owners - who paid $3.9million for the equestrian property, as well its accompanying kennels where Paul and Maggie Murdaugh were killed.

This time around, though, the kennels are not for sale - and Murdaughs former neighbor Jeffrey Godley is only offering up the 5,275-square-foot farmhouse.

Also awarded to 'serious buyers', as sellers put it, are the some 22 acres of land and forest that surrounds it - as well as a 'quintessential southern vision of the classic and traditionally styled home with stunning high-end features such as pine flooring.'

Another feature being touted of the four bedrooms farmhouse is its sportroom, and not the fact it was a fixture in Murdaughs six-week trial - with jurors visiting the property the day before they found the disgraced scion guilty.

One of the South Carolina homes where Alex Murdaugh lived with his wife and son before he murdered them is back on the market - the second time it's been listed in a single year

Murdaugh's estate was snapped up six months ago by its new owners - who paid $3.9million for the farmhouse along with the kennels where Paul and Maggie Murdaugh were killed

It was there they viewed the cramped lodge where Paul, then 22, was killed with a shotgun, along with the overhang where Maggie was shot with a rifle - a few feet from the infamous kennels.

The home, located in Islandton, is approximately 45 miles from Beaufort, 70 miles from Charleston, and 75 miles from Savannah, the listing from Crosby Land Company notes.

It adds that the home - apart from its grisly history - 'exudes character, charm, and high-end finishes', while being a unique property that has the capacity to offer a buyer many potential uses such as a family residence or compound.'

Other exploits used to urge prospective purchasers are the potential 'equestrian pursuits' the ranch has to offer - with listers writing the home would make the perfect 'hobby farm, or just a weekend retreat destination.'

Speaking to The Daily Beast, broker Todd Crosby admitted the home's history could complicate the sale, but expressed hope a buyer who appreciates the home's more comely attributes would surface in the meantime.

'I dont care what the buyers deal is with the house,' Crosby told The Beast of the property known as Moselle - which sold, kennels included, for $3.9million to Godley and fellow buyer James Ayer in March, in a deal that took nearly ten months to close.

Addressing prospective true crime fans looking to pick up a free tour, he said: 'Murders happen in houses all the time - I just want to make sure the buyers we bring to the house can cut the check.

'[I] dont just want to see the house for fun.'

This time around, though, the kennels are not for sale - and Murdaughs former neighbor Jeffrey Godley is only offering up the 5,275-square-foot farmhouse

Also awarded to 'serious buyers', as Godley put it, are the some 22 acres of land and forest that surrounds it - as well as a 'quintessential southern vision of the classic and traditionally styled home with stunning high-end features'

The back porch of the four-bedroom farmhouse is seen here, now for sale six months after it was snapped up by Murdaugh's former neighbor

A listing notes how the home - apart from its grisly history - 'exudes character, charm, and high-end finishes', while being a unique property that has the capacity to offer a buyer many potential uses such as a family residence or compound'

Other exploits used to urge prospective purchasers are the potential 'equestrian pursuits' the ranch has to offer - with listers writing the home would make the perfect 'hobby farm, or just a weekend retreat destination'

The home, located in Islandton, is approximately 45 miles from Beaufort, 70 miles from Charleston, and 75 miles from Savannah, the listing from Crosby Land Company also notes

His listing, meanwhile, offers a more traditional summary of the The Moselle Estate House - the home that's for sale - along with the aforementioned 22 acres of the overall 1,770-acre property.

It notes: 'The landscape consists of upland open fields and a mature old growth hardwood forest as a backdrop. This property is secluded in nature and remains quiet and private.'

Another excerpt adds: 'Beyond the stately brick columns at the entrance of the property, awaits a long impressive oak-lined driveway leading to a quintessential southern vision of the classic and traditional styled Moselle Estate House.'

The listing also touts the farmhouse's 'picturesque front and back porches', which are described as 'ideal for embracing the peaceful country setting.

'The Mahogany front door', it states, 'opens into a two-story foyer, forged with gleaming heart pine floors, tongue and groove walls, and a grand staircase with a mezzanine balcony.'

'Soaring vaulted ceilings', meanwhile, 'carry from the foyer into the massive family room adorned with custom built-ins,' including a set of classic mahogany French doors that lead to the oversized back porch.

Speaking to The Daily Beast, broker Todd Crosby admitted the home's history could complicate the sale, but expressed hope a buyer who appreciates the home's more comely attributes would surface in the meantime

'I dont care what the buyers deal is with the house,' Crosby told The Beast of the property known as Moselle - which sold, kennels included, for $3.9million to Godley and fellow buyer James Ayer in March, in a deal that took nearly ten months to close

Addressing prospective true crime fans looking to pick up a free tour, he said: 'Murders happen in houses all the time - I just want to make sure the buyers we bring to the house can cut the check

His listing, meanwhile, offers a more traditional summary of the The Moselle Estate House - the home that's for sale - along with the aforementioned 22 acres of the overall 1,770-acre property

A sizable recreational room set on the home's first floor, meanwhile, is 'exceptional for hosting,' as well as other pastimes like billiards, bolstered by a tailor-made billiards light fixture.

Other highlights touted by the seller is a fully equipped chef's kitchen, complete with a breakfast nook with a bay window overlooking the backyard

Murdaugh called 911 on the evening of June 7, 2021, saying he found his son and wife dead when he returned home from a one-hour visit with his mother, who has dementia

Other highlights touted by the seller is a fully equipped chef's kitchen, complete with a breakfast nook with a bay window overlooking the backyard.

Adjoining the kitchen is a large dining room with a 'statement-piece' chandelier, the listing notes.

A sizable recreational room set on the home's first floor, meanwhile, is 'exceptional for hosting,' as well as other pastimes like billiards, bolstered by a tailor-made billiards light fixture.

The recreation room also has a secondary staircase leading straight to the upstairs area, where buyers will find the primary bedroom, with its own private mahogany French doors leading to the covered back porch and an ensuite with a jacuzzi tub.

There is also a guest bedroom on the main level with a hall bathroom, as well as a laundry room with a wash basin also on the main level.

It comes after most of the proceeds of March's sale went to victims of a boat crash allegedly carried out by Murdaugh's older son Buster, resulting in the death of 19-year-old Mallory Beach

Under a settlement approved in January, Beach's family received an unspecified sum to cover the teens debts, while $530,000 was set aside for Buster for an inheritance,

An additional $275,000 payment into a settlement fund for victims of Murdaughs alleged financial crimes -

'Beyond the stately brick columns at the entrance of the property, awaits a long impressive oak-lined driveway leading to a quintessential southern vision of the classic and traditional styled Moselle Estate House,' an excerpt of the newly posted listing reads

The listing also touts the farmhouse's 'picturesque front and back porches', which are described as 'ideal for embracing the peaceful country setting

It comes after most of the proceeds of March's sale went to victims of a boat crash allegedly carried out by Murdaugh's older son Buster, resulting in the death of 19-year-old Mallory Beach

Maggie's body was found a few yards to the right of a doghouse, while Paul's was by the doorway at the end of the kennels

Alex Murdaugh with wife Maggie before her murder next to a dog kennel on the family's land in 2021

Murdaugh, meanwhile, was sentenced to life without parole in March for shooting dead his 52-year-old wife and their youngest son on the property in June 2021

Murdaugh is currently housed in high-security Kirkland Correctional Institution, one of South Carolina's most notorious prisons

Murdaugh, meanwhile, was sentenced to life without parole in March for shooting dead his 52-year-old wife and their youngest son on the property in June 2021.

He is appealing against that conviction but faces around 100 further charges in state court including drug and money laundering, wire fraud and insurance fraud for a botched suicide attempt.

Murdaugh is scheduled to face trial on at least some of the state charges at the end of November, and prosecutors have insisted they want him to face justice for each one.

Murdaugh's lawyers told the federal court in Charleston he admitted 14 counts of money laundering, five counts of wire fraud, one count of bank fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Each charge carries a maximum of at least 20 years in prison. Some have a maximum 30-year sentence. Murdaugh will be sentenced at a later date.
13:14 | Cusco (Cusco region), Oct. 22.

More than 350 experts are set to attend with the aim of promoting and introducing fresh ideas related to climate finance.

Anton Willems, the Executive Director of Profonanpe, told EFE that the primary "goal is for all allies and environmental funds from the 27 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean to discuss, share lessons learned, best practices, and common objectives." The hope is that these discussions will then be included in the conversations at COP-28.

Attending the Cusco congress are representatives from companies spearheading sustainability initiatives, renowned environmental trend-setting researchers and academics, decision-makers from ministries and public entities committed to their countries' sustainable development, and environmental fund specialists overseeing global impact projects, according to the organizing committee.

World's Three Crises

Willems emphasized that the world is currently experiencing three crises that experts term the "climate crisis, waste crisis, and the biodiversity loss crisis."

"Discussing these issues was once niche, limited to certain segments of society, but we see more and more that they have direct effects on people's daily lives," he said.

He further added that when these matters impact people's daily lives, "they must be made tangible, especially when it starts affecting their finances." He believes the financial impact occurs because "investments become pricier" or "already made ones are delayed."

This is where environmental finances come into play as they "translate, in monetary terms, the impacts felt by all or some stakeholders in society."

"We can now see the direct effects of these crises on citizens, and we need to integrate them into business models and financing accounts to make them visible and part of a structure's cost," Willems added.

He noted that the conversation goes beyond just environmental funds. This is evident from "the number of private organizations working on this issue globally, who also wish to participate financially."

Peru's Commitment

Meanwhile, the Executive President of the Commission for the Promotion of Peru for Export and Tourism (PromPeru) with which EFE has a content distribution agreement Angelica Matsuda Matayoshi , confirmed PromPeru's participation in the RedLAC 2023 Congress. She reemphasized "their dedication to seeking sustainable development alternatives."
Australians will be forced to pay more than $100 just to see a doctor in a further blow to residents already doing it tough during the cost-of-living crisis.

As of November 1, the majority of Aussies will have to pay the exorbitant price if they want a standard non bulk-billed doctor's appointments.

The price rise, which will be the third hike in doctor's fees this year, is a result of a recommendation by the Australian Medical Association (AMA).

The AMA suggested the rise to its members as a way of helping doctors cope with the increased costs of running a medical practice.

As of November 1, the majority of Aussies will pay over $100 for standard non bulk-billed doctor's appointments. Picture: Stock image of a woman visiting her doctor

The price hike comes as the government is set to triple the bulk billing incentive for GPs which will lower prices for some visits to the doctor and lower the cost of some tele-health sessions.

The rebate will only apply to doctors visits for pensioners, welfare recipients and children aged under 16.

READ MORE: The major change coming to Telehealth doctors' appointments The Medical Board of Australia has released new guidelines which specify that there must be a real-time direct consultation, whether via phone call or video when prescribing for a patient. Advertisement

In total only an estimated 11 million Australians, out of a total population of 25.7million, are expected to benefit.

A free service called 'MyMedicare', which launched earlier this month, will allow patients to formally register their preferred doctor's clinic and GP, and to receive rebates on the cost of a telehealth appointment with that doctor.

The voluntary scheme only applies to clinics that have also registered and has restored telehealth rebates for remote GP consultations longer than 20 and 40 minutes.

Starting 2024, the scheme will offer payments for doctors who regularly visit aged care residents and patients who frequently attend hospitals who are registered with MyMedicare.

Costs will vary depending on what specific GPs choose to charge, however, it will mean on average Medicare will cover around half of eligible teleheath consultation fees.

MyMedicare is open to anyone with a Medicare card or a Department of Veterans' Affairs card and eligible patients can register online or in person at their preferred clinic.

The new service was officially introduced on October 1 and will gradually roll out more benefits over the next three years, according to the government.

The price hike comes as the government is set to triple the bulk billing incentive for GPs which will lower prices for some visits to the doctor and lower the cost of some telehealth sessions

Only about 40 per cent of GP clinics across Australia have registered to MyMedicare.

Health Minister Mark Butler said the changes would provide more tailored care and 'better serve the needs of patients that fall through the cracks.'

'Patients registered for MyMedicare will gain a stronger relationship with their healthcare teams and more consistent care, including longer telehealth consultations,' he said.

'This important reform will also secure the sustainability and efficiency of general practice for the future.'

From November 1, the government will also triple the bulk-billing incentive for doctors treating vulnerable patients, including children and people who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.
An 18-year-old boy was allegedly stabbed to death in the early hours of the morning with a 17-year-old girl charged.

Seb O'Halloran was allegedly killed at a Limpidi Drive home in the rural Victorian town of Mildura - 540km north-west of Melbourne - at about 1.05am on Saturday.

Emergency services were called and parmedics tried to revive Mr O'Halloran, who was a talented motocross rider, but he died at the scene.

The girl, who cannot be named, was charged with one count of murder on Sunday and will appear at a children's court at a later date.

Mr O'Halloran and some of his friends were at The Setts nightclub when Mr O'Halloran suddenly left, his mate Jesse Harris told the Herald Sun.

Police have charged a 17-year-old girl with murder following the death of Seb O'Halloran (pictured right)

'He had to leave to do something and I was meant to go with him but decided I would stay at the club and wait for him,' he said.

Mr O'Halloran went to the Limpidi Drive house where he reportedly came between a teenage girl and boy who were arguing and was allegedly stabbed.

READ MORE: Mother allegedly knifed 28 times with screwdriver in Fremantle Advertisement

Mr Harris said his friend always looked out for others. 'He was the mate that would chase after us if we needed his help when we were in trouble,' he said.

'He taught every one of his mates a different lesson and had a different connection with all of us, he was one-of-a-kind and no one will ever be able to replace him.'

Other friends paid their respects to Mr O'Halloran on social media, saying he was 'loved by the community'.

Eric Wolfe wrote on Instagram that 'no measurement of time with you could have ever been enough'.

'I'll put my best foot forward every day for you, I f*****g love you Seb.'

Another friend, Damon Burke, said Mr O'Halloran was like an 'older brother'.

'I love you so much man,' he said.

'I will be forever grateful I knew someone as funny, hardworking and loving as you. May you rest in peace.'

Another wrote 'Fly high brother, wish you all the best up there.'

Friends paid tribute to Mr O'Halloran (pictured centre) on social media with one of the man's mates saying he looked out for everyone

Mr O'Halloran's death makes has followed a spate of knife crimes involving teenagers and young adult across Victoria in recent months.

In May, Pasawm Lyhym, 16, was stabbed to death at Sunshine train station in Melbourne.

In September, a 14-year-old called Benjamin was hospitalised with life-threatening injuries and placed in an induced coma after he was stabbed in an abduction attempt in Glen Huntly.

Also in September, Adam Robinson, 21, was killed when he was stabbed near his home in Wyndham Vale.
Thousands of pro-Palestine protesters marched in the streets of Melbourne as the conflict between the nation and Israel deepens following an attack by terror group Hamas.

Rally organisers Free Palestine Melbourne called for people to join them on the steps of the State Library as they marched to the Victorian parliament in Melbourne on Sunday.

Protesters were calling for the conflict in Gaza to end and a stop to the blockade of food, water, fuel and medical supplies in the region.

Those attending were seen carrying signs calling out the thousands of deaths in the last two weeks since the war began between Hamas and Israel.

Supporters carried signs and flags as they marched through the city

Those attending the rally were calling for Gaza to be freed

Greens leader Adam Bandt also spoke on Sunday to the thousands attending the rally.

'It's a war crime,' Mr Bandt said, according to the Herald Sun.

'4000 Palestinians have been killed and the death toll that will continue to rise.

'End the war in Gaza, end the invasion, peace for Palestine now.'

Mr Bandt told the crowd the Greens had rallied against the invasion of Gaza.

Protesters were also calling on the Australian Government to cut ties with Israel in support of those suffering in Palestine.

Event organisers stated before the rally that there was no place for racism among protesters, following shocking scenes in Sydney earlier this month.

'We remind everyone that the struggle for a free Palestine is an anti-racist struggle,' organisers stated on the Facebook event.

'We condemn and oppose all forms of racism, including anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.

'Ours is a struggle against the state of Israel, not against Jewish people, many of whom oppose Zionism, and who have a long history of being part of our movement for a free Palestine.'

Greens Leader Adam Bandt showed his support for the rally on Sunday

People were gathered on Sunday to protest against the wa

Thousands of people were listening to the speakers who attended the rally

The Melbourne rally follows other protests across the country this week, held in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth on Saturday.

A vigil was held in Hobart on Saturday, taking place outside the Hobart Town Hall.

A protest in the national capital will take place on Wednesday at the National Press Club.

It comes as more than 30 humanitarian organisations signed an open letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his senior ministers urging Australia to intervene diplomatically in the conflict.

The Free Palestine Rally saw a huge crowd of Australians show their support to the movement

The Free Palestine Melbourne event attracted thousands of people

The Australian Council for International Development letter signed by organisations including Save the Children Australia, ActionAid and United Aid Abroad urges Australia to exert its influence to seek an urgent ceasefire between Hamas and Israel.

'The Australian Government must use its voice and exert its influence to seek a ceasefire - an end to the rapidly escalating conflict - as a matter of urgency,' the letter stated.

'We are deeply concerned at the ongoing violation of the human rights of citizens in Gaza and Israel, and breaches of International Humanitarian Law.

'We ask your government to be unceasing in your efforts to achieve unimpeded access for humanitarian assistance, a humanitarian corridor and protection of civilians.

'We call for a pause in the hostilities to allow for critical humanitarian work to save lives.'
Washington pledged more air defenses to the Middle East in response to recent attacks on U.S. troops in the region after Israel pounded southern Gaza with air strikes early on Sunday and promised to intensify its attacks in the enclave's north.

The U.S. said it would send more air defense assets, including a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system and additional Patriot air defense missile system battalions to the Middle East and would ready more troops.

Drones and rockets targeted two military bases housing U.S. forces in Iraq last week, the latest in a series of attacks after Iraqi militants warned Washington against intervening to support Israel against Hamas in Gaza.

'Following detailed discussions with President (Joe) Biden on recent escalations by Iran and its proxy forces across the Middle East Region, today I directed a series of additional steps to further strengthen the Department of Defense posture in the region,' Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement.

Washington has already sent a significant amount of naval power to the Middle East in recent weeks, including two aircraft carriers, their support ships and about 2,000 Marines.

The US has pledged more air support to the Middle East in the wake of attacks on US troops in the area after Israel hit southern Gaza with strikes

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said he had 'directed a series of additional steps to further strengthen the Department of Defense posture' in the Middle East

The U.S. will provide more air defense assets, including a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system like this one pictured

Palestinian media reported at least 11 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli strike in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, and that Israel was striking the southern city of Rafah.

The strikes came hours after Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari called on Gazans to move south out of harm's way.

'For your own safety move southward. We will continue to attack in the area of Gaza City and increase attacks,' Hagari told Israeli reporters on Saturday.

Israel started its 'total siege' of Gaza after an Oct. 7 cross-border attack on southern Israel by militants of the Islamist movement Hamas killed 1,400 people, mainly civilians, in a shock rampage that has traumatized Israel.

Gaza's Health Ministry said on Saturday that Israel's air and missile strikes in retaliation had killed at least 4,385 Palestinians, including hundreds of children, with more than a million of the tiny territory's 2.3 million people displaced.

The first humanitarian aid convoy allowed into the besieged Gaza Strip since war broke out arrived through the Rafah border crossing on Saturday.

The United Nations said the 20-truck convoy brought life-saving supplies that would be received by the Palestinian Red Crescent.

But the U.N. humanitarian office said the volume of goods that entered on Saturday was just 4 percent of the daily average of imports into Gaza before the hostilities and a fraction of what was needed after 13 days of siege of the crowded enclave.

Israeli army spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told Israeli reporters the state would 'continue to attack in the area of Gaza City and increase attacks'

Additional patriot air defense missile system battalions are being sent over

Biden, long a firm supporter of Israel, cheered the arrival of the aid after days of intense negotiations.

He said the United States was committed to ensuring more aid gets to Palestinians running out of food, water, medicines and fuel.

'We will continue to work with all parties,' Biden said in a statement.

The United States proposed late on Saturday a draft U.N. Security Council resolution that says Israel has a right to defend itself.

The resolution demands Iran stop exporting arms to 'militias and terrorist groups threatening peace and security across the region'.

A deadly blast at the Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza on Tuesday was likely caused by an errant rocket fired from Gaza, not an Israeli strike, Canada's National Department of Defense said, reaching similar conclusions to the U.S. and France.

'Analysis conducted independently by the Canadian Forces Intelligence Command indicates with a high degree of confidence that Israel did not strike the Al-Ahli hospital on 17 October 2023,' it said in a statement.

Israel has amassed tanks and troops near the fenced border around the narrow coastal enclave for a planned ground invasion aiming to annihilate Hamas, after several inconclusive wars dating to its seizure of power there in 2007.

'We are going to go into the Gaza Strip... to destroy Hamas operatives and Hamas infrastructure,' Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi told troops in a video distributed by the Israeli military on Saturday. 'We will have in our mind the memories of the images and those who fell on Saturday two weeks ago.'

Israeli troops have carried out live fire drills 'in preparations for the next stage of war', footage released by the Israeli army on Saturday showed.

The most recent Israeli strike hit a compound beneath a mosque that the Israeli military said was being used by terrorists to organise attacks, in Jenin refugee camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on October 22, 2023

The aftermath of an Israeli strike that a compound beneath a mosque in Jenin refugee camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on October 22, 2023

Smoke rises as the Israeli airstrikes continue on its 15th day in Beit Hanoun, Gaza on October 21, 2023

Hamas said it fired rockets towards Tel Aviv on Saturday in response to Israeli air strikes that Gaza's Health Ministry and Hamas media said killed at least 50 people and injured dozens.

Israel said its aircraft struck Hezbollah targets in Lebanon on Saturday and that one of its soldiers was hit by an anti-tank missile in cross-border fighting that the Iran-backed group said killed six of its fighters.

As international concern rises that the conflict could widen into a regional war, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken cautioned Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Saturday that the Lebanese people would be affected if his country were drawn in, the State Department said.

Israeli aircraft struck a compound beneath a mosque in the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank early on Sunday that the military said was being used by militants to organize attacks. Palestinian medics said at least one person was killed.

At least 84 Palestinians in the West Bank have been killed in clashes with Israeli forces since the Hamas rampage, Palestinian officials say.
A devoted Israeli mother who hid her daughter in a cupboard while Hamas terrorists ransacked their kibbutz, killing and kidnapping more than 20 has been laid to rest, MailOnline can reveal.

Brave Liz El Harrar rushed seven-year-old Adi into the hiding and barricaded the door with her own body as she lay dying from her bullet wounds. This week she was honoured by dozens of family members and friends at a moving ceremony.

The 45-year-old accountant had called her youngest sister Lital at 7.17am Saturday 7th October from the Holit kibbutz close to the borders with Gaza and Egypt to say that terrorists had broken into the kibbutz.

Gunmen then burst into her home and shot her husband Meir dead and fatally wounded her.

But as she lay bleeding, Liz ushered her daughter Adi into the cupboard and lay in front of the doors where she died.

Devoted mother Liz El Harrar who hid her daughter Adi (pictured together with husband and father Meir) in a cupboard while Hamas terrorists ransacked their kibbutz, killing and kidnapping more than 20 has been laid to rest

Mourners gather at the funeral of Liz El Harrar who died after she hid her seven-year-old daughter in a cupboard to protect her from Hamas terrorists

One woman was pictured in tears during the devoted mother's funeral where friends and family gathered to remember her

The terrified youngster called her aunt Lital back to say that her mother had been shot and that she was afraid. She told Adi to stay hidden and wait to be rescued.

Lital frantically called her sisters' neighbours at the close-knit kibbutz and finally got through to Gideon Kubani who risked his own life to save the little girl.

Gideon, 58, a grandfather-of-13 had to move Liz's body away from the cupboard to free the youngster and take her safety.

The youngster hid under a blanket with Gideon's wife for some eight hours until they were rescued by the Israeli army.

Last Sunday Liz was remembered by her family and friends.

Her heart-broken sister Lital told MailOnline: 'Liz was a devoted mother. She cared for everyone before herself.

'She called me at 7.17 on that Saturday morning to say that terrorists had broken into the kibbutz.

'Five minutes later Adi called me to say that her mum had been shot and that she was hiding in the cupboard.

'I told my niece to stay hiding until she was rescued.

'I tried to call the neighbours but no one was picking up the phone. Finally I got through to Gideon. He said he would go and get her.

'He had to move Liz's body to get Adi out of the cupboard.'

Liz's (pictured with her husband Meir) body was found by her neighbour Gideon Kubani who also risked his own life to save her daughter

Hamas killed more than 1,400 people, including Liz and Meir El Harrar (pictured with their daughter) during their devastating raid into southern Israel on Saturday 7th October

Friends and family of Liz gathered to pay their respects to the devoted mother

Gideon refuses to accept that he is a hero for saving the little girl but praised Liz for saving her daughter's life.

He told MailOnline: 'On that Saturday morning God opened the gates of hell.

'Lital called me and I asked me to get Adi and take her back to my house.

'Her mother had put her in the cupboard and had died trying to protect her.

'I had to move Liz's body to get her out. But she had succeeded in protecting her daughter. She saved her life.'

Gideon added: 'Fifteen people were killed at our kibbutz on Saturday and six people are missing.

'The first wave of Hamas fighters were very professional and well organised. But the next lot were a rabble  looting and desecrating the bodies of their victims.

'We only had handguns to defend ourselves.

'But next time we will be ready.'

Lital, 28, has told of her anger that the Hamas terrorist attack was able to happen.

Hamas killed more than 1,400 people and took more than 200 hostages into Gaza during their devastating raid into southern Israel on Saturday 7th October.

Mourners carry the coffin of Liz El Harrar as they walk through a cemetary in Tel Aviv, Israel

One man can be seen carrying a wreath of orange and white flowers during the procession

Mourners placed Liz's coffin in a dug out grave as friends and family watched on

She said: 'I am furious. I am very disappointed with the leadership of this country that something like this was allowed to happen.

'But I will fulfil Liz's dream that her daughter Adi will grow up to be happy and live a full life.'

Liz's best friend Roni, 47, added: 'Liz was a wonderful person. She always looked after people and was totally devoted to her daughter.

'But also she made me laugh. She was great fun  playing music and taking pictures and enjoying life.'
Islamists chanted pro-Hamas slogans on the streets of London yesterday during a huge pro-Palestine protest on the same day the Met Police allowed a 'jihad' chant.

A man wearing all black was seen waving a black and white Shahada flag in Whitehall at around 4.45pm while another male in a grey hoodie holds up a megaphone to his mouth and appeared to be bellowing 'Hamas'.

The 35-second viral clip has had more than three million views on X, formerly known as Twitter, with many reacting with fury.

One person called it a disgrace and linked in the accounts of Scotland Yard and Home Secretary Suella Braverman while another called for the duo to be arrested on terrorism charges.

It comes after ministers said they would speak to police after Islamists on the streets of London made 'completely reprehensible' calls for jihad against Israel.

A man wearing all black waves a Shahada flag in Whitehall during huge pro-Palestine protests

Another male in a grey hoodie held up a megaphone and appeared to continually bellow 'Hamas' in the 35-second clip which has had more than three million views on X

A workman cleans attempts to clean off pro-Palestine graffiti on the base of Nelson's column in Trafalgar Square on October 22

The video was taken on the day 100,000 people in Britain marched in pro-Palestine rallies calling for a ceasefire in the Middle East after terrorist group Hamas massacred more than 1,000 Israeli civilians, sparking weeks of air strikes from the Jewish state which have killed thousands.

Robert Jenrick said officials would be speaking to the Metropolitan Police after the force said it believed no offences had been committed at the a rally held by extremist group Hizb ut-Tahrir which descended into chants of 'jihad' and calls for 'Muslim Armies' to move against Israel.

The immigration minister also vowed to kick people who 'spread hate or support proscribed terrorist organisations like Hamas' out of the country, suggesting those who held visas could have them revoked.

It came a week after Home Secretary Suella Braverman had warned that protesters who 'mock the murder of Jewish people' that police would face the full force of the law.

Critics labelled it 'outrageous' that the Metropolitan Police did not intervene in the event, although the force said on social media it had not 'identified any offences' but would speak to the men involved to 'discourage' any chanting of this type in the future.

The demonstration took place yesterday, the same day that 100,000 people in Britain marched in pro-Palestine rallies calling for a ceasefire in the Middle East aAmong the protests on Saturday there were shocking scenes when a London tube driver led a train full of people in chants of 'From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free', leading to a police probe.

While the main Palestine solidarity march in central London appeared to remain largely peaceful, the Met has come under fire for its handling of the Hizb ut-Tahrir protests, which was held separately outside the Egyptian Embassy.

Hizb ut-Tahrir is an Islamic fundamentalist group that has called for the re-establishment of an Islamic caliphate and for the global implementation of sharia law. It has been banned in almost all Arab countries, as well as Muslim-majority nations such as Turkey, Bangladesh and Indonesia.

There were chants of 'Jihad! Jihad! Jihad!' at the rally outside the Egyptian embassy in London

Another speaker was seen shouting that 'the solution is jihad and jihad alone'. The Met Police said it had 'not identified any offences' at the event

At an Islamist protest held in London on Saturday, one speaker was seen called for a 'jihad' to 'liberate people form the concentration camp called Palestine

Video shared on social media showed one speaker asking the crowd 'What is the solution to liberate people from the concentration camp called Palestine?'

To this the crowd chanted 'Jihad! Jihad! Jihad!'.

A poster held by organisers of the rally read: 'Muslim Armies! Rescue the People of Palestine.'

At the same event, the speaker added that the only solution to liberate the people of Palestine was 'jihad by the armies of the Muslim countries'.

'Not by you and me, what training do I have? There are people with arms - in Egypt, in Pakistan, in Saudi Arabia, in Jordan, across the Muslim world - and right now they are boiling like we are boiling.'

Another speaker was seen saying 'the solution is jihad and jihad alone'.

In general terms the word 'jihad' is a reference to a Muslim's obligation to follow and realise God's will, but it has in recent years been used by extremist Islamic groups to justify violence against people they consider opponents of the religion.

One unnamed minister told the Telegraph that the police response was 'really outrageous'.

Speaking this morning, immigration minister Robert Jenrick called the chants 'completely reprehensible' and 'inciting terrorist violence'.

Speaking to Sky's Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, Mr Jenrick said: 'Chanting jihad on the streets of London is completely reprehensible and I never want to see scenes like that. It is inciting terrorist violence and it needs to be tackled with the full force of the law.

"The solution is jihad and jihad alone."



A speaker at the pro-Palestine Islamist rally in Mayfair, London called for Muslim military leaders to send in forces to help the mujahideen (those who do jihad) in Palestine. pic.twitter.com/NlhY4EDdJ8  Andy Ngo  (@MrAndyNgo) October 21, 2023

Protesters during a pro-Palestine march organised by Stop the War Coalition and Palestine Solidarity Campaign in central London on Saturday

Thousands took to the streets in London on Saturday to take part in peaceful protests in solidarity with the Palestinian people in London on Saturday

'Ultimately, it's an operational matter for the police and the CPS (Crown Prosecution Service) whether to press charges.

'Arrests have been made... there have been arrests since the beginning of this situation. And we want to make sure that the police do everything that they can to protect British Jews.'

He added: 'There have been arrests under terrorist legislation. And we want to do everything that we can to protect British Jews.

'But this is a broader question beyond just legality, it also is a question about values. And there should be a consensus in this country that chanting things like jihad is completely reprehensible and wrong and we don't ever want to see that in our country.'

Responding to video of the rally circulating on social media, the Metropolitan Police said they had 'not identified any offences'.

In a statement released on Saturday the force said: 'Officers have been overseeing the demonstration organised by Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain throughout the day (Saturday 21 October) alongside the much larger protest organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.

'In addition to officers deployed with the protest, we have counter terrorism officers with specialist language skills and subject expertise working alongside public order officers in our main operations room, assessing any video and photos that emerge.

'They have reviewed a video from the Hizb ut-Tahrir protest in which a man can be seen to chant 'jihad, jihad'.

'The word has a number of meanings but we know the public will most commonly associate it with terrorism. Specialist officers have assessed the video and have not identified any offences arising from the specific clip. We have also sought advice from specialist Crown Prosecution Service lawyers who have reached the same conclusion.

'However, recognising the way language like this will be interpreted by the public and the divisive impact it will have, officers identified the man involved and spoke to him to discourage any repeat of similar chanting.

'We are also aware of photos from the same protest showing signs and banners referring to 'Muslim armies'.

'While there are varying interpretations of what the language on the placards should be interpreted to mean, officers must take decisions based on the wording actually used.

'Again, this was subject to a careful assessment and no signs or banners were identified that were unlawful.'

MailOnline has contacted the Met for further comment.

Mr Jenrick told LBC he thought 'a lot of people would find the Metropolitan Police analysis surprising' and 'that's something that we intend to raise with them and to discuss this incident with them.'

But he stressed again 'the legality is ultimately a question for the police and the CPS'.

Additionally, he told GB News that 'people who spread hate or support proscribed terrorist organisations like Hamas have no place in this country'.

The immigration minister suggested that people who did so could have their right to stay in the UK revoked, adding 'a visa is a special privilege, it's not an entitlement'.

'I you commit comments that create hate or spread antisemitism then you forfeit that privilege and you should have that visa revoked and you should be expelled from the UK,' said.

'I've written to all chief constables across the country saying they should refer individuals who come to their attention to the Home Office.

'There is a legal process to be followed, but as and when we receive those, we will consider them and if they meet the legal bar then we will absolutely revoke and expel them.'

He added that there have been 'a number of referrals' to his department already and these are being looked at by the Home Office.

Mr Jenrick said: 'I can't comment on individual cases but please be in absolutely note of how strongly we feel that those people who commit these crimes, people who spread hate in our country, they should be removed, they shouldn't have a right to live in the UK and harm our citizens and British values.'

Free Free Palestine @TfL London Underground Tubes driver lead the passengers in a chant, he said I wanted to join the protest but couldnt get the day off. #LondonStandsWithPalestine #Palestine #Israel #_ #_ pic.twitter.com/62jx8xLtyz  Farid Ahmed (Qureshi) (@FaridQureshi_UK) October 21, 2023

Video circulating online appears to show the Central Line driver leading a chant of 'Free, free Palestine' for the hundreds of people packed tightly into busy train

Those on the Tube train could be seen joining in with the driver's chants on their way to the solidarity march

Husam Zomlot, head of the Palestinian mission to the UK, said on Sunday that people attending demonstrations to sow division and intimidate Jews instead of supporting Palestine 'should shut up'.

It was put to him that some people have carried Hamas flags and chanted slogans that are 'intimidating' for Jewish people, or worn pictures of paragliders taped to their clothing in apparent support for Hamas.

He told Sky News' Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme: 'This is abhorrent, unacceptable. Those people hijack our cause for their own twisted logic.

'The Jewish people have nothing to do with it. This is not a religious conflict. Many of those who demonstrated for Palestine yesterday were Jews.

'Many of those strong voices are the Jewish people defending us.

'Those who have hate in their hearts for Jews would have hate in their hearts for Muslims and Christians. We have nothing to do with them and they should shut up.'

It came as 100,000 protesters marched in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Cardiff in defence of civilians in Gaza and West Bank after Hamas's deadly attacks on Israel brought violent response.

The Met Police said it had arrested ten people at the London march on suspicion of offences involving fireworks, public order, and assaulting an emergency service worker.

On Saturday a London tube driver sparked outrage by urging passengers to chant pro-Palestinian slogans at they headed towards a solidarity march.

Video circulating online appears to show the Central Line driver leading a chant of 'Free, free Palestine' for the hundreds of people packed tightly into busy train.

As hundreds of protesters boarded the Central Line underground train at Bond Street for the short journey to Marble Arch just after midday, those onboard told MailOnline that the driver announced: 'Sorry I can't join your protest today, I couldn't get the day off work. But you have my full support. Join me in chanting 'From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free'.'

This chant is a controversial form of protest which some argue is inherently anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic - something which Palestinians and their supporters deny.

The Met Police this week issued updated guidance around the chant due to the strength of feeling which it evokes, saying officers will not be treating it as unlawful unless it is specifically used to intimidate members of the Jewish community.

A force statement read: 'One particular chant that has been the subject of extensive discussion is 'Palestine will be free, from the river to the sea'.

'This is a chant that has been frequently heard at pro-Palestinian demonstrations for many years. We are well aware of the strength of feeling in relation to it.

'While we can envisage scenarios where chanting these words could be unlawful, such as outside a synagogue or Jewish school, or directly at a Jewish person or group intended to intimidate, it is likely that its use in a wider protest setting, such as we anticipate this weekend, would not be an offence and would not result in arrests.'

British Transport Police Assistant Chief Constable Sean O'Callaghan told Sky News that the force was 'aware of footage circulating on social media which suggests chants are led by a driver of a train in London earlier.

'BTP are working with Transport for London and investigating the matter.'

A TFL spokesperson told the broadcaster: 'We are committed to providing a safe network for everyone and want to make it clear that London is open to everyone.

'We are aware of footage circulating on social media that suggests political comments may have been made by one of our Tube drivers. We are working to scrutinise the footage and ensure the circumstances are urgently investigated.'

Amongst the passengers was Wendy Henry, who said she 'couldn't believe' what she was hearing as the atmosphere 'turned very ugly, very quickly' and accused the driver of trying to 'whip up anti-Israeli feelings'.

She told MailOnline: 'The noise in the carriages from the pro-Palestinian demonstrators was deafening and aggressive. The driver should have been concerned about safety for all the passengers yet he set about encouraging intimidating and hostile sloganeering.

READ MORE HERE: Israel vows to cut off 'the head of the snake' and launch a military attack against Iran if Hezbollah joins the war with Hamas Advertisement

'Transport for London should launch an immediate investigation into his actions.'

She continued: 'I have lived and worked in London for over forty years and it's fair to say I have never felt so vulnerable and isolated.'

But many of those onboard disagreed, and video footage showed the driver being cheered and applauded by passengers who appeared to be in good spirits.

Pro-Palestinian protesters in central London also chanted 'from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free', despite the ongoing controversy around the slogan's meaning.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman has previously branded the slogan antisemitic and claimed that it is 'widely understood' to call for the destruction of Israel.

While Jewish groups including the Board of Deputies, Jewish Leadership Council and the Community Security Trust, have asked prosecutors to clarify if chanting the slogan is a criminal offence.

However, those who defend the slogan describe it as a 'long-standing protest chant' that calls for a homeland for the Palestinian people.
An Australian mosque has celebrated Hezbollah terrorists killed in attacks on Israel as 'martyrs' during special commemoration services.

About 400 worshippers attended the Masjid Arrahman, which is also known as Al Rahman Mosque, in the south west Sydney suburb of Kingsgrove on Saturday, to pay tribute to fallen terrorists Taha Abbas Abbas, Ali Marmar and Hussam Ibrahim.

Hezbollah announced on Wednesday Abbas and Marmar were killed by an IDF drone strike while firing mortar shells into Israel from southern Lebanon, while Ibrahim was killed by Israeli shelling earlier this month.

Al Rahman Mosque's Imam Sheikh Youssef Nabha called the three men martyrs who were engaging in 'jihad' during the 90-minute service, according to an attendee's translation of the Arabic sermon obtained by The Australian.

Sydney Imam Sheikh Youssef Nabha (pictured) has held a service to commemorate Hezbollah 'martyrs'

Sheikh Nabha accused Israel of having a plan to 'eradicate' Palestinians.

The Jewish state continues to reign down missiles on the territory following a string of terror attacks and rocket strikes by Hamas on October 7 that killed 1400 Israeli citizens.

The Sheikh also criticised US support for Israel and was scathing of the Australian media.

'The (Daily Telegraph), Sky News  they condemn us and say we should stop, but we've done this for many years,' the Sheikh said.

He accused the media of portraying Muslims as dangerous, but said his congregation was peaceful.

The imam said he had been contacted by authorities before the service but insisted the service would go on peacefully.

Private security was in place for the service and marked police cars patrolled the road surrounding the mosque during the session.

The Sheik made a call for worshippers to aid Gaza civilians, even though there was little that those in Australia can do.

Sheikh Nabha told a packed congregation at Masjid Arrahman in southwest Sydney that Israel had a plan to wipe out Palestinians in the Gaza Strip (stock image)

Hezbollah terrorists Taha Abbas Abbas (left) and Hussam Ibrahim (right) are pictured

Hezbollah terrorist Ali Machmad Marmar (pictured) who was killed by Israeli shelling

A similar service was held at the Arncliffe's Al Zahra Mosque, also in south west Sydney, for three other Hezbollah 'martyrs' killed fighting Israel: Mahdi Muhammad Atwi, Ibrahim Habib Aldebek and Hussain Abbas Fasaee.

Last week Hezbollah announced in a pamphlet calling for the three to be commemorated as 'Shaheed'  the Arabic term for 'martyr'.

Anti-Defamation Commission Chair Dvir Abramovich called the services 'a stain' on Australia

'I feel sick by this stomach-churning celebration of the evil, slaughter and cult death of Hezbollah that will shock the conscience of every Australian,' he told The Australian.

'How can anyone, in a house of worship, honour mass murderers and terrorists?

'At a time of surging anti-Semitism in this country, this 'commemoration service'  will be a stain on the community that will never be erased.'

A pamphlet advertising the service for the three Hezbollah terrorists, which was held in south west Sydney

With 20,000 fighters, Hezbollah is one of the most powerful paramilitary forces in the Middle East, with Iran believed to funnel hundreds of millions of dollars to the Islamic extremists each year.

Israel is readying a major ground assault into Gaza following the Hamas raids on October 7 that resulted in hundreds of civilian deaths and around 200 hostages being taken by the group, which is also back by Iran.

Since that attack Hezbollah and the Israel Defence Force have been trading fire across Israel's northern border with Lebanon.

Israel has vowed to cut off 'the head of the snake' and launch a military attack against Iran if Hezbollah joins the war.

Nir Barkat, Israel's Minister of Economy, warned on Sunday that Iran's Ayatollahs will be 'wiped off the face of the earth' should Hezbollah, their proxy terror group in Lebanon, attack Israel.
The US is urging Britain to class Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as terrorists after it was accused of being complicit in Hamas' lethal attack on Israel.

Following his visit to the war torn region, Joe Biden is urging other country's to follow his lead and 'designate the IRGC as a terrorist organisation'.

The US prescribed the Iranian state's security body as a terrorist orgnisation in 2019 and now several Tory MPs urging Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to take the same steps.

Meanwhile, a Whitehall source claimed senior US officials had privately calling for the UK along with other western allies to make the legal change which would mean it becomes a criminal offence in the UK to belong to the group or support its activities.

Matthew Miller, the US State Department's official spokesman, told the Telegraph: 'We absolutely think that other countries should designate the IRGC as a terrorist organisation.

'It's a position that we've made clear a number of times. They finance terrorist activities, they have around the world for some time, and we think that other countries should take that step of designating them.'

The US is urging Britain to class Iran 's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as terrorists after it was accused of being complicit in Hamas ' lethal attack on Israel. Pictured: Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and President Joe Biden in September

The US prescribed the Iranian state's security body as a terrorist orgnisation in 2019. Pictured: Members of the IRCG last April

MP Liam Fox, the former defence secretary who has been calling for the group to be proscribed since before the conflict erupted, said: 'The view from the American government can not be clearer, that they expect their allies to act and act swiftly to proscribe the IRGC.'

It follows calls from the Government's counter-extremism tsar Robin Simcok, who said it was 'unsustainable' for support of the group to remain legal.

The IRGC was founded as a custodian of Iran's 1979 revolution but has since grown into a major, political and economic force for the country.

Rumblings about the IRGC becoming a terrorist orgaisaiton in the UK have been ongoing for months now - with Whitehall sources claiming in January that the move would be imminent.

It followed reports of Iranian hit squads targeting British-Iranian journlaists in London and the arrests of several people in the UK in relation to anti-government protests in the country.

Last week senior members of Hamas told the Wall Street Journal that IRGC officers had been working with the Palestinian militant group since August to devise the October 7 attack in Israel.

Ali Fadavi, the IRGC's deputy commander, said: 'The resistance front's shocks against the Zionist regimes will continue until this 'cancerous tumour' is eradicated from the world map.'

It comes as Mr Sunak warned that the Israel-Hamas war, which has been ongoing for two weeks now, risks unleashing a 'contagion of conflict' across the Middle East.

Hamas has claimed the IRGC has been working with the Palestinian militant group since August to coordinate its attack on Israel on October 7

The Government's counter-extremism tsar Robin Simcok, who said it was 'unsustainable' for support of the group to remain legal

Since the war erupted, 1,400 Israelis are known to have died with dozens more missing, feared dead or held hostage by the terrorist group.

Meanwhile, 4,300 are said to have been killed in Gaza, which has been blocked and bombarded by Israel in retaliation, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. This includes the disputed toll from a hospital explosion.

Mr Sunak, who visited Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt for talks with key regional players this week, said the leaders agreed 'we need to do everything possible' to prevent the spread of the war.

He said his two-day visit to the region demonstrated 'that the UK stands in solidarity with them against terrorism' and that 'there can be no justification' for the atrocities committed by Hamas.

'I wanted to sit down with other leaders and talk face to face. Because in times of tension and division, it's more important than ever to accelerate diplomatic efforts,' he added.

He said the opening of the border crossing with Egypt to allow an aid convoy into the Gaza Strip was an example of what could be achieved.

'The reopening of the Rafah crossing into Gaza is testament to the power of diplomacy, with the US, Israel and Egypt brokering an agreement to ensure vital aid reaches the Palestinian people.

'We're working closely with Egypt to ensure that the UK plays our part in ensuring those Palestinians get the food, water and medicine they so desperately need.

'The overwhelming view I got from everyone I spoke to this week was that we need to do everything possible to stop a contagion of conflict in the region.

LONDON: A woman attends the pro-Palestinian march while holding a placard

LEEDS: People gather following the pro-Palestine march yesterday

BIRMINGHAM: Protestors hold up Free Palestine signs as they march through the city centre yesterday

SALFORD: Protest for Palestinian rights held outside the BBC headquarters at Salford Quays Manchester

'We need to keep our aspirations for a more peaceful and stable future firmly in our sights as we work together to defeat the evil of terrorism.'

His comments came after 100,000 people marched through central London in support of the Palestinian people in response to Israel's siege of the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said he wanted Britons trapped in Gaza to be able to leave through the Rafah crossing but acknowledged it was not yet safe enough to do so.

'Ultimately, we want to see the Rafah crossing safe enough that foreign nationals in Gaza are able to leave,' he told the Sunday Times.

'We are only going to call British nationals forward when we are confident that there will be a long enough period for them to credibly, safely leave Gaza and we are not yet in that position.'

He said officials were working 'very, very closely with the Egyptian government, with the Qataris and other players in the region - including Israel, of course - to try and get to a situation where there is enough stability, for long enough, to give British nationals a credible opportunity to leave'.

At a peace summit in Cairo on Saturday, Mr Cleverly said Israel had the right to defend itself against Hamas in Gaza.

But with the Israeli military preparing a ground offensive, Mr Cleverly said they needed to show 'discipline, professionalism and restraint' in actions against Hamas.

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in the Tal Al-Hawa neighbourhood in Gaza on Friday

Supplies of basic essentials, like food and clean water, are in dire supply in Gaza

'The UK is clear and has been consistently clear that Israel has the right to self-defence and the right to secure the release of those who were kidnapped on October 7,' Mr Cleverly said.

'And we are also clear that we must work, and they must work, to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people in Gaza, and that their actions are in accordance with international law.'

Mr Cleverly said he had raised the need to protect civilians with the Tel Aviv government.

He added: 'Despite the incredibly difficult circumstances, I have called for discipline and professionalism and restraint from the Israeli military.'

The frontier with Egypt at Rafah was opened on Saturday morning to let 20 trucks of desperately needed aid flow to Palestinians running short of food, medicine and water in the territory.

Hundreds of foreign passport-holders have been trying to leave the besieged territory.

ActionAid Palestine spokeswoman Riham Jafari said the Rafah crossing convoy was 'barely a drop in the ocean' and called for a ceasefire and the opening of humanitarian corridors.

'Aid trucks also did not bring with them the fuel needed to power hospitals, keep ambulances moving, or to pump water from the ground,' she added.

Israeli soldiers listen to Israel's Defence Minister Yoav Gallant as he meets them in a field near Israel's border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel October 19, 2023

People brandish rifles and Palestinian flags during a march to show solidarity with the Palestinians of the Gaza Strip on October 18, 2023, in the Houthi-controlled Yemeni capital Sanaa

People set a US and an Israeli flag on fire during a march to show solidarity with the Palestinians of the Gaza Strip on October 18, 2023, in the Houthi-controlled Yemeni capital Sanaa

Palestinians search the destroyed annex of the Greek Orthodox Saint Porphyrius Church, the oldest church still in use in Gaza, damaged in a strike on Gaza City on October 20, 2023

The opening of the Rafah crossing followed another major development when Hamas freed an American woman and her teenage daughter it had held hostage in the Gaza Strip, the first such release from among around 200 people the militant group abducted during its October 7 raids on southern Israel.

Hamas said it released Judith Raanan and her 17-year-old daughter Natalie for humanitarian reasons in an agreement with the Qatar government.

Mr Cleverly said: 'We are grateful to the governments who are seeking to intercede on behalf of those held hostage and those foreign nationals who are trapped in Gaza, and we are grateful for the work to ensure that the humanitarian aid - which much which many of us have partially funded - reaches those Gazans who are deeply in need.'

In London, pro-Palestinian protesters chanted 'from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free', despite an ongoing controversy around the slogan's meaning.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman has previously branded the slogan anti-Semitic and claimed it is 'widely understood' to call for the destruction of Israel.

But the Metropolitan Police said 'while we can envisage scenarios where chanting these words could be unlawful' - such as outside a synagogue or Jewish school - its use in a wider protest 'would not be an offence and would not result in arrests'.
Iran has issued a chilling warning to the United States that Israel's war with Hamas could 'spiral out of control' if they do not 'immediately' cease strikes on Gaza - as the Israeli government warned it would target Tehran if Hezbollah escalates the conflict.

'I warn the US and its proxy (Israel) that if they do not immediately stop the crime against humanity and genocide in Gaza, anything is possible at any moment and the region will go out of control,' Iran's foreign minister said today.

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian made the comments alongside his South African counterpart Naledi Pandor at a joint news conference in Tehran.

Israeli air strikes have shown no sign of ceasing as they pounded the Gaza Strip overnight, as well as two airports in Syria and a mosque allegedly used by terrorists in the West Bank, increasing fears that the war could erupt into a regional conflict.

Israelis living near the country's northern border with Lebanon have been evacuated from their homes as the Israel Defense Forces continue to exchange intense cross-border fire with Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah.

In a direct threat to deter Tehran from intervening further, Nir Barkat, Israel's Minister of Economy warned that not only would Israel 'eliminate Hezbollah', if it believes the terror group is opening up a 'northern front', but 'we will actually target Iran.'

Plumes of smoke billow over Gaza City on October 22 as the IDF continues to pound it with strikes

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian warned 'the US and its proxy (Israel)' to 'immediately' cease strikes on Gaza

Seriously injured Palestinians are evacuated from buildings in Rafah hit in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip

An elderly woman clambers out of a window of a damaged building in Rafah, Gaza, amid Israeli air strikes

This picture taken from Israel's southern city of Sderot shows smoke billowing over the northern Gaza Strip during Israeli bombardment on October 22

Palestinians look for survivors in the buildings destroyed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in Rafah

A Palestinian checks the damage at a mosque in Jenin refugee camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which was hit in an Israeli air strike

A Palestinian carries a child killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in Rafah

A Palestinian man reacts as the body of his daughter is unearthed from under the rubble after an Israeli strike on Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip

Photos show the extent of the damage in the area as the number of buildings and stores were heavily affected by the bombing in Nuseirat camp

Palestinians look for survivors after the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in Deir Al-Balah

Some of the targets reported to have been hit by Israeli air strikes overnight (October 21-22)

Mr Barkat told the Mail on Sunday: 'The plan of Iran is to attack Israel on all fronts. If we find they intend to target Israel, we will not just retaliate to those fronts, but we will go to the head of the snake, which is Iran.'

He additionally threatened Iran's Ayatollahs, saying they would be 'wiped off the face of the earth' should Hezbollah, their proxy terror group in Lebanon, attack Israel.

IDF spokesman Jonathan Conricus has accused Hezbollah of a dangerous escalation, edging towards an all-out war.

'[Hezbollah] is dragging Lebanon into a war that it will gain nothing from, but stands to lose a lot... Hezbollah is playing a very, very dangerous game. They're escalating the situation. We see more and more attacks every day,' he said.

Tensions are also mounting in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where the IDF has battled terrorists in refugee camps and carried out two air strikes in recent days, including on a mosque in a refugee camp.

Meanwhile, relentless strikes on the Gaza Strip are continuing just over two weeks after the war began - with Rishi Sunak last night warning it could unleash a 'contagion of conflict' in the Middle East if not contained.

Israel has been battling the Hamas group since they launched a bloody invasion from the enclave on October 7, which saw over 1,400 Israelis killed and over 200 taken hostage.

The IDF has since unleashed a barrage of strikes on the Gaza Strip that have killed more than 4,600 Palestinians, mainly civilians and 40 per cent of whom are children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian spoke alongside his South African counterpart Naledi Pandor (left) at a joint news conference in Tehran

Israeli soldiers make preparations in front of Merkava tanks as they man a position at an undisclosed location on the border with Lebanon

Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah and allied Palestinian factions have traded cross-border fire with Israel for days

An Israeli soldier jumps off a Merkava tank at a position in an undisclosed location on the border with Lebanon on October 22

Fighters of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah carry the coffin of Hezbollah fighter Bilal Rmeity, who was killed by Israeli shelling in Lebanese border towns with Israel

Supporters of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and relatives carry the coffin of Hezbollah fighter

Israeli aircraft released leaflets as a warning for Gazans to move south or face death, with residents reportedly claiming they threatened that 'whoever chooses not to evacuate would likely be designated as a member' or 'accomplice' of a terrorist organisation.

Despite claims of greater safety for civilians in the south, houses in southern areas such as Rafah, a city on the border with Egypt, have been razed to the ground by ongoing Israeli strikes.

Hamas claims that at least 266 people were killed by Israeli strikes in the past 24 hours, including 117 children. Israel last night said it would be stepping up its air raids on Gaza.

Early on Sunday morning, aircraft struck a compound beneath a mosque in the occupied West Bank early that the military said was being used by terrorists to organise attacks.

Israel said the compound beneath al-Ansar Mosque, in Jenin refugee camp, belonged to operatives from Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad who were responsible for attacks in recent months.

'Intel was recently received which indicated that the terrorists, (who) were neutralized, were organizing an imminent terror attack,' the military said in a statement.

IDF spokesperson Lt Col Hecht said: 'Last night, there was an aerial strike on an underground terror compound in the al-Ansar mosque in Jenin. We were focusing on terrorists, an imminent threat, a ticking timebomb.'

Asked whether the strike was carried out with a drone or jet, which would make it the first time a warplane has been used against the West Bank in 20 years, Hecht refused to give more information than to say it was an 'aerial attack'.

A view of destruction after an Israeli bombing attack in Nuseirat camp, central Gaza Strip

The severe damage done to the Al-Ansar Mosque at Jenin refugee camp by Israeli air strikes was clear to see the morning after it was hit

Israeli aircraft released leaflets as a warning for Gazans to move south or face death, with residents reportedly claiming they threatened that 'whoever chooses not to evacuate would likely be designated as a member' or 'accomplice' of a terrorist organisation

Footage on social media, appearing to show the scene of the air strike, showed a gaping hole in one of the mosque's exterior walls, surrounded by debris, with civilians and members of the emergency services at the scene

Footage widely circulating online in the immediate aftermath of the attack purported to show emergency services rushing to administer aid beside the damaged building. There were also some civilians gathered outside

Israeli strikes on Syria last night put out of service the war-torn country's two main airports, state media reported citing a military source, with the transport ministry saying flights were re-routed to Latakia and at least two workers killed.

While Israeli strikes have repeatedly caused the grounding of flights at the government-controlled airports in the capital Damascus and the northern city of Aleppo, it is the second time simultaneous strikes have hit the facilities since this month's conflict between Israel and Hamas began.

'At around 5.25 am (0225 GMT), the Israeli enemy carried out... an air attack... targeting Damascus and Aleppo international airports, leading to the death of a civilian worker at Damascus airport and wounding another,' the military source said in the statement carried by state news agency SANA.

'Material damage to the airports' runways put them out of service,' the statement added. The transport ministry said flights were diverted to Latakia airport.

The military source said the 'simultaneous' strikes came 'from the direction of the Mediterranean west of Latakia and from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan', according to the statement.

Children were among those looking for survivors in the Gaza Strip's southern city of Rafah, which is on the border with Egypt, this morning

Smoke billows after an Israeli strike on Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on October 22

Palestinians inspect the damage after overnight Israeli strikes on Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip

A Palestinian man helps evacuate a woman from a damaged building after overnight Israeli strikes on Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on October 22

Family members of a young Palestinian man mourn after his death on October 22, 2023

A young man transports a bag of food as smoke rises from buildings behind him during an Israeli strike in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip October 22, 2023

On October 12, simultaneous strikes knocked both Damascus and Aleppo airports out of service, Syria said at the time.

READ MORE: The race is on to save hostages taken by Hamas before tanks roll into Gaza - after a deal fell through to free fifty Advertisement

Last weekend, Israeli strikes targeted Aleppo airport, wounding five people, a war monitor reported, also putting it out of service, according to the authorities.

During more than a decade of war in Syria, Israel has launched hundreds of air strikes on its northern neighbour, primarily targeting Iran-backed forces and Lebanese Hezbollah fighters as well as Syrian army positions.

Israel rarely comments on individual strikes it carries out on Syria, but it has repeatedly said it will not allow its arch foe Iran, which supports President Bashar al-Assad's government, to expand its presence there.

On Sunday morning, the army said its forces 'identified a terrorist cell attempting to launch anti-tank missiles toward the Avivim area along the border with Lebanon.'

'IDF soldiers struck the cell before it was able to carry out the attack,' a statement from the military said.

Since October 7, exchanges of fire across the border have killed at least four people in Israel - three soldiers and one civilian.

People walk on makeshift Israeli flags strewn on the ground past Palestinian members of the Saraya al-Quds, the military branch of Islamic Jihad faction, standing in line holding Palestinian flags during a rally organised by their faction at the Yarmouk camp for Palestinian refugees south of Syria's capital Damascus

Palestinian members of the Saraya al-Quds (Jerusalem Brigades), the military branch of Islamic Jihad faction, stand in line holding Palestinian flags

In southern Lebanon, at least 27 people have been killed, according to an AFP tally. Most have been combatants but at least four civilians, including a Reuters journalist, have also been killed.

Israel has ordered dozens of northern communities to evacuate, and several thousand Lebanese have also fled border regions for the southern city of Tyre.

On Sunday, the Israeli defence ministry said they were evacuating 14 additional communities from the area.

Hezbollah number two Naim Qassem has warned the group could step up its involvement in the conflict.

Israeli soldiers and armored vehicles are gathered at an undisclosed location near the border with Gaza

There are growing expectations of a ground offensive that Israel says will be aimed at rooting out Hamas

An Israeli flag flutters from a self-propelled howitzer near Israel's border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, October 22,

'Let's be clear, as events unfold, if something comes up that calls for greater intervention by us, we will do so,' he said.

Lt. Colonel Jonathan Conricus told CNN on Saturday: 'We are concerned, and we urge the state of Lebanon to think twice or maybe 200 times if they really want to jeopardize what's left of Lebanese sovereignty and prosperity for the sake of a bunch of terrorists in Gaza.'

As tensions heighten in the region, civilians in Gaza are facing an increasingly desperate situation, with hundreds of thousands forced to flee by Israel's airstrikes, seeing refugee camps in the south overflow.

The border crossing between Egypt and Gaza opened on Saturday to let a trickle of desperately needed aid into the besieged Palestinian territory for the first time since Israel sealed it off in the wake of Hamas's bloody rampage two weeks ago.

Humanitarian aid trucks arriving from Egypt after having crossed through the Rafah border crossing arriving at a storage facility in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip

Volunteers and NGOs staff celebrate after unloading aid supplies and returning to Egyptian side of border on October 21

Just 20 trucks were allowed in, an amount that aid workers said is insufficient to address the unprecedented humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

A second convoy of aid trucks entered the Egyptian side of Rafah crossing on Sunday and was being inspected before it headed to the Gaza Strip, according to security sources and humanitarian sources in Rafah.

A total of around 17 trucks was at the crossing and being inspected before continuing to Gaza, the sources said.

More than 200 trucks carrying roughly 3,000 tons of aid have been positioned near the crossing for days.

Gaza's 2.3 million Palestinians, half of whom have fled their homes, are rationing food and drinking dirty water. Hospitals say they are running low on medical supplies and fuel for emergency generators amid a territory-wide power blackout.

Five hospitals have stopped functioning because of fuel shortages and bombing damage, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said.

Doctors in darkened wards across Gaza have been left with no choice but to perform surgeries by the light of mobile phones and use shop-bought vinegar to treat infected wounds.

Serious shortages in other supplies, including ventilators, are forcing medical teams to prioritize the lives of those who can be saved for certain over severe cases that require complex care, said Dr. Mohammed Qandeel, who works in the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.

'It's heartbreaking,' he said. 'Every day, if we receive 10 severely injured patients, we have to manage with maybe three or five ICU beds available.

Palestinians assess the damage after a mosque was hit in an Israeli air strike the night before

Pictures appear to show parts of the mosque in the Jenin refugee camp completely destroyed

READ MORE: Moment Israel's ex-PM furiously accuses BBC of 'lacking moral clarity' and 'taking the side of Gazans' in its Israel-Hamas war coverage Victoria Derbyshire spoke to Naftali Bennett Advertisement

'We have to choose who must face death, or manage them in regular wards or do some limited care because we think as a medical team, between two patients in a life-threatening situation, we have to give the ventilator to the patient who has a higher chance of improving in 24 hours.'

Many departments in the hospital are plunged in darkness as medical staff allow electricity only in critical departments where patients risk death without it.

On Friday, the hospital was on its last stock of fuel, but managed to get another tank from UNRWA's existing stock on Saturday, said Qandeel. 'This amount should last for three to five days,' he said.

The World Health Organization says Gaza's Health Ministry is reporting that its daily use of medical consumables during the war is equivalent to its monthly consumption before the war.

The report said 'an imminent public health catastrophe looms' in the setting of mass displacement, overcrowding of shelters and damage to the water and sanitation infrastructure.

There are growing expectations of a ground offensive that Israel says will be aimed at rooting out Hamas, which would inevitably worsen the situation further for people trapped in Gaza.
Indigenous leaders have broken their silence in the wake of the failed Voice referendum expressing their shock and disbelief over the 'vitriol and hatred' run through the campaign.

The Central Land Council (CLC), one of the largest representative bodies for Aboriginal people living in the NT, said their communities were grieving after the overwhelming majority of Australian's voted No in last Saturday's referendum.

'We live in a country that does not know itself,' a CLC statement read.

'Those of us who have been around for a long time know how it feels. We have been here before. We are sad, but we know we must stay strong.

'Others in our communities, especially young people, are in shock and disbelief.'

Indigenous leaders have broken their silence in the wake of the failed Voice referendum expressing their shock and disbelief over the 'vitriol and hatred' run through the campaign (pictured, Voice polling station)

Last week's referendum, the result of years of consultation and the request of Indigenous Australians through the 2017 Uluru Statement from the Heart, was defeated in every state and territory except the ACT.

Remote Indigenous communities overwhelmingly voted in favour of enshrining an Indigenous Voice to Parliament in Australia's Constitution.

Independent advocacy organisation, Australian's for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR), said it was deeply saddened by the result and vowed to continue advocating for treaty and truth.

'It was fair to say that 'not everyone who voted 'no' is racist but [is] also fair to say that all racists voted 'no',' the non-profit wrote on social media.

'The vitriol and hatred that were part of the campaign existed prior to, but were given licence through the process.'

'The overarching theory (that) we are incapable of managing our own affairs is dehumanising and degrading and most of all, deeply flawed.

Leading Yes campaigner Thomas Mayo said despite a wave of racism being unleashed during the bitter campaign, the movement for Indigenous rights had grown stronger.

Yes campaign workers mourn the result of the referendum that saw the Voice overwhelmingly rejected

In a penned column for The Saturday Paper, the Indigenous leader wrote that he broke down after the referendum defeat and criticised an 'abhorrent' No campaign.

'The racist vitriol we felt was at a level not seen for decades in Australia,' he wrote.

'We continue our calls for our voices to be heard, for reform and justice, and we need your ongoing support.'

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has not yet spoken on the government's next steps post-referendum but said he was committed to listening to Indigenous Australians.
An Aussie fast-food fan has called out KFC over the size of its chicken pieces, hitting a nerve with other customers of the popular chain.

"Has anyone noticed KFC chicken pieces are so small?" the diner asked online, sharing a photo in which measuring tape had been used to show that one piece was under six centimetres in length.

"There is little to no batter and no taste," the disappointed customer continued. "The breast piece was two inches in size and the wings were even smaller. Not worth the price."

Chicken pieces in the Aussie KFC customer's order don't appear to measure up to the fast-food chain's online menu. Source: KFC, Reddit

A fellow Reddit user suggested it's common to find a small piece alongside other "normal" sized ones in KFC's boxed meals, however the author of the post clarified that the 21 pieces in this order were all small.

Fellow KFC patrons agreed that the chain's chicken pieces are shrinking, with one responding, "Yep, I've noticed they are getting smaller." Another Redditor boldly claimed KFC uses chickens the size of quails: "They definitely do not use full-size chickens, never have."

What KFC says about its chicken size

After a similar incident earlier this year, a spokesperson for KFC told Yahoo News Australia that the chains chicken pieces rarely vary in size, but when they do there's a simple explanation. "As our chicken is delivered fresh daily from our suppliers, there can be rare occasions where some cuts of chicken are slightly different sizes, just like pieces of chicken from the supermarket can be different sizes," the spokesperson explained.

Shrinking trend?

KFC isn't the only fast-food to be accused of reducing the size of its menu items in recent times. McDonald's customers have long accused the chain of shrinking its burgers, including one Sydney man who was served a shockingly tiny Filet-O-Fish. "What the HELL?" he posted online in August.

Story continues

A McDonald's customer slammed the chain over the size of a Filet-O-Fish he was served. Source: Reddit

At the time, Macca's denied there was anything sinister afoot. "We have checked with our Quality Assurance team and no changes have been made to the Filet-O-Fish recently," a spokesperson told Yahoo.

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.

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The BBC's failure to call Hamas 'terrorists' is fueling anti-Semitism and making the world a more dangerous place for British Jews, an ex-boss from the corporation has said.

The BBC refers to Hamas as a 'militant' group, despite it being proscribed a terrorist organisation in the UK, and described its slaughter of hundreds of innocent civilians as a 'militant' attack.

Last night, Danny Cohen, former television executive at the broadcaster, warned that the BBC's 'failures' over reporting had 'dangerous, real-world consequences'.

His comments come days after a BBC correspondent in the Middle East speculated that a bombing of Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City speculated it was most likely caused by an Israeli airstrike, explaining 'it's hard to see what else this could be, really'.

Israel has stringently denied responsibility for the explosion, as has Hamas, with officials from across the globe trying to find the cause of the blast that killed hundreds of people.

While the BBC said at 'no point' their reported said 'it was an Israeli air strike' he was 'wrong to speculate'.

Mr Cohen said the reporting of the horrific explosion that shocked the world, revealed a 'bias and deep-rooted prejudice' at the corporation.

A woman in London is seen tearing down posters of children who have been kidnapped by Hamas

A vandal hurled red paint over Beis Chinuch Lebonos Girls' School in Hackney, which police are investigating as a 'hate crime'

Drone footage shows the al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City following a deadly explosion that killed hundreds

In the immediate aftermath of the blast, correspondent Jon Donnison said it was 'hard to see' what else could have happened at the al-Ahli Hospital other than an 'Israeli air strike'

Writing in the Telegraph said: 'Other media organisations picked up their line. Across the world, people believed Israel was responsible for the bombing of a hospital. More anti-Semitic violence and anger followed.'

'Again and again, the BBC seems to have a problem when it comes to the Jewish State,' he added.

Anti-Semitic hate crimes have risen by a huge 1,350 per cent as the crisis in the Middle East unfolded, the Met Police said.

On one occasion, a vandal is seen walking up to Vishnitz Girls' school in Hackney - a Jewish girls school - throwing red paint over the property.

A vandal, suspected to be a woman, wearing a mask and a hooded coat while carrying an umbrella, can be seen on closed circuit TV footage smearing the school just before 6am.

Paint was thrown over four parts of the school building, including the front door, before the vandal walked away.

According to the Jewish News, local sources said several girls, upon arrival in the morning, were so upset by what they saw that they ran home.

Another school in the at BCL Girls school in Stamford Hill also saw red paint thrown over the school gates at 11am - when children and teachers were inside.

In another incident, a different woman was tearing down posters to support Israel , accusing her confronter of not caring about Arab victims, and telling her to 'go cry'.

The videos have emerged as Pro-Palestinian demonstrators have clashed with Jewish activists showing the faces of Israeli children kidnaped by Hamas on billboard vans.

A young woman, who has not yet been identified, clutching the torn down posters depicting the innocents taken hostage by Hamas terrorists in Israel on October 7

Posters with images of kidnapped and missing Israelis on Regents Street

The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) said drivers of the vehicles were stopped by chanting anti-Israel protesters as they made their way through London on Thursday evening.

In the angry exchange the woman told the two men filming her to 'f*** off' when they demanded to know why she had ripped down the posters, before launching into a tirade, shouting 'what's happening in Palestine?'

The Metropolitan Police told the Mail: 'We are aware of this video and an investigation is under way. Officers are carrying out enquiries to identify the woman removing the posters. If you can name her, please call 101 quoting CAD 7114/19Oct.'

Speaking up following the incidents, Mr Cohen added: 'When the BBC gets its reporting this badly wrong it fuels the dangerous poison of anti-Semitism.'

The BBC has faced mounting pressure over its terminology since the war in the Middle East erupted. It said today that it did 'not agree' with Mr Cohen's characterisation adding that its 'starting point is always impartiality'.

Lord Wolfson KC, Lord Pannick KC, Lord Grabiner KC and Jeremy Brier KC wrote to Ofcom, accusing the BBC of failing to show impartiality 'beyond doubt' by describing Hamas in 'more sympathetic terms' as 'militants'.

Meanwhile, Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis accused broadcasters of trying to 'wilfully mislead' by not using the word terrorist.

This is the shocking moment a vandal walks up to a Jewish girls school and hurls paint over the property, in what is being investigated as an anti-Semitic attack

Paint was thrown over four parts of the school building, including the front door, before the vandal walked away

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps called on the corporation to 'get the moral compass out' and Labour leader Keir Starmer urged the broadcaster to 'explain' its reasoning.

Even Israeli President Isaac Herzog piled pressure on the BBC, condemning its 'atrocious' refusal to call the group terrorists.

In an exclusive interview with the Mail he said: 'I feel the BBC's reporting is atrocious.

'The fact that it does not recognise Hamas as a terror organisation requires a complete legal battle and public battle. It's unbelievable.

'What other type of torture do they want before they decide it was a terrorist organisation?'

Fears that the organisation's reporting could have a detrimental impact on British Jews comes as 100,000 people took to the streets of the UK in protest in defence of civilians in Gaza and West Bank following Israel's retaliation strikes.

One shocking video showed Palestinian supporters brazenly tearing downs posters of Israeli children kidnapped by Hamas, with one supporter telling people filming her to f*** off and another 'go cry'.

Shocking footage has been posted online showing a female Palestinian supporter in London ripping down posters of kidnapped Israeli citizens and claiming there was 'inaccurate information' on them about women being raped.

The BBC admitted a controversial report about the cause of the Gaza hospital explosion was flawed as a minister said it was not the corporation's 'finest hour'

Appalled witnesses filmed the young woman, who has not yet been identified, clutching the torn down posters depicting the innocents taken hostage by Hamas terrorists in Israel on October 7.

A spokesperson for the BBC told the Mail in response to Mr Cohen's comments: 'We wouldn't agree with this characterisation of the BBC. Our starting point is always impartiality, and we take that incredibly seriously.

'That's why we take so much effort to get our coverage of significant and complex world events right. In amongst thousands of hours of news broadcasting, there will always be some errors - and live reporting will always bring with it huge challenges, particularly when it is on the ground in the toughest of circumstances.

'Where we do get things wrong, we always hold up our hands  as we did this week when one of our correspondents was wrong to speculate  along with others - about the cause of the Al-Ahli hospital explosion, even if he at no point reported that it was an Israeli strike.

'Audiences are coming to the BBC in their millions  looking for information they can trust, expert analysis they can rely on and first-hand, on the ground reporting. We are 100 percent committed to getting that right. The BBC always listens and will continue to have a dialogue with audiences on our reporting and meet with Jewish community representatives and staff.'
Israel's former Prime Minister furiously accused the BBC of bias and 'lacking moral clarity' in its Israel-Hamas war coverage, shortly before his interview feed cut off prematurely.

During the heated exchange, Naftali Bennett told the Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme: 'I understand the BBC has taken the Gazan side, because all your questions are only about the Gazan civilians...'

Host Victoria Derbyshire then interjects 'that's not true' before the politician continues, referencing Israeli families murdered by Hamas terrorists on October 7: 'You haven't asked one question about those children from the very beginning of this interview, it seems you care very little about them.

'You only care about one side, that is the BBC way... If you think there is a balance here between two equal sides then you are lacking moral clarity. And BBC, I must say, is lacking moral clarity. What you guys did the past week, shame on you.'

Ms Derbyshire then protests: 'Before I spoke to you Mr Bennett I spoke to a veteran Palestinian politician and I asked her about the massacre of Israeli civilians in southern Israel.'

The feed to Tel Aviv cuts off while ex-Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is mid-sentence

Moments later, the extremely tense interview is abruptly cut short as Mr Bennett, speaking from Tel Aviv, disappears mid-sentence.

'Ah apologies, I do apologise. I don't know why the signal cut out at the end,' Ms Derbyshire rushes to explain before the camera pans back to the studio.

The BBC said afterwards that the live feed cut out due to a technical difficulty.

Mr Bennett's comments came in response to the broadcaster speculating that an Israeli air strike was behind the explosion at a Gazan hospital which Palestinian authorities say killed hundreds of people.

The BBC later admitted that while at 'no point' did their reporter said 'it was an Israeli air strike', the report was 'wrong to speculate' that Israel may have been at fault for the blast.

The Israeli government slammed the comments and later suggested that they could prevent the BBC from reporting in the country.

A statement on Israel's X account said: 'Hey @BBCWorld, as of this morning your modern blood libel about the hospital attack is still up.

'Ah apologies, I do apologise. I don't know why the signal cut out at the end,' Ms Derbyshire rushes to explain

During the heated exchange, Naftali Bennett told the Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme: 'I understand the BBC has taken the Gazan side'

'We see you, and now everyone else does too.'

Israel has stringently denied responsibility for the explosion, as has Hamas, with officials from across the globe trying to find the cause of the blast that killed hundreds of people.

It comes as an ex-boss at the corporation suggested that the BBC's failure to call Hamas 'terrorists' is fueling anti-Semitism and making the world a more dangerous place for British Jews.

The BBC refers to Hamas as a 'militant' group, despite it being proscribed a terrorist organisation in the UK, and described its slaughter of hundreds of innocent civilians as a 'militant' attack.

Last night, Danny Cohen, former television executive at the broadcaster, warned that the BBC's 'failures' over reporting had 'dangerous, real-world consequences'.

Writing in The Telegraph, Mr Cohen said his former employer's reporting of the horrific explosion at the al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City revealed a 'bias and deep-rooted prejudice' at the corporation.

Speaking in the wake of a rise in anti-Semitic incidents in the UK, Mr Cohen added: 'When the BBC gets its reporting this badly wrong it fuels the dangerous poison of anti-Semitism.'

The BBC has faced mounting pressure over its terminology since the war in the Middle East erupted. It said today that it did 'not agree' with Mr Cohen's characterisation adding that its 'starting point is always impartiality'.

But the broadcaster has been roundly criticised by protesters and public figures for its refusal to call Hamas terrorists.

The National Jewish Assembly protesting the BBC's refusal to label Hamas as terrorists last week

Members of the Jewish community gather outside BBC Broadcasting House on Monday, October 16

Among those who has piled pressure on the corporation is Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who said in an exclusive interview with the Mail: 'I feel the BBC's reporting is atrocious.

'The fact that it does not recognise Hamas as a terror organisation requires a complete legal battle and public battle. It's unbelievable.

'What other type of torture do they want before they decide it was a terrorist organisation?'

Following criticism of the BBC's coverage from Mr Bennett on Sunday, a BBC spokesperson said: 'Careful consideration has been given to all aspects of our coverage to ensure that we report on developments impartially and accurately.'
This is the hilarious moment a fisherman working out of the waters around Britain tucks into his breakfast - while his boat is lashed by huge waves whipped up by Storm Babet.

Crab catcher Aivis Dornis filmed the enormous breakers battering his vessel somewhere in the sea around the UK, sending the boat cresting to the left and right.

He then pulls the camera back to show he's eating berries and porridge - even as the crabber boat is being tossed around.

'Aw s***,' Mr Dornis mumbles as the water swells and collapses against the hull, adding as he reveals the pot of fruit and oats: 'Breakfast time - nice.'

Mr Dornis, who shares videos of his working life on TikTok under the handle @craberman with some 763,000 followers, posted the video in response to a comment on a previous video in which a user had asked: 'How is bro so calm?'

Crab fisherman Aivis Dornis filmed dramatic footage of the sea viciously lashing his boat

He then pulls the camera back to reveal he's tucking into porridge and berries for breakfast

Mr Dornis flashes a grin at the camera as the boat is whipped back and forth while he tucks into his food

Tiktok users were impressed by Mr Dornis' calmness on the stormy seas as he scoffed his food

In the caption of the response video, the Latvian sea worker replied that scoffing breakfast as the boat tilts askew was simply his 'daily routine'.

The fisherman did not specify where in British waters the boat was sailing at the time he shot the clip.

TikTok users were impressed by Mr Dornis' calmness in the face of the stormy waters, which have even been seen whipping gargantuan passenger ferries around as they set off from the southern coast.

One wrote: 'Nah, this is nightmare fuel for me. Respect to you.'

Another added: 'I'm scared when I'm in a ferry and I can see the water just by it going up and down so I could never do what ur doing,' adding a skull emoji.

'I would need a bucket...it's been bad enough at times crossing over to Dublin...' said a third user.

Meanwhile, another crab fisherman joked in the comments: 'Nice day for it.'

It comes as Storm Babet has officially passed out of Britain after three days of causing chaos across the country, leaving a trail of death and devastation in its wake.

At least nine people are believed to have died in weather related incidents - most recently a woman in her 80s who was found dead at her home in Derbyshire.

However, environment bosses have warned that flooding could continue along some of the country's biggest rivers until Tuesday, while communities begin the process of recovery after being deluged by heavy rain and floods.

Katharine Smith, flood duty manager at the Environment Agency, says teams have been sent to the worst-affected areas to operate flood barriers and put up temporary defences, including pumps to get rid of flood waters.

She added: 'Following persistent, heavy rain from Storm Babet, severe river flooding impacts are probable in parts of the East Midlands and South Yorkshire...into Sunday.

'Ongoing flooding is probable on some larger rivers including the Severn, Ouse and Trent through to Tuesday.

'We also advise people to stay away from swollen rivers and urge people not to drive through flood water as just 30cm of flowing water is enough to move your car.'
Deadly Storm Babet has continued to batter Europe today, bringing chaos to the continent as heavy rain and gale force winds pound France, Germany and Scandinavia.

Shocking footage showed a huge yellow bus being swept away down the fast-flowing raging ravine in France, before becoming lodged between rocks as the murky brown water continued to froth around it.

In Germany high flood waters filled the streets covering shop fronts and doorways while in Denmark boats lined up along the coastline were battered by strong waves, with several Danish towns seeing water levels exceed normal height by seven feet.

Meanwhile in Norway, 20,000 residents were left without power on Saturday, as gales blew roofs off buildings, downing trees and power masts.

Back in the UK, the storm has continued to wreak havoc, with London's King's Cross station being forced to close on Saturday afternoon to stop passengers massing on to platforms after numerous trains were delayed or cancelled.

The killer storm has already claimed the lives of seven people - a number of whom were involved in fatal car crashes.

GERMANY: People make their way across the a flooded street in Flensburg, northern Germany

DENMARK: Boats are left damaged in the harbour of Roedvig on Stevns as Storm Babet raged through the island of Zealand

DENMARK: The water level around the harbour of Soenderborg in Southern Jutland

DENMARK: Summer houses in Southern Jutland are flooded with water as repairs get underway

This morning a woman in her 80s was found dead at her home in Chesterfield, Derbyshire.

A four car crash with a HGV on the M4 on Friday, between Chipenham and Bath junctions, saw two women pronounced dead at the scene.

In Scotland, a 56-yera-old was pronounced dead at the scene following a crash at Whigstreet near Forfar, Angus, on Thursday. It came just hours after a 57-year-old woman was swept into a river just 20 miles away ours earlier.

First Minister Humza Yousaf warning on X for people to exercise caution in light of a red severe weather warning in the coastal county and parts of Aberdeenshire.

A man in his 60s died after getting caught in fast-flowing flood water in Cleobury Mortimer, Shropshire on Friday; police found his body two hours after he disappeared under the water.

Elsewhere, a crash in Calderdale near Halifax, West Yorkshire on Friday night left the 19-year-old driver of a white Seat Ibiza dead and their 18-year-old passenger fighting for their life. The weather conditions were 'a factor' in the crash, the Sun reported.

The ongoing storm saw a red 'danger to life' warning put in place across parts of Angus and Perthshire, with residents in the town of Brechin being evacuated over the severe risk.

On Sunday night, the council said temporary accommodation had been found for all of those who stayed at the rest centres.

Residents of nearby Bridge of Dun had to be airlifted via helicopter, while in other areas people stranded by floodwater were rescued by boats, including canoes.

SCOTLAND: A car is see on a bridge after being washed away near Dundee following yesterday's rain

ENGLAND: Flood water surrounds the fields around the River Lugg near Leominister, Herefordshire

DENMARK: Residents check the damage to Hesnaes harbour on the Falster Island

GERMANY: A man makes his way through the flooded streets in Flensburg, northern Germany

SWEDEN: A surfer checks out the waves at Kampinge Stranbad near Holviken, Sweden

ENGLAND: The River Ouse continues to rise in York, with the King's Arms pub being flooded

SCOTLAND: Sandbags pile up along the side of a river in Brechin

The UK's Environment Agency has issued three severe flood warnings posing 'a danger to life' in the area around the River Derwent in the city of Derby, central England.

Flood duty manager at the Environment Agency, Katharine Smith, said 'ongoing flooding is probable on some larger rivers including the Severn, Ouse and Trent through to Tuesday.'

Interviewed on BBC One on Saturday morning, Labour MP Toby Perkins said that around 400 homes in his constituency of Chesterfield in central England had been flooded, and that many people now had 'no idea where they're going to be living from now'.

A major clear-up operation is now underway in flood-hit areas of Scotland, with teams clearing up debris from the road and assessing damage to bridges, as conditions across the country are expected to improve.

ScotRail said the majority of its services will be able to run as normal today, but a number of lines, including Aberdeen to Dundee and Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh, remain closed.

Meanwhile, Germany's Baltic Sea coast was also battered by strong winds and rain which triggered flooding and the evacuation of around 2,000 people, according to the emergency services in the state of Schleswig-Holstein.

The highest water levels were recorded around midnight on Friday in the northern town of Flensburg, reaching almost 2.3 metres above normal - a level unseen for almost 120 years.

ENGLAND: Two cars flooded underwater in the Pentagon area of Derby

ENGLAND: An aerial view of the flooded fields near Derby ruby club after the river Derwent burst its banks

ENGLAND: A DFDS ferry arrives into the Port of Dover in Kent amid Storm Babet

ENGLAND: Emergency services arrive at the scene after a TUI plane came off the runway at Leeds Bradford Airport

ENGLAND: Chaos at London King's Cross amid a number of delays and cancellations

Ferry lines and railway service were temporarily suspended in affected areas in Germany, Denmark and southern Sweden. Copenhagen's airport canceled 142 flights due to the storm on Friday but resumed operations on Saturday morning.

People were evacuated from homes and campgrounds in severely hit areas in Denmark and dozens of people were without power. The municipality of Haderslev in southern Denmark decided to evacuate the entire coastline.

'The situation on the coast is now so serious that it is too dangerous to stay there. All affected areas are evacuated and the emergency response is pulling out its crews,' the municipality said in a Facebook post late Friday. It wasn't immediately clear how many people were affected.

The Danish Meteorological Institute warned of strong winds and elevated water levels throughout the weekend.
This is the incredible moment that a woman filmed herself commuting home on a kayak during Storm Babet as heavy downpours sparked deluge across the UK.

The extraordinary video, which was posted to TikTok earlier this week by Grace Vickers, shows her paddling through a flooded street in Chesterfield after finishing her shift at work.

It has left viewers questioning whether the footage was actually filmed in the English market town rather than somewhere with more familiar scenes such as Venice.

Intense flooding in the UK has been caused by Storm Babet, which has devastated parts of the country with heavy rain, leaving thousands of people without power and others with their homes submerged in water.

While the storm has now passed, there are still hundreds of flood warnings in effect across the country and Environment Agency bosses say that flooding is likely to last until Tuesday in areas with larger rivers such as the Severn, Ouse and Trent.

This is the incredible moment that a woman filmed herself commuting home on a kayak during Storm Babet as heavy downpours sparked deluge across the UK

The extraordinary video, which was posted to TikTok earlier this week by Grace Vickers, shows her paddling through a flooded street in Chesterfield after finishing her shift at work

At one point she passes a car that is almost fully submerged, lying vertically in the water with its rear number plate only just visible

The video shows an area in Chesterfield that has clearly been devastated by floods following this week's torrential downpours.

A woman can be seen sitting on a kayak as it paddles through waters, which appear to have reached a considerable height.

Clearly in disbelief at what she is seeing, the woman passes by a block of houses where the flood water has almost reached the bottom of the first floor windows.

Later on she passes a car that is almost fully submerged, lying vertically in the water with its rear number plate only just visible.

Unfortunately, such scenes are not unique to Chesterfield, with many other areas across the UK having been overcome with intense flooding.

Clean-ups are underway in communities across the country as the flood waters finally began to subside.

Derby City Council said they are seeing record-breaking water levels in the River Derwent - which left much of the village of Sandiacre underwater - and warned that cleaning up after the floods could take several days.

A total of 59 people and 12 animals were rescued from flooded homes in neighbouring Stapleford.

In Sheffield, South Yorkshire, 120 homes have been evacuated in the Catcliffe area after devastating flooding.

The River Rother reached heights of 30.44m, exceeding the level it reached in 2007 when the area was ravaged by disastrous floods.

The River Lugg near Leominster, in Herefordshire, also burst it banks, causing devastation for nearby residents, while the River Ouse in York has continued to rise reaching a heigh of 3.64m after breaking its banks yesterday.

The video shows an area in Chesterfield that has clearly been devastated by floods following this week's torrential downpours

A woman can be seen sitting on a kayak as it paddles through waters, which appear to have reached a considerable height

The woman passes by a block of houses where the flood water hasa almost reached the bottom of the first floor windows

Flooding on the high street and surrounding fields in Holywell in Cambridgeshire on Sunday morning after the River Great Ouse burst its banks

Flooding in York at dawn this morning where the River Ouse has continued to rise reaching a heigh of 3.64m after breaking its banks

The Kings Arms pub in York this morning has also been affected by flooding caused by the River Ouse breaking its banks

Derbyshire Fire Service said more than 100 people had to be rescued in the county on Friday, including 20 people at a care home in Duffield.

In Wales, a severe flood warning had been issued for the village of Llandrinio, Powys, as well as isolated properties in the Severn-Vyrnwy confluence area.

In the North Sea, more than half the staff manning a drilling platform were airlifted to other sites after several of its anchors came loose during Storm Babet.

At least nine people are feared to have died during the storm, including a number of road crashes where the weather is believed to have played a part in the tragedy.

As of 11am in England, 200 flood warnings - meaning flooding is 'expected' - are in effect across the country; in Scotland, three flood warnings remain in effect, while in Wales there is one flood warning still in place.

Katharine Smith, flood duty manager at the Environment Agency, says teams have been sent to the worst-affected areas to operate flood barriers and put up temporary defences, including pumps to get rid of flood waters.

She added: 'Following persistent, heavy rain from Storm Babet, severe river flooding impacts are probable in parts of the East Midlands and South Yorkshire...into Sunday.

'Ongoing flooding is probable on some larger rivers including the Severn, Ouse and Trent through to Tuesday.

'We also advise people to stay away from swollen rivers and urge people not to drive through flood water as just 30cm of flowing water is enough to move your car.'

Dramatic drone pictures lay bare the devastating damage caused by Storm Babet after the village of Sandiacre, in Derbyshire, was flooded

Aerial photogrpahs have shown the extent of the devastation caused in the area, with fields, roads and industrial areas submerged in swathes of water

Flooding in the surrounding fields in Holywell in Cambridgeshire on Sunday morning

Flooded fields around the River Lugg near Leominster, after Storm Babet battered the UK

In Scotland, a 57-year-old woman was swept to her death in the Glen Esk valley in Angus on Thursday; a 56-year-old man was killed by a falling tree close to nearby Forfar later the same day; and a man in his 60s was swept away by flood waters in Shropshire on Friday.

Elsewhere, police are said to be treating a crash in Halifax that killed a 19-year-old man and a pile-up on the M4 that killed two women, both on Friday, as being related to the inclement weather conditions.

And a man and a woman were killed after their car plunged from a bridge near Skipton, North Yorkshire, on Saturday afternoon; officers have not stated whether the car left the bridge as a result of the stormy winds and heavy rain.

Police in Derbyshire, where a major incident was declared amid widespread flooding, say the death of a woman in her 80s in Chesterfield was also likely linked to Storm Babet - taking the total death toll to nine.

Throughout Sunday, disruption is expected on LNER, Scotrail, Northern, Transpennine Express, Greater Anglia, Transport for Wales, CrossCountry and East Midlands Railway services.

Yesterday, Network Rail said crowd control measures were put in place at King's Cross as a result of disruption to LNER services, before the station was closed.
Photographs of the hundreds of innocent Israeli citizens who were kidnapped or murdered by Hamas have been displayed on empty seats in cities around the world in a heartbreaking show of the scale of the terrorist atrocity.

In poignant silent protests, pictures of the missing and dead have been pinned on seats at an empty auditorium in Tel Aviv University and on dining chairs at a Shabbat table in the centre of Rome.

Perhaps most tragic is a display in London, where pictures of children and babies claimed by Hamas filled prams put out in Parliament Square on Sunday.

Dozens of empty prams were left around the green as a powerful tribute to the youngsters taken by the terrorists on October 7, among them nine-month-old baby Kfir and his four-year-old brother Ariel.

The harrowing exhibitions were set up by Jewish and Israeli groups, in Tel Aviv under the motto 'United Against Terrorism' and in London with the slogan 'Bring them home'.

Parents with empty prams in front of the Houses of Parliament in London, in support of Israeli families who have had children taken hostage by Hamas

A long Shabbat diner table with the word Hostage on every chair in tribute to Israelis kidnapped by Hamas terrorists in Tel Aviv

The Jewish community of Rome set up a table set with wine, Shabbat candles and Sabbath bread, the Challah, with 200 empty chairs in front of the Synagogue in Rome's Jewish Quarter

Photographs of more than 1,000 innocent Israeli citizens either kidnapped, missing or murdered have been put on empty seats in a harrowing display at an empty auditorium in Tel Aviv university

A group of mothers decided to set up the installation in central London with posters from the Kidnapped From Israel website, which have been plastered all over the city and further afield.

Atalia Marcovich, who is from Israel, told Jewish News that she and a group of other mums 'wanted to show that we are grieving with those families and show our solidarity'.

She said they felt that 'using buggies was a symbolic way to do this, keeping the images of these children in the forefront of people's minds.'

'Since October 7, all of our minds have been with those children and their families and what trauma these children have gone, and continue to go through,' she said.

In Tel Aviv, photographs showing the missing children and adults in happier times are captioned with whether they have been murdered, are missing or were kidnapped.

'We are here to try to illustrate, even slightly, the extent of the horror, and show the world: we have been butchered,' Daniel Ziler, head of the student union at Tel Aviv University, told the Times of Israel.

'At this time we are still in the midst of the inferno, in the midst of war,' he added. 'Many of the dead have not been identified yet, the wounded are just beginning to heal, in both body and soul, and our families, our friends, are lost.'

Rome's Jewish community on Friday remembered the more than 200 people believed held by Hamas by setting a long Shabbat table for them outside the capital's main synagogue and empty chairs for each of the hostages.

On the back of each chair was a flyer featuring the name, age and photo of each missing person.

On the table were candles, wine and loaves of challah, the braided bread typically eaten during the Friday night meal.

Israel's military has said that the number of people confirmed to be held captive by Hamas has risen from previous estimates to 212.

The release of two American captives, Judith Tai Raanan, 59, and her daughter Natalie, 17, on Friday raised hopes that others might be able to return home - though there have been warnings that time is ticking.

Since the war between Israel and Hamas erupted in the Middle East two weeks ago, the lives of more than 1,400 Israelis have been claimed, while 4,300 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

The display was created by the student union is part of the world wide United Against Terrorism campaign which operates on university campuses.

The heartbreaking exhibition was set up by the university this week under the motto 'United Against Terrorism' in response to the October 7 massacre in southern Israel

Plumes of smoke billow over Gaza City on October 22 as the IDF continues to pound it with strikes

It comes as the war enters its third week with Israeli warplanes pounding Gaza, the West Bank ad Syria overnight into Sunday.

It follows Israeli forces battling militants in refugee camps and carried out two airstrikes in recent days.

Two airports in Syria and a mosque allegedly used by terrorists in the occupied West Bank were also targeted.

It has prompted fears that the ongoing conflict could spiral into a 'contagion of conflict' throughout the Middle East.

Israel has traded fire with Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group on a near-daily basis since the war began.

It has seen Israelis living in the country's northern border with Lebanon flea their homes.

IDF spokesman Jonathan Conricus accused the group of a dangerous escalation, potentially edging towards all-out war.

The photos of those murdered in the October 7 massacre, carried out by Hamas, lie in the university

The photos of young children are displayed amongst those missing or held hostage

Palestinians look for survivors in the buildings destroyed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in Rafah

A Palestinian man reacts as the body of his daughter is unearthed from under the rubble after an Israeli strike on Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip

A Palestinian man carries the body of his child from the morgue of Al-Aqsa hospital in Deir Balah, in the central Gaza Strip

'Hezbollah... is dragging Lebanon into a war that it will gain nothing from, but stands to lose a lot... Hezbollah is playing a very, very dangerous game. They're escalating the situation. We see more and more attacks every day,' he said.

Tanks and tens of thousands of troops have massed around the border with Israeli leaders speaking of an undefined stage in operations.

Hundreds of thousands of people still remain in Gaza as Israel continues to ramp up its response to Hamas' attack.

Yesterday, 20 trucks of aid were allowed to enter the war-torn city from Egypt through the Raha crossing - the first time anything has gone into the territory since Israel imposed a complete siege two weeks ago.

But the UN has warned the aid is a 'drop in the ocean' as citizens still struggle with lack of clean water, power and supplies.

Aid workers said it was far too little to address the spiraling humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where half the territory's 2.3 million people have fled their homes.

The UN's humanitarian agency, known as OCHA, said the convoy carried about four per cent of an average day's imports before the war and 'a fraction of what is needed after 13 days of complete siege.'

The Israeli military said the humanitarian situation was 'under control' as OCHA called for 100 trucks a day to enter.

Israeli soldiers and armored vehicles are gathered at an undisclosed location near the border with Gaza, in Israel

Mourners attend the funeral of Palestinians from the al-Astal family, who were killed in Israeli strikes, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip

Smoke billows after an Israeli strike on Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on October 22

The World Health Organization says at least 130 premature babies are at 'grave risk' because of a shortage of generator fuel. It said seven hospitals in northern Gaza have been forces to shut down.

Shortages in critical supplies, including ventilators, are forcing doctors to ration treatment, said Dr. Mohammed Qandeel, who works in Khan Younis' Nasser Hospital.

Dozens of patients continue to arrive and are treated in crowded, darkened corridors, as hospitals preserve electricity for intensive care units and incubators for newborns.

'It's heartbreaking,' Qandeel told The Associated Press. 'Everyday, if we receive 10 severely injured patients we have to manage with maybe three or five ICU beds available.'

Palestinians sheltering in UN-run schools and tent camps are running low on food and drinking dirty water.

A power blackout has crippled water and sanitation systems. OCHA said cases of chicken pox, scabies and diarrhea are on the rise because of the lack of clean water.

In the early hours of this morning Israeli forces killed at last five people in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Two were killed in an airstrike on a mosque in the town of Jenin, which has seen heavy gunbattles between Palestinian militants and Israeli troops over the past year.

The Israeli military said the mosque compound belonged to Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants who had carried out several attacks in recent months and were planning another one.

The deaths bring the number of fatalities of Palestinians in the West Bank to 90.

Of those thirteen Palestinians, including five minors, and a member of Israel's paramilitary Border Police were killed last week in a battle in a refugee camp in the West Bank town of Tulkarem, in which Israel also launched an airstrike.
A British fugitive who beat a German tourist to death in a bar fight eight years ago has been pictured as he is sent back to Spain to serve his prison sentence.

Ross Moore will spend 14 months behind bars after he killed 46-year-old Ingo Dewitz in an argument at The Captain's Bar in La Cala de Mijas near Fuengirola, Costa del Sol, in July 2015.

The 38-year-old punched the German three times in the face on July 16, 2015, with the victim later collapsing and dying.

The builder, from Colchester, was given a 14-month prison sentence fo manslaughter in 2020, but it was suspended after he agreed to pay Mr Dewitz's family and the court 130,000 over two years.

But the father-of-two has since failed to pay, and earlier this month a judge at Westminster Magistrates' Court declared him a fugitive after a Spanish arrest warrant was issued.

Ross Moore, pictured outside his home in Colchester, Essex, has been sent to Spain to serve a 14-month prison sentence after killing a man in a bar fight eight years ago

Moore beat German tourist Ingo Dewitz to death at The Captain's Bar (pictured) in Cala de Mijas near Fuengirola in Costa del Sol

According to reports at the time of the fatal fight, two men had tried to resuscitate the German before fleeing in a car with a UK number plate.

Two British men, including Moore who was a expat at the time, were arrested afterwards. He was later charged over Mr Dewitz's death.

Moore, who was detained at his flat Essex this April, fought his extradition and claimed the victim's death was an accident.

'He died in my arms. I got scared and ran. I was simply trying to do the right things and stand up for another person as the victim was causing trouble,' he said in a statement seen by the Mirror.

Moore also said his life was in danger following death threats from Spanish and Portuguese gangs, but the District judge Sara-Jane Griffiths dismissed this claim due to a lack of evidence.

District judge Sarah-Jane Griffiths wrote in her judgement that there was a 'strong public interest' in England following its obligations under the international extradition treaty.

She added: '[Moore's] extradition is sought in relation to a serious allegation, namely manslaughter. I am satisfied to the necessary standard that there are no bars to this extradition request.'
A woman who claims she was left covered in bed bug bites after being attacked by the critters in a Premier Inn hotel room has won 312 in compensation.

Vicky Hills, who was staying in a Premier Inn hotel in Hastings, East Sussex, said she noticed bite marks on her legs that were 'incredibly itchy'.

Ms Hills, from Dunstable, Bedfordshire, originally thought they were mosquito bites but a GP told her they were from bed bugs and prescribed her antibiotics.

After contacting the hotel, the 78 she paid for her room was refunded within ten days, but compensation for her medication, new bedding and big traps took nearly two months to be paid.

But now Premier Inn has apologised to Ms Hills and repaid her 312.

Vicky Hills claims she was left covered in bed bug bites after being attacked by the critters

Fears in the UK have grown on the back of a reported outbreak of bed bugs in France

The rise in bed bugs could be due to the increase in travel after the covid-19 lockdowns

Ms Hills said she first noticed the bite marks on her legs when driving home after staying at the hotel on August 10.

'They were incredibly itchy, incredibly painful. I had two lines up the front of my leg and then I started getting them on my shoulder and arms,' she told BBC News.

She then went to a pharmacist who told her the bites could be from bed bugs, which a GP confirmed and prescribed her antibiotics.

Ms Hills then threw out her bedding at home and bought bug traps to make sure they didn't spread in her home.

She said she's been left with some scarring from the bug bites but she hopes they will soon fade away.

Fears in the UK have grown on the back of a reported outbreak of bed bugs in France.

The French Government has held crisis meetings and are battling to get the bugs under control before it hosts the 2024 Olympics

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said the issue was a 'real source of concern' and TfL officials are already in conversation with the Parisian Metro over what 'lessons could be learnt'.

Data released by pest-control company Rentokil in September showed that from 2022 to 2023, the UK saw a 65 per cent increase in bed bug infestations.

Experts have warned the rise in bed bugs could be due to the increase in travel after the covid-19 lockdowns.

Bedbugs had largely disappeared from daily life in developed countries by the 1950s but have made a return in the past 30 years.

The causes include growing resistance to insecticides, an increase in public travel and a rising proclivity for second-hand goods.

Bed bugs spread by making their way into clothing or luggage, meaning people can unwittingly help them hitch-hike between locations and start a fresh outbreak. They can also crawl between rooms in hotels and blocks of flats.

They quickly reproduce, with each female bug laying one to seven eggs per day after feeding and up to 250 in their 10-month lifespan. They can survive for weeks to months without feeding.

Professional help is needed to fully eradicate an infestation, with experts recommending a heat pod treatment that heats infested rooms and belongings to 50C (122F) for a couple of hours.

Pest control firms have reported being inundated with calls about infestations in recent months

A spokesperson for Premier Inn said: 'We have rigorous processes in place to both react to and prevent issues on the rare occasion they do arise.

'As soon as our team were aware of this complaint the room was put on lockdown and independent experts immediately called in to resolve the issue using a specialist treatment, with no further cases reported.

'Weve apologised to the guest and are glad to have been able to resolve the issue to her satisfaction.'

READ MORE:

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Pope Francis has pleaded for peace in the Middle East this morning, calling for more more humanitarian aid to be allowed into Gaza as the conflict between Israel and Hamas enters its third week.

Speaking in Rome's St Peter's Square this morning, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church said: 'War is always a defeat, it is a destruction of human fraternity. Brothers, stop! Stop!'

'I renew my call for spaces to be opened, for humanitarian aid to continue to arrive and for hostages to be freed.'

The conflict in the Middle East has already claimed the lives of thousands of people since Hamas launched its attack on Israel on October 7.

More than 1,400 Israelis have died, with more missing or abducted, while 4,300 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Pope Francis has pleaded for peace in the Middle East this morning, calling for more more humanitarian aid to be allowed into Gaza as the conflict between Israel and Hamas enters its third week

Speaking in Rome's St Peter's Square this morning, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church said: 'War is always a defeat, it is a destruction of human fraternity. Brothers, stop! Stop!'

An aerial view of destruction after Israeli attack in Nuseirat camp, Gaza Strip on October 2

Last night, Israel continued its retaliatory airstrike on the Gaza Strip, as well as two airports in Syria and a mosque allegedly used by terrorists in the occupied West Bank, increasing fears that the war could erupt into a regional conflict.

The humanitarian crisis within the Palestinian enclave is continuing to grow, with civilians running out of food, clean water and power.

A first trickle of aid entered the besieged Strip on Saturday, but UN officials said the 20 trucks permitted to cross were not enough given the 'catastrophic' humanitarian situation for 2.4 million people.

The World Health Organization warned that at least 130 premature babies are at 'grave risk' because of a shortage of generator fuel. It said seven hospitals in northern Gaza have been forces to shut down.

Meanwhile tensions between Israel and Lebanon's militant group Hezbollah are continuing to grow.

The Israeli military said the group's increased attacks risk 'dragging Lebanon into a war', with renewed cross-border exchanges of fire that have raised fears of a wider conflict.

'Hezbollah... is dragging Lebanon into a war that it will gain nothing from, but stands to lose a lot,' Israeli army spokesman Jonathan Conricus said.

'Hezbollah is playing a very, very dangerous game. They're escalating the situation. We see more and more attacks every day.

Israel carried out airstrikes on a mosque allegedly used by terrorists in the occupied West Bank, increasing fears that the war could erupt into a regional conflict. Pictured: View of the damage to Al-Ansar mosque

Israeli soldiers gather near a Merkava tank as they man a position at an undisclosed location on the border with Lebanon

Supporters of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and relatives carry the coffin of Hezbollah fighter Bilal Rmeity, allegedly killed following an Israeli shelling

'Is the Lebanese state really willing to jeopardise what is left of Lebanese prosperity and Lebanese sovereignty for the sake of terrorists in Gaza?' he added.

So far this weekend, cross-border attacks have killed six Hezbollah fighters and a member of Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad in Lebanon, while three Israeli troops were wounded, one seriously, in Hezbollah anti-tank fire. Two Thai farm workers were also hurt.

Today Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said diplomatic efforts were ongoing to 'stop Israeli attacks on Lebanon' and prevent the Gaza conflict from spilling into his country.

'Lebanon's friends are with us in continuing to make every effort to return the situation to normal,' Mikati said in a statement.

However, Lebanon was developing an emergency response plan 'as a precaution', he added.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak warned that the Israel-Hamas war, which has been ongoing for two weeks now, risks unleashing a 'contagion of conflict' across the Middle East.

Mr Sunak, who visited Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt for talks with key regional players this week, said the leaders agreed 'we need to do everything possible' to prevent the spread of the war.

He said his two-day visit to the region demonstrated 'that the UK stands in solidarity with them against terrorism' and that 'there can be no justification' for the atrocities committed by Hamas.

'I wanted to sit down with other leaders and talk face to face. Because in times of tension and division, it's more important than ever to accelerate diplomatic efforts,' he added.

He said the opening of the border crossing with Egypt to allow an aid convoy into the Gaza Strip was an example of what could be achieved.
A search and rescue operation has been launched for a member of cruise ship crew who is believed to have fallen overboard off of the south-east coast of England.

Lifeboats and Coastguard crews have been dispatched to an area of the English Channel close to Ramsgate, on the east Kent coast, after receiving reports that a member of the crew on board the AIDAperla fell from the ship on Sunday morning.

A spokesperson for AIDA, a German cruise operator, confirmed to MailOnline that the individual was believed to be a male member of crew.

The Coastguard says it is co-ordinating the search after being alerted to the incident by the RNLI, which received a call at 8.20am and sent out all-weather lifeboats from bases at Ramsgate and Dover.

News of the incident was first reported by ITV News; data from tracking service Cruisemapper suggested the boat was making its way from Hamburg in Germany to Las Palma in the Canary Islands.

Two all-weather lifeboats have been dispatched to assist with the search and rescue effort (file picture)

The man is said to have fallen from the AIDAperla cruise ship (pictured: another AIDA cruise ship, the AIDAdiva, in 2015)

A Coastguard search and rescue helicopter is also involved in the search and rescue effort (file picture)

Tracking data for the AIDAperla cruise ship shows it made a U-turn on Sunday morning when it was en route to the Canary Islands

In a statement, German cruise ship operator AIDA told MailOnline: 'AIDA Cruises confirms that there is reason to believe that a crew member of AIDAperla went overboard in the English channel in the early morning of October 22.

'The captain and crew of AIDAperla immediately initiated all necessary rescue measures in close coordination with the local authorities.

'The search on board confirmed that a male crew member is missing.

'The ship was immediately stopped and returned to the spot where the incident was believed to have taken part in the search.

'The search for the missing person is ongoing and has our utmost priority.'

Journey data from MarineTraffic, another tracking service, shows the cruiseliner passing Lydd on the south coast at around 8.10am UTC (9.10am UK time) before beginning to turn around.

The tracking data also suggests that two RNLI lifeboats and a search and rescue helicopter remain at the scene as of 1pm.

The Coastguard says it also sent one of its search and rescue airplanes, which is reported to be equipped with high-tech radar equipment that can detect people in the water from the sky.

In a statement to MailOnline, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said: 'HM Coastguard is coordinating the search for a man reported overboard from a passenger ship off Ramsgate on 22 October.

'HM Coastguard was alerted at about 8.55am. The HM Coastguard search and rescue helicopter has been sent from Lydd alongside a Coastguard fixed-wing aircraft and the RNLI's all-weather lifeboats from Ramsgate and Dover.'

The RNLI told ITV it sent two all-weather lifeboats with the Ramsgate crew receiving the call at 8:20am while the Dover crew launched 15 minutes later at 8:35am.

The boat, which left Hamburg on Friday evening, is currently sitting off of the English coast; eyewitnesses said the boat turned 180 degrees in the water mid-morning.
Cutting down the household budget is a common goal as the cost of living soars, but one mum's decision to start using rags instead of toilet paper is taking penny pinching too far for some.

Frith, who calls herself a "reusable nappy expert", frequently shares aspects of her eco-friendly family lifestyle on TikTok. In a recent video, she suggested cutting costs by swapping toilet paper for what she dubs "family cloth".

The eco-conscious and budget savvy mum says ditching toilet paper is saving her a lot of money. Source: TikTok/@frithonlife

In the accompanying caption, she said she's saved 77, or around $150, since making the switch, even though her husband and guests are still using paper, for now. "We've had a toilet roll subscription for the last three years so I can easily see how much less we're using and how much we're saving," she stated.

How it works

As for how to clean the reusable wipes, Frith says you just need to keep them in a zip wetbag until you're ready to put them in the washing machine. "They only need a quick rinse cycle and then they can go in your normal laundry wash," she advised.

Frith claims the reusable toilet cloths are better for cleaning one's body and don't need to be touched once used. "Simply unzip the bag and pop it in the machine and it will do all the rest for you," she added.

Mum defends method

Unconvinced? You're not alone, as the Scottish mother said she'd copped a barrage of backlash since her wiping solution went viral. But she's standing by her decision, telling viewers in a follow-up video that she doesn't understand why people have a problem with using cloth instead of toilet paper.

"Somehow people are absolutely outraged that someone might want to use a reusable cloth to wipe their bottom, when it's far more hygienic then using paper that doesn't really clean you and you're more likely to get poo on your hands," she said.

Story continues

"Washing machines are amazing things and they clean stuff way better than soap and water. So if anyone can explain to me what the issue is, that'd be great."

Frith showed viewers the 'family cloth' she uses instead of toilet paper. Source: TikTok/@frithonlife

Does she have a point?

When it comes to personal hygiene, Frith makes a valid argument, according to experts including Australian colorectal surgeon Dr Bradley Morris. Speaking on the I've Got News For You podcast last November, Dr Morris encouraged people to use alternatives to toilet paper in order to avoid health issues caused by excessive wiping.

"Most of the problems I see with the skin around the anus are due to excess attempts at hygiene, and it's very rarely due to inadequate hygiene. It's a very sensitive area," he said.

"I don't understand why we use toilet paper to wipe, if you imagine soiling your face or something else where you wouldn't smear it off with toilet paper."

Dr Morris even suggested Aussies shift their mindsets to join the 70 per cent of the world's population that doesn't use toilet paper. "I think we need to readdress culturally what we do, and maybe look at bidets, and using water to wash, but excess wiping can traumatise the skin."

The environmental benefits also can't be denied, as millions of trees are logged annually to satisfy the world's consumption of toilet paper. The material also contains chemicals that have been linked to a range of human and environmental health problems.

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.

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A young couple guarding Israel's frontline with Lebanon got married today as they prepare for Hezbollah to attack.

Hila Elbaz, 25, a university student and Kfir Asor, 25, an engineer in the Air Force, had planned a lavish wedding ceremony on Monday October 22 to be attended by family and friends in their home town of Haifa.

But the pair were both called up to defend Israel's northern front following the deadly October 7 Hamas attack on Jewish settlements close to the Gaza Strip.

Military leaders fear the Lebanon-based terrorist group will attack the north of the country when Israel launches a ground force into Gaza to crush Hamas.

Backed by Iran and with tens of thousands of volunteer gunmen, Hezbollah is better funded and equipped than Hamas, with hundreds of thousands of rockets at their disposal.

Hila Elbaz, 25, a university student and Kfir Asor, 25, an engineer in the Air Force , who are guarding Israel's frontline with Lebanon got married today

The couple had planned a lavish wedding ceremony on Monday 22 October to be attended by family and friends in their home town of Haifa but after they were called up to defend Israel's northern front they simply announced a 'change of location'

The wedding ceremony of the Israeli Defence Force members took place on the border of Lebanon this afternoon

The Israel Defence Force (IDF) has already prevented small scale incursions by terrorists across the northern border.

Hila, a captain in a tank regiment, and Kfir, a captain in the Air Force's engineering corps, refused to let Israel's enemies ruin their big day.

They simply announced a 'change of location' to their wedding guests 'because of the security situation'.

Hila and Kfir were given 'exceptional' leave from their combat missions to get married.

And today the happy couple 'broke the glass'  surrounded by their khaki-clad brothers and sisters in arms who shouted 'Mazel Tov!'  at the Dalton Winery, just five miles from the border with Lebanon.

Before leading the wedding ceremony Military Rabbi Itzik Zinner told the congregation that the future of Israel was at stake following the Hamas attack.

He said: 'During the last few days the very existence of our homeland took a new meaning after women, children and men were viciously torn from their homes. Our safety and security has been shattered.

The couple 'broke the glass' at the Dalton Winery, just five miles from the border with Lebanon

'Breaking the glass' is a common tradition at a Jewish wedding ceremony

The couple celebrate their marriage on top of an armoured car while holding an Israel flag

The couple were escorted in the vehicle driven by their fellow IDF members

The wedding took place at the Dalton Winery which is owned by Alex Harouni

Female members of the IDF watched on during the ceremony with smiles on their faces

Members of the IDF tuck in to a buffet spread of wedding party food

The ceremony took place with the couple surrounded by their khaki-clad brothers and sisters in arms who shouted 'Mazel Tov!' when they tied the knot

A wedding band were even on hand to liven up the festivities earlier today

Members of the IDF came together to celebrate the wedding before returning to their posts to be ready for an attack by Hezbollah

One female member of the IDF had a smile on her face while enjoying the lavish ceremony

Members of the IDF had to return to their posts on the Lebanon border after the wedding

'Women and men [of the Reserve Army] are here today after leaving their homes and rushing to all parts of the country to protect our nation.

'Among them are our beloved bride and groom - Hila Elbaz and Kfir Asor.'

After the traditional Jewish ceremony, the newly-weds will be able to spend a few hours together.

But they have been ordered to return to their military units before dawn to be ready for an attack by Hezbollah.

Artillery fire began just minutes after the couple were pronounced man and wife.

Hila and Kfir met and fell in love while they were both attending a military training school five years ago.

Winery owner Alex Harouni told MailOnline he was delighted to host the wedding when he learned of the couple's appeal for a location near their bases.

The wedding breakfast was prepared by well-wishers who had never met the couple but want to help soldiers of Israel's Reserve Army in any way they could.

Hila and Kfir met and fell in love while they were both attending a military training school five years ago

As newly-weds, the couple will be able to spend a few hours together after the wedding

But they have been ordered to return to their military units before dawn to be ready for an attack by Hezbollah

Hila Elbaz wore a traditional white dress and veil during the wedding ceremony

A young girl lays down flower petals down the isle during the wedding ceremony

Members of the IDF took time to relax and let loose during the ceremony before getting back to guarding Israel's border with Lebanon

One smiling member of the IDF was able to rest his feet in a comfortable swinging chair

Artillery fire in the area began just minutes after the couple were pronounced man and wife

IDF members sit in an armoured car during the celebrations, one with a smile on his face

IDF members re-equipped their weapons and body armor once the wedding was over

Alex, 57, who moved to Israel 30 years ago from Finchley, north London, said: 'We were very happy to help when we heard about Hila and Kfir's were looking for a wedding venue close to where they are stationed.

'This wedding provides a ray of sunshine during these very dark times.

'We are very close to the border and a Hezbollah missile hit the edge of our winery during the last big war in 2006.

'Every night we must prepare the winery as if we cannot return.'

The Winery produces 1.3 million bottles of red, white and rose wine from 130 hectares of vines and employs local people from the diverse religious groups that live in the Galilee  Jews, Arabs, Christians and Druze.

'The Galilee is home to lots of different groups  Muslims, Christians, Druze and Jews  who all live peacefully together.

'This area is a picture of what Israel could be  people living happily side by side in peace.'
Frequent un-happy flyer!

Airlines could be making flyers upset on purpose, all in the hopes of lining their own pockets.

'Calculated misery' is the theory that commercial airlines make their customer experience so awful that people will spend money on services that used to be free in order to avoid the inconvenience.

Tim Wu, a Columbia Law School professor, first coined the phrase in 2014 in a piece for the New Yorker, where he described a joint effort by the airline industry to maximize profits by making baseline products low quality then offering upgrades for purchase.

'In order for fees to work, there needs be something worth paying to avoid. That necessitates, at some level, a strategy that can be described as "calculated misery,"' said Wu.

The practice includes targeting areas that were once free - including baggage costs, boarding times and seat selection.

Airlines use the tactic of 'calculated misery' to making flying unpleasant so customers will pay for extras, including priority boarding to avoid long waits

The US Department of Transportation found in 2022, airlines raked in $5.3 billion in baggage fees

A recent report found in 2022, eight major US airlines made $4.2 billion in revenue on assigned seat fees

'Basic service, without fees, must be sufficiently degraded in order to make people want to pay to escape it. And thats where the suffering begins,' Wu said.

Airlines profit by charging for service has become a big revenue for airlines as they look to capitalize on people willing to spend to avoid the misery.

'Airlines have become experts at up-charging passengers for everything from checked bags to priority boarding to selecting a seat on the window or aisle, or toward the front of the cabin,' Eric Rosen, director of content at travel outlet The Points Guy, told Nexstar.

'It can be confusing for many travelers to understand what theyre getting for the extra money they shell out.'

A recent report from airline consulting agency IdeaWorksCompany found in 2022, eight major US airlines made $4.2 billion in revenue on assigned seat fees.

Purchasing a flight ticket will get a customer on the plane, but often times without paying to select their seat, passengers do not know where they will be sitting or who they will be sitting with.

After last year's holiday travel mayhem when Southwest Airlines canceled over 80 percent of its flights just before Christmas, President Joe Biden vowed to crack down on airline surcharges.

'We'll prohibit airlines from charging up to $50 roundtrip for families just to sit together,' Biden said in his February State of the Union address.

'Baggage fees are bad enough - they cant just treat your child like a piece of luggage.'

In 2022, airlines raked in $5.3 billion in baggage fees, according to the US Department of Transportation.

In December 2022, flights out of Seattle were cancelled, due to freezing rain. Following the holiday travel mayhem, legislators vowed to crackdown on airline fees

Passengers wait in the Seattle airport after all flights were cancelled in December 2022. In response to the Christmas airline chaos, President Biden called out airlines for their extra fees including charging families to sit together

Spirit Airlines has the highest hidden fees of any US carrier - making trips 736 percent more expensive than their base airfare, according to analysis by discount code website NetVoucherCodes.

In August, the airline agreed to pay up to $8.25million to settle a class action lawsuit by passengers over sneaky bag fees of up to $100.

The lawsuit claimed the budget airline's carry-on bag fees were a surprise and intentionally hidden to make a profit.

The airplane boarding process is also notoriously inefficient, complicated by airline upgrades to passengers for places in line and carry-on luggage.

Passengers to board last face problems that there won't be room for their bags in the overhead bin, and some try to skip ahead in the line while boarding. But efficient boarding is complicated by the airline's desire to make money off upgrades.

'Priority boarding is a moneymaker. Up to a certain point, that money is worth more than worrying about boarding three minutes earlier every time,' said Seth Miller, who writes about the travel experience at Paxex.aero.

Rob Burgess from frequent flyer website Head for Points said: 'There are good reasons why, 100 years after the founding of the world's oldest airlines, boarding systems are still a mess.'

Spirit Airlines has agreed to pay up to $8.25million to settle a class action lawsuit by passengers over sneaky bag fees of up to $100

United Airlines will implement changes to its boarding process by boarding passengers in economy with window seats first

'Whilst mathematicians love to devise the perfect system, it is always ruined by the failure of passengers and airport staff to behave as the models say they should.'

'The best regarded model is generally seen as the Steffen Boarding Method, which has been demonstrated to board a plane twice as fast as the back to front method,' Burgess said.

'The process involves filing people into the plane in a straight line, in the following order from back to front. Window seat Odd-number, Window Seat Even-numbered, Middle Seat Odd-numbered, Middle seat Even-numbered and so on.'

United Airlines will start boarding passengers in economy class with window seats first, a move designed to reduce the time planes spend sitting on the ground.

The airline said in an internal memo that it will implement the plan on October 26. The plan - called WILMA, for window, middle and aisle - was tested at several locations and deemed to shave up to two minutes off boarding time.

United is making the change because it said it has found boarding time has increased by two minutes since 2019.
A leading Johns Hopkins cancer surgeon has been suspended for months after an alleged misdiagnosis led to a patient having his bladder removed - and amid claims he bullied staff.

Eminent pathologist Jonathan I. Epstein, 66, is accused of giving second opinions that agreed with diagnoses made by his urologist wife, Hillary, 44, and pressuring other doctors at the world-renowned hospital to do the same.

In one case, following a double diagnosis by the couple, a man underwent a radical procedure to have his bladder removed on April 28 - only for post-op analysis to indicate a different diagnosis.

The allegations were included in a report by private hospital accreditation non-profit Joint Commission, seen by the Washington Post, which showed that Epstein was placed on administrative leave in May.

The report instructed Johns Hopkins Hospital to address persistent concerns about 'a culture of bullying and intimidation in the surgical pathology department' that placed patients at risk.

Eminent pathologist Jonathan I. Epstein, 66, is accused of giving second opinions which agreed with diagnoses made by his urologist wife Hillary, 44, and pressuring other doctors at the world-renowned Maryland hospital to do the same

Hillary Epstein practices at Chesapeake Urology Associates in Beltsville, Maryland, according to the organization's website, after training at Johns Hopkins Hospital

It comes as analysis of US hospitals in recent years has shown that top-ranked institutions are not necessarily any safer for surgical procedures than any other hospitals.

Johns Hopkins Hospital has ranked in the top five of the nation's best hospitals for the last 33 years, according to US News & World Report.

Epstein, who is 'recognized as a leader in the field of urological pathology,' according to the Baltimore hospital's website, has said he was 'profoundly distressed' by the allegations in the commission's report.

'They are the antithesis of everything I stand for and have tried to exhibit in my professional life over these 35 years at Johns Hopkins,' he told the Post in a written statement.

He declined to discuss the bladder removal case, citing patient privacy, but said medical cases have 'many complicating factors.'

Epstein denied there was any conflict of interest inherent in the practice of him giving second opinions on reports made by his wife, who practices at Chesapeake Urology Associates in Beltsville, Maryland, according to the organization's website.

'As the expert in prostate and bladder pathology, I reviewed cases where there were disagreements between the [Hopkins] pathologists who did not have specialty training in prostate and bladder pathology and the [Chesapeake] pathologists (who were experts in the field),' Epstein wrote to the Post.

Epstein said his diagnoses were 'based solely on (his) objective evaluation of the case.'

Though it did not refer to Jonathan Epstein by name, the Joint Commission report also says several complaints have been made by other doctors against the 'department leader.'

Investigators reviewed 'multiple comments by pathology physicians and residents stating that they did not feel comfortable speaking up regarding "intimidation" or "bullying" behavior by a department leader.'

'Johns Hopkins' Pathology Department is nationally renowned, and we remain confident in the best-in-class services they provide,' spokeswoman Liz Vandendriessche said in an email to the Post. (Pictured: the Baltimore hospital's main building)

The medics indicated 'that they were forced to change diagnoses, issue addendums and defer to the leader's wishes over several years, thereby potentially leading to harm to patients'.

Physicians also said they 'feared retaliation or career repercussions if they spoke up', according to the report, which involved interviews with medics including physicians, residents, hospital leaders, and chief medical officers.

Jonathan Epstein claimed that when he worked with other doctors, they would show him difficult cases.

'It has always been my impression that this discussion was collegial, professional, and undertaken in the interest of patient care,' Epstein told the Post. 'I have only requested cases to be amended when they were specifically sent to me for my opinion by patients, clinicians, and pathologists, and initially diagnosed by someone else in my absence. Upon my review, in a minority of cases I amended them so that patients would, based on my expertise, have the most accurate diagnosis leading to optimal therapy.'

Hillary Epstein did not comment on the allegations.

The Johns Hopkins Hospital said its reputation for world-class excellence would not be shaken by the report.

'Johns Hopkins' Pathology Department is nationally renowned, and we remain confident in the best-in-class services they provide,' spokeswoman Liz Vandendriessche said in an email to the Post.

She added that the hospital is working with Joint Commission investigators to address the issues raised in the report.

'Several of their citations have already been removed as a result of information we've provided,' she said.

Scrutiny of hospitals is often done behind closed doors by private accreditation bodies, which rarely make reports public.
A gung-ho Israeli soldier who was shot three times when his squad came under fire while trying to retake an area decimated by Hamas has vowed to get back on the frontline.

The unnamed soldier was part of an elite counter-terror unit which sprang into action in a bid to retake the kibbutz of Be'eri in southern Israel when it was targeted by the terror group.

The 22-year-old and his brothers in arms would walk into the aftermath of one of the worst massacres of the conflict in a rural farming community where the bodies of women and children lined the streets.

The soldier, who has asked go by the initial 'D', claimed he helped rescue a traumatised elderly couple moments before their house, set on fire by Hamas, collapsed.

He also revealed how he was eager to return to the frontline as soon as possible, despite being shot three times in the legs in an ambush by terrorists that claimed the life of his squad's commander.

The Israeli soldier was shot three times as his unit tried to clear Hamas from a kibbutz where terrorists killed more than 100 people

The remains of a family home in Nir Oz kibbutz after it was attacked by Hamas. The soldier was wounded clearing Be'eri kibbutz to the north

The soldier said 'hell yeah' when talking to Sky News about his desire to rejoin the fight between Israel and Hamas as the country looks to take out the terror group following its devastating surprise assault on October 7.

The terrorist attacks have killed more than 1,400 in Israel, most of whom were civilians, and seen more than 200 people taken hostage.

After fierce fighting to retake areas struck by Hamas, multiple horrors have been revealed including massacres at a music festival and kibbutz's in southern Israel, as well as reports of rape and beheadings.

Soldier D, who is a reservist, recalled how on the morning of the attack he rushed to collect his gear after the first reports of an assault came through.

After joining his fellow soldiers at a base they were told to move to Be'eri kibbutz, with commanders warning them they would see 'harsh views'.

But none of the warnings would prepare them for the hellish scenes that greeted them - more than 130 people are known to have died in the town (more than 10 per cent of the population) with dozens of homes burned down.

'I looked straight and could see burning buildings, destroyed buildings, a lot of dead corpses - most of them were children and women,' said Soldier D.

As they moved into the town after 7pm soldiers were told to keep their eyes peeled for terrorists, as the area had not been cleared building by building and there were reports that some Hamas militants had donned Israeli clothing.

Amid the chaos, the man and his unit came across a burning building which had a local couple inside.

The pair, thought to be in their late 50s or early 60s, were in so much shock at the terrorist attack, they had not realised their house was on fire, Soldier D thought.

Instead of asking for help, all the woman could say was 'I need water to drink'.

Seeing the 'terrified' couple, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) unit jumped into the building and carried the couple out with moments to spare.

An Israeli forensics officer searches for human remains in a burned home in the kibbutz of Be'eri

Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) soldiers walk along the road on patrol close to the town of Be'eri

A man prays in front of a home destroyed by Hamas in the kibbutz of Be'eri after the terrorist group's attack

Blood stains and debris cover the floor of nursery targeted by Hamas in the town of Be'eri

Mother Lianne Sharabi and her 13-year-old daughter Yahel, described as 'a bundle of unbridled energy and joy', were murdered, while her 16-year-old daughter Noiya is feared to have been abducted in the attack on Be'eri kibbutz

He said: 'When I heard some heavy cracking, I took [the man], put half of his body alone to the window.

'My commanding officer took him and I took five or six steps backward, sprinted to the window and got outside safely. Almost fell on my face.

'But that's okay Twenty seconds, 30 seconds, maybe 40, the building started collapsing inside.'

The unit managed to save seven civilians he said, before they were set upon by terrorists who were hiding in houses - it was an attack that saw his commanding officer killed and Soldier D escape with his life.

"I got three bullet holes - two in my left leg, in my calves. The third shot was on my right leg," the soldier told Sky News.

I didn't feel any pain [immediately]. I felt that my legs were really wet and I felt like my body weight and my plate armour and everything I had on was pushing me downwards."

'Instead of calling for help, the soldier ran to the aid of his colleagues, giving them tourniquets for their wounds, deciding to 'sing and even laugh' to keep his unit's morale up.

It was only when he got into an ambulance that 'the damage started talking', leaving him 'telling, touching everything'.

Since then he has been in a hospital in Tel Aviv where he has undergone surgery on his wounds and hopes to begin his recovery soon, having already attempted to stand up from his wheelchair.

It comes as Israel continues to lay the groundwork for an invasion of Gaza, with air strikes pounding the Palestinian territory every day.

Government officials have warned the Israeli people and the country's allies to expect a 'long war' to 'annihilate' Hamas, with thousands of soldiers massing at the border.

The IDF has unleashed a barrage of strikes on the Gaza Strip that have killed more than 4,600 Palestinians, mainly civilians and 40 per cent of whom are children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Israeli aircraft released leaflets as a warning for Gazans to move south or face death, with residents claiming they threatened that 'whoever chooses not to evacuate would likely be designated as a member' or 'accomplice' of a terrorist organisation.

Plumes of smoke billow over Gaza City on October 22 as the IDF continues to pound it with strikes

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian warned 'the US and its proxy (Israel)' to 'immediately' cease strikes on Gaza

An elderly woman clambers out of a window of a damaged building in Rafah, Gaza, amid Israeli air strikes

Some of the targets reported to have been hit by Israeli air strikes overnight (October 21-22)

There are fears the conflict could become even more intense, with Iran warning that things could 'spiral out of control' if they do not 'immediately' cease strikes, while Israel has warned it will target Tehran if its puppet Hezbollah militia escalate the conflict.

'I warn the US and its proxy (Israel) that if they do not immediately stop the crime against humanity and genocide in Gaza, anything is possible at any moment and the region will go out of control,' Iran's foreign minister said today.

Israelis living near the country's northern border with Lebanon have been evacuated from their homes as the Israel Defense Forces continue to exchange intense cross-border fire with Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah.

Mr Barkat told the Mail on Sunday: 'The plan of Iran is to attack Israel on all fronts. If we find they intend to target Israel, we will not just retaliate to those fronts, but we will go to the head of the snake, which is Iran.'

He additionally threatened Iran's Ayatollahs, saying they would be 'wiped off the face of the earth' should Hezbollah, their proxy terror group in Lebanon, attack Israel.

IDF spokesman Jonathan Conricus has accused Hezbollah of a dangerous escalation, edging towards an all-out war.

'[Hezbollah] is dragging Lebanon into a war that it will gain nothing from, but stands to lose a lot... Hezbollah is playing a very, very dangerous game. They're escalating the situation. We see more and more attacks every day,' he said.

In a direct threat to deter Tehran from intervening further, Nir Barkat, Israel's Minister of Economy warned that not only would Israel 'eliminate Hezbollah', if it believes the terror group is opening up a 'northern front', but 'we will actually target Iran.'
Benjamin Netanyahu has warned Hezbollah against opening a second war front against Israel or risk provoking a massive retaliation that would bring 'unimaginable devastation upon Lebanon'.

The Prime Minister said he could not tell his soldiers 'right now if Hezbollah will decide to enter the war fully' but said the fight with Hamas was 'do or die' for Israel.

He added that the Iran-backed terrorist group would be making 'the biggest mistake of their live' if they joined Hamas' war with his country.

Tensions in the Middle East are at boiling point, with Netanyahu's stark message coming as fears grow over the Israel-Hamas war spilling into an all-out battle in the region.

Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak warned last night that the ongoing fighting risks unleashing a 'contagion of conflict', while the US Secretary of Defense warned that there is a possibility of a 'significant escalation' of attacks on troops and citizens across the whole region.

At least 1,400 Israelis have died since Hamas launched its surprise attack on October 7, with more missing and abducted. In Gaza 4,300 people have been killed according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Gaza's humanitarian crisis is continuing to worsen, with supplies of clean water, food and power running low - putting hospitals in the Palestinian enclave on a knife edge.

This afternoon a second convoy of trucks crossed over the Rafah border between Egypt and Gaza, carrying aid into the war zone. But shortly after they passed the crossing, a blast and sounds of ambulances were heard, eyewitnesses have said.

The cause and the exact location of the blast were not immediately clear, Reuters reported.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned Hezbollah against opening a second war front against Israel or risk provoking a massive retaliation that would bring 'unimaginable devastation upon Lebanon

Hezbollah fighters rise their group's flag and shout slogans, as they attend the funeral procession of Hezbollah fighter, Bilal Nemr Rmeiti

'We're in a battle for our lives. A battle for our home, this is not an exaggeration, this is the war. It's do or die - they need to die.

In an official transcript of a briefing Netanyahu gave Israeli commandos near the Lebanese border he said:

'And we are now in a double battle: One battle is a battle to hold action here and on the other side, to win there, an absolute victory that will erase Hamas.

'I can't tell you now if Hezbollah decide to fully enter the war. If Hezbollah decides to enter the war [...] They will be making the biggest mistake of their lives. And we will hit them with an unimaginable force. It will mean devastation for them and the state of Lebanon.'

Israelis living near the country's northern border with Lebanon have been evacuated from their homes as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) continue to exchange intense cross-border fire with the Iran-backed terror group.

Netanyahu's warning comes just hours after Iran issued a chilling warning to the United States saying that Israel's war with Hamas could 'spiral out of control' if they do not 'immediately' cease strikes on Gaza.

Meanwhile the Israeli government warned it would target Tehran if Hezbollah escalates the conflict.

'I warn the US and its proxy (Israel) that if they do not immediately stop the crime against humanity and genocide in Gaza, anything is possible at any moment and the region will go out of control,' Iran's foreign minister said today.

Hossein Amirabdollahian added: 'What we witness today in Gaza is a proxy war waged by the fake Israeli regime, in representing the US, against the oppressed nation of Palestine and civilians.'

Members of Hezbollah march with party's flags during a rally marking al-Quds Day in 2019

Today Netanyahu said the ongoing fight between Israel and Hamas was 'do or die' for his country as he warned Hezbollah against opening a second war front

Netanyahu shakes hands with soldiers Israel Defense Force soldiers near the Lebanon border

He added that it was 'bitter and unfortunate' that Biden visited Israel on Wednesday, supporting its attacks on hospitals mosques, churches and civilians.

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said this afternoon that he saw a potential for escalation in the ongoing war because of the actions of Iran and its proxies in the region.

The United States was not looking for escalation, Blinken told NBC News in an interview, adding that he hoped for more hostages to be released by Hamas.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin added: 'We're seeing a prospect of a significant escalation of attacks on our troops and people throughout the region.'

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian made the comments alongside his South African counterpart Naledi Pandor at a joint news conference in Tehran.

In a direct threat to deter Tehran from intervening further, Nir Barkat, Israel's Minister of Economy warned that not only would Israel 'eliminate Hezbollah', if it believes the terror group is opening up a 'northern front', but 'we will actually target Iran.'

Mr Barkat told the Mail on Sunday: 'The plan of Iran is to attack Israel on all fronts. If we find they intend to target Israel, we will not just retaliate to those fronts, but we will go to the head of the snake, which is Iran.'

Netanyahu's warning comes just hours after Iran issued a chilling warning to the United States that Israel's war with Hamas could 'spiral out of control' if they do not 'immediately' cease strikes on Gaza. Pictured: Netanyahu embraces US President Joe Biden earlier this week

A truck carrying aid supplies for the Gaza Strip crosses the Rafah border gate in Rafah Egypt

An aerial picture shows the damage to a building in kibbutz Beeri near the border with Gaza

He additionally threatened Iran's Ayatollahs, saying they would be 'wiped off the face of the earth' should Hezbollah, their proxy terror group in Lebanon, attack Israel.

IDF spokesman Jonathan Conricus has accused Hezbollah of a dangerous escalation, edging towards an all-out war.

'[Hezbollah] is dragging Lebanon into a war that it will gain nothing from, but stands to lose a lot... Hezbollah is playing a very, very dangerous game. They're escalating the situation. We see more and more attacks every day,' he said.

Tensions are also mounting in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where the IDF has battled terrorists in refugee camps and carried out two air strikes in recent days, including on a mosque in a refugee camp.

Israeli forces killed six Palestinians in the occupied territory today, bringing the total number of deaths in the region to 91 since October 7, according to the Hamas-run Palestinian health ministry.

Two were said to be killed when the IDF hit a mosque in Jenin, while two men, a 19-year-old in Tubas and a 26-yera-old in Nablus, were shot and killed.

Meanwhile, relentless strikes on the Gaza Strip are continuing just over two weeks after the war began - with Rishi Sunak last night warning it could unleash a 'contagion of conflict' in the Middle East if not contained.

Israel has been battling the Hamas group since they launched a bloody invasion from the enclave on October 7, which saw over 1,400 Israelis killed and over 200 taken hostage.

The IDF has since unleashed a barrage of strikes on the Gaza Strip that have killed more than 4,600 Palestinians, mainly civilians and 40 per cent of whom are children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian spoke alongside his South African counterpart Naledi Pandor (left) at a joint news conference in Tehran

Israeli soldiers make preparations in front of Merkava tanks as they man a position at an undisclosed location on the border with Lebanon

Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah and allied Palestinian factions have traded cross-border fire with Israel for days

An Israeli soldier jumps off a Merkava tank at a position in an undisclosed location on the border with Lebanon on October 22

Fighters of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah carry the coffin of Hezbollah fighter Bilal Rmeity, who was killed by Israeli shelling in Lebanese border towns with Israel

Supporters of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and relatives carry the coffin of Hezbollah fighter

Israeli aircraft released leaflets as a warning for Gazans in the North to move south or face death, with residents reportedly claiming they threatened that 'whoever chooses not to evacuate would likely be designated as a member' or 'accomplice' of a terrorist organisation.

'Your presence north of the Gaza Valley puts your life in danger,' one leaflet read.

Despite claims of greater safety for civilians in the south, houses in southern areas such as Rafah, a city on the border with Egypt, have been razed to the ground by ongoing Israeli strikes.

Hamas claims that at least 266 people were killed by Israeli strikes in the past 24 hours, including 117 children. Israel last night said it would be stepping up its air raids on Gaza.

Early on Sunday morning, aircraft struck a compound beneath a mosque in the occupied West Bank early that the military said was being used by terrorists to organise attacks.

Israel said the compound beneath al-Ansar Mosque, in Jenin refugee camp, belonged to operatives from Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad who were responsible for attacks in recent months.

'Intel was recently received which indicated that the terrorists, (who) were neutralized, were organizing an imminent terror attack,' the military said in a statement.

IDF spokesperson Lt Col Hecht said: 'Last night, there was an aerial strike on an underground terror compound in the al-Ansar mosque in Jenin. We were focusing on terrorists, an imminent threat, a ticking timebomb.'

Asked whether the strike was carried out with a drone or jet, which would make it the first time a warplane has been used against the West Bank in 20 years, Hecht refused to give more information than to say it was an 'aerial attack'.

A view of destruction after an Israeli bombing attack in Nuseirat camp, central Gaza Strip

The severe damage done to the Al-Ansar Mosque at Jenin refugee camp by Israeli air strikes was clear to see the morning after it was hit

Israeli aircraft released leaflets as a warning for Gazans to move south or face death, with residents reportedly claiming they threatened that 'whoever chooses not to evacuate would likely be designated as a member' or 'accomplice' of a terrorist organisation

Footage on social media, appearing to show the scene of the air strike, showed a gaping hole in one of the mosque's exterior walls, surrounded by debris, with civilians and members of the emergency services at the scene

Footage widely circulating online in the immediate aftermath of the attack purported to show emergency services rushing to administer aid beside the damaged building. There were also some civilians gathered outside

Israeli strikes on Syria last night put out of service the war-torn country's two main airports, state media reported citing a military source, with the transport ministry saying flights were re-routed to Latakia and at least two workers killed.

While Israeli strikes have repeatedly caused the grounding of flights at the government-controlled airports in the capital Damascus and the northern city of Aleppo, it is the second time simultaneous strikes have hit the facilities since this month's conflict between Israel and Hamas began.

'At around 5.25 am (0225 GMT), the Israeli enemy carried out... an air attack... targeting Damascus and Aleppo international airports, leading to the death of a civilian worker at Damascus airport and wounding another,' the military source said in the statement carried by state news agency SANA.

'Material damage to the airports' runways put them out of service,' the statement added. The transport ministry said flights were diverted to Latakia airport.

The military source said the 'simultaneous' strikes came 'from the direction of the Mediterranean west of Latakia and from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan', according to the statement.

Children were among those looking for survivors in the Gaza Strip's southern city of Rafah, which is on the border with Egypt, this morning

Smoke billows after an Israeli strike on Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on October 22

Palestinians inspect the damage after overnight Israeli strikes on Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip

A Palestinian man helps evacuate a woman from a damaged building after overnight Israeli strikes on Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on October 22

Family members of a young Palestinian man mourn after his death on October 22, 2023

A young man transports a bag of food as smoke rises from buildings behind him during an Israeli strike in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip October 22, 2023

On October 12, simultaneous strikes knocked both Damascus and Aleppo airports out of service, Syria said at the time.

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Last weekend, Israeli strikes targeted Aleppo airport, wounding five people, a war monitor reported, also putting it out of service, according to the authorities.

During more than a decade of war in Syria, Israel has launched hundreds of air strikes on its northern neighbour, primarily targeting Iran-backed forces and Lebanese Hezbollah fighters as well as Syrian army positions.

Israel rarely comments on individual strikes it carries out on Syria, but it has repeatedly said it will not allow its arch foe Iran, which supports President Bashar al-Assad's government, to expand its presence there.

On Sunday morning, the army said its forces 'identified a terrorist cell attempting to launch anti-tank missiles toward the Avivim area along the border with Lebanon.'

'IDF soldiers struck the cell before it was able to carry out the attack,' a statement from the military said.

Since October 7, exchanges of fire across the border have killed at least four people in Israel - three soldiers and one civilian.

In southern Lebanon, at least 27 people have been killed, according to an AFP tally. Most have been combatants but at least four civilians, including a Reuters journalist, have also been killed.

Israel has ordered dozens of northern communities to evacuate, and several thousand Lebanese have also fled border regions for the southern city of Tyre.

On Sunday, the Israeli defence ministry said they were evacuating 14 additional communities from the area.

Hezbollah number two Naim Qassem has warned the group could step up its involvement in the conflict.

People walk on makeshift Israeli flags strewn on the ground past Palestinian members of the Saraya al-Quds, the military branch of Islamic Jihad faction, standing in line holding Palestinian flags during a rally organised by their faction at the Yarmouk camp for Palestinian refugees south of Syria's capital Damascus

Palestinian members of the Saraya al-Quds (Jerusalem Brigades), the military branch of Islamic Jihad faction, stand in line holding Palestinian flags

Israeli soldiers and armored vehicles are gathered at an undisclosed location near the border with Gaza

There are growing expectations of a ground offensive that Israel says will be aimed at rooting out Hamas

An Israeli flag flutters from a self-propelled howitzer near Israel's border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, October 22,

'Let's be clear, as events unfold, if something comes up that calls for greater intervention by us, we will do so,' he said.

Lt. Colonel Jonathan Conricus told CNN on Saturday: 'We are concerned, and we urge the state of Lebanon to think twice or maybe 200 times if they really want to jeopardize what's left of Lebanese sovereignty and prosperity for the sake of a bunch of terrorists in Gaza.'

As tensions heighten in the region, civilians in Gaza are facing an increasingly desperate situation, with hundreds of thousands forced to flee by Israel's airstrikes, seeing refugee camps in the south overflow.

The border crossing between Egypt and Gaza opened on Saturday to let a trickle of desperately needed aid into the besieged Palestinian territory for the first time since Israel sealed it off in the wake of Hamas's bloody rampage two weeks ago.

Humanitarian aid trucks arriving from Egypt after having crossed through the Rafah border crossing arriving at a storage facility in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip

Volunteers and NGOs staff celebrate after unloading aid supplies and returning to Egyptian side of border on October 21

Just 20 trucks were allowed in, an amount that aid workers said is insufficient to address the unprecedented humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

This afternoon 17 trucks were at the crossing and being inspected before continuing to Gaza, the sources said.

But Thomas White, director of the UN's Palestine refugee agency in Gaza has warned that the trucks that arrived today are missing the most important commodity - fuel.

'The key commodity for us right now is fuel. The commodities that are coming in are important  food and medicine  but they dont include fuel,' he told Al Jazeera.

'This fuel runs desalination plants to provide drinkable water, provides food [by powering] bakeries, allows hospitals to keep running and for our big logistics operations here, it fuels our cars and generators.'

More than 200 trucks carrying roughly 3,000 tons of aid have been positioned near the crossing for days.

Gaza's 2.3 million Palestinians, half of whom have fled their homes, are rationing food and drinking dirty water. Hospitals say they are running low on medical supplies and fuel for emergency generators amid a territory-wide power blackout.

Five hospitals have stopped functioning because of fuel shortages and bombing damage, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said.

Doctors in darkened wards across Gaza have been left with no choice but to perform surgeries by the light of mobile phones and use shop-bought vinegar to treat infected wounds.

Serious shortages in other supplies, including ventilators, are forcing medical teams to prioritize the lives of those who can be saved for certain over severe cases that require complex care, said Dr. Mohammed Qandeel, who works in the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.

'It's heartbreaking,' he said. 'Every day, if we receive 10 severely injured patients, we have to manage with maybe three or five ICU beds available.

Palestinians assess the damage after a mosque was hit in an Israeli air strike the night before

Pictures appear to show parts of the mosque in the Jenin refugee camp completely destroyed

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'We have to choose who must face death, or manage them in regular wards or do some limited care because we think as a medical team, between two patients in a life-threatening situation, we have to give the ventilator to the patient who has a higher chance of improving in 24 hours.'

Many departments in the hospital are plunged in darkness as medical staff allow electricity only in critical departments where patients risk death without it.

On Friday, the hospital was on its last stock of fuel, but managed to get another tank from UNRWA's existing stock on Saturday, said Qandeel. 'This amount should last for three to five days,' he said.

The World Health Organization says Gaza's Health Ministry is reporting that its daily use of medical consumables during the war is equivalent to its monthly consumption before the war.

The report said 'an imminent public health catastrophe looms' in the setting of mass displacement, overcrowding of shelters and damage to the water and sanitation infrastructure.

There are growing expectations of a ground offensive that Israel says will be aimed at rooting out Hamas, which would inevitably worsen the situation further for people trapped in Gaza.
Israeli warplanes have continued to pummel cities across the Gaza Strip, as overnight airstrikes on a mosque in a West Bank refugee camp and on two Syrian airports also left a wake of devastation.

With Israel's war on Hamas into its sixteenth day, relentless bombing has scarred Gaza, which is one of the world's most densely-populated areas at 28 miles long with a population of 2.3million.

Palestinians have been pulling survivors and dead bodies out from under their collapsed homes every day for two weeks, with pictures today showing gutted buildings in areas from the north to the very south of the enclave.

Some 4,650 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza during the bombardment according to the Hamas-run health authorities, as strikes appeared to intensify, with 266 people killed over 24 hours including 117 children.

Israel's military has said it is striking Hamas members and installations, but does not target civilians, and warned it plans to step up airstrikes ahead of the 'next stages of the war.'

Palestinians evacuate survivors after the Israeli bombardment of Deir Al-Balah in the Gaza Strip

Destroyed buildings in Al Remal neighbourhood after Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City

Palestinians look for survivers in buildings destroyed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in Rafah

Tensions are also rising in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where the Israeli Defense Forces have carried out two air strikes in recent days, including on a mosque in a refugee camp.

Six people have been killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank today, according to the Palestinian health authorities, which would bring the total killed in the territory since October 7 to 91.

The attack on the mosque in the Jenin Camp in the early hours of Sunday could be the first by a plane on the territory in 20 years, though Israel refused to say whether it had been carried out by a jet or a drone.

Israel said the compound beneath al-Ansar Mosque belonged to operatives from Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad who were responsible for attacks in recent months.

'Intel was recently received which indicated that the terrorists, (who) were neutralized, were organizing an imminent terror attack,' the military said in a statement.

IDF spokesperson Lt Col Hecht said: 'Last night, there was an aerial strike on an underground terror compound in the al-Ansar mosque in Jenin. We were focusing on terrorists, an imminent threat, a ticking timebomb.'

Asked whether the strike was carried out with a drone or jet, which would make it the first time a warplane has been used against the West Bank in 20 years, Hecht refused to give more information than to say it was an 'aerial attack'.

A view of destruction after Israeli attack in Nuseirat camp, Gaza Strip on October 22

Crowds gather to witness the destruction after Israeli attack in Nuseirat camp, Gaza Strip

The severe damage done to the Al-Ansar Mosque at Jenin refugee camp by Israeli air strikes was clear to see the morning after it was hit

Footage on social media, appearing to show the scene of the air strike on a West Bank mosque, shows a gaping hole in one of the its exterior walls

Meanwhile in Syria, state media reported that Israeli airstrikes targeted the international airports in the capital, Damascus, and the northern city of Aleppo.

The strikes killed one person and damaged the runways, putting them out of service. it was reported.

Israel has carried out several strikes in Syria, including on the airports, since the war began.

Israel rarely acknowledges individual strikes, but says it acts to prevent Hezbollah and other militant groups from bringing in arms from their patron, Iran, which also supports Hamas.

In Gaza, Hamas claims that at least 266 people were killed by Israeli strikes in the past 24 hours, including 117 children. Israel last night said it would be stepping up its air raids on Gaza.

Wrecked buildings in the central city of Nuseirat in Gaza on October 22

Communities in Gaza have been working tirelessly for two weeks to rescue those trapped under bombed buildings

Israeli aircraft released leaflets as a warning for Gazans to move south or face death, with residents claiming they threatened that 'whoever chooses not to evacuate would likely be designated as a member' or 'accomplice' of a terrorist organisation.

'Whoever chooses not to leave north Gaza to the south of Wadi Gaza might be identified as an accomplice in a terrorist organisation,' the leaflets said.

Although Israel has previously warned Palestinians to move south, it had not previously told them they could be identified as 'terrorist' sympathisers if they did not.

Israeli aircraft released leaflets as a warning for Gazans to move south or face death, with residents reportedly claiming they threatened that 'whoever chooses not to evacuate would likely be designated as a member' or 'accomplice' of a terrorist organisation

Palestinians assess the damage after a mosque was hit in an Israeli air strike the night before

Family members of a young Palestinian man mourn after his death on October 22, 2023

In Jabalia refugee camp, in the north of the enclave, Israeli air strikes destroyed two mosques - among 31 that local authorities say the bombardment has levelled in two weeks.

'They have destroyed it and they destroyed the district around it,' said a man standing by the rubble.

Despite claims of greater safety for civilians in the south, buildings in southern areas such as Rafah, a city on the border with Egypt, have been razed to the ground by ongoing Israeli strikes.

In Khan Younis, in the south, people held a funeral for seven members of one family killed in strikes overnight. Women embraced each other, sobbing, as the bodies were pushed by cart to a grave site and lowered into the ground, shrouded in white.

A second convoy of aid trucks entered the Egyptian side of Rafah crossing on Sunday and was being inspected before it headed to the Gaza Strip, according to security sources and humanitarian sources in Rafah.

A truck carrying humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip crosses the Rafah border gate in Rafah, Egypt

Humanitarian aid trucks arriving from Egypt after having crossed through the Rafah border crossing arriving at a storage facility in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip

A total of around 17 trucks was at the crossing and being inspected before continuing to Gaza, the sources said.

Just 20 trucks were previously allowed in, an amount that aid workers said is insufficient to address the unprecedented humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Any supplies coming on Sunday will not include fuel, which Israel's military has said could be used by Hamas, meaning the dwindling power supply in Gaza may give out.

Ashraf al-Qidra, spokesperson for the Gaza health ministry, said there were 130 newborn babies in electrically powered incubators.

At al-Shifa Hospital, one of Gaza's biggest, they were almost at the bottom of the fuel tanks, he said.

'We have switched the fuel to the most essential life-saving services including the incubators but we don't know how long it can last,' he added.

As a result, doctors in darkened wards across Gaza have been left with no choice but to perform surgeries by the light of mobile phones and use shop-bought vinegar to treat infected wounds.

The United Nations agency for Palestinians, UNRWA, said it would run out of fuel in three days.

'Without fuel there will be no water, no functioning hospitals and bakeries,' it said.

Conditions were increasingly difficult for Gaza residents in other ways. At a Khan Younis bakery, long queues had grown from dawn with little bread available.

'If this continues, the whole population will be without food and drink. We won't find bread or flour or anything at all,' said Shady al-Aqqad, one of several hundred people waiting.
Detroit police still have no suspect or motive for the frightening murder of a female synagogue president - 27 hours after she was knifed to death at her home.

Samantha Woll, 40, head of the Isaac Agree Downtown Detroit Synagogue, was found dead at 6.30am yesterday on Joliet Place - and over a day later, police still say they have not made any arrests.

While it's unclear if this was a hate attack, the shocking ordeal comes amid historic unrest in Israel and Gaza - and just days after the murder of a Muslim boy in Chicago.

Woll was known for her work within the community, and with several Democratic politicians including Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin.

Samantha Woll, 40, was head of the Isaac Agree Downtown Detroit Synagogue since 2022, and was known for her work with several Democratic politicians including Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin

Woll had appeared in Detroit Jewish News ' '36 under 36' list in 2017, where she was noted as a 'social justice and political activist'

Her body was reportedly discovered after a 'trail of blood' led to her home, where she was found with multiple stab wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police say they are still investigating the crime, and have not released a motive for the crime.

It remains unclear if the killing has any relation to unrest in the Middle East.

Tributes quickly poured in for the religious leader, who was noted for her work building bridges between the Jewish and Muslim communities, as her synagogue expressed shock at her sudden 'unexpected' passing.

'At this point we do not have more information, but will share more when it becomes available,' her synagogue said.

'May her memory be a blessing.'

Woll was named in the Detroit Jewish News' '36 under 36' list in 2017, which described her as a 'social justice and political activist'.

'She was instrumental in the founding of the Muslim-Jewish Forum of Detroit  a grassroots collective of young adults of both faiths who gather in partnership to learn, celebrate and build community together,' the glowing profile read.

She was praised for helping 'to build and deepen important relationships' between local Jewish and Muslim communities, where she hosted 'revolutionary events, including an Interfaith Iftar dinner welcoming Syrian refugees.'

Woll was tragically pronounced dead at the scene outside her home after suffering multiple stab wounds

Woll had been the head of the Isaac Agree Downtown Detroit Synagogue since 2022, and was also known for her work with several Democrat politicians

'By extending her hand and creating space for connection between Muslims and Jews, she has exemplified the values of healing the world.'

Michigan has one of the largest Muslim populations per capita in the United States, according to the World Population Review.

Investigators have not indicated any link to the conflict in the Middle East, however it comes just days after US Attorney General Merrick Garland warned that Muslim and Jewish people are at an increased risk of threats and hate crimes due to the situation.

The fatal stabbing has also come just a week after Palestinian-American boy Wadea Al-Fayoume, 6, was stabbed to death in Illinois.

In a statement after the Jewish leaders' death, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, who Woll had also worked for on her re-election campaign, said she was 'shocked, saddened and horrified' at the 'murder.'

'Sam was as kind a person as Ive ever known. She was driven by her sincere love of her community, state and country. Sam truly used her faith and activism to create a better place for everyone,' Nessel said on X.

The Jewish leader's body was discovered outside her home in the downtown area of Detroit, after police followed a trail of blood to her property

Michigan Attorney General Danal Nessel paid a heartbreaking tribute to Woll (pictured together), where she said the Jewish leader was 'as kind a person as I've ever known'

Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin also praised Woll, saying she was one of the leaders who helped guide her office in her first full term in Washington.

'She did for our team as Deputy District Director what came so naturally to her: helping others & serving constituents,' she said on X.

'Separately, in politics & in the Jewish community, she dedicated her short life to building understanding across faiths, bringing light in the face of darkness.'

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said he was devastated 'to learn of the loss of one of Detroit's great young leaders.'

'Just weeks ago, I shared a day of joy with Sam at the dedication of the newly renovated Downtown Synagogue. It was a project she successfully led with great pride and enthusiasm,' he said in a statement.

'Sams loss has left a huge hole in the Detroit community. This entire city joins with her family and friends in mourning her tragic death.'

State Rep. Noah Arbit, who is Jewish, described Woll as the 'kindest, most beautiful soul' as he paid his respects.

'I am shattered and broken and unable to move. There are no words,' he said.

'The kindest, most beautiful soul taken in the most evil, brutal way. Sam was committed to justice and equality. In her name we will never give up. Baruch Dayan Emet, Sam. You were so loved and cherished.'
Police are searching for a missing South London man who vanished nearly a week ago after going to a McDonald's drive-thru.

Justin Henry, 34, was reported missing to police on Monday October 16 and was last seen in person on the evening of Sunday October 15 at the address of his partner in Brixton.

He was picked up on CCTV later that night at around 9:50pm buying food at a McDonald's drive-thru restaurant in London Road, Croydon.

Justin has links to the Forest Hill area of Lewisham and his lack of contact with his friends and family is said to be out of character for him.

Police have arrested one person in connection with a missing person investigation into the 34-year-old's whereabouts. They have been bailed pending further enquiries to a date in January 2024.

Police are searching for Justin Henry (pictured), 34, who vanished nearly a week ago after going to a McDonald's drive-thru

Justin was picked up on CCTV at around 9:50pm on November 15 buying food at a McDonald's drive-thru restaurant in London Road, Croydon

The Met believe Justin drove from the McDonald's restaurant to a nearby location in Croydon where his vehicle, a silver Mercedes E Class, remained for approximately two and a half hours.

The Mercedes was later found in Kingswood Drive, Dulwich. It is unclear who was driving the vehicle when it arrived at Kingswood Drive due to indistinct CCTV image of the driver, but Justin's family state that it is not him.

The police are actively trying to establish Justin's movements, in particular late on Sunday October 15, and in the early hours of Monday October 16.

DCI Matt Coop of the Met's South East CID said: 'Based on the available evidence this remains a missing person enquiry, however my concern that Justin has come to harm is, sadly, increasing with every day.

'The investigation team continue to be assisted by officers from Specialist Crime, including forensic specialists. Justin's family are being supported by specially trained officers.

'We are now appealing to the public for their assistance. I need to hear from anyone who may have seen Justin over the past week.

'We are particularly interested in any information about Justin's movements after leaving McDonald's last Sunday night (15 October), and I also want to hear from anyone who saw anything suspicious or heard a disturbance.

'If you have any information, no matter how small it may seem, please call police or to remain anonymous contact the independent charity Crimestoppers.'

Anyone with information is asked to call 101 or post @MetCC quoting reference CAD 5224/21102023. To provide information anonymously to Crimestoppers please call 0800 555 111 or visit the Crimestoppers website.
Two commercial planes almost crashed shortly after one took off from Portland International Airport during a storm - and video of the dramatic near-miss has been caught on flight tracking video.

YouTube channel VASAviation shows the nail-biting moment between an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 and a SkyWest plane that had just launched from the runway in northwest Oregon around 4.14pm Monday.

Shocking air traffic control audio shows the controller repeatedly urging the Alaska flight to change its heading to avoid colliding with the SkyWest plane, his voice becoming more panicked as the jets get closer.

The Alaska Airlines flight from Orange County, California, was traveling at more than 200mph when it aborted landing after the second aircraft lifted off a parallel airstrip to the north.

They came within 250 feet of slamming into each other - which is half the minimum distance of the 500-foot proximity, which the FAA's defines as constituting a 'near midair collision'.

In the moments after the potentially near-fatal experience, the Alaska plane veered away from the SkyWest ascent amid instructions from an air traffic controller. The incident is subject to a probe by the FAA.

An Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 experienced a nail-biting near-miss with a SkyWest plane which had just launched from the runway in north west Oregon around 4.15pm Monday.

The Alaska Airlines flight from Orange County, California, aborted its landing after the second aircraft lifted off a parallel airstrip to the north. (Pictured: an Alaska Airlines passenger flight in 2021)

Alaska Airlines confirmed the incident to local news outlets on Friday, saying that it is reviewing the incident - and its priority is the safety of passengers and employees.

'The crew of Flight 1299 followed cockpit indications and reacted immediately to increase separation from the other aircraft,' a spokesperson told Oregon Live.

'The aircraft maintained a safe amount of lateral separation throughout the entire event.'

'At no point was the safety of the flight compromised,' SkyWest said in a separate statement to the newspaper on Friday.

Its unclear how many people were on each plane.

The incident happened amid 'tornadic activity' in Oregon, according to forecasts at the time, with a stormy weather warning lurking over much of the state.

A FlightAware tracker shows the Alaska Airlines 1299 flight departed from John Wayne airport in Santa Ana at 2pm on Monday.

After its close call with the ascending aircraft, it was diverted to Roberts Field in Redmond, Oregon, and landed 26 minutes late.

The SkyWest 3978 aircraft left Portland International three minutes early and arrived in Seattle on schedule and as planned.

The Alaska plane was hurtling along at 214mph, and the SkyWest airliner had reached a speed of 190mph, per Oregon Live. The FAA is investigating the incident.

A FlightAware tracker shows the Alaska Airlines 1299 flight departed from John Wayne airport in Santa Ana at 2pm on Monday. After its close call with the ascending aircraft, it was diverted to Roberts Field in Redmond, Oregon, and landed 26 minutes late

The SkyWest 3978 left Portland International three minutes early and arrived in Seattle on schedule. The Alaska plane was hurtling along at 214mph, and the SkyWest airliner had reached a speed of 190mph, per Oregon Live

'While attempting to land at Portland International Airport, the pilot of Alaska Airlines Flight 1299 initiated a go-around due to wind and turned towards SkyWest Airlines Flight 3978, which had just departed,' the FAA said in a statement.

'An air traffic controller instructed the Alaska Airlines pilot to turn away from the SkyWest aircraft. The incident occurred around 4:15 p.m. local time on Monday, Oct. 16.

'The FAA will determine the closest proximity between the aircraft as part of the investigation.'

The incident follows a New York Times investigation that showed close calls like this happen 'far more often' than you might think.

Per the newspaper, there were at least 46 close calls involving commercial airlines in the US through July.

This year, close calls involving commercial airlines have been happening, on average, multiple times a week, according to a Times' analysis of internal FAA records.

Industry workers have blamed a shortage of air traffic controllers which has forced many in the profession to work mandatory overtime. The demands of the job have left some burned out and even using alcohol and sleeping pills to relieve stress.

A shocking 99 percent of air traffic control facilities in the US are understaffed, according to the New York Times, which found 310 out of 313 do not have enough workers.

Some, including New York's regional facility and a Philadelphia tower, are operating at around 60 percent of staff or less.

While fatal incidents involving small, personal aircraft can occur several times per year, the last fatal crash involving a US airline was in 2009, when Colgan Air Flight 3407 from Newark, New Jersey, to Buffalo, New York, crashed into a house in Clarence Center, New York, killing all 49 people on board and one person on the ground.
It comes after a similar massive 100,000-person protest in London on Saturday

Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets in European capital cities today in a show of support for Palestine as the crisis in the Middle East deepens.

There were massive demonstrations in cities such as Paris, Brussels and Sarajevo on Sunday with protesters calling for a ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

There also demonstrations with people showing support for the Jewish state, most notably in Berlin, as it continues its fightback against Hamas after its brutal terrorist attack which has claimed the lives of more than 1,400 Israelis, most of whom were civilians.

In the 15 days since Hamas launched its devastating assault Israel has pummelled Gaza with air strikes which officials in the territory say have killed thousands of people.

And tensions in the region are still rising as preparations continue for a potential Israeli ground invasion, with Israel threatening Iran-backed militia Hezbollah they would make the 'biggest mistake of their lives' if they attack from Lebanon.

Pro-Palestine protesters wave flags and chant outside the headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels

A woman holds a placard saying 'Gaze - 423,000 displaced' and another saying 'cease the fire now'

A pro-Palestine protester shouts down the camera amid a rally in Brussels in Belgium today

A demonstrator scales a street lamp and attempts to tie a Palestine flag in support of the people of Gaza

Protesters hold AI generated images of children caught in the conflict as they demand a ceasefire

On Saturday more than 100,000 people turned out in Britain to show their solidarity with Palestinian civilians caught up in the conflict, with marches in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Cardiff.

The main protest in London was mainly peaceful, although a smaller protest outside the Egyptian Embassy in the capital sparked controversy after speakers were heard calling for jihad against Israel.

Today there were more protests in Europe showing support for Palestine, with tens of thousands of people going onto the streets in Belgium, France and Bosnia.

In Brussels demonstrators gathered outside the headquarters of the European Commission, which has been steadfast in its support of Israel since the conflict began just over two weeks ago.

People waved Palestinian flags and held up placards calling for a ceasefire to stop the deaths of more civilians in the territory.

In Paris thousands gathered at the Place de la Republique, a monument which has a statue of the personification of France, Marianne.

The site has long been used as a venue for demonstrations, with previous pro-Palestine rallies taking place here in recent weeks.

At the protest people chanted songs in support of the territory, while also waving flags and holding up placards calling for an end to the 'massacre'.

A man holds up a sign saying 'stop the massacre in Gaza' as thousands gather in Paris today

A man waves a Palestine flag and looks out on the crowd gathered at the Place de la Republique

Protesters, holding banners and flags, participate in a demonstration to show solidarity with Palestinian people near the Place de la Republique in Paris, France, on October 22, 2023

A man waves a flag of Palestine while standing in front of a statue of the personification of France, Marianne

Pro-Palestine demonstrators gather in front of Vijecnica Library in Sarajevo for a protest today

A protester in Sarajevo raises a placard that says 'Raise your voice!! The genocide in Gaza is also a message to your children!!!!'

A girl decorated her face with the Palestinian flag takes part in the rally in support of Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip in in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, October 22, 2023

Thousands of people gather for the demonstration in Sarajevo, with one giant sign saying 'Yesterday Srebenica, today Gaza', drawing parallels between the ongoing conflict and the massacre of Muslim men and boys in the Bosnian war

On Sunday hundreds of people gathered in Sarajevo - bombed and besieged during the Bosnian war in the 1990s - to show solidarity with the plight of Palestinians in Gaza.

READ MORE HERE: Furious Palestine supporters continue tearing down posters of Israeli children kidnapped by Hamas terrorists in latest UK confrontations caught on camera Advertisement

'What is happening in Gaza is simply human disaster. Collective punishment. War crimes. These things have to be named by their rightful name,' said Nabil Naser, a Palestinian doctor who worked in Sarajevo during the Bosnian war.

More than 3,000 people attended a 'Freedom for Palestine' rally on Sunday at a square in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Waving Palestinian flags and to the beat of drums, protesters including women and children chanted 'Palestine will never die' and 'From the rivers to the sea, Palestine will be free.'

Malaysia is a strong supporter of the Palestinian cause, and has no diplomatic ties with Israel. Muslims in the country have staged weekly rallies after Friday prayers outside the American Embassy, slamming the U.S. for its support of Israel.

Retiree Munir Izwan urged neighbours of the Palestinians to step up efforts to help.

'Even in Islamic teachings, the closest neighbours should help the most in making peace between the two parties. But from what I see, the neighbouring countries of Palestine, they are only talking but no actions,' Munir said.

Closer to home there was a 'vigil for Gaza' held at the Peace Statue in Brighton and Hove, where a combination of Stop the War Coalition campaigners, local Quakers, Israeli dissidents and Palestinians gathered.

People hold placards calling for an end to 'the occupation' of Palestine in Podgorica, Montenegro today. One sign says 'stop calling it a conflict it's literally genocide'

People hold placards of crying children calling to 'save Palestine' during a rally in Podgorica, Montenegro

Protesters wave Palestine flags and chant during a protest in support of the territory in Podgorica, Montenegro

People take part in a pro-Palestinian protest, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Mexico City, Mexico October 22, 2023

People take part in a pro-Palestinian protest, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Mexico City, Mexico, on October 22, 2023

Thousands of people gather in a Freedom for Palestine rally at Merdeka Square in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, today

Supporters of political party Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM) stamp on an Israeli flag during a demonstration in solidarity with the Palestinian people, in Hyderabad, Pakistan

Supporters of political party Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM) burn an Israeli flag during a demonstration in solidarity with the Palestinian people, in Hyderabad, Pakistan

Around 200 people gathered for a pro-Palestine rally at the Peace Statue in Brighton and Hove today

A flag from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign is taped onto the Peace Statue in Hove for today's rally

A dissenting protester is seen holding an Israeli flag at the pro-Palestine rally in Hove today

Pro-Israel demonstrators gather in Berlin to show their support for the Jewish state. One placard reads 'Stop the terror against Jews! Away with Hamas'

Supporters in Berlin waved Israel flags as they marched to campaign against antisemitism in the German capital

One placard saying 'we stand with Israel' is held aloft next to an Israeli flag during today's demonstration in Berlin

Thousands gathered at one of Berlin's most recognisable sights, the Brandenburg Gate, for the rally

Hundreds of people gather in Trafalgar Square calling for Hamas to release hostages it took from Israel on October 7

People in Trafalgar Square hold up placards of people who were kidnapped by the terrorist group

People hold placards showing the faces of people, including children as young as four, taken to Gaza by Hamas

People at the rally in Trafalgar Square waved Israeli flags and chanted 'bring them home'

There were also shows of support for Israel today, with thousands attending rallies in London and Berlin to show their support for the Jewish state and to campaign against antisemitism

In Trafalgar Square, hundreds of people held up flyers and posters of innocent Israeli civilians who have been kidnapped by Hamas and taken into Gaza by the terrorists.

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In recent days there have been multiple incidents in London of people ripping down posters put up to raise awareness of the plight of those taken hostage, causing fury among British-Israelis and Jewish people.

The gathering in Berlin took place next to the Brandenburg Gate, one of Berlin's most recognisable sights.

The protest, organised by a broad alliance of various organisations, comes as antisemitic incidents have been rising in Germany following the violent escalation of the war in Gaza. The organizers estimated that over 20,000 people took part; police put the number at 10,000.

'It is unbearable that Jews are living in fear again today - in our country of all places,' President Frank-Walter Steinmeier told those gathered in front of the Brandenburg Gate.

'Every single attack on Jews, on Jewish institutions is a disgrace for Germany. And every single attack fills me with shame and anger.'

Earlier, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he was outraged by the antisemitic agitation spreading as the Gaza war rages, and warned at the inauguration of a new synagogue that the vow of 'never again' must be unbreakable.

Assailants threw two Molotov cocktails at a synagogue in Berlin on Wednesday, and police protection has been increased for Jewish institutions.

Scholz, who denounced the violence on Wednesday, expanded on his comments at the inauguration of the temple in Dessau, a city in eastern Germany whose synagogue was destroyed by the Nazis 85 years ago.
A family has been left devastated after their toddler returned home from holiday with a rash which turned out to be much more serious than they'd thought, and now they're warning other parents of the signs to look out for.

When Charlotte Squibbs noticed small "pimples" spreading across the body of her son Tommy, 3, she assumed it was a heat rash from their holiday in France.

The mum-of-three, aged 38, wasn't initially concerned, but as unexplained bruising began taking over, panic started to set in.

Charlotte Squibbs and her family are rallying around little Tommy. Source: Jam Press

Shock diagnosis

She and her husband Daniel, 40, rushed him to their local doctors, who advised the parents to immediately go to hospital, where he was diagnosed with leukaemia.

Now, the family of five is coming to terms with their new reality, and are hoping to share their harrowing ordeal in a bid to raise awareness of the signs to look out for.

"I felt shocked and massively upset, as we had no idea what to expect  we couldn't help but fear the worst," the primary school teacher from England told NeedToKnow.co.uk.

'Nightmare come to life'

"I'm absolutely heartbroken that our little boy has to go through this and I wish we could trade places. It's been a nightmare come to life and I'm scared about the unknown future of this battle."

The family, which also includes Louie, 9, and Reggie, 6, had just returned from their summer getaway to France at the end of August. Within days, the aforementioned rash started to appear, along with signs of fatigue and severe bruising.

At first, it was suspected Tommy, who has Down syndrome, had caught a viral infection, but after seeing the nurse's reaction, the parents knew it was something much worse.

Story continues

Tommy's heat rash turned out to be something far more sinister. Source: Jam Press

"The nurse looked at his body and without a thought, sent us to A&E," Ms Squibbs said. "While there, they did blood tests and this in itself was very traumatic, as his veins were hard to locate.

"He was such a bubbly and outgoing boy, who was always smiling. I thought the bruising was because of the rough and tumble fun he has with his brothers, but I was totally wrong."

Traumatic treatment

In early September, they received his diagnosis and since then, the ordeal has become even more stressful. Due to him needing immediate treatment, he was given a blood and platelet transplant, which left Tommy "distraught".

"It was such a struggle to get a cannula in and he was holding up his hands and wiggling his fingers to ask them to stop," Ms Squibbs recounted. "As he's non-verbal, this was his only way of communicating, which was devastating to watch."

Now, he's currently undergoing chemotherapy treatment, but the parents remain hopeful and plan to raise awareness for the signs to look out for with other parents.

Tommy has good and bad days, says mum Charlotte. Source: Jam Press

Family staying positive

"He is a little warrior and is fighting this in a way only he could with bravery, courage, and lots of smiles," Ms Squibbs shared. "Due to his Down syndrome, he has a lower tolerance for chemotherapy, so his other bodily organs could be affected. But, we're only one round in, so we'll have to see how it goes. He has good days and bad days, as do we, but we're trying to keep positive.

"We've both had to give up working for the foreseeable future to visit Tommy and look after our two other boys, but we're very lucky to have an incredible support system around us.

"For any other parents going through this, I urge them to stay positive, take each day as it comes, accept any help offered and look after yourself. You need to be strong for your child and be there when they need you.

"I'm so immensely proud of Tommy with how he's handling this horrific cancer, but we will continue to fight this together all the way up until he rings that bell in remission."

JAM PRESS

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Sadiq Khan has been accused of 'gutter politics' over a website claiming rival Susan Hall is 'prejudiced against black Londoners'.

Labour has been sending out ads on Facebook linking to the site, which makes a series of attacks on the Tory mayoral hopeful.

They include allegations that Ms Hall uses 'far-right, xenophobic and dehumanising language', and 'supports Donald Trump's efforts to divide London's communities'.

Another section swipes about Ms Hall's record on diversity, quoting her saying: 'Problems with crime within the Black community is something I have brought up constantly the problem is, the minute we do we are accused of being racist.'

The brutal tactics point to a bitter struggle for City Hall next May, with polls showing that victory for Mr Khan is far from certain.

Sadiq Khan has been accused of 'gutter politics' over a website claiming rival Susan Hall is 'prejudiced against black Londoners'

Labour has been sending out ads on Facebook linking to the site (pictured), which makes a series of attacks on the Tory mayoral hopeful

It is still unclear whether Jeremy Corbyn might throw his hat into the ring after being barred from standing as a Labour MP again - potentially splitting the left-wing vote and handing victory to Ms Hall.

A Conservative Party source told the Sunday Telegraph: 'Sadiq Khan is resorting to a desperate gutter politics strategy because he cannot defend his abysmal record.

'He is smearing his opponent with misinformation and making false claims that the election is rigged. Londoners will see through this nonsense.'

The website branding Ms Hall 'extreme' also accuses the Tories of trying to 'rig' the contest by making it first-past-the-post this time instead of ranking candidates - even though the former system is used in general elections.

Labour has been increasingly anxious about the impact of Mr Khan's expansion of the Ulez area on the mayor battle.

Polls have shown the candidates within the margin of error, and Ms Hall winning if Mr Corbyn does stand.

A London Labour spokesman said the capital will have to choose between Mr Khan and an 'out of touch Tory candidate'.

'The Mayoral election will be a close two-horse race with a choice between Labour's Sadiq, who is building a better London for everyone - and the out-of-touch Tory candidate,' they said.

The brutal tactics point to a bitter struggle for City Hall next May, with polls showing that Mr Khan's victory over Ms Hall (pictured) is far from certain

'The Tories are changing the voting system both by scrapping 2nd preference votes used in every London Mayoral election since 2000, and introducing unfair new voter ID rules which unfairly penalise young people and minorities.

'Labour is urging Londoners to lend Sadiq their vote and not let the Tories do to London what they have done to the country.

'Sadiq will continue delivering for London - free school meals for every primary school child, record numbers of council homes and being tough on crime and its complex causes.'
A Texas justice is set to take her fight over religious beliefs to the state's Supreme Court this week after she has refused to perform wedding ceremonies for same-sex couples.

Justice of the Peace Dianne Hensley was sanctioned by the Texas Commission on Judicial Misconduct in 2019 for only conducting marriages between opposite-sex couples.

Hensley has filed a lawsuit over the sanction shortly after their public reprimand of her in 2019, arguing the commission punished her because of her faith.

The commission said since August 2016, the judge has refused to perform same-sex marriages despite the 2015 US Supreme Court ruling that guaranteed equal rights to those couples.

Hensley said her religious beliefs prevent her from conducting same-sex marriages, even though she told the Dallas Morning News her older brother was gay.

After he had a falling out with their parents, 'she hired a detective to track him down once a year and take a photograph as a gift for their mother.' Hensley also said gay people were more likely to suffer from sexually transmitted diseases than heterosexuals.

The Texas Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in the case of Dianne Hensley (pictured) a Texas justice of the peace who refused to before same-sex marriages

In 2019, the Texas Commission on Judicial Misconduct issued a warning to Hensley saying that since August 2016 the justice of the piece has refused to conduct same-sex marriages

'My experience is, the closer I follow the Scriptures, the better my life goes. And this is pretty foundational. And Im not going to get into it, but as an abstinence speaker, I dealt a whole lot with the sequelae of same-sex relationships,' she said.

Hensley told the Morning News that she believes gay people have 'a higher incidence of STDs.'

She is seeking damages and an injunction stopping any future disciplinary action against her related to her refusal to perform same-sex weddings.

A state district judge dismissed the lawsuit in June 2021, and an appellate court upheld that decision, bringing it the Texas Supreme Court.

The commission said Hensley was, 'casting doubt on her capacity to act impartially to persons appearing before her as a judge due to the person's sexual orientation.'

In her appeal to the Supreme Court her attorneys wrote, 'It may not be as fashionable to publicly disapprove same-sex marriage as it once was, but that is not a reason to question the impartiality of a judge who openly expresses a religious belief that marriage should exist only between one man and one woman.'

Hensley told the Dallas Morning News same-sex marriage is against her religious beliefs. She said her older brother was gay

Hensley's office would refer same-sex couples to those who would conduct their weddings if they ask her to conduct theirs

First Liberty, an organization that represents Hensley, said at first she stopped performing weddings but wanted to find a way to continue while serving her whole community.

'Judge Hensley, like many other Justices of the Peace in Waco and around Texas, stopped performing weddings after the U.S. Supreme Courts 2015 decision creating same-sex marriage,' said First Liberty.

'She came up with an innovative solution that followed the law and allowed her to reconcile her religious convictions while serving the needs of her community. And no one complained.'

First Liberty said: 'But shes been punished for ensuring that anyone who wants to get married can get married.'

The judge has said her office would provide same-sex couples with a list of people who could conduct their weddings if they asked her to do theirs.

In April, people from across Texas rallied together in protest against a slew of anti-LGBTQ+ and drag bills. In June, Texas became 17th state to outlaw gender-affirming care for teenagers

Jonathan Mitchell, the former Texas Solicitor General who authored the 'heartbeat' bill that led to the overturn of Roe v. Wade, represents Hensley

Hensley is also represented by Jonathan Mitchell, the former Texas Solicitor General who authored the 'heartbeat' bill that led to the overturn of Roe v. Wade.

In a July brief, her attorneys argued the Supreme Court's ruling in favor of a Christian Colorado graphic designer who refused to set up a page celebrating same-sex marriage support Hensley's ability to not conduct same-sex marriages.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's office has said they will not defend the state agency in the case.

Texas has passed a slew of anti-LGBTQ laws and drag bills. In June, the state became the 17th in the country to outlaw gender-affirming care for teenagers.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz has railed against the spread of anti-Semitism in Germany as the Israel-Hamas war rages on.

Scholz warned today at the inauguration of a new synagogue that the vow of 'never again' must be unbreakable.

Scholz's remarks come as anti-Semitic incidents have been rising in Germany following the violent escalation of the war in Gaza.

Assailants threw two Molotov cocktails at a synagogue in Berlin on Wednesday, prompting Scholz to say that attacks on Jewish institutions would never be accepted.

Scholz expanded on his comments at the inauguration of the Weill Synagogue in Dessau, a city in eastern Germany that saw its synagogue destroyed in the 'Kristallnacht' anti-Jewish pogrom on November 9, 1938.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz holds a kippa after the inauguration of the Weill Synagogue in Dessau, Germany, on October 22, 2023

Police stand outside after two Molotov cocktails were thrown at the Skoblo Synagogue and Education Center overnight in Berlin, Germany, on October 18, 2023

'I am deeply outraged by the way in which anti-Semitic hatred and inhuman agitation have been breaking out since that fateful October 7, on the internet, in social media around the world, and shamefully also here in Germany,' Scholz said.

'Here in Germany, of all places.

'That is why our "never again" must be unbreakable.'

Scholz spoke as he gathered with Jewish leaders at the synagogue, named after the German-American composer Kurt Weill, whose father was a cantor in Dessau's Jewish community.

He noted that the community has recently grown as it welcomed people from Ukraine.

'This synagogue here in the middle in Dessau says that Jewish life is and remains a part of Germany. It belongs here,' Scholz said.

'Germany will do everything to protect and strengthen Jewish life.'

Following Hamas' brutal attack on Israel on October 7 and the subsequent war in Gaza, police have increased security for Jewish institutions in Berlin and all over Germany.

Israeli flags that were flown as a sign of solidarity in front of city halls all over the country have been torn down and burnt.

Several buildings in Berlin where Jews live had the Star of David painted on doors and walls.

A Star of David was sprayed outside a building in the Prenzlauberg neighborhood in Berlin earlier this month

A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator is detained during a protest during the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Berlin, Germany, on October 13, 2023

There must be no turning a blind eye 'when Jews are not safe on Germany's streets, when Stars of David are smeared on homes, when firebombs are thrown at synagogues', Scholz said.

Meanwhile, in Berlin, thousands of people gathered at a demonstration organised to show opposition to antisemitism and support for Israel.

People carried Israeli flags or posters with photos of some of those reported to be missing or held by Hamas as hostages.

The protest was planned by a broad alliance of various organisations.

Susanne Liebegott, a 60-year-old teacher, said she attended the rally in Berlin because 'it is important for me to stand against anti-Semitism'.

'I'm not necessarily pro-Israel and don't really take a stand. But the anti-Semitism in Germany, which is also on the rise, worries me a lot,' she said.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier told those gathered in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin: 'It is unbearable that Jews are living in fear again today - in our country of all places.

'Every single attack on Jews, on Jewish institutions is a disgrace for Germany. Every single attack fills me with shame and anger.'

Police scuffle with protesters at the pro-Israel rally at the Brandenburg Gate, Potsdamer Platz in Berlin on October 22, 2023

Participants wave Israel flags during a rally in solidarity with Israel in Berlin, Germany, on October 22, 2023

Steinmeier also called it a 'civic duty' to oppose antisemitism in Germany.

Germany has the third-largest Jewish community in Europe, according to the interior ministry.

The Central Council of Jews in Germany puts the number of practising Jews in the country at around 100,000 and the number of synagogues at about 100.

Anti-Semitic acts have increased sharply in the country amid the latest turmoil in the Middle East, according to the Federal Association of Research and Information Centres on Anti-Semitism (RIAS).

In the period from October 7 to 15, RIAS documented 202 anti-Semitic 'incidents' compared with just 59 during the same week in 2022.

Sigmount Koenigsberg, a pointman on anti-Semitism for the city's Jewish community, told the Rheinische Post newspaper on Sunday that the rise anti-Jewish incidents brought back painful memories of Nazi Germany.

'It is the first time since Nazi rule that this is happening again in Germany. It reminds my community very much of that terrible time,' he said.
Richard Tice has ruled out a pact with the Conservatives at the next election

Tories pleaded with Reform UK today not to 'punish the country' by helping Keir Starmer into power at the next election.

Conservative vice-chairman Lee Anderson warned that Richard Tice's outfit is 'basically working for a Labour government' by splitting the right-wing vote.

The blunt comments came after Reform's vote at the Mid Beds and Tamworth by-elections was higher than the Labour majority - suggesting the Tories could have clung on if it had not fielded a candidate.

However, Mr Tice has flatly dismissed the idea of an alliance, insisting the Conservatives 'deserve to be kicked out'.

Formerly led by Nigel Farage, Reform has already vowed to field candidates in 630 seats at next year's general election  potentially posing a dire threat to the Tories.

Reform UK leader Richard Tice has dismissed the possibility of forming a pact with the Conservatives

Mr Anderson told the Sun on Sunday: 'Reform UK and their leader Richard Tice are basically working for a Labour government.

'He wants to punish us but he will punish the country.'

Reform UK party leader Richard Tice has slammed the door shut on any pact to save the Tories at the next general election.

Mr Tice told The Mail on Sunday: 'They can offer me five million quid and a peerage, and the answer is still 'No!' The Tories broke their contract with the British people and they have to be kicked out.'

But Mr Tice dismissed any suggestion that his party would simply pave the way to Sir Keir Starmer's Labour becoming the next government.

He said: 'To anyone who says that Reform will just be letting in Labour, I say there's no difference between the two of them.

'The Tories and Labour are two forms of socialism: high tax, high regulation, low growth and pro net zero. It's all a catastrophe for the country.'

After the by-election results on Friday, Mr Tice taunted the Tories about how his party had cost them their victory.

Writing on X, he said this was 'despite huge squeeze/pressure from Tories to voters, saying do not vote Reform'.

But Alexander Stafford, Tory MP for Rother Valley, said: 'It is nonsense to suggest that Tories and Labour are the same.

'A re-elected Tory government will complete Brexit after the general election. Sir Keir Starmer's Labour would wreck it.'
The US government has asked Israel to delay its ground invasion of Gaza in a bid to free more hostages that were captured by Hamas - and to help aid enter into the war-torn strip, according to insiders.

More than 200 people are believed to be kidnapped by the terrorists, and on Friday, two Americans were freed from Gaza amid the escalating conflict.

A source who spoke to CNN said: 'The [administration] pressed Israeli leadership to delay because of progress on the hostage front.'

On Saturday, when asked if he would be encouraging Israel to delay the imminent ground invasion, Joe Biden responded: 'I'm talking to the Israelis.'

Natalie Shoshana Raanan, 17, and her mother Judith Tai Raanan, 59, arrived back in Israel late on Friday, the Israeli government confirmed, having left Gaza via an Egyptian-controlled crossing.

Palestinian people conduct a search and rescue operation under the debris of a destroyed building after the Israeli airstrike in Deir al-Balah

Judith Tai Raanan and her daughter Natalie Shoshana Raanan arrived back in Israel late on Friday, the Israeli government confirmed

The Raanans walked out of Gaza without obvious visible physical injuries, getting out of a car and then being surrounded by Red Cross staff, before driving away in a vehicle operated by the humanitarian gruop.

They are now receiving medical treatment, the governor of Illinois said, without providing details of their condition. The deal to free the pair was brokered by Qatar.

Anthony Blinken, the Secretary of State, said Hamas is still feared to be holding 10 Americans hostage.

The Secretary of State revealed the number still missing during a press conference where he announced the release of Judith and Natalie Raanan.

Blinken said he had no further information to offer on the 'status or condition' of the Americans still believed to be in Hamas custody following the October 7 terror attacks.

'I can't speak publicly about the details of these efforts, and I know you understand that, but the urgent work to free every single American, to free all other hostages continues  as does our work to secure the safe passage out of Gaza for the Americans who are trapped there,' he said.

'In this particular instance, I want to thank the Government of Qatar for their very important assistance.'

Jeremy Bash, former CIA chief of staff, said Qatar was valuable as an intermediary because Hamas' political leadership works and lives out of Qatar and Turkey.

'When there has been a need to get messages to Hamas in the past, usually Qatar is one of the go-betweens,' said Bash.

Bash said Judith and Natalie Raanan will likely be carefully debriefed by the IDF and the Israeli security agency Shin Bet about any information they heard from their time in captivity.

A young boy paints on a wall next to photos of Israelis missing and held captive by Hamas Militants in Tel Aviv on October 21

On Saturday, when asked if he would be encouraging Israel to delay the imminent ground invasion, Joe Biden responded: 'I'm talking to the Israelis'

That could include intelligence about other hostages and Hamas' communication tactics, he told NBC.

'This is going to be very actionable intelligence.'

Abu Ubaida, a spokesman for Hamas' armed wing the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, said the mother and daughter were released 'for humanitarian reasons' in response to Qatari mediation efforts.

In a defiant statement, Abu Ubaida said the move would 'prove to the American people and the world that the claims made by Biden and his fascist administration are false and baseless.'

Israel responded to the Hamas massacre and hostage crisis by pounding Gaza with air strikes, killing more than 4,000 people according to Hamas, and has said it will act to free the hostages while wiping out the terror group.

Israeli tanks and troops are massed near the perimeter of the enclave for an expected ground invasion, calling on Palestinians to evacuate the north of Gaza, where it says Hamas is dug in.

Israel has also said there will be no end to its full blockade of the enclave unless Israeli hostages are freed.

Hamas says it has some 200 hostages and that 50 more are held by other armed groups in the enclave.

The group claimed more than 20 hostages have been killed by Israeli air strikes, but has not given any further details.

A "Shabbat Dinner" table set up with memorial candles on the table outside the Tel Aviv museum plaza, with 200 empty seats, representing the hostages and missing people

Israel's military has said it is striking Hamas members and installations, but does not target civilians, and warned it plans to step up airstrikes ahead of the 'next stages of the war'

Palestinians have been pulling survivors and dead bodies out from under their collapsed homes every day for two weeks

With Israel's war on Hamas into its sixteenth day, relentless bombing has scarred Gaza, which is one of the world's most densely-populated areas at 28 miles long with a population of 2.3million.

Palestinians have been pulling survivors and dead bodies out from under their collapsed homes every day for two weeks, with pictures today showing gutted buildings in areas from the north to the very south of the enclave.

Israel's military has said it is striking Hamas members and installations, but does not target civilians, and warned it plans to step up airstrikes ahead of the 'next stages of the war.'

Israeli aircraft released leaflets as a warning for Gazans to move south or face death, with residents claiming they threatened that 'whoever chooses not to evacuate would likely be designated as a member' or 'accomplice' of a terrorist organization.

'Whoever chooses not to leave north Gaza to the south of Wadi Gaza might be identified as an accomplice in a terrorist organization,' the leaflets said.

Although Israel has previously warned Palestinians to move south, it had not previously told them they could be identified as 'terrorist' sympathizers if they did not.
Ron DeSantis may have lost the White House by handing his social media operation over to clueless youngsters who offended both donors and voters, while being outwitted by Donald Trump.

The Florida governor has seen his rival's poll lead grow from 15 to 50 per cent since February in the race for the Republican nomination.

And analysts warned his faltering campaign may have been strangled at birth by inexperienced staffers given free rein to use Nazi imagery and faked photos of Trump kissing his chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci.

'The strategy was to be a newer, better version of the culture warrior,' Republican strategist Rob Stutzman told the New York Times.

'But they did it to the exclusion of a lot of the traditional campaign messaging.'

The most notorious was a video that featured the governor's face superimposed over the Florida Seal which turned into the Nazi-era Sonnenrad badge, complete with what appeared to be two columns of stormtroopers marching off to war

A spokesman for the governor insisted 'our campaign is firing on all cylinders and solely focused on what lies ahead  taking it to Donald Trump and Joe Biden,'

Faked images of former president Donald Trump kissing his chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci managed to infuriate both liberals and conservatives

The Florida governor threw resources into a 'hyper-online strategy', and refusing interviews with anyone but Republican aligned media.

But he was mocked for the 'biggest fail in campaign launch history' in May when the Twitter live chat crashed in spectacular style.

Aides told the paper that campaign manager Generra Peck, was unconcerned the next morning, telling them the launch was so popular 'it broke the internet'.

But it marked the start of a social media campaign dominated by gaffes and unforced errors as Trump supporters turned the tables on him with memes that highlighted his alleged awkwardness and eccentricity.

A meme based on rumors that DeSantis had once eaten chocolate pudding with his fingers on a flight was dismissed as 'liberal gossip', but it was Trump supporters who chanted 'pudding fingers' at him during campaign stops.

A pro-Trump super PAC capitalized with a TV ad that used images of a hand scooping up chocolate pudding, linking it to his plans to cut Social Security.

'Ron DeSantis loves sticking his fingers where they don't belong, and we're not just talking about pudding,' the ad claimed.

The governor's rival followed it up with memes mocking him for supposedly 'wiping snot on constituents', having a weird laugh and wearing lifts in his cowboy boots.

Joan Donovan, a researcher at Boston University who studies disinformation and wrote a book on the role of memes in politics said humorous and unfounded attacks are often the most effective.

'This is called meme magic,' she added.

'The irony is the more you try to stomp it out, the more it becomes a problem.'

But it may have been social media efforts dreamed up under rapid response director Christina Pushaw that caused him most damage.

DeSantis staffer Nate Hochman was fired when he retweeted the Sonnenrad meme it from an account called DeSantis Fancams along with the warning 'We're so back'.

DeSantis was mocked for the shambolic Twitter room presidential announcement with Elon Musk that crashed five times

DeSantis's white rain boots went viral in October 2022, as he surveyed hurricane damage in Florida

A meme showed DeSantis's white rain boots pocking out beneath a house, with Mickey Mouse looking on - a parody of Wizard of Oz

Inside the 'war room' were young staffers tasked with dreaming up memes and videos they hoped would go viral.

Many were posted online by third-parties but they were made in the war room, according to two former aides as well as text messages reviewed by The New York Times.

One featured fake images of Trump hugging and kissing Fauci, and another attacked the ex-president as a supporter of LGBT rights with images of transgender people, clips from the movie American Psycho and an image of DeSantis with pink lightning bolts shooting out of his eyes.

'I was 55/45 for Trump/DeSantis,' podcaster Tim Pool told his three million subscribers.

'Now I'm 0% for DeSantis.'

But the most notorious was a video that featured the governor's face superimposed over the Florida Seal which turned into the Nazi-era Sonnenrad badge, complete with what appeared to be two columns of stormtroopers marching off to war.

DeSantis staffer Nate Hochman was fired when he retweeted it from an account called DeSantis Fancams along with the warning 'We're so back'.

But ideas for the videos were routinely shared in a large group chat by DeSantis staffers who would decide how best to place them online.

The group's work cost DeSantis his biggest donor to the superPAC Never Back Down in the shape of aerospace tycoon Robert Bigelow who warned 'extremism isn't going to get you elected'.

Other big donors have scaled back or axed their support including billionaire hedge fund manager Kenneth Griffin.

'Most high-dollar donors are businesspeople,' said Republican political consultant Terry Sullivan, a former presidential campaign manager for Marco Rubio.

'Nobody wants to buy a burning house.'

DeSantis ordered a reboot of his campaign in June, laying off a third of his staff and ending his boycott on interviews with the mainstream media.

A spokesman for the campaign denied that its online strategy had failed but insisted it would not 're-litigate old stories'.

'Our campaign is firing on all cylinders and solely focused on what lies ahead  taking it to Donald Trump and Joe Biden,' a spokesman told the paper.

James Uthmeier was appointed campaign manager in August but critics claim he is still losing the social media war with Donald Trump.

And a survey by InteractivePolls on Saturday found the former president would now win by 71 points to 29 in a straight head-to-head between the pair.

'It feels like the campaign has been reduced to little more than bickering with the Trump camp,' said conservative lawyer Mike Davies.

'Its tactics are either counterproductive or annoying or both.'
And Just Like That star Sara Ramirez was spotted carrying a trans rights flag as they joined thousands of protesters at a 'free Palestine' rally in Brooklyn on Saturday.

The 48-year-old non-binary actor wore a keffiyeh - a monochrome patterned scarf which is a patriotic symbol of Palestinian identity - with a black North Face jacket, cap and dark sunglasses as they marched through the Bay Ridge neighborhood.

The use of LGBT paraphernalia at pro-Palestine protests has baffled many, since the Islamic Middle Eastern state follows sharia law, and as noted by Amnesty International, it is not safe for the queer community.

Others see the fight for queer rights and anti-colonialism as intertwined because anti-gay laws were first introduced in Palestine by Britain in 1885 - though former colonial powers have since abolished such legislation in their own countries.

Ramirez posted an Instagram story of the protest on Saturday with the crowd chanting the age-old rallying cry: 'From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free', while the demonstrator in front carried a sign demanding a 'ceasefire'.

And Just Like That star Sara Ramirez has been spotted among protesters at a 'free Palestine ' rally in Brooklyn

The 48-year-old non-binary actor carried a flag bearing the trans colors of pink, baby blue and white as they joined thousands of people marching through the Bay Ridge neighborhood on Saturday. Ramirez goes by they/them pronouns

Ramirez stars in the reboot of Sex and the City, And Just Like That, which features the original cast nearly 20 years on from the last episode of the original series, plus new members. (Pictured: Ramirez (right) beside Cynthia Nixon, who plays Miranda Hobbes in the series)

The bisexual actor, who plays Che Diaz in the SATC reboot, thanked Qween Jean - a transgender costume designer who has previously led Black Lives Matter protests - for heading up the Brooklyn march.

Qween Jean also shared footage of themselves leading the chant before panning to surrounding protesters including Ramirez.

Images of Ramirez joining the chant were shared by fan accounts on X, formerly known as Twitter, which said the actor had also been sharing resources on how to help Gaza and how to get involved locally.

A march in London on the same day saw what appeared to be a group bearing the Palestinian flag tear down an LGBT flag, sparking a conflict.

Palestine is not an LGBT-friendly nation. An Amnesty report last year highlighted how 'authorities failed to prevent and investigate homophobic and transphobic threats and attacks' in the country.

Outlining an example of homophobia in the nation, the report said: 'On 9 July (2022) security forces stood by and watched as a mob beat youths and children participating in a parade organized by Ashtar Theatre in Ramallah that included rainbow flags.

'The attack came amid a wave of incitement to violence and hate speech against LGBTI people and feminists that the authorities failed to investigate.'

Ramirez posted an Instagram story of the protest on Saturday with the crowd chanting the age-old rallying cry: 'From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free', while the demonstrator in front carried a sign demanding a 'ceasefire'

Admiration isnt always mutual.



A group baring the Palestine flag tackle down an LGBT+ progress flag and trample it on the ground, sparking conflict during todays demo in London: pic.twitter.com/S2Ot5UVrl1  Lois McLatchie Miller (@LoisMcLatch) October 21, 2023

Gay rights activist and Israeli writer Lior Halabi recently called out what he described as the 'hypocrisy' of supporting both causes, while writing in America's oldest LGBT newspaper, the Washington Blade.

'Despite the dark situation for gay Palestinians who face legal and social abuse and even murder by Hamas in Gaza and the West Bank, some US left-wing and LGBTQ groups bizarrely still support the Free Palestine group,' Halabi wrote.

'This group, while calling for Israels destruction, allows the abuse of its own LGBTQ people.'

The Bay Ridge protest in west Brooklyn began peacefully through the day, but clashes broke out between demonstrators and NYPD officers as night fell, as their numbers swelled to an estimated 5,000 over the course of the day.

'Say it loud, say it clear, we dont want no Zionists here!' protesters were heard shouting from within the rally, which police confined to the most part around 72nd Street and Fifth Avenue.

'We will free Palestine within our lifetime!' others cried, touting signs reading, 'We stand with Palestine,' and, 'Once upon a time... There was humanity,' along with other similar sentiments.

Some Jews were even seen at the planned protest, with one telling ABC News that 'as a Jewish person', she '[did not] want the Jewish religion to be the reason for this occupation.'

Ramirez with And Just Like That co-star Sarah Jessica Parker on location earlier this year

Another protester added: '[All we are asking is] just treat the Palestinians as humans. They deserve every human right as any other civilians. Just treat a human as a human.

'That's all we're asking for.'

The protest was preceded by another one in Manhattan on Friday, where some 139 pro-Palestinians were cuffed for blocking traffic in Midtown - by a group organized by the Democratic Socialists of America.

As the protest reached its apex Saturday night, an Israeli aircraft struck a compound beneath a mosque in the occupied West Bank - a location the country's military said was being used by terrorists to organize attacks

Palestinian medics have confirmed that at least one person was killed, as Israel continues to shell the region after the Hamas-led attacks earlier in the week that killed at least 1,400 Israelis.
Video footage captured the moment police seized a large dog after it attacked a puppy in Croydon, south London.

Armed officers were videoed trying to take the pet off the man outside a Sainsbury's store on High Street at around 1.50pm on Sunday afternoon, following reports it was out of control.

They then detained the owner while he was lying on the floor, as several people watched on from across the road.

Some members of the public were then heard arguing about what had taken place, with one suggesting the victim was a six-month old puppy.

One onlooker said that the owner was showing signs of drunkenness when approached by officers.

Police confiscated a large dog off an owner in Croydon following reports that it had attacked a puppy

Video footage captured the moment officers arrested the man as he was lying on the floor, while telling him his pet was 'out of control'

Several onlookers were videoed witnessing the incident on Croydon High Street on Sunday afternoon

The man was eventually led away down a side street away from the crowds after police took away the dog

He told MailOnline that eight police officers had attended the incident, and took the owner down a side street away from the crowds after confiscating the dog.

He said: 'The crowd was beginning to get a bit restless as the police were taking away the dog. Some were saying: "Shame on you".

'According to some, this big dog was out of control in a public place and it had attacked a smaller dog. The dog owner was clearly drunk.

'There was eight of them [police] there with guns. They confiscated the dog, and it looked like they had arrested the owner. They took him down a side street.'

He added that a police woman had told the crowd watching that the man had not yet been arrested and that the dog would be returned to the owner.

Metropolitan Police confirmed that the dog owner had been arrested and the dog seized.

A spokesperson for the force said: 'Police were called at 13:50hrs on Sunday, 22 October to the vicinity of Katherine Street in Croydon following reports of a dog attacking another dog.

'Officers, including firearms officers, attended. The dogs and their owners were located.

'A man was arrested on suspicion of having a dog dangerously out of control. His dog has been seized.'
Michael Gove told a pro-Israel rally in Trafalgar Square that 'Britain stands with Israel', as the minster condemned the 'horrific slaughter of Jewish people' by Hamas.

Hundreds of people queued for the solidarity rally in Trafalgar Square, central London, today in a vigil organised by the Jewish Leadership Council.

Mr Gove told the crowd gathered at the event: 'Israel must stand strong and Britain stands with Israel'.

The event called for the safe return of hostages, as people held placards with faces and names of people believed to have been taken hostage by Hamas.

The Communities Secretary said : 'There are no words to describe the suffering of families who have seen their relatives butchered in front of them and relatives who who live in hope that those who were living peacefully in their homes just two weeks ago and are now in a Hamas dungeon should be freed.

Michael Gove told a pro-Israel rally in Trafalgar Square that 'Britain stands with Israel', as the minster condemned the 'horrific slaughter of Jewish people' by Hamas

Hundreds of people queued to gather for a 'solidarity rally' in Trafalgar Square, central London, today in a vigil organised by the Jewish Leadership Council

Video shared to X shows a group of Metropolitan Police officers pinning down a man on the floor and hand-cuffing him

Another video shows two officers leading a hooded individual towards a police van wearing hand-cuffs

Transportation awaits for this arrested youth. pic.twitter.com/jLJP4hGrV7  Chris Hobbs (@obbsie) October 22, 2023

'No words can sum up the evil of those responsible for these acts. But words matter and promises matter and world made a promise 75 years ago, never again.

'And what did we see a fortnight ago? The biggest most horrific slaughter of Jewish people since the Holocaust, carried out by terrorists, an act of evil unparalleled evil and barbarism.

'We must stand together against it. We must stand for life. We must bring the hostages home.

'There is a difference between now and 1945 and that difference is the Jewish people have a home, they have a nation.

'That nation was born in hope to uphold humanities greatest virtues.'

He added: 'The IDF are there to protect civilians. Hamas exist to slaughter civilians.'

Crowds carrying Israeli flags chanted 'bring them home' at the event held to highlight the suffering of the women, men and children who are believed to have been taken captive by the terrorist organisation behind the attacks on Israel.

Police made two arrests at the emotional protest.

Video shared to X shows a group of Metropolitan Police officers pinning down a man on the floor and hand-cuffing him.

Roughly three officers can be seen in the clip surrounding the suspect, who was wearing grey jeans and a black top.

Another video shows two officers leading a hooded individual towards a police van wearing hand-cuffs.

The Met confirmed that there were two arrests made at the scene today.

One individual has been taken into custody after shouting abuse towards those taking part in the vigil.

Police said: 'As the vigil held on Trafalgar Square drew to a close, a further arrest has been made by #PublicOrder officers.

'The suspect has been arrested for a Public Order Offence after shouting abuse towards those taking part in the vigil. The suspect is now in custody.'

In another, police arrested a man for 'shouting antisemitic abuse' as he drove by in a car.

The Met confirmed: 'Officers have made an arrest for a racially aggravated Public Order offence after a man drove past shouting antisemitic abuse.'

The event called for the safe return of hostages, as people held placards with faces and names of people believed to have been taken hostage by Hamas

A devastated woman holds up a placard with a photo of a 4-year-old boy, believed to be taken hostage by Hamas

In an emotional tribute to the victims of Hamas, many of whom have been taken hostage by the militant organisation, hundreds gathered in solidarity

Members of the Jewish community gathered in Trafalgar Square today to demand the release of hostages held captive by Hamas

Two women draped in the Israeli flag attended the the vigil held in Trafalgar Square, in an event highlighting the plight of hostages and victims of terrorist organisation Hamas

The Chief Rabbi, Sir Ephraim Mirvis, thanked the King, the Prince of Wales, and cross-party political leaders for their support in wake of Hamas' attack on Israe

Addressing the rally, Chief Rabbi, Sir Ephraim Mirvis, thanked the King, the Prince of Wales, and cross-party political leaders for their support in wake of Hamas' attack on Israel.

He said: 'It's at a time such as this that we discover who our true friends are'.

He added: 'Your majesty King Charles, thank you for your support. The Prince of Wales, thank you for your support.

'Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, thank you for your support. The leader of the opposition, Sir Keir Starmer, thank you for your support. Sir Ed Davey, thank you for your support...

'It's at a time such as this that words do matter and to all our friends from whom so far we haven't heard a single word, your silence is deafening. Words do matter'.

'Sometimes we hear reference to both sides or the two sides but we ourselves know there are indeed two sides, one is good and the other is evil. Israel uses her forces in order to protect her citizens while Hamas uses its citizens to protect its forces. Words do matter.

'Those who fail to condemn, condone. Those who refuse to call Hamas terrorists allow the legitimising of their brutal deeds.'

The large rally gathered today a day after 100,000 Pro-Palestine protestors took to the streets of London, Birmingham, Manchester and Cardiff in defence of civilians in Gaza, which has been targeted by Israeli air strikes.

Stringent security check were put in place for the Pro-Israel rally today, amid soaring cases of anti-Semitic abuse hurled towards the Jewish community in Britain in the wake of the attack on Israel, which saw the horrifying slaughter of 1,400 Israelis on October 7.

Attendees of the vigil were protected by both the police and the Community Security Trust, a charity that protects British Jews from anti-Semitism and related threats, with access to Trafalgar Square being limited to the North Terrace.

There was a sombre mood amongst the crowd that had gathered at Trafalgar Square today as people demanded the release of Israeli hostages, amid rising cases of anti-Semitism in Britain

Crowds carrying Israeli flags chanted 'bring them home' at the event held to highlight the suffering of the women, men and children who are believed to have been taken captive by Hamas

Crowds carrying Israeli flags descended on Central London in solidarity with the victims of Hamas, and could be heard chanting: 'Bring them home'

A group of women holding up an Israeli flag joined in the demands for the release of hostages

The emotional vigil further highlighted the individual lives in jeopardy as people held up placards with their names and faces

A woman holds up a placard demanding the release of 53-year-old Shiri Weiss, who is believed to be have been taken hostage by Hamas

Pro-Israel supporters draped themselves in the Israeli flag while holding up the appeals for the release of countless hostages

A man holds up a placard demanding the release of 51-year-old Eli Sharabi, believed to have been taken hostage by Hamas

Stringent security check were put in place for the Pro-Israel rally today, amid soaring cases of anti-Semitic abuse hurled towards the Jewish community in Britain

Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square was spotted covered in graffiti by vandals who had spray painted 'Free Palestine' on the iconic landmark

This comes after a significant spike in hate crime across Britain, with 218 anti-Semitic offences reported in London between October 1 and 18, compared with 15 during the same period in 2022.

The Met revealed that the racially aggravated attacks on the Jewish community in the capital had risen by more than 1,353 per cent compared to last year.

And the Union of Jewish student's welfare hotline has had more than 150 calls since October 7, from people reporting offences including verbal abuse and intimidation.

Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square was spotted covered in graffiti by vandals who had spray painted 'Free Palestine' on the iconic landmark.

Earlier this week, Robin Simcox, the Home Office's commissioner for countering extremism, blamed a 'failed policy mix of mass migration and multiculturalism' for the growth of anti-Semitism and anti-Israeli sentiment in the UK.

People participate in a March for Palestine and gather on Trafalgar square on October 21

BIRMINGHAM: Protestors hold up Free Palestine signs as they march through the city centre yesterday

The independent counter-extremism adviser said there was a 'permissive environment' for attacks on and criticism of Jews.

Writing in the Times, Mr Simcox said many Hamas supporters were 'successfully exploiting one of our proudest British values - free expression - to pursue a shameful extremist agenda'.

He added: 'The UK is one of the world's most successful multiethnic democracies but that success relies on a basic level of integration,' he added.

But his comments, which came ahead of a speech today, were criticised by Security Minister Tom Tugendhat, who told Times Radio: 'No, I don't agree with that. I think that the United Kingdom is a country and an environment in which we take all threats to any communities extremely seriously'.

'We cannot continue to permit vast numbers of people to come to the UK and tell them they do not need to integrate, that they can maintain certain values and ideas that are at odds with British values.'

Israeli air strikes have shown no sign of ceasing as they pounded the Gaza Strip overnight, as well as two airports in Syria and a mosque allegedly used by terrorists in the West Bank, increasing fears that the war could erupt into a regional conflict.

Robin Simcox, the Home Office 's commissioner for countering extremism, said there was a 'permissive environment' for attacks on and criticism of Jews.

Security Minister Tom Tugendhat, told Times Radio that the United Kingdom 'is a country and an environment in which we take all threats to any communities extremely seriously.'

Iran has issued a chilling warning to the United States that Israel's war with Hamas could 'spiral out of control' if they do not 'immediately' cease strikes on Gaza - as the Israeli government warned it would target Tehran if Hezbollah escalates the conflict.

Iran's foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said: 'I warn the US and its proxy (Israel) that if they do not immediately stop the crime against humanity and genocide in Gaza, anything is possible at any moment and the region will go out of control'.

Israelis living near the country's northern border with Lebanon have been evacuated from their homes as the Israel Defense Forces continue to exchange intense cross-border fire with Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah.

In a direct threat to deter Tehran from intervening further, Nir Barkat, Israel's Minister of Economy warned that not only would Israel 'eliminate Hezbollah', if it believes the terror group is opening up a 'northern front', but 'we will actually target Iran'.

Meanwhile, the US government has asked Israel to delay its ground invasion of Gaza in a bid to free more hostages that were captured by Hamas - and to help aid enter into the war-torn strip, according to insiders.

More than 200 people are believed to be kidnapped by the terrorists, and on Friday, two Americans were freed from Gaza amid the escalating conflict.
Missing British teenager Noiya Sharabi was murdered by Hamas along with her 13-year-old sister and her mother, her heartbroken family have confirmed.

Her family told the BBC the 16-year-old's body had been formally identified, adding: 'Noiya was clever, sensitive, fun and full of life - her smile lit up the room like a beacon.'

Relatives added that Noiya 'embraced every opportunity to help others, particularly those less fortunate than she, and was a gifted student and linguist.

'Most importantly, she was an amazing granddaughter, cousin and niece. We are heartbroken she has gone, but forever grateful she was here.'

Her British-born mother Lianne and her younger sister Yahel were also killed when Hamas attacked the Be'eri kibbutz in southern Israel where they lived.

The girl's father, Eli Sharabi, is still missing, feared to have been abducted by Hamas gunmen and taken back to Gaza, like their uncle Yossi, 53.

Noiya (left), 16, her British-born mother Lianne (right) and her younger sister Yahel (centre) were killed when Hamas attacked the Be'eri kibbutz in southern Israel. Father Eli (centre) is still missing

Noiya's family told the BBC the 16-year-old's body had been formally identified, adding: 'Noiya was clever, sensitive, fun and full of life - her smile lit up the room like a beacon' (pictured left to right: Yahel, Lianne and Noiya Sharabi)

The Sharabis, who are said to have visited the UK at least once a year, were all sheltering in the safe room when the terrorists broke in, according to relatives

In the massacre known as 'Israel's 9-11', this particular event happened in kibbutz Be'eri, a mile or two from the Gaza border

Yahel, 13, (right) and Noiya, 16, (left) were murdered by Hamas terrorists, their family have confirmed

The Sharabi's were among the more than 100 people brutally murdered during the attack on October 7.

Disturbing photos of the Sharabi family home show it covered in blood, with furniture smashed up and their pet dog killed and left to rot in the living room.

A pool of blood was found staining the floor and walls at the entrance to their property's safe room - a place most Israeli homes have to protect against attack.

Another pool of blood lies in the room nearby  adjacent to a child's wooden bed. It appears to be where 'happy, friendly' 13-year-old Yahel was mortally wounded, in circumstances too distressing to imagine.

The grief-stricken family said in a statement after Yahel's death was confirmed: 'Beautiful Yahel. A bundle of unbridled energy and joy, with a cheekiness that you could not help but smile at and a brain which was sharp as a tack.

'Full of adventure and mischief, we will forever miss her, but are grateful for the light she brought into our lives in the too short time she was with us.'

Mother Lianne, 48, first moved to Israel when she was 19, to help out on a kibbutz as a volunteer. Relatives back in the UK said she visited family at least once a year with her daughters and husband.

Earlier this week the harrowing last messages sent by Lianne and Yahel Sharabi were released by relatives, written while terrorists rampaged through their home.

Lianne sent a panicked text to her sister-in-law saying she could hear members of the terrorist group 'shooting and shouting "Die Israel"' before begging her to call for help.

This is a house of horror, covered with blood, smashed up furniture and a dead pet dog rotting in the living room

It appears to be where 'happy, friendly' 13-year-old Yahel was mortally wounded, in circumstances too distressing to imagine

Family photographs showing smiles, party balloons and grinning selfies from happier time

It is understood that Lianne had sent panicked text messages to relatives that she had heard gunshots outside the house before the horrific massacre.

Lianne called her sister-in-law Nira Sharabi, who previously told MailOnline: 'The last contact I had with Lianne and the girls was at about 11am on Saturday morning (October 7).

'She sent me a message saying; ''Nira, I can hear them. They are here at our house. They are shooting and shouting '''Die Israel''. Please call for help''.

'I told her; ''Be Strong! I am calling for help!'' But ten minutes later I lost contact with her and the girls.

'Later we learned that Lianne and Yahel had been murdered. But we don't know what has happened to Noiya and her dad Eli. All we know is that the terrorists broke into their safe room.

'Eli had barricaded the door and was holding the handle but the terrorists managed to get it open. When the soldiers went in there was a pool of blood outside the door of the safe room.

'The terrorists did not burned down the house but they smashed everything up. Everything inside the house was broken. They even shot the dog, Moka. She was found dead under the table in the living room. She had bled to death.'

Yahel's heartbroken family paid tribute to the 'beautiful' teenager

Yahel, 13, disappeared after the terrorists attacked Kibbutz Be'eri and killed her British-born mother Lianne. Her family have confirmed she was murdered while her sister Noiya, 16, (right) was missing alongside their father until her death was confirmed by family members today

In Kibbutz Be'eri, people slept as the militants peered into people's dark living rooms. They toyed with outdoor decorations, using a cigarette lighter to set a dreamcatcher hanging on someone's window ablaze. More than 120 bodies were found there (pictured: Be'eri's kindergarten)

Hamas also broke into Nira's house and took her husband Yosi hostage. He is still missing.

The Hamas terrorists stormed across the border on October 7 and attacked several kibbutzim in the region, bringing violence and malice to a peaceful community.

In Kibbutz Be'eri, people slept as the militants peered into people's dark living rooms. They toyed with outdoor decorations, using a cigarette lighter to set a dreamcatcher hanging on someone's window ablaze.

They shot randomly, at an air conditioner, at an ambulance's tires, at a dog running out to greet them. They perched on lawn chairs outside a quiet home, taking a water break. Israeli security forces were nowhere to be found.

Israel's rescue service later found more than 120 bodies there.
Anna Paul is known for a few things, among them creating adult content for OnlyFans, amassing millions of followers on social media and launching her own skincare line, but being a spider wrangler hasn't been one of her claims to fame  until now.

The 24-year-old has stunned her followers with the nonchalant way she handled a sizeable huntsman crawling all over her. "I just tried to save a spider in the shower and look what happened," she says in a short clip posted to TikTok.

OnlyFans performer Anna Paul was completely unfazed by a spider crawling on her as she showered. Source: TikTok/@anna..paull

"It crawled up my leg," Ms Paul continues, as she films the creature moving up her thigh. Although she didn't expect the spider to crawl across her naked body as she showered, she calmly holds it up on her hand and laughs off the incident as "the reality of Australia".

Viewers were aghast at the sight, saying they would've "freaked out" and questioning how the influencer managed to retain her composure during the encounter. "How are you not panicking? I'd literally be crying," one follower asked. "I'm not scared of spidies," responded Ms Paul in the understatement of the year.

Influencer not at risk

Fortunately for Ms Paul, huntsman spiders aren't considered a danger to people. "They're gentle giants, and pose no meaningful threat to humans," Aussie entomologist Dr Thomas White recently told Yahoo News Australia.

Dr White recommended leaving the spiders alone if you ever come across them in your home, as they "work diligently to keep the flies and other critters at a minimum".

However, if you must remove a huntsman, he suggests popping a container over it and releasing it outside. "There's definitely no need spray or kill them," he said. "They're furry friends."

Story continues

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This is the tense moment that police officers tackle a man at today's emotional rally in London's Trafalgar Square calling for the safe return of Hamas hostages from Israel.

Video shared to X shows a group of Metropolitan Police officers pinning down a man on the floor and hand-cuffing him.

Roughly three officers can be seen in the clip surrounding the suspect, who was wearing grey jeans and a black top.

Another video shows two officers leading a hooded individual towards a police van wearing hand-cuffs.

The Met confirmed that there were two arrests made at the scene today.

Transportation awaits for this arrested youth. pic.twitter.com/jLJP4hGrV7  Chris Hobbs (@obbsie) October 22, 2023

Video shared to X shows a group of Metropolitan Police officers pinning down a man on the floor and hand-cuffing him

Another video shows two officers leading a hooded individual towards a police van wearing hand-cuffs

Hundreds attend a Solidarity Rally in Trafalgar Square, central London, calling for the safe return of hostage

A young woman can be seen breaking into tears at the emotional protest today

Crowds carrying Israeli flags chanted 'bring them home' at the event held to highlight the suffering of the women, men and children who are believed to have been taken captive by Hamas

One individual has been taken into custody after shouting abuse towards those taking part in the vigil.

Police said: 'As the vigil held on Trafalgar Square drew to a close, a further arrest has been made by #PublicOrder officers.

'The suspect has been arrested for a Public Order Offence after shouting abuse towards those taking part in the vigil. The suspect is now in custody.'

In another, police arrested a man for 'shouting anti-Semitic abuse' as he drove by in a car.

The Met confirmed: 'Officers have made an arrest for a racially aggravated Public Order offence after a man drove past shouting anti-Semitic abuse.'

Stringent security check were put in place for the Pro-Israel rally, amid soaring cases of anti-Semitic abuse hurled towards the Jewish community in Britain in the wake of the attack on Israel, which saw the horrifying slaughter of 1,400 Israelis on October 7.

Attendees of the vigil were protected by both the police and the Community Security Trust, a charity that protects British Jews from anti-Semitism and related threats, with access to Trafalgar Square being limited to the North Terrace.

Hundreds attended 'solidarity rally', which was organised by a number of groups, including the Board of Deputies of British Jews.

Many in the crowd chanted 'bring them home' and held signs that said 'release the hostages'.

While others carried Israeli flags, and placards showing the faces of those taken hostage.

Communities Secretary Michael Gove told the rally that 'Britain stands with Israel'.

'There are no words to describe the suffering of families who have seen their relatives butchered in front of them and relatives who who live in hope that those who were living peacefully in their homes just two weeks ago and are now in a Hamas dungeon should be freed,' he said.

'No words can sum up the evil of those responsible for these acts.

'But words matter and promises matter and world made a promise 75 years ago, never again.

'And what did we see a fortnight ago? The biggest most horrific slaughter of Jewish people since the Holocaust, carried out by terrorists, an act of evil unparalleled evil and barbarism.

'We must stand together against it. We must stand for life. We must bring the hostages home.

'There is a difference between now and 1945 and that difference is the Jewish people have a home, they have a nation. That nation was born in hope to uphold humanities greatest virtues.'

He added: 'The IDF are there to protect civilians. Hamas exist to slaughter civilians.'

People pack London's Trafalgar Square to demand the liberation of the more than 200 hostages taken by Hamas

A young girl can be seen holding a sign of an innocent civilian kidnapped by Hamas

The emotional vigil further highlighted the individual lives in jeopardy as people held up placards with their names and faces

Michael Gove told a pro-Israel rally in Trafalgar Square that 'Britain stands with Israel', as the minster condemned the 'horrific slaughter of Jewish people' by Hamas

Crowds carrying Israeli flags descended on Central London in solidarity with the victims of Hamas, and could be heard chanting: 'Bring them home'

The president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, Marie van der Zyl, who attended, said: 'The world has got to see that these hostages were cruelly and barbarically taken, they have to be released.

'The world should put pressure on those who can have any influence to release these innocent hostages who have suffered unbearable trauma and torment, let the hostage comes home.'

The Chief Rabbi, Sir Ephraim Mirvis, also thanked the King, the Prince of Wales, and cross-party political leaders for their support in wake of Hamas' attack on Israel.

'It's at a time such as this that we discover who our true friends are,' he said, addressing the 'solidarity rally' in Trafalgar Square.

He added: 'Your majesty King Charles, thank you for your support. The Prince of Wales, thank you for your support. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, thank you for your support. The leader of the opposition, Sir Keir Starmer, thank you for your support. Sir Ed Davey, thank you for your support...

'It's at a time such as this that words do matter and to all our friends from whom so far we haven't heard a single word, your silence is deafening. Words do matter.

'Sometimes we hear reference to both sides or the two sides but we ourselves know there are indeed two sides, one is good and the other is evil. Israel uses her forces in order to protect her citizens while Hamas uses its citizens to protect its forces. Words do matter.

'Those who fail to condemn, condone. Those who refuse to call Hamas terrorists allow the legitimising of their brutal deeds.'
The release of Judith and Natalie Raanan, two American hostages kidnapped during a bloody massacre in Israel two weeks ago by Hamas terrorists, is beyond a miracle, the familys rabbi has told DailyMail.com.

Speaking at his home in Evanston, the former detainees hometown just outside Chicago, Rabbi Meir Hecht, 42, said their freedom was a sign that the power of light always prevails over evil and darkness.

Judith, a 59-year-old artist who was an ever-present worshipper at the rabbis synagogue, and her daughter Natalie, 17, were handed over to officials from the Red Cross on Friday after spending two weeks in captivity in Gaza.

Hecht, who leads the Chabad of Evanston congregation, said the local Jewish community rallied around to pray for them and vowed to throw the biggest party once they are back in the U.S.

We believe that our prayers were heard on high, and the release of Judith and Natalie is beyond a miracle, he said in an interview on Saturday night at the end of Shabbat, the Jewish day of rest.

Our community really stepped up to the plate during this time to spread the knowledge of who these special people are,' he said.

We believe that our prayers were heard on high, and the release of Judith and Natalie is beyond a miracle, said Rabbi Meir Hecht, Judith and Natalie's hometown rabbi

The two American women, Natalie Raanan (left) and Judith Raanan (right), were released from Palestinian Hamas terrorists late last week after being taken captive on October 7 while visiting Israel

So, the world knew that innocent, kind neighbors of ours here in Illinois were hostages in Gaza.

At the same time, we have deep inner pain that there are still over 200 plus hostages in the hands of Hamas terrorists, he said.

The terrorists want us to lose our hope. But we will never lose our hope. On the contrary, we strengthen each other; we strengthen our resolve. We give it all we got.

The 42-year-old, who studied at a Yeshiva, a Jewish religious school, in Israel between 1999 and 2000, said his congregation was already looking forward to welcoming the two women back to Evanston.

I want to throw the greatest celebration for them when they come home, invite the whole community and welcome them in the grandest way possible, he told DailyMail.com. It will be the biggest party that Ive ever thrown.

Hechts wife Yehudis, 40, said Judith was like an extended family member for many in the Jewish community in Evanston.

She was always there to show love and to care and think about how she could help, she said, explaining that the 59-year-old artist would often drop off gifts for members of the congregation.

Yehudis, who shared some exclusive pictures of Judiths paintings with DailyMail.com, explained how she had struggled to cope with the trauma of having her friends seized by Hamas.

Obviously I was not able to sleep because (their kidnapping) was on our minds the whole time and we kept seeing images online of what took place just kept playing before my eyes.

It was hard to just have a peaceful moment when you dont know what is going on and you see how barbaric these terrorists behaved. It was excruciating.

I want to throw the greatest celebration for them when they come home, invite the whole community and welcome them in the grandest way possible, Hecht told DailyMail.com

Judith Raanan with some of her art work before her terror ordeal with Hamas terrorists - Raanan is known as a warm and vibrant member of her community at home

DailyMail.com confirmed that the two hostages are Judith Raanan and Natalie Raanan, 17, a mother and daughter from Chicago who were visiting Israel for a relative's birthday when they were kidnapped by Hamas terrorists

Judiths ex-husband Uri Raanan, the father of Natalie, has said that both former hostages could be back in the United States early next week in time for Natalie to celebrate her 18th birthday on Tuesday.

DailyMail.com understands that both are still in Israel and are taking part in a debrief with U.S. and Israeli intelligence services in the hope of picking up some clues that could help free the other hostages snatched a fortnight ago.

Shes doing good. Shes doing very good, he said of his daughter when he spoke to the Associated Press on Friday. 'Im in tears, and I feel very, very good.

Knowing Natalie may be able to celebrate her big day at home with family and friends feels wonderful. The best news, the 71-year-old added.

Judith and Natalie Raanan had been in Israel to celebrate a relative's birthday and the Jewish holiday Simchat Torah when they were taken hostage by Hamas during terrorist attacks that left more than 1,400 people dead in the worst attack on civilians in the states history.

The murderous rampage by Islamist gunmen, who broke through the Jewish States border barrier with Gaza, has sparked a war between Israel and the terrorist organization and its sister group, Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Axios reported on Saturday that Biden has urged the Israeli government to delay its ground offensive until it has a long-term strategy to avoid a drawn-out conflict that could spill over across the region.

The report said that the U.S. president is concerned that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has no plan for what to do with Gaza once Hamas have been removed from power.

Raanan, 59, with more of her artwork. Community leaders say she is someone who is constantly checking in on others and bringing them gifts - including her artwork

Natalie Raanan was visiting family for the High Holidays with her mother, Judith, when the assault began on Saturday. Relatives had not heard from either woman until the news came Friday that they were being released

Earlier on Sunday, the Israeli military warned civilians in northern Gaza to evacuate to the enclaves south as it continued a series of airstrikes against what it says are terrorist targets.

One of those strikes accidentally landed inside Egypt, prompting the Israel Defense Forces to issue a statement admitting their error.

The incident is being investigated and the details are under review. The IDF expresses sorrow regarding the incident, it said.

Israel has amassed tens of thousands of troops and military hardware at the frontier ahead of the anticipated ground invasion aimed at wiping out Hamas.
The Israeli military said on Sunday that one of its tanks had 'accidentally fired and hit an Egyptian post' near the border with Gaza.

The Egyptian military said the blast had caused 'minor injuries' but did not give details.

'The IDF (Israeli military) expresses sorrow regarding the incident' near the Kerem Shalom area, an army statement said. 'The incident is being investigated and the details are under review,' the statement added.

The incident came as Israeli warplanes struck targets across the Gaza Strip as well as two airports in Syria and a mosque in the occupied West Bank allegedly used by terrorists.

Meanwhile, a second convoy of aid trucks reportedly began crossing into Gaza from Egypt on Sunday afternoon.

Smoke rises following Israeli strikes at the border with Egypt, as the conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas continues, as seen from Rafah, southern Gaza Strip on October 22, 2023

An Israeli soldier rides in a tank (File Photo)

Egyptian media said the Israeli strike would not disrupt the passage of aid to Gaza, citing witnesses.

A second convoy of 17 aid trucks entered the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing on Sunday, heading towards the Gaza Strip, according to Egyptian security and humanitarian sources.

Shortly after the convoy entered the crossing, witnesses told Reuters that a blast was heard in the vicinity and that ambulances could be heard deploying from the Egyptian side.

Since Saturday, 37 trucks carrying vital supplies have crossed to Gaza through its Rafah border post with Egypt, which lies around three kilometres from Israel, as the Hamas-run territory faces 'catastrophic' shortages.

Crossings between Gaza and Israel have been shut since the outbreak of the war on October 7.

The Rafah crossing, the main entry and exit point to Gaza that does not lead to Israel, has become the focus of a push to deliver aid as humanitarian conditions in Gaza worsen.

Although Egyptian media said another 40 trucks would enter Gaza on Monday, the United Nations has estimated about 100 trucks per day are needed to meet the needs of Gaza, where more than 4,650 of its 2.3 million residents have been killed in Israeli strikes, according to the Hamas government.

Smoke rises after Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, on October 22, 2023

The second convoy of aid trucks cross the Rafah border from the Egyptian side on October 22, 2023, in North Sinai, Egypt

Humanitarian aid trucks arriving from Egypt at a storage facility in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 21, 2023 after passing the Rafah border crossing

Syrian state media, meanwhile reported that Israeli airstrikes hit the international airports in the capital, Damascus, and the northern city of Aleppo, killing one person and putting the runways out of service.

Israel has carried out several strikes in Syria since the war began. Israel rarely acknowledges individual strikes, but says it acts to prevent Hezbollah and other militants from bringing in arms from Iran, which also supports Hamas.

Scores of Palestinians were killed in central Gaza on Sunday after Israel stepped up its strikes on the war-torn enclave.

Gaza's Health Ministry said 266 Palestinians, including 117 children, had been killed by Israeli air strikes in the past 24 hours in Gaza, to which Israel laid 'total siege' after a deadly mass infiltration into Israel by Hamas gunmen on October 7.

In Lebanon, Hezbollah said six fighters were killed on Saturday, and the group's deputy leader, Sheikh Naim Kassem, warned that Israel would pay a high price if it invades Gaza. Israel struck Hezbollah in response to rocket fire, the military said.

Israel has traded fire with Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group since the war began, and tensions are soaring in the West Bank, where Israeli forces have battled fighters in refugee camps and carried out two airstrikes in recent days.

With tensions rising, Israel has evacuated dozens of northern communities, and nearly 4,000 people have fled villages in south Lebanon for shelter in the southern city of Tyre.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told troops in northern Israel that if Hezbollah launches a war, 'it will make the mistake of its life'.

He said: 'We will cripple it with a force it cannot even imagine and the consequences for it and the Lebanese state will be devastating.'

Iran also warned about the conflict spreading on Sunday, with top diplomat Hossein Amir-Abdollahian cautioning that if Washington and Israel did not 'immediately stop the crime against humanity and genocide in Gaza, anything is possible at any moment and the region will go out of control'.

Washington also fired a shot across the bows of any actors looking to inflame the conflict, saying it wouldn't hesitate to act in the event of any 'escalation'.

For days, Israel has seemed to be on the verge of launching a ground offensive in Gaza following Hamas' deadly October 7 rampage, with tanks and troops massed at the border.

Israel's military spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said the country had increased airstrikes across Gaza to hit targets that would reduce the risk to troops in the next stage of the war.

Hamas said it fought with Israeli forces near Khan Younis in southern Gaza and destroyed a tank and two bulldozers. The Israeli military said it had no information about the claim.

Israel repeated its calls for people to leave northern Gaza, including by dropping leaflets from the air.

It estimated 700,000 already fled. But hundreds of thousands remain. That would raise the risk of mass civilian casualties in any ground offensive.

Israeli military officials say Hamas' infrastructure and underground tunnel system are concentrated in Gaza City, in the north, and that the next stage of the offensive will include unprecedented force there.

Israel says it wants to crush Hamas. Officials have also spoken of carving out a buffer zone to keep Palestinians from approaching the border.

Hospitals packed with patients and displaced people are running low on medical supplies and fuel for generators, forcing doctors to perform surgeries with sewing needles, using vinegar as disinfectant, and without anesthesia.

The World Health Organization says at least 130 premature babies are at 'grave risk' because of a shortage of generator fuel. It said seven hospitals in northern Gaza have been forced to shut down due to damage from strikes, lack of power and supplies, or Israeli evacuation orders.

In this picture taken during a media tour organised by the Israeli military on October 22, 2023, Israeli soldiers take a defensive position in Kibbutz Beeri along the border with the Gaza Strip

Israeli soldiers guard Kibbutz Beeri along the border with the Gaza Strip

Shortages in critical supplies, including ventilators, are forcing doctors to ration treatment, said Dr. Mohammed Qandeel, who works in Khan Younis' Nasser Hospital.

Dozens of patients continue to arrive and are treated in crowded, darkened corridors, as hospitals preserve electricity for intensive care units.

'It's heartbreaking,' Qandeel said. 'Every day, if we receive 10 severely injured patients we have to manage with maybe three or five ICU beds available.'

Palestinians sheltering in U.N.-run schools and tent camps are running low on food and drinking dirty water.

A power blackout has crippled water and sanitation systems. OCHA said cases of chickenpox, scabies and diarrhoea are on the rise because of the lack of clean water.

Heavy airstrikes were reported across Gaza, including in the southern part of the coastal strip, where Israel has told civilians to seek refuge.

At the Al-Aqsa hospital in Deir al-Balah, south of the evacuation line, several bodies wrapped in white shrouds were lined up outside on the ground.

Khalil al-Degran, a hospital official, said more than 90 bodies had been brought in since early Sunday, as the sound of nearby bombing echoed behind him.

He said 180 wounded people had arrived, mostly children, women and the elderly who had been displaced from other areas.

Airstrikes also smashed through the marketplace in the Nuseirat refugee camp. Witnesses said at least a dozen people were killed.

Two people were also killed in an airstrike on a mosque in the town of Jenin, which has seen heavy gun battles over the past year.

The Israeli military said the mosque compound belonged to members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad who had carried out several attacks in recent months and were planning another.

A view of the devastation as the Israeli airstrikes continue on its 16th day in Gaza City, Gaza on October 22, 2023

A picture taken from Israel's southern city of Sderot shows smoke billowing during a Israeli strike on Gaza on October 22, 2023

Palestinians inspect the damage after an Israeli strike hit a compound beneath a mosque in Jenin refugee camp, West Bank, on October 22, 2023

A man helps a woman flee the area as others attend to a victim following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza, on October 21, 2023

Israel's military has said it is striking Hamas terrorists and installations, but does not target civilians. Palestine has fired over 7,000 rockets at Israel, according to the military, and Hamas says it targeted Tel Aviv early on Sunday.

The war, now in its 16th day, is the deadliest of five Gaza wars for both sides. The Palestinian Health Ministry said on Sunday that the death toll in Gaza had reached at least 4,651 people, with another 14,254 people wounded in the besieged territory.

The ministry said 90 Palestinians were also killed in violence and Israeli raids in the occupied West Bank since Hamas terrorists stormed into Israel on October 7. More than 1,650 others were wounded, it added.

More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, mostly in the initial Hamas attack. In addition, 203 people are believed to have been captured by Hamas during the incursion and taken into Gaza, the Israeli military has said. Two Americans were released on Friday.

READ MORE: Palestinians emerge from the ruins of bombed out buildings after Gaza and the West Bank were pummelled by Israeli airstrikes Advertisement

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CBS' 'Face the Nation' that Hamas was responsible, not just for its brutal rampage in southern Israel, but for the deaths of civilians in Israel's attacks on Gaza.

'It knew that in Israel's necessary response, civilians would be caught in that crossfire,' he said.

He said the terrorists were operating among the civilian population and its tunnels were buried under hospitals and schools.

'What does anyone expect Israel to do?' he said.

'This is on Hamas.'

In the West Bank, 93 Palestinians have been killed - including eight on Sunday - in clashes with Israeli troops, arrest raids and attacks by Jewish settlers since the Hamas attacks, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Israeli forces have closed crossings into the territory and checkpoints between cities, measures they say are aimed at preventing attacks.

Israel says it has arrested more than 700 Palestinians since October 7, including 480 suspected Hamas members.

Meanwhile, protesters hit the streets of several European capitals on Sunday with at least 10,000 people rallying in support of Israel in Berlin as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz vowed to stamp out a resurgence of anti-Semitic incidents linked to the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Thousands demonstrated in Paris to demand an end to Israel's operation in Gaza in the first pro-Palestinian rally in the French capital that wasn't banned on security grounds.

In central London on Sunday, hundreds of people attended a 'solidarity rally' in Trafalgar Square calling for the safe return of hostages by Hamas.

Family members of those taken hostage spoke at the rally, as the Chief Rabbi, Sir Ephraim Mirvis, thanked the King, the Prince of Wales, and cross-party political leaders for their support in the wake of Hamas's attack.
The United Nations have found more evidence of Russia committing 'indiscriminate attacks' and war crimes in Ukraine, including torture, rape and the deportation of children.

The report by the UN's Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine follows a study published in March, which first presented evidence for human rights violations committed by Russian soldiers during the war.

'The Commission has found new evidence that Russian authorities have committed violations of international human rights and international humanitarian law, and corresponding crimes, in areas that came under their control in Ukraine,' the UN said in its report.

It listed attacks in the cities of Uman and Kherson, among others, where evidence was found that Russia carried out 'indiscriminate attacks with explosive weapons, resulting in deaths, injuries and the destruction and damage of civilian objects'.

The report by the UN's Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine follows a study published in March, which first presented evidence for human rights violations committed by Russian soldiers during the war (pictured: destroyed Russian vehicles in Ukrainian Bucha)

During one of the listed attacks on a block of flats in Uman, in the Cherkasy region in central Ukraine, 24 people - most of them women and children - were killed in April and part of the building became uninhabitable.

The report also stated: 'The Commission has recently documented attacks that affected civilian objects, such as residential buildings, a railway station, shops, and a warehouse for civilian use, leading to numerous casualties.'

Russia has repeatedly denied committing atrocities or targeting civilians in Ukraine.

The investigation also found cases of torture at Russian detention facilities, in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, where Russian soldiers used the same pattern of torture like the UN previously reported.

Victims were mainly men suspected of passing information to or helping Ukraine.

Witnesses reported in some cases the torture was so brutal the victim even died.

The commissioners said that interviews with victims and witnesses revealed 'a profound disregard towards human dignity by Russian authorities'.

The UN had documented cases of rape 'with the use of force or psychological coercion' as well as other sexual violence often committed alongside severe beatings, strangling, suffocating, slashing, shooting next to the head of the victim and even killing.

'Most of the incidents occurred after the perpetrators broke into the victims' homes,' it said. 'Victims reported rapes at gunpoint and threats of killing or of inflicting other serious harm to the victims or their relatives.'

In one of the rape cases listed by the report, a 75-year-old woman was raped and tortured by a Russian soldier in her own home.

The investigation also found cases of torture at Russian detention facilities, in the Kherson (the region is pictured here after it was flooded following the destruction of the Kakhova Dam in June) and Zaporizhzhia regions, where Russian soldiers used the same pattern of torture like the UN previously reported

She was hit in the face, chest, and ribs and the soldier strangled her during his interrogation.

He also ordered the woman to take her clothes off, but when she refused, he ripped them off himself and cut her in the abdomen and raped her repeatedly.

READ MORE: UN investigators say Russia's forced deportation of Ukrainian children is a WAR CRIME after reviewing 164 cases of victims aged four to 18 Advertisement

During the attack, the 75-year-old also suffered several broken ribs and had some teeth knocked out.

Experiences like these left victims with severe long-term trauma, the report highlighted.

The commission added that it had documented the transfer of 31 children from Ukraine to Russia in May last and 'concluded that it was an unlawful deportation and a war crime'.

Moscow has repeatedly denied forcibly taking Ukrainian children, saying it moved children found in orphanages or without parental care to Russia for their own safety and placed as many of as possible with relatives there.

The Russian diplomatic mission in Geneva did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the commission's report by news agency Reuters.

The commission also found three cases of Ukrainian authorities have committed violations of human rights of people they have accused of collaborating with Russian authorities.

The report also highlighted concerns about the 'gravity of the documented violations and crimes as well as their impact on victims, survivors, and the affected communities.

The UN called upon 'concerned conflict parties' - Russia and Ukraine - to stop war crimes and violations of human rights immediately.
A black teacher has sued a five-star Houston hotel after a worker allegedly slammed her for showing off her shoulders - before grabbing a shawl and draping it over her body.

Blessing Nwosu, 28, claims she was discriminated against by being asked to cover up, when many white women were wearing skimpy outfits with their shoulders on show.

She's asking for $1million in damages for the shock and humiliation she had to face at the Post Oak Hotel in Houston, Texas.

Nwosu was going to Bloom and Bee restaurant inside the hotel for her friend Stephanie's birthday on May 24 when she was told to cover her shoulders while dining.

The restaurant host came up behind the woman and put a shawl on her shoulders during the 2pm lunch, the lawsuit claims.

But the hotel has fought back - and said that she was offered the shawl 'respectfully' and the legal action is nothing more than Nwosu attorney's way of getting '15 minutes of fame' and 'a pot of gold.'

Blessing Nwosu, 28, claims she was discriminated against by being asked to cover up, when many white women were wearing skimpy outfits with their shoulders on show

She's asking for $1million in damages for the shock and humiliation she had to face at the Post Oak Hotel in Houston. She is pictured in the dress she was wearing to lunch

The lawsuit states: 'Because of her race and ethnicity Blessing was discriminated against by members of the hotel's staff that similarly situated Caucasians did not have to endure.

'Accordingly, Blessing brings this action against Defendants to recover damages.'

Images from Bloom and Bee show ample women - of all races - posing with their food in dresses that clearly show off their shoulders and other body parts.

Nwosu - a published author and grade school teacher - was wearing a red bodycon dress with straps fastened behind her neck when she was approached and stopped at the restaurant.

The federal lawsuit contends: 'Blessing entered the restaurant and sat down with her friends at the table.

Nwosu was going to Bloom and Bee restaurant inside the hotel for her friend Stephanie's birthday on May 24 when she was told to cover her shoulders while dining

Pictured: Bloom and Bee restaurant

Pictured: Post Oak Hotel in Houston, Texas

'Shockingly, the restaurant host then came up behind Blessing and put a piece of cloth (shawl/scarf) on Blessing's shoulders.

'Simultaneously the host said that the cloth had to be put on a customer's shoulder if their shoulders are showing. Blessing found her treatment to be very rude.

'At the time there were about four Caucasians in the restaurant with exposed shoulders.

'The Bloom & Bee Restaurant has a public Instagram page which features many Caucasian (white) women exposing their shoulders.'

The lawsuit stated that: 'Blessing was heart-broken over the incident, and experienced at least stress, lost hair, nausea, insomnia, embarrassment, fear, tenseness leading to muscle aches, and headaches.'

She claims that despite 'the passage of the civil rights laws over half a century ago' she was left to feel 'extremely embarrassed, belittled, and ashamed of being treated in a discriminatory fashion.'

Speaking to KHOU 11, the teacher said: 'Everybody was looking, I feel like I was being made a spectacle and it was embarrassing.'

Images from the restaurant's social media show women wearing dresses with their shoulders on show

One woman even wears a strapless dress at the eatery

The Post Oak Hotel said in a statement: 'The Post Oak attracts hotel patrons from all over the world and is one of the most diverse properties in Houston both in employees and in its customer base.

'The plaintiff entered one of the hotel's restaurants for lunch and approached the hostess stand.

'The hostess noticed on her own that plaintiff was clearly overexposed in her dress and discreetly and respectfully offered her a shawl for coverage.

'The hostess is a minority and denies any discriminating nature towards the plaintiff and simply wanted plaintiff to cover up.

'This is nothing more than a frivolous lawsuit filed by an opportunistic lawyer looking for 15 minutes of fame and a pot of gold.

'It's a lot cheaper these days to use the media for free publicity in lieu of paying for billboards or television advertising.'

This is not the first time in recent months that the hotel has come under fire for alleged discrimination.

Willie Powells, a black man, claimed hotel staff told him to remove his hat, when there were white people at the bar also wearing hats. He filed a lawsuit on October 7.
A luxurious California home with an interior that is a time capsule of the 1960s has hit the market for $1.85 million.

Previously owned by Jack Stephan, plumber to the stars, 1240 S. Manzanita Ave. in Palm Springs looks modest on the outside but is decorated in vibrant colors and retro features.

Built in 1965 by midcentury modern architect Robert Lewis, the house has four bedrooms, five bathrooms, a sunken living room, curved wet bar, a kidney-shaped pool and an oversized garage.

Photos of the listing show the previous owner decked out the house in orange, pink and red. According to the Zillow listing, red was Stephan's favorite color.

'This is a very special property. They've kept everything as original as possible,' Alex Dethier, the house's agent, told SFGATE.

1240 S. Manzanita Ave. in Palm Springs, California, has hit the market for $1.85 million

While modest looking on the outside, the inside of the home is a time capsule of the 1960s, featuring four bedrooms, five bathrooms, a sunken living room, curved wet bar, a kidney-shaped pool and an oversized garage

Popular during the time of its creation, pink and orange color combinations are seen throughout the living room.

The sunken area features a large orange couch and curved fireplace, while orange carpet lines the floor reaching the wet bar.

Chairs placed at the are pink and orange stripped, and orange curtains and wooden poles separate the rooms.

The bedroom has pink carpeting and wallpaper with gold detailing. There are several light fixtures and the dark green velvet headboard extends on to the ceiling.

Dethier said Stephan spent upward of $160,000 on the house's furnishings in 1969, which is still preserved in the home.

'He was quite a fixture here in the desert while living in this fabulously decorated home, which was the epitome of chic luxury back in the day,' said Zillow.

The interior is splashed with vibrant shades of orange, pink and red. The curved wet bar (pictured) is lined with orange and pink striped chairs

A bedroom in the home has pink carpeting and wallpaper with gold detailing. There are several light fixtures and a dark green velvet headboard

Known for his commercials advertising his Southern California plumbing business, Stephan lived in the home from 1969 to his death in 2014.

His son, Jack Stephan Jr., told the Los Angeles Times his father was, 'the Cal Worthington of plumbing.'

'It's a fantastic house. It's hard to not walk in it and feel like you're back in time,' Dethier said.

Located in the neighborhood of Deepwell Estates, the property is adjacent to the former homes of Audrey Hepburn, William Holden, Elizabeth Taylor, Liberace and Loretta Young.

The house has already received attention on TikTok for its retro decor. User @zillowtastrophes shared a video showing off the home.

'Each room just gets more and more saturated. I just think people are going to start rebelling against the beige, modern, minimal aesthetic,' she said.
Samantha Woll was laid to rest by her family and loved ones on Sunday afternoon, a day after the Detroit Jewish community leader was found murdered at her home yesterday morning.

Woll, 40, was the head of the Isaac Agree Downtown Detroit Synagogue. She was found, stabbed to death, at 6.30am Saturday morning outside her $440,000 home.

In a heart-wrenching speech delivered by her younger sister, Woll was commemorated, in the wake of her shocking death, for being selfless and loving.

There was 'literally not anyone more caring or thoughtful than you,' said her sister Monica.

'If someone complimented something of yours you would take it off and give it to them. Your soul was beautiful and pure - you never said no, but 'how can I help?'

'You loved my kids as your own ... you were my older sister, you taught me, protected me, loved me with all your heart,' she said.

'You so deeply wanted peace for this world. You fought for everyone, regardless of who they were, or were they came from. Your last text message was to a friend - just a heart, to cheer them up.

'Sam I feel like I'm about to wake up from a horrible nightmare, and you will be hugging me and holding me. This was not supposed to happen.'

Samantha Woll, 40, was head of the Isaac Agree Downtown Detroit Synagogue since 2022, and was known for her work with several Democratic politicians including Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin

Woll had appeared in Detroit Jewish News ' '36 under 36' list in 2017, where she was noted as a 'social justice and political activist'

Her devastated sibling concluded: 'I promise to take care of mom and dad, always, we love you so much.'

Woll's brother-in-law Ben spoke about the connective role she played inside their family.

He said that in a recent, somewhat fraught, family email chain, she wrote: 'If and were there are some disconnects between the Jewish community and black lives matter, we need to engage more - not less.'

By several speakers at the extremely emotional funeral, Woll was remembered for her commitment to justice and equity.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, on whose campaign Woll worked, eulogized her friend and colleague saying that Sam was someone who was 'always prepared' and was the 'Gary to my Selina Meyer,' a reference to the HBO comedy VEEP.

'Sam was all things to all people ... her warmth could persuade even the hardest heart of the loudest heckler' to reconsider an opinion.

Through tears, Nessel said: 'Samantha Woll may have been the nicest person who I have ever met, or who I will ever meet in my lifetime.

'Her killer will not rob us of the memory of her joy and warmth ... and we always will thank God for allowing Sam to have touched our lives the way that she did.'

Detroit police still have no suspect or motive for the frightening murder of a female synagogue president - 27 hours after she was knifed to death at her home.

Woll was tragically pronounced dead at the scene outside her home after suffering multiple stab wounds

Samantha Woll, 40, head of the Isaac Agree Downtown Detroit Synagogue, was found dead at 6.30am yesterday on Joliet Place - over a day later, police still say they have not made any arrests.

While it's unclear if this was a hate attack, the shocking ordeal comes amid historic unrest in Israel and Gaza - and just days after the murder of a Muslim boy in Chicago.

Woll was known for her work within her community, and with several Democratic politicians including Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin.

Her body was reportedly discovered after someone traced a 'trail of blood' led to her home. She was found there with multiple stab wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police say they are still investigating the crime, and have not released a motive for the crime.

It remains unclear if the killing has any relation to unrest in the Middle East.

Tributes quickly poured in for the religious leader, who was noted for her work building bridges between the Jewish and Muslim communities, as her synagogue expressed shock at her sudden, 'unexpected' passing.

'At this point we do not have more information, but will share more when it becomes available,' her synagogue said.

'May her memory be a blessing.'

Woll was named in the Detroit Jewish News' '36 under 36' list in 2017, which described her as a 'social justice and political activist'.

'She was instrumental in the founding of the Muslim-Jewish Forum of Detroit  a grassroots collective of young adults of both faiths who gather in partnership to learn, celebrate and build community together,' the glowing profile read.

She was praised for helping 'to build and deepen important relationships' between local Jewish and Muslim communities, where she hosted 'revolutionary events, including an Interfaith Iftar dinner welcoming Syrian refugees.'

Woll had been the head of the Isaac Agree Downtown Detroit Synagogue since 2022, and was also known for her work with several Democrat politicians

'By extending her hand and creating space for connection between Muslims and Jews, she has exemplified the values of healing the world.'

Michigan has one of the largest Muslim populations per capita in the United States, according to the World Population Review.

Investigators have not indicated any link to the conflict in the Middle East, however it comes just days after US Attorney General Merrick Garland warned that Muslim and Jewish people are at an increased risk of threats and hate crimes due to the situation.

The fatal stabbing has also come just a week after Palestinian-American boy Wadea Al-Fayoume, 6, was stabbed to death in Illinois.

In a statement after the Jewish leaders' death, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, who Woll had also worked for on her re-election campaign, said she was 'shocked, saddened and horrified' at the 'murder.'

'Sam was as kind a person as Ive ever known. She was driven by her sincere love of her community, state and country. Sam truly used her faith and activism to create a better place for everyone,' Nessel said on X.

The Jewish leader's body was discovered outside her home in the downtown area of Detroit, after police followed a trail of blood to her property

Michigan Attorney General Danal Nessel paid a heartbreaking tribute to Woll (pictured together), where she said the Jewish leader was 'as kind a person as I've ever known'

Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin also praised Woll, saying she was one of the leaders who helped guide her office in her first full term in Washington.

'She did for our team as Deputy District Director what came so naturally to her: helping others & serving constituents,' she said on X.

'Separately, in politics & in the Jewish community, she dedicated her short life to building understanding across faiths, bringing light in the face of darkness.'

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said he was devastated 'to learn of the loss of one of Detroit's great young leaders.'

'Just weeks ago, I shared a day of joy with Sam at the dedication of the newly renovated Downtown Synagogue. It was a project she successfully led with great pride and enthusiasm,' he said in a statement.

'Sams loss has left a huge hole in the Detroit community. This entire city joins with her family and friends in mourning her tragic death.'

State Rep. Noah Arbit, who is Jewish, described Woll as the 'kindest, most beautiful soul' as he paid his respects.

'I am shattered and broken and unable to move. There are no words,' he said.

'The kindest, most beautiful soul taken in the most evil, brutal way. Sam was committed to justice and equality. In her name we will never give up. Baruch Dayan Emet, Sam. You were so loved and cherished.'
The right-wing populist party which campaigned against mass migration and 'woke madness' has comfortably topped the early results in the Swiss general election.

The Swiss People's Party (SVP) took 29 per cent of the vote in elections to the lower house of parliament in Switzerland today, pollsters GFS Bern predicted with more than half the results in.

'We have received a very clear mandate from the Swiss population to put on the table issues which matter to them, such as illegal immigration,' SVP president Marco Chiesa, who was visibly happy about the projected results, told national broadcaster RTS.

The SVP came far ahead of the left-wing Social Democrats on 18 per cent, while the centre-right party The Centre, and the right-wing party called FDP.The Liberals, were both on course to finish on around 15 per cent - with all three chasing parties largely flatlining.

Meanwhile the Greens could not replicate their dramatic gains at the last election in 2019 and slid back four percentage points to finish fifth on nine per cent, according to the projection.

'We have received a very clear mandate from the Swiss population to put on the table issues which matter to them, such as illegal immigration,' SVP president Marco Chiesa, who was visibly happy about the projected results (pictured), told national broadcaster RTS

The SVP came far ahead of the left-wing Social Democrats (two pictured embracing after the election) on 18 per cent, while the centre-right party The Centre, and the right-wing party called FDP.The Liberals, were both on course to finish on around 15 per cent - with all three chasing parties largely flatlining

'It will be more difficult to fight for the cost of living, equality and climate policy,' re-elected Social Democrat co-president Cedric Wermuth said as the results came in.

Switzerland, a wealthy European country of 8.8 million people, voted for all 200 seats in the National Council lower house of parliament and all 46 in the Council of States upper chamber.

The SVP's election campaign focused on its favourite theme: the fight against 'mass immigration' and the prospect of the Swiss population reaching 10 million.

Its 'New normal?' social media adverts, spotlighting crimes perpetrated by foreigners, plunged into a world of bloodied knives, hooded criminals, fists, bruised faces and frightened women.

It also launched a war on 'cancel culture' and what it calls 'gender terror and woke madness'.

'The situation in Switzerland is serious: we have mass immigration, we have big problems with people seeking asylum. The security situation is no longer the same as before,' Thomas Aeschi, head of the SVP parliamentary group, said.

'There are many people in Switzerland who fear the situation will get worse.'

Lisa Mazzone, a Green lawmaker seeking re-election, said the poll results showed 'a context of fear, and clearly when we are afraid, we forget hope'.

The SVP has topped every National Council election since 1999. The lower house, which represents the people, uses proportional representation.

GFS Bern's projections gave the SVP 61 seats, the Social Democrats 41; The Centre 30; FDP.The Liberals 29; the Greens 21, and the Green Liberals 11.

Meanwhile the Greens (head of Green Party, Balthasar Glattli, pictured right) could not replicate their dramatic gains at the last election in 2019 and slid back four percentage points to finish fifth on nine per cent, according to the projection

Switzerland, a wealthy European country of 8.8 million people, voted for all 200 seats in the National Council lower house of parliament and all 46 in the Council of States upper chamber (pictured: a voter casting his ballot)

The SVP's election campaign focused on its favourite theme: the fight against 'mass immigration' and the prospect of the Swiss population reaching 10 million (pictured: electoral posters in Geneva)

Final results are expected early Monday.

FDP.The Liberals president Thierry Burkart told RTS that the migration issue allowed the SVP to win, and to stop them winning again in 2027, 'it is a subject that we must take seriously. We must provide solutions.'

The Council of States upper house, which represents the cantons that make up Switzerland, is elected by majority vote. It is dominated by The Centre and FDP.The Liberals and elections rarely change the balance.

Though climate change remains a major issue in Switzerland - where Alpine glaciers are retreating at an exceptional rate - political momentum has slowed and both environmentalist parties lost seats.

'It seems the Social Democrats didn't benefit from the fall of the Greens. This is bad news for the left,' Sean Muller, a political scientist at the University of Lausanne, said.

Though Switzerland is one of the world's richest countries - with unemployment at around two per cent and GDP per capita very high - the cost of living has hit hard, with surging health insurance costs.

The Social Democrats had hoped to make major gains on these issues.

Turnout at Swiss general elections is typically around 45 per cent.

The 246 newly elected parliamentarians will choose the seven members of the government on December 13.

The seats are shared out 2-2-2-1 among the four main parties and few new faces are expected. The Federal Council government takes its decisions by consensus and collective responsibility.
An Iranian teenager who was reportedly assaulted by state morality police for not wearing a mandatory hijab is now 'brain dead', state media says.

Armita Geravand, 16, fell into a coma earlier this month after she sustained 'severe injuries' following a 'physical assault' by female morality police officers on the Tehran metro, according to a human rights group.

Hengaw, a Norway-based Kurdish human rights NGO, claimed that Armita was attacked by hijab officers in Shohada Station, a stop on the city's metro, for not wearing a hijab, which all women in Iran are meant to wear under strict morality laws.

The teenager is being treated at Tehran's Fajr hospital under tight security.

'Follow-ups on the latest health condition of Geravand indicate that her condition of being brain dead seems certain despite the efforts of the medical staff,' state media reported.

Armita Geravand, 16, who was reportedly assaulted by state morality police for not wearing a mandatory hijab is now 'brain dead'

Armita fell into a coma earlier this month after she sustained 'severe injuries' following an alleged 'physical assault' by female morality police officers on the Tehran metro

Armita's case has raised concerns the 16-year-old might face the same fate as Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman whose death in a coma last year in the custody of morality police sparked months of nationwide protest.

Unverified CCTV footage, shared to local media earlier this month, appears to show the teenager walking towards the train without a hijab on with two of her friends.

Upon entering the cabin, one of the girls is seen immediately backing off and reaching for the ground, before another girl is dragged unconscious from the cabin by passengers.

Several passengers can be seen gathering round to watch the girl be carried off.

Hengaw later shared a photo of a young girl lying in a hospital bed with several pieces of medical equipment attached to her, claiming it was an image of Armita.

A source told an Iranian news agency that she was 'brought into hospital in a comatose state' and needed CPR as she had either ceased breathing or her heart had stopped.

Authorities denied that this was a case of state abuse against yet another young woman.

The head of the Tehran Metro Operating Company, Masoud Dorosti, said the CCTV footage showed no sign of verbal or physical conflict between passengers or company employees.

She was taken off the train by her friends and several passengers

Several more passengers began crowding around her after she was removed from the train

'There were no verbal or physical altercations between the student and passengers or metro personnel. Rumours about a confrontation between metro personnel and the student are baseless and are contradicted by metro security footage,' he said.

Armita's parents publicly stated that their daughter had suffered a drop in blood pressure, lost her balance, and hit her head inside the metro cabin.

'I think my daughter's blood pressure dropped, I am not too sure, I think they have said her pressure dropped,' her mother said. But she added that there was no point in creating controversy.

But several activists, who spoke to Reuters on the condition of anonymity claim Iran has applied heavy pressure on her parents.

'Her relatives said there is a heavy presence of plain clothes at the hospital,' one of the activists in Iran said.

The second activist said security forces had forbidden Armita's parents from posting her picture on social media or from talking to human rights groups.

An Iranian journalist investigating the incident was arrested and held by authorities for several hours after she made inquiries at the hospital.

Major world figures condemned Iran for the incident.

Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on X, formerly Twitter, said: 'Once again a young woman in #Iran is fighting for her life. Just because she showed her hair in the subway. It is unbearable.

'The parents of #ArmitaGarawand do not belong in front of cameras, but have the right to be at their daughter's bedside.'

150 people have been killed and hundreds injured during the regimes crack down on protests

Protests have swept Iran since Amini's death in police custody

Mahsa Amini was on a visit to the Iranian capital with her family when she was detained by the special police unit that enforces the strict dress rules for women, including the compulsory headscarf.

Her brother Kiaresh said at the time that while he was waiting outside the police station for her to be released, an ambulance drove out taking her to hospital.

He was told that she was in a comatose state after she suffered a heart attack and a brain seizure.

Mahsa later died of her injuries, but Iran denied involvement in her death, claiming that she had died from multiple organ failure caused by lack of oxygen to the brain.

Nearly 80 people died over 11 nights of violent unrest across the country last September after Iran's citizens called for the death of the current leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, after news of her death spread.
Cosmetic surgeons and psychologists have called for young people to undergo mandatory psychological testing before having plastic surgery.

Statistics show the number of cosmetic surgery patients in Australia doubled from 117,000 in 2010 to 225,000 in 2018.

However, most concerning to one of the country's top cosmetic surgeons, Dr Amy Chahal - the founder of The Centre for Medical Aesthetics in Sydney's Surry Hills, is the number of people in their 20s going under the knife.

She's found more Australian women, sometimes as young as 18, are seeking fillers, facelifts and skin rejuvenation treatments - none of which they need.

Dr Chahal said most Millennials and Gen Zs should be spending their money on skincare rather than $1,000+ permanent procedures.

The number of plastic surgery patients in Australia doubled between 2010 and 2018 with Millennials having more work done than any other generation

'If we come up with a complete plan and we do the right things in the right stages ... people can look really great throughout their 40s, 50s, and 60s, without needing surgery,' she told the Daily Telegraph.

Research from the Australasian College of Cosmetic Surgery and Medicine found Millennials, born from 1981 to 1996, are undergoing more cosmetic surgery than any other generation.

On top of that,]16 per cent of Australian women aged 18 to 29 said they'd already had plastic surgery and more than half of the 238 women surveyed planned to have work done in the future.

The college found a massive contributing factor to the rise of cosmetic surgery is social media.

Its findings stated young women who regularly use social media are 'excessively self-judgemental' and 'more likely to consider cosmetic surgery' than those who don't.

Psychotherapist Dianna Kenny believes the research supports the introduction of mandatory psychologist testing before cosmetic surgeries.

Dr Amy Chahal (above), the founder of The Centre for Medical Aesthetics in Sydney's Surry Hills, said there's no need for women in their 20s to undergo cosmetic surgery

'There are predatory advertisers out there who entice people to think they are deficient in some ways,' she said.

'There should be some form of psychological testing of young people before they take a knife to their body. We need to have better gatekeeping of that industry.'

Her suggestion was supported by clinical psychologist Professor Adam Guastella who believes young people could be looking to fix issues like social anxiety and low self esteem with surgery.

'Self doubt and social anxiety are the most common mental health concerns in young people, particularly girls, often this needs to be managed psychologically or people need to develop their confidence as opposed to getting a quick fix with surgery,' he said.==
A grieving mum got the shock of her life when her teenage son video called her at his own funeral. The 17-year-old boy phoned his mother to tell her he was alive while family members were holding a vigil over what they thought was his corpse.

Days earlier on October 15, the blood-soaked body of a teenage boy had been found by a passerby in the family's hometown. The face was heavily disfigured from multiple gunshot wounds to the head and neck.

The 17-year-old was alive and well, to the surprise of family at his funeral. Source: Jam Press

Family members identified the corpse as Osman Adonay Urbina through a burn scar on one of his arms. Police then released the body to them so they could hold a wake at the family home before laying it to rest.

However, during the vigil, Mr Adonay Urbina's loved ones were stunned when they got a video call from the supposed deceased. "We were surprised because friends said, 'Here's Osman'," his mum Vilma Fuentes told local media in Honduras. "I thought it was a joke."

Mr Adonay Urbina, who had left home three weeks earlier in an attempt to get to the US, reportedly called his mum from the Guatemala-Mexico border: "I'm here at the border. I'm alive, I'm not dead."

The family then called the police to explain the bizarre situation. Officers went to the home and determined that the corpse was, in fact, likely to be that of missing 15-year-old Jimmy Sarmiento.

Mr Sarmiento's relatives were called to the scene, confirmed the body was his and took away the coffin.

"The truth is they look alike," Ms Fuentes said. "We cleaned and mourned the body, but it wasn't him. We got confused, and the police did too."

JAM PRESS

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Tensions rose in Gaza on Sunday as Hamas killed an Israeli soldier with an anti-tank missile during a failed mission into the enclave to free hostages.

Meanwhile, Benjamin Netanyahu's military unleashed the 'heaviest 24 hours' of bombing since the Israel-Hamas conflict began two weeks ago, with media sources in Gaza saying 400 Palestinians were killed in strikes across the enclave.

As Israel continued to lay Gaza under 'total siege', and as the aerial bombardment continued into Monday morning, the Israeli Prime Minister convened a meeting of his top generals and his war cabinet to assess the escalating conflict.

Fears that the war could swell into a wider Middle East conflict also grew as Hamas's leader met with Iran's foreign minister, clashes across Israel's border with Lebanon intensified, and the IDF again struck Syria's two main international airports.

Washington also warned that American interests in the region were at risk.

Tensions rose in Gaza on Sunday as Hamas killed an Israeli soldier with an anti-tank missile during a failed raid into the enclave to free hostages taken by Hamas. Meanwhile, Benjamin Netanyahu 's military unleashed the 'heaviest 24 hours' of bombing since the Israel-Hamas conflict began two weeks ago. Pictured: The Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza, October 22

Fears that the war could swell into a wider Middle East conflict also grew as Hamas's leader met with Iran 's foreign minister, clashes across Israel's border with Lebanon intensified, and the IDF again struck Syria 's two main international airports

A view of rubbles as the Israeli airstrikes continue on its 16th day in Gaza City, October 22

Israel's Rear Admiral Hagari confirmed on Sunday night that one soldier was killed and three others wounded during the failed bid to rescue hostages in the Khan Younis area of Gaza.

READ MORE: Palestinians emerge from the ruins of bombed out buildings after Gaza and the West Bank were pummelled by Israeli airstrikes Advertisement

The raid was launched as part of efforts to rescue the more than 200 hostages abducted in the October 7 Hamas attack, which also saw more than 1,400 people killed in Israel by gunmen from the terrorist group.

Earlier, Hamas said it had fought with Israeli forces near Khan Younis in southern Gaza, destroying a tank and two bulldozers in the battle.

The IDF later confirmed the death of the soldier and injuries to three more, saying the casualties were caused by an anti-tank missile.

'An IDF (Israel Defense Forces) soldier was killed, one was moderately injured, and two were lightly injured as a result of an anti-tank missile launched toward an IDF tank and an engineering vehicle,' the military said.

It said the purpose of the raid was to locate Hamas hostages in the Khan Younis area and to 'thwart terrorist infrastructure'.

As the bombardment has continued, pressure has intensified on Israel to negotiate the release of Hamas's captives, with families pleading with officials to secure the freedom of their loved ones ahead of the imminent ground invasion.

Meanwhile, Israeli troops have been conducting raids across the border, which the military says are meant to clear the area and gather intelligence about missing people and captives being held by terrorist group Hamas in the enclave.

The news of the soldier's death came as dozens of Palestinians were killed on Sunday night and several others were wounded in an Israeli air strike on the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza strip.

Thirty bodies, most of them women and children, have been recovered from the rubble of bombed buildings in the camp, the civil defence unit there told Al Jazeera.

At least 27 people suffered injuries, with hospitals saying they are struggling to treat the wounded due to 'an acute shortage of medicines and medical equipment'.

Local sources also claimed IDF strikes hit near a Gaza hospital.

The Jabalia refugee camp has been hit three times previously since Israel launched its campaign of air strikes in response to Hamas's October 7 raid that has killed more than 1,400 people in the Jewish state.

Most recently, a strike on Thursday there killed at least 18 people.

Online footage posted on Sunday, said to be captured in the aftermath of the strike, showed people running into a hospital carrying injured children.

Many were covered in dust and rubble, and looked to be in shock.

MailOnline was not immediately able to verify the footage.

A report from Gazan news sources said that more than 400 people had been killed in Israeli air strikes in the last 24 hours, which Palestinian media described as the 'heaviest bombardment' since the October 7 Hamas attack

Gaza's Health Ministry said 266 Palestinians, including 117 children, had been killed by Israeli air strikes in the past 24 hours in the enclave, to which Israel laid 'total siege' after the deadly mass infiltration into Israel by Hamas gunmen.

Health authorities in Gaza say at least 4,600 people have been killed in total, with over a million of the densely populated enclave's 2.3 million people displaced.

Fears of a widening war grew as Israeli warplanes struck targets across Gaza, two airports in Syria and a mosque in the occupied West Bank allegedly used by terrorists. Israel said it also struck two Hezbollah cells in southern Lebanon.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian also spoke to discuss the means of stopping Israel's 'brutal crimes' in the besieged Gaza enclave, the group said in a statement late on Sunday.

And early on Monday, Israeli aircraft struck two Hezbollah cells in Lebanon, which were planning to launch anti-tank missiles and rockets toward Israel, its military said, as fighting flared across the two countries' shared border.

A picture taken from Israel's southern city of Sderot shows smoke billowing during a Israeli strike on Gaza on October 22, 2023

Soldiers sit on an artillery units near the Israeli border with the Gaza Strip, October 22

The second convoy of aid trucks cross the Rafah border from the Egyptian side on October 22, 2023 in North Sinai, Egypt

Humanitarian aid trucks arriving from Egypt after having crossed through the Rafah border crossing arriving at a storage facility in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 21, 2023

Lebanon's state-run news agency NNA reported an Israeli air strike on the southern outskirts of Aitaroun, in southern Lebanon. It did not provide details.

The military said one cell was adjacent to the Israeli town of Mattat, around 13 kilometres southwest of Aitaroun. It said the other was further north in the disputed Shebaa Farms area. The military said it struck both cells before they fired. It was not immediately clear if the two sides were referring to the same set of incidents.

Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel have been trading fire at the frontier with increasing frequency since Palestinian group Hamas carried out a shock attack on Israel on October 7 and Israel responded with intense air strikes on Gaza.

Israel has moved to evacuate 42 communities along its northern front with Lebanon over the fighting, which Hezbollah says has killed at least 26 of its fighters since October 7.

Lebanese security sources say 11 fighters with Palestinian groups in Lebanon, allied to Hezbollah, have been killed in the border area, alongside four civilians.

At least five Israeli soldiers and one civilian have been killed on Israel's side of the frontier, according to Israeli military reports.

Netanyahu told troops in northern Israel that if Hezbollah launches a war, 'it will make the mistake of its life'. He said: 'We will cripple it with a force it cannot even imagine, and the consequences for it and the Lebanese state will be devastating.'

World leaders including Rishi Sunak and Joe Biden are stepping up diplomatic efforts to prevent the Israel-Gaza war triggering wider bloodshed across the Middle East.

The Prime Minister and US president, along with the leaders of France, Germany, Italy and Canada, called for Israel to respect international humanitarian law, demanded the release of the hostages held by Hamas and pushed for aid for Gaza.

Smoke rises following Israeli strikes at the border with Egypt, as the conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas continues, as seen from Rafah, southern Gaza Strip on October 22, 2023

As bombs continued to fall across Gaza, a second convoy of 14 aid trucks entered the Rafah crossing from the Egyptian on Sunday night.

Juliette Touma, director of communications at the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), confirmed to Reuters news agency that the trucks had crossed the border.

A first convoy of 20 trucks of badly-needed supplies had entered Gaza on Saturday through Rafah, which had previously been out of operation after bombardments hit on the Gaza side of the border and amid wrangling over conditions for delivering aid.

Distribution of those supplies began on Sunday, but aid officials are still warning of a humanitarian disaster as supplies of food, water and fuel run low.

Israel imposed a total blockade and launched air strikes on Gaza in response to a deadly attack on Israeli soil by Hamas on October 7.

The Rafah crossing, the main entry and exit point to Gaza that does not lead to Israel, has become the focus of a push to deliver aid as humanitarian conditions in Gaza worsen.

UN officials say at least 100 trucks a day would be required in Gaza to cover urgent needs. Before the outbreak of the most recent conflict, several hundred trucks had been arriving in the enclave daily.

UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths told Reuters on Saturday that work was under way to develop a 'light' inspection system, whereby Israel could check the shipments but ensure a sustained flow.

In a sign of how precarious any movement of aid remains, the Egyptian military said Israeli shelling hit a watchtower on Egypt's side of the border, causing light injuries. The Israeli military apologised, saying a tank had accidentally fired and hit an Egyptian post, and the incident was being investigated.

Relief workers said far more aid was needed to address the spiraling humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where half the territory's 2.3 million people have fled their homes.

The UN humanitarian agency said Saturday's convoy carried about 4 per cent of an average day's imports before the war and 'a fraction of what is needed after 13 days of complete siege'.

The Israeli military said the humanitarian situation was 'under control'.

Israel repeated its calls for people to leave northern Gaza, including by dropping leaflets from the air.

It estimated 700,000 have already fled. But hundreds of thousands remain. That would raise the risk of mass civilian casualties in any ground offensive.

Israeli military officials say Hamas' infrastructure and underground tunnels are concentrated in Gaza City, in the north, and that the next stage of the offensive will include unprecedented force there. Israel says it wants to crush Hamas.

Officials have also spoken of carving out a buffer zone to keep Palestinians from approaching the border, though they have given no details.

Hospitals packed with patients and displaced people are running low on medical supplies and fuel for generators, forcing doctors to perform surgeries using sewing needles, resorting to vinegar as disinfectant and operating without anesthesia.

A man helps a woman flee the area as others attend to a victim following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza, 21 October 2023

Smoke rises after Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, on October 2023

In this picture taken during a media tour organised by the Israeli military on October 22, 2023, Israeli soldiers take a defensive position in Kibbutz Beeri along the border with the Gaza Strip

Plestinians inspect the damage after an Israeli strike hit a compound beneath a mosque in Jenin refugee camp, West Bank, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023

The World Health Organization says at least 130 premature babies are at 'grave risk' because of a shortage of generator fuel.

It said seven hospitals in northern Gaza have been forced to shut down due to damage from strikes, lack of power and supplies, or Israeli evacuation orders.

Shortages of critical supplies, including ventilators, are forcing doctors to ration treatment, said Dr. Mohammed Qandeel, who works in Khan Younis' Nasser Hospital. Dozens of patients continue to arrive and are treated in crowded, darkened corridors, as hospitals preserve electricity for intensive care units.

'It's heartbreaking,' Qandeel said.

Palestinians sheltering in UN-run schools and tent camps are running low on food and are drinking dirty water.

The lack of fuel has crippled water and sanitation systems.

Heavy airstrikes were reported across Gaza, including in the southern part of the coastal strip, where Israel has told civilians to seek refuge.

At the Al-Aqsa hospital in Deir al-Balah, south of the evacuation line, several bodies wrapped in white shrouds were lined up outside.

A Palestinian man carries a wounded youth in a hospital after an Israeli strike on Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on October 22, 2023

A general view shows the destruction following a deadly attack by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip on Kibbutz Beeri, in southern Israel, October 22, 2023

An Israeli soldier walks next to a burnt car following a rocket attack from the Gaza Strip that landed in Ashkelon, southern Israel October 20, 2023

Khalil al-Degran, a hospital official, said more than 90 bodies had been brought in since early Sunday, as the sound of nearby bombing echoed behind him.

He said 180 wounded people had arrived, mostly children, women and the elderly displaced from other areas.

Airstrikes also smashed through the marketplace in the Nuseirat refugee camp. Witnesses said at least a dozen people were killed.

The Israeli military has said it is striking Hamas fighters and installations and insists it does not target civilians. Palestinian militants have fired over 7,000 rockets at Israel, according to the military, and Hamas says it targeted Tel Aviv early on Sunday.
A man seen in a video 'chanting pro-Hamas slogans' during huge pro-Palestine protests in London is tonight being held in custody after being arrested on suspicion of inciting racial hatred.

A man wearing all black was seen waving a black and white Shahada flag in Whitehall at around 4.45pm yesterday while another male in a grey hoodie held up a megaphone to his mouth and appeared to be bellowing 'Hamas'.

The 35-second viral clip has had more than three million views on X, formerly known as Twitter. The Telegraph reported the men chant 'God's curse be upon the Jews' and 'God's curse upon Israel'.

The Metropolitan Police tonight posted a picture of the man and wrote on X: 'Yesterday this man was filmed shouting racist abuse in Whitehall. Tonight he is in custody having being arrested on suspicion of inciting racial hatred.'

It comes after ministers said they would speak to police after Islamists on the streets of London made 'completely reprehensible' calls for jihad against Israel.

A man wearing all black waves a Shahada flag in Whitehall during huge pro-Palestine protests on London's streets

Another male in a grey hoodie held up a megaphone and appeared to continually bellow 'Hamas' in the 35-second clip which has had more than three million views on X

A workman attempts to clean off pro-Palestine graffiti on the base of Nelson's column in Trafalgar Square on October 22

The video was taken on the day 100,000 people in Britain marched in pro-Palestine rallies calling for a ceasefire in the Middle East after terrorist group Hamas massacred more than 1,000 Israeli civilians, sparking weeks of air strikes from the Jewish state which have killed thousands.

Robert Jenrick said officials would be speaking to the Metropolitan Police after the force said it believed no offences had been committed at the a rally held by extremist group Hizb ut-Tahrir which descended into chants of 'jihad' and calls for 'Muslim Armies' to move against Israel.

The immigration minister also vowed to kick people who 'spread hate or support proscribed terrorist organisations like Hamas' out of the country, suggesting those who held visas could have them revoked.

It came a week after Home Secretary Suella Braverman had warned that protesters who 'mock the murder of Jewish people' that police would face the full force of the law.

Critics labelled it 'outrageous' that the Metropolitan Police did not intervene in the event, although the force said on social media it had not 'identified any offences' but would speak to the men involved to 'discourage' any chanting of this type in the future.

The demonstration took place yesterday, the same day that 100,000 people in Britain marched in pro-Palestine rallies calling for a ceasefire in the Middle East aAmong the protests on Saturday there were shocking scenes when a London tube driver led a train full of people in chants of 'From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free', leading to a police probe.

While the main Palestine solidarity march in central London appeared to remain largely peaceful, the Met has come under fire for its handling of the Hizb ut-Tahrir protests, which was held separately outside the Egyptian Embassy.

Hizb ut-Tahrir is an Islamic fundamentalist group that has called for the re-establishment of an Islamic caliphate and for the global implementation of sharia law. It has been banned in almost all Arab countries, as well as Muslim-majority nations such as Turkey, Bangladesh and Indonesia.

There were chants of 'Jihad! Jihad! Jihad!' at the rally outside the Egyptian embassy in London

Another speaker was seen shouting that 'the solution is jihad and jihad alone'. The Met Police said it had 'not identified any offences' at the event

At an Islamist protest held in London on Saturday, one speaker was seen called for a 'jihad' to 'liberate people form the concentration camp called Palestine

Video shared on social media showed one speaker asking the crowd 'What is the solution to liberate people from the concentration camp called Palestine?'

To this the crowd chanted 'Jihad! Jihad! Jihad!'.

A poster held by organisers of the rally read: 'Muslim Armies! Rescue the People of Palestine.'

At the same event, the speaker added that the only solution to liberate the people of Palestine was 'jihad by the armies of the Muslim countries'.

'Not by you and me, what training do I have? There are people with arms - in Egypt, in Pakistan, in Saudi Arabia, in Jordan, across the Muslim world - and right now they are boiling like we are boiling.'

Another speaker was seen saying 'the solution is jihad and jihad alone'.

In general terms the word 'jihad' is a reference to a Muslim's obligation to follow and realise God's will, but it has in recent years been used by extremist Islamic groups to justify violence against people they consider opponents of the religion.

One unnamed minister told the Telegraph that the police response was 'really outrageous'.

Speaking this morning, immigration minister Robert Jenrick called the chants 'completely reprehensible' and 'inciting terrorist violence'.

Speaking to Sky's Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, Mr Jenrick said: 'Chanting jihad on the streets of London is completely reprehensible and I never want to see scenes like that. It is inciting terrorist violence and it needs to be tackled with the full force of the law.

Protesters during a pro-Palestine march organised by Stop the War Coalition and Palestine Solidarity Campaign in central London on Saturday

Thousands took to the streets in London on Saturday to take part in peaceful protests in solidarity with the Palestinian people in London on Saturday

'Ultimately, it's an operational matter for the police and the CPS (Crown Prosecution Service) whether to press charges.

'Arrests have been made... there have been arrests since the beginning of this situation. And we want to make sure that the police do everything that they can to protect British Jews.'

He added: 'There have been arrests under terrorist legislation. And we want to do everything that we can to protect British Jews.

'But this is a broader question beyond just legality, it also is a question about values. And there should be a consensus in this country that chanting things like jihad is completely reprehensible and wrong and we don't ever want to see that in our country.'

Responding to video of the rally circulating on social media, the Metropolitan Police said they had 'not identified any offences'.

In a statement released on Saturday the force said: 'Officers have been overseeing the demonstration organised by Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain throughout the day (Saturday 21 October) alongside the much larger protest organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.

'In addition to officers deployed with the protest, we have counter terrorism officers with specialist language skills and subject expertise working alongside public order officers in our main operations room, assessing any video and photos that emerge.

'They have reviewed a video from the Hizb ut-Tahrir protest in which a man can be seen to chant 'jihad, jihad'.

'The word has a number of meanings but we know the public will most commonly associate it with terrorism. Specialist officers have assessed the video and have not identified any offences arising from the specific clip. We have also sought advice from specialist Crown Prosecution Service lawyers who have reached the same conclusion.

'However, recognising the way language like this will be interpreted by the public and the divisive impact it will have, officers identified the man involved and spoke to him to discourage any repeat of similar chanting.

'We are also aware of photos from the same protest showing signs and banners referring to 'Muslim armies'.

'While there are varying interpretations of what the language on the placards should be interpreted to mean, officers must take decisions based on the wording actually used.

'Again, this was subject to a careful assessment and no signs or banners were identified that were unlawful.'

MailOnline has contacted the Met for further comment.

Mr Jenrick told LBC he thought 'a lot of people would find the Metropolitan Police analysis surprising' and 'that's something that we intend to raise with them and to discuss this incident with them.'

But he stressed again 'the legality is ultimately a question for the police and the CPS'.

Additionally, he told GB News that 'people who spread hate or support proscribed terrorist organisations like Hamas have no place in this country'.

The immigration minister suggested that people who did so could have their right to stay in the UK revoked, adding 'a visa is a special privilege, it's not an entitlement'.

'I you commit comments that create hate or spread antisemitism then you forfeit that privilege and you should have that visa revoked and you should be expelled from the UK,' said.

'I've written to all chief constables across the country saying they should refer individuals who come to their attention to the Home Office.

'There is a legal process to be followed, but as and when we receive those, we will consider them and if they meet the legal bar then we will absolutely revoke and expel them.'

He added that there have been 'a number of referrals' to his department already and these are being looked at by the Home Office.

Mr Jenrick said: 'I can't comment on individual cases but please be in absolutely note of how strongly we feel that those people who commit these crimes, people who spread hate in our country, they should be removed, they shouldn't have a right to live in the UK and harm our citizens and British values.'

Free Free Palestine @TfL London Underground Tubes driver lead the passengers in a chant, he said I wanted to join the protest but couldnt get the day off. #LondonStandsWithPalestine #Palestine #Israel #_ #_ pic.twitter.com/62jx8xLtyz  Farid Ahmed (Qureshi) (@FaridQureshi_UK) October 21, 2023

Video circulating online appears to show the Central Line driver leading a chant of 'Free, free Palestine' for the hundreds of people packed tightly into busy train

Those on the Tube train could be seen joining in with the driver's chants on their way to the solidarity march

Husam Zomlot, head of the Palestinian mission to the UK, said on Sunday that people attending demonstrations to sow division and intimidate Jews instead of supporting Palestine 'should shut up'.

It was put to him that some people have carried Hamas flags and chanted slogans that are 'intimidating' for Jewish people, or worn pictures of paragliders taped to their clothing in apparent support for Hamas.

He told Sky News' Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme: 'This is abhorrent, unacceptable. Those people hijack our cause for their own twisted logic.

'The Jewish people have nothing to do with it. This is not a religious conflict. Many of those who demonstrated for Palestine yesterday were Jews.

'Many of those strong voices are the Jewish people defending us.

'Those who have hate in their hearts for Jews would have hate in their hearts for Muslims and Christians. We have nothing to do with them and they should shut up.'

It came as 100,000 protesters marched in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Cardiff in defence of civilians in Gaza and West Bank after Hamas's deadly attacks on Israel brought violent response.

The Met Police said it had arrested ten people at the London march on suspicion of offences involving fireworks, public order, and assaulting an emergency service worker.

On Saturday a London tube driver sparked outrage by urging passengers to chant pro-Palestinian slogans at they headed towards a solidarity march.

Video circulating online appears to show the Central Line driver leading a chant of 'Free, free Palestine' for the hundreds of people packed tightly into busy train.

As hundreds of protesters boarded the Central Line underground train at Bond Street for the short journey to Marble Arch just after midday, those onboard told MailOnline that the driver announced: 'Sorry I can't join your protest today, I couldn't get the day off work. But you have my full support. Join me in chanting 'From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free'.'

This chant is a controversial form of protest which some argue is inherently anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic - something which Palestinians and their supporters deny.

The Met Police this week issued updated guidance around the chant due to the strength of feeling which it evokes, saying officers will not be treating it as unlawful unless it is specifically used to intimidate members of the Jewish community.

A force statement read: 'One particular chant that has been the subject of extensive discussion is 'Palestine will be free, from the river to the sea'.

'This is a chant that has been frequently heard at pro-Palestinian demonstrations for many years. We are well aware of the strength of feeling in relation to it.

'While we can envisage scenarios where chanting these words could be unlawful, such as outside a synagogue or Jewish school, or directly at a Jewish person or group intended to intimidate, it is likely that its use in a wider protest setting, such as we anticipate this weekend, would not be an offence and would not result in arrests.'

British Transport Police Assistant Chief Constable Sean O'Callaghan told Sky News that the force was 'aware of footage circulating on social media which suggests chants are led by a driver of a train in London earlier.

'BTP are working with Transport for London and investigating the matter.'

A TFL spokesperson told the broadcaster: 'We are committed to providing a safe network for everyone and want to make it clear that London is open to everyone.

'We are aware of footage circulating on social media that suggests political comments may have been made by one of our Tube drivers. We are working to scrutinise the footage and ensure the circumstances are urgently investigated.'

Amongst the passengers was Wendy Henry, who said she 'couldn't believe' what she was hearing as the atmosphere 'turned very ugly, very quickly' and accused the driver of trying to 'whip up anti-Israeli feelings'.

She told MailOnline: 'The noise in the carriages from the pro-Palestinian demonstrators was deafening and aggressive. The driver should have been concerned about safety for all the passengers yet he set about encouraging intimidating and hostile sloganeering.

READ MORE HERE: Israel vows to cut off 'the head of the snake' and launch a military attack against Iran if Hezbollah joins the war with Hamas Advertisement

'Transport for London should launch an immediate investigation into his actions.'

She continued: 'I have lived and worked in London for over forty years and it's fair to say I have never felt so vulnerable and isolated.'

But many of those onboard disagreed, and video footage showed the driver being cheered and applauded by passengers who appeared to be in good spirits.

Pro-Palestinian protesters in central London also chanted 'from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free', despite the ongoing controversy around the slogan's meaning.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman has previously branded the slogan antisemitic and claimed that it is 'widely understood' to call for the destruction of Israel.

While Jewish groups including the Board of Deputies, Jewish Leadership Council and the Community Security Trust, have asked prosecutors to clarify if chanting the slogan is a criminal offence.

However, those who defend the slogan describe it as a 'long-standing protest chant' that calls for a homeland for the Palestinian people.
A drug dealer who dodged deportation from Britain to the Netherlands using a Brexit technicality and human rights laws had received jail sentences totalling more than 11 years, it can be revealed.

Dutch national Adnan Jama  who is allowed to stay in the UK after a Home Office appeal failed  was most recently sent to prison in September 2021.

Last night, Tory MP Philip Davies called for reform of the Human Rights Act, saying he 'can't understand' how it has been used to allow a 'serious, persistent, foreign national criminal' to avoid removal.

In his court appearance two years ago, Jama, now 28, was jailed by a judge at Sheffield Crown Court for five years and seven months after admitting dealing heroin and crack cocaine in the city.

Just three years earlier, in 2018, he was jailed for four years and one month at the same court, having pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply Class A drugs and possession of criminal property.

Dutch national Adnan Jama is allowed to stay in the UK after a Home Office appeal failed and was most recently sent to prison in September 2021

Jama received a 21-month jail term suspended for two years for possession of heroin and crack cocaine with intent to supply at Sheffield Crown Court (pictured)

And in 2017, he received a 21-month jail term, suspended for two years, also at Sheffield Crown Court, for possession of heroin and crack cocaine with intent to supply. His sentences total 11 years and five months.

Conservative MP Mr Davies said: 'The law passed by Parliament is that foreign nationals sentenced to at least one year's imprisonment should be deported.

'I can't understand why the human rights of a serious, persistent, foreign national criminal take priority over the human rights of decent, British, law-abiding people.'

The Government wanted to deport Jama, who came to Britain aged six, at the end of his sentence  but he appealed, initially to a first-tier immigration tribunal.

Jama claimed forcing him to leave the UK would breach 'retained free movement rights' as a citizen of the European Economic Area, because part of the charges against him related to drugs he acquired before the Brexit deadline of 11pm on December 31, 2020.

He also claimed it would 'amount to a breach of his rights' to private and family life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The Government has not said whether it intends to make a further challenge to the Court of Appeal.
Rishi Sunak must not buckle under intense lobbying from the world's biggest online giants to help them 'escape' vital regulation, a group of leading economists have warned.

The five eminent academics, whose government-commissioned report formed the basis of a new Bill to rein in Big Tech, have written a powerful letter to the Prime Minister urging him not to water it down.

The letter accused Big Tech platforms of having 'only their own interests at heart' and reminded Mr Sunak of his 'personal responsibility' towards both British businesses and consumers.

The economists fear Mr Sunak is giving 'serious consideration' to changing the appeals system within the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill following 'extensive lobbying' from platforms such as Google, Meta and Apple.

Doing so would effectively make the regulator redundant as it would entangle its every move in 'a web of tactical and adversarial litigation', they believe.

The intervention follows warnings by news publishers, business leaders, consumer rights groups and cross-party peers that changing the appeals system would undermine the Bill's ultimate aim of making digital markets fairer and more competitive.

Rishi Sunak must not buckle under intense lobbying from the world's biggest online giants to help them 'escape' vital regulation, a group of leading economists have warned

The letter was co-written by Professor Jason Furman, a US economist from Harvard University commissioned by the government in 2018 to examine the impact of Big Tech on British businesses and consumers

The letter was co-written by Professor Jason Furman, a US economist from Harvard University commissioned by the government in 2018 to examine the impact of Big Tech on British businesses and consumers. It was co-signed by four other academics who contributed to the report.

The panel's findings, published the following year, concluded that the world's biggest platforms were using their dominance to stifle competition and boost profits and led to the Digital Markets Bill being introduced to Parliament in April.

Under the legislation, a new watchdog called the Digital Markets Unit will be empowered to impose huge fines on online firms  such as Google, Meta, and Apple  to prevent customers and companies from being treated unfairly.

It will also ensure that tech giants pay media outlets fairly for using their stories and stop them from using their global market dominance to stifle competition over digital advertising.

In the letter, Professor Furman and his co-signatories praised the 'impressive' draft legislation, which they said was 'prudently designed' and would boost the economy.

But they raised grave concerns over reports Mr Sunak was being 'extensively' lobbied by Big Tech and was giving 'serious consideration' to watering down the appeals system within the Bill.

Currently, any decision made by the DMU can be challenged through a judicial review, a quick and cheap process that allows the offending company to question the decision on a point of law.

Tech platforms, however, have heavily lobbied the Prime Minister to change this to a merits-based system, allowing them to appeal on whether the decision was right or wrong.

The letter warns this would 'allow Big Tech platforms to escape effective regulation by entangling the regulator in a web of tactical and adversarial litigation and delay'.

'What we need is a UK regulator that can get ahead of competition problems in digital markets and work participatively and nimbly with all interested parties to find effective and proportionate solutions', it added.

'In advocating these changes, the Big Tech platforms have only their own interests at heart.

'The UK's success as a dynamic centre for tech investment, including the coming wave of AI innovation, will be harmed by the kinds of change to the draft legislation that you are considering. In doing so, we urge you to be mindful of your personal responsibility for the outcome for UK businesses and consumers.'
The first Rwanda removal flight will take place in late February if the Home Office secures victory in the Supreme Court, the Mail can reveal.

Civil servants have been ordered to gear up for an inaugural charter flight on Saturday, February 24. The red-letter day has been set in anticipation of the Home Office overturning a legal ruling which blocked the policy on human rights grounds.

A decision from the Supreme Court is due by mid-December.

Preparations for Rwanda flights are proceeding even though the Tories believe there is a '60 per cent chance' the Home Office will lose its appeal, throwing the policy into fresh turmoil.

The first attempted Rwanda flight, in June last year, was grounded by a flurry of legal challenges by migrants which led to the European Court of Human Rights granting a last-minute injunction.

Civil servants have been ordered to gear up for an inaugural charter flight on Saturday, February 24 (Pictured: The plane to be the first to transport migrants to Rwanda)

Since then, thousands of migrants who have crossed the Channel on small boats have been sent 'notices of intent', warning they could be handed a one-way ticket to Kigali.

Officials are working to select a group for the first plane. If the selection process moves to the next stage after the Supreme Court gives a green light, the Home Office is expecting further 'micro appeals' from migrants.

The new Illegal Migration Act has severely restricted the scope for bringing legal challenges in this country under asylum and modern slavery laws.

But officials anticipate that lawyers for migrants who are selected for the initial flight will launch further legal appeals in the Strasbourg court.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will have to decide whether to activate measures in the new Act which allow ministers to ignore immigration injunctions issued by Strasbourg.

It was reported earlier this month that Attorney General Victoria Prentis has indicated her opposition to such a move.

However, a Conservative source told The Mail on Sunday they believed the country's highest court is more than likely to rule that the Rwanda deal is unlawful, meaning no flights can take place.

It would lead to intense pressure from within the Tory Party for Britain to leave the European Convention on Human Rights.

Thousands of migrants who have crossed the Channel on small boats have been sent 'notices of intent', warning they could be handed a one-way ticket to Kigali

The first attempted Rwanda flight, in June last year, was grounded by a flurry of legal challenges by migrants which led to the European Court of Human Rights granting a last-minute injunction

'There is growing pessimism about the Supreme Court,' the Tory source said.

'It's finely balanced but probably 60-40 against a win. If we lose, it's got to be election campaign mode on getting us out of Strasbourg  put the old Vote Leave gang back together and run it relentlessly.'

The work selecting the most likely migrants for an inaugural flight is being spearheaded by the Home Office's new 'relocations and returns' unit.

So far this year, 26,116 small-boat migrants have reached Britain  down 30 per cent on the same time last year.

The 140 million Rwanda deal sets out how irregular migrants will be transferred to the East African nation to claim asylum there rather than in the UK, in a bid to deter people from making the perilous crossing at the hands of ruthless human traffickers.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will have to decide whether to activate measures in the new Act which allow ministers to ignore immigration injunctions issued by Strasbourg

The agreement is the key element of Home Secretary Suella Braverman's plan to 'detain and swiftly remove' migrants who arrive in the UK illegally.

As a fall-back option, up to five other countries  all believed to be in Africa  are in negotiations with the Home Office to take asylum seekers under schemes similar to the Rwanda deal.

A Home Office spokesman said: 'Our relationship with Rwanda is strong and we remain completely committed to delivering this policy.'
Suella Braverman will today demand an explanation from police after they stood by as pro-Palestine demonstrators called for a 'jihad' against Israel.

The Home Secretary will confront Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley over the force's low-key approach to anti-Israel demonstrators peddling hate on Britain's streets.

Ministers reacted angrily after the police said no laws were broken at an event on Saturday where protesters in central London called for 'Muslim armies' to launch a jihad to 'liberate Palestine'. According to one report, up to 15 officers stood by and watched.

Immigration minister Robert Jenrick yesterday said the hate-filled chants amounted to 'inciting terrorist violence' and should have resulted in arrests.

A source close to Mrs Braverman said she would be 'asking Sir Mark for an explanation over the response' by police to incidents that took place during protests by 100,000 pro-Palestine demonstrators in the capital.

Suella Braverman (pictured) will today demand an explanation from police after they stood by as pro-Palestine demonstrators called for a 'jihad' against Israel

Ministers reacted angrily after the police said no laws were broken at an event on Saturday where protesters in central London called for 'Muslim armies' to launch a jihad to 'liberate Palestine' (sign pictured). According to one report, up to 15 officers stood by and watched

The source added: 'There can be no place for incitement to hatred or violence on Britain's streets and, as the Home Secretary has made clear, the police are urged to crack down on anyone breaking the law.'

Mr Jenrick hit out at the police for their softly-softly approach, which comes against the backdrop of a sharp rise in anti-Semitic incidents after Hamas terrorists murdered 1,400 Israelis on October 7.

Israel's subsequent aerial bombardment of the Gaza homeland ruled by Hamas has triggered a wave of protests across Britain.

In a statement, the Met suggested it was not an offence to call for jihad because the word 'has a number of meanings'. The force said officers had spoken to one man heard calling for jihad in order to 'discourage any repeat'.

But Mr Jenrick said arrests should have been made. He acknowledged that policing was 'an operational matter' for officers and Crown Prosecution Service, but added: 'Chanting 'jihad' on the streets of London is completely reprehensible and I never want to see scenes like that.

'It is inciting terrorist violence and it needs to be tackled with the full force of the law.'

Mr Jenrick also took aim at protesters chanting that Palestine should be free 'from the river to the sea', saying that it 'envisages explicitly the erasure of Israel from the map'.

The chant has been widely heard at pro-Palestine demonstrations against Israel's retaliatory military action in Gaza.

Mr Jenrick said: 'I don't think there is any place for that chant on the streets of the UK. That is a highly incendiary chant, which is extremely intimidating to British Jews.

'I think a lot of people would be surprised by the Metropolitan Police's analysis of that issue. And that's something that we're going to discuss with the police.'

The Home Secretary will confront Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley (pictured) over the force's low-key approach to anti-Israel demonstrators peddling hate on Britain's streets

The term jihad can refer in Islam to the struggle to lead a good Muslim life or build a good Muslim society.

But it has also been co-opted by terror groups such as al Qaeda to refer to a 'holy war' against non-Muslims. Osama bin Laden declared jihad against the 'Jews and Crusaders' before the 9/11 attacks on the United States.

One Cabinet minister told the Mail they were 'shocked' that those using the term had not been arrested. 'I'm worried the police are losing the confidence of the public, certainly the Jewish community,' the minister said.

But one Whitehall source said the police faced a 'very difficult job' managing protests against the backdrop of the powder keg in the Middle East  and that halting the kind of behaviour seen at the weekend would require a change in the law.

'We have got a real problem with the law  it is very difficult to prosecute in this area,' the source said. 'To arrest someone for incitement to terrorism they would have to be encouraging a specific act.

'Chanting 'jihad for Palestine' isn't going to cut it, no matter how inflammatory it seems.

'Incitement to violence, again, has to be against a specific individual or group. Some very senior ministers do not like it, but you would need a change in the law to stop it.'

The controversy at the weekend centred on a video of a Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain protest showing a man chanting 'jihad'.

Footage posted on social media shows a man speaking into a microphone in front of a banner reading 'Muslim Armies! Rescue the People of Palestine', with the name of the group on it. The main speaker asks: 'What is the solution to liberate people from the concentration camp called Palestine?'

A man standing to the side of the speaker can then be heard chanting words including 'jihad', as can others attending the protest.

A source close to Mrs Braverman said she would be 'asking Sir Mark for an explanation over the response' by police to incidents that took place during protests by 100,000 pro-Palestine demonstrators in the capital (protest pictured)

Karen Pollock, chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, urged the Met to reconsider its approach. She described Hizb ut-Tahrir as 'extremists', adding: 'I don't think anyone thinks this was 'spiritual'  it was a call to wage war on Israel and this understandably will send chills down the spines of Jewish people.

'I find the police response to this perplexing to say the least.'

Ms Pollock said members of the Jewish community would also have felt concerned by footage of a London Tube driver leading pro-Palestinian chants through the carriages' public address system on Saturday.

She said: 'We will not cower and we will go about our lives. But if I had been on that Tube, it would have been highly intimidating  I would have been wondering how soon I could get off it.'

Lord Pickles, who serves as the UK's special envoy for post-Holocaust issues, said: 'The Metropolitan Police said they allowed the chanting of "From the river to the sea" on yesterday's march because the route does not go near a synagogue or a school.

'Presumably, this means it is acceptable to chant an anti-Semitic slogan on the streets of the nation's capital, providing it is not done outside a synagogue.'

The Met acknowledged that although the word jihad had a 'number of meanings... we know the public will most commonly associate it with terrorism.'

The force said specialist officers and the Crown Prosecution Service had 'assessed the video and have not identified any offences arising from the specific clip'.

It added: 'However, recognising the way language like this will be interpreted by the public and the divisive impact it will have, officers identified the man involved and spoke to him to discourage any repeat of similar chanting.'

Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain said it held demonstrations outside the Egyptian and Turkish embassies to call on Egypt and Turkey to unite in 'rescuing their Palestinian brothers and sisters'.
Israel has ordered elite spies to hunt down and assassinate 'every single individual' involved in the October 7 atrocity as it fights a growing war on two fronts.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday warned that the nation was in a 'do-or-die double battle' to 'erase Hamas' in Gaza while trying to hold back against Hezbollah firing missiles from Lebanon.

He said Hezbollah terrorists in the north will be making 'the biggest mistake of their lives' if they fully join the battle.

The establishment of a special unit to hunt down Hamas fanatics who killed 1,400 people two weeks ago echoes the 'Operation Wrath of God' by Mossad to assassinate terrorists from the Palestinian group Black September decades ago.

They had killed Israeli athletes in the 1972 Munich massacre, and Israel's 'Iron Lady' leader Golda Meir ordered their assassinations  as recounted in Steven Spielberg's 2005 film Munich.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (pictured) yesterday warned that the nation was in a 'do-or-die double battle' to 'erase Hamas ' in Gaza

A man carries an injured Palestinian child after the Israeli airstrike in Deir al-Balah, Gaza

Yesterday Mossad's sister security service Shin Bet was reported to have established a special unit named Nili, an acronym meaning: 'The eternity of Israel will not lie.'

It is tasked with 'eliminating' everyone who played a role in the Hamas massacres.

Fears are mounting that the Israel-Hamas war could drag the Middle East into what Rishi Sunak called a 'contagion of conflict'.

As Israel prepares to send ground troops into Gaza to eradicate Hamas, the Israeli PM gave a speech to troops preparing to defend Israel against the much larger Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group based in Lebanon.

In a flak-jacket, Mr Netanyahu declared: 'We are now in a double battle. A battle for our lives. A battle for our home. This is the war. It's do or die  they need to die.

'One battle is a battle to hold action here and on the other side, to win there [in Gaza], an absolute victory that will erase Hamas.' He warned: 'If Hezbollah decides to enter the war... they will be making the biggest mistake of their lives.'

Yesterday Israel stepped up airstrikes on Gaza ahead of the ground invasion. It said its overnight strikes had killed dozens of Hamas terrorists. Israeli fighter jets also struck two airports in Syria  amid fears Iran-backed fighters are massing  and a mosque in the occupied West Bank said to be used by militants.

The country has traded fire with Lebanon's Hezbollah militants since the war began, and tensions are soaring in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces have fought militants and carried out two air strikes in recent days.

Meanwhile, Israelis living near the country's northern border with Lebanon have been evacuated. Mr Netanyahu's defiant speech came just hours after Iran issued a chilling warning to the United States saying that Israel's war with Hamas could 'spiral out of control' if they do not 'immediately' cease strikes on Gaza.

Israeli soldiers and armored vehicles are at their position along the Israel-Lebanon border

A young man transports a bag of food as smoke rises from buildings behind him during an Israeli strike in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip

Iran's foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian warned: 'Anything is possible at any moment.'

In an interview with the Mail on Sunday, Israel's economy minister Nir Barkat vowed to attack 'the head of the snake, which is Iran' if Hezbollah escalates the conflict.

Yesterday in Gaza, Israel claimed the humanitarian situation was 'under control' despite the death toll now passing 4,600  more than three times the number of Israelis killed by Hamas.

Israeli forces killed six Palestinians in the occupied territory yesterday, bringing the number of deaths in the region to 91 since October 7, the Hamas-run Palestinian health ministry said.

It came as Israeli president Isaac Herzog told Sky News that Hamas were carrying instructions on how to make chemical weapons when they carried out their massacre on October 7. He said documents found on the bodies of dead fighters in kibbutz Be'eri were 'official Al Qaeda material' showing how to build a weapon with cyanide.
Rishi Sunak is under pressure to reshuffle his top team in the wake of last week's bruising by-election defeats.

The Prime Minister attempted to shrug off the heavy losses in Mid Bedfordshire and Tamworth, saying the 'disappointing' results were the result of normal mid-term blues and 'local factors'.

But senior figures are urging him to bring forward a planned reshuffle to inject more vigour into his team.

One minister told the Mail it was time to 'clear out the dead wood', adding: 'The PM is right to try to grab the change agenda  it is our only hope. The changes on things like net zero and HS2 have been popular.

'The danger now is that people around him look at these results and lose their nerve. In fact, he needs to keep making changes, including with personnel. If we are going to stand for change then we have to look and sound different too and that does mean clearing out some of the dead wood.'

Rishi Sunak is under pressure to reshuffle his top team in the wake of last week's bruising by-election defeats

Environment Secretary Therese Coffey, Scottish Secretary Alister Jack and Transport Secretary Mark Harper are among those tipped for the sack in a reshuffle

A Downing Street source yesterday said the PM was not planning a reshuffle 'this week'.

But one insider said officials were already preparing 'welcome packs' to brief reshuffled ministers on their new responsibilities.

Environment Secretary Therese Coffey, Scottish Secretary Alister Jack and Transport Secretary Mark Harper are among those tipped for the sack in a reshuffle which government sources had previously indicated would not come until the end of the year.

Some reports have suggested that even Home Secretary Suella Braverman could be moved. And some Tories are pushing for the removal of party chairman Greg Hands after last week's defeats.

Jeremy Hunt yesterday denied a report that he is planning to quit Parliament at the next election.

Immigration minister Robert Jenrick yesterday acknowledged that ministers were 'disappointed' with the by-election results, but insisted that the PM was making 'good progress' on delivering on the public's priorities. Asked if he was in denial he told the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg show: 'We all have to listen to what the voters are saying in those by-elections, but we also shouldn't read too much into them.'

Meanwhile, Tory MPs warned that the Reform party risks clearing a path to Downing Street for Labour at next year's election.

In both by-elections, the Eurosceptic party, which is focused on slashing taxes and immigration, achieved a vote higher than the Labour majority. Party leader Richard Tice has pledged to run a candidate in every seat.

Tory vice chairman Lee Anderson told the Sun on Sunday: 'Reform UK and their leader Richard Tice are basically working for a Labour government.'

Celebrating the results, Mr Tice said at the weekend: 'We're delighted with ensuring that we have stopped the Tories from winning either of those two by-elections.' He added last night: 'You cannot reward failure with more incumbency.'
A 12-year-old Australian boy trapped in the Gaza Strip has made a desperate plea to the Australian government to help his family return home.

Yazan Hellis, from Melbourne, is currently trapped with his mother and sister as Israel continues to bombard Gaza.

The offensive comes after Israel was ambushed by Hamas on October 7 with the terrorist group firing off thousands of missiles and killing more than 1,200 residents.

Yazan said he does not know how he and his mother and seven-year-old sister will get out of Gaza after a blockade was placed on the region.

There has only been a limited amount of trucks of aid delivered to Gaza - reportedly about four per cent of what typically arrives in the territory daily - sparking fears of a worsening humanitarian crisis.

Yazan Hellis (pictured), 12, was one of 51 Australians trapped in Gaza when it was placed under siege by Israel following the deadly terror attack by Hamas on October 7

Israeli planes struck Gaza on Saturday night, with additional attacks on Sunday hitting two airports in Syria and a mosque in occupied West Bank (pictured: Rapha in the Southern Gaza Strip)

'It's really stressful  like you've never been in a war before, so I'm really scared,' Yazan told 7 News.

'I saw people dead on the ground, legs everywhere, arms everywhere  I want to go home back to Australia but the borders are closed and there's bombing everywhere.'

Some 51 Australians are understood to be stuck in Gaza, according to the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs.

Yazan said his mother was 'really really stressed and scared'.

She has pleaded with the Australian government to step in and help the family get back home.

It is understood the family arrived in Gaza to visit family about two weeks ago.

A second convoy of 17 trucks of aid entered Gaza from Egypt on Sunday following an initial delivery of 20 trucks on Saturday after intense negotiations.

The trucks offer the first convoy of humanitarian supplies since Israel began a siege 12 days ago and after further heavy Israeli bombardment that killed dozens of Palestinians.

According to the UN, the enclave needs 100 trucks per day to meet the needs of Gaza's 2.4 million residents.

It is understood there have been no deliveries of fuel, with the United Nation's Relief and Worker agency chief Philippe Lazzarini warning on Sunday that supplies would run out 'in three days'.

'Without fuel, there will be no water, no functioning hospitals and.. aid will not reach many civilians in desperate need,' he said.

Yazan (right with his sister) has made a desperate plea to the Australian government to help his family get home

One of a number of trucks carrying aid to the residents of the war-torn Gaza strip

No people have been allowed out of Gaza, with Israel heaping pressure on the enclave's 2.3 million people ahead of a planned invasion in the north of the region.

The Australian Government cannot currently access Gaza, but has said that anyone who was able to make it across the border to Egypt would receive assistance.

On Sunday (Iran time), Iran issued a chilling warning to the United States that Israel's war with Hamas could 'spiral out of control' if they do not 'immediately' cease strikes on Gaza.

'I warn the US and its proxy (Israel) that if they do not immediately stop the crime against humanity and genocide in Gaza, anything is possible at any moment and the region will go out of control,' Iran's foreign minister said.

The Israeli government has also warned it would target Tehran if Lebanon's Hezbollah escalates the conflict.

Israeli planes struck Gaza on Saturday night, with additional attacks on Sunday hitting two airports in Syria and a mosque in occupied West Bank frequented by militants.

Hamas militants stormed the border into Israel on October 7, launching a deadly attack that killed at least 1400 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli officials.

They also seized more than 200 hostages in what has been described as the worst-ever attack in Israel's history.
Spooky season is upon us, and many people are watching their favorite horror films - but a 'thrill engineer' has revealed why certain movies chill us to the bone.

A professor at Middlesex University found that frightening flicks like 'The Texas Chain Saw Massacre' and 'American Psycho' were strategically created to tap into three primal fears.

These include 'what happens to me when I die,' 'why do they want to hurt me, and whats inside of me?'

Professor Brendan Walker, who conducted the research, suggested that at the core of these fears is our anxiety about the unknown.

'Whether it's the uncertainty of the afterlife in 'The Haunting,' the psychology of cold-blooded killers in films like 'American Psycho' or the internal threats to our bodies hinted at in movies like 'The Fly,' the fear of the unfamiliar and unexplainable fuels our fearful reactions,' Walker said.

A professor at Middlesex University found that frightening flicks like 'The Texas Chain Saw Massacre' and 'American Psycho' were strategically created to tap into three primal fears

What happens to me when I die?

Many people fear dying due to the mystery surrounding what happens after we take our last breath.

Walker explained this question can be broken down into the notion that people are concerned about what will happen to their body, mind and soul.

Then humans tend to ask themselves: 'A place - beyond the human world - where the dead (or some part of them) reside? Or can my body or consciousness exist in this world beyond death? Can I be undead (alive but not living)? If there is an afterlife, what lives there - and what powers might it possess?'

In Georgie Romero's 1978 'Dawn of the Dead,' the dead rise again to walk the earth as zombies.

In Georgie Romero's 1978 'Dawn of the Dead,' the dead rise again to walk the earth as zombies. The film plays on our fears that we could become flesh-eating creatures once we die. This movie plays into the fear of 'what happens when I die?'

'The Haunting,' directed by Robert Wise in 1963, also plays on this fear in the idea that the movie focuses on a house haunted by ghosts that were once living people

The film plays on our fears that we could become flesh-eating creatures once we die.

'Reanimated corpses, but still with some vestigial human traits - in this case, they swarm to a shopping mall because this was an important place in their lives,'' shared Walker.

'Theyre us, but with something vital missing. And that appearance of being like us, but lacking, is what is scary.'

'The Haunting,' directed by Robert Wise in 1963, also plays on this fear in the idea that the movie focuses on a house haunted by ghosts that were once living people.

'Ghosts scare us because, again, theyre us but with something lacking - not just corporeality, but an anchor to this world, to human life as we know it,' Walker said.

'Their access to a realm beyond ours scares us because its unknown what lurks there - all we know is that it is some form of life that exists beyond us.'

Why do they want to hurt me?

In horror movies, 'they' can be a serial killer lurking around the corner, religious cults seeking their next sacrifice or even cocaine-fueled bears that run wild in the US.

Walker pointed to this fear being triggered in Tobe Hooper's 1974 The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, which follows a group of young travelers who fall victim to a family of cannibals.

The victims are chased throughout a farm by a man wearing human skin as a mask and carrying a chainsaw.

Walker pointed to the fear of 'why do they want to kill me' being triggered in Tobe Hooper's 1974 The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, which follows a group of young travelers who fall victim to a family of cannibals

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'The director said its a film about meat, with people as the meat,' said Walker.

'The killers kill because they see other humans as prey - their family unit is outside conventional society and feeds off it.

'We fear them because they see us the way we see animals.'

Another movie that plays on this fear is Mary Harron's 2000 'American Psycho.'

In this cult classic, a wealthy New York City investment banker lives a double life as a serial killer.

Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) seems to tick all the boxes of a killer - lack of empathy, superficial charm, narcissism and impulsivity.

He temps prostitutes and even his own colleagues to his apartment, where he murders them just for fun.

'The scientific term for pleasure is valence, which is defined as the hedonistic tone. Killing others for pleasure is in our DNA,' said Walker.

'Chimpanzees have been shown to derive great excitement from hunting and dismembering other primates.

'It is so shocking because the concept of civilization is the only thing that prevents us all from enjoying such pleasures.'

What's inside me?

This fear creates several mysteries in our thinking - will this thing take over my body, or will I become a monster?

In John Carpenter's 1982 'The Thing,' a research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.

The fear of 'what's inside me' creates several mysteries in our thinking - will this thing take over my body, or will I become a monster? In John Carpenter's 1982 'The Thing,' a research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims

David Cronenberg's 1986 'The Fly' also triggers this fear. 'A scientists experiment turns him into a human/fly hybrid. His body begins to change and mutate and then break down'

The movie's main themes concern paranoia and mistrust, sparking fears of what could be inside viewers as they watch aliens take over human bodies on the big screen.

David Cronenberg's 1986 'The Fly' also triggers this fear.

'A scientists (played by Jeff Goldblum) experiment turns him into a human/fly hybrid. His body begins to change and mutate and then break down,' shared Walker.

'It embodies fears about illness, disability, and old age and also sees how a change in our physical being can affect our minds. The fear of an alien body taking over our own is prevalent in many horror, including The Thing.

'The science of aging. Combating morbidity. Combating dementia. Body modification procedures.'
The Latin America and the Caribbean Climate Week (LACCW) will bring together representatives from local and national governments, Indigenous Peoples, civil society and the private sector to address climate challenges, inspire heightened ambition and contribute to the first global stocktake of the Paris Agreement.

The event will take place in Panama City, Panama, on October 23-27.

Countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) are confronting escalating climate impacts. This year has witnessed a series of extreme weather events across the region, including fires, droughts, floods and record-breaking temperatures, underscoring the region's vulnerability to climate change.

The region, on the other hand, also holds the key to multiple climate solutions. The unique natural assets of Latin America and the Caribbean, such as forests, mangroves and coral reefs, serve as carbon sinks and natural defences against floods.

LAC also stands out as a clean energy leader, with almost 60 per cent of energy generated from hydroelectric power and significant potential for wind and solar energy.

An estimated 3,000 participants from across the region are expected to attend more than 200 events that will frame discussions around four key tracks, each designed to provide region-specific contributions to inform the first global stocktake.

The four tracks will address challenges and solutions related to energy systems and industry; settlements, infrastructure and transport; land, ocean, food and water; as well as societies, health, livelihoods and economies, highlighting initiatives that are already underway and can be scaled up or implemented in the future.

LACCW is hosted by the government of Panama and organized by UN Climate Change in collaboration with global partners the UN Development Programme, the UN Environment Programme and the World Bank, and regional partners the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, the CAF-Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, the Inter-American Development Bank and EuroClima.

LACCW is held in parallel with the Forum of Environment Ministers of the region that will take place on October 26-27 in the same venue.--OGN/ TradeArabia News Service
Xem them

(Construction) - On October 3, 2023, in Tokyo - Capital of Japan, Construction Newspaper of Vietnam, represented by Mr. Nguyen Anh Dung - Editor-in-Chief continued to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with The Daily Engineering and Construction News of Japan (DECN) with the witness of the MLIT and many businesses in Japan.

...

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Khong con du lieu e load
Have you caught a UFO encounter on film? Email tom.cotterill@mailonline.co.uk to tell your story

Have you caught a UFO encounter on film? Email tom.cotterill@mailonline.co.uk to tell your story

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The former head of Britain's UFO investigation squad has accused the government and military top brass of not taking the 'threat' posed by unidentified flying objects seriously.

Alien hunter Nick Pope, who ran the Ministry of Defence's UFO project in the 1990s before it was disbanded, said it was 'outrageous' ministers are not taking 'meaningful action' to probe unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs) - better known as UFOs.

The UFO expert also accused defence chiefs of 'falling back on a lazy, closed-minded "it can't be, so it isn't" mindset', meaning potential foreign threats to UK shores could be missed.

He claimed the MoD's position of no longer investigating sightings made 'little sense' considering the stance taken by the US government, which has ramped up its investigations into the phenomena this year.

His comments come as a map today revealed Britain's UFO hotspots, with almost 1,000 reported sightings recorded in the past two-and-a-half year.

'If the US assessment is that UAP pose a threat to national security that requires a proper investigative response, it seems illogical for the MoD not to follow suit,' Mr Pope told MailOnline.

Have you filmed a UFO? Do you think you were abducted by aliens and want to tell your story? Email tom.cotterill@mailonline.co.uk

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More than 1,000 sightings have been reported in the UK in almost three years - sparking calls for the Government to re-open its UFO investigation team (file image)

'The Ministry of Defence needs to restart UAP investigations, a task force of some sort needs to be set up, and the defence committee needs to start holding the MoD to account on UAP, as the armed services committees are doing in the US Congress, in both the Senate and the House.'

Poll Should the government do more to investigate UFO sightings in Britain? Yes No Should the government do more to investigate UFO sightings in Britain? Yes 1039 votes

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The MoD closed its UFO desk in 2009 and nothing has ever replaced it, with a spokesman saying the Ministry of Defence has 'no opinion on the existence of extra-terrestrial life'.

Prior to this, it carried out what at the time was a highly-secretive and extensive UFO investigation of more than 10,000 possible sightings over several decades - many of which were by military personnel.

Known as the Project Condign report, it concluded that 80 per cent of the sightings were easily explained, 19 per cent were secret military craft and just one per cent were mysterious in origin.

'One thing that is clear, however, is that the UFO phenomenon, whatever it may be, does not recognise any international borders, therefore any such study surely must be international in scope rather than national,' said Philip Mantle, the former director of investigations at the British UFO Research Association.

Data, compiled by experts at UFO Identified, showed that Liverpool, London and Glasgow are all hotbeds for sightings of potential extraterrestrials, with dozens of reported encounters recorded since 2021.

Between January 2021 and May this year, the UFO spotter website documented a total of 957 sightings. That includes 410 in 2021, 494 in 2022, and 53 as of May 20 this year.

Of all counties in the UK, more UFOs were spotted in skies of Greater Manchester than anywhere else, a total of 54 documented sightings. That was followed by Greater London (52), Cheshire (37), and West Sussex (34).

Reported sightings included:

READ MORE: Are aliens controlling us in a computer game? Leading UFO expert says the theory would explain the different world religions Advertisement

A 'dark, large oblong shaped object' that was spotted from a plane flying above the city of Glasgow, Scotland, in February of last year

And a 30ft to 40ft wide 'round saucer-like object with detailed outer rim' was observed 'hovering over a house' in Bedworth, Warwickshire in January.

A 'long cigar-shaped craft with three or four roundish patterns on it' which was witnessed in Chester, Cheshire, for 20 minutes before it 'vanished like a light being switched off' in October last year.

Ash Ellis, who runs UFO Identified, told MailOnline the reported sightings in Britain over the past couple of years could be the tip of the iceberg.

He added: Sightings continue to be reported across the UK with close to 500 documented in our database annually. Its estimated that only around 15 per cent of sightings are actually reported so the figure is 500 is more likely to be around 4,000 sightings a year in the UK, a huge amount that can't be ignored.'

As calls grow for Britain to relaunch its UFO probe, in the US, NASA last month released its highly-anticipated report into more than 800 potential alien sightings over a period of three decades.

The space agency's independent panel of experts stressed there was 'no reason to conclude' any were extraterrestrial in origin, but warned that mysterious flying objects were a 'self-evident' threat to American airspace.

Mr Pope said if the US was worried about this then Britain, as an NATO ally, should be too.

He added: 'The UK can make a significant contribution to the wider search for the truth about UAP, by leveraging its world class intelligence community imagery analysis resources and capabilities... The bottom line is that we need action.'

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence told MailOnline: 'The MoD has no opinion on the existence of extra-terrestrial life and no longer investigates reports of sightings of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena or Unidentified Flying Objects.

Footage released by the US Department of Defence captured the moment military pilots spotted a UFO dubbed the 'Tic Tac' - a wingless oblong filmed by a fighter jet's camera

In the US, NASA released its highly-anticipated report into more than 800 potential alien sightings over a period of three decades. NASA chief Bill Nelson (pictured) announced that a new director for UFO research would help implement the panel's recommendations

'This is because, in over 50 years no such reporting to the department indicated the existence of any military threat to the UK, and it was deemed more valuable to prioritise MoD staff resources towards other defence-related activities.'

The news comes amid dramatic claims from a former intelligence officer who suggested that people have been murdered by the US government as part of the conspiracy to keep UFOs a secret.

David Grusch - a former high-ranking American intelligence official - is one of three military whistleblowers who testified under oath that they had firsthand encounters or knowledge about secret government programs involving technology that is 'non-human.'

He claimed the US has been in possession of UFOs since 'the 1930s' and has been secretly back-engineering them and carrying out a public disinformation campaign to prevent the details from leaking publicly.

At one point during the first-of-its-kind hearing in July, Representative Tim Burchett asked Grusch: 'Personally, have you heard anyone [has] been murdered?' Grusch said: 'I have to be careful answering that question. I directed people with that knowledge to the appropriate authorities.'

Grusch was sworn in along with Ryan Graves, an esteemed former pilot, and Navy veteran fighter pilot Commander David Fravor, who witnessed the 2004 'Tic Tac' UFO.

Opening the hearing, Rep Burchett promised their testimonies would be a landmark moment in uncovering 'the biggest cover-up in history.'

Grusch also claimed he had been told by multiple credible intelligence officials the US government had recovered non-human aircraft that had biological pilots inside them.

The former US Intelligence agent also said he knows of 'multiple colleagues' who were physically injured by UFOs either after encountering them or working on them as part of these special access programs.

While Grusch is still forbidden from disclosing certain information, per the terms of his Defense Office of Prepublication and Security Review agreement with the Pentagon, he did to clarify his statements in a later interview with the BBC in August.

'There's certain things that I have firsthand access to that I can't publicly discuss at this time,' Grusch told the BBC.

Ryan Graves, a former pilot, Air Force and intelligence agency veteran David Grusch and Navy veteran fighter pilot Commander David Fravor have been sworn in and are ready to share their experiences

The hearing kicked off with opening statements from Representative Tim Burchett, who said: 'We are going to uncover the UFO coverup'

'However, myself and other colleagues interviewed 40 individuals, both current and former highly distinguished intelligence and military personnel that were specifically on these [UFO crash retrieval] programs.'

'And those that were willing I directed to the Intelligence Community Inspector General. So, the Inspector General was able to interview these people that do have direct firsthand information.'

Last month two supposed alien mummies were presented in Mexico by Jaime Maussan, a controversial journalist who has previously made debunked claims of finding aliens and claims they are extraterrestrial.

The UFO investigator presented two allegedly 'non human' bodies to a congress full of astonished officials.

Mr Maussan, who has led investigations into alien phenomena for decades, stood with scientists to unveil the corpses in what he called a 'watershed' event.

The researchers made the extraordinary claim the corpses, presented in windowed boxes and supposedly recovered from Cusco in Peru, were not part of 'our terrestrial evolution', with 30 per cent of their genetic composition still 'unknown', according to Mexican media.

The mummified bodies were presented to photojournalists and deputies at Mexican congress

The presentation caused a frenzy online among UFO conspiracy theorists but also drew scepticism

A closer view shows remains of an allegedly non-human being at the event on September 12

Carbon dating by the National Autonomous University of Mexico found the bodies, pictured with three-fingered hands, no teeth and stereoscopic vision, were more than 1,000 years old, Maussan claimed.

The bizarre presentation triggered a frenzy of excitement among conspiracy theorists online - but it has also drawn scepticism from the scientific community.

Speaking of the revelation, stargazing Professor Brian Cox said 'extraordinary' claims had been made, but without 'extraordinary evidence' to back it up.

Have you filmed a UFO? Where you abducted by aliens or experienced an encounter with a UFO? Email tom.cotterill@mailonline.co.uk
Some of the most important religious sites have already been bombed

Archaeological and cultural sites are at severe risk of total destruction

Since Hamas launched a series of brutal terror attacks on Israel on October 7, the Palestinian enclave of Gaza has been pounded by nearly continuous airstrikes.

The conflict, which has already claimed the lives of 1,400 Israelis and 3,700 Palestinians, has also destroyed countless homes and displaced 600,000 people.

Alongside the enormous damage to the Palestinian enclave's infrastructure, the bombardment also threatens to wipe out a treasure trove of historical, cultural, and archaeological sites.

These sites include the oldest Christian church in Palestine, a vast Roman burial site, and the ancient ruins of a fourth century monastery.

Many of these sites are in the northern evacuation zone, from which the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) has instructed civilians to flee in preparation for a full-scale assault - and some have already been damaged by conflict.

This map shows the location of nine archaeological and cultural sites in Gaza, the vast majority are located in or near the evacuation zone where fighting is likely to be heaviest

READ MORE: Gaza suffers more destruction as Greek Orthodox church hit in strike killing several people as they sheltered inside Advertisement

Jean-Baptiste Humbert, a French archaeologist who has worked in Palestine for decades, told MailOnline he was 'ready to attend to a total destruction of the Gaza cultural heritage.'

Although Professor Humbert maintains that no one is intentionally destroying historical sites, he says that the conditions in Palestine have led to an inevitable loss of the region's cultural heritage.

'Gaza society is sensitive to its heritage, but the crushing by the occupying forces over the last fifty years has meant that vital priorities such as feeding, caring for and educating the population have been pushed cultural heritage aside as a luxury for affluent countries,' Professor Humbert said.

As Professor Humbert points out, population growth in the already densely populated region has meant that houses and municipal buildings are frequently built over archaeological sites.

A UNESCO spokesperson told MailOnline that the body already had 'very serious concerns' about the conservation of several historic sites in Gaza due to a lack of public policy for their protection.

'All Israeli and Palestinian heritage sites are currently at risk of damage. UNESCO is of course deeply concerned about the adverse impact this conflict could have on cultural heritage both in Palestine and Israel,' they said.

UNESCO also points out that the high number of rocket strikes against both Gaza and Israel puts archaeological sites across the region at high risk of damage.

This map of Professor Humbert's findings shows how historical sites like this Roman settlement are often built over by modern housing

The Church of Saint Porphyrius

The oldest Christian Church in Gaza, the Church of Saint Porphyrius has stood in the Zaytun quarter of the city since the 1150s.

Built by Crusaders, the Greek Orthodox church takes its name from the 5th-century bishop of Gaza whose tomb is located in the northeastern corner.

The church offered services and sheltered members of all faiths during conflicts, however, it has now been seriously damaged in a missile strike which killed a 'large number of people.

This week, an air strike struck the church, damaging the facade and causing an adjacent building to collapse.

A number of civilians who had been sheltering in the church have been killed according to the Palestinian interior ministry.

The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem said targeting the church 'constitutes a war crime'.

The Church of St Porphyrius is Gaza's oldest Christian church and still offers a place of shelter and worship for the people who live in the Palestinian enclave

As a Greek Orthodox church the building has been used for almost 1,000 years and still conducts services

A missile struck the church this Friday, killing several people sheltering inside and collapsing a neighboring building

Ancient history of Gaza The history of Gaza stretches back around 4,000 years to the original Canaanite settlement. During this time the area has been ruled, destroyed, conquered, and repopulated by armies from various empires and dynasties. In 730 BCE Gaza became part of the Assyrian Empire until the city was besieged by Alexander the Great in 32 BCE. After changing between Egyptian and Syrian control for hundreds of years, the Romans took control in 63 CE. After Roman rule the city was again invaded by the Crusaders in 1100 CE before passing into the control of the Mamluk dynasty in the late 1300s. Advertisement

Tell Umm Amer (Monastery of St Hilarion)

Hidden among the coastal dunes six miles (10km) south of Gaza City, the remains of Tel Umm Amer, or the Monastery of St Hilarion, span four centuries from the late Roman Empire to the Umayyad Period.

The first buildings on the site were founded in 400 CE, over 1,600 years ago, and it was one of the largest Christian Monasteries in the Middle East.

Dedicated to St Hilarion, a native Gazan and the father of Palestinian monasticism, the sprawling site contains five successive churches, baths and sanctuary complexes, intricate geometric mosaics, and a vast crypt.

At its height, the monastery would have served the pilgrims and merchants crossing the holy land from Egypt into modern-day Lebanon and Syria, who stopped to rest and enjoy the Roman-style baths.

However, the monastery was damaged in the seventh century by an earthquake and was abandoned until 1999 when local archaeologists began to excavate the ruins.

The site had been submitted to UNESCO's tentative World Heritage list in 2012 due to its cultural, religious, and historical importance.

A UNESCO representative told the MailOnline that the organisation was extremely concerned about the site's conservation, even prior Hamas' attacks on Israel.

Tell Umm Amer, or the monastery of St Hilarion, was once one of the largest monasteries in the entire Middle East

An important crossroads between Egypt and Mesopotamia, the monastery was a key stop-over for merchants and pilgrims who came to rest and relax in the bath complex

Archeologists have uncovered large monasteries, however UNESCO says it is extremely concerned about the sites conservation

Qalaat Barquq

Located in Khan Younis, Southern Gaza, Qalaat Barquq is a 14th-century fort constructed during the rule of the Mamluk Sultan Barquq.

The fort was built during a time of massive upheaval in the region as instability within the elite and the threat of Mongol invasion threatened to overturn the Sultan's hold on power.

Sultan Barquq himself was originally a slave, sold to a bathhouse in Crimea he tried to escape before being captured by Bulgarian bandits and sold to Egypt.

Rising through the ranks of the Mamluk elite as a court advisor, Barquq was able to kill the previous sultan and seize power for himself.

This fort was used by merchants travelling between Damascus and Cairo and was heavily guarded at all times.

Today, the front facade of the fort and one of the towers survives, while most of the structure has been converted into living spaces and shops.

Qalaat Barquq is a 13th-century fort built by the Sultan Barquq to defend himself against rebellions and the Mongol armies that threatened to overthrow him

Qasr el-Basha

The many names of Qasr el-Basha are a testament to its long history and the decades of international activity in Gaza.

Known as Pasha's Palace, Radwan Castle, or Napoleon's Fort this 13th-century building has served as a seat of power for everyone from the Ottomans to the British.

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Built by Sultan Zahir Baibars, the fort initially served as a defence against the Crusaders and invading Mongol armies still warring in the region.

In the 1600s the fort was taken over and expanded by the Ottoman Empire during the Radwan dynasty, who later became the 'pashas' of Gaza.

It was the fort's defensive prowess that probably attracted Napoleon Bonaparte who spent three days there during 1799, earning its nickname 'Napoleon's Fort'.

During the modern period, the building was used as a police station by the British Mandate of Palestine before being converted into a girls' school.

Currently, the fort is used as a cultural museum, having been converted with the help of the United Nations Development Fund.

Due to tight border controls, artifacts found in Gaza cannot easily leave the country meaning that Qasr el-Basha has become an important repository for archaeological finds made in the Gaza Strip.

Qasr el-Basha was originally constructed in the 13th century as a defense against the Crusaders

It is now a cultural museum housing several important artifacts found in archaeological sites in Gaza

Al-Omari Mosque

The Great Mosque of Gaza, the city's oldest and largest Mosque, was built in the Jabaliya area over 700 years ago.

The Omari mosque still serves an important function in the community, offering a place of worship for some 1,000 Gazans.

However, the structure was badly damaged during the brief 2014 incursion into Gaza by Israeli forces.

As part of Operation Defensive Edge, the mosque was hit by an airstrike which flattened a modern wing and destroyed much of the roof.

However, the 13th-century minaret, believed to be the oldest part of the structure, survived the conflict and still stands today.

Built over 700 years ago the al-Omari Mosque is Gaza's biggest and oldest, making it an important site of religious and cultural significance.

The Mosque was badly damaged by an airstrike in 2014 as Israeli troops entered Gaza to fight Hamas terrorists

Al Ghussein House

The Al Ghussein House is a historical building dating from the late Ottoman period and was the home of the English consul during the British Mandate.

Built by the wealthy Al-Ghussein family in the 18th century, the house is one of many historical buildings in Gaza which fell into disrepair and decay due to the ongoing crisis.

Despite its importance, the building was left abandoned a decade ago until renovations began in 2020 to restore its grandeur and convert it into a cultural hub.

The house now serves the local community as a cultural centre promoting the arts, music, and film.

Having once fallen into disrepair, the former home of the British envoy is now a thriving community centre celebrating art and music

Hammam al Sammara

In the Turkish-style baths of Hammam al-Sammara, meaning the Samaritan bathhouse, locals still come to enjoy the relaxing heat in the same way as they have been for centuries.

Built by the Samaritans, an ancient offshoot of Judaism, records of renovations date the baths back to at least 1320 CE.

Marble tiles and stained glass decorate the domed rooms where you can find hot and cold baths 10 feet (three metres) beneath the busy streets.

The site has fallen in and out of repair over the last 700 years but it currently has been restored and is now the only active traditional bath house in Gaza.

At the Hammam al Sammara Gazan's can enjoy a moment of peace and tranquility among the ancient steam rooms and baths

For over 700 years locals have been coming here to sweat away their worries on the marble slabs 10ft beneath the streets

Ard-al-Moharbeen Roman Necropolis

In July, archaeologists were amazed to make the 'unprecedented' discovery of a Roman necropolis containing at least 130 tombs.

The project, which was partly funded by the British Council to encourage young Palestinians to engage with their cultural heritage, excavated tombs which date back between 200 BCE and 200 CE.

Construction crews initially discovered the site, which is over 43,000 square feet, while working on a housing project near the Jabalia refugee camp last year.

Archaeologists also found two lead coffins, one intricately decorated with grape harvest motifs and the other featuring dolphins swimming through water.

The rarity of lead tombs suggests that members of the Roman elite were buried here, this could mean that the tomb indicates the centre of an ancient Roman city.

Some of the skeletons were discovered with coins placed in their mouths, a practice believed to grant them safe passage through the afterlife.

The tombs were found less than a mile from the ancient metropolis of Anthedon Blakhiyeh, a Mediterranean port city believed to have been inhabited between 800 BCE and 1100 CE by a succession of ancient societies.

Last year, an investigation by Forensic Architecture using Professor Humbert's research found that Israeli bombing had placed the site under severe threat of destruction.

The 'unprecedented' discovery of Gaza's largest necropolis revealed over 130 Roman tombs less than a mile from the ancient Mediterranean port city of Anthedon Blakhiyeh

Archaeologists uncovered lead coffins decorated with grapes and swimming dolphins, this suggests that the elite of Roman society were buried here

However, reports suggest the ancient Roman city beneath Gaza is at extreme risk of destruction due to building works and bombardment

Tel Rafah Archaeological site

On Gaza's southern border with Egypt, a large archaeological site spans over an ancient settlement dating back to the Canaanite era.

Excavations at Tel Rafa have uncovered coins, bots, and glass made as far back as 1400 BCE.

Roman-era coins and structures have also been discovered by researchers working in the area.

However, with limited resources and a little governmental support the sites in Rafa have been little explored and much lies excavated.

Archaeologists in Gaza have to work with little funding and government support as cultural preservation remains a low priority for the Palestinian authorities
Humour, whether highbrow or downright crass, seems to be an essential part of virtually every human society across the world and throughout time.

But what makes a joke funny? And why do we even try to make people laugh in the first place?

Researchers have taken an important step towards answering these pressing questions, after revealing the 10 oldest recorded jokes in existence.

A study by the University of Wolverhampton found that the oldest joke in existence was a 4,000-year-old fart joke written in ancient Sumeria.

From Ancient Roman 'your mum' jokes to dirty jokes about Pharaohs, you'll have to decide for yourself if these classic crackers have stood the test of time.

10. An ancient joke about the barbers, 300-400 AD

The Ancient Greeks loved a laugh and even invented Comedy as a genre, making it one of the three principal forms of dramatic theatre

This joke comes from the pages of the world's oldest surviving joke book, a fourth-century text called 'Philogelos', meaning Laughter-Lover.

The text is attributed to the Ancient Greek comics and writers Hierocles and Philagrius. Here's how it goes:

'Asked by the court barber how he wanted his hair cut, the king replied: "In silence".'

9. A truly classic donkey joke, Ancient Greece, 300- 400 AD

Another joke from the Philogelos, this joke covers a favourite comedic topic of the Ancient Greeks: the idiot.

'Wishing to teach his donkey not to eat, a pedant did not offer him any food,' it reads.

'When the donkey died of hunger, he said: "I've had a great loss! Just when he had learned not to eat, he died".'

8. A Roman 'your mum' joke, Ancient Rome, 63 BC-14 AD

Emperor Augustus ruled from 27 BCE to 14 CE, it's not clear whether he would have appreciated this cheeky joke from around the time of his reign

The Roman Empire was an advanced society in many ways and apparently, comedy was no exception.

While you might not hear it in a school playground today, this Roman classic is the very first example of a 'your mum' joke in recorded history.

'The Emperor Augustus was touring the Empire, when he noticed a man in the crowd who bore a striking resemblance to himself,' it reads.

'Intrigued, he asked: 'Was your mother at one time in service at the Palace?'

'"No, your Highness," the man replied, "but my father was".'

7. A dirty joke fit for a Pharaoh, Ancient Egypt, 30 BC

The Egyptians were no strangers to dirty jokes as this 2,000-year-old one-liner shows

A simple bawdy joke from ancient Egypt, this gag was written just as the last remnants of the Roman Republic collapsed.

The joke is believed to have been written around the same year that Marc Anthony and Cleopatra killed themselves by snakebite; they certainly wouldn't have died laughing.

'Man is even more eager to copulate than a donkey. His purse is what restrains him,' it reads.

6. A classic brain teaser, Ancient Greece, 429 BC

These fragments of papyrus are the earliest version of the Oedipus Tyrannus in existence. Written in Ancient Greek, they are believed to be from the fourth century CE

A slightly more highbrow joke comes from 'Oedipus Tyrannus', a play by the Greek playwright Sophocles.

If you're a fan of riddles, you might already be familiar with this famous line, which is still repeated in almost the same way to this day.

During the ancient tragedy, one character gives the following line: 'Question: What animal walks on four feet in the morning, two at noon and three at evening?

'Answer: Man. He goes on all fours as a baby, on two feet as a man and uses a cane in old age.'

5. An eye-watering pun, Ancient Greece, 800 BC

Researchers believe that this clay tablet is the oldest written version of the Odyssey. Although the exact date of the tablet is yet to be confirmed, the tale was probably composed in the eighth century

Still in Ancient Greece, this pun comes from Homer's The Odyssey, the classic tale of how Odysseus travelled home after the end of the Trojan War.

During his travels, Odysseus and his crew are captured by a cyclops who threatens to eat them all.

Homer uses this as the set up for a bit of dark humour and a truly terrible pun.

'Odysseus tells the Cyclops that his real name is "Nobody",' it reads.

'When Odysseus instructs his men to attack the Cyclops, the Cyclops shouts: "Help, Nobody is attacking me!"

'No one comes to help.'

4. A joke about an old married couple, Unknown, 1100 BC

The origins of this joke may be lost, but it draws on a theme that has been used by comedians since the beginning of time.

'A woman who was blind in one eye has been married to a man for 20 years,' it reads.

'When he found another woman he said to her, "I shall divorce you because you are said to be blind in one eye."

'And she answered him: "Have you just discovered that after 20 years of marriage?"'

3. Another ancient head-scratcher, Sumeria, 1200 BC

Sumeria is the earliest known civilization in Mesopotamia, emerging during the bronze age much of what we know about this culture survives in carvings like this ram

Comedy from the ancient world doesn't always follow our modern joke structure and jokes didn't always have a punchline.

In fact, many of these 'jokes' appear much more like riddles. Can you solve this Sumerian puzzle?

'Three ox drivers from Adab were thirsty: one owned the ox, the other owned the cow and the other owned the wagon's load,' it reads.

'The owner of the ox refused to get water because he feared his ox would be eaten by a lion; the owner of the cow refused because he thought his cow might wander off into the desert; the owner of the wagon refused because he feared his load would be stolen.

'So they all went. In their absence, the ox made love to the cow which gave birth to a calf, which ate the wagon's load.

'Problem: Who owns the calf?'

2. The word's first sex joke, Ancient Egypt, 1800-1600 BC

Fragments of ancient papyrus, a paper made from reeds, survive due to the hot dry climate of Egypt, allowing researchers to get a better understanding of this ancient culture

It turns out some things really never change, and sex jokes appear to have always gotten a laugh.

The world's second-oldest joke was discovered in an Ancient Egyptian storybook written sometime between 1800 and 1600 BC.

Known as the Westcar Papyrus, this ancient text contains five stories about miracles performed by priests and magicians. The Pharaoh this joke is said to be about is King Snorfru.

'How do you entertain a bored pharaoh?' it reads.

'You sail a boatload of young women dressed only in fishing nets down the Nile and urge the pharaoh to go catch a fish.'

1. The world's oldest joke, Sumeria, 1900 BC

Cuneiform is one of the oldest written languages and was written by pressing a reed nib into soft clay taken from the banks of Mesopotamia's vast river

The world's oldest joke was revealed to be a Sumerian proverb, written over 4,000 years ago.

This is the first recorded piece of humour in human history and might not have aged so gracefully.

'Something which has never occurred since time immemorial ...' it reads.

'A young woman did not fart in her husband's lap.'

Why have we always had jokes?

It might have surprised you that a number of these jokes seem familiar, and scientists say that this is due to a common root at the basis of all comedy.

Dr Martha Bayless, an expert in medieval folklore and popular culture at the University of Oregon, tells MailOnline that in the grimness of the past humour was essential for living.

'When you're staring down the Plague, crop failure, living in a microscopic two-room cottage with a dozen other people and a goat, and staggering out in the dark of night to the outdoor latrine  well, you'd better have some humour to keep you going,' Dr Bayless said.

As to why some ancient jokes haven't lost their sparkle, Dr Bayless told MailOnline she holds to the 'Unified Field Theory of Humour'.

'There are six funny things,' Dr Bayless explained.

Primates such as chimpanzees will laugh hen play fighting, Dr McGraw believes this may be the origins of human comedy

Are we attracted to funny people? Scientists have worked on a number of different theories to explain our attractions. People consistently report being more attracted to funnier individuals, despite there being no clear reason why this would be the case. One theory, known as the 'fitness indicator hypothesis', claims that humour evolved because it is an indicator of genetic fitness which humans would seek in a mate. However, recent studies suggest that there isn't any corrolation between how funny someone finds a potential partner and how attractive they find them. Advertisement

'Food, drinking (includes vomiting!), sex, bottoms, dung, and clergymen. The clergymen, of course, are funnier if they are involved in the other five funny things.

'These basic elements of humour hold true in every culture I've seen, though you have to substitute whatever solemn officials they have for the clergymen.'

This falls into what Dr Peter McGraw of the University of Colorado calls a 'benign violation'.

Dr McGraw is a psychologist who studies emotions and behavioural economics, and says that something is funny if it has two key elements.

'An element of threat and a sense of safety. It has to be both wrong and okay,' he told MailOnline.

For a joke to really land, it has to push against the norms just enough to be exciting without upsetting everyone who hears it.

Dr McGraw gives a classic example: a family has invited some important guests around for dinner, and they are all sat down to eat when the two-year-old 'lets one rip'.

'The kid doesn't think anything of it, the mother is horrified, and the 13-year-old brother thinks this is hilarious,' Dr McGraw said.

'This is because they all have differing views of the norm that you're not supposed to pass gas at the dinner table.

'The mother adheres to it very strongly, the two-year-old doesn't know, and the 13-year-old doesn't adhere that much.'

Beyond explaining why some jokes are funny, Dr McGraw believes this also explains why we have humour at all.

Comedy, he explains, has its roots in play and specifically play fighting which is a harmless attack - or a benign violation.

We can all probably remember a moment during a childhood play fight when joyous laughter turned to tears.

What is interesting is that this is not a uniquely human experience.

Non-humans, particularly primates, laugh as they play fight but in most cases, it is the 'victim' of the playful attack that does the laughing.

Dr McGraw suggests that as humans developed, this part of our social repertoire expanded to cover more scenarios as other emotions have.

'In the same way that I can be scared of a snake, now I can be scared of being fired,' he added.

'As human culture developed the violations and the way that they could be benign expanded infinitely.'
An American has taken to TikTok to share the biggest cultural differences she's noticed since moving to northern England from California.

The video by @ashlee4ever was seen by over 70,000 people in less than a day.

In the clip, the Californian revealed that she moved to the Greater Manchester town of Bolton to be with her boyfriend - and there are some culture shocks she wasn't expecting.

She started off the video by saying 'I'm in northern England, outside of Manchester and it's funny I feel like nobody hates England more than the English.

'Every time that I meet someone and they find out that I'm from California, their first response is 'why are you here?''

An American has taken to TikTok to share the biggest cultural differences she's noticed since moving to northern England from California

Viewers also found it hilarious that the TikToker decided to move to Bolton, with users writing 'Ive never heard of people moving TO Bolton' and 'CA to Bolton is wild lmao'.

Another shocked Brit questioned 'Bolton?? I live in Leigh & we had an American living on our council estate. I couldn't understand why they'd travel all that way to live in Leigh'.

She went on to explain the main things she's noticed about the British way of life that differ from her experiences in the US.

Food shopping

Ashlee revealed the first major distinction she noticed is what you can get, or can't get, from the supermarket.

She explained 'Probably the biggest culture shock for me has been grocery shopping. There are some similar brands but they have different flavours for things.'

Adding that she's used to bigger quantities than Brits have to offer:

'My boyfriend and I were trying to buy some ice cream bars the other day and they only come in packs of three or four.

'I'm used to packs of like twelve or something. Three or four, what is that supposed to do for me? are you kidding me?

'That's gonna last me a day and a half between the two of us. After that debacle I was so homesick and started crying.'

In the clip, the Californian revealed that she moved to the Greater Manchester town of Bolton to be with her boyfriend - and there are some culture shocks she wasn't expecting

Lack of tumble dryers

The second thing the TikToker has struggled to come to terms with is the supposed lack of tumble dryers.

She said 'This isn't for every British household but a lot of places that are rented - they don't have driers to dry their clothes which is so incredibly stupid to me because this is like the wettest country and s*** takes two to three days to dry on the drying rack.

'Invest in some dryers people, come on. What are we doing?'

However, some commenters were confused by her claim, with one Brit writing 'Bro we have dryers' and another adding 'We have plenty of dryers. We just expect people to buy their own appliances'.

Others agreed with the American, with one viewer saying 'We have plenty of dryers. We just expect people to buy their own appliances' and another chiming in with 'I don't know anyone who has a drier'.

Unpredictable weather

Next up is something Brits will be used to and anyone moving to the UK should expect - unpredictable weather.

Ashlee explained 'The weather has also been tricky to get used to as I am from California.

'It's not like a constant rain though, it'll be drizzling then the next minute it's pouring and then it stops and then it'll start again.

'You kind of just always have to be prepared for the rain.'

The quality of produce

Finally, the Californian complained about he quality of produce we have here in the UK, as well as how it's stored.

She said 'Also going back to grocery stores, literally everything is wrapped in plastic - the produce and everything.

'Being from California, I didn't realise we have such good quality produce. I've just really noticed the difference out here.'

Despite the minor differences, she concluded the video by saying overall she and her boyfriend are having a 'really great time finally living in the same country, in the same city, under the same roof.

Adding 'Everyone's really really great, I've been adjusting pretty well. I do get homesick at times of course but I'm really excited for this journey.'
READ MORE: How to score a whole row of seats to yourself on your next flight

Heathrow are trialing a new way of speeding up security - here's how to do it

When you're planning your trip to the airport, the uncertainty of how long the queue at security will be can only add to the anxiety.

No matter that you've separated your out liquids in advance and arrived hours early, there's nothing you can do to get around a long line of people in front of you.

Or is there?

A US travel influencer who goes by @raimeetravels on TikTok, has shared a little-known hack to get in and out of Heathrow Airport security in under five minutes.

You can now pre-book a specific timeslot for when you should arrive at security to beat the queues and speed up the process.

A US travel influencer who goes by @raimeetravels on TikTok , has shared a little-known hack to get in and out of Heathrow Airport security in under five minutes

It's currently being trialed so only selected flights leaving Terminal 3 can use it - however, the influencer believes it 'should be a thing at every airport'.

The TikToker explained: 'If you're flying out of London Heathrow any time soon you need to know about this so you can avoid the crazy long security lines.

'I'm all about sharing trips to help you travel smarter and this is the coolest thing I've seen any airport do.

'They have a new thing called Timeslot that allows you to schedule when you go through security.

'You can pick your timeslot two to three days before your trip, you'll get a QR code and then you'll make your way to the specific area in Heathrow.'

Aimee's video has been seen by over 589,000 people in just a few days, drawing attention to the new travel hack.

She added 'There are signs everywhere, you'll be able to find it. You'll take your liquids out, put them in the bag and honestly I got through security just as fast as I would have in the States using my TSA Precheck and CLEAR.

'I am not kidding when I say I got through Heathrow security in less than five minutes and that has never happened to me at an international airport.

Aimee's video has been seen by over 589,000 people in just a few days, drawing attention to the new travel hack

'So, remember to use this the next time you fly out of Heathrow and I think we should make this a thing at every airport, what do you think?'

Commenters wrote 'That's interesting, but trying to be at Heathrow for a specific time is challenging' and 'For once, a really useful hack. Thanks!'

Others added 'Omg didnt know about this! Its a game changer!!' and 'Yes! I like the idea of a predictable security wait'.

It comes after advanced new security scanners have been installed in London City Airport and northern England's Teesside International Airport.

The new CT machines use X-Ray technology to take a high-resolution 3D image of luggage, allowing assessors to view it from every angle and obtain a more detailed view of the contents.

This will mean you won't have to remove anything from your bag, including liquids, which should speed up the process massively.

The British Government is requiring all major UK airports to use the technology by June 2024, just in time for next year's summer holidays.

Bookings are currently available for Terminal 3 flights operated by American Airlines, Delta Airlines, Emirates and Virgin Atlantic

Who can use Timeslot?

The Heathrow website explains that the slots are allocated on a first come, first served basis and you can arrive 15 minutes before or after your scheduled time.

It's a free service, helping the airport 'regulate the flow through security and speed up the process'.

Bookings are currently available for Terminal 3 flights operated by American Airlines, Delta Airlines, Emirates and Virgin Atlantic.

It's also important to note that the booking platform does not permit reservations for timeslots that are less than 90 minutes prior to departure for long-haul flights or less than 60 minutes prior to departure for short-haul flights.
New York's food scene is notoriously competitive, but these restaurants have done their best to stand out from the crowd with some wacky and wonderful inventions.

Catering to diners with luxury tastes, Michelin-star restaurant Le Coucou in Chinatown serves its $89 beef tartare with a thick spread of caviar on top along with a perfectly round quail's egg yolk.

While Double Chicken Please in the Lower East Side - which currently ranks second on the World's 50 Best Bars list- has a cocktail on its menu designed to taste like 'cold pizza,' with the mash up of ingredients including tequila, parmesan, burnt toast, tomato, basil, honey and egg white.

To read more about these quirky menu items and the other culinary treats causing a stir, munch your way down for DailyMail.com's mouthwatering roundup...

Butter candle: Carriage House

Celebrity chef Jordan Andino, who previously cooked for the Kardashians, opened

Celebrity chef Jordan Andino, who previously cooked for the Kardashians, is on a mission to make his mark in Manhattan with his first upscale restaurant in the form of the Carriage House.

This polished restaurant, in the West Village, occupies a former police carriage house.

One of Andino's more unique inventions is his 'candle butter.'

He told DailyMail.com that he was frustrated by the hard butter he would often find at restaurants that wouldn't spread properly on the bread.

In a bid to solve this problem, he decided to thread a block of butter with an edible wick made from beeswax.

On being lit, the butter slowly melts, making it the perfect consistency for spreading or the runny liquid can be used as a dip.

Each dinner at the Carriage House starts with complimentary bread service accompanied by the 'butter candle' made from a 'seasoned compound butter.'

Tuna cotton candy: The Bazaar

The Bazaar at the Ritz-Carlton New York, NoMad, offers a fusion of Spanish and Japanese-inspired dishes. One of the more unusual creations is the Cotton Candy O-Toro

The Bazaar by Jose Andres is described as a place where 'dining transcends into fete extraordinaire,' with a spread of innovative dishes luring diners from far and wide.

The Washington, D.C.-based, Spanish-American chef and restaurateur has opened various iterations of his 'Bazaar' concept across the US with the most recent landing in New York.

The Bazaar at the upscale Ritz-Carlton New York, NoMad hotel offers a fusion of Spanish and Japanese-inspired dishes with sumptuous interiors to boot.

One of the more unusual creations is the Cotton Candy O-Toro, which is listed in the 'Little Starters' section for $18 a pop.

The dish comes served as a ball of cotton candy on a stick, with the servers instructing you to eat it in one mouthful as the spun sugar will quickly dissolve.

Bizarrely, as you devour the fluffy ball another flavor comes through in the form of a slice of soy cured tuna belly sandwiched with avocado and 'crispy rice balls.'

On Yelp, reviewer Rebecca K. gave the Cotton Candy O'Toro a thumbs up. She said that the dish 'tasted amazing and started our meal with a bit of fun.'

Gold sprayed taco: Trust Bae

At Trust Bae chef Frances Tariga serves a tuna taco sprayed with gold leaf

Japanese omakase restaurants - where diners are served multi-course sushi menus - are peppered across New York but one chef trying to set herself apart from her peers is Frances Tariga.

The former Top Chef contender opened her own version of an omakase restaurant on Broadway this year, with her bringing her Filipino heritage to the table.

Tariga's restaurant, called Trust Bae, has somewhat of a nightclub feel with low-lighting, velvet curtains at the door, a hip hop heavy playlist and a neon sign behind the counter.

The 16-course tasting menu, which mainly consists of one-bite dishes is priced at $185 with each sitting lasting 90 minutes.

Tariga's culinary creations certainly cater to the Instagram crowd, with each one boasting a theatrical edge.

One dish which causes everyone to whip their phones out is Tariga's 'Otoro Tartare Taco.'

The handheld bite consists of a seaweed taco filled with fatty tuna. To top it off, there is a spoonful of caviar and Tariga finishes it by spraying it with a sparkly coating of gold dust.

'It's best filmed in slow motion to get the full effect,' she told DailyMail.com.

Triangle penne: Cafe Mars

Cafe Mars in Brooklyn features triangle-shaped penne on the menu infused with onion gravy and beef cheeks

You might feel as though you've landed on another planet with a trip to Cafe Mars in Brooklyn.

This kooky restaurant, which occupies a former pasta factory and Italian grocer, describes itself as an 'unusual Italian.'

Its 'about page' adds: 'Be it food or drink, our menus shine a light on overlooked classics and unexpected flavors that aim to reframe what it means to go out for Italian.'

From the get-go Cafe Mars brings a sense of fun to dining out, with chunky chairs, different colored neon lights and bright slaps of paint here and there.

Veering away from tradition, there is triangle-shaped penne on the menu infused with onion gravy and beef cheeks.

Another of the restaurant's wacky creations, which it says is a best-seller, is its 'jell-olives.'

The olives come encased in a cube of jell-o, which tastes like a negroni cocktail. The cubes are then finished with orange oil and guests are instructed to to 'scoop them up and eat them with their fingers - no forking around.'

Shot on a toy car: Bad Roman

Bad Roman just off Central Park serves four post-dinner 'Italian Carpool Shots' shots

Priding itself on being a playful, modern Italian, Bad Roman just off Central Park was masterminded by restaurant group Quality Branded.

This upbeat restaurant is located on the third floor of the Columbus Circle shopping mall, with floor-to-ceiling windows serving up appetizing views of the park.

To get diners in the swing of things, there is an indulgent menu featuring everything from caviar gnocchi to lobster tail scampi to dig into.

The sense of fun flows through to dessert with a lemon cheesecake crafted to look like actual lemons.

Meanwhile, diners can choose from a selection of four post-dinner 'Italian Carpool Shots' shots which come served in glasses glued to toy racing cars.

The options include the Ferrari (Fernet and Campari), the Maserati (Mezcal Vida and Ramazzotti), the Fiat (Jameson and Moretti) and the Lamborghini (Lambrusco and Midori).

Caviar-topped beef tartare: Le Coucou

Catering to diners with luxury tastes, Michelin-star restaurant Le Coucou in Chinatown serves its $89 beef tartare with a thick spread of caviar on top

Catering to diners with luxury tastes, Michelin-star French restaurant Le Coucou in Chinatown serves its $89 beef tartare with a thick spread of caviar on top.

To finish, the team of chefs add a quail's egg yolk with a dash of sea salt.

The restaurant manager told DailyMail.com that it is widely considered the best steak tartare in Manhattan, thanks to the amalgamation of fancy ingredients.

On tasting it, the caviar combines perfectly with the hand-cut prime filet, leaving a creamy and salty taste.

Diners can combine the layers of ingredients as they please with slices of bread to spread it on.

Given the price point, this is certainly a dish to savor every mouthful.

Caviar butter: Caviar Russe

Caviar Russe boasts a glitzy two-story location in Midtown. In the Michelin-starred dining room even the butter is infused with caviar, as seen above

Priding itself on being one of the largest caviar importers in the U.S., Caviar Russe boasts a glitzy two-story location in Midtown.

The upstairs dining room opened in 1997 and it has been awarded a Michelin Star for seven years running which it retains to this day.

There is a three or six course tasting menu on offer in the snug dining room with caviar being the running theme.

Before the courses commence, diners are served a selection of fresh bread along with three types of butter.

One butter, smoothed into an orb shape, contains caviar which gives it a deliciously creamy and salty taste when combined with bread.

One of the restaurant's most popular dishes, which is also served in the downstairs bar area as an a la carte option, is the 'Golden Egg.'

This unique dish consists of a breadcrumbed runny egg topped with caviar, sitting amid a frothy cheese broth.

Pizza cocktail: Double Chicken Please

Double Chicken Please in the Lower East Side serves a beverage called Cold Pizza, featuring a mash up of tequila, parmesan, burnt toast, tomato, basil, honey and egg white

Double Chicken Please in the Lower East Side currently ranks second on the World's 50 Best Bars list but its cocktails might not be for everyone.

The popular venue, which books out within minutes of reservations opening, says that the menus were 'inspired by exploration and experimentation of traditional drinks and dishes.'

In the restaurant's back room, which it refers to as The Coop, there are various cocktails inspired by savory dishes.

One beverage, called Cold Pizza, features a mash up of ingredients including tequila, parmesan, burnt toast, tomato, basil, honey and egg white.

Another drink was modeled after a Waldorf Salad, with a blend of whiskies, apple celery, ginger ale and walnut bitters.

Sticking to the salad theme, the NY Beet Salad features gin, beet, pineapple, cranberry, mascarpone and yogurt.

There are also several drinks inspired by desserts, with Mango Sticky Rice, Key Lime Pie and Butter Raisin Biscuit being among the booze infused offerings.

Truffle ice cream sandwich: Twenty Three Grand

Twenty Three Grand has a truffle menu with a a Truffle Chipwhich for dessert

For a limited time, the buzzy Twenty Three Grand restaurant on the fringe of Soho and Tribeca has launched a seasonal truffle menu which will run through to December.

The chefs have gone about creating four dishes featuring a selection of black and white truffles.

Combining sweet and savory flavors, the dessert comes in the form of a Truffle Chipwhich.

The restaurant's twist on an ice cream sandwich features two chocolate chip cookies filled with vanilla ice cream and rolled in shaved white or black truffles.

The cookies are then topped with Maldon salt and served with a side of olive oil for dipping.

Depending on the type of truffle requested, the dessert ranges from $35 to $42.
Heartfelt British Windrush drama Three Little Birds is set to air on TV with its first series on Sunday, October, 22.

Launching at 8pm on ITV1, the new show, which is set in 1957, will see three young women leaving Jamaica to set sail for a new life in the UK.

The plot, written by Sir Lenny Henry, is inspired by his mother's stories about leaving the Caribbean island for Great Britain.

The spirited series, which is led by rising stars Rochelle Neil and Yazmin Belo, is produced by Tiger Aspect in association with Douglas Road.

Rochelle and former EastEnders star Saffron Coomber star as gregarious sisters Leah and Chantrelle, who convince their bible-loving acquaintance Hosanna - Yazmin - to join them on their adventure across the globe as a potential wife for their brother Aston Brahms - Javone Prince.

New show: Heartfelt British Windrush drama Three Little Birds is set to air on TV with its first series on Sunday, October, 22

Rochelle Neil as Leah Whittaker

Rochelle Neil, 34, stars as the lead role Leah Whittaker who is one of two sisters who is persuaded by their brother to leave home.

Lead: Rochelle Neil, 34, stars as the lead role Leah Whittaker who is one of two sisters who is persuaded by their brother to leave home

She risks leaving her family and friends behind in Jamaica after her brother, Aston Brahms, asks her to bring him a wife and build a new life in Britain for her children.

Running out on her abusive husband, Leah packs her three children off to live with her mother.

Spurred on by her determination to be reunited with her little ones, she reinvents her self in her new community in the West Midlands.

Rochelle says the ITV drama is her 'exact lineage' and has learnt a lot about Jamaica from her parents.

She said: 'It's one of the first scripts I've ever read where I thought, 'This is my family's story.'

'My dad was born in Jamaica and his mum and dad came over and then the kids arrived two years later. So they spent two years setting up home here.

'One of my dad's earliest memories is the lights at Heathrow. He was about five and he doesn't really remember his life in Jamaica.

'My mum was born here, but it was the same thing. My nan came over with a friend, my Auntie Bernice, and my Auntie Tiny, her older sister. It's insane how similar their stories are to Three Little Birds. It's like my exact lineage.

'My dad's mum also wrote her memoirs, so I've had so much firsthand about her life in Jamaica growing up in the culture and going to church. She trained to be a seamstress as well.'

Rochelle is best know for her role as Annie Carbey in the TV series The Nevers.

She has also starred in Terminator: Dark Fate as a co-pilot, Yvonne in Guilt and Cassandra Lloyd in Das Boot.

Her very first work on screen was as a school girl in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

She also started off as a dancer in an episode of sitcom 'Genie in the House' which was released in 2006.

Saffron Coomber as Chantrelle Brahms

Saffron Coomber, 28, from Greenwich, is taking on the role of Chantrelle Brahms - Leah's sister who joins her on her mission to travel to the 'mother land'.

Beauty: Saffron Coomber, 28, from Greenwich, is taking on the role of Chantrelle Brahms - Leah's sister who joins her on her mission to travel to the 'mother land'

She is a star stuck and glamourous woman who dreams of fame.

Chantrelle believes her job as a live in nanny to a respectable British family living close to the famous film studios in Borehamwood, is the ticket to her dream life.

But she discovers the devastating truth about this 'respectable' family and that the short-cut route to stardom is a million miles away from her reality.

Saffron said she was already familiar with the struggled that the Windrush generation faced before Three Little Birds because of her grandparents heritage.

She said: 'My grandparents came over from Jamaica at around the same time. I owe everything to them.

'I wouldn't be sitting here without them taking that leap of faith. I've always been very interested in family history anyway.

'I love asking my elders about what it was like, about what memories they have, and not just about the 50s.'

Saffron is best known for her role as Saphire Fox in Tracy Beaker returns from 2010 to 2012.

The actress may also bring a wave of nostalgia for many soap stars as she also portrayed Alexa Smith - friend of Phil Mitchell's granddaughter Lexi- in EastEnders from 2012 to 2013.

One of her first TV appearances was her role as Cathy in Dustbin Baby.

Yazmin Belo as Hosanna Drake

Yazmin Belo plays Hosanna and her reason for travelling to the UK are very different to the sisters.

Star: Yazmin Belo plays Hosanna and her reason for travelling to the UK are very different to the sisters.

The pair have chosen her as a potential bride for their brother Aston Brahms.

Hosanna is a devout Christian and trainee nurse from Clarendon and the daughter of a pastor.

While she is convinced by the pair to give up her job and embark on the sisters' journey, her intentions are to look for her estranged father and is completely focused on tracking him down.

Coming to England is a massive roller coaster for Hosanna.

She doesn't intend to stay as long as she does soo a new way of living, finding her tribe and potential partner, was never something she anticipated.

Yazmin explained her show actually reminds of her of her own mother.

When asked if the story resonated with her, she said: Yes. Hosanna comes from the parish of Clarendon in Jamaica, which is where my mother's family grew up.

'My mum came over here in the 80s, when she was about 23, so she's a bit too young to have been a part of the Windrush generation; but she's definitely a direct descendent of it.

'I looked to some of my older aunties for inspiration and to check that it was accurate.

'My mum is also a pastor's child, so when I first landed this role of Hosanna, the similarities were deeply personal and a big part of where I came from. I was like, 'Wow! How amazing!' and because this is international, I'm so excited knowing that that my aunties and uncles in Jamaica will be tuning in to this.'

Yazmin is known previously for her role as Jessica Mensah in What just happened? and her role as mum in Mother's Cry (a visual poem).

She trained at The BRIT School, graduating in 2020 with a 1st class honours degree.

Javone Prince as Aston Brahms

Javone Prince plays the role Aston Brahms - Leah and Chantrelle's persuasive brother.

Class act: Javone Prince plays the role Aston Brahms - Leah and Chantrelle's persuasive brother

Aston resided in the UK for four years before his sisters arrival and while he thought his life was going to dramatically improve, he did not plan for the lack of multicultural acceptance.

He makes some poor financial decisions but is wanting to start fresh again with his new wife but little does he know that he is not the only one with a few secrets.

The brother sends the women money for a bribe to be sent over and cure his loneliness as he struggles with the lack of acceptance.

Javone explained that his role in the show means a great deal to him as the story line reminds him of his own family.

When asked if the characters in show remind him of him own family, he said: 'Absolutely. That's why this script is so potent for me.

'When I read it, I was like, 'I have to do this.' From the first audition, I was thinking, 'I have to get this job!'

'Then when I met the directors, and we were talking about the characters, I told them, 'Hosanna is my grandmother!' My grandmother is exactly like that woman.

'When we were at home, my grandfather would say nothing because in the hierarchy of Black families the woman is in charge. Granddad would just nod his head and take the abuse.'

Javone is also known for his work as

Bobby Gordon as Shelton Powell

Bobby Gordon plays dashing Shelton Powell who has a strong moral compass who was raised to believe in the sanctity of marriage.

Handsome: Bobby Gordon plays dashing Shelton Powell who has a strong moral compass who was raised to believe in the sanctity of marriage

But this crumbles when he discovered his mum was having an affair and his father knew but was too weak to stop it.

Shelton first came to Britain as part of the R.A.F. and was proud to fight but once the war was won, he was shocked when his British friends started asking him when he was going home.

Back in Jamaica, he found nothing but the same old shacks, poverty and depression.

He returned to the England as quickly as he could. Learning from his parents' marriage, Shelton's cautious about allowing anyone to get close to him, but as he spends time with Leah, he lets his guard down.

Bobby said his own father's life had helped a great deal with his role as Shelton as the character knew he was a minority and had to navigate himself in a certain way.

He said: 'My dad was a bit of a social character. He used to steal my grandma's car when he was 15 and drive into London and stuff.

'So he didn't have a similar life to Shelton. But it was similar in the idea of learning to navigate, knowing that you're the minority, and then fitting in so that you can progress as well.

'So there wasn't the whole thing of, 'I hate white people'. It was more, 'I need to learn how to just talk to everyone. I need to know how to carry myself in every situation and dress a certain type of way. And then just through the success of what I do, I'll get respect. Then people will respect my intellect as opposed to just looking at the colour of my skin.'

Bobby is otherwise known for his previous role as Tom in The Phoebus Files.

Leemore Marrett Jr as Ephraim Whittaker

Leemore Marrett plays sexy old-school alpha male Ephraim Whittaker - Leah's abusive husand.

He thinks that a woman is his property and is meant to keep the house clean, bear him sons to help work the farm, and never question his authority.

He has a quick temper, which is only further ignited when he drinks, and Leah constantly finds herself 'provoking' him into verbal or physical violence.

Afterwards, he apologises and says he'll never do it again - but he always does.

When Leah escapes him, he is furious. With Leah in England, desperately trying to find a way to bring her kids over, Ephraim spies an opportunity to derail Leah's plans by wrestling his way back into the good graces of Momma Gladys and the kids.

Leemore is known for his previous role as Patrice Campbell in Death in Paradise and he also played 'muscle cop' in The Batman.
Killers Of The Flower Moon is an Oscar contender and is sure to be one of the most talked about films of the year but perhaps one of the most strange connections to the real-life story of the film has to do with one of the biggest food television stars and bloggers in the US.

Ree Drummond - who may be best known for her alias of 'The Pioneer Woman' - is said to have a massive draw to the Martin Scorsese directed film starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, and Lily Gladstone according to a viral tweet.

In the wake of the 'boys think about the Roman Empire daily' social media trend last month, student and writer Noa Bourne went viral for a post on X (formally Twitter) which now has nearly 5million views.

The post read: 'my mom just said her roman empire is how the pioneer womans family owns all the land killers of the flower moon is about.'

The media personality - born Anne Marie 'Ree' Drummond - has made quite the name for herself as her blog The Pioneer Woman, which documents her daily life of a ranch wife and a mother, became a success ultimately leading to a television program by the same name on The Food Network which began in 2011.

Ree married Ladd Drummond in 1996 as their family is one of the largest land-owning families in the state of Oklahoma and the united states as they are the largest land-owning family in Osage County - where the film takes place - owning about a whopping 9percent of the county.

Strange connection: Ree Drummond - who may be best known for her alias of 'The Pioneer Woman' - is said to have a massive draw to the Martin Scorsese directed film Killers Of The Flower Moon; Ree and husband Ladd Drummond are seen in June 2017

The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio (pictured right), Robert De Niro, and Lily Gladstone (left_ according to a viral tweet

Boom: In the wake of the 'boys think about the Roman Empire daily' social media trend last month, student and writer Noa Bourne went viral for a post on X (formally Twitter ) which now has nearly 5million views

Ladd - who is the direct descendant of founding family patriarch and rancher Frederick Drummond - and Oklahoma attorney general Gentner Drummond own the land which is estimated about $275million.

Slate looked into the claims as the recently published an interview with Bloomberg reporter Rachel Adams-Heard whose podcast, In Trust, gave an in-depth look into what happened to the Osage Nation's land and mineral rights after the Reign Of Terror.

When asked how much of the former Osage land is actually currently Drummond land in that area Adams-Heard replied: '

One thing the Drummonds we interviewed would stress to us when we brought them these findings is that they respect each others fence lines. So its not that all of that 9 percent is owned by one immediate family. Were talking about second, third cousins in some cases.

'Some of the biggest single ranches in the Drummond family are the one run by Ree Drummonds husband, Ladd, and his brother.'

As there is only one mention of the last name Drummond in the book - which was merely a citation to the biography of A.A. 'Jack' Drummond who was alive during the time of the 'Reign Of Terror - it should not be expected that anyone from the family would be portrayed in the film.

Hmm: Ree married Ladd Drummond in 1996 as their family is one of the largest land-owning families in the state of Oklahoma and the united states as they are the largest land-owning family in Osage County - where the film takes place - owning about a whopping 9percent of the county

Adams-Heard noted that the Drummond family primarily had their businesses around the town of Hominy which doesn't really come up in the book but the family did have a connection to William K. Hale who is the biggest antagonist in the book and is portrayed by De Niro in the film.

The podcaster said: 'One of the more interesting and probably more relevant-to-the-movie things that we found was about the William K. Hale land that was sold. It was a big contiguous position, which was hard to come by at the time because allotment had divided the land into such small parcels, and there were a lot of rules around how and when Osage families could sell that land.

'After I found out that the Drummond family was part of this partnership that bought it, I just kept an eye out for anything that indicated how they paid for it, what they ended up doing with that land.'

Adams-Heard did a bit more digging as they found a collection at the University of Central Oklahoma in which there was a memo between two of the original three Drummond brothers who had started the ranching enterprise.

They explained: 'It seems to indicate that they borrowed $15,000 from their Osage ward to pay for the land that they bought from William K. Hale. Theres no other indication that Ive seen of that borrowing, in any of the other records, so were not sure what actually happened.

'This particular Osage man, Myron Bangs Jr., he was incredibly skeptical of his guardians. He on several occasions wrote U.S. officials and suggested that he thought that his guardiansone was Roy Cecil Drummond, and later it was Fred Gentner Drummondwere improperly using his land, that he didnt trust the way that they were managing his money. But because U.S. policy basically determined that Osage citizens were incompetent, he really had no power to get out from under that guardianship.

'So to see that he might not have known that his money was used to purchase this land from a man who was convicted of aiding and abetting a murder of another Osage manI mean, that was really striking to see.'

Ultimately it was hard to figure out where any wrongdoing lied as it was difficult to decipher the transactions, where the land was which ended up with the Drummonds or the fraction of the headright they actually did have was actually legal.

The film is based on the 2017 non-fiction book of the same name written by David Grann. Set in the 1920s, it centers on the FBI's investigation into a string of murders after several members of the Osage tribe in Oklahoma were slaughtered

Adams-Heard explained: 'So you just had a tremendous amount of money coming through the door. Because there were all these restrictions by the U.S. government on how Osages could spend their own money, a lot of them wound up in debt, because they would have to buy things on credit at the store. What we can see from congressional testimony is that some families would be thousands of dollars in debt, which at the time was a tremendous amount of money, to the Drummonds store in Hominy.

'In some cases, we saw while a family was in $2,000 to $3,000 of debt, their land would be deeded over to a member of the Drummond family for what we can tell was a very low price. But again, its impossible to know for sure whether that land was used to settle that debt.'

They noted that it is easy to look at the annual guardianship fees that were charged and not think that wasn't enough to actually change things but they do add up over time.

The podcaster added: ' Then the other element to all this is the access to financing from Osage accounts the guardians had, because they were in charge and they and their friends and business associates were overseeing these Osage bank accounts.

'And so what we also noticed is that Osage money was being used to finance land purchases and land improvements by the Drummonds and their business associates.'

Killers of the Flower Moon focuses on a little-publicized chapter of American history involving the Osage Nation.

In the 1920s, the Osage tribe became wealthy almost overnight after oil was discovered beneath their land, earning them more than $30 million in annual revenue at the peak of the boom, according to the Oklahoma Historical Society.

Subsurface minerals within the Osage Nation Reservation were tribally owned and held in trust by the government.

William K. Hale, a native of Greenville, Texas, encouraged his subservient nephew Ernest Burkhart (right) to wed Osage member Mollie Kyle (left)

Mineral leases earned royalties that were paid to the tribe as a whole - with each allottee receiving one equal share also known as a headright.

But these headrights could only legally be attained by outsiders if they married into the tribe.

It was during this time that aforementioned rancher William K. Hale, a native of Greenville, Texas, encouraged his subservient nephew Ernest Burkhart to wed Osage member Mollie Kyle (later Mollie Burkhart).

Burkhart, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, and wife Mollie, played by Lily Gladstone, lived in Fairfax with Mollie's mother Lizzie Q.

Lizzie was a mother-of-four and in May 1921, the decomposed body of one of other daughters, Anna Brown, was discovered in a remote ravine in northern Oklahoma.

She was found with a bullet hole to the back of the head but, because Brown had no known enemies, the case went unsolved.

Just two months later Lizzie herself died under suspicious circumstances from suspected poisoning, although no proof was ever found.

In May 1921, Osage native Anna Brown was found with a bullet hole to the back of the head - but her case went unsolved

Her decomposed body was found in a remote ravine (pictured) in the Osage Hills in northern Oklahoma

Then another member of the family, Lizzie's nephew Henry Roan, met a similar fate in January 1923 with Hale, played by Robert De Niro, fraudulently naming himself as the beneficiary of his $25,000 life insurance policy.

But deaths within the family did not end there.

In March 1923, another of Lizzie's daughters Rita Smith, along with Rita's husband William Smith, and their housekeeper Nettie Brookshire were all killed when their home was destroyed by an explosion.

And, following their deaths, Burkhart and Mollie inherited a fortune from her mother's and sisters' estates.

But the murders extended beyond the one family with estimates approximating that 24 Osage Indians died in violent or suspicious deaths throughout the early 1920s with newspapers at the time branding it as a 'reign of terror.'

By this time, authorities had begun to grow suspicious and an alarmed Osage Tribal Council sought the help of the US Government.

Hale's name came up early in the investigation as the mastermind behind the killings.

William Hale, played by Robert De Niro, was accused of bribing and intimidating others to do much of his dirty work on his way to achieving money and power

Members of Lizzie Q's (left) family were called in quick succession including her nephew Henry Roan (right)

The so-called 'King of the Osage Hills' was accused of bribing and intimidating others to do much of his dirty work as he sought to achieve money and power.

The killings subsided after Hale, along with accomplices including his nephew, were arrested in 1926.

Hale was formally convicted for his involvement three years later. He was paroled in 1947 after serving two decades of his sentence.

At the time, investigators also discovered that the killers had already started poisoning Mollie in what would have been the last piece of the crook's masterplan.

Fortunately, she recovered and divorced her murderous husband following the trial.

Actors involved in the production have acknowledged the gravitas of the film's true story.

In the 1920s, the Osage tribe (pictured with President Coolidge) became wealthy almost overnight after oil was discovered beneath their land

Subsurface minerals within the Osage Nation Reservation were tribally owned and held in trust by the government

Lily Gladstone previously shared a picture of Mollie Burkhart to Instagram alongside a caption that read: 'I consider it a true gift and great responsibility to be trusted with Mollie Burkhart, and will hold her preciously with both arms, close to my heart.

'My most profound thanks to Osage Nation, it is a remarkable gift to be welcomed by you, and to be able to tell this story.'

Janae Collins too, who plays Rita Smith, wrote: 'I'm so grateful to the Osage Nation for allowing us to tell their story. This is one of the most painful and heartbreaking time periods in the history of the Wazhazhe people as well as U.S. Native history and

'I take that very, very serious as an actor and as a Lakota/Dakota and Apsaalooke woman. I'm very thankful to Marty Scorsese for the truthfulness, diligence, and care he has taken in this project. He and Leonardo have truly went to bat for us (as Natives) over the years getting it to the point where we are ready to film.

'I'm so thankful/grateful for the love and support we've gotten.'
A source said Ant McPartlin's ex-wife 'feels she has no choice' but to go to court

Lisa, 46, claims she loaned James the money since they got together in 2020

Lisa Armstrong is threatening to take ex-boyfriend James Green to court, claiming he owes her 100,000.

The make-up artist, 46, split from the Sky electrician in August after father-of-two James, 40, surprisingly ended their romance and moved out of her 4.5m London home while she was working in Manchester.

And insiders close to the former couple have told MailOnline their relationship has turned toxic over money, as Lisa claims she loaned him cash during their time together back, but he's resisting all approaches.

James' alleged reluctance to pay Lisa has sparked her reluctant decision to bring in lawyers in order to retrieve the money she claims is owed, which amounts to six figures.

A source said: 'Lisa feels she has no choice but to go down the legal route.

Lisa Armstrong is threatening to take ex-boyfriend James Green (pictured with Lisa) to court, claiming he owes her 100,000

Ant McPartlin and Lisa at their wedding at St Nicolas Church in Taplow, Buckinghamshire on July 22, 2006

Lisa (right) started dating father-of-two James (left) in 2020 when he was estranged from his wife Kirsty after moving out of their marital home in Hampshire

'During their time together she lent James money so he could enjoy a comfortable lifestyle on the assumption she would get it back.

'And following their split, she's ramped up her demands but fears James will never pay up.

'Which is why she feels taking him to court is perhaps the most realistic hope of reaching a settlement.'

Lisa and James dated for three years and the electrician was her most serious relationship since her high-profile divorce from husband Ant McPartlin, in which she received a reported 31m payout.

They were first pictured together in 2020 on an outing to a London park and went on to enjoy numerous luxurious holidays, which Lisa documented on her Instagram page, along with many loved-up selfies.

James was working for a company installing electric doors when they met, having recently moved out of the 450,000 family home he shared with ex-wife Kirsty in Winchester, Hampshire.

But James, who was married to his former partner for five years, shocked Lisa by breaking up with her totally unannounced and moved his belongings out of her home when she was away.

A source told MailOnline at the time: 'I don't really know what has gone wrong. The two of them were only on a swanky holiday together in the Caribbean or somewhere about eight weeks ago.

'He was with her one day, and he just wasn't with her the next day. There was no inkling that anything was wrong.'

Despite the surprise split, friends told how the pair were initially on amicable terms but that is no longer the case, mainly in part to Lisa's demands for her money back.

A friend of James said: 'When Lisa gave him that money, he thought it was in good grace - he didn't see it as a loan with strict conditions to pay it back by a certain time.

'It's all got rather messy and Lisa threatening him with legal action is obviously concerning given her financial power.'

James has been approached for comment.

Lisa, 46, used to regularly post selfie pictures on Instagram of her looking loved up with James, along with images of them enjoying a series of luxury holidays

James (pictured) surprisingly ended their romance and moved out of her 4.5m London home while she was working in Manchester

Lisa is currently working on the latest series of BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing in her role as the show's head makeup artist.

She regularly posts pictures from behind the scenes of the show, as well as her beloved dog Harley, whom she shares with ex-husband Ant.

Despite their split, pictures of James remain on her account, including one posted in April while the pair were enjoying a romantic evening which she captioned: 'Date night with my boy @jamesgreen83. Love you so much.'

The previous month, she posted a snap to mark his 40th birthday, showing James surrounded by balloons. She wrote: 'Love you millions'.

Lisa and Ant's marriage officially ended in October 2018 when she was granted a decree nisi after he admitted adultery.

But the pair continued finalising their financial settlement while reportedly disagreeing over custody arrangements for labrador Hurley.

Ant now lives in a 6m mansion in Wimbledon, south west London with new wife Anne-Marie Corbett, his former personal assistant, who he married in a church ceremony in August 2021 in Heckfield, Hampshire.

Lisa was said to have indicated her disapproval of the relationship by liking a fan's tweet which said it was 'a major girl code breach' to 'start shacking up with your wife's friend'.

Lisa first met Ant on a Smash Hits tour in Newcastle in 1994 when she was in a band called Deuce which performed alongside him and partner Dec who were reaching new TV and music heights as PJ & Duncan following their stint on Byker Grove.

They were together for over ten years before Ant proposed to her on holiday in Dubai in 2005, and they married at a country house hotel in Buckinghamshire in July 2006 with Dec as Ant's best man.

Ant spoke in 2013 about his struggles to conceive with his wife, telling Radio Times: 'Lisa and I would love to have kids. We're trying. It's tougher than you think when you get a bit older.'

Ant, who lives in a 6m mansion in Wimbledon, south west London, married his former personal assistant Anne-Marie Corbett, 46, in a church ceremony in August 2021 in Heckfield, Hampshire (pictured)

Lisa was living it up with her electrician boyfriend James Green (pictured) before their split

He also told Fabulous Magazine: 'I think I'm lucky. Lisa works in the industry and understands it. She's constantly working - sometimes more than me!

'We would love to have a family so fingers crossed. If we're blessed with children, then we'd be over the moon!'

Ant went into rehab for alcohol and prescription drug addiction in 2017 when he admitted that he needed help, saying: 'I feel like I have let a lot of people down and for that I'm truly sorry.'

He claimed in an interview that he had put Lisa through hell with his mood swings and depression, but praised her for being 'fantastic'.

Ant's representative announced in January 2018 that the couple's 11-year marriage had ended.
After two breaks that nobody wants, Gary Barlows wife Dawn finally got one that she could enjoy last week  a romantic trip to Venice.

Her Take That husband whisked her off for the two-day getaway after she broke her left wrist just a year after the agony of snapping her right one.

Gary, 52, shared a photo on social media of them enjoying a date night with cocktails on a riverboat, adding the caption: Mrs B looking lovely in Venice.

But there was no explanation of how she broke the wrist.

Dawn, 53, in a 411 Alexa Chung Fifi dress, and Gary, in a colourful 221 My Sweet Devotion shirt, were joined by their son Daniel, 23, and his girlfriend on the canals.

Break time, again: Take That's Gary Barlow pictured with his wife, Dawn, who has broken her wrist for the second time in a year, pictured on holiday in Venice

Former Take That dancer Dawn held her plastered left arm in a black sling  but when the couple dined at a restaurant later she tried to conceal the injury by keeping the arm under the table.

Earlier this month, former X Factor judge Gary showed a picture of Dawns wrist in a cast to his million Instagram followers.

He captioned it: Poor Mrs B has done it again  this time the other wrist  not happy.

When she snapped her right wrist last summer, he said: Mrs B broke her wrist four weeks ago  on Friday she had a big operation  shes in a lot of pain but on the mend.

The Barlows love Italian holidays, with the whole family flying to Tremezzo, on Lake Como, for Dawns 50th birthday after lockdown eased in 2020.

She and Gary met in 1995 when she was a back-up dancer on Take Thats Nobody Else tour.

They married in 2000 and have two other children, Emily, 21, and Daisy, 14.

Their fourth child Poppy was delivered stillborn in 2012  a few days before he sang at the London Olympics closing ceremony.

He said later that he had found inspiration in Dawns strength as she managed to cope with the tragedy while getting on with raising the other three children.
US President Joe Biden on Wednesday met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel, where they agreed on "unprecedented" US military assistance to Israel in its ongoing conflict with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. On the same day, the US vetoed a UN Security Council resolution that would have called for humanitarian pauses in Gaza, with the US ambassador saying that the actions must be informed by "the facts on the ground and support direct diplomacy efforts."

Biden's visit, and his so-called diplomacy efforts, started on the wrong footing. They fail to convince anyone that the US is playing an even hand that safeguards the legitimate rights of both the Israelis and the Palestinians. This approach won't be effective, especially when numerous Arab, Muslim and other countries worldwide are deeply involved in this volatile situation. From a philosophical standpoint, the US' inability to maintain an even approach will likely be judged by history as one of the fundamental reasons for the fact that the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people have not been guaranteed over the decades.

The Abraham Accords, promoted very vigorously by the US, is an attempt to disregard the fundamental interests of the Palestinian people in achieving their own independent state. It aims to normalize relations between Israel and Arab countries without addressing the Palestinians' quest for independence. However, it's unrealistic to expect all Arab and Muslim countries to fully support this accord simultaneously. The recent military conflict and Israel's attempt to eliminate the Palestinians from the northern part of Gaza have shed light on the true nature of the Abraham Accords. As a result, this may ultimately push it into a body of dead water and its revival seems unlikely in the near future.

The Middle East will experience further waves of hatred, desperation and extremism. The situation involving Israel is not being made safer; it is becoming more dangerous. Iran's call for the Israeli government to halt its extreme activities in Gaza signals that the Israel-Palestine conflict may explode out of control anytime soon. If that happens, the US faces a dilemma regarding as to whether or not it should take military action to unconditionally support Israel, running the risk of alienating more Arab and Muslim countries. These populations, totaling between 1.5 to 1.8 billion people, are among the largest globally and wield significant popularity, power and influence. This could potentially transform numerous cities worldwide into the forefront of battlegrounds, lasting years.

Over the past 10 to 20 years, the US has aimed to reduce its involvement in the Middle East and shift its focus to other regions, particularly the Far East and East Asia, with a significant emphasis on countering China. However, the ongoing crisis indicates that the US may not withdraw from the Middle East anytime soon. The conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians will keep the US deeply engaged. And if countries like Iran, Syria, Yemen, and others become entangled in the military conflict, it could potentially lead to a major military conflict on the brink of a world war.

The US is also very much worried about the situation spiraling out of control, and Biden's visit to the Middle East likely aims to prevent the US from becoming entangled in an explosive situation it may find challenging to manage. The deployment of two carrier strike groups to the shores of Israel signals the US' intent to demonstrate military strength and deter any country from engaging in military actions against Israel. However, the success of this US design remains uncertain.

The US government is running out of money. While the US government wants many other countries to believe that it has limitless financial resources to support the war in Ukraine and Israel's conflict with Arab countries, starting with Palestine, it is important to recognize that no country possesses an unlimited budget. The US is no exception which also needs the approval of their Congress. In fact, US Congress just passed a stopgap funding bill to keep the government open through mid-November. At a certain time, realism and pragmatism need to kick in, and it is unlikely that the American people want to suffer the consequences of one war after another.

China is a true, staunch, faithful friend to both the Arab and Muslim worlds. China wants to foster lasting peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians, recognizing that the most effective and, in fact, the only viable means to achieve this is to promote the two-state solution. China has drawn a clear line in the sand for the Israelis to see, for the Palestinian people to see, for the Arab countries to see, for the Muslim world to see and for everyone in the world with a sense of conscience, justice and decency to see. This is the time to protect and advocate the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people. This is the time to urge the Israeli government to stop escalation, immediately ceasefire, to start treating the Palestinian people as human beings. They are human beings, just as you and I are. This is the Chinese government's position on this war, one of nobility, dignity and decency.
Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Garner looked amazing as they attended a Hello Sunshine charity event on Saturday in Los Angeles.

Reese, 47, and Jennifer, 51, had the same idea as they both arrived in fashionable skirt suits.

Witherspoon looked amazing in a custom-made pastel blue look from Patou that boasted a cropped, short-sleeved jacket.

Garner  who was spotted grabbing coffee earlier this week  displayed her style in a brown skirt and blazer co-ord. The former Alias star looked sensational as she showed off her toned legs in sheer pantyhose.

She wore a low-cut, black, scoop neck top underneath her jacket and the skirt had vertical buttons at the center.

Gorgeous girls: Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Garner looked amazing as they attended a Hello Sunshine charity event on Saturday in Los Angeles

Wow: Reese looked amazing in a pastel blue look that boasted a cropped, short-sleeved jacket

Reese co-founded Hello Sunshine, a production company, with Seth Rodsky in 2016.

For Saturday's affair, she looked prim and proper in her hyper-feminine look, which featured a high-waisted skirt that cropped just above the knee.

The mother-of-two added a pair of pointy-toe nude heels to complete the eye-catching look.

She wore her frosty blonde locks in an off-center part with bangs framing her face and loose waves.

The longtime entertainer accentuated her beauty with a palette of pink cosmetics, including face-warming blush and bubblegum-hued lipstick.

Joining her on the red carpet was former ski racer Lindsey Vonn, who wore a pale pink blouse and long skirt.

The 39-year-old athlete complemented the look with beige open-toe high heels.

Her bright locks were parted down the middle and flowed over her shoulders in a straight style.

Support: Lindsey Vonn also attended the event, arriving in a pleated two-piece pink outfit

Brand sponsorship: Kellyn Smith Kenny, AT&T's CMO posed with Witherspoon

L-R: Jennifer Garner, Kellyn Smith Kenny, Reese Witherspoon and Mindy Kaling

L-R: Jennifer Garner, Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling and Fortune Feimster

Impassioned: Reese spoke passionately as she led the headline conversation

Present: The women looked on attentively as Jennifer shared a thought

Amazing: Mindy looked ravishing in a long black dress paired with black heels

Pretty: Jennifer flashed her famous dimples as she smiled while sitting through a panel

Powerful: The four women engaged in rich discourse during the uplifting conference

Looking great: Jennifer looked amazing as she stepped outside the venue

Jennifer's ensemble was rounded out with a pair of matching patent leather pumps with a gold hardware accent at the front.

The silver screen superstar wore a pair of square-shaped, black-rimmed eyeglasses.

Her bouncy, shoulder-length, light brown bob haircut was styled in a side part and lustrous waves.

The mother-of-three added gold earrings and a subtle gold necklace to the look.

She was all smiles as she exited the event and interacted with fans nearby.

Also at the Shine Away fundraiser was Tracee Ellis Ross, who looked phenomenal in a colorful co-ord.

The 50-year-old acclaimed actress was radiant as she layered a sleeveless top over a white crew neck shirt.

The top featured white fringe detail along the hemline and she stepped out in a pair of white heels.

Reese's media company coordinated the function with a sponsorship from AT&T.

Attendee: Also at the Shine Away fundraiser was Tracee Ellis Ross, who looked phenomenal in a colorful co-ord

Hairstyle: Tracee, the daughter of Diana Ross, wore her curly hair in long braids swept into a ponytail

Megastars: The women happily engaged in dialogue during one of the chats

Beautiful! Ross looked typically stunning in a light face of makeup that accented her features

Fantastic! Lindsey looked incredible in a dainty, pale pink look

Speaker: Vonn also took the stage during one of the interactive moments of the day

Dove Cameron made her presence known as she arrived in a double denim look.

The 27-year-old singer-actress paired light wash blue jeans with a dark, oversized jean jacket with a wax-like finish.

She wore the outer layer draped off her shoulders, teasing a white bra underneath.

The music artist's long brunette hair was arranged in a precise center part and uniform waves that flowed down her back.

The songstress took the stage to provide musical entertainment for attendees after posing on the red carpet.

The gathering was held at a Rolling Greens location in the City Of Angels.

Also in attendance at the affair were Allyson Felix, Radhi Devlukia, Julie Rice and Yolanda Gampp.

Fashion-forward: Dove Cameron dressed casually in a denim-on-denim ensemble

Performer: The songstress took the stage to provide musical entertainment for attendees

L-R: Allyson Felix, Radhi Devlukia, Julie Rice and Yolanda Gampp gathered for a photo

Happy: Allyson beamed as she rocked an eye-catching green blazer

Joyful: Fortune was in great spirits as she showed up in a black, gray, and white look

Commanding attention: The comedian took to the stage and shared her bubbly personality

Personable: Reese changed her outfit at one point and posed with Kiran Saishankar and Nivi Saishankar of Kiran + Nivi

The official Hello Sunshine website described the gathering as 'a joyful & innovative day celebrating art, literature, storytelling, and the women leading it all.'

Tickets ranged from $199-$350 and offered guests access to a headline conversation with Reese, musical performances, and a themed cocktail hour.

Another note on the site read, 'This event is dedicated to our Hello Sunshine community: the fans & friends who love the stories we tell and the stories we champion. Thank you for being a part of our story.'

Attendees who opted for the 'Ultimate Shine' ticket were treated to a premium gift bag and a special happy hour with surprise guests.
Russell Crowe has surprised fans by unveiling a life-sized statue of himself as Maximus in the film Gladiator, made entirely of chocolate.

The Australian actor, 59, took to X (formerly Twitter) on Friday to share a photo of the impressive sculpture, explaining how the design was created by Maltese chocolatier Tiziano Cassar for the Hamrun chocolate festival.

'Some people get statues made of bronze, some in marble. In Malta, they made me out of chocolate,' Russell began.

'This weekend in beautiful Malta is the world famous Hamrun Chocolate festival. The artist is Tiziano Cassar,' he continued, cheekily adding: 'When the competition is over, I will be available to eat'

Russell is known for his love of Malta, having first visited the country to film his blockbuster Gladiator in 2000.

Russell Crowe, 59, surprised fans on Friday by unveiling a life-sized statue of himself as Maximus in the film Gladiator, made entirely of chocolate. He is pictured left in Gladiator (2000), while the chocolate sculpture inspired by his character is pictured right

Since then, he has spent plenty of time visiting the country as a tourist and to perform with his band.

Back in June, the actor joked to Maltese media before performing with his band that he was even thinking of becoming a citizen.

'There have been discussions on citizenship', he mused when asked about his future in Malta, adding that he would have to discuss the matter with the country's Prime Minister, according to the Times of Malta,

Russell is known for his love of Malta, having first visited the country to film his blockbuster Gladiator in 2000. (Pictured in 2022)

Back in June, the actor joked to Maltese media before performing with his band that he was even thinking of becoming a citizen. (Pictured in 2023)

'I feel like an uncle here,' he said, later adding: 'The only reason I speak so positively about Malta is because it is a fantastic place.'

Meanwhile, production is also underway in Malta for the upcoming Gladiator sequel, starring Paul Mescal and Denzel Washington.

While the new film brings back Gladiator director Ridley Scott, Russell won't be featured as his character died at the end of the original film.

The original historical epic grossed five times its budget, and it helped cement the stardom of Russell and Joaquin Phoenix.

Gladiator won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Russell.

Meanwhile, production is also underway in Malta for the upcoming Gladiator sequel. While the new film brings back Gladiator director Ridley Scott, Russell won't be featured as his character died at the end of the original film
Queen Camilla helped bid farewell to jockey Frankie Dettori yesterday as he ended his career in the UK in typically triumphant fashion.

The Italian brought his career in this country to an end at Ascot by winning his final race on King Of Steel. He now heads to California to race there.

Dressed in emerald green, Camilla also paid subtle tribute to her late mother-in-law by wearing a small diamond horse brooch the Queen gave to her.

Queen Camilla helped bid farewell to jockey Frankie Dettori yesterday as he ended his career in the UK in typically triumphant fashion

Alice Eve attends QIPCO British Champions Day at Ascot Racecourse

Bake Off judge Prue Leith, 83, eye-catching in electric blue frilled jacket, spoke of her love of horses

The Ascot crowd included actress Alice Eve, 41, who watched from the exclusive Authority Suite in a beige coat with fur trim.

And Bake Off judge Prue Leith, 83, eye-catching in electric blue frilled jacket, spoke of her love of horses, confessing: I wanted to marry a horse when I was ten. My father did point out to me that my children would all be centaurs and I thought, Oh good, that sounds all right. 

Lily plays mum... to a boy, 22

Lily Allen

Lily Allen seems to have taken the critics panning her role in West End play The Pillowman, inset, to heart  shes taken up a place on a one-year acting course in New York. The 38-year-old, right, has revealed she is throwing herself into learning and embracing her younger classmates.

Lily  who has also appeared on stage in 2:22 A Ghost Story and earlier this year starred in the Sky TV series Dreamland  says: Its very uncomfortable at times. Im doing scene study at the moment with a 22-year-old boy named Ben whos lovely, and Im playing his mum!
He then treated her to lunch surrounded by her loved ones

Justin Hemmes celebrated girlfriend Madeline Holtznagel's 27th birthday in Vaucluse, Sydney on Saturday where he owns a luxury $100million home.

The billionaire pub baron, 50, hosted a lavish lunch at his property for the blonde bombshell where he made a gushing toast to her in front of friends and family.

But he didn't stop there as Madeline later revealed on Instagram that he bought the model two llamas as a tribute to his love for her.

Madeline shared snaps of herself meeting the adorably fluffy farm animals.

She also shared some more images to her Stories which showed her collecting eggs and a basket of vegetables.

Justin Hemmes celebrated girlfriend Madeline Holtznagel's 27th birthday at the pub baron's $100m mansion in Vaucluse on Saturday

The genetically blessed beauty was all smiles when she finally made it to her birthday lunch and surrounded herself with loved ones.

Garbed all in white, her partner Justin quickly attracted everyone's attention with a heart-warming toast to his love.

Sending everyone into tears with laughter, he cast a summery silhouette with his loose linen shirt and slacks.

The billionaire pub baron hosted a lavish lunch at his property for the blonde bombshell where he made a gushing toast to her in front of friends and family

The billionaire pub baron hosted a lavish lunch at his property for the blonde bombshell where he made a gushing toast to her in front of friends and family

Meanwhile, Madeline looked an angelic beauty with her golden tresses piled atop her head in an up-do.

She appeared to be flaunting her figure for the happy occasion in an incredibly low-cut, strappy dress.

The couple's happy celebration comes after they sparked engagement rumours when Madeline shared some precious pictures from their recent trip to Japan.

The genetically blessed beauty was all smiles when she finally made it to her birthday lunch and surrounded herself with loved ones

Garbed all in white, her partner Justin quickly attracted everyone's attention with a heart-warming toast to his love

Sending everyone into tears with laughter, he cast a summery silhouette with his loose linen shirt and slacks

READ MORE: Model Madeline Holtznagel shows off her incredible figure in a skimpy blue bikini during romantic holiday in Croatia with her billionaire pub baron boyfriend Justin Hemmes Advertisement

Meanwhile, Madeline looked an angelic beauty with her golden tresses piled atop her head in an up-do

She appeared to be flaunting her figure for the happy occasion in an incredibly low-cut, strappy dress

She adorned herself with gold earrings as she flashed a ring on her finger which has recently drummed up engagement rumours

Madeline is pictured wiping away tears after cracking up over Justin's toast

She took several snaps of the holiday, which they enjoyed with friends, but one picture in particular sent tongues wagging.

Cuddling up to Justin in the photo as they enjoyed a bowl of Udon noodles, Madeline teased her followers by wearing a ring on her wedding finger.

The bling appeared to be a pretty turquoise dress ring she teamed with her outfit.

However, another photo from later in the night saw her wearing a different ring on the same finger as she posed in front of a bathroom mirror for a selfie.

Justin had the crowd in tears as he paid a tribute to his love

Madeline couldn't hold back her laughter

The lovebirds were well prepared for a summery outing, and it seems they asked everyone else to dress in white as well

Some guests filmed the happy occasion

At one point, Madeline was seen covering her face in embarrassment as Justin toasted to her

Friends and family were ecstatic to see Madeline having such a joyful time
Britney Spears has returned to social media less than one day after deactivating her Instagram account.

The 41-year-old pop music icon  who is gearing up to release her memoir The Woman In Me, which details her past relationship with Justin Timberlake  rejoined the platform as she shared a post in a white mini dress.

A caption to her 42 million followers read, 'CLASSIC !!! I made this dress, no lie !!! It snapped in the back when I started shooting, OF COURSE !!! Ive waited three years to wear it  have no idea why ??? HMMMM.'

The video appears to have been recorded sometime last year as a light up Christmas tree was visible behind Britney for its duration.

The clip was soundtracked by Cardi B's 2018 song I Like It, featuring Bad Bunny and J Balvin.

She's back: Britney Spears has returned to social media less than one day after deactivating her Instagram account

New post: The 41-year-old pop music icon  who is gearing up to release her memoir The Woman In Me  rejoined the platform as she shared a post in a white mini dress

The brief deactivation of her Instagram profile came amid bombshell revelations exposed in excerpts from her forthcoming tell-all.

In the book, Britney confessed to cheating on Justin with her choreographer Wade Robson.

The star also shared that she had an abortion at age 19 because Timberlake 'wasn't ready to be a father.'

Shortly before nixing her Instagram page, she shared a lengthy note about the attention surrounding her book.

'I don't like the headlines I am reading,' she wrote in black font against a stark white background.

'My book's purpose was not to offend anyone by any means,' the note continued. 'That was me then. That is in the past.'

'Most of the book is from 20 years ago,' she went on. 'I have moved on and it's a beautiful clean slate from here !!!'

The pop star added: 'I am here to establish it that way for the rest of my entire life !!! Either way, that is the last of it and s*** happens !!!'

Off the grid: Just hours before she decided to deactivate her account on Friday, the Toxic hitmaker had shared her fears about the drama stirring around her book

Bombshell: In the book, Britney confessed to cheating on ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake with her choreographer Wade Robson

Days away: Her bombshell tell-all is set for release on October 24

Spears penned that while she wanted the baby and 'dreamed of having a family' with Justin, who was also 19 at the time, he ultimately 'wasn't ready' for the responsibilities of fatherhood.

In an excerpt published by People the songstress remembered: 'It was a surprise, but for me, it wasnt a tragedy. I loved Justin so much. I always expected us to have a family together one day. This would just be much earlier than Id anticipated.

'He said we werent ready to have a baby in our lives, that we were way too young. Im sure people will hate me for this, but I agreed not to have the baby.

'I dont know if that was the right decision. If it had been left up to me alone, I never would have done it. And yet Justin was so sure that he didnt want to be a father.'
Britney Spears opened up on why she often shares nude photos of herself on Instagram in her upcoming memoir The Woman In Me.

'I know that a lot of people don't understand why I love taking pictures of myself naked or in new dresses,' she writes, according to excerpts of the tome from The New York Times.

'But I think if they'd been photographed by other people thousands of times, prodded and posed for other people's approval, they'd understand that I get a lot of joy from posing the way I feel sexy and taking my own picture.'

The iconic pop star  who has known the spotlight since her early 90s days on The Mickey Mouse Club  has had a penchant for posting jaw-dropping pics on her social media platform over the last few years.

Whether in her backyard, on the beach or even horseback riding, the 'Toxic' hitmaker takes it all off and documents it with sassy snaps.

Revealing why: Britney Spears opened up on why she often shares nude photos of herself on Instagram in her upcoming memoir The Woman In Me

New dresses: 'I know that a lot of people don't understand why I love taking pictures of myself naked or in new dresses,' she writes, according to excerpts of the tome

Comfortable: 'But I think if they'd been photographed by other people thousands of times, prodded and posed for other people's approval, they'd understand that I get a lot of joy from posing the way I feel sexy and taking my own picture'

However, turning up the heat with topless or fully nude photos has gotten her into some hot water with her ex Kevin Federline and their two sons Preston, 18, and Jayden, 17.

'I can't imagine how it feels to be a teenager, having to go to high school,' Kevin previously said of his boys and their mom's risque snaps to iTVnews.

'Who knows how many people ask them about it or talk to them about it?'

The revelation on her Instagram nudes comes as Britney reactivated the platform just one day after deactivating it on Friday.

Rocking a simple white dress, Britney wrote, 'CLASSIC !!! I made this dress, no lie !!! It snapped in the back when I started shooting, OF COURSE !!! I've waited three years to wear it  have no idea why ??? HMMMM.'

The video appears to have been recorded sometime last year as a light up Christmas tree was visible behind Britney for its duration.

The clip was soundtracked by Cardi B's 2018 song I Like It, featuring Bad Bunny and J Balvin.

She's back: Britney Spears has returned to social media less than one day after deactivating her Instagram account

New post: The 41-year-old pop music icon  who is gearing up to release her memoir The Woman In Me  rejoined the platform as she shared a post in a white mini dress

The brief deactivation of her Instagram profile came amid bombshell revelations exposed in excerpts from her forthcoming tell-all.

In the book, Britney confessed to cheating on Justin with her choreographer Wade Robson.

The star also shared that she had an abortion at age 19 because Timberlake 'wasn't ready to be a father.'

Shortly before nixing her Instagram page, she shared a lengthy note about the attention surrounding her book.

'I don't like the headlines I am reading,' she wrote in black font against a stark white background.

'My book's purpose was not to offend anyone by any means,' the note continued. 'That was me then. That is in the past.'

'Most of the book is from 20 years ago,' she went on. 'I have moved on and it's a beautiful clean slate from here !!!'

The pop star added: 'I am here to establish it that way for the rest of my entire life !!! Either way, that is the last of it and s*** happens !!!'

Off the grid: Just hours before she decided to deactivate her account on Friday, the Toxic hitmaker had shared her fears about the drama stirring around her book

Bombshell: In the book, Britney confessed to cheating on ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake with her choreographer Wade Robson

Days away: Her bombshell tell-all is set for release on October 24

Spears penned that while she wanted the baby and 'dreamed of having a family' with Justin, who was also 19 at the time, he ultimately 'wasn't ready' for the responsibilities of fatherhood.

In an excerpt published by People the songstress remembered: 'It was a surprise, but for me, it wasn't a tragedy. I loved Justin so much. I always expected us to have a family together one day. This would just be much earlier than I'd anticipated.

'He said we weren't ready to have a baby in our lives, that we were way too young. I'm sure people will hate me for this, but I agreed not to have the baby.

'I don't know if that was the right decision. If it had been left up to me alone, I never would have done it. And yet Justin was so sure that he didn't want to be a father.'
Janette Manrara and Alijaz Skorjanec have dropped surprise hints at a second baby - just three months after welcoming their daughter Lyra Rose.

The former Strictly Come Dancing pros announced in July that they had welcomed baby Lyra, at London's Portland Hospital weighing 7lb 7oz.

Alijaz, 33, is currently taking a career break while Janette, 39, is hosting the spin-off show Strictly: It Takes Two with Fleur East.

But the couple showed that they are already quickly adapting to life as parents, with Alijaz hinting already that it may not be long before baby number two arrives.

He said: 'I can't wait to do daddy daycare - it's my favourite job ever. I have waited to be a dad for so long and I feel very lucky to be able to spend so much time with my daughter.'

Exciting: Janette Manrara and Alijaz Skorjanec have dropped surprise hints at a second baby - just three months after welcoming their daughter Lyra Rose (pictured)

Sweet: The long-term couple have shown they are already adapting well to becoming parents

'I'm really looking forward to the future and thinking about our second child,' he teased, in an interview with Hello! Magazine.

'Janette is still recovering but I'm planning to keep the bottles just in case.'

The couple are preparing to go on tour with their new Christmas show Dancing In A Winter Wonderland, with Lyra joining them on their travels.

In July Janette and Alijaz took to Instagram to announce the happy news that they had welcomed a baby girl.

Janette shared a sweet black-and-white photograph of herself lying in hospital and cradling her newborn daughter while Aljaz stood over her and smiled.

In an accompanying caption, Janette confirmed her daughter's adorable name as she celebrated her new arrival.

She simply penned: 'Lyra Rose Skorjanec. July 28, 2023,' along with an emoji of a red rose.

They had announced the pregnancy back in February, after struggling to conceive for more than two years.

Pregnancy: Janette (pictured in June) announced that she and Aljaz were expecting their first child together in February, after struggling to conceive for more than two years

Adorable: Janette then kept fans up to date with her pregnancy and was sweetly surprised with a Winnie-the-Pooh-themed baby shower earlier this month

During her pregnancy, Janette told Closer: 'He's wanted to be a dad since day one and he's so obsessed, he would breastfeed the baby if he could!

'He wants to be a co-parent 100 percent and we'll be a real team.'

The dancer also revealed how her husband sends her memes of baby tips and advice he's found online, adding: 'As a working mum, having someone like that on your side is such a breath of fresh air!'

She previously said of Aljaz: 'The most surprising thing for me, from Aljaz is just the level of support he's shown throughout this whole pregnancy.'

'I knew he always wanted to be a Father; I felt in my heart that I knew he was always going to be an amazing Dad, but to see it come to life with his excitement and his curiosity and his ability to really just take care of me is amazing.'

She added: 'He doesn't let me lift a feather! He is just the most incredible husband and it's so nice to see how involved he wants to be and he wants to know about everything happening to me and my body.

'I think as a woman it's so comforting to know that I have a real partner in this whole process, and that he's with me all the way. I love that.'

She continued: 'It's just the excitement of being a family, finally. We've known for a long time that we've been wanting to be parents, and now we have this little miracle coming, our lives are going to completely change forever once it arrives.

Romance: Janette and Aljaz first met back in 2010 in London through their careers as professional dancers and went on to tie the knot in 2017

'To know that, again, we have each other and we're doing it as a team, and hopefully we create a wonderful human being, that will be beautiful for our planet.

'Just the excitement of being in a new home as a new family all of it really! I'm just super happy that this is even happening.'

The couple met in 2010 when performing in Burn The Floor and tied the knot in 2017.

Alijaz has joked in the past that he was ready to propose after five hours.

Janette previously credited Strictly for helping them to stay together, as it meant they both lived in London rather than having to do long-distance between Slovenia and Los Angeles.
Emmerdale viewers may finally get their wish as Danny Miller teased a return for Ryan Hawkley and the fan favourite duo 'Robron'.

The actor, who recently returned himself after seemingly leaving the Dales for good, admitted he is trying to talk his former co-star into returning.

Danny, who plays Aaron Dingle, revealed he is desperate for his friend Ryan to return to his role as the character's ex-husband Robert Sugden.

Ryan quit the show in 2019 after Robert was sentenced to life in prison over the death of Lee Posner, who he accidentally killed during an attack.

Robert attacked Lee after learning he had raped his sister Victoria Sugden and later owned up to his crime and was sentenced to time in prison.

Comeback! Emmerdale viewers may finally get their wish as Danny Miller teased a return for Ryan Hawkley and the fan favourite duo (pictured on their wedding day in 2018)

Jail time: Ryan quit the show in 2019 after Robert was sentenced to life in prison over the death of Lee Posner, who he accidentally killed during an attack (pictured in court in 2019)

However, there may be hope of a return, following a series of hints that Robert may have not caused his death after all.

It later emerged that Lee had also been hit by his brother Luke, which may have been the actual cause of his death.

Danny and viewers alike are keen for Ryan's return, as he recently told TV Times magazine, Danny said: 'I'm still great friends with Ryan Hawley [who memorably played Aaron's husband, Robert Sugden].

Adam Thomas [AKA Adam Barton] is off doing his own thing, as is Kelvin Fletcher [who portrayed Andy Sugden], but we're all still very close.

'I think if I could pick one person, though, I'd love to work with Ryan again. It's just a case of if I can talk him round. Every single day I get a video or message saying 'Bring back Robron!'.

Last week, Aaron was unveiled as the mystery man being held hostage in an abandoned farmhouse by family members Cain and Caleb.

But despite making a dramatic comeback, fans of the soap were already calling for the character to leave the village for good following his treatment of the beloved Paddy Kirk (Dominic Brunt).

Viewers watched Aaron rage at Cain (Jeff Hordley) and Caleb (William Ash) last week as they kept him tied up in the farmhouse after they kidnapped him in Italy to save him from the mafia, with Aaron having picked a fight with members of the criminal organisation.

Reunited? Danny, who plays Aaron Dingle, revealed he is desperate for his friend Ryan to return to his role as the character's ex-husband Robert Sugden

Already? Last week, Aaron was unveiled as the mystery man being held hostage in an abandoned farmhouse by family members Cain and Caleb

Harsh: Aaron was on the warpath with local residents and unleashed his acid tongue on an unsuspecting Paddy, spitting out some harsh comments about his previous suicide attempt.

Aaron then had a run in with local gangster Harry after he took his mother Chas (Lucy Pargeter) hostage last week, plowing the criminal down with a car, before heading back to the village.

This week, Aaron was on the warpath with the local residents, and unleashed his acid tongue on an unsuspecting Paddy, spitting out some very harsh comments about his previous suicide attempt.

Bumping into him in the cafe, Paddy was surprised Aaron had not come to find him, saying: 'I missed you, and I thought youd miss me.'

Noticing Aaron's dark mood, Paddy tried to comfort Aaron, suspecting he was grieving his sister Liv who was killed in a storm a year ago.

Paddy told him: 'Dont pretend it doesnt affect you. We all know how much you loved her.'

He went to try and get Aaron to open up about what was troubling him, discussing his own troubles including his suicide attempt.

Paddy said: 'I came close to doing something there was no coming back from'

However, Aaron's response was cruel: 'I heard all about that. How you didnt have the guts to go through with it. Pathetic, Paddy.

'Maybe you should have done it. Done us all a favour. Were better off without you.'

The moment left viewers aghast, with many taking to Twitter to express their disgust while called for Aaron to leave the village despite arriving back just days ago.

Horrified: The moment left viewers aghast, with many taking to Twitter to express their disgust while called for Aaron to leave the village despite arriving back just days ago

One person wrote: 'If this is the way Aaron is going to behave I want him gone hes getting on my nerves!'

Someone else wrote: 'Why have they brought Aaron back being a complete tool!'

While someone else posted: 'Cant believe Aaron actually said that. Maybe its the grief talking. NO WAY does he mean that.'

'Wow, I can't believe Aaron just said that to Paddy about his suicide attempt,' posted another shocked viewer.

While someone else shared: 'Aaron!!! How could you!!! @DannyBMiller Poor Paddy!!! #Emmerdale #itv #ItvEmmerdale.'

Someone else shared: 'Ee-by-gum. Aaron even more nasty & cruel. What vile words to say to Paddy. Horrid man. Never could stand him.'

'Aaron speaking to Paddy like that breaks my heart,' wrote someone else, while another person commented: 'Wow Aaron that was below the belt!! Paddy has done so much for you!!'

Another person posted: 'I'm glad Aaron is back I don't like his bad boy attitude what did poor Paddy ever do.'
Steve Coogan has condemned Hamas over there 'horrific and brutal' invasion of Israel as he defended signing a letter to campaign for humanitarian support in Gaza.

Coogan and a host of other luvvies including Tilda Swinton, Charles Dance and Maxine Peake have come under fire for failing to condemn Hamas' brutal terror attacks in the letter calling for a ceasefire.

It was signed by more than 2,000 actors, musicians and artists, and accuses the Government of 'not only tolerating war crimes but aiding and abetting them'.

The letter, written by Artists For Palestine UK, calls for 'an immediate ceasefire and the opening of Gaza's crossings to allow humanitarian aid to enter unhindered'.

But letter has been criticised for not mentioning the terrorist group Hamas or its mass assault on Israel on October 7.

Steve Coogan has condemned Hamas over there 'horrific and brutal' invasion of Israel as he defended signing a letter to campaign for humanitarian support in Gaza

Coogan and a host of other luvvies including Tilda Swinton (pictured) , Charles Dance and Maxine Peake have come under fire for failing to condemn Hamas' brutal terror attacks in the letter calling for a ceasefire

In response to the backlash in a statement on Sunday, Coogan said: 'I just want to make sure that is correct, and I do of course condemn the recent Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel; their deliberate murder of civilians and their taking of hostages.

'All right thinking people do. The Jewish people have been uniquely the target of hate and prejudice for millennia and anyone who cares about human rights should be vigilant and call it out when they encounter it.

'It goes without saying that what Hamas did is evil beyond imagination. It was horrific and brutal.

'It is in no way inconsistent with condemnation of the Hamas atrocity, to express grave concern for the lives and welfare of innocent Palestinian civilians facing a humanitarian disaster, deprived of food, water, medicine fuel and shelter.'

In a statement to X, formerly Twitter, Outlander star Sam Heughan said he 'inadvertently' signed the letter and it does not reflect his 'beliefs'.

Heughan added: 'I believed it was a simple call for peace... It wasn't. I condemn violence in any form. I stand against terrorism and evil and am heartbroken and appalled by the recent horrific actions by Hamas. It's haunting to the core, my heart goes out to all affected.

'I don't know nearly enough and (I am) trying to educate myself on the conflicts in the Middle East.

Charles Dance was among the list of famous names to sign the statement

Maxine Peake was among the list of famous names to sign the statement

'I feel helpless and wish I could help in some way. I pray for compassion, for all the innocent people affected. Peace and love to you all. X.'

The letter read: 'Gaza is already a society of refugees and the children of refugees.

'Now, in their hundreds of thousands, bombarded from air, sea and land, Palestinians whose grandparents were forced out of their homes at the barrel of a gun are again being told to flee  or face collective punishment on an unimaginable scale.'

Referencing Israeli Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant's depiction of Palestinians as 'human animals', the signatories said Palestinians 'have become people to whom almost anything can be done'.

They cited the UN's undersecretary for humanitarian affairs Martin Griffiths, who has said that 'the spectre of death' is hanging over Gaza, and they are calling for 'an immediate ceasefire and the opening of Gaza's crossings to allow humanitarian aid to enter unhindered'.

The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry said last week that 3,478 Palestinians have been killed and more than 12,000 injured in the past 11 days.

More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, and at least 199 others, including children, were captured by Hamas and taken into Gaza, according to Israeli authorities.

On Monday, Actor Riz Ahmed called for 'an end to the indiscriminate bombing of Gaza's civilians' amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.

The British actor, 40, who was nominated for an Oscar for the film The Sound Of Metal, said 'staying silent is not an option' as he blasted the 'morally indefensible war crimes'.

Sharing a lengthy statement on social media, he wrote: 'We are told there are two sides to what is happening in Israel and Palestine. But in my heart, I know there is only one - the side of our humanity.'
Princess Andre has given fans an update on her relationship with her new boyfriend.

The aspiring model and influencer, 16, first went public with her romance when she invited her boyfriend along to her mother Katie Price's 45th birthday celebrations in Brighton in May.

Princess took to social media on Sunday to take part in a Q&A, with one of her followers asking about her relationship.

One fan asked her on Instagram: 'How are you and your boyfriend?', to which the star was more than happy to reply.

She posted a sweet selfie of the pair looking cosy in one of their cars as she answered her follower: 'We're really good thank you.'

Romance: Princess Andre has given fans an update on her relationship with her new boyfriend

She posted a sweet selfie of the pair looking cosy in one of their cars as she answered her follower: 'We're really good thank you.'

It comes after earlier this week Princess looked the spitting image of her mother Katie Price as she attended a Beauty Works event at Restaurant Ours in London on Monday evening.

The beauty displayed an uncanny resemblance to her glamour model mum, 45, as she got glammed up for the bash.

Princess cut a stylish figure in a PrettyLittleThing two-toned pink leather jacket, teamed with a simple white crop top, flared jeans and nude strappy heels.

Showcasing her long blonde locks styled in voluminous curls, the young star looked just like Katie as she posed for photographs outside the South Kensington eatery.

Katie has experimented back and forth with her hair over the years, however as a blonde there is no denying how similar the look is between her and her eldest daughter.

Since finishing school in June, Princess - whose father is Peter Andre, 50 - has been attending numerous events and is also due to go on tour with her mother.

Taking to Instagram, the pair posted a sweet video together to promote their makeup masterclass which they are taking across the UK.

Relationship: The aspiring model and influencer, 16, first went public with her romance when she invited her boyfriend along to her mother Katie Price's 45th birthday celebrations in Brighton in May

Appearing in the video together, Princess said: 'Come and join us at our masterclass', as Katie explained: 'We're doing it together, mother and daughter'.

Clearly excited for the tour, the pair cried in unison: 'We can't wait'.

Katie captioned the snap: 'Me & Princess can't wait to meet you all this autumn winter for an evening filled with makeup. VIP and Standard tickets available on www.KatiePriceMerch.com UK, Ireland & Northern Ireland dates just added xx see you soon!'

Princess shared her future career plans in August after revealing she 'didn't pass all' of her GCSE exams.

She live-streamed herself finding out that she had passed three out of seven of her GCSEs earlier this month.

Princess recently took to her Instagram Stories to share what she is planning to do now she has left school, admitting she is 'excited' about her next steps.

Family: Princess is the daughter of Katie Price, 45, and Peter Andre, 50

The teenager - who is already signed to fashion brand PrettyLittleThing - told how she hopes to do social media and beauty training as a career.

When asked what her plans are, she replied: 'I'll be doing social media and private beauty training xx sooooo excited.'

Elsewhere in the 'ask me anything' Q&A, Princess was also asked if she was going to 'get anything done' when she turns 18 years old in two years time.

Princess replied: 'Surgery wise no, I would stay natural x.'
Absolute Land & Acreage Auction October 27th @ 10:00 AM LIVE AUCTION TO BE HELD AT THE BURKLEY FAMILY CENTER, 511 E ST. FAIRBURY, NE LOCATED IN THE HEARTLAND BANK BUILDING DOWNTOWN FAIRBURY, NE. The farmland and the acreage will be offered as separate tracts. Abbreviated Legal Description: A tract of land, consisting of 10 +/- acres, located in the Southeast Quarter (SE 1/4) of Section (27), Township (3) North, Range Three (3) East of the 6th P.M., Jefferson County, Nebraska. Final legal description of acreage will be determined by survey. Acreage Description: The property encompasses various structures, including an existing 2280 sq.ft. 1 1/2 story farmhouse with three bedrooms, one bathroom, a living room, dining room, and kitchen. Additionally, there are several outbuildings, such as a 72'X48' Morton machinery storage structure, a 29'X32' Granary, a barn, and a newer 30'X26' double car detached garage. This acreage is being offered for sale along with approximately 10 acres, more or less. If you wish to inspect the interior of the home, appointments are available. For exterior viewing, you are welcome to do so at your convenience during appropriate hours. Survey: The farmland and the acreage will be offered as separate tracts. If they are purchased separately, a survey will be conducted prior to closing to determine the exact boundary lines. The survey will be at the direction of the seller. The cost of the survey shall be shared equally between the buyer and the seller. The proposed boundary lines shall be the guide for the surveyor. The results of the survey shall be provided to both parties and shall serve as the basis for the final legal description.

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Sir Mick Jagger shocked Saturday Night Viewers by playing an imposter who poses as a racy nun to sleep with the others in a 'Sister Act 3' parody.

This weekend's show started with Hollywood heartthrob Pedro Pascal crashing Latin star Bad Bunny's monologue.

But things got even weirder when the 80-year-old Rolling Stones frontman showed up to a Convent Meeting and confessed to posing as a sister called Kevin to have sex with nuns.

Bad Bunny was among the nuns at the meeting to address the sex scandal and reacted to the news: 'Oh no. That is horrible.'

He continued: 'Whoever is doing that you are very, very bad. Stop it!'

OMG: Sir Mick Jagger shocked Saturday Night Viewers by playing an imposter who poses as a racy nun to sleep with the others

Looking different: Jagger played a very convincing nun called 'Sister Kevin' in the sketch

The sexless nuns became exhilarated by the news, with one saying: 'He needs to repent me again over the dining table again.'

They were then told to 'focus' on the 'evil man' trying to 'corrupt our precious virgin souls.'

The nuns then fought over who has had sex with the impostor.

After Bad Bunny told them to come forward and confess, Mick walked into the convent in full nun's dress and says: 'Fine, I confess! It was me!

'I was the one who corrupted these poor women with my lips and my hips (he mimes), and I was the one who rang the bell with my penis and yelled, 'Ding-dong!'

He then launcheed an innuendo-filled confession about his scandalous antics.

The '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction' hitmaker - now known as Sister Kevin - goes on: 'I know, this is probably the worst sex scandal in the history of the church, but look on the bright side, before I get here, these sisters just mumbled, 'Our Father', and now they are screaming, 'Oh Goddd!''

The sisters then begged for him to stay and sleep with them for a few more weeks as it's 'almost Halloween' - and their Mother Superior agrees.

Shocking: Sir Mick launched an innuendo-filled confession

Famous company: He joined Bad Bunny for the SNL sketch, as they discussed the sex scandal in the nunnery

Raunchy: The nuns at the convent meeting were thrilled when Sister Kevin (Jagger) was allowed to stay

Scandalous: Fans reacted with shock at seeing the Rolling Stones frontman in such an usual setting

'Now let's go sisters - I'm think I'm ready for the second coming!' Sir Mick says, as the sketch ends.

Fans reacted with shock at seeing the Rolling Stones frontman in such an usual setting.

One said: ''Mick jagger and Bad Bunny are together dressed as nuns' is a sentence I never imagined putting together in my life.'

'Mick Jagger as a nun on SNL. Praise the Lord! I can now truly die happy.

Another said: '1am and I'm dying at Mick Jagger playing a nun with Bad Bunny.'

Lady Gaga - who just performed her duet with the Stones, 'Sweet Sounds of Heaven', at their New York album launch  also introduced Bad Bunny's first musical performance of the night.

Jagger also featured in a telenovela sketch, playing the father in the scene, causing the audience to give an excited applause at the surprise cameo.

In another unusual outfit, he was filmed with a massive moustache and bowler hat.

He joined in on a confrontation between two brothers, and pretended to 'slap' them in the heated argument before he was threatened with a gun and the maid jumped in to protect him.

Later on, Mick and his fiance Melanie Hamrick were spotted arriving at the SNL afterparty following his appearance on the show.

Following the live taping, Mick and Melanie, 36, joined the other stars including Bad Bunny's girlfriend Kendall Jenner and Lady Gaga at Le'Avenue.

Another cameo! Mick Jagger also dressed up as a father in a telenovela, donning another unusual oufit

Confrontation: He joined in on the confrontation between the two brothers, and pretended to 'slap' them in the heated argument
Strictly Come Dancing star Eddie Kadi has spoken out on his strong bond with his professional partner on the show, Karen Hauer.

Twinkle-toed star Karen, 41, was reportedly nursing heartache last week as it emerged she'd split from her husband Jordan Wyn-Jones after 16 months of marriage.

But Karen has been able to rely on comedian Eddie, 40, to keep her spirits up, with their love of laughter bringing them together.

Eddie told the Mirror: 'As a comedian, you automatically think, "Im gonna come into this space and shell expect me to make her laugh".

'No! She makes me laugh, because shes just herself. From the very beginning she was goofy. Shell be doing random things and suddenly shes on the floor laughing with her legs up in the air, and Ill be like, "what?" I love this girl, shes mental.'

Good pals: Strictly Come Dancing star Eddie Kadi, 40, has spoken out on his strong bond with his professional partner on the show, Karen Hauer, 41

Similarities: Karen has been able to rely on comedian Eddie to keep her spirits up, with their love of laughter bringing them together, while they share similar life stories

The pair have also bonded over their similar life stories, with Venezuela-born Karen moving to the United States at the age of eight while Eddie fled the Democratic Republic of the Congo with his family at the age of nine to escape violent civil disturbance.

Eddie explained: 'We literally have the same story. We both came from a foreign land, she went to New York, I went to London around the same age; we both acquired a new language, a new culture. Its such a joy.

'We talk about it all the time, our upbringing. She wants to learn all about the Congo, I want to know more about Venezuela. Shes still pushing The Bronx more than Venezuela but Im willing to work on that!'

It comes after Karen cut a sombre figure as she appeared on last Saturday's live show with comedian Eddie, as it was reported she had split from her husband Jordan Wyn-Jones.

The professional dancer and Jordan married last year, with her describing the ceremony as a 'fairytale' at the time, but sources claimed the pair had gone their separate ways after a 'tough time'.

Karen, who attended the Pride of Britain Awards without her wedding ring this month, took to the dancefloor with comic Eddie, earning just 24 points out of 40 for their American Smooth.

Of their split, a source told the Mirror: 'Karen and Jordan have had a tough time in the past few months and decided to split. It's obviously very sad for both of them.

'But there's no ill-will whatsoever. The split is amicable, and they wish each other the best.'

End of the road: Karen put on a brave face as she performed on the show last Saturday as it emerged she'd reportedly split from her husband Jordan Wyn-Jones (Karen pictured on Strictly with her celebrity dance partner Eddie Kadi)

Looking back: The professional dancer and Jordan married last year, describing the ceremony as a 'fairytale' at the time

MailOnline contacted a representative for Karen for comment.

In August this year Karen revealed she and Jordan were having counselling to help them with their relationship.

She told Hello! magazine: 'Counselling. You know what I think communication is massive but learning how to communicate, you know, so we get outside help.

'So whenever we're having tricky moments or anything like that, it's just seeing the vulnerable side of each other and understanding it and knowing that both of us are working on things because nobody is perfect.'

She added: 'There is no such thing as a happy marriage or a happy relationship with the perfect couple.

'It's about dealing with things the right way and not just running away from things, and I guess that's what makes us tick even better and understand one another.'

This summer, Karen said she hadn't decided if she wanted children with her husband Jordan.

She told Hello! magazine: 'There's always the possibility but right now I'm really happy living in the moment with my husband and with the dogs.

No ring: Karen attended the Pride of Britain Awards without her wedding ring earlier this month

Absent: There was no wedding ring visible on her finger as she attended the glitzy Pride of Britain Awards

'Nothing compares to a love of a dog. No matter how you wake up, the dogs are always happy to see you with their tails wagging.

'I know it's going to sound weird but it's like having a child but it's a furry child.'

Karen was married to former show professional Kevin Clifton from 2015 to 2018.

Although they parted ways that year, they continued to work together until Kevin left Strictly in 2020.

Prior to her relationship with Kevin, she was married to Matthew Hauer for nine years before they split in 2009.

Karen married fitness professional Jordan in an intimate ceremony in Hampshire in June last year.

At the time, she described the ceremony as a 'fairytale' and gushed about how special it was to bring their families together.

Heartbreak: A source told the Mirror: 'Karen and Jordan have had a tough time in the past few months and decided to split. It's obviously very sad for both of them'

Luxurious: Karen and Jordan got hitched at the five-star Chewton Glen hotel, an 18th century country house bordering the New Forest

Speaking to Hello! magazine, she said: 'I haven't seen my family for the last two years so it's really touching to bring them here and be able to share this amazing moment with them.'

Karen and Jordan got hitched at the five-star Chewton Glen hotel, an 18th century country house bordering the New Forest.

The couple went public with their relationship in 2021 when Jordan shared a post asking how he could 'get so lucky' as to be with Karen.

He wrote: '32 years definitely worth all that life could throw at me so that I could have you in my arms. How can a donut like me get so lucky to have met my person. Can't wait to have you home.'
Hollyoaks actress Lucy-Jo Hudson has revealed the cause of her worrying hospital dash earlier this week after suffering a health emergency.

The star, 40, needed urgent treatment in the form of two blood transfusions after being struck down by a mystery illness.

Now she has told how she's been diagnosed with chronic anaemia after taking a six-day break from social media to recover.

Lucy said on Instagram: 'Well it's been a crazy time of late. But I can finally say I am now fully on the mend!

'Thank you for all your gorgeous and thoughtful messages, you don't know how much I appreciate your kindness.

Tough: Hollyoaks actress Lucy-Jo Hudson has revealed the cause of her worrying hospital dash earlier this week after suffering a health emergency

Scared: The star, 40, needed urgent treatment in the form of two blood transfusions after suffering from a mystery illness

'Sooooo long story short, I was very short of breath last week, having chest pains and it turned out my HB levels were scarily low!!! They should have been between 115-155, and mine were 67 my iron levels should have been 38-48 but they were 1.5!!!

'I've been diagnosed with 'Chronic Anaemia'.

'I'm still looking into what's causing all of this! But thanks to the amazing staff at Salford Royal, I was immediately put on the emergency assessment unit and given 2 blood transfusions, my HB levels have gone up to 94 so I can breathe again, and my iron levels (now I'm on medication for that) are slowly going up, so my health is heading in the right direction!!!'

'I can honestly say I feel a million times better now. I can't actually believe how poorly I felt last week, and how I've Managed to function all of this time!? I'm ready to get back to some sort of routine now.

'Which is a good thing cos the kids have just broken up for half term. Honestly.. how is it the school holidays again?'

The NHS says: 'Iron deficiency anaemia is caused by lack of iron, often because of blood loss or pregnancy. It's treated with iron tablets and by eating iron-rich foods.'

It comes after earlier this week Lucy-Jo told how she had received two blood transfusions because her hemoglobin (HB) levels had dropped to a 'dangerously low' level.

HB is is the protein contained in red blood cells that is responsible for delivery of oxygen to the tissues. To ensure adequate tissue oxygenation, a sufficient hemoglobin level must be maintained.

Update: Now she has told how she's been diagnosed with chronic anaemia after taking a six-day break from social media to recover

Health: She said: 'Sooooo long story short, I was very short of breath last week, having chest pains and it turned out my HB levels were scarily low!!!'

Information: The NHS says: 'Iron deficiency anaemia is caused by lack of iron, often because of blood loss or pregnancy. It's treated with iron tablets and by eating iron-rich foods'

Hospital: It comes after earlier this week Lucy-Jo told how she had received two blood transfusions because her hemoglobin (HB) levels had dropped to a 'dangerously low' level

Lucy-Jo shared photos to her social page at the time of the transfusion being administered while she lay in a hospital bed wearing a gown.

The soap star, who revealed at that time that doctors still didn't know what was wrong with her, said: 'Well it's been a strange few days. I'm sorry I've been so quiet on herebut I was rushed to A&E on Thursday afternoon needing a blood transfusion!'

She continued: 'I actually ended up needing 2, my HB levels were that dangerously low! But thanks to the most amazing NHS staff at Salford Royal, I am on the mend. A big shout out to Robert Jackson and Freddy, both of you made me feel so at ease and you both took such good care of me on the emergency assessment unit. as did your nurses I can't thank you all enough for looking after me. I'll be forever grateful.'

Lucy went on to explain that doctors would be carrying out further tests to try to determine a diagnosis. She added: 'I'm booked in for more tests next week to get to the bottom of all of this I'm at home now resting. And just trying to build up my energy again!

'Sending you all lots of love. And this is not a 'feel sorry for me' post, this is to make you all aware that 'self care' is so important in the crazy world we all live in right now.' The TV star added hashtags that again emphasised she was 'grateful' to the NHS for her treatment.

Lucy, who is best known for playing Donna-Marie Quinn on Hollyoaks, first started o on the soap in 2018 and filmed her final scenes earlier this year.

She previously played Rosie Trevanion in the hit ITV drama Wild at Heart between 2006 and 2013 and before this she was Katy Harris on Coronation Street between 2002 and 2005.

Lucy tied the knot with her Corrie co-star Alan Halsall in 2009 and they were married for nine years before splitting in 2018. They welcomed their daughter Sienna-Rae in September 2013.

She is now in a relationship with Lewis Devine and the couple welcomed their first child together in February 2020, Carter, now three.

Over the summer, Lucy-Jo revealed she feared her son was going to die in a terrifying health scare.

She rushed Carter to Ormskirk Hospital in Lancashire when he was 18-months-old due to his serious nut allergy.

Taking to Instagram, Lucy-Jo revealed Carter went into anaphylactic shock after eating a snack containing traces of nuts.

'Carter was 18 months. He was in the trolley, eating snacks while I was getting tea with Sienna, and he suddenly looked at me and I knew something was severely wrong,' Lucy Jo recalled.

'He went grey, his mouth went blue and he started to go all limp. He was struggling to catch his breath. God did my heart sink, I literally grabbed him out of the trolley, abandoned the shopping and Sienna and I just ran to my car.

'I strapped him in his car seat (which was awful because at this point he was going in and out of consciousness and his skin was going all mottled and I couldn't hold him close as I had to drive to A&E.

'It was 10 minutes but it felt like a lifetime, my poor Sienna was crying in the back asking me if he was going to die.'

Lucy-Jo said she was trying to reassure her daughter Sienna, now nine, as she made her way to hospital.

'I kept trying to reassure her he was fine but I couldn't stop the tears, I honestly thought we were losing him,' she said.

'I kept talking to him, telling him to stay with us and he was trying god love him! I remember pulling up outside A&E and I just ran into the hospital cradling carter with Sienna by my side and screaming 'he's not breathing'.

Worst nightmare: Over the summer, Lucy-Jo revealed she feared her son was going to die in a terrifying health scare

Exes: Lucy tied the knot with her Corrie co-star Alan Halsall in 2009 and they were married for nine years before splitting in 2018

'The nurses flew out of every door and took my baby out of my arms and took him straight into a private room.

'After that it all felt like a blur. Nurse after nurse came in, drs round him, oxygen mask on, adrenalin in his leg, honestly the room was full of nurses trying to bring him round! It was the most terrifying moment of my life.'

Lucy-Jo revealed she carries Carter's epi-pen, which contains medication block the progression of the allergic response in the body, everywhere and has to inform every restaurant of his nut allergy as well as reading the labels of every food product.

She said: 'Thank you to the amazing staff at Ormskirk Hospital for saving our boys life. We will be forever grateful.'
U2's residency at The Sphere in Las Vegas has been attracting fans from all over the world, and quite a few celebrities as well.

On Saturday night, a trio of A-Listers were spotted at the brand new venue just off the Las Vegas Strip, where Bono paid tribute to the 'beautiful kids' killed at the Israeli music festival.

Tom Hanks, 67, and Rita Wilson, 66, were captured on a fan's video shaking their booties to the Irish rockers' hit song It's a Beautiful Day, per TMZ.

When the chorus came along, the power couple dancing and sang enthusiastically.

Nearby Ed Sheeran, 32, was clearly enjoying the show, which covers the rock band's 1991 album Achtung Baby.

Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson y Ed Sheeran anoche en el 11 show de #U2UVSphere.

Fuera de escena tambien estaba Bryan Cranston. pic.twitter.com/zhKlvMcaJJ  U2 Chile (@U2Chile) October 22, 2023

The Forest Gump star even took time out of jamming to the songs to wave at a nearby fan.

U2 signed on to open the $2.3 billion state-of-the-art concert venue with a three month residency that opened in September and has been extended until March.

Tom, Rita and Ed are just the latest Hollywood hotshots to take in the out-of-this-world performance.

Paul McCartney, Adam Scott, Snoop Dogg, Ava DuVernay, Matt Damon, Bryan Cranston, Chelsea Clinton, Mario Lopez, Dakota Fanning, Darren Aronofsky, Diplo and Dr. Dre have all attended a Sphere show over the last few weeks.

When McCartney took in Bono's performance he gave the former Beatle a shout-out and played snippets of Love Me Do, Blackbird and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

He also compared Sir Paul to Mozart and Brahms: 'Just know that we love you . . . and we've stolen a lot of your songs,' he said.

Other stars who've gone to The Sphere include Elizabeth Banks, Flava Flav, Gayle King, Neil Patrick Harris, Jason Bateman, Jeff Bezos, Jimmy Iovine, Jimmy Kimmel, Jon Hamm, Josh Duhamel, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Lebron James, Luke Wilson, Oprah, Orlando Bloom and Oscar De La Hoya.

U2 plays a two-hour set based on the Achtung Baby album that features a dazzling array of digital effects that leave the audience's senses reeling.

Tom Hanks gave me a thumbs up at U2 last night pic.twitter.com/BcrR8nFjIf  Shane (@ItsGillen) October 22, 2023

U2: U2's residency at The Sphere in Las Vegas has been attracting fans from all over the world and quite a few celebrities as well

English rocker: Ed Sheeran , 32, was clearly enjoying the show, which covers the rock band's 1991 album Achtung Baby

Hollywood A-Listers: Tom Hanks , 67, and Rita Wilson , 66, were captured on a fan's video shaking their booties to the Irish rockers' hit song It's a Beautiful Day, per TMZ

Legendary: On Saturday night a trio of A-Listers were spotted at the brand new venue just off the Las Vegas Strip

New venue: U2 signed on to open the $2.3 billion state-of-the-art concert venue with a three month residency that opened in September and has been extended until March

Audience: Tom, Rita and Ed are just the latest Hollywood hotshots to take in the out-of-this-world performance

Achtung Baby: U2 plays a two-hour set based on the Achtung Baby album that features a dazzling array of digital effects that leave the audience's senses reeling

State-of-the-art: The wraparound screen is the the highest resolution screen in the world at 19,000 by 13,500 pixels in the 366 foot high dome

Dome: It is also the most complex screen in the world and features a 16K resolution display

The wraparound screen is the the highest resolution screen in the world at 19,000 by 13,500 pixels in the 366 foot high dome.

It is also the most complex screen in the world and features a 16K resolution display.

'The exoskeleton is fitted with approximately 581,000 square feet of LED display space: there are 1.2 million pucks, each containing 48 individual LEDs that can display 256 million different colors, transforming the exterior into a monumental billboard,' according to Architectural Digest.

The digital show that accompanied U2's set took the audience on a journey that at times left them feeling like they were surrounded by the nearby Mojave desert or suspended above the Las Vegas Strip
When Holly Willoughby stepped down from This Morning it created one of the most sought-after vacancies in television.

And while some well-known names are throwing their hats in the ring, a relative unknown is emerging as one of the frontrunners.

Storm Huntley, 36, who presents segments on Channel 5's Jeremy Vine programme, is rumoured to be one of the favourites.

Meanwhile, ITV has demanded staff declare at-work relationships amid the Phillip Schofield scandal.

Ms Huntley has had a similar career to Ms Willoughby, having worked on CBeebies show Down On The Farm since 2015.

Storm Huntley, who presents parts of Jeremy Vine on Channel 5 is rumoured to be one of the favourites to replace Holly Willoughby on ITV's This Morning

Ms Willoughby (pictured with Alison Hammond, left This Morning earlier this month after hosting the show for 14 years

Ms Willoughby, 42, who quit This Morning earlier this month after 14 years, also has a background in children's television, hosting CITV's Ministry of Mayhem in 2004.

The Scottish host has a similarly clean-cut image to Ms Willoughby, documenting her family life with her one-year-old son Otis and rocker husband, Kerr Okan of band The LaFontaines, on Instagram.

Amid rumours of a potential appointment last week, Ms Huntley said on Instagram: 'Very flattering but I think there may be a scheduling issue there.'

Ms Huntley started as a researcher at BBC Scotland, and then moved to STV Glasgow in 2014 as a weather presenter. She joined CBeebies the next year as well as The Wright Stuff, now called Jeremy Vine.

A number of people are thought to be in the running, such as part-time hosts Alison Hammond, Rochelle Humes, Josie Gibson as well as Kate Garraway and Davina McCall.

Meanwhile, ITV has issued a new document, The Personal Relationships At Work Policy, which asks staff if their associations with each other are sexual, romantic and even platonic.

Ms Huntley, who started off as a researcher at BBC Scotland, joined Channel 5's The Wright Stuff, now titled Jeremy Vine, in 2015

According to The Sunday Times, it says: 'If a personal relationship exists between you and another colleague (whether it started prior to or during the course of your employment or engagement with ITV), both parties must disclose this to the company at the earliest opportunity.

Those who breach the policy could suffer disciplinary action and the loss of their job.'

One ITV worker said the document was 'properly mad'.

It comes amid an investigation into the conduct of ex-This Morning host Schofield, 61, who had an affair with a younger male colleague.

He left the show after admitting to lying to bosses about the relationship, which he said was 'unwise but not illegal'.
Green turtles can live for up to 90 years. And wherever they swim in the world, when a turtle bumps into an old friend, one remarks to the other: 'Blimey! That David Attenborough's been around a long time.'

Indisputably the greatest broadcaster in television history and arguably the most influential teacher who has ever lived, Sir David first showed us green turtles on his Zoo Quest adventures, at Raine Island in 1957.

More than 65 years later, his magnificent Planet Earth III (BBC1) took us back to this remote outpost, around 75 miles off the Australian coast, to revisit the turtles.

They beach here in their tens of thousands every year to lay eggs. The sight of hatchlings struggling out of their nests and tottering towards the water's edge never ceases to move us, a vivid symbol of how vulnerable wild creatures are. To hear Sir David narrating as the cameras returned was extraordinary. No one else alive has such a perspective on this phenomenon.

Sir David Attenborough is indisputably the greatest broadcaster in television history and arguably the most influential teacher who has ever lived, writes CHRISTOPHER STEVENS

In Planet Earth III Sir David returns to Raine Island, where he first showed us green turtles on his Zoo Quest adventures back in 1957

But Zoo Quest didn't tell the whole story  and neither did Planet Earth III. Sir David wasn't doing face-to-face interviews before this eight-part series began airing but I sent him a note, asking about Raine Island.

He replied that the first visit happened by chance, when 'a chap in the pub who had a boat' in Oz offered to take him and the film crew. The trip took ten days, and a shocking sight awaited them.

'There were dead turtles all over the place. Convicts in the 19th century had built a watchtower and dug stone from the middle of the island, so the island was saucer-shaped.

Turtles were coming up and, having laid their eggs, were going back downhill to what they thought was the sea, except that it was actually the middle of the island. So the place was absolutely littered with corpses of turtles. It was the most depressing thing I'd ever seen.'

Too upsetting for prim TV audiences in the 1950s, without doubt. Thankfully, conservation workers have reshaped the island, shifting thousands of tons of sand, and the turtles are thriving  though rising sea levels are a real threat.

For Sir David, now 97, to have the cameras go back was one of the show's highlights. 'I was fascinated to see it all again,' he said.

Every moment of this opening episode was fascinating. The high-definition photography is more explosively beautiful than ever, and drones give us images we've never imagined, such as the spectacle of Cape fur seals harrying a great white shark.

They lunged at it, mobbing like crows chasing a buzzard. Underwater photography alone could not show this, though a pair of divers did get into the water.

Sir David revealed that his first trip to Raine Island was a depressing one, when it was littered with the corpses of dead turtles who were confused into thinking the middle of the saucer-shaped island was the sea

The high-definition photography is more explosively beautiful than ever, and drones give us images we've never imagined, such as the spectacle of Cape fur seals harrying a great white shark

A family of ostriches leave their nest in the heart of the Namib desert, after waiting over 40 days for their eggs to hatch

They stayed close to the seabed and filmed back-to-back  the fur seals might get away with being cocky, but it's not wise to push your luck with a great white.

It's impossible to pinpoint any Attenborough series from the past seven decades as 'the best'.

But Planet Earth III can certainly claim to be the most visually stunning. The flamingos on the Yucatan salt flats, the Namibian desert lions, the archer fish and the pregnant right whale: all were amazing to see.

Pictures of a whale nursing a newborn calf were especially affecting, since it is only a few decades since the extinction of these creatures seemed inevitable.

When Sir David made his Life On Earth series in the 1970s, the killing of whales was unrestrained. Before the 1986 whaling moratorium, fleets were slaughtering them as fast as they could find them. The Soviet Union's intention, as revealed in a BBC4 documentary earlier this year, was to wipe out whales so that the 'capitalist West' could not profit from them. It was ecological insanity.

Right whales got their name because, slow-moving and heavy, they were the 'right whales' to hunt. Watching the mother nuzzle her 16ft calf, who needs 44 gallons of milk a day, came like a reprieve from disaster.

It's remarkable to learn the whales choose this spot as a nursery, partly because the sound of the waves on the shore will muffle their mumbles and prevent killer whales from discovering them.

Sir David never explained in his series why sea angels glow in the dark when hungry if they are unable to see

An Arctic wolf on Ellesmere Island in Canada. Though he would scoff at the notion, Sir David's touch has become almost supernatural

At the opposite end of the scale, the blind sea butterflies and their equally sightless predators, the sea angels, hunting them in the White Sea off Russia's north-west coast, were eerily beautiful.

Sir David didn't explain why, if they can't see, the angels glow in the dark when they are hungry.

The sight of them digesting their prey in their translucent stomach sacs was gruesome but entrancing. They looked like escapees from a Harry Potter book.

I've been fortunate enough to see previews and, as the Mail's Weekend magazine revealed in a superb spread earlier this month, there are some incomparable stories to come. Among my favourites are the two-ton rhino who strolls through a Nepalese town to a grazing patch, while tuktuks drive around him. Then there are long-tailed macaques at a Balinese temple, robbing tourists and holding their phones to ransom.

All this is narrated in the reassuring Attenborough style, always erudite but never pompous, and with that edge of mischievous humour. Though he'd scoff at the notion, his touch has become almost supernatural.

Mike Gunton, series executive producer, told me Sir David chose to film his introduction in the grounds of Down House in Kent, once the home of Charles Darwin.

'The weather had been absolutely ghastly for weeks, pouring with rain, which wouldn't look good. But of course, David being David, on the one day we were booked to film, the sun shone and it was beautiful.' The natural world is so indebted to Attenborough, even the weather obeys him.
Roxy Jacenko has been living it up in India with her friends this past week after enjoying a luxury vacation in Dubai with her children Pixie and Hunter Curtis.

The PR maven, 43, hasn't been shy about documenting her extended holiday as she floods her Instagram account with pictures of the extravagant getaway.

She kicked off the visit by landing in Mumbai with two of her friends last Friday, snapping a picture outside the gorgeous Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus.

'Landed in Mumbai, India with my [love heart emoji],' Roxy captioned the post as the trio sported huge smiles of anticipation.

However, the Ministry of Talent founder didn't stay in the west coast city for long as she made the trip to Delhi the following day.

Roxy Jacenko, 43, (pictured) has been living it up in India with her friends this past week after enjoying a luxury vacation in Dubai with her children Pixie and Hunter Curtis

Her first outing in the country's National Capital Territory saw the blonde beauty kick off her shoes and walk barefoot through a Sikh temple.

Despite the stunning sights around her, Roxy seemed far more interested in snapping pictures of the local markets and the piles of rice bags she came across.

On Sunday, the Sydney socialite, who recently moved to Singapore with her family, snapped another picture with her friends.

She kicked off the visit by landing in Mumbai with two of her friends (both pictured) last Friday, snapping a picture outside the gorgeous Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus

However, the Ministry of Talent founder didn't stay in the west coast city for long as she made the trip to Delhi the following day

The three of them were all smiles once again as they posed with one of the workers outside New Delhi's Imperial Hotel.

'The triplets do India,' the caption read.

Roxy has shared several images of her trip since then, with many showing her stroll through Old Delhi Downtown and the Old Delhi Spice Market.

Roxy appeared to be particularly moved by the old, vibrant architecture surrounding her

She stopped to have some food at New Delhi's Imperial Hotel during her stay there

She even made a stop outside the stunning Tomb of Humayun which was built in 1558 for the second Mughal emperor by his first wife.

Roxy's trip to South Asia comes just days after she flaunted her lavish trip to Dubai where she stayed in the 'Royal suite' at the 7-star luxury hotel Burj Al Arab.

The extravagant room featured two floors brimming with opulence, including gold pillars, a dedicated butler, and a private library with a $24,000 per night price tag.

She shared several images of her luxury stay in the United Arab Emirates which she enjoyed with her 12-year-old daughter Pixie and nine-year-old son Hunter.

Roxy even made a stop outside the stunning Tomb of Humayun which was built in 1558 for the second Mughal emperor by his first wife.

Roxy also took the opportunity to trail through Old Delhi Downtown
British Windrush drama Three Little Birds aired its first episode to high praise on Sunday night.

The ITV1 six part drama is set in 1957, and follows three young women leaving Jamaica to set sail for a new life in the UK.

The plot, written by Sir Lenny Henry, is inspired by his mother's stories about leaving the Caribbean island for Great Britain.

The series, which takes it's name from the famous Bob Marley song, stars newcomer Rochelle Neil as well as former EastEnders actress Saffron Coomber, and Dr Who's Arthur Darvill.

New Sunday night drama: British Windrush drama Three Little Birds aired its first episode to high praise on Sunday night - Pictured: Hosanna (Yazmin Belo) and Leah (Rochelle Neil)

The first episode prompted an outpouring of praise on X, formerly known as Twitter, as viewers lauded the 'superb' cast and Sir Lenny's 'eye-opening' script.

The series follows Rochelle and Saffron's gregarious sisters Leah and Chantrelle, who convince their bible-loving acquaintance Hosanna (Yazmin Belo) to join them on their adventure across the globe as a potential wife for their brother Aston Brahms (Javone Prince).

One viewer tweeted that they 'felt honoured to watch the first ep with my nan. She gave her commentary throughout and spoke about her experience coming over from Jamaica. So glad she can see herself and her story representend Thanks to all involved for telling this story and not holding back.'

Another declared that 'this will be my new Sunday night watching!'

'Really enjoyed watching #ThreeLittleBirds tonight. I'm already glued to the characters stories in the drama. Can't wait to see what happens next,' added another.

'Written brilliantly by Lenny Henry and the cast is superb, looking forward to the other episodes'.

Sir Lenny Henry has revealed his late mother Winifred was one of the inspirations which led him to pen new ITV drama Three Little Birds.

The comedian, 65, has written the series which follows the story two sisters and their friend emigrating from Jamaica to the UK and arriving as part of the Windrush generation in 1957 - which later became a scandal.

Pen to paper: The plot, written by Sir Lenny Henry, is inspired by his mother's stories about leaving the Caribbean island for Great Britain

Praise: The first episode prompted an outpouring of praise on X, formerly known as Twitter, as viewers lauded the 'superb' cast and Sir Lenny's 'eye-opening' script

Those who made the trip, including Lenny's mother who sadly passed away in 1998, in a bid to help rebuild Britain following WWII were years later detained, denied legal rights and threatened with deportation, despite having made the UK their home for decades, in a scandal the star described as 'appalling'.

Lenny told The Mirror: 'We're in a situation where one's nationality and Caribbeanness is being weaponised to send people back to their home, even though they've lived here and have become British.

Adding: 'The Windrush scandal has been appalling and it's hurt quite a lot of people'.

Lenny, who was mentored writing the series by Dr Who scribe Russell T Davies, said that the show will still be relatable for everyone.

Saying: 'Whoever you are, wherever you're from, you can relate to moving from one place to another place for survival. It's not just a story about five Jamaicans in a room in Dudley. It's all our stories, because we were here, we've been here and we're still here'.
Love Island's Will Young has opened up about how girlfriend Jessie Wynter helped him overcome his 'draining' mental health battle.

The couple began their whirlwind romance after pairing up on the ITV dating show in January - and have been inseparable ever since.

Instead of returning home to Australia after filming the show, Jessie flew to Britain with the popular young shepherd and moved in with him at his family's 700 acre farm near Aylesbury, Bucks.

During an exclusive interview with MailOnline ahead of the launch of his new book, Will confessed that while many experiences on the farm have been great, he has also faced some tough challenges.

Will, 24, said: 'Mental health is a big one. Although it's great, it has its pros and cons. It can be very isolating. Sometimes it is really good for my mental health, but then sometimes it's not as well.

Tough: Love Island's Will Young, 24, has opened up about how girlfriend Jessie Wynter, 27, helped him overcome his 'draining' mental health battle

Loved-up: Instead of returning home to Australia after filming the show, Jessie flew to Britain with the popular young shepherd and moved in with him at his family's 700 acre farm near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire

'My brother has just come home, but for the past 8 years I've solely worked with my dad, which at times can be a bit challenging. I'm not getting that younger interaction where people would in a workspace.

Will admitted that a lot of farmers in the industry can struggle with their mental health due to the gruelling nature of their job.

He added: 'The only communication I have is with these animals or with my dad and I'm not always working with my dad, so a lot of the time I could just be working on my own. It does get a little bit tough in the sense that you're not talking to people. It gets a bit lonely.

'And then you've also got that side of, because farming is a way of life, you're not as free to do what you want because obviously you've got work on the farm and you've got to look after the animals, you've got to treat the animals. The period of times that you do get off, let's say holiday, it's got to be very planned out.'

Speaking about how his girlfriend Jessie, 27, helped him through a difficult time on the farm, he said: 'She's really helped me. When I came off the show, I went into lambing season which is a very mentally draining, tough time.

'You have real highs and you have real lows during that period, so it was just nice having Jessie by my side and being able to lean on someone.

'So yeah, in general it's been great having someone. I wouldn't necessarily say Jessie gets her hands dirty and helps with the work, but she's good. She's definitely great company.'

'She's really helped me and helped out on the farm and everything like that, which is a farmer boy's dreams, you know. Being able to bring someone back to the farm and for them to get him involved. So over the moon with that.'

During an exclusive interview with MailOnline ahead of the launch of his new book, Will said: 'Mental health is a big one. It can be very isolating on the farm'

Speaking about how his girlfriend Jessie helped him through a difficult time on the farm, he said: 'She's really helped me. When I came off the show, I went into lambing season which is a very mentally draining, tough time. It was just nice having Jessie by my side'

Will went on to explain that one day he would like to run the farm and raise his kids there.

He said: 'It's definitely in the family's interest for the farm to carry on and be passed down to the next generation once my dad puts up his boots - which I don't think he officially will ever do.

'But yeah, 100 percent I'd love to take on the farm and I'd love my kids to be involved in the farm. I'll probably take the same approach as my dad where I wouldn't necessarily make them farm, but let them know it's always an option.'

Will, from Buckinghamshire, was already TikTok's most famous farmer when he was approached by ITV to appear on Love Island.

He said he 'jumped at the chance' to go on the dating show as it was a great way to get farming out there on a new platform.

Better known as Farmer Will, he has more than 1.9 million followers on the platform as well as 735,000 followers on Instagram.

The heart-throb famously often appeared stripped down to the waist as he worked out in the fields and spoke of his passion for agriculture.

His social media fame came during lockdown when he began posting videos in which he enthusiastically explained step by step each stage of sheep farming.

Often accompanied by dance routines he was seen delivering lambs and shearing sheep as he carried out work which could involve gruelling 17 hour days during busy times.

He is part of a growing social media phenomena dubbed 'FarmTok' which exploded during the pandemic.

Will explained: 'It's definitely in the family's interest for the farm to carry on and be passed down to the next generation once my dad puts up his boots - which I don't think he officially will ever do.'

Talented: Better known as Farmer Will on TikTok, he has more than 1.9 million followers on the platform as well as 735,000 followers on Instagram

New: For The Love Of Farming: Farmer Will's Guide To Life In The Fields is out on Thursday October 19

And now, Will is gearing up to release a book all about his work which he described as a 'pinch me moment'.

Speaking on the reasons he loves farming, Will said: 'You've got the family side of farming, that generational side and for me, it's just a way of life.

'It's completely different to what everyone else does in the sense that you're outside all the time, you've got fresh air, you're dealing with and forming relationships with these animals.

'I want to bring as much positivity around farming as possible. I want to encourage as many people to take the time out and visit a farm and that moving forward is something that I would love to do.

'I want to open up a section of the farm for the public to come and see the animals and have almost like a day in the life. We potentially might get glamping pods so that people can come and stay on the farm.'

For The Love Of Farming: Farmer Will's Guide To Life In The Fields is out on Thursday October 19.
Jessie Wynter sent temperatures soaring in a white lace jumpsuit as she headed out for dinner in California, Los Angeles on Saturday.

The Love Island star, 27, turned heads in the racy ensemble and flashed her slender physique.

The Australian beauty enjoyed a swanky dinner at Catch Steak with White Fox to celebrate the clothing brands 10th birthday.

She stole the show in the long-sleeve lace jumpsuit and posed up a storm outside the venue.

Jessie teamed her outfit with a pearl Vivienne Westwood necklace and a stylish white handbag.

Glamorous: Jessie Wynter, 27, sent temperatures soaring in a white lace jumpsuit as she headed out for dinner in California , Los Angeles on Saturday

Wow: The Love Island star turned heads in the racy ensemble as she flashed her slender physique

Stunning: The Australian beauty enjoyed a swanky dinner at Catch Steak with White Fox to celebrate the clothing brands 10th birthday

It comes after her Love Island boyfriend Will Young, 24, praised Jessie on helping him overcome his 'draining' mental health battle.

The couple began their whirlwind romance after pairing up on the ITV dating show in January - and have been inseparable ever since.

Instead of returning home to Australia after filming the show, Jessie flew to Britain with the popular young shepherd and moved in with him at his family's 700 acre farm near Aylesbury, Bucks.

During an exclusive interview with MailOnline ahead of the launch of his new book, Will confessed that while many experiences on the farm have been great, he has also faced some tough challenges.

Will said: 'Mental health is a big one. Although it's great, it has its pros and cons. It can be very isolating. Sometimes it is really good for my mental health, but then sometimes it's not as well.

'My brother has just come home, but for the past 8 years I've solely worked with my dad, which at times can be a bit challenging. I'm not getting that younger interaction where people would in a workspace.

Will admitted that a lot of farmers in the industry can struggle with their mental health due to the gruelling nature of their job.

He added: 'The only communication I have is with these animals or with my dad and I'm not always working with my dad, so a lot of the time I could just be working on my own. It does get a little bit tough in the sense that you're not talking to people. It gets a bit lonely.

Tough: It comes after her Love Island boyfriend Will Young, 24, (pictured) praised Jessie on helping him overcome his 'draining' mental health battle

Loved-up: Instead of returning home to Australia after filming the show, Jessie flew to Britain with the popular young shepherd and moved in with him at his family's 700 acre farm near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire

Opening up: During an exclusive interview with MailOnline ahead of the launch of his new book, Will said: 'Mental health is a big one. It can be very isolating on the farm'

Speaking about how his girlfriend Jessie helped him through a difficult time on the farm, he said: 'She's really helped me. When I came off the show, I went into lambing season which is a very mentally draining, tough time. It was just nice having Jessie by my side'

'And then you've also got that side of, because farming is a way of life, you're not as free to do what you want because obviously you've got work on the farm and you've got to look after the animals, you've got to treat the animals. The period of times that you do get off, let's say holiday, it's got to be very planned out.'

Speaking about how his girlfriend Jessie helped him through a difficult time on the farm, he said: 'She's really helped me. When I came off the show, I went into lambing season which is a very mentally draining, tough time.

'You have real highs and you have real lows during that period, so it was just nice having Jessie by my side and being able to lean on someone.

'So yeah, in general it's been great having someone. I wouldn't necessarily say Jessie gets her hands dirty and helps with the work, but she's good. She's definitely great company.'

'She's really helped me and helped out on the farm and everything like that, which is a farmer boy's dreams, you know. Being able to bring someone back to the farm and for them to get him involved. So over the moon with that.'
The University of Nebraska Board of Regents met virtually for a special meeting to approve a presidential search advisory committee to find NU's next president. They are pictured Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023, on a screen inside Varner Hall in Lincoln. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)

LINCOLN  The University of Nebraska Board of Regents on Thursday approved a search advisory committee and scheduled listening sessions next week to get public feedback in its search for the ninth NU president.

Board Chair Tim Clare said the sessions will be open to the public and will serve as the official job advertisement in state and national markets, Clare said.

The 22-member advisory committee, which Clare will lead, will also be subject to the Nebraska Open Meetings Act if a majority of the eight regents are present and if there is any interaction or policymaking discussion among the regents.

NU President Ted Carter will leave at years end to lead The Ohio State University. In the meantime, his work, particularly with budget cuts, continues.

No defined timeline

Clare in a systemwide email described the next search steps as compiling stakeholder input, further developing the NU president profile and beginning to advertise the position. A final priority candidate must undergo a 30-day public vetting period before final board approval.

Our goal will be to cast as wide a net as possible and consider a range of potential candidates, Clare said in his email.

Academic Search, the firm NU is consulting with through the process, estimated at least 17 weeks from signing a contract with the university to when the search for a priority candidate is concluded. Regents approved the contract Oct. 5 placing a tentative timeline at the end of January to select a priority candidate.

After the 30-day review period, that could place a final vote in late February or early March.

We have no defined timeline in place, other than a broad goal to move efficiently without rushing this crucially important process, Clare said. We will share more with you as new developments in the search occur.

Listening sessions

The listening sessions will be open to the public and in person. Those wishing to share feedback online can do so here.

Tuesday, Oct. 24

University of Nebraska Medical Center, Sorrell Center Room 2010, 8-9:30 a.m. and 10-11:30 a.m.

University of Nebraska at Omaha, Milo Bail Student Center #226/228, Chancellors Room, 1-2:30 p.m. and 3-4:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Oct. 25

University of Nebraska at Kearney, Ockinga Conference Room, 10:30 a.m. to noon and 1-2:30 p.m.

Thursday, Oct. 26

University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Nebraska Union, Platte River Room South 9-10:30 a.m.

University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Nebraska East Union, Arbor A (Cottonwood), noon to 1:30 p.m.

Advisory committee members

All eight elected regents and each campus student regent and Faculty Senate president will comprise the advisory board. Six people not affiliated with NU will round out the committee. This composition differs from advisory committees in 2019 and 2014.

Those previous committees included administrators and a greater number of faculty or members of the public. In 2014  due to a previous law requiring that multiple semi-finalists be publicly revealed  the board divided all regents and student regents among two committees.

Clare said during the meeting that the committee requires a serious commitment of time and hard work and will have highly qualified members. He chaired one of two advisory groups during the 2014 search.

That work will genuinely impact the well-being of the entire state and beyond, Clare said. Fortunately, I have the greatest confidence in these individuals knowing that they are more than up to the task.

Clare did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how the advisory group would utilize the Open Meetings Act.

The 22 members of the 2023 Presidential Search Advisory Committee are as follows.

Regents

Tim Clare of Lincoln (Chair)

Jack Stark of Omaha

Jim Scheer of Norfolk

Elizabeth OConnor of Omaha

Rob Schafer of Beatrice

Paul Kenney of Amherst

Kathy Wilmot of Beaver City

Barbara Weitz of Omaha

Student Regents

Paul Pechous, 7-12 special education major (UNL)

Hakim Lotoro, molecular biology and biomedical sciences major (UNO)

Temo Molina, political science and business administration double major (UNK)

Katie Schultis, medical student (UNMC)

Faculty Senate presidents

Kelli Kopocis, assistant professor of practice in the Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction (UNL)

William Melanson, associate professor of philosophy (UNO)

Chris Extrom, professor of inorganic chemistry (UNK)

Amar Natarajan, professor in the Eppley Institute (UNMC)

Industry leaders

Leah Barrett, president of Northeast Community College (Norfolk)

Scott McPheeters, ag producer and vice chair of the Nebraska Ethanol Board (Gothenburg)

Heath Mello, president and CEO of the Greater Omaha Chamber and previous vice president for external relations at NU (Omaha)

Jane Miller, chair-elect of the University of Nebraska Foundation (Omaha).

Rob Otte, general counsel of US Property Inc. (Lincoln)

John Stinner, retired president and CEO of Valley Bank and Trust Co. of Gering (Gering)

Mello, Scheer and Stinner are also former state senators.
The Nigerien president, Mohamed Bazoum, overthrown at the end of July by a coup d'etat and accused by the military of having tried to escape, is in Niamey with his wife and son, and is doing well, we learned, Sunday October 22, Agence France-Presse (AFP) with his entourage.

He is at the presidential residence [in Niamey] with his wife and son and is doing well, one of his relatives told AFP, adding that he was only able to make one phone call to say that he was good with his family. She said her doctor was able to visit her and bring her some food.

Thursday evening, the military regime in Niamey claimed that Mohamed Bazoum had tried to escape with his family and other people, by wanting to borrow helicopters belonging to a foreign power on the outskirts of Niamey heading to Nigeria. . The regime clarified that this attempt had failed and that the main perpetrators and some of their accomplices had been arrested.

Emmanuel Macron had expressed his deep concern

These fabricated accusations were strongly denied on Friday by a group of Mr. Bazoums lawyers claiming that he was being held incommunicado, raising concerns about his fate.

French President Emmanuel Macron had expressed his deep concern about the uncertain situation of Mr. Bazoum and called for his immediate release as well as that of his wife and son.

Since the coup d'etat which overthrew him on July 26, Mr. Bazoum has been sequestered and has refused to submit his resignation. On September 18, he took legal action in West Africa to request his release and the restoration of constitutional order in Niger.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which had just after the coup considered military intervention to reinstate Mr. Bazoum in his functions, finally gave up.

Former colonial power and privileged ally of the regime of the overthrown president in its fight against the jihadist groups striking Niger, France was forced two months after the coup to announce the withdrawal by the end of the year of its 1,400 soldiers from Niger.

French soldiers had previously had to withdraw from neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso, also led by putschist soldiers and plagued by jihadist violence.
The Swiss populist right won the legislative elections on Sunday October 22 with 29.2% of the vote, according to initial projections. That of the gfs.bern institute on behalf of the Swiss Broadcasting and Television Company shows a strengthening of the Democratic Union of the Center (UDC), far ahead of the Socialists (PSS), the second party in the lower house of Parliament , who received just over 17% of the vote, up very slightly.

This projection also shows that the center and the Liberal-Radicaux (PLR) are fighting for third place, at around 14.5% of the vote, while the Greens fall to 9.1% of the vote and Vert'liberales to 7.1 %. Its a disappointment, reacted the vice-president of the Greens, Nicolas Walder, stressing that its about two thirds of the green wave of the 2019 elections, which has ebbed. I believe that the population has been led towards other priorities, such as purchasing power and insecurity, he said. Its a great satisfaction, reacted the vice-president of the UDC, Celine Amaudruz, on the set of Swiss public television RTS.

The Alpine country, which has some 8.8 million inhabitants, renews its two hundred deputies of the National Council (lower house) by proportional vote, and its forty-six senators of the Council of States (upper house) by majority vote. The composition of the upper house  under the control of the liberal right and the center  hardly varies over the course of the elections. On December 13, all parliamentarians will designate the seven members of the Federal Council (government), within which the first four parties share the seven ministerial portfolios. The Greens have little chance of obtaining their first seat there based on the polls.

For strict neutrality, against mass immigration

The SVP campaigned around defending the "strict neutrality" of Switzerland, which is not part of the European Union (EU), sharply criticizing Bern's alignment with sanctions taken by the EU after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But the party above all focused its campaign around its favorite theme, the fight against "mass immigration", which it accuses of being at the origin of crime, the explosion of social costs or even of the increase in electricity consumption.

The situation in Switzerland is serious, we have mass immigration, we have big problems with people seeking asylum. The security situation is no longer the same as before, Thomas Aeschi, president of the UDC parliamentary group, said on Sunday. There are many people in Switzerland who are afraid that the situation will get worse, he said. During the campaign, the party was accused of flirting with the far right, but the discourse of the UDC  the leading party since 1999  continues to appeal to the population. The Swiss are among the richest in the world, with an unemployment rate of around 2% and a very high GDP per capita.

The UDC had set itself the objective of recovering the approximately 100,000 voters lost four years ago, party president Marco Chiesa told Agence France-Presse before the elections. The bet seems to have paid off, since the result is close to the 29.4% obtained in 2015, in the midst of the European migration crisis. It was then not only its best score, but also "the best score of all parties in Switzerland since the introduction of proportionality in 1919", according to Sean Muller, professor at the Institute of Political Studies of the University of Lausanne.
Who is this middle-aged woman who wakes up in the back of her room, in a girls' boarding house? From the outset, through the slowness of her movements and the difficulty she experiences in preparing, we feel an immense burden weighing on her. In small touches, the precariousness of his situation is revealed, accentuated by a second-person narration which bluntly challenges him and, in doing so, also takes the reader to task.

Still lying down, you roll onto your back and stare at the ceiling. You realize that your arm is numb and you shake it back and forth with your good hand until the pain erupts in a burst of tingling. Its interview day. You should be up by now. 

The Zimbabwean writer Tsitsi Dangarembga thus powerfully structures her novel, This Body to Cry, based on the harsh and disturbing intimacy of its central character. Initially published in 2020 under the title A Mournable Body, finalist for the Booker Prize, the book which has just been brilliantly translated into French by Nathalie Carre is the last in a trilogy begun in 1998 with Nervous Condition (A fleur de Peau, translation Etienne Galle, ed. Albin Michel, 1991).

Each time we find the heroine Tambudzai Sigauke, who in this last part has become this body, whose muffled voice judges the wanderings since one day her destiny changed: When you were young and combative, when you cultivated corn in the family field and you sold the ears to be able to pay your school fees, you were different from who you became. When and how did everything change? 

Displaced geographically and socially

It will be a question of tracing the thread of this life begun in a small village in Zimbabwe and continued thanks to the springboard of studies to the capital, Harare, city of all the hopes, but also of all the setbacks of Tambudzai. Displaced, she is not only geographically but also socially, she who, coming from the rural world, worked as an editor in an advertising agency. We also discover her professionally displaced because she has been faced with unemployment for many months.

Also her lack of enthusiasm in the morning at the prospect of a job interview can be understood as an indication of her fear of a new failure against which she mithridatizes herself. Without work, she risks losing her housing, which is in principle reserved for women younger than her. Without money, she cannot return to her family from whom she has always hidden her difficulties, preferring to maintain the image of a life of ambition and success.

To this status of displaced person  which also echoes the population movements which marked the colonial history of Zimbabwe  the novelist skillfully adds different other layers to her character. Faced with loneliness, shame and the guilt of having failed, Tambudzai weakens physically as well as psychologically.

During the first calls for interviews, you exult, dressing with primness each time, putting on your Lady Di and your favorite outfit in which  its encouraging  you now float. () You want to subtract 20 years from your age and shout: Hey, here I am, brand new, rebuilt; Look at me, Im just starting out! 

A country forced to lower its ambitions

One day, however, the wheel finally turns, the professional world opens up again for Tambudzai, but the latter has unfortunately reached her own limits. A feeling of self-hatred has developed within her and inhabits her to the point of leading her to extremes, from physical violence against others to betrayal of her loved ones...

With this character of a woman in distress, the incarnation of the poverty which affected thousands of Zimbabweans in the 2000s, Tsitsi Dandarembga captures with poignant irony the economic disaster suffered by her country. Because This body to cry is as much that of its heroine, Tambudzai, as the social body as a whole, won over by the serpent of defeat and whose scavengers await, laughing, the total and definitive defeat.

The hyena laughs at you as you walk through the gate. Once again, it has insinuated itself as close as possible to your skin, ready to tear away the last shreds of certainty that you have preserved the moment you fall. 

A country forced to lower its ambitions, without any help from other States to save it. An eloquent scene will mark readers in this regard: the one where an attractive-looking young woman tries to board a bus to return home. At the sight of her, the crowd becomes acerbic, the men make fun of her shape, her skirt considered too tight and too short, and through irony they all attack her to the point of undressing her.

Although he recognized Gertrude, one of his roommates, Tambudzai did not try to help her. On the contrary, acquired by the violent every-for-himself nature of everyday life, she grabs a stone and prepares to stone the body of her neighbor who has fallen to the ground. A body suddenly in distress, like his and miserable enough to cry. You want to see the shape the pain takes, map its veins and arteries, tear the epidermis and all its blood vessel patterns from the body.  The body of a woman as of a declassified country.
Nearly 70 false bomb threats have targeted French airports since Wednesday, Transport Minister Clement Beaune said on Sunday, October 22. There were fortunately much less yesterday, Saturday, the first day of departure on vacation for many French people, declared Mr. Beaune, guest of the program Political Questions (France Inter, France TV, Le Monde) .

Since Wednesday, it is almost always the same email address that is used, located outside the European Union [EU], in Switzerland, he added, suggesting that this put the authors of this typical email that looks the same from one day to the next beyond the reach of certain sanctions in the EU.

He invited hosting sites to help the French authorities: Everyone has a responsibility, including platforms and social networks, to not support this type of attack and to cooperate as quickly as possible with the French civil aviation and our justice. 

Sixty ongoing investigations

In addition to airports, certain public establishments are particularly targeted. The Palace of Versailles announced its temporary evacuation on Sunday for the seventh time in nine days. A suspect was arrested on Friday for the only alert issued by telephone concerning the castle, the others having been posted on a government website, according to police sources.

The alerts concerning airports are the work not of little jokers but of big idiots or even serious delinquents, underlined the minister. Regarding their motivation, "there can be a mixture between people who make bad jokes, who want to scare for real, and sometimes also a kind of competition in stupidity between hackers", he suggested.

Sending false alerts is extremely dangerous because it mobilizes security forces for several hours and forces an evacuation in some cases, so that people gather outside, which is also a problem security", recalled the minister. He said he had asked each airport, for each alert received by e-mail or call, to systematically file a complaint. In total, more than 60 investigations, all locations combined, have been launched, he said.
In an evolving digital economy, organisations must automate their IT infrastructure to leverage vast amounts of data and draw relevant insights

Automation is a hot topic these days. Most of us agree that automating business processes can save time and money, making our organizations more efficient and innovative. But there is often an unspoken fear surrounding it. Questions like How much time and effort will it cost to get my organisation up to speed with automation? or the elephant in the data centre, Will automation leave my staff without a job? contribute to inaction or the late adoption of automation.

IT managers today face multiple challenges in an increasingly competitive environment. According to the Dell Technologies 2023 Innovation Index report, 35% of Indian businesses are dealing with the lack of automation to manage complex security technology. Many share common frustrations that slow down processes, increase costs and make life harder and less efficient than it should be.

Especially for medium businesses, lacking the extensive resources and specialist skills of large corporations, are vulnerable to facing risks. On average, medium-sized businesses have limited IT staff personnel and with a lean team, time is precious. It is estimated that 47 per cent of all cyberattacks target medium businesses, with extremely costly consequences ranging from lost productivity to business success. As the challenges of data protection continue to mount, the pressure for IT teams to reduce cost and to do more with less continues to grow.

Data Infrastructure

To accelerate innovation, an intelligent automation approach uses machine learning, artificial intelligence, and predictive data analytics to offload the management burden and free teams to focus on high-value innovation initiatives.

To enable intelligent automation, organisations must incorporate infrastructure that is built with automation at the core. By automating with embedded intelligence, a business dramatically increases efficiency, reduces human error and improves productivity.

Five Benefits

By leveraging automation and intelligence in the organizational value chain we can easily address the new reality of data while reducing the impact that complexity has on the business. An intelligent automation approach makes it easier to:

Leverage new technologies: Intelligent infrastructure adapts to any workload to provide flexibility while helping IT simplify operations.

Reduce the IT burden: A modernized infrastructure allows IT staff to spend less time on day-to-day activities and more time delivering business value. Intelligent systems can work together and independently, enabling rapid digital transformation and productivity while allowing organizations to scale without disruption.

Deliver-a-service simplicity: Infrastructure delivered using as-a-service operating models frees IT teams from having to deploy and manage hardware while improving the organizations ability to acquire, scale and manage infrastructure as the business grows.

Achieve Proactive resilience: About 35% of Indian businesses are still dealing with the lack of automation to manage complex security technology. Proactive resilience automatically ensures data and network security with multiple layers of defence that work in tandem to keep hackers out while anticipating and eliminating blind spots before they can be exploited.

Upgrade business agility: By proactively replacing outdated resources at the optimized time, IT can better maximize the value it delivers for a business and its customers  while reducing costs. An intelligent automation approach gives the IT department the ability to say yes more frequently to innovation-related requests.

(The writer is vice president, Infrastructure Solutions Group, Dell Technologies India, views are personal)
The tragic events in Gaza  and conflicting nations in war  underscore the devastating impact of armed conflicts on civilian population

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and many other world leaders expressed shock over the death of nearly 500 people in an attack on a hospital in Gaza on October 18th and condemned the incident. Prime Minister Modi also offered condolences to the families of the civilian victims. He also said those involved in this act should be held responsible.

Civilian casualties in the ongoing conflict are a matter of serious and continuing concern. Hostilities between Israel and Hamas began after armed Hamas militants based in the Gaza Strip launched an unprecedented attack on Israel by land, air, and sea on October 7, 2023. Since the start of hostilities, as many as 3,785 Palestinians have been killed. The escalating conflict and deteriorating humanitarian situation does not seem to end very soon and the number of casualties is increasing.

War, throughout history, has often been portrayed as a means to achieve political objectives, asserting dominance, or protecting national interests. However, the grim reality is that wars inflict severe and lasting consequences on civilian populations, particularly on men, women and children. The recent events in Gaza serve as a poignant reminder of the devastating toll that armed conflicts take on innocent lives. These numbers represent not just statistics but individuals with dreams, families, and futures.

One of the most heart-wrenching aspects of armed conflicts on women and children is that they often face increased risks of displacement, violence, and loss of essential services. Children, innocently caught in the crossfire, endure unimaginable suffering. Displacement, trauma, and the loss of educational opportunities rob them of a normal childhood. Children become silent victims, grappling with the physical and psychological scars that persist into adulthood. For women and young girls, war often brings life-long torment, brutality, physical torture, rape, trafficking and so on. For pregnant women, war imposes a crisis on maternal health. Access to prenatal care, essential for ensuring healthy pregnancies, becomes severely restricted. The stress and trauma of conflict contribute to increased rates of premature births and complications during delivery.

Civilian populations, including men, women, and children, often bear the brunt of such conflict that leads to the displacement of families, forcing them to seek shelter in crowded and inadequate conditions. The psychological toll of living in a protracted conflict zone is significant, with long-lasting effects on mental health. It also disrupts economic activities, affecting livelihoods and employment opportunities for many.

Wars have the power to reshape the course of history, but not in the way often envisioned by those who initiate them. Instead of progress and prosperity, conflicts lead to a crisis of civilizations. The destruction of cultural heritage, displacement of communities, and the trauma inflicted on societies leave a lasting scar on the collective memory of humanity.

Throughout history, leaders have justified wars as "just" or necessary for noble causes. However, the fallacy lies in the subjective nature of these justifications and the often arbitrary distinction between aggressors and defenders. Innocent civilians, regardless of their nationality or allegiance, bear the brunt of such geopolitical decisions.

Targeting hospitals and bombing them has unfortunately been a recurring tactic for conflicting nations, often viewed as a vulnerable and strategic choice. Non-state actors, including insurgent groups, have sometimes used hospitals as shields, putting both patients and medical staff at risk. During World War I (1914-1918) hospitals, both on the frontlines and in rear areas faced indiscriminate bombings and shelling. The brutality of trench warfare made it challenging to establish safe zones for medical care, exposing hospitals to the risk of being targeted. The Second World War (1939-1945) witnessed deliberate attacks on hospitals as military strategies aimed at disrupting the enemy's ability to provide medical care. The Vietnam War (1955-1975) saw the widespread use of guerrilla warfare, blurring the lines between combatants and non-combatants. Hospitals were not spared from attacks, and the guerrilla nature of the conflict made it difficult to establish secure medical facilities. The My Lai Massacre (a war crime committed by United States Army personnel on 16 March 1968, involving the mass murder of unarmed civilians in Son T?nh district, South Vietnam) is a notorious example where unarmed Vietnamese civilians, including patients in a hospital, were targeted and killed by U.S. soldiers.

In the Bosnian War (1992-1995), hospitals and medical personnel were intentionally targeted as part of ethnic cleansing campaigns. The Siege of Sarajevo, in particular, witnessed the deliberate shelling of hospitals and ambulances, causing significant civilian casualties and impeding the delivery of medical aid.

Beyond the immediate human toll, war inflicts lasting damage on the history and cultural heritage of nations. Historical sites, repositories of a nation's identity, are often reduced to rubble. The casualty of war is that it erases the collective memory of people (read generations) and disrupts the transmission of cultural knowledge to future generations. Not only this, war forces communities to flee their homes, leading to the loss of cultural identity. Generations of traditions, stories, and languages are jeopardized as displaced populations struggle to preserve their way of life.

Then there is the illusion of rebuilding. Post-war reconstruction often focuses on physical infrastructure, neglecting the intangible aspects of a nation's history. Rebuilding shattered cities, and infrastructure is one aspect of it. Rebuilding lives and ruined and devastated families is one greater aspect. Rebuilding the hopes of hundreds and thousands of refugees and their rehabilitation is an entirely different episode.

The tragic events in Gaza  and conflicting nations in war  underscore the devastating impact of armed conflicts on civilian populations. The need for global efforts to prevent further loss of innocent lives, preserve cultural identity, and build a future free from the ravages of war is more urgent than ever. The world is hungry for peace.

(The writer is a programme executive, Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti; views are personal)
Putin must know that statecraft works as much by diplomacy as by the power of arsenal and one needs goodwill to achieve goals

Vladimir Putin will shortly visit Beijing to further fatten his relationship with Chinas strongman Xi Jinping. One wonders whether the Russian leader realizes that his country has vast land on the one hand, but faces a declining population on the other. Does the current Vlad remember that in 1969, his country fought a border war with China and lost many islands on the Ussuri River? In contrast to Russia, China has less land, but a much more population. Russias large Siberia particularly has a vast land, which will naturally tempt any land-hungry neighbour.

Notwithstanding this reality, Putin continues to wage a war that will complete two years in February. Is it to recover the republic his late predecessor Mikhail Gorbachev let secede in 1990? How did Russia become so revanchist in only 32 years? Ukraine became a Soviet Republic only in 1922, with a government set up under a constitution revised in 1937 and amended in 1944 by the Soviet Union, which gave Ukraine the right to enter relations with foreign states, to conclude agreements, and to exchange diplomatic and consular representatives with them, and to maintain its military forces (Encyclopaedia Brittanica). Ukraine was a full member of the United Nations; it was in fact, one of the founding members of the UNO. The Ukraine Ministry of Trade was permitted to establish exchanges overseas, though these were usually limited to Eastern Europes socialist countries.

In the 9th century, Ukraines territory was known as the Kivian Roos, under the suzerainty of a duke of Varangian origin. This Kivian state extended westward and northward during the 11th and 12th centuries but was invaded by the Tatars during 1237-41. Later, control was passed on to a Polish prince of the Piaste Dynasty. When Poland and Lithuania became united in 1386, Ukraine came under their joint rule. In 1569, Ukraines territory was separated from Lithuania and incorporated into Poland. The Poles were Roman Catholics and the religion of the Ukrainians was known as Eastern Catholicy.

From time to time, the Ukrainians were also known as Ruthenians. Russia and Poland clashed with each other in the mid-17th century, in 1667, resulting in Ukraine being partitioned between Poland and Russia along the Dnieper River. In 1668, Ottoman emperor Sultan Mehmet IV managed to capture Ukraine, making it a protectorate. Ukraine thus fell under Ottoman suzerainty. In the course of the next two centuries, i.e., in 1846, a united Ukraine asserted its nationalism and the city of Kyiv regained some of its old glory. Nevertheless, Russia didnt stop eyeing Ukraine and interfered with its government.

During World War I (1914-18) Count Georgy Bobrinsky was appointed Ukraines Governor-General, but because Russia sustained defeat in WWI, this was short-lived. The Ukrainians saw their chance to achieve independence and organize an independent government in Kyiv. They elected Srushevsky as their president. The Russian communist regime of Vladimir Lenin tried to assert its rule by setting up a parallel government at Kharkiv, but the Ukrainians insisted that they were a free and sovereign republic.

Meanwhile, the Central Powers led by Germany saw an opportunity for themselves and promptly occupied Ukraine. However, the Austrian governor could not last long in Lviv and had to hand over power on November 1, 1918. By January 23, 1919, Ukraine was again united and proclaimed itself an independent country with Kyiv as its capital.

Russia, however, could not take its eyes off Ukraine. Not only the Red Army, but the White Russians too competed for power. On December 28, 1919, Lenin was so motivated as to address an open letter to the workers and peasants of Ukraine, in which he recognized the equality of the Russian and Ukrainian peoples, and suggested a treaty of alliance between the two. Such an alliance was concluded on December 28, 1920, in Moscow, signed by Lenin and Rakovsky; it was an act of incorporation. This incorporation was endorsed in his signature by Marshal Josef Pilsudski, the then-head of the Polish government.

It was on December 20, 1922, that the Soviet Union began to normalize as a federation, wherein Russia, Byelorussia, Ukraine and the Trans-Caucasus came together as the first step towards unification. Separatism, however, did not disappear in Ukraine and an underground Ukrainian military organization called the UVO continued to simmer, if not actively function. Ukrainian nationalists looked to Germany for the realization of an independent Ukraine, hoping to provoke a Ukrainian revolution within the Soviet Union. On June 30, 1941, after Nazi Germany occupied Lviv, the Ukrainians proclaimed the restoration of their state as an independent republic. After Josef Stalin died in 1953, Crimea was transferred to Ukraine; northern Bukovina and the Bessarabian districts of Hotin and Izmail were also incorporated.

Vladimir Putin is experienced enough to realize statecraft works as much by diplomacy as by the power of ones arsenal. Diplomacy continually needs the blessings of goodwill. Does he even realize, behind the walls of the Kremlin, that he has lost the goodwill of virtually all of Europe and the West? After attacking Ukraine, he has very few friends left. He rules over 17 million kilometres of territory; why does he crave for bits and pieces of Ukraine, especially when he should know that China can grab virtually what it likes, of Siberia?

(The writer is a well-known columnist, an author, and a former member of the Rajya Sabha. The views expressed are personal)
The border crossing between Egypt and Gaza opened on Saturday to let a trickle of desperately needed aid into the besieged Palestinian territory for the first time since Israel sealed it off following Hamas bloody rampage two weeks ago.

Just 20 trucks were allowed in, an amount that aid workers said was insufficient to address the unprecedented humanitarian crisis in Gaza. More than 200 trucks carrying roughly 3,000 tonnes of aid have been positioned near the crossing for days.

Gazas 2.3 million Palestinians, half of whom have fled their homes, are rationing food and drinking dirty water. Hospitals say they are running low on medical supplies and fuel for emergency generators amid a territory-wide power blackout.

Israel is still launching waves of airstrikes across Gaza that have destroyed entire neighbourhoods, as Palestinian militants fire rocket barrages into Israel.

The opening came after more than a week of high-level diplomacy by various mediators, including visits to the region by US President Joe Biden and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Israel had insisted that nothing would enter Gaza until Hamas released all of the captives from its October 7 attack on southern Israel.

Late on Friday, Hamas released an American woman and her teenage daughter, the first captives to be freed.

It was not immediately clear if there was a connection between the release and the aid deliveries. Israel says Hamas is still holding at least 210 captives. On Saturday morning, an Associated Press reporter on the Palestinian side of Rafah saw the 20 trucks heading north to Deir al-Balah, a quiet farming town where many evacuees from the north have sought shelter. Hundreds of foreign passport holders at Rafah hoping to escape the conflict were not allowed to leave. The trucks were carrying 44,000 bottles of drinking water from the UNs childrens agency  enough for 22,000 people for a single day, it said. This first, limited water will save lives, but the needs are immediate and immense, said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.

The WHO said four of the 20 trucks that crossed through Rafah were carrying medical supplies, including essential supplies for 300,000 people for three months, trauma medicine and supplies for 1,200 people, and 235 portable trauma bags for first responders.
Amid mounting global concerns over the plight of civilians living in Gaza, India on Sunday sent humanitarian aid to Palestine. An IAF C-17 flight carrying nearly 6.5 tonnes of medical aid and 32 tonnes of disaster relief material for the people of Palestine reached El-Arish airport in Egypt, the External Affairs Ministry said.

The relief materials were sent on a day Israeli warplanes struck targets across Gaza overnight and into Sunday, as well as two airports in Syria and a mosque in the occupied West Bank allegedly used by Hamas militants, as the 2-week-old war with Hamas threatened to spiral into a broader conflict.

Israel has traded fire with Lebanons Hezbollah militant group on a near-daily basis since the war began, and tensions are soaring in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces have battled militants in refugee camps and carried out two airstrikes in recent days.

Giving details here, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, An IAF C-17 flight carrying nearly 6.5 tonnes of medical aid and 32 tonnes of disaster relief material for the people of Palestine departs for El-Arish airport in Egypt.

The material includes essential life-saving medicines, surgical items, tents, sleeping bags, tarpaulins, sanitary utilities, water purification tablets among other necessary items, he said. The items were sent to Palestine via the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza.

Indias aid to Palestine comes three days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 19 spoke to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

During their conversation, Modi said India would continue sending humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians. He also conveyed his condolences on the loss of civilian lives in the Gaza Strip due to the bombing at a hospital.

Shared our deep concern at the terrorism, violence and deteriorating security situation in the region. Reiterated Indias long-standing principled position on the Israel-Palestine issue, Modi said after speaking to Abbas.

On Thursday last, Bagchi had said in reply to a question on humanitarian assistance to Palestinian people that India has been supporting them.

India has been supporting Palestine and Palestinian refugees through significant contributions to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). A total of USD 29.53 million has been contributed to UNRWA between 2002 and 2023, he said.

The Indian annual contribution to UNRWA was increased from USD 1.25 million to USD 5 million in 2018. India has pledged an annual contribution of USD 5 million for the next two years (FY 2023-24 and FY 2024-25), Bagchi said.

Meanwhile, earlier on Sunday, Israel warned it would increase its attacks in Gazas north and called on Gazans to move south out of harms way.

For your own safety move southward. We will continue to attack in the area of Gaza City and increase attacks, Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a briefing to Israeli reporters.

Israel started its total siege of Gaza after an October 7 cross-border attack on its cities by Hamas members, who killed 1,400 people.

Gazas Health Ministry has said Israels air and missile strikes had killed at least 4,385 Palestinians, including hundreds of children.
The UK and the US have expressed concerns over the departure of 41 Canadian diplomats from India, with Britain saying it disagrees with the Indian Government decisions which it believes is behind their exit amid an ongoing standoff between India and Canada over the killing of a Sikh separatist.

While a statement from the UKs Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said the move impacted the effective functioning of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the US State Department stressed that resolving differences requires diplomats on the ground.

The separate statements came after Canada said it had withdrawn 41 diplomats following an alleged Indian threat to unilaterally revoke their status amid strained bilateral relations over Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus claims of Indian agents being involved in the June murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian Sikh.

In New Delhi, the External Affairs Ministry has strongly rejected the allegation and also refuted any violation of the Vienna Convention in relation to the Canadian diplomats exit.

We reject any attempt to portray the implementation of parity as a violation of international norms, the MEA statement said.

In London, the FCDO statement pointed out that resolving differences requires communication and diplomats in respective capitals.

We do not agree with the decisions taken by the Indian government that have resulted in a number of Canadian diplomats departing India, it said.

We expect all states to uphold their obligations under the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. The unilateral removal of the privileges and immunities that provide for the safety and security of diplomats is not consistent with the principles or the effective functioning of the Vienna Convention. We continue to encourage India to engage with Canada on its independent investigation into the death of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, it said.

The UKs statement followed the US government also backing Canada over the standoff.

US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said: We are concerned by the departure of Canadian diplomats from India, in response to the Indian governments demand of Canada to significantly reduce its diplomatic presence in India. Resolving differences requires diplomats on the ground.

We have urged the Indian government not to insist upon a reduction in Canadas diplomatic presence and to cooperate in the ongoing Canadian investigation.

The MEA on Friday rejected all attempts to portray the implementation of diplomatic parity as a violation of international norms.

The state of our bilateral relations, the much higher number of Canadian diplomats in India, and their continued interference in our internal affairs warrant a parity in mutual diplomatic presence in New Delhi and Ottawa, the the External Affairs Ministry said.

The row was triggered following Trudeaus statement in the Canadian Parliament last month that its security forces were actively pursuing credible allegations linking Indian government agents to the murder of Khalistan Tiger Force leader and wanted terrorist in India Hardeep Singh Nijjar, an allegation strongly rejected by the the External Affairs Ministry as absurd and motivated.

On Friday, Trudeau told reporters in a televised press conference that the Indian government is making it unbelievably difficult for life as usual to continue for millions of people in India and in Canada. Earlier, the Canadian authorities also warned of a slowdown in visa processing times due to the reduction of employees at its diplomatic mission in India.

Both the UK and the US are part of the Five Eyes network. It is an intelligence alliance consisting of the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and New Zealand and uses both surveillance-based and signals intelligence.

On Friday, Canada paused all in-person services at the consulates in Mumbai, Chandigarh, and Bengaluru and urged its citizens in these three cities to exercise caution. All Canadians in India have been asked to contact the High Commission in New Delhi in case they need assistance.

The Canadian advisory said, In the context of recent developments in Canada and India, there are calls for protests and some negative sentiment towards Canada in traditional media and on social media. Demonstrations, including anti-Canada protests, could occur and Canadians may be subjected to intimidation or harassment. In Delhi and the National Capital Region, you should keep a low profile with strangers, and not share your personal information with them.

The advisory also said, Exercise a high degree of caution in and around Bengaluru, Chandigarh, and Mumbai. Consular services in-person are temporarily unavailable in those cities or surrounding areas.
Clinton Cobb sees dead people.

In the Yellowstone Repertory Theatres production of Craig Lancasters Straight on to Stardust, Cobb is a gruff but affable cowboy who has reluctantly promised to drive the body of his dead estranged father from Billings to Albuquerque for burial.

On the long, dangerous winter drive across Wyoming, during the storm of the century, riding shotgun at various times with Cobb are his long-dead mother, his cruel and intentionally clueless father, and a boy he was kind to in childhood.

Visitations from ghosts is a dramatic trope as old as theater, reaching back through Patrick Swayze, to Shakespeare, to Dionysus. Lancaster wisely doesnt try to re-invent the device. Cobb engages with the ghosts as a way to reconcile hard events from his past, some of them self-inflicted, but the worst of them inflicted on him.

And, thats where the real drama in this play lies, the sudden, shocking revelation in the end of the metaphorical ghost from Cobbs past.

The Billings writer Lancaster is the author of nine novels and a collection of short stories. Hes won two High Plaines Book Awards and been the tireless champion of other regional writers and books.

This is his first full-length play, although it didnt begin that way. Lancaster intended it to be a novel, but says it couldnt find its feet. When he stripped it down to just the dialogue, it soared. And, what dialogue it is.

The play has some dark stretches, and some long anguished monologues that are reliably lifted by laugh-out-loud one-liners, the best of them unprintable in a family newspaper.

If You Go Yellowstone Repertory Theatre is performing "Straight on to Stardust" on Oct. 27, 28, 29 and Nov. 2, 3 and 4. Thursday, Friday and Saturday performances are at 7:30 p.m., Sunday matinees are at 2 p.m. Tickets are $15 for students and $25 for everyone else at yellowstonerep.org/buy-tickets.

When Cobbs daughter Kay asks him if he really has her dead grandfathers body in the back of his pickup, he says, Yeah, hes back there. Bagged for freshness. At another point Cobb wonders aloud if a cell phone is good for anything more than finding out what year Smoke on the Water was released.

Cobb is played wonderfully by local veteran actor Steve Zediker, who ranges from prickly cowboy, to tender son, to distant father, to deeply wounded boy. When Cobb collapses into sobs during the storm, overcome not by the loss of his father but by the stolen innocence of his boyhood, there were some in the audience who wept with him.

Autumn Griffiths, a new actor to Billings, plays Kay, puzzled by her fathers detachment and unwillingness to bond. Kays long, sorrowful musings about her unreachable father are mesmerizing. Griffith said during a recent audience Q&A that she is the product of divorce, and it shows in every line of Kay's dialogue.

Susan Sommerfeld plays the ex-wife, the dream ex-wife. She loves Cobb, they have a great supportive rapport, and she believes him when he confides his other-worldly visitations. She may also know his childhood secret, the source of his pain and distance.

Cobbs father, Jimmy Cobb, is played by Billings most familiar and perhaps most beloved actor, Vint Lavinder. His Jimmy Cobb appears to be a loveable good ol boy until he reveals himself to be a blame-shifting, willfully ignorant, wrecking ball.

And, nearly stealing it in several scenes is Kate Restad as Cobbs dead mother, Carolina. She literally dances into her scenes to console her wounded son. When they joke about their own youthful sexual escapades in cars, its the plays funniest moment. For Cobb, it was in the back of a Mazda, parked on the Rims, with his feet hanging out the window.

As expertly acted as Straight on to Stardust is, there are some minor flaws, a few soft spots that a more experienced playwright may have zipped through more deftly. But, they dont take much away from what is a very smart and deeply moving story.

Kudos to YRT for doing their duty to perform local work, and the company gives nothing away by producing this homegrown play. It ranks among the best of YRTs productions.

Note: Full disclosure, I worked for several years with Craig Lancaster at the Billings Gazette where he was a copy editor. After he left, we have maintained a friendly acquaintance.
Indian politics is full of stories about feisty women who have forged their paths through adversity, ascending to the pinnacle of power through sheer grit and determination. You can look at the likes of BSP supremo Mayawati, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Smriti Irani, the late Sushma Swaraj, to name just a few.

On the other hand, there are those women leaders who could be described as having made it to the top because of the family legacy they inherited. They may not have made it all the way up yet but have managed to become a little more than just being politically relevant. This list is a long one. Starting from Supriya Sule of the NCP, moving towards the likes of Harsimrat Kaur Badal of the SAD, the DMKs Kanimozhi and ending perhaps at the SPs Dimple Yadav.

Mohua Moitra does not belong to either of these two categories. She belongs to the category of what we may describe as a political chaos chaser.

Not to offend any political libertarian or any staunch diehard feminist, but how else does one look at Ms Moitra? Her present round of crisis in her just ripening political career points us exactly in that direction.

Mahua is a chaos chaser. But in life as in politics you must know when to step back or to have the sagacity of spotting who all are willing to be your fellow travelers in this adventurism of chasing chaos.

Arvind Kejriwal started off as a self-proclaimed anarchist, then ditched the very people who enabled him to reach the levels of extreme anarchism and repositioned his trajectory to now be sitting pretty as a national party with governments in two States.

Mahua Moitra failed exactly on that count. Her diatribe against Gautam Adani made all the right noises but she was the only one shouting. Even her party supremo Mamata Banerjee, best friends with RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani didnt back her in this anti Adani campaign. Her parliamentary colleague, Derek OBrien, never at a loss of words on any subject, has been surprisingly quiet in this entire Adani-Mahua saga.

When Ms Moitra openly showed her rage against CISF personnel at an airport in the northeastern States a couple of years back, it made national headlines and was a subject befitting of a prime time debate.

She was then playing the victim card. When Ms Moitra openly took cudgels in Parliament on the farmers bill, she became the darling of YouTube and YouTubers.

She was representing proletarianism which is so important in Indian politics. When she danced away during durga pooja last year during Sindoor Khela in Kolkata, everyone compared her to Sushmita Sen in the much-acclaimed OTT series Arya. But then she turned her focus on Gautam Adanis business, or the alleged lack of business ethics associated with the Adani group.

That is where her attempt to consistently position herself as Badass victim got converted into a villainous role.

We may have sent a Chandrayaan to the moon, but when it comes to political leaders and women in particular, a party animal will not ever get the gravitas a neta always aspires to achieve.

What Ms Moitra has done in her present battle against the BJP and Adani enterprise is to expose her vulnerability and complete lack of understanding of high stakes political battles. The first day the story broke of lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai sending a written complaint to the Lok Sabha Speaker and the CBI director, she dismissed it as jealousy of an ex. Till date no woman politician has ever come out so openly about her own state of personal relationships, marital or otherwise.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and her former husband are on two sides of political divide, but you will never hear from her on what she thinks of her former husband.

In Mohua Mitras case, its not even the X husband we are talking about. Not for nothing, none less than the Supreme Court of India has not tinkered with the institution of marriage when it came to giving the same rights to those in same sex relationship.

Thats why a couple of days later, when Darshan Hiranandani submitted an affidavit confirming all allegations levelled against her by Jai Dehadrai, she still didnt know how to react. So, she questioned why the affidavit was on a white paper. She wondered whether Modi had put a gun to Hiranandanis head for this confession. A day later, a notarised copy of Hiranandanis affidavit appeared in public domain, duly signed by Hiranandani himself in the presence of the Consul General of Dubai.

To make matters worse, the lawyer representing Mohua Mitra in the Delhi High court made the cardinal mistake of looking for a settlement with Jai Dehadrai. That too found its way in public domain courtesy Jai himself. So Now Ms Moitra has nowhere to run. If she did offer her parliamentary login.

To a foreign individual asking straight parliamentary questions, it shows her in an extremely poor light. Someone who doesnt value the very Parliament she represents. To find a way out of this hole is going to be a real tough battle for Ms Moitra. The motor will clearly be missing from the motor mouth that Ms Moitra had created for herself.
Sixteen people, including six children, were rescued after a fire broke out in a flat in central Delhis Subzi Mandi area on Sunday, Delhi Fire Service officials said.

A call was received at around 7.40 am about the blaze on the second floor of a building and eight fire engines were pressed into service.

The police station concerned was informed as well. We have rescued 16 people comprising six children, seven women and three men, said an official.

The rescue operation was challenging as an LPG gas cylinder exploded inside the flat, he added.

According to the DFS, the fire has been doused and no one suffered any serious injuries.

We have started an investigation to ascertain the cause of the fire, a senior police official said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Manoj Kumar Meena said on Sunday around 7.40 am, a PCR call regarding fire in Harfool Singh Building, Ghantaghar, Sabzi Mandi, was received following which the staff reached the spot.

The Harfool Singh Building houses Punjab National Bank on the ground floor and different families reside on the first, second and third floors, the DCP said.

There was fire on the second and third floor of the building. Some of the family members residing on the second floor had already moved out. The other family members of the second floor and all the family members living on the third floor were found trapped, the DCP said.

Four fire tenders, local police, residents of the area and CATS ambulance were engaged in the rescue operation. All the occupants of the building were rescued. Five people residing on the second floor and 11 people on the third floor were rescued.

None had any serious injury, Meena said.

Two medico-legal cases have been made. A woman suffered minor burns on hand and forearm, police said.

The forensic and crime teams have inspected the spot. According to the spot inquiry conducted till now, the fire started from the second floor of the building. The exact cause of the fire is being ascertained. Legal action is being taken, they added.
Himachal govt lifts ban on export of Safeda, Poplar, Bamboo, and Kuth



Shimla: The Himachal Government has lifted the ban on the export of wood from four tree species, including Safeda, Poplar, Bamboo, and Kuth (Medicinal Plant), allowing people of the State to export these types of wood without any permit. Moreover, the transportation of wood from these species within the state will also no longer require a permit. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that many farmers in Himachal Pradesh cultivate these species on a commercial scale and this decision of the government would facilitate them to a great extent. He said that the state government has also eased restrictions on the export of other forest products, including Khair wood, Katha, cedarwood oil, and various herbs native to Himachal Pradesh. However, for these forest products, a valid permit from the Forest Department will be required to take them out of the State, he added. Sukhu said that the State government is mulling to introduce the National Transit Pass System in Himachal Pradesh, enabling individuals to obtain various e-permits from the Forest Department, making Himachal Pradesh the sixth state in India to implement this system. The National Transit Pass System is expected to bring greater convenience to permit processes, enhance transparency in the department's operations and improve departmental functioning, he said.



Haryana Police and IIT Madras collaborate to enhance road safety



Chandigarh: The Haryana Police, in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras), is embarking on a transformative initiative to enhance road safety and reduce fatalities. The initiative focuses on ensuring timely medical attention for accident victims during the critical 'golden hour' and implementing a comprehensive data-driven approach to improve road safety measures. Director General of Police Shatrujeet Kapur convened a meeting on Sunday at the Dial 112 office in Panchkula to discuss the implementation of a transformative road safety initiative in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras). During the meeting, Kapur addressed the issue of accident-prone areas, often referred to as 'black spots'. He emphasized the need for collaboration with relevant departments to identify the causes of accidents at these locations and implement measures for improvement.



Mahendragarh tops Hry in delivering healthcare services Under Ayushman Bharat Chirayu Yojana



Chandigarh: Mahendragarh District has achieved the top ranking in the state for delivering healthcare services to its citizens under the Ayushman Bharat Chirayu Yojana. Haryana Chief Secretary Sanjeev Kaushal commended Mahendragarh district for its outstanding efforts in this regard during a review meeting conducted via video conferencing to assess the progress of the scheme. In the review meeting, the Additional Chief Secretary, Health Department, G Anupama, unveiled Mahendragarh District's top-ranking success story in the healthcare sector. A recent evaluation conducted by a team from IIM Rohtak found that health facilities and empanelled hospitals in Mahendragarh District excelled, earning them the top spot in the assessment. In an effort to make the benefits of the Ayushman Bharat Chirayu Yojana accessible to a broader population, the Haryana Government has launched an online portal for expansion of this scheme. Now, families in the state with annual incomes ranging from Rs 1.80 lakh to Rs 3 lakh can enjoy the privileges of this scheme.



Block-Level Road Safety Quiz Competition in Hry



Chandigarh: A block-level quiz competition on road safety, organized in collaboration with the Police Department, is set to take place on October 27, and students are eagerly preparing for the event. According to an official spokesperson, the 'All Haryana Road Safety Quiz Competition - 2023-24' aims to inculcate the habit of following traffic rules from a young age. To enhance awareness of traffic regulations, the police department provides students with books at various levels, which serve as the foundation for the competition's question papers. A school-level competition was recently held on October 13, with over 42 lakh students participating.



Haryana Energy Minister redresses public grievances in Sirsa



Chandigarh: Haryana Energy Minister Ranjit Singh on Sunday redressed public grievances at Sirsa. During this event, public representatives put forth their concerns related to electricity, drinking water, road construction and repairs works and various other issues before the Minister. The Minister provided essential guidance and directions to officials concerned for the prompt redressal of public grievances. He also underscored the state government's unwavering dedication to the welfare of its citizens and highlighted the widespread satisfaction among all segments of society with the government's policies. At the event, residents from villages, including Fatehpur Niyamat Khan, Chaharwala, Nuhianwali, Bahia, Jodhpuriya, Chakkan, and others, presented their concerns to the Energy Minister.



Malhotra assumes charge as Chandigarh BJP chief



Chandigarh: Jatinder Pal Malhotra assumed the charge of BJP chief in the presence of outgoing president Arun Sood, Ex President Sanjay Tondon, Ex MP Satpal Jain and other party workers. Earlier on October 13, he was appointed as new BJP Chandigarh. Malhotra while speaking on the occasion, thanked PM Narinder Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Party National President JP Nadda and BL Santosh for reposing faith in an ordinary worker and making him as state President. He said BJP will win the coming election with a huge margin. He asked workers to follow the ideals of PM Modi in their work for the public, although following PM isn't that easy.



120 bikers carry out a bikers rally on Breast Cancer Awareness in city



Chandigarh: As many as 120 bikers carried out a bikers rally on Breast Cancer Awareness here on Sunday. Around 22-km long rally which was flagged-off from Max Hospital, Mohali reached Tribune Chowk, Chandigarh and then returned back to the hospital before moving through sectors 45, 34 and 36. During the rally, bikers carried placards on breast cancer awareness. En route, they also raised slogans to educate the public on breast cancer awareness by taking precautions and timely checkups in case of any doubt.



39 illegally clubbed bus permits cancelled: Punjab transport minister



Chandigarh: Punjab Transport Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar said his department has cancelled 39 illegally clubbed bus permits of several private bus operators in the state. Bhullar said the guidelines of the department state that bus permits can only be extended once from the destination, but private bus operators had extended these permits multiple times in an incorrect manner, according to an official statement. Citing a high court order, Bhullar said the clubbed permit holders whose route extensions were done more than once, were ordered to be cancelled. These orders have been executed by cancelling the permits after hearing the permit holders' representations, the minister added.
A skill enhancement programme was conducted in Rajdhani College by the Mo College Abhijan in collaboration with Tata STRIVE.

Tata STRIVE is the skill development initiative of the Tata Community Initiatives Trust (TCIT).

Chidananda Mallick (project manager-Tata STRIVE) was present and enlightened on the safe use of data. Tata STRIVE in collaboration with various agencies is providing various courses such as Google cyber security, Google business intelligence, Data Analytics, Google advanced data analytics under its Google career certification course. These courses are designed to educate the youths around data security and also get job ready in the said fields, he said.

Mo College chairperson Akash Dasnayak spoke on the occasion, among others.
The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha on Saturday launched a scathing attack on the BJP and Enforcement Directorate alleging that the Central probe agency is working with selective nature while trying to save BJP bigwigs in the alleged liquor scam. JMM General Secretary cum Spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharya today said in a press conference that the ED is trying to save big leaders of BJP by adopting a biased attitude in the case of Yogendra Tiwari.

Bhattacharya said that the apprehensions he had expressed three months ago are now coming out openly. He said that when Yogendra Tiwari was born in the world of business, the name of a big BJP leader was associated with Yogendra Tiwari. His secretary's name was also there. How he entered the liquor business was discussed in front of everyone. He said that BJP is not in the selective target of ED, Jharkhand government is their target. The state government had also constituted an investigation, but to ensure that the scope of the investigation did not reach the BJP, that big leader was isolated from the state itself.

He said that the whole game is being played by targeting one person only. If ED gets all its bank transactions investigated, the real tactics, character and face of BJP will be revealed. The state government should also conduct a SIT investigation in this matter. Form a SIT immediately and get the entire matter investigated so that the conspirators can be exposed. Since the state also has its own system, the state should also investigate this entire game. So that it can be known who is involved in the liquor game. Many present and former MLAs and many big leaders of BJP are also involved in this case. There should also be an investigation as to what happened during whose rule, hence SIT investigation is very important.

The JMM leader said that the way this narrative is being set, his intentions behind the crime appear to be something else. The Supreme Court had reprimanded several times in a similar Delhi liquor scam. ED had come to investigate the MGNREGA scam but is going away from the subjects. Now let's see which facts it checks.

The party General Secretary further said that many people of BJP are involved in the corruption of Yogendra Tiwari, but in this matter an attempt is being made to set the narrative against the Hemant Government. He demanded Hemant Sarkar to conduct a SIT investigation into this matter. He said that by constituting SIT, the Government should expose this entire matter and the conspirators.

It should be revealed who all are involved in the liquor game and how many present and former BJP MLAs are involved in it. The investigation will also reveal what happened during the tenure of which Government, said Bhattacharya.
The Electroencephalogram (EEG) test necessary for the diagnosis of many neurological disorders like epilepsy, meningitis, brain swelling, brains stroke, sleep disorders has been started at Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Center (BMHRC).

Dr. Manisha Srivastava, Director-in-charge of BMHRC on Saturday dedicated the new state of the art EEG machine to the patients. A video camera is installed in this machine, which will record every activity of the patient during the examination.

It will help the doctor to analyze the exact status of the disease and condition of the patient.Dr. Manisha Shrivastava said that with the help of EEG test, normal and abnormal condition of the brain is revealed. EEG test is used to detect many types of brain disorders like brain stroke, meningitis, brain swelling etc. This machine also has an important contribution in the diagnosis of many mental diseases like psychogenic non-epileptic seizures, Neurodevelopment disorder narcolepsy etc.

This will benefit many patients coming to the hospital. How EEG works : Dr Chandrashekhar Rawat, Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology, BMHRC said,An EEG machine records the electrical activity of the brain. It contains electrodes that can detect brain activity when placed on a subjects scalp. The electrodes record the brain wave patterns and the EEG machine sends the data to a computer or cloud server.

The electrical impulses in an EEG recording look like wavy lines with peaks and valleys. These lines allow doctors to quickly assess whether there are abnormal patterns. Irregularities may be a sign of seizures or other brain disorders. For example, when an epileptic attack occurs, the EEG lines start fluctuating rapidly during its testing. In patients who have a tumour in the brain or are suffering from brain stroke, the frequency of their EEG waves decreases.

Through these signs the doctor identifies the patient's disease. Important for examining children suffering from Neurodevelopment Disorder: Dr. Jyotsna Jain, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, BMHRC, said that sometimes symptoms of epilepsy are seen in patients who are under extreme stress or depression, but in reality they do not have epilepsy. This is called psychogenic non-epileptic seizure. The EEG machine itself confirms that the patient does not have epilepsy. Apart from this, symptoms of epilepsy are also seen in children suffering from Neurodevelopment disorder (children whose brain is not developed). EEG test is also necessary for its diagnosis.
Election Commission will hold a seminar on October 30 at the Raipur Collectorate Complex to brief disabled voters about the election process in Chhattisgarh.

Working on the principle, no voter should be left out, the Election Commission of India is committed to making the voting process accessible for all voters, especially the disabled voters, an official communique said.

Officials from organisations working for the upliftment of the disabled will be present.

Chhattisgarh Chief Electoral Officer Reena Baba Saheb Kangale said, suggestions of disabled voters will be taken into account.

Arrangements for disabled voters at the polling stations will also be discussed," she informed.
Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the construction of 3,940 Anganwadi buildings in the State which will cost Rs 472 crore. He stated this in an event on Sunday where he handed over the appointment letters for the supervisor posts to 167 Anganwadi workers and mini Anganwadi workers. He also inaugurated the online portals of Nanda Gaura Yojana and Mukhyamantri Mahalakshmi Kit Yojana on the occasion. Speaking at the event, he said that 3,940 Anganwadi buildings will be constructed in the State soon and each building will cost around Rs 12 lakh. These buildings will be built with the help of the Central government, State government and MNREGA with a budget of about Rs 472 crore. Dhami said that the construction of these buildings will alleviate the Anganwadi system in the State benefiting women and children.

Dhami said that Anganwadi workers play a very important role in society. Anganwadi centres play a crucial role in the upbringing and nurturing of small children. The government is fully committed to strengthening the status of Anganwadi centres and has taken various steps to empower Anganwadi workers. He said that the government has increased the honorarium of Anganwadi workers, mini Anganwadi workers and their assistants as per their demands and requirements. The CM informed that the honorarium of all Anganwadi workers is being paid online directly into their bank accounts from the department of Women Empowerment and Child Development (WECD). The department issues about Rs 24 crore per month as allowance to all Anganwadi workers. Besides this, the government has also released an amount of Rs 9.35 crore to 23,895 women in their bank accounts under the Pradhan Mantri Matra Vandana Yojana. He said that portals of Nanda Gaura Yojana (NGY) and Mukhyamantri Mahalakshmi Kit Yojana (MMKY) have been launched to monitor the working progress of both these schemes. He said that about 50,000 lactating women and newborn babies get benefits every year under MMKY. Under this scheme, the department gives kits to new mothers worth Rs 3,500 on the birth of the first two daughters. These kits include items like dry fruits, items of clothing, soaps and bed sheets, among other necessary items. The government is also considering providing all these benefits on the birth of the first son. Besides this, CM said that under the Nanda Gaura Yojana, eligible parents receive Rs 11,000 at the time of birth of the girl child from the WECD department. Later, the girl child receives Rs 51,000 on clearing class XII. The portals launched to monitor the progress of both schemes will help to ensure that every eligible beneficiary is getting the benefits, said the CM. The WECD minister Rekha Arya who was also present on the occasion said that the government has introduced and implemented several policies in the State for the welfare of women and to make them self-reliant. The government is planning to introduce more plans for the development of women and children in the near future, she added.
Voicing concern over burning of crop residue that causes air pollution in the national Capital, the National Green Tribunal has issued notices to the Punjab Chief Secretary and member secretary of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

The NGT was hearing a petition it had initiated on its own (suo motu) following a media report highlighting a rise in farm fire incidents in Punjab. The report said stubble burning in the state around autumn was among the biggest contributors to pollution in the National Capital Region (NCR).

A bench of NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava and expert member A Senthil Vel noted a report by the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) which detailed the comparative data of three years on stubble burning incidents along with the names of hotspot districts known for farm fire incidents.

Effective implementation of various measures is the key for controlling stubble burning in the state, the bench said on Friday. It said the state authorities, including PPCB officials, needed to identify the worst-affected areas within the hotspot districts where remedial measures should be focussed.

The period when the stubble burning takes place is mainly between September 15 to November 30. Hence, during this period, the concerned authorities are required to be vigilant in identifying the violators, and in taking remedial measures, including imposition of penalty, the bench said.

The green panel also took on record a report by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in the National Capital Region (NCR) and adjoining areas which tabulated the actual count of incidents of stubble burning in 2022 and the targets for reducing them during the current year.

Underscoring that to achieve the targets, an effective on-ground action was required, the tribunal directed the PPCB to prepare and place on record an area-wise crop residue management plan. We also deem it proper to issue notice to the Chief Secretary and Member Secretary, CPCB, the tribunal said and sought action taken reports from the PPCB and CAQM. The matter has been listed on November 8 for further hearing.
When Megan Dobbs began planning how she wanted her upcoming birth to go, two goals rose to the top of her list. She wanted to be fully present and remember every moment. And she didnt want anything to compromise her sobriety.

Dobbs, 30, has a wide smile and is quick to cry, especially when she talks about motherhood and her prolonged battle with addiction. Years ago, she agreed to terminate her parental rights to her firstborn daughter after a period of drug use she couldnt kick. Her second child lives in Florida, the state Dobbs left behind last November as part of her journey to sobriety. She had family in Montana and had heard about health services here for pregnant people struggling with addiction. The day she boarded the plane, she told herself, was a step toward becoming the mother she knew she could be.

The moment I found out I was pregnant again, I was ready to get clean, Dobbs said in a September interview. I was done with it.

Soon after she arrived in Lewistown, seven months pregnant, Dobbs became one of the first patients in an upstart health program taking root in parts of rural Montana. She was connected with a recovery doula-in-training  a certified peer with their own history of addiction learning to become a birth doula  to support her through her pregnancy. If all went according to plan, that support worker would help Dobbs and her baby come through the experience healthy, sober and together.

A year later, Dobbs goals have become reality. Her son, Riyadh, is nearly 10 months old and already able to mirror his mothers smile. She accepts credit for all that she and her son have achieved, but says that progress wouldnt have been possible without the help she found in Lewistown.

People can change. Ive changed, Dobbs said. Its literally, I cannot stress enough, the reason that my recovery is working, is because of my support group.

Sitting on the same side of the table

The idea to train recovery doulas in Montana partially grew out of one of Megkian Doyles closely held beliefs: that one generation can chart a path out of generational cycles of substance use disorder.

Doyle is the director of the Regional Community Action Team at One Health, a network of health care clinics spanning much of rural Montana. In October, the recovery doula program Doyle dreamed up celebrated its first three graduates and started training another cohort, with members hailing from small towns  Chinook, Sidney, Hardin  across Montanas north, east and southeast regions.

I wholeheartedly believe that it only takes a generation, Doyle said of breaking the cycle of addiction. She described her own mom, who grew up with parents who used drugs and worked hard to tread a new path for herself and Doyle. It only took her to change the direction.

But such turnabouts can be immensely difficult, Doyle said, especially for people who are pregnant or parenting and afraid to reach out for help. Many people fear that confessing to drug use or mental health struggles could trigger investigations by law enforcement and child protection agencies, possibly leading to their children being removed and placed in foster care.

People are trying to stay off the radar as much as they can, Doyle said. In an ideal world, she continued, patients would be willing and able to access prenatal and postpartum health care, no matter what theyre dealing with. We really want to give them support.

Drugs, alcohol and mental illness pose significant risks to maternal and early childhood health. Nationwide and in Montana, overdose and suicide are among the leading underlying causes of pregnancy-related deaths, a category that includes maternal deaths during pregnancy and up to a year postpartum. The same factors often play a role in children being placed in Montanas foster care system, with parental drug use being noted in at least 30% of removals, according to state data compiled in 2021.

The One Health program, a state and federal grant recipient, tries to prevent those outcomes by combining two types of health professionals, doulas and peer support specialists, trained to help pregnant patients and those dealing with mental health and addiction issues.

Merging the specialties is strategic in a few ways, Doyle said. Doulas, as non-medical support workers, are rarely covered by insurance or Medicaid, which often makes their services inaccessible to low-income or uninsured households. Peer support specialists, on the other hand, can be covered by insurance, but arent trained in the specific skills that can help someone whos pregnant, giving birth and navigating weeks and months of postpartum challenges. By combining the two skill sets, Doyle and her team reasoned, dually trained staff can fill gaps in the contunuum of care available to some of Montanas most vulnerable patients.

My job as a peer support [specialist] is to be on their same side of the table, said Carson Zeigler, a recovery doula-in-training based in Billings. So Im going to sit there with them and Im going to help them fill out that Medicaid form, that SNAP form. Im going to make those phone calls with them, not for them.

Zeigler said her work, which sometimes looks like being a paid friend, is about empowering patients and helping them connect to services designed to help them succeed. That type of support wasnt available during her own first high-risk pregnancy, Zeigler said, even though her medical team knew she was young and had a history of addiction. After the birth of her second child, Zeigler subsequently experienced two miscarriages and again felt stranded without emotional help. She began experiencing postpartum depression, something she didnt know was possible after a pregnancy loss, and tried to take her own life.

Zeigler said her personal experiences with pregnancy, parenthood, addiction and mental health crises made her want to help others who might be struggling. Shes now a certified peer support specialist-in-training to become a recovery doula. Even if she doesnt have the exact same experience as her clients, Zeigler said, her past can help her relate.

For me, it is very important to share what Ive gone through, she said. I get it. Ive been there.

'Because of my support group'

While pregnancy and the postpartum period are highly vulnerable times for patients, One Health clinical supervisor Pam Ponich describes them as a clinical window of opportunity where patients are more likely to seek and use help.

They really do realize, well, its not just about me. Theres this other life and I want to be the best parent I can be, Ponich said.

But services have to be available for that motivation to become action, Ponich said. That symbiosis between patients and health care providers ended up happening for Dobbs, the Florida resident who came to Montana to be closer to family and tap into prenatal services.

When she arrived in Lewistown, Dobbs found a network of services that began to kick into gear. She was put in touch with Chelsea Solberg, a One Health nurse and care coordinator with the Meadowlark Initiative, a statewide program to help providers address behavioral health risks during pregnancy and decrease family separations for drug use or mental health issues. Solberg connected her with a recovery doula-in-training, another Lewistown resident and peer support specialist named Ty LaFountain. Together, Solberg and LaFountain became pillars of Dobbs support team as she worked through the early phases of sobriety and began preparing for her sons birth.

As a nurse specializing in labor, delivery and infant care, Solberg said, she saw Dobbs as another expecting parent who needed support  not a person solely defined by her history of addiction.

Shes a mom, just like I am, Solberg said in an October interview. Thats Megan, the person  I know that that support around anyone is important for preparing to give birth, no matter what their struggles are.

On the day of her delivery, Dobbs was up-front with medical staff about her history of narcotic use, telling them she didnt want to take pain medications or be sent home with prescription drugs. She waited until she could no longer handle the pain to get an epidural, a numbing injection to counter intense contractions, but said she immediately felt a sense of defeat for accepting medication. LaFountain was there to support her in the hospital room the whole time, bolstering her mood and helping her stay focused.

After her sons delivery, Dobbs faced another setback. A member of the hospital staff had reported her to child protective services, the state health departments child welfare agency, to flag the possibility of Dobbs using drugs. Knowing she was in Lewistown, the child protection worker made contact with Solberg, the Meadowlark Initiative coordinator, to see if Dobbs was on her caseload. Solberg advocated for Dobbs and helped her emotionally prepare for the state workers visit. Together, they explained that she was working through her treatment plan, maintaining sobriety, and dedicated to caring for her newborn. Eventually, the caseworker found no reason to remove Riyadh from his mothers care.

Everything that that CPS lady was going to have me do, I was already doing, Dobbs said. She had a long list of [things] like see a therapist, see this, do this, do that. And I had everything already done.

Months later, Dobbs said, both of those people are still in her corner. She can reach out to LaFountain if she feels challenged in her recovery, and she and Solberg can work through the ups and downs of caring for an infant if issues arise with Riyadh. And, day after day, Dobbs continues to make progress toward her goals of being the best mom she can be. Next year, shell have enough time in recovery to follow in Zeigler and LaFountains footsteps and start training to become a peer support doula herself.

Reflecting on her time in recovery, Dobbs said, the availability of peer support and community resources seem to have made a critical difference.

Im not just saying this just to say it, but the reason why is because of my support group, Dobbs said. The reason why I have never [before] recovered or never got sober long enough was because I didnt have a support group the way I have one now.

Finding a purpose

On an overcast day in October, the new cohort of recovery doulas-in-training gathered in a warm community room at Boulder Hot Springs. Many said they had been motivated to join the program because of their own experiences as parents with histories of addiction and mental health issues. They talked about having compassion for the people they wanted to serve, and making sure their own experiences dont crowd out the clients voice in decision-making about their health and well-being.

LaFountain and Zeigler, both of whom still have a few more requirements to meet until they can complete the course, were there. They and other peer support specialists talked about how meaningful it was for them to use their lived experience to help other people, highlighting another layer to the program: Knowing that they can have a positive influence in someone elses life helps bolster their own commitment to recovery.

Between assisting with demonstrations and offering lessons to the programs new members, LaFountain tried to summarize the importance of his new career. In some ways, he said, it feels as if everything hes been through has prepared him to help other people overcome their addictions and start down the road to being better parents.

I know that I have a purpose, he said with tears in his eyes.

Over lunch, Doyle and Ponich lead the celebrations of the programs first graduates, handing out certificates and scrubs with recovery doula scripted on the back. The lunch hall rang with the sound of the new cohort clapping.
The high security cell of Bhopal Central Jail is filled with terrorists. The number of terrorists here has become so much that the cells have started becoming small. Now 12 new high security cells will be constructed in the jail. For which a budget of Rs 1.5 crore has been sanctioned. The construction work of the new cell is to start as soon as the code of conduct is over.

Currently 69 terrorists are lodged in Bhopal Central Jail who belong to different organizations. In this, 23 terrorists of Student Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), 21 of Popular Front of India (PFI), 17 of Hizb ut Tahrir (HUT), 4 of JMB and 4 of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) are arrested. The capacity of high security cells in this jail is 58.

The terrorists lodged in Bhopal jail are taken out of the high security cell for three and a half hours every day. So that he can do his personal work like drying clothes, taking sunlight, walking etc. These terrorists are kept under surveillance after coming out.

It is the responsibility of two guards to keep an eye on every terrorist. The terrorists are taken out for two and a half hours in the morning and one hour in the evening. They are not allowed to talk to anyone. All the terrorists are kept separately even when taken out.

Except terrorists Kamran, Abu Faizal, Shibli and Kamaruddin, all 65 terrorists get the facility to meet their family members and canteen facility as per the jail manual. The convicted terrorists included in these dress in jail dress and wear jail caps and follow jail rules.

Jailer Saroj Mishra said that construction work of 12 new high security cells will be started in Bhopal jail. The budget for this has been sanctioned.
The iconic Gole Market will be conserved and redeveloped as a museum. Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena on Saturday launched the project of Conservation and Restoration of main Gole Market building as a museum and redevelopment of surrounding areas including, construction of service block and subway. Union Minister Meenakshi Lekhi was also present.

The restoration work will include removing encroachments, providing public facilities and handicap accessibility and reinstating the original fenestration and entrance archways. The museum will be connected to Doctor Lane and Bhai Veer Singh Marg via an underpass. The restoration and renovation of the historic and iconic Gole Market was pending since 2006.

The move comes nearly two months after New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) finalised the agency for the restoration and development of the structure as a museum during a meeting on August 23.The project will cost Rs 21.6 crore.

After launching the projects aimed at restoration and rejuvenation of the iconic Gole Market, Saxena said the originality of the historic structure will not be tampered with while carrying out the restoration works.

He further said it will be the first of its kind museum in the country dedicated to women achievers of the country, in different spheres.

The museum will showcase the contributions made by women of India in Art, Literature, Culture, Social Sector, Medicine, Science & Technology and especially their role in the struggle for independence.

Immediately after taking over, Saxena had visited the site and promised to take up its restoration and rejuvenation. Many meetings down the line, it was felt that the restoration would require conserving the building through retrofitting.

Saxena hoped that the heritage site will evolve as a central place for visitors in the coming days.

A subway and a dedicated parking space will also be part of the Gole Market project, to facilitate the visitors to the Museum, he added.

The LG along with the Minister of State for Culture and External Affairs, Meenakshi Lekhi also visited the construction site of Jai Prakash Narain (JPN) Library at Udyan Marg.

According to New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) official, the council will try to complete the work in 12 months from the date of awarding the tender.

Occupying a nodal position at the intersection of Shahid Bhagat Singh Marg, Bhai Veer Singh Marg, Peshwa Road and Ramakrishna Mission Marg, within a kilometre from Connaught Place, this urban landmark was initially designed by the British to serve the basic needs of the residential areas in the locality.

Shops were accordingly set up for milk, vegetables, foodgrains and other general items. Over the years, government apathy in its maintenance has caused numerous problems.

Its external renders and plasters, reinforced brick concrete and architectural detailing have deteriorated while vegetation growth, water seepage, timber deterioration and thoughtless additions and material incompatibility have taken the sheen off the iconic structure.

Speaking about the redevelopment of the JPN Library Complex, the Lt Governor informed that the facility will be converted into an ultra-modern, world class library. To be developed by NDMC, in the heart of New Delhi, the JPN Library will house more than 30000 books with a seating capacity of 200.

The JPN Library will have a total area of 2250 sq.mtrs over three-storeys of 755 Sq.mtrs each and will be constructed at a cost of `6.81 crore.

While CPWD has provided an amount of `2.16 crore for the Library, the balance amount will be borne by NDMC.

The fully air-conditioned Library building will also have an Auditorium on the ground floor and will be disabled friendly.

On the occasion, chairman NDMC, and other senior officers of NDMC were present.
Former minister, member of the coordination committee of the Jharkhand government and working president of the Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee, Bandhu Tirkey, has said that RJD president Lalu Prasad Yadav, who is an important leader of the Indi Alliance, has assured him that the tribals in Bihar will be protected. The Bihar government will take every possible measure for the conservation and promotion of the prehistoric Rohtasgarh Fort, an important cultural and mythological heritage.

Yadav said that Deputy Chief Minister and Tourism Minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav is very serious about this matter and is committed to not only prompt resolution of the problems of the tribals living in Rohtasgarh Fort but also Bihar but also to improve their economic-social condition and raise their standard of living. Effective measures will also be taken for this.

On the invitation of Yadav, Tirkey today responded to the invitation of Yadav for discussions regarding strengthening the position of the various constituent parties of the India Alliance in Jharkhand, making mutual coordination more effective and also for better performance in all the Lok Sabha seats of Jharkhand met RJD President at his residence in Patna. During the meeting, Tirkey said that all the constituent parties of the ruling coalition in all the 14 Lok Sabha constituencies in Jharkhand are working in better coordination with each other. Tirkey said that the effort of all the parties is to keep the ideology of not only Congress but also India Alliance strong among the general public.

Tirkey said that, during the meeting with Yadav, it was also decided that immediately after the Chhath festival, a team of tribal leaders along with senior officials of Bihar Tourism Department will visit Rohtasgarh to promote development and tourism there. Apart from this, after the visit of the said team, Tirkey will also discuss with the officials of Tourism Department of Bihar Government, after which important decisions will be taken.

Today, during Tirkey's meeting with Yadav, Prof. of Tribal Languages Department of Ranchi University Bande Oraon was also present.
In a shocking incident, the son of a minister of state in Uttar Pradesh government along with his security personnel allegedly assaulted a woman outside the ministers residence in Sitapur.

The incident came to light after a video of the incident went viral on Saturday.

Local officials claimed to be looking into the truth behind the video and so far no case has been registered in this regard.

In the Nagar Kotwali area of Sitapur, a woman was beaten up and pushed by the ministers son and a police security personnel outside the house of the minister.

According to sources, the driver of the minister of state rammed his motorcycle into the door outside the womans house in the Kotwali City area of Sitapur.

The woman, identified as Manju Rathore, alleged before local media persons that when she reached the residence of the minister of state to complain about the incident, the policemen present outside the house and the younger son of the minister started beating her.

Rathore alleged she was beaten outside the house of the minister of state but no one rescued her. The ministers driver Shubham and the policemen present along with his younger son have been accused of beating the woman.

In the viral video, it can be seen that the woman is lying on the ground and some people are climbing on her and beating her, but as soon as they see the mobile camera, the three youths who were beating her leave the woman and stand up. In the second video, a young man and a security guard have been caught on camera beating and pushing a woman.

After the video of this assault went viral on social media, the police conducted a medical examination of the victim and started an investigation.
A 27-year-old Nepali national was arrested for allegedly stabbing to death his friend in Anjana Colony in Gurgram, police said on Sunday.

According to the Gurugram police, the victim was 23-year-old Vinod, also a native of Nepal, while the accused has been identified as Sumit alias Sukhalal.

Vinod was stabbed late Saturday night.

Both were good friends and used to work with a private company in Sector 37, said police.

The investigation revealed that Vinod had called Sumit from Nepal to Gurugram 15 days ago for work.

Sumit, during interrogation, said, though he got him work, Vinod used to bully him.

Vinod used to scold me over minor things due to which I started having a grudge against him. We were drinking Saturday till late night. I took the opportunity and attacked Vinod with a knife near his neck and killed him, Sumit confessed, according to Gururam police.

We are questioning the accused and he will be produced in a city court on Monday, said ACP, Crime, Varun Dahiya.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, on Sunday, said that the double-engine government at the Centre and the state was delivering on the promise of Har haath ko kaam, har haath ko rozgar by creating ample employment opportunities in the state.

Speaking at the mega Rozgar Mela organised at the Madan Mohan Malviya Technological University campus, Yogi said that today Uttar Pradesh abounded with employment opportunities, advising the youths to opt a field of their interest and prepare themselves by engaging in training. He added that the government would guarantee their jobs.

The chief minister also distributed appointment letters to the newly-recruited employed trainees and loans worth Rs 500 crore for self-employment on the occasion. The programme was organised jointly by Uttar Pradesh Skill Development Mission, Labour and Employment department and government ITI.

The chief minister said that when Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya had given the slogan of work for every hand, water for every field, it appeared an impossible target. However, post-2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had turned it into reality. He said the double-engine government was providing employment opportunities to every individual without any discrimination.

Prime Minister Modi has enabled a corruption-free system by opening Jan Dhan accounts, transferring funds through DBT and connecting villages with Digital India. Through Make in India, Startup India, Standup India, Mudra Yojana, Vishwakarma Yojana, employment opportunities and self-employment have been promoted for the youth across the country, he stated.

Yogi said that the youths who came to the Rozgar Mela but were not able to get employment for some reason, would be linked to the PM-CM Internship Scheme under which they would receive training in addition to stipend. He said the government would cover half of the stipend, while the remaining half would be contributed by the relevant industry. He said after receiving training in the industry, the youths would get employment and the society and country would benefit from their energy and talent.

The chief minister congratulated those who got placement through the Rozgar Mela, and told those who were not selected to not to get disappointed. The chief minister remarked, Keep the spirit of hard work, choose the field of your interest, acquire relevant training and the government will ensure your job.

Extending best wishes to everyone for Ashtami, Navami, and Vijayadashami during Shardiya Navratri, the chief minister also offered prayers to Bhagwati and Lord Ram to fulfill the wishes of all.

He said that the state had struggled to attract investments in the past, but today, it had attracted investment proposals of Rs 38 lakh crore. He said these investments held the promise of generating job opportunities for around 1.10 crore young individuals. When the youth gets trained as per industry requirements, they could easily get employment in their own state and district, he added.

Pointing to the remarkable success of the ODOP scheme in Uttar Pradesh, the chief minister said that when the ODOP initiative was launched, many considered traditional craft industries to be outdated. However, the state governments approach of integrating these industries, which are the living heritage of our ancestors, with modern technology, effective branding, and robust marketing, resulted in the creation of 40 lakh jobs within this sector during the lockdown, he added.

Yogi said that during the challenging times of the lockdown, the government ensured the safe return of people from other states to their homes in Uttar Pradesh and also provided them employment opportunities. He said many individuals who returned to Uttar Pradesh had since been contributing to the states economy. States economy has grown in proportion to the number of people who returned, whereas the economies of the states they left were negatively impacted by a corresponding percentage, he said.

The chief minister highlighted that only three crore tourists used to visit the state annually in the past. Presently, this number has surged to 32 crore. There is a need to recognise the potential and impact of this growth, he said.

He emphasised that the tourism sector was a vital source of employment. It generates job opportunities for individuals involved in various aspects of the industry, such as taxis, restaurants, hotels, as well as vendors selling prasad and flower garlands, he said.

Yogi said that 450 homestays had been registered in Ayodhya, while there was a plan to increase this number to over 1,500. Homestays not only offer lodging options but also create employment opportunities. Additionally, young people could find work as tourist guides at these popular destinations, he said.

Furthermore, he noted that collecting flowers and leaves used at religious tourist sites and utilising them to create incense sticks and perfumes can open up new avenues for employment. This process would not only generate jobs but also exemplify the transformation of waste materials into valuable products, representing a form of sustainable and resourceful innovation.

The chief minister expressed the belief that no one is inherently ineligible, and if someone appears to be lacking in certain areas, it likely signifies a need for proper guidance. He underscored the importance of the Rozgar Mela, which involved 125 companies offering around 34,000 job vacancies, as a platform for capable recruitment.

He encouraged the youth to persistently strive for their goals, emphasising that the government is committed to provide them opportunities to progress. In line with this commitment, the state government is actively engaged in equipping the youth with technical competence by distributing tablets and smartphones to two crore youth, he pointed out.

Yogi said that in view of the need of 1.08 lakh plumbers under Jal Jeevan Mission and plumbers for the PNG pipeline, arrangements were being made to provide employment by training them.

Highlighting the growing self-reliance of women, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath acknowledged the increasing leadership roles that daughters are assuming in various fields.

Many women are boosting their household income by participating in initiatives like BC Sakhi, engaging in the readymade garments and carpet industry, while efficiently managing their homes and families, the chief minister said.

The chief minister informed that in 56,000 villages across the state, women are earning between Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000 monthly as BC Sakhi, which further illustrates the economic and social empowerment of women in Uttar Pradesh. Additionally, he also distributed loans from various schemes to six beneficiaries on behalf of Baroda UP Bank for self-employment.

On this occasion, Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Vocational Education and Skill Development Kapil Dev Aggarwal, Gorakhpur MP Ravi Kishan, Kushinagar MP Vijay Dubey, Gorakhpur Mayor Manglesh Srivastava, MLA Shriram Chauhan, Rajesh Tripathi, Mahendrapal Singh, Vipin Singh, Vimlesh Paswan, Pradeep Shukla, MLC harmendra Singh, MMMUT Vice-Chancellor JP Saini were present.
NTPC Coal Mining HQ and NTPC Mining Limited(NML) have provided 50 Body body-worn cameras to Jharkhand Police, Ranchi under its CSR initiative today at Police Control Room, Ranchi.

On the occasion, Animesh Jain, CGM(I/c), NTPC CMHQ and CEO, NML handed over the body-worn camera to Kumar Gaurav, Superintendent of Police (IPS), Traffic police, Ranchi in the august presence of Srinivas K Murthy, General Manager(HR).



After receiving the body-worn cameras from NTPC, SP (Traffic Police), Kumar handed them over to traffic personnel present on the occasion, appreciated the efforts of NTPC in providing the camera, and said that with the intervention of technology, traffic management will be better regulated for improved transparency. He added that the use of body cameras by traffic personnel will aid in recording public interaction and grievances as evidentiary value which can help to resolve disputes.



Jain CGM(I/c), NTPC CMHQ said that NTPC has the presence of coal mining projects in the State of Jharkhand and he reiterated support from NTPC and NML under its various CSR initiatives for the welfare of the society.
The infighting among the senior party leaders was seen in Congress ahead of Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections as the partys state unit vice-president Damodar Singh, burnt the effigies of Congress Rajya Sabha member Digvijay Singh and his son Jaivardhan Singh in Bhopal on Saturday.

It is worth mentioning that recently, a video of PCC Chief kamal nath had went viral in which he was seen asking the ticket seekers to tear the clothes of Digvijay singh and his son.

Damodar Singh accusing Digvijay Singh and his son Jaivardhan Singh of not fielding enough candidates from the Other Backward Class (OBC) despite his repeated requests.

Miffed over the movie, Damodar Singh resigned from the party and said he was fielding his candidates in 15 seats.

Damodar Singh's supporters protested right outside the State Congress headquarters in Bhopal.

He said the father-son duo was attempting to set fire to the Congress by not letting it be a party of the poor and backward people, the report mentioned.

He also accused them of trying to tarnish Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's image.

Damodar Singh, the state president of the party's OBC unit, alleged he had demanded 126 seats for the backward classes but Digvijay Singh gave only 55.

While talking to media persons, he said, Being the state president of the backward class, I demanded 126 tickets for the backward class in Madhya Pradesh, but they (the party) gave only 55 tickets. There is a relative of Digvijaya Singh who is the chairman of the screening committee. When these people rule, how will the backward people get their rights? Those whose population is not even five lakh in the state were given 35 tickets. While the population of backward class people is around 3.5 crore in the state, they are being given only 55 tickets.

Meanwhile, former Congress MLA from Mhow, Antar Singh Darbar, also held a protest.

He said the party fielded Ram Kishore Shukla from the seat who joined the Congress just a month back.

He said Shukla was in the BJP for 20 years. He joined the party 27 days ago and got the ticket.

"Congress has been my mother, that is why I have come back. A few days ago I had a discussion with Antar Singh Darbar. At that time he had said that whoever gets the ticket will work together and make the party win. Right now every seat is important to form the Kamal Nath government in the state. If he (Darbar) can't understand this, then it is a form of protest against the party. Congress party is united," Shukla said, as per the report.

BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan, meanwhile, accused Kamal Nath and Digvijaya Singh of furthering the political careers of their sons.
In a major indication of the widening rift between INDIA allies Samajwadi Party and Congress, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday used Pichhada, Dalit and Alpsankhyak (PDA) plank in a social media post on Lok Sabha polls 2024. However, he did not mention anything about the INDIA bloc.

The two INDIA allies, Congress and SP, are locked in a bitter row over seat sharing for Madhya Pradesh assembly elections. SP chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday triggered another row by reviving the PDA plank. SP is the only significant ally of INDIA bloc in Uttar Pradesh and PDA is the electoral plank floated by Akhilesh Yadav.

Days after taking jibes at the Congress, Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday shared a photo on X (formerly Twitter) of an SP worker whose back is painted in the partys trademark red and green colour and carries a message in Hindi.

Mission 2024. May Netaji (late Mulayam Singh Yadav) remain immortal. PDA will ensure that Akhilesh Yadav wins the election this time. Akhilesh Yadav will ensure the poor get justice, the message on the back of the SP worker read.

Akhilesh Yadav shared the photo with the caption, The 2024 polls will be (the) PDAs revolution.

The SP supremo has reiterated that his partys strategy is to focus on backwards, Dalits and minorities and that the PDA will defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Yadavs PDA reference came for the second consecutive day as he mentioned it on Saturday as well, while attending a party cadre training camp -- Lok Jagran Abhiyan -- at Shahjahanpur. The former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh said the PDA was formed first and the INDIA block was formed later on and that while the grand opposition alliance remains, the SPs strategy is of PDA.

The relation between the SP and the Congress has been strained lately with Yadav Yadav being dissatisfied over the failure to achieve a seat-sharing formula for the Madhya Pradesh assembly elections. The SP was hoping to strike up an alliance to topple the BJP government in the state. However, nothing of that sort has happened and now, Akhilesh Yadav has termed it as a betrayal and has been publicly attacking INDIA ally Congress.

On Saturday, the SP chief said that the Congress should inform his side straight that they dont need samajwadis.

I promise you that we will not talk about alliance even once and will begin preparation to defeat the BJP on our own, he said, adding that Congress should refrain from conspiring and betraying the SP.

Akhilesh Yadav also responded to former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh and state Congress president Kamal Naths Akhilesh-Vakihilesh remark sarcastically saying that the latters name carries kamal lotus, the official symbol of BJP.

The continuing tension between the SP and the Congress raises a question mark over the INDIA blocs future, months before the crucial 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Meanwhile, the SP announced its third list of two candidates. The party has so far announced 33 candidates for the November 17 polls to the 230-member Madhya Pradesh assembly. The Congress has announced its candidates for 229 seats.
The three-lane Sarai Kale Khan flyover was opened for traffic on Sunday, facilitating better connectivity between Central, East and Southeast Delhi.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who inaugurated the flyover, congratulated and thanked everyone involved in its construction including PWD officials, engineers, contractors, agencies, and workers.

Earlier, there used to be jams at T-junction, now people will not have to bother with it with the construction of this flyover. This flyover is 620 metres long. We sanctioned Rs 66 crore for this project, and completed it in Rs 50 crore only. Just as every other project of the Delhi government, we saved the money on this as well, he added.

With the construction of the DND extension, Ashram Underpass and now this flyover, people can travel without any interruptions. Earlier there used to be heavy traffic jams at Ashram. There are no traffic lights on the entire ring road area within Delhi, be it the area of ITO, Chandgi Ram, Ashram, Moolchand, and Dhaula Kuan, he added.

As our next step, were studying every main point of traffic jams in Delhi. Based on this study, well construct the U-turns, flyovers, etc as per the need to make Delhi traffic jams-free, he added.

Citing facts and figures related to development of flyovers and underpasses, he said since 1947 till now, 102 flyovers and underpasses have been constructed in the national capital.

Among these, 30 have been constructed by the AAP government in only eight years. Whats been done in 75 years, 30 per cent of this has been achieved in just eight years by the AAP government. This shows how rapidly Delhi is being developed. In the coming times, 25 more flyovers are being constructed. Nine flyovers are under-construction and another 16 are at the stage of approval. This will lead the tally to more than 125, and 50 per cent of this will be developed by the AAP government in 8-10 years, he noted.

Citing the example of the Rani Jhansi flyover which was built at Rs 1,500 crore and had an initial cost of Rs 300-400 crore, the chief minister stated that any governmental development work in the country doesnt complete without cost escalation.

In Delhi, we complete all the work on time and save money in the process. In the construction of 30 flyovers in our government, we saved Rs 557 crore. It should be in the Guinness Book that there is a government in Delhi, India, that saves money on every task with complete honesty. Just as we save money in our homes, we work with complete honesty in the government and save every single penny, he added. He said PWD stands for corruption across the country, but in Delhi, it is synonymous with honesty.

Our PWD department is saving money on every project. The whole of Delhi is witnessing how many obstacles we face in our work every day. There is a great effort to stop our work, but despite all these obstacles, we continue to work. We have always said that no matter how many obstacles are in the way, I will not let your work stop, even if the work slows down, he assured.

PWD Minister Atishi said Kejriwal has completely transformed the area between Sarai Kale Khan and Ashram. Earlier, commuting via Ashram meant that we had to face hours of traffic jams. This also impacted the connecting areas with traffic as people tried to take different routes to avoid jams in the Sarai Kale Khan and Ashram areas, he added.

She added that this flyover has not only made Sarai Kale Khan and Ashram traffic jam-free but now there will be no traffic signal between the Chandgi Ram Akhada area and Ashram. Now this 16-km stretch on Ring Road is completely signal-free, Atishi added.
Sen. Daines' approach to public lands is deeply concerning. While hes withheld real support of the popular made-in-Montana Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act, which 84% of Montanans support, hes kept pushing his bill to eliminate wilderness study area protections, which has the backing of just 6% of Montanans.

While the former bill has been hashed out over 15 years by snowmobilers, mountain bikers, conservation groups, business leaders, and more, Daines anti-WSA bill comes straight from Washington, and the Montana public has never had a real chance to weigh in on it. That needs to change. Our officials should be supporting legislation that supports Montanans.

Wilderness Study Areas provide various habitats and some of the last wild places. Water permitting in these 3 Wilderness Study Areas (WSAs) has been untested in academic study to date. Let these wild places be wild until ecological rigor can be ascertained. If these WSAs are declassified before being studied, this research opportunity will be gone forever.

Tommy Rodengen

Billings
Now, when both the ruling BJP and COngress have declared their candidates from Bhopal South-West assembly constituency, it has become clear that there would be a tough contest in both the parties.

A section of the political observers feel that BJPs Bhagwandas Sabnani might win the seat as this has been the stronghold of the saffron party for decades.

In the last assembly elections, there was huge anti-incumabncy against the then Minister Uma Shankar Gupta, but even then he was fielded from here and the party lost to Congress PC Sharma. This time, Congress has fielded the same candidate while the BJP did not show confidence in Gupta. However, the party leadership is facing strong opposition for not fielding Gupta from here. Gupta supporters for the past two days making a lot of commotion at the State BJP headquarters and the residence of State BJP president VD Sharma.

It is worth mentioning here that considering this seat as sure win several party leaders including Gupta and Rahul Kothari had been fielding for long. Sabnani has contested corporators election and in 2008 he had quit party in support of former chief minister Uma Bharti.

Among the top and heavyweight contenders pressing their claims and trying all sorts of power making and breaking equations Former minister Umashankar Gupta, state minister Rahul Kothari and district president Sumit Pachauri were contenders for this seat.

The state capital has seven constituency seats and this time it became difficult for Congress and BJP to field candidates due to close contests in the last state assembly in the state in which BJP failed to garner majority and independent and BSP candidates proved kingmaker.

Sabnani will face Congress candidate PC Sharma. With this, the picture of BJP-Congress candidates in all seven assemblies of Bhopal district became clear.

Sabnani getting the ticket is like the advantage of the third in a fight between two. The seat was on hold because of three contenders. Sabnani was given the ticket under a formula.

BJP has tried to win over the Sindhi dominated Huzur assembly constituency. The boundaries of Huzur and South-West assembly constituencies are adjacent.

The BJP has made Rameshwar Sharma its candidate. Naresh Gyanchandani is in the fray from Congress. In the last elections, Naresh had given a tough fight to Rameshwar in Bairagarh area.

By giving ticket to Sabnani, BJP has played a gamble to prevent the split of its traditional voters in Bairagarh.

An international conference of Sindhi society was held in Bhopal in March under the leadership of Sabnani. In which RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat also participated. Since then it was believed that Sabnani would get the ticket.
Two girls were kidnapped on the pretext of Kanya Bhoj outside the curfew Mata Mandir near the police check post; video of two accused women taking girls has been found and made viral by police for investigation.

The victim women whose daughters have been kidnaped said that the accused came to her and asked that they have organized Kanya Bhoj (ritual feast for girls) and send her daughters with them. After having food they will be dropped back. After this both the women left with the girls.

The incident occurred around 10 am on Saturday morning when the girls did not return till night, the family reached the police station and lodged a complaint. Five police teams are searching the girls. Raids were also conducted at some places on Sunday.

During the investigation of the case, CCTV footage was obtained by the police. In which a woman is seen carrying a small girl whereas another woman present at a short distance held the hand of the elder girl.

The girls' father Mukesh Adivasi told that they are residents of Ratlam and came to Bhopal a month ago to work as a labourer. Presently living in Barela village of Lalghati. He have four children, elder daughter Kajal (8 years), son Sandeep (5 years), Sona (3 years) and Deepawali (11 months). My wife Lakshmi and sister have been begging for several days near the temple at Peergate. They used to get food there during festivals.

Like everyday, on Saturday morning the wife and sister went to the temple with Kajal and Diwali. It was around 10 in the morning when two women approached and said that Navratri is going on. We have to organize a feast at home. After feeding them, we will leave them here. My wife trusted and agreed to leave both the girls with them.

Police have registered a case on the complaint of family members late on Saturday night. The location of the women has been found in CCTV cameras till Retghat. Theri location beyond here has not been found. However, the police raided a flat in Platinum Plaza on Sunday morning in search of the girls. At present no trace of the girls has been found here.

DCP Riyaz Iqbal said that five teams including police station and crime branch are busy in search of innocent girls.
Aid deliveries have begun moving into the besieged Gaza Strip, two weeks after the militant group Hamas rampaged through southern Israel and Israel responded with airstrikes.

Israel says Hamas has freed two American hostages who had been held in Gaza since the war began Oct. 7. Israeli airstrikes continued to hit southern Gaza, an area swollen by civilians who fled there from the north on Israeli instructions. Israel's military spokesman said the country is stepping up its attacks, coming amid growing expectations of a ground offensive.

The war, in its 16th day Sunday, is the deadliest of five Gaza wars for both sides. The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said Saturday that the death toll has reached 4,385, while 13,561 people have been wounded.

More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, mostly in the initial attack on Oct. 7 when Hamas militants stormed into Israel. In addition, 203 people were believed captured by Hamas during the incursion and taken into Gaza, the Israeli military has said.

Currently:

1. The father of freed American teenage hostage Natalie Raanan, who spoke with President Joe Biden on Saturday, says she's doing well after her release by Hamas.

2. Tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators are marching in London, Barcelona, Los Angeles and other cities.

3. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is ordering further defenses for U.S. Troops as tensions in the Middle East continue to grow.

4. A tent camp for displaced Palestinians in southern Gaza reawakens old traumas.

Here's what's happening in the latest Israel-Hamas war:

U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY ORDERS MORE DEFENSE SYSTEMS IN MIDDLE EAST

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced late Saturday he was sending additional air defense systems to the Middle East as well as putting more troops on prepare-to-deploy orders.

Austin said the U.S. Would be delivering a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, battery along with additional Patriot missile defense system batteries to locations throughout the region to increase force protection for U.S. Troops. Bases in Iraq and Syria have been repeatedly targeted by drones in the days since hundreds were killed in a hospital blast in Gaza, and the destroyer USS Carney intercepted land attack cruise missiles in the Red Sea shot from Yemen on Thursday.

Austin said he had also placed additional forces on prepare-to-deploy orders, part of prudent contingency planning as the U.S. And others brace for the potential of a wider regional conflict and as Israel prepares to launch a ground assault into Gaza. He said he gave the orders after detailed discussions with President Joe Biden on the recent escalations by Iran and its proxy forces across the region.

ISRAEL STRIKES UNDERGROUND COMPOUND AT WEST BANK MOSQUE, MILITARY SAYS

Israeli Defense Forces said a military aircraft launched a strike early Sunday on the Al-Ansar mosque at the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.

The IDF said via X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants had been using an underground terror route beneath the mosque. One Palestinian was killed in the shelling, Palestinian Red Crescent said.

Tensions have risen in the West Bank, where dozens of Palestinians have been killed in clashes with Israeli troops, arrest raids and attacks by Jewish settlers.

ITALIAN PREMIER GOES TO ISRAEL

ROME  Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni has made a trip to Israel to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, her office said.

The meeting Saturday came after Meloni participated in a summit in Cairo focused on ways to de-escalate the raging Israel-Hamas war.

Meloni's office said that in her meeting she reiterated the right of Israel to defend itself under international law and to live in peace while also underlining "the importance of guaranteeing humanitarian access to Gaza and a prospect of peace for the region.'

Her office said she brought a message of solidary and Italy's closeness following Hamas' unprecedented attack on Oct. 7.

PRESIDENT BIDEN SPEAKS WITH 2 FREED HOSTAGES

WASHINGTON  President Joe Biden has spoken on the phone with two freed Americans who had been held hostage by Hamas in Gaza.

Judith Raanan and her 17-year-old daughter, Natalie, were released Friday. It was the first such hostage release from among the roughly 200 people the militant group abducted from Israel during its Oct. 7 rampage.

Video of Biden speaking with them by phone was posted Saturday on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter. He told the mother and daughter that he was glad they had been released.

We're going to get them all out, God willing, he said.

Natalie thanked Biden for his services to Israel. Judith said they are in good health.

Hamas said it released the mother and daughter for humanitarian reasons in an agreement with the Qatari government.

Family members have said Judith and Natalie had been on a trip from their home in the Chicago suburb of Evanston to Israel to celebrate Judith's mother's birthday and the Jewish holidays.
Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan and his son Abdullah Azam were moved to different jails early Sunday, officials said.

A Rampur court on Wednesday convicted Khan, his wife Tazeen Fatima and son in a 2019 fake birth certificate case, and sentenced them to seven years in jail. They were lodged at Rampur district jail.

Khan has been shifted to Sitapur district jail, and his son was taken to Hardoi district jail, they said.

Director General of Prisons S N Sabat told PTI that the father-son duo was taken to the jails in separate police vehicles with adequate security cover.

Both of them stepped out of Rampur jail at around 4:40 am and reached their destinations at around 9 am, officials said.

While leaving Rampur jail, Khan told reporters that "anything" could happen to him and his son and they could be killed in an encounter.

When police personnel asked Khan to sit in the middle of the rear seat of the SUV in which he was being taken to Sitapur jail, the SP leader urged them to let him take the window seat.

"I will not be able to sit in the middle," Khan was heard telling police citing back-related problems. The personnel obliged.

Khan was earlier lodged at Sitapur jail for almost two years in multiple cases before being released in May 2022, after getting bail from the Supreme Court.
Choate Investment Advisors grew its position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG  Free Report) by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 99,501 shares of the companys stock after buying an additional 7,385 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble accounts for 0.6% of Choate Investment Advisors holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Choate Investment Advisors holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $15,098,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PG. Tevis Investment Management lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 0.5% during the first quarter. Tevis Investment Management now owns 12,260 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,823,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Eagle Strategies LLC lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 3,526 shares of the companys stock valued at $524,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. WealthTrust Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 3.4% in the first quarter. WealthTrust Asset Management LLC now owns 1,990 shares of the companys stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Exeter Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.4% during the first quarter. Exeter Financial LLC now owns 15,144 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,286,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diligent Investors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.4% during the first quarter. Diligent Investors LLC now owns 16,084 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,391,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.43% of the companys stock.

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Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,629 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.19, for a total transaction of $1,985,152.51. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,051 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,051,486.69. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,629 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.19, for a total value of $1,985,152.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,051,486.69. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Matthew W. Janzaruk sold 33,022 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.26, for a total transaction of $5,160,017.72. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $138,758.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 108,760 shares of company stock worth $16,835,914. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

NYSE PG opened at $148.05 on Friday. The businesss fifty day moving average is $150.45 and its 200 day moving average is $151.08. The Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $126.48 and a fifty-two week high of $158.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. The company has a market capitalization of $348.94 billion, a PE ratio of 24.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.44.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 18th. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.12. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.49% and a net margin of 18.30%. The company had revenue of $21.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.57 EPS. The firms revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 20th will be given a dividend of $0.9407 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 19th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.54%. Procter & Gambles payout ratio is 61.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. DZ Bank upgraded Procter & Gamble from a sell rating to a hold rating and set a $155.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, July 31st. William Blair started coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Friday, September 8th. They set a market perform rating for the company. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $165.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research report on Monday, July 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $153.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 12th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $163.84.

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Procter & Gamble Profile

(Free Report)

The Procter & Gamble Company provides branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. It operates through five segments: Beauty; Grooming; Health Care; Fabric & Home Care; and Baby, Feminine & Family Care. The Beauty segment offers conditioners, shampoos, styling aids, and treatments under the Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essences, Pantene, and Rejoice brands; and antiperspirants and deodorants, personal cleansing, and skin care products under the Olay, Old Spice, Safeguard, Secret, and SK-II brands.

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Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY  Free Report) had its target price cut by Citigroup from $37.00 to $35.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the financial services providers stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on ALLY. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Ally Financial from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, September 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Ally Financial from $31.00 to $27.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Ally Financial from $32.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Monday, October 2nd. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Ally Financial from an outperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research note on Thursday, August 24th. Finally, TheStreet downgraded shares of Ally Financial from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research note on Friday, October 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $29.90.

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Ally Financial Stock Performance

Shares of ALLY stock opened at $24.05 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $26.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.07. The company has a market cap of $7.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.57 and a beta of 1.34. Ally Financial has a 12 month low of $21.58 and a 12 month high of $35.78.

Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY  Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. Ally Financial had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 11.36%. The companys revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.12 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Ally Financial will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ally Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 31st. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.99%. Ally Financials dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.79%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ally Financial

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in Ally Financial in the first quarter valued at about $217,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ally Financial by 15.2% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,860 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $124,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its position in Ally Financial by 136.9% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 46,963 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,268,000 after purchasing an additional 27,141 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ally Financial by 1.1% in the first quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 48,409 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,234,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the period. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB acquired a new stake in Ally Financial in the second quarter valued at about $2,228,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.04% of the companys stock.

Ally Financial Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Ally Financial Inc, a digital financial-services company, provides various digital financial products and services to consumer, commercial, and corporate customers primarily in the United States and Canada. It operates through Automotive Finance Operations, Insurance Operations, Mortgage Finance Operations, and Corporate Finance Operations segments.

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Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC  Free Report) by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,266 shares of the business services providers stock after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.s holdings in Omnicom Group were worth $501,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in OMC. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its holdings in Omnicom Group by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 402,091 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $37,933,000 after buying an additional 5,071 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in Omnicom Group by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 12,011 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $1,045,000 after buying an additional 1,119 shares in the last quarter. Moore Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Omnicom Group by 388.6% in the 1st quarter. Moore Capital Management LP now owns 33,858 shares of the business services providers stock worth $3,194,000 after purchasing an additional 26,929 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of Omnicom Group by 68.7% in the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 12,670 shares of the business services providers stock worth $1,213,000 after purchasing an additional 5,161 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Counselors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Omnicom Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $260,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.71% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup dropped their target price on Omnicom Group from $113.00 to $112.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Omnicom Group in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a hold rating for the company. Macquarie dropped their target price on Omnicom Group from $96.00 to $82.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Omnicom Group from $100.00 to $90.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Omnicom Group from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Omnicom Group has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $93.25.

Omnicom Group Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE OMC opened at $73.94 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $86.23. The firm has a market cap of $14.63 billion, a PE ratio of 10.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.86. Omnicom Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $67.84 and a twelve month high of $99.23.

Omnicom Group (NYSE:OMC  Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 17th. The business services provider reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.55 billion. Omnicom Group had a return on equity of 40.01% and a net margin of 9.62%. Omnicom Groups revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.77 EPS. Analysts expect that Omnicom Group Inc. will post 7.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Omnicom Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 21st were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 20th. Omnicom Groups dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.70%.

Insider Transactions at Omnicom Group

In other news, Director Linda Johnson Rice sold 467 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.24, for a total value of $37,472.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,591 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $769,581.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the companys stock.

Omnicom Group Profile

(Free Report)

Omnicom Group Inc, together with its subsidiaries, offers advertising, marketing, and corporate communications services. It provides a range of services in the areas of advertising and media, precision marketing, commerce and brand consulting, experiential, execution and support, public relations, and healthcare.

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Shares of HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE:HSBC  Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of Moderate Buy from the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $291.50.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on HSBC shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of HSBC from GBX 800 ($9.77) to GBX 825 ($10.08) in a research report on Monday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of HSBC from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, August 7th. Berenberg Bank raised their price target on shares of HSBC from GBX 780 ($9.53) to GBX 820 ($10.02) in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of HSBC from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of HSBC from GBX 675 ($8.24) to GBX 722 ($8.82) in a research report on Tuesday, August 1st.

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Institutional Trading of HSBC

HSBC Stock Down 3.6 %

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich lifted its stake in HSBC by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich now owns 6,060 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 765 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings in HSBC by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 7,844 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 794 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its holdings in HSBC by 33.9% in the 3rd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 19,995 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $789,000 after acquiring an additional 5,067 shares during the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group grew its holdings in HSBC by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 11,310 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $446,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its holdings in HSBC by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 48,356 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,908,000 after acquiring an additional 4,794 shares during the last quarter. 1.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Shares of HSBC stock opened at $37.69 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firms 50-day moving average is $38.71 and its 200-day moving average is $38.55. The stock has a market cap of $151.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.36, a PEG ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 0.59. HSBC has a 52-week low of $25.49 and a 52-week high of $42.47.

HSBC (NYSE:HSBC  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $16.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $15.87 billion. HSBC had a net margin of 26.43% and a return on equity of 12.19%. Sell-side analysts predict that HSBC will post 7.1 EPS for the current year.

HSBC Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 11th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.31%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 10th. HSBCs payout ratio is 33.39%.

HSBC Company Profile

(Get Free Report

HSBC Holdings plc provides banking and financial services worldwide. The company operates through Wealth and Personal Banking, Commercial Banking, and Global Banking and Markets segments. The Wealth and Personal Banking segment offers retail banking and wealth products, including current and savings accounts, mortgages and personal loans, credit and debit cards, and local and international payment services; and wealth management services comprising insurance and investment products, global asset management services, investment management, and private wealth solutions.

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Cloudflare, Inc. (NYSE:NET  Get Free Report) CFO Thomas J. Seifert sold 15,000 shares of Cloudflare stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.03, for a total transaction of $945,450.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 253,352 shares of the companys stock, valued at $15,968,776.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Cloudflare Stock Down 5.4 %

NYSE:NET opened at $59.38 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $19.85 billion, a PE ratio of -88.63 and a beta of 0.95. Cloudflare, Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.37 and a twelve month high of $76.07. The company has a current ratio of 3.84, a quick ratio of 3.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The companys 50 day moving average is $62.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.97.

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Cloudflare (NYSE:NET  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $308.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $305.63 million. Cloudflare had a negative return on equity of 21.42% and a negative net margin of 19.61%. Analysts anticipate that Cloudflare, Inc. will post -0.34 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Cloudflare

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NET. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cloudflare by 48.6% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,903 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,066,000 after acquiring an additional 2,912 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cloudflare in the 1st quarter valued at $1,950,000. Synovus Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of Cloudflare in the 1st quarter valued at $439,000. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cloudflare by 16.8% in the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 21,811 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,611,000 after purchasing an additional 3,140 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Cloudflare by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 181,514 shares of the companys stock valued at $21,732,000 after purchasing an additional 17,681 shares during the period. 73.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

A number of research firms recently commented on NET. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Cloudflare from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a sell rating in a research note on Friday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an equal weight rating and set a $43.00 price target on shares of Cloudflare in a research note on Monday, August 7th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of Cloudflare from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, August 4th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Cloudflare from $48.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, August 29th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered shares of Cloudflare from a neutral rating to a sell rating and set a $50.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, August 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $63.92.

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About Cloudflare

(Get Free Report)

CloudFlare, Inc operates as a cloud services provider that delivers a range of services to businesses worldwide. The company provides an integrated cloud-based security solution to secure a range of combination of platforms, including public cloud, private cloud, on-premise, software-as-a-service applications, and IoT devices; and website and application security products comprising web application firewall, bot management, distributed denial of service, API gateways, SSL/TLS encryption, secure origin connection, and rate limiting products.

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M&G Investment Management Ltd. decreased its holdings in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW  Free Report) by 5.4% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 232,207 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock after selling 13,227 shares during the quarter. M&G Investment Management Ltd.s holdings in Highwoods Properties were worth $5,573,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 34.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 62,902 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $1,504,000 after buying an additional 16,227 shares during the last quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Highwoods Properties in the 1st quarter worth $454,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 17.7% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 30,572 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $709,000 after buying an additional 4,598 shares during the last quarter. Inceptionr LLC purchased a new position in shares of Highwoods Properties in the 1st quarter worth $868,000. Finally, Albert D Mason Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Highwoods Properties in the 2nd quarter worth $215,000. 96.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Highwoods Properties Price Performance

NYSE HIW opened at $18.44 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.95 billion, a PE ratio of 12.81 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.20. The businesss fifty day moving average is $21.73 and its 200 day moving average is $22.59. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.44 and a fifty-two week high of $31.88.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 17th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.85%. Highwoods Propertiess dividend payout ratio is presently 138.89%.

HIW has been the topic of a number of research reports. Mizuho dropped their price target on Highwoods Properties from $31.00 to $24.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup lifted their target price on Highwoods Properties from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an equal weight rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Highwoods Properties in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Highwoods Properties from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and lowered their target price for the company from $27.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 30th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Highwoods Properties in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $25.83.

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Highwoods Properties Company Profile

(Free Report)

Highwoods Properties, Inc, headquartered in Raleigh, is a publicly-traded (NYSE:HIW) real estate investment trust (REIT) and a member of the S&P MidCap 400 Index. The Company is a fully-integrated office REIT that owns, develops, acquires, leases and manages properties primarily in the best business districts (BBDs) of Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Nashville, Orlando, Raleigh, Richmond and Tampa.

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TWIN FALLS  Officials from the Idaho State Department of Agriculture are conducting post-survey treatments to determine the effectiveness of the initial 10-day quagga mussel treatment after larvae and an adult muscle were found in a stretch of the Snake River.

The surveys will likely take to the end of the month, said Lloyd Knight, assistant director for the ISDA.

We are watching and waiting to see what well see, Knight said.

One reason for optimism is the mussel that was discovered in 16 feet of water near Shoshone Falls is dead, Knight said, along with other non-quagga mussels in the river.

But even if sampling over the next two weeks comes up clean, he said the ISDA will continue very regular and relatively intense monitoring of the six-mile section of the river from Centennial Park to the Twin Falls Dam over the next handful of years to check for signs of quagga mussels.

If the treatment worked as anticipated, Knight expects that water samples could show non-viable veligers. Even if that is the case, the stretch of river would be considered positive for quagga mussels, and it would take five years worth of negative test results for the stretch of water to be considered mussel-free.

Knight is now tasked with developing a plan that would allow the public access to the river, but have a safeguard in place that would ensure decontamination of watercraft to make sure the invasive mussels dont spread.

Such a plan, which Knight hopes to be in place in a few weeks, could require the help of law enforcement and Idaho Department of Fish and Game officers.

If mussels were to gain a foothold in Idahos waterways, officials warn it could cost upwards of $100 million a year to deal with them as they clog pipes and other infrastructure while wreaking havoc on the ecosystem.

Adult mussels dont normally reproduce in water below 59 degrees, about the temperature of the river last week when Knight was on the river.

At some point, any mussels that are left that survived the treatment wont be viable because of water temperature, he said.

Applying the treatment, which included two 96-hour treatments of a copper-based product from the stretch of river from Shoshone Falls to Pillar Falls due to a plume of larvae discovered there, along with treatments at Twin Falls and from Pillar Falls to Centennial Park, went as planned, Knight said.

The treatment ended Friday, but additional spot treatments might be required later on to kill the mussels, officials said at an Oct. 1 briefing at Twin Falls City Hall.

ISDA staff, a contractor that applied the molluscicide, as well as chemists for the company that manufactures the product, called Natrix, were on hand during the treatment.

All three legs of the stool were working very hard together, Knight said.

The target was to get the treatment at 1 part per million, he said, and we made sure calculations were correct and accurate.

Concentrations of the copper-based treatment are at low-level background levels at the Idaho Highway 46 bridge near Gooding, Knight said.

He said that it is important that people who take boats into the water in non-closed areas still clean, drain and dry their watercraft to prevent possible spread of the mussel.

Effects on the river

ISDA Director Chanel Tewalt has warned the public that there would be downsides to the treatment, including fish and plant kill.

It might take time, but the river will recover, officials say.

We expect the impacts to be temporary, Knight said, and expect the river to bounce back to what it was.

Fish & Game spokesman Terry Thompson agreed, saying, Rivers are resilient.

Thousands of fish have died, including about 40 hatchery-raised sturgeon.

The overwhelming majority of dead fish, however, have been found are non-game fish including largescale suckers, common carp and northern pikeminnow, he said.

Largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, perch and panfish are the common game fish found in the river.

Fish & Game will soon conduct an electrofishing survey which will help determine the extent of fish kill, comparing the current fish population to pre-treatment levels.

Many dead fish are not being taken from the river to help provide nutrients as they decompose.

While we are sensitive to the deaths, Thompson said, natural decomposition will provide nutrients that will help the river recovery.

Thompson said the copper-based treatment doesnt poison fish. Instead, it interferes with how the fish breathe, essentially suffocating the fish.

The level of Natrix in the water is now below a lethal level for fish, Thompson said.

If people observe dead sturgeon in the river, they are asked to notify Fish & Game, so they can collect data.

Fish & Game will develop a plan to re-populate the fishery, possibly through stocking, relocation, or relying on natural migration upstream, Thompson said.
Mitsubishi Electric (OTCMKTS:MIELF  Get Free Report) is one of 91 publicly-traded companies in the Electrical Equipment & Parts industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its peers? We will compare Mitsubishi Electric to similar companies based on the strength of its valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends, earnings and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Mitsubishi Electric and its peers net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

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Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Mitsubishi Electric N/A N/A N/A Mitsubishi Electric Competitors -28.21% -192.50% -5.37%

Dividends

Mitsubishi Electric pays an annual dividend of $0.27 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Mitsubishi Electric pays out 32.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, Electrical Equipment & Parts companies pay a dividend yield of 6.5% and pay out 69.3% of their earnings in the form of a dividend.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

Earnings and Valuation

0.2% of Mitsubishi Electric shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 23.3% of shares of all Electrical Equipment & Parts companies are owned by institutional investors. 37.6% of shares of all Electrical Equipment & Parts companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

This table compares Mitsubishi Electric and its peers revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Gross Revenue Net Income Price/Earnings Ratio Mitsubishi Electric N/A N/A 14.06 Mitsubishi Electric Competitors $353.63 million -$12.41 million 255.21

Mitsubishi Electrics peers have higher revenue, but lower earnings than Mitsubishi Electric. Mitsubishi Electric is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Risk and Volatility

Mitsubishi Electric has a beta of 0.7, suggesting that its share price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Mitsubishi Electrics peers have a beta of 1.00, suggesting that their average share price is 0% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Mitsubishi Electric and its peers, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Mitsubishi Electric 0 0 0 0 N/A Mitsubishi Electric Competitors 222 502 709 16 2.36

As a group, Electrical Equipment & Parts companies have a potential upside of 122.32%. Given Mitsubishi Electrics peers higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Mitsubishi Electric has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.

Summary

Mitsubishi Electric peers beat Mitsubishi Electric on 7 of the 11 factors compared.

About Mitsubishi Electric

(Get Free Report)

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation develops, manufactures, distributes, and sells electrical and electronic equipment worldwide. The company operates through five segments: Infrastructure, Industry Mobility, Life, Business Platform, and Other Businesses. It offers turbine generators, nuclear power plant and power electronics equipment, motors, transformers, circuit breakers, gas insulated switchgears, switch controls, surveillance-system control and security systems, transmission and distribution ICT systems, large display devices, locomotive and rolling stock electrical equipment, wireless and wired communications systems, network camera systems, elevators, escalators, building security and management systems, and others. The company also provides programmable logic controllers, inverters, servomotors, hoists, magnetic switches, circuit breakers, time and power meters, uninterruptible power supply, industrial fans, computerized numerical controllers, electrical-discharge and laser processing machines, industrial robots, clutches, automotive electrical equipment, electric powertrain systems, car electronics and mechatronics, and others. In addition, it offers satellite communications and radar equipment, satellites, antennas, missile and fire control systems, broadcasting and information systems equipment, network security systems, and systems integration products; and power modules, and power modules, optical and LCD devices, and others. Further, the company provides air conditioners, chillers, showcases, compressors, refrigeration units, air-to-water heat pump boilers, ventilators, hot water supply systems, IH cooking heaters, LED bulbs, indoor lighting, LCD televisions, refrigerators, electric fans, dehumidifiers, air purifiers, vacuum cleaners, jar rice cookers, microwave ovens, and others. Additionally, it offers procurement, logistics, real estate, advertising, finance, and other services. The company was incorporated in 1921 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

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Wealthspire Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Archer Aviation Inc. (NYSE:ACHR  Free Report) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 36,293 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $150,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. acquired a new position in Archer Aviation during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. DNB Asset Management AS grew its holdings in Archer Aviation by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 432,137 shares of the companys stock worth $1,780,000 after acquiring an additional 30,787 shares in the last quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in Archer Aviation by 23.0% during the 1st quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 214,000 shares of the companys stock worth $591,000 after acquiring an additional 40,000 shares in the last quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC acquired a new position in Archer Aviation during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $136,000. Finally, DnB Asset Management AS grew its holdings in Archer Aviation by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 432,137 shares of the companys stock worth $1,780,000 after acquiring an additional 30,787 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.07% of the companys stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Archer Aviation from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, August 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Archer Aviation from $6.00 to $8.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, August 11th. Finally, Benchmark restated a buy rating and issued a $12.00 target price on shares of Archer Aviation in a report on Friday, August 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $8.30.

Archer Aviation Trading Down 4.9 %

Shares of Archer Aviation stock opened at $4.87 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.39. Archer Aviation Inc. has a 12-month low of $1.62 and a 12-month high of $7.49. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a market cap of $1.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.48 and a beta of 2.54.

Archer Aviation (NYSE:ACHR  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 10th. The company reported ($0.73) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.43) by ($0.30). On average, equities analysts forecast that Archer Aviation Inc. will post -1.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Archer Aviation

In related news, COO Thomas Paul Muniz sold 85,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Monday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.20, for a total value of $612,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 1,173,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,446,334.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder N.V. Stellantis acquired 12,313,234 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Monday, October 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $5.68 per share, for a total transaction of $69,939,169.12. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 31,048,137 shares in the company, valued at $176,353,418.16. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Thomas Paul Muniz sold 85,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Monday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.20, for a total transaction of $612,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 1,173,102 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $8,446,334.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 27.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Archer Aviation Profile

(Free Report)

Archer Aviation Inc, an urban air mobility company, engages in designs, develops, manufactures, and operates electric vertical takeoff and landing aircrafts to carry passengers. The company was formerly known as Atlas Crest Investment Corp. and changed its name to Archer Aviation Inc Archer Aviation Inc was incorporated in 2018 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.

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Wealthspire Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC  Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,200 shares of the financial services providers stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MMC. Nilsine Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.8% during the second quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 6,386 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,201,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.0% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 6,556 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,092,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 8.0% in the first quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 934 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $156,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Heron Financial Group LLC increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 5.0% in the first quarter. Heron Financial Group LLC now owns 1,479 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $246,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.5% in the first quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 13,433 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $2,237,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.64% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on MMC shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 11th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $196.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Friday, October 6th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $201.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $182.00 to $197.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 6th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $200.21.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

MMC opened at $187.67 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $193.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $185.40. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $150.78 and a 12-month high of $199.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.04, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.93.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.18. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 34.01% and a net margin of 15.61%. The firm had revenue of $5.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $5.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.18 EPS. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 7.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 5th. Marsh & McLennan Companiess dividend payout ratio is presently 40.92%.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 12,976 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.20, for a total transaction of $2,493,987.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,023,707. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 12,976 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.20, for a total transaction of $2,493,987.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 20,935 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $4,023,707. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 3,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.90, for a total value of $584,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 63,012 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $12,281,038.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Profile

(Free Report)

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc, a professional services company, provides advice and solutions to clients in the areas of risk, strategy, and people worldwide. It operates in two segments, Risk and Insurance Services, and Consulting. The Risk and Insurance Services segment offers risk management services, such as risk advice, risk transfer, and risk control and mitigation solutions, as well as insurance and reinsurance broking, strategic advisory services, and analytics solutions; and insurance program management services.

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The vast majority of Palestinians are not Hamas.00:47 00:55

President Joe Bidens approach to the ongoing violence in Israel and Palestine is fueling mounting tensions at the U.S. government agency most involved in foreign policy: the State Department.

Officials told HuffPost that Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his most senior advisers are overlooking widespread internal frustration. Some department staff said they feel as if Blinken and his team are uninterested in their own experts advice as they focus on supporting Israels expanding operation in Gaza, where the Palestinian militant group Hamas is based.

Theres basically a mutiny brewing within State at all levels, one State Department official said.

Since Hamas Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel, fighting in the region has killed more than 4,000 people, and Israel is preparing a ground invasion of Gaza that is expected to claim tens of thousands of additional lives.

Biden and Blinken say they want to help Israel decisively defeat Hamas, but that they do not want to see suffering among ordinary Gazans or a broader regional conflict. Both have recently visited Israel, and Blinken is prioritizing an attempt to open the Gaza-Egypt border to allow humanitarian aid into the besieged region and let some civilians out.

Two officials told HuffPost that diplomats are preparing whats called a dissent cable, a document criticizing American policy that goes to the agencys leaders through a protected internal channel.

Such cables are seen within the State Department as consequential statements of serious disagreement at key historical moments. The dissent channel was established amid deep internal conflict during the Vietnam War, and diplomats have since then used it to warn that the U.S. is making dangerous and self-defeating choices abroad.

The cable would come in the wake of Josh Paul, a veteran State Department official, announcing his resignation on Wednesday. After more than a decade of working on arms deals, he said, he could not morally support the U.S.s moves to supply Israels war effort.

In the last 24 hours, Ive been getting an immense amount of outreach from colleagues... with really encouraging words of support and a lot of people saying they feel the same way and its very difficult for them, said Paul, whose departure was first reported by HuffPost.

Paul described that as surprising: My expectation was that no one would want to touch me with a 10-foot barge pole... because of the sensitivity of anything to do with Israel.

Contacted for comment for this story on Thursday, a State Department representative directed HuffPost to remarks earlier in the day from agency spokesperson Matthew Miller.

One of the strengths of this department is that we do have people with different opinions. We encourage them to make their opinions known, Miller said in those remarks. It, of course, is the president that sets policy, but we encourage everyone, even when they disagree with our policy, to let... their leadership know.

Secretary Blinken has spoken to this on a number of occasions, when hes said that he welcomes people exercising the dissent channel, he went on. He finds it useful to get conflicting voices that may differ from his opinion. He takes it seriously, and it causes him to reflect on his own thinking in terms of policymaking.

Biden and Blinken have publicly spoken of both Israels right to defend itself and their expectation that Israel will abide by all international law, Miller said.

Multiple officials said they have heard colleagues talk about quitting.

Key decisions are made at the highest level by Biden, Blinken and a handful of others. But rank-and-file State Department officials are involved in an array of other important and controversial elements of the American response to the Israeli-Palestinian violence.

On Wednesday, the U.S. mission to the United Nations  a State office  vetoed a U.N. resolution backed by many countries that condemned all violence against civilians, including by Hamas, and endorsed humanitarian aid for Gaza. State will also help administer the additional military aid for Israel and humanitarian assistance for Palestinians that Biden has authorized.

State Department staff are trying to simultaneously conduct delicate diplomacy, respond to calls from Congress to demonstrate huge support for Israel and regard for Palestinian lives, and manage global outrage over the impression that the U.S. is providing cover for excessive Israeli force.

Counterparts in Arab governments are telling State Department officials the U.S. is at risk of losing support in their region for a generation, a U.S. official told HuffPost.

Its unclear whether Blinken  who returned to Washington on Wednesday after a five-day trip across the Middle East, during which he met with officials in seven countries  understands the crisis of morale in his department.

Theres a sense within the workforce that the secretary doesnt see it or doesnt care, a State Department official said, saying that the feeling extends to high-ranking figures at the agency. And its almost certain hes not aware of just how bad the workforce dynamics are. Its really quite bad.

The negativity is surfacing in a variety of ways. One official described peers as depressed and angry about it all, while another said some staff are experiencing resignation. That official recalled a colleague in tears during a meeting over their view that U.S. policy statements emphasized support for Israel over the lives of Palestinians.

Senior State Department officials have privately discouraged the agency from using three specific phrases in public statements, HuffPost revealed last week : de-escalation/ceasefire, end to violence/bloodshed and restoring calm.

In one office, a manager told their team that they know staff with extensive international experience are unhappy with Bidens plan  particularly the sense that the U.S. will do little to ensure Israeli restraint  but they have little chance of changing it, an official present at the meeting said.

Multiple officials said they have heard colleagues talk about quitting as Paul did. One U.S. official described Pauls decision as a shock and a major loss for the department.

The severity of the language in the dissent cable, and the number of State Department officials who sign it, will offer a picture of how alarmed staffers are at Americas response to the situation in Gaza and how broad the disagreement with Bidens policy is  and could determine whether it actually inspires a change in course.

Such cables often attract dozens or even hundreds of signatures, and the dissent channel is seen as a vital way to elevate opposing views without fear of retaliation because States policies bar retaliation against those who use it.

I think it does make a difference to senior leadership, Paul said.

But the process has been under threat this year, as House Republicans have pushed to access a dissent cable prepared amid Bidens withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The efforts to obtain the Afghanistan dissent cable by Congress do make it more difficult to talk about dissent cables in general, and do make some people think twice, Paul said.

Global affairs professionals, particularly those with ties to the Muslim-majority world who worry about being targeted, have long been concerned about being seen as taking a stand on Israel-Palestine.

That anxiety has often affected policymaking, according to Sarah Harrison, a former Pentagon and Department of Homeland Security official now at the nonprofit Crisis Group.

This is an environment that has been cultivated by Democratic and Republican administrations alike, Harrison recently wrote on X. If you work in the federal government and question anything Israel does you are sidelined and silenced.

Staff across the Biden administration have told HuffPost they are experiencing a chilling effect at work. One person said there was a culture of silence around expressing their views on Israel-Palestine, and another said they felt shame at working within the U.S. government at this moment.

Some State Department staffers place particular blame for the bubbling discontent on Blinkens deputy chief of staff for policy.

Tom Sullivan  a powerful figure who is the brother of Bidens top national security adviser, Jake Sullivan  has consistently overruled the idea of greater outreach from the secretary to State Department personnel, one official said.

In high-level meetings, Tom Sullivan usually focuses on asking what Israel wants or highlighting its needs  upsetting colleagues who feel the priority in crafting a plan for support should be on U.S. interests, a U.S. official told HuffPost.

Staffers do not feel comfortable challenging Sullivan because of his brothers rank, the official continued.

On Thursday evening, Blinken sent out an all-staff message reviewing State Department contributions to his trip. HuffPost obtained the note.

We asked a lot of you. And once again, under tremendous pressure, you delivered, the secretary wrote. I know that, for many of you, this time has not only been challenging professionally, but personally ... You are not alone. We are here for you.
BRS has the flexibility to seek the support of any party to form the government. (DC File Image)

HYDERABAD: With most surveys predicting a neck-and-neck race between the ruling BRS and the Opposition Congress in the upcoming Assembly polls, it will be advantage BRS in the event of a hung verdict, according to political circles.

BRS has the flexibility to seek the support of any party to form the government while Congress has political limitations as it cannot join hands with BJP, they said.

Although Telugu voters had no history of giving a hung verdict in Assembly polls  either in undivided Andhra Pradesh till 2014 or in both the Telugu states after the bifurcation of AP after 2014  the possibility of a hung Assembly in Telangana became a subject of heated debate after multiple surveys over the past few days indicated a close fight between the Congress and BRS.

The surveys say that there is a thin margin of vote share between BRS and Congress, which may result in a fractured verdict and a hung Assembly.

Comments made by BJP general secretary (organisation) B.L. Santosh on October 6 added fuel to the discussion. Addressing around 1,100 party delegates at the BJP's extended state council meeting held at Ghatkesar on the city outskirts, Santosh had predicted a hung Assembly, claiming that the BJP would come to power in such an eventuality.

It was speculated that the BJP's central election committee (CEC) meeting on Friday saw BJP national president J.P. Nadda, Union home minister Amit Shah, defence minister Rajnath Singh and B.L. Santosh reportedly discuss the issue of a hung assembly at length. Suggestions were also made to state president G. Kishan Reddy and CEC member K. Laxman, on the course of action in such a scenario.

With multiple surveys predicting that BRS and Congress would both fall short of the magic mark of 60 seats to form the government, the BRS is likely to seek the support of AIMIM, which is predicted to retain its seven seats.

The BRS can even seek the BJP's support to prevent the Congress from forming the government in Telangana, on the lines of the Congress supporting the JD(S) in Karnataka to prevent the BJP from coming to power in 2018. In such a case, the AIMIMs stand may prove crucial.

But Congress has fewer options than the BRS, as it cannot seek the BJP's support nor is it on good terms with the AIMIM.
The BJP has announced its first list of candidates with 52 names for the upcoming Telangana Assembly elections. (Representational image: PTI)

Hyderabad: The BJP has announced its first list of candidates with 52 names for the upcoming Telangana Assembly elections. The list includes 12 women candidates, the highest number of seats given to women by any political party for the 2023 Telangana polls. The BRS which released its first list of candidates list has given tickets to only seven women.

Three Lok Sabha MPs, including former BJP state chief Bandi Sanjay Kumar, figured on the list. The party's election committee head Etela Rajender has been fielded from Huzurabad, a seat he represents in the outgoing assembly, and Gajwel where he will take on Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao.

Party's firebrand leader, MLA T. Raja Singh whose suspension was revoked will contest his Goshamahal again. MP Soyam Bapu Rao from Adilabad will be contesting from Boath assembly constituency while Bandi Sanjay, MP will contest from Karimnagar assembly constituency. BJP has fielded Dharmapuri Aravind MP from Nizamabad from Koratla assembly seat.

Former journalist Rani Rudrama Reddy will contest from Sircilla where she will fight against minister K.T. Rama Rao.

Notably, the BJP's first list doesnt have prominent names like party state president G. Kishan Reddy, MP K. Laxman, national president of the OBC morcha. Brother of minister Errabelli Dayakar Rao, Errabelli Pradeep Rao who quit the BRS in August will be contesting from Warangal East.
T Raja Singh, BJP MLA. (Photo: Facebook/T Raja Singh)

Hyderabad: The BJP which had suspended its sole MLA elected in the 2018 assembly polls has revoked it. The partys Central Disciplinary Committee in a communique sent to the MLA said his explanation has been considered by the committee. It further added that the committee has decided to revoke the suspension forthwith.

With his suspension being lifted on a day the party is most likely to release its list its a foregone conclusion now that he will be fielded from the Goshamahal assembly constituency.

The step has long been speculated in view of the impending polls to the assembly. In a release to the media, BJP State president G. Kishan Reddy said, "The central disciplinary committee of the BJP has decided to revoke the suspension of T. Raja Singh MLA Goshamahal from the BJP after due consideration of his explanation in response to the show cause notice served by the party."

Speaking with the media, Raja Singh said, "I am hopeful that I would get to contest from the Goshamahal constituency. I will do as the party orders and campaign for the party even if I dont get a seat but will contest from the Goshamahal seat itself."

Raja Singh, known for making incendiary and provocative statements, was suspended from the party in the wake of his comments against Prophet Mohammad. The statements when made had the likely effect of derailing diplomatic relations with the Gulf countries. His comments coming as they did in the backdrop of similar comments by BJP national spokesperson Nupur Sharma which had bagged international headlines with calls for her death had necessitated his suspension as a way out of the situation.

Raja Singh, arrested on August 25th, 2022 was released from jail in November 2022 after the High Court set aside his arrest under the PD (preventive detention) Act. Raja Singh being the poster boy of Hindutva politics in the State had recently challenged the AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi to contest against him from the Goshamahal assembly constituency which houses the partys headquarters Darussalam.
Minister K.T. Rama Rao and T. Harish Rao launched training programmes in the city for 350 party in charges from all 119 Assembly constituencies. (DC Image)

Hyderabad: The BRS, in an attempt to counter anti-incumbency, launched on Sunday a micro-level booth management drive to reach out to 3.1 crore voters in the next 40 days, marking its biggest outreach programme in the ongoing election campaign.

On the day, ministers K.T. Rama Rao and T. Harish Rao launched training programmes in the city for 350 party in charges from all 119 Assembly constituencies.

Sources said in charges are being trained on reaching out to each voter, with the help of 100 party workers in every polling booth, with a special focus on sections who are presumed to be discontent with the BRS government. They were asked to explain reasons for the delay in resolutions and assure them of quicker redressals if it is voted into power for a third term.

The training session was held at a hotel in Jalavihar.

The BRS has divided the 3.1 crore voters into A, B, C and D categories. Category-A voters are those who are pro-BRS, category-B are those who are not sure of who to vote for, category-C are those who are angry with BRS and category-D are those who don't vote for BRS.

Sources said that the 100 party workers in each booth would meet every voter, interact with them, explain to them why they should vote for the BRS and depending on their response, re-categorise them. The reports would be submitted to the 350 incharges, who will be deputed to BRS war rooms that are being set up in all constituencies.

The move comes against the backdrop of BRS surveys indicating anti-incumbency against it, especially among the 18-35 age group.

In the meeting, Rama Rao told the party in charge that the youths were developing an anti-BRS mindset due to false propaganda undertaken by Congress and the BJP on government recruitment exams.

He said that BRS workers should reach out to them on how the government filled 1.3 lakh government jobs in Telangana in the past nine years, which was higher than APPSC recruitment exams conducted for the entire Andhra Pradesh during the Congress regime from 2004 to 2014. He further asked party workers to tell youths that recruitment exams to fill another 90,000 posts are under various stages of recruitment and these got delayed due to Opposition parties blocking them by approaching courts.

Harish Rao asked party workers to counter Congress six guarantees by pushing the BRS manifesto aggressively to the people in the next 40 days. He asked them to explain to voters that the BRS government was already delivering most of the promises made by Congress and that Congress just enhanced the financial assistance.

Harish Rao said that the BRS manifesto was better than the Congress guarantees and party workers should make people aware of this, especially the Rs 5 lakh free insurance to all BPL families through LIC, super quality fine rice to all ration card holders at Rs 1 per kg, enhanced Aasara pensions and Rythu Bandhu, among others.
T Raja Singh, BJP MLA from Hyderabad. (Photo: Facebook/T Raja Singh)

HYDERABAD: The BJP has revoked the suspension of Goshamahal MLA T. Raja Singh. A decision to this effect was taken by the partys central disciplinary committee. Immediately after communicating the decision to Singh, the party renominated him for the Goshamahal Assembly seat.

Singh had joined BJP in 2014 after beginning his political career with Telugu Desam. He was the only party candidate to win in 2018; M. Raghunandan Rao and Etala Rajendar were elected in separate byelections.

It was speculated for long that the party would revoke the suspension. The partys state president G. Kishan Reddy said, "The decision was taken after the committee considered his explanation to the show cause notice served on him."

Speaking with the media, Raja Singh said, "I thank the party for taking this decision. I did not expect this. Rumours were around that the suspension would be lifted but to my surprise they also gave me a seat. I thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, J.P. Nadda and G. Kishan Reddy. I will win the constituency for the third time for sure."

Raja Singh, known for making incendiary and provocative statements, was suspended from the party in the wake of his comments against Prophet Mohammad.

He was arrested on August 25 last and released in November 2022 after the High Court set aside his arrest under the PD Act. He had recently challenged AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi to contest against him from Goshamahal, where the MIM headquarters of Darussalam is located.
Palestinians walk by the buildings destroyed in the Israeli bombardment on al-Zahra, on the outskirts of Gaza City (AP)

RAFAH: The Israeli military announced it was stepping up its bombardment of Hamas-controlled Gaza Saturday just hours after the first aid trucks arrived from Egypt bringing desperately needed relief to civilians in the war-torn enclave.

The military said it aimed to reduce the risks its troops would face as they enter Gaza in the next phase of the war it launched on Hamas after the militant group carried out the deadliest attack in Israel's history on October 7.

Hamas militants killed at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians who were shot, mutilated or burnt to death, and took more than 200 hostages, according to Israeli officials.

Israel has retaliated with a relentless bombing campaign that has killed more than 4,300 Palestinians in Gaza, mainly civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

An Israeli siege has cut food, water, electricity and fuel supplies to the densely populated territory of 2.4 million people, sparking fears of a humanitarian catastrophe.

Tens of thousands of Israeli troops have deployed to the Gaza border ahead of an expected ground offensive that officials have pledged will begin "soon".

"From today, we are increasing the strikes and minimising the danger," military spokesman Admiral Daniel Hagari told a press conference Saturday.



"We have to enter the next phase of the war in the best conditions, not according to what anyone tells us."

On a visit to a frontline infantry brigade, chief of staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi said troops were ready to deal with any surprises Hamas had in store for them when they enter Gaza.

"Gaza is densely populated, the enemy is preparing a lot of things there -- but we are also preparing for them," Halevi said.



'Much more' needed

AFP journalists saw 20 trucks from the Egyptian Red Crescent pass through the Rafah border crossing from Egypt into Gaza on Saturday. The crossing -- the only one into Gaza not controlled by Israel -- closed again after the trucks passed.

The lorries had been waiting for days on the Egyptian side after Israel agreed to a request from its main ally the United States to allow aid to enter.

UN chief Antonio Guterres said the 20 trucks admitted on Saturday fell far short of the needs of Gazans, more than one million of whom have been forced from their homes. "Much more" aid needs to be sent, Guterres told a peace summit in Egypt.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken welcomed the aid and urged "all parties" to keep the Rafah crossing open.

But a Hamas spokesman said "even dozens" of such convoys could not meet Gaza's requirements, especially as no fuel was being allowed in to help distribute the supplies to those in need.

'Godawful nightmare'

In Cairo, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi hosted a peace summit attended by regional and some Western leaders.

"The time has come for action to end this godawful nightmare," Guterres told the summit, calling for a "humanitarian ceasefire".

Guterres said "the grievances of the Palestinian people are legitimate and long" after "56 years of occupation with no end in sight".

But he stressed that "nothing can justify the reprehensible assault by Hamas that terrorised Israeli civilians".

"Those abhorrent attacks can never justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people," he added.

According to Arab diplomats who spoke with AFP on condition of anonymity, the summit broke up without a joint statement, highlighting the gulf between Arab and Western countries on how best to bring lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

Western delegates demanded "a clear condemnation placing responsibility for the escalation on Hamas" but Arab leaders refused, the diplomats said.



Instead, the Egyptian hosts released a statement -- drafted with the approval of Arab delegates -- criticising world leaders for seeking to "manage the conflict and not end it permanently".

The statement said such "temporary solutions and palliatives... do not live up to even the lowest aspirations" of the Palestinian people. Israel bemoaned the lack of a condemnation of the October 7 attacks by Hamas.

"It is unfortunate that even when faced with those horrific atrocities, there were some who had difficulty condemning terrorism or acknowledging the danger," a foreign ministry statement said.

'Sliver of hope'

A full-blown Israeli ground offensive of Gaza carries many risks, including to the hostages Hamas took and whose fate is shrouded in uncertainty.



So the release of two Americans among the hostages -- mother and daughter Judith and Natalie Raanan -- offered a rare "sliver of hope", said Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

US President Joe Biden thanked Qatar, which hosts Hamas's political bureau, for its mediation in securing the release.

He said he was working "around the clock" to win the return of other Americans being held.

Natalie Raanan's half-brother Ben told the BBC he felt an "overwhelming sense of joy" at the release after "the most horrible of ordeals".

Hamas said Egypt and Qatar had negotiated the release and that it was "working with all mediators to implement the movement's decision to close the civilian (hostage) file if appropriate security conditions allow".

Devastation

Almost half of Gaza's residents have been displaced, and at least 30 percent of all housing in the territory has been destroyed or damaged, the United Nations says.

Thousands have taken refuge in a camp set up in the city of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza.

Fadwa al-Najjar said she and her seven children walked for 10 hours to reach the camp, at some points breaking into a run as missiles struck around them.



"We saw bodies and limbs torn off and we just started praying, thinking we were going to die," she told AFP.

The United States has moved two aircraft carriers into the eastern Mediterranean to deter Iran or Lebanon's Hezbollah, both Hamas allies, amid fears of a wider conflagration.

Exchanges of fire continued across Israel's border with Lebanon Friday.

Hezbollah reported the loss of four of its fighters while Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad reported one fighter killed.

In Israel, two Thai farm workers were wounded, emergency services said.

Violence has also flared in the West Bank, where 84 Palestinians have been killed since October 7, according to the health ministry.
B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK  Free Report) by 22.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,233 shares of the industrial products companys stock after selling 4,823 shares during the quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.s holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $392,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 177.3% in the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,109 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 709 shares during the period. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 369.6% in the 1st quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,174 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 924 shares during the period. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. bought a new position in Graphic Packaging in the 1st quarter valued at about $39,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Graphic Packaging in the 1st quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, BOKF NA bought a new position in Graphic Packaging in the 1st quarter valued at about $48,000. 99.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

NYSE GPK opened at $20.43 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 0.96. The firms 50 day simple moving average is $22.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.74. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 1 year low of $20.35 and a 1 year high of $27.56.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

Graphic Packaging ( NYSE:GPK Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $2.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.49 billion. Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 37.35% and a net margin of 7.30%. The businesss revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 15th were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. Graphic Packagings dividend payout ratio is currently 17.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on GPK shares. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a buy rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Graphic Packaging from a buy rating to a hold rating and lowered their price target for the company from $30.00 to $26.00 in a report on Thursday, June 29th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Graphic Packaging from an overweight rating to an underweight rating and lowered their price target for the company from $26.00 to $19.00 in a report on Thursday. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $29.00 to $26.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 10th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a strong-buy rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $28.00.

Read Our Latest Analysis on GPK

Graphic Packaging Company Profile

(Free Report)

Graphic Packaging Holding Company, together with its subsidiaries, provides fiber-based packaging solutions to food, beverage, foodservice, and other consumer products companies. It operates through three segments: Paperboard Mills, Americas Paperboard Packaging, and Europe Paperboard Packaging. The company offers coated unbleached kraft (CUK), coated recycled paperboard (CRB), and solid bleached sulfate paperboard (SBS) to various paperboard packaging converters and brokers; and paperboard packaging products, such as folding cartons, cups, lids, and food containers primarily to consumer packaged goods, quick-service restaurants, and foodservice companies; and barrier packaging products that protect against moisture, hot and cold temperature, grease, oil, oxygen, sunlight, insects, and other potential product-damaging factors.

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Barnes Group (NYSE:B  Get Free Report) had its price target lowered by Truist Financial from $40.00 to $37.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a hold rating on the industrial products companys stock. Truist Financials price target would suggest a potential upside of 13.53% from the stocks current price.

Separately, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Barnes Group in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a buy rating on the stock.

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Barnes Group Price Performance

NYSE:B opened at $32.59 on Friday. Barnes Group has a 52 week low of $31.97 and a 52 week high of $47.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.65 billion, a PE ratio of 26.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.22. The stocks 50-day moving average price is $35.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.00.

Barnes Group (NYSE:B  Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 28th. The industrial products company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.04. Barnes Group had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 4.84%. The firm had revenue of $339.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $340.43 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.56 EPS. The companys quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Barnes Group will post 2.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barnes Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in shares of Barnes Group by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 7,419,756 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $298,200,000 after acquiring an additional 25,613 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Barnes Group by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,361,174 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $154,831,000 after acquiring an additional 175,707 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Barnes Group by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,458,851 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $139,322,000 after acquiring an additional 79,360 shares during the period. Macquarie Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Barnes Group by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 2,724,308 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $109,735,000 after acquiring an additional 29,763 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Barnes Group by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,987,935 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $80,074,000 after acquiring an additional 15,801 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.03% of the companys stock.

Barnes Group Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Barnes Group Inc provides engineered products, industrial technologies, and solutions in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments: Industrial and Aerospace. The Industrial segment offers precision components, products, and systems used by various customers in end-markets, such as mobility, industrial equipment, automation, personal care, packaging, electronics, and medical devices.

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EA Series Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Knife River Co. (NYSE:KNF  Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 9,013 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $392,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Ingalls & Snyder LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Knife River during the second quarter valued at about $334,000. State of Michigan Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Knife River during the second quarter valued at about $546,000. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Knife River during the second quarter valued at about $641,000. Simplicity Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Knife River in the second quarter valued at approximately $519,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new position in shares of Knife River in the second quarter valued at approximately $99,000. 67.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on KNF. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Knife River in a report on Monday, August 14th. They issued an outperform rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Knife River from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, August 9th.

Knife River Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of Knife River stock opened at $49.86 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. Knife River Co. has a 52-week low of $33.67 and a 52-week high of $54.60. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $50.14.

Knife River (NYSE:KNF  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 8th. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $785.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $754.60 million. The firms quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Knife River Co. will post 2.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Knife River Company Profile

(Free Report)

Knife River Corporation provides aggregates-based construction materials and contracting services in the United States. It operates through six segments: Pacific, Northwest, Mountain, North Central, South, and Energy Services. The company mines, processes, and sells construction aggregates, including crushed stone and sand, and gravel; and produces and sells asphalt and ready-mix concrete, as well as provides contracting services to support the aggregate-based product lines, including heavy-civil construction, asphalt and concrete paving, and site development and grading.

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Interfor (TSE:IFP  Get Free Report) had its target price decreased by equities research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from C$32.00 to C$30.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage presently has an outperform rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canadas target price indicates a potential upside of 73.21% from the stocks current price.

Separately, CIBC reduced their target price on shares of Interfor from C$32.00 to C$26.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 13th.

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Interfor Price Performance

TSE:IFP opened at C$17.32 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of C$20.60 and a 200 day moving average price of C$21.99. The stock has a market cap of C$890.94 million, a P/E ratio of -9.41 and a beta of 2.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 49.13, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Interfor has a one year low of C$16.80 and a one year high of C$28.73.

Interfor (TSE:IFP  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The company reported C($0.15) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of C($0.01) by C($0.14). Interfor had a negative net margin of 3.50% and a negative return on equity of 6.13%. The company had revenue of C$871.80 million during the quarter. Analysts anticipate that Interfor will post 2.8616667 earnings per share for the current year.

Interfor Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Interfor Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, produces and sells wood products in Canada, the United States, Japan, China, Taiwan, and internationally. It offers decking, fascia and board, framing, v-joint paneling, paneling, and siding products, as well as appearance, structural, studs, timbers, and machine stress related products.

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In September 2023, my friend and I arrived in Geneva, Switzerland. We strolled along the shores of Lake Geneva, enjoying the crisp autumn air and the serene blue waters, eagerly anticipating our early morning journey to Chamonix, which was just over an hour's drive away. We had dreamt of this for over a year and spent the better part of six months preparing for our Tour du Mont Blanc hike, so our excitement was palpable!

Some say that the Alps are like a colossal mushroom cloud hanging over Italy, and looking at a map, it does seem a bit like that. This magical mountain range is a tremendous gift from nature to the European continent, offering numerous breathtaking landscapes, sporting activities, and unbeatable tourist attractions to the countries it spans. In 2019, my family and I hiked in the Swiss Alps in Wengen, Murren, and Zermatt. In May 2023, we ventured to the northern Italian Dolomites for another hiking adventure. Returning to the Alps with my friend to take on the classic Tour du Mont Blanc (TMB) trail, I was genuinely curious about the unique experience that awaited us.

The Tour du Mont Blanc, often referred to as TMB, is a classic hiking route that circumnavigates the highest peak in the Alps, Mont Blanc. It stretches for 170 kilometers, with an elevation gain of 10,000 meters, crossing three countries: France, Switzerland, and Italy. Along the way, hikers can admire ancient glaciers, towering peaks, lush meadows, pastoral landscapes, charming villages, and picturesque villages. This trail has been ranked by National Geographic Magazine as one of the 50 must-do treks in a lifetime.

A typical Mont Blanc hike takes around 7-11 days and can be done independently or with a guided tour. During our initial research, we found that independent hiking required extensive planning, including studying maps, carefully scheduling daily itineraries, and booking accommodations in mountain refuges along the route. Failing to secure suitable refuges would mean either walking extra distances or finding alternative transportation to reach lodging. Opting for a guided tour, on the other hand, meant having a knowledgeable guide, all accommodations and meals included, and the convenience of daily luggage transport by the tour company. This allowed us to carry only a small backpack with essential items like rain gear, water, lunch, and other necessities.

In the end, we decided to join a guided TMB tour in September with Altitude Mont Blanc (https://www.altitude-montblanc.com/), which lasted nine days and followed the clockwise route around Mont Blanc. It turned out to be a wise decision in hindsight.

Compared to other Swiss cities, Geneva may seem somewhat lacking in terms of tourist attractions. Online travel guides typically mention popular places such as Lake Geneva, the Jet d'Eau (the large fountain), the United Nations headquarters, and St. Pierre Cathedral. Geneva is well-known for its chocolate, and this year they have introduced a Choco Pass, which allows you to spend 30 Swiss Francs to sample delicious chocolates from seven famous chocolate shops within 24 hours, learn about their craftsmanship, and receive a small gift bag. It sounds like an interesting activity, but my friend and I are concerned about our glucose so decided not to participate.

Although it might not be as famous as other European historic cities, leisurely strolling at the beautiful shores of Lake Geneva, however, with its majestic Jet d'Eau, sailboats dotting the surface, Geneva offers a tranquil and picturesque setting. The streets are clean and orderly, and the city is peaceful and beautiful. Moreover, Geneva is not far from charming towns and stunning mountains in the surrounding area. If you're not in a rush and don't feel the need to chase after tourist attractions, it's safe to say that Geneva is a city where one can enjoy living and I think I would fall in love with it given the time to explore and appreciate at my own pace.

On the street, a performer set off a frenzy with their giant soap bubbles, which attracted kids running around joyfully and trying to catch the bubbles. Their contagious laughter spread to the onlookers, creating a heartwarming scene that brought smiles to everyone's faces.

Geneva is renowned as a hub for Swiss watchmaking. In 1955, the city created the world's largest clock made entirely of flowers, known as the Geneva Flower Clock (in French, "L'horloge fleurie"). This iconic timepiece has become one of the main attractions in Geneva, highlighting the city's craftsmanship and appreciation for precision and beauty in timekeeping.

The headquarter of United Nations:

When traveling in Europe, I enjoy the cool and clean drinking water fountains along the streets. I see a great level of humanity, social civilization, and material civilization in the non-stop flow of water.

The Cathedral of St. Pierre (Cathedrale St-Pierre) stands at the highest point in the city center and is one of Geneva's essential landmarks. The cathedral's construction began in the 5th century, and over the subsequent centuries, it underwent continuous reconstruction and expansion projects. Starting in the Romanesque style, it later incorporated elements of both Gothic and Romanesque architecture, resulting in its present unified and harmonious architectural style. During the 16th century, it also became a focal point for the Protestant Reformation in the French-speaking area, with the prominent figure John Calvin using it as a place to promote the doctrines of the Reformed faith.

The famous rotating roasted meat dishes from Greece and Turkey have flavors that align well with the preferences of Chinese people. These dishes can be served with salads, used in sandwiches, and are used to make Gyros and Kabobs. The day we arrived happened to be one of their national holidays, and many shops were closed. The Greek/Turkish roasted meat, however, gave us a pleasant surprise with the incredibly delicious sandwiches:

We stayed at Geneva Hostel, a neat youth hostel conveniently located in the city center. They provided the Geneva City Transport Card, which meant we didn't need to purchase tickets for public transportation (it can be used for trains, buses, and ferries). The hostel also offered a complimentary breakfast. We booked a suite that came with a private shower and a balcony. From the balcony, looking at those sailboats on Lake Geneva and enjoying the cool September breeze was indeed a wonderful experience.

Looking forward to setting off for Chamonix tomorrow!
Interfor (TSE:IFP  Get Free Report) had its price target decreased by research analysts at Raymond James from C$41.00 to C$32.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, BayStreet.CA reports. The firm currently has a strong-buy rating on the stock. Raymond James price target points to a potential upside of 84.76% from the stocks previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on IFP. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Interfor from C$32.00 to C$30.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. CIBC decreased their price objective on shares of Interfor from C$32.00 to C$26.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 13th.

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View Our Latest Stock Analysis on IFP

Interfor Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of TSE IFP opened at C$17.32 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of C$20.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$21.99. The company has a market cap of C$890.94 million, a P/E ratio of -9.41 and a beta of 2.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 49.13. Interfor has a 52 week low of C$16.80 and a 52 week high of C$28.73.

Interfor (TSE:IFP  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The company reported C($0.15) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of C($0.01) by C($0.14). The firm had revenue of C$871.80 million for the quarter. Interfor had a negative net margin of 3.50% and a negative return on equity of 6.13%. Research analysts anticipate that Interfor will post 2.8616667 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Interfor

(Get Free Report)

Interfor Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, produces and sells wood products in Canada, the United States, Japan, China, Taiwan, and internationally. It offers decking, fascia and board, framing, v-joint paneling, paneling, and siding products, as well as appearance, structural, studs, timbers, and machine stress related products.

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Ivanhoe Mines (TSE:IVN  Get Free Report) had its price objective cut by investment analysts at Canaccord Genuity Group from C$15.00 to C$13.00 in a report issued on Friday, BayStreet.CA reports. Canaccord Genuity Groups price objective suggests a potential upside of 21.38% from the companys previous close.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Ivanhoe Mines from C$15.00 to C$14.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 12th. Eight Capital lifted their target price on shares of Ivanhoe Mines from C$18.50 to C$19.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, September 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of C$16.33.

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Ivanhoe Mines Stock Down 1.6 %

Ivanhoe Mines stock opened at C$10.71 on Friday. Ivanhoe Mines has a twelve month low of C$8.66 and a twelve month high of C$14.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average of C$11.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$11.92. The company has a current ratio of 4.37, a quick ratio of 20.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 19.16. The stock has a market capitalization of C$13.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.93 and a beta of 2.01.

Ivanhoe Mines (TSE:IVN  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 3rd. The company reported C$0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of C$0.11 by C($0.02). As a group, research analysts expect that Ivanhoe Mines will post 0.6128134 earnings per share for the current year.

About Ivanhoe Mines

(Get Free Report)

Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. engages in the mining, development, and exploration of minerals and precious metals located primarily in Africa. It explores for platinum, palladium, nickel, copper, gold, rhodium, zinc, silver, germanium, and lead deposits. The company's projects include the Platreef project located in the Northern Limb of South Africa's Bushveld Complex; the Kipushi project located in Haut-Katanga Province, Democratic Republic of Congo; and the Kamoa-Kakula project located within the Central African Copperbelt.

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Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund reduced its position in shares of The St. Joe Company (NYSE:JOE  Free Report) by 2.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,531 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Funds holdings in St. Joe were worth $509,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in JOE. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of St. Joe by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,621,355 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $180,052,000 after acquiring an additional 22,709 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in shares of St. Joe by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,252,502 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $168,239,000 after acquiring an additional 166,505 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of St. Joe by 23.9% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,912,910 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $112,584,000 after acquiring an additional 561,323 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of St. Joe by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,550,343 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $64,508,000 after acquiring an additional 43,383 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of St. Joe by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,130,471 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $47,039,000 after acquiring an additional 42,864 shares during the period. 88.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Transactions at St. Joe

In other news, Director Bruce R. Berkowitz sold 30,900 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.15, for a total transaction of $1,889,535.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 19,745,891 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,207,461,234.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Bruce R. Berkowitz sold 30,900 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.15, for a total transaction of $1,889,535.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 19,745,891 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,207,461,234.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bruce R. Berkowitz sold 118,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.82, for a total value of $7,562,670.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 20,468,291 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,306,286,331.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 711,300 shares of company stock valued at $44,820,479 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 42.00% of the companys stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com began coverage on St. Joe in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a hold rating on the stock.

Get Our Latest Analysis on St. Joe

St. Joe Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE JOE opened at $49.02 on Friday. The stocks 50 day moving average is $56.79 and its 200 day moving average is $50.92. The St. Joe Company has a 12 month low of $32.70 and a 12 month high of $65.99. The stock has a market cap of $2.86 billion, a PE ratio of 33.35 and a beta of 1.33.

St. Joe (NYSE:JOE  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter. St. Joe had a return on equity of 13.06% and a net margin of 26.73%. The company had revenue of $128.10 million for the quarter.

St. Joe Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 11th were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. This is a boost from St. Joes previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 10th. St. Joes dividend payout ratio is 32.65%.

St. Joe Profile

(Free Report)

The St. Joe Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a real estate development, asset management, and operating company in Northwest Florida. It operates through three segments: Residential, Hospitality, and Commercial. The Residential segment plans and develops residential communities of various sizes for homebuilders or retail consumers.

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Sunnova Energy International (NYSE:NOVA  Get Free Report)s stock had its hold rating reissued by stock analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft in a research report issued on Friday, Marketbeat reports. They presently have a $12.50 target price on the stock, down from their prior target price of $23.00. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschafts price target suggests a potential upside of 44.18% from the stocks current price.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on NOVA. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $58.00 target price on shares of Sunnova Energy International in a research note on Tuesday, October 10th. Citigroup raised shares of Sunnova Energy International from a neutral rating to a buy rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $22.00 to $14.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Sunnova Energy International from $38.00 to $25.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 17th. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Sunnova Energy International from $30.00 to $25.00 and set a strong-buy rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 3rd. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their price objective on shares of Sunnova Energy International from $30.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 27th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sunnova Energy International presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $24.74.

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Sunnova Energy International Stock Down 5.9 %

NOVA stock opened at $8.67 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.01 and a beta of 2.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. Sunnova Energy International has a one year low of $8.17 and a one year high of $24.82. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $11.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.61.

Sunnova Energy International (NYSE:NOVA  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The company reported ($0.74) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.37) by ($0.37). The firm had revenue of $166.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $195.53 million. Sunnova Energy International had a negative return on equity of 15.78% and a negative net margin of 37.16%. The firms revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.32) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Sunnova Energy International will post -1.71 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider William J. Berger sold 47,150 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.86, for a total value of $842,099.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 365,222 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,522,864.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.20% of the companys stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sunnova Energy International

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NOVA. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in shares of Sunnova Energy International by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 16,530,455 shares of the companys stock valued at $381,192,000 after buying an additional 261,186 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Sunnova Energy International by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,537,879 shares of the companys stock valued at $210,596,000 after buying an additional 114,448 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in shares of Sunnova Energy International by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 6,154,366 shares of the companys stock valued at $112,686,000 after buying an additional 538,909 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Sunnova Energy International by 15.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,744,710 shares of the companys stock valued at $68,563,000 after buying an additional 503,703 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management SA grew its position in shares of Sunnova Energy International by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management SA now owns 3,397,667 shares of the companys stock valued at $53,072,000 after buying an additional 204,757 shares during the last quarter.

Sunnova Energy International Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Sunnova Energy International Inc provides energy as a service in the United States. The company offers electricity, as well as offers operations and maintenance, monitoring, repairs and replacements, equipment upgrades, on-site power optimization, and diagnostics services. As of December 31, 2022, it operated a fleet of residential solar energy systems with a generation capacity of approximately 1,627 megawatts serving over 279,000 customers.

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The horrific Grenfell Tower fire has been recalled by the members of Derry City and Strabane District Councils Health and Community committee.

Two members of Grenfell United invited to address the committee, revealed Ulster Rugbys decision to continue its association with Kingspan had caused further anguish for the relatives of those who died.

Karim Mussilhy (vice chair) and Antonio Roncolato spoke movingly on Thursday about the devastation caused by the fire, which broke out in the 24-storey Grenfell Tower block of flats, in North Kensington, West London, on June 14, 2017.

72 people perished in what has been described as the worst UK residential fire since World War II. 70 people were injured and 223 escaped.

The fire spread rapidly up the buildings exterior, accelerated by dangerously combustible aluminium composite cladding and external insulation, with an air gap between them, which enabled the stack effect.

Grenfell United is a group comprising the survivors and bereaved families from the fire, which came together to demand justice and change in memory of 72 of our families and neighbours who died. It is fighting for everyone to be safe in their homes and justice for our loved ones.

Karim and Antonio addressed councillors following a motion proposed by Cllr Gary Donnelly (Independent), seconded by Cllr Lilian Seenoi-Barr (SDLP) and passed unanimously at the committees July meeting.

On that occasion, Council was also mandated to contact Ulster Rugby expressing dismay at the sporting bodys continued association with Kingspan, which provided some of the building materials used in Grenfell Tower. Council asked Ulster Rugby to immediately reconsider their position.

Speaking to Derry Now before the meeting Karim Mussilhy said Grenfell United had been trying to get Ulster Rugby to cut its ties with Kingspan for a while.

He added: Kingspan manufactured an illegal product and targeted high-rise buildings and they killed our families. Their product was part of the reason why our families are dead, so that is what we are trying to tell people.

We did the same thing with Formula One and Mercedes. We are asking Ulster Rugby, Why do you want to be involved with a company, which is currently the subject of a criminal investigation being undertaken by the Metropolitan Police?

Grenfell United, which was set up immediately after the fire, represents the vast majority of all the survivor and bereaved families of Grenfell.

It is not just Kingspan, we are campaigning against pretty much all of the corporations that have been involved with Grenfell because they continue to behave the same way, they continue to make money and nobody has been held to account. We are trying to affect their pockets if you will because that is the only language they understand, said Karim Mussilhy, whose uncle was in the Grenfell Fire.

Closing his Council presentation, Karim Mussilhy said: One of Kingspans main arguments is that only five percent of their products was used in the Grenfell Tower refurbishment.

By my calculations, that five percent contributed to four and a half deaths, thats four adults and one child. That means Kingspan is okay with killing four adults and one child.

Following the presentation to Council by Karim Mussilhy and Antonio Roncolato, Cllr Gary Donnelly expressed solidarity with the Grenfell United Campaign.

He added: Having received the presentation, it just brings home the complete lack of empathy and the complete disregard for the victims and the survivors and the relatives.

The fact that these people falsified the safety credentials of their product is criminally damning. It is despicable and it is disgusting, the behaviour. There is absolutely no remorse.

There was also a proposal from this committee, from Alderman Guy (UUP) regarding Cavan GAA and maybe Grenfell United would think of writing to Cavan GAA [which is also sponsored by Kingspan].

I cant see why organisations would want to be sponsored by people like Kingspan. To me it is blood money. In my opinion, there is no excuse for it, said Cllr Donnelly.

Sinn Feins Cllr Aisling Hutton, said the trauma and the sadness being experienced by Grenfell survivors and families must be tremendous.

You have created this voice for the people who have been affected by this disaster and you are to be commended, said Cllr Hutton.

As most of us know, when there is trauma involved in someones life, it is the support that comes in around them that really makes that wee bit easier.

You are the voice of those people who are looking for those answers. I think the public Inquiry has given reports to the investigation and we will all be waiting with baited breath to see what comes out of that.

For me it is just to acknowledge what you have experienced as family, as a community, has just been really, really terrible and I think, you have created that line of support for the families and I want to say, thank you for that as well and wish you the best of luck,.

Cllr Shaun Harkin (PBP) commended the efforts of Grenfell United over the last number of years to hold those who are responsible, for what was a huge tragedy, to account.

This was something which should never have occurred and it sent shockwaves all across these islands and all across the world and I think we can agree that this happened because it was decades of Tory austerity, profiteering and neglect of council housing by those who were in charge.

I think the role of Kingspan in all of this has been apparent. It clearly didnt care about the foam and insulation that was going into Grenfell and lied for years and years as the Inquiry was able to demonstrate.

Since then, what it has done is, rather than attempting to take responsibility for their role, it has attempted to continue with the cover up and are using their deep, deep pockets to build up their profile by sponsoring organisations like Ulster Rugby.
More than 2,000 people came together in Derrys Guildhall Square on Saturday afternoon (October 21) for the Rally for Palestine organised by the Derry Branch of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign.

Dozens more took up vantage points on Derrys Walls, where a banner calling for the expulsion of Israels ambassador to Ireland, was unfurled.

Addressing the assembled crowd, Catherine Hutton, chairperson of the Derry Branch of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign said Derrys was one of the many Rallies for Palestine taking place all over the world.

Guildhall @ipsc_derry rally.



WATCH: Catherine Hutton, Derry Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign



She told @DerryNow: "We are here today, to stand in solidarity with the people of Palestine, especially the people in Gaza, where there is genocide being carried out by Israel." pic.twitter.com/k5sbRAWDmj  Derry Now (@DerryNow) October 21, 2023

People are marching. People are standing in solidarity and showing their support for the Palestinian people and against the genocide that is happening now in Gaza since October 7, she said.

Almost 5,000 people are dead and more under the rubble. Tens of thousands are injured. They are being starved of water, food, electricity, and medical supplies. This is a crime against humanity.

There are more than 1,500 children killed as far as we know. A child has been killed every 15 minutes since October 7 in Gaza. Let that sink in.

The Palestinian people need us now. We need to end the occupation. We need to end apartheid. We need freedom, justice, equality and right of return, she said.

Becca Bor representing Jews for Palestine Ireland told the crowd her organisation across the whole world was saying, Not in our name.

She added: For too long the grief and despair of the Jewish people from the Holocaust has been used for the occupation, the murder and the displacement of the Palestinian people, and we say, not in our name.

The Holocaust was a crime against humanity but so was the Nakba, so is the continued occupation of Palestine, so is the displacement of the palestinian people.

Right now there are thousands if not tens of thousands of Jews around this world who are fighting back and are standing up against this occupation. The largest ever Jewish led protest was held in Washington DC this week and it is helping give confidence that being against Israeli brutality is not being anti-Semitic because we say, not in our name.

One of the things that is really clear is there was just recently a poll in the US that stated 80% of Democrats and 66% of the population at large is for a ceasefire today, said Ms Bor.

Guildhall @ipsc_derry rally.



WATCH: Daisy Mules, Irish National Teachers' Organisation (@INTOnews).



She told @DerryNow: "I am here in Derry, standing in solidarity with the Palestinians who, in my opinion, are facing a genocide." pic.twitter.com/HyKWvcBbKF  Derry Now (@DerryNow) October 21, 2023

Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council Patricia Logue described what was currently happening in Gaza as a stain on humanity.

She added: Israel has flouted international law for decades with absolutely no impunity.

It has laid siege to the people of Gaza, almost half of them children, blockading them into the worlds largest open air prison. It has imposed the most brutal form of apartheid on the Palestinian people.

It has annexed territory, imposed illegal settlements and occupation. It has dehumanised, degraded and denied Palestinian people the most basic of human rights.

It has routinely, regularly and mercilessly murdered innocent civilians. It has imprisoned Palestinians in their 1,000s and even continues to hold the dead Palestinian prisoners as hostage, denying their families the right even to grieve. Even by Israels standards, these actions have been abhorrent, said Mayor Logue.

Guildhall @ipsc_derry rally.



WATCH: Dermott Gallagher, Irish National Teachers' Organisation (@INTOnews) & Derry Trade Union Council (@derry_tuc).



He told @DerryNow: "We are supporting Palestinian children & teachers. Real concern where some of those children & teachers are." pic.twitter.com/0QFRIvY4x0  Derry Now (@DerryNow) October 21, 2023

Niall McCarroll, Chairperson of Derry Trade Union Council (DTUC), said like everyone at the rally, his organisation was outraged at the continued human rights abuses being suffered by the Palestinian people.

He added: The continued human rights abuses [include the] occupation and destruction of Palestinian lands and Palestinian homes.

[Also] the horrific assault on the population of Gaza; war crimes; the policy of ethnic cleansing designed to make life unbearable for all Palestinians; the forced division of families; and restrictions on free movement to deny them access to work, to education and to health care; depriving Palestinians of the most productive land and water supplies; and effectively annexing East Jerusalem into Israeli territory.

It is estimated the cost of the illegal occupation of Occupied Palestine - Palestinian territory - the restriction on movement on trade, amounts to a loss of 35% of Palestinian GDP or 2.8 billion.

25% of Palestinians are unemployed, with 30% of families in the West Bank living in poverty. This figure rises to 64% in Gaza. The unemployment figure is at 55% in the Gaza Strip. Lack of jobs and income is forcing workers to the Israeli job market , to work in minimum wage jobs, with little or no rights. The average minimum wage is nowhere near enough to sustain a decent living, said Niall OCarroll.

Mr OCarroll added DTUC was frustrated the British and Irish Governments and the EU had failed in their obligations under international law.

There was no such dithering when it came to the illegal invasion of Iraq, he said, under the guise of so-called international law.

The next speaker, Sameh Hassan said he totally condemned the targeting of civilians by both sides as being totally against the Islamic Injunction.

We should not lose sight of the cause of the problem. Over the last 75 years, Israel worked to change the map of the Palestinian land to a very distorted shape, to make sure there is no hope for a Palestinian state.

During the First Nakba in 1948, saw ethnic cleansing, massacres and mass killing. Israel drove 750,000 Palestinians out of their villages. 10,000 of them were displaced to the Gaza Strip.

Today, 80% of the Palestinians in Gaza are refugees or descendents of the Nakba.

Now the fascist government in Israel announced plans of wiping Gaza off the map by displacing its people to Egypt. Israel is trying to change the narrative from what appears to be a war between the two sides to a humanitarian crisis on the border, to put pressure on Egypt to take Palestinians as refugees in Sinai and unfortunately many Western countries are pushing for this, said Mr Hassan.

The murder of children is wrong. I dont know how that is so difficult for some of our world leaders to actually utter, said SDLP Leader, Colum Eastwood.

Guildhall @ipsc_derry rally.



WATCH: @SDLPlive leader @columeastwood MP.



He told @DerryNow: "We are absolutely opposed and totally against what Hamas has done but it is not OK to use that to commit further war crimes on the people of Gaza. Israel needs to stop bombing it now." pic.twitter.com/XhZkx7FnoK  Derry Now (@DerryNow) October 21, 2023

It doesnt matter if they are Israeli children or Palestinian children, murdering them is absolutely wrong.

That is the moral test which has been failed by world leaders right across this planet.

The collective punishment of the people of Palestine is a war crime. It should not be hard to say. Denying a whole population care, food, water, is a war crime.

Collectively punishing children for the results of what Hamas did is a war crime and it should be called out time and time again.

The people of this city know what is required in Gaza today. Stop dropping bombs on childrens heads, that is the only way this will stop, said Mr Eastwood.

Derry City and Strabane District councillor, Shaun Harkin (People Before Profit) told the rally he was very proud the people of Derry and Ireland were standing up for Palestine.

He added: We need to see an end to the apartheid state, which is the first step towards ensuring freedom, democracy and peace in Palestine and right across the Middle East.

The first thing we have to do is demand the Israeli ambassadors to Ireland and Britain are expelled. It would send a message to Israel. It would send a message to Rishi Sunak. It would send a message to Joe Biden. That we are not standing with what they are doing to the Palestinians.

Guildhall @ipsc_derry rally.



WATCH: Eamon McCann (@eamonderry).



He told @DerryNow: "I think it is the duty of every decent citizen to be out shouting about what's happening in the Middle East & what is happening to the Palestinians."



(Apologies for background noise.) pic.twitter.com/LHAN2JPR0B  Derry Now (@DerryNow) October 21, 2023

There is also the issue of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, a global movement founded in 2005 by the Palestinians, to call for Israel to become a pariah state, like South Africa was, which is being criminalised by governments across the globe.

If the ground invasion of Gaza takes place, we cannot be silent. I believe we need a walk out of our schools. We need a walk out of our work. We need mass action in solidarity with Palestine. We are trying to stop a slaughter because that is what they will do, said Shaun Harkin.

The rally ended with Guildhall Square resounding to chants of: From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.
Further status orange and yellow rain warnings have been issued for areas in the south of the country.

An orange warning of heavy and persistent rain in counties Kilkenny, Wexford and Waterford comes after the country has been battered with heavy rain and flooding over the last week.

Potential flooding, dangerous travel conditions and poor visibility has been warned as possible in those areas from 4am on Monday to 4am on Tuesday.

Status Orange  Rain warning for Kilkenny, Wexford, Waterford Heavy & persistent rain with thundery downpours possible Impacts:  Flooding Dangerous travel conditions Poor visibility Valid: 04:00 Monday 23/10/2023 to 04:00 Tuesday 24/10/2023 pic.twitter.com/PlnHBi9lcz  Met Eireann (@MetEireann) October 22, 2023

Met Eireann has also issued a status yellow warning for counties Carlow, Kildare, Laois, Longford, Offaly, Westmeath, Wicklow and Roscommon from 4am on Monday to 4am on Tuesday.

A separate status yellow rain warning has also been issued for counties Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary and Galway from 6pm on Sunday to 6pm on Monday.

Many areas, particularly in Cork and Waterford, are still counting the costs after severe rain and flooding last week.

The Government has opened a 10 million euro fund to help homes and businesses repair the damage.
Fully PIF-owned company, Cruise Saudi, has welcomed SH Diana to Saudi Arabia as part of her Maiden Voyage with inaugural calls to Yanbu, Baridi Island and Jeddah.

Arriving in Yanbu on October 12 with an overnight stay, passengers enjoyed the citys old town and ventured into the historic Layl Souq.

On the second day of the ships journey, SH Diana anchored at sea, just off Baridi Island, offering a new expedition experience with pristine beaches and coral reefs.

Call at Jeddah

Continuing her journey along the Red Sea coast, the ship made a second maiden call in Saudi to Jeddah, where passengers explored the streets of Al Balad  a UNESCO World Heritage recognised Hijazi style historic district, with its traditional buildings and authentic shops and cafes.

Lars Clasen, CEO at Cruise Saudi, said: We were honoured to welcome Swan Hellenics cruise ship, SH Diana to Saudi for the first time, in what was a milestone visit for Cruise Saudi. We are proud to be constantly expanding our programme of onshore experiences to provide such an authentic insight into Saudi culture for our guests.

Kai Ukkonen, Captain of SH Diana, said: Its incredibly exciting to have incorporated this Maiden Voyage to Saudi and to offer this new destination to our passengers. Our goal is to always create unforgettable moments for our guests, so it was a top priority to work with Cruise Saudi on creating a collection of unique and curated adventures for a truly immersive experience.--TradeArabia News Service
Google discriminated against Ulku Rowe, a former executive, because of her gender and must pay $1,150,000 in compensation and damages, reports Bloomberg Law's Beth Wang.

Rowe claimed Google discriminated against her by hiring her at a lower level, paying her less than her male peers who were doing similar work, and denying her a promotion for which she was qualified. The promotion, she argued, went to a less qualified man.

She came into the job with 23 years of experience in the financial services and technology field but was hired as a level eight employee while other men who were hired at the same time as her, and allegedly had less experience, were hired at level nine. As a level eight employee, Rowe made about $750,000 a year while some of the level nine employees made over $1 million a year.

However, the jury said Rowe didn't prove that Google paid her less than at least two of her male colleagues, in violation of New York law.
Today An Post, the Irish Postal Service, issued a stamp marking the 50th anniversary of Sydney Opera House. The stamp was unveiled onsite at Sydney Opera House by Consul General of Ireland Sydney, Rosie Keane; Kieran Rice, son of Peter Rice, the late Irish Structural Engineer who made possible the buildings infamous white sails roof, Isabella Rice and Kerryn Coker, Co-Chair of Arup Australasia, the original design company.

Dundalk man and Structural Engineer Peter Rice (1935-1992) played a central role in creating the revolutionary modern structure using his mathematical expertise and artistic intuition to convert concrete, steel and glass into a world-renowned building, famous for its iconic, white sails roof structure.

His son Kieran Rice responded to the stamp issue, saying, We, Peter Rices family, are all really touched that his contribution to the Sydney Opera House design is being recognised with this wonderful First Day Cover of the commemorative stamp on 50th anniversary of the completion of the Sydney Opera House.

"The stamp is a lovely artwork in itself and Peters quote on the FDC is very well-chosen and is often used in our family to motivate his grandchildren.

"Peter was a proud Irishman, who worked across the globe on many iconic projects, but the Sydney Opera House was where it all started.

"He moved to Sydney in 1963 for three years with his wife, Sylvia, and two young daughters Julia and Heidi. Our time in Sydney had a huge impact on our family  Kieran was born there, and Sylvia still visits friends every year who were made at that time.

"Peter was very proud of his involvement with the Sydney Opera House design and construction especially his work on programming the setting out of the sails. He would have been humbled to be recognised in this way in his native Ireland.

Consul General of Ireland Sydney, Rosie Keane said: 50 years on from its construction, the Sydney Opera House is still one of the most loved and recognised landmarks in the world.

"As the Irish Consul General in Sydney I feel enormous pride that the Irish engineer Peter Rice played a significant part in the creation of this unique and graceful design. I was delighted to join with Kieran and Isabella Rice and Kerryn Coker from Arup at the Sydney launch of this An Post stamp, commemorating the great Peter Rice and his historic legacy in this city.

An Post CEO David McRedmond commented: Ireland has been slow to recognise its contribution to Modernism. The 50th anniversary of Sydney Opera House is the perfect time to celebrate the role of Irish people, and of engineer Peter Rice in particular, to the great canon of world-class architecture and engineering.

An Posts stamp shows a striking illustration of Sydney Opera House by renowned Irish artist David Rooney capturing the organic nature and acoustics of the building, while also referencing art created by First Nations Australians.

The W rate international stamp 2.20 covers postage anywhere in the world and is available online at anpost.com/shop (with free delivery) and from the GPO and selected post offices nationwide.

The renowned engineers visionary career is also celebrated with a limited edition First Day Cover envelope featuring the new stamp alongside an illustration of Peter Rice and a quote from his writings: The courage you need is the courage to start. Once launched, then each step can be evolved naturally.
Thousands of people across Louth will have their noses buried in books this November, as part of the annual MS Readathon fundraiser. The MS Readathon is Irelands biggest sponsored reading initiative, which invites children, adults and teachers to get sponsored to read as many books as they can throughout the month.

All funds raised from the MS Readathon go towards supporting people living with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), and their families. MS is the most common debilitating neurological condition affecting young adults in Ireland. It affects more than 9,000 people in Ireland.

MS Ireland is calling on people  from small kids and older teenagers to community groups, businesses, and books clubs  to get involved. Ava Battles, MS Ireland CEO said:

There is still time for bookworms of all ages to set themselves a reading challenge this November and get involved in the MS Readathon. Its not too late for people to read along with their kids at night-time or set a group challenge as part of a book club. The Readathon is the perfect opportunity to keep little minds entertained.

Shirley Keane OBrien is delighted to be the MS Readathon Ambassador this year. Her enthusiasm for the MS Readathon is infectious and shes determined to help support MS Ireland who helped her through the toughest days of her life.

Im delighted to be the ambassador and help raise awareness. I remember it from my two kids doing it in primary school. Now Ill be doing it and loving every minute of it.

The MS Readathon is a wonderful initiative because it brings childrens imaginations alive, while raising awareness of MS and fundraising for these much-needed services. I devoured books as a child and reading has had a hugely positive impact on my life, even more so since my diagnosis, so I am encouraging everyone to get involved in the MS Readathon this year.

Through reading there is hope, and through the MS Readathon there comes hope for better services, better resources and an eventual cure for people living with MS. That is why I am so delighted to be taking part in the 'Grown Up Readathon' this year.

Children, teachers, and adults can get involved in this years MS Readathon by registering online here and get a host of fundraising ideas, resources and reading suggestions are also available on MS Readathons website
Its with great excitement, says everyone involved, that the Oriel Centre, Dundalk Gaol will welcome former Eurovision winner and Classic FM Hall of Fame Composer, Eimear Quinn to its stage on Saturday 9th December at 8.30pm.

Eimear Quinn is one of the pre-eminent Irish voices of her generation. Occupying the space where traditional meets classical and sacred, as a classically trained soprano with a background specialising in Early and Choral music, she made her international debut in 1996, when she won the Eurovision Song Contest for Ireland with the haunting ballad The Voice written by Brendan Graham.

Eimear now often composes music using Latin and Irish languages and contemporises ancient text and chant. She has become a highly respected interpreter of Irish folk and traditional song in a classical context. Eimear was voted into the Classic FM Hall of Fame by the stations listeners and is only one of five female composers to receive this coveted vote.

Eimear has collaborated with Sir George Martin,Carlos Nunez, Liam Lawton, Donal Lunny, Joseph OConnor, Scullion, Pol Brennan, Dublin Brass Ensemble and of course Brendan Graham.

She has also collaborated with several international composers on a range of musical and television projects. These have included performing and co-writing the award-winning score to Belgian drama series Stille Waters with Steve Willaert.

Eimear released O Holy Night, a collection of carols, ancient chants, and seasonal compositions from Eimear, who has also produced and arranged the album.

It was inspired by the overwhelming reaction to her performance of O Holy Night live on Radio 1 show. This in turn led to Eimear presenting her own Television special A Christmas Celebration with Eimear Quinn on RTE Television, produced by Philip King. Eimear still tours with these songs nationwide every December.

This will be a very special, uplifting night of music and will be a rare opportunity to see Eimear Quinn perform in such an intimate and unusual venue so early booking is advised. Tickets are 30 and are available from www.orielcentre.ie.
Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT) recently turned the campus pink as two groups of students held two extremely successful events and raised a phenomenal 2,538 in total during Breast Cancer Awareness month for their chosen charities.

The events main goal was to raise awareness about breast cancer and the critical importance of early detection. These events highlighted the facts about breast cancer in Ireland and sought to promote good breast health amongst women of all ages.

Early detection can be a game-changer in the fight against breast cancer, significantly improving treatment outcomes. But that's not all the students achieved, they raised critical funding which is crucial in providing essential support services to breast cancer patients and their families during their most challenging times.

The first occasion was hosted by Year 3 General Nursing Students who held their Annual Cake Sale fundraising event with all proceeds going to two local charities, North East Cancer Research & Education Trust (NECRET) and the Gary Kelly Cancer Support Centre. These General Nursing students raised over 1288.

The second event was held by 3rd-year Event and Hospitality Management students who hosted an extremely successful "The Big Pink Coffee Morning" on campus. Maria Roddy Freyne, Course Director BA (Hons) Hospitality Management said:

We were thrilled this year to raise a total of 1250 for the Irish Cancer Society Annual Breast Cancer Campaign. We are deeply grateful to all the DkIT community for their continued support and commitment to our chosen charity.

Together these two groups of students supported a positive impact in the fight against breast cancer and were delighted to spread the word and turn the DkIT campus pink for a great cause.
An urgent appeal has been made for more regular donors to give blood.

It comes as stocks  particularly of O negative, A negative and B negative  are running low.

The Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS) said stocks of those blood types have fallen to just three days supply in recent weeks, and it aims to have seven days of stock at all times.

High demand from hospitals, an increase in illness among donors in our communities over the last number of weeks and the recent adverse weather conditions are described as having combined to create a shortage of blood, particularly in the Rh Negative groups.

Paul McKinney, director of donor services and logistics, said the IBTS is urging regular donors to respond when they receive a text from us and to make an appointment.

A pre-amber alert has been issued in line with the National Blood Shortage Plan for the Rh Negative blood groups, which requests conservative use of blood by all hospitals, he said.

All donations are needed to avoid any impact on our hospital system. We are asking our regular donors to make an extra effort to book an appointment and donors in Dublin to consider booking an appointment at our fixed centre in DOlier street.

Regular Donors can book an appointment online at www.giveblood.ie or phone 1800 731 137.

Further clinic information can also be found on the website and anybody interested in becoming a new donor can register their interest on www.giveblood.ie Become a Donor.
Cork City Councils average turnaround time for reletting social housing is more than 58 weeks, the highest of the six main urban authorities in the country, according to a recent report from the National Oversight and Audit Commission (NOAC).

The urban authorities included Cork, Dublin, and Galway Cities, Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, Fingal and South Dublin County Councils.

In the NOAC report, Cork City Council was found to have a turnaround time of 58.53 weeks for reletting vacant social homes in its stock.

The average cost in the Cork City Council area for returning a house to use was 14,617.

The report showed that Cork County Councils average turnaround time was 49.82 weeks.

Cork County Council spent an average of 35,601 to prepare a house for reletting.

Both councils were asked to respond to queries from The Echo on the turnaround time in reletting social housing when it becomes vacant.

Progress in city

In its response Cork City Council said that it was actually making progress in reducing the reletting time for social housing, pointing out that it had been reduced by 30% between 2020 and 2022 and this work continued apace'.

Cork City Council is taking appropriate steps to expedite the turnaround time of vacant properties and improve our performance in line with the key service indicators as provided by NOAC, the Council said in its statement.

It is important to note, however, that the reletting time includes the time taken to both repair and upgrade vacated properties to an acceptable letting standard and to relet those properties in line with the City Council's scheme of lettings.

As such, the time taken to relet a property is dependent on the condition of a property at the time of return and how long it takes to relet a particular property depending on uptake and acceptance by applicants on the social housing list.

A comprehensive effort to improve the turnaround time based on process and system improvements is ongoing; indeed between 2020 and 2022, a 31% reduction in reletting times has been achieved and efforts continue to ensure that this reduction in turnaround time will continue apace.

Cork County Council did not provide a response.

Average time nationally

The report showed the national average re-letting time increased in 2022 to 35.22 weeks from 34.44 weeks in 2021.

Wexford County Council had the shortest re-letting time at 11.51 weeks.

Longford recorded the largest increase in the average re-letting time from 67 weeks in 2021 to 99.48 weeks in 2022, however, the report noted that this figure includes three long-term voids retenanted in 2022.

The average letting cost in 2022 was 21,886.04, compared to 19,653.39 in 2021.

According to the NOAC report, 3.7% of Cork City Councils housing stock was vacant on December 31, 2022.

The corresponding figure for Cork County Council was 4.82%.
Canisius University will not reopen Lyons Hall, a five-story building that sustained severe damage during the Christmas weekend blizzard, according to a report in the schools newspaper, The Griffin.

School President Steve Stoute said the school has enough space to move forward without the building.

Buffalo-area colleges, Ice at Canalside report damage from Christmas blizzard Canisius College, University at Buffalo South Campus and SUNY Erie Community College City Campus all suffered building damage from last week's deadly blizzard.

Instead, Canisius will negotiate with their insurance provider in order to settle the claim for the damages to Lyons. From there, Canisius will negotiate with their debt holder and leverage some of the proceeds from the settlement to move the prospective date of debt payments well out into the future, the paper quotes Stoute as saying.

Stoute came to the decision about the schools more than 100-year-old arts building after discussing the matter with the colleges board of trustees and Finance Board, the report said.

Its like a mortgage, Stoute told The Griffin. We know when the maturities are, and some are further out than others, and the more we can be thoughtful about how we engage in conversations with our debt holder about what is in their best interest, and our best interest, I think that will support what we are trying to accomplish as a university.

Canisius officials did not respond to requests for comment Sunday.

Lyons Hall was closed in December after sustaining severe blizzard-induced water damage. Several pipes in the buildings third floor burst during the blizzard, and the water damaged each of the floors below, including the basement.

The building had been home to the schools admissions, alumni engagement, communications and enrollment management administrative offices; the Marie Maday Theatre, where Canisius student organizations performed theatrical and musical performances; and the colleges communications, digital media arts, fine arts, marketing and political science departments.

Lyons Hall, across the street from the colleges main campus, was formerly Mount St. Joseph High School.

The five-story, neo-Gothic structure is named for James F. Lyons, a software executive and 1956 graduate of the college, and his wife, Judith.
Farmers in Timoleague, West Cork, are making a breakthrough with their research on the effect farming has on pollution, but it might be too late.

The Agricultural Catchments Programme (ACP) conducted by Teagasc has been recording water quality in six locations across Ireland, including Timoleague, for nearly 15 years.

The programmes purpose is to assess the Nitrates Directive measures by studying the influence that agriculture has on water quality, with those participating in the Timoleague project attempting to prove that the amount of nitrates entering our waterways can be reduced without reducing cow numbers.

Cork South West TD Christopher OSullivan, who is also Fianna Fails spokesman on Environment, Climate Action and Biodiversity, said that measures such as soil management and changes in slurry spreading practices are working to improve water quality.

Tanaiste Micheal Martin and Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue visited Timoleague with Mr OSullivan recently to see the measures in action as the farmers call for more time to prove this.

Reductions in derogation limit

It comes as Irelands current derogation is due to expire on 1 January 2026, and the derogation limit is due to reduce to 220 kg/ha on 1 January 2024 in certain areas, which will force farmers to cut the size of their herd, resulting in significant loss of income.

Christopher OSullivan explained to The Echo: The nitrates directive was introduced in Europe because our waterways need to be cleaned up and one of the contributors is agriculture.

Ireland has previously had a derogation allowing us a higher limit of nitrates because we are grass-based and have animals on pasture 10 months of the year.

Europe said we need to see an improvement in your waterways, but the results were announced recently and there was no improvement in the waters that were tested.

Minister McConalogue said last month that the EU Commissioner for the Environment, Mr. Virginijus Sinkevicius had confirmed that there was no prospect of re-opening the current Commission Decision conferring a derogation from standard Nitrates Directive rules on Ireland.

He said in a statement: I made a strong case to Commissioner Sinkevicius for the retention of Irelands 250 kg/ha derogation until the next review, based on Irelands unique, grass based agricultural system, the measures farmers had already taken to improve water quality, and the need for additional time to see the results of these measures in our water quality indicators.

"The Commissioner made it clear that Ireland is one of only three remaining member states with a derogation, while stressing that there is no prospect of re-visiting the current decision.

Measures to reduce nitrates in water

Deputy OSullivan explained that the research conducted by Teagasc has proved that by far the most effective way the dairy sector can reduce the amount of nitrates in our water is through targeted measures, as the science shows that reducing the amount of cows on their land has very little if any impact.

Theres a naturally occurring nitrate in the ground, and the best way of stopping it going into water is ensuring that the crop takes up the nitrogen, he said.

This includes not spreading slurry in the winter months as the crop isnt growing as much and the nitrates arent taken up by the crops and they leak into the waterways.

They are also focusing on the mineral efficiency of the soil, as if the phosphorus and potassium are at the right level it optimises the amount of nitrates that the plant can take up, again leading to less of the nitrates ending up in the water supply.

Farmers in West Cork have been through a really tough time, the TD said, explaining: Im thinking of the smaller dairy farmer who maybe has 65 cows, they could have to reduce their herd to 50.

This could make it unviable for them, and these are the most sustainable farmers - my worry is that were going to squeeze out a load of these smaller farmers.

I was delighted that the Tanaiste and the Minister came down, because their methods in Timoleague are working.

We need more time instead of this blunt thing of removing the cows, we just need a bit of time to show we can do it.

Farmers know that they cant just ignore water quality, they need to do their very best to improve it - its important we protect our farmers as well as focusing on cleaning up our waterways, Mr OSullivan said.
LATEST

CORK County Council has issued an advisory for motorists that warns of hazardous driving conditions tonight.

The local authority said.

"Please exercise extreme caution as driving conditions may be hazardous tonight, with further surface water flooding expected. Motorists are advised to expect difficult travel conditions and poor visibility at times.

"Motorists should avoid driving through flowing or standing water as there is a risk of vehicles becoming stranded in flood waters. Motorists are reminded to be especially conscious of vulnerable road users such as cyclists and pedestrians."

Please exercise extreme caution as driving conditions may be hazardous tonight, with further surface water flooding expected. Motorists are advised to expect difficult travel conditions and poor visibility at times. pic.twitter.com/DFjL5wceM2  Cork County Council (@Corkcoco) October 22, 2023

EARLIER

MET Eireann has issued a 24-hour Status Yellow rain warning for Cork which will come into effect at 6pm this evening.

There is a risk of localised flooding and difficult driving conditions are expected.

Clare, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary, Galway will also be affected.

Heavy rain = localised flooding & difficult travel conditions tonight.

Property owners are advised to take all necessary precautions to safeguard their property. If river levels rise to a level of concern, we will endeavour to advise residents in areas at greatest risk. pic.twitter.com/hAESJeknUA  Cork County Council (@Corkcoco) October 22, 2023

The warning is set to be lifted at 6pm on Monday.

Status Yellow - Rain warning for Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary, Galway



Rain, heavy at times with the chance of thunder



Possible impacts:



 Localised flooding

 Difficult travel conditions



Valid: 18:00 Sunday 22/10/2023 to 18:00 Monday 23/10/2023 pic.twitter.com/Ndjv8KHqhQ  Met Eireann (@MetEireann) October 22, 2023

Cork County Council will continue to monitor the levels of the Owenacurra River in Midleton as its staff remain at a local co-ordination centre throughout the weekend.

An upright piano amongst the debris on the Main street of Midleton with a message written for Cork County Council..."DON'T CRY FOR ME CORK COUNTY COUNCIL Pic: Larry Cummins

Water levels abated in the area over the weekend as repair works to roads and bridges continued and a large-scale clean-up effort gained momentum.

With high river levels and more rain expected, members of the public are advised to stay high, dry, and away from the coast, rivers, and lakes.

'EAST CORK GREATEST CONCERN'

Cork County Councils Severe Weather Assessment Team convened today in advance of Met Eireanns warning.

Met Eireann has forecasted heavy rain with the chance of thunder leading to localised flooding and difficult travel conditions.

A weather front is forecast to travel across the county overnight from west to east with a potential 30mm of rain forecast for some locations. Based on the most recent forecast patterns available, it is expected that the most intense rainfall periods will commence this evening and during the early morning hours of Monday. The East Cork area is of greatest concern based on current predictions. Separately, Met Eireann has issued a level Orange Rainfall warning for counties in the South East.

Cork County Council is asking areas which were impacted by recent flood events to be conscious of the risk of possible future flooding. Residents in flood prone areas who have previously been issued with sandbags are advised to take all necessary precautions considering the forecast.

The local authority said: "Although river levels have dropped over recent days, levels remain elevated. The advice is therefore for people to remain vigilant.

"Localised heavy downpours are expected, the exact location of which is unknown. It should be noted that surface water drainage systems have limited capacity and localised downpours and flash flooding may overwhelm drainage systems even where they have been fully cleared. There is also a likelihood of surface water flooding on already saturated ground conditions.

"The Council has been distributing sandbags throughout the county since the severe weather alerts have been issued. It is noted that in the Midleton / East Cork area alone more than 7,000 sandbags have been distributed to date with the assistance of the Defence Forces.

"Property owners across the county are advised to take all necessary precautions to safeguard their property. In the event of river levels rising to a level of concern, the Council will endeavour to advise residents in areas that may be at greatest risk.

"The Council will distribute further sandbags on a priority basis.

MAIN STREET CARRIGALINE TO CLOSE

"Main Street in Carrigaline will close from 9.30pm this evening until 8am tomorrow morning at which point the matter will be reviewed.

"Cork County Council is reminding members of the public to exercise extreme caution as driving conditions may be hazardous, with further surface water flooding expected. Motorists are advised to expect difficult travel conditions and poor visibility at times. Motorists should avoid driving through flowing or standing water as there is a risk of vehicles becoming stranded in flood waters. Motorists are reminded to be especially conscious of vulnerable road users such as cyclists and pedestrians."

Cork County Council can be contacted via its 'Emergency Out of Hours' number (021) 4800048.

Cork County Council will issue further updates as information becomes available.

The weather forecast for the following days suggests that the weather will remain unsettled.
RESIDENTS of the north Cork village of Rathcormac will meet tonight to disuss flooding in the area as locals desperately await a long-planned relief scheme.

The community was busy over the weekend putting household furniture and appliances damaged by the latest flooding incident into skips.

They fear the village will be hit by several other such deluges before they get relief.

The home of Claire OFlynn was one of several homes to be impacted by the flooding.

Eleven years ago the same thing happened to us, the water came from the village and from across the road and it met in the middle and it came down into us.

The OPW has a scheme and its gone through planning and theyve done nothing with it and theyre saying now they wont do it until 2030, thats another bit down the road and what am I going to do if I get flooded again?

The community is holding a meeting to discuss the flooding issue in the local hall tonight at 7.45pm.

Rathcormac was one of several Cork communities named as locations for proposed flood relief schemes in 2018 under the Catchment Flood Assessment and Management Programme, the largest ever flood risk study carried out in the State which investigated 300 areas believed to be at significant risk.

Under CFRAM there was to be 118 such schemes carried out around the country and, in the initial phase, there would be five larger schemes and 31 schemes for under 1m. Other schemes, including the scheme for Rathcormac, would get the green light to go ahead in the latter half of the ten years, 2018-27.

The Rathcormac scheme consists of the diversion of flood flows from the Kilbrien Stream via a culvert to the Shanowen River and will protect 31 properties when completed, according to a response issued by the then Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to the then Cork East TD, Kevin OKeeffe.

Five years later and theres no timescale for the work on the Rathcormac project to begin. The project was initially costed at 1.15m  but as construction costs have increased dramatically since 2018, this could be much higher by now.

Fianna Fail councillor, William OLeary said the question of when Rathcormac would get its CFRAM scheme has been a regular item on the agenda of the Northern Committee of Cork County Council and at quarterly meetings with the council engineering team.

The only thing I would say is at least the scheme is approved, its gone through several consultation phases and its further along than starting from scratch, said Mr OLeary.

Following a query from The Echo, the Office of Public Works confirmed the Rathcormac scheme was not in the first tranche of projects to be progressed and did not outline a timeline for the completion of the project despite a specific query on that issue.
CORK City Council is being called on to rescind a notice given to residents and landowners of Burkes Hill in Mayfield, instructing them to cut trees along the road.

Residents were instructed in the letter to cut back all road boundary tree/hedges along your property within 30 days or face prosecution.

Under Section 70 of the Roads Act 1993, landowners and occupiers of land are obliged to take all reasonable care to ensure that trees, ditches, hedges etc growing on their land are not or could not become a danger to people using or working on a public road.

A diagram which accompanied the letter sent to Mayfield residents claimed that it was a necessity to have a 6m square of clearance along the road.

But the Green Party in Cork have pointed out that the road itself is only 3m wide and is impassible by tall vehicles who would require this space, such as articulated lorries and double-decker buses.

Green Party councillor for Cork City North East, Oliver Moran, said: This is a narrow road, not very suitable to a lot of traffic, but its enjoyed as an amenity by walkers and provides important tree canopy and biodiversity.

The notice provided to residents and landowners is entirely unsuitable for it  no one is objecting to the necessary hedge-trimming but the consequence of landowners removing over 1km of trees will be devastating.

One group of landowners, who own the majority of land along one side of the 1.5km of roadway, have reportedly already begun work clearing trees on their properties on foot of the notice.

Another homeowner has been quoted several thousand euros to perform the works, while some elderly neighbours were said to feel threatened and worried by the letter.

Cllr Moran added: The irony is that the city will shortly be publishing its trees strategy, which will identify trees on private land as being among the most important in the city.

At the same time, instructions like this one are going out that seemingly leave residents with no way out except to clear them.

This road will never see an articulated lorry or a double-decker bus, its a narrow historic road thats bordered by nature on each side and enjoyed by walkers for that reason.

He recommended rescinding it at once before any more trees were cut back, saying: The notice should be taken back immediately before more damage is done.
A CENTURY ago, a craze for jazz dancing began sweeping the world - and Cork did not escape its giddy grip.

Commercial dance halls had started to spring up in the 1920s, and the new jazz scene was an integral part of them.

As far back as December, 1923, Castlehaven Hall was appealing to patrons to Dance!, Dance!, Dance! and Come in your thousands. The names of halls evoked Hollywood glamour: The Pearl and The Crystal in Blarney Street, while the Americano on Mary Street held its inaugural dance on November 10, 1927.

Their owners vied for clientele by boasting of top class facilities, maple floors, offers of transportation, spot-prizes, and booking popular bands.

Dance tutors sprang up, such as Mr F.A. King in Skibbereen, a Queens Hall gold medallist - the only certified professor of dancing south of Dublin.

An ad in the Cork Examiner in January, 1920, for a foot cream to relieve puffed-up, aching or tender feet for jazz dancers

At Skibbereen Young Mens Society annual dance in its town hall on February 14, 1925, publicity centred on the London Havana Frisco Band of nine instruments with full jazz effects, while the spacious maple dancing floor is undoubtedly one of the best in Munster. Supper was provided.

The Southern Star in January, 1925, stated: Ireland seems to be more than ever in the grip of jazz dancing. Dublin has had a surfeit of it and in the most remote parts of Ireland jazzing holds the floor.

It was assumed - perhaps hoped in some quarters - it would be a fleeting phase, but by 1925 jazz dancing almost eclipsed cinema in popularity, and fears were illustrated by a polemic satire in the Longford Leader in 1925

When the devil came to Erin

from his chambers down in hell.

Where the Harrys, and the Bessies,

And the Cromwells, curse and yell:

He tried all the tricks of Satan,

Patricks children to ensnare,

But he failed in all his efforts

Till he started jazzing there.

At a leap year event in Skibbereen in 1924, women danced rings around the eligibles until the early hours, moving to Moonlight Flits and the Blues. The music was under the direction of local school master Mr J. Daly, a pillar of the community who clearly had no issue in upsetting the Catholic Church.

Skibbereen Cinderella Dance Club offered practice dances in the town hall on Tuesdays and Thursdays, season tickets, Ladies 5s, Gents, 6s - no onlookers allowed.

One Cork jazz fan wrote: I have but just returned from an all-night dance, I am still intoxicated with the mirth, music and merriment of last night; I still feel the dazzling beauty and the bewildering brilliancy of the scene.

Up to 100 couples attended an all-night dance in Macroom on January 20, 1929, under the auspices of the motor drivers group. It was claimed: Those motor drivers have such a way with them, the ladies find them irresistible.

Light illuminated the venue until midnight and a description is rendered of a Guard Gantly among other patrons singing while the changeover from electric lights to gas lamps was in place.

At the annual dance of Dunmanway Amusements Committee in St Patricks Hall in 1929, credit went to our local Power Station for the artistic manner in which the hall was illuminated and turned into something unimaginable.

A commentator in the Southern Star that year chronicled the onset of dance season: Our social scene presents itself through press announcements of innumerable dance dates. The shop windows too proclaim the advent of the slow-mating, sliding season and dainty shoes and dainty dresses direct the footfall movements of the fairer sex.

Jazz never fizzled out - the annual Guinness Cork Jazz Festival is proof of that.
Chongqing Xiyong Micro-electronics Industrial Park is full of laptop brands, such as HP, Acer, Asus, Foxconn, Quanta, Inventec, etc. The 1st made-in-Chongqing laptop was completed on January 26, 2010, and the output of laptops hit almost 30 million from January to November 2012.

After Chongqing Xiyong Micro-electronics Industrial Park breaking through, Chongqing has established the modern industrial cluster of laptops, and is now building the largest production base of laptops in the world. The output of laptops in Chongqing will reach 41 million. One fifth of the laptops throughout the world are made in Chongqing, and 90% of them are sold to overseas.

Liu Wei

1/5 of laptops throughout the world are made in Chongqingadded by chinatimesonline on

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[Photo/Youth.cn]

Unlike many of his betmgm online casino phone numberfriends, Bahajan Soltanahen did not choose to stay in the city after he graduated from college.

Instead, he decided to head straight back to his home in the grasslands of Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

Bahajan, 26, is a member of the Kazak ethnic group, known for their traditional nomadic lifestyles. When he saw how his village, nestled in the lush mountain valleys of Xinyuan county in the Ili Kazak autonomous prefecture, was reaping the rewards of development through major sectors such as tourism, he wanted to do his part and contribute to its growth, sharing the beauty of his home and heritage at the same time.

"Our ethnic traditions and customs are very valuable, so I wanted to take the opportunity to preserve and promote them to other people," he says.

In the past four years, Bahajan has built on the basic tourist lodging, catering and other hospitality services first offered by his parents. His home now boasts rooms and traditional Kazak tent dwellings that can altogether accommodate 100 visitors a day, more than triple the initial capacity.

Guests at the Kazak lodging get to enjoy ethnic meals, celebrations and other local activities, such as roast mutton skewers and pilaf, nang flatbread, thirst-quenching, organically grown melons and other fruit, and dancing accompanied by folk stringed instrumentsall that with the breathtaking Nalati grasslands right at their doorstep.

"We still rear about 40 cattle and 20 horses, which produce meat for sale and give us delicious fermented mare's milk. Visitors can also explore our beautiful prairies on horses," he says.

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Speech by Premier Wen Jiabaoat Opening Ceremony of the 110th Session of the China Import and Export Fair and the Forum on the Tenth Anniversary of Chinas Accession to the WTO.

Distinguished guests,

Dear friends,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Today we are joyfully gathered here to celebrate the opening of the 110th session of the China Import and Export Fair, known as the Canton Fair. I wish to begin by extending my warmest welcome to all the distinguished guests present, and paying my high tribute to the people from all circles who have made contribution to the development of Chinas foreign trade over the years.

The first Canton Fair was held in 1957 by the Chinese government. For more than 50 years, the Canton Fair has adapted itself to the changing world by constantly innovating its exhibition concept and modality and improving the quality of participating enterprises and commodities, thus maintaining its vigor and growth momentum. It has become the longest-standing international exhibition in China with the largest participation and the best reputation, as well as the microcosm of the development of Chinas foreign trade. The history of the Canton Fair is indeed the history of New Chinas openness coming alive.

Looking ahead, with Chinas rapid economic development and steady deepening of reform and opening-up, the Canton Fair is faced with an even broader prospect of development. We are confident that the Fair will be elevated to higher levels with greater effectiveness and more of its unique styles, thus making a greater contribution to Chinas thriving trade with the rest of the world.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In two months time, China will mark the 10th anniversary of its accession to the World Trade Organization, a momentous event in Chinas opening to the outside world. If we describe the Canton Fair as a window China opened to the world, then the accession to the WTO can be seen as a door China opened to the world. If we describe the Canton Fair as China extending a hand to the world, then its WTO membership is its full embrace of this world.

Over the past ten years since WTO accession, China has undergone stupendous changes, so have its trade relations with the outside world and its standing and role in the world family of nations. Looking back, we may draw three important conclusions.

First, China is a country that honors its words and has fulfilled all its solemn commitments upon WTO accession.

Over the decade, we have completely fulfilled our commitments by gradually lowering tariffs on imported goods, abolishing all import quotas, licenses and other non-tariff measures, liberalizing access to foreign trade operation, and substantially reducing the threshold for foreign investment. Chinas overall tariff rate has gone down from 15.3% to 9.8%, far lower than the average of developing countries. One hundred service trade sectors have been opened, which is the level close to the developed countries.

While making our market increasingly accessible, we have strived to ensure the stability, transparency and predictability of our opening policy. In ten years, Chinas central government has sorted out more than 2,300 pieces of laws, decrees and departmental regulations, with the local governments sorting out over 190,000 pieces of local policies and regulations, thus making Chinas domestic laws and regulations on foreign economic relations consistent with its WTO accession commitments.

Second, China is a responsible country that has actively shouldered international responsibilities commensurate with the level of its development.

Over the decade, China has firmly supported the WTO Doha Round negotiations, taken an active part in international macro-economic policy coordination, participated in the development of the G20 and other global economic governance mechanisms, promoted reform of international financial system and taken concrete steps against trade protectionism. At the time of raging international financial crisis, China adopted timely and forceful policies to stimulate domestic demand, sent more than 30 large buying missions abroad, and stepped up import and outbound investment, thus making important contribution to world economic recovery. China was the first developing country to formulate and implement a National Climate Change Program, and has been among the champions in recent years in terms of strong efforts of energy conservation and emission reduction. Earnestly implementing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of the United Nations, China is the only country in the world that has reduced its poor population by half ahead of schedule, and has actively offered foreign aid as its ability permits. In ten years, China has altogether provided over 170 billion RMB yuan in foreign assistance and exempted nearly 30 billion RMB yuan of matured debts incurred by 50 heavily indebted poor countries. What is more, China has pledged zero-tariff treatment to over 95% of imports from the least developed countries, and trained over 60,000 personnel from 173 developing countries and 13 regional organizations. All this has significantly built up the capacity of the recipient countries for independent development.

Third, China is dedicated to common development while always pursuing an opening-up policy based on equality, mutual benefit and win-win cooperation.

The accession to the WTO has had huge and far-reaching impacts on China, the most obvious one being that Chinas open economy receives a great boost for development and its overall competitiveness improves. During the decade, China rose from the sixth to the second place in the world in terms of volume of trade in goods with export ranking the first. FDI totaled US$759.5 billion, the highest among developing countries. Overseas direct investment reached US$68.8 billion in 2010, the fifth largest in the world, which represented an average annual growth of over 40%.Our various industries have weathered the fierce international competition. The WTO membership has brought the Chinese people many tangible benefits. More importantly, it has widened the horizon of our people, changed their way of thinking and promoted Chinas structural reform and institutional innovation, thus enhancing the inherent drive for Chinas future development.

Chinas WTO accession has also brought tangible benefits to many countries around the world. During the decade, China imported US$750 billion worth of goods each year on average and created more than 14 million jobs for its trading partners. Foreign invested enterprises in China remitted a total of US$261.7 billion in profits, representing an average annual growth of 30%. Chinese enterprises operating overseas employed nearly 800,000 people locally and paid over US$10 billion in taxes every year. The quality and affordable Chinese products have benefited consumers from around the world. During the decade, thanks to imported goods from China, American consumers saved more than US$600 billion in spending. Every family in the EU saved up to 300 euros every year by the same token.

Facts have shown that a more open China has benefited not only the 1.3 billion people of China, but also the people around the world. Chinas development is peaceful, open, cooperation-based and win-win-oriented. A WTO family with China on board is a success story for both China and the world.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The present-day world is an open one with economic globalization and revolution in science and technology creating conditions favorable for countries to engage in mutually beneficial cooperation geared to common development. It has become the general trend and desire of the people for the world to stay open and keep developing rather than become closed and stagnant. Moreover, as we are in the middle of resisting the international financial crisis, promoting trade and investment among countries holds the key to early world economic recovery. What worries us is that due to various factors, the development of global multilateral trading regime is anything but smooth sailing. The Doha Round negotiations have bogged down, trade and investment protectionism is raising its head with frequent abuses of anti-dumping, countervailing and other trade remedies, and the tendency of politicizing trade frictions has become more salient. All this has cast a dark shadow over world economic recovery.

History shows that international trade that is free, open and fair can improve division of labor, increase productivity, enlarge the marketplace and expand employment, which serves the fundamental interests of all countries. Trade protectionism, conversely, can only drag the feet of the world economic recovery and hurt people of all countries in the end. At this critical juncture characterized by volatile international financial markets, rising economic instability and uncertainty and marked slowdown of recovery of major economies, the international community should join hands and work closely together to open their markets still wider with greater sincerity and determination, reject protectionism of all forms and manifestations with a clear-cut attitude and concrete actions, and find proper and more rational solutions to trade frictions. That is the only way to break the spell of the global financial crisis, improve the risk preparedness of the international community, and achieve strong, sustainable and balanced growth of the world economy.

Our state policy of unswervingly opening to the outside world and our win-win strategy of opening-up are the free choices made by our people. We have learned from our own experience, including bitter lessons that one cannot succeed in development behind closed doors. China is still a developing country with a big population, weak economic foundation, uneven development, relative backwardness in science and technology, and far from complete economic and political institutions. These are our basic national conditions. That is why we need to constantly free our mind, keep pace with the times, press ahead with reform and opening-up with rock-solid determination and courage and strive to draw on the achievements of all civilizations with an open mind. Thanks to much improved conditions for opening-up and even greater support from the people, Chinas opening to the outside world is promised with a bright future. The recently-formulated 12th Five-Year Plan has clearly outlined a more proactive opening strategy, which gives expression to the tremendous courage and resolve of the government and people of China for continued opening-up.

-We will combine expanding import with stabilizing export in an effort to make our international payments more balanced. China follows an open trade policy, emphasizing both export and import and refraining from pure trade surplus. Five years ago, the Canton Fair changed its name to the China Import and Export Fair and added the International Pavilion, which is a remarkable testimony to Chinas desire for a balanced growth in trade. Thanks to our efforts, Chinas import and export have been moving towards greater balance. For example, our trade surplus in 2009 went down by US$100 billion compared with the previous year. It further went down by US$12.6billion in 2010.This year, the share of trade surplus in GDP is expected to come under 3%.By our estimate, Chinas total import in the next five years will top US$8 trillion, which will offer a lot more opportunities for businesses around the world. We are ready to strengthen financial and economic cooperation with countries that have substantial trade deficit with China and resolve the issue of trade imbalance gradually in the course of continued development of trade. We also hope that relevant countries will lose no time in recognizing Chinas market economy status and relax their control on high-and new-tech exports to China so as to create conditions for a more balanced growth of trade.

-We will combine absorbing foreign investment with investing abroad in an effort to enlarge to room for economic development.China is now relatively rich in capital and foreign exchange reserves, which is an advantage of Chinas development. But we must not overlook the role of foreign capital. The technological innovation, managerial expertise and market opportunities that are often associated with foreign investment are not what one can buy with money. We will continue to welcome investors from all countries to China, especially to the central and western parts of the country. We will attach greater importance to bringing into China advanced know-how, human talents and intellectual resources and to protecting intellectual property rights. We will continue to cultivate an open legal, policy and market environment for all types of market entities at home and abroad by sorting out relevant Chinese laws, regulations, policies and measures and ensuring their consistence with the WTO rules. We will speed up the implementation of the going global strategy, encourage more capable and credible Chinese firms to invest overseas, pay attention to the cooperation schemes aimed at improving the livelihood of the underdeveloped countries and enhancing their capacity for independent development, and stress the need to undertake relevant social responsibilities in the interest of the local communities.

-We will combine deepening openness in the coastal areas with greater openness in the hinterland and border areas in an effort to further improve Chinas regional opening-up layout. The coastal areas must accelerate the development of new international competitive edge, transforming the themselves from being a world factory to being a base for R&D, design, brand marketing and service outsourcing, and moving up the international value chain. The hinterland areas should bring out their comparative advantages of rich natural resources and labor, work hard to improve their investment environment, actively receive relocated industries from overseas and Chinas coastal areas and build up more high-caliber manufacturing and processing bases. The border areas should give full play to their geographical advantages, put in place special opening-up policies, speed up the building of major ports, border cities, border economic cooperation zones and key development and opening-up experimental zones with a view to increasing to overall level of openness.

-We will combine openness in economic field with openness in other fields in an effort to promote reform, development and innovation. Economy remains the basis and key priority of Chinas opening-up program. We will take steady steps to widen the openness of our service industry, keep up the reform in the RMB exchange rate forming mechanism, expand the cross-border use of RMB and gradually make RMB convertible under the capital account. At the same time, we will step up exchanges and cooperation with other countries in education, science, technology, culture, health and other areas so as to promote reform and development of Chinas social programs through ever enlarged openness.

-We will combine opening to the developed countries with opening to the developing countries in an effort to expand the convergence of interests with all parties. China and the developed countries are at different stages of development with strong economic complementarities and broad prospects for mutually beneficial cooperation. It is necessary for both sides to step up strategic dialogue, increase strategic trust, broaden areas of cooperation and properly handle their trade frictions. The developing countries are blessed with an enormous potential for development and they occupy an important position in Chinas market diversification and going global strategies. We are ready to engage in economic cooperation with all countries on the basis of equality and mutual benefit, irrespective of their wealth or social systems.

-We will combine openness in the multilateral context with openness in the bilateral context while continuing to play a constructive role in the international economic system. We are ready to engage more actively in multilateral economic and trade affairs and management of global issues, sharing out development opportunities with other countries and taking on the challenges together. We are also ready to push forward regional cooperation process and explore the possibility of establishing free trade areas with relevant countries and regions. I wish to take this opportunity to repeat my call for all parties to uphold the development mandate of the WTO Doha Round negotiations, pay attention to the interests of the least developed countries and advance the negotiations in a results-oriented way on the basis of locking in the existing outcomes. China has always been supportive of the negotiations and sincerely looks forward to substantive outcomes at an early date.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Chinas opening to the outside world in the past 30 years and more tells us that only an open and inclusive country can be strong and prosperous and achievements in opening-up, keep the policy in place throughout our modernization process, vigorously move the great cause forward and work tirelessly to build a prosperous, democratic, culturally advanced and harmonious China and to ensure prosperity, development and progress in the world.

Thank you.

2011/10/14

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China needs at least three aircraft carriers to defend its strategic interests,all egt interactive wukong4d slot a Chinese general said a few days after the Ministry of Defence had agreed to build a first flagship embodies the Naval ambition of Beijing. If we consider our neighbors, India will have three aircraft carriers by 2014, Japan will have three quasi carriers by 2014, so I think the number (for China) should not be less than three if we are to defend our rights and our maritime interests effectively, said Friday General Luo Yuan (), quoted by the newspaper Beijing News.

For years the PLA has adopted a low profile to talk about its first aircraft carrier, worried about the bellicose image the ship could convey.

The first aircraft carrier of China, former Soviet Varyag purchased in 1998 from Ukraine, may indeed dent the image that China wants to present: that the countrys force only to defend itself, without seeking hegemony.

The ship, now near completion but the date of baptism at sea is unknown, will be used for scientific research and training exercises, said Wednesday the Chinese Ministry of Defense. Independent experts assume that Beijing has already begun, without saying, a building program or a two aircraft carriers.

The United States welcomed Friday that the Beijing authorities have disclosed the construction of the first Chinese aircraft carrier, seeing it as a sign of a move towards greater transparency between the two countries.

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Gary Dickson did the unthinkable four years ago, becoming the first Republican elected as West Seneca supervisor in 50 years.

He now seeks a second term, and the GOP is one seat away from capturing all the slots on the Town Board, in a municipality where Democrats outnumber Republicans by more than 5,000 voters.

Dickson, a retired FBI special agent, has the Conservative line. He is running against Democrat Christopher Rusin, a 30-year teaching veteran at Bishop Timon High School who will be on the Working Families line, as well.

Four candidates are running for two seats on the Town Board, which now has a 4-1 GOP majority. They include one incumbent, Jeffrey A. Piekarec, running on the GOP and Conservative lines with Scott D. Robertson.

Jason Schneckenberger is on the Democratic line, and Kimberly S. Conidi is on the Democratic and Working Families lines.

Different visions

This years races in West Seneca involve a tale of two towns: one that is thriving and one that needs a new direction.

Some residents are upset with the way things are going in Town Hall, and plead for more transparency and more civility in the way residents are treated. Those are some of the same complaints Dickson had in 2019, but its not true now, Republicans say.

The town is thriving, absolutely thriving, Republican Chair Patti Stephens said. We believe that putting the right candidate in will support Gary.

Democrats disagree.

I would like residents to look at whats going on now, Democratic Chair Amy Kobler said. The Town Board meetings have become quite contentious the way people are spoken to.

Rusin said partisan politics has no place in town government.

I didnt run to run against him, I ran to run for the town, he said. If anybody comes up to that microphone and disagrees, its kind of disconcerting the way theyre treated.

Rusin said board members should listen to residents as they make their points, even if they disagree.

Dickson said the culture has improved under his watch.

The climate, I think, in Town Hall has changed greatly. I do not tolerate favoritism, he said.

Recreation issues

Dickson said the way the board handled the proposed closing of the town pool shows that members listen to constituents. After the public spoke up in favor of retaining the pool, the board did not demolish it and put the effort in to have a successful season, he said.

Rusin said there should be more recreational programs, such as all-day summer programs, and the Recreation Department is underfunded compared with surrounding towns.

Dickson said recreation was heavily impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, and the town is devoting more funding to the department. The town built a new splash pad, inclusive playground, bicycle track, pickleball courts and more.

None of those things existed in 2020, Dickson said.

Rusin said he would appoint an economic development director to create a coherent strategy for growth, to recruit and help new businesses through the development process.

Its scary enough to start a new business. I want to make it business friendly to have one person help you, walk you through the process, he said.

Dickson said the town contracts with the West Seneca Chamber of Commerce for about $20,000 for economic development.

Our plan is to make it as welcoming to business and make it so they can make a profit, Dickson said. We have more economic development now than other towns, our peers.

Dickson said the top concern of residents is taxes, and the Town Board is on track to adopt the fourth budget in a row that does not raise the tax rate. The tax levy, or total amount to be raised by taxes, has gone up, but the tax rate has remained the same because of an increase in the assessed property valuation.

The total assessed value of the town has gone up because of economic development, Dickson said.

Infrastructure support

Rusin said much of the towns recent development has been done with federal American Rescue Plan funding, and that taxes would have increased if not for that.

Dickson said the alternative was to not spend the federal funding. The keys to keeping the tax rate steady are economic development, an increase in sales tax and cost-cutting, he said.

Rusin said the town was pre-emptive in starting eminent domain procedures against three property owners who said the town violated their easements when it raised sewer manholes.

Eminent domain was thrust at them. Their biggest complaint is they feel they werent spoken to, they werent addressed, Rusin said. Does that mean the rest of the town should be nervous this is a possibility if they disagree or have a problem?

Dickson has acknowledged the town did not follow its usual procedures before completing the work, but he said the manholes are at the height required by engineering standards, although at least three property owners disagree.

The town is in negotiations with the property owners, who filed legal action against the town.

Town Board

Jeffrey A. Piekarec is finishing his fourth year on the Town Board. He is a sales representative at Robert-James Sales, a distributor of pipe, tube, valve fittings and flanges.

He was the only Town Board member to vote against closing the pool in 2022. He said at the time he did not like the lack of transparency and the lack of a replacement plan.

I dont do what anyone else tells me to do, he said. I vote on what I think is right for the 45,000 residents of West Seneca.

The board will have at least one new Council member, and if it is Robertson, every member of the Town Board will be Republican.

Robertson owned a landscaping and snow removal business, and is maintenance supervisor for the state Thruway Authority, where he has worked for 17 years. He said his background will be a plus on the Town Board.

I would love to see work continue to be done in house by sanitation and Highway Department, he said, including more paving.

Schneckenberger and his brother own Schnecks Tree Removal.

He said the board was not transparent when it purchased the Gemcor building to house the Highway Department.

While I agree with the purchase, it concerns me that the board estimates the building will require $1 million to $3 million worth of renovations without any actual proposals or definitive plans, he said.

Conidi is a former town attorney. For the past decade, she has worked to protect children and families from abuse and neglect. She currently works for the state Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs.

She wants to make town government more responsive and transparent and create development with a vision. Conidi also brought up the proposal to demolish the town pool.

The problem is the process, she said. They took the vote before they had the information and they put the cart before the horse.

Two candidates are running to succeed Kobler as town clerk: Deputy Town Clerk Margaret A. Molly Martin has worked in the Clerks Office for 12 years and has the Democratic and Working Families lines. Kate Newton, a paralegal and former member of the West Seneca Central School Board who owns Kates Cookie Creations, is on the Republican and Conservative lines.

Former town attorney and town prosecutor Tina Hawthorne is the Democratic and Working Families candidate for town justice. Town prosecutor and Deputy Town Attorney Jon F. Minear is on the Republican and Conservative lines.
Space isn't hard only on account of the rocket science. The task of taking a NASA mission from development and funding through construction and launch  all before we even use the thing for science  can span decades. Entire careers have been spent putting a single satellite into space. Nobel-winning NASA physicist John Mather, mind you, has already helped send up two.

In their new book, Inside the Star Factory: The Creation of the James Webb Space Telescope, NASA's Largest and Most Powerful Space Observatory, author Christopher Wanjek and photographer Chris Gunn take readers on a behind the scenes tour of the James Webb Space Telescope's own journey from inception to orbit. Weaving examinations of the radical imaging technology that enables us to peer deeper into the early universe than ever before with profiles of the researchers, advisors, managers, engineers and technicians that made it possible through three decades of effort. In this week's Hitting the Books excerpt, a look at JWST project scientist John Mather and his own improbable journey from rural New Jersey to NASA.

MIT Press

Excerpted from Inside the Star Factory: The Creation of the James Webb Space Telescope, NASA's Largest and Most Powerful Space Observatory Copyright  2023 by Chris Gunn and Christopher Wanjek. Used with permission of the publisher, MIT Press.

John Mather, Project Scientist

 The steady hand in control

John Mather is a patient man. His 2006 Nobel Prize in Physics was thirty years in the making. That award, for unswerving evidence of the Big Bang, was based on a bus-sized machine called COBE  yet another NASA mission that almost didnt happen. Design drama? Been there. Navigate unforeseen delays? Done that. For NASA to choose Mather as JWST Project Scientist was pure prescience.

Like Webb, COBE  the Cosmic Background Explorer  was to be a time machine to reveal a snapshot of the early universe. The target era was just 370,000 years after the Big Bang, when the universe was still a fog of elementary particles with no discernable structure. This is called the epoch of recombination, when the hot universe cooled to a point to allow protons to bind with electrons to form the very first atoms, mostly hydrogen with a sprinkling of helium and lithium. As the atoms formed, the fog lifted, and the universe became clear. Light broke through. That ancient light, from the Big Bang itself, is with us today as remnant microwave radiation called the cosmic microwave background.

Tall but never imposing, demanding but never mean, Mather is a study in contrasts. His childhood was spent just a mile from the Appalachian Trail in rural Sussex County, New Jersey, where his friends were consumed by earthly matters such as farm chores. Yet Mather, whose father was a specialist in animal husbandry and statistics, was more intrigued by science and math. At age six he grasped the concept of infinity when he filled up a page in his notebook with a very large number and realized he could go on forever. He loaded himself up with books from a mobile library that visited the farms every couple of weeks. His dad worked for Rutgers University Agriculture Experiment Station and had a laboratory on the farm with radioisotope equipment for studying metabolism and liquid nitrogen tanks with frozen bull semen. His dad also was one of the earliest users of computers in the area, circa 1960, maintaining milk production records of 10,000 cows on punched IBM cards. His mother, an elementary school teacher, was quite learned, as well, and fostered young Johns interest in science.

A chance for some warm, year-round weather ultimately brought Mather in 1968 to University of California, Berkeley, for graduate studies in physics. He would fall in with a crowd intrigued by the newly detected cosmic microwave background, discovered by accident in 1965 by radio astronomers Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson. His thesis advisor devised a balloon experiment to measure the spectrum, or color, of this radiation to see if it really came from the Big Bang. (It does.) The next obvious thing was to make a map of this light to see, as theory suggested, whether the temperature varied ever so slightly across the sky. And years later, thats just what he and his COBE team found: anisotropy, an unequal distribution of energy. These micro-degree temperature fluctuations imply matter density fluctuations, sufficient to stop the expansion, at least locally. Through the influence of gravity, matter would pool into cosmic lakes to form stars and galaxies hundreds of millions of years later. In essence, Mather and his team captured a sonogram of the infant universe.

Yet the COBE mission, like Webb, was plagued with setbacks. Mather and the team proposed the mission concept (for a second time) in 1976. NASA accepted the proposal but, that year, declared that this satellite and most others from then on would be delivered to orbit by the Space Shuttle, which itself was still in development. History would reveal the foolishness of such a plan. Mather understood immediately. This wedded the design of COBE to the cargo bay of the unbuilt Shuttle. Engineers would need to meet precise mass and volume requirements of a vessel not yet flown. More troublesome, COBE required a polar orbit, difficult for the Space Shuttle to deliver. The COBE team was next saddled with budget cuts and compromises in COBEs design as a result of cost overruns of another pioneering space science mission, the Infrared Astronomical Satellite, or IRAS. Still, the tedious work continued of designing instruments sensitive enough to detect variations of temperatures just a few degrees above absolute zero, about 270C. From 1980 onward, Mather was consumed by the creation of COBE all day every day. The team needed to cut corners and make risky decisions to stay within budget. News came that COBE was to be launched on the Space Shuttle mission STS-82-B in 1988 from Vandenberg Air Force Base. All systems go.

Then the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded in 1986, killing all seven of its crew. NASA grounded Shuttle flights indefinitely. COBE, now locked to Shuttle specifications, couldnt launch on just any other rocket system. COBE was too large for a Delta rocket at this point; ironically, Mather had the Delta in mind in his first sketch in 1974. The team looked to Europe for a launch vehicle, but this was hardly an option for NASA. Instead, the project managers led a redesign to shave off hundreds of pounds, to slim down to a 5,000-pound launch mass, with fuel, which would just make it within the limits of a Delta by a few pounds. Oh, and McDonnell Douglas had to build a Delta rocket from spare parts, having been forced to discontinue the series in favor of the Space Shuttle.

The team worked around the clock over the next two years. The final design challenge was ... wait for it ... a sunshield that now needed to be folded into the rocket and spring-released once in orbit, a novel approach. COBE got the greenlight to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the originally desired site because it would provide easier access to a polar orbit compared to launching a Shuttle from Florida. Launch was set for November 1989. COBE was delivered several months before.

Then, on October 17, the California ground shook hard. A 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck Santa Cruz County, causing widespread damage to structures. Vandenberg, some 200 miles south, felt the jolt. As pure luck would have it, COBE was securely fastened only because two of the engineers minding it secured it that day before going off to get married. The instrument suffered no damage and launched successfully on November 18. More drama came with the high winds on launch day. Myriad worries followed in the first weeks of operation: the cryostat cooled too quickly; sunlight reflecting off of Antarctic ice played havoc with the power system; trapped electrons and protons in the Van Allen belts disrupted the functioning of the electronics; and so on.

All the delays, all the drama, faded into a distant memory for Mather as the results of the COBE experiment came in. Data would take four years to compile. But the results were mind-blowing. The first result came weeks after launch, when Mather showed the spectrum to the American Astronomical Society and received a standing ovation. The Big Bang was safe as a theory. Two years later, at an April 1992 meeting of the American Physical Society, the team showed their first map. Data matched theory perfectly. This was the afterglow of the Big Bang revealing the seeds that would grow into stars and galaxies. Physicist Stephen Hawking called it the most important discovery of the century, if not of all time.

Mather spoke humbly of the discovery at his Nobel acceptance speech in 2006, fully crediting his remarkable team and his colleague George Smoot, who shared the prize with him that year. But he didnt downplay the achievement. He noted that he was thrilled with the now broader recognition that our work was as important as people in the professional astronomy world have known for so long.

Mather maintains that realism today. While concerned about delays, threats of cancellation, cost overruns, and not-too-subtle animosity in the broader science community over the telescope that ate astronomy, he didnt let this consume him or his team. Theres no point in trying to manage other peoples feelings, he said. Quite a lot of the community opinion is, well, if it were my nickel, Id spend it differently. But it isnt their nickel; and the reason why we have the nickel in the first place is because NASA takes on incredibly great challenges. Congress approved of us taking on great challenges. And great challenges arent free. My feeling is that the only reason why we have an astronomy program at NASA for anyone to enjoy  or complain about  is that we do astonishingly difficult projects. We are pushing to the edge of what is possible.

Webb isnt just a little better than the Hubble Space Telescope, Mather added; its a hundred times more powerful. Yet his biggest worry through mission design was not the advanced astronomy instruments but rather the massive sunshield, which needed to unfold. All instruments and all the deployment mechanisms had redundancy engineered into them; there are two or more ways to make them work if the primary method fails. But thats not the only issue with a sunshield. It would either work or not work.

Now Mather can focus completely on the science to be had. He expects surprises; hed be surprised if there were no surprises. Just about everything in astronomy comes as a surprise, he said. When you have new equipment, you will get a surprise. His hunch is that Webb might reveal something weird about the early universe, perhaps an abundance of short-lived objects never before seen that say something about dark energy, the mysterious force that seems to be accelerating the expansion of the universe, or the equally mysterious dark matter. He also cant wait until Webb turns its cameras to Alpha Centauri, the closest star system to Earth. What if theres a planet there suitable for life? Webb should have the sensitivity to detect molecules in its atmosphere, if present.

That would be cool, Mather said. Hints of life from the closest star system? Yes, cool, indeed.
John Gojmerac was 18 years old and working at the Heinz factory in Pittsburgh when he got drafted in 1943 to serve as an Army infantry soldier during World War II.

He and his family had moved to the U.S. four years earlier from Yugoslavia to escape the Nazis.

Gojmerac barely spoke English as he prepared to go off to war.

I was not surprised, because so many guys in the area were getting drafted, he said. It wasnt anything unusual for me.

One night, while aboard a massive transport ship from Italy to France in the wake of the invasion of Provence, he realized it was his 20th birthday.

He doubted he would make it to 21.

On Friday, at age 99, he received the French Legion of Honor medal for his service in the 3rd Infantry Division, which fought in Italy, Germany and France during the last two years of the war.

Gojmerac began as a private, served as a telephone installer, scout and infantryman, and was injured at battles in Anzio and Strasbourg before leaving the Armed Forces after the end of the war as a corporal.

French President Emmanuel Macron signed the accompanying paperwork for his latest honor, the highest that nation bestows for military service in France.

French Consul General Jeremie Robert came from New York City to lead a private, related ceremony at Frontiersmen VFW Post 7545 in the Town of Tonawanda.

Maj. Gen. Christopher Norrie, commanding general of the 3rd Infantry Division, could not attend but sent along his thanks.

John Gojmerac served our nation with honor and distinction and we are in awe of his courage, warrior ethos and true grit displayed on the battlefield, Norrie said. John is a Dogface Soldier and Im proud to call myself one, too. His duty to his country serves as an example of people doing extraordinary things when answering the Nations call and we will never forget his service and sacrifice.

Gojmerac was previously awarded the Purple Heart, Silver and Bronze stars, the Combat Infantry Badge, four Campaign Stars, one Arrowhead and the Presidential Unit Citation for his service during the liberation of France.

He has never been a fan of medals or attention, said his wife, Jeanne. The two started a courtship after a chance meeting in a Toronto dance hall after the war that involved exchanging letters for years, before they finally got married in 1957.

They have lived most of the time since in Tonawanda. He worked 40 years as a machinist at the Chevy plant in the town. The couple raised four children, Linda, Christina, Vicki and Mark.

The couple continued ballroom dancing together throughout their lives  including the former Amherst Dance Club  but Jeanne knew little about her husbands wartime experiences for many years.

When we were first married, he would wake up and be looking under the pillow all the time, she said Friday afternoon, before the family participated in the private medal ceremony.

Confused, she would question his actions. Her husband, who did not want to relive the memories or talk about them with anyone, was dismissive.

Years later, he told her how he was looking for his gun  a reflexive habit he picked up as a soldier.

It stuck with him for a long time afterwards, she said.

Gojmerac more recently has shared stories with loved ones about the bravery and brutality that came with the war.

He saved his fellow soldiers from walking into the jaws of German machine gun fire by asking them to take an alternate route. He also went by himself on a nightlong mission to lay telephone lines through the woods, where he survived a grenade thrown at him by a German soldier on patrol.

When the war ended, Gojmerac was recovering from a mortar explosion that sent shrapnel into his shoulder.

I felt guilty, he said Friday, as tears welled in his eyes. I felt like I should be with the troops, not the hospital.

You never really forget, you know, his wife said with a nod. You try to forget, but its always there.

Rep. Brian Higgins lauded Gojmerac and his service Oct. 13 in the Congressional Record and gave him a U.S. flag flown over the Capitol in honor of his service.

Under enemy fire while keeping the lines of communication open in WWII Born in the cottage of his maternal grandmother in a mountain village in Croatia, John Gojmerac would not arrive in the United States until he was 14. His fathers dream was to buy a sprawling farm in what was then Yugoslavia. To do that, Peter Gojmerac had moved to the United States and earned enough money to buy the farm, a few hours from the cottage where John had been born. My mother would rent out some of the fields to other families. We had a forest and we built our own home with lumber from it, the 89-year-old Gojmerac recalled of the old country.

One of Gojmeracs nine grandchildren, Eric Fabozzi, who lives in Paris, was instrumental in sharing information with the French government to help bestow Legion of Honor accolades upon Gojmerac, said Christina Fabozzi, his second-eldest daughter, who also lives in Tonawanda.

I am a proud daughter, Fabozzi said, describing her father as a silent, simple and steadfast man.

As she scrambled to get her fathers awards ready for display for the ceremony, Gojmeracs eyes brightened as he spotted a particular item on the table.

Thats my jacket! he exclaimed.

The center of the display for the ceremony featured a 3rd Infantry Division uniform patch, holding steadfast like it did at the Marne River in France in 1917 and while on mission in Europe today, Division Maj. Angel Tomko said in a news release about the event.

Gojmerac continues to enjoy woodworking, making cabinets and bookshelves.

He also shared thoughts about the recent declared war in the Middle East, derived from his experiences.

It should be ended somehow, he said. All you do is kill people on both sides.

Close Jeanne Gojmerac, 90, listens to her husband, World War II U.S. Army veteran John Gojmerac, 99, talk before Fridays ceremony at Frontiersmen VFW Post 7545 in the Town of Tonawanda. He received the French Legion of Honor medal for his service, the highest honor that nation bestows. World War II U.S. Army veteran John Gojmerac, 99, nearly died three times during World War II. He was hospitalized when the war in Europe ended in May 1945. Photos and memorabilia of World War II U.S. Army veteran John Gojmerac, 99, rest Oct. 20, 2023 on a table of Frontiersmen VFW Post 7545 In the Town of Tonawanda. He received the French Legion of Honor medal, the highest French military honor. Photos and memorabilia from Army veteran John Gojmeracs service are displayed at Fridays ceremony. His eyes brightened as he spotted an item on the table. Thats my jacket! he exclaimed. Barbara Maurkick takes a photo with World War II U.S. Army veteran John Gojmerac, 99, before he is honored with the French Legion of Honor medal. Maurkick's grandparents were Gojmerac's godparents. World War II U.S. Army veteran John Gojmerac and his wife, Jeanne Gojmerac (center and far right) take a photo with their daughters Linda Naples (right), and Tina Fabozzi and son-in law Ken Fabozzi at Frontiersmen VFW Post 7545 on Friday, Oct. 20, 2023. Tonawanda man receives France's highest military honor John Gojmerac, 99, of the Town of Tonawanda, was honored Friday at Frontiersmen VFW Post 7545 in the Town of Tonawanda with the French Legion of Honor medal. Jeanne Gojmerac, 90, listens to her husband, World War II U.S. Army veteran John Gojmerac, 99, talk before Fridays ceremony at Frontiersmen VFW Post 7545 in the Town of Tonawanda. He received the French Legion of Honor medal for his service, the highest honor that nation bestows. World War II U.S. Army veteran John Gojmerac, 99, nearly died three times during World War II. He was hospitalized when the war in Europe ended in May 1945. Photos and memorabilia of World War II U.S. Army veteran John Gojmerac, 99, rest Oct. 20, 2023 on a table of Frontiersmen VFW Post 7545 In the Town of Tonawanda. He received the French Legion of Honor medal, the highest French military honor. Photos and memorabilia from Army veteran John Gojmeracs service are displayed at Fridays ceremony. His eyes brightened as he spotted an item on the table. Thats my jacket! he exclaimed. Barbara Maurkick takes a photo with World War II U.S. Army veteran John Gojmerac, 99, before he is honored with the French Legion of Honor medal. Maurkick's grandparents were Gojmerac's godparents. World War II U.S. Army veteran John Gojmerac and his wife, Jeanne Gojmerac (center and far right) take a photo with their daughters Linda Naples (right), and Tina Fabozzi and son-in law Ken Fabozzi at Frontiersmen VFW Post 7545 on Friday, Oct. 20, 2023.
An agri-tech firm which builds cutting-edge autonomous farm robotics has been awarded nearly 1 million to spearhead its new FLEXBOT project.

Fox Robotics Lts along with three farms  MA & MP Stockwell Barnsmuir Farm in Scotland, Lutton Farm in Peterborough, and Secretts Farm in Surrey  have been awarded the grant.

The FLEXBOT project involves Fox Robotics' autonomous all-terrain robot 'Hugo RT', designed with horticulture farms in mind.

The robot has autonomous navigation, which the firm says will provide support to farmers in their day-to-day operations.

Fruit growers are increasingly interested in tech innovations that can address some of the issues they currently face, such as seasonal labour shortages.

Picking robots are still some way from being commercially ready, but robotic platforms that can move fruit and crates around a site will allow pickers to keep picking and not spend time bringing fruit to a central weighing location.

Hugo RTs versatility spans various tasks, according to Fox Robotics, from off-season work like mowing grass, transporting soil, and handling delicate seedlings to the demanding in-season tasks of transporting harvested produce.

The unique feature of Hugo RT lies in its ability to perform these tasks without the need for human intervention, thus optimising efficiency and productivity in agriculture.

The core objective of the FLEXBOT project is to enhance the robustness of the Hugo RT's navigation system, ensuring that the robot can operate autonomously in farm environments.

Fox Robotics explains that this improvement will make Hugo RT the solution for a wide range of applications, "transcending the boundaries of traditional farm settings".

Foxs chairman, Christian Gordon-Pullar said: "The aim of this collaboration is to enhance technology that aims to simplify the adoption of robotics in agriculture by mitigating the complexities associated with advanced technology manipulation.

"It will empower farmers to harness the benefits of robotics without the need for extensive technical expertise.

Henry Acevedo, founder and CTO of Fox Robotics, added that the FLEXBOT project represented a significant step forward in the evolution of agriculture.

He explained: "The navigation system, based on Birds Eye View (BEV) maps, enables the robots to autonomously navigate outdoor environments, including fruit farms, with precision and efficiency.

"This capability will prove invaluable in logistics transportation tasks within agricultural operations.
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Thanks to its smart budget management and monetization strategy, "Yaariyan 2" is already emerging as a profitable venture for its producers. Made with a modest budget of 25 Crores, the film's financial success was underpinned by its stellar music. The movie boasts an impressive line-up of eight songs, has struck a chord with audiences across the country.

In addition to its musical triumph, the film's smart distribution deals further cemented its path to profitability. The digital rights of the film were pre-sold to Jio, while the satellite rights were acquired by Sony. As a result, "Yaariyan 2" has achieved remarkable success, with its earnings surpassing its budget on the second day of its release, making it a runaway hit.

Talking about the film's theme, Divya told ANI, "The movie is very entertaining. The film has every emotion. There is drama, comedy, romance. The film revolves around the friendship of three cousins. For the first time, the friendship of cousins is being shown on the big screen...We request people to come and watch our film in theatres on 20th October."

Meezaan in the same interview talked about his bond with the actress and said, "Divya ji was my neighbour for 15 years and I have shifted now. I didn't get the chance to work with her earlier. Finally, we worked on this film. Through this film, I got a chance to know her as an actor. I think we have become close friends today. Even Pearl I met in this film only. Before that I actually didn't know him. We have now become close friends."

Radhika Rao and Vinay Sapru directorial, Yaariyan 2, starring Divya Khosla Kumar, Meezaan Jafri and Pearl V Puri, Yash Daasguptaa, Anaswara Rajan, Warina Hussain and Priya Varrier has released on 20th October 2023.
Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif have proven time and again that they have an chemistry onscreen. Their combination is a force to reckoned with in Bollywood, captivating audiences with their sizzling performances. Over the years, they have worked together in numerous films, creating a lasting impact on viewers.

The duo's onscreen journey began with the film "Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya?" in 2005, where their chemistry was evident from the start. From there, they went on to collaborate in movies such as "Partner," "Ek Tha Tiger," "Tiger Zinda Hai," and "Bharat." Each film showcased their seamless rapport and understanding of each other's characters, captivating audiences with their performances. Their camaraderie has evolved over time, with each project further solidifying their onscreen bond.

Salman and Katrina's pairing, which will now be seen in Tiger 3, has been praised for its natural ease and charm. They effortlessly bring their characters to life and add depth to their onscreen relationships. Whether it is their playful banter or intense emotional scenes, their chemistry never fails to leave a lasting impression on audiences. Their onscreen bond has become a significant part of their career, setting them apart as a power couple in the world of Bollywood.

'Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya' and the Initial Buddy Bond

Their chemistry in the movie was undeniable, capturing the hearts of millions across the nation. Audiences were captivated by their sizzling onscreen presence, leading to a surge in popularity for both Katrina Ka and Salman Khan.

As went by, Katrina and Salman to share the screen in various successful films, as 'Ek Tha Tiger' and 'Tiger Zinda Hai', where their effortless pairing was praised by critics and loved by fans. Their ability to bring their characters to life and create a unique chemistry became their trademark, solidifying their status as one of the most memorable onscreen couples in Bollywood.

Off-screen, their bond grew stronger, with Katrina often expressing her admiration and gratitude towards Salman for his support and guidance in her career. Despite facing ups and downs in their personal lives, their friendship remained intact, proving the depth and durability of their relationship. Through their journey in the film industry, Katrina Kaif and Salman Khan have become an iconic duo, leaving an indelible mark on the hearts of their fans and establishing themselves as true powerhouses in the world of cinema.

'Ek Tha Tiger' and 'Tiger Zinda Hai': The Unbeatable Chemistry

The 'Tiger' series, comprised of the movies 'Ek Tha Tiger' and its sequel 'Tiger Zinda Hai,' not only solidified the bond between the lead actors but also exemplified their undeniable chemistry. With their breathtaking performances, these high-octane action-thrillers took their on-screen compatibility to unprecedented levels, leaving the audience captivated and spellbound. The raw energy and phenomenal acting displayed by the actors in these films enabled them to connect with the viewers on a profound level, thereby establishing an unbeatable connection between the characters and the audience.

The first installment, 'Ek Tha Tiger,' set the foundation for this explosive duo, immersing the audience in a gripping storyline. As the sequel, 'Tiger Zinda Hai,' took flight, the lead actors seamlessly merged their individual acting prowess to create a mesmerizing on-screen combination. Their powerful performances not only elevated the films to new heights but also left a lasting impact on viewers, transforming them into ardent fans of this dynamic pair. Through the 'Tiger' series, the actors showcased their ability to perfectly complement each other's skills, captivating audiences with their electrifying chemistry and establishing themselves as an unforgettable cinematic duo.

'Bharat' and the Evergreen Bond

'Bharat' stands as a testament to the evergreen bond between Salman and Katrina. The audiences and critics alike hailed the duo's transformation into their characters decade by decade in the film. They delved into a mature and emotional aspect of their on-screen relationship, leaving a profound impact. As the story unfolded, Salman and Katrina became more than just co-stars; they became a special part of each other's cinematic journeys, deeply connected and intertwined.

Through their performances in 'Bharat,' Salman and Katrina showcased their impeccable chemistry and ability to bring and authenticity to their characters. They portrayed the complexities of their relationship with finesse, leaving the audience emotionally invested in their on-screen journey. The film's success further solidified their position as one of the most beloved on-screen pairs in Bollywood, leaving an indelible mark on the hearts of their fans. 'Bharat' will always be remembered as a significant milestone in the cinematic association between Salman and Katrina, showcasing their unwavering talent and their ability to captivate the audience with their on-screen magic.

The bond shared by Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif is certainly a fascinating study in the world of cinema. Their friendship and understanding off-screen mirrors on-screen, making them one of the most desirable on-screen pairs of Bollywood. The evolution of their bond through their fruitful collaborations helps people not only appreciate their collective talent but also understand the value of camaraderie in the film industry. Here's hoping that we get to witness more of this magical duo in the years to come.
Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai Actor Marriage: Rajan Shahi, the head honcho of Director's Kut Productions, teamed up with Star Plus to make Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai and the rest is history. The family drama is set to complete 15 years in the coming January and is still among the most-loved shows on TV currently.

YEH RISHTA KYA KEHLATA HAI ACTOR GETTING MARRIED

In the past 14 years, Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai witnessed many changes, however, people still miss the first generation where Hina Khan and Karan Mehra essayed the lead roles of Akshara and Naitik respectively. During the same time, actor Ali Merchant was also a pivotal part of the long-running family drama.

Aishwarya Reveals Handling Disagreements On Ghum Hai Kisikey Pyaar Meiin Set; Is She Hinting At Ayesha Singh?

For those who are unaware, Ali essayed the role of Naitik's cousin Rituraj with whom Akshara was supposed to get married initially. The actor played a grey-shaded role in Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai and won hearts.

Well, Ali Merchant has been currently making headlines for both his professional and personal achievements. On the work front, the actor is poised to take on the lead role in a film produced by Faizuddin and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. In a recent Instagram post, Ali also shared the heartwarming moment of his proposal, revealing his relationship with Andleeb Zaidi.

ALI MERCHANT CONFIRMS WEDDING

Before Bigg Boss 17, Neil-Aishwarya & Ankita-Vicky Competed In THIS Reality Show; Here's Who Won Among Them

According to a report in TOI, it seems that Ali and Andleeb are now preparing to tie the knot very soon. The report suggests that their wedding is scheduled to take place on November 2 and will be held in Lucknow. Yes, you read that right!

Since disclosing their relationship, the much-in-love couple has garnered immense admiration and support from their fans. The video capturing their proposal moment in Dubai has left the internet in awe. Confirming their wedding, Ali told the portal, "We have been planning the wedding together. We shopped for our outfits which will be colour-coordinated. I had to make a few visits to Lucknow where we will get married on November 2. We will have a reception in Mumbai."

It's safe to say that everyone is eagerly anticipating the couple's big day!
Junooniyatt Off-Air News: Following the huge success of Bigg Boss 16, TV stars Ankit Gupta and Gautam Singh Vig teamed up again for Ravi Dubey and Sargun Mehta's second production venture after Udaariyaan, titled Junooniyatt. Starring Neha Rana as the female lead, the musical drama premiered on Colors TV in February this year amid a huge buzz and expectations.

Although Junooniyatt enjoyed a positive reception after its launch, it experienced a decline in TRP ratings after the initial two to three months of broadcasting. In July, the daily soap underwent a time slot change, moving away from its original 8:30 pm slot. Furthermore, the creative team introduced various modifications to the storyline, which led to a slight hike in ratings.

GAUTAM SINGH VIG ON JUNOONIYATT ENDING IN

Seen In Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai, TV Star Set To MARRY Girlfriend In Just 10 Days In Lucknow; DEETS OUT

The entire team was thrilled by the improved TRP figures and held high hopes for further growth. However, their happiness was short-lived as Junooniyatt is now confirmed to end in a few days as the channel recently made a decision to end it abruptly. Yes, you read that right! In a recent interview, Gautam Singh Vig aka Jordan opened up about the development and revealed that he's disappointed.

Aishwarya Reveals Handling Disagreements On Ghum Hai Kisikey Pyaar Meiin Set; Is She Hinting At Ayesha Singh?

Talking to ETimes, Gautam said, "Everyone was shocked when we learnt about Junooniyatt wrapping up because the show picked up on the TRP chart this week. We have all worked hard to improve the ratings, but it is the channel's call and something beyond our control. It was a sad moment for everyone, as no one expected the show to end suddenly. It's disappointing. While we were hearing rumours of it ending, we didn't expect it to happen overnight, especially after we started doing better in terms of ratings. It was a few days ago that our producer Sargun Mehta informed us of the channel's decision."

JUNOONIYATT LAST EPISODE DATE

For those who are unaware, Junooniyatt is confirmed to end and its last episode will air on November 2. Are you going to miss the show? Share your views in the comments section below.
ALBANY  If not for a phone conversation nearly a decade ago, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown  not Kathy Hochul  might currently be the governor of New York State.

In a new book, a former top aide to Gov. Andrew Cuomo writes that in 2014, Brown was Cuomos top choice to be the governors running mate atop the Democratic Party ticket.

But according to the book, Cuomos vetting process turned up information that federal investigators were eyeing Brown. Instead, Cuomo endorsed Hochul to be his lieutenant governor. Upon Cuomos resignation in 2021, Hochul ascended to the governorship.

The account about Brown comes from a new book by Melissa DeRosa, former secretary to the governor, entitled: What's Left Unsaid: My Life at the Center of Power, Politics & Crisis.

The book, available Tuesday, is DeRosas unvarnished view of her time as a top aide to Cuomo, amid the rise and fall of one of the Democratic Partys most prominent figures. DeRosa provided an excerpt to The Buffalo News concerning Brown.

The book also focuses attention on those DeRosa considers culpable for forcing Cuomo's resignation. Other portions DeRosa has shared with various media  concerning alleged interactions with Attorney General Letitia James, and separately, a New York Times reporter  have already drawn headlines. DeRosa is also a longtime critic of Hochul, and the book contains unflattering characterizations of Cuomo's successor.

Cuomo was first elected governor in 2010. After one term, Cuomos lieutenant governor, Robert Duffy of Rochester, decided to take a job in the private sector. And as Cuomo sought re-election in 2014, he wanted his new lieutenant governor to be from Western New York.

Being from Queens, Cuomo believed strongly that governing the entire state meant having regional balance represented in its statewide elected officials and was single-mindedly focused on Buffalo, DeRosa writes. His sights were set on Byron Brown, a working-class, African American mayor of the Queen City, known for his pragmatism and operational fortitude, whom Cuomo got along with very well personally.

Mutually advantageous relationship

Cuomo and Brown have long been friends, and have had a mutually advantageous political relationship.

When Cuomo announced he was running for governor in 2002, Brown attended the Manhattan event  even through Brown, who is African American, was formally supporting Cuomo's opponent, Comptroller Carl McCall, who was running to become the state's first Black governor.

When Brown was running for Buffalo mayor in 2005, Cuomo's father, former Gov. Mario Cuomo, made his first public appearance in Buffalo in 11 years to campaign for Brown.

When Andrew Cuomo sought to resuscitate his political career in 2006, running for state attorney general, Brown endorsed Cuomo over another candidate in the Democratic primary, former U.S. Attorney Denise ODonnell, despite ODonnell being a Buffalonian. Cuomo won that 2006 campaign, and when Cuomo successfully ran for governor in 2010, Brown was again a key supporter.

FBI investigations of Byron Brown linger with no charges in sight Two former U.S. attorneys, witnesses interviewed by the FBI and a veteran defense lawyer familiar with the probes told The Buffalo News they don't expect any charges to be filed against Brown before the Nov. 2 mayoral election.

In 2014, The News reported that Brown was quite interested in the lieutenant governor post. But according to DeRosa, as well as a former senior adviser to Cuomo who spoke to The News on the condition of anonymity, an issue emerged during the vetting process.

According to the former Cuomo senior adviser, Cuomos camp had heard rumors Brown might be of interest in a federal criminal investigation.

The senior Cuomo adviser  not DeRosa  called an official from a federal law enforcement investigative agency, asking if putting Brown on the ticket could be potentially problematic.

According to the former senior Cuomo adviser, while both the questions and answers were oblique, the conversation more or less confirmed that Brown was of interest in a federal criminal investigation.

Cuomos camp, according to DeRosas book, found out that Browns name had come up in a wide-ranging US Attorneys Office investigation into some of western New Yorks most influential power players.

While we didnt believe Brown was involved or that he would do anything unethical (he was ultimately cleared), the unknowns around the nascent case were fraught, and, wanting to avoid even the hint of a scandal, Cuomo was forced to move on from his first choice, DeRosa writes.

Notably, the vetting information about Brown did not emanate from the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Western District of New York  which, at that time, was run by William Hochul, Kathys husband.

In 2015, state and federal law enforcement officers executed search warrants at several homes of Buffalo political figures, including Brown's former First Deputy Mayor Steve Casey. In subsequent years, the federal government searched the home of another Brown confidant, subpoenaed City Hall records, and hauled away dozens of boxes of records in 2019, while executing a search warrant at the City Hall office of the Buffalo Urban Renewal Agency, which Brown chairs.

But Brown has never been charged with any crime.

This week, Brown's office declined to address whether Cuomo had in fact passed on appointing Brown.

"In a few months it will be 2024, an entire decade later," said Brown spokesman Michael DeGeorge. "Mayor Brown doesn't go backward, he goes forward."

DeRosas account in her book  that Cuomo passed on selecting Brown as his running mate  conflicts with accounts anonymously given to The News in 2014, accounts published just hours before Cuomo endorsed a different candidate for lieutenant governor. One anonymous source told the newspaper that on the evening of May 20, 2014, Brown called Cuomo and withdrew his name from consideration. A second told the newspaper that Brown had become "less enamored" with the idea of being lieutenant governor and was being urged to remain in Buffalo and preside over progress in the city" and serve out the remainder of his third term.

By the time Brown was said to have withdrawn his name, the governor's announcement of a running mate was imminent. Less than a day after the reported phone call from Brown, at the State Democratic Party convention, Cuomo named Hochul. The decision did not seem especially rushed: Cuomo and Hochul announced the decision in a pre-produced, three-minute video.

He settled for Hochul, a one-term white Congresswoman from Buffalos suburbs who sounded Canadian when she spoke, DeRosa writes. She would supposedly help shore up the moderates and solidify the western New York vote for Cuomo. Back then, I vehemently believed the state was, in fact, moving more and more left, and selecting Hochul would anger our downstate progressive base.

'Never a Hochul fan'

DeRosa, who in 2014 was serving as Cuomos communications director, writes that she never favored Hochuls selection.

It was no secret within the administration that I was never a Hochul fan, DeRosa writes. She was an A-rated member of the NRA who was best known for pandering to white Republican voters by threatening to arrest undocumented New Yorkers attempting to obtain drivers licenses, and I felt she lacked policy chops and hurt the ticket more than she helped.

In response to DeRosa's criticisms, Hochul spokesman Anthony Hogrebe said that the governor "is busy leading the State of New York and will not be engaging with tired and petty personal attacks."

Cuomo and Hochul did not have a close relationship, a distance that remained during Hochuls more than six years serving as lieutenant governor.

Cuomo  facing impeachment amid a sexual harassment scandal  resigned in 2021. Hochul became governor and was left with her own decision about whom to appoint as lieutenant governor.

Hochul quickly chose Brian Benjamin, a Black state senator from Manhattan, who could help shore up downstate, minority voters in the 2022 Democratic primary for governor.

DeRosa argues that Hochul did not rigorously vet Benjamin in the same way Cuomo had vetted Brown. If Hochuls office had sufficiently checked with law enforcement entities, DeRosa argues, Hochul might have discovered that Benjamin was under investigation at the time of his appointment.

Buffalo State presidential search to keep finalists secret The university said it won't disclose the names of the semifinalists who are competing for the job, and it won't hold any forums to allow students, faculty and community members to interact with them.

At the time of that appointment, the Manhattan District Attorneys Office had already served a subpoena to a Benjamin political campaign from 2021, inquiring about the suspicious donations to bid for New York City comptroller.

The New York Times reported that, as part of a customary background investigation, state police had asked the Manhattan U.S. Attorneys Office if it had anything to share about Benjamin  and was told it did not. But it was not clear whether Hochuls office reached out through unofficial channels to the Manhattan District Attorneys Office or federal prosecutors, the Times reported, noting Cuomos office did make such informal calls.

Hochul didnt use the vetting process Cuomo established years earlier for reviewing potential running mates, DeRosa writes. Her lieutenant governor was under investigation at the time that she selected him. Seven months into her tenure, he was indicted.

In April 2022, Benjamin was charged by the Manhattan U.S. Attorneys Office with allegedly accepting fraudulent campaign donations in exchange for providing a taxpayer-funded grant to a donor. The donor pled guilty, and Benjamin resigned from office.

But Benjamin has maintained his innocence. Several of the most serious charges were thrown out by a federal judge, a dismissal now being appealed by prosecutors, ahead of a Benjamin trial.
Ushering in a new era that drives aviation growth and innovation in alignment with Vision 2030

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia--(Newsfile Corp. - October 22, 2023) - Saudia Group, formerly known as Saudi Arabian Airlines Holding Corporation, has unveiled its new brand identity as part of a comprehensive transformation strategy which included the rebrand of Saudia - the national flag carrier of Saudi Arabia. The announcement comes as the Group reaffirms its commitment to driving aviation growth and shaping the future of the Kingdom's aviation industry, in alignment with Vision 2030.

As an aviation conglomerate, Saudia Group represents a dynamic and comprehensive ecosystem within the aviation industry that plays a key role in shaping Saudi Arabia's society and future. The Group consists of a diverse portfolio, comprising 12 Strategic Business Units (SBUs), which all support the advancement of the aviation sector, not only in the Kingdom but in the MENA region as well.

Saudia Technic, formerly known as Saudia Aerospace Engineering Industries (SAEI), Saudia Academy, formerly known as Prince Sultan Aviation Academy (PSAA), Saudia Real Estate, formerly known as Saudi Airlines Real Estate Development Company (SARED), Saudia Private, formerly known as Saudia Private Aviation (SPA), Saudia Cargo, and Catrion, formerly known as Saudi Airlines Catering (SACC), all underwent a re-branding transformation in line with Saudia Group's complete new brand strategy. The group also consists of Saudi Logistics Services (SAL), Saudi Ground Services Company (SGS), flyadeal, Saudia Medical Fakeeh, and Saudia Royal Fleet.

Each SBU, with its own service offering, is not only benefiting the whole Group, but is also expanding to accommodate the growing demand from around the MENA region. Saudia Technic is currently developing a Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) village. Considered the largest of its kind in the region, the village aims to localize manufacturing while becoming an authorized service center in the MENA region through partnerships with global manufacturing companies. Meanwhile, Saudia Academy has plans to transform into a specialized academy at a regional level, accredited by manufacturers and international organizations in the aviation sector. Additionally, Saudia Cargo continues to grow by connecting three continents to be a global logistics hub, while Saudia Private is expanding its operations by having its own aircraft and flight schedule. Saudia Real Estate is also following suit and investing in their properties to grow and enhance the real estate.

The launch of the new brand is part of the Group's transformation strategy that began in 2015 to implement initiatives and projects aimed at enhancing operational efficiency and improving the guest experience across all touchpoints. Saudia introduced the 'Shine' Program in 2021, which is an extension of this transformation journey and involves digital transformation and operational excellence.

Saudia Group is a key enabler in achieving the ambitious goals of the Saudi Aviation Strategy to transport 100 million visitors a year by 2030 and establishing 250 direct flight routes to and from Saudi airports, while facilitating the hosting of 30 million pilgrims by 2030. The Group is committed to creating job opportunities and supporting local businesses in line with the Kingdom's Vision 2030 and its Saudization goals.

His Excellency Ibrahim Al Omar, Director General of Saudia Group, said: "This is an exciting time in the Group's history. The new brand offers much more than an evolution of our visual identity, but rather a celebration of all that we have achieved. We are implementing a fully integrated program that will enable us to play a driving role in advancing Vision 2030, in line with the targets of the Saudi Aviation Strategy. We are committed to expanding the fleet of the group to 318 aircraft and serve 175 destinations. We are entering a new era, and we believe that we now have everything in place to deliver on our promise to bring the world to Saudi Arabia and demonstrate what the Kingdom has to offer from a tourism and business perspective."

He added: "This transformation underscores the interconnection of all companies within the group, serving as providers of essential support services to diverse institutions within the aviation sector and beyond, ensuring excellence and world-class solutions that span from ground operations to the skies."

-Ends-

About SAUDIA Group

SAUDIA Group is one of the largest aviation conglomerates in the MENA region. The Group drives industry development with its 12 strategic business units, and offers world-class air transport, cargo services, ground services, logistics, maintenance, catering, private aviation, real estate, training, and medical services.

The mission of Saudia Group is to inspire people to go beyond borders with a purpose that is rooted in unlocking human potential and connecting the world in ways never thought possible. The group is committed to reshaping the aviation ecosystem in the MENA region and beyond, by embracing innovation and a customer-centric approach.

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Jab We Met, directed by Imtiaz Ali, and starring Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor Khan, turns 16 on October 26. Back in 2017, Bobby Deol revealed how he was the one curating the whole project and was then replaced by Shahid. The Soldier actor made the revelations while speaking to Huffpost India.

He said, There was a studio called Shri Ashtavinayak who wanted to sign me. I told them that lets sign Imtiaz. He has a script ready. And lets talk to Kareena Kapoor. The producers were like, oh no, that guy will make an expensive film. Kareena, on the other hand, didnt even want to meet Imtiaz. I took them to Preity (his close friend and Soldier co-star). She agreed but said she can do it only after 6 months. So we were stuck.

The actor added, Days passed. And suddenly I read that Ashtavinayak has signed Imtiaz for Jab We Met and Kareena is doing the film! And she had gotten her then-boyfriend, Shahid Kapoor to act opposite her. I was like, wow. Quite an industry. We were also to do Highway together but he again did his own thing. But I have no hard feelings against him. He is a great director and doing so well. Were still friends. But I always tell him: Imtiaz, I wont watch any of your films until you make one with me. Thatll be your best film.

Imtiaz Ali finally speaks up

While speaking to Lallantop recently, the filmmaker narrated his side of the story and said, I was planning to make Jab We Met with Bobby Deol. When I was making this film, Bobby and I were very good friends. His family they are very nice people. But Socha Na Tha took five years to make and release. Meanwhile, I was trying to start a new film so Bobby was going to do Jab We Met. Then Socha Na Tha got over but I still didnt make the film for two years because I wanted Bobby to start it.

He added, But he was getting other offers from big directors, so he was waiting for that to happen. He kept postponing my film, but then a time came when I didnt find it correct because a lot of time went by. Because I did Socha Na Tha for five years and I didnt do a film for two years after that, so it was putting financial strain on me. Then I told Bobby, Lets not make this film. Lets shake our hands and decide we will not do this film together because then our thing will be affected.

Kareena Kapoor Khan on shooting the song Yeh Ishq Haaye

In an exclusive interview with Firstpost, talking about shooting this song from Jab We Met, Kareena revealed, The best part of the song was Saroj Khan. There was no one else who could have done that song also, the way she showed me how to perform. That entire song represented Geets character, the way her outlook towards life was. And it was freezing and snowbound when she was wearing a yellow Kurta, close to Siachen pass, it was very high up in Manali. I never thought that song would become such a big blockbuster.

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Amid the crisis in Israel after Hamas attack, many celebrities from India and across the globe have expressed their concern and outrage. Going a step ahead, as many as 55 Hollywood personalities have signed an open letter to the U.S. president Joe Biden calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Gaza.

The names include the likes of Andrew Garfield, Kristen Stewart, Oscar Isaac, Quinta Brunson, Ayo Edebiri, Cate Blanchett, Hasan Minhaj, Jeremy Strong and Joaquin Phoenix.

What does the letter read?

We ask that, as President of the United States, you call for an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Gaza and Israel before another life is lost, it reads. More than 5,000 people have been killed in the last week and a half  a number any person of conscience knows is catastrophic. We believe all life is sacred, no matter faith or ethnicity and we condemn the killing of Palestinian and Israeli civilians.

The letter was put out by Artists 4 Ceasefire Organization.

The open letter added, Beyond our pain and mourning for all of the people there and their loved ones around the world we are motivated by an unbending will to stand for our common humanity. We stand for freedom, justice, dignity and peace for all people  and a deep desire to stop more bloodshed. We refuse to tell future generations the story of our silence, that we stood by and did nothing.

Lior Raz takes on the frontlines

Fauda star Lior Raz had taken to the front lines and joined the volunteering group called Brothers in Arms. He had the company of president of the Israel Democracy Institute Yohanan Plesner and journalist Avi Yissascharov. He even shared a video with fans on X.

The actor, while sharing the video on his social media account, wrote- Accompanied by Yohanan Plesner @yplesnerand Avi @issacharoff, I headed down south to join hundreds of brave brothers in arms volunteers who worked tirelessly to assist the population in the south of Israel. We were sent to the bombarded town of Sderot to extract 2 families.

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Amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, several celebrities have taken to social media to condemn the violence and loss of innocent lives. Fauda star Lior Raz went a step ahead and joined forces to fight against Hamas.

And now, Israeli actor Tsahi Halevi, who was Nushrratt Bharucchas co-star from Akelli has also joined the army to do the same. He too starred in the show Fauda.

Akelli producer confirms the news

In a statement, the producer said, I have spoken to him now he has been drafted back into the army currently fighting the war.

About Tsahi

The actor has been living in Tel Aviv (city in Israel) since the 90s. His father also served Israels Prime Ministers office.

Nushrratt Bharucchas 36-hour nightmare in Israel

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Nushrratt Bharuccha (@nushrrattbharuccha)

Nushrratt Bharuccha, who was stuck in Israel, when the war broke out between the country and Hamas, was subsequently rescued with the help of the Indian Embassy. The Akelli actress has now shared her horrific experience after coming back to India and described it as unforgettable and daunting.

She was in Israel for the screening of her film Akelli at a film festival. Taking to Instagram, Nushrratt shared a selfie video and assured her fans that shes back home safely. Two days ago, I woke up in my hotel room in Tel Aviv to sounds of bomb blasts and sirens. We were taken down to the basement in a shelter area. Main pehle kabhi iss situation mein rahi nahin hoon (Ive never been in a situation like this), Nushrrat said.

The actress shared a statement, which read, The last week will forever remain etched in my memorya rollercoaster ride of emotions, the final 36 hours of which will remain the most unforgettable and daunting of my life

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Veteran actor Dalip Tahil, who has been a part of films like Shaan, Darr, Baazigar, and Race, has been sentenced to two months of imprisonment in a drink and driving case. The incident happened back in 2018 when the actor was driving under the influence of alcohol and rammed his vehicle into an auto rickshaw.

The conviction happened after the testimony of a medical expert. Following the testimony, a magistrate court pronounced the imprisonment.

Details of the incident

As per NavaBharat Times, the actor, in his inebriated condition, had hit the back of an autorickshaw with his car, injuring two passengers  21-year-old Khar resident Jenita Gandhi and Gaurav Chugh (22). The incident took place at around 9 pm back in 2018, The Hindu reported.

The impact of the collision caused Ms. Gandhi sustain a severe jolt to her back and neck. Ms. Gandhi and Mr. Chugh got off the autorickshaw and saw the car trying to flee towards Santacruz, an officer with the Khar police said, according to The Hindu.

NavaBharat Times further said that Tahil had attempted to escape the situation, but failed to go through because of traffic jam and Ganapati idol immersions. Tahil had been booked for causing injury due to rash and negligent driving under the Indian Penal Code and for driving under the influence of alcohol under the Motor Vehicles Act.

A police inspector from Mumbais Khar Police Station stated that when Gandhi, Chugh and Tahil were taken for a medical check-up, the actor had refused to provide with a sample for the blood tests. He was out on bail, the report said.

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The fallout from the Israel-Hamas war continues.

This week saw Israel even further intensify its bombing campaign of Gaza in response to the 7 October attack.

Jerusalem has been warning that it is preparing a significant military operation for days.

In the background of a ground attack seeming to be imminent, a dispute broke out over the bombing of a hospital in Gaza with both sides blaming the other.

Meanwhile, others fear that the conflict might escalate and engulf West Asia.

Lebanon has already fired on Israel in solidarity with the Palestinian people and Iran has warned that it cannot remain an observer if Jerusalem does not cease their atrocities in Gaza.

The entire conflagration has also turned the worlds attention to what many countries see as the only viable solution for peace  a two-state solution.

While India has said no to gay marriage  with the Supreme Court putting the ball firmly in Parliaments court  we take a look at countries that have legalised same-sex unions.

Theres also news from outer space  with a comet three times the size of Mount Everest hurtling towards the Earth.

Lets get you caught up on the big developments of the week:

1. As the worlds eyes are affixed on West Asia, some are expressing fears about escalation. One top US official described Iran as the elephant in the room and added that the US is working overtime to halt the conflict from going regional.

But could Israel, as some experts fear, find itself battling on multiple fronts? This piece examines just such a possibility  as well as points out a silver lining among all the doom and gloom.

2. Even as the war in Israel rages on, US president Joe Biden has brought up an idea from the past to put the Israel-Palestine situation to bed  a two-state solution.

But what is this two-state solution? Would it work to settle the matter once and for all? How would it work exactly? And who is expressing support for it?

This piece takes an in-depth look at the proposition.

3. Who bombed the hospital in Gaza that left hundreds of Palestinians dead?

Thats the question everyone is asking.

While the Palestinians have pointed the finger at Israel, Jerusalem has indignantly insisted that a rocket by a militant group in Gaza is to blame.

This piece examines what we know about the hospital attack and how the world reacted to the horrific event.

4. Its only a matter of time before Israel launches a ground invasion of Gaza.

Israel has already called up hundreds of thousands of reservists, has been loading them up with equipment and positioning them carefully.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to demolish Hamas.

So why hasnt Israel invaded yet? Is it the weather? Or something else?

Thats the question this piece grapples with  as well as lays out why such an invasion would be extremely challenging for Israel.

5. Amid the heartbreaking stories emanating from Israel, theres at least one tale with a happy ending.

This piece examines how a quick-thinking grandmother in Ofakim city who found herself at the mercy of Hamas terrorists managed to keep them occupied with food and drink  talk about soothing the savage beasts  and by talking to them.

Even more heartwarming is the action of her husband David who flung himself over his wife to protect her when Israeli Defence forced turned up and took out the bad guys.

He saved 40 years of marriage, Edri said.

6. In India, many in the gay community were holding their breath to see if the Supreme Court would legalise same-sex marriage.

The apex court ultimately declined to do so, holding that such an action is a domain of the legislature  though it did agree to form a high-powered committee to study the issues faced by the gay community in India and provide recommendations.

This piece takes a look at the other nations in the world  nearly three dozen  where same-sex marriage is legal.

7. If the wars happening around the world arent bad enough, now a massive comet thrice the size of Mount Everest  the highest mountain on this planet  is headed towards the Earth.

Scientists have noted that the cold volcano comet, which they have entitled 12P/Pons-Brooks, keeps blowing its massive stack.

But theres no need to panic  despite its ominous characteristics, the chances of deep impact (yes, like the 1998 movie), are non-existent.

The comet will only become visible to the human eye in 2024  and it wont return to Earth for another 71 years.

So get a gander while you can.

Watch this space for more explainers.
Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah will address the National Symposium on Cooperative Exports organised by the National Cooperative for Exports Limited (NCEL) on Monday in New Delhi.

Amit Shah will also launch the logo, website, and brochure of NCEL and distribute the membership certificates to NCEL members, a Ministry of Cooperation statement said on Sunday.

As per the statement, a wide range of issues including channelising cooperatives for linkages to export markets, potential of Indian agricultural exports and opportunities for cooperatives among others will be discussed in the symposium.

The National Symposium on Cooperative Export will be attended by more than 1,000 participants including cooperative members of NCEL, representatives of different cooperative sectors including National Cooperative Federations, representatives of embassies of various countries and Central and State Government Officials. Many cooperative members and stakeholders will also join through online mode.

The NCEL came into existence after Shah emphasized on the need to establish a national-level multi-state cooperative society to function as an umbrella organisation for exports by the cooperative sector.

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the able guidance of the Minister of Cooperation, the Ministry of Cooperation has taken 54 initiatives in the last 27 months to strengthen the cooperative movement in the country, said the statement.

Setting up a national-level Cooperative to promote export through cooperatives is one such initiative which is an important step towards realising the Modi Governments vision of Sahakar se Samriddhi.

The National Cooperative for Exports Limited is the newly established umbrella organisation for cooperative sector exports registered under the Multi-State Co-operative Societies Act, 2002 on January 25 this year. It covers agriculture and allied activities as well as handloom and handicrafts items by enrolling many co-operatives under its fold with a target to double its revenue by 2025 from the current level of about Rs 2,160 crore.

All cooperative societies from the level of primary to apex, who are interested in exports, are eligible to become members of the NCEL which has an authorised share capital of Rs 2,000 crore. It aims to focus on exporting the surpluses available in the Indian cooperative sector by accessing wider markets beyond the geographical contours of the country.

The symposium will commence with a presentation by officials of the Cooperation Ministry on the various initiatives undertaken to strengthen the cooperative sector. The second half of the symposium will comprise technical sessions on a host of topics including channelising cooperatives for linkages to export markets, the potential of Indian agri exports and opportunities for cooperatives, making India the dairy hub of the world, and the worlds largest grain storage plan in the cooperative sector.

Four leading co-operatives- Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF  Amul), Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative (IFFCO), Krishak Bharti Cooperative (KRIBHCO) and National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) and National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) have jointly promoted NCEL.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will celebrate Dussehra with Army soldiers at a forward base in Arunachal Pradeshs Tawang on Tuesday, sources in the security establishment said.

The defence minister is also set to perform Shastra Puja (worship of weapons) in Tawang, they said.

Singhs decision to celebrate Dussehra with the soldiers at the strategically important location that is close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) comes at a time when India and China have been engaged in a bitter standoff in certain friction points in eastern Ladakh for more than three years.

The defence minister will also carry out a comprehensive review of the ground situation along the LAC in the Arunachal Pradesh sector, the sources said.

He is also expected to visit a few forward locations in the region.

Singh has been performing Shastra Puja on Dussehra for the last several years, including during his tenure as the Union home minister in the previous BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government.

The Indian and Chinese troops are locked in an over-three-year-long confrontation in certain friction points in eastern Ladakh even as the two sides have completed disengagement from several areas following extensive diplomatic and military talks.

India has been maintaining that its ties with China cannot be normal unless there is peace in the border areas.

The Army has significantly bolstered the deployment of troops and weaponry along the nearly 3,500-km-long LAC, including in the Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh sectors, following the eastern Ladakh standoff.
India invoked the provision of parity in Canadas diplomatic presence in the country in view of concerns over interference in New Delhis affairs by Canadian personnel, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Sunday.

The External Affairs Minister also said that India is likely to resume issuance of visas to Canadians if it sees progress in the safety of Indian diplomats in Canada.

VIDEO l The (India-Canada) relationship right now is going through a difficult phase. Right now, the big concern which people have is on visas. Some weeks ago, we stopped issuing visas in Canada because it was no longer safe for our diplomats to go to work to issue visas. So pic.twitter.com/MR6DomXcAh  Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) October 22, 2023

The ties between India and Canada came under severe strain following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus allegations last month of a potential involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June.

Days after Trudeaus allegations, India announced temporarily suspending issuance of visas to Canadian citizens and asked Ottawa to downsize its diplomatic presence in the country.

If we see progress in safety of our diplomats in Canada, we would like to resume issuance of visas there, Jaishankar said at an event while replying to a question on India-Canada ties.

On downsizing Canadas diplomatic presence in India, he said diplomatic parity is very much provided for in the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations.

Parity is very much provided for by the Vienna Convention, which is the relevant international rule on this. In our case, we invoked parity because we had concerns about continuous interference in our affairs by Canadian personnel, Jaishankar said.

Canada has already withdrawn 41 of its diplomats from India.

Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly, announcing the return of the diplomats from India, on Thursday described New Delhis action contrary to international law, and in violation of the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations. India has already rejected the charge.

Jaishankar said the relationship between India and Canada right now is going through a difficult phase, adding that India has problems with certain segment of Canadian politics.
Hinduism respects all sects and India has never seen strifes on issues like the one that has led to the ongoing Hamas-Israel war, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat has said.

He was speaking at a programme organised at a school here on Saturday to mark 350 years of the coronation of Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

In this country, there is a religion, culture that respects all sects and faiths. That religion in Hinduism. This is a country of Hindus. That does not mean we reject all other (religions). Once you say Hindu, it is not needed to be told that Muslims too were protected. Only Hindus do this. Only India does this. Others have not done this, Bhagwat said.

Everywhere else, strifes are underway. You must have heard of the war in Ukraine, Hamas-Israel war. In our country, there were never wars on such issues. The invasion during Shivaji Maharajs time was of that kind. But we never fought of battles on this issue with anybody. That is why we are Hindus, the RSS chief told the audience.
Whitney Mendel has a deep understanding of the Buffalo Prenatal Perinatal Network, created four decades ago to battle high infant mortality rates in poor areas and help mothers remain healthy during pregnancy, through childbirth and beyond.

The public health professional served on the BPPNs board for eight years and now consults, so shes witnessed the agencys growth from inside and out. Its not a stagnant operation.

Watching how responsive this agency is, is fairly remarkable to me, Mendel told a group of network partners and collaborators Friday at the organizations new office space at 703 Washington St.

Weve seen time and time again programs that are offered that are not really specific to the needs of the people that theyre serving. Thats not what this is. Its ever-growing, ever tapping into what their clients are needing and responsive to those needs to the best of their ability.

Buffalo Prenatal-Perinatal Network recently rebrands, adds Fathership Initiative The Buffalo Fatherhood Initiative empowers healthy father and male involvement for children and families.

BPPN outgrew its previous location on Delaware Avenue and moved to the corner of Washington and West Tupper streets in March. Its three-floor site provides office space to grow staff, community rooms for support groups and a chance to debut the Baby Cafe, a resource for breastfeeding mothers.

The organizations hourlong presentation, kicked off by President and CEO LuAnne Brown, focused less on the new digs and more on programming, which is referral-based with some outreach. The agencys mission revolves around trained caseworkers visiting clients homes to provide direct support, but is split into three general tiers.
India on Sunday sent humanitarian aid for the people of Palestine, comprising medical aid and disaster relief material, Ministry of External Affairs official spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.

An IAF C-17 flight carried nearly 6.5 tonnes of medical aid and 32 tonnes of disaster relief material for the people of Palestine. It is set to land at Egypts El-Arish airport by 3 pm (IST).

The material includes essential life-saving medicines, surgical items, tents, sleeping bags, tarpaulins, sanitary utilities, water purification tablets among other necessary items.

Fluids and painkillers have been included in humanitarian aid for immediate relief. The disaster relief material weighing approximately 32 tons includes tents, sleeping bags, tarpaulins, basic sanitary utilities, water purification tablets etc.

India has sent humanitarian aid to Palestine amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. Israel launched counter-offensive against Hamas after the latter launched a surprise attack against the former on October 7.

On Saturday, as many as 20 trucks carrying humanitarian aid were finally allowed to enter the Gaza Strip through Egypts Rafah border. However, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that needs are far higher in the enclave that has more than 2 million people.

He also called for the safe passage of additional aid convoys across the enclave. The Rafah border crossing was opened for a short window on Saturday morning to let 20 aid trucks enter Gaza from Egypt. Though many have welcomed the brief reopening, rights groups have asserted that much more aid is needed.

With inputs from ANI
There is something happening in the dog-eat-dog world of politics. Politicians with pet pooches are getting into trouble.

Joe Bidens Commander, a two-year-old German Shepherd, was recently expelled from the White House for biting the 11th Secret Service agent. Previously, Bidens other dog, Major, also involved in several biting incidents, was sent away too. Official statements have a tendency to understate; this case is no different, with CNN reporting that the real number of bitten victims might be higher.

And just the other day, a case was filed against Rahul Gandhi for naming his puppy, Noorie (light), allegedly for hurting Muslim sentiments. The complainant, a member of the Owaisi-led AIMIM, argued, I have told the court that the word Noor is related to Prophet Mohammed and is mentioned 42 times in Quran. Noorie is a synonym of Noor. Rahul Gandhi had named his puppy Noorie and thus hurt the sentiment of the minority community. Rahul had procured the pup from a Goan family and gifted it to his mother, a journey lovingly documented on his YouTube channel.

This leads us to us to the question thats barking us in the face: What, in contemporary times, is the most appropriate and inoffensive name for a dog or, for that matter, even cats?

Lets start from the beginning.

In the 1970s, liquor names enjoyed currency. Dogs went by names like Whisky, Tequila and Bailey, with the odd Gin thrown in. Teetotallers settled on calling their pooches, Tommy or Jimmy.

By the 1980s, at least in India, there was a certain settled hierarchy of dog names. Most Alsatians were called Bruno. Most adopted street dogs were called Moti. When Bruno went out on an evening walk, most Motis steered clear.

Naming a pet after its colour was also in vogue back then. Again, a class divide was seen at work here. All black street dogs were called Kaaloo, while posh black cats were called Smoky. Tin Tins companion, a white Wire Fox Terrier, was famously called Snowy. That set off a trend for sure.

There were plenty of Tigers around. This name wasnt breed-specific. My grandmothers Labrador was called Tiger. For some reason Lion never took off. Neither did Dolphin.

The 1990s and Noughties saw the Indian economy opening up to the world. Everyone wanted a slice of the MNC pie: Young job seekers, landlords looking to rent out propertyand dog owners. This period saw an efflorescence of a different kind: dogs being named after multinational brands like Google, Pepsi and Milo. No dogs were called Rajdoot, Rasna or Amul.

As this generation of pet owners came of age, and started working for MNCs themselves, there came a backlash. The latest trend is to name pets after items commonly found in an Indian kitchen: Chai, Biscuit, Cheeni, Coffee, Pepper. Pet names follow a curious and mysterious internal logic of what is and is not socially acceptable. Other desi edible kitchen essentials havent made the list yet; I dont know of a Haldi or Heeng or Cumin. After all, no pet parent wants their child to be embarrassed at school, like in the Johnny Cash song, A Boy Named Sue.

It should be pointed out that not everyone follows the herd. Not everyone is lazy and falls back on nonsensical perennials like Bozo and Chunki. There are those who like to strike out on their own path. Just look at the names Elon Musk has given his children: X AE A-XII and Techno Mechanicus, who, most likely, will turn out to be a noted watercolour painter of sunsets.

Anyway, back to the pioneers of dog names. My neighbour is one. For several weeks I was mystified by what she was saying when shed be shouting out for her dog. I finally asked her and she said, Dollar. I have since made friends with Dollar and am happy to report that he responds equally well to Dolly. I hadnt heard of pets being named after currency, so kudos to my neighbour for showing us the way. Again, that internal logic I spoke of earlier I havent heard of a dog named Dinar, Rupee, Pound or Euro. But Dollar, it sounds just right. I once had a flatmate in Delhi whod named his tomcat Sobhraj, after the serial killer. I thought that was pretty novel. The cat also lived up to its name: deceptively charming to begin with and ending the interaction with a bout of vicious scratching.

So much for India. What about Britain and America? According to one website, the top trending dog names for 2022 included Mossberg, Mirabel and Mommy. Traditional ones like Buddy and Rocky are still popular in America, as are Bella and Luna.

It gets more interesting. Looks like celebrity-inspired dog names are a hot favourite. When David Bowie died, Bowie took off. Ditto for Freddie (Mercury). Dolly Parton is fortunate; Dollys managed to crack the Top 10, without having had to breathe her last.

Pets are also named after characters in popular OTT series. As Kate Jaffe, trend expert at Rover, said in a news release, Rovers database of millions of user-submitted pet names reveals how names we lovingly choose for our pets reflect our passions and lifestyles, and often serve as a time capsule for the moment we welcomed them into our families.

HELLO! reports that in the U.K., Lilibet has proved to be the most popular in recent times. The source, of course, is the Duke and Duchess of Sussexs daughter, Princess Lilibet. Lilibet was originally Queen Elizabeth IIs nickname, used only by those closest to her. Meghan and Harrys second child, Archie, has also crossed over into the realm of trendy pet names. Not to be left behind, Prince George, the son of the Prince and Princess of Wales, is giving hot pursuit. George is racing up the charts. In India, naming a pet after a native monarch or her grandchildren would have clogged our criminal justice system.

Speaking of naming pioneers, we have to look at celebrity trends, i.e. not celebrity-inspired names but what Hollywood celebrities themselves are naming their pets. Here we have Paris Hiltons Diamond Baby and Ether Reum; Norman Redus cat, Eye in the Dark; Cardi Bs Pitbull, Walk; and Demi Moores Chihuahua, Pilaf.

Pet experts are agreed on one thing: your dogs name should be simple enough so as not to cause confusion in his/ her head. This simple principle was not followed by the Bidens. When the Commander-in-Chief names his dog Commander, its bound to lead to misunderstanding. Once the chain of command is scrambled thus, even the poor Secret Service guys dont know whats going on. The same goes for Major. If the President is in a meeting with an army major, and, during the course of the conversation, says, Now look, Major, its likely that Major, the pooch, will come running. When the dog realises that it was a false alarm, what other option does he have apart from biting the human major.

In India, as Rahuls instance shows, its more complex. Here, we have to be careful of two kinds of confusion: One, in the dogs mind, and the other in the minds of our fellow citizens.

Ive reached the conclusion that in India, its safest to name the pet after ones own first name. That way, no one will have a problem or take offence. Theres still one problem though. Suppose, I name my new puppy, Palash. Then, when my mother calls out Palash!, both puppy and I will come running. As the pet experts warndo NOT confuse the pet at any cost. Well then, thats the conundrum.

The writer is the author of The Butterfly Generation: A Personal Journey into the Passions and Follies of Indias Technicolour Youth, and the editor of House Spirit: Drinking in India. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views.

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The planet is in turmoil. As if the Ukraine war was not enough, a new conflict has erupted in the Middle East.

The Russo-Ukrainian War had started in February 2014 soon after Ukraines Orange Revolution, when Russia annexed Crimea. But it was only in February 2022 that Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, aiming at occupying most of the country. Since then the conflict has taken a disastrous turn with more than a lakh casualties on each side.

Chaos is also visible in the Middle Kingdom where the Foreign Affairs and Defence Ministers have both disappeared for weeks. This is certainly not a sign of stability for a country which dreams of overtaking the United States in the years to come.

Havoc also occurred in Afghanistan, where multiple earthquakes struck northwest of the city of Herat killing more than 4,000 people, levelling thousands of homes; the earthquake was said to be of magnitude 6.3 on the Richter scale.

And now a new conflict has erupted in the Middle East; in a column in The New York Times, Thomas L Friedman spoke of Israels Worst Day at War: This is not your usual Hamas-Israel dust-up. The Gaza-Israel border is only 37 miles long, but the shock waves this war will unleash will not only thrust Israel and the Palestinians of Gaza into turmoil but will also slam into Ukraine and Saudi Arabia and most likely Iran. Why?

Friedman answers: Any prolonged Israel-Hamas war could divert more US military equipment needed by Kyiv to Tel Aviv, and it will make the proposed Saudi-Israeli normalisation deal impossible  for now. And if it turns out that Iran encouraged the Hamas attack to scuttle that Israeli-Saudi deal, it could raise tensions between Israel and Iran and Tehrans Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah, and also between Saudi Arabia and Iran. He concludes: This is an incredibly dangerous moment on multiple fronts.

Some reports on the social media speak of 6,000 bombs dropped in Gaza in the first six days of the conflict (during the air campaign against ISIS between 2014 and 2019, the US-led coalition dropped 2,000-5,000 munitions per month across all of Iraq and Syria).

According to a release of the Israeli Air Force (IAF), as on 12 October: Dozens of fighter jets and helicopters attacked a series of terrorist targets of the Hamas terrorist organisation throughout the Gaza Strip. So far, the IAF has dropped about 6,000 bombs against Hamas targets.

Incidentally, a story was going around: The so-called Five Eyes Intelligence knew about Nijjars killers; why did it not have knowledge of the 5,000 Hamas rockets and hundreds of terrorists preparing to attack Israel?

It is something for Mr Trudeau and his allies to answer or at least to ponder about.

For Delhi, an important question to look at is: Will China benefit from the new war and how will it affect India?

There is no doubt that with the intensification of the conflict, the United States, Chinas main adversary, will be bogged down on two fronts. This will undoubtedly weaken Washington (and its allies).

According to The Global Times, Chinas (new and old) Foreign Minister Wang Yi criticised Israel after its counterattack in Gaza against Hamas. Wang blamed the rapidly worsening conflict in the Middle East on a lack of justice for the Palestinian people: The crux of the issue lies in the fact that justice has not been done to the Palestinian people, Beijings top diplomat said in a phone call with Brazils Celso Amorim, a special adviser to Brazilian President Lula da Silva.

Reuters says the comment by Wang appeared to mark a hardening of its stance amid heavy Israeli airstrikes on Gaza and talk of a possible ground operation to dislodge Hamas, which controls the strip. Earlier this year, China positioned itself as a potential mediator between Israel and the Palestinians, as it seeks to become a more influential player in the region.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin used the same argument: The Palestinian-Israeli conflict keeps repeating for a fundamental reason: The Middle East peace process has been off the right track, the foundation of the two-state solution has been continuously eroded, and relevant UN resolutions are not followed through in good faith.

In view of its pro-Palestinian stand, Beijing will probably be unable to mediate in the conflict, but China will certainly benefit from the engagement of the United States on two fronts at the same time.

In these circumstances, some observers believe that it would be the ideal time for Beijing to occupy Taiwan.

This raises several questions: First, is the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) militarily ready? The next question is: Can China open another front (in the Himalaya for example) against India to divert the worlds attention from its much larger objective on Taiwan.

Chinas problem is that today India is ready to defend its territory and it will not be surprised like in May 2020 when the PLA entered several places in Ladakh.

On 9 and 10 October, the 20th round of India-China Corps Commander Level meeting was held at Chushul-Moldo border point.

A release of the Ministry of External Affairs says: The two sides exchanged views in a frank, open and constructive manner for an early and mutually acceptable resolution of the remaining issues along the LAC in the Western Sector, in accordance with the guidance provided by the national leadership of the two countries, and building on the progress made in the last round of Corps Commanders Meeting held on 13-14 August 2023.

It was agreed to maintain the momentum of dialogue and negotiations and both sides said that they were committed to maintain peace and tranquillity on the ground in the border areas in the interim.

But China keeps putting the blame on Delhi for wanting to occupy its own territory.

Liu Zongyi, secretary-general of the Research Center for China-South Asia Cooperation at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, told The Global Times, The biggest obstacle in making a breakthrough in corps commander level meetings lies in Indias objective, which is not simply reaching disengagement of troops from friction points, but to use the talks to compel China to withdraw and allow India to carry out patrols and occupy Chinese territories in certain areas.

Liu accuses the US of cozying up to India, siding with New Delhi in the border dispute, granting it higher status and more flexibility on major global issues, to serve its Indo-Pacific Strategy to contain China.

Long Xingchun, a professor at the School of International Relations at Sichuan International Studies University, even argues China will not make major concessions to India on border disputes, particularly on territorial issues, due to concerns over Indias strategic drift toward the US.

Now, what could happen?

On the western front (Ladakh), China cant do much while the talks are on and India has massively posted troops on a LAC, which is still ill-defined. The status-quo, particularly in Depsang and Demchok should presently suffice for Beijing.

In the Central Sector (where maps were exchanged in 2000), it is difficult to envisage an advance in the Barahoti sector during the winter though Delhi should be aware of Chinas new aggressiveness; ditto in Northern Sikkim were the PLA could hardly advance a few hundred metres in the Naku-la or Chorten Nyima sectors, but Chinese surprise incursions cant be overlooked.

Trickier is the Eastern Sector, where China could try its luck in places like Asaphila, Dipu-la or in the Fish Tails area. But here too the Indian Army seems to be aware of the danger. Let us not forget that the PLA was repelled last December in the Yangtse sector, a few hours after it tried to occupy some ridges south of the LAC.

What should worry Delhi is the instability in the PLA ranks.

According to Chinese social media, several personnel changes will take place in the weeks to come. It includes Liu Zhenli, a member of the Central Military Commission (CMC) taking over as defence minister to replace Li Shangfu, who has disappeared.

The Commander of the PLA Air Force (PLAAF) Gen Chang Dingqiu may take over as director of the CMC Joint Staff Department (JSD), while the position of PLAAF commander may be filled by Lt Gen Jing Jianfeng.

Further, Wang Xiubin, commander of the Southern Theater Command is slated to become commander of the Strategic Support Force (SSF) while Lt Gen Hu Zhongqiang, the deputy commander, will likely succeed him as the commander of the Southern Theater Command.

This does not include several important changes in the Western Theatre Command facing India.

All these new commanders may be inclined to please the Emperor in order to consolidate their position in the hierarchy and therefore take a more belligerent stance towards Taiwan and India.

Turmoil is undoubtedly here to stay for some time and in these circumstances, New Delhi should not be caught napping like in May 2020.

The writer is Distinguished Fellow, Centre of Excellence for Himalayan Studies, Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence (Delhi). Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the writer. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views.

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In an effort to normalize ties between the two nations, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Sunday that he would visit China from November 47 to meet with Premier Li Qiang and President Xi Jinping.

The first visit to Beijing and Shanghai by an Australian leader to China since 2016 was announced on Saturday, following a substantial improvement in ties and a resolution in a dispute with China over wine tariffs.

When Albanese assumed office in 2022, her goal was to mend fences over espionage, COVID, and Huawei, the largest trading partner of Australia, which had become strained over a number of years.

On the visit, the leaders will discuss cooperation in areas such as economic links, climate change and links between our people, Albanese said in a statmement.

I look forward to further engaging with President Xi and Premier Li in Australias national interest, he said.

Speaking in Canberra, Albanese said Australia late on Saturday had reached a deal with China to move forward to solve its World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute over wine, potentially clearing the way for the resumption of imports worth $800 million a year before the duties were imposed in 2020.

We have agreed on the issue of wine for there to be a review of Chinas position on wine tariffs to be conducted over the next months, Albanese told reporters.

We will suspend our action before the WTO but were very confident that this will result in once again Australian wine, a great product, being able to go to China free of the tariffs.

It is important that we stabilise our relationship with China, the prime minister said, adding that the wine deal was not transactional in return for Australia easing tariffs on some Chinese imports.

The move is the latest in a diplomatic thaw between the two countries that has already seen China lift restrictions on imports of Australian commodities such as coal, timber and barley worth billions of dollars.

China announced in November 2020 it would impose anti-dumping and countervailing duties of up to 218% on most Australian wine, causing trade to collapse. The measures were part of a barrage of trade restrictions that China imposed after Australia called for an inquiry into the origins of COVID-19.

Most of the trade restrictions have been lifted since a change of government in Canberra last year. Aside from wine, China maintains barriers on imports of lobsters and meat from some abattoirs.

Before China imposed the tariffs, it was the most valuable export market for Australian winemakers. In 2019, Australia shipped wine worth around $800 million to China, its trade data show. Last year, exports were worth $11 million.

(With inputs from agencies)
The National Department of Defense of Canada declared on Saturday that the October 17 strike on the Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza was not orchestrated by Israel.

Analysis conducted independently by the Canadian Forces Intelligence Command indicates with a high degree of confidence that Israel did not strike the Al-Ahli hospital on 17 October 2023, the statement read.

Based on a study of open source and classified reporting, the Defense Department concluded that an errant rocket fired from Gaza was most likely the cause of the strike.

Canadas findings are similar to conclusions by France and the U.S.

Canada said its assessment is informed by an analysis of the blast damage to the hospital complex, including adjacent buildings and the area surrounding the hospital, as well as the flight pattern of the incoming munition.

Palestinian officials said 471 people were killed in the blast at Al-Ahli al-Arabi Hospital on Tuesday. Gazas health ministry blamed an Israeli air strike, while Israel said the blast was caused by a failed rocket launch by militants.
The Philippine warships carrying illegal construction materials to a warship at a disputed shoal in the South China Sea were lawfully blocked, according to a statement released by Chinas coast guard on Sunday.

China and the Philippines have clashed multiple times in the South China Sea in recent months, most notably over the disputed Second Thomas Shoal, which is a part of the Spratly Islands.

The China Coast Guard has been dispatching vessels to obstruct the resupply attempts because the Philippines has been providing supplies to soldiers stationed on a transport ship that was converted into a military outpost on the shoal during World War Two.

Last week, the Philippine military demanded China stop its dangerous and offensive actions, after a Chinese navy ship shadowed and attempted to cut off a Philippine navy vessel conducting a resupply mission.

China had warned the Philippines against further provocations, saying such acts violated its territorial sovereignty.

China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, pointing to a dotted line on its maps that cuts into the exclusive economic zones of Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia. The Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016 said Chinas claims had no legal basis.

(With inputs from agencies)
Detroit police have advised against speculating on the reason for the stabbing death of a politically engaged synagogue leader, who was discovered dead outside her residence on early Saturday.

In order to fully investigate the murder of Samantha Woll, 40, the leader of the metropolitan Detroit-based Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue, police have asked the FBI for help.

We are shocked and saddened to learn of the unexpected death of Samantha Woll, our Board President, the synagogue said. At this point we do not have more information, but will share more when it becomes available.

The Detroit Police Department said Wolls body was found in the 1300 block of Joliet Place in Detroit, where a trail of blood led to her home.

By Saturday evening, police had still not determined a possible motive for the crime. But Detroit Police Chief James E. White said the department had mobilized numerous resources in its investigation.

Understandably, this crime leaves many unanswered questions, White said in a statement emailed to Reuters. He asked the public to be patient and not jump to conclusions before authorities are able to piece together what happened.

It is important that no conclusions be drawn until all of the available facts are reviewed, Smith said, adding that an update would be issued on Sunday.

Wolls death sparked an outpouring of grief in Jewish and Democratic circles.

Sam was as kind a person as Ive ever known, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel wrote on X, formerly called Twitter. She was driven by her sincere love of her community, state and country.

Elissa Slotkin, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for whom Woll had worked, said she was heartbroken at the news. Sam worked for me from nearly the moment I became a Congresswoman, helping us set up the office & helping to lead it for my full first term.
Taiwanese tech giant Foxconn is under tax and land use investigations at several of its sites in China, state media reported on Sunday.

Chinese authorities are inspecting Foxconns sites in southern Guangdong province and Jiangsu in the east, as well as carrying out on-site investigations into the companys land use in central Hunan and Hubei provinces, Chinas state-run Global Times reported.

The newspaper did not specify what authorities are looking into, nor any offences that Foxconn may have committed.

Compliance with the law is a basic principle for our group worldwide, Foxconn said in a statement Sunday.

We will actively cooperate with the relevant (authorities) for the operations concerned, it added, without providing further details.

Foxconn is one of the worlds largest contract producers of electronics and is a key supplier for Apples iPhones.

It is also Chinas largest private-sector employer, with more than a million employees nationwide.

The investigation comes two-and-a-half months before presidential elections in self-ruled Taiwan, which China claims as its territory and has vowed to take one day.

Foxconns founder, billionaire Terry Gou, has cut ties with the firm to focus on his long-shot bid to run as an independent candidate in Taiwans January 2024 elections.

The 72-year-old failed to become the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) partys nominee in 2019 and analysts say he has only a slim chance of winning.

Critics have alleged that Gou has a cosy relationship with the Chinese leadership, although Gou says he can bring peace between Taipei and Beijing.
Escalating attacks by militant group Hezbollah risk dragging Lebanon into a war, Israels military said Sunday, after renewed cross-border exchanges of fire that have raised fears of a wider conflict.

Hezbollah is dragging Lebanon into a war that it will gain nothing from, but stands to lose a lot, warned Israel Defense Forces spokesman Jonathan Conricus.

The Lebanese group is allied with Hamas, which touched off the latest violence with a murderous October 7 rampage in Israel that killed at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians who were shot, mutilated or burnt to death, according to Israeli officials.

Israel has retaliated with relentless strikes on Gaza that have killed more than 4,300 Palestinians, mainly civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

It has also exchanged fire with Hezbollah across its northern border, with Conricus accusing the group of a dangerous escalation.

Hezbollah is playing a very, very dangerous game. Theyre escalating the situation. We see more and more attacks every day, he said.

Is the Lebanese state really willing to jeopardise what is left of Lebanese prosperity and Lebanese sovereignty for the sake of terrorists in Gaza? he asked.

Thats a question that the Lebanese authorities need to ask themselves and answer.

Recent exchanges of fire have killed four Hezbollah fighters and a member of Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad in Lebanon, while three Israeli troops were injured, one seriously, in Hezbollah anti-tank fire, and two Thai farm workers also wounded.

Israel has ordered dozens of northern communities to evacuate, and several thousand Lebanese have also fled border regions for the southern city of Tyre.

Hezbollah number two Naim Qassem has warned the group could step up its involvement in the conflict.

Lets be clear, as events unfold, if something comes up that calls for greater intervention by us, we will do so, he said.

Iranian-backed Hezbollah fought a devastating war with Israel in 2006 that left more than 1,200 dead in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and 160 dead in Israel, mostly soldiers.
The last words that Gov. Kathy Hochul heard from her father, narrated into voicemail just before she left for Israel last week, were characteristically blunt and characteristically loving.

Im proud of you, Dolly, but keep your goddamn head down, John Jack Courtney told his daughter.

Courtney, 87, suffered a cerebral hemorrhage while his daughter was on the plane to Israel, and he died in a Florida hospital the next day.

His death left his children recalling a man known to Buffalo as a top executive at one of its fledgling tech firms, but known to those close to him as a family man who lived his Catholic faith by doing unto others in the most generous way possible.

Hochul, in an interview on Saturday, recalled the time she saw her parents at a table in a Hamburg Italian restaurant with a Japanese couple she didnt recognize. She asked her mother about it, and she explained that Jack Courtney, returning from an international trip, encountered the couple arguing with a cab driver at Buffalo Niagara International Airport.

The cab driver kept telling the couple that the hotel they wanted to go to didnt exist  so Courtney intervened and invited the couple to his family home for the weekend.

He was always doing something for other people, Hochul said. She recalled that when she visited her fathers country club in St. Petersburg, Fla., after he and his wife retired there, club members regaled her with tales of her fathers generosity.

Theres not a single person at this club that your father did not do something for, one man told Hochul.

The son of John and Mary Courtney, immigrants from County Kerry, Ireland, Courtney was raised in Blasdell and graduated from Bishop Timon High School and Canisius College. He worked his way through school through a job at Bethlehem Steel and stayed at the company for 10 years, marrying and starting a family in those years while living first in a trailer and later a one-story flat in Woodlawn.

He left Bethlehem in 1968 to join Computer Task Group, then a small startup based in Buffalo. Starting as a technician, Courtney worked his way up to the companys top ranks, being named president and chief operating officer in 1984. The company more than tripled in size during his tenure, which ended with his retirement in 1993.

Both before his retirement and afterward, Courtney led an active civic life. In Buffalo, he served on the boards of Christ the King Seminary, Sisters Hospital and Canisius College. And in Florida after his retirement, he volunteered for the St. Petersburg Free Clinic, which offers a variety of social services.

Courtneys wife of 57 years, Patricia Ann, died of arterial lateral sclerosis in 2014. He is survived by six children: sons Dennis, Michael, David and Paul; and two daughters, Sheila Heinze and Hochul. Other survivors include 20 grandchildren and brothers Tom, Pat, Terry and Kerry, as well as sisters Pat and Maureen. A service will be held in St. Petersburg and a memorial service in Buffalo is being planned.

Hochul said her father had a profound impact on her not just through his civic activism, but back when he accompanied her on a trip to various northeastern colleges when she was in high school.

A liberal arts college they visited was the place to go to be the wife of a congressman, Courtney told his daughter. Syracuse is where you go to learn to be a congressman.

Hochul graduated from Syracuse University in 1980 and served in Congress from 2011 to 2013.

Speaking to the crowd the night of her election in 2011, Hochul said of her father: He believed in me even before I believed in myself.
Palestinian medics reported that at least one person was killed after Israeli aircraft attacked a facility under a mosque in the occupied West Bank early on Sunday. The military claimed the compound was being used by militants to plan attacks.

The West Bank has seen an increase in violence after Hamas gunmen from Gaza carried out a fatal assault in Israel on October 7. This airstrike is at least the second that Israel has launched in the past few days.

According to Israel, the Jenin refugee camps facility beneath al-Ansar Mosque was owned by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad agents who had carried out attacks in the preceding months.

Intel was recently received which indicated that the terrorists, (who) were neutralized, were organizing an imminent terror attack, the military said in a statement.

The military released images that it said showed an entrance to a bunker under the mosque. It also released a diagram that it said showed where militants had stored weapons there.

Jenin refugee camp, a Palestinian militant stronghold, was the focus of a major Israeli military operation earlier this year.

Footage on social media, appearing to show the scene of the air strike, showed a gaping hole in one of the mosques exterior walls, surrounded by debris. Several dozen Palestinians are seen assessing the damage, as ambulance sirens blare in the background.

The Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance service said at least one Palestinian was killed and three others injured. It had earlier said that two people were killed.

Residents of the camp said they received warnings from the Israeli military to stay away from the militants due to an impending incursion into the camp. They said the military did not specify a date.

Since the Oct. 7 Hamas rampage, which has drawn two weeks of lethal Israeli bombardment of Gaza, at least 84 Palestinians in the West Bank have been killed in clashes with Israeli forces, Palestinian officials say.

On Thursday, Israels military said it raided and carried out an air strike in a refugee camp near the central city of Tulkarm. The military said the raid was aimed in part at apprehending suspects and confiscating weapons. Palestinians said at least 12 were killed.

(With inputs from agencies)
Two female Iranian journalists arrested for reporting on the death of Mahsa Amini, which sparked nationwide protests last year, have been sentenced for up to seven years in prison, the judiciary said Sunday.

Aminis death in custody on 16 September, 2022 after her arrest by the morality police in Tehran for an alleged breach of Irans strict dress rules for women led to mass protests across the country.

The journalists Elaheh Mohammadi and Niloufar Hamedi were both found guilty of collaboration with the United States, conspiring against state security and propaganda against the Islamic republic, the judiciarys Mizan Online website said.

Mohammadi, 36, was given six years in prison for collaboration with the United States and Hamedi, 31, was handed a seven-year term for the same offence, said Mizan.

The two were also given five-year sentences each for the conspiracy charges and one each for propaganda, the website said, adding the sentences would be served concurrently.

Mohammadi, a reporter for Ham Mihan newspaper, and Hamedi, a photographer for Shargh newspaper, have been held in Tehrans Evin prison since September 2022, with their trials starting in May.

The verdict against them are subject to appeal, Mizan added.

The ruling follows the sentencing on Tuesday of Aminis lawyer, Saleh Nikbakht, to one year in prison for propaganda against the state and speaking with foreign and local media about the case.
Israel has one of the best-resourced militaries in the world, heavily supported by Washington. In Hamas, it faces a highly trained armed group with powerful regional allies.

With both sides poised for an Israeli ground offensive in the wake of the deadly attack on Israel by Hamas on 7 October, here is an overview of their military resources.

Israel

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) number 169,500, of which 126,000 are army, according to Britains International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).

On top of that, it has 400,000 reservists, of which 360,000 have been mobilised since the Hamas attack.

Israel also has some of the most technologically advanced defences in the world, including the Iron Dome anti-missile system.

IISS says it has around 1,300 tanks and other armoured vehicles, 345 fighter jets and a vast arsenal of artillery, drones and state-of-the-art submarines.

Though not a declared nuclear state, Israels nuclear weapons cache is an open secret and the Arms Control Association puts its number of warheads at 90.

US ally

Washington provides $3.8 billion per year to Israel in military aid under a 10-year agreement running until 2028.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Sunday that he had activated deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery and additional Patriot battalions throughout the region.

He added that he had put an additional number of forces on prepare-to-deploy orders  to increase their readiness and ability to quickly respond as required.

Washington had already delivered increased munitions to Israel and deployed two aircraft carriers to the eastern Mediterranean  the USS Gerald Ford, the worlds largest warship, and the USS Eisenhower  to deter not just Hamas but also its allies Iran and the Lebanese Islamist movement Hezbollah.

The US military on Tuesday ordered 2,000 personnel to prepare for deployment to the Middle East as a show of force.

Hamas

Hamas has a diverse arsenal built up over many years.

Its armed forces, called the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, number 15,000 men according to IISS, though it notes that Arab media have put the figure at 40,000.

They have heavy weapons obtained from across the Middle East  particularly Iran, Syria and Libya  and has also sourced handguns and assault rifles from China and other regions.

It also has a variety of locally made, improvised explosives and Western sources say enough drones, mines, anti-tank guided missiles, grenade launchers and mortar shells to hold out for a long period, though precise figures are unavailable.

The majority of its rockets are also locally manufactured and technologically rudimentary.

Hezbollah

There have already been exchanges across the border between Israel and Lebanon, where the Iran-backed Hezbollah is based.

Hezbollah can tie up IDF resources without having to fully commit to the fight, instead relying on occasional rocket or missile strikes to prevent the Israelis from growing complacent and forcing the IDF to commit manpower and materiel along the northern border, said the Soufan Center, a US think tank.

In 2021, the group claimed to have 100,000 fighters. The Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), an Israeli think tank, says the number is half that.

Most Hezbollah militants are not full-time fighters but rather engage in militant activity as and when required by the groups commanders, according to Elliot Chapman of the British defence analysis firm Janes.

Hezbollah mobilised 40,000 men at the outbreak of Syrias civil war, he noted.

INSS says the groups arsenal counts 150,000 to 200,000 rockets and missiles, including hundreds of precision rockets.

Strategically, Hezbollahs rocket arsenal is the groups most significant capability for fighting Israel, Chapman said.

Iran

Since its Islamic revolution in 1979, Iran has made support for Palestinians one of the pillars of its ideology.

Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian warned Sunday that The region is like a powderkeg  I warn the United States and its proxy (Israel) that if they do not immediately stop the crime against humanity and genocide in Gaza, anything is possible at any moment and the region will go out of control.

Western analysts minimise the threat of Iran becoming directly involved and point rather to its support from Hamas, Hezbollah and Huthi rebels in Yemen  a so-called axis of resistance of Israels enemies.

Raz Zimmt, of INSS, said Iran currently had no interest in Hezbollah engaging in an all-out war that might threaten such a key strategic asset.

But he added that Tehrans hand could be forced by an Israeli ground invasion, and especially Israeli military success, which will threaten the very survival of Hamas and/or its ability to maintain effective control over the Gaza Strip.
The United States warned Iran or its allies against any escalation in the wake of Israels war with Hamas, two top US officials said Sunday, hours after the Pentagon moved to step up military readiness in the region.

We are concerned at the possibility of Iranian proxies escalating their attacks against our personnel, our people, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on CBS News. We expect there is a likelihood of escalation.

No one should take advantage of this moment to escalate to further attacks on Israel or, for that matter, attacks on us on our personnel.

Blinken said the United States, which has sent two carrier groups to the eastern Mediterranean, was taking every measure to make sure that we can defend them. And if necessary, respond decisively.

Blinkens words echoed  and served to reinforce  an earlier message from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who warned of a prospect of a significant escalation of attacks on our troops in the region.

Their comments came amid growing fears that pro-Iranian Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon, or other groups supported by Tehran, might take advantage of the tense situation over Gaza to enlarge the conflict and further stretch Israels military.

But Austin, speaking on ABC News, issued a stern warning: If any group or any country is looking to widen this conflict and take advantage of this very unfortunate situation that we see, our advice is: dont.

We maintain the right to defend ourselves and we wont hesitate to take the appropriate action, he added.

The comments from the two most senior members of President Joe Bidens cabinet came hours after the Pentagon said it was upping readiness in the region in response to recent escalations by Iran and its proxy forces.

Austin ordered the activation of air defence systems and notified additional forces that they may be deployed soon.

Austin did not say how many US troops would be added to those already in the region.

The Pentagons moves came after what Austin had earlier described in a statement as detailed discussions with Biden.

These steps will bolster regional deterrence efforts, increase force protection for US forces in the region, and assist in the defense of Israel, Austin said.

The steps continued the Biden administrations response since Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip stormed Israel on October 7, taking more than 200 hostages and killing at least 1,400 people, according to Israeli officials.

Tensions rising

Israel has since vowed to destroy Hamas, and says around 1,500 of the groups fighters were killed in clashes before its army regained control of the area initially under attack.

Austin said he had activated deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery and additional Patriot battalions throughout the region.

Finally, I have placed an additional number of forces on prepare-to-deploy orders as part of prudent contingency planning, to increase their readiness and ability to quickly respond as required, Austin said.

Tensions are rising along Israels northern border with Lebanon after the Israeli army traded fire with the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah amid fears of a new front opening as Israel battles Hamas.

In south Lebanon on Saturday, Hezbollah said four of its fighters were killed. Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad said one of its fighters was also killed.

Armed factions close to Iran have threatened to attack US interests in Iraq over Washingtons support for Israel.

Multiple Iraqi bases used by US-led coalition troops have been targeted in several attacks in recent days.

Israels military said it would intensify strikes on Hamas-controlled Gaza ahead of a planned ground invasion.

The military has pounded Gaza with relentless strikes in response to Hamass 7 October attack.

The bombing campaign has killed more than 4,650 Palestinians, mainly civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, and reduced swaths of the densely populated territory to ruins.

A first trickle of aid entered the Palestinian enclave from Egypt on Saturday, but the 20 trucks permitted to cross have been described as a drop in the ocean given the needs of 2.4 million residents.
Israel has declared it will increase its aerial strikes in the besieged Palestinian territory in order to provide the optimal conditions for troops to come in, with an Israeli ground offensive in Gaza looming big.

Spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Daniel Hagari, said that Israel was getting ready for the second phase of its announced three-phase operation to alter the security regime in Gaza. He stated, We have to enter the next phase of the war in the best conditions, not according to what anyone tells us.

In a direct indication of an impending ground invasion, Hagari told reporters on Saturday that as of today, we are increasing the strikes and minimizing the danger.

In another clear indicator that Israel was preparing for the second stage of its three-phase operation to change the security regime in Gaza, IDFs Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi told commanders of the elite Golani infantry brigade earlier on Saturday that they should expect surprises prepared by terror groups when they enter the Gaza Strip.

We will enter the Gaza Strip. We will begin an operational and professional mission to destroy the Hamas operatives, the Hamas infrastructure, and we will also keep in our minds the images, the scenes and the fallen from Shabbat (Saturday) two weeks ago, Halevi told the commanders.

He was referring to the latest conflict, triggered by the unprecedented attacks against Israel by Hamas militants on October 7, which killed around 1,400 people. Israel has launched a massive counter-offensive against the Islamic militant group that has ruled Gaza since 2007. Gaza is complex, Gaza is dense, the enemy is preparing a lot of things there, but we are preparing things for them as well, the IDF chief said.

Earlier this week, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant laid out Israels plan to change the security regime in Gaza implying Hamas removal and said the plan was designed in three stages.

The IDF was currently in the first stage of the plan when it was carrying out aerial strikes. It will be followed by ground incursion and finally, the change of security regime in Gaza, Gallant said.

Israel has amassed hundreds of thousands of troops in preparations for the ground offensive.

More than 1,400 people were killed in Israel in the deadly terror attack carried out by the Palestinian militant group in the south of the Jewish state, and at least 210 were taken captive, a number that is likely to go further up as per official estimates.

Around 4,385 Palestinians are said to have been killed in Gaza in the Israeli offensive that followed.

(With inputs from agencies)
Starbucks accused a union representing thousands of its baristas of damaging the brand and endangering co-workers with a pro-Palestinian tweet. The CEO of a prominent tech conference resigned amid backlash for his public statements suggesting that Israel was committing war crimes. Company bosses vowed never to hire members of a universitys student groups that condemned Israel.

Meanwhile, Islamic rights advocates say much of the corporate response has minimized the suffering in Gaza, where thousands have died in Israeli airstrikes, and created an atmosphere of fear for workers who want to express support for Palestinians. Jewish groups have criticized tepid responses or slow reactions to the Oct. 7 Hamas rampage that killed 1,400 people in Israel and triggered the latest war.

The fallout from the Israel-Hamas war has spilled into workplaces everywhere, as top leaders of prominent companies weigh in with their views while workers complain their voices are not being heard. People from all ranks have been called out for speaking too forcefully  or not forcefully enough  making it nearly impossible to come up with a unifying message when passions run deep on all sides.

Many U.S. corporations have strong ties with Israel, particularly among tech and financial firms that have operations and employees in the country.

Executives at J.P Morgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs, Google and Meta were among dozens who swiftly condemned the Hamas attacks and expressed solidarity with the Israeli people in public statements, social media posts or even corporate earning calls. Many pledged millions of dollars in humanitarian aid and detailed efforts to safeguard employees in Israel.

Some chief executives poured out their personal anguish.

In a LinkedIn post and a letter to employees, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said he has been constantly on the phones with friends and relatives in Israel and expressed his horror at hearing of civilians of all ages targeted and killed in cold blood, hostages taken and tortured. He implored employees to check on each other and said Pfizer launched a humanitarian relief campaign.

It is not enough to condemn these actions  we ourselves must take action, Bourla wrote.

Backlash against opposing views has been swift, including responses to a tweet from Web Summit CEO Paddy Cosgrave suggesting Israel was committing war crimes.

Ill never attend/sponsor/speak at any of your events again, former Facebook executive David Marcus stated on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Faced with a growing boycott to next months Web Summit, a prominent European gathering of thousands of tech leaders, Cosgrave resigned Saturday, saying that his personal comments have become a distraction from the event, and our team, our sponsors, our startups and the people who attend.

His resignation came a few days after he released a long message denouncing the Hamas attacks and apologizing for the timing of his initial tweet while defending his overall views on the conflict. But companies continued withdrawing from the conference, including Google, Meta, German tech conglomerate Siemens, and U.S. chipmaker Intel.

Jonathan Neman, CEO of restaurant chain Sweetgreen, was among several company leaders who vowed never to hire Harvard students who belonged to groups that cosigned a statement blaming Israel for the violence.

The international law firm Winston & Strawn rescinded a job offer to a New York University student who wrote a message in the Student Bar Association bulletin saying Israel was entirely to blame for the bloodshed.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, an Islamic civil rights group, denounced the backlash against the students and statements from U.S. corporate leaders that lack any meaningful display of sympathy toward Palestinian civilians.

Those reactions combined, the organization said, are leaving Palestinians and those in support of Palestinian human rights isolated at their place of work and fearful of possible consequences for discussing how the conflict has affected them.

Isra Abuhasna, a data scientist in the Chicago area, was among several professionals who expressed similar thoughts on social media, saying in a LinkedIn post that she was risking her entire career by expressing her views on the conflict.

Abuhasna, a Palestinian American who has worked for a real estate firm and other companies but recently took a break to stay home with her two young children, said she fears her posts will make it difficult to find a new position. But she said her parents raised her to be proud and vocal about the Palestinian cause.

Its my identity, Abuhasna said. What good am I in my job if I compromise my own morals and ethics?

One of the biggest disputes erupted at Starbucks after Starbucks Workers United, a union representing 9,000 workers at more than 360 U.S. stores, tweeted Solidarity with Palestine two days after the Hamas attack. The tweet was taken down within 40 minutes, but the company said it led to more than 1,000 complaints, acts of vandalism and angry confrontations in its stores.

Starbucks filed a lawsuit to stop Starbucks Workers United from using its name and a similar logo. Workers United, the parent union of Starbucks Workers United, responded with its own lawsuit saying Starbucks defamed the union by implying it supports terrorism. It wants to continue using the company name.

Starbucks Workers United tweeted a longer message on Friday denouncing Israels occupation and threats of genocide Palestinians face while also condemning antisemitism and Islamophobia.

Angela Berg, founder of workplace consultancy firm Perelaks, said companies with strong opinions about the war should express them, but the critical thing is that they acknowledge the existence of the experience of the other side. Those trying to stay on the sidelines, Berg said, need to explain their reasons to employees.

As the humanitarian catastrophe deepened in Gaza, more company leaders addressed the situation, including Accenture CEO Julie Sweet, who said the company was splitting a $3 million donation between the Israels Magen David Adom emergency services and the Palestinian Red Crescent.

But companies that have kept a low profile have gotten pushback.

Allison Grinberg-Funes, who is Jewish, wrote in a LinkedIn post that she was disappointed by the failure of her colleagues to reach out immediately after the Hamas attacks.

While they eventually reached out, Grinberg-Funes said in an interview with The Associated Press that she remains disappointed her employer, Liberty Mutual, didnt publicly condemn the attacks.

The Boston-based content designer for the insurance company said the silence is part of a wider lack of support for the Jewish community that she and her friends have observed in the workplace.

We want to know that our lives matter as much as the other employees that have been shown support, said Grinberg-Funes, 33, who has family and friends in Israel.

Liberty Mutual did not respond to a request for comment.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit the Iranian capital Tehran on Monday for talks with regional counterparts, his ministrys spokeswoman has confirmed.

Irans official IRNA news agency reported earlier that the foreign ministers of Russia, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia had been invited to meet for the talks.

We confirm Lavrovs planned talks in Tehran on Monday, foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told the TASS and RIA news agencies.

The talks come amid tensions over the Middle East and unresolved disputes between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which launched a lightning offensive against Armenian separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh last month.

Since launching its assault in Ukraine last year, Russia has turned to Iran for military support and economic partnerships as both countries face a raft of Western sanctions.

Western countries have accused Tehran of supporting Russias offensive in Ukraine by providing it with large quantities of drones and other weaponry.
Syrian state-run news agency SANA says Israel carried out airstrikes against the Aleppo and Damascus airports earlier this morning, damaging the runways and putting them both out of service.

In the Damascus strike, one civilian worker was killed and another was wounded, SANA says.

Aleppo International Airport was allegedly targeted by Israel on October 14 and October 12, while Damascus International Airport was allegedly hit only on the 12th.

Both airports have been struck numerous times over the past year, as Israel is believed to be stepping up efforts to prevent the shipment of advanced weapons from Iran to its various Middle East proxies, chief among them Lebanons Hezbollah terror group.

At around 5:25 am (0225 GMT), the Israeli enemy carried out an air attack targeting Damascus and Aleppo international airports, leading to the death of a civilian worker at Damascus airport and wounding another, the military source said in the statement carried by state news agency SANA.

Material damage to the airports runways put them out of service, the statement added. The transport ministry said flights were diverted to Latakia airport.

The military source said the simultaneous strikes came from the direction of the Mediterranean west of Latakia and from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan, according to the statement.

On October 12, simultaneous strikes knocked both Damascus and Aleppo airports out of service, Syria said at the time.

Last weekend, Israeli strikes targeted Aleppo airport, wounding five people, a war monitor reported, also putting it out of service, according to the authorities.

During more than a decade of war in Syria, Israel has launched hundreds of air strikes on its northern neighbour, primarily targeting Iran-backed forces and Lebanese Hezbollah fighters as well as Syrian army positions.

Israel rarely comments on individual strikes it carries out on Syria, but it has repeatedly said it will not allow its arch foe Iran, which supports President Bashar al-Assads government, to expand its presence there.

(with inputs from agencies)
The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees said Sunday that 29 of its staff had been killed in Gaza since the outbreak of war between Hamas militants and Israel.

We are in shock and mourning. It is now confirmed that 29 of our colleagues in Gaza have been killed since October 7, UNRWA wrote on X, formerly Twitter, raising a death toll released Saturday of 17 staffers.

Half of these colleagues were UNRWA teachers, the agency said of its latest toll.

Thousands of Gazans have sought shelter at UNRWA facilities since Israel launched an aerial bombardment campaign in reprisal for Hamas attacks in Israel in which 1,400 people were killed.

More than 4,600 Palestinians have been killed in those air strikes, according to the Gaza health ministry, with Israel also cutting off supplies of fuel, water, food and electricity to the impoverished enclave.

Twelve displaced people have been killed and nearly 180 wounded at the UN agencys schools, while some 38 UNRWA installations have been damaged, the agency said.

In a separate statement, UNRWA warned its fuel supplies in Gaza would run out in three days.

Without fuel, there will be no water, no functioning hospitals and bakeries. Without fuel, aid will not reach many civilians in desperate need, UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said.

Without fuel, there will be no humanitarian assistance, he added.

Six trucks were able to collect fuel from a terminal at the Rafah crossing point, but they do not come close to meeting the daily needs of Gazas 2.4 million residents.
In 1988, Ambassador Franklin Hall Williams, a distinguished attorney, civil rights leader and diplomat, was tasked with conducting a comprehensive study on the participation by persons of color in the courts and legal profession, as well as the perceptions regarding the treatment of people of color in the New York State court system. One result of the studys findings was the creation of the Franklin H. Williams Judicial Commission, the first court-based commission in the United States dedicated to racial fairness. The Commission is responsible for developing programs to improve the perception of fairness within the court system and to ensure equal justice in New York State. The Commission also educates and advises decision makers in the New York court system on issues affecting both employees and litigants of color, and implements recommendations developed to address these issues.

This work will be in the spotlight this week when the commission, in collaboration with the 8th Judicial District (comprising the eight counties of Western New York), conducts activities in Buffalo highlighting the ongoing efforts to promote equal access and full participation in the court system by persons and communities of color.

On Oct. 24, members from the community can attend the Commissions Red Carpet event at the Old Erie County Hall in Buffalo. The event will premiere the Commissions student perspectives video on the WNED-produced, award-winning documentary, entitled A Bridge to Justice: The Life of Franklin H. Williams.

Local high school and college students viewed the documentary and provided their recorded reactions about Williams work, the importance of multicultural education, and how to be civically engaged. The Commission and WNED also created an accompanying curriculum for students in grades 6 through 12 that can be found on the PBSLearning Media website.

The commission will also host a Professional Development Academy, which will provide training for employees in the 8th Judicial District to help advance their court-based careers. The program is designed to enhance workplace skills and professional performance.

On Oct. 25, the Commission is also sponsoring a panel discussion with some of the regions leading legal experts about the importance of jury service and jury diversity. While someones eyes may roll when they receive a jury notice in the mail, the right to a jury is one of the fundamental bedrocks of our constitutional right to have a fair trial. It is also important that juries reflect the diversity of the communities they serve to ensure equal justice for all. Multiple perspectives are fundamental to the process of obtaining an impartial and fair verdict.

We all have a role to play in fulfilling Ambassador Williams mission of addressing and eliminating racial bias.

Mary Lynn Nicolas-Brewster, Esq., is executive director of the Franklin H. Williams Judicial Commission.
In an effort to increase military preparedness, the Pentagon has ordered the activation of air defense systems throughout the West Asia region and notifies other US forces that they might be deployed shortly.

According to a statement from US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, the actions are a reaction to recent escalations by Iran and its proxy forces across the West Asia.

He claims that these steps will increase force protection for US forces in the region, bolster regional deterrence efforts, and aid in Israels defense.

Austin did not say how many more US soldiers will be sent to the area.

I will continue to assess our force posture requirements in the region and consider deploying additional capabilities as necessary, he says, adding that the moves follow detailed discussions with US President Joe Biden.

The announcement also comes after Austin again spoke with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, amid the ongoing war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.

The secretary thanked Minister Gallant for Israels role in facilitating the October 21 humanitarian convoy into Gaza and reiterated the importance of protecting civilians, said a statement from the Pentagon. The two leaders also discussed the continued provision of security assistance and the US commitment to deter any state or non-state actor seeking to escalate this war.

(with inputs from agencies)
The United States will take appropriate action in response to any escalation in West Asia of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said Sunday.

If any group or any country is looking to widen this conflict and take advantage of this very unfortunate situation that we see, our advice is: dont, he told ABC News, hours after the Pentagon announced it was increasing its military presence in the region.

We maintain the right to defend ourselves and we wont hesitate to take the appropriate action, Austin added.
Quote: JKBrad Originally Posted by You should have contacted me while in San Antonio.

Quote: Anyway, and I doubt this is what you want to hear, but a Powerboost F150 sounds like it would be a far better vehicle for you making these long road trips, plus it would be a decent source of power for those times that you can't find a camp group with hookups.



I understand you have a strong affinity for EVs. But sometimes you need the right tool for the job. Maybe in 5 years there will be a better EV on the market, and that would be a better time to consider a full plug in for cross country towing.

I forgot you were down there. Ill be on the road more in the coming months, and Im planning on making it back down there in April. Ill reach out before showing up down there.Ive thought hard about that, but the cold weather ICE penalty is too much for me. Im really sensitive to cold weather because of these health issues and having an always-hot EV makes a massive difference. Ive never liked remote starters, and I cant use one in the garage either way. I just got done towing 7,300 miles with an EV over the last couple of months, and Im confident a larger battery and taller profile will be adequate.I think I may have settled on one. I drove all the way down to Apple Valley twice over the last two days to see this guy:Its the first XLT Extended Range that Ive seen on the used market, and they just took it in trade last weekend at their Shakopee location. They had to send the salesman to the other store to bring it over for me, and it showed up just before I arrived with 5% in the tank and hadnt seen their detail shop. This dealer didnt have a fast charger, either, so I went on an abbreviated test drive to get a feel for it. Theyre only willing to give me $37K for my Model Y, and Carvana has offered $40K, so I told them Id play with my calculator and get back to them. I decided to move forward and sell my car to Carvana, and I drove back down this afternoon for a better test drive and put down a deposit.The tires have less than 50% life at 18,300 miles, so they are putting my choice of tires on it. My deposit is refundable, but its looking like this is the one.My only gripes are the lack of brake controller and having to deal with the standard sound system after getting spoiled by the premium Tesla setup. I cant argue with the deal, thoughI almost think they mistakenly priced it like a Standard Range. $55K for the equivalent to a regular 302A package with factory spray-in bedliner and tonneau cover.The color really speaks to me. We lost our 6-year-old daughter back in 2018, and her favorite color was always blue. 
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Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Oct. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- JEDDAH, KSA, 22 October 2023  Zahid Group, a leading organization across multiple industries, announced the resounding success of its 2022 "No to Single-Use Plastics" company-wide campaign. Since its launch at the end of 2021, Zahid Group has made significant strides in creating a corporate-wide change that aligns with its commitment to the community and the planet.

Targeting specific items where lasting change could be achieved, based on pre-pandemic usage in 2019, Zahid Group reduced its overall single-use plastic (SUP) use by 61% in 2022 in its 1st-year rollout. The initiative started by focusing on SUP kitchen utensils, bags, wrapping, and water bottles. As part of the initiative, the Group distribute d stainless steel water bottles, fabric tote bags, and ceramic mugs with the initiative logo to all employees across the group companies, encouraging the use of reusable alternatives and the active participation of employees across all locations in Saudi Arabia.

In particular, the use of plastic water bottles plummeted by 92%, saving an average of 30 water bottles per hour over the first year. This achievement alone prevents over 8 tons of SUP pollution every year. 86% fewer plastic kitchen utensils were used, reducing waste by around 1.2 kg per hour on average over the entire year. Furthermore, plastic bag/wrapping use was cut by 46%, reducing another 11 tons of SUP waste.

As the Group accelerates in post-pandemic activity and can see how valuable the campaign has already been, goals for 2023 have been set even higher. Zayd M. Zahid, CEO, stated, "As a leading organization with a relentless focus on quality, best-in-class practices, and unwavering commitment to delivering excellence in all that we do, it is through the combined impact of our efforts as well as driving wider change that we set an example for others in our communities, both personal and professional. This is for all of us."

Zahid Group is now encouraging others to join the initiative to eliminate the use of single-use plastic in their organizations and offering a royalty-free creative license to use the campaign identity and logo. The word "pLAstic" in the logo emphasizes the word  (LA), which means no in Arabic, saying no to single-use plastics for our community and our planet. The logo, internal campaign strategy, lessons learned, and all the awareness campaign material have also been freely available. These can be found at www.zahid.com/plastic/

Zahid Group's successful implementation of the "No to Single-Use Plastics" campaign showcases the company's commitment to environmental responsibility. Through the collective efforts of its employees, Zahid Group has demonstrated that businesses can effect positive change and contribute to a more sustainable future.

About Zahid Group:

Zahid Group is a privately held organization headquartered in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for over a century. It employs more than 5,000 people and is a leading player in multiple industries, including energy & utilities, heavy machinery, financial services, industrial manufacturing, transport, and hospitality. The company is partnered with global brands such as Caterpillar, Volvo, Renault, and TotalEnergies.

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MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA, Oct. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hydrostor, a leading global long duration energy storage (LDES) developer and operator, expands its presence with the appointment of Sara Taylor to direct its Government & Regulatory Affairs initiatives in Australia.

Sara will play a key role in advancing clean energy policies in the Australian market, with a focus on the deployment of Hydrostors Advanced Compressed Air Energy Storage (A-CAES) technology. A-CAES is set to be an essential component in Australias flexible, secure, scalable, and affordable clean energy future.

Sara has over a decade of regulatory and compliance experience across the Australian energy sector, including roles with regulators, retailers, and network businesses. Sara was most recently working at a major Australian bank, implementing new national cyber security legislation for critical infrastructure organisations.

Based in Hydrostors Melbourne office, Sara will be joining Hydrostors team at All Energy Australia, where Chief Commercial Officer, Jordan Cole, is speaking about how states can achieve deep decarbonisation using LDES.

We're delighted to welcome Sara to the Australian team where she will play an important role in progressing our pipeline of LDES projects and I am looking forward to joining her and our other Australian colleagues at All Energy. The time is now to get more LDES projects underway and increase the momentum of this essential infrastructure. Australias clean energy transformation will only be possible with the expedient deployment of LDES technologies suited to varying durations and applications, said Jordan Cole.

All Energy Australia is the countrys largest clean energy event and hosted in partnership with the Australian Clean Energy Council (CEC).

The following representatives from Hydrostor will also be attending All Energy Australia:

Scott Bolton, Executive Vice President of Global Government & Regulatory Affairs

Martin Becker, Vice President of Origination & Development (Australia)

Jason Lew, Director of Project Development (Australia)

Hydrostor is currently developing the Silver City Energy Storage Centre (SCES) in Broken Hill, NSW, a 200MW / 1,600MWh (8 hour duration) A-CAES project that will solidify Australia as a global LDES leader.

The SCES Project will bring significant benefits to the region, including a contribution of over AUD$1B to the regional economy, opportunities for local suppliers, contractors, and service providers, and local employment, skills, and training that includes 750 direct and indirect jobs during construction and 70 ongoing jobs in operation.

About Silver City Energy Storage

The Silver City Energy Storage (Silver City) is an Advanced Compressed Air Energy Storage project capable of 200 MW generation for 8 hours duration (1600MWh). Reserve capacity of 250MWh is set aside to provide backup power during network outages. The project is located adjacent the Perilya Potosi Mine in Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia.

Silver City will operate as a large energy storage asset, connected to the NSW grid and able to trade large quantities of energy on a daily basis. It will also act as an emission-free long-term grid reliability solution for Broken Hill and the wider region, supporting existing and new renewable energy generation, and serving communities and mining loads in the most cost-effective manner.

This Project received development funding from the NSW Government under the Emerging Energy Opportunities Program and project funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) as part of ARENAs Advancing Renewables Program. To learn more, visit https://www.silvercityenergystorage.com/

About Hydrostor Inc.

Hydrostor is a leading developer and operator of long-duration energy storage systems. Hydrostor leverages a proven technology solution for delivering long-duration energy storage (eight hours or more) to power grids around the world. Hydrostors technology uses compressed air and water to store energy. This patented technology allows grid operators to draw on clean energy, even when there is no sun to fuel solar panels and no wind to generate energy from turbines.

Hydrostor has a successful utility scale facility commercially contracted to the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) located in Goderich, Ontario, and two advanced projects under development in Kern County, California and New South Wales, Australia. Hydrostor has an extensive early-stage pipeline of projects in North America, Australia and Europe.

Founded in 2010 and with headquarters in Toronto, Canada and offices in Melbourne, Australia and Sacramento, USA, Hydrostor is backed by Goldman Sachs Asset Management, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and other forward-thinking institutional investors, providing financial security to commit to top-tier energy projects.

Follow us @Hydrostor on X (formerly Twitter) and LinkedIn

To learn more, visit https://www.hydrostor.ca/
The Ajman Department of Tourism Development (ADTD) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Thumbay Group, aimed at boosting the medical tourism sector in the emirate.

The memorandum marks the beginning of a collaborative effort to expand and fortify cooperation between the two entities, further establishing Ajman as a premier destination for medical treatment and healthcare services.

This collaboration encompasses active participation by ADTD in both local and international medical conferences and exhibitions, with the primary objective of raising awareness and promoting medical tourism in Ajman.

Patients from Nigeria

A notable highlight of this partnership was the recent visit of distinguished doctors from India, organised as part of a promotional roadshow held recently in India. This successful endeavour led to the arrival of the first group of patients from Nigeria, with ADTD providing extensive logistical and visa support, as well as streamlining administrative procedures.

Under the guidance and coordination of the Ajman Department of Tourism Development, Thumbay Group has extended exclusive offers to employees and guests of hotel establishments within the Emirate of Ajman, effective from October 3, running for a full year. This initiative reflects the ongoing commitment to promoting medical tourism in Ajman, offering distinctive therapeutic experiences, and delivering high-quality healthcare services to the local community and visitors alike.

Mahmood Khaleel Alhashmi, Director General of ADTD, said: "Ajman has firmly established itself as a distinguished and unique medical destination, and we are dedicated to fortifying this vital sector. Our partnership with Thumbay Group opens new horizons for promoting therapeutic tourism in the Emirate of Ajman and enhancing its competitiveness in this domain."

Global hub

Dr Thumbay Moideen, Founder and President of the Thumbay Group, said: "This partnership underscores our dedication to economic development in Ajman, contributing to its recognition as a standout global hub for medical tourism."

Sultan Ali Al Nuaimi, Director of Licensing & Tourism Standard Department at ADTD, reaffirmed ADTDs commitment to supporting strategic partners and seizing opportunities to develop medical tourism in the emirate, ultimately enhancing the experience of residents and visitors and aligning with the department's vision.--TradeArabia News Service
-- Jennifer MayerIts an uncomfortable fact that most local governments have found to be true -- particularly in todays political and financial environments. But its also a reality that is driving the search for innovative infrastructure financing models, the focus of the City Accelerators Cohort III.Recently, I had a chance to talk with Jennifer Mayer, who is leading Cohort III. Each City Accelerator cohort has employed a uniquely qualified professional as a special champion and guide to assist the participating communities -- and Mayer is a strong choice for this challenging effort. She comes to the Accelerator with more than 25 years of experience advising federal, state and local transportation and environmental agencies on infrastructure finance and policy. In her work at Ernst & Young, Apogee Research, Inc., and as a technical advisor for the Federal Highway Administration, Mayer helped state and local agencies produce financial plans and issue bonds for infrastructure projects, create revolving loan funds, and consider and implement public-private partnerships (P3s). She was the founding chair of the Transportation Research Boards Public-Private Partnership Subcommittee, and is currently chair of its Revenue and Finance Committee.In our interview, Mayer said she was attracted to the City Accelerators project model and the focus on finding solutions that other cities -- dealing with the same or similar problems -- can replicate. Mayer also spoke with me about the changing landscape of infrastructure finance and her hopes and plans for Cohort III.I think there has been a recognition that the federal role has diminished and state and local governments are bringing in the private sector in a lot of new ways. I would have to say that's one of the most significant changes. It used to be that municipal finance was perhaps not the most exciting sub-part of the discipline but in terms of having new models of how to pay for products, how to manage them and how to finance them with different relationships with the private sector, that's the most significant change.New Mexico Highway 44 -- now U.S. Route 550 -- was a highway so dangerous that people used to have bumper stickers that said, Pray for me -- I Drive New Mexico 44. It was two lanes with very slow moving farm vehicles and very fast-moving other traffic. The state had a choice to either fix this road or do the rest of their program -- because it would cost all they had.The state found a way to tap state and federal grant anticipation bonds for the $314 million cost and then utilized the private sector for construction talent needed to tackle the diverse demands of the 118-mile project. However, the most innovative feature was a long-term performance warranty that guaranteed the road would be maintained and remain above specifications for 20 years. Its ironic, but cars typically have longer warranties than the roads on which they travel.The Urban Institute has a really good book:It was published in 1991 and was probably one of the best summaries of innovations at the municipal level that I've seen and they just haven't done another one since then. The EPA has also created some good materials targeted to green infrastructure, including Getting to Green: Financing Options and Resources for Local Decision-Makers. The EPAs Environmental Financial Advisory Board has a wealth of resources, including a Guidebook of Financial Tools: Paying for Environmental Systems, which has an encyclopedia-like listing of funding and financing tools used for green infrastructure.There are definitely more Flints out there. It's sad, but it is human nature that we don't respond as well to chronic problems as we do to an acute crisis. I think theres a complacency thats built up after two decades of hearing about crumbling infrastructure. We keep saying the sky is falling, and when it doesnt, people think we can just keep going on as we are. Its a credit to the dedicated professionals in public works agencies, who often have to keep things going with duct tape and baling wire, but in the end their competency masks how bad the situation really is.Its hard to point to what finally leads to the tipping point to get something done -- but one thing Ive found is you have to tell the story well enough so people understand why the project is needed and why more help is needed to pay for it. Thats why Im excited this cohort started with ESRIs story maps -- that will help them communicate the issues to the public and create impetus for action.Some people think that to make a public private partnership feasible, users will inevitably have to pay more. Id say two things in response to that: Not all P3 models depend on user fees, and even when they do, the strategies that work better for lower-income individuals are where the beneficiary pays something as well. If I ride the bus, I'm benefitting every driver who doesn't have to compete with me for road space. The business whose customers have light rail access, or whose bottom floor no longer floods every time it rains, is going to enjoy higher property values. Some of that value should return to the infrastructure that creates it.As soon as I came on board I said I want each city to name a mid-point and final success metric. I don't want to have a project that doesnt have that. An important part of the process is to encourage and even require intra-city partnerships. Many times, I would come talk to an agency about infrastructure finance, and people from different departments would be meeting each other for the first time. Building and strengthening those relationships among the many city departments who need to cooperate for project delivery is essential.----I came away from our interview impressed and convinced that Mayer has both the professional skills and unique career experience that will be needed to lead these communities in their quest for finding solutions for tough problems. Those qualities, coupled with her engaging personality, will enable leaders and staff of these communities to more easily collaborate. Her life's work has been at the confluence of finance, infrastructure and the interests of low-income urban residents, making her an ideal collaborator for the cities that are now navigating that tricky intersection through Cohort III.
Haas and Aston Martin struggle with upgraded cars

Haas' highly-anticipated 'B' car has not improved the situation for the struggling American team.

Kevin Magnussen, United States GP 2023

 Haas F1 Team / LAT

Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg had high hopes that the first major car development for 2023 - the full switch to a Red Bull-like aerodynamic concept - would stop this year's Haas car from eating up the tyres in the race.

We're all nervous about whether the car is better with the tyres now, Magnussen told Ekstra Bladet earlier in Austin. That's the performance we're really looking for.

Ultimately, however, Magnussen's 14th was the best single-lap performance for the 'B' car in Austin, before he finished just 18th in Saturday's sprint.

The pace dropped off a lot, said the Dane. I got a decent start and a decent first lap, then stayed there for a few laps before the well-known cycle of getting overtaken and the tyres dropping off started.

German Hulkenberg admitted the situation doesn't look too good after the sprint.

We've got more work to do but initially we're not very happy with what's happened, team boss Gunther Steiner agreed. At the moment, we have to find more as the upgrade has not done what we expected.

Also struggling despite another round of car upgrades in Austin is Aston Martin, with Fernando Alonso resigned to a full race weekend without a single point.

We'll discuss if it's better to play with the setup and start from pitlane and at least learn something in the race, the Spaniard told DAZN.

Otherwise doing 56 laps just for the sake of doing them seems like a long race, Alonso added, reporting that the car's pace has been very slow - too slow .
Hamilton doubts Mercedes can catch up for 2024

It's "Max's time" in Formula 1 at present - and everyone may need to get used to that for some time to come.

Lewis Hamilton, United States GP 2023

 Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.

That is the word from FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, having already ruled out intervening with rules to rein in Max Verstappen and Red Bull's dominance.

Lewis Hamilton finished second in his Mercedes in the Austin sprint on Saturday, and said that despite a new floor for the US GP - the last major development for 2023 - Verstappen could easily just drive away from him.

It was a good position to be able to watch what Max's car was doing, how it was behaving, said the seven time world champion.

At least we know where we are. And we have a lot of work to do, Hamilton added. It's no small feat for us to truly catch them for next year.

That is despite the fact that Mercedes' technical boss James Allison had said the new floor for this weekend was a signifier of the direction the team is going in for 2024.

I don't know really if it's a signifier of anything for next year, Hamilton said. They (Red Bull) will be progressing at a steep rate as they've got an amazing development team. That makes it even steeper for us to be able to close the gap.

Hamilton has even suggested several times that the FIA should be intervening to try to make Formula 1 more exciting amid Verstappen's domination.

Why did Lewis win all the time before? FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem told AS newspaper in Austin. "Why did Michael Schumacher always win?

I can't punish success. It's Max's time. Honestly, what do we do? Change the rules now? It can't be done.

One of the only hopes for Red Bull's rivals is that rumours of discord behind the scenes at the dominant team may be true.

Bosses Christian Horner and Dr Helmut Marko have dismissed the speculation for now, but former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher suspects more trouble will be ahead.

I have a feeling we will see some personnel surprises at Red Bull in the winter, he told Sky Deutschland.

Finally, Marko welcomed the news that the FIA reacted to more 'track limits' controversies in Austin by becoming more lenient in penalising at certain corners.

Unfortunately the change came today, otherwise we would have been in pole position, said the Austrian. "But it is a logical solution.
Nollywood comic icon, Mr Ibus appeal for medical support: The story so far

Gifty Owusu-Amoah Showbiz News Oct - 22 - 2023 , 21:31

On Tuesday, October 17, popular Nollywood actor, John Okafor, popularly known as Mr Ibu, marked his 62nd birthday.

In a video shared on his Instagram page, Mr Ibu, who was unwell, was seen in a hospital gown next to his wife and children, while other close relations stood by in the room.

The actor was gifted a birthday cake displayed on a table for the celebration.

His daughter Jasmine Okafor, in a post on Instagram, shared that her father had been in the health facility for two weeks. She added that she was heartbroken to see her father spend a "joyous" day in the hospital instead of at home.

But there was more to come. On Wednesday, the next day, the renowned comic icon whose popularity transcends his home country made headlines when he turned to social media to solicit public aid as he confronts a health condition that may lead to the amputation of his leg.

In a heartfelt plea, Mr. Ibu revealed that he had been hospitalised for several weeks.

Speaking about the severity of his ailment, he disclosed that his doctors had warned that amputation might be the last resort if all other options exhausted.(VIDEO: Nollywood comic icon Mr. Ibu appeals for public support amidst amputation fears)

Actors Guild of Nigeria reacts

A number of his fans took to social media to solicit for funds. But not quite surprisingly, the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) was not spared of the biting attacks for abandoning one of their own in his desperate moments.

The development forced veteran Nollywood actor, Kanayo O Kanayo to warn people from using Mr Ibus predicament to chase clout on social media. (Video: Kanayo warns people to stop chasing clout with Mr Ibus illness)

To save itself, the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) led by its Director Of Communications, Kate Henshaw came out in defense of itself and image.

The Guild noted that it had been offering support Mr. Ibu, even before the public disclosure of his health status.

Miss Henshaw said the guild had remained committed to supporting its members in times of need, especially with regards to health demands.

Wifes response

However, in a viral video shared online on Saturday, October 21, Stella Maris, wife of Mr Ibu claimed that the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) did not support her husband at all.

She accused them of exploiting her ailing husband for the sake of chasing clout.

Mr Ibus wife slammed AGN for lying about helping her husband and also noted that she was unhappy with how the AGN was using her husband.

Support

Help comes at last. According to reports, a former Senate President in Nigeria by name, Dr. Bukola Saraki have cleared the medical expenses of the ailing Mr Ibu through his foundation, Abubakar Bukola Saraki Foundation.

Its expected that this help will go a long way to save Mr Ibu from his desperate medical conditions as his family, fans and well-wishers have been praying for.
Don't keep mobile phones by your breasts - women cautioned

Haruna Yussif Wunpini Oct - 21 - 2023 , 14:19

A public health nurse at the St. Joseph Orthopaedic Hospital, Patricia Sagoe, has asked women, especially traders to desist from putting mobile phones by their breasts.

That, she indicated, would help to prevent their breasts from being exposed to mobile phone radiations, which could have made them vulnerable to breast cancer.

She explained that radiation emissions from mobile phones are very high when they placed to the breasts.

Madam Patricia Sagoe gave the advice during a breast cancer screening exercise organised by ASA Savings and Loans Limited for market women at the main lorry park in the New Juaben South Municipality in the Eastern Region.

The exercise, which was supported by the St. Joseph Orthopaedic hospital had over 100 women screened for the disease.

Early medication

Madam Sagoe explained that when a mobile phone was attached to the breast and receives call, the vibration enters the breast and that could render the person vulnerable to breast cancer.

"One risk factor to breast cancer is the exposure to radiation and we know mobile phones emit radiations, especially when the mobile phone is ringing; it vibrates, and the vibration gets into the breast and that can cause cancer in the breast.

"Putting the mobile phone always beside the breast is very risky because it can result in contracting the disease", the public health nurse stated.

She therefore advised women against putting mobile phones by their breast and instead put them in their bags.

Customers

The Corporate Social Responsibility Manager of the company, Richard Nartey, said management decided to organise the exercise for the market women because they were their customers who should be healthy at all times.

That, he said, was because breast cancer had been one of the major diseases affecting a number of women.

Social responsibility

Mr Nartey said the event which formed part of the companys corporate social responsibility was also used to sensitise the women on the disease, particularly seeking early medical attention.

He said the company's Human Resource Manager, Eunice Boadu who was diagnosed of breast cancer also formed part of the management's decision to conduct the exercise.

He said Madam Boadu had dedicated herself as a breast cancer ambassador to further create awareness on the disease so that others would take preventive actions seriously.

Mr Nartey said they had planned to screen at least 300 women for breast cancer in this month of October.

Some of the beneficiaries of the breast screening exercise commended the bank for undertaking the initiative.
Five days in Dubai

Edmund Smith-Asante Oct - 21 - 2023 , 10:56

Who says dreams do not come true? Barely six months after my transit through Dubai on my way to China in 2019, I found myself in one of the worlds famed tourist destinations not for pleasure, but for business.

Just the previous year after spending few hours at the Dubai Airport, I had prayed that the next time, it would not be a transit but an actual visit to the city state.

That was in September, 2019 and not long after in February, 2020, I had my wish granted. I was selected to be part of a five-member team for a media family trip at the behest of the Emirates airline.

I could not believe that my desire to visit the United Arab Emirates was going to be fulfilled within this short time that I had nursed the hope. Miracles still do happen and dreams do really come true, I said to myself.

First time

So fast track into the past, on Sunday, September 15, 2019 at 11a.m. GMT, I found myself on my second Emirates flight headed for Beijing and all I could hear about 39,000ft up in the sky on the jumbo jet Airbus A380  800, was the sturdy whine of the two huge jet engines and the sound of the aircraft cutting into the cold air outside.

My first flight aboard a smaller aircraft, the Boeing 777  300 from the Kotoka International Airport in Accra to the Dubai International Airport had ended over nine hours earlier.

I had heard a lot about the Emirates airline and prayed I would one day taste of their much talked about superb service, and voila! I had a double dose. Two flights in 24 hours. For the first time, the instruction was not put off all mobile phones and electronic gadgets.

Notes onboard

So while on my second Emirates flight on that memorable day headed for China, I took out my laptop from the overhead carriage and wrote Passengers are actually allowed to put phones in flight mode just temporarily  before take-off and during landing. Once airborne and they fasten seat belt signs are off one can actually use an on air wifiinternet on air (I have not been able to log-on though the icon on my laptop says I have internet access).

Well I have had two firsts too  landing on the famed Dubai soil in the United Arab Emirates. Although there was no opportunity to go to town to see the famous Dubai city. I guess that would also happen one day.

For now, let me be content with the masterpiece of an airport. Gratefully I had to wait five hours to connect my second flight, so I had all the time to not only look for my boarding gate which was like going around in a maze, but I had the opportunity to feast my eyes on some beautiful things in some shops.

Well I did that from a distance, since one needs a lot of cash to do some few purchases  something I couldnt boast of. As I always believe, one day it will all change. I know this wish will also come true soon.

But I must say that apart from the fact that I did not quite fancy being sandwiched on my first flight as I was in the middle, the service onboard wasnt bad and it was a relatively smooth flight with an equally smooth landing.

Dubai from the air/sky really looks beautiful with all the lights everywhere. When we were airborne during the second flight to the Peking International Airport in Beijing, China, I couldnt also help noticing that the city of Dubai is well laid out and compact. No space allowed to go waste. Well, I will have more to say when I get an opportunity to visit the city someday, I said to myself.

Double deck

While onboard the jumbo for the first time I continued typing away; The Boeing A380  800 jumbo jet taking us to China has an upper cabin, which means it has the capacity to take more people. Before I even check its capacity I would not hesitate to hazard a guess that it can take over 500 passengers because of its twin cabin.

Checks later showed that although the aircraft typically took 525 passengers, it had a maximum certified capacity for 853 passengers.

This time round I got my favourite seat  at the window and I continued to scribble; We are soaring like an eagle above the clouds  it is always beautiful to behold the earth from the sky.

One of the intriguing things I learnt was the fact that the crew came from 18 countries and spoke 13 languages  who can beat that! Emirates is truly an international airline, I said to myself.
GAF replies Ablakwa, Weve not withdrawn soldiers from Mepe

Graphic.com.gh Oct - 22 - 2023 , 22:09

The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) has reacted to reports that it has withdrawn military personnel deployed to Mepe in the Volta Region following the flooding in the area as a result of the spillage of the Akosmobo Dam.

There have been reports on social media suggesting that the soldiers deployed to the area for humanitarian relief operations have been withdrawn, upon an order from a higher authority.

In one such videos on social media seen by Graphic Online, the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa for instance said he has information that an order from above was the reason why the military was withdrawing from Mepe.

In a tweet, Ablakwa wrote: "Who above has given orders to the military detachment helping us cross flood waters to immediately withdraw when the water levels haven't receded and when thousands of lives are at stake in camps across these waters? Who in government is behind this utter cruelty?

Who "above" has given orders to the military detachment helping us cross flood waters to immediately withdraw when the water levels haven't receded and when thousands of lives are at stake in camps across these waters?



Who in government is behind this utter cruelty? pic.twitter.com/yTgKB5u36V October 22, 2023

But in a statement dated, Sunday, October 22, signed by Naval Captain M.A Larbi for Director General of Public Relations for the Ghana Armed Forces, the army described the information in circulation as inaccurate.

The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) wishes to debunk some media reports and series of social media posts especially on Twitter (X), claiming that military personnel deployed to Mepe in Volta Region for Humanitarian Relief Operations following the spillage of the Akosmobo Dam, have been withdrawn. GAF wishes to categorically state that the information in circulation is inaccurate and that the personnel have not been given any orders from above to withdraw from Mepe or any other community affected by the spillage contrary to the social media posts.

GAF explained that the operations conducted by its officers are being executed in phases.

It must be emphasised that the Humanitarian Relief Operations (Operation Boafo), being conducted by the Ghana Navys Riverine Command and the 48 Engineer Regiment of the Army is being executed in phases, GAF added in its statement.

GAF, therefore, wishes to assure the general public that as recently reported in the media of the thousands of persons rescued and marked efforts being made to support victims, it will not relent in the quest to ensure urgent, equitable and appropriate response and support to all persons and communities affected by the spillage in conjunction with all stakeholders.

Below is a copy of the GAF statement
VRA provides water system for Volta flood victims

Daily Graphic Oct - 21 - 2023 , 11:24

The Volta River Authority (VRA) has provided a temporary water pumping station at Aveyime in the Volta Region to facilitate water supply to communities affected by the spillage of the Kpong and Akosombo dams in the North Tongu District.

The facility, with a pumping capacity of 1,800 litres per minute, was deemed necessary after the old pumping station was completely submerged by floodwaters.

As part of a relief programme, the VRA has also deployed 24 mobile toilets to Mepe, New Bakpa, and the Adidome Farm Institute, all in the North and Central Tongu districts, which were all affected by the flood from the dams spillage.

The spillage, which was carried out by the VRA from September 15, has displaced about 27,000 people, according to the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO).

Farmlands have also been completely submerged, with growing fears of an increase in poverty level in the affected communities due to the loss of livelihoods of the communities which are known for fishing and farming.

The Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, is pushing for a parliamentary inquiry to help the victims of the disaster obtain compensation from the VRA.

Presentation

At a ceremony to hand over the facility to community leaders, the Deputy Chief Executive in charge of Services at the VRA, Ken Arthur, said the move was to ensure that the communities would have access to potable drinking water.

The affected communities, which have had their water supplies shut down to avoid contamination and the outbreak of water-borne diseases, have had to rely on the benevolence of VRA, in collaboration with NADMO and other organisations that continue to donate sachet water for their use.

Mr Arthur announced that the VRA would build a permanent pump house and also replace old pipes which had become weak when the flood water receded.

The Secretary of the Aveyime Community Water Board, Daniel Nogodzi, who received the pump house on behalf of the community, commended the VRA for the gesture, and urged the authority to provide the needed assistance to the community and persons affected by the disaster.
Weija Gbawe tops Public Financial Management League table

GraphicOnline Oct - 22 - 2023 , 13:50

The Weija Gbawe Municipal Assembly in the Greater Accra region has placed first with 59% on the maiden Public Financial Management Compliance League Table for all 261 metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) in Ghana.

The Internal Audit Agency and the Centre for Local Governance Advocacy launched the ranking based on their assessment of the 2022 fiscal year and the Auditor General's Report to assess the appropriation of funds and other resources by the assemblies.

The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Weija Gbawe Municipal Assembly, Patrick Kwesi Brako Kumor, in his remarks after the announcement, thanked the organisers for the honour and paid glowing tribute to his team-spirited staff at the assembly.

"I thank the organizers so much for this incredible honour. I'm truly humbled and grateful to receive this award. To be honest, it's hard to put into words what this historic feat means to me and my staff of the Assembly. It's a testament to the hard work, dedication, and support of so many people who have been part of this journey. Winning this award is not just a personal triumph; it's a reflection of the incredible team that has stood by my side. It's a reminder that with passion, perseverance, and collaboration, we can achieve extraordinary things. I'm deeply honoured to be part of this history, and I'm committed to using this platform to make a positive impact on our community and Ghana," MCE P. K. B. Kumor, as he is fondly known, told the media.

The launch of the maiden Public Financial Management Compliance League Table on Monday, October 16, 2023, saw the second to 11th positions going to La Dade Kotopon Municipal Assembly (57.5%), Adentan Municipal Assembly (57%), Kwahu South Municipal Assembly (56.5%), Effia Kwesimintim Municipal Assembly (55.5%), Mfantsiman Municipal Assembly (53%), Ayawaso West Municipal Assembly (52.5%), Wa Municipal Assembly (52%), Assin Fosu Municipal Assembly (51%), Krachi Nchumuru District Assembly (50.5%) and West Akim Municipal Assembly (50%) respectively. The rest of the assemblies fell below 50% mark on the table.
Samsungs rugged XCover line dates back to 2010 and started off with feature phones, but even when it switched to smartphones it was never a premium line. For tough + premium there was the Galaxy S Active line.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 Active was introduced in 2013. This was the first S-phone with an IP rating for dust and water resistance  IP67, meaning dust tight and immersion up to 1m/3.3ft for half an hour. This was a year before the Galaxy S5, which had both an IP67 rating and a removable back cover (though as you may remember the S6 dropped the IP rating before the S7 reintroduced it).

There were a few downgrades, like the display was an LCD instead of Super AMOLED and was protected by Gorilla Glass 2 (instead of GG3 like on the regular S4). Also, the main camera was knocked down from 13MP to 8MP. Interestingly, the Galaxy S4 Active used a Snapdragon 600 chipset instead of the usual Exynos 5410 Octa. Samsung later released an Advanced version of the Galaxy S4 with a more powerful Snapdragon 800 and added an Active version of that one too



Samsung Galaxy S4 Active  Samsung Galaxy S4  Samsung Galaxy S4 Active LTE-A  Samsung Galaxy S4

Next year brought the Galaxy S5, a phone that already had a dust and water resistance, so an S Active made even less sense. Still, the Galaxy S5 Active launched as an AT&T exclusive.

For the S5 Active it added MIL-STD-810F testing to the mix. The S Active phones also looked the part with grippy textures on their back panels and exposed screws.

The Samsung Galaxy S5 Active looked the part

The Galaxy S5 Active one was a lot closer to the regular S5, with the same Super AMOLED display, same camera and same chipset. The only two downgrades were the missing wireless charging and the microUSB port, which was back to USB 2.0 (the Galaxy S5 was one of the few phones to use microUSB 3.0).



Samsung Galaxy S5 Active  Samsung Galaxy S5

You may have noticed the physical buttons on the front. Not that unusual for the era, the S4 and S5 still had physical Home buttons. However, the S Actives also had physical Back and Menu buttons instead of capacitive like on the city-slicker S-phones.

These work when wet and while youre wearing gloves, capacitive buttons are a lot less reliable in such situations. Unfortunately, the new, chunky Home button didnt have a built-in fingerprint reader (and the reader wasnt relocated anywhere, the Actives just didnt have one). Samsung missed the opportunity to add a customizable button for extra actions, though it did correct that mistake later on.

The Samsung Galaxy S6 Active was also an AT&T exclusive. This one was more necessary than the S5 Active as the regular S6 lacked the dust and water resistance of the S5. However, it was also the first Galaxy S with a non-removable battery and it got a lot of hate for that.

Surely the outdoorsy S6 Active had a user-accessible battery, right? Wrong, but at least Samsung bumped the capacity from 2,550mAh on the standard S6 to 3,500mAh on the S6 Active (and this time it kept the wireless charging). This had a massive impact on battery life as it boosted the Endurance rating in our tests from 73 hours to 109 hours. Everything else was more or less the same, save for the IP68 rating (up to 1.5m/5ft under water for 30 minutes).



Samsung Galaxy S6 active  Samsung Galaxy S6

Another year, another rugged flagship. The Galaxy S7 reintroduced the IP rating (IP68), the Galaxy S7 Active just added MIL-STD-810G compliance on top of that. It had a plastic back instead of a glass one, which stood a better chance of surviving drops and knocks. The battery was larger again (4,000mAh vs. 3,000mAh), though this time it had a much smaller impact on the Endurance rating (96h vs. 80h).

The S7 Active used a Snapdragon 820 chipset instead of the Exynos 8890, but thats less of a surprise considering that it was once again a phone built for AT&T.



Samsung Galaxy S7 active  Samsung Galaxy S7

And check this out  the Home button had a fingerprint reader in it! Even better, the volume rocker on the side was replaced by the Activity button. Using the Activity Zone app you could set actions to be performed on a short press, long press and double press.



The Activity Zone app on the Galaxy S7 Active

By default a single tap launched the app, which showed handy info like weather, a barometer/altitude reading and compass. You could also turn on the flashlight, launch the camera to take a photo and so on, even if the phone was underwater.

Hiking with the Galaxy S7 Active

Flipping the calendar over to 2017 we find the Samsung Galaxy S8 Active. As you may recall, the Galaxy S8 was a major redesign that adopted a curved screen and dropped the buttons from the front. Finally, time for the physical buttons of S Active phones to shine... oops, they went away too, the fingerprint reader was relocated to the back. As for the front, at least Samsung stuck with a flat screen so you could more easily add a screen protector. The Activity Button went away too, replaced by the Bixby Button.

This year there were versions of the Galaxy S8 Active for AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint. The chipset as the Snapdragon 835, same as the North American version of the regular S8. The battery was bigger once again, 4,000mAh vs. 3,000mAh (111h vs. 84h Endurance).



Samsung Galaxy S8 Active  Samsung Galaxy S8

This was the end of the Galaxy S Active series. An S9 Active passed through the rumor mill, but no such phone was ever released. Samsung didnt give up on tough S-phones, instead it shifted to a different target market  the military.

The Samsung Galaxy S9 Tactical Edition had access to special tactical radios and apps with names straight out of a Hollywood movie  ATAK (Android Team Awareness Kit), KILSWITCH (Kinetic Integrated Lightweight SoftWare Individual Tactical Combat Handheld) and more.



Samsung Galaxy S9 Tactical Edition

Next up was the Samsung Galaxy S20 Tactical Edition. This too was loaded with tactical and classified applications plus a DualDAR architecture with two-layer encryption based on NSA standards.



Samsung Galaxy S20 Tactical Edition

The latest in the series is the Samsung Galaxy S23 Tactical Edition, which was joined by an XCover6 Pro Tactical Edition. These also had DualDAR protection along with things like ATAK, BATDOK (Battlefield Assisted Trauma Distributed Observation Kit) and DeX, which allows soldiers to access secure VPN.



Samsung Galaxy S23 Tactical Edition and XCover6 Pro Tactical Edition

There are Galaxy Tab Active tablets as well, which we skipped to focus on the phones. However, the most recent entry is the Galaxy Tab Active4 Pro from last year, so the tablets outlasted the S Active phones. But these are more like XCover tablets than a flagship offering (they are certainly not up to Tab S standards).

Chances are that Samsung will continue making Tactical Edition phones going forward, the XCover phones too (besides the military, Walmart is a fan of those). But we doubt that well see another Galaxy S Active phone.

Other makers have mostly given up on rugged phones too, outside of the brands that specialize in it. For example, there is the Motorola Defy and Defy 2, but those were made by the Bullitt Group, which also makes Cat-branded phones. There are also the likes of Doogee and Oukitel who make workman phones with night vision cameras, thermal cameras and features that would be useful at the worksite.

Do you think there is still a place in the market for rugged flagships?
The Google Photos app has started automatically backing up all RAW images, reports 9to5Google. On a Pixel 8 that previously captured RAW pictures with the Pixel Camera app, the publication spotted Google Photos displaying a banner saying, "New RAW photos will appear in the Photos view and will now be backed up." The existing RAW images on the device won't be uploaded automatically.

When you click a RAW photo, a JPEG version is also captured and uploaded automatically to Google Photos. That's not ideal if you take a lot of pictures in RAW since RAW files are larger than JPEG and could fill up your Google One storage quickly. Not to mention, it will also consume more data for upload.

The source also reports that the uploaded image appears in the main "Photos" tab in the Google Photos app with the "RAW" label in its top-right corner. The JPEG file is considered a part of the "Burst," and a switcher appears at the bottom when you open a RAW file, allowing you to switch between JPEG and RAW.

When you are viewing the RAW file, you get Set as main photo and Keep this photo only options, while JPEG shows Export this photo or Keep this photo only.

If you have limited Google One storage available, shooting only in JPEG is advisable since there's no easy way to restrict automatic RAW image uploads to Google Photos.

Source
Last month, we learned Samsung partnered with three battery suppliers for the Galaxy S24 lineup. Well, for the Galaxy S24+ at least. They are Samsung SDI Vietnam, Ningde Amperex Technology Limited, and ELENTEC India. Now we hear of a new name - Navitasys India.

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

According to the Korean certifying agency Safety Korea, Navitasys India will supply batteries to Samsung with model code EB-BS928ABY, which we know will be used for the Galaxy S24 Ultra.

The S24 and S24+ will get batteries with model designations EB-BS922ABY and EB-BS926ABY, respectively. These are not included in the listing, so it remains to be seen whether Navitasys India will supply batteries only for the S24 Ultra or the other two phones as well.

EB-BS928ABY battery

It also remains to be seen if Samsung's Indian battery suppliers will only provide batteries for the S24 models assembled at their India factory - which is currently the largest operational mobile phone factory in the world - or supply the batteries in other countries as well.

The Samsung Galaxy S24 series is rumored to be unveiled in January 2024, so expect to hear more about it in the coming weeks.

Source (in Korean) | Via
In what is a rather odd situation, Google Pixel 8 and 8 Pro buyers have been spotted on Reddit complaining that their shiny new devices arrived with an unlocked bootloader.

We arent sure how widespread the issue is, but from the looks of things, it is fairly limited since these things tend to blow up online fairly quickly nowadays, and Pixel 8 devices also feature a pretty obvious warning for an unlocked bootloader during the boot process. The following text is presented to the user:

The bootloader is unlocked and software integrity cannot be guaranteed. Any data stored on the device may be available to attackers. Do not store any sensitive data on the device

As the message states, an unlocked bootloader, while not a huge issue, does carry some concerns regarding data privacy and security. The most obvious consequence of living with an unlocked bootloader Android device is that some financial apps, among others, will outright refuse to run out of security concerns. For instance, Androids contactless payment through Google Wallet does not work with an unlocked bootloader.

In case you dont know what a bootloader is and why it can be unlocked, the bootloader is the small piece of software that handles the initial boot of your device and loads the OS itself (Android, in this case). If you want to be able to tinker with your phone on an OS level and install things like patches and mods or outright flash a new ROM, you need an unlocked bootloader.

Again, we cant say for sure how widespread the issue is, and theoretically, it should be fixable even by an end user through a computer and ADB connection to the phone. Obviously, however, Google cant require such steps from its customers, and as far as we can tell, the internet giant is already doing the right thing and offering replacement units to affected customers. However, as per reports, that does require a lengthy support conversation.

Honestly, we would love to learn exactly how this situation transpired since every year Google Pixel phones seem to have at least a couple of such extremely odd quirks about them, for lack of a better term.

Source 1 | Source 2 | Source 3 | Via
You might remember that back in 2022, T-Mobile and SpaceX joined forces to announce direct-to-cell satellite connectivity to regular, unmodified cellphones via a network of Starlink satellites. As per a new report, SpaceX is ramping up its launch schedule to get as many satellites as possible up and operational this and next year. This should include an attempt to do 100 flights in the next two-and-a-half months. And in 2024, the schedule is even more ambitious, with 12 flights per month, or a total of 144 missions for the year.

A SpaceX spokesperson told Ars Technica, "We're also going to look at direct-to-cell communications with Starlink, and that's a key feature that gets added next year with those 144 flights."

Just to clear a few things up, as previously promised, 2024 should see the initial public launch on the text direct-to-cell service only. The full-speed version of the satellite LTE service with speeds of up to 2Mbps is planned for an initial release in 2025. As per the Ars Technica report, the latter capabilities require physically larger satellites that will be launched on board the SpaceX Starship vehicle. In the meantime, the company had to design "intermediate" sized units that are still bigger than older models but can fly on Falcon 9 rockets.

T-Mobile's "most popular" plans (Likely T-Mobile's Magenta MAX) will be eligible to access the Starlink connection for no additional fee, while customers on cheaper plans can pay an extra fee for access. But Starlink also already has deals with multiple other carriers around the world: Optus in Australia, Rogers in Canada, KDDI in Japan, One NZ in New Zealand, and Salt in Switzerland. However, the only launch timeline we currently have is from T-Mobile in the US.

Finally, it might also be worth mentioning that Starlink only aims to cover land, lakes and coastal waters  if you want Internet in the middle of the ocean, you will need to sign up for Starlink's maritime service. On land, this will fill in gaps in the carriers' coverage without them having to build out more infrastructure. There are still plenty of other unanswered questions regarding the service and its coverage, too, like roaming.

Source | Via
This week the world welcomed the OnePlus Open, so we have a look at its pre-order offers and how it compares with other horizontal foldables. There are flip foldables too, some of them at tempting prices, and no shortage of bar phones in the flagship and mid-range categories.

USA

The OnePlus Open was announced this week and there is a short pre-order period before the companys first foldable becomes available next week. You can put down a $100 deposit now to secure a $200 discount when sales start. You will also score a free pair of OnePlus Buds Pro 2 headphones.

You can check out our review of the Open for details on how the phone performs. It is particularly interesting in the US market as it is only the third horizontal foldable after the Galaxy Z Folds and the recent Google Pixel Fold, both of which have higher MSRPs, even ignoring that the OnePlus has 16GB of RAM and 512GB storage, while its opponents start at 12/256GB.

The Open has an amazing main camera and the best ultra wide of the bunch (48MP vs. 10.8MP and 12MP). The 70mm 64MP tele camera is promising too, but it needs to do a better job in the dark. Still, its up against a 112mm 10.8mm periscope on the Pixel and a 3x 10MP tele on the Galaxy.

Moving on to the other form of foldable, the Motorola Razr+ flaunts a 6.9 165Hz LTPO AMOLED display with 10-bit colors and FHD+ resolution. Even the 3.6 cover display runs at 144Hz and has the same 413ppi pixel density. The displays are as good as it gets on flip foldables, but chipset is second best  Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1. Still, not bad for $800.

But its the other Moto that could really push flips into the mainstream  the Motorola Razr is just $600. Thats the crossover point between mid-range and flagship prices. The vanilla model drops down to the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1, which can only do 144Hz on the main display, but its the same hardware otherwise. This one is a bit thicker at 15.8mm when folded (vs. 15.1mm), but comes with a larger 4,200mAh battery (vs. 3,800mAh) and the same 30W wired and 5W wireless charging.

For comparison, a Galaxy Z Flip5 goes for $890. This one features the more powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy (which is leagues ahead of the SD 7 Gen 1) and it has the superior water resistance, though it costs considerably more too.

These two should be familiar enough  the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and Galaxy S23+. The Ultra has a good case of being the best camera phone in this market right now, though well see how the Pixel 8 Pro performs.

While the S23 Ultra has its camera (and display and S Pen and so on) to lean on, the S23+ doesnt quite have cutting edge tech to show for its price. So why not get a OnePlus 11? It has the slower version of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, but its not that much slower. On the plus side, you get a higher resolution 6.7 QHD+ display and its an LTPO panel to boot. The 32MP 2x camera is competitive with the 10MP 3x camera of the S23+ and so is the 5,000mAh battery (108h vs. 111h Endurance rating), but the Oneplus charges faster at 80W (wired only).

In the mid-range segment there is the Motorola Edge (2023). It has a 6.6 144Hz OLED display, an FHD+ 10-bit panel. Its powered by the Dimensity 7030 chipset and a 4,400mAh battery with 68W wired and 15W wireless charging.

If you prefer iOS and dont mind something older, the iPhone 13 is down to a decent price. You will miss out on the 48MP camera of the iPhone 15, but its not like that one has a high refresh rate display (it does have a Dynamic Island, for what that is worth). To put a positive spin on the port situation, at least you dont have to switch all your Lightning cables to USB-C.

You should think of the Sony Xperia Pro-I as more of a smart, 5G-connected camera than a phone. It's a much better camera than it is a phone (especially when put against other $1,000 phones). Best Buy offers a few different combos  the Pro-I on its own is $1,000, phone plus the shooting grip and remote controller is $90 more and there is the ultimate combo of phone, grip, remote and Vlog display for $1,290.

The Amazon Fire HD 10 is a cheap tablet for video streaming, social networking, schoolwork and light gaming. You can pick up the Plus model for an extra gig of RAM and support for wireless charging (this is intended to be used as a smart display with the optional dock). Note that the slates at these prices are ad-supported.

Samsung recently launched the first TWS buds in the FE series and they have ANC like the pricier buds. However, the Galaxy Buds2 Pro are just $20 at the moment and these have better sound with dual-drivers. So, unless youve been pining for the grippy wing tips like on the original Buds, the Pro buds are the way to go.

Samsung recently launched the T9 generation of its portable SSDs. It uses a USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 port, so if your PC supports it (and not all do), you can get up to 2,000MB/s sequential read and write speeds with this one.

Alternatively, the Crucial X10 Pro promises the same blazing fast speed but costs a bit less. Both SSDs have protection against drops, so your data should be safe even if you fumble the drive while on the go.

Next up, a couple of gaming monitors. The first is the Odyssey G32A, a 1080p 165Hz monitor with FreeSync Premium and a height-adjustable stand. Its available in 24, 27 and 32 sizes.

If you have money to spend on your rig, the Odyssey CRG9 is a curved 49 ultra-wide monitor. Its basically two QHD monitors side by side (and without the bezel in the middle). This one is a QLED panel with 120Hz refresh rate and also has a stand with adjustable height.

Instead of a monitor, why not get a VR headset? The Meta Quest 3 can play games and run apps on its own but can also be used with a PC for games that have more advanced graphics. This one also has better passthrough than the Quest 2, so some AR applications are available as well.

UK

The OnePlus Open was announced this week and there is a short pre-order period before the companys first foldable becomes available next week. You can put down a 100 deposit now to secure a 250 discount when sales start. You will also score a free pair of OnePlus Buds Pro 2 headphones and a free 80W SuperVOOC charger.

You can check out our review of the Open for details on how the phone performs. Alternatives in the UK market include Samsungs Galaxy Z Fold5 and Googles Pixel Fold. Note that the Open has 16GB of RAM and 512GB storage.

The Open has an amazing main camera and the best ultra wide of the bunch (48MP vs. 10.8MP and 12MP). The 70mm 64MP tele camera is promising too, but it needs to do a better job in the dark. Still, its up against a 112mm 10.8mm periscope on the Pixel and a 3x 10MP tele on the Galaxy.

The new Pixel 8 and 8 Pro are at the office and we already posted a hands-on review and will have more to share soon as well. The current prices arent a great deal, but they are already slipping below MSRP, so you might want to wait a bit longer. After all, with 7 years of software updates (and 7 years of availability for spare parts), whats a few months?

The Xiaomi 13T is a flagship lite type of device. It has a great quality 6.67 AMOLED display with higher than FHD+ resolution, 144Hz refresh rate and 12-bit colors, plus a peak brightness of 2,600 nits. The camera setup is great too with a 50MP main (1/1.28, OIS), 50MP 2x portrait cam and a 12MP ultra wide. The 5,000mAh battery is fast to charge at 67W (and got a solid 101h Endurance rating), while the Dimensity 8200 is merely okay  its a mid-range chip.

You can pick up a Poco F4 GT for less money. This one is over a year old at this point, but the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 will still handily beat the Dimensity. You will be giving up a lot on the screen front (6.67 120Hz FHD+ 10-bit) and the camera (64MP main without OIS, 8MP ultra wide, no tele), but the 4,700mAh battery is even faster to charge at 120W (unfortunately, it depletes faster too and only got an 81h in our Endurance test).

Still, it comes well against something like the Poco X5 Pro, which has a weaker Snapdragon 778G chipset despite being newer. This one has a 108MP main camera, which does alleviate the need for a dedicated tele camera. The display is the same as on the F4 GT. The batterys 5,000mAh capacity lasts longer (113h Endurance) while still being fast to charge at 67W.

Alternatively, you can get the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ for a bit more. This one boasts a 200MP camera for even more pixel binning goodness in the dark (and better in-sensor zoom), but still only has an 8MP ultra wide. This one is powered by the Dimensity 1080 and has the same display as the F4 GT and X5 Pro. The battery, however, combines the best of both worlds as it has both 5,000mAh capacity and 120W charging (the Endurance rating is just 88h, though).

Theres always the Samsung Galaxy A54. This is such a well-rounded mid-ranger that it will probably end up one of Samsungs best releases of 2023. It has S-series software support and the Exynos 1380 is much better than previous mid-range Samsung chips. The 50MP main and 12MP ultra wide cameras are solid, as is the 6.4 120Hz FHD+ AMOLED display. The 5,000mAh battery goes a long way (119h Endurance), charging takes patience as it is capped at 25W.

Germany

The Motorola Edge 40 Pro pairs a flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 with a fast 165Hz 6.67 OLED display (FHD+ resolution, 10-bit colors), all at a reasonable price. While the battery is small at 4,600mAh, it posted an Endurance rating of 117h in our tests, which is quite impressive. And while gaming will certainly drain it faster than that, the phone supports fast 125W wired charging (and 15W wireless). The 40 Pro has a good camera setup too with a 50MP main (1/1.55, OIS), 50MP ultra wide and 12MP 2x telephoto, along with a 60MP selfie camera.

Then theres the cheaper and slightly smaller Motorola Edge 40. Without a pro suffix to justify, this one is equipped with a Dimensity 8020 chipset and a 6.55 144Hz screen (still FHD+, 10-bit). The main camera is the same (50MP 1/1.55 with OIS), but the ultra wide has only a 13MP sensor and there is no tele module. Also, the selfie camera has a 32MP sensor. The battery is smaller and doesnt last as long (4,400mAh, 98h), but the charging options are good (68W wired, 15W wireless).

The Realme 11 Pro+ and Realme 11 Pro share most of their hardware  the 6.7 FHD+ 120Hz display, the Dimensity 7050 chipset, the 5,000mAh battery and so on. The differences are that the Pro has 200MP main camera vs. 100MP on the vanilla model (both with OIS) and an 8MP ultra wide (vs. none). The selfie camera has a higher resolution too (32MP vs. 16MP) and charging is faster (100W vs. 67W).

The Samsung Galaxy A54 is such a well-rounded mid-ranger that it will probably end up one of Samsungs best releases of 2023. It has S-series software support and the Exynos 1380 is much better than previous mid-range Samsung chips. The 50MP main and 12MP ultra wide cameras are solid, as is the 6.4 120Hz FHD+ AMOLED display. The 5,000mAh battery goes a long way (119h Endurance), charging takes patience as it is capped at 25W.

The Samsung Galaxy A34 costs less but has a larger 6.6 display (FHD+ 120Hz AMOLED). The main 48MP camera has a smaller sensor (1/2.0 vs. 1/1.56) while the ultra wide and selfie cameras have lower resolution sensors (8MP and 13MP, respectively). The battery is the same at 5,000mAh (with 25W charging), but the Dimensity 1080 outlasts the Exynos with 133h Endurance rating.

There are no good deals on the new Pixel 8 and 8 Pro phones at the moment, but consider the Pixel 7a while you wait. Its much cheaper than the Pixel 8 (700), but lacks its future-proof design  this one is officially slated for only 5 years of support (during which it will get 3 OS updates). Youre getting a 6.1 90Hz display instead of 6.2 120Hz that the Pixel 8 brings (but both are FHD+ non-LTPO panels) and the older Tensor G2 chip. Still, its worth a look considering the lower cost.

The Realme C55 is a 4G phone with a Helio G88 chipset and a 5,000mAh battery with 33W charging. It has a large 6.72 display, a 90Hz IPS LCD with FHD+ resolution, and a 64MP camera. There are basics like a microSD slot and 3.5mm headphone jack too.

The Realme Narzo 50i Prime is a low-cost option with a 6.5 HD+ display (60Hz IPS LCD). It is powered by the Unisoc T612 chipset and a 5,000mAh battery (with a glacial 10W charging). The camera is pretty basic  8MP on the back, 5MP on the front. You still get the microSD slot and 3.5mm headphone jack, however.

India

Prime Day may be over, but Amazons Great Indian Festival is still in full swing. This brings a number of big discounts for phones old and new. But before we get to Amazon, let's look at India's newest foldable.

The OnePlus Open was announced this week and there is a short pre-order period before the companys first foldable becomes available next week. You can get a 5,000 instant discount with select bank cards and get a 9,000 bonus when trading in an old device.

You can check out our review of the Open for details on how the phone performs. Considering the configuration with 16GB of RAM and 512GB storage, the Open is cheaper than the Galaxy Z Fold, though not as cheap as the

The Open has an amazing main camera and the best telephoto of the bunch 64MP 3x vs. 50MP 2x on the Phantom and 10MP 3x on the Galaxy. It has the best ultra wide too at 48MP (vs. 13MP and 12MP, though the Opens lens is a bit narrow).

The new Samsung Galaxy S23 FE brings the Exynos 2200 chipset to the Indian market after the S22 series last year picked Snapdragon instead. This phone has a 6.4 FHD+ 120Hz display, a 50MP main camera, 8MP 3x tele and 12MP ultra wide, plus a 4,500mAh battery with 25W wired charging (wireless charging is an option too). As an S phone, this one supports Samsung DeX and will get 4 OS updates and an extra year of security patches.

The Apple iPhone 14 will also have long-term support, if you think you can live with the 6.1 60Hz display for the next few years (and that notch too). This one lacks the 48MP camera of the iPhone 15 and the upgraded chipset, but its not like the 2023 model has a better than 60Hz display (it does have the Dynamic Island, for what thats worth). Oh, and no USB-C  the iPhone 14 still lives in a Lightning world.

The OnePlus Nord 3 is a popular mid-ranger and we suspect that the flagship Dimensity 9000 has a lot to do with that (its an old flagship chip, but the CPU and GPU performance are still stellar for the price). The large 6.72 display with 1,240 x 2,772px resolution, 120Hz refresh rate and 10-bit colors helps too. The camera setup is solid with a 50MP main (1/1.56 with OIS) and 8MP ultra wide, plus a 16MP selfie. The phone is powered by a 5,000mAh battery with fast 80W charging.

The Tecno Pova 5 and Pova 5 Pro are a pair of budget gaming phones. The Pro model has the more powerful chipset (Dimensity 6080 with 5G connectivity) and RGB lighting system on the back.

The regular Pova 5 uses the Dimensity G99 instead (4G only), but has a larger 6,000mAh battery with 45W charging (vs. 5,000mAh/68W). Both phones use the same 6.78 120Hz IPS LCD display and the same 50MP main camera.

The Xiaomi Redmi 12 also has a large IPS LCD, a 6.79 90Hz panel. It uses the Helio G88 with a weaker CPU and GPU. This one has a 50MP main camera too, but adds an 8MP ultra wide to the mix. The battery has 5,000mAh capacity and charges at only 18W.

In the sub-10,000 category there is the Tecno Camon 19 Neo. It has an expansive 6.8 IPS LCD and while its only a 60Hz panel, it has FHD+ resolution, which isnt a given in this price range. Its powered by the similar Helio G85 chipset and combines a 48MP rear with a 32MP front camera. The battery is the same as the Redmi 12 with 5,000mAh capacity and 18W charging.

Finally, the Apple iPad Air (2022) runs on the Apple M1 chipset, which gives it access to Stage Manager for multitasking, including on an external display over the USB-C port. Its own display is 10.9 with 1,640 x 2,360px resolution and support for the Apple Pencil.

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Foldables may be picking up speed, but its the flip variety that is the most common. Horizontal foldables, meanwhile, are either quite common or theres just one or two, depending on where you are in the world.



OnePlus Open (Voyager Black)

OnePlus is a global brand, which makes the launch of its first foldable a big deal for fans of the form factor. Lets have a quick overview of the OnePlus Open and the potential competition it faces.

The phone has a 7.82 main display, an LTPO 3.0 AMOLED panel with 120Hz refresh rate. It boasts 2,440 x 2,268px resolution and 10-bit colors, plus a peak brightness of up to 2,800 nits.



OnePlus Open (Emerald Dusk)

The cover display is impressive too, a 6.31 panel, also a 120Hz LTPO 3.0 AMOLED with 10-bit colors and 2,800 nits peak brightness. This one is protected by the new Ceramic Guard glass. The phone folds down to just 11.7mm thick (11.9mm for the Voyager Black version) and is 5.8mm (5.9mm) when open. It weighs 245g in the Emerald Dusk colorway. The Voyager Black, which is lighter at 239g despite being slightly thicker, will not be available in Europe.

OnePlus promises class-leading camera performance with its Hasselblad-branded trio. The main camera has a 48MP Sony Lytia T808, a 1/1.43 sensor that promises to match the 1 IMX989 in image quality. Then theres the OmniVision OV64B 64MP sensor for the 3x telephoto camera, which supports 6x in-sensor zoom. Finally, there is a 48MP ultra wide camera (IMX581).

The OnePlus Open is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 with 16GB of RAM and 512GB storage, plus a 4,805mAh battery with 67W wired-only charging.

The OnePlus Open (with 16GB of RAM and 512GB storage) will cost 1,800 in Europe and 1,600 in the UK, while the US price is set at $1,700 (that is if you miss the $200 bonus). Fans in India are looking at a 140,000 price tag.



OnePlus Open pricing

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 is narrower at 67.1mm folded (vs. 73.3mm), but that is with a slender 23.1:9 cover display, whereas the Open has a typical 20:9 display outside. Neither the 6.2 cover nor the 7.6 main displays are LTPO panels. This one has a 50MP main camera, but only a 10MP 3x tele and 12MP ultra wide.

And the battery is smaller and slower at 4,400mAh and 25W wired charging, though it does have 15W wireless charging. The phone measures 13.4mm when folded. Theres also DeX and S Pen support to consider, OnePlus has no alternatives. The Z Fold 5 is $1,800/1,900/1,750 for a 12/256GB unit.



Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5

The Google Pixel Fold has a squat 5.8 cover display (17.4:9), so the phone is an uncomfortable 79.5mm wide when folded and measures 12.1mm thick. Inside is a 7.6 display (neither is LTPO). This one uses Googles Tensor G2 chip, so it misses out the G3 upgrade that bar Pixels got recently. The 48MP main camera is paired with a 10.8MP 5x periscope and a 10.8MP ultra wide. There is a fairly large 4,821mAh battery with both wired and wireless charging (neither of them fast).

The Pixel Fold isnt widely available, but where you can get it, youre looking at a $1,800/1,900/1,750 for a 12/256GB unit.



Google Pixel Fold

The Honor Magic Vs2 is larger with a 6.43 cover display (19.8:9) and 7.92 main display  both LTPO. There is a 50MP main camera, 20MP 2.5x tele and 12MP ultra wide on board. The chipset is older, Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, but the battery is larger with 5,000mAh capacity (66W wired-only charging), despite being the thinnest phone here at 10.7mm when folded. Theres no word on a European release for the Magic Vs2 or the previous V2, so we dont know how much they will cost.



Honor Magic Vs2  Honor Magic V2

Then there are the Xiaomi Mix Fold 3, vivo X Fold2 and Huawei Mate X5, but the chances of these getting a global release a slim. The same goes for the oddball Honor V Purse.



Xiaomi Mix Fold 3  vivo X Fold2  Huawei Mate X5  Honor V Purse

The Tecno Phantom V Fold may not be available worldwide, but it is available in India at 78,500 (was 90,000 at launch) for a 12/256GB phone. This one also has dual LTPO displays  6.42 outside (21.25:9) and 7.85 inside. It packs a Dimensity 9000+ chipset and a 5,000mAh battery with 45W wired-only charging. The camera setup includes a 50MP main (1/1.3), 50MP 2x portrait camera and a 13MP ultra wide.



Tecno Phantom V Fold

Could the OnePlus Open be your next phone? We will have a detailed review out soon to help you make up your mind.
Norman Analista, is the founder of Analista & Co., a Guam-based fashion brand specializing in bespoke apparel. He has designed clothing for dozens of celebrities and social media influencers in the US, Asia, and Europe. For unpublished content related to this column, follow @tastemaker671 on Instagram. For story suggestions email nanalista@yahoo.com.
Sen. Amanda Shelton and a delegation from Guam attended a Blue Planet Alliance Fellowship gathering in Hawaii, which focused on renewal energy solutions for the islands.

Shelton, who in 2019 authored the law that sets 100% renewable energy goals for Guam by 2045, was nominated and chosen as a Blue Planet Fellow, according to a Sunday news release from the senator's office.

Blue Planet is a nonprofit organization at the forefront of building a sustainable planet and devoted to helping islands and countries around the world to legislatively mandate a commitment to 100% renewable energy by 2045.

Billed as 8 islands on the path to 100%, the Blue Planet gathering included representatives from Guam, Tonga, Tuvalu, Pohnpei in the FSM, Palau, CNMI, Cayman Islands, and American Samoa.

Shelton was joined by representatives from the Guam Power Authority, University of Guam, and Guam Youth Congress.

Presenters at the Blue Planet Alliance Fellowship included former New Zealand Ambassador to the United Nations Amanda Ellis, American Samoa Gov. Lemanu Peleti Mauga, and Hawaii State Sen. Christopher Lee.

The law we passed in 2019 was just the beginning. There is much work to be done to achieve the goals we have set," Shelton said in a statement. "Success in clean energy is reliant upon innovation and collaboration. The Hawaii conference was a critical next step to that end, to making Guam more energy independent while simultaneously addressing economic and social changes that are happening because of climate change."

The world consumes more energy than at any other time in history and clean, renewable energies are crucial to mitigating the impact of ever increasing demand on the health of the planet, the senator's office said.

It is well-documented that island nations and territories, along with low-lying continental coastal regions, are among the most vulnerable areas to the impacts of climate change.

The Blue Planet Alliance promotes transparency and public engagement in communities such as Guam where ambitious renewable energy policy goals have been set. It facilitates the sharing of ideas, resources, and strategies.

Guam Youth Congress Rep. Julie Laxamana said she was grateful for the opportunity to attend under Shelton's leadership.

Addressing future energy needs begins at home, Laxamana said. This was an opportunity to build on the goals of Sen. Sheltons 2019 energy law by engaging with counterparts from elsewhere.

Shelton was one of a diverse group of invited Fellows to lead delegations in Hawaii.

At meetings held in different geographic regions around the world, Blue Planet purposely brings together stakeholders with varied political, economic, and social agendas to work collaboratively on an issue of global concern.

"Pacific Island territories and nations have a unique perspective and feel the pains of climate change that motivate us to lead the way on this issue, but everyone must be at the table to move forward, Shelton said.

The senator said there is both power and perspective to be gained working together locally and regionally.

"We are grateful for the resources available to us from the Blue Planet Alliance," she said. "In the end, however, it will be up to us to make ourselves more resilient to the environmental and economic impacts of a changing planet."
One Tumon-based pub is looking to do away with the bartender and have patrons get their own drinks from an automated, self-pour beverage station.

Boonies Barkade N Bistro owner Dennis Lang presented the self-pour technology to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board last week.

The unit Lang wants to install, provided by a company called Pour My Beer, costs about $30,000, according to the bar owner. Lang said some 44 states have already approved of similar technology, and he wants to get the ABC boards approval before making an investment.

ABC Board members werent quite sure what role they have in regulating such a machine, and held off on making any decision until having legal review of the matter.

A beverage wall shown on the Pour My Beer companys website looks like something customers whove stepped into a self-serve frozen yogurt shop might be familiar with: a series of small spigots that customers serve themselves at, with screens showing whats on tap.

Lang said bar-goers will each get their own Radio Frequency Identification, or RFID, tag which they will use to get the machine working.

Basically, some of the security things of the RFID will prevent overconsumption. It does do that by you wearing a bracelet or having the card and only allowing two to three drinks, whatever is decided by the board or how we move forward. That person would not be able to purchase anything after that, unless they physically go to the responsible ABC agent at the point of sale, Lang said.

The responsible bar employee could then recharge the tag for a patron, if theyre not shown to be drunk or crazy or whatever, Lang said.

Patrons could also be cut off remotely.

ABC Board chair Lisa Fisher questioned how minors could be stopped from getting drinks,

Whats to stop me from giving it to my 18 year old daughter sitting with me, and then I tell her go and get me a beer? Fisher asked.

According to Lang, the situation is no different from a patron buying a beer and handing it off to a minor, something staff are already trained to identify. Were about 3,500 square feet, and its an open concept, so you can pretty much see everybody in this place.

Department of Revenue and Taxation Compliance Branch Supervisor Craig Camacho told Fisher he likes the concept, but shares similar concerns. He advised that board members seek legal clarification before taking action, as it was unclear what needed to be done.

I had my team tearing apart the statute and the rules and regs. We couldnt find something  because technically, to serve alcohol, you have to have an ABC card. Thats the law, but theres really nothing that says an actual person has to do it, Camacho said.

Camacho did say he was really impressed with the concept as a regulator, we wont know until we try.

Lang said he was ready to be the pilot program for Guam.

Fisher told the bar owner theyd have to come back to him on the issue at another time, but said, This is probably one of the best presentations Ive ever seen.
Dave Lotz is a vocal advocate for protecting Guams unique heritage, a knowledgeable and long-time hiking enthusiast and environmental advocate, and critic of inept government. He has been a resident of Guam since 1970 and retired from the Guam Department of Parks and Recreation, Andersen AFB Environmental Flight and the National Park Service.
By Richard Tribou/Orlando Sentinel(TNS)

ORLANDO, Fla.  The Space Coast was treated to a record 58th launch out over the Atlantic on Saturday night as SpaceX sent up yet another late-night Starlink mission from Cape Canaveral.

A Falcon 9 carrying 23 more of its internet satellites lifted off from Canaverals Space Launch Complex 40 at 10:17 p.m. on a southerly trajectory flight so it was visible down the Florida east coast.

The first-stage booster made its fourth flight with a recovery landing downrange in the Atlantic on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas.

The Space Coast had a record 57 launches in 2022, which it equaled four days ago when SpaceX sent up its last Starlink mission.

SpaceX has been responsible for all but four of the launches from either Cape Canaveral or neighboring Kennedy Space Center with the others coming from United Launch Alliance and Relativity Space.

SpaceX has also been busy in California tacking on another 22 missions in 2023 including another Starlink launch that already took off early Saturday from Vandenberg Space Force Base. It also has attempted one launch of its new Starship and Falcon Heavy from Texas.

Among Florida and California orbital launches, Elon Musks company has now flown 76 times, and remain on a pace to approach 100 launches before the end of the year.

Saturdays Space Coast launch marks the 275th successful orbital launch among its Falcon family of rockets while also nailing its 238th booster recovery and the 210th time a booster has been reflown.

2023 Orlando Sentinel. Visit at orlandosentinel.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
By Richard Tribou Orlando Sentinel(TNS)

ORLANDO, Fla.  The Space Coast is set to watch a record 58th launch out over the Atlantic on Saturday night as SpaceX lines up yet another late-night Starlink mission from Cape Canaveral.

A Falcon 9 carrying 23 more of its internet satellites is set to lift off from Canaverals Space Launch Complex 40 at 10:23 p.m. with five backup windows from 11:07 p.m. until 2:15 am. Sunday. There are six more backups Sunday night beginning at 9:51 p.m. running through early Monday at 1:50 a.m.

Its another southerly trajectory flight so will be visible down much of the Florida east coast south of Cape Canaveral after launch.

Space Launch Delta 45s weather squadron forecasts only a 5% chance of poor weather conditions for both days opportunities.

The first-stage booster is making its fourth flight with a planned recovery landing downrange in the Atlantic on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas.

The Space Coast had a record 57 launches in 2022, which it equaled four days ago when SpaceX sent up its last Starlink mission.

SpaceX has been responsible for all but four of the launches from either Cape Canaveral or neighboring Kennedy Space Center with the other four coming from United Launch Alliance and Relativity Space.

SpaceX has also been busy in California tacking on another 22 missions in 2023 including another Starlink launch that already took off early Saturday from Vandenberg Space Force Base. It also has attempted one launch of its new Starship and Falcon Heavy from Texas.

Among Florida and California orbital launches, Elon Musks company will have flown 76 times, and remain on a pace to approach 100 launches before the end of the year.

Saturdays launch would mark the 275th successful orbital launch among its Falcon family of rockets while also gunning for its 238th booster recovery and the 210th time a booster has been reflown.

2023 Orlando Sentinel. Visit orlandosentinel.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
CANBERRA, Australia (AP)  Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he will visit China in early November to meet President Xi Jinping, making the announcement Sunday hours before he departed for the United States to meet with President Joe Biden.

The Chinese visit dates were confirmed a day after Beijing agreed to review the crippling tariffs it levied on Australian wine that have effectively blocked trade with the winemakers biggest export market since 2020.

Albanese will become the first Australian prime minister to visit China in seven years when he travels to Beijing and Shanghai on Nov. 4-7.

Its in Australias interest to have good relations with China," Albanese told reporters at Australian Parliament House, adding that his focus in the coming days will be on the visit to the United States.

With Australias closest partner, talking about the future of our alliance, the future which has been upgraded by the AUKUS arrangements, a future based upon our common values, our commitment to democracy, and our commitment to the international rule of law and stable order throughout the globe, Albanese added, using the acronym for Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Under the trilateral pact, the U.S. and Britain will cooperate to provide Australia with a fleet of submarines powered by U.S. nuclear technology to counter a more assertive China.

Albanese said he will meet with Xi and Premier Li Qiang in Beijing and then attend the China International Import Expo in Shanghai.

The visit to China and a potential breakthrough in the wine dispute mark a further repair in relations since Albaneses center-left Labor Party won elections last year after nine years of conservative government in Australia.

China has agreed to review its tariffs on Australian wine over five months, Albanese's office said. In return, Australia has suspended its complaint against its free trade partner to the World Trade Organization.

Story continues

China confirmed that the two sides had reached a consensus on resolving the issues appropriately" regarding Australian wine.

We are willing to work with Australia to continue to meet each other halfway through dialogue and consultation and jointly promote the stable and healthy development of bilateral economic and trade relations, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said.

A similar dispute resolution plan led to China removing tariffs on Australian barley.

Albanese said reopening the Chinese wine market would be worth more than 1 billion Australian dollars ($631 million) to exporters.

"Were very confident that this will result in once again Australian wine, a great product, being able to go to China free of the tariffs which have been imposed by China," Albanese said.

It is important that we stabilize our relationship with China. That is in the interests of Australia and China, and it is indeed in the interests of the world that we have stable relations and that is what this visit will represent, he added.

Australian Grape and Wine chief executive Lee McLean, a national wine industry advocate, described the breakthrough as a really positive step."

The diversification effort needs to continue ... but we absolutely also need to look at opportunities in China as well, McLean said.

Its one market that is going to be important to us, he added.

Albanese's visit will come near the 50th anniversary of Labor Party leader Gough Whitlam becoming the first Australian prime minister to visit the People's Republic of China in 1973.

Albanese accepted an invitation weeks ago to visit China this year, but finding suitable dates had been challenging.

Albanese is visiting Washington to meet with Biden this week and will return to the United States after his China trip to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders forum in San Francisco on Nov. 15-17.

It will be the ninth time Biden has met with Albanese as prime minister. The first meeting was in Tokyo hours after Albanese was sworn in as government leader in May last year for a leaders' summit of the Quad strategic partnership that also includes Japan and India.

As well as the AUKUS deal, the leaders will also seek more cooperation on clean energy, critical minerals and climate change.

Albaneses department announced Friday that it decided after an investigation not to cancel a Chinese companys 99-year lease on the strategically important Darwin Port despite U.S. concerns the foreign control could be used to spy on its military forces.

Some security analysts interpreted the decision to let Shandong Landbridge Group keep the lease signed in 2015 and long criticized by Albanese as a concession to China ahead of his visit.

Chinas release of Australian journalist Cheng Lei this month after she spent three years in detention in Beijing on espionage allegations was widely seen as a concession to Australia.

Albanese said the breakthrough on wine has not been transactional, meaning Australia did not make any corresponding concessions to Chinese demands.

Well continue to put our case on matters that are in Australias national interest, he said.

Ive said very consistently: Well cooperate with China where we can, well disagree where we must, and well engage in our national interest, and thats precisely what were doing, he added.

Rod Mcguirk, The Associated Press




Haiti - FLASH : Massive arrival of Haitians in Nicaragua





The dictatorship of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo has taken a 180-degree turn in its immigration policy in recent years. Between 2015 and 2017, before the socio-political crisis of 2018, the Ortega regime closed the passage to Haitian and African migrants, keeping them stuck for months at the southern border, while today it allows entry massive [in transit] of migrants wanting to continue their journey to the United States.



The arrival of migrants of Haitian and African origin in Nicaragua is increasingly significant. Between 10 and 20 flights land daily at Augusto C. Sandino International Airport carrying between 50 and 220 passengers coming from Haiti, the Caicos Islands, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, El Salvador... i.e. between 1,000 and 5,000 passengers daily..



The airlines responsible for commercial flights between Haiti and Nicaragua are AirCentury, Atlantic, Magni, Sarpa Searca, Sky High and Sunrise.



In addition to flights from Port-au-Prince, flights from Providenciales and the Turks and Caicos archipelago have been recorded.



Haitian and African migrants arriving in the country already have their itineraries and the list of services they can obtain to continue their journey to the United States. They use Nicaragua as a transit route to reach the United States and avoid crossing the dangerous Darien jungle.



Some migrants pay $50 per person to reach Nicaragua's northern border and thus cross irregularly into Honduras. Others, with less budget, choose to make the journey on intermunicipal buses, which take them to border municipalities.



Augusto C. Sandino Airport is full of foreign migrants, many of them Haitians. The migrants, who cannot afford a hotel room in the capital, sleep on the floor on the upper floor of the airport with their minor children. Others choose to wait sitting in the airport parking lot or approach carriers to try to hire a transfer service to the northern border.



This week, Nicaragua's Ministry of Foreign Affairs pointed to a "campaign of misleading propaganda and false messages about economic benefits and dreams of a supposedly better life in the United States" that encourages irregular migration to the North.



The Ministry warns that this incitement to irregular migration flows threatens "the lives of migrants and the security of transit communities, but also encourages the actions of organized crime".



S/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - DR : The Dom. Rep denies being a route for arms trafficking in Haiti





Saturday October 21, 2023, Colonel Freddy Soto Thormann Director of the Specialized Land Border Security Corps (CESFRONT) denied the allegations of experts from the United Nations Committee who assert in their report that firearms transit through border posts from the Dominican Republic for gangs in Haiti.



The UN group of experts specifies that the majority of firearms and ammunition in circulation in Haiti are originally manufactured or purchased in the United States "They arrive in Haiti directly from the United States or via the Dominican Republic," the report said.



Arms trafficking takes advantage of "insecurity, the institutional vacuum and weak border controls," which offer criminals, particularly transnational criminal networks, "a golden opportunity to expand their activities". They said gangs can buy handguns, shotguns and 5.56mm semi-automatic rifles, with corresponding ammunition, on the illicit market in Haiti or in the Dominican Republic. underline the UN experts, who traveled to the Dominican Republic and Haiti to prepare their report.



Download the final report S/2023/674 English PDF 156 pages: https://www.haitilibre.com/docs/N2324628.pdf



Colonel Thormann assured that goods crossing land border posts are strictly controlled by the Cesfront military and that they have not seized any weapons at these levels. However, he recognizes that with relative frequency, the General Directorate of Customs has seized several shipments of arms in the country's ports.



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-40775-haiti-flash-the-security-council-unanimously-extends-the-sanctions-regime-against-haiti.html



SL/ HaitiLibre


















By Aisha Adnan | Published on 2023/10/21

"A Good Day to be a Dog" brings a fluffy, puppy romance on screens that has us screaming for more. But it is also very... complicated. With just three episodes available for now, we cannot help but wonder. Will the romance bloom between Cha Eun-woo and Park Gyu-young in "A Good Day to be a Dog"? "A Good Day to be a Dog" is the latest on-going Kdrama based on a webtoon with the same name. The drama tells the story of Hae-na (Park Gyu-young), a high school literature teacher, whose family has been suffering from a weird curse for generations. If a person in their family has their first kiss, they will turn into dogs!Hae-na had always been careful. She never had her first kiss till the age of 28, when the catastrophe struck. She accidentally kissed Jin Seo-won (Cha Eun-woo), the math teacher who is afraid of dogs.

Hence, begins the chaotic love story. Hae-na now has 100 days to break the curse. She has to kiss Seo-won in her dog form, but how is she supposed to when he is terrified of dogs? Even so, she refuses to quit. She begins to subtly help him get rid of the fear. Hae-na doesn't even have feelings for him. In fact, she liked Lee Bo-kyeom (Lee Hyun-woo). Though, in the recent episode, we discovered that Seo-won did like her. And he is ready to start taking his steps.The recent episode managed to give fans more hope.

The two grow closer to know each other and remove the misunderstandings. Meanwhile, Seo-won, who initially was helping Hae-na get along with Bo-kyeom, is now making moves to get closer to her.

But, he doesn't know the truth. Will his feelings remain the same? The curiosity keeps fans on the edge.

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By Aisha Adnan

Where to Watch Powered by JustWatch

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"A Good Day to be a Dog" is directed by Kim Dae-woong, written by Baek In-ah, and features Cha Eun-woo, Park Gyu-young, Lee Hyun-woo, Yoon Hyun-soo, Ryu Abel, Cho Jin-se. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2023/10/11~Now airing, Wed 21:00 on MBC.
The study indicated that 94% of respondents feel they know their partner's financial situation at least fairly well, with 51% feeling they know it extremely well.

A new survey titled "Money & Love" commissioned by Danske Bank has revealed that Finnish couples are notably knowledgeable about their partner's overall financial situation. Remarkably, about half of the participants say they are very familiar with their partner's income, debts, and assets.

On the flip side, a small fraction (6%) admitted to having little or very little knowledge about their partner's financial standing. Intriguingly, 9% confessed to being uncertain or very uncertain about the amount of debt their partner holds.

Kaisa Kivipelto, Senior Strategist at Danske Bank, expressed her satisfaction with the results, stating, "We were pleasantly surprised by how well Finnish individuals know their partner's finances. Over a third feel it's very important to be familiar with their partner's financial situation, although, in our view, this figure should ideally be 100%. It's especially crucial for young families to understand and agree on finances, ensuring equitable contribution to family expenses."

According to the study, the predominant reasons for this transparency in financial matters include an individual's own desire to share financial details and agreements about joint finances. An interesting 42% of those surveyed mentioned having agreed with their partner that finances, debts, and assets are either entirely or mainly shared.

Age appears to play a significant role in how couples approach financial discussions. Younger participants were more likely to be informed about their partner's finances due to their partner's own willingness to share. In contrast, those over the age of 60 primarily know their partner's financial details because of mutual agreements. This older age bracket often has arrangements where financial matters are jointly held.

Significant life changes and living arrangements also seem to shape financial awareness. Specifically, married couples tend to have a better grasp of their spouse's financial situation than others.

Ville Orava, Director responsible for investments and savings at Danske Bank, highlighted the importance of financial discussions in relationships. "In a marriage, managing shared finances naturally brings money talks more into daily life. A marriage is also a financial agreement that introduces mutual support obligations between spouses. It's vital to have open discussions about one's finances right from the early stages of a relationship and remain informed as finances evolve. Talking about money is an act of love, fostering shared financial peace of mind."

HT
Travel to Estonia mirrored pre-pandemic levels, with the country receiving around 0.7 million Finnish leisure travelers from May to August.

The summer of 2023 witnessed a resurgence of international leisure travel by Finns, nearly reaching the levels observed before the coronavirus pandemic. Between May and August, approximately 2.9 million overseas trips were taken, of which 2.6 million were overnight stays, while the remaining 0.3 million were day trips or cruises.

Additionally, travel to neighboring Sweden saw a significant uptick.

"Interest in overseas travel surged during the summer of 2022 when travel restrictions were relaxed. By the summer of 2023, international travel grew even more, with many Finns venturing further into Europe," noted Marianne Laalo, Chief Statistician at the Statistics Centre.

Sunny Southern Europe was a major attraction, drawing one in every four international leisure trips by Finns. The region observed a 25% increase in visits compared to the previous summer.

Greece and Spain stood out as the most preferred destinations in the south. Travel to both nations exceeded the numbers from the summer before and even surpassed the summer of 2019. In total, around half a million trips were made to Greece and Spain during the summer of 2023.

Long-haul trips, those lasting over three nights, increased by over 20%, with package tours constituting nearly one-fifth of these journeys.

On the domestic front, however, there was a noticeable decline in travel. Overnight leisure trips within the country totaled 9.7 million from May to August, marking a consecutive annual drop. The number of domestic trips plummeted by 25% compared to the peak year of 2021, which recorded around 13 million overnight leisure trips.

The decline in domestic travel can be attributed to the dwindling numbers of visits to relatives and friends, as well as a drop in cottage stays. Overnight stays related to domestic leisure trips also saw a reduction.

"Cottage stays had already decreased in the summer of 2022, and in 2023, they dropped by another fifth from the previous year. However, the number of stays in hotels and rental cottages during May to August remained roughly on par with the previous summer," Laalo elaborated.

HT
Accused medical office embezzler dies at age 58

Kerry Spachman

The office manager accused of embezzling at least $560,000 from a Hendersonville internal medicine practice has died, according to an obituary posted on line by Forest Lawn Funeral Home. Kerry Henderson Spachman, 58, died unexpectedly Wednesday at UNC Health Pardee Hospital "following a brief and sudden illness," the obituary said.

Spachman was charged in December 2022 with nine felonies that accused her of embezzling the money from the practice of Dr. James J. Caserio, a popular physician who has been practicing in Hendersonville for more than 45 years. Spachman worked in the office from 2008 until she was fired in September 2020 after the practice discovered how the money went missing.

Spachman most recently appeared in court on Aug. 18 and entered a plea of not guilty to the charges after a proposed plea agreement apparently fell apart. J. Kyle Smith, a special prosecutor assigned to the case, told the court that Spachman decided to reject an offer he had made a day earlier. The agreement would have allowed Spachman to plead guilty to a consolidation of all the charges against her into one felony in exchange for restitution and a lesser sentence, Smith told Superior Court Judge Peter Knight.

The charges against Spachman came after a two-year investigation by a Hendersonville police detective and an SBI agent. Search warrant applications filed by the investigators detailed the pattern Spachman is alleged to have used in the ongoing embezzlement scheme. From 2013 to 2019, she allegedly wrote 81 unauthorized checks payable to cash totaling $82,068 and used the physicians signature stamp to sign them while during the same period drafting 485 checks for a total of $485,165, commingling the fraudulent checks with legitimate office and payroll checks for Dr. Caserio to sign, the court documents said. Investigators said they tracked 566 unauthorized checks that they alleged Spachman had deposited in her personal account at the State Employees Credit Union. In interviews with the Lightning, Dr. Caserio and other family members said they believed the total Spachman stole was likely much higher but because bank records go back for only six years investigators could not track the activity before 2013.

The daughter of the late Richard and Pat Henderson, Spachman was a native of Henderson County and a 1983 graduate of Hendersonville High School. She received an associate's degree in business from Blue Ridge Community College. She loved traveling, especially to the beach and was openly friendly to everyone she met, the family said in the obituary.

Surviving are her husband of 13 years, James Jimmy Spachman; daughter, Jordan Heath and husband Dylan; step-daughter, McKenna Sayles and husband Ethan; stepson, Jarrett Spachman; grandchildren Caleb, Greyson and Blakeleigh; step-grandson, Dawson; sister, Debra Henderson; brother, Ross Henderson and wife Kim; and numerous close friends and extended family. A private celebration of life is to be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family asked that memorial donations be directed to Four Seasons Hospice, 571 South Allen Road, Flat Rock, NC 28731.
A protester holds a poster at a rally in Saskatoon on Aug. 27 against policies around sexual education and pronoun use in schools that had been announced that week. Those policies became law on Friday. (Pratyush Dayal/CBC - image credit)

"Disgusting" and "disappointing" are the words parents of transgender kids, trans youth and community activists used repeatedly to describe the Saskatchewan government's Bill 137, which became law on Friday.

"I moved to Canada in 2007 from the U.K., and this isn't what I thought I was moving to. This is really awful and scary. I thought we were in a progressive, safe community and province," said Roberta Cain, the mother of a 15-year-old trans child.

"The anti-trans movement seems to be kicking off. It's frightening."

On Friday, the Saskatchewan Party government passed its Parents' Bill of Rights, which requires consent from a parent or guardian "when a student requests that their preferred name, gender identity, and/or gender expression be used" at school.

Premier Scott Moe, speaking to reporters Friday afternoon, said the bill was about "providing parents the right  not the opportunity  to support their children in the formative years of their life."

But Cain said the law tramples on trans kids' human rights and would affect students like her son, Silas Cain, who came out as transgender to his teacher.

Roberta Cain, right, says she worries about the future of her 15-year-old trans son, Silas Cain, left, in Saskatchewan.

Roberta Cain, right, says she worries about the future of her 15-year-old trans son, Silas Cain, left, in Saskatchewan. (Pratyush Dayal/CBC)

He says in 2018, when he was in Grade 6, he said he started going by a different name and is thankful to his teacher, who allowed him space to explore his gender identity without outing him to his parents  a safety many kids have now lost, he said.

"There really is so much at stake for the trans community as a whole being forced to come out can be so traumatizing and life-threatening. Having a safe place to experiment is such an important thing," said Silas.

"I am so hated for just existing and being who I am. So many younger kids who are finding out who they are and want to have a safe space are at such a risk because some people just don't like us."

Story continues

His path could have looked very different if his teacher hadn't provided that space for him, said Silas.

"This law is absolutely ridiculous and violating. How many more trans kids have to die before they realize that this isn't OK?"

The new legislation "makes me very uncomfortable and concerned for Silas's future here," said Cain.

"It's a disaster that I hope galvanizes people into looking more deeply at what's really going on."

'This is none of the government's business': mother

Jessica Fraser and her son, Wilbur Braidek, 14, who is transgender, were among hundreds of people who rallied in Saskatoon against the province's pronoun policy in August, when it was introduced.

"It's called the Parents' Bill of Rights [but] we don't have rights as parents," said Fraser.

"We have responsibilities to keep our kids safe and to teach them. We don't have any right to control their identity."

Wilbur Braidek, 14, and his mother, Jessica Fraser, were among hundreds of concerned people who rallied in Saskatoon on Sunday, Aug. 27, 2023, against the province's proposed policies on sexual education and pronoun use in schools. Those policies became law on Friday, Oct. 20, 2023.

Wilbur Braidek, 14, and his mother, Jessica Fraser, were among hundreds of concerned people who rallied in Saskatoon on Aug. 27 against the province's proposed policies on sexual education and pronoun use in schools. (Pratyush Dayal/CBC)

Moe has previously defended the policy by saying it "has the strong support of a majority of Saskatchewan residents, in particular, Saskatchewan parents."

Fraser disagrees, and accuses the Saskatchewan Party government of "pandering" to "right-wing voters."

"This is none of the government's business."

Her longtime friend Meadow McLean, who is also a parent of a transgender teen, also thinks the legislation is a divisive politicization of children's rights.

"Our kids are the ones that are suffering. They're being drawn into the political arena and feeling like they're not safe," she said.

"Research says discussing these things saves lives and prevents suicide attempts and death by suicide. The fact that we're taking that away is just an atrocity, really It's nauseating."

Jessica Fraser, left, and Meadow McLean, right, both have transgender children. The parents say their kids are worried about their safety and well-being, and that of their peers.

Fraser, left, and Meadow McLean, right, both have transgender children. The parents say their kids are worried about their safety and well-being, and that of their peers. (Pratyush Dayal/CBC)

McLean said it was a long road for her 16-year-old son, Kian to identify non-binary and eventually trans.

"He went through a destructive period of severe depression and self harm. It was a really dark period in our lives where I was checking if he was breathing at night."

"Our kids are going to continue to navigate what is a really hard road ahead of them as trans youth and trans adults," she said.

"We will start to get used to living in Saskatchewan, that is going backwards when most of the world's moving forward."

Law 'transphobic at its core': activist

Blake Tait, a trans activist in Saskatoon, said he had a rough time at home coming out as trans, and is thankful for the help he got from teachers before he came out.

"It was not a safe household. I was being degraded to the point of tears. I lost my sense of pride," he said.

The 23-year-old said he knows trans kids who now worry about being kicked out of their homes.

"They don't have the choice anymore to stay safe," Tait said, pointing to statistics that say a large percentage of homeless youth in Saskatchewan identify as LGBTQ.

"I'm angry. I'm embarrassed to be a person from Saskatchewan who is under this government."

Blake Tait, a trans activist and drag artist in Saskatoon, says a provincial law regarding pronoun use in schools passed on Friday, Oct. 20, 2023, is transphobic and endangers children.

Blake Tait, a trans activist and drag artist in Saskatoon, says the new law is transphobic and endangers children. (Submitted by Blake Tait)

Tait said the trans youth he has been checking in with are scared for themselves and their friends. His youngest sibling is trans and attending school.

He's worried about the possibility of seeing more laws, like those recently introduced in several U.S. states that impose restrictions on everything from gender-affirming care for minors to bathroom use, identification, drag performances and education.

The new law in Saskatchewan "is transphobic at its core and endangers children," he said.

"That was proven by the courts and the Moe government still went through with it  using the notwithstanding clause to infringe upon trans rights."

The provincial government invoked the notwithstanding clause to pass the law, after a judge granted an injunction pausing the policy's implementation pending a full hearing.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe speaks during a debate in the Saskatchewan legislature in Regina on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023. He said the Saskatchewan government planned to invoke the notwithstanding clause to override a judges injunction and introduce legislation about the provinces pronoun policy in school.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe speaks during a debate in the Saskatchewan legislature in Regina on Oct. 10, 2023. His government used the Charter's notwithstanding clause to pass the legislation, which he said Friday is intended to give parents 'the right  not the opportunity  to support their children in the formative years of their life.' (Heywood Yu/The Canadian Press)

After it was introduced, the policy was challenged in court by the UR Pride Centre for Sexuality and Gender Diversity.

Court of King's Bench Justice Michael Megaw granted the injunction on Sept. 28, saying the policy could cause "irreparable harm," but Moe announced later that day his government would use the notwithstanding clause  a provision that allows governments to override certain Charter rights for up to five years when passing legislation.

"I don't understand why we even have courts when this government can just override what our courts and our experts are saying," said Fran Forsberg, an activist and parent.

She organized the late August rally in Saskatoon and is shocked by how quickly the policy became a law that she called "very short-sighted."

It's "despicable that the government has been told  over and over again by experts in the field" about the potential harms of the bill, "and they have not taken this into consideration whatsoever," she said.

Fran Forsberg, an activist and parent, had organized the late August rally and is shocked how quickly the policy became the law. She says the government is perpetuating hate and will put many kids in harms' way.

Fran Forsberg, an activist and parent, helped organize the late August rally in Saskatoon. She says she's shocked by how quickly the policy became the law. (Pratyush Dayal/CBC)

Several years ago, Forsberg  who said she has fostered over 250 kids in 40 years, including trans kids  filed a successful human rights complaint against the Saskatchewan government, arguing for the right to have gender markers removed from identification.

She is now part of another human rights complaint with 22 families against the Saskatchewan government's new law.

She notes a section of the legislation against "any claim for loss or damage resulting from the enactment or implementation" of the parental consent policy.

"The clause in the law that they can't be held responsible if a child is hurt or damaged emotionally or physically by this is just irresponsible," she said.

"I can't even fathom what the government is thinking by doing this. It's so ludicrous."
Prague  The prices of electricity and natural gas should remain at a stable level for the rest of this year and during the next year, there should not be any significant price increases or reductions. Conversely, oil and fuel prices may continue to rise. This is according to analysts contacted by CTK. According to them, the further development of the geopolitical situation in the world, especially in the Middle East, will be key to the development of commodity prices.

According to XTB analyst Jiri Tylecek, the influence of the geopolitical situation on electricity and gas prices was evident in the recent rise in gas prices on the stock exchange. However, I do not expect a long-term effect and the prices of gas and electricity could remain stable next year. The worse state of the European economy could hold them down, on the contrary, higher prices of emission allowances could contribute to growth, said Tylecek.

According to him, customers could also expect more favorable offers in the coming months from suppliers who are gradually buying cheaper future contracts on the stock exchange. However, the most significant discounts have already been achieved, and in the coming months, I do not expect them to be to the extent we have witnessed so far this year, added Tylecek, according to whom the time is slowly coming to fix prices.

Purple Trading analyst Petr Lajsek also drew attention to the connection between natural gas prices and events in the world. According to him, prices can be driven up especially by further escalation of the conflict in the Middle East or the continuation of strikes by LNG producers in Australia. According to him, however, unlike the oil market, the reduction of Europes dependence on Russian gas and the filling of reservoirs will play a positive role.

During the year, we expect spot prices of natural gas on the stock exchange to be between 40 and 80 euros (about 1,000 and 2,000 CZK) per megawatt hour, i.e. relatively significantly below the governments price ceiling. So consumers do not have to fear a significant price jump yet, Lajsek pointed out, adding that gas prices are also reflected in the price of electricity. We do not need to fear a similar increase as in 2022. However, consumers will probably not see a significant discount, the fall in prices on the stock exchange will compensate for the return of fees for renewable sources and fees for distribution, added Lajsek. According to him, the expected abolition of the government ceiling towards the end of the year should not be more pronounced.

Analysts say it will have an even bigger impact on oil prices for the rest of this year and during the next period of tension in the Middle East, as the region is key to oil production. In this context, Lajsek said that the further escalation of the conflict in Israel, i.e. the involvement of other states in it, could drive Brent oil prices well above the level of $100 per barrel. In such a case, however, according to him, the market would work in a shameful way, when a higher price could lead to increased production and, conversely, reduced consumption, which in turn would push the price of oil down.

According to him, the economic situation in China or the USA should also have an influence on oil prices, but the production of the OPEC cartel and Russia will be key. There are too many variables to estimate the development of oil prices for next year. However, it is quite possible that we will have to get used to higher oil prices. Even considering that global oil consumption should increase again next year, I expect an average Brent oil price around $90 per barrel in 2024, said Lajsek.

According to Tylecek, the further development of the conflict in Israel will be key for oil prices. In the event of its expansion, a significant part of global production would be at risk, which of course is reflected in a higher risk premium in oil prices, he said. According to him, a possible expansion of the conflict could gradually bring fuel prices up to the 50 crown mark. However, the main scenario is a gradual calming down of the situation, which should keep oil at double-digit levels, the analyst added.

energy oil analysts price outlook
India's newest airline Akasa Air, which is set to soon fly on international routes and will be placing a three-digit aircraft order, plans to list on the bourses by the end of the decade, its Chief Executive Officer Vinay Dube told PTI. Currently, Akasa Air has a fleet of 20 aircraft and is looking to place an order for three-digit aircraft before the end of 2023(REUTERS)

The 14-month-old Akasa Air, which already operates more than 750 weekly flights across 16 domestic destinations, including Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Delhi, is looking at "gathering a little more history" before launching an initial public offering (IPO), he said.

The airline plans to start international services by the end of this fiscal and has placed a firm order for 76 Boeing 737 MAX aeroplanes, all of which will join its fleet by mid-2027.

Currently, Akasa Air has a fleet of 20 aircraft and is looking to place an order for three-digit aircraft before the end of 2023, he noted.



ALSO READ: Delhi-bound Akasa flight makes emergency landing in Mumbai after bomb threat

Dube, the founder and CEO, said the airline is already generating free cash from operations and is well-funded for the new aircraft order it is going to place.

About the medium-term goals, Dube, in an interview, said that as a timeframe, by mid-2027, the airline expects to have 76 planes.

The aim is to be a pan India player with a very healthy domestic and international network and multiple bases, he added.

On going public, Dube said, "I don't think 2027 will be possible for a listing, but the listing is something that we definitely want to do. We may have to gather a little more history before we can list. Certainly, listing or an IPO is something that we would desire".

When asked whether listing could happen before the end of this decade, the Akasa Air chief said that is a "much more realistic goal".

Currently, two operational scheduled carriers are listed on the bourses -- IndiGo and SpiceJet. Jet Airways, which stopped flying in April 2019 due to financial woes, is also listed. The now-grounded Go First's earlier attempts for an IPO did not take off.

Meanwhile, Akasa Air has received international flying rights for Riyadh and Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), Doha (Qatar) and Kuwait. It will soon be starting overseas operations.

"We are in growth mode. We should have two more aircraft delivered before the end of this calendar year. We will exit the financial year with 25 aircraft. We will exit the following financial year with approximately 40 aircraft," Dube said.

According to him, the airline has funds to place the three-digit order and is also free cash flow positive.

"We also hear rumours about the Jhunjhunwala family leaving, which are absurd, and the family says that they are invested with us for the long run," he noted.

Recently, the carrier faced turbulence due to the exit of around 40 pilots without serving their notice periods as a result of which it had to cancel some flights, and the airline has also initiated legal action against the pilots concerned.

Akasa Air flew 5.17 lakh passengers and has a domestic market share of 4.2 per cent, as per the latest official data.

In June, the airline announced an order for four additional Boeing 737-8 jets. It was in addition to the order for 72 aircraft that was placed with Boeing. Together, Akasa Air will have 76 aircraft, including 23 Boeing 737-8s and 53 Boeing 737-8-200s, by mid-2027.

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The Delhi government has extended its existing electric vehicle policy till December 31 this year, Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot on Saturday said. Delhi transport minister Kailash Gahlot said the Electric Vehicles Policy 2.0 would look at incentivising the retrofitting of vehicles considering its high cost

Gahlot said the Cabinet has approved the extension of the existing policy and all incentives including subsidies under it will continue.

"Delhi Cabinet led by CM @arvindkejriwal has given its approval to extend the existing Delhi Electric Vehicle Policy till 31.12.2023 or till notification of Delhi EV policy 2.0 whichever is earlier.

"All incentives including subsidy under the existing policy shall continue. Delhi EV policy 2.0 is in final stages and after necessary approvals shall be notified soon," Gahlot posted on X.

The minister had earlier told PTI that the Electric Vehicles Policy 2.0 would look at incentivising the retrofitting of vehicles considering its high cost.

People want to convert their IC (internal combustion) engines into electric ones. The process is expensive. For converting a normal Gypsy, it takes almost 5-6 lakh, which is on the higher side, he had said.

The Delhi Electric Vehicles Policy 2020 expired on August 8 this year.

The policy notified in August 2020, aimed at raising the share of EVs in Delhi to 25 per cent by 2024.

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Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar warned the party MLAs and leaders against speaking to the media about the internal discussions in the party. DK Shivakumar.

Also Read - 'My party has to decide': DK Shivakumar on workers' question about becoming Karnataka CM

Shivakumar's reaction came in the backdrop of Assembly Chief Whip Ashok Pattana's recent comments about the "cabinet reshuffle after two and a half years" and Minister Satish Jarakiholi's comments that Shivakumar is not the only leader who brought the Congress to power in Karnataka.

"Whatever the internal issues of the party and the government are, MLAs can discuss it with the chief minister and me. But he should not speak in front of the media for any reason," DK Shivakumar told reporters here.

"The party workers, we, you, the people of the state have brought the Congress to power. I will never say today, tomorrow, hereafter, that DK Shivakumar alone brought it to power," he added.

When asked about Assembly Chief Whip Ashok Pattana's comment about cabinet reshuffling Shivakumar said, " Some issues are being discussed internally in the party. I cannot say that openly. I am not going to discuss it. According to the information I have, no such discussion has taken place."

Shivakumar added that no Congress MLA should speak publicly about the cabinet reshuffling and other internal issues of the party.

In a recent statement, MLA Ashok Pattan from Bengaluru expressed his views on the idea of a cabinet change after two and a half years. Emphasizing his seniority with three terms as an MLA, he urged party leaders to consider those who work diligently for the party for ministerial positions.

Pattan also claimed that the AICC general secretary in charge of the State Randeep Singh Surjewala and senior leaders had given him an assurance that he would be inducted into the Cabinet considering his seniority and loyalty to the party.

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A deputy director of the agriculture department was caught red-handed by Lokayukta personnel while accepting a bribe of 1 lakh. Karnataka agriculture dept official caught red-handed while accepting bribe

Bharatamma, deputy director of agriculture, Mangaluru, had asked for the bribe in exchange for processing a bill concerning the funds allocated for acquiring saplings for plantation under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana in Bantwal taluk of Dakshina Kannada district.

Also Read - Bengaluru man alleges fake drug bust for extortion, claims police took bribe

The complainant, N P Paramesh, had been serving as a range forest officer (RFO) in the forest department on deputation to the watershed department of the agriculture department and he had retired from service on August 31.

There was an outstanding amount of 50 lakh owed to nursery owners and contractors for the saplings they had provided.

The complainant had contacted Bharathamma on October 4 and requested her to settle the bill.

However, the official demanded a bribe amounting to 15 per cent of the total bill for its clearance. On October 20, the complainant revisited her to inquire about the bill, and at that point, she reduced the bribe amount to 1 lakh. He later lodged a complaint with the Lokayukta, following which the official was arrested on Saturday.

Lokayukta superintendent of police C A Simon said here on Sunday that Bharathamma has been arrested and will be presented in court. The operation was executed under the supervision of Lokayukta SP, with the assistance of Deputy SP Kalavathi, B Chaluvaraju, inspector P Suresh Kumar and other personnel.

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Security forces killed two militants and foiled an infiltration bid along the Line of Control (LoC) in Uri sector of north Kashmirs Baramulla district, officials said on Sunday. The arms and ammunition recovered in the operation in Uri, Baramulla. (HT Photo)

The bodies were, however, taken back by the infiltrating group to the other side of LoC, army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel MK Sahu said in a statement.

In a joint operation launched by Indian army, Jammu and Kashmir Police and intelligence agencies on October 21, an infiltration bid was foiled by alert troops along the LoC in Uri sector, Baramulla, armys Chinar Corps said in a post on micro-blogging platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

Six pistols and four hand grenades have been recovered. The operations (are still) in progress, it said.

Uri, which was once known as a major infiltration route in north Kashmir, is now under constant surveillance with two brigades of armys 19 infantry division.

On September 30, security forces had foiled an infiltration bid and killed two infiltrators along the LoC in north Kashmirs Kupwara district.

The armys Chinar Corps had recovered arms and ammunition, including two AK rifles, two hand grenades, a pistol and other war-like stores, the Corps had said.

On September 16, the security forces had foiled an infiltration attempt on the LoC in Hatlanga village in Uri, killing three terrorists.

The corps said they were trying to cross over while Pakistani soldiers stationed there provided cover fire.

On August 6, a terrorist was killed in a joint operation conducted by army and Kupwara police in Tangdhar Sector.

]Two or three terrorists accompanying the slain had escaped back to Pakistan side of the LoC, the police had said after the incident.

On July 19, two terrorists were killed as security forces had foiled an infiltration bid on the LoC in Machil sector of Kupwara.

The forces had recovered four AK series rifles, one under barrel grenade launcher (UBGL), five UBGL grenades, nine magazines, 175 AK rounds and a total of six hand grenades.

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A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Saturday acquitted 15 people in an 18-year-old gangrape case related to the 2005 riots in Uttar Pradeshs Mau district, once considered a bastion of jailed mafioso Mukhtar Ansari. During the trial of the case, both Hindus and Muslims of Mau had recorded their statements in favour of the 15 accused persons. (Representative Image)

In a late-night verdict on Saturday, the CBI court absolved advocate Triveni Prasad and 14 other persons from charges of rape as the CBI could not substantiate its charges levelled in the chargesheet.

During the trial of the case, both Hindus and Muslims of Mau, including men and women, had recorded their statements in favour of all 15 persons.

After one and a half months of the Mau riots, a rape case was lodged against 15 persons of Mau, including myself, under pressure of the then government and Mukhtar Ansari, said Triveni Prasad.

The courts verdict also raises a question mark on the CBIs chargesheet, he added.

The CBI filed the chargesheet on October 4, 2010. All 15 persons had spent 18 months in prison after they were arrested in 2005 before getting bail.

A case against one accused Sunoj Chauhan, who was a minor at the time of filing of the first information report (FIR), is pending in a juvenile court.

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The principal of a primary school here in Thakurganj area was suspended after a video surfaced on social media showing some students offering namaz in the school, officials said on Sunday. Two teachers of the school also were issued a warning.

Two teachers of the school also were issued a warning.

On Saturday, some Hindu outfits protested against the school administration after which a probe was ordered into the matter.

In a statement on the matter, Basic Siksha Adhikari Arun Kumar said, "Information was received that some unidentified persons were involved in activities other than teaching work in Primary School, Napier road here. Teachers have confirmed that some children offered namaz on Friday which is against departmental directives and guidelines."

Kumar said the matter was probed by Block Education Officer Dinesh Katiyar.

"On the basis of the probe report, School Principal Meera Yadav was suspended with immediate effect on Saturday under the Uttar Pradesh Government servant (discipline and appeal) rules-1999," he said.

A strict warning was issued to teachers Tehzeen Fatima and Mamta Mishra for being complicit in the act, he added.

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As first phase of Ram temple construction is nearing completion and the new Ayodhya township project gathers momentum, various state governments have approached the Uttar Pradesh government for land in Ayodhya. The Uttar Pradesh Housing Board has already allotted 6000 sq m land to Gujarat for its state guest house in the new Ayodhya township project. The first phase of Ram temple construction in Ayodhya is nearing completion. (Sourced)

The township project will be executed by the Housing Board that will come up on 1407-acre land on Lucknow Ayodhya NH -27. Later, the project will be expanded up to 1800-acre. The states want the land in Ayodhya to open their guest houses. According to the Ayodhya administration, Nepal, Sri Lanka and South Korea have asked for five-acre land in Ayodhya which will be allotted in the new Ayodhya township project.

The new township will come up in two phases. In the first phase, 539- acre land will be required. The first phase of the project will be rolled out after Deepotsav celebration in Ayodhya on November 11. As per the Ayodhya administration, land for the project has been procured in several villages, including Manjha, Manjha Tirua, Manjha Barhata and Shahnawazpur.

The Housing Board has received applications from Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Assam, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh for allotment of land. We have sent a reply asking them to visit the site in Ayodhya, said Neeraj Shukla, additional housing commissioner, Housing Board.

Land will only be allotted to state governments after their representatives visit the site and give their consent, Shukla added. According to Shukla, the state government will also construct its guest house in Ayodhya. Around 100 mutts and ashrams have also applied for land in Ayodhya, he said.

But due to paucity of land in Ayodhya, it will not be possible for the Housing Board to allot land to so many mutts. Therefore, we will adopt lottery system to allot land to mutts, he added.

After Ram temple, the new township project will be the next mega project to come up in Ayodhya. The state government has conceptualised the project to decongest the temple town as footfall of devotees in Ayodhya will rise manifold after Ram temple opens for devotees in January next.

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India has never encountered conflicts like the ongoing Israel- Hamas war or the Russia-Ukraine war and all communities are safe in the country, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) supremo Mohan Bhagwat has said. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat. (File Photo)

Hinduism embodies a religion and culture that values all sects and beliefs. In our country, we have never encountered conflicts similar to the on-going Hamas-Israel war. This spirit of inclusiveness is the essence of Hinduism, the RSS chief said, addressing a gathering to mark 350 years of the coronation of Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji in Nagpur on Saturday evening.

Our nation has never engaged in wars over such matters. Even during Shivaji Maharajs time, conflicts were primarily against foreign invasions, not domestic communities. This exemplifies the essence of being Hindu, he added.

He emphasised the safety of all communities in India, including Muslims, and praised Shivajis vision of a Hindu Rashtra as a testament to inclusivity.

Appreciating Shivajis clarity on Hindu Rashtra, he said, The word Hindu is an example of inclusiveness. It is a universal concept in which there is no place for discrimination.

Referring to the strategic alliance between Shivaji and the Qutub Shahis, he said that Shivaji had taken pride in his Hindu identity while maintaining amicable relations with Muslims.

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MUMBAI: The United States sole veto of a United Nations Security Council resolution urging Israel to pause its assault on Gaza to allow humanitarian aid to the Palestinian enclave was outrageous, Jeremy Corbyn said on Friday at a meeting in Mumbai. The meeting attracted about 150 people, including many activists, intellectuals and writers like Anand Teltumbde and Meena Kandasamy. The nearly two-hour session began with a short interview of Corbyn by Varsha Gandikota-Nellutla, the Delhi-based co-general coordinator of Progressive International, with audience members asking questions in the remaining time (Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo)

Ive been in Israel, Gaza, West Bank on nine occasions, said Corbyn, an icon for the left despite being side lined by the Labour Party. He was talking at a small gathering organised by the Progressive International, an umbrella of left-wing organisations across the world, of which the former Labour Party chief is a board member. Every time I go [I] come back more depressedabout the severity of the occupation, about the roadblocks, about the imprisonment, about the killing that goes on, and now the horror story of what is going on in Gaza. There has to be an immediate ceasefire, Corbyn said.

Thats why weve all got to speak out on this and support the Palestinian people, he said. How many more people are going to die in this appalling conflict? Sometimes, yes, its a bit lonely speaking out. But thats what you have to do. Thats what brings about change.

Corbyn, 74, was in Mumbai last week to attend a youth conference and board meeting of the International Transport Workers Federation which organises airline, dock, and railway workers, seafarers, taxi drivers and all kinds of transport workers all over the world through national unions. While in Mumbai he also met Congress leader Shashi Tharoor and Prakash Ambedkar of Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi.

International trade unionism has to be a very important part of the counterbalance to the power of global corporations, he said. They [the corporations] are not going to disappear any time soon, but collectively we can close down the tax havens, collectively we can organise for better working conditions, collectively we can clip their wings a great deal.

The meeting attracted about 150 people, including many activists, intellectuals and writers like Anand Teltumbde and Meena Kandasamy. The nearly two-hour session began with a short interview of Corbyn by Varsha Gandikota-Nellutla, the Delhi-based co-general coordinator of Progressive International, with audience members asking questions in the remaining time. A common thread in Corbyns answers was the need for internationalism, for people across the world to come together to tackle urgent problems.

One audience member asked why working people who fear job losses and declining living standards are falling prey in their respective countries to versions of ethno-nationalism, whose proponents blame the common persons woes not on economic forces but on minorities and migrants. Why are people not banding together across borders to resist the increasing centralisation of wealth and power, especially in the hands of a few technology companies?

The atmosphere in the United Statesand Western Europe against migrants is appalling, Corbyn replied. People who are victims of war, [from] Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Sudanare being blamed for the economic malaise of countries they have nothing to do with. [The migrant is] a convenient whipping boy, in exactly the same way the Nazis in the 1920s blamed the Jewish peopleas the causes of all of the woes of the Weimar Republic.

Its a very dangerous politics where you single out an ethnic, religious, linguistic minority and say that theyre the cause of all the problems, Corbyn said. It is a question of having the ability to educate your population about their history[and] to respect one another.

With respect to education, another audience member asked whether the global assault on humanities education in the name of keeping people abreast of technological advancement has led to most people having no historical sense, and ultimately falling prey to ethnonationalism.

I dont want to stop people training in specific areas, but we have to improve the quality and understanding of global history teaching in our schools all over the world, Corby replied.

We have to improve the study of social issues so that whatever you are studying there is a social and humanities dimension to what you do.

Otherwise, [we] bring up people who have no knowledge of how things happened, of how things came about, [such as] the abuse of colonial power in India, in the Caribbean, in Africa, how the slave trade come about, what happened to the slave trade, how was it abolished

Many of Corbyns ideas will find their way into a book that he is in the last stages of writing. In the book, tentatively titled Lifes Rich Tapestry, he writes about his experience of being the Labour leader for five years, how he came to that position and his vision for the way ahead.

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Two of the Republican congressmen that led the charge to oust House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have nothing but pride for the decision that has left the lower chamber of Congress speakerless and impotent for nearly three weeks.

Virginias Bob Good and Floridas Matt Gaetz told a crowd of roughly 100 at a breakfast fundraiser at Callie Opies Orchard Restaurant in Mineral Saturday morning that McCarthy was the wrong man for the job and that the right man will likely be found sometime next week.

In explaining their calculus, at one point Good recalled a moment where he begged and pleaded with McCarthy not to compromise with Democrats.

Dont make a deal, he said to then-Speaker McCarthy. Shut down the U.S. government.

We were willing to throw down and risk shutting down the government to achieve anything, Good, who represents Virginias 5th District, said.

McCarthy refused. Instead the California Republican helped to pass a bipartisan resolution on Sept. 30 that narrowly avoided a shutdown which would have kept thousands of federal workers and U.S. military personnel from getting paid.

It was a bridge too far for Good and Gaetz.

We felt like we had reached the point where that was such an egregious violation that we had to take the risk, Good said of McCarthys compromise.

The risk Good took? Ousting McCarthy from the speakership, marking the first time in American history a speaker of the House was voted out of the job. Three weeks later, the position remains unfilled, effectively rendering the lower chamber of the U.S. Congress powerless. The House is now stuck in a vicious cycle, trying and failing to agree on a new candidate in the Republican majority to lead.

Rep. Jim Jordan is the latest member to attempt to take the vital seat. But in three separate votes, the Ohio Republican came up well short of 217: the magic number needed to attain the speakership. Now it seems Republicans will have to try again with someone else.

I dont think Jim Jordan is going to be a candidate going forward, Gaetz told The Daily Progress after Saturday mornings fundraiser. We respect him. We like him. We voted for him multiple times on the floor. But were now to a new stage of the speaker contest, and weve got some great candidates.

Not long beforehand, Gaetz had told the crowd gathered that Jordans candidacy failed because of animus toward himself and Good.

Bob and I, we sensed that our colleagues were angry with us for having sent the shock through the system, and thats why they werent voting for Jim Jordan, Gaetz said. If youre mad at us, dont take it out on Jim Jordan.

While critics say the GOP is in disarray, Good and Gaetz framed the ongoing struggle as necessary for the betterment of the country.

Weve had the first national campaign for speaker thats ever been waged, where the American people are weighing in on who they wanted to be speaker, Good told the audience. We had a contest instead of a coronation.

What were going through right now is further exposing the swamp creatures, Good said.

But with Jordans candidacy shot down, the Virginia congressman conceded that they are back to the drawing board. And he hinted that his hard-right faction of the party could draw out the process even longer.

Were not going to just rubber-stamp someone else from the swamp, Good told the crowd. Not any one of us can pick a speaker, but any five of us can block the speaker, and were not going to give up in the battle of trying to find the best conservative speaker that can get to 217 that represents what is becoming increasingly a conservative center of the conference.

While some of their colleagues have questioned what this small band of hardline conservatives are trying to accomplish in the unprecedented move, Good and Gaetz said they are trying to deal a blow to what Good called the uni-party cartel.

Congress has been failing Americans for 60 years, Good said.

Were not wedded to any specific reform, Gaetz said to the crowd. Our focus is solely on making sure that its your interests that dominate over the interests of those corrupt special interests.

Good later added that McCarthy caved to Democrats in his unwillingness to not shut down the government.

We knew the certainty of what that that kind of leadership means for the country. And theres no reason to have Republican majorities to do that to the American people. We can do that with Democrats, and thats why we did what we did, he said.

But the pair was hoping to have a new speaker well before now, Good acknowledged. Gaetz told The Daily Progress he was optimistic that they would have a new speaker next week.

If it ends up being longer, the Good and Gaetz supporters in Mineral Saturday said they wont mind. Three of the people who attended the fundraiser told The Daily Progress they appreciate what the congressmen are doing.

Its going to take some time, and I think theyre both doing the right thing, George Debski said. He and his wife drove an hour to attend the fundraiser.

I hope at the end of all this were going to live to see some of these things that they want. Specifically, I mean, weve got to do something about the border. This is insane, Debski said.

Doc Garnett thanked Good for his moral courage and said hes not at all concerned about the speakership.

I dont think its as big a deal as the media makes it out to be, Garnett told The Daily Progress. I think the less the federal government gets done the better off we all are.

As Good left the venue, another attendee told him to keep up the good fight.

Fighting is exactly what Good and Gaetz said they intend to do.

We are in this fight to win. And sometimes that means you dont put a timeline on it, Gaetz said to the crowd. If we get this right, we have a generational opportunity to put the peoples needs first.

Good and Gaetz left Mineral Saturday morning for two other fundraisers in Virginia, one in Rice and the other in Lynchburg, as part of the pairs Hope for America tour.
MUMBAI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has approached Interpol to issue a red corner notice (RCN) against Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal, the Dubai-based promoters of Mahadev Open Book (MOB) platform, to ensure their detention and bring them to India to face the law for allegedly running illegal online betting operations. HT Image

Chandrakar and Uppal are among the 14 persons other than a firm named as accused in the agencys first chargesheet which was submitted before a special PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court in Raipur in Chhattisgarh on Friday.

EDs request for RCN is based on the open-ended non-bailable warrants issued against the duo by the court on September 4 after they failed to appear before the agency for questioning despite being issued two summonses. The request has been routed via Interpols nodal agency in India, the Central Bureau of investigation, agency sources said.

Chandrakar and Uppal did not honour the summons issued on September 1 and September 2 under section 50 of PMLA, and were deliberately evading the investigation, an ED source said. Accordingly, an application was filed by the agency before the special court requesting for open-ended non-bailable warrants against the two.

ED had on August 21 conducted searches at the known residential premises of Chandrakar and Uppal in Bhilai in Chhattisgarh.

According to the chargesheet, Chandrakar and Uppal are the main promoters and beneficial owners of the Mahadev apps-platform. Initially, they had moved to Dubai but now they are suspected of frequently being on the move, from Sri Lanka, Australia, London to Caribbean countries, it said.

HT had in September reported how during one such trip, Chandrakar and Uppal were not allowed to enter Australia and were sent back to Dubai owing to their names featuring in criminal inquiries against MOB by ED and several state agencies in Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh.

Mahadevs main call centre employing around 1,000 WhatsApp users is allegedly being run from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and most of the MOBs employees are from Bhilai, the document said. Thye are colloquially referred to as checkers since their main responsibility is to monitor the accounts of the betting panels and identify defaulting panels during their 12-hour shifts. The promoters have housed the employees at leased/rented villas in Dubai where groceries and other necessities are regularly delivered.

MOB is run on a franchise-based model and a multi-level marketing pyramidal model in which branches or panels are outsourced in a 70%-30% profit-sharing ratio. The panel operators manage the clients and are responsible for the receipts and payments and managing the coins of the assigned user IDs. They transfer Mahadevs head offices share via hawala channels, the agency source said.

The chargesheet said the duo sold panels like a small franchise but they kept nearly 70-80% of the profits of the panel operators. As per the alleged admission by some panel operators before ED, a panel is given to an applicant only after the latter makes an earnest deposit of 15 lakh, it said.

MOB began its operation in 2019-20 but its reach expanded during Covid-19 in 2020 and continued to grow since then, the agency said in its chargesheet. The online platform has several agents or franchise owners across the country, including Mumbai and parts of Maharashtra.

EDs chargesheet also includes as accused the four persons it had arrested in Chhattisgarh in August. The four are assistant sub-inspector Chandrabhushan Verma, panel operator Satish Chandrakar, hawala operators Anil Dammani and Sunil Dammani.

Searches were conducted on August 21 on the premises of Verma, Chandrakar, and the Dammanis along with those of Chandrakar and Uppal. Their statements revealed how funds through hawala were being sent regularly by the MOB owners to be delivered to some politicians and bureaucrats in Chhattisgarh as liasioning money to prevent action against the bigger players of the platform, the ED source said. Verma had named senior officials working in the office of Chhattisgarhs chief minister and gave a break-up of the payments made to many senior police officers.

ED initiated its investigation based on the cases registered by the police in Chhattisgarh, Visakhapatnam and other states.

The agency has kept under its scanner dozens of celebrities, including those from Bollywood, for their alleged receipt of payments from MOB, either for endorsement on social media or attendance and performance at the latters Dubai-based events, including the September 2022 success party and this February wedding of Chandrakar. The agency has summoned several of them to record their witness testimonies to verify if such payments were part of the proceeds of crime.

The chargesheet said comedian Kapil Sharma, who had allegedly performed at MOB events, was asked by ED on August 28 to furnish details about his hiring and the payments he received thereof. He responded to the agency via a letter dated September 2. His event management firm was allegedly approached by a person to perform at a MOB event and later a firm had made the payment towards his fees, the chargesheet added.

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LUCKNOW Gonda played host to the largest-ever Kanya Pujan in the country on Sunday, with a staggering 11,880 girls from various blocks in the district coming together to partake in the Shakti Vandan worship event. Additionally, two remarkable symbols of womens empowerment, Mission Shakti Cafe and Mission Shakti Wall, were unveiled under the guidance of the chief minister. In an eco-conscious move, the district administration ensured that the Kanya Pujan ceremony was a zero-waste event (HT Photo)

The initial goal was to gather 11,000 girls, but the actual number exceeded expectations by almost 900. These young participants were not only celebrated but also received sanitation kits, nutrition bundles, and a hearty meal during the ceremony held at the Shaheed Azam Bhagat Singh College campus. Furthermore, nine outstanding women who had excelled in fields such as law enforcement, the justice department, and the health department, among others, were honoured with certificates and mementos.

In an eco-conscious move, the district administration ensured that the Kanya Pujan ceremony was a zero-waste event. A compost pit had been prepared in advance to handle the 1,388 kilograms of wet waste generated during the event, which will be converted into fertilizer. Dry waste, amounting to 70 kilograms, was meticulously sorted into paper waste, glass, plastic bottles, and polythene, which will be sent to a dry waste processing unit.

The chief guest at the event, Baby Rani Maurya, Cabinet Minister for Women and Child Development, inaugurated both the Mission Shakti Wall and Cafe. The Mission Shakti Cafe, a pioneering establishment in the state located at Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri College, is operated by women from self-help groups based in Gonda. On the other hand, the Mission Shakti Wall bears the message Beti Bachao Beti Padhao and pays tribute to twenty-five Indian women who have played transformative roles in the nations history, including luminaries like President Draupadi Murmu, Sarojini Naidu, and Sania Mirza, among others.

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LUCKNOW: Resplendent in traditional attire, hundreds of people gathered early in the morning on Maha Ashtami (Sunday) at Durga Puja pandals to partake in the revered Pushpanjali ritual. This sacred custom involves showering the Durga idol with flower petals and bael leaves on an empty stomach during the early hours of the day. Later in the evening, the same mandap would be adorned with 108 lamps, lotus flowers, and other offerings during the Sandhi Puja ceremony. At the Trans-Gomti Durga Puja pandal, priests Shanti Nath and Shambhu Nath Mukherjee reported a turnout of over 500 devotees for the Pushpanjali ceremony at 10 AM. (HT Photo)

Every pandal conducts the Ashtami morning Pushpanjali as an integral rite, defining the eighth day of Durgas visit. As the priest recites Sanskrit prayers over a loudspeaker, numerous devoted attendees join their hands, reciting the same words, and collectively offer their flowers to the idol or the mandap.

Sujoy Chatterjee, the pandal secretary of Naveen Sharodiya Utsav Durga Puja, stated, We commenced the rituals at approximately 11 AM, organizing the Pushpanjali in four or five batches, each composed of around 300 devotees. Since we cannot expect visitors to bring their own flowers and bael leaves, we procure these items from a seller and distribute them during the Pushpanjali.

At the Trans-Gomti Durga Puja pandal, priests Shanti Nath and Shambhu Nath Mukherjee reported a turnout of over 500 devotees for the Pushpanjali ceremony at 10 AM. These venerable priests, who have overseen Durga Puja at this pandal for numerous years, were impressed by the commitment displayed by the attendees. Coming from West Bengal, it is heartening to witness Bengalis celebrating Durga Puja with such dedication, they expressed.

At the Bengali Club, a pandal with a rich history, a large number of devotees flocked to participate. Arun Kumar Banerjee, the clubs president, stated, The turnout was so substantial that its impossible to count. We conducted multiple rounds of Pushpanjali today, and the crowds continue to arrive even after the Sandhi Puja has concluded. Located in Shivaji Marg, an area renowned for its Bengali residents, this pandal typically attracts larger crowds than most others.

Saroj Mahanto, the general secretary at Sarbojonin Durga Puja Samiti, Vidyant College, reported that their morning Pushpanjali continued from 9 AM to nearly 12:30 PM. As a relatively smaller pandal, they conducted the anjali in batches of 40-50 people. Mahanto noted that at least 400-500 individuals participated in the morning rituals.

Responsible disposal of waste petals, leaves

The Pushpanjali ritual, while popular, also generates a substantial amount of organic and biodegradable waste. Pandal authorities, mindful of the sanctity of these discarded flowers, ensure they are responsibly disposed of. Sujoy Chatterjee of the Naveen Sharodiya Utsav Durga Puja committee explained, After the ceremony, we collect the discarded petals and leaves and either bury them or immerse them in the river, along with the idol during the immersion process.

The Bengali Club Puja, on the other hand, immerses their idols within the club premises in a specially dug hole. The waste flowers are also immersed along with the Goddess on our club grounds, said the president.

Saroj Mahanto shared that his pandal disposes of the discarded flower petals in the Gomti River on the day of idol immersion, following the rules set by the administration. The Trans Gomti Dussehra and Durga Puja Committee members personally oversee all aspects of the Puja, from pandal construction to serving food to visitors. Tuhin Banerjee, a senior member of the Puja Committee, added, Our committee members also take care of the eco-friendly mandap cleanup following the Pushpanjali.

PS - Some were errors in my original copy which got retained. And I added the numerous in the second para because it helps to show that the mandap becomes a mess later because of the number of people. In the Bengali club para, I changed Bengali devotees to just devotees because all kinds of people are allowed and do visit. Whether or not they are only Bengalis we cannot say.

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PRAYAGRAJ Initiated by the state government, Project Alankar has introduced amended financial aid rules, heralding a much-anticipated makeover for government-aided secondary Sanskrit schools in Uttar Pradesh. Representational pic (HT Photo)

These revised regulations aim to rejuvenate institutions that have been serving the community for over 50 years.

Previously, the state government required school managements to cover 50% of the renovation costs for their aging buildings, with the government subsidizing the remainder. However, this condition led to reluctance among school management committees, resulting in 28 crore going unclaimed in the last fiscal year, according to officials from the states secondary education department.

In response to this, the Secondary Education Department modified the aid conditions, reducing the school managements financial commitment to just 5% of the renovation expenses. Simultaneously, they allocated a budget of 100 crore for renovation projects.

These revised rules have been met with enthusiasm from school management committees. The Directorate of Education in Prayagraj, UP, has already received proposals totaling 22 crore from various institutions across the state, eager to take advantage of the scheme to enhance and develop their school buildings.

The proposals, which amount to 22 crore, originate from government-aided Sanskrit schools in districts such as Basti, Muzaffarnagar, Sonbhadra, Ambedkarnagar, Gonda, Gorakhpur, Balrampur, and Maharajganj. Officials confirm that these proposals are under review for approval and that additional submissions from various districts are forthcoming.

Out of the 958 government-aided Sanskrit schools offering education from classes 6 to 12 in the state, officials have been instructed to prioritize those institutions with more than 100 students.

One school administrator, Prof. MC Chattopadhyay, Manager of Shri Saudamini Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya in Prayagraj, expressed his relief, stating, Earlier, due to the requirement of a 50% matching grant, which we couldnt afford, we hadnt submitted a proposal for our schools renovation. But now, we have submitted a proposal under the new guidelines.

Under Project Alankar, government-aided Sanskrit schools with student populations ranging from 100 to 250 may receive up to 25 lakh (if non-residential) or 50 lakh (if residential). The support increases to 50 lakh and 75 lakh, respectively, for schools with 250 to 500 students. For residential schools with over 500 students, maximum support of 75 lakh is available, provided they meet other criteria outlined in the projects guidelines.

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On Saturday former Mumbai commissioner of Police Sanjay Pandey met Uddhav Thackeray, ostensibly for a courtesy visit, but those in the know said one of the things discussed at the meeting was the political career of the now-notorious Lalit Patil, the alleged financier of the 22-member mephedrone gang which was busted in 2020. Lalit Patil. (HT Photo)

On Friday, Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had claimed that Patil who sparked a massive manhunt after he escaped from Punes Sassoon Hospital while in police custody on October 2, had been a member of the Shiv Sena when it was still undivided. Fadnavis claimed that Patil had headed the Senas Nashik unit and that he had been shielded by the party which was then in power, when his gang was busted. The allegations levelled by Fadnavis that Lalit Patil was our partys Nashik unit president is like saying that Dawood Ibrahim was head of the BJP, said the irrepressible Shiv Sena UBT spokesperson Sanjay Raut, dismissing the allegations as Laughable.

But how is it that a fugitive and a member of a homegrown drug ring is generating such heat in the highest political circles in the state? And did he have political protection?

At the time of his first arrest from Chakan by the Pimpri-Chinchwad police in the December of 2020, Patil was a local Shiv Sena leader with a hotline to some of the party seniors. He had joined the party in 2016 and began participating in partys meetings and he hobnobbed regularly with certain senior party leaders. Within a couple of years, Patil began frequenting between Nashik and Mumbai to attend Shiv Sena meetings, says a senior Sena (UBT) functionary requesting anonymity given the political twist the case has acquired.

The strapping Patil, who has since been rearrested by the Mumbai police, was frequently photographed with Shiv Sena leaders. His allegiance to the Shiv Sena, the proximity to certain leaders is undeniable but given the quixotic turn that Maharashtra politics has taken since July 2022, the issue now at hand is to prove which faction of the Shiv Sena was he close to? The one led by Uddhav Thackeray or the one led by Eknath Shinde which is now heading the government. It is precisely for this reason that the Shiv Sena (UBT) has been taunting the Shinde government for its ties to alleged the drug gang. Sushama Andhare, a leader from the Uddhav camp has already sought a probe against Dada Bhuse and Shambhuraj Desai two state ministers from the Shinde faction of Sena in the case. Both Bhuse and Desai have since denied allegations of ties with Patil or any other member of the Meow Meow gang.

Patils political journey though began around a decade ago when he joined as small-time functionary of the Republican Party of India (RPI). Within a year of his joining the party, Patil, who is well spoken and personable, was appointed as the Nashik youth-wing president of the RPI. But after an initial burst of organisational activities, Patil lost interest and began drifting towards the Shiv Sena which then shared power with the BJP in the state. According to his parents, he exhibited good behaviour as long as he was with the RPI but as soon as he left our party, he began getting into illegal business and was later arrested by police, recalls Ramdas Athawale, Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment.

According to RPI Nashik unit office bearers, Lailt Patil, who belongs to the Scheduled Caste hailed from the party stronghold of Upnagar, Nashik but his ambitions were such that within a year of joining politics he wanted a party ticket to contest local body elections. Patil was very demanding by nature. But we have to give candidates as per merit and could not fulfil his ambition as a result he deserted us, says Prakash Londhe, Nashik district head of the RPI.

Patil joined the Shiv Sena in the summer of 2016 at Matoshree, and there is a photograph of Uddhav Thackeray tying the Shiv bandhan (a saffron band) around Patils wrist. In the photograph that has since gone viral, the minister in Shinde government, Dada Bhuse is also present. I wasnt a guardian minister then but as a junior minister, I was representing Sena in Nashik. Whenever the occasion rose, I would be at Matoshree along with local Sena leaders from Nashik to take up their issues, says Bhuse.

Leaders from Shiv Sena (UBT) however allege that it was Bhuse and another local leader from Nashik, Ajay Boraste, facilitated Patils entry into the party. It was Bhuse and Boraste from Nashik who groomed Lalit Patil and brought him to Matoshree to join party, says Raut. Multiple leaders from both camps of Shiv Sena though say that Patil was not given specific responsibility in the party although he remained active in the election campaigns of various leaders.

In 2019, Patil campaigned for Nashik Member of Parliament Hemant Godse, who is now with Eknath Shinde and that of former MLA Yogesh Gholap who is with the Thackeray faction. Yes, he did participate in my campaign during the November 2019 polls, but he wasnt seen much after that. I only heard about him again during his arrest in 2020, says Gholap.

Patils rise in politics was as sudden as his disappearance from it. He was briefly involved in the export business of sheep and goat in partnership with one of the relatives of former Nashik Mayor and Sena leader Vinayak Pande, but by 2019 he had already moved when he came in contact with the Chakan drug ring. According to police officers, Patil along with his friend, advocate Pradnya Kamble, started assisting suspects in the Chakan case, legally. Thats when he also began involving himself in drug supply was arrested on December 9, 2020, said one of the officers involved in that operation.

But barely after a few days in custody, Patil moved to Sassoon hospital citing health reasons, something that prompted Fadnavis to question whether Patil had been shielded by the then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray.

Immediately after his arrest, Patil was admitted to Sassoon Hospital in Pune even while he was under police custody for 14 days. So how did Patil, by all accounts a healthy man still in his mid-thirties, get to go to the relative comfort of Sassoon Hospital? Balkrushan Sawant, former police inspector at Chakan Police station who arrested Lalit Patil on 9 December 2020, explains the sequence of events: On December 11, Patil pretended that he had suffered a leg injury after he fell from the staircase. We first took him to a hospital at Aundh from where he was referred to Sassoon General Hospital.

Patil was discharged from Sassoon a week later but the very next day, says Sawant, He claimed that he was suffering from stomach pain and needed to be shifted to a hospital. Later, following the expiry of his police custody, Patil was shifted to Yerwada jail under magistrate custody. Sawant is currently associated with the crime branch unit of Pimpri Chinchwad police.

For their part, Yerwada Jail authorities say that Patil claimed he was suffering from tuberculosis and hence he was kept in the prisons TB ward. However, his health complaints kept mounting and he was later referred to Sassoon General hospital as per requirement. Shifting or not shifting to the hospital is done as per the advice of the doctor, and jail administration doesnt have much to do in this case, said an official from Yerwada.

Advocate Shishir Hiray, special public prosecutor in the Chakan drug case, says that neither Yerwada Prison department nor Sassoon General Hospital informed him about Lalit Patils shift from jail to hospital for his prolonged stay. As per law they have to inform the special public prosecutor and the court regarding a suspects illness but neither Sassoon nor Yerawada administration informed me, says Hiray, begging the big question: Who was favouring Patil?

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Yogesh Joshi Yogesh Joshi is Assistant Editor at Hindustan Times. He covers politics, security, development and human rights from Western Maharashtra. ...view detail
Finding an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) bed for ailing patients during an emergency has become a herculean task for family and kin due to the non-availability of a real-time dashboard for tracking beds in city hospitals. With the city population increasing by leaps and bounds to find an ICU bed, patients are forced to run from pillar to post and waste valuable time. Pune city has 899 hospitals with 19,833 total beds out of which as many as 1,200 are ICU beds. Patients with trauma injury, cardiac arrest, stroke, surgical treatment, and road accidents amongst others mostly occupy the ICU beds in city hospitals (REPRESENTATIVE PHOTO)

The absence of a system to locate available ICU beds only makes matters worse. It is high time for Pune city to have a reliable system in place to provide timely assistance to citizens and patients, said health experts.

Pune city has 899 hospitals with 19,833 total beds out of which as many as 1,200 are ICU beds. Patients with trauma injury, cardiac arrest, stroke, surgical treatment, and road accidents amongst others mostly occupy the ICU beds in city hospitals.

The ICU beds are further divided into various categories likecardiac, neurology, surgical, trauma, medical, pediatric, isolation, neonatal, and obstetric amongst other categories. This further decreases the number of ICU beds for a specific category of patients.

Not just patients from Pune city but also from suburbs and other districts like Ahmednagar, Satara, Solapur and Kolhapur amongst others largely come to Pune city for treatment.

Dr H K Sale, executive director of Noble Hospital and Chairman of the Association of Hospitals in Pune (AHP), said, the problem has become acute and our hospital ICU always runs at full capacity.

There is a need for a system in place which will guide the citizens and doctors regarding the availability of ICU beds. We are going to take up the issue in the next meeting of AHP and see how it can be done, he said.

Hospitals on average have ICU beds running at a capacity of 90 to 95 per cent occupancy. During viral outbreaks, vector-borne disease outbreaks or surge in ailments in the community all ICU facilities run full. Patients admitted to the ICU also require more recovery period and the beds remain occupied for a long.

Dr Prasad Mulglikar, medical director of Ruby Hall Clinic, also agreed there is a need for a system to be in place to guide and help the patients during emergencies.

The emergency patients that we get are of trauma, cardiac arrest, stroke, stab injury, road accidents, etc amongst others. Daily we get around 100 inquiries for ICU beds but we can provide the ICU beds to limited patients. We get inquiries from patients from other districts like Ahmednagar, Satara, Solapur etc., he said.

Vinod Sawantwadkar, chief executive officer (CEO) of Jehangir Hospital, said the availability of such a dashboard will not just end the hardship of patients and kin but also people who work in healthcare.

We get several calls for the ICU beds but cant provide beds to everyone. In some cases, we try to manage and add beds or shift some patients from the ICU to another ward, but this too has limitations. The latest advancement in technology can be utilised to solve the problem, he said.

Dr Sunil Rao, chief operating officer(COO) Sahyadri Hospitals, said, all hospitals can help the administration or even a non-governing organisation who wants to work on setting up such real-time monitoring of ICU beds.

It becomes difficult to arrange for ICU beds during the emergency and avoid wasting life-saving time of the patients. Many times when the ICU beds are running full we manage within our hospitals. If beds are there they are given to the patient but when the occupancy is full we have to take help from other hospitals, he said.

Dr Sanjay Patil, chairman of Hospital Board of India, Pune Chapter, said there is no harm in starting such a real-time dashboard that can help save lives.

The hospital association will be happy to support the administration if they start such a dashboard. Many times even the doctors face hardship when they look for an ICU bed during an emergency. The doctors have to call at least six to seven hospitals to find a bed, he said.

Dr Bhagwan Pawar, health officer of Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) said, the civic body can have a discussion with the private hospitals and see what can be done so that the citizens dont have to run from pillar to post in search of ICU beds. During Covid-19 such a dashboard was started and worked as a boon for the patients, he said.

Dr Madhur Rao, deputy medical administrator at KEM Hospital Pune said that the need for ICU beds goes up during seasonal diseases like dengue or epidemics like Covid-19.

The common dashboard system to map the availability of ICUs during COVID-19 was beneficial to the patients and can be continued. Real-time updating will be difficult but the system can be updated once or twice a day, he said.

Ruby Hall Clinic

120 ICU beds: 100 calls daily

Sahyadri Hospitals (6 units)

120 ICU beds: 30 calls daily

KEM Hospital

110 ICU beds: 30 calls daily

Jehangir Hospital

72 ICU beds: 20 calls daily

Noble Hospital

34 ICU beds: 15 calls daily

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A pilot and co-pilot were injured after a training aircraft crashed during a training session near Gojubavi village in Maharashtra's Pune district on Sunday. According to the police, the aircraft - with two people on board - crashed while it was making a landing around 6:40 am. Training aircraft crashes in Pune's Gojubavi village(ANI)

The injured persons have been taken to the hospital for treatment, the police said.

The aircraft belonged to Redbird Flight Training Academy.

Red Bird Academy Tecnam aircraft VT-RBT made an emergency landing near Baramati airfield. The instructor and trainee both are safe. Further investigation underway, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said, as quoted by news agency ANI.

Further details are awaited.

In a similar incident on Thursday, another training aircraft of the same training academy crashed near Katfal village in Pune - leaving the pilot and co-pilot injured. According to the police, the incident took place around 5 pm and the injured persons were rushed to the hospital.

While a team of Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) visited the crash site on Friday, the cause of it is not yet known.

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The University of Sheffield, UK is inviting applications for its MSc Human and Molecular Genetics course starting in September 2024. The course Sheffield Diagnostic Genetics Service was designed in collaboration with the NHS and is for students who are fascinated by medical genetics.(Handout)

According to a press release by the University of Sheffield, the course Sheffield Diagnostic Genetics Service was designed in collaboration with the NHS and is for students who are fascinated by medical genetics.

Through theoretical and hands-on practical skills training students will explore human genetics and develop an understanding of how human genetic diseases are diagnosed clinically at the chromosome and DNA levels. Students will also have opportunities to explore the wider implications of genetics in fields such as genomics, human fertility, stem cells and cancer biology, mentioned the press release.

According to the University, as part of the course, students will be trained in a wide range of exciting, modern laboratory techniques, including CRISPR genome editing, molecular cloning, organism handling, DNA sequence analysis, PCR, SDS-PAGE and western blotting. Students will spend up to six months undertaking extensive training in advanced laboratory techniques such as human cell culture, microscopy, cytogenetics and qPCR and applying this knowledge to the study and diagnosis of human genetic diseases.

NHS placements:

According to the University of Sheffield, there are opportunities to participate in NHS placements via collaboration with the Julia Garnham Centre based in the School of Biosciences. The centre provides students with essential experience and training in genetic analysis, upskilling the next generation of genomic scientists and technologists. After initial training, placement students will work under the supervision of NHS Geneticists from the Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust to prepare cases for NHS Healthcare Scientists to analyse.

Eligibility:

Holders of a three-year/ four-year bachelors degree with a minimum of 60% or "first class" in molecular biology or a related subject (e.g. biochemistry, genetics, biotechnology, microbiology) from a recognised university.

Overall IELTS score of 6.5 with a minimum of 6.0 in each component, or equivalent.

Fee Details:

Overseas (2024 annual fee): 29,700

Scholarship:

International Postgraduate Taught Merit Scholarships 20224 are available. Each scholarship is a competitive award worth 5,000 towards the original tuition fee for a postgraduate taught programme starting in September 2024. The scholarships are available to all new international students who meet the eligibility criteria, informed the University.

For more information, visit the official website.

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Final results of the 67th Combined Competitive Examination held by the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) will be announced by the end of this month (October), the commission's Chairman Atul Prasad informed on X (previously Twitter). BPSC 67th CCE Result Date: Important update on final results

Prasad further informed that remaining results of its school teacher recruitment examination (BPSC TRE result 2023) have been sent to the National Informatics Centre (NIC) for uploading on bpsc.bih.nic.in.

All the remaining TRE results have been sent to NIC for uploading on our website. 67th CCE Final results will be declared by this month end, his post reads.

Earlier this month, the commission informed that 672 aspirants of the 67th CCE have uploaded documents with errors and asked them to correct and re-verify it on the interview day along with the Main exam application form.

BPSC CCE Mains result was declared on September 14. The exam was held in Patna on December 30, 31, 2022 and January 7, 2023.

A total of 2104 candidates had qualified in the Mains exam and were eligible for the Interview round.

BPSC 67th CCE is being held to fill up a total of 1,052 vacancies.

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In an era where sustainability and innovation reign supreme, the E-Mobility sector has emerged as the driving force behind a transformative shift in the automotive industry. This dynamic transformation has unlocked a world of exciting career opportunities for those with a passion for clean energy, cutting-edge technology, and a commitment to driving change.(Mint file)

The transition from traditional internal combustion engines to electric vehicles (EVs) is no longer a futuristic concept; it is the present reality. This dynamic transformation has unlocked a world of exciting career opportunities for those with a passion for clean energy, cutting-edge technology, and a commitment to driving change.

This article will delve into the various career opportunities within the E-Mobility sector, highlighting the significant role played by the Electronics Sector Skill Council of India (ESSCI).

There are six essential roles divided into two segments: one in the Battery System segment and the other in the Motor and Controller segment.

The E-Mobility Revolution

The E-Mobility sector encompasses a wide spectrum of industries, including electric vehicle manufacturing, charging infrastructure development, and battery technology. Its growth is driven by the urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, combat climate change, and enhance energy efficiency.

Governments worldwide are introducing stringent regulations to promote clean transportation, and consumers are increasingly embracing electric vehicles, creating an unprecedented demand for E-Mobility professionals.

The Role of the Electronics Sector Skills Council of India

The Electronics Sector Skills Council of India (ESSCI) plays a pivotal role in shaping and nurturing talent for the rapidly evolving E-Mobility sector.

Established under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, ESSCI collaborates with industry stakeholders, training institutions, and government bodies to bridge the skills gap in the electronics and IT hardware sector, which includes E-Mobility.

Electronics Sector Skills Council of India (ESSCI) offers various certification programs, training initiatives, and skill development projects designed to equip individuals with the expertise needed to thrive in E-Mobility careers. These programs cover a range of competencies, from electrical and electronics engineering to software development and sustainable transportation planning.

By aligning its efforts with the evolving needs of the E-Mobility sector, ESSCI ensures that India remains at the forefront of this transformative industry.

Career Paths in the E-Mobility Sector

Battery System Design Engineer: Battery System Design Engineers are at the forefront of innovation in the E-Mobility sector. They are responsible for conceptualizing, designing, and optimising battery systems that power electric vehicles. These engineers are instrumental in improving energy density, range, and overall battery performance.

Battery System Assembly Operator: Battery System Assembly Operators are skilled artisans responsible for physically building battery packs for electric vehicles. Precision, attention to detail, and adherence to safety protocols are paramount in their role.

Battery System Repair Technician: Battery System Repair Technicians are the unsung heroes of the E-Mobility sector. They play a crucial role in diagnosing, maintaining, and repairing the heart of any electric vehiclethe battery system. These professionals are responsible for ensuring the longevity and optimal performance of batteries, which are the lifeline of EVs.

Motor and Controller Design Engineer: The Motor and Controller Designer is responsible for designing motor, controller, and power transmission control systems for electric vehicles. The job covers activities like designing the control system, thorough testing, and validation of the design.

Electronic Hardware Assembly Operator: An Electronic Hardware Assembly Operator is responsible for installing electronic components inside various devices of an Electric Vehicle. Along with that, s/he reviews blueprints and specification sheets, inspects components, performs quality assurance tests, identifies defects in the assembly process and takes corrective actions against any malfunction detected.

Motor & Controller Repairing Technician: The EV motor and controller service technician is responsible for servicing and repairing of the motor and controller in an Electric Vehicle, along with that, s/he tests the motor and the controller after servicing and takes corrective action against any malfunction detected.

Skills for Success

Success in the E-Mobility sector demands a combination of technical expertise, adaptability, and a deep commitment to sustainability:

Technical Proficiency: Develop strong technical skills in electrical and electronics engineering, battery technology, or related fields.

Develop strong technical skills in electrical and electronics engineering, battery technology, or related fields. Adaptability: Stay updated with evolving technologies and be open to learning and innovation.

Stay updated with evolving technologies and be open to learning and innovation. Sustainability Awareness: Understand the environmental impact of transportation and the role of E-Mobility in mitigating climate change.

Understand the environmental impact of transportation and the role of E-Mobility in mitigating climate change. Problem-Solving: Innovate and find solutions to challenges unique to electric vehicles and battery systems.

Innovate and find solutions to challenges unique to electric vehicles and battery systems. Communication and Collaboration: Effective teamwork and communication are vital in this interdisciplinary field.

Future Prospects and Career Outlook

The electric vehicle (EV) market in India is poised for remarkable growth, with a projected compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 49% anticipated between 2022 and 2030, as per the Economic Survey 2023*.

This impressive trajectory is expected to catapult the segment's sales volumes, crossing an annual threshold of one crore units by the year 2030. The Indian EV industry is expected to create a significant number of job opportunities, both direct and indirect, in the coming years.

According to the Survey, the EV industry is expected to create about 5 crore direct and indirect job opportunities. The EV industry is estimated to offer several job opportunities for the skilled population. The average salary for entry-level positions in the EV industry ranges from 5 -7 lakhs, while experienced professionals can earn 7-12 lakhs per year, in accordance with market standards and job roles.

Conclusion

As the EV industry continues its rapid expansion, it ushers in a wave of job creation, calling for a workforce capable of staying abreast of evolving technologies.

In this dynamic environment, individuals armed with the right training and education can harness these burgeoning job opportunities and forge a rewarding career within the EV industry. Furthermore, skill development assumes a pivotal role in enhancing the quality of EVs manufactured. With the appropriate skill set, engineers and designers can engineer EVs that not only prioritise environmental sustainability but also exhibit heightened efficiency, durability, and safety.

These finely honed skills are the building blocks of engineering breakthroughs that redefine the boundaries of EV performance.

(Author Abhilasha Gaur is COO, ESSCI. Views expressed here are personal.)

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The wounds are fresh and division is deep among Virginia Republicans after a bruising intraparty battle that ended Friday with the defeat of Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, in his bid to become speaker of a House of Representatives that has been paralyzed for almost three weeks.

Rep. Bob Good, R-5th, one of eight far-right Republicans who helped trigger the leadership fight by voting to oust then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., on Oct. 3, called Jordans defeat a loss for the American people.

Good, who represents part of Hanover County and other outlying Richmond suburbs, had wanted House Republicans to remain in Washington over the weekend to elect a speaker, but said some members left even before a confidential vote of the GOP conference to withdraw support for Jordan as the party nominee after he failed for the third time earlier on Friday to gain the 217 votes necessary to win.

Instead, he said he and Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., who filed the motion to replace McCarthy, will stick with their plans to embark on a Hope for America political fundraising tour that will begin on Saturday with breakfast in Louisa County, then move to lunch near Farmville and dinner in Lynchburg.

We should not be leaving Washington, Good said in a telephone interview.

Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-2nd, was the only one of Virginias five Republican members of Congress to vote against Jordan. She voted twice to restore McCarthy as speaker and then cast her vote on Friday for Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry, R-N.C. Kiggans said she still wants the House to empower McHenry so we can get back to work immediately for the American people while we reunify the Republican conference.

House Republicans will have to bridge a chasm of distrust when they meet Tuesday to try again to elect a speaker, based on a slate of candidates who must file on Sunday and appear in a forum on Monday evening.

Kiggans said in a statement Friday evening: its clear that Congressman Jordan was not the right person to unite our Republican Majority. 

She added: Our world becomes more dangerous by the day. During my multiple conversations with Congressman Jordan, he could not commit to  at a minimum  keeping our defense budget at current levels, which I believe are already inadequate. Additionally, my concerns that a government shutdown could be used for leverage were not addressed.

Rep. Rob Wittman, R-1st, who represents parts of Chesterfield, Hanover and Henrico counties, voted three times for Jordan. Wittman initially opposed McCarthys ouster and then supported Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., who withdrew last week after defeating Jordan in a private vote of House Republicans.

The House needs to elect a Speaker as soon as possible so we can get back to doing the work of the American people, Wittman said in a statement to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. I urge my colleagues to swiftly unite around whoever becomes the new Republican nominee for Speaker after Mondays conference election.

Nine names have been floated as potential candidates, and Good said he had heard one or two others.

Im going to wait, he said when asked whom he favors. Ive got some leanings.

A nasty campaignJordans campaign for speaker left some Republicans, including Kiggans, feeling bullied and angry.

In an interview earlier Friday, she accused Jordan of going back on his word and mounting a pressure campaign that has backfired among Republicans frustrated by the political standoff that has crippled Congress with less than a month before a potential federal government shutdown.

Kiggans, in her first term representing a congressional district anchored in military-minded Virginia Beach, said she and her office have been bombarded by thousands of phone calls and emails, some of them threatening, by supporters of Jordan and the Freedom Caucus. She said one member of the caucus, whom she did not name, stood up and said, Its hunting season, and we are going to be hunting. 

Its been a nasty campaign, she said during a telephone interview shortly before a third round of voting was to begin.

Good pushed back against Republicans who attributed threats to Jordans campaign for speaker.

To blame this on Jim Jordan is really unfortunate and disingenuous, he said.

Republicans who opposed Jordan did so for a variety of motives, Good said, including those who are blindly supportive of endless increases in defense funding with no accountability.

He refused to single out any of the 25 Republicans who voted against Jordan on Friday, but Kiggans, a former U.S. Navy helicopter pilot, has made clear that she opposed Jordan for his vote against a stopgap funding bill to avoid a federal government shutdown on Sept. 30 and her fear that he would seek further cuts in the military budget.

McHenry has presided over the House with limited authority since McCarthys fall after he backed a continuing resolution that gives Congress until Nov. 17 to pass appropriations bills to fund the government in the fiscal year that began Oct. 1.

With the House unable to act on legislation until it elects a speaker, or empowers McHenry, President Joe Biden upped the stakes on Friday by submitting a request for $105 billion in supplemental funding. The package includes $61.4 billion in military aid for Ukraine in its 20-month war with Russia, $14.3 billion for defense of Israel in its war against Hamas, $10 billion in humanitarian aid for trapped civilians in Gaza and other war-torn regions, and $14 billion to bolster security on the U.S. border with Mexico to stem the flood of illegal immigrants and deadly fentanyl into the country.

We are doing our job by letting the Congress know what our critical needs are, and we expect them to act, said Shalanda Young, director of the Office of Management and Budget and former staff director of the House Appropriations Committee, in a media briefing on Friday.

The package also includes $3.4 billion to bolster industrial production of nuclear submarines, a mainstay of Newport News Shipbuilding, owned by Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc., one of Virginias largest employers.

Huntington-Ingalls spokesman Todd Corillo said Friday that the company looks forward to our continued partnership with the Navy and our state and regional leadership on investment of Submarine Industrial Base funding in the areas of workforce development, infrastructure, supply chain capability and capacity, and technology acceleration, all to support delivery of the critical nuclear-powered submarines and aircraft carriers our nation needs.

The stakes are also global, with Israel retaliating against a bloody attack by Hamas militants on Oct. 7 that killed more than 1,300 people, most of them civilians, including 31 Americans. Thousands of Palestinians living in blockaded Gaza have also died in Israeli military strikes in the territory, including a deadly attack on a hospital that Hamas blames on Israel, but both Israel and the U.S. said came from an errant missile fired by another jihadist militia.

(Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., chairman of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee, and Vice Chairman Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said in a joint statement Wednesday: The Senate Intelligence Committee has received and reviewed intelligence related to the attack on al-Ahli hospital in Gaza. Based on this information, we feel confident that the explosion was the result of a failed rocket launch by militant terrorists and not the result of an Israeli airstrike.)

Kiggans has made clear that she believes the budgets proposed by both the president and House Republicans are not adequate to support the military, but said, Right now, we cant proceed on any kind of supplemental funding request because we dont have a speaker.

We have to get past the speaker debacle, she said.
Indian Institute of Management Lucknow (IIM Lucknow) hosted its annual Alumni Conclave 'Samvaad' with active participation from 12 alumni to share their experience with the current students. The conclave was held at the Institutes Noida campus. According to a press release by IIM Lucknow, this years theme for the event was Technovation: Leading Change through Innovation and Technology. (Handout)

According to a press release by IIM Lucknow, this years theme for the event was Technovation: Leading Change through Innovation and Technology. Prof Neerja Pande, the Dean of IIM Lucknow Noida campus, Mr Ajay Mahipal, Managing Director of HEALTHQUAD, Abhishek Mathur, Managing Director, PWC, Prof Yash Daultani, Chairperson of Alumni Affairs, and other dignitaries lit the lamp together to commence this two-day event.

Prof. Neerja Pande emphasised the connection of the alumni with their alma mater and the significance of the 'power of presence' in the evolving world. Ajay Mahipal shared his insights in his keynote address, discussing the pharmaceutical industry and how it is increasingly intertwined with technology. Nimish Gupta, Director, BCG-X; Mr. Varun Vijay, Leader, CISCO; Mr. Ajay Ohri, Associate Principal, LTI MINDTREE, and Mr. Gautam Medhi, Business Head, HCL Healthcare, engaged in a discussion about the groundbreaking impact of AI and big data on the future of workplaces.

On the second day, Niharika Jalan, Founder and Chief Growth Officer at INDICOLD; Nikunj Nangalia, General Manager, RENEW POWER; Vaibhav Singh, Executive Director, PWC, and Prof. Kaushik R Bandyopadhyay from IIM Lucknow shared their insights, stated the press release.

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Tokyo Revengers Season 3 Episode 4 is all set to release soon and fans are on the edge of their seats waiting for it. Tokyo Revengers Season 3 Episode 4 will most likely see Takemichi being questioned by Yasuhiro Muto. (LIDEN FILMS)

The previous episode saw Takemichi confirm Naoto's death from the past, following which he unknowingly revealed the secrets about the suture and his mission to Hinata.

Later, he went along with Draken to Mikey's house, where they learned that Izana Kurokawa was Mikey's stepbrother.

Tokyo Revengers Season 3 Episode 4: Release Date & Timings

Tokyo Revengers Season 3 Episode 4 will be airing on local Japanese networks on Wednesday, October 25, 2023, at 12 a.m. Japanese Standard Time.

However, the majority of international fans can watch the anime on Tuesday, October 24, 2023.

Here's a list of the release dates and timings for the different timezones:

Pacific Daylight Time: 11 am Tuesday, October 24

Mountain Daylight Time: 12 pm Tuesday, October 24

Central Daylight Time: 1 pm Tuesday, October 24

Eastern Daylight Time: 2 pm Tuesday, October 24

British Summer Time: 7 pm Tuesday, October 24

Central European Summer Time: 8 pm Tuesday, October 24

Eastern European Summer Time: 9 pm Tuesday, October 24

Arabia Standard Time: 9 pm Tuesday, October 24

Indian Standard Time: 11:30 pm Tuesday, October 24

Philippine Standard Time: 2 am Wednesday, October 25

Australia Central Standard Time: 3:30 am Wednesday, October 25

Tokyo Revengers Season 3 Episode 4: Where to watch?

Tokyo Revengers Season 3 Episode 4 will be available for watching on several Japanese networks such as AT-X, MBS, TV TOKYO, TV Aichi, TV Hokkaido, Gunma TV and others.

Following this, the anime will be available to watch exclusively on Disney Plus, three hours after it airs on television.

Tokyo Revengers Season 3 Episode 4: What to Expect?

Tokyo Revengers Season 3 Episode 4 will most likely see Takemichi being questioned by Yasuhiro Muto. Tanjiro was beaten up and taken to a hideaway by the Tokyo Manji Gang Fifth Division Captain at the conclusion of the previous episode so that he might be questioned. Tanjiro spotted Kokonoi and Inupi there; both had been a member of the 10th Generation Black Dragons before.

Given the circumstances, it is plausible that Muto was assigned the duty of filtering out potential traitors. Given their background, Kokonoi and Inupi may be considered suspects. Takemichi could have been hauled in for interrogation as a potential new suspect because he was their Captain.

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Actor Dalip Tahil's 2018 hit and run case finally got a verdict. The Baazigar actor has been sentenced to two months in prison for drunk driving and injuring a woman. (Also read: Dalip Tahil reacts to reports of Jaya Prada slapping him during rape scene) Dalip Tahil has been sentenced to two months in jail.

What was the case

As per a report on Live Mint, relying on the evidence of the doctor who opined that smell of the alcohol was found and pupils were dilated, a magistrate's court convicted Dalip Tahil. At the time of his arrest in 2018, the actor had refused to give his blood samples to the police for alcohol test.

Dalips car had rammed into an autorickshaw, injuring two passengers. He attempted to flee but was caught in a traffic jam caused by Ganesh Visarjan processions. The passengers reportedly caught up with Dalips car and confronted him. He is said to have got into an argument and pushed them around. The actor was taken into custody after the police was summoned.

What police said

The passengers were identified as Jenita Gandhi, 21, and Gaurav Chugh, 22.

The impact of the collision caused Ms Gandhi sustain a severe jolt to her back and neck. Ms Gandhi and Mr Chugh got off the autorickshaw and saw the car trying to flee towards Santacruz. The car could not get far as the street was crowded due to Ganeshotsav immersion processions, an officer with the Khar police told the Hindu.

A photograph of the actor waiting at the police station was also been shared online.

Dalip Tahil has not reacted to his sentencing yet. The actor has become popular on social media over the last few months due to his humourous videos.

About Dalip Tahil

Dalip Tahil has been a part of over 100 films, such as Baazigar (1993) Raja (1995) Hum Hai Rahi Pyar Ke (1993) Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988), Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai (2000), Ajnabee (2001), Rock On!! (2008), Ra.One (2011) Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013) and Mission Mangal (2019) among others. He was last seen in HIT: The First Case alongside Rajkummar Rao and Sanya Malhotra. He was also a part of Mind The Malhotras Season 2.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR HT Entertainment Desk Dedicated professionals who write about cinema and television in all their vibrancy. Expect views, reviews and news. ...view detail
Saturday Night Live's cold open on October 21 featured a satirical look at the Republican Party with Mikey Day as Rep. Jim Jordan, Chloe Fineman as Rep. Lauren Boebert, Bowen Yang as Rep. George Santos, and James Austin Johnson as former President Donald Trump. Jim Jordan's failed House speaker bid was demonstrated in the opening sketch, where Day's Jordan says, How did I lose? This is chaos, adding, Some of us are here to actually serve the American people. All I want to do is get Congress back to work so I can shut it down again. Last night's SNL cold open took a dig at Jim Jordan(@nbcsnl/X)

ALSO READ: Saturday Night Live: Pete Davidson discusses Israel-Gaza crisis, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce make surprise cameos

Soon after this, Yang's Santos pays him a visit with a random baby in his hand and says I just wanted to say how sorry I am. But I want you to know I voted for you and get this, so did Shawna Loggins. Day then says, Whos that? to which Yang responds - Also me. Day then adds, Hes not ready to give up, and asks Yang if he should try one more time, to which Yang says, A guy would be lying if I said yes. So, yes. Jordan ushers Santos out, who then receives a call from Tupac, Girl, I know Jada is crazy, he replies before leaving.

Jordan is visited by Johnson's Donald Trump, who says Is this the losers office? To this, Day's Jordan says, Im so glad youre here. You endorsed me and then you just kind of disappeared. Later in the skit as Jordan expresses his frustration and asks Johnson's Trump whether he thinks he can win, Johnson says, I couldn't care less. Day is then cut off by him and Johnson concludes, saying, Thats not for losers. Live from New York it's Saturday Night! In the episode, surprise cameos were also made by - Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, Lady Gaga, Bad Bunny, and Pedro Pascal.
Amidst the fervor of Navratri, actor Karanvir Bohra cherishes the tradition of celebrating Ashtmi with his three daughters, Bella, Vienna, and Gia. Sharing how it has become a significant part of their familys festive calendar, he tells us, Generally, they are invited to a lot of Ashtmi pujas by my friends at their home, and they sit and do the whole process jo kanjak baithaane ka hota hai, adding, Teeno ko bulaate hain, it is so cute, kyunki chotti deviyaan hoti hain, and you want them to come to your house. Karanvir Bohra on ashtmi

For him and his wife Teejay, Ashtmi holds a special place as it offers them the perfect opportunity to spend quality time with their daughters. Uss din, mai aur Teejay chutti karte hain, and we go to every house with them. Hum log nahi baithaate kanjak, because humaare ghar mai already teen hain, but we do visit many houses on that day every year, the 41-year-old shares.

Their tradition dates back to when their daughters were just one year old, and since then, they have been visiting around 7-8 houses on every Ashtmi. We celebrate Navratri, Ashtmi, and Dussehra with our daughters. And, I am a father of three daughters, so it becomes essential for me to celebrate these devi activities.

One of the most heartwarming aspects of their celebration is how the actor imparts the significance of these traditions in his daughters. For every tradition in the house, I teach them what it means. They are very small, they dont understand everything, but they know what the specific Gods signify. Especially for Navratri, they know about 9 days and 9 goddesses, and they even know that their names are of the Devis, Bohra says.

Even on Dussehra, hum kitaabon ki puja karte hain, so this is what we teach them, and have been doing so since childhood. Kabhi kabhi they innocently ask, Why are they washing our feet? But now, they are getting bigger and understanding that we go to this type of function, but they will know the true essence and value of it once they grow up, he further adds.

Sharing an anecdote, Bohra recalls a memorable visit to choreographer Ganesh Acharyas house. I still remember that once when we were at Ganesh Acharyas house, he was washing all of their feet, and they naturally put their hand up to give aashirwaad, they didnt even know. This was when my twin babies Vienna and Bella were just 3-4 years old. It was such an internal feeling that they are our kanjaks since the day they were born, Bohra wraps up.

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All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Sunday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after it revoked the suspension of party leader T Raja Singh.



Singh was suspended from the BJP last year following his arrest over his alleged derogatory remark against Prophet Muhammad. All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi.

Taking to social media platform X, Owaisi posted,"@narendramodi has rewarded his dear fringe element. Quite sure that Nupur Sharma will also get her blessings from the PM. Hate speech is the fastest way to a promotion in Modis BJP".



The letter issued by BJP's central disciplinary committee member secretary Om Pathak read,"Upon suspension, the Central Disciplinary Committee of the party had issued a show cause notice to you. This refers to your reply to the show cause notice".



Your reply and explanation offered therein has been considered by the committee. Basis your reply, the committee has decided to revoke your suspension forthwith, the letter added.



Singh, whose suspension has been removed, has been featured in the BJP's first list of candidates for Telangana polls. He will be contesting from Goshamahal, the seat he currently represents in the 119-member assembly.

The BJP which has announced its first list of 52 candidates for the November 30 assembly polls in Telangana, will release the "second list" after the Dasara festival, state BJP president G Kishan Reddy said.



The BJP MLA is known for having made controversial remarks in the past. In 2017, he was booked by Hyderabad Police for allegedly threatening to behead those who attempted to stop the construction of the Ram Temple in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya.



Telangana, currently ruled by K Chandrashekar Rao-led Bharat Rashtra Samithi, is set to go to poll in a single phase election on November 30. Both the BJP and Congress are eyeing to upset KCR's chances of returning as chief minister for the third time.

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Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma visited several puja pandals in Hojai district on the occasion of Maha Ashtami on Sunday. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma(ANI)

The Chief Minister offered prayers to Goddess Durga and took part in rituals.

He was also seen interacting with local people and taking selfies with them.

"This year, Assam marked Devi Paksh by expanding schemes that enable Nari Shakti. 7.3 lakh women added to the Orunodoi cash transfer scheme; 2.2 lakh women became creditworthy after the state waived their loans; and 2.08 lakh girl school students got free bicycles," CM Sarma said in a post on X.

On October 21, 2023, on the occasion of the Saptami of Durga Puja, CM Sarma visited Hailakandi district, where he visited several puja pandals.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday released its first list of 52 candidates for the 119-member Telangana assembly elections, scheduled to be held on November 30. Eatala Rajender. (File Photo)

Former minister and BJP lawmaker from Huzurabad assembly constituency, Eatala Rajender will fight against Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) president and chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao from Gajwel assembly constituency.

While the name of state BJP president and Union minister for tourism G Kishan Reddy, who represents Secunderabad parliamentary constituency, doesnt figure in the list of candidates for the assembly polls, the three other MPs  Bandi Sanjay from Karimnagar, Soyam Bapu Rao from Adilabad and Dharmapuri Arvind have been fielded for the assembly polls.

Sanjay will contest from Karimnagar assembly seat. Soyam Bapu Rao would fight the polls from Boath (ST) constituency in Adilabad and Arvind from Korutla in Jagitial district.

The party has renamed sitting MLA, M Raghunandan Rao from Dubbak. But the name of former MLA Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy, who unsuccessfully contested the by-elections to his Munugode constituency last year, does not figure in the list. While he wants to contest from Munugode again, the party wants him to move to L B Nagar, a party leader familiar with the development said.

Another senior BJP leader and Rajya Sabha member Dr K Laxman, who was also expected to be fielded from Musheerabad assembly constituency, opted out of the contest and the name of former minister and BJP national vice-president D K Aruna is also missing in the list, the BJP leader quoted above said.

The BJP national leadership also announced lifting of year-long suspension on T Raja Singh, party MLA from Goshamahal assembly constituency in Hyderabad after due consideration of his explanation in response to the show cause notice served by the party.

Singh was suspended on September 2 last year after his alleged blasphemous remarks on Prophet Mohammad, as a counter to the BRS government allowing stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui to hold a show in Hyderabad in August 2022, triggered a nation-wide controversy.

Singhs name figures in the list of candidates released by the party and he would be contesting from the same constituency.

Rajender, who has been fielded against KCR, will also contest from his original constituency Huzurabad.

He had been with the BRS (earlier Telangana Rashtra Samithi or TRS) for nearly 18 years and had been a trusted lieutenant of KCR. He held several positions in the erstwhile TRS, including TRS legislature party leader in the assembly and a minister in the state cabinet holding important portfolios like finance, backward classes welfare and health, before he was sacked from the party in May 2021 on disciplinary grounds.

He came out of the party in June 2021 and joined the BJP. He resigned from the TRS and contested the by-elections to Huzurabad seat to win the same with a big margin of over 20,000 votes. He has since been playing an important role in the state BJP.

In Kamareddy assembly constituency, which KCR has chosen as a second constituency, the BJP has given the ticket to former Nizamabad zilla parishad chairman K Venkata Ramana Reddy.

While the party has pitched former television news channel anchor Rani Rudrama Devi against KCRs son and BRS working president K T Rama Rao from Siricilla, it has not chosen a candidate for Siddipet, represented by KCRs nephew T Harish Rao.

The BJP has given tickets to former MLAs, including A Maheshwar Reddy from Nirmal, T Aruna Tara from Jukkal (SC), Bodiga Shobha from Choppadandi (SC), Arepalli Mohan from Manakondur (SC), Kuna Srisailam Goud from Qutbullapur, Chintala Ramachandra Reddy from Khairatabad, Sankineni Venkateshwar Rao from Suryapet, G Vijayarama Rao from Station Ghanpur (SC) and Ravindra Naik from Yellandu (ST).

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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
External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Sunday said India invoked diplomatic parity for Canada forcing the North American country to withdraw 41 of its diplomats, because of concerns about continuous interference in the country's affairs by Canadian personnel. External affairs minister S Jaishankar(ANI/X)

There's this whole issue of parity that the size of how many diplomats there are of one country versus how many diplomats there are of the other country. Parity is very much provided for by the Vienna Convention, which is the relevant international rule on this, the minister was quoted by ANI as saying.



But in our case, we invoked parity because we had concerns about continuous interference in our affairs by Canadian personnel. We haven't made much of that public. My sense is over a period of time more stuff will come out and people will understand why we had the kind of discomfort with many of them which we did, he added.



The tensions between India and Canada escalated after the Justin Trudeau government announced that it had called back 41 diplomats. The withdrawal came a day before the deadline set by India, failing which they were liable to lose their diplomatic immunity.



New Delhi had sought parity in the strength of Canadas diplomatic presence by bringing down those stationed in the country from 62 to 21. Trudeau called India's actions as violation of Geneva convention. The Government of India decided to unilaterally revoke the diplomatic immunity of 40 Canadian diplomats in India. This is a violation of the Vienna Convention governing diplomacy...It is something that all countries in the world should be worried about and this is putting aside the allegations we made of a serious violation of international law with the alleged killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil that the Indian government could have been involved in, the Canadian premier had said.







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Former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh on Saturday urged a Delhi court to discharge him in the sexual harassment case lodged by six woman wrestlers, claiming there were contradictions in the statements of witnesses produced by the prosecution, reported PTI. BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.(PTI)

"Since there are material contradictions in the statements of the prosecution witnesses, that itself calls for discharge of the accused (Brij Bhushan) as the contradictions have the effect of taking the case away from the arena of grave suspicion, towards only mere suspicion," advocate Rajeev Mohan, representing Singh, told the court.

The advocate argued that the Oversight Committee formed to look into the case had to recommend the registration of FIR within seven days, but did not do so. He added that it is safe to assume that the Oversight Committee did not find a prima facie case against the BJP MP.

"Since no prima facie case was found out by the Oversight Committee, and since no case was found out, no FIR was registered, and since no FIR was registered, it automatically amounts to exoneration," the counsel told the court.

This was opposed by the public prosecutor, who argued that the constitution of the Oversight Committee itself was not in accordance with the law.

"There is no question of exoneration because no recommendations/ findings have been given by the said Committee," the prosecutor said, according to PTI.

Meanwhile, the court granted an exemption from personal appearance to Singh for the day on an application moved by his lawyer. The case will be heard next on October 30.

The Delhi Police filed a 1,599-page chargesheet on June 15 against Singh and wrestling official Vinod Tomar detailing the various allegations made by six female wrestlers. The court took cognizance of it on July 7 and issued summons to both.

Singh is facing charges under sections 354 (assault or criminal force with intent to outrage modesty), 354A and 354D (stalking), while the police had framed charges against Tomar under sections 354, 354A, 109 (abetment) and 506 (criminal intimidation) IPC.

The case was registered following a month-long protest held against Singh, led by prominent wrestlers Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia among others.

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Responding to Trinamool's silence over the allegations of cash-for-questions against Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said Trinamool can't just say 'no comments' without clarifying whether their silence means acceptance of Mahua Moitra's 'breaches'. Questioning the party as to why it has not yet sacked Mahua Moitra, the BJP leader asked if the party is afraid of taking any action against Moitra because the party itself has something to hide. "Perhaps people in the party knew or endorsed it? TMC must clarify," Poonawalla said. TMC said it won't comment on the allegations brought against Mahua Moitra.(PTI)

"Does it mean TMC accepts Mahua Moitra had made serious breaches including giving her log in to be operated from foreign soil by a rival corporate entity in exchange for kickbacks?" the BJP leader said.

Trinamool Congress maintained distance from the controversy based on BJP MP Nishikant Dubey's allegation that Mahua Moitra gave her Parliament login to industrialist Darshan Hiranandani who posed questions against Adani. While several Trinamool leaders commented on the controversy taking part in television debates, the party did not issue any statement. Party's state general secretary Kunal Ghosh said the party will not issue any statement on it. "No comments on this particular issue. We have nothing to say on it. The Trinamool Congress will not say a single word. We have nothing to say and no comments. The related person may explain or answer the issues but not Trinamool Congress," Kunal Ghosh said.

The party is observing the issue, the BJP's allegations, and gathering information but so far there is no comment to offer, Kunal Ghosh said.

The controversy took an unexpected turn with Darshan Hiranandani submitting an affidavit accepting that he used to post questions against Adani using Mahua Moitra's Parliament login. Mahua Moitra rejected the claim and said he has been pressurised to give the statement.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Poulomi Ghosh Poulomi Ghosh is a journalist with Hindustan Times, New Delhi. ...view detail
Schools in India should ensure inclusivity and celebrate diversity of students with different learning needs, the education ministry has recommended in fresh guidelines, which entails making curriculum culturally and socially accommodating, encouraging teachers to develop knowledge and skills to teach all children in a class, and strengthening resource centres by equipping them with assistive devices. The guidelines recommended there should not be any kind of discrimination, negative dispositions and violence against or among students (HT archive)

The National Guidelines and Implementation Framework on Equitable and Inclusive Education have been prepared by the National Council of Educational Research and Training in line with the National Education Policy 2020 that envisages transforming India by providing high-quality equitable and inclusive education to ensure students with diverse learning needs are able to thrive.

The guidelines, released on Friday, have been prepared focusing on children from socioeconomically disadvantaged groups that are further categorized on the basis of their gender identities, sociocultural identities, disabilities, geographical identities and economic conditions.

READ | Appearing for board exams twice a year won't be mandatory: Education Minister

The objective is to develop a sense of belongingness, respect and acceptance of diversity by recognizing, identifying and fostering the capabilities of every individual. sensitize stakeholders and to develop the capacities of teachers to address the learning needs of students from different backgrounds, the guidelines stated.

Marginalised students encounter learning issues due to several reasons, including lack of identification of learning needs, stereotypes against providing educational opportunities children belonging to certain sections, unavailability of local teachers, lack of context specific teaching-learning material in local language, infrastructural lags like labs, library, residential school facilities, inaccessible support system and untimely distribution of scholarships and other incentive, among others, the guidelines said.

Noting that it was important for schools to facilitate inclusion of all children, the guidelines recommended there should not be any kind of discrimination, negative dispositions and violence against or among students. They further say that schools should provide adequate facility of resource persons, and frequency of support in the school such as speech therapists, occupational therapists, psychologists, physiotherapists etc.

READ | New national student ID scheme requires parental consent for student registrations

State should ensure facilities available and accessible in schools for vocational exposure and skill training to students belonging to SEDGs. Quality skill training to students opting subjects based on different vocations, trades or skills must be provided, they added.

While emphasizing on the importance of the accessible infrastructure in schools to promote inclusivity, the guidelines also recommended that the schools should also ensure timely distribution of proper aids and appliances, repair and maintenance, reissuing appliances in case of damage or loss.

The guidelines stressed on the capacity building of teachers. A teacher may require additional support in terms of accessible materials, modifications in infrastructure, and technological interventions, therapeutic support, maintaining linearity between home and school and planning need-based assessment activities, they stated.

The guidelines also emphasized on the importance of collaboration between schools with NGOs and organizations working in the area of health, education, social welfare and gender for educational, medical, therapeutic and psychosocial interventions required by marginalised children.

Local communities and organisations can fill the gap wherever immediate resources and services are required at the local level, the guidelines said. Collaboration can be done with media organizations for local awareness on inclusive education to steer public attitude towards inclusion.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Fareeha Iftikhar Fareeha Iftikhar is a Special Correspondent with the national political bureau of the Hindustan Times. She tracks the education ministry, and covers the beat at the national level for the newspaper. She also writes on issues related to gender, human rights and different policy matters. ...view detail
Bengaluru: A 45-year-old farmer died by suicide in Chamarajanagara district of Karnataka, after an alleged social boycott by community leaders, officers familiar with the matter said on Saturday. According to a complaint filed by the deceaseds brother, the incident began when Nayaka community leaders conducted a meeting at the Omkara Siddeshwara temple premises. During the meet, they imposed a fine of  50,000 on a man named Shivappa Nayaka, for what appeared to be a minor infraction. (File photo)

The victim, a resident of Yadavanahalli village in Gundlupet taluk, died by suicide on Friday, the police said..

According to a complaint filed by the deceaseds brother, the incident began when Nayaka community leaders conducted a meeting at the Omkara Siddeshwara temple premises. During the meet, they imposed a fine of 50,000 on a man named Shivappa Nayaka, for what appeared to be a minor infraction.

The leaders then directed everyone not to interact with Shivappa Nayaka or his family members until he pays the fine. However, the victim, also a friend of Nayaka, visited his home to console him. Upon learning this, the community leaders levied a fine of 6,000 on the victim too, the complaint said.

After being socially boycotted, the victim died by suicide on Friday morning, when his wife and children were away visiting relatives. Following the incident, victims relatives and villagers held a protest outside the Begur police station, demanding that the community leaders be held accountable for the victims death. They insisted on the immediate arrest of those they believed were responsible for the tragic event.

Bengur police station deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Lakshmaiah arrived at the scene to address the protesters concerns. He assured the crowd that the accused individuals would be apprehended.

We have registered a case under sections 149 (unlawful assembly) and 306 (abetment of suicide) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) against 17 people, including all the leaders who supported the decision of social boycott, the DSP said, adding that further investigation into the matter is underway.

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Raipur Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel (PTI)

For five years, chief minister Bhupesh Baghel has led the Congress government in Chhattisgarh after the party swept to victory in 2018, defeating a three-term Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government led by Raman Singh. During his tenure, Baghel has faced several challenges, from investigating agencies alleging scams and arresting his officials, to murmurs of an internal Congress leadership squabble. But as crucial assembly elections are two weeks away, Baghel told Ritesh Mishra and Dipankar Ghose in an interview said that there was no anti-incumbency in the state, the Congress has ensured all round development of every section, the only target of ED and IT raids was to defame his government, why the Chhattisgarhiya identity he has nurtured was so important for the state and how it has reawakened a sense of pride among the people of the state. Edited excerpts:

Q: What is your assessment for the upcoming elections and what are your primary issues?

It will be a wonderful election. People have made up their minds that the Congress government will come back. For five years, we have served every section of the society. Whether it is farmers, labourers, women, youth, adivasis, or traders, we have brought economic betterment to their lives. We have strengthened health care and culture. The people are very enthusiastic and happy with the government.

Q: What three policies of yours do you think are benefitting you the most in the elections?

The first would be that we have bettered everyones financial condition. Second, we worked on strengthening health care in both rural and urban areas. Third, there has been significant improvement in education, we have reopened schools shut in Bastar, and started Swami Atmanand English schools and colleges(CHECK). Thus far, there were no government English medium school or colleges. Besides this, another crucial policy is our culture. Whether it is Ram Van Gaman Path, the Adivasi Nritya Mahotsav, Devgudis or Kabir Sarovar, we have worked on it all.

Q: That you are a Chhattisgarhiya and an OBC, is a very important part of your identity. Was this a targeted plan to awaken regional pride?

People in Chhattisgarh have always been ignored, and this was one of the big reasons behind the demand for a separate state in the first place. But over 18 years, Raman Singh didnt touch this aspect, and in fact, tried to suppress it. When we came, we brought back Chhattisgarhi festivals and traditions, we brought the Chhattisgarhi Olympics, we strengthened the local dialects and languages, and introduced a state song. This resonated with people and they took pride in our traditions. They felt that their own rule has now arrived.

Q: But will this Chhattisgarhi sentiment translate into votes?

It is not important whether this gets converted into votes or not. It is important that the people of Chhattisgarh feel pride in Chhattisgarh. Their voices should be heard in the ministries. Earlier, you couldnt talk in Chhattisgarhi in the mantralaya (secretariat), or to the officials. Now its not just Chhattisgarhi  it is Maria, Muria, Halbi, Gondi in Bastar or Surgujia. People feel happy about this.

Q: In Bastar, you swept the last elections, as you did in Surguja. Dont you think there will be a dent in your tribal votes?

That wont happen. People think this is our own government. Who wants to lose their own government? And their government can only come when they pick MLAs. They will save their own government.

Q: Bihar has done a caste count which the Congress has supported. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said that Chhattisgarh, too, will conduct a caste survey if you come to power. Is this another big issue ahead of 2024?

The first thing is that they (the Union government) should have done the 2021 census. Besides, the data from the 2011 socio-economic caste census never came out. This is not just a political study, but an economic and social study. It is not just about OBCs. Among SCs, STs, OBCs and even the upper castes, there is always a section left behind in the race for development. Should there not be policies for them? Who was left behind? Why were they left behind? Should we not know? Governments will attend to them, policies will be made. This is not just a political conversation, but a conversation of the development of the entire country.

Q: But Raman Singh says some of this politics divides people, divides the state. He says it doesnt matter if the CM is an OBC, SC or ST, it should be someone who will work.

I have already said that this is not just about politics, economical and social prosperity is important. For instance, we just gave 10,000 jobs to primitive tribes. Straight recruitment. Because even among the tribes, there are many who cant even give competitive examinations. Where is the politics in this? Raman Singh is defining this all wrong. And they are the ones who divide, who set fire to society, with their communalism. They are talking about us?

Q: The Sahu votebank is the biggest OBC chunk in Chhattisgarh and voted for the Congress the last time. They have been inclined towards the BJP in the past, and after the BJP gave a ticket to the father of a boy killed in an alleged communal incident, do you think the Sahus will stay with you?

The murder of anyone is tragic. State government ensured they got justice. Police arrested the murderers. All the procedures were completed and the challan was presented to the court. The government also announced compensation and gave employment to the victims family. After all of this, if you are doing politics, it means you, the largest political party in the world, have no agenda left.

Q: Will the Sahu votes shift away though?

No, there will be no big difference. If we had done injustice to the family, it would have been another matter. It was a fight between two children. The fight escalated, and a murder took place. That a murder took place is wrong, there should never be violence. But it happened. We investigated and made no attempt to hide the truth. In other places, farmers were trampled and the Centre and state governments tried to save the accused. Here, there was no such attempt.

Q: You have dropped 18 MLAs, and some of them are angry. One has filed as an Independent. How will you tackle this?

This is not happening for the first time. When a ticket gets cut, someone will be angry. But they are part of the family, and we are talking internally. Most we have assuaged, some are left, we will talk to them too. There is still time left for the elections.

Q: You said that the BJP has spread communalism. But lots of people say that when the Congress focusses on Ram Van Gaman Path, or tries to cement the Hindu identity, they are playing on the BJPs pitch. This brings a communal agenda to Chhattisgarh that may not have existed before.

Please understand one thing, our traditions and culture are part of our lives, and if we are furthering those, there is nothing wrong. We made the Ram Van Gaman Path in Rajim, Champaran and Chandkhuri. We installed Ram statues in all these places. We are not playing politics with his name. We are not saying we have set up so many statues of Lord Ram, vote for us. This is Chhattisgarhs identity. Ram came here when he was sent to the forests. He is the Ram of adivasis, Sabris Ram, Kaushalyas Ram. Kaushalya is Chhattisgarhs daughter. There are many who value Kabir here, and we are making a sarovar. There are lots of adivasis and we organise an adivasi mahotsav. Tell me where else this happens. People would only know Chhattisgarh from the prism of Naxalism.

Q: There have been ED and I-T raids on your government, and this is a big part of the BJP campaign, that your government has been scam ridden, from coal to liquor.

In 2020, the BJP lost the Jharkhand elections and soon after there were Income Tax raids here. They revealed nothing. Then in those same places, against those same officers, the ED (Enforcement Directorate) conducted raids. Some they arrested. Now they are telling the high court there should be a CBI enquiry. If there are such big agencies, IT and ED, why do they go to court three years later and say CBI probe? That means they have found nothing. The other thing is that they are entering anywhere without so much as a predicate offence. They are doing what they want.

Q: Will this not affect the elections though?

The people of Chhattisgarh have seen through this.

Q: They sent officials close to you to jail. Are you the target?

It is clear that they want to defame the government. In the Mahadev app case, for instance. We started the investigation. In how many states is that app functional? Did they investigate? No, we did. We arrested 450 people. We seized assets, from mobiles, gadgets, laptops. We are investigating and suddenly they have jumped in a targeted manner. The question is when you want to act against Mahadev, state governments cannot do it alone, Chhattisgarh cant either. We have written to the centre that this is being operated from abroad, they should shut it down. Why arent they doing it? This is the biggest question. Are you sure you havent taken any election donations from him?

Q: You have changed 18 MLAs and while you say people are happy with you and the government, will anti-incumbency against your legislators be a problem?

There is no anti-incumbency against the government. If there is a little bit, I do not know, but broadly it is not there. In some places there may be anti incumbency against legislators, sometimes this comes up among party workers. The party decided that some legislators will have to be changed. It is possible that some people may fight Lok Sabha elections. That is why some are dropped. The party works according to a strategy, how can we reveal everything all at once.

Q: Last question, how many seats will you win?

More than 75.

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Bengaluru: In the aftermath of the Mudpipe Cafe fire incident, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has ordered an immediate closure of 12 establishments, such as pubs, bars, restaurants and hookah bars, and issued notices to 86 others for violations related to licensing regulations and other lapses, officials familiar with the matter said on Saturday. HT Image

The development comes after the civic agency conducted inspections on 232 establishments across eight zones.

According to BBMP data, a total of 1,118 pubs, bars, and restaurants have been granted licenses by the civic body, with the highest concentration found in the south zone. KV Trilok Chandra, the BBMP special commissioner (Health) said, On the day of the inspections, the BBMP audited 232 of these establishments, which resulted in the issuance of notices to 86 businesses and the closure of 12.

Officials who conducted these surprise inspections verified the establishments trade licenses and conducted checks to identify violations. Additionally, the BBMP examined the implementation of fire safety measures.

The officer added that the inspection activity would continue until all establishments are thoroughly scrutinised. The officer further emphasised that illegal businesses would be shut down without leniency, and establishments found in violation of specific rules would be required to rectify the issues.

These actions were prompted by the tragic fire incident at Mudpipe Cafe in the SG Palya police station limits, where a cafe staff member sustained severe injuries while escaping the building, that caught fire due to a leaked LPG cylinder. In response to this incident, the police initiated a suo motu FIR, charging the building owner of negligence.

The owner, Karan Jain, was arrested on Thursday and was subsequently released on bail after questioning. Jain provided the trade license he had obtained from the BBMP, which was only for running the hotel. Jain was also questioned about other permissions and no-objection certificates he had acquired from the departments concerned.

The FIR revealed that the restaurant had been operating without the mandatory no-objection certificate from the fire department and had failed to provide functional emergency exits on the premises. This incident evoked memories of the tragic Carlton Towers fire on Old Airport Road in 2010, in which nine lives were lost, and more than 70 individuals were injured.

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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
Incidents of terrorism, militant attacks, Maoism and ethnic violence have reduced by 65% over the last decade due to the efforts of brave policemen, Union home minister Amit Shah said on Saturday, and highlighted the central governments zero-tolerance policy towards terrorism. Union home minister Amit Shah pays tribute at the National Police Memorial on Police Commemoration Day, in New Delhi (PTI)

Speaking on the occasion of Police Commemoration Day, Shah paid tribute to 36,250 policemen, including 188 in the last one year, who have sacrificed their lives for the countrys internal security since Independence.

In the last decade, terrorism, militant attacks, naxalism and ethnic violence have reduced by 65% from their peak levels due to the efforts of our brave policemen, Shah said during an event at the National Police Memorial in New Delhi. The police memorial is not merely symbolic but a recognition of the sacrifice and dedication of our police personnel towards nation building, he added.

Of all the personnel serving the country, policemen have the toughest duty, be it day or night, winter or summer, festival or regular day, policemen do not get a chance to celebrate festivals with their families. All our police forces spend the golden years of their lives away from their families on the countrys long land border and protect the country through their bravery and sacrifices, he said, adding that internal security or border security of any country is not possible without a vigilant police system.

READ | Terror ecosystem has to be destroyed, ruthless approach needed, says Amit Shah

The Union home minister also hailed the policemen for proving themselves on every occasion  from combating terrorism, stopping crimes, maintaining law and order while facing a crowd, protecting common citizens during disasters and accidents to being on the front line during difficult times like the Covid-19 pandemic.

Referring to the proposed criminal laws  Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS-2023), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS-2023) and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA-2023), which were introduced in the Lok Sabha on August 11 to replace the British-era Indian Penal Code, 1860, Criminal Procedure Act, 1898, and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, respectively, Shah said these will completely change our criminal justice system.

These three laws will replace 150-year-old British-era laws and will not only reflect Indian-ness but will also protect the rights of every citizen in accordance with the spirit of the constitution of India, he added.

During the event, Shah also hailed the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led governments zero tolerance policy towards terrorism, and pointed to the enactment of stricter laws and ensuring the best counterterrorism force in the world by setting up the police technology mission for modernisation of forces.

He added that for the welfare of police personnel, the government has also made timely changes in Ayushman-CAPF (central armed police forces), housing scheme, CAPF e-Awas Web Portal, Prime Minister Scholarship Scheme, Central Ex-gratia, Disability Ex-gratia, Air Courier Services and Central Police Welfare Store.
India on Sunday sent a military heavy lift aircraft with around 6.5 tonnes of medical aid and 32 tonnes of disaster relief material for the Palestinians suffering amid the war between Israel and Hamas militants, the ministry of external affairs (MEA) said. IAF C-17 flight carrying medical aid and disaster relief material departs for El-Arish airport in Egypt.(X/ @MEAIndia)

The C-17 aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) departed from Ghaziabad's Hindon airbase station for Egypt's El-Arish airport with around 38-tonne-aid including essential life-saving medicines, surgical items, tents, sleeping bags, tarpaulins, sanitary utilities, water purification tablets among other necessary items.

Arindam Bagchi, MEA spokesperson, took to his X(formerly Twitter) to share the development. He said, "India sends Humanitarian aid to the people of ! An IAF C-17 flight carrying nearly 6.5 tonnes of medical aid and 32 tonnes of disaster relief material for the people of Palestine departs for El-Arish airport in Egypt. The material includes essential life-saving medicines, surgical items, tents, sleeping bags, tarpaulins, sanitary utilities, water purification tablets among other necessary items.

Meanwhile, around 20 trucks moved into Gaza from Egypt's Rafah border point on Saturday with medicines and limited amounts of food such as canned tuna and pasta.

However, UN officials have said at least 100 trucks a day are required in Gaza to cover urgent needs, and that any delivery of aid should be sustained and at scale. Before the outbreak of conflict, several hundred trucks were normally arriving in the enclave daily, Reuters had reported.

The opening of Gazas only non-Israeli border crossing has been complicated by the need for Egypt, Israel and Hamas to all agree for it to happen. Egypt and Israel have blamed each other and Hamas for Rafah staying shut until now.

Earlier on Thursday, prime minister Narendra Modi spoke to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and expressed condolence for the grave hospital attack which killed over 500 people. During the conversation, PM Modi reiterated India's long-standing principled position on the Israel-Palestine issue and raised grave concerns over the terrorism, violence and deteriorating security situation in the region.

The conflict was triggered by unprecedented attacks by Hamas militants on October 7. Israel has launched a massive counter-offensive against the Islamic militant group. Over 1,400 people were killed in Israel and at least 210 were taken captive. Around 4,385 Palestinians are said to have been killed in Gaza in the Israeli offensive that followed.

(With inputs from agencies)

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An Agniveer died in the line of duty on the treacherous terrains of the Siachen glacier, the Indian Army's Fire and Fury Corps said on Sunday. Agniveer (Operator) Gawate Akshay Laxman.(X/FireandFuryCorps )

The Agniveer has been identified as Operator Gawate Akshay Laxman, a resident of Maharashtra. The exact details behind Laxman's death are not immediately known.

Agniveer (Operator) Gawate Akshay Laxman is the first Agniveer to have laid down his life in operations. He was deployed in the world's highest battlefield Siachen glacier," an unidentified military official was quoted saying by ANI.

The Indian Army's Leh-headquartered Fire and Fury Corps also offered condolences to the Laxam's family.

"Quartered in snow silent to remain, when the bugle calls they shall rise and march again. All ranks of Fire and Fury Corps salute the supreme sacrifice of #Agniveer (Operator) Gawate Akshay Laxman, in the line of duty, in the unforgiving heights of Siachen and offer deepest condolences to the family," the Fire and Fury Corps wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The Indian Army in a message on social media post also said that it stands firm with the Laxman's family in this hour of grief.

"General Manoj Pande (COAS) and All Ranks of the Indian Army salute the supreme sacrifice of Agniveer (Operator) Gawate Akshay Laxman, in the line of duty, in the unforgiving heights of Siachen. The Indian Army stands firm with the bereaved family in this hour of grief," the Indian Army wrote.

Situated near the Indo-Pak Lince of Control, Siachen Glacier is known as the highest-altitude battle site in the world. It is the largest glacier in India and the second-largest in the world.

Earlier in June, one Army jawan died and three soldiers had sustained injuries in a fire accident in the Siachen glacier.

The Agniveer Scheme was announced in June 2022 for recruitment in the armed forces. The scheme is meant only for recruiting soldiers and not officers in the forces. The soldiers recruited under this Agneepath scheme are known as Agniveers.

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India's humanitarian aid for the people of Palestine arrived in Egypt on Sunday. External affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi posted on social media platform X, s humanitarian aid for the people of Palestine arrives in Egypt. Amb @indembcairo @AjitVGupte handed over the relief material to Egyptian Red Crescent for onward transmission to Palestine.



The Indian Air Force's C-17 aircraft which took off from Ghaziabad's Hindon airbase carried nearly 6.5 tonnes of medical aid and 32 tonnes of disaster relief material including life-saving medicines, surgical items, tents, sleeping bags, tarpaulins, sanitary utilities, water purification tablets among other necessary items. India has sent nearly 6.5 tonnes of medical aid and 32 tonnes of disaster relief material for the people of Palestine.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had spoken to Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas in which he condemned the loss of lives in the attack on a hospital in Gaza. Later, the prime minister took to X and said India will continue to send humanitarian assistance to the people of Palestine.



It was the first instance when PM Modi had spoken to the Palestinian leader since the Hamas attacks across Israel on October 7. The prime minister had extended support to Israel and condemned the attack by Hamas.



More than 4,741 Palestinians killed and 15,898 wounded in Israeli strikes on Gaza since October 7, the Palestinian health ministry was quoted by Reuters as saying on Sunday.



In another development, a second convoy of aid trucks entered the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing, heading towards the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, Reuters reported.

A total of around 19 trucks carrying medical and food supplies had been inspected by UNRWA, the UN's Palestinian refugee agency. The first convoy of 20 trucks of supplies had entered Gaza on Saturday.

Israel has imposed a total blockade and launched air strikes on Gaza in response to a deadly attack on Israeli soil by Hamas on Oct. 7. The Rafah crossing had been out of operation since shortly afterwards, and bombardments on the Gaza side had damaged roads and buildings.



(With Reuters inputs)

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR HT News Desk Follow the latest breaking news and developments from India and around the world with Hindustan Times' newsdesk. From politics and policies to the economy and the environment, from local issues to national events and global affairs, we've got you covered. ...view detail
A team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) from Bengaluru on Sunday apprehended an absconding accused from Tamil Nadu in a Sri Lankan human trafficking case. NIA ad taken over the case from local police given its international dimensions. (Representative Image)

The accused, 39-year-old Mohamed Imran Khan alias Haja Najerbheeden, had been on the run since June 2021, the agency said.

An Absconder Tracking Team (ATT) of the NIA in Bengaluru monitored his movements over the past several months, leading to his capture from an undisclosed location in Tamil Nadus Theni District.

Investigations revealed that Imran Khan is a pivotal figure in a broader conspiracy involving international human trafficking, the NIA said. He acted as the main conduit responsible for transporting Sri Lankan nationals from their home country to India and subsequently to other nations.

During preliminary investigations, the accused who hails from Tamil Nadus Ramanathapuram was found to be a smuggler with a long-standing history of illegal activities in the region.

He was a fugitive wanted by multiple law enforcement agencies for his involvement in various illicit operations, the NIA said.

The case originated when the Mangalore South Police acted on credible intelligence, revealing that a group of Sri Lankan nationals had arrived and taken residence in Mangalore without possessing valid documents. This operation had led to the arrest of 38 Sri Lankan nationals in June 2021 from Mangalore.

Investigations revealed that Sri Lankan nationals were brought to Mangalore from Sri Lanka via Tamil Nadu and Bengaluru, the NIA said.

The agency found that the accused had collaborated with a Sri Lankan national named Eesan who was formerly associated with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a banned terror outfit in the island nation. They had devised a plan to illegally transport 38 Sri Lankan nationals from their home country to various locations within Tamil Nadu.

They lured these individuals with false promises, including the prospect of obtaining legitimate documentation for emigration to Canada and securing employment opportunities, the NIA said. The accused Imran Khan, along with other co-accused, trafficked Sri Lankan nationals to various locations in Bengaluru and Mangaluru.

The federal agency had taken over the case from local police given its international dimensions. NIA had filed a preliminary charge sheet against five Indian accused in this case Dhinakaran alias Ayya, Kasi Viswanathan, Rasool, Satham Ushen, and Abdul Muheetu, in October 2021. To date, a total of 13 suspects have been arraigned in the case by the NIA, the agency said, adding that investigations in this case remain open.

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Martin Knofel asked his wife Nguyen Thi Hoa Where's the fish sauce? in a perfect Nghe An accent, giving his wife a big laugh to begin their dinner together.

Videos of daily life experience by the couple, both of whom are 39 and reside in Switzerland, have attracted a lot of attention because of how Knofel uses local slang and speaks Vietnamese in a perfect dialects and accents of Central Vietnams Nghe An province, where his wife hailed from.

"I enjoy learning Vietnamese, and I especially love to talk in Nghe An dialect," the German man says. "By doing so, I can better communicate with my in-laws and help my wife to partly relieve the feeling of homesickness.

Knofel and Hoa. Photo courtesy of Knofel

Plenty of foreigners learn Vietnamese, but few choose to learn the Nghe An accent, an exceptionally provincial vernacular that even modern Saigonese and Hanoians have trouble understanding.

Knofel first arrived in Vietnam in 2007 for business purposes. He and Hoa met each other through a mutual connection and it was love at their first sight. The couple held a wedding ceremony shortly after that before relocating to Switzerland in 2010.

Their first days in Switzerland were not exactly smooth. Knofel, at the time a fresh graduate, did not earn much, and Hoas job hunting as a foreigner did not go well. There was a time when the most valuable object they owned was a bicycle as they struggled to pay bills.

Having to manage the language barrier and a tight financial situation at the same time, Hoa felt unmotivated and cried every day. Knofel tried his best to comfort her whenever he saw her cry, saying things like: "You would not have needed to leave your family if it had not been for me, so I will make that up to you."

And he fulfilled his promise by doing household chores with Hoa after work, spending time with her, and encouraging her to pursue a degree in healthcare, which helped Hoa subsequently earn a position at a hospital for traumatology and orthopedics.

Hoa did not cry anymore, but she still at times sat in a silent daze staring vacantly into space. Guessing that Hoa was feeling homesick, Knofel thought things could be better for his wife if she could speak her mother tongue. And because of that, he started learning how to speak Vietnamese in the dialect of the northern province of Nghe An Province. He knew it would be extremely difficult but he determined to give it his all.

Knofel was indefatigable. He eagerly spoke Vietnamese in the Nghe An dialect with Hoa more frequently, and he called his in-laws in his spare time to enrich his vocabulary, despite having been confused with local pronouns his in-laws used even after 20 visits to their Nghe An home.

"He asked How do you pronounce this? whenever he saw a new word," Hoa said.

The German man always concentrated on what Hoa and her family were saying whenever they had conversations as well. He tried to guess the meaning of the words if he could, and asked Hoa or others to explain them to him if otherwise. His vocabulary grew over time using this method.

Hoas relatives got confused and laughed when they first heard Knofel speak Vietnamese, as they could not understand what he was saying, which made him shy at the beginning. But as Hoa explained to him that the laughter was to encourage and compliment him instead of to mock him, Knofel grew more confident. He now speaks Vietnamese to every local person he meets whenever he visits Vietnam.

As Knofel self-taught himself the language, he sometimes encountered funny situations. For example, there was one time when he asked his mother-in-law: "Have you ever eaten khu man fruits?"

His question made everyone present laugh aloud before explaining to him that "khu man" is a slang for "buttocks" in Nghe An.

Since people from other regions of Vietnam often find Nghe An accent difficult to understand or at times even indecipherable, Knofel still has difficulties communicating sometimes, especially when he talks to people from other regions of Vietnam. Hoa then taught him the "standardized" Vietnamese pronunciation, and Knofel is so good at it that he now automatically alternates between the Nghe An dialect and the "standardized" pronunciation depending on the people he talks to.

But as Hoa said, her husband still feels closer to those from Nghe An who speak the provinces dialect.

Occasionally accompanying his father-in-law to visit the elder mans friends, Knofel impresses everyone with his Vietnamese skills. He gets asked sometimes: "Why are you so good at Vietnamese?"

"Im Nghe Ans son-in-law," he often replies.

Knofel and his father-in-law in May, 2023. Photo courtesy of Knofel

Despite that, Knofel has never stopped improving his Vietnamese skills. He can now read any long Vietnamese poem and write simple sentences. He has many books about Vietnam by German authors, and he regularly researches the countrys historical figures as well. He said he especially admires President Ho Chi Minh and General Vo Nguyen Giap.

The German man calls his in-laws every weekend now to get updated on their lives, to talk about a new dish his wife has just cooked, and to send his greetings to his in-laws relatives, neighbors, and friends.

Knofel has also become a fan of Vietnamese cuisine, especially nuoc mam (Vietnamese fish sauce). Hoa has to prepare a small bowl of nuoc mam with ginger, lime, and chili in every meal she and Knofel share, otherwise her husband does not touch any dish. Their meals often include Vietnamese dishes, and Hoa cooks her husband pho or other Vietnamese-style noodle dishes every weekend when she has more spare time.

Knofel also hits the nuoc mam stall in supermarkets every time he goes for groceries, and he brings three bottles of the sauce with him every time he travels just in case he cannot find it there.

Hoa said she thus always feels happy despite staying in a foreign country. She can speak her mother tongue, can eat her home countrys specialties, and can share everything with her husband knowing that he always cares about her emotions.

"He [Knofel] always knows how Im feeling just by hearing my voice," she said, adding that when the couple argues, her anger always goes away the moment Knofel starts speaking Vietnamese in the Nghe An dialect.

The couple has been uploading videos of them speaking Nghe An-ese with each other on their social media account over the past year. The posts have garnered interest from many people thanks to Knofels genuine facial expressions and voice.

"Not only me but also every viewer feels relaxed watching the videos," Hoa said. "His [Knofels] funny jokes with his Nghe An accent always fill our family with laughter too."
The sixth flight carrying 143 citizens including two Nepalese nationals flew out of Israel under India's Operation Ajay. External affairs minister S Jaishankar took to social media platform X to share a picture of the passengers on board the aircraft.



In a video shared by news agency PTI, the passengers were seen waving the tricolour on board the aircraft. On October 17, the fifth flight carrying 286 passengers including 18 Nepalese citizens had flown out of Israel which is in the midst of a fierce war with Palestine. Indian passengers on board the special aircraft designated to facilitate the return of Indian nationals from Israel. (S Jaishankar/X)

On October 11, the Indian government had launched Operation Ajay to facilitate the return of Indian nationals from war-torn Israel. The operation was necessitated after Palestinian militant group Hamas based in the Gaza Strip launched coordinated attacks on Israel in the morning of October 7.

So far, five chartered flights from Tel Aviv arrived in Delhi with nearly 1,200 passengers, including children.



More than 4,741 Palestinians killed and 15,898 wounded in Israeli strikes on Gaza since oct.7, the Palestinian health ministry was quoted by Reuters as saying.



India has sent a military aircraft laden with around 6.5 tonnes of medical aid along with 32 tonnes of disaster relief material including essential life-saving medicines, surgical items, tents, sleeping bags, tarpaulins, sanitary utilities, and water purification tablets for the Palestinians suffering amid the war between Israel and Hamas.

This comes days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and extended his condolences over the loss of civilian lives at al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza.

We will continue to send humanitarian assistance for the Palestinian people. Shared our deep concern at the terrorism, violence and deteriorating security situation in the region. Reiterated Indias long-standing principled position on the Israel-Palestine issue", the prime minister posted on social media platform X.



India had also extended support to Israel after the Jewish state was hit by Hamas attacks on October 7.

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New Delhi: Pakistan indulged in unprovoked firing from across the border at least six times in 2022.

Pakistani troops have fired upon Indian soldiers and border posts on over a dozen occasions since February 2021, when the two countries agreed to abide by the 2003 ceasefire agreement, people in the security establishment said.

The latest incident took place on Tuesday in the Arnia sector in Jammu, when Pak Rangers opened fire on Border Security Force (BSF) men, injuring two jawans. The border guarding force retaliated with heavy firing.

The ceasefire violation on Tuesday in Arnia is another example that Pakistan army doesnt want the border to remain peaceful, said a security official, who didnt want to be named.

Whenever they fire upon us, they make excuses that their personnel had nothing to do with it, he added. But it has been noticed in the past that Pak Rangers usually fire on the Indian side either to divert attention from some major infiltration being planned or when major political developments have taken place on either side.

READ | Pakistan agencies trying to keep gasping militancy alive, says J-K DGP

Pakistan indulged in unprovoked firing from across the border at least six times in 2022 and four times this year till date, according to BSF data accessed by HT. In 2021, 72 such cross-border firing incidents were recorded at the international border and the Line of Control (LoC), but most were before the two sides agreed to the ceasefire.

The decision to recommit to the 2003 ceasefire agreement was taken after a meeting between the directors general of military operations of India and Pakistan on February 24-25, 2021.

Prior to that, incidents of cross-border firing on patrolling troops, villagers, Indian army and BSF forward posts were recorded every year in the thousands. There were close to 5,133 incidents of ceasefire violations in 2020, the highest since 2003, while 3,479 violations were logged in 2019, when Indian government removed Article 370 from the Constitution, and 2,140 in 2018. Article 370 gave special status to erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state, which was bifurcated into two union territories  J&K and Ladakh - on August 5, 2019, by the Centre.

Tuesdays incident has not worsened tensions at the border, but the BSF and army have been asked to keep increased vigil.

READ | Armies of India, Pakistan agree to ceasefire along LoC from Feb 24 midnight

Pakistan continues to maintain terrorist infrastructure, including terrorists launch pads and training camps, across the border, besides a network of narcotics suppliers, who use cross-border smugglers and drones to send contraband to India, a second officer said, declining to be named.

The Indian government has maintained that New Delhi desires normal neighbourly relations with Pakistan and is committed to addressing issues, if any, bilaterally and peacefully in an atmosphere free of terror, hostility and violence. The onus is on Pakistan to create such a conducive atmosphere by taking credible, verifiable and irreversible action to not allow any territory under its control to be used for cross-border terrorism against India in any manner, the government has said in Parliament.

India and Pakistan share a 3,323 km border, of which 221 km of international border and 740 km of LoC is in Jammu and Kashmir.
The parliamentary standing committee on Home Affairs on October 27 will convene to consider and adopt the draft reports in connection with the replacement of the India's existing crimanal justice system under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and the Evidence Act with new bills. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023, were introduced in the Parliament during the Monsoon Session(PTI)

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023, were introduced in the Parliament during the Monsoon Session, in a bid to replace the British-era laws.

The three bills were then referrd to Parliament's select committee which was asked to submit its report within three months.

Union home minister Amit Shah, while introducing, emphasised that the bills aimed at providing justice and not punishment. At the International Lawyers Conference 2023, Shah described the bills don't have any colonial imprints, unlike the existing laws.

"Many changes have been made in the new laws to promote technology. The definition of documents has been greatly expanded, legal recognition has been given to electronic and digital records, messages available on digital devices have been recognized, and summons will also be considered valid in all types of electronic modes, from SMS to email," he said.

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Days after BJP MP Nishikant Dubey's cash for query allegation against Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra that flared up a slanging match among both the parliamentarians, Moitra's party colleague Derek O'Brien came up with an update on behalf of his party. Responding to attacks by the saffron party over TMC's silence on the matter, the Rajya Sabha MP said his party's leadership will take appropriate decision on the allegations against Moitra after the parliamentary ethics committee concludes its probe. Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Derek O'Brien (ANI)

The Lok Sabha MP has been accused of being bribed in the form of cash and expensive gifts from industrialist Darshan Hiranandani in exchange of asking questions against Gautam Adani in the Parliament. The allegations were first made by BJP MP Dubey, who later wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla seeking an investigation into the matter in line with breach of parliamentary privilege, criminal conspiracy and contempt of the House by the TMC MP.

O'Brien said he observed reports in the media and said Moitra has been advised by the party leadership to clarify her position regarding the allegations levelled against her, which she already did. "Since the matter has to do with an elected MP, her rights and privileges, let the matter be investigated by the right forum of Parliament, after which the party leadership will take an appropriate decision," he told news agency PTI.

Earlier, TMC refused to comment on the controversy expressed its unwillingness to get into the row and therefore will be maintaining distance from it.

"No comments...Regarding this issue, the TMC will not say anything... The related person may answer this, not the TMC party," party's general secretary Kunal Ghosh said.

Trinamool's stand on the matter invited further attacks from the BJP which said it is not surprised that party supremo and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee abandoned Mahua Moitra like many other scam-tainted party leaders.
Congress on Sunday released its second list of candidates to contest the upcoming Rajasthan assembly election. The list featured senior party leaders Govind Ram Meghwal and Prasadi Lal Meena among 43 candidates. On Saturday, the party released it first list of 33 candidates which had chief minister Ashok Gehlot's name as well as his former deputy Sachin Pilot amid reports of rift within the Congress' Rajasthan unit virtually bifurcating it into two camps. Four members from Pilot's camp found their names in the first list. Senior Congress leader and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot(PTI)

Among other Congress leaders, the second list has names Vishvendra Singh, Raghu Sharma and Sanyam Lodha. In the previous list, the party fielded senior leaders CP Joshi, Govind Singh Dotasara and Krishna Poonia.

Rajastan will go to single-phase polls on November 25. The counting will be done on December 3.

Here is the second list:

The upcoming election is believeed to be crucial for the Congress, as the party seeks to hold fast its its position in the state, which is likely to get complicated by the disagreement between Gehlot and Pilot. However, both the senior leaders are seemingly headed for reconciliation after several attempts of discussions in the presence of senior leaders in Delhi.

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On a rainy day in November more than a century ago, two Christian missionaries from Europe arrived in Sivagiri in present-day Kerala to meet Sree Narayana Guru. "You must embrace Christianity," said one missionary. "What is your age?" asked Narayana Guru. "Thirty," replied the other. "I was a Christian even before you were born," pat came the reply. Sree Narayana Guru.

Narayana Guru, whose universal and humanitarian outlook shook up caste hierarchy in late 19th century Travancore, Kochi, and Malabar, revelled in his wit and wisdom even while negotiating the most treacherous topics. Thanks to a massive digitisation project undertaken by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay, and Sree Narayana Guru College of Commerce, Chembur, many unheard stories about the Indian philosopher and thinker may just be unfolding.

Launched in April this year, the project, called Narayana Guru Digital Research Resource Platform, has so far digitised 160,000 pages of documents on Narayana Guru's life and work dating back to more than a century, including the original Dharmam Malayalam magazine published from Sivagiri in which Narayana Guru's curious conversation with the Christian missionaries in 1928 is published. Rare books, diaries, and magazines perishing in private collections have yielded hitherto unknown facets of his personality.

Malayalam publications like Dharmam magazine in the early 20th century contained regular news on Sree Narayana Guru and his work. (Photo: Narayana Guru Digital Research Resource Platform)

The two-year project has been only scratching the surface in its first few months. Nearly a third of the 160,000 pages digitised was found in the first month itself in a private collection in Varkala, near Sivagiri where Narayana Guru came to live at the beginning of 20th century.

"It is a barefoot digitisation," says the project's principal investigator Siby K George, a philosophy professor at IIT-Bombay, about the meagre means and high ambitions of the task. "The aim is to create a repository of literature around Narayana Guru and make it available to the public and researchers as open-source online material," he adds.

"Narayana Guru's movement was a milestone in modern Indian history. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, he brought a modern sense of justice to the society. He said each human being is different, equitable distribution of resources is necessary and there should be no discrimination based on caste," explains George.

Sree Narayana Guru discussing Mahatma Gandhi's Vaikom Satyagraha for temple entry reported in Dharmam.(Photo: Narayana Guru Digital Research Resource Platform)

The archive hunters of the project, who began by pouring over thousands of documents at the home of G Priyadharshan, an 87-year-old former teacher in Varkala, in May this year, found reports about court cases against Narayana Guru, old magazines and books containing writings about his activities and even a published copy of his will.

"There are rare documents available in the collections of individuals and institutions," says Gautam Das, the project's co-principal investigator. "The scanning is done on the site, lasting for sometimes a month," he adds. The data processing is done by Informatics Publishing Limited, a Bengaluru-based information management company. The archival materials collected and scanned so far are from as early as 1904.

"Some materials are very brittle and won't be able to go through another scan," says Girija K P, project coordinator and consultant, about the documents that may soon be lost forever. "These old and rare documents are a huge treasure," she adds. Among the documents are newspapers like Mithavadi, published from Malabar, and Dharmam in Sivagiri. "Every issue of Mithavadi had a news report on Narayana Guru. It didn't allow even a small news to fall through," says Priyadharshan.

Navajeevan magazine discussed the caste system in a 1922 edition. (Photo: Narayana Guru Digital Research Resource Platform)

The project team spent a month scanning tens of thousands of pages at Priyadharshan's home, another month at the Brahma Vidyalaya Library of Sivagiri Madom founded by Narayana Guru, and 23 days at Narayana Gurukulam, also in Sivagiri set up by his disciple Nataraja Guru in the 1930s.

In the coming months, the project team will be heading to other parts of Kerala searching for invaluable documents. One of the destinations will be the Kumaran Asan National Institute of Culture near Thiruvananthapuram, which houses the diaries of iconic Malayalam poet and social reformer who was a contemporary of Narayana Guru. Asan's diaries will be among the rare writings on Narayana Guru in English. "Asan wrote his diaries in English," says Das.

Funded by the Mumbai-based Sree Narayana Mandira Samiti, the project is expected to see more private collectors of documents on Narayana Guru, especially rare publications like Dharmam, Navajeevan and Pratibha magazine edited by Asan, coming forward to help the digitisation. Funds for web hosting and related expertise will be another support the project will be looking for because of the abundance of archival material.

"We need to scientifically build on yesterday's facts," says Anish Damodaran, co-founder of the Mandira Samiti-supported Backwaters Collective formed a decade ago by prominent thinkers like social theorist Ashis Nandy and historian Vinay Lal. "Access, however, is a major roadblock," says Damodaran. The digitisation of works on Narayana Guru will be one of the steps to address the lack of access to material for reimagining knowledge.

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Visva-Bharati university has installed three plaques describing Santiniketan as a Unesco world heritage site that feature the names of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and vice-chancellor Bidyut Chakrabarty, but omits the name of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, founder of the institution. The plaques have named PM Narendra Modi, who is chancellor of West Bengals only central university, and V-C Bidyut Chakrabarty (HT)

Santiniketan town, where Tagore built Visva-Bharati over a century ago, was included in the Unescos world heritage list in September.

The plaques have named Modi, who is chancellor of West Bengals only central university, and Chakrabarty, the vice chancellor.

UNESCO specifically said they are honouring Rabindranath Tagore and his unique legacy by declaring Santiniketan as a World Heritage Site.  A megalomaniac VC and his boss seem to think UNESCO is honouring them!! Jawhar Sircar, Rajya Sabha MP of Trinamool Congress and a former bureaucrat, posted on X (formerly Twitter). Sircar also uploaded a photo of one of the plaques.

READ | Rabindranath Tagore's Santiniketan to be on UNESCO's World Heritage List

At least three such plaques have been installed at Visva-Bharati, which dont have the name of Tagore, university authorities confirmed. Chakrabarty refused to take calls.

Three plaques have been installed. The names of the chancellor and the vice-chancellor have been inscribed on them, university spokesperson Mahua Banerjee said. She declined to comment on the controversy.

Tagores great grandson Supriyo Thakur also expressed his displeasure. I am not in Santiniketan at the moment but I have heard the news. The present authorities are trying to wipe out the name of Tagore from Visva-Bharati, Thakur said over phone. There should be some protest. Those who have done it should be taught a lesson.

READ | Santiniketan on UNESCO list: BJP lauds PM Modi, TMC credits Mamata Banerjee

Just like the sun need not be identified, the relation between Tagore and Visva-Bharati need not be announced. Some people are raising irrelevant questions. There are some people whose only purpose is to oppose. Their statements have no acceptability, Bharatiya Janata Party spokesman Samik Bhattacharya said, responding to Sircars comment on social media.

India was striving for long to get a Unesco tag for this cultural site in Birbhum district. The decision to include Santiniketan in the list was taken at the 45th session of the world heritage committee held in Saudi Arabia.
At a ceremony at the Martyrs Memorial in the police lines here to pay tributes to the police and paramilitary personnel, Dhami announced several other initiatives including 100 crore for housing facilities for police personnel over the next three years. HT Image

He also announced a free annual health checkup for non-gazetted police personnel.

The chief minister said the state police has taken action against more than 4,000 drug dealers since 2021 and recovered drugs worth about 40 crore.

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Political parties have been raining sops on farmers in four of the five poll- bound states, from loan waivers to more free electricity to higher cash flow to buy inputs material to higher minimum support price for crops. The doles are being seen as a test for parties on their pro-farmer politics before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. In Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Telangana, those directly or indirectly involved in farming constitute an overwhelming majority (AFP)

In Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Telangana, those directly or indirectly involved in farming constitute an overwhelming majority. Around 63.3% of total households in Rajasthan, 57.7% in Madhya Pradesh, 47.3% in Telangana and 55% in Chhattisgarh are directly linked with agriculture, according to a 2021 NABARD study. If the indirect linkages are taken into account, the households engaged with farming will increase by 10-15 percentage points in each of these states, the study estimated.

Among these states, Madhya Pradesh has highest share of agriculture in gross value added (GVA) to overall GVA at constant prices for 2018-19. It also recorded double-digit agricultural growth in the past decade. Rajasthan is number five among all states, Chhattisgarh number 13 and Telangana 21. Despite the highest GVA share, the monthly income of farming households in Madhya Pradesh at 7,919 was among the lowest in the country and about 1,200 less than in neighbouring Rajasthan and 600 less than the mineral-rich state of Chhattisgarh.

READ | In 9 years, many pro-farmer policies implemented by BJP: Shekhawat

As large populations in these states are still dependent on agriculture for livelihood despite some migrating in non-agricultural season for labour, political parties are trying to woo them, like they do before every election. State governments have spent close to 2 lakh crore on farmer welfare in the past five years in the states bound for elections, which includes partial farm loan waivers in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.

This time, too, farmer welfare tops the agenda of all parties.

Rajasthan

Agriculture contributes to 28.9% of the desert states gross value added, and around 60% of the workforce engages in this sector. The Ashok Gehlot- led Congress government waived the entire crop loan from cooperative banks worth 15,000 crore, benefitting around 22 lakh farmers. However, the opposition said the government has not cleared loans of nationalised banks, which the state government said comes under the purview of the central government.

In 2022, Gehlot introduced the first-ever agriculture budget, aiming to win over nearly 7.5 million people and this year has provided free 2,000 units for electricity per month to farmers at a cost of 27,000 crore. The state has provided subsidy to 50,000 farmers to dig farm ponds and 1,000 crore subsidy to 60,000 farmers for set up greenhouses and plastic mulching. The state government had also introduced the Rajasthan State Farmers Debt Relief Commission Bill 2023 that will take appropriate measures to redress farmers grievances.

Framers collective Sanyukt Kissan Morcha member Himmat Gujjar credited the Rajasthan government for taking up the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project proposed brought by previous Bharatiya Janata Party government and stopping auction of farm land for failing to repay farm loans.

READ | BJP farmers wing to popularise double engine govts policies in rural U.P.

Much more needs to be done to improve farm economy. Only small assistance has been provided, said Ram Pal Jat, president of Kissan Mahapanchayat, another collective.

Former agriculture minister and BJP leader Prabhu Lal Saini said the farmers feel cheated. The farmers have been cheated as the electricity supply is poor, entire loan amount has not been waived and many agriculture schemes have been closed, he said. The Congress and BJP in Rajasthan are yet to announce their manifestos.

Madhya Pradesh

In Madhya Pradesh, which has about 7.6 million farmers, the opposition Congress has promised farm loan waiver and free electricity for agriculture. The party has also promised free fertiliser, power and water under a scheme called Lagat Congress ki, munafa kisan ka and minimum support price for wheat at 2,600 per quintal and 2,500 per quintal for rice, setting up the states own insurance company to give compensation to farmers on crop losses, purchase of cow dung at 2 per kg and 5 per litre bonus on milk. The Congress has promised a minimum monthly income to farmers.

We will also promise reduction in taxes on farm produce and supply of genuine seeds to farmers to increase agriculture production, said Kedar Sirohi, a Congress leader.

The ruling BJP, which does not announce farm loan waivers, gave interest free farm loans provided the repayment was on time and has provided input subvention subsidy of 10,000 per farmer annually. A BJP functionary said that interest of up to 2,100 loan interest was waived in May. He also claimed that most of the beneficiaries under Ladli Behna scheme are farmer families. Under the scheme, each woman gets 1,000 every month, which the BJP has promised to increase to 1,500 per month.

It was during the 18 years of the BJP government that farm economy grew in Madhya Pradesh due to improvement in irrigation facilities and better cost price. Today, we have double-digit agriculture growth rate, the BJP leader said, declining to be named. There is loans worth 1.43 lakh crore on farmers as on March 31, 2023, of which 1.04 crore was crop loans, according to official data.

Sirohi said that the 15-month Congress government that came to power in 2018 was unable to fulfil its poll promise of farm loan waiver as power was snatched from Congress by the BJP. We were working on the plan to waive off the farm loans when the BJP bought our MLAs and snatched power, Sirohi said.

There was hardly any change in the life of farmers, irrespective of the party in power, said Anil Yadav of Bharatiya Kisan Union, a farmers organisation. The poll promises are deceptive. These are announced to woo the farmers but the government does nothing later on, he alleged.

Rahul Raj of Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, another collective, said the loan waiver scheme didnt give much relief to farmers. Until and unless there is honesty in waiving the loans and making agriculture a profitable venture in letter and spirit, nothing fruitful will happen for farmers, he said.

Telangana

In Telangana, which has 5.6 million farmers, the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), Congress and BJP have started wooing them to garner votes for the November 30 polls.

In May 2018, the BRS government led by chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao announced a populist scheme called Rythu Bandhu, under which each registered farmer, irrespective of their landholding, would get an amount of 8,000 per acre per year in two instalments of 4,000 each for the Kharif and Rabi seasons to buy inputs like seeds, fertilisers and pesticides. Before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the amount was increased to 10,000.

The BRS also announced another scheme called Rythu Bima, benefiting families of farmers who died of distress, suffering heart attacks or by suicide because of crop failure or loss on account of natural calamities. The scheme, however, does not apply to about 2.2 million tenant farmers, a reason for anger against the BRS government, said a 2022 study by Rythu Swarjya Vedika, a non-profit.

The Congress has promised to extend the Rythu Bandhu scheme for tenant farmers and increase the money to 15,000 annually. The Congress also promised 12,000 annually for agricultural labourers and a 500 bonus for paddy crops above the minimum support price. Following this, the BRS in its election manifesto announced on October 15 promised an increase in the amount under the scheme to 16,000 per year.

The Congress has also promised to do away with the Dharani portal, introduced in October 2020 aimed at ensuring the benefits of Rythu Bandhu and other schemes go to genuine farmers. This led to large-scale complaints by farmers, as they alleged a lot of irregularities had taken place in recording the land details at the grassroots. In the name of Dharani portal, lands of the poor were usurped by the local BRS leaders. We shall revoke the system, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi said at a rally held at Jagityal on Friday.

BJP leaders are claiming that they would also enhance the limit under PM Kisan Yojana (similar to Rythu Bharosa) from the present 6,000 per year to 10,000 per year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 1 announced constitution of a Turmeric Board to woo turmeric farmers of Nizamabad and Karimnagar districts. The turmeric board will definitely fetch a big mileage to the BJP, as it will not only fetch a remunerative price to the turmeric farmers, but also provide storage, marketing and exporting facilities, BJP MP Dharmapuri Arvind said.

Chhattisgarh

Soon after coming to power in 2018, the Bhupesh Baghel- led Congress government started its flagship scheme called Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojna, under which the government paid input subsidy of 21,912 crore to around 2.3 million farmers, who grow Kharif paddy.

Under this scheme, those farmers who grow any of the 14 identified crops are given an input subsidy of up to 9000. If farmers plant banana, papaya or any fruit tree along with 13 other crops besides paddy, then they receive an input subsidy of 10,000 per acre.

The state government has also implemented its promise of procuring paddy for 2,500 per quintal from farmers. Before the announcement of elections, the government said it would procure 20 quintals of paddy against earlier 15 quintals in the ongoing Kharif season.

The state started Godhan Nyaya Yojana (cow dung procurement scheme), in which it paid 580 crore to cattle owners, gauthan committees and women self-help groups to empower the rural economy and promote organic farming, according to a state government official. However, in some districts, the amount of vermicompost made by procuring cow dung exceeds the possible conversion ratio of cow dung into vermicompost, the official said on condition of anonymity.

For landless farmers, the government started the Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Bhoomi Heen Krishi Majdoor Nyay Yojna, providing an annual assistance of 7,000 to landless agricultural labourer families that benefit around 3.55 lakh people, as per official data.

The 2023 assembly elections will show whether these schemes have worked for Baghel or not, political commentators said. It would be interesting to see how the Congress fares in the plains of Chhattisgarh, which have the maximum beneficiaries under these schemes and where the BJP is considered strong, said Harsh Dubey, a Raipur- based political commentator. I believe that in some regions, particularly in the central region, which has around 55 seats, it should help the Congress, he said.

The Congress has fooled farmers as it has failed to implement most of its promises, BJP spokesperson Sacchinand Upasane said. The farm loan waiver was not complete and paddy procurement was also very low as compared to total production, forcing the farmers to sell their produce in the open market at very low rates. There is lot of corruption in most of these schemes, he alleged.

Congress spokesperson Shushil Anand Shukla countered him, saying that the BJP was scared of pro-farmer schemes of the state government. Everyone in the state knows that the Congress government is working for farmers, tribal and poor. What have created an example in the country by giving maximum bonus to the paddy farmers of the state. The schemes will surely give positive results, he said.

(With inputs from Ranjan in Bhopal, Srinivasa Rao Aparasu in Hyderabad, Sachin Saini in Jaipur and Ritesh Mishra in Raipur)

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Chetan Chauhan Chetan Chauhan is National Affairs Editor. A journalist for over two decades, he has written extensively on social sector and politics with special focus on environment and political economy. ...view detail
The work of Iwan Baan, who is renowned for his collaborations with the most important architects of our time, is showcased at the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein, in the first major retrospective dedicated to the Dutch photographer. "Iwan Baan. Moments in Architecture" can be seen through March 3, 2024, after which the exhibition will travel to museums around the world. National Museum of Qatar, designed by Jean Nouvel, as photographed by Iwan Baan. (DW/Iwan Baan/VG Bild-Kunst Bonn, 2023)

A singular perspective

Francis Kere, Herzog & de Meuron, Jean Nouvel, Sou Fujimoto and Rem Kohlhaas are just a few of the architects who have worked with Iwan Baan to document their projects. (Also Read | The German Music Council: A unique institution turns 70)

The Dutch photographer does not photograph the buildings in isolation, but rather highlights how they are connected with their surroundings and, above all, with the people who live or work there.

"You're present, you wait for the moment. But you also don't know exactly what to expect," says Baan, describing his approach to photography. "There is also like a sort of anticipation of what can happen. And you are there for the right moment and the right time. And things somehow always fall into place."

Iwan Baan doesn't only photograph new and contemporary designs. He is fascinated by unusual, traditional buildings  for example, the rock churches in Ethiopia or the Fujian tulou, traditional circular villages in China.

With his camera, he also documents the growth of booming megacities worldwide and the coexistence of people in makeshift living structures.

First highlights

Born in 1975 in the Netherlands, Baan studied photography, not architecture  which is perhaps what allowed him to have an unbiased view of buildings when he started out.

He began working for the Dutch architect Rem Kohlhaas and his architectural firm, OMA, in 2004. That led him to document construction of the impressive CCTV headquarters in Beijing, China, designed by OMA, as well as the Beijing Olympic Stadium by the Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron.

In these first series, he sometimes focused on the workers involved in the construction projects. The unusual approach established his name in the world of architecture.

In 2012, Iwan Baan was awarded a Golden Lion for his exhibition at the Venice Architecture Biennale, where he showed a series of photos documenting the self-organized coexistence of people squatting in the ruins of the Torre David skyscraper in Caracas, Venezuela. The impressive study reflects the photographer's interest in the interaction between humans and architecture.

DW's 'Euromaxx' portrays Iwan Baan at work

One of the publications documenting Iwan Baan's work is titled "Momentum of Light," which the photographer published in 2021 in collaboration with Pritzker and Praemium Imperiale prize-winner Francis Kere.

This project is another example of how Baan explores the diversity of human living conditions, as the photo book focuses on the stark lighting in traditional buildings in Burkina Faso, Francis Kere's home country.

Along with the exhibition at the Vitra Design Museum, Iwan Baan's work is portrayed by DW as part of its culture and lifestyle magazine, "Euromaxx." The documentary is a collaboration between DW and the Vitra Design Museum and is part of the exhibition.

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The Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BTEA) held high-level discussions on tourism related issues at the 25th UNWTO General Assembly in Uzbekistan.

Bahrain's delegation to the assembly was led by Dr Nasser Qaedi, CEO of BTEA. Representatives from over 150 member nations, including ministers and top tourism officials, took part in the assembly deliberations, said a Bahrain News Agency report.

On the sidelines of the General Assembly, Dr Qaedi held talks with UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili, focusing on the strides made by the tourism sector in the kingdom while discussing cooperation and topics of common interest.

The meeting discussed multiple projects between Bahrain and the UNWTO and further reinforced the Kingdoms role in UNWTO operations as part of Bahrains membership in the UNWTO executive council.

Dr Qaedi also met his counterparts from the GCC, stressing the significance of joint tourism collaboration efforts to promote GCC countries as pioneering tourism destinations.

He took part in a high-level ministerial panel at the global tourism education forum, accompanied by Jordi Torres Falc, Andorran Minister of Tourism and Commerce; Anayansy Carolina Rodriguez Castillo, Guatemalan Minister of Tourism; Christina Garcia Frasco, Filipino Minister of Tourism; and Rodney Sikumba, Zambian Minister of Tourism and Arts.

BTEA delegation also attended two executive council meetings.

At the General Assembly, Bahrain was recognised as one of the fastest-growing tourism markets, with the Kingdom being awarded to host the 9th UNWTO World Forum on Gastronomy Tourism in 2024, the worlds largest gastronomy tourism event.

"We are pleased to be an active part of this prominent UN event with a keen focus on identifying prospects for crafting new policies and effective tools to bolster inclusive and sustainable tourism development, bridging the existing skill gap, and nurturing value-added employment opportunities," BTEA CEO said.

He added that the General Assembly served as an ideal platform to showcase pivotal UNWTO initiatives, with a greater spotlight on tourism cooperation efforts to promote Bahrain as a destination and enhance travel and tourism partnerships.

"We are keen to join Bahrains efforts with regional and global leaders and decision-makers to shape the way forward for the global tourism sector. We at BTEA are set to adopt new mechanisms with our international counterparts to further contribute to the development of global tourism and promote international cooperation."

"With our promising tourism strategy 2022-2026, the Kingdom is on the right track to achieve its tourism goals of product diversification, increasing the tourism contribution to GDP and drawing more tourists worldwide, adding value to the Kingdoms sustainable development in promising sectors by attracting more tourism investments, creating more jobs, and adopting more creative initiatives to support tourism progress," Dr Qaedi added.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (Photo: VNA)

During more than two days in Saudi Arabia, the Government leader engaged in more than 20 bilateral and multilateral activities, including attending and delivering an important speech at the ASEAN-GCC Summit, holding bilateral meetings with heads of delegations from many countries and participating in events to strengthen all-round cooperation with the host country.

Addressing the ASEAN-GCC summit, PM Chinh called on ASEAN and GCC to join hands in promoting resilience, harnessing resources for growth, and taking substantive actions with the highest political determination and vigorous efforts, towards creating tangible breakthroughs and becoming a highlight for regional and global collaboration.

He proposed that ASEAN and the GCC promote connections in three areas of human, culture, labour; trade, investment, tourism; and infrastructure system, contributing to peace, stability and prosperity of the two regions and the whole world.

Amid the tension in some hot spots in the world, the PM highlighted Vietnam's viewpoints on the settlement of disputes through peaceful measures on the foundation of international law, which received support from many countries.

In bilateral meetings with leaders from ASEAN and GCC members, PM Chinh and leaders of the countries reviewed bilateral cooperation achievements, and sketched out orientations to further promote their partnership.

The PM had a meeting with Saudi Arabias Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman, and received government officials, and leaders of major economic groups and investment funds of Saudi Arabia. He attended and addressed the Vietnam-Saudi Arabia business forum, and visited the Vietnamese Embassy and community in the Middle East country.

In the meetings, Vietnam and Saudi Arabia agreed to continue to strengthen cooperation in all fields, especially oil and gas, tourism, Halal industry, human resource training, and labour. PM Chinh asked Saudi Arabia's investment funds to consider large-scale investments in areas that Vietnam prioritises for development such as infrastructure, green economy, innovation, high technology, industry, and renewable energy.

During the PM's trip, many cooperation agreements were signed in the fields of justice, diplomacy, crime prevention, tourism and trade promotion, creating a legal framework and favourable conditions for bilateral partnership in the coming time.

PM Chinh's trip to Saudi Arabia was a success, contributing to fostering political trust and cooperation efficiency between Vietnam and GCC member countries and Saudi Arabia in various fields./.
Several musicians from Switzerland and Bhutan united at the Swiss-Bhutanese musical concert in the capital yesterday to exchange the diverse cultures of both countries, Bhutan Live reported. The musical concert celebrated traditional songs and music in this 'cultural harmony beyond borders'. Out of the seven Bhutanese artists who performed at the concert was 54-year-old Jigme Dukpa known for his traditional folk songs. The musicians and the artists said the concert was a beautiful way of exchanging and preserving the uniqueness of both countries.(Unsplash/Anthony DELANOIX)

Jigme Dukpa said, Nobody loses but everybody gains through music. And there is no better alternative than to perform and celebrate your friendship through music. Two musicians from Switzerland also performed at the concert, Bhutan Live reported. The musicians and the artists said the concert was a beautiful way of exchanging and preserving the uniqueness of both countries.

"We can see that this has the power of creating a cultural connection between the countries. I think traditional music and songs are one of the ways to preserve our old traditions in the future," an artist Jigme Namgyal said.

"I had the chance to play the European old traditional music and also folk music from my country for the Bhutanese audience. At the same time, I was enriched and delighted by the wonderful music and culture here in Bhutan. This is something which helps us to understand each other and we can learn from each other," Bhutan Live quoted Maurice Steger, a musician from Switzerland as saying.

Dragyel Tenzin Dorje, the Secretary of Bhutan Switzerland Society said, "The main audiences today were people with musical backgrounds and students from various schools in Thimphu. Our main objective is to help the audiences to learn from diverse musical cultures and help preserve them."

The concert is expected to strengthen the diplomatic relationship between Bhutan and Switzerland which dates back to 1985, according to Bhutan Live. The musical concert was organized by Bhutan Switzerland Society and it plans on organizing such events in the future as well.

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Kartik Aaryan, Tara Sutaria and Khushi Kapoor were seen in Mumbai last night enjoying a dinner date with their friends. The paparazzi clicked Khushi Kapoor outside a restaurant in the bay as she exited the joint with her friends. They also spotted Kartik and Tara leaving together. While Khushi looked gorgeous in a jaw-dropping black maxi gown, Kartik wore a sleek button-down and pants set, and Tara donned a chic cropped blouse and animal-printed skirt. Scroll through to see the snippets from their night out. Kartik Aaryan, Tara Sutaria and Khushi Kapoor on a dinner date with their friends. (HT Photo/Varinder Chawla )

Kartik Aaryan, Tara Sutaria and Khushi Kapoor's night-out look

Khushi Kapoor stuns in a black dress. (HT Photo/Varinder Chawla )

The paparazzi took to Instagram to share pictures of Khushi Kapoor, Kartik Aaryan and Tara Sutaria from their night out on social media. While Kartik and Tara made a chic appearance in their night-out ensembles, Khushi's OOTD [outfit of the day] for the dinner date with her friends stole the spotlight. She slipped into a black maxi-length dress featuring a halter neckline with a plunging design accentuating her decolletage, a backless detail, a figure-sculpting fit highlighting her svelte frame, a side slit, and an ankle hem length.

Khushi wore the black dress with minimal accessories, including a dainty necklace, matching earrings, a gold watch, a bracelet, a black mini tote bag, and strappy stilettos with killer high heels. Lastly, she chose berry lip shade, winged eyeliner, feathered brows, mascara on the lashes, muted eye shadow, blushed cheeks, glowing skin, and centre-parted open wavy locks for the glam picks.

Kartik Aaryan and Tara Sutaria clicked outside a restaurant. (HT Photo/Varinder Chawla )

Meanwhile, Kartik Aaryan looked dapper in a crisp white button-down shirt featuring full-length sleeves, folded cuffs, and a tailored fitting. He tucked the shirt inside deep blue high-waisted, straight-leg pants. Black dress shoes, a trimmed beard, and a back-swept hairdo rounded it off.

Lastly, Tara Sutaria looked stunning in a black sleeveless top featuring a cropped hem-length that exposed her toned midriff, fitted silhouette, and racerback detail. She teamed it with a leopard-printed skirt featuring a high-rise waistline, a side slit, and a figure-skimming silhouette.

Tara Sutaria chose a black mini handbag, chunky lace-up sneakers, a statement ring, and gold hoop earrings. For the glam picks, she opted for smudged eyeliner, mascara on the lashes, feathered brows, rouge-tinted cheekbones, glossy nude pink lip shade, and centre-parted open wavy locks.

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Sushmita Sen and her daughters, Renee and Alisah, attended Notunpalli Sarbojonin Durgostab in Mumbai to celebrate Saptami last evening. The family wore traditional ensembles for the auspicious occasion, and Sushmita and Renee twinned in sarees. The mother-daughter duo even performed the Dhunuchi dance with other devotees at the pandal. Pictures and videos from the celebrations made it to social media. Scroll through to check out the snippets. Sushmita Sen visits pandal to celebrate Durga Puja Maha Saptami with Renee and Alisah. (HT Photo/Varinder Chawla)

Sushmita Sen and Renee perform the Dhunuchi dance

The paparazzi shared pictures and videos of Sushmita Sen and her family's visit to the Durga Puja pandal in Mumbai on the auspicious occasion of Maha Saptami. The snippets show Sushmita and her daughter, Renee and Alisah, posing for the media, Sushmita and Renee performing the Dhunuchi dance, and the actor having a gala time with the kids at the pandal. Alisah chose a lehenga set for the occasion, and Sushmita and Renee twinned in sarees. While the former Miss Universe winner wore a Bandhani saree, her daughter draped herself in a chiffon number and sequinned blouse.

Sushmita's Bandhani saree comes in a gorgeous pink and orange shade decked in the Bandhani pattern done in a white hue. The six yards also feature gota embroidery and broad silver gota patti embellished borders. She wore the drape traditionally, letting the pallu fall from her shoulder elegantly. A matching rani pink blouse with embroidered neckline and sleeve cuffs, a fitted bust, and half-length puffed sleeves completed the ensemble.

Sushmita accessorised the traditional look with bracelets, kadhas, statement rings, ornate jhumkis, and heels. Lastly, she chose kohl-lined eyes, subtle eye shadow, mauve lip shade, mascara on the lashes, a dainty nose pin, feathered brows, and blushed glowing skin for the glam picks. A centre-parted sleek ponytail gave the finishing touch.

Meanwhile, after Maha Saptami, devotees celebrate Maha Ashtami and Maha Navami. They fall on the eighth and ninth day of Navratri or the second and third day of Durga Puja. The celebrations are followed by Dussehra or Vijayadashmi.

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New Delhi [India], October 22 (ANI): US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti visited the Durga Puja pandal in Delhi's CR Park. He was given a traditional welcome at the pandal with aarti and tilak on the forehead. HT Image

Taking to X, the US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti shared glimpses of his visit to the pandal in CR Park. At the pandal, Garcetti performed aarti and performed dhunuchi naach with people.

He watched children perform on stage and even clicked pictures with people at the pandal. During his pandal visit, Garcetti also tried jhal muri, biryani, puri and fish as well as sweets.

While sharing the video on X, Eric Garcetti stated, "Shubho Pujo, everyone! I had an incredible time pandal hopping in CR Park in Delhi, participating in the cultural festivities and of course, tasting some amazing Pujo food! As I continue to experience different celebrations across India, I remain in awe of @IncredibleIndia 's amazing cultural diversity."

The Hindu festival of Durga Puja is a yearly celebration that honours the Hindu goddess Durga and celebrates her victory over Mahishasura. During the nine-day Navratri festival, devotees worship Goddess Durga's nine incarnations in order to obtain her blessings.

There are nine manifestations of Goddess Durga that are worshipped on each day of Navratri. People observe ritualistic fasts, recite shlokas dedicated to each Goddess, wear new clothes. offer bhog and clean their homes in these nine days.

On October 19, Eric Garcetti on Thursday travelled in the Delhi Metro and interacted with passengers on board. He said he had a great time riding the Delhi metro for the first time and meeting fellow passengers.

"Wow! Delhi Metro, you make travelling so easy! I had a great time riding the Delhi metro for the first time and meeting fellow passengers. A shout out to the well-maintained, efficient, and green public transport system that is among the best in the world!" Garcetti wrote on X.

Earlier in September, Eric Garcetti said India has demonstrated the most successful G20 ever.

While addressing the 20th Indo-US Economic Summit "Sharing ideas & Potential for sustainable partnership between India and the US for the next 25 years" organized by the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC), Garcetti said, "India's marvellous growth, its rapid rise, its leadership in the world today has demonstrated the most successful G20 we have ever seen."

While speaking on India-US ties, he said: "The goal that we should be establishing, I think, together, is, how can we be more ambitious. Not just settle for another deal, not just settle for, as we've done just in the last few months, bringing down the retaliatory tariffs and the trade disputes between our countries. That's not good enough. I think we need to close our eyes and dream of what this relationship can be like even more than we would imagine today." (ANI)

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The cultural impact of colonisation and the debate between tradition and modernity is a subject that fascinates me. It is the subject of my book Becoming Indian: The Unfinished Revolution of Culture and Identity. We got political independence on August 15, 1947, but Macaulays spectacularly successful legacy to colonise our minds continues even today. Colonised countries take decades to reclaim their culture without either degenerating into xenophobia or mimicry. PREMIUM Madan Mohan Malviya(HT archive)

I have the greatest admiration for Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, for his commitment to democracy and respect for all faiths, which is why India did not lurch towards dictatorship or religious fundamentalism, as so many other newly independent countries did.

However, Pandit ji, as a result of colonisation, sought a modern India largely modelled on western lines. He saw our past, which for him was mostly sterile ritualism, superstition and prejudice  the deadwood of the past as he described it  as a hindrance to progress. He was against organised religion and publicly proclaimed himself an agnostic.

What is interesting though is that even during his political dominance, there were other stalwarts in the Congress who had the courage of conviction to take a radically different stand. Madan Mohan Malviya (1861-1946), who was president of the Congress not once but four times, was one such individual.

Within the Congress, Malviya represented a strong opinion that there was no need to be dismissive about ones religion. He was the founder of Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha  a pan-Indian organisation for the promotion and preservation of Hinduism. Posterity will always remember him for his tenacity and determination in setting up the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in 1916, and he remained its vice-chancellor from 1919 to 1938.

In 1910, he started the Hindi weekly, Maryada and in 1933, he launched the publication of a magazine, Sanatana Dharma, from BHU, dedicated to religious and dharmic interests. Hindu symbols of reverence like the Ganga river and cow welfare appealed to him and he acted upon his beliefs.

He founded the Ganga Mahasabha to oppose the damming of the river and compelled the British to sign an agreement in 1916 called the Aviral Ganga Raksha Samjhauta. For the welfare of cows, he created a non-governmental organisation named Shri Mathura Vrindavan Hasanand Greher Bhoomi in Vrindavan. Similarly, he started the tradition of aarti at Har Ki Pauri in Rishikesh, which continues even today. It was Malviya again who, at the 1918 Congress session, dipped into the Mundaka Upanishad to give the slogan Satyameva Jayate (Truth Shall Prevail), which remains modern Indias national slogan.

Leaders like Malviya were poles apart from Nehrus agnosticism and general suspicion about religion. Representing a legitimate spectrum of opinion within the Congress, Malviya believed that if Hinduism had received a serious setback, first under Islamic rule and then due to the British conquest, it was now time to give it its due, and doing so did not entail any conflict with the policy of secularism. That is why he was actively involved in the renovation of the Somnath temple, and, differed with Nehru, seeing nothing wrong in former President Rajendra Prasad inaugurating it.

What needs to be noted is that in the evolution of modern India, there have been different narratives, each well-intentioned and none entirely antagonistic, which motivated the founding giants of our Republic. Such debates could be vented openly and strengthen the debate between tradition and modernity. They did not congeal into aggressive acrimony and black or white polarities that we see today.

The fact of the matter is that modern science and western values, and the profundity of thought of our ancient seers and past achievements, are not necessarily antagonistic. The great scholar, linguist and translator, AK Ramanujan, rightly asserted that there was no contradiction between the recognition of Indian diversity or the quest for modernity, and the legitimate achievements of our past and religious beliefs. His wry comment on those who thought otherwise was: One way of defining diversity for India is to say what the Irishman said about trousers. When asked whether trousers were singular or plural, he said, Singular at the top and plural at the bottom.

Pavan K Varma is an author, diplomat, and former Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha). Just Like That is a weekly column where Varma shares nuggets from the world of history, culture, literature, and personal reminiscences with HT Premium readers. The views expressed are personal
The Norwegian Ambassador to India, May-Elin Stener, found herself facing a dilemma while shopping. Taking to X, she shared how she faced a tough choice while buying a saree ahead of Diwali. She also asked netizens to help her pick one. The image shows the Norwegian Ambassador to India May-Elin Stener wearing saree. (X/@NorwayAmbIndia)

8-week-old in India and off to buy my first saree for #Diwali! A tough choice between all the fabrics, colours and weaves. What amazing craftsmanship! I tend to think I will go with red. What do you think? Btw the husband is also going Indian! His kurta pick was easier though, she wrote. The Norwegian ambassador wrapped up her post with an image.

Also Read: US ambassador Eric Garcetti clicks selfies with commuters while taking a ride in Delhi Metro

The split picture shows four images. Three of them are of her wearing sarees of different colours and types. One is of her husband who is seen dressed in a traditional kurta set.

Take a look at this post by the Norwegian ambassador:

The post was shared a day ago. Since then, it has collected close to 2.8 lakh views. The tweet has also accumulated nearly 7,200 likes. People posted varied comments while reacting to the post. A few also shared their suggestions.

How did X users react to this saree-related post?

The red is gorgeous on you, maam, posted an X user. Theyre all gorgeous on you, added another. Madam Ambassador, you are looking great in all these colours, and I must say you know how to pull it off in a saree, joined a third. Love the red. But the heart also says purple. Buy both! wrote a fourth.

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Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], October 22 (ANI): West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose on Sunday offered prayers at a Durga Puja pandal in Raja Bazar in West Bengal's Kolkata on the occasion of 'Maha Ashtami', the eighth day of Navratri. HT Image

Earlier in the day, Bose extended greetings on the occasion.

"On this auspicious day of Maha Ashtami, best wishes to all brothers and sisters of Bengal and prayers for their days to be blessed with love, laughter, and the divine presence of Goddess Durga", he wrote in an 'X' post.

On Saturday, the Governor visited the Pandals across Kolkata and offered prayers.

"Honourable Governor continued his visits to Durga Pandals across the city today - visit various visually arresting and innovative Pandals. He also spent time interacting with devotees gathered in all the locations", an official statement said on 'X'.

https://twitter.com/BengalGovernor/status/1715604717685149921

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also extended greetings on the occasion of 'Maha Ashtami'.

Taking to 'X, PM Modi wrote, "Today is the holy day of special worship of Mother Mahagauri. It is a request to the Mother Goddess, who is compassionate and infallibly fruitful, to bless all her devotees and provide them with welfare".

https://x.com/narendramodi/status/1715934668217078115?s=20

The eighth day of the Navratri festival is dedicated to the eighth form of Maa Durga - Maa Mahagauri, a symbol of purity, serenity, and tranquillity.

The festival of Navratri honours the defeat of the demonic Mahishasura and the triumph of good over evil. The 10th day of Sharad Navratri is celebrated as Dussehra or Vijaya Dashami. (ANI)

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The lives of at least 120 newborn babies on incubators in war-torn Gaza's hospitals are at risk as fuel runs out in the besieged enclave, the UN children's agency warned Sunday. Israel-Hamas War: A child looks on as Palestinians queue to buy bread from a bakery, amid shortages of food supplies and fuel, as the conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas continues, in Khan Younis.(Reuters)

More than 1,750 children have already been killed by Israeli strikes launched against the Gaza Strip in retaliation for the October 7 Hamas attacks, according to the Palestinian territory's health ministry.

Hospitals face a dire lack of medicines, fuel and water not only for the thousands wounded in more than two weeks of the war between Gaza militants and Israel but also for routine patients.

"We have currently 120 neonates who are in incubators, out of which we have 70 neonates with mechanical ventilation, and of course this is where we are extremely concerned," said UNICEF spokesman Jonathan Crickx.

Power is one of the main worries for the seven specialist wards across Gaza treating premature babies to help with breathing and provide critical support, for example when their organs are not developed enough.

Israel ordered a complete blockade of the territory after the Hamas attacks, in which the Islamist group killed 1,400 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli officials.

Amid widespread electricity cuts, the World Health Organization warned on Thursday that hospitals had already run out of fuel for generators.

The WHO said that about 1,000 people needing dialysis will also be at risk if the generators stop.

Twenty aid trucks crossed from Egypt into Gaza on Saturday but there was no fuel in the consignment.

Israel fears that fuel could help Hamas, although the limited supplies still in Gaza were being diverted to keep the generators for medical equipment running.

"If they (babies) are put in mechanical ventilation incubators, by definition, if you cut the electricity, we are worried about their lives," the UNICEF spokesman told AFP.

Gaza's health ministry said on Saturday that 130 premature babies were in danger of dying due to the lack of fuel.

Around 160 women give birth each day in Gaza, according to the UN Population Fund, which estimates there are 50,000 pregnant women across the territory of 2.4 million people.

While Israel says its strikes are aimed at Hamas, which perpetrated the worst attack against Israel since its creation in 1948, children make up a huge proportion of the 4,385 dead reported by the Hamas-run health ministry.

Whole families, including pregnant women, have been killed in strikes and each day parents can be seen in devastated streets carrying the bodies of infants in white shrouds.

Doctors at Najjar hospital in Rafah spoke on Thursday of how they had tried in vain to save an unborn infant from a woman killed in an air strike on her family's home.

Hours earlier, eight children were killed as they slept in a house in Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

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At least two workers were killed on Sunday "as a result of Israeli bombardment targeting Syria's Damascus airport at dawn," Syria's general directorate of meteorology said in a statement. Syria's Prime Minister Hussein Arnous inspects damage at the runway of Damascus International Airport after an Israeli air strike. (File/ AFP)

The two workers who were killed were from the meteorology service and based at the airport, the agency said.
The parents of a 21-year-old soldier who died saving his fellow fighters during the Hamas attack on Israel are collecting donations that will be used to assist IDF soldiers from underprivileged backgrounds. The money will ensure that the soldiers basic needs are met while they defend their country. Staff Sgt. Roey Weiser, an Israeli American soldier, was stationed at the Kerem Shalom border crossing (Image provided by Naomi Feifer-Weiser)

Staff Sgt. Roey Weiser, an Israeli American soldier, was stationed at the Kerem Shalom border crossing. During the invasion, the terrorists entered his base, attacking Israeli soldiers in the 13th Battalion of the Golani Brigade. He sacrificed his life, saving his fellow soldiers.

We aim to support IDF soldiers from underprivileged backgrounds who struggle

Roeys mother Naomi Feifer-Weiser is now collecting donations through israelgives.org. According to official statistics, approximately 15% of the 150,000 conscripted soldiers come from families of a low socio-economic background who cannot afford basic necessities and need assistance paying for their most basic needs such as food, clothing, electricity, and running water, the page reads, in part.

To honor Roey's memory, we, his parents, are launching a campaign to continue his legacy of exceptional compassion, but on a larger scale. We aim to support IDF soldiers from underprivileged backgrounds who struggle. Working closely with the army's social services and other relevant official institutions, we will identify those in greatest need and ensure they have their basic requirements met, it continues.

The page adds, Your generous donations will allow us to carry forward Roey's spirit of caring for his fellow soldiers, not just as those who ensure Israels security, but as individuals. By providing these essentials, we will help our dedicated soldiers focus on their critical mission of defending Israel, all in the memory of Staff Sergeant Roey Weiser.

How did Roey Weiser save other soldiers lives?

Roeys mother, Naomi, said in an earlier interview with Hindustan Times that at the time of his death, Roey was on a base at the Erez Crossing into Gaza, where food and goods come into Gaza, and where Gazans come and go from and to work in Israel or travel for medical care. He wasnt on guard at the time, but heard the shooting and leapt into action. He saw his soldiers being pinned down by hordes of Hamas terrorists, so out of nowhere he came up with an ingenious but daring manoeuvre to outflank the terrorists, Naomi said.

Naomi quoted Roey as telling the other soldiers, I am no longer your sergeant, whoever wants to come with me can. Together with a few others, Roey engaged the terrorists from behind and tried to stop the attack.

Unfortunately, he was killed in the attack, Naomi said. There are around 12 soldiers who are alive today because of his heroism. Theirs was the only base not taken by Hamas on that Saturday attack because of his actions.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 22. The captain of an Air Canada plane flying from Toronto to Delhi sent a request for an emergency landing at Heydar Aliyev International Airport, Trend reports.

The reason for this was low oil pressure in the left engine of the aircraft.

Boeing 777 successfully landed at Baku airport at 15:50 local time. There were 301 passengers on the plane.

Currently, the aircraft is being inspected and a set of necessary measures is being organized to establish all the circumstances and causes of the incident.
NESTLED BETWEEN decorative gourds and halloween ornaments on suburban Columbus lawns, signs encourage Ohioans to vote to protect parents rights. Leaflets declare that mums and dads have too much to lose. Only the flyers reverse reveals the threat: not a woke curriculum or ideas around gender, but abortion. PREMIUM Anti-abortion rights demonstrators outside the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC, US, on Friday, April 21, 2023. The Supreme Court extended a temporary hold on new restrictions imposed by a federal judge in Texas on a widely used abortion pill, giving the justices until today to decide how to handle the case. Photographer: Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg(Bloomberg)

On November 7th Ohio will become the latest state to vote on adding a right to an abortion to its state constitution. Currently abortion is accessible up to around viabilitybut only while a six-week ban is litigated in the courts. Six other states have voted on abortion since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade last year. In each, voters have opted to protect access, including in conservative states like Kansas and Kentucky. More states are expected to vote next year, possibly including Arizona, Florida and Missouri. This has given rise to a cottage industry of pollsters and politicos who travel from state to state with each ballot initiative. Ohio is the latest testing ground, as anti-abortion campaigners try to break their losing streak.

Rather than sepia-toned images of newborns, teenagers and parents rights are the focus of the campaign. Anti-abortion advocates argue that language in the proposed amendment is so broad that it could invalidate Ohios law requiring parents permission for underage abortions. That seems a stretch, but the anti-abortion campaign is trying to activate fears around parental rights that have electrified school-board meetings across the country.

More familiar anti-abortion arguments get second billing. Adverts with local mums and unsettling music state that the proposed amendment, which would return the regime to something like the status quo under Roe, would be too extreme for Ohio. They raise the spectre of late-term abortions, which are rare but unpopular. The campaign avoids mention of the six-week ban, which was in place for several weeks last year.

The campaign also claims to have learned lessons from losses in other states. Its strategists say it began preparing earlier and is trying to build a diverse coalition, which includes black pastors. Theres a misrepresentation of the pro-life community that its an old white guy who is telling a woman what to do, says Brian Williams, a pastor at a predominantly black church in Columbus, who is campaigning against the amendment. Thats not actually true.

But perhaps the biggest difference is the strength of the Republican Party in Ohio. Many state offices are controlled by Republicans who have fought the abortion amendment. Dave Yost, the attorney-general, has released a legal analysis of the amendment that echoed many of the campaign talking points. The Ohio Ballot Board, which has a Republican majority, rewrote the summary on the ballot to replace the word fetus with unborn child. Earlier this year, the state assembly proposed its own referendum which would have made passing the abortion amendment harder. That vote failed, buoying abortion-rights advocates.

The popular governor, Mike DeWine, is campaigning against the amendment. But he has also joined a group of Republicans urging moderation on abortion. If the amendment fails, he wants to find a place where a majority of Ohioans can, in fact, agree. Still, like Donald Trump, the former president, who said that a six-week ban is a terrible thing, Mr DeWine has avoided saying what a compromise could look like, or how it could pass.

 2023, The Economist Newspaper Limited. All rights reserved. From The Economist, published under licence. The original content can be found on www.economist.com
A teenage Iranian girl, who fell into a coma earlier this month following an alleged encounter with police officers, is said to be "brain dead", Iranian state media reported. "Follow-ups on the latest health condition of Armita Geravand indicate that her health condition as brain dead seems certain despite the efforts of the medical staff," the Islamic Republic of Iran News Network said. Screengrab of Armita Geravand being dragged from train.

The girl was in critical condition in hospital after falling into a coma following what two prominent rights activists said was a confrontation with agents in the Tehran metro for violating the country's strict hijab law. Armita Geravand's case is highly sensitive as the 16-year-old might face the same fate as Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old girl whose death in the custody of morality police sparked months of nationwide protests.

Iranian-Kurdish rights group Hengaw then said, We are following her case closely. She is in coma at Intensive Care Unit of the hospital and her condition is critical ... her relatives said there is a heavy presence of plain clothes at the hospital.

CCTV footage had then showed Armita Geravand without hijab accompanied by two female friends walking toward the train from the metro platform. An Iranian journalist was briefly arrested when she went to the hospital to inquire about Armita Geravand's situation, it was reported.

"Iranian security institutions have said her condition was caused by low pressure - an oft-repeated scenario from such institutions," Iran-based rights group Dadban said.

The girl's parents said that their daughter had suffered a drop in blood pressure, lost her balance, and hit her head inside the metro cabin.

"I think my daughter's blood pressure dropped, I am not too sure, I think they have said her pressure dropped," her mother said.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Mallika Soni When not reading, this ex-literature student can be found searching for an answer to the question, "What is the purpose of journalism in society?" ...view detail
Egypt and Jordan harshly criticised Israel over its actions in Gaza at a summit on Saturday, a sign that the two Western allies that made peace with Israel decades ago are losing patience with its two-week-old war against Hamas. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, left, and Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit, talk to Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, during the International peace summit at the New Administrative Capital, just outside Cairo.(AP)

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, who hosted the summit, again rejected any talk of driving Gaza's 2.3 million Palestinians into the Sinai Peninsula and warned against the liquidation of the Palestinian cause".

Jordan's King Abdullah II called Israel's siege and bombardment of Gaza a war crime.

The speeches reflected growing anger in the region, even among those with close ties to Israel who have often worked as mediators, as the war sparked by a massive Hamas attack enters a third week with casualties mounting and no end in sight.

Egypt is especially concerned about a massive influx of Palestinians crossing into its territory, something that it fears would, among other things, severely undermine hopes for a Palestinian state. Vague remarks by some Israeli politicians and military officials suggesting people leave Gaza have alarmed Israel's neighbours, as have Israeli orders for Palestinian civilians to evacuate to the south, toward Egypt.

READ | Israel vows to end responsibility for life in Gaza, shares 3-phase offensive. Top updates

In his opening remarks, el-Sissi said Egypt vehemently rejected the forced displacement of the Palestinians and their transfer to Egyptian lands in Sinai.

I want to state it clearly and unequivocally to the world that the liquidation of the Palestinian cause without a just solution is beyond the realm of possibility, and in any case, it will never happen at the expense of Egypt, absolutely not, he said.

Jordan's king delivered the same message, expressing his unequivocal rejection of any displacement of Palestinians. Jordan already hosts the largest number of displaced Palestinians from previous Mideast wars.

This is a war crime according to international law, and a red line for all of us, he told the summit.

Israel says it is determined to destroy Gaza's Hamas rulers but has said little about its endgame.

READ | Israel urges its citizens to leave Egypt, Jordan amid war with Hamas

On Friday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant laid out a three-stage plan in which airstrikes and maneuvering  a presumed reference to a ground attack  would aim to root out Hamas before a period of lower intensity mop-up operations.

Then, a new security regime would be created in Gaza along with the removal of Israel's responsibility for life in the Gaza Strip, Gallant said.

He did not say who would run Gaza after Hamas.

Meanwhile, Israel has ordered more than half of the 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza to evacuate from north to south within the territory it has completely sealed off, effectively pushing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians toward the Egyptian border.

Amos Gilad, a former Israeli defense official, said Israel's ambiguity on the matter is endangering crucial ties with Egypt. I think a peace treaty with Egypt is highly important, highly crucial for the national security of Israel and Egypt and the whole structure of peace in the world, he said.

Gilad said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu needs to speak directly with the leaders of Egypt and Jordan, and say publicly that Palestinians will not be entering their countries.

Two senior Egyptian officials said relations with Israel have reached a boiling point.

They said Egypt has conveyed its frustration over Israeli comments about displacement to the United States, which brokered Camp David Accords in the 1970s. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief the media.

Egypt worries that a mass exodus would risk bringing militants into Sinai, from where they might launch attacks on Israel, endangering the peace treaty.

Arab countries also fear a repeat of the mass exodus of Palestinians from what is now Israel before and during the 1948 war surrounding its creation, when some 700,000 fled or were driven out, an event Palestinians refer to as the Nakba, or catastrophe. Those refugees and their descendants, who now number nearly 6 million, were never allowed to return.

At Saturday's gathering, the anger extended beyond the fears of mass displacement.

Both leaders condemned Israel's air campaign in Gaza, which has killed more than 4,300 Palestinians, including many civilians, according to health authorities in Gaza. Israel says it is only striking Hamas targets and is abiding by international law.

The war was sparked by a wide-ranging Hamas incursion into southern Israel on October 7 in which over 1,400 people were killed, the vast majority of them civilians.

Abdullah, who is among the closest Western allies in the region, accused Israel of collective punishment of a besieged and helpless people".

"It is a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law. It is a war crime, he said.

He went on to accuse the international community of ignoring Palestinian suffering, saying it had sent a loud and clear message to the Arab world that Palestinian lives matter less than Israeli ones.

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Arab leaders at a Cairo summit on Saturday condemned Israeli bombardment of Gaza as Europeans said civilians should be shielded, but with Israel and senior US officials absent there was no agreement towards containing the violence. In this photo provided by Egypt's presidency media office, participants of the International Peace Summit pose for a group picture at the New Administrative Capital, just outside Cairo on October 21.(AP)

Egypt, which called the meeting and hosted it, said it had hoped participants would call for peace and resume efforts to resolve the decades-long Palestinian quest for statehood.

But the meeting ended without leaders and foreign ministers agreeing on a joint statement, two weeks into a conflict that has killed thousands and visited a humanitarian catastrophe in the blockaded Gaza enclave of 2.3 million people.

Diplomats attending the talks had not been optimistic of a breakthrough, with Israel preparing a ground invasion of Gaza aimed at wiping out the militant Palestinian group Hamas that rampaged through its towns on Oct. 7, killing 1,400 people.

Gaza's Health Ministry said on Saturday that Israel's air and missile strikes had killed at least 4,385 Palestinians since the Hamas attack.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi presents a speech during the Cairo Summit for Peace on October 21.(Reuters)

While Arab and Muslim states called for an immediate end to Israel's offensive, Western countries mostly voiced more modest goals such as humanitarian relief for civilians.

Jordan's King Abdullah denounced what he termed global silence about Israel's attacks, which have killed thousands in Hamas-ruled Gaza and made over a million homeless, and urged an even-handed approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"The message the Arab world is hearing is that Palestinian lives matter less than Israeli ones," he said, adding he was outraged and grieved by acts of violence waged against innocent civilians in Gaza, the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and Israel.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Palestinians would not be displaced or driven off their land.

"We won't leave, we won't leave," he told the summit.

France called for a humanitarian corridor into Gaza that it said could lead to a ceasefire. Britain and Germany both urged Israel's military to show restraint and Italy said it was important to avoid escalation.

The United States, Israel's closest ally and a vital player in all past peace efforts in the region, only sent its Cairo charge d'affaires who did not address the meeting in public.

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni speaks to the press after attending the International Peace Summit in Cairo on October 21.(AFP)

European Council President Charles Michel said the main goal of the summit was "to listen to each other".

However, "we understand that we need to work more together" on issues including the humanitarian situation, avoiding a regional escalation and a Palestinian-Israeli peace process, he added.

Israel has vowed to wipe the Iranian-backed Hamas militant group "off the face of the earth" over the shock Oct. 7 assault, the deadliest Palestinian militant attack in Israel's 75-year history.

It has said it told Palestinians to move south within Gaza for their own safety, although the coastal strip is only 45 km (28 miles) long and Israeli air strikes have also hit the south.

CEASEFIRE

The meeting was meant to explore how to head off a wider regional war. But diplomats knew public agreement would be hard because of sensitivities around calls for a ceasefire, whether to include mention of Hamas' attack and Israel's right to defend itself.

Arab states fear the offensive could drive Gaza residents permanently from their homes and even into neighbouring states - as happened when Palestinians fled or were forced from their homes in the 1948 war following Israel's creation.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said his country opposed what he called the displacement of Palestinians into Egypt's largely desert Sinai region, adding the only solution was an independent Palestinian state.

Egypt fears insecurity near the border with Gaza in northeastern Sinai, where it faced an Islamist insurgency that peaked after 2013 and has now largely been suppressed.

Jordan, home to many Palestinian refugees and their descendants, fears a wider conflagration would give Israel the chance to expel Palestinians en masse from the West Bank.

King Abdullah said forced displacement "is a war crime according to international law, and a red line for all of us."

Shortly before the summit opening, trucks loaded with humanitarian aid began entering the Rafah crossing into Gaza. Egypt has been trying for days to channel humanitarian relief to Gaza through the crossing, the one access point not controlled by Israel.

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Canadas opposition leader Pierre Poilievre has assured the Indian community in his country that he will restore a professional relationship with India if he becomes the next Prime Minister. Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre (centre) at a Navratri event in the Greater Toronto Area. (Pierre Poilievre/X)

Poilievre, leader of the Conservative Party, also condemned the aggression shown to Indian diplomats stationed in Canada and the growing Hinduphobia in the country.

In an interview with Nepalese media outlet Namaste Radio Toronto, Poilievre said, We need a professional relationship with the Indian government. India is the largest democracy on Earth. Its fine to have our disagreements and hold each other accountable but we have to have a professional relationship and that is what I will restore when Im Prime Minister of this country.

When asked about the removal of 41 Canadian diplomats from India, Poilievre said, This is another example of how Justin Trudeau is not worth the cost after eight long years. Hes turned Canadians against each other at home and hes blown up our relations abroad. Hes so incompetent and unprofessional that now we are in major disputes with almost every major power in the world, and that includes India.

Poilievre also condemned the pro-Khalistan car rallies on Saturday in Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver to Indias missions. A Hindu temple was also targeted the night before, as the Vaishno Devi Hindu temple in the town of Abbotsford in British Columbia was desecrated with anti-India posters.

Conservatives share the Hindu values of faith, family and freedom. Freedom includes the ability of worship without fear or without vandalisation and I strongly condemn all the attacks on Hindu mandirs, threats against Hindu leaders, the aggression shown to, for example, Indian diplomats at public events is totally unacceptable, he said.

Commenting on Hinduphobia, Poilievre said, I will continue to oppose it and I think there should criminal charges laid against anyone who attacks either the property or people at Hindu mandirs just like anywhere else.

According to the latest polls, Poilievre is favoured to become the next Canadian PM as his party is leading the incumbent Liberal Party by over double digits and is in majority territory.

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Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud has received the 'Award for Global Leadership', the highest professional distinction handed out by his alma mater, Harvard Law School. Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud being felicitated with the Award for Global Leadership, at Harvard Law School.(PTI)

The Chief Justice was announced as the recipient of the award on January 11, this year, in an online ceremony.

The Chief Justice was present at Harvard Law School for a fireside chat with David Wilkins, who is a professor at Harvard Law School and Faculty Director, Center on the Legal Profession.

The Harvard Law School is also celebrating the 100th anniversary of its Graduate Law Program.

The Chief Justice fondly remembered his time at Harvard as an LLM student in 1982-83 and then as an SJD candidate in 1983-1986.

The Chief Justice spoke about the initiatives at the Supreme Court that have been taken during his first year of tenure as the Chief Justice.

According to an official statement, these include the incorporation of technology in court processes, launch of Handbook on combating gender stereotypes, etc.

It further said that the Chief Justice also emphasised the importance of interdisciplinary studies and said that the law does not work in a vacuum. Issues of medical science or technology are connected to the workings of law.

Referring to the legal aid clinics at Harvard, the Chief Justice stated that law students should be involved in clinical legal models, where they are actively involved in real-time cases in local areas.

When asked a question about whether the legal profession can be democratised, he referred to the new law clerk scheme implemented during his tenure, which provides equal access to all to apply for a clerkship at the Supreme Court. He also shared his concern about the mental health of lawyers.

He also suggested that apart from senior lawyers and judges, the law schools should also develop a mechanism to train the students in handling stress and mental health.

The Chief Justice also interacted with the students and faculty members of various departments at Harvard University.
Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg faced ire over her social media post supporting Palestine after Israel intensified its strikes on Gaza in retaliation for Hamas terror attacks. Greta Thunberg was seen with a placard that read "Stand with Gaza"(X/ @GretaThunberg)

Thunberg took to X (formerly Twitter) on Friday to voice her support for Gaza. She posted a picture along with three other girls holding pro-Palestine, climate awareness placards.

"Week 270. Today we strike in solidarity with Palestine and Gaza. The world needs to speak up and call for an immediate ceasefire, justice and freedom for Palestinians and all civilians affected," she wrote in the post.

Reacting to Thunberg, Israel, slammed the 20-year-old climate activist saying that Hamas doesn't use sustainable materials for their rockets, "which have butchered innocent Israelis".

"@GretaThunberg, Hamas doesnt use sustainable materials for their rockets which have BUTCHERED innocent Israelis. The victims of the Hamas massacre could have been your friends. Speak up," Israel's official X handle posted along with the snapshots of three Israeli teens, who were allegedly killed in a Hamas attack.

Meanwhile, Greta had also received a backlash due to the earlier photograph she shared on the microblogging platform. The earlier photograph featured stuffed Blue Octopus which is considered as an anti-semitism symbol. Cartoonists have often used the octopus to highlight global Jewish conspiracy. It was a caricature deployed by the Nazis. However, hours later she deleted the post and shared the cropped photo.

On the war front, the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Hamas militants has entered its 16th day on Sunday. Israel has declared its intention to intensify its strikes in the besieged Gaza Strip, marking the second stage of a three-stage plan aimed at gaining control over the Palestinian region.

The conflict, triggered by a surprise attack by Hamas militants on southern Israel on October 7, resulted in the death of over 1,400 Israelis. In response, Israel initiated a total siege of Gaza. According to Gaza's health ministry, Israel's attacks have claimed the lives of at least 4,385 Palestinians.
Taiwanese tech giant Foxconn is under tax and land use investigations at several of its sites in China, state media reported on Sunday. The logo of Foxconn is seen outside the company's building in Taipei, Taiwan,(Reuters)

Chinese authorities are inspecting Foxconn's sites in southern Guangdong province and Jiangsu in the east, as well as carrying out on-site investigations into the company's land use in central Hunan and Hubei provinces, China's state-run Global Times reported.

The newspaper did not specify what authorities are looking into, nor any offences that Foxconn may have committed.

"Compliance with the law is a basic principle for our group worldwide," Foxconn said in a statement Sunday.

"We will actively cooperate with the relevant (authorities) for the operations concerned," it added, without providing further details.

Foxconn is one of the world's largest contract producers of electronics, and is a key supplier for Apple's iPhones.

It is also China's largest private-sector employer, with more than a million employees nationwide.

The investigation comes two-and-a-half months before presidential elections in self-ruled Taiwan, which China claims as its territory and has vowed to take one day.

Foxconn's founder, billionaire Terry Gou, has cut ties with the firm to focus on his long-shot bid to run as an independent candidate in Taiwan's January 2024 elections.

The 72-year-old failed to become the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party's nominee in 2019 and analysts say he has only a slim chance of winning.

Critics have alleged that Gou has a cosy relationship with the Chinese leadership, although Gou says he can bring peace between Taipei and Beijing.
As Lebanon's Hezbollah has been exchanging fire with Israel across the border for the past two weeks amid the ongoing conflict, the Israeli military on Sunday said that the Iran-backed group is playing a very dangerous game and dragging Lebanon into the war with Hamas. Israel Defence Forces (IDF) spokesperson Jonathan Conricus in a video said, Hezbollah is escalating the situationWe are seeing more and more attacks every day. Israeli soldiers sit on a Merkava tank as they man a position at an undisclosed location on the border with Lebanon(AFP)

We maintain our focus on the south, but extremely important for everybody in Lebanon to ask themselves the question of the price. Is the Lebanese State really willing to jeopardize what is left of Lebanese prosperity and Lebanese sovereignty for the sake of terrorists in Gaza? For the ISIS of Gaza? That's a question that the Lebanese authorities need to ask themselves and answer because the way it is looking now Hezbollah is aggressing and it is dragging Lebanon into a war that it will gain nothing from but stands to lose a lot, Conricus said.

Hezbollah was founded by Iran's Revolutionary Guards in 1982 - amid the Lebanon's 1975-90 civil war. The group was a part of Iran's effort to export its 1979 Islamic Revolution around the region and fight Israeli forces after their 1982 invasion of Lebanon. While earlier it was a shadow faction, the group has risen to a heavily armed force with major sway over the Lebanese state.

Hezbollah has been supporting other Iranian-backed groups across the Middle East and has trained armed groups in Iraq.

Last week, the group said that it is fully prepared to join its Palestinian ally Hamas in the war when the time is right. We, as Hezbollah, are contributing to the confrontation and will (continue) to contribute to it within our vision and planWe are fully prepared, and when the time comes for action, we will take it, Hezbollah deputy chief Naim Qassem said.

The war between Israel and the Hamas militant group has entered its 16th day, with over 5,000 people being killed on both sides. Israel on Sunday made its intention clear to step up the air and missile strikes on Gaza in preparation for the next stage of its military operation.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Two female Iranian journalists arrested for reporting on the death of Masha Amini, which sparked nationwide protests last year, have been sentenced for up to seven years in prison, the judiciary said Sunday. Iran Anti-Hijab Protests: A woman holds a placard with a picture of Iranian woman Mahsa Amini during a protest against her death.(AP)

Amini's death in custody on September 16, 2022 after her arrest by the morality police in Tehran for an alleged breach of Iran's strict dress rules for women led to mass protests across the country.

The journalists Elaheh Mohammadi and Niloufar Hamedi were both found guilty of collaboration with the United States, conspiring against state security and propaganda against the Islamic republic, the judiciary's Mizan Online website said.

Mohammadi, 36, was given six years in prison for collaboration with the United States and Hamedi, 31, was handed a seven-year term for the same offence, said Mizan.

The two were also given five-year sentences each for the conspiracy charges and one each for propaganda, the website said, adding the sentences would be served concurrently.

Mohammadi, a reporter for Ham Mihan newspaper, and Hamedi, a photographer for Shargh newspaper, have been held in Tehran's Evin prison since September 2022, with their trials starting in May.

The verdict against them are subject to appeal, Mizan added.

The ruling follows the sentencing on Tuesday of Amini's lawyer, Saleh Nikbakht, to one year in prison for propaganda against the state and speaking with foreign and local media about the case.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 22. The Azerbaijani Army launched a counter-offensive operation, later called the "Iron Fist", on September 27, 2020, in response to the large-scale provocation of the Armenian armed forces along the frontline, Trend reports.

The erupted 44-day Second Karabakh War ended with the liberation of Azerbaijans territories from nearly 30-year Armenian occupation and the restoration of territorial integrity.

Chronicle of the 26-th day of the second Karabakh war:

- On the official Twitter page of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, a publication was posted on ensuring full control over the state border (bordering with Iran).

- A publication was posted on the official Twitter page of President Ilham Aliyev, due to the liberation from the occupation of 3 villages of Fuzuli district, 4 villages of Jabrayil district.

- President Ilham Aliyev received the Ombudsman of Turkey.

- First Vice President of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva gave an interview to Trend New Agency.

- The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry has disseminated information about the latest situation at the front. Volunteers in the Armenian Armed Forces fled, leaving their combat positions. Information was disseminated about the wounding of the commander of the Armenian Armed Forces regiment, the killing of his deputy and the battalion commander.

- The Armenian Armed Forces fired 3 ballistic missiles at Siyazan, 2 at Gabala and 1 at Kurdamir. A 17-year-old civilian was wounded as a result of a missile attack by the Armenians on Gabala.

- Armenian servicemen refused to fight. Video footage of another captured military equipment of the Armenian Armed Forces was distributed.

- Another tactical UAV of the Armenian Armed Forces, which attempted to fly in the direction of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan, was destroyed. The Azerbaijani artillerymen continued to deliver precise strikes at the firing points of the Armenian Armed Forces.

- The Azerbaijani flag was hoisted in the village of Aghband, Zangilan district.

- The Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan presented video footage of the destruction of a significant number of personnel and equipment of the Armenian Armed Forces.
Canada's National Department of Defence said on Saturday that Israel was not behind the Al-Ahli hospital strike in Gaza on Oct. 17. "Analysis conducted independently by the Canadian Forces Intelligence Command indicates with a high degree of confidence that Israel did not strike the Al-Ahli hospital on 17 October 2023," it said in a statement. A girl carries blankets as she walks past the site of a deadly explosion at al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City(AP)

The strike was more likely caused by an errant rocket fired from Gaza, the Defence department said based on analysis of open source and classified reporting.

Canada's findings are similar to conclusions by France and the U.S.

Canada said its assessment is informed by an analysis of the blast damage to the hospital complex, including adjacent buildings and the area surrounding the hospital, as well as the flight pattern of the incoming munition.

Palestinian officials said 471 people were killed in the blast at Al-Ahli al-Arabi Hospital on Tuesday. Gaza's health ministry blamed an Israeli air strike, while Israel said the blast was caused by a failed rocket launch by militants.

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Israel has traded fire with Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group on a near-daily basis since the war began, and tensions are soaring in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces have battled militants in refugee camps and carried out two airstrikes in recent days. HT Image

For days, Israel has seemed to be on the verge of launching a ground offensive in Gaza as part of its response to Hamas' deadly October 7 rampage.

Tanks and tens of thousands of troops have massed at the border, and Israeli leaders have spoken of an undefined next stage in operations.

But the military acknowledges there are still hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians in northern Gaza despite a sweeping evacuation order, which would complicate any ground attack.

And the risk of triggering a broader war with Hamas' allies in Lebanon and Syria might also give them pause.

On Saturday, 20 trucks of aid were allowed to enter Gaza from Egypt through the Rafah crossing, the first time anything has gone into the territory since Israel imposed a complete siege two weeks ago.

Aid workers said it was far too little to address the spiralling humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where half the territory's 2.3 million people have fled their homes.

Hospitals packed with patients and displaced people are running low on medical supplies and fuel for generators, forcing doctors to perform surgeries with sewing needles, using kitchen vinegar as disinfectant, and without anaesthesia.

Palestinians sheltering in UN-run schools and tent camps are running low on food and drinking dirty water.

The territory's sole power plant shut down over a week ago, causing a territory-wide blackout and crippling water and sanitation systems.

The UN humanitarian agency said cases of chicken pox, scabies and diarrhea are on the rise because of the lack of clean water.

Gaza's Hamas-run Interior Ministry reported heavy Israeli airstrikes across the territory overnight into Sunday, including southern areas where Israel had told Palestinians to seek refuge.

The ministry said that among the sites hit were homes and a cafe in the south where dozens of residents had sought shelter.

Israel's military has said it is striking Hamas members and installations, but does not target civilians.

Palestinian militants have continued daily rocket attacks, with Hamas saying it targeted Tel Aviv early Sunday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened his Cabinet late Saturday to discuss the expected ground invasion, Israeli media reported.

A military spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said Israel planned to step up airstrikes starting Saturday as preparation for the next stages of the war.

Israel has vowed to crush Hamas but has given few details about what it envisions for Gaza if it succeeds. Yifat Shasha-Biton, a Cabinet minister, told Channel 13 TV there was broad consensus in the government that there will have to be a buffer zone in Gaza to keep Palestinians away from the border.

An Israeli ground assault would likely lead to a dramatic escalation in casualties on both sides.

More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed in the war  mostly civilians slain during the initial Hamas attack.

At least 210 people were captured and dragged back to Gaza, including men, women, children and older adults. Two Americans were released on Friday in what Hamas said was a humanitarian gesture.

More than 4,300 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. That includes the disputed toll from a hospital explosion.

Syrian state media meanwhile reported that Israeli airstrikes have targeted the international airports in the capital, Damascus, and the northern city of Aleppo.

It said the strikes killed one person and damaged the runways, putting them out of service.

Israel has carried out several strikes in Syria, including on the airports, since the war began.

Israel rarely acknowledges individual strikes, but says it acts to prevent Hezbollah and other militant groups from bringing in arms from their patron, Iran, which also supports Hamas.

In Lebanon, Hezbollah said six of its fighters were killed Saturday, and the group's deputy leader, Sheikh Naim Kassem, warned that Israel would pay a high price if it starts a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Israel says it will continue to respond to rocket fire from Lebanon.

In the occupied West Bank, dozens of Palestinians have been killed in clashes with Israeli troops, arrest raids and attacks by Jewish settlers.

Israeli forces have closed crossings into the territory and checkpoints between cities, measures they say are aimed at preventing attacks.

The internationally recognized Palestinian Authority administers parts of the West Bank and cooperates with Israel on security, but it is deeply unpopular and has been the target of violent Palestinian protests.

Israeli forces killed at least five people early Sunday in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Two were killed in an airstrike on a mosque in the town of Jenin, which has seen heavy gunbattles between Palestinian militants and Israeli troops over the past year.

The Israeli military said the mosque compound belonged to Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants who had carried out several attacks in recent months and were planning another one.

Sunday's fatalities brought the death toll in the West Bank to 90 Palestinians since the war broke out on October 7, according to the Health Ministry. Most appear have been killed during fighting with Israeli forces or violent protests.

Thirteen Palestinians, including five minors, and a member of Israel's paramilitary Border Police were killed last week in a battle in a refugee camp in the West Bank town of Tulkarem, in which Israel also launched an airstrike.

In Gaza, the Israeli military said the humanitarian situation was under control as aid workers called for the opening of a round-the-clock aid corridor.

The UN humanitarian agency, known as OCHA, said the convey that entered Saturday carried about 4 per cent of an average day's imports before the war and a fraction of what is needed after 13 days of complete siege. It is calling for 100 trucks a day to enter. Huge quantities of aid have been gathered near the Egyptian side of the crossing, but there has been no word on when more might enter.

President Joe Biden said the US, which has worked with other mediators to reach an agreement on Rafah, remains committed to ensuring that civilians in Gaza will continue to have access to food, water, medical care, and other assistance, without diversion by Hamas.

In a statement, he said the US would work to keep Rafah open and let US citizens leave Gaza.

But hundreds of foreign passport holders who had gathered at the crossing on Saturday were unable to depart after the aid convoy entered.

American citizen Dina al- Khatib said she and her family were desperate to get out. It's not like previous wars, she said. There is no electricity, no water, no internet, nothing. (AP) FZH

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Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a fresh warning to Hezbollah saying that if it goes to war with Israel that would bring unimaginable devastation upon it and Lebanon. Warning that Hezbollah risks dragging Lebanon into a wider regional war, the Israeli premier said that he cannot yet say whether Hezbollah will decide to fully enter the war. Israel-Hamas War: Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu makes a statement to the media.(Reuters)

Gaza war is do or die for Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu told troops as Israels military battles Hamas, following the groups deadly attacks on southern Israel on October 7. Israel reported that anti-tank missiles were fired again from Lebanon and that it had intercepted a drone. The military said Hezbollah was playing a very, very dangerous game and dragging Lebanon into a war that it will gain nothing from but stands to lose a lot" as more than 60,000 people in Israel have been evacuated along the border with Lebanon including Kiryat Shmona, the areas largest city, according to the Israeli Ministry of Defense.

This comes as a 17-truck aid convoy entered Gaza from Egypt this afternoon as Israel intensified strikes on the Palestinian enclave. More than 40 percent of all Gaza's housing has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN while Israel has halted food, water, fuel and electricity supplies. The aid delivery through the Rafah crossing was the second such operation in two days after 20 trucks arrived earlier. The United Nations has estimated about 100 trucks per day are needed to meet the needs of 2.4 million Gazans given the "catastrophic" humanitarian situation.

Meanwhile, Israel has massed tens of thousands of troops around the enclave for an anticipated ground invasion and increased its attacks overnight and killed "dozens of terrorists" in and around Gaza City, including the deputy commander of the Hamas rocket network, military spokesman Daniel Hagari said.

Israel has warned more than one million residents of northern Gaza to move south for their safety.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Mallika Soni When not reading, this ex-literature student can be found searching for an answer to the question, "What is the purpose of journalism in society?" ...view detail
China believes "force is not a way to resolve" the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and is once again calling for a ceasefire, its envoy for the Middle East pleaded in Egypt, the foreign ministry said Sunday. Israel-Hamas War: Smoke rises in the air above Gaza following Israeli bombings, as seen from Israel's border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel.(Reuters)

Egypt on Saturday hosted a "summit for peace" where UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for swift "action to end this godawful nightmare" after two weeks of war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.

Beijing's envoy for the Middle East, Zhai Jun, met Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit on the sidelines of the summit.

The Chinese diplomat called for an "immediate ceasefire and an end to the fighting as quickly as possible", his ministry said in a statement.

"China believes that force is not a way to resolve the problem and that responding to violence with violence will only lead to a vicious circle of revenge," Zhai said according to the statement, which mentioned neither Israel nor Hamas.

Hamas militants stormed into Israel from the Gaza Strip on October 7 and killed at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians who were shot, mutilated or burnt to death on the first day of the raid, according to Israeli officials.

Israel's retaliatory bombing campaign has killed more than 4,600 Palestinians, mainly civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza.

China has so far maintained good relations with Israel, but it has supported the Palestinian cause for decades and traditionally backs a two-state solution.

China said Thursday it was "deeply disappointed" by the United States' decision to veto a UN Security Council resolution calling for a "humanitarian pause" in the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Washington justified its veto because the text did not mention Israel's right to defend itself.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said it was "crucial to prevent the conflict from expanding or even losing control and causing a serious humanitarian crisis", as he met with Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli in Beijing on Thursday.

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Several Egyptian border guards sustained minor injuries on Sunday after being accidentally hit by fragments of a shell from an Israeli tank, a spokesperson for the Egyptian army said. Israel-Hamas War: Smoke rises following Israeli strikes at the border with Egypt, as the conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas continues, as seen from Rafah, southern Gaza Strip.(Reuters)

Israel's military earlier said one of its tanks accidentally hit an Egyptian position near the border with the Gaza Strip.

Israel's defence force "expresses sorrow regarding the incident," which is being investigated," it said in a statement, giving no further details.

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In a discussion with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Joe Biden conveyed to the Jewish leader that "Israel must operate by the laws of war" in its war against Hamas. Israel-Hamas War: US president Joe Biden speaks from the Oval Office of the White House.(AP)

He called for a two-state solution in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, adding that Israel has the right to defend itself as well and at the same time, the humanity of innocent Palestinians who only want to live in peace cannot be ignored.

"Israel has the right to defend itself. We must make sure they have what they need to protect their people today and always. At the same time, Prime Minister Netanyahu and I have discussed how Israel must operate by the laws of war. That means protecting civilians in combat as best as they can," Biden wrote in a post on social media platform X.

"We can't ignore the humanity of innocent Palestinians who only want to live in peace. That's why I secured an agreement for the first shipment of humanitarian assistance for Palestinian civilians in Gaza," Biden said, adding "And we cannot give up on a two-state solution."

US President Joe Biden has recently requested over USD 105 billion from Congress as part of a package to provide security assistance for the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Israel, as reported by CNN.

Read more: Egyptian army says border guards hurt in accidental hit by Israeli tank

Biden made his request a primetime Oval Office address to the nation and called the moment "an inflection point" in American history.

The request will help mitigate "the global humanitarian impacts of Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine and of Hamas' horrific attacks on Israel, including by extending humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza," he said.

In response to Biden's request, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer praised the package and said he would move quickly to pass it.

"This legislation is too important to wait for the House to settle their chaos. Senate Democrats will move expeditiously on this request, and we hope that our Republican colleagues across the aisle will join us to pass this much-needed funding," he said.

In Tel Aviv also, earlier this week, Biden pledged unwavering support to Israel but also successfully made the case to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war cabinet to allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.

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Palestinians received renewed warnings from Israel's military to move from north Gaza to the south or they could be identified as sympathisers with a terrorist organisation. The message was delivered in leaflets marked with the Israel Defense Forces name and logo. It was also sent to people via mobile phone audio messages across the Gaza Strip, news agency Reuters reported. Israel-Hamas War: Palestinians look for survivors in buildings destroyed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in Rafah.(AP)

Read more: Israel strikes mosque in occupied West Bank refugee camp

"Urgent warning, to residents of Gaza. Your presence north of Wadi Gaza puts your life in danger. Whoever chooses not to leave north Gaza to the south of Wadi Gaza might be identified as an accomplice in a terrorist organisation," the leaflet said. This comes as Israel pounded Gaza with airstrikes as it massed troops and armour on the border with Gaza ahead of an expected land incursion.

What Israel's military said?

The Israeli military said that it had "no intention to consider those who have not evacuated ... as a member of the terrorist group".

It did not target civilians, the military said in a statement, adding, In order to minimize civilian harm, the IDF sent a request to the residents of the northern area of the Gaza Strip to evacuate southward of Wadi Gaza.

What did Israel previously warn Palestinians?

Israel earlier urged Palestinians to move south, although Palestinians said they had not previously been told they could be considered "terrorist" sympathisers if they did not. Making the journey south remains highly risky amid airstrikes while areas of the south of the strip have also been hit. Many families who left Gaza to the south said they had lost relatives during the Israeli airstrikes in southern Gaza, Reuters reported. More than 50 Palestinians were killed in Israeli air strikes overnight on the enclave.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Mallika Soni When not reading, this ex-literature student can be found searching for an answer to the question, "What is the purpose of journalism in society?" ...view detail
Israel-Hamas war news Highlights: The ongoing conflict between Israel and the Hamas militant group has now entered its 16th day. Israel has declared its intention to intensify its strikes in the besieged Gaza Strip, marking the second stage of a three-stage plan aimed at gaining control over the Palestinian region. Palestinians look for survivors after the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in Deir Al-Balah on Sunday.(AP)

According to the Israeli Defense Forces, the final phase of this plan involves changing the "security regime" in Gaza.

Here are the highlights of the 14th day of the war

Latest updates:

 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides on Saturday. Netanyahu emphasised the need to combat what he termed barbarism characterising the conflict as a battle between the forces of civilization and monstrous barbarians responsible for various atrocities. Prime Minister Meloni expressed Italy's support for Israel.

 On another front, the border crossing between Egypt and Gaza briefly opened to allow a limited amount of much-needed aid into the besieged Palestinian territory, which had been sealed off by Israel and subjected to airstrikes following a violent incident involving Hamas.

 However, the amount of aid allowed in was deemed insufficient to address the severe humanitarian crisis, with over 200 trucks carrying 3,000 tons of aid waiting nearby.

 Cross-border conflict escalated as Israel reported airstrikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, and there was an exchange of fire in several areas along the Lebanese border. This marked a significant escalation of violence in the frontier region, as Israel continued its military campaign against Hamas militants in Gaza.

 The conflict was triggered by a surprise attack by Hamas militants on southern Israel on October 7, which resulted in the death of over 1,400 people, predominantly civilians. In response, Israel initiated a total siege of Gaza. According to Gaza's Health Ministry, Israel's air and missile strikes have claimed the lives of at least 4,651 Palestinians, including hundreds of children, and forced over a million residents to be displaced.
A Saudi Arabia prince who was also the country's former intelligence chief slammed both Hamas and Israel saying that there are "no heroes in this conflict, only victims". Turki Al Faisal's speech at US' Rice University in Houston in which he cited the example of India's Independence movement was shared widely on social media. The prince said that all occupied people have a right to resist their occupation, even militarily. Turki Al Faisal led the Saudi intelligence agency Al Mukhabarat Al 'Ammah for 24 years and also served as the country's ambassador to London and the US. Israel-Hamas War: Saudi prince Turki al-Faisal is seen.

"I do not support the military option in Palestine. I prefer the other option: civil insurrection and disobedience. It brought down the British empire in India and the Soviet empire in eastern Europe," he said. The prince's speech, unusually frank for a senior member of the Saudi royal family, was widely acknowledged as the clearest indicator yet of the Saudi Arabia leadership's thinking on the situation.

What Turki Al Faisal said on Hamas?

Hamas' acts went against Islamic injunctions not to harm civilians, he said. The ex-diplomat and spy chief also accused Israel of "indiscriminate bombing of innocent Palestinian civilians in Gaza" and the "indiscriminate arrest of Palestinian children, women and men in the West Bank".

What the Saudi Arabia prince said on US and the country's media?

He took issue with the US media's use of the phrase "unprovoked attack" saying, "What more provocation is required.. than what Israel has done to the Palestinian people for three-quarters of a century?"

All militarily occupied people have a right to resist occupation, he said condemning Western politicians for "shedding tears when Israelis are killed by Palestinians", but refusing to "even express sorrow when Israelis kill Palestinians".

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Mallika Soni When not reading, this ex-literature student can be found searching for an answer to the question, "What is the purpose of journalism in society?" ...view detail
Hezbollah's escalating attacks on Israel risk "dragging Lebanon into a war", Israel's military said Sunday, after renewed cross-border exchanges of fire that have raised fears of a wider conflict. Israel-Hamas War: Israeli soldiers stand near a Merkava tank as they man a position at an undisclosed location on the border with Lebanon.(AFP)

Lebanese militant group Hezbollah is allied with Hamas, which touched off the latest violence with a bloody October 7 rampage in Israel that killed at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli officials.

Israel has retaliated with relentless strikes on the Iran-backed Hamas in the Gaza Strip that have killed more than 4,300 Palestinians, also mainly civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

It has also exchanged fire with Hezbollah across its northern border, amid growing concerns that Hezbollah intends to open another front against Israel in support of Hamas in the south.

"Hezbollah... is dragging Lebanon into a war that it will gain nothing from, but stands to lose a lot," Israeli army spokesman Jonathan Conricus said.

"Hezbollah is playing a very, very dangerous game. They're escalating the situation. We see more and more attacks every day.

"Is the Lebanese state really willing to jeopardise what is left of Lebanese prosperity and Lebanese sovereignty for the sake of terrorists in Gaza?" he added.

So far this weekend, cross-border attacks have killed six Hezbollah fighters and a member of Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad in Lebanon, while three Israeli troops were wounded, one seriously, in Hezbollah anti-tank fire. Two Thai farm workers were also hurt.

Every effort

On Sunday, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said diplomatic efforts were ongoing to "stop Israeli attacks on Lebanon" and prevent the Gaza conflict from spilling into his country.

"Lebanon's friends are with us in continuing to make every effort to return the situation to normal," Mikati said in a statement.

However, Lebanon was developing an emergency response plan "as a precaution", he added.

Tit-for-tat attacks at the border have so far been relatively contained, but analysts have warned that the chances of Hezbollah scaling up involvement could hinge on any Israeli ground invasion of Gaza.

Hezbollah number two Naim Qassem warned Saturday that the group could step up its engagement, as the group announced a series of attacks against Israeli and contested territory.

On Sunday morning, the Israeli army said its forces "identified a terrorist cell attempting to launch anti-tank missiles toward the Avivim area along the border with Lebanon."

"Soldiers struck the cell before it was able to carry out the attack," it said.

The army also said a cell fired an anti-tank missile at an Israeli tank "in the area of Har Dov", a site in the disputed Shebaa Farms border district.

"In response, the tank fired toward the cell," it added, reporting no damage or casualties on the Israeli side.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 22. The statement of the French defense minister that an armament agreement will be signed with Armenia in the near future is of serious concern, Trend reports.

The Western Azerbaijan Community noted that the sale of weapons by France to Armenia is, first of all, a manifestation of hostility towards Azerbaijan. In addition, France continues its dirty activities against Azerbaijan in various international organizations.

"The supply of weapons to Armenia by France serves to increase revanchism in this country and tension in the region. It is obvious that the establishment of peace in the region is not beneficial to Paris. France is trying to introduce geopolitical competition in the South Caucasus region and for this purpose incites Armenia to a new war against Azerbaijan. Even in the 21st century, France still cannot abandon its colonial thinking and racist approach," said the community.

"We are sure that France will fail in the policy of arming Armenia, just as it failed in its "mediation" efforts," the statement said.
Amid the conflict in Gaza and the looming ground assault on the terror group Hamas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides on Saturday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides.(X/Prime Minister of Israel)

Calling on the Italian PM, Netanyahu said, "We have to defeat this barbarism," adding that this battle is between the forces of civilization and really monstrous barbarians who murdered, mutilated, raped, beheaded, and burned innocent people, babies, and grandmothers.

"This is a test, a test of civilization, and we will win. And we expect all the countries that lined up to fight ISIS, to line up and fight Hamas because Hamas is the new ISIS," the Israeli PM's office posted from its handle on social media platform X.

READ | Target is all of us, Italy's Meloni warns world: We can't fall into Hamas' trap

Meloni assured Netanyahu of Italy's support for Israel.

"We defend the rights of Israel of defending itself... for its people. We absolutely understand that terrorism has to be fought, and we believe that you are able to do that in the best way, and we are different from those terrorists," the Italian PM said.

Netanyahu then met Cypriot President Christodoulides, stressing that it was a "battle of civilisation against barbarism".

"What we saw in Gaza, along with our communities, is beyond description. It is savagery that is the worst that we've seen against Jewish people since the Holocaust. They captivated people, raped women," he said at a joint press briefing with the Cypriot President.

READ | Israel's military says no humanitarian crisis in Gaza: Hardships there but

"Our battle against Hamas is the battle of civilization against barbarism," Netanyahu added.

Invoking his old address at the UN, during which he drew a parallel between Hamas and ISIS, the Israeli PM's office posted on X, "Hamas, as I said in the UN ten years ago, almost a decade ago, Hamas is ISIS. People didn't believe me. Now they know it's actually worse than ISIS, as President Biden said, and Chancellor Scholz said that Hamas are the new Nazis. The world united to fight the Nazis. The civilised world united to fight ISIS. And now, the civilised world should stand with us as we defeat ISIS. This is our goal."

Earlier, US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also visited Israel, amid the ongoing retaliation to the November 7 terror attacks, which have, so far, claimed more than 1,400 lives.
Norway's 86-year-old King Harald V, who has been in frail health in the past few years, has tested positive for the coronavirus and has mild symptoms, royal officials said on Sunday. Norway's King Harald V is seen.(AP)

His Majesty the King has been diagnosed with corona and is on sick leave until he is symptom-free. The king has cold symptoms and stays at home, the royal household said in a brief statement.

The Norwegian monarch had also tested positive in March 2022 with mild symptoms.

Officials have earlier said Harald had received three COVID-19 vaccine shots but it's not known whether he had received booster shots.

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store wished the king "a speedy recovery in a comment to the Norwegian news agency NTB, which said Harald's son and heir to the throne, Crown Prince Haakon, would take over his duties for now.

The aging monarch, who has been seen using crutches in various occasions, has been hospitalized several times in recent years.

In August 2022, he spent three days with a fever at a hospital, and in December the same year, he was again admitted for an infection that required intravenous antibiotics.

In October 2020, the king underwent surgery to replace a heart valve after being hospitalized with breathing difficulties.

Despite health problems, he has been attending major public events in Norway and its Nordic neighbours.

In September, Harald attended celebrations in Stockholm marking the 50th anniversary of Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf's accession to the throne.

In May, the monarch, who was released from a hospital just days earlier, appeared on the royal castle's balcony in Oslo to salute the thousands of children marching by as the country celebrated its Constitution Day.

The king is Norway's head of state but holds no political power, so his duties are ceremonial. Harald ascended to the throne following the death of his father, King Olav, in 1991.

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Pope Francis pleaded Sunday for an end to the Hamas-Israeli conflict amid fears it could widen, and called for more humanitarian aid to be allowed into to the Gaza Strip. Pope Francis holds prayer for migrants and refugees in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on October 19.(Reuters)

"War is always a defeat, it is a destruction of human fraternity. Brothers, stop! Stop!" Francis said after his traditional Angelus prayer in Rome's Saint Peter's Square.

"I renew my call for spaces to be opened, for humanitarian aid to continue to arrive and for hostages to be freed," the 86-year-old pontiff said.

Hamas militants stormed into Israel from the Gaza Strip on October 7, killing at least 1,400 people.

Israel's retaliatory bombing campaign has killed more than 4,300 Palestinians, mainly civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, and reduced swathes of densely populated Gaza to smouldering ruins.

Alarm has grown about a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where Israel has cut off water, food and power.

A first trickle of aid entered the besieged Strip on Saturday, but UN officials said the 20 trucks permitted to cross were not enough given the "catastrophic" humanitarian situation for 2.4 million people.

Two US hostages were released Friday but over 200 people abducted by the militants are still being held.

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While the loss of Arctic ice cover has been well known for decades, researchers have now found what is possibly the lowest area covered by sea ice this year in the Antarctic, a phenomenon that could have global ramifications including warmer ocean temperatures. This could even indirectly affect the timing of the annual monsoon in India in the future. Indo-Canadian researcher Vishnu Nandan stands on the Antarctic sea ice with glacial ice cliffs in the background. (Robbie Mallett/ University of Manitoba)

The two researchers currently studying and measuring the thickness of sea ice at the remote Rothera Research Station of the British Antarctic Survey on the continent are Indo-Canadian Dr Vishnu Nandan, who is affiliated with the universities of Calgary and Manitoba, and Dr Robbie Mallett from the University of Manitoba.

The researchers are wintering in Rothera as part of British project DEFIANT, or Drivers and Effects of Fluctuations in sea Ice in the ANTarctic.

In a telephonic interview with the HT speaking from Antarctica, Nandan, who is originally from Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, said, The Arctic sea ice has been declining over the past many decades. The Antarctic sea ice has been stable but has been showing decline since 2016. The lowest area covered by sea ice at the end of winters here was recorded this year.

The researchers use ground-based radar systems to mimic satellite radars to measure the thickness of sea ice and snow in Antarctica.

This years sea ice extent is almost 1 million sqkm less than in 1986, Nandan said, based on what scientists across the globe have found. They have attributed multiple factors for this loss, including extreme storm events and warm weather patterns that delay the ocean freeze-up, with a lot of winds preventing the stability of sea ice.

There are global consequences if sea ice and snow loss continue unabated. Sea ice and snow is white and most of the sunlight reflects off it. The open ocean, however, absorbs the heat. If theres no sea ice, polar oceans become really warm, affecting other oceans, including the Indian Ocean, though its a gradual process, he explained.

That could lead to disruption in ocean circulation, and a surfeit of ocean heat is a gradual recipe for climate disaster, he said, as it could cause extreme weather events like cyclones, and, importantly for countries like India, unpredictable monsoon timings.

Plus, sufficient sea ice is necessary for the survival of local flora and fauna such as seals, penguins, algae and phytoplankton.

Nandan is a radar remote sensing specialist who tracks sea ice thickness. The researchers have been at the Antarctic station since March this year and expect to return to Canada in November.

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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit the Iranian capital Tehran on Monday for talks with regional counterparts, his ministry's spokeswoman has confirmed. Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov.(AFP)

Iran's official IRNA news agency reported earlier that the foreign ministers of Russia, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia had been invited to meet for the talks.

"We confirm Lavrov's planned talks in Tehran on Monday," foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told the TASS and RIA news agencies.

The talks come amid tensions over the Middle East and unresolved disputes between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which launched a lightning offensive against Armenian separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh last month.

Since launching its assault in Ukraine last year, Russia has turned to Iran for military support and economic partnerships as both countries face a raft of Western sanctions.

Western countries have accused Tehran of supporting Russia's offensive in Ukraine by providing it with large quantities of drones and other weaponry.
A missile strike on a mail depot in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv killed six people, Ukrainian officials said Sunday. This picture shows Ukrainian rescuers working among the debris of a mail depot building following missile strikes at the village of Korotych in Kharkiv region.(AFP)

A further 16 people were injured in the blast late Saturday, which is believed to have been caused by a Russian S-300 rocket, Kharkiv governor Oleh Syniehubov said on social media.

All of the victims were employees of private Ukrainian postal and courier service Nova Poshta.

In a statement, the company said that the air raid siren had sounded just moments before the attack, leaving those inside the depot with no time to reach shelter. It announced that Sunday would be a day of mourning for the firm.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the strike as an attack on an ordinary civilian object.

We need to respond to Russian terror every day with results on the front line. And, even more so, we need to strengthen global unity in order to fight against this terror, he wrote on social media. Russia will not be able to achieve anything through terror and murder. The end result for all terrorists is the same: the need to face responsibility for what they have done.

Elsewhere in the Kharkiv region, three people were injured in Russian shelling on the city of Kupiansk, Syniehubov said.

The Ukrainian-held front-line city has been at the heart of fierce fighting as both Moscow and Kyiv push for battlefield breakthroughs amid the looming onset of wintry conditions.

Officials in southern Ukraine said Sunday that the Russian military had used a record number of aerial bombs over the countrys Kherson region in the past 24 hours.

Natalia Humeniuk, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian militarys Operational Command South, said that 36 missiles had been recorded over the area, with some villages being hit by several strikes.

In a report released Saturday, the Institute for the Study of War said that Russian forces could be diversifying the mix of missiles, guided bombs, and drones used in strikes on Ukraine. The Washington-based think tank speculated that the change could be part of an attempt to find gaps in Ukraines air defenses ahead of further strikes over the winter.
A 34-year-old woman from Modesto, California was arrested for allegedly stabbing her 4-year-old daughter to death and attempting to kill her 10-year-old son. On Tuesday, Mina Nazari pleaded not guilty to the killing of her daughter. Authorities received a report of a potential assault at Crown Ridge Apartments in the 3900 block of Scenic Drive on Sunday, October 15. Officers discovered the dead body of Fatima Sana Akram and another child who was unharmed upon their arrival at the location. Mina Nazari( STANISLAUS COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE)

ALSO READ: Dave Chappelle triggers walkout from Boston show after pro-Palestine statements

Modesto Police Department has determined that Nazari fatally stabbed the girl and tried to kill her other child. On October 17, the Stanislaus County District Attorney revealed that his office was charging Nazari in connection with the murder. She has now been charged with first-degree murder and child abuse causing in death of the young girl. She is also facing charges of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon and child endangerment in connection to her son, according to The Modesto Bee.

The girl's father Fahim Akram, who is a full-time Uber driver, initially called 911. According to a family friend, Nazari suffers from mental illness, as per KOVR-TV. A neighbour who learned about the tragic incident said, I think about the husband and the little boy. The tragedy that is left, the impact it has on this child now, knowing that his mother did that. In order to help them with the burial expenses of Fatima, a friend of the family created a GoFundMe page.

Nazari, who was born in Iran, was arraigned in Stanislaus Superior Court, assisted over Zoom by a Farsi interpreter. She is currently being held at the Stanislaus County Public Safety Center without bail. However, Judge Kellie Westbrook has ordered her to return to court on Tuesday, October 24 for a bail hearing. Additionally, Deputy District Attorney Fawn Smolak has asserted that if bail is set, it should be at a minimum of $2.635 million, considering she has relatives overseas and it could be a possible threat, in case she attempts to flee.

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Meghan McCain has slammed Columbia University for its take on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. Notably, some student groups in Columbia and Harvard sided with terrorist organisation Hamas after the latter attacked Southern Israel on October 7 and killed hundreds of innocent civilians. US TV personality Meghan McCain (AFP)

The only thing I can say is they will never get a dime from me. I will never do any speaking engagements with them. Columbia can go to hell as far as Im concerned, McCain told the New York Post.

I mean, the virulent antisemitism going on by the students on campus and then the professor coming out saying that he felt invigorated by the terror attacks. Its just not something that should be acceptable in academia, she added.

McCain who is an alumnus of Columbia University, shared that she won't be sending her kids to study there given the institution's stance amid the situation in Israel.

My kids will not be attending Ivy League schools if this is still the culture its going to be . . . indoctrination camps for antisemitism and a place where free speech is violence, but beheading babies and raping women is not, said McCain.

Notably, Columbia professor Joseph Massad had hailed Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7. The University has refused to remove Massad despite widespread uproar against his anti-Israeli stance.

ALSO READ| We make it clear: American hostages' family react to Shaun King's claims about felicitating their release from Hamas

Meanwhile, Israel's offensive against Hamas in Gaza has entered the 16th day. Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has affirmed the nation's commitment to completely dismantle and destroy the terror network of Hamas. Netanyahu has also warned Lebanese terror group Hezbollah from entering the ongoing war.

Amid the war situation, relief material and aid from across the world is being sent into Gaza for the Palestinians. Several world leaders including Pope Francis have appealed for the end of the war.

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Akshardham Mahamandir, the World's second-largest Hindu temple in the world was recently unveiled in New Jersey. Americans have been admiring the beauty of the devoted construction on social media with some even expressing their wishes to convert to Hinduism. Many across religions and borders have been appreciating the temple's intricate architecture and enthralling beauty.

Packy McCormick, founder and writer of the famous business newsletter Not Boring took to X (Formerly Twitter) to share the temple's photos writing:

"This Hindu temple just opened near my in-laws in NJ. Second largest in the world.

We can, we do know how to do it.

Culture Critic in absolute shambles."

To Packy's post, Nat Eliason, writer and owner of the philosophy and crypto newsletter Infinite Play wrote, Brb converting.

Same (only one in my family who isnt already; this was the final straw), replied Packy.

The temple was created by over 12,500 volunteers from across the country for over 12 years. It is made up of marble, granite and limestone, brought in from Europe and hand-carved by Indian artisans.

It is replete with 10,000 statues and 151 carvings of ancient Indian musical instruments and is an abode of the BAPS spiritual leader and Guru Mahant Swami Maharaj.

Many across religions and borders have been appreciating the temple's intricate architecture and enthralling beauty.

Seeing the magnificent construction, a user on X called out to get more focused the Christian cathedral architecture, writing, "Bro, we Christians gotta get on the cathedral grind again  can't be getting outdone like that.

(This is seriously so awesome)"

Some of the Hindu temples which are architecture wonders in India. There are so many more. The best thing about this culture You will not burn in eternal hell fire If you don't beleive in this god, appreciated an X user.

Another user commented how the western culture had stopped constructing anything with their traditional architecture anymore, writing, Amazing , western culture barely constructs tradition architecture anymore and its devastating . Glad that your people still value such things as ones culture and history is something to be proud of.

Some actually thought the temple was a Minecraft creation at first.

"I thought this was a Minecraft creation at first!" Did someone build this in Minecraft? and more.

The 87,975 square-foot temple, standing 191 feet tall is located in Robbinsville, New Jersey can welcomes all.

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Amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, there has been a rise in anti-Israel and anti-Jew mindset across the world. Swayed by anti-Israel narrative, some student groups from prestigious institutions like the Harvard University and the Columbia University have protested in support of terror group Hamas. Even so-called intellectuals, professors and persons holding high positions, have shared hate-filled messages against Israel amid the existing scenario. Notably, Israel is at war with Hamas after the terrorist organisation massacred hundreds of innocent civilians in an unprovoked attack on Southern Israel on October 7. Canadian professor Gad Saad (X(formerly Twitter)/@GadSaad)

While world leaders and the civil society are pleading to end war which has caused devastation and destruction on both sides, many Israelis are pointing towards an increase in anti-Semitic voices on social media. In recent times, Jews have been targeted in the US by pro-Palestine groups.

Amid the current scenario, Canadian professor and popular YouTuber Dr. Gad Saad has made a prediction about the safety of Jews. Saad is the writer of famous book "The Parasitic Mind: How Infectious Ideas Are Killing Common Sense".

Taking to X(formerly Twitter), Saad wrote, "To all Jews around the world: Consider learning Cantonese or Mandarin and keep your fingers crossed that China allows you in. This might become the only safe place for Jews in 20+ years. Tragic but true."

Saad's tweet has gone viral on social media with more than a million views. However, many netizens questioned him for choosing China as a safe haven for Jews. Some social media users opined that India, Brazil etc. will be better options for asylum than China.

ALSO READ| Columbia can go to hell: Meghan McCain slams the university for anti-semitism amid Israel's war against Hamas

Meanwhile, Israel's offensive against Hamas in Gaza has entered the 16th day. Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has affirmed the nation's commitment to completely dismantle and destroy the terror network of Hamas. Netanyahu has also warned rival Lebanese terror group Hezbollah from entering the ongoing war.

Amid the war situation, relief material and aid from across the world, is being sent into Gaza for the Palestinians.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 22. The 2nd meeting of the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Russia, Turkiye and Iran within the 3+3 format (Russia, Iran and Turkiye, and 3 South Caucasus countries - Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia) will be held in Tehran on October 23, Trend reports.

During the meeting, the investigation of South Caucasus issues, the development of regional cooperation (political, economic, security, transit, energy, etc.) will be discussed.

One of the main goals of the meeting held in the 3+3 format is to solve the regional problems without the participation of countries outside the region and with the participation of the countries of the region, and the implementation of peace negotiations between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Reportedly, the first meeting in the 3+3 format was held last year in Moscow at the level of deputy foreign ministers without the participation of Georgia.

---

Follow the author on X (Twitter): @BaghishovElnur
Family of the two American hostages who were released from Hamas' custody in Gaza, have reacted to American writer and social activist Shaun King's claims that he facilitated their release. Notably, Judith Raanan and her 17-year-old daughter, Natalie were received by the Israeli military upon their release on Friday. Hamas had shared that it released the hostages for humanitarian reasons. Judith Tai Raanan and her daughter Natalie Shoshana Raanan, U.S. citizens who were taken as hostages by Palestinian Hamas militants, look on after they were released by the militants, in response to Qatari mediation efforts, in Gaza Strip, in this still picture taken from a video obtained by Reuters on October 21, 2023. (via REUTERS)

"In response to Qatari efforts, Al-Qassam Brigades released two American citizens (a mother and her daughter) for humanitarian reasons, and to prove to the American people and the world that the claims made by Biden and his fascist administration are false and baseless," Hamas had written.

What Shaun King claimed

Taking to Instagram, King had claimed that he facilitated the release of Judith and Natalie. In his post, the American writer had thanked Qatar for their help in the safe release of the hostages.

Hamas has just freed the teenager Natalie Raanan and her mother. Im grateful. As I said last week, Natalie and her family have been supporters of mine and protested police violence in America alongside us. I am also thankful for the Qatari government for helping to negotiate this. Dozens of us worked frantically behind the scenes to help make this possible. I spoke to Natalies family this afternoon and they are anxiously awaiting more updates," wrote King.

ALSO READ| Airbnb guest leaves San Francisco host 'homeless' and in over $300,000 of debt

Raanan family's reaction to King's claims

The American hostages' family out rightly denied having any links or association with King. The family called him a "liar" and vehemently rejected his claims.

"First and foremost, we make it clear that he is lying! Our family does not and did not have anything to do with him, neither directly nor indirectly. Not to him and not to anything he claims to represent," said the family.

"Natalie told us that this morning it was the first time in her life that she came across Shaun King's name and his posts, after she finally got a phone call after two horrific weeks in captivity in Gaza, and was looking for what was written about her while she was away," added the family.

However, about 200 people who were abducted from Southern Israel on October 7 during the terrorist attack by Hamas, are yet to be released.

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A woman in Brooklyn was caught on camera tearing down posters of Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas terrorists. The unidentified woman ripped down the posters in Williamsburg, which has a large Orthodox Jewish population. A woman in Brooklyn was caught on camera tearing down posters of Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas terrorists (r/williamsburg/Reddit)

The video, posted to Reddit, shows the woman taking down the flyers one by one. Multiple flyers lined the green wood before being ripped down. A man filming the incident is heard yelling, Hey, hey, what are you doing? The woman, however, ignores him and continues to destroy the posters.

Theyre innocent people, the man yells. Yeah, theyre innocent, the woman responds.

Theyre children, theyre babies, theyre elderly people, the man continues. Are you proud of yourself? The woman, now annoyed, is seen shoving the papers in front of the mans camera.

These are innocent people, babies, mothers kidnapped! the person who was filming her continues to yell. The woman now starts to tear the posters more aggressively, as a man accompanying her asks the person filming her to get out of her face.

Other similar incidents

This is not the first time people in America were seen tearing down posters of Israeli hostages. Three NYU students were recently caught on camera ripping down posters of Israeli hostages. One of the students, Yazmeen Deyhimi, later admitted to have done the same.

The students were filmed at Tisch Hall in Manhattan's Greenwich Village, taking down posters students had put up of several people being held hostage by Hamas terrorists. They were photographed smirking as they walked away holding the crumbled images.

Meanwhile, a dentist from South Florida was reportedly fired on Wednesday, October 18, after he was seen in a video ripping down posters of Israeli hostages. Dr. Ahmed ElKoussa claimed he tore down the posters plastered across Miami to quell what he believes is racially charged hatred in the city.

A viral video shows two men, one of whom has been identified as Ahmed, taking down posters of the hostages. Over 200 people are being held hostages by Hamas. About 50 more victims who were kidnapped are being held by other resistance factions and in other places, Hamas military officials said, according to New York Post.

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The U.S. State Department said on Sunday U.S. citizens should not travel to Iraq after recent attacks on American troops and personnel in the region. Security forces stand near the entrance of the Green Zone, home to the US embassy and other missions, in Baghdad, Iraq.(Reuters)

The travel advisory says, "Do not travel to Iraq due to terrorism, kidnapping, armed conflict, civil unrest, and Mission Iraqs limited capacity to provide support to U.S. citizens."

There has been a spike in attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria since the conflict between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza broke out. Last week, a U.S. warship shot down more than a dozen drones and four cruise missiles fired by Iranian-backed Houthis from Yemen.

The advisory followed the ordered departure of eligible family members and non-emergency U.S. government personnel from U.S. Embassy Baghdad and U.S. Consulate General Erbil "due to increased security threats against U.S. personnel and interests," the State Department said in a statement.

Washington is on heightened alert for activity by Iran-backed groups as regional tensions soar during the Israel-Hamas war, which began after Palestinian Islamist group Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing over 1,400 people.

Israel has since retaliated with deadly air strikes on Gaza, a 45 km-long (25-mile) strip of land that is part of the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories and home to 2.3 million people that has been ruled politically since 2006 by Hamas. Israel's air strikes have killed over 4,700 people, Palestinian officials say.

"Because of security concerns, U.S. government personnel in Baghdad are instructed not to use Baghdad International Airport," the State Department said on Sunday.

The United States has sent a significant amount of naval power to the Middle East in recent weeks, including two aircraft carriers, their support ships and about 2,000 Marines.

The U.S. will send a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system and additional Patriot air defense missile system battalions to the Middle East, the Pentagon said on Saturday.
China's top spy agency said on Sunday a Chinese citizen who worked for a defense institute had been accused of spying for the United States and his case had been transferred to a court in the southwestern city of Chengdu for trial. Chinese and US flags flutter.(Reuters)

The case is the latest to underscore Beijing's heightened commitment to national security, its expanded anti-spying laws and crackdown on domestic corruption.

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said in a television report that a man surnamed Hou who worked at an undisclosed defense institute was sent in 2013 as a visiting scholar to a U.S. university, where he was coerced into revealing Chinese state secrets.

China's Ministry of State Security released a statement with the report on its WeChat social media account on Sunday, saying "espionage activities go hand in hand with deception, temptation, and conspiracy."

The university was not named in the statement or media report.

CCTV said a U.S. professor close to Hou introduced him to someone who claimed to be an employee of a consulting company, but was actually an American "intelligence officer" using the company as his cover, CCTV said.

In the ensuing months as they became more friendly, the intelligence officer approached Hou to become a consulting expert at "his company", promising him a payment of $600-$700 each time for the quality of his service.

A few months later, while Hou's wife and son were visiting the U.S., the American revealed his true intentions and proposed a change in the way they cooperated. Hou, fearing for his wife's and son's safety, agreed to the terms, according to CCTV.

Under the arrangement, over many meetings, Hou would be asked to disclose highly classified secrets in hour-long sessions and would get $1,000 as compensation, the report said.

The cooperation continued after Hou returned to China in 2014. He would meet with U.S. intelligence while attending international conferences, CCTV said. He also provided intelligence information in the field of national defense and the military industry on his own initiative, the report said.

After investigations by the Chinese government, Hou was detained in July 2021 and charged on suspicion of espionage.

In recent years, China has arrested and detained dozens of Chinese and foreign nationals on suspicion of espionage, raising the concerns of the U.S. over its counter-espionage push.

Recently, China's spy agency published new details about a U.S. citizen jailed for life for espionage earlier this year.

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Very few Chinese know about the ruthless side of Zheng He, the Ming-dynasty explorer and eunuch admiral, a scholar once observed to Chaguan, unexpectedly, over tea in a Beijing courtyard house. Pouring fresh cups, the scholara member of Chinas national-security establishmentwarmed to his theme. In China, he explained, Zheng He is seen as a 15th-century Santa Claus, leading his fleet to Africa, Arabia and Asia to hand out porcelain and silks on behalf of his mighty, far-off emperor. But in such places as Sri Lanka, Zheng He is remembered as a terror, who punished local rulers for defying his imperial writ and shipped some of them back to China as captives. The Chinese public is blissfully ignorant about that history, sighed the scholar, blaming his countrys desire to be loved. PREMIUM Chinese President Xi Jinping(AFP)

Much the same desire suffused the Third Belt and Road Forum, held in Beijing on October 17th and 18th. The forum commemorated the first ten years of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a lending and infrastructure scheme that has seen China build dams, bridges, ports and more on four continents. In part, the opening speech by Xi Jinping, the Communist Party chief, was a guide to how the BRI is changing. With Chinas growth slowing, and many existing BRI projects mired in debt, there is less emphasis now on billion-dollar loans and on pouring concrete, and more on promoting Chinese standards and technologies, notably in green and digital infrastructure, and on small yet smart grassroots projects. In larger part, though, Mr Xis speech was a call for China to be loved.

Addressing foreign dignitaries in the Great Hall of the People, Mr Xi made a case for Chinese exceptionalism. He presented his country as a peace-loving giant, guided by the centuries-old spirit of the Silk Road. In this telling, Chinas Silk Road spirit is not a charitable impulse, but something more dependable: namely, a pragmatic pursuit of prosperity via mutually profitable trade. Though Mr Xi did not mention Zheng He by name, his governments white paper on the BRI, published on the forums eve, cites the navigator as an inspiration, hailing his seven maritime expeditions that boosted trade along the maritime silk routes.

The admirals ghost hung over the speech as Mr Xi repeated one of his favourite claims about Chinas past. The pioneers of the ancient silk routes won their place in history not as conquerors with warships, guns, horses or swords, he declared. Rather, they are remembered as friendly emissaries leading camel caravans and sailing ships loaded with goods. Without mentioning the conflicts raging in the Middle East and Ukraine, Mr Xi contrasted this Chinese focus on trade and development with the selfishness of world powers that are bent on ideological confrontation. He announced a Global Initiative for Artificial Intelligence Governance. Though global in name, this promotes a very Chinese worldview. It would defer to the laws (and censors) of sovereign states, and prohibit Americas current export controls on chips that enable AI. In a volatile world, Mr Xi said, the BRI is on the right side of history. He added a rebuke for countries that practise economic coercion. Foreign leaders in the hall were polite enough not to snigger or gasp, though China routinely uses trade as a weapon.

As ever in China, much of this propaganda is aimed at domestic audiences. Chinese state media offered blanket coverage of the forum, asserting that over 140 countries sent representatives. They did not mention that just 21 heads of state and government turned up, fewer than attended the first and second forums, held in 2017 and 2019not least because few Western governments wished to share a stage with President Vladimir Putin of Russia, Mr Xis guest of honour. Only one leader from the European Union attended, the Kremlin-friendly Viktor Orban of Hungary.

Mr Putin gave a speech directly after Mr Xis. To a striking extent it reflected his growing dependence on China. As a result of Western sanctions imposed after his invasion of Ukraine, China is now the largest buyer of Russian energy, and Chinese exports to Russia have soared. Thanking his dear friend Mr Xi for the invitation to Beijing, Mr Putin played dutiful cheerleader for the BRI. Sounding at times like his own transport minister, Mr Putin reeled off lists of BRI-compatible railway lines and logistics corridors that Russia plans to build. He praised the opening last year of a bridge across the Amur river between China and Russia, not mentioning that Russian officials dragged their feet on that project for years before rushing to finish it once the Ukraine war broke out. Forgetting Russias long-standing wariness of Chinese investment in the Arctic, he invited interested states to take part in the development of a Northern Sea Route opening up as sea ice retreats.

Putin as a character witness

In interviews with Chinese state media, Mr Putin offered still more praise. When offering economic opportunities to other countries, Mr Xis China never imposes or enforces its will, he said. This, he averred, makes the BRI different from policies pushed by countries with a heavy colonial legacy. Once more, that language echoes Chinese talking points. Chinas white paper casts the BRIs model of development as a challenge to the exploitative colonialism of the past. It is the spirit of the Belt and Road to advocate equality, it argues, in contrast to those who push the superiority of Western civilisation.

Attacks on Western arrogance resonate with many developing countries. If the BRI offers useful technologies, skills or investments, many governments will take that deal. Some countries support Chinas proposals for global governance, especially if that means fewer questions about their political systems, or human rights. But those leaders in the Great Hall of the People are not dupes. For one thing, many remember their history, and how Chinese naval fleets and armies brought their countries much more than trade over the centuries. Mr Xis China is taken seriously, especially by its neighbours. Love has nothing to do with it.

Read more from Chaguan, our columnist on China: Chinas ties with America are warming, a bit (Oct 12th) China wants to be the leader of the global south (Sep 21st) Xi Jinping builds a 21st-century police state (Sep 14th)

Also: How the Chaguan column got its name

 2023, The Economist Newspaper Limited. All rights reserved. From The Economist, published under licence. The original content can be found on www.economist.com
BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 22. The Western Azerbaijan Community has expressed its opinion on the Azerbaijanophobic statements of the former Ombudsperson of Armenia, Trend reports.

"The former Ombudsperson of Armenia Arman Tatoyan has again made a number of Azerbaijanophobic and ridiculous statements," said the community.

"Tatoyan and those who share his views were greatly disappointed by the absence of any violence or negative treatment of Armenian residents in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. They cannot prove their false claims about "genocide" and "ethnic cleansing", and because of this they make meaningless statements," the statement said.

The opinions of Tatoyan and his associates, distorting the activities of the Western Azerbaijan Community, are completely unfounded. The Western Azerbaijan Community has no territorial claims to Armenia.

The community's activities are of a human rights and humanitarian nature, aimed at achieving the peaceful return of Western Azerbaijanis to their ancestral lands and preventing the destruction of the historical and cultural heritage of the Azerbaijani people in Armenia," the statement said.
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BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 22. Tomorrow a meeting of foreign ministers in the 3+3 format will take place in Tehran, Aykhan Hajizada, Spokesperson for Azerbaijans Foreign Ministry, said, Trend reports.

Tomorrow it is planned to hold a meeting in Tehran in the 3+3 format. Details are not yet known. Additional information will be provided soon, he said.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia also agreed to take part in this meeting.

During the meeting, the investigation of South Caucasus issues, the development of regional cooperation (political, economic, security, transit, energy, etc.) will be discussed.

One of the main goals of the meeting held in the 3+3 format is to solve the regional problems without the participation of countries outside the region and with the participation of the countries of the region, and the implementation of peace negotiations between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Reportedly, the first meeting in the 3+3 format was held last year in Moscow at the level of deputy foreign ministers without the participation of Georgia.
Leading building solutions provider Holcim Philippiness efforts to drive business results and positive impact were recognized in the 2023 Europa Awards with the company bagging top prizes in the Digitalization for Sustainability and Water Resource Management categories.

From left, European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) President Paulo Duarte, Geocycle New Revenue Streams Manager Dia Cruz, Holcim Philippines Stakeholder Relations Manager Jill Ramos, CFO Eliana Nieto, President and CEO Horia Adrian, Bulacan Plant Manager Erdy Cruz, Chief Sustainability Officer Zoe Sibala, Bulacan Environment Officer Violie Bautista, Senior Vice President for Cement Industrial Performance Eung Rae Kim, Communications Manager Don Carreon and ECCP Executive Director Florian Gottein during the awards ceremony (photo courtesy of ECCP)

In a night recognizing excellence in sustainability, Holcim Philippines further distinguished itself for being the only multiple awardee and a finalist in the Waste Management category.

Organized by the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, the Europa Awards recognizes companies for exceptional performance and contributions in promoting sustainability in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the Philippine Development Plan.

Holcim Philippines President and CEO Horia Adrian: "Thank you to the organizers for the recognition and to our people and stakeholders helping us make the company a stronger development partner of the country. These awards further encourage us to accelerate our transformation anchored on sustainability and innovation to win with purpose and help build progress in the Philippines."

The company received the Water Resource Management Award for excellence managing water resources through innovative approaches and practices. The company highlighted its success in reducing freshwater withdrawals by 64% since 2018 driven by investments in systems for operational efficiency and rainwater harvesting facilities.

Holcim Philippines aims to cut freshwater withdrawals to zero and provide water to the communities by 2030. It was the second water award Holcim Philippines received in 2023 with the company also bagging the Wise Water Choice Award from the National Water Resources Board earlier this year.

Hocim Philippines also took home top honors in the Digitalization for Sustainability category for excellent use of technology to reach sustainability goals. The company highlighted its digitalization programs raising the efficiency, safety and environmental performance of the business. Of particular note were its incorporation of data analytics for greater transparency and speed in decision making and Plants of Tomorrow initiatives focused on operational excellence and predictive maintenance.

Holcim Philippines is accelerating its transformation as a sustainable and innovative building solutions provider with focus on advancing decarbonization and circular economy in the construction industry. Since 2018, Holcim Philippines has reduced its carbon footprint by more than 20% by producing more blended cements, replacing coal with qualified wastes as alternative fuels and raw materials, and improving efficiency of operations.

The companys carbon footprint reduction program is aligned with the Holcim Groups Net Zero direction and the countrys Nationally Determined Contributions. Holcim Philippines also is working with key stakeholders to encourage the shift to low-carbon products that reduce the footprint of the built environment.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 22. On the eve of "Mustafa Kemal Ataturk - 2023" joint tactical exercises, the commando units of the Azerbaijan Army and the Turkish Armed Forces worked on accomplishment of special tasks, Trend reports referring to Azerbaijan's Ministry of Defense.

According to the plan, the commandos penetrated into the depth of the operational area and successfully accomplished the tasks on identifying, encircling and neutralizing the temporary shelters of the sabotage group of the imaginary enemy stationed in the residential areas.

It should be noted that the joint tactical exercises dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Republic of Turkiye are about to be held on October 23-25 in several directions, including Baku city, Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic and the liberated territories.
Errol Morris is arguably one of the greatest living documentary filmmakers. The 75-year-old American may also be one of the grumpiest. Films like The Thin Blue Line (1988), about the killing of a Dallas police officer, and his Oscar-winning The Fog of War (2003), about former US secretary of defence Robert McNamara, have changed the way we think about non-fiction films. But when we meet in London to talk about his latest film, The Pigeon Tunnel, an absorbing portrait of John le Carre, author of classic espionage novels A Perfect Spy and The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, hes ready to shred any enquiries he doesnt like.

I gently ask why Le Carre, whose real name was David Cornwell, wanted to participate in the film, which delves deeply into his personal relations, especially with his father Ronnie. I find it a crazy question, Morris retorts. As if, somehow, I am myself lodged somewhere in his brain. Do I know exactly why he decided to do this interview? No. Did he never say? He does say at some point during the interview that I can ask him any question I choose. And he says he will answer any question that I care to ask. He also says he doesnt want to talk about his sex life! I have to admit, I wasnt particularly interested in talking about his sex life.

The film is sculpted around 2016s The Pigeon Tunnel, Le Carres autobiographical account of his early years and his time in the British intelligence services during the Cold War. I often compare him to [Heart of Darkness author Joseph] Conrad, because here you have a guy travelling the world, interacting with people, with history, Morris says, admiringly. And for me, its one of the things that makes him this incredibly fascinating character. Not the fact he was f***ing around. Im sorry. [For that] you get Masters and Johnson to interview him.
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Martin Scorseses Killers of the Flower Moon is as much a companion to Goodfellas as The Departed was  albeit dealing with a type of gangsterism that America has long refused to confront, of an organised effort to steal from and butcher its indigenous people for monetary profit.

In 1894, oil was discovered on land belonging to the Osage Nation. They ensured ownership of the mineral rights, and became the richest people per capita on Earth. Then the wolves came. At the dawn of a new century, and during a period known as the Reign of Terror, dozens of Osage were murdered, their share of the oil rights inherited by the white co-conspirators who had married into their families. Killers of the Flower Moon hones in on one such individual, Leonardo DiCaprios Ernest Burkhart, who arrived in Fairfax, Oklahoma, and married Mollie Kyle (Lily Gladstone) at the behest of his uncle, William Hale (Robert De Niro).

Scorsese has deemed this film his first Western, but it carries with it his traditional fixations: the rotted core of mans heart; how power breeds the impulse for destruction; the myths of cowboys and outlaws and the dirty truth to them. Hale, who mistakes power for wisdom, claims fate has determined that the Osage Nations time has come to an end. This wealth will run dry, he tells Ernest. Theyre a big-hearted people, but sickly.

A sudden, destabilising cut at the end of the scene  courtesy of Thelma Schoonmaker, the long-time editor responsible for so much of Scorseses electrifying propulsion  confronts us with the violence of those words. An Osage man is seen dying, splayed out on the floor and choking on poison. Scorsese has never been one to consciously set out his own moral boundaries; hes simply a director who tells stories with such profound care and empathy that the barbarity of these crimes leaves behind its own stench.

When Scorsese began to adapt David Granns 2017 non-fiction book on the Osage murders, he and screenwriter Eric Roth initially carried over Granns central focus: Tom White, the FBI agent tasked by J Edgar Hoover to solve the crime. But that, Scorsese realised, would have made a hero out of someone undeserving. While Jesse Plemons makes for a stoic White in the film, its focus stays on Mollie and Ernest, who are said to have loved each other in spite of it all  its a kind of love that sparks good in Ernest, but fails to protect Mollie.

DiCaprio, with a mouth full of rotted teeth, offers us a man who is loving and weak and ugly deep down in his soul, a man whose cheek twitches when he lies, and whose body deteriorates from guilt faster than any poison. But its Gladstone who provides the films centre of gravity. She gives one of the most extraordinary performances by a woman in any of Scorseses movies. She is serene but not saintly; a figure of tragedy with a fire in her belly. The first time we dive into Mollies perspective, its with a force that could suck the breath out of your body. The eyes of the white men and women around her are curdled with disgust. Hers are all-knowing about the future thats barreling towards her.

Lily Gladstone in Killers of the Flower Moon (Apple TV+)

Killers of the Flower Moon, despite the weighty presence of DiCaprio and De Niro, is ultimately framed around the perspective of the Osage Nation, who worked extensively on the production as consultants, craftsmen and actors (Gladstone herself, to clarify, is not Osage but of Blackfeet and Nimiipuu heritage). The film begins and ends with their rituals, its prologue adapted from Osage writer Charles H Red Corns A Pipe for February. It even seems to issue a warning to those who would try to destroy them. In a key scene framed by the burning of farmland, Mollie tells Ernest: Youre next. In this quietly apocalyptic retelling of history, white Americas destruction will not end at its own borders  eventually, it will consume itself, too.

Dir: Martin Scorsese. Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, Jesse Plemons, Tantoo Cardinal, Cara Jade Myers, JaNae Collins, Jillian Dion. 206 minutes.

Killers of the Flower Moon is in cinemas from 20 October
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China and the Philippines exchanged accusations as they clashed in contested South China Sea waters when Chinese vessels obstructed a Philippine supply boat to forces in the area on Sunday, marking the most recent incident in a string of maritime confrontations.

The incident occurred as a Philippine boat was attempting to send supplies to troops stationed on a rusted Second World War-era transport ship used as an outpost on the shoal, prompting Chinas coast guard to repeatedly deploy vessels to block the resupply missions.

China's coast guard claimed there was a "slight collision" between one of its ships and the Philippine boat, stating that they were lawfully blocking the vessel from transporting what they termed as "illegal construction materials" to a warship stationed on the shoal.

Manila responded by condemning in the strongest degree the dangerous blocking manoeuvres of the Chinese vessel.

Chinas dangerous, irresponsible and illegal actions were in violation of Philippine sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction, Manilas Task Force for the West Philippine Sea said in a statement.

This incident adds to the ongoing tensions between China and the Philippines, with the former asserting sovereignty over a significant portion of the South China Sea, including areas within the exclusive economic zones of neighbouring countries such as the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Indonesia.

Notably, the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled in 2016 that China's claims in the South China Sea had no legal basis, a decision that China has contested.

Last week, the Philippine military called on China to halt its "dangerous and offensive" actions after a Chinese navy ship shadowed and attempted to cut off a Philippine navy vessel involved in a resupply mission. China had warned the Philippines against further "provocations," emphasising that such actions violated its territorial sovereignty.

The disputed Second Thomas Shoal has been a point of contention between the two countries for years. Manila grounded the BRP Sierra Madre warship in 1999 on the shoal as part of its sovereignty claim, asserting its rights to the area within its 200-mile exclusive economic zone.

Additional reporting by agencies
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India sent out humanitarian aid to war-torn Palestine on Sunday after the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza finally opened to allow desperately needed help to flow in for the first time since Israel sealed off the territory.

An Indian Air Force C-17 flight flew off from Delhi on Sunday morning carrying nearly 6.5 tonnes of medical aid and 32 tonnes of disaster relief material for the people of Palestine.

The plane will reach the El-Arish airport in Egypt, Indias Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

The material includes essential life-saving medicines, surgical items, tents, sleeping bags, tarpaulins, sanitary utilities, water purification tablets among other necessary items, the MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Many countries have pledged aid to the besieged Gaza Strip where millions of people are stuck without access to food and water after Israel sealed off the territory as part of its attacks on the narrow strip following Hamas 7 October attack.

After days of negotiations, one route, the Rafah border crossing from Egypt into Gaza, has been opened for aid to arrive. However, on the first day on Saturday, only 20 vehicles were allowed to enter, which activists say was too little to support millions.

The first truck from the United Nations entered the region yesterday. The trucks were carrying 44,000 bottles of drinking water from the UNs childrens agency - enough for 22,000 people for a single day, it said.

This first, limited water will save lives, but the needs are immediate and immense, said Unicef executive director Catherine Russell.

More than 200 trucks carrying roughly 3,000 tons of aid have been positioned near the crossing for days, the Associated Press reported.

Earlier today, Israel warned it would increase its attacks in Gazas north and called on Gazans to move south out of harms way.

For your own safety move southward. We will continue to attack in the area of Gaza City and increase attacks, Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a briefing to Israeli reporters.

More than 4,300 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. That includes the disputed toll from a hospital explosion. The ministry says another 1,400 are believed to have been buried under rubble.

Al-Jazeera reported that Palestinians are receiving renewed warnings from Israels military to move to the south of the Gaza Strip.
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The leader of the Conservative Party in Canada and Justin Trudeaus main opponent in the upcoming elections, Pierre Poilievre, has criticised the Canadian prime ministers handling of the diplomatic row with Delhi once again and said he has reduced himself to a laughing stock in India.

Justin Trudeau is considered a laughing stock in India  the worlds biggest democracy, Mr Poilievre said in an interview with Nepals Namaste Radio Toronto.

Mr Poilievre, who is gearing up to challenge Mr Trudeau in the general elections in 2025, was asked about the bitter situation in the Canada-India relationship.

He put the blame on Mr Trudeau and said he was incompetent and unprofessional and vowed to restore a professional relationship with India if his party came to power.

Speaking of the worsening relationship between the two countries, which led to two-thirds of Canadian diplomats being asked to leave India this week, Mr Poilievre said: This is another example of how Justin Trudeau is not worth the cost after eight long years, Mr Poilievre told the outlet.

He has turned Canadians against each other at home and he has blown up our relations abroad.

He is so incompetent and unprofessional that now we are in major disputes with every major power in the world, and that includes India, the leader of the opposition in Canada said.

We need a professional relationship with the Indian government. India is the largest democracy on Earth and its fine to have our disagreements and hold each other accountable, but we have to have a professional relationship and that is what I will restore when I am prime minister of this country, he added.

Relations between India and Canada have deteriorated to their lowest level in recent months after Trudeau accused Delhi of involvement in the murder of a Sikh separatist leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Mr Poilievre also criticised other aspects of Mr Trudeaus foreign policy, claiming that the Canadian prime minister was letting Joe Biden walk all over him and that China was interfering in Canadian democracy.

After eight years of Trudeau, our reputation is in tatters. Beijing is interfering in our country, opening police stations in Canada to abuse our people.

President Biden is walking all over Trudeau and treating him like a doormat and slapping him around like a rag doll, the opposition leader remarked.
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The British Armys Royal Engineers have trained Ukrainian civilian engineers how to defend their energy sector from Russian attacks this winter.

Damage and destruction of critical national infrastructure (CNI) by Russian missile and drone attacks has represented one of the greatest threats to the lives and safety of Ukrainian civilians since the invasion.

The two-week training package was developed after a request from Ukraine.

Trainees were taught how to identify potential blast ranges and the impacts of different weapons and explosives, and where best to locate physical and aerial barriers to help protect sites from Russian attacks, the Ministry of Defence said.

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said the training was essential to protect Ukrainian civilians as winter approaches.

Mr Shapps said: Ukraines civilian population faces mortal danger on a daily basis from Putins forces and their indiscriminate campaign of bombardment against its critical infrastructure.

The Ukrainian people have demonstrated unwavering resilience in the face of this illegal invasion and this tailored package of training will help save lives during the bitterly cold winter months, where access to reliable energy is of vital importance.

Major Michael Suddaby, from 63 Works Group Royal Engineers, said: There is no doubt this training will be implemented in Ukraine in the coming weeks and have a real-life impact on the quality of life of its civilians and the ability for Ukraine to resist Russian attacks throughout the winter.

The Ukrainian participants were extremely motivated and will be able to apply the specialist force protection measures and the infrastructure assessment methods delivered on this course to support their country.

The Royal Engineers specialist reservists who work within the UK CNI sector employed their professional experience to deliver elements of the training at a UK gasworks, military airstrip, and a port facility.
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A survivor who had a pint of sulphuric acid thrown at his face in a case of mistaken identity has called for tougher sentencing amid an alarming rise in attacks.

Andreas Christopheros, 38, said he would rather have been shot than endure at least 60 agonising operations following the devastating acid attack, which left him severely scarred and blind in one eye.

He has called for the government to get tough on acid crime after figures published on Thursday revealed a 69 per cent rise in acid attacks in England and Wales, with 710 recorded in 2022  up from 421 the previous year, Acid Survivors Trust International (ASTI) found.

Mr Christopheros told The Independent: I think the statistics are really alarming. I think that the government need to be looking at them closely.

I would rather have been shot. I would rather have been stabbed. I would have been able to rebuild my life. I wouldnt have to get up every morning and look at my disfigured face.

He added: I think we all know that if a politician had been hit, or someone of high status, then things would be different already.

Mr Christopheros, who runs property development and events businesses, was attacked in 2014 when painter and decorator David Phillips, who had travelled 300 miles to carry out a revenge attack, targeted the wrong house.

When Mr Christopheros, then aged 30, opened his front door in Truro, Cornwall, Phillips shouted this is for you mate as he launched the sulphuric acid at his face.

Mr Christopheros realised it was acid when he felt his T-shirt melting from his shoulders as the liquid, which had also hit the ceiling, dripped down his back.

Mr Christopheros recovering from surgery  he has had to endure more than 60 procedures after he was doused in acid in 2014 (Andreas Christopheros )

Despite the agonising pain, Mr Christopheros was able to tell the police about his attacker before he lost consciousness. He awoke five days later in intensive care with life-changing injuries.

They thought I was going to die. They sat down my wife and told her they thought I wasnt going to make it. They couldnt make me stable, said Mr Christopheros, who now campaigns for survivors with the Katie Piper Foundation.

Thankfully he survived and was later airlifted to a specialist burns unit, where he spent the next two months recovering.

Nine years on from the attack, Mr Christopheros is partially blind and still undergoing regular procedures to try and manage his scarring.

He told The Independent that he stopped counting his surgeries a long time ago, but estimated he has had at least 60 different procedures through the NHS and a US-based charity, Face Forward, which has spent $650,000 on medical intervention with some of the best plastic surgeons in Beverly Hills.

However, Phillips is already walking free after he was released halfway through his 16-year sentence for grievous bodily harm with intent.

I still regularly have surgeries and I will have surgeries for years to come, while my attacker is out living a normal life, Mr Christopheros said.

Until the day I die, I am going to be wearing these scars. I am still going to be disfigured by what this man did to me.

After just five and a half years he was moved to an open prison in his home county. Its mind-boggling.

With Katie Piper on a visit to the Ministry of Justice to campaign for acid attack survivors (Andreas Christopheros)

Under more recent guidelines, Philips would have to serve at least three-quarters of his sentence before being eligible for release. But Mr Christopheros is calling for tougher sentencing and better education for judges around the lifelong impact of acid crime.

As a survivor, knowing they are out and about while you are still dealing with the ramifications is a real low blow. Tougher sentences are a deterrent, he added, noting that other countries including India and Pakistan have harsher punishments with perpetrators facing life with a minimum of 10 years or 14 years respectively.

Mr Christopheross attack came at the start of a wave of high-profile cases which culminated in tougher laws being introduced in the Offensive Weapons Bill, which was granted royal assent in 2019, which made it an offence to possess a corrosive substance in a public place, and put stricter controls on the sale of acids and other corrosive substances.

Attacks peaked in 2017 when 941 offences were recorded, but cases had been steadily dropping until the recent surge.

To read now that they have come back up in quite a serious way is really concerning, he added.

He also called for the two-strike rule  which sees a mandatory minimum sentence applied the second time an offender is caught carrying acid  to be abolished in favour of a one-strike sentence, and for a new law which would make decanting acid into an unmarked container a crime.

There is no need to decant acid or corrosive substances into an unmarked bottle or water bottle, he said, adding that further restricting access to acids will also help minimise attacks.

Prohibition is always difficult because people will still want to get their hands on it. But theres a lot that can be done to make it harder. You shouldnt be able to just walk into B&Q or buy it off Amazon.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: Acid attacks devastate lives, leaving victims with both emotional and physical scars, and our thoughts remain with Mr Christopheros.

While sentences are determined by independent judges, our tough changes to the law mean those who harm others with acids can face up to life imprisonment.
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Police are hunting for three fugitive prisoners who escaped jail on the same day, warning the public to not approach them.

The criminals, one of whom has been locked up for threatening someone with a blade, all fled Hollesley Bay prison, near Woodbridge, on Saturday, as officers appeal for help in finding them.

Two of the men are believed to have escaped the Category D open prison in the evening together, while another left in the morning.

Joshua Lewis Terry is serving a two-year and four-month sentence for affray, threatening a person with a blade or sharply pointed article in a public place, and theft (Suffolk Constabulary)

Suffolk Constabulary warned the public should not approach them.

The force received a report at around 7pm that Joshua Lewis Terry, 29, previously from the Norfolk area, and Levi Mitchell, 39, previously from the Hertfordshire area, had been reported missing.

It came after the force received a report at around 9.20am that Aidan McGuiness, 44, previously from the Barnsley area, had also been reported missing.

Levi Mitchell is currently serving a sentence for multiple burglary offences (Suffolk Constabulary)

Terry is serving a two-year and four-month sentence for affray, threatening a person with a blade or sharply pointed article in a public place, and theft.

He is described as being 6ft 2 inches tall with ginger hair and blue eyes. He is of a thin build with stubble facial hair. He also has a tattoo on his lower arm of a star.

Mitchell is currently serving a sentence for multiple burglary offences.

Aidan McGuiness is serving a three-year sentence for theft, fraud, and possession of a controlled drug of Class B charges (Suffolk Constabulary)

He is described as being 5ft 10 inches tall with ginger hair and blue eyes. He is of a slight build with a goatee. He also has a birthmark on his left arm and hand.

McGuiness is serving a three-year sentence for theft, fraud, and possession of a controlled drug of Class B charges.

He is described as being 5ft 10 inches tall with brown hair and blue eyes. He is of a thin build with a clean-shaven face and a slight northern accent. He also has a Zara tattoo on his left wrist.

Anyone who knows of the trios whereabouts or has seen any of them should contact Suffolk Police, quoting CAD 310 or CAD 311 or CAD 95 of 21 October.
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The Environment Agency (EA) has warned there could be more flooding in the coming days as stricken households try to make their homes safe again.

Around 1,250 properties in England have been flooded and an estimated 30,000 properties have been protected, the EA has said.

The agency said more flood warnings are expected for some of the worst affected areas into next week  despite severe flood warnings, meaning risk of death or serious injury, being lifted.

Severe flood warnings in place on the River Derwent in Derby and on the River Idle in the East Midlands were lifted on Sunday.

The EA said: River flooding will continue into Wednesday along the River Severn.

Further flooding is possible from rivers and surface water on Tuesday and Wednesday for parts of England due to further heavy rain.

The warning comes as 83-year-old Maureen Gilbert was found dead after her home was hit by flooding in Derbyshire, taking the number of people who have died since the storm hit the UK to at least four.

Derbyshire Police said the pensioner was found dead at about 10.35am on Saturday at her home in Tapton Terrace, Chesterfield.

A ray of sunshine for everyone who was fortunate enough to know her Family of Wendy Taylor

Her son Paul Gilbert told Sky News he found his mother floating in the water.

He told the broadcaster: I did not want to find my own mum and I expected somebody else to have found her.

I go through so many different stages, anger, upset, I dont know. I cant put it into words what it means at the moment.

Wendy Taylor, 57, died after being swept into the Water of Lee, Glen Esk, on Thursday, Police Scotland said.

Her family described her as a ray of sunshine for everyone who was fortunate enough to know her in a tribute issued through police.

We are absolutely heartbroken to lose Wendy in such tragic circumstances and are still struggling to come to terms with it. Wendy was a beautiful, kind, funny and caring person, they said.

Wendy was the beloved wife, best friend and soulmate in life to George, mother to James, Sally and Susanna and Granny to India and George.

In Scotland, Angus and Aberdeenshire were badly hit by the storm and teams have been clearing debris from roads, while those hit by flooding are making repairs.

Residents of River Street in Brechin were trying to dry out their homes as they surveyed the damage from the floodwater.

Hundreds fled the street and nearby areas when the River South Esk burst its banks and overtopped flood defences, sending water pouring into the lower floors of many properties.

Derby City Council saw record-breaking water levels in the River Derwent and warned that cleaning up after the floods could take several days.

Met Office spokesman Dave Britton said those worst affected by the flooding caused by Storm Babet could see a couple of quieter days.

Mr Britton told the PA news agency more settled weather on Monday could allow some respite and a chance for recovery.

He added: There is this pulse of rain moving its way north overnight later on Monday and into Tuesday, but the rest of the week does look like it remains rather unsettled with spells of rain at times.

On Friday, a man in his 60s died after getting caught in fast-flowing floodwater in the town of Cleobury Mortimer in Shropshire.

Police Scotland previously said a falling tree hit a van near Forfar in Angus on Thursday evening, killing the 56-year-old driver.

A search is also under way in Aberdeenshire after a report of a man trapped in a vehicle in floodwater.
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The UK is working intensively to allow Britons trapped in Gaza to leave but the border crossing remains closed because of Egypts legitimate concerns, ministers said.

Immigration minister Robert Jenrick said opening the Rafah crossing to allow aid into Gaza and foreign nationals to escape the humanitarian crisis unfolding there is a priority.

A small convoy of 20 lorries was allowed to cross into Gaza on Saturday, with a further 17 reported to have made the trip on Sunday, but the UK and relief agencies are pushing for far greater access to the territory.

We have secured, along with other partners, the supply of humanitarian aid through the Rafah crossing but not yet foreign nationals  including British nationals  ability to leave through the Rafah crossing, he told the BBC.

But he said Egypt has legitimate concerns about the situation at Rafah.

Egypt has faced insecurity near the border with Gaza in north-eastern Sinai, including an Islamist insurgency which began more than a decade ago, although it has been largely suppressed.

Israel has ordered Gazans to move south as it carries out its retaliatory strikes on Hamas following the October 7 raids.

This has increased pressure at the border crossing, which has been largely closed since the Israel-Hamas war flared up.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, writing in the Sunday Telegraph, said: We need to see a stream of trucks rolling through that crossing to bring aid to the civilian population.

We also need to see all water supplies to Gaza restored where physically possible.

All sides should commit to the sanctity of UN installations, hospitals and shelters.

Were working intensively with international partners to ensure that British nationals currently trapped in Gaza are also able to leave through this crossing while aid enters.

Mr Jenrick said one of the problems with increasing aid to Gaza is the risk of Hamas taking the supplies, particularly if fuel is allowed in.

Seven fuel trucks are thought to have been among the vehicles entering Gaza on Sunday, something which is urgently needed for generators, including in hospitals.

The good news is that the first aid has now gone through and I know that we have contributed to that by raising it at the very highest levels, he told the BBC.

We want to see much more because thats just a welcome first step and were co-ordinating very closely with the United Nations.

One issue is to ensure that Hamas dont divert any of the supplies that are provided, particularly energy supplies, for their own activities, and that what does go into Gaza exclusively goes to support the innocent civilian population.

The senior Palestinian diplomat in the UK has warned that a humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding in Gaza.

Husam Zomlot, head of the Palestinian mission to the UK, told Sky News Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme: Carnage, horror, in every sense, families have to make choices of should they leave, should they stay.

Families are thinking of rationing water with children, which child can sustain more.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said the UK should be leading international efforts to secure an immediate pause in hostilities.

A temporary humanitarian ceasefire would allow for the hostages taken by Hamas to be released and for aid to get into Gaza, he said.

One of the biggest concerns among the international community is the prospect of the Israel-Hamas war spreading into a wider regional conflict.

Mr Sunak, who visited Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt this week, said: The overwhelming view I got from everyone I spoke to this week was that we need to do everything possible to stop a contagion of conflict in the region.

But as well as continuing to strike targets in Gaza, Israeli jets struck two airports in Syria and a mosque in the occupied West Bank allegedly used by militants.

Exchanges of fire with Lebanons Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group have occurred on a near-daily basis since the war began.

Lebanons ambassador to the UK, Rami Mortada, called on Israel to end its strikes on his country.

He told BBC Radio 4s The World This Weekend: The Lebanese side has been on the on the receiving end for the last 10 days.

What weve been hearing is that no-one is interested in triggering a conflict but it would need the co-operation from all stakeholders mainly the Israelis, who have been in a provocative mood.

So I think that if Israeli provocations and and attacks stop there is no reason why we shouldnt be able to re-establish the 2006 cessation of hostilities.

Tel Avivs ambassador to the UK, Tzipi Hotovely, told Times Radio the idea of a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine has failed.

She told Times Radio: I think the two-state solution failed because Palestinians never accepted the idea of a Jewish state and you cannot carry on with a failed solution.

And I also think that this is the time to rethink about a solution that will be better for everyone, so we wont have a new terror organisation being established in the Gaza Strip after Israel finish the job with Hamas.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 22. Azerbaijani doctors performed the first surgical operation in Khankendi, Trend reports.

On October 18, 2023 at about 2:10 p.m., an Azerbaijani citizen, born in 1999, came to a medical institution in the city of Khankendi with complaints of acute abdominal pain, nausea and malaise.

Doctors carried out the necessary examinations, the patient was diagnosed with acute appendicitis and it was decided to perform an operation.

The patient underwent a successful appendectomy. Police officer Tagizade Ataturk, whose condition after the operation was assessed as satisfactory, has already been discharged home for outpatient treatment.

The operation was carried out by surgeon Veli Khalilov with the help of anesthesiologist-resuscitator Ramin Akhmedov, nurses Ainur Mustafayeva, Gulsum Hasanova and Arzuman Mamedov.
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The UK is working intensively to allow Britons trapped in Gaza to leave but the border crossing remains closed because of Egypts legitimate concerns, ministers said.

Immigration minister Robert Jenrick said opening the Rafah crossing to allow aid into Gaza and foreign nationals to escape the humanitarian crisis unfolding there is a priority.

A small convoy of 20 lorries was allowed to cross into Gaza on Saturday with a further 17 reported to have made the trip on Sunday, but the UK and relief agencies are pushing for far greater access to the territory.

We have secured, along with other partners, the supply of humanitarian aid through the Rafah crossing but not yet foreign nationals  including British nationals  ability to leave through the Rafah crossing, he told the BBC.

But he said Egypt has legitimate concerns about the situation at Rafah.

Egypt has faced insecurity near the border with Gaza in north-eastern Sinai, including an Islamist insurgency which began more than a decade ago, although it has been largely suppressed.

Israel has ordered Gazans to move south as it carries out its retaliatory strikes on Hamas following the October 7 raids.

This has increased pressure at the border crossing, which has been largely closed since the Israel-Hamas war flared up.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, writing in the Sunday Telegraph, said: We need to see a stream of trucks rolling through that crossing to bring aid to the civilian population.

We also need to see all water supplies to Gaza restored where physically possible.

All sides should commit to the sanctity of UN installations, hospitals and shelters.

Were working intensively with international partners to ensure that British nationals currently trapped in Gaza are also able to leave through this crossing while aid enters.

Mr Jenrick said one of the problems with increasing aid to Gaza is the risk of Hamas taking the supplies, particularly if fuel is allowed in.

The good news is that the first aid has now gone through and I know that we have contributed to that by raising it at the very highest levels, he told the BBC.

We want to see much more because thats just a welcome first step and were co-ordinating very closely with the United Nations.

One issue is to ensure that Hamas dont divert any of the supplies that are provided, particularly energy supplies, for their own activities, and that what does go into Gaza exclusively goes to support the innocent civilian population.

The senior Palestinian diplomat in the UK has warned that a humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding in Gaza.

Husam Zomlot, head of the Palestinian mission to the UK, told Sky News Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme: Carnage, horror, in every sense, families have to make choices of should they leave, should they stay.

Families are thinking of rationing water with children, which child can sustain more.

One of the biggest concerns among the international community is the prospect of the Israel-Hamas war spreading into a wider regional conflict.

Mr Sunak, who visited Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt this week, said: The overwhelming view I got from everyone I spoke to this week was that we need to do everything possible to stop a contagion of conflict in the region.

But as well as continuing to strike targets in Gaza, Israeli jets struck two airports in Syria and a mosque in the occupied West Bank allegedly used by militants.

Exchanges of fire with Lebanons Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group have occurred on a near-daily basis since the war began.
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The family of British teenager Noiya Sharabi have said that she was murdered in the same Hamas attack that her sister and mother were killed in.

Noiya, 16, disappeared after Hamas attacked Kibbutz Beeri in southern Israel on October 7.

Her mother Lianne was killed in the attack, and her sister Yahel, 13, was also believed to be missing  along with Noiya and their father Eli.

However, last week Yahel was confirmed dead, and now Noiyas family have told the BBC that she was killed in the attack too.

In a statement provided to the BBC, Noiyas family said her smile lit up the room like a beacon.

Her family added that she embraced every opportunity to help others, particularly those less fortunate than she, and was a gifted student and linguist.

Most importantly, she was an amazing granddaughter, cousin and niece. We are heartbroken she has gone, but forever grateful she was here.

The girls father Eli remains missing.
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A British teenager was murdered in Hamass attack on Israel, along with her mother and 13-year-old sister, her family has said.

Noiya Sharabi, aged 16, and her sister Yahel disappeared after the Palestinian militant group attacked Kibbutz Beeri in southern Israel after breaking through the border from Gaza on 7 October, killing some 1,400 people, including the girls British-born mother Lianne.

Yahels death was confirmed by her family last week. The Independent understands the family has now confirmed that Noiya has died.

Noiya and Yahel Sharabi were both killed in the attack by Hamas, their family says (BBC)

Noiya was clever, sensitive, fun and full of life  her smile lit up the room like a beacon, they told the BBC, adding that she embraced every opportunity to help others, particularly those less fortunate than she, and was a gifted student and linguist.

Most importantly, she was an amazing granddaughter, cousin and niece. We are heartbroken she has gone, but forever grateful she was here.

The girls father Eli is still missing, while other relatives are said to be among the more than 200 people feared to have been kidnapped by Hamas, after the militants gunned down Israelis in their homes, as well as hundreds of revellers at a music festival.

Lianne, 48, first moved to Israel as a volunteer on a kibbutz when she was 19, before relocating there permanently, and UK-based relatives said the family visited at least once a year, according to the BBC.

It comes as thousands of people attended a rally in Londons Trafalgar Square on Sunday calling for the safe return of hostages by Hamas.

Hundreds of people attended a solidarity rally in Trafalgar Square on Sunday, calling on Hamas to release those held hostage (Lucy North/PA Wire)

Many in the crowd chanted bring them home and held signs that said release the hostages, while others carried Israeli flags and placards showing the faces of those held captive.

Speaking at the rally, Ayelet Svatitzky said her brother Nadav Popplewell, 51, and their mother, Channah Peri, 79, were abducted by the militants on 7 October, while her 54-year-old brother was found dead behind his house the following day.

Its hard to put into words the horror and pain that engulfed me as I realised what was happening, she said, adding: These are crimes against humanity. They are an attempt to break the Jewish people and state, but instead they have brought us all together in solidarity.

The world must hear our plea: release the hostages now. This is a human rights issue. My family should be with me now.

David, a teacher from Leeds, said he was woken up at 6.30am on 7 October to the sound of rocket strikes and shooting from all sides in his kibbutz, with his eldest son and daughter also separately under attack with their families elsewhere.

He and his wife emerged from their bomb-proof room the following day to news that her sister had been shot in the back and head from zero range. As they fled their kibbutz, there were bodies everywhere and cars riddled with bullets, he recalled, adding: I said to my wife, Dont look. But how could you not look? Theres nowhere, no place you cant look. Death everywhere.

Appealing to the British government, he said: Bring back our families, our children.

Introducing the speakers, Board of Deputies of British Jews president Marie van der Zyl told the crowd: Every day that they are kept captive is like a knife in our hearts, adding: Friends, we stand here today united to say bring them home. The people of Israel live.
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The number of people who have died in incidents linked to deadly Storm Babet rose to at least seven after a woman was found at her home in Derbyshire.

A woman in her 80s was found at a property in Chesterfield and her death is believed to be related to flooding in the area, Derbyshire Police said.

Officers were called shortly after 10.35am on Saturday to a flat in Tapton Terrace to reports of the sudden death of a woman. Police, Derbyshire Fire and Rescue and East Midlands Ambulance Service attended the property and found the woman dead inside the flat.

Destructive flooding in the Derbyshire area (SWNS)

The force said investigations into the cause of her death were continuing but it is believed it is related to the flooding seen in the Chesterfield area.

Forecasters say the worst of Storm Babet has now passed, although flood warnings remain in place as water levels remain extremely high.

Three danger to life flood warnings were still in force on Sunday morning in Derbyshire along the Derwent River at Derby City Water Treatment Works, Little Chester, Eastgate, Cattle Market and Racecourse Park at Chaddesden.

Residents in those areas were told that flooding was expected and that there was a danger to life. The alerts were lifted later in the morning but hundreds of less serious warnings are still active.

Travel disruption was expected to continue throughout Sunday following 48 hours of chaos on rail and road networks. It comes after Kings Cross Station in London was forced to close due to overcrowding on Saturday.

Flooding scenes in Derbyshire (Derbyshire Fire & Rescue)

A couple and their dog are rescued by a coast guard team from a flooded street in Brechin, northeast Scotland (AFP via Getty Images)

Network Rail said the routes linking Edinburgh with Inverness and Aberdeen will be badly affected by severe weather all day, and that speed restrictions will apply on other lines.

The East Coast Main Line was also experiencing disruption and delays, as were services in the Midlands, East of England and Wales.

Storm Babet also claimed two lives in Angus, Scotland, which was subject to a rare red warning for rain on Saturday.

Police have confirmed that a falling tree hit a van near Forfar in Angus on Thursday, killing the 56-year-old driver. Meanwhile, the body of a 57-year-old woman who was swept into a swollen river was also recovered on Thursday evening.

Weather warnings associated with Storm Babet have expired but people in the worst-hit areas of Scotland faced a lengthy clean-up after substantial downpours led to widespread flooding.

A number of flood warnings remain in place around Scotland, but more of these are expected to be removed later on Sunday.

There were crowds of people waiting for trains at Kings Cross station (@armstrong_Luce/Luce Armstrong/PA)

The Scottish governments Resilience Room met to discuss the exceptional levels of rain that had fallen in parts of Scotland during the weekend.

The meeting, chaired by justice secretary Angela Constance, heard parts of Scotland were still in the midst of dealing with the severe flooding caused by Storm Babet while some rivers remain at hazardous levels.

Ms Constance said: Storm Babets exceptional level of rain has severely impacted parts of Scotland. Tragically, the storm has led to lives being lost and I send my sincere condolences to the families affected.

The storm has caused significant damage and while flooding is still occurring, it is not expected to be as serious as over the last 24 hours. The impact, however, will be felt in communities for some time to come.

She added: While many local authorities are still responding to the immediate impacts of the storm, thoughts are now turning to recovery. Over the coming days and weeks, we will stay in close contact with local authorities to support the people and businesses affected.
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An iconic tree, whose felling in a deliberate act of vandalism prompted outrage among nature lovers, celebrities and politicians is being stored in a secret location to protect it from souvenir hunters.

The trunk of the majestic Sycamore Gap maple, which became a tourist attraction, film location and a symbol of hope to many, was removed from where it once stood on Hadrians Wall on 13 October as people keen to secure a piece of history were caught by police trying to steal pieces of it.

"There were concerns people were taking pieces of it for mementoes, like what happened with the Berlin Wall, when people would take a piece as a keepsake, Lady Jane Gibson, chairwoman of the Hadrians Wall Partnership, told The Sunday Times.

"It is now being safely stored [by The National Trust] as we work on potential future uses for the timber."

Much photographed and painted, the lone sycamore was considered one of the most famous trees in the world and an emblem for the North East of England. It was situated in a dramatic dip in the Northumberland landscape.

The tree was believed to date back to medieval times and has been excavated on two previous occasions between 1908 and 1911 and again between 1982 and 1987, when Roman remains linked to Hadrians Wall  a Unesco World Heritage Site  were found.

The sycamore perhaps first became known around the globe after featuring in the film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, starring Kevin Costner, Morgan Freeman and Alan Rickman.

Much-photographed and painted, the lone sycamore was considered to be one of the most famous trees in the world (Warner Bros/Netflix)

Police investigations are continuing into how the famous tree at Sycamore Gap came to be felled (Owen Humphreys/PA) (PA Wire)

Sycamore is cut to piece and moved by crane (SWNS)

Police investigating the incident, which they described as a deliberate act of vandalism, have made arrests although no one has yet been charged for the felling of the tree, which prompted fundraising campaigns across the country to help replace it.

Former lumberjack Walter Renwick, 69, who was arrested two days after the tree was cut down and later released on bail has protested his innocence, claiming he would get less hassle if he had committed murder.

He said has taken to wearing a blonde Rod Stewart wig to hide his identity due to anger over the much-loved Northumberland trees destruction last month.

Opinion among experts about whether the tree could be regrown was divided and the National Trust earlier this month asked the public for ideas on how best to use the wood to pay tribute to the tree, with options such as making it into a sculpture or a bench, either of which could be placed where the tree once stood, or making it into pencils.

The National Trust, a charity for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, previously said it had been overwhelmed by the support and offers of help from members of the public, many of whom paid tribute to the 50ft tall sycamore.

A woman wrote an ode to honour the maple, describing it as a sentinel of time. Laura Charlton, says she wrote the poem, an Ode to a Sycamore Tree, to try to capture the recklessness of the actions and the sense of bereavement the locals are feeling.

Chef Si King, of the Hairy Bikers, was among the celebrities to express his grief and outrage at the felling of the tree, saying the culprit had murdered an elemental spirit of Northumberland.
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The family of Wendy Taylor, who died after being swept into a river during Storm Babet, have paid tribute to the 57-year-old as their ray of sunshine.

Seven people are feared to have lost their lives in weather-related incidents since the storm made landfall on Wednesday, bringing huge amounts rain which has caused severe flooding still intensifying in parts of the UK.

Among them is Ms Taylor, who was swept into the Water of Lee in Glen Esk on Thursday.

Wendy Taylor, 57, died after being swept into the Water of Lee (Police Scotland/PA Wire)

In a statement released through Police Scotland, her family said: We are absolutely heartbroken to lose Wendy in such tragic circumstances and are still struggling to come to terms with it.

Wendy was a beautiful, kind, funny and caring person. She was a ray of sunshine for everyone who was fortunate enough to know her. Wendy was the beloved wife, best friend and soulmate in life to George, mother to James, Sally and Susanna and Granny to India and George.

Our family would like to thank Police Scotland for their professionalism and sensitivity in recent days. And in particular Paul Morgan of Police Mountain Rescue for recovering Wendy.

Thank you to all of our extended family and friends for supporting us through this indescribably difficult time.

The Met Office had issued two rare red alerts for rain in eastern Scotland, where people were airlifted from their homes and rescued in boats and canoes.

John Gillan, 56, was the first person reported to have died, after his van was hit by a tree near Forfar, while a search is also under way in Aberdeenshire after a report of a man trapped in a vehicle in floodwater.

Members of the emergency services help local residents to safety in Brechin, Angus (Andrew Milligan/PA Wire)

West Mercia Police said a man in his 60s had also died after getting caught in fast-flowing floodwaters in Shropshire, while two women were killed in a crash on the M4 involving a lorry and four cars, according to the MailOnline, with a teenage driver was killed in another crash hours later.

Maureen Gilbert, aged 83, was then found dead by her son and grandson on Saturday after she tried to flee rising water levels in her flooded home in Derbyshire.

Flood high tide marks are seen over 5 foot high in the front room of Maureen Gilbert in Chesterfield (Lee McLean / SWNS)

As water levels continue to rise, two severe flood warnings have since been issued around the River Idle, near Retford in Nottinghamshire, meaning there is a risk of death or serious injury.

The River Idle is expected to reach record levels as flooding continues, with 200 properties having been asked to evacuate by Nottinghamshire Fire Service. More than 1,200 properties in England alone have been flooded, with a further 22,000 protected by defences.

The Environment Agency has warned that major rivers could still be flooded until Tuesday and train services are disrupted across parts of Scotland, Yorkshire and East Anglia, with some routes still flooded.

Additional reporting by PA
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More risk-to-life flood warnings have been issued in England in the wake of Storm Babet as homes have been evacuated and train services disrupted.

Two severe flood warnings are in place around the River Idle, near Retford in Nottinghamshire, meaning risk of death or serious injury, as water levels continue to rise.

It comes as police said the death of a woman in her 80s at a flat in Derbyshire was believed to be flood-related, taking the number of people who have died since the storm hit the UK to at least four.

Derbyshire Police said a pensioner, named by family members as Maureen Gilbert, was found dead at about 10.35am on Saturday after officers, along with colleagues from Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service and from East Midlands Ambulance Service, arrived at her property in Tapton Terrace, Chesterfield.

A ray of sunshine for everyone who was fortunate enough to know her Family of Wendy Taylor

Her son Paul Gilbert told Sky News he found his mother floating in the water.

He told the broadcaster: I did not want to find my own mum and I expected somebody else to have found her.

I go through so many different stages, anger, upset, I dont know. I cant put it into words what it means at the moment.

I came to the window behind you, forced it open and found my mum floating in the water.

Wendy Taylor, 57, died after being swept into the Water of Lee, Glen Esk, on Thursday, Police Scotland have said.

Her family described her as a ray of sunshine for everyone who was fortunate enough to know her in a tribute issued through Police Scotland.

The tribute said: We are absolutely heartbroken to lose Wendy in such tragic circumstances and are still struggling to come to terms with it. Wendy was a beautiful, kind, funny and caring person.

It added: Wendy was the beloved wife, best friend and soulmate in life to George, mother to James, Sally and Susanna and Granny to India and George.

The River Idle is expected to reach record levels as flooding continues, the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Local Resilience Forum (LRF) said, with 200 properties asked to evacuate by Nottinghamshire Fire Service.

Emergency services are supporting residents to evacuate where needed and a rest centre has been set up at Retford Leisure Centre.

The Environment Agency has warned that major rivers could still be flooded until Tuesday and train services are disrupted across parts of Scotland, Yorkshire and East Anglia, with some routes still flooded.

According to the agency, the total number of flooded properties in England is 1,229 with a further 22,000 protected by defences.

Katharine Smith, flood duty manager at the Environment Agency, said: Widespread flooding is probable from rivers today (Sunday) in parts of the Midlands and the north of England. River flooding may continue into Monday for parts of Yorkshire and the Humber and the East Midlands.

Environment Agency teams are out on the ground and have operated flood barriers and storage areas. Temporary defences, including pumps and barriers, have been deployed to minimise the impact of flooding where needed. Flood gates have also been closed in affected areas.

We also advise people to stay away from swollen rivers and urge people not to drive through floodwater as just 30cm of flowing water is enough to move your car.

Derby City Council said it is seeing record-breaking water levels in the River Derwent and warned that cleaning up after the floods could take several days.

Three severe flood warnings, which means risk of death and serious injury, had been in place around the River Derwent in Derbyshire over the weekend but were downgraded on Sunday morning.

As of 11am, more than 170 flood warnings, where less dangerous flooding is expected, remained in place across England.

Meanwhile, London North Eastern Railway (LNER) has advised its customers there are no services operating north of Edinburgh to Aberdeen.

ScotRail said routes remain closed between Aberdeen and Dundee, and Aberdeen and Elgin.

The Scottish train operator said it cannot run services on the Fife Circle route, or between Inverness and Wick, Thurso and Kyle of Lochalsh.

Met Office spokesman Dave Britton said those worst affected by the flooding caused by Storm Babet could see a couple of quieter days.

Mr Britton told the PA news agency: Certainly through today and tomorrow, (there is) a period of more settled weather allowing for a respite for recovery.

There is this pulse of rain moving its way north overnight later on Monday and into Tuesday, but the rest of the week does look like it remains rather unsettled with spells of rain at times.

But there are no warnings in force at the time for the remainder of the week, bar an ice warning for part of North Scotland tonight.

The Energy Network Association (ENA) said a small handful of homes would still be without power on Sunday after around 100,000 customers were initially affected by power cuts.

On Friday, a man in his 60s died after getting caught in fast-flowing floodwater in the town of Cleobury Mortimer in Shropshire.

Police Scotland previously said a falling tree hit a van near Forfar in Angus on Thursday evening, killing the 56-year-old driver.

A search is also under way in Aberdeenshire after a report of a man trapped in a vehicle in floodwater.
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A man who has been forced to evacuate his home due to flooding in Nottinghamshire is afraid the damage to his property could be endless.

Lifelong Retford resident Brendan Hunt, 54, has moved as many of his possessions as possible upstairs and used wooden blocks to lift his furniture, washing machine and oven eight inches off the floor to try to limit any potential flood damage, as water levels could continue to rise in the town.

Mr Hunt told the PA news agency he was at his home until 4am on Sunday trying to move his belongings upstairs.

He said: Water was coming up through the storm drains and it just got deeper and deeper until one side of the roads water joined the other side of the road.

Then it filled the pavements, then it filled everybodys gardens. It got to within millimetres of coming in the front door.

It is still right up to the threshold of the front door the Environment Agency says before 8pm tonight theres another 30cm on its way.

Mr Hunt said he is staying at his partner Julie Summers home around two miles away from his property.

He warned: (The damage) could be endless because if the water has got under the sub floors, it could need new floors downstairs.

Mr Hunt added: I think Ive managed to save everything but I think if the water does come in, if not already, they are only chipboard floors.

I think they are all going to have to be replaced because the water will have been contaminated with sewage.

It comes as residents in Retford are being advised to evacuate as water levels continue to rise.

The River Idle is expected to reach record levels as flooding continues in Retford, the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Local Resilience Forum (LRF) has warned.

The group said it expects river levels to continue to pose a risk to life until Tuesday, even though no significant rainfall is forecast.

River levels continue to rise due to upstream watercourses (Rivers Maun, Meden and Poulter) feeding into the River Idle, the LRF added.

Two severe flood warnings, which mean risk of death and serious injury, have been issued for sections of the river at Retford, Eaton and Gamston, and West Retford and Ordsall by the Environment Agency.

The LRF said the warnings had been issued due to flooding in Thrumpton caused by Storm Babet.

Areas most at risk are Poulter View, Meden Way, New Inn Walk, Thrumpton Close, Maun Close, Thomas Street, George Street, Swans Quay and Gala Way.

Residents are also being told to prepare to evacuate in Darrel Road.

Emergency services are supporting residents to evacuate where needed and a rest centre has been set up at Retford Leisure Centre.

The LRF said in a joint statement with Nottinghamshire County Council: We are closely monitoring the situation.

Environment Agency incident response staff are liaising with emergency services and local authorities.

Stay away from floodwater and do not take risks that may endanger yourself and others.

Please follow the advice of the emergency services and first responders on the ground.

Advice and information is also available through Floodline on 0345 9881188.

This severe flood warning is now in force until further notice.
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Britains most senior civil servant is stepping back from his job for several weeks to take medical leave, the Cabinet Office has confirmed.

Cabinet secretary Simon Case is set to be absent at a critical moment for Rishi Sunaks government, which is grappling with wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and a slew of challenges at home.

The 44-year-old was appointed to the top civil service job by Boris Johnson September 2020, replacing Sir Mark Sedwill, who quit after being the subject of months of negative briefings to newspapers.

Mr Case, whose time in the job has seen him involved in a series of controversies, is expected to be absent for a few weeks.

The Cabinet Office confirmed Mr Cases absence, which comes just days after indiscreet WhatsApp messages during the pandemic were released by the UK Covid-19 Inquiry.

And a Downing Street source said: The prime minister looks forward to him returning and wishes Simon all the best in the meantime.

Politico, which first reported his absence, said Rishi Sunak would brief the Cabinet about the situation, with elements of Mr Cases role being filled by a number of top officials while he is off, rather than anyone standing in as Cabinet Secretary.

A Cabinet Office spokesman said: The Cabinet Secretary is taking a short period of leave because of a private medical matter and is due to return to work in a few weeks.

Mr Case had been expected to give evidence to the Covid inquiry in the coming weeks, after WhatsApp messages disclosed some of his private thoughts about Boris Johnsons government during the pandemic.

The head of the civil service said the government was looking like a terrible, tragic joke, while Mr Johnsons wife Carrie was the real person in charge.

Mr Case, who had previously served as permanent secretary in Number 10, wrote that he was not sure I can cope amid apparent frustration at how the pandemic was being handled in Government.

In a stunning exchange, by the official Covid inquiry, Mr Case wrote: I was always told that Dom [Dominic Cummings] was the secret PM. How wrong they are. I look forward to telling select cttee tomorrow  oh, f*** no, dont worry about Dom, the real person in charge is Carrie.

The Cabinet Secretary was also embroiled in the partygate row and had to step back from the investigation into boozy lockdown-breaking events in Downing Street, which ultimately fell to Sue Gray to lead, because of his own involvement.

He was pictured at the Cabinet Room birthday party for which Mr Johnson and Mr Sunak were fined.

Mr Cases central role during the Johnson administration also saw him drawn into the rows surrounding Richard Sharps appointment as BBC chairman.

He also admitted he had an informal conversation about potential roles at a royal charity for Mrs Johnson after a prompt from No 10.
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Chanting Jihad on the streets of London is inciting terrorist violence and the Government will speak to the Metropolitan Police about its decision not to act over a video showing protesters, a Cabinet minister has said.

The force said no offences were identified in a video of a Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain protest showing a man chanting Jihad.

Immigration minister Robert Jenrick said a lot of people will find the Mets analysis surprising, adding: Thats something that we intend to raise with them and to discuss this incident with them.

Chanting 'Jihad' on the streets of London is completely reprehensible ... It is inciting terrorist violence and it needs to be tackled with the full force of the law Immigration minister Robert Jenrick

A video posted on social media shows a man speaking into a microphone in front of a banner reading Muslim Armies! Rescue the People of Palestine, with the name of the group Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain on it.

The main speaker asks: What is the solution to liberate people from the concentration camp called Palestine?

A man standing to the side of the speaker, but neither on a platform nor speaking into the microphone, can then be heard chanting words including Jihad, as can some others attending the protest.

The Met responded to the post on social media, saying the word Jihad has a number of meanings, and that specialist counter-terrorism officers had not identified any offences arising from the specific clip filmed in central London.

Other clips posted on social media from the same protest show speakers using the microphone to speak about a solution of Jihad.

Mr Jenrick was asked about the incident and wider concerns around protests related to the Israel-Hamas conflict on Skys Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips.

He told the programme: Chanting Jihad on the streets of London is completely reprehensible and I never want to see scenes like that. It is inciting terrorist violence and it needs to be tackled with the full force of the law.

Ultimately, its an operational matter for the police and the CPS (Crown Prosecution Service) whether to press charges.

We want to do everything that we can to protect British Jews Immigration minister Robert Jenrick

He added: Arrests have been made There have been arrests since the beginning of this situation There have been arrests under terrorist legislation. And we want to do everything that we can to protect British Jews.

But this is a broader question beyond just legality. It also is a question about values. And there should be a consensus in this country that chanting things like Jihad is completely reprehensible and wrong and we dont ever want to see that in our country.

He told LBC: I think a lot of people would find the Metropolitan Police analysis surprising, and thats something that we intend to raise with them and to discuss this incident with them.

But he stressed again the legality is ultimately a question for the police and the CPS.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: The vast majority of yesterdays protests were peaceful, but Im aware of some disturbing and offensive comments.

The Mets investigations are ongoing, and I remain in close contact with the Met Commissioner.

London has a zero-tolerance approach to hate crime. If anyone has broken the law, strong action will be taken against them.

Jewish safety organisation the Community Security Trust said it had raised deep concerns with the Met about its messaging and actions.

It said that in trying to communicate complex and nuanced legal issues on social media they gave the impression of legitimising obnoxious and hateful behaviour that may or may not be criminal but nevertheless causes profound concern to British Jews and many other people.

The Met said in a statement on Saturday: In addition to officers deployed with the protest, we have counter-terrorism officers with specialist language skills and subject expertise working alongside public order officers in our main operations room, assessing any video and photos that emerge.

Recognising the way language like this will be interpreted by the public and the divisive impact it will have, officers identified the man involved and spoke to him to discourage any repeat of similar chanting Metropolitan Police

They have reviewed a video from the Hizb ut-Tahrir protest in which a man can be seen to chant Jihad, jihad.

The word has a number of meanings but we know the public will most commonly associate it with terrorism.

Specialist officers have assessed the video and have not identified any offences arising from the specific clip. We have also sought advice from specialist Crown Prosecution Service lawyers, who have reached the same conclusion.

However, recognising the way language like this will be interpreted by the public and the divisive impact it will have, officers identified the man involved and spoke to him to discourage any repeat of similar chanting.

In a message on the Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain website, explaining why it decided to hold demonstrations on Saturday outside the Egyptian and Turkish Embassies in London, the group said Palestinians have been subject to brutal oppression and called on Egypt and Turkey to unite in rescuing their Palestinian brothers and sisters.

The message, which appears to have been published on Saturday, did not make any mention of the content posted on social media or the criticism that has followed.
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Residents in the most severely flooded part of Angus are returning to their homes to find mind-blowing levels of damage, as the clean-up begins in the wake of Storm Babet.

Angus and Aberdeenshire were badly hit by the storm and teams are clearing debris from roads, while those hit by flooding are making repairs.

With the sun finally shining, those who live in River Street in Brechin are trying to dry out as much of their homes as they can, as they survey the damage from the floodwater.

Hundreds fled the street and nearby areas when the River South Esk burst its banks and overtopped flood defences, which sent water pouring into the lower floors of many properties.

David Stewart, 68, was trying to salvage items from the flat he shares with his partner.

He told the PA news agency: Its just absolutely mind-blowing.

The devastation looks even worse than I thought.

Brian Petrie, 66, returned to find the lower floor of his house covered in silt and mud, with the carpet squelching as he walked and the fridge upended.

He was in the house as the flooding hit, sheltering upstairs with his 92-year-old mother as water poured in through the letterbox.

She was rescued by Coastguard crews using a dinghy.

Mr Petrie said: The Coastguards and paramedics got her down the stairs in a stretcher and took her in a dinghy up to the ambulance.

She is now safe elsewhere in Angus.

George Wilson returned to find awful damage in his ground-floor flat in River Street.

The 66-year-old is documenting the extent of it for insurance purposes.

Im still trying to get my head around it, he said.

Earlier, Angus councillor Gavin Nicol said contaminated sludge and silt is everywhere and the damage is extensive.

Speaking to the BBCs Sunday Show, he said some people will not be able to return to their homes before Christmas.

Across Scotland, almost all homes which were hit by power cuts have now been reconnected, according to the Energy Networks Association.

However around 150 properties in Brechin are too badly affected by floodwater for power to be restored safely.

Jacqui Semple, head of risk, resilience and safety for Angus Council, said the local authority is now entering the recovery phase.

During a media briefing, she said the council will assess how many people will need to be rehomed, aiming to complete this work by the end of the week.

Ms Semple also discussed the well-intentioned work of a local Angus business which has placed large sandbags along a section of a collapsed river wall in River Street in Brechin.

These will need to be removed, she said, as a structural assessment of the street still needs to take place.

She said: What could happen is the road could give way.

The red and yellow weather warnings covering Dundee and the north-east of Scotland have expired and conditions improved on Sunday.

A number of flood warnings remain in place around Scotland, but more of these are expected to be removed later in the day.

The storm led to two deaths north of the border and searches continue for a man reported missing to police on Friday, who is said to have been trapped in a vehicle in floodwater in Marykirk, Aberdeenshire.

ScotRail said the majority of its services will be able to run as normal on Sunday, but a number of lines, including Aberdeen to Dundee and Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh, remain closed.

A 57-year-old woman died on Thursday after being swept into the Water of Lee, Glen Esk, and a 56-year-old man was killed the same day after a falling tree hit a van near Forfar in Angus.

More than half of the staff manning a North Sea drilling platform were airlifted to other sites on Saturday after several of its anchors came loose during the storm.

Coastguard helicopters were called upon to move 45 non-essential workers from the Stena Spey to neighbouring platforms and to Sumburgh on the Shetland Islands due to the incident.

The rig is located around 146 miles east of Aberdeen.

Residents of nearby Bridge of Dun had to be airlifted via helicopter, while in other areas people stranded by floodwater were rescued by boats, including canoes.

The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) said water levels in rivers will fall throughout Sunday.

However the public has been warned that dangers from floodwater and damaged infrastructure remains.

Sepas flood duty manager, Vincent Fitzsimons, said: While the weather is an improving picture today, and rivers will continue to fall throughout the day, its important to remember that there are still hazards caused by floodwaters and its important not to put yourself at risk.

Sepa are removing the majority of local flood warnings but regional flood alerts remain in force in areas like Tayside and Aberdeenshire.

This reflects not only the dangers which still exist from standing floodwater, and fast-flowing river water, but also that there are important recovery activities under way.
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A lengthy clean-up is getting under way in flood-hit areas of Scotland, after Storm Babet brought unprecedented damage and disruption.

Angus and Aberdeenshire were badly hit by the storm and teams will be clearing debris from roads in the region and assessing damage to bridges.

The red and yellow weather warnings covering Dundee and the north-east of Scotland have expired and conditions are expected to improve on Sunday.

A number of flood warnings remain in place around Scotland, but more of these are expected to be removed later in the day.

The town of Brechin in Angus saw major damage, with hundreds of people evacuated from homes as the River South Esk burst its banks, flooding several streets.

On Saturday, a local company placed large sandbags on an area of the river wall in Brechin which had been swept away in an effort to shore up River Street and prevent further flooding.

Resident Charlie Warden said the flooding has been devastating for the town.

The storm led to two deaths north of the border and searches continue for a man reported missing to police on Friday, who is said to have been trapped in a vehicle in floodwater in Marykirk, Aberdeenshire.

ScotRail said the majority of its services will be able to run as normal on Sunday, but a number of lines, including Aberdeen to Dundee and Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh, remain closed.

A 57-year-old woman died on Thursday after being swept into the Water of Lee, Glen Esk, and a 56-year-old man was killed the same day after a falling tree hit a van near Forfar in Angus.

More than half of the staff manning a North Sea drilling platform were airlifted to other sites on Saturday after several of its anchors came loose during the storm.

Coastguard helicopters were called upon to move 45 non-essential workers from the Stena Spey to neighbouring platforms and to Sumburgh on the Shetland Islands due to the incident.

The rig is located around 146 miles east of Aberdeen.

Rest centres were set up in Angus, with more than 50 people opting to stay in one in Brechin.

On Sunday night, the council said temporary accommodation had been found for all of those who stayed at the rest centres.

Residents of nearby Bridge of Dun had to be airlifted via helicopter, while in other areas people stranded by floodwater were rescued by boats, including canoes.

On Saturday, the Scottish Governments Resilience Room met to discuss the exceptional levels of rain that had fallen in parts of Scotland during the weekend.

The meeting, chaired by Justice Secretary Angela Constance, heard parts of Scotland are still dealing with the severe flooding caused by Storm Babet while some rivers remain at hazardous levels.

Ms Constance said: Storm Babets exceptional level of rain has severely affected parts of Scotland.

Tragically, the storm has led to lives being lost and I send my sincere condolences to the families affected.

The storm has caused significant damage and, while flooding is still occurring, it is not expected to be as serious as over the last 24 hours. The impact, however, will be felt in communities for some time to come.

While many local authorities are still responding to the immediate impacts of the storm, thoughts are now turning to recovery.

Over the coming days and weeks, we will stay in close contact with local authorities to support the people and businesses affected.
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Suella Braverman will demand an explanation from Scotland Yard chief Sir Mark Rowley over the handling of pro-Palestine protesters chanting jihad.

The Home Secretary will make clear the police should crack down on anyone breaking the law.

The force said no offences were identified in a video of a Hizb ut-Tahrir protest showing a man chanting jihad in London on Saturday.

Home Office minister Robert Jenrick said chanting the word on the streets of the capital is inciting terrorist violence.

Sir Mark was already scheduled to meet the Home Secretary on Monday.

A source close to Mrs Braverman said: The Home Secretary is already due to meet the Metropolitan Police commissioner tomorrow to discuss the ongoing Israel-Gaza protests and will be asking for an explanation over the response to incidents which took place on Saturday.

There can be no place for incitement to hatred or violence on Britains streets and, as the Home Secretary has made clear, the police are urged to crack down on anyone breaking the law.

Immigration minister Mr Jenrick said a lot of people will find the Mets analysis surprising, adding: Thats something that we intend to raise with them and to discuss this incident with them.

Chanting 'Jihad' on the streets of London is completely reprehensible ... It is inciting terrorist violence and it needs to be tackled with the full force of the law Immigration minister Robert Jenrick

A video posted on social media shows a man speaking into a microphone in front of a banner reading Muslim Armies! Rescue the People of Palestine.

The main speaker asks: What is the solution to liberate people from the concentration camp called Palestine?

A man standing to the side of the speaker, but neither on a platform nor speaking into the microphone, can then be heard chanting words including jihad, as can some others attending the protest.

The Met responded to the post on social media, saying the word jihad has a number of meanings, and that specialist counter-terrorism officers had not identified any offences arising from the specific clip filmed in central London.

Other clips posted on social media from the same protest show speakers using the microphone to speak about a solution of jjhad.

Mr Jenrick was asked about the incident and wider concerns around protests related to the Israel-Hamas conflict on Skys Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips.

He told the programme: Chanting jihad on the streets of London is completely reprehensible and I never want to see scenes like that. It is inciting terrorist violence and it needs to be tackled with the full force of the law.

Ultimately, its an operational matter for the police and the CPS (Crown Prosecution Service) whether to press charges.

We want to do everything that we can to protect British Jews Immigration minister Robert Jenrick

He added: Arrests have been made There have been arrests since the beginning of this situation There have been arrests under terrorist legislation. And we want to do everything that we can to protect British Jews.

But this is a broader question beyond just legality. It also is a question about values. And there should be a consensus in this country that chanting things like jihad is completely reprehensible and wrong and we dont ever want to see that in our country.

He told LBC: I think a lot of people would find the Metropolitan Police analysis surprising, and thats something that we intend to raise with them and to discuss this incident with them.

But he stressed again the legality is ultimately a question for the police and the CPS.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: The vast majority of yesterdays protests were peaceful, but Im aware of some disturbing and offensive comments.

The Mets investigations are ongoing, and I remain in close contact with the Met Commissioner.

London has a zero-tolerance approach to hate crime. If anyone has broken the law, strong action will be taken against them.

Jewish safety organisation the Community Security Trust criticised the Met, saying that in trying to communicate complex and nuanced legal issues on social media they gave the impression of legitimising obnoxious and hateful behaviour that may or may not be criminal but nevertheless causes profound concern to British Jews and many other people.

The Met said in a statement on Saturday: In addition to officers deployed with the protest, we have counter-terrorism officers with specialist language skills and subject expertise working alongside public order officers in our main operations room, assessing any video and photos that emerge.

Recognising the way language like this will be interpreted by the public and the divisive impact it will have, officers identified the man involved and spoke to him to discourage any repeat of similar chanting Metropolitan Police

They have reviewed a video from the Hizb ut-Tahrir protest in which a man can be seen to chant Jihad, jihad.

The word has a number of meanings but we know the public will most commonly associate it with terrorism.

Specialist officers have assessed the video and have not identified any offences arising from the specific clip. We have also sought advice from specialist Crown Prosecution Service lawyers, who have reached the same conclusion.

However, recognising the way language like this will be interpreted by the public and the divisive impact it will have, officers identified the man involved and spoke to him to discourage any repeat of similar chanting.

Jihad can mean struggle or effort, but it has also been taken to refer to holy war.

In a message on the Hizb ut-Tahrir website, explaining why it decided to hold demonstrations on Saturday outside the Egyptian and Turkish Embassies in London, the group said Palestinians have been subject to brutal oppression and called on Egypt and Turkey to unite in rescuing their Palestinian brothers and sisters.
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An Israeli-American reservist has been killed by an anti-tank missile fired by Hezbollah along the Israel-Lebanon border.

Staff Sgt Omer Balva, of Rockland, Maryland, was serving as a platoon commander in the 9203 battalion of the Alexandroni Brigade when he died on Friday, roughly 115 miles from Gaza, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

Balva was among 360,000 reservists called up to combat Hamas after terrorist attacks on Israel two weeks ago, leaving more than 1,000 dead.

The 22-year-old grew up in the Maryland suburbs and moved to Israel with his parents in 2019. He was studying for a degree in business administration and economics at Reichman University in Herzliya, Israel.

His reserve infantry unit recalled him while he was visiting the US earlier this month. Funeral services were held in Herzliya on Sunday.

Missiles fired from Lebanon towards Israeli troops on the northern border struck Balva and injured at least three other soldiers, according to IDF. Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the attack.

The US Department of State confirmed Balvas death.

We offer our sincerest condolences to the family on their loss, the State Department said in a statement. We stand ready to provide all appropriate consular assistance. Out of respect for the familys privacy during this difficult time, we have no further comment.

Israeli forces have clashed with the Lebanese militant group along Israels border with Lebanon amid growing concerns of a wider conflict in the region.

Israel launched complete siege of Gaza in the wake of the Hamas attacks, cutting off water, food and fuel supplies as Israeli forces prepare for a ground invasion. Aerial bombardments have killed more than 4,300 people in the occupied Palestinian territory amid a deepening humanitarian crisis that has displaced hundreds of thousands of people.

IDF says it has targeted several Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon, including a series of military facilities used by the organization for operational needs and an anti-tank missile launcher.

The IDF is ready for all scenarios in the various sectors and will continue to act for the security of Israeli citizens, the agency said in a statement on Saturday.

Hezbollah has paid a heavy price for its attacks, according to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

Hezbollahs deputy leader Sheikh Naim Kassem said the group is trying to weaken the Israeli enemy and let them know that we are ready to join fighting should Israel launch its ground invasion of Gaza.

The head of the alumni group for the Maryland school that Balva attended said the community was completely devastated and heartbroken by the news of his death.

Omer was a beloved student who attended our school from age seven through to his high school graduation, read a statement from Rabbi Mitchel Malkus with Charles E Smith Jewish Day School alumni.

He was an unabashed advocate for the State of Israel. He is a hero to the State of Israel, the Jewish people, and the school. We mourn his loss, he added.

In a 2018 presentation that remains on the schools website, Balva described his familys history in Israel and said his parents moved to the US in 1996 . He wrote that he had hoped to move to Israel as an adult and raise children there.

The State Department estimates that roughly 500,000 Americans were in Israel at the time of Hamas attacks. The agency has orchestrated the evacuations of US citizens from the region through Ben Gurion Airport.

As many as 600 US citizens remain trapped in Gaza without a clear path out, and the Dtate Department anticipates that Gazas sole border crossing into neighbouring Egypt will remain fluid and unpredictable.
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Thousands of people were rallying in Berlin and London on Sunday to oppose antisemitism and support Israel, while demonstrations in support of Palestinians in besieged Gaza continued around the world.

Some of those who gathered in front of Berlin's Brandenburg Gate carried Israeli flags or posters with photos of some of the more than 200 people seized by Hamas as hostages during the militants deadly Oct. 7 incursion into Israel.

It is unbearable that Jews are living in fear again today  in our country of all places, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier told the crowd. Every single attack on Jews, on Jewish institutions is a disgrace for Germany. Every single attack fills me with shame and anger.

Earlier, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz inaugurated a new synagogue in the eastern city of Dessau and said he was outraged by the upsurge in antisemitism since the conflict began.

Several buildings in Berlin where Jews live had the star of David painted on doors and walls, and assailants threw two Molotov cocktails at a synagogue in Berlin last week.

Here in Germany, of all places, Scholz said, vowing that our never again must be unbreakable.

In London, the Board of Deputies of British Jews called for people to rally in Trafalgar Square on Sunday afternoon to press for the return of more than 200 people taken hostage by Hamas.

The war has raised tensions worldwide, leaving Jewish and Muslim communities feeling under threat. Londons Metropolitan Police force says it has seen a 13-fold upsurge in reports of antisemitic offenses in October compared to last year. Reports of anti-Muslim crimes have more than doubled.

Sundays rallies came a day after tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators  100,000 by police estimates  marched through the British capital to demand Israel stop its bombardment of Gaza. Waving Palestinian flags and chanting Stop bombing Gaza, participants called for an end to Israels blockade and airstrikes launched in the wake of Hamas' brutal incursion.

Authorities in Gaza say more than 4,600 people have been killed in the territory since the latest war began. More than 1,400 people have been killed in Israel, majority of them civilians slain in the Oct. 7 attack.

Israel intensified its bombardment of Gaza ahead of an expected ground offensive. Egyptian media said 17 trucks carrying humanitarian aid crossed into the besieged strip on Sunday, after 20 trucks were allowed to enter Gaza on Saturday across the southern Rafah border crossing with Egypt.

On Sunday hundreds of people gathered in Sarajevo -- bombed and besieged during the Bosnian war in the 1990s -- to show solidarity with the plight of Palestinians in Gaza.

What is happening in Gaza is simply human disaster. Collective punishment. War crimes. These things have to be named by their rightful name, said Nabil Naser, a Palestinian doctor who worked in Sarajevo during the Bosnian war.

More than 3,000 people attended a Freedom for Palestine rally on Sunday at a square in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Waving Palestinian flags and to the beat of drums, protesters including women and children chanted Palestine will never die and From the rivers to the sea, Palestine will be free.

Malaysia is a strong supporter of the Palestinian cause, and has no diplomatic ties with Israel. Muslims in the country have staged weekly rallies after Friday prayers outside the American Embassy, slamming the U.S. for its support of Israel.

Retiree Munir Izwan urged neighbors of the Palestinians to step up efforts to help.

Even in Islamic teachings, the closest neighbors should help the most in making peace between the two parties. But from what I see, the neighboring countries of Palestine, they are only talking but no actions, Munir said.

Demonstrations of support of the Palestinians were held Saturday across Europe -- in Rome, Barcelona, several French cities, Dusseldorf, Germany and the Kosovo capital, Pristina  as well as in Sydney and in U.S. cities including Los Angeles and Houston.

In Istanbul, protesters outside the Israeli Consulate on Saturday evening held childrens stuffed toys to draw attention to the large number of Palestinian children killed in Gaza. Protesters affiliated with Islamic groups held signs reading I have a right to play and held up toys with signs on them that called on Israel to stop murdering innocent children.

___

Associated Press writers Vanessa Gera in Warsaw, Jill Lawless in London and Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia contributed to this report.
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Watch as hundreds of Israel supporters took part in a rally at Berlins Brandenburg Gate on Sunday 22 October.

The protest, entitled Standing up against terror, hatred and antisemitism - in solidarity and compassion with Israel, was organised by Germanys Central Council of Jews, political parties, unions and civil society.

Demonstrations are continuing across Europe, a day after 100,000 people marched in a pro-Palestine rally in London.

The British government on Sunday said it will speak to the Metropolitan Police about its decision not to act over a video showing protesters chanting Jihad on the streets of the capital, a Cabinet minister has said.

No offences were identified in a video of a Hizb ut-Tahrir protest showing a man chanting Jihad.

Immigration minister Robert Jenrick said a lot of people will find the Mets analysis surprising, adding: Thats something that we intend to raise with them and to discuss this incident with them.

A video posted on social media shows a man speaking into a microphone in front of a banner reading Muslim Armies! Rescue the People of Palestine, with the name of the group Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain on it.
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A missile strike on a mail depot in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv has killed six people and injured 16 others, officials said on Sunday.

The blast was caused by a Russian S-300 rocket, Kharkiv governor Oleh Syniehubov said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.

All of the victims were employees of private Ukrainian postal and courier service Nova Poshta.

In a statement, the company said the air raid siren had sounded just moments before the attack, leaving those inside the depot with no time to reach shelter. It announced that Sunday would be a day of mourning for the firm.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky posted a video showing the building with destroyed windows and construction materials strewn across the floor. He described the strike as an attack on an ordinary civilian object.

(AFP/Getty)

We need to respond to Russian terror every day with results on the front line. And, even more so, we need to strengthen global unity in order to fight against this terror, he wrote on social media.

Russia will not be able to achieve anything through terror and murder. The end result for all terrorists is the same: the need to face responsibility for what they have done.

Elsewhere in the Kharkiv region, three people were injured in Russian shelling on the city of Kupiansk, Mr Syniehubov said.

The Ukrainian-held frontline city has been at the heart of fierce fighting as both Moscow and Kyiv push for battlefield breakthroughs amid the looming onset of wintry conditions.

Officials in southern Ukraine said on Sunday that the Russian military had used a record number of aerial bombs over the countrys Kherson region in the past 24 hours.

Natalia Humeniuk, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian militarys Operational Command South, said 36 missiles had been recorded over the area, with some villages being hit by several strikes.

A police officer stands in front of a damaged building, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the town of Avdiivka, Donetsk region, Ukraine (Reuters)

It comes as further south in the east, Ukraine has been trying to stop a new push by Russian forces to gain more territory there, amid Kyivs gruelling counteroffensive that has continued for months.

Moscows drive to capture the town of Avdiivka encountered fierce resistance on Saturday, Ukraines military said, with defences bolstered by fortifications erected nearly a decade ago.

The enemy is becoming more active, but is incurring heavy losses, General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, commander of Ukraines troops in the south, said on Telegram.

Russias defence ministry, in its evening report, made no mention of Avdiivka, but reported strikes on areas outside Bakhmut, a town seized by Moscows forces in May after months of battles. Both towns are in the eastern Donetsk region.

Avdiivka has withstood enemy attacks for months. Video footage shows buildings in ruins and streets barely distinguishable.

The town was briefly captured in 2014 by Russian-backed separatists who seized large swathes of eastern Ukraine, but was retaken by Ukrainian forces who built solid fortifications.

The Institute for the Study of War, a US think-tank, said Russian troops had marginally advanced near Avdiivka.

Additional reporting by agencies
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Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Sunday that he is outraged by the antisemitic agitation spreading even to Germany as the Israel-Hamas war rages, and warned at the inauguration of a new synagogue that the vow of never again must be unbreakable.

Scholzs remarks come as antisemitic incidents have been rising in Germany following the violent escalation of the war in Gaza. Assailants threw two Molotov cocktails at a synagogue in Berlin on Wednesday, prompting Scholz to say that attacks on Jewish institutions would never be accepted.

He expanded on his comments at the inauguration of the temple in Dessau, a city in eastern Germany whose synagogue was destroyed by the Nazis 85 years ago.

I am deeply outraged by the way in which antisemitic hatred and inhuman agitation have been breaking out since that fateful October 7, on the internet, in social media around the world, and shamefully also here in Germany, Scholz said. Here in Germany, of all places."

That is why our never again must be unbreakable, Scholz said as he gathered with Jewish leaders at the synagogue. He noted that the community has recently grown as it welcomed people from Ukraine.

This synagogue here in the middle in Dessau says that Jewish life is and remains a part of Germany. It belongs here, Scholz said. Germany will do everything to protect and strengthen Jewish life.

Following Hamas brutal attack on Israel on Oct. 7 and the subsequent war in Gaza, police have increased security for Jewish institutions in Berlin and all over Germany.

Israeli flags that were flown as a sign of solidarity in front of city halls all over the country have been torn down and burnt. Several building in Berlin where Jews live had the star of David painted on doors and walls.
 Close Aftermath of Russian missile strike on Ukraine mail depot that killed six

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Russia has significantly bulked 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 on Monday.

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.

In the Bakhmut area, the enemy has significantly strengthened its grouping and switched from defence to active actions, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of the ground forces, wrote on Telegram messenger.

It comes following reports that Ukrainian forces made advancements near Bakhmut. War monitoring think-tank the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported that geolocated footage indicated that Ukrainian forces advanced over a railway line south of Andriivka - 10km southwest of Bakhmut.

The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Ukrainian forces continued assault operations south of Bakhmut and offensive operations towards the key city of Melitopol.

A prominent Russian milblogger also claimed that Ukrainian forces established control over unspecified positions in the Zaporizhia direction over the past week.
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The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that 130 premature babies and 1,000 kidney patients in Gaza are at grave risk as the fuel needed to power dialysis and incubators runs out.

Israels military spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, warned that Israel planned to intensify its strikes on Gaza in order to minimise the risk to troops in the next stages of the war, which it is widely anticipated will involve a ground invasion.

Cross-border fire between Israel and militant groups in Lebanon has also increased, and Israel has struck two airports in Syria, as the two-week war with Hamas threatened to spiral into a broader regional conflict. Residents of Gaza told The Independent that the air raids had never been so heavy and that supplies were quickly running out.

Israel has launched a fierce bombardment and imposed a total siege on the 42km-long enclave, which is home to more than 2 million people, after Hamas militants launched a bloody attack on 7 October killing over 1,400 Israelis and taking hundreds of people, including British citizens, hostage.

Smoke rises after Israeli air strikes on Gaza City on Sunday (EPA)

According to WHO, at least 4,385 Palestinians have been killed in the strikes. The Hamas-run health ministry says that more than 1,700 of them were children. The WHO said it now fears that many more will die from injuries and preventable illnesses, as food, water and medicines run out.

On Sunday, a convoy of 17 trucks packed with aid attempted to cross into besieged Gaza. But witnesses said that as the trucks crossed the border, a blast was heard in the vicinity. Israel later said that one of its tanks had accidentally fired and hit an Egyptian position close to the border.

Although Sundays attempted convoy was successful, and Saturday saw 20 trucks carrying aid enter Gaza via Rafah, the UN has warned that the supplies reaching the enclave are a drop in the ocean.

The convoy contained food, water and medical supplies, but Israel has so far not permitted fuel to be delivered. The UNs Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA said on Sunday that this meant the stocks of fuel that are critical for [the] humanitarian response would run out in three days.

Without fuel, there will be no water, no functioning hospitals and bakeries. Without fuel, aid will not reach many civilians in desperate need. Without fuel, there will be no humanitarian assistance, it added.

Israeli soldiers stand near a Merkava tank as they man a position at an undisclosed location on the border with Lebanon (AFP/Getty)

The WHO said that 130 premature infants and 1,000 patients dependent on dialysis, as well as patients in intensive care units across the besieged enclave, will die if no fuel is found to power incubators, ventilators and dialysis machines.

Doctors in Gaza told The Independent they were having to improvise as supplies were running out, including using shop-bought vinegar to disinfect wounds, conducting surgeries without anaesthetic, and treating burns patients without dressings.

On Sunday, the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry once again issued a plea to petrol stations to immediately donate their fuel to hospitals to keep them running.

The WHO said on Sunday that 65 per cent of primary care facilities and 20 per cent of hospitals have had to stop operating because of Israels bombardment.

Israel has ramped up attacks on Gaza ahead of an anticipated ground incursion into the strip, and ordered Palestinian civilians in northern Gaza  including those in hospitals  to evacuate to the south.

Palestinians check the damage inside a mosque which was hit in an Israeli air strike, in Jenin refugee camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank (Reuters)

The WHO has said this demand is impossible, and UN experts say it could amount to the war crime of forcible transfer.

Residents who have stayed in Gaza City, in the north of the strip, told The Independent that Israel had dropped more leaflets on Saturday warning people that if they did not move to the south, they might be identified as accomplices of a terrorist organisation. The residents shared images of the leaflets.

This has raised further concerns about further violations of international law if civilians are targeted for failing to evacuate.

The Israeli military did not deny they had sent the leaflets in a statement to The Independent, but added that the translation from Arabic that has spread online is imprecise without specifying which part of the translation was wrong.

We clarify that the IDF [Israeli army] has no intention to consider those who have not evacuated from the affected area of fighting as a member of the terrorist group. The IDF treats civilians as such, and does not target them, the statement read.

Palestinian youths stand on a heart-shaped installation next to the rubble of a building following an Israeli airstrike on Khan Younis refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, on Sunday (EPA)

In order to minimise civilian harm, the IDF sent a request to the residents of the northern area of the Gaza Strip to evacuate southward of Wadi Gaza.

There are concerns that the two-week war with Gaza is fast becoming a regional conflict. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited troops stationed near the border with Lebanon and warned Hezbollah it would be making the mistake of its life if it entered the war.

In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, officials said they had struck a mosque compound in Jenin belonging to Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants who had carried out several attacks in recent months and were planning another one. Two people were reported to have been killed in the strike.

So far the Palestinian health ministry has said that in total, 91 Palestinians have been killed in clashes with Israeli troops and in arrest raids and attacks by Jewish settlers since the 7 October attacks. Israeli forces have closed crossings into the territory and checkpoints between cities, measures they say are aimed at preventing attacks. Israel says it has arrested more than 700 Palestinians, including 480 suspected Hamas members.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 22. In August 2023, Greece imported 162.8 million cubic meters of natural gas from Azerbaijan, a decrease from the 173.7 million cubic meters imported in July, Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, told Trend.

This represents a month-on-month decrease of 6.3 percent in the volume of gas imports to Greece.

Cumulatively, the total gas exports from Azerbaijan to Greece in the first eight months of 2023 approached 1.4 billion cubic meters, with a total value of 631.6 million euros.

During August, Greece spent 52.1 million euros on gas imports from Azerbaijan, compared to 55.7 million euros in July, indicating a 6.5 percent decrease.

Azerbaijan, a pivotal gas supplier to Europe, relies on the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) as part of the Southern Gas Corridor, with a capacity of 10 billion cubic meters, expandable to 20 billion cubic meters annually.

From January through August 2023, Azerbaijan exported 7.6 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Europe, marking a 9-percent growth. During this period, Azerbaijan exported 6.7 billion cubic meters of natural gas, including 3.8 billion cubic meters via the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) to Turkiye and 1.5 billion cubic meters to Georgia.

Follow the author on X: @Lyaman_Zeyn
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The Archbishop of Canterbury has condemned the bombing of civilians in Gaza and stressed the urgent need for a ceasefire and the setting up of a humanitarian aid corridor into the territory under siege from Israel.

Speaking in Jerusalem, Justin Welby called for an end to the bloodshed in which thousands have been killed.

Following attacks on Israel by Hamas, intensive air strikes on Gaza have resulted in 4,651 deaths, according to Palestinian authorities.

The archbishop gave a sermon at the Cathedral of St George in Jerusalem on Sunday calling for peace. Speaking afterwards he said: All bombings of civilians is wrong. We have called for a ceasefire and safe humanitarian passage.

Everyone knows how difficult and chaotic wars are. The essential is that the principles of just fighting a war and the discrimination principal between combatants and non-combatants need to be held to really, really strictly. In an urban environment its hard to exaggerate how hard that is, but also [how] necessary that is.

Palestinian officials say several hundred people were killed in Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, with the Israelis and Islamic Jihad, an allied group to Hamas, blaming each other for the attack. Israel disputes the death toll. The archbishop said that he had no idea about how many civilians there were at the hospital, before adding: "What I have said to people, publicly, is: Dont assume it's Israel.

Places of worship have also been hit, including strikes on the Greek Orthodox Saint Porphyrius Church in Gaza City and a mosque in Jenin in the West Bank. The Israeli military claims both locations were being used by Hamas.

Palestinians check the damage inside a mosque which was hit in an Israeli air strike, in Jenin refugee camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank (Reuters)

Standing beside the Archbishop of Jerusalem, Hosam Naoum, Archbishop Welby said: Bombing of religious institutions is wrong.

Church leaders in Jerusalem joined the archbishop in condemning airstrikes on civilians and the church in Gaza City, as well as urging help for refugees.

They said in a statement: We, the patriarchs and heads of the churches in Jerusalem, having gathered in prayer with Jerusalems honourable guest, the Most Reverend Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, join with him in expressing, in the strongest possible terms, our condemnation of the Israeli airstrikes that exploded without warning at the Orthodox Church compound of Saint Porphyrios in Gaza.

In condemning this attack against a sacred place of refuge, we cannot ignore that this is but the latest instance of innocent civilians being injured or killed as a result of missile strikes against other shelters of last resort. We nevertheless remain fully committed to fulfilling our sacred and moral duty of offering assistance, support, and refuge to those civilians who come to us in such desperate need, the statement added. The church must especially act as the church in times of war, for that is when human suffering is at its greatest.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby meets with the parents and extended family of 22-year-old Yosef Malachi, who was killed in Kibbutz Kfar Aza (Reuters)

The archbishop met with the families of hostages taken by Hamas after the cathedral service. Before leaving for Israel he had said in a statement I appeal again for hostages to be released and for civilians to be protected. I join the international call for all parties to grant immediate, safe humanitarian access into Gaza to prevent further loss of life. I pray again for the peace of Jerusalem, in solidarity with the Church in the holy land. I grieve with Israelis and Palestinians still mourning and in fear.

The archbishop continued: It is unconscionable that aid is being prevented from reaching children and adults who are not combatants in this war. It is indefensible that hospitals, schools and refugee camps are being struck. It is an outrage that hostages are being held by Hamas.

The evil and heinous terror attacks by Hamas on people in Israel were crimes against God and humanity. Israel has a legitimate right and duty to defend itself, and to pursue a proportionate and discriminate response to establish its security, he said.

However, he added: Israels bombing campaign on the heavily populated Gaza Strip is causing massive civilian casualties and suffering. The people of Gaza are running out of water, food, medical supplies and places of refuge.
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Watch the Israel-Gaza border as fighting with Hamas continues on Sunday 22 October.

Israel has vowed to step up its airstrikes on Gaza which have already killed nearly 4,500 Palestinians in the fortnight since Hamas militants breached the border and massacred some 1,400 Israelis on 7 October.

We will deepen our attacks to minimise the dangers to our forces in the next stages of the war. We are going to increase the attacks, from today, an Israeli Defence Forces spokesperson said.

The decision to intensify attacks comes 24 hours after the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza finally opened on Saturday to allow desperately needed aid to flow to Palestinians for the first time since Israel sealed off the territory.

More than two million Palestinians have been rationing food and drinking filthy water, while hospitals say they are running low on medical supplies and fuel for emergency generators amid a territory-wide power blackout.
 Close Brit in Gaza describes desperate scene at Rafah crossing

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Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected calls for a temporary halt to his countrys attacks on Gaza unless hostages held by Hamas militants are freed, despite pleas by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to do so to allow aid to enter the Palestinian enclave.

Israel refuses a temporary ceasefire that does not include the return of our hostages, he said during a televised address.

He told Mr Blinken: We are going full steam ahead.

At the same time, the leader of Lebanons Hezbollah warned the US that preventing a regional conflict depended on stopping the Israeli bombardments of Gaza, and raised the spectre of fighting on the Lebanese front turning into a full-fledged war.

Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, in his first speech since the war erupted nearly four weeks ago, also hinted his Iran-backed group was ready to confront US warships in the Mediterranean.

Whoever wants to prevent a regional war, and I am talking to the Americans, must quickly halt the aggression on Gaza, Nasrallah said.

Israel says it bombed an ambulance at al-Shifa Hospital, Gazas largest, accusing Hamas of using it to carry terrorists and weapons.
Its ironic that Joe Biden has become so embroiled in the Middle East. After decades in public life, and a period as vice-president under Barack Obama, when he witnessed a peace initiative collapse on launch, he had a shrewd idea that there wasnt much in it for him. So, unlike Obama and Donald Trump, he didnt even appoint a special envoy to focus on the Israel-Palestine conflict when he took office in January 2021.

It was not just a matter of managing expectations  more of abolishing them. There were to be no peace conference, no Camp David Accords, no treaties signed on the White House lawn. Though in many respects a conventional Democrat, Biden broke with the strategy adopted unsuccessfully by Obama, and more successfully by Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, and walked off the field. He accepted the peace treaties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan that Trump had helped to broker, known as the Abraham Accords (the name Abraham was a reference to Judaism, Islam and Christianity being Abrahamic religions). Biden also stuck with Trumps controversial and provocative decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. And that was supposed to be that.

But, as every American president since the war has discovered, the Middle East is unavoidable. Even those presidents with no interest in being blessed peacemakers found that the region could sometimes burst dramatically into their lives. It happened, literally and tragically, on 9/11. After the almost non-stop peace initiatives of the Clinton years, George W Bush wanted to concentrate on the domestic agenda. Yet he soon found himself confronted with Islamist terrorism on a previously unthinkable scale, and in the heart of America itself: the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and, almost, the Capitol.
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After the UK voted to leave the European Union and the government negotiated for British travellers to become third-country nationals subject to a range of restrictions, British passport holders must now have their travel documents inspected and stamped.

The next steps, which are likely to be introduced in autumn 2024, will involve more red tape. The good news: passport stamping will end. The bad news: every traveller must be fingerprinted and provide a facial biometric.

The European Union is planning to introduce an Entry/Exit System (EES) that will record the movements of non-EU visitors. Shortly afterwards  in the spring of 2025, according the latest plan  prospective UK visitors to the Schengen area will have to apply online for permission to enter.

The Schengen area comprises most of the 27 remaining members of the European Union (but not Bulgaria, Cyprus, Ireland or Romania), plus Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

The Electronic Travel Information and Authorisation System (Etias), informally known as a eurovisa, will be the next step in tightening frontier controls. It depends upon EES being fully functional. When it is introduced, the 7 (6) permit will be valid for three years.

What is the Entry/Exit System?

The Entry/Exit System is an automated IT system for registering citizens from third countries, which means everywhere outside the EU and Schengen area.

The system is aimed at such travellers when they either enter or leave at an external Schengen border  such as flying from the UK to Spain or crossing by road from Greece to Turkey. (It will not be used for internal frontiers within the Schengen area.)

EES will register the date and place of entry or exit, plus fingerprints and a facial biometric.

This system, says the European Union, will replace the current system of manual stamping of passports, which is time-consuming, does not provide reliable data on border crossings, and does not allow a systematic detection of over-stayers.

British travellers, like other third-country nationals, are restricted to 90 days stay in any 180 days within the Schengen area. But enforcement of this currently depends on checking passport stamps and is applied haphazardly.

When will it start?

Originally EES was due to start in 2021. But the body responsible for implementation  the European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (EU-LISA)  has repeatedly pushed back the date because the database is far from ready.

In October 2023, the European Councils Justice and Home Affairs Council endorsed a new timeline for the roll-out of EES,.

The council said in a statement: The new roadmap for the delivery of the new IT architecture foresees that the Entry/Exit System will be ready to enter into operation in autumn 2024. It was originally expected to take effect in 2021.

How will the biometric checks work?

Outbound and inbound passengers will go through the formalities at airports abroad, in a similar way to US immigration, though both on the way in and out of the Schengen area.

Some EU members have expressed alarm at the extra time involved in the new processes, with the Slovenian government warning: It takes up to four times longer to do the new process.

For terrestrial travellers it could be even worse.

Giving evidence to Parliament about the new system, Tim Reardon, head of EU exit for the Port of Dover, said: There is no such thing as an e-gate for a car, and there is no such thing as an e-gate process for people travelling as a group. Theyre all one-at-a-time processes.

There is no way of doing a biometric control without getting everyone out of the vehicle.

Thats the one thing on our site which cannot happen, because youre in the middle of live traffic. It would be equivalent to asking people to get out of their car at a motorway toll booth. Its fundamentally unsafe and it cant happen.

Gareth Williams, strategy director for Eurostar, which runs trains to France from London, said: We dont currently see a practical solution. If we take the peak of August, up to 80 per cent of people will have to go through the system.

We do have a very extreme space challenge. At a minimum we would require over 30 kiosks, and an area about the size of our entire check-in area at St Pancras.

The rules will not apply to EU citizens.

Is Etias a visa?

Officially, no. Europe says that Etias is a pre-travel authorisation system. It is a similar concept to the US Esta and Canadian eTA, which are not technically visas.

Its key function is to verify if a third-country national meets entry requirements before travelling to the Schengen area, says the EU.

But as Etias requires visitors to apply in advance, provide lots of personal information, pay money (7/6 for all applicants aged 18 to 70), and be issued with a permit to cross a border, I contend that it amounts to a normal persons understanding of a visa.

How will I apply?

When finally the EU is ready, at the heart of the system will be an Etias app and website (etias.eu). Travellers will be required to submit personal information including name, address, contact details in Europe and passport data. It will also require occupation (with job title and employer. Students will be required to give the name of their educational establishment).

There will also be questions about the travellers state of health, particularly any infectious diseases. They must also give details of any serious convictions in the past 20 years.

Travellers must also provide online the reason for their journey (holiday, business, visiting family, etc), specify the country they will first arrive in, and provide the address of their first nights stay  which will pose a problem for tourists who like to make plans as they go along.

What happens to the information?

Every application will be checked against EU and relevant Interpol databases, as well as a dedicated Etias watch-list.

The system will be tuned to pick out individuals suspected of being involved in terrorism, armed robbery, child pornography, fraud, money laundering, cybercrime, people smuggling, trafficking in endangered animal species, counterfeiting and industrial espionage.

How long will it take for a decision to be made?

The intention is that 95 per cent of applications will be approved within a few minutes. But if an application is flagged  ie there is a hit with one of the databases  then a decision could take as long as four days.

It may result in a straight rejection of permission, or require the applicant to attend an interview at a consulate of the first country they intend to visit.

In a case of mistaken identity, will I be able to appeal?

Yes. Details of how to appeal will be included with the notice of rejection.

Once I have an Etias, am I guaranteed admission to the Schengen area?

No. Mere possession of a travel authorisation does not confer an automatic right of entry, says the EU. As with the US, travellers can be turned away for any reason.

Do I need to apply for an Etias every time I travel to Europe?

No. The permit will be valid for three years, or until your passport runs out. It is not yet clear whether you will need to go online and announce your travel plans before each visit to the European Union.

Will I need an Etias to travel to Ireland?

No. The Common Travel Area incorporating the UK, Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands transcends European Union rules, and in any event, Ireland is not in the Schengen area.

What about people without internet access?

They will be expected to get a friend or family member to make the application for them, in the same way as the US Esta and similar schemes.

Just remind us about the 90/180 day rule?

As an example of what it means: if you were to spend the first 90 days of 2024 (January, February and almost all of March) in the Schengen area, you would not be able to return until late June.

Is this all because of Brexit?

No. Work on strengthening the European Unions external border was already under way before the UK referendum on membership in June 2016.

Etias would not be relevant if the UK was still in the EU. But the nation voted to leave the European Union and the British government negotiated for British travellers to be classified as third-country nationals  triggering extra red tape.
The Queen has unveiled a sculpture of veteran Italian jockey Frankie Dettori at Ascot Racecourse to mark his farewell to Britain.

Camilla, wearing a brooch which belonged to the late Queen, attended QIPCO British Champions Day at the Berkshire track on Saturday 21 October.

She was assisted by members of the Greencoats, who have formed the ceremonial guard for royalty at Ascot since 1744, as she unveiled the bronze sculpture.

The work, designed by artist and sculptor Tristram Lewis, depicts Dettori mounted on a horse and is located by the Grandstand Lawn.
Benjamin Netanyahu warned Hezbollah militants they will be crippled if they made the mistake of its life by joining the Israel-Gaza war.

The Israeli prime minister talked about Lebanons militant group while he was visiting a group of commando soldiers stationed near the countrys northern border on Sunday 22 October.

If Hezbollah decides to enter the war, it will miss the Second Lebanon War. It will make the mistake of its life. We will damage it with a force it cannot even comprehend, the prime minister said.

The consequences for Hezbollah and for the state of Lebanon will be devastating.
Michael Gove told a rally in central London that the Jewish community in England must be protected.

Israel must stand strong and Britain stands with Israel, Mr Gove reiterated on the stage of a rally organised by the Jewish Leadership Council to ask for the release of the Israelis kidnapped by Hamas.

The Communities Secretary told the crowd in Trafalgar Square: Every Jewish life is sacred, Jewish faith is precious, our Jewish community must be protected.

And when we see chants which call for the elimination of the Jewish state, then we must be clear, never again shall we see these words, these symbols, this hate.
Former Israeli prime minister, Naftali Bennett, slammed the BBC during an interview with the broadcaster on Sunday morning (22 October).

Speaking to Victoria Derbyshire, Mr Bennett accused the corporation of taking the side of Gaza.

From the very beginning of this interview, you are asking me about them. It seems that you care little about our side, he said, as Ms Derbyshire denied the claim.

You care only about one side, but that is the BBC way. Let me tell you something, we are here protecting you, we dont need your protection.

The BBC is lacking moral clarity... shame on you.
Families of Hamas hostages rallied in Trafalgar Square to ask for their immediate release.

This is not a political issue, this is a humanitarian issue. Kids, women are not part of this war. They shouldnt be there, they should be home with us, the aunt of a nine-month-old hostage said at the rally organised by The Jewish Leadership Council on Sunday 22 October.

The womans brother, Yarden Silberman-Bibas, was reportedly kidnapped by Hamas along with his wife Shiri, and their children Kfir, nine months, and Ariel, 4 .

Speaking through tears, she recalled her brother's last terrified message - I love you - and asked the British government to bring all the abducted families safely home.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 22. Kazakhstan's KazMunayGas JSC (KMG, national company) has been negotiating with USAID and Carbon Limits regarding the possibility of implementing projects to detect and eliminate methane leaks, the company told Trend.

"Kazakhstan supports international initiatives to intensify efforts and increase ambition towards achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement, and has made a voluntary contribution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 15 percent from 1990 levels by 2030. Thus, in November 2020, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev spoke at the Climate Ambitions Summit, where he announced the countrys readiness to combat climate change and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. To achieve this goal, a Strategy for achieving carbon neutrality of the Republic of Kazakhstan until 2060 was developed in 2022," the company said.

The company noted that KMG has developed a Low Carbon Development Program for the period from 2022 to 2031. The program defines a unified framework for KMGs low-carbon development and systematizes the ompanys activities in the field of reducing its carbon footprint.

"To control and further prevent methane leaks, the Program provides for the widespread introduction of a leak detection and repair  LDAR. Since 2022, KazMunayGas has been negotiating with USAID and Carbon Limits regarding the possibility of implementing projects to detect and eliminate methane leaks at KMGs SDE sites, as well as to conduct training for employees of subsidiaries," said the company.

As the company noted, as part of the implementation of the program approved in November 2021, an Action Plan of KazMunayGas for the period from 2022 to 2031 was developed and approved.

"The plan includes a number of measures aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions in four areas: energy efficiency, renewable energy sources, methane monitoring, and organizational measures. The implementation of these measures will allow us to achieve the goal set in the KMG Low-Carbon Development Program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 15 percent by 2031. As part of the implementation of the Plan, a corporate Methodology for monitoring and reporting on greenhouse gas emissions and an Internal Carbon Pricing Program were developed," the company said.
Six people died in a missile strike late on Saturday night (21 October) on a mail depot in the city of Kharkiv, Ukraine.

Another 14 people were injured in the blast, which is believed to have been caused by a Russian S-300 rocket, Kharkiv governor Oleh Syniehubov said on social media.

All of the victims were employees of private Ukrainian postal and courier Nova Poshta.

In a statement, the company said that the air raid siren had sounded just moments before the attack, leaving those inside the depot with no time to reach shelter.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky described the strike as an attack on an ordinary civilian object.
As Israel intensifies its bombing of Gaza and prepares for a ground invasion, it is ominous that the Israeli government has ordered the evacuation of yet more settlements, on its northern border with Lebanon.

There is an obvious sense of inevitability about the war on Hamas in Gaza, and in truth it is well under way already; but fears that the conflict will escalate and widen to the east and north are starting to crystallise. Hezbollah and Israeli forces have already been exchanging low-level fire, and huge, well-equipped forces face each other on both sides of the Israel-Lebanon border, a territory where the government of Lebanon has little authority.

The history of warfare suggests that such mobilisations tend to create a momentum of their own. So does the belligerent rhetoric booming out from all sides. Benjamin Netanyahu, to whom violent threats come easily, has warned Hezbollah and the Lebanese government (for whatever the politics in Beirut are worth) that if they dare to launch any assaults, they will face unimaginable force and devastation. Having experienced Israeli invasions in 1982 and 2006, such words carry credibility.
An investment partnership that served as a vehicle to allow some of the biggest names in Irish business to invest in a Cayman Island fund has been wound up, distributing about 4.8m to its members.

Members of the UK incorporated partnership  originally set up during the tumultuous days after Irelands financial and banking world fell into turmoil at the end of the Celtic Tiger  included well known names such as banker Sean FitzPatrick, builder Bernard McNamara, and businessman Gary McGann.
Des Kelly Interiors spends on style with new store revamp

Youlanda Kelly, daughter of the late Des Kelly, has a 3.4m plan for the interiors retailer

Youlanda Kelly and her brothers Greg and Gerardo

Sean Pollock Sun 22 Oct 2023 at 03:30

Des Kelly Interiors is to invest around 3.4m in revamping its stores, including a 1m spend on its new Blanchardstown retail unit, as it targets expanding nationally.
Michael McGrath delays legislation for changes announced in Budget 2024

In the days after the Budget, there was an air of cautious optimism among Irelands starup community as it pored over the changes unveiled by Finance Minister Michael McGrath.

Changes and tweaks to capital gains tax, investor tax reliefs and the R&D tax credit were broadly welcomed by the indigenous tech sector.

It made for a change in mood music for the sector, which has typically been underwhelmed by startup-related provisions when budgets are signed off on.

For Mary Rodgers, who heads up the Portershed startup hub in Galway, the reception among founders in the building was an appreciated change.

Usually theyre disappointed or disillusioned  so I think even seeing movement, and seeing engagement and seeing understanding, is a significant step forward, she says.

There is still angel investor cash available, despite the global downturn

I think the startup community is all on the same page  and that helps. Everyone is not asking for something different.

While the reception to the changes has been positive in the main and seen as moving in the right direction, as ever with these things, the devil is in the details.

Capital gains tax has long been a bugbear for angel investors, and for startups keen to access capital from wealthy individuals.

Under the new approach, angel investors in a startup will be taxed at 16pc when selling those shares, rather than the traditional 33pc.

That could make an investment in an innovative but risky tech startup more appealing.

Mary Rodgers of the Portershed hub in Galway Photo: Andrew Downes

In order for an angel investor to be eligible for the lower rate of tax of 16pc, they must hold a stake of least 5pc in the company for at least three years.

Barry Doyle, investment director at venture capital firm MASV, says the 5pc provision could present a significant hurdle for startups raising money.

If that startup is sold, in order for the investor to be charged the lower rate of capital gains tax, they will need to maintain that 5pc minimum stake.

That could mean the investor pushing back on any future investments that dilute their stake or making efforts to keep the valuation of the startup lower.

If someone is writing a 50,000 cheque  and thats a big cheque for an angel to be writing  in order to get to the 5pc threshold, the valuation of that company after they raise their round needs to be 1m, says Doyle.

If youre that angel, youre then going to apply pressure to that company to not raise more money  or if they do, youre going to look for anti-dilution provisions, which means that that impacts the founder at future rounds. Its a huge amount of equity potentially at play if the issue isnt resolved.

The Department of Finance published the Finance Bill last week but omitted details on giving effect to the changes on capital gains tax for angel investors. It is to be addressed at the committee stage of the bill.

Another crucial change coming down the line is to the Employment Investment Incentive Scheme (EIIS).

The initiative is designed to give tax relief to an investor who puts their money in an SME in return for equity  but the scheme has been the subject of much debate among startups over its effectiveness.

As it stands, an EIIS eligible investor can get a tax relief of 40pc.

In his Budget speech, Michael McGrath said the cap on investment made through EIIS would be doubled from 250,000 to 500,000.

However the terms of EIIS for some startups are changing as it must fall in line with EU state aid rules that will see the relief cut from 40pc to 20pc in some instances depending on the type financing being raised.

Raising the ceiling to 500,000 may go some way to alleviating the impact of that  but ultimately it could mean less money for startups.

An increasingly popular method for many startups when it comes to raising money is SAFE notes  a Simple Agreement for Future Equity. This is an agreement that simplifies the arrangement between startup and investor without the need to immediately give up equity.

The SAFE note approach was developed by Y Combinator, the famous Silicon Valley startup accelerator that has produced several global winners.

Complexity, red tape and hefty legal expenses can create barriers

An investor puts money into a startup through a SAFE note  and rather than get equity upfront, the investor retains the right to a stake in the company in a future equity round.

This founder-friendly approach to fundraising means a startup can raise the all-important seed capital without the founder having to give up big chunks of the company early on. The approach also helps the startup save in legal costs.

Ciaran Gilsenan is the all-island director of the Halo Business Angel Network (HBAN). He says that SAFEs do not qualify for the States investor tax relief EIIS, which puts the method at a disadvantage for investors keen to get tax relief on their equity investments.

The Halo Business Angel Network (HBAN) is a joint initiative of Enterprise Ireland and InterTradeIreland that manages angel investor syndicates on the island of Ireland. This year the contract for the initiative was awarded to connected hubs across Ireland, including Dogpatch Labs in Dublin, RDI hub in Kerry, Portershed in Galway, Republic of Work in Cork and Clonmel, and Ormeau Baths in Belfast.

SAFE does not qualify, only equity. Another thing that we see out there is that there are more SAFEs and convertible loan notes being done in the ecosystem  but the Government is still fixed on equity, Gilsenan says.

Theres a couple of things happening as we look into the angel investing ecosystem. They prefer to get EIIS  and it makes sense because you get tax relief.

"Not in all cases will a startup be EIIS-compliant and theres a couple of reasons around that. Theres real complexity around being prepared for EIIS.

Complexity, red tape and hefty legal expenses can create a barrier for startups to avail of certain supports like EIIS.

A common issue raised by cash-strapped founders is finding the time to wade through documents while still trying to run their nascent businesses.

If Im a startup and I want to go through and comply with EIIS, Ive got a 108-page Revenue document I need to go through, says Gilsenan. And then I have to get a report generated to show I am compliant because theres a lot of different stuff needed in order to qualify.

He says that according to a survey of founders, the average cost of such a report for a company is around 7,500.

Thats not the consultant setting the price, thats just how much it costs because theres so much involved in actually being in compliance with this. Thats a lot of work and takes weeks to do.

In the Budget, Michael McGrath announced the establishment of the Tax Administration Liaison Committee, aimed at simplifying these processes for businesses.

Gilsenan said there is still angel investor cash available, despite the global downturn in tech, but that this money isnt flowing as fluidly as before.

The cheque sizes that people are writing are not as big as they might have been in the past. But we still have people writing really big cheques. Theres a lot these high-net-worths out there who actually can write cheques, he says.

One of our things is democratising investment. How can we get more people into angel investing?

Wealthy angel investors who can write 50,000 or 100,000 cheques is all well and good  but encouraging entrepreneurs to invest smaller amounts of perhaps 10,000 or 20,000 is crucial to growing a strong angel investing community, according to many in the industry.

Irish startups are under-funded compared to international counterparts

These investors may not necessarily bring large monetary amounts but may bring sector-specific experience and contacts that can aid a startup in its earliest stages.

Paul Sheridan, founder of AI startup Lynq, says any good startup ecosystem is full of people doing investments as low as 5,000 and as high as 50,000.

Im a broke founder, but I still invest in friends startups whenever I can, he says.

Paul Sheridan of Lynq

Placing minimum requirements for investments to benefit from reliefs will drive down valuations and make it harder to raise money in Ireland  and those founders will seek capital elsewhere, he says.

Most of the angel cheques Ive received are from other ecosystems, such as San Francisco or London.

MASVs Barry Doyle is in agreement and says he believes that if the goal is to get money flowing, then there should be no minimum requirements in place.

He says there is a raft of tech professionals in Ireland who made great money at Big Tech firms and now want to invest in the startup ecosystem. Its a resource that ought to be tapped, he says.

Theres quite a lot of people who have done well in that and in stock option programmes. Theyve done well in various IPOs  but they dont necessarily have the net worth to go and write a 50,000 or 100,000 cheque.

Still, theyre very much bought into the tech ecosystem  so we need to encourage as many people to be writing those 10,000 or 20,000 cheques and supporting early stage businesses.

Irish startups remain grossly under-funded compared to international counterparts, he adds.

Its very difficult to access capital, and even more so in the current environment  so we need to be doing everything to encourage more angels into the market at an earlier stage to support those business, he says.

If were looking to get those guys and girls out of the woodwork and get them investing in Ireland, then we need to put the incentives in place.
While the transition to a low carbon economy and greener future requires a whole-of-society approach, and is increasingly important for businesses in order to remain agile and competitive, it is important to remember that this is a journey.

While most, if not all, entrepreneurs and managers are aware of their responsibilities and the need to decarbonise and make their business more sustainable, there are also increased expectations from stakeholders and customers around sustainability. This can all contribute to making this journey daunting for some, and it can be a challenge to find the time to figure out where to start.

The green transition journey will not happen overnight, but it is increasingly important for businesses to take those important first steps.

As part of our commitment to supporting companies on this journey, Enterprise Ireland has developed the new Sustainability Kickstarter Workshop, which is free and open to companies that are supported by Enterprise Ireland or a Local Enterprise Office.

Delivered online over three hours, this workshop will not only give attendees an overview of the sustainability journey and where to start, but it has also been designed to enable each participant to leave with a straightforward action plan towards having a sustainable business strategy.

It is now a pivotal time for businesses to plan their green journey, as many are finding their sustainability plans and credentials are becoming increasingly important factors in securing new sales and contracts.

There is also an increased focus on this legislatively. For example, the European Unions Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive will require all large companies and listed SMEs to publish regular reports on their environmental and social impact activities from 2026.

A more sustainable approach also offers businesses cost savings by reducing their energy use and waste, and by improving their operational efficiency.

The Enterprise Ireland Sustainability Kickstarter Workshop series will offer attendees a strong introduction to topics such as environmental, social and governance issues, the UN Sustainable Development Goals, related market forces, risks and opportunities, and available supports.

In the second part of the workshop, participating companies will learn how to apply the theory and how to develop a sustainability action plan to integrate sustainability and ESG principles into their business operations and decision-making processes.

The Sustainability Kickstarter Workshop is just one of the resources available for companies from Enterprise Ireland. Those who have already started their journey may look to the Business Navigator Programme or Skillnet Sustainability.

The leadership programme a compelling next step. For more information on how the Sustainability Kickstarter Workshop and other sustainability supports can help you, visit https://globalambition.ie/client-solutions-hub/green-transition-webinar-series/

Shaping Business and Antaris Consulting are running the Sustainability Kickstarter online workshop for Enterprise Ireland and will run online five times before Christmas (on Oct 27, Nov 10 and 24, and Dec 8 and 15).

Joanne is senior executive, sustainability, renewable energy & agtech, Enterprise Ireland
Companies in Ireland and across Europe are facing into a new era of corporate reporting and regulatory responsibility when it comes to accounting for environmental impact and targets. This is at a time when the stakes in tackling climate change are as high as ever on the eve of COP 28 which begins next month.

What has become clear across the last couple of climate summits is the need for increased cooperation from a variety of stakeholders including corporates and public, national or global bodies. One of the announcements from COP 26 was the establishment of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) and since then it has been working on the development of a global baseline of sustainability disclosure standards. The first two standards of which were published earlier this year.

Sustainability reporting is front and centre among the main challenges that many companies are facing and no matter what preparation is in place, the substantial complexity and scope of whats required is now being fully realised in terms of the resources and scale involved.

From an EU perspective, separate standards have been developed under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which sits alongside the European Green Deal. The first set of these new European Sustainability Reporting Standards has been adopted with the requirement to report in line with them being introduced on a phased basis, beginning in January, although it will be 2025 when the majority of firms will face this new regulatory reality.

These new standards extend far beyond climate action and will require companies to report on a range of environmental, social and governance matters considered material to their business. One of the intended results of mandating standards that companies must report against, is for readers of sustainability statements to gain a clearer understanding how such companies are performing against their peers on ESG issues  that are material to their particular industry.

For some businesses, they have been preparing sustainability or ESG reports on a voluntary basis in line with one or more sets of voluntary standards for the last number of years. There are two key differences though between the various sets of existing standards and these new European standards. First is the increased level of granularity required, such as the often-referenced metrics on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This now extends to eight separate disclosure requirements and 14 application requirements explaining what information should be included in this disclosure.

Second, the seemingly straightforward task of determining which ESG matters are material for a business also takes on a further degree of complexity when the concept of double materiality is realised. When considering whether a sustainability matter is material, the standards require in-scope companies to look at how ESG matters impact on the business (known as financial materiality). It also looks at, as has become increasingly prominent, the impact the business is having on the environment and society more generally (known as impact materiality).

Sustainability statements will need to include data from others across a companys value chain

The European standards also state that the materiality assessment should be informed by dialogue with a companys stakeholders. While materiality assessments and stakeholder engagement are not new activities for companies, many are now required to re-engage with their stakeholders as part of their double materiality assessments. With this double materiality assessment now being a key focus for companies, the standards arent particularly helpful in terms of the details of how the assessment should be conducted. It is for this reason that the European Commission asked EFRAG, the group tasked with drafting the standards, to prepare guidance on the materiality assessment. An initial draft of this guidance was recently made publicly available, and it is hoped that once this is finalised, it will provide a more helpful and practical guide for businesses.

Beyond these standards and the initial phases, CSRD not only impacts those companies that fall within scope. In time, sustainability statements will need to include data from others across a companys value chain. The European Commission recognises the challenges associated with reporting value chain information and has put in place a three-year transitional period from the date of a companys first report is prepared to comply with these requirements. Given the level of complexity associated with collecting this type of data, EFRAG is preparing additional guidance on this topic.

As the above shows there is a lot for companies to grapple with when it comes to preparing for this new reporting regime. A large amount of data will need to be collated from across the entire business and it is critical to identify where the data gaps are so that there are no surprises when it is time to submit these sustainability statements. As with sustainability more generally, this responsibility will require input from across all business functions. Cultivating the necessary collaboration and creating awareness of the required information is going to be critical to the success of a companys CSRD implementation project.

The time to start raising this awareness and putting systems in place is now.

Jill Shaw is ESG & Sustainability Lead for A&L Goodbody
Drinks

Blink-182's Travis Barker endorses Liquid Death. The old adage about gullible fools and their money springs to mind

It has often been said that many creative directors working in advertising have an unfinished novel or screenplay buried in a bottom drawer somewhere.

Others harbour ideas about getting the old band back together again for one last gig. Only a handful, however, channel their inner entrepreneur by using their knowledge of marketing by taking the tools of their trade and using them to launch their own business.

Mike Cessario is one such person. While his name is unlikely to ring many bells in Ireland, the former advertising creative is the public face of Liquid Death, a US brand of canned water that made its Irish debut this week when it launched in selected SuperValu and Centra stores.

An ad campaign for Liquid Death canned water

As a former adman, Cessario had spent years working on campaigns for clients like Nestle, Netflix, Organic Valley, Nike and Toyota but his eureka moment came when he found out that that some of the bands at a rock festival he had attended were hydrating themselves by drinking water from cans of Monster Energy, the popular energy drink.

For obvious reasons, Monster Energy, one of the sponsors of the festival, didnt want bands sipping from bottles of Aquafina or Dasani, two popular water brands in the US.

Cessario decided he wanted to create a brand of water that would be cool and appeal to a growing millennial cohort that was embracing alternatives to alcohol and energy drinks.

Cessario was inspired by the ghoulish branding of Monster Energy drinks

While differentiation from competitors is the stuff that keeps marketers awake at night, Cessario took this to extremes never breached before and certainly not in a category as competitive as bottled water which, in the US, is dominated by the likes of Coca Cola and PepsiCo.

Liquid Death may sound like a highly potent craft beer that has been infused with black absinthe and a dash of nicotine, but beneath the marketing hype and the clever branding, its just plain old-fashioned water.

From its eye-catching gothic branding, including a decaying skull, a tagline of murder your thirst and death to plastic (a reference to single-use plastic bottles favoured by competitors) right through to the wacky and edgy viral videos and releases of limited-edition merchandise, the brands irreverence and sense of fun has seen it build up a cult-like following.

Ballygowan, River Rock and Volvic water currently dominate - with 80pc of the off-trade Irish market

This has translated into a rapid growth in sales in a highly competitive market. Sales in the first year amounted to $2.8m (2.6m) rising to $60m in 2021 and $130m in 2022. All going well, sales in 2023 are likely to breach the $200m mark.

While it has yet to turn a profit, shareholders who have pumped in close to $190m dont seem to be worried. These include several VCs, Live Nation which sells it at its events and venues  as well as stars like Swedish House Mafia and musician Machine Gun Kelly, while Travis Barker has endorsed it.

The last fund-raising round in 2021 valued it at a whopping $700m. The next one is likely to value it at over $1bn.

Whether or not it can crack the over-saturated Irish market, which is worth an estimated 180m, remains to be seen. While brands such as Ballygowan, River Rock and Volvic dominate, with as much as 80pc of the off-trade market between them, Liquid Death has positioned itself at the premium end.

You can buy a 500ml can of Liquid Death still water for 2 which is a whopping 4 a litre

In other words, it costs a lot more than competitor brands and if you were to pop into your local SuperValu, you can buy a 500ml can of Liquid Death still water for 2 which is a whopping 4 a litre. Or you could pick up a two-litre bottle of SuperValus own-brand water for 55 cents which is just 28 cent a litre.

This price differential is, of course, all down to clever marketing but when it comes to selling water, the age-old adage that gullible fools and their money are easily parted springs to mind.

BBDO bags Eir gig

Following a competitive pitch involving four other agencies over a three-month period, BBDO Dublin, which is headed up by Neal Davies, has been appointed as the creative and strategic partner of Eir, the largest provider of fixed-line telecommunications services in Ireland.

With a turnover of 1.2bn last year, Eir offers a range of broadband, voice, TV, mobile and data services to residential, business and government departments.

SEAI win for Havas

Havas Dublin has picked up the creative account for the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) following a competitive tender.

With sustainability and energy efficiency to the fore of government policy, the contract will see Havas Dublin working closely with the state-owned SEAI in delivering a wide range of sustainability and energy-related services to homeowners, communities and businesses around the country.
But firms share price is still well below peak

For any investors who might have stuck with Hostelworld since the heady days of its IPO, its been a dizzying journey.

The Irish-based firm, which provides an online booking platform primarily aimed at hostel accommodation, saw its share price surge by 50pc less than six months after its listing at 185p per share  before halving in the space of the next three after it warned of a drop in bookings.

From there, the shares went on a tear.

The stock, listed in both Dublin and London, more than tripled in value before peaking at over 400p per share in the first half of 2018  more than double the price at IPO. At that stage, the company was worth north of 500m. Unfortunately, that was as good as it got.

Intermittent warnings around booking demand saw the share price halve, then halve again.

And this was all before Covid, which saw the price halve once more for good measure.

Fortunately, that was as bad as it got.

Hostelworld was founded in 1999 and sold in 2009 for 202m

Since the dark days of the pandemic put the kibosh on international travel, Hostelworld has staged a strong recovery.

The share price has nearly doubled again over the last year, while a trading update published last week saw the company raise its full-year guidance after reporting record sales in the first nine months of 2023.

Revenues at the Dublin-based firm surged to just over 75m during the period, a 38pc year-on-year increase. Encouragingly, net bookings were equally strong, rising by 43pc to crack 5m during the nine month period.

Last year net losses narrowed, falling from 36m in 2021 to 17m in 2022.

The company is now closing in on a return to its breakeven point  the big question is how long it will take to get there.

Hostelworld was founded in 1999 by Thomas Kennedy, the owner of Dublins Avalon Hostel, and Ray Nolan, now a well-known entrepreneur involved in a multitude of successful tech firms.

Initially, Kennedy was simply looking for a software system to help him better manage his business. That morphed into designing an automated booking service for thousands of hostels, which grew quickly over the years.

The company was ultimately sold to private equity giant Hellman and Friedman for 202.5m in November 2009.

It looked great business at the time for the founders, with Ray Nolan reportedly netting up to 100m from the deal. It looks even better in retrospect  despite its recent rise, Hostelworld is still valued both below its IPO price from 2015 and that private equity sale nearly 14 years ago.

While its sales figures are encouraging, the group still has several challenges. Net debt is relatively high and the company faces stiff competition.

A return to profit will likely be seen as the bellwether for the companys performance. The 2021 and 2022 losses were both in Covid-hit years. Hostelworld recorded profits of 5.7m and 8.4m in 2018 and 2019 respectively.

The groups strong revenue figures so far this year and a pent-up demand for travel will likely put a better spin on things come the end of 2023.

But the firm still has some way to go on its rollercoaster journey to reclaim its 2018 highs, or reward any public investors who saw the companys early promise.
Modern morals: Our friend is a terrible godfather to our daughter. Can I change my mind and ask my brother to be godparent instead?
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, October 22. Uzbekistan and a US-based Schlumberger global technology company discussed implementation of new projects and technologies for the increase of gas production on Uzbekistans gas fields, Trend reports.

The news followed a meeting between Uzbekistans Uzbekneftegaz JSC oil and gas company and representatives of Schlumberger Oilfield Eastern Ltd in Uzbekistan.

During the talks, representatives of SLB presented proposals regarding the organization of work on the project of Development and maintenance of a medium- and long-term program to improve the efficiency of exploration and increase natural gas production under a long-term agreement. The participants deliberated on the essential actions required for the execution of the project.

As per Uzbekneftegaz, this project provides for the creation of a joint working group consisting of specialists from both companies, which will be tasked with studying all available information on deposits and prospective areas of Uzbekneftegaz JSC, compiling and monitoring the implementation of geological and technical measures aimed at increasing natural gas production.

The meeting was organized within the framework of the Roadmap of Mutual Understanding and the Roadmap for the Development of Cooperation signed during the State visit of the President of Uzbekistan to the US.

Meanwhile, Uzbekistan's gas production has reached 31.39 billion cubic meters from January through August of 2023, which is 9.4 percent less compared to the same period last year.

Moreover, Presidents of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Russia launched Russian gas supplies to Uzbekistan on October 7, 2023. Uzbekistans President Shavkat Mirziyoyev noted that the launch of this gas transportation corridor is of strategic importance.

"Firstly, this is an important factor in the energy security of our country and the entire region. Secondly, the supply will provide for additional volumes of gas for the uninterrupted supply of carbon to economic sectors and the population," he noted.

Gazprom also signed an agreement with Kazakhstans QazaqGaz to provide services for the transportation of Russian natural gas through Kazakhstan for consumers in Uzbekistan.

The two-year agreement assumes a supply volume of 9 million cubic meters per day, almost 2.8 billion cubic meters per year.
Music

Booked as the headliner recently at a major venue in the UK, Sultan Stevenson arrived unannounced at 1pm and asked someone of vague officialdom in the venue could they unlock the Steinway on the stage.

Stevenson said: I asked the gentleman: Excuse me, sir, is it possible for me to play the piano?

Taking one look at this black youth wearing a bucket hat, tracksuit and trainers, the man told him that would not be possible.

Stevenson said he knew how to play the Steinway perfectly well. He was told that he needed to be a level of grade 10 to be allowed to play the venues Steinway.

To which he replied that he was, in fact, grade 10.

I told him, I completed a degree in piano three months ago. I felt I had to tell him: Im not lying.

The man didnt believe him. He insisted it would not be possible to unlock the Steinway and went off into the backstage.

He returned 10 minutes later apologising profusely that he didnt realise that he was the main act for that nights show and he would be only delighted to unlock the piano. Or words to that effect.

I guess to some people that might seem insignificant that he just didnt know that was the main artist, says Stevenson, who was born in 2000 to parents of Barbadian and Vincentian descent.

But I think the subtext to that  and I know this is true  is that based on the colour of my skin and the way I look. He thought there was no possible way that someone like me could work my way to the level of achievement of playing in a recital hall.

Its a prejudice. A racist prejudice. Its small kind of things like that. No one is necessarily calling you a racist name. They are not being explicitly racist to your face, but if you read the subtext you can already start to see racism manifest itself. The small things are like microcosms.

He defines this new, subtle racism as lots of small things happening frequently as opposed to lots of big things happening infrequently.

One of Sultans favourite films  after The Matrix and Inception  is Oppenheimer. Robert Oppenheimer never got the recognition he deserved, he says.

He says he hopes its star Cillian Murphy, a noted music enthusiast, might attend when The Sultan Stevenson Trio play the Pavilion Theatre in Dun Laoghaire next Thursday. It comprises Stevenson on piano, Jacob Gryn on bass and Joel Waters drums, plus special guest, Mercury Music Prize winner Denys Baptiste, on tenor saxophone.

Growing up in Hackney, Stevenson was always good at maths and physics and considered doing physics for his degree.

I never regret the decision. If I had chosen physics I dont think I would have stuck with it. I would have done the degree and then probably pursued a career in music anyway, because its always been my passion.

If I had gone down that road, I wouldnt have gone to the Guildhall School of Music, and wouldnt have had all the amazing teaching that Ive had, I would be a very different person.

Nor would he have released his debut album, Faithful One, earlier this year to international acclaim, at just 21. In its review, Blues & Soul magazine said Stevenson has a fluid ability to shift between styles and influences without missing a beat and is most definitely an old head on young shoulders.

Faithful One is following in a long line of jazz albums that are prayers to God: the most renowned of which was John Coltranes 1965 masterpiece A Love Supreme, followed a year later by Ascension.

Then there was the likes of Duke Ellingtons Heaven, performed at his Second Sacred Concert at St Johns Cathedral New York in 1968.

The Duke was to observe: Im just a messenger boy trying to help carry the message. If I was a dishwasher in a nightclub, does that mean I couldnt join the church? No, man, Im just another employee.

Doesnt God accept sinners anymore?

This is not to forget Journey in Satchidananda by Coltranes widow Alice and Pharoah Sanders in 1971; McCoy Tyners Sahara in 1972; Prepare Thyself to Deal With a Miracle by Rahsaan Roland Kirk in 1973; and, of course, Sun Ras God is More Than Love Can Ever Be in 1979.

You could, at a push, include Miles Daviss 1959 opus Kind of Blue, which he described as being inspired by some other kind of sound I remembered from being back in Arkansas, when we were walking home from church and playing these bad gospels.

As well as his own unique stamp, you can hear echoes of all these records in Faithful One. Stevensons faith is also a very large part of the album.

He says he tries to implement his faith into all aspects of his life and into his music.

I always try to incorporate that in my compositions. Its a giveaway in the names of songs like Hes Made Me Whole, Prayer, Thank You Thank You God and Faithful One, the title of the album. So yeah, Im very passionate about manifesting it in all aspects of my life, he says.

Prayer, one of the stand-out tracks on the album is, he says, an interesting tune, because it is simulating the experience you have if you attend a prayer meeting.

Stevenson attends a Pentecostal church in Tottenham, The Peoples Christian Fellowship.

We are very expressive, he says.

We believe in expressing our love for God. We are very animated. So if you ever go to prayer meeting you will find groups of people gathered in fellowship praying, usually praying for the same thing and they will have different prayer requests.

Some will have prayer requests for I dont know maybe they are going through a hard time financially and they need a bit of help that might be a prayer request.

Maybe someone else is struggling with something health-related and they need something healing from that and there are all these things that people are prayer about.

So what you have is a large group, a body of people, praying about the same thing in the same place but in different ways, because they are all individual people with individual relationships with the lord.

So Prayer, the tune, is similar to that. It has a central melodic theme, a blues kind of base theme in A minor, very simple. Its very simple, nothing complicated for a reason, because its written to be a simple melody that is then explored in the group.

So, what happens is everyone plays the melody, the bass starts it and then the drums implies, the piano plays and the horns play it as well and then slowly everyone edges from the melody, is instructed to diverge from the melody and eventually come back to the melody and play it in unison.

Again, thats very much like a prayer meeting, everyone praying together but all with their own individual relationships with God.

They are praying about the same thing in the same room. Thats really what prayer is about.

What Sultan Stevenson is about is perhaps a vibrant new expression of jazz. His father was a radio presenter in his native Barbados, hosting a jazz show, before he came to England in 2000.

He loved jazz. I believe he got that from his father who was very passionate about music and art. My father passed that on to me, he says.

Growing up in London, he can remember loads of CDs lying around the house: everything from Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald to Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Miles Davis.

Added to this, record companies kept his father on their mailing lists for new jazz releases.

So, he would be getting the next Gregory Porter album or the next Wynton Marsalis straight through to like just a newcomer on the scene from some part of the world whos just released a record. He would get them all. That was absolutely amazing. I was listening to great jazz music all the time.

As for what he inherited from his mother, he says: Her sense of tenacity. Shes a very strong lady. She doesnt give up very easily. She will always be there for her family as well, be there for me and my sisters. I got that kind of no-nonsense attitude and standing up for what you believe in from her.

His name came from his mother, too.

I dont know if this is true but the story goes that she knew that I was destined for the stage and to be out there in the public eye, and to be some kind of performer and to speak to people and to I guess by proxy play to people, he says.

So she wanted a name that she felt reflected that kind of sensibility and Sultan is an Arabic name and it means King in Arabic. I try and live up to the name as best as I can.

I dont want to sound big-headed, but I think its a very lovely name, even if I do say so myself. You know it gives me a lot of meaning and a lot of sense of direction as well.

The Sultan Stevenson Trio play Dublins Sugar Club on Tuesday, October 24; Pavilion Theatre in Dublin on Wednesday; Siama Tire in Tralee on Thursday; Triskel Arts Centre, part of Guinness Cork Jazz Festival, on Saturday; and Riverbank Arts Centre in Newbridge next Sunday
Exclusive: | Israeli ambassador claims Michael D Higginss Gaza remarks were inflammatory and says Ireland isnt neutral

Diplomat Dana Erlich also says that unfortunately Ireland is not neutral over conflict

Ireland's Israeli ambassador talks about Hamas, neutrality, and Michael D Higgins

Niamh Horan Sun 22 Oct 2023 at 04:30

The Israeli ambassador to Ireland, Dana Erlich, has accused President Michael D Higgins of making misinformed comments that have had an inflammatory effect in relation to the Israel-Hamas war.
Camhs specialists reject familys appeal for full psychiatric care for autistic boy

The mother of a nine-year-old boy with severe autism has warned that if medics do not prescribe anti-psychotic medication for him, the rest of our family will die.

Audrey Dore-Geraghty made the stark claim to a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (Camhs) psychiatrist in Co Wexford 11 days ago after the plight of her son Harrison was highlighted by the Sunday Independent last month.

The psychiatrist responded he would not be in a position to prescribe the medication because the boy had previously shown adverse side-effects. Harrisons parents must continue to travel to Spain to obtain medication which they say is the only thing that will reduce his violent outbursts and give him and his family some quality of life.

A HSE spokesperson said it could not comment on Harrisons or any individual case.

Harrison Geraghty-Anthony lives in Rosslare, Co Wexford, with his parents, younger brother and baby sister. He is extremely violent, potentially schizophrenic, and his behaviour so unmanageable his parents are at crisis point.

Audrey Dore-Geraghty and her son Harrison. Photo: Patrick Browne

His behaviour is so volatile Dore-Geraghtys parents live with the family in Rosslare half the week, while her husband Huw works in their Dublin dentistry practice. Harrisons grandparents help ensure their daughter and other grandchildren are not in danger from his violent outbursts.

Harrison is up and down all the time, Dore-Geraghty said. Its an hour-by-hour situation.

He punched me in the chest the other day and was in a state of uncontrollable anger for an hour. We had to give him Valium to calm him down.

We need my parents help when Huw is not here.

We have learned, because he is our child who we know and love, that medication is the only way to keep him, and us all, safe. I have the two younger childrens safety to consider as Harrison gets bigger and stronger.

She loves her eldest child but is also frightened of him. He is a victim of years of systematic neglect and remains without a child psychiatrist in Ireland willing to treat and prescribe him medication.

The Sunday Independent understands the Office of Ombudsman for Children has launched a preliminary investigation into the care Harrison has received.

After his story was highlighted in this newspaper, followed by coverage on RTEs Prime Time, the family met a Camhs team in Wexford on October 11.

The medical team said they believed autism was Harrisons primary issue, which was not within their remit. Other diagnoses the boy had from previous psychiatrists, most recently as an inpatient at Dublins Crumlin Hospital, were not verified by the team.

The appointment went dreadfully, said Dore-Geraghty. Camhs wont help. They blamed his autism for everything.

Camhs essentially dont treat children with autism: they said their remit is to treat the 2pc to 5pc of children and adolescents who have severe mental health problems.

They had a report sent from Crumlins psychiatric team and other psychiatrists weve taken Harrison to over the years stating he has a co-morbidity of autism and a number of other mental disorders, including ADHD, anxiety and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). He is also possibly bi-polar and schizophrenic.

But Camhs blamed his autism for everything, saying the way he presents could all just be sensory overload.

We are now left in a position where we have no one overseeing the medication he critically needs, she said.

Audrey Dore Geraghty with her son Harrison. Photo: Arthur Carron

Harrison has an anti-psychotic drug prescribed at Crumlin but the prescription is about to run out.

The boy experienced side-effects, including eye-rolling, which has led to a reduction in the dosage.

He was first prescribed anti-psychotic medication by a Spanish psychiatrist during the pandemic, who met and treated him in Malaga, when his parents were unable to find a psychiatrist in Ireland who would treat their son in the short term.

The Camhs team made it clear to us that they would not prescribe medication for Harrison, said his mother.

I told them: If Harrison comes off risperidone [anti-psychotic medication], we all die.

The doctor said he would not prescribe it to him. They said they could refer us for speech and language therapy and occupational therapy. Weve done these with Harrison since he was two. It doesnt help with his problems.

At the end of the meeting, Harrison became unruly and agitated as he tried to escape the room. He hit his mother, bit his father and ended up on the table, thrashing and lashing out. A follow-up meeting is scheduled next month.

The HSE said it had two Camhs teams covering Co Wexford, each led by a consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist but declined to comment on individual cases due to confidentiality.
There is a lack of urgency from governments to tackle violence against women across Europe, an Irish MEP has said.

Frances Fitzgerald said that hesitation towards introducing an EU-wide consent-based definition of rape, based on a legal argument that it does not fall under the banner of sexual exploitation, was not acceptable.

Ms Fitzgerald and Swedish socialist MEP Evin Incir are leading the process to introduce EU-wide laws tackling domestic violence and violence against women.

Under the current draft, rape, sexual assault, and cyber stalking would become an offence at an EU level.

But some member states are against including a consent-based approach to rape in the proposed EU directive, something Ms Fitzgerald said indicated a lack of urgency to tackle gender-based violence.

She said that strong legal advice from some member states suggested that an EU-wide rape law would be an overreach, as the legal foundation of sexual exploitation was to target trafficking.

Now, you can read that however you like, the way I read it is there isnt enough political motivation at the moment from some member states to include rape, Ms Fitzgerald said.

You can get somebody moved from Ireland to Germany for murder, but when it comes to rape, theyre saying No, let the member states deal with that.

They dont say its because we dont like the definition.

They dont say its because what are you talking about with consent? which is the belief of certain member states, they really find it hard to get their heads around the idea of consent.

She said although Ireland and the UK have legislated for a consent-based definition of rape in recent years, in other European countries theres a backlash to womens rights.

That backlash is very serious. You see it in Hungary, you see it in Poland, you see it elsewhere, she said.

Ive been quite shocked at some of the attitudes Ive seen to gender-based issues, and how difficult it can be for some member states to be as advanced as we are in Ireland, actually.

She said France and Germany are among the countries that have voiced opposition to the inclusion of rape in the directive.

Theres no problem with FGM [female genital mutilation] or cyber violence, but there is with rape, and I cant help but feel that its something to do with the very crime itself and member states difficulties in managing it from a criminal justice point of view, and therefore being nervous about anything that seeks to kind of put an overarching framework around that.

But its not acceptable. Its not acceptable to women. Its not acceptable to citizens. Try and explain to anybody why rape is not sexual exploitation at a very practical level.

If the individual members went on the airwaves and said, No, were not supporting inclusion or rape because we just dont think it should be a European crime. Why dont you think it should be a crime? This happens everywhere.

It is actually a Euro crime, but its not theoretically in the treaties defined as a Euro crime.

Asked about whether there was a lack of urgency from governments to tackle gender-based violence: I would have to say yes, overall.

The seriousness of the crime is still internationally not being matched by the intensity of the approaches needed, and this is a symptom of that.

A city the size of Marseilles, Amsterdam or Zagreb disappears every 10 years as 858,000 women are murdered globally.

So I cant help but think it is part of misogyny, and its part of a patriarchal society that we live in, that weve had such a job getting (crimes against women) to the top of the agenda.

Justice minister Helen McEntee (Brian Lawless/PA)

Asked if the law would eventually be watered down to get agreement across the EU, Ms Fitzgerald said it was too early to say.

The challenge at the end of the day will be  can you call it a directive on violence and domestic-based violence if you dont (include) rape?

Ive just written to (Justice Minister Helen McEntee) now sort of asking Ireland to be more proactive in terms of working with other member states as well.

Asked about recent criticism of her Fine Gael party colleague, Ms McEntee, by government colleagues for not focusing enough on policing, Ms Fitzgerald said: Its not one or the other.

Dealing with domestic, gender-based violence, hate crime, these are serious, serious crimes.

So take away the word woke from them and say we have to do this as well as the policing issues.

I actually got a lot of very progressive legislation through that I got a lot of support for in the parliament.

Mind you, we had a majority government, its more difficult when youre in a coalition.

I dont accept that criticism of Helen at all. But, you know, I often say, theres still a lot  in political parties as well, all political parties  of everyday sexism, and it surfaces from time to time.
An urgent appeal has been issued for more regular donors to give blood with stock for some blood groups dropping to just three days supply.

The Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS) said supplies for O-, A- and B- blood groups had fallen in recent weeks and the service aimed to have seven days of stock available at all times.

It said a combination of high demand from hospitals, an increase of illness among donors and the recent poor weather had all contributed to a blood shortage, particularly in Rh Negative groups.

IBTS director of donor services and logistics Paul McKinney said: The IBTS is urging regular donors to respond when they receive a text from us and to make an appointment.

A pre-amber alert has been issued in line with the National Blood Shortage Plan for the Rh- Negative blood groups, which requests conservative use of blood by all hospitals.

All donations are needed to avoid any impact on our hospital system. We are asking our regular donors to make an extra effort to book an appointment and donors in Dublin to consider booking an appointment at our fixed centre on DOlier Street, he said.

Around 3pc of the eligible population are blood donors while an estimated one-in-four people will need a blood transfusion at some point in their lives.

Around 8pc of blood donors are O-. This blood can be transfused to patients of any blood group and issues of this blood group to hospitals often reach 15pc, meaning there are more frequent calls for this group to give blood.

The IBTS needs to collect more than 3,000 units of blood each week to maintain the national blood supply.

Regular donors can book an appointment online or phone 1800 731 137 and anyone interested in becoming a new donor can register here.
Model Sarah Morrissey on losing her mother to Covid and suffering six miscarriages during the pandemic that nearly broke her

Mam had been ill when Covid hit. You couldnt get help. I was looking after her at home in full PPE and gloves. I couldnt even touch her hand

On the days where I felt really sh**ty about myself  youd think the last thing youd want to do is go on camera or smile. Photo: Steve Humphreys

Liadan Hynes Sun 22 Oct 2023 at 03:30

When you see Sarah Morrissey walking towards you, you have no doubt that shes a model. She has the height, a willowy figure and cheese-grater cheekbones.
My favourite room: We learned a lot from our first house, which we had done in grey. I think we were afraid of colour

Dashing young newlyweds Paul Kinsella and Mark Rogers both had challenges growing up but both now have their dream jobs in interiors and beauty. They also have their dream house

Instagrammers Mark Rogers, left, and Paul Kinsella in the kitchen of their new three-bedroomed home in Dublin 9. Denim-blue units complete with white handles were already in place when they bought the house, however the kitchen company owner Keith Kennedy contacted Paul through Instagram and said he thought gold knobs would be nicer. Paul agreed and Keith gave them as a gift. Photo: Tony Gavin

Mary O'Sullivan Sun 22 Oct 2023 at 03:30

Its hard to believe that Instagram is only 13 years old. The platform is now so ubiquitous that nearly half of the population of Ireland use it regularly, following their favourite Instagrammers and influenced in all areas  fashion beauty, interiors  by what they see.
Stephen Fry recently compared modern work to medieval serfdom. But is there a middle ground between overworked employees and lives of leisure?

Dressed in a dark suit and tartan tie, British actor, writer and wit Stephen Fry caused a stir with his opening keynote speech about the future of work at last months Unite 23 Employee Experience Conference in London. The world of work, he said, stinks, is something like serfdom that we had in the medieval period and is not the inevitable destiny of humankind; its an incredibly new idea that we should work, especially that we should work for other people.
From: Stradbally, Co Laois

Inspired: When I was growing up, I loved going on holidays, says Michael. It was the way the staff in the hotel remembered our names and little details about us. It was personal and it made you feel special.

His path: He studied hospitality and then worked in various hotels, including The K Club and a stint in Germany. Now he is steering his own ship. He is managing director of Fitz of Inch (formerly known as Inch House) in Stradbally. This is his familys 18th century country farm house. It has been a luxury vacation rental property since 2019 and still is, but two months ago we rebranded it. Now it is for over-21s and only open for group bookings of 18 or more. We can take 40 in total.

Peace: Not everyone has children but also, sometimes people need a break from their kids. People come here to celebrate big birthdays. We have a lot of corporate clients too. People want to get away from it all and they want to get out in nature. We have campfire musical evenings, unleashing the beat at an African drumming circle and yoga. As well as Irish, our guests are French, Danish, German and some are from the US. Weve been booked out every weekend since the summer up to November. Lots come in the off-season.

Sustainable: We have solar panels and we store electricity and send it back to the grid. And electric cars can be charged here too. All of this matters to me, Michael says. He won a Grinn cert for best sustainable accommodation in Ireland.

For more details, see fitzofinch.ie
BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 22. Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Samantha Power will visit Uzbekistan on October 23-24, Trend reports.

She will hold the first Ministerial meeting on regional cooperation in the C5+1 format.

Since 2015, the C5+1 format has been the US government's primary diplomatic platform for engagement with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
On October 9, two days after the massacre of 1,400 innocents by Hamas terrorists, the kidnapping of more than 200 people and the targeting of Israel by thousands of rockets from Gaza, President Michael D Higgins issued a statement on violence in Israel and Gaza, equating the barbaric, merciless atrocities of Hamas with Israeli defensive action.
Shane Ross: President Michael D Higgins didnt sign up to be silent on important issues

President separates Hamas, whose atrocities he condemns, from the ordinary, innocent Palestinians whose lives he passionately wishes to save

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was welcomed by President Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabina at Aras an Uachtarain in 2018. Photo: Getty

Shane Ross Sun 22 Oct 2023 at 03:30

Do you remember the 2018 presidential election? Do you remember Michael D taking vows of abstinence, chastity and silence? You dont? Nor do I. He didnt. President Michael D Higgins was re-elected with the largest vote in the States history. It was a landslide for a man with a radical record in a conservative country, a politician who has championed human rights from South America to the Middle East.
Heroic efforts have been seen in communities like Midleton hit by severe flooding. Photo: Damien Rytel

With apocalyptic messages on the climate crisis coming thick and fast, we still appear somewhat immune to their import. While the warnings to brace for weather extremes have been plentiful, putting the necessary measures in place to protect us from their consequences have not kept apace. Sadly, we can no longer be surprised by the levels of inundation seen in so many parts of the country.

Small businesses and homeowners are too often caught defenceless in the eye of the storm. Heroic community efforts have been seen around Ireland, as people rallied to help those stricken by surging water levels when streets turned into rivers in some areas.

From the Taoiseach down, there have been pledges to guarantee emergency funding to help those who have been most affected. But reaction is no substitute for prevention. The immediate priority is to help those worst affected. Some statutory legal mechanism needs to be drafted so appropriate flood defences can be put in place without being appealed against.

How can we seriously expect to manage exceptional conditions without preparing for them?

Finance Minister Michael McGrath has said businesses hit by flooding will receive financial support from next week. But on plans for a desperately needed new flood-defence scheme for Midleton  one of the worst-hit areas  he could only say a planning application for the town would be lodged in the first quarter of next year. More worryingly, he added there could be no guaranteed time-frame.

Delays in such schemes, he said, were primarily in the statutory processes, objections and then court challenges.

But people cannot be left waiting indefinitely.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Retail Business Neale Richmond acknowledged the importance of ensuring flood defences are put in place in Midleton, but revealed that of 90 schemes identified nationwide, only 53 have started.

If, as Albert Einstein, said, intellectuals solve problems, geniuses prevent them, we are very much at the back of the class, judging by our performance to date.

We know that 2023 was an extraordinary year globally for record hot and wet periods. In August, 40 scientists from around the world warned that what we now categorise as extreme weather would become the norm within the next 10 years, unless we take dramatic action.

July was the hottest month in human history, said Professor Piers Forster of the University of Leeds. But this is what we expected at this level of warming. This will become the average summer in 10 years time, unless the world co-operates and puts climate action top of the agenda.

Despite dire warnings of more intense storms and frequent flooding, we have consistently failed to meet the challenges. Ignore the science though we may, the elements have a fearsome capacity to speak louder than words, as Storm Babet once again reminds us.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen at a press conference at the Berlin Process leaders' summit in Albania on Monday. Photo: Reuters

I am writing to express my deep concern about the deteriorating situation in Gaza and the recent statements made by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a long-standing and intricate issue and it is essential that we approach it with a balanced and nuanced perspective that recognises the complexities on both sides.

The situation in Gaza continues to be marked by violence, loss of life and immense suffering.

We must not overlook the humanitarian crises and the pain endured by the people in this region. While it is crucial to affirm Israels right to self-defence and security, we must also acknowledge the legitimate concerns and aspirations of the Palestinian people.

Ms von der Leyens recent comments appeared to be one-sided and did not sufficiently address the intricate dynamics of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In our pursuit of a just and lasting solution, it is essential that we consider the multi-faceted reality on the ground.

The European Union, comprising 27 member states, wields considerable influence and plays a significant role in promoting peace and stability in the Middle East. It is incumbent on the EU to adopt a more balanced approach that reflects the perspectives of all stakeholders and recognises the unique challenges of the conflict.

I believe a diplomatic and multilateral approach, informed by empathy and sensitivity to the challenges faced by Israelis and Palestinians, is the most effective path towards lasting peace.

The EU must be at the forefront of advocating for a comprehensive, inclusive and unbiased dialogue that respects the rights and aspirations of all parties involved.

I urge our European leaders to lead the way in fostering a more balanced and constructive dialogue that seeks to bring an end to the suffering in Gaza and to facilitate a peaceful coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians.

By prioritising such a path, we not only serve the interests of the parties directly involved, we contribute to global peace and stability.

In this time of turbulence, let us remember that the pursuit of peace is a shared responsibility, and one that demands a holistic understanding of the situation.

It is my hope that the European Council, under Ms von der Leyens guidance, will champion a more balanced perspective, grounded in empathy and fairness, that paves the way for a brighter and more peaceful future in the Middle East.

Killian Brennan, Malahide Road, Dublin 17

Western media has not been been balanced in coverage of Middle East

The Jewish people have suffered greatly over many centuries of pogroms, especially during the Holocaust, which was by far the most serious act of genocide in the history of humanity.

I and many others have campaigned to ensure that these crimes against humanity are not forgotten. Exposing the truth in such matters is an important part of preventing future acts of genocide.

While the Irish media has been reporting on the conflict in the Middle East in a reasonably balanced manner, western mainstream media reports have been far less balanced.

Two recent articles in The Economist strongly suggest that the bombing atrocity at the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza was caused by a Palestinian rocket rather than by an Israeli military airstrike.

On October 19, The Economist leader article stated that: The deadly blast in Gaza on the evening of October 17 killed many Palestinians who were taking shelter. Despite strong evidence that their deaths were caused by the failure of a Palestinian rocket laden with fuel, Arab countries rushed to condemn Israel.

This was followed on October 20 by an article by The Economist editor- in-chief, Zanny Minton Beddoes, that stated: A deadly blast struck the Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza, killing many Palestinians sheltering there. Despite strong evidence that the cause was a failed Palestinian rocket being fired from Gaza The truth is too often the first casualty in wars.

While it will take some time to establish the truth in this matter, such arguably biased statements damage the credibility of international mainstream media.

Edward Horgan, Castletroy, Limerick

Grave deceit of casting warfare in terms of rules of war and human rights

Could political leaders please refrain from using terms such as rules of war and human rights when discussing the various conflicts? It is a grave deceit to tell young people and children that some kind of mercy will be found in the event of conflict.

It has never happened and will never happen. Warfare is a complete abandonment of all the pretences of mutual respect and a total societal investment in hatred.

All the theatrical waffle at the UN, the poems and ballads, the nationalist rhetoric are signs of madness not progress. Unfortunately, entire societies can go mad.

Eugene Tannam, Firhouse, Dublin 24

Let an Oireachtas inquiry find out why our spending on healthcare is so high

Many politicians and commentators continue to claim that we need to spend more money on our public health system in order to deliver an adequate service to our citizens.

The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (IFAC) has reported that Ireland ranks as a high spender on health internationally. In a benchmark report, IFAC confirms that Ireland ranks sixth-highest for government spending on healthcare as a share of national income out of 33 OECD economies.

Annual health spending has also risen at a faster pace than elsewhere, says IFAC.

With 2024s annual public health spending budget of 22.5bn, including 800m extra in core funding, plus an additional 1.23bn in health infrastructure from the National Development Plan, the trend of massive health spending continues unabated. This year, there is likely to be a public health overspend in excess of 1bn.

As IFAC reports, this is despite Ireland having relatively favourable demographics, with an old-age dependency ratio well below the median OECD country.

Where does all the money go? Isnt it time for the HSE and the Department of Health to reveal all to the public? Lets have an Oireachtas Committee of Inquiry.

Isnt it time to demand that public sector management and public sector unions come together to embrace the changes in planning, budgeting, work practices and pay that are essential to the provision of an adequate health service for Irish people, which presently it is not?

Throwing more money at the problem, as we have seen over the past 10 years, gets us nowhere.

Mark Mohan, Dublin 15

Little public appetite to change Irelands position on military neutrality

I must confess, I really have not the slightest interest in what Professor Dame Louise Richardsons view is on Irelands defence policy.

Accordingly, I take offence at her hectoring tone evident throughout her report on the Consultative Forum on International Security Policy (Security forum chair says neutrality not necessary for Irelands global reputation, Irish Independent, October 17).

The fact is that there is no public appetite for a change to the current position on neutrality, as acknowledged by the report, a fact that could be submerged beneath the mountain of waffle that we will now have to endure as the report is dragged through the Dail (as if we had nothing better to be doing).

The people who commissioned this forum must avoid making the mistake of allowing themselves to be influenced by the reports tendency to talk down to people and keep a clear focus on the fact that it is the people of Ireland who will determine what defence policy best aligns with their values.

I suggest a suitably sized wastepaper basket could serve us all well at this point.

Jim OSullivan, Rathedmond, Sligo

Putin will for ever be a pariah due to his treachery to Russias neighbours

There is something nauseating about seeing Russias president, Vladimir Putin, out and about these days, admittedly with that look of someone watching his back.

His attendance at Chinas Belt and Road Forum as guest of honour of president Xi Jinping does nothing for his image or credibility: he will always be a pariah for his treachery towards his supposed friends and neighbours.

Mr Xi apparently noted that he had met Putin 42 times in the past 10 years and developed a good working relationship and deep friendship (Irish Independent, October 19).

God help them  do they know the meaning of friendship?

Aidan Roddy, Cabinteely, Dublin 18
Before you commit to travelling abroad for dental treatment, make sure youre aware of what to expect and how to choose the best dental professional overseas with this handy guide

Sponsored by Kreativ Dental

Today, more and more people are travelling abroad for dental treatment. One such reason for this is the significant cost savings  dental procedures such as implants, crowns, and root canals can be expensive, and many people cannot afford to pay for them in Ireland.

However, at Kreativ Dental Clinic in Budapest, Hungary, for example, you could pay a fraction of the cost for the same treatment. Kreativ Dental Clinic has a team of dental specialists offering high-quality care using state-of-the-art technology.

Quality is a hugely important consideration when considering dental treatment abroad, and its vital to ensure that you choose a reputable dental clinic with a good track record.

Heres a checklist of what to consider before and when travelling:

Do your research

Mary Flanagan, Irish Representative of Kreativ Dental Clinic Budapest

Mary Flanagan, who is the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland representative of Kreativ Dental Clinic, says, It is important to realise that cheaper costs do not necessarily mean lower quality of care. So when doing your research, as well as making sure the costs meet your budget, make sure the clinic offers exceptional service and quality.

Kreativ Dental has been treating Irish and worldwide patients for over 20 years. And I do believe the clinic would not be in business as long as it has been if the quality wasnt good! All of the clinics dentists are qualified specialists in their respective areas, providing treatments such as dental implants and porcelain crowns using advanced dental technology.

The team is dedicated to making patients feel at ease and providing the highest level of personalised care.

When choosing a dental clinic abroad, ask yourself:

Have you checked if the clinic has a good reputation with other overseas travellers? Look at reviews online or speak to past patients, if possible.

Have you checked the qualifications of the team that will be treating you?

Does the clinic follow necessary health-and-safety protocols?

Be well-informed about your treatment plan

When going for dental treatment abroad, its essential that the clinic provides you with a full breakdown of the treatment process and costs, so you understand exactly what to expect.

Kreativ Dental offers a free consultation, which includes a free OPG X-ray, and as part of the consultation, patients are offered a full breakdown of their treatment plan. It is the patients decision then if they want to proceed with the treatment or not.

Patients should also be aware of their rights and protections in the country where the procedure is carried out in case of a medical error. Most clinics require follow-up care, and the dentists should explain this to the patient, as well as provide aftercare details.

Mary Flanagan says, I believe an aftercare service in Ireland is an important factor to look into when travelling abroad for dental work. In the unfortunate case that something does go wrong. This can put patients at ease. Kreativ Dental Clinic provides an aftercare service in Ireland, as well as a written guarantee.

Mary adds, Patients can also claim tax back, similar to an Irish dentist.

Some questions to ask during your consultation include:

Are there any medications or procedures required which are not covered by the price quoted to me?

How many trips abroad will be required for the treatment?

Are there any associated risks with the treatment that I should be aware of?

Is there an aftercare service in Ireland if anything was to go wrong?

Are there any activities I should avoid immediately after my procedure? Am I allowed to explore the local area?

Kreativ Dental Clinic Budapest

Be insured

When travelling abroad for dental treatment or any medical treatment, its not only important to be aware of the risks, but also ensure you have appropriate travel insurance in place. European Health Insurance Cards (EHIC) are only valid within the EU. Patients should familiarise themselves with any follow-up treatment or processes that may be required.

Bringing a companion

If youre nervous about travelling abroad for dental treatment, having a companion on your trip can help a lot. Whether thats a friend, partner or anybody close to you, the trip could be combined as a break away.

By turning your dental trip into a holiday with a companion, it can make you feel more confident about your treatment.

Planning for overseas treatment can take some time and effort. So make sure you get the right advice and support beforehand, whether thats by speaking to a friend who has travelled to the clinic before, or a representative of the clinic, like Mary Flanagan at Kreativ Dental Clinic.

Having also been a past patient of the clinic, Mary has helped to put many Irish patients at ease by sharing her advice and answering their questions or concerns.

Kreativ Dental Clinic Budapest

Free consultation

For those considering travelling abroad for dental treatment for the first time, Kreativ Dental offers a free consultation and OPG X-ray, free accommodation for the first night in Budapest, and free airport transport. All the more reason to consider travelling to Budapest for dental treatment! The only cost involved with the initial consultation is your flight.

Mary can also help to book your appointment at the clinic. However, she advises making sure there is an appointment available before booking flights, as appointments do fill up quickly.

For more information, contact Mary Flanagan, who is the ROI and NI representative for Kreativ Dental Clinic. Call Mary at (086) 029 9998 or (01) 805 5526, email mary@kreativdentalclinic.eu or visit kreativdentalclinic.eu
Kerry has been tearful after hearing crowds saying her name (ITV)

A Big Brother contestant has said she felt a bit rubbish after hearing live crowds chanting her name outside the reality shows location.

NHS manager Kerry, from Essex, had previously been up for eviction from the Big Brother House in the first week but had not been put forward during Fridays live elimination.

Zak, a model from Manchester, became the second housemate sent home after losing a public vote to Henry, a food writer from the Cotswolds.

In Sundays episode, Kerry is heard saying she does not really know what to do now.

In the diary room, which is away from the other contestants, she says: They were chanting Get Kerry Out and it sounded like there was about 50,000 people.

It just felt a bit rubbish and you think, oh god, whats my son going through? Whats my family going through?

She adds that her not being a big Zak fan could be the reason that Big Brother fans are not going to be very happy with her.

Im hoping its that, Kerry tells Big Brother as she gets tearful and also says: Its really tough.

Elsewhere, Jenkin from Bridgend in Wales tells Tom that they need to listen to their own judgment.

Tom, a butcher from Somerset, replies, saying that he thinks Kerry exaggerates a lot of the time, her reactions and responses to things as she is a keen fan of Big Brother.

Im not going to change my opinion, I like Kerry, Tom also said.

Meanwhile, Trish from Luton has been told to chair a meeting with the other contestants to set out rules for the Big Brother House in which she asked people to have bedtime consideration.

In response, Paul, a security officer from Liverpool, says: Can I just say, you havent come to a luxury holiday resort, youve come to the Big Brother House and this is whats going to happen.

I dont go to bed at home (until) about three in the morning and I am a hyperactive person. Im not going to just go to bed early and if you cant handle that then youre in the wrong place.

He added: Nobodys got any hierarchy apart from Big Brother.

Big Brother continues on Sunday night at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX.
Fermoy Tidy Towns bosses say they are thrilled after Graham Norton apologised to the people of the Co Cork town on his show on Friday night because of comments made on his programme the previous week.

Star guests such as Joan Collins, Ralph Fiennes and Patrick Stewart looked on in wonder when Graham took time out before introducing the audience member who would sit on the infamous red chair to issue an apology.

Before we do anything I must begin with an apology, because last week there was someone on the red chair, they were less than kind about the town of Fermoy in Co. Cork in Ireland, Norton told his millions of viewers on his BBC1 show.

Suffice to say the people of Fermoy not happy. They are upset about it. So, wed like to apologise. Though in fairness I did defend Fermoy and said it was the home of the big pencil.

To howls of laughter from the audience he added: But sadly I must apologise again, because apparently the giant pencil has been removed.

He continued: On the upside Fermoy did win cleanest town in Ireland 2007 and 2018, so I imagine its quite clean.

As the audience clapped his revelation, he raved: Big up Fermoy.

Graham (60) was born in Dublin but raised in Cork and owns a house near Bandon, which is about an hours drive from Fermoy.

The previous week featured a woman during the Big Red Chair segment of the show, when members of the public sit on the chair and try and tell a story to Graham. If hes not impressed, he flips them over backwards.

A woman called, Zoe, who is originally from Scotland, took to the chair to tell a story about her ex-with whom she was involved in Fermoy.

She told Graham that she had previously lived in Fermoy for 20 years before describing it as a horrible town.

He was visibly taken aback by her comments, Graham replies: Its got a giant pencil in it, hasnt it? to which Zoe responds with her crudest remark: Its got a bridge if people want to jump off it.

Fine Gael Councillor and Chairman of Fermoy Tidy Towns committee, Noel McCarthy said last week the comments were very insulting ands he would be writing to Mr Norton and the show to complain.

Councillor Noel McCarthy

Mr McCarthy was working in his off-licence he owns yesterday, and laughed when asked if he was selling extra bottles of champagne in light of Grahams comments.

Im so happy with the answer, he beamed. I was actually watching the show with my partner Sharon and she asked Noel, will he mention Fermoy?.

When he did we were over the moon and people in Fermoy were thrilled to get that apology. It meant an awful lot to us.

He stressed he has a great committee in the east Co. Cork town, which has a population of 6,700.

We work very hard to have our town looking well if someone visit it, as well as people living in it. We take pride in our town, so thats why we were so disappointed when she mentioned horrible, horrible.

I think we were delighted that Graham on his show on Friday night referred to the Tidy Towns and mentioned we won in 2018 and 2007. We won a national award just recently with the chewing gum category and we got 3000 in prize money, so were delighted with that as well.

He explains the town is famous for its scenic river Blackwater, while dancer Michael Flatley is its most famous resident, living with his wife Niamh and son Michael (16) at Castlehyde, two miles outside the town. The couple also married in St Patricks church in Fermoy in 2006.

He comes in regularly and always gives us great support. He is very good to the town, especially the local hospital all over the years and to lots of charities here.

We have sent an invitation to Graham to come to Fermoy and meet us here and we would love to host him, he stressed.

Mr McCarthy hopes Fermoy will get more visitors from the UK and also Ireland because of the town being highlighted on the show.

We already get a lot of fishermen coming here because of the lovely river and love visiting here, he added. Wed love to get more people coming now and after what Graham said this will really boost us up and there will be a great welcome for anyone coming to Fermoy.
Mr Scholz spoke during the inauguration of the newly built synagogue in Dessau, Germany (Pool via AP)

Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he is outraged by the antisemitic agitation spreading even to Germany as the Israel-Hamas war rages, and warned at the inauguration of a new synagogue that the vow of never again must be unbreakable.
A second convoy of aid trucks entered the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing on Sunday, heading towards the Gaza Strip, according to Egyptian security and humanitarian sources.

Shortly after the convoy entered the crossing witnesses said a blast was heard in the vicinity of the crossing and that ambulances could be heard deploying from the Egyptian side, though the extent of any casualties was not immediately clear.
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BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 22. The United States has circulated its draft resolution on the situation in the Middle East to the UN Security Council, a UN diplomatic source said, Trend reports.

It is reported that, in accordance with the text of the document, the American resolution contains clauses condemning attacks by Hamas, calling for the release of hostages and recognizing Israel's right to self-defense.

Additionally, the resolution calls for full respect for international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians, and recognizes the efforts of Qatar and other countries that led to the release of two Hamas hostages on October 20.

A combined attack was carried out on Israel on October 7. From the beginning, a massive rocket attack began from the territory of the Gaza Strip, followed by the penetration of militants by land, water, and air.

Israel declared a state of war after a massive rocket attack from the Gaza Strip. Moreover, Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced a mass gathering of reservists.
Photo courtesy: Gotouniversity.in

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Image credit: Facebook/Mahua Moitra

New Delhi/IBNS: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Amit Malviya late last evening took a jibe at Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra , saying that her party has "abandoned" her amid a row over allegations that she took bribes for asking questions in Parliament to corner Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He also alleged that Trinamool Chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has maintained a stony silence whenever her party's leaders are arrested.

"It is not surprising that Mamata Banerjee has abandoned Mahua Moitra. She will defend no one else but Abhishek Banerjee, who is no less delinquent... Several TMC leaders are in jail on serious corruption and criminal charges but Mamata Banerjee has maintained radio silence," Amit Malviya wrote on X.

It is not surprising that Mamata Banerjee has abandoned Mahua Moitra. She will defend no one else but Abhishek Banerjee, who is no less delinquent Several TMC leaders are in jail on serious corruption and criminal charges but Mamata Banerjee has maintained radio silence.  Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) October 21, 2023

Trinamool Congress Saturday refused to comment on the controversy surrounding Mahua Moitra. "The party has nothing to say on this issue. We think the person around whom this controversy is revolving is best suited to react to this," Trinamool's West Bengal general secretary and spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said.

The Lok Sabha ethics committee Friday said it has received the affidavit by businessman Darshan Hiranandani alleging that he bribed Moitra to ask questions in the Parliament.

The committee said it will conduct a comprehensive probe into all the charges.

In his affidavit, Hiranandani claimed that Moitra had given him her Parliament login ID to frame questions against the Adani group.

Hiranandani claimed that Moitra felt it was the "only way" to target Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The claim is a huge setback for Moitra, who is currently battling BJP allegations that she had accepted cash and favours from the Hiranandani group chief to target its business rival Adani Group, and should be suspended from Parliament.

The allegation that she handed him her parliament login ID could constitute a breach of privilege if proven and that could bring down a suspension order against her.

Hiranandani, who is caught in the "cash-for-questions" controversy swirling around Moitra, said he was filing the affidavit since the matter involves him and has snowballed into a political controversy.

In the three-page affidavit, the businessman confessed to a few points that comprise the bulk of BJP allegations against Moitra.

Besides sharing her login ID, the affidavit mentioned Moitra accepting favours from Hiranandani. But it dodged the main charge against her -- that she asked over 50 parliamentary questions on behalf of the Hiranandani Group to get the better of its business rival, the Adani Group.
Image tweeted by MEA India

New Delhi/IBNS: India Sunday sent humanitarian aid to war-hit Palestine in the Gaza Strip amid the war between Israel and Hamas.

"An IAF C-17 flight carrying nearly 6.5 tonnes of medical aid and 32 tonnes of disaster relief material for the people of Palestine departed for El-Arish airport in Egypt," MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

 sends Humanitarian aid to the people of !



An IAF C-17 flight carrying nearly 6.5 tonnes of medical aid and 32 tonnes of disaster relief material for the people of Palestine departs for El-Arish airport in Egypt.



The material includes essential life-saving medicines, pic.twitter.com/28XI6992Ph  Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) October 22, 2023

The items will be sent to Palestine via the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza.

"The material includes essential life-saving medicines, surgical items, tents, sleeping bags, tarpaulins, sanitary utilities, and water purification tablets among other necessary items," Bagchi said.

The war between Israel and Hamas has continued to intensify, killing thousands of civilians.

The Israeli military Sunday claimed that it killed "terror operatives from Hamas and Islamic Jihad in an air strike on a mosque in the West Bank's Jenin."

According to the Hamas-run Health Ministry around 4,300 people, mostly civilians, have been killed after Israel launched heavy bombardment in the Gaza Strip.

India's aid to Palestine comes three days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

During their conversation, Modi said that India would continue sending humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians. He also conveyed his condolences on the loss of civilian lives in the Gaza Strip due to the bombing at a hospital.

Shared our deep concern at the terrorism, violence, and deteriorating security situation in the region. Reiterated India's long-standing principled position on the Israel-Palestine issue, the PM said in a Social media post.



[With UNI inputs]
The very name Punjab evokes vivid memories, from the verdant fields of wheat swaying with the breeze to the valorous tales of its inhabitants. Punjab, or the land of the five rivers, is a region that has seen many rulers, and among them, the Sikh Empire stands out prominently. At its zenith, the empire was ruled from Lahore, a city that today sits in Pakistan.

Post-Partition, its undeniable that a significant part of Punjab, including Lahore, went to Pakistan. Historically, the Sikh Empire, with its legendary ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh, had Lahore as its capital. This alone can evoke sentimentality for Sikhs who look upon Lahore with both pride and nostalgia.

Yet, the narrative around Khalistan is predominantly centered around the Indian Punjab. A question arises: If Khalistan is rooted in historical geography, shouldnt its focus be on Pakistan, which housed a more significant part of the erstwhile Sikh Empire?

Furthermore, Pakistan is home to many revered Sikh religious sites. The Gurdwara Nankana Sahib, the birthplace of Guru Nanak Dev Ji is not just a religious site; its the cradle of Sikh history and faith. Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur is where Guru Nanak Dev Ji spent his last days. Gurdwara Panja Sahib in Hasan Abdal, with its sacred rock bearing the handprint of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, is another significant pilgrimage site. These are not mere structures of brick and mortar but are foundational stones of Sikhism and its rich history.

Despite such profound Sikh landmarks in Pakistan, the clamor for Khalistan is curiously limited to Indian Punjab. Enter the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan. Allegations have often surfaced, citing the ISIs involvement in fuelling and funding Khalistani extremism. If the aim were solely to carve out a Sikh homeland based on historical and religious significance, one would wonder why the demand does not cover the historically rich areas of Punjab in Pakistan.

Over the years, Pakistan, despite its significant Sikh historical legacy, has been a challenging place for its Sikh minority. Sikhs, who once had a vibrant presence in the region, particularly in areas that formed the core of the Sikh Empire, have faced persecution and marginalization. Discriminatory policies, social ostracization, and instances of violence have diminished their numbers and silenced many voices. Its a somber reflection of these circumstances that today, only about 15,000 Sikhs remain in Pakistan, a stark contrast to their once flourishing community.

The shadow of the ISI raises uncomfortable questions: Is the Khalistan movement genuine, or is it being manipulated as a tool to create unrest in India? The very idea of using religion and regionalism as pawns in a geopolitical chess game is both treacherous and against the very ethos of Sikhism.

This brings us to the core of Sikh teachings. Sikhism, as laid down by the ten Gurus, has always preached values of unity, peace, and selfless service. The violence and unrest seen in the name of Khalistan are antithetical to these principles. The idea of Sikhs, known for their valor, kindness, and community service, being manipulated for political gains is disheartening.

Its also imperative to note that the vast majority of Sikhs, both in India and globally, do not demand Khalistan. The voices advocating for it are but a vocal minority, and one might speculate that theyre driven by personal or external vested interests rather than the collective good of the Sikh community.

While the historical and religious roots of Sikhism in both Indian and Pakistani Punjab are undeniable, the Khalistan movement, as it stands today, appears to be a deviation from Sikh values and history. Using this as a wedge to create unrest seems more political than pious, and its high time this issue is viewed through the lens of history, values, and genuine aspirations of the Sikh community.

(Image and text credit: Khalsavox.com)
Image of airstrikes in Gaza/ courtesy: UNI

Gaza/IBNS/UNI: At least 10 people were killed and dozens were injured in an Israeli airstrike on a cafe in the city of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.

Another 29 people were killed as a result of Israeli airstrikes on various parts of the Gaza Strip on Saturday afternoon.

On Oct 7, Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise large-scale rocket attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip and breached the border, killing and seizing people in neighboring Israeli communities.

Israel launched retaliatory strikes and ordered a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to more than two million people, cutting off supplies of water, food, and fuel.

The blockade was later eased to allow trucks with humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.

The escalation of the conflict has resulted in thousands of people killed and injured on both sides.
A playground lies in ruins near in the village of Groza in eastern Ukraine. Photo Courtesy: Yevhen Nosenko

A new UN report has found continued evidence of war crimes and human rights violations committed by Russian authorities in Ukraine, including torture, rape and the deportation of children.

The report by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, published on Friday, follows a study issued in March.

It documents additional indiscriminate attacks with explosive weapons, resulting in deaths, injuries and the destruction and damage of civilian objects.

For example, 24 people, mostly women and children, were killed in an attack on a multistorey block of residential apartments in Uman, a city in the Cherkasy region, in April, and part of the building became uninhabitable. Commissioners spoke with residents during their recent visit to the country.

New evidence, same torture pattern

Their investigations also confirmed previous findings that Russian authorities used torture in a widespread and systematic way in various types of detention facilities.

New evidence collected in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions found Russian authorities used the same pattern of torture in areas under their control, mainly against men suspected of passing information to the Ukrainian authorities or supporting the Ukrainian armed forces.

The commissioners said their interviews with victims and witnesses revealed a profound disregard towards human dignity by Russian authorities. Witnesses reported situations in which torture had been committed so brutally that the victim died.

Lasting traumatic impacts

Recent investigations in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions showed that rape and other sexual violence were often committed together with additional acts of violence, including severe beatings, strangling, suffocating, slashing, shooting next to the head of the victim, and wilful killing.

In one instance, a 75-year-old woman who stayed alone to protect her property, was raped and tortured by a Russian soldier who hit her on the face, chest, and ribs, and strangled her, while interrogating her.

The soldier ordered the woman to undress and when she refused, he ripped off her clothes, cut her abdomen with a small sharp object and raped her several times. The woman also suffered several broken ribs and teeth.

Such traumatic experiences have severe and long-term consequences for the physical and mental health of the victims, the report said.

Unlawful child deportations

The Commissioners investigated further accounts of Ukrainian children being transferred to Russia or to Russian-occupied areas in Ukraine. They concluded that the transfer of 31 children to Russia in May 2022 was an unlawful deportation, thus a war crime.

Their report also contains three cases where investigations showed that Ukrainian authorities committed violations of human rights against persons accused of collaboration with Russia.

They underlined the importance of accountability with full respect and care for the rights of the victims.

The UN Human Rights Council established the Independent Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine in March 2022, shortly after the start of the full-scale Russian invasion. The mandate was extended in April for an additional year.

The three Commissioners are not UN staff and do not receive payment for their work.
The Al-Rimal neighbourhood in the north of Gaza has been devastated by airstrikes. Photo Courtesy:

The number of people held hostage by Hamas in the Gaza Strip has again increased to 212 despite efforts by a number of countries to ensure the exchange of hostages and prisoners between the Palestinian movement and Israel, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Daniel Hagari said on Sunday.

On Saturday, the confirmed number of hostages stood at 210 after two US citizens, who also have Israeli citizenship, were released from captivity the day before.

"To date, we have notified the families of 212 abducted people and 307 deceased IDF soldiers," Hagari told a press briefing.

The IDF also said 27 Hamas members had been arrested in the West Bank overnight, the Times of Israel newspaper reported.

Since the beginning of the conflict, a total of 727 wanted Palestinians, including over 480 allegedly affiliated with Hamas, have been detained by Israeli forces, the newspaper reported.

On October 7, Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise large-scale rocket attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip and breached the border, killing and seizing people in neighbouring Israeli communities. Israel launched retaliatory strikes and ordered a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to more than 2 million people, cutting off supplies of water, food and fuel.

The blockade was later eased to allow trucks with humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.

The escalation of the conflict has resulted in thousands of people killed and injured on both sides.

(With UNI inputs)
Photo courtesy: UNI/Xinhua

Paris, Oct 22 (UNI) France plans to evacuate over 100 citizens residing in the Gaza Strip against the backdrop of the ongoing escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said on Sunday.

"We maintain contact with French families living in the Gaza Strip. About 100 French people and their families are now there. We are making every effort to ensure that they can get away from this dangerous zone with the ongoing bombing  We look forward to helping them leave," Colonna said in an interview with La Tribune newspaper.

A ceasefire agreement is necessary to open the humanitarian corridor to the Gaza Strip, the minister said, adding that Israel is obliged to respect international law, including protection of civilians, despite its right to defend itself.

"The fight should be directed against Hamas, not the Palestinians who are already suffering in this situation, " Colonna noted.

On October 7, Palestinian group Hamas launched a large-scale rocket attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip and breached the border, killing and seizing people in neighboring Israeli communities. Israel launched retaliatory strikes and ordered a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to more than 2 million people, cutting off supplies of water, food and fuel. The blockade was later eased to allow trucks with humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. The escalation of the conflict has resulted in thousands of people killed and injured on both sides.

(With UNI/SPUTNIK inputs)
Photo Courtesy: Pixabay

Two Dhaka University students were attacked by unknown miscreants in Ramna Kali Mandir area on Sunday.

The injured students were identified as Sourav Sarkar, 24, and Sumit Sen, 25.

They were students of Craft and Sculpture departments.

Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) police outpost in-charge (inspector) Md Bachchu Mia confirmed the matter to Dhaka Tribune.

Senior students of the hall told the newspaper the duo, accompanied by others, went out of the hall to visit Durga Puja mandaps at night.

An altercation occurred between the two and some miscreants near the Ramna Kali Mandir around 2am.

The reason behind the attack is still not known.

The miscreants reportedly beat them up and even stabbed Sourav in the stomach with a sharp object.
Afghan refugees takes shelter in a tent after being displaced by the monsoon flooding in Nowshera District, Pakistan. Photo Courtesy: UNHCR/Usman Ghani

Pakistan has expelled over 3000 Afghanistan refugees from the country.

According to Pakistani authorities, since the deadline for the expulsion of undocumented migrants was set, more than 51,000 Afghans have been deported, Khaama Press reported.

Jan Achakzai, Balochistan Provinces Minister of Information, highlighted Pakistans intensified efforts to combat illegal immigration, the news agency reported.

He emphasized that these actions go beyond Afghan refugees, with measures like the November 1st expulsion deadline applying to all undocumented immigrants in the province, showcasing the governments dedication to upholding order and security.

Earlier, Shahbaz Bhatti, the Minister of Interior of the interim government of Pakistan, had warned that with the end of the deadline for the expulsion of undocumented Afghan migrants, the country would not compromise on this decision.

Pakistan should immediately cancel plans to deport 1.4 million Afghan nationals back to their country, independent experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council urged on Tuesday.

The Government of Pakistan, which has hosted millions of Afghans for decades, recently announced that all undocumented foreign nationals must leave the country by 1 November or face deportation to their countries of origin.

These plans would impact many Afghans who fled to Pakistan seeking safety and protection due to serious human rights concerns and the years-long humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.

Pakistan should stop all forced returns and continue to host Afghan nationals who fled for safety, the experts said.

The Government must also ensure their full access to procedures where their individual human rights protection needs and their need for effective protection in line with international human rights and refugee standards, are fully assessed, they added.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 22. 13 people were killed as a result of shelling of a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, Trend reports.

According to information, two residential buildings and an Albanian mosque in the refugee camp in the city of Jabaliya in the northern Gaza Strip were shelled.

A combined attack was carried out on Israel on October 7. From the beginning, a massive rocket attack began from the territory of the Gaza Strip, followed by the penetration of militants by land, water, and air.

Israel declared a state of war after a massive rocket attack from the Gaza Strip. Moreover, Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced a mass gathering of reservists.
With Storm Babet ripping through parts of the UK, a woman had no choice but to kayak back home following the end of her work day.

Who Is The Woman In The Viral Video?

TikTok

Grace Vickers, a resident of Scotland, shared a shocking video of herself kayaking home from work and became a viral sensation on social media.

What Was The Reason Behind The Womans Choice Of Transport?

TikTok

As per recent reports, Scotland is bearing the brunt of the severe weather, with forecasts suggesting that water levels could surge to an extraordinary five metres above usual because of Storm Babet.



Damage to infrastructure has been reported; roads and bridges have crumbled, prompting First Minister Humza Yousaf to caution, "We have not seen the last of this storm."

According to LADbible, in Angus, the Rottal Estate's 200-year-old bridge was swept away by torrential floodwaters, while the village of Edzell found itself isolated by floodwaters from three encircling rivers.

Nearly 30,000 customers experienced power outages, and although most were swiftly reconnected, it left approximately 3,800 properties without electricity, as per Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN).

When Was This From?

The footage, posted on Friday, October 20, depicts the alarming sight of submerged roads, cars, and houses.

Where Was The Clip Shot?

TikTok

In a video that has gone viral, Grace Vickers is spotted navigating a kayak through the flooded streets of Chesterfield, Derbyshire.

How Did The Woman Reach Home?

Twitter

Vickers had no choice but to get home in a kayak after she was finished with her shift at work. The Scotland local had to row her way back home when streets were clearly no longer safe for walking or even cars.

Why Is It Raining Down In Scotland?

Twitter

Large portions of Scotland are especially feeling the impact, alongside significant areas of Wales, England, and Northern Ireland, as the relentless rain is accompanied by powerful winds, intensifying the challenges for those in its path.

According to The Independent, specialists affirm that Babet is an "unprecedented" storm, fueled by a combination of factors such as the influence of a typhoon on the jet stream and increasing temperatures.

For more trending stories, follow us on Telegram.
Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, has vowed that opposition parties will have no chance in the November 11 governorship election in the state.

It was gathered that Governor Bello made this known in a statement issued through his Chief Press Secretary, Onogwu Muhammed.

Addressing party supporters in Ochadamu, Ofu local government area of the state, during the APCs ward sensitization meeting held on Friday, Muhammed said his principals achievement across the state has paved the way for the partys candidate.

Joining the governorship aide in the affirmative, the APC members reiterated their confidence in securing a landslide victory, insisting that the opposition parties stand no chance.

READ MORE: Kogi Guber: Those Threatening Violencell Be Neutralised Before Polls  Yahaya Bello

He said: Our party has a stellar track record in Ochadamu ward, and the upcoming election will be no different. Even those who previously stood in opposition to us have now chosen to join our ranks. We are committed to expanding the margin of victory between the APC and the runner-up in the forthcoming election.

With our strong presence in the 3,508 polling units and 239 wards across the state, the odds are decidedly in our favour. We proudly count three Senators, six out of nine House of Representatives members, and 24 out of 25 House of Assembly members among our ranks. Given the remarkable performance of the current administration, which has endeared our party to the people, it is all but certain that we will secure a resounding victory on November 11.

Our campaign will continue in an atmosphere of peace and inclusivity, welcoming all those who wish to join us in our pursuit of victory. Our candidate, Ododo Ahmed Usman, and his running mate, Joel Oyibo Salifu, are exemplary choices, and their appeal is resonating widely.
A former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Timi Frank, has urged Supreme Court Justices to judge within their consciences on appeals against President Bola Ahmed Tinubus victory in the 2023 election.

Recall that the Court had selected Monday, October 23, to hear the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, challenging the judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) on the outcome of the 2023 presidential poll.

It was gathered that Frank, in a statement issued on Saturday, advised the Justices to avoid giving their verdict based on technicalities.

READ MORE: Supreme Court Fixes Monday For Atikus Appeal Against Tinubu

He acknowledged that there would be intense pressure on the Justices, but it is essential to shun gifts and inducement and judge within their consciences.

He said: We know there will be intense pressure on you, Justices, to do the wrong thing. There will be promises, gifts and inducements.

Some of you are about to retire. What reputation do you want to retire with? Do you want to retire with blood-stained wealth, given the number of people whose blood were shed during the election without peace in your conscience?

You can be vindicated today by man who wants you people to do injustice and inflict more pains on Nigerians. Will you also be vindicated by God? What do you want to be remembered for upon retirement?

This is not about Atiku Abubakar, its not all about Peter Obi, its not about the APM party. But its about the legacy and precedent that you are about to hand down in Nigeria. The supreme Court as the last line of defense of democracy and the rule of law must fulfil its duty and this is the moment to do so.

Therefore this is not the time to base your ruling on technicalities.

Judge within your consciences and God to know if the arguments before you are viable or not. You must thoroughly weigh the facts and the truth before arriving at a decision.
Four armed robbery suspects have been arrested by Joint Security Forces comprising officers of the Nigeria Police Force, and the Nigerian Armed Forces, amongst others, along Otukpo-Taraku road, Benue State on Saturday.

A police source who spoke to The Punch late Saturday night while sharing a video of the armed robbery suspects made this revelation.

Four armed robbers have been arrested by Joint Security Forces along Otukpo-Taraku road, Benue State on Saturday. The robbers are part of those armed robbers who attacked banks and a police station at Otukpo, Benue State yesterday, the source noted.

The Benue State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Catherine Anene, when contacted by The Punch urged the public to await the conclusion of the investigation.

Please lets allow them to finish their investigation and report, she noted in a tacit SMS exchange.

READ ALSO: Scores Killed As Robbers Raid Three Banks In Benue.

Earlier, the Nigeria Police Force revealed that two suspects were killed during a chase of armed robbers who robbed a bank, attacked a police station, and killed some police officers in Benue State on Friday.

Recall that the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Otukpo, Chief Superintendent John Adikwu, three other police officers, and three civilians lost their lives in the bloody Friday afternoon bank robbery in Otukpo town.

Following the incident, the police high command said on Saturday that it has also initiated a comprehensive and coordinated effort to bring the perpetrators of the acts to book.

This was as IG Olukayode Egbetokun ordered the deployment of additional operational and investigative assets and resources to Otukpo, the Benue State Command, and surrounding states to assist in the swift apprehension of the other fleeing criminals responsible for the incidents.

The Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, revealed this in a statement on Saturday.

Adejobi said, The Inspector-General of Police, Olukayode Egbetokun strongly condemns the recent armed bank robbery in Otukpo, Benue State, which resulted in the tragic loss of lives of both Police Officers and innocent civilians. This act of violence is an assault on the principles of peace, security, and justice that the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies work tirelessly to uphold.

The IGP extends his heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims who were affected by this senseless act of violence. He noted that two of the suspects were gunned down by operatives while attempting to escape, adding that the assailants who orchestrated this brazen act of criminality have indeed murdered sleep as their actions have shaken the Otukpo community to its core, assuring the public that every resource and effort will be dedicated to ensuring that these individuals are swiftly apprehended and brought to justice.

In response to this grave incident, the Nigeria Police Force has initiated a comprehensive and coordinated effort to bring the perpetrators of this heinous crime to justice. The IGP has ordered the deployment of additional operational and investigative assets and resources to Otukpo, the Benue State Command, and surrounding states to assist in the swift apprehension of the other fleeing criminals responsible for this atrocity, as a follow-up to the gunning down of two of the armed robbers after a hot chase on Friday.

In the same vein, going by this incident, the IGP has put all Commands and Formations on red alert to avert any further deadly attacks on our institutions and innocent citizens of Nigeria more so that the Otukpo attack was an early warning sign of the Ember Month challenges which is often characterized by bank robbery and other related crimes.

We therefore call upon the public to remain calm and cooperate with the authorities by providing any information that may aid in the investigation and pursuit of the suspects. Your assistance is invaluable in our mission to restore safety and security in the affected area and across the length and breadth of Nigeria.

In the wake of this tragedy, the IGP reiterates the NPFs commitment to the safety and security of the Nigerian people, standing united against acts of violence and criminality and vowing to work tirelessly to ensure that those responsible for this reprehensible act are brought to justice.
Following the deployment of additional officers to Benue following attacks on four different banks in the State, the Nigeria Police Force, confirmed the death of John Adikwu, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of Otukpo and three other police officers

Recall that on Friday, armed robbers invaded Otukpo community in the State and attacked four banks.

Olumuyiwa Adejobi, the police spokesperson, who also confirmed that three civilians were killed in the attack, said two of the assailants were killed.

Adejobi said the Kayode Egbetokun, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), has ordered a comprehensive and coordinated effort to bring the perpetrators of the attack to book.

The Inspector-General of Police, Olukayode Egbetokun, strongly condemns the recent armed bank robbery in Otukpo, Benue State, which resulted in the tragic loss of lives of both Police Officers and innocent civilians. This act of violence is an assault on the principles of peace, security, and justice that the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies work tirelessly to uphold.

READ ALSO: Police Withdraw Case Of Alleged Defilement Of Four-Year- Old Girl By School Proprietor From Court, Transferred To SCID For Further Investigation

The IGP extends his heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims who were affected by this senseless act of violence. He noted that two of the suspects were gunned down by operatives while attempting to escape, adding that the assailants who orchestrated this brazen act of criminality have indeed murdered sleep as their actions have shaken the Otukpo community to its core, assuring the public that every resource and effort will be dedicated to ensuring that these individuals are swiftly apprehended and brought to justice.

In response to this grave incident, the Nigeria Police Force has initiated a comprehensive and coordinated effort to bring the perpetrators of this heinous crime to justice. The IGP has ordered the deployment of additional operational and investigative assets and resources to Otukpo, the Benue State Command, and surrounding states to assist in the swift apprehension of the other fleeing criminals responsible for this atrocity, as a follow-up to the gunning down of two of the armed robbers after a hot chase on Friday, he said

The IGP also reiterated the polices commitment to the safety and security of Nigerians.
The Lamidi Apapa-led faction of the Labour Party (LP) on Saturday, passed a vote of confidece on Mahmood Yakubu, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Spokesperson of the faction, Abayomi Arabambi, in a statement said the party is proud of the achievements recorded by Yakubu and INEC during the 2023 polls.

The statement comes after the Julius Abure-led faction of the LP, in an open letter addressed to Yakubu, called on the electoral umpire to reject any form of compromise.

Reacting however, the Apapa-led LP faction said the allegations against INEC were totally unfortunate and unfounded.

Labour Party attention has been drawn to an open letter online addressed to you on frivolous allegations against your respected office and personality where the restrained Former National Chairman Julius ABURE media aides deliberately orchestrated bland and false narratives about the proceedings inside the court of Appeal, Igbosere, Lagos state, yesterday 19th October 2023 involving Labour Party and Hon NKEIRUKA ONYEJEOCHA ,INEC & 2 ORS in Appeal N0. CA/OW/HR/AB/05/2023, the statement reads.

Mr Chairman Sir, on the Julius Abure illegal Labour Party Allegations of Infamy AND Dishonour against your commission is totally unfortunate and unfounded by those characters who ought to be ashamed of their past shameful actions against relevant electoral act of selling falsehood to the public rather than accepting the facts that the commission were responsible for their woes.

READ ALSO: Were Struggling To Pay Salaries, Theres No Money Anywhere  FG

Labour party knows that its the duty of the commission Legal department under the INEC Acts and constitution of Nigeria to brief and debrief any counsel of their choice, we are shocked that an association like a political party will want to usurp the constitutional rights of a Government establishment like INEC.

It is, therefore, incongruous and antithetical to common sense to think that Labour party should be held accountable in collusion with INEC for such policy Legal Representation over which we have no legal responsibility to execute.

We align ourselves with the position of all well meaning Nigerians and those in Diaspora for the kudos accorded to INEC for painstaking effort in the conduct of 2023 elections across the country with remarkable achievements.

Labour party under the Leadership of our Supreme Court recognize National Chairman Alh Bashiru Lamidi Apapa led executives are proud of your achievements as the National Chairman of the Commission and the success recorded so Far by the Commission under your leadership.

Finally this PRESS statement is a vote of confidence pass on INEC NATIONAL CHAIRMAN Prof MAHMOOD YAKUBU by the National Chairman of Labour party Alh Bashiru Lamidi Apapa and National Working Committee, the statement read.
The Social Democratic Party (SDP) governorship candidate in Kogi state, Alhaji Muritala Yakubu Ajaka, has issued an apology to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over its earlier criticism and lack of confidence in the electoral body.

Recall that ID Ijele, the Director of New Media of the SDP Governorship campaign team in Kogi, had earlier alleged in a statement that the party had gotten a report of some staff of INEC being lodged in the Kogi State Government House since on Wednesday, 18th October, 2023, with the aim of perpetuating electoral fraud.

Meanwhile, INEC, reacting to the allegation on social media platform X, described the claims as fake news

INEC said that the three persons mentioned are not associated with the configuration of the BVAS machines and not even in Kogi State at the moment.

However, in a statement signed by Adejoh-Audu, at the weekend in Abuja, expressed trust and faith in INECs ability to conduct a free and fair governorship election in the state on November 11, 2023.

READ MORE: November Polls: INEC Denies Reconfiguring BVAS Machines Inside Kogi Govt House

He observed that the party leadership had thoroughly analyzed the measures implemented by the commission to combat electoral fraud and are confident that the votes of the people will ultimately triumph.

INFORMATION NIGERIA learnt that Alhaji Ajaka, in a recent interaction with journalists, voiced his concerns about the state slowly slipping into anarchy due to the use of these thugs to incite tension.

He said he was still shocked that a thug was pursued into the bush and arrested by his security operatives last Wednesday night after a failed ambush turned out to be a serving Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP).

I was shocked when the one caught in the bush started begging and crying out that hes a police officer detailed to follow the thugs by his superior.

We know the outgoing governor is desperate and will compromise all those who are willing to be corrupted but the INEC measures against fraud and manipulation are too full proof for anyone to undermine.

 All our supporters should disregard any alarm of crooks reconfiguring BVAS devices. Its just not possible. We have total confidence in the ability of INEC to secure our votes, he said.
Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, on Sunday, posited that Interior Minister, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, should review the plan to pay N500 million in fines to secure the release of 4,000 inmates from correctional facilities in the country.

Information Nigeria had reported that Tunji-Ojo revealed 4,000 inmates are in prison due to their inability to pay fines.

However, he projected the fines will be cleared and the inmates would be released in the next four weeks.

In reaction, Falana who said the minister deserves commendation for the initiative, noted the plan should be reviewed.

According to him, the N500 million earmarked for payment of fines should instead, be spent on the welfare of inmates in the correctional centres while alternative decongestion policies are considered.

Specifically, the Minister should request the President and the various state Governors to exercise their prerogative of mercy by granting pardon to the 4,000 convicts on grounds of impecuniosity to facilitate their immediate release from custody.

READ ALSO: FG To Pay N500m Fine To Secure Release Of 4,000 Inmates  Tunji-Ojo

It is on record that the federal government had released 7,813 inmates from the Nigeria Correctional Centres across the country during the outbreak of COVID-19 to curb the spread of the virus among inmates. The convicts and awaiting trial inmates were granted amnesty and released on the orders of former President Muhammadu Buhari as part of the prison decongestion policy of the Federal Government, the statement read.

He added that the minister should petition the Chief Justice of Nigeria and the chief judges of all states to inspect correctional facilities and order the release of inmates whose detention is clearly unlawful or those who have surpassed the maximum period of imprisonment for their alleged offences, whether on remand or otherwise.

However, it is pertinent to draw the attention of the Interior Minister to the plight of the scores of inmates who are languishing in the Ikoyi Correctional Centre as their case files were destroyed when the Magistrate Court and High Court buildings were burnt during the #endsars protests in October 2020.

As the nation marks the third year anniversary of the #endsars protests, we urge the Interior Minister to ensure the immediate release of such inmates since the State can no longer prosecute them as their cases have been burnt, the statement added.
A Nigerian student, identified only as Ikem, was allegedly murdered by a group of Chinese nationals in the Republic of Philippines.

A friend to the deceased, identified as Michael Ojuola, made this known via his X page on Sunday.

He wrote, A friend of mine, A Nigerian Medical Student named Ikem studying in the Republic of Philippines was brutally murdered by a group of Chinese.

They tied his hands up, covered and tied his mouth and was beaten blue-black until he gave up the gh*st.

READ ALSO: First Class Graduate Reportedly Beaten To Death For Stealing Bread In Bayelsa

This should never be allowed to get swept under the carpet regardless of the relationship btw the Philippines and China.!

This is so inhuman and barbaric! I cant even think straight at the moment cos of the horrific videos Im getting right now from the hospital.

He further called on the Chairman of the Nigerians In Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, alongside other stakeholders, to address the situation.

See post below:

https://twitter.com/michaelojuola/status/1716067013380952163
The White Witches and Wizards of Nigeria have predicted the outcome of the Imo, Bayelsa, and Kogi States governorship elections slated for November 11.

Spokesman of the group, Okhue Iboi, said Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo States All Progressives Congress (APC), Dino Melaye of Kogi States Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Bayelsa States Timipre Sylva of APC would lose their elections.

In a chat with newsmen in Lagos on Saturday, Iboi said the candidates will fail woefully at the polls if they fail to heed wise counsel.

Iboi said, in the Imo election, the fight would be between the candidates of the Labour Party (LP), Athan Achonu, and the PDPs Samuel Anyanwu, contrary to speculations that the incumbency factor will favour Governor Uzodinma who according to him, is terribly hated by his people.

He further urged security operatives to tighten security in the politically charged and volatile state to avert a bloodbath during the poll.

He said, When we met in the coven to review the three off-cycle governorship elections, we examined all the political parties and their candidates and their chances of winning the election.

We noticed that Uzodinma is terribly hated by his people. Also remember that hes governor not by popular will but by legal technicalities of the Supreme Court.

To date, his people derisively refer to him as Supreme Court Governor. The senseless killing in the state is another albatross he is carrying.

His people thought that he was the brain behind the spate of killings perpetrated by Unknown Gunmen (UGM) and the destruction of property of the people. So, the people believe he is their sponsor. This is very unfortunate anyway, but that is what we saw in the coven.

READ ALSO: Troops Kill Bandit, Recover Weapons, Stolen Vehicle In Bauchi

On Kogi State, he said the election is between the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the PDP, stressing that Governor Yahaya Bello had already lost over failure to field his deputy to succeed him.

The Social Democratic Party (SDP) is as strong as the APC and the PDP in the state. When we met in Idah, Okenne, Ankpa, and other parts of the state, Governor Yahaya Bellos candidate would have won easily in the state, but he appeared to have shot himself in the foot by listening to wrong advice.

The people that advised him not to field his deputy will cost him the election victory in the state. When we got to the coven, we were told that all his strategies of destabilizing the election by fomenting trouble would not fetch him victory. There will be a bloodbath in Kogi, but Bello will still lose the election. So, we saw the election is between PDP and SDP.

For Dino Melaye, hes very recalcitrant. Weve invited him a couple of times for a strategic meeting, but you know, pride goes before a fall. His vain pomposity will be his undoing. And if he fails to heed our call, he will be shell-shocked about the outcome of the election.

Governor Bello has already lost out of favour with his people by not fielding his deputy governor to succeed him, but preferring to field his brother, he said

On Bayelsa State gubernatorial, Iboi said Sylva would not go anywhere in the election.

Recall that I had in a statement predicted that he would suffer a setback in his candidacy for the ruling APC.

Now, he is fighting the battle of his life to retain the candidacy of the party, which the court had taken away from him. If he gets it, we dont see him going far with it, he said.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 22. Israel's military operation in the Gaza Strip could last from one to three months, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant says, Trend reports.

According to him, this should be the last Israeli ground operation in the enclave, which will result in the complete destruction of Hamas.

"These should be the last [ground] maneuvers in Gaza, because after them there will be no more Hamas. It will take a month, two, three months, but eventually there will be no more Hamas," he said.

A combined attack was carried out on Israel on October 7. From the beginning, a massive rocket attack began from the territory of the Gaza Strip, followed by the penetration of militants by land, water, and air.

Israel declared a state of war after a massive rocket attack from the Gaza Strip. Moreover, Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced a mass gathering of reservists.
Titi Abubakar, the wife of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, said that Nigerians have refused to support her pet project because she is married to the popular politician.

She said people have neglected her project, Women Trafficking and Child Labour Eradication Foundation (WOTCLEF), since her husband left office and has gotten no assistance.

Titi added that she would never be deterred by the development, as she was determined in her efforts to ensure complete eradication of women trafficking and child labour across the globe.

Abubakar made this known in Abuja after being conferred with the Champion 2023 Leadership (Heart of Gold) Award by Champion Newspapers Limited.

She said: I have been doing this job for 24 years and nobody has ever recognised me. They have not called me for recognition and I said to myself that Im just doing Gods work, that my reward is in heaven.

There was a day I put an advert in the Newspaper that these children Im taking care of are not my children but Nigerian children and that even if it is one penny, they should all contribute and still nobody contributed anything.

READ MORE: Titi Abubakar says she will encourage her husband to contest for 2023 election

They said, after all, Im Atikus wife. It is one thing to be married to Atiku and it is another thing to have the passion to do what Im doing. And because I have a passion for what I was doing, I continued to strive.

When I was in the (Aso) Villa, I was feeding these children with governments food and out of government, Im still taking care of these children.

I have been carrying this crusade for so many years. These people you see working with me, I dont have so much money to give them but they are working.

Our children dont only go through primary schools but secondary and tertiary education. Two of them just returned from Nasarawa. They are graduates now and here I am still standing strong, Abubakar said.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has refuted reports claiming that the electoral body is reconfiguring the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) to be used for the November 11 governorship election in Kogi State inside the state government house.

Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Mr Rotimi Oyekanmi in a statement issued on Saturday in Abuja, said that the three officials accused by the party are nowhere near the Kogi State Government House.

He said: The attention of the Commission has been drawn to a statement signed by ID Ijele, Director of New Media of the SDP Governorship campaign team in Kogi State.

READ MORE: APC Will Give No Chance For Opposition In Kogi  Gov Bello

The statement alleged that three staff of INEC are right now maliciously reconfiguring the BVAS machines in the Government House, Lokoja, with the intention of manipulating the forthcoming Governorship election in a part of the State in favour of a candidate.

The story is untrue. The three persons mentioned are not associated with the configuration of the BVAS machines and not even in Kogi State at the moment. Mr. Nicholas Ocholi is on his duty post in our Ondo State office in Akure. Ibrahim Egbunu is attending to a very close family member hospitalized in Abuja. Mohammed Adara retired last year and is no longer a staff of the Commission.

The configuration of BVAS is done simultaneously and exclusively in our offices in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi States professionally and strictly handled by teams deployed from the national HQ, Abuja.

The public is advised to disregard the story as fake news. At the same time, the Commission appeals to political parties to desist from engaging in malicious rumour mongering of this nature.
The Commissioner of Police, Delta State Command, Wale Abass, has ordered the withdrawal of the defilement case of a four-year-old pupil by a 46-year-old man from court for proper investigation.

Speaking on behalf of the commissioner, the spokesman, DSP Bright Edafe disclosed this while parading the suspect on Saturday in Asaba.

He said, The Command is aware of a viral publication posted on various social media handles on the alleged defilement of a four-year- old child (Name withheld) by one Innocent Ezeukwu 46, the proprietor of the Great Leader International school where the child is schooling.

READ ALSO: Gateman Bags Life Imprisonment For Defiling His Employers Children Aged 10 And 8 In Lagos

On October 5, 2023, one Mrs. Joy Chukwudi reported that while she was bathing her four-year-old daughter, she discovered a blood stain in the private part of her daughter.

Upon questioning, her daughter kept stating that her uncle used school scissors to cut her private part.

The area commander Agbor detailed a team of investigators to proceed to the scene of the alleged crime and the suspect Innocent Ezeukwu who doubles as the owner of the school and also the only male teacher in the school was arrested.

Preliminary investigation led to the issuance of a medical report, and the initiation of an identification parade exercise where the suspect, Innocent Ezeukwu when placed amongst random men, was identified by the victim as the person who allegedly defiled her.

The medical report affirmed that there was no hymen visualized in the victims private part

Edafe said that though the Area Command, Agbor had concluded their investigation and charged the case to court, the commissioner directed the case be withdrawn from the court and immediately transferred to the State Criminal and Investigation Department for further investigation.

According to him, the CP assures members of the public and the victims family that justice will be served; he further appeals that the public remains calm while the investigation is ongoing.
The founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Afe Babalola, has described Nigeria politics as lucrative business where people make quick money.

The legal icon made this known during the 11th convocation ceremony of Afe Babalola University on Saturday.

He lamented that education is gradually being relegated to the background with politics taking centre stage.

The ABUAD founder recounted his experience with a first-class graduate who turned down further education after a masters degree because he saw a secondary school colleague who didnt go to a higher institution achieve material success in politics.

I was the Pro-Chancellor of the University of Lagos and a young man came out with first class in Chemistry and had the highest score that year. I called him and said, I am going to give you a scholarship to do your masters.

READ MORE: Afe Babalola Accuses Governors Of Stealing Council Funds

He was very happy and he agreed; he passed his masters. I had forgotten all about him, then he came in and said, Sir, thank you for the scholarship given to me and I said Yes, proceed to your Ph.D. and he said No and I said Why?

He said, My colleague who was in class with me in secondary school did not go to university; he is the chairman of the local government of my place. He is riding a car; he has a house. I was depressed.

I said, What do you want to do now? He said, I want to go into politics. I wept inside me. That is what your country has made of Nigeria. The only business in this country today which is lucrative is politics, Babalola said.

I do not say you cannot be a politician but to be a politician is different from what we have now. Who thinks that politics is for making money? Politics is for service, the legal icon added.

I was a Chancellor and Pro-Chancellor before and I never had a kobo because I saw it as service. People go now to make money from public money given to them.

Our problem in this country is leadership in Africa. People believe that when they come out of university, they should go and work or alternatively, go into politics, he said.

What we need in this country is quality education. When you have quality education, you have power and when you have power, every other thing submerges, Afe Babalola said.
The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has issued warning to the apex Igbo sociocultural organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, to be careful not to stand in their way of agitating for referendum.

The groups spokesman led this out in a statement released on Saturday while reacting to a comment by a chieftain of Ohanaeze, Barrister Augustine Amaechi, against the Biafra referendum.

INFORMATION NIGERIA learnt that Amaechi had said that Igbos want restructuring and not a referendum as claimed by IPOB.

Reacting to the chieftains comment, the group insisted that they remain resolute in their clamor for the Biafra referendum.

He urged the Ohanaeze to publicly distance themselves from Amaechis statement or they would consider the apex Igbo group an enemy of the movement.

The statement reads partly: The attention of the global movement and family of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has been drawn to the unguarded statements credited to one Abuja-based Ohaneze Ndigbo chieftain, Barrister Augustine Amaechi claiming that Ohaneze Ndigbo wants to restructure not a referendum

The few political jobbers in Ohanaeze Ndigbo demanding restructure should perish with it. Biafrans want a referendum.

IPOB members and supporters worldwide represent over 90% of Biafrans. We have made it clear to the Nigerian government and the international community that Biafrans want a referendum to democratically decide to either remain in Nigeria or exit Nigeria.

This is our only demand. We are not going back on our demand for a UN-supervised referendum in Nigeria for the determination of Biafra Independence. Once the Nigerian government heeds our democratic demand for a Biafra referendum, Nigerias major problem will be solved.

We shall not warn Ohanaeze again. If this buffoon called Augustine Amaechi is speaking for himself, Ohanaeze Ndigbo leadership must make that clear publicly otherwise we shall take his ranting as the position of Ohanaeze Ndigbo and this will only mean that the Ohanaeze has been mobilized by the enemies of our people to sabotage the present momentum and progress being made to hold the Zoological Republic of Nigeria accountable for the violent violations of Biafrans fundamental Human Rights, the crimes against humanity and genocide it is perpetrating against the Indigenous People of Biafra.
The Osun Sector Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has revealed that seven people died in an accident that occurred on the Osogbo-Gbongan highway on Friday, October 20.

FRSC Sector Commander Henry Benamaisia, who disclosed this in an interview on Saturday in Osogbo, said a Sharon Nissan vehicle with plate number WW D574 AE lost control due to excessive speed at about 7:40 pm, resulting in the deaths of seven of its 10 passengers.

The Osun FRSC boss confirmed that the accident occurred around Ogidi village, near Sasa Bridge.

READ ALSO: Road Accident: Lagos Records 75 Deaths In Eight Months  FRSC

We lost seven persons, including three females, one male, and three children, while three other persons sustained various degrees of injuries.

The bodies of three of the dead victims, who were indigenes of Osun, were taken to Ode-Omu by their relatives, while the remaining four bodies were taken to UNIOSUN Teaching Hospital Osogbo by the FRSC Rescue Team, Benamaisia said.

Those injured, according to him, were taken to an undisclosed hospital for further treatment.

The Osun sector commander commended the efforts of sister security agencies for their joint effort in the rescue operation for the survivors.

He added that belongings recovered during the accident have been handed over to the police.
Three persons, including two females and one male, have been confirmed dead while one was injured in an auto crash which occurred in the Itu local government area of Akwa Ibom State.

The accident which occurred along Itu-Uyo road at about 5. am Saturday, involved a Mack Truck with registration number KMM412XA and a Tricycle with registration number ETN815WR.

A statement by the Akwa Ibom State Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps said its operatives have moved the injured to the hospital for prompt medical attention while the bodies of the deceased have been deposited in a morgue.

READ ALSO: 2 Die, 3 Injured In Lagos-Ibadan Expressway Accident

The statement which was signed by the Public Enlightenment Officer of the command, Paul James, blamed the cause of the accident on speeding on the part of the Tricyclist and inadequate lighting systems from both vehicles to enable clear visibility.

The statement read, A fatal crash occurred today, Saturday 21st October, 2023 along Itu  Uyo road at about 0555hrs, involving a Mack Truck with registration number KMM412XA and a Tricycle (Keke) with registration number ETN815WR.

Three females and one male, all adults, were involved, and two out of the three females and one male were confirmed dead, while one of the females sustained injuries.

FRSC operatives mobilized and moved over swiftly to attend to the situation. Upon arrival at the crash scene, the injured were moved to a nearby hospital for prompt medical attention while the deceased were deposited at a morgue.

It added, When an inquiry was made as to the cause of the crash, it was gathered that the causal factors to the crash were speeding on the part of the Tricyclist and inadequate lighting systems from both vehicles to enable clear visibility.

After the immediate evacuation of the victims, the road was cleared of the wreckages to enable free-flow of traffic.

The statement added that the Sector Commander, Akwa Ibom State, Matthew Olonisaye, has urged road users to be extremely cautious about the foggy weather while using the roads during the early hours of the day due to poor visibility.

The commander who was reacting to the incident lamented that it could have been avoided if the people had taken into cognizance safety precautions, and not given to abuse of the privileges of having good roads without adherence to traffic rules and regulations.

He therefore used the occasion to warn all road users against all such negligent attitude that undermines the safety of all road users, as any lives lost can not be recovered.

Specifically, he cautioned against excessive speeding, indiscriminate parking, inadequacy of lighting systems, distracted driving, nighttime travel, drunk driving and non-adherence to traffic rules among others.

Describing the incident as unfortunate, the sector commander commiserated with the families of the deceased while wishing the injured a quick recovery.
The Oyo State Criminal Investigation Department on suspicion of decapitating a middle-aged man in Ibadan, have apprehended three Islamic clerics.

The victim, who had connections with one of the alleged perpetrators, according to Punch, was enticed to a wooded area in Moniya, Akinyele Local Government Area of the State, under the false pretense of a job offer.

Sadly, he was allegedly killed, with his head severed.

The suspects were subsequently captured in Apete, Ido Local Government Area of the State.

READ ALSO: EFCC Denies Issuing Arrest Warrant On Loan Defaulters

An anonymous resident said, It was so pathetic. One of the alleged murderers was a popular cleric known for his distinct turban among the Islamic community of Alapata.

A Police source, who confirmed the incident said the alleged assailants were landlords in his jurisdiction, but the heinous act was said to have been perpetrated in Moniya.

He said, The case has been transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department, Iyaganku, for further investigation.
The Nigeria Army says troops of 33 Brigade have neutralized an armed bandit in an ambush staged against the group at an identified crossing point in Bura, Ningi Local Government Area of Bauchi State.

This was contained in a Saturday statement by Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, Director Army Public Relations

According to him, the troops while acting on actionable Intelligence laid in wait for the bandits and unleashed fire on them.

The troops killed one, while others fled with gunshot wounds leaving traces of blood, just as the troops recovered one AK-47 rifle, 14 live rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition, a mobile phone and a fetish amulet from the bandit, adding that the troops are still exploiting the general area, on the trail of the fleeing bandits.

READ ALSO: We Removed Fuel Subsidy To Prevent Nigerias Collapse  Tinubu

In another operation the same day, troops responding to a report by a motorist, of a stolen Toyota Corolla car with registration number ABJ 343 KL, have nabbed a gang of 3 Carjackers along the Bauchi  Jos Highway.

On receipt of the report, the vigilant troops quickly mounted a snap check point on the highway and successfully intercepted the criminals, it said.

However, while attempting to escape upon sighting the troops, the criminals crashed the stolen vehicle. The troops swiftly apprehended the criminals and have since handed the suspects and the stolen vehicle over to the Nigerian Police Force for further action, Nwachukwu added.
A Member of the Rivers State House of Assembly representing Port Harcourt Constituency 2, Adoki Tonye Smart has knocked controversial Islamic scholar, Sheikh Ahmad Abubakar Gumi over his comments against the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.

Recall that Gumi had earlier said that it was dangerous to trust Nigerias national security with Christians and Southerners.

He made this known while condemning Wike for receiving the Israeli Ambassador to Nigeria in his office and planning to collaborate with Israel over security issues in Abuja.

However, Hon. Smart in his reaction, noted that Wike is fully in charge of the FCT and days of sponsored banditry, criminality and kidnapping were over in the territory.

He warned Gumi and others to desist from making inciting and disparaging statements against Wike and the southerners.

In a statement issued in Port Harcourt, yesterday, Smart decried that some northerners believe that the country belongs to them.

He said: Those eras of planning with bandits and criminals to kidnap and share ransoms with them are over. Eze Nyesom Wike is the Minister of FCT, deal with it. See how foolish this man sounds.

READ MORE: Gumi Is Instigating Threat To National Security  Ohanaeze Tells Security Agencies

Some of these Northerners really believe that this country belongs to them. No wonder they saw it as their right for a Northerner to take over from another Northerner.

For your information Gumi, that era is gone. A man that his state produces nothing for the country, sits in his dirty corner to ask for Wikes sack as FCT Minister because he (Wike), received the Israeli Ambassador to Nigeria in his office.

Though we have been expecting this frustrating statement long ago. These bandits Sympathizers can no longer hide their frustrations since Wike was appointed as FCT Minister. That is why Gumi could not endure and have voiced out.

FCT is built and maintained by the proceeds from Niger Delta. We have not complained. You want to enjoy our money, but you dont want us to be FCT Minister. Shame on you, Gumi.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 22. The Turkish Red Crescent will provide the Palestine Red Crescent Society with 400,000 liters of fuel, which will cover the 30-day needs of all hospitals and ambulances in the Gaza Strip, Trend reports.

In addition, the Palestine Red Crescent Society will receive support in the amount of $600,000.

The Turkish Red Crescent team in Egypt continues to work with the Egyptian Red Crescent Society to coordinate humanitarian aid delivered from Turkiye and sent to Gaza.

A combined attack was carried out on Israel on October 7. From the beginning, a massive rocket attack began from the territory of the Gaza Strip, followed by the penetration of militants by land, water, and air.

Israel declared a state of war after a massive rocket attack from the Gaza Strip. Moreover, Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced a mass gathering of reservists.
Raise the Bar founder Karly Forman Cohen leads the Social Squad' event for teens with disabilities at her Camden office Thursday, Oct, 12, 2023. The organization offering resources and support for individuals with disabilities and their families will be celebrate their first birthday with a November fundraiser. Read more

Karly Forman Cohens commitment to helping kids with disabilities began not long after Sydney, her younger sister, was born in 1996. Sydney is nonverbal.

Basically, my childhood was defined by being part of a community of people who had children with special needs, Cohen, 29, said at the office of Raise the Bar Family Services.

Cohens nonprofit organization in downtown Camden serves 34 families, most of whom are caring for a child diagnosed with Down syndrome or autism. Raise the Bar helps parents navigate the process of qualifying and applying for public and private services and assistance programs, while offering their kids social and educational activities.

Raise the Bar will celebrate its first anniversary Nov. 2.

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Growing up in Mount Laurel and Cherry Hill, I was super close to Sydney. I was conscious of how some people stared at her, and I saw how difficult it could be for my parents to get her the services that she needed, said Cohen, who earned a masters degree in nonprofit leadership from the University of Pennsylvania.

Shes the daughter of Rick Forman, who founded and later sold the Forman Mills discount clothing chain and now owns the Turn 7 stores in Moorestown and Northeast Philly.

Cohen lives in Philadelphia with her husband, Elijah Cohen, whom she married as her nonprofit got rolling (its been a busy year). Her older sister, Lindsay Capecci, heads the committee that oversees Raise the Bars Kids Club programs; she has a background in special education and lives in Haddonfield.

A mothers example

Cohen said she named Raise the Bar to honor their mother, a speech and language pathologist who retired after Sydney was born in order to focus on her youngest daughters needs.

I always encouraged Sydneys teachers to challenge her, Donna Forman said. I kept saying, You need to raise the bar. A lot of people make assumptions about Sydney and her peers. They think that because she doesnt talk, she doesnt understand. But she does understand.

Despite her professional connections in the human services world, Donna Forman said, dealing with the array of public and private agencies involved in the lives of children with disabilities was daunting.

You have to fight for what your child is entitled to, she said. Each case is highly individual, but sometimes there is a cookbook response. And what about the families that dont have the same resources that ours does?

Donna Forman also said shes incredibly proud of Karly for going out there, following her passion, making her dream happen  and helping so many other people.

Said Cohens dad, Rick Forman: Karly is very organized. Shes done her homework and networking, in order to help people, including people on low incomes, or single mothers.

Shes a resource center. And Im a proud father.

Due diligence ahead of the launch

Overseeing what is essentially a start-up that serves a frequently marginalized population in an underresourced city is much harder than I ever imagined, said Cohen. But so far, its going incredibly well.

Having a clear vision of what she wanted to do and conducting a needs assessment among families she hoped to serve were essential, she said. Along with former intern Sara Murphy, who has since become RTBs director of programs and operations, Cohen distributed surveys, set up focus groups, and met with representatives of other nonprofits that work with young people in Camden to detect gaps in services for kids with disabilities.

There are a lot of organizations doing good work, but often theyre in the suburbs, and people in the city can have transportation issues, said Cohen.

Underresourced communities can have less awareness of what is available for young people with special needs  especially as they age out of the school system, she said.

Helping parents obtain guardianship over a child who has become a young adult is a big part of what we do.

Making friends

What Camden parents said they most wish for is for their kids to have more social opportunities with their peers.

Alicia Rivera lives in North Camden and is the mother of Taina S. Rivera, 20, who has Down syndrome.

My daughter was moved through seven schools in five years, Rivera said. She came to me once and said, Mommy, I dont have any friends, because every time they switched her to another school, she didnt know anybody. But with Raise the Bar, now she has friends. She has a best friend named Malik.

Taina Rivera was among the nine attendees at the Oct. 12 Social Squad gathering at Raise The Bars offices on Market Street, where there were board games, pop music, a group exercise about super heroes  and plenty of before-dinner conversation.

Assisted by several parents and volunteers, Forman, Murphy, and Maria Espinal-Mena, who recently joined Raise The Bar as program and communications coordinator, kept the kids off their phones and engaged with their peers.

Tracy Law, a laborer who lives in Camden, brought his son, Tracy Jr., whos 15 and has autism.

Hes a little shy, and this helps him to socialize, to open up and talk, said Law, whose late wife, Noreen, first brought their son to Raise the Bar. In a brief interview during Social Squad, Tracy Jr. said he was enjoying himself and likes meeting others like himself.

Sometimes its a challenge for him to be around other people, but we tell him, Just be calm, his dad said. This program is beautiful. Its great to see these kids happy. And it helps the parents understand autism, which is a different world.

Avoiding pitfalls

Raise the Bar is a great example of how when someone sees a need and has the passion to do it, they can really make an impact, said Dan Rhoton, executive director of Hopeworks Camden.

The high-tech skills training program for young people is in the same Market Street building as RTB, and Rhoton encouraged me to pursue the dream, Cohen said.

There is so much good energy in Camden, and so many people working to make it a better place, she said. But Im an outsider, and I try to be super mindful of that. I try to lead from a place of respect, and meet people where they are, and be extremely open with everyone.

And I listen. Because I dont have all the answers.
At their Germantown home, Kambel Smith (right) and his father, Lonnie Smith, assemble and lift Kambel's latest work, a re-creation of the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa. Read more

In my nearly two decades as a journalist, there have only been a handful of times when Ive left an interview, got into my car, and sobbed.

Most of them happened when I was a crime reporter, after leaving interviews with victims and the relatives of victims whose lives were forever altered by violence in Philadelphia.

But in January 2019, after meeting artist Kambel Smith and his family at their Germantown home, I got into my car and sobbed for an entirely different reason  awe.

I didnt know, I said to myself through tears. I didnt know what were capable of.

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Kambel, now 36, builds incredibly intricate and impressively massive sculptures of real buildings in Philadelphia and around the world. He does it entirely freehand, without any sketches, drafts, or measuring devices, and he does it with the simplest of materials  cardboard, duct tape, foil, and spray paint.

Earlier this month, Kambel completed his largest sculpture yet  a 26-foot-10-inch replica of the worlds tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. His father, Lonnie, who calls his son The Cardboard King, plans to submit the piece to Guinness World Records for consideration as the worlds tallest cardboard sculpture (the current record holder is a 25-foot-7-inch Trojan horse).

Entirely self-taught, Kambel, who has autism, works nearly all day, every day on his art (He stops to eat, his dad said). Kambels talent truly began to flourish when Lonnie, 55, began telling him and his younger brother, Kantai, who also has autism, the story of the Autisarians when they were young.

In the legend created by Lonnie, whos a single dad, and his sons, Autisarians are people who are given superpowers by what the outside world sees as the so-called disorder, autism. By reframing autism as a superpower, Lonnie helped his sons recognize and embrace their talents.

Kantai, 28, is a gifted coder who makes video games and computer-animated movies, and Kambel, well, he hasnt stopped creating art since I first met him. Back then, hed already built sculptures of the Divine Lorraine Hotel, Philadelphia City Hall, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art (which remains his favorite piece) and since, hes built Lincoln Financial Field, the Sydney Opera House, and dozens of other pieces.

Kambel often works in the front yard of his familys rowhouse, where his work marvels those who walk by.

Damn, brother, that one is big! a passerby in a durag said of Kambels latest piece. Hes always doing a great job.

In 2018, a neighbor who recognized Kambels talent helped connect him with Chris Byrne, a curator, gallerist, and owner of the Elaine de Kooning House in East Hampton, N.Y.

Byrne, who has been Kambels art curator ever since, has helped him show his work at art shows and galleries in Philly, New York City, Atlanta, and London.

Kambels sculptures, which have sold for upward of $25,000, have been acquired by the West Collection, the American Folk Art Museum, and various private collectors.

But his success has not changed the Smith family. They still tell each other stories about the Autisarians and they still live in the same home, where nearly every room is filled to the ceiling with Kambels work.

Were running out of space and I cant stop him from building, Lonnie said. I told him No more large projects right before he built this.

Kambel has always wanted to build the Burj Khalifa because it is a cool shape, he said, but given the size, his father cautioned against it. That is, until earlier this year, when Lonnie said he and Kambel were contacted by a Dubai-based ad agency claiming to work on behalf of a prominent bank in the United Arab Emirates.

He said the agency asked if Kambel would build a sculpture of the Burj Khalifa to be featured at an exhibition and auctioned off. But once the piece was completed, Lonnie said the agency stopped responding to their messages.

Now we got the Burj Khalifa in the house, he said.

Kambel built the sculpture in five sections, which nestle atop one another other like stacking blocks and are secured together through a series of holes and large cardboard pegs he built into them. As always, Kambel measured nothing and completed his sculpture in two months. The first time he and Lonnie put it together on its side on their front lawn and pushed it skyward, everything fit together perfectly.

As Kambel took a dry paint brush to his sculpture to dust off some grass, Lonnie and I stood on the sidewalk and talked about Kantai, whose animated movie Impossible Decision has been accepted for distribution on Filmhub and Reveel.

The movie is about a father who is dying and doesnt have anybody to take care of his autistic son. Having known Lonnie for years, I know this is something he thinks about a lot. Hes not facing any health concerns right now, but he also knows he wont live forever.

What will happen to his sons when hes gone is on his mind, all the time. Its part of the reason hes so passionate about fostering their talents and their belief in themselves.

They listen and they let me guide them, Lonnie said. I try to put everything together for them for when Im not around.

Kambels sculpture, which glistens like a real skyscraper, towers far above their two-story home. It is a testament to Kambels skill and determination but also to his fathers love, which has nurtured his talent to unimaginable heights.
Pennridge father Darren Laustsen won an open records lawsuit against the school district, which he contends has been secretly banning books. Read more

More than a year after he tried to determine whether the Pennridge School District had been secretly banning books, Darren Laustsen may finally get an answer.

A Common Pleas Court judge on Friday sided with Laustsen, who has a child in the Pennridge district, in his battle for records of library books checked out by staff members. The judge, Jordan Yeager, ordered the district to both give Laustsen the records he sought last October and pay his lawyers fees, which are still being finalized.

But the decision went further than an order to turn over information. Yeager said the district had not just failed to respond to Laustsen, but had deliberately hidden books checked out by staff  after administrators had acknowledged to Laustsen that they were checking out books to review them under a new school board policy prohibiting sexualized content in library collections.

The district altered the records that were the subject of the request, thwarted public access to public information, and effectuated a cover-up of faculty, administrators, and other non-students removal of books from Pennridge High Schools library shelves, Yeager wrote.

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The judge also quoted George Orwells 1984  Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past  writing that Pennridge had produced a manipulated checkout report in an attempt to control the past.

A Pennridge spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

The bluntly worded decision doesnt resolve the bigger question about what books Pennridge has pulled under the library policy, which the Bucks County district passed last year after a similar policy was adopted by the Central Bucks School District.

Laustsen has already reached his own conclusions about more than a dozen books he believes have been effectively banned from Pennridge High School: Through searches of the districts online card catalog, he identified books frequently targeted by such groups as Moms for Liberty that were checked out for unusually long periods before winding up on library weeding lists  proposed to be discarded for such reasons as infrequent use.

But to him and his lawyer, the ruling made a strong statement about the lengths the district went to in an effort to cover up its actions.

They lied to a parent. Theyre lying to taxpayers about what theyre doing, said Joy Ramsingh, who represented Laustsen. Its just tremendously sad to me. I think the school has really let down the community.

 READ MORE: Is Pennridge secretly banning books? This dad went to court to find out.

The dispute between Laustsen and Pennridge began after the school boards vote on the library policy in September 2022. The night of the vote, board members said the book Allegedly, by Tiffany D. Jackson  a thriller about a Black girl navigating the juvenile justice system  had been pulled from library shelves due to its content.

The next day, Laustsen emailed the districts then-superintendent, David Bolton, asking what other books might have been removed. Bolton said that he had checked out Allegedly in order to read it, but that there had been no formal removal.

Searching the high schools online card catalog for other frequently banned books, Laustsen noticed that all nine copies of Looking for Alaska, by John Green  a coming-of-age novel set at a boarding school  had been checked out for nearly a year. He asked Bolton about the book; the superintendent said it was also being reviewed based on the new policy.

Laustsen, who found other books in the high school library had similarly long checkout times, suspected that they were also the subject of unannounced reviews. He filed an open-records request with the district for books checked out by patrons who were not students.

But the response he got didnt include Allegedly or Looking for Alaska. Noticing the discrepancy, Laustsen appealed to Pennsylvanias Office of Open Records, which resulted in the district supplying more records  also inconsistent with what Laustsen had found by searching the card catalog.

The district then said that it couldnt definitively answer Laustsens question because non-students had used student accounts to check out books. The open records office accepted that position.

The district, however, could have shared that information before Laustsen pursued an appeal, rather than refusing to acknowledge the inconsistencies pointed out by Laustsen, Yeager said. It also could have run a report of checkouts by student accounts, and redacted the names of students. (Yeager noted that Pennridge has not offered a credible explanation for why non-students were using student accounts to check out books.)

Also unacknowledged by the district: On the day it produced a report for Laustsen, it checked in books from non-student accounts and checked them back out under student accounts  meaning Laustsens report would necessarily be incomplete, Yeager said.

That only came to light fact recently  prompting Laustsen to file an emergency petition last month. Pennridge concluded that someone had been manipulating records, but didnt offer further explanation.

The district cannot create a maze, hide information at the end of the maze, and then claim that it cannot access the information because it cant find its way through the maze, Yeager wrote. He added that the district is the creator of its own destiny  quoting Garth Steins The Art of Racing in the Rain, a book banned in some schools.

Yeagers finding that Pennridge acted in bad faith is unusual, Ramsingh said; normally, such findings in open-records cases stem from an agency not responding, rather than falsifying a record.

I see so many cases where people have a hunch this is going on but theyre not able to prove it, Ramsingh said.

Although Yeager ordered Pennridge to turn over the records Laustsen asked for, it isnt clear what hell get: The district revealed last month that it had changed its library database system over the summer. (The district has further complicated matters, Yeager wrote.)

Still, Laustsen hopes the decision forces the district to account for its actions.

They were pulling all these books out ... and trying to keep it private, he said.
A few months before Lillian Izzard took over as principal of Edison High, she walked through the sprawling school on West Luzerne Street with a notebook, taking pictures with her phone.

I had trophy cases with no glass, broken hydration stations, tiles that were stained with water damage, holes on the wall, said Izzard. It was heartbreaking.

It felt like a metaphor: Izzard was taking over a school that had a reputation, and not a great one. Edison had multiple long-term staff vacancies and high turnover. It had hall-walkers and other student safety and behavior issues. And the building, Izzard saw firsthand, looked like a place you wanted to get out of fast.

Izzard, who was principal of Fels High School at the time, had been talked into taking the Edison job. But the walk galvanized her: She was going to convince whomever she needed to convince to make the Hunting Park school look welcoming. And then she was going to work with staff and students to make it feel that way, too.

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A little more than a year in, Izzard has made serious strides in turning around what had been regarded as one of the districts toughest schools.

Oh, my God, its so good now, so much better, said Edith Cazaubon, a special education teacher there since 2006. Now, you see more people smiling.

Change the school from the inside out

Izzard was born in Jersey City, and moved to Philadelphia when she was 9. Her mother enrolled her at Bayard Taylor Elementary, a public school in North Philadelphia, and Izzard landed in ESL classes to practice her English; the family spoke Spanish at home.

Eventually, she moved to local Catholic schools, graduating from Little Flower High School, then briefly taking classes as an accounting and business administration major at Chestnut Hill College. She loved learning and was a good student, but college didnt work out initially.

I was one of six in a single-parent home, and I went to work to help my mother, said Izzard. I had to help raise my five siblings.

At age 20, she got hired by the Philadelphia School District as a secretary in the Office of Non-Public programs  steady work, with bosses who encouraged her. She earned a degree in education while working full time, got jobs as a school operations officer, a program coordinator. Then, she decided to become a classroom teacher. She took a pay cut, but Izzard felt called to do the work.

Izzard landed at Julia DeBurgos Elementary in North Philadelphia, teaching technology. She loved being in the classroom, wanted to become an administrator, so got another degree in educational administration, and eventually became an assistant principal at Clemente Middle School.

It was a little challenging, Im not going to lie, she said. But Izzard settled into it, then moved to Fels, where she was eventually appointed principal. She imagined shed retire from that job when Jonathan Brown, Izzards former assistant superintendent, reached out: What about Edison?

The answer was a quick no.

But then Izzard had a conversation with a colleague who was working with students who looked like him, Izzard said, and a light went off. Every one of the 900 students at Edison is considered economically disadvantaged. Roughly 1 in 3 is an English language learner, and 1 in 3 needs special education services. Sixty-six percent are Latino, like Izzard.

Any one of those students at Edison could have been me, Izzard said. My colleague said, Go, bring your systems, provide opportunities for your students.

It took a leap of faith, she said.

All I know is that Edisons always been painted in a negative light. But these kids  my kids here  are the same kids as my kids at Fels, the kids at Central. These are children, why are we painting this picture? I wanted to change that, to change the school from the inside out.

A positive outlook on education

Izzard peppered the districts facilities department with not just requests, but requirements: new paint, in bold yellows and greens, with murals and signs; brighter lighting; replacement glass, and more. She told teachers to start putting up bulletin boards again. Dont worry about students ripping them down, Izzard said  they wont. (And they didnt.)

Izzard understood that her staff was beleaguered, and on day one, she greeted them with treats, just to say thank you for being here. You matter.

After that, it was communicating how everythings important, and that you deserve the best of the best, Izzard said. My plan of attack was, do the building first, and then do systems.

That meant getting cell phones out of students hands; Izzard was an early adopter of Yondr pouches at Fels, and brought them to Edison, too. And she brought Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports to the school, shifting the narrative from negative student behavior to playing up students good side.

Izzard added extracurricular clubs and sports, and the kind of events students wanted: spirit week, a Halloween celebration, college day, Earth Day, a Black history celebration, womens day.

We celebrate everything, and kids want to be a part of it, said Izzard. All of it is earned, and the kids take pride just as much as the adults.

Comprehensive high schools such as Edison take every student who walks in the door, regardless of need. And students needs are great, with significant numbers living in foster care, experiencing homelessness, returning to school from incarceration or inpatient services. Gun violence and trauma are a common backdrop.

Izzard insisted on structure, rules, positive relationships and opportunities. The school had miles to go  12% of Edison students met state standards in English in 2021-22, the last year for which data are available, and 2% in math; just under half of ninth graders were on track to graduation, and the four-year graduation rate was 55%.

But Edison is moving the needle.

After Izzards first year, more ninth graders were on track to graduation (up 6.5%), teacher and student attendance was up (2.3% and 6.2% increases, respectively.) This year, serious incidents are down. Its leaning into its strengths, including career and technical education programs that focus on everything from welding and automotive to culinary and film. There are no teacher vacancies.

Eliza Bender, an Edison 11th grader, put it plainly.

The years before, students were rowdy and disrespectful, but its definitely changed since Principal Izzard came, said Bender, 17. We work as a unit now, and the idea is everyone is going to get you to graduation, get you what you need. Its changed, people have a more positive outlook on their education.

Everyone came back

Izzards abundant paperwork doesnt get done during the school day; when students are in the building, shes often out of her office.

I love my mornings, greeting kids, engaging with them; its my favorite part of the day, she said. Izzard has a bullhorn, and a way about her  firm, but positive. I cant get from here to there without being stopped 20 times, but I love that. Its what drives me.

On a recent day, Edison staff had to confiscate several cell phones. Izzard announced random phone checks the next day.

Guess what? That day, we saw no cell phones, she said. I dont tolerate disruption of instruction.

Kevin Bethel, the districts safety chief, is a big Izzard fan. The year before she came to Edison, there were 122 fights in the school. Last year, there were 12. At one point, he had to triple the number of school security officers in an attempt to keep order. Now, hes scaled back.

Just the way she goes about building relationships is great, said Bethel. Everybodys a part of the safety process. When young people see that, it creates this safety umbrella. Its commendable, the level of effort and work she and her team have done to restore the order in the school.

Cazaubon, the veteran Edison teacher, said she knows why Izzard won a prestigious Lindback Award for principal leadership in the spring.

Izzard trusts her teachers, and goes to bat for them; when Cazaubon mentioned to Izzard she wanted to start reading novels with her autistic support students, two sets of the books she wanted showed up in her room. And Izzard includes her students in everything; Cazaubons 12th graders participated in a senior project for the first time ever last year.

She checks in, shes visible, not to intimidate you, just to make sure everythings OK, said Cazaubon.

And a remarkable thing happened when Cazaubon showed up for the first teacher prep day in August: Instead of a lot of new faces, the faculty looked familiar.

When I looked around, everyone came back, she said.
William Lighter, board member and chair of the property committee of Historic Eden Cemetery, speaks at the unveiling of a tombstone for Caroline LeCount Saturday. Read more

It was Election Day 1871, the first election since the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Civil rights activist Octavius V. Catto went to vote and found himself facing a white mob, who had initiated a riot to suppress the African American vote. He was fatally shot near his home on South Street.

Cattos story and contributions have not been forgotten.

 READ MORE: A monument at last for Octavius Catto, who changed Philadelphia

His fiancee, Caroline LeCount, a noted educator and civil rights activist in her own right, was part of a long effort to integrate the citys public transportation operations almost a century before Rosa Parks refusal to yield her seat touched off the Montgomery, Ala., bus boycott and the modern civil rights movement.

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LeCounts story and contributions have faded into obscurity.

However, a small group gathered in Historic Eden Cemetery in Collingdale on Saturday to honor her memory and dedicate a tombstone finally marking her grave. The group was gathered by the Rename Taney coalition, which is attempting to change Taney Street, named after Supreme Court Justice Roger B. Taney (pronounced Tawn-ney) of the infamous Dred Scott decision, to LeCount Street.

Caroline LeCount was the Rosa B. Parks of Philadelphia roughly 100 years earlier and we found out there was no tombstone, said Leo Vacarro, a history teacher at St. Josephs Preparatory School and an organizer of the coalition. Vacarro said the group raised $2,100 from 38 people through a crowdfunding effort.

 READ MORE: Rename Taney Street after Caroline Le Count | Opinion

LeCount was born free in South Philadelphia in 1846, almost two decades before the Civil War ended and slavery was abolished. She graduated from the Institute for Colored Youth [later renamed Cheyney University] at the top of her class in 1863. She was the citys first African American woman to pass the teaching examination and, in 1868, she became the second Black woman to become a principal.

LeCounts trolley encounter wasnt random but part of a coordinated civil disobedience effort to desegregate the citys privately owned mass transportation system, a hotly contested issue. In 1858 Philadelphias first horse-drawn streetcar was unveiled. It was segregated. Shortly thereafter, the creation of 18 streetcar and suburban railroad companies followed. Eleven of them refused access to Black riders, catering to white passengers who demanded segregated seating.

Black women, seeking to bring supplies and health care to Black Civil War soldiers recuperating at Camp William Penn, the nations first training ground for Black troops located in the LaMott area of Cheltenham, would be beaten and thrown off the trolleys.

As Chief Justice Taney had written for the majority in the 1857 Dred Scott v. Sandford decision, Black Americans had no rights that the white man was bound to respect.

After white passengers in the city voted to continue racial restriction on the trolley cars, Catto went to Harrisburg. The state made the segregated trolley systems illegal in 1867. LeCount tested the new law by getting on a horse-drawn trolley and was promptly ejected.

However, with the copy of the new state law in hand, she found a police officer, swore out a criminal complaint, and showed a copy of the law to the magistrate. This time, the conductor was arrested and fined.

When you talk about grassroots movements and how they start, I believe women are behind most grassroots movements, said William J. Lighter Jr. , member of the Historic Eden Cemetery board.

Four years later, Catto was murdered and a grieving LeCount vowed to never marry.

She did continue her civil rights and education efforts. LeCount was principal at the segregated Ohio Street School [later renamed the Octavius V. Catto School] for 50 years. She was noted for defending African American teachers against charges of incompetence by noting that they had to get higher scores on the teaching exam than their white peers.

LeCount once said in an interview: To be intelligent is to understand the laws of the land, and the great feature of our laws is that they make no distinction by reason of color.

When she died in 1923, she was well known but over the next century her name and accomplishments would become lost to history. I am not surprised, said Fasaha M. Traylor, coauthor of They Carried Us: The Social Impact of Philadelphias Black Women Leaders. Women were not important and Black women, especially, werent important.

Tyrique Glasgow, a member of the Rename Taney coalition, is the executive director of Young Chances Foundation, a nonprofit community resource group. Glasgow said he was particularly interested in making certain children learn about LeCounts life.

Her new tombstone now carries this inscription: Compassionate and Fierce Advocate of Education for Black Students and Equality in Public Transit.
Upper Merion police respond to a parking garage at the King of Prussia Mall after a 2017 incident. Read more

Police said Saturday that they were investigating shots being fired Friday evening in a parking area at the King of Prussia Mall in Upper Merion Township. One person suffered a minor injury.

Police said that shortly after 8 p.m. Friday, officers arrived at the lower level of a garage across from the Macys department store, near the north end of the mall on Route 202, right after witnesses reported hearing several gunshots.

The gunfire had ceased, and the participants had left the scene, police said.

Police described it as a targeted matter, that the participants all knew each other, and that mall patrons were not endangered.

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Shortly after the shootings, a man whom they did not identify contacted Upper Merion police and said he had suffered a minor hand injury.

Officers said the man, who was licensed to carry a weapon, told them he was in the lower level of the garage attempting to sell sneakers to another party.

 READ MORE: In August, a gun accidentally discharged at the King of Prussia Mall, police say

While he was distracted, someone put a gun to the back of his head, he told police. A fight ensued, and police believe multiple shots were exchanged, including one by the man who gave the account of what happened. It was not known whether any others were injured.

Witnesses reported seeing three or four males, all dressed in black with black masks, enter a vehicle and flee the area.

 READ MORE: Last year, a Philadelphia man wanted by police fired at officers outside the mall

Police asked that anyone with information regarding the events contact the department at 610-265-3232 or submit any tips to the departments Crimewatch page, www.uppermerionpolice.org.
If you dont think the bloodshed and mayhem in the Middle East is turning our 21st-century world upside down right now, take a good look at Joe Biden and his efforts to echo Franklin Roosevelt, with maybe a side order of Winston Churchill, as he tries to link the Israeli fight against Hamas to a new iteration of the arsenal of democracy.

Bidens tough words and resolute stance supporting the Jewish state that was created when the 46th president was only 5 years old has won him some new friends in some surprising places  but also created new antagonists among folks who voted for the Democrat in 2020, and who could now stay home and prevent Bidens reelection in 2024.

You know who really loved the rhetoric of a president who declared immediately after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas forces who slaughtered and kidnapped Israeli civilians that America must be crystal clear. ... We stand with Israel, and who doubled down in seeking military aid in last weeks Oval Office address? Brit Hume on the conservative Fox News Channel, who said the prime-time talk may be remembered as one of the best, if not the best speeches of his presidency, adding: He was firm, he was unequivocal, he was strong ...

You know who doesnt one bit like what Biden has been saying about the Middle East and how the president has been saying it? Palestinian Americans and other voters of Muslim descent in the swing state of Michigan, where their votes in 2020 were credited with flipping the Rust Belt state back to Biden after Donald Trump narrowly won it in 2016.

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Joe Biden has single-handedly alienated almost every Arab American and Muslim American voter in Michigan, Democratic State Rep. Alabas Farhat, who represents Dearborn and its large Arab American population, told NBC News in its report from the Wolverine State this weekend. Farhat said his constituents are angered and alienated by the lack of verbal support for the Palestinian cause; the NBC report also said multiple community leaders in Michigan are talking up a plan to vote in 2024 but leave the top of the ticket blank in protest.

Politically speaking, this is the worst possible trade-off for Biden. The praise he is currently receiving on the right from folks like Fox News Hume or Israels former ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren, who called a recent Biden speech the most passionately pro-Israel in history, wont gain the president one additional vote from right-wing couch potatoes otherwise bombarded with daily diatribes that Biden is too feeble to serve. But while Muslim Americans are not a large voting bloc, a loss of their support could cripple Biden in states he narrowly won such as Georgia, Arizona, and Wisconsin.

And that may not be the worst of it for Biden.

If youre old enough to remember the 1960s, you surely remember the constant bemoaning of a generation gap in American society. Back then, it largely referred to a World War II generation of parents who tended to trust the government and the Pentagon, and their idealistic children who saw the Vietnam War as a betrayal of everything theyd learned about democracy. A half-century later, its taken a different war in the Middle East to reveal that the generation gap is back, and bigger than ever.

A poll conducted for CNN shortly after the attacks found that 81% of Americans over the age of 65  that would be Bidens Silent Generation as well as most boomers, raised in a time of Israel fighting off attacks like 1973s Yom Kippur War or global terrorism  feel Israel is fully justified in a military response to Hamas. But in the 18-34 age bracket, that number plummets to just 27%  not surprising for a generation instead raised during Israels far-right government of Benjamin Netanyahu and his iron-fisted policies toward Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.

Politically, this poses not one but two problems for Team Biden. In 2020, young voters under 35, deeply alienated by Trumps four years in the White House, not only overwhelmingly supported the Democrat (despite his barrier-breaking age and a history of political centrism) but also turned out in greater numbers than usual, which was critical to his victory.

Hows that going ahead of 2024? With student loan payments resuming this month and the worst summer ever for climate change, polls had been picking up warning signs of trouble for Biden even before war broke out in the Middle East. Last week, a nationwide poll by Emerson College found that while the incumbent led Trump in an expected rematch by 2 percentage points, among those polled under age 30, the Republican actually was slightly ahead, 45%-43%, with another 12% undecided. The numbers dovetailed with other surveys where young voters said Biden is too old or outdated.

While those results could be a ballot box disaster for the president in the fall of 2024, a more focused group of young people could cause immediate headaches for the Biden administration in autumn 2023: college-educated progressives who made up disproportionate numbers of the staff on Capitol Hill, in key federal agencies, and in Democratic campaigns and think tanks. This faction  already under fire for having too much influence and moving the party too far to the left  was educated amid highly negative campus vibes around Israels policies toward the Palestinians. Now, these Democratic shock troops seem on the brink of a mutiny against the partys generals.

 READ MORE: Netanyahus disastrous, populist regime is a dire warning for U.S. voters | Will Bunch

Last week, more than 400 Capitol Hill staffers signed on (albeit anonymously, reflecting current fears around open dialogue) to a letter urging their bosses to support a rapid cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas conflict. Their statement, while condemning atrocities by Hamas, also said, We are tired of leaders pushing us to blame each other, exploiting our pain and our histories to rationalize political agendas and justify violence. Their words place staffers in direct conflict with liberal but aggressively pro-Israel members like Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, who said recently, Now is not the time to talk about a cease-fire.

Its a similar dynamic over at the U.S. State Department, where one staffer has publicly resigned and many more are said to be on the brink of revolt after internal guidance that they were not to use terms like cease-fire or talk about de-escalation. Last week, two staffers told the Huffington Post there has been work toward an internal dissent cable opposing the current policies regarding Israel and Gaza  again, something rarely seen since the heated Vietnam War era.

These young D.C. power players are, of course, small in number. But they could exercise an outsize influence if they went public with criticisms of Bidens policies right as he is struggling with other college-educated young voters like them. A lot could happen in 13 months, but even small movement toward a third-party candidate like the progressive academic Cornel West  a sharp critic of Israeli policy  or a rise in stay-home apathy could be brutal for Biden.

The online reaction from pro-Biden liberals to reports like NBCs from Muslim enclaves near Detroit has amounted to a collective shriek that any naysayers contend are only ensuring the return of Trump, who is far worse on these issues. Intellectually, theyre not wrong: Trumps policies, from expanding his initial Muslim ban to his familys close financial ties with the Saudi dictators, are terrible. But 25-year-old voters dont see the world like 65-year-olds who watch hours of anti-Trump agitprop daily on MSNBC. And yelling at them while theyre hurt and confused over the war wont change their minds.

The huge irony for Biden is the mounting evidence that his full-throated public embrace of the Israeli cause, which has made him something of a hero right now on the streets of Tel Aviv, is just part of a more complicated strategy of gaining trust with Netanyahu to urge him to prevent a wider war, and perhaps take a more humanitarian stance on the situation in Gaza. In other words, the presidents private, closed-door policies may be more aligned than the Muslim Americans or young voters so put off by his public rhetoric realize. If Bidens strategy somehow defuses tensions in the Middle East instead of inflaming them, the political fallout will dissipate.

But war and electoral politics have always been a volatile, unpredictable blend. All the Beltway pundits who are praising Bidens wartime rhetoric as practically Churchillian should remember that the actual Churchill was in 1945 unceremoniously voted out of his job, largely thanks to left-wing voters, right as the United Kingdom was joining its allies in victory in World War II.

 READ MORE: SIGN UP: The Will Bunch Newsletter
BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 22. The "Mustafa Kemal Ataturk-2023" tactical exercises, which will be held in Azerbaijan on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Turkiye, will begin tomorrow (October 23), Trend reports.

"The purpose of the exercises is to strengthen friendship and cooperation between the Turkish and Azerbaijani land forces, as well as the exchange of knowledge and experience," the Turkish Ministry of Defense said on X.

The exercises, which will be held in Azerbaijan from October 23 through 25, involve a significant amount of equipment, artillery and aviation equipment of various types of troops of both fraternal countries, as well as engineering equipment.
Last week may seem like a nightmare for Web Summit, but the bad dream could linger on as the tech giants that pulled out of attending the conference have yet to reverse that decision, and the company is also now without a CEO.

Yesterday, founder of Web Summit Paddy Cosgrave resigned from his role of CEO after a wave of headliners scheduled to attend the event set to take place in Lisbon next month dropped out, after Mr Cosgrave posted comments online criticising Western leaders support for Israel during the war in the Middle-East.

Web Summit said it is currently searching for a new CEO but right now it remains unclear who will help run the business in the interim.

Who will take over?

There are some key figures near the top of the company, which employs 300 people globally including around 200 people in Ireland, that could navigate it through the current calamity.

Among those is trained accountant and Web Summit chief financial officer Patrick Kirwan, who has been with the company for more than five years.

Web Summit chief operating officer Nida Shah has been with the company for almost a decade, and has previously worked as financial controller and VP of finance for the firm.

Web Summit chief marketing officer Michael Sexton has also been with the company for almost 10 years and held various roles with the company during that time, including senior data scientist and head of strategy and growth.

Its also possible the company could look to someone on the companys board to offer guidance during this grey period, such as Nathan Hubbard.

Mr Hubbard was previously CEO of Ticketmaster and became Web Summits first board appointee in 2021.

Meanwhile, Mr Cosgraves relationship with Web Summit co-founders Daire Hickey and David Kelly, who own a combined 18% of the company, has become embittered following years of lawsuits.

It may be time for a fresh outside face to move on from these controversies.

When asked who will run the company until a more permanent replacement for Mr Cosgrave is found, Web Summit did not comment.

For now, it seems like the focus for the company will be on rebuilding the momentum for one of the worlds largest tech events which is used by thousands of early stage entreprenuers to grow their businesses.

Mr Cosgrave released an apology earlier in the week on the company website, but it wasnt enough. More and more high profile names, from Facebook-owner Meta to comedian Amy Poehler, announced they would not attend the conference.

As the weekend loomed closer, Mr Cosgrave contacted the Web Summit team to reassure the company has enough financial reserves for the event in November and that the company has successfully navigated crises before, including covid.

By yesterday afternoon though Mr Cosgraves time at the helm was up. He officially stepped down from his role and a source said he made the decision on his own.

I am resigning as CEO of Web Summit with immediate effect. Unfortunately, my personal comments have become a distraction from the event, and our team, our sponsors, our startups and the people who attend. I sincerely apologise again for any hurt I have caused.

However, silence followed his departure. The big names that previously distanced themselves from Web Summit when Mr Cosgrave was leading it did not do a u-turn.

The controversial event organiser may not be CEO anymore but he still owns 81% of the company and his resignation may not be enough to lure back the big names including Siemens and Intel.

Some companies that dropped out are considering their positions though, the Irish Examiner understands.

However, some seem to be sticking to their decision for now.

Earlier this week, Google told the Irish Examiner it will no longer have a presence at Web Summit attributable to a Google spokesperson.

When asked if this has changed following the departure of Mr Cosgrave, a spokesperson said we don't have any further comment.
Food is my subject so everywhere I travel Im on the lookout for new foods, new flavours, the latest food trends, new (to me) ingredients, and techniques.

Before I leave, I do lots of research and seek insider information to build a list of not to be missed places from street stalls and cafes to high-end fine dining establishments.

The latter are often my least favourite. Im fast tiring of exotic foamy presentations and skid marks on plates, and ever more ludicrous dining experiences at extortionate guilt-inducing prices.

On a recent trip to Canada, I ate some delicious things, but one of the most memorable was something called Run over Potato at Miznon, an Israeli sandwich place on Bay Street in downtown Toronto. It came on a gold cardboard tray and looked positively unappealing.

It turned out to be three or four, first steamed then roasted, potatoes squished between two sheets of parchment on a smear of creme fraiche with garlic, spring onions and dill, drizzled with extra virgin oil and sprinkled with freshly cracked pepper and flaky sea salt.

It couldnt have looked less appetising but it was still warm and super delicious.

At the Toronto International Festival of Authors in the Harbourfront Centre, I quizzed Mark Schatzker, the food writer from the Globe and Mail about Toronto food.

He was adamant that I must not leave town without tasting butter chicken roti (check out Roti Mahal), sushi pizza and bubble tea, if thats your thing (I dont love it).

I was on my way to Calgary to speak at the Terroir Talk Symposium but my principal reason for visiting Toronto was to catch up with my friend Bonnie Stern who owned a cooking school in Toronto for many years.

Weve shared many bonding moments together, including the rare experience of going down the chute in the emergency evacuation of an aeroplane at Narita airport in Japan in the 1990s.

We havent seen each other for over a decade so had lots of catching up to do.

Bonnie, a wonderful cook and a beloved teacher, took me to many of her favourite haunts including Honest Weight, a super little cafe that serves spanking fresh fish, and Soma chocolate maker who makes exquisite chocolate from ethical sources.

We also visited Downsview City Farm and had a tour with Ran Goel of the collective of CSA Farms in the suburbs which grows beautiful organic produce to nourish the local community. A really inspirational project that could be replicated in any city.

Lots of delicious food included dinner at a Kiin, a much loved Vietnamese restaurant and another memorable meal at Restaurant 20 Victoria where chef/owner Chris White and his team were over the moon having just been awarded a Michelin Star the previous night.

We were joined by Bonnies daughter Anna Rupert who was co-author of Bonnies latest book with the appealing title Dont Worry, Just Cook.

Its full of gems for the sort of home-cooked food we all love including Chirshi, a multi-purpose pumpkin puree just in time for squash and pumpkin season.

A brilliant standby base for many good things. Here are some recipes to whet your appetite.

All recipes from Dont Worry, Just Cook by Bonnie Stern and Anna Rupert (Appetite, Random House)

Bonnie Stern's Tuna Poke "Poke, originally from Hawaii, is now popular around the world. There are all sorts of poke with different fish (raw or cooked) and sauces. My version is a riff on the famous ahi tuna poke dip at the Kahala Resort in Honolulu, where I first tried it." Servings 8 Preparation Time  30 mins Total Time  30 mins Course  Main Ingredients 115g mayonnaise

1 tbsp fresh lime juice

1 tbsp soy sauce

50g coarsely chopped fresh coriander

3 tbsp coarsely chopped pickled ginger

 tsp toasted sesame oil

350g raw sushi-grade tuna, cut into small cubes

 ripe avocado

To serve:

Little Gem lettuce cups Method Combine the mayonnaise with the lime juice and soy sauce, followed by the coriander, ginger and sesame oil. Add the tuna and refrigerate until ready to serve. Dice the avocado and gently stir into the poke just before serving. Serve in lettuce cups.

Bonnie Stern's Chirshi "A perfect vegetarian/vegan appetiser. it also makes a great vegetable side dish. Serve it as is, or sprinkled with pumpkin seeds, coriander, pomegranate seeds." Preparation Time  15 mins Cooking Time  40 mins Total Time  55 mins Course  Side Ingredients 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp Kosher salt plus more to taste

450g butternut squash, peeled and cut into 4cm chunks

450g sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 4cm chunks

1-2 garlic cloves, grated

85g pure tahini

2-3 tbsp fresh lemon juice, to taste

1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves

1 tsp1 tbsp harissa or other hot sauce plus more to taste

 tsp smoked or sweet paprika

freshly ground black pepper Method Preheat the oven to 190C and line a baking tray with parchment paper. In a small bowl, combine the olive oil with the tomato paste and salt. Place the squash and sweet potatoes on the lined baking tray and toss well with the olive oil mixture to coat. Roast for 30-40 minutes or until tender and lightly browned. Let cool on the baking tray. Transfer the vegetables to a bowl and mash with a potato masher or fork if you like it slightly chunky like I do, or puree coarsely or until smooth in a food processor. Mix in the garlic, tahini, lemon juice, thyme, harissa and smoked paprika. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spread on a platter and serve as is, or sprinkle with pumpkin seeds, coriander, pomegranate seeds or any ingredients mentioned in the introduction.

Hot Tips:

The New Ballymaloe Bread Book

The New Ballymaloe Bread Book will be launched on Thursday, 26th October 2023. (Look out for recipes here next week!)

To celebrate publication, Ill be doing various bread demonstrations around the country  come and join me if you can and spread the word:

Savour Festival, Kilkenny - Saturday, 28th October - savourkilkenny.com

Samhain Festival, Meath - Saturday, 4th November - boynevalleyflavours.ie/samhain2023

Dublin Cookery School  Wednesday, 8th November - dublincookeryschool.ie

Waterman House, Belfast - Thursday, 16th November - waterman.house

2023 Gluten Free Roadshow, Cork

The 2023 Gluten Free Roadshow will take place on Sunday, 22nd October at Rochestown Park Hotel in Douglas.

Includes a 2-course gluten-free lunch, talks, and cookery demonstration by award-winning chef Eunice Power. There will also be exhibition stands, good bags, spot prizes and more

For more information, see coeliac.ie/gluten-free-roadshow-2023
The interior of Ruchii Indian Restaurant, Blackrock, Co.Dublin.

Move over Kentucky and Korea  Keralan Fried Chicken is here.

Ruchii in Dublins Blackrock has a new premises and menu, and one of the fun highlights is a South West India take on fried chicken: tender chicken thighs and breasts encased in a golden crunchy shell enlivened with a mix of complex spice flavours and a curry leaf mayonnaise for dipping.

I realise Indian fried chicken could be seen as unserious but Ruchii is a serious restaurant and I applaud them for having a bit of fun with their menu. Their shiny new premises is just up the street from their old one and are a nice step up in atmosphere. And it is busy. On a recent Monday, there were 30 booked in for the tasting menu (with matching wines).

Myself and the Physicist were more interested in exploring the a la carte which had a choice of 11 starters and 11 mains, most of which were unfamiliar. Too often Indian restaurants in Ireland feel obliged to fill their menu with kormas and vindaloos but in Ruchii I spotted just a couple of dishes that could be found in a typical takeaway menu  chicken tikka and lamb seekh kebab.

Pulled Jackfruit Phulka 'Tacos'. Pic: Paul Sherwood Photography

The abundance of choice led to us ordering three starters as we simply couldnt pick just two. Pulled jackfruit phulka (9.50) was a duo of what could be called tacos given their presentation, but were in fact crisp flatbread filled with meaty creamy jackfruit flavoured with fragrant warming spices and with yoghurt and lime to balance out the richness.

Keralan Fried Chicken at Ruchii. Pic: Paul Sherwood.

Keralan fried chicken (11) as mentioned above, had layers of flavours in that golden crust while adraki lamb chops (14.50) were sweet Wicklow lamb marinated with ginger, cumin and aromatic fennel flavours. The ginger and fennel added heat and pungency but this was balanced nicely by a bracing mint chutney on the side.

Ghee roast lamb botti (24.50) had been marinated overnight and then cooked in ghee (clarified butter) on a cast iron tava pan. Rich earthy flavours abounded with lots of black and green cardamom notes adding bitter-sweet pungency. This worked well with the sweet dried fruit and coconut flavours of a Peshwari naan (all the breads were so good we asked for extra to take home).

Adraki Lamb Chops at Ruchii. Pic: Paul Sherwood Photography

Mango coconut jumbo prawns (26.50) are one of Ruchiis signature dishes and the plump luscious prawns in their sweet-savoury sauce (cut with green mango) were a pleasing contrast to the lamb and the darkly spiced flavours in Ruchii special black daal (8.50) made from urad lentils.

The wine list is another highlight with prices starting at 30 for decent Languedoc, and a pleasing mix of classic and modern choices with fair pricing throughout. I gather Tom Doorley had a hand in the list and he has chosen well.

Had I been feeling richer on the night I might have opted for Niepoort Douro, Mount Horrocks Semillon or perhaps Blank Bottle Moment of Silence or maybe a bottle of Domain Matrot Meursault.

I like that the emphasis has been placed on aromatic and richer-flavoured wines, the type that go best with Indian food. My glass of Henschke Peggys Hill Eden Valley Riesling (10) was crisp and textured and the Physicists Baron de Badassiere Viognier (8.50) also worked well. Beer choices are also judicious.

Desserts cost 9-10 and having eaten more than I should have I felt ice cream was in order. Kulfi Falooda was typically dense, creamy and fragrant while vermicelli strands added some slippery textures and rose syrup and basil seeds enlivened proceedings.

Bellam gaare lentil doughnuts had been dipped in earthy sweet jaggery syrup which was cut nicely by a tartly refreshing lemon sorbet.

Chef Sateesh Sayana visited our table (and every other one) a couple of times, and we felt very well-minded by the staff. We loved our meal and the chefs ambition to open diners up to new flavours is an admirable one  well be back.

The Verdict:

Food: 9/10

Wine: 8.5/10

Service: 9/10

Ambiance: 8/10

Value: 8/10

In a sentence: Ruchii is serving creative, inventive, and supremely tasty Indian food well worth the journey to Blackrock.
Youre probably quite adept at blocking out the news by now. Disengaging to preserve your sanity.

Its not disinterest or compassion fatigue as much as basic self-care, avoiding televised news so that the images dont lodge in your brain and haunt you at 3am.

You change radio channels when the news comes on with a lightning-quick reflex, keep newspapers at arms length like theyre unpinned grenades, havent gone near Twitter in months.

No news is not good news. There is no good news, which is why you want no news.

What initially felt like a cop-out, tiny acts of daily cowardice and disengagement now feels like the basic preservation of your mental health.

And then, in the car, your no-news armour is punctured. A report from Gaza on the radio.

A dad, his voice hoarse with exhaustion, saying how his 16-year-old daughter has been telling him that they wont hear the bomb that kills them until it is too late; that they will already be dead.

She is saying this to console him. Imagine, he says, your teenage daughter having to think like that, having to say things like that.

Later, another snippet about people dying of dehydration. Dying of thirst? Blatant war crimes, in plain sight.

Tents for Palestinians seeking refuge are set up on the grounds of a United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) centre in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 19, 2023. Pic: Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images

It's the feeling of helplessness, the impotence, of being unable to do anything.

The feeling that here we are, watching genocide unfold in real-time, and theres nothing we can do. Nothing.

And if we call it genocide, we are accused of anti-Semitism. Of supporting terrorism.

It makes you want to scream because you are neither anti-Semitic nor pro-terrorist nor anything within a million miles of such vileness.

No, like most ordinary civilians, you are anti-violence, anti-murder, anti-apartheid, anti-hate, anti-colonisation, anti-inhumanity, anti-fascist, anti-monstering, anti-killing, anti-kidnapping, anti-rape, anti-bombing, anti-shooting, anti-stabbing.

And most of all, anti-dead children. Anti-dead civilians.

The dehumanisation of Palestinian civilians is happening in front of our eyes, and those who call it out  voices like Jeremy Corbyn, and Miriam Margolyes  are viewed as extremists by the mainstream, as mainstream UK politicians fall over themselves to say nothing, do nothing, maybe wring their hands a bit.

And with this dehumanisation comes decimation. We are witnessing, on our screens, the wiping out of a specific group of civilians, half of them children.

We watch as a horrific terrorist attack is avenged by state terrorism, and we are encouraged to view this mass vengeance as valid, proportionate, justified, and legal.

As though these are reasonable actions.
What comes to mind when you think of a National Park? Great expanses of wilderness? Areas with the highest levels of protection for nature? Places where wild nature can be enjoyed in its purest form?

I imagine that most people do not associate the idea of National Parks with farming and farm animals  dont we have plenty of space for that already?

This autumn, the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) announced that Ireland is about to get a new National Park in the Boyne Valley, County Meath, where the State has purchased land from Devenish Nutrition, an agri-food company which had been carrying out research on the lands. It brings to seven the number of National Parks in Ireland. [exa.mn/bs9]

Speaking to RTE's Countrywide programme, director of the NPWS, Niall ODonnchu, said that the new acquisition responds to a number of things that the [NPWS] is about. Clearly the agri-economy piece of it, and that is fascinating for us.

He also said that all of our National Parks conform to the IUCN guidelines. This is the International Union for the Conservation of Nature which monitors the status of protected areas globally. Their guidelines for National Parks is Category II: large natural or near natural areas set aside to protect large-scale ecological processes, along with the complement of species and ecosystems characteristic of the area.

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The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage also states that the new National Park in Meath will be managed as a designated Category II National Park.

This is a bizarre claim if it is to be managed as a centre for farm research.

Dowth and its surrounds are rich in human and archaeological heritage and there is certainly a need for a research farm that is focussed on nature restoration in these types of landscapes. But dont we already have a farm research body in Ireland, Teagasc?

And why is the NPWS trying to lead us into thinking that it will somehow be managed to protect functioning ecosystems? Indeed, youd be hard-pressed to find anyone who believes that any of our national parks are managed for such a function.

Given that not a single one of our National Parks operates under a current management plan, how these areas are managed or not managed  remains a mystery to everyone bar a handful of individuals charged with running them.

The NPWS recently provided me with data revealing that far from being managed for large-scale ecological processes, our National Parks are predominantly just extensions of the farmland that surrounds them. They show that private grazing rights are granted in four out of six National Parks  while in three of them the NPWS themselves manage varying numbers of livestock.

Kerry Cattle at Muckross, Killarney National Park. Picture: Valerie O'Sullivan

This includes nearly 3,500 sheep in the Wicklow Mountains National Park; 80 Kerry cattle in Killarney; 28 cattle and 232 sheep in Wild Nephin, County Mayo; while in Connemara the NPWS maintains an assortment of 7 ponies, 23 cattle, 68 sheep, two donkeys, two pigs and three old Irish goats in addition to private grazing rights for 95 sheep. Glenveagh in Donegal is the only National Park with no farm animals.

National Parks (as they are predominantly not fenced) can be subject to trespassing by sheep with no grazing rights, as well as herds of feral goats, all adding to the already intense grazing pressure in these areas.

Sheep in a snow-covered field near Bofeenaun, County Mayo with Nephin Mountain in the background. Picture: Keith Heneghan

Given that our National Parks are small and still few in number, and that nearly all of Irelands surface area is devoted to grazing farm animals or agriculture in one form or another, why is there such enthusiasm for still more cattle, sheep and ponies?

Its true that small numbers of traditional cattle breeds can be useful for maintaining biodiversity value in some circumstances. In the Burren National Park in County Clare, farmers are part of a much-lauded conservation programme that maintains the diversity of flower-rich meadows.

However, given the harm that free-roaming sheep and other grazers cause on our hills, resulting in peatland degradation and the prevention of any natural regeneration of wild trees, how can it be that so many of them are permitted to roam places like Wicklow Mountains and Wild Nephin?

The blanket bog habitats of Wild Nephin are particularly sensitive to grazing pressure and even low numbers of sheep can prevent any kind of recovery.

As for Connemara, it appears that this small National Park (only 2,000 hectares) is being run as some kind of a farm petting zoo. Where is the space for wild nature, or naturally functioning ecosystems?

It has been acknowledged that National Parks in Ireland have no foundational legislation  basically they dont exist in law. Since our first National Biodiversity Action Plan in 2002, it has been an objective to remedy this. The latest reform of the NPWS set an objective for draft legislation to be published in June of this year, but there is no sign of it. The same document says that draft management plans for each of the National Parks will be prepared by December of this year. If these documents do appear, it is essential that standards in management of these lands be clearly outlined.

We expect the NPWS to be the agency in Ireland to prioritise the recovery of nature and to champion places where the restoration of biodiversity is the number one priority, not to run our National Parks as if they were farms.
Though it was almost 65 years ago, Freda Kelly still remembers the day she left Dublin as if it werewellyesterday.

I didn't know anything about it, recalls the 78-year-old. We were down the countryside for our holidays and I remember coming back up to Dublin, seeing these tea chests and cases in the hallway and thats when I found out we were moving. I didn't want to move. Although it was only over the road, there were still different things to get used to. I had a different accent and everything.

With her father, brother, stepmother and the four dogs, the then 13-year-old left her home in Sandymount for Liverpool and a life that turned out to be just a little less ordinary.

My father had relations there so we used to go over once a year for holidays, says Freda.

My stepmother, although she was Irish, lived a long time in England and had relations there. So there was always a connection and I think it was my stepmother who really wanted to move back.

Although she knew the city, Freda admits that it took a while to adapt to life on Merseyside.

In 1958, the city was as hum-drum and grey as any in northern England. But by the time she hit her teens, that was changing.

Local bands were adding colour and vibrancy to the city and giving swagger to its cheeky-chappy reputation. Freda was about to bump into the cheekiest and greatest of them all.

I was 16 when I met the boys, she says. I worked as a secretary for a shipping company around the corner from The Cavern though I knew nothing about it. There were clerks my age who used to nip around to see the groups. I joined them one lunchtime and, lucky enough for me, The Beatles were on. That was the first time I went and that was it. Once you saw them, you wanted more so I just kept going.

Over time, Freda got to know the Fab Four. And before they were so fab, John, Paul, George and Ringo (or Richard as Freda calls him) lived on the same south side of the city as Freda.

She would often catch a lift from Paul. This was a time when, according to Freda, girls in Liverpool werent screaming at themand theyd just talk to them. Beatlemania was a while away yet.

I then met the head of the fan club [Roberta] Bobby Brown, recalls Freda, and she asked me to help her because I had secretarial skills. Then I met Brian Epstein by chance one day in his record store and he told me he was going to manage the boys. He knew I had worked with Bobby and asked me to come on board as secretary and that was it. Brian was a gentleman. I mean he was my boss, a hard boss but a good boss.

The Beatles, in 1963, right as their star was in the ascendant.

When Bobby Brown eventually gave up her fan club duties, Freda was charged with taking over. Even in the early days, the steady influx of mail from across the UK was enough to keep Freda up until the early hours of the morning.

During the day my job was to type for Brian, she says. If he was away and I had a spare moment Id look after the fan mail. Sometimes Id have to do it at home. Id be up until four in the morning answering mail. I look back on it now and wonder when I slept.

The craziness was only beginning.

I think it really struck me how big they were when they were made freemen of the city at a civic reception at the town hall, says Freda.

I wasnt invited originally because it was reserved for dignitaries and family. Ringo put me down as a member of his family. So I went and when they came out onto the balcony the noise was horrendous. I saw the streets were packed and I realised it then.

The Beatles arrive in Ireland to play their only gig in the country in the Adelphi Cinema on 7 November 1963. Alongside the Fab Four is radio & TV personality Paul Russell (left), with Frank Hall appearing on the right of the picture.

The Beatles music and reputation began to find new audiences outside the UK. Tours of Europe soon grew to world tours which encompassed the biggest, and craziest, market of all - North America.

When they went to the States the influx of fan mail started to get ridiculous, says Freda.

We had people from all over the world writing to Liverpool. It was so busy that we didn't even have time to write the address on envelopes. We cut them off the back of what was sent to us and pasted them onto envelopes. Wed stick a photo in with a compliment slip and send them off. At that stage I had help. We had area secretaries for every county in England and then of course we had to deal with the rest of the world.

Eventually, Liverpool became too small for the band. The bright lights and excitement of London proved too much of a pull and by 1964 all four members and the majority of their retinue had upped sticks to the capital.

I didnt want to move to London, says Freda. In the beginning, Id go down maybe every six weeks and I was asked to go down when Apple opened but by then I was married and I had a son and three dogs. I was still able to do my thing in Liverpool anyway.

Arguably, her role became more important. Not only was Freda a friend to the band but she also was a friend to their families, the link between the boys and their home. Freda made sure that the boys parents or guardians were aware of how they were and where they were.

And there was always fan mail. Right up to the end of the band and for a good three years after, Freda kept answering it. Eventually, it had to come to an end and Freda moved on with her life.

When I left Liverpool I had a married name, she says. I moved to the Wirral. And when you're standing outside school waiting for your kids you dont start talking about your past, bragging about working for The Beatles. They say I lay low but I didnt lie low I just moved on.

The 1967 album sleeve for Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by the Beatles.

For 40 years, Freda kept schtum. Even when John was murdered in 1980 and two reporters tracked her down, she refused to speak to them out of respect and utter shock.

There were of course offers of book deals but Freda wouldnt budge. Her neighbours knew about her relationship with the worlds most famous band and she had no intention of letting them know.

My daughter said to me one day that my grandson, Niall, was going to know nothing about what I did in my youth, says Freda.

Hell just think youre the granny with the grey hair and the two cats, which I was. So I agreed to talk into a tape recorder for him really. Then a friends nephew was in the middle of making a documentary and she suggested doing another one and thats how it started.

In 2013 the documentary Good Ol Freda came out. It was a huge success and resulted in something of a second career for Freda who is now a regular at Beatles Conventions and gatherings around the world.

Next month she comes to Dublin to reflect on the period in an interview with Tom Dunne for the Dublin Beatles Festival.

Im coming over to see relations, she says. and while Im there Im doing an interview. Im looking forward to it. Its been a while since Ive been back. When I was a kid we used to watch the big rugby matches at Lansdowne Road and the fans walking up the road outside my house. It has changed a bit over the years but Im happy to say the pub my Dad used to drink in hasnt changed too much.
There is a lack of urgency from governments to tackle violence against women across Europe, an Irish MEP has said.

Frances Fitzgerald said that hesitation towards introducing an EU-wide consent-based definition of rape, based on a legal argument that it does not fall under the banner of sexual exploitation, was not acceptable.

Ms Fitzgerald and Swedish socialist MEP Evin Incir are leading the process to introduce EU-wide laws tackling domestic violence and violence against women.

Under the current draft, rape, sexual assault, and cyber stalking would become an offence at an EU level.

But some member states are against including a consent-based approach to rape in the proposed EU directive, something Ms Fitzgerald said indicated a lack of urgency to tackle gender-based violence.

She said that strong legal advice from some member states suggested that an EU-wide rape law would be an overreach, as the legal foundation of sexual exploitation was to target trafficking.

Now, you can read that however you like, the way I read it is there isnt enough political motivation at the moment from some member states to include rape, Ms Fitzgerald told the PA news agency.

You can get somebody moved from Ireland to Germany for murder, but when it comes to rape, theyre saying No, let the member states deal with that.

They dont say its because we dont like the definition.

They dont say its because what are you talking about with consent? which is the belief of certain member states, they really find it hard to get their heads around the idea of consent.

She said although Ireland and the UK have legislated for a consent-based definition of rape in recent years, in other European countries theres a backlash to womens rights.

That backlash is very serious. You see it in Hungary, you see it in Poland, you see it elsewhere, she told PA.

Ive been quite shocked at some of the attitudes Ive seen to gender-based issues, and how difficult it can be for some member states to be as advanced as we are in Ireland, actually.

She said France and Germany are among the countries that have voiced opposition to the inclusion of rape in the directive.

Theres no problem with FGM (Female Genital Mutilation) or cyber violence, but there is with rape, and I cant help but feel that its something to do with the very crime itself and member states difficulties in managing it from a criminal justice point of view, and therefore being nervous about anything that seeks to kind of put an overarching framework around that.

But its not acceptable. Its not acceptable to women. Its not acceptable to citizens. Try and explain to anybody why rape is not sexual exploitation at a very practical level.

If the individual members went on the airwaves and said, No, were not supporting inclusion or rape because we just dont think it should be a European crime. Why dont you think it should be a crime? This happens everywhere.

It is actually a Euro crime, but its not theoretically in the treaties defined as a Euro crime.

Asked about whether there was a lack of urgency from governments to tackle gender-based violence: I would have to say yes, overall.

The seriousness of the crime is still internationally not being matched by the intensity of the approaches needed, and this is a symptom of that.

A city the size of Marseilles, Amsterdam or Zagreb disappears every 10 years as 858,000 women are murdered globally.

So I cant help but think it is part of misogyny, and its part of a patriarchal society that we live in, that weve had such a job getting (crimes against women) to the top of the agenda.

Justice minister Helen McEntee (Brian Lawless/PA)

Asked if the law would eventually be watered down to get agreement across the EU, Ms Fitzgerald said it was too early to say.

The challenge at the end of the day will be  can you call it a directive on violence and domestic-based violence if you dont (include) rape?

Ive just written to (Justice Minister Helen McEntee) now sort of asking Ireland to be more proactive in terms of working with other member states as well.

Asked about recent criticism of her Fine Gael party colleague, Ms McEntee, by government colleagues for not focusing enough on policing, Ms Fitzgerald said: Its not one or the other.

Dealing with domestic, gender-based violence, hate crime, these are serious, serious crimes.

So take away the word woke from them and say we have to do this as well as the policing issues.

I actually got a lot of very progressive legislation through that I got a lot of support for in the parliament.

Mind you, we had a majority government, its more difficult when youre in a coalition.

I dont accept that criticism of Helen at all. But, you know, I often say, theres still a lot  in political parties as well, all political parties  of everyday sexism, and it surfaces from time to time.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 22. The plane of the Turkish Presidential Administration with humanitarian aid to the residents of the Gaza Strip flew to Egypt, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca wrote on his X page, Trend reports.

The minister said the humanitarian aid includes medicines and medical supplies for the residents of Gaza.

According to him, there is a medical team of 20 specialists on board the plane.

A combined attack was carried out on Israel on October 7. From the beginning, a massive rocket attack began from the territory of the Gaza Strip, followed by the penetration of militants by land, water, and air.

Israel declared a state of war after a massive rocket attack from the Gaza Strip. Moreover, Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced a mass gathering of reservists.
As the rain started to fall on Midleton at 5.30pm last night, residents and business owners could be forgiven for being apprehensive.

Still trying to clear up and assess the damage wrought by biblical and unprecedented flooding last week, the last thing they needed was rain.

But while they were last night bracing themselves for what was to come overnight and today, there was a sense of optimism in the town that the latest weather yellow warning will not herald a repeat of the devastation Storm Babet brought last Wednesday.

Met Eireann issued a status yellow rain warning yesterday covering Cork, as well as Clare, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary and Galway, for a period of 24 hours.

The forecaster said heavy rain and thunder were expected, leading to localised flooding and difficult travel conditions.

Two things stood out when the Irish Examiner visited Main Street yesterday  sandbags in every doorway and skips every few 100 feet.

Aerial photographs taken by Guileen Coast Guard last Wednesday showed the sheer extent of the flooding, with almost the entire town affected.

Local TD James OConnor had described the flash floods that had swept through the town as biblical while others said they had never seen the like in living memory.

It now appears that more than 600 homes and businesses have been flooded and seriously damaged in Middleton and surrounding villages when the storm hit.

Rivers of water tore through streets like the Mill Road in Midleton where parents had to wade through knee-high waters to rescue their children from local schools.

While local people have rallied around and helped with clearing damage and delivering supplies, many of the towns residents are still left with the grim reality of what happened.

Young volunteers Jake Horgan with Brian, Bradley, and Elsa Nimpa at the Midleton Hub in Midleton Co Cork as the town cleans up following the floods which occurred during Storm Babet. Picture: Larry Cummins

Eileen OConnell, who runs the Midleton Hub charity, said: Among the things people need are dehumidifiers.

But those that dont have them and live in houses that were flooded, they are having to dry their homes with open fires from their fire places.

A number of private firms have been brilliant in providing their services and help for free, like with skip hire and local supermarkets have been donating cleaning products and food.

Among the services that have been provided are also from a pest control company, because the waters rose up from the sewers and drains and as a result there has been an issue with rats.

One of the many businesses badly affected was Midleton Greenway Bikes and Bites, whose restaurant and bike hire shop in part of what is known locally as Cuddigans Yard, at the back of the Main Street.

Water up to five feet swept into the yard, quickly rushing into the business premises, which include furniture shops, a garage, a taxi firm and a car showroom.

You try and put a brave face on everything, but at night you just wake up crying your eyes out, Deirdre Roberts says, with a cheery smile.

As well as all the cars in the yard being destroyed, Deirdre and Fiona ODriscoll, who run the bike hire shop, say they didnt just lose their cars but their entire stock of electric bikes were also damaged, possibly beyond repair.

Deirdre met Tanaiste Micheal Martin as he toured the town on Saturday and while she didnt want to reveal what was said, she said they had a good chat. She said:

We dont have flood insurance and as we owned all our bikes, and the other stock, we have suffered a huge hit.

We desperately need to see what the government will announce now.

Local people have really rallied around and that has really helped but without a serious amount of help, I dont know what we will do. She estimates the damage to her business to be at least 100,000.

Some residents yesterday criticised the lack of available sandbags for the town, but Deirdre wasnt among them.

No amount of sandbags could have saved us, she said.

We were in the front of the shop when the waters started coming in from the Main Street but no matter how many sandbags we put up, the door just burst open with the force of the water.

Coffee machines, a 25,000 ice cream machine, various types of fridge and coolers were among the equipment destroyed.

Two 1,000 smoothie makers and the till are among the only things that survived, because they were light enough to be put into the highest shelf.

All 60 of the adult bikes at the back were quickly under water and now have to be completely checked to determine their condition.

Deirdre Roberts and Fiona ODriscoll surveying the damage in what is left of their bike hire shop. Picture: Neil Michael

County councillor Danielle Twomey said that while people were bracing for more bad weather, they were hoping for the best that nothing would be as bad as last weeks deluge.

Its hard to tell but I don't think it's going to be a repeat of what we had, she said.

I was telling people just to be prepared, nonetheless. We have had more than 12,000 sandbags delivered by the council but we need more.

Because of donations from local firms, we have lots of sand but no bags. Asked what can people do to help, she added: I would urge people to help by shopping in Midleton.

It will be such a tremendous help, on top of the great support businesses have had, especially as businesses face Christmas in just a few weeks time.

However the biggest thing right now will be clarity from the government about how much money is coming, where can people get it and how soon can they get it.
THE location of this sizeable five-bed family home is described by its selling agent as near coastal. And, yes, even though it isnt on the water, doesnt have a view and is rural in its setting, it does indeed have the sea, and coves, in its catchment.

Stone at both sides of home's wide facade

Set at Ballyvorane south, this modern dormer home of almost 2,900 sq ft is set just inland of Nohoval village, a long-time home to the famed Finders Inn in South Cork, within an easy drive of Kinsale to the west, Carrigaline to the east, and with Cork city and airport sort of in between, perhaps a 15-minute drive to the first two locations, and then 20-minutes to the city fringes.

Double height hall with gallery landing

Selling agent is Majella Galvin of DNG Galvin in Bandon, and she guides the five-bed detached home on a site of almost 0.6 of an acre with two garages at 795,000.

Ms Galvin says the detached garages offer lots of scope, one in particular with potential for separate residential use, or as a home office. Both are set at a near slight remove behind the broad-shaped dormer house which is itself a field back in off the road from Nohoval towards Carrigaline, surrounded by farmland.

The agent says the main house has been well designed and maintained by its current owners, with two ground level bedrooms, three more overhead with main bathroom and a bright hall, with double height space and mezzanine-style landing over.

Fireplace with stove in one on the three reception rooms which all have chimneypieces

The kitchen/diner has painted units, in an L layout with central dining table in lieu of an island and metro splashback tiling, with glazed double doors opening up to a front living room area.

Theres great living accommodation, and each of its three reception rooms has a fireplace (one has a stove set into a limestone chimney breast), while the lounge to the left of the spacious entry hall continues on to a gable end sun room/conservatory to capture those fleeting moments of Irish summer.

The family home is flanked left and right outside with stone clad wings, and the BERs a very decent B3.

Nohoval Cove: Picture Dan Linehan

Outside too are lawns and play areas for children of all ages to run around, with a large concrete apron between the house and the high-roofed larger garage.

VERDICT: Families wont be caught for space and many will appreciate the slight off-road setting, while beauty spots like Nohoval Cove and Oysterhaven and cliff headlands are close-by for the hikers among them.
A Chinese coast guard ship and one of its militia vessels separately bumped a Philippine coast guard ship and a military-run supply boat off a disputed atoll in the South China Sea on Sunday in dangerous, irresponsible and illegal actions, officials in the Philippines said.

They did not say if there were any injuries or damage from the two incidents off the Second Thomas Shoal that the United States, a long-time treaty ally of the Philippines, immediately condemned.

The Philippines government also condemned the latest confrontation in the strongest degree and called it a violation of Manilas sovereignty.

Chinese Embassy officials did not immediately comment on the Philippines report.

A Chinese militia vessel, top, and Philippine coast guard vessel BRP Cabra approach Second Thomas Shoal in the disputed South China Sea (Armed Forces of the Philippines/AP)

The US Ambassador to Manila, MaryKay Carlson, said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the United States condemns the PRCs latest disruption of a legal Philippine resupply mission to Ayungin shoal, putting the lives of Filipino service members at risk.

She used the initials for Chinas formal name, the Peoples Republic of China, and the name the Philippines uses for the Second Thomas Shoal.

She added that Washington is standing with its allies to help protect Philippines sovereignty and to support a free and open Indo-Pacific region.

A Philippines government task force said the collisions occurred as two Philippines supply boats escorted by two coast guard ships were heading to deliver food and other supplies to the atoll in the face of a years-long Chinese blockade.

The task force said it condemns in the strongest degree the latest dangerous, irresponsible, and illegal actions of the Chinese coast guard and the Chinese maritime militia done this morning in violation of Philippine sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction.

The actions by the Chinese ships were in utter blatant disregard of the United Nations Charter, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and international regulations that aim to prevent sea collisions, said the Philippines task force, which includes the countrys defence and foreign affairs departments, the military, national security council and the coast guard.

Near-collisions have happened frequently as Philippines vessels regularly deliver supplies to Filipino marines and sailors stationed on the disputed shoal. But this was the first time Philippines officials have reported their countrys vessels being hit by Chinas ships.

A Chinese coastguard ship with bow number 5203 collided with a Filipino vessel (Armed Forces of the Philippines via AP)

In the first incident on Sunday morning, dangerous blocking manoeuvres of China coast guard vessel 5203 caused it to collide with the Armed Forces of the Philippines-contracted indigenous resupply boat Unaiza May 2, the task force statement said.

It said the provocative, irresponsible, and illegal action of the Chinese coast guard ship imperilled the safety of the crew.

Separately, Philippine coast guard ship BRP Cabras left side was bumped by Chinese maritime militia vessel 00003 while it was lying to the north-east of the Second Thomas Shoal, the statement said.

Despite the Chinese coast guard blockade, one of the two Philippine navy-manned boats managed to manoeuvre past the Chinese vessels and deliver supplies to the small contingent stationed on board a long-marooned but still actively commissioned warship, the BRP Sierra Madre, the task force said.

It was the latest flare-up in long-simmering territorial disputes in the South China Sea, one of the worlds busiest trade routes.

The conflicts, which involve China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei, are regarded as a potential flashpoint and have become a delicate fault line in US-China rivalry in the region.

In early August, a Chinese coast guard ship used a water cannon against one of two Philippines supply boats to prevent it from approaching Second Thomas Shoal.

The move, which was caught on video, outraged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and prompted the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila to summon the Chinese ambassador to convey a strongly worded protest.

Washington reacted by renewing a warning that it is obligated to defend the Philippines as a treaty ally.

A Chinese coast guard ship, left, and a Chinese militia vessel, right, block Philippine coast guard ship BRP Sindangan in the South China Sea during a rotation and resupply mission on October 4 (Joeal Calupitan/AP)

The Chinese Foreign Ministry accused Washington of threatening China by raising the possibility of activating the US-Philippine mutual defence treaty. Beijing has repeatedly warned the US not to meddle in regional territorial disputes.

Later in August, the Philippines again deployed two boats that got past the Chinese coast guard blockade and delivered supplies to the Filipino forces at Second Thomas Shoal.

Two Philippine coast guard ships escorting the supply boats, however, were prevented by Chinese coast guard ships from manoeuvring closer to the shoal.

A US Navy surveillance aircraft flew in circles in support of the Philippines vessels as the stand-off continued for more than three hours.

A 2016 arbitration ruling set up under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea invalidated Beijings claims on historical grounds to virtually the entire South China Sea.

China refused to participate in the arbitration sought by the Philippines, rejected the decision and continues to defy it.
The border crossing between Egypt and Gaza opened on Saturday to let a trickle of desperately needed aid into the besieged Palestinian territory for the first time since Israel sealed it off in the wake of Hamass bloody rampage two weeks ago.

Just 20 trucks were allowed in, an amount that aid workers said is insufficient to address the unprecedented humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

More than 200 trucks carrying roughly 3,000 tons of aid have been positioned near the crossing for days.

Gazas 2.3 million Palestinians, half of whom have fled their homes, are rationing food and drinking dirty water. Hospitals say they are running low on medical supplies and fuel for emergency generators amid a territory-wide power blackout.

Five hospitals have stopped functioning because of fuel shortages and bombing damage, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said.

There are growing expectations of a ground offensive that Israel says will be aimed at rooting out Hamas.

Israel said on Friday that it does not plan to take long-term control over the small but densely populated Palestinian territory.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened his Cabinet late on Saturday to discuss the expected invasion, Israeli media reported.

Relatives of people kidnapped by Hamas militants hold pictures of their loved ones during a protest in Tel Aviv (Petros Giannakouri/AP)

Israels military spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said the country plans to step up its air strikes as preparation for the next stage of the war.

We will deepen our attacks to minimise the dangers to our forces in the next stages of the war. We are going to increase the attacks, from today, he said, repeating his call for Gaza City residents to head south for their safety.

Israel has vowed to crush Hamas but has given few details about what it envisions for Gaza if it succeeds.

Yifat Shasha-Biton, a Cabinet minister, said there is broad consensus in the government that there will have to be a buffer zone in Gaza to keep Palestinians away from the border.

We need to create a distance between the border and our communities, she told Channel 13 TV, adding that no decisions had been made on its size or other specifics.

Soldiers drive a military vehicle near the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip (Francisco Seco/AP)

The border crossing opening came after more than a week of high-level diplomacy by various mediators, including visits to the region by US President Joe Biden and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Israel had insisted that nothing would enter Gaza until Hamas released all of the captives from its attack, and the Palestinian side of the crossing had been shut down by Israeli air strikes.

Late on Friday, Hamas released an American woman and her teenage daughter, the first captives to be freed.

It was not immediately clear if there was a connection between the release and the aid deliveries. Israel says Hamas is still holding at least 210 captives.

The situation is catastrophic in Gaza

On Saturday morning, an Associated Press reporter on the Palestinian side of Rafah saw the 20 trucks heading north to Deir al-Balah, a quiet farming town where many evacuees from the north have sought shelter.

Hundreds of foreign passport holders at Rafah hoping to escape the conflict were not allowed to leave.

The trucks were carrying 44,000 bottles of drinking water from the UNs childrens agency  enough for 22,000 people for a single day, it said.

This first, limited water will save lives, but the needs are immediate and immense, said Unicef executive director Catherine Russell.

The World Health Organisation said four of the 20 trucks that crossed through Rafah were carrying medical supplies, including essential supplies for 300,000 people for three months, trauma medicine and supplies for 1,200 people, and 235 portable trauma bags for first responders.

The situation is catastrophic in Gaza, said the head of the UNs World Food Programme, Cindy McCain. We need many, many, many more trucks and a continual flow of aid.

She added that some 400 trucks were entering Gaza daily before the war.

Trucks with humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip enter from Egypt (Fatima Shbair/AP)

The Hamas-run government in Gaza also said the limited convoy will not be able to change the humanitarian catastrophe, calling for a secure corridor operating around the clock.

Rear Admiral Hagari said the humanitarian situation in Gaza is under control.

He said the aid will be delivered only to southern Gaza, where the army has ordered people to relocate, adding that no fuel will enter the territory.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken appealed to all sides to keep the crossing open for crucial aid shipments and warned Hamas to not take the aid.

Palestinian civilians are not responsible for Hamass horrific terrorism, and they should not be made to suffer for its depraved acts, he said in a statement. As President Biden stated, if Hamas steals or diverts this assistance it will have demonstrated once again that it has no regard for the welfare of the Palestinian people.

Judith Raanan and her 17-year-old daughter Natalie are escorted by Israeli soldiers (Government of Israel/AP)

It will also make it hard to keep the aid flowing, he said.

Mr Guterres, meanwhile, voiced growing international concern over civilians in Gaza, telling a summit in Cairo that Hamass reprehensible assault on Israel two weeks ago can never justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.

Two Egyptian officials and a European diplomat said extensive negotiations with Israel and the UN to allow fuel deliveries for hospitals have so far yielded little progress.

One Egyptian official said they were discussing the release of dual-national hostages in return for the fuel, but that Israel was insisting on the release of all hostages.

Hamas released Judith Raanan and her 17-year-old daughter, Natalie, on Friday for what it said were humanitarian reasons in an agreement with Qatar, a Persian Gulf nation that has often served as a Middle East mediator. A representative for the pair said they were staying with relatives in central Israel.

The two had been on a trip from their home in Chicago to Israel to celebrate Jewish holidays, the family said. They were in the kibbutz of Nahal Oz, near Gaza, when Hamas and other militants stormed into southern Israeli towns, killing hundreds and abducting at least 210 others.

(PA Graphics)

President Biden has spoken on the phone with the two freed Americans, telling them he was glad they had been released.

Were going to get them all out, God willing, he said.

Natalie thanked Mr Biden for his services to Israel, while mas Raanan said they are in good health.

Hamas said it is working with Egypt, Qatar and other mediators to close the case of hostages if security circumstances permit.

There are growing expectations of a ground offensive that Israel says would be aimed at rooting out Hamas, an Islamic militant group that has ruled Gaza for 16 years. Israel said on Friday it does not plan to take long-term control over the small but densely populated Palestinian territory.

Judith and Natalie, Im so glad youre coming home. pic.twitter.com/c7az0PcYXn  President Biden (@POTUS) October 21, 2023

Israel has also traded fire along its northern border with Lebanons Hezbollah militant group, raising concerns about a second front opening up.

The Israeli military said on Saturday that it struck Hezbollah targets in Lebanon in response to recent rocket launches and attacks with anti-tank missiles.

Hezbollah has decided to participate in the fighting, and we are exacting a heavy price for this, Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant said during a visit to the border.

Israel issued a travel warning on Saturday, ordering its citizens to leave Egypt and Jordan  which made peace with it decades ago  and to avoid travel to a number of Arab and Muslim countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Bahrain, which forged diplomatic ties with Israel in 2020.

Protests against Israels actions in Gaza have erupted across the region.

An Israeli ground assault would be likely to lead to a dramatic escalation in casualties on both sides in urban fighting. More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed in the war  mostly civilians killed during the Hamas incursion.

Humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip at the Rafah border gate (Mohammed Asad/AP)

More than 4,300 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. That includes the disputed toll from a hospital explosion. The ministry says another 1,400 are believed to have been buried under rubble.

The Hamas-run Housing Ministry said at least 30% of all homes in Gaza have been destroyed or heavily damaged in the war.

Hosting a summit on Saturday, Egypt President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi called for ensuring aid to Gaza, negotiating a ceasefire and resuming Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, which last broke down more than a decade ago.

He also said the conflict will never be resolved at the expense of Egypt, referring to fears that Israel may try to push Gazas population into the Sinai Peninsula.

King Abdullah II of Jordan told the summit that Israels air campaign and siege of Gaza are a war crime and criticised the international communitys response.

Anywhere else, attacking civilian infrastructure and deliberately starving an entire population of food, water, electricity, and basic necessities would be condemned, he said.

Apparently, he added, human rights have boundaries. They stop at borders, they stop at races, they stop at religions.

A summit was held in Cairo (Egyptian Presidency Media Office via AP)

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called for an international peace summit to bring about the end of the war.

Speaking at the summit in Cairo, Mr Abbas reiterated his complete rejection of the killing of civilians on both sides.

He also urged the release of all civilians, prisoners, and detainees, probably alluding to some 210 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and the Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

Mr Abbas leads the Palestinian Authority, a government exercising semi-autonomous control in the West Bank. The government is deeply loathed among Palestinians, who view it as corrupt and collaborationist with Israel.

Hamas seized control of the Palestinian Authority in the Gaza Strip in 2007 and enjoys a strong base of support in the West Bank.

More than a million people have been displaced in Gaza. Many heeded Israels orders to evacuate from north to south within the sealed-off coastal enclave.

But Israel has continued to bomb areas in southern Gaza where Palestinians had been told to seek safety, and some appear to be going back to the north because of bombings and difficult living conditions in the south.
A court in Iran has sentenced two female journalists to up to seven years in prison for collaborating with the United States government, among other charges, local reports said.

Both have been in jail for more than a year following their coverage of the death of Mahsa Aminiwhile in police custody in Sept. 2022.

This is a preliminary sentence that can be appealed against in 20 days.

The two journalists, Niloufar Hamedi, who broke the news of Ms Aminis death for wearing her headscarf too loosely, and Elaheh Mohammadi, who wrote about her funeral, were sentenced to seven and six years in jail respectively, the judiciary news website Mizan reported on Sunday.

Tehran Revolutionary Court charged them with collaborating with the hostile American government, colluding against national security, and propaganda against the system, according to Mezan.

Ms Hamedi worked for the reformist newspaper Shargh, and Ms Mohammadi for Ham-Mihan. They were detained in September 2022.

In May, the United Nations awarded them both its premier prize for press freedom for their commitment to truth and accountability.

Ms Aminis death triggered months-long protests in dozens of cities across Iran.

The demonstrations posed one of the most serious challenges to the Islamic Republic since the 2009 Green Movement protests drew millions to the streets.

While nearly 100 journalists were arrested amid the demonstrations, Ms Hamedi and Ms Mohammadis reporting was crucial in the days after Ms Aminis death to spread the word about the anger that followed.

Their detentions have sparked international criticism over the bloody security force crackdown that lasted months after Ms Aminis death.

Since the protests began, at least 529 people have been killed in demonstrations, according to Human Rights activists in Iran.

More than 19,700 others have been detained by authorities amid a violent crackdown trying to suppress the dissent.

Iran has not offered any overall casualty figures for months, while acknowledging that tens of thousands have been detained.
Israeli warplanes have struck targets across Gaza on Saturday and Sunday, as well as two airports in Syria and a mosque in the occupied West Bank allegedly used by militants, as the war with Hamas threatened to spiral into a broader conflict.

Israel has traded fire with Lebanons Hezbollah militant group on a near-daily basis since the war began, and tensions are soaring in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces have battled militants in refugee camps and carried out two air strikes in recent days.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told troops in northern Israel that if Hezbollah launches a war against Israel, it will make the mistake of its life. We will cripple it with a force it cannot even imagine and the consequences for it and the Lebanese state will be devastating.

A Palestinian journalist comforts his niece who was wounded in an Israeli strike on her family home in Nusseirat refugee camp (AP)

For days, Israel has seemed to be on the verge of launching a ground offensive in Gaza as part of its response to Hamas deadly October 7 rampage.

Tanks and tens of thousands of troops have massed at the border, and Israeli leaders have spoken of an undefined next stage in operations.

A convoy of 17 aid trucks was allowed to enter Gaza from Egypt on Sunday, Egypts state-run media reported, the second shipment into the territory since Israel imposed a complete siege two weeks ago.

On Saturday, 20 trucks entered. Associated Press journalists at the crossing saw seven fuel trucks enter Gaza on Sunday, but did not see any more deliveries.

The volume of goods that entered #Gaza on Saturday is only a fraction of what is needed after days of complete siege. @UNReliefChief urges an increase in aid access to at least 100 trucks a day.



More in our latest update: https://t.co/320eJIYSYw pic.twitter.com/ON4Z9lmpVg  UN Humanitarian (@UNOCHA) October 22, 2023

Relief workers said far more was needed to address the spiralling humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where half the territorys 2.3 million people have fled their homes.

The UN humanitarian agency (OCHA) said Saturdays convoy carried about 4% of an average days imports before the war and a fraction of what is needed after 13 days of complete siege.

The Israeli military said the humanitarian situation was under control, as the OCHA called for 100 trucks a day to enter.

Israel repeated its calls for people to leave northern Gaza, including by dropping leaflets from the air.

It says an estimated 700,000 have already fled, but hundreds of thousands remain. That would raise the risk of mass civilian casualties in any ground offensive.

Israeli soldiers drive an armoured personnel carrier near the border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel (AP)

Israeli military officials say Hamass infrastructure and underground tunnel system are concentrated in Gaza City, in the north, and that the next stage of the offensive will include unprecedented force there.

Israel says it wants to crush Hamas, but officials have also spoken of carving out a possible buffer zone to keep Palestinians from approaching the border.

Hospitals packed with patients and displaced people are running low on medical supplies and fuel for generators, forcing doctors to perform surgeries with sewing needles, using vinegar as disinfectant, and without anaesthesia.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says at least 130 premature babies are at grave risk because of a shortage of generator fuel.

The IDF & ISA just conducted an aerial strike on a Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist compound in the Al-Ansar Mosque in Jenin.



Recent IDF intel revealed that the Mosque was used as a command center to plan and execute terrorist attacks against civilians. pic.twitter.com/gQfyv6wUAV  Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 22, 2023

It said seven hospitals in northern Gaza have been forced to shut down due to damage from strikes, lack of power and supplies, or Israeli evacuation orders.

Shortages in critical supplies, including ventilators, are forcing doctors to ration treatment, said Dr Mohammed Qandeel, who works in Khan Younis Nasser Hospital. Dozens of patients continue to arrive and are treated in crowded, darkened corridors, as hospitals preserve electricity for intensive care units.

Its heartbreaking, Dr Qandeel told the AP. Every day, if we receive 10 severely injured patients we have to manage with maybe three or five ICU beds available.

Palestinians sheltering in UN-run schools and tent camps are running low on food and drinking dirty water. A power blackout has crippled water and sanitation systems. The OCHA said cases of chickenpox, scabies and diarrhoea are on the rise because of the lack of clean water.

Some of the over one thousand photographs of persons killed, missing or abducted in the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 (AP)

Heavy air strikes were reported across Gaza, including in the southern part of the coastal strip, where Israel has told civilians to seek refuge.

At the Al-Aqsa hospital in Deir al-Balah, south of the evacuation line, several bodies wrapped in white shrouds were lined up outside on the ground.

Khalil al-Degran, a hospital official, said more than 90 bodies had been brought in since early on Sunday, as the sound of nearby bombing echoed behind him. He said 180 wounded people had arrived, mostly children, women and the elderly who had been displaced from other areas.

Israels military has said it is striking Hamas members and installations, but does not target civilians. Palestinian militants have fired over 7,000 rockets at Israel, according to the military, and Hamas says it targeted Tel Aviv early Sunday.

Palestinians look for survivors after the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in Deir Al-Balah on Sunday (AP)

The military said it plans to step up air strikes ahead of the next stages of the war, without elaborating.

More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed in the war  mostly civilians who died during the initial Hamas attack. At least 212 people were captured and dragged back to Gaza, including men, women, children and older adults. Two Americans were released on Friday in what Hamas said was a humanitarian gesture.

More than 4,300 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. That includes the disputed toll from a hospital explosion.

Syrian state media meanwhile reported that Israeli air strikes have targeted the international airports in the capital, Damascus, and the northern city of Aleppo.

The first UN supplies of water, food and medicine have entered Gaza.



To save children's lives, much more is needed.



We continue to call for a ceasefire to protect civilians and humanitarian workers, and ensure safe and sustained access to aid. pic.twitter.com/9s0KfefYsE  UNICEF (@UNICEF) October 21, 2023

The strikes killed one person and damaged the runways, putting them out of service, media reported.

Israel has carried out several strikes in Syria, including on the airports, since the war began. Israel rarely acknowledges individual strikes, but says it acted to prevent Hezbollah and other militant groups from bringing in arms from their patron, Iran, which also supports Hamas.

In Lebanon, Hezbollah said six of its fighters were killed Saturday, and the groups deputy leader, Sheikh Naim Kassem, warned that Israel would pay a high price if it starts a ground offensive in Gaza.

Hezbollah targets were hit on Sunday in response to rocket fire, the military said.

Israel also announced evacuation plans for another 14 communities near the Lebanon border. Kiryat Shmonas 20,000 people were told to evacuate last week.

In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, 90 Palestinians have been killed in clashes with Israeli troops, arrest raids and attacks by Jewish settlers since the Hamas attacks, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

Israeli forces have closed crossings into the territory and checkpoints between cities, measures they say are aimed at preventing attacks. Israel says it has arrested more than 700 Palestinians since October 7, including 480 suspected Hamas members.

Israeli forces killed at least five people there early on Sunday, according to the health ministry.
Morocco has been one of the best destinations for Rock stars in the 60s and 70s. They came to get inspired, enjoy the sunlight and live the Moroccan dream. However, the Kingdoms reputation has managed to tempt other artists and literary figures. Today, Yabiladi is recalling the visits of the Beat Generation best-known writers to the Kingdom.

Members of the literary movement remembered for influencing the American culture and politics in the post-World War II era, fell in love with Morocco and most precisely Tangier. In the mid forties and fifties, Paul Bowles, Peter Orlovesky, Irwin Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs stayed in the Northern city, writing, translating and enjoying what Tangier had to offer.

Paul Bowles' love affair with Tangier

The city of Tangier was most known to Americans by Paul Frederic Bowles, an American expatriate composer, writer and translator. He visited Tangier for the first time in 1931 where he was hooked on the spot. In 1947, Bowles settled down in the coastal city with his wife Jane where he produced numerous musical scores, novels, short stories, travel pieces and dozens of translations of stories by Moroccan storytellers.

Paul Bowles wearing a Djellaba in Tangier./Ph. DR

According to Travel Exploration, Paul Bowles wrote many short stories and novels such as Let It Come Down, centered on the Moroccan city and the corruption of life under the international zone.

He also wrote the Spider's House which he used in 1954 during the holy month of Ramadan, to explore the shifting relationship between the colonial power of the French and the rising tide of Moroccan nationalism.

As reported by historical accounts, Paul lived 52 of his 88 years in Tangier, the city he loved the most, even after the death of his wife. He became strongly identified with the city and was a magnet that made other American rising writers and intellectuals make the city one of their important travel destinations.

The Beat Movement writers in Tangier

Here we are taking about the Beat movement, who were fascinated by Bowles' happy life in the northernmost city of the Kingdom. The first to visit the town was William Borroughs, an American writer and artist, who moved to Tangier and stayed in a rented room, inspired by his fellow countryman.

In November 1954, he returned to Tangier, escaping a tragic event that changed his life. According to the same platform, in 1951, tragedy struck and Burroughs accidentally shot his wife to death in Mexico while they were playing a drunken game at a party.

To flee the tragic accident, Burroughs found refuge in Morocco. He moved to Tangier in 1954 where he indulged in a hippy lifestyle and spent four years working on the Naked Lunch.

Inspired by their fellow, the American novelist and poet, Jack Kerouac followed the trend. Based on the account provided by Paul Bowles organizations website, in 1957, Jack Kerouac arrived in Tangier to visit with Burroughs and help him type various manuscripts, but he stayed only one month.

Peter Orlovsky and Allan Ginsberg

Not far from that, Peter Orlovsky, an American poet and actor and his companion Irwin Allen Ginsberg, an American poet, philosopher, and writer followed visiting the charming city. In a book entitled Peter Orlovesky, a Life in Words : Intimate Chronicles of a Beat Writer (Paradigm Publishers, 2014) by Peter Orlovesky and Bill Morgan, the Beat Generation member describes his trip to Morocco.

William Burroughs adjusting his glasses in Tangier./ Ph. DR

On Friday, March 22, 1957, Peter and Allen arrived in Tangier, where William Burroughs and Jack Kerouac met them at the dock, said the same book. By the time they arrived, Kerouac had been there for more than a month working on Burroughs manuscripts of what would eventually become Naked Lunch, explained the poet adding that :

Jack was eager to leave for France and Allen and Peter decided to move into his hotel room mat the villa Muniria once he left.

From his small room in Villa Muniria, Peter Orlovsky wrote long and detailed letters to his mother, friends and family members. In his writings he described the city, and the people. By June, Peter and his partner left the city leaving Borroughs behind.

Peter Orlovsky, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs, members of the Beat Generation, a literary and artistic movement, are not only coming to enjoy the beach in Tangier./Ph. DR

The reputation of Tangier as a city of inspiration, extended to reach other artists such as Brion Gysin, a British painter, writer, sound poet, and performance artist who moved to Tangier in 1950 where he co-founded with Mohamed Hamri a restaurant called 'The 1001 Nights' with the Master Musicians of Joujouka from the village of Jajouka. The musicians performed there for an international clientele that included William S. Burroughs, indicates Travel Exploration.

Visited once by well-known artists, painters, poets and thinkers, Tangier is still one of Moroccos most authentic cities. It hosted for years several known figures that flourished during their stays there.
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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.
Despite expectations and forecasts, no new mobilization was announced in Russia this fall. However, mobilization activities in the aggressor state continue unabated, mostly covert.

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The Kremlin is afraid of a "revolt" among the population, so it mainly resorts to recruiting prisoners, debtors, representatives of unreliable segments of the population, as well as conscripts, said Andriy Yusov, a representative of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, in an interview with Espresso TV channel.

According to him, this fall the Kremlin was seriously planning to launch another wave of public mobilization to replenish Russian troops worn out in the fighting in Ukraine. However, almost at the last minute, they decided to abandon the plans that were already on the table.

"We are wary of the reaction of the population of that territory, especially in the central, metropolitan regions. Public opinion is worthless there, but the Kremlin dwarfs still fear a "senseless, merciless" rebellion. That's why they are still considering," Yusov said.

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However, according to the representative of the Main Directorate of Intelligence, despite the fact that mobilization has not been openly announced, mobilization activities in Russia continue. Every month, about 20,000 recruits are drawn into the Russian army in various ways.

"This is recruitment among prisoners, debtors, and some unreliable categories of the population. There is no question of volunteers. The mobilization of conscripts continues as planned. Recruitment, including with the motivation of financial payment or, if a person does not sign a contract, some sanctions are promised. There is a new form of recruitment, especially for former soldiers, which is the forced signing of a contract: when they allegedly call you to the military enlistment office for a check-up, hand you a contract, and basically you don't go back, because otherwise you are threatened with some kind of criminal prosecution or other problems in your life," Yusov listed the secrets of Kremlin-style "recruitment".

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Some of the Russians mobilized in this way end up at the front. However, the value of such soldiers is rather questionable.

"There is no point in talking about the motivation of these people in terms of ideology, in terms of 'love' for their homeland, especially when it comes to depressed regions. It is a banal desire to make money. After all, it's the same with washing machines and refrigerators: we've all seen microwaves stolen by Russians from Ukrainians. For some, it's a way to escape from other problems, but yes, such activities are ongoing in general," the Main Directorate of Intelligence representative said.

In addition, Yusov added, by trying to solve the problem of lack of manpower on the front line in Ukraine, Russia is deepening the problems within its own country.

"The mobilization resource in Russia is greater than in Ukraine, but if we talk about motivation and quality, they have many problems and it is definitely not unlimited. The Russian economy is already beginning to experience a shortage of labor, in particular: some enterprises are already short of men. This problem exists and will continue to grow," he said.

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Earlier it was reported that in Crimea the occupiers offer bank debtors to sign a contract with the Russian army. For participating in the war against Ukraine, they are promised federal and regional payments, as well as financial assistance to repay their debts.

Moscow is also trying to make up for the losses of the occupying army at the expense of migrants. Those natives of other countries who came to live in Russia and received Russian passports were proposed to be deprived of citizenship for refusing to fight against Ukraine.
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By Nathan French, Miami University | 

(The Conversation)  Amid the escalation of the Israel-Hamas war, observers in the region and internationally continue to make assumptions about Gazan public support for Hamas.

Mistaken assumptions such as those by U.S. presidential candidate Ron DeSantis, claiming that all Gazans are antisemitic, or those that blame Gazans for electing Hamas may shape debates not only on how the war is perceived, but also over relief plans for Gazans in the months ahead.

Any reconstruction efforts or aid distribution might be weighed against fears of Hamas insurgents within the Gazan population.

In my own research into Jihadi-Salafism and Islamism, I found that militant movements provoked military interventions to exploit the chaos that ensues. Moreover, such groups often claim to govern in the legitimate interests of those they dominate even if those populations reject their rule.

As several commentators have observed, Hamas likely hopes to not just encourage a disproportionate response from Israel, but also to use the violent aftermath of intervention to cultivate continued Gazan dependence upon it and to distract from its own domestic policy failures.

Politicians and Gaza

Leaders on both sides of the conflict have tried to make justifications for their actions. Often, they use their own perception of Gazan public opinion to support their own policy objectives.

For example, Ismail Haniyeh, chief of Hamas political bureau, claimed that Hamas actions represented Gazans and the entire Arab Muslim community. For Haniyeh, Hamas usage of violence was on behalf of Palestinians who had been assaulted in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in September 2023, or have suffered at the hands of Israeli security forces, or for the settlers in the West Bank.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog, meanwhile, suggested that all Gazans bore collective responsibility for Hamas. As a result, he concluded, Israel would act to preserve its own self-interest against Gaza and its people.

The Biden administration, careful not to condemn the Israeli bombardment, has sought a broader approach toward the escalation. In an interview and on social media, U.S. President Joseph Biden observed that the overwhelming majority of Palestinians had nothing to do with Hamas appalling attacks, and [instead] are suffering as a result of them. Such suffering, Biden noted, required the eventual lifting of the complete siege implemented by Israel against Gaza.

In each example, politicians used their assumptions about Gazans to support their policies. But the people in Gaza experience these policies far differently.

Article continues after bonus IC video

MSNBC: Video shows devastation in Gaza City after airstrike on residential area

Gazans hold mixed views of Hamas

Reviewing Gazan public opinion over time reveals an ongoing sense of hopelessness living under the Israeli blockade.

A June 2023 poll conducted by Khalil Shikaki, professor of political science and director of the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, indicated that 79% of Gazans supported armed opposition to Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory. A Washington Institute poll from July 2023 found that only 57% of Gazans held a somewhat positive opinion of Hamas.

Further reading of those polls suggests a more nuanced story. Consider that in 2018, some 25% of women in Gaza risked death in childbirth, 53% of Gazans lived in poverty, and essential health care supplies were stretched thin. That same year, Shikaki found an increasing number of Gazans dissatisfied with Hamas government, with almost 50% hoping to leave Gaza entirely.

In the June 2023 Washington Institute poll, 64% of Gazans demanded improved health care, employment, education and some sense of normalcy instead of Hamas claimed resistance. Over 92% of Gazans expressed outright anger at their living conditions.

Additionally, as Shikaki reported, over 73% believed the Hamas government to be corrupt. Yet, Gazans saw little hope for electoral change. With no election since 2006, a majority of Gazans alive today were not old enough to have voted for Hamas.

Support of armed resistance was not always present. When Hamas openly fought the Palestinian Authority  which governs the West Bank and questioned the legitimacy of Hamas victory  and seized control over the Gaza Strip in 2007, over 73% of Palestinians opposed that seizure and any further armed conflict.

At that time, fewer than one-third of Gazans supported any military action against Israel. Over 80% condemned kidnapping, arson and indiscriminate violence.

Gazans shift in support for Hamas

If read over time, polls of Gazans from 2007 to 2023 tell a story. They help make clear that Gazan support for armed resistance grew alongside increasing frustration, anger and a sense of hopelessness with any political solution to their suffering.

In 2017, scholar Sara Roy, studying the Palestinian economy and Islamism, explored Gazan tolerance of Hamas, noting what is new is the sense of desperation, which can be felt in the boundaries people are now willing to cross, boundaries that were once inviolable.

Gazans, Roy argued, particularly the 75% under the age of 30, felt widely varying affinities toward Hamas ideology or claims to Islamic legitimacy. Hamas, they noted, paid salaries when few others could. Risking targeting by Israeli soldiers was a calculated and tolerable hazard of hire if it meant a paycheck.

In 2019, 27% of Gazans blamed Hamas for their living conditions. In that same poll, 55% supported any peace plan that would include a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as a capital and an Israeli withdrawal from all occupied territories.

By 2023, when Gazans polled by Shikaki expressed their support for armed resistance, they did so in the belief that only such resistance  not electoral politics  would provide relief from the Israeli blockade and siege. At the same time, however, those polled expressed exhaustion with the corruption of Hamas and the ongoing unemployment and poverty of Gaza.

Palestinian desperation and Hamas objectives

Any chance for a simple return to normalcy seems lost for many Gazans, as Hamas claims to act as their legitimate resistance.

With peace negotiations stalled in Gaza since 2001, elections postponed, movement out of Gaza impossible, and now an escalating humanitarian crisis, an entire generation of Gazans is left with few options.

There is death everywhere, said 33-year-old Omar El Qattaa, a photographer based in Gaza, and memories erased.

Though 2023 polling indicated that a majority of Gazans were opposed to breaking the ceasefire with Israel, Hamas moved forward with its October attacks against their popular will. The sense of desperation felt by El Qatta, and millions of other Gazans, risks becoming instrumentalized by Hamas. As Matthew Leavitt, a scholar and researcher of Hamas writes, Hamas sees politics, charity, political violence and terrorism as complementary and legitimate tools to pursue its policy goals.

As Khaldoun Barghouti, a Ramallah-based Palestinian researcher, notes, the ongoing bombardment by Israel has softened Gazan frustration with Hamas  at least in the short term. Such attacks turned blame to Hamas (over the attacks in Israel) into more anger toward Israel.

How this will translate into support for alternatives to Hamas in the months ahead remains to be seen. Much will depend on how international stakeholders regain the trust of Gazans while assisting them with finding meaningful alternatives to a government and militant movement they once considered corrupt and unable to meet their basic needs.

Nathan French, Associate Professor of Religion, Miami University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Russia is undoubtedly involved in the Hamas attack on Israel. Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin hoped to use this to divert the world's attention from the war in Ukraine.

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This was stated by Petro Poroshenko on the Polish TV channel TVP World.

"We have vast experience of how Russia fights with the help of Wagner's private company. I have had this experience since 2014, and I can confirm that Hamas's tactics are exactly Wagner's tactics. They deliberately attacked civilians, tortured civilian victims, and did not care about the lives of their own soldiers. I do not rule out that they have a training camp in Gaza or Syria, and we definitely confirm the presence of Wagner instructors in the Middle East on this territory," Poroshenko said.

"Russia wants to draw attention to the actions of Hamas and avoid or divert attention from their aggression in Ukraine. They want to minimize or demotivate international partners to support Ukraine. I believe that this attempt is definitely a failure. Firstly, the effective actions of the global coalition in Israel, and secondly, a very important decision was made to supply weapons, financial support, and other forms of support for Ukraine's fight against Russian aggression," the fifth president stated.

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He also called on Western allies to impose the toughest sanctions against Russia and its satellites, the warmongers.

"Four countries are involved in the war against Ukraine. This is Russia itself as an aggressor. This is Belarus and illegal President Lukashenko, who attacked us directly from the territory of Belarus on February 24, 2022, creating the biggest problem. Iran - and we have evidence of this every night, because every night Iranian Shaheed drones attack civilian infrastructure. Of course, Iran is an aggressor against Ukraine. And the fourth country is North Korea, because we now have confirmed intelligence information that North Korea is delivering artillery, ammunition and missiles to Russia. And it would definitely be an adequate response of the entire free democratic world against these four countries that are involved in the aggression against Ukraine and, most likely, are involved in the aggression against Israel," Petro Poroshenko emphasized.
The Russian terrorist army is throwing a huge amount of manpower and equipment into the battle in the Avdiivka sector. However, the tactics of meaty assaults have led to an even greater increase in losses.

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Since the beginning of the active phase of attacks in the Avdiivka area, Russian losses have increased by 90%. This was reported by UK military intelligence on social network X, formerly known as Twitter.

The Russian terrorist state has significantly increased its presence on the territory of Ukraine by intensifying recruitment with financial incentives and partial mobilization in the fall of 2022.

British intelligence notes that the increase in personnel is the main factor determining Russia's ability to both defend the occupied territories and conduct attacks.

It is also noted that since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russian troops have suffered up to 190 thousand losses. At the same time, the total number, including the wounded, is up to 290 thousand people. However, it should be noted that this figure does not include the number of eliminated terrorists of the Wagner PMC.

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As a reminder, Russian troops launched a new wave of assaults in the Avdiivka sector on October 19. The assaults are as intense as in the first days of the offensive, which began on October 10.

Earlier it was reported that Russia was relying on a breakthrough of the "armored fist" in the Avdiivka area. However, the enemy failed to implement the plan to surround the settlement in ten days of assaults. The advance of the occupation forces is now insignificant, and the losses are enormous.

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Kang Ha Neul made his long awaited return to the big screens with the romance film "Love Reset" opposite Jung So Min.

In an interview, the actor got candid about his ideal type, dating life and thoughts on marriage. Keep on reading to know more.

Kang Ha Neul Reveals Dating Style & Ideal Type

Earlier this October, Kang Ha Neul reunited with Jung So Min in the romantic comedy film "Love Reset."

The film follows the life of a married couple who, 30 days before their divorce, finds themselves in an accident that results in an amnesiac episode.

In the film, Kang Ha Neul played Jung So Min's workaholic yet affectionate husband. Unfortunately, the once blooming relationship turned dry and sour.

In an interview, Kang Ha Neul shared his realizations after doing the movie. At the moment, the actor is single, and hasn't seen anyone publicly since.

READ MORE: Choi Hyun Wook Relationship 2023: Is 'Twinkling Watermelon' Star Dating Non-Celeb?

According to the actor, he's the type to be affectionate to the woman he dates. As for his ideal type, maturity and intelligence are the only traits he looks for in a woman.

"I'm straightforward when it comes to love," Kang Ha Neul stated. "I'm from Gyeongsang so I express myself sincerely."

Kang Ha Neul Gets Real About Views In Marriage

Since he played a married man in "Love Reset," many fans wonder whether the actor will tie the knot any time soon.

The actor confessed that he hasn't even gone out to see others as he has "a lot of things on his plate" at the moment.

In addition, starring in "Love Reset" gave him an indirect experience of married life, which he firmly believes he's not ready for yet.

Kang Ha Neul is still enjoying his single life right now. He said, "Personally, I don't have any ambitions to get married yet."

However, he promised to eventually go on dates and make an effort to meet other people in the future.

ALSO READ: Girl's Day Sojin Relationship 2023: Is Fiance Lee Dong Ha Her Ideal Type?

Have you seen "Love Reset" yet? Catch Kang Ha Neul and Jung So Min's new romance film in cinemas worldwide now!

KDramaStars owns this article.

Written by Elijah Mully.
The last three episodes of Netflix's "Doona" showcased the different sides of Bae Suzy and Yang Se Jong's characters.

Warning: Spoilers Ahead!

'Doona' Episode 7 Recap

As things got confusing between him and Lee Doona (Suzy), Lee Won Joon (Yang Se Jong) took the courage to clear the air.

In "Doona" episode 7, one of the highlights was the return of Doona's manager, Park In Wook.

The episode starts with Lee Doona leaving Lee Won Joon as she reunited with her manager. Despite knowing that it would break Won Joon's heart, Doona had to make a tough decision and see if patching things up with In Wook was worth a try.

As they traveled to Seoul, they brought up their past, with Lee Doona accusing her manager-turned-lover of manipulating her.

On the other hand, In Wook said that she used him for fame and career.

As for the reason behind their reunion, he wanted to pursue Doona to join the reunion of their K-pop group.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Bae Suzy Gets Honest About the Smoking Scenes in Netflix's 'Doona': 'That's part of it'

The intense argument led to Lee Doona's quick trip to the hospital.

At this point, In Wook confirmed to officials that Lee Doona would be skipping the reunion. Of course, this made her sad, but she couldn't continue because of her bottled emotions.

Another significant scene in "Doona" episode 7 was how Lee Won Joon confronted Doona. In the moment of pain, he let go of her, but she hugged him and didn't let go of Won Joon.

It ended with a romantic evening, and it was clear who Lee Doona chose.

'Doona' Episode 8 Recap

After their heart-to-heart conversation, things were going well between Lee Doona and Lee Won Joon.

Unfortunately, their fairy tale love affair came to an end after Lee Doona faced legal consequences regarding her decision not to participate in the reunion.

Her manager advised her to settle it by joining the highly-anticipated reunion of their group, and one of the crucial things she had to consider was her relationship with Lee Won Joon.

Park In Wook told Lee Doona that her relationship with a non-celebrity would have a huge impact on her comeback. At this point, Lee Doona was torn between pursuing her career or going after the person she truly loved.

'Doona' Episode 9 Recap

The last episode illustrated the successful comeback of Lee Doona as a solo artist. Things were different for everyone except for Lee Won Joon, who felt devastated about his relationship with Doona.

In one scene, Lee Doona unexpectedly reunited with Lee Won Joon at their old apartment, but Doona was disappointed that all he had to say was "take care of yourself" and left.

She followed Won Joon to his place and poured her heart out.

Lee Won Joon apologized for not fighting for their relationship and told her how he missed her, but he wanted Lee Doona out of his life.

While Lee Doona maintained a flourishing career, Won Joon was set to become a civil servant with a promising future.

In the last episode, Lee Doona was at a jam-packed concert in Japan. While in the same building she found Lee Won Joon, but they remained strangers in passing, and the story ended with a cliffhanger.

READ MORE: Best Bae Suzy K-Drama If You Can't Get Enough of 'Doona': 'Start-Up,' 'Anna' & More

For more K-Drama, K-Movie, and celebrity news, keep your tabs open here at KDramaStars.

KDramaStars owns this article

Written by Geca Wills
Unspoken, is a poignant, eloquently crafted first novel from Kilkenny-based author, Anne Harris.

Anne moved to Thomastown in her retirement after over twenty years living in France and 24 years living in Luxembourg. The author is well travelled yet for most of her adult life a big part of her heart remained in Ireland, where her first son was born in 1970 and adopted shortly afterwards.

Much has been written about the horror and brutality forced on unmarried mothers and their babies and the infamous mother and baby homes. For many people it is unfathomable how this brutality was allowed to exist in a so-called civilised society, unmarried mothers were shunned away from the public eye, only to return months later, without their precious child and expected to carry on living without publicly acknowledging what had happened to them.

This book tells an important story, the story of Anne and her baby boy who was adopted shortly after she gave birth to him in the mother and baby home in Bessborough in Blackrock in Cork. There was no obvious cruelty, nor did she suffer any physical or emotional hardship at the hands of the nuns although there is a strong sense of the unsaid when reading about the main characters time in Bessborough.

In Bessborough it seemed to operate on two separate levels, it seemed to be a two-tiered system, she said, adding that her parents had paid for her to stay there and have her baby, whom Anne had agreed to have adopted.

My biggest issue is with the Adoption Agency and how they operated. My experience of the home was not as bad as others.

It was good to have other young women who were in a similar position to talk to.

Meeting with Anne, some 53 years after she gave birth to her first son she explains that while her book is based on her own story, there are fictionalised elements to it. The driving force which compelled her to publicly share her personal story is that she wanted to record it for her son.

I thought it would be for his 40th birthday but as it turned out I gave it to him on the 25th anniversary of our meeting, she says referencing the first encounter they had as adults.

This was the reason I self-published the book, she adds, so that she could create and give her first born son a chronicle of how he came to be.

Anne is scathing of the Adoption Agency and in the book recounts how she travelled with her newborn son by train to Dublin with a social worker. The adoption was agreed but the cold and detached way in which she was treated is unforgettable and the lack of empathy and emotion jumps from the pages.

The Adoption Agency were very cold. It was all so traumatic and there was no support. The social worker (who travelled with Anne when she brought her baby to be given up for adoption) seemed so uncaring.

There are many moments of love, hope, kindness and understanding in the book which through the many adverse moments ultimately make it a story of hope, persistence, love, endurance and resilience. It is powerful how simple acts of kindness shine through, one character in the book, Sam is simply based on a kind person who took some time to genuinely be nice to Anne, with no motive other than being kind.

Although the story and many characters are largely fictionalised the pregnancy, adoption and the re-connection with her adult son are all based on her own experience.

Myself and my son, we both had a positive outcome and we have a really good relationship.

I want to give hope to people, both to birth mothers and to people looking for their birth parents.

I also want to send out the message that people need to approach this journey very carefully. I spent a lot of time researching the impact (her making contact with her son) would have. I did a lot of preparation before that initial meeting,

While this story has fortunately a happy ending there is a realism in the story that makes it clear to the reader that such outcomes are not possible for everyone.

It is a beautifully told work of fiction, based on a true story that is very much worth reading and casts a somewhat bright light on what is one of the darkest chapters of Irish social history.

Unspoken has been shortlisted for an award for independently published books at capawards.iewhich takes place in November.

The Carousel Aware Prize for Independently Published Authors (The CAP for Indies) aims to provide a platform to showcase the cream of Irish self-published authors, bringing them to the attention of book shops, distributors, and the media in Ireland and abroad, with all money raised going to the charity Aware.

Unspoken is available in Thomastown library, and can be ordered through some local bookshops. It can also be ordered online via www.buythebook.ie

Anne Harris was born in Dublin in 1950 and educated in UCD and Harvard in Cambridge, MA.
Specialists of the State Emergency Service of Kharkiv region have completed rescue operations at the site of a Russian attack on the Nova Poshta terminal in the village of Korotych. On the evening of October 21, enemy missiles killed six employees and injured 16 others.

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The company's property was heavily damaged. The State Emergency Service and the regional prosecutor's office showed photos of the consequences of the Russian terrorist attack (to view the news, scroll to the end).

It is noted that the occupiers' missiles destroyed the building of the postal terminal and damaged seven trucks and two semi-trailers.

As a result of the strike, a massive fire broke out at Nova Poshta (a postal company), covering 300 square meters of space. The fire was extinguished at 00:14 on Sunday, October 22.

Forty-seven rescuers and nine pieces of special equipment were working to eliminate the consequences of the enemy shelling.

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All 22 victims of this Russian war crime were employees of the company, six of whom died.

"Prosecutors, in cooperation with police investigators, are taking all measures to document war crimes committed by representatives of the armed forces of the aggressor state," the prosecutor's office said.

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As reported by OBOZ.UA, on the morning of October 22, Russian troops shelled a residential area of Kupyansk in Kharkiv region. Three residents, including minors, were injured as a result of the shelling.

Only verified information on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
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Nate Silver writes:

On Tuesday night local time  Tuesday afternoon New York time  there was an explosion near a hospital in gaza City. At 2:32 p.m. the Times sent subscribers like me the following news alert: 

In case you can't see that image, the headline reads: Israeli Strike Kills Hundreds in Hospital, Palestinian Officials Say.

Almost every word of that first clause is now disputed. The Israeli Defense Forces said that the blast was the result of a misfire from a Hamas rocket, and President Biden, citing Department of Defense evidence, has backed that claim. Also, the explosion appears to have hit a parking lot adjacent to the hospital, not the hospital itself. And it remains unclear what the death toll was  but forensic evidence doesn't seem to be particularly consistent with a three-figure number. I'm sure you can find better summaries of the various claims and counterclaims elsewhere; I'm deliberately trying to be circumspect as I make a broader point about the news business. 

Shouldn't newsrooms just be more careful in these situations? The short answer is yes. The Times's excuse is basically that it was just passing along a newsworthy claim made by a Palestinian spokesperson. I don't think that really works, however.

Sure, technically, the claim in the Times news alert was attributed. Israeli Strike Kills Hundreds in Hospital, Palestinian Officials Say (emphasis added). But that's not how most readers see it, particularly when the attribution comes at the end of the sentence. They'll see ISRAELI STRIKE KILLS HUNDREDS IN HOSPITAL (palestinian officials say). The Times is providing some degree of dignity and veracity to that claim by printing it, just as it would if it sent out a breaking news alert that said:

U.F.O. Cited Over Manhattan, Nate Silver Says

If it later turned out that the U.F.O. had just been a 747 landing at LaGuardia, and I'd made the claim while tripping on psychedelic mushrooms, this wouldn't really absolve the Times for printing it without some independent verification or a second source.
On the morning of October 22, Russian occupation forces shelled the frontline town of Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region. The strikes hit residential buildings, and residents were injured.

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Three people, including minors, were hospitalized. This was reported by the head of the regional military administration Oleg Sinegubov.

According to him, the shelling took place around 07:00 on Sunday. Russian shells hit the houses of local residents.

A 15-year-old girl and a 63-year-old woman were wounded by the terrorists, both of whom were taken to hospital and are in serious condition. A 17-year-old boy was also injured, his condition is moderate.

The head of the regional military administration added that the occupants also fired at Kupiansk district over the past day, in particular at Pershotravneve, Synkivka and Dvorichna.

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Under the procedural supervision of the Kupiansk District Prosecutor's Office in Kharkiv region, a pre-trial investigation into the violation of the laws and customs of war (Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) has been initiated. Prosecutors and police investigators are conducting priority investigative actions.

As reported by OBOZ.UA, on the evening of October 21, Russian troops hit the Nova Poshta terminal in the village of Korotych in Kharkiv region with ballistic missiles. The terminal and vehicles were heavily damaged, killing six employees and injuring 16 others.

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Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
A law enforcement agent walks near the scene where Samantha Woll was found dead in Detroit on October 21.
Picture of Travis King, the US soldier who ran across the military demarcation line into North Korea on July 18th.
Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE:DELL  Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, September 28th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 24th will be paid a dividend of 0.37 per share by the technology company on Friday, November 3rd. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 23rd.

Dell Technologies has a payout ratio of 21.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Dell Technologies to earn $6.03 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.48 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 24.5%.

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Dell Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of DELL opened at $65.91 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $47.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $65.13 and a 200-day moving average of $54.54. Dell Technologies has a 1 year low of $35.26 and a 1 year high of $72.82.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Dell Technologies ( NYSE:DELL Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 31st. The technology company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $22.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.78 billion. Dell Technologies had a net margin of 2.03% and a negative return on equity of 149.91%. Analysts predict that Dell Technologies will post 5.36 EPS for the current year.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on DELL. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Dell Technologies from $57.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, September 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Dell Technologies from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, September 25th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Dell Technologies from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, September 22nd. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Dell Technologies from $45.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Friday, September 1st. Finally, Credit Suisse Group upped their price target on shares of Dell Technologies from $62.00 to $74.00 in a report on Friday, September 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Dell Technologies has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $69.00.

Read Our Latest Report on Dell Technologies

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Dell Technologies news, COO Anthony Charles Whitten sold 107,803 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.14, for a total transaction of $5,944,257.42. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 650,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,851,917.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, General Counsel Richard J. Rothberg sold 30,009 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.00, for a total value of $2,040,612.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 99,899 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,793,132. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Anthony Charles Whitten sold 107,803 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.14, for a total value of $5,944,257.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 650,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,851,917.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 48.60% of the companys stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dell Technologies

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. National Pension Service increased its holdings in Dell Technologies by 1.1% in the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 577,264 shares of the technology companys stock worth $28,973,000 after buying an additional 6,479 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. acquired a new position in Dell Technologies in the first quarter worth approximately $231,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in Dell Technologies by 29.7% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 10,088 shares of the technology companys stock worth $506,000 after buying an additional 2,310 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC acquired a new position in Dell Technologies in the first quarter worth approximately $416,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in Dell Technologies by 10.3% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 19,174 shares of the technology companys stock worth $962,000 after buying an additional 1,787 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.10% of the companys stock.

About Dell Technologies

(Get Free Report)

Dell Technologies Inc designs, develops, manufactures, markets, sells, and supports various comprehensive and integrated solutions, products, and services in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Infrastructure Solutions Group (ISG) and Client Solutions Group (CSG).

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Nemes Rush Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO  Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 18,385 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,107,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 62.5% in the 1st quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 507 shares of the companys stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KB Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.96% of the companys stock.

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Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of KO stock traded up $0.22 on Friday, reaching $54.57. 15,686,351 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,214,603. The stock has a market cap of $235.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $57.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.30. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $51.55 and a 1-year high of $64.99.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

Coca-Cola ( NYSE:KO Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 26th. The company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.74 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 43.06% and a net margin of 23.81%. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.70 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.63 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 30th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. Coca-Colas payout ratio is 75.72%.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In related news, CFO John Murphy sold 156,290 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.10, for a total transaction of $9,705,609.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 228,830 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $14,210,343. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Coca-Cola news, CFO John Murphy sold 156,290 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.10, for a total value of $9,705,609.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 228,830 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $14,210,343. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 92,029 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.86, for a total transaction of $4,956,681.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,546 shares of the companys stock, valued at $23,835,527.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 411,422 shares of company stock worth $24,424,662 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.00% of the companys stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wedbush upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. StockNews.com lowered Coca-Cola from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, October 13th. Barclays reduced their target price on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $59.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Coca-Cola from $71.00 to $59.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Coca-Cola from $69.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, July 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $66.50.

Read Our Latest Report on KO

Coca-Cola Profile

(Free Report)

The Coca-Cola Company, a beverage company, manufactures, markets, and sells various nonalcoholic beverages worldwide. The company provides sparkling soft drinks, sparkling flavors; water, sports, coffee, and tea; juice, value-added dairy, and plant-based beverages; and other beverages. It also offers beverage concentrates and syrups, as well as fountain syrups to fountain retailers, such as restaurants and convenience stores.

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Russia is currently sending its saboteurs to three Ukrainian regions bordering Russia. Most hostile subversive groups are recorded in Sumy region, and they are periodically detected in Kharkiv and Chernihiv regions.

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The main task of the saboteurs is to identify the location of the Ukrainian Defense Forces, they also open fire on vehicles moving in the border areas. Andriy Demchenko, spokesperson for the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, provided details on the We Are Ukraine TV channel.

"Most of these cases are recorded on the border with Russia within Sumy region, occasionally within Kharkiv region, and recently less in Chernihiv region. In fact, subversive groups are those groups that are trying to expose the locations of the Ukrainian Defense Forces, where units of the State Border Guard Service, the Armed Forces, and the National Guard are located," he said.

However, according to Demchenko, hostile subversive groups also pose a threat to the civilian population of these regions.

"This is also a threat to local residents, because saboteurs open fire on cars moving in the border area. They do not distinguish between military and civilian vehicles," stated the SBGS spokesman.

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Earlier it was reported that the occupiers fired at the cars of power engineers in Sumy region with a mortar. Two people were injured.

It also became known that the Security Service of Ukraine and the National Police detained a Directorate General of Intelligence saboteur who wanted to blow up several gas stations in Ukraine. The attacker was detained when he was planting an explosive device under a gas barrel at a gas station in Kharkiv.

The investigation also found that the detainee was involved in other acts of sabotage in Kharkiv region, including the undermining of a railway track at a railway station and explosions at two local gas stations.

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Oak Family Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO  Free Report) by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,938 shares of the utilities providers stock after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. Oak Family Advisors LLCs holdings in Southern were worth $277,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Southern by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 61,472,651 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $4,277,269,000 after buying an additional 1,283,943 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 34,719,486 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $2,415,782,000 after buying an additional 2,906,914 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Southern by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 15,428,181 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $1,073,493,000 after buying an additional 349,353 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Southern by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,190,526 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $656,296,000 after buying an additional 255,838 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in Southern by 34.9% in the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 7,613,826 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $529,770,000 after buying an additional 1,969,743 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.85% of the companys stock.

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Southern Stock Performance

SO traded down $0.71 on Friday, hitting $65.73. 4,195,048 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,659,761. The firm has a market cap of $71.68 billion, a PE ratio of 23.23, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 0.53. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $58.85 and a twelve month high of $75.80. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $67.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59.

Southern Announces Dividend

Southern ( NYSE:SO Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $5.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.47 billion. Southern had a net margin of 11.17% and a return on equity of 9.86%. Southerns quarterly revenue was down 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.07 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 3.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 20th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 17th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.26%. Southerns payout ratio is currently 98.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH assumed coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, August 9th. They issued a buy rating and a $72.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Southern from a sector perform rating to a sector outperform rating and set a $78.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, October 16th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Southern from an underperform rating to a neutral rating and upped their target price for the company from $67.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Southern from a buy rating to a conviction-buy rating in a research note on Monday, July 3rd. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Southern from $68.00 to $64.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $73.20.

View Our Latest Report on Southern

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 5,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.30, for a total value of $341,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,512 shares in the company, valued at $1,537,569.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 5,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.30, for a total value of $341,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,512 shares in the company, valued at $1,537,569.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,490 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.05, for a total transaction of $99,904.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 72,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,878,289.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,490 shares of company stock worth $1,459,055. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Southern Company Profile

(Free Report)

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. It operates through three segments: Gas Distribution Operations, Gas Pipeline Investments, and Gas Marketing Services. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations.

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By Baek Byung-yeul

KT will export Mi:dm, its large language AI model, to Thailand and the Southeast Asian market as the Korean telecommunications company agreed on AI expansion in the region with the Thai telecom giant, Jasmine Group, the company said, Sunday.

KT said it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Jasmine Group, to jointly develop a Thai language-based large language model (LLM) and expand its AI business in Southeast Asia.

The MOU is a follow-up to a previous agreement between KT and JTS, a subsidiary of Jasmine Group, to jointly develop an LLM for Thailand and Southeast Asia. JTS is one of the top eight listed ICT companies in Thailand, with businesses ranging from broadband internet to ICT solutions and cloud computing, KT said.

KT will provide the technology necessary for LLM development, while Jasmine Group focuses on building a GPU farm, a server cluster essential for market analysis and LLM development.

The two outlined areas of cooperation in developing a Thai language LLM and business model; analyzing and developing marketing strategies for the Southeast Asian market and transferring LLM development technology and know-how.

KT and Jasmine Group plan to build a GPU farm at Jastel, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Jasmine Group, in the first half of 2024. They will then start developing a Thai language LLM in the second half of the year.

Based on the success in Thailand, they plan to jointly develop a global LLM business model and expand their business to other Southeast Asian markets, such as Laos and Cambodia.

KT said the collaboration will help the company expand its AI business to other countries. KT sees this achievement with Jasmine Group as a chance to tap into the sovereign AI movement, in which countries and organizations are seeking to build their own LLMs without being dependent on big tech companies. As part of this plan, KT will officially launch its Mi:dm LLM next month.

We are pleased to work together with Jasmine Group in the AI business, Kim Young-shub, CEO of KT, said. We expect that this collaboration will help Thailand strengthen its AI industry competitiveness. We also expect the joint entry into the Southeast Asian market will be successful.
By Ko Dong-hwan

Paris Baguette opened its 500th overseas store in Singapore, the Korean bakery chain said, Sunday, reflecting the company's rising popularity outside its homeland.

The subsidiary of SPC Group opened the landmark shop at Singapore Changi Airport's Terminal 2. The new store, in the landside area of the airport, will be the bakery brand's "outpost for future expansion into global halal markets such as the Middle East," according to SPC.

"Since 2004, when we started our global market expansion, our company has been competing with global rivals fair and square," said Hur Jin-soo, president of SPC Group.

Paris Baguette opened 50 new stores overseas this year, including the U.S. states of Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey,Toronto, Canadaand Shanghai, Beijing and Xian in China.

Paris Baguette plans to build a new factory in Malaysia's Johor Bahru to introduce certified halal products and target as customers the 1.9 billion Muslims that account for 24 percent of the global population. The firm plans to open 50 new stores overseas by the end of this year.

Starting with China, the bakery brand's global expansion has further ventured to the U.S., France, the U.K., Canada, Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia and Malaysia. Last year, the overseas branches registered over 600 billion won ($443 million) in sales.
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Guwahati, Oct 22 (PTI) Troop Comforts Ltd (TCL), a defence PSU, has received a request for proposal (RFP) for a number of its indigenously developed military gear while several of its products are in the field trial stage.

Among the products being developed by the company are boots and crampons, ice pitons, hammer pitons, sleeping bags and multi-purpose bags, besides clothing items.

Also Read | Cyclone Tej Likely To Bypass Gujarat by Today Evening, Veers Toward Oman and Yemen.

The RFPs have been received from the Northern Command of the Indian Army, while field trials are going under the Eastern Command, its officials said.

TCL was carved out of the erstwhile Ordnance Factory Board and commenced functioning under its present format in October 2021.

Also Read | Cyclone Tej Latest Update: Cyclonic Storm Tej Expected To Transform Into Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Before Noon Today, Says IMD.

We are working on indigenously developing specialised gear needed for our personnel posted in difficult terrain, from mountainous regions to extremely cold conditions, Ranveer Singh, junior works manager, told PTI.

We had been importing most of these gear entirely or at least major components of them. Now, we are working on developing the products with our own technology, he said.

The Kanpur-headquartered TCL was here to participate in the recently-concluded East Tech 2023', a defence expo in which nearly 200 manufacturers had put up their stalls displaying cutting-edge technology to top-end gear.

We have been producing several items, and we are now improving them further to ensure that our personnel get the best equipment. For example, earlier we had the standard military bags to carry all equipment by any personnel. We have improved on the design in terms of utility as well as looks now, Pervez Badar, another junior works manager at TCL, said, showing a redesigned bag.

Similar innovation has also been made to sleeping bags to make them more easily foldable and cosier, Badar added.

Singh said several products of TCL are in the field trial stage under the Eastern Command, with most of these items dealing with clothing, climbing and allied gears.

We had also participated in the expo under the Northern Command recently and 21 samples were submitted. We have received RFPs for several of our products, he added.

Once our items are back from the field trials and we have incorporated the feedback, we are confident of manufacturing some of the best defence gear globally. It will ensure that we are not dependent on foreign technology for our military needs and also save important foreign exchange, the TCL official added.

The TCL has four manufacturing units located across the country and besides catering to the requirements of the defence personnel, including those in the Ministry of Home Affairs forces, it also supplies to the police of various states.

Its range of products includes clothing items, accessories and technologically advanced products to equip personnel serving in environmental conditions from -50 degrees Celsius to 50 degrees Celsius - from glaciers to deserts.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Canberra, October 22: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will visit China in early November, his office said Sunday hours before he was set to fly to the United States to meet President Joe Biden. Albanese's office also said China agreed to review the crippling tariffs it placed on Australian wine that have effectively blocked trade with the winemakers' biggest export market since 2020.

Albanese will become the first Australian prime minister to visit China in seven years when he travels to Beijing and Shanghai from November 4-7. He will meet President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang in Beijing and then attend the China International Import Expo in Shanghai. Failed Referendum on Indigenous Rights Sets Back Australian Government Plans to Become a Republic.

The visit to China and a potential breakthrough in the wine dispute mark a further repair in bilateral relations since Albanese's centre-left Labor Party won elections last year after nine years of conservative rule in Australia.

I look forward to visiting China, an important step towards ensuring a stable and productive relationship, Albanese said in a statement.

I welcome the progress we have made to return Australian products, including Australian wine, to the Chinese market. Strong trade benefits both countries, Albanese added. Albanese accepted an invitation weeks ago to visit China this year, but finding suitable dates has been challenging.

Albanese is visiting Washington, D.C., to meet Biden this week and will return to the United States after his China trip to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders' forum in San Francisco from November 15-17. It will be the ninth time Biden has met Albanese as prime minister. The first meeting was in Tokyo hours after Albanese was sworn in as government leader in May last year. China Releases Australian Journalist Jailed for Espionage.

The discussions this week are expected to cover the AUKUS deal in which the United States and Britain will cooperate to provide Australia with a fleet of submarines powered by US nuclear technology to counter a more assertive China. The leaders will also seek more cooperation on clean energy, critical minerals and countering climate change.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi, October 22: US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti visited the Durga Puja pandal in Delhi's CR Park. He was given a traditional welcome at the pandal with aarti and tilak on the forehead. Taking to X, the US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti shared glimpses of his visit to the pandal in CR Park. At the pandal, Garcetti performed aarti and performed dhunuchi naach with people.

He watched children perform on stage and even clicked pictures with people at the pandal. During his pandal visit, Garcetti also tried jhal muri, biryani, puri and fish as well as sweets. While sharing the video on X, Eric Garcetti stated, "Shubho Pujo, everyone! I had an incredible time pandal hopping in CR Park in Delhi, participating in the cultural festivities and of course, tasting some amazing Pujo food! As I continue to experience different celebrations across India, I remain in awe of @IncredibleIndia 's amazing cultural diversity." Maha Saptami 2023 Images & HD Wallpapers For Free Download Online: Wish Happy Durga Puja Maha Saptami With Messages and Greetings.

The Hindu festival of Durga Puja is a yearly celebration that honours the Hindu goddess Durga and celebrates her victory over Mahishasura. During the nine-day Navratri festival, devotees worship Goddess Durga's nine incarnations in order to obtain her blessings.

Eric Garcetti Perfoms Dhunuchi Naach at Durga Puja Pandal in Delhi

Shubho Pujo, everyone! I had an incredible time pandal hopping in CR Park in Delhi, participating in the cultural festivities and of course, tasting some amazing Pujo food! As I continue to experience different celebrations across India, I remain in awe of @IncredibleIndias pic.twitter.com/UHUF9qUy0v  U.S. Ambassador Eric Garcetti (@USAmbIndia) October 21, 2023

There are nine manifestations of Goddess Durga that are worshipped on each day of Navratri. People observe ritualistic fasts, recite shlokas dedicated to each Goddess, wear new clothes. offer bhog and clean their homes in these nine days.

On October 19, Eric Garcetti on Thursday travelled in the Delhi Metro and interacted with passengers on board. He said he had a great time riding the Delhi metro for the first time and meeting fellow passengers.

"Wow! Delhi Metro, you make travelling so easy! I had a great time riding the Delhi metro for the first time and meeting fellow passengers. A shout out to the well-maintained, efficient, and green public transport system that is among the best in the world!" Garcetti wrote on X. Durga Puja 2023 Pandals in South Kolkata: From Ekdalia Evergreen Club to Chetla Agrani Club, 5 Popular Pandals That Steal the Show During Durgotsav in West Bengal.

Earlier in September, Eric Garcetti said India has demonstrated the most successful G20 ever. While addressing the 20th Indo-US Economic Summit "Sharing ideas & Potential for sustainable partnership between India and the US for the next 25 years" organized by the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC), Garcetti said, "India's marvellous growth, its rapid rise, its leadership in the world today has demonstrated the most successful G20 we have ever seen."

While speaking on India-US ties, he said: "The goal that we should be establishing, I think, together, is, how can we be more ambitious. Not just settle for another deal, not just settle for, as we've done just in the last few months, bringing down the retaliatory tariffs and the trade disputes between our countries. That's not good enough. I think we need to close our eyes and dream of what this relationship can be like even more than we would imagine today."

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
On October 20, the White House submitted a budget request to the U.S. Congress for $105 billion to protect U.S. borders and help partner countries. If this amount is allocated, more than $61 billion will be allocated to Ukraine.

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The lion's share of this amount will be spent on defense spending, and about $12 billion will go to direct support for the Ukrainian budget. This was stated by Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States Oksana Markarova.

She emphasized that at the moment we can only talk about the vision of the US presidential administration, and the final figures should be analyzed only after the White House request turns into a budget document in Congress.

Currently, the White House has submitted a budget request to Congress for $105 billion. Of this amount, 61.4 billion is either directly earmarked for Ukraine or relates to our country.

Thus, of this amount, the US presidential administration plans to allocate $46.1 billion for defense, of which $30.6 billion, according to the White House's vision, should go to programs for the Pentagon.

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About $18 billion is to be used to replenish defense goods from the US Department of Defense warehouses, reimburse defense services and military education and training provided to the Ukrainian government.

Another $12 billion is earmarked for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), a Pentagon funding program to increase Ukraine's ability to defend itself against Russian aggression by training the Armed Forces, providing equipment and advice.

According to the White House's vision, $1.7 billion should be used to finance the State Department's Foreign Military Financing program for Ukraine and other US partners affected by the war in Ukraine. This refers to the US Foreign Military Financing Program, which provides grants and loans to help countries purchase weapons and defense equipment manufactured in the United States, as well as receive defense services and military training.

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The $14.4 billion, according to the White House's request, will be used to finance technical and intelligence support, increase weapons production, cybersecurity, and more.

The $14.75 billion for economic, financial, civilian, and nuclear security specified in the request of the US Presidential Administration includes, in particular, $11.8 billion for direct budget support to Ukraine.

Another $2.2 billion could be used to support urgent recovery and programming needs in Ukraine and other conflict-affected countries in the region. 360 million will be allocated to the State Department to support the Ukrainian government in restoring and maintaining the rule of law, with a focus on recently liberated and war-affected areas.

The State Department may also receive another $100 million for nonproliferation, counterterrorism, demining, and related programs.

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According to the White House's budget request, $149.5 million in nuclear security assistance may be transferred to the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (U.S. Department of Energy).

481 million dollars, if approved by the Congress, will be used for humanitarian aid, in particular, funding for support programs for Ukrainians arriving in the United States under the Uniting for Ukraine program. In addition, Ukraine is offered to receive a significant portion of the funding provided for humanitarian aid to our country, Israel, and regions affected by the fighting, but the distribution of the amount between the countries has not yet been finalized.

3.5 billion can be used to provide humanitarian assistance through the U.S. State Department's programs to Ukraine and Israel, as well as to regions affected by the situation in Israel and the war in Ukraine.

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And $5.7 billion is intended to fund USAID programs to meet the growing humanitarian needs caused by Russia's war in Ukraine, the outbreak of the conflict in Gaza, and the cascading regional and global consequences of these crises.

Markarova also noted that in the U.S. House of Representatives, this proposal can be brought to the floor for consideration and vote only after the issue of electing a speaker is resolved.

Earlier, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan explained the importance of the $105 billion budget request for Ukraine and Israel. According to him, US President Joe Biden's request for funding to help Ukraine and Israel plays a crucial role in the security of Americans themselves. These two wars have become a global turning point.

Biden himself has made statements about the wars in Ukraine and Israel. Among other things, he noted that the regime of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Hamas have in common the desire to destroy democracy.

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UPDATE: Woman dies after Allentown row home fire that threatened several houses

A three-alarm fire that started in an Allentown row home on Sunday morning touched 12 other houses down the block as it spread, making it inside three of them.

Three residents were injured and two pets died in the blaze, Allentown Fire Capt. John Christopher confirmed.

The fire began around 6:30 a.m. at 915 Penn St., which sustained extensive damage, and extended to the interior of neighboring homes at 917 and 913 Penn.

The flames got to the outside porch and continued under the roof down the block causing minor to moderate external damage. It got into those porch roofs and just kept going, Christopher said.

An unresponsive woman was rescued from 915 Penn and hospitalized, he said. Two more people from that address were being treated for burns. Their conditions and the extent of their injuries were not immediately known.

Two firefighters also required treatment: one from exertion during the response, the other from a reaction to a bee sting.

Crews remained on scene as of 10:30 a.m. watching for any rekindling as investigators searched for a cause. Christopher said the Red Cross will assist nine residents from the three most impacted homes.

The scenario was similar to a destructive, six-alarm blaze in May that affected a block of 15 row homes in Eastons West Ward.

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Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@lehighvalleylive.com.
Its one of Allentowns oldest buildings. A subtle name change will make sure its remembered as more than that.

With years of renovations complete, the Old Lehigh County Courthouse was rededicated on Friday  and renamed the Historic Lehigh County Courthouse, which is perhaps more fitting for a landmark that is about as old as the county itself, appears on the county seal and the National Register of Historic Places, and notably hosted an 1870 oration from abolitionist Frederick Douglass.
The Nazareth Area School Board will discuss Tuesday whether to remove the book Push from the high school library shelves.

The book by the author Sapphire is written from the point of view of a teenage girl who is repeatedly raped by her father and gives birth to two children as the product of incest. The book was made into the film Precious, which won an Oscar for best screenplay adaptation.
Laois County Council must take action to slow traffic at a 90 degree Laois corner thats known nationally for the danger it poses to drivers.

So insisted Cllr Seamus McDonald, Fianna Fail, when he met recently with Laois County Council officials.

He tabled a motion calling on the local authority to install traffic calming measures such as lights at Shellys corner, Rosenallis.

Shellys corner is known all over Ireland, especially to truckers. Its a lethal location - its dangerous. There has been a number of accidents there over the years, he said.

He said traffic lights would be great.

While he praised work done in the village, Cllr Paddy Bracken backed his party colleague. Its an awful dangerous corner, he said.

Cllr James Kelly, the Independent, was also in favour of lights. Flashing lights, speeds signs, ramps are just not going to work because if two trucks meet there it is trouble, he said.

He said people would put up with delays.

Cllr John King, Fine Gael, was also in favour because of the risk.

There is no room for error. If you mistake you hit the wall. It is deadly, he said.

James Dowling, Senior Executive Engineer, replied in writing on behalf of the local authority.

"Laois County Council Road Design Department will review the recorded collision data for this location, and thereafter investigate suitable traffic calming measures as required.

The issue was raised at the most recent meeting of the Borris-in-Ossory Mountmellick Municipal District.
There is a lack of urgency from governments to tackle violence against women across Europe, an Irish MEP has said.

Frances Fitzgerald said that hesitation towards introducing an EU-wide consent-based definition of rape, based on a legal argument that it does not fall under the banner of sexual exploitation, was not acceptable.

Ms Fitzgerald and Swedish socialist MEP Evin Incir are leading the process to introduce EU-wide laws tackling domestic violence and violence against women.

Under the current draft, rape, sexual assault, and cyber stalking would become an offence at an EU level.

But some member states are against including a consent-based approach to rape in the proposed EU directive, something Ms Fitzgerald said indicated a lack of urgency to tackle gender-based violence.

She said that strong legal advice from some member states suggested that an EU-wide rape law would be an overreach, as the legal foundation of sexual exploitation was to target trafficking.

Now, you can read that however you like, the way I read it is there isnt enough political motivation at the moment from some member states to include rape, Ms Fitzgerald told the PA news agency.

You can get somebody moved from Ireland to Germany for murder, but when it comes to rape, theyre saying No, let the member states deal with that.

They dont say its because we dont like the definition.

They dont say its because what are you talking about with consent? which is the belief of certain member states, they really find it hard to get their heads around the idea of consent.

She said although Ireland and the UK have legislated for a consent-based definition of rape in recent years, in other European countries theres a backlash to womens rights.

That backlash is very serious. You see it in Hungary, you see it in Poland, you see it elsewhere, she told PA.

Ive been quite shocked at some of the attitudes Ive seen to gender-based issues, and how difficult it can be for some member states to be as advanced as we are in Ireland, actually.

She said France and Germany are among the countries that have voiced opposition to the inclusion of rape in the directive.

Theres no problem with FGM (Female Genital Mutilation) or cyber violence, but there is with rape, and I cant help but feel that its something to do with the very crime itself and member states difficulties in managing it from a criminal justice point of view, and therefore being nervous about anything that seeks to kind of put an overarching framework around that.

But its not acceptable. Its not acceptable to women. Its not acceptable to citizens. Try and explain to anybody why rape is not sexual exploitation at a very practical level.

If the individual members went on the airwaves and said, No, were not supporting inclusion or rape because we just dont think it should be a European crime. Why dont you think it should be a crime? This happens everywhere.

It is actually a Euro crime, but its not theoretically in the treaties defined as a Euro crime.

Asked about whether there was a lack of urgency from governments to tackle gender-based violence: I would have to say yes, overall.

The seriousness of the crime is still internationally not being matched by the intensity of the approaches needed, and this is a symptom of that.

A city the size of Marseilles, Amsterdam or Zagreb disappears every 10 years as 858,000 women are murdered globally.

So I cant help but think it is part of misogyny, and its part of a patriarchal society that we live in, that weve had such a job getting (crimes against women) to the top of the agenda.

Asked if the law would eventually be watered down to get agreement across the EU, Ms Fitzgerald said it was too early to say.

The challenge at the end of the day will be  can you call it a directive on violence and domestic-based violence if you dont (include) rape?

Ive just written to (Justice Minister Helen McEntee) now sort of asking Ireland to be more proactive in terms of working with other member states as well.

Asked about recent criticism of her Fine Gael party colleague, Ms McEntee, by government colleagues for not focusing enough on policing, Ms Fitzgerald said: Its not one or the other.

Dealing with domestic, gender-based violence, hate crime, these are serious, serious crimes.

So take away the word woke from them and say we have to do this as well as the policing issues.

I actually got a lot of very progressive legislation through that I got a lot of support for in the parliament.

Mind you, we had a majority government, its more difficult when youre in a coalition.

I dont accept that criticism of Helen at all. But, you know, I often say, theres still a lot  in political parties as well, all political parties  of everyday sexism, and it surfaces from time to time.
The story of the challenges faced by young migrants as they arrive in Ireland will be brought to life in a groundbreaking new poetry play.

Following an award-winning premiere at last years Dublin Fringe Festival, The Perfect Immigrant, written and performed by poet and playwright Samuel Yakura is about to tour theatre venues across Ireland.

From the struggles of job hunting and navigating Irelands dating scene to searching for red chilli peppers in Lucan, this timely one-man show is a heartfelt and hilarious exploration of the challenges faced by those in search of a brighter future.

The show revolves around Levi, a courageous young Nigerian man who leaves his homeland, with three worn suitcases, to fulfill his dream of studying engineering in a foreign land.

Samuel Yakura describes how parts of the show are autobiographical: The story is about a young adult navigating manhood, loneliness, and self-discovery in a foreign place. The piece draws, in part, from my own experiences as a migrant. Similar to the shows protagonist, I came to Ireland in 2018 to pursue a masters in civil engineering. The piece is quite different from a traditional theatre show. We tell Levis story through a powerful mix of poetry, prose, and with an Irish-Nigerian sense of humour that will entertain and resonate with audiences of all backgrounds.

For native Irish audiences, The Perfect Immigrant provides a unique insight into the cultural challenges of migration. Yakura believes that stories like these will also encourage more minority cultures to engage with Irelands theatre and arts scene.

Ireland is undergoing a transformative journey towards becoming a thriving, multicultural society. However, there is a noticeable lack of representation in the arts and in audience attendance.

By sharing stories like The Perfect Immigrant on stage, we hope to encourage minority cultures to explore the vibrant world of theatre and arts in Ireland. Personally, my journey as a poet has been enriched by coming here. I would encourage the general theatre community but also those outsiders to come and experience this inspiring show.

The perfect Immigrant, written and performed by Samuel Yakura and directed by Katie OHalloran will tour theatre venues across Ireland, including the Riverbank Arts Centre, Newbridge on November 4. Tickets are priced at 14 to 16.

For more information contact the Riverbank on (045) 448327 from Monday to Friday from 9:30am to 5pm, and on Saturday from 10amto 1pm. You can also book tickets online at www.riverbank.ie
To commemorate the Decade of Commemoration, Kildare artist Greg Hallahan and local historian Mario Corrigan will present a special art exhibition, Nine Lives; at the Old Courthouse in Kildare Town on October 27th at 7:30 pm, for one night only.

This unique exhibition draws its inspiration from Mario Corrigan's book of the same title and features the artistic creations of Greg Hallahan. Nine Lives introduces a captivating concept, reimagining the heroic figures of the Rathbride Flying Column as Spirit Warriors Through Greg's artwork, these heroes are portrayed in a manner that aims to empower and inspire the audience, offering a fresh perspective on their true appearances.

The exhibition provides a profound historical journey into the Rathbride Flying Column and their pivotal role in the Irish Civil War. Mario Corrigan will provide a contextual talk, shedding light on the historical significance of these individuals and the dark period of Irish history in which they lived.

A significant part of Nine Lives is dedicated to remembering seven men who met their fate at Curragh Camp prison: Patrick Bagnall, Patrick Mangan, Joseph Jackie Johnston, Bryan Moore, Patrick Nolan, Stephen White, and James OConnor. Additionally, the exhibition pays tribute to Thomas Behan, who tragically lost his life while evading arrest, and Annie Moore, the fiancee and sister of two of these men. These individuals are commemorated in this powerful display, reimagining them as resilient Celtic warriors and emphasizing their courage and sacrifices during this turbulent historical period.

The project's second objective is to honor each member of the group collectively, acknowledging their unwavering spirit as a source of strength and reverence. Greg's choice of using humble bread trays as a medium for the exhibition is a symbolic link

between the past and the present, paying tribute to the religious fervor of these heroes.

They are portrayed as passionate believers, guided by their unshakable faith and hope above all else.

For more information, you can visit www.greghallahan00@gmail.com or follow Greg Hallahan's art journey on Instagram @greg_hallahan_art.

Don't miss this one-night-only opportunity to witness Nine Livesand pay homage to these remarkable historical figures.
Guinness Ballyshannon Rhythm and Blues 2023 takes place in Ballyshannon Co. Donegal with 50 free gigs from October 27 to October 29.

Over three days, the Festival promises to feature many leads of performing talents of Irish Blues across 12 venues in Ballyshannon. It will be 50 free gigs and 26 superb acts.

Ballyshannon Rhythm and Blues 2023 headlines are Johnny Gallager and Boxtie with special guests performing Presentation of Lifetime Achievement in Music Award honouring the Gallagher Family.

For over 35 years, the Gallagher Brothers and their band Boxtie have entertained audiences across Ireland, Europe and beyond. The Gallagher brothers were introduced to music very early by their parents, Sean and Mary Gallagher.

Sean Gallagher, a legend of the great showband years and his sons Johnny, James and Pauric will be honoured with the inaugural Lifetime Achievement in Music Award. This award will be given annually to recognise individual(s) who have had a profound effect on music and its promotion in a positive way.

The Gallagher Family deserve this recognition after years of creativity in music and a family contribution over two generations and over five decades of wonderful musical memories, and long may it continue.

Boxtie with Special Guests will be live in concert on Saturday, October 27, at 7.30pm in The Abbey Arts Centre, Ballyshannon.

It promises to be a great October Bank Holiday Weekend of non-stop Blues gigs throughout the home of Irish Blues in Ballyshannon. Ticket information and the full programme are available at https://www.rorygallagherfestival.com/ballyshannon-rb-2023.html/.
Cloone Community Center has received funding to assist with their energy costs under the Community and Voluntary Energy Support Scheme (CVESS), announced last Friday, October 20.

Over 728,00 will be granted to the Community Center. Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys TD, and Minister of State Joe O'Brien TD announced the sixth and final tranche of CVESS recipients.

Under this last tranche worth 78,991, an additional 30 organisations from across the community and voluntary sector will receive a one-off contribution towards the increased energy costs they faced in 2022.

Hundreds of groups have already benefited under the scheme, which was launched in response to the rising energy cost and its impact on the sector.

The funding brings the total number of organisations supported under the initiative to 876, with over 1.42 million now disbursed.

"I am delighted today to announce the final tranche of successful applicants under the Community and Voluntary Energy Support Scheme," said Minister Humphreys.

Minister Humphreys says that CVESS will give valuable breathing space to groups that form the backbone of Irish communities, delivering essential services and support and providing facilities to communities all over Ireland.

Minister Joe O'Brien added: "This scheme was about supporting community and voluntary organisations of all shapes and sizes that might have fallen through the net of other schemes.

"Over the course of the six tranches, the scheme has given tailored assistance to small local halls and to large, national organisations. I hope that this announcement of funding will help these 30 organisations to continue their vital work."

This initiative forms part of a range of measures introduced in Budget 2023 to meet higher energy costs for households, businesses and community organisations, and it complements the department's other supports to the community and voluntary sector, promoting sustainable, inclusive and empowered communities across Ireland.
The Ukrainian Air Force predicts that the Russian occupation army will act brazenly in the next missile and drone attacks. The invaders regularly use new tactics to bypass air defense systems.

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At the same time, the Russians are forced to act in accordance with the availability of their striking capabilities. This was stated by Yuriy Ihnat, spokesperson for the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, during a national telethon.

According to him, the Russian army has been regularly changing its tactics since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. However, it should now be borne in mind that the enemy may use fewer missiles in future attacks. At the same time, the enemy has significantly increased the number of attack drones.

"While there will not be as many missiles as last year, the situation with drones is completely different. I'm not just talking about the ones I mentioned, the same Shahdas. Just look at how many FPV drones they are producing now, thousands and thousands. As we see it, this is a dangerous weapon, we use FPV drones ourselves," Ihnat said.

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Ihnat also emphasized that countermeasures and air defense should be selected taking into account the fact that the enemy will build up attack UAVs.

On the evening of October 21, the aggressor country Russia once again struck Kharkiv region with ballistic missiles, explosions were heard in the regional center. The enemy hit the Nova Poshta terminal in the village of Korotych.

Earlier it was reported that explosions were heard in Kherson on the afternoon of October 22. The occupiers opened fire on the city from the left bank of the Dnipro.

As reported by OBOZ.UA, in the morning of October 22, Russian occupation forces fired on the frontline city of Kupiansk in Kharkiv region. The strikes hit residential buildings, and their residents were injured.

Only verified information on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber . Do not fall for fakes!
Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea Publishes 2023 Guide on How to Start a Coffee Shop in Connecticut





Learn how to start a coffee shop in Connecticut from Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea! The award-winning coffee roaster, which has helped open over 300 independent coffee shops in more than 30 states, recently updated its online coffee shop startup guide with more tips and success stories for The Constitution State.

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Oct. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Want to learn how to open a coffee shop in Connecticut? Get tips on starting a profitable business in The Constitution State from coffee shop startup experts at Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea.

"We knew we needed help, but didn't want to be a franchise. We liked what Crimson Cup brought to the table with their support package. Everything is thought out. Crimson Cup knows exactly what they're doing." - Mark Semanta, Owner, Sweet Aroma Coffeehouse & Bakery, Colchester, Connecticut

Through its 7 Steps to Success program, Roast magazine's 2016 Macro Roaster of the Year has taught over 300 entrepreneurs across the country how to open their own independent coffee shops.

In 2022, Crimson Cup published a series of startup guides to help entrepreneurs in each state achieve their dreams of opening their own coffee shops.

For 2023, the company's 7 Steps coffee shop startup consulting team has updated its "How to Start a Coffee Shop in Connecticut" guide with even more tips and resources.

"Connecticut offers fertile ground for many small businesses, and coffee shops are no exception," said Crimson Cup Founder and President Greg Ubert.

"Connecticut ranks 15h among the states in the number of coffee shops per capita, with fewer than one coffee shop for every 4,658 Connecticut residents. That leaves a lot of Connecticuters without a local coffee shop in a state with a lot of coffee demand."

The 7 Steps program is based on Ubert's book, Seven Steps to Success: A Common-sense Guide to Succeed in Specialty Coffee, which he wrote to help coffee shop owners master all aspects of successful coffee shop operations.

"We help entrepreneurs with little or no coffee experience become owners of thriving coffee shops serving their local communities," he said.

"From choosing a terrific location and writing a strong coffee shop business plan to calculating coffee shop startup costs, buying and laying out equipment, hiring and training staff and more, our team is here to guide you."

To hear about the book in Ubert's own words, download a free recorded introduction on Soundcloud.

"As a coffee roaster and coffee business consultant, Crimson Cup believes our company only succeeds when our customers do," Ubert said. "As a result, we support coffee shop owners at every step, from concept through opening day and beyond."

In 2021, Sweet Aroma Coffeehouse & Bakery opened in Colchester, Connecticut through the 7 Steps program.

Owners Kim and Mark Sementa sought to bring friends and neighbors together with terrific espresso-based coffee drinks and fantastic homemade baked goods.

"Even amid the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw the need for a family-friendly gathering place for our community," Kim Sementa said.

"We wanted to share our love for coffee and my recipes for homemade cookies, muffins, cupcakes and more!"

Their shop at 139 South Main Street invites guests to gather in comfortable indoor and outdoor seating. Larger groups meet in the dedicated community room.

After owning a liquor store for 10 years, the couple knew how important customer service would be in building their new coffee business. Kim's skills as an accountant and bookkeeper gave them the business foundation to succeed.

Still, a lack of coffee industry experience loomed as an obstacle to opening Sweet Aroma.

To gain specialty coffee savvy, they reached out to Crimson Cup.

"We knew we needed help, but didn't want to be a franchise," Mark Sementa said. "We liked what Crimson Cup brought to the table with their support package."

After calling Scott Fullerton from Crimson Cup's 7 Steps team, the couple began learning how to open their coffee shop.

"Crimson Cup delivers terrific service, incredible coffee-shop products and excellent training," Kim said. "The drinks are fantastic. As long as we follow the recipes, we can't go wrong!"

Mark said systems were easy to use and efficient. "Everything is thought out," he said. "Crimson Cup knows exactly what they're doing."

The couple found Step 5: Focus on Training the most valuable of the steps.

"We couldn't have done it without the help of 7 Steps Trainer Steve Bayless," Kim said.

Bayless came to Connecticut before the shop's opening to show the couple and their baristas how to prepare drinks using the equipment in their shop. He stayed on site a whole week to train them in all aspects of coffee shop operations.

Crimson Cup believes this hands-on, on-site training is a critical element in setting up coffee shop owners for success.

"Although there are a lot of coffee and barista schools out there, it's hard to learn everything in a classroom over a few days," Ubert said.

"Our experience is that on-site training costs the coffee shop owner less. Plus, you remember more of what you learn by doing."

Asked what advice he has for those who are considering opening a coffee shop, or adding coffee to their existing bakery or cafe, Mark Sementa said, "Get yourself a good consultant with Crimson Cup. Don't try to go it alone!"

"Opening a coffee shop would be nearly impossible if you don't have prior coffee experience," he added. "Even then, a barista only knows so much. You have to learn how to run the complete business."

The Sementas invite everyone in New London County to visit their shop at 139 South Main Street in Colchester. Find out why the coffee and sweet treats have attracted dozens of positive reviews!

"Wonderful local coffee shop!" wrote one Google local guide. "I'd say it's the best in town!! The service was awesome and their Sweet Aroma Mocha really hit the spot. I also tasted a few of their delectable treats and was not disappointed....I'll definitely be back for more!"

"Although the fundamentals of coffee shop operation remain the same from state to state, the economic opportunities, business formation and licensing requirements vary widely," Ubert said. "We're excited to share information and resources to help entrepreneurs expedite their startup journey."

He invited anyone who is thinking of opening a coffee shop in any state to call Crimson Cup for guidance.

"If you run into any roadblocks or just want to discuss your vision with a coffee expert, you can reach our startup team by calling 1-888-800-9224."

About Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea

Founded in 1991, Crimson Cup is at the forefront of the coffee industry. Its attentive roasting, startup support and global partnerships are consciously designed for the greater good of communities around the world. Among other significant recognitions, the company has earned 2023 Double Gold awards at the Aurora International Taste Challenge, 2020 and 2017 Good Food Awards, the 2019 Golden Bean Champion for Small Franchise/Chain Roaster and Roast magazine's 2016 Macro Roaster of the Year.

Crimson Cup travels the world searching for the perfect cup ? driven by meaningful relationships, honesty and a shared vision for the future. Its Friend2Farmer initiatives foster respect and decency through mutually beneficial collaboration across local and global communities.

Through its 7 Steps to Success coffee shop startup program, the company teaches entrepreneurs how to open and run independent coffee houses in their local communities.

Crimson Cup coffee is available through over 300 independent coffee houses, grocers, college and universities, restaurants and food service operations across more than 30 states, Guam and Bangladesh. The company also owns several Crimson Cup Coffee Shops and the CRIMSON coffeehouse and retail store in Easton Town Center. To learn more, visit crimsoncup.com,.

Media Contact

Cheryl Claypoole, Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea, 614-361-5023, [email protected], https://www.crimsoncup.com

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SOURCE Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea

22 october 2023 at 08:30

News published onand distributed by:
Media advisory - Minister Champagne to participate in Canada-Greece economic forum





OTTAWA, ON, Oct. 22, 2023 /CNW/ - The Honourable Francois-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, will attend the Toronto Economic Forum II, organized by the Delphi Economic Forum in partnership with The Hellenic Initiative Canada. He will participate in a discussion with Nikos Papathanasis, Greece's Alternate Minister of Economy and Finance, which will be moderated by Vassy Kapelos, CTV News Chief Political Correspondent.

Date: Monday, October 23, 2023

Time: 9:10 am (ET)

Location:

Toronto, Ontario

Members of the media are asked to contact ISED Media Relations at [email protected] by 7:00 am (ET) on Monday, October 23, to confirm their attendance.

Stay connected

Find more services and information at Canada.ca/ISED.

Follow Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada on social media.

Twitter: @ISED_CA, Facebook: Canadian Innovation, Instagram: @cdninnovation and LinkedIn

SOURCE Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

22 october 2023 at 15:05

News published onand distributed by:
Protesters take part during a demonstration organized by the National Collective for a Just and Lasting Peace Between Palestinians and Israelis, in Paris on October 22, 2023. AURELIEN MORISSARD / AP

Thousands of people joined vigils in Berlin and London on Sunday, October 22, to oppose antisemitism and support Israel, while in Paris and other cities, thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators demanded a cease-fire and relief for people in the besieged Gaza Strip. Some of those who gathered in front of Berlin's Brandenburg Gate carried Israeli flags or posters with photos of some of the more than 200 people seized by Hamas as hostages during the militants' deadly October 7 incursion into Israel.

"It is unbearable that Jews are living in fear again today  in our country of all places," German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier told the crowd, estimated at 20,000 by organizers and 10,000 by police. "Every single attack on Jews, on Jewish institutions is a disgrace for Germany. Every single attack fills me with shame and anger." Earlier, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz inaugurated a new synagogue in the eastern city of Dessau and said he was "outraged" by the upsurge in antisemitism since the conflict began. Several buildings in Berlin where Jews live had the star of David painted on doors and walls, and assailants threw two Molotov cocktails at a synagogue in Berlin last week. "Here in Germany, of all places," Scholz said, vowing that "our never again' must be unbreakable."

People listen to speeches during a demonstration against antisemitism and to show solidarity with Israel in Berlin, Germany, on October 22, 2023. MARKUS SCHREIBER / AP

At a vigil attended by thousands in London's Trafalgar Square, participants held posters bearing the images of hostages and the missing. They chanted "Bring them home," falling silent as the names of the hostages were read out. Speakers from both the UK's governing Conservative Party and the opposition Labour Party addressed the crowd. Communities Secretary Michael Gove said Hamas's October 7 attack was an act of "unparalleled evil and barbarism." "We must stand together against it. We must stand for life. We must bring the hostages home," he said.

Thousands of people pack London's Trafalgar Square on October 22, 2023, to demand the liberation of the more than 200 hostages taken by Hamas in its incursion into southern Israel on October 7. YANN TESSIER / REUTERS

Demonstrators show signs with the faces and names of people believed to be taken hostage and held in Gaza, during a protest in Trafalgar Square, London, on October 22, 2023. FRANK AUGSTEIN / AP

Hundreds of people rallied outside the United Nations's offices in Geneva to demand the hostages's release. Waving mostly Israeli but also Swiss and German flags, the demonstrators held aloft signs that read "Children aren't bargaining chips" or T-shirts with the words #SetThemFree. A day earlier, about 4,500 pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched in the Swiss city of Lausanne, police said.

The war has raised tensions worldwide, leaving Jewish and Muslim communities feeling vulnerable. London's Metropolitan Police Force says it has seen a 13-fold upsurge in reports of antisemitic offenses in October compared to last year. Reports of anti-Muslim crimes have more than doubled. Sunday's rallies came a day after tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators  100,000 by police estimates  marched through the British capital to demand Israel stop its bombardment of Gaza, launched in response to Hamas's brutal incursion.

Authorities in Gaza say more than 4,600 people have been killed in the territory since the latest war began. More than 1,400 people have been killed in Israel, the majority of them civilians slain in the October 7 attack. Israel intensified its bombardment of Gaza ahead of an expected ground offensive. United Nations officials were pressing for more humanitarian aid to get into the besieged strip after 20 trucks were allowed Saturday to enter Gaza across the southern Rafah border crossing with Egypt.

Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes Israel-Hamas war: Tensions flare in European countries

Paris protest

In France, which has Europe's largest Jewish and Muslim communities, thousands of demonstrators gathered in Paris to demand Israel stop its strikes on Gaza. Police estimated 15,000 people took part. Some waved red, green and black Palestinian flags and clambered onto the central statue at Place de la Republique. A banner read "Stop the massacre in Gaza. France must call for an immediate cease-fire."

Organizers  including Palestinian and Muslim groups, peace associations, workers's and students's unions and leftist political parties  condemned Hamas's attack on civilians, urged the militant group to release all hostages and called for an end to Israel's assault.

Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes Israel-Hamas war: Europe runs the risk of internal chaos

Nicole Pomier, a 49-year-old Parisian and longtime activist, said she was relieved the protest had not been banned by authorities. "We want to be able to support the Palestinian people without risking being arrested by the police," she said. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin had ordered all pro-Palestinian demonstrations banned before authorities ruled permission for protests should be decided locally on a case-by-case basis.

Jewish groups planned a gathering in Paris later Sunday to call for the release of Hamas's hostages.

French labor unions and organizations call for peace and an immediate ceasefire in Gaza during a demonstration at Place de la Republique in Paris, France, on October 22, 2023. BENOIT TESSIER / REUTERS
ACCLAIMED Limerick artist Barbara Hartigan has decided to donate the proceeds of her lifes work to a good cause.

Ms Hartigan, who resides in Castleconnell, has compiled some 70 signed portraits of well-known faces.

They include Sir Terry Wogan, Mother Teresa, Dolly Parton, Bill Clinton, Lionel Richie, Kris Kristofferson, Marcel Marceau, Jimmy Carr to name but a few.

Now she would like the works of art to help a charity.

They are sitting in files and stored all over the place. I just thought it was kind of ridiculous and it would be nice if they did some good somewhere along the line because they are worth a lot of money. I am thrilled to do it, said Ms Hartigan.

She is adamant that every penny is to go to charity.

Ms Haritgan invites charities or big organisations who wish to take on the philanthropic project to get in touch with her.

I am hoping someone will take it on. I want it professionally done, all the portraits to be marketed and promoted and put up for auction together online to get the maximum value for them, said Ms Hartigan, who can be contacted at barbara@hartigan.ie

When the portraits are gone she will still have the wonderful memories of her and husband Leslie's adventures in getting them signed.

These are detailed in a book Ms Hartigan and her family, with the assistance of the late Dermot Walsh, brought out in 2016. It is entitled Putting Names on Faces - Confessions of a Portrait Painting Stalker.

Aged just five Santa brought her an autograph book and a lifes obsession was born.

I approached people from all walks of life and asked them to write in my book. I think I had the signatures of all the CIE bus drivers and conductors who drove on the Revington Park route, said Ms Hartigan.

While her friends collected stickers and cigarette cards, Barbara only wanted signatures.

Her first portrait was of renowned Limerick comedy double act Tom and Paschal which they signed.

What a good idea I thought - I would build a collection of personality portraits all signed by the subject, said Barbara. And she did.

Right from the start, the challenge of getting famous and celebrated people from all walks of life to sign my portrait studies became an adventure. Each portrait and signature quest took on the excitement and tension of a hunt. Yet each experience was different. The autograph portraits took on a life of their own accompanied in many cases by a rollercoaster ride through a gamut of emotions, she says.

And now it may be possible to own your very own signed portrait of a celebrity, but also the story behind it with the money going to a good cause.
TRAUMA is not in the administration of assisted dying but rather in the loneliness, isolation and lack of support a Limerick man has said.

Garret Ahern, from Limerick, spoke about the need for assisted dying legislation in Ireland during an Oireachtas committee meeting on the ethics of end-of-life care.

In April, Mr Aherns wife availed of assisted dying in Belgium following a lengthy battle with cancer.

The discussion was part of the Joint Committee on Assisted Dying chaired by Kerry TD Michael Healy-Rae, featuring the stories and opinions of members of the public including Elma Walsh, mother of Donal Walsh who came into prominence in 2013, during his cancer battle.

Earlier this year Mr Ahern travelled with his wife, Vicky Janssens, a former lecturer at UCC, to her native Belgium where she died by assisted dying in her friends home.

Had a procedure such as this been available in Ireland, albeit with the most strict guidelines and safeguards the state could provide, we, her loved ones, would have been saved from this emotionally and psychologically harrowing ordeal, Mr Ahern said.

According to Mr Ahern, Ms Janssens was a metastatic breast cancer patient for over ten years. Cancer had spread to her lungs, liver, bones and her stomach.

[Vickys] terminal diagnosis was delivered in December 2022 and we began, despite Vicky's reservations, on a programme of chemotherapy, along with support in the form of pain management from the palliative care team, Mr Ahern said.

Unfortunately, none of the interventions worked to improve Ms Janssens condition according to Mr Ahern.

...she told me how extreme her pain was and that she felt she could no longer manage it. She also felt she was not being supported by her medical team in this respect, he said.

She asked me what would happen if she consumed all of the morphine we had in the house. I can only say I advised her in the strongest possible way that this would be a bad idea.

Mr Ahern previously worked with a suicide prevention group in Limerick and said he has seen the after-effects of suicide and that it rarely ends well and the outcome may not be what she intended.

I would also like to add that I believe quality of life can be found in the most difficult circumstances and I am by no means suggesting that the vulnerable, elderly or people with disabilities should in any way be coerced into a choice such as this, Mr Ahern said.

Mr Ahern believes that if assisted dying was made available in Ireland there should be a rigid examination of the medical facts and there should be a psychological assessment carried out on a patient wishing to avail of assisted dying or expressing their wishes in that regard.
A woman in her 80s has died after being hit by a car in Co Clare.

Gardai are investigating the accident which occurred this morning, Sunday, October 22, in Knockaveen, Co. Clare.

The collision occurred at approximately 8:55am and involved a car and a pedestrian.

The pedestrian, a woman in her 80s, was fatally injured, gardai confirmed.

Her body has since been removed to the morgue at University Hospital Limerick where a post mortem examination is due to take place.

There were no other injuries reported.

The L8050 road at Knockaveen remains closed and local diversions are in place.

A technical examination is being conducted by Forensic Collision Investigators.

A Family Liaison Officer has been appointed to provide support to the family of the deceased.

Gardai in Scarriff are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed this collision to contact them.

Any road users who were travelling in this area between 8:45am and 9:15am and may have camera footage (including dash-cam), are asked to make this available to Gardai.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Scarriff Garda Station on 061 922790, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any Garda station.
THE OBJECT known as P.Herc.Paris.3 resembles a dark grey lump of charcoal, about the size and shape of a banana. That explains its nickname: Banana Boy. It is in fact a papyrus scroll, found in the ruins of a villa in the Roman town of Herculaneum, in Campania. Along with hundreds of other scrolls in the villas library, it was carbonised when scorching gases engulfed the town during the same eruption of Mount Vesuvius, in 79AD, that also buried the nearby town of Pompeii .

Although the scrolls survived, their charring means that unrolling them is almost impossible. Now, nearly 2,000 years later, words from inside Banana Boy have been revealed for the first time, after volunteers competing in a prize challenge used X-rays and artificial intelligence to do the unrolling virtually.

The first word to be found, announced on October 12th, was porphyras", which means purple" in ancient Greek (see picture below). It was uncovered by Luke Farritor, a computer-science student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, earning him a $40,000 prize. Mr Farritor built on work by Casey Handmer, a former NASA physicist, whose examination of X-ray images of Banana Boys charred layers identified a characteristic crackle pattern" indicating the presence of ink.

Scroll up

The same word was later found by Youssef Nader, a robotics student at the Free University of Berlin. (Dr Handmer and Mr Nader both received $10,000 prizes.) Mr Nader has since produced an image from the scroll showing four columns of text, side by side. For classicists, this is heady stuff. The villa in question is thought to have belonged to Lucius Calpurnius Piso, the father-in-law of Julius Caesar. The ability to read its well-stocked library could significantly expand the number of texts that have survived from antiquity. Already there is excited speculation about forgotten plays, new works of philosophyor even lost epic poems.

Efforts to read the scrolls began in the 1750s, when the villa was rediscovered. Attempts to unpick them with knives caused them to disintegrate. Recognising their fragility, Antonio Piaggio, a conservator from the Vatican, built a machine in 1754 to unroll them slowly, using weights on strings. Even then, the unrolled scrolls fell to pieces. And the resulting fragments were almost impossible to read: charcoal-based ink is hard to see against the shiny black of charred papyrus. But the few characters that could be read revealed some scrolls to be philosophical works written in ancient Greek.

A quarter of a millennium later, in 1999, scientists from Brigham Young University illuminated some of those fragments with infrared light. That created a strong contrast between papyrus and ink, making the writing more legible. Multi-spectral imaging in 2008, combining many wavelengths of light, was even better, revealing previously unreadable words. Many fragments turned out to belong to texts written by a Greek philosopher called Philodemus of Gadara. Until then, they had been known only from mentions in other works. (Cicero, though, was a fan of his poetry.)

Around 500 scrolls remain unopened. Given the damage it does, physical unrolling is no longer attempted. Instead the focus has shifted towards finding ways to unwrap them virtually, by using 3D scans of the rolled-up scrolls to produce a series of legible 2D images. The pioneer of this approach is W. Brent Seales, a computer scientist at the University of Kentucky. In 2009 he arranged for Banana Boy, and another scroll known as Fat Bastard, to be scanned in a computerised tomography (CT) X-ray machine, of the sort usually used for medical scans. This produced detailed images of their internal structures for the first time. But the ink within the scrolls could not be made out.

In 2015 Dr Seales analysed a different carbonised scroll found in 1970 at En-Gedi, near the Dead Sea in Israel. It had been written using a metal-rich ink, which stood out strongly in X-ray images. (The text turned out to be the Book of Leviticus.) This confirmed that, in the right circumstances, digitally unrolling a carbonised scroll and reading the contents could indeed be done.

The next step was to combine the existing approaches into a new one. In 2019 Dr Seales arranged for Banana Boy, Fat Bastard and four fragments of other scrolls to be scanned at high resolution using the Diamond Light Source in Britain, a particle accelerator that can produce much more powerful X-ray light than a CT scanner. He then paired infrared images of the fragments, in which the ink can be readily seen, with X-ray scans of the same fragments in which it cannot.

Earlier this year Stephen Parsons, a graduate student working with Dr Seales, fed the two sets of images into a machine-learning model, which used the infrared scans to teach itself how to recognise the faint signs of ink in the X-ray ones. By applying the resulting model to X-ray images from the rolled-up scrolls it would be possible to reveal their contents. At this point, deciphering the scrolls had, in theory, been reduced to a very complex software problem. But that software still needed to be improved and scaled up.

Enter Nat Friedman, a technology executive and investor with an interest in ancient Rome. Mr Friedman offered to help fund Dr Sealess work. Over a whisky, they decided that the best way to accelerate things was to organise a contest, with prizes handed out for completing various tasks. Mr Friedman and Daniel Gross, another entrepreneur, launched the Vesuvius Challenge in March, with a prize fund of $250,000. Other tech-industry donors soon increased that to over $1m. To get the ball rolling, an initial challenge was posted on Kaggle, a website that hosts data-science contests, to improve the ink-detection model developed by Dr Parsons.

More than 1,200 teams entered. Many competed in subsequent challenges to improve the tools for ink detection and segmentation", as the process of transforming the 3d scans into 2d images of the scrolls surface is known. Scrutinising segmented images from Banana Boy, Dr Handmer realised that the crackle pattern signified the presence of ink. Mr Farritor used this finding to fine-tune a machine-learning model to find more crackles, then used those crackles to further optimise his model, until eventually it revealed legible words.

Mr Nader used a different approach, starting with unsupervised pretraining" on the segmented images, asking a machine-learning system to find whatever patterns it could, with no external hints. He tweaked the resulting model using the winning entries from the Kaggle ink-detection challenge. After seeing Mr Farritors early results, he applied this model to the same segment of Banana Boy, and found what appeared to be some letters. He then iterated, repeatedly refining his model using the found letters. Slowly but surely its ability to find more letters increased. All the results were assessed by papyrologists before the prizes were awarded.

Multae manus onus levius reddunt

No less important than the technology is the way the effort has been organised. It is, in effect, the application of the open-source software-development method, Mr Friedmans area of expertise, to an archaeological puzzle. Its a unique collaboration between tech founders and academics to bring the past into the present using the tools of the future," he says. Dr Seales reckons the spur of competition means the equivalent of ten years worth of research has been done in the past three months.

An active community of volunteers is now applying the new tools to the two scanned scrolls. Mr Friedman thinks there is a 75% chance that someone will claim the grand prize of $700,000, for identifying four separate passages of at least 140 characters, by the end of the year. Its a race now," he says. We will be reading entire books next year."

Being able to read Banana Boy would indeed just be the beginning. Only a small fraction of Greek and Roman literature has survived into modern times. But if the hundreds of other scrolls recovered from the villa could be scanned and read using the same tools, it would dramatically expand the number of texts from antiquity. Dr Seales says he hopes the Herculaneum scrolls will contain a completely new, previously unknown text". Mr Friedman is hoping for one of the lost Greek epic poems in particular.

Even more important, all this might in turn revive interest in excavating the villa more fully, says Mr Friedman. The existing scrolls were recovered from a single corner of what scholars believe is a much larger library spread across several floors. If so, it might contain thousands of scrolls in Greek and Latin.

One reason that classical texts are so scarce is that the papyrus upon which they were written does not survive well in Europes temperate, rainy climate. So it is a delicious irony, notes Dr Seales, that the carbonisation of the scrolls, which makes them so difficult to read, is also what preserved them for posterityand that fragments of scrolls that disintegrated when they were unrolled physically would eventually provide the key to unrolling the rest of them virtually.

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Durga Puja pandals across the country based on various themes ranging from Manipur violence to G-20 Summit have been drawing visitors and devotees in large numbers.

A Durga Puja pandal in Bihar's Patna, themed on G20 Summit, is modelled on the state-of-the-art Bharat Mandapam at Delhi's Pragati Maidan is modelled on the state-of-the-art Bharat Mandapam at Delhi's Pragati Maidan, reported ANI.

The Durga Puja pandal showcases model of Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with world leaders and prominent international delegates who attended the event including US President Joe Biden. The pandal also showcases Delhi's Red Fort.

View Full Image Durga puja pandal in Bihar at Dak Bungalow crossing in Patna.

The Durga Puja pandal of Odisha's Tulsichura, themed on the Winter Palace in Russia, is modelled on the Paris landmark and the cost of setting it up is estimated to be around 50 lakhs.

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Muslim and Hindu communities coming together in Odisha's Baripada town to organise and perform Durga puja for the past 39 years at Tulsichaura.

In Kolkata, big-ticket Durga pujas including College Square, Ekdalia Evergreen, Sree Bhumi Sporting Club, Baghbazar Sarbojonin, Jodhpur Park, Park Circus Sarbojonin, Santosh Mitra Square, Ahiritola Sarbojonin, Kumartuli Park, Babu Bagan, Deshopriyo Park, BosePukur Sitala Mandir were among the crowd pullers.

Aryanagar Kishore Sangha's Belgharia pandal is designed by Kumartuli clay modeller Subal Paul. It showcases the crisis faced by the circus industry. South Kolkatas Chetla Agrani pandal, themed 'Je Jekhane Dariye' (Chasing our dreams), depicts the journey of people trying to outpace their rivals to reach the elusive goal of success.

Shiv Mandir Sarbojonin Durga Puja Committees pandal with the theme 'agol' (safety shield) uses environment-friendly items. In north Kolkata Jagat Mukherjee Park Puja Committee in a tribute to nude models, has honoured 65-year-old Phulkumari Das. She served as a live nude model for over four decades for art college students.

View Full Image Durga Puja pandal in Kolkata depicts disaster in nature and hills due to human cause. (Hindustan Times)

View Full Image Durga Puja pandal in Kolkata, themed on 'many faces and pairs of hands as giver and taker during 'Sasthi' of Durga Puja festival. (PTI)

Another pandal in north Kolkata, Hatibagan Nabinpally Durga Puja pays tribute to Sukumar Ray, with 'Abol Tabol' as the theme. He is one of the icons of Bengali childrens literature. The pandal commemorates the writers 100th death anniversary and the centenary year of the publication of Abol Tabol. Sukumar Ray is the father of Satyajit Ray.

Manipur violence themed FC Block Sarbojanin Durga Puja pandal is in Salt Lake with Mother of Manipur as its theme. Pallir Yubak Brinda Puja Committee organised Durga Puja pandal with the theme Uttar Sakkhi, That captures the charm and touch of north Kolkata as it existed over 200 years ago.

College Square Sarbojonin Puja Committee in Kolkata organised a Durga Puja pandal with giant chandelier and decorations resembling Mysore Palace. At College Square, pandal illuminated a water body with animation cartoons that drew visitors in large numbers. Musical performances took place at Maddox Square. Harry Potter Jadunagari Durga Puja pandal at Sukhchar in North 24 Parganas was among other crowd-puller pandals.

Mechua Bajar Sarbajanin Durga Puja Samitys theme is Gobhirata (depth) and its pandal is a replica of an old ship, reported PTI.

In Assam, Shani Mandir Durga Puja pandal at Haiborgaon in Nagaon district is decorated with coins worth more than 11 lakh. Coins of all denominations have been used to set up the pandal.

View Full Image Durga Puja pandal in Assam's Tezpur where devotees perform 'Aarti' on 'Maha Saptami.' (PTI)

(With inputs from ANI and PTI)

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Realty company Bhutani Infra said it is developing a 15 million square feet area in four projects in Noida and also expanding out of the national capital region (NCR) for the first time in four locations.

Outside the NCR, the real estate company is developing a total of 10 million square feet area in Goa, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, said Bhutani Infra CEO and founder Ashish Bhutani.

We are currently working on our four projects in Noida in NCR which include a high-end residential project in Sector 128, a mix use project in Sector 150, Cyberthum in Sector 104, a shopping mall in Sector 133. Total area under development is 15 million square feet," Bhutani was quoted as saying in a PTI report.

Cyberthum is going to be the tallest office twin towers in North India" and is expected to be ready by 2024, he added.

The idea behind the group's upcoming projects is also not just to create commercial and residential projects but come up with landmark structures that stand out from others, he further said.

The company has delivered 16 projects in Delhi, Noida and Ghaziabad in the NCR and is now expanding to Tier II cities.

We have acquired plots in Haridwar, Ludhiana, Sancoale (Goa) and Lucknow. These are the areas where we are now expanding apart from NCR and these projects would go live by June next year," Bhutani told PTI. The real estate company aims to deliver them by 2028.

The project in Sancoale, Goa is going to be most premium" with independent villas and apartments in seven-storey buildings, Bhutani said. There will be 700 swimming pools in the project. Every villa will have its own pool. This is going to be the first of its kind in the world at this scale."

In Haridwar, the project would have a luxury residential and shopping centre and would be close to Har ki Paudi, while in Lucknow the group is preparing for development along the Shaheed Path.

(With inputs from PTI)

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New Delhi: Several global funds have more than doubled their India allocations, with the country now accounting for up to 15% of their total portfolios, attracted by Indias strong post-pandemic rebound, said Thomas Kuruvilla, managing partner for Middle East, India and member of the global board at Arthur D Little said in an interview.

Among prominent global investment firms, Swedish Investment house EQT AB, US-based Barings and BlackRock have increased their allocation to India. Several sovereign wealth funds, the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabis Mubadala Investment Co. and Qatar Investment Authority, have also increased their investment in India.

There is no other fund I am aware of in which the allocation has not increased in India. The allocations to India used to be in the range of 5% of their total allocation, which has increased up to 15% in some cases. The increase has been made mostly in sectors such as health care, financial services, education and real estate. The allocation for sovereign wealth funds is not explicitly by regions but by sectors operating in various regions, and India is becoming more prominent," Kuruvilla said.

He added that the investors look for political stability, which translates into regulatory certainty.

Along with political certainty, investors are also concerned about the long-term outlook of the India-China relationship, besides factors such as competitiveness, the Centre-state polity, societal conflicts, short-term infrastructure and skill availability.

India has been an outlier in terms of economic recovery during the pandemic. The government, as part of its efforts to attract investments, has announced productivity-linked incentives across sectors.

This has attracted a lot of companies who are looking at India as a manufacturing base. For instance, Foxconn has started manufacturing phones at facilities in Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. GE Healthcare, Boeing, and Embraer Defence are looking to increase manufacturing in the country.

Not just sectors, global funds are now beginning to pay more attention to the Indian market. The latest Greed & Fear report by Jefferies attributed this to the market now having 30 companies with a market value of over $25 billion.

Sensing a growth opportunity in the Indian market, ADL is looking at building India as its hub for sectors such as automotive and energy.

We are going to build many global hubs in India. So, the automotive sector, for sure and energy. We are also building for healthcare, which we need to get into that and also technology and digital. Telecom, ICT sector we need to get into that and manufacturing also. And these are, I think, very critical sectors (for India)," Kuruvilla said.

He added that many consultancy firms are not building expertise in India but only sourcing rudimentary work to India, and ADL will change that.

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In the Tauride sector, the Armed Forces of Ukraine destroyed 11 tanks and 29 armored combat vehicles of the Russian occupants over the past day. About 80% of this equipment was turned into scrap by our soldiers in the Donetsk region.

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This was reported by the commander of the Tavria operational and strategic group of troops Oleksandr Tarnavsky on his Telegram channel. In total, 50 units of enemy military equipment were destroyed during the day, including:

- 11 tanks;

- 29 armored combat vehicles

- 1 UAV;

- 7 units of automotive and 2 units of special equipment.

Another 27 units of enemy equipment were damaged. In addition, the Ukrainian Armed Forces destroyed 4 enemy ammunition depots over the day.

Over the course of the day, 53 combat engagements with Russian troops took place in the Tauride sector. The enemy launched 1 missile and 24 air strikes, as well as 685 artillery attacks. Meanwhile, units of our missile troops and artillery performed 1244 firing missions, firing at the occupants.

"Total enemy losses amounted to 496 people. 2 occupants surrendered," noted Tarnavsky.

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It should be reminded that the Tauride sector covers Zaporizhzhia region and part of Donetsk region, including the front line to Avdiivka.

As OBOZ.UA previously reported, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are successfully restraining the enemy in all directions and inflicting losses on the Russian occupiers in manpower and equipment. During the day, on October 21, our defenders had to engage in 68 direct combat clashes with the invaders.

Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
Foxconn Technology Group is facing scrutiny through tax audits and on-site investigations at some of its important subsidiaries, Reuters reported citing Chinese state media reports on October 22.

Domestically known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Company in China, Foxconn is the largest supplier of iPhones for Silicon Valley tech giant Apple.

Also Read: Nvidia, Foxconn to Develop New Class of Data Centers Focused on AI

What is happening?

As per the report, China's natural resources department has initiated on-site investigations into the land usage of Foxconn enterprises located in Henan province, Hubei province, and other areas.

The developments were disclosed in an exclusive report by Chinese media major, the Global Times. There was however no further details into the investigations or their timing, it added.

Also Read: Apple's Tim Cook makes surprise China visit as iPhone sales slump

Foxconn did not comment outside of business hours, as per the report.

Why the audits?

The tax audits and land use investigations are standard procedures applied to enterprises suspected of violating rules and regulations, Zhang Wensheng, the deputy dean of the Taiwan Research Institute of Xiamen University told the Global Times.

Zhang emphasized that it is essential for Foxconn's subsidiaries to cooperate actively with these audits and investigations.

Also Read: Apple's iPhone 12 receives heavy discount on Flipkart! Here's how the deal works

Foxconn's subsidiaries are obliged to actively cooperate with audits and investigations, and if there are indeed violations of laws and regulations, they should admit mistakes and accept penalties and step up rectification," he added.

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Low-cost routes and leisure travellers will be the key focus areas Air India Express, as its parent firm Air India Group continues to consolidate its airline business in the country.

Also Read:Ovens, streaming and loyalty points - Is Air India Express preparing the right recipe to take on IndiGo?

While rejecting the plan of immediate expansion across nation, Air India Express Managing Director, Aloke Singh, said that airline's top priority will be to first consolidate its presence on the existing routes and achieve a meaningful scale in the industry.

"The focus of Air India Express will be on routes which have a higher component of leisure travellers, a higher component of price-sensitive customers. In fact, more of non-business while Air India will focus primarily on routes which are higher yielding, which requires business class and a higher level of in-flight services," Singh told PTI in an interaction.

Also Read: Air India Express unveils new brand identity, aircraft livery | Watch

He also said that the Air India Express network will be planned in such a way that it reaches to the places where Air India does not fly.

Air India Express, is a low-cost airline which is known to cater price-sensitive air travellers. The airline along with Air India, AIX Connect and Vistara operates under the umbrella of Air India group, which is owned by the Tatas. The group is currently under hte process of consolidating its airline business.

Also Read: Akasa Air is up against formidable competition on its international routes

As part of the consolidation, Vistara, which is a 51:49 joint venture airline between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, it is also in the process of merging with Air India.

Air India Express to not operate on popular routes like Delhi-Mumbai

Aloke Singh also said that Air India will be structured in a manner that it flies to the destinations where Air India can't live. He underlined the need to rationalise the network of the group. The task will be achieved by ensuring that flight operations of one subsidiary airline doesn't clash with another on routes where it has strong hold.

Also Read: IndiGo widens lead on international routes

That's why Air India Express, at least in the short term will not operate on routes such as Delhi-Mumbai, a route which has higher yield customers, and is served very well by Air India.

After clearing the division of routes between the two airlines, Aloke Singh said that Air India Express will not be losing out on major markets and passengers, as it has a code share agreement with Air India.

He said that the two airlines will would operate in symphony to cater to the need of international travellers with destinations like tier-2 or tier-3 cities.

If Air India has a connecting passenger who is coming in from London, and has to go to Surat, Air India can sell that itinerary on an Air India-coded flight, which will be operated by Air India Express, explained Aloke Singh to PTI.

The difficult part of the Air India Express-AIX Connect (formerly Air Asia India) was the integration of back-end platforms, processes and manuals. This part is already completed.

Now there is a legal process which is going on, and which normally takes 6-9 months for completion. We are hoping that this process will get over by the end of March next year," he said.

Future plan for short-haul,international and domestic market

Sharing the recent plan for Air India Express, Aloke Singh made it clear that the airline is not planning to expand its operation all over India. He said that the first priority of the airline would be to consolidate presence.

"We are not looking at spreading our capacity all over the country right of the back. We will first consolidate our presence on the routes where we are already operating, get to a meaningful scale there and then start looking at other markets. So, this is the broad thinking for our networks," he said.

On the competition from market leader IndiGo, Singh said Air India Express has its strengths, which it will play out.

"We are in the market, so obviously we will be competing with each other but there will be routes where we may have some advantage. There may be routes where we will get feeds from Air India, and that will actually top up our own occupancy and that is our strength," Singh emphasised.

Along with consolidation, the airline is also moving ahead with its agenda of transformation with certain targets. Its future plans include target to have a market share of about 20 per cent on the short-haul, international and 15 per cent on domestic, he stated.

He also underlined that profitability of an airline is the function of many things like product, network and scale. Speaking on similar lines, Aloke Singh said that if the operations are sub-scale, it will be very hard to be profitable, especially in a hyper-competitive market like India.

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Bollywood actor Dalip Tahil has been sentenced to two months in a five-year-old case.

65-year-old Tahil, who rammed his car into an autorickshaw in 2018, had injured a woman.

Relying on the evidence of the doctor who opined that smell of the alcohol was found and pupils were dilated, a magistrate's court convicted and sentenced Tahil to two months.

Dalip Tahil case:

Dalip Tahil's drunk driving case dates back to 2018. At that time, Mumbai Police had arrested Tahil. He was accused of ramming an autorickshaw from his car. A woman passenger, who was sitting in that auto, was also injured in that accident. While Tahil was given bail, the case continued. On Sunday, the court announced the verdict and sentenced him to two months.

According to a report by Dainik Bhaskar, Tahil had refused to give blood samples to the Mumbai Police at the time. However, the police had ordered medical tests of the injured person in that accident.

Tahil has worked in films like Baazigar, Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai, Soldier, etc.

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Google Doodle released a doodle in view of Federal elections in Switzerland that are scheduled to take place today, October 22. On this day all members of the National Council and Council of States will be elected.

Following these elections, on December 13, Switzerland will hold elections for the Federal Council, the country's collective government and presidency.

The eligibility criteria for both candidates and voters in National Council elections are consistent throughout Switzerland. To run for office or cast a ballot, individuals must be Swiss citizens and at least 18 years old. Swiss citizens living abroad can participate by registering to vote in their last canton of residence or their canton of citizenship, regardless of how long they have lived in Switzerland or whether they have ever resided there.

The National Council comprises 200 members, elected from the 26 cantons, each of which forms a constituency. Multi-member cantons employ open-list proportional representation, with the addition of apartments for allied parties and sub-apparentments for lists within parties.

Also read: Akhilesh-Vakhilesh', Kamal in name: Congress, SP trade barbs amid Madhya Pradesh election tie-up row

Initially, apparented lists are collectively considered for seat allocation. Seat allocation utilises the Hagenbach-Bischoff system without any specific threshold. Voters have the flexibility to strike out names on party lists, duplicate names, distribute their votes across multiple parties using a system called panachage, or create their own list on a blank ballot. The six single-member cantons adopted a first-past-the-post voting system.

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The allocation of National Council seats to cantons is based on their respective population sizes, which encompass children and resident foreigners who lack voting rights. According to the official population count from the end of 2020, Basel-Stadt lost one seat, while Zurich gained another seat. Zurich holds the highest number of seats among the cantons.

(With inputs from Wikipedia)

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In more bad news for commuters in Bengaluru, traffic woes reportedly may worsen in the coming months due to the construction of the Namma Metro.

According to the media reports, the Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation (BMRCL) said one side of the city's Silk Board Junction flyover would be partially closed in connection with construction work of the metro.

The Namma Metro in a statement stated that 2.5 metre on both sides of the main carriageway of the flyover's up and down ramp near Madiwala would be barricaded for four months.

Namma Metro is the second largest metro network in the country with a total length of 72.2 km. Another 97.84 km is under construction. Namma Metro has 66 stations (elevated 59 and underground 7).

Namma Metro comprises two lines at present--Green and Purple lines.

The Purple line of the Bengaluru metro covers 42.17 km and is spread across 37 stations while the Green line covers 3 km of distance in 29 stations.

Yello, Pink, and Blue lines are under construction and cover a 97.84 km distance.

Bengaluru traffic woes

Early this month, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakuma said a 190 km long tunnel has been proposed to ease traffic congestion in the city and within 45 days, the state government will be inviting public tenders for it.

The companies will study and report on how the tunnel road should be, whether it should be four or six lanes, from where it should begin and end and a decision also needs to be taken on whether it should be expanded across the city, he said.

He also said that Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike engineers should work with the help of traffic police to address the issue of potholes. "When it rains, it is normal to get potholes. Such roadblocks will be repaired immediately in important areas of the city," he added.

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NEW DELHI : The government plans to earmark 30,000 crore to expand the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) portal into a comprehensive platform that will extend insurance coverage beyond crops to include assets such as ponds, tractors, livestock, and palm trees, two officials said.

This initiative will be driven by the AIDE app, launched in July, to ensure door-to-door enrolment, making crop insurance more accessible and convenient for farmers.

Through this app, insurance intermediaries will not only enrol farmers for crop insurance, but also extend coverage to 40 million farmers for non-subsidized schemes.

We are planning to build a platform. Its a transition from being a portal to a platform. AIDE app is already there for farmers, through which insurance intermediaries enrol farmers for crop insurance. While they enrol the farmers for a subsidized scheme, which is PMFBY, farmers may also want some of their other rural products that are not subsidized to be covered by insurance. If the portal is converted into a platform, farmers will be able to get insurance coverage for their non-subsidized agricultural assets," one of the two officials said on condition of anonymity.

Based on the subsidized platform, we will try to get schemes enroled onto our platform where farmers of certain regions will be given choices to opt for other schemes," the official added.

PMFBY, a central government-sponsored crop insurance scheme which integrates all stakeholders on one platform has been revamped with the incorporation of new technological initiatives like YES-Tech, WINDS portal and AIDE app, marking a turning point for crop insurance in India.

Following the restructuring of PMFBY, insured area in 2022-23 rose by 12% as compared to the previous year, reaching more than 49.7 million hectares, and is expected to hit an all-time high 57.5-60 million hectares insured acreage in the 2023-24 Kharif season.

Besides, several states, including Andhra Pradesh re-enlisted in the scheme, while others are planning to re-join due to the universal approach under the restructured PMFBY scheme to cover all farmers in the respective states. After the revamping and the government settling long pending claims of 765 crores since 2018-19 Kharif season, Jharkhand has finally decided to re-enter the scheme from Kharif 2024-25 season. The number of insurers participating has also risen, with 15 taking part in the 2023 tender cycle, compared to 11 in 2020.

If it turns out the way we are planning, it will help in insurance penetration, and offer a platform to companies to sell. More importantly, we will know what the farmers need," he said.

If we do it for one or two years, we will come to know what type of insurance farmers in a certain region want. We can build it into a scheme for subsidy. So, it becomes a sandbox under PMFBY to get new schemes by knowing the market demand. It will not be limited to crop insurance, but other insurance requirements and enrolments as well," the official added.

It will be a sandbox within the existing Fasal Bima Yojana, and allow non-subsidized schemes to come in, as well as judge the demand. It will also allow 40 million farmers in the country to approach the government and tell it the products they wish to have insurance coverage for," the second official said. It is at a very early stage and is being drafted. Therefore, it will be difficult to comment on exactly how much capex will be required. However, as per the initial discussion, it could be  30,000 crore," the second official said.

Queries to the agriculture and farmers welfare ministry remained unanswered till press time.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Puja Das Puja Das is a New Delhi based policy reporter covering food, farm, fertiliser, water, and climate policies for Mint. Puja reports on farmers' distress and how the agriculture sector is impacting India's rural economy and policy initiatives to help meet the pledges made at COP27. Puja holds a post-graduation degree in Broadcast Journalism from the Indian Institute of Journalism & New Media, Bangalore. Read more from this author
Durga Ashtami, the eighth day of the nine-day-long Navratri festival , is also known as Maha Ashtami. This year, Durga Ashtami is being observed today, October 22. On this day, Hindus worship Goddess Mahagauri who represents serenity and purity.

According to Hindu mythology, Maha Ashtami marks the day when Goddess Durga defeated the buffalo demon Mahishasura who had been terrorizing the gods and humans, and the gods were not able to attain victory over him.

Hence, they turned to Goddess Durga for help and she fought Mahishasura for nine days and night. Finally, on the tenth day, Goddess Durga defeated the demon and people celebrated the day of victory of good over evil.

Many devotees also observe fast on Durga Ashtami, offer their prayers, and seek blessings. Hindus across the country decorate their homes with flowers and lights. Hindus also conduct kanya puja on Durga Ashtami. Kanjakiya or kanya puja is performed on young girls who have not yet reached puberty.

Those kanjas are considered to be the purest form of the goddess. Devotees invite nine young girls to their homes and worship them.

Durga Ashtami 2023: Wishes and quotes to share with your loved ones

1) May this festival fill your life with new joys that surround you and your loved ones with positive vibes, now and forever. Happy Maha Ashtami to you.

2) Hope this Durga Ashtami brings in good fortune and abundant happiness for. Happy Durga Ashtami!

3) On this auspicious day, may Maha Ashtami grant you the strength to overcome obstacles and find success in all your endeavors. Subho Maha Ashtami!

4) Wishing you a very Happy Durga Ashtami 2023! May Maa Durga bless you with strength, courage, and success in all your endeavors.

5) Let the divine energy of Durga Ashtami bring peace and harmony to your life and your loved ones.

6) May the divine blessings of Mad Durga be with you always and guide you on the path of righteousness. Happy Durga Ashtami 2023!

7) Embrace the power of Goddess Durga within you and conquer your fears. Subho Maha Ashtami!"

8) May Goddess Durga show us the path to eternal peace and prosperity. May she bless us with the power to defeat the evils in our life!

9) Sending my special wishes for a joyous celebration of Durga Ashtami.

10) May the divine blessings of Goddess Durga bring eternal peace and happiness and protect you from wrongdoings and grant all your wishes. Happy Durga Ashtami to you and your family.

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India has sent humanitarian aid to war-torn Palestine. An IAF C-17 flight carrying around 6.5 tonnes of medical aid and 32 tonnes of disaster relief material for the people of Palestine on Sunday departed for Ei-Arish airport in Egypt.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi wrote,  sends Humanitarian aid to the people of ! An IAF C-17 flight carrying nearly 6.5 tonnes of medical aid and 32 tonnes of disaster relief material for the people of Palestine departs for El-Arish airport in Egypt." The material includes essential life-saving medicines, surgical items, tents, sleeping bags, tarpaulins, sanitary utilities, water purification tablets among other necessary items," the official said.

The war has continued to intensify between Israel and Hamas, killing thousands of civilians. The Israeli military on Sunday claimed that it killed "terror operatives from Hamas and Islamic Jihad in an air strike on a mosque in the West Bank's Jenin.

Dozens of people have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli troops or settlers since October 7, when Hamas militants stormed into Israel and killed at least 1,400 people.

Israel has launched heavy bombardment of the Gaza Strip in retaliation, killing more than 4,300 people, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Many leaders and senior officials from the Middle East, Europe, and Africa converged on Cairo, searching for ways to prevent the Israel-Hamas war from becoming a wider conflict. UN chief Antonio Guterres pleaded Saturday for a humanitarian ceasefire" in the war between Israel and the Hamas terror group.

Israel said it will step up air strikes over Gaza in preparation for the next stage" of its military operation.

As many as 100,000 people marched through central London to demand a cease-fire in Israels war with Hamas and in support of the Palestinian cause. It was likely the largest of a series of pro-Palestinian demonstrations held around the world that coincided with a summit meeting in Cairo to try to bring an end to the violence.

Iran-backed Hezbollah said it fired guided missiles at an Israeli site and launched missiles at other targets near the border with Lebanon following the death of one of its members.

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The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) said it has seized narcotics worth nearly 250 crore from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar from Maharashtra and arrested two persons, PTI reported Sunday.

The recovery of the drugs  cocaine, mephedrone and ketamine  was made on Friday based on inputs from DRIs Ahmedabad zonal unit and the crime branch there, PTI quoted Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime), Ahmedabad, Chaitanya Mandlik.

The crime branch of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, (formerly known as Aurangabad), also assisted in the operation that involved searches at two factories and residential premises, said the apex anti-smuggling agency said.

During the searches, the DRI team recovered 23 kg of cocaine, about 2.9 kg of mephedrone and 30 lakh in cash from the house of one of the two accused, the report said

A total of 4.5 kg of mephedrone, 4.3 Kg of ketamine and another mixture of mephedrone" weighing about 9.3 kg were recovered from a factory named Mahalakshmi Industries in the Paithan MIDC area, the DRI added.

The DRI said the illicit market value of the drugs is more than 250 crore, adding that two persons, including the key conspirator", have been arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

The seizure comes amid a massive spat between the Eknath Shinde government and Maharashtra opposition following the recovery of drugs worth nearly 300 crore by the Mumbai police and the alleged high connections of one of the key accused, Lalit Patil.

While the Shiv Sena (UBT) has accused Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who holds the Home portfolio in the Eknath Shinde government, of shielding the drug mafia in the state, the latter claimed that Patil was the Nashik chief of the undivided Shiv Sena under Uddhav Thackeray.

Patil had been arrested in 2020, when the Maha Vikas Aghadi was in power, but was never interrogated by the police, Fadnavis said.

On October 2, Patil escaped from the government-run Sassoon General Hospital in Pune. Later, he was arrested near Bengaluru and remanded in police custody till October 23. Several people, including women, have been arrested in the case.

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RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Saturday said that Hinduism respects all sects and India has never seen strife on issues like the one that has led to the ongoing Hamas-Israel war . The remarks came while addressing a program to mark 350 years of the coronation of Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

In this country, there is a religion, and culture that respects all sects and faiths. That religion is Hinduism. This is a country of Hindus. That does not mean we reject all other (religions)," Bhagwat said.

He added, Once you say Hindu, there is no need to be told that Muslims too were protected. Only Hindus do this. Only India does this."

Everywhere else, strifes are underway. You must have heard of the war in Ukraine, the Hamas-Israel war. In our country, there were never wars on such issues. The invasion during Shivaji Maharaj's time was of that kind. But we never fought battles on this issue with anybody. That is why we are Hindus," the RSS chief said.

Israel pounded southern Gaza with air strikes early on Sunday and said it would intensify its attacks in the enclave's north. Israel killed "terror operatives" from Hamas and Islamic Jihad, in an air strike on a mosque in the West Bank's Jenin today.

The overnight strikes came hours after Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari called on Gazans to move south out of harm's way.

Israel started its "total siege" of Gaza after the 7th October cross-border attack on southern Israel by militants of the Islamist movement Hamas, who killed 1,400 people, mainly civilians, in a shocking rampage that has traumatized Israel.

Gaza's Health Ministry said on Saturday that Israel's air and missile strikes in response had killed at least 4,385 Palestinians, including hundreds of children, and more than a million of the territory's people have been displaced.

(With PTI inputs)

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China has decided to send warships to the Middle East. The move was prompted by Beijing's concern that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict could escalate into a "total war."

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These are the 052D Jibo missile ship, the Jingzhou frigate, and the Qiandaohu integrated supply ship. This was reported by The Sun.

"The top priority now is an early ceasefire to avoid the conflict expanding or even getting out of control and causing a serious humanitarian crisis," Xi Jinping said.

As a reminder, the US Department of Defense has taken a number of steps to strengthen regional efforts to deter and protect US forces in the Middle East. This includes, in particular, assistance in the defense of Israel.

Earlier it was reported that representatives of the Israeli and American authorities are discussing the possibility of creating an interim government in the Gaza Strip. Such a body could be created with the support of the UN. At the same time, this initiative will require support from the Arab countries of the region.

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As reported by OBOZ.UA, the Office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu categorically denies negotiations on the possibility of returning control of the Gaza Strip to Palestine.

At the same time, the White House denied US President Joe Biden's comment that Israel should postpone the expected offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Only verified information on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
The war has continued to intensify between Israel and Hamas , killing thousands of civilians. Dozens of leaders and senior officials from the Middle East, Europe, and Africa converged on Cairo, searching for ways to prevent the Israel-Hamas war from becoming a wider conflict. UN chief Antonio Guterres pleaded Saturday for a humanitarian ceasefire" in the war between Israel and the Hamas terror group.

Delhi air quality worsens, Govt invokes GRAP-II

The air quality of Delhi-NCR has worsened in the past few days and as per the India Meteorological Department and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, it may reach the Very Poor" category in the next 3-4 days. The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) was seen in action on Saturday as the Air Quality Index (AQI) reached 248 and its sub-committee decided to invoke Stage II of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).

Cyclone Tej heads towards India

A new cyclonic storm is likely to bring chaos in the Arabian sea this weekend. A low-pressure area over the southeast and southwest Arabian sea has evolved into a depression and is likely to upgraded into cyclone Tej by Saturday morning, said the Indian Meteorological Department on Friday.

Nestle India Q3 CY23 results: Profit rise by 37.28% YOY

Nestle India declared their Q3 CY23 results on 19 Oct, 2023. The topline increased by 9.45% & the profit increased by 37.28% YoY. As compared to the previous quarter the revenue grew by 8.12% and the profit increased by 30.03%. The Selling, general & administrative expenses rose by 15.27% q-o-q & increased by 22.97% Y-o-Y. Nestle India has delivered 4.58% return in the last 1 week, 17.87% return in last 6 months and 23.09% YTD return.

Bajaj Auto Q2 FY24 results: Profit rise by 17.48% YOY

Bajaj Auto declared their Q2 FY24 results on 18 Oct, 2023. The topline increased by 6.23% & the profit increased by 17.48% YoY. As compared to the previous quarter the revenue grew by 5.1% and the profit increased by 22.86%. The Selling, general & administrative expenses declined by 0.12% q-o-q & increased by 11.41% Y-o-Y. Bajaj Auto has delivered 1.44% return in the last 1 week, 20.43% return in last 6 months and 42.07% YTD return.

Former PM Nawaz Sharif returns to Pakistan

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif returned to Pakistan on Saturday after 4 years of self-imposed exile. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo is returning home after he was granted a protective bail in the graft cases against him and the accountability court also decided to suspend his arrest warrant. PML-N has made elaborate arrangements to extend a hearty reception to the former Prime Minister.

Canada removed 41 diplomats from India

The Canada Government has removed a total of 41 diplomats from India after New Delhi threatened to revoke their immunity. The move comes amid escalating diplomatic tension between India and Canada over slain pro-Khalistan terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Canada's foreign minister Melanie Joly said 41 of Canada's 62 diplomats in India have been removed, along with their dependents.

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The Indian mission in the Maldives on Sunday expressed sorrow over the tragic loss of two Indian nationals on Haa Dhaal Makunudhoo island. Following the incident, the high commission is in close contact with the Maldivian authorities as well as the victims' families.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), India in the Maldives wrote, We are deeply saddened by the tragic incident on Haa Dhaal Makunudhoo island in which two Indian nationals have lost their lives. High Commission is in close contact with Maldivian authorities as well as the families of the victims."

Some local media reports stated that the incident involved a gas cylinder blast in the Makunudhoo fish market area at around 4.15 pm (local time) and the aftermath of the explosion revealed charter human remains, according to SunOnline International reports.

However, the nationality of the victims was not specified at the time of the incident. They were later identified as employees working on an airport reclamation project on the island. Currently, local law enforcement along with a police forensic team are probing the incident.

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US President Joe Biden urged for peace amid Israel-Hamas War. He suggested that all Israelis and Palestinians deserve safety, dignity and peace; and two-state solution is the solution to the conflict. In a post on social media platform X, he tweeted, As hard as it is, we cannot give up on peace. We cannot give up on a two-state solution." Also read: Pope Francis appeals for peace amid Israel-Hamas War; Calls for an end to humanitarian catastrophe In another tweet he stated, Israel and Ukraines success is vital to our national security. History has taught us that when terrorists and dictators dont pay a price, they cause more death and destruction." Also read: Israel-Hamas War Updates: Aid trucks to Gaza didn't have enough supply for even 1 school, says Palestinian spox

He suggested on October 20 that Hamas may have been motivated to attack Israel due to their concerns about Israel's normalisation of relations with Saudi Arabia. He made this statement during a campaign fundraiser where he said that his planned meeting with the Saudis may have been a trigger for the Hamas assault on Israel, which occurred on October 7.

Biden said that the Saudi government was moving toward recognising Israel which might have incited Hamas to act. In September, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had a meeting with Biden on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly and said, I think that under your leadership, Mr. President, we can forge a historic peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia," reported AP.

This effort to normalisation was announced in September at the Group of 20 summit in India, with plans to collaborate on a shipping corridor.

Saudi Arabia had been advocating for the protection of Palestinian rights as part of comprehensive agreement with Israel. The success of such an agreement could paved the way for broader recognition of Israel by other Arab and Muslim-majority countries. Muslim-majority nations opposed Israel since its creation 75 years ago in a territory where Palestinians resided lang before.

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Secretary of State Antony Blinken also suggested that Hamas's leadership was motivated by a desire to obstruct the diplomatic relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Pope Francis also appealed for peace and expressed his concerns about the dire situation in Gaza and appealed to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe.

Biden gave steadfast US support to Israel following Hamass attack on Israel on October 7. Israeli bombardment of Gaza magnified a humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave which is a threat to spread of the conflict. Over 1,400 Israelis and 4,137 Palestinians have been killed. Hamas took more than 200 individuals as hostages following the initial attack.

(With inputs from AP)

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Samantha Woll, President of a Detroit synagogue was found dead outside her home in Lafayette Park neighbourhood, reported Reuters .

President of Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue in IS' Detroit (Michigan) and adviser to Democratic politicians, Samantha Woll was 40 years old. According to authorities, she was stabbed to death on October 21 as confirmed by the synagogue on Facebook.

The synagogue stated, "We are shocked and saddened to learn of the unexpected death of Samantha Woll, our Board President," reported Reuters. The synagogue added, "At this point we do not have more information, but will share more when it becomes available."

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Detroit Police Department revealed that a trail of blood led to her home in the 1300 block of Joliet Place in Detroit, where her body was found.

Woll was the co-chair of American Jewish Committees ACCESS Detroit Young Leadership Program. She was also the visionary behind the creation of Muslim-Jewish Forum of Detroit. Her contributions were recognised in 2017 when she was honoured by Detroit Jewish News, featuring her as one of their '36 under 36.'

In 2015, following November 2015 Paris attacks, Woll played an instrumental role in fostering unity among high school students from Muslim and Jewish backgrounds. She achieved this through an essay and art contest at Wayne State University, organised by Greater Detroit Muslim Jewish Solidarity Council.

She served as the deputy district director during Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin's political campaign from 2019 to 2021. She had also been a part of the re-election campaign of Attorney General Dana Nessel.

Samantha Woll assumed the role of president at the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue in 2022. Woll's death sparked grief in Jewish and Democratic circles.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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Historically high numbers of people are illegally entering the U.S., straining an immigration system already overwhelmed by the number of families coming across the border to request asylum.

Border agents made 2.05 million arrests in the federal fiscal year that ended in September, new government data show, the second year in a row that figure has exceeded two million. In the past, the numbers have risen and fallen based on significant economic and policy changes like recessions and pandemic-era border restrictions. But they never exceeded 1.7 million and never stayed at an elevated level as long as they have the past few years.

View Full Image Illegal Border Encounter

The record numbers of people entering the country illegally arent the only reason border communities are struggling in Texas and shelters are full as far away as Massachusetts. In the past, most migrants were single adults from Mexico looking for work. If caught by the Border Patrol, they could easily and quickly be deported.

Now, a fast-growing share are families with children, who are difficult to deport to their home countries. The change started around 2014 and has exploded in the past two years.

Many families are fleeing gang violence in Central America, though recently a growing number are escaping political repression and poverty in South America.

After crossing into the U.S., they typically surrender to the first border agent they find.

Smugglers encourage adults to travel with children, telling them they are likely to be quickly released into the U.S. because the Border Patrol doesnt have the capacity to hold families for more than a day or two. Once released, they can wait years for their cases to be processed in clogged immigration courts.

Some initially stay in shelters, taxing resources in places such as Chicago and New York as numbers have grown recently. But most eventually find jobs in a U.S. economy that has recovered from the Covid-19 downturn more robustly than Latin America.

Shifting migrant routes

Routes to the U.S. have changed in recent years, with a particular shift toward Texas. Some people head there because it is the closest border crossing from Central and South America. Others want an entry point closer to their final destination on the East Coast.

But Border Patrol resources have historically been built up in Arizona and California, where Mexican migrants were more likely to cross.

The agency tries to quickly move staff, but savvy smugglers often target spots where they know U.S. authorities have the least ability to detain people.

The result has been a surge of migrants crossing the Rio Grande into Texas and regular releases of families by overwhelmed Border Patrol agents in communities like Del Rio and the Rio Grande Valley.

Recently, though, the daily flow of migrant families and others from harder-to-deport-to countries has grown so large that even border cities with the most resources, like El Paso and San Diego, are struggling to handle the number of people arriving every day.

When deportations are difficult

Managing large numbers of illegal border crossings is tougher when migrants cant be easily deported.

Because Mexico and the U.S. share a border and have long had strong relations, deporting migrants from that country is relatively easy.

Recently, a large number of people are coming from countries that have strained ties with the U.S., making deportations difficult or impossible. Since 2022, for instance, more than 715,000 Cubans and Venezuelans illegally crossed the U.S.-Mexico border, fleeing political repression and economic distress.

Venezuela and Cuba both recently agreed to start accepting deportees for the first time in years, though it remains to be seen if the change will deter migration.

Economic problems caused by the hangover of the Covid-19 pandemic also are driving increased migration from South American countries like Ecuador, Colombia and Peru, which accept U.S. deportations but require long and costly flights.

A global problem

Migration to the U.S. is becoming increasingly global, with more asylum seekers from as far away as India, Uzbekistan and Mauritania making their way to Mexico and then crossing into the U.S.

The expanding roster of starting points is making it more difficult for the U.S. government to devise a comprehensive migration strategy. The reasons people are leaving their countries differ vastly from nation to nation. The U.S. must also negotiate more diplomatic arrangements to ensure foreigners can be deported.

Researchers and officials say that so long as demand for low-skilled labor remains high in the U.S. and political, economic and environmental distress keep pushing people to leave troubled countries, the numbers of people willing to do whatever it takes to cross the border will remain high.

Write to Alicia A. Caldwell at alicia.caldwell@wsj.com, Michelle Hackman at michelle.hackman@wsj.com and Santiago Perez at santiago.perez@wsj.com
US President Joe Biden Sunday said Israel has the right to defend itself. And the US must make sure they have what they need to protect their people today and always.

At the same time, Prime Minister Netanyahu and I have discussed how Israel must operate by the laws of war. That means protecting civilians in combat as best as they can, the US president said.

We cant ignore the humanity of innocent Palestinians who only want to live in peace. Thats why I secured an agreement for the first shipment of humanitarian assistance for Palestinian civilians in Gaza," he added

And we cannot give up on a two-state solution".

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin have said that the United States did not want to see the Israel-Hamas war escalating to the wider region, Reuters reported.

The report said Blinken told NBC News actions by Iran and its proxies could spark an escalation and that the United States hoped for more hostages to be released by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, which attacked Israel on Oct. 7 and killed about 1,400 people.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned against any "escalation" in the Middle East in the wake of Israel's war with Hamas, hours after the Pentagon moved to step up military readiness in the region, AFP reported.

Austin said the US has seen a "prospect of significant escalation of attacks on our troops" in the region. The US military was preparing for "the ability to respond," he added.

"If any group or any country is looking to widen this conflict and take advantage of this very unfortunate situation that we see, our advice is: don't," Austin told ABC News.

"We maintain the right to defend ourselves and we won't hesitate to take the appropriate action," he added.

Austins comments came hours after the Pentagon said it was upping readiness in the region in response to "recent escalations by Iran and its proxy forces," reported the agency.

Austin ordered the activation of air defense systems and notified additional forces that they may be deployed soon.

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Israel intensified its bombing of targets on three fronts, including a rare airstrike in the West Bank, as Palestinian casualties mounted and the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip deepened.

The Israeli military struck a mosque compound in the West Banks city of Jenin that it said was being used by militants to plan attacks. It was one of few airstrikes since 2006 in the West Bank, where the Israeli military has recently tended to rely on ground troops to conduct raids, which have escalated in the past few years.

About 90 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since Hamass Oct. 7 attack on Israel, with two people killed in the Jenin airstrike, according to Palestinian Authoritys official news agency. The Israeli military said it has arrested more than 450 Hamas operatives in the West Bank.

Airstrikes continued in Gaza overnight. Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said the military continues to urge Gazans in the northern part of the strip, where Israel is increasing its bombing campaign ahead of an expected ground assault, to move south. Israel has also struck the southern part of the strip in recent days, including a residential building in the Rafah area, killing 16 people, according to the United Nations.

Hagari said the strikes on Hamas and other targets are intended to lower threats and lay the groundwork for the next phase of war.

Israel also struck a target in southern Lebanon, where it says militants were attempting to launch antitank missiles at the Israeli side of the border. Skirmishes between Israel and Hezbollah, an Iran-backed ally of Hamas, along the Israel-Lebanon border have displaced thousands of residents on both sides as people seek shelter from the crossfire. The U.S. designates Hamas and Hezbollah as terrorist organizations.

A limited amount of humanitarian aid reached the Gaza Strip over the weekend for the first time since Hamass Oct. 7 attack and the ensuing Israeli bombardment of the enclave.

Egyptian officials said 20 trucks filled with medical supplies, as well as some food and bottled water, crossed into Gaza before Egypt closed the border again. Humanitarian agencies warned that Saturdays aid deliveries fell far short of what is needed to sustain Gazas more than two million residents, about 1.4 million of whom have been displaced from their homes in the current war, according to the U.N.

The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said Saturday that about 4,385 Palestiniansincluding nearly 1,760 childrenhave been killed in Gaza, though U.S. officials and some experts have disputed that total.

The U.S. deployed an antiballistic missile defense system and several Patriot missile battalions to the Middle East amid drone attacks on U.S. bases and warships in Iraq and Syria. U.S. officials said that they suspected Iran-backed proxy militias were responsible for the attacks, and that the U.S. military shot down missiles this past week that may have been bound for Israel.

Hamas on Friday released two hostages, an American mother and daughter, who were both visiting family in Israel at the time of Hamass Oct. 7 attack. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke Saturday with Qatars prime minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, to thank him for Qatars assistance in securing the Americans release.

Blinken said Friday that 10 Americans were still unaccounted for, some of whom are believed to be among the roughly 200 remaining hostages captured by Hamas earlier this month.

Hamas fighters killed more than 1,400 people in Israel, and citizens of more than 40 countries were killed or went missing during the attacks two weeks ago, according to the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

Write to Omar Abdel-Baqui at omar.abdel-baqui@wsj.com

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Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) spokesperson, Lior Haiat, said at the Cairo Peace Summit in Egypt that the Islamist terror threat does not only endanger his country but also other states of the region and the whole world.

He stressed that October 7 was a wake-up call to the world to fight terrorism together. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Haiat wrote: "It is unfortunate that even when faced with those horrific atrocities, there were some who had difficulty condemning terrorism or acknowledging the danger." He said Israel "will do whatever is to be done", adding, Israel will do what it has to do and expects the international community to recognise the righteous battle."

Earlier on Saturday, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza and the looming ground assault on the terror group Hamas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also met Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides.

Calling on the Italian PM, Netanyahu said, "We have to defeat this barbarism," adding that this battle is between the forces of civilization and "really monstrous barbarians who murdered, mutilated, raped, beheaded, and burned innocent people, babies, and grandmothers."

"This is a test, a test of civilization, and we will win. And we expect all the countries that lined up to fight ISIS, to line up and fight Hamas because Hamas is the new ISIS," the Prime Minister posted on X.

Coming back to the Cairo Peace Summit, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had said the "reprehensible assault" by Hamas can never justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people, UN News reported on Saturday. his remarks at the Cairo Peace Summit, was convened by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in a bid to de-escalate hostilities following the deadly Hamas attack.

"The grievances of the Palestinian people are legitimate and long, but nothing can justify the reprehensible assault by Hamas that terrorized Israeli civilians. At the same time, these abhorrent attacks can never justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people," UN News quoted Guterres as saying.

(With inputs from ANI)

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The United States on Saturday proposed a draft UN Security Council resolution that says Israel has a right to defend itself and demands Iran stop exporting arms to militants and terrorist groups threatening peace and security across the region".

The draft, seen by Reuters, called for the protection of civilians including those who are trying to get to safety, notes that states must comply with international law when responding to "terrorist attacks", and urges the "continuous, sufficient and unhindered" delivery of aid to the Gaza Strip, Reuters reported.

However, it was not immediately clear if or when the United States planned to put the draft resolution to a vote. To pass, a resolution needs at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes by Russia, China, the United States, France, or Britain.

The move by the United States comes after it vetoed a Brazilian-drafted text on Wednesday that would have called for humanitarian pauses in the conflict between Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants, to allow aid access to Gaza.

While hundreds of tanks and armed soldiers await the green light from the political and military leadership for a potential 'ground offensive' near the Gaza border, the US and Europe are discreetly urging Israel to delay the operation, The Times of Israel reported.

Citing senior diplomatic sources, The Times of Israel reported that both governments acknowledge a high probability of a ground invasion by Israel. They are not advising against launching one altogether but rather suggesting a temporary delay to explore the potential success of additional diplomatic initiatives.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Cairo on Friday and noted the need for aid to be allowed into Gaza and for Hamas and Israel to avoid civilian casualties in their conflict.

During the talks Sunak stressed the imperative of avoiding a wider regional conflict and preventing any further unnecessary loss of civilian life, his office said.

The border crossing between Egypt and Gaza reopened on Saturday, allowing essential aid to reach Palestinians for the first time since Israel sealed off the territory following a violent incident involving Hamas two weeks ago.

Gaza's population of 2.3 million, with half displaced from their homes, is now rationing food and dealing with contaminated water. Hospitals are struggling with shortages of medical supplies and fuel for emergency generators due to a widespread power outage.

(With Reuters inputs)

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Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Saturday met Palestinian, Arab, and Black Muslim communities who gathered for prayer, while assuring that the Canadian government's government to them.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), he said that the country will not stop advocating for civilians to be protected and for international law to be upheld. As members of the Palestinian, Arab, and Black Muslim communities gathered for prayer yesterday, I wanted them to know this: We know youre worried and hurting. Were here for you. We will not stop advocating for civilians to be protected and for international law to be upheld," Trudeau wrote.

Yesterday, Trudeau was booed during his visit to a Toronto mosque in response to the Israel-Hamas war, reported The Toronto Sun.

According to the report, on one side Liberal MPs in Canada are joining calls by Muslim groups for Canada to push for a ceasefire in the region. In contrast, major Canadian Jewish groups have demanded Trudeau to retract an earlier comment where he lent credence to the claim by Hamas that Israel was responsible for an attack on a hospital in Gaza City.

Apart from this, the federal New Democrats, who entered into a confidence-and-supply agreement with the minority Liberal government last year, also call for a ceasefire.

Citing a video post on X by a Global News reporter, showing some people gathered in the mosque are heard saying "shame" during Trudeau's visit on Friday, The Toronto Sun also noted that people urged a facilitator not to let the Canadian PM speak at the podium.

In the video, Trudeau can be seen addressing the dozens gathered, thanking them for allowing him to 'pray alongside you in this difficult time', the Daily reported.

The Toronto Sun added that the Prime Minister's Office confirmed Trudeau attended the International Muslims Organization of Toronto on Friday 'to show his support to those impacted in the Muslim community from the horrific events in the Middle East'.

Israel declared war against Hamas after the militant group killed 1,400 Israelis in a brazen attack on 7 October.

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Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said that his friend Russian President Vladimir Putin made a "fatal mistake" by launching a war against Ukraine. At the same time, he expressed confidence that Russia would not fight NATO.

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The former Chancellor made the statements in an interview with the Berliner Zeitung. "What do the Russians want? The status quo in Donbas and Crimea. Nothing more. I think Putin made a fatal mistake by starting the war," he said.

At the same time, Schroeder added that it is clear to him that Russia feels threatened.

"Look: Turkey is a NATO member. It has missiles that can fly directly to Moscow. The US wanted to bring NATO closer to Russia's western border, for example, with Ukraine as a new member. All this was perceived as a threat to the Russians. There are also irrational aspects to this. I will not deny that. The Russians reacted with a mixture of both: fear and defense," the politician said.

In his opinion, "no one in Poland, in the Baltic States and, of course, in Germany" should think "that they are in danger."

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"The Russians will not start a war with any NATO member," Schroeder said.

In addition, he also commented on the course of the current head of the German Foreign Ministry, Annalena Burbock. In particular, the journalist pointed out that she "wants to flatter the Americans," Germany's largest ally, to which Schroeder responded:

"This may be true. I have said before: we must preserve the alliance, but not at any cost. We had a largely sovereign foreign policy. We don't have that anymore."

The ex-chancellor also denied that Russia is thinking of attacking NATO after its defeats in Ukraine.

"Do you seriously think that after the disaster that the Russians are experiencing in Ukraine with their war, they are now thinking about attacking Western Europe?" he said, adding that Poland "no longer feels threatened" since it joined NATO.

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"No one in Russia is seriously thinking about a conflict with NATO," Schroeder said. He also noted that he had never received assurances from Putin that Russia would not attack Ukraine.

In response to a question whether the former chancellor wanted to distance himself from the Kremlin's war criminal head, Schroeder said that "living together does not work that way. And he called his friendship with the dictator "a relationship between people who have different views."

"Living together doesn't work like that. Human relationships don't work like that. I believe that what Putin ordered is wrong. I said it publicly. I don't have to do it all the time. There are relationships between people who have different views. In my case with Vladimir Putin, this is the case," the former German Chancellor said.

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He added that "Russia remains Russia regardless of who governs it and how it is governed," and Berlin is allegedly interested in "maintaining economic and political relations" with the aggressor country, "even if it is difficult."

"We have this with many countries: China, Turkey. If politics is reduced to the emotional, as in the case of the Greens and Annalena Burbock, then this is wrong," Schroeder said.

It should be noted that in the same interview, Schroeder accused the United States of allegedly disrupting the "peace talks" between Russia and Ukraine and said that Kyiv had allegedly invited him as a mediator.

As you know, despite Russia's military aggression against Ukraine, Schroeder continued to hold high-paying positions in Russian state-owned concerns. In July 2022, he visited Moscow and called it a "beautiful city."

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As reported by OBOZ.UA:

- In May, Schroeder was not invited to the anniversary of the Social Democratic Party of Germany because of his close ties with Putin. The SDPG leadership said that the presence of the former chancellor would be inappropriate.

- At the celebration of the anniversary of German reunification, Schroeder was seated away from the other participants of the event, again because of his friendship with Putin. Only his wife sat next to him.

Only verified information on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
Several Arab and European leaders stressed that a stable and secure outcome to the Israel-Palestine conflict must be built on a two-state solution. This came during the first session of what was billed by Egypt as the Cairo Peace Summit which aims to find ways to prevent the war between Israel and Hamas.

Arab presidents, royalty, and top officials from the Middle East, Europe, Asia, Canada, and Brazil were on hand. The US and Israel werent present, according to Bloomberg reports.

Initially, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi rejected the option of displacing Palestinians from Gaza. Jordan's King Abdullah also assessed that the message Arabs are taking on board is that Palestinian lives matter less than Israeli ones.

The Ministry of External Affairs has reiterated the call for a two-state solution and condemned the horrific terrorist attack on Israel.

"The international community must stand together in combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations...There was also the issue of Palestine and on that, we have reiterated our position in favor of direct negotiations for establishing a two-state solution," said spokesperson Arindam Bagchi.

The Israeli response to the October 7 attack has killed thousands in Gaza and left hundreds of thousands homeless. It came in response to the killing by Hamas militants of an estimated 1,400 Israelis, mostly civilians, with hundreds more Israelis taken hostage and still unaccounted for.

Israel-Palestine Conflict: What is two-state solution?

The long-running dispute between Israel and Palestine gave rise to the two-state solution, which is fundamentally about how or whether to split the country's territory between the Jewish and Arab populations.

In simple words, the two-state solution means establishing two states for the people of two communities, that is, Israel for the Jewish people and Palestine for the Palestinian people.

According to the New York Times, in theory, this would provide the Palestinians a state while giving Israel security and preserving its Jewish majority (allowing the nation to stay democratic and Jewish).

The origin of the two-state solution was the 1978 Camp David Accords, a peace accord inked by Egypt and Israel. At first, the Palestinian Liberation Organization acknowledged Israel's rights to exist in 1988, indicating support for the two-state solution, The Print reported.

Between 1993 and 1995, Palestinians recognized the State of Israel and Israel acknowledged the PLO as its historical enemy. Subsequently, Hamas rejected the two-state solution over the years.

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They have returned like a swarm of locusts. Wars, elections, riots, and natural calamities provide them with the power to expand into hydra-headed monsters. They lurk in the shadows, waiting for such upheavals to emerge. They will not stop until even a tiny spark becomes a major blaze.

Im referring to trolls, social medias supari killers" (a slang term for contract killers).

How lethal are they? The following instance gives a picture: A six-year-old Palestinian-American child was found mutilated in Chicago on 14 October. The landlord of the house his family lived in, Joseph Czuba, stabbed the child 26 times and also injured his mother who was trying to save him. According to the mother, Czuba vented communal and racial abuse during the attack. He has been charged with murder, attempt to murder, and hate crime. This murderous act has stunned Americans.

Their fear is justified. The rapid rise in hate crimes has undermined the democratic foundations of this great nation. In 2021 alone, hate crimes have risen by 11.6% in the US. Experts say such crimes could rise in the coming years.

The key reason for this is that some people start portraying incidents such as the killing by Czuba as a threat to a specific community. The worry of majoritarianism spreading has grown as they succeed in spreading confusion with their arguments.

The bloodshed in Gaza is giving them new impetus.

Let me give another example. A Chechen immigrant assassinated a schoolteacher in France last week. Officials believe that the state of affairs in Gaza has played a role in this tragedy. This has given trolls the room to tinker with facts to suit their needs. According to Pew Research, if the present rate of migration from West Asia to Europe continues, it might quadruple Frances Muslim population in the next 25-30 years. The hobgoblins of social media are citing the report to claim that refugees were accomplishing what the Arab warriors couldnt in the Middle Ages. The whole of Europe is concerned about such falsification.

This edginess is fuelling neo-Nazism.

The Jews alone had suffered racial hatred under Hitlers time, but now all foreign races and religions are subject to hatred in Europe and the West. Hindu temples in some Western countries, including Canada, have come under attack. Many Sikhs in America have been harmed by rising Islamophobia. People steeped in hatred lack the discernment to distinguish between a Sikh and an Arab.

All this is not to say that such hatred is exclusive to the liberal" West. Even communist China is under its sway. In Beijing last week, a young man attacked an Israeli diplomat with a knife while shouting religious slogans. The reasons for the attack have not been publicly stated, although most people believe it is related to Israels conflict with Hamas.

Let us now return to our country.

Because hate crime is not specified in the Indian Panel Code, the National Crime Records Bureau does not collect data on it; nonetheless, this does not mean that hate crimes do not occur in our country. Attacks on alleged cow smugglers, minor occurrences arising from mutual conflicts, the murder of innocent persons in Udaipur or elsewhere, and deadly incidents in Jharkhand in the name of witchcraft are some examples of this. Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself has openly criticized it. Despite this, social media intruders are busy working" from overseas. The assembly elections in five states, as well as the general elections in a few months, have given them a new opportunity.

The question is, how do you get rid of them?

Elections and conflict have provided them with an opportunity to sharpen their daggers, but our culture has provided us with a boon. Tomorrow is Vijay Dashami, when effigies of Ravana, a symbol of sin, would be burned in a symbolic cleansing. Similarly, we only need to introspect, gather courage and start rebutting social media trolls. It can be our new ritual.

While listening to the family elders and priests speak about Ram Rajya, the question, How was Ram Rajya?, must have crossed your mind several times. In a shloka, Maharishi Valmiki, the sage who composed Ramayana, observed, Even the words thieves and robbers were not known in Ram Rajya. No one committed evil deeds, nor were elderly men carrying out the last rites of children."

Last rites of children. I hope you got the point.

Shashi Shekhar is editor-in-chief, Hindustan. Views are personal.

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Amid the seat-sharing row between Congress and Samajwadi party , war of words between top leaders of both the parties caste shadow over the future of INDIA alliance. In a major indication of the fading impact of INDIA, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav used PDA in his social media post on Lok Sabha Polls 2024. However, he didn't mention anything about INDIA alliance.

Rift between the two parties began after Congress didn't leave any seat for its INDIA ally in Madhya Pradesh assembly elections. Samajwadi Party is seeing the move as a betrayal as it claimed that Congress had assured the party of seats in Assembly polls. Since then, Akhilesh Yadav has been lashing out at the grand old party. As a result, the two parties ended up fielding candidates against each other on 18 constituencies in the state. Recently, in one his sociam media posts, Akhilesh Yadav shared a photo of a Samajwadi Party worker with his back coloured in the party's signature red-and-green with a message written on it.

Mission 2024. May Netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav) remain immortal. PDA will mark the victory of election this time. Akhilesh Yadav will bring justice for the poor," read the message.

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FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, known for his appetite for risky bets, is mulling perhaps his biggest gamble yet: testifying in his own defense.

The onetime crypto star, on trial in New York on allegations of fraud, money laundering and other offenses, has spent nearly three weeks watching some of his former close friends and colleagues take the stand and offer what appeared to be damning testimony. Bankman-Fried, they told jurors, knowingly directed and committed an array of criminal acts that led to the collapse of the FTX crypto exchange and the loss of billions of dollars in customer funds.

With federal prosecutors set to wrap up their case this week, Bankman-Frieds legal team will be searching for some way to change the momentum. While taking the stand in ones own defense is usually considered too perilous a step to leave to chance, the state of the trial, plus Bankman-Frieds limited options, point toward testifying as his best shot, lawyers said.

Under the current state of play, unless Sam does something dramatic, he is almost certainly going to be convicted," said Evan Barr, a former federal prosecutor and partner at the law firm Reed Smith.

Bankman-Frieds likely hope would be that his testimony in the least wins over a couple of jurors, leading to a hung jury, Barr said.

Lawyers typically advise against taking the stand, sometimes even conducting mock trials and cross-examinations of their clients to demonstrate how self-defense testimony can go badly when facing hostile questions from prosecutors. But for high-profile defendants, the temptation to tell their own story is particularly strong, said Robert S. Frenchman, a defense attorney at the firm Mukasey Frenchman.

They think that they are convincing, and they arein most contexts," Frenchman added. But in the courtroom it brings so much risk."

Since the trial began in early October, a parade of witnesses have testified that Bankman-Fried lied to lenders and investors, doctored balance sheets and spent billions in FTX customer funds on extravagant real estate, risky investments and the repayment of loans. While communicating with Google Docs and disappearing Signal chats, the FTX founder oversaw a company that made illegal political donations, poured more than $1 billion into celebrity endorsements and sponsorships and failed to address a gaping hole in its balance sheet, witnesses told the jury.

Bankman-Fried also has been portrayed as a dismissive and uncaring figure. Caroline Ellison, his former girlfriend and former chief executive officer of FTXs sister hedge fund, Alameda Research, testified that Bankman-Fried once berated an employee who opposed paying bribes to Chinese officials to obtain access to $1 billion in frozen cryptocurrency. Former FTX Chief Technology Officer Gary Wang testified that Bankman-Fried sought to assure FTX customers their money was safe when he knew it wasnt.

Nishad Singh, Bankman-Frieds longtime friend and a former FTX executive, said he felt betrayed that five years of blood, sweat and tears from me and so many employees, driving something that I thought was a beautiful force for good, had turned out to be so evil."

Those three witnesses, who have already pleaded guilty to crimes and are cooperating with the government, are central to the prosecutions case. If Bankman-Fried takes the stand, prosecutors would have a chance to press him under oath about their testimony. He wouldnt have his lawyers to offer advice on how to respond to questions.

Once the defendant takes the stand, the defense lawyer has no control," said Josh Naftalis, a former prosecutor and partner at the law firm Pallas Partners. The defendant could say whatever he wants. The cross could go terribly."

Bankman-Fried has said publicly that he made management mistakes but committed no crimes. During opening statements at trial, one of his lawyers said he acted in good faith while trying to steer his companies through a crisis. Bankman-Frieds legal team has said any possible defense case could begin as soon as Thursday, but it hasnt said whether it plans to call any witnesses. Mark Botnick, a spokesman for Bankman-Fried, declined to comment.

Bankman-Fried has few, if any, remaining allies with intimate knowledge of FTX whom he could call as a witness to back up his version of events.

While Bankman-Frieds lawyers showed some inconsistencies in the testimony of the cooperating witnesses, they didnt appear to score any major blows to undermine them. Testifying would at least give Bankman-Fried an opportunity to explain directly to jurors that he didnt believe he was committing fraud.

One hint that Bankman-Fried might testify was a recent court filing in which his lawyers said they were trying to get him access to prescribed Adderall medication during the trial day. Without it, he wouldnt be focused enough to participate meaningfully in presenting his defense, including making the decision to testify, his lawyers said. One of his lawyers subsequently said in court that he is now receiving the dosage they sought from jail officials.

While most defendants choose not to testify, some notable ones have done so in recent years.

One was Theranoss founder, Elizabeth Holmes, who was on trial to face charges that she ran a yearslong fraud scheme at her blood-testing company. The jury convicted her last year of four of the 11 criminal counts she faced. Jurors said after the trial that they didnt find her credible. One told The Wall Street Journal that jurors created a star system to judge witnesses credibility and rated Holmes a 2 on a scale of 1 to 4, the lowest score of anyone who took the stand.

In Manhattan, after former U.S. Rep. Stephen Buyer testified in his own defense at his insider-trading trial earlier this year, the judge determined that he lied and handed down a longer sentence. While Defendant Buyer had every right to testify, he was also obligated to tell the truth," wrote U.S. District Judge Richard Berman, who sentenced the Indiana Republican to 22 months in prison.

In Wisconsin state court in 2021, a jury acquitted Kyle Rittenhouse, a teenager charged with killing two people during unrest over a police shooting. Rittenhouse testified that he feared for his life and acted in self-defense.

Still, such a success is rare, said Lara Treinis Gatz, who worked as a federal prosecutor in Brooklyn and Florida. In 22 years, Ive only seen one defendant successfully testify," she said. Usually they walk themselves into a conviction."

Write to Corinne Ramey at corinne.ramey@wsj.com and James Fanelli at james.fanelli@wsj.com

View Full Image Sam Bankman-Fried Took Risks at FTX. Will He Bet on His Own Testimony?

View Full Image Sam Bankman-Fried Took Risks at FTX. Will He Bet on His Own Testimony?
The summit in the Egyptian capital Cairo ended without result. There were no agreements on Israel and Hamas.

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The event was not attended by representatives of Israel and the United States. This was reported by Reuters.

Egypt hoped that the participants would call for peace and resume efforts to resolve the long-standing Palestinian quest for statehood. However, the meeting ended without the leaders and foreign ministers agreeing on a joint statement.

Diplomats who attended the talks were not optimistic about a breakthrough, as Israel was preparing a ground invasion of Gaza to destroy Hamas.

"While Arab and Muslim states called for an immediate halt to the Israeli offensive, Western countries mostly voiced more modest goals, such as humanitarian aid to the civilian population," the agency writes.

Jordan's King Abdullah condemned the silence over Israeli attacks that have killed thousands of people and called for an impartial approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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"The message the Arab world is hearing is that Palestinian lives matter less than Israeli lives," he said.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that Palestinians will not be displaced or expelled from their land.

"We will not leave, we will not leave," he emphasized.

France, in turn, called for the establishment of a humanitarian corridor in the Gaza Strip to bring about a ceasefire. The UK and Germany called on the Israeli military to show restraint, and Italy said it was important to avoid escalation.

At the same time, the United States sent only its charge d'affaires in Cairo, who did not speak publicly at the meeting.

As reported by OBOZ.UA, earlier US President Joe Biden said that humanity needs a "new world order". He noted that humanity is at a turning point in history.

In Israel, according to updated data, 24 Ukrainians were killed in an attack by Hamas militants, and three more went missing. Citizens of Ukraine and the United States are among the victims of the attack.

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Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
Birmingham-Southern College has filed a lawsuit against Alabama's state treasurer for turning down a loan from a program created by lawmakers to help the historic but financially troubled private college
Biden asks Congress to secure $105 billion for Ukraine, Israel, the border and more

Congressional chaos and opposition will be a hurdle for President Joe Biden as he pushes for $105 billion in funding for Israel, Ukraine, border security, humanitarian assistance and countering China
Longford County Council has confirmed that the next two phases of the Pathfinder Project for Active Travel in Longford Town are well underway on the key routes of the Ballinalee Road and the Battery Road.



The overall Pathfinder Project involves the development of a core cycle network, with improved footpaths, road surfaces and junctions, along three of Longford towns approach roads:

l Battery Road (R198)

l Ballinalee / Major Wells Road (N63)

l Athlone Road (N63)

The works form part of the National Sustainable Mobility Policy Pathfinder scheme programme and are fully funded by the Department of Transport through the National Transport Authority (NTA) and delivered by its Active Travel section.



Work on the Battery Road and the Ballinalee Road, kicked off in August with NRS Group (Noel Regan & Sons Plant Hire Limited) and Priority Construction Limited operating on behalf of Longford County Council for each of the projects respectively. The projects are currently estimated to be completed in 2024.



Significant communication campaigns were carried out by both the Longford County Council Active Travel Team and the contractors involved, in advance of works getting underway, with hundreds of letters and maps delivered to residents in the relevant areas to advise them of the upcoming works.



Cathaoirleach of Longford County Council Cllr Colm Murray welcomed progress on the works, These projects will prove to be of huge benefit to the users of the Battery and Ballinalee roads, improving road safety and linking the most important and vibrant areas of our community, where we work, shop, play and learn.

Chief Executive of Longford County Council Paddy Mahon added, The schemes will also help Longford meet its commitment under Irelands targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030.



R198 Battery Road



The works zone for the 2.6 million Battery Road project stretches from the Retail Park Roundabout for approximately 700 metres ending between St Albans and Longford Garda Station.

In addition to the rehabilitation of the Battery Road surface, the project will also include the installation of a traffic lights at the Lisbrack Road junction; the construction of right turning lanes at the entrance to Abbeycarton Lane and the Demesne; the realignment of the Battery Road to include cycle tracks and continuous footpaths on both sides of the road, the construction of pedestrian crossing points at various locations, the undergrounding of overhead power lines, and installation of new public lighting.

The traffic management for the duration of the project will involve a combination of lane narrowing, stop / go systems and temporary traffic lights as required.

N63 Ballinalee Road



The 1.75 million N63 Ballinalee Road project includes the continuation of the cycle and pedestrian works completed earlier this year on the Majors Well Road. The zone starts from the Templemichael Terrace junction with the N63 out to the roundabout on the N4.



The scheme will include new cycle tracks on either side of the road from the Ard Michael Estate as far as the entrance to The Laurels Estate, while a new footpath will be installed on the northern side of the road. Existing footpaths will remain in place on the other side, with some enhancements required on the grass verge side. Junctions along the road will also be made safer and more pedestrian and cyclist friendly, with a signal-controlled pedestrian crossing being included at the N4 end.



With a significant portion of the works on the Ballinalee Road taking place in the road verge, limited impact on traffic is expected during the works, but there will be traffic management required while certain elements of the junction building, crossing and ducting works are underway.

Overall, these projects will improve road safety for motorists, pedestrians and cyclists, in particular by reducing uncertainties around crossing points and junctions.



While every effort will be made to reduce the impact of the works across both of these locations on the local community, businesses and the school population, it is inevitable that there will be some disruption.

Longford County Council wishes to apologise for any inconvenience caused and to thank you for your co-operation.
(Alliance News) - Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC may face a class action lawsuit worth GBP350 million from shareholders related to a corruption scandal from back in 2017, the Telegraph reported on Sunday.

Investors are working with lawyers to receive compensation, believing the jet engine maker made misrepresentations to the market about the scandal.

The Telegraph reported that Rolls-Royce has turned to Slaughter & May to stave off a litigation, the same law firm it used during the corruption scandal.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2023/10/22/rolls/

Back in January 2017, Rolls-Royce said it will have to pay GBP671.0 million relating to bribery and corruption charges in a number of overseas markets.

It reached a deferred prosecution agreement with the UK Serious Fraud Office after passing concerns regarding bribery and corruption involving intermediaries to the SFO from 2012 onwards.

It also reached a deferred prosecution agreement with the US Department of Justice and a leniency agreement with Brazil's Ministerio Publico Federal.

By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor

Comments and questions to newsroom@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2023 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
International, press and young talent juries handed out prizes on Saturday night - and the audience had a say, too

The CinEast Film Festival drew to a close this weekend, ending the two-and-a-half week celebration of Eastern European film on a high note.

A slew of concerts, charitable events and film screenings highlighted the festival's continued focus on Ukraine and point to another success for one of Luxembourg's major cinematic events.

As always, the festival also hosted its own cinematic competition, with seven films in total competing for a variety of awards.

An international jury, made up of actors, directors and producers from Luxembourg and Eastern Europe chose the recipient of the "Grand Prix" prize - and may potentially award a second "Special Jury Prize" as well.

The press jury, of which I was a part this year, hands out the "Critic's Award", while the Young Talents Jury (made up of select students of the BTS cinema et audiovisuel at the Lycee des Arts et Metiers) in turn hand out their own prize, the "Young Talents Award".

The audience also gets a say at CinEast, as they get to pick the winners of the "Audience Award" for both feature films and shorts. Throughout the festival, audiences were given the chance to partake by indicating their enjoyment of a film by marking a small piece of paper handed out at the entrance to the theatres.

This year's closing screening was of Cold War thriller Guardians of the Formula - but not before the official winners of CinEast's 2023 competition were announced.

Young Talents Award

First, the three members of the Young Talents Jury took to the stage to present their choice - each of which was a first (or second) feature-length film by the given directors.

Larry, directed by Szilard Bernath, was the winner of this first category - depicting a young man struggling with a stutter until he starts rapping.

The Critics' Award

Then my co-juror Katrin Buchler and I took to the stage to present the Critics' Prize to Blaga's Lessons, a 2023 Bulgarian thriller directed by Stephan Komandarev. When Katrin and I deliberated with our other co-juror Isabelle Debuchy, we noted that the film - in which a widow falls victim to a phone scam, becomes destitute, and starts working for her scammer in turn - highlighted the cyclical nature of twenty-first century exploitation.

The film somberly, but very effectively, highlights how greed begets only more greed, and how this cycle inevitably leads to violence. With a fantastic Eli Skorcheva in the leading role, all of us were very happy to award Blaga's Lessons the Critics' Prize.

Awards were handed out in several categories on Saturday  Photo credit: Kirill Veprikov/CinEast

But after much deliberation, we also agreed to make special mention of another film in this year's competition - the only documentary in the roster. Smoke Sauna Sisterhood, a documentary which is both tender and moving in equal parts, astonished us all with its stylistic visuals and a degree of intimacy rarely seen on-screen.

Following a group of women sharing their darkest secrets and deepest desires in a traditional Estonian smoke sauna, we could not help but give it a very honorable mention.

The Grand Prix (and Special Jury Prize)

The international jury, seated right up front, eagerly awaited their turn to hand out both a Special Jury Prize and the coveted Grand Prix.

For the former, the international jury agreed with us in the press jury. Blaga's Lessons clearly wooed them too, scooping the Special Jury Prize.

Yet what impressed them the most and ultimately won the Grand Prix - the festival's ultimate prize - was something of an outlier in the competition. Georgian mystical drama Citizen Saint, a black-and-white story of a saint returning to Earth, topped CinEast's competition for the 2023 edition.

Ethereal and unafraid to dabble in the supernatural, the members of the International Jury cited its atmosphere and cinematography as decisive factors in their decision.

Audience Awards

Over the festival's course, audiences were given the opportunity to vote for their favourite films - so as to ultimately decide on the winners in three categories.

Sisters, written and directed by Linda Olte, won the audience's hearts over in the Best Feature Film category. Island of Freedom, directed by Petr Januschka, took the award for Best Short Film.

Furthermore, Piotr Chmielewski's Crab, won Best Short Animated Film, while The Silence of the Banana Trees by Eneos Carka scooped this year's award for Best Short Documentary Film.

Another CinEast comes to a close

Eight thousand participants attended over a hundred film screenings and six concerts at this year's CinEast Film Festival, marked by an unmitigated focus on Ukraine and passion for cinema.

With a 16-year track record, it's safe to say that next year's edition might be just as diverse in style and execution - and just as dedicated to bringing people together and raising awareness for issues that otherwise risk being overlooked.
When Disney released Hocus Pocus 30 years ago, the cast never thought it would grow into the cult classic it is today.

Its really surreal, Omri Katz, who played Max Dennison, told MassLive Saturday. I think were all just kind of astonished and baffled at the whole situation. So, Im grateful and honored and humbled by all of it.

More than 250 fans waited hours in the rain to take pictures and get autographs from Katz, Vinessa Shaw, Thora Birch and Jason Marsden under a tent in the Salem Common on Oct. 21.

The allure of Salem, both in Hocus Pocus and where the meet-and-greet was held, is what attracted fans to have their childhood dreams fulfilled, according to the actors.

Its represented so much in the movie, said Jason Marsden, who voiced Thackery Binx as a cat. Its a character in the movie and you can feel it permeating with these wonderful people who are soaking wet, waiting in the rain just to talk with us knuckleheads. It feels really good.

Read More: Massachusetts has one of the best haunted hotels in the US

Marsden said the movie represents that nostalgic feeling that so many Halloween fans, including himself, love. Aside from the whacky witches and spooky storyline, Katz said people mostly relate to the bonds and relationships among the films characters.

Whether its the three evil sisters or the three children with the cat, theres this heart-warming feeling that everybody kind of gets, he said. I think thats what Disney brings to the table and this movie represents that as well.

Theres something timeless about it, Marsdens partner, Remy Dee, said. The comedy is timeless, the relationships are timeless, and I feel that part of it resonates. Its just a good story.

This is the first time that Shaw and Birch have been to Salem since shooting Hocus Pocus in 1993, according to Dee. The cast plans on visiting some of the filming locations Sunday.
SPRINGFIELD  Native American human remains from at least two people taken from Springfield and Longmeadow will soon be returned to their ancestral grounds for reburial.

But why do museums hold human remains? Thats a question a University of Massachusetts Amherst history professor has researched extensively.

A major driver is scientific racism, the practice that fed discredited pseudo-scientific notions of race and racial superiority.

Samuel J. Redman, director of the universitys Public History Program, has worked on repatriation efforts, including one at the Colorado Historical Society in 2006. Redman said he couldnt stop wondering why human remains like those of Indigenous people ended up in museums.

In 2016, he wrote about it in a book, Bone Rooms: From Scientific Racism to Human Prehistory in Museums.

The late 19th century and early 20th century saw the height of collecting, he said. A wide variety of people did it, from archeologists to amateur collectors, looters, missionaries and army officers. Thomas Jefferson wrote about digging up Native American burial grounds in his book, Notes on the State of Virginia, Redman said.

Many objects were then donated to museums, said Edith Andrews, a member of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) who has worked on repatriation.

A lot of them were acquired from people who had gone around and dug them up. And after they looked at them and examined them, they had no place to put them and they gave them to museums, she said.

In 1864 Minnesota, militiamen shot and killed a Native American man, Redman writes in the opening of his book. Months later, his bones were dug up from his grave and taken to a military doctor for examination. The doctor then sent them to a new U.S. Army medical museum in the name of science. Later, the remains were housed in the Smithsonian until the late 1990s.

Early on, a lot of the story is about race, Redman said. Many people in this era believe that race was a definable concept that one can measure.

Scientists at the time believed that characteristics like intelligence would relate to skull size and would come to racist conclusions, Redman writes.

One man measuring skulls at the Army Medical Museum, for example, said that The American Indians must be assigned a lower position on the human scale than has been believed heretofore, Redman writes in his book. It was an example of pseudo-science now seen to be false.

Sean M. Decatur, the American Museum of Natural Historys president, acknowledged the racist history in a recent letter to staff. The museum would stop displaying human remains and put more effort into identifying the thousands of remains in its collection.

Human remains collections were made possible by extreme imbalances of power, Decaturs letter reads. Moreover, many researchers in the 19th and 20th centuries then used such collections to advance deeply flawed scientific agendas rooted in white supremacy  namely the identification of physical differences that could reinforce models of racial hierarchy.
Israeli warplanes struck targets across Gaza, two airports in Syria and a mosque in the occupied West Bank allegedly used by militants, as the 2-week-old war with Hamas threatened to spiral Sunday, Oct. 22 into a broader conflict.

Israel has traded fire with Lebanons Hezbollah militant group since the war began, and tensions are soaring in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces have battled militants in refugee camps and carried out two airstrikes in recent days.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told troops in northern Israel that if Hezbollah launches a war, it will make the mistake of its life. We will cripple it with a force it cannot even imagine and the consequences for it and the Lebanese state will be devastating.

For days, Israel has seemed to be on the verge of launching a ground offensive in Gaza following Hamas deadly Oct. 7 rampage, with tanks and troops massed at the border.

Israels military spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said the country had increased airstrikes across Gaza to hit targets that would reduce the risk to troops in the next stage of the war.

Hamas said it fought with Israeli forces near Khan Younis in southern Gaza and destroyed a tank and two bulldozers. The Israeli military said it had no information about the claim.

Read More: Medway family still trapped in Gaza despite Rafah border crossing opening into Egypt

On Saturday, 20 trucks entered Gaza in the first aid shipment into the territory since Israel imposed a complete siege two weeks ago. Egypts state-run media reported 17 more trucks crossing Sunday, but the United Nations said none had crossed.

Until now, there is no convoy, said Juliette Touma, spokeswoman for the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees.

Associated Press journalists saw seven fuel trucks head north from the border, but Touma and the Israeli military said those trucks were taking fuel that had been stored on the Gaza side of the crossing deeper into the territory, and that no fuel had entered from Egypt.

In a sign of how precarious any movement of aid remains, the Egyptian military said in a statement that Israeli shelling hit a watchtower on Egypts side of the border, causing light injuries. The Israeli military apologized, saying a tank had accidentally fired and hit an Egyptian post, and the incident was being investigated.

Relief workers said far more aid was needed to address the spiraling humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where half the territorys 2.3 million people have fled their homes.

The U.N. humanitarian agency, known as OCHA, said Saturdays convoy carried about 4% of an average days imports before the war and a fraction of what is needed after 13 days of complete siege.

The Israeli military said the humanitarian situation was under control, even as OCHA called for 100 trucks a day to enter.

Israel repeated its calls for people to leave northern Gaza, including by dropping leaflets from the air. It estimated 700,000 already fled. But hundreds of thousands remain.

That would raise the risk of mass civilian casualties in any ground offensive.

Israeli military officials say Hamas infrastructure and underground tunnel system are concentrated in Gaza City, in the north, and that the next stage of the offensive will include unprecedented force there.

Israel says it wants to crush Hamas. Officials have also spoken of carving out a buffer zone to keep Palestinians from approaching the border.

Hospitals packed with patients and displaced people are running low on medical supplies and fuel for generators, forcing doctors to perform surgeries with sewing needles, using vinegar as disinfectant, and without anesthesia.

The World Health Organization says at least 130 premature babies are at grave risk because of a shortage of generator fuel. It said seven hospitals in northern Gaza have been forced to shut down due to damage from strikes, lack of power and supplies, or Israeli evacuation orders.

Shortages in critical supplies, including ventilators, are forcing doctors to ration treatment, said Dr. Mohammed Qandeel, who works in Khan Younis Nasser Hospital. Dozens of patients continue to arrive and are treated in crowded, darkened corridors, as hospitals preserve electricity for intensive care units.

Its heartbreaking, Qandeel said. Every day, if we receive 10 severely injured patients we have to manage with maybe three or five ICU beds available.

Palestinians sheltering in U.N.-run schools and tent camps are running low on food and drinking dirty water. A power blackout has crippled water and sanitation systems. OCHA said cases of chickenpox, scabies and diarrhea are on the rise because of the lack of clean water.

Heavy airstrikes were reported across Gaza, including in the southern part of the coastal strip, where Israel has told civilians to seek refuge. At the Al-Aqsa hospital in Deir al-Balah, south of the evacuation line, several bodies wrapped in white shrouds were lined up outside on the ground.

Khalil al-Degran, a hospital official, said more than 90 bodies had been brought in since early Sunday, as the sound of nearby bombing echoed behind him. He said 180 wounded people had arrived, mostly children, women and the elderly who had been displaced from other areas.

Airstrikes also smashed through the marketplace in the Nuseirat refugee camp. Witnesses said at least a dozen people were killed.

Israels military has said it is striking Hamas fighters and installations, but does not target civilians. Palestinian militants have fired over 7,000 rockets at Israel, according to the military, and Hamas says it targeted Tel Aviv early Sunday.

More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed  mostly civilians slain during the initial Hamas attack. At least 212 people were captured and dragged back to Gaza. Two Americans were released on Friday.

More than 4,600 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. That includes the disputed toll from a hospital explosion.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CBS Face the Nation that Hamas was responsible, not just for its brutal rampage in southern Israel, but for the deaths of civilians in Israels attacks on Gaza.

It knew that in Israels necessary response, civilians would be caught in that crossfire, he said.

He said the militants were operating among the civilian population and its tunnels were buried under hospitals and schools. What does anyone expect Israel to do? he said.

This is on Hamas.

Meanwhile, Syrian state media reported that Israeli airstrikes hit the international airports in the capital, Damascus, and the northern city of Aleppo, killing one person and putting the runways out of service.

Israel has carried out several strikes in Syria since the war began. Israel rarely acknowledges individual strikes, but says it acts to prevent Hezbollah and other militants from bringing in arms from Iran, which also supports Hamas.

In Lebanon, Hezbollah said six fighters were killed Saturday, and the groups deputy leader, Sheikh Naim Kassem, warned that Israel would pay a high price if it invades Gaza. Israel struck Hezbollah in response to rocket fire, the military said.

Israel also announced evacuation plans for another 14 communities near the Lebanon border.

In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, 93 Palestinians have been killed  including eight Sunday  in clashes with Israeli troops, arrest raids and attacks by Jewish settlers since the Hamas attacks, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Israeli forces have closed crossings into the territory and checkpoints between cities, measures they say are aimed at preventing attacks. Israel says it has arrested more than 700 Palestinians since Oct. 7, including 480 suspected Hamas members.

Among the dead were two killed in an airstrike on a mosque in the town of Jenin, which has seen heavy gun battles over the past year.

The Israeli military said the mosque compound belonged to Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants who had carried out several attacks in recent months and were planning another.

The internationally recognized Palestinian Authority administers parts of the West Bank and cooperates with Israel on security, but it is deeply unpopular and has been the target of violent Palestinian protests.
A 46-year-old Massachusetts man was arrested and charged with driving under the influence after police found him laying in the middle of a Vermont street Saturday night, according to Vermont State Police.

State Troopers got a call about a vehicle that went off Main Road (Route 8) in Stamford, Vermont just after 8 p.m. on Oct. 21, police said.

Read More: Teen accused of stealing car following fight outside Worcester Price Chopper

Responding officers found John Dix, of North Adams, Massachusetts, laying in the travel portion of the roadway, police said. Officers also determined that he was the driver of the vehicle.

Troopers could tell that Dix was impaired and arrested him for suspicion of DUI. He was released on citation and is scheduled to appear in Vermont Superior Court on Dec. 11 to answer the charge, police said.
A 33-year-old man is being sought by police in connection with a death that occurred inside a Gardner home Sunday morning, according to Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early Jr.

A woman was found dead inside a home at 42 Cherry Street around 9:14 a.m. on Oct. 22 after police were called for a reported disturbance, Early said during a press conference Sunday night.

Early said there were four children, ages 2, 5, 7, and 9, living in the home who had went to their neighbors house. Early said they are safe and in the custody of the Department of Children & Families.

Read More: Teen accused of stealing car following fight outside Worcester Price Chopper

Massachusetts State Police and Gardner Police are now looking for Aaron Pennington, of Gardner, in connection with the death.

He is described as White male with blonde hair, blue eyes, standing 6-foot-2 and weighing roughly 175 pounds, according to the district attorneys office.

Pennington is believed to be driving a white 2013 BMW Model 320 with a Massachusetts Veteran plate reading 8A30. His last known address is 43 Cherry St. in Gardner, according to Massachusetts State Police.

Read More: Sex offender accused of exposing himself to woman waiting for Uber in Boston

No one should approach Pennington as he should be considered armed and dangerous, state police said.

Anyone who sees Pennington or the suspected vehicle should call 911, Gardner police at 978-632-5600 or MSP at 508-829-8236.

The investigation into the death is ongoing by State Police Detectives assigned to the Worcester County District Attorneys Office and the Gardner Police Department.
A registered sex offender from Boston is facing an open and gross lewdness charge after exposing himself to a woman who was waiting for her Uber in Dorchester earlier this month, the Suffolk County District Attorneys Office said.

Lucio Tomar, 38, was placed on a $2,500 cash bail after he was charged with one count of open and gross lewdness in Dorchester BMC last week, the office said on Sunday, Oct. 22.

Boston police responded to a lewd activity call on Clayton Street around 11:30 a.m. on Oct. 6. A witness told officers that his mother, who was waiting for her Uber, needed help and that it was an emergency, the district attorneys office said.

A man, later identified as Tomar, was inside a dark-colored BMW with its windows down that was parked right in front of the woman. Tomar was in the car with his pants down and genitals out. He was also touching himself, according to officials.

The womans son smashed the passenger side top corner of the BMW with a hammer, causing the windshield to shatter. Tomar drove away shortly after, the office said. The woman later told police she was disgusted and mad and afraid for herself and the young children who live nearby.

While no one may have been physically hurt in this incident, that by no means diminishes the disturbing and lasting impact it had for the victim, Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said.

This individuals chronic lewd behavior has inflicted intolerable emotional trauma across many neighborhoods, he continued. His continued actions endanger the community and himself.

A few days later, on Oct. 9, Boston police got another call about a man pleasuring himself near Crescent Avenue in Dorchester, the office said. The man was later identified as Tomar.

Officers stopped him at the corner of Dorchester and Crescent avenues. He was driving the same car that was damaged in the incident on Oct. 6.

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Tomar is a level three sex offender with more than 17 lewdness and open and gross charges on his record, the district attorneys office said. The incidents, which date back to 2006, span numerous district courts in Suffolk, Norfolk and Middlesex counties.

Tomar, who has an open lewd and lascivious case in Roxbury BMC, has at least nine convictions, according to Sex Offender Registry Board. He is due back in court for a pre-trial hearing on Nov. 10.
WEST SPRINGFIELD  Mayor William C. Reichelt is asking the city to pay $1.2 million to obtain a site for a needed Department of Public Works facility.

Reichelt has petitioned the Town Council to take an approximately 37-acre Brush Hill Avenue parcel by eminent domain. The property is owned by the Springfield Roman Catholic Diocese.

A vote is scheduled Nov. 6, the Town Councils next meeting, after Councilor Anthony R. DiStefano asked last week to continue the discussion. DiStefano said during an Oct. 17 meeting the council wanted to get answers to lingering questions before casting a vote.

Eminent domain allows the government to take a specific property for public good at an appraised value, even if the owners dont want to sell it, Reichelt said in an interview Friday.

Reichelt says the diocese property on Brush Hill Avenue is ideal for a new DPW yard and facility  and communication with the diocese has come to a halt.

Issue of value

According to Reichelt, the city has been seeking a site for a new DPW yard for almost 10 years. Since 2020, the city has been in talks with the diocese about the property, the mayor said.

In November 2020, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission awarded West Springfield $1.2 million for transportation improvements and to address increased demand for local municipal services.

With that money in hand, the town ran a feasibility study for a new police station and DPW yard.

The study identified two locations, Reichelt said. The city attempted to buy land at 45 Piper Cross Road where Western Mass. Growers Inc. is now located, but to no avail.

Two appraisals were conducted of the Brush Hill parcel the church owns. They were completed in June 2022 and January 2023, with the valuation of the property coming in at $650,000 and $1,200,000.

The total pricetag for a new DPW facility is about $30 million. Once the property is procured, the project will move into the design phase, the mayor said, and take up to three years to complete.

Reichelt said in the spring the city made an offer to the diocese, based on the $1.2 million appraisal, but there was no counteroffer from the diocese  and no negotiations beyond that point.

The diocese did not respond to a request for comment.

William Reichelt, the mayor of West Springfield, seeks to use a land acquisition by eminent domain to expedite the creation of a new DPW facility on Brush Hill Avenue. (Jonah Snowden / The Republican)

The diocese commissioned its own appraisal in September 2021, which pegged the value at $2,550,000, the mayor said. It was unwilling to negotiate lower than that figure, Reichelt wrote in an Oct. 11 statement to Town Council President Edward Sullivan.

According to city records, the parcel  number 040-002-012  carries an assessed land value of $127,500 and a total assessed parcel value of $279,000.

Reichelt is looking to expedite the move to a new DPW yard, which would allow for a police department expansion.

Why Brush Hill Avenue?

The DPW yard and West Springfield police station both need upgrades. West Springfield doesnt have many parcels to select from.

West Springfield is considered land poor, Reichelt said, because it lacks space set aside for municipal expansion.

The Brush Hill Avenue site is considered ideal because of its central location, with no direct residential abutters, and because it will not take tax revenue from the city, since it is now owned by a nonprofit.

Reichelt said there is no current opposition or topographical issues and the parcel is the perfect size to accommodate the project.

A new DPW yard is needed to save taxpayers money in the long run and to provide residents with expanded services, Reichelt said.

Unlike most communities, West Springfield does not have a shed to store salt for winter road treatment. About $10,000 worth of salt is washed away each year as a result, Reichelt said.

He said he worries about the safety of DPW workers who must climb the salt piles to cover and uncover them when preparing for storms.

The city would also save on truck repairs and maintenance expenses because they will be able to park vehicles in a garage away from the elements, Reichelt said.
Neighborhood groups in two western Massachusetts communities have a chance in coming weeks to take a novel course.

They could say yes.

Instead of opposing housing developments, groups could  and should  support projects and zoning changes able to expand the number of dwellings in Hampshire County. And residents across the state should do the same, as Gov. Maura Healey launches a $4.12 billion effort to tackle this problem.

The current shortage of affordable housing for the great swath of middle-income earners leaves towns sclerotic, unable to accommodate young families and is partly to blame for the growing number of people living on our sidewalks, under bridges, and in wooded patches next to fast-food restaurants.

In 2022, the Massachusetts Donahue Institute estimated that the Pioneer Valley will need another 19,000 housing units by 2025.

To increase the number of places people can live, two Amherst Town Council members, Mandi Jo Hanneke and Pat DeAngelis, have put forward small changes to zoning policy. Thats the sort of news people often ignore. Raking lawns with a fork might be more entertaining than considering zoning policy. But people should pay attention. Allowing homeowners to more easily build duplexes or convert garages and basements to apartments is the sort of change that matters. People urgently need places to live.

One group, the ironically named Progressive Coalition of Amherst, is already working against the zoning changes, arguing that the new rules would give too much leeway to developers.

Amherst groups that have opposed housing development in their backyards should consider lending support to the Hanneke/DeAngelis proposal, which is sure to get a careful governmental review.

It has become commonplace for affluent communities around the U.S. to resist new housing. Thats not progressive and it is not in the public interest.

In Northampton, two multi-story buildings could soon be built on King Street near downtown. While their proposed height  six stories in one case  causes consternation among some, this project holds the potential to increase housing units on a busy commercial route.

The site of proposed housing at 79 King St. in Northampton. (Juliet Schulman-Hall photo)

The more available places there are for people to live downtown, the less building pressure may be applied in neighborhoods, where residents often oppose changes.

Some Northampton residents are pushing for so-called Neighborhood Conservation Districts, a designation akin to historic preservation districts. These residents, who have fought and lost battles about the character and charm of their neighborhoods, want a greater voice.

Local residents having more voice is fine, as long as concern for neighborhood character is not code for preserving a lifestyle that fits the people who already live there, while excluding the rest.
For many, the moment a wrongfully convicted person is released from prison is seen as a triumph, a rebalancing of the scales of justice.

Its what happens in the moments afterward that things get complicated, Sean Ellis said.

And he should know. When he was released from custody in 2020, and fully exonerated in 2021, after spending nearly 22 years behind bars for a crime he didnt commit, Ellis found himself scrambling for the basics he needed to survive.

And hes hardly alone.

Nationwide, 228 people  three of them in the Bay State  in 26 states and Washington D.C., along with five people at the federal level, were exonerated in 2022, according to the National Registry of Exonerations, a joint project of the University of California Irvine, the University of Michigan Law School, and Michigan State Universitys College of Law.

When I was released, I was released with no money whatsoever, Ellis, the director of the Exoneree Network at the New England Innocence Project, told MassLive. Without my familys help, I wouldnt be able to buy toiletries .... just the basic hygienic needs that someone needs. And we havent even gotten to food yet, or being able to get from Point A to Point B to get the food.

Earlier this month, Ellis, legislative allies and supporters rallied at the State House in support of companion bills before the state House and Senate that would boost both the financial compensation and the social service support that wrongfully convicted people receive from the state when they leave custody.

Ellis, along with the bills sponsors, Sen. Patricia Jehlen, D-2nd Middlesex; and Reps. Christopher J. Worrell, D-5th Suffolk, and Jeffrey N. Roy, D-10th Norfolk, are looking to get finished language out of committee, and onto Gov. Maura Healeys desk, before the end of the current legislative session.

Its a task complicated by the currently fractious relations between the majority-Democrat chambers. But they remain optimistic.

And, according to Jehlen, the work is too urgent.

Weve just been very, very upset to learn about people waiting for months, even years before they get the compensation they deserve, Jehlen told MassLive. People spent decades in prison, they came out with nothing. In some cases, they had relatives and friends, But they had no resume, no job skills that were current. In many cases, they didnt know how to use a cellphone or the internet. They had nowhere to live. No income and no money. And not even the kind of support theyd get if they were on parole.

Lisa Kavanaugh, the director of the Innocence Program at the Boston-based Committee for Public Counsel Services, puts it this way: What many people dont understand is that when someone is freed and after a wrongful conviction  that moment so often captured with a triumphant photograph outside the courthouse doors  they are not automatically entitled to anything from the state.

These bills make important strides to address that harsh reality, Kavanaugh said in a statement.

The House and Senate bills would, among other things:

Remove a current $1 million cap on compensation to allow for significant periods of incarceration;

Provide exonerated people with $5,000 immediately upon their release;

Clarify the state services that can be provided in addition to that financial compensation;

Provide compensation for people who can prove their innocence, even if their convictions were vacated on other grounds.

The proposals got an airing before the Legislatures Joint Committee on the Judiciary in May. And supporters have made the rounds of lawmakers offices, looking to build support for the proposals.

One of the biggest messages that I hope got across  [is] that were humans, Ellis said. Were human beings. We have essential needs that are, in some cases, going unfulfilled. And peoples loved ones are struggling to fill it.

But it shouldnt be on the families, he continued. It should be on the institutions that created the situation to begin with  thats the wrongful conviction. I hope they can connect with the humanity of the people who testified.

Massachusetts already is among the 38 states that have a compensation statute enshrined in state law, according to an analysis by the National Registry of Exonerations. Lawmakers have periodically tweaked the statute since its 2004 enactment to keep it up to date with changing needs.

With this latest push, advocates say they hope to further elevate the need for compensation in both the publics consciousness and that of criminal justice reformers.

The conversation around wrongful convictions has yet to be a priority of the national criminal justice agenda. It is time we begin to protect our exonerated constituents by solidifying the crucial transition services that the state owes them, Worrell, the sponsor of one of the House bills, said. Passing [my bill] would lift the cap on compensation, standardize transitional assistance funding payments, and would bring some semblance of justice to falsely convicted people.

State and local governments have paid out as much as $2.9 billion over the years to provide compensation to the wrongfully convicted, who have collectively lost 25,000 years of their lives through 2021, according to the exoneration registry.

That loss was most pronounced among Black people, the data showed.

Research also shows that the damage inflicted by wrongful convictions is more than economic. Often, the familial relationships of the wrongfully convicted also suffer.

The shame, anger, and alienation that family members feel often go unacknowledged in a culture driven by punitive sentiment, and families are forced to devise creative strategies to cope with the difficulties of familial incarceration, George Mason University Criminologist Janani Umamaheswar wrote in a paper published in February. Penal harm moreover extends into the reentry period, which generates unique challenges for family members, upon whom 40%80% of reentering persons rely.

Speaking to MassLive, Jehlen offered a similar sentiment.

People are just cut loose after the state had taken enormous shares of their lives from them, Jehlen said. They deserve a chance to not be homeless when they leave prison; a chance to get started again. And they deserve a quicker path to compensation.

Sean Ellis hopes that time is now.

If you know anything about restorative justice, hurt people hurt people and healed people heal people, he said. This bill is a step towards healing.
SPRINGFIELD  Well over 100 years ago, remains from at least two Native Americans were taken from their burial sites in Springfield and Longmeadow.

They will soon be returned to their ancestral grounds, but thousands of other Native American peoples remains sit in collections across the country, including in Massachusetts, despite a 1990 law that outlines how they should be returned.

Without consent, hundreds of thousands of Native American peoples remains were stripped of their humanity being studied, put on display and stored in museum collections.

Read more: How scientific racism fueled museums collections of Native American human remains

You dont keep your people in drawers and containers, Edith Andrews, a member of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), would say to museums years ago, while she worked to repatriate her ancestors remains.

Eben Horsford, a professor at Harvard University in the mid-1800s, took the Springfield and Longmeadow human remains, along with pottery shards and stone tools buried with them. They ended up in storage at the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, with handwritten notes that offered little information about their history, said Jason Vivori, the museums collections manager. The remains washed out from graves, a note said.

They were taken at a time when there werent many rules in archeology, Vivori said. There was certainly no respect for these communities, he said.

Curator William Johnson places the repatriated remains of a Native American ancestor into a grave at the Nibokaan Ancestral Cemetery in Mount Pleasant in 2018 in Michigan. (Kaytie Boomer photo)Kaytie Boomer

Those remains, bone fragments, are now set to be returned. Under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990, the museum is working with the Stockbridge-Munsee Community Band of Mohican Indians to repatriate them. The remains are some of more than one hundred thousand Native American peoples remains in collections across the country that have yet to be made available for tribes to repatriate.

Bonney Hartley  historic preservation manager for the Stockbridge-Munsee Community  has been working with Vivori and the museum. Paperwork for the transfer is signed and the tribe plans to get the remains next spring, Vivori said.

Hartleys goal is to ensure that ancestors are respectfully reburied. Hartley and her tribe care for the ancestors so that theyre not forever remaining on a shelf, in storage or seen as a piece of art. (So) that they are appropriately treated with human dignity that everyone deserves.

Landmark 1990 law

The situation is far from uncommon. Museums and other institutions across the country still possess the human remains of thousands of Native Americans, a federal database shows.

Museums in Massachusetts, including one in Hampden County, hold human remains that have yet to be returned through the repatriation process, according to the federal database, while museums outside the state have remains that originated in the Valley and have yet to be returned.

Thats despite the decades-old law passed outlining a process to return them to tribes. A ProPublica investigation this year found that more than 600 institutions subject to the law reported having more than 100,000 Native American human remains that have not been made available for return to tribes.

In 1990, Congress passed the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act  known as NAGPRA  which required federal agencies and museums that have received federal funding to identify and take specific steps to repatriate Native American remains in their collections.

Its a really significant piece of legislation, said Shannon OLoughlin, a lawyer, chief executive of the nonprofit Association on American Indian Affairs and a citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. It is absolutely human rights legislation. It was developed to benefit native people almost like reparations.

Native American belongings and culture were exploited, she said. Our ancestors were removed from our graves without consent. Our cultural objects were stolen from our homes, OLoughlin said. There are more than 500 federally recognized tribes and hundreds of state-recognized groups, she said. This law is meant to put those items back in their hands.

OLoughlin has seen institutions move slowly or resist giving remains back. Of all museums subject to the law  which includes universities  20 hold the majority of Native American human remains still in museum collections, she said.

Federal agencies and museums that receive any federal funding since the law passed must create an inventory of Native American human remains and any associated funerary objects, things that are part of a death ritual or ceremony, as well as a summary of other cultural items. They must consult with tribes and descendants, review requests for repatriation and publish a public notice before returning ancestral remains.

Formal consultation happens with federally recognized tribes, of which there are two in Massachusetts, the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) and the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe. Others, like the Stockbridge-Munsee Community, have parts of their homelands here.

After museums make the remains available for return to tribes through publication of a notice, museums are not required to report what happened next to the federal government, according to the National NAGPRA office, so there is not data on whats been returned.

For years, indigenous people across the country have been pushing to get their ancestors remains back and to treat them with respect, instead of as items for study or display. The law, too, declared they needed to be treated with dignity. In acknowledgment of that, The Republican and MassLive are not using any images of human remains.

Questions about Springfield collection

Springfield Science Museum. (Hoang 'Leon' Nguyen / The Republican)

In Hampden County, the Springfield Science Museum reports in a federal database it has the remains of 31 people and 109 funerary objects associated with them. That data is self-reported to the NAGPRA program. Its not clear how many remains the museum actually has.

Earlier this year, the museum told New England Public Media that it thought it had repatriated remains from 25 people in 2016.

But the museum hasnt provided corrected information to the federal government, said Melanie OBrien, the manager of the NAGPRA Program.

Michelle Murphy, the Springfield Museums vice president of development and marketing, declined The Republicans request to interview a museum staff person working on NAGPRA and declined to answer specific questions, including clarifying how many Native American human remains, if any, the museum holds.

Our stance is the process is ongoing all the time throughout our communication with our own Native American advisors and consultants, Murphy said.

The museum reached out to the national NAGPRA office earlier this year, according to emails obtained by The Republican.

Several years ago, when the museums science curator left the job, the collections director was told all the returns of remains and items have been done, a staffer wrote in a February email to the NAGPRA office.

The staffer said items that had been repatriated in 2016 are still shown in the database, and said she was going through the museums collections to see if she could find any of the listed remains or associated objects. The staffer found an article in the Mohican News about repatriation from a number of western Massachusetts institutions, including the Springfield Museums, in 2016, that she believed included 25 sets of human remains from Worcester County. If thats the case, it does not account for six other peoples remains from Connecticut, Maryland and Illinois listed in the database as still possessed by the Springfield Science Museum.

The NAGPRA office gave the museum technical assistance, OBrien said in an email to The Republican.

Its not clear how many Native American human remains the museum has left. Aside from the records of 31 human remains that are under question, the museum has made more than 100 peoples remains available for return through NAGPRA, federal documentation shows.

Tribal members leave the Ziibiwing Center after performing part of the ceremony for the repatriated remains of a Native American ancestor in Mount Pleasant, Mich. (Kaytie Boomer photo)Kaytie Boomer

Where other Mass. museums stand

Some museums in western Massachusetts are listed as making all Native American human remains available for repatriation through NAGPRA. That includes the University of Massachusetts Amherst, which repatriated 186 Native American peoples remains.

Its a long process but its really important and were really committed to it, said Julie Woods, the colleges director of repatriation and NAGPRA coordinator. The university still has human remains, and Woods works to identify if any are Native American and subject to NAGPRA. For people from other parts of the world, outside the U.S., the university is working on other processes to return them.

Massachusetts museums subject to NAGPRA report holding remains from about 5,700 people, the vast majority of which are at Harvard Universitys Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology in Cambridge. The museum has the remains of more than 5,500 people, mostly from areas outside of New England, according to the federal database.

Of any institution, Harvard University has the fourth-highest number of remains not made available for return, according to ProPublicas investigation.

Late last year, Harvard finished returning all remains it had from eastern Massachusetts, Nicole Rura, a Harvard spokesperson, said in an email.

The museum last month was nearing the final stage of returning remains of four people from Worcester County. Its consulting with tribes on remains from central and western Massachusetts, but Rura declined to go into details. The Peabody has a general practice of not talking in the media about the consultation process, as we want to respect Tribal confidentiality, Rura wrote.

Federal data shows that remains from at least 18 people in Harvards collection from western Massachusetts are nearing their final stages of return. Those include at least five peoples remains taken from a riverbank in Longmeadow by W.B. Lord and given to the university in 1883 and two peoples remains taken from Westfield in 1961. Theres also human remains from Chicopee, Greenfield and Deerfield.

In New Haven, Connecticut, the Yale Peabody Museum holds the remains from at least seven people from the Valley, all from Franklin County. Most were taken from a burial ground in Turners Falls by amateur archeologists and donated by E.H. Rogers in the early 1900s, according to the museum and records from the NAGPRA program.

Karen Peart, a spokeswoman, said the museums goal is to return all ancestor remains and cultural items.

The YPM works towards repatriation through meaningful communication and consultation with tribal nations, Peart said by email in response to questions. The museum is adding two staff members to support that. This additional staff will provide support to understand the cultural significance of these items through cultural consultations and to aid in the timely return of ancestors, Peart said.

The American Museum of Natural History in New York City has Native American human remains from at least six people taken from western Massachusetts in West Springfield and Turners Falls. The museum has little information about them, it said in a statement to MassLive and The Republican.

It has not gotten requests from tribes about the remains but welcomes engagement with any interested Native communities, the statement said. We re-evaluate inventories on a regular basis when we have new information.

Artifacts, dioramas, and representations of Native American culture from the northwest coast of North America are displayed at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)AP

The American Museum of Natural History recently said it will remove human bones from display and put more resources into identifying them, a recent letter to museum staff announced. It has skeletal remains of more than 10,000 people, about a quarter of which are Native American, the letter says.

Healing from historical trauma

Hartley, historic preservation manager for the Stockbridge-Munsee Community, has been working on repatriation for her tribe for years. Since the 1990 law passed, remains from an estimated 2,500 people have been returned to the Stockbridge-Munsee Community, Hartley said, and she is still working with more museums to return her tribes ancestors.

Shes picked up cases that previously went cold. She has been surprised by barriers that museums put up in the past and scrutiny she sees as unreasonable.

Bonney Hartley, historic preservation manager for the Stockbridge-Munsee Community (Photo courtesy of Bonney Hartley)

When I look back at some of the correspondence from a lot of mainstream museums that have collections of Native ancestral remains that worked with us, I (see) a lot pushback, she said. They would say, prove more of exactly who this person is and exactly how youre descended from them, she said. How can we realistically produce (that) when their records are incomplete?

Hartley, who has an office in Williamstown, has seen more people come forward with items in private collections not subject to NAGPRA, like human remains passed down in a family over generations.

That happens more and thats also very difficult to encounter ... but its very meaningful to see it completed, she said.

When NAGPRA became law more than three decades ago, Andrews, a member of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), celebrated. Now in her early 90s and living in Dartmouth, she was the first repatriation coordinator for her tribe. Before the law passed, she had been asking museums to return her ancestors remains.

Thats one of my greatest achievements, she said, reflecting on her work. Making sure my people were reinterred in the places they should have been.

Andrews was frustrated that some Native American human remains are still in museum collections. You just dont leave them in a building, she said. Reinter them like they are supposed to.

Now that Andrews has retired, Bettina Washington is the tribal historic preservation officer and acting repatriation officer for the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah).

She has been busy with repatriation work over the last year and a half. That entails lot of paperwork and time. Its not like you can just go and pick them (ancestors) up, she said.

Washington has been involved in reinternments in western Massachusetts, like a large one in Deerfield. Its really a honor to do it. Its necessary. They dont deserve to be on shelves in museums.

While the work is rewarding, it can be emotionally challenging. Its like any other funeral, Washington said. For us, were reburying our family. She has a reburial of repatriated remains coming up, likely this fall, she said.

Sonya Atalay, provost professor of anthropology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, is Anishinaabe-Ojibwe, served two terms on the NAGPRA Federal Advisory Review Committee and has been involved in repatriations. In attending reburials and talking to tribes through the committee, she often heard that the work helped heal people from historical trauma.

She and other colleagues have detailed repatriation stories in a comic book series, NAGPRA Comics. Its a way to make the complex issue more accessible and tell powerful stories, Atalay said.

UMass Provost Professor Sonya Atalay works on making comic books about NAGPRA with Associate Professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder, Jen Shannon, and archeological illustrator John G. Swogger. (Image courtesy of Sonya Atalay)

While its a constant push to hold institutions accountable to the law, Atalay said shes seeing museums put more resources into repatriation work.

I think more people are starting to realize the commitment it takes, she said. It requires relationship building over long periods of time. What I see is institutions working towards that.

Washington has also seen fewer museums resist repatriation and instead look at their collections and talk to tribes. Of course, she added, we all long for the day when NAGPRA is no longer necessary.

In the spring, the two peoples remains from Longmeadow and Springfield that have been at the Berkshire Museum will be transferred for reburial.

I cant get into specifics on our re-burial locations because they are always still vulnerable to looting, Hartley said. But we would work to rebury the ancestors as close as possible to where they came from.

Its rewarding to restore dignity and respect to the ancestors remains, Hartley said. And on a spiritual level, knowing that the ancestors are at rest again.

Editors note: This story was updated on Oct. 25, 2023, with additional information about the Yale Peabody Museums repatriation work.
From debuting in the film Student Of The Year as an actress who didnt show much promise to becoming one of the most celebrated actresses in the industry, Alia Bhatt seems to have come a long, long way.

Her career trajectory has been as fun and unpredictable as the actress herself, including some films to her name which left a deep impact on people. One such movie was Sanjay Leela Bhansalis Gangubai Kathiawadi where Alia Bhatt was seen playing the titular role.

Alia didnt just perform wonderfully in the hit film, but also charmed people with her versatility, her dedication and her ability to own the character of Gangu on screen. Perhaps that is why, when she was recently awarded a National Award for her performance, we thought it was quite befitting.

However, at the same time there is a group of people which seems to be at odds with the actress for being given the National Award as they have qualms with her British citizenship.

@ Reddit

Claiming that Alia Bhatt is not an Indian but a British citizen, fans are disappointed that she was still given a National Award as they drop comments like, If alia bhatt is a british citizen how she can get National award , i think national award are for indian nationals only.

@ Reddit

Another one wrote, Government ka mann hai, kisi ko bhi se sakte hai.. Akshay Kumar ko bhi toh diya tha, not realizing that the National Award isnt limited to be awarded to just Indian citizens. Many others jumped to Alias defense as they commented things like, That's not a criteria. One criteria is, makers of a film, and particularly the director, to be Indian nationals.Flms entering the competition should be produced in India. No rule is set for the nationality of the actor or actress.

Seems like people do really need to get their facts right before ripping someone off their merit!
17 trucks carrying humanitarian aid crossed the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza on Sunday shortly after 2 p.m. as the border crossing opened for the second time in as many days, according to Al-Qahera News channel.

17 trucks carrying humanitarian aid crossed the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza on Sunday shortly after 2 p.m. as the border crossing opened for the second time in as many days, according to Al-Qahera News channel.

Meanwhile, six trucks with fuel to power generations at two hospitals crossed from Egypt for the first time since the war erupted in the enclave, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) and an Egyptian source told AFP.

Ahram Online could not confirm whether the six fuel trucks are part of the 17 trucks or additional ones.

On Saturday, 20 trucks carrying food and medical supplies crossed into Gaza through the Rafah border crossing to deliver urgent humanitarian aid to 2.3 million Palestinians who have been under a complete Israeli blockade - food, water, and fuel - for two weeks.

This was made possible after an agreement was reached between Egypt, Israel, and the US that allowed for the opening of the crossing for the first time since the war between Hamas and Israel started on 7 October.

               #_#___#__ #_ pic.twitter.com/6FKqqVM3Nh  AlQahera News (@Alqaheranewstv) October 22, 2023

Despite this positive step, a significant backlog of hundreds of trucks, sourced from various local and international channels, remains queued on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing, awaiting the necessary authorization to proceed to Gaza.

According to remarks by UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths to CNN, the strip is in need of a substantial amount of humanitarian aid, at least a hundred trucks per day. He also stressed the importance of ensuring the sustainability of these shipments.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Ministry of Health reported that the entry of the 20 trucks on Saturday into the blockaded strip represents only three percent of the typical daily influx of health and humanitarian supplies, which used to exceed 600 trucks per day before the Israeli war on Gaza.

It has not been confirmed whether the 17 trucks included fuel or not, as Gaza has been facing continued Israeli prevention of fuel, which is necessary for hospital operations, ambulance services, and water generation.

In TV remarks to Al-Arabiya, the media spokesperson of the Palestinian Red Crescent (PRC) stated that the PRC had consumed all the fuel allocated for ambulances, and now they are resorting to the strategic reserves of Al-Quds Hospital, which is also running low.

We urge the international community and organizations to include fuel in humanitarian aid trucks to ensure the continued operation of hospitals, she added.

Egypt's Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry has rejected as unacceptable any attempts to misrepresent Egypts position on the Rafah crossing, asserting that the crossing has never been officially closed by Egypt, but it is not functioning normally after being targeted by Israel four times.

Israel has "unfortunately" not allowed the opening of the Rafah crossing on the Gaza side, Shoukry said adding that it was "preventing aid from entering Gaza.

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The U.S. is increasing its military presence in the Middle East amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.

In a Saturday statement, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III said new steps are being taken to increase the protection of US forces in the region and aid in the defense of Israel following "recent escalations by Iran and its proxy forces."

While representatives of the US Department of Defense declined to answer questions from Insider about the specific actions by Iran that triggered the move, the announcement of new mobilization comes after Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militant group based in Lebanon, took responsibility on Wednesday for seven attacks directed at Israeli territory.

The Jerusalem Post reported the attacks included firing on soldiers and surveillance equipment and anti-tank missile strikes. In response, the outlet reported, the Israel Defense Forces said it launched counter-strikes on several Hezbollah targets near the Lebanese-Israeli border.

Though President Joe Biden last week said he didn't believe it necessary to deploy US troops into Israel  one of the country's closest allies  Insider previously reported Israel's national security advisor indicated the US might become more "involved" in the Gaza war if it escalated to the point where Iran and Hezbollah joined.

Austin on Saturday said he'd ordered the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group to be redirected to the Central Command area of responsibility, a region CENTCOM says is "among the least secure and stable places of the world." The Eisenhower strike group is mobilized in addition to the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group currently operating in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.

"I have also activated the deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery as well as additional Patriot battalions to locations throughout the region to increase force protection for US forces," Austin's statement continued. The THAAD is a Lockheed Martin anti-ballistic missile defense system designed to intercept targets inside and outside the atmosphere, per the manufacturer.

In addition to the missile systems, Austin indicated additional US troops have been given prepare-to-deploy orders as part of "prudent contingency planning." The Pentagon has already alerted more than 2,000 troops to prepare for deployment, Insider previously reported.
Dear Amy: Our sons mother and father-in-law, who live in Europe, have repeatedly invited us to stay at their house, including over the upcoming holidays.

We are considering going, and told them so.

Then I got a text from my daughter-in-law with an Airbnb listing where she said we could stay to be away from the mayhem.

Amy, mayhem is part of the holiday experience! (And by the way, this Airbnb property is already booked over the holidays).

We think this might be a dis-invite, but dont know how to formulate a response.

We are on good terms with everyone and want to keep it that way.

As the parents of two sons, I feel like we need to hear from our daughter-in-law.

What do you think?

 Holiday Housed

Dear Housed: Mayhem is part of the holiday experience, while true, is not necessarily a selling point  certainly for anyone contemplating hosting for a presumably long-ish overseas stay.

Your daughter-in-law might be trying to deftly discourage you from staying with her folks, and I think you should take this message, accept it, and assume that if you make this trip, you will have to find a place to stay.

Because the property she recommended is booked, you could circle back to your DIL and note: We totally understand about mayhem. It sounds as if you think it would be best if we didnt accept your parents invitation to stay with them. The property you linked to is already booked, but we note a few others nearby. Do you have thoughts about any of those properties?

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.
GRAND TRAVERSE COUNTY, MI  A local boater and Michigan State Police trooper worked together to rescue a kayaker from a lake after the man was sitting in the water for about an hour.

Troopers initially responded to a 1:50 p.m. call from a distressed kayaker in the water Saturday, Oct. 21, on Long Lake in Long Lake Township.

Police noted the outside air temperature at the time was 47 degrees, and the water temperature was 53 degrees.

A trooper and a man on the shoreline with a boat were able to rescue the kayaker  a 37-year-old West Olive man  from the water. Police said the kayaker was shivering and starting to lose his fine motor skills upon arrival.

The kayaker told police he was in the water for around one hour.

A member of the Long Lake Fire Department then arrived on another vessel operated by local residents. The residents, with help from fire personnel, were able to recover the kayak and the mans belongings.

State police posted a short video clip on X, formerly known as Twitter, showing the rescue.

The West Olive man was then transported to an area hospital to be treated for hypothermia.

Read more on MLive:

Police chase through Indiana, Michigan ends with fatal crash

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DETROIT, MI -- Multiple Detroit police agencies are working together in an investigation into the stabbing death of a Jewish synagogue president Saturday, police said.

Samantha Woll was found stabbed to death on the morning of Oct. 21 outside her home in Detroits Lafayette Park neighborhood, according to the Detroit Police Department. Woll, 40, led the Isaac Agree Downtown Detroit Synagogue.

Police Chief James White said the department has mobilized many resources and has been leveraging every law enforcement and community resource available to help aid the investigation.

Understandably, this crime leaves many unanswered questions, White said in a statement. This matter is under investigation, and I am asking that everyone remain patient while investigators carefully examine every aspect of the available evidence. It is important that no conclusions be drawn until all of the available facts are reviewed.

An update on the investigation will be be released Sunday, police said.

A law enforcement agent walks near the scene near the scene where a Detroit synagogue president, Samantha Woll, was found dead in Detroit on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023. Woll, a Detroit synagogue president was found slain outside her home with multiple stab wounds Saturday, police said. (David Rodriguez Munoz/Detroit Free Press via AP)AP

Jewish Federation of Detroit leadership has been in contact with the Downtown Synagogue and law enforcement to support the continuing investigation, federation officials said.

Woll had been a committed and beloved volunteer leader at various Jewish organizations in the Detroit area, including the Jewish Community Relations Council/American Jewish Committee and the Jewish Historical Society of Michigan, officials said.

I am deeply saddened to learn of the violent murder of Sam Woll, a synagogue president, interfaith activist and former Congressional staffer whose life was lived in service to her community and country, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-NY, said in a statement. While we learn more about the motivation behind this senseless attack, it comes at a time where too many Americans, including our Jewish sisters and brothers, have reason to fear for their safety based on who they are or what they believe.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called for the Detroit community to support each other in the wake of Wolls death.

My heart breaks for her family, her friends, her synagogue and all those who were lucky enough to know her, Whitmer said. (Woll) was a source of light, a beacon in her community who worked hard to make Michigan a better place.

There are no known threats to the public at this time, and no evidence has been shared indicating the stabbing was a targeted act motivated by antisemitism, officials said.

More from MLive:

Juvenile arrested after overnight stabbing in Holland

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WASHTENAW COUNTY, MI - Powerful storms that swept through Washtenaw County in June 2021 dumped nearly 6 inches of rain on some areas  the most ever recorded in one day in the county. Some 230 basements flooded, an apartment complex was evacuated and officials declared a local state of emergency.

About two years later, in August 2023, another record-breaking storm pummeled the area, leaving behind almost 5 inches of rain in roughly three hours.

These storms may represent the new normal, a Washtenaw County official said.

Our profession expects these types of events to occur more and more frequently in Michigan with greater and greater impact to more residents, Evan Pratt, Washtenaw Countys water resources commissioner and a leading expert on stormwater, wrote in a Sept. 29 memo comparing the two historic storms.

The deluges are happening more frequently than federal government data tables suggest, since those estimates arent properly adjusted for the accelerated effects of climate change, Pratt said.

We expect more record-breakers too, he wrote in his memo, addressed to Washtenaw County leaders and emergency management officials.

Pratt assembled figures on the number of basement back-ups and surface flooding reports received in the county for each storm. He found that the intensity of the downpour on Aug. 23-24 this year was greater than officials originally understood, with the impact to Ypsilanti-area residents far greater than those of the June 24-25, 2021 storm that triggered the emergency declaration.

A local emergency, which the county board chair may declare, allows additional emergency measures and the ability to request state and federal assistance. With the 2021 flooding, money from the state and disaster assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency kicked in to help cover residents damages.

At that time, the county became aware of the significant scope of the flooding fairly quickly due to a number of reasons, including media coverage focused on impacts to Wayne County, Washtenaw County Emergency Operations Manager Benjamin Pinette said in an email.

During the 2023 storm, the scope of the flooding wasnt realized until later on, through the investigative efforts of the Water Resources Commissioners Office, and so additional resources to manage the incident werent requested, he said.

A sewer back-up in a basement may not at first glance qualify as a crisis, Pratt said, but many residents dont have insurance coverage for that kind of event, which can cost between $5,000 and $25,000 to address.

Just imagine if your grandmas basement flooded, and shes calling you, its an emergency for grandma, and its not just an emergency while its happening, its an emergency after things are settled down because youve got to get it fixed, he said.

The August 2023 rain qualified as a 500-year storm for a three-hour period  an event with a 0.2% chance of happening in any given year  nested within a 300-year storm for a six-hour timeframe, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data tables, Pratt said. The 2021 flooding was due to a 200-year, 24-hour storm, with a 0.5% probability of occurrence by the same metrics.

A washout on the downstream side of Tyler Dam, just west of Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti Township, on Thursday, Aug. 24 after nearly 5 inches of rain fell in three hours on parts of eastern Washtenaw County.Washtenaw County Road Commission

But those tables are based on more than a century of historic rainfall data through 2011 and are generally considered by experts to be out of date due to climate change, Pratt said.

It is possible that we had two very rare events happen almost on top of each other, but it is more likely that the probabilities of those storms are are underestimated, and we will see more of the same or worse within the next five years, he wrote in his memo.

Warmer air due to climate change absorbs more moisture, and Michigans position amid the Great Lakes puts it in a position to see more intense rain and longer periods of drought in between, Pratt said.

State and local planners have estimated that based on climate forecasts, by the end of the century rainstorms that are currently pegged by NOAA as 1% likely, or a 100-year storm, in southeast Michigan will become 10% likely to happen in a given year, a 10-year storm, according to Pratts memo.

That puts officials working on multimillion-dollar infrastructure projects like new roads and bridges in the position of weighing the costs of designing for that likely future, while balancing the costs it involves, Pratt said.

We have to get out a crystal ball thats incredibly cloudy and do something to say, how much bigger should we make it? How much money do we spend now? he said.

In the case of his office, Pratt is focused on stormwater projects that reduce the severity and frequency of storms impact to private property. In Ann Arbor, for example, his office has helped city with the installation of new detention ponds in neighborhoods where flooding problems were highlighted by a severe 2012 storm.

Read more: The big dig: Ann Arbor digging large pond to address neighborhood flooding

After the August deluge, Pratt said he compared notes with agencies like the Washtenaw County Road Commission and Ypsilanti Community Utilities Authority on next steps. He hopes to conduct several major stormwater studies in Ypsilanti Township neighborhoods where some stormwater infrastructure is pushing 100 years old, and the flooding was particularly severe.

Without ramping up investments to improve resilience, traumatic property damage will only become more frequent, he warned county leaders in his memo.

Want more Ann Arbor-area news? Bookmark the local Ann Arbor news page, the Ypsilanti-area news page or sign up for the free 3@3 Ann Arbor daily newsletter.

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Teachers union, Eastern Michigan University reach new bargaining deal

Older residents arent prepared for emergency weather, Washtenaw County survey says

Liquor license applications approved for University of Michigan basketball, hockey games

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ALLEGAN COUNTY, MI -- Two people have been hospitalized after a struck deer crashed through a cars windshield Saturday morning, police said.

At about 7:30 a.m. Oct. 21, officers and firefighters from the Holland Department of Public Safety were dispatch to I-196 south of Holland for the report of a crash causing injuries.

First responders arrived at the scene to find a car that had crashed into a commercial building at West 64th St. Suite 200, police officials said in a news release.

Police believe the car had been travelling on West I-196 when it hit a deer. The impact caused the animal to go through the cars windshield into the passenger compartment, hitting both occupants of the vehicle, police said.

The vehicle went off the roadway after the collision, crashed through the right-of-way fence and came to a rest after hitting a nearby building, police said.

The driver is a 55-year-old man and the passenger is a 60-year-old woman -- both from the city of Wyoming -- police said. The pair were taken to Holland Hospital before being transferred to Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital to be treated for their injuries.

It does not appear at this time that either alcohol or speed were a factor in the crash, police said.

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Juvenile arrested after overnight stabbing in Holland

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OTTAWA COUNTY, MI  Four people were injured in a collision after one driver failed to yield the right of way, Ottawa County sheriffs deputies said.

Sheriffs deputies responded to a 9:22 p.m. report of a rollover crash Saturday, Oct. 21, at the intersection of Ottogan Street and 8th Avenue in Jamestown Township.

Police said a 17-year-old Grand Rapids girl was driving a Jeep north on 8th Avenue and failed to yield a right of way. The Jeep then crashed into a Honda that was traveling westbound.

Those in the Honda  a 52-year-old Dorr man and 52-year-old Dorr woman  were transported to an area hospital for treatment. Police said their injuries are not considered life-threatening.

The Grand Rapids teen and a passenger in the Jeep, an 18-year-old Grand Rapids man, were also taken to an area hospital but by private transportation.

The crash remains under investigation.

Want more Grand Rapids-area news? Bookmark the local Grand Rapids news page or sign up for the free 3@3 Grand Rapids daily newsletter.

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Fire destroys pole barn in Southwest Michigan

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Muskegon County parks to get extra attention from new commission
JACKSON COUNTY, MI -- A Thursday, Oct. 19 special meeting could have been Sam Barnes last as a member of the Jackson College Board of Trustees.

The longstanding board member plans to resign from his trustee position, after having accepted a new job that will take him to Cleveland, Ohio soon. Barnes will no longer be able to serve on the board since he wont be a Jackson County resident.
CASS COUNTY, MI  Charges are pending against a man who is accused of leading police on a chase from Indiana to Michigan and later crashing into a vehicle, killing one person, Cass County sheriffs deputies said.

The man killed in the crash on Sunday, Oct. 22, was identified as 49-year-old Adrian Smith of Elkhart, Indiana.
Happy Sunday!  Democrats likely have weeks  not months  left in Lansing this year, and that ticking clock saw some urgent agenda items move quickly this week.

1. Wind and solar bills power up

MLive file photo. (Kaytie Boomer | MLive.com)Kaytie Boomer | MLive.com

A pillar of the Dem agenda is clean energy, and the latest big fight is over large wind and solar projects.

The latest: House bills passed a committee this week, just a week after being introduced.

This Clean Energy and Jobs Act now heads to the full House.

 Power struggle: Democrats want to give the Michigan Public Service Commission the ability to approve large wind and solar builds.

Projects have met a lot of resistance from conservatives in rural areas, where the wide swaths of land tend to be for these projects.

 The most logical approach is to streamline and get a uniform process at the state level, to be able to just help streamline those conversations to make sure that we can meet our generation goals, Rep. Ranjeev Puri, D-Canton, told MLive.

Not a new idea: Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin have similar laws.

But still controversial: Local officials have given adamant testimony, arguing the state is subverting their power.

 (I)t takes away the rights of the people and their will to have what they want in their communities for themselves, not by somebody else dictating what they need, said Mike Brown, a planning commissioner in Livingston County.

 More from lawmakers: New laws require Michigan schools, daycares to filter water for lead

2. Abortion reforms uncertain

MLive file photo. (Daniel Shular | MLive.com)Daniel Shular | MLive.com

Democrats are also prioritizing repeals of abortion restrictions, like Michigans 24-hour waiting period.

The latest: Senators passed their bills Thursday along party lines, but theres a holdup across the hall.

The House hasnt made any moves since Rep. Karen Whitsett , D-Detroit, announced her opposition last month.

House Dems need everyone on board to pass bills when every Republicans is a no.

 Ongoing strategy is still being discussed by House and Senate leadership, Sen. Sarah Anthony, D-Lansing, said this week:

But ultimately the big goal is to get something as quickly as possible to the governors desk without compromising our values and also compromising the will of the people.

Click here for a breakdown of every bill in the package.

 More from lawmakers: No-fault fix moves forward but without a $1 billion-a-year boost for Michigan hospitals

3. Michigans $10,000 problem

MLive file photo.

If you have young kids, let me ask you a question: How much are you paying for child care?

If its less than $10,000 a year, its below Michigans average.

Deep dive: MLive politics and culture reporter Jordyn Hermani has a moving explainer of the current state of child care costs, through the eyes of struggling parents.

 We have roughly 560,000 children in Michigan under the age of six, and we only have enough daycare for 31% of them, said Marcus Keech of the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce.

Below average: Michigan ranked 32nd in the U.S. for child well being in a recent national report.

14% of kids under five were in families in which one parent had to quit work, change jobs or refuse a job due to struggles accessing child care.

 Losing money: Michigan loses nearly $3 billion annually when working parents struggle to find child care, according to a recent U.S. Chamber of Commerce report.

Start of a solution: The state budget last year included $1.4 billion in child care funding like subsidies for parents and bonuses for workers.

But advocates say lawmakers arent tackling the problem as quickly as they promised.

4. Bergman for speaker?

FILE: U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman, R-Watersmeet, in 2018. (MLive.com | Lauren Gibbons)Lauren Gibbons

After Kevin McCarthy was dethroned as U.S. House Speaker by hardline conservatives, a new possible candidate has emerged: Michigan Congressman Jack Bergman.

Really? Yes, the Upper Peninsula Republican announced his candidacy in a statement Saturday.

House Republicans have yet to agree on a new leader despite taking votes on multiple candidates this month.

Bergmans moment: The 76-year-old is prepared to step up as a solution to infighting, his spokesman, James Hogge, told MLive earlier this week.

 Bergmans chances: Unclear right now. Hes among about half a dozen candidates who have announced so far.

A candidate forum is scheduled for Monday.

5. More 2020 election fallout

FILE: Ryan Kelley stands in the crowd as a barricade is removed during the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. (U.S. Dept. of Justice)

Lastly this week, here are two legal updates to know regarding Republicans who challenged Michigans legitimate 2020 presidential election.

Ex-governor candidate Ryan Kelley got 60 days in federal prison for participating in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Kelley beckoned rioters up the Capitol steps as they breached police barricades.

He had initially pleaded not guilty but changed his plea to guilty in July.

James Renner, one of the 16 Republicans who signed a false Electoral College certificate to try to overturn Michigans 2020 election results, got his charges dropped.

He reached a plea deal with prosecutors and will cooperate to help their cases against other false electors.

The 15 defendants left face multiple 14-year felonies and five-year felonies.

 More court news: Michigan lobbyists sentenced to prison undermined democracy by bribing former House speaker, judge says

5 more stories from MLive:

$15 minimum wage proposal hits roadblock for 2024 ballot

Michigan looks to regulate artificial intelligence use in political ads

Dont want property taxes? Repeal may be on Michigans 2024 ballot

Michigan Republicans say feds are foot-dragging Line 5 tunnel review

Man detained trying to access Whitmers Mackinac Island residence, state police say
LANSING, MI  Michigans climate action plan seems to be taking shape.

Democrats who control both the state Senate and House of Representatives are using their advantage to advance a wide-ranging climate action agenda. And they are doing it in short order.

Proposed legislation currently in the works in Lansing range from renewable energy zoning and energy efficiency incentives to forcing utilities off coal and natural gas faster than planned and setting required benchmarks for carbon-free power generation.

Last year, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer rolled out her climate action plan for Michigan. She called for 60% renewable energy across Michigan by 2030 and complete carbon-neutrality of the states economy by 2050.

Now lawmakers are using their control to advance what amounts to more than just a bill package; its a fleet of proposed legislation to overhaul Michigans energy systems and accelerate the states transition off climate-harming fossil fuels.

Related: Michigan may fast-track local wind and solar. Is it war or essential?

Any legislation introduced this year does not expire until after 2024, but some bills are moving quicker than others this fall as the legislature faces a sooner-than-normal deadline to adjourn for the year. The legislature must adjourn in November this year, instead of the typical December timeline, in order for the state to hold its presidential primary on Feb. 27. Bills passed by the legislature and signed by the governor go into effect 90 days after lawmakers adjourn for the year.

Amber McCann, spokesperson for House Speaker Joe Tate, D-Detroit, told MLive she does not have a timeline for action on individual climate energy bills.

I expect to see progress before we adjourn but do not have specifics beyond that, McCann said.

In the Senate, its top Democrat told MLive in a statement that every piece of their plan has involved stakeholders, advocates, and constituents.

A major pillar of our Democratic majority is prioritizing legislation that makes energy more reliable, affordable, and efficient, while also addressing the real effects of climate change, said Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids.

Related: Michigan utilities on track to meet renewable energy benchmarks

Among the climate bills are:

House bills 5120-5121

Summary: House bill 5120 would amend the Clean and Renewable Energy and Energy Waste Reduction Act to create a process for the Michigan Public Service Commission to certify wind, solar, or energy storage facilities with a 100-megawatt capacity or more. The process would preempt local zoning or regulations. House bill 5121 would amend the Michigan Zoning Enabling Act to make zoning ordinances subject to House bill 5120.

Status: Both bills introduced Oct. 10 for first reading and referred to House Committee on Energy, Communications, and Technology; approved Oct. 18 without amendment and sent to full House for second reading.

House bills 5122-5123

Summary: House bill 5122 is like House Bill 5120, save that it affects solar power generation and battery storage facilities with capacity between 50 and 100 megawatts. House bill 5123 would amend state zoning law to include House bill 5122.

Status: Both bills introduced Oct. 10 for first reading and referred to House Committee on Energy, Communications, and Technology; approved sent to full House.

Related: Renewable projects could sidestep local pushback under advancing bills

House Bill 5028

Summary: House bill 5028 would create a new Homeowners Energy Policy Act, which would invalidate any provisions in homeowners association agreements that prevent energy efficiency upgrades or modifications to single-family homes.

Status: Introduced Sept. 20 for a first reading and referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources, Environment, Tourism, and Outdoor Recreation; approved with substitute Oct. 19 and sent to full House.

Related: HOAs could not block rooftop solar, home EV charging - even clothes lines - under new bill

House Bill 4759

Summary: House bill 4759 would amend the Clean and Renewable Energy and Energy Waste Reduction Act of 2008, defines carbon-free energy as a source that does not emit greenhouse gas, and excludes hydrogen, solid waste, biofuel, and biomass from that definition, as well as gasification, pyrolysis, and use of carbon-capture and storage technologies. Also sets new renewable energy standards at 60% by 2030 and 100% carbon-free by 2035.

Status: Introduced on June 14 for a first reading and referred to House Committee on Energy, Communications, and Technology. Testimony given on June 21.

Related: Michigan Democrats begin hearings on carbon-free energy legislation

House Bill 4760

Summary: House bill 4760 amends the criteria that may be considered by the Michigan Public Service Commission when making decisions to include reliability and resilience of the utility system, affordability equity concerns, public health, and renewable energy standards to meet climate goals.

Status: Introduced on June 14 for a first reading and referred to the House Committee on Energy, Communications, and Technology. Testimony given on June 21.

Senate Bill 271

Summary: Senate bill 271 closely mirrors HB 4759 on definitions and standards.

Status: Introduced April 19 and referred to Senate Committee on Energy and Environment. Testimony given on June 22.

Related: Republicans deny climate science in Michigan clean energy hearing

Senate Bill 272

Summary: Senate bill 272 would require the Michigan Public Service Commission to require utilities integrated resource plans to address impacts on climate change, equity, and reliability, among other measures, including requiring progress on eliminating greenhouse gas emissions.

Status: Introduced April 19 and referred to the Senate Committee on Energy and Environment.

Senate Bill 273

Summary: Senate bill 273 would amend state law to require electric providers to achieve an annual energy waste reduction standard of 2%.

Status: Introduced April 19 and referred to Senate Committee on Energy and Environment.

Related: Whitmer administration backs more aggressive Michigan clean energy standard

Senate Bill 502

Summary: Senate bill 502 would require the Michigan Public Service Commission to ensure equitable access to energy efficiency and compliance with renewable energy standards, also requiring public input hearings regarding rate cases.

Status: Introduced Sept. 14 and referred to the Senate Committee on Energy and Environment.

House Bill 4839 & 4840

Summary: House bills 4839 and 4840 would create a program and tariff system for distributed renewable energy generation and storage providers to be compensated for backup power contributed to the electric grid to increase resilience and reliability, reduce peak demand, and stabilize the power supply.

Status: Both bills introduced June 22 for a first reading and referred to House Committee on Energy, Communications, and Technology.
22.10.2023 LISTEN

Ghanaian songstress, Stephanie Benson, has unequivocally refuted rumors suggesting that her enviable body shape went under the knife.

She emphatically clarified that her fit physique is the product of dedicated exercise, dismissing any claims of surgical enhancements.

During an interview with Okay FM, Mrs. Benson addressed the misconceptions, saying, People shouldnt jump to conclusions just because Im in good shape. They think Ive had surgery. How could I have done it [plastic surgery]? When someone has had surgery, its evident. I have developed muscles and acquired a six-pack through rigorous exercise  not surgery. Thats why I proudly displayed my physique.

Stephanie Benson went on to shed light on her history of staying active, recalling, I was crowned Miss Figure in 2001 after giving birth to my five children. I take my workouts seriously, which is why theres no room for surgery, liposuction, or any other procedures to shape my body. The only change you might notice is my breast size; I used to have a larger bust, but due to breast cancer, its different now.
Renowned rapper Okyeame Kwame has disclosed that he went against his parents' objections to marry the person he truly loved.

He revealed that he and his wife, Annica Nsiah-Apau, encountered challenges when their love clashed with their families' religious beliefs.

Okyeame Kwame explained that his parents strongly disapproved of his union with Annica due for being a Jehovah Witness.

The artist, who is known for his hit song "Faithful," shared that his family had reservations about accepting his wife into the family because of the difference in their religious beliefs.

He noted that, for him, being with the woman he loved was more important than anything.

"They [parents] never agreed to our marriage. We were going to perform at a show in Kumasi, and she was working in a law firm.

When we got to Nkawkaw, she [Okyeame Kwame's wife] said, 'Okyeame, do you know that in Ghana we have three key elements in marriage? We have an ordinance, customary, Mohammedan, and another one.

So with the people who dont support our marriage, will they come and live with us?' Then I said 'No,'" Okyeame Kwame explained during an interview with Angel FM monitored by ModernGhana News.

Okyeame Kwame also revealed that he informed his parents about their marriage a night before the ceremony which did not receive their blessings.

"Both families loved each other, but because of religion, they didnt agree. I told my mum about the marriage a night before the marriage because I understood that I was not going to marry the lady for my mother but for myself," Okyeame Kwame emphasized.

Okyeame Kwame and Annica Nsiah-Appau exchanged their vows in 2009 and have since been blessed with two children.
The establishment of five autogas stations by GOIL PLC has been praised by Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, Minister of Energy. This move he said will expedite government efforts to fully execute the Cylinder Recirculation Module (CRM) strategy by 2030.

According to Dr. Opoku Prempeh, the launch of these facilities by GOIL PLC is a significant step forward for the nation's energy policy, which has been to use natural gas as a transition fuel for transportation and power generation.

"GOIL's establishment of these contemporary autogas stations is therefore fully in line with Ghana's just energy transition pathway to net-zero status," stated the Energy Minister.

Dr. Opoku Prempeh stated this in a speech read on his behalf by Mr. Andrew Kofi Egyapa Mercer, Deputy Energy Minister, at the commissioning ceremony held at the Burma Camp GOIL Service Station, Accra, and simultaneously at five specific locations nationwide.

The five locations include the Cape Coast By-Pass in the Central Region, the Kpeshie Service Station in the Greater Accra Region, and Kentinkrono and Kumasi in the Ashanti Region.

The fifth, Paco Gas Station, in Takoradi in the Western Region, is going through the final approval processes by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA).

The activation of these contemporary autogas stations, according to the energy minister, represents a major accomplishment in the application of the government's energy policy with regard to the transportation industry.

"It is also anticipated that the connection between autogas and a reliable local brand such as GOIL will boost trust in the use of gas for vehicle fueling and eliminate any preconceived notions about safety that may exist regarding the use of gas for transportation," he continued.

He emphasised that the development of businesses and services such as expert retrofitting and servicing garages, which are essential to support the gradual shift towards vehicles powered by petrol, will be accelerated by the construction of more auto petrol stations.

Ms Esther Anku, a Senior Programme Officer at the NPA, urged GOIL management to embrace technological innovations to deliver an unrivalled customer experience as well as maintain the safety measures embedded in the facilities.

Mr. Kwame Osei-Prempeh, Group Chief Executive Officer of GOIL, said in his remarks that, as a leading oil marketing company, GOIL is constructing two Cylinder Bottling Plants, one in Kumasi and another in Tema, in addition to the five modern autogas stations commissioned.

Mr. Osei-Prempeh, who is also the GOIL Managing Director, added that the commissioning of the facilities will further strengthen and widen the companys portfolio and consolidate gains already made in the LPG business.

He said, As an indigenous company, GOIL will continue to do its business in the national interest and ensure that the safety of consumers always comes first.

He said the construction of the stations was in partnership with South Koreas Yooju Engineering and Construction Limited.

Present at the ceremony were Mr. Patrick Kwame Apke Akorli, former Group CEO and MD of GOIL; Prof. Azumah Nelson, Brand Ambassador of GOIL; and Mrs. Faustina Nelson, former Board Member of GOIL.

Others include board members and management of GOIL Plc; Mr Moses Asaga and Mr Alhassan Tampuli, former CEOs of NPA; and Mr Kwaku Agyeman Duah, Industry Coordinator of the Association of Oil Marketing Companies.

The rest includes officials from COPEC, NPA, Ghana Standards Authority, Environmental Authority, Ghana National Fire Services, Factories, and Inspectorate Department, as well as some GOIL dealers and high-level military officers.
Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has emphasized that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is not a tribalistic party.

Speaking at a gathering of party delegates in Tumu in preparation for the flagbearership race on November 4, 2024, Dr. Bawumia addressed concerns that the NPP is perceived as an Akan party.

According to him, data shows that the NPP is not an Akan party.

"I am the third person from the North to contest the presidential primary of the party, and the support is across the sixteen regions with everyone supporting Dr. Bawumia because I have what it takes to win the 2024 elections," he stated.

The Vice President said he is the right candidate to lead the party to victory in the 2024 general elections.

"We in the NPP are trying to do something that has never happened. We are breaking the Eight. When the party opened the nomination, I picked the form so I could break the eight for the New Patriotic Party," he remarked.

Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia pointed to the party's diverse historical roots, explaining that it has different political groupings from various regions in the country.

If you look at our party and the antecedents and how we have been maligned, our opponents tell people that we vote on tribal lines.

On November 4, 2023, we shall send a signal to show them we are not a tribalistic party by sending a message that we are a national party, Dr. Bawumia stated.

History tells us that the party doesnt engage in tribal politics when we are electing leaders, as we are made up of different political groupings from different parts of the country.

"The National Liberation Movement from Ashanti, the Northern People's Party from the North, the Anlo Youth Congress, the Ga People, and the Muslim Association Party came together to form the United Party, which is now the NPP and thats our antecedents, he explained.
Yankasa Association of USA would like to express our profound sympathies to the victims of the Akosombo Dam spillage, which has displaced several households and their livelihood in the Volta Region and some parts of Eastern and Greater Accra Regions. We have taken note of the disaster that has befallen the people in these regions since Volta River Authority (VRA) began controlled spillage at the Akosombo and Kpong dams due to excess water in both reservoirs from appreciable levels of rainfall.

The sight of videos and pictures of the damage caused by the spillage in the affected communities saddens our heart and to think it has displaced several communities across over a dozen districts makes it even more disheartening. In these trying times, we encourage religious bodies especially the Muslim communities in Ghana to extend a helping hand to the affected residents and districts to ameliorate their situation.

Yankasa Association recognizes the hardship that has arisen as result of the spillage, including damage to homes, loss of properties and the disruption of daily life, and we urge on citizens to extend help to the victims. We also call on corporate institutions both in and outside Ghana to come to the aid of these victims.

As we express our solidarity to the victims of the affected communities and districts, Yankasa Association in collaboration with its appellate bodies would like to announce that we have with immediate effect established an emergency relief fund to collect relief items and money to be donated to those who have been affected by this calamity. We are therefore asking all our members to donate generously to this cause as it is part of the core aims of Yankasa to offer humanitarian support to communities in such situations.

We want to assure the victims that you are not alone in this difficult time. We believe that together, we can overcome these challenges and rebuild the affected communities. In times like this, it is our duty to support you to rebuild your communities and go back to your homes.

In conclusion, we would like to call on the government of Ghana to act through the Volta River Authority (VRA) and other relevant state agencies to immediately provide the needed support for residents in the affected communities to mitigate the effects of the disaster.

Alhaji Baba Suwari

For Yankasa Association of USA.
Bernard Allotey Jacobs has expressed admiration for the inter-Ministerial Committee established by President Nana Akufo-Addo to address the Akosombo Dam spillage, which resulted in the displacement of more than 25,000 residents residing along the Volta Basin.

The Committee, led by Chief of Staff Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, is responsible for coordinating the government's response to the situation.

The committee includes Ministers from various government departments, including National Security, Interior, Defence, Energy, Finance, Local Government, Works and Housing, Roads and Highways, Environment, Sanitation, Lands and Natural Resources, and Information.

During an interview on Peace FM's "Kokrokoo" morning show, Allotey Jacobs expressed his satisfaction with President Akufo-Addo's actions, with particular emphasis on Akosua Frema Osei-Opare's role as the Committee's leader.

Allotey Jacobs praised Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, stating, She is one of the best assets that Nana Addo has given to Ghana.

He added, She is a good woman. Why should people sit and destroy this woman?

Allotey Jacobs further observed that in Ghana, there is a tendency of people always undermining prominent people's integrity.

In Ghana, we tend to destroy good people. The nation must preserve the name of good people like Akosua Frema-Opare. She is a very good woman, he expressed.
EU staff working around the world have written to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen criticising her 'unconditional support' of Israel. The letter, which lays bare deep divisions within the bloc on how to approach the war, says the European Union is losing all credibility as a fair, equitable and humanist broker.

Signed by 842 officials, the letter accuses the European Commission of giving a "free hand to the acceleration and the legitimacy of a war crime" in Gaza, where more than 4,000 people have been killed in less than two weeks.

Von der Leyen, who has cultivated a profile as the "face" of the European Union, flew to Israel on 14 October to tell Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Europe backed Israel's right to defend itself.

Her message was delivered without the caution being voiced by other Western leaders  and by the EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell  that Israeli action must abide by international humanitarian law.

Friday's letter was reportedly sent to EU delegations around the world, including von der Leyen's European Commission office.

'Disproportionate reaction'

It begins by condemning Hamas's 7 October attack on Israel before continuing: We equally strongly condemn the disproportionate reaction by the Israeli government against 2.3 million Palestinian civilians trapped in the Gaza Strip.

The three-page document warns the position taken by the commission is damaging its international relations as well as risking the safety of EU staff. Around 32,000 people are on the payroll of EU institutions.

We hardly recognise the values of the EU in the seeming indifference demonstrated over the past few days by our Institution toward the ongoing massacre of civilians in the Gaza Strip.

We are saddened by the patent show of double-standards which considers the blockade (water and fuel) operated by Russia on the Ukrainian people as an act of terror whilst the identical act by Israel against the Gazan people is completely ignored.

The EU staff urge the EU to call for a ceasefire and for the protection of civilian life.

If Israel does not stop immediately, the whole Gaza Strip and its inhabitants will be erased from the planet, it said.
22.10.2023 LISTEN

Professor Smart Sarpong, a Senior Research Fellow at Kumasi Technical University, has urged the people of Ghana to remain calm and not be overly concerned about President Nana Akufo-Addo's remarks during his visit to victims of the Akosombo Dam spillage in the Volta Region.

The President emphasized his role as the leader of the nation, stating, "When these things happen and the government takes action, politics does not play a role. When I assumed the presidency, I took an oath to serve as the president for every individual in Ghana, regardless of their location, district, or political affiliation.

I am the President for all people, whether they voted for me or not. So, I want the people here to understand that when the government takes action in situations like this, it is acting in the interest of all Ghanaians.

"I am here because Ghanaians are facing difficulties and hardships, and it is my responsibility to provide assistance.

If it were a matter of keeping track of who voted for me or not, I wouldn't be here, because you did not vote for me. However, that is not my concern. Besides, someday you may vote for me and my party," he remarked while addressing the victims in Mepe.

President Akufo-Addo's comments sparked a range of reactions from the public.

Some believe the timing of his remarks was inappropriate, while others believe he was justified in making them.

The President's statements have also taken on a political dimension, with his opponents using them against him.

However, Professor Smart Sarpong believes that Ghanaians took the President's comments too far..

Speaking on Peace FMs Kokrokoo morning show, he said, "Let's not be overly preoccupied with the political dynamics in Ghana.

Instead, let's show appreciation. Our leaders are aware of the voters who support them and those who do not. However, in their governance of Ghana, they have largely demonstrated fairness and an equitable distribution of state resources to the best of their abilities."
The editor of an Indian news website stands accused of taking shady funds to promote pro-China propaganda in a case that has seen police interrogate dozens of journalists. But observers warn that the allegations are merely an excuse to intimidate the media.

The founder and editor-in-chief of online news channel NewsClick, Prabir Purkayastha, was ordered to remain in custody on Friday until at least 25 October, along with the site's head of human resources Amit Chakraborty.

Police arrested them on 3 October under India's Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), which is designed to prevent terrorism.

It follows allegations published in the New York Times that an American businessman based in Shanghai was funding media outlets around the world to share pro-China coverage.

According to the paper's investigation, published in early August, NewsClick was among the organisations that received funds linked to tech millionaire Neville Roy Singham. The Indian site, known as a progressive outlet, "sprinkled its coverage with Chinese government talking points", the Times claimed.

Around two weeks later, Indian authorities registered a case against NewsClick and its journalists, with Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur calling the site a "dangerous global network of Chinese propaganda".

In early October, police arrested Purkayastha and Chakraborty, raided the website's offices and questioned dozens of its contributors. In total 46 journalists and cartoonists were questioned and their laptops, phones and cameras confiscated during raids in Delhi and elsewhere.

Both Singham and NewsClick have denied any wrongdoing.

'Attempt to muzzle the media'

Industry observers and rights groups warned of a crackdown on independent reporting.

The Editors Guild of India said it was concerned the raids were "yet another attempt to muzzle the media".

"The investigation of specific offences must not create a general atmosphere of intimidation under the shadow of draconian laws, or impinge on the freedom of expression and the raising of dissenting and critical voices," it said.

Media analyst Shivaji Sarkar argued that the counter-terrorism UAPA should be used sparingly, especially against individual journalists.

"Governments need to be slightly more pragmatic because news cannot be just categorised 'national' or 'anti-national' as there will always be different viewpoints," he told RFI.

"And from that point of view it could have been best avoided," Sarkar said of the legislation, which grants sweeping powers to law enforcers and at the same time makes it difficult to obtain bail from the courts.

"UAPA is not a law but just an instrument to put you in jail. Law requires due process but UAPA has no due process," prominent Indian human rights activist John Dayal told RFI.

Purkayastha's arrest brought to 16 the number of Indian journalists taken into custody under the act since 2010. Seven of them are said to have been released.

Decline in press freedom

Opposition MP Shashi Tharoor argued the crackdown on NewsClick was the "action of a very insecure and autocratic government".

"To my mind whatever happened was not only unfortunate, it was a disgrace to our democracy and to our traditions of freedom," he told reporters.

NewsClick, which has published stories critical of India's government, has been raided by police before. In 2021 tax authorities searched its offices over allegations of money laundering, again accusing it of unlawfully accepting foreign funding.

No charges have been filed in connection with those allegations.

The World Press Freedom Index ranked India 161st among 180 countries in 2023, slipping 16 points lower than its 2022 ranking.

Delhi says it does not agree with the ranking, which is compiled by France-based group Reporters Without Borders.

Amending its information technology law in April, the Indian government cautioned it would bar social media platforms from hosting information the authorities identify as "misinformation or misleading online content".

Three months later it said 120 YouTube channels and many other sites had been blocked for publishing content not "found to be in the interest of the country's sovereignty and integrity".
Madam Caroline Gifty Tsikata, a 39-year-old mother of two, has been arrested by the Police at Akatsi for allegedly defrauding some members of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).

This was after Mr Samuel K Adabla, the Volta Regional Chairman of the United Cadres Front (UCF), a group affiliated to the NDC, issued an alert on the alleged impersonation and fraudulent acts of the suspect.

Mr Adabla, in his statement, indicated that the suspect was posing herself to be the Regional Coordinator for the Young Cadres Front (YCF) of the UCF, Volta.

The statement said: UCF Volta wishes to state explicitly that, Madam Caroline Gifty Tsikata who is parading herself as such is not the Regional Coordinator for the Young Cadres Front and should therefore be treated as an imposter.

He further stated that UCF Volta has not assigned the suspect to act on its behalf in any capacity to solicit funds or sell out any forms to give financial assistance to anyone.

The suspect was arrested on Wednesday, by some Constituency Executives of NDC in Akatsi South upon tip-off.

The suspect, said to be living in Tema Community 25, during interrogation by the Police, admitted to having been moving within the various constituencies in Volta, including Akatsi South, Kpando, Keta, South Tongu, Ho and others for her alleged financial deal.

She also confessed to having collected an undisclosed amount of cash from unsuspecting NDC members with the aim of providing them with all forms of financial assistance.

Some victims, including Mr John Atigode, a teacher at Akatsi, and Mr Zigah Kofi Felix, told the GNA the suspect took GHC2400 and GHC1600 respectively from them.

Further checks by the GNA revealed over a hundred NDC members within Akatsi South, have been listed in the suspects record book.

The development also raised concerns from other party members from other constituencies who were victims to the alleged move.

The Police at Akatsi have since confirmed the arrest to the Ghana News Agency.

She was arraigned and rearrested to aid in further investigations, a Police source said.

The leadership of UCF in Volta, is, therefore, appealing to all members to report any issue related to the act, to the Police.

GNA
Fire fighters who battled Friday nights fire at the Makola Shopping Mall, in Accra, managed to prevent the torching of about 2,000 shops and make shift structures.

We were able to save about 2000 shops and the Electricity Company of Ghana's substation, near the Mall from burning, Mr Kofi Forson, Deputy Director of Operations of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) told the media, in an interview.

About 200 shops and makeshift structures at the first and second floors of the Mall's block, opposite the Ghana Law School were, however, burnt by the fire, whose cause is under investigation.

It took about four hours to bring the fire, which was said to have started at a few minutes after 2300 hours, under control.

Mr Forson said the fire personnel got to the scene a few minutes after they received the call reporting the outbreak, but they faced challenges of accessibility as the shops were locked, and some makeshift structures had blocked the passage ways.

The fire became intense due to the large amounts of flammable items, such as plastics, cosmetics and wigs in the shops, he explained.

A combined team of some 70 firefighters were mobilised to bring the fire under control.

Meanwhile, Mrs Elizabeth Kwatsoe Sackey, the Accra Metropolitan Chief Executive, who visited the scene to assess the extent of damage, advised shop owners to take fire education seriously, and implement preventive measures.

Market fires are perennial in Ghana. However, there are no specific statistics on the number of fires that have gutted markets in Ghana as the numbers fall under the GNFSs classification of commercial fires.

Last year, there were 986 recorded commercial fires in Ghana.

GNA
National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) has blamed residents living along the Akosombo Dam for failing to adhere to repeated warnings to evacuate the area in the event of a spillage.

Some individuals and civil society organizations have heavily criticized NADMO officials for refusing to promptly offer accurate information to the residents before the dam spillage.

In an interview on Citi TV/Citi FMs The Big Issue, the Director of Communications at NADMO, George Ayisi, justified that the victims were hit hard by the Akosombo Dam spillage because they took the warnings for granted.

He said the residents were caught unawares after earlier warnings of a possible spillage in 2022 did not occur, insisting that they conscientiously sensitized the residents.

Mr. Ayisi emphasized that the simulation exercises that were carried out by NADMO in May 2023 were to sensitize residents to avert the disaster they are currently facing.

We set up a team comprised of NADMO and the Volta River Authority in March 2023. The technical engagement between NADMO and VRA, produced an emergency preparedness plan. Simulation is a part of the emergency preparedness plan. In May, we had the simulation exercise, where we engaged all the people in all the 9 districts. We even extended it to Kpando, so that they were on standby. In case theres a spillover, maybe Kpando will have the effect.

He further clarified, The assemblies, all major stakeholders in the communities were there, we engaged them. We demonstrated what ought to be done, we extensively involved them. We were doing concurrent simulation exercises. And so Im surprised people say nobody was notified. The people were aware, but they didnt believe the spillage was going to be done, because in 2022, VRA warned of a spillage, the people were informed, but it didnt happen. So they thought last year we came and told them but nothing happened. Yes, in 2010 there was a spillage, but it didnt inundate us in any way.

Furthermore, he indicated that the warnings have saved the region from recording any deaths, following the spillage.

I believe it is part of that exercise that we have not recorded any fatality as of now, he stated.

Mr. Ayisi stressed that they had to force some affected victims to move out after the spillage.

When inundation started, some of them didnt want to move out because they were protecting their properties, so we had to force them to move out, he asserted.

He maintained that they have provided safe havens for the affected victims.

citinewsroom
Israel said it allowed the entry of humanitarian aid from Egypt to southern Gaza through the Rafah border crossing on Sunday, saying it will only allow the entry of food, water, and medical supplies but not fuel.

The Israeli Ministry of Defences Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said Israel allowed the aid upon request from US President Joe Biden.

The COGAT said Israeli security officials inspected all the equipment before allowing it to enter Gaza.

He warned that any other supply attempt not coordinated and approved by Israel will be thwarted.

The second humanitarian aid convoy comprising 17 trucks started passing into the Rafah border toward Gaza this afternoon but did not reach the enclave until nightfall.

The delay triggered concerns in Gaza amid reports that Israeli bombings near the Rafah border crossing on the Palestinian side compelled the Palestinian trucks preparing to receive aid from the trucks from Egypt to halt the operation and return to the strip empty-handed.

Salama Maarouf, head of the government media office in Gaza, warned today of a possible humanitarian catastrophe in the coming days due to a shortage in medical supplies, food, and fuel.

He added that the Gaza health ministry has yet to receive any of the medical supplies that entered since Saturday.

On Saturday, 20 trucks carrying food and medical supplies crossed into Gaza through the Rafah border crossing to deliver urgent humanitarian aid to 2.3 million Palestinians, who have been under a complete Israeli blockade - food, water, and fuel - for two weeks.

Maarouf stressed that yesterday's aid does not suffice for a single shelter out of the 220 where most displaced Gazan people reside.

If this mechanism (lack of aid) continues, it will mean accepting that a terrible humanitarian catastrophe will occur in the Gaza Strip, a humanitarian catastrophe in every sense of the word, he warned.

Maarouf highlighted the necessity of keeping the Rafah crossing open permanently during the current crisis and ensuring the smooth delivery of humanitarian aid by establishing safe corridors.

Fuel running out

He also called for urgent entry of fuel to operate ambulances, civil protection and rescue vehicles, and hospital generators, warning that the strip was running out of fuel.

Associated Press journalists saw seven fuel trucks head into Gaza. However, Touma and the Israeli military said those trucks were taking fuel stored on the Gaza side of the crossing deeper into the territory and that no fuel had entered from Egypt.

It has been reported that the Rafah border crossing will open tomorrow to allow 40 trucks loaded with humanitarian aid to cross from Egypt to Gaza. There is no confirmation whether that aid will contain fuel.

Vulnerable groups at high risk

According to UN figures, Israeli strikes over the past two weeks have killed more than 4,650 Palestinians and displaced around 1.4 million inhabitants, representing about 60 percent of the Gazan population.

Over 1.6 million individuals in Gaza are in critical need of humanitarian aid, five UN agencies said in a statement on Saturday.

Children, who make up almost half the population, are among the most vulnerable, alongside pregnant women and elderly persons, the statement stressed.

Palestinians carry belongings as they leave the destroyed al-Ahli hospital, which they were using as a shelter, in Gaza City, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023. AP

The statement added that health facilities in Gaza are running on a small amount of fuel, which is expected to run out in the coming few days.

Pre-positioned humanitarian supplies have already been depleted. Vulnerable people are at greatest risk, and children are dying at an alarming rate and being denied their right to protection, food, water, and health care, the UN agencies said.

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Fears are growing of a conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia as Baku ratchets up its rhetoric against Yerevan, reiterating calls for a corridor through Armenian territory. The move comes as Azerbaijani forces prepare joint military exercises with Turkey, which backs the idea of the passage.

Turkish and Azerbaijani forces are to hold three days of military exercises next week across Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan, an Azeri enclave that borders Turkey.

Baku and Ankara are calling for a 40km corridor through Armenia to connect the Azeri territories. The passage, dubbed the Zangezur corridor, would also create a land route between Turkey and Azerbaijan, a long-term goal of the two allies.

"God willing, we will implement the Zangezur corridor as soon as possible and thereby make our land road and railroad connection with friendly and brotherly Azerbaijan uninterrupted over Nakhchivan," said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at a ceremony with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilhan Aliyev in Nakhchivan last month.

Yerevan is strongly opposed to the corridor, but Baku insists it will not use force to achieve its goal.

"Azerbaijan doesn't have any military goals or objectives on the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia," said Hikmet Hajiyev, a foreign policy advisor to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in a recent interview with Reuters news agency.

But the Turkish-Azerbaijani military exercise is interpreted as a strategy to put pressure on Yerevan, suggesting a conflict could be looming.

"Turkey does not necessarily want a militarised solution, but the nature of the relationship between Azerbaijan and Turkey and between President Aliyev and President Erdogan is more or less a blank cheque," said Asli Aydintasbas, an analyst with the US-based Brookings Institution.

She believes that the Turkish government would prefer to establish a trade route by peaceful means, "but if Azerbaijan chooses to do it through military means, it does seem like it can count on Turkish support".

Nagorno-Karabakh

The prospect of conflict comes as Yerevan is still reeling from Azerbaijan recapturing the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh enclave held by ethnic Armenians.

Despite over 100,000 residents fleeing to Armenia, Yerevan is trying to secure a peace agreement with Baku, which the Armenian government sees as vital to its long-term goal of breaking away from Russian influence.

"You know, the economy's moving in the right direction. The Western pivot is moving in the right direction. Democratisation is moving in the right direction. The only thing interfering with that is the threat of war," says Armenian political analyst Eric Hacopian.

"So you take away the threat of war, all of this becomes easier, and any kind of a peaceful situation will quicken and hasten the de-Russification of Armenian politics, economy and other things  and by the way, it has broad popular support."

However an opportunity for a peace deal between Azerbaijan and Armenia brokered by the European Union at a summit in Spain this month fell victim to diplomatic infighting between EU leaders and Turkey.

"The Azeris said that Turkey ought to be in the talks. The Germans and the French said Turkey cannot be in the talks," says Soli Ozel, professor of international relations at Istanbul's Kadir Has University.

"You really wonder which world they're living in. I would have expected that the Europeans, particularly the French, would work with Turkey and get Azerbaijan and Armenia out of the orbit of Russia."

Russian tactics

Since the failed EU peace effort, Baku has been hardening its stance against Yerevan. Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry accused Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of undermining the peace process with "aggressive rhetoric".

Baku's harsh language comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin invited Azerbaijan President Aliyev to a regional summit in Kyrgyzstan. Experts suspect Putin is using centuries-old Russian diplomatic tactics to maintain hegemony in the region.

"Russia was always playing on these contradictions and mutual dissatisfaction," says Russian expert Tatiana Mitrova, a visiting professor at the Paris School of International Affairs.

"It is a typical divide-and-rule policy starting from Czarist Russia before the Soviet Union, so it has very, very long historical roots. Moreover, I would say my impression is that these days Moscow would do everything to create instability everywhere."

US 'distracted'

With growing international turmoil, Baku could be eyeing an opportunity to pursue its agenda.

"Washington is too distracted right now to think about the Caucasus," predicts analyst Aydintasbas, noting the ongoing war in Ukraine, domestic political turmoil and the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

"The US has long prided itself on being able to chew gum and walk, but at this moment, the geopolitical pressures, whether it's Taiwan or Ukraine or the Middle East, are so crushing that there is a sense that they do not have the bandwidth to deal with other regional issues."

Baku insists it is not seeking another conflict with Armenia. But analysts warn Armenia's pro-Western government would likely be at risk if it suffered a further military defeat to a Turkey-backed Azerbaijan attack.

And Putin would probably welcome such an outcome as he seeks to maintain his grip on the Caucasus.
22.10.2023 LISTEN

Dr. Sir Sam Jonah, Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast (UCC), has asked Ghanaians to be inspired by the confidence of Ghanas founding father, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, to work hard for the countrys socio-economic development.

He reminded all the people to imbibe the tenets of endurance, Pan-Africanism, democracy, rule of law, freedom, and justice which were the ideals and principles of Dr. Nkrumah. Dr. Sir Jonah gave the advice when he opened the 13th Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Lectures at the UCC on Thursday, October 19, 2023.

The two-day series of lectures, hosted by UCC in honor of Dr. Nkrumah, offered an opportunity to reflect on his profound contributions and engage in thoughtful discussion about the enduring relevance of his ideas.

It was being held on the theme: Diaspora, Pan-Africanism, and Spiritual Awakening: Nkrumahs Years Abroad and as Head of State. The program would present opportunities for all to contemplate on how Dr. Nkrumahs vision could be leveraged in addressing the many challenges that continued to plague the African continent.

According to Dr. Sir Jonah, what sets the great leader apart was not only his historical significance to us but also the enduring relevance of his ideas and insights.

He foresaw and wrote extensively about the multifaceted challenges that Africa faces today, encompassing political, social, and economic dimensions, he said of Dr. Nkrumah.

His ability to articulate these challenges with clarity and propose solutions underscores his status as a pre-eminent thinker and doer, the Chancellor noted. Dr. Jonah said Dr. Nkrumah's leadership frontiers had been recognized globally, making him the greatest leader in the post-colonial era, for his pivotal role in the emancipation of Africa from colonial rule.

That feat, he stated, reverberated through the annals of history, making him a visionary whose ideas and leadership transcended his time, leaving an indelible mark on the course of history.

Dr. Nkrumahs unwavering commitment to serving the interests of the common man remains a guiding light for our leaders today. His ideas continue to shape the aspirations of leaders and citizens striving for a better future in Africa and indeed the world at large.

His achievements, with Ghanas independence struggles and his broader pan-African vision, are nothing short of legendary. His legacy has only grown more profound and celebrated since his passing, Dr. Jonah observed.

According to him, nationalists politics was dangerous, making several of the first generation of independent Africas leaders, leaving prison to Government House.

He said many of such leaders saw it as a calling and this noble sense of vocation was not surprising because many were products of missionary education.

However, the secular nature of the sovereign African state relegated the place and role of spirituality to the personal lives of Africas early leaders, concealing the importance of these influences in their public lives.

Prof. Emmanuel Kwaku Akyeampong, Professor of History of African and African American Studies at Harvard University, who was this years speaker, on his part, provided intimate portraits of Nkrumah in his years abroad as a student, and his interior life as head of state to portray his great sense of humor, seriousness, and determination in life.

As a student in the United States, he said Nkrumahs faith and religious networks were his key support.

He was a licensed Presbyterian preacher, but his experience of race and his interrogation of empire and capitalism ignited a questioning pan-African spirit in him. That he said made Dr. Nkrumah question organized religion and the authority it wielded over Africans, but he did not reject religion and the solace of spirituality.

For Dr. Acheampong: The intersection of Pan-Africanism and spirituality shaped Nkrumah's faith journey and, indirectly, his politics in distinctive ways. More importantly, after the assassination attempts on his life as President of Ghana. The Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Lecture series was instituted by UCC in 1974 and inaugurated in November 1976 by Dr. Archie Casely Hayford to address issues of social economic and political development of Africa and the black race that were of importance to Dr. Nkrumah.

Some speakers of previous years lectures included Mr. Eleazar Chukwuemeka Anyaoku, former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Mr. Benjamin William Mkapa, former President of Tanzania, Prof. Kwesi Botchwey, former Minister of Finance, Mr. Kwaku Baprui Asante, a former Secretary to Dr. Nkrumah, Prof. Patrick Loch Otieno Lumumba, Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Kenya School of Law, Prof. Akilagpa Sawyerr, a renowned Prof. of Law, and former Vice-Chancellor, University of Ghana.

Source: GNA
Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has reacted to the brouhaha surrounding the gifting of two helicopters by a mining firm to the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).

In a statement dated October 20, the GRA explained that KNUST has not imported any equipment into the country, and is therefore not liable for import duty or taxes.

The GRA said the mining firm brought in the two helicopters in 2020 under the Temporary Admission Regime, which requires that they are re-exported after the agreed period and if the firm wishes to transfer ownership of the helicopters to a third party (Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology), it is required to pay the appropriate taxes and duties before handing them over to KNUST.

For the incident in question, the mining firm brought in the two helicopters in 2020 under the Temporary Admission Regime, which requires that they are re-exported after the agreed period. If the firm wishes to transfer the ownership of the helicopters to a third party (Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology), they are required to pay the appropriate taxes and duties before handing them over to KNUST. This will prevent the possible abuse of the Temporary Admissions Regime by importers who apply for the waiver of duties but resort to donating the equipment as scrap as a way of evading payment of taxes.

Furthermore, KNUST has not imported any equipment into the country and therefore is not liable for import duty or taxes.

The GRA entreated all importers to comply with the Tax Laws and procedures to ensure smooth trade facilitation and maximization of revenue for national development.

Management of GRA further uses this opportunity to entreat all importers and the general public to comply with the Tax Laws and procedures to ensure smooth trade facilitation and maximizing revenue for national development. GRA is also committed to supporting Government's agenda of enhancing education at all levels and would do all it can within its mandate to support education, the GRA said.

Read below the details of the statement by the GRA

All News Editors For Immediate Release

TAX IMPLICATIONS OF DONATION OF TWO HELICOPTERS TO KWAME NKRUMAH UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (KNUST)

The attention of the Management of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has been drawn to an online publication on, GRA halts two helicopter 'gifts' to KNUST over taxes.

Management of GRA would like to use this opportunity to react as follows:

1. Section 75 of the Customs Act 2015, (Act 891) refers to temporary admission, as a Customs procedure that allows goods to be temporarily brought into the country for a specific purpose without the payment of import duties or taxes. This procedure is designed to facilitate international trade, reduce cost, and promote temporary

cross-border activities. 2. Goods that are temporarily admitted into the country under this regime are expected to be re-exported within a certain timeframe, usually 90 days or a specific period for activities such as trade shows, exhibitions, repairs, or other temporary uses. Appropriate documentation, including a Customs declaration, is required to initiate the temporary admission process. These documents specify the intended use and the expected re-exportation date.

Failure to meet this deadline will result in the payment of the suspended import duties and taxes.

3. The Customs Division requires a guarantee/security such as an insurance bond or deposit, to ensure revenue is not lost if the goods or items in question are not re-exported

4. All countries including Ghana, impose restrictions on the types of goods that can be temporarily admitted and the purposes for which they can be used. As such, Customs procedures for temporary admission come with conditions which vary from country to country.

Non-compliance with the terms of temporary admission can further result in sanctions, such as fines or forfeiture of the goods to the State.

5. For the incident in question, the mining firm brought in the two helicopters in 2020 under the Temporary Admission Regime, which requires that they are re-exported after the agreed period. If the firm wishes to transfer the ownership of the helicopters to a third party (Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology), they are required to pay the appropriate taxes and duties before handing them over to KNUST. This will prevent the possible abuse of the Temporary Admissions Regime by importers who apply for the waiver of duties but resort to donating the equipment as scrap as a way of evading payment of taxes.

6. Furthermore, KNUST has not imported any equipment into the country and therefore is not liable for import duty or taxes.

7. Management of GRA further uses this opportunity to entreat all importers and the general public to comply with the Tax Laws and procedures to ensure smooth trade facilitation and maximizing revenue for national development. GRA is also committed to supporting Government's agenda of enhancing education at all levels and would do all it can within its mandate to support education.

FLORENCE ASANTE (MRS.) ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER, COMMUNICATION & PUBLIC AFFAIRS

-citinewsroom
Policy analyst and Vice President of Imani Africa, Selorm Branttie, has lashed out at government over the construction of the controversial National Cathedral, which is now in limbo.

He described the execution of the National Cathedral as a pointless exercise which was horribly planned.

During an interview on The Big Issue on Citi TV/Citi FM, Mr. Branttie said, No cathedral has been built within four years, regardless of the amount of technology that is now available. So right from the get-go, this was a project that was horribly thought through, horribly planned, and horribly executed so far. Like the tower of Babel, it was a pointless exercise. The repercussions are actually a monument to our collective failures as a nation.

Asked if the National Cathedral should be handed over to the church, the Vice President of IMANI Africa suggested that the monies spent so far on the Cathedral should be accounted for.

I also align with the calls of the clergy, those who just resigned from the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral, that there has been a lot of partial misrepresentation with regard to the intentions of the government, especially President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his aides and all those who support the building of the Cathedral. Before anything can be handed over, every cedi that was spent on this project must be accounted for, he told Selorm Adonoo, host of The Big Issue.

We must know where all the monies came from, who the monies went to, all the subcontractors, and the beneficiary owners of the entities that were all contracted. So that we can have a very clear idea of where the money went. Without that, we cannot hand anything over, he told Selorm Adonoo, host of The Big Issue.

The Founder and General Overseer of United Denominations of Action Chapel Churches Worldwide, Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams, and President of the Eastwood Anaba Ministries, Rev. Eastwood Anaba, on October 12, resigned from the Board of Trustees overseeing the construction of the National Cathedral in Ghana.

The founder and leader of the Lighthouse Chapel International, Bishop Dag Heward-Mills, also resigned from the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral project in August 2022.

The National Cathedral, a project initiated to serve as a national place of worship and a symbol of unity and pride for Ghanaians, has been a subject of debate and controversy since its inception.

-Citinewsroom
At the weekend, the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) held clean-up exercises at its three sub-metros in Accra ahead of the funeral for Naa Dedei Omaedru III, the late Ga Manye.

The exercise also forms part of the commemoration of the Assembly's 125-year anniversary.

Mrs Elizabeth Sackey, the Accra Metropolitan Chief Executive, led the staff and community members at the Ashiedu Keteke, Okaikoi South and Ablekuma South sub-metros in the five-hour clean-up exercise.

In an interview, she told the Ghana News Agency: Desilting of drains, clearing the weeds and sweeping the filth in these areas will ensure a clean environment and save the people from diseases.

The exercise dovetails into the AMA's awareness creation on sanitation and the need to maintain clean surroundings to ward off preventable diseases.

Mrs Sackey expressed worry over the low communal spirit among the residents, which did not augur well for community development.

She urged the sub-metros to intensify efforts at enforcing the bye-laws and monitoring sanitary conditions within the communities to ensure the right things were done.

Mr George Lawson, the Ablekuma Sub-Metro Environmental Health Officer, said he had served notices to those households who failed to participate in the exercise to clean their frontage immediately to avoid prosecution.

He urged the residents to change their attitudes towards sanitation issues to ensure better environments and good health.

GNA
- Source:

22.10.2023 LISTEN

The number of South African internet users has nearly doubled in the past decade. One 2023 study of 45 developed countries suggests that South Africans even lead the world when it comes to the amount of time spent in front of screens, at 58.2% of the day.

This digital transformation has significant implications for the country's media. Particularly for newsrooms that want to engage online audiences in a time when news production has evolved towards greater participation of citizens and civil society. More and more, listeners are contributing to media processes.

During protests, for example, news outlets often invite people at the scene to use WhatsApp groups to share firsthand observations, images or videos. These are verified and incorporated into news coverage. (Indeed, WhatsApp emerged as South Africa's most popular social media platform in 2022.)

This shift is at the heart of our recent broadcast and community media study . We examined two community radio stations  Zibonele FM and Bush Radio  in South Africa's Western Cape province. We wanted to know how social media platforms like Facebook and X are shaping the way that young people interact with the stations, and how radio is adapting to meet them online.

We found the stations have embraced social media apps and are actively using them to shape content. Young people are increasingly participating in citizen journalism to influence this content.

This could keep community radio relevant  and that matters. South Africa is home to over 290 community radio stations, far outnumbering the 41 commercial and public service stations. Community radio emerged with democracy in South Africa in the 1990s, providing a platform for alternative voices and grassroots organisations. It's able to address issues often overlooked by mainstream media.

The stations

Zibonele FM and Bush Radio stood out for us. This is because of their youth-focused content, multilingual broadcasts, diverse audience segments and robust use of digital technologies in news production and programming.

Zibonele FM is based in Khayelitsha, a vast township (black residential area) on the outskirts of Cape Town. The station broadcasts mainly in the local Xhosa language.

Bush Radio is one of the country's oldest and most influential community stations. Founded in 1992, it has played a role in shaping post-apartheid life in Cape Town. Apartheid was a system of white minority rule that suppressed black voices. Bush Radio provided a platform for voices and perspectives that were often marginalised in mainstream media.

June 2023 data puts listenership figures of Zibonele FM at 182,000 a day. Bush Radio attracts 49,000 listeners. The average daily listenership of community stations in the Western Cape is 29,000.

The study

We conducted in-depth interviews with station managers, producers and journalists at these two stations. Alongside this we studied social media posts from the stations' X and Facebook accounts and we analysed their on-air content.

We wanted to see if social media shaped youth-oriented programming at Zibonele FM and Bush Radio. While the study's scope remains small, it provides valuable insights into the digital transformation of news production in South African community radio.

Young Zibonele FM and Bush Radio listeners, we found, were actively participating in the news processes at the radio stations. Especially when the stations tailored their news to draw in these communities. A station manager explained:

We've gained a lot of followers, showing that people are drawn to the station's young presenters on social media. Many engage with our live videos and interactive content, validating their active involvement in shaping news production and content direction. This reinforces our roles as central community hubs.

Our data analysis revealed that young audiences on X and Facebook used these platforms to hold journalists accountable, forcing them to reevaluate their reporting. One producer said:

Any mistake leads to immediate corrections. This caution improves our content quality and accuracy, benefiting from feedback from our social media followers.

The participants in our study stressed the importance of WhatsApp voice notes as a feature of social media that enabled greater engagement from youth audiences. Young listeners are actively shaping the content production process by sending questions as voice notes. This shift diminishes the power traditionally held by presenters and producers. One producer elaborated:

When we interview guests, we inform our audiences that we have a question, and they actively engage with it. During interviews, we encourage young people to post voice notes, which the interviewees respond to. This practice enables us to incorporate diverse voices on air, as people often prefer sending voice notes, sometimes in the form of questions.

Our research underscores how Zibonele FM and Bush Radio have empowered young listeners to engage with journalists actively. This allows them to question and challenge news content.

Station managers reported increased engagement on social media, reinforcing the effectiveness of these strategies in expanding reach and enhancing audience participation. Young audiences, for their part, also used social media to hold journalists accountable, fostering a culture of transparency and trust.

Why this matters

The challenges faced by South African community radio, such as limited reach and resources, are well documented .

For a long time academics have observed that journalism is undergoing changes because of social media.

Social media, as seen in our study, can have a significant impact on the future of radio programming and news. It could lead to a dynamic shift towards more interactive and community-driven programming. This would sustain community radio and enhance its role as a vital source of alternative voices, diverse perspectives and local engagement.

John Bulani was a co-author of this study.

Sisanda Nkoala has previously received funding from the National Research Foundation and the AW Mellon Foundation. For this study, however, there are no funders to disclose.

Blessing Makwambeni and Trust Matsilele 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 Sisanda Nkoala, Senior Lecturer, University of South Africa And

Blessing Makwambeni, Senior Lecturer in Communication Science, Cape Peninsula University of Technology And

Trust Matsilele, Lecturer in Journalism, Cape Peninsula University of Technology
There is a Ghanaian proverb that states that no matter how well a pig is cleaned, it will always return to the mud to re-dirt itself, and some people are the same way. Trying to change a pimp to live a decent life can probably be accomplished through the church or by giving him a factory job to work in the hopes that he will become a better person, but electing that person to the presidency because his father was in politics does not guarantee that their children will become good politicians.

As the son of Edward Akufo Addo, one of the "Big Six," who is credited with assisting Kwame Nkrumah in securing Ghana's independence, I am recounting Akufo Addo's previous life. Since homes are frequently identified as the source of many modern illnesses by psychologists and psychiatrists, it is simple to assess Akufo Addo's conceit, arrogance, corrupt nature, and impolite behavior. Edward most likely provided him with excellent training, but like many kids, he decided to live a vagabond life.

In addition to lacking intelligence, Akufo Addo exhibits a lack of manners in everything he says. His propensity to act without considering the effects on others or the next generation shows that he is not fit to lead others or be elected to the highest position in the nation. This subject is quite sensitive; therefore, I have to be very careful with my word choice, however; which wise leader, for instance, would destroy an entire hospital block until the funds to construct a new one are available?

Any world leader or individual who reads such things about the president will claim that he is not an intelligent person. Ghana is in such terrible shape that it appears as though the nation is currently fighting for independence, possibly because the country seems better off under colonial rule than under the current leadership of Akufo Addo. Ghana has thousands of churches and mosques to its credit, but sadly, the people did not have the foresight to realize that Akufo Addo would be Ghana's nightmare.

The bad life that Akufo Addo chose to lead from a young age doesnt qualify him to be president but the influence of his father is what led him to enter politics and the people of Ghana today are suffering a lot. He doesn't think clearly because he lacks a good education; thus; he uses force, and threats, and can even kill innocent people to get what he wants if he finds it necessary. Imagine the current sad state of Ghana, Akufo Addo is never worried about the high rate of corruption, poverty, and unemployment, what he cares about is breaking the 8th cycle, breaking what he and his ministers are responsible for.

A pimp is an individual with no moral character whose job is to manage the activities of prostitutes and profit financially from their services. That is similar life of Akufo Addo, who has loved money since he was a young child. However, he is a lazy man who doesn't want to work hard to improve himself and has a criminal mind that will do anything to further his interests. Examples of this include appointing his relative as finance minister and high court judges to serve as his protectors.

The president and his incompetent NPP politicians have completely wrecked Ghana, but woe betide anyone who wishes this government would realize that their pervasive corruption and incompetence are the root causes of the current problem facing the nation. Despite the immense harm Akufo Addo has caused to Ghana, he shows no remorse for it because he lacks morality and empathy. To be honest, democracy has no place in Akufo Addo's regime, which is structured more like a mafia organization.

With the appointment of corrupt judges, who work in the favor of the government but not the suffering masses, the backwardness of the economy and the weakness of state institutions are a breeding ground for the emergence and development of the NPPs government.

In certain situations, a foreign person you meet in Europe might ask you where you're from and then your president's name. To be honest, it will be easier for the camel to pass through the needle's eye than to tell anyone with pride that Akufo Addo is the president of Ghana. Even though Nkrumah passed away many years ago, I still find it exciting to discuss this great man because of his accomplishments, values, philosophy, and vision, which have been none of Akufo Addos dreams.
Paramount Chief of Asogli, Togbe Afede XIV, has expressed concerns about the devastating flood caused by the spillage of the Akosombo dam.

Commiserating with the affected victims during a visit to some communities on Saturday, he expressed sympathy for them.

We are all one people, we are all Ghanaians, and we are all from Volta Region, our lives are inextricably linked, so whatever impacts our people here, positively or negatively, has implications for all of us as well. Indeed, meeting the people, talking to the chief, some individuals, its really a bad thing they are living through. To have woken up one day and lost your property, or house, its very difficult in our country. Its hard to imagine their plight, I have tried so many times to imagine that in my shoes.

He stressed, This could have been avoided. Standing right at GRIDCO sub-station almost fully submerged, we have seen the situation in peoples homes, its really mind-boggling. They will live with the pain for some time. Its not that it will have a clear path and go down the slope, this will be stagnant water for a very long time. People cannot go about their jobs as they used to do, schooling, and working, are all disrupted. People are suffering from the kind of things they eat. Truly, my heart, our hearts go out to them, we want to be able to stand by them, its a difficult moment and that is why we are here. We indeed share in their pains.

Togbe Afede XIV called on Ghanaians to support the affected persons in every little way they can.

It behoves all of us as Ghanaians to share in their pains and see what we can do as individuals to alleviate their sufferings. We are happy the MP and the chiefs are doing their best. And we all should take it very seriously.

He promised to support the fund created by the MP for the area and the chiefs.

We have come to lend our widows mite to them, in an attempt to alleviate their problems to minimize their sufferings. We will give cash donations to support the fund, as the first attempt by us, and we have contributed GH100,000, towards that, he said.

He advised the Volta River Authority (VRA) to measure the flow of water into the dam as well as the water that goes to spillways.

I would expect the authorities should be able to measure the flow of water into the dam and in some cases predict the flow and what is happening upstream. They should be able to plan short, medium and long term. When was the last time we dredged the estuary? The conditions of the estuary should be known.

He called for compensation for the affected victims.

-citinewsroom
In a joint effort to combat the bedbug infestation at Presbyterian Boys Senior High School (Presec, Legon), renowned crisis management company LCB Worldwide Ghana Limited and the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) have taken decisive action. Yesterday, on October 21, 2023, LCB Worldwide Ghana Limited conducted an extensive fumigation exercise across the school campus, targeting dormitories, classrooms, offices, and the kitchen.

Media reports about the bedbug outbreak at the school had gained widespread attention in recent weeks, prompting GUTA and LCB Worldwide Ghana Limited to intervene after holding discussions with the school's management.

During the fumigation exercise, Mr. Kareem Abu, the Chief Executive Officer of LCB Worldwide Ghana Limited, underscored the company's dedication to alleviating the suffering of the Ghanaian people through its expertise and resources. He emphasized that this initiative was part of the company's commitment to corporate social responsibility, demonstrating their desire to give back to society.

"Besides delivering world-class disinfection services at ports and entry points, LCB Worldwide Ghana Limited, as a Ghanaian company, places great importance on the environment in which we operate. We firmly believe that any issue affecting the Ghanaian people, especially the youth, deserves our attention," stated Mr. Abu.

The collaborative effort between LCB Worldwide Ghana Limited and GUTA has been praised by school authorities and the local community. The fumigation exercise is expected to significantly reduce the bedbug infestation, providing much-needed relief to the students and staff of Presec, Legon.

LCB Worldwide Ghana Limited has established itself as a leading crisis management company, specializing in handling various challenges and emergencies. Their swift response to the bedbug crisis demonstrates their commitment to addressing urgent issues that affect the well-being and comfort of the Ghanaian population.

As Presec, Legon resumes regular activities after the fumigation exercise, students and parents can breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that the school environment is now safer and more conducive to learning. The success of this joint initiative serves as a testament to the power of collaboration and the positive impact it can have on communities in times of need.
Dubai logistics giant DP World signed three contracts on Sunday with the Tanzanian government to operate part of Dar es Salaam's port for 30 years under a controversial deal covering all the country's ports.

The new contracts give DP World exclusive management of four of the city docks' 12 moorings and of four more in partnership with the Tanzania Port Authority.

The contracts will be reviewed every five years, said TPA director general Plasduce Mbossa.

The signings follow an intergovernmental agreement inked last October by President Samia Suluhu Hassan paving the way for DP World to manage all the ports in Tanzania in consultation with the government.

It was ratified by parliament in June, sparking protest.

Critics of the deal say it poses a threat to Tanzanian sovereignty and security, but the government has argued it will improve efficiency, cut costs and increase revenues.

DP World CEO Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem said the move will allow the company "to upgrade Dar es Salaam port into a world-class facility, building even a greater logistics hub for Tanzania."

The Dubai government-controlled firm has pledged to invest $250 million over the next five years in the port, one of biggest on the African continent.

At least two dozen people have been arrested since June for opposing the deal, according to Amnesty International, although some have since been released.

Lawyer Rugemeleza Nshala was among those freed and said he was forced to leave the country in July after intimidation and death threats.

"We have considered views by different groups before signing this deal" said President Hassan.

She came to power in March 2021 after the death of her autocratic predecessor John Magufuli promising more political freedom.

'Make the contract public'

But critics labelled her a "dictator" after Freeman Mbowe, leader of the Chadema opposition party, was arrested on terrorism charges in July 2021 before being released.

Chadema was among those opposing the deal which gives DP World exclusive rights for a period of 12 months to negotiate with the government on how best to manage the country's 80 ports.

ACT-Wazalendo opposition party leader Zitto Kabwe and Tanzania's Catholic church head Charles Kitima had also come out against the deal but attended Sunday's signing.

"Some of our proposals have been taken into account," ACT-Wazalendo said in a statement. "But we are still insisting that the contract be made public."

In June, Transport Minister Makame Mbarawa told parliament that the investment by DP World would improve the performance of Tanzanian ports, allowing more ships to dock there.

"The cost of transit cargo will also drop by almost half," he said.
Antero Midstream Co. (NYSE:AM  Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 11th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 25th will be paid a dividend of 0.225 per share by the pipeline company on Wednesday, November 8th. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 24th.

Antero Midstream has decreased its dividend by an average of 13.4% annually over the last three years. Antero Midstream has a dividend payout ratio of 97.8% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the companys earnings decline. Research analysts expect Antero Midstream to earn $0.96 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.90 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 93.8%.

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Antero Midstream Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AM opened at $12.49 on Friday. The businesss fifty day moving average price is $11.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.35. The stock has a market cap of $5.99 billion, a PE ratio of 17.84 and a beta of 2.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. Antero Midstream has a one year low of $9.56 and a one year high of $12.75.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Antero Midstream ( NYSE:AM Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 27th. The pipeline company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.02. Antero Midstream had a return on equity of 18.13% and a net margin of 34.36%. The business had revenue of $258.29 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $267.03 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.20 earnings per share. The businesss revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Antero Midstream will post 0.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Antero Midstream from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a report on Thursday, July 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Antero Midstream from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Antero Midstream in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a neutral rating and a $12.50 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com started coverage on Antero Midstream in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Antero Midstream from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $12.30.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other Antero Midstream news, Director Janine J. Mcardle purchased 6,011 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 22nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $11.96 per share, for a total transaction of $71,891.56. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 54,093 shares in the company, valued at approximately $646,952.28. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Antero Midstream news, Director Janine J. Mcardle purchased 6,011 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 22nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $11.96 per share, for a total transaction of $71,891.56. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 54,093 shares in the company, valued at approximately $646,952.28. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Sheri Pearce sold 16,600 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.05, for a total value of $200,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 138,667 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,670,937.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.52% of the companys stock.

Institutional Trading of Antero Midstream

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in Antero Midstream by 2.4% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 408,582 shares of the pipeline companys stock valued at $4,740,000 after buying an additional 9,499 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Antero Midstream by 151.5% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 90,237 shares of the pipeline companys stock valued at $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 54,364 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its holdings in shares of Antero Midstream by 10.2% during the second quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 59,340 shares of the pipeline companys stock valued at $688,000 after purchasing an additional 5,515 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Antero Midstream during the second quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Finally, GTS Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Antero Midstream during the second quarter valued at approximately $122,000. 52.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Antero Midstream

(Get Free Report)

Antero Midstream Corporation owns, operates, and develops midstream energy infrastructure in the Appalachian Basin. It operates through Gathering and Processing, and Water Handling segments. The Gathering and Processing segment includes a network of gathering pipelines and compressor stations that collects and processes production from Antero Resources' wells in West Virginia and Ohio.

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NL Industries (NYSE:NL  Get Free Report) and Blue Line Protection Group (OTCMKTS:BLPG  Get Free Report) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability and earnings.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

11.0% of NL Industries shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 52.7% of Blue Line Protection Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of NL Industries shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.5% of Blue Line Protection Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

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Profitability

This table compares NL Industries and Blue Line Protection Groups net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets NL Industries -15.43% -6.33% -4.18% Blue Line Protection Group N/A N/A N/A

Valuation and Earnings

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio NL Industries $160.60 million 1.44 $33.84 million ($0.51) -9.31 Blue Line Protection Group N/A N/A N/A ($0.02) -2.97

This table compares NL Industries and Blue Line Protection Groups top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

NL Industries has higher revenue and earnings than Blue Line Protection Group. NL Industries is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Blue Line Protection Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for NL Industries and Blue Line Protection Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score NL Industries 1 0 0 0 1.00 Blue Line Protection Group 0 0 0 0 N/A

NL Industries currently has a consensus price target of $5.00, indicating a potential upside of 5.26%. Given NL Industries higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe NL Industries is more favorable than Blue Line Protection Group.

Summary

Blue Line Protection Group beats NL Industries on 7 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About NL Industries

(Get Free Report)

NL Industries, Inc., through its subsidiary, CompX International Inc., operates in the component products industry in the United States and internationally. The company manufactures and sells mechanical and electronic cabinet locks and other locking mechanisms, including disc tumbler locks; pin tumbler locking mechanisms under KeSet, System 64, TuBar, and Turbine brands; and electronic locks under CompX eLock and StealthLock brands for use in various applications, such as mailboxes, ignition systems, file cabinets, desk drawers, tool storage cabinets, high security medical cabinetry, integrated inventory and access control secured narcotics boxes, electronic circuit panels, storage compartments, gas station security, vending and cash containment machines. It also offers original equipment and aftermarket stainless steel exhaust headers, exhaust pipes, mufflers, and other exhaust components; gauges, such as GPS speedometers and tachometers; mechanical and electronic controls and throttles; wake enhancement devices, trim tabs, steering wheels, and other billet aluminum accessories; dash panels, LED indicators, wire harnesses, and other accessories; and grab handles, pin cleats, and other accessories; primarily for performance and ski/wakeboard and performance boats. The company sells its component products directly to original equipment manufacturers, as well as through distributors. NL Industries, Inc. was founded in 1891 and is based in Dallas, Texas. NL Industries, Inc. is a subsidiary of Valhi, Inc.

About Blue Line Protection Group

(Get Free Report)

Blue Line Protection Group, Inc. provides armed protection and transportation, banking, compliance, and training services for businesses engaged in the legal cannabis industry in the United States. It offers asset logistic services comprising armed transportation services, including shipment protection, money escort, and asset vaulting; and financial services, such as handling transportation and storage of currency. The company was formerly known as The Engraving Masters, Inc. and changed its name to Blue Line Protection Group, Inc. in May 2014. The company was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.

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Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG  Get Free Report) issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday. The business services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.03), RTT News reports. The company had revenue of $2.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.39 billion. Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 29.72% and a net margin of 8.70%. Interpublic Group of Companiess revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.63 earnings per share.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

IPG stock opened at $27.69 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $10.66 billion, a PE ratio of 11.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $30.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.87. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 12-month low of $26.75 and a 12-month high of $40.95.

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Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, September 1st were given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.48%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 31st. Interpublic Group of Companiess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.45%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Interpublic Group of Companies

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of IPG. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Clear Street Markets LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 94.9% during the 1st quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 764 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. First Manhattan CO. LLC. boosted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 1,176.5% during the 1st quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 1,085 shares of the business services providers stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at $51,000. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Several research analysts have issued reports on IPG shares. Macquarie cut their price objective on Interpublic Group of Companies from $36.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 10th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Interpublic Group of Companies from $45.00 to $43.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 24th. StockNews.com cut Interpublic Group of Companies from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Monday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $43.00 to $33.00 in a report on Monday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Interpublic Group of Companies from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $37.22.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on IPG

About Interpublic Group of Companies

(Get Free Report)

The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc provides advertising and marketing services worldwide. It operates in three segments: Media, Data & Engagement Solutions, Integrated Advertising & Creativity Led Solutions, and Specialized Communications & Experiential Solutions. The Media, Data & Engagement Solutions segment provides media and communications services, digital services and products, advertising and marketing technology, e-commerce services, data management and analytics, strategic consulting, and digital brand experience under the IPG Mediabrands, UM, Initiative, Kinesso, Acxiom, Huge, MRM, and R/GA brand names.

Further Reading

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Regions Financial (NYSE:RF  Get Free Report) posted its earnings results on Friday. The bank reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.09), RTT News reports. Regions Financial had a return on equity of 16.54% and a net margin of 26.86%. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.56 earnings per share. The companys revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Regions Financial updated its FY 2023 guidance to EPS.

Regions Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:RF opened at $14.44 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.02, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $17.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.09. Regions Financial has a fifty-two week low of $13.82 and a fifty-two week high of $24.33.

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Regions Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 8th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 7th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.65%. Regions Financials payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on RF. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $21.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 10th. Stephens restated an equal weight rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Regions Financial in a research report on Monday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, July 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $23.00 price objective on shares of Regions Financial in a report on Monday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, July 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Regions Financial has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $21.69.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on RF

Insider Buying and Selling at Regions Financial

In other Regions Financial news, EVP Ronald G. Smith sold 10,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.93, for a total value of $209,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 281,151 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $5,884,490.43. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Regions Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Regions Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its stake in Regions Financial by 715.1% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,891 shares of the banks stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,659 shares in the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new stake in Regions Financial during the 4th quarter worth $49,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Regions Financial during the 4th quarter worth $53,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in Regions Financial by 41.7% during the 1st quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,505 shares of the banks stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 737 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.84% of the companys stock.

About Regions Financial

(Get Free Report)

Regions Financial Corporation, a financial holding company, provides banking and bank-related services to individual and corporate customers. It operates through three segments: Corporate Bank, Consumer Bank, and Wealth Management. The Corporate Bank segment offers commercial banking services, such as commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, and investor real estate lending; equipment lease financing; deposit products; and securities underwriting and placement, loan syndication and placement, foreign exchange, derivatives, merger and acquisition, and other advisory services.

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Starwood European Real Estate Finance (LON:SWEF  Get Free Report) announced a dividend on Friday, October 20th, Upcoming.Co.Uk reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 2nd will be paid a dividend of GBX 1.38 ($0.02) per share on Friday, November 24th. This represents a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 2nd. The official announcement can be seen at this link.

Starwood European Real Estate Finance Price Performance

Shares of Starwood European Real Estate Finance stock opened at GBX 89 ($1.09) on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of 352.08 million and a PE ratio of 1,271.43. The companys fifty day moving average price is GBX 87.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is GBX 87.79. Starwood European Real Estate Finance has a 52-week low of GBX 85 ($1.04) and a 52-week high of GBX 93.98 ($1.15).

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Starwood European Real Estate Finance Company Profile

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Further Reading

Starwood European Real Estate Finance Ltd. specializes in making real estate debt investments. The fund invests in Europe with a focus on the United Kingdom and wider European Union's internal market, focusing on Northern and Southern Europe. It provides loans with a term between three and seven years.

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Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL  Get Free Report) announced its earnings results on Friday. The financial services provider reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.06, Briefing.com reports. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 18.70% and a net margin of 20.97%. The firm had revenue of $716.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $686.59 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.42 earnings per share. The firms quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Trading Down 8.4 %

Western Alliance Bancorporation stock opened at $42.22 on Friday. The companys fifty day simple moving average is $47.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 12 month low of $7.46 and a 12 month high of $81.17. The stock has a market cap of $4.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.42.

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Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 11th were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 10th. Western Alliance Bancorporations dividend payout ratio is currently 18.27%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Alliance Bancorporation

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WAL. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,361,098 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $775,286,000 after purchasing an additional 347,525 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,058,243 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $360,829,000 after purchasing an additional 402,614 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 12.5% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,410,343 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $197,315,000 after purchasing an additional 601,129 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 21.5% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,971,314 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $411,724,000 after purchasing an additional 880,430 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 44.4% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,056,477 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $144,167,000 after purchasing an additional 1,246,855 shares during the last quarter. 72.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WAL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Wednesday, June 28th. They set a hold rating and a $41.00 target price on the stock. Stephens reissued an overweight rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. Wedbush reissued an outperform rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $53.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an overweight rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Friday, August 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $55.53.

Check Out Our Latest Report on Western Alliance Bancorporation

About Western Alliance Bancorporation

(Get Free Report)

Western Alliance Bancorporation operates as the bank holding company for Western Alliance Bank that provides various banking products and related services primarily in Arizona, California, and Nevada. It operates through Commercial and Consumer Related segments. The company offers deposit products, including checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as fixed-rate and fixed maturity certificates of deposit accounts; demand deposits; and treasury management and residential mortgage products and services.

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Oct 22, 2023 / 10:59 pm

News Highlights: India beats New Zealand by 4 wickets

Virat Kohli scored 95 runs (104), and Mohammed Shami delivered a stellar performance, taking 5 wickets for just 54 runs to dismiss New Zealand for a total of 273

New Zealand suffered their first loss in five matches and are second behind toppers India in the 10-team table.
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.
A general view of the Detroit skyline, dominated by General Motors headquarters (R), is seen from Windsor, Onatario, Canada January 14, 2018.
Guam Department of Labor Director David Dell'Isola answers questions during the 2023 Guam Economic Forecast meeting Jan. 12, 2023, at The Westin Resort Guam in Tumon.
In this image from a video released by the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Filipino sailors look after a Chinese coast guard ship with bow number 5203 as it is about to bump the Filipinos supply boat approaching Second Thomas Shoal, locally called Ayungin Shoal, at the disputed South China Sea (West Philippine Sea) on Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023.
Apple supplier Foxconn subjected to tax inspections by Chinese authorities View Photo

BANGKOK (AP)  Foxconn, a Fortune 500 company known globally for making Apple iPhones, was recently subjected to searches by Chinese tax authorities, according to local reports Sunday.

Foxconn, a Taiwanese -headquartered company officially registered as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd, had its offices in Guangdong and Jiangsu provinces searched by tax officials, according to a report in the Chinese state-run Global Times newspaper.

The Ministry of Natural Resources also inspected Foxconn offices in Henan and Hubei provinces, where the company has major factories. Foxconn employs hundreds of thousands of workers across China.

The report did not provide more details about the searches, including when they occurred or what was found.

It also quoted an expert who said that while Taiwan-funded enterprises, including Foxconn, are sharing in dividends from development and making remarkable progress in the mainland, they should also assume corresponding social responsibilities and play a positive role in promoting the peaceful development of cross-strait relations.

Tensions have been high between China and Taiwan in recent years. China claims the democratic self-governing island of Taiwan as part of its own territory. The sides split in 1949 after a civil war and have no official relations but are linked by billions of dollars in trade and investment.

The Chinese Communist Party regularly flies fighter planes and bombers near Taiwan to enforce its stance that the island is obliged to unite with the mainland, by force if necessary.

The tensions have occasionally spilled over into the economic realm. In recent years, China has banned pineapples, grouper fish and other agricultural products from Taiwan for import.

However, it has largely refrained from targeting Taiwanese companies that operate on the mainland.

Foxconn does the vast majority of its manufacturing in China. The company said in a statement Sunday evening that it will actively cooperate with the relevant units on the related work and operations.

The companys founder, Terry Gou, announced in August that he would be running as a candidate in Taiwans presidential elections, which will be held early next year. He then resigned from his seat on the board of Foxconn.

Gou is seen as a China-friendly candidate whose politics mostly align with the Kuomingtang, the islands current opposition party.

By HUIZHONG WU

Associated Press
Live updates | Israel says its stepping up attacks on the Gaza Strip View Photo

Israeli warplanes have struck targets across the Gaza Strip as well as two airports in Syria and a mosque in the occupied West Bank allegedly used by militants, while a second convoy of humanitarian aid reportedly began crossing into Gaza from Egypt on Sunday afternoon.

Israels military spokesman said the country is stepping up its attacks, and there are growing expectations of a ground offensive.

The war, now in its 16th day, is the deadliest of five Gaza wars for both sides. The Palestinian Health Ministry said Sunday that the death toll in Gaza had reached at least 4,651 people, with another 14,254 people wounded in the besieged territory.

The ministry said 93 Palestinians were also killed in violence and Israeli raids in the occupied West Bank since Hamas militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7. More than 1,650 others were wounded, it added.

More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, mostly in the initial Hamas attack. In addition, 203 people were believed captured by Hamas during the incursion and taken into Gaza, the Israeli military has said.

Currently:

1. Doctors in the Gaza Strip say dwindling fuel supplies are putting dozens of premature babies hooked up to incubators at risk of imminent death 2. Biden walks tightrope with support for Israel as allies and the left push for restraint 3. The second aid convoy destined for desperate Palestinian civilians reaches Gaza 4. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin say the U.S. is ready to protect American forces or personnel in the Middle East should the Israel-Hamas war escalate

Heres whats happening in the latest Israel-Hamas war:

WORLD LEADERS CALL FOR ADHERENCE TO HUMANITARIAN LAW, COMMIT TO SUPPORTING THEIR NATIONALS IN GAZA

Several world leaders on Sunday spoke about the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, reiterating their support for Israel and its right to defend itself against terrorism and called for adherence to international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians.

U.S. President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, President Emmanuel Macron of France, Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of the United Kingdom also welcomed the release of two hostages and called for the immediate release of all remaining hostages.

They committed to close coordination to support their nationals in the region, in particular those wishing to leave Gaza.

The leaders welcomed the announcement of the first humanitarian convoys to reach Palestinians in need in Gaza and committed to continue coordinating with partners in the region to ensure sustained and safe access to food, water, medical care and other assistance required to meet humanitarian needs.

They also said they would continue close diplomatic coordination, including with key partners in the region, to prevent the conflict from spreading, preserve stability in the Middle East, and work toward a political solution and durable peace.

ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER WARNS HEZBOLLAH TO STAY OUT OF WAR

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited troops stationed near the border with Lebanon, where the Israeli army and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants also have traded fire during the Hamas-Israel war.

A top official with Iran Hezbollah vowed Saturday that Israel would pay a high price whenever it starts a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip and said Saturday that his militant group based in Lebanon already is in the heart of the battle.

Speaking to troops in the north on Sunday, Netanyahu said Israel would react more fiercely than it did during its short 2006 war with Hezbollah, which is based in Lebanon.

If Hezbollah decides to enter the war, it will miss the Second Lebanon War. It will make the mistake of its life. We will cripple it with a force it cannot even imagine and the consequences for it and the Lebanese state are devastating, the Israeli leader said.

ISRAEL SAYS 2ND BATCH OF HUMANITARIAN AID ENTERED GAZA

Israel says Sunday that a second batch of humanitarian aid was allowed into Gaza, at the request of the U.S. and according to instructions from other political officials.

On Saturday, 20 trucks entered in the first shipment into the territory since Israel imposed a complete siege two weeks ago. Sundays batch included only water, food, and medical equipment, with no fuel, Israel said.

U.S. President Joe Biden and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel affirmed that there will now be continued flow of this critical assistance into Gaza, the White House said in a statement after a phone call between the leaders.

Earlier Sunday, Egypts state-run media had reported that 17 aid trucks were crossing into Gaza on Sunday, but the United Nations said no trucks had crossed.

On Sunday, Associated Press journalists saw seven fuel trucks head into Gaza. Juliette Touma, spokeswoman for U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, and the Israeli military said those trucks were taking fuel that had been stored on the Gaza side of the crossing deeper into the territory, and that no fuel had entered from Egypt.

UNRWA SAYS THERE WILL BE NO HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE WITHOUT FUEL

AMMAN, Jordan  The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees says it will run out of fuel in Gaza in three days.

Without fuel, there will be no water, no functioning hospitals and bakeries. Without fuel, aid will not reach many civilians in desperate need. Without fuel, there will be no humanitarian assistance, Philippe Lazzarini, the UNRWA Commissioner General, said in a statement Sunday.

A first delivery of aid that was allowed to cross into Gaza from Egypt on Saturday did not include any fuel.

Without fuel, we will fail the people of Gaza whose needs are growing by the hour, under our watch. This cannot and should not happen, Lazzarini said.

He called on all parties and those with influence to allow fuel into Gaza immediately, while ensuring that it is only used for humanitarian purposes.

TENS OF THOUSANDS OF PREGNANT WOMEN IN GAZA ARE IN DANGER, AID WORKERS SAY

Thousands of pregnant women in the Gaza Strip who are expected to give birth this month are in grave danger because they are not able to reach a medical facility to deliver, an aid agency says.

Guillemette Thomas, medical coordinator for Doctors Without Borders in the Palestinian territories, said women have already given birth in UNRWA schools that have turned into shelters housing tens of thousands of displaced people.

These women are in danger and the babies are in danger right now, she said. Thats a really critical situation.

According to the U.N. population fund, there are 50,000 pregnant women in Gaza. Some 5,500 of them are due to give birth in the coming month, meaning 166 births per day, the U.N. agency said.

Earlier Sunday the U.N. health agency said that at least 130 premature babies are at grave risk because of a lack of fuel at Gaza hospitals. Thomas said some of them could die within hours.

AID ORGANIZATIONS WARN OF RISK TO PREMATURE BABIES FROM FUEL SHORTAGE

CAIRO  At least 130 premature babies are at grave risk because of lack of fuel at Gaza hospitals, the U.N. health agency said Sunday.

The babies are being cared for at six neonatal units, according to Medical Aid for Palestinians, an aid group working in Gaza. Doctors have warned that the babies are in imminent danger if fuel does not reach hospitals soon.

In a statement to The Associated Press, the World Health Organization called for immediate and sustained access of fuel into Gaza to keep health facilities operating.

Melanie Ward, chief executive of Medical Aid for Palestinians, urged world leaders to press Israel to allow the delivery of fuel to Gaza.

The world cannot simply look on as these babies are killed by the siege on Gaza.  A failure to act is to sentence these babies to death, she said.

Hospitals in Gaza have been struggling with the large number of wounded from the ongoing war between Israel and Palestinian militants which was triggered by an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7.

Dr. Ghassan Abu Sitta, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon working with Doctors without Borders in Shifa hospital, said the hospitals generators are cutting out more regularly now than before.

He said hospitals in the territory are facing severe shortages of medical supplies, including bandages, medication and other supplies.

You can imagine the amount 14,000 severely wounded patients would consume, he told the AP.

HEARTBREAKING LIFE-OR-DEATH DECISIONS FOR GAZAS DOCTORS

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip  Hospitals across the Gaza Strip are scrounging for fuel stocks to keep the lights on in critical wards and continue to save the lives of the relentless stream of wounded patients.

Serious shortages in other supplies, including ventilators, are forcing medical teams to prioritize the lives of those who can be saved for certain over severe cases that require complex care, said Dr. Mohammed Qandeel, who works in the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.

Its heartbreaking, he told The Associated Press. Every day, if we receive 10 severely injured patients, we have to manage with maybe three or five ICU beds available. We have to choose who must face death, or manage them in regular wards or do some limited care because we think as a medical team, between two patients in a life-threatening situation, we have to give the ventilator to the patient who has a higher chance of improving in 24 hours.

Many departments in the hospital are plunged in darkness as medical staff allow electricity only in critical departments where patients risk death without it. On Friday the hospital was on its last stock of fuel, but managed to get another tank from UNRWAs existing stock on Saturday, said Qandeel. This amount should last for three to five days, he said.

The World Health Organization says Gazas Health Ministry is reporting that its daily use of medical consumables during the war is equivalent to its monthly consumption before the war. The report said an imminent public health catastrophe looms in the setting of mass displacement, overcrowding of shelters and damage to the water and sanitation infrastructure.

BODIES OF 3 NEPALI STUDENTS REPATRIATED

KATHMANDU  Nepal has repatriated the bodies of three of 10 Nepali students who were killed during the Hamas attack in Israel two weeks ago.

Nepals Foreign Minister Narayan Prakash Saud and Israeli Ambassador Hanan Goder received the bodies at Kathmandus Tribhuvan International Airport. The bodies will be flown to the students home district of Kailai.

Another body of a Nepali student is expected to be flown to Kathmandu later Sunday. One Nepalese student is missing and believed to be held captive by Hamas, officials said.

Israeli authorities have so far handed over four bodies to the Nepalese Embassy in Tel Aviv. They are in the process of identifying the remaining six bodies, a statement from the embassy said. More than 200 Nepalese nationals returned home from Israel on Oct. 13. As many as 265 Nepali students were in Israel attending a program launched by the Israeli government.

INDIA SENDS MEDICAL AID AND RELIEF SUPPLIES TO PALESTINIANS

NEW DELHI  India on Sunday sent nearly 6.5 tonnes (7.1 tons) of medical aid and 32 tonnes (35 tons) of disaster relief supplies to Palestinians.

An Indian air force plane carrying the materials left New Delhi for Egypts El-Arish airport, said Arindam Bagchi, an External Affairs Ministry spokesman. The aid includes essential life-saving medicines, surgical items, tents, sleeping bags, tarps and water purification tablets among other items, he said.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed condolences and sympathy for those killed and wounded as a result of the attacks in Israel and said that Indian people stand in solidarity with Israel. India has reiterated its position in favor of direct negotiations for establishing a two-state solution.

SYRIAN MEDIA REPORTS ISRAELI AIRSTRIKES HIT AIRPORTS IN DAMASCUS AND ALEPPO

Syrian state media reported that Israeli airstrikes early Sunday targeted the international airports of the Syrian capital Damascus and the northern city of Aleppo, killing one person. The runways were damaged and put out of service.

The attack is the second this month on the Damascus International airport and the third on Aleppos airport as tensions increases in the Middle East over the Israel-Hamas war.

Syrian state media quoted an unnamed military official as saying the airports were struck by the Israeli military from the Mediterranean to the west and from Syrias Israeli-occupied Golan Heights in the south. It said one employee was killed and another wounded in Damascus in addition to material damage.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment.

Since the war between Israel and Hamas started on Oct. 7, Israel has carried out several strikes in Syria including one on the Damascus airport and two on Aleppos airport putting them out of service.

Flights were directed in the past to an international airport in the coastal province of Latakia.

Israel has targeted airports and sea ports in the government-held parts of Syria in an apparent attempt to prevent arms shipments from Iran to militant groups backed by Tehran, including Lebanons Hezbollah.

Thousands of Iran-backed fighters from around the region joined Syrias 12-year conflict helping tip the balance in favor of President Bashar Assads forces.

Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of Syria in recent years, including attacks on the Damascus and Aleppo airports, but rarely acknowledges or discusses the operations.

PALESTINIAN HEALTH MINISTRY SAYS ISRAELI FORCES KILLED 8 SUNDAY IN WEST BANK

The Palestinian Health Ministry reported that the death toll among Palestinians in the occupied West Bank Sunday climbed to eight.

Israeli forces shot dead Jihad Mazen Subhi Saleh, 29, and Mohammed Qasim Abu Zar, 17, in Zawata, roughly 70 kilometers (44 miles) north of Jerusalem; as well as a 20-year-old man close to the al-Arroub refugee camp south of the West Bank, the ministry said.

Two others were killed in the Jenin refugee camp, which includes the Al-Ansar mosque where Israels military said it launched an airstrike, the ministry said. The two fatalities have yet to be identified. It also said Israeli forces shot and killed two men in northern cities of the West Bank: a 19-year-old in Tubas and a 26-year-old in Nablus.

Sundays fatalities brought the death toll in the West Bank to 93 Palestinians since the latest Israel-Hamas war broke out on Oct. 7, according to the Health Ministry.

By The Associated Press
Kudakwashe Munsaka, the leader of Forever Associates Zimbabwe (FAZ), a controversial Zanu PF affiliate group, suffered a devastating loss last Tuesday when three of his family members were tragically struck by lightning during heavy rains that swept through the country.

FAZ, known for its alleged links to the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO), gained notoriety during the August 23 and 24 elections, where it was implicated in alleged vote rigging activities.

The torrential rains, accompanied by strong winds, wreaked havoc across the nation, causing significant damage to infrastructure and displacing several families.

In Binga, Matabeleland North, the tragedy struck Munsakas family when the rains battered the impoverished district, claiming three lives.

Its actually a tragedy that befell people of Binga in Chabwidi village under Chief Siabuwa, particularly my family, Munsaka told The Standard yesterday.

It was the eve of the 18th around 11pm.

My aunt Belitha Munkuli (79) with her grandchildren; Meekness Munkuli (11) and Accept Bulemu (5) and a neighbour Rudo Muzamba were struck by lightning.

They were sleeping in a thatched hut and lightning struck and burnt the hut.

Neighbours tried to come and rescue them, but they failed as they had locked the door from inside. So this takes our death toll to four.

In a separate incident last Monday, four children from the same family lost their lives after being struck by lightning while sleeping in Wadzenenga village under Chief Nyashanu in Buhera, Manicaland province. Although their mother, Ever Mutamba (31), survived, she sustained severe burns to one of her legs.

Zimbabwe is known for its high incidence of lightning strikes, with the majority of fatalities and injuries occurring in rural areas.

Munsaka expressed the shock and sorrow felt by the Binga community, stating, Its a situation that has shocked the community, he said.

We are in pain as a family and the mourners are still gathered. I bought the coffins and food for the mourners.

FAZ, under Munsakas leadership, gained prominence before the August elections by assuming control of Zanu PFs administrative structures, coordinating party campaigns, and managing the partys primaries. FAZ was criticized by several election observers for alleged wrongdoing during the disputed elections, including intimidation of suspected opposition supporters.

The group has faced accusations of leading retributive campaigns against perceived opposition supporters, particularly in rural areas.

Breaking News via Email
As human-wildlife conflict escalates in Manicaland, a good Samaritan who was trying to help a woman who was being attacked by a hyena was killed after the animal turned on him last week on Thursday.

Two others, Mr Noah Jambaya and Mr Petros Machona, sustained life threatening injuries and are admitted in hospital, while Mr Charles Gamunorwa lost his life.

The marauding hyena was killed by Mr Gamunorwas brother, Valerio, as he tried to save his brother.

This incident comes hard on the heels of another case of human-wildlife conflict that saw five people being attacked by a hyena in Makoni District.

When The Manica Post visited Gamunorwa Village in Chiadzwa, Mutare last week on Friday, mourners were on their way to the cemetery to bury Mr Gamunorwa a few hours after he had succumbed to the hyena attack.

They made a brief stop-over at the area where Mr Gamunorwa was killed and conducted some rituals.

Valerio witnessed the fatal hyena attack and expressed anger and frustration over the tragic incident.

He said together with his late brother and 10 other villagers, they had rushed to assist Mr Jambaya and Mr Machona who had been attacked by the wild animal.

However, the animal turned on his brother.

When we heard Mr Jambaya and Mr Machona crying for help, we teamed up with 10 other villagers and rushed to the scene. We were at my late brothers homestead when we heard the commotion.

The noise sounded like a cow was being attacked by a hyena. We rushed to the scene thinking that we were going to rescue the cow, not knowing that the hyena was attacking people. We realised that two people had been injured.

When we got here, the hyena went straight for my brother, Charles, and knocked him down. When the other people we were with saw what was happening, they ran for their lives in different directions.

Mr Jambaya, whom we had rescued, also took this opportunity to escape. Only an injured Mr Machona, Mr Tatenda Kusena and myself remained behind to fight the hyena, said Valerio.

He added: When we tried to rescue my brother, the hyena charged towards us. We remained resolute in our quest to save my brothers life. When we hit the hyena with heavy stones, it would fall down, but would regain its strength and charge towards my badly injured brother and continue mauling him.

He died a painful death, something that we never anticipated as we were relaxing as a family at his homestead 30 minutes before his death, said Valerio.

Mr Kusena (18) said he did not run away with the others when he noticed that Mr Gamunorwa was under attack since the deceased was his friends father.

Had other villagers not bolted away and helped us fight the hyena, we could have saved Mr Gamunorwas life. We would have killed the animal before it had badly deformed Mr Gamunorwas face, resulting in his death. The other villagers only came back after hearing that we had killed the hyena, said Mr Kusena.

The deceaseds father, Mr Elvat Gamunorwa said they are waiting for the return of ZimParks rangers to hunt down the marauding hyenas.

ZimParks rangers attended my sons funeral and promised to come back to hunt down the hyenas. We are patiently waiting for their return because our lives are in danger.

I am still in shock. This has never happened in this area. I hear the hyena continued mauling my sons face despite spirited attacks from those who were trying to wade it off. Traditionally, we know that hyenas run away from people, he said.

Local businessman, Mr Caston Chishingwi said with the hyenas roaming freely around Mutsvisi Mountain, their lives are in danger.

They attack our livestock and now they are turning to humans. We hope the authorities will swiftly respond to our distress calls, he said.

The late Mr Gamunorwa left behind children aged eight, 10, 13, 15, and 18, whose mothers are also late.

The deceaseds son, Ashton Gamunorwa (18) said his fathers sudden death left him with a heavy burden of taking care of his four minor siblings.

My father was a calm and soft person and did not deserve this painful death. He had only gone there to assist others, but he ended up being the victim. I hope locals will assist me to raise my siblings since my father died while trying to save other peoples lives, he said.

Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) spokesperson, Mr Tinashe Farawo urged communities to report to the Authority and their nearest police station if they spot wild animals around their areas.

We are doing a lot of awareness campaigns throughout the country, encouraging our communities to minimise night movements as most of the wild animals are nocturnal and move at night.

We are also encouraging communities to make sure that their livestock is looked after as they have a tendency of leaving them to roam freely, thereby exposing them to wild animal attacks.

We have also created a lot of WhatsApp platforms across the country for communities to send in their messages.

We regret the loss of life, it is not good for people to die under such circumstances. We are also concerned about the injuries that were reported in Manicaland over the past two weeks.

We are always on high alert and react in the shortest possible time so that we can help the communities. Manicaland is mountainous and there are a lot of caves where wild animals can stay. Communities should be careful when moving around so that they remain safe, said Mr Farawo.

Breaking News via Email
Yves here. You are getting a Sunday extra on the conflict in Gaza and where it looks set to be headed, given Hamas apparent strategy, the dug in position of the US and Israel, and the so far on-track behavior of the Arab world.

John Helmers post clinically and persuasively draws conclusions that most commentators, including yours truly, have been loath to state clearly, perhaps because depicting the likelihood of bad outcomes somehow feels as if it increases the odds they come to pass (magical thinking cults and their lesser intention cousins illustrate this superstitious tendency).

Even though the earlier part of Helmers analysis is based on known facts (at least if youve been paying attention), he adds critical information about the implications of even a shortish war with Israels neighbors on Israel, and the apparently-not-heretofore-reported sighting that China has naval vessels in the Persian Gulf that have anti-sub and anti-missile capabilities.

Its not hard to conclude from Helmers depiction that with the US and Israel unwilling to accept a loss and the lack of any adults on our team mean the odds of eventual nuclear war are way too high. And if you think Helmer is too pessimistic, listen to the section from Larry Johnson in the broadcast on Judge Napolitano with Ray McGovern. Starting at 11:40, Johnson describes how Pakistan has offered to send some of its nukes to Turkiye in case of a dustup with Israel.

By John Helmer, the longest continuously serving foreign correspondent in Russia, and the only western journalist to direct his own bureau independent of single national or commercial ties. Helmer has also been a professor of political science, and an advisor to government heads in Greece, the United States, and Asia. He is the first and only member of a US presidential administration (Jimmy Carter) to establish himself in Russia. Originally published at Dances with Bears

Preamble

1. Since 1943 the US and its European allies, including Germany (Olaf Scholzs government, not Adolf Hitlers), have aimed to liquidate the secular nationalist Arab leadership capable of co-existence with the West and a state for the Jewish people.

2. In Palestine Hamas has studied seventy-five years of lessons on the impossibility of coordinating Arab state war in the defence of the Palestine part of the two-state solution.

3. For more than a year, therefore, Hamas has prepared in well-kept secret an offensive against Israel to achieve five objectives  the first to demonstrate how inferior the Israeli military is, how vulnerable, how incompetent their intelligence on the Arab world. This has been achieved by the initial attack of October 7.

4. The second Hamas objective has been to demonstrate the Israeli plan of ethnic cleansing of Gaza, genocide against the Arabs, and incorporation of all Israeli-occupied territories in a single theocratic Zionist state  Quod erat demonstrandum. The third objective is to hold out against the expected Israeli counterattack for long enough to activate the Hezbollah forces on the northern Lebanon front; Syrian and Iranian forces on the eastern Golan front; and the West Bank Palestinians, including the Jordanian Palestinians; the latters targets will be US air and armoured land force bases in Jordan. So far, so good.

5. The final Hamas objectives are to compel the vacillating sheikhdoms to resist US pressure; limit oil and gas supplies to the enemy markets; prevent regional land base and air transit rights being activated in support of Israel  so far, so good. And lastly, the fifth objective, to engage the friendly nuclear powers  Russia, China  to deter, and if necessary combat US forces in the region and Israels threat to fire its nuclear weapons.

Left: the new history of the 80-year US protectorate in the Arab world. Right: Ismail Haniyeh, head of Hamas. On October 8, he announced: We say to all countries, including our Arab brothers, that this entity, which cannot protect itself in the face of resistors, cannot provide you with any protection.

The rules of war

6. These arent in the code of secular international humanitarian law referred to in the western media and by UN officials in support of Israel. Those rules were eliminated by the destruction of two generations of Arab leaders willing to abide by them. The war doctrine of Hamas does not concede that international law may dictate to or supersede Islamic law. In parallel, the war doctrine of Israel is that Jewish and Israeli law supersedes every other.

This report is the most comprehensive record in English to date of the official Israel statements of genocide against the Gaza Palestinians in intention, policy and practice. Source: https://ccrjustice.org/

In 1948, the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide expressly included in Article II the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group. Forty years later, in 1988, the US Congress added two qualifiers to the provision in the US criminal code which defines genocide as a crime to be prosecuted if Americans commit it. This new US law declared genocide is the specific intent to destroy, in whole or in substantial part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. Substantial part, the statute now said, meant a part of a group of such numerical significance that the destruction or loss of that part would cause the destruction of the group as a viable entity within the nation of which such group is a part. So long as the genocidal Arab killer isnt specific in intention and the part of the people attacked isnt substantial, the killer is off the hook in the US criminal code. This was a calculated US change to the crime of genocide. The US senator who drafted it and promoted it into law was Joseph Biden. For more, read The Jackals Wedding  page 14-18.

7. The Hamas offensive of October 7, OPERATION AL AQSA FLOOD (   , amaliyyat tufan al-Aqsa), is, as its code name indicates and in the interpretation of Islamic law, lawful self-defence, and the killing of Israelis, including civilians, lawful according to the retribution doctrine of Qisas. Its clear there is a Koranic injunctionagainst killing non-combatants, particularly children, the infirm, the old, and women. When women are combatants, as they are in the kibbutzim, they lose their exemption; also children, if they are armed and trained. So, the evidence question is  how many children under the age of arms-bearing were killed at the border settlements on October 7? And how did they die  by Hamas directly, or in crossfire between Hamas and IDF? The Israelis say one thing; Hamas says nothing.

8. It is clear the Israeli rules of war allow indiscriminate killing of children in offensive and defensive operations, in retribution and in collective punishment. No Palestinian Arab or Iranian is in any doubt that this has been Israeli policy from the beginning; that it has always been US policy to support it; and that the destruction of Gaza is the current episode of the long laid plan.

The two-state solution

9. Zionist ideology and Israels constitution have ruled out the two-state solution.

Source: https://perma.cc/9PZN-DJGY

10. The Arab state supporters of the two-state solution (including Fatah and the Palestine National Authority) cannot support it when Gaza is being liquidated by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), supplied by the Pentagon.

11. President Joseph Bidens (lead image) recent public remarks endorse Israels one-state solution, adding his personal religious benediction  may God protect our troops. Until he said that, Biden had limited himself to invoking Gods protection of our troops in speeches on the Afghanistan War in April 2021 and on the war against Russia in the Ukraine in February 2023. Before Biden, it was President George Bush Jr. who claimed God on the US side when he meant self-defence  we will defend our freedom. We will bring freedom to others and we will prevail. May God bless our country and all who defend her. With Biden the Christian, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken declaring himself Jewish in Israel, the war of Israel against Gaza is a theocratic one, a crusade. This is how it is understood now throughout the Muslim world.

12. According to God, therefore, there is only a one-state solution  it is either Palestine or Israel.

The current battlefield situation

13. On the Gaza front, Hamas has fought the IDF to a standstill outside the Gaza border wall. The Israel Air Force has dropped about 4,000 tonnes of bombs per week, 8,000 tonnes to October 21; that is more than the US Air Force dropped on Afghanistan in the peak year of 2019. More than 3,500 Palestinians have been killed so far, including at least 1,030 children and hundreds of family units; more than 12,500 people have been injured, one million Palestinians displaced, and thousands of homes destroyed. About 1,200 are missing believed to be trapped under the rubble. The Israeli and US government record, reported by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) in Washington, documents the continuing firing from Gaza into Israeli territory in what the ISW calls its Iran updates. A prolonged IDF siege threatens to kill several hundred thousand Palestinians by starvation, dehydration, disease, and a combination of artillery and aerial bombardment, while leaving the Hamas forces relatively unscathed and waiting to inflict a higher rate of casualties on the IDF than it has ever experienced.

14. On the northern front across the Lebanon border, there have been exchanges of missile, drone, anti-tank rocket, artillery, and mortar fire between the IDF and Hezbollah. There have been casualties on both sides. Border settlements on the Israeli side have been evacuated to the south. For a summary of the ISW reports favouring Israel, read this; For maps and summaries of military action as of October 20 on the Gaza and northern fronts, as well as the Golan and West Bank, click to open.

Incident map on the northern front between October 12 and 17; source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/

15. US forces on the Jordan front. The Israeli press has been reporting some details of USAF reinforcements at the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in the northeastern corner of Jordan and possible Marine deployments in Jordan. Whether the Marines will be moved to defend the Al-Tanf base on the Syrian side of the border, 230 kilometres northeast of Muwaffaq Salti, isnt known.

Top, right  the US airbase at Muwaffaq Salti; source: https://twitter.com/

According to an Israeli report, a squadron of U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle bombers based in Britain was deployed over the weekend at the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base east of the Jordanian capital of Amman. Another squadron of A-10 attack aircraft has also been deployed there. Bottom, the location of Al-Tanf in Syria across the Jordanian and Iraqi borders.

16. Russian and Chinese navy deployments. The Russian fleet based at Tartous, Syria, is at sea, as reported here. At the moment, there are as many, possibly more Chinese vessels of the 44th Naval Escort Task Force in the Persian Gulf. The anti-surface, anti-submarine, and anti-air missile capabilities of the Type-052D destroyer can be followed here, and of the Type-054A frigate here. For the time being, the significance of this Chinese screen to deter a US-Israeli missile and aircraft attack on Iran has been missed in the western press and by Russian military reporters.

Top: https://russianfleetanalysis.blogspot.com/

Bottom: the Chinese Defense Ministry announcement of the arrival of the destroyer Zibo and frigate Jingzhou at Kuwait on October 19.

Armageddon strategy

17. US Afghanistan War veteran: Suppose Israel and the US understand they are facing an existential survival future in which they must combat swarm attacks on three or four fronts  Gaza/Hamas, North/Hezbollah, Golan/Syria/Iran, and West Bank/Jordan, and they calculate the Arabs have at least a 30 to 60day arms supply in stock, do they calculate they can withstand a multi-front offensive for enough time, resupplied by air from the US? If they calculate that they can withstand a 30-day multi-directional swarm, they must understand that, at a minimum, Israels infrastructure and economy will be ruined. In a scenario like that, even if they win, they lose. In terms of airlifting and shipping supplies, weve already seen that the Arabs can hit Israeli military and civilian airfields, airports and seaports. Defending Israeli infrastructure with their air defence capability is the main mission of the strike groups the US is deploying in the eastern Mediterranean and in the Red Sea.

According to the Pentagon on October 19, the USS Carney, a part of the USS Gerald Ford group, had transited into the Red Sea through the Suez Canal the day before and was in the northern Red Sea when it intercepted three land attack cruise missiles and several drones.

Western societies like Israel cannot function without solid, reliable, electrical power and communications services. We can be certain that power generation, transmission and distribution will be targeted by the Arabs non-stop. The cell towers and central communications centres will be too.

18. Moscow source. When does the threat to Israel become so dire, they go nuclear, and when they do, against what targets will they fire  Hamas, Beirut, Damascus, Teheran?* The US wont accept a Palestinian state so the only option left for the Palestinians, Arabs, Iranians, possibly Turks is to fight with this new kind of warfare whose objective is to cut into the flesh and bones of the Israeli adversary, and make life in that state unviable. Without a Palestinian homeland, all of Israel and the Arab territories become a battlefield. The IDF options then shrink to two  carpet bombing and mass killing of the civilian population centres on all fronts at once. If that isnt sustainable or effective for the Israeli-American purpose, then option 2 is to attack Lebanon, Syria and Iran to stop the flow of reinforcements. But thats regional war, and it can only be conducted by the Israelis with full US military participation. This becomes nuclear very quickly because President Putin has already placed the Kinzhal missiles in range of the US carrier fleet in the eastern Mediterranean, and the Chinese have installed their screen to protect Iran. Its obvious that the race hatred policies of Biden and Netanyahu, and their belief that God has chosen them both as destroyers for their people, lead to the final, nuclear weapons solution. The Russians and Chinese can maximise their limited military projection by deterring, or if need be pre-empting a nuclear attack on the Arab cities or Teheran. For this to work, the Russians and the Chinese need to say more  loudly so theres no mistaking what they mean.
Social media influencer Douglass Mackey gets 7 months in prison for making Hillary Clinton memes during 2016 presidential election

Social media influencer Douglass Mackey was sentenced to seven months in prison on Wednesday, October 18, over Hillary Clinton memes that he made during the 2016 presidential election. Mackey was sentenced to prison for the crime of making memes the Department of Justice (DOJ) didn't think were funny.

The sentencing came after Mackey was found guilty in March by a jury of his peers "of attempting to deprive individuals from exercising their sacred right to vote for the candidate of their choice in the 2016 presidential election."

"Today's verdict proves that the defendant's fraudulent actions crossed a line into criminality and flatly rejects his cynical attempt to use the constitutional right of free speech as a shield for his scheme to subvert the ballot box and suppress the vote," United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace said at the time.

His case was heard in the United States Court of the Eastern District of New York. Mackey, known as Ricky Vaughn on Twitter, created memes that urged Clinton supporters to cast their votes by means of text message. (Related: Trump supporter found guilty, faces ten years in prison for 2016 anti-Hillary meme.)

Interestingly, several other memes shared by social media users during the 2016 presidential election instructed people to vote Donald Trump for president by means of text. But no one was even charged for doing so.

Mackey's case, as reported by the New York Times, was "the first criminal case in the country involving voter suppression through the spread of disinformation on Twitter." He posted the memes on November 1, 2016, one week before the election.

Mackey convicted for simply trying to make a viral meme

The DOJ alleged that the memes were a clear example of election interference. The court agreed although there's no proof that anyone who saw the meme was deceived by it. Mackey argued that he was simply trying to make a viral meme, and that other Clinton supporters had also posted similar memes urging Trump supporters to vote by text.

The DOJ asserted that "Mackey was sending tweets suggesting the importance of limiting 'black turnout.'" The defendant tweeted an image depicting an African American woman standing in front of an "African Americans for Hillary" sign. The memes also stated: "Avoid the Line. Vote from Home. Text 'Hillary' to 59925" and "Vote for Hillary and be a part of history."

For the DOJ, it was not a simple joke. "The fine print at the bottom of the deceptive image stated: 'Must be 18 or older to vote. One vote per person. Must be a legal citizen of the United States. Voting by text not available in Guam, Puerto Rico, Alaska or Hawaii. Paid for by Hillary For President 2016,'" it stated.

"The tweet included the typed hashtag '#ImWithHer,' a slogan frequently used by Hillary Clinton. On or about and before Election Day 2016, at least 4,900 unique telephone numbers texted 'Hillary' or some derivative to the 59925 text number, which had been used in multiple deceptive campaign images tweeted by Mackey and his co-conspirators."

Twitter said that it had removed four of Mackey's accounts at the time of his arrest in 2021.

The DOJ said: "As alleged in the complaint, between September 2016 and November 2016, in the lead up to Nov. 8, 2016, U.S. presidential election, Mackey conspired with others to use social media platforms, including Twitter, to disseminate fraudulent messages designed to encourage supporters of one of the presidential candidates to 'vote' via text message or social media, a legally invalid method of voting."

According to Nicholas L. McQuaid, acting assistant attorney general of the DOJ's Criminal Division, based on the allegations in the complaint, the defendant exploited a social media platform to infringe one of the most basic and sacred rights guaranteed by the Constitution, which is the right to vote.

Quaid added the complaint underscores the DOJ's commitment to investigate and prosecute those who would undermine citizens' voting rights.

Follow Tyranny.news for more news about the Biden Justice Department.

Watch the video below about the election interference case against Douglass Mackey a.k.a. Ricky Vaughn.

This video is from the TNP (The New Prisoners) channel on Brighteon.com.

More related articles:

Biden regime says memes constitute election interference but arresting your oppositions leading candidate (Trump) isn't.

ELECTION INTERFERENCE: Twitter changes rules back to what they were before election now that they manipulated election results.

Biden DOJ indicts four Americans for weaponized free speech.

Sources include:

ThePostMillennial.com

TheHill.com

Brighteon.com
Israel using Hamas FALSE FLAG attack to commence second great genocide  first was the COVID vaccine genocide

By the looks of it, based on all the evidence and revelations that have come out since the initial event, the Hamasattack against Israel is exactly what Israel needs and wants in order to commence its second great genocide, this time against the entirety of the roughly 2.3 million Palestinian people currently living in the Gaza Strip.

The first great genocide was Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) "vaccines," which were plunged into billions of arms under the guise of fighting a global "pandemic." The second involves the political nation-state known as Israel  this is not true Israel as defined by the Holy Bible, by the way  expanding its occupied territory into the sliver of land along the coastline known as the Gaza Strip.

"Critical thinking is crucial when talking about Israel since the U.S. government, media and the majority of Americans fawn over Zionists like horny 80s teenage boys around any girl who paid attention to them," reports The COVID Blog about the trickery behind the agenda of what is best described as fake Israel (more on that in Revelation 3:9).

"It's already difficult existing in a country where two cults (MAGA and LGBTV) control more than 80% of the population. But both cults worship the same Zionist god, rendering truth an entity with no homeland."

(Related: Remember those "confirmed pictures" of beheaded Israeli children that fake president Joe Biden said he personally saw? They don't exist.)

Fake Israel is an empire of lies that controls Western governments, media, finance

It turns out that fake Israel is an occupying force that while it is still fulfilling scripture prophetically, is not the true chosen people of God. After all, the place openly and proudly admits to being a safe haven for Zionist pedophiles and sexual predators who need to "escape criminal prosecution in the U.S. or elsewhere."

"And we must put off the Talmudic Rabbinic tradition of metzitzah b'peh  when infant boys get their penises sliced with razors, and a male religious leader orally sucks the blood off," The COVID Blog further explains in graphic detail about what goes on in the dark underbelly of fake Israel.

"It is what it is  bloody baby [perversion] in the name of their god."

With that out of the way, it cannot go unnoticed that both major political parties in the United States, as well as pretty much all major media outlets, "support Israel" to the extent that none of them would dare ever share these truths publicly  because to do so, they claim, is "antisemitic."

That label serves as cover  because who wants to be called an antisemite?  to shut people up who correctly point out these and other ugly truths about the occupying regime over there that keeps Palestinians locked in the open-air concentration camp known as Gaza, which is barred from receiving any kind of aid because fake Israel has blocked off the entire territory with a massive wall.

"The point is that if Palestinians in Gaza want Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), it must be smuggled in from Egypt via underground tunnels because Israel blocks off the entire perimeter; and Palestinians have zero freedom of movement," The COVID Blog explains.

"Thus it's interesting how Palestinians ('Hamas,' or is it 'Hezbollah') allegedly and somehow got military-grade weapons into Gaza to allegedly attack Israel when they cannot even get a 3-piece meal with mashed potatoes into Gaza."

Whether it is CNN or Fox News, all major media outlets are systematically ignoring these glaring facts as they publish hilariously fake propaganda videos like the ones shown here.

Do not be deceived.

The latest news about the Israel-Palestine conflict in the Middle East can be found at Prophecy.news.

Sources for this article include:

TheCovidBlog.com

BlueLetterBible.org

NaturalNews.com
FBI warns: Hamas or other terrorist groups could attack United States

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wray and FBI officials said on Sunday in a rare phone briefing for reporters that there is a possibility of copy-cat attacks of Hamas or other foreign terrorist organizations in the United States.

"The threat is very much ongoing and in fact, the threat picture continues to evolve," Wray said. "Here in the U.S., we cannot and do not discount the possibility that Hamas or other foreign terrorist organizations could exploit the conflict to call on their supporters to conduct attacks on our own soil." The law enforcement agency has been sharing intelligence about possible violence with state and local law enforcement, including that of a lone wolf-style assailant who is not on their radars.

Wray said that Jews and Muslims alike, as well as their institutions and houses of worship, have been threatened in the U.S. and told reporters that the bureau is "moving quickly to mitigate" the threats. However, the agency's senior officials deemed that the other threats were proved not to be credible.

The head of the FBI, Christopher Wray, warns of the inspiration that Islamist threats in the US may receive from the events here. pic.twitter.com/OxpyenluZD  DEFCONTV (@DEFCONNEWSTV) October 15, 2023

In a separate speaking engagement at an International Association of Chiefs of Police event, he noted "an increase in reported threats" and in particular warned that "we've got to be on the lookout ... for lone actors who may take inspiration from recent events to commit violence of their own." He further urged police chiefs to stay vigilant because as first responders, "you're often the first to see the signs that someone may be mobilizing to violence."

The FBI director twice said that he was "horrified...by the brutality committed at the hands of Hamas" and added that countering terrorism is the bureau's No. 1 priority. "We will not tolerate violence motivated by hate and extremism," he said, adding that the bureau's legal attache office in Tel Aviv is working with Israeli and U.S. Embassy partners "to locate and identify all Americans who've been impacted in the region, including those who remain unaccounted for." He further stated that victim services specialists are working with victims and their families at home and abroad. (Related: Hamas was created by Israeli and US intelligence services to counteract Yasser Arafat, Ron Paul explains.)

Meanwhile, after giving the northern Gaza Strip an evacuation ultimatum on Friday, Israel has so far withheld from launching a "significant" ground operation, due to rainy weather and some other reasons. Some are speculating that requests from the U.S. to evacuate all U.S. citizens out of Palestine ahead of the invasion are holding Israel back.

Amid all of these, a deadly blast at the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza killed hundreds of Palestinians. The Hamas-controlled authorities in Gaza immediately blamed Israel, claiming it was a deliberate air strike but Israel's military has denied responsibility for the attack and claimed a misfired Palestinian rocket hit the hospital. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, "The entire world should know: it was barbaric terrorists in Gaza that attacked the hospital in Gaza, not the IDF. Those who brutally murdered our children also murder their own children."

Iran wants to impose oil embargo and other sanctions on Israel

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian on Saturday said that if Israeli "war crimes and genocide" are not stopped, the conflict might expand to other parts of the Middle East if Hezbollah joins the battle, and that would make Israel suffer "a huge earthquake." He also urged the members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) during an emergency OIC meeting in the Saudi city of Jeddah to discuss the escalating Israeli-Palestinian conflict to impose an oil embargo and other sanctions on Israel and expel all Israeli ambassadors over the deadly strike on the Gaza hospital.

"The foreign minister calls for an immediate and complete embargo on Israel by Islamic countries, including oil sanctions, in addition to expelling Israeli ambassadors if relations with the Zionist regime have been established," the ministry said. Amirabdollahian also recommended forming a team of Islamic lawyers to document potential war crimes committed by Israel in Gaza. Iran has been reported to have no diplomatic relations with Israel.

After the hospital airstrikes, pro-Palestinian protests erupted throughout the Middle East and North Africa and were staged at Israeli embassies in Jordan as well as Turkey and near the U.S. embassy in Lebanon. There were also uprisings in Iran, Morocco, Tunisia, Yemen and Iraq. Moreover, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas canceled a summit with his U.S. counterpart due to the recent developments. For him, the hospital blast was a "hideous war massacre" and Israel has crossed red lines.

The latest updates on the ongoing chaos in the Middle East can be found on WWIII.news.

Sources for this article include:

BlacklistedNews.com

CBSNews.com

AlJazeera.com
Iran has warned Israel about a possible "preemptive action" once the latter attacks Gaza.

"The possibility of preemptive action by the resistance axis is expected in the coming hours," Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said in a live TV broadcast on October 16.

Moreover, Amir-Abdollahian said in a separate statement that "the resistance leaders" will not allow Israel to do whatever it wants in Gaza. "If we don't defend Gaza today, tomorrow we have to defend against these (phosphorus) bombs in the children's hospital of our own country," he added.

Hezbollah, a pro-Palestinian militant group in Lebanon, has also declared its readiness to join Hamas and other Palestinian groups in their ongoing conflict against Israel. (Related: Iran, Lebanese Hezbollah ready to join the battle in Gaza, warns Hamas leader.)

Lebanese Deputy Secretary-General Naim Qassem promised that Hezbollah would fully participate "when the time comes for action."

"The behind-the-scenes calls with us by great powers, Arab countries, envoys of the United Nations, directly and indirectly telling us not to interfere will have no effect. Hezbollah knows its duties perfectly well. We are prepared and ready, fully ready, and we are following developments moment by moment," Qassem stated as he addressed supporters in a Beirut suburb.

Qassem went on to clarify the role of Hezbollah in the ongoing conflict. "The question being asked, which everyone is waiting for, is what Hezbollah will do and what will its contribution be? We will contribute to the confrontation within our plan  when the time comes for any action, we will carry it out."

Iranian officials meet with allies for an anti-Israel response
Why JEWS are calling for PEACE and a halting of Israeli genocide against the Palestinian people

The Jewish group Jewish Voice for Peace is speaking out against Israel's decision to open "the gates of hell" on Gaza in response to the Hamas false flag attack that occurred on October 7.

Calling the Israeli government's next move "a genocidal war on Palestinians in Gaza," Jewish Voice for Peace warns that Israel's plan to wipe out millions of "human animals"  this is what the Israeli government continues to call the Semitic people it hates who live in the Gaza Strip  must be stopped.

Ever since the Hamas incident, the Israeli military has been shamelessly salivating over the prospect of ethnically cleansing Gaza, which is currently home to around 2.3 million Palestinian people.

"The Israeli military has launched non-stop airstrikes and bombing over Gaza," Jewish Voice for Peace explains. "Our partners tell us of entire neighborhoods being flattened, schools and hospitals being bombed, apartment buildings being brought down."

"The Israeli government has shut off all electricity to Gaza. Hospitals cannot save lives, the internet will collapse, people will have no phones to communicate with the outside world. Gaza will be plunged into darkness as Israel turns its neighborhoods to rubble."

Perhaps the most disturbing part of all this is the shameless pride the Israeli government has in openly declaring its plans to commit genocide against its enemies, whom it proceeded to displace out of the land called "Israel" back when the British government issued its Balfour Declaration in 1917.

"Still worse, Israel has openly stated an intention to commit mass atrocities and even genocide, with Prime Minister Netanyahu saying the Israeli response will 'reverberate for generations,'' Jewish Voice for Peace warns.

"All of this with the full throated support of the U.S."

(Related: Did you know that Israel and the U.S. created Hamas back in the 1970s to counteract Yasser Arafat?)

Israel clearly wants to ANNEX the Gaza Strip, stealing the remainder of what was left following its colonizing takeover in 1948

In case you missed it, the Israeli military recently ordered all civilians living in the northern part of Gaza  this amounts to about one million people, half a million of whom are children  to migrate south, giving them just 24 hours to do so.

Many, including the United Nations (UN), are speaking out in horror about this demand, which is simply not possible, based on the circumstances.

"According to the UN, it is impossible to evacuate everyone with power supplies cut and food and water in the Palestinian enclave running short after Israel placed Gaza under total siege," Jewish Voice for Peace says. "The UN said this invasion would have 'devastating humanitarian consequences.'"

Keep in mind that for the past 16 years, the roughly 2.3 million people who were forced into the Gaza Strip by Israel have had to live in relative squalor. The most densely populated area in the world  Gaza has been likened to an open-air concentration camp  the Gaza Strip has been in the crosshairs of Israel for annexation for many years.

Similar to the situation in Maui, where "wildfires" burned down pretty much the entire town of Lahaina as part of a directed energy weapon (DEW) takeover by the "elites," Gaza is a strip of land that abuts the Mediterranean Sea, making it prime real estate.

"We shudder to think what will happen if the north is vacated: Israel could annex the territory," warns Jewish Voice for Peace. "Another Nakba could be imminent."

Jewish Voice for Peace is encouraging other fellow supporters of peace to contact Congress and demand an immediate ceasefire for the sake of the 2.3 million lives that are now at stake at the hands of Israel.

The latest news about the horrific situation in the Middle East can be found at Prophecy.news.

Sources for this article include:

JewishVoiceForPeace.org

NaturalNews.com
Days after saying every Jewish person is a Zionist, ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt says anti-Zionist Jews are a hate group

Just three days after Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt went on MSNBC to declare that "anti-Zionism is genocide" because "every Jewish person is a Zionist," Greenblatt put out a new statement labeling the anti-Zionist Jews who protested at the Capitol a "hate group."

(Article by Chris Menahan republished from InformationLiberation.com)

"These radical far-left groups don't represent the Jewish community," Greenblatt raged Wednesday night on X after anti-Zionist Jews and pro-Palestine protesters occupied the Capitol in DC. "Far from it. They represent the ugly core of anti-Zionism > antisemitism."

We long have said that these are hate groups, the photo inverse of white supremacists. More here: https://t.co/cByHGczEnO  Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) October 18, 2023

He went on to claim that "these are hate groups" who are "the photo inverse of white supremacists."

Not sure corporate media can ignore all the thousands of anti-Zionist Jews protesting now. #FreePalestinepic.twitter.com/C5zvernkil  #StopCopCity (@ChuckModi1) October 18, 2023

Though Greenblatt limits who can respond to his posts to only his followers, "anti-racist activist" Tim Wise of all people -- who now describes himself "an anti-Zionist Jew" -- pushed back against Greenblatt's smears.

"Jonathan, you do realize there's a long history of anti-Zionist Jews going back 120 years, right?" Wise said. "That many of us simply reject all forms of religious/ethnic nationalism on principle? It is intellectually lazy to call that hate unless you have specific info about specific people."

Jonathan, you do realize there's a long history of anti-Zionist Jews going back 120 years, right? That many of us simply reject all forms of religious/ethnic nationalism on principle? It is intellectually lazy to call that hate unless you have specific info about specific people  Tim Wise (@timjacobwise) October 19, 2023

Sorry Wise, Greenblatt gets to decide who is and who is not Jewish and if you don't support Israel ethnically cleansing their blood enemies from Gaza in a bitter ethno-religious feud then you're not Jewish and you are part of a "hate group" in league with white supremacists!

BEING ANTI-ZIONIST IS GENOCIDE!?! ?@JGreenblattADL of the @ADL went on MSNBC and claimed that anyone who opposed Zionism is for "genocide." He then claimed that every Jew, even if athiest, is a Zionist ? What are your thoughts? ?#GazaGenocide pic.twitter.com/1xRgxsxIqs  Chief Trumpster (@ChiefTrumpster) October 15, 2023

In related news, Greenblatt on Thursday posted a video of himself having a meltdown over the media not reporting positively enough on Israel's ethnic cleansing campaign in Gaza.

ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt is having a meltdown over the media not reporting positively enough on Israel's ethnic cleansing of Gaza. ?pic.twitter.com/Lci4a9SWv6  Chris Menahan ?? (@infolibnews) October 19, 2023

"When members of the press report events on the ground in the fog of war ... it can lead to real world hate-fueled violence!" Greenblatt whined. "It's happening right now!"

Greenblatt himself on MSNBC repeated the Hamas "decapitated babies" hoax to justify Israel's atrocities against Palestinian "barbarians."

Though Greenblatt told MSNBC it would be "wrong for me or anyone else to hold all Palestinian people responsible for Hamas" and "it is wrong to hold any people collectively responsible," he gave a speech last week where he held all pro-Palestine protesters collectively responsible for the actions of Hamas by claiming the pro-Palestine protesters in NYC were "accomplices" in Hamas' attacks.

WATCH: ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt threatens pro-Palestine protesters in NYC, claims they're "accomplices" in Hamas' attacks. "These people will end where evil always does, on the ashes of history." pic.twitter.com/soSS2SyhRH  Chris Menahan ?? (@infolibnews) October 10, 2023

Greenblatt's dehumanization of Palestinians and all those who oppose Israel's ethnic cleansing campaign in Gaza is entirely aimed at giving Israel cover to carry out "real world violence" and outright genocide against Palestinian civilians.

Heavy lsraeli bombing targets northern Gaza Strip. pic.twitter.com/3nJcBJdFWe  TIMES OF GAZA (@Timesofgaza) October 19, 2023

Read more at: InformationLiberation.com
U.S. Navy warship shoots down missiles and drones fired by Iran-backed militants in Yemen  possibly toward Israel

A ship of the United States Navy has intercepted and shot down multiple missiles and drones launched by an Iranian-backed militant group in Yemen. The Department of Defense said these missiles and drones may have been heading toward Israel

The USS Carney, a Navy guided-missile destroyer stationed in the northern Red Sea, reported on Thursday, Oct. 19, that it shot down four cruise missiles and 14 drones within a span of nine hours. These projectiles and unmanned vehicles were launched by the Houthis of Yemen and allegedly heading for Israel. (Related: Defense officials warn: Iran could use Israel-Palestine chaos as an "opportunity" to attack American forces all over the Middle East.)

The Houthis is an Iran-backed, Islamist armed movement led by members of the Houthi clan of northwestern Yemen. For nearly 10 years, the Houthis and its supporters have occupied vast swathes of Shia-majority northwestern Yemen, including the de jure Yemeni capital of Sana'a.

Iran heavily supports the Houthis due to the group's adherence to the Shia denomination of Islam and for the group's opposition to the Saudi Arabian-backed, Sunni Muslim-majority Republic of Yemen.

This heavy backing has resulted in Tehran supplying the Houthis with a vast arsenal, including ballistic missiles, ground-launched cruise missiles and loitering munitions, or "suicide drones." Some of these missiles and drones may be capable of reaching Israel.

One such missile is the Toufan, a liquid-propellant missile with a range of between 839 to 1,212 miles  potentially enough to put southern Israel within striking distance of the Houthis.

Analysts warn that members of the Houthis are very experienced in using these armaments, thanks to training from Iran and from Hezbollah militants from Lebanon. Members of the Houthis have conducted dozens of missile and drone attacks at targets both in government-controlled parts of Yemen and even in Saudi Arabia.

Houthi missiles, drones may have been heading for Israel

Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder noted in a press briefing that the Defense Department is still uncertain where the missiles and drones were heading.

"We cannot say for certain what these missiles and drones were targeting, but they were launched from Yemen heading north along the Red Sea potentially to targets in Israel," said Ryder, who noted that more information regarding the interception incident was still being processed by the Navy and the Pentagon. It is also unclear from where the Houthis launched the missiles and drones from.

Ryder added that the interceptions took place over water and not land. No sailors aboard the USS Carney were harmed and the ship itself didn't suffer any damages.

It should be noted that Iran's strong political and military backing of the Houthis means that the movement's ideology is in line with that of Tehran's, which means that members of the Houthis also consider themselves to be opponents of Israel.

Several days following the beginning of the current conflict between Israel and Hamas and other Palestinians in Gaza, Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi was quoted as warning that if the U.S. directly intervened in the conflict, the Houthis would have to respond through a variety of military options, including by firing a barrage of missiles and launching a fleet of drones at U.S. and Israeli targets.

Former Pentagon official and ABC News contributor Steve Ganyard said that the U.S.S. Carney's interception of Houthi missiles and drones provides the U.S. with sufficient justification to position more naval assets in the Red Sea to protect Israel from a southern attack.

"The larger concern is if Iran now considers U.S. ships fair game," he added. "Because if the Houthis shoots at a U.S. ship, there will be little doubt that it would have been at Tehran's direction."

Watch this video chronicling the progress of the conflict between Israel and Palestine from Oct. 19 to 20, including a discussion of the Houthis allegedly firing missiles at Israel.

This video is from the channel The Prisoner on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Rioters set fire to U.S. Embassy in Beirut after Hezbollah calls for "day of rage."

Syria now firing missiles on Golan Heights as U.S. provides "surging" support for Israeli operation in "cleansing" Gaza of all Palestinians.

Lebanon's Hezbollah says it is "prepared and ready" to join the war against Israel.

Iranian supreme leader praises Hamas, warns Israel of "greater disaster" if it continues to bomb civilians in Gaza.

Israel BOMBS airports in Damascus, Aleppo prior to arrival of Iran's foreign minister.

Sources include:

100PercentFedUp.com

ABCNews.go.com

Bloomberg.com

Oryxspioenkop.com

Brighteon.com
GENOCIDE CALL: Oldest Israeli army reservist wants to eradicate Palestinian families, children

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) oldest reservist, who was involved in a 1948 massacre of Palestinian civilians, recently called on Israelis to " erase the memory of... families , mothers and children." In a video that was shared on X, formerly known as Twitter by independent Middle East and North Africa news outlet Middle East Eye, the 95-year-old Ezra Yachin was telling troops that " these animals can no longer live ," referring to Palestinians.

Yachin was one of more than 300,000 army reservists mobilized by Israel since war broke out with Hamas in Gaza a week ago. But the army veteran won't be involved in combat, he will instead serve to "boost the morale" of the soldiers, according to recent reports. He said: "Be triumphant and finish them off and dont leave anyone behind. Erase the memory of them. Erase them, their families, mothers and children. These animals can no longer live." (Related: Florida Sen. Marco Rubio appears to call for OPEN GENOCIDE against all Palestinian women, men and children  "they have to be eradicated.")

These animals can no longer live. Ezra Yachin, a 95-year-old Israeli army reservist, is seen inciting every Jew with a weapon to kill Palestinians and erase the memory of them pic.twitter.com/LUQs0XoR5U  Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) October 13, 2023

The senior IDF official also insisted that there was "no excuse," as Hezbollah "could send air strikes" and "Arabs here could attack us" and urged every Jew with a weapon to go out and kill the Palestinians. "If you have an Arab neighbor, don't wait, go to his home and shoot him," Yachin suggested. "We will witness things we've never dreamed of. Let them drop bombs on them and erase them," claiming that "all of the prophecies sent by the prophets are about to occur."

At least 2,750 Palestinians have been killed and 9,700 wounded in Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, the enclave's health ministry said on Monday. Of those killed, 750 were children and 458 are women.

Gaza is literally being wiped out: Before/After? Israel killed more Gazans in 8 days than in all of the 7-YEAR long 1st intifada (with its "breaking the bones" policy) Over 2329 killed, inc. 750 kids in 8 days 12 Gazans killed every hour! A televized, livestreamed carnage... pic.twitter.com/ixx2SbeB3n  Muhammad Shehada (@muhammadshehad2) October 15, 2023

Yachin served as a combat soldier with the Lehi Zionist militia, an underground paramilitary group which carried out atrocities before the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. He was involved in the Deir Yassin massacre in April of the same year, when Zionist militiamen belonging to the Lehi and Irgun groups went house to house, killing more than 100 people in the small Palestinian village near Jerusalem, despite having agreed to an earlier truce.

In an interview with the Jewish Press in 2020, Yachin said his Lehi unit was called upon to carry out an attack on Deir Yassin. "The village was a terrorist hideout," he said. "Leftist historians claim that we ruthlessly, and with premeditation, slaughtered the inhabitants of the village, including women and children. That was not the case at all. It is true that women and youngsters were killed, but that was because they served as fighters." At least 13,000 Palestinians were killed, hundreds of villages were destroyed and some 750,000 people were forcibly displaced from their homes to make way for the state of Israel that year.

And now he is being celebrated as a hero for his efforts, with Israeli media personality Hananya Naftali tweeting that his message is, "Dont give up, not even now."

Ezra Yachin, at 95, is the IDF's oldest reservist. He's been drafted into the reserves to boost morale by talking with soldiers. Despite enduring a tough childhood in Jerusalem marked by riots and unsettling scenes, he and his friends played a role in founding our great nation. pic.twitter.com/QpQFRlIlDI  Hananya Naftali (@HananyaNaftali) October 10, 2023

IDF prepares to move into Gaza to destroy Hamas

In line with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus vow to "demolish Hamas" a week after the horrifying Hamas terrorist attack, IDF prepared to move into the Gaza Strip in pursuit of Hamas militants. Israel has already instructed Gazans to evacuate south. According to reports, hundreds of thousands out of the more than two million residents have already done this. On the other hand, Hamas, which runs Gaza, told people to ignore the former's alert.

Claiming to de-escalate the conflict, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken continued his tour of Middle Eastern states, seeking to secure the release of 155 hostages Israel said were taken by Hamas back into Gaza.

Meanwhile, clashes on Israel's border with Lebanon, the deadliest since 2006, have underscored the dangers of regional spillover. On Sunday, Hamas' armed wing Al Qassam Brigades said it fired 20 rockets from Lebanon at two Israeli settlements while the Hezbollah militia said it fired missiles at Israeli barracks in Hanita and had inflicted casualties. Israel said it was striking Lebanon in retaliation, and the United Nations peacekeeping force said its headquarters in south Lebanon had been hit by a rocket.

Iran, which backs both Hamas and Hezbollah, warned Israel of escalation if it kept attacking Palestinians. "If the Zionist aggressions do not stop, the hands of all parties in the region are on the trigger," said Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, adding that Tehran could not simply stay an observer.

Keep up with the latest news about the current conflict in the Gaza Strip on WWIII.news.

Sources for this article include:

InformationLiberation.com

Reuters.com 1

MiddleEastEye.net

Reuters.com 2
U.S. State Department issues Level 4: Do Not Travel advisory for Lebanon: Unpredictable Security Situation

Due to the unpredictable nature of the powder keg situation in the Middle East, the United States Department of State has issued a "Level 4: Do Not Travel" advisory for Lebanon, ordering a full evacuation of all family members and non-essential staff from the U.S. Embassy in Beirut.

The State Department is calling on all American nationals to avoid traveling to Lebanon due to the "Unpredictable Security Situation."

"Raised to Level 4 and updated to reflect the authorized departure of family members of U.S. government personnel and some non-emergency personnel on a case-by-case basis," the travel advisory, issued on Oct. 17, 2023, reads.

"Do not travel to Lebanon due to the unpredictable security situation related to rocket, missile, and artillery exchanges between Israel and Hizballah or other armed militant factions."

"Reconsider travel to Lebanon due to terrorism, civil unrest, armed conflict, crime, kidnapping, and Embassy Beirut's limited capacity to provide support to U.S. citizens."

(Related: In Israel's view, the Palestinian people are just "human animals" with minimal worth.)

The Middle East in general is fast becoming a no-go zone

On October 17, the State Department authorized the voluntary, temporary departure of all family members of U.S. government personnel, along with some non-emergency personnel from the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, due to not knowing what may come next for the Middle East.

The State Department is warning Americans to not travel to:

 The border with Syria due to terrorism and armed conflict

 The border with Israel due to the potential for armed conflict

 Refugee settlements anywhere due to the potential for armed clashes

Saudi Arabia issued a similar call on its citizens to leave Lebanon immediately and adhere to the country's travel ban because things are heating up fast as Israel moves forward with its planned ground or other full-frontal invasion of Gaza.

All along Israel's northern border with Lebanon, there has been both rocket and antitank fire in recent days since the initial Hamas attack on October 7.

Protesters are reportedly already marching on the U.S. Embassy in Beirut in response to the hundreds of deaths that were reported at a Gaza City hospital this week. A blast from "a disputed source"  meaning neither Israel nor Hamas is willing to take credit for it  wrecked the hospital (or the hospital's parking lot, depending on the media source), prompting public outrage.

According to fake president Joe Biden, an "errant rocket fired by a terrorist group in Gaza" was responsible for the blast, while others, including an early but now-deleted tweet from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's aid, say it came from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), based on the nature of the blast.

U.S. officials are also warning against all travel to Syria due to "terrorism and armed conflict" in the region, including in the highly disputed Golan Heights, which is not internationally recognized but that Israel annexed in 1981.

The Syndicate of Owners of Restaurants, Cafes, Nightclubs and Pastries in Lebanon is estimating that Lebanon's tourism sector faces an estimated $500 million in losses due to all this ceased travel to the country.

"I would suggest avoiding the Middle East in its entirety," wrote one commenter half-jokingly  though by the looks of things, this is probably good advice for the foreseeable future.

"It really says a lot for U.S. citizens' intelligence that they need someone to tell them not to go to a war zone area," wrote another.

"And if someone goes anyway and ends up being a hostage, they will expect our government to jump through hoops to free them," suggested someone else.

As the situation in the Middle East continues to heat up, we will keep you informed about the latest at Prophecy.news.

Sources for this article include:

Twitter.com

NaturalNews.com

Alarabiya.net

WashingtonPost.com
UAW launches strike at Fords highly profitable Kentucky Truck Plant

The United Auto Workers (UAW) union has launched a strike at Ford Motor Company's "highly profitable" Kentucky Truck Plant

The strike took effect at 6:30 p.m. (ET) on Oct. 11 at the truck plant that produces Ford Super Duty pickups. It also produces the automaker's Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator SUVs. The facility, which is Ford's largest in terms of employment and revenue, employs 8,700 UAW members.

The strike at the plant marks a major escalation in the UAW's targeted strikes. Additionally, it indicates a shift in strategy in the union's expanded strikes. For previous work strikes, UAW President Shawn Fain has publicly announced the targets before the work stoppages took place.

According to a Ford source, UAW informed the company early on Oct. 11 afternoon that it wanted a new economic counteroffer by 5 p.m. ET, with a meeting request for 5:30 p.m. (ET) with the UAWs entire Ford bargaining committee, which includes Fain and UAW Vice President Chuck Browning.

The Ford source, who only agreed to speak anonymously because the talks were private, added that the meeting only lasted less than 10 minutes before Fain declared that the company had "lost Kentucky Truck."

In a release, UAW announced that it launched the strike "after Ford refused to make further movement in bargaining."

According to a UAW source with information about the talks, Ford did not add any additional cash to its proposed deal. The source also said that UAW was expecting Ford to enhance its prior economic offer. (Related: Amazon delivery drivers stage first-ever WALKOUT as part of strike.)

Ford claimed that the UAW's decision to call a strike at Ford's Kentucky Truck Plant is "grossly irresponsible but unsurprising given the union leadership's stated strategy of keeping the Detroit Three wounded for months through 'reputational damage' and 'industrial chaos.'"

The latter part of the statement pertains to private messages that were leaked last September.

According to the messages, UAW Communications Director Jonah Furman said the union's public posturing of issues and targeted strikes was causing "recurring reputation damage and operational chaos" to the automakers. The companies insist that the messages and the union's actions prove that UAW negotiators never wanted to finalize a deal with the Detroit automakers.

In a statement, Fain said the union has been transparent and patient, yet "Ford has not gotten the message." Fain added that workers deserve "a fair contract at Ford and the rest of the Big Three."

If Ford and the rest fail to understand that after four weeks, "the 8,700 workers shutting down this extremely profitable plant will help them understand it," warned Fain.

Ford countered that the recent strike puts at risk at least a dozen additional operations at the automaker and more supplier operations that, combined, employ more than 100,000 individuals. Ford also claimed that it had presented an "outstanding offer" and was bargaining in good faith "on joint venture battery plants," which were a recent focus of the talks.

Early in October, General Motors (GM) agreed to include workers at its electric vehicle battery plant in the companys national contract with the union, which Fain described as a "transformative win." Fain added that the union expects Chrysler parent Stellantis and Ford to follow suit soon, including battery plant workers in eventual contract agreements.

The UAW has been gradually increasing the strikes since the work stoppages started after the sides failed to reach tentative agreements on Sept 14.

The additional workers bring UAW's total to an estimated 34,000 U.S. workers, or at least 23 percent of UAW members covered by the expired contracts with the Detroit automakers, who are currently on strike.

Ford executive says the company is "at the limit" of what it can offer

Meanwhile, a senior Ford executive warned that the automaker is "at the limit" of what it can spend on higher wages and benefits for the UAW, adding that the union's strike at the company's most profitable factory could harm workers and cut profits.

Kumar Galhotra, head of Ford's combustion vehicle unit, warned that the company has been very clear that it is "at the limit" and that continuing on this trajectory will further hurt Ford's "ability to invest in the business."

Ford is willing to discuss the reallocation of money within its current offer in further bargaining with the union to reach an agreement, added Galhotra.

The standoff between the UAW and Ford could soon affect thousands of workers who are not among the nearly 34,000 Detroit Three workers Fain has instructed to walk off the job since Sept. 15.

Fain explained that he aims to keep the automakers off-balance by taking targeted action rather than a full strike.

The Detroit automakers will report third-quarter financial results between Oct. 24 and Oct. 31. The UAW could use what are slated to be robust profits to push their case for a better contract.

Bryce Currie, Ford manufacturing vice president, said at least 4,600 Ford workers could be idled because their jobs depend on the production of Super Duty pickups and large Lincoln and Ford SUVs at the Kentucky Truck Plant.

Meanwhile, 13,000 workers at Ford suppliers have already been furloughed because of earlier UAW walkouts at two Ford assembly plants, said Ford supply chain chief Liz Door.

Door added that the shutdown of Kentucky Truck, the automaker's largest factory, could push a fragile supply chain "toward collapse."

Fain and other UAW officials claimed that Ford, General Motors and Stellantis can afford to increase pay for UAW workers beyond the previous 20 to 23 percent that they have offered, end lower-wage tiers for lower seniority and temporary workers and restore defined benefit pensions lost in 2007 if they rein in share buybacks and slash excessive executive pay.

Watch the video below for more on the UAW's strike at the Ford Truck Plant.

This video is from the InfoWarSSideBand channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Pilot shortage and union demand could make passenger flights unaffordable for ordinary Americans.

Hollywood studios go on hiring sprees for AI specialists amid ongoing actors and writers strike.

Workers at U.K. depot responsible for building Ukraine-bound missiles go on STRIKE.

Sources include:

CNBC.com 1

CNBC.com 2

Reuters.com

Brighteon.com
By Online Desk

Bollywood actor Dalip Tahil has been sentenced to two months in jail in a 2018 drunk driving case in Mumbai, according to media reports.

In September 2018, Tahil was arrested after a car being driven by him allegedly rammed into an auto-rickshaw in suburban Khar, injuring two passengers sitting in the three-wheeler. A woman who was one of the passengers sustained serious injuries. Media reports quoted the passengers as saying that he argued with them and pushed them when they went to confront him.

Tahil had at the time refused to give his blood sample for testing to ascertain if he was driving under the influence of alcohol. The accident had happened during a Ganpati Visarjan procession. He was released on bail later.

The Times Of India reported that Tahil has been found guilty in this case by a magistrate court in Mumbai, based on the testimony of a doctor who attested that smell of alcohol was found on the actor' after the accident.

The actor has worked in a number of films and is acclaimed for his roles in "Gandhi", "Ankur", Shakti", "Arth", "Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak", "Baazigar" and "Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke", among others.

Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp

Bollywood actor Dalip Tahil has been sentenced to two months in jail in a 2018 drunk driving case in Mumbai, according to media reports. In September 2018, Tahil was arrested after a car being driven by him allegedly rammed into an auto-rickshaw in suburban Khar, injuring two passengers sitting in the three-wheeler. A woman who was one of the passengers sustained serious injuries. Media reports quoted the passengers as saying that he argued with them and pushed them when they went to confront him. Tahil had at the time refused to give his blood sample for testing to ascertain if he was driving under the influence of alcohol. The accident had happened during a Ganpati Visarjan procession. He was released on bail later.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The Times Of India reported that Tahil has been found guilty in this case by a magistrate court in Mumbai, based on the testimony of a doctor who attested that smell of alcohol was found on the actor' after the accident. The actor has worked in a number of films and is acclaimed for his roles in "Gandhi", "Ankur", Shakti", "Arth", "Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak", "Baazigar" and "Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke", among others. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Subashini Vijayakumar By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Years after passing out of the Perugavazhndan Government Higher Secondary School, three brothers returned to their village in Muthupet, Tiruvarur district, to give the school a fresh lease of life.

When A Rajagopal, a chartered accountant based in Singapore, revisited his native village in December 2021 with the intent to sponsor computers for the school, he was struck by a profound and painful realisation. The school building, which had been a sanctuary of learning for many in the village, was gone. It had been demolished.

The school, built over 60 years ago, had suffered a slow decline due to years of poor maintenance. Yet, it was the devastating impact of Cyclone Gaja in 2018 that proved to be the final blow. The authorities left with no alternative, made the somber decision to shift students to a makeshift structure and consign the original building to the annals of history.

For Rajagopal and his elder brothers, Ilangovan and Muthazhagan, this was a deeply personal and emotional revelation. Muthazhagan, a civil engineer in Chennai, says, The school building was constructed by our mothers uncle. We were moved when we saw the photographs of former chief minister Kamaraj laying the foundation stone in 1960.

After completing our higher studies and establishing ourselves in our respective careers, says Ilangovan, also a civil engineer based in Singapore, We felt that we had to give back to our native village and the school that had played a pivotal role in our lives. Many members of our family proudly count themselves as alumni of this institution.

United by their love for their village and their beloved school, the brothers made a collective decision that would breathe new life into the institution. They pledged to sponsor the construction of a new school building, with nine classrooms at an estimated cost of `1 crore. We were functioning in a make-shift building, as the old structure was deemed beyond repair after an inspection by the Public Works Department. Given that students from surrounding villages come here to study, we requested for a new building, says Baladhandayutham, the school headmaster.

In a poignant tribute to their late mother, Dhanasekari Ammal, who passed away in 2010, the new school building was christened Dhanasekari Ammal Arivarangam. The construction of the school commenced in 2022 and was completed in 2023. Today, the new school building stands as a symbol of rebirth and transformation, breathing new life into the dreams of 413 students who currently study in classes ranging from 6 to 12.

Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp

CHENNAI: Years after passing out of the Perugavazhndan Government Higher Secondary School, three brothers returned to their village in Muthupet, Tiruvarur district, to give the school a fresh lease of life. When A Rajagopal, a chartered accountant based in Singapore, revisited his native village in December 2021 with the intent to sponsor computers for the school, he was struck by a profound and painful realisation. The school building, which had been a sanctuary of learning for many in the village, was gone. It had been demolished. The school, built over 60 years ago, had suffered a slow decline due to years of poor maintenance. Yet, it was the devastating impact of Cyclone Gaja in 2018 that proved to be the final blow. The authorities left with no alternative, made the somber decision to shift students to a makeshift structure and consign the original building to the annals of history. For Rajagopal and his elder brothers, Ilangovan and Muthazhagan, this was a deeply personal and emotional revelation. Muthazhagan, a civil engineer in Chennai, says, The school building was constructed by our mothers uncle. We were moved when we saw the photographs of former chief minister Kamaraj laying the foundation stone in 1960.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); After completing our higher studies and establishing ourselves in our respective careers, says Ilangovan, also a civil engineer based in Singapore, We felt that we had to give back to our native village and the school that had played a pivotal role in our lives. Many members of our family proudly count themselves as alumni of this institution. United by their love for their village and their beloved school, the brothers made a collective decision that would breathe new life into the institution. They pledged to sponsor the construction of a new school building, with nine classrooms at an estimated cost of `1 crore. We were functioning in a make-shift building, as the old structure was deemed beyond repair after an inspection by the Public Works Department. Given that students from surrounding villages come here to study, we requested for a new building, says Baladhandayutham, the school headmaster. In a poignant tribute to their late mother, Dhanasekari Ammal, who passed away in 2010, the new school building was christened Dhanasekari Ammal Arivarangam. The construction of the school commenced in 2022 and was completed in 2023. Today, the new school building stands as a symbol of rebirth and transformation, breathing new life into the dreams of 413 students who currently study in classes ranging from 6 to 12. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Yeshi Seli By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: India is reviewing the security system in Canada, which led to the suspension of visa services for Canadians. This indicates a possible resumption of visa services, that were suspended nearly a month back (September 21st).

Canada had temporarily suspended visa and in-person consular services in Bengaluru, Chandigarh and Mumbai. On October 19, Canada also updated its travel advisory for India, noting the presence of calls for protests and an adverse sentiment towards Canada in both traditional media and social media platforms.

All these follow a row triggered by Ottawa's claim that it has "credible allegations" linking agents of New Delhi to the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a pro-Khalistan Sikh terrorist.

Speaking at the Kautilya Economic Conclave on Sunday, External Affairs Minister, Dr S Jaishankar said that the main reason for the suspension of visa services to Canadians was "because of the security threat that our diplomats face in Canada."

"In such a situation," he added, "it would not be possible for diplomats to reach the mission to issue visas. However, we are reviewing the security situation now and depending on the progress we would like to resume visa issuances to Canadians and it should happen very soon."

Meanwhile, putting speculation to rest on whether this statement was an outcome of Five Eyes being in sync with Canada, Former Ambassador PS Raghavan said that this indicated that Canada had given India assurances on security.

The hint from Dr Jaishankar that there could be an improvement in security conditions, leading to a restoration of visa services, may mean that some quiet discussions have taken place about credible assurance from Canada on security cover for our diplomats in that country, Former Ambassador PS Raghavan told The New Indian Express.

The security concerns that Indian diplomats have faced in Canada are genuine. Indian diplomats posted in Canada have faced several problems in the past too from Khalistani supporters, a source claimed.

Dr Jaishankar said that India was tracking the safety concerns of the Indian diplomats in Canada and there was optimism that they would soon be able to resume duty which would lead to the resuming of visa and consular services.

He also reiterated that according to the Vienna Convention, diplomats should get security from the host country.

Regarding the downsizing of diplomatic strength of the Canadians in India, in a bid to seek parity, Dr Jaishankar said this move was completely in sync with Vienna Convention.

"I would also like to say that one major reason for seeking diplomatic parity was that Canadian diplomats in India were continuously interfering in our internal affairs  which we have not yet made public. We had discomfort with many of them, and soon people will realise why we had discomfort with many of them, said Dr Jaishankar.

The minister also pointed out that the relationship between India and Canada was going through a difficult phase.

"The problem that we have is from a certain segment of Canadians and the policies that flow from it. I want people to understand in a sense the extent of the issue, he added.

Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp

NEW DELHI: India is reviewing the security system in Canada, which led to the suspension of visa services for Canadians. This indicates a possible resumption of visa services, that were suspended nearly a month back (September 21st). Canada had temporarily suspended visa and in-person consular services in Bengaluru, Chandigarh and Mumbai. On October 19, Canada also updated its travel advisory for India, noting the presence of calls for protests and an adverse sentiment towards Canada in both traditional media and social media platforms. All these follow a row triggered by Ottawa's claim that it has "credible allegations" linking agents of New Delhi to the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a pro-Khalistan Sikh terrorist. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Speaking at the Kautilya Economic Conclave on Sunday, External Affairs Minister, Dr S Jaishankar said that the main reason for the suspension of visa services to Canadians was "because of the security threat that our diplomats face in Canada." "In such a situation," he added, "it would not be possible for diplomats to reach the mission to issue visas. However, we are reviewing the security situation now and depending on the progress we would like to resume visa issuances to Canadians and it should happen very soon." Meanwhile, putting speculation to rest on whether this statement was an outcome of Five Eyes being in sync with Canada, Former Ambassador PS Raghavan said that this indicated that Canada had given India assurances on security. The hint from Dr Jaishankar that there could be an improvement in security conditions, leading to a restoration of visa services, may mean that some quiet discussions have taken place about credible assurance from Canada on security cover for our diplomats in that country, Former Ambassador PS Raghavan told The New Indian Express. The security concerns that Indian diplomats have faced in Canada are genuine. Indian diplomats posted in Canada have faced several problems in the past too from Khalistani supporters, a source claimed. Dr Jaishankar said that India was tracking the safety concerns of the Indian diplomats in Canada and there was optimism that they would soon be able to resume duty which would lead to the resuming of visa and consular services. He also reiterated that according to the Vienna Convention, diplomats should get security from the host country. Regarding the downsizing of diplomatic strength of the Canadians in India, in a bid to seek parity, Dr Jaishankar said this move was completely in sync with Vienna Convention. "I would also like to say that one major reason for seeking diplomatic parity was that Canadian diplomats in India were continuously interfering in our internal affairs  which we have not yet made public. We had discomfort with many of them, and soon people will realise why we had discomfort with many of them, said Dr Jaishankar. The minister also pointed out that the relationship between India and Canada was going through a difficult phase. "The problem that we have is from a certain segment of Canadians and the policies that flow from it. I want people to understand in a sense the extent of the issue, he added. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
By AFP

RAFAH: A 17-truck aid convoy entered Gaza from Egypt on Sunday as Israel intensified strikes on the Palestinian enclave facing a "catastrophic" humanitarian situation in the war sparked by Hamas's bloody attack.

As fears mount of a wider conflagration, Iran warned the region could spiral "out of control" and the Pentagon moved to bolster its forces in the Middle East.

Hamas militants stormed into Israel from the Gaza Strip on October 7. They killed at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians who were shot, mutilated or burnt to death on the first day of the raid, according to Israeli officials.

It was the worst attack on civilians in Israel's history and coincided with the end of the religious holiday of Sukkot.

Israel's retaliatory bombing campaign has killed more than 4,600 Palestinians, mainly civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

More than 40 per cent of all Gaza's housing has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN citing local authorities, and Israel has halted food, water, fuel and electricity supplies.

Sunday's aid delivery through the Rafah crossing was the second such operation in two days after 20 trucks arrived on Saturday.

The United Nations has estimated about 100 trucks per day are needed to meet the needs of 2.4 million Gazans given the "catastrophic" humanitarian situation.

Israel has massed tens of thousands of troops around the enclave for an anticipated ground invasion.

Israel increased its attacks overnight and killed "dozens of terrorists" in and around Gaza City, including the deputy commander of the Hamas rocket network, military spokesman Daniel Hagari said on Sunday.

'We are preparing'

Hamas said overnight raids on the Gaza Strip killed at least 80 people and destroyed more than 30 homes.

In central Gaza's Deir al-Balah, an AFP journalist saw the bodies of children lying on the bloodied floor of a morgue.

A man clutched his dead toddler and people wept as they identified the bodies of their relatives.

Israel has warned more than one million residents of northern Gaza to move south for their safety, and the UN says more than half of the territory's population is now internally displaced.

Hundreds of thousands of civilians are believed to remain in and around Gaza City in the north, unwilling or unable to leave.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Sunday said that if the United States and Israel "do not immediately stop the crime against humanity and genocide in Gaza, anything is possible at any moment and the region will go out of control".

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Saturday that he had ordered the deployment of a second carrier strike group in the eastern Mediterranean and additional Patriot battalions.

The Pentagon said the move aimed to defend US ally Israel amid what it called "escalations by Iran" and its proxies across the region.

It also said it was notifying additional troops to "prepare to deploy orders" without specifying how many or when they could be dispatched.

A ground invasion poses myriad challenges for Israeli troops, who are likely to face Hamas booby traps and tunnels.

"Gaza is densely populated, the enemy is preparing a lot of things there -- but we are also preparing for them," Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi told one infantry brigade on a front-line visit.

Israel must also weigh the safety of the 212 hostages it says were abducted by the militants.

'Brothers, stop!'

After negotiations and US pressure, food, water and medicine -- but no fuel -- entered Gaza from Egypt on Saturday before the crossing closed again.

More aid must arrive sustainably and safely, UNICEF spokesman Jonathan Crickx told AFP.

The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said fuel supplies would run in out three days.

"Without fuel, there will be no humanitarian assistance," said Philippe Lazzarini.

A peace summit in Egypt on Saturday ended without a joint statement, as Western officials demanded a clear condemnation of Hamas and Arab attendees issued their own statement criticising world leaders.

Pope Francis pleaded for peace and humanitarian aid during his weekly Angelus prayer in Rome.

"War is always a defeat, it is a destruction of human fraternity. Brothers, stop!"

Inside Gaza, shellshocked residents were left homeless and unsure where to go next as plumes of smoke billowed from sites targeted by Israeli strikes.

Om Ahmad Abu Sanjar was sleeping in her Rafah home when she "woke up to the glass shattering on us and bricks falling".

"We got out miraculously," she told AFP.

The scale of the bombing has left basic systems unable to function, with the UN reporting dozens of unidentified bodies were buried in a mass grave in Gaza City because cold storage had run out.

Shellshocked residents

Across the border in Israel's Kibbutz Beeri, where Hamas militants killed 10 per cent of the population, funerals will be held Sunday.

Romy Gold, 70, said residents still struggled to comprehend the attack.

"Around us whole families were shot or butchered or burned alive," he told AFP.

He added that the ground invasion of Gaza "cannot come fast enough".

"Something needs to be done."

The conflict has sparked fresh violence in the West Bank, where Israeli raids and settler attacks have killed dozens of Palestinians.

Israel's military said Sunday it killed "terror operatives" in an air strike on a mosque in Jenin.

The Palestinian health ministry said two men were killed in the strike.

Fresh fire was also exchanged across Israel's border with Lebanon, as Israel's military warned militant group and Hamas ally Hezbollah was "dragging Lebanon into a war".

Western leaders have warned Hezbollah against intervening in the conflict, but the group's number two said it was ready to step up involvement.

Israel has evacuated dozens of northern communities, and nearly 4,000 people in Lebanon have fled border areas for the southern city of Tyre.

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RAFAH: A 17-truck aid convoy entered Gaza from Egypt on Sunday as Israel intensified strikes on the Palestinian enclave facing a "catastrophic" humanitarian situation in the war sparked by Hamas's bloody attack. As fears mount of a wider conflagration, Iran warned the region could spiral "out of control" and the Pentagon moved to bolster its forces in the Middle East. Hamas militants stormed into Israel from the Gaza Strip on October 7. They killed at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians who were shot, mutilated or burnt to death on the first day of the raid, according to Israeli officials.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); It was the worst attack on civilians in Israel's history and coincided with the end of the religious holiday of Sukkot. Israel's retaliatory bombing campaign has killed more than 4,600 Palestinians, mainly civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. More than 40 per cent of all Gaza's housing has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN citing local authorities, and Israel has halted food, water, fuel and electricity supplies. Sunday's aid delivery through the Rafah crossing was the second such operation in two days after 20 trucks arrived on Saturday. The United Nations has estimated about 100 trucks per day are needed to meet the needs of 2.4 million Gazans given the "catastrophic" humanitarian situation. Israel has massed tens of thousands of troops around the enclave for an anticipated ground invasion. Israel increased its attacks overnight and killed "dozens of terrorists" in and around Gaza City, including the deputy commander of the Hamas rocket network, military spokesman Daniel Hagari said on Sunday. 'We are preparing' Hamas said overnight raids on the Gaza Strip killed at least 80 people and destroyed more than 30 homes. In central Gaza's Deir al-Balah, an AFP journalist saw the bodies of children lying on the bloodied floor of a morgue. A man clutched his dead toddler and people wept as they identified the bodies of their relatives. Israel has warned more than one million residents of northern Gaza to move south for their safety, and the UN says more than half of the territory's population is now internally displaced. Hundreds of thousands of civilians are believed to remain in and around Gaza City in the north, unwilling or unable to leave. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Sunday said that if the United States and Israel "do not immediately stop the crime against humanity and genocide in Gaza, anything is possible at any moment and the region will go out of control". US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Saturday that he had ordered the deployment of a second carrier strike group in the eastern Mediterranean and additional Patriot battalions. The Pentagon said the move aimed to defend US ally Israel amid what it called "escalations by Iran" and its proxies across the region. It also said it was notifying additional troops to "prepare to deploy orders" without specifying how many or when they could be dispatched. A ground invasion poses myriad challenges for Israeli troops, who are likely to face Hamas booby traps and tunnels. "Gaza is densely populated, the enemy is preparing a lot of things there -- but we are also preparing for them," Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi told one infantry brigade on a front-line visit. Israel must also weigh the safety of the 212 hostages it says were abducted by the militants. 'Brothers, stop!' After negotiations and US pressure, food, water and medicine -- but no fuel -- entered Gaza from Egypt on Saturday before the crossing closed again. More aid must arrive sustainably and safely, UNICEF spokesman Jonathan Crickx told AFP. The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said fuel supplies would run in out three days. "Without fuel, there will be no humanitarian assistance," said Philippe Lazzarini. A peace summit in Egypt on Saturday ended without a joint statement, as Western officials demanded a clear condemnation of Hamas and Arab attendees issued their own statement criticising world leaders. Pope Francis pleaded for peace and humanitarian aid during his weekly Angelus prayer in Rome. "War is always a defeat, it is a destruction of human fraternity. Brothers, stop!" Inside Gaza, shellshocked residents were left homeless and unsure where to go next as plumes of smoke billowed from sites targeted by Israeli strikes. Om Ahmad Abu Sanjar was sleeping in her Rafah home when she "woke up to the glass shattering on us and bricks falling". "We got out miraculously," she told AFP. The scale of the bombing has left basic systems unable to function, with the UN reporting dozens of unidentified bodies were buried in a mass grave in Gaza City because cold storage had run out. Shellshocked residents Across the border in Israel's Kibbutz Beeri, where Hamas militants killed 10 per cent of the population, funerals will be held Sunday. Romy Gold, 70, said residents still struggled to comprehend the attack. "Around us whole families were shot or butchered or burned alive," he told AFP. He added that the ground invasion of Gaza "cannot come fast enough". "Something needs to be done." The conflict has sparked fresh violence in the West Bank, where Israeli raids and settler attacks have killed dozens of Palestinians. Israel's military said Sunday it killed "terror operatives" in an air strike on a mosque in Jenin. The Palestinian health ministry said two men were killed in the strike. Fresh fire was also exchanged across Israel's border with Lebanon, as Israel's military warned militant group and Hamas ally Hezbollah was "dragging Lebanon into a war". Western leaders have warned Hezbollah against intervening in the conflict, but the group's number two said it was ready to step up involvement. Israel has evacuated dozens of northern communities, and nearly 4,000 people in Lebanon have fled border areas for the southern city of Tyre. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
By PTI

NEW DELHI: India on Sunday sent nearly 6.5 tonnes of medical aid and 32 tonnes of disaster relief material for the people of Palestine.

The consignments were sent in a C-17 transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force. The plane is transporting the aid to El-Arish airport in Egypt.

"India sends Humanitarian aid to the people of Palestine. An IAF C-17 flight carrying nearly 6.5 tonnes of medical aid and 32 tonnes of disaster relief material for the people of Palestine departs for El-Arish airport in Egypt," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on 'X'.

India sends Humanitarian aid to the people of Palestine !



An IAF C-17 flight carrying nearly 6.5 tonnes of medical aid and 32 tonnes of disaster relief material for the people of Palestine departs for El-Arish airport in Egypt.



The material includes essential life-saving medicines, pic.twitter.com/28XI6992Ph

 Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) October 22, 2023

"The material includes essential life-saving medicines, surgical items, tents, sleeping bags, tarpaulins, sanitary utilities, and water purification tablets among other necessary items," he said.

India sent the aid three days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed condolences to the President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas over the deaths of civilians at a hospital in Gaza and reiterated India's long-standing "principled position" on the Israel-Palestine issue.

In a phone conversation on Thursday, the prime minister told the Palestine Authority President that New Delhi will continue to send humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people.

India has been supporting Palestine and Palestinian refugees through contributions to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).

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NEW DELHI: India on Sunday sent nearly 6.5 tonnes of medical aid and 32 tonnes of disaster relief material for the people of Palestine. The consignments were sent in a C-17 transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force. The plane is transporting the aid to El-Arish airport in Egypt. "India sends Humanitarian aid to the people of Palestine. An IAF C-17 flight carrying nearly 6.5 tonnes of medical aid and 32 tonnes of disaster relief material for the people of Palestine departs for El-Arish airport in Egypt," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on 'X'.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); India sends Humanitarian aid to the people of Palestine ! An IAF C-17 flight carrying nearly 6.5 tonnes of medical aid and 32 tonnes of disaster relief material for the people of Palestine departs for El-Arish airport in Egypt. The material includes essential life-saving medicines, pic.twitter.com/28XI6992Ph  Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) October 22, 2023 "The material includes essential life-saving medicines, surgical items, tents, sleeping bags, tarpaulins, sanitary utilities, and water purification tablets among other necessary items," he said. India sent the aid three days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed condolences to the President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas over the deaths of civilians at a hospital in Gaza and reiterated India's long-standing "principled position" on the Israel-Palestine issue. In a phone conversation on Thursday, the prime minister told the Palestine Authority President that New Delhi will continue to send humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people. India has been supporting Palestine and Palestinian refugees through contributions to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Believe it or not, for the past 20 years, in every corner of Rome  both a sacred and profane city par excellence  theres been a handsome priest, who smiles and makes eye contact with visitors.

In the Eternal City, cassocks and collars are everywhere. Theyre simply part of the citys landscape, like the domes, fountains or cobblestones. Some are real, given that there are thousands of priests and religious people who populate the city. Others are snapshots that hang in the windows of kiosks and souvenir shops. The latter  young men who are included in a particular calendar  attract a lot of attention.

Thousands of visitors leave the Italian capital with miniature statuettes of some iconic monument, packages of pasta and copies of the famous calendar. The official name of this almanac  which turns 20 next year and can now be purchased in advance  is the Roman Calendar. However, everyone knows it as the handsome priests calendar, for obvious reasons. It has gone from being a tourist guide with information about the Vatican to a cult souvenir.

In this almanac, each month displays an image of a handsome, anonymous priest, whos photographed in black-and-white. Some wear ecclesiastical hats  most wear collars. They all stand out for their beauty. Images of the Catholic clergy are among some of the most evocative symbols of Rome.

A young and beautiful face is the best option to make the product more attractive. The intention is to capture the interest of a broad sector of the public, explains Piero Pazzi, during an interview with EL PAIS. The 64-year-old Venetian is an archivist, a photography enthusiast and the creator of the calendar.

The Vatican has made it clear that the calendar isnt official and that its an individual initiative. While the almanac doesnt have the blessing of the Holy See, dozens of copies are sold around Saint Peters Square, or next to the tailor shop that dresses the cardinals, without major problems.

The yearbook will celebrate its 20th edition next year, with the same essence that it has always maintained. It contains practically the same collection of images that, two decades ago, made it a star souvenir.

During its peak  in the mid-2010s  nearly 75,000 copies were sold annually. Although sales dropped during the pandemic, demand remains high. If something works, why change it? Thats Pazzis philosophy. The project has worked well, sales remain stable, he points out. The photos are almost always the same, [although] the messages change, he clarifies.

He notes that it emerged as an instrument to instruct and help tourists who visit Rome, providing them with precise information about the Vatican, with fun facts written inside. The calendar offers very simple information, which the average tourist has no idea about.

Every year, Pazzi sighs, the quality of tourism worsens. Many tourists dont even know where they are. Through the calendar, I aim to help them understand where theyre spending their vacation and whats around them. Among other things, within its pages, the calendar describes the organization of the Vatican, gives details about the pharmacy within the tiny state that dispenses medicines from all over the world and lists the opening hours of the various museums and the Sistine Chapel. It also offers  in loose notes  small glimpses of history between its pages.

On the surface, the images of the good-looking priests may not have a very clear relationship with the content, but what matters is that the product works. Its an item for all ages and all religions  it has no type of barrier, Pazzi says proudly about his calendar, which is sold all over the planet. In the Protestant world, its very successful. I wouldnt have imagined it. He clarifies that the souvenir has no intention of pushing a religious message.

The Roman Calendar can be purchased at kiosks or souvenir shops in Rome and through the official website, for a price of around 10 ($11) per copy (although on some resale platforms, past editions go for three times as much). Despite the fact that his photographs hang on walls around the world, for Pazzi, photography is just a hobby. He especially likes to photograph cats and the gondoliers of Venice.

Giovanni Galizia  one of the most recognizable faces on the calendar  isnt even a priest. He currently works for a Spanish airline. I was very young when the photograph was taken, I was 17-years-old. I didnt imagine that it would continue to be in circulation for 20 years. Cortesia de Giovanni Galizia

Interestingly, most of the protagonists of the calendar arent professional models. In fact, not all of them are Italian, nor are they all priests. Theyre anonymous  theres no trace of their name or other information in the almanac, because neither the calendar nor its protagonists are products of vanity, according to Pazzi. Still, the true identities of the models arouse curiosity.

One of the favorites  Giovanni Galizia  is the most recognizable face on the calendar, since hes been the cover model for years. From time to time, all kinds of crazy legends about him circulate on social media. The most widespread one is that hes a former priest  now in his eighties  who hung up his religious habits for love. But the truth is that hes not  nor was he ever  a model or a priest. As Galizia tells EL PAIS, he agreed to pose in front of Piero Pazzis lens because the calendars creator was an old acquaintance of his.

Piero was developing this artistic project to present Italian cities with their classic characters, such as Venice with gondoliers, or priests as a Roman symbol. He asked me to participate and I thought it would be interesting. I said yes and the rest is history, Galizia laughs. Hes now 37-years-old. I was very young when the photograph was taken, I was 17-years-old. I didnt imagine that it would continue to be in circulation for 20 years. I didnt think it was going to become such a long-lived and well-known image, he adds. He also mentions that the photo was taken in front of a church in the city of Palermo.

Giovanni Galizia currently works for a Spanish airline. Hes a member of the cabin crew and also part of the training team. He acknowledges that hes sometimes recognized in the street, or on an airplane. Not as often now theres more and more distance from that image, since I was so young [when it was taken], he jokes. Having people recognize you is always nice. But I havent done anything, I posed for a photo, nothing more. Still, its fun.

Pazzi explains that, over the past two decades, his technique hasnt changed. Generally, hes inspired by passersby he meets on the street. Other times, he receives requests from men who wish to appear in the calendar and  on occasion  he puts out ads looking for volunteers for his portraits.

An acolyte during Holy Week in Seville, Spain. Piero Pazzi

In some months of the calendar, there are photographs that Pazzi took during the Holy Week celebrations in Seville, Spain. One of them caught David Ruiz Suarez by surprise. Hes not a priest or a model  hes a real estate agent. His brother was in the religious procession in Seville  while accompanying him, Pazzi took his picture. He had no idea he was going to be part of the illustrations in this interesting publication. Those who dont know me will think that Im a priest I think I should have been notified. Im Father March  I dont know how to handle it, he told Diario de Sevilla in 2007.

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By PTI

GWALIOR: Supporters of BJP leader Munnalal Goyal, a loyalist of Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, on Sunday protested outside the Scindias' Jai Vilas Palace in Gwalior after he was denied a ticket for next month's assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh.

To mollify the protesters, Jyotiraditya Scindia drove to the palace gate and asserted that he stood by them and Goyal.

The BJP on Friday released a fifth list of 92 candidates for the November 17 elections in which Goyal, who has represented Gwalior East in the past, did not figure. The BJP has fielded Maya Singh from the constituency.

Goyal won from Gwalior East on a Congress ticket in the 2018 polls. He and many MLAs loyal to Scindia resigned and crossed over to the BJP in March 2020, bringing down the Kamal Nath-led Congress government and paving the way for the return of the saffron party to power.

However, Goyal lost the subsequent bypoll as a BJP candidate.

He was later made the chair of the state-owned MP Seeds Corporation.

This time around, he was hopeful of getting a ticket from Gwalior East.

Goyal said that instead of him, the ticket has been given to a candidate who has not been in the midst of the people for many years.

"I am going to talk to the party leadership about it," Goyal said, adding that he has tirelessly worked for the people for the last five years.

Trying to cool the temper of Goyal's supporters, Scindia said he understood the strength of party workers, adding that 15-20 years ago, the tickets of many heavyweight leaders were cut.

He recalled that he facilitated tickets for Goyal thrice out of which he was unsuccessful in two elections.

"I assure you that I stand with you and with Munna (Goyal) and will sort out all your problems," he said.

After his assurance, the protesters seemed placated.

Soon after the BJP released its fifth list on Friday, supporters of many leaders who failed to get tickets kicked up a ruckus in front of Union Minister Bhupender Yadav at the party office in Jabalpur.

Yadav is the in-charge of the Madhya Pradesh BJP election campaign committee.

A video that surfaced on social media showed a crowd jostling around Yadav, while a security personnel was trying to protect the minister.

Some people were also seen hitting the person in the security guard's attire, who tried to pull out a revolver while trying to control the situation.

BJP workers had heated exchanges with senior leaders, including Yadav and Rajya Sabha member Kavita Patidar.

Later, the police said three persons were arrested on the charge of obstructing a public servant from discharging his duty based on the complaint lodged by Yadav's security guard.

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GWALIOR: Supporters of BJP leader Munnalal Goyal, a loyalist of Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, on Sunday protested outside the Scindias' Jai Vilas Palace in Gwalior after he was denied a ticket for next month's assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh. To mollify the protesters, Jyotiraditya Scindia drove to the palace gate and asserted that he stood by them and Goyal. The BJP on Friday released a fifth list of 92 candidates for the November 17 elections in which Goyal, who has represented Gwalior East in the past, did not figure. The BJP has fielded Maya Singh from the constituency.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Goyal won from Gwalior East on a Congress ticket in the 2018 polls. He and many MLAs loyal to Scindia resigned and crossed over to the BJP in March 2020, bringing down the Kamal Nath-led Congress government and paving the way for the return of the saffron party to power. However, Goyal lost the subsequent bypoll as a BJP candidate. He was later made the chair of the state-owned MP Seeds Corporation. This time around, he was hopeful of getting a ticket from Gwalior East. Goyal said that instead of him, the ticket has been given to a candidate who has not been in the midst of the people for many years. "I am going to talk to the party leadership about it," Goyal said, adding that he has tirelessly worked for the people for the last five years. Trying to cool the temper of Goyal's supporters, Scindia said he understood the strength of party workers, adding that 15-20 years ago, the tickets of many heavyweight leaders were cut. He recalled that he facilitated tickets for Goyal thrice out of which he was unsuccessful in two elections. "I assure you that I stand with you and with Munna (Goyal) and will sort out all your problems," he said. After his assurance, the protesters seemed placated. Soon after the BJP released its fifth list on Friday, supporters of many leaders who failed to get tickets kicked up a ruckus in front of Union Minister Bhupender Yadav at the party office in Jabalpur. Yadav is the in-charge of the Madhya Pradesh BJP election campaign committee. A video that surfaced on social media showed a crowd jostling around Yadav, while a security personnel was trying to protect the minister. Some people were also seen hitting the person in the security guard's attire, who tried to pull out a revolver while trying to control the situation. BJP workers had heated exchanges with senior leaders, including Yadav and Rajya Sabha member Kavita Patidar. Later, the police said three persons were arrested on the charge of obstructing a public servant from discharging his duty based on the complaint lodged by Yadav's security guard. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
By PTI

PUNE: A training aircraft belonging to a private aviation academy crashed near a village in Maharashtra's Pune district on Sunday morning, injuring a trainee pilot and an instructor on board the plane, police said.

The aircraft crashed near Gojubavi village under Baramati taluka at around 8 am, they said.

"A training aircraft, belonging to the Redbird Flight Training Academy, crashed near Gojubavi village. A trainee pilot and an instructor suffered injuries in the crash. Both have been rushed to a nearby hospital," Baramati police station's senior inspector Prabhakar More said.

"The cause of the crash is not yet known. We are conducting a probe into the incident," he said.

This is the second such incident involving the private aviation academy's aircraft in four days.

On Thursday evening, a training aircraft of the academy crashed near Kaftal village in Baramati taluka, injuring a pilot, according to the police.

"The site is 2 miles north of Baramati Airfield. Both the instructor and trainee are safe. DAS (Mumbai) is carrying out further investigation," DGCA said in a brief statement.

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PUNE: A training aircraft belonging to a private aviation academy crashed near a village in Maharashtra's Pune district on Sunday morning, injuring a trainee pilot and an instructor on board the plane, police said. The aircraft crashed near Gojubavi village under Baramati taluka at around 8 am, they said. "A training aircraft, belonging to the Redbird Flight Training Academy, crashed near Gojubavi village. A trainee pilot and an instructor suffered injuries in the crash. Both have been rushed to a nearby hospital," Baramati police station's senior inspector Prabhakar More said.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); "The cause of the crash is not yet known. We are conducting a probe into the incident," he said. This is the second such incident involving the private aviation academy's aircraft in four days. On Thursday evening, a training aircraft of the academy crashed near Kaftal village in Baramati taluka, injuring a pilot, according to the police. "The site is 2 miles north of Baramati Airfield. Both the instructor and trainee are safe. DAS (Mumbai) is carrying out further investigation," DGCA said in a brief statement. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
By Express News Service

Kolkata: The West Bengal government has decided to launch a large-scale outreach drive in states like Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Kerala and Karnataka to get more migrant workers from Bengal registered on the states Karmasathi portal, which was launched as part of an effort to offer better opportunity to people leaving the state in search of jobs and livelihood.

The initiative was taken after it was noticed that only about 34 per cent of the estimated migrant labourers had registered their names on the portal through the recently organised drive titled Duare Sarkar (government at doorstep), said sources at Nabanna, the state secretariat.

We have a record of around 41 lakh migrant labourers who had returned to Bengal during the nationwide lockdown in the wake of Covid 19 outbreak in 2020. The majority of them were brought back by the state government and rest returned on their own. But the portal through Duare Sarkar camps held between September 1 and 30, registered names of only 13.60 lakh migrant workers, said an official at Nabanna.

Citing an example, the officer said the number of migrant labourers who returned from Gujarat during lockdown was 4,69,069 but only 59,218 of them registered themselves on the portal.

The details of the outreach drive in other states will soon be finalised. We may set up help desks in other states with migrant workers to help them get registered with the portal, the official said, adding, The success of such a drive depends on the registration of the migrant labourers on the portal.

According to the state secretariat, the total figure of current migrant workers might increase or decrease now since the state government initiated some measures to give jobs in Bengal and at the same time, some more people left the state in search of livelihood.

The governments target is reducing the number of migrant workers heading for other states. For this, we need to know the present number of such workers to prepare a database so that the government can think of offering them better deals in the state, said another official of the state government.

Sources in the Trinamool Congress said the aim of the outreach drive and offer migrant workers better deal in Bengal are to blunt the opposition parties political tool on the issue of joblessness in the state citing the figure of migrant labourers working in other states.

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Kolkata: The West Bengal government has decided to launch a large-scale outreach drive in states like Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Kerala and Karnataka to get more migrant workers from Bengal registered on the states Karmasathi portal, which was launched as part of an effort to offer better opportunity to people leaving the state in search of jobs and livelihood. The initiative was taken after it was noticed that only about 34 per cent of the estimated migrant labourers had registered their names on the portal through the recently organised drive titled Duare Sarkar (government at doorstep), said sources at Nabanna, the state secretariat. We have a record of around 41 lakh migrant labourers who had returned to Bengal during the nationwide lockdown in the wake of Covid 19 outbreak in 2020. The majority of them were brought back by the state government and rest returned on their own. But the portal through Duare Sarkar camps held between September 1 and 30, registered names of only 13.60 lakh migrant workers, said an official at Nabanna. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Citing an example, the officer said the number of migrant labourers who returned from Gujarat during lockdown was 4,69,069 but only 59,218 of them registered themselves on the portal. The details of the outreach drive in other states will soon be finalised. We may set up help desks in other states with migrant workers to help them get registered with the portal, the official said, adding, The success of such a drive depends on the registration of the migrant labourers on the portal. According to the state secretariat, the total figure of current migrant workers might increase or decrease now since the state government initiated some measures to give jobs in Bengal and at the same time, some more people left the state in search of livelihood. The governments target is reducing the number of migrant workers heading for other states. For this, we need to know the present number of such workers to prepare a database so that the government can think of offering them better deals in the state, said another official of the state government. Sources in the Trinamool Congress said the aim of the outreach drive and offer migrant workers better deal in Bengal are to blunt the opposition parties political tool on the issue of joblessness in the state citing the figure of migrant labourers working in other states. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
SV Krishna Chaitanya By

Express News Service

SRIHARIKOTA: ISRO on Saturday overcame tense moments to successfully carry out the maiden test on the Gaganyaan programme - Indias first human spacecraft mission - as the test vehicle (TV-D1) demonstrated the crew escape systems performance during an in-flight emergency.

As planned, the crew module - which will have the astronauts - made a controlled splashdown in the sea 10km off Sriharikota. Buoyed by the success, ISRO chairman S Somanath announced the space agency would launch the first unmanned Gaganyaan vehicle in the first quarter of 2024. This is in line with the space agencys plan to send three astronauts to low earth orbit and bring them back safely by 2025.

The launch was originally scheduled

for 8 am, but got postponed owing

to weather and technical issues | Express

Nervous 2 hours

The launch was originally scheduled for 8 am, but postponed to 8.30 am and 8.45 am, due to misty and cloudy conditions. But, five seconds before lift-off the onboard computer withheld the launch after it detected an anomaly. In the next 30-40 minutes, the scientists managed to fix the anomaly and the mission director gave the automated launch authorisation for lift-off at 10 am. Somanath said the initial hiccup was due to a monitoring anomaly in the system.

Major objectives achieved

Gaganyaan test vehicle launch, which lasted under 9 minutes, fulfilled all major objectives. The crew module separated at an altitude of 17km and deployed different kinds of parachutes to decelerate the descent speed from 363m/s to 8.5m/s.

The crew escape system took the crew module away from the vehicle, and subsequent operations, including the touch-down at sea, have been well accomplished and we have confirmation for all of this, Somanath said. Mission director S Sivakumar said, We had been at penance for the last 3 to 4 years. We are very happy to be able to do it on the very first attempt.

Mission objectives - flight demonstration, evaluation of test vehicles, crew escape systems, crew module characteristics, and deceleration systems demonstration at higher altitude and its recovery - were all met with precision, ISRO said.

Crew module of ISRO's TV-D1 test flight of Mission Gaganyaan descends using parachutes after successfully separating from the launch vehicle. (Photo | PTI)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the launch takes us one step closer to realising Indias first human space flight programme. Science and Technology. Chief Minister MK Stalin lauded ISRO. This achievement marks a significant milestone on Indias journey to space exploration, he said.

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SRIHARIKOTA: ISRO on Saturday overcame tense moments to successfully carry out the maiden test on the Gaganyaan programme - Indias first human spacecraft mission - as the test vehicle (TV-D1) demonstrated the crew escape systems performance during an in-flight emergency. As planned, the crew module - which will have the astronauts - made a controlled splashdown in the sea 10km off Sriharikota. Buoyed by the success, ISRO chairman S Somanath announced the space agency would launch the first unmanned Gaganyaan vehicle in the first quarter of 2024. This is in line with the space agencys plan to send three astronauts to low earth orbit and bring them back safely by 2025. The launch was originally scheduled for 8 am, but got postponed owing to weather and technical issues | ExpressNervous 2 hours The launch was originally scheduled for 8 am, but postponed to 8.30 am and 8.45 am, due to misty and cloudy conditions. But, five seconds before lift-off the onboard computer withheld the launch after it detected an anomaly. In the next 30-40 minutes, the scientists managed to fix the anomaly and the mission director gave the automated launch authorisation for lift-off at 10 am. Somanath said the initial hiccup was due to a monitoring anomaly in the system. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Major objectives achieved Gaganyaan test vehicle launch, which lasted under 9 minutes, fulfilled all major objectives. The crew module separated at an altitude of 17km and deployed different kinds of parachutes to decelerate the descent speed from 363m/s to 8.5m/s. The crew escape system took the crew module away from the vehicle, and subsequent operations, including the touch-down at sea, have been well accomplished and we have confirmation for all of this, Somanath said. Mission director S Sivakumar said, We had been at penance for the last 3 to 4 years. We are very happy to be able to do it on the very first attempt. Mission objectives - flight demonstration, evaluation of test vehicles, crew escape systems, crew module characteristics, and deceleration systems demonstration at higher altitude and its recovery - were all met with precision, ISRO said. Crew module of ISRO's TV-D1 test flight of Mission Gaganyaan descends using parachutes after successfully separating from the launch vehicle. (Photo | PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the launch takes us one step closer to realising Indias first human space flight programme. Science and Technology. Chief Minister MK Stalin lauded ISRO. This achievement marks a significant milestone on Indias journey to space exploration, he said. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Rajesh Kumar Thakur By

NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday claimed that the country has witnessed a sharp 65% decline in incidents of terrorism, Left Wing Extremism (LWE) and insurgency in northeast states due to efforts of the police personnel.

Speaking at the Police Commemoration Day, Shah said the countrys three hotspots, LWE-hit states, the Northeast, and Jammu and Kashmir, have returned to peace and are marching towards prosperity.

Reiterating the governments commitment towards eradicating terrorism, he said the Modi government has adopted a zero-tolerance policy that yielded significant results in taming extremist elements.

The best anti-terrorism force in the world has been set up as part of the Police Technology Mission, enhancing modernisation of police forces in the country, he said, adding that three Bills have been introduced in Parliament for a comprehensive overhaul of the criminal justice system.

Lauding the role of police forces, he said, Whether it is to combat terrorists, stop crime, maintain law and order while facing a crowd, protect citizens during disasters and accidents or be it on the front line during difficult times such as the Covid-19 pandemic, police personnel have proved themselves in every situation.He also said that internal or border security in the country would not be possible without a vigilant police system.

He also lauded the services of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), saying that no matter how big the disaster is, when NDRF personnel reach there, people get confidence and are assured of their safety.

After paying tributes to 36,250 police personnel who laid down their lives while serving the nation since Independence, Shah defined the police memorial day as a recognition of their sacrifice towards nation-building.

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NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday claimed that the country has witnessed a sharp 65% decline in incidents of terrorism, Left Wing Extremism (LWE) and insurgency in northeast states due to efforts of the police personnel. Speaking at the Police Commemoration Day, Shah said the countrys three hotspots, LWE-hit states, the Northeast, and Jammu and Kashmir, have returned to peace and are marching towards prosperity. Reiterating the governments commitment towards eradicating terrorism, he said the Modi government has adopted a zero-tolerance policy that yielded significant results in taming extremist elements. The best anti-terrorism force in the world has been set up as part of the Police Technology Mission, enhancing modernisation of police forces in the country, he said, adding that three Bills have been introduced in Parliament for a comprehensive overhaul of the criminal justice system.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Lauding the role of police forces, he said, Whether it is to combat terrorists, stop crime, maintain law and order while facing a crowd, protect citizens during disasters and accidents or be it on the front line during difficult times such as the Covid-19 pandemic, police personnel have proved themselves in every situation.He also said that internal or border security in the country would not be possible without a vigilant police system. He also lauded the services of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), saying that no matter how big the disaster is, when NDRF personnel reach there, people get confidence and are assured of their safety. After paying tributes to 36,250 police personnel who laid down their lives while serving the nation since Independence, Shah defined the police memorial day as a recognition of their sacrifice towards nation-building. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
NEW DELHI: The Central government has put on hold its proposal to amend the National Medical Commission (NMC) Act 2019, which allowed patients and their relatives to approach the NMCs ethics board challenging decisions of the State Medical Councils (SMC) with regards to complaints of medical negligence and misconduct against doctors, an RTI reply has revealed.

Interestingly, the government itself had put forth the proposal for the amendment, in 2022. At the time, the Union Health Ministry had felt the need for provisions for patients to challenge the decisions of the SMCs, as these provisions were not included when the NMC was newly formed in 2020 after the dissolution of the erstwhile Medical Council of India (MCI). Such provisions were accommodated by the MCI.

Hence, for the past three years, complaints of patients and their relatives against the decision of SMCs have not been taken up.

Presently, appeals of only doctors who were found guilty of medical negligence by the Ethics and Medical Registration Board (EMRB) are taken up by the NMC. Similar claims made by patients or their families are being overlooked. However, the government has failed to act on its own proposal, said Dr KV Babu, who had filed an RTI in this regard in September. The reply to my query clearly stated that the amendment in the NMC Act has been kept on hold, he said.

Unfortunately, patients and their relatives right to appeal have not been restored, Babu told this paper.

Clause 8.8 in the NMC Act was added on May 27, 2004, following the Supreme Court directions, which stated, Any person aggrieved by the decision of the SMC on any complaint against a delinquent physician shall have the right to file an appeal to the MCI within 60 days from the date of receipt of the order passed by the MCI.The clause was, however, removed when MCI was dissolved and the NMC came into being.

In a nutshell

Currently, there is no provision for patients to challenge the decisions of State Medical Councils regarding the medical negligence of doctors, in the National Medical Council

The government felt the need for such a provision and proposed an amendment to the NMC Act, in 2020

However, the government has failed to act on its own proposal in the last three years.

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NEW DELHI: The Central government has put on hold its proposal to amend the National Medical Commission (NMC) Act 2019, which allowed patients and their relatives to approach the NMCs ethics board challenging decisions of the State Medical Councils (SMC) with regards to complaints of medical negligence and misconduct against doctors, an RTI reply has revealed. Interestingly, the government itself had put forth the proposal for the amendment, in 2022. At the time, the Union Health Ministry had felt the need for provisions for patients to challenge the decisions of the SMCs, as these provisions were not included when the NMC was newly formed in 2020 after the dissolution of the erstwhile Medical Council of India (MCI). Such provisions were accommodated by the MCI. Hence, for the past three years, complaints of patients and their relatives against the decision of SMCs have not been taken up. Presently, appeals of only doctors who were found guilty of medical negligence by the Ethics and Medical Registration Board (EMRB) are taken up by the NMC. Similar claims made by patients or their families are being overlooked. However, the government has failed to act on its own proposal, said Dr KV Babu, who had filed an RTI in this regard in September. The reply to my query clearly stated that the amendment in the NMC Act has been kept on hold, he said.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Unfortunately, patients and their relatives right to appeal have not been restored, Babu told this paper. Clause 8.8 in the NMC Act was added on May 27, 2004, following the Supreme Court directions, which stated, Any person aggrieved by the decision of the SMC on any complaint against a delinquent physician shall have the right to file an appeal to the MCI within 60 days from the date of receipt of the order passed by the MCI.The clause was, however, removed when MCI was dissolved and the NMC came into being. In a nutshell Currently, there is no provision for patients to challenge the decisions of State Medical Councils regarding the medical negligence of doctors, in the National Medical Council The government felt the need for such a provision and proposed an amendment to the NMC Act, in 2020 However, the government has failed to act on its own proposal in the last three years. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Ejaz Kaiser By

RAIPUR: The Patan assembly seat is finely poised to witness a striking contest between the uncle and the nephew, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and Vijay Baghel

The nephew is the BJP candidate and Lok Sabha member representing the Durg constituency. The duo had contested against each other thrice2003, 2008 and 2013. Vijay Baghel defeated Bhupesh only once in 2008 by a margin of 7,842. Vijay was in Congress till 2000. He later joined the BJP. Bhupesh has been contesting the Patan seat since 1993.

BJP manifesto committee chief Vijay Baghel is among the four MPs the Opposition has fielded for the polls. The state Congress claimed the BJP is fielded Vijay Baghel against the CM with the only intention of showcasing their mistaken belief that the party would steal a march in the poll battle. Vijay predicted the contest is going to be an engrossing one. Im grateful to my party for giving me an opportunity to be a candidate in Patan against the CM, who happens to be my relative too, Vijay said. In the 2018 elections, BJPs Motilal Sahu contested against Bhupesh from Patan. The constituency has around 35 per cent of Sahu population but the plan didnt succeed.

The contest becomes interesting this time as both Baghels belong to the Kurmi community. And if the Kurmi votes get divided, then all will depend upon the choice or mood of the Sahu community to play a deciding role.In another uncle-nephew contest drawing attention is the two-time BJP MLA Saurabh Singh who is pitted against his nephew Raghvendra Singh, a new face from Congress at Akaltara seat in Janjgir-Champa district. Raghvendra is the Congress district president.

I won the last elections when there was an apparent pro-Congress wave and BJP here secured 39 per cent votes but Congress got just 17 per cent. This time there is strong anti-incumbency with ground situation against the Congress, Saurabh Singh told this newspaper. However, Raghvendra countered that it doesnt matter to him since most of the candidates launch themselves in the poll fray contesting for the first time.

Its the people and the party workers who decide, he added. The region also has supporters of Bahujan Samaj Party. The polling to the 90-member Chhattisgarh House will be held in two phases on November 7 and 17.

The Congress striving for the second term has declared 83 candidates while the BJP has released the lists of 85 names. Meanwhile, the political experts believe that the Chhattisgarh might feel the politics of polarisation in a run up to the elections, even as Baghel government was seen as consistent not to let the arch rival BJP gain an advantage on religious politics. Bhupesh government and Congress party in Chhattisgarh worked hard to project themselves as the sole campaigner of Hindutva in the state. But unlike the BJPs hindutva agenda that instill polarisation, the Congress campaign doesnt look communal, said Sunil Kumar, senior editor.

Sahu votes may play a key role

The contest becomes more interesting as both Baghels belong to the Kurmi community. And if the Kurmi votes get divided, then all will depend upon the choice of the Sahu community who account for 35 per cent of the population in Patan. The duo had contested against each other thrice. Vijay defeated Bhupesh only once in 2008 by a margin of 7,842.

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RAIPUR: The Patan assembly seat is finely poised to witness a striking contest between the uncle and the nephew, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and Vijay Baghel The nephew is the BJP candidate and Lok Sabha member representing the Durg constituency. The duo had contested against each other thrice2003, 2008 and 2013. Vijay Baghel defeated Bhupesh only once in 2008 by a margin of 7,842. Vijay was in Congress till 2000. He later joined the BJP. Bhupesh has been contesting the Patan seat since 1993. BJP manifesto committee chief Vijay Baghel is among the four MPs the Opposition has fielded for the polls. The state Congress claimed the BJP is fielded Vijay Baghel against the CM with the only intention of showcasing their mistaken belief that the party would steal a march in the poll battle. Vijay predicted the contest is going to be an engrossing one. Im grateful to my party for giving me an opportunity to be a candidate in Patan against the CM, who happens to be my relative too, Vijay said. In the 2018 elections, BJPs Motilal Sahu contested against Bhupesh from Patan. The constituency has around 35 per cent of Sahu population but the plan didnt succeed.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The contest becomes interesting this time as both Baghels belong to the Kurmi community. And if the Kurmi votes get divided, then all will depend upon the choice or mood of the Sahu community to play a deciding role.In another uncle-nephew contest drawing attention is the two-time BJP MLA Saurabh Singh who is pitted against his nephew Raghvendra Singh, a new face from Congress at Akaltara seat in Janjgir-Champa district. Raghvendra is the Congress district president. I won the last elections when there was an apparent pro-Congress wave and BJP here secured 39 per cent votes but Congress got just 17 per cent. This time there is strong anti-incumbency with ground situation against the Congress, Saurabh Singh told this newspaper. However, Raghvendra countered that it doesnt matter to him since most of the candidates launch themselves in the poll fray contesting for the first time. Its the people and the party workers who decide, he added. The region also has supporters of Bahujan Samaj Party. The polling to the 90-member Chhattisgarh House will be held in two phases on November 7 and 17. The Congress striving for the second term has declared 83 candidates while the BJP has released the lists of 85 names. Meanwhile, the political experts believe that the Chhattisgarh might feel the politics of polarisation in a run up to the elections, even as Baghel government was seen as consistent not to let the arch rival BJP gain an advantage on religious politics. Bhupesh government and Congress party in Chhattisgarh worked hard to project themselves as the sole campaigner of Hindutva in the state. But unlike the BJPs hindutva agenda that instill polarisation, the Congress campaign doesnt look communal, said Sunil Kumar, senior editor. Sahu votes may play a key role The contest becomes more interesting as both Baghels belong to the Kurmi community. And if the Kurmi votes get divided, then all will depend upon the choice of the Sahu community who account for 35 per cent of the population in Patan. The duo had contested against each other thrice. Vijay defeated Bhupesh only once in 2008 by a margin of 7,842. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Anuraag Singh By

Its family politics in coming assembly polls

It is not the political parties attacking each other over the politics of the dynasty anymore. Most political parties are banking on the powerful political families to boost their prospects in the November 17 elections now. In both seats of Alirajpur district, Congress has fielded members of one family. Sitting MLA is contesting from Alirajpur seat, while his sister-in-law Sena Patel is in fray from adjoining Jobat seat. Leader of opposition and seventh-time Congress MLA Dr Govind Singh has ensured the partys ticket for his maternal nephew Rahul Bhadoriya.

Double somersaults within two months

Shifting of political loyalties is nothing new during the election season. However, a former BJP MLA in Rewa district has done something rare by switching loyalties twice within two months. Former BJP MLA from Semariya seat Abhay Mishra, who lost from Rewa seat as Congress candidate in 2018 polls, returned to BJP along with his ex-legislator wife Neelam after five years in 2023. But just two months later, sensing that his wish to get a ticket from BJP wouldnt materialize, he returned to Congress and was rewarded with ticket from Semariya, despite opposition from of Congress.

Dussehra Shastra Pujan loses colour

With the model code of conduct for the November 17 assembly polls necessitating the deposit of licensed arms with the local police, men and women owning the licensed firearms wont be able to perform the ritual of Shastra Pujan (ritualistic worship of the firearms) on Dussehra festival in the Nimar region of MP. With the Shastra Pujan being a major ritual in the four districts of Nimar region, the mandatory deposit of licensed firearms with local police stations will deprive more than 30 women owning the firearms and over 5000 men owning the licensed guns from performing the Shastra Pujan this Dussehra with full vigour.

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Its family politics in coming assembly polls It is not the political parties attacking each other over the politics of the dynasty anymore. Most political parties are banking on the powerful political families to boost their prospects in the November 17 elections now. In both seats of Alirajpur district, Congress has fielded members of one family. Sitting MLA is contesting from Alirajpur seat, while his sister-in-law Sena Patel is in fray from adjoining Jobat seat. Leader of opposition and seventh-time Congress MLA Dr Govind Singh has ensured the partys ticket for his maternal nephew Rahul Bhadoriya. Double somersaults within two monthsgoogletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Shifting of political loyalties is nothing new during the election season. However, a former BJP MLA in Rewa district has done something rare by switching loyalties twice within two months. Former BJP MLA from Semariya seat Abhay Mishra, who lost from Rewa seat as Congress candidate in 2018 polls, returned to BJP along with his ex-legislator wife Neelam after five years in 2023. But just two months later, sensing that his wish to get a ticket from BJP wouldnt materialize, he returned to Congress and was rewarded with ticket from Semariya, despite opposition from of Congress. Dussehra Shastra Pujan loses colour With the model code of conduct for the November 17 assembly polls necessitating the deposit of licensed arms with the local police, men and women owning the licensed firearms wont be able to perform the ritual of Shastra Pujan (ritualistic worship of the firearms) on Dussehra festival in the Nimar region of MP. With the Shastra Pujan being a major ritual in the four districts of Nimar region, the mandatory deposit of licensed firearms with local police stations will deprive more than 30 women owning the firearms and over 5000 men owning the licensed guns from performing the Shastra Pujan this Dussehra with full vigour. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Rajesh Kumar Thakur By

BJPs Member of Parliament Nishikant Dubey and controversy go hand in hand. The 54-year-old MP from Jharkhands Godda constituency, however, blames people for creating controversies around him.

While he has adroitly managed to put the past storms behind him, the three-term MP has once again landed in the middle of a huge controversy by accusing a fellow parliamentarian of accepting financial favours for asking questions in Parliament. He has accused the firebrand Mahua Moitra, of the Trinamool Congress, of targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and industrialist Gautam Adani at the behest of vested interests in lieu of favours.

A graduate of the Marwari College of Bhagalpur in Bihar, Nishikant joined the Essar Group as a director at an early age of 23. In 2009, he bid goodbye to the corporate world and debuted in electoral politics. In doing so, he also bid a final goodbye to his father Radhyshayam Dubeys leftist ideology by contesting on a BJP ticket. Dubey had started drifting away from his fathers politics early in his life by joining the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh. He went on to join various right-wing outfits, including noted think-tank Kautilaya Institute of Developmental Studies, with which BJP and Sangh stalwarts such as Arun Jaitely, Govindacharya and others were associated.

During the course of his political progress, he was never far from controversies. He, however, claims controversy main nahi, log mere sath create karte hain (I dont create controversy. It is the people who create them). He has emerged as an articulate and aggressive politician of the saffron pantheon. He has followed a well-crafted strategy of remaining in news by targeting the top opposition leaders within and outside the Parliament.

Emerging as a national political figure helped him win three consecutive elections from Godda. In his political journey, controversy has been his constant companion. Before the current cash-for-query controversy, he was in news when doubts were raised over the authenticity of his degrees mentioned in the affidavits of Lok Sabha elections in 2009 and 2014. Among his chief tormentors has been Mahua Moitra, against whom he has launched the current tirade. Dubey refutes all charges against him in the controversy over his degrees. Doubts were raised by Moitra over Dubey having obtained doctorate in management from Pratap University in Rajasthan on the topic of Emerging Issues of Rural Poverty. Dubey has termed the charges baseless and unfounded and has challenged his detractors to prove his degrees fake.

Dubeys rise in stature and respect within his party was evident from the leaderships decision to field him as the first speaker from the treasury side on the discussion on the landmark Womens Reservation Bill. The debate was initiated from the opposition side by former Congress president Sonia Gandhi. He has made a place for himself within his party as a sharp speaker with deep understanding of political issues.

An ardent devotee of Lord Shiva and Shakti (goddess of power), Dubey, reverentially called Baba by the people of his constituency, defines politics as desh-seva (service to nation) through Janta Seva (services of people). But, people remain at their wits end trying to understand whether controversy follows him or he follows controversy as hardly a year passes off without him getting mired in one.

Before the current controversy broke out, Dubey, along with his party colleagues and Delhi MP Manoj Tiwary, shot into national news when an FIR was lodged against nine people, including Dubey and Tiwary, for allegedly forcing the Air Traffic Control officials to give clearance for take-off during no-fly time.

Dubey is married to Anamika Gautam, who runs a private company. About 10 years back, a case was lodged against the couple in Delhi for allegedly demanding Rs 2 crore from a person known to them.

He owns assets worth Rs 46 crore as per his declaration in the Lok Sabha affidavit in 2019. However, the MP claims to be committed to eradication of poverty through Jan Seva (public service).

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BJPs Member of Parliament Nishikant Dubey and controversy go hand in hand. The 54-year-old MP from Jharkhands Godda constituency, however, blames people for creating controversies around him. While he has adroitly managed to put the past storms behind him, the three-term MP has once again landed in the middle of a huge controversy by accusing a fellow parliamentarian of accepting financial favours for asking questions in Parliament. He has accused the firebrand Mahua Moitra, of the Trinamool Congress, of targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and industrialist Gautam Adani at the behest of vested interests in lieu of favours. A graduate of the Marwari College of Bhagalpur in Bihar, Nishikant joined the Essar Group as a director at an early age of 23. In 2009, he bid goodbye to the corporate world and debuted in electoral politics. In doing so, he also bid a final goodbye to his father Radhyshayam Dubeys leftist ideology by contesting on a BJP ticket. Dubey had started drifting away from his fathers politics early in his life by joining the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh. He went on to join various right-wing outfits, including noted think-tank Kautilaya Institute of Developmental Studies, with which BJP and Sangh stalwarts such as Arun Jaitely, Govindacharya and others were associated.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); During the course of his political progress, he was never far from controversies. He, however, claims controversy main nahi, log mere sath create karte hain (I dont create controversy. It is the people who create them). He has emerged as an articulate and aggressive politician of the saffron pantheon. He has followed a well-crafted strategy of remaining in news by targeting the top opposition leaders within and outside the Parliament. Emerging as a national political figure helped him win three consecutive elections from Godda. In his political journey, controversy has been his constant companion. Before the current cash-for-query controversy, he was in news when doubts were raised over the authenticity of his degrees mentioned in the affidavits of Lok Sabha elections in 2009 and 2014. Among his chief tormentors has been Mahua Moitra, against whom he has launched the current tirade. Dubey refutes all charges against him in the controversy over his degrees. Doubts were raised by Moitra over Dubey having obtained doctorate in management from Pratap University in Rajasthan on the topic of Emerging Issues of Rural Poverty. Dubey has termed the charges baseless and unfounded and has challenged his detractors to prove his degrees fake. Dubeys rise in stature and respect within his party was evident from the leaderships decision to field him as the first speaker from the treasury side on the discussion on the landmark Womens Reservation Bill. The debate was initiated from the opposition side by former Congress president Sonia Gandhi. He has made a place for himself within his party as a sharp speaker with deep understanding of political issues. An ardent devotee of Lord Shiva and Shakti (goddess of power), Dubey, reverentially called Baba by the people of his constituency, defines politics as desh-seva (service to nation) through Janta Seva (services of people). But, people remain at their wits end trying to understand whether controversy follows him or he follows controversy as hardly a year passes off without him getting mired in one. Before the current controversy broke out, Dubey, along with his party colleagues and Delhi MP Manoj Tiwary, shot into national news when an FIR was lodged against nine people, including Dubey and Tiwary, for allegedly forcing the Air Traffic Control officials to give clearance for take-off during no-fly time. Dubey is married to Anamika Gautam, who runs a private company. About 10 years back, a case was lodged against the couple in Delhi for allegedly demanding Rs 2 crore from a person known to them. He owns assets worth Rs 46 crore as per his declaration in the Lok Sabha affidavit in 2019. However, the MP claims to be committed to eradication of poverty through Jan Seva (public service). Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Dilip Singh Kshatriya By

AHMEDABAD: A Dalit teacher of a government school in Amreli district of Gujarat died by suicide on Friday over facing alleged harassment and casteist remarks.

The deceased, identified as Kanti Chauhan, teaching at Juna Janjariya village in Bagasara taluka of the district, consumed poison while he was at the school, police said. He was rushed to a hospital but died during the treatment. His body was sent to Junagadh Civil Hospital for postmortem.

The teacher had recorded a video message before taking the drastic step. In the purported video, he can be heard saying, Sarpanch has been threatening and asking me to hand over the grants which I had received. He [Sarpanch] also circulated a defamatory message about me and my caste in social media groups of villagers.

I come from a lower caste. I teach students. You [Sarpanch] are attempting to defame us using our caste as a weapon, which is disgraceful for you holding sarpanch post.Anguished over the suicide and treatment meted out by sarpanch, members of the Dalit community gathered at Bagasra police station on Saturday morning refused to take the body and demanded the arrest of the accused.

The situation was pacified after police booked five persons, including the sarpanch and three teachers of the school, and detained the sarpanch.We have registered a case under section 306 [abetment of suicide] of the IPC and various sections of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, J P Bhandari, Deputy Superintendent of Police in Amreli, told the media.

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AHMEDABAD: A Dalit teacher of a government school in Amreli district of Gujarat died by suicide on Friday over facing alleged harassment and casteist remarks. The deceased, identified as Kanti Chauhan, teaching at Juna Janjariya village in Bagasara taluka of the district, consumed poison while he was at the school, police said. He was rushed to a hospital but died during the treatment. His body was sent to Junagadh Civil Hospital for postmortem. The teacher had recorded a video message before taking the drastic step. In the purported video, he can be heard saying, Sarpanch has been threatening and asking me to hand over the grants which I had received. He [Sarpanch] also circulated a defamatory message about me and my caste in social media groups of villagers.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); I come from a lower caste. I teach students. You [Sarpanch] are attempting to defame us using our caste as a weapon, which is disgraceful for you holding sarpanch post.Anguished over the suicide and treatment meted out by sarpanch, members of the Dalit community gathered at Bagasra police station on Saturday morning refused to take the body and demanded the arrest of the accused. The situation was pacified after police booked five persons, including the sarpanch and three teachers of the school, and detained the sarpanch.We have registered a case under section 306 [abetment of suicide] of the IPC and various sections of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, J P Bhandari, Deputy Superintendent of Police in Amreli, told the media. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Israel has been intensifying its air strikes in the northern Gaza Strip since the end of the Jewish Sabbath, following the deployment of troops, artillery and tanks that are now just awaiting the order to advance into the enclave. The Israeli army appears to be scrupulously carrying out its three-phase plan to invade Gaza and destroy Hamas and its militias. On Sunday, General Daniel Hagari, the spokesperson of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), once again urged the Palestinian population to move to the south of the Gaza Strip. Since the ultimatum was issued 13 days ago, more than 700,000 inhabitants of northern Gaza have fled south. The Israeli army also bombed a mosque in Jenin (West Bank) and continues to engage in exchanges of fire with the Hezbollah militia in southern Lebanon.

After midday on Sunday, the Gazan Health Ministry raised the number of Palestinians killed in the bombardment of the last 24 hours to 266, according to Reuters. Israel again urged the civilian population to leave the northern part of the Strip, particularly the enclaves capital, where it believes the command centers of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades and Hamas political leaders are hiding in a secret network of tunnels.

Urgent notice to Gaza residents. Your presence north of the Gaza River [limit set by the army in the central area of the enclave] puts your lives in danger. Anyone who decides not to leave northern Gaza to the south of the river could be identified as an accomplice of a terrorist organization, it is stated in Arabic in pamphlets dropped from the air over Gaza City and in text messages sent to residents cell phones. Of the 1.1 million Palestinians who reside in this part of the coastal territory (almost half of the total), some 700,000 have already fled to the south.

In addition, at least four Palestinians were killed in Israeli army attacks on the West Bank overnight, according to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). One of the attacks hit a mosque in Jenin that, according to Israeli forces, served as an underground terrorist infrastructure. The PNA issued a statement denouncing the bombing on Saturday night, arguing it represents a dangerous escalation of the conflict. Meanwhile, tension also remains in the north of the country, on the border with Lebanon, where the army has decided to evacuate another 14 towns in the face of the attacks and clashes with the Shiite militia party Hezbollah. Israel warned that Hezbollah is playing a very dangerous game. For its part, Syria has accused Israel of attacking the airports in Damascus and Aleppo, causing flights to be grounded.

In the midst of the Israeli attacks, the humanitarian aid has once again been allowed to enter Gaza from the border post with Egypt in Rafah, where the agreement reached by the United States with Israel and Cairo permitted the first convoy of aid on Saturday. Some 20 trucks carrying food and medicine were allowed to enter the enclave, but this is not enough to meet the needs of the population. According to the Reuters news agency, the second convoy is made up of 17 trucks.

IDF spokesman Hagari said 212 hostages remain in the hands of Hamas in Gaza, after the October 7 attack on Israeli territory that caused the death of at least 1,400 people. Since the start of the war, more than 4,600 people in Gaza have been killed in Israeli attacks and bombings. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, 70% of the victims are civilians.

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Ramashankar By

PATNA: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday created a flutter in political circles by describing his deputy and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav as his child, stating, He is everything to us.

Giving a clear indication that he was ready to hand over his CM post to Tejashwi at any time, Nitish while putting his hand on the shoulders of Tejashwi said, He is my child, he is everything to us. We are doing good work together for the state. He later clarified that his remark on the friendship with BJP was misunderstood.

Nitishs remarks have come after controversy erupted over his statement that he would have friends with BJP leaders throughout his life. He had made the statement at the convocation ceremony of Mahatma Gandhi Central University in Motihari. The CM also sought to clarify his statement by asserting that he never spoke about the party (BJP). He just spoke about how much good work had been done in the interest of Bihar through his initiatives. He said that he had done many things on the centenary of Mahatma Gandhis Champaran Satyagrah but the media did not cover it and instead focused on trivial issues.

Nitishs show of affection for Tejashwi is seen as an attempt to dispel any misconception about his joining hands with the BJP once again. Nitish on Saturday rubbished claims that he would be joining the BJP once again in the future.My statement was misinterpreted by media, he said in response to a query. Nitish has already announced that Tejashwi will lead the grand alliance in the 2025 Bihar assembly election. His announcement about Tejashwi also prompted senior JD (U) leader and former union minister Upendra Kushwaha to quit the party and float his own Rashtriya Lok Janata Dal (RLJD).

Nitish had formed a new government with the grand alliance by snapping ties with the BJP in August last year. Nitishs sentiments were also echoed by state Congress president Akhilesh Prasad Singh who said that there was no issue with Tejashwi Prasad Yadav holding the post of CM as the grand alliance had contested the 2015 state assembly election by projecting him as CM candidate. Meanwhile, former union minister and BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad said that a father (Lalu Prasad) wanted his son (Tejashwi) to become chief minister of the state but had to be seen when chacha (Nitish) vacated the chair.

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PATNA: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday created a flutter in political circles by describing his deputy and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav as his child, stating, He is everything to us. Giving a clear indication that he was ready to hand over his CM post to Tejashwi at any time, Nitish while putting his hand on the shoulders of Tejashwi said, He is my child, he is everything to us. We are doing good work together for the state. He later clarified that his remark on the friendship with BJP was misunderstood. Nitishs remarks have come after controversy erupted over his statement that he would have friends with BJP leaders throughout his life. He had made the statement at the convocation ceremony of Mahatma Gandhi Central University in Motihari. The CM also sought to clarify his statement by asserting that he never spoke about the party (BJP). He just spoke about how much good work had been done in the interest of Bihar through his initiatives. He said that he had done many things on the centenary of Mahatma Gandhis Champaran Satyagrah but the media did not cover it and instead focused on trivial issues.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Nitishs show of affection for Tejashwi is seen as an attempt to dispel any misconception about his joining hands with the BJP once again. Nitish on Saturday rubbished claims that he would be joining the BJP once again in the future.My statement was misinterpreted by media, he said in response to a query. Nitish has already announced that Tejashwi will lead the grand alliance in the 2025 Bihar assembly election. His announcement about Tejashwi also prompted senior JD (U) leader and former union minister Upendra Kushwaha to quit the party and float his own Rashtriya Lok Janata Dal (RLJD). Nitish had formed a new government with the grand alliance by snapping ties with the BJP in August last year. Nitishs sentiments were also echoed by state Congress president Akhilesh Prasad Singh who said that there was no issue with Tejashwi Prasad Yadav holding the post of CM as the grand alliance had contested the 2015 state assembly election by projecting him as CM candidate. Meanwhile, former union minister and BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad said that a father (Lalu Prasad) wanted his son (Tejashwi) to become chief minister of the state but had to be seen when chacha (Nitish) vacated the chair. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
The Sunday Standard By

As non-governmental opinion across the world begins to shift in the face of Israels unrelenting bombardment-cum-blockade of Gaza  which has killed well over 4,000 so far, including in a disputed but devastating airstrike on a hospital  Israeli diplomacy is keen to retain the moral legitimacy that it derived for its actions from the original Hamas attack of October 7.

Peace and coexistence can be given a chance only after the military operation is over, says Israels ambassador to India Naor Gilon. There can be no discussions when we are threatened. Only after we eliminate Hamas will we consider other options, he asserted during the 7th edition of Delhi Dialogues.

Excerpts:

Santwana Bhattacharya: How would you describe the current situation and how long-drawn is this war/conflict going to be?

We will have to go two weeks back to know what happened on October 7. Unlike earlier, it wasnt just a skirmish. The atrocities were a game-changer from the Israeli point of view. There was a collapse of our conceptual approach towards Hamas  Hamas ISIS. Close to 7,000 rockets were fired. They started it and crossed the border under the bombing and killed whoever they saw; 1,400 people died, 3,000 were wounded and 200 were kidnapped. As many as 260 youngsters were killed in the midst of a party.

This is worse than 9/11. Israel cannot afford to live in this condition. In 2005 more than 10,000 Jews lived in Gaza when the Palestinian Authority was in power. A year later Hamas came to power and did nothing for the welfare of Palestine. People from Gaza went to work in Israel and earned their livelihood. We thought that this would deter them from attacking us. That was a huge mistake.

How to rectify the mistake? Eliminate Hamas and bring back kidnapped civilians. This will be a different ground operation, which will be stronger and longer.

Santwana Bhattacharya: Israel was known for its impregnable security setup. How was that breached?

In Israel, we are speculating on what went wrong. Everyone took responsibility. We thought there would be no war, life was better in Gaza. We misunderstood. Thats the first reason. At least 2.2 million people are living in Gaza in a 7km wide and 20km long area. In many areas, people can cross over. We have to prepare better. The final blow will come to Hamas.

READ MORE | Israel-Hamas war LIVE: IDF says it will step up attacks on Gaza before ground invasion

Santwana Bhattacharya: The Al Ahli hospital attack in Gaza led to a blame game. What is your stand?

There is no doubt that the hospital was attacked, but it wasnt us. Within 10 minutes, Hamas counted 471 bodies. However, in Israel, we found evidence of radars and cameras and phone conversations between terrorists that showed that Hamas was responsible. The US President said it too. There is an attempt to draw an equivalence between information and disinformation. A French news agency says 50 died in the hospital when a rocket, fired from behind the hospital, struck it. We are doing all we can to minimise the impact on the civilian population. Hamas is using people as human shields. It is trying to create international pressure by playing the victim card.

Yeshi Seli: How many Israeli hostages are with Hamas? How do you intend to bring them back? Have you heard from them?

There are more than 200. We do not know how many are alive. Taking civilians hostage is a war crime. We are not sure where they are. How we take them out, we dont know. A ground operation is an option, which is rather complex. There is no alternative other than to go in and bring them back.

Yeshi Seli: The Iranian foreign minister had said if the war doesnt slow down, Hezbollah (an Iran-supported Shia militant group based in Lebanon) will join in

We are certain that Hamas was backed by Iran. Even though Iran is Shia and Hamas is Sunni, its a marriage of convenience. Hamas is trained and financed by Iran. All this is aimed at disrupting developments in West Asia. There were talks between Saudi Arabia and Israel, then there is the I2U2 (India, Israel, US and UAE) partnership and the IMEC (India-Middle East-Europe Economic) Corridor, which will connect India, West Asia to Europe through a multimodal transport route.

Santwana Bhattacharya: What are you expecting from India?

We are really moved by the wide support we have received from India. I am inundated with messages from people living across India. PM Modi on October 7 was among the first to denounce the attack and showed his support for Israel. He also spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu.

Neha Sonthalia: In the past, there have been peace agreements (Oslo Accords). Do you see that happening?

When people speak of the two-state solution, they are not being realistic. There is a three-state solution needed. Gaza is an independent state. Palestinians cannot speak on behalf of Gaza. All past narratives dont stand. Once the operation is over, we can look at peace, coexistence. We have to eliminate the risk. There can be no discussions when we are threatened. Only after we eliminate Hamas will we consider other options.Terrorists are enemies of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and other Gulf countries. We want to defuse this and we should succeed with international support. Some countries cannot openly support us due to public sentiment.



Santwana Bhattacharya: Even many Jews have urged for a ceasefire...

Such protests are from fringe elements, just like the fringe that India is challenged by in Canada. Most Jews support Israel for the need to have a Jewish State. There are some Jews who are anti-Israel and Arabs who speak against Hamas. There is no pressure to stop us.

Yeshi Seli: China proposed peace in alliance with Egypt for the ongoing conflict. Your views

Some countries talk like this as they want to go against the superpowers. Its a multi-polar world and its a world of mini-laterals. Smaller organisations are doing better; bigger ones dont arrive at any solution.

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As non-governmental opinion across the world begins to shift in the face of Israels unrelenting bombardment-cum-blockade of Gaza  which has killed well over 4,000 so far, including in a disputed but devastating airstrike on a hospital  Israeli diplomacy is keen to retain the moral legitimacy that it derived for its actions from the original Hamas attack of October 7. Peace and coexistence can be given a chance only after the military operation is over, says Israels ambassador to India Naor Gilon. There can be no discussions when we are threatened. Only after we eliminate Hamas will we consider other options, he asserted during the 7th edition of Delhi Dialogues. Excerpts:googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Santwana Bhattacharya: How would you describe the current situation and how long-drawn is this war/conflict going to be? We will have to go two weeks back to know what happened on October 7. Unlike earlier, it wasnt just a skirmish. The atrocities were a game-changer from the Israeli point of view. There was a collapse of our conceptual approach towards Hamas  Hamas ISIS. Close to 7,000 rockets were fired. They started it and crossed the border under the bombing and killed whoever they saw; 1,400 people died, 3,000 were wounded and 200 were kidnapped. As many as 260 youngsters were killed in the midst of a party. This is worse than 9/11. Israel cannot afford to live in this condition. In 2005 more than 10,000 Jews lived in Gaza when the Palestinian Authority was in power. A year later Hamas came to power and did nothing for the welfare of Palestine. People from Gaza went to work in Israel and earned their livelihood. We thought that this would deter them from attacking us. That was a huge mistake. How to rectify the mistake? Eliminate Hamas and bring back kidnapped civilians. This will be a different ground operation, which will be stronger and longer. Santwana Bhattacharya: Israel was known for its impregnable security setup. How was that breached? In Israel, we are speculating on what went wrong. Everyone took responsibility. We thought there would be no war, life was better in Gaza. We misunderstood. Thats the first reason. At least 2.2 million people are living in Gaza in a 7km wide and 20km long area. In many areas, people can cross over. We have to prepare better. The final blow will come to Hamas. READ MORE | Israel-Hamas war LIVE: IDF says it will step up attacks on Gaza before ground invasion Santwana Bhattacharya: The Al Ahli hospital attack in Gaza led to a blame game. What is your stand? There is no doubt that the hospital was attacked, but it wasnt us. Within 10 minutes, Hamas counted 471 bodies. However, in Israel, we found evidence of radars and cameras and phone conversations between terrorists that showed that Hamas was responsible. The US President said it too. There is an attempt to draw an equivalence between information and disinformation. A French news agency says 50 died in the hospital when a rocket, fired from behind the hospital, struck it. We are doing all we can to minimise the impact on the civilian population. Hamas is using people as human shields. It is trying to create international pressure by playing the victim card. Yeshi Seli: How many Israeli hostages are with Hamas? How do you intend to bring them back? Have you heard from them? There are more than 200. We do not know how many are alive. Taking civilians hostage is a war crime. We are not sure where they are. How we take them out, we dont know. A ground operation is an option, which is rather complex. There is no alternative other than to go in and bring them back. Yeshi Seli: The Iranian foreign minister had said if the war doesnt slow down, Hezbollah (an Iran-supported Shia militant group based in Lebanon) will join in We are certain that Hamas was backed by Iran. Even though Iran is Shia and Hamas is Sunni, its a marriage of convenience. Hamas is trained and financed by Iran. All this is aimed at disrupting developments in West Asia. There were talks between Saudi Arabia and Israel, then there is the I2U2 (India, Israel, US and UAE) partnership and the IMEC (India-Middle East-Europe Economic) Corridor, which will connect India, West Asia to Europe through a multimodal transport route. Santwana Bhattacharya: What are you expecting from India? We are really moved by the wide support we have received from India. I am inundated with messages from people living across India. PM Modi on October 7 was among the first to denounce the attack and showed his support for Israel. He also spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu. Neha Sonthalia: In the past, there have been peace agreements (Oslo Accords). Do you see that happening? When people speak of the two-state solution, they are not being realistic. There is a three-state solution needed. Gaza is an independent state. Palestinians cannot speak on behalf of Gaza. All past narratives dont stand. Once the operation is over, we can look at peace, coexistence. We have to eliminate the risk. There can be no discussions when we are threatened. Only after we eliminate Hamas will we consider other options.Terrorists are enemies of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and other Gulf countries. We want to defuse this and we should succeed with international support. Some countries cannot openly support us due to public sentiment. Santwana Bhattacharya: Even many Jews have urged for a ceasefire... Such protests are from fringe elements, just like the fringe that India is challenged by in Canada. Most Jews support Israel for the need to have a Jewish State. There are some Jews who are anti-Israel and Arabs who speak against Hamas. There is no pressure to stop us. Yeshi Seli: China proposed peace in alliance with Egypt for the ongoing conflict. Your views Some countries talk like this as they want to go against the superpowers. Its a multi-polar world and its a world of mini-laterals. Smaller organisations are doing better; bigger ones dont arrive at any solution. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
By Associated Press

REHOBOTH BEACH, Del.: Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday the United States expects the Israel-Hamas war to escalate through involvement by proxies of Iran and asserted that the Biden administration is prepared to respond if American personnel or armed forces become the target of any such hostilities.

This is not what we want, not what were looking for. We dont want escalation, Blinken said. We dont want to see our forces or our personnel come under fire. But if that happens, were ready for it.

Blinkens warning came as Israels military response to a deadly Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on civilians in communities in southern Israel entered its third week.

Israeli warplanes struck targets across Gaza overnight and into Sunday, as well as two airports in Syria and a mosque in the occupied West Bank allegedly used by militants as the war threatened to engulf more of the Middle East.

Israel has traded fire with Lebanons Hezbollah militant group on a near-daily basis since the war began, and tensions are soaring in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces have battled militants in refugee camps and carried out two airstrikes in recent days.

The US announced Sunday that non-essential staff at its embassy in Iraq should leave the country.

ALSO READ | Israel strikes Gaza, Syria and West Bank as war against Hamas threatens to ignite other fronts

Blinken, who recently visited the region, spoke of a likelihood of escalation while saying no one wants to see a second or third front in the war.

He said he expects escalation by Iranian proxies directed against our forces, directed against our personnel, and added: We are taking steps to make sure that we can effectively defend our people and respond decisively if we need to.

President Joe Biden repeatedly has used one word to warn Israels enemies against trying to take advantage of the situation: Dont.

Blinken, appearing on NBCs Meet the Press, noted that additional military assets had been deployed to the region, including two aircraft carrier battle groups, not to provoke, but to deter, to make clear that if anyone tries to do anything, were there.

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REHOBOTH BEACH, Del.: Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday the United States expects the Israel-Hamas war to escalate through involvement by proxies of Iran and asserted that the Biden administration is prepared to respond if American personnel or armed forces become the target of any such hostilities. This is not what we want, not what were looking for. We dont want escalation, Blinken said. We dont want to see our forces or our personnel come under fire. But if that happens, were ready for it. Blinkens warning came as Israels military response to a deadly Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on civilians in communities in southern Israel entered its third week.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Israeli warplanes struck targets across Gaza overnight and into Sunday, as well as two airports in Syria and a mosque in the occupied West Bank allegedly used by militants as the war threatened to engulf more of the Middle East. Israel has traded fire with Lebanons Hezbollah militant group on a near-daily basis since the war began, and tensions are soaring in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces have battled militants in refugee camps and carried out two airstrikes in recent days. The US announced Sunday that non-essential staff at its embassy in Iraq should leave the country. ALSO READ | Israel strikes Gaza, Syria and West Bank as war against Hamas threatens to ignite other fronts Blinken, who recently visited the region, spoke of a likelihood of escalation while saying no one wants to see a second or third front in the war. He said he expects escalation by Iranian proxies directed against our forces, directed against our personnel, and added: We are taking steps to make sure that we can effectively defend our people and respond decisively if we need to. President Joe Biden repeatedly has used one word to warn Israels enemies against trying to take advantage of the situation: Dont. Blinken, appearing on NBCs Meet the Press, noted that additional military assets had been deployed to the region, including two aircraft carrier battle groups, not to provoke, but to deter, to make clear that if anyone tries to do anything, were there. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Asher Kaufman, University of Notre Dame

(THE CONVERSATION)

Lebanon, which is teetering on the edge of economic and political collapse, risks becoming entangled in the escalating war between Israel and Hamas.

Hezbollah has been gearing up for the possibility of joining the fight ever since Hamas surprise assault on Oct. 7, 2023, killed nearly 1,400 people, leading to Israels declaration of war a day later. The Shiite militant group has launched multiple attacks on Israeli targets from Lebanon, prompting return fire from the Israel Defense Forces. Over a dozen people have died, mostly Hezbollah fighters but also at least a few civilians on both sides of the border, including a Reuters photojournalist.

As a historian, I have focused my research and teaching on the dynamics of conflict and cooperation involving Israelis, Lebanese and Palestinians. If a war between Hezbollah and Israel does erupt, the already significant violence and destruction in southern Israel and Gaza will likely be greatly compounded by further massive loss of life in Lebanon, Israel and perhaps in other parts of the Middle East.

Hezbollahs decision whether to fully join the war may answer a question that has been preoccupying analysts of the organization for decades: Is its priority the well-being of Lebanon or acting as a proxy for Iran?

FOLLOW OUR LIVE COVERAGE OF ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR

A decades-old conflict

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been spilling into Lebanon since 1948, with the establishment of Israel and displacement of Palestinians, or what the latter call the Nakba, or catastrophe.

In fact, no Arab country has been more affected by this conflict. About 110,000 Palestinians took refuge in Lebanon in 1948. Today, the number is about 210,000, and they are denied basic rights.

In surveys, many Lebanese have said they resent the Palestinian refugees in the country and blame them for the eruption of the Lebanese civil war, which took place from 1975 to 1990. An estimated 120,000 died during the fighting, the scars of which can still be seen in the capital of Beirut.

Israel was deeply embroiled in the Lebanese civil war. It supported Christian militias and pursued its own fight against Palestinian militias, who used Lebanon as a base to launch attacks against the Jewish state. In 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon in order to wipe out the Palestine Liberation Organization and establish a pro-Israeli Christian government in Beirut. Neither objective was achieved.

Hezbollah becomes Lebanons strongest force

Since its foundation in 1920, Lebanon and its politics have been dominated by a sectarian system in which government and state positions are divided among the 18 officially recognized religious sects, most notably Sunnis, Maronite Christians, Druze and Shiites. Each sect has mandated representation in government.

Today, the Shiite population is the largest sect in the country, making up 30% to 40% of the general population  but no exact figure is available because the sensitivity of the matter has meant no official census has been conducted since 1932.

For decades, Lebanons sectarian system has resulted in what scholars call hybrid sovereignty. Political elites who represent their sects in the sectarian system are both part of the state apparatus and also operate outside of it by providing their constituents services that are normally the responsibility of government, from providing marriage licenses to armed protection.

Hezbollah formed in 1982 with Iranian and Syrian support to fight Israel after its invasion. It is by far the countrys strongest political, socioeconomic and military force. This is due to the support of Iran and a strong and cohesive internal social structure among its Shiite followers in the country. Not all Shiites identify with Hezbollah, but no doubt many of them sympathize with its causes.

Hezbollah also operates within the hybrid structure of the sectarian system by playing an integral part in the government but also by functioning as a state unto itself. For example, it boasts its own military force, which is far stronger than the formal Lebanese army, and provides social, educational and economic services to Shiites.

In fact, no group has benefited more from this sectarian hybrid system than Hezbollah.

Lebanon in free fall

Despite the fractured political system and weak state, Lebanon has managed to retain some stability and vitality, even under the duress of the Syrian civil war, which began in 2011.

Things took a severe turn in October 2019, when years of Ponzi-like financial mismanagement, excessive borrowing and a sharp decline in remittances from abroad led the Lebanese economy to melt down. The World Bank has described it as one of the worst economic crises since the mid-19th century.

The crisis sparked large-scale protests across the country, known as the October 17 revolution, in which the Lebanese demanded social and economic justice, an end to corruption and the dismantling of the sectarian political system. As a result, foreign donors were alarmed, foreign currency flowed out of the country, banks shut their doors to depositors, the government defaulted on its debt and the local currency collapsed.

A massive blast at the Beirut port in August 2020, which killed 225 people and caused billions of dollars in damage, further exacerbated the socioeconomic and political conditions in the country. And since October 2022, the Lebanese political system has been in complete gridlock, given the inability of the political class to agree on a new president and a new government.

Hezbollah has been the least affected by the national crisis among political forces in the country and has emerged as a staunch defender of the political system that nurtured it.

Some already see Lebanon as a failed state, so the last thing the country needs is to become part of another war.

Back to the Stone Age?

But whether Lebanon becomes a part of the war, ultimately, is not up to the Lebanese government.

The current caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, has cautioned against a war with Israel, as did Druze and Maronite political leaders, who have traditionally opposed Hezbollahs military hegemony in Lebanon.

Mikati acknowledged, however, that he holds no power to decide whether Lebanon will go to war, reflecting the paradoxes of the Lebanese political system in which the most crucial decision any national leadership could make  the decision to launch a war  does not rest within the government but within Hezbollah and by extension within Iran.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has repeatedly stated that the groups prime role is to defend Lebanons sovereignty.

Its commitment to Iran, on the other hand, has been openly demonstrated through its direct involvement in the Syrian civil war, which saved Bashar Assads government. But that war was fought mostly on Syrian soil. A war with Israel would be very different.

It would be another tragic page in the history of Lebanon if Hezbollah were to join the war against Israel, in purported support for Palestinians in Gaza. It could prompt Israel  in the words of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant  to try to send Lebanon back to the Stone Age. Nasrallah, Hezbollahs secretary-general, already answered in kind.

It would also likely lead to the broader regional war that U.S. officials, including President Joe Biden, have been trying so desperately to avoid. And Lebanon itself would move closer to the brink of absolute and irreversible collapse.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.

Read the original article here.

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Asher Kaufman, University of Notre Dame (THE CONVERSATION) Lebanon, which is teetering on the edge of economic and political collapse, risks becoming entangled in the escalating war between Israel and Hamas.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Hezbollah has been gearing up for the possibility of joining the fight ever since Hamas surprise assault on Oct. 7, 2023, killed nearly 1,400 people, leading to Israels declaration of war a day later. The Shiite militant group has launched multiple attacks on Israeli targets from Lebanon, prompting return fire from the Israel Defense Forces. Over a dozen people have died, mostly Hezbollah fighters but also at least a few civilians on both sides of the border, including a Reuters photojournalist. As a historian, I have focused my research and teaching on the dynamics of conflict and cooperation involving Israelis, Lebanese and Palestinians. If a war between Hezbollah and Israel does erupt, the already significant violence and destruction in southern Israel and Gaza will likely be greatly compounded by further massive loss of life in Lebanon, Israel and perhaps in other parts of the Middle East. Hezbollahs decision whether to fully join the war may answer a question that has been preoccupying analysts of the organization for decades: Is its priority the well-being of Lebanon or acting as a proxy for Iran? FOLLOW OUR LIVE COVERAGE OF ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR A decades-old conflict The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been spilling into Lebanon since 1948, with the establishment of Israel and displacement of Palestinians, or what the latter call the Nakba, or catastrophe. In fact, no Arab country has been more affected by this conflict. About 110,000 Palestinians took refuge in Lebanon in 1948. Today, the number is about 210,000, and they are denied basic rights. In surveys, many Lebanese have said they resent the Palestinian refugees in the country and blame them for the eruption of the Lebanese civil war, which took place from 1975 to 1990. An estimated 120,000 died during the fighting, the scars of which can still be seen in the capital of Beirut. Israel was deeply embroiled in the Lebanese civil war. It supported Christian militias and pursued its own fight against Palestinian militias, who used Lebanon as a base to launch attacks against the Jewish state. In 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon in order to wipe out the Palestine Liberation Organization and establish a pro-Israeli Christian government in Beirut. Neither objective was achieved. Hezbollah becomes Lebanons strongest force Since its foundation in 1920, Lebanon and its politics have been dominated by a sectarian system in which government and state positions are divided among the 18 officially recognized religious sects, most notably Sunnis, Maronite Christians, Druze and Shiites. Each sect has mandated representation in government. Today, the Shiite population is the largest sect in the country, making up 30% to 40% of the general population  but no exact figure is available because the sensitivity of the matter has meant no official census has been conducted since 1932. For decades, Lebanons sectarian system has resulted in what scholars call hybrid sovereignty. Political elites who represent their sects in the sectarian system are both part of the state apparatus and also operate outside of it by providing their constituents services that are normally the responsibility of government, from providing marriage licenses to armed protection. Hezbollah formed in 1982 with Iranian and Syrian support to fight Israel after its invasion. It is by far the countrys strongest political, socioeconomic and military force. This is due to the support of Iran and a strong and cohesive internal social structure among its Shiite followers in the country. Not all Shiites identify with Hezbollah, but no doubt many of them sympathize with its causes. Hezbollah also operates within the hybrid structure of the sectarian system by playing an integral part in the government but also by functioning as a state unto itself. For example, it boasts its own military force, which is far stronger than the formal Lebanese army, and provides social, educational and economic services to Shiites. In fact, no group has benefited more from this sectarian hybrid system than Hezbollah. Lebanon in free fall Despite the fractured political system and weak state, Lebanon has managed to retain some stability and vitality, even under the duress of the Syrian civil war, which began in 2011. Things took a severe turn in October 2019, when years of Ponzi-like financial mismanagement, excessive borrowing and a sharp decline in remittances from abroad led the Lebanese economy to melt down. The World Bank has described it as one of the worst economic crises since the mid-19th century. The crisis sparked large-scale protests across the country, known as the October 17 revolution, in which the Lebanese demanded social and economic justice, an end to corruption and the dismantling of the sectarian political system. As a result, foreign donors were alarmed, foreign currency flowed out of the country, banks shut their doors to depositors, the government defaulted on its debt and the local currency collapsed. A massive blast at the Beirut port in August 2020, which killed 225 people and caused billions of dollars in damage, further exacerbated the socioeconomic and political conditions in the country. And since October 2022, the Lebanese political system has been in complete gridlock, given the inability of the political class to agree on a new president and a new government. Hezbollah has been the least affected by the national crisis among political forces in the country and has emerged as a staunch defender of the political system that nurtured it. Some already see Lebanon as a failed state, so the last thing the country needs is to become part of another war. Back to the Stone Age? But whether Lebanon becomes a part of the war, ultimately, is not up to the Lebanese government. The current caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, has cautioned against a war with Israel, as did Druze and Maronite political leaders, who have traditionally opposed Hezbollahs military hegemony in Lebanon. Mikati acknowledged, however, that he holds no power to decide whether Lebanon will go to war, reflecting the paradoxes of the Lebanese political system in which the most crucial decision any national leadership could make  the decision to launch a war  does not rest within the government but within Hezbollah and by extension within Iran. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has repeatedly stated that the groups prime role is to defend Lebanons sovereignty. Its commitment to Iran, on the other hand, has been openly demonstrated through its direct involvement in the Syrian civil war, which saved Bashar Assads government. But that war was fought mostly on Syrian soil. A war with Israel would be very different. It would be another tragic page in the history of Lebanon if Hezbollah were to join the war against Israel, in purported support for Palestinians in Gaza. It could prompt Israel  in the words of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant  to try to send Lebanon back to the Stone Age. Nasrallah, Hezbollahs secretary-general, already answered in kind. It would also likely lead to the broader regional war that U.S. officials, including President Joe Biden, have been trying so desperately to avoid. And Lebanon itself would move closer to the brink of absolute and irreversible collapse. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
By AFP

JERUSALEM: Hezbollah's escalating attacks on Israel risk "dragging Lebanon into a war", Israel's military said Sunday, after renewed cross-border exchanges of fire that have raised fears of a wider conflict.

The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah is allied with Hamas, which touched off the latest violence with a bloody October 7 rampage in Israel that killed at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli officials.

Israel has retaliated with relentless strikes on the Iran-backed Hamas in the Gaza Strip that have killed more than 4,300 Palestinians, also mainly civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

It has also exchanged fire with Hezbollah across its northern border, with Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Jonathan Conricus accusing the group of a dangerous escalation.

"Hezbollah... is dragging Lebanon into a war that it will gain nothing from, but stands to lose a lot," Conricus said.

"Hezbollah is playing a very, very dangerous game. They're escalating the situation. We see more and more attacks every day," he said.

FOLLOW OUR LIVE COVERAGE OF ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR

"Is the Lebanese state really willing to jeopardise what is left of Lebanese prosperity and Lebanese sovereignty for the sake of terrorists in Gaza? That's a question that the Lebanese authorities need to ask themselves and answer."

Weekend exchanges of fire have killed four Hezbollah fighters and a member of Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad in Lebanon, while three Israeli troops were injured, one seriously, in Hezbollah anti-tank fire, and two Thai farm workers were also wounded.

On Sunday morning, the army said its forces "identified a terrorist cell attempting to launch anti-tank missiles toward the Avivim area along the border with Lebanon."

"IDF soldiers struck the cell before it was able to carry out the attack," a statement from the military said.

READ | Hezbollah alone will decide whether Lebanon - already on the brink of collapse - gets dragged into Israel-Hamas war

Since October 7, exchanges of fire across the border have killed at least four people in Israel -- three soldiers and one civilian.

In southern Lebanon, at least 27 people have been killed, according to an AFP tally. Most have been combatants but at least four civilians, including a Reuters journalist, have also been killed.

Israel has ordered dozens of northern communities to evacuate, and several thousand Lebanese have also fled border regions for the southern city of Tyre.

On Sunday, the Israeli defence ministry said they were evacuating 14 additional communities from the area.

Hezbollah number two Naim Qassem has warned the group could step up its involvement in the conflict.

"Let's be clear, as events unfold, if something comes up that calls for greater intervention by us, we will do so," he said.

The Iran-backed Hezbollah fought a devastating war with Israel in 2006 that left more than 1,200 dead in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and 160 dead in Israel, mostly soldiers.

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JERUSALEM: Hezbollah's escalating attacks on Israel risk "dragging Lebanon into a war", Israel's military said Sunday, after renewed cross-border exchanges of fire that have raised fears of a wider conflict. The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah is allied with Hamas, which touched off the latest violence with a bloody October 7 rampage in Israel that killed at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli officials. Israel has retaliated with relentless strikes on the Iran-backed Hamas in the Gaza Strip that have killed more than 4,300 Palestinians, also mainly civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); It has also exchanged fire with Hezbollah across its northern border, with Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Jonathan Conricus accusing the group of a dangerous escalation. "Hezbollah... is dragging Lebanon into a war that it will gain nothing from, but stands to lose a lot," Conricus said. "Hezbollah is playing a very, very dangerous game. They're escalating the situation. We see more and more attacks every day," he said. FOLLOW OUR LIVE COVERAGE OF ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR "Is the Lebanese state really willing to jeopardise what is left of Lebanese prosperity and Lebanese sovereignty for the sake of terrorists in Gaza? That's a question that the Lebanese authorities need to ask themselves and answer." Weekend exchanges of fire have killed four Hezbollah fighters and a member of Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad in Lebanon, while three Israeli troops were injured, one seriously, in Hezbollah anti-tank fire, and two Thai farm workers were also wounded. On Sunday morning, the army said its forces "identified a terrorist cell attempting to launch anti-tank missiles toward the Avivim area along the border with Lebanon." "IDF soldiers struck the cell before it was able to carry out the attack," a statement from the military said. READ | Hezbollah alone will decide whether Lebanon - already on the brink of collapse - gets dragged into Israel-Hamas war Since October 7, exchanges of fire across the border have killed at least four people in Israel -- three soldiers and one civilian. In southern Lebanon, at least 27 people have been killed, according to an AFP tally. Most have been combatants but at least four civilians, including a Reuters journalist, have also been killed. Israel has ordered dozens of northern communities to evacuate, and several thousand Lebanese have also fled border regions for the southern city of Tyre. On Sunday, the Israeli defence ministry said they were evacuating 14 additional communities from the area. Hezbollah number two Naim Qassem has warned the group could step up its involvement in the conflict. "Let's be clear, as events unfold, if something comes up that calls for greater intervention by us, we will do so," he said. The Iran-backed Hezbollah fought a devastating war with Israel in 2006 that left more than 1,200 dead in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and 160 dead in Israel, mostly soldiers. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
By Associated Press

JERUSALEM: Deadly violence has been surging in the West Bank as the Israeli military pursues Palestinian militants in the aftermath of the Hamas attack from Gaza, with at least 90 Palestinians killed in the Israeli-occupied territory in the past two weeks, mainly in clashes with Israeli troops.

The violence threatens to open another front in the 2-week-old war and puts pressure on the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the West Bank and is deeply unpopular among Palestinians, in large part because it cooperates with Israel on security matters.

The tally includes five Palestinians killed in separate incidents on Sunday, including two who died in an airstrike on a mosque in the volatile Jenin refugee camp that Israel said was being used by militants. Israel carried out an airstrike during a battle in another West Bank refugee camp last week, in which 13 Palestinians, including five minors, and a member of Israel's paramilitary Border Police were killed.

Israel rarely uses air power in the occupied West Bank, even as it has bombarded Hamas-ruled Gaza since the militant group stormed across the border on Oct. 7.

More than 1,400 people have been killed in Israel since the war began, mostly civilians killed in the initial Hamas assault. The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza says over 4,300 Palestinians have been killed.

The Palestinian Health Ministry in the West Bank says 90 Palestinians have been killed there since Oct. 7, a dramatic jump from 197, according to an Associated Press count, from the start of the year until the Hamas attack. In addition to the raids, Palestinians have been killed in violent anti-Israel protests and in some instances in attacks by Jewish settlers.

Israel clamped down on the territory immediately after the Hamas assault, closing crossings and checkpoints between Palestinian towns. Israel says its forces have detained over 700 suspects in the West Bank, including 480 members of Hamas, since the start of hostilities.

ALSO READ | Israel says killed 'terror operatives' in Jenin mosque air strike

Israels resumption of aerial attacks  which in a July operation in Jenin reached a level of intensity not seen since the Palestinian uprising against Israel two decades ago  suggests a shift in military tactics.

The military described the Al-Ansar Mosque in Jenin as a militant compound belonging to Hamas and Islamic Jihad, a smaller and more radical Palestinian militant group. It said the militants had carried out several attacks in recent months and were planning another imminent assault.

The intensified violence follows more than a year of escalating raids and arrests in the West Bank and deadly Palestinian attacks on Israelis.

Israel captured the West Bank, along with Gaza and East Jerusalem, in the 1967 war. The Palestinians want all three territories for a future state. Over 500,000 Israelis live in settlements across the West Bank that most of the international community considers illegal, while the territory's more than 2.5 million Palestinians live under Israeli military rule.

The Palestinians view the settlements as the greatest obstacle to resolving the conflict with Israel. The last serious and substantive peace talks broke down over a decade ago.

Settler violence against Palestinians has also intensified since the Hamas attack. At least five Palestinians have been killed by settlers, according to Palestinian authorities, and rights groups say settlers have torched cars and attacked several small Bedouin communities, forcing them to evacuate to other areas.

The West Bank Protection Consortium, a coalition of non-governmental organizations and donor countries, including the European Union, says at least 470 Palestinians have been forcibly displaced in the West Bank due to settler violence since Oct. 7. That's in addition to over 1,100 displaced since 2022.

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JERUSALEM: Deadly violence has been surging in the West Bank as the Israeli military pursues Palestinian militants in the aftermath of the Hamas attack from Gaza, with at least 90 Palestinians killed in the Israeli-occupied territory in the past two weeks, mainly in clashes with Israeli troops. The violence threatens to open another front in the 2-week-old war and puts pressure on the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the West Bank and is deeply unpopular among Palestinians, in large part because it cooperates with Israel on security matters. The tally includes five Palestinians killed in separate incidents on Sunday, including two who died in an airstrike on a mosque in the volatile Jenin refugee camp that Israel said was being used by militants. Israel carried out an airstrike during a battle in another West Bank refugee camp last week, in which 13 Palestinians, including five minors, and a member of Israel's paramilitary Border Police were killed.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Israel rarely uses air power in the occupied West Bank, even as it has bombarded Hamas-ruled Gaza since the militant group stormed across the border on Oct. 7. More than 1,400 people have been killed in Israel since the war began, mostly civilians killed in the initial Hamas assault. The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza says over 4,300 Palestinians have been killed. The Palestinian Health Ministry in the West Bank says 90 Palestinians have been killed there since Oct. 7, a dramatic jump from 197, according to an Associated Press count, from the start of the year until the Hamas attack. In addition to the raids, Palestinians have been killed in violent anti-Israel protests and in some instances in attacks by Jewish settlers. Israel clamped down on the territory immediately after the Hamas assault, closing crossings and checkpoints between Palestinian towns. Israel says its forces have detained over 700 suspects in the West Bank, including 480 members of Hamas, since the start of hostilities. ALSO READ | Israel says killed 'terror operatives' in Jenin mosque air strike Israels resumption of aerial attacks  which in a July operation in Jenin reached a level of intensity not seen since the Palestinian uprising against Israel two decades ago  suggests a shift in military tactics. The military described the Al-Ansar Mosque in Jenin as a militant compound belonging to Hamas and Islamic Jihad, a smaller and more radical Palestinian militant group. It said the militants had carried out several attacks in recent months and were planning another imminent assault. The intensified violence follows more than a year of escalating raids and arrests in the West Bank and deadly Palestinian attacks on Israelis. Israel captured the West Bank, along with Gaza and East Jerusalem, in the 1967 war. The Palestinians want all three territories for a future state. Over 500,000 Israelis live in settlements across the West Bank that most of the international community considers illegal, while the territory's more than 2.5 million Palestinians live under Israeli military rule. The Palestinians view the settlements as the greatest obstacle to resolving the conflict with Israel. The last serious and substantive peace talks broke down over a decade ago. Settler violence against Palestinians has also intensified since the Hamas attack. At least five Palestinians have been killed by settlers, according to Palestinian authorities, and rights groups say settlers have torched cars and attacked several small Bedouin communities, forcing them to evacuate to other areas. The West Bank Protection Consortium, a coalition of non-governmental organizations and donor countries, including the European Union, says at least 470 Palestinians have been forcibly displaced in the West Bank due to settler violence since Oct. 7. That's in addition to over 1,100 displaced since 2022. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
By AFP

The Israeli military said Sunday one of its tanks had "accidentally fired and hit an Egyptian post" near the border with Gaza as the army bombards the Palestinian enclave.

The Egyptian military said the blast had caused "minor injuries" but did not give details.

"The IDF (Israeli military) expresses sorrow regarding the incident" near the Kerem Shalom area, an army statement said.

"The incident is being investigated and the details are under review," the statement added.

The Egyptian army said Israel had "immediately expressed its regret over the unintentional incident and an investigation is underway".

Egyptian media said the Israeli strike would not disrupt the passage of aid to Gaza, citing witnesses.

Since Saturday, 37 trucks carrying vital supplies have crossed to Gaza through its Rafah border post with Egypt, which lies around three kilometres (two miles) from Israel.

Crossings between Gaza and Israel have been shut since the outbreak of war on October 7.

ALSO READ | Israel strikes Gaza, Syria and West Bank as war against Hamas threatens to ignite other fronts

The United Nations has estimated about 100 trucks per day are needed to meet the needs of Gaza, where more than 4,650 people have been killed in Israeli strikes, according to the Hamas government.

The bombardment follows attacks by Hamas militants which killed more than 1,400 people in Israel.

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The Israeli military said Sunday one of its tanks had "accidentally fired and hit an Egyptian post" near the border with Gaza as the army bombards the Palestinian enclave. The Egyptian military said the blast had caused "minor injuries" but did not give details. "The IDF (Israeli military) expresses sorrow regarding the incident" near the Kerem Shalom area, an army statement said.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); "The incident is being investigated and the details are under review," the statement added. The Egyptian army said Israel had "immediately expressed its regret over the unintentional incident and an investigation is underway". Egyptian media said the Israeli strike would not disrupt the passage of aid to Gaza, citing witnesses. Since Saturday, 37 trucks carrying vital supplies have crossed to Gaza through its Rafah border post with Egypt, which lies around three kilometres (two miles) from Israel. Crossings between Gaza and Israel have been shut since the outbreak of war on October 7. ALSO READ | Israel strikes Gaza, Syria and West Bank as war against Hamas threatens to ignite other fronts The United Nations has estimated about 100 trucks per day are needed to meet the needs of Gaza, where more than 4,650 people have been killed in Israeli strikes, according to the Hamas government. The bombardment follows attacks by Hamas militants which killed more than 1,400 people in Israel. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
The Nakba (catastrophe in Arabic)  with the keys to the homes abruptly abandoned 75 years ago, the processions of more than 700,000 refugees besieged by Israeli troops  is as integral, if not more so, to Palestinian identity than the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. The forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of civilians from the northern Gaza Strip, in the wake of the ultimatum issued on October 13 by the Israeli army, has brought back to the Palestinians the memory of the debasement and uprooting catastrophe, in an exodus of biblical dimension that is still felt as a collective trauma.

The Palestinian historian Johnny Mansour warns: The evacuation ordered by the army last week, under the pretext of protecting the safety of civilians from an intense war campaign, is an ethnic cleansing operation affecting hundreds of thousands of civilians. Mansour resides in the city of Haifa (northern Israel), where the 1948 exodus was less significant than in other regions that were completely drained of their Arab population. What is happening in Gaza is a second Nakba, the biggest since 1948 under the same plan. If the homes of the displaced are being destroyed now during heavy bombardment and in a military ground invasion, there will be no chance to return, argues the 62-year-old university professor, an Israeli national and Palestinian nationalist activist, who specializes in the Middle East conflict.

On Thursday, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), raised the number of internally displaced persons in the Strip since the beginning of the current conflict on October 7 to one million civilians. More than 500,000 of them have sought refuge in facilities of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which has estimated that some 600,000 individuals have already crossed the Gaza Valley, the boundary south of the enclaves capital established in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) ultimatum. Of these, 400,000 are currently packed into areas close to the border with Egypt. The U.N. previously declared the Palestinian enclave uninhabitable in 2020, but the war and the stringent blockade have further aggravated the situation.

Not since independence in 1948 has there been a population displacement inside Israel over security issues on the scale of the one we are seeing now, with entire towns evacuated, such as Kiryat Shmona, near the Lebanese border, with more than 20,000 inhabitants, explains Meir Margalit, a 71-year-old Israeli historian positioned on the pacifist left and a former head of Palestinian affairs at the Jerusalem City Council. But that is nothing compared to the exodus that is occurring in Gaza. Here, there are only a few tens of thousands of evacuees, and if they dont go home to relatives, they stay in hotels at the states expense. Margalit speaks on the phone as he heads to the town of Ashkelon, one of the hardest hit by rockets fired from the Strip, to pick up personal belongings of his son, who evacuated the border area along with his family after the Hamas attack on October 7.

A group of people leave their homes in Khan Younis after an Israeli bombardment on the Gaza Strip, on October 9. IBRAHEEM ABU MUSTAFA (REUTERS)

In Gaza, there are now a million people practically homeless. This is a crime against humanity, stresses this expert on the Palestinian situation, author of the book Jerusalem, the Impossible City. In addition, this exodus is of no use to Israel, since it will not be able to eliminate Hamas forever and return control over the Gaza Strip to the Palestinian Authority, he warns. What Israel is planning is just part of a retaliation, something that always results in a vicious circle of violence.

In 1948 the Palestinian population was forcibly uprooted and then not allowed to return to their homes, he continues. The people of Gaza are supposed to return to their homes when the war is over, if Israel keeps its promise not to stay on Palestinian land, contrary to what it did 75 years ago. I dont think this government is stupid enough to step into that quagmire: it would be a Vietnam for Israel.

War crimes

The Prosecutors Office of the International Criminal Court (ICC), based in The Hague, launched a war crimes investigation in Palestine in 2021. The investigation targeted both Israel, for the mass bombardments in 2014 on the overpopulated Gaza, and Islamist militias, for indiscriminate rocket fire into residential areas in Israel, independent inquiries were in progress within the territorial enclave. We are working among three fires: the Israeli occupation and blockade; the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank; and the Islamist Hamas movement in Gaza, says Raji Sourani, director of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, a Gaza NGO, funded by international donations, whose mission is to document war crimes for the purpose of bringing them to the attention of international justice.

For Israel, the large-scale displacement of the Palestinian population in the 1948 ArabIsraeli War was the consequence of a conflict arising from attacks on the newly founded Jewish state by neighboring Arab countries, which refused to recognize the partition plan approved by the United Nations in 1947.

The Nakba was a catastrophe for the Palestinian people, brought about by the offensive of the Haganah, the Zionist movements militia, which forced the exodus of some 750,000 refugees [more than half of the Palestinian population at the time] to neighboring countries. The lands and homes of the fleeing Palestinians were confiscated and over 500 villages were devastated. They lost everything, Professor Mansour points out.

But the exodus also took place, within historic Palestine under the British mandate, towards the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, he explains. In the southern coastal enclave, between 70% and 80% of its 2.3 million inhabitants are refugees who have survived the Nakba or their descendants, mainly from the south of historic Palestine.

Remembering origins

Practically everyone in Gaza introduces themselves by pointing out where their family originated from in the present-day state of Israel. I come from a village that disappeared between Ashdod and Ashkelon [on the coast, north of the Strip] that was called Hamama, which means dove, explains Kayed Hamad, a 60-year-old translator who has worked with this newspapers correspondents for two decades. I fear another Nakba. But Im not going to move, I dont want to repeat the same mistake my parents made in 1948. Wherever we go, Israel will pursue us, he says via WhatsApp voice messages from Gazas capital.

Professor Mansour argues that the Nakba is not just a historical event of 1948, but it is something that continues in many directions. This happening now in Gaza, but also with the discrimination we Palestinians suffer from Israel, with settler attacks on inhabitants of the West Bank. The Strip has been in conflict for 75 years. In 1956 (Suez Canal crisis), in 1967 (when it was occupied by Israel), and in 1973 (Egyptian reconquest of the Sinai). After the departure of Israeli troops in 2005, it has endured five other wars to date.

Nearly two decades after the Nakba, another 115,000 Palestinians followed the same path of exile in the Naksa  meaning defeat or setback  in the so-called Six-Day War in 1967, when Israel militarily occupied the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. Today some seven million Palestinians still live within so-called historic Palestine: Israel and East Jerusalem (two million), the West Bank (close to three million) and the Gaza Strip (over two million), and another six million are abroad, mainly in the Middle East, of which some five million are registered by the UNRWA in neighboring countries.

Jewish historian Margalit reflects: Now, Benjamin Netanyahus government is only seeking revenge, without evaluating the consequences of decisions such as the large-scale displacement of the population in Gaza. Being Jewish and enduring the Holocaust does not give us permission to do whatever we want.

Palestinian historian Mansour brings Abdel Fattah el-Sisi into the equation: The Egyptian president has told Israel that if it wants to offer a refuge to those displaced by this war, it should welcome them in the Israeli Negev territory instead of trying to send them to the Sinai Peninsula. Cairo does not want a repeat of the travesty of the 2008-2009 war (Operation Cast Lead), when thousands of Gazans settled in Sinai after Hamas demolished part of the border fence.

With all borders sealed, Palestinians in Gaza cannot leave the Mediterranean territory. Many also do not want to return to areas that are being bombed. What is happening in Gaza is genocide, says Mansour. With the overcrowding in the Strip, it is one bomb per person.

A girl peeks out of a tent in a refugee camp in Khan Yunis on October 20. IBRAHEEM ABU MUSTAFA (REUTERS)

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Washington DC, October 21

S wedish researchers have developed a microscale device for implantation in the eye, potentially opening up new avenues for cell-based treatment of diabetes and other diseases.

A team from KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Karolinska Institutet created the 3D-printed device with the goal of encapsulating insulin-producing pancreatic cells with electronic sensors. The findings were published in the journal Advanced Materials by the researchers.

The collaboration between KTH and Karolinska Institutet allows microorganisms, specifically pancreatic islets or Langerhans islets, to be precisely positioned in the eye without the use of sutures. It opens up the possibility of cell-based therapy, such as treating Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes utilising the eye as a foundation.

According to Anna Herland, senior lecturer in the Division of Bionanotechnology at SciLifeLab at KTH and the AIMES research centre at KTH and Karolinska Institutet, the eye is excellent for this technology since it lacks immune cells that would respond negatively during the first stage of implantation. Because of its transparency, it allows for visual and microscopic examination of what occurs to the implant over time.

"The eye is our only window into the body, and it's immune-privileged," Herland said.

The device is designed as a wedge, about 240 micrometres long, allowing the structure to be mechanically fixed at the angle between the iris and the cornea in the anterior chamber of the eye (ACE). The work demonstrates the first mechanical fixation of a device in the anterior chamber of the eye.

"We designed the medical device to hold living mini-organs in a micro-cage and introduced the use of a flap door technique to avoid the need for additional fixation," said Wouter van der Wijngaart, professor in the Division of Micro- and Nanosystems at KTH.

In tests on mice, the device maintained its position in the living organism for several months, and the mini-organs quickly integrated with the host animal's blood vessels and functioned normally, Herland says.

Per-Olof Berggren, professor of experimental endocrinology at Karolinska Institutet contributed to the research with years of experience in transplanting islets of Langerhans to the anterior chamber of the eye in mice.

"The current unit is unique and will among other things form the basis for our continued work to develop an integrated microsystem for studying the function and survival of the islets of Langerhans in the anterior chamber of the eye," Berggren said.

"This is also of great translational importance, as transplantation of Langerhans islands to the anterior chamber of the eye in humans is subject to clinical trials in patients with diabetes."

Herland says the technology overcomes one obstacle to the development of cell therapies, including those for diabetes. Namely, there is no need for invasive methods to monitor the graft's function and to guide care in order to ensure long-term transplant success.

"Ours is a first step towards advanced medical microdevices that can both localize and monitor the function of cell grafts," she said

She said the design makes it possible to position mini-organs such as organoids and islets of Langerhans without limiting the supply of nutrients to the cells.

"Our design will enable future integration and use of more advanced device functions such as integrated electronics or drug release."

Study reveals diabetes may be treated using eye implants

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Adults with ADHD are more likely to get dementia: Study

Washington DC, October 21

A Rutgers study found that adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are around three times more likely to develop dementia than those without the disease.

Michal Schnaider Beeri, co-author of the study and head of the Herbert and Jacqueline Krieger Klein Alzheimer's Research Centre at Rutgers Brain Health Institute (BHI), had the study accepted for publication in JAMA Network Open. It tracked more than 100,000 senior citizens in Israel over a 17-year period to determine whether persons with ADHD are more likely to develop dementia, including Alzheimer's disease.

Although ADHD affects more than 3 per cent of adults in the United States, little is known about this demographic.

"By determining if adults with ADHD are at higher risk for dementia and if medications and/or lifestyle changes can affect risks, the outcomes of this research can be used to better inform caregivers and clinicians," said Beeri, the Krieger Klein Endowed Chair in Neurodegeneration Research at BHI and a faculty member of the Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research.

Using data from a national cohort study of more than 100,000 people who were followed from 2003 to 2020, researchers analyzed those with and without ADHD and the occurrence of dementia among the groups as they aged. Researchers found the presence of adult ADHD was associated with a significantly higher risk of dementia even when other risk factors for dementia were taken into account, such as cardiovascular conditions.

ADHD in adults may materialize as a neurological process that reduces the ability for them to compensate for the effects of cognitive decline later in life, researchers said.

"Physicians, clinicians and caregivers who work with older adults should monitor ADHD symptoms and associated medications," said Abraham Reichenberg, a professor at the Department of Psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and senior author of the study.

"Symptoms of attention deficit and hyperactivity in old age shouldn't be ignored and should be discussed with physicians," said Stephen Levine, a professor at the School of Public Health at the University of Haifa.

Additionally, the research suggested ADHD treatment incorporating psychostimulants may help reduce the risk of dementia in adults with ADHD as psychostimulants are known to modify the trajectory of cognitive impairment. However, researchers said future studies should examine in more detail the impact of medications on patients with ADHD and how they could affect risk.

Adults with ADHD are more likely to get dementia: Study

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Washington DC, October 21

A ccording to a recent Corewell Health study, men with longer prostatic urethras--the section of the urethra that passes through the prostate--may be more prone to develop modest, often long-lasting urinary system side effects after prostate cancer radiation treatment.

To date, researchers have struggled to determine any risk factors that could shed light on who might experience these types of side effects ahead of time. But now, a simple MRI scan and a new metric to determine urethra length could change that.

Results, now published in the journal Academic Radiology, indicate that for every 1-centimeter increase in length of the prostatic urethra shown on the MRIs of 361 men, patients were about 60% more likely to experience issues such as having the urgency to urinate as well as needing to urinate more often. Patients with a prostatic urethra length greater than 4.6 centimeters were nearly twice as likely to develop these symptoms.

"We believe this particular area is more exposed to the radiation doses patients receive, resulting in direct inflammation," said Kiran Nandalur, M.D., principal investigator of the study and a radiologist at Corewell Health. "While chronic moderate urinary side effects were more problematic in approximately 28% of participants after three years, the good news is less than 3% of men experienced severe urinary side effects."

According to Dr. Nandalur, there are very few known risk factors for those who will experience side effects after radiation and, in his study, factors such as type of radiation or underlying medical conditions were not predictive of symptoms. He said this underscores how challenging it has been previously to assess risk factors and highlights the need for novel and innovative methods such as the use of MRI technology in prostate cancer care.

Radiation therapy is one of the most common treatments for prostate cancer and overall, it is considered very safe. However, while radiation therapy is well tolerated by most patients, the portion of men who experience more side effects often can find their quality of life impacted for periods of time."Our novel MRI metric may help patients know beforehand what their risk is in developing these symptoms and help them make better and more informed decisions on a course of treatment that optimizes quality of life," Nandalur said.

He added: "Doctors also can look at ways to better spare the prostatic urethra area from radiation and potentially decrease the side effects."

Dr. Nandalur encourages patients to be proactive in their health and with their doctors."I highly recommend patients talk with their urologist or radiation oncologist about getting a prostate MRI before therapy," he said. "It is robust in diagnosing and evaluating the extent of prostate cancer and can potentially help patients maintain a better quality of life after undergoing treatment."

Study reveals simple MRI scan might predict radiation side effects for prostate cancer

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Washington, October 21

A n artificial intelligence (AI) system may spot an abnormal cardiac rhythm in people even before they exhibit any symptoms, according to research.

The method, which found hidden signals in normal medical diagnostic procedures, may help doctors better protect patients with atrial fibrillation, the most common kind of heart rhythm disease, from strokes and other cardiovascular problems.

Most of the algorithms that had previously been created were used on white individuals. Veterans and underprivileged Americans are among the patient categories and scenarios in which this algorithm is effective.

A peer-reviewed journal, JAMA Cardiology, published the findings.

"This research allows for better identification of a hidden heart condition and informs the best way to develop algorithms that are equitable and generalizable to all patients," said David Ouyang, MD, a cardiologist in the Department of Cardiology in the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai, a researcher in the Division of Artificial Intelligence in Medicine, and senior author of the study.Experts estimate that about 1 in 3 people with atrial fibrillation do not know they have the condition.

In atrial fibrillation, the electrical signals in the heart that regulate the pumping of blood from the upper chambers to the lower chambers are chaotic. This can cause blood in the upper chambers to pool and form blood clots that can travel to the brain and trigger an ischemic stroke.

To create the algorithm, investigators programmed an artificial intelligence tool to study patterns found in electrocardiogram readings. An electrocardiogram is a test that monitors electrical signals from the heart. People who undergo this test have electrodes placed on their body that detect the heart's electrical activity.

The algorithm was trained on almost a million electrocardiograms and it accurately predicted patients would have atrial fibrillation within 31 days.The AI model was also applied to medical records from patients at Cedars-Sinai and it similarly--and accurately--predicted cases of atrial fibrillation within 31 days.

"This study of veterans was geographically and ethnically diverse, indicating that the application of this algorithm could benefit the general population in the U.S.," said Sumeet Chugh, MD, director of the Division of Artificial Intelligence in Medicine in the Department of Medicine and medical director of the Heart Rhythm Center in the Department of Cardiology.

"This research exemplifies one of the many ways that investigators in the Smidt Heart Institute and the Division of Artificial Intelligence in Medicine are using AI to address preemptive management of complex and challenging cardiac conditions."

Study uses AI to identify people with irregular heartbeats

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Abu Dhabi, October 21

A once-in-a-decade international research conference will discuss changes in the Earth's climate system which will reverberate for centuries and even thousands of years, and which are impacting lives on a daily basis now.

The Open Science Conference of the World Climate Research Programme brings together more than 1400 experts in a concerted effort to ensure that advances in climate science keep up with the speed of climate change and help support a more sustainable future for the planet.

It is hosted by the Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) on behalf of the Government of Rwanda and the University of Rwanda from October 23-27, 2023 in Kigali. It is in hybrid format.

The Open Science Conference takes place at a critical time of prolonged and unprecedented heat, both on land and at sea. September temperatures were literally off the charts. Antarctic sea ice extent is record low, and by a huge amount. Greenhouse gas concentrations, which are driving the change, remain at a record high.

The dramatic climate events of this year have prompted many questions as to whether Earth is witnessing a more rapid shift of the climate to a warmer state and whether there has been a fundamental change in atmospheric and ocean circulation patterns.

There is also growing discussion about whether we are approaching some key "tipping points"--a rapid and/or irreversible change in ice sheets, sea ice, forests, coral reefs, and other key components of the Earth system.

"We urgently need transformative actions to ensure a sustainable future. Decision-makers require robust climate science to understand, predict, and plan for the impacts of climate change. Now, in what will surely be the warmest year on record, WCRP is convening this conference to discuss the latest advances in climate science and how to ensure that actionable and context-relevant climate information is available to all," says conference co-chair Detlef Stammer.

"This conference is taking place in the heart of Africa, where, as with other places in the Global South, there is inadequate research funding in the same places where society is disproportionately vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. We need to find ways to shift the balance so that researchers in the Global South can supplement their local knowledge with the tools, data, information, and expertise needed to adapt to and mitigate climate change impacts on their own terms. The early and mid-career researchers of today will be the key, as they will be our future leaders. We need to invest in them and let them lead the way," says Helen Cleugh, the other co-chair.

The outcome of discussions will culminate with the "Kigali Declaration" - a conference statement that will be submitted to the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) taking place in the United Arab Emirates in December 2023.

An Early and Mid-Career Researchers Symposium will foster future scientific leadership.

Meeting in the heart of the African continent will promote strong engagement with research communities, stakeholders and practitioners from the region. (ANI/WAM)

International research conference considers accelerating pace of climate change

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Singapore, October 21

E xternal Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met with his Singaporean counterpart K Shanmugam and discussed further strengthening of bilateral relations between the two countries.

"Happy to catch up with Minister of Home Affairs and Law K Shanmugam today. Exchanged views on further strengthening of our bilateral relations. Also on regional and global developments," Jaishankar posted on X (formerly Twitter).

https://x.com/DrSJaishankar/status/1715618989278474305?s=20

Jaishankar was on an official visit to Singapore from October 19 to 20.

Earlier on Friday, Jaishankar also held discussions with his Singaporean counterpart on India-Singapore 'strategic partnership' and global developments.

India and Singapore enjoy a historical relationship that was elevated to a strategic partnership in 2015.

In 2023, both sides had several ministerial interactions on the sidelines of the G20 held under India's presidency, for which Singapore was invited as a guest country.

Earlier, the EAM met Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister, Lawrence Wong and Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security, Teo Chee Hean.

He also chaired the regional conference of ASEAN and East Asia Ambassadors in Singapore and discussions were held regarding the regional situation and its potential ramifications for India.

Notably, the ties between India and Singapore are based on shared values and approaches, economic opportunities, and convergence of interests on key issues.

Both nations are members of a number of forums, including the East Asia Summit, G20, Commonwealth, Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), and Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS).

Jaishankar discusses strengthening bilateral ties with Singapore Minister Shanmugam

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Kolkata, Oct 22

T he transgender community here is celebrating Durga Puja for the sixth year with much devotion and show, especially after the Supreme Court verdict in same-sex marriage case.

The positive verdict of the five- judge bench about the concept of marriage for the people of the community has made the organizers Garima Griho (A home of Pride), a shelter home for the people from the transgender community, even more enthusiastic about the event this time.

Goddess Durga is worshipped as 'Ardhanariswara' here, which again has multiple concepts. The head of Garima Griho and a leading face of transgender rights activism in West Bengal Ranjita Sinha told IANS that Ardhanariswara is a combination of the strengths of Goddess Durga and Lord Shiva.

Everywhere Lord Shiva is worshipped along with Devi Durga. But the idol or picture of Lord Shiva is kept at a distance from the main and traditional structure of Durga idol, with Mahisasura, Laxmi, Saraswati, Kartikeya and Ganesha. But for us Lord Shiva is inseparable from Devi Durga and in fact both are one, Sinha said.

For another active associateof Garima Griho Puja and a leading social rights activist Anurag Maitrayee there is a second concept of Ardhanariswara, besides that of the combined strength of Devi Durga and Lord Shiva. Ardhanariswara means the symbol of universal motherhood, where the concept of motherhood is limited within the boundaries of the concept of just biological female, Maitrayee said.

There is a third unique point of the Garima Griho Puja. Unlike other Pujas, the idol is not immersed on the occasion of Vijaya Dashami. Rather it is restored throughout the year at one corner of the shelter home.

According to the organizers,the concept of immersion involves the pain of separation from Devi Durga and her family for a full year. As for us, we are isolated from society to a great extent. So, we do not want to burden ourselves with the additional pain of separation through immersion," Sinha said.

Kolkata's unique trans organised Durga Puja celebrating its 6th year

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Its the million dollar question. And I dont have an answer. My heart tells me that it is better for the troops not to enter, but my mind tells me that Hamas must be destroyed. Each option is worse than the other. And I just want to see my sister again. Shaule Naor is 73 years old and carrying posters with faces of his relatives who were kidnapped on October 7, when Hamas launched a surprise attack in Israeli territory.

Naors sister, who is five years younger him, is Efrat Katz. She was formally declared a hostage on Thursday, after several days of verification, as were his grandchildren Raz, four years old, and Aviv, two years old. The three appear briefly in a video  recorded with a cell phone by one of the kidnappers  where they are seen while a militants shouts God is the greatest and covers the head of the childrens mother, Doron Asher Katz. The three are among the 210 hostages captured by Gaza militias  according to data updated on Saturday by the Israeli army  to demand the release of all Palestinians in prison in Israel. Doron is on the list of missing people, which includes around 100 names. Around 1,400 Israelis have been killed.

The million dollar question that Naor mentions is the one that Israeli political and military leaders are asking themselves as they prepare a ground invasion of Gaza. Is it better to invade and bomb Gaza to achieve the stated goal of eliminating Hamas when this will likely sentence the hostages to death? Or to come up with risky rescue operations, with little chance of success, in the underground tunnels where they are presumed to be held captive? Or is it better to negotiate the hostages release, as Israel has done for decades, even if its enermies perceive this as weakness and organize more kidnappings?

For Naor, an Israeli-American who was visiting his family, its not clear what the right answer is. If you are rational, you know that the chances of them getting out alive without negotiation are very low. On the other hand, almost two weeks have passed and I dont know if they have been able to survive in those conditions, especially the children, he responds. The Islamic Jihad has also claimed, without presenting evidence, that the bombings have already killed around 20 of the hostages.

Naor is speaking in front of an installation of around 150 images of the missing and kidnapped people. The display has been put up in front of Kirya, the military base that houses the Ministry of Defense, in the heart of Tel Aviv. This is where key decisions are made about the three-phase plan with which Israel intends to overthrow the Hamas government, put an end to the foreseeable strongholds of resistance and hand over the keys to the management of Gaza, although it is not clear to whom. Soldiers leaving the base and passers-by stop, and moved by the display, and write messages on the mural, such as Bringing you home is our top priority, First of all and at any cost, and Victory is the return of the hostages. The movements motto is written in English on a huge canvas on an esplanade: Bring them home now. The question is how.

We are calling for the immediate release of all hostages without conditions. And we are asking all parties for it. We are a movement with a single issue on the agenda, explains Daniel Shek, one of the 15 so-called ambassadors of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, the main organization hastily assembled to represent the victims families, offer them psychological support, draw attention to their cases and put pressure on the government. The movements goal is to make sure decision-makers do not forget about them. Last week alone, a vigil was held every day, drawing hundreds of participants in Tel Aviv. There was also a Sabbath dinner with as many empty chairs as hostages in Gaza, which connects with the Jewish tradition of leaving an empty cup for the prophet Elijah, who will signal the arrival of the Messiah.

Artistic installation of a Sabbath dinner table with an empty chair for each abductee in Gaza, on Saturday in Tel Aviv. ABIR SULTAN (EFE)

The ambassadors are former diplomats, so Shek measures his words. We are not going to go into how to achieve their release. It is neither our role nor our responsibility to say so. Nor are we the Israeli government, which takes into account other interests and considerations. He adds: We have zero ability to decide what is going to be done.

Shek explains that the families of the kidnapped and missing also have different opinions on what should happen. One has called for the state to agree to a prisoner exchange, while another has said that he was pleased to know that his relative was killed because it ended the uncertainty.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum has spoken out against the government for allowing humanitarian aid to enter southern Gaza from Egypt. We are not against the fact that it was done, but rather that it was done without anything in exchange, argues Shek. Israel, which is blocking the supply of food, water, fuel and electricity into Gaza, had said not a single ton of aide would enter Gaza while there were still hostages.

More than 230 kidnapped

Last Tuesday, Hamas put the number of hostages at at least 200. On top of this, another 30 Israelis were kidnapped by Islamic Jihad and an undetermined number are in the hands of other small groups and even people who are not active in armed organizations. Most are alive, although bodies were also brought to Gaza, as Israel in the past has agreed to release prisoners in exchange for the return of their dead.

Most of the hostages are civilians, who were captured at an open-air rave party that turned into a massacre (about 260 dead), in their homes, trying to flee or fighting in the streets of around 20 towns. The Israeli army estimates that around 30 children under the age of 18 were kidnapped and between 10 and 20 hostages are over 60. The ages range from a six-months-old baby to an octogenarian couple. The spokesman for Islamic Jihad, Dawood Shihab, said Israel keeps Palestinian women and children imprisoned, so they too did not take into account the age or gender of the hostages. Hamas has released propaganda videos of militants holding a baby in one hand and a rifle in the other.

Demonstration for the release of Israeli hostages on Saturday in Tel Aviv. AHMAD GHARABLI (AFP)

Dafna Serr, 53, is a psychologist and goes to the mural with the Israeli countrys flag. I am bringing it because they have attacked us for being that, Israelis, she says. It is the same one that she took every Saturday to the demonstrations against Benjamin Netanyahus judicial reform. Serr is part of No Mental Health Without Democracy, group of health workers who took a stand against the reform that would have taken away powers from the Supreme Court. But with Israel now at war against Hamas, the group is focusing on helping the families of victims, hostages and missing people. She is working with four families of kidnapped people and argues that their desire to be reunited with their loved ones takes precedence over any political considerations.

They are not in denial. In fact, some were chatting with them when they were captured. The thing is that all they want is for them to be returned home. And that has a lot to do with the most basic human feelings than with anything political or national about how to achieve it, she says. Serr also laments the mirage of control that families get from spending hours in front of the television or cell phone waiting for the slightest clue. It only deepens the trauma, she laments.

Two phrases are often heard in Israel now: We will overcome and revenge. The last one was used by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and by Tally Gotlib, a deputy from his Likud party, when calling for an atomic bomb to be dropped on Gaza, where 4,385 Palestinians, most children and women, have already died in the bombings, according to figures from the Gaza Strips Ministry of Health.

Tal (he does not want to give his last name) does not even want to hear those words as he cries standing in front of the photo of his nephew Omer Shem Tov, 21, on the mural. I dont want revenge. I just want him back. And for those other people, who have done nothing to anyone, to be returned. And I dont care about the price.

The price asked by the Gaza militias is for Israel to release all Palestinians (about 5,200) who are serving sentences for so-called nationalist crimes in Israel. That is, those linked to the conflict, from a lethal attack to throwing stones at settlers or soldiers or supporting on social media a group considered to be a terrorist organization.

Over the decades, Israel has freed thousands of prisoners in exchanges. Just 12 years ago, for example, it freed more than 1,000 Palestinians for a single soldier, Gilad Shalit, who Hamas was holding in Gaza. This time, however, Israel insists that there is no room for negotiation. This is in fact a moral question  are we prepared to abandon these people? I am not taking lightly the blow we have suffered and the need to respond very powerfully and restore Israels deterrent power, David Meidan, a Mossad veteran who took part in the negotiation for Shalit, argued in the newspaper Haaretz. On the opposite ideological side, commentator Nadav Haetzni warned in the newspaper Israel Hayom: There is a fine line between showing empathy and promoting national weakness. And we should not cross it.

Confidential rescue plans

Military correspondents speak of confidential plans to rescue the hostages after gathering intelligence about their whereabouts and physical condition. The high-tech sector is developing special algorithms and facial recognition mechanisms for the mission.

As is often the case, what is announced is one thing and what is known is another. Some of the public information is aimed at giving false leads to Hamas, which has people who speak Hebrew and follow the news. Meanwhile, the families of the hostages are privately given the data obtained from surveillance systems, spies on the ground, security cameras and the videos recorded by both the assailants and the victims.

In the negotiations mediated by Qatar, the hostages have been divided into three groups. One contains Israeli soldiers and police, whose release Hamas completely refuses. The second group contains Israeli civilians, like Maya Shem, the young woman who appears in a video released last Tuesday, in the first proof of life provided by Hamas. She also has French nationality.

And the third group contains the foreigners, who are most likely to be saved, as evidenced by the fact that U.S. citizens Judith Raanan, 59, and her daughter Natalie, 17, were the first to be released on Friday, apparently in good health. They are the guests, who will be released without conditions as soon as the situation permits, with the exception of those who served in the Armed Forces, as stated by Abu Obaida, the spokesman for the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, which is holding the vast majority of hostages.

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Washington, October 22

A ctor Emily Blunt is under fire for a resurfaced interview in which she referred to a Chili's waitress as "enormous", according to Page Six.

The actress, 40, was a guest on the UK's 'The Jonathan Ross Show' in September 2012 when she decided to share a story about how she dined at one of the chain restaurant's locations in Louisiana while filming the film 'Looper'.

"The girl who was serving me was enormous," Blunt told the namesake host. "I think she got freebie meals at Chili's."

According to Page Six, though Ross, 62, chimed in to note that there's "nothing wrong with that," he had previously quipped that "when you go to Chili's, you can see why so many of [their] American friends are enormous." Mimicking the server's Southern drawl, Blunt said the woman asked her, "Did anyone ever tell you you look a lot like Emily Blunt?"

"And I said, 'I have heard that, yes,'" she recalled responding, to which the staffer then asked, "Are you Emily Blunt?"

The 'Devil Wears Prada' actor claimed that after the woman verified her identity, the woman exclaimed, "What are y'all doing here?!" with enthusiasm.

The 2012 interview clip has reappeared on the internet, and many Twitter (now X) users are upset with Emily Blunt. She's been labelled "fatphobic," which means she made fun of or disrespected someone because of their size.

"Emily Blunt being blatantly fatphobic wasn't on my 2023 bingo card but here we are," one critic posted alongside a clip of the moment.

"Scratch her off my crush list.???," "JFC Emily, we were rooting for you too. Smh," "Why would she described [sic] her like that? That was so unnecessary" and "its so easy to tell when people honestly believe waitstaff are below them/lesser members of society" were just some of the remarks that followed.

The 'Oppenheimer' star has since released a statement, telling Page Six her "jaw was on the floor" when she watched a video of her appearance.

"I'm appalled that I would say something so insensitive, hurtful and unrelated to whatever story I was trying to tell on a talk show," Blunt lamented, reported Page Six.

Emily Blunt criticized for calling waitress 'enormous', issues apology for the 2012 video

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San Francisco, Oct 22

E lon Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion in October last year after a months-long tumultuous phase.

One year on, controversies associated with the platform (now called X), amid the non-stop spread of disinformation, is far from over.

From a surge in anti-semitic tweets that more than doubled over the months since Musk took charge to the European Commission formally opening a probe into X over spreading of illegal content and disinformation, the Twitter bird is yet to be freed.

On October 26, 2022 as he bought Twitter, Musk arrived at the company's headquarters in San Francisco carrying a bathroom sink, while sharing a post: Let that sink in!

After the acquisition, Musk laid off more than 80 per cent of 7,500-strong Twitter staff, including its Indian-origin CEO Parag Agrawal, and even dissolved the trust and safety council.

Earlier this month, reports surfaced that Agrawal, former policy lead Vijaya Gadde and other executives finally won $1.1 million in legal fees from the Musk-run company.

In November last year, he said that people have spoken and former US president Donald Trump will be reinstated on Twitter.

In August this year, Trump signalled his return by posting his mugshot from Fulton County Jail in the US on charges of election interference.

Musk retweeted his post, saying Next-level.

In February, amid reports that Twitter was losing $4 million a day, the tech billionaire said that the platform will soon share ad revenue with creators for ads that appear in their reply threads.

The social media platform finally started paying creators in July for a share of the ad revenue they earned from ads served in the replies to their posts to other verified users.

Last month, X CEO Linda Yaccarino revealed that the platform paid nearly $20 million (more than Rs 166 crore) to creators.

In April, Twitter announced it would remove the verification badge from the legacy accounts to promote its Twitter Blue subscription.

It now charges $8 a month from verified users, and is soon launching other paid membership tiers.

In June, Musk created a sensation by posting that he is up for a cage match with Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg -- a fight that never took place.

Zuckerberg later launched a competitor to Twitter called Threads on Instagram.

In July, Twitter announced a name change to X.com, to make the platform an everything app from live-streaming events and movies, live sports, digital payments and more.

"Twitter was acquired by X Corp both to ensure freedom of speech and as an accelerant for X, the everything app," said Musk.

This month, the European Commission opened an investigation into the X owner Musk over an alleged spreading of illegal content and disinformation, in particular, the spreading of terrorist and violent content and hate speech in the wake of an ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

Yaccarino responded, saying the company is actively working with partners, governments, regulators and policymakers to combat misinformation.

Last week, a new study claimed that verified users with Blue badges are the ones spreading the vast majority of misinformation about the Israel-Hamas war on X.

During the first week of the conflict (October 7-14), US-based for-profit organisation NewsGuard analysed the 250 most-engaged posts (likes, reposts, replies, and bookmarks) that promoted one of 10 prominent false or unsubstantiated narratives relating to the war.

The results revealed that 186 out of these 250 posts -- 74 per cent -- were posted by accounts verified by X.

X Corp lost over half a billion user visits last month, and the platform dropped to seventh place on the global ranking, behind Instagram, according to new SimilarWeb data.

Turbulence, controversies dog Elon Musk's 1st year as X owner

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New Delhi, Oct 22

D urga Puja is celebrated with grand fervour across the country, especially among Bengalis. In honour of the goddess Durga, it is also known as Durgotsava. Here are some stylish outfits to consider, inspired by Bollywood, during Durga Puja:

Kajol

The picture of grace, Kajol, never fails to win over her admirers. The performer continues to be one of the most talked-about stars in Bollywood, whether it's because of her roles or her appearance. Her admirers have been waiting all year for her pandal-hopping outings during Durga Puja, and they got their first glimpse of her in wearing an traditional yellow saree.

Rani Mukherjee

The Mardaani actor, whose family is Bengali, exudes elegance when dressed in sarees. Wearing a pink saree and gold jewelry, she exuded charm.

Rupali Ganguly

Indian household name Rupali Ganguly has a sizable saree collection, and her Banarsi silk reflects the joyous occasion.

Mouni Roy

The actress wore a traditional Bengali saree with a red border to meet her fans on Durga Puja.

Sushmita Sen

The former Miss Universe's Rajasthsni Bandhani and gotta sari is a source of inspiration for many.

Konkona Sen Sharma

The stunning actress, who is well-known for her understated style sense, chose a printed handloom saree. Wearing a delicate floral saree and matching blouse, she was picture perfect.

Vidya Balan

Wear a traditional red Banarasi silk saree, like the one Vidya Balan so elegantly wears, to radiate joyful sentiments.

(Photo source: instagram)

(IANSlife can be contacted at ianslife@ians.in)

Durga Puja in bollywood style

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Richard J. Leskosky taught media and cinema studies at the University of Illinois and has reviewed films for more than 30 years. He can be contacted at filmcritic@comcast.net. Follow him on Twitter (@RichardLeskosky).
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While tens of thousands of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip fled to the south of the enclave after the Israeli armys ultimatum, hoping to get away from the bombings, a group of Christian refugees in the Catholic Church of Gaza City celebrated the baptism of an 11-months-old child named Daniel. The image from last October 15 was meant to be a message to the world. We choose life, despite being surrounded by death, says George Antone, the head of the NGO Caritas Jerusalem in the Gaza Strip. His voice breaks when he remembers that moment. He is exhausted and terrified, he admits in a telephone conversation with this newspaper.

We are scared to death. Most people think that we will not come out of the church alive, that they are going to bomb us. But you have to continue, you have to be strong. We are in Jesus house, we are in his hands, he says from the Holy Family Church in Gaza City.

Among the more than two million inhabitants of the Gaza Strip, there is a tiny Christian community of about 1,000 people. Its been in decline over the years, especially since the Islamist movement Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007. Like other Gazans, they suffer from the isolation and lack of freedom of Israels 16-year-long blockade. But the Christians also have to deal with being excluded from work and society, which is pushed by sectors linked to Hamas and other radical Islamists movements present in the area.

Unfortunately, we have a lot of experience in wars and when we saw the Hamas attack on the 7th [of October] we knew there would be a huge Israeli military response. My wife, my three daughters and I decided to take refuge in the church. Little by little, more people arrived who were afraid in their homes or who had lost everything. Now 500 Christians are here, explains Antone, 42, slowly. An Egyptian priest, Father Yussef, and around a dozen nuns from different congregations have joined the group. Everyone knows that they are at enormous risk and even the most optimistic felt discouraged last Thursday, when the Greek Orthodox church, Church of Saint Porphyrius, located a few meters from theirs, was hit in a bombing which killed at least 18 of the 350 people who had taken refuge inside.

The Christian community of the Gaza Strip  aware that the area was a powder keg waiting to explode  created a management committee for future crises a few months ago and began to prepare for difficult times, explains Antone. We began to stockpile mattresses, blankets, hygiene products, fuel and non-perishable food, prepare generators and saw how we could quickly buy water and other supplies in case of emergency. We live here and we know the situation. We feared that something was going to happen because in Gaza violence is cyclical, although this has exceeded our worst fears, he acknowledges.

When the Israeli army warned the civilian population that they had to move to the southern part of the enclave to save their lives, the vast majority of Christian families decided not to move from the church. Right now, we can last up to two months in here. The idea is to guarantee the survival of the Christian community in Gaza when the war ends. We dont want to be forced to leave here, our place is in Gaza, explains Antone, who was born into a family of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and returned to the Gaza Strip in 1994, encouraged by the optimism triggered by the Oslo Accords and hoping to participate in the construction of a Palestinian state.

We are all Palestinians

Sorry, we are in the middle of evacuating people from the Orthodox Church. Were going to have to talk later, Nisreen Antone, Georges wife and head of the projects of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem in Gaza, answers the phone, agitated, hours after the bombing of the Church of Saint Porphyrius, the oldest in Gaza. We dont know how many people have died, we believe there are people still under the rubble. There are no words to express how we feel today, adds the woman.

Worshipers attend a funeral at Greek Orthodox Saint Porphyrius Church, in Gaza City. STRINGER (REUTERS)

Hours later, 18 Christians who died in this bombing were buried. A total of 40 survivors and several injured people are now being sheltered in the Holy Family Church, where there are doctors and nurses among the refugees. The Antone family insists that the ecclesiastical authorities in Jerusalem have informed the Israeli army that the churches and their associated institutions, such as Catholic schools, are shelters for hundreds of people, people of peace who have nothing to do with this conflict.

But we are all Palestinians, there is no difference between Muslim Palestinians and us. We are not an exception, and we are permanently in danger. Were just trying to survive, but we dont know whats going to happen, what the days ahead hold for us, says Antone with anguish.

The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem harshly denounced the attack and stressed that attacking a church as a military target, when it is also providing shelter to innocent citizens who lost their homes, is a war crime that cannot be ignored. An Israeli army spokesman told Reuters that its fighter jets attacked a command post of a terrorist organization and a wall of a church in the area was damaged. It reported that the incident is being reviewed.

A fragile balance

For years, Christians in Gaza have been maintaining a fragile balance between the Islamist authorities of the Gaza Strip, dialogue with Israel and the preservation of their customs. There have been times when the church and its followers, easily identifiable by their surnames and appearance, especially women, were the object of threats and some attacks. In the past, Christians also held important positions in the government, universities and Palestinian organizations, but they have gradually disappeared from public life in Gaza and in the best of cases they work in Catholic organizations such as Caritas or other NGOs. Unlike the large Christian families of the West Bank, who are often influential, have no financial difficulties and are well integrated into society, being a Christian in Gaza involves a complicated and daily path of obstacles.

As a result, many have packed their bags. In 2007, there were about 7,000 Christians in the Gaza Strip, seven times the current number. In all the Palestinian territories, the community does not account for more than 2% of the population. Within the Christian community of Gaza, there are no more than 130 Catholics.

Everyday life inside the Holy Family Church is perfectly organized to ward off the feeling of chaos and to drown out the fear. There are two Masses, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, praying with the rosary, moments to cook and clean... We hardly go out because that means risking our lives. Only if it is necessary to get some medicine that we do not have or to care for someone who is in our schools, where we have received some Muslim families, explains Antone.

When there is a threat of bombing nearby, those responsible for security inside the church quickly organize those present, help them move to one of the shelters that have been set up in safer areas of the church, where there is also water and food, and they take care of the children, the elderly and the disabled in the group.

For George Antone, one of the few moments of peace these days have been the three calls made by Pope Francis: He was concerned about the community, in how we were living within the church, and he wished that we could return to our homes soon. Hopefully.

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Hurricane Norma makes landfall near Mexico's Los Cabos and Tammy hits tiny Barbuda in the Caribbean

Hurricane Norma made landfall near the resorts of Los Cabos at the southern tip of Mexicos Baja California Peninsula on Saturday and has weakened to a tropical storm while moving over land
Researchers are studying the dramatic physical transformation that some insects undergo to give birth to live young.

This includes suppressing their immune systems to accommodate babies, which is something some insects and people have in common. Understanding how these systems work can help improve treatments for fibromyalgia and other immune disorders.

Biologists at the University of Cincinnati were part of an international team examining the complex structural and physiological changes that take place in Hawaii's beetle-mimic cockroaches, which give birth to live young.

"It's not just immunology," co-author and UC College of Arts and Sciences Professor Joshua Benoit said.

Biologists see similar changes in the insect's trachea, its immune system and the outer layer of its exoskeleton called a cuticle, which transforms to make room for the babies.

The study was published in the journal iScience.

Cockroach mothers not only incubate their babies until they are the equivalent size of a 2-year-old human toddler, but they also feed them a milk-like nutrient they produce through secretory glands.

Nature has devised a myriad of reproductive strategies across the animal kingdom, said Bertrand Fouks, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Muenster and the study's lead author. From birds and reptiles to fish, lots of animals lay eggs. In mammals, egg laying is limited to echidnas, sometimes known as spiny anteaters, and the platypus.

The beetle-mimic cockroach is one of the rare insects which has developed a complex structure to host the growing embryo similar to placenta in mammals, which made it a perfect model to investigate the evolution of live-birth." Bertrand Fouks, postdoctoral fellow, University of Muenster

Beetle-mimic cockroaches have big advantages compared to those that hatch from eggs, Benoit said. Tinier babies that hatch from eggs are exposed to the elements where they're vulnerable to far more parasites and predators and must immediately find food on their own.

"The class of predators really narrows when you give birth to live young," Benoit said.

But live births require a far bigger parental commitment.

"It's a pretty big investment. They can produce 10 juveniles per reproductive cycle compared to 70 to 150 eggs for other roaches," Benoit said. "So their strategy is to produce fewer higher-quality individuals compared to more individuals with less investment."

Researchers sequenced the genome of the Pacific beetle-mimic cockroach, the only roach that gives birth to live young. They performed comparative analysis with tsetse flies and aphids, which do likewise, to unravel the genomic basis underlying this transition from laying eggs to birthing babies.

They found that the biological changes that allow beetle mimic cockroaches to give birth to live young are similar to those found in aphids and tsetse flies, demonstrating convergent evolution, Benoit said.

Whether it's a cow, a lizard or a roach, all undergo remarkably similar urinary and genital organ remodeling, enhanced heart development and altered immunity to accommodate their growing babies, the study found.

Researchers are interested in the link between our immune system and pregnancy. Women are less susceptible to infectious diseases but are far more likely than men to have autoimmune disorders such as lupus.

Benoit said some genes dealing with the immune system are down-regulated (the process of reducing or suppressing a response to a stimulus) during pregnancy. That can explain why some women who suffer from autoimmune disorders might see symptoms go away during pregnancy.

Benoit said they see similar effects in the cockroaches.

"These changes may facilitate structural and physiological changes to accommodate developing young and protect them from the mother's immune system," he said.
Women with breast cancer must often make complex decisions about surgery and treatment options during an already stressful time in their lives, and many of these women may turn to the wide variety of materials available online. New research presented at the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Clinical Congress 2023 has found that reliable educational materials about breast surgery are not only difficult to assess but are also presented at much higher reading levels than recommended.

Two studies, presented at the Scientific Forum of the annual ACS Clinical Congress, held in Boston, Massachusetts, October 22-25, shed light on the need to develop more accessible materials for women with breast cancer, which is the most common non-skin cancer diagnosed in women in the United States.

In breast surgery, there are a lot of decisions patients have to make, and sometimes giving a choice to a patient can be really overwhelming, especially if there's not a one-size-fits-all solution. As much as we as surgeons try to educate patients, there is limited time and patients can only absorb so much in a visit. Some patients may turn to other resources online, such as blogs and non-validated sources that they may find easier to read and understand, which raises concern about the accuracy of materials patients may be accessing." Emily Palmquist, MD, co-author, breast surgeon at the University of Washington Medical Center and an assistant professor in the department of general surgery at the University of Washington School of Medicine

Dr. Palmquist was part of a group of researchers from the University of Washington who reviewed English-language patient education materials describing breast-conserving surgery, mastectomy, and lymph node surgery from National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center (NCI-CCC) websites. Readability was assessed using five validated assessment scales: the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, Gunning-Fog Index, Coleman-Liau Index, Simple Measures of Gobbledygook Index, and Automated Readability Index. These validated scales use parameters such as word count and sentence difficulty to assess readability.

The team found that patient education materials were publicly available on 78% of NCI-CCC websites, but the average readability score of these materials  defined as the grade level required to understand the written content  was 11.6 (range 10.1-13.9) across five scales, which is higher than National Institutes of Health (NIH) recommendations and also above national literacy levels in the U.S., where 19% of U.S. adults possess low literacy skills.

"Breast surgeons are often one of the first providers that patients meet when they are diagnosed. Even if we do a fantastic job at patient education in our eyes, patients often return home not having asked the questions that they might have asked when they were in a more comfortable environment," said first author Sarah Brennan, a fourth-year medical student at the University of Washington. Brennan was inspired to lead the project after rotating at a large county hospital in Washington that treated many vulnerable patients.

"Many patients may turn to the wide variety of resources available online. I think these findings highlight the importance of making sure the resources that are coming from cancer centers are meeting the needs of patients," she said.

Study coauthors include Claire L. Buchanan, MD, FACS; Kristine E. Calhoun, MD, FACS; Sara H. Javid, MD, FACS; and Meghan R. Flanagan, MD, FACS.

Evaluating the vast landscape of online materials

In another study that will also be presented at the Scientific Forum, researchers from Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Upland, Pennsylvania, evaluated the wide variety of materials available online about breast surgery from accredited organizations or foundations.

The researchers input the search phrase "breast cancer surgery" and "mastectomy" into the three most popular search engines (Google, Yahoo, Bing) and analyzed 108 unique resources for 1) readability, 2) bias, 3) quality, and 4) tone using validated tools that help analyze the quality and tone of information as well as the overall reading level.

The researchers found that most website content exceeded the recommended sixth-grade reading level (most were on average at the 10th grade reading level) and had information deemed either of fair or poor quality, with websites on breast cancer surgery scoring below average for quality evaluation. At least 2-3 sentences per website had stigmatizing language.

"In addition, most of the tones that were prominent were negative in character. Fear, analytical, tentative, and sadness were the four most prominent tones," said lead author Praveen Satarasinghe, MD, MBA, a third-year resident physician in general surgery at Crozer-Chester Medical Center. Dr. Satarasinghe leveraged his background in data analytics to design the research study.

"It's surprising that for such a delicate topic like breast cancer, the first piece of information a patient may see online is filled with a negative tone," he added. "In the future, it will be interesting to see how we can shift the resources to capture a positive tone to impact patients who want to seek treatment for breast cancer. I think by going into the details, we can see that there's clearly a problem that needs to be addressed."

"This study highlights the need to provide educational services on a more accessible level for all patients," added senior author Chantal Reyna, MD, FACS, FSSO, section chief of breast surgical oncology at Loyola University in Chicago. Dr. Reyna previously served as chief of breast surgery and medical director of the Crozer Health Breast Program. "Our focus needs to be on making sure that there is ease of readability in the materials we hand out, and that the tone of the materials doesn't enhance that fear that many patients may experience in an already stressful time."
Adjustments in school boundaries and other forms of school redistricting have been linked to spikes in shooting-related injuries in urban areas, according to new study results being presented at the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Clinical Congress 2023.

Sarabeth Spitzer, MD, MPH, a general surgery resident at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, presented the study results looking at school redistricting data, firearm injury incident data, and community-level sociodemographic data for 63,000 urban census tracts on a year-to-year basis from 2014 through the 2019-2020 school year. The study used data from the National Center for Education Statistics, Gun Violence Archive, and the American Community Survey.

Key findings

Among the studied census tracts, 5,665, or 1.5% of all tracts, had some type of school redistricting event.

After adjusting for community characteristics, such as sociodemographic data, any school redistricting was associated with a 10.6% higher firearm incidence rate compared to communities that did not redistrict schools.

School boundary adjustments specifically were associated with a 21.3% increase in firearm injury incidence rate.

Observations on study results

While the evidence linking social disruptions and community violence has been well vetted, this is the first study looking at school redistricting specifically, Dr. Spitzer said. Along with the existing evidence surrounding social disruptions, anecdotal evidence from teachers reporting that they noticed a spike in violence in the process of school redistricting provided rationale for the study, she said.

Dr. Spitzer explained how the study defined school redistricting: "School redistricting, at its most basic level, is when there are changes to where kids go to school based on their home address," she said. "This happens for various reasons, often due to resource distribution in a community."

Different types of redistricting exist, which the study doesn't specify, but they include combining or rearranging school districts and changing boundaries.

Only a few kids are affected, but the resulting impact is that there is social destabilization in some way because, as everyone who has attended middle school and high school knows, you get to know the community that you're a part of and there are social hierarchies that exist and a known quantity of the people in your area. When you have this shuffling of school districts, it means that there are new social interactions and new hierarchies that need to be formed. And you have a disruption as a result of that." Sarabeth Spitzer, MD, MPH, general surgery resident at Brigham and Women's Hospital

These disruptions not only impact children, but parents, as well, who may have to change work routines, and neighbors that families might rely on to watch out for their children, she said.

The study compared firearm incidents in census tracts for the year a school redistricting event occurred compared with the prior year. "We saw that in the year with a redistricting event, there was a 14% increase in firearm violence compared to the year prior," Dr. Spitzer said.

This means policymakers could target resources, such as sending in counselors and expanding training in the ACS STOP THE BLEED program, to address firearm violence in areas that undergo school redistricting, she added. The ACS STOP THE BLEED program provides training to anyone to save a life in a bleeding emergency. It has trained more than 3 million people. The ACS operates the program under a license granted by the Department of Defense.

Dr. Spitzer acknowledged the study data predate the COVID-19 pandemic. "We would love to have more recent data, but, if anything, what we saw in the pandemic was a huge spike in firearm violence," she said. "We think that part of that is actually due to social destabilization." Future research, hopefully, would draw on more recent data to investigate the relationship between school redistricting and firearm violence post-pandemic, she said.

Study coauthors are Tanujit Dey, PhD; Ali Salim, MD, FACS; and Molly P. Jarman, PhD; of Brigham and Women's Hospital.
At this critical junction for EU chemicals legislation, the independent scientific voice took center stage at the 5th Annual Forum on Endocrine Disruptors. Together with an impressive number of concerned stakeholders, they called for the immediate adoption implementation of better EU legislation. While a restriction on per-and polyfluoroalkaline substances (PFAS) is ongoing, it risks being watered down by the massive volume of industry submissions to the public consultation. In addition, the European Commission's legislative proposal on a revision of the main chemicals legislation REACH is still noticeably absent and is unlikely to still be published during the current term of the European Commission and Parliament.

The Forum brought together policy makers, scientists, industry leaders, and civil society to discuss the most pressing topics in the area of endocrine disruptors, including the most recent scientific developments in the field. The European Society of Endocrinology (ESE) once again took an active part in the Forum organized by the European Commission on October 19-20, 2023, and several of ESE's affiliated experts were invited to present their research and voice their concerns on behalf of the European endocrine community.

This year's conference put the adverse health effects of PFAS and the links with endocrine disruption at the heart of the agenda and discussed ongoing national and regional initiatives in Europe aimed at reducing exposure to endocrine disruptors.

Prof. Tina Kold Jensen, CPPEM, Environmental Medicine, University of Southern Denmark, described PFAS' impact on children's development by showing data from a child cohort. "The data is clear PFAS continues to hamper the health of our children including their neurological function, fertility and overall development, stricter EU regulation is needed now to eradicate the presence of PFAS in our environment", said Prof Jensen.

PFAS differ from other EDCs by their highly persistent and bio-accumulative nature, which leads to contemporary exposures having effects on human and animal health as well as our environment far into the future for generations to come. Extensive peer reviewed literature has described the many adverse health outcomes linked to exposure to PFAS, including altered reproductive function in men and women, abnormalities in reproductive organs, early puberty, immune system disruption, cancers, neuroendocrine tumors, respiratory problems, diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular conditions, altered nervous system development and function, and learning disabilities.

The need for strict regulation on PFAS and other Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) was stressed multiple times in the event by the different participating stakeholders.

"I wonder how long it will take for policy makers to catch up with the science and put in place an EU framework that will effectively protect us from PFAS and other EDCs" said Prof. Aleksandra Buha-Djordjevic, Department of Toxicology, University of Belgrade, Faculty of Pharmacy, Serbia.

ESE remains ready to share its expertise to further the regulation of harmful substances and looks forward to continuing to work with the European Commission and other stakeholders to address the issue of endocrine disruptors.
Maria Corina Machado greets her supporters at a campaign event in Valencia (Venezuela). Ariana Cubillos (AP)

The Venezuelan opposition is looking for a rival for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Twenty-one million Venezuelans in the country and abroad will vote on Sunday for the candidate they wish to compete against Maduro at next years presidential elections. Ten candidates are in the running, but the conservative politician Maria Corina Machado is the favorite to win.

Sundays primaries are being held after the Maduro government and the opposition met last week in Barbados and reached an agreement to respect the constitutional calendar. Under this deal, presidential elections will be held in the second half of 2024. A day after the agreement was struck, the United States eased sanctions on Venezuelas oil and gas sector gas. This measure will be in place for the next six months, and will only be extended if Maduro continues taking steps to restore democracy and allows an opposition candidate to fairly challenge him at the polls.

The road to the primaries has been long and bumpy. The Venezuelan government has not made it easier for the opposition to hold the vote, maintaining an ambiguous attitude with the National Electoral Council (CNE), which only offered its help at the last minute. In the end, the candidates themselves, supported by their parties and civil society, took charge of the logistics of the vote. Voting will take place in 3,010 centers and 5,134 voting stations in Venezuela, and in 28 countries, including Germany, Colombia, Mexico, Ireland, Norway, Spain and the United States. It is a huge effort that faces many difficulties. Venezuelans in the country who want to participate must find their voting center on a website that they can only access by using a VPN, since internet service providers have blocked access to the site.

Venezuelas opposition has always struggled to stay united against Chavismo, the political movement started by deceased former president Hugo Chavez. And Sundays primary vote has been no exception. One of the countrys most renowned opposition leaders, Henrique Capriles, withdrew from the race two weeks ago, alleging that he could not run for president if he had been disqualified. Another party, Fuerza Vecinal (Neighborhood Force), withdrew its support and called for the vote to be cancelled. Other leaders, such as Manuel Rosales, the governor of the state of Zulia, have announced that they will run outside of the primary process. In the 20 years, the Venezuelan government has been in power  first with Hugo Chavez and then with Maduro  it has benefitted from the ongoing division in the opposition.

Machado  the front-runner in the primary race  was barred from holding public office a few months ago, and it is not clear what will happen if she wins Sundays vote. The Barbados agreement states that all candidates and political parties should be allowed to take part in the 2024 election, but only as long as they meet the requisites established by law. Analysts believe that Chavismo not allow Machado to face Maduro at next years election, particularly given the presidents low approval ratings and the fact that international observers will be observing the 2024 vote.

Barinas' strategy

A section of the opposition believes the best way to approach the presidential election is to apply the strategy used in Barinas, Chavezs home state, where the opposition won the regional elections by surprise in 2021. The election was won by Freddy Superlano, who was retroactively disqualified. The Superior Court of Justice ordered the elections to be repeated. The loss was very symbolic, as the Chavismo candidate was Jorge Arreaza, Chavezs former son-in-law.

After Superlano was barred from public office, the opposition presented a number of candidates from his circle, and one by one they were disqualified by the CNE  a tactic the government uses to get rid of competitors. In the end, one candidate was accepted: Sergio Garrido. He faced Arreaza in January 2022, and he won. The victory showed that what mattered more than the name on the ballot was for the opposition to be united.

Some in the opposition believe this strategy  presenting names until Chavismo is forced to accept one  could be successful. But it is unclear whether Machado will step aside if she is not allowed to run for president, or if she will block a possible replacement. If she wins the primary but is barred from running, it is not clear whether the second-place candidate in the race will replace her.

Whats more, organizers of the primary have faced many setbacks when setting up voting centers. Some spots are being relocated due to pressure from the government on the institutions that have provided them. It is also expected to be a rainy day, so voting points that are on the street and do not have cover could be in danger. And there are also problems with media coverage. The National Press Union reported that journalists and radio media directors have been pressured to suspend their limited coverage of the primary vote starting Friday night. In any case, in the latest polls carried out by Delphos a week ago, 66.7% of the population said they were willing to attend the elections on Sunday, although of that group only 20% said they had a high or very high probability of doing so.

The primaries come at a time when Venezuela is opening up to the world. The U.S. reached out to Maduro with the partial lifting of sanctions that will undoubtedly help improve the battered local economy. At the same time, the Venezuelan president said that there would be no free elections in 2024 if the country was not freed from sanctions. Now that Washington has taken a first step, it is Maduros turn to make a move. Hours after the Treasury Departments Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) authorized transactions related to oil and gas sector operations, Maduro released five political prisoners, including journalist Roland Carreno, who had been imprisoned for three years. The rapprochement between the two countries tacitly implies that Chavismo respect the primaries and respect the results of next years presidential elections.

In the race against Maduro, the opposition needs a candidate backed by all. It would be the first time in 10 years that the opposition unites together to defeat Chavismo. It remains to be seen whether the opposition will compete against on Maduro on equal terms and with guarantees  but at least, they would have presented a united front and taken part in the election. The strategy of not participating in the vote so as to not play into the hands of Chavismo  which happened in the 2020 parliamentary elections  is no longer an option.

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Scientists from La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) and The University of Southampton, UK, have uncovered a group of immune cells that may drive severe asthma. These cells, called cytotoxic CD4+ tissue-resident memory T cells, gather in the lungs and appear to possess the molecular weaponry to cause the most harm in men who developed asthma later in life.

"If you are male and you develop asthma after age 40, there's a high chance this T cell population is in your lungs," says LJI Research Assistant Professor Gregory Seumois, Ph.D., who co-led the study with LJI Professor Pandurangan Vijayanand, M.D., Ph.D.

The scientists uncovered these pathogenic T cells thanks to volunteers enrolled in the NHS-clinic based WATCH study, which follows hundreds of asthma patients of different ages, sexes, and disease severities. By following patients over many years, and analyzing their immune cell populations, researchers are making new connections between asthma symptoms and immune cell activity.

Once you understand the role of cells like these T cells better, you can start to develop treatments that target those cells." Ramesh Kurukulaaratchy, BM, DM, FRCP, WATCH study director, Associate Professor at the University of Southampton and researcher at the NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre

The scientists now hope to learn more about these cells-;

and their role in asthma development-;as they work to bring personalized therapies to asthma patients.

How harmful T cells drive asthma

So how might these harmful, or "cytotoxic," CD4+ tissue-resident memory T cells trigger asthma in older men? The problem may come down to a combination of immune cell "memory" and an absence of helpful cells in the lungs.

These T cells are called "memory" cells because they react to molecules that the body has previously fought off. This kind of immune cell memory helps protect the body from viruses and bacteria. Unfortunately, the same T cell memory is a big problem for asthma patients. Their misguided T cells see harmless molecules, such as pollen, and mount a dangerous inflammatory response.

The new research suggests asthma patients with these T cells in their lungs may be primed for hard-to-treat, and potentially fatal, asthma attacks.

The scientists aren't sure why these T cells tend to cause problems for older men. Seumois is interested in solving this mystery through LJI's Center for Sex-Based Differences in the Immune System. "We know that females have a different immune landscape," says Seumois. "So we're interested in investigating this question further."

LJI graduate student Sara Herrera de la Mata used a technique called single-cell RNA sequencing to learn more about immune cells in these patients. She found that certain anti-inflammatory T cells that should counteract severe asthma symptoms were scarce in airway fluid samples (BAL samples) from this patient group.

Instead, men who developed asthma later in life had an overwhelming number of potentially harmful T cells. Their lungs should have been home to a diverse bunch of CD4+ T cell types, and yet for this group, more than 65 percent of their cells were cytotoxic CD4+ tissue-resident memory T cells.

"Normally, a doctor would give a severe asthma patient a steroid or biologics therapy to dampen their immune response, and that should be it," says Herrera de la Mata, who served as co-first author of the study. "But these cells may not respond to these treatments."

Spotting this immune cell imbalance was an important clue that this patient group represented a new asthma subtype.

Discovery could lead to personalized asthma treatments

The sequencing work at LJI gives scientists a "biomarker" to help them detect cytotoxic CD4+ tissue-resident memory T cells in more patients going forward.

In fact, finding this biomarker represents a "paradigm shift" in asthma research, says Kurukulaaratchy. Before now, scientists and clinicians separated asthma patients into just two groups: "T2 high" and "T2 low." This dogma isn't helpful for patients or clinicians, says Kurukulaaratchy. As a clinician, he knows that the T2 high group actually includes a huge range of patient demographics and symptoms.

"We've studied a subgroup of male patients who developed asthma later in life-;and they do badly. They need a lot of treatments, such as high doses of toxic steroid treatments," says Kurukulaaratchy.

In a study published earlier this year, the research team showed the importance of "drilling down" to identify many more asthma patient subgroups. Their analysis reveals that 93 percent of WATCH subjects with severe asthma were in the T2 high category. Clearly, T2 high is a broad category.

"T2 high" is too broad, in fact, to really help doctors narrow down treatment strategies for individual patients, explains study co-author S. Hasan Arshad, MBBS, DM, FRCP, Chair in Allergy and Clinical Immunology at the University of Southampton, researcher at the NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre, and Director of The David Hide Asthma and Allergy Research Centre, Isle of Wight.

"We have to think of severe asthma as having different subtypes, and the treatment has to be tailored according to these subtypes-; because one size does not fit all," says Arshad.

The researchers' mission now is to use sequencing tools and other techniques to discover additional biomarkers and asthma patient subtypes. Seumois says he is looking forward to continuing his collaboration with Southampton scientists and the WATCH cohort. He's also making plans to examine immune cells in more patient groups, including a cohort that includes African American and Hispanic patients, two understudied demographic groups known to be at a higher risk for developing severe asthma.

"By looking at clinical features of asthma and biometrics, we're finding things that have never been shown before," says Seumois.
As Navratre Kickstarted with a lot of excitement in India, the largest car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki also contributed to making the occasion more special. The brand has introduced a massive discount on five-door Jimny nationwide, allowing interested customers to enjoy limited-time offers across all authorized Nexa dealerships.

The company has listed the feature-loaded SUV under the discounted listed, providing a cash discount of up to Rs 50,000. Interested customers can take the benefits of models including Zeta MT, Zeta AT, Alpha MT and Alpha AT.

Maruti Suzuki Navratri 2023 Offer

Apart from this, the brand also offers an exchange incentive of Rs. 50,000, and dealer dealer-specific discount worth Rs 32,000 on selected models.

According to the reports, the top-selling trim Alpha MT and Alpha AT have been listed in the exchange offer category. With this, the customers can available an extra discount of Rs 20,000 rupee with a dealer-specific discount of Rs 45,000.

Maruti Suzuki Jimny 5-Door Price

Meanwhile, the 5-door-Jimny was launched in India at the starting price of Rs 12.74 lakh (ex-showroom), and goes up to Rs 15.05 lakh (ex-showroom) for top models. The SUV was offered in in companys Crafted Futurism design philosophy, which makes it unique and trustworthy in the segment.

The four-wheeler was offered in seven color schemes, under which it was available in five single-tone shades and two dual-tone paint scheme options.

Maruti Suzuki Jimny 5-Door Engine

The 5-door-Jimny is powered by a 1.5L 4-cylinder K-Series petrol engine, equipped with Idle Start Stop technology. The unit generates a max power of 103 bhp at 6000 rpm and 134.2 Nm peak torque at 4000 rpm. The powerhouse is available either with a 5-speed manual or a 4-speed automatic gearbox.
After creating the buzz in the Indian market, the Royal Enfield is all set to launch its feature-loaded product Super Meteor 650 in Canadian and North American markets. However, the company has not revealed the launch date as yet.

It has been reported that the motorcycle will hit the international market under the price tag of 6,999 US dollars, and will go up to 7,299 US dollars for the top model (roughly Rs 5.82 lakh to Rs 6.07 lakh, respectively).

Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650 in USA

The report says, the company will manufacture the vehicle in India, then will export it to the international market. It will be offered in three variants: Interstellar, Celestial and Astral. The models will be available in 7 different color schemes including dual-tone editions as well.

The overseas model will flaunt the similar styling as the Indian specs. However, some slight cosmetic changes are expected. The vehicle will share a lot of similarities with the Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650 family.

Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650 Feature

When it comes to the features, it will come proper LED Headlight setup with LED turn indicators, tear tear-shaped fuel tank, tripper Navigation, USD front forks from Showa, a matte finish engine, and round round-shaped LED tailamp.

Apart from this, Interstellar and Astral trim will feature have single-seat arrangement. While the Celestial model will get a tall windscreen, adding further charm to the overall look.

Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650 Engine

On the engine front, the Super Meteor 650 will continue to be powered by a 648cc parallel-twin engine, which generates a max power of 46.2 BHP and 52 Nm peak torque. The unit will be paired with the 6-speed gearbox and will be equipped with a slipper & assist clutch.
Mutual funds have now become a popular financial instrument for investors which helps them in maximising their returns with lower risk. In recent years, the performance of large and midcap mutual funds has been at the top. A total investment of Rs 14,091 crore was made in the equity funds in September. If you are looking for investment, then you can pool your money in large and midcap funds.

These categories of mutual funds offer high returns and provide security to the portfolio. Brokerage firm Sharekhan has laid down a few large and midcap categories of mutual funds, in which you can invest money.

HDFC Large and Midcap Fund

Sharekhan has advised investors to invest in HDFC large and midcap funds through SIP. According to the firm, if an investor started an SIP of Rs 10,000 per month in this fund five years ago, then today they would have Rs 10.6 lakh already. The CAGR of this fund is 23.16 per cent.

Bandhan Core Equity Fund

The five-year CAGR of Bandhan Core Equity fund has been 20.71 per cent. If you invest Rs 10,000 per month then it can give you a return of lakhs over the years.

SBI Large and Midcap Funds

SBI is one of the leading banks in India. Its large and midcap fund size is Rs 15,705 crore. The SIP of Rs 10,000 monthly can yield you a fund of Rs 9.88 lakh if you invest for 5 years. The average annual return of this fund has been 20.7 per cent.

Kotak Large and Midcap Funds

The brokerage firm Sharekhan advises people to create a SIP of Rs 10,000 in Kotak mutual funds. It has a CAGR of 20.2 per cent. You can make Rs 9.92 lakh from an SIP of Rs 10,000 if you invest for 5 years continuously.

Tata Large and Midcap fund

The CAGR of Tata Large and Midcap fund is 19.22 per cent. Through the same SIP for 5 years, you can pool a fund of Rs 9.68 lakh. It will help you in investing in properties and education.
The Directorate of Technical Education, Uttar Pradesh, is set to release the seat allotment results for round 7 of the JEECUP Diploma in Engineering Counselling today. Candidates who took part in the counselling process can access their results on the official website, jeecup.admissions.nic.in, using their login credentials. Candidates have the option to freeze and submit their fees for seat acceptance from October 22 to October 23. Additionally, document verification at the district help centres will take place between October 22 and October 23. The remaining fee deposit window extends from October 22 to October 29.

JEECUP Round 7 seat allotment result: Steps To Check

Step 1: Navigate to the official website of JEECUP at jeecup.admissions.nic.in.

Step 2: On the homepage, click on the JEECUP 2023 round 7 seat allotment result link.

Step 3: Now, a new window will be displayed where candidates will have to log in using credentials like application number and password.

Step 4: After logging the details, your JEECUP seat allotment result will be displayed on the window.

Step 5: Check all the details carefully, and if required, download and take a printout of the result for admission purposes.

JEECUP Counselling 2023: Documents Required

 JEECUP 2023 Admit Card

 JEECUP 2023 Score Card

 Class 10, and 12 mark sheets and passing certificates

 Passport size photographs

 Seat Allotment Letter

 Domicile Certificate

 Category Certificate

 Migration Certificate

 Character Certificate

Once the admission process of the seventh round is over, there will be choice filling for new candidates and the opportunity for qualified candidates from Uttar Pradesh and other states to update their choices from round 7 starting on October 24 and concluding on October 25. The seat allotment of round 8 will take place on October 26, and all candidates are expected to have their choices frozen. Subsequently, on October 27 and 28, candidates will be able to complete the online freezing of their seats and deposit the seat acceptance fee. Document verification at district help centres is also scheduled for these dates.

The balance fee deposit, applicable to freeze candidates, can be done from October 27 to October 29. Candidates will need to report to their allotted polytechnic institutions by October 30. Seat withdrawal for admitted candidates will be open from October 31 to November 1. The commencement of classes for the 2023-24 session is set for November 1. For all the latest updates, candidates are advised to visit the official website of JEECUP at jeecup.admissions.nic.in.
The National Testing Agency (NTA) has published the admit card for the for DU, JNU, BHU, BBAU PhD entrance exams 2023. To obtain your admit card, candidates are required to visit the official website: phd-entrance.samarth.ac.in. Notably, NTA will not be sending admit cards via post or any other means, so its essential for candidates to access their hall tickets online.

The National Testing Agency had previously issued exam city slips, applicable to esteemed universities like DU, JNU, BHU, and BBAU. Candidates can get their slips on the official website using their application number and date of birth. The exams will be held in computer-based test (CBT) mode on October 26, 27, 30, and 31, with a two-section paper in English. The marking scheme for the NTA PhD exam states that every for every correct answer the candidate is awarded 4 marks. On the other hand, every incorrect answer would have a negative marking of 1 mark and no marks will be given for unanswered questions.

NTA PhD 2023 Admit Cards: How to Download

Follow these simple steps to download your NTA PhD admit card:

Step 1: Visit the official website of NTA PhD at phd-entrance.samarth.ac.in.

Step 2: On the homepage, click on the NTA PhD Admit Card tab.

Step 3: A login page will appear on your screen.

Step 4: Enter your login credentials i.e., your Application Number and Date of Birth.

Step 5: Fill in the required details and submit. Your admit card will be displayed on the screen.

Step 6: Download the admit card and ensure you take a printout for future reference.

On the day of the PhD entrance exam, candidates are required to carry the admit card of NTA PhD and a valid ID proof. In case of any issues, candidates can reach out to NTAs Help Desk at 011-4059000 or send an email to phd@nta.ac.in.

The Ministry of Education (MoE), Government of India (GoI), has founded the National Testing Agency (NTA) as an independent, autonomous, self-sustained premier testing organization under the Societies Registration Act (1860). The main purpose is to conduct transparent, efficient, and internationally standardized tests that are aimed at evaluating candidates competency for admission to higher education institutions. The Ph.D. Entrance Test is a national exam managed by the National Testing Agency (NTA).
From UPSC Civil Services to SSC recruitment exams, from college admissions to group discussions, general knowledge questions mark a significant part of almost every exam. For candidates preparing to crack an exam or those who need to get their news in a compact form, News18 offers a weekly column  GK Capsule. While we provide you a weekly news wrap, to get more information on a specific topic or an exam, reach out at @news18dotcom.

Every month, recruitment exams are held across the country for candidates seeking jobs in government sectors. It is important to note that to pass the majority of employment exams, candidates must have a basic comprehension of general knowledge and current events. So, whether youre preparing for the UPSC, SBI bank PO, or another competitive exam, current events are important. It will be difficult to pass such significant exams without appropriate preparation.

We have made a list of this weeks top news to assist candidates in preparing for their upcoming recruitment exams.

Supreme Courts 3:2 Verdict on Adoption by Queer Couples

On October 17, the Supreme Court maintained the Central Adoption Resource Authoritys (CARA) restrictions prohibiting same-sex couples from adopting children. The majority of the bench, which included Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, S. Ravindra Bhat, PS. Narasimha, and Hima Kohli, ruled 3:2 against permitting adoption by single and homosexual couples. Meanwhile, Judges S Ravindra Bhat, PS Narasimha, and Hima Kohli disagreed, despite CJI Chandrachud and Justice Kaul acknowledging adoption as a legal right for LGBT couples.

Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan Flags-in First Ever Ship Into Vizhinjam Port

On October 15, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan flagged the first ship ever at the deepwater international Vizhinjam port, which is worth Rs 7,700 crore. Along with Congressman Shashi Tharoor, the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan, and a number of state ministers, Vijayan waved a green flag to tell the tugboats to move the massive Chinese ship, Zhen Hua 15, from the wharf to the docking yard. The ship, carrying massive ship-to-shore and yard cranes, received a salute from the tugboats pushing it. Firecrackers went off, and balloons were let out as the ship landed on the pier.

BMC Announces A Slew of Anti-Pollution Measures

The citys poisonous air has been choking Mumbai residents for the past several days; thus, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) issued guidelines on October 20 for industries, automobiles, and construction sites. BMC commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal gave high-level stakeholders an order at the meeting to make sure that the nearly 6,000 construction sites that produce pollution dust are closely monitored and that corrective action is taken promptly. Furthermore, violations of this order will result in the issuance of stop work notices at the construction site in question.

Operation Chakra 2

In an alleged fraud involving a suspected Chinese national, Indian residents were lured in with promises of jobs, loans, and investments, and their deposits were syphoned off through over 137 shell companies. Currently, the investigation into the scam has been taken up by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The bureau stated that they are closely examining the involvement of a payout merchant situated in Bengaluru, who played a key part in the fraud and was connected to the suspected Chinese person.

PM Modi Flags Off Namo Bharat train in Sahibabad, Uttar Pradesh

Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off a RAPIDX, or Namo Bharat, train on October 20, marking the opening of the first Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) line in Sahibabad, Uttar Pradesh. It was also at the Sahibabad RAPIDX station that the priority part of the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS Corridor was inaugurated. In a statement from the Prime Ministers Office (PMO), the prime minister announced the beginning of RRTS in India by cutting the ribbon on a RAPIDX train that connected Sahibabad and Duhai Depot.
In the binary politics of Madhya Pradesh dominated by the BJP and Congress, the Muslim vote factor may be insignificant unlike Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, but the minority vote may prove crucial in at least 22 seats in the event of a neck-and-neck contest in the next months assembly polls.

According to Mohammed Mahir, convenor of Madhya Pradesh Muslim Vikas Parishad who belongs to Congress, the Grand Old Partys vote share in the 2018 assembly polls went up by least 3-4 per cent enabling it to narrowly surge ahead of the BJP.

He said MP Congress chief Kamal Nath had said in 2018 that the party could form a government if 90 per cent of minority votes are polled in the partys favour.

On Naths appeal, minority votes were polled for Congress and the result was 10-12 more seats being added to the party kitty which the party had failed to win in 2008 and 2013, Mahir claimed.

Notably, the vote share of the BJP (41.02 per cent) was slightly higher than the Congress (40.89 per cent) in the previous polls even though Congress had emerged as the single largest party winning 114 out of 230 seats, restricting the BJP to 109.

The Congress subsequently formed a coalition government with the support of MLAs from the SP and BSP and Independents. The government, however, collapsed after 15 months due to defection by Congress MLAs.

A two-party system prevails in Madhya Pradesh with the balance tilted in favour of majoritarian, Mahir told PTI.

Whenever voters get angry with the BJP, they elect a Congress government and vice-versa. Muslim population in Madhya Pradesh is 7 per cent according to the 2011 Census which might be 9-10 per cent now.

The Muslim vote is effective in 47 assembly seats while they are a deciding factor in 22 segments, he claimed. According to Mahir, these 47 seats have Muslim voters between 5,000 to 15,000, while their number ranges from 15,000 to 35,000 in 22 assembly segments.

This means Muslim voters are a deciding factor in 22 seats in case of a neck-and-neck contest. These seats include three segments from Bhopal, two in Indore, Burhanpur, Jaora and Jabalpur among others, he added.

Mahir claimed the traditional Congress vote (which also includes non-Muslims) is not getting transferred to their candidates and it is the partys responsibility to take such electors to the booths to ensure the victory of candidates from the minority community.

According to Mahir, the Muslim representation in the Madhya Pradesh assembly has remained restricted to Bhopal North and Bhopal Central seats over the years.

Notably, after a gap of almost two decades, the MP assembly saw two MLAs from the Muslim community- Arif Aqueel and Arif Masood of Congress- getting elected in the 2018 elections from Bhopal North and Bhopal Central constituencies, respectively. In the 1998 assembly polls, Arif Aqueel and Sayeed Ahmed won from the Bhopal North and Satna constituencies, respectively. In 2003, Hameed Qazi was elected from Burhanpur.

The Bhopal North seat, currently represented by Arif Aqueel, stands out for electing Muslim MLAs in the last four decades, barring 1993, in favour of Congress. After winning the Bhopal Central segment post delimitation in 2008 and 2013, the BJP lost to Arif Masood of Congress who defeated sitting MLA Surendra Nath Singh in 2018.

Congress veteran Arif Aqueel, 71, has been representing the Bhopal North seat since 1990, except in 1993. Mahir said BJPs experiment to field leaders from the Muslim community in 2013 and 2018 from the Bhopal North constituency failed to click.

In the forthcoming assembly elections, Congress has given a ticket to Arif Aqueels son, Atif Aqueel, in view of his fathers health condition. Atif will challenge former city mayor and BJP nominee Alok Sharma. Arif Masood is again in the fray from Bhopal Central on a Congress ticket against Dhruv Narayan Singh, who had first won the constituency for the saffron party in 2008.

Mahir claims Bhopal North is not a Muslim-dominated seat and Arif Aqueel could emerge victorious only due to the support from non-Muslim voters, who are traditionally loyal to the Grand Old Party.

It is the partys responsibility to take such electors to the booth to ensure minority candidates victory, he said. All these factors are reducing the Muslim representation in Madhya Pradesh, he said and listed names of several Muslim leaders who had won polls from Ujjain, Jabalpur central, Satna, and Burhanpur among others in the past.

Speaking on Muslim participation in electoral politics, Madhya Pradesh Wakf Board chairman and BJP spokesman Sanwar Patel alleged the Congress had cheated minorities.

The Congress wants 90-100 per cent vote share by fielding two candidates in the state even though it has done nothing for the Muslim community in 53 years of its rule in the state (until 2003), he told PTI.

Patel said the BJP had not only given tickets to candidates from the minority community but also ensured the socio-economic growth of Muslims, who he said remained backwards when Congress was in power.

The BJP believes in inclusiveness and ensures participation of Muslims, their healthcare and overall development, he added.

Senior journalist Girja Shankar said minorities cannot impact Madhya Pradesh politics much.

Though minority voters are influential in Burhanpur, Ashta, Ratlam, and Indore, Bhopal is an exception as far as the concentration of their votes is concerned, he said, adding that unlike UP and Bihar, the Muslim factor has no impact on Madhya Pradesh electoral politics.

He said the BJP had failed to draw Muslim votes due to a strong divide in Bhopal North in past elections. Polling in Madhya Pradesh will be held on November 17 and votes will be counted on December 3.
Rajasthan is all set for a tight contest between the Congress and the BJP to elect the 200-member Legislative Assembly in the state in a month. While the Congress is fighting to retain power in the state, the BJP is expected to give a tough contest to the ruling party.

The Rajasthan elections have been dominated by the Congress and the BJP, with both the parties alternatively ruling the state.

Rajasthan Election 2023

Polling for the 200-member Rajasthan Assembly will be held on November 25 and the counting of votes will be taken up on December 3. The BJP, which is looking to wrest power from the Congress in the desert state, has so far announced candidates for 124 candidates.

Election Name: Rajasthan Election 2023 Current Term Ending Date: January 14, 2024 Total Seats: 200 Current Ruling Government: Congress Current Chief Minister Rajasthan: Ashok Gehlot Major Opposition Party: BJP Rajasthan Election Dates 2023: November 25 Majority seats: 101 Rajasthan Election Result Date 2023: December 3

Rajasthan Election 2023 Polling and Result Dates

Rajasthan Election 2023 Polling Date: November 25

Rajasthan Election 2023 Result Date: December 3

Rajasthan Election Timeline

Date of Issue of Gazette Notification: October 30, 2023 (Monday)

Last Date of Making Nominations: November 6, 2023 (Monday)

Date for Scrutiny of nominations: November 7, 2023 (Tuesday)

Last Date for Withdrawal of Candidatures: November 9, 2023 (Thursday)

Date of Poll: November 25, 2023 (Saturday)

Date of Counting: December 3, 2023 (Sunday)

Date before which election shall be Completed: December 5, 2023 (Tuesday)

Rajasthan Election Key Issues 2023: What Matters to Voters?

Several issues like exam paper leak, crime against women and employment are key segments which are expected to dominate the voters preference.

Rajasthans examination paper leaks have almost become a norm. In the last 5 years, there has been at least 14 instances when examination papers were leaked impacting around 1 crore youths.

Crime against women has been a recurrent problem with Union Minister Anurag Thakur alleging, A total of 33,000 cases pertain to sexual assault on women in Rajasthan, but the Gandhi family remains silent.

Rajasthan 2018 Results

Congress- 99

BJP- 73

BSP- 6

Others- 20

Major Political Parties and Alliances

The politics in Rajasthan has revolved around the Congress and the BJP with each party taking turns to rule the state in alternative elections. However, the BSP is another significant party which got 6 seats in the 2018 assembly polls.

This time, AIMIM has also fielded three candidates and more names are expected to be announced in the coming days. AIMIM, which has a following among Muslim voters, fielded candidates from the Hawa Mahal constituency in Jaipur, Fatehpur in Sikar and Kaman in Bharatpur.

Key Contests and Battleground Constituencies

Some of the prominent seats in the assembly elections are:

Jhalrapatan seat: Jhalrapatan seat is the traditional seat of former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje, who is also contesting from the constituency this election.

Jhalrapatan seat is the traditional seat of former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje, who is also contesting from the constituency this election. Jhotwara: BJPs Jaipur Rural MP Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore is contesting from the Jhotwara seat in Rajasthan. However, he has received opposition from a section of leaders within the party.

BJPs Jaipur Rural MP Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore is contesting from the Jhotwara seat in Rajasthan. However, he has received opposition from a section of leaders within the party. Sardarpura: This VVIP seat is represented by CM Ashok Gehlot, who has fought from this constituency several times.

This VVIP seat is represented by CM Ashok Gehlot, who has fought from this constituency several times. Tonk: This is the constituency of former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot.

This is the constituency of former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot. Taranagar: Rajendra Rathore, the BJPs leader in the Assembly, has also been given a ticket from Taranagar.

There are several prominent candidates in this election, all eyes are on these five faces: Ashok Gehlot, Sachin Pilot, Vasundhara Raje, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and Diya Kumari.

While Sachin Pilot has been challenging Gehlot within the party for the CMs chair, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and Diya Kumari are speculated to challenge Raje, for the CMs chair, especially at a time when the BJP is fighting without a CM face.
BJP has respected the legacy of former Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat by giving me a ticket, former Rajasthan minister and multiple-time MLA Narpat Singh Rajvi told News18 in Jaipur. Rajvi, the son-in-law of late Shekhawat, was finally declared Chittorgarhs candidate on Saturday by the BJP.

Rajvi had protested after his ticket from his sitting seat of Vidyadhar Nagar in Jaipur was given to Rajsamand MP and Jaipur royal Diya Kumari, with Rajvi attacking her, saying Kumaris family had kneeled once before the Mughals. I did not protestyou should ask the supporters why they did. I am a BJP worker. I do not need to meet Diya Kumari, I have not been to her home for 40 years, Rajvi told News18, minutes after his ticket was declared. He was earlier the health minister in the Vasundhara Raje government and is seen as close to her. Firecrackers were burst at his house in Jaipur Civil Lines after he got a ticket.

Both Rajvi and Diya Kumari are Rajput faces for the BJP in Rajasthan, a community that moved away from the party in the last elections, contributing to its defeat. Rajvi has hence been placated by giving him a ticket from his earlier seat of Chittorgarh, where the ticket of a two-time sitting MLA has been cut by the party. There is a legacy of Bhairon Singh Shekhawat in Rajasthan from day one, there is no doubt about it. I am proud of that legacy. It is not easy to walk on that line. Everything is fair nowthere will be no problem for me in Chittorgarh seat, Rajvi said.

Rajvi said the Gehlot government will lose the elections on the issue of lawlessness. The law and order situation and crimes against women is for all to see in Rajasthan and nothing more needs to be said. The Congress is a master in blame game but the public wants results and they have been a failure in giving results, Rajvi told News18.
Domesticated animals encompass a wide variety of species, from clawed predators like cats, to hoofed herbivores like horses. But they all share one common characteristic: they have adapted to humans and the human environment. As a result, these creatures depend on us to survive. We provide them with food, suitable habitats and protection from predators.

This proximity to humans may have led these animals, over millennia, to develop particular cognitive abilities geared specifically towards us. Can animals recognize us individually? Do they perceive human emotions? Do they know when we pay attention to them? How do they communicate with us? These are some of the main questions the scientific community is asking about our four-legged companions. Below, we detail some of the most curious experiments and findings on domesticated mammals.

Sheep that can recognize Emma Watson

In recent years, researchers have conducted numerous studies to determine whether animals can recognize individual humans, whether by voice, smell or face. There is evidence that dogs can identify us by our particular scent, and are even able to distinguish between twins living in the same home. Horses and cats can recognize the voice of a specific person, and dogs, horses and sheep can tell who we are by our faces.

In an experiment at Cambridge University, eight sheep were trained to recognize the faces of Emma Watson and Barack Obama. They were given two black-and-white photographs, one of the celebrity and one of an anonymous person. If they walked to the correct face, they received a reward. With a little practice, the sheep managed to learn to identify both.

One might assume that these animals were merely memorizing the images, not recognizing the faces. But they kept walking towards Emma Watson even when she had a different hairstyle, and even when the pictures were taken from different angles. This suggests that the sheep recognize human faces holistically, as humans do. In real life, sheep are unlikely to be fans of the Harry Potter heroine, but they would undoubtedly recognize the face of their shepherd.

Horses that can smell our emotions

Recent research indicates that some animals can smell human emotions. When we sweat, we excrete different chemicals, like adrenaline, which vary according to our emotional states. Animals that have a very sensitive sense of smell, such as cows and horses, can pick up on these differences.

For example, in one study, scientists collected sweat from several human volunteers as the subjects were watching a horror movie, and when they were watching a light-hearted cartoon. The researchers then presented the sweat samples to 21 horses, and measured the animals reactions. With the fear samples, the horses would raise their heads and seek out a familiar person, but when they smelled the happy samples, the horses would lower their heads and appear relaxed.

Several species, such as goats, horses and dogs, have also been shown to perceive human emotions through facial expressions. The most widely accepted explanation for this is that, in response to our emotions, domestic animals experience what is known as emotional contagion, which is considered a primitive form of empathy.

Pigs that can tell who is paying attention to them

Domesticated animals are often dependent on humans for access to the resources they require for survival. This is why it would be important for them to know how to identify a particular human who is most likely to give them what they need. Several studies indicate that certain domesticated animals use eye contact as a determining clue.

Scientists at Martin-Luther University in Germany wondered whether pigs might be able to detect when a human is paying attention to them. Conducting an experiment, they found that these animals preferred to approach a researcher whose head was facing them, as opposed to a person who had their head turned away. This preference, however, only occurred when the pigs movements were slow and calm, and not when they were acting impulsively.

Dogs that focus on our gestures

Anyone who has lived long enough with a dog knows that they are capable of understanding our words and gestures. We can train them to sit, lie down, or approach when we ask them to. But what happens if we use contradictory signals? That is, if we make the come gesture but tell them to sit down. At the University of Naples, researchers found that most dogs prioritize obeying gestures, suggesting that for these animals, visual information is more important than auditory information.

In fact, scientists have studied in some detail whether domesticated animals can understand the human gesture of pointing. Cats, dogs, ferrets, goats and pigs have all been tested, with mixed results. Dogs understand the gesture the best, while goats and pigs are less likely to recognize it.

Goats that communicate with their eyes

Domesticated animals use a variety of signals to communicate with the humans on whom they depend. Cats have a distinct purr they use when they want to solicit their owners cuddles; dogs modify their facial expressions when they notice that we are paying attention to them; and horses, dogs and goats use their eyes to get what they want.

At Queen Mary University of London, goats were given an impossible task: researchers placed food under a transparent plastic box that was glued to the floor, and let the goats try to get it. At first, the goats would try to lift the box, to no avail. But if the experimenter was watching, the goats would repeatedly alternate their gaze between the box and the experimenter, as if to say excuse me, I need help with this. They did not exhibit this behavior if the researcher was looking away, suggesting that the goats were attempting to communicate.

The science studying the relationship between domesticated animals and humans is still in its early stages. There are some animals, such as donkeys and rabbits, about which we have hardly any information at all. There may also be many wild animals that, if we were to study them, would also exhibit an ability to recognize human faces, emotions and gestures, if they were to spend time around humans.

One key question remains unresolved: is it domestication that has endowed certain animals with these cognitive abilities, or did humans choose these species precisely because they exhibited such abilities?

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Days after facing cash for query in Parliament allegations, TMC MP Mahua Moitra is embroiled in a fresh controversy as Delhi-based lawyer and Moitras former partner Jai Anant Dehadrai has filed a police case against the MP accusing her of theft and illegal retention of their three-year-old pet dog.

There is an ongoing tussle between Moitra and Dehadrai over who gets custody of the three-year-old Rottweiler, Henry. In the last six months, Moitra has filed multiple police complaints against Dehadrai for alleged criminal trespass, theft, vulgar messages and abuse, as per reports.

Dehadrai, who recently filed a police case against Moitra accusing her of theft and illegal retention of the dog, has also alleged a serious threat to his life because of the complaint.

The Supreme Court lawyer has also claimed that he is being pressurised to withdraw his complaint by Moitra, in exchange for the custody of Henry.

Who Owns the Dog Henry?

Jai Anant Dehadrai has claimed that he purchased Henry from one AB Bahuguna in Janakpuri in January 2021 for Rs 75,000 and cited proof of the payments.

He has also shown a Kennel Club of Indias Litter Registration certificate dated August 24, 2021, which cites Henrys registration number containing a bar code and microchip details.

My bond with my dog Henry is that of a parent and child. I have looked after him since he was 40 days old, and I understand his every need and concern, Dehadrai said in his police complaint on October 19.

However, Mahua Moitra claims that the dog belongs to her. She has also accused Dehadrai of trespassing into her official residence in Delhi and stealing Henry which was later returned. Moitras social media timeline is full of her pictures with Henry, showing her deep bond with the dog as well.

However, Dehadrai claimed Moitra deliberately kidnapped and hidden Henry away from him since October 10 with the intent to harass and blackmail him.

How are Dogs Registered?

In India, there is no countrywide law regarding the registration of dogs. However, the registration is done by the municipal authorities across different cities in the country.

In recent years, there has been a surge of dog-related incidents which has led to strict laws across cities and states. In cities like Lucknow, there is mandatory registration of dogs with the municipal corporations. But in other cities, there is no such stringent practices and many owners go without registering their pets.

Noida authority has made the registration of pet dogs mandatory and has asked all the owners to register their pets by 31 January, 2023. People can also register their pets online on the Noida Authority Pet Registration (NAPR) mobile phone app. A penalty will be imposed in the case of non-registration.

In Gurugram, the registration of dogs has picked up pace with 300 registrations in a month in January this year. In Ghaziabad, the municipal authority has banned three pet dog breeds: Rottweilers, Pitbulls, and Dogo Argentinos. The residents who already have these breeds are required to get them sterilised within two months.

In Delhi, the registration is mandatory for all pet owners to get their dogs registered with the municipal authority. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) can detain a dog found in a public place if it is unregistered.

Registration Process

There are two rules for registration which include: registration of the dog with the Kennel Club of India and the registration of the dog with the local municipality.

When a person buys a dog from a breeder, they also receive the KCI certificate with a microchip. The owner also has to fill out a form called Transfer of Ownership, which is signed by the breeder, to transfer the ownership to the owner. The form is then submitted to the local KCI to register your new dog. The submission can be made online on the KCI website using a mobile number and login credentials.

In Delhi, the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, Section 399 states that every dog owner should register their pet. The canine registration requirements include annual registration fee of Rs 500 along with documentation including dogs vaccination proof, its picture and an identity proof stating its address and breed information.
Police seized banned gutka and tobacco products worth Rs 7.39 lakh from an apartment in the Airoli area of Navi Mumbai township on Sunday, an official said.

One person was arrested after the police conducted a raid in the apartment at around 1 am, the official from Rabale police station said.

Following the raid, the police seized the stock of different brands of gutka and tobacco products, he said, adding a case was registered against the accused under provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations.

The police were trying to find out from where the stock was sourced.

The sale and consumption of gutka, scented and flavoured tobacco has been banned in Maharashtra since 2012.
Seventeen-year-old Veer Shah was performing Garba dance during Navratri celebrations in Gujarats Kapadvanj Kheda district when he suddenly complained of dizziness and became unresponsive. He was immediately given first aid and rushed to the hospital, where he was declared brought dead.

According to doctors, the teenager died after suffering a sudden cardiac arrest while playing Garba.

Sharing details of the incident in Veers case, Dr Aayush Patel, MD Medicine, said, A team of volunteers at the scene immediately attended to him and performed a cardio-respiratory resuscitation. We monitored his vitals but found no pulse. There was no response and signs of respiration. He was given three cycles of Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). We shifted him to a hospital by ambulance. However, he was declared dead at the hospital.

10 Deaths In 24 Hrs

Veer was among at least 10 people who died while performing Garba during Navratri celebrations in Gujarat during the span of 24 hours, according to a report by India Today.

Veer died on Friday, the sixth day of Navratri celebrations. A series of similar incidents were reported in the state in the past day, with victims as young as a 13-year-old boy from Dabhoi, Baroda.

Other casualties included a 28-year-old Ravi Panchal, from Ahmedabad, who suddenly collapsed while playing Garba and died on Friday night, and a 55-year-old Shankar Rana, who collapsed while swaying to the tunes in Vadodara.

As per the India Today report, the 108 emergency ambulance services in Gujarat has received 521 calls for heart-related issues and an additional 609 calls for breathlessness over the first six days of Navratri.

Most of these calls were reportedly recevined between 6 pm and 2 am, when Garba celebrations usually take place.

Govt Asks Hospitals To Be On High Alert

The sudden increase in heart-related issues has prompted both the government, as well as the event organisers to take action. The Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel-led government has urged all government hospitals and community health centers (CHCs) near Garba venues to be on high alert.

Garba organisers have also been asked to maintain special corridors for movement of ambulances in case of emergencies.

On their part, many organisers are hiring doctors and ambulances to be stationed at venues for emergencies. They are also making sure there the ample availability of water for participants.
Justifying Indias move to pressure Canada to downsize its diplomatic presence in New Delhi, EAM S Jaishankar on Sunday said there was interference by Canadian personnel in the countrys internal affairs adding that India does not approve of certain segments of Canadian politics.

Parity is very much provided for by the Vienna Convention, which is the relevant international rule on this. In our case, we invoked parity because we had concerns about continuous interference in our affairs by Canadian personnel, Jaishankar said.

The External Affairs Minister also said that the India-Canada relations are going through a difficult phase.

#WATCH | On Canadian diplomatic presence in India, EAM Dr S Jaishankar says, "There's this whole issue of parity that the size of how many diplomats there are of one country versus how many diplomats there are of the other country. Parity is very much provided for by the Vienna pic.twitter.com/xJmk80GHHS ANI (@ANI) October 22, 2023

This comes after Canada announced that 41 of its diplomats in India have departed, a day before the deadline set by New Delhi for their withdrawal, failing which they were liable to lose diplomatic immunity.

Later, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that the Indian governments crackdown on Canadian diplomats was making normal life difficult for millions of people in both countries.

Jaishankar on India Resuming Issuance of Visas to Canadians

The external affairs minister also said that India is likely to resume the issuance of visas to Canadian citizens if it sees progress in the safety of Indian diplomats in Canada.

If we see progress in the safety of our diplomats in Canada, we would like to resume issuance of visas there, Jaishankar said at an event while replying to a question on India-Canada ties.

Meanwhile, government sources told News18 that New Delhi reviewing the security situation that led to the suspension of visa services in Canada.

India in September announced the temporary suspension of the issuance of visas to Canadian citizens and asked Ottawa to downsize its diplomatic presence in the country after Trudeau alleged a potential involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

US-UK Back Canada on Diplomats Exit Issue

The United States and the UK on Friday urged India not to insist Canada reduce its diplomatic presence in India and expressed concern after Ottawa pulled out 41 diplomats amid a dispute over the murder of a Sikh separatist.

We do not agree with the decisions taken by the Indian government that have resulted in several Canadian diplomats departing India, reads the FCDO statement.

Actions Consistent with Vienna Convention: India on Diplomats Row

India responded strongly to these accusations saying, The state of our bilateral relations, the much higher number of Canadian diplomats in India, and their continued interference in our internal affairs warrant a parity in mutual diplomatic presence in New Delhi and Ottawa.

Indias actions are fully consistent with Article 11.1 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in a statement.

(With PTI inputs)
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat drew a comparison with Hinduism in India while commenting on the ongoing war between Israel and militant group Hamas. Hinduism respects all sects and India has never seen a conflict like the one in Israel, he said.

Bhagwat on Saturday was speaking at a school programme in Maharashtras Nagpur, which was organised to mark the 350 years of Maratha King Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharajs coronation.

In this country, there is a religion, culture that respects all sects and faiths. That religion is Hinduism, Bhagwat said, adding that India is a country of Hindus and that does not mean we reject all other (religions).

The RSS chief went on to say, Once you say Hindu, it is not needed to be told that Muslims too were protected. Only Hindus do this. Only India does this. Others have not done this.

Referring to the strifes in other parts of the world like that of Russia-Ukraine, Israel-Hamas, Bhagwat said that India has never seen wars on such issues. The invasion during Shivaji Maharajs time was of that kind. But we never fought battles on this issue with anybody. That is why we are Hindus, he said to the audience at the programme.

POLITICAL WAR TRIGGERED BY ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR

The Israel-Hamas war triggered a political war in India, with the BJP citing how the country is safe under the Narendra Modi government compared to the UPA days when terror attacks and bomb blasts were common. The Congress, in turn, listed out over 30 terror attacks since 2014.

Hours after the Modi government extended its support and solidarity for Israel post the attack and infiltration by Hamas terrorist groups from the Gaza strip, Sitaram Yechury, general secretary of CPM, talked of Israeli aggression of the most Right-wing government. Congress came up with a careful statement, condemning the violence against Israel but supporting the Palestinian cause.

The Congress extended support for Palestinians, a day after it condemned the brutal attacks on the people of Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

The Indian National Congress has always believed that the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people for a life of self-respect, equality and dignity must be fulfilled only through a process of dialogue and negotiations while ensuring the legitimate national security interests of the Israeli people. Violence of any type never provides a solution and must stop, an X (formerly Twitter) post by Congress said.

The BJP was quick to advise the INDIA alliance to take a cue from the Opposition in Israel which has fully backed the Israel PMs counter-attack on Palestine. BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said the Opposition in Israel put the nation first but our opposition says Modi Virodh me Nation Virodh is okay questions surgical strikes, Balakot and even gives clean chit to Pakistan on terror attacks.

BJP leaders also took on the Congress tweet on over 30 terror attacks since 2014, citing strong steps like surgical strikes undertaken in response to any misadventures from Pakistan.

The Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7 killing more than 1,400 people, who were shot, mutilated, or burnt to death. And according to the Gaza-run health ministry, Israel has launched heavy bombardment of the Gaza Strip in retaliation, killing over 4,300 people.

(With PTI inputs)
Mahadev App creators Saurabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal, who are prime suspects in the online betting scam, have reportedly obtained citizenship in Vanuatu and have an official passport of the country with them.

According to a Mid-Day report that quoted the Enforcement Directorates chargesheet, various Indian agencies have launched a manhunt for the duo and they have been using their Vanuatu passports to evade law enforcement during their travels abroad.

During the investigation, it was gathered that Saurabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal have obtained passports of the country Vanuatu [in Oceania] and they have been roaming freely using these passports, the publication quoted in its report.

The ED recently filed its first chargesheet (prosecution complaint) in the Mahadev App online betting scam against 14 people under sections 44 and 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, Saurabh Pandey, the agencys lawyer, has confirmed to CNN-News18.

ED officials said preliminary investigation suggests the scam could be worth Rs 6,000 crore. A total of Rs 41 crore has already been provisionally attached by ED as proceeds of crime.

Chandrakar and Uppal have been named as the main conspirators by the ED. The agency has accused the duo of gambling and laundering money through the app.

Satish Chandrakar, another suspect, has been accused of facilitating the working of the Mahadev App when Ravi Uppal and Saurabh Chandrakar fled to Dubai.

Satish paid money and bought the ID for the Mahadev App. This ID was then used to get others to place bets using the app. The proceeds were split 70-30 by Satish Chandrakar and the Dubai-based promoters, the agency explained.

The ED also said the next leg of the investigation is focusing on Bollywood stars, influencers, and TV actors who were allegedly paid through Hawala to promote the app.

The app creators came under ED scanner after the lavish Rs 250-crore wedding of Saurabh Chandrakar in Dubai, which soon turned into a scandal with several Bollywood actors and celebrities receiving summons from the ED in the money laundering probe.

Ranbir Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, and Huma Qureshi have been summoned for questioning but they are not cooperating. We are looking at the legal options we have, an ED official said.
DMK President and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Sunday launched a tirade against AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami for not even criticising the BJP while claiming to have snapped ties with that party.

The ruling party chief questioned Palaniswamis commitment to the welfare of minorities and claimed the AIADMK would be defeated in the 2024 general elections as well.

Stalin said the AIADMKs stand that it had walked out of the alliance with the BJP was a drama, marked by cunningness as the saffron party is not being targeted.

Palaniswami, state Leader of Opposition was being made to adopt such a stand and all such things would get exposed ahead of the the Lok Sabha polls slated next year.

Addressing the DMKs booth agents meet here for northern Tamil Nadu, Stalin said that since the AIADMK would not be able to get back even its deposit in polls if it remained in the BJPs fold, its top leader was staging a drama by claiming to have snapped ties with the Saffron party.

Against the backdrop of Palaniswamis aggressive pro-minorities pitch after severing ties with the BJP, Stalin said the AIADMK had even supported Centres measures like the Citizenship Amendment Act earlier and backed its erstwhile ally.

However, Palaniswami was now claiming to have commitment towards the welfare of minorities. Also, even without criticising the BJP, Palaniswami now affirmed to lead a separate coalition, which was against the ruling party at the Centre.

It is a cunning drama, and he is being made to do so and it would get exposed in the run up to the Parliamentary election, Stalin said. The nation would rise as the best country in the world when the social justice-led Dravidian model of governance is implemented across the length and breadth of India, he said.

Recalling incidents during the AIADMK regime such as the massive agitation in Thoothukudi against the Sterlite plant and the police firing in which 13 persons died, he said Palaniswami is under a mistaken impression that people would have forgotten such issues.

Palaniswami-led AIADMK was defeated in all the polls such as local body elections held in the past five years and his party would be trounced in the 2024 as well, Stalin asserted.

The DMK chief said the booth agents should stay up-to-date on the party-led regimes welfare schemes and meet the local people and apprise them of such initiatives and the delivery of good governance by the Dravidian model government.

Underscoring schemes such as the Rs 1,000 monthly financial assistance for women (Kalaignar Scheme for Right of Women), breakfast for school children and fare-free travel in state-run town buses, the CM said in one way or the other, every single family has been benefitted by such plans and people have reposed their faith on the government.

The recently launched payout plan for women has made even those who opposed the government to praise it and this has frightened the DMKs rivals.

Hitting out Palaniswami for his blatant lie that the DMK regime has not implemented new schemes and it was only taking forward the initiatives of the previous AIADMK government, Stalin listed a slew of schemes including the Rs 1,000 assistance to women and asked if these were brought in by the opposition party.

He wondered if aspirants belonging to all castes were appointed as priests in temples in the AIADMK regime led by Palaniswami.

Also, he pointed to power connections to 2 lakh farmers and consecration ceremonies in as many as 1,000 temples in the Dravidian model regime and wanted the leader of opposition to take a look at such initiatives.

Accusing the AIADMK chief as a fake farmer who supported the three earlier central farm laws, Stalin asked how such a person would be aware of the state governments schemes.
The 33-year-old RPF constable, who gunned down his senior and three Muslim men in the Jaipur-Mumbai Central Superfast Express on July 31, called his uncle in Uttar Pradesh and told him to see the breaking news about him on television news channels.

According to a chargesheet filed in court by the Borivali Government Railway Police (GRP), Chetansinh Chaudhary called his uncle (mothers brother) Vasudev Solanki to tell him that he had killed four people in cold blood. The former railway cop shares a decent relationship with his uncle, who is a driver and works overnight, and would call him anytime of the day, police stated in the 1029-page chargesheet.

A report published in The Indian Express said as per the chargesheet, before killing his senior ASI Tikaram Meena and three Muslim passengers, his wife answered Chaudharys first call to Solanki at 4.30 am and told him that his uncle was sleeping. Chaudhary told Meena that he was feeling unwell and to let him get down from the train in Valsad or Vashi. But, he was told to stay on and rest as his duty was to end soon.

The chargesheet states that when Chaudhary made the second call at 6.10 am, Solanki received it. He then told his uncle that he had gunned down his superior and three passengers with his rifle. Solanki was shocked and told him that he did not believe what he was saying, to which Chaudhary told him to switch on the television and see him on breaking news.

Police have established charges of hate crime or Section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language) of the IPC against Chaudhary for two incidents.

First, when he shot dead a Muslim passenger and asked others to record him standing next to the body. In the video of his speech, which had gone viral, he is heard saying: Pakistan se operate hue ye, aur media yehi coverage dikha rahi hai, unko sab pata chal raha hai, ye kya kar rahe hain Agar vote dena hai, agar Hindustan mein rehna hai, to mai kehta hoon Modi aur Yogi, ye do hain. Three video clips recorded by other passengers are also attached with the chargesheet.

Second, when he forced a woman in a burqa to say Jai Mata Di at gunpoint and also threatened to shoot her when she resisted the second time.

Family trying to portray him as mentally unfit

The chargesheet states that both his uncle and his wife told Chaudhary to surrender. Police have stated that after the incident, Chaudhary first called his wife to ask her what he should do. He told her that he had made a big mistake and asked her to take care of their two children. I love you a lot. If you say should I shoot myself, he asked her in Hindi, as per the chargesheet. It was then that his wife told him to surrender.

Though the family is not supporting the killings, Chaudharys family is trying to save him by portraying him as a mentally unfit person with psychological issues. In her statement, his mother told police that her daughter-in-law was worried about her son as she felt there were changes in his behaviour after he was posted to Porbandar.

He would bang his head against the wall and murmur when he was alone. Chaudhary and his mother were once called to his office by his superior who told them that he does not salute his seniors and also behaves rudely with them, the chargesheet states as per the IE report.

Solanki also told police that he (Chaudhary) was disturbed over his posting away from his hometown. Chaudhary was expecting posting near his hometown in Mathura or nearby, but he was transferred to Mumbai. He was disturbed over this, Solanki stated before the police.

Solanki also told the police that Chaudhary had had a serious fall from a staircase seven years ago and suffered a head injury. He was also treated by a neurosurgeon.
The Uttar Pradesh Police is all set for a technological transformation for better policing and minimising crime graph in the state, aligning with the governments zero-tolerance policy towards criminals.

The police are set to replace the existing age-old traditional high frequency (HF) and very high frequency (VHF) wireless walkie-talkies with the highly efficient and affordable Push to Talk Over Cellular (POC) system that would not only help them communicate quickly over long distance (pan-UP) but also track live locations and initiate group or individual communications or video calls.

The new system, which is used by the police of France and Finland, is likely to be introduced in Uttar Pradesh after the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections, the officials in know of the development said. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is likely to launch the new communication technique.

Barrier-free Communication

Communication is the most important aspect of policing. And this new system ensures barrier-free communication, which, so far, was not possible with HF\VHF based walkie-talkie wireless sets. This new system that has already cleared several field tests is likely to be introduced in 2024, said Sanjay M Tarade, director-general of police (Telecom), UP.

How Does POC Technology Work?

How does this Push-to-talk Over Cellular (POC) technology work? Prior, answering this question, Tarade said one has to understand about the needs of communication in present times. Policing in the present scenario, when criminals are going hi-tech and cybercrime is on the rise, is the toughest job. Hence, there is a need for an effective communication system in order to pass on the message to others quickly and effectively. Secondly, other than communication, there are often requirements of group communication or personal communication, location tracking and even video calling in policing, Tarade told News18.

HF\VHF Communication has its Limitations

All this was not possible on the existing HF\VHF that is also called a narrowband communication system that functions on the licenced frequency of 30 MHZ to 300 MHZ. Tarade said, Due to these shortcomings, a need to have a seamless communication system was felt. POC, however, has all the features that made it an ideal replacement to the VH/VHF-based communication system.

He further said the POC communication is highly efficient and affordable that the existing two-way radio. At present, the VH/VHF-based walkie-talkie can facilitate communication up to 2 km. And the radio setup at the station can facilitate communication up to 11km at the max. Though there are ways to enhance the range by increasing the height of the antenna or by installing the repeaters which may increase a little range but yield heavy costing. Whereas the POC, which is a mobile application that transforms the mobile phones into wireless sets, can communicate seamlessly across UP. This is the most important feature of POC, he explained.

POC Enables User to Do Geo-Fencing

Other than this, the POC system comes with the several other new-age features that include text messaging, live location tracking, group calling or individual calling, Geo fencing, video calls and others. Through this system, the top officials can communicate easily to the group, can get to view any live operation and interact with a particular fleet and can restrict the message of sensitive nature to a set of cops instead of passing it on to all. These features again make it the most viable replacement to existing radio systems, he further explained.

300 Milliseconds to Connect a Call

When there are mobile phones to communicate, why was there a need for this new POC system? Mobile phones take almost 8 to 10 seconds to connect whereas POC connects in just 300 milliseconds. The same for making video calls. Also, calling hundreds and thousands of cops in one go is almost impossible and hence a system was needed that can do it all with ease, he added.

Officials also said POCs first field test was carried out during the recent Kawar Yatra between Meerut and Bareilly. The test was successful, said officials. Not only this, the UP Police used POC during a recent MotoGP race held in Greater Noida and the test remained a successful one.

When Elephants Used to Carry Wireless System

After carrying out a series of successful field tests, the UP Police is set to introduce the POC system. Some senior officials said the introduction of the new system would phase out the traditional wireless systems that are part of its rich past.

It was in 1938, when UP, then known as United Province, became the first state in India to use the wireless technology communication system. The three wireless systems, weighing in tons were placed on the back of three elephants and it was used to manage the law and order situation during Kumbh Mela in Haridwar in 1938. These mobile radios were linked to the Mela control room, a senior police officer said, while highlighting the history of the UP polices wireless communication systems. The officer said in 1941, the three status HF radio stations  in Sitapur, Lucknow and Gorakhpur  were established. This was the first police communication network in India.

Radio Stations during Quit India Movement

Officers said radio played an important role in handling law and order situation during Quit India Movement in 1942 when static radio stations were hastily installed in Prayagraj, Kanpur and Varanasi districts. Besides, one mobile radio station was established in Ballia. In 1943, UP Police Radio Organisation was formed with the name of Police Wireless Telegraphy Service under the supervision of EW Hunt, Superintended of Police (SP), Imperial Police, Sitapur.

In 1948, the headquarters of the Police radio was shifted to Lucknow after which all district headquarters were linked with state wireless telegraphy in Lucknow using HF radio. However, after 1950, the use of wireless sets by UP Police became a regular affair. Officials said a special network was established to keep a check on the dacoits and to carry out dacoit operations in Chambals and Agra.

In 1958, then Chief Minister of UP Sampurnanand laid the foundation of the UP Police Radio Headquarters of UP Police, Lucknow. By 1960s the wireless services were adopted by city police to carry out policing in an effective manner. Whereas in 1987, the range repeater systems came into force which had the capability to increase the range of the wireless up to some extent. However, all previous versions of radio were replaced by Radiotelephony Communication, the 4th generation microprocessor based featured radio sets which further enhanced the communication system.
The deteriorating air quality in several parts of Maharashtra has raised serious concerns. As many as 17 air quality monitoring systems in Mumbai showed moderate Air Quality Index (AQI) levels while the remaining four pockets showed poor quality on Sunday. Meanwhile, NCP leader Supriya Sule compared breathing in Pune to smoking 3-4 cigarettes a day.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Mumbai recorded an AQI of 159, which is categorised as moderate, an Indian Express Report said. Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) in the western suburbs recorded poor AQI of 238 on Sunday morning, followed by 216 in Sion, 212 in Colaba and 211 in Mulund. Worli recorded satisfactory AQI of 90 on Sunday.

NCP leader Supriya Sule on Sunday took to X (formerly Twitter) and compared breathing in Pune to smoking 3-4 cigarettes a day. Just arrived in Pune from Mumbai, and the air quality is a serious concern. Breathing this polluted air feels like smoking 3-4 cigarettes a day! The health of our citizens, especially children and the elderly, is at risk. We need immediate action from the government and local authorities to combat this issue, she wrote.

Just arrived in Pune from Mumbai, and the air quality is a serious concern. Breathing this polluted air feels like smoking 3-4 cigarettes a day! The health of our citizens, especially children and the elderly, is at risk. We need immediate action from the government and local Supriya Sule (@supriya_sule) October 22, 2023

Experts have attributed the deteriorating AQI to multiple reasons inlcuding man-made and natural factors. Currently, the wind circulation has been such that the air could not rise because of which dust particles remained suspended in the air resulting in poor AQI levels, Sushma Nair, scientist at IMD Mumbai was quoted by the Indian Express as saying.

Experts said that ongoing construction works and vehicular emissions were other key contributors to the current AQI status.

On Saturday, several parts of Mumbai recorded an Air Quality Index (AQI) over 200 which is considered as poor. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) issued guidelines for controlling air pollution while warning construction sites to adhere to those guidelines.
By Shun Yoshioka, KYODO NEWS - Oct 22, 2023 - 12:06 | All, Japan

A growing number of online consumers are falling prey to subscription-based purchases without their consent or facing difficulties in canceling purchases due to the prevalence of deceptive web designs referred to as "dark patterns."

The tricks employed to coax consumers into parting with their money include misleading countdowns that create a spurious sense of urgency by falsely declaring that only a limited quantity of a sought-after item remains in stock. In other cases, some websites preselect a subscription option when users log in, leading to unintended financial commitments.

Elderly individuals, who are often less familiar with digital technology, tend to be a particular target for unscrupulous online retailers. These retailers manipulate them into making purchases and commitments they might otherwise avoid, blurring the line between clever marketing and outright deception.

One woman in her 70s who sought help from a consumer affairs center in the Kansai western Japan region in July said she had purchased what she thought was a 'trial' cleansing foam but had then received a second, unwanted delivery of the same product.

When she tried to contact the business operator, her calls went unanswered, and an automated message directed her to cancel online. However, she was left bewildered and unable to navigate the process.

According to the 2023 edition of the government-issued Consumer White Paper, there were a record 75,478 consumer affairs consultations related to subscription purchases in 2022, with a significant increase in cases linked to online issues, especially among the elderly.

A Consumer Affairs Agency analysis revealed that elderly individuals are less likely to get their information from multiple websites or to check if they are making purchases on a subscription basis.

An analyst at the agency pointed out, "Compared with the younger generation, elderly people are less digitally literate, which can lead to trouble."

The term "dark patterns" was coined in 2010 by Harry Brignull, a British-based user experience designer. On his website Deceptive Patterns, he says: Dark patterns "are tricks used in websites and apps that make you do things that you didn't mean to, like buying or signing up for something." The phenomenon has also been seen on many Japanese online shopping sites and apps in recent years.

The lab of Katie Seaborn, associate professor at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, analyzed 200 popular mobile apps for shopping, gaming and other activities in Japan. It found that more than 90 percent of them employ dark patterns, utilizing what it terms "linguistic dead-ends," where the language used "makes it very difficult for the user to understand crucial functionality" on the site.

Examples highlighted in the research include being unable to log out or delete an account within an app, the inability to unsubscribe from newsletters through the app, constant display of cookies without the option to turn them off, and special countdown offers.

A panel of Japanese experts in July pointed out that problems caused by dark patterns "have become prevalent in digital transactions" in recent years.

In Japan, the revised Specified Commercial Transactions Law, which was enacted in June 2021, prohibits misleading labeling that might trick consumers into believing a purchase is not subscription-based, and mandates the disclosure of specific transaction details at the time of online purchases. But full-fledged legislation has not yet been put in place.

In contrast, the European Union, under the 2002 Digital Services Act, has banned web designs that deceive consumers, and the U.S. state of California has introduced similar regulations.

Atsushi Hasegawa, professor at Musashino Art University and head of Tokyo-based Concent Inc., a web design company that investigates dark patterns, explained that they work by "exploiting people's sensory and intuitive judgments."

Hasegawa said that although laws and regulations are necessary, their effectiveness has limits. "First of all, we want consumers to be aware of these dark patterns. By taking a breath and thinking before purchasing, they can protect themselves," he stressed.

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There is an urgent need to take proactive steps to not only clear the huge backlog of cases at all levels but for introspection by all stakeholders to meet the aspirations of litigants who seek speedy justice and curtail methods adopted to delay proceedings, the Supreme Court has said while issuing a slew of directions.

A bench of justices S Ravindra Bhat (since retired) and Aravind Kumar, in the order delivered on Friday, gave directions to all courts at district and taluka levels on matters like the execution of summons, filing of written statements, completion of pleadings, recording of admissions and denials, framing of issues and fixing of trial for swift disposal of cases.

It also directed the setting of committees by the chief justices of the respective states to constantly monitor old cases pending for more than five years.

The court said millions of consumers of justice file their cases expecting speedy justice so there is an onerous responsibility on all stakeholders to ensure that the peoples faith in this system is not eroded on account of delayed justice.

There is an urgent need to take pro-active steps to not only clear the huge backlog of cases at all levels but there should be introspection by all the stakeholders to gear up to meet the aspirations of the litigant public who would only seek speedy justice and to curtail the methods adopted to delay the proceedings which may suit certain section or class of the litigant public.

It is imperative to note that about six per cent of the population in India is affected by litigation, in such a scenario the courts would play an important role in the life of a nation governed by the rule of law.

Peace and tranquility in the society and harmonious relationships between the citizens are achieved on account of the effective administration of justice and its delivery system, even the economic growth of a country is dependent on the robust justice delivery system which we have in our country, the bench said in its detailed order.

The top court said when efficiency has become the hallmark of modern civilization and in all spheres of life, there is an urgent need to hasten the pace of delivery of justice by reducing the time period.

The apex court directed all courts at district and taluka levels to ensure proper execution of the summons and in a time-bound manner as prescribed under Order V Rule (2) of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC).

It said the same shall be monitored by principal district judges and after collating the statistics they shall forward the same to be placed before the committee constituted by the High Court for its consideration and monitoring.

All courts at District and Taluka level shall ensure that written statement is filed within the prescribed limit namely as prescribed under Order VIII Rule 1 and preferably within 30 days and to assign reasons in writing as to why the time limit is being extended beyond 30 days as indicated under proviso to sub-Rule (1) of Order VIII of CPC.

All courts at Districts and Talukas shall ensure after the pleadings are complete, the parties should be called upon to appear on the day fixed and record the admissions and denials and the court shall direct the parties to the suit to opt for either mode of the settlement outside the court, the bench said.

In the event of the partys failure to opt for ADR namely resolution of the dispute as prescribed under Section 89(1), the court should frame the issues for its determination within one week preferably, in the open court, it said.

Fixing of the date of trial shall be in consultation with the learned advocates appearing for the parties to enable them to adjust their calendar. Once the date of the trial is fixed, the trial should proceed accordingly to the extent possible, on a day-to-day basis.

Trial judges of District and Taluka Courts shall as far as possible maintain the diary for ensuring that only such number of cases as can be handled on any given day for trial and complete the recording of evidence so as to avoid overcrowding of the cases and as a sequence of it would result in adjournment being sought and thereby preventing any inconvenience being caused to the stakeholders, the bench said.

The top court said the counsel representing the parties may be informed about the provisions of Order XI and Order XII so as to narrow down the scope of dispute and it would be also the onerous responsibility of the Bar Associations and Bar Councils to have periodical refresher courses and preferably by virtual mode.

The trial courts shall scrupulously, meticulously and without fail comply with the provisions of Rule 1 of Order XVII and once the trial has commenced it shall proceed from day to day as contemplated under the proviso to Rule 2.

The courts shall give meaningful effect to the provisions for payment of cost for ensuring that no adjournment is sought for procrastination of the litigation and the opposite party is suitably compensated in the event of such adjournment is being granted, the bench said.

After the trial, the oral arguments shall be heard immediately and continuously and judgment be pronounced within the period stipulated, it said.

The statistics relating to the cases pending in each court beyond five years shall be forwarded by every presiding officer to the Principal District Judge once a month who (Principal District Judge/District Judge) shall collate the same and forward it to the review committee constituted by the respective High Courts for enabling it to take further steps.

The Committee so constituted by the Honble Chief Justice of the respective States shall meet at least once in two months and direct such corrective measures to be taken by the concerned court as deemed fit and shall also monitor the old cases (preferably which are pending for more than 05 years) constantly, it said.

The verdict came on a plea of Yashpal Jain who had moved the top court assailing a 2019 order of the Uttarakhand High Court in a civil dispute. The case, which began 43 years ago in a local court there, is still continuing.

The bench set aside the high courts order and asked the lower court to decide the plea of Jain in six months.
National Award-winning actress Alia Bhatt was recently seen in the film Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani opposite Ranveer Singh. Their chemistry both on-screen and off-screen was greatly appreciated by the audience in Karan Johars romantic film. Several reports have claimed that the duo will soon be seen on screen again in Sanjay Leela Bhansalis Baiju Bawra. They were recently papped after completing a shoot together in Mumbai.

The two actors were spotted leaving for their homes after completing a shoot together. However, it is unclear whether the actors were shooting for Baiju Bawra itself or a different project. Both actors opted for comfortable, casual clothes for the day. Ranbir looked handsome in a white T-shirt with a black cap and black sunglasses. Alia was also wearing a white outfit and had barely any makeup on.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by yogen shah (@yogenshah_s)

Baiju Bawra is one of filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansalis most highly-awaited projects. Several reports have emerged about the films casting over the years, however, Sanjay has kept fans on their toes. Sometime back, it was reported that the film would be headlined by Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh. Some reports also claimed that Kiara Advani will also be a part of the project.

Meanwhile, Ranveer Singh is busy shooting for Rohit Shettys Singham Again. Headlined by Ajay Devgn, the film will also feature Kareena Kapoor Khan, Deepika Padukone, Tiger Shroff and Akshay Kumar in pivotal roles. According to reports, Ranveer will soon begin the shoot for Baiju Bawra and Farhan Akhtars Don 3.

On the other hand, Alia has begun shooting for Jigra, which she is co-producing with Karan Johar. The actress will also be seen in Farhan Akhtars film Jee Le Zara, also featuring Priyanka Chopra and Katrina Kaif in the leads.
Bollywood actor Dalip Tahil, famous for his role in films like Baazigar, Raja, Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, Ghulam, Soldier, Gupt, and Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai was sentenced to two months in prison on Sunday, October 22. The sentence is in regard to his 2018 drunk driving case. In 2018, a charge was put on the actor for drunk driving and ramming his car into an autorickshaw. Now, medical experts have testified in the case.

According to Times Now, the medical professional claimed that Dalip was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident. The signs mentioned in the testimony included the smell of alcohol, dilated pupils, unsteady gait, and incoherent speech.

After the latest testimony, a magistrates court sentenced the actor to two months of imprisonment. The incident occurred in Mumbais Khar area and a woman sitting in an auto was injured after Dalips car rammed into the vehicle. The actor was then arrested by the Mumbai Police but was later released on bail.

As per a report by Dainik Bhaskar, the actor had refused to give his blood samples to the police at that time. However, the womans medical tests were conducted. Now, five years later, the 65-year-old actor has received this judgment.

The veteran actor dominated the Hindi film industry with his villainous characters in the 1990s. Initially, he wanted to join the Indian Air Force like his father, but fate had something else planned for him. It was Yash Chopras 1993 film Darr that gave him recognition in Bollywood. He played the role of Sunny Deols father in the film. His role was highly appreciated. After seeing Dalip Tahil in Darr, the director duo, Abbas-Mustan, was highly impressed by him. They offered him the iconic role of Madan Chopra in the hit film Baazigar. The role became a hit among the audience, and people appreciated him a lot. This was his second consecutive film with Shah Rukh Khan.
Kartik Aaryan and Tara Sutaria sparked dating rumours after they were spotted together on a dinner date. On Saturday night, the paparazzi captured Tara and Kartik leaving the same hotel but separately. Tara was seen wearing a black tube top along with an animal printed skirt. On the other hand, Kartik was seen wearing a crisp white shirt and a pair of black pants. In a video gone viral, Tara was seen making for a run from a luxury hotel to her car, avoiding the cameras as she left her dinner date.

For more info: Kartik Aaryan, Tara Sutaria Dating? Actress Runs Away From Paps After Dinner Date With Him; Watch

Karan Johar is bringing Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh on his famous Koffee Couch in Koffee With Karan 8, if reports are to be believed. The couple, who tied the knot in 2018, will reportedly open the latest season of Karan Johars show. This will be their first ever joint appearance on the show and fans are excited to see the their banter together. Amid this exciting news, the promo of Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukones episode is out and it will set your heart aflutter.

For more info: Koffee With Karan 8: Ranveer Singh Cant Keep His Hands Off Deepika Padukone In New Promo

National Award-winning actress Alia Bhatt was recently seen in the film Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani opposite Ranveer Singh. Their chemistry both on-screen and off-screen was greatly appreciated by the audience in Karan Johars romantic film. Several reports have claimed that the duo will soon be seen on screen again in Sanjay Leela Bhansalis Baiju Bawra. They were recently papped after completing a shoot together in Mumbai.

For more info: Alia Bhatt, Ranveer Singh Begin Shooting For Sanjay Leela Bhansalis Baiju Bawra? Find Out

Parineeti Chopra has turned a year older today and she has been getting a lot of wishes from all corners. But it was her hubby Raghav Chadhas wish that caught our attention. The AAP leader shared a series of unseen photos from their dating period and also wrote an adorable note for his wifey. Well, in no time it went viral and even Parineeti also reacted to it. In the photos, dont miss the engagement ring which the actress is flaunting.

For more info: Raghav Chadha Wishes Wifey Parineeti Chopra Birthday With Unseen Pics: You Make My Chaotic Life Bearable

Bollywood actor Dalip Tahil, famous for his role in films like Baazigar, Raja, Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, Ghulam, Soldier, Gupt, and Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai was sentenced to two months in prison on Sunday, October 22. The sentence is in regard to his 2018 drunk driving case. In 2018, a charge was put on the actor for drunk driving and ramming his car into an autorickshaw. Now, medical experts have testified in the case.

For more info: Baazigar Star Dalip Tahil Sent to 2 Months Prison In Five-Year-Old Drunk Driving Case
The Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) relation with Palestine has been cordial since the Peoples Republic of China came into being under Mao Zedongs leadership. The Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), since its inception in 1964, has received Chinese recognition and support as well as both financial and military assistance from the CCP. China also happens to be among one of the first countries to recognise the sovereignty of Palestine in 1988, establishing full diplomatic relations the following year.

On the other hand, China entered into formal diplomatic relations with Israel in 1992, as part of its economic reforms process. Despite Chinas pro-Palestinian leaning, bilateral trade between China and Palestine was only $158 million as compared to Chinese investment in Israel which was $23 billion last year. Beijing being Israels second largest trading partner after the US clearly denotes its close relations with Israel, especially in areas of technology.

Chinas relations with the Palestine continued with active engagements through official visits and dialogues on both sides. Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian leader and President of the Palestinian Authority (PA), has visited Beijing five times in the past two decades, the most recent being in June this year where Chinese President Xi Jinping announced to enter into a strategic partnership with Palestine.

A conflict marred region, Palestine has been identified by China for playing a role in its BRI project. In 2022, both signed an MoU on on Matters of Common Interest under the Joint Construction of the Belt and Road Initiative with the aim of improving policy communication, facility connectivity, unimpeded trade, financial integration, and people-to-people connections.

One can easily discern that Chinas intention of acting as a potential peacemaker in the Israel-Palestine conflict stems from its larger intention of including this strategically significant region as part of its BRI, to further penetrate in the Middle East and establish its dominance where the US has built its position as the main global player.

In case of Israel-Palestine conflict, Chinas stand has been clear during Abbass Beijing visit in June. China offered to facilitate peace talks between Israel and Palestine through its three-point solution; establishing an independent Palestinian state based on 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as the capital, increasing development and humanitarian assistance to Palestinians and creating the right conditions for peace talks to resume via large-scale international meetings. This is not the first time China has offered to mediate peace talks.

A decade earlier too, Xi Jinping proposed four-point plan to solve the Palestinian issue, affirming its support for a two-state solution based on Palestinians inalienable right to self-determination. In 2021, when violent escalations erupted in the region, Beijing proposed for immediate cease of military and hostile actions by both parties and especially suggested Israel to exercise restraint in particular, while calling on both parties to have a direct dialogue in China.

Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that has been controlling the Gaza Strip since 2007 has been designated as a terrorist organisation by many countries, including the US, Canada and the EU. China, however, refrained from such labelling and recognised Hamas as the legitimate elected political entity representing the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.

Therefore, during the recent (7 October) surprise violent attack by the Hamas on Israel witnessed since October 1973 War in Israel, when other countries were quick in their condemnations against Hamas violent attacks, deeming it to be terrorist attacks, Chinas initial statement expressed deep concern over the escalation of tension and violence while calling on both parties to exercise restraint and immediately end the hostilities, and reiterating its belief that the fundamental solution to this conflict lies in the two-state solution and establishing an independent State of Palestine.

This statement was perceived to be much subdued by the experts which failed to condemn Hamas attacks and was subject of critics by Israeli officials. An official of Israels Embassy in Beijing called on China to take a much stronger position, urging its solidarity towards Israel and that this is not the time for a two-state solution. Moreover, Chinas close relations with Iran, an open rival to Israel and known to be an ally of Hamas, is another cause of concern. Israel has called on Beijing to stop Iran from further escalation of the ongoing situation. Popular opinion on Chinese social media has been favouring towards Hamas in the latest Israel-Hamas War.

From Chinas statement, it is clear that Beijing is going to maintain its traditional stance of tilting towards the Palestinian cause, despite international condemnation of Hamas attacks. This makes Chinas neutral image as a credible mediator in Israel-Palestine conflict questionable and further challenges Chinese-brokered deal to restore diplomatic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Chinas interest in solving the Israel-Palestine issue is guided by its foreign policys objective to imprint its image as a rising superpower in the region that so far has been dominated by the US. China approach to peace-making is a mere rhetoric, driven by its larger diplomatic aim to overtake its rival US in the global power game and have more active influence in West Asia.
Just ahead of the five state assembly elections and less than a year before the Lok Sabha elections, thanks to a letter by Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has resurrected an issue that has so far only embarrassed the Congress.

In the four-page letter, Kharge sought to put the Centre in discomfiture over the alleged misuse of bureaucrats and Indian soldiers. However, the move has boomeranged with BJP president JP Nadda responding to it, without naming him, but clearly referring to former PM Rajiv Gandhis 1987 vacation to Lakshadweep using warship INS Viraat.

For the Modi Govt, all agencies, institutions, arms, wings, and departments of the government are now officially 'Pracharaks' ! In view of protecting our democracy and our Constitution, it is imperative that the orders which would lead to the politicising of Bureaucracy and our pic.twitter.com/t9hq0N4Ro4  Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) October 22, 2023

KEEP CIVIL SERVANTS, SOLDIERS OUT OF POLITICS: KHARGES LETTER

Kharge, in his letter to the Prime Minister, has criticised a government order regarding a yatra involving senior bureaucrats to be organised across India to showcase the Centres achievements of the past nine years, calling it gross misuse of government machinery. In the letter, Kharge also hit out at the Modi government over an earlier order of the Defence Ministry, directing soldiers on annual leave to spend time to promote government schemes.

In both the cases, of civil servants and soldiers, it is essential that government machinery is kept out of politics, especially so in the months leading up to an election, he wrote.

Congresss media department head Jairam Ramesh latched onto it, asking civil servants and soldiers, who must at all times, be kept independent and non-political.

How can civil servants be ordered to do political propaganda for a government going into elections? IAS officers will be Rath Prabharis. @IASassociation pic.twitter.com/tgVukmU8SK Pawan Khera (@Pawankhera) October 21, 2023

Earlier, Congress leader Pawan Khera, on October 18, criticised a letter talking about senior bureaucrats acting as rath prabhari (special officers) in each of the 765 districts in the country, covering 2.69 lakh gram panchayats.

In a bid to corner the government, Kharge wrote, All agencies, institutions, arms, wings, and departments are now officially pracharaks.In view of protecting our democracy and our Constitution, it is imperative that theorders are withdrawn immediately.

PUBLIC SERVICE DELIVERY GOVTS DUTY, CONCEPT ALIEN TO CONG: NADDA ON X

BJPs IT cell chief Amit Malviya immediately defended the government orders saying, Who said bureaucrats in GoI are not meant to talk about the programmes and schemes implemented? Should they just sit in offices and not be on the ground to assess impact? Bureaucrats are duty-bound to serve the people, as the elected government deems fit.

Who said bureaucrats in GoI are not meant to talk about the programs and schemes implemented? Should they just sit in offices and not be on the ground to assess impact? Bureaucrats are duty bound to serve the people, as the elected Govt deems fit. Just because five states are https://t.co/GK7RV134I3  Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) October 21, 2023

Malviya added that PM Modi wants complete saturation of welfare schemes such as the PM Awas Yojana (Grameen), National Rural Livelihood Mission, and PM Kisan, among others.

Soon, Nadda came to defend the Modi government in his aggressive style. Nadda posted on X: It may be an alien concept to the Congress party, but public service delivery is the duty of a government. If the Modi government wants to ensure saturation of all schemes and ensure we reach all beneficiaries, nobody, who has the interest of the poor in his mind, can have a problem. But the Congress only has an interest in keeping the poor in poverty and hence their opposition to the saturation drive.

It baffles me to see the Congress Party have an issue with public servants reaching the grassroots to ensure saturation of schemes. If this not the basic tenet of governance, what is?Regarding opposition to a Rath it is a fit use of public resources unlike using warships as  Jagat Prakash Nadda (@JPNadda) October 22, 2023

Then came the Rajiv bombshell without naming him. He posted, Regarding opposition to a rath, it is a fit use of public resources, unlike using warships as personal yachts. He ended the post with a smiley.

WHAT HAPPENED ON THE WARSHIP?

Although Nadda didnt name anyone, the reference was for all to spot. Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had embarked on INS Viraat off Trivandrum on December 28, 1987, to Lakshadweep island. One would wonder, so what?

On May 9, 2019, while addressing a rally at Ramlila Maidan in the heart of the national capital, Modi had claimed that Rajiv Gandhi used INS Viraat as a personal taxi for a holiday during his tenure as prime minister.

Ever imagined that a premier warship of the Indian armed forces could be used as a taxi for a personal holiday?One Dynasty did it and that too with great swag. Read this and share widely! https://t.co/OcqpHsQ8xM  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 8, 2019

The very same day, Modi had shared an old article elaborating on Gandhis vacation on X, while saying, Ever imagined that a premier warship of the Indian armed forces could be used as a taxi for a personal holiday? One dynasty did it and that too with great swag.

Later, the Indian Navy confirmed that Sonia Gandhi had accompanied Rajiv Gandhi on that tour, while other details werent available with them. However, the article PM Modi had shared claimed that, along with Sonia Gandhis Italian relatives, actor Amitabh Bachchans family had also joined the holiday on the idyllic island in the Indian Ocean.

As the Congress raised the issue of the misuse of bureaucrats and Indias soldiers, the BJP couldnt find a better counter which hurt the Congresss first family. The counter to Modis rath with Congresss warships as personal yachts only establishes that Nadda was referring to what PM Modi referred to in a jam-packed rally in 2019 that surprised many who were unaware of that chapter of history.
Supreme Court lawyer and Mahua Moitras former partner, Jai Anant Dehadrai, has now claimed that he anticipates a very serious threat to his life because of the complaint against the Trinamool Congress MP. Dehadrai, who had written to the CBI and BJP MP Nishikant Dubey alleging that he had evidence of Moitra accepting bribes from a businessman to ask questions in parliament, has also claimed that he is being pressured to withdraw his complaint by Moitra, in exchange for the custody of his three-year-old Rottweiler, Henry.

Earlier, both Dehadrai and Moitra have accused each other of stealing Henry from their possession and have gone to Delhi Police against each other. Moitra has also described Dehadrai as a jilted ex who just wants to get back at her.

Dehadrais Letter To Delhi Police

In a letter to Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora, the advocate said, I anticipate a very serious threat to my safety on account of my complaint dated October 14, which I have submitted to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and to Nishikant Dubey, MP, against Moitra, M.P., and others.

He claimed that on October 19, a direct attempt was made to coerce him into withdrawing my complaint.

Threats of reputational harm were also conveyed in case I did not agree, he said adding that the very specific demand was that he should unconditionally withdraw both the complaints in which very serious allegations pertaining to national security and corruption have been alleged by me against Moitra and others.

Dehadrai further claimed that given the TMC leaders history of misusing her influence and political clout to browbeat and intimidate opponents, my concerns are serious.

Bitter Custody Battle

It was stated that my pet dog, Henry (Rottweiler breed) would be returned by Moitra to me if I agreed to withdraw the said complaints, Dehadrai said in the latter.

He further stated that last month, Moitra attempted to extort his pet dog Henry from him by filing two totally bogus complaints with the Barakhamba Road Police Station.

Based on these two fake complaints, she pressurised Mahavir Singh, SHO of the Barakhamba Road Police Station, who then acted under her direct pressure to somehow or the other browbeat me into giving up the lawful ownership of Henry over to Moitra, he said, adding that he has preserved all the messages from Singh to him as also the eight phone calls where he openly threatened me (dabna padega) to give up Henry or else face prosecution in Moitras fake complaints.

Dehadrai also said that it is crucial to note that Singh used every trick in the book to compel him to sign and accept a one-sided agreement over Henrys custody, including a recital in which he would have accepted a fabricated pet certificate made by Moitra, which would have legitimised her illegal possession of Henry.

I refused. It is crucial to mention that acting under Moitras pressure, he (SHO) deliberately ignored the evidence I provided to him which unequivocally established my legitimate claim over my pet Henry and instead, he forwarded me Moitras one-sided agreement, the advocate said.

He also said that the Barakhamba Road Police Station SHO knows the full truth and must come clean on his role in facilitating the actual theft and illegal retention of his dog Henry by Moitra.

Threat To Life

Dehadrai said that given the extremely dangerous and dubious antecedents of Moitra and her accomplices, I anticipate an attack on my life.

He also said that he has received multiple strange messages from unknown numbers on his personal mobile phone which then suddenly came to be deleted.

Yesterday, I received three phone calls at 2:22 p.m. from a No Caller ID number. Even more disturbing is the fact that a few days ago, some unverified individuals attempted to barge into my private residence. I have a genuine apprehension that certain quarters might attempt some nefarious deeds to prevent me from deposing before the Ethics Committee, Lok Sabha on October 26 and also before the Investigating Agencies, the SC lawyer said.

Given the strange occurrences that have been going on, I fear for the well-being of my Chamber colleagues and myself. As I possess extremely sensitive evidence and material pertaining to this case, there is every likelihood that attempts could be made to either destroy this material or obtain it from me under threat of bodily harm. I therefore humbly request you to assess the threats in question and provide adequate protection, as you deem fit, he added.

Bribes for Query Row

Last Sunday, a massive controversy erupted after BJP MP Nishikant Dubey posed a massive allegation against Moitra that she took cash and gifts from businessman Darshan Hiranandani to ask questions in Parliament.

Moitra responded to the allegations and said CBI is welcome to investigate right after they finish investigating Adanis offshore money trail, over-invoicing, benami account.

Dubey wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla seeking an inquiry against Moitra and her immediate suspension from the House for taking cash for question.

In his letter, Dubey said that he is in receipt of a letter from Jai Anant Dehadrai, Advocate, wherein, he has shared irrefutable evidence of bribes exchanged between Moitra and Darshan Hiranandani, a well known business tycoon, to ask question(s) in Parliament in exchange for Cash and Gifts.

Dubey also wrote to Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw demanding investigation into IP Address of the Lok Sabha MPs login credentials saying that she acted in a manner that was detrimental to Indias national security.

Moitras Allegations

Meanwhile, Moitra on Friday put up a brave front saying that she is ready to face the CBI questions and the Parliaments Ethics Committee after the affidavit of businessman Darshan Hiranandani.

She had alleged that the Prime Ministers Office held a proverbial gun to Hiranandanis head and made him sign the white paper that was later leaked to the press. She also dubbed the contents of the letter by Hiranandani as joke.

Darshan Hiranandani, the CEO of real estate-to-energy group Hiranandani, who allegedly paid Moitra to raise questions in Parliament about Adani Group, recently claimed in a signed affidavit that she targeted Gautam Adani to malign and embarrass Prime Minister Narendra Modi whose impeccable reputation gave opposition no opportunity to attack him.

TMC Maintains Distance from Moitra

The Trinamool Congress has decided to maintain distance from the controversy surrounding its MP Mahua Moitra, who has been facing allegations of taking bribes for raising questions in Parliament.

The party has nothing to say on this issue. We think the person around whom this controversy is revolving is best suited to react to this, TMCs West Bengal general secretary and spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said.

Another senior TMC leader, who did not wish to be named, said the party leadership is unwilling to get into a controversy and thus will be maintaining distance from it.

(With IANS and PTI Inputs)
BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla on Sunday launched a scathing attack on TMC over the partys silence on cash-for-questions against its Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra. Poonawalla said TMC cant just say no comments without clarifying if their silence means acceptance of Moitras breaches.

Does it mean TMC accepts Mahua Moitra had made serious breaches including giving her log in to be operated from foreign soil by a rival corporate entity in exchange for kickbacks? the BJP leader asked.

BJP MP Nishikant Dubey on Saturday, wihtout naming anyone, had claimed that an MP was in India when their parliamentary ID was used in Dubai adding that the National Informatics Centre (NIC) has disclosed the information to probe agencies. In an X (formerly Twitter) post in Hindi, the BJP leader had said an MP pawned the countrys security for some money.

The MPs ID was opened from Dubai when the so-called parliamentarian was in India. The entire Indian government, including the prime minister, finance department and central agencies, uses this NIC, Dubey had further added.

Following the BJP MPs allegations, TMC maintained a distance from Mahua Moitra saying the related person may herself explain or answer the issues.

The partys state general secretary Kunal Ghosh said the party will not issue any statement on the controversy. No comments on this particular issue. We have nothing to say on it. The Trinamool Congress will not say a single word. We have nothing to say and no comments. The related person may explain or answer the issues but not Trinamool Congress, Ghosh said.

Shehzad Poonawalla questioned is the partys silence over the issue and asked if TMC is afraid of taking action because the party itself has something to hide?

Is the TMC afraid of taking this action because the party itself has something to hide? Perhaps people in the party knew or endorsed it? TMC must clarify, the BJP leader said in an X post.

TMCs official stand on Mahua Moitra is that We wont comment. Said MP will defend herselfDoes it mean 1)TMC accepts Mahua Moitra has made serious breaches including giving her log in to be operated from foreign soil by a rival corporate entity in exchange for kickbacks ?  Shehzad Jai Hind (@Shehzad_Ind) October 22, 2023

Mahua Moitra, on the other hand, has rejected all the claims.
Former WFI chief and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh on Saturday claimed that there were contradictions in the statements of prosecution witnesses, and urging a Delhi court to discharge him in a sexual harassment case lodged by six female wrestlers.

The judge granted exemption from personal appearance for the day to Singh on an application moved by his lawyer. The defence argued that the statements made before the oversight committee and the statements recorded under section 164 CrPC have material contradictions and that the statements made later in time (under section 164) have material improvements and, therefore, are liable to be rejected in toto.

Since there are material contradictions in the statements of the prosecution witnesses, that itself calls for discharge of the accused as the contradictions have the effect of taking the case away from the arena of grave suspicion, towards only mere suspicion, the counsel said.

Represented by advocate Rajeev Mohan, Singh also claimed that as per the law, the oversight committee formed to look into the case had to recommend the registration of FIR within seven days. But since in the matter at hand, no such recommendation has been made, it is safe to assume that the oversight committee did not find a prima facie case against accused, he said.

Since no prima facie case was found out by the oversight committee, and since no case was found out, no FIR was registered, and since no FIR was registered, it automatically amounts to exoneration, the counsel told the court.

The argument was opposed by the public prosecutor, who said the constitution of the oversight committee was not in accordance with law. There is no question of exoneration because no recommendations/findings have been given by the said committee, the prosecutor said.

The judge posted further hearing in the matter to October 30.

Delhi Police had filed a chargesheet in the case against Singh, a six-time MP, on June 15 under sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354A (sexual harassment), 354D (stalking) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC. The police had also charged Vinod Tomar, the suspended assistant secretary of the WFI, in the case.

(With PTI inputs)
Airports are known for the duty free stores and end moment shopping errands that most passengers truly enjoy. Who would have imagined a matrimony store at an Airport? One X user took to the micro blogging site and shared an image of the Elite Matrimony store at the Chennai airport. The user expressed her concern as to how the airport does not have a pharmacy or a convenience store for emergencies but a matrimony store.

Since being uploaded, the image has gone viral and garnered a lot of traction. It has over 31K views. Many people can be seen discussing how the store is totally irrelevant at an airport.

Here, have a look for yourself:

lol, MAA airport doesnt have pharmacy/a convenience store in case of emergencies but look what I found pic.twitter.com/QBhwbr3jsP A (@Aarsun) October 21, 2023

It was really weird to find this one store at the airport with this one lady with a laptop who was constantly on the phone. The airport vibe was extremely mid. Considering my citys, I dont get to brag either, commented an X user. Another person wrote, Next waiting for some influencers to get married at the airport and then fly to the Maldives. The most useless airport ever amongst Indian cities.

Also Read: Bengaluru Mans Scary Encounter With Rowdies Who Planted Drugs on Him For 60K Has People Shocked

Never understood the need for so many luggage shops in an airport in the secure area, where you have basically gotten rid of your bags this is worse than that, commented another person.

Here are a few responses:

It must be targeted towards people who think "I have a 2 hour layover, let me find a life partner in that time" The Kaipullai (@thekaipullai) October 22, 2023

Never understood the need for so many luggage shops in an airport in the secure area, where you have basically gotten rid of your bags this is worse than that Aparajithan N (@aparajithan) October 22, 2023

They are actually shifting most of domestic to the earlier international terminal, while the new terminal is used for Intl departures. So most shops have shut briefly. It's in the process of movement Karthik Murali (@Karthik_Murali) October 22, 2023

One bride/groom duty free on the way out  shoban Babu (@shoban0410) October 22, 2023

Also Read: Woman Shares Suhana Khan Wore Her Three-Year-Old Outfit, Gets Hilarious Responses

What is your take on the same?
KYODO NEWS - Oct 22, 2023 - 20:18 | World, All, Japan

The South Korean air force said it, the United States and Japan held a trilateral aerial exercise for the first time on Sunday near the Korean Peninsula.

The drill was part of their efforts to enhance defense cooperation amid North Korea's growing missile and nuclear threats. South Korean military sources said this was the first such exercise conducted by the three countries, while they have held bilateral ones before.

The latest exercise involved fighters from the South Korean Air Force, the U.S. Air Force and Japan's Air Self-Defense Force escorting a U.S. B-52 strategic bomber, which landed at a South Korean air base on Tuesday.

The nuclear-capable bomber made the rare landing in South Korea after staging a commemorative flight at a biennial defense trade show held in Seongnam, near Seoul, and holding joint drills with South Korean fighter jets.

The deployment of a U.S. B-52 strategic bomber to South Korea for reasons other than participating in joint military drills is considered to be rare.

The United States and its two Asian security allies will continue strengthening trilateral cooperation, South Korea's air force said.

Related coverage:

U.S. B-52 strategic bomber makes rare landing in South Korea: sources

U.S. B-52 strategic bomber to land in South Korea amid North Korea threat

Australia to join Japan-U.S. joint command post drills for 1st time
Australias prime minister will visit China in early November to meet President Xi Jinping, Canberra confirmed Sunday, as the two trading partners work to repair a once-frosty relationship. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese locked in the trip  from November 4 to November 7  after China agreed to suspend a festering World Trade Organization dispute sparked by hefty tariffs on Australian wine.

It also follows the release of Australian journalist Cheng Lei, who was deported from China earlier this month after being detained for three years on espionage charges widely seen as politically motivated.

I look forward to visiting China, an important step towards ensuring a stable and productive relationship, Albanese said in a statement. I welcome the progress we have made to return Australian products, including Australian wine, to the Chinese market. The widely anticipated trip would be the first to China by an Australian prime minister since 2016.

 Tariff dispute 

China slapped tariffs on key Australian exports such as barley, beef and wine in 2020, flexing its economic muscle at the height of a bitter dispute with Australias former conservative government. It also halted imports of some of Australias most significant commodities, including coal, curbing billions of dollars in trade.

China had been angered by Australian laws barring Huawei from 5G contracts and its call for an independent investigation into the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic. Many of those trade barriers have been slowly wound back after Australias centre-left government  elected in May last year  adopted a less confrontational approach.

This year China has dropped tariffs on Australian barley, ended an import ban on Australian timber, and agreed to resume receiving shipments of Australian coal. Over the next five months China will conduct an expedited review of its tariffs on Australian wine, Albanese said.

Australia has threatened to resume complaints to the World Trade Organization if the duties are not removed at the end of the review, he added.

 Softening tensions 

There has also been progress on diplomatic fronts, with China earlier this month agreeing to free Australian journalist Cheng, a former anchor for Chinese state broadcaster CGTN. Australias government had long campaigned for her release, calling for China to follow basic standards of justice, procedural fairness and humane treatment.

Recent economic data released by Beijing suggests the countrys post-Covid recovery is running out of steam and growth is slowing, heaping pressure on the terms of Chinas external trade relationships.

The softening of tensions with Canberra comes as Chinese President Xi has taken a more pragmatic diplomatic approach with international partners. Xi had called for relations with Australia to improve in a November 2022 meeting with Albanese on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Indonesia.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Sunday that he is outraged by the antisemitic agitation spreading even to Germany as the Israel-Hamas war rages, and warned at the inauguration of a new synagogue that the vow of never again must be unbreakable.

Scholzs remarks come as antisemitic incidents have been rising in Germany following the violent escalation of the war in Gaza. Assailants threw two Molotov cocktails at a synagogue in Berlin on Wednesday, prompting Scholz to say that attacks on Jewish institutions would never be accepted.

He expanded on his comments at the inauguration of the temple in Dessau, a city in eastern Germany whose synagogue was destroyed by the Nazis 85 years ago.

He spoke of the barbaric terror of Hamas in describing the Oct. 7 militant attack from Gaza on Israeli civilians, and concern about the tensions that have been rising since.

I am deeply outraged by the way in which antisemitic hatred and inhuman agitation have been breaking out since that fateful October 7, on the internet, in social media around the world, and shamefully also here in Germany, Scholz said. Here in Germany, of all places.

That is why our never again must be unbreakable, Scholz said as he gathered with Jewish leaders at the Weill Synagogue, noting that the community has recently grown as it welcomed people from Ukraine.

The synagogue is named after German-born composer Kurt Weill, who fled Nazi Germany in 1933, and his father Albert Weill, who was a cantor in Dessau.

This synagogue here in the middle in Dessau says that Jewish life is and remains a part of Germany. It belongs here, Scholz said. Germany will do everything to protect and strengthen Jewish life.

Police have increased security for Jewish institutions in Berlin and all over Germany.

Israeli flags that were flown after the Oct. 7 attack as a sign of solidarity in front of city halls all over the country have been torn down and burnt. Several buildings in Berlin where Jews live had the star of David painted on doors and walls.
Thousands of people were rallying in Berlin and London on Sunday to oppose antisemitism and support Israel, while demonstrations in support of Palestinians in besieged Gaza continued around the world.

Some of those who gathered in front of Berlins Brandenburg Gate carried Israeli flags or posters with photos of some of the more than 200 people seized by Hamas as hostages during the militants deadly Oct. 7 incursion into Israel.

It is unbearable that Jews are living in fear again today  in our country of all places, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier told the crowd. Every single attack on Jews, on Jewish institutions is a disgrace for Germany. Every single attack fills me with shame and anger.

Earlier, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz inaugurated a new synagogue in the eastern city of Dessau and said he was outraged by the upsurge in antisemitism since the conflict began.

Several buildings in Berlin where Jews live had the star of David painted on doors and walls, and assailants threw two Molotov cocktails at a synagogue in Berlin last week.

Here in Germany, of all places, Scholz said, vowing that our never again must be unbreakable.

In London, the Board of Deputies of British Jews called for people to rally in Trafalgar Square on Sunday afternoon to press for the return of more than 200 people taken hostage by Hamas.

The war has raised tensions worldwide, leaving Jewish and Muslim communities feeling under threat. Londons Metropolitan Police force says it has seen a 13-fold upsurge in reports of antisemitic offenses in October compared to last year. Reports of anti-Muslim crimes have more than doubled.

Sundays rallies came a day after tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators  100,000 by police estimates  marched through the British capital to demand Israel stop its bombardment of Gaza.

Waving Palestinian flags and chanting Stop bombing Gaza, participants called for an end to Israels blockade and airstrikes launched in the wake of Hamas brutal incursion.

Authorities in Gaza say more than 4,600 people have been killed in the territory since the latest war began. More than 1,400 people have been killed in Israel, majority of them civilians slain in the Oct. 7 attack.

Israel intensified its bombardment of Gaza ahead of an expected ground offensive. Egyptian media said 17 trucks carrying humanitarian aid crossed into the besieged strip on Sunday, after 20 trucks were allowed to enter Gaza on Saturday across the southern Rafah border crossing with Egypt.

On Sunday hundreds of people gathered in Sarajevo  bombed and besieged during the Bosnian war in the 1990s  to show solidarity with the plight of Palestinians in Gaza.

What is happening in Gaza is simply human disaster. Collective punishment. War crimes. These things have to be named by their rightful name, said Nabil Naser, a Palestinian doctor who worked in Sarajevo during the Bosnian war.

More than 3,000 people attended a Freedom for Palestine rally on Sunday at a square in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Waving Palestinian flags and to the beat of drums, protesters including women and children chanted Palestine will never die and From the rivers to the sea, Palestine will be free.

Malaysia is a strong supporter of the Palestinian cause, and has no diplomatic ties with Israel.

Muslims in the country have staged weekly rallies after Friday prayers outside the American Embassy, slamming the U.S. for its support of Israel.

Retiree Munir Izwan urged neighbors of the Palestinians to step up efforts to help.

Even in Islamic teachings, the closest neighbors should help the most in making peace between the two parties. But from what I see, the neighboring countries of Palestine, they are only talking but no actions, Munir said.

Demonstrations of support of the Palestinians were held Saturday across Europe  in Rome, Barcelona, several French cities, Dusseldorf, Germany and the Kosovo capital, Pristina  as well as in Sydney and in U.S. cities including Los Angeles and Houston.

In Istanbul, protesters outside the Israeli Consulate on Saturday evening held childrens stuffed toys to draw attention to the large number of Palestinian children killed in Gaza.

Protesters affiliated with Islamic groups held signs reading I have a right to play and held up toys with signs on them that called on Israel to stop murdering innocent children.
The humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is catastrophic, five United Nations agencies, including UNICEF, WFP, and WHO said Saturday, calling for more international help as conditions deteriorate in the densely populated coastal enclave. The joint statement came as a first, but limited, shipment of life-saving humanitarian supplies from the United Nations and the Egyptian Red Crescent entered Gaza today on 20 trucks, passing through the Rafah Crossing.

The UN appeal came in the wake of Israeli warning that it would step up its strikes in Gaza to increase pressure on Hamas, and its senior officers warned troops to be ready to enter the besieged Palestinian territory. Since shock Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7 left 1,400 dead, Israel has launched devastating air and ground bombardments of Gaza. The Hamas authorities say 4,385 people have died.

#Gaza was a desperate humanitarian situation before the most recent hostilities. It is now catastrophic. The world must do more, said @UNDP, @UNFPA, @WFP, @WHO and @UNICEF in a joint statement.https://t.co/nUUGEmx5rP UN News (@UN_News_Centre) October 21, 2023

Here are the 10 main points emphasised in the joint statement:

A limited shipment of humanitarian supplies entered Gaza through the Rafah Crossing, providing essential aid to civilians.

More than 1.6 million people in Gaza are critically in need of humanitarian assistance, particularly children, pregnant women, and the elderly.

The ongoing conflict has damaged or destroyed Gazas infrastructure, including health facilities, water, sanitation, and electrical systems.

Hospitals are overwhelmed, and civilians struggle to access food and healthcare.Water production is at only 5% of normal levels, and humanitarian supplies are running out.

Vulnerable individuals, especially children, are at significant risk due to a lack of protection, food, water, and healthcare.

Food insecurity was already a concern, and stocks in shops are nearly exhausted.

There is a plea for a humanitarian ceasefire and unrestricted access for humanitarian organizations to reach those in need and prevent further suffering.

Sustained access to water, food, health, and fuel is urgently required to maintain essential services.

The statement calls for the protection of civilians, infrastructure, humanitarian workers, and respect for international humanitarian law by all parties.

Gazas humanitarian situation has shifted from desperate to catastrophic, necessitating greater global support.

(With agency inputs)
An Indian Air Force plane, carrying nearly 6.5 tonnes of medical aid and 32 tonnes of disaster relief material for the people of Palestine, departed for Egypt, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) informed on Sunday. The relief material included essential life-saving medicines, surgical items, tents, sleeping bags, sanitary utilities, and water purification tablets.

India sends Humanitarian aid to the people of Palestine. An IAF C-17 flight carrying nearly 6.5 tonnes of medical aid and 32 tonnes of disaster relief material for the people of Palestine departs for El-Arish airport in Egypt, the MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

sends Humanitarian aid to the people of !An IAF C-17 flight carrying nearly 6.5 tonnes of medical aid and 32 tonnes of disaster relief material for the people of Palestine departs for El-Arish airport in Egypt. The material includes essential life-saving medicines, pic.twitter.com/28XI6992Ph  Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) October 22, 2023

The aid was sent by India two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a telephone conversation with Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas, in which he promised humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people.

During Thursdays call, the Prime Minister conveyed deep condolences over the loss of civilian lives at the Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza. Highlighting traditionally close and historic ties between India and this region, PM Modi expressed deep concern at terrorism, violence, and the deteriorating security situation in the region.

He reiterated Indias long-standing and principled position on the Israel-Palestine issue. According to the Prime Ministers Office (PMO), President Mahmoud Abbas shared his assessment of the situation. He thanked the Prime Minister for Indias support and appreciated Indias position.

During the weekly briefing on Thursday, Bagchi reiterated Indias commitment to providing humanitarian assistance to Palestine. He underlined Indias significant support for Palestine and Palestinian refugees through substantial contributions to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). The MEA spokesperson noted that India has contributed a total of $29.53 million to UNRWA between 2002 and 2023.
A 16-year-old Iranian girl, who fell into a coma earlier this month after an alleged assault by police officers over violating the countrys strict hijab laws, is now reported to be brain dead.

Follow-ups on the latest health condition of Armita Geravand indicate that her health condition as brain dead seems certain despite the efforts of the medical staff, Reuters reported quoting the Islamic Republic of Iran News Network.

The victim, Armita Garawand, hailing from the city of Kermanshah in Kurdish-populated western Iran and currently a resident of Tehran, had been badly injured in a confrontation on the Tehran metro with female police officers over not wearing a headscarf, said Kurdish-focused rights group Hengaw. The incident comes a year after the death of Mahsa Amini that sparked global outrage.

Iranian authorities, however, refused these allegations and said the girl fainted due to low blood pressure and denied any involvement of the security forces in the case.

A purported video of the incident showed the teen with friends, apparently unveiled, being pushed into the metro by female police agents and then an unconscious body being pulled out.

VIDEO: 16-year-old Armita Garawand was reportedly assaulted by Irans morality police. She remains in a coma. Last year, Iranian police killed Masha Amini in a similar incident, sparking nationwide protests. pic.twitter.com/OwC4Tn4FbJ Trey Yingst (@TreyYingst) October 3, 2023

Hengaw alleged that Garawand was left with severe injuries after being apprehended and physically attacked by agents of the so-called morality police at the Shohada metro station in Tehran.
Joe Biden in a social media post said, Israel has the right to defend itself. We must make sure they have what they need to protect their people today and always. At the same time, Prime Minister Netanyahu and I have discussed how Israel must operate by the laws of war. That means protecting civilians in combat as best as they can.

We cant ignore the humanity of innocent Palestinians who only want to live in peace. Thats why I secured an agreement for the first shipment of humanitarian assistance for Palestinian civilians in Gaza, he added.
As the war between Israel Defence Forces and Hamas militants is likely to rage amid escalation by Iran and proxies, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a stern warning to Hezbollah said that joining the war would be its biggest mistake ever adding that they will be crippled with the unimaginable force.

The meaning for (Hezbollah) and for the state of Lebanon joining the war will be devastating, but we are prepared for any scenario, Netanyahu said during a visit to Israeli troops on Sunday where he was briefed about the countrys counteroffensive in the north during which they eliminated hundreds of terrorists and saved dozens of civilians.

On the other hand, the IDF on Sunday accidentally fired and hit an Egyptian port adjacent to the border in the area of Kerem Shalom.

Here are todays top updates of the Israel-Palestine war:
If you type in the name Inbar Haiman on Google, it will show you news articles on how the 27-year-old Israeli art student from Haifa was abducted by Hamas operatives as they unleashed a three-pronged attack on Israel on October 7 by land, sea and water. Also, the internet will tell you how her family and her 24-year-old partner are doing everything for her safe return.

Haiman, who was volunteering at a music festival when the Hamas attack took place, was taken hostage and a video of her being dragged by two militants on motorcycles went viral. Her partner, Noam Alon, said he is pleading to authorities for her safe return.

According to reports, the Hamas attack took festival-goers by surprise and, panic-stricken, they started running across a field to their vehicles to the sound of gunshots in the background. Haiman, too, tried to escape but she was caught by a Hamas operative while her two friends managed to escape. The friends later told the media that Haiman simply froze in the situation and started weeping.

Unfortunately, two terrorists on motorbikes came right at that moment and they grabbed Inbar and took her to Gaza, Alon told The Messenger.

All Im asking is for them to be as kind as possible and keep her alive  not expecting too much  just for them to be human, and for them to give the hostages food and water and medical [attention], he was quoted as saying.

A report published in The Guardian said Alon wants the Israeli and UK governments to prioritise the safe return of hostages over everything else. That should be the most important thing for the Israeli army and for the Israeli government  putting the hostages at the top of their priorities. The hostages should come before any military operation; before any ground invasion, he was quoted as saying.

Alon and Haimans family members are now running a social media campaign so that her story stays alive. He told CNN that his girlfriend is a talented graffiti artist and her community is doing everything to bring her back.

We are making a lot of art in the street to spread her story and get more attention, Alon was quoted as saying.

Her parents, too, have featured in a video in which they describe the horror of what their daughter went through and how they are dealing with it. In it, they talk about how Inbar is a kind and affectionate woman. The last text she sent to us was at 7.30 am. She said: Yes, there are sirens. I am running from the missiles., her mother says in the video.

Inbar Haiman: Held in Gaza since Oct 7, with harrowing video evidence. A wound the world should feel. A plea for humanity.#StandWithIsrael #bringthemhome pic.twitter.com/E88WLQ3bcD ARISE (@ARISEforIsrael) October 15, 2023

At least 260 people at the music fest were killed in the Hamas onslaught while several others were taken hostage. There are numerous videos on social media about the plight of those taken hostage from the festival.
The Indian mission in the Maldives expressed sorrow on Sunday following the tragic loss of two Indian nationals on one of the northern islands of the archipelago due to what local media reports describe as a gas explosion.

We are deeply saddened by the tragic incident on Haa Dhaal Makunudhoo island in which two Indian nationals have lost their lives. High Commission is in close contact with Maldivian authorities as well as the families of the victims, the Indian High Commission in Maldives wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

We are deeply saddened by the tragic incident on Haa Dhaal Makunudhoo island in which two Indian nationals have lost their lives.High Commission is in close contact with Maldivian authorities as well as the families of the victims.  India in Maldives (@HCIMaldives) October 22, 2023

As per local media reports, the gas explosion occurred on Saturday on Haa Dhaal Makunudhoo. However, the nationality of the victims was not specified. The incident involved a gas cylinder blast in the Makunudhoo fish market area. The incident occurred at around 4:15 PM (local time), and the aftermath of the blast revealed charred human remains within a 500-foot radius, the Maldives-based SunOnline International reported.

The individuals were later identified as employees working on an airport reclamation project on the island, the report added. Local law enforcement, including a police forensic team, is actively probing the incident. The explosion was reported to have taken place near the islands harbor, specifically in the vicinity of the fish market located at the southern end.
By Nako Nojima, KYODO NEWS - Oct 22, 2023 - 14:01 | Arts, Feature, All

Nature journaling has become a popular way for city dwellers and other time-poor people to engage with nature while improving mental health, cultivating curiosity and enriching their minds.

For the unfamiliar, it is a way of connecting to nature by organizing your observations, questions, explanations and discoveries in the pages of a notebook.

The coronavirus pandemic helped proliferate the practice via online seminars. And more and more people are heading outdoors to gain real-life experiences, which experts say can help reduce stress, improve cognitive function and better equip people to handle challenges in their daily lives.

To find out what nature journaling is all about, Kyodo News visited a retreat run by Eriko Kobayashi, 53, Japan's only instructor and leading proponent of the practice which originated in the United States, for a one-on-one session in Ino, a small town located in Kochi Prefecture, western Japan.

Unlike fieldwork, the main purpose of which is conducting scientific surveys, it can be enjoyed at one's leisure and with a sense of playfulness, Kobayashi explained. Simply put, "It is a tool to connect yourself to nature," she said.

There are few required materials. Most important is a notebook with pens and pencils, a ruler and a magnifying glass.

The practice starts with a stroll through nature. Measure objects with a ruler, or express yourself in haiku, poetry or art. No matter how good or bad your drawings, it is the process that matters rather than the result, Kobayashi says.

In early October, the seminar began in the wooded area with a gentle autumn breeze setting the stage for the task at hand. First, we wrote down the date, weather and location.

"Imagine zooming in from a globe" to gain context, Kobayashi suggested, as she showed the location on a map.

After three minutes of meditation, we listened and focused on the surrounding sounds -- the buzzing of insects, the chirping of birds. We observed the fallen leaves, drawing sketches of their various features in our notebooks. We give titles to our journal entries and the exercise ends.

Sharpening the senses by immersing oneself in the observed objects in front of one's eyes improves concentration and memory, says Kobayashi. Becoming aware of and thinking about the findings and questions that arise is a type of "brain training," she adds.

Nature journaling was conceived by Clare Walker Leslie, a naturalist from the United States. It has diverse uses, including incorporation into homeschooling and psychotherapy. A big reason for the recent increase in interest was more people looking for ways to unwind after long periods stuck at home during the pandemic.

Nature journaling clubs have sprung up in Canada, Germany and other countries. According to Kobayashi, there are now about 140 clubs worldwide.

Originally from Tokyo, Kobayashi was introduced to the practice when she stumbled across "Keeping a Nature Journal: Discover a Whole New Way of Seeing the World Around You," one of several books written by Leslie, on the internet.

"It's interesting to notice things that you didn't see before," says Kobayashi, who created a Japanese nature journaling club in 2018. In the beginning, she would only add a few words to pictures she would sketch outdoors. But before long, she was hooked and began documenting more and more details.

Since moving to Ino in 2020, she has conducted nature journaling seminars as well as training for teachers on the island of Shikoku, the smallest of the four main islands of Japan.

She hopes that "through nature journaling, there will be more opportunities for people to notice and question things."

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Escalating attacks Lebanon-based militant group risk dragging Lebanon into a war, Israels military said Sunday, amid the increasing number of cross-border exchanges of fire that have raised fears of a wider conflict. Hezbollah is dragging Lebanon into a war that it will gain nothing from, but stands to lose a lot, warned Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Jonathan Conricus.

The past two weeks have seen repeated clashes between the Israeli military and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, amid fears a new front could be opened as Israel continues its war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. While giving a daily operational update, the Israeli military spokesperson said Hezbollah is playing a very, very dangerous game. Theyre escalating the situation, he added.

Operational update on the northern border with @jconricus https://t.co/V3TgYTPv1C Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 22, 2023

In the heart of the battle

The IDF said they are witnessing more and more attacks every day. Is the Lebanese state really willing to jeopardize what is left of Lebanese prosperity and Lebanese sovereignty for the sake of terrorists in Gaza? he asked. Thats a question that the Lebanese authorities need to ask themselves and answer.

This update comes as a top official with Hezbollah warned Israel will pay a high price whenever it starts a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip and said Saturday that his militant group based in Lebanon already is in the heart of the battle.

The comments by Hezbollahs deputy leader, Sheikh Naim Kassem, came as Israel shelled and made drone strikes in southern Lebanon and Hezbollah fired rockets and missiles toward Israel. Hezbollah said six of its fighters were killed Saturday, the highest daily toll since the violence began two weeks ago.

For Hezbollah, heating up the Lebanon-Israel border has a clear purpose, Kassem said: We are trying to weaken the Israeli enemy and let them know that we are ready. Hamas officials have said that if Israel starts a ground offensive in Gaza, Hezbollah will join the fighting.

Lebanon-Israel border exchange

The war, which is in its 15th day on Saturday, is the deadliest of five Gaza wars for both sides. Exchanges of fire along the Lebanon-Israel border have picked up in the two weeks since the attack by the Palestinian outfit Hamas that killed over 1,400 civilians and soldiers in southern Israel. Retaliatory Israeli airstrikes on Gaza have killed more than 4,000 Palestinians, according to agencies.

There are concerns that Hezbollah might try to open a new front in the Israel-Hamas war with a large-scale attack on northern Israel. Kassem said his group, which is allied with Hamas, already was affecting the course of the conflict by heating up the Lebanon-Israel border and keeping three Israeli army divisions tied up in the north instead of preparing to fight in Gaza.

Do you believe that if you try to crush the Palestinian resistance, other resistance fighters in the region will not act? Kassem said in a speech Saturday during the funeral of a Hezbollah fighter. We are in the heart of the battle today. We are making achievements through this battle.

(With agency inputs)
The father of freed American teen hostage Natalie Raanan said Friday shes doing well following two weeks in captivity after she and her mother were abducted in Israel by Hamas and held in Gaza. Uri Raanan of Illinois told The Associated Press that he spoke to his daughter Friday by telephone. Shes doing good. Shes doing very good, said Uri Raanan, who lives in the Chicago suburbs. Im in tears, and I feel very, very good.

The 71-year-old said he saw on the news earlier Friday that an American mother and daughter would be released by Hamas, and he spent the day hoping that meant his daughter and her mother, Judith Raanan. Knowing Natalie may be able to celebrate her 18th birthday next week at home with family and friends feels wonderful. The best news, her father said.

Ben Raanan, Natalies brother, said before her abduction he and his sister had spoken of getting matching tattoos to mark her birthday. Instead, he got a tattoo this week in her honor, incorporating their names along with their brothers name. The familys text message chain sharing updates on Friday moved from tentative hope to outright celebration, tempered by an awareness than other families still are living in fear for their loved ones, Ben Raanan told The Associated Press at his home in Denver.

When I see her again, I think there arent going to be words to express whats going on, he said. Its just going to be like this intense hug that is bigger than words and bigger than what we could actually communicate verbally.

Uri Raanan said he believes Natalie and Judith to be in transit to Tel Aviv to reunite with relatives, and that both will be back in the U.S. early next week. An Israeli army spokesperson said the two Americans were out of the Gaza Strip and with the Israeli military. Hamas said Friday it released them for humanitarian reasons in an agreement with the Qatari government. They were the first hostages to be released since Hamas militants, according to Israel, abducted roughly 200 people during their Oct. 7 rampage. President Joe Biden was among the many celebrating the news that the Raanans had been freed.

I am overjoyed that they will soon be reunited with their family, who has been wracked with fear, Biden said in Washington. The president spoke Friday with Judith and Natalie and relayed that they will have the full support of the U.S. government as they recover from this terrible ordeal, the White House said.

In the telephone conversation, Biden told the women that he was glad youre out. Were going to get them all out, God willing, he said of the remaining hostages in a video showing excerpts of the conversation that was posted by the White House Saturday on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter.

I just wanted to say thank you for your services to Israel, Natalie told the president. Judith told him they were in good health. Uri Raanan said late Friday in a short news conference that he spoke with his daughter for only a few emotional minutes and that they didnt talk about what she and her mother experienced in the past two weeks. He said Judith has a minor injury he described as a little scratch on her hand. They look good and sound good, he said, adding that when he sees his daughter he plans to hug her and kiss her. Its going to be the best day of my life. He also said he didnt know why they were chosen for release.

The International Committee of the Red Cross, which transported the freed Americans from Gaza to Israel, said their release offered a sliver of hope for those still being held. Judith, 59, and Natalie, who both have dual Israeli-American citizenship, had been on a trip from their home in the Chicago suburb of Evanston to Israel to celebrate Judiths mothers birthday and the Jewish holidays, family members said. Natalie was born in the U.S., moved to Israel with Judith until she was around 10 and then returned, her father said.

Natalie always spoke of her home very dearly, 19-year-old stepsister Frida Alonso said, referring to Israel. She missed it very, very dearly. Every day she missed her grandma, she missed her home. Just the feeling of being there. So I bet this hurts a lot for her. Mother and daughter were in Nahal Oz, near the Gaza border, on Oct. 7 when Hamas militants stormed into southern Israeli towns, killing hundreds of people and abducting others. Their family had heard nothing from them since the attack and were later told by U.S. and Israeli officials that they were being held in Gaza, Natalies brother has said.

The news that Judith and Natalie have been released from the hands of Hamas is overwhelming. It brings us a tremendous amount of gratitude to the Almighty, to God, for this incredible miracle, Meir Hecht, Judiths rabbi, said at a news conference outside his home in Evanston on Friday afternoon. At the same time we hold our pain very deep, said Hecht, who called for the other hostages to be released as soon as possible. We need to continue besieging whoever we can and however we can, and praying for their release.

Judith came regularly to Meirs congregation and felt like part of our family, the rabbi said. Qatar said it would continue its dialogue with Israel and Hamas in hopes of winning the release of all hostages with the ultimate aim of de-escalating the current crisis and restoring peace. Israeli military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Israel was continuing to work to return hostages and find the missing, and its goals had not changed. We are continuing the war against Hamas and ready for the next stage of the war, he said. The release comes amid growing expectations of a ground offensive that Israel says is aimed at rooting out Hamas militants who rule Gaza.
World-renowned Turkish composer and pianist Fazil Say has said his concerts planned next week in Switzerland were cancelled by organisers over his social media posts criticising Israeli policies in Gaza. Say was due to perform with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in Zurich, Bern, Geneva and Lucerne from Monday to Thursday. But he says he was removed from the lineup of the planned concerts organised by the event unit of the retail company Migros.

Officials from MIGROS cited the ideas I expressed on the Israel-Palestine tension on my social media as the reason, Say posted on his official social media account on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday. Everything Ive written remains on my social media without any changes, he said.

A Migros spokesperson confirmed to AFP on Saturday that Say had been removed from the concert programme and replaced by Swiss pianist Louis Schwizgebel. The reason for this change is that Fazil Says public statements after the terrorist attack against Israel are not defendable for Migros, the company said in a statement sent to AFP.

Hamas militants stormed into Israel from the Gaza Strip on October 7, and killed at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians who were shot, mutilated or burnt to death on the first day of the raid, according to Israeli officials. Israel says around 1,500 Hamas fighters were killed in clashes before its army regained control of the area under attack. More than 4,300 Palestinians, mainly civilians, have been killed across the Gaza Strip in relentless Israeli bombardments in retaliation for the attacks by the Palestinian Islamist militant group, according to the latest toll from the Hamas health ministry in Gaza.

 I am for peace 

In one of his comments, Say responded to a message posted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on X where he accused Israel of a rocket strike on a hospital in Gaza this week. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should stand trial for war crimes, genocide and massacres, Say commented.

The pianist has also criticised Hamas, saying in an October 13 video on Instagram that nobody in the world would approve innocent people being attacked with weapons, thousands of people dying. Say, an atheist, has previously run into trouble for his social media posts.

He was prosecuted in 2012 for Twitter posts that allegedly attacked Muslims, but acquitted of blasphemy charges by a Turkish court four years later. I am for peace, and all my statements were in the spirit of peace, the pianist said on Friday. Omer Celik, spokesman for Erdogans ruling AKP party, condemned the cancellation of Says concerts in Europe because of his ideas opposing Israels inhumane attacks on Palestinians, in a message on X on Saturday.
KYODO NEWS - Oct 22, 2023 - 19:09 | World, All

The Philippine and Chinese governments traded blame on Sunday over a collision earlier in the day involving their vessels in waters in the South China Sea.

Manila said a Philippine supply ship heading toward a military base in the Second Thomas Shoal had its path blocked by and collided with a Chinese coast guard vessel. A patrol ship accompanying the supply vessel was also hit by a Chinese maritime militia boat.

There were no reports of injuries from the incident, but the Philippines called China's actions "dangerous, irresponsible, and illegal," and said the lives of the crew members had been endangered.

The China Maritime Safety Administration, meanwhile, said the Philippines was fully responsible for the incident and that the supply ship had deliberately crossed into the path of the Chinese coast guard vessel, resulting in contact with its bow.

The supply ship was contracted by the Philippine armed forces to deliver materials and transport replacement troops to the military base.

The Philippines has continued to conduct supply missions in the Manila-controlled shoal, which is also claimed by Beijing, even as China intensifies its maritime assertiveness in nearby waters.

Earlier this month, a Chinese coast guard vessel came within around one meter of a Philippine patrol boat, according to Manila.

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INVICTUS ENERGY, the Australian company searching for oil and gas in the north of Zimbabwe, says preliminary analysis of data from the ongoing exploration drilling programme supports the presence of a viable petroleum system.

A working petroleum system encompasses a pod of active source rock and all genetically related oil and gas accumulations. It includes all the geologic elements and processes that are essential if an oil and gas accumulation is to exist.

Invictus is currently drilling its second exploration well at the Mukuyu-2 site in Mbire district, Mashonaland Central province. The firm said it was on course to complete the test well drilling, to a depth of 3 750 metres, within the targeted period of 50 days to 60 days.

Earlier exploration well drilling in September last year similarly produced encouraging results confirming the presence of a working hydrocarbons (petroleum) system in the firms prospective area  Zimbabwes Cabora Bassa Basin. However, technical challenges encountered during the drilling did not allow the company to recover a fluid sample as required by regulators in Australia, where the firm is listed, for the firm to declare commercial discovery.

Sample recovery is the process of taking a small portion of an object such that key stakeholders can be able to determine if the consistency of the portion will be truly representative of the entire property of the object under assessment.

Commercial discovery of oil and gas in Zimbabwe would usher in energy security for a country long plagued by crippling power shortages, create jobs and new industries, as well as drive export revenues, among other benefits.

Officiating at a function for the signing of an agreement on the development framework for the oil and gas project in March 2021, President Mnangagwa said potential benefits of the oil and gas discovery in Zimbabwe included electricity generation, as well as production of liquid petroleum, liquefied petroleum gas, fertiliser and petrochemicals.

Beyond driving investment in the sector, President Mnangagwa also said the prospect of oil discovery is exciting, as this was also expected to inevitably positively impact local communities and the national economy at large.

Invictus said the total background gas at Mukuyu-2 was higher than that observed at Mukuyu-1, while heavier hydrocarbons (petroleum features) have also been detected, providing further evidence of an active petroleum system in the basin.

Invictus Mukuyu conventional gas-condensate prospect is the largest undrilled prospect onshore Africa, with an independently estimated 20 trillion cubic feet + 845 million barrels (gross mean unrisked basis) of conventional gas-condensate in a stacked target.

We have encouraging signs in our Upper Angwa (geological formation) primary target, which has shown elevated gas readings, including heavier hydrocarbons and elevated LWD (log while drilling) resistivity across the zones of interest, Invictus said.

Resistivity logs are acquired by logging (measurement) tools, usually conveyed either by electric wireline or LWD equipment.

Resistivity can be interpreted as a measurement of a formations fluid saturation as it is a function of the (oil/gas) formations rock type, porosity, fluid type and fluid volume used to identify permeable areas, estimate the porosity of a formation and estimate fluid saturation. Sunday Mail






President Emmerson Mnangagwas move to swiftly proclaim dates for by-elections in 14 constituencies has fuelled speculation that there is an elaborate plan to collapse the Nelson Chamisa-led Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) as the opposition indicated that it is considering pulling party out of Parliament.

Mnangagwa on Friday said elections would be held on December 9 to replace the CCC legislators that were controversially recalled by self-imposed interim secretary general of the party Sengezo Tshabangu barely a month after they were elected into office.

Some of the affected constituencies such as Cowdray Park in Bulawayo and Mabvuku in Harare saw Zanu PF candidates Mthuli Ncube and Scott Sakupwanya, respectively throwing in a lot of money for a losing cause.

Binga North was being eyed by Forever Associate Zimbabwe (Faz) leader Kudakwashe Munsanka.

Faz, which has close links to the Central Intelligence Organisation, was cited by observer missions as one of the reasons the August 23 polls were flawed as it employed unorthodox means to garner support for Zanu PF.

Observers say Tshabangus choice of constituencies showed a pattern where Zanu PF is targeting areas where it has a chance of winning through by-elections.

CCC party spokesperson Promise Mkwananzi yesterday hinted that the party may not participate in the by-elections as it considered various options to protest against the recalls.

We have an option to totally withdraw from the councils and Parliament thereby causing a collapse of the government, a constitutional crisis which will require fresh elections, Mkwananzi said.

The CCC has also threatened to hold protests over the recalls, but police have said the demonstrations would not be sanctioned.

They might think that it is over, but its not, Mkwananzi said.

We are going to have pockets of protests mushrooming all over the country.

Political analyst Macdonald Lewanika said Mnangagwa and Zanu PF were going for broke to totally collapse CCC.

At another level, the action is prejudicial to the legal routes and shows that CCC was correct not to pursue the legal route in the first instance because it is not viable, Lewanika said.

The action means that beyond challenging the recalls the CCC now has to challenge Mnangagwas actions, which themselves may not be unlawful because they were triggered or informed by the speaker of Parliament (Jacob Mudendas) actions.

Ultimately Mnangagwa is happy with anything that moves him towards a peaceful term that gives him control of the house and the power to bend the legislative capacities to his will, including the possibilities of using a majority in Parliament to fashion a third term through changing the constitution."

Another political analyst Romeo Chasara said: Mnangagwa is just rushing the by-elections in order to gain majority in Parliament for CCC has a chance to organise itself as a party.

There is talk that Mnangagwa could be eyeing a third term in office and that would mean amending the constitution as the presidential terms are currently limited to two.

Zanu PF did not get a two-thirds majority in the disputed elections to enable it to change the constitution on its own.

Mnangagwas proclamation of by-election dates came amid indications that Tshabangu and his backers in CCC were prepared for a major climb down following a backlash over what appeared to be their willingness to collaborate with Zanu PF.

Sources said there were already behind -the-scenes manoeuvres for talks between Chamisa and Tshabangu to find common ground.

Chamisa formed the CCC in 2022 after losing the MDC Alliance to his former ally, Douglas Mwonzora..

The CCC has not held an elective congress to elect a substantive leadership.

Sources said Tshabangu and Chamisas allies had reached out to each other to save the party from imploding.

Tshabangu yesterday confirmed the developments.

They have approached our lawyers for discussions so we have given them a green light so that they can start negotiations, Tshabangu said.

We will be exchanging concept papers.

Our lawyers were not instructed when they met, so now we have instructed our lawyers to meet them, we are open for dialogue.

CCC interim deputy spokesperson Gift Ostallos Siziba did not want to comment about the matter.

Chamisa announced a partial withdrawal from Parliament and council a fortnight ago in protest over the recalls.

Tshabangu, who has been accused of working in cahoots with Zanu PF and Faz, said he would select his own candidates to contest the by-elections if talks between him and Chamisa did not yield results.

I think we were clear from the beginning that the reason for the by-elections was necessitated by the fact that candidates in various places were imposed and were illegitimate, he said.

If ever there was a candidate that was number one, and was for some reasons booted out from the race, then that candidate automatically becomes the official candidate for CCC.

Only those wanted by the people are going to be given the right to represent the people in these elections.

Bulawayo based political analyst Methuseli Moyo warned that the upcoming by-elections might be a minefield for Chamisa and could lead to more chaos if not handled carefully.

If he loses the legal battle against Sengezo Tshabangu on who is CCC would present a complex situation for him, Moyo said.

More chaos looms for the opposition, and it is advantageous to Zanu PF.

However, this is not to say Zanu PF is responsible for the upheavals in CCC, but they will certainly exploit the situation to their advantage. Standard












Thirteen years ago, Tamara Lanier underwent a quest to understand her lineage, resulting in a lawsuit to reclaim photos from a Harvard museum that she believes depict her enslaved ancestors. ProPublica unfolds the moving story that begins with an African-born, enslaved man named Renty. Harvard professor Louis Agassiz, who subscribed to polygenesisthe racist belief that different races do not share a common origintraveled to South Carolina in 1850 to capture images of Renty and six other enslaved people to document his beliefs. Harvard's Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology still has the 15 daguerreotypes, which are among the oldest of enslaved people in the US. "I knew in my heart that this was the man I'd heard about for so many years," Lanier recalled after seeing the depiction of Renty.

In 2010, her mother's dying wish was for Lanier to write down her family's history. Lanier's research led her to Harvard, who she said rules over the images "with an iron fist." Pre-Civil War genealogical records of African-Americans are scant, but crucial information stored with the photos offered important cluesand Lanier believes her research serves as proof that two of the daguerreotypes capture her descendants. But with no laws on the books that allow African-American descendants to repatriate their ancestors' remains or belongings, she lost a lawsuit seeking to recover the photos with the university, which is not convinced the proof is definitive. The piece details the thorny history and hopeful future of the daguerreotypes. Read it in full here. (Or check out other longforms.)
The new workers at restaurant chains like Sweetgreen require an entirely different type of employee training, and definitely won't fit in the typical uniforms. The company is going fully in on automating their salad prep, the Wall Street Journal reports, and while depending on machines to handle soft and squishy ingredients might not seem like the most natural pairing, other restaurants are following suit. Sweetgreen CEO Jonathan Neman says they are "100% in on automation," with plans to mass produce the salad-making robot they launched this year at an Illinois location. "A lot of other companies are trying to figure out how to add automation to their experience and are not willing to start over," he says. "I'm willing to blow the whole thing up."

The Journal notes that while some chains like McDonald's abandoned an experimental robot fryer, other chains are testing the waters. White Castle has rolled out "Flippy," a robot that fries food like potatoes and onions, to more locations, while Chipotle Mexican Grill is trying out an automated system that piles ingredients into their bowls and salads. Kura Sushi is trying to cut down on hiring and training sushi chefs by using a robot to spread rice on their rolls. "We know that it's unrealistic for us to get 5-, 10-, 20-year trained sushi masters, so that's why we use these robots to get the best possible results," says Kura's Benjamin Porten.

But Sweetgreen stands out. In 2021, they purchased Spyce Kitchen, a startup out of Boston created by MIT engineers who developed robotic makelines in the kitchen, according to the Spoon. They spent two years crafting a salad-making robot, which can whip up a meal in five minutes by shooting ingredients through various tubes (while their human counterparts typically take 15 minutes to fill an order). Along with efficiency, the company believes replacing workers will save money, though human supervision is still needed. Sweetgreen's first robotic kitchen, dubbed Infinite Kitchen, opened in May, with plans to retrofit it into existing locations. (Robots are taking a lot of jobs in Vegas).
A Hezbollah leader said Saturday that the militant group already is "in the heart of the battle" against Israel, which is being pressed by the US and other nations not to attack the Lebanon-based militia for fear of widening its war with Hamas. Hezbollah said six of its fighters were killed Saturday along the border with Israel, Reuters reports. It also reported carrying out a series of attacks on Israeli army posts and personnel in border areas throughout the day. The violence along the border has intensified since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7 and now rates as the most serious since 2006.

"We are trying to weaken the Israeli enemy and let them know that we are ready," said the Hezbollah official, Sheikh Naim Kassem, per the AP. Hamas has warned that if Israel invades Gaza, Hezbollah will join in the fighting. Both militias are backed by Iran. The Israeli government is facing internal pressure to stage a preemptive strike on Hezbollah, per the Guardian, especially from Israelis living near Lebanon. Just two weeks removed from the cross-border Hamas attack, a senior security official described the argument. "People are saying, we cannot live on the northern border, with Hezbollah less than 100 meters from us and that can cross the line in a few minutes and slaughter us." (Humanitarian aid slowly arrives in Gaza.)
A homeowner isn't sure what to do after a company mistakenly demolished a home she owned in southwest Atlanta. Susan Hodgson told the AP on Saturday that she found a pile of rubble in place of what used to be her longtime family property when she returned from vacation last month. "I am furious," Hodgson said. "I keep waking up thinking, 'Is this all a joke or something?' I'm just in shock." She said a neighbor called her while she was away and asked if someone had been hired to tear down the vacant house. "I said 'no' and she said, 'Well, there's someone over here who just demolished the whole house and tore it all down,'" Hodgson recalled.

When the neighbor confronted them, Hodgson said, the workers got nasty. "He told her to shut up and mind her own business," Hodgson said. She sent a family member over to see what was going on and who asked to see a permit. When a person in charge at the site checked his permit, Hodgson said he admitted he was at the wrong address. "It's been boarded up about 15 years, and we keep it boarded, covered, grass cut, and the yard is clean," she said. "The taxes are paid and everything is up on it." Hodgson said she's filed a report with police and has talked with lawyers.

"We're still in this process of figuring out what to do," she said. "We keep pressing in different directions to see if something is going to happen." The Atlanta-based company responsible, You Call It We Haul It, has yet to contact her, she said, per the AP. "How do people just go up and tear somebody's property down and then just drive off?" Hodgson said, adding, "I just wish he would come fix the problem that he caused." The company did not immediately return a telephone message left Saturday. In a statement to WAGA-TV, the company said it is investigating and working to resolve the issue.

(Read more Georgia stories.)
The father of freed American hostage Natalie Raanan said Friday she's doing well following two weeks in captivity after she and her mother were abducted in Israel by Hamas and held in Gaza. Uri Raanan told the AP that he spoke to his daughter Friday by telephone. "She's doing very good," said Uri Raanan, who lives in the Chicago suburbs. "I'm in tears, and I feel very, very good." The 71-year-old said he had seen on the news that an American mother and daughter would be released by Hamas , and he spent the day hoping that meant his daughter and her mother, Judith Raanan. Knowing that Natalie may celebrate her 18th birthday this week at home with family and friends feels "wonderful. The best news," her father said.

Ben Raanan, Natalie's brother, said that before her abduction he and his sister had spoken of getting matching tattoos to mark her birthday. Instead, he got a tattoo this week in her honor, incorporating their names along with their brother's name. The family's text message chain sharing updates on Friday moved from tentative hope to outright celebration, tempered by an awareness than other families still are living in fear for their loved ones, Ben Raanan said at his home in Denver. "When I see her again, I think there aren't going to be words to express what's going on," he said. "It's just going to be like this intense hug that is bigger than words and bigger than what we could actually communicate verbally."

President Biden spoke Friday with the two and "relayed that they will have the full support of the US government as they recover from this terrible ordeal," the White House said. "I just wanted to say thank you for your services to Israel," Natalie told the president. Judith told him they were in good health. Uri Raanan said that he spoke with his daughter for only a few emotional minutes, per the AP, and that they didn't talk about the past two weeks. He said Judith has a minor injury he described as a "little scratch" on her hand. "They look good and sound good," he said, adding that when he sees his daughter he plans to hug her and kiss her: "It's going to be the best day of my life."

(Read more Israel-Hamas war stories.)
Fighting in the two-week-old war intensified and broadened Sunday, with Israel's warplanes striking targets in Gaza, two airports in Syria, and a mosque in the occupied West Bank, and its troops reportedly battling Hamas fighters in Gaza. The ground combat, reported by Hamas' Al-Qassam Brigades, would be among the first of the new war, CNN reports. Hamas claimed to have destroyed several military vehicles, which left the Israeli troops to withdraw across the border on foot. The Israel Defense Forces, which confirmed to CNN that it had troops inside Gaza at the time, said only that "shots were fired at IDF soldiers operating west of the Gaza Strip security fence, in the area of Kissufim" and that "an IDF tank struck the terrorist cell who fired at the soldiers."

A spokesman acknowledged that Israel has stepped up airstrikes against targets in Gaza to diminish the risk to its forces in the next stage, per the AP. The mosque it struck Sunday, in the town of Jenin, belongs to Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants who carried out recent attacks and were planning another, Israel said. Two people were reported killed there. Syrian state media reported that the attacks on the international airports in Damascus and Aleppo killed one person and knocked runways out of service. Israel apologized for one strike after a tank fired accidentally at an Egyptian post near the border crossing at Kerem Shalom, per the Washington Post. Egypt said a border watchman suffered minor injuries.

The Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel killed more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and at least another 212 were seized as hostages and taken to Gaza, per the AP. Hamas says more than 4,600 people have been killed by strikes in Gaza since then, including the disputed count from a hospital attack. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday that Hamas is responsible for the civilian deaths in Gaza. "It knew that in Israel's necessary response, civilians would be caught in that crossfire," Blinken said on CBS' Face the Nation. "This is on Hamas." (Read more Israel-Hamas war stories.)
Thousands of people joined vigils in Berlin and London on Sunday to oppose antisemitism and support Israel, while in Paris and other cities, thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators demanded a cease-fire and relief for people in the besieged Gaza Strip. Those gathered in front of Berlin's Brandenburg Gate carried Israeli flags or posters with photos of some of the more than 200 people seized by Hamas as hostages during the militants' Oct. 7 attack in Israel, the AP reports. "It is unbearable that Jews are living in fear again todayin our country of all places," President Frank-Walter Steinmeier told the crowd, estimated at 20,000 by organizers and 10,000 by police. "Every single attack on Jews, on Jewish institutions, is a disgrace for Germany. Every single attack fills me with shame and anger."

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz inaugurated a synagogue in the city of Dessau and said he was outraged by the recent upsurge in antisemitism. Several buildings in Berlin where Jews live had the Star of David painted on doors and walls, and two Molotov cocktails were thrown at a synagogue in Berlin last week. "Here in Germany, of all places," Scholz said, vowing that "our 'never again' must be unbreakable." At a vigil attended by thousands in London's Trafalgar Square, participants held posters bearing images of hostages and the missing. They chanted "bring them home," falling silent as the names were read aloud. Speakers from the UK's governing Conservative Party and opposition Labor Party addressed the crowd. Communities Secretary Michael Gove said Hamas' Oct. 7 attack was an act of "unparalleled evil and barbarism," adding, "We must stand together against it."

Sunday's rallies came a day after tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators100,000 by police estimatesmarched through the British capital to demand Israel stop its bombardment of Gaza, launched in response to Hamas' brutal incursion. Hundreds of people rallied outside the United Nations offices in Geneva on Sunday to demand the hostages' release. Waving mostly Israeli, but also Swiss and German, flags the demonstrators held aloft signs that read "Children aren't bargaining chips" or T-shirts with the words #SetThemFree. Elsewhere in Switzerland, about 4,500 pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched in Lausanne, police said. A crowd estimated at 12,000 by police gathered outside European Union institutions in Brussels for a rally organized by groups including trade unions, Christian organizations, and Arab solidarity movements.

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In France, which has Europe's largest Jewish and Muslim communities, thousands in Paris demanded Israel stop its strikes on Gaza. Organizersincluding Palestinian and Muslim groups, peace associations, workers' and students' unions, and leftist political partiescondemned Hamas' attack on civilians, urged the militant group to release all hostages, and called for an end to Israel's assault. Several thousand people took to the streets in Sarajevo, with some comparing the situation in Gaza with the suffering of Bosniaks, who are mainly Muslims, during the country's 1992-95 war. More than 3,000 people attended a "Freedom for Palestine" rally in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Retiree Munir Izwan urged neighbors of the Palestinians to help. "Even in Islamic teachings, the closest neighbors should help the most in making peace between the two parties. But from what I see, the neighboring countries of Palestine, they are only talking but no actions," Munir said.

(Read more Israel-Hamas war stories.)
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KYODO NEWS - Oct 22, 2023 - 11:21 | World, All

China has agreed to review tariffs imposed on Australian wine imports, prompting the Australian government to suspend a World Trade Organization dispute it lodged against Beijing, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Sunday.

The prime minister also announced he will visit China from Nov. 4 to 7 to meet with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang which, in a sign of improving bilateral relations, would be the first visit to the country by an Australian leader since 2016.

"We welcome China's agreement to undertake an expedited review of its duties," Albanese said in a press release, adding that this process is expected to take five months.

The move comes as the government of Labor Party leader Albanese, who took office in May 2022, has worked to mend bilateral ties that had deteriorated under the previous Liberal-National coalition government of former Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

"I look forward to visiting China, an important step towards ensuring a stable and productive relationship," he said.

Beijing has so far lifted restrictions on imports of Australian coal and barley.

China imposed sanctions on Australian wine, barley and coal in 2020 after bilateral ties soured over a series of issues, including human rights concerns in China and Canberra's call for an independent investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

China is Australia's largest trading partner, amounting to almost a third of its total trade, according to the Australian government.

Related coverage:

Australia open to dropping WTO cases against China: report

China, Australia agree to maintain high-level dialogue

FOCUS: China restates vow for freer regional trade, but path ahead unclear
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Secretary of the U.S. Army Christine E. Wormuth addresses the audience during the Opening Ceremony for the AUSA 2023 Annual Meeting and Exposition in the Ballroom of the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., Oct. 9, 2023. The event was hosted by Military District of Washington. (Photo by Christopher Kaufmann)
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa yesterday reaffirmed Bahrains firm commitment to the establishment of two-state solution for Palestinian people, viewing it as a key guarantor of enduring peace and stability in the region.

Speaking at the Cairo Peace Summit chaired by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, King Hamad emphasised that lasting peace in the Middle East hinges on safeguarding the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.

There will be no stability in the Middle East, without securing the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, warned HM King.

King Hamad underscored that the two-state solution represents a genuine pathway to coexistence between the Palestinian and Israeli populations and holds the promise of a just, comprehensive, and sustainable regional peace.
Ravi Shankar Shuklas exemplary journey as second secretary at the Indian Embassy

Ravi Shankar Shuklas exemplary journey as second secretary at the Indian Embassy

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

Ravi Shankar Shukla, the esteemed Second Secretary (Consular) at the Indian Embassy in Bahrain, bids farewell to the Kingdom after serving diligently for over three years.

In an exclusive interview with The Daily Tribune, Mr. Shukla expressed his gratitude towards the Bahraini government and highlighted his enriching experience working at the Indian embassy.

Throughout his tenure, Mr. Shukla commended the strong support extended by the Bahraini government to the Indian nationals residing in the kingdom.

He acknowledged their continuous efforts to ensure the welfare and well-being of the Indian community. Moreover, he emphasised the instrumental role played by various social workers and organisations in providing assistance and support to Indian citizens in Bahrain.

Reflecting on his time in Bahrain, Mr. Shukla expressed his deep appreciation for the countrys rich culture and the kindness of its people.

He had the privilege of exploring Bahrains vibrant heritage, visiting numerous places, and engaging with distinguished delegates.

These experiences allowed him to develop a profound understanding of Bahrains culture and forge lasting connections.

However, Mr. Shukla faced significant challenges upon joining the Indian embassy in September 2020the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He recognised that this crisis transcended borders and affected people worldwide.

Despite the difficulties, he remained steadfast in his commitment to serving the Indian community and providing essential consular services during these unprecedented times.

Mr. Shukla pointed out the significance of legal immigration processes and provided valuable advice to Indian citizens regarding entry into Bahrain.

He stated, I advise Indian citizens to be aware of the visa regulations and not come to Bahrain illegally.

They should always check and be aware of their passports. They should not fall into the trap of job hunting by coming on visit visas.

It is crucial to come on a working visa and not stay in Bahrain without any valid visa. Looking ahead, Mr. Shukla expressed his unwavering dedication to his future postings.

He pledged to bring his best efforts to any new role he undertakes, exhibiting determination and professionalism in serving his country and its citizens.

In conclusion, his time in Bahrain has not only deepened his understanding of the kingdoms culture but also strengthened the ties between India and Bahrain.
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

Under the patronage of Dr. Mohammed bin Mubarak Juma, Minister of Education and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Higher Education Council, University of Technology Bahrain (UTB) is hosting the International Conference on Engineering Technologies and Applied Sciences (ICETAS 2023), in partnership with IEEE Bahrain and ETSSM Global on October 25-27 at the Intercontinental Bahrain.

Themed Shaping the Future of Technology through Smart Computing and Engineering, professional experts and thought leaders worldwide are coming together to discuss the latest innovative trends in computing, engineering and all other relevant applied sciences.

As UTB aspires to be a hub of knowledge dissemination and multidisciplinary exchange in the countryand beyond, the university is of the view that the conference is a feasible platform to connect and collaborate with other individuals, organisations, and industries to create and strengthen community partnerships and shared goals.
KYODO NEWS - Oct 22, 2023 - 22:44 | All, Japan

A growing number of Japanese municipalities have introduced ordinances banning the outing, or revealing, of a person's sexual orientation or gender without their consent, researchers and officials said Sunday.

The move highlights that some municipalities have made efforts to protect the human rights of LGBT people ahead of the central government as a law enacted in June to promote understanding of sexual minorities does not explicitly prohibit acts such as outing.

As of Oct. 1, the number of municipalities launching ordinances forbidding outing had increased fivefold over the past three years to 26 across 12 prefectures, including Mie and Saitama, according to the Research Institute of Local Government and municipal officials.

Outing, which constitutes a serious human rights violation, was defined as a form of abuse of power in the guidelines for legislation that came into effect in June 2020 on women's empowerment and harassment regulation.

In July this year, it was disclosed that a man had been deemed eligible for compensation from his employer by a Tokyo labor office last year after his boss revealed he was gay without his consent, but the current law is limited in scope to the workplace.

The harmful consequences of outing hit the national consciousness in 2015, when a graduate student of Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo died after plunging from a school building in an apparent suicide after being outed as homosexual.

In the wake of the incident, the city of Kunitachi, which hosts the university, became the first local government to enforce an ordinance banning the outing of LGBT individuals in April 2018.

Mie in central Japan and Saitama near Tokyo have prohibited outing on a prefectural level, but none of the ordinances across Japan have legal penalties.

Related coverage:

Japan court denies spousal benefits to same-sex couple

Japan top court rules against restroom use limit for trans gov't worker

FOCUS: Japan LGBT law watered down amid culture war on transgender issues
GUANGZHOU, China, Oct. 20, 2023 /CNW/ -- The IFF 20th Anniversary & 2023 Annual Meeting will take place from Oct. 27 to Oct. 29 at the International Finance Forum permanent meeting venue in Guangzhou, the People's Government of Guangzhou Municipality, the Guangzhou Municipal Local Financial Supervision and Administration Bureau and the International Finance Forum (IFF) announced at a news conference on Friday.

Jointly organized by the People's Government of Guangdong Province, the People's Government of Guangzhou Municipality, and the IFF, the Annual Meeting boasts three days' back-to-back discussions and seminars centered on the theme of " New Capital, New Value, New World - Revitalization & Cooperation in a Fragmenting Global Economy".

This year also marks the 20th anniversary of the IFF and the Annual Meeting has attracted heads of international organizations, current and former heads of state, executives from world leading financial institutions and businesses, academics, researchers and representatives from leading non-governmental organizations from more than 50 countries and regions.

He Huaquan, Deputy Director of the Guangzhou Municipal Local Financial Supervision and Administration Bureau said:"hosting the IFF Global Annual Meeting is part of our effort to proactively responding to the national development strategy for the Guangdong - Hong Kong - Macao Greater Bay Area. It is also our effort to implement the strategy of building a high-level opening-up and communication platform required by the State Council's 'Nasha Plan'."

The three-day event will bring together world leaders, international organizations including the United Nations, International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, major financial institutions, Chinese and multinational corporations, think-tanks and academics to discuss issues ranging from global and China's economy and outlooks, the impact of geopolitics on global trade, supply chain and industry policies, the growing trend of fragmentation and its impact on global currencies and financial system, to the climate crisis, the development of the Greater Bay Area as well as the Belt and Road Initiative.

Speaking at the news conference, Shen Gang, the Deputy Secretary-General of the IFF said:"I hope that the Annual Meeting will have thorough and fruitful discussions on this year's topics, that different parties could reach consensus and that the meetings can provide practical solutions for common global challenges so as to promote sustainable development and international cooperation."

During the Annual Meeting, the IFF is releasing the Global Finance and Development Report, its annual report on global and China's economic growth and outlook, green finance and digital finance.

Winners of the IFF Green Finance Award, the IFF flagship award to reward financial institutions and enterprises for their efforts in combating climate crisis, will also be unveiled during the Meeting.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the IFF, an aerial performance with 1,000 drones will illuminate the night sky above the IFF permanent venue. A band led by Chinese musician Tian Bujiu will also entertain meetings participants with classical Chinese music.

Initiated by Group of 20 member countries as well as major international organizations in 2003, the IFF has since become a premium platform for international financial dialogues, communications and cooperation. The IFF has successfully promoted international cooperation and multilateralism. It has been designated the F20 (Finance 20) by global political and financial leaders.

SOURCE International Finance Forum (IFF)

For further information: Vincent Nie, [email protected]
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KYODO NEWS - Oct 22, 2023 - 10:09 | All, Japan, World

The Japanese government is making final arrangements to appoint former foreign ministry top bureaucrat and Asian affairs chief Kenji Kanasugi as the next ambassador to China, sources familiar with Japan-China relations said Saturday.

The 64-year-old elite diplomat, currently the ambassador to Indonesia, will be Japan's first ambassador to China in seven years to not take Chinese language training, focusing on advancing ties with China, at the ministry's so-called "China School."

Daunting tasks lie ahead for Kanasugi as ties between Japan and China remain strained.

Opposed to Japan's release of treated radioactive water into the sea from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant, which began in August, Beijing has banned all seafood imports from Japan.

Chinese authorities on Thursday formally arrested an employee of Japanese drugmaker Astellas Pharma Inc., detained since March on suspicion of espionage. However, details of how he may have violated the counterespionage law and criminal code in China remain unknown.

Kanasugi has served as former senior deputy foreign minister for economic affairs, one of the top administrative positions at the ministry, and head of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau.

Related coverage:

China, Japan experts seek dialogue ahead of anniversary amid frosty ties

Japan PM Kishida seeks dialogue with China on opposing nuclear weapons use

South Korea, China foreign ministers agree to seek talks with Japan
Bishop Emeritus of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, has slammed the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Mahmood Yakubu, for misleading Nigerians and not being honest in the conduct of the 2023 elections.





The Cardinal spoke to newsmen on Saturday in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, during the 10th anniversary celebration of the Jesuit Memorial College.





Onaiyekan accused Mahmood of not telling Nigerians the truth, when he knew things didnt go well.





The cleric, however, insisted that the truth should prevail even as the opposition was challenging President Bola Tinubus victory in the court.





He specifically said, We should refuse to agree that this is a country where certificates are forged and it is okay.





We should refuse to accept a situation where elections are rigged and you are told to go to court. These things have consequences. Jesus says you shall know the truth and the truth will make you free. INEC should accept that they have a very heavy trust deficit.





Nothing wrong with admitting that things did not go so well. If we dont tell the truth, we will not move forward.





When I heard Professor Mahmood on television, even yesterday, telling us that everything went perfectly well, I shed tears. He knows he was not telling the truth.





The Cardinal maintained that he would keep praying for Nigeria.





I am a religious person and I keep praying to God to forgive us and to show us the truth because if we tell the truth, things will move fast. Nigerians are wonderful and I still hope that things will move fast.





Whatever the judges may decide, whatever courts may say, at the end of the day, the truth will make us free, he added.




The General Officer Commanding 3 Division of the Nigerian Army and Commander, Operation Safe Haven, (OPSH), Major-General AE Abubakar has warned religious leaders in Plateau State to refrain from making inciting sermons.





He warned that any religious leader found wanting would be held responsible.





Plateau State has suffered a series of ethno-religious violence, leading to the loss of hundreds of lives.





Major-General Abubakar, while addressing the religious leaders on Saturday during a symposium at the 3 Division of the Nigerian Army, Rukuba Barrack, Jos, explained that the aim of organising the event was to foster greater understanding and collaboration between security agencies and religious leaders.





In a remark, Rev Father Boniface Nkum stressed that, all communities must educate their clergymen on the need for religious harmony and tolerance for other faiths and the need for them to keep their sermon within the realm of moderation and modesty.




The White Witches and Wizards of Nigeria have predicted the outcome of the forthcoming November 11 governorship elections in Imo, Bayelsa, and Kogi States.





Okhue Iboi, the spokesman of the group, said Governor Hope Uzodinma of the All Progressives Congress, APC, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship candidate in Kogi State, Dino Melaye, and the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in Bayelsa, Timipre Sylva would lose their elections on November 11.





Speaking with journalists yesterday in Lagos, Iboi said the candidates will fail woefully at the polls if they fail to heed wise counsel.





In the Imo election, Iboi said the fight would be between the candidates of the Labour Party (LP), Athan Achonu, and the Peoples Democratic Partys Samuel Anyanwu, contrary to speculations that the incumbency factor will favour Governor Uzodinma.





He said Uzodinma is terribly hated by his people.





Oboi charged security operatives to tighten security in the politically charged and volatile state to avert a bloodbath during the poll.





He said, When we met in the coven to review the three off-cycle governorship elections, we examined all the political parties and their candidates and their chances of winning the election.





We noticed that Uzodinma is terribly hated by his people. Also remember that hes governor not by popular will but by legal technicalities of the Supreme Court.





To date, his people derisively refer to him as Supreme Court Governor. The senseless killing in the state is another albatross he is carrying.





His people thought that he was the brain behind the spate of killings perpetrated by Unknown Gunmen (UGM) and the destruction of property of the people. So, the people believe he is their sponsor. This is very unfortunate anyway, but that is what we saw in the coven.





Speaking on Kogi State, he said the election is between the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the PDP, stressing that Governor Yahaya Bello had already lost over failure to field his deputy to succeed him.





He said, The Social Democratic Party (SDP) is as strong as the APC and the PDP in the state. When we met in Idah, Okenne, Ankpa, and other parts of the state, Governor Yahaya Bellos candidate would have won easily in the state, but he appeared to have shot himself in the foot by listening to wrong advice.





The people that advised him not to field his deputy will cost him the election victory in the state. When we got to the coven, we were told that all his strategies of destabilizing the election by fomenting trouble would not fetch him victory. There will be a bloodbath in Kogi, but Bello will still lose the election. So, we saw the election is between PDP and SDP.





For Dino Melaye, hes very recalcitrant. Weve invited him a couple of times for a strategic meeting, but you know, pride goes before a fall. His vain pomposity will be his undoing. And if he fails to heed our call, he will be shell-shocked about the outcome of the election.





Governor Bello has already lost out of favour with his people by not fielding his deputy governor to succeed him, but preferring to field his brother.





On Bayelsa State, Iboi said Sylva would not go anywhere in the election.





Recall that I had in a statement predicted that he would suffer a setback in his candidacy for the ruling APC.





Now, he is fighting the battle of his life to retain the candidacy of the party, which the court had taken away from him. If he gets it, we dont see him going far with it, he said.




Nollywood actress and media personality Toke Makinwa has advised ladies in relationships against making outrageous demands from their male partners.





The thespian said it was wrong for ladies to demand what they cant afford for themselves from their lovers.





Speaking in the latest episode of her podcast, TokeMoments, she cautioned ladies against putting pressure on their male partners.





She said, As a woman, youre living in Mushin, and youre putting pressure on a guy to buy you a house in Banana Island. Im sorry. Make it make sense. Can you buy it? Can you even move yourself out of where you are small?





If he meets you maybe like halfway and you are saying to him that Bros, I worked hard to get halfway but Ive a dream. My dream is not to be here where you met. And Im not lazy. For me to leave this point to get to that point, you can see the triat of hard work. Are you going to join me to move there or are you going to be there? Period.





She added that women who make excessive demands from men are the reason men insult women.




A former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Yekini Nabena, has challenged the countrys security agencies to arrest a Kaduna-based Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, over his recent public outburst against the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.





It was reported that Gumi had in a video posted on his official Facebook page last Thursday labelled Wike as a Satan for receiving the Israeli Ambassador to Nigeria in his office.





The cleric also asserted that President Bola Tinubu would be stopped from serving for eight years.





However, Nabena, in a statement issued on Sunday, warned that no evil must befall the minister throughout his tenure, adding that Gumi and others like him would be held responsible by the Niger Delta people if anything goes wrong.





The APC chieftain condemned what he called sense of entitlement by some ethnic and religious bigots in the Northern part of Nigeria.





Nabena maintained that some Northerners sense of entitlement was not only dividing the nation but making them to see Southerners as inferior to them in a country where everyone was supposed to have equal rights.





He noted that the people of Niger Delta and Southerners in general would no longer fold their arms while the likes of Sheik Gumi spit on their faces irrespective of political or religious beliefs.





Nabena stated categorically that no Nigerian was more a Nigerian than anyone else.





He said: My intervention in the recent controversial statement is not about the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike alone, it is about the rights of the Niger Delta people and the Southerners in general. At this stage, we expect all the voices of reasoning to speak out because the sense of entitlement of the likes of Sheik Gumi is becoming more satanic.





How can you justify the rationale behind some Northerners heading some positions that are naturally meant for the people of Niger Delta and the South? Up till date a Northerner is still the GMD of NNPCL.





If religious and ethnic bigots like Gumi and others are saying a Southern Christian, especially from the oil rich Niger Delta, can not hold the positions of FCT Ministry and the Senate President, we demand explanations on what qualifies a Northern Muslim in the leadership of agencies like NIMASA, NNPCL, NPDC, NLNG, NPA, and so on.





While cautioning against reckless public comments that could lead to a more divided country, Nabena called on the presidency to urgently make a bold statement and reaffirm the right of any Nigerian to hold public office anywhere in Nigeria.





I will call on the presidency to deliberately caution Sheik Gumi and his co-travellers against statement that is capable of causing disunity and encouraging sense of entitlement.





I will also call on the security agencies to take Gumis reckless but deliberate statement serious. Sheik Gumi should be arrested, questioned and prosecuted.





Let it also be on record that we the Niger Delta sons and daughters will hold Sheik Gumi responsible if any evil befall Nyesom Wike throughout his days in office as FCT Minister, Nabena warned.




Former Aviation Minister Femi Fani-Kayode has said that he is not concerned about Sheikh Ahmad Gumis rantings against the government.





Fani-Kayode disclosed this in an audiotape he released on his Facebook page on Sunday.





The controversial ex-minister released the audiotape after Gumis controversial sermon in which he called FCT Minister Nyesom Wike a satanic person over alleged planned collaboration with Israel for the security of the federal capital territory.





Gumi claimed that Muslims would be victimised should the FCT and Israel collaborate. He also stressed that it was dangerous to entrust Nigerias national security to Christians and Southerners.





Reacting, Fani-Kayode said: I am not too concerned about the rantings of this little monkey against the government because there are many people that are in government that are paid to respond to him and handle that, and I am not in government.





However, I am concerned about his rantings against the Christian community and against what I believe to be southerners generally, both Christian and Muslim.




Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun has disclosed that about 200 units of semi-detached, detached, fully detached duplexes and terraces under construction at the Muhammadu Buhari Estate, Abeokuta are at advanced stages of completion and will be delivered before the end of the year.





Prince Abiodun also said that his administration is working towards providing affordable houses to all strata of society.





The governor stated this while fielding questions from newsmen after he inspected the ongoing construction at the estate, located along Kobape Road, Abeokuta.





Prince Abiodun stated that some of the buildings under construction have been fully paid for while part payments have been made for others, stressing the need for the contractors to step up work to meet the completion dateline.





Today, we have almost 200 buildings that are upcoming. Since the last time that I came here, many of them have been sold; some have paid in part, others have paid in full. The reason I came here today is to see how we are doing and to see how I can reconcile the date of delivery with the level of progress on the project. I am impressed, but I think the contractors can work harder.





I have instructed the Ogun State Property Investment Corporation (OPIC) to immediately call a meeting of all the contractors and read them a riot act. We want to finish this project in no distant future, the governor said.





He posited that housing is one of the basic needs of human beings, hence his government would not spare any effort in making it available to the people at a reasonable price.





Abiodun noted that the President Muhammadu Buhari Estate which is one of the inherited projects from the previous administration, would be turned into a top-notch estate that would serve as a reference for others that would spring up in other parts of the State.





The governor who took time to explain the intricacies that surrounded the estate from inception, said the previous administration reneged on its contractual agreement with the contractors that provided the infrastructure in the estate almost leading to the forfeiture of the property.





He said: This is one of the inherited projects from the previous administration and for the avoidance of doubt named the President Muhammadu Buhari Estate only had construction of infrastructure awarded and one show building constructed.





But by the time we assumed office apparently, the previous administration had refused to pay the contractors for the provision of infrastructure and the contractors took the state government to court and were about to get judgment which was the forfeiture of this estate to the contractors. Because we did not have a handover note, we found out very late in the day but our Attorney Generals office swung into action and got an out-of-court settlement with the contractors after which we began installment payments and of course, with due charges.





While that was being structured, we began to think of how to develop this estate because we have prioritised it as one of the projects inherited where the commonwealth of the state had been invested and we must not allow it to waste.





Prince Abiodun added that the estate which is being constructed under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) in line with his administrations vision, has the State providing the land and the needed infrastructure, while the contractors, real estate companies and builders build the structures and sell them for mutual benefits between the State and the other parties.





The governor expressed delight with the success of the PPP initiative which he hinged on trust, emphasizing that it validates how much trust has been restored between the government, the private sector and the governed.





We have about five different companies that are working here in partnership with the Ogun State government. Im impressed that if there is anything one could take away from here is that our PPP initiative is working. PPP initiatives can only work if there is trust and confidence in the administration. Nobody will come and partner with you if they are not sold on the fact that we are a serious and focused administration. To me, it is a validation of how much trust has been restored between the government, the private sector and those that we are governing, the governor said.





While describing the project as a promise made and a promise kept, Prince Abiodun noted with delight the recent ranking of the State as number one among the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory that has shown significant improvement in Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) drive year-in-year out, saying it is an indication that the administrations policies are bearing fruits.




Russian missile strikes have killed at least six postal workers while 17 others sustained injury on Saturday when they hit a mail depot in Ukraines northeastern Kharkiv region, officials said.





President Volodymyr Zelensky shared a video on social media of what appeared to be a heavily damaged warehouse surrounded by rubble and a container with the logo of the Ukrainian postal operator Nova Poshta.





The six killed in the attack were all workers at the Nova Poshta depot, located in the village of Korotych on the outskirts of Kharkiv city, regional governor Oleg Sinegubov said.





The victims, aged between 19 and 42, received shrapnel wounds and blast injuries, he said.





Sinegubov said of the injured being treated in the hospital, seven were in serious condition, adding that Doctors are fighting for their lives.





The regional prosecutors office later updated the number of injured to 17.





Sergiy Nozhka, who works for Nova Poshta, described the condition of some of his colleagues as mild to moderate severity, adding that there are some people in a very serious condition.





He said that a rocket flew into the neighbouring depot, but at ours too  the windows and shutters flew out. This is not the first time.





According to the prosecutors office, Russian forces in the Belgorod region north of Kharkiv fired S-300 missiles, two of which hit the warehouse.





Debris analysis continues at the site in order to establish the exact number of injured and dead, office spokesman Dmytro Chubenko told Ukraines state broadcaster Suspilne.





Separate Russian attacks on villages near the war-battered Ukrainian city of Bakhmut killed at least two people on Sunday, officials said.





Both Kyiv and Moscow are preparing for a gruelling winter ahead, as Ukraine warns of renewed strikes on its energy infrastructure and Russia contends with a Ukrainian counteroffensive to regain territory.




The Kogi State Government on Sunday disclosed that there was an assassination attempt on the life of the governor of the state, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, a few kilometres away from Abuja, on his way to an official engagement from Lokoja.





In a statement issued on Sunday by Kingsley Femi Fanwo, Kogi State Commissioner for Information and Communications, the attack occurred at about 4 p.m. on Sunday.





The statement read as follows, The attackers, who were dressed in military uniforms, waylaid the governors convoy and started shooting sporadically at his vehicle and other vehicles in the convoy. It took the swift intervention of the security personnel attached to the Governor to foil the satanic plans of the unknown soldiers.





The attacks were at three different points, the last barricade being around Kwali Federal Capital Territory at about 4.20pm.





The report of these strange attacks has been properly documented at security offices in the state and at the national level for prompt and thorough investigations to avert future occurrences.





We are not oblivious of the fact that certain elements are bent on painting Kogi unsafe ahead of the Governorship Poll slated for November 11, 2023. As an administration, we will spare nothing to ensure our citizens are not subjected to security threats by desperate politicians sponsoring violence and terrorism.





We call on the citizens to remain vigilant and report suspicious movements in the domain to relevant security agencies. It is the responsibility of the government to ensure security and we want to assure you that the peace we have enjoyed as a state in the last eight years wont be lost on the altar of violent politics.





However, the Kogi State Police Command Public Relations Officer, SP William Ovye Aya, said the incident happened in Kwali and not Kogi State territory and so he cannot make any comment.
Chinese Consul General in New York Huang Ping (C) presents gifts to Michael Grigalonis (L), Chester County Economic Development Council (CCEDC) president and chief operating officer, and F. William Bogle, chairman of the Pennsylvania Global Business Advisors, at a meeting at the CCEDC in Exton, Pennsylvania, the United States, Oct. 20, 2023.(Photo by Winston Zhou/Xinhua)

EXTON, United States, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese market is not an "option" but a "must" as nearly 90 percent of American companies doing business in the world's largest consumer market are earning profits, Chinese Consul General in New York Huang Ping said on Friday.

"China is not the source of risk but the source of opportunity. To shut out China in the name of 'de-risking' is to throw away opportunities, stability, cooperation and development," said Huang when addressing business leaders at the Chester County Economic Development Council (CCEDC) in Exton, Pennsylvania, about 150 km southwest of New York City.

Senior executives from major multinational enterprises like Microsoft, Apple, Tesla, Pfizer, Starbucks and ADM have visited China this year, expressing their optimism about the Chinese market and their hope to strengthen cooperation with Chinese companies, said Huang. "These have shown that the Chinese market is not an 'option' but a 'must.'"

Half of Tesla's global deliveries came from its Shanghai gigafactory last year, which rolls out one electric vehicle every 40 seconds on average, according to Huang. Starbucks now operates more than 6,500 stores in China.

The Foreign Policy Association released a report titled The Business of America and China Is Business, calling on U.S. policymakers to view China from a correct perspective and strengthen U.S.-China economic and trade cooperation.

According to statistics, the average return on U.S. direct investment in China was 14.7 percent between 2000 and 2020, far higher than that of U.S. outbound direct investment of 9.7 percent. Exports to China have supported more than 1 million jobs in the United States. Over 70,000 American companies are doing business in China, and nearly 90 percent are earning profits.

The American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai released its 2023 China Business Report, showing 52 percent of respondent American companies expect greater revenue in 2023 than the previous year, while 31 percent of respondents are increasing investment in China, or 6 percentage points more than last year.

The senior Chinese diplomat expressed confidence that Pennsylvania's cooperation with China will be further strengthened as the Chinese economy keeps a good momentum of steady growth with remarkable resilience.

"Pennsylvania's cooperation with China is at the forefront of China-U.S. sub-national cooperation. China has become Pennsylvania's third largest export market and largest source of imports," he said, adding that the pioneers in Philadelphia took the lead in opening up trade with China more than 200 years ago.

Michael Grigalonis, CCEDC president and chief operating officer, agreed.

"We were very committed. Prior to the (COVID-19) pandemic, one of our real priorities was our relationship with China, (especially) developing economic ties. And of course, as you say, that pandemic hit, and we got on to other priorities, but there're still some successes that are in place, and things that we can build on in the future," said Grigalonis.

F. William Bogle, chairman of the Pennsylvania Global Business Advisors, who first visited China in 1983, also encouraged business leaders to visit and explore opportunities in China.

"I've been to China a total of 28 times now. But every time it's always something new. It's very exciting," said Bogle, sharing the photos he took 40 years ago in China. 
A Newark woman has been identified as the victim of a heinous 50-year-old California cold case with the help of DNA evidence, sparking a renewed search for her killer.

Arminda Grangela Rodrigues da Silva Ribeiro, 29, was identified for the first time by investigators as the victim in the gruesome killing in hopes releasing her name will lead to new clues in the long-dormant case, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.

A father and son were checking on their boat tied up along the Embarcadero, an expansive waterfront near downtown San Diego, on June 13, 1973, around 11:20 a.m. when they saw an orange suitcase and a green plastic bag floating beneath the boardwalk, according to the Tribune.

The suitcase and bag contained a womans dismembered body. The victims torso and arms were in the suitcase and her head was wrapped in the bag. Divers found her legs about 500 yards away, according to news reports of the incident in the Evening Tribune.

The victim remained unidentified until 2020, when a forensic biotechnology company used DNA to successfully link the remains to Ribeiro.

Ribeiro was born in Portugal and later emigrated with her family to Newarks Ironbound neighborhood, which is home to a large Portuguese community.

Ribeiro was married, had two children and was working at a trailer fabrication company in Newark at the time of her death, according to police.

Authorities said its not clear what Ribeiro was doing in San Diego.

Police are trying to learn more about Ribeiro, including the name of the company she used to work for and any local ties she may have had.

Anyone with information about her death or disappearance is asked to call the San Diego Police Departments Homicide Unit at 619-531-2293 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 888-580-8477. Web and mobile tips can also be sent in at sdcrimestoppers.org.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the local news you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription.

Jackie Roman may be reached at jroman@njadvancemedia.com.
The man accused of stabbing two people to death Saturday night in New Brunswick took his own life early Sunday morning, authorities said.

The two victims, both New Brunswick residents, were found in separate locations around Feaster Park. Gabriela De La Cruz Camero, 22, was found inside the park just after 11 p.m. with multiple stab wounds, according to a statement from the Middlesex County Prosecutors Office.

Jesus Antonio-Salazar, 25, was found shortly after at the intersection of Throop Avenue and Handy Street, adjacent to the park, and was also suffering from stab wounds, officials said.

Antonio-Salazar was pronounced dead on the scene and Camero later died at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, prosecutors said.

Police later responded to a 911 call at 2:13 a.m. on Sunday, reporting that a man was unconscious on Pine Street, about a half-mile from the park. Eduardo Mateo Lorenzo, 26, of New Brunswick, was found dead by officers, authorities said.

Detectives investigating the incidents have alleged that Lorenzo knew both victims and stabbed them before taking his own life, prosecutors said. Officials have said there is no threat to the public.

The Middlesex County Prosecutors Office is asking anyone with information about the case or surveillance footage of the area to call Detective Jose Rosario at 732-745-3289.

Editors note: NJ Advance Media typically limits reporting on suicides to those that occur in crowded public places, involve public figures or, in special circumstances, where there is a larger public impact. Suicidal thoughts and behaviors can be reduced with the proper mental health support and treatment. If you are in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.

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Nicolas Fernandes may be reached at nfernandes@njadvancemedia.com.
More than 80 students and community members attended the 2nd Annual Journalism Day event co-hosted by NJ.coms Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee and Rutgers Universitys School of Communication and Information.

Students from Seton Hall University, Bloomfield College of Montclair State University and Rutgers University-Newark joined students from Rutgers-New Brunswick for an immersive day of journalism at the college in New Brunswick.
Though Halloween had a pagan origin in Ireland, it now is widely accepted by people of all and no faiths. And since it falls on the eve of the Feast of All Saints, children were once encouraged to dress up as a saint to trick-or-treat. In fact, teachers in Catholic schools would encourage these costumes so children could learn about the saints.

There are now some excellent childrens books on saints and saintly people who can equally inspire. Among these are contemporary people some have actually met or seen in person.
It appears the Murphy administration is finally moving forward to address the abhorrent conditions in New Jerseys state run veterans homes. All it took was a flotilla of scathing reports on the facilities at Menlo Park and Paramus and Federal monitors. Kudos.

The reforms are coming a full 3 1/2 years after veterans groups, families of the residents and even some legislators surfaced the myriad issues plaguing the state run facilities. 200 veterans died from a mixture of Covid and indifference while the state twiddled their thumbs. Long overdue change is coming.
Reading the Star-Ledger the last few days would make you believe it was being published by Hamas.

All week long we saw pictures of suffering in Gaza. How about showing pictures of babies in Israel being murdered or beheaded by Hamas terrorist thugs? Or young people being slaughtered at a concert?
A nearly 200-year-old Masonic lodge will be preserved and repurposed after being purchased by the Borough of Madison.

The Madison council approved an ordinance to spend $125,000 from its Open Space Recreation & Historic Preservation Trust Fund and to use a $1 million donation from resident Martin Heller to buy the building for $1,125,000. It will be used, in part, as a senior center.

Heller, who owns The Heller Group, a real estate development and management company, says he has a view of the historic building from his office, which is located three properties away.

Its a gorgeous building, Heller said. My family has been in Madison since 1968. My kids went to school here. I didnt want to see it demolished.

The building was listed for sale in February for $2.5 million.

A lot of people were coming along saying they could make very economical use of the property by demolishing the building, Heller said.

He contacted the town and worked with the council, mayor and business administrator to help along with the acquisition.

The Free Masons, and their realtor, have been working closely with the Borough since it was placed on the market to either find a developer that would preserve the building as part of the purchase, or reach an agreement with the Borough of Madison to purchase and preserve the building in perpetuity, Mayor Robert H. Conley told NJ Advance Media. We are glad that we were able to reach an agreement with the Free Masons.

The Masonic Lodge, located at 170 Main St., was built in 1825 as the Presbyterian Church of Chatham Township, predating Madisons secession from Chatham in 1889. When the Presbyterian Church moved to a bigger building on Green Avenue, Madison Lodge purchased the former church and began meeting there in 1931, according to Conoly and the Masonic Lodges website.

The two-story, Federal style building is 7,900 square feet and sits on a .72-acre lot with about 35 parking spaces. Its located next to Madison Junior School.

The Free Masons put the building up for sale when they decided to merge with a nearby lodge and no longer needed the building, Conley said.

As one of the oldest buildings in Madison, the Borough of Madison Elected Officials, as well as our Historic Preservation Commission, were determined to work with the Free Masons to preserve this beauty, that sits right on Main Street, Conley said. Nearing the 200th anniversary of its construction, losing such a gem in the borough to development would have been a loss for all.

Attempts to reach the Masons for comment were not successful. And the listing agent for the property declined to comment.

Grants from the New Jersey Historic Trust and the Morris County Historic Preservation program will help renovate the building, Conley said.

Although complete uses of the building are still being considered, we plan to move forward with some renovations, including constructing an ADA restroom, renovating the kitchen, and repairing the fire escape from the second floor, the mayor said. We will also have the brick sealed and the windows and trim painted and repaired as necessary.

The building will be dedicated to Hellers son, Mark -- who was born with a brain injury due to a physicians error -- with a plaque that will read In Honor of Mark Heller, February 1, 1960  January 17, 2023  His Spirit Lives On. And the lodge will become home to the Peggy Heller Senior Center of Madison, named after Hellers late wife, who for more than 20 years worked in family services.

This will allow us to bring back senior services to Madison through our partnership with the Senior Center of the Chathams, Conley said.

Two years ago, Madison vacated its Civic Center, which housed its Senior Center programs, to build 44 units of affordable rental housing for low-and moderate-income families, Conley said. They contracted with the Senior Center of the Chathams which requires seniors to travel out of town.

Acquiring the Masonic Lodge will allow us to provide a full range of senior programming -- recreation, social services, nutrition -- back in Madison while simultaneously preserving this iconic structure, he said.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the local news you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription.

Allison Pries may be reached at apries@njadvancemedia.com.
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A Chinese overseas builder inspects segmental beams at a construction site of the China-Thailand Railway in Ayutthaya, Thailand, Jan. 19, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Teng)

Vikrom Kromadit, Chairman of the Thailand-China Business Council, noted that Thailand welcomes advanced technology and science from China and looks forward to green transportation and green energy cooperation.

by Chen Jiabao, Gao Bo, Lin Hao

BANGKOK, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- The active engagement of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has fostered infrastructure connectivity and bolstered trade and investment, paving the way for shared prosperity in the region, a Thai business leader has said.

Vikrom Kromadit, chairman of the Thailand-China Business Council, is a 70-year-old Thai of Chinese descent who has been closely following the progress of the China-Thailand railway and sees the connection of the rail system as a keystone of international cooperation and interconnectivity.

"The China-Laos Railway has launched. Once it's connected with the China-Thailand railway, you can take a train from Bangkok directly to Kunming. It not only facilitates the export of Thai agricultural products like durian but also opens up a swift new route for Chinese tourists to reach Thailand," said Vikrom in a recent interview with Xinhua.

Thailand's role as a transportation hub in the ASEAN region will be reinforced if the China-Thailand railway successfully goes south to connect with Malaysia and Singapore, which would propel economic cooperation between ASEAN and China to new heights, said Vikrom.

Chinese overseas builders inspect a bridge girder erection machine at a construction site of the China-Thailand Railway in Ayutthaya, Thailand, Jan. 19, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Teng)

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the proposal of the BRI. Over the past decade, there has been rapid growth in trade and investment between China and ASEAN countries. Statistics show that trade between China and ASEAN reached 975.3 billion U.S. dollars in 2022, more than double the 443.6 billion U.S. dollars recorded in 2013. Today, China is Thailand's largest trading partner.

China's robust economic growth has driven global economic development, Vikrom noted.

Vikrom is also the chief executive of Amata Corporation Plc, one of Thailand's major industrial developers. In 2006, his company and China's Huali Group jointly founded the Thai-Chinese Rayong industrial zone.

The industrial zone has attracted more than 230 manufacturing companies and over 30 related businesses from China over a decade, contributing to creating over 50,000 jobs in Thailand, Vikrom told Xinhua.

"Chinese companies in the industrial zone have thrived, achieving a high success rate, and have brought tangible benefits to the local community," said Vikrom, noting the industrial zone has become a prime example of collaboration between Thailand and China.

Natawut Lorboon works at the production line of Dunan Metals (Thailand) Co., Ltd, in the Thai-Chinese Rayong industrial zone in Rayong Province, Thailand, Nov. 8, 2022. (Xinhua/Rachen Sageamsak)

Vikrom said over the past decade since the BRI was proposed, the industrial zone's development has gained momentum, with 70 to 80 percent of companies settling down here after 2013.

He said companies in the zone have shifted from traditional manufacturing to predominantly high-tech industries, such as new energy vehicles, mechanical electronics and pharmaceuticals, over the past decade.

The business leader told Xinhua that carmakers from China have accelerated their overseas presence in recent years.

With its rich technical expertise and well-established industrial supply chain in the new energy vehicle sector, many Chinese automotive companies have invested and built manufacturing plants in the Thai-Chinese Rayong industrial zone, supported by a series of Thai government incentives to support the industry, said Vikrom.

He noted that Thailand welcomes advanced technology and science from China and looks forward to green transportation and green energy cooperation.
There arent a lot of rules to joining the New Orleans Synth Cult. Anyone interested in synthesizers, regardless of experience or the genre they play, is welcome to check out one of the collectives monthly open mics. Just bring the gear you need, give them a heads up that youd like to perform and, of course, play a synthesizer. Although, the term synthesizer can be a little wide-ranging, says founder and organizer Jason Vowell.

What you think of as like a keyboard with some knobs on it, theres plenty of that, Vowell says. But theres groove boxes, too, that are more drum machine-based or sample-based  and then we have the modular synthesizers, which are these giant patch-based things. You have to play some variation of a hardware synthesizer. A physical piece of gear.

A little over a year since the first New Orleans Synth Cult meet-up, the group has grown into a loose collective of around 40 musicians, synthesizer enthusiasts and sound designers. Theres also a Facebook group with more than 750 members.

Synth Cult hosts monthly open mics and synthesizer jams, featuring a range of genres, from house music, downtempo lo-fi and 80s-inspired synthwave to experimental soundscapes. And Vowell helps put the collectives musicians on to local bills.

On Monday, Oct. 30, Synth Cult will present Tales from the Synth, at 6 p.m. at The Broadside. Seven members of the collective will live score a supercut of horror movie clips, from obscure flicks to genre classics. This will be the first time Synth Cult has done a live score performance.

We never really get to be spooky and weird, even though the instruments sort of lend themselves to that a lot of the time, Vowell says. This is just a cool opportunity to go the sound design way, get spooky, get weird, have some fun.

A week earlier, two Synth Cult members will collaborate to open for Netherlands-based meditative, esoteric electronica project Bhajan Bhoy on Monday, Oct. 23, at Gasa Gasa. South Louisiana experimental musicians Hal Lambert and Mitchell Mobley also will perform. The collective hosts its next open mic on Thursday, Oct. 26, at Emporium Arcade. And there's a live synth jam on Nov. 1 at Zony Mash.

Vowell started New Orleans Synth Cult last year after checking out a New York Modular Society meet-up during a trip to New York. Vowell had been into modular synthesizers and sound design for a long time  he also records under the name unknownparts  but felt a bit alone in the New Orleans music landscape. He would see musicians like Cliff Hines and Daniel Meinecke perform with modular synths but didnt know of many other local musicians.

Glam's scratch-and-sniff film 'Holy Trinity' comes to Broad Theater and Zeitgeist Orisha Oko is a powerful room cleansing aerosol spray in the film Holy Trinity. But its not a cleaning product. Its more of a spiritual to

Organizers at the New York Modular Society encouraged Vowell to organize a local meet-up, so he tossed the idea onto Facebook. He got some good responses, found a spot to meet in Algiers and had a synth jam.

That was total chaos, totally weird, but we were all so happy to see other people with synthesizers in town, he says.

Word-of-mouth and regular meet-ups has helped New Orleans Synth Cult grow faster than I thought it would, Vowell says. We were kind of shocked by that  [particularly] the outside interest from people that dont necessarily play the synthesizers themselves.

Theres a variety of styles and set-ups in the New Orleans Synth Cult, from new musicians using introductory $100 synths to guys hauling $30,000 worth of equipment to a showcase. But customizing the instrument is part of the satisfaction, Vowell says.

You find the synthesizers you like. Everybody has a different rig, especially with modular synths, he says. You piecemeal all the things you want to make the sound that you want. So its very personal, and its unique to the person. A lot of friendships and a lot of creative ventures have come together because of it, which is just as satisfying as making the music.

Follow New Orleans Synth Cult on Instagram, @nolasynthcult, and on Facebook. Recordings of past showcases also can be found at nolasynthcult.bandcamp.com.
TEHRAN, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian reiterated his country's call for an end to the Israel-Hamas conflict and denounced Israeli actions targeting civilians during the ongoing conflict.

Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks during separate phone conversations with the foreign ministers of Luxembourg and Oman on Saturday, according to statements posted on the website of Iran's Foreign Ministry on Sunday.

During the call with Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn, Amir-Abdollahian condemned Israel's attacks on Gaza and underlined the gravity of the humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave.

Asselborn said he was aware of the dire situation in Gaza and hoped that a political solution could be prioritized to end the tensions as soon as possible. He also hoped that Iran could play a "constructive and active" role to restore peace in the region

In the phone conversation with Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi, the ministers discussed ways to halt the conflict, lift the siege on Gaza, and provide humanitarian assistance to Gaza. They both strongly opposed the forced displacement of Gazans to the southern part of the coastal enclave.

The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) launched a surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7, firing thousands of rockets and infiltrating Israeli territory, to which Israel responded with massive airstrikes and punitive measures, including a siege on the enclave with supplies of water, electricity, fuel, and other necessities being cut off.

The ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict has killed more than 6,000 people on both sides and left many others in an acute humanitarian crisis. 
COLOMBO, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's navy said it apprehended a multiday fishing trawler with 200 kg of heroin valued at more than 4,000 million Sri Lankan rupees (12.3 million U.S. dollars) on Sunday.

The navy said in a statement that the operation was conducted by its intelligence unit and the police in the sea off Dondra in the south of Sri Lanka, and five people were arrested.

The narcotics bureau of Sri Lanka police will conduct further investigations, according to the navy.

The navy conducts regular patrols and search operations in the coastal and sea areas around the island to prevent the influx of drugs into the country. 
DAMASCUS, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Israeli missile strikes targeted both international airports in the capital Damascus and the northern city of Aleppo early Sunday, killing one civilian worker and injuring another, said Syrian state news agency SANA.

Material damage to the runways at both airports left them out of service, said SANA.

The Syrian air defense systems responded to the Israeli missile attacks on both airports, the Lebanese al-Mayadeen TV news reported.

Further details are not immediately available.

The attacks come amid growing tension in the region. 
Even in late fall, when jewel-colored leaves turn to bare tree limbs, the magic that is this town, a Distinctive Destination of the National Trust, is potent.

For the trip to New Harmony, about 270 miles from Crown Point on U.S. Hwy. 41, is not one of time lost. It's life still lived from the stately Golden Rain Trees planted in 1829, buildings that remain in their prime from when succeeding communes took root starting in 1814 and a tavern that opened 208 years ago.

There are many ways to explore and experience New Harmony from wandering the labyrinth, based on the 12th Century design of one at Chartres Cathedral near Paris, by day or by moonlight to a horse-drawn carriage along the brick streets to admire the public art and many parks and green spaces. Make sure to dip your toes in the pool at the base of the lyre-shaped Orpheus Fountain and stop at the Roofless Church.

Our Sunday tour visits various Harmonist properties such as log cabins of the era from the early 1800s and the home of David Lenz built around 1819, Diane Sanders, assistant director of Historic New Harmony for the University of Southern Indiana, which oversees the historic sites, says, mentioning Harmonists, a religious sect that settled there. There are also walking tour maps for those who want to do a tour on their own.

Sanders points out that the tour includes the sandstone, brick and wood granary erected in 1818 and such homes as the one belonging to Lenz built circa 1819-1822. The Lenz family came to America from Germany in 1804 and joined the Harmony Society in Harmony, Pa., before moving to Indiana.

A Sunday exploration of Historic New Harmony starts at the three-story modernistic Atheneum. Designed by New York-architect Richard Meier, whose proposal was in the running for a new World Trade Center, the imposing building clad in white porcelain squares angling into different directions is used as a visitors center.

An orientation film shown at the Atheneum recounts how this area of Southern Indiana became home to two communes, the first founded by George Rapp in 1814 whose group was fleeing religious persecution. When that failed, Rapp sold its 20,000 acres to Robert Owen, who sought to create a society based on free education and the elimination of social classes.

In 1838, Owens business partner, William Maclure, established The Working Mens Institute to make books available to the working man. There would eventually be 144 institutes throughout the state, but the only one left is in New Harmony, a fascinating museum and the states oldest continuously operating public library.

Jane Baffler Owen, whose husband was a direct descendant of Robert Owen, had a vision for the town and worked tirelessly at making it a reality. Owen died in 2010 after spearheading the Roofless Church, labyrinth, granary restoration and even the Atheneum.

Mrs. Owen used to say New Harmony was a thin place between heaven and earth, says Robin Lewis, who moved to New Harmony after vacationing there frequently when her children were young and now is in charge of Christmas in New Harmony.

Owen's earthly rewards included the prestigious Louise DuPont Crown in Shield Award, the nation's highest honor from the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

For those who want to stay in the heart of Historic New Harmony, theres the New Harmony Inn, designed to replicate the community buildings where single men and women lived during the Harmonist years. Facilities include an indoor pool, fitness center and sauna as well as the Red Geranium restaurant, notable for a seasonal menu and glass wall looking out over the woods and lawns.

For those who want to hike in those woods, Harmonie State Park is less than a mile away along the Wabash.

Historic New Harmony also includes the Yellow Tavern, one of the state's oldest restaurants. It opened in 1815, burned down in the early 1900s and was rebuilt.

Coffee lovers can get their fix at the Black Lodge Coffee Roasters and sweets fans will enjoy the new Capers Emporium that offers confections, baked goods, gourmet foods, kitchen items, home decor and cooking classes.

Upcoming events include Halloween activities such as Thralls Murder Mystery Party on Oct. 27 at the Thrall's Opera House and a Community Halloween Party held downtown Oct. 28.

The largest event is Christmas in New Harmony, which kicks off with a tree lighting on Dec. 1 and runs through Dec. 3.

Its an old-fashioned holiday celebration with parades, childrens activities, carriage rides and visits with Santa, says Lewis.

Other holiday events include a Christmas jazz ensemble at Thralls Opera House and vendors at Community House No. 2, both historic buildings.

New Harmony is an amazing place, says Sanders, who lives in the center of the town. It feels like no place else.

More information is available at 812-682-6112 or visitnewharmony.com
On Thursday, for the first time since Aug. 1, December 2023 corn futures were able to rally and close above $5.

Five dollar corn isnt what it used to be with inflated input expenses that farmers have had to deal with this year, but it is a better price then what theyve had for the last two months.

The trade talk surrounding the move centered on funds holding heavy net short positions and rolling from the December contract to the March, as well as some short covering that may have gotten a little heavy handed.

The roll was evident in the volume of spread trading that took place and the movement in the spread itself, as the carry from December corn to March corn futures narrowed from -$0.15 to -$0.12 in one day alone.

The action of rolling may have been sufficient to rally the market in and of itself, but fundamental traders were searching for reasons behind the move as well. Unconfirmed rumors of China looking to buy some corn out of the Pacific Northwest was what they came up with.

If confirmed, the corn rally may have legs to keep it walking forward; if not, and the rumor mill has tricked the market, the treat may have been $5 plus corn.

Hot bond talk

If you are under 40 youve probably never heard so much talk of bonds in the financial news in your life as what you have in the last two weeks.

Bond futures once again pushed to new lows across the board on Thursday, with the 30-year Treasury yield surging above 5% this week for the first time since March of 2007.

The fever pitched discussion surrounding bonds would lead one to believe that we are close to a bottom in bond futures, if you buy into the theory that when the news is reporting on something the trend is close to changing.

If that turns out to be the case, the financial sector may not see any radical shifts in investment strategies or structure, but if bond yields continue to climb above 5% it may spur a dramatic increase in bond trade that has current bond holders scrambling to exit if they are leveraged, and new bond buyers looking to purchase a theoretically safe investment with acceptable yields.

Have a comment or question? Please reach out to derrick.hermesch@pinion.global.com.
MUNSTER  The Northwest Indiana Islamic Center has been on a soft lockdown for the past week due to heightened threats to the Muslim community.

The lockdown came just days after Plainfield boy Wadea Al-Fayoume, who had just turned 6, was stabbed to death by his landlord, Joseph Czuba. The boys mother also suffered severe injuries as she was stabbed trying to fight Czuba off.

Authorities said Czuba attacked the Muslim mother and child because he was upset over heightened tensions between Israel and Palestine.

Hamas, an Islamist group designated as a terrorist organization by many Western countries, launched a surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7, where 1,400 people were killed.

Israel has subsequently bombarded Gaza with airstrikes, which have killed nearly 4,000 people. The Israeli Defense Force heightened its attacks Saturday, when it prepared for a ground invasion, according to Politico.

Israeli planes purportedly dropped leaflets urging Gaza residents to evacuate, which read: Anyone who chooses not to evacuate from the North of the Gaza Strip to the South of the Gaza Strip may be identified as a partner in a terrorist organization.

Court filings state that Czuba ambushed them after the boys mother told him, we pray for peace. Al-Fayoumes murder is not the first example of vitriol toward Muslims in light of the recent Middle Eastern tensions, and Region Muslims fear it wont be the last.

Ferass Sadafi, the Northwest Indiana Islamic Center president, said mass media has played a huge role in spreading Islamophobia.

Historically speaking, you know, the ramifications of the lack of objectivity in Western media have impacted people overseas, Sadafi said. But now we're seeing it here because Muslims are becoming part of American society, so we see what happened to that poor child.

Sadafi added that was born and raised in America, and he loves this country. So, for me, what saddens me is to have to see this continuous one-sided approach to reporting on what's happening overseas, he said.

The principal and founder of Indiana Horizon Academy, Lama Almoazen, said that shes had to talk to students about what happened to Wadea Al-Fayoume and the growing Islamophobia across the country.

Indiana Horizon Academy is a K-3 school housed at the center. The Academy also has a preschool in Winfield.

Almoazen said the school hasnt gotten any credible threats, but parents and students have expressed concerns to her.

She said she wants her students to be proud Muslims. We're trying to raise them to feel very proud of themselves. I want to make sure that nothing, whatever they hear and see on that media doesn't affect that.

Upday, the largest news aggregator in Europe, purportedly told its employees to play down Palestinian death tolls without information about Israel coming higher up in the story, according to reporting from The Intercept.

Television channel MSNBC allegedly removed three Muslim anchors from their chairs shortly after Hamass attack on Israel, according to Semafor.

The Financial Times reported that the British news agency BBC suspended six of its reporters after they liked social media posts that supported Palestine or criticized Israels position.

People who have publicly criticized Israel have often been written off as anti-Semitic, which Sadafi said doesnt make a whole lot of sense because Palestinians are Semites too.

He noted how a Semite is defined as someone who speaks a Semitic language, such as Hebrew and Arabic.

The question that should be asked is, why are there death and destruction on both sides with people who have lived with each other for centuries, Safadi said.

Imam Shaykh Mongy El-Quesny echoed Safadis statement. During the prayer that he led on Friday, he talked about how the media has inaccurately represented the Palestinian peoples suffering.

Donned in a Palestinian flag scarf, the imam detailed to mosque congregants how Islam is a religion of peace  and how Muslims should stand up for Palestinians who are suffering.

The question is, why is the media not picking up on both sides of the spectrum? You know, why are they not challenging the other side? Sadafi said. If you're pro-Israel, you should be challenging Israel to be better If you're really one of the pro-Israeli, that's what you should be doing. You shouldn't be accepting the fact that 12 days later, a city's being demolished carpet-bombed. That's a second that achieved anything but more depth of destruction. So when will that challenge come from the media?

A bus took Northwest Indiana congregants to downtown Chicago on Saturday to protest Israels attacks on Gaza, and plead for a ceasefire.

El-Quesny and Almoazen said they think the best thing for people amidst growing tensions in the Middle East is education.

The problem is we have a lack of education, El-Quesny said. "Information is nothing, right? Information is like a few pages.

Almoazen said shes focused on educating her students on how they can help and turn their sadness about the violence in the Middle East into a positive outcome.

Knowledge and education is very powerful, she said. Thats why we focus on it with our kids.

Almoazen said when her students feel sad about what's happening, she works with them to explore and brainstorm an idea of how we can positively and proactively help the Palestinian people.
Sanh Tran gently rubbed the bruise on the side of his head.

I think Ill be OK, he told me during a break at his business, Maki of Japan in Southlake Mall.

On Oct. 13, an irate 17-year-old customer assaulted Tran by violently throwing plastic bottles across the counter, striking Tran in the head and breaking the protective glass. The incident was caught on video by a nearby witness and shared on social media, outraging viewers who are longtime customers and fans of Mr. Maki, as hes known by many.

The teen and three other young men then stormed away from the counter and exited the food court. Tran was stunned. It was the first time he was ever assaulted by a customer since he opened his store in the Hobart mall in 2001.

His daughter, Chrissy Tran, told me, I keep seeing on social media that Asian business owners are targeted. Ive always been worried this would happen to him."

'Mr. Maki' from mall food court assaulted by teenage customer New food businesses come here for half the price Im paying. I could get a building outside of the mall, its cheaper, but I dont want to st

Ive known her father since he opened his store. Tran is one of my favorite people on the planet and one of the hardest workers in our Region. When I heard, and later saw on video, that he was assaulted, I immediately contacted him and suggested he file a police report.

No, thank you, he told me.

The next day, I contacted Hobart Police Chief Garrett Ciszewski.

All the kids in the video were identified and trespassed from the mall by an officer working there, he said. I am going to have a detective follow up with Tran about criminal charges since we have the person identified.

'Mr. Maki' from mall food court assaulted by teenage customer Sanh Tran, owner of Maki of Japan, with his wife Mandy and longtime employee, Simon Sebastian, inside the food court of Southlake Mall.

I spoke with Tran before police circled back to him.

I want to live in peace, he said.

Tran, whos 62, was traumatized by the assault and possibly physically injured, his family believes.

I told him he needs to see a doctor because he was hit in the head, his daughter said. He said hed go in a few days.

'Mr. Maki' from mall food court assaulted by teenage customer Sanh and Mandy Tran will be closing Maki of Japan at the end of this year, citing a lack in mall traffic and their monthly rent at the food co

His family is concerned that he may have suffered a concussion or brain bleed.

Hes on heart meds and blood thinners, his daughter said.

Her father downplayed the severity of his injury.

Its better now, he told me this week as his wife, Mandy, took care of customers.

'Mr. Maki' from mall food court assaulted by teenage customer On Oct. 13, an irate 17-year-old customer assaulted Sanh Tran by violently throwing plastic bottles across the counter, striking Tran in the h

Tran declined to press criminal charges against the teen, saying he doesnt want any problems or retaliation. He hugged the responding officers on the night he was assaulted.

It was terrible what happened, his wife said. Only two more months left.

The couple will be closing Maki of Japan at the end of this year, citing a lack in mall traffic and their monthly rent at the food court. Tran said he pays more than $17,000 a month, and it goes up each year.

'Mr. Maki' from mall food court assaulted by teenage customer Sanh Tran, owner of Maki of Japan inside Southlake Mall was assaulted by a teenage customer on Oct. 13. He declined to press charges.

A lot of customers dont know that, he said. New food businesses come here for half the price Im paying. I could get a building outside of the mall, its cheaper, but I dont want to start over again. Its difficult. Its very sad. But its life. What can you do?

Tran gets depressed when he returns home, knowing he will soon be closing his store. (Watch a video and view more photos at the online version of this column.)

'Mr. Maki' from mall food court assaulted by teenage customer Sanh Tran, owner of Maki of Japan inside Southlake Mall, proudly displays newspaper columns and customers' greeting cards on his wall.

I will miss a lot of my customers, he said. Every time I see them, I have energy.

Tran said loyal customers are upset that hes closing for good.

They cannot get more bourbon chicken, he said.

For more than 20 years, Ive ordered the same thing every visit  half rice and half noodles, with bourbon and tangerine chicken. Tran and his wife both know my order, just as they know hundreds of other customers orders.

Weve watched little kids grow up and still come back for the same orders when theyre older, Tran said.

Customers recognize him outside of the mall. Most of them have enjoyed free samples on a toothpick and Trans familiar patter, Noodles or rice? Noodles or rice?

I asked him why he declined to press charges against the teen. He said it would upset the boys mother.

We have two wars now in the world. I am happy to be alive. I just want to live the American Dream. Ive worked so hard for it, he said with two thumbs up.

Tran is a perfect example of this iconic dream.

'Mr. Maki' from mall food court assaulted by teenage customer New food businesses come here for half the price Im paying," Sanh Tran said. "I could get a building outside of the mall, its cheaper, but 

Hes a Vietnam refugee, one of a million "boat people" who escaped that war-ravaged country. At 17, he came to the U.S. with only a kid brother. No English, no money, no family. He wound up in Florida, picking vegetables and harvesting a new culture.

Years later, he worked his way into a white collar job, doing market analysis for a food service company. Then he hung a sign, Under New Management, at one of his firm's restaurants, Maki of Japan.

Tran and his wife, whos from China, are the hardest working couple I know. When I stroll through that food court, I can smell the irresistible aroma of edible nostalgia from my future. I will miss them and their meals.

On social media, their customers suggested starting a GoFundMe page to help the couple enjoy their retirement and to say thank you for sharing their sample of the American Dream. Their daughter started a funding webpage Friday as a retirement gift: Your support means the world to us during this challenging time. Thank you for being part of our journey, it states.

When Tran retires on New Years Day, he plans to finally relax, do some traveling, volunteer in the community, and possibly sleep in every now and then. And mediation, he added, to calm myself.
California has banned four common food additives  Red Dye No. 3, potassium bromate, brominated vegetable oil and propylparaben  through the California Food Safety Act.

The law will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2027, which offers significant time for brands to revise their recipes to avoid these harmful chemicals, Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement to members of the California State Assembly on Oct. 7, when he signed the bill into law. After that, any person or entity that manufactures, sells or distributes food products in California that contain the additives can be fined up to $5,000 for a first violation and up to $10,000 for each additional violation.

Heres what to know about the ingredients, why they were banned and what it means for you, whether you live in California or elsewhere.

What are the additives, and what food products are they in?

The four banned ingredients are most commonly found in ultraprocessed foods. Red Dye No. 3 is used as a colorant in red or pink icings, drinks and candies, especially ones that are flavored with cinnamon, peppermint, cherry or berry. This includes many holiday-themed candies, like conversation hearts, candy corn and candy canes, as well as some brands of jelly beans. Brominated vegetable oil is found primarily in citrus-flavored store-brand sodas, where it works as a stabilizer for the flavor oils. Potassium bromate acts a leavening agent, and propylparaben is a preservative: They are typically used in packaged baked goods, including tortillas, breads and pastries.
CAIRO, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Amid the escalating Israel-Hamas conflict and growing global calls for de-escalation and increased humanitarian aid for Gaza, U.S. President Biden's request to Congress for 14.3 billion U.S. dollars in military assistance to Israel has raised concerns.

Biden argued on Friday that this move would enhance Israel's security. However, analysts and critics worry that it could increase uncertainty in the Middle East, potentially harming Israeli security that Biden claimed to protect.

Washington's foreign policy on the Palestinian issue has impeded the early resolution of the conflict, according to Middle Eastern political watchers, who warned that allowing the current hostilities in Gaza to persist will only intensify the vicious cycle of hatred and confrontation between Israel and Palestine, making it more difficult to achieve peaceful coexistence in the long run.

DOMESTIC, INT'L BACKLASH

More than two weeks into the deadly conflict, the United States has not only bolstered its military presence in the Middle East but has also provided extensive military aid to Israel. Additionally, it has twice used veto power at the United Nations Security Council to block resolutions concerning the situation in Palestine.

These actions have stirred criticism, leading to protests both at home and abroad, including the resignation of Josh Paul, a senior official from the U.S. State Department, who believed the U.S. government's actions "an impulsive reaction" based on "intellectual bankruptcy."

The resigned official told U.S. media that many of his colleagues in the federal government and Congress shared similar sentiments and fully understood his decision to resign.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also acknowledged in a message last week to all State Department employees that the Israel-Hamas conflict had resulted in disagreements among U.S. diplomats, presenting both professional and emotional challenges.

Internationally, Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya accused the United States of "hypocrisy" and "double standards" after Washington vetoed Russia's draft calling for an immediate ceasefire and Brazil's draft calling for humanitarian pauses to allow full, safe and unhindered access for United Nations agencies and their partners.

Brazilian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Sergio Danese expressed deep disappointment over the Brazilian draft's failure to pass, and French Permanent Representative, Nicolas de Riviere, also voiced regret.

U.S. actions since the beginning of the conflict have also sparked protests globally, with citizens in multiple countries expressing their discontent. Demonstrations outside U.S. embassies in Jordan and Lebanon featured anti-U.S. slogans, while protests in Tehran saw the burning of Israeli and U.S. flags.

In the United States, hundreds of protesters packed the U.S. House of Representatives office building, calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestine and leading to arrests by the police.

ADDING FUEL TO THE FIRE

On Wednesday, Biden arrived in Israel to demonstrate his support for Israel, just hours after an explosion at a hospital in Gaza killed hundreds, further escalating tensions and resulting in the cancellation of a summit with Arab leaders.

The cancellation of the summit, which cut Biden's Middle East tour to a "mini visit" lasting less than eight hours, is seen as "an obvious message that the Arab countries don't welcome the U.S. president," said Mokhtar Gobashy, deputy chairman of the Cairo-based Arab Center for Political and Strategic Studies.

Gobashy stated that the Arab world is not happy with the White House's "unfair" foreign policy regarding Israel and Palestine, adding that it has a track record of adopting "unjust" foreign policies to serve its own interests.

"Anyone who sees one side as entirely blameless and the other as exclusively at fault has lost the credibility to act as an impartial arbiter," the Egyptian scholar noted.

While the United States presented itself as a main sponsor of the Palestine-Israel negotiations, it has in fact consistently failed to uphold its commitments over the years.

The pledges made by the Biden administration, such as advocating Israeli-Palestinian peace, reopening the consulate general responsible for Palestinian affairs in Jerusalem, and halting the Israeli settlement expansion, have remained unattended to. Despite endorsing a "two-state solution," the administration has taken little action toward achieving this goal.

"Washington does not care about what Arabs want" and only acts to serve its interests, said Markram Rabah, an academic at the American University of Beirut in Lebanon.

"What the United States has done now is calling for war," he said, noting that with two U.S. aircraft carriers patrolling the Mediterranean Sea, the region is now at a greater risk of a potential broader conflict than ever before.

Eyal Pinko, a political analyst at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, Bar Ilan University in Israel, also warned against a possible spillover of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

He pointed out that should a ground offensive in Gaza begin, a scenario many anticipate in the coming days, Palestinians in the West Bank, Lebanon's Hezbollah, and even the Houthis in Yemen will probably become involved in the conflict. 
During New York Bridal Fashion Week, held Oct. 10 through 12, designers not only presented their fall 2024 collections, but also showed their support for one another, with some even attending each others presentations.

To share a message of peace in the early days of the Israel-Hamas war, the designer Peter Langner ended his runway show with John Lennons Imagine.

Because of the ongoing conflict, several Israeli designers, including Arava Polak, Galia Lahav, Lihi Hod and Berta, decided to cancel their shows. Pnina Tornai postponed her event to Nov. 2, but Julie Vino chose to present her collection as a show of unity, compassion, and the hope for a brighter future, she said in a news release. (There were no Palestinian designers involved in the weeks events.)

Bridal Fashion Week also included a few debuts from up-and-coming designers, like Zoe Rowyn and Soucy. Several designers unveiled new boutiques and showrooms: Amsale and Rime Arodaky opened flagship stores in SoHo, and Julie Vino opened a flagship in Midtown. Nadia Manjarrez opened her first New York showroom in Chelsea, and Mark Ingram Atelier moved to a bigger space in Midtown to mark its 20th anniversary,
On Sunday, at a grandiose country resort, some 200 guests were seated inside a massive tent draped with white curtains, the sun peaking through the ceiling and onto their faces. They had flown in from New York, Miami, Atlanta, Dallas and Los Angeles, which is not unusual for the typical big city fashion show. But this was in Middleburg, Va., an hour away from the Washington airport.

Thats the kind of ride-or-die community that Anifa Mvuemba, 32, the founder of the clothing brand Hanifa, has cultivated. Guest lists at fashion shows usually include celebrities, influencers and media, but this one largely comprised longtime friends, supporters and family members, including five siblings, who were willing to travel for the show.

Hanifa has a fervent fan base, loyal to Ms. Mvuembas vibrant dresses and knitwear. It can sometimes be hard to be creative with color while getting dressed, to divert from blacks, whites and neutrals and find bright pieces that are cool and chic. But she made it easier, appealing to people who are willing to invest in quality pieces that dont cost thousands. In her fall 2023 collection, tops start at $125 and pants at $169.
Despite the gray skies and light drizzle, costumed dogs strutted along for the Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade on Saturday as they have for more than three decades. But for the first time since the events inception, they had an official parade route.

The dogs came on floats, leashes and in their owners arms  but they almost didnt come at all.

Organizers of the East Village event nearly canceled it this year after outgrowing their location in Tompkins Square. What started as a small gathering of friends for Halloween has ballooned into a cornerstone of New York Citys spooky season, drawing thousands of spectators to the East Village. To stage the parade and costume competition, organizers needed to have the streets blocked off, which would have costs thousands of dollars in permits and fees, they said.

Organizers announced the cancellation last month, sparking backlash on social media before help stepped in.
Tesori said that the scrutiny had been unexpected, but that she was hopeful audiences would look beyond politics. She noted that she and Brant started working on the opera in 2014, long before they knew where it would premiere or who would be among the sponsors.

Every impulse, every note of this, is done from two writers who are trying to birth this work, and they dont know what hospital theyre in, she said. I think its really clear now, and thats great.

Ahead of the premiere, Washington National Opera is working to promote discussion about the themes of Grounded with service members, veterans and their families, inviting them for talks and performances.

Timothy OLeary, the companys general director, said that it was important to provide context to members of the military and the defense industry. Grounded raises questions about the morality of remote warfare and explores its toll on the mental health of service members.

Its one thing to read about these issues in a newspaper, but to walk in the shoes of somebody on the front lines wrestling with these questions of moral responsibility and life and death  thats an entirely different experience, he said. The stage has always been part of how we understand the costs of war, both to warriors and to the innocent.
Heres where weve got to do a little crossword detective work. You may have noticed that each bracketed date range appears in the second half of its clue  thats where you can find what its referring to in the entry. Check it out:

1950s to early 1980s: PERMANENT RECORD

1970s to early 1990s: MASKING TAPE

1990s to 2000s: HIGH-YIELD CD

2010s to present: SINGLE STREAMING

And voila. Without so much as a revealer, weve taken a tour through the listening formats of the last 70 odd years. Do you have a favorite way to listen?

Tricky Clues

25A. Pigeon shelters are called COTES, or dovecotes, and should not to be confused with cotes, the French word for coasts (so dont go to the Cote dAzur looking for a blue pigeon shelter).

32A. An Abbr. before a year on a business sign is ESTAB., short for established. Ive only ever seen Est. used for this abbreviation on signage, but it seems at least 41 other crossword constructors have lived a fuller life than I.

65A. While this clue doesnt refer to a famous person, you might well say that the Star in Lyra has its name in lights: VEGA is a star in the constellation known as Lyra, or the Harp. (VEGA is also the second-brightest star in the Northern Hemisphere, so it enjoys a certain celebrity in the night sky.)

9D. One of a pair of shakers had me picturing the salt and pepper on my kitchen table. Here, though, each unit is a MARACA.
A recent paper published by the American Enterprise Institute revealed that the net prices for the new obesity drugs are just a fraction of the published annual list prices.

And while the drugs prices remain out of reach for many, economists anticipate they will soon be driven down. More than a dozen companies are developing obesity drugs. As they enter the market, greater choice is expected to make prices plummet, as has happened with other expensive drugs.

My prediction is that as competition increases, prices will decrease accordingly, said Jalpa Doshi, professor of medicine and director of the economics evaluation unit at the University of Pennsylvania.

Strong Demand, Falling Prices?

For now, manufacturers are reaping the rewards of soaring demand.

Investors expect Novo Nordisk, the manufacturer of Wegovy, to earn $4 billion in revenue this year. The companys other drug, Ozempic, is expected to bring in $11 billion. The drugs are driving such a bonanza that they account for almost all of the latest economic growth in Denmark, the home of Novo Nordisk.

Those revenues are based on the net prices.

For their analysis, Benedic N. Ippolito, an economist at the American Enterprise Institute, and Joseph F. Levy, a health economist at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, relied on data from SSR Health, which uses company financial filings and estimates of the number of prescriptions filled.
Of all the haunting images and disturbing sounds that permeate Martin Scorseses Killers of the Flower Moon, none is more upsetting than the guttural cry from Mollie Burkhart (Lily Gladstone), a tortured wail of rage and grief that escapes her reserved visage when tragedy strikes. And it often does: Killers tells the true story, adapted from the book by David Grann, of how Mollies Osage community was decimated by murderous white men, who killed dozens of her tribe members for rights to their oil-rich land.

Mollies howl of pain is not quite like any sound heard before in a Scorsese film. But in many ways, Scorsese is emulating her jarring cry in the ominous aesthetics of Killers of the Flower Moon itself, and of his 2019 feature, The Irishman.

The movies have much in common: their creative teams, expansive running times, period settings, narrative density and epic scope. But what most keenly sets them apart from the rest of Scorseses work is the element by which the filmmaker is arguably most easily identified: their violence. In these films, the deaths, which are frequent, are hard and fast and blunt, a marked departure from the intricately stylized and ornately edited set pieces of his earlier work.
I was reminded of one of our early conversations, when I asked him if he would ever consider resigning, just to make the circuslike attention stop.

He dismissed the idea out of hand.

Not only did he need to support his family, he said, but he loved being a congressman. He loved working with people. And of all of the things he has said, this is the one that is most believable.

Despite being excluded from House committees and rejected by much of his local community, Santos has forged ahead, introducing more than 40 bills.

He has given dozens of speeches on the floor of the House and attended local events, as though maybe, if he kept on message, a day would come when people stopped asking whether he had stolen from a dying dog.

And why not? From an early age, he has been manifesting a life like this for himself  a life of consequence and power. Now that hes made it, why let it go?
Chinas domination in seafood has raised deep concerns among American fishermen, policymakers and human rights activists. They warn that China is expanding its maritime reach in ways that are putting domestic fishermen around the world at a competitive disadvantage, eroding international law governing sea borders and undermining food security, especially in poorer countries that rely heavily on fish for protein. In some parts of the world, frequent illegal incursions by Chinese ships into other nations waters are heightening military tensions. American lawmakers are concerned because the United States, locked in a trade war with China, is the worlds largest importer of seafood.

A recent investigation that my team and I conducted revealed a worrying range of human rights and environmental crimes tied to Chinese ships and processing plants. Chinas distant-water fishing fleet has been tied to myriad crimes, including cases of raiding Argentine waters and, in violation of Chinese law, turning off transponders, which are designed to transmit their locations publicly. Chinese ships have also fished in North Korean waters, breaking U.N. sanctions, and engaged in violence, wage theft, forced labor, severe neglect of deckhands and human trafficking. Because most of the worlds fishing takes place far out at sea, out of sight, the abuses are hard to stop  which means, despite what seafood companies might claim, most buyers have no way of knowing whether their dinner was a product of this system.

Like the boats that supply them, Chinese processing plants rely on forced labor, from North Korea and from Uyghur and other Muslim minorities in China. Despite strict U.S. laws forbidding the import of goods produced with North Korean or Uyghur labor, we found that Chinese companies using these workers exported at least 47,000 tons of seafood since 2018  including more than 17 percent of squid imported in the U.S.  to dozens of American importers, some of which supply U.S. military bases and public-school cafeterias.

Companies importing seafood linked to Uyghur labor also have supply relationships with major food service, wholesale and retail brands, including Sysco, Walmart and Ruggiero Seafood, one of the countrys largest squid distributors. I reached out to these companies and asked them about various concerns tied to forced labor on fishing vessels or in processing plants connected to their seafood. Some companies, such as Walmart, said in response to questions that they condemn human rights abuses and expect their partners to comply with corporate standards. A few others, like Sysco, said they would look into our findings. Many, like Ruggiero Seafood, did not respond to questions.

Most economists agree that globalization has made modern commerce more efficient and products cheaper. But it has also stretched the distance between producers, movers and consumers, making it harder to know whether what youre consuming is tainted by forced labor or environmental crimes. With ships so far from shore, constantly in transit, crossing countless national jurisdictions, seafood supply chains are especially tough to track because they consist of so many links  fishing boats, refrigeration vessels, cold-storage warehouses, processing plants, packagers, exporters, importers, wholesalers, grocery chains, restaurants and, finally, customers.
Haiti and the Dominican Republic together make up the island of Hispaniola. These countries are linked by histories of colonialism, slavery, dictatorships and U.S. military interventions.

Though at times they have come together to fight for sovereignty and justice or to confront the aftermaths of environmental disasters, this legacy has not united the two nations. Theirs has been a history splintered with xenophobia, colorism and violence that have seethed into the present day.

In September the Dominican president, Luis Abinader, sealed all land, air and sea borders with Haiti, prohibiting the passage of goods and people and denying all visas to Haitian citizens, as retaliation for what he considers to be Haitis illegal construction of an irrigation canal on a shared river, Rio Massacre. Haitis government said its farmers need the water to grow crops, while Mr. Abinader claims it will divert water needed by Dominican farmers.

The border closings reinforced the dangerous nativist Dominican talk Mr. Abinader and his government have deployed in their efforts to contain Haitian immigration. Claims that Haitians are invading have led to the banning of Haitians from public transit, mass deportations and, reportedly, looting of Haitian-owned residences.
Protesters rally in support of Palestine during a march to the White House, organized by Jewish Americans in support of a ceasefire and Palestinian liberation, in Washington, D.C., the United States, OCT. 16, 2023. (Photo by Aaron Schwartz / Xinhua)

Washington's foreign policy on the Palestinian issue has impeded the early resolution of the conflict, according to Middle Eastern political watchers, who warned that allowing the current hostilities in Gaza to persist will only intensify the vicious cycle of hatred and confrontation between Israel and Palestine, making it more difficult to achieve peaceful coexistence in the long run.

CAIRO, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Amid the escalating Israel-Hamas conflict and growing global calls for de-escalation and increased humanitarian aid for Gaza, U.S. President Biden's request to Congress for 14.3 billion U.S. dollars in military assistance to Israel has raised concerns.

Biden argued on Friday that this move would enhance Israel's security. However, analysts and critics worry that it could increase uncertainty in the Middle East, potentially harming Israeli security that Biden claimed to protect.

Washington's foreign policy on the Palestinian issue has impeded the early resolution of the conflict, according to Middle Eastern political watchers, who warned that allowing the current hostilities in Gaza to persist will only intensify the vicious cycle of hatred and confrontation between Israel and Palestine, making it more difficult to achieve peaceful coexistence in the long run.





DOMESTIC, INT'L BACKLASH

More than two weeks into the deadly conflict, the United States has not only bolstered its military presence in the Middle East but has also provided extensive military aid to Israel. Additionally, it has twice used veto power at the United Nations Security Council to block resolutions concerning the situation in Palestine.

These actions have stirred criticism, leading to protests both at home and abroad, including the resignation of Josh Paul, a senior official from the U.S. State Department, who believed the U.S. government's actions "an impulsive reaction" based on "intellectual bankruptcy."

Protesters rally in support of Palestine during a march to the White House, organized by Jewish Americans in support of a ceasefire and Palestinian liberation, in Washington, D.C., the United States, OCT. 16, 2023. (Photo by Aaron Schwartz / Xinhua)

The resigned official told U.S. media that many of his colleagues in the federal government and Congress shared similar sentiments and fully understood his decision to resign.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also acknowledged in a message last week to all State Department employees that the Israel-Hamas conflict had resulted in disagreements among U.S. diplomats, presenting both professional and emotional challenges.

Internationally, Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya accused the United States of "hypocrisy" and "double standards" after Washington vetoed Russia's draft calling for an immediate ceasefire and Brazil's draft calling for humanitarian pauses to allow full, safe and unhindered access for United Nations agencies and their partners.

Brazilian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Sergio Danese expressed deep disappointment over the Brazilian draft's failure to pass, and French Permanent Representative, Nicolas de Riviere, also voiced regret.

U.S. actions since the beginning of the conflict have also sparked protests globally, with citizens in multiple countries expressing their discontent. Demonstrations outside U.S. embassies in Jordan and Lebanon featured anti-U.S. slogans, while protests in Tehran saw the burning of Israeli and U.S. flags.

In the United States, hundreds of protesters packed the U.S. House of Representatives office building, calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestine and leading to arrests by the police.





ADDING FUEL TO THE FIRE

On Wednesday, Biden arrived in Israel to demonstrate his support for Israel, just hours after an explosion at a hospital in Gaza killed hundreds, further escalating tensions and resulting in the cancellation of a summit with Arab leaders.

The cancellation of the summit, which cut Biden's Middle East tour to a "mini visit" lasting less than eight hours, is seen as "an obvious message that the Arab countries don't welcome the U.S. president," said Mokhtar Gobashy, deputy chairman of the Cairo-based Arab Center for Political and Strategic Studies.

Gobashy stated that the Arab world is not happy with the White House's "unfair" foreign policy regarding Israel and Palestine, adding that it has a track record of adopting "unjust" foreign policies to serve its own interests.

"Anyone who sees one side as entirely blameless and the other as exclusively at fault has lost the credibility to act as an impartial arbiter," the Egyptian scholar noted.

Protesters rally in support of Palestine during a march to the White House, organized by Jewish Americans in support of a ceasefire and Palestinian liberation, in Washington, D.C., the United States, OCT. 16, 2023. (Photo by Aaron Schwartz / Xinhua)

While the United States presented itself as a main sponsor of the Palestine-Israel negotiations, it has in fact consistently failed to uphold its commitments over the years.

The pledges made by the Biden administration, such as advocating Israeli-Palestinian peace, reopening the consulate general responsible for Palestinian affairs in Jerusalem, and halting the Israeli settlement expansion, have remained unattended to. Despite endorsing a "two-state solution," the administration has taken little action toward achieving this goal.

"Washington does not care about what Arabs want" and only acts to serve its interests, said Markram Rabah, an academic at the American University of Beirut in Lebanon.

"What the United States has done now is calling for war," he said, noting that with two U.S. aircraft carriers patrolling the Mediterranean Sea, the region is now at a greater risk of a potential broader conflict than ever before.

Eyal Pinko, a political analyst at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, Bar Ilan University in Israel, also warned against a possible spillover of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

He pointed out that should a ground offensive in Gaza begin, a scenario many anticipate in the coming days, Palestinians in the West Bank, Lebanon's Hezbollah, and even the Houthis in Yemen will probably become involved in the conflict. 
There is a reason so many Jews cannot stop shaking right now. The concept of intergenerational trauma doesnt begin to describe the dark place into which this months attack plunged Jewish communities around the world.

On Oct. 7, a Jewish holiday, Hamas terrorists went house to house in southern Israel murdering and abducting children and grandparents, pulling them from their beds, displaying victims dead bodies online, in a massacre of at least 1,400 people. In at least one instance, terrorists were reported to have uploaded a video of the murder of one victim to her own social media account for her family to discover.

The feeling of deep dread that these atrocities stirred in Jews was horribly familiar. This is what Jewish history has all too often looked like: not civilians tragically killed in war but civilians publicly targeted, tortured and murdered, with the crimes put on public display. Accounts of past crowd-pleasing killings are folded into Jewish tradition; every Yom Kippur, we recount the public torture and execution of rabbis by their Roman oppressors in a packed second-century stadium. Those ancient stories are consistent with the experiences of the more immediate ancestors of nearly every Jew alive today.

Im not even talking about the Holocaust, which several of last weeks oldest escapees and victims also endured. (Far more Jews were killed on Oct. 7 than on Kristallnacht.) No, Im thinking of the Farhud pogrom in 1941 Baghdad, a two-day rampage in which hundreds of Jews were raped, tortured and murdered. Im thinking of the pogroms of 1918 to 1921 in Ukraine, in which an estimated 100,000 Jews were slaughtered in organized massacres reminiscent of this months attack.

Im thinking of the lynching of Leo Frank in Georgia in 1915, after which the delighted crowds snapshots of Franks body were made into postcards mailed around the country and pieces of his clothing were sold as souvenirs. Im thinking of how many of the earliest books off Europes first printing presses were about the executions of Jews accused of blood libel and of a 11th-century massacre of thousands of Jews in Islamic Spain encouraged by a poem calling for Jewish blood and of the paintings and illuminated manuscripts showing Jews who were burned alive by the Spanish Inquisition and during the Black Death  all crowd-pleasing events celebrated in popular media and art.

Even ancient Romans celebrated their destruction of Judea by issuing commemorative coins featuring a bound Jewish woman and inscribed with the words Judaea capta. The humiliation and murder of Jews have always made a great meme.

Many American Jews, like Jews around the world, are descendants of those who survived. Our ancestors, in one way or another, were the ones who either made lucky decisions or barely made it out alive from Lodz and Kyiv and Aleppo and Tehran.

For diaspora Jews, the recent attacks were not distant overseas events. As was true in ancient times, the ties between global Jewish communities and Israel are concrete, specific, intimate and personal. My New Jersey Jewish Federation has institutional ties with the southern Israeli town of Ofakim and its surrounding communities, sharing annual home stays with a place whose death toll from the attacks already exceeds that of the notorious Kishinev pogrom of 1903, in which 49 Jews were murdered. Millions of American Jews, not to mention Jews in Britain, France, Australia and elsewhere, have friends and relatives in Israel. Even if Hamas hadnt made it clear that it sees all Jews as targets, our connection is personal and all too real.

We spent days desperately scrolling to learn who among our acquaintances was dead, maimed or captive, connecting American hostages families with State Department contacts, attending panic-stricken online briefings and pooling resources and supplies for victims  all while fighting obtuse official statements from our own towns, schools, companies and universities that refused to mention the words Israel or Jews in referring to the largest single-day massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, lest some antisemite take offense at the existence of either.

We have tried to get our children off social media, shielding them from images of the violence. Weve held mass fasts, recited psalms and sung ancient prayers for the rescue of captives. And as we gather by the thousands despite our many contradictory opinions and despite the extra security required for our gatherings even here, we have returned to the words of our ancestors that have carried us through thousands of years: Be strong and courageous. Choose life.

Many of us were physically carrying those words during the weekend of the attack, celebrating Simhat Torah, a joyous holiday when congregations dance with Torah scrolls, read the Torahs final words and then scroll back to the beginning to start the book again.

As a child, I found this baffling. Why read the same story over and over, when we already know what happens? As an adult, I know that while the story doesnt change, we do. What defines Jewish life is not historys litany of horror but the Jewish peoples creative resilience in the face of it. In the wake of many catastrophes over millenniums, we have wrestled with God and one another, reinvented our traditions, revived our language, rebuilt our communities and found new meanings in our old stories of freedom and responsibility, each story animated by the improbable and unwavering belief that people can change.

Right now many of us feel trapped in this old, old story, doom-scrolling through images with terrible outcomes. But in our grief, I remind myself that each year as we finish the reading of the Torah, we immediately, at that very moment  and at the moment of this newest, oldest horror  scroll back to the story of creation and the invention of universal human dignity. We recall, once again, that every human is made in the divine image.

The story continues; we begin again.
Those of us who write about higher education can pay too much attention to Americas elite universities. Schools like Harvard, Yale and Stanford are seen as virtual cultural superpowers, and the battle over these schools is sometimes seen as a proxy for battles over the future of the country itself. Its not that this argument is wrong, exactly. Thats why Ive written about these schools myself. But its incomplete.

In rightly ascribing importance to the Harvards of the world, we can forget that other schools in other contexts also exercise immense influence, and their virtues and flaws can sometimes be more consequential than anything that happens in the Ivy League.

In fact, Id argue that the moral collapse at Liberty University in Virginia may well be the most consequential education scandal in the United States, not simply because the details themselves are shocking and appalling, but because Libertys misconduct both symbolizes and contributes to the crisis engulfing Christian America. It embodies a cultural and political approach that turns Christian theology on its head.

Last week, Fox News reported that Liberty is facing the possibility of an unprecedented $37.5 million fine from the U.S. Department of Education. The department has been investigating violations of the Clery Act, a federal statute that requires federally funded colleges and universities to publicly report data about campus crime. To put that number into perspective, consider that Michigan State University paid $4.5 million for its own systemic failure to respond to the infamous Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal, in which Nassar was convicted of sexually abusing dozens of women in his care. While Libertys fine is not yet set, the contents of a leaked Education Department report  first reported by Susan Svrluga in The Washington Post  leave little doubt as to why it may be this large.
To the Editor:

Re What Kind of Person Spends $1,000 on an SS Bowl?, by Menachem Kaiser (Opinion guest essay, Oct. 1):

Objects by themselves have no meaning. Context  the story the thing tells  transforms an object into an artifact. Trading in Nazi memorabilia is trading in Nazi history and ideology, an ideology of hate and violence whose foundational tenet was (and is) antisemitism. That ideology became state policy and led to genocide.

Pretending that these objects are just collectibles like Beanie Babies or Star Wars lightsabers dehumanizes the victims and glorifies the perpetrators. Hiding behind the Constitution does not make this practice less morally reprehensible.

Ruth Bergman

Farmington Hills, Mich.

To the Editor:

As the former executive director of the Buffalo Holocaust Resource Center, I am well aware of the thirst for Nazi paraphernalia in Western New York. Area antique marts often sell Nazi Lugers, swastika flags and used Nazi pearl-handled knives.

Many U.S. veterans of World War II from Western New York returned home with spoils of war, and some family members brought in horrific concentration camp liberation photos and Nazi flags found in the attic after their parents died.
This is potentially a completely different kind of problem than one weve ever faced, said Glenn S. Gerstell, a former general counsel of the National Security Agency and one of the authors of an expert consensus report on cryptology. It may be that theres only a 1 percent chance of that happening, but a 1 percent chance of something catastrophic is something you need to worry about.

The White House and the Homeland Security Department have made clear that in the wrong hands, a powerful quantum computer could disrupt everything from secure communications to the underpinnings of our financial system. In short order, credit card transactions and stock exchanges could be overrun by fraudsters; air traffic systems and GPS signals could be manipulated; and the security of critical infrastructure, like nuclear plants and the power grid, could be compromised.

The danger extends not just to future breaches but to past ones: Troves of encrypted data harvested now and in coming years could, after Q-Day, be unlocked. Current and former intelligence officials say that China and potentially other rivals are most likely already working to find and store such troves of data in hopes of decoding them in the future. European policy researchers echoed those concerns in a report this summer.

No one knows when, if ever, quantum computing will advance to that degree. Today, the most powerful quantum device uses 433 qubits, as the quantum equivalent of transistors are called. That figure would probably need to reach into the tens of thousands, perhaps even the millions, before todays encryption systems would fall.

But within the U.S. cybersecurity community, the threat is seen as real and urgent. China, Russia and the United States are all racing to develop the technology before their geopolitical rivals do, though it is difficult to know who is ahead because some of the gains are shrouded in secrecy.
Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina said on Sunday that he would not support a request from President Biden to package aid for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan and funding for border security, even though he has endorsed U.S. spending for each of those purposes.

I believe that leveraging the challenges in the war with Israel to get more assistance for Ukraine at that level of $60 billion is too much, and we need to have a single focus on bringing Congress together behind the support for Israel, Mr. Scott, a 2024 Republican candidate, said on This Week on ABC News.

At first, he indicated that his objection was mainly to the possibility of delaying aid to Israel by combining it with funding on which Congress is more divided. He said that he believed aid to Israel alone would pass overnight, and that a splintered package would be harder to pass.

But when the interviewer, Jonathan Karl, asked whether he would actually vote against the package if it came to the Senate floor, Mr. Scott said he would.

I will in the current construct, he said, adding that a longer process was needed to debate how much aid to send to Ukraine. Israel is at the beginning of a long, protracted war, he said. I think we are much better off, better served as a nation, focusing our resources and our attention immediately on Israel, and continuing to provide the kind of level of accountability and responsibility the American people want to see as it relates to the resources for Ukraine.

His campaign did not elaborate on his comments, and pointed to a CNN interview in which he said largely the same thing, criticizing the package for including more money for Ukraine than it does for Israel.
A center-right candidate appeared headed to victory in Venezuela on Monday in a primary election to choose an opposition candidate to compete in presidential elections next year  a vote that could prove pivotal to the fate of a country that has endured a decade of economic crisis and authoritarian governance.

With about 26 percent of the vote counted by Sunday night, Maria Corina Machado, a former member of the countrys legislature, had won 93 percent of the vote in a 10-candidate race among parties seeking to challenge the rule of President Nicolas Maduro, according to a commission overseeing the balloting. Her nearest competitor had drawn less than five percent of the vote.

Ms. Machado declared victory in a speech around midnight.

This is not the end yet, but it is the beginning of the end, she told supporters at an outdoor rally in Caracas, the capital. Today we have unleashed a very powerful force. Today we have shown ourselves what we are capable of doing.

The question now becomes whether the Maduro government will reverse its decision to disqualify Ms. Machado, 56, from running in next years race. Analysts say she would pose a significant electoral threat to the president.
Australias prime minister, Anthony Albanese, announced on Sunday that he would visit China early next month, meeting with its top leader, Xi Jinping. Such a visit would be the first by an Australian leader since 2016 and another sign of easing tensions between the two nations, along with the recent release of a detained Australian journalist and a breakthrough on talks aimed at removing staggering tariffs on Australian wine that China imposed three years ago.

China is Australias biggest overseas market, with exports and services to China forming nearly one-third of Australias overall trade. But that relationship suffered a heavy blow in April 2020, after the prime minister at the time, Scott Morrison, called for an independent investigation into the origin of Covid-19. In retaliation for what it called political games intended to assign blame for the pandemic, Beijing imposed punitive tariffs on Australian barley, beef, cotton, coal and wine.

In 2019, Australia had shipped wine with a value of $800 million to China; sales there dropped 97 percent in the first year after tariffs were imposed. As storage tanks overflowed, farmers faced a choice between selling grapes at a huge loss or keeping costs to a minimum and not harvesting.
A missile slammed into a postal depot overnight on the outskirts of Ukraines second largest city, Kharkiv, killing six workers and wounding at least 16 other employees, the Ukrainian authorities said.

The depot was in Korotych, one of the citys western suburbs, said Oleh Syniehubov, of the regional military administration, in a post on the Telegram messaging app. In a separate message, Ukraines prosecutors office accused Russian forces stationed across the border in the Belgorod region of firing a surface-to-air missile. The Ukrainian statements could not be independently confirmed.

A missile has just hit it, the private postal operator, Nova Poshta, said in a statement on Facebook that included video of bomb damage. There are dead and injured, including those seriously injured. They had no chance to run to the shelter, because the sirens sounded seconds before.

A similar video posted online by President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine showed emergency workers at the warehouse-style depot, which had been shattered by what appeared to be an explosion that had also damaged a series of delivery trucks. The blast had scattered shards of glass and metal over a parking lot.
It was 10 a.m. when the villagers, clutching empty plastic containers, lined up behind the tanker truck of drinking water. A cake shop owner arrived with four big jugs for his pastries. Workers from a retirement home carried two dozen bottles back on wheelchairs for their wards. And a mother of four loaded her trunk with fresh water to wash vegetables and cook pasta.

This is a disgrace, said Antonio Luque, the cake shop owner. We cant even wash dishes with tap water. Its very murky.

Spain has been blighted by a long-running drought, caused by record-high temperatures in 2022, a string of heat waves in 2023, and almost three years of reduced rainfall. Throughout the country, reservoirs have been depleted; in the worst-affected areas, they are at less than 20 percent of their capacity.

Human-caused global warming has made severe droughts such as those seen in Europe in recent years much more likely to occur, scientists have found.
Thousands of Russians who settled in Crimea or bought real estate there after it was annexed in 2014 are selling their properties, and prices have tumbled, said Lyudmyla Denisova, a former Ukrainian lawmaker who has family members living in Crimea.

Every successful Ukrainian strike complicates life in Crimea, she said.

The most devastating blows came in mid-September, when missiles struck a Russian submarine and a landing ship in the dry docks of the port of Sevastopol. A week later, the Ukrainians fired long-range Storm Shadow missiles into the command headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet, also in Sevastopol, wounding dozens of officers.

More Crimeans have come forward with offers of information to Ukrainian intelligence since that attack, said Sevgil Musaieva, the editor of the Kyiv-based daily Ukrainska Pravda, citing Ukrainian intelligence officials.

They were scared to share information before, she said, adding that now, maybe they expect that something will happen soon and they want to help the Ukrainian armed forces.

Alongside the missile strikes, the G.U.R. began its commando activities. In late July, its operatives took control of the Boyko Towers  a group of gas drilling rigs in the western Black Sea that Russia seized in 2014 but had since abandoned  and dismantled a surveillance antenna.
Twenty trucks loaded with humanitarian aid entered Gaza on Saturday through the Rafah crossing. Meanwhile, an int'l peace summit was held in Cairo on de-escalating armed conflict in the region.





Produced by Xinhua Global Service




Online posts asking to #PrayForPalestine. Entreaties for peace. Pleas to Free Gaza.

Over the last 10 days, a website called anti-israel-employees.com published more than 17,000 posts, which one of the people behind the site said had been taken mainly from LinkedIn. The site, which claimed to be a global live feed of potentially supportive sentiments for terrorism among company employees, listed thousands of people and grouped them by their workplaces, in an apparent attempt to shame them for their sentiments on the Israeli-Hamas conflict.

The website, which was taken offline for a day before being migrated to a new web address, named employees of major international corporations, including Amazon, Mastercard and Ernst & Young, and shared their profile photos, LinkedIn pages and posts.

Itai Liptz, a hedge fund manager who said he was one of the people behind the original site, said that its goal was to expose people who supported Hamas publicly.

We wanted to have it documented and a record, he said. If I work in this company, but I see my friends on LinkedIn celebrating and praising Hamas, then Im not feeling safe.

But the site also highlighted posts from people who did not explicitly show support for Hamas, according to posts seen by The New York Times. Some people used hash tags like #GazaUnderAttack or sought to draw attention to the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. The site asked users to submit posts that they believed should be exposed, and included a numeric hate score for companies.

The site, which was created 10 days ago, comes amid a wider debate over online expression during a fraught international conflict. Similar lists have also been created to track college students who have spoken out in support of Palestinians, while Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, said it took down nearly 800,000 pieces of Hebrew and Arabic language content for violating its rules in the three days after the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7.

Some people who were highlighted on the site have already deleted their LinkedIn posts or their LinkedIn profiles. Mr. Liptz, who said he did not expect the site to become as popular as it did after spreading via WhatsApp groups, called the far-ranging capture of all pro-Palestinian sentiment a mistake.

If somebody says Free Palestine that is totally OK, and we shouldnt put it on our website, he said on Saturday. We just want to make sure the filters are there because they have the right to say that.

The site, however, was back online on Sunday at a new web address and still displayed the posts and names of people that Mr. Liptz had said would be removed. Now located at an Israel-specific domain, the site is being overseen by Guy Ophir, a lawyer in Israel, who said the team moved it to a new address after receiving a cease-and-desist letter from LinkedIn.

A spokesman for LinkedIn said the company determined that the site had used automated programs to extract content from the platform, a practice known as scraping, which is a violation of its rules. Mr. Liptz denied that his site extracted the LinkedIn information through scraping, while Mr. Ophir said he believed that LinkedIn was trying to infringe on his right to free speech.

We are not going to remove the website, he said. We are willing to fight them here.

The site has been a subject of discussion at Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, and LinkedIn, where employees have expressed concern about the chilling effect it could have on online speech.

People are scraping pro-Palestine LinkedIn posts and adding them to a database of terror supporters, one employee wrote last Wednesday in a note on an internal Meta message board that was seen by The Times.

Other Meta employees were in disbelief that expressing support for Palestine was equated with supporting terrorism.

The lack of understanding, a Meta employee wrote, is beyond insensitive and cruel.
The Israeli authorities said on Sunday that they would evacuate 14 more Israeli villages near the northern border with Lebanon amid escalating tit-for-tat clashes between Israeli forces and Hezbollah, the powerful Lebanese militia, that have raised concerns that the Israel-Hamas war could ignite other regional confrontations.

Overall, more than 152,000 Israeli residents of cities, towns and villages near the borders of Gaza in the south and Lebanon in the north have evacuated their homes for safer parts of the country over the past two weeks, according to local Israeli authorities.

Haim Bibas, the chairman of the Federation of Local Authorities in Israel, who provided the figure, said it was likely to be the largest internal population displacement in the countrys 75-year history.

The scale of the displacement in Israel does not compare with that in Gaza, where an estimated 700,000 Palestinians in the northern half of the crowded coastal territory are believed to have heeded warnings from the Israeli military to move south amid an ongoing aerial bombardment. The United Nations said on Sunday that 1.4 million residents of Gaza were internally displaced overall. The total population of Gaza is more than two million people, while Israels population is over nine million.

The Israeli military said that over the past 24 hours, it had eliminated several squads of fighters trying to close in on Israeli positions and communities along the border with Lebanon and that Israel had attacked Hezbollah assets, observation points and military compounds across the border, including one from which a ground-to-air missile was fired at an Israeli drone. The claims had not been independently verified.

The pace of attacks appeared to be intensifying. On Sunday the Israeli military said it had fired back toward Lebanese territory after fighters launched anti-tank missiles against Israeli targets in three locations and said its aerial defense system had intercepted a drone approaching Israel from Lebanon.

We will keep responding to every attack, said Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, an Israeli military spokesman. Hezbollah should not come into this, he added, echoing messages conveyed by the American and Israeli leaderships that the Lebanese organization would do best to stay out of the fray.

Antony J. Blinken, the U.S. secretary of state, spoke with Najib Mikati, Lebanons caretaker prime minister, on Friday to affirm U.S. support for the Lebanese people and note growing concern over rising tensions along Lebanons southern border, the State Department said in a statement.

Mr. Blinken reiterated the importance of respecting the interests of the Lebanese people, who would be affected by Lebanon being drawn into the conflict instigated by Hamas terrorist attack on Israel.

Israelis who survived the deadly Oct. 7 assault by Hamas, the armed group that controls Gaza, on the villages closest to the border with the coastal enclave were evacuated by the authorities in the immediate aftermath of the incursion that left more than 1,400 people dead, most of them civilians. That area of southern Israel is now considered a closed military zone as Israeli troops mass along the border with Gaza in anticipation of an expected ground invasion of the territory.

A week ago, the Israeli authorities began a state-funded evacuation of the nearby city of Sderot. Out of a population of about 30,000, only a few hundred families chose to remain in their homes. On Friday Israel set in motion the evacuation of Kiryat Shmona, its northernmost city with a population of more than 20,000. On the recommendation of local authority heads, villages and towns within two kilometers of the northern border had already mostly emptied out in the days after the Hamas incursion.

Moshe Davidovich, the head of the Mateh Asher regional council in the far north, said about 50,000 residents had already left the north by Sunday morning and only emergency and security teams remained in the villages along the border. The plan announced on Sunday for the additional 14 villages expands the evacuation zone from two kilometers to three kilometers, or 1.9 miles, from the border.

Military officials said Sunday that the voluntary evacuations protected civilian lives and gave the army more freedom in the area.

Israels Ministry of Defense said about 120,000 Israelis participating in the government-sponsored plan were now staying in one of the 234 guesthouses and hotels across the country. Local authority officials said that hotel rooms were still available but that they were also beginning to prepare schools and other public facilities to accommodate evacuees in case of need.
The Israeli military carried out a rare airstrike on a mosque in the occupied West Bank overnight, killing at least two people in what Palestinian officials called a dangerous escalation.

The strike hit a mosque in the densely packed Palestinian refugee camp of Jenin in the northern West Bank. Israels military said it was targeting an underground terror compound beneath the mosque that it said was being used by Hamas and Islamic Jihad to organize an imminent attack. Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, an Israeli military spokesman, called the activity going on beneath the mosque a ticking time bomb. The claims had not been independently verified.

At least two people were killed and three others were injured, according to the Palestinian health ministry. Video from the scene showed significant damage to the mosque.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry called the strike a dangerous escalation in the use of warplanes, saying in a statement that Israel appeared to be bringing tactics used in the Gaza Strip to the occupied West Bank.

After a lull of nearly two decades, Israel resumed limited airstrikes in the West Bank in July, mostly by means of drones, during a two-day siege and assault on the Jenin refugee camp which the Israeli military said was aimed at rooting out armed groups.

Violence has been surging in the West Bank in the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks that Hamas, the armed group that controls Gaza, launched against Israel. The Palestinian Health Ministry in the West Bank said 90 Palestinians had been killed since Oct. 7 in the occupied territory in clashes with Israeli forces and attacks by armed Israeli settlers, by far the most in any two consecutive weeks this year. Israeli officers have arrested hundreds of Palestinians, according to Palestinian and Israeli accounts.

At least 52 Palestinians were arrested by Israeli security forces overnight during wide-scale raids, Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency, reported on Sunday. It said that most of the arrests were concentrated in and around the central city of Ramallah in the West Bank, adding that one of the detainees was Islam Al Tawil  the mayor of Al-Bireh, a city abutting Ramallah, and a former prisoner in Israeli jails.
An Israeli military reservist who was raised in Maryland was killed on Friday when anti-tank missile fire struck his unit near Israels northern border with Lebanon, the Israeli military said.

Omer Balva, 22, was among the 360,000 reservists that the Israeli government had mobilized in an immense increase in its military forces ahead of an expected ground invasion of Gaza.

Mr. Balva was a staff sergeant in the 9203rd battalion of the Alexandroni Brigade, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

He moved to Israel after graduating from high school in Rockville, Md., in 2019 and was a student at Reichman University in Herzliya, Israel, where he was studying for a degree in business administration and economics.

Ethan Missner, a close friend of Mr. Balvas since childhood, said that the two had talked almost daily for their entire lives, except when Mr. Balva was training with the Israeli military.

Since we were 6 years old, Ive spent, you know, endless time with him, he said.

I truthfully dont know a single person thats ever fought with Omer, Mr. Missner added. And I think that thats a superpower Omer had, that he can know and be close to so many people and he was just only sweet.

Mr. Balva was on vacation in the United States when he was called up to fight in Israel, Mr. Missner said. He said that Mr. Balva had been traveling with his girlfriend of four years, whom he had planned to propose to soon.
The U.S. military said it would send more missile defense systems to the Middle East in response to escalations from Iran and its allies, who have threatened a broader war in the region. The deployment comes as Israel continues to signal intentions to invade Gaza after Hamass deadly incursion earlier this month.

The United States is sending a Thaad battery and additional Patriot battalions, two of its most powerful weapons against missiles, to the region, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III said in a statement on Saturday. He did not specify where or how many battalions would be deployed, nor did he say how many troops would be told to prepare to deploy. The U.S.S. Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier will now be redirected to the Central Commands area of responsibility, the statement said, a region that encompasses much of the Middle East, including Israel and Lebanon.

Since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing at least 1,400 Israelis, the United States has increased its troop presence in the region and sent more military supplies to Israel as Israel prepares for a possible ground invasion of the Gaza Strip. President Biden, during a rare address from the Oval Office on Thursday, warned Iran and its allies to not join the war and has said he will seek an extra $14 billion in military aid for Israel from Congress.

Iran and its allies have sharpened their language against Israel and the United States in the past two weeks, threatening to open new fronts in the war if the United States becomes more involved. Last week, a U.S. Navy warship in the northern Red Sea shot down three cruise missiles and several drones launched from Yemen that the Pentagon said might have been headed toward Israel. The United States said that the projectiles are a sign of growing attacks by Iranian-backed forces in the region, including Houthi rebels in Yemen, highlighting the risk of a broader war in the region.
Follow our live updates for the House speaker nominee vote.

The position of speaker of the House has been vacant since early October amid Republican feuding that has left the chamber paralyzed.

House Republicans have elected two nominees for the job since a hard-right clutch of lawmakers toppled Speaker Kevin McCarthy. But both men  Representatives Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the No. 2 Republican, and Jim Jordan of Ohio  were forced to withdraw their candidacies after it became clear that neither could muster the 217 votes needed to win the position.

House Republicans cast aside Mr. Jordan as their nominee for speaker on Friday in a secret-ballot vote, essentially moving to begin the search for a new leader all over again. In the days since, a flood of lawmakers have thrown their hats in the ring for the top leadership post.

Heres a look at what comes next:

House Republicans met on Monday to hold a candidate forum for aspiring speaker nominees to present their visions for the conference.
Talk A Hospice Nurse on Embracing the Grace of Dying

A decade ago, Hadley Vlahos was lost. She was a young single mother, searching for meaning and struggling to make ends meet while she navigated nursing school. After earning her degree, working in immediate care, she made the switch to hospice nursing and changed the path of her life. Vlahos, who is 31, found herself drawn to the uncanny, intense and often unexplainable emotional, physical and intellectual gray zones that come along with caring for those at the end of their lives, areas of uncertainty that she calls the in-between. Thats also the title of her first book, which was published this summer. The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Lifes Final Moments is structured around her experiences  tragic, graceful, earthy and, at times, apparently supernatural  with 11 of her hospice patients, as well as her mother-in-law, who was also dying. The book has so far spent 13 weeks on the New York Times best-seller list. Its all been very surprising, says Vlahos, who despite her newfound success as an author and her two-million-plus followers on social media, still works as a hospice nurse outside New Orleans. But I think that people are seeing their loved ones in these stories.

What should more people know about death? I think they should know what they want. Ive been in more situations than you could imagine where people just dont know. Do they want to be in a nursing home at the end or at home? Organ donation? Do you want to be buried or cremated? The issue is a little deeper here: Someone gets diagnosed with a terminal illness, and we have a culture where you have to fight. Thats the terminology we use: Fight against it. So the family wont say, Do you want to be buried or cremated? because those are not fighting words. I have had situations where someone has had terminal cancer for three years, and they die, and I say: Do they want to be buried or cremated? Because Ive told the funeral home Id call. And the family goes, I dont know what they wanted. Im like, Weve known about this for three years! But no one wants to say: You are going to die. What do you want us to do? Its against that culture of Youre going to beat this.

Is it hard to let go of other peoples sadness and grief at the end of a day at work? Yeah. Theres this moment, especially when Ive taken care of someone for a while, where Ill walk outside and Ill go fill up my gas tank and its like: Wow, all these other people have no idea that we just lost someone great. The world lost somebody great, and theyre getting a sandwich. It is this strange feeling. I take some time, and mentally I say: Thank you for allowing me to take care of you. I really enjoyed taking care of you. Because I think that they can hear me.

The idea in your book of the in-between is applied so starkly: Its the time in a persons life when theyre alive, but death is right there. But were all living in the in-between every single moment of our lives. We are.

So how might people be able to hold on to appreciation for that reality, even if were not medically near the end? Its hard. I think its important to remind ourselves of it. Its like, you read a book and you highlight it, but you have to pick it back up. You have to keep reading it. You have to. Until it really becomes a habit to think about it and acknowledge it.

An image from Hadley Vlahoss TikTok account, where she often posts role-playing scenes and video tutorials. She has more than two million followers across social media. Screen grab from TikTok

Do these experiences feel religious to you? No, and that was one of the most convincing things for me. It does not matter what their background is  if they believe in nothing, if they are the most religious person, if they grew up in a different country, rich or poor. They all tell me the same things. And its not like a dream, which is what I think a lot of people think it is. Like, Oh, I went to sleep, and I had a dream. What it is instead is this overwhelming sense of peace. People feel this peace, and they will talk to me, just like you and I are talking, and then they will also talk to their deceased loved ones. I see that over and over again: They are not confused; theres no change in their medications. Other hospice nurses, people who have been doing this longer than me, or physicians, we all believe in this.

But youve made a choice about what you believe. So what makes you believe it? I totally get it: People are like, I dont know what youre talking about. So, OK, medically someones at the end of their life. Many times  not all the time  there will be up to a minute between breaths. That can go on for hours. A lot of times there will be family there, and youre pretty much just staring at someone being like, When is the last breath going to come? Its stressful. What is so interesting to me is that almost everyone will know exactly when it is someones last breath. That moment. Not one minute later. We are somehow aware that a certain energy is not there. Ive looked for different explanations, and a lot of the explanations do not match my experiences.

That reminds me of how people say someone just gives off a bad vibe. Oh, I totally believe in bad vibes.

But I think there must be subconscious cues that were picking up that we dont know how to measure scientifically. Thats different from saying its supernatural. We might not know why, but theres nothing magic going on. You dont have any kind of doubts?

For the dying people who dont experience what you describe  and especially their loved ones  is your book maybe setting them up to think, like: Did I do something wrong? Was my faith not strong enough? When Im in the home, I will always prepare people for the worst-case scenario, which is that sometimes it looks like people might be close to going into a coma, and they havent seen anyone, and the family is extremely religious. I will talk to them and say, In my own experience, only 30 percent of people can even communicate to us that they are seeing people. So I try to be with my families and really prepare them for the worst-case scenario. But that is something I had to learn over time.

Have you thought about what a good death would be for you? I want to be at home. I want to have my immediate family come and go as they want, and I want a living funeral. I dont want people to say, This is my favorite memory of her, when Im gone. Come when Im dying, and lets talk about those memories together. There have been times when patients have shared with me that they just dont think anyone cares about them. Then Ill go to their funeral and listen to the most beautiful eulogies. I believe they can still hear it and are aware of it, but Im also like, Gosh, I wish that before they died, they heard you say these things. Thats what I want.

You know, I have a really hard time with the supernatural aspects, but I think the work that you do is noble and valuable. Theres so much stuff we spend time thinking about and talking about that is less meaningful than what it means for those close to us to die. I have had so many people reach out to me who are just like you: I dont believe in the supernatural, but my grandfather went through this, and I appreciate getting more of an understanding. I feel like Im not alone. Even if theyre also like, This is crazy, people being able to feel not alone is valuable.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity from two conversations.

David Marchese is a staff writer for the magazine and the columnist for Talk. He recently interviewed Alok Vaid-Menon about transgender ordinariness, Joyce Carol Oates about immortality and Robert Downey Jr. about life after Marvel.
Judge Andrew Cody was briefed on alleged threats against him and his family at a sitting of Portlaoise District Court.

Judge Cody was due to hear the case of a juvenile when Garda Sergeant JJ Kirby informed him that there were matters he should be aware of.

The boy, aged 15, who cannot be named due to his age, appeared before the court accused of a robbery and attempted robbery of two business premises in a Laois town on June 8 last.

Judge Cody noted the teenager had previously linked up with an anti-Tusla group who were attempting to take him out of the jurisdiction.

The defendants social worker told the court that he was aware of alleged threats by the teen to Judge Cody and his family.

Garda Sergeant JJ Kirby asked to brief Judge Cody in relation to the allegations in the Judges chambers.

Suzanne Dooner BL objected to the request.

I am not sure of the content of what would be said in chambers, she stated.

Sgt Kirby said that as officer in charge of security in the court he wanted to speak with Judge Cody.

He is entitled to give me advice and to do so in private, said Judge Cody.

Ms Dooner said she should be aware of what is being discussed.

I will certainly give Ms Dooner an overview, said Sgt Kirby.

Following a short break, Judge Cody said Sgt Kirby came in to see me to raise an issue regarding security.

Threats had been made regarding my personal safety and that of my family, he said.

Judge Cody said Sgt Kirby had an obligation to inform the Judge about the threats.

Ms Dooner maintained her objection to the issue being raised in chambers.

I ask this court to recuse themselves of this matter, she said.

She said this was necessary in terms of impartiality in the case.

Judge Cody agreed to have another Judge deal with the matter.

He remanded the teenager on bail to reappear before Portlaoise District Court on January 22 for DPP directions.
23,000 Devotees Celebrate Ashtami at Ancient Nag Temple in J&K's Doda District

More than 23,000 devotees converged at the ancient Nag temple atop a hill in Jammu and Kashmirs Doda district to celebrate Ashtami, the eighth day of ongoing Navratra festival.

India

-Krishna Kripa

More than 23,000 devotees converged at the ancient Nag temple atop a hill in Jammu and Kashmirs Doda district to celebrate Ashtami, the eighth day of the ongoing Navratra festival. Ashtami is celebrated as the birth anniversary of Bhuja goddess, also known as Sheetla Mata, by the snake worshippers living here.

Temple's History and Significance

Located on a mountain pass, 43 km away from Bhaderwah town, the temple is believed to have its origins in Mughal emperor Babars era. According to local belief, the goddess is the sister of the principal deity of Bhaderwah, Lord Vasuki Nag and her birthday falls on the 8th day of Navratra.

Traditional Celebrations

The traditional celebrations started early in the morning with the opening of kewaars doors of the historic temple and the Nagas sacrificed dozens of sheep to the deity as per their ancient custom. Phulail Singh, a temple committee member, said Navratri is incomplete without paying obeisance to the goddess on Ashtami at Rehoshra.

Devotees' Trek and Holy Mace Procession

The devotees had to trek 11 km of hilly terrain to reach the temple, where Charri Mubarak holy mace from Chinta, Shourara, Nalthi, Chirala, Sunarthawa, Atalgarh, Rainda, Puneja, Billawar and Baniand Dalain reached around noon, marking the Ashtami celebrations with the traditional Dekhu dance.

Importance of the Festival

This festival also gives us a chance to meet our relatives and friends before four months of dull life winter during which we mostly remain indoors, said Sundroo 16, a devotee from Chinta.

Arrangements for Devotees

Volunteers of Chinchora and Chinta village served langar to devotees while the administration had made adequate security arrangements for the safety of the devotees.

The Ashtami celebrations at the ancient Nag temple in J&K's Doda district showcase the deep-rooted traditions and devotion of the local snake worshippers. The festival brings together thousands of devotees and serves as a reminder of the region's rich cultural heritage.
Akhilesh Yadav's 'PDA Ka Inquilab' Signals New Twist In Rift With INDIA Ally Congress

India

oi-Stuti Tripathi

The alliance between the Samajwadi Party (SP) and their ally in the INDIA bloc, the Congress, witnessed another twist on Sunday, 22nd October as SP president Akhilesh Yadav made a significant move by reverting to using the 'PDA' term.

After days of taking subtle jabs at the grand old party, Yadav shared a photo on X (formerly Twitter) depicting an SP worker with their back painted in the party's signature red and green colors, along with a message in Hindi.

"Mission 2024. May Netaji (late Mulayam Singh Yadav) remain immortal. 'PDA' will ensure Akhilesh Yadav wins the election this time. Akhilesh Yadav will ensure the poor get justice," read the message on the back of the SP worker.

Yadav posted the photo with the caption, "The 2024 polls will be [the] PDA's revolution."

The term 'PDA' translates to 'Pichada (backwards), Dalits, and Alpasankhyaks (minorities)'. Yadav has stressed that his party's strategy is focused on these sections of society, and the PDA aims to defeat the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

'Absence of CBI, ED Cases Against KCR Questionable': Rahul Gandhi Alleging 3-Party Nexus In Telangana

This isn't the first time Yadav mentioned 'PDA'; he also referred to it on Saturday, 21st October, during a public awareness campaign in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh. The former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister emphasized that the PDA was formed first, and the INDIA alliance followed. While the grand Opposition alliance remains, the SP's primary focus is on the PDA, according to news agency ANI.

TENSIONS IN SP-CONGRESS RELATIONS:

The relationship between the SP and the Congress has been strained in recent times, with Yadav expressing dissatisfaction over the failure to establish a seat-sharing strategy for the upcoming Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections. The SP had hoped to form an alliance to challenge the BJP government in the state. However, no such alliance materialized, and Yadav has deemed it a "betrayal," publicly criticizing his INDIA ally.

On Saturday, the SP chief urged the Congress to be straightforward and declare whether they no longer require the support of Samajwadis. "I promise you that we will not talk about an alliance even once and will prepare to defeat the BJP on our own," he stated, while urging the Congress to avoid conspiracies and betrayals.

Yadav also responded to former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and state Congress president Kamal Nath's 'Akhilesh Vakhilesh' remark, sarcastically pointing out that the latter's name contains 'Kamal' (lotus), which is the official symbol of the BJP.

If Congress Behaves Like This, Who Will Stand With Them: Akhilesh Yadav On MP Poll Row

The ongoing tension between the SP and Congress raises doubts about the future of the INDIA bloc, just months ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Meanwhile, the SP unveiled its third list of two candidates on Thursday, 19th October, bringing the total to 33 names announced for the 17th November polls in the 230-member assembly in Madhya Pradesh. The Congress, on the other hand, has announced its candidates for 229 seats.
OSLO, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Norway has finalized a fisheries agreement for 2024 with Russia through digital discussions, which is viewed as Norway's paramount bilateral fisheries contract.

"We're pleased to solidify a fisheries agreement with Russia, especially considering the exceptional circumstances this year," Norway's Fisheries and Oceans Minister Cecilie Myrseth said in a statement on Saturday.

"It forms the bedrock for preserving cod stocks, as well as other species in the Barents Sea," said Myrseth, adding that the pact is integral to ensuring sustainable marine management in the northern regions.

According to the agreement, the northeast Arctic cod's total quota for 2024 stands at 453,427 metric tons, a 20-percent decline from the current year. Norway's cod quota for 2024 will be 212,124 metric tons.

Norway and Russia also reached consensus on extending their collaborative efforts to devise management guidelines for capelin, prawns, turbot and halibut, the minister said. 
Tell me if view on Savarkar is yours or that of Shiv Sena: Chavan on Rauts comments

Ashok Chavan asks Maharashtra govt to list steps taken on Maratha quota demand

Former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan on Sunday asked the state government to list the steps it has taken in the last month regarding the Maratha quota demand.

India

-Krishna Kripa

Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan has called on the state government to provide a list of steps taken in the past month regarding the Maratha quota demand. The senior Congress leader made the demand on Sunday, October 22nd, following the suicide of a Maratha quota activist in Nanded district.

Maratha Activist Manoj Jarange's Ultimatum

Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange had given the state government an ultimatum of 40 days to award quota to Marathas, which expires on Tuesday, October 25th. On Sunday, Jarange threatened to widen the scope of the stir and launch an indefinite fast from October 25th, seeking reservation for Marathas in government jobs and education under the OBC category.

State Government's Response

The state government has issued an advertisement in prominent newspapers listing various schemes being implemented for the Maratha community. It also mentioned the benefits being given to the Maratha community in jobs and student admission under the EWS (Economically Weaker Section) quota.

Maratha Quota Activist Sunil Kawale's Suicide

On October 19th, the body of Maratha quota activist Sunil Kawale was found hanging from a lamp post along a flyover in Mumbai's Bandra area. He had left behind a suicide note seeking a quota for the community.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Statement

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has said his government is committed to giving reservations in jobs and education to the Maratha community. He urged the youth not to take extreme steps like suicide.

The Maratha quota issue has been a long-standing demand, and the recent suicides of Maratha quota activists have brought it back into the spotlight. The state government has taken some steps to address the issue, but it remains to be seen whether these measures will be enough to satisfy the demands of the Maratha community.
Governments Will Have To Talk To Each Other And See How They Take It Forward: Jaishankar On India-Canada Row

Canadian Personnel's Continuous Interference In Our Affairs Raised Concerns: EAM Jaishankar

India

oi-Stuti Tripathi

On Sunday, 22nd October, India's External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar, addressed the invocation of diplomatic parity with Canada, citing "concerns about continuous interference in our affairs by Canadian personnel."

This move to establish parity, Jaishankar noted, is consistent with the Vienna Convention, the relevant international guideline in diplomatic relations.

He said, "Parity is very much provided for by the Vienna Convention, which is the relevant international rule on this. But in our case, we invoked parity because we had concerns about continuous interference in our affairs by Canadian personnel," as quoted by India Today.

Regarding the extent of Canadian diplomatic interference in Indian affairs, Jaishankar remarked that much of the information on this matter remains undisclosed. He suggested that with time, more details may emerge, shedding light on why India had experienced discomfort with certain Canadian personnel.

Jaishankar noted, "My sense is over a period of time more stuff will come out and people will understand why we had the kind of discomfort with many of them which we did,"

Jaishankar also discussed the strained ties between India and Canada, expressing hope that the situation would improve, allowing Indian diplomats to fulfill their basic duties confidently. He emphasized the paramount importance of ensuring the safety and security of diplomats, a fundamental aspect of the Vienna Convention.

Presently, there are concerns that Indian diplomats and personnel are not safe in Canada, which challenges the conventions of diplomatic relations. "Ensuring safety and security of diplomats is the most fundamental aspect of the Vienna Convention. And right now that is what has in many ways been challenged in Canada that our people are not safe, our diplomats are not safe," added the foreign minister.

In response to Canada's withdrawal of 41 diplomats and their subsequent remarks, India rejected any portrayal of the implementation of diplomatic parity as a violation of international norms.

The Indian External Affairs Ministry issued a statement underscoring that the state of bilateral relations, the higher number of Canadian diplomats in India, and their continued interference in India's internal affairs justified establishing parity in mutual diplomatic presence in New Delhi and Ottawa.

The minister further said, "The state of our bilateral relations, the much higher number of Canadian diplomats in India, and their continued interference in our internal affairs warrant a parity in mutual diplomatic presence in New Delhi and Ottawa"

This diplomatic dispute originated in September when India requested that Canada reduce its diplomatic presence following Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's statement, which suggested a potential link between Indian agents and the murder of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey in June this year.

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Story first published: Sunday, October 22, 2023, 19:50 [IST]
Governments Will Have To Talk To Each Other And See How They Take It Forward: Jaishankar On India-Canada Row

'Difficult Phase': EAM Jaishankar On Why India Stopped Visa Services For Canadians

India

oi-Stuti Tripathi

India's External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar, has acknowledged that the relationship between India and Canada is currently undergoing a challenging phase. On Sunday, 22nd October, he cited concerns about the safety of Indian diplomats working in Canada as the primary reason for India's decision to temporarily suspend visa services for Canadian nationals.

ANI quoted the minister explaining, "The relationship right now is going through a difficult phase. But I do want to say the problems we have are with a certain segment of Canadian politics and the policies which flow from that. Right now the big concern which people have is on visas. Some weeks ago, we stopped issuing visas in Canada because it was no longer safe for our diplomats to go to work to issue visas. So their safety and security was the primary reason we had to temporarily stop the issue of visas."

He stressed the importance of ensuring the safety and security of diplomats, a fundamental aspect of the Vienna Convention. Jaishankar expressed his hope that the situation would improve, allowing Indian diplomats to resume their duties with greater confidence.

"We're tracking it very closely. My hope, my expectation is that situation would improve in the sense that our people would have greater confidence in being able to do their basic duty as diplomats. Because ensuring safety and security of diplomats is the most fundamental aspect of the Vienna Convention", he said.

India suspended visa services for Canadian nationals in September amid heightened tensions between the two countries.

The foreign minister went on further to add, "And right now that is what has in many ways been challenged in Canada that our people are not safe, our diplomats are not safe. So if we see progress there, I would like very much to resume the issue of visas. My hope would be that it would be something which should happen very soon"

Jaishankar had earlier also explained that the decision to invoke diplomatic parity with Canada, which led to the withdrawal of 41 Canadian diplomats, was prompted by "continuous interference" in India's affairs by Canadian personnel. Canada's Prime Minister had criticized India's actions, labeling them a violation of the Geneva Convention.

Diplomatic relations between India and Canada became strained after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a statement suggesting a "potential link" between the murder of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar and the Indian government. Nijjar was killed in June outside a gurdwara in Canada by two unidentified assailants, leading to a deterioration in the relationship between the two nations.

The Indian government is closely monitoring the situation and, once they are satisfied with the safety of their diplomats, hopes to resume visa issuance for Canadian nationals, which could happen in the near future.

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Story first published: Sunday, October 22, 2023, 22:37 [IST]
India Sends Aid For War-Torn Gaza Via Egypt's Rafah Border

India

oi-Prakash KL

India on Sunday sent humanitarian aid for the people of Palestine, comprising medical aid and disaster relief material, the Ministry of External Affairs said.

The consignments were sent in a C-17 transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force. The plane is transporting the aid to El-Arish airport in Egypt.

"India sends Humanitarian aid to the people of Palestine. An IAF C-17 flight carrying nearly 6.5 tonnes of medical aid and 32 tonnes of disaster relief material for the people of Palestine departs for El-Arish airport in Egypt," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on X.

"The material includes essential life-saving medicines, surgical items, tents, sleeping bags, tarpaulins, sanitary utilities, water purification tablets among other necessary items," he said.

Fluids and painkillers have been included in humanitarian aid for immediate relief. The disaster relief material weighing approximately 32 tons includes tents, sleeping bags, tarpaulins, basic sanitary utilities, water purification tablets etc., according to ANI.

On Saturday, a total of 20 trucks carrying humanitarian aid were granted entry into the Gaza Strip through Egypt's Rafah border. Nevertheless, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus issued a warning, stating that the needs within the enclave, home to over 2 million people, far exceed the current aid efforts.

He also called for the "safe passage of additional aid convoys into the enclave." The Rafah border crossing briefly opened on Saturday morning to facilitate the entry of 20 aid trucks from Egypt. While this temporary reopening has been met with approval, human rights organizations have emphasized the necessity for a much larger quantity of aid.

On X, Ghebreyesus stated, "@WHO medical supplies crossed the Rafah border. But the needs are far higher. To meet the urgent health needs of all people in Gaza, we call for: -safe passage of additional aid convoys across the enclave -protection of all humanitarian workers -sustained access for health aid."

On Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a telephone conversation with Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas to convey condolences over the loss of civilian lives in an attack on the Al Ahli hospital in Gaza.

During the phone call, PM Modi assured him that India will continue to send humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians. "Spoke to President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas. Conveyed my condolences at the loss of civilian lives at the Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza. We will continue to send humanitarian assistance for the Palestinian people. Shared our deep concern at the terrorism, violence and deteriorating security situation in the region," the PM said on X.

"Reiterated India's long-standing principled position on the Israel-Palestine issue," the Prime Minister added.

This was the Prime Minister's first conversation with Abbas since Hamas carried out the unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7.

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Story first published: Sunday, October 22, 2023, 12:20 [IST]
Amit Shah Says No Loss Of Lives During Cyclone Biparjoy In Gujarat

Cyclone 'Tej' Positions Itself in Southwest Arabian Sea, Expected To Strengthen Even More Near Yemen And Oman

Know All About Cyclone Tej In Arabian Sea & Hamoon In Bay Of Bengal As Indian Seas Witness Twin Storms

India

oi-Stuti Tripathi

In a rather unusual meteorological occurrence, both the Indian seas, the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea, have sprung to life with stormy activities. Weather experts are now predicting the formation of twin cyclones, a phenomenon last observed back in 2018 when cyclones Luban and Titli emerged simultaneously over the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, respectively.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), a cyclone named 'Tej' is currently developing in the Arabian Sea, while a cyclone known as 'Hamoon' is in its early stages within the Bay of Bengal.

ABOUT CYCLONE TEJ:

Cyclone Tej, over the Arabian Sea, is expected to intensify into an extremely severe cyclonic storm later in the day today, as indicated in the IMD's recent Twitter post on Sunday, 22nd October 2023.

The bulletin reported that Cyclone Tej had been moving west-northwestward at a speed of 18 kmph during the past six hours and was centered over the southwest Arabian Sea at 5:30 am on Sunday, 22nd October. The bulletin further stated, "It is very likely to move west-northwestwards and intensify further into a very severe cyclonic storm during the next 12 hours."

Heavy rainfall is likely over Kerala and Tamil Nadu for the next 2 days as per a press release by the IMD.

The forecast suggests that Tej will eventually track toward the south coast of Oman and adjacent Yemen, as stated earlier by the IMD.

ABOUT CYCLONE HAMOON:

Simultaneously, cyclone 'Hamoon' is forming in the Bay of Bengal and is currently in a nascent stage, moving in proximity to the Andhra coast. The Amaravati unit of IMD reported the formation of a low-pressure area over the southwest and adjoining southeast Bay of Bengal, with the depression likely to intensify into a cyclonic storm over the West Central Bay of Bengal around 23rd October, according to the IMD.

Private weather forecast service Skymet expects this system to evolve into a cyclonic storm by Tuesday, 24th October.

HOW WILL THEY IMPACT YOU?

These two cyclones, named 'Tej' by India and 'Hamoon' by Iran, following the naming convention for cyclones in the Indian Ocean Region, will be separated by a considerable distance of over 2500 kilometers.

Given their substantial distance from each other, they are expected to follow their distinct tracks independently, according to Skymet's forecast.

As for the impact of these cyclones on Indian weather, it is anticipated to be relatively minor. A slight change in weather conditions may be observed in Chennai and the coastal regions of Tamil Nadu, but as they move further away, any significant effects on India's weather are not expected.

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Story first published: Sunday, October 22, 2023, 19:00 [IST]
MP Elections: Congress Banks On Muslim Votes In At Least 22 Seats

India

oi-PTI

In the binary politics of Madhya Pradesh dominated by the BJP and Congress, the 'Muslim vote factor' may be insignificant unlike Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, but the minority vote may prove crucial in at least 22 seats in the event of a neck-and-neck contest in the next month's assembly polls.

According to Mohammed Mahir, convenor of Madhya Pradesh Muslim Vikas Parishad who belongs to Congress, the Grand Old Party's vote share in the 2018 assembly polls went up by least 3-4 per cent enabling it to narrowly surge ahead of the BJP. He said MP Congress chief Kamal Nath had said in 2018 that the party could form a government if 90 per cent of minority votes are polled in the party's favour.

"On Nath's appeal, minority votes were polled for Congress and the result was 10-12 more seats being added to the party' kitty which the party had failed to win in 2008 and 2013," Mahir claimed. Notably, the vote share of the BJP (41.02 per cent) was slightly higher than the Congress (40.89 per cent) in the previous polls even though Congress had emerged as the single largest party winning 114 out of 230 seats, restricting the BJP to 109.

The Congress subsequently formed a coalition government with the support of MLAs from the SP and BSP and Independents. The government, however, collapsed after 15 months due to defection by Congress MLAs. A two-party system prevails in Madhya Pradesh with the balance tilted in favour of majoritarian, Mahir told PTI. "Whenever voters get angry with the BJP, they elect a Congress government and vice-versa. Muslim population in Madhya Pradesh is 7 per cent according to the 2011 Census which might be 9-10 per cent now.

The Muslim vote is effective in 47 assembly seats while they are a deciding factor in 22 segments," he claimed. According to Mahir, these 47 seats have Muslim voters between 5,000 to 15,000, while their number ranges from 15,000 to 35,000 in 22 assembly segments. "This means Muslim voters are a deciding factor in 22 seats in case of a neck-and-neck contest. These seats include three segments from Bhopal, two in Indore, Burhanpur, Jaora and Jabalpur among others," he added.

Mahir claimed the traditional Congress vote (which also includes non-Muslims) is not getting transferred to their candidates and it is the party's responsibility to take such electors to the booths to ensure the victory of candidates from the minority community. According to Mahir, the Muslim representation in the Madhya Pradesh assembly has remained restricted to Bhopal North and Bhopal Central seats over the years.

Notably, after a gap of almost two decades, the MP assembly saw two MLAs from the Muslim community- Arif Aqueel and Arif Masood of Congress- getting elected in the 2018 elections from Bhopal North and Bhopal Central constituencies, respectively. In the 1998 assembly polls, Arif Aqueel and Sayeed Ahmed won from the Bhopal North and Satna constituencies, respectively. In 2003, Hameed Qazi was elected from Burhanpur.

The Bhopal North seat, currently represented by Arif Aqueel, stands out for electing Muslim MLAs in the last four decades, barring 1993, in favour of Congress. After winning the Bhopal Central segment post delimitation in 2008 and 2013, the BJP lost to Arif Masood of Congress who defeated sitting MLA Surendra Nath Singh in 2018. Congress veteran Arif Aqueel, 71, has been representing the Bhopal North seat since 1990, except in 1993.

Mahir said BJP's experiment to field leaders from the Muslim community in 2013 and 2018 from the Bhopal North constituency failed to click. In the forthcoming assembly elections, Congress has given a ticket to Arif Aqueel's son, Atif Aqueel, in view of his father's health condition. Atif will challenge former city mayor and BJP nominee Alok Sharma. Arif Masood is again in the fray from Bhopal Central on a Congress ticket against Dhruv Narayan Singh, who had first won the constituency for the saffron party in 2008.

Mahir claims Bhopal North is not a Muslim-dominated seat and Arif Aqueel could emerge victorious only due to the support from non-Muslim voters, who are traditionally loyal to the Grand Old Party. It is the party's responsibility to take such electors to the booth to ensure minority candidates' victory, he said. "All these factors are reducing the Muslim representation in Madhya Pradesh," he said and listed names of several Muslim leaders who had won polls from Ujjain, Jabalpur central, Satna, and Burhanpur among others in the past.

Speaking on Muslim participation in electoral politics, Madhya Pradesh Wakf Board chairman and BJP spokesman Sanwar Patel alleged the Congress had cheated minorities. "The Congress wants 90-100 per cent vote share by fielding two candidates in the state even though it has done nothing for the Muslim community in 53 years of its rule in the state (until 2003)," he told PTI. Patel said the BJP had not only given tickets to candidates from the minority community but also ensured the socio-economic growth of Muslims, who he said remained backwards when Congress was in power.

"The BJP believes in inclusiveness and ensures participation of Muslims, their healthcare and overall development," he added. Senior journalist Girja Shankar said minorities cannot impact Madhya Pradesh politics much.

"Though minority voters are influential in Burhanpur, Ashta, Ratlam, and Indore, Bhopal is an exception as far as the concentration of their votes is concerned," he said, adding that unlike UP and Bihar, the Muslim factor has no impact on Madhya Pradesh electoral politics. He said the BJP had failed to draw Muslim votes due to a strong divide in Bhopal North in past elections. Polling in Madhya Pradesh will be held on November 17 and votes will be counted on December 3.
Foxconn Subjected To Tax Inspections By Chinese Authorities

International

oi-PTI

Foxconn, a Fortune 500 company known globally for making Apple iPhones, was recently subjected to searches by Chinese tax authorities, state media reported Sunday. Foxconn, a Taiwanese -headquartered company officially registered as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd, had its offices in Guangdong and Jiangsu provinces searched by tax officials, according to a report in the Chinese state-run Global Times newspaper.

The Ministry of Natural Resources also inspected Foxconn offices in Henan and Hubei provinces, where the company has major factories. Foxconn employs hundreds of thousands of workers across China.

The report did not provide more details about the searches, including when they occurred or what was found. However, the report quotes an expert who said that "while Taiwan-funded enterprises, including Foxconn, are sharing in dividends from development and making remarkable progress in the mainland, they should also assume corresponding social responsibilities and play a positive role in promoting the peaceful development of cross-strait relations."

Tensions have been high between China and Taiwan in recent years. China claims the democratic self-governing island of Taiwan as part of its own territory. The sides split in 1949 after a civil war and have no official relations but are linked by billions of dollars in trade and investment. The Chinese Communist Party regularly flies fighter planes and bombers near Taiwan to enforce its stance that the island is obliged to unite with the mainland, by force if necessary.

The tensions have occasionally spilled over into the economic realm. In recent years, China has banned pineapples, grouper fish and other agricultural products from Taiwan for import. However, it has largely refrained from targeting Taiwanese companies that operate on the mainland. Foxconn does the vast majority of its manufacturing in China. The company did not respond to a request for comment.

The company's founder, Terry Gou, announced in August that he would be running as a candidate in Taiwan's presidential elections, which will be held early next year. He then resigned from his seat on the board of Foxconn. Gou is seen as a China-friendly candidate whose politics mostly align with the Kuomingtang, the island's current opposition party.

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Story first published: Sunday, October 22, 2023, 11:55 [IST]
Biden On Hamas Attack: They Knew I Was About To Sit Down With The Saudis

International

pti-PTI

President Joe Biden said Friday he thought Hamas was motivated to attack Israel in part by a desire to stop that country from normalising relations with Saudi Arabia. One of the reasons ... why Hamas moved on Israel, is because they knew I was about to sit down with the Saudis, Biden said at a campaign fundraiser.

The US president indicated that he thinks Hamas militants launched a deadly assault on Oct 7 because, Guess what? The Saudis wanted to recognise Israel and were near being able to formally do so. Jerusalem and Riyadh had been steadily inching closer to normalisation, with Biden working to help bring the two countries together, announcing plans in September at the Group of 20 summit in India to partner on a shipping corridor.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Biden on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September and told him, I think that under your leadership, Mr President, we can forge a historic peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

The Saudis had been insisting on protections and expanded rights for Palestinian interests as part of any broader agreement with Israel. An agreement would have been a feat of diplomacy that could have enabled broader recognition of Israel by other Arab and Muslim-majority nations that have largely opposed Israel since its creation 75 years ago in territory where Palestinians have long resided.

But talks were interrupted after Hamas militants stormed from the blockaded Gaza Strip where Palestinians live into nearby Israeli towns.

The Oct. 7 attack coincided with a major Jewish holiday. It led to retaliatory airstrikes by Israel that have left the world on edge with the U.S. trying to keep the war from widening, as 1,400 Israelis and 4,137 Palestinians have been killed. Hamas also captured more than 200 people as hostages after the initial assault.

The normalisation push began under former President Donald Trump's administration and was branded as the Abraham Accords. It is an ambitious effort to reshape the region and boost Israel's standing in historic ways.

But critics have warned that it skips past Palestinian demands for statehood. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said soon after the Hamas attacks that the militant group's leadership may have been driven in part by a desire to scuttle the United States' efforts at the sealing of diplomatic relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia Such a pact between Jerusalem and Riyadh would be a legacy-defining achievement for Biden, Netanyahu and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Ready To Respond If US Personnel Become Targets Of Israel-Hamas War: Blinken, Austin

Armita, 16-Year Old Dies After Being Allegedly Attacked By Iranian Morality Police For Not Wearing Headscarf

Girl Allegedly Attacked By Iran Police For Not Wearing Hijab Is Now Brain Dead

International

oi-Stuti Tripathi

A teenage girl in Iran, Armita Geravand who fell into a coma after an alleged encounter with police officers earlier this month, is now in a "brain dead" state, as reported by Iranian state media today.

The Islamic Republic of Iran News Network stated, "Follow-ups on the latest health condition of Armita Geravand indicate that her health condition as brain dead seems certain despite the efforts of the medical staff."

Armita Geravand's situation became dire after she lapsed into a coma following a reported confrontation with authorities in the Tehran metro, allegedly for violating the country's strict hijab law.

This case bears significant sensitivity, as the 16-year-old Armita might faces a fate as that of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old whose death in the custody of morality police had ignited months of nationwide protests.

Hengaw, an Iranian-Kurdish rights group, has been closely monitoring Geravand's situation, and she remains in a coma in the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital, her condition deemed critical. Concerns have arisen about the heavy presence of plainclothes individuals at the hospital, as told by her relatives.

As per reports, the CCTV footage showed Geravand and two female friends walking toward the train from the metro platform without their hijabs. An Iranian journalist was briefly detained when seeking information about Geravand's condition at the hospital.

"Iranian security institutions have said her condition was caused by low pressure - an oft-repeated scenario from such institutions," stated Dadban, a rights group based in Iran as quoted by HT.

The girl's parents have shared their account, explaining that their daughter experienced a drop in blood pressure, lost her balance, and suffered a head injury inside the metro cabin.

The HT report also quoted the girl's mother saying, "I think my daughter's blood pressure dropped; I am not too sure, I think they have said her pressure dropped."

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Story first published: Sunday, October 22, 2023, 16:47 [IST]
Israel Conducts Air Strikes On Al-Ansar Mosque In Jenin

International

oi-Prakash KL

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) on Sunday claimed that Israel had carried out an aerial strike at the Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist compound in the Al-Ansar Mosque in Jenin.

The Israel Defence Forces, on X, said that the recent IDF intel revealed that the Mosque was used as a command centre to plan and carry out terrorist attacks against civilians. In a post, the IDF stated, "The IDF & ISA just conducted an aerial strike on a Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist compound in the Al-Ansar Mosque in Jenin. Recent IDF intel revealed that the Mosque was used as a command center to plan and execute terrorist attacks against civilians."

Further, the IDF claimed that its soldiers hit a terrorist cell trying to launch anti-tank missiles towards northern Israel. "Hamas wants the world to believe that they are a humanitarian organization. Don't fall for their trap," the IDF said in another post.

Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, in the video posted by IDF, said, "Hamas in the past 24 hours, as well as the days before, but especially in the last 24 hours has been trying to present itself as a humanitarian organization to the world after the release of the two hostages yesterday. The world cannot forget Hamas is worse than ISIS."

The Israeli Air Force claimed that Hamas uses civilians in the Gaza Strip as shields and fires rockets from civilian infrastructure.

The Israeli Air Force said, "The Hamas terrorist organization uses the residents of the Gaza Strip as human shields, and launches rockets from civilian infrastructure, areas and buildings in the Gaza Strip."

Since October 7, the IDF has identified about 550 failed launches fired by Hamas that landed in Gaza.

"The Hamas terrorist organization launches rockets from civilian infrastructure, areas and buildings in Gaza, injuring their own civilians." it added.

On Saturday, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said that it will increase airstrikes on Gaza from (Saturday). In a press meet, he said, "We will increase our strikes, minimize the risk to our troops in the next stages of the war, and we will intensify the strikes, starting from today."

When questioned about whether Israel had ceased its ground operation in Gaza under pressure from the US, Hagari clarified that Israeli forces would initiate ground operations when the military conditions were ideal. He also noted that the IDF had continued to conduct airstrikes over the previous day, as reported by CNN.

"Our main effort in Gaza is to eliminate the terrorists, and especially those involved in the massacre on Saturday two weeks ago," he said. He further said, "We continue to destroy terror targets ahead of the next stage of the war, and are focusing on our readiness to the next stage."

Two weeks after Hamas launched its surprise attack on southern Israel, the first 20 aid trucks entered Gaza on Saturday via the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.

"As of now, I can tell you that there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza. There are hardships in moving people within days to the south of the Gaza Strip, but the population is getting along," The Times Of Israel quoted an Israeli security official as saying.
For China and Europe, international trade benefits both sides and must continue as "each side needs the other and everyone benefits," a Spanish economist told Xinhua.





Produced by Xinhua Global Service
Israel-Hamas War: Death Toll At 4651 Including 1873 Children As Per Palesitinian Ministry| Details

International

oi-Stuti Tripathi

In the wake of Hamas's 7th October attacks on Israel and subsequently Israel's counter action, the Palestinian Health Ministry reported a grim toll on Sunday, 22nd October, revealing that at least 4,651 people have lost their lives in Gaza since the start of the conflict.

This number represents a disheartening increase from the 4,385 casualties reported on Saturday, 21st October, coinciding with Israel's announcement of intensified military operations. Among the casualties are a tragic 1,873 children, according to the Ministry's statement. Moreover, the conflict has left 14,245 individuals wounded.

In a display of international solidarity, India dispatched humanitarian aid to Palestine earlier on Sunday, 22nd October.

Israeli military operations have extended beyond Gaza, with Israeli warplanes targeting various sites across the region. Notably, airstrikes were conducted on two airports in Syria and a mosque in the occupied West Bank, believed to be utilized by militants.

The conflict has not been confined solely to the Gaza Strip, as Israel has engaged in hostilities with Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group since the conflict's inception. Meanwhile, tensions have surged in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces have engaged militants in refugee camps and executed two airstrikes in recent days.

The recent overnight airstrikes, which escalated the conflict, transpired after Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari called on the residents of Gaza to move to southern areas to protect themselves.

Providing a glimmer of hope in the midst of adversity, the border crossing connecting Egypt and Gaza opened its gates on Saturday, 21st October facilitating the much-needed inflow of humanitarian aid.

This assistance is crucial, as it reaches Palestinians who are grappling with severe shortages of basic necessities such as food, medicine, and clean water, all while enduring the ongoing Israeli blockade in the region.

(With inputs from agencies)
It Is "Extremely Important" For Canada And Its Allies To Engage With India: Canada PM Justin Trudeau

Trudeau Is A Laughing Stock In India: Canada's Oppn Leader Over Diplomatic Row

International

oi-Prakash KL

Pierre Poilievre, the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, has come down heavily on Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for the way he has handled diplomatic ties with New Delhi, saying that the latter is viewed as a "laughing stock" in India.

"Justin Trudeau is considered a laughing stock in India - the world's biggest democracy," said the leader of the Conservative Party during an interview with Nepalese media outlet Namaste Radio Toronto.

However, Poilievre promised to improve ties between India and Canada once he becomes the Prime Minister. Poilievre said, "We need a professional relationship with the Indian government. India is the largest democracy on Earth. It's fine to have our disagreements and hold each other accountable but we have to have a professional relationship and that is what I will restore when I'm Prime Minister of this country."

Talking about the expulsion of 41 Canadian diplomats from India, Poilievre said, "This is another example of how Justin Trudeau is not worth the cost after eight long years of being in power, adding that he has turned Canadians against each other at home and blown up relations abroad."

He held Trudeau responsible for the removal of Canadian diplomats from India and labelled the Canadian Prime Minister "incompetent and unprofessional". Poilievre noted that Canada is having issues with most of the world's major powers.

He also slammed the recent pro-Khalistan rallies held in Ottawa, Toronto, and Vancouver.

According to a recent survey, Poilievre is the favoured candidate for the next Canadian Prime Minister, with his party maintaining a significant lead of over 10 percentage points against the Liberal Party.

This puts his party in a position that could potentially lead to a majority government in the next elections.

"Conservatives share the Hindu values of faith, family and freedom. Freedom includes the ability of worship without fear or without vandalisation and I strongly condemn all the attacks on Hindu mandirs, threats against Hindu leaders, the aggression shown to, for example, Indian diplomats at public events is totally unacceptable," he said.

Tensions flared between India and Canada last month following Trudeau's explosive allegations of the "potential" involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on June 18 in British Columbia.
The Israeli military said it traded fire with Hezbollah in at least four different areas along the Lebanese border, as needed aid rolls into to Gaza from Egypt.
Israel has stepped up air strikes in the Gaza Strip as more aid trickles into the territory via the Rafah crossing. Meanwhile, a Gaza-based journalist told DW that Gazans need a cease-fire. Here's the latest.
Eurasia Review 23 Oct 2023

President Joe Biden announced last week that the United States would be funding  and possibly fighting  three wars in three..
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Chief Mohan Bhagwat stated that India has never experienced wars over religious issues like Israel and Hamas. He attributed this to the culture of Hinduism, which respects all faiths. Bhagwat's comments came amidst the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in which India has expressed solidarity with Israel. The Indian government's stance has faced criticism from opposition leaders, as India has historically maintained a close relationship with Palestine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has blamed the U.S. for this latest outbreak of Israel-Gaza violence as he tries to consolidate a growing anti-Western alliance of nations.
Its been a ghastly two weeks. War, violence, and the deaths of innocent people  whether in Ukraine, Israel and Gaza, or on the streets of America  can cause even the most optimistic among us to doubt the capacities of human beings to live together peacefully on this earth.



Which is why its so important to seek...


US President Joe Biden addresses the nation on the latest regarding the Gaza-Israel war US President Joe Biden is speaking about the situation in Israel and Gaza. To discuss more about this we have Kimberly Halkett, ...

(Image by YouTube, Channel: Al Jazeera English) Details DMCA



Readings for 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time:Isaiah 45: 1, 4-6; Psalm 96: 1-10; 1st Thessalonians 1: 1-5b; Matthew 22: 15-21

During Apartheid-Israel's genocidal assault on Palestine, we're privileged to be confronted each week with readings from the "holy books" of the Judeo-Christian tradition. Muslims of course also consider those sources as divinely revealed.

Since Apartheid-Zionists invoke that shared tradition to justify their policies, let's examine them closely.

This week's selections are particularly relevant to the current ongoing slaughter inflicted by Apartheid-Israel because they raise questions concerning God's so-called "chosen," and of their relation to imperialism and colonialism - all concepts that figure prominently in what's unfolding today in Palestine.

The central idea in today's readings is that those who side with empire cannot pretend to belong to Israel's God. There can be no dual citizenship simultaneously in empire and God's Kingdom.

That simple idea applies both to Apartheid-Zionists and their American supporters whose imperial identity and unconditional support for Zionism makes them Apartheid-Americans.

Instead, today's readings reveal that it is non-Jews who because they liberate captives from empire, can qualify as God's "chosen" - even as messianic.

They are the ones who belong to the Kingdom proclaimed by the Jewish Prophet Yeshua whose program (as he put it) was to bring good news to the poor, sight to the blind, liberty to captives, and a Jubilee Year centralizing debt forgiveness (Luke 4: 18). Being "chosen" was not a question of ethnicity, he said, but of doing the right thing in favor of the oppressed and poor.

Today's Gospel selection from the Jewish Matthew is also strongly anti-imperial as well as anti-hypocritical. It deals with the question of paying taxes to Caesar.

Let me show you what I mean by (1) recounting the most relevant shocking facts unfolding in the Middle East while the whole world is watching; then (2) sharing my "translations" of the readings for this 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time; (3) pointing out their relevance for Apartheid-Israelis and their U.S. enablers as together they ethnically cleanse the Gaza Strip, and finally (4) drawing some conclusions about the entire situation.

Israel-Palestine Today

Thursday night U.S. President Joe Biden pledged unwavering, unconditional support of Apartheid-Israel.

Assuming his leadership of NATO colonial powers (against the rest of world opinion) he proclaimed that Apartheid-America is:

What holds the world together,

Is universally loved,

Exceptional,

Indispensable,

All-powerful,

And unconditionally allied with Apartheid-Israelis,

Who in the face of Hamas' pure evil,

Are admirably strong and resilient.

The president made these claims just after having:

Claimed (without any investigation or citing any evidence) that Hamas ("the other team" as he put it) not Apartheid-Israel was the one responsible for the war crime of destroying a large Gazan hospital at the cost of at least 600 Palestinian lives, not to mention the seriously injured, Rejected (according to Alexander Mercouris) proposals to empower an independent investigation into that claim, Been slapped in the face by Arab leaders who refused to meet with a U.S. president. Vetoed a UN Security Council proposal calling for a humanitarian pause in Apartheid-Israel's bombing campaign which had already claimed 3000 Palestinian victims, more than half of whom were women and children.

In the face of such hypocrisy, Mr. Biden's claims about Apartheid-America appear pathetic, out-of-touch, and almost laughable. The aging president appeared to "protest too much."

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"Students with disabilities, one of our most vulnerable populations, need spaces that accommodate their needs and provide access to a full and equitable learning environment."



- BD5 Candidate Karla Griego



Karla Griego

(Image by Karla Griego) Details DMCA



Karla Griego is running for the seat currently held by the retiring Jackie Goldberg in LAUSD's Board District 5. As part of my ongoing Candidate Forum series, Griego was asked five questions about PROP-39 co-locations. For the introduction to this subject along with answers from other candidates, please see the article LAUSD Candidate Forum: PROP-39 Co-Locations.

The following are the candidate's responses, printed exactly how she provided them with the exception of some minor formatting edits:

Question 1: Do you support the "Creating a Charter Schools Co-Location Policy to Mitigate Impacts Caused by Proposition 39" authored by Board President Jackie Goldberg and Dr. Rocio Rivas? Yes

Yes I do support the resolution authored by Board President Jackie Goldberg and Dr. Rocio Rivas. It is important that we keep oversight of how Prop 39 is implemented; that there are accountability processes and procedures in place before an LAUSD school is forced into a co-location and that this is maintained during the co-location, if it happens.

Question 2: Under The way that PROP-39 is currently implemented, rooms used to provide Special Education Services are considered to be "empty" and must be turned over to a charter school to satisfy its demand for space. As a Board member would you work to end this discriminatory practice? Yes

I will work to ensure that accountability processes and procedures are followed before any co-location. This includes visits to the LAUSD school sites that will be impacted by a co-location and holding listening sessions with interest holders about the impacts of the co-location. I believe that all children need to have a safe, clean and enriching learning environment. Students with disabilities, one of our most vulnerable populations, need spaces that accommodate their needs and provide access to a full and equitable learning environment. This access includes classroom spaces that support their learning- be it learning centers; classrooms for designated services like speech; occupational therapy; counseling, services for deaf and hard of hearing and rooms for IEP meetings. Furthermore, other classroom spaces are important for the whole community. These may include rooms for restorative justice circles, wellness rooms, auditoriums and multipurpose rooms for student performances and activities.

Question 3: The text of PROP-39 specifies that charter schools that base their space requests on inflated enrollment must pay an over-allocation fee. Currently, charter schools have a past-due balance of $3,708,006. As a Board Member would you revoke the charter of any school that refused to pay these fees when a bill is presented? YES

Our students deserve every dollar toward programs and services that support their education. If a charter school refuses to pay the fees they owe, even after given opportunities to pay their debt to our students, then I do support revoking the charter from the school. I will support accountability of any entity that owes money to LAUSD. I will further support that any money paid back to the affected school is used to directly support students- either by hiring more custodians to keep our schools clean; campus aides to keep our students safe; counselors and psychiatric social workers to support our students' mental health and socio-emotional needs; provide an enriching learning curriculum that includes Ethnic Studies. I will support accountability practices that ensure that monies are not lost or wasted- because when that happens our students lose. And that is not acceptable anywhere- but especially in the second largest school district in the nation and in the fifth largest economy in the world.

Question 4: In April of last year $7,678,022 of over-allocation debt was suddenly wiped off of the balance sheet without any explanation to the public. As a Board Member would you demand an investigation to determine whether this write-off was legal and proper? Yes

Money being lost is unacceptable. Yes I will support an investigation as to the legality of this or any write-off. This money should be used to directly support our students' educational experience. In a time when mental health services were cut at the end of last year, how can LAUSD write off anyone's debt? Practices like these, makes having more oversight and accountability more pressing. It is LAUSD's duty to ensure that our students receive all that they deserve: fully staffed and fully funded schools. Giving away money by writing off debt to charter companies is a tremendous disservice to our students.

Question 5: The North Valley Military Institute (NVMI) was co-located on the campus of Sun Valley High School / Valley Oaks Center For Enriched Studies (VOCES) when one of its administrators was accused of "abhorrent child sex abuse" against a student. It does not appear that parents of students on the public school campus were ever notified about these accusations. As a Board Member would you terminate the PROP-39 lease agreement for any charter school that put LAUSD students at a district campus in danger? Yes

The NVMI closure happened for multiple types of violations, including malfeasance. I support its closure for the multiple violations and lack of various disclosures. In regards to student safety, I believe that our students' safety is our number one concern. Children cannot learn if they feel unsafe. The adults on our campus are the people our students rely on and look for to keep them safe. It is important that as the LAUSD Board, they ensure that anyone who has access to our campuses is safe for our students. We cannot allow anyone or any entity who breaks this to continue being around our students.

Do you have any other thoughts that you would like to express about this subject?

For years, parents, students and educators have been calling for more oversight and accountability of the co-location process and existence. I am glad that their years of activism have led to this resolution co-authored by Board President Goldberg and Board member Dr. Rivas.

Carl Petersen is a parent advocate for public education, particularly for students with special education needs, who serves as the Education Chair for the Northridge East Neighborhood Council. As a Green Party candidate in LAUSD's District 2 School Board race, he was endorsed by Network for Public Education (NPE) Action. Dr. Diane Ravitch has called him "a valiant fighter for public schools in Los Angeles." For links to his blogs, please visit www.ChangeTheLAUSD.com. Opinions are his own.
BAGHDAD, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Katyusha rockets struck on Sunday a military airbase housing U.S. military experts and agencies in Iraq's western province of Anbar, an Iraqi army source said.

The attack occurred in the morning when an undetermined number of rockets landed in the Ayn al-Asad Airbase near the town of al-Baghdadi, some 190 km northwest of the capital Baghdad, an officer from the Iraqi army told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

There are no immediate reports on casualties, the source added. 
Dear Amy: Our sons mother and father-in-law, who live in Europe, have repeatedly invited us to stay at their house, including over the upcoming holidays.

We are considering going, and told them so.

Then I got a text from my daughter-in-law with an Airbnb listing where she said we could stay to be away from the mayhem.

Amy, mayhem is part of the holiday experience! (And by the way, this Airbnb property is already booked over the holidays).

We think this might be a dis-invite, but dont know how to formulate a response.

We are on good terms with everyone and want to keep it that way.

As the parents of two sons, I feel like we need to hear from our daughter-in-law.

What do you think?

 Holiday Housed

Dear Housed: Mayhem is part of the holiday experience, while true, is not necessarily a selling point  certainly for anyone contemplating hosting for a presumably long-ish overseas stay.

Your daughter-in-law might be trying to deftly discourage you from staying with her folks, and I think you should take this message, accept it, and assume that if you make this trip, you will have to find a place to stay.

Because the property she recommended is booked, you could circle back to your DIL and note: We totally understand about mayhem. It sounds as if you think it would be best if we didnt accept your parents invitation to stay with them. The property you linked to is already booked, but we note a few others nearby. Do you have thoughts about any of those properties?

You can email Amy Dickinson at askamy@amydickinson.com or send a letter to Ask Amy, P.O. Box 194, Freeville, NY 13068.
A second straight Oregon Ducks road game will be the host for ESPNs College GameDay.

The network announced its pregame show will be in Salt Lake City for Oregons trip to face Utah on Saturday (12:30 p.m., Fox) at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

It will be the first trip to Salt Lake City for the show since 2016 and the fifth visit overall. The set will be on Presidents Circle off University Street on the lawn facing east.

Oregon is 17-12 all-time in games played at the site of GameDay, including a 6-4 record in road games following its loss at Washington earlier this season.

MORE DUCKS COVERAGE
Caleb Sayan was never classically trained in fashion or textiles. Much of what he learned in the industry was from his mother, accomplished fashion artist and textile expert Andrea Aranow, who died from cancer in 2021.

After her death, Sayan said it became his mission not only to preserve his mothers collection of over 50,000 fabrics from across the world, but to continue bringing community together through the art form Aranow dedicated her life to. He invited a group to Textile Hive in downtown Portland as part of that pledge Saturday.

I see myself as a steward, Sayan said.

Over a dozen creatives, fabric enthusiasts and students joined Sayan and a panel of textile experts, including nationally renowned artist Adriene Cruz, as part of the Portland Textile Month festival. This years theme is mixed identities and focuses on highlighting textile artists from communities of color, Sayan said.

Its important to showcase the breadth of our different cultures, and all the things we share in common and all the things that make us human, Sayan said.

Textile Hive, founded by Sayan and his mother, was created to preserve Aranows massive collection of fabrics, which spans 70 countries and more than two centuries, Sayan said. Aranow spent the last years of her career organizing the collection, and Sayan digitized it and made it available for educational and corporate use via a paid subscription.

The citys textile festival runs through October and includes events from organizations, artists and companies across the city. Sayans series of events, Interlaced Communities, highlights the connections made through fabric and art.

Saturdays gathering included lectures and insights from Cruz; artist and herbalist Bridgette Hickey; Midnite Abioto, queen mother of Studio Abioto; and beekeeper and artist Valko Sichel. When Sayan reached out to Cruz, she invited the other artists to join her as a panel to stay true to the theme of identity and connection, she said.

I asked my cousin Valko, Midnite Abioto and Bridgette Hickey to join me, Cruz said. Its about interconnected community, and were blood related and chosen family related. We all have a textile connection, but different practices.

Cruz works with quilts, beads and talismans in her art. She doesnt describe it as quilting any more, but more of a threaded ritual, she said. Cruz will often include herbs like lavender or sage, or written prayers in her pieces, which are intricately woven together over months or sometimes years, she said.

Cruz has had pieces featured in galleries and museums across the world, including the Smithsonian. In 2009, Cruz had a quilt on display at the Historical Society in Washington, D.C., as part of a quilt series honoring former President Barack Obamas inauguration.

With supplies donated from the store Cargo, Cruz invited the group Saturday to create their own talismans, which included a small piece of decorative cloth, choices of sage, lemon verbena or lavender and a ribbon to tie the bag closed. Cruz said she started incorporating similar talismans in her pieces as she became more attuned to the spiritual side of her creative process.

Participants also had some beads to choose from, and some made more elaborate necklaces from the supplies.

Cruz said events like Portland Textile Month allow people to open up, connect with one another over art and reveal undiscovered talents.

Hearing and seeing what we do, the community can have those a-ha moments, she said. It can open the window to inspiration.

Viktor Gibens, a Portland textile artist who attended the event, said Cruz showed the importance of space, to hear and listen and channel for creative intuition. And the importance of organized chaos.

Textile Hive will be hosting another event Oct. 28, featuring Palestinian researcher and author Wafa Ghnaim. The event will discuss the history of storytelling in Palestinian embroidery, Sayan said. It starts at 12 p.m. at 133 S.W. 2nd Ave.

 Austin De Dios; adedios@oregonian.com; @austindedios; 503-319-9744

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The photograph is hard to look at. And it is next to impossible to look away from.

Captured in the photo is a man in a black car, pointing a gun out the window, aimed at the photographer. Next to the sidewalk, a mans body lies still.

The image is gripping. Shocking, tragic and haunting. And it is an important image that we chose to publish on OregonLive, as part of our coverage of the downtown Portland shooting Oct. 11 that killed one man and wounded another  Samuel Gomez, the man taking that terrifying photo.

Readers may not agree with our decision to publish the photo, but I believe its helpful to know the series of events and discussions that led to our decision.

About a week and a half ago, an apparent road rage incident led to the fatal shooting, according to police reports. Gomez, visiting from Arizona, was scheduled to present at a business conference when he witnessed the shooting. He took out his phone and snapped the photo of the other driver, Geoffrey Edward Hammond, just before a bullet tore into him.

Reporter Mike Rogoway followed up on the shooting and ended up interviewing Gomez on the afternoon of Oct. 13, while he was still recovering in a hospital bed. Gomez shared the photo with him.

Rogoway quickly informed managers of the photograph and its graphic contents, knowing editors above him would have to make the eventual decision about what or whether to publish.

Residents of Portland know a gun violence epidemic has plagued the city for more than two years. A record 92 people died in homicides in 2021, eclipsed by 101 people in 2022. Close to 60 people have died in homicides this year in Portland. The vast majority of these were shootings. Each death created ripples that reach deep into so many families and communities.

The news value of the photograph was without question. A fatal encounter captured in the moment, in broad daylight, in the center of the city.

No journalist starts the day intending to cause harm or add to someones trauma. But we also know by the nature of what we do, we sometimes add to a familys burden or grief. That might be repeating graphic details of a crime from a police affidavit, publishing a photograph of a fatal car crash or recording witness testimony at trial.

We dont set out to make things harder for crime victims, but we know simply through the act of reporting we sometimes do.

Editors are sometimes confronted with a powerful image they know will shock the conscience of the community, an image so graphic or telling or stark that people cannot look away. The photograph made by Sam Gomez, in a moment of what must have been sheer terror, is such an image.

After internal discussions that Friday night, OregonLive published the photo because it illustrated the acute loss, the randomness, the absolute brazenness of gun violence in a way that a thousand articles could not.

And our newsroom has leaned into those articles about gun violence. Weve written more than 100 profiles of victims. Weve analyzed patterns. We have dedicated our reporters to telling the stories of those community members lost to gun violence. Like PJ Badon, described to us as a talented athlete, a jokester, (who) liked to play video games and looked out for his brothers, ages 8 and 14. Like Makayla Harris, who was a recent Grant High School graduate when she was killed by gunshots intended for a different person. Like Alexandra Arb-Bloodgood, 29, who died when an argument over laundry ended in gunfire.

We want to profile each victim to ensure they are more than a number, more than a statistic. Each one is a human being, whose loss is deeply felt.

The man who died Oct. 11 was Ryan Martin. He was 47 years old and a resident of southwest Washington. Advocates for his family reached out to The Oregonian/OregonLive after we published the photograph and objected to it. Some felt it was dehumanizing.

I thought the opposite.

When I first saw the photograph that Friday night, I looked at the victims shoes, his jeans, his hands resting on his chest. I immediately checked for a wedding ring. Did a loving spouse become a widow today, I wondered.

Those details, while hard to confront, kept me riveted to the photograph. They were stark symbols of what Portland and the greater community had lost: a family member, a colleague, a friend. Someone was going about his day in downtown Portland at one moment and was lying dead the next.

Its brutal, shocking, graphic and all too real.

Publication of the photograph was bound to lead to criticism. Readers are protective of victims. And unlike carnage elsewhere in the world, graphic images from close to home tend to hit our readers harder.

Gomez, for his part, repeatedly expressed compassion for the other victim, Martin, whom he had never met. I am not republishing the full photograph here, in deference to the family. And I write this knowing none of what I think, or what Ive argued here, makes a single bit of difference to Martins family members, who have suffered an unimaginable loss.

The photo of the man training his gun on Sam Gomez was frightening and memorable. The photo with the devastating consequence, a man gunned down in broad daylight, was unforgettable.
Standing at a lab bench in a Hillsboro classroom, Omotara Chukwuemeka seems to be wrestling with a torque wrench as she works to tighten a bolt. It slips with each turn, just a bit, but enough to come loose from the bolt.

An instructor looks over and makes a suggestion about keeping the wrench level. Classmates lean in and propose a slight adjustment to how Chukwuemeka is holding the tool. Then theres a click, the bolt turns and she lights up with a grin.

I like watching when the light bulbs go off. Somebody picks something up or learns something they didnt know before, that kind of makes my day, said Rich Holt, a retired Intel engineering manager overseeing the lessons earlier this month.

Hes helping lead an all-female class of sixteen students participating in Portland Community Colleges Quick Start semiconductor training program at its Willow Creek campus. Its an intensive, two-week program aimed at building a pipeline of workers for the states chip industry and diversifying the talent pool working in semiconductors.

For prospective semiconductor workers like Chukwuemeka, 38, an immigrant from Nigeria, the classes represent a chance to learn a trade and explore a new career. She said the program is especially appealing because it encourages students to collaborate as they learn, working together to solve problems and use tools and instruments.

Im a very inquisitive person, Chukwuemeka said. So regardless of whether I know you or not, I want to learn from you.

Oregon expects to add more than 6,000 semiconductor jobs over the next several years as Intel and other manufacturers expand their factories, boosted in part by $250 million in state funding. With the chip industry already battling a chronic worker shortage, employers and local governments hope programs like the Quick Start class can help fill that need and make family-wage careers available to people who might have never considered working in technology.

The students in Holts class are the 14th cohort thats participated in the program since Oregon launched it a year ago. Thats roughly 200 students overall who have graduated from the monthly program at PCCs Willow Creek campus. Its modeled on a similar program that feeds Arizonas chip industry.

The Oregon students get paid $500 a week to attend the half-day sessions. The program is funded by about $500,000 in grants from state worker training and education funds, and by Washington County.

During their two weeks in Quick Start, students work with wrenches and hydraulic tools, learn the basics of circuitry and electrical measurement and study how to repair a simple mechanical system. They try working while cloaked in bunny suits like factory workers wear in clean rooms and practice interviewing for a job. Theres homework every day but organizers say few students drop out.

33 1 / 33 Students participate in the Quick Start semiconductor career training program at Portland Community College The Oregonian

Those who complete the program can apply for an interview with Intel and most do. About 60% are ultimately hired, organizers say, for entry-level factory technician jobs paying between $37,000 and $50,000 a year. Intel offers them additional training after they start and an opportunity to move up in their careers to more technical jobs with bigger paychecks.

The Quick Start program is open to anyone but organizers say Intel prefers applicants who already have some work experience and now want to build a career.

Theyll hire younger folks in their early 20s, but they think that 18-year-olds or people fresh out of high school are a little too green, said Jesse Aronson, program manager with Worksystems, a nonprofit workforce development agency serving the Portland area.

Quick Start organizers are focused on recruiting through social service agencies and workforce programs that primarily serve populations under-represented in the technology sector. That includes women (Quick Start has had two all-female cohorts) and racial and ethnic minorities.

PCC vets applicants with an online quiz, asking multiple-choice math and workplace questions. Program candidates watch a short YouTube video about semiconductor manufacturing, then answer questions about what theyve learned.

Students are also screened about their openness to working long hours in a factory cleanroom wearing a bunny suit, which prevents even microscopic particles from contaminating the tiny features on computer chips. Intel hires for 12-hour shifts and its factory technicians alternate three-day and four-day workweeks.

Its not for everyone, Aronson said.

And yet theres a waiting list for Quick Start training. PCC plans to double-up in November and December, training two cohorts each month to reach more students.

Front-line workers in Oregons chip industry often come through two-year community college program and take more senior manufacturing jobs that pay around $60,000 a year, well above the starting salary for most Quick Start graduates.

But Andrew McGough, Worksystems executive director, said students find Quick Start appealing because they learn practical skills in a short time frame, and because theyre compensated for their time.

I think thats the promise of this kind of a model, he said, because its a new way to deliver training.

Organizers just received $1 million in funding from Future Ready Oregon, the states new workforce development program, to extend and expand the Quick Start course. They hope to offer it in Northeast Portland and through Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham, close to Onsemi and Microchips semiconductor factories.

But Worksystems had sought more than twice as much funding from the state. So organizers are considering cutting the student stipend in half and reducing the number of Quick Start students they plan to train next year, from 600 to 400.

Still, thats twice as many people as Quick Start has reached in its first 12 months.

Ariel Kotyrlo already works at Intel, moving pods of equipment around a factory. She works a night shift and wants to move up in her career.

So Kotyrlo, 20, heads to PCC when she wraps up her shift at 6:45 a.m. for her Quick Start training. It makes for long days but Kotyrlo said she jumped at the opportunity when supervisors recommended her for the class.

I always strive to learn new things, she said.

-- Mike Rogoway | mrogoway@oregonian.com |

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JERUSALEM, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- Israeli airstrikes continued to pound the Gaza Strip while the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) kept firing rockets at Israel on Saturday, the 15th day of the ongoing armed conflict.

On the day, 20 trucks loaded with humanitarian aid entered Gaza through the Rafah crossing, the only border crossing between the besieged coastal enclave and Egypt, after a two-week blockade.

The trucks were loaded with medical aid donated by Egypt's institutions of the National Alliance for Civil Development Work and the Egyptian Red Crescent, Aya Ahmed, public relations officer of Life Makers Foundation, told Xinhua.

"Such a limited convoy will not be able to change the humanitarian catastrophe that the Gaza Strip is experiencing," said Salama Maarouf, head of the Hamas-run government media office in Gaza, in a statement sent to Xinhua.

It is important to establish a safe corridor that works around the clock to provide humanitarian aid and allow the wounded to receive appropriate medical care that is lacking in Gaza, Maarouf said.

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune directed on Saturday the government to send urgent supplies, including food, medicines, tents, and clothes to Gaza, to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinians in the strip, the presidency said in a statement.

The Cairo Peace Summit was held on the day at Egypt's new administrative capital east of Cairo, where heads of state and ministers from over 30 countries, as well as leaders of regional and international organizations, urged to de-escalate the conflict in Gaza, pursue a cease-fire, and seek a resolution to the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict via a "two-state solution."

Meanwhile, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that the military is "continuing to prepare for the next stage of the war, including ground operations." Over 300,000 reserve soldiers have been drafted, many of whom are assumed to be preparing for an Israeli ground invasion of the Gaza Strip.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visited Israel's northern border where skirmishes between the IDF and the Lebanese-based Shiite military group Hezbollah have been on the up-tick since the conflict began.

Several anti-tank missiles were fired toward Israel on Saturday. The IDF responded with artillery fire.

In addition, a Palestinian source told Xinhua that efforts to release hostages held by Hamas in the enclave will continue and now focus on those with Israeli-foreign dual citizenship.

Since the beginning of the fighting, an estimated 1,400 Israelis have been killed, with over 4,600 injured. The military confirmed on Saturday that at least 210 Israelis are being held captive by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

A total of 4,385 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza and about 13,560 have been injured, according to the Gaza-based Health Ministry, while the IDF continued to warn residents of Gaza City to evacuate to the south of the Gaza Strip on Saturday.

About 1.6 million people, at least 60 percent of the Gazan population, have been displaced as a result of the ongoing Israeli attacks since the latest round of Hamas-Israel conflict started on Oct. 7, according to a Saturday statement by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. 
Cairo, Egypt (PANA) - The UN agency that assists Palestine refugees, UNRWA, will run out of fuel in three days, putting humanitarian response in Gaza at risk, Director-General Philippe Lazzarini warned on Sunday
Paper Excellence Extends Paper Production Downtime at Its Crofton Mill in BC

The Crofton Mill has two paper machines and two pulp lines. The mill has the capacity to produce 320,000 tonnes per year of printing / packaging papers and 380,000 tpy of NBSK pulp. The Crofton Mill has two paper machines and two pulp lines. The mill has the capacity to produce 320,000 tonnes per year of printing / packaging papers and 380,000 tpy of NBSK pulp.

Oct. 21, 2023 - Paper Excellence announced on Oct. 20 that it is again extending the production downtime of paper operations at its pulp and paper mill located on Vancouver Island in Crofton, British Columbia, Canada, to the end of November.

The mill's primary market for its paper products (specialty papers, printing and writing paper) is China, and continued weak pricing in the global paper markets have hindered the restart of the mill's papermaking operations.

"While market conditions continue to support the restart of our pulp operations and employment of more than 300 workers, the curtailment of paper operations at Crofton is being extended to the end of November," the company said in a press release.

"The continued curtailment means that approximately 70 paper operations employees will not return to work in November," Paper Excellence said.

The company said that its sales team is working with customers to provide alternative products from Catalyst Alberni mill or other mills within the Paper Excellence Group family of companies where possible.

Catalyst Crofton Mill

The Crofton Mill has two paper machines (C2 and C3) and two pulp lines. The mill has the capacity to produce 320,000 tonnes per year of printing / packaging papers and 380,000 tpy of NBSK pulp.

Paper Excellence Canada, headquartered in British Columbia, is a diversified manufacturer of pulp and specialty, printing, writing, and packaging papers in Canada with a production capacity of over 2.5 million tonnes annually.

SOURCE: Paper Excellence
BEIJING, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- China and Australia have reached consensus in terms of properly settling disputes of common concern, including the ones concerning wine and wind towers, under the framework of the World Trade Organization, a spokesperson for the Minsitry of Commerce (MOC) said Sunday.

Noting that China and Australia are important trade partners to each other, the spokesperson said China is willing to work with Australia to foster stable and sound development of bilateral economic and trade relations through dialogues and consultations. 
Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, has indicated that the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) has been successfully completed.



Updating investors in London about Ghanas debt exchange programme, Mr. Ofori-Atta said the success of the Comprehensive Domestic Debt Exchange Programme illustrates the commitment of the Ghanaian people to contribute to the governments effort to restore debt sustainability.



All exchanges of domestic marketable debt planned as part of the DDEP are completed and no further exchanges of domestic marketable debt is being considered, he stressed.



Overall GH203 billion have been exchanged, which has resulted in debt service savings of GH61 billion over 2023.



The Finance Minister said the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme and the fiscal efforts significantly contributed to restoring debt sustainability, adding, the remaining leg will be the contribution of External Creditors.



Mr. Ofori-Atta also said Ghanas economy is gradually returning to a path of growth and stability.



According to him, the implementation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme is on track.



The IMF Programme is a three years programme, from 2023 to 2026 which the country will get a $3 billion Economic Credit Facility.



Mr. Ofori-Atta, said, Ghana has so far completed a comprehensive stock-take of payables accumulated, designed a payable clearance plan and laid out a reform plan to reduce future accumulation of arrears.



Again, he pointed out that the country has finalized a strategy to strengthen the financial sector and rebuild financial institutions buffers after the implementation of the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme.







Source: Daily Guide









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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Under the gracious auspices of ECOWAS, I landed in Liberia on, October 6, 2023, as a member of the Observation Mission to play our sub regional role of helping a Member State run a, credible, peaceful and successful general election to elect a, President, 15 Senators and 76 members of the House of Representatives.



Having completed the initial debriefing session at the Mamba Place Hotel, in Monrovia, on October 7, 2023, I was part of a 10-member team that deployed to the Nimba County, in the North-East of Liberia.



Nimba County, which is virtually owned by Prince YormieJohnson (the current Senator who has been re-elected for another nine-year term), shares borders with the Republic of Cote dIvoire to the East and the Republic of Guinea to the North-West.



Its capital city is, Sanniquelle and its most populous city is, Ganta  where our Team lodged at the Jackies Hotel.



Nimba County is the largest of Liberias 15 Counties and within Liberia itself, Nimba County, which is named after Mount Nimba, is bordered by, Bong and Grand Bassa Counties to the West, Rivercess County to the South-West, and Grand Gedeh County to the South-East.



Nimba county is very rich in iron ore and I must admit that it was there that I saw iron ore in its very raw state for the first time in life as we drove into the County.



As is the case with Africas raw materials, I saw the iron ore being carted in railway skips to the ports for export  and only a few people benefit from the export earnings while the real owners of the raw material continue to wallow in abject poverty.



Driving into Nimba County certainly had its own ambiance and the optics of the journey was not one that hurt the curiosity of my eyes.



That is to say, there was a lot for the eye to explore driving from Monrovia into Nimba County  a journey of close to four hours.



As mentioned, the drive was not an eyesore, and I really enjoyed the scenic views of vast virgin green forests, vast tracts of rubber plantations (another of the countrys natural resource assets).



Indeed, the Firestone Company that manufactures car tyres, has been rooted in Liberia for decades because it gets its base raw material, rubber, from there.



My driver, Mohammed Kabbah, told me how a plane flies into a particular mining area every Wednesday to carry tons of mined gold out of the country. Oh Africa!!!



When shall we once again get Leaders like the immediate post-independence ones like Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah who were more interested in preserving our resources than the current status-quo of greedily exporting it for personal gain which is shared amongst, cronies, families, concubines, and friends.



As regards the elections itself, though quite a cumbersome process, the system is quite thorough  especially the manual vote counting process which is extremely thorough and makes it difficult for brazen rigging.



The elections took place in the current rainy season which made it extremely difficult to reach outlandish parts of the countries due to bad and non-existent access roads.



The elections run smoothly and per the Countrys Electoral Laws, the National Electoral Commission (NEC), has up to 15 days to announce the official final results but as we know, there has been the official announcing of a second round of voting to be contested by incumbent President, His Excellency George Weah of the, Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), and former Vice President, Joseph Boakai, of the United Party (UP). President Weah obtained 43.79% and Joseph Boakai obtained 43.49%.



The run-off election is scheduled to take place on November 7, 2023, and anyone who obtains 50%+1, shall be declared winner by the NEC.



For the record, this election was the first time Liberia was running its own elections without the support of the United Nations since the end of the two civil wars and the return to democratic governance in 2005, and per my personal assessment, the nation acquitted itself quite well despite somehitches.



Professor Attahiru Jega, the immediate-past Chairman of Nigerias Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), was the Head of the ECOWAS Mission and my Kotoka Primary School mate cum University of Ghana mate, Josephine Nkrumah is the ECOWAS Permanent Representative in Liberia. Josephine Nkrumah is the immediate-past Chairperson of Ghanas, National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE).



Of course, Dr. Abdel Fatau Musah, ECOWAS Commissioner for, Political Affairs Peace and Security (PAPS), was there with his able Team from Abuja to coordinate affairs for the Mission to run successfully  and that is exactly what happened.



As a neutral Observer, I am unable to say anything more about the elections beyond the obvious facts that have been put out as we await the run-off on November 7, 2023.



Upon my return to Monrovia from Nimba County, I had the opportunity to explore the capital city a bit more and I saw the abandoned citadel that was once occupied by President Charles Taylor. Once a no-go area, the place has been left inhabited and it speaks volumes to the fleeting nature of all human power and existence. As it is said; all shall pass!



I saw where President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf used to also live as President and I also saw the Ministerial Complex she built for the State.



I saw the countrys supreme court building that they have named, Temple of Justice.



Indeed, ECOWAS held our final press briefing at the main conference room of the Ministerial Complex  very imposing structure.



It was interesting seeing the Providence Island, where the first batch of freed slaves landed via ship in 1820 before the official formation of the Republic of Liberia in 1847.



I am grateful to my driver, Mohammed Kabbah, the Jackies Hotel in Nimba County, as well as the Bella Casa Hotel in Monrovia for giving us places to lay our heads comfortably.



The Ghanaland restaurant in Monrovia also allowed Ghanaians on the Mission to satisfy our culinary desires with typical Ghanaian food.



Having worked for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) Office in Ghana in the late 90s, I worked directly with Liberian refugees across Ghana but especially at the Budumburam Refugee Camp and being in Liberia brought back heavy memories of how our brethren had to navigate the unforgettable bitter years of war, death, destruction, and permanent scars.



May Liberia never see war again and I remain most grateful to ECOWAS for the revered opportunity it continues to give me as an International Elections Observer of repute across the sub region.



To God Almighty be all the glory now and always.



Samuel Koku Anyidoho



(Founder and CEO, Atta-Mills Institute)

Source: Samuel Koku Anyidoho (Founder and CEO, Atta-Mills Institute)









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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In a dedicated effort to promote health awareness and early detection of breast cancer, Kozie Cares Medical Outreach, an initiave of Akosua Manu took to the Adenta Constituency to educate and provide essential health screenings to the local community.



During an informative session, the resource officer Dr. Adepa Boateng underscored the significance of comprehensive breast health checks and self-examinations as early warning signs of potential issues. She emphasized the importance of regular check-ups for women and advised them to seek medical examination at health facilities. Importantly, she also addressed a common misconception, stating that while it is uncommon, men are equally at risk of developing breast cancer as women.



This valuable health education session took place during the free health screening organized by the Kozie Cares Outreach Initiative. Over 600 Adenta residents flocked to the event, seeking comprehensive screenings that included measurements of their body weight, breast screening, blood pressure, blood sugar levels, and eyesight.



Breast Cancer Awareness Month is an international campaign dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of early detection and prevention of breast cancer. It is against this backdrop that the Kozie Cares Medical Outreach organized this event, specifically catering to residents of the Adenta Constituency, with a particular focus on those residing at the SNNIT flats.



As we navigate the month of breast cancer awareness, these initiatives become critical in equipping communities with essential knowledge about breast health and encouraging early screenings. According to statistics In Ghana, where over 4,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer annually, studies show that 70% of women in Ghana are diagnosed at more advanced stages of the disease by the time it is identified. The Ghana Health Service has established that breast cancer remains a significant concern. In 2023, several women have either lost their lives or been diagnosed with breast cancer, highlighting the urgency of proactive health education and screenings.



One female beneficiary of the Kozie Cares Medical Outreach program, who had the opportunity to receive a free breast screening expressed her profound gratitude to the Member of Parliament hopeful, Madam Akosua Manu. Overwhelmed with appreciation, she shared how this initiative has given her access to vital health services and eased the financial burden of medical expenses. Her heartfelt thanks resonated with the sentiment of countless others who have benefited from the program, recognizing it as a significant support to the community's well-being.



Another gentleman, whose eyes were meticulously examined during the outreach, received the gift of improved vision through free medicated glasses. He couldn't contain his happiness and was effusive in his praise for the Kozie Cares Medical Outreach team. His newfound clarity of sight is a testament to the positive impact these health initiatives have on individuals' lives, underlining the importance of such programs in enhancing the overall health and quality of life for the community.



The Kozie Cares Medical Outreachs commitment to improving the health and well-being of Adenta residents is commendable, and such initiatives can make a substantial difference in the fight against breast cancer. As the month of awareness continues, their efforts serve as a beacon of hope for the community, emphasizing the importance of early detection and promoting overall health and wellness.



Kozie Cares Medical Outreach is dedicated to meeting the healthcare needs of the constituents and not compromise on the fundamental healthcare right of the residents in the constituency.



Akosua Manu, the parliamentary candidate hopeful who is the primary representative of the Kozie Cares Medical Outreach, is interested in leading the constituency and uniting the party. Grassroots members are therefore appealed to, to rally behind her candidacy to and do everything to regain the NPP seat and break the eight-year governance cycle.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The Service Excellence Foundation, under the auspices of the Ghana Tourism Foundation, an affiliate member of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), has honoured Ghanas High Commissioner to Malta, H.E. Barbara Akoukor Benisa, with a Lifetime Achievement Award in Service to Tourism and Customer Service Excellence Leadership at the maiden Industry and Customer Service Excellence Awards.



The Customer Service Excellence Awards was established to recognize and appreciate outstanding individuals, locally and internationally, who champion Service Excellence in their respective fields, especially the tourism and hospitality industry.



Ghanas High Commissioner to Malta, H.E. Barbara Akoukor Benisa, who has over three decades of experience in customer service, public relations, administration and management spanning diverse institutions and particularly in the Airline industry, was honoured for her contributions to customer service development advocacy to enhance tourism and hospitality private sector growth.



Her citation read, Congratulations on the occasion of the 1st Industry Customer Service Excellence Awards 2023. The Tourism and Hospitality Industry celebrates your outstanding achievements as a Customer Service Woman of Excellence.



In the global celebration of Customer Service Week 2023, H.E Benisa, during a courtesy call on the Director-General of the National Lottery Authority (NLA), Mr. Samuel Awuku, joined the Staff of the Authority to mark Career Day in celebration of the respective customers who interact with them.







Traditionally, NLA celebrates Customer Service all month long in October to appreciate its external and internal customers with exciting activities that foster team bonding, unity and growth among Staff.



High Commissioner Benisa encouraged the Customer Service Team to take their roles seriously as customer interactions positively or negatively affect the organization.



Citing the quote by Maya Angelou, which says, People will forget what you did. People will forget what you said, but People will never forget how you made them feel. H.E. Benisa urged the Customer Service team to endeavour to always leave smiles on the faces of their customers.



H.E Benisa was also taken on a tour of the premises of the National Lottery Authority to visit some Departments.

Prior to the NLAs 60th-anniversary celebration last year, H.E. Benisa was instrumental in facilitating a trip by the NLA Governing Board and Management to Malta to invite the Maltese Government and the Malta Gaming Authority to the anniversary celebration.



She also facilitated a visit to the Maltese House of Representatives, where the speaker, Hon. Anglu Farrugia, presented the original copy of NLAs 1962 Registration Certificate that established NLA to the Director General, Mr. Samuel Awuku.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The Makola Shop Mall in Accra gutted with fire on Saturday destroying over 200.



The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) said they got to the scene 23:26 but had challenges accessing the fire.





According to them, the place was locked up so they were able to bring the fire under control at 04:00 hours.



Less than two minutes they were here, 23:26 they were here, and they realized that the fire was beyond the ordinary, that is it has really gotten to a fully developed stage so immediately. So the officer in charge called for multiple pumps.



So in all we used nine firefighting appliers including one RTC pick-up, you know the place is locked with a padlock so we needed equipment that we could cut the padlock and access the fire. So we were able to bring the fire under control in 04:00 hours,Dep. Director of Operations of GNFS, DO1 Kofi Forson narrated to Starr News.





However, they are yet to investigate and know what might have caused the fire.



But, during a visit to the market, Mayor of Accra Elizabeth Sackey advised shop owners to take fire education seriously to avert future occurrence.

Source: Starrfm.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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Professor Stephen Tabiri, the Dean, School of Medicine at the University for Development Studies, has advised health practitioners to go by posting guidelines of the Medical and Dental Council (MDC).



Professor Tabiri encouraged them to resist the temptation to interrupt postings because it could negatively affect their career development.



He gave the advice in his address to 508 newly qualified medical doctors and dentists at an induction ceremony organised by the MDC-GH on Saturday.



The Dean also advised them to be guided by the ethics of the medical profession and not hesitate to seek help from their superiors and the Council when faced with challenges.



Do not forget about the Medical and Dental ethicswhen in doubt, please consult your trainers and mentors. The Medical and Dental Council will help you to surmount these problems. Feel free to consult your trainers for guidance, he said.



He also urged the young doctors to show interest in the activities of the Ghana Medical Association because it would be helpful for their mentorship and direction.



Prof Paul Kwame Nyame, the Chairman of the Medical and Dental Council, Ghana, cautioned them against practicing solely for profit.



He asked them to be willing to serve the public anywhere.



Junior doctors must recognise that referring a patient for another facility or specialist is not a business transaction that may attract a commissionit is wrong to insist that a patient should go to a particular facility for an investigation unless that facility is the only source for the examination or quality and standard required.



We must be willing to serve where we are needed. We must be slow and circumspect in abandoning the ship for greener pastures when there is some turbulence in the ship of state, he stated.



The over 500 inductees consist of doctors and dentists drawn from key tertiary institutions across the country.





Source: GNA









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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Central Pennsylvania Vietnam Round Table will meet on Nov. 9, at Vietnam Veterans of America, Michael Novosel MOH Chapter 542, 8000 Derry St., Harrisburg, at 7:30 p.m.

Following a brief business meeting, Eddie Beckford, of Camp Hill, will discuss his September 1966 to August 1967 Vietnam service as a member of the Air Forces 819th Red Horse (Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineers), stationed near Phu Cat and Qui Nhon in II Corps.

He grew up in New York, graduating from high school in 1964, according to a press release. He enlisted in the Air Force in 1966, receiving basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, before being assigned to Lackland in Del Rio, Texas.

For his service, he was awarded the Air Force Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, and the BSS Vietnam Service Medal w/Bronze Service. He married his wife, Lura, in Cypress in 2001.

The Beckfords served as Christian missionaries in Israel from 2001-17, working for Jewish Outreach International, a group he still works with today. Lura co-authored a book about their experiences entitled Stop Doing Good, A Love Story.

In his spare time, he likes to play chess and remain physically active.

The meetings are open to the public and, as a volunteer organization, the organization passes a Vietnam hat. All persons interested in the history of the Vietnam War are invited to attend.

For additional information, contact Richard Burton at 717-545-2336 or send an email to centralpavietnamrt@verizon.net.

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By ISABEL DEBRE and WAFAA SHURAFA, Associated Press

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP)  The only thing worse than the screams of a patient undergoing surgery without enough anesthesia are the terror-stricken faces of those awaiting their turn, a 51-year-old orthopedic surgeon says.

When the Israeli bombing intensifies and the wounded swamp the Gaza City hospitals where Dr. Nidal Abed works, he treats patients wherever he can  on the floor, in the corridors, in rooms crammed with 10 patients instead of two. Without enough medical supplies, Abed makes do with whatever he can find  clothes for bandages, vinegar for antiseptic, sewing needles for surgical ones.

Hospitals in the Gaza Strip are nearing collapse under the Israeli blockade that cut power and deliveries of food and other necessities to the territory. They lack clean water. They are running out of basic items for easing pain and preventing infections. Fuel for their generators is dwindling.

Israel began its bombing campaign after Hamas militants surged across the border on Oct. 7 and killed over 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and abducted more than 200 others. Israels offensive has devastated neighborhoods, shuttered five hospitals, killed thousands and wounded more people than its remaining health facilities can handle.

We have a shortage of everything, and we are dealing with very complex surgeries, Abed, who works with Doctors Without Borders, told The Associated Press from Al Quds Hospital. The medical center is still treating hundreds of patients in defiance of an evacuation order the Israeli military gave Friday. Some 10,000 Palestinians displaced by the bombing have also taken refuge in the hospital compound.

These people are all terrified, and so am I, the surgeon said. But there is no way well evacuate.

A Palestinian girl, wounded in an Israeli bombardment on the Gaza Strip, cries in a hospital in Deir al-Balah, south of the Gaza Strip, Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)AP

The first food, water and medicine trickled into Gaza from Egypt on Saturday after being stalled on the border for days. Four trucks in the 20-truck aid convoy were carrying drugs and medical supplies, the World Health Organization said. Aid workers and doctors warned it was not nearly enough to address Gazas spiraling humanitarian crisis.

Its a nightmare. If more aid doesnt come in, I fear well get to the point where going to a hospital will do more harm than good, Mehdat Abbas, an official in the Hamas-run Health Ministry, said.

Across the territorys hospitals, ingenuity is being put to the test. Abed used household vinegar from the corner store as disinfectant until the stores ran out, he said. Too many doctors had the same idea. Now, he cleans wounds with a mixture of saline and the polluted water that trickles from taps because Israel cut off the water.

A shortage of surgical supplies forced some staff to use sewing needles to stitch wounds, which Abed said can damage tissue. A shortage of bandages forced medics to wrap clothes around large burns, which he said can cause infections. A shortage of orthopedic implants forced Abed to use screws that dont fit his patients bones. There are not enough antibiotics, so he gives single pills rather than multiple courses to patients suffering terrible bacterial infections.

We are doing what we can to stabilize the patients, to control the situation, he said. People are dying because of this.

When Israel cut fuel to the territorys sole power plant two weeks ago, Gazas rumbling generators kicked in to keep life-support equipment running in hospitals.

Authorities are desperately scrounging up diesel to keep them going. United Nations agencies are distributing their remaining stocks. Motorists are emptying their gas tanks.

A Palestinian woman wounded in Israeli bombardment on Gaza Strip is brought to a hospital in Deir al-Balah, south of the Gaza Strip, Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)AP

In some hospitals, the lights have already switched off. At Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis this week, nurses and surgical assistants held their iPhones over the operating table, guiding the surgeons with the flashlights as they snipped.

At Shifa Hospital, Gazas biggest, where Abed also worked this week, the intensive care unit runs on generators but most other wards are without power. Air conditioning is a bygone luxury. Abed catches beads of sweat dripping from his patients foreheads as he operates.

People wounded in the airstrikes are overwhelming the facilities. Hospitals dont have enough beds for them.

Even a normal hospital with equipment would not be able to deal with what were facing, Abed said. It would collapse.

Shifa Hospital  with a maximum capacity of 700 people  is treating 5,000 people, general director Mohammed Abu Selmia says. Lines of patients, some in critical condition, snake out of operating rooms. The wounded lie on floors or on gurneys sometimes stained with the blood of previous patients. Doctors operate in crowded corridors filled with moans.

The scenes  infants arriving alone to intensive care because no one else in their family survived, patients awake and grimacing in pain during surgeries  have traumatized Abed into numbness.

But what still pains him is having to choose which patients to prioritize.

You have to decide, he said. Because you know that many will not make it.
This story was updated at 4:10 p.m. Sunday with the name of the suspect.

Two men were wounded during a shooting in Lebanon on Saturday evening, according to the Lebanon City Police Department.

According to a statement from police, officers were dispatched to the 900 block of Lehman Street at 7:47 p.m. Saturday, where they discovered two men - ages 25 and 30 - with gunshot wounds to their lower extremities.

Lebanon City police have identified Gavin Rodriguez as the shooter and a warrant has been issued for his arrest, according to a press release.

Rodriguez is being charged with aggravated assault and firearms not to be carried without a license.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts is encouraged to contact Lebanon City police.

Lebanon police said they determined that the shooting was the result of a verbal altercation that escalated, and that this was not random gunfire and the victims were targeted.

The men were taken to a medical facility for treatment, police said.

More:

Several central Pa. counties remain on drought watch, one in warning: DEP

A Camp Hill man mowed a patch of borough property. Now hes facing a felony charge
We are called as Americans, as people of faith or simply as human beings:

To want for others what we want for ourselves.

To want a safe homeland for people of any faith or race or nationality.

To remember that violence begets violence.

To want for Jewish people what we want for Muslims ... and Christians and Buddhists and Hindus and ...

To understand that any violent extremist group represents only the people in it.

To grieve for the people who are terrified and dying in Israel and to grieve for the people who are terrified and dying in Gaza.

To remember that Jewish people have a long history of being harmed, excluded and judged for being Jewish; and to understand that Muslims have a long history of being harmed, excluded and judged for being Muslim.

To acknowledge that throughout history peace-loving Muslims and peace-loving Jews have been retaliated against for crimes they did not commit.

To ask the US government to intervene as a peacemaker.
Park Ju-hee presents her creations to customers at a stand during an open-air art fair, as part of the 2023 China Jingdezhen International Ceramic Expo, in Jingdezhen, east China's Jiangxi Province, Oct. 18, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhu Yunuo)

NANCHANG, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Looking like a deformed disposable paper cup, a ceramic cup became a sensation the moment it became available to the public. The dents on the cup surface are convenient for people to hold, and the light milky white shows the beauty of simplicity.

Hu Xiaoyun, a painting graduate from Jingdezhen Ceramic University, is the designer of the series. She said that the design of the series is based on her environmental philosophy of rejecting disposable cups. Now, the sales volume of these products has exceeded 10,000.

"I hope that there are more people who like my creation, so as to reduce the use of disposable cups," said Hu, 25.

Jingdezhen is known as the world-famous "porcelain capital" in east China's Jiangxi Province. Its ceramic craftsmanship history spans over 2,000 years.

Traditional ceramic production techniques and modern creative designs are now blending in this city, bringing continuous innovation in the creation of ceramic products. Various innovative products have won the hearts of young consumers and injected new vitality into the "porcelain capital."

At an open-air art fair held in the city as part of the 2023 China Jingdezhen International Ceramic Expo held from Wednesday to Sunday, visitors are dazzled by the endless array of unique ceramic products, including scented candles, earrings, necklaces and stereos. Customers, many from other cities, go to Jingdezhen for shopping and few leave empty-handed.

Yang Fan, a stall owner from central China's Hubei Province, has attended the fair every year since 2018 to sell her products. She uses ceramics as materials, with flowers and butterflies as the main elements. Her wearable ceramic products include earrings, rings, necklaces and hair clips. Her average monthly sales revenue is around 20,000 yuan (2,785.79 U.S. dollars).

"I hope that ceramics can be a new spotlight in people's daily wear," Yang said.

Among the 600 stall owners are many foreigners.

With her ceramic works spread out at a tiny stand, Park Ju-hee was busy presenting her latest creation series to potential buyers.

The 44-year-old from the Republic of Korea named her latest creative series "Mosaic," as she randomly added some light colors, such as green and purple, to the white plates and cups.

"Life has been colorless during the past three years because of the pandemic, and so I hope my works can help make life more colorful," said Park, who settled in Jingdezhen last year.

Sun Lixin, a national inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage of traditional blue and white porcelain making in Jingdezhen, said the development of the city not only requires inheritance of the spirit of craftsmanship but also requires innovation.

"The ceramic craftsmanship should be integrated with innovative ideas and a sense of modernity. Only in this way can we pass down the craftsmanship from generation to generation and keep up with the times," said Sun. 

People visit an open-air art fair, as part of the 2023 China Jingdezhen International Ceramic Expo, in Jingdezhen, east China's Jiangxi Province, Oct. 17, 2023. (Xinhua)

Hu Xiaoyun and her husband arrange her creations at a stand in Jingdezhen, east China's Jiangxi Province, Oct. 12, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhu Yunuo)

This photo taken on Oct. 17, 2023 shows ceramic vases created by a young designer in Jingdezhen, east China's Jiangxi Province. (Xinhua)
Downtown Calgary and the Bow River are seen from the air on Wednesday, May 31, 2023. Calgary officials are monitoring the city's water supply following a sewer pipe leak in a municipality upstream on the Bow River, but the city says its tap water remains safe to drink. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
The PokerStars European Poker Tour at the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa in Northern Cyprus finished today with one of the last events on the schedule; the $10,300 EPT High Roller. A total of 407 players made up this field, generating a prize pool of $3,947,900.

After a lengthy two-day grind against some of the fiercest competitors in the world, only 23 players returned to the felt this afternoon for their last chance of the series at an EPT trophy. After 30 levels of play, it was Ilia Pavlov who would emerge victorious, claiming the gold PokerStars trophy as well as the lions share of the prize pool, taking home $787,400.

Prior to this tournament, Pavlovs live recorded cashes stood at $122,142, ensuring that this win today was career-defining.

Winner's Reaction

PokerNews caught up with Pavlov, who found it hard to articulate exactly what he wanted to say, choking up with joy at his accomplishment. My emotions are very high, he explained while maintaining a huge grin across his face. I feel good, of course, amazing! he said as he returned to his friends, partner, and trophy.

Ilia Pavlov

$10,000 EPT Cyprus High Roller Final Table Results

Rank Player Country Prize (USD) 1 Ilia Pavlov Russia $787,400 2 Selahaddin Bedir Turkey $492,400 3 Hwany Lee South Korea $351,700 4 Sergi Reixach Spain $270,600 5 Martin Diaz Argentina $208,100 6 Danil Rafikov Russia $160,100 7 Dmitrii Nazarov Russia $123,100 8 Markkos Ladev Estonia $101,500 9 Nariman Yaghmai Iran $84,600

Day 3 Action

Despite doubling up on the second hand of the day, Alex Peffly was the first casualty of this high roller, as he departed in 23rd place. Peffly seemingly set the pace for the day as six others followed his exit in the next two levels.

Much to the delight of the rest of the field, one of those busts outs included Adrian Mateos in 18th place. With one of the most plentiful resumes in poker history, including an EPT Monte Carlo Grand Final victory in 2015, Mateos is one of the most feared opponents on the felt. Unfortunately for Mateos, he lost the final flip of his tournament as his ace-jack fell to the pocket fours of Dmitry Yurasov, who flopped quads to win dramatically.

It was Quan Zhou who bowed out in 15th place. Zhou has had an incredible series in Cyprus having made two final tables, including a win in the $3,000 Mystery Bounty for $242,623. Although Zhou sported the very same white suit he claimed his first trophy of the week in, it wasnt to be as his pockets sevens fell behind the ace-king of Hwany Lee to end yet another deep run.

Quan Zhou

Unconventionally, the final table bubble didnt last long as both Dario Sammartino and Yurasov were eliminated within six minutes of each other, in 11th and 10th place respectively. The final nine were decided and the race to a champion began.

Final Table Action

It was nearly an hour before the first blood was drawn at this final table. It came in the form of Nariman Yaghmais departure in ninth place; Yaghmai got his money in good as he held king-queen against the king-jack of Pavlov. The flop reversed their fate and Yaghmai made his exit.

It wasnt even ten minutes before Pavlov was the beneficiary of another player's tournament life. Markkos Ladevs ace-king couldnt get there against the tens of Pavlov and he made his way to the payout desk in eighth.

The pace of play started to slow down, confirmed by the fact it was almost two hours before Dmitrii Nazarov was to make his exit from the tournament floor. With the full board dealt, Nazarov called off a bet for his tournament life and was ultimately eliminated from the tournament, allowing Hwany Lee to stack his chips.

Danil Rafikov followed shortly after as his pocket queens were cracked by the ace-king of Martin Diaz. Rafikov fell on the wrong side of this classic tournament flip and departed in sixth place.

Although Diaz didn't manage to hold on to Rafikov's stack long, as he eventually chipped down until the remainder of his own stack ended up in the hands of Sergi Reixach. Diazs ace-eight was in bad shape against the ace-king of Reixach; the board ran out with no help and he made his exit in fifth.

Reixach went on to have one of the most volatile journeys of the final nine. After being left short-stacked in an all-in confrontation with Pavlov, Reixach would eventually bust at the hands Pavlovs pocket jacks, ending his deep tournament run.

Sergi Reixach

The three-handed battle didnt last long, with Lee being the first to bust in podium position. Lees queen-five had the five-three of Pavlov dominated, but a dramatic runout sealed his fate and he made his way to the payout cage.

Selahaddin Bedir came into the heads-up match at a near ten-to-one chip deficit, eventually running into Pavlovs pocket aces to bust. Bedir leaves with a healthy $492,400 for his troubles.

After eliminating five of his eight table mates, it was left to Pavlov to lift his newly acquired golden PokerStars shard as he was crowned the newest EPT High Roller Champion.

That concludes PokerNews' High Roller coverage here at EPT Cyprus. Stay tuned for more action on the felt at an event in the very near future.
After a week of action under the opulent lights of the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino and Spa, the $5,300 Main Event of the PokerStars European Poker Tour Cyprus has wrapped up proceedings, with Gilles Simon walking away as the victor.

Simon defeated Andrea Dato in a brief heads-up affair that saw him overcome more than a two-to-one chip deficit.

It's a meteoric rise to the top for the 24-year-old, who was playing online tournaments with an average buy-in of $10 just a few years ago. It's another example of how the poker dream still remains possible, as Simon banked $1,042,000 for the win.

Gilles Simon

The boisterous Dutch rail spurred Simon on as they saw their compatriot go from the inaugural winner of PokerStars' Dare to Stream to the maiden champion of EPT Cyprus.

Dato, an Italian grinder, collected the $652,200 runner-up prize.

EPT Cyprus Main Event Final Table Results

Place Player Country Prize 1 Gilles Simon Netherlands $1,042,000 2 Andrea Dato Italy $652,200 3 Jose Gonzalez Sanchez Spain $465,425 4 Halil Tasyurek Turkey $358,075 5 Yannick Schumacher Germany $275,425 6 Nikita Kuznetsov Russia $211,850 7 Bjorn Kozenkai Hungary $162,925 8 Victor Yugay Uzbekistan $125,350 9 Priit Parmasto Estonia $96,425

From Twitch Streamer to EPT Champion

The youngest player at the final table entered Day 6 with the chip lead and was able to stay near the top of the counts for most of the day.

"It was very close and I think it was just very much for everyone involved," Simon said in a winner's interview. "The battle of who can just hold on, who can keep playing steady and not make too many big mistakes because the pressure is on, has been on for multiple days already. And it just gets bigger and bigger and bigger, and everyone just has that feeling of 'I want it to be over with. I want to be done with it.' But you also want to keep playing long game. So yeah, What did it take? I don't know. Good cards. And I like to think also mostly good decisions as a couple of spots where I was like, I don't know if I played that optimally, but yeah, I like to think that I made some good decisions in the end to maneuver my way to heads up and eventually to win."

One of the most memorable hands of the tournament came at the end of Day 4 when the Dutchman six-bet jammed with ace-queen to fold out the ace-ten of Timur Vardarian.

"I think at that point you can't really call it value anymore," he said when asked about the hand. "It's more of a thing of like his range of hands that he can have right, is basically aces and very sometimes kings. But I think he can also just have a lot of bluffs in that scenario ... So in my mind, it just means that he has a lot more bluffs than value."

After the victory, Simon reflected on his decision to retire from Twitch streaming to focus on professional poker full-time.

"I want to really focus on just getting good at my craft," he said. "So I was doing multiple things and I felt like even though I may be a unique personality a little bit, there wasn't that much that would distinguish me from any other player or any other streamer at that point ... So yeah, I just had a couple of events happen in my private life that made me rethink, kind of like, okay, where do I want to go now? Because I just had a really, really high, high, high with winning Platinum Pass and just being like, okay, I can do this. I can play poker for a living."

Final Day Recap

Halil Tasyurek and Nikita Kuznetsov took in the opening pots of the day, and then, on the third hand of play, Bjorn Kozenkai was the first player to leave the final table. The Spin and Go Specialist was the short stack heading into the session and saw his chips head over to Jose Gonzalez Sanchez after he could not overcome his preflop domination. While Koznekai was dismayed after his elimination, his $162,925 dwarfed his former biggest live cash of $10,266.

Shortly after, Kuznetsov doubled up through Simon after the Russian's tens held out against Big Slick. Simon then recovered almost instantly after winning his own preflop race through Sanchez. Dato found his own double through Sanchez, but the latter recouped any losses and took the chip lead after bluffing Tasyurek off top pair.

Jose Gonzalez Sanchez

After the players returned from the first break, Simon found a big double to put Kuznetsov as one of the short stacks. Simon then finished Kuznetsov off a few hands after his pocket kings remained best against the Russian's sailboats. This sent Simon to the top of the counts, and his lead increased after Dato doubled through Sanchez a second time.

Upon the start of Level 34, Tasyurek and Dato scored early doubles to put Yannick Schumacher near the bottom of the leaderboard. The German could not replicate the feats of his tablemates and was the next to crash out as his ace-queen was drawing dead on the turn versus Tasyurek's jacks. Schumacher was awarded $275,425, almost double his total live earnings prior to his deep run in Cyprus. There would be no more eliminations for the remainder of the Level, with Dato surviving all-in situations a few more times.

With the blinds at 200,000/400,000, less than 100 big blinds were in play, so every chip mattered. Tasyurek thought he would be the recipient of a huge pot after flopping two pair. However, Sanchez turned a straight to take the pot. Tasyurek's tumble down the counts began, and he was ousted in fourth place.

Dato started three-handed play as the chip leader, marking a complete turnaround after spending most of the session propping up the rest of the players. He then furthered the gap between himself and Simon after downing Sanchez to set up heads-up with the Dutchman.

Dato began the final duel with more than a two-to-one chip lead, but Simon narrowed the gap after the first hand. Simon flopped bottom two pair and got two streets of value to draw the counts close to even. Simon then took the chip lead after Dato called his pot-sized bet with an inferior pair of kings.

The duo were given some time to get away from the table in the form of a 45-minute dinner break. Simon had 30.5 million, while Dato had been reduced to 9 million in the first part of the two-person battle.

Gilles Simon - Andrea Dato

When play resumed, Simon only took a few hands to seal the victory. His king-eight flopped a pair against Dato's ace-jack and he held out on the turn and river to pick up his first live major title.

This concludes PokerNews EPT Cyprus Main Event coverage. Congratulations to Gilles Simon!
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ABCs Jon Karl didnt let Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) off the hook for claiming that Biden had blood on his hands after Hamas attacked Israel.

Transcript from ABCs This Week:

SCOTT: Let me finish, Jon. That money, we know Hamass first thank you was to Iran. Ninety percent of their money comes from  from Iran. Put those pieces of the puzzle together. Thats why this administration froze those dollars just last week.

KARL: But  but, I mean, Im glad you mention they froze the money, because none of that money has gone to Iran, none of it. And you said that he has blood on his hands. I mean, with all due respect

(CROSSTALK)

KARL:  the blood is on the hands of Hamas. And to say that Joe Biden is complicit, which you also said, in the greatest, deadliest attack

SCOTT: Yes.

KARL:  on the Jewish people since the Holocaust, I mean, that  thats beyond the pale, isnt it?

SCOTT: Well, Jon, lets just

KARL: You dont  you dont really think he has



KARL: OK. But I  I think we can agree that the blood is on the hands of Hamas. Thats who is to blame for what happened.

SCOTT: We can agree that  no doubt, the

Video:

The problem that occurs when Republicans step out of the conservative media bubble and try to do mainstream media interviews is that they often have to face consequences for the over-the-top and in many cases dangerous rhetoric that they use.

Scott made up an excuse about what he was really referring to were Bidens policies when the truth is that he was trying to court Republican voters and grab some headlines with some rhetoric that he knew was inaccurate and unjustified.

Kevin McCarthy faced some of the same accountability when he went on Meet The Press and tried to blame Democrats for getting fired. Elected Republicans struggle to speak to the rest of America that doesnt watch Fox News and Newsmax, and as their party has moved more to the extreme right, people like Tim Scott try to keep up by making inflammatory statements that even the corporate media feels compelled to call out.
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On Sunday morning, former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) went there on Trump giving Israeli secrets to Russia and said Biden is providing better world leadership.

Video:

Cheney said:

The other thing to remember about Donald Trump is that he reportedly shared Israeli intelligence with the Russians very early in his term. He also, as we know now from the indictments that weve seen from, from Jack Smith, shared highly classified military documents apparently relating to you know, military action potentially against Iran. He shared that with Mark Meadows, ghostwriters and political consultants. It seems according to the indictments.

So if you think about it, not only is he out there advocating for complimenting Americas adversaries and in fact, terrorist organizations that slaughter innocents. He also seems to have shared very highly classified intelligence information, both ours and the Israelis, in fact, with adversaries. So I think its simply the latest example of why Donald Trump is not fit to be president of the United States.

Jake Tapper asked Cheney, Who do you think is providing better leadership on the international stage right now. Biden or Trump?

Former Rep. Cheney answered, Oh. Certainly Biden.

Cheney put together a point that has been circulating on social media that not only does Trump praise Americas enemies. The former president also assists them. The far left is complaining about Bidens handling of the Israel situation, but there is no doubt that Biden is providing leadership on the world stage.

Under Trump the United States was marginalized on the global stage, Biden has America back at the head of the table and leading again.

Those on the left will disagree with Cheney on ninety percent or more of policy ideas, but the one thing we can agree on is Donald Trump is unfit to be president.
DAMASCUS, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Renewed Israeli missile strike targeted both international airports in the capital Damascus, and the northern city of Aleppo early Sunday, the Lebanese al-Mayadeen TV news reported.

The report said the Syrian air defense systems responded to the Israeli missile attack on both airports.

Further details are not immediately available.

The attack comes amid growing tension in the region. 
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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) backed up President Bidens statement that aid from Ukraine is actually spent in 38 different states in the US.

The exchange between Margret Brennon and Sen. McConnell on CBSs Face The Nation:

Minority Leader McConnell: If you look at the Ukraine assistance, lets talk about where the money is really going. A significant portion of it is spent in the United States in 38 different states, replacing the weapons we sent to Ukraine with more modern weapons. So were rebuilding our industrial base.

Margaret Brennan: Thats what President Biden is seeking to do.

Minority Leader McConnell: Its correct. No Americans are getting killed in Ukraine. Were rebuilding our industrial base. The Ukrainians are destroying the army of one of our biggest rivals. I have a hard time finding anything wrong with that. I think its wonderful that theyre defending themselves- and also the notion that the Europeans are not doing enough. Theyve done almost 90 billion dollars, theyre housing a bunch of refugees who escaped. I think that our NATO allies in Europe have done quite a lot.

Video of McConnell:

President Biden raised the point in his Oval Office address last week that when House and Senate Republicans oppose aid to Ukraine what they are actually opposing is aid to the United States. The US gives part of its weapons and equipment stockpile to Ukraine and then replenishes the supplies needed for national defense with congressionally appropriated funds.

Republicans who oppose aid to Ukraine are harming American national security. Those Republicans are saying that they want to make America weaker and less safe because that is what blocking aid to Ukraine does.

Democrats dont agree with Mitch McConnell on much of anything, but the Senator from Kentucky is right about how aid to Ukraine benefits the US.
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Trump did his big tell that he knows he is in trouble, as the former president claimed that Sidney Powell was never his lawyer.

Trump posted on Truth Social:

Sidney Powell was one of millions and millions of people who thought, and in ever increasing numbers still think, correctly, that the 2020 Presidential Election was RIGGED & STOLLEN, AND OUR COUNTRY IS BEING ABSOLUTELY DESTROYED BECAUSE OF IT!!! Despite the Fake News reports to the contrary, and without even reaching out to ask the Trump Campaign, MS. POWELL WAS NOT MY ATTORNEY, AND NEVER WAS.

In fact, she would have been conflicted. Ms. Powell did a valiant job of representing a very unfairly treated and governmentally abused General Mike Flynn, but to no avail. His prosecution, despite the facts, was ruthless. He was an innocent man, much like many other innocent people who are being persecuted by this now Fascist government of ours, and I was honored to give him a Full Pardon!

If Sidney Powell wasnt Trumps lawyer, what was she doing in the White House with Trumps legal team during the infamous December 2020 meeting when the coup plot was hatched? If Sidney Powell wasnt Trumps lawyer, why was she attending press conferences and speaking with Trumps legal team to the press?

It is easy to spot when Donald Trump knows that he is in danger, because anyone who he thinks could have damaging information, the former president pretends not know.

Trump cant pretend not to know Sidney Powell, so he is claiming that she wasnt his lawyer.

Co-defendants are flipping on Trump, as the walls are closing in and accountability is on the horizon.
From the District of Columbia to Aiken County, Tracey Turner  the Weeping Willows developer who plans to redevelop the old Aiken County Hospital  has faced a number of lawsuits alleging he's left people waiting for months or years for repayment. Read morePattern of unpaid debts follows old Aiken County Hospital developer from D.C.
Aiken Standard Reporter

Erin Weeks is a reporter with the Aiken Standard. She covers education in Aiken County.

Erin is a graduate of the University of South Carolina Aiken. Her first poetry book, "Origins of My Love," was published by Bottlecap Press in 2022.

To support local journalism, sign up for a subscription. See our current offers 
South Carolina highway officials said there has been an increase in fatal traffic accidents in Aiken County.

From Jan. 1 to Oct. 15, Aiken County has had 30 fatal accidents. That's an increase from 2022, which had 21. In 2021, Aiken County had 33 fatalities and 25 in 2020 during the same time period.

Lance Cpl. Brittany Glover, with South Carolina Highway Patrol, said there has also been an increase in the number of fatal accidents involving pedestrians compared to 2022.

From Jan. 1 to Oct. 15, 126 pedestrians have been killed in traffic accidents in South Carolina. Aiken County has had seven fatal accidents that have involved pedestrians.

In January a vehicle struck a pedestrian while they were attempting to cross the road from Cherokee Drive in Clearwater and in February a pedestrian was killed on Interstate 20.

In June, a male pedestrian was killed while walking in the middle of Piper Road at Pedro Drive.

In July, a 91-year-old woman was killed in a fatal hit-and-run in Aiken County.

In August, a woman was killed in North Augusta, after she was hit by a pick-up truck. Also in August, a teacher from Wagener-Salley High School teacher was killed by a falling utility pole.

Last year around the same time period there were four fatal accidents that involved pedestrians in Aiken, while the state had 119.

Even though there has been increase in fatal accidents in Aiken County, the state has seen an overall decrease in traffic fatalities, Glover said.
When Nikki Haley entered a crowded primary field for the Republican nomination for S.C. governor in 2010, I wrote the editorial for Columbias State newspaper endorsing Henry McMaster.

As I explained in an accompanying column about why we had rejected each of the other candidates, Ms. Haley displayed a disturbing habit of taking a grain of truth and making it sound like something entirely different. We also feared she would be a repeat of Mark Sanford: constantly picking fights with the Legislature, rarely convincing legislators to pass any of the many good ideas she had.

That first concern would only mushroom over the next six years, and the second would be a recurring worry and then complaint over her coming campaigns.

Best as I can tell, when then-S.C. Rep. Haley and then-U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett made it into the runoff without Mr. McMaster, we made the unusual decision not to endorse a candidate, because we had so many concerns about both of them.

Those concerns about Ms. Haley only grew in the coming months, and I ended up writing an editorial that fall endorsing Democratic Sen. Vincent Sheheen. As if to add an exclamation point, I wrote endorsements for the Republican candidates in the two other statewide races where we endorsed.

Four years later, I had my fourth opportunity to endorse Ms. Haley, and for the fourth time I convinced my colleagues we should not  not that it took a lot of convincing. Again, I wrote an endorsement of Mr. Sheheen, this time noting that our concerns about Ms. Haley alienating the Legislature and therefore getting no traction on her best ideas  or on much of anything else  had been realized.

I explained it this way when she left Columbia in 2017 to become U.S. ambassador to the United Nations: Where she wanted to succeed  recruiting jobs, providing leadership through natural and man-made disasters, removing the Confederate flag from the State House grounds  she employed those diplomatic skills. She was charming and gracious; she met people halfway. And she succeeded.
Patch Whisky has been all around the United States and Canada painting murals in different cities. The artist and Princeton, West Virginia, native is now using the city of Goose Creek as his muse and is in charge of painting the citys newest mural at 225 Red Bank Road. Read moreArtist leaves mark on mural
Built in 1845, the William Ravenel House had been in the same family for nearly six decades. Read moreHistoric Charleston mansion on East Battery sells, just shy of the peninsula's record
PHNOM PENH, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia has won two prestigious awards from the World Travel Awards for 2023, the country's Ministry of Tourism said in a news release on Sunday.

It emerged as the winner of "Asia's Leading Cultural Destination" and "Asia's Leading Youth Travel Destination," according to the release.

Ministry of Tourism's Secretary of State and Spokesman Top Sopheak said Cambodia is a cultural and ecological tourism destination.

"We are well known for the Angkor Archeological Park, a world heritage site in northwest Siem Reap province, and a beautiful bay in southwest Sihanoukville," he told Xinhua.

Tourism is one of the four pillars supporting Cambodia's economy.

According to the Ministry of Tourism, the Southeast Asian country recorded some 3.5 million international tourists during the January-August period of 2023, a year-on-year increase of 250.8 percent. 
The removal of the hazardous liquids and materials within the bowels of a centerpiece vessel at Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum is expected to cost upwards of $26.7 million, according to a recent study.

The remediation investigation reviewed more than 900 compartments across the Yorktown aircraft carrier, searching for for traces of asbestos, lead paint, fuel and contaminated water.

The goal was to identify and quantify what toxic materials remain on the ship to establish a cost estimate and plan for removal.

According to the preliminary survey results, an estimated 4 million gallons of liquid remain in unused portions of the Yorktown  including 65,390 gallons of fuel oil. But not all of the water is contaminated or requires removal. It varies from fresh, brackish, salt to oily water.

During the initial remediation phase, about 550,000 gallons will be removed, according to the S.C. Office of Resilience, which is overseeing the study. Fresh water will be reintroduced as ballast where necessary. Further removal of existing liquids and contaminants will be re-evaluated once the immediate work is completed.

The contaminants do not pose an immediate threat, but if left unchecked salt water and exposure to the elements will continue to corrode the ship's starboard hull over time.

Last year, Gov. Henry McMaster directed the Office of Resilience to study how to remove the contaminants to prevent them from leaking into Charleston Harbor. At the time he said that "the chance of an environmental disaster only increases with each passing year."
After 30 years serving as a hospital and military chaplain, I returned to the pastorate last year where Im rediscovering the things I missed.

I can honestly say I missed preaching, potlucks and the playful fun I share with parishioners. (See how well a pastor can force alliteration into his/her points.) But I must say, I dont miss the pressure clergy feel to recruit new parishioners. I was never much good at that.

However, in the Air Force I had ample opportunities to troll for souls, because each base chaplain is assigned workplaces they must routinely visit. My assigned areas were the hospital and the Security Police station. One day during a visit to the police station, I was warmly welcomed by a parishioner who worked as the desk sergeant. We sat down together inside his cubicle to talk about office issues.

But, a few minutes into our conversation, his boss called him away for a moment. While he was gone, I remained in the cubicle, hidden away from the officers who just then entered the squad room.

Assuming they had an empty office, they began to talk.

Their talk quickly turned to the graphic nature of their dating lives. As they told their can-you-top-this stories, one officer claimed his leading role as a ladies' man. Each of his stories centered on his prowess with several women inside his large Ford Taurus.

But when they saw their supervisor reenter the room, they retreated to the break room.

Do you want to have a little fun? I whispered to my friend.

He gave me a hesitant nod, so I filled him in on the conversation Id overheard. Then I asked him to introduce me to his fellow officers assembled around the donut box. (Apologies for the cliche.) The sergeant and I entered the break room wearing matching grins. Each officer gave me a hearty greeting.

I recognized the distinctive voice of the Taurus officer as I sensed his unspoken question, How long have you been here, Chaplain?
One perk of visiting different cities is seeing the different styles of street art. Charleston has its own distinct style, which our readers showcased, and then we went across the globe, seeing the different ways that humans decorate the areas they live. Read moreReader photo pick of the week: Street art
MACON, Ga.  When a sheriff's deputy from Bibb County knocked on Bobbie Hopson's door, he was originally in the area about dogs running loose. Little did he know he was about to run across a South Carolina man who is no stranger to the underground world of turtle smuggling.

The deputy was drawn at first to a large basin nestled in a pile of trash next to the driveway. Inside were more than a dozen turtles.

Hopson told the deputy her son, Steven Baker, had left the turtles and two dogs with her weeks ago then refused to come back from his South Carolina home to take them back.

The turtles were starving and suffering from bacteria and fungal infections, sepsis, blindness and shell deformities, a veterinarian told officers.

When reached by a Georgia deputy, Baker, 43, told them he took good care of his animals. Baker sent screenshots from his Holly Hill home, an hour west of Charleston, of other animals.

The turtles found in the trash in Bibb County were one brown red-eared sliders turtles, two pink-bellied side neck turtles, one Chinese golden thread turtle, and 11 rare albino red-eared sliders, which retail for more than $100 each.

These turtles are not illegal to possess. But in Georgia, abusing animals is.

Baker was charged with 15 state counts of aggravated animal cruelty. He was taken into custody Oct. 10.

It isnt the first time Baker's been prosecuted in connection with turtles. Its not even the second time. For the past decade, state and federal agencies have investigated Baker, tracing a network of turtle smuggling that reached from remote rural areas in South Carolina to Hong Kong and across Asia where turtles are highly valued as food, medicine and pets.

Turtle smuggling has been and remains a very profitable venture.

There are a few things at play, said Will Dillman, assistant chief of wildlife at the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. One is that there's a lot of money to be make in the international turtle trade, which until recently operated under the radar of most law enforcement agents.
It was a day Frank Larkin will never forget. In April 2017, his son Ryan F. Larkin, a Navy SEAL who was struggling following his return to civilian life, committed suicide in the basement of the familys home. Read moreCommentary: Let's take care of those who served and protected us
NORTH CHARLESTON  The last time Chris Christie ran for president in 2016, he abandoned his White House bid after a disappointing sixth-place finish in New Hampshire.

But after holding a campaign event here Oct. 21, the former New Jersey governor made a bold prediction about his long-shot bid for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

In an interview with The Post and Courier, Christie declared he would "absolutely" be on the ballot in South Carolina's GOP presidential primary Feb. 24.

Then he went further, saying he plans to duke it out with former Gov. Nikki Haley in her home state, as well as former President Donald Trump.

The comments represent a shift in tone for Christie, who last month told the New York Times he would drop out of the GOP presidential race if he did not do well in New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary, painting it as his do-or-die state.

But after his Oct. 21 rally at Tradesman Brewing Company, he was all-in on his odds in the Palmetto State. Christie brushed off his low single-digit polling numbers and Haley's steady rise as he vowed to be a fierce competitor in the state's first-in-the-South GOP primary.

"Look, if she's not beating me right now in South Carolina after being governor for two terms, then she's got a real problem. Don't worry," Christie said. "After we win in New Hampshire, we'll give her a contest down here  and Donald Trump."
ISLE OF PALMS  A bumper crop of yard signs has sprouted across this barrier island as voters prepare for a referendum Nov. 7 that could limit short-term rental licenses.

It's the latest skirmish in a much broader fight over the future of these sorts of vacation usages that's been playing out across South Carolina.

If nothing else, we are keeping the sign business afloat," said Mayor Phillip Pounds.

Isle of Palms is among the communities on the frontlines  all places where high demand from vacationers fuels the short-term rental business. Charleston, Mount Pleasant, Folly Beach and Beaufort limit such rentals; Sullivan's Island prohibits them; Myrtle Beach doesn't allow new ones in residential neighborhoods.

The Isle of Palms referendum calls for imposing a 1,600 cap on short-term rental licenses for investors and second-home owners. There would continue to be no cap for homes that are the owners' primary residence.

It's about preserving the island's quality of life, say supporters. More than 30 percent of the city's registered voters signed a petition to get the referendum on the ballot.

We have a growing number of short-term rental licenses in residential communities," said Randy Bell, a former councilman working with pro-referendum group Preserve Isle of Palms Now. "We are trying to maintain the one-third, one-third, one-third split between full-time residents, second homes and rental properties."

Opponents say it's really about property rights and property values. An investment property or second home could be harder to sell, and worth less, if there's no certainty it could be used for short-term rentals.

What are we trying to solve?" said Hugh Swingle, an island resident whose family business is Palm Blvd Vacation Rentals. "We just dont see that theres an actual problem.
People conduct rescue work after Israeli airstrikes in Gaza city, Oct. 22, 2023. The death toll of Palestinians from Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip has risen to 4,651, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said on Sunday. Meanwhile, 14,245 Palestinians were wounded in the coastal enclave, the ministry said in a statement.

The Israeli airstrikes were triggered by a large-scale Hamas attack on Israeli military targets and towns on Oct. 7, which has so far killed at least 1,400 people in Israel. (Photo by Yasser Qudih/Xinhua)

GAZA, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- The death toll of Palestinians from Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip has risen to 4,651, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said on Sunday.

Meanwhile, 14,245 Palestinians were wounded in the coastal enclave, the ministry said in a statement.

Among the victims, 1,873 were children and 1,023 were women, it added.

At least 266 Palestinians were killed by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza in the last 24 hours, Ashraf al-Qedra, the ministry's spokesperson, said in a press statement.

The Israeli airstrikes were triggered by a large-scale Hamas attack on Israeli military targets and towns on Oct. 7, which has so far killed at least 1,400 people in Israel. 

This photo taken on Oct. 22, 2023 shows destroyed buildings after Israeli airstrikes in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis. The death toll of Palestinians from Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip has risen to 4,651, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said on Sunday. Meanwhile, 14,245 Palestinians were wounded in the coastal enclave, the ministry said in a statement.

The Israeli airstrikes were triggered by a large-scale Hamas attack on Israeli military targets and towns on Oct. 7, which has so far killed at least 1,400 people in Israel. (Photo by Khaled Omar/Xinhua)

A woman mourns for her relative at a hospital in the southern Gaza Strip, Oct. 21, 2023. The death toll of Palestinians from Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip has risen to 4,651, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said on Sunday. Meanwhile, 14,245 Palestinians were wounded in the coastal enclave, the ministry said in a statement.

The Israeli airstrikes were triggered by a large-scale Hamas attack on Israeli military targets and towns on Oct. 7, which has so far killed at least 1,400 people in Israel. (Photo by Khaled Omar/Xinhua)

People stand among the rubble of a building destroyed in Israeli airstrikes in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on Oct. 21, 2023. The death toll of Palestinians from Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip has risen to 4,651, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said on Sunday. Meanwhile, 14,245 Palestinians were wounded in the coastal enclave, the ministry said in a statement.

The Israeli airstrikes were triggered by a large-scale Hamas attack on Israeli military targets and towns on Oct. 7, which has so far killed at least 1,400 people in Israel. (Photo by Khaled Omar/Xinhua)

A man stands among the rubble of a building destroyed in Israeli airstrikes in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, on Oct. 21, 2023. The death toll of Palestinians from Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip has risen to 4,651, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said on Sunday. Meanwhile, 14,245 Palestinians were wounded in the coastal enclave, the ministry said in a statement.

The Israeli airstrikes were triggered by a large-scale Hamas attack on Israeli military targets and towns on Oct. 7, which has so far killed at least 1,400 people in Israel. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

A man stands among the rubble of a building destroyed in Israeli airstrikes in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, on Oct. 21, 2023. The death toll of Palestinians from Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip has risen to 4,651, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said on Sunday. Meanwhile, 14,245 Palestinians were wounded in the coastal enclave, the ministry said in a statement.

The Israeli airstrikes were triggered by a large-scale Hamas attack on Israeli military targets and towns on Oct. 7, which has so far killed at least 1,400 people in Israel. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

A woman mourns for her relative at a hospital in the southern Gaza Strip, Oct. 21, 2023. The death toll of Palestinians from Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip has risen to 4,651, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said on Sunday. Meanwhile, 14,245 Palestinians were wounded in the coastal enclave, the ministry said in a statement.

The Israeli airstrikes were triggered by a large-scale Hamas attack on Israeli military targets and towns on Oct. 7, which has so far killed at least 1,400 people in Israel. (Photo by Khaled Omar/Xinhua)

People stand among the rubble of a building destroyed in Israeli airstrikes in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, on Oct. 21, 2023. The death toll of Palestinians from Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip has risen to 4,651, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said on Sunday. Meanwhile, 14,245 Palestinians were wounded in the coastal enclave, the ministry said in a statement.

The Israeli airstrikes were triggered by a large-scale Hamas attack on Israeli military targets and towns on Oct. 7, which has so far killed at least 1,400 people in Israel. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

People stand among the rubble of a building destroyed in Israeli airstrikes in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, on Oct. 21, 2023. The death toll of Palestinians from Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip has risen to 4,651, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said on Sunday. Meanwhile, 14,245 Palestinians were wounded in the coastal enclave, the ministry said in a statement.

The Israeli airstrikes were triggered by a large-scale Hamas attack on Israeli military targets and towns on Oct. 7, which has so far killed at least 1,400 people in Israel. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

People stand among the rubble of a building destroyed in Israeli airstrikes in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on Oct. 21, 2023. The death toll of Palestinians from Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip has risen to 4,651, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said on Sunday. Meanwhile, 14,245 Palestinians were wounded in the coastal enclave, the ministry said in a statement.

The Israeli airstrikes were triggered by a large-scale Hamas attack on Israeli military targets and towns on Oct. 7, which has so far killed at least 1,400 people in Israel. (Photo by Khaled Omar/Xinhua)

People conduct rescue work after Israeli airstrikes in Gaza city, Oct. 22, 2023. The death toll of Palestinians from Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip has risen to 4,651, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said on Sunday. Meanwhile, 14,245 Palestinians were wounded in the coastal enclave, the ministry said in a statement.

The Israeli airstrikes were triggered by a large-scale Hamas attack on Israeli military targets and towns on Oct. 7, which has so far killed at least 1,400 people in Israel. (Photo by Yasser Qudih/Xinhua)

People conduct rescue work after Israeli airstrikes in Gaza city, Oct. 22, 2023. The death toll of Palestinians from Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip has risen to 4,651, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said on Sunday. Meanwhile, 14,245 Palestinians were wounded in the coastal enclave, the ministry said in a statement.

The Israeli airstrikes were triggered by a large-scale Hamas attack on Israeli military targets and towns on Oct. 7, which has so far killed at least 1,400 people in Israel. (Photo by Yasser Qudih/Xinhua)

This photo taken on Oct. 22, 2023 shows destroyed buildings after Israeli airstrikes in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis. The death toll of Palestinians from Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip has risen to 4,651, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said on Sunday. Meanwhile, 14,245 Palestinians were wounded in the coastal enclave, the ministry said in a statement.

The Israeli airstrikes were triggered by a large-scale Hamas attack on Israeli military targets and towns on Oct. 7, which has so far killed at least 1,400 people in Israel. (Photo by Khaled Omar/Xinhua)

A woman stands in front of destroyed buildings after Israeli airstrikes in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, Oct. 22, 2023. The death toll of Palestinians from Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip has risen to 4,651, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said on Sunday. Meanwhile, 14,245 Palestinians were wounded in the coastal enclave, the ministry said in a statement.

The Israeli airstrikes were triggered by a large-scale Hamas attack on Israeli military targets and towns on Oct. 7, which has so far killed at least 1,400 people in Israel. (Photo by Khaled Omar/Xinhua)

People conduct rescue work after Israeli airstrikes in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, Oct. 22, 2023. The death toll of Palestinians from Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip has risen to 4,651, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said on Sunday. Meanwhile, 14,245 Palestinians were wounded in the coastal enclave, the ministry said in a statement.

The Israeli airstrikes were triggered by a large-scale Hamas attack on Israeli military targets and towns on Oct. 7, which has so far killed at least 1,400 people in Israel. (Photo by Khaled Omar/Xinhua)

A man sits in front of destroyed buildings after Israeli airstrikes in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, Oct. 22, 2023. The death toll of Palestinians from Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip has risen to 4,651, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said on Sunday. Meanwhile, 14,245 Palestinians were wounded in the coastal enclave, the ministry said in a statement.

The Israeli airstrikes were triggered by a large-scale Hamas attack on Israeli military targets and towns on Oct. 7, which has so far killed at least 1,400 people in Israel. (Photo by Khaled Omar/Xinhua)

A woman walks past destroyed buildings after Israeli airstrikes in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, Oct. 22, 2023. The death toll of Palestinians from Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip has risen to 4,651, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said on Sunday. Meanwhile, 14,245 Palestinians were wounded in the coastal enclave, the ministry said in a statement.

The Israeli airstrikes were triggered by a large-scale Hamas attack on Israeli military targets and towns on Oct. 7, which has so far killed at least 1,400 people in Israel. (Photo by Khaled Omar/Xinhua)

People conduct rescue work after Israeli airstrikes in Gaza city, Oct. 22, 2023. The death toll of Palestinians from Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip has risen to 4,651, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said on Sunday. Meanwhile, 14,245 Palestinians were wounded in the coastal enclave, the ministry said in a statement.

The Israeli airstrikes were triggered by a large-scale Hamas attack on Israeli military targets and towns on Oct. 7, which has so far killed at least 1,400 people in Israel. (Photo by Yasser Qudih/Xinhua)

This photo taken on Oct. 22, 2023 shows destroyed buildings after Israeli airstrikes in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis. The death toll of Palestinians from Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip has risen to 4,651, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said on Sunday. Meanwhile, 14,245 Palestinians were wounded in the coastal enclave, the ministry said in a statement.

The Israeli airstrikes were triggered by a large-scale Hamas attack on Israeli military targets and towns on Oct. 7, which has so far killed at least 1,400 people in Israel. (Photo by Khaled Omar/Xinhua)

People conduct rescue work after Israeli airstrikes in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, Oct. 22, 2023. The death toll of Palestinians from Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip has risen to 4,651, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said on Sunday. Meanwhile, 14,245 Palestinians were wounded in the coastal enclave, the ministry said in a statement.

The Israeli airstrikes were triggered by a large-scale Hamas attack on Israeli military targets and towns on Oct. 7, which has so far killed at least 1,400 people in Israel. (Photo by Khaled Omar/Xinhua)

Injured people receive treatment after Israeli airstrikes at Nasser Hospital in the center of the city of Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip, Oct. 22, 2023.

The death toll of Palestinians from Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip has risen to 4,651, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry on Sunday. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

A medical worker treats an injured child at Nasser Hospital after Israeli airstrikes, in the center of the city of Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip, Oct. 22, 2023.

The death toll of Palestinians from Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip has risen to 4,651, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry on Sunday. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

Injured people receive treatment after Israeli airstrikes at Nasser Hospital in the center of the city of Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip, Oct. 22, 2023.

The death toll of Palestinians from Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip has risen to 4,651, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry on Sunday. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

Medical workers treat an injured person inside Nasser Hospital to save the lives of citizens after Israeli airstrikes, in the center of the city of Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip, Oct. 22, 2023.

The death toll of Palestinians from Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip has risen to 4,651, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry on Sunday. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

A medical worker treats an injured child at Nasser Hospital after Israeli airstrikes, in the center of the city of Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip, Oct. 22, 2023.

The death toll of Palestinians from Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip has risen to 4,651, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry on Sunday. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

A medical worker operates at Nasser Hospital to save the lives of citizens after Israeli airstrikes, in the center of the city of Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip, Oct. 22, 2023.

The death toll of Palestinians from Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip has risen to 4,651, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry on Sunday. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

A medical worker treats an injured child at Nasser Hospital after Israeli airstrikes, in the center of the city of Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip, Oct. 22, 2023.

The death toll of Palestinians from Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip has risen to 4,651, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry on Sunday. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

Children sit on a heart-shaped installation in front of a building destroyed in Israeli airstrikes in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, Oct. 22, 2023. The death toll of Palestinians from Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip has risen to 4,651, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry on Sunday. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

Children sit on a heart-shaped installation in front of a building destroyed during Israeli airstrikes in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, Oct. 22, 2023. The death toll of Palestinians from Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip has risen to 4,651, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry on Sunday. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

Children fetch water at a shelter school in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, Oct. 22, 2023. The death toll of Palestinians from Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip has risen to 4,651, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry on Sunday. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

Children fetch water at a shelter school in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, Oct. 22, 2023. The death toll of Palestinians from Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip has risen to 4,651, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry on Sunday. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

People conduct rescue work after Israeli airstrikes in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, Oct. 22, 2023. The death toll of Palestinians from Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip has risen to 4,651, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry on Sunday. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

A rescuer works among the debris of a building destroyed in Israeli airstrikes in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, Oct. 22, 2023. The death toll of Palestinians from Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip has risen to 4,651, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry on Sunday. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)
If there is a conflict between good and evil going on anywhere in the world, you can predict which side the Communist Chinese will be on. In the case of the Gazan invasion of Israel, you would be right:

Sitting in front of a map of the world, Chinese influencer Su Lin has been live-streaming rants in support of Hamas and against Israel since the war broke out. Coming almost every day, they are rife with anti-Semitism. Hamas is still being too soft, going way too easy, says Ms Su, who has nearly one million followers online, in one video, adding that the Israelis are lackeys of colonialism. Shouldnt they be captured? she shouts into a microphone, referring to Israeli citizens taken hostage. Israel is now just a Jewish version of the Nazis and militarism.

Chinas government is encouraging such online demonization of Israel, while following a pro-Hamas policy:

[E]xperts say that for China, support for the Palestinian cause goes back decades, and is the bedrock upon which Beijing has built relations with Arab countries.

For one thing, China wants to keep the oil flowing:

China imports more than 70 per cent of the oil it uses, and most of it comes from Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Beyond that, geopolitical considerations fuel Chinas anti-Israel position:

Another reason China wants to remain on side with Arab nations is a simple one: Its just pure maths, said Tuvia Gering, a researcher who specialises in China at Israels Institute for National Security Studies. Theres only one tiny Israel, and theres only one country that supports it, which is the US, he said. Well, you have today 57 members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and thats a lot of votes in the [UN] General Assembly. China shares a similar view with many of these countries  that Israel is a colonialist outpost, put in place by the West to instigate wars and perpetuate its hegemony over the Middle East, he said. Chinese state media has amplified this message, situating the Israel-Palestine conflict within the broader rivalry between Beijing and Washington. America, the narrative goes, is controlled by Jewish people, and is bringing chaos to the world.

It isnt quite true that the United States is the only country that supports Israel, but it is hard to see how Israel could survive the combined might of the worlds bullies without our backing. So Israelis have to hope that the Left never takes the unconstrained control of our government to which it aspires.
IDF Lt. Colonel (reserve) Jonathan Conricus posted another update on the status of the war a few hours ago. I have embedded it below. In this update Conricus focuses on the northern front. Hezbollah and Iran are testing Israel and President Biden. He rightly characterizes himself as a credible source.

He reports that Hezbollah has been escalating its attacks on Israel. Hezbollah does not appear to be paying Bidens instruction (Dont) any mind, depending on what Biden meant by Dont. I infer the Supreme Leader has assessed that Biden didnt mean much. If Biden has deterred any actor up to this point, it is Israel.

So far, Conricus explains, Israels response [to Hezbollahs attacks] has been confined. He adds: That is so far.

Bottom line, and what you all need to know, he states toward the end of the briefing, Hezbollah is playing a very, very dangerous game. His concluding remarks imply that Lebanon is an actor independent of Hezbollah, but I dont think he has that right. Hezbollah is in control of Lebanon. Hezbollah is not the least constrained by Lebanese authorities or the people of Lebanon.
This short clip by Bill Maher, via InstaPundit, is great. If you want to know who is OK with burning babies alive, gang rape and mass murder, look no further than Americas elite institutions. The good news is that pretty much everyone is on to them:

If ignorance is a disease, Harvard Yard in the Wuhan wet market  @BillMaher #RealTime pic.twitter.com/ReozVvO4NY  Brent Baker   (@BrentHBaker) October 21, 2023



All of the schools I attended after graduating from Watertown High School in Watertown, South Dakota, were Ivy League. Things were vastly different, and vastly better, then. Today, Americas education system, starting at the top, needs to be dismantled so it can be rebuilt along sane lines.

Although, to be fair, I think Watertown High School is still pretty good.
I have been speculating for some time, and occasionally hinting here, that if Europe wants to survive, at some point it is going to have to deport large numbers of unassimilable migrants. Ive long thought for a variety reasons that France would be the country most likely do this, though dont count out Sweden or Denmark, which, unbeknownst to most American media, are starting to reckon with rising crime and other problems emanating from their migrant population. I havent thought the Germans have it in them, for a variety of reasons.

But then current Chancellor Olaf Scholz stunned with an interview just out in Der Spiegel, following a quick trip to Israel (there are several German citizens among the hostages Hamas holds). Some excerpts, starting with the headline:

We Have to Deport People More Often and Faster DER SPIEGEL: If the conflict does, in fact, escalate, is there a possibility that German troops may get involved? Scholz: The issue is far too serious to speculate about it in an abstract manner. DER SPIEGEL: In the past, such missions had always been considered taboo. That is apparently no longer the case? Scholz: Political prudence dictates that we never conduct abstract discussions about where in the world we might send our soldiers. . .

He doesnt exactly say no here.

DER SPIEGEL: The Hamas attack on Israel was barbaric. Despite the justified anger felt by the Israelis, does a democracy like Israel have to temper its response, even in a fight against terrorism, so as not to lose sight of humanitarian imperatives? Scholz: Precisely that is Israels self-image. But that does not mean that those who did this to Israel cannot expect severe consequences. As I have said, Israel has the right to defend itself and ensure its own protection and security. DER SPIEGEL: Did you address those humanitarian imperatives with Mr. Netanyahu? Scholz: There is no disagreement on the issue. Israel doesnt need warnings from German politicians. . .

Heres the interesting part:

DER SPIEGEL: Among those in Germany who harbor hatred for Israel are many people with Arab roots. Did German policymakers ignore for too long the deep hatred entrenched in some groups? Scholz: I dont agree that anyone has ignored that issue. We have been keeping a close eye on it for quite some time. DER SPIEGEL: Apparently not close enough. Should Germany be paying more attention to who is coming into the country and who is allowed to stay? Scholz: We have been doing that for a long time. But we will now be differentiating even more precisely. On the one hand, there is the immigration of workers that we need. And there are those who are seeking asylum because they are the targets of political oppression. On the other hand, though, that means that all those who dont belong to one of those groups cannot stay. That is why we are limiting irregular migration to Germany. Too many people are coming. . . And I havent even mentioned one important one yet: We must finally deport on a large scale those who have no right to stay in Germany.

Theres much more in the complete interview on the immigration question that contrasts sharply with the open-borders policy of the Biden Administration.

Scholzs hard line might be dismissed as a tactical reaction to the rising strength of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, and Der Spiegel presses him on this aspect of the issue quite hard. If Scholz doesnt follow through with his new tough talk, AfD will continue to gain strength.
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XIAMEN, CHINA / ACCESSWIRE / October 22, 2023 / On October 20th, the 24th Conference on the Electric Power Supply Industry kicked off in Xiamen, attended by more than 2,500 representatives from AESIEAP (Association of the Electricity Supply Industry of East Asia and Western Pacific) member countries and regional member units, as well as related service organizations, such as energy and power enterprises, industry organizations, technical equipment manufacturers, and scientific research and consultation. As a world-renowned provider of smart energy solutions, CHINT Group made its debut with the theme of "low-carbon energy, moving forward with intelligence" to discuss with industry customers the green, low-carbon and sustainable future of energy and electricity.CHINT's Booth at the 24th AESIEAPDuring the Conference, Cunhui Nan, Chairman of CHINT Group, gave a keynote speech, focusing on the transformation of low-carbon energy wisdom, and shared the practice of CHINT Group's continuous innovation and development around the power new energy industry and joining hands with ecosystem partners. CHINT Group and China Electricity Council signed a strategic cooperation agreement, and the two sides will give full play to the advantages of China Electricity Council's industry platform and CHINT Group's research and comprehensive application technology capabilities in the field of energy and electricity, establish a comprehensive strategic cooperation relationship, and further promote the high-quality development of the new energy industry. AESIEAP specially set up a theme exhibition session, and CHINT Group concentrated on displaying the green and low-carbon end-to-end solutions of the whole value chain of enterprises, empowering partners with "low carbon" and "intelligence" to continue to deepen the new energy field and help global customers achieve a green and intelligent upgrade in the traditional electricity field.Company: CHINT GroupContact: Chen DepengEmail: cdpeng@ chint.comTel: +86188 6756 4968Website: https://www.aesieap.com/#/ SOURCE: CHINT Group
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SAN FRANCISCO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / October 22, 2023 / Hagens Berman urges Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) investors who suffered substantial losses to submit your losses now.Class Period: Feb. 21, 2019 - Aug. 14, 2023Lead Plaintiff Deadline: Oct. 31, 2023Visit: www.hbsslaw.com/investor-fraud/DFS Contact An Attorney Now: DFS@ hbsslaw.com 844-916-0895Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) Securities Fraud Class Action:The complaint alleges that Defendants made false and misleading statements and failed to disclose that: (1) DFS maintained deficient risk management and compliance procedures; (2) as a result of these deficiencies, DFS had, among other things, failed to comply with applicable student loan servicing standards, misclassified certain credit card accounts, overcharged customers, and failed to stem its ballooning credit card delinquency rate; and (3) these issues, when they became known, would subject DFS to significant financial exposure, regulatory scrutiny, and reputational harm.The truth began to emerge on July 20, 2022, when DFS announced that it was suspending its share repurchase program "because of an internal investigation into its student loan servicing practices and related compliance matters." Then, on July 19, 2023, DFS disclosed that it had misclassified certain credit card products over an approximate 15-year period as a result of an acknowledged compliance failure. DFS stated that correction of the misclassifications negatively impacted its retained earnings and certain previous interim period net income.DFS also revealed that it received a proposed consent order from the FDIC in connection with an unrelated regulatory matter.Finally, on Aug. 14, 2023, DFS announced that Roger C. Hochschild resigned from his position as CEO and President and as a member of the company's board. The same day, DFS reported a significant increase in its credit card delinquency rate."We're focused on investors' losses and are investigating whether DFS may have concealed problems with its compliance and risk management practices," said Reed Kathrein, the Hagens Berman partner leading the investigation.If you invested in Discover Financial Services and have substantial losses, or have knowledge that may assist the firm's investigation, submit your losses nowIf you'd like more information and answers to frequently asked questions about the Discover Financial Services case and our investigation, read more Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding Discover Financial Services 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 DFS@ 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
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Technology Firm Digital Dome Takes a StandWALNUT CREEK, CA / ACCESSWIRE / October 22, 2023 / In the age of the 24-hr news cycle, an onslaught of misinformation is flooding social media channels, fueling the flames of an already complex stream of "facts" to sift through each day. According to the Associated Press, this misleading information, when left unchecked, can have far-reaching consequences, and addressing this problem head-on is crucial.Amid ongoing world events and conflict, the call for responsible leadership in addressing the current rise of antisemitic and anti-Muslim rhetoric has gained global attention. Recently, the United Nations chief urged leaders from across the world to vocally condemn such hateful rhetoric, emphasizing the urgency of the matter.As reported by The Hill, that call comes in response to the growing concern that the propagation of divisive and inflammatory rhetoric is not only deepening the divides but fostering an atmosphere conducive to violence and hate. The global community has watched with unease as groups with varying allegiances and sympathies clash, both on the ground and across social media platforms.Digital Dome, whose motto is "shoot down harmful content," has emerged as a technological platform designed to combat and report malicious content across various online networks. A dedicated team of experts works tirelessly around the clock to verify the authenticity of the content and promptly reports it to the respective networks for removal.Founded by Elad Rave, Digital Dome wants to make sure that terrorism finds no support in the murky waters of misinformation. Rave's expertise in cybersecurity has been channeled into Digital Dome, with the platform focused on the removal of racist or inaccurate information that has the potential to support terrorist groups.Whenever misleading content is reported, the platform meticulously tracks the information and the associated social media accounts. Following this, Digital Dome takes action by reaching out to the respective company's Human Resources department, requesting immediate intervention.In the United States, supporting terrorist organizations is not only socially unacceptable but also illegal. This firm stance against promoting terrorism underscores the importance of countering misinformation, which can inadvertently aid extremist causes. Digital Dome's commitment to providing clarity and accuracy provides an example of how technology can be harnessed to combat misinformation and ensure that the truth is focused on. In a world where information spreads rapidly through digital channels, the efforts of debunking misinformation is more important than ever.ABOUT DIGITAL DOMEThe Digital Dome project showcases a unique approach to how AI functions for enterprises, promising to revolutionize the way businesses harness the power of artificial intelligence. Founder, Elad Rave, is an inveterate entrepreneur who moved to the dynamic hub of Silicon Valley, California, from Israel - where he had gained substantial expertise in Cyber Security and Networking, laying a solid foundation for his technological ventures. With a penchant for innovation and a track record of success, Elad has been the driving force behind numerous groundbreaking startups; over the last 18 months, Digital Dome became the newest groundbreaking focus - a new venture deeply immersed within the AI domain. For more information, visit Digital Dome's LinkedIn.CONTACTElad Rave925-385-8017elad@ carthy.ai SOURCE: Digital Dome
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NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / October 22, 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 by visiting the firm's site: www.bgandg.com/he 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. If you wish to review a copy of the Complaint, you can visit the firm's site: www.bgandg.com/he 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 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
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SAN FRANCISCO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / October 22, 2023 / Hagens Berman urges Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HE) equity and bond investors who suffered substantial losses to submit your losses now.Class Period: Feb. 28, 2019 - Aug. 16, 2023Lead Plaintiff Deadline: Oct. 23, 2023Visit: www.hbsslaw.com/investor-fraud/HE Contact An Attorney Now: HE@ hbsslaw.com 844-916-0895Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. (NYSE: HE) Securities Fraud Class Action:The complaint alleges that, unknown to investors, (1) Hawaiian Electric's wildfire prevention and safety protocols and procedures were inadequate to meet the challenges for which they were ostensibly designed, and (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.On Aug. 12, 2023 (after historic wildfires broke out in Maui, killing dozens of people and causing billions of dollars of damage), The Washington Post reported that "[b]efore the Maui wildfires, Hawaiian Electric did not have a plan - adopted widely in California and other states - to shut off power in certain lines in advance of dangerous winds." According to the Post "Hawaiian Electric was aware that a power shut-off was an effective strategy, documents show, but had not adopted it as part of its fire-mitigation plans, according to the company and two former power and energy officials interviewed by The Washington Post." Citing a former member of the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission, the Post reported that the decision to avoid shutting off power "is reflective of the utility's struggles to bolster its aging and vulnerable infrastructure against wildfires[.]"Then, on Aug. 16, 2023, The Wall Street Journal reported that Hawaiian Electric is in talks with restructuring firms and is exploring options to address its financial and legal challenges arising from the Maui wildfires.The next day, the WSJ reported that, while knowing of wildfire threats, Hawaiian Electric spent less than $245,000 between 2019 and 2022 on Maui wildfire-specific projects.This news drove the price of Hawaiian Electric shares and bonds sharply lower."We're focused on investors' losses and proving Hawaiian Electric misled investors about its operational safeguards necessary to comply with state safety requirements," said Reed Kathrein, the Hagens Berman partner leading the investigation.If you invested in Hawaiian Electric and have substantial losses, or have knowledge that may assist the firm's investigation, submit your losses nowIf you'd like more information and answers to frequently asked questions about the Hawaiian Electric case and our investigation, read more Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding Hawaiian Electric 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 HE@ 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
Agricultural experts, on Thursday, suggested ways to upscale innovations and technologies for food system transformation in Nigeria amidst changing weather patterns in the country.

The experts spoke during a panel session themed Scaling Innovations and technologies for food system transformation at the CGIAR and partners Exhibition and Open Day, organised by the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and other partners.

The event is part of activities mapped out to further commemorate the World Food Day under the CGIAR  a global research partnership for a food secure future dedicated to transforming food, land and water systems in a climate crisis.

In her remarks, Aline Mugisho, CGIAR country convener, explained that the CGIAR primary role is to produce agricultural innovations and technologies for food system transformation.

The innovation here today is to make sure that we can communicate the different research, crop varieties and policies that have been developed across board to make sure that the Nigerian food system is put in good shape and then we can also accelerate the sustainable development goal number two  Zero hunger, she said.

Changing the face of farming

She said most of the exhibitors at the event are farmers and that one of the organisations goals as a research institute is to change the face (wrong perception) of who a farmer is and what farming is about.

This is one thing we are trying to change, the face of the farmers. For a very long time when they see a farmer, the image has been surrounding a very old, not so good looking person. But farming is a business, Mrs Mugisho said.

She explained that the food they ate comes from the farm and that sometimes the medication they have from the pharmacies comes from the farm.

Based on this, the agriculturist described farmers as very wealthy people who are badly portrayed.

Farmers are businessmen like any other businessmen. The ones that you see here are exhibiting their enterprises. So if you are into farm production, you are a producer just the way any other producer is, she said.

She explained that CGIAR and FAO are complementary in the ways that they operate to achieve food system transformation goals in Nigeria.

We produce the innovations, FAO works directly with farmers to ensure that we catalyse those innovations. We produce seeds, they (FAO) need to prove those seeds get to the farmers timely, Mrs Mugisho said in an interview.

We reach young people and FAO makes sure that we make young people interested in agriculture so that we can have labour that is qualified, that has the capacity and that is fast learning to improve food production both in Africa and beyond.

Climate-smart agriculture

Speaking on innovation for farmers amidst changing weather patterns in Nigeria, the agriculture scientists said the organisation has a centre called IWMI (the International Water Management Institute) that is providing revolutionary innovations in that sector.

However, she explained that the whole process of climate smart agriculture is to make sure that they factor in aspects of climate that are affecting food production and to make sure that the aspects of climate change that are impacting the results of farming and food production are mitigated as much as possible.

We have tools that we have developed that are looking into weather predictability, that are informing farmers timely of what needs to be done and more, she noted.

Through partnerships, Mrs Mugisho said the FAO, some years ago, developed a system to store rainwater in the Sahel region so that they can have water across the year even though they have a very short period of rainfall yearly.

Those are some of the collaborations; we call them win-win partnerships where we can capitalise on the low hanging fruits to accelerate food production and the need to leaving no one behind, she said.

Upscaling innovation

Speaking about scaling up innovations to transform food systems in Nigeria, IITAs Head of Germplasm Health Unit, Virology and Molecular Diagnostics Unit, Lava Kumar, said in an effort to scale up innovation, they often take their proven products to areas where they are needed to make necessary transformation.

It is very important that we take these products that are working, that have been shown to work elsewhere to areas that are most needed to help bring the necessary changes to the people and help build food security, he said.

In her intervention, Mrs Mugisho said what it means for them at the CGIAR to scale innovations is that once innovations within the CGIAR have been proven, they try to ensure that the innovations get to the farmers in the most accurate way.

We are in the process of ensuring that these innovations get to the end users which are our farmers and ensure that they are used accurately, she said, adding that when information is half given, it is a recipe for disaster.

These information must be well disseminated, these innovations must be better taken to the farmers, she added.

Speaking on the critical need for food systems transformation, Al-Hassan Cisse, head of FAO Northeast Sub-office, re emphasised the need to exchange innovative ideas among farmers for mutual benefit.

He urged farmers to first understand the reason why food system transformation is important.

We are talking about transforming food systems because we are in a world that is facing many challenges, Mr Cisse said.

By 2050 we will be reaching about 9 billion people, and we might find the scarcity of resources. How can we work the food systems to make it sustainable without compromising the wellbeing of the future generations?

Food system transformation

Speaking on critical policies required for sustainable food systems transformation, Foluso Adejoro, Netherlands Embassy in Nigeria Policy Advisor on Food Security and Climate, said there is no one-size-fits-all policy.

There is no stakeholder that knows it all when it comes to policies, that is why collaboration is important,  he said.

To develop good policies, Mr Adejoro said the first line of action is to have reliable data and that when the data is available, that is when to look at the available gaps in the system and identify who is best fit to fill the gaps.

You can then create a round table that brings together all the stakeholders to begin to look at the issues and address them, he said.

More often than not, Mr Adejoro said they hear that in Nigeria the problem is not in policy formulation but in implementation.

In the past few years in Nigerias agriculture sector, he emphasised, there have been several policies introduced to address food security but it is important to bring major stakeholders together to give priority to certain policies.

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When you first encounter the title of Lola Fabowales poetry collection, Nostalgia and Tears FOrile, what comes to mind is the English proverb, East or west, home is the best.

It is a proverb brought to light by English writer Walter Keating Kelly, credited for first putting it into print in his collection of foreign proverbs published in 1859 (1).

Dreams about her homeland dominated the collection by the abrodian (2) writer. She may have left Nigeria aeons ago, but Nigeria did not leave her. Even in faraway Canada, concerns for her homeland still haunt her, as we see in the poem, Rule of Law (1):

Nigerias has had enough judges

Who call pilots drivers

We want no more agriculture ministers

Or their clueless minions

Poor at adjudge market prices

We are tired of proud presidents

Who relish titles above coherence

We want no more Deputy Police Inspectors

Who run drug cartels in the pretence they design

Fashion for rings lords  hushing puppies!.. (Page 36).

The title of Lolas collection is instructive. Nostalgia and Tears FOrile. The dictionary defines nostalgia as a longing for home or familiar surroundings; homesickness. (3).

While we all know what tears are, we also know that sadness, tragedy, pain, and other unpleasant experiences make us cry and shed tears.

FOrile, the last word in the title, is an abbreviation of the Yoruba phrase Fun Orile. The F in FOrile can also mean for Orile. Orile means fatherland in Yoruba.

So, taken together, we can see from the title that the author, having migrated to a faraway foreign land after gaining adulthood in her fatherland, feels a longing and homesickness for her fatherland.

Still, its not the nostalgia that makes her shed tears for her land of birth but the sufferings, the insecurity, the wantonness of our leaders, and the lost opportunities, as depicted in the part of the poem quoted above.

The cover illustration of the book is just as instructive as the title. It shows a silhouette of a black woman and a white man backing each other. This indicates some of the contents of the book, as some of the poems are about her love entanglements with a white man, the inevitable clash of cultures, and the dehumanisation of black people by the whites.

Three-part collection

The collection is divided into three parts  A, B, and C. Section A deals with relationships  between the West and Africa, between friends, between siblings, children and parents, and between lovers. Section B talks about Nigerias many ills and compares her birthplace to Canada, her adopted home, and her life in Nigeria. In section C, the author sings about life in Canada generally, the bitter winters, the summers, the breathtaking topography, and racism.

Despite the long distance separating her from her family in Nigeria, the author certainly holds them dear as she pays homage to her mother and brother. When I read the poem Opomulero (a Yoruba word meaning, pillar or one who holds the fort), I couldnt help but smile that Lola must be writing about my good friend Yinka Fabowale, her brother. Hear her:

My son is full of questions, unceasing

When he asks: What does love look like?

I take out your picture and hold it aloft.

Or, if he enquires after loyalty

I find myself thinking of you, and that

Constancy of yours that never sags.

Tell me about creativity, he might say;

Then I recount how you infuse life into words-

Even worn, trite, hackneyed ones-

Your name, OYEYINKA-

Glory, honour, and nobility surround me-

Cuts through my challenges as hot knife sears butter

Apart from Opomulero, Lola also dedicates a second poem, The Exception Calls the Shot, to her brother. In contrast, in Yetunde, the only poem in the collection written in Creole/pidgin, she talks about pickinina, her friends precocious daughter, who, With those them big eyes/Wey una turn insa deep/A no say una be hiya bifor, abi? The child is so wise for her age that the poet is convinced she must be a reincarnation along her parent bloodline: U dey turn dem hot rags/Lak for mi Mama wen she don get bele The refrain, A know una bi hiya bifor (You have been here before), runs through every ten stanzas of the poem.

Lyrical

Many of the poems in this anthology are lyrical, and one of the most lyrical is Alade huwo (Alade has horns). Its a story of friendship and perceived betrayal. Alade, who has horns on his head like a cows, always wears a cap, and nobody knows he has horns except his most intimate friend to whom he revealed the secret, extracting a promise never to disclose it to another living being. But the secret leaked. If you want to find out whether Alades friend betrayed him, I would like you to get a copy of the book and read the poem. The refrain in the poem, which is one of the longest in the collection, Alade huwo is also the poems title.

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In Section B, where we have Rule of Law, (I) & (II), which has been quoted above, and Anni horibbiles vel fertilises I, II & III, Insecurity, Nepa o!, ingratitude, Excuses, etc.  all talk about the ills of society, particularly the Nigerian society. But the section is not just about the ills that ail Nigeria; in Beyond Bothered at the Border, the author talks about the brutal killing of black immigrants by racist Moroccan border guards.

In Section C, Lola reveals that there may be many ills bedevilling Nigeria, but its not eldorado in Canada. In the opening poem of this section, the author writes, Cars parked, rows after rows in an open lot/All gummed up with wet snow hardened into ice. Other poems in this section, like Eyesore and Winter in Ottawa, talk about the challenges of living in Canada.

More Insights

Altogether, there are 38 poems in the 92-page book. Section A has ten poems; Section B has 14 poems; Section C has 13 poems and one bonus poem at the end. Some poems included words, phrases, or sentences in the authors native Yoruba language. At the same time, one was written in pidgin English, a language widely spoken throughout the parts of West Africa colonised by the British.

Lola employed all known poetic devices to garnish her poems. Talk about rhythm  some of the poems read like songs. Many of her lines rhymed in many of the poems; some of the poems come in three stanzas, some in four, some in five, and some of the stanzas do not rhyme.

Its hard to believe that Nostalgia and Tears FOrile is Lolas first published collection because of her mastery of the poems. She wrote like a master of the genre rather than a debutante. The book shows great promise, and one cannot help but look forward to the authors following collection.

This work is a good candidate for the Nigeria Prize for Literature (Nigerias most prestigious literary award, won by Dr Obari Gomba this year for drama).

The book, published by the renowned Ibadan-based publisher Kraft Books Limited under its Kraftgriots series, is beautiful. The professionalism of the publishers shines through the production of the book. However, the editing could be more flawless.

For example, the last line in the poems third stanza, Deft treads, on page 14 should have read No child of His ever stumbles. The s in stumble is missing. Also, on page 30, the second to the last line of the fifth stanza in the poem, The thirst of a crush, should read, Regale you with tales of ijapa and kolokolo-, not Regal. Another error spotted is on page 36 in the poem, Rule of Law (I). The word adjudge in the last line of the first stanza should read adjudging.

On page 58, in the poem Dragons Den, the words in lines 3 and 4 should read armed (line 3), not harmed, and scour, not score. But overall, the production and editing quality is very high, as should be expected from Book Kraft.

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Movie title: Raised Apart

Running time: 1 hour 45 minutes

Producers: Udoka Oyeka and Ken Ogbo

Co-producers: Regina Omoyeme Dokpesi, Daniel Onoja and Oliver Iorkase

Director: Oliver Iorkase

Cast: Bovi Ugboma, Ireti Doyle, Chioma Omeruah, Gbenga Titiloye, Afeez Oyetoro, Afolsbi Adeyami, Amaechi Muonagor, and Udoka Oyeka.

Usually, with dual movie roles, Nigerian filmmakers often play it safe, but Raised Apart dares to break the tradition.

Raised Apart, directed by Oliver Iorkase, introduces us to the mesmerising realm of dual roles in a manner that leaves us utterly captivated.

Save for Chinonso Arubayis I am Nazzy, Ramsey Nouahs performance in Tade Ogidans 2004 Dangerous Twins and Funke Akindeles 2021 Omo Ghetto, very few Nollywood flicks have employed and explored the dual role technique.

A dual role occurs in a movie when an actor spontaneously plays more than two roles/characters, often as a twin.

In most movies where the dual role technique is employed, the characters hug each other, making it seem so real that one would be tempted to believe the actor has an actual twin.

This technique stands out in the movie Raised Apart, as the storyline and narrative are cliche and watered down by comedy.

Bovi Ugboma, a famous Nigerian comedian, takes the lead, not once but twice! Bovi plays a dual role that will have you questioning your own eyes. He brings Bamidele, a sophisticated, well-heeled doctor raised in luxury, and Ejiro, a hustling artist from the gritty streets of Ogiron, to life with such precision that you might believe theres a real-life doppelganger at play.

Fate brought their paths together; Ejiro and Bamedele finally met in a club, and what started as a business deal between the duo soon grew into a discovery that changed their lives.

Plot

The movie opens with the scene of a woman in the travail of labour. She delivers her first child, but the nurse announces that she has yet another baby along the way; its a twin.

In the following scenes, the movie takes us to 30 years later, when the twins, Ejiro and Bamidele, have grown. Still, Bamidele grew to become a doctor who has just returned from America, and Ejiro has spent his whole life living with his drunk father in the slum town of Ogiron.

Meanwhile, the father of Bamidele, Ade Adebayo, is vying for the position of the state governor; to gain financial support ahead of his political ambition, he makes an arranged marriage between the daughter of Chef Ometeres Adanne and his son Bamidele.

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This becomes a problem for Bamidele as he already has a fiancee, Holly, who is abroad. On the other hand, Ejiro battles with his fathers constant drunkenness in the ghetto area of Ogiron while he prepares for his first significant breakthrough in his music career.

As feat could have it, while he is preparing for his first significant music performance at a club, Ejiro accidentally runs into Bamedele at a club. At first, they both believed it was a doppelganger.

Bamidele now offers Ejiro the job he cannot refuse since he desperately needs money to save his fathers life. Ejiro is to pretend to be the Bamidele and marry Adanne. Kemi, Bamideles younger sister, was to assist Ejiro in fitting into Bamideles world.

Ejiro and Adanne are getting along very well, better than she has ever felt with Bamidele, perhaps because she and Ejiro share things in common; they grew up in Ogiron. When things finally began to fall in place, and their plans seemed to work well, Holly came from the UK and met Ejiro, kissing Adanne. She was angry because she thought it was her fiancee, Bamidele. What would become of their relationship? Would their parents find out the truth about their identity?

Character Analysis: Bovi

In this movie, Nigerian comedian Bovi shines as the lead and plays two roles as Bamidele, a sophisticated, calm, calculated and intelligent medical doctor raised by his wealthy parents. Also, he plays the role of Ejiro, an unrefined, hustling artiste who lives in a slum of Ogiron with his drunkard dad.

Bovi began his career in April 2007, starring in the sitcom Extended Family, which he also wrote and produced. He made his stand-up comedy debut in Nigerias premiere comedy franchise, Night of a Thousand Laughs, organised by Opa Williams. By 2011, he was headlining the show across the country.

Bovis foray into comedy did not allow him to explore much of his acting skills, except recently when he played a lead role in Perfect Arrangement and My Village People.

In Raised Apart, he again brings his acting prowess often characterised by comedy, but here we get to see some serious side of Bovi in the character of Bamidele.

Dual role, witty comedy

A dual role, double role, or double-casting is when one actor plays two or more roles in a production. The dual role has several purposesit can be used for comedic effect, to indicate a familial relationship between characters, or as a piece of special effects wizardry; in the case of Raised Apart, the dual role is used to show identity.

In a dual role, the entire movie, or the parts, is shot with the lead character playing only one role. Later, the other role is played in a green screen area, and the producers digitally add them.

To successfully achieve a dual cast, a double is employed. In filmmaking, a replica is a person who substitutes for another actor such that the persons face is not shown.

In Raised Apart, Bovi, who played the lead role, was bodied-doubled by Udoka Oyeka; this was visible in scenes where Ejiro and Bamidele had to meet, stand side by side, and even touch themselves.

This film excels in a technique thats rarely explored in Nollywood. Dual casting, or having one actor portray multiple roles, is showcased here with finesse.

With the help of body double, scenes where Bovis dual roles interact are mind-blowing. The illusion is so seamless that youll be left in awe.

While Hollywood has its Tyler Perry and multi-role extravaganzas, Raised Apart is a noteworthy contender. Its a testament to the evolving prowess of Nigerian cinema.

Raised Apart isnt just about the dual role magic; its also a delightful comedy. Bovi brings humour to his characters, and his impeccable timing shines throughout the film. Witty comedy is an art, and Bovi masterfully walks that tightrope, keeping us entertained from start to finish.

In a world where comedy is often dismissed as lowbrow, this film proves that humour can be clever, intelligent, and, most importantly, side-splittingly funny. If you need a good laugh and a feel-good ending, Raised Apart delivers.

Where the plot falters

Of course, no film is without its imperfections. Raised Apart leans on some cliches, and the plot is somewhat predictable. The narrative, while intriguing, occasionally loses its synchrony with the storyline, leaving a few head-scratching moments. Plus, the explanation behind the twin switch might have you rolling your eyes.

How do we explain that one minute a woman is in labour, she gives birth to twins, and the next thing, thirty years later, the children are in different families? Also, in a bid to explain how the twins were switched, the movie shows a very unbelievably silly mistake of a hospital matron, which was not intriguing.

Final Verdict: 6/10

But heres the bottom line:  Raised Apart achieves its primary goal  a comedy that will make you laugh and showcase a remarkable dual casting technique that elevates it above the norm.

So, if youre seeking a lighthearted, witty comedy with a Nigerian flair and a dual-role twist, this ones for you. Bovis dual act is the icing on the cake, making Raised Apart a memorable addition to the Nollywood repertoire.

This movie is now streaming on Prime Video.

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Our correspondent, Abdulkareem Mojeed, under his Mongabay conservation reporting fellowship, recently interviewed Nnimmo Bassey, director of the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), an ecological think tank advocating for socio-ecological justice and food sovereignty in Nigeria.

The conversation took place following the inaugural Africa Climate Summit on 4-6 September in Nairobi, where African leaders adopted a new climate pact, which calls for a just multilateral development finance architecture to liberate Africas economies from odious debt and onerous barriers to necessary financial resources.

PT: Why did you become a climate activist? What experiences early in life led you to do this?

Nnimmo Bassey: The route to becoming a climate activist is long and variegated, but every rung of the ladder has a common denominator. That underpinning factor is justice. My activist life began as a regular commentator and humorist on sociopolitical issues. From there, I was drawn into the human rights community in the days of military dictatorship in Nigeria. While campaigning for human rights, it became clear that without environmental rights, one cannot enjoy the right to life. This reality became starker with the massive ecological and human rights abuses visited on oil field communities in the Niger Delta.

Note that the causes of the injustices around us are basically systemic  a system that is virtually cannibalistic in nature and elevates profit above human lives and planetary balance. Campaigning against the dastardly pollution of the Niger Delta by oil companies and the accompanying repression of the people and communities naturally led to a critical analysis of what could be done to ameliorate the situation. This was when we placed our finger on climate change as an issue that was not much spoken about in our contexts.

One of the major climate change issues we campaigned against was routine gas flaring  the criminal venting of gas associated with crude oil extraction. Another aspect was the campaign tagged Leave the Oil in the Soil, which was started 30 years ago under the auspices of Oilwatch International. The fact that climate change poses existential threats to our people, and the fact that it was caused by polluting rich nations and corporations, elevated the justice aspect of the campaign.

We must give credit to Ken Saro-Wiwa, who laid the foundation for radical environmental justice campaigning in Nigeria through his struggles to stop the despoliation of the Ogoni environment. He was murdered by the state, but the seeds he sowed continue to grow.

PT: What is your biggest message to your country? To the world?

Nnimmo Bassey: The message to Nigeria and the world concerning climate change is the same. Climate change is a life or death matter and should not be seen as an opportunity for politicking or for economic speculation.

Since 2009, there has been some level of seriousness about seeing climate change as a just issue, which requires those who have done the most to create the problem to also do the most in tackling it. Since that watershed year, at COP15, the issue of voluntary climate action has been enthroned. The justice principle that underpinned the UNFCCC, known as common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR) was virtually jettisoned. That principle requires that although we face a common problem, the weight of our responsibility differs.

The Paris Agreement consolidated the shift toward voluntary emissions reduction through what is now called nationally determined contributions (NDCs). It has been demonstrated year after year that if nations faithfully implant their NDCs, they will still overshoot the temperature targets set by the Paris Agreement. Nations must mark this fact and stop playing politics with climate change. The concept of voluntary NDCs is a bitter joke.

PT: What were the biggest messages you heard from leaders here at the summit, and what are your reactions?

Nnimmo Bassey: The biggest messages we heard from the climate summit were very disturbing. Going by the first draft declaration, we could read the minds of the governments revealing that they either do not understand the vital issues around climate change or they were simply playing along the paths beaten by the polluters with the hope of receiving some tokens for being good boys. The speeches and ultimate declaration of the African Climate Summit barely escaped living up to its billing as a carbon stock exchange. It is loaded with platitudes pandering to worn ideas of the carbon market, green growth and false solutions. The speeches were mostly about making Africa a continental carbon sink with the hope of gaining carbon credits.

We heard of claims that the continent has huge areas of uncultivated land. These were all indicators that African leaders were welcoming green colonialism. We are particularly shocked that despite the declaration acknowledging that 60 per cent of the population are small-scale farmers, very little is said about supporting them and nothing is said of enhancing the practice of agroecology, which is a real climate solution.

PT: Many leaders are promising action. How can people trust them?

Nnimmo Bassey: The promises raised more alarm than hope. The best promise one would have expected to hear would be one of urgent winding down from fossil fuels dependency and an acceleration of investment in renewable energy systems. What is evident on the continent is a concerted assault on pristine ecosystems. Sadly, these are also either nature reserves or World Heritage Sites, namely, the Saloum Delta in Senegal, the Okavango Delta in Namibia, the Lake Albert region in Uganda, the Virunga Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and of course the Niger Delta.

Leaders claim they need fossil fuel resources to fight the energy poverty in the continent. Nice idea. However, the truth is that most of the infrastructure associated with these extractive activities is for the exportation of crude oil and fossil gas. My conclusion is that whatever they said cannot be construed as being primarily in the interest of the people.

PT: What were your perceptions after the summit concluded? Do you think the newly adopted Nairobi Pact would influence more climate action in Africa?

Nnimmo Bassey: The declaration will influence some action. There will likely be improvements in efforts to have more renewable energy in the energy mix. However, it is more likely that we will see more of what is termed as climate action under the UNFCCC but are actually false solutions. This will happen with leaders permitting land and forest grabs through carbon trading deals. Such deals will allow polluting nations and corporations to exchange forests, and peatlands designated as carbon sinks. That will allow polluters to carry on with business as usual on the notion that their pollution is being offset in Africa by our trees and lands. They may even sell segments of our aquatic ecosystems on the basis of similar false arguments. So, sadly, we can experience a burst of activities by carbon speculators hawking all sorts of carbon instruments. This is the bitter cynicism of market environmentalism.

PT: What do you think are the most effective forms of activism? What specifically do you do to get your message out?

Nnimmo Bassey: The most effective form of activism is one that addresses the root causes of the problem. It is activism based on knowledge and fully embedded in the context of the challenge. My activism cuts across the local to national, regional and global levels. This requires a capacity and readiness to acquire the requisite knowledge for such work. It means learning from our communities and not assuming to have superior knowledge. We create the space for the people to speak up for themselves. We ensure that our messages are predicated on facts accompanied by real stories about real people. This is what gives life to our messages. Back to your question, effective forms of activism include those in which the activist stays in the background while the people lead.

PT: How do you think your work as an activist will affect the upcoming COP28? And afterwards?

Nnimmo Bassey: Our work can only have an enduring impact in the context of climate justice movements. It would be foolhardy for any individual or group to think that their work will have a resounding impact on COP28. To start with, what are the prospects of COP28 being a success? What would such success look like? The best that will come out of COP28 will be a further implementation of the Paris Agreement including the adoption of mechanisms for operationalizing loss and damage.

The rich countries tend to see climate finance as a charity, except when extended as loans or other mechanisms that allow them to recoup their finances. There has been an unwillingness to put adequate funds in the climate finance system. Seeing that neither the $10 billion nor $100 billion targets set by the COP15 or 21 have been met, it will be a miracle to see much good come from the loss and damage equation unless it is treated as climate reparations, as payment made for extreme and irreparable climate harms, the root cause of which is the broken market system, neocolonialism and various forms of exploitative geopolitics. Even the struggle by the World Bank to handle the finances should raise very red flags knowing the banks antecedents.

So, COP28 for us will provide a space for meeting and networking with civil society groups and progressive leaders from around the world. It will be a space for demanding payment of climate debt and for a recognition of ecocide as a crime in league with genocide, crimes against humanity and other unusual crimes. COP28 will be a moment for sharing strategies, learning from each other and feeding all of them to future work.

PT: Are you well-known among the population at home?

Nnimmo Bassey: Being known is not my aim as an activist. I actively work to be invisible in my work.

PT: What do you want people to know about you beyond what they see in the media and on social media of your activism?

Nnimmo Bassey: My presence on social media is mostly about sharing environmental news that I believe people should be aware of. Occasionally I share information on new books as well as fragments of poetry. Those should give indications about what is important to me. Other than that, I am just your everyday neighbour.

This story was originally published by Mongabay and reported by Abdulkareem Mojeed, a Mongabay Y. Eva Tan Conservation Reporting Fellow

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The number of Nigerias Supreme Court justices is about to drop to 10, widely coming short of the courts statutory full complement of 21 justices.

The number, currently 11, will drop to 10 as another justice of the court retires on 27 October.

Within the space of three years, the number of judges on the courts bench plummeted from 20 to 14 in June 2022, when then Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Tanko Muhammad, abruptly resigned.

Since then, the number has further spiralled down to 10, as Musa Dattijo Muhammad, who joined the bench of the Supreme Court over a decade ago, retires on 27 October.

He is the second most senior judge on the courts bench.

The jurists retirement will bring the number of justices of the court to an all-time low of 10 in the Supreme Courts recent history.

A statement by the Supreme Courts Director of Press and Information, Festus Akande, on Sunday, said Mr Muhammad clocks the mandatory retirement age of 70 on 27 October.

It also said a valedictory court session to mark Mr Muhammads exit from the bench would be held on Friday, 27 October.

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The event, scheduled to be held at 10 a.m.on Friday at the Supreme Court, will be presided over by the CJN, Olukayode Ariwoola, who will customarily, pay tribute to Justice Musa Dattijo alongside other major stakeholders in the nations justice sector, the statement added.

In September, Amina Augies retirement depleted the Supreme Court bench to 11 justices, following the sudden demise of Centus Nweze in July.

Earlier in June, the CJN announced 10 openings geared towards achieving the full complement of 21 justices of the court, however, with Mr Muhammads departure the court will now be left with 11 vacancies.

A top source at the National Judicial Council (NJC) told PREMIUM TIMES on Sunday that the process of filing the 10 vacancies at the Supreme Court has reached an advanced stage.

The NJC is the statutory body responsible for the hiring and disciplining of judges in Nigeria.

Mr Muhammads exit leaves the Supreme Court bench with  Olukayode Ariwoola (CJN), CJN, Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, Inyang Okoro, Uwani Abba-Aji and Lawal Garba

The rest include Helen Ogunwumiju, Ibrahim Saulawa, Adamu Jauro, Tijjani Abubakar and Emmanuel Agim.

Retiring Justice Muhammad

The Supreme Court shared a brief profile of Niger State-born Mr Muhammad, who retires from the Supreme Court bench on 27 October, in its statement on Sunday.

He began his legal career in 1977 when he was called to the Nigerian Bar after obtaining a law degree from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State.

Justice Musa Dattijo who hails from Chanchaga Local Government Area of Niger State, was born on Tuesday, 27th October, 1953 in Minna. He attended Native Primary School, Minna from 1960 to 1966 for his First School Leaving Certificate.

Between 1967 and 1971, he was at Sheikh Sabbah College (now Sardauna Memorial Secondary School), Kaduna, from where he proceeded to Abdullahi Bayero College, Kano for a Pre-Degree programme which aided his immediate admission into the Faculty of Law at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria where he bagged a degree in Law in 1977.

He was called to the Nigerian Bar on 2nd July 1977. Not satisfied with only a first Degree in Law, Justice Dattijo sought admission at Warwick University in 1982 for an LLM Degree which he obtained in 1983.

He took the oath of office as Justice of the Supreme Court on Tuesday, 10th July 2012. His ascension to the Court of Appeal was more of a reward for hard work, inherent passion for his chosen profession, dedication to duty, and above all, a resolute application of the law in its true letters and words to all cases that came to him.

He earned a well-deserved elevation to the Court of Appeal on 21st November 1998 from the Niger State Judiciary and served meritoriously at different Divisions.

With the retirement of Justice Musa Dattijo Muhammad, the Supreme Court of Nigeria is now left with 10 Justices, the statement read.

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Barely a month after a boat mishap claimed lives in Niger State, two persons have died and two others injured in another boat accident in Katcha Local Government Area of the state.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the two victims who died in the accident which occurred on Saturday were children.

The accident was said to have happened when the engine of the boat suddenly went aflame.

It was learnt that the boat was returning from Katcha market in Niger State and heading to Danbo village in Kogi State when the accident occurred.

The Niger state Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA) head, Ibrahim Hussaini, while confirming the incident, said; At about 6:00 p.m. when the boat engine caught fire due to mechanical failure, a keg of petrol stored inside the boat that had 45 people on board went aflame.

The occupants were from Danbo community in Kogi State. They were on their way back from Katcha market. So far, one corpse has been recovered while the search is still ongoing for the second, he added.

Meanwhile, Niger State Governor Mohammed Bago, has expressed shock over the death of two people who died in the incident.

The governor in a statement by his chief press secretary, Bologi Ibrahim, described the incident as terrible and painful, adding that incidents around water transportation, leading to loss of lives in riverine communities in the state were becoming too frequent.

He urged the relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies to urgently take proactive measures to halt the ugly trend.

He also commiserated with the families of those who lost their loved ones in the incident and prayed to God to receive the souls of the departed and grant quick recovery to those injured.

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A downpour on Friday evening claimed the life of a 31-year-old motorcyclist identified as Yakubu Lucky, at Dogon Gada in Lokogoma District of the FCT, Abuja.

The Federal Capital Territory Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which confirmed the incident in a statement in Abuja on Saturday, said the deceased defied warnings, drove into a pool of water and drowned.

The statement, signed by FEMAs Head of Public Affairs, Nkechi Isa, said that the deceased defied warnings from the local divers stationed in the area by FEMA.

It added that the deceased also navigated through the barricade placed by the agency to stop residents from going through the flooding water.

The statement added that the Search and Rescue Team of FEMA, led by Florence Wenegieme, the director of Forecasting Response and Mitigation, recovered the body of the deceased on Saturday.

It further said that the body was deposited at the Asokoro District Hospital where a doctor confirmed him dead.

The family of the deceased who hailed from Zango Kataf, Kaduna State, has since taken his body away for burial, the statement added.

Reacting to the development, the acting Director-General of FEMA, Mohammed Sabo, appealed to residents to always heed the warnings issued by the agency.

Mr Sabo said that FEMA always places a barricade at Dogon Gada during downpours.

He urged residents not to drive into a pool of water but to wait for it to recede or seek an alternative route.

Mr Sabo commiserated with the family of the deceased and called on residents to always use the 112 emergency toll-free number in the event of a disaster or emergency.

(NAN)

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The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says it has intercepted no fewer than 4.8 tonnes of skunk in Imo, Edo, Ondo, Kano, and Ekiti States.

NDLEAs Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement released on Sunday in Abuja.

Skunk is a generic name given to potent strains of the cannabis plant containing the highest levels of the psychoactive ingredient tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

Mr Babafemi said NDLEAs operatives in Imo State intercepted a Mercedes Benz container truck marked ABN 418 YN parked in an isolated area along Owerri  Onitsha expressway on 15 October.

He said a search of the abandoned truck led to the recovery of 168 bags of skunk weighing 1, 854 kilograms.

Not less than 1,381.3kgs of the same substance were seized in four interdiction operations in parts of Edo state.

This includes Ekpon community, Igueben LGA; Iguiye forest in Ovia North East LGA; Iruekpen, Ndokwa West where a suspect, Samuel Nwocha was arrested and Egwalor village in Onwude LGA.

Also, the duo of Obune Prince and Chika Obi was arrested and their Audi 80 salon car marked BEN 406 CL loaded with cannabis sativa, recovered,  he said.

In Kano State, Mr Babafemi said an ex-convict, Aminu Suleiman, 46, was arrested along with Haruna Abdurrahaman, 41, and Joseph Esezobor, 34, at Gadar Tamburawa area of the state on Saturday 14th October while 106kgs of cannabis were recovered from them.

Aminu was first arrested with 22kgs of cannabis on 3rd June 2022 and convicted by the Court on 24th November 2022.

Five other suspects: Inusa Ali, Yahaya Musa, Abba Audu, Ali Abubakar, and Bunu Kyari were also arrested at Gadar Tamburawa area of Kano on Monday, October 16 for dealing in 75.3kgs of skunks,  he said.

Meanwhile, operatives of the Zone J Command of the agency seized 478kgs of cannabis in a forest in Ikere Ekiti on Friday.

Mr Babafemi said those of Ondo State command also recovered a total of 928kgs of the same substance.

He said,  This was recovered in a bush by Shagari market, along Ifon-Owo express road, and Ibola camp, Ipele forest.

In Borno, a suspect, Sani Mohammed, 31, was arrested on Saturday with 182kgs of cannabis at Njimtilo, along Maiduguri  Damaturu road, 

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Troops of Sector Four of the Joint Task Force South-east Operation, code-named Operation Udo Ka II of the Nigerian army have killed a suspected member of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

Jonah Unuakhalu, the spokesperson of the 82 Division of the Army, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday.

How the suspect was killed

Mr Unuakhalu, a lieutenant colonel, said the troops were manning a checkpoint in Okigwe Local Government Area of Imo State when they spotted the suspected IPOB member on a motorcycle.

When ordered by the troops to halt and alight from the motorcycle, he took to his heels in order to escape arrest. All efforts to stop him proved abortive forcing the troops to open fire and neutralise the suspect, he said.

Two live rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition, an Itel Mobile phone, a small bag containing charms, a cash sum of N2,300 and a Qlink motorcycle were recovered from the suspect, according to the army.

Arrest of prison escapee

Mr Unuakhalu said, in a related development, troops of Sector One of the joint task force arrested a suspected Jos Prison escapee, Chimezie Chukwu, in Enugu State.

The army spokesperson said the suspect was arrested when the troops raided a camp belonging to IPOB and its militant wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN) in Ugbawka, a community in Nkanu East Local Government Area of the state.

He said the troops conducted the raid in collaboration with operatives from the State Command of the State Security Service (SSS).

Six mobile phones, three mobile phone batteries, a Moniepoint PoS machine and ATM card, two packs of substances suspected to be cannabis and N107,280 cash were recovered from the suspect, according to the army.

(The) suspect and recovered items are in the custody of the SSS for further investigation, Mr Unuakhalu stated.

At least 10 persons were killed and 252 inmates escaped when gunmen attacked Jos Medium Security Custodial Centre in November 2021.

Jos is the capital of Plateau State, Nigerias North-central.

More raids

Mr Unuakhalu said troops of Sector Five of the joint task force also raided other suspected IPOB/ESN camps at Ogbunka in Orumba South Local Government Area of Anambra State.

According to him, the IPOB members had abandoned one of the camps before the troops arrived.

The army spokesperson said the troops recovered abandoned two Toyota Highlanders and a Mercedes Benz ML 350.

Efforts are ongoing to identify the owners of the vehicles, he said.

Mr Unuakhalu said the joint task force has called on residents of the South-east not to relent in providing timely, credible and reliable information that will assist them in fighting insecurity in the region.

Operation Udo Ka II will continue combating crime and criminality in accordance with the extant rules and regulations guiding its operations, he stated.

IPOB, a group seeking to carve out a sovereign state of Biafra from the South-east and some parts of the South-South of Nigeria, has been linked to some deadly attacks in two regions.

But the separatist group has repeatedly denied any involvement in the attacks.

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The federal government, through the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, will work with a foremost consulting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), to execute the policies under the seven-point roadmap to transform the sector.

Receiving the PWC partner on mining, Habeeb Jaiyeola, in his office, Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, commended the company for its role in the just-concluded Nigerian Mining Week and the first phase of the bitumen concession programme.

Mr Alake thanked the consulting firm for its contribution to the mining sector over the years, assuring that the expertise and ideas of PwC will be factored into reforms of the mining sector and implementation of the seven-point agenda.

He said President Bola Tinubu is focusing on the sector as a game changer in the bid to reposition the country for lasting prosperity.

Presenting the thoughts of PwC on the seven-point agenda, Mr Jaiyeola expressed the readiness of PwC to partner with the ministry in achieving the objectives of the agenda which seeks to make the solid minerals a key sector to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to the country.

 We summarised our thoughts on the seven-point agenda, looking at it and suggesting how to bring it to life whilst advising on pitfalls and how to avoid them. The major thing is that at the end of the tenure of the administration, there will be key deliverables that can be monitored, and the roadmap on how each of them is going to be achieved and projected. We will be open to further deliberations on how we can proceed by comparing notes,  Mr Jaiyeola emphasised.

It will be recalled that the minister reeled out a seven-point agenda tagged Agenda for the Transformation of the Solid Minerals Sector for International Competitiveness and Domestic Prosperity, which includes the creation of the Nigerian Solid Minerals Corporation, Big Data on specific seven priority minerals and their deposits, comprehensive review of all mining license amongst others.

Segun Tomori

Special Assistant, Media to the Honourable Minister of Solid Minerals Development

October 22, 2023

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The Senate has proposed that from 2027, all election results and results sheets used at collation centres should be electronically transmitted to the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Abuja before final declaration of the winners of elections.

It also recommended the introduction of diaspora voting to enable Nigerians resident abroad to vote for their preferred candidates during elections back home.

These are contained in the communique issued at the end of the two-day retreat for senators in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State, on Saturday.

The retreat was organised by the National Institute for Legislative Studies (NILDS).

It was attended by some members of the executive arm with the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, representing President Bola Tinubu.

The Senate said the ambiguity evident in Section 64 of the Electoral Act should be removed to allow for the use of technology in transmitting election results.

Introduce diaspora voting, at least for presidential elections, to enable citizens to vote, especially those on essential service abroad, such as military, paramilitary, and other security personnel abroad, embassy staff, and other citizens.

Relating to the use of technology in elections, remove the ambiguity evident in Section 64 of the EA22. Also, make electronic transmission of results mandatory from the next general elections in 2027, including the uploading of polling unit-level results and result sheets used at different levels of result collation, the communique reads.

Senates recommendation for electronic transmission of election results is coming a week after the INEC chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, promised that the results of the off-cycle governorship elections in Kogi, Bayelsa and Imo States would be uploaded on its Results Viewing Portal (IReV).

Ahead of the last general election, the commission had repeatedly promised that it would upload polling station results to iRev. However, it delayed in doing so, a situation it blamed on unforeseen system glitch.

The failure of INEC to upload the results of the 25 February presidential election promptly on its portal formed a major kernel of the petitions filed by the presidential candidates of the PDP and the Labour Party (LP), Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, at the Presidential Election Petition Court challenging the victory of President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The court however dismissed their petitions. The opposition candidates are currently appealing the judgement at the Supreme Court.

Other recommendations

The Senate, at the retreat, also recommended stiffer punishment for any political party that fails to submit a register of party members not less than 30 days before election, primaries or congresses.

Relating to political parties; stipulate sanctions for failure to submit the register of party members not later than 30 days before the date of party primaries, congresses, or conventions in relation to Section 77(3) EA22, which the political parties have observed in the breach in the 2023 elections without penalty.

Unbundling INEC

The senators also recommended the unbundling of INEC to improve its efficiency and effectiveness.

INEC should be unbundled to improve its efficiency and effectiveness in the preparation and conduct of elections, the communique stated.

Insecurity

In their recommendation, the lawmakers identified poverty and lack of opportunities as causes of terrorism and banditry that had claimed the lives of many Nigerians.

They, therefore, proposed a security bill that will guide lawmakers in making legislative decisions relating to insecurity.

Develop and enact a comprehensive national security strategy that outlines the nations security objectives, threats, and policy priorities. Such a strategy can serve as a guiding framework for legislative action in the security sector, the communique states.

Address the root causes of terrorism/banditry, which is often driven by poverty, inequality, and a lack of opportunity.

Promote community policing and engagement to identify and prevent terrorist attacks. The government should also work with civil society organisations and local/traditional communities to identify and address security concerns.

The lawmakers also recommended independent oversight of all the security apparatus in order to strengthen the functions of the security agencies.

Establish independent oversight mechanisms for the security sector. These mechanisms can help to investigate allegations of abuse and corruption and to ensure that security forces are accountable to the law.

Legislative engagement and oversight in Nigerias security sector can be significantly bolstered through comprehensive legislative reforms. These reforms are essential for ensuring that the legislative branch is equipped with the necessary tools and mechanisms to fulfil its critical role in security sector reform.

The periodic engagement of the National Assembly with the security chiefs for adequate briefing. There is a need for the Senate President and the Speaker, House of Representatives to be part of the weekly security briefing that goes to the President. The Senate should develop its Legislative Agenda that incorporates the outcome of this retreat, the lawmakers said in the communique.

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HEFEI, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- The China Association for Science and Technology (CAST) has released a list of primary issues in science, engineering, technology, and industrial technology for 2023.

A total of 29 issues, in fields such as artificial intelligence, new energy, high-performance materials, and life sciences were highlighted at the main forum of the CAST's annual conference on Sunday in Hefei, east China's Anhui Province.

This year's solicitation campaign has received 590 proposals for sci-tech issues in ten fields. The fields are basic science, Earth science, ecological environments, manufacturing technology, information technology, advanced materials, resources and energy, agricultural science and technology, life health, aerospace science, and general technology.

There were 117 academicians who participated in recommending and evaluating the issues. 
Bayo Onanuga, the media aide to President Bola Tinubu, has alleged that there is a fresh push to compel the United States Government to release the dossier on the president.

Mr Onanuga, in a statement he posted on his verified X account on Saturday, claimed that Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, candidates of the PDP and Labour Party (LP) in the February presidential election, are behind the push to compel the FBI to release documents on Mr Tinubus 1993 forfeiture case.

He stated that the duo are pushing for the FBI to release the document so as to use it in the appeal challenging the judgement of the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) affirming Mr Tinubus election.

Messrs Atiku and Obi are challenging the ruling of the PEPC at the Supreme Court.

Background

Mr Tinubu was declared the winner of the 25 February presidential election. However, Atiku and Mr Obi disputed the outcome of the election, citing irregularities and eligibility issues.

In separate petitions at the presidential tribunal, Mr Tinubus academic records and the forfeiture of $460,000 formed the major grounds of the litigation.

According to the certified copy of the case, on 10 January 1992, Magistrate Judge Rosemond of the Northern District of Illinois granted the prayer for the seizure of funds in 10 bank accounts belonging to Mr Tinubu because the US government had reasons to believe the accounts were linked to narcotic related operations.

However, the US authorities and Mr Tinubu later reached a settlement leading to the forfeiture of $460,000, while the US released over $900,000 to him.

Earlier this month, Atikus legal team got the Chicago State University (CSU) to release the academic record of Mr Tinubu. The former vice president has asked the Supreme Court to allow him to include the findings as part of his appeal.

The Supreme Court has scheduled Monday to hear the appeals. In Mr Obis appeal at the Supreme Court, his lawyer, Livy Uzoukwu, filed 51 grounds in challenging the presidential election courts judgement.

In his appeal, Atikus lead lawyer, Chris Uche, anchored the suit on 35 grounds.

Onanugas statement

In his statement, Mr Onanuga alleged that the main opposition candidates are working with one Aaron Greenspan, who has approached a court in Washington DC, asking the court to compel the FBI to release all the documents on Mr Tinubu.

Mr Onanuga said the FBI had earlier agreed to release the documents to Mr Greenspan at the end of October, however, the American is using the notice of the Supreme Court in Nigeria to ask the US Court to grant an emergency motion on the case, he said.

On Thursday, Peter Obi forwarded to Greenspan, the Supreme Court notice of hearing for the appeal that will begin on Monday 23 October.

We do not know the brief Obi gave Greenspan, but Greenspan rushed to the District Court in the US capital, with an emergency motion asking the court to compel the FBI to produce documents on our President immediately. The FBI had earlier agreed to produce the documents at the end of October, he said.

The presidential aide also claimed that Mr Greenspan misled the US Court that the setting up of the Supreme Court panel was a sudden decision to prevent the admission of the FBI files.

Mr Onanuga claimed that the FBI files are not relevant in the ongoing case in Nigeria

The presidential aide accused the American of making false allegations against the judiciary. He claimed the Supreme Court hearing date which he labelled as sudden, was intended to front-run the release of the FBI documents. To him, the FBI documents are relevant to the case in Nigeria.

After reading Greenspans motion, one is left with the impression that the guy is very ignorant of our laws and our democracy and he is nothing but an interloper, in a matter clearly outside US jurisdiction, he said.

Mr Onanuga urged all sides to wait for the outcome of the case in the US before declaring any victory.

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Nigerian politicians get their partisan nominees appointed into the electoral commission, INEC, and then influence them to compromise the integrity of elections, Attahiru Jega, a former chairman of the commission, has said.

Mr Jega, a professor of political science at Bayero University, Kano, said such nominees are not thoroughly screened and the damaging effect of such a situation was seen in the 2023 elections.

He disclosed this when he spoke as a guest lecturer at the two-day retreat organised for senators in Akwa Ibom.

The university don spoke on the topic Electoral Reform and Democratic Consolidation in Nigeria: Review of 2022 Electoral Act (areas for further legislative actions).

We have seen, in 2023 elections, the damaging effect of how people in the corridors of power get their client/partisan nominees appointed, without being thoroughly screened, and then they are influenced to compromise the integrity of elections, he said.

Screening

He also said that the Senate confirmation of the electoral appointees should be strict and not the usual take a bow and go.

On second thought, and for obvious reasons, I will recommend a joint committee of the National Assembly be given this responsibility, with criteria, for transparency, non-partisanship and stakeholder engagement for the process. The applicants/nominees for these appointments should be subjected to public scrutiny with regard to knowledge, skills, good character and non-partisanship.

Guidelines should be provided for submitting petitions against any nominee during this process. In any case, the Senate screening process should be more serious and rigorous. Also, there should no longer be the patronizing Take a bow and go.

Mr Jega also recommended that the federal government should make INEC completely independent in such a way that it will be able to hire and fire its officials independently without interference from the government.

Professionalise lower level administrative appointments, including headship of state offices of INEC. In this regard, the appointment of Resident Electoral Commissioners should be divested from the president and given to the Commission at INEC, with powers to hire and fire.

Once the appointment of Chairman and National Commissioners is sanitised, infused with public scrutiny for integrity and non-partisanship, then the Commission should be entrusted to hire and fire competent and skilled staff for administrative roles at both the headquarters and state offices of INEC. Thus, there will be clear lines of authority and directives, which would prevent the kind of unwholesome situations we have seen, in which RECs pander more to their partisan political bosses who nominated them into office, and ignore the lawful directives of the Commission.

Political parties

Mr Jega also said registration and monitoring of activities of political parties should be taken away from INEC and entrusted to another federal agency.

Electoral boundary and constituency delimitation should be reassigned and entrusted to the National Boundary Commission, or such other agency as may be created. Registration and monitoring of the activities of political parties should also be taken away from INEC and entrusted to another federal body/agency.

The former INEC chair stated that there is a need to review parties and candidates that contest for presidency and governorship elections.

There is a need to review the manner by which every Dick and Harry party/candidate vies for the presidency, and even governorship, making the cost of elections relatively high.

A legal threshold needs to be provided, which political parties and candidates have to cross, beyond mere registration as a political party, before they can vie for the presidency or even governorship elections. There are models of this in many electoral jurisdictions, that Nigeria can learn from, and adapt to our context, he said.

Editors Note: This story has been updated to more accurately interpret what Mr Jega told the senators.

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The late Borno State Commissioner for Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, and Resettlement was buried Saturday evening after an autopsy conducted by local authorities.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how Mr Garbas body was discovered at his guest house in Maiduguri, along with an unconscious woman who later died at a local hospital.

The police have yet to disclose the cause of death for either individual but have released the commissioners body to his family for burial, adhering to Islamic rites.

According to a press statement issued by Isa Gusau, Governor Babagana Zulums spokesperson, the Governor, his deputy Umar Usman Kadafur, Speaker of the Borno State House of Assembly Abdulkarim Lawan, members of the Borno State Executive Council, and thousands of mourners were present at the funeral prayer for the late Commissioner.

The statement was silent on the yet-to-be-identified woman who died alongside the former commissioner.

The funeral prayer, held at the residence of the late commissioner, was led by the Chief Imam of Borno, Ibrahim Laisu.

Mr Garba, 38, served as Special Adviser on Monitoring, Evaluation, and Special Projects from 2021 to 2023 and Special Adviser on Special Projects from July to August 2023. He was laid to rest at Gwange cemetery in Maiduguri.

He is survived by his two wives, five children, an elderly father, and various relatives.

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The police have arrested a suspect after the celebration of a local festival turned bloody in Ondo State.

The suspect, Moses Adeyemo, who is a chief in the community, was alleged to have shot two persons in the incident on Wednesday at Ogbagi in Akoko North West Local Government Area of the state.

As of Saturday, the victims were still receiving treatment at the hospital.

The shooting occurred during the celebration of the traditional Ajagbo festival in the community.

Participants in the festival usually march round the community singing to reprimand indigenes deemed to have breached the communitys social code.

However, on Wednesday, the chanting participants got a violent rebuff at the house of Mr Adeyemo.

Witnesses said the angry chief fired gunshots to chase away the group, leaving two, identified as Eniola Adewunmi and Timilehin Ogunyemi, injured.

Speaking from his hospital bed, Mr Adewumi said he had been told that one of his legs may be amputated.

He said he had spent over N300,000 to remove pellets from his ankle.

His wife, Olatunde, said the family had run out of fund to meet Mr Adewunmis hospital bill.

A youth leader at Ogbagi, Kehinde Oyeyemi, expressed sadness that the festival, which he noted had been marked in the community since ancient times, turned bloody this year.

He called for thorough investigation into the incident and alleged indiscriminate use of fire arms in villages across Ondo State.

The police spokesperson in the state, Funmi Odunlami-Omisanya, confirmed the shooting incident.

She said the suspect, Mr Adeyemo, had been arrested and taken to Akure, the state capital, for further investigation.

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FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, has asked the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) to scale up the demolition of shanties in the capital city to curb general insecurity in Abuja.

Osi Braimah, director of AEPB, said this on Sunday while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) during the ongoing demolition of all shanty stores built in a market at Area 11 popularly called (the COVID-19 market) in Abuja.

Removal of shanties and illegal settlements in Area 11 and some parts of the city is to curb the incessant insecurity faced by residents.

This is an ongoing exercise by various agencies of the FCT. AEPB has been given a marching order by the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike to scale up the demolition of all shanties, illegal settlements and squatter camps in the FCT.

We have been doing this for a long time, primarily because this scaling up will improve the city sanitation and also cater for the attendant problem of insecurity, Mr Braimah said.

The director said that most of the people living in the shanties are without addresses and identification, and this could produce challenges regarding insecurity.

So it is paramount we scale up and we achieve the objective set out for us by the FCT minister.

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That is why the FCT minister has asked everybody to develop his property in the FCT to avoid the erection of illegal property on empty plots.

Before we embark on demolitions, we usually give abatement notices, we dont just come in one day to remove illegal structures, Mr Braimah noted.

He urged residents to pay their waste management bills, noting that the government is facing a big challenge in the area of collection of waste management bills.

We render services and it is a struggle to collect money for services rendered. As I have always said in the past, paying for waste services is not a levy, it is not a tax, the director stated.

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Yekini Nabena, a former deputy national publicity secretary of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), has asked the countrys security agencies to arrest a Kaduna-based Islamic cleric, Ahmad Gumi, over his recent public outburst against the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.

On Thursday, the cleric had in a video sermon of over 14 minutes posted on his official Facebook page, labelled Mr Wike as Satan for receiving the Israeli Ambassador to Nigeria in his office.

The cleric, in the sermon, also asserted that President Tinubu would be stopped from serving for eight years if the president failed to sack the former Rivers governor.

Mr Nabena, in a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES on Sunday, said the Niger Delta people are observing and no harm must be done to the minister.

Mr Nabena said the people of Niger Delta and Southerners, in general, will no longer fold their arms while the likes of Mr Gumi spit on their faces irrespective of political or religious beliefs.

According to the APC chieftain, no Nigerian is more a Nigerian than anybody in Nigeria.

My intervention in the recent controversial statement is not about the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike alone, it is about the right of the Niger Delta people and the Southerners in general. At this stage, we expect all the voices of reasoning to speak out because of the sense of entitlement of the likes of Sheik Gumi, he said.

Speaking on reckless public comments that could lead to a more divided country, Mr Nabena called on the presidency to urgently make a bold statement and reaffirm the right of any Nigerian to hold public office anywhere in Nigeria.

I will call on the presidency to deliberately caution Sheik Gumi and his co-travellers against statements that are capable of causing disunity and encouraging a sense of entitlement.

I will also call on the security agencies to take Gumis reckless but deliberate statement seriously. Sheik Gumi should be arrested, questioned and prosecuted.

Let it also be on record that we the Niger Delta sons and daughters will hold Sheik Gumi responsible if any evil befall Nyesom Wike throughout his days in office as FCT Minister, Mr Nabena warns.

Mr Wike is the first Southerner to be appointed the minister of the FCT since the return of democracy in 1999.

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Colonialism profoundly shaped modern universities in Africa. It implanted institutions on African soil that were largely replicas of European universities rather than organically African.

For historian and political theorist Achille Mbembe, one problem of universities in Africa is that they are Westernised. He describes them as local institutions of a dominant academic model based on a Eurocentric epistemic canon that attributes truth only to the Western way of knowledge production. This model, he says, disregards other epistemic traditions.

My research is mainly on universities, especially on issues of equity, inclusion and transformation. In a recent chapter I grapple with what universities need to do to stop being inappropriate replicas of European universities. How can they become, instead, African universities that address African needs?

I conclude that, to fulfil their key purposes of sharing and creating knowledge, they must play five associated roles. These are: encouraging students to be critical thinkers; undertaking more than just Eurocentric research; engaging proactively with the societies in which they are located; using their research and teaching to tackle development problems; and, finally, promoting critical and democratic citizenship.

In all these roles, African universities must take place  the geography, history, social relations, economics and politics of their respective contexts  seriously. They must overcome Eurocentric theories of knowledge and western institutional cultures. In doing so they must advance both decolonial thought and the public good.

But the African university cannot be created through changing the intellectual lens and basis alone. Political action is key.

The importance of place

African universities must be shaped by their contexts. Professor Louise Vincent of Rhodes University in South Africa rightly argues that it entails a deep engagement, both literally and theoretically, with the notion of place for universities to find their purpose. Universities, she adds, are situated in place.

For Vincent, place is neither objective nor neutral. It is inscribed with relations of power and how power works in and through places has to be confronted.

This means that, rather than distancing themselves from the surrounding communities, universities need to, in Vincents words, actively seek exposure and collaboration  because that is what they are for. This has implications for universities functioning, roles and activities.

This notion of place sees knowledge as being context sensitive rather than decontextualised. Eurocentrics assume that the findings of research undertaken in Europe apply to countries and areas in Africa. This is not so. The continents universities must imaginatively theorise their own realities as a basis for changing them.

Five roles

African universities must play at least five key roles.

One is encouraging students, as anthropologist Arjun Appadurai puts it, to develop their own intellectual and moral lives as independent individuals.

A second role is to undertake different kinds of scholarship that serve different purposes, aims and objects. Scholarship must confront dominant Eurocentric knowledge systems and theories. African universities need to, in the words of postcolonial scholar Mahmood Mamdani,

theorise our own reality, and strike the right balance between the local and the global as we do so.

Third, they must engage proactively with the societies in which they operate. This engagement must happen at the intellectual and cultural levels. It is a crucial part of universities ability to contribute to developing a critical citizenry.

A fourth role is actively engaging with the pressing development challenges. This is achieved through teaching and learning, research and community engagement.

Promoting critical and democratic citizenship is a fifth role. Africa requires not only capable professionals but also sensitive intellectuals and critical citizens. Universities must, in ethicist Martha Nussbaums terms, promote the cultivation of humanity.

Making it happen

The purposes and roles Ive outlined here do not exhaust the meaning of an African university. Instead, they are its ideal core functions.

I also do not wish to imply that every purpose and role must be undertaken in identical ways by every university. There is no value in uniformity and homogeneity. It is essential that, within national systems, universities address different needs that span the local to the global.

But no matter their focus, African universities must, fundamentally, advance the public good. International higher education policy academic Mala Singh contends that this is the foundational narrative and platform for universities to pursue a different path from their current dubious trajectories.

The state has a major role to play. It must ably steer and supervise  not interfere with  universities. It must resource them properly, and uphold academic freedom and institutional autonomy. It must also ensure a supportive macro-economic, social and financial policy environment.

The African university will be realised neither overnight nor without political struggles that involve diverse actors within and beyond universities. It will entail confronting complicity, opposition, inertia and apprehension. Collective and individual intellectual and practical political actions, as well as everyday acts of resurgence, are required.

Saleem Badat, Research Professor, UFS History Department, University of the Free State

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said it is confident that the judgement of the Supreme Court will favour the partys presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.

The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Debo Ologunagba said this in a statement on Sunday.

A five-member panel of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal led by Haruna Tsammani had dismissed three appeals challenging the victory of President Bola Tinubu on the ground that the petitioners failed to substantiate their allegations of electoral fraud against Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Mr Tinubu, among other claims.

The appellants, Atiku of PDP, Peter Obi of the Labour Party, and the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) subsequently proceeded to the Supreme Court to challenge the judgement of the presidential election court affirming the victory of President Tinubu.

Registrar of the Supreme Court, Zainab Garba, in a notice issued last Thursday, announced that the court has fixed Monday, 23 October to hear the three appeals challenging the judgement of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal affirming the victory of Mr Tinubu at the last election.

The PDP spokesperson said the party is confident that the judgement of the Supreme Court will favour its presidential candidate because of the evidence that had been presented before the Supreme Court.

As the Supreme Court commences hearing on the February 25, 2023, Presidential Election Appeal, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is confident that guided by the provisions of the law, the body of evidence, circumstances and facts presented before it, the Apex Court will deliver justice in the matter.

The PDP believes that the issues of the February 2023 Presidential election; the barefaced violation of rules and the laws, the brazen manipulations and falsifications in perversion of our electoral process have put our democracy in a precarious situation, the state reads in part.

Mr Ologunagba urged Nigerians to watch out for the Supreme Court and ensure that the court applied laws, guidelines and regulations of the INEC in delivering judgement.

Nigerians and indeed the whole world look forward to the Supreme Court for justice in the hope that the Court will apply the laws, including the express provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), the Electoral Act, 2022 and INEC Guidelines and Regulations in delivering substantial justice in the matter.

The earnest expectation of Nigerians and lovers of democracy across the world is that the Supreme Court will use this case to firmly validate the maxim that the Judiciary is the last hope of the common man.

Nigerians are therefore optimistic in hoping that the Supreme Court will dispense substantial Justice according to law and fact in the appeal, the spokesperson said.

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Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi on Sunday escaped an alleged assassination attempt along the Lokoja-Abuja highway.

The Kogi State Commissioner for Information, Kingsley Fanwo, made the disclosure in a statement in Lokoja.

The Kogi state government wishes to inform the general public that there was an assassination attempt on the governor of the state, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, a few kilometres away from Abuja, on his way to an official engagement from Lokoja.

The attack occurred at about 4 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 22.

The attackers, who were dressed in military uniforms waylaid the governors convoy and started shooting sporadically at his vehicle and other vehicles in the convoy.

It took the swift intervention of the security personnel attached to the governor to foil the satanic plans of the unknown soldiers, Mr Fanwo alleged.

According to him, the attacks were at three different points, the last barricade being around Kwali Federal Capital Territory at about 4.20 p.m.

The commissioner said the report of those strange attacks had been properly documented at security offices in the state and at the national level for prompt and thorough investigations to avert future occurrences.

He added: We are not oblivious of the fact that certain elements are bent on painting Kogi unsafe ahead of the governorship poll slated for Nov. 11.

As an administration, we will spare nothing to ensure our residents are not subjected to security threats by desperate politicians sponsoring violence and terrorism.

We call on residents to remain vigilant and report suspicious movements in the domain to relevant security agencies.

Mr Fanwo further pointed out that it was the responsibility of the government to ensure security and we want to assure you that the peace we have enjoyed as a state in the last eight years wont be lost on the altar of violent politics.

Meanwhile, the police command in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) said it has commenced investigations into the alleged attack.

The Commissioner of Police (CP) in charge of the FCT, Haruna Garba disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

NAN recalls that the governor suffered a similar alleged assassination attempt in June, which is still being investigated by security operatives.

(NAN)

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Father of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud, must have had the conversation last week between Senate President, Godswill Akpabio and the recently cleared Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) Ola Olukoyede in mind. While propounding the theory of what is now known as Freudian slips in his 1901 book he entitled The Psychopathology of Everyday Life, Freuddiscussed what in German is called Fehlleistungen. It is another name for faulty actions which mirror bits of unconscious mind leakages into conscious behaviour. This leakage, otherwise known as misspeak, according to him, prompts a speaker to say what is unintended in the course of speaking. While some call it slip of the tongue, psychoanalysts call such slips parapraxis. They are slip-ups that can be traced to unconscious thoughts, desires and urges.

Last week at the Senate screening session for the then chairmanship nominee of the EFCC, Olukoyede let slip what he most probably wanted to say, but what ostensibly dominates the minds of Nigerian people. Such words are heresies today and can only be said in whooshes of whispers. Only bastards who do not love the current musical ensemble can utter them out. Or tribes that harbour ethnic hatred for the current power calculus. Nevertheless, the conversation, which psychoanalytic theory calls Freudian slip, from Olukoyede to Akpabio unconsciously revealed the dirty underbelly of the fight against corruption in Nigeria. It is why, per adventure, Olukoyede has the mind to clean the Augean stable of corruption in Nigeria, he is perceived to have, ab initio, failed as he is ranged against the impossible.

As the screening session went by, Olukoyede was sucked into the need to explain the modus operandi of the EFCC. To do that, he went comparative, deploying a relatable, living scenario to convey the commissions operations. If we are investigating the Senate President for example he had begun. Apparently a good reader of his environment, Olukoyede immediately perceived the turgidity of the atmosphere. Smiles suddenly evaporated from the faces of the lawmakers and their countenances were ashen like one who had just marched on excreta. Olukoyede must have felt like he had stepped on a cobras tail. And he recoiled. The gudugbe  the humongous and consequential  had fallen nevertheless. Like porcelain that it was, or the egg that Niyi Osundare fittingly compared to the spoken word in his The word is an egg, the egg had fallen and its messy entrails were now visible to a discerning world.

Akpabio would not have Freud direct his fate that magisterially. And he bellowed it out immediately. Im very glad that the nominee wants to use the Senate President as an example. But Mr. nominee, leave the Senate President for now, look at this direction (pointing at the seats of opposition lawmakers).

For now That should be another Freudian slip; this time, an Akpabio speaking the minds of Nigerians. Olukoyede should leave the Senate President, for now, but he should not leave him for too long. The EFCC chair must investigate Nigerias Number Three man who is festooned all over by dark tar of fraud allegations.

Until May of this year, Akpabio was a subject of intense investigations by the EFCC. The commission claimed that a N40 billion fraud was allegedly perpetrated by him in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) which he headed for three years. It claimed further that his name and that of former Acting Managing Director of the NDDC, Professor Kemebradikumo Pondei, had featured notoriously in frauds unearthed in the commission. Both were major dramatis personae in investigations into allegations of fraud in an over-N86 billion contract scams. In the EFCCs claim, the duo left footpaths that maggots leave in their trails while wriggling on rotten meat. Pondei, you will recall, was the hero of that ill-starred slumping drama in the House of Representatives not too long ago. As the grilling in the parliament became intense and hot, the professor was suddenly reported to have lost consciousness. Now that Akpabio has become Nigerias No 3 man, with power and majesty at his beck and call, Prof Pondei has no need to go on a binge of infantile slumping any longer. Since then, even with all the mind-boggling sleaze uncovered in the NDDC, like a typical big man in Nigeria, the slumping professor has lived happily ever thereafter.

God bless the Yoruba. When a mans irritancy becomes ten a dime, they liken him to the tortoise, the alabahunwho was always embroiled in illicit acts. Like the alabahun, it seemed allegations of corruption do not refuse to stick to Akpabio at every whimper. Before then, the anti-graft agency had arrested Akpabio for an alleged theft of N108.1 billion of Akwa Ibom State funds during his governorship. It was the product of a petition by an Abuja-based lawyer and activist, Leo Ekpenyong. Akpabio had spurned an invitation by the EFCC to appear for questioning on March 29, 2023 and travelled abroad. His lawyer, Umeh Kalu, SAN, in a letter to the anti-graft commission dated March 27, 2023, alleged that the man who is now Nigerias Senate President suffered from pneumonia and cardiac arrhythmia. Big ailment of big people in big trouble.

Unquestionable as the way of Almighty God is, these two ailments suddenly disappeared immediately words allegedly went round that Akpabio was the preferred candidate of President Bola Tinubu to head the Senate. Since Akpabio became head of the upper legislature, his sins have literally been forgiven him. In any case, the hunter haranguing him then, Abdulrasheed Bawa, has met his own comeuppance. Not only has the hunter become the hunted, Bawa has languished in the penitentiary for months now and nobody is losing sleep about the detention. The claim that he is probably suffering this fate because he knew too much about the Big Man of powers past has not attracted any Nigerians bother. Bawas sin must be as tall as Ibadans Bowers Tower for our saintly Big Man to have locked him behind bar without having him charged to court. A few days ago, words surfaced that the youthful ex-anti-corruption czar was embroiled in a N580 million illicit funds binge.

Akpabio must have shouted Praise the Lord!

God always rescues His own, shortly before they hit their feet against the stone. He couldnt keep His eyes away from His elect, who is now the Senate President of Nigeria. By Akpabios testimony on the floor of the Senate, the good Lord rescued him from the machinations of the EFCC and its erstwhile chair, saving him from being embarrassed by the brusque, youthful EFCC chief. Again, that Bawas rudeness must be as high as Bowers. Why would he be rude to the Almighty Akpabio? While not addressing how he didnt steal the said money the EFCC claimed he had stolen, Akpabio believed that sensationalism was the culprit, and it must roast in hell. I think the EFCC has engaged more in sensationalism than in real investigation. For me I have had my own fair share (of embarrassment) where even a letter informing EFCC that I wont be able to come over a frivolous petition, was released by the office of the chairman of EFCC. You could see the chairmans stamp on it. He released the letter just to embarrass me before the 2023 elections but by the glory of God I surmounted it.

In the same vein, Akpabio brought in the issue of the arrest of ex-Imo State governor, Rochas Okorocha, who was apprehended in a gangsteric manner by the EFCC. I dont see how the EFCC will arrest a former governor and come through the rooftop as if they are taking Pablo Escobar. It happened to Rochas Okorocha. They broke through the POP and the whole world watched and for you that is investigation. EFCC needs to conduct proper investigations before carrying out arrests, he said.

Then Akpabio went to Ogun State, to Yewa land, where he solicited the support of the people for the governorship ambition of Senator Adeola Olamilekan, popularly called Yayi. Four months plus into this term, politicians have already begun to haggle the price of the next term, as if it is a fish. Democracy, as it is understood in saner climes, isnt and shouldnt be only about elections and voting. It is more importantly about good governance, respect for the people and their rights to decent living. How is Akpabio respecting their rights by pushing a candidate their throats at this time? What have they benefitted from his government now to back up this homily from him? Akpabio would have discharged himself well at that occasion if he had spoken softly to the people about what his government is doing at the moment to remove the peoples economic and living heartaches, rather than dabbling into the politics of a people who do not see governorship as reward for big purses.

Sorry that I digressed. So when, at the end of the senators boisterous laughter and the expiration of his Freudian slip on the floor of the Senate, Olukoyede said If you are fighting corruption, you become the enemy of everybody, he probably knew the enormity of what he was about. By this appointment, Olukoyede has been asked to fight principalities and powers that have existed in Nigeria even before his forefathers were born, what Daniel Jordan, in his famous, A Culture of Corruption, has described as Nigerias image as a bastion of bribery, venality, and deceit. He has been asked to combat a crime which, among Nigerians, went global the very moment new criminal markets began to emerge all over the world. His job description is, at the risk of sounding like a prophet of doom, doomed from the beginning.

The incubus Olukoyede is being asked to confront, according to a review of Stephen Elis This Present Darkness: A History of Organised Crime in Nigeria, has become a culture and reputation renowned with Nigeria and Nigerians. A culture which, broken to its brass-tacks, is that of drug-trafficking, fraud, cyber-crime and other types of criminal activity. The new EFCC chief is being asked to fight criminal networks that have a global reach; a Nigeria where its origin of organised crime has been traced to, as far back to the years before colonial rule. These crimes then became manifest during the First Republic when nationalist politicians in need of funds for campaigning, (offered) government contracts to foreign businesses in return for kickbacks, in a pattern that recurs to this day and where political corruption encouraged a wider disrespect for the law that spreads throughout Nigerian society.

If Olukoyede is desirous of making impact in his new assignment; if he genuinely wants to reverse the belief out there that he would make a colossal failure of the job, the first thing he should do is do an organisational introspection. When a child goes inside the bush, Yorubas constant belief is that such a child would emerge therefrom with their clothes stuck by mistletoe. So they expressed this in incantations that, wara were lomode ntoko eemo bo. This seems to be true with past chairmen of the EFCC as they always emerge from the office with their clothes covered by eemo.

Since the EFCC Establishment Act was first enacted in 2002, the eemo failure has dogged their path. The Act authorised the commission to combat economic and financial crimes, prevent, investigate, prosecute and penalise economic and financial crimes, so as to sanitise the system. From Nuhu Ribadu, to Farida Waziri, Ibrahim Lamorde, Ibrahim Magu to Bawa, the commission is seen today as a mockery of crime fighting. The only major sparkle that ultimately became unenduring, came from Ribadu who initially put the fear of God in the hearts of political and social criminals who dot the landscape of Nigeria. Unfortunately, the spark was for a short while. Ribadu soon dissolved the agency into an Alsatian dog that the Obasanjo presidency sent on howling assignments as its whim dictated. His own lust for political power finally rammed the nail on the remnants of his personal social capital.

Today, the EFCC, which arrested, prosecuted and jailed a former Inspector General of Police in Nigeria, has become the tiger that politicians boast that they have by its tail. It descended from that Olympian height into carving a pussyfooting renown for itself as a hunter of kindergarten online malefactors. So, if Olukoyede wants to make a success of his new job, he must reinvent the image that the drafters of the EFCC Act projected for the commission. Fear, they say, is the whip that exorcises the ghost of crime from the human heart. It is only when the EFCC earns back the dread, respect and fear of Nigerians that it can be seen as an effective tool against criminals.

Today, the atmosphere of crime and criminals has become more acidic than the 2002 when Obasanjo established the commission. In 1908, the United States of America occupied Nigerias unenviable vantage too. Though the years of industrialisation had made America wealthier than ever and becoming in the process a new world power on the block, having become victorious in its naval conquest over Spain, the dark clouds that dogged its horizon was that of crime. American cities and towns were fast assuming the image of a breeding ground for a future generation of professional lawbreakers. Compared with corruption that was becoming rampant in local politics, with the emergence of crooked political machines, violence was just the tip of the criminal iceberg in the USA. Businesses had become a cauldron of sleaze too and hearts of crime were spreading like a metastasis. But in 1906, President Roosevelt, a man who had no tolerance for corruption and little trust of those he called the malefactors of great wealth, began the reform in the criminal justice system in America and appointed someone who was a likeminded reformer like him, Charles Bonaparte, as his Attorney General. On 16 March, 1909, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was born. Till today, the FBI has remained a highly dreaded domestic intelligence and security service of the US and the countrys principal federal law enforcement agency.

If Olukoyede is averse to going down the drain like his predecessors, becoming captives of the corruption they were asked to fight, politicians must dread him and malefactors must see him as incorruptible. He must wear the toga of one policeman in the service of the Oyo State Command, ACP Francis Ojomo who politicians and evil-doers nicknamed Ko gbowo, ko gbobi (literally, he collects neither money nor kolanut) for his incorruptibility. That nickname was a parodied epithet of God as one who demands no bribe from anyone to perform His fatherly duty in the life of man. Olukoyede must avoid any dalliance with politicians. He must make the Bola Tinubu presidency his place of primary assignment. In doing this, he would have shown the world that politicians, no matter their political leanings, are not free from his corruption-sniffing Rottweiler dogs.

The first place the EFCC chair should begin his assignment is to invite Godswill Akpabio to explain allegations of corruption against him. Not doing this will give the impression that his senate clearing, in spite of glaring violations of the EFCC Act on his appointment as the commissions chairman, was a pro quid pro for pushing allegations against Akpabio under the cellar.

Olukoyede can help Nigeria battle this image crisis and perception of our country as the habitat of corrupt people. Because the world is a global village, the available information out there, secured at the press of a button, are damming. No meaningful development can take place with such optics. The EFCC chair can help reduce that uncomplimentary image to the barest minimum by ferreting corrupt Nigerians from their holes and making public examples of them.

Festus Adedayo is an Ibadan-based journalist.

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BEIJING, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- About 200 people from 40 countries and regions and international organizations engaged in in-depth discussions during a recent thematic forum on think tank exchanges held in Beijing.

The event was part of the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation that attracted representatives from over 150 countries and 40-plus international organizations.

This grand gathering, where views were shared and exchanged at an array of activities including the one on think tank exchanges, showed China's rising stature as a key global market for ideas.

A POPULAR FOCUS OF ACADEMIC RESEARCH

Drawing inspiration from the history of the ancient Silk Road, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is among the worldwide buzzwords originating from China. Since it was first proposed in 2013, the BRI has been included in documents of the United Nations, the G20, APEC, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

Over the past ten years, Belt and Road cooperation has expanded from the Eurasian continent to Africa and Latin America. More than 150 countries and over 30 international organizations have joined the BRI and signed more than 230 cooperation documents.

While Belt and Road cooperation is promoted, the BRI has also become a popular focus of international academic research. A series of academic achievements have been released in this regard over the past decade.

A research report unveiled at the thematic forum on think tank exchanges argues that the BRI has given rise to a genre of more inclusive and effective development science -- Belt and Road Development Studies.

As an open mechanism of academic exchanges and cooperation, the Belt and Road Studies Network (BRSN) was inaugurated in 2019. With 16 initiators, it was established to serve international think tanks, global and regional organizations, and researchers from various countries, and to promote studies and academic exchanges on the Belt and Road Initiative.

During a recent plenary meeting of the BRSN in Beijing, attendees said that think tanks should continue pooling wisdom to facilitate win-win Belt and Road cooperation.

GLOBAL INITIATIVES, WORLD-CLASS CONVENTIONS

Over the years, the common quest for infrastructure development across the Global South did not make the BRI partnership a monopolistic privilege of the developing world, said Ong Tee Keat, chairman of the Center for New Inclusive Asia, Malaysia, at the thematic forum on think tank exchanges.

Neither has the BRI taken a back seat with successive rollouts of the China-proposed global initiatives -- the Global Development Initiative (GDI), the Global Security Initiative (GSI), and the Global Civilization Initiative (GCI), Keat said.

He added that these three global initiatives serve as useful enabling platforms for the BRI in various fields.

In the view of Jose R. Cabanas Rodriguez, director of the Center for International Policy Research, Cuba, the BRI is an alternative answer to building a just, inclusive, and sustainable world.

Together with the other three global initiatives China is promoting today, it contributes to realizing the dream of building a global community of shared future, Rodriguez said.

"The exchange terms and its own dynamics, so different from those proposals that have led international society to the current unstable and fragile situation, are its best arguments," Rodriguez said.

"It is not fortuitous that it has been so warmly and widely received. It is up to us, the academics, to study and formulate proposals to promote people-to-people exchange and international cooperation within the framework of this valuable initiative," Rodriguez added.

In addition to initiatives, more and more world-class conventions are taking place in China, including the ongoing 81st World Science Fiction Convention (WorldCon) in Chengdu. The capital city of southwest China's Sichuan Province is the second city in Asia and the first in China to host this convention, which is one of the largest sci-fi events in the world.

Famous sci-fi writers from around the world are attending the five-day event which runs until Sunday, sharing their knowledge of new technology and their visions of a new world.

A LEADING CENTER OF INNOVATION, CREATIVITY

In his congratulatory letter to the thematic forum on think tank exchanges, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Director General Daren Tang said that China has transformed into one of the world's leading centers of innovation, creativity, and technology.

According to the 2023 edition of the Global Innovation Index (GII) released by the WIPO, China now has 24 sci-tech clusters, up from 21 last year and making China the country with the greatest number of such clusters in the world.

Since joining the GII in 2013 at an initial ranking of 35th, the country has steadily climbed the rankings. In 2020, 2021, and 2022, China ranked 14th, 12th, and 11th, respectively, demonstrating its continuous upward trajectory in global innovation.

These remarkable achievements are helping to support China's objectives under the BRI, according to Tang.

"We all need China to build on the enormous successes of the BRI to help us all achieve broader international collaboration," said Ismail Serageldin, former vice-president of the World Bank. 
Godswill Obot Akpabio aspired to be president of Nigeria and ended up president all the same, but of the Senate. In that capacity, he presides over the National Assembly. That makes him the number three in citizen of the country, behind only the president and his vice. It is ordinarily a pretty perch from which a lot can be accomplished but that also depends on what a lot means.

Unlike many politicians in Nigeria, Akpabio went to schools that were in existence at the time he received his certificates and he has school mates who are still alive. He completed High School at the Federal Government College, Port Harcourt and received his first degree in Law from the University of Calabar, where he was also Speaker of the Students Union Parliament. At the Law School in Lagos, he sat two rows behind former Ohanaeze NdIgbo President-General, Nnia Nwodo, and three in front of me. On 3 November, 1988, he was admitted to the Nigerian Bar.

Akpabio is one of very few politicians to have held office continuously in Nigeria through the quarter century since the country returned to civil rule. Coincidentally, the man whom he succeeded as Senate President is another.

Over this period, Akpabio has held a combination of appointive and elective offices in the state cabinet, as both commissioner and governor; and at the federal level as senator and minister. On his first tour of duty in the Senate, he took control of a small fraction as Minority Leader in 2015 with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Three years later, in 2018, Akpabio flipped party, crossing over to the All Progressives Congress (APC). Now he carries on as if he owns the whole place.

In 2023, Akpabios ambition was the presidential ticket of the ruling party but, as it turned out, it was not his turn. By the time the presidential ticket was decided, however, the party had also concluded primaries for the other elective positions down-ballot. In his home constituency in Akwa Ibom State, the ticket for the Senate was originally decided in favour of Udom Ekpeudom, a retired deputy inspector-general of Police.

Like his predecessor in the office of Senate President and by dint of a brand of judicial invention to which Nigeria uniquely holds the patent, Akpabio successfully edged out the original winner and ended up with a ticket to the Senate from the party. Emmanuel Aziken delicately reports that the role of money in the rediscovery of Akpabio and Lawan remains in the realm of speculation and extending that in this commentary may breach upon the integrity of the Supreme Court which validated the candidature of the two men.

Akpabios tenure as Senate President has been busy. He has the dubious distinction of being responsible for the largest cabinet, coinciding also with the harshest times in the countrys history. He led the upper chamber to consent to the appointment of 20 special advisers to the president and successfully screened 49 nominees for ministerial appointment, including at least one serving member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). He also turfed out three ministerial nominees, including the former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai.

Under him, the business of the Senate happens at the speed of Abracadabra.

When Akpabio ran to be Senate President, his campaign manager was Ali Ndume, the senator for Borno South who, coincidentally, grew up in Port Harcourt around the same time that Akpabio did high school there. When the spoils fell to be shared thereafter, Senator Ndume emerged the Majority Whip.

There was, therefore, justifiable spectacle to the scene that unfolded on the floor of the Senate around 11 October, when Mohammed Onawo, who represents Nasarawa South, rose to complain that the Senate President was just passing bills without prior notification, even money bills, you just pass without anyones contribution and within 2 hours. This is not good for Nigeria and history will judge you. Senators generally bridled at the fact that they had been ambushed all the time when very sensitive bills are brought and expected to be passed with the speed of light, which is not good for this country. This complaint ostensibly had the support of the Senate Whip.

This sounds serious. For example, the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) has sent to Akpabio an oppressive Social Media Regulation Bill. At his rate of parliamentary business, it could all be passed in less than a day with few or no questions asked.

Anyway, Senate President Akpabio did not bother to controvert Senators Onawo or Ndume. Instead, he took the opportunity to articulate his philosophy of parliamentary business and leadership that is best described as the doctrine of prophetic altruism. In his own words: If what we pass is good for the country, history will judge me right. If what we are passing with the speed of light is in the interest of Nigerians, history will judge me right. I dont think we would come here to pass a bill that will not be in the interest of Nigerians.

Four years ago, while he was still a minister in the federal cabinet, Thisday newspaper reminded us that Akpabio is not a man of ideas, neither is he one to embrace the niceties of democratic norms because respect for due process and the rule of law  the core values of democracy  are not part of his forte. Hes just a believer in the power of cash and whatever cash cannot buy, more cash can buy it.

Akpabios philosophy of prophetic altruism embodies three dangerous propositions. First, he sets up a contradiction between parliamentary due process on the one hand and public good on the other, manufactured in his head entirely for the purpose of retrenching the former without no intention of fulfilling the latter.

Second, he transforms if from a contingency to a prophecy, essentially granting himself the license to trample whatever he can in pursuit of whatever he fancies in the misbegotten belief that his fancies represent the public interest.

Third, Akpabio goes further in a fit of terminal conceit toclothe his presumption with irrefutability, preening himself asthe embodiment of every citizen and transforming him into the parliamentary equivalent of Louis XIV.

This shows a remarkable consistency of hubristic narcissism but will be news to citizens beholding the filigree of new SUVs to all members of the National Assembly funded from the proceeds of unconcealed quantitative easing, while many of them die from an epidemic of penury supervised with glee by Akpabio.

When he governed Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Obot Akpabio liked to describe himself and his tenure as uncommon. By the time he arrived the Senate, he found himself in the company of 108 others. To separate himself from them, he metamorphosed into the Uncommon Senator. In an uncommon act of grace to his predecessors, Akpabio chose instead to promise as he ran to lead the 10th Senate that he will be an uncommon transformer if chosen. His rhetoric of running an uncommon senate has now disintegrated into a reality of uncommon lawlessness.

In the past week, Akpabio boasted about how he ignored the invitation of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to answer to serious allegations of financial crime against him because, he claimed, it was based on a frivolous petition. He implied in the same line that former governors were above the law. One citizen summed it all up in two fitting words: audacious rogues.

Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, a lawyer, teaches at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and can be reached through chidi.odinkalu@tufts.edu.

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The Kano State Government has charged a former Managing Director of the states Agricultural Supply Company, (KASCO), Bala Muhammad, with over N4 billion fraud.

He was charged alongside his son, his organisation, and two others.

The charges were filed against them by the office of the states Attorney-General, following investigations by the Public Complaint and Anti-Corruption Commission (PCACC).

The PCACC disclosed that its investigations revealed that the defendants diverted over N4 billion from the account of the states agricultural supply company into personal accounts.

In a court document exclusively obtained by PREMIUM TIMES, the anti-corruption commission alleged in the charges filed on 3 August, that Mr Muhammed and his son, Bala Muhammed (Junior), his organisation  the Association of Compassionate Friends  and two others diverted over N4 billion in public funds.

The case was first mentioned in court on 6 August. It was further transferred to another judge of the Kano State High Court, Hafsat Sani.

Preliminary objection

After it was mentioned before Mrs Sani, Mr Muhammed and his co-defendants filed a notice of preliminary objection on 14 August to challenge the jurisdiction of the court.

They argued in the application that the commission itself did not have the power to investigate, arrest and prosecute the case on the ground that there was a subsisting judgement in the High Court delivered by Usman NaAbba, on the jurisdiction case.

In their reply, the state government, opposed the preliminary objection and urged the court to dismiss it on the basis that the commission was created by law which gave it the power to investigate cases of corruption like Mr Muhammads case.

The government noted that after investigation, the commission referred the matter to the Attorney General of Kano State who has the power to file charges against any person in Kano State.

Court rules

The court, in its ruling, held that PCACC has the power to investigate arrest and refer the matter to the Attorney General for prosecution. The court dismissed the preliminary objection for lacking in merit.

Under section 15 (1) (a) and (b) of the state Anti-Corruption Enabling law, it shall have the power to receive and investigate any allegation of corrupt practices against any person and refer the matter to the Attorney General of the state for necessary action.

The commission has the power to investigate and refer to the Attorney General any allegation of improper or non-performance of any government contract for necessary action.

Against all these backgrounds, I hold that this court has the requisite jurisdiction to hear and determine suit No K/154C/2023 between the state and Bala Inuwa Muhammed and four others.

Accordingly, this court assumes such jurisdiction forthwith and I dismiss the preliminary objection filed by the applicants, the judge ruled.

The ruling on the preliminary objection was delivered on 18th October and the substantive case was fixed for 2nd November.

Highlights of charges

The state government filed a nine-count charge, accusing the defendants of diverting to various bank accounts over N4 billion between August 2022 and April 2023, while Mr Muhammad was serving as managing director of the Kano State Agricultural Supply Company.

Specifically, the prosecution alleged in the first count that Mr Muhammed transferred over N3.2 billion from the account of KASCO and the Kano State Federal Allocation Account in the name of grant to KASCO.

One of the KASCO accounts is domiciled with Zenith Bank with number 1014477161. The other is domiciled in Unity Bank with number 0005195864. The Kano State Federal Allocation Account with the grant to FCMB is domiciled with FCMB with account number 4968083012.

Mr Muhammed, also, allegedly diverted the N3.2 billion to the third defendants account, 1011994467 domiciled in Zenith Bank Plc. He was accused of subsequently sharing the money into accounts without justifiable reasons thereby committing an offence contrary to section 96 of the Penal Code and punishable under section 97 of the Penal Code law.

PREMIUM TIMES review of the charges showed that Mr Muhammed who is the sole signatory of the account of a Business name, Limestone Processing Links, allegedly transferred N480 million from the KASCO account into the business name account No. 0126068718 domiciled in Union Bank which he controls. The prosecution accused him of committing an offence contrary to section 289 and punishable under the same section.

The prosecution also alleged that Mr Muhammed while trying to conceal his act, shared N15 million with eight officials of the Kano State Agricultural Supply Company Ltd from the companys account into their account. The offence, described as involving corrupt offers to the public officers is said to be contrary to section 23 of Public Complainants and anti-Corruption Commission Law 2008 (as amended) and punishable under the same section.

In other counts, Mr Muhammed allegedly diverted N78.6 million to one Abubakar Bawuro through the account of a business named STL Enterprises with account number 7085982019 domiciled in the FCMB. The diversion was allegedly done under the false pretence of supplying 190,065.125 units of Dolomite materials which is not meant to be and was never supplied. He thereafter, according to the prosecution, made false return with goods received note number No.2659. The offence is said to be contrary and punishable under section 26 of the Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission Law 2008 (as amended).

In summary, the prosecution alleged that Mr Muhammed transferred over N4 billion unlawfully into different accounts belonging to other defendants and some staff members of KASCO. He allegedly distributed the money into the accounts to cover his alleged act of dishonesty.

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The Niger Delta Peace Front has cautioned ex-militants in the region to avoid being used by saboteurs against Nigerias economy.

Some ex-militants in the region had criticised the recent extension of the pipeline surveillance contract awarded to Tantita Security Services led by Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo.

Group reacts

Reacting in a statement on Sunday by its Chairperson, Patterson Efemena, and Secretary, Philip Onyem, the group said it was curious and suspicious that those who allegedly benefitted from the contract in the past are now the people leading the campaign against it.

We have observed the sponsored mudslinging and other veiled threats to the federal government and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) over the renewal of the oil pipeline contract awarded to Tantita Security Services Limited

As stakeholders in the Niger Delta, we have resisted the urge to join the fray in the days leading to the renewal of the critical contract to Tantita Security Limited, the group said in the statement.

We have tried discreetly to prevail on those who have committed huge amounts of funds to sponsor the most invidious publications not just against Tantita but also the NNPCL and top government functionaries to stop and embrace the prevailing mood of the nation that says enough to oil theft, they added.

The group urged those behind these threats and name calling to desist from it and pursue the things that can improve Nigerias finances and address the regions ecological challenges.

Oil theft has to be called its right name  a plague on the financial well-being of our country. We will surely do better if we commit half of the energy we have dissipated on this issue to the product end of putting up a concerted front under Tantita to fight oil theft, the group stated.

They stressed that those who are seeking to win the contract should know that contracts are not won by hurling insults at the authorities awarding the contracts, adding that the contract was executed at a heavier cost 12 years ago without protest.

The group commended President Bola Tinubu and the NNPCL for their commitments to fighting oil theft in the country.

As people from the Niger Delta, we should join forces with Tantita to prosecute a successful campaign for our country and our environment rather than supporting the saboteurs of our economy over a port of porridge, they stated.

Background

Oil theft, illegal bunkering in oil-producing communities mainly in South-south Nigeria, and its negative impact on the countrys economy have been a source of concern to the Nigerian government over the years.

The government under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari had, in August 2022, awarded a pipeline surveillance contract reportedly worth N48 billion per year (N4 billion per month) to Mr Ekpemupolo to check massive oil theft in the region.

However, some individuals and groups, mainly ex-militants from the Niger Delta region, called on Mr Tinubu not to renew the contract.

Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State, for instance, in August also criticised the federal government for awarding the pipeline surveillance contract to one man.

Mr Fubara spoke when a federal government delegation on the security of oil and gas assets visited him at the Government House Port Harcourt, the state capital.

The delegation was led by the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.

Security of the pipeline should not be given to one man or one person. How can someone from Kalabari be controlling the pipeline in Ogoni? Mr Fubara said, without mentioning names.

There is no way it will work. We must look at all the key people in the various communities, the governor added.

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ADS051 was safe and well-tolerated at all doses with no safety signal observed

Clinical remission was achieved in 22% of patients after only 28 days on drug

CONCORD, Mass., Oct. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Adiso Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company committed to creating medicines that treat inflammatory diseases and improve the lives of patients and their families, today announced positive topline data from its Phase 1b multiple ascending dose (MAD) clinical trial evaluating ADS051 (BT051) in patients with moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis (UC). The data were presented today at the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) 2023 Annual Scientific Meeting being held October 20-25, in Vancouver, Canada.

ADS051 is a first-in-class, oral, gut-restricted, small molecule modulator of neutrophil trafficking and activation via inhibition of MRP2 and FPR1. Unlike currently available therapies, ADS051 addresses neutrophil-mediated tissue damage, a hallmark of UC pathology.

The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, MAD Phase 1b study enrolled 24 moderately-to-severely active UC patients, all of whom completed the trial as planned over the 28-day treatment period (NCT05084261). ADS051 was found to be safe and well-tolerated at three dose levels (200, 800, and 3200 mg) administered orally, once daily for 28 days. PK data demonstrate that ADS051 was restricted to the gut with limited systemic exposure.

On Day 28, for pooled ADS051 participants vs. pooled placebo participants, clinical remission was achieved in 22.2% vs. 0%, endoscopic improvement (investigator blinded, centrally-read) in 33.3% vs 0%, and endoscopic response (centrally-read) (UCEIS) was achieved in 50% vs. 17%.

"We are very pleased with these positive results indicating that ADS051 clearly attained the objectives of this Phase 1b trial and may be an important therapeutic advancement as a safe and effective, once-daily oral therapy for patients with ulcerative colitis," said Scott Megaffin, Chief Executive Officer of Adiso. "ADS051 efficacy measures reveal encouraging signals of pharmacologic activity and clinical benefit versus placebo, after 28 days of treatment. Given these findings and a recently completed positive end-of-Phase 1 FDA interaction, we plan to advance ADS051 in a Phase 2 clinical study in early 2024."

"Despite recent therapeutic advancements in the treatment of UC, there still remains a significant unmet need for safe and efficacious therapeutic options," said Jessica Allegretti, M.D., M.P.H Medical Director, Crohn's and Colitis Center, Brigham & Women's Hospital Boston and Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School. "The results of this Phase 1b study demonstrate that not only is ADS051 safe and well-tolerated, it also may offer a potentially efficacious solution for patients with moderate-to-severe UC. I look forward to assessing this therapy further in a Phase 2 clinical study."

The MAD clinical trial followed a healthy subject Phase 1a single ascending dose (SAD) study which demonstrated ADS051 was gut-restricted with minimal systemic drug exposure, with no dose-limiting toxicities or serious adverse events. One treatment-emergent adverse event was reported in 16.7% of patients in the pooled ADS051 group vs. 66.7% in the pooled placebo group. Safety and tolerability of the 3200-mg dose group were equivalent to the lower dose cohorts with substantially higher fecal concentrations of ADS051.

The poster detailing these findings #P0172: ADS051, an Oral, Gut-Restricted, Small Molecule Neutrophil Modulator in Patients With Moderate-To-Severe Ulcerative Colitis: Results From a Multiple Ascending Dose Study, was presented at the ACG 2023 Annual Scientific Meeting, October 22, 2023, and will be available on the Company's website.

About ADS051

ADS051 is a first-in-class, oral, gut-restricted, small molecule modulator of neutrophil trafficking and activation via MRP2 and FPR1 receptor inhibition. Unlike currently available therapies, ADS051 addresses neutrophil-mediated tissue damage, a hallmark of UC. UC is a chronic IBD that causes inflammation and ulcers in the colon. Neutrophils are a type of white blood cell that plays a key role in the body's immune response. In UC, neutrophils are recruited to the colon in large numbers, where they release a variety of inflammatory mediators that cause tissue damage. ADS051 gut restriction, safety and tolerability after oral dosing has been demonstrated in a healthy subject Phase 1a clinical study.

About Adiso:

Adiso is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to improving the health of patients suffering from debilitating inflammatory diseases. This dedication is epitomized by our lead clinical candidates, which exemplify 'healthruption' (disruption in healthcare and drug development) with novel mechanisms of action and a distinct approach to the treatment of inflammatory diseases. ADS051, an oral, gut-restricted modulator of neutrophil trafficking and activation via inhibition of MRP2 and FPR1 for the treatment of ulcerative colitis; and ADS032, a dual NLRP1/NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitor initially being developed for inflammatory diseases of the lung. Adiso has built these development programs upon a rich history of institutional and academic collaboration, including, the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, the Hudson Institute of Medical Sciences Centre for Innate Immunity and Infectious Diseases in Australia, the University of Edinburgh Centre for Inflammation Research and the University College Cork, Ireland, the APC Microbiome Institute. For more information, please visit www.adisotx.com or our LinkedIn page.

Contacts

Argot Partners

Media: Sarah Sutton/Liza Sullivan

IR: Jason Finkelstein

[email protected]

212.600.1902

SOURCE Adiso Therapeutics
 Findings from two clinical studies and one health economic database analysis provide insight into HRS treatment outcomes with TERLIVAZ,1 patients' cardiac health2 and association between hospital size and overall outcomes for chronic liver disease patients3 

DUBLIN, Oct. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Mallinckrodt plc (OTCMKTS: MNKTQ), a global specialty pharmaceutical company, today announced that three posters detailing findings from Mallinckrodt's latest clinical and health economics outcomes research with TERLIVAZ (terlipressin) for injection for adult patients with hepatorenal syndrome (HRS) with rapid reduction in kidney function1,2,3,4 will be presented at the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) Annual Scientific Meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia, taking place October 20-25, 2023.

TERLIVAZ is the first and only FDA-approved product indicated to improve kidney function in adults with HRS with rapid reduction in kidney function,4 an acute and life-threatening condition requiring hospitalization.5 TERLIVAZ is not approved in Canada.

Please see Limitation of Use and Important Safety Information, including Boxed Warning, below.

Paul J. Thuluvath, MD, will present findings from a pooled analysis of Mallinckrodt's three prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical studies in patients with HRS (OT-0401, REVERSE, and CONFIRM) to examine whether there was any impact of race (White vs. non-White) on treatment response to TERLIVAZ.1 HRS reversal  defined as the proportion of patients achieving a serum creatinine level of  1.5 mg/dL while on treatment including up to 24 hours after the last dose of study drug  was examined by race and assessed for the potential to predict treatment response.1

A post-hoc analysis of the Phase III CONFIRM trial  which evaluated maximum change and time of maximum change in mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR) and systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP) with TERLIVAZ treatment  will be presented by Jacqueline G. O'Leary, MD.2 The data were analyzed to monitor for significant changes in MAP, SBP and DBP between treatment groups, and to determine the associated level of required cardiac monitoring.2

Additionally, results from a real-world analysis of the impact of hospital size on patient outcomes among those with chronic liver disease (CLD) and acute kidney injury or HRS will be presented by Ronald J. Wong, MD.3 This analysis identified nearly 3 million hospitalized patients with CLD (including cirrhosis) from 2016-2022 using the Premier Healthcare Database inclusive of over 1,041 hospitals/health systems in the U.S., to assess overall outcomes of treatment such as in-hospital mortality and comorbidity for patients in hospitals of varying sizes.3

Additional information on these studies can be found below.

"These data presentations not only deepen our understanding of how HRS patient baseline characteristics  and their response to therapy  impact treatment outcomes with TERLIVAZ, but also lend insight into how the critical care setting in which patients are hospitalized affects their treatment journey in the real world,"1,2,3 said Khurram Jamil, Vice President, Hepatology, Clinical Development & Critical Care. "We are pleased to share this data with the gastroenterology community and remain steadfast in our mission to conduct clinical and health economic research to better support and inform the care decisions of physicians managing these critically ill patients."

These studies are sponsored by Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals and include:

#P0995: The Effect of Race on Treatment Response to Terlipressin in Patients with Hepatorenal Syndrome: A Pooled Analysis of 3 Phase III Clinical Studies1

Presenter: Paul J. Thuluvath, MD, Mercy Medical Center & University of Maryland School of Medicine , Baltimore, MD

Paul J. Thuluvath, MD, Mercy Medical Center & , Poster Session: Liver, Exhibit Hall

Liver, Exhibit Hall Session Date and Time: Sunday, October 22 , 3:30  7:00 p.m. PDT / 6:30  10:00 p.m. EDT

#P2399: The Effect of Terlipressin on Blood Pressure, Mean Arterial Pressure, and Heart Rate in Patients with Hepatorenal Syndrome: A Post Hoc Analysis of the CONFIRM Study2

Presenter: Jacqueline G. O'Leary , MD, Dallas VA Medical Center & Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, TX

, MD, Dallas VA Medical Center & Medical Center, Poster Session: Liver, Exhibit Hall

Liver, Exhibit Hall Session Date and Time: Monday, October 23 , 10:30 a.m.  4:15 p.m. PDT / 1:30  7:15 p.m. EDT

#P0938: Differences in Patient Characteristics and Outcomes by Hospital Size for Patients with Chronic Liver Disease and Acute Kidney Injury or Hepatorenal Syndrome3

Presenter: Robert J. Wong , MD, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA

, MD, School of Medicine, Poster Session: Liver, Exhibit Hall

Liver, Exhibit Hall Session Date and Time: Sunday, October 22, 2023 , 3:30  7:00 p.m. PDT / 6:30  10:00 p.m. EDT

Data collected in a retrospective analysis may have errors or omissions. Outcomes may be influenced by therapies not evaluated in the study and the clinical/health economic outcomes may not be solely attributable to TERLIVAZ.

INDICATION AND LIMITATION OF USE

TERLIVAZ is indicated to improve kidney function in adults with hepatorenal syndrome with rapid reduction in kidney function.

Patients with a serum creatinine >5 mg/dL are unlikely to experience benefit.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

WARNING: SERIOUS OR FATAL RESPIRATORY FAILURE

TERLIVAZ may cause serious or fatal respiratory failure. Patients with volume overload or with acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) Grade 3 are at increased risk. Assess oxygenation saturation (e.g., SpO 2 ) before initiating TERLIVAZ.

Do not initiate TERLIVAZ in patients experiencing hypoxia (e.g., SpO 2 <90%) until oxygenation levels improve. Monitor patients for hypoxia using continuous pulse oximetry during treatment and discontinue TERLIVAZ if SpO 2 decreases below 90%.

Contraindications

TERLIVAZ is contraindicated:

In patients experiencing hypoxia or worsening respiratory symptoms.

In patients with ongoing coronary, peripheral, or mesenteric ischemia.

Warnings and Precautions

Serious or Fatal Respiratory Failure: Obtain baseline oxygen saturation and do not initiate TERLIVAZ in hypoxic patients. Monitor patients for changes in respiratory status using continuous pulse oximetry and regular clinical assessments. Discontinue TERLIVAZ in patients experiencing hypoxia or increased respiratory symptoms.

Manage intravascular volume overload by reducing or discontinuing the administration of albumin and/or other fluids and through judicious use of diuretics. Temporarily interrupt, reduce, or discontinue TERLIVAZ treatment until patient volume status improves. Avoid use in patients with ACLF Grade 3 because they are at significant risk for respiratory failure.

Ineligibility for Liver Transplant: TERLIVAZ-related adverse reactions (respiratory failure, ischemia) may make a patient ineligible for liver transplantation, if listed. For patients with high prioritization for liver transplantation (e.g., MELD 35), the benefits of TERLIVAZ may not outweigh its risks.

Ischemic Events: TERLIVAZ may cause cardiac, cerebrovascular, peripheral, or mesenteric ischemia. Avoid use of TERLIVAZ in patients with a history of severe cardiovascular conditions or cerebrovascular or ischemic disease. Discontinue TERLIVAZ in patients who experience signs or symptoms suggestive of ischemic adverse reactions.

Embryo-Fetal Toxicity: TERLIVAZ may cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman. If TERLIVAZ is used during pregnancy, the patient should be informed of the potential risk to the fetus.

Adverse Reactions

The most common adverse reactions (10%) include abdominal pain, nausea, respiratory failure, diarrhea, and dyspnea.

Please click here to see full Prescribing Information, including Boxed Warning.

About Hepatorenal Syndrome (HRS)

Hepatorenal syndrome (HRS) involving rapid reduction in kidney function4 is an acute and life-threatening condition that occurs in people with advanced liver disease.5 HRS is classified into two distinct types  a rapidly progressive type that leads to acute renal failure where patients are typically hospitalized for their care and a more chronic type that progresses over weeks to months.5 HRS involving rapid reduction in kidney function4 is estimated to affect between 30,000 and 40,000 Americans annually.6,7 If left untreated, HRS with rapid reduction in kidney function4 has a median survival time of approximately two weeks and greater than 80 percent mortality within three months.8

ABOUT MALLINCKRODT

Mallinckrodt is a global business consisting of multiple wholly owned subsidiaries that develop, manufacture, market and distribute specialty pharmaceutical products and therapies. The company's Specialty Brands reportable segment's areas of focus include autoimmune and rare diseases in specialty areas like neurology, rheumatology, hepatology, nephrology, pulmonology, ophthalmology, and oncology; immunotherapy and neonatal respiratory critical care therapies; analgesics; cultured skin substitutes and gastrointestinal products. Its Specialty Generics reportable segment includes specialty generic drugs and active pharmaceutical ingredients. To learn more about Mallinckrodt, visit www.mallinckrodt.com.

Mallinckrodt uses its website as a channel of distribution of important company information, such as press releases, investor presentations and other financial information. It also uses its website to expedite public access to time-critical information regarding the company in advance of or in lieu of distributing a press release or a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) disclosing the same information. Therefore, investors should look to the Investor Relations page of the website for important and time-critical information. Visitors to the website can also register to receive automatic e-mail and other notifications alerting them when new information is made available on the Investor Relations page of the website.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENTS RELATED TO FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This release contains forward-looking statements, including with regard to TERLIVAZ, its potential to improve health and treatment outcomes, and its potential impact on patients. The statements are based on assumptions about many important factors, including the following, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements: the impact of Mallinckrodt's pending Chapter 11 cases; satisfaction of, and compliance with, regulatory and other requirements; actions of regulatory bodies and other governmental authorities; changes in laws and regulations; issues with product quality, manufacturing or supply, or patient safety issues or adverse side effects or adverse reactions associated with TERLIVAZ; and other risks identified and described in more detail in the "Risk Factors" section of Mallinckrodt's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and other filings with the SEC, all of which are available on its website. The forward-looking statements made herein speak only as of the date hereof and Mallinckrodt does not assume any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events and developments or otherwise, except as required by law.

CONTACT

Media Inquiries

Green Room Communications

954-816-6003

[email protected]

Investor Relations

Daniel J. Speciale

Senior Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer, Specialty Generics

314-654-3638

[email protected]

Derek Belz

Vice President, Investor Relations

314-654-3950

[email protected]

Mallinckrodt, the "M" brand mark and the Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals logo are trademarks of a Mallinckrodt company. Other brands are trademarks of a Mallinckrodt company or their respective owners.

2023 Mallinckrodt. US-2300746 10/23

References

1 Thuluvath PJ, et al. The Effect of Race on Treatment Response to Terlipressin in Patients with Hepatorenal Syndrome: A Pooled Analysis of 3 Phase III Clinical Studies. Poster to be presented at the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) Annual Scientific Meeting. October 20-25, 2023.

2 O'Leary JG, et al. The Effect of Terlipressin on Blood Pressure, Mean Arterial Pressure, and Heart Rate in patients with Hepatorenal Syndrome: A Post-Hoc Analysis of the CONFIRM Study. Poster to be presented at the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) Annual Scientific Meeting. October 20-25, 2023.

3 Wong RJ, et al. Differences in Patient Characteristics and Outcomes by Hospital Size for Patients with Chronic Liver Disease and Acute Kidney Injury or Hepatorenal Syndrome. Poster to be presented at the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) Annual Scientific Meeting. October 20-25, 2023.

4 TERLIVAZ (terlipressin) for injection. Prescribing Information. Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc.

5 National Organization for Rare Disorders. Hepatorenal Syndrome. Available at: https://rarediseases.org/rare-diseases/hepatorenal-syndrome/. Accessed September 2023.

6 C Pant, B S Jani, M Desai, A Deshpande, Prashant Pandya, Ryan Taylor, R Gilroy, M OIyaee. Heptorenal syndrome in hospitalized patients with chronic liver disease: results from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample 2002-2012. J of Investig Med. 2016; 64:33-38.

7 United States Census Bureau: Quick Facts. Available at: https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045218. Accessed September 2023.

8 Flamm, S.L., Brown, K., Wadei, H.M., et al. The Current Management of Hepatorenal SyndromeAcute Kidney Injury in the United States and the Potential of Terlipressin. Liver Transpl. 2021;27:1191-1202. https://doi.org/10.1002/lt.26072.

SOURCE Mallinckrodt plc
If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this





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Gaza, Oct 22 : Efforts to release hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip will continue, and now focuses on those with Israeli-foreign dual citizenship, a media report said, citing a Palestinian source.

There are also ongoing efforts from the Qatari and Egyptian sides to facilitate a ceasefire between Gaza-ruling Hamas and Israel, the source who was familiar with the matter told Xinhua news agency on condition of anonymity.

"We hope that the release of the two American hostages will open the door to other aspects," the source noted.
BAGHDAD, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani and French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday called for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip to avoid repercussions for regional and world peace.

During a phone call, the two leaders discussed the rapid developments in the region due to the ongoing conflict between Palestinians and Israelis, especially the bombing of the Gaza Strip that affects civilians, according to a statement issued by al-Sudani's media office.

The two sides emphasized that the continued escalation between Palestinians and Israelis had serious repercussions on regional and international peace and security, the statement said, adding that they agreed to maintain communication and joint efforts for a ceasefire and contain the conflict in order to reach comprehensive and just solutions.

For his part, Macron pointed out the need to take serious action to prevent the expansion of the conflict and save the lives of civilians, the statement said.

The statement added that al-Sudani and Macron agreed on the necessity of securing an immediate ceasefire and opening safe corridors for humanitarian aid to reach the besieged residents of Gaza.

On Oct. 7, the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) launched a surprise attack by firing thousands of rockets against Israeli targets, prompting extensive airstrikes from the Israeli side. Hamas militants also infiltrated Israeli territory and took a significant number of hostages during the attack.

More than 1,400 people in Israel were killed in the attacks launched by Hamas, according to figures released by Israel's military. Israeli attacks have killed 4,651 Palestinians, according to figures released by the Hamas-run Health Ministry. 
Unnao, Oct 22 : In a bizarre turn of events, the 2017 Unnao rape survivor in Uttar Pradesh has filed a complaint against her relatives, accusing them of grabbing the money she had received from the government and NGOs and throwing her out of her house.

It may be recalled that the then BJP MLA Kuldeep Sengar was convicted in the case in 2019.

ASP Shashi Shekhar Singh said that on the complaint of the woman, an FIR has been filed at the Makhi police station against her uncle, mother, sister and one other person under sections 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC.

"Investigation into the matter has been initiated," the ASP said.

In the complaint, the woman, who is now married, alleged that she was facing threats from her family.

"When I asked for money for my expenses, given to me by the government on court orders and by NGOs, my uncle said that Rs 7 crore had been spent on the case and the money received is not enough," she alleged.

She said that her uncle is serving a 10-year sentence in Tihar Jail in an attempt to murder case.

"On his instructions, my mother and sister have become enemies of my and my husbandas life," she said in her complaint. She also alleged that she and her husband were pushed out of the house that she got from the government.

The victimas uncle had played an important role in getting MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar punished in the Makhi rape case in Unnao.

The victim has made serious allegations against her uncle who is in jail. She said that her husband and she face threat from the family members.
New Delhi, Oct 22 : There is politics of the personal and the country. Rewind to the situation in Sri Lanka when the economic crisis hit, and citizens were out on the street agitating and demanding some semblance of 'normalcy'. Lankan filmmaker Prasanna Vithanage's International film 'Paradise', which won the Kim Jiseok Award for Best Film at the Busan International Film Festival 2023 where it recently had its World Premiere, revolves around a tourist couple from India who are in the island nation at that time and explores their struggles with societal, personal, and internal challenges.

"It is only through crisis that we reveal ourselves completely -- and think about the concept of paradise, a space enveloped in so-called perfection. In 'normal' circumstances, it is only a tiny part of us that comes through. Not to mention, personal is political and vice-versa," he tells IANS.

Starring Malayalam actors Roshan Mathew and Darshana Rajendran, the film has been presented by Mani Ratnam's Madras Talkies. In fact, several members of the technical team also hail from India.

This filmmaker, considered one of the pioneers of the third generation of Sri Lankan cinema, has directed eight feature films and won major international awards besides enjoying commercial success.

Calling Chennai his second home, Vithanage smiles: "I have worked with Indians for the past 27 years. It was during the post-production of my second film that the collaboration started. While I have had producers from there, this is the first time that I am doing an Indian language film which has been shot in Sri Lanka. Collaborations are always enriching, something I always look forward to."

Vithanage, who started doing theatre right after school stresses that the art form has been instrumental in shaping him as a filmmaker. He says besides other things, it has taught him how to work with actors.

"Theatre involves rehearsing with actors for months altogether. While we cannot do that in films, I have always enjoyed the process of actors coming into their characters. Every moment brings out an elusive truth. Finding that is the true challenge and a beautiful one," he says.

The director has been at the forefront of the fight against censorship. In fact, his movie 'Death on a Full Moon Day' was banned from screening but later released by the court after a legal battle.

Considering he belongs to a generation that has witnessed two uprisings and a long civil war, he feels it is his right as an artist to talk about these tragedies. "That is my catharsis, so I have done three films on the war.Considering battles destroys humanity, the most human thing you could do is give dignity, to whoever it is. And that's the most human act. With art, one can bring forth several layers. Whatever the repercussions may be, you must stick to yourself, although there is a need to ask oneself -- 'am I being truthful or just want to grab attention'."

Talk about the fact that not much art has been made on the civil war in Sri Lanka, and he says most of the parties are talking from their point of view but not looking at the others' perspective. "It is always easy to polarise on religious and ethical lines, but difficult to reconcile. There have been truth commissions in Sri Lanka but their suggestions have not been applied. One witnesses a continuous polarisation and hate. People believe that they are suffering because of the other person. So how can there be any reconciliation?"

Believing that film festivals are important not just for screening excellent cinema but also for precipitating conversations around it, he adds they must serve as a platform for young filmmakers. "Else, how will we identify them?"
Beirut, Oct 22 : A Hezbollah fighter was killed and another was injured in Israeli bombardment on the Lebanese-Israeli border, the Shiite military group has said.

A statement issued on Saturday evening noted that Hezbollah mourned its fighter, without providing more details.

Hezbollah also announced that its fighters fired guided missiles at an Israeli Hummer vehicle in the vicinity of Dovev in northern Israel, "killing and wounding its crew members", Xinhua news agency reported.

Sources from the Lebanese Internal Security Forces told news agency that the Israeli army bombed the outskirts of about 20 southern towns, causing severe damage to 15 homes and fires in forest areas and vineyards.

Meanwhile, Lebanese military sources said that an Israeli drone fired a missile at a car in the centre of the town of Hula in southeastern Lebanon, killing its driver and wounding another person.

Hezbollah retaliated by targeting four Israeli sites in the occupied Shebaa Farms and the Kfarchouba Hills with guided missiles and bombed three other areas with rockets and artillery shells, the sources added.

The escalation on the Lebanese-Israeli border began when Hezbollah fired multiple rockets on Oct. 8 toward Israeli military sites in support of a Hamas surprise attack against Israel. In response, the Israeli forces fired heavy artillery on southeastern Lebanon on the same day.
Hyderabad, Oct 22 : Telangana pride appears to be taking centre stage of the electoral battle in the state with the ruling BRS looking to once again bank on the sentiment.

With the Congress and the BJP launching scathing attacks on BRS mainly over family rule and alleged corruption, the ruling party is hitting back at the national parties for what it calls insulting Telangana's self-respect.

Aiming for a hat-trick the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) is against invoking Telangana sentiment to counter the national parties.

The war of words between the Congress and BRS leaders during the last few days clearly hints that the latter will leverage the Telangana self-respect issue to reap electoral dividends

BRS leaders are trying to draw home the point that as a party, which came into existence to fight for statehood to Telangana, BRS alone can be the true vanguard of the stateas interests. They argue "Delhi and Gujarat 'gulams' can't do justice to Telangana".

Taking offence to the remarks made by both BJP and Congress leaders, the BRS is launching a counter-attack.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi says one Gujarati (Sardar Patel) liberated Telangana from Nizam's rule while another Gujarati will liberate it from tyrannical rule of KCR. This is definitely an onslaught on the self-respect of Telangana," said BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao.

KTR, as Rama Rao is popularly known, also took a dig at state Congress president A. Revanth Reddy for his remark that if Congress leader Sonia Gandhi "had not delivered Telangana state, KCR would have been begging at Birla temple or Nampally dargah".

"The gulams of Delhi and Gujarat want to rule Telangana," said KTR, who is the son of Chief Minister KCR. Recalling that Telangana's self-respect was of oof the important tenets of the Telangana movement, he made it clear that BRS would not allow "this insult".

KCR's daughter and BRS MLC K. Kavitha termed the Telangana Assembly elections a fight between the Telangana detractors and those whose hearts beat for Telangana.

She was reacting to Rahul Gandhi's remark describing the Assembly elections as a fight between 'Dorala Telangana and Prajala Telangana' (feudal's Telangana and people's Telangana).

"Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi have no right to speak about Telangana which was achieved after a long struggle and now stands tall in the country," said Kavitha

Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi together launched the Congress party's campaign on October 18 with a fierce attack on KCR and his family. They recalled that it was their mother Sonia Gandhi who fulfilled the long-cherished dream of the people of Telangana by giving them Telangana state. They claimed she did not care about the political damage the party was to suffer because of that decision.

The BRS leaders responded to this by arguing that Sonia Gandhi "had to bow before the people's movement". They also alleged that she delayed the formation of the state for four years after making an announcement in 2009.

The BRS leaders also blame Congress for the suicides of many youths during this period and the loss of lives during the earlier phase of the Telangana movement.

After missing power twice despite claiming credit for carving out Telangana state, the Congress is making a determined bid this time with a slew of promises under 'six guarantees'.

Buoyed by the recent victory in Karnataka, Congress is seeking a chance in Telangana. It is promising to fulfil the aspirations of the people of Telangana. "This is not the Telangana for which people had made sacrifices," Rahul Gandhi said at a public meeting.

The BJP is also fighting the polls on a similar narrative by targeting KCR for failing to fulfil the aspirations of the people of Telangana. Both the national parties are slamming KCR over family rule and alleged corruption.

In 2014, emotion was high in the newly created state while KCR-led TRS (now BRS) sought the mandate to rebuild Telangana. The TRS had given a call to protect the state from the rule of parties belonging to Andhra Pradesh (TDP and YSRCP) and also parties which rule from Delhi (Congress and BJP).

The TRS sought a fresh mandate in 2018 on the basis of its performance and with a promise to continue its work to build 'Bangaru Telangana' or golden Telangana. Telangana sentiment was still strong with TDP making a determined bid to capture power in alliance with the Congress and other parties.

When KCR changed TRS to BRS late last year to expand the party to other states, many thought that Telangana identity would take a backseat and it may not be an election issue.

However, the party appears to be invoking the Telangana self-respect issue to bunk the anti-incumbency. The party has always projected itself as the voice of the people of Telangana. Its leaders often say while Congress and BJP have their high command in Delhi, their party's high command is the people of Telangana.

KCR, who revived the Telangana movement in 2001 by floating TRS, carefully built his image and that of his party as the champion of Telangana, focusing on the unique cultural identity of the state and creating strong symbols of Telangana pride like the state secretariat and Telangana martyrs' memorial.

KCR and other leaders of the party always cautioned people against the attempts by Andhra rulers to indirectly take control of Telangana.

This time TDP's presence in the elections is likely to be subdued as its national president and former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu remained in jail in Andhra Pradesh for more than a month in a corruption case and is facing investigations in a couple of other cases.

However, the presence of YSR Telangana Party (YSRTP) Y.S. Sharmila and the possible campaigning by actor and Jana Sena leader Pawan Kalyan may provide ammunition to the BRS. The party leaders say both the leaders were opposed to the formation of Telangana.

Sharmila, whose party is going alone after talks for a merger with Congress failed, is the daughter of late Chief Minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy. The BRS leaders say YSR was against the creation of Telangana state.

Pawan Kalyan's party is keen to contest 32 seats out of 119 assembly seats in Telangana. It is still unclear if Jana Sena will have an alliance with the BJP or it will go alone. The Jana Sena is focusing on constituencies in and around Hyderabad which have a sizable number of voters hailing from Andhra Pradesh.
'Operation Hasta': BJP not to stop leaders who want to join Cong in K'taka. Image Source: IANS News

Bhopal, Oct 22 : Rebel leaders are set to disrupt the poll arithmetics of both, the BJP and the Congress, in the upcoming Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections.

In many assembly constituencies, these rebels have the strength to overturn the results, and this poses a big challenge for both political parties.

Voting to elect a 230-member state Assembly is to be held in a single phase on November 17. The elections will see a direct contest between the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress.

Considering the tight contest, both the parties are cautious about selecting candidates, resulting in dissatisfaction among several factions.

Those who are not getting tickets are either switching sides or are leaving no stone unturned to cause damage to their parties.

Congress has so far announced the names of candidates for 229 seats and since the announcement, there have been reports of protests from about two dozen places. As a result of this, the party had to change its candidates from three places -- Datia, Pichhore and Gotegaon.

Also, several officials have resigned from their posts and many have even left the party.

Similar is the situation with the BJP, which has come up with four lists so far and has announced candidates for 144 seats. There were protests at many places over ticket distributions.

Several BJP leaders, including two sitting MLAs -- Birendra Raghuvanshi and Narayan Tripathi, have left the party. Both of them were hopeful of getting tickets from Congress but were disappointed.

Both parties are worried about the growing discontent and have entrusted the responsibility to the senior leaders to convince angry leaders that they will be given important roles if the party forms the government in the state. Besides, many leaders are also being accommodated in the organisation.

Political analysts believe that this time the elections in the state are going to be a close contest, the government can be formed by any party and that is why all the contenders want to try their luck by contesting the elections. The leaders to whom both the parties are not giving tickets are rebelling and joining SP, BSP and AAP.

The inclination of politicians towards small parties is also because if neither of the two parties gets the majority, then the key to power will come into their hands.
Lucknow, Oct 22 : The Congress high command has firmly snubbed state party leaders from issuing statements regarding seat sharing among INDIA bloc members in Uttar Pradesh, said sources on Sunday.

The move comes after the SP leaders took a strong view of statements being issued by UP Congress leaders, and the SP president even accused the Congress of betrayal.

A Congress source admitted that the party high command had warned the state leaders against making any comments on the party's relationship with SP.

Former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav told reporters in Hardoi on Saturday that he had got a message from the topmost leader of the Congress through someone.

"If that leader is saying something, then I will accept it," he said.

Akhilesh had taken an aggressive stance against the Congress since last week, following failure in seat-sharing for the forthcoming Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls.

The SP began announcing candidates on MP seats and then released the party's MP polls manifesto. Akhilesh Yadav has been accusing Madhya Pradesh Congress President Kamal Nath and former MP Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh of "betraying" the SP despite assuring seats in a seat-sharing talks with SP delegation.

He also took umbrage at UP Congress Chief Ajay Rai's statements against the SP and went on to call him a 'chirkut' (worthless).

Akhilesh had threatened that if the INDIA bloc was not for the states' elections and was only meant for the Lok Sabha elections, then he too would think over the alliance in Uttar Pradesh when the time came.

Talking about the past relationship with the Congress, Akhilesh in Hardoi said: "Dr Ram Manohar Lohia and Netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav) in the past had said that when the Congress is at its weakest and when they need us, they will reach out to us; and we should support them We will follow our tradition. During the nuclear deal (India-US deal) we stood with them."
New Delhi, Oct 22 : For the last three-quarters of a century, it has led a sordid existence under the authority of either of its neighbours or under their blockade, is termed the largest 'open jail' in the world, and/or an epicentre of terrorism. As the Israelis are poised to invade it following the Hamas attack, Gaza remains one of the world's top flashpoints.

In a region characterised by political instability, fratricidal conflict, and geopolitical tensions, Gaza holds its own special niche, for its 4,000-years-old history predates the current Israel-Arab tensions of the 20th century.

Its position as a key land bridge between Asia and Africa led to it becoming a constant battleground over the centuries and witnessing repeated cycles of destruction and revival.

Across the centuries, the tread of Alexander the Great's Macedonian phalanxes and two centuries later, of the Roman legions, the pounding gallop of the Crusaders, the canterof Mongols' mounted archers, Napoleon's Frenchmen, the British (bolstered by their Indian Army contingents including the Hyderabad and Mysore Lancers, as well as the Australian Light Horse) echoed in the region.

Yet Gaza was not always an epicentre of battles and conflict - and spent long periods of prosperity and renown as a trading hub and seat of culture and learning.

The first records of human habitation in Gaza dates to the Bronze Age in 3300a"3000 BC when the Ancient Egyptians built a fortress at a site south of present day Gaza City amid trade with what is now Israel. There were several spells of existence, destruction, and revival in the epoch and human settlements finally ceased to exist at the end of Bronze Age (c. 14th century BC).

Gaza figures, under its present name, in the ancient period when the Ancient Egyptians resettled the area but its location as a prominent caravan route made it the site of many battles between them and their neighbours from the Fertile Crescent, especially the Assyrians. It, however, remained in the former's hands for over three centuries before being settled by the Philistines - who would go on to give their name to the whole area subsequently (Palestine).

In the Old Testament, Gaza is the area where legendary strongman Samson - whose strength was in the locks of his hair - was imprisoned and killed. According to biblical history, it was captured by King David of Israel but in the course of the next few centuries, fought over and captured at various times by Assyrians, Ancient Persians, and Babylonians.

When Alexander the Great marched on his way to conquer the world, Gaza was was the last city to resist his path to Egypt and withstood a siege for two months, before he finally captured it in 332 BCE. However, afterwards, he transformed it into a hub of Hellenic learning and philosophy as it continued to be held by his successors - the Ptolemaic and then, the Seleucid dynasties.

After another century and a half of flourishing as a port and being destroyed in local wars, Gaza next came to prominence in 60 BC when the Romans captured it under Pompey the Great, rebuilt it, and under the Roman Empire handed over to their client king, Herod the Great. Under the Romans, there were six centuries of relative peace and prosperity as it became a busy port and trade point between the Middle East and Africa.

There were tensions between the slowly spreading Christian faith and the Romans but no major violence till the 6th century until armies marched out of the Arabian desert to spread Islam. Gaza had a special place for Muslims as Prophet Mohammad had visited it several times when he was a trader - and it is believed that his great-grandfather lies buried there.

Gaza was besieged by the Arab army under Amr ibn al-As in 634 after the Battle of Ajnadayn with the Byzantines, gave them control over much of Palestine's countryside, but not the major garrison cities. Under Caliph Umar, who had lived in Gaza himself earlier, the effort was strengthened and the Arabs overcame and killed the Byzantine troops, and city's Jewish community, who fought alongside them, in 637, but spared the city's inhabitants.

There was, by and large, peace again in Gaza for next few centuries, though it continued to come under various regional Islamic dynasties but its political and economic significance gradually dipped.

The First Crusaders, sweeping all before them, wrested it from then masters, the Fatimid dynasty, in 1100 and it remained in Christian hands for nearly two centuries, notwithstanding a devastating attack by Saladin in 1170. It came under his control as he conquered most of the Christian kingdoms of the area in 1187. In 1192, amid the Third Crusade, Richard the Lionheart captured it back but its fortifications were torn down.

Gaza remained under Muslim rule till around 1260 when Hulagu Khan's Mongol hordes swept the Middle East, capturing Baghdad, Damascus, and rolling on through Palestine to conquer Egypt. They reached Gaza and destroyed it thoroughly. However, the withdrawal of Hulagu Khan with the bulk of his forces enabled the Mamluks to rout the Mongol remnants and reoccupy the area, on their way to rid Palestine of its Christian kingdoms.

Under Mamluk rule, Gaza began thriving initially but then again declined and when the Ottomans took over in 1516, it was an impoverished town with the port barely functioning and trade down. Under them too, its situation was so-so - flourishing under some governors and languishing under others.

The next conqueror was Napoleon, who occupied Gaza in 1799, as part of his Egyptian expedition, and termed it "the outpost of Africa, the door to Asia". However, his stay was brief as the French soon withdrew.

The next battles in Gaza would take place in the First World War, when British armies from Egypt attempted to seize Palestine and other parts of the Middle East from the Ottomans, whose forces were bolstered by Imperial German officers. While the British lost the First and Second Battles of Gaza in March and April 1917, respectively, they prevailed in the Third Battle (November 1917) - Australian film "The Light Horsemen" (1987) offers a glimpse of the campaign.

Gaza was part of the British mandate of Palestine but was still restive - with the 1929 riots there forcing out the Jewish residents. After the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, it ended up with the Egyptians till the Israelis won it in 1967. After widespread insurgency, in the 1980s and 1990s, Israel unilaterally withdrew from it, but subsequently blockaded it and launched assaults in 2008a"2009, 2012, and 2014.

Will the Israelis, which have, more or less, devastated half of it already, invade Gaza again and script another chapter in its (largely) star-crossed history?

(Vikas Datta can be contacted at vikas.d@ians.in)
LONDON, June 4, 2017 (Xinhua) -- Police stand guard near the London Bridge in London, Britain, on June 3, 2017. Unidentified attackers drove a van into pedestrians on London Bridge Saturday night and stabbed people in the nearby Borough Market area. . Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, Oct 22 : Scotland Yard has said that there has been a huge leap in hate crimes - predominantly anti-Semitic incidents - since the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel.

Between October 1-18, there were 218 anti-Semitic incidents across London -- up from 15 across the same period last year, reports the BBC.

The number of Islamophobic incidents had risen to 101, from 42 last year.

The statistics were released on the eve of a major pro-Palestinian demonstration in London.

Police chiefs have banned any protesters from assembling outside the Israeli embassy.

The Metropolitan Police said that it was receiving reports of hate crimes occurring both in person and online and so far these had been a mixture of racially and religiously motivated incidents.

So far, 21 people have been arrested and officers had been sifting through 1,400 reports of potentially illegal content online, the BBC reported.

InFrance, home to Europe's largest Jewish community, police recorded more than 320 physical acts of antisemitism, and made more than 180 arrests, in the first 10 days of the war, The Guardian reported.

Antisemitic acts under investigation include people gathering in front of synagogues shouting threats, incidents of verbal abuse, threatening letters, graffiti such as the words "killing Jews is a duty" sprayed outside a stadium in Carcassonne in the south-west, the education minister's reports of a Nazi swastika chalked on a blackboard in a school, and a Jewish high-school student whose clothes were ripped and antisemitic comments made to him as he came out of the school toilets, the report said.

Protection of Jewish sites has been increased in towns and cities across Europe, from synagogues to schools and community centres.

But Jewish communities in France,Germanyand Italy said they still felt cautious.

In Sarcelles, even orders for home deliveries of food were down as people said they were hesitant to have someone they didn't know come to the door, The Guardian reported.

CNN reported that in Dearborn, Michigan  a city whose population is estimated to be about42 per cent Arab, according to the US Census Bureau  police arrested a man after he made online threats of violence against Palestinian American residents.

"Palestinian Americans and Muslim Americans feel like they are experiencing the level of hate and Islamophobia that existed after 9/11 and during the Iraq war  some say it's even worse," Aber Kawas, a member of the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, told CNN.

Abed Ayoub, director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, said the perspectives of Palestinian and Muslim communities in places like the US have been largely absent from the coverage of the Israel-Hamas conflict and that has allowed a growing atmosphere of bigotry and Islamophobia to go unchecked.

"There is no recognition of our existence. That's what is allowing this to bubble," he said.

"And that's what allowed a 6-year-old Palestinian boy to get stabbed to death in his own home."

Ayoub said Arab and Palestinian communities are diverse and nuanced.

But, he said, giving platforms to narratives that insinuate anyone who supports Palestine also supports Hamas and the violent attacks on Israel is problematic, CNN reported.

"Labeling everyone as Hamas just to justify the attacks is dangerous and we're seeing that play out," he said of the bombings in Gaza.

Last weekend, as Israel continued to bombard Gaza in response to the October 7 Hamas attack, activists staged pro-Palestine rallies in New York City's Times Square and in cities across the country.

Many Muslim or Arab leaders say they feel compelled to speak out against the climate of Islamophobia to stem further violence.

"The CAIR NJ office has not received this many calls for help since the Muslim ban in 2017," Selaedin Maksut, executive director of the Council on American Islamic Relations of New Jersey, said at a news conference Monday. "Anxiety and fear are high", CNN reported.
United Nations, Oct 22 : After a fortnight of diplomatic cajoling and appeals to conscience by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, and a dose of international pressure, a small convoy of 20 trucks loaded with relief supplies tentatively crossed the Rafah border from Egypt to bring succour to the 2 million people trapped by Israel's blockade of Gaza.

For a UN powerless to deal with the Gaza crisis -- or the broader Palestine issue for 75 years -- sending aid to Gaza was a tiny victory and a stab at relevance.

Although Israel allowed the trickle of 20 trucks into Gaza nominally under its occupation and facing a threat of attacks on unauthorised vehicles, the UN programme's future hangs in the balance.

But 200 other trucks loaded with food, medicine and fuel were parked at the Egypt-Gaza border while officials from Egypt, Israel, and the US haggled over the terms for them to move into Gaza.

"They are a lifeline to the people in Gaza", Guterres said, "the difference between death and life, with water, with food, with medicines, with everything the people of Gaza need".

Israelas blockade of Gaza as reprisal for the terrorist attack launched on October 7 by the Hamas group that rules the territory has cut off power, water and supplies of medicine, fuel, and other essential supplies.

In that attack over 1,400 people were killed in Israel and about 200 were taken hostage by marauding Hamas terrorists.

Israel's retaliation has caused nearly 4,000 deaths, Palestinian authorities say.

Guterres used all his diplomatic prowess to get Israel to agree to allow the supplies from Egypt into Gaza in an arrangement involving Cairo, Washington and the UN.

He got some help from US President Joe Biden who also pressured Israel to agree to allowing 20 trucks to cross into Gaza, far less than the 200 ready to roll.

However, for the UN and Guterres, the bigger goal is stopping Israel from launching the threatened ground offensive to annihilate Hamas that could cause massive civilian casualties and from the conflict spilling over the region.

One barrier to allowing the UN convoy a"inspecting the trucks to ensure they are not carrying weapons a" appears to have been breached, but others a" whether they can go to northern Gaza which Israel has ordered to be emptied out as it prepares for ground invasion of the area, and resistance to allowing fuel to be sent in a" remain.

Guterres said on Friday: "We are now actively engaging with all the parties, actively engaging with Egypt, with Israel, with the US, in order to make sure that we are able to clarify those conditions, that we are able to limit those restrictions in order to have as soon as possible these trucks moving to where they are needed."

Guterres also wants the relief arrangement to go beyond 20 trucks to a regular arrangement.

"We are not looking for one convoy to come, we are looking for convoys to be authorized, with meaningful numbers of trucks to go everywhere into Gaza to provide enough support to the Gaza people," he said.

That would be a tough sell to Israel, which is preparing a ground offensive.

The UN, ultimately, is at the mercy of Israel which can destroy convoys entering Gaza.

The blockade has been described as a collective punishment, which is a violation of international law.

Guterres said: "I have repeatedly said that the barbaric attack by Hamas needs to be condemned. But I've also said they can not be a pretext for a collective punishment of the Palestinian people. It's absolutely essential to respect international humanitarian law."

United Arab Emirates Permanent Representative Lana Zaki Nusseibeh, made the distinction earlier last week: "Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people, or the people of Gaza, who are suffering immensely today."

The UN launched in 1949 the aid programme for the Palestinian refugees displaced in the creation of Israel the previous year is the single largest such programme and it has an annual budget of $1.6 billion and more than 13,000 employees.

Known as the UN Relief and Works Programme (UNRWA), it operates in Gaza and the West Bank, but also in neighbouring countries with Palestinian refugees, running health centres, educational institutions and food distribution programmes.

UNRWA will be distributing the aid sent through the Rafah Crossing.

Guterres said: "To be able to distribute aid on that side, it is necessary that UNRWA has fuel and so we need to have the guarantee that we have enough fuel on the other side to distribute aid to the people in need."

Israel has reservations about fuel going into Gaza because of fears it could be commandeered by Hamas for its military activities.

In the other major conflict, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, where the UN has been rendered a helpless bystander because of the Security Council veto stalemate, Guterres gained a small symbolic victory through the Black Sea Grain Initiative that allowed food grains from Ukraine to be shipped out to stabilise the global supplies and to help nations facing severe food shortages.

But that was been shortlived because Russia has withdrawn from it threatening ships carrying Ukrainian foodgrains.

(Arul Louis can be contacted at arul.l@ians.in and followed at @arulouis)
Washington, Oct 22 : Wearing a light blue sweater, President Joe Biden made a rare appearance in the press section of Air Force One on the way back from the Middle East earlier this week. It was to declare that his mission for the trip had been accomplished.

"I just got off the phone with President Sisi of Egypt," he said to reporters as they scrambled to gather their notebooks and recorders. He was referring to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt, with whom he had just wrapped a 30-minute phone call. "He agreed that what he would do is open the gate on -- to do two things: one, let up to 20 trucks through to begin with."

Al-Sisi, who had cancelled a meeting with Biden, had agreed on the call to allow trucks carrying humanitarian aid cross into Gaza from Egypt. Twenty of them at first, going up to 150.Biden chalked it up a win from the trip, which, as he would point out later, was the first undertaken by a serving American President to a war zone after Abraham Lincoln.

Bidenas administration had displayed a complete embrace of Israel on its war with Hamas after the October 7 attacks. It was first underscored by Secretary of State Antony Blinken who was in the region within days, followed by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

Bidenfollowed up shortly. It was supposed to be a major visit with meetings scheduled with the leaders of all the major players in the region.

While he was on the way, a hospital in Gaza suffered a bomb hit in which hundreds of people died, changing the dynamics completely.

Hamas blamed the bombing on Israel, which has blamed it on a dysfunctional missile fire by the Islamic Jihad -- and the Arab world erupted in outrage. Leaders of Egypt and Jordan -- both of which are recipients of substantial US aid annually -- cancelled their meetings with the American President.

Bidenas visit suffered a shock even before it had started. "Look, I came to get something done.I got it done," he told reporters when asked if he was disappointed by the cancellations."Not many people thought we could get this done, and not many people want to be associated with failure."

While Biden was able to persuade al-Sisi to allow humanitarian aid pass through Egypt, he was also able to convince the Israelis all relief material into the area, dropping their resolve to not allow any aid in till the hostages taken by Hamas terrorists were freed.

It couldnat have been easy to persuade Israeli leaders to change their strategy, especially when emotions were still high and raw.

Israelas Channel 12 reported that Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told a Knesset committee, regarding aid to Gaza before the release of hostages, "the Americans insisted and we are not in a place to refuse them. We rely on them for planes and military equipment. What are we supposed to do? Tell them no?"

Pressed by reporters if the Israelis had pushed back on humanitarian aid, the US President said: "I got no pushback."

The US President has set the Israel-Hamas conflict front and center in this foreign policy, along with Ukraine, arguing they represent a threat to the national security of the United States.

A growing number of Americansa are questioning continued US funding of the war in Ukraine and many, including some Democrats, are critical of Bidenas close embrace of Israel.

"Let me share with you why making sure Israel and Ukraine succeed is vital for Americaas national security," he said in an address to the nation on Thursday. "You know, history has taught us that when terrorists donat pay a price for their terror, when dictators donat pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos and death and more destruction.They keep going, and the cost and the threats to America and to the world keep rising."

In the same speech Biden said he was asking Congress for extra funding for these and other national security challenges. Of the extra $105 billion he is seeking, $60 billion is meant for Ukraine, $14 billion for Israel and $14 billion for securing the border with Mexico.
Trucks loaded with humanitarian aid prepare to enter Gaza at the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing on Oct. 22, 2023.

A convoy of 17 trucks carrying humanitarian aid reached the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing on Sunday, before heading to the besieged Gaza Strip which is experiencing a humanitarian crisis due to Israeli airstrikes, Egyptian humanitarians at the border said.

It is the second aid convoy to be sent to Gaza after the first convoy of 20 trucks carrying humanitarian supplies entered the coastal enclave on Saturday. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

RAFAH, Egypt, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- A convoy of 17 trucks carrying humanitarian aid reached the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing on Sunday, before heading to the besieged Gaza Strip which is experiencing a humanitarian crisis due to Israeli airstrikes, Egyptian humanitarians at the border said.

It is the second aid convoy to be sent to Gaza after the first convoy of 20 trucks carrying humanitarian supplies entered the coastal enclave on Saturday.

Sunday's aid consists of food, medical supplies, water, blankets, clothes, shrouds, and other items, Ra'ed el-Gebaly, a volunteer with the Egyptian Food Bank, told Xinhua at the Egyptian side of the crossing.

The trucks, which have been prepared by the National Alliance for Civil Development Work, a coalition of Egyptian NGOs, in coordination with the Egyptian Red Crescent, are set to be delivered to humanitarians of the United Nations, the Palestine Red Crescent Society, and the Red Cross on the Gaza side, relief volunteers said.

"The aid supplies are still so much less than what is needed for a couple of million people besieged in Gaza who lacked basic needs under very difficult conditions," said Abdel-Rahman Habat, basic needs portfolio manager at Cairo-based Life Makers Foundation, a NGO with the National Alliance for Civil Development Work.

"We try to contribute to relieving the suffering of the people of Gaza and we will continue to do so until we cover most of their needs," he added.

About 200 more vehicles were waiting on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing to enter Gaza.

Egypt's El-Arish airport and the Rafah crossing are "the lifelines to the people of Gaza," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said during his visit to Egypt last week.

For two weeks, the Gaza Strip has been under deadly Israeli siege and strikes in retaliation for the attack of the Gaza-controlling Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) against Israel on Oct. 7. The Israel-Hamas conflict killed more than 6,000 people on both sides. 

Trucks loaded with humanitarian aid prepare to enter Gaza at the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing on Oct. 22, 2023.

A convoy of 17 trucks carrying humanitarian aid reached the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing on Sunday, before heading to the besieged Gaza Strip which is experiencing a humanitarian crisis due to Israeli airstrikes, Egyptian humanitarians at the border said.

It is the second aid convoy to be sent to Gaza after the first convoy of 20 trucks carrying humanitarian supplies entered the coastal enclave on Saturday. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

A truck loaded with humanitarian aid prepares to enter Gaza at the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing on Oct. 22, 2023.

A convoy of 17 trucks carrying humanitarian aid reached the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing on Sunday, before heading to the besieged Gaza Strip which is experiencing a humanitarian crisis due to Israeli airstrikes, Egyptian humanitarians at the border said.

It is the second aid convoy to be sent to Gaza after the first convoy of 20 trucks carrying humanitarian supplies entered the coastal enclave on Saturday. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

A truck loaded with humanitarian aid enters Gaza from the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing on Oct. 22, 2023.

A convoy of 17 trucks carrying humanitarian aid reached the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing on Sunday, before heading to the besieged Gaza Strip which is experiencing a humanitarian crisis due to Israeli airstrikes, Egyptian humanitarians at the border said.

It is the second aid convoy to be sent to Gaza after the first convoy of 20 trucks carrying humanitarian supplies entered the coastal enclave on Saturday. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)
Russia tries to capitalise on US self-isolation at UNSC on Gaza. Image Source: IANS News

United Nations, Oct 22 : A stern-faced US Permanent Representative Linda Thomas-Greenfield, peering over her glasses, raised her right hand to cast a lone veto on a near-consensus resolution condemning the Hamas attack on Israel, but also calling for a pause in the fighting, while close ally Britain's envoy Barbara Woodward looked down, studying papers on her desk.

That tableau on Wednesday at the Security Council captured the shifting mood at the UN where Russia had been on the defensive and a solid Western alliance had stood together on Ukraine, which has been the main polarising factor.

Britain abstained on the resolution, while France voted for it.

Next, the issue will go to the General Assembly with vivid pictures of the wounded or killed, who included children, in Israel's retaliatory attacks  not counting the contentious hospital explosion  continuing to stir emotions amid reports of over 3,500 people killed in Gaza.

On the day of the Council vote, US President Joe Biden was in Israel in a show of support for that embattled nation, but had been rebuffed by the leaders of Jordan, Egypt, and Palestine who called off a planned summit.

And Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, unwelcome in Israel, was preparing to visit Egypt the next day and by the weekend, was at a peace summit, convened on Saturday by Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, which had high-powered representation from the region and beyond hoping to douse the flames of conflict.

Showing a shift from the ineffectiveSecurity Council in New York, but with UN participation, eight heads of state including fromJordan, UAE, Qatar, and Bahrain, as well as notably South Africa were expected at the summit; so were Prime Ministers of five countries  Spain, Italy, Greece, and Iraq, among them, and Foreign Ministers from Britain, France, Japan and Germany andthreeothers.(Russia and China were represented by senior diplomats at other levels).

The principals in the conflict  directly or indirectly  Israel, Hamas, and the US were glaringly absent.

Guterres told the assembled leaders: "The time has come for action, action to end this godawful nightmare  action to build a future worthy of the dreams of the children of Palestine, Israel, the region and our world."

When the the Council met on Wednesday it was under the cloud of the gruesome explosion at a Gaza hospital that killed more than 470 people.

Palestinians said it was an Israeli missile strike, while Biden said it was done by the "other side", echoing the stance of Israel, which claimed that it was a Palestinian Islamic Jihad group's rocket that misfired.

The vetoed resolution proposed by Brazil, the Security Council President, had most of what the US wanted, principally an unequivocal condemnation of Hamas for "the heinous terrorist attacks" that killed about 1,700 people in Israel with about 200 taken hostage, and also a demand for a "humanitarian pause" in the fighting rather than a ceasefire.

But Thomas-Greenfield, defending the veto, said: "The United States is disappointed this resolution made no mention of Israel's right of self-defense."

Moreover, she said: "We need to let that diplomacy play out."

Diplomatic isolation on the world stage was the price that Biden was willing to pay for the domestic compulsions: An overwhelming majority of Americans are equally unwavering in their support for Israel.

A Quinnipiac poll showed that 76 per cent of US voters believe that supporting Israel was in the national interest of the US, and CNN found that 70 per cent of Americans say that Israel's response to the Hamas attack was fully or partially justified.

If Britain and France broke ranks with the US, it was also because of domestic factors as both have a vociferous Muslim population largely aligned with Palestinians and not as robust a support from others for Israel like in the US.

Trying to capitalise on the veto, Russia's Permanent Representative Vassily Nebenzia said: "We have just been witnesses once again of the hypocrisy and double standards of our American colleagues."

Earlier, Russia moved two amendments to the resolution  one to change the call for a pause in the fighting to a "humanitarian ceasefire", a semantic difference that would have required a more lasting stoppage of the fighting, and another to condemn attacks on civilians and civilian facilities in Gaza.

Both of them failed to get the required minimum of nine votes with several countries abstaining, which did not make the US negative vote a veto.

In a clever ploy that would not make it appear against the main thrust of the resolution's demand for a "humanitarian pause" while, at the same time, not going along with the condemnation of Hamas, Russia abstained -- like Britain, which did so for different reasons.

China, which has played a delicate game at the Council by putting some distance between it and Russia by abstaining on a resolution condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine, this time openly broke with Moscow and voted for Brazil's resolution  perhaps knowing that it would be nullified by the US veto.

Russia has been aiming for the leadership of the Arab and Muslim countries on the Gaza issue and to score points against the US.

On Monday, Moscow presented a resolution along with Bangladesh, Pakistan and 23 other countries, most of them Muslim, calling for a ceasefire but not condemning specifically the Hamas attack.

It failed to get the required nine votes for adoption and the negative votes of permanent members -- the US, Britain and France -- did not translate into vetoes.

Under a General Assembly resolution adopted in response to Russia's veto of a Council resolution condemning its invasion of Ukraine, any permanent member that uses its veto will have to appear before the Assembly within ten working days to explain its action.

Now it will be Washington's turn to defend its veto.

There are two requests for reconvening an emergency special session of the Assembly on Palestine, one by Russia and its allies, Nicaragua and Syria, and another by Jordan as the head of the Arab Group and by Mauritania as the chair of the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation at the UN.

UN officials are trying to sort out whether the reconvening of the emergency session or the meeting to hear the US defend its veto takes precedence and either of the meetings could happen within this week or the next.

Russia and its allies and/or the Arab and Muslim countries will propose resolutions at the Assembly critical of Israel.

The lineups have been different in the Assembly when it comes to Ukraine and Palestine and Britain and France have broken ranks with the US.

The last resolution condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine received 143 votes in the 193-member Assembly, with five votes against it and 35 abstentions, including that of India, in September last year.

There is a strong possibility that a properly modulated resolution on Gaza and Israel could get at least the 97 votes needed to pass, a reversal from the Ukraine resolutions backed by the US and strongly critical of Russia.

A resolution criticising Israel's actions in the Palestine territories and calling for protection of civilians passed in June with 120 votes, while there were eight votes against it and 45 abstentions. France voted for it and Britain abstained

(Arul Louis can be contacted at arul.l@ians.in and followed at @arulouis)
Palestine calls on US to remove PLO from terror lists: Official. Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, Oct 22 : Demonstrations of solidarity with Palestinians have broken out across the Arab world this week, as Israel reels from Hamas's massive attack and Palestinians in Gaza come under bombardment.

Moroccans, Jordanians and Egyptianshave rallied in protests large and small, even as the governments of these countries have built and maintained varying degrees of diplomatic ties with Israel, Vox reported.

And while those demonstrations may seem jarring given the widespread deaths in Israel this week, the fact that some have cheered on violence against civilians may obscure the broader political dynamics at play -- both within the Middle East and within the Arab countries themselves, Vox reported.

Hamas's violence does not reflect the desire of all, or even most, Palestinians who seek rights and freedoms. But the solidarity expressed in these rallies reflects a broader dissatisfaction with how Israel, with Western support, has subjected Palestinians to military occupation since 1967.

The protests also represent a rare space for political expression in largely autocratic states where regimes severely limit such speech, the report said.

For Palestinians and Arabs, the war did not begin on the morning of October 7 with Hamas's attacks on Israel.

Rather, for them, the war has been ongoing since 1948, when militias expelled Palestinians from their homes and killed tens of thousands in what is calledthe Nakba or catastrophe. It continued with the 1967 setback -- as the Six-Day War is called in Arabic -- in which Israel began occupying the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem, and has carried on through waves of further conflicts and protests, Vox reported.

That support is rooted in a history of grassroots support for Palestinians and of Arab strongmen using the cause as a populist rallying point.

"It's the open wound, the festering sore, on the Arab conscience," Mouin Rabbani, an analyst of Palestinian politics and co-editor of the web journal Jadaliyya said.

Whenthe then US President Donald Trumpfocused on a series of normalization deals between Israel and Arab states in 2020, however, he sidelined the cause of Palestine.

Saudi Arabia, which had long emphasizedthe importance of a Palestinian state, had already been quietly developing extensivebusiness and militaryrelationships with Israel.

Suddenly it seemed possible that the Palestinian cause could be sacrificed by the Arab world's rulers, Vox reported.

But all of the countries involved in the normalization negotiations  the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco  areautocracies. And their citizens were not as eager to go along with a new Middle East, Vox reported.

In response, the governments of these countries censored criticism of the deals in the press and stifled public protests.

"Activists who were involved in pro-Palestine activism  either through local organizations or through the Gulf Coalition Against Normalization  also reported worsening online harassment, forcing many to take a step back from their activities," Dana El Kurd, a political scientist at the University of Richmond,writes.

Surveysshow how unpopularthose accords were. Recent polls show theirArab support has dropped significantly, with just 27 percent of Emiratis and 20 percent of Bahrainis in favor of the accords.

"If you had democracy in the Arab world, you wouldn't have any normalization," historian Rashid Khalidi of Columbia University said, Vox reported. "Public opinion is overwhelmingly against normalization with Israel. Overwhelmingly, in every poll in every country."

The past few days have seen renewed calls for boycotting of Israeli-linked businesses in Bahrain and Qatar, and a resurgence of anti-normalization activism in Gulf countries, El Kurd said. Far from being relegated to the backburner, the Palestinian cause is now front and center in the Arab world. And that is something American policymakers can't afford to ignore, Vox reported.

What seems certain is that more Arab countries are not likely to normalize with Israel. The ongoing bombardment of Gaza, anda ground assault if one goes ahead, will undermine those prospects further.

"In the short term, the normalization deal with Saudi Arabia is going to be delayed or face some level of obstacle," El Kurd said.

"Because the whole point of them engaging on this topic is to say, 'Oh, we're going to meaningfully change Palestinian living conditions.' I don't think that's within their ability to change, even marginally, at this point."

It is hard to generalise about "the Arab world", a collection of 450 million people spread across thousands of kilometres and nearly two dozen countries. But it is safe to say that most Arabs still sympathise with the Palestinian cause, The Economist reported.

Their dispossession remains a totemic political issue across the Middle East, able to mobilise popular anger and protest like little else, The Economist reported.

(Sanjeev Sharma can be reached atSanjeev.s@ians.in)
San Francisco, Oct 22 : Martin Goetz, who wrote the first software patent in the US and was known as the 'father of third-party software', has died at 93.

In 1968, nearly a decade after Goetz and his partners started the company called Applied Data Research, he received his patent for data-sorting software for mainframes, reports The New York Times.

Goetz was awarded the patent after a three-year fight with the US Patent Office over whether software could even be patented.

"Until then, software had not been viewed as a patentable product and was bundled into hulking mainframes like those made by IBM," the report said late on Saturday.

Goetz patented his own software so that IBM could not copy it and put it on its machines.

"By 1968, I had been involved in arguing about the patentability of software for about three years," Goetz was quoted as saying in an oral history interview in 2002 for the University of Minnesota.

"I knew at some point in time the patent office would recognise it," he added.

His success at securing a patent led him to become a vocal champion of patenting software.

"The world we live in now, with app stores and software invented in someone's garage, is a credit to Goetz's vision, his scientific innovation and dogged persistence," Robin Feldman, a professor at the University of California's College of the Law, San Francisco, was quoted as saying in the NYT report.

In April 1969, Applied Data Research filed an antitrust lawsuit against IBM, accusing it of illegally setting a single price for its equipment and software, calling for their unbundling.

IBM in the same year agreed to the unbundling. According to the report, the lawsuit was settled in August 1970.

In 1985, telecommunications company Ameritech acquired Applied Data Research for $215 million.

Goetz became the company's senior vice president and chief technology officer.

In early 1988, he moved on and became the chief executive of software company Syllogy.

He later became a consultant to software firms as well as an investor, said the report.

Goetz was inducted into the Mainframe Hall of Fame, which cited him as the "father of third-party software".

In 2007, Goetz was named as the 'Unsung Innovator' of the computer industry by ComputerWorld.
San Francisco, Oct 22 : Elon Musk-run aerospace company SpaceX aims for 12 launches per month, or one launch in less than three days, the media reported.

A company official told ArsTechnica that it is planning for 144 launches next year.

The goal is to put many more Starlink satellites in space to support the satellite-based cell phone service, due to launch next year as a texting-only service, with voice and data reportedly coming in 2025 and beyond.

"With our 2 million users, we need that constellation refreshed. We're also going to look at direct to cell communications with Starlink, and that's a key feature that gets added next year with those 144 flights," the SpaceX official was quoted as saying in the report.

Last year, SpaceX launched 61 missions and in the last 12 months, SpaceX has launched 88 rockets, plus one test flight of the company's much larger Starship rocket to Mars.

The success in recovering and reusing Falcon 9 boosters and payload fairings has been vital to making this feat possible, said the report.

Meanwhile, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Sunday launched 23 Starlink internet satellites to orbit, the company's second mission in 24 hours.

The 23 Starlink satellites are scheduled to deploy from the Falcon 9's upper stage about 65.5 minutes after launch, reports Space.com.

On Saturday, the company launched 21 Starlink satellites.

Starlink provides affordable internet service to customers around the world. There are currently 4,900 operational Starlink satellites.

Musk-run satellite internet service, which is searching for various routes to enter the growing Indian internet market, generated $1.4 billion revenue last year.

This is up from $222 million in 2021 but $11 billion short of its original projections, according to reports.
Kolkata, Oct 22 : The transgender community here is celebrating Durga Puja for the sixth year with much devotion and show, especially after the Supreme Court verdict in same-sex marriage case.

The positive verdict of the five- judge bench about the concept of marriage for the people of the community has made the organizers Garima Griho (A home of Pride), a shelter home for the people from the transgender community, even more enthusiastic about the event this time.

Goddess Durga is worshipped as 'Ardhanariswara' here, which again has multiple concepts. The head of Garima Griho and a leading face of transgender rights activism in West Bengal Ranjita Sinha told IANS that Ardhanariswara is a combination of the strengths of Goddess Durga and Lord Shiva.

"Everywhere Lord Shiva is worshipped along with Devi Durga. But the idol or picture of Lord Shiva is kept at a distance from the main and traditional structure of Durga idol, with Mahisasura, Laxmi, Saraswati, Kartikeya and Ganesha. But for us Lord Shiva is inseparable from Devi Durga and in fact both are one," Sinha said.

For another active associateof Garima Griho Puja and a leading social rights activist Anurag Maitrayee there is a second concept of Ardhanariswara, besides that of the combined strength of Devi Durga and Lord Shiva. "Ardhanariswara means the symbol of universal motherhood, where the concept of motherhood is limited within the boundaries of the concept of just biological female," Maitrayee said.

There is a third unique point of the Garima Griho Puja. Unlike other Pujas, the idol is not immersed on the occasion of Vijaya Dashami. Rather it is restored throughout the year at one corner of the shelter home.

According to the organizers,the concept of immersion involves the pain of separation from Devi Durga and her family for a full year. "As for us, we are isolated from society to a great extent. So, we do not want to burden ourselves with the additional pain of separation through immersion," Sinha said.
Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets launched from the Gaza Strip, as seen from Netivot. Image Source: IANS News

Tel Aviv, Oct 22 : In an important development in the Israel-Hamas conflict, Israeli troops have fired shells at Damascus and Aleppo in Syria, damaging the airports there.

It is not known whether there are any casualties in the attack.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) has alleged that Syria has been extending support to attacks on Israel.

Sources in the IDF told IANS that the firing was held on Sunday early morning.

Meanwhile, Syrian state-run news agency SANA said Israel carried out airstrikes against the Aleppo and Damascus airports earlier this morning, damaging runways.

IANS reported on Saturday about Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant stating that Israel will take strong positions if attacks were coming to the country from outside the country.

Gallant warned Hezbollah and Syria of consequences in such a situation.
Los Angeles, Oct 22 : Pop icon Madonna paid an emotional tribute to her children when she kicked off her electric Celebration tour - with five of her six children taking the stage alongside her.

Rocco Ritchie did not embrace the superstar's return to stage with the same enthusiasm as his siblings, reports Mirror.co.uk. In the wake of her dramatic collapse and rush to hospital in June, Rocco has told his friends he worries she will push herself too hard and fall ill again.

One of his friends told Mirror.co.uk: "Madonna is a notorious perfectionist and Rocco remembers her previous tours well - she has a habit of exhausting herself by pushing too hard because she cares so much. He is really worried that her health will suffer if she does the same thing again."

Rocco's fears are justified after the 'Material Girl' hitmaker contracted a serious bacterial infection which left her fighting for life earlier this year. But the Madonna who exploded on stage at London's 02 Arena - watched by Rita Ora, Taika Wahiti and David Walliams - seemed unstoppable.

Four decades after her debut, her vocals sounded unchanged as she launched into 'Live to Tell', 'Crazy for You' and 'Vogue'.

And she was at her raunchy, provocative best for 'Like A Prayer', flanked by neon crosses and half naked male dancers. During the show, the icon's voice was heard claiming that the most controversial thing she ever did was to "stay around".
Damascus, Oct 22 : The Syrian state news agency has reported air strikes against both Damascus and Aleppo airports in the early hours of Sunday, the media reported.

"At approximately 5:25 a.m. today, the Israeli enemy simultaneously carried out an air aggression with bursts of missiles from the direction of the Mediterranean Sea, west of Latakia, and from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan, targeting the international airports of Damascus and Aleppo," the agency reported, citing a military source.

The agency said one worker at Damascus airport had been killed and another wounded, CNN reported.

It added that damage to the runways at both airports had put them out of service and that air traffic was being diverted to the city of Latakia.

Israel's Ministry of Defense and the Israel Defense Forces on Sunday announced the expansion of a state-funded evacuation plan for communities in northern areas close to the border with Lebanon, CNN reported.

It applies to 14 additional communities: Snir, Dan, Beit Hillel, She'ar Yashuv, Hagoshrim, Liman, Matzuva, Eylon, Goren, Gornot HaGalil, Even Menachem, Sasa, Tziv'on and Ramot Naftali.

The IDF and other agencies on Monday announced a plan to evacuate 28 communities living within 2 km (1.24 miles) of the Lebanese border.

Since then, it has included towns that fall within the vicinity.

As of Friday, around 123,000 civilians had been evacuated from their homes in northern and southern Israel.
Arijit Singh to sing for the first time for Salman Khan in Tiger 3. Image Source: IANS News

Mumbai, Oct 22 : Bollywood superstar Salman Khan, who is gearing up for his upcoming Diwali release 'Tiger 3', has said that the song 'Leke Prabhu Ka Naam' from the film is one of the best dance tracks of his career.

Salman is once again reuniting with actress Katrina Kaif in the film for the third time in the 'Tiger' franchise as the two will reprise their characters off super-agents Tiger and Zoya from the Spy Universe.

Elaborating on the same, Salman said: "Katrina and I have some great songs together and I understand that the expectation from people every time we do a song together will be sky high. I'm very confident that 'Leke Prabhu Ka Naam' will make people happy."

He added: "It is a dance track that I personally love. It is probably one of the best dance tracks of my career! Katrina and I have been fortunate to have chartbusters that have entertained people across the world. I hope 'Leke Prabhu Ka Naam' does this too and becomes a global hit!"

'Leke Prabhu Ka Naam' is a party track and has been composed by Pritam with lyrics furnished by Amitabh Bhattacharya. It is crooned by Arijit Singh and Nikhita Gandhi. The song will hit the airwaves on Monday.

Produced by Aditya Chopra's YRF, and directed by Maneesh Sharma, 'Tiger 3' is set to release this year on Diwali, November 12.
Hezbollah 'playing a very dangerous game' and could drag Lebanon into a war, says Israel. Image Source: IANS News

Tel Aviv, Oct 22 : Hezbollah is "playing a very dangerous game" and could drag Lebanon "into a war that it will gain nothing from," an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson has said, the media reported.

"Is the Lebanese state really willing to jeopardise what is left of Lebanese prosperity and Lebanese sovereignty for the sake of terrorists in Gaza?" Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus wrote on X on Sunday.

Conricus said Hezbollah has been attacking Israeli positions near the northern border between Israel and Lebanon and "escalating the situation," CNN reported.

There have been both civilian and military casualties as a result of Hezbollah fire, he added.

The IDF has seen instances where Hezbollah has "intentionally fired in near proximity to UN positions," Conricus said, possibly to "tempt (the IDF) to respond to that fire and perhaps harming UN peacekeepers".

Hezbollah fires missiles and rockets from civilian buildings, Conricus said, and usually shoots from within a populated area, CNN reported.

The Syrian state news agency has reported air strikes against both Damascus and Aleppo airports in the early hours of Sunday, CNN reported.

"At approximately 5:25 a.m. today, the Israeli enemy simultaneously carried out an air aggression with bursts of missiles from the direction of the Mediterranean Sea, west of Latakia, and from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan, targeting the international airports of Damascus and Aleppo," the agency reported, citing a military source.

It said damage to the runways at both airports had put them out of service and that air traffic was being diverted to the city of Latakia.
TEHRAN, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Sunday warned that the region had turned into a "powder keg" and any miscalculation by Israel and its supporters could lead to "heavy and bitter" consequences for them.

He made the remarks at a joint press conference with visiting South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor following their meeting in the Iranian capital Tehran earlier in the day, during which they discussed bilateral ties and regional issues, according to the Iranian Students' News Agency.

Amir-Abdollahian criticized U.S. President Joe Biden's recent visit to Israel and his announcement to supply a large number of weapons to Israel.

Turning to bilateral relations, the Iranian top diplomat highlighted the necessity to implement all previously signed agreements with South Africa. He added that Iranian and South African officials at different levels would pay visits to each other's country to further cooperation.

Pandor called for greater attention to the Israeli-Palestinian issue, and urged more activities and measures to stop the "injustice" against the Palestinian people, according to Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency.

Commenting on bilateral ties with Iran, she listed the favorable areas for cooperation as those of agriculture, energy and digital technology.

The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) launched a surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7, firing thousands of rockets and infiltrating Israeli territory, to which Israel responded with massive airstrikes and punitive measures, including a siege on the enclave with supplies of water, electricity, fuel, and other necessities being cut off.

The ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict has entered its 16th day, killing more than 6,000 people on both sides and leaving many others in an acute humanitarian crisis. 
New Delhi, Oct 22 : The National Investogation Agency (NIA) on Sunday flagged fake messages circulating on social media saying that such messages are totally false, malicious and are a part of a mischievous design to mislead the public.

An NIA official here said that it has come to notice that certain false and misleading messages, purportedly issued by NIA are being circulated on some social media platforms. "Everyone is hereby informed that NIA has not issued any such message asking for such information," it said referring to the message being circulated on social media urging people to highlight the misdeeds of one religion on helpline numbers.

The official said: "Such messages are totally false, fake and malicious and are a part of a mischievous design to mislead the public."

The official categorically said that during investigations by the NIA, it had come to notice that IS (Islamic State) was targeting gullible Indian youth and radicalising them through false propaganda to further its violent and unlawful designs.

"Therefore, an appeal was made in September 2021 that any such suspicious activity may be reported to the authorities, including NIA on its landline number: 011-24368800," it said.

"We again appeal to the people not to be misled by such fake and false messages like we had in July 2022. We request the public not to believe, propagate or forward such false messages," the official said.

The official also said that all requests by NIA to the public are made on its official handle on X (formerly Twitter), and not by forwarding messages on any other social media platforms.

"However, everyone is welcome to join hands with the NIA in safeguarding our country and its people against terrorism by sharing information about terrorist activities and elements," the official added.
Bhopal, Oct 22 : Until a couple of days ago, political circles were abuzz with speculation that BJP may deny ticket to one of its old loyalists, the Sharma family, that made the Hoshangabad Assembly seat a bastion of the saffron party for 33 years.

Now, two brothers and seasoned politicians -- Sitasaran Sharma and Girija Shankar Sharma -- will be contesting against each other for the first time in their four-decade long political career.

The BJP released its fifth list of 92 candidates for the Madhya Pradesh Assembly on Saturday, retaining the incumbent legislature and former State Assembly Speaker Sitasarn Sharma from the Hoshangabad seat.

The Congress has already fielded his younger brother and two-time former MLA (from BJP) Girija Shankar Sharma from Hoshangabad seat in the first list released on October 16. He joined the Congress, leaving his four-decade long association with the saffron party in September.

After joining the Congress, Girija Shankar stated that if the BJP would field his elder brother and ex-speaker Sitasarn Sharma from the family bastion -- Hoshangabad, then he would not campaign against his brother. Girija Shankar had then also vowed that he will ensure that BJP will not retain the seat in the forthcoming polls. "BJP coming back to power in the state is not in the state's larger interest and will make all possible not let it happen."

Now, it would be interesting to see how these two brothers, who are candidates from two rival political parties, would campaign for the election, and who wins the electoral battle. Sharma brothers were yet to make any comment after being fielded against each other. IANS made several attempts to get a response from Sitasran Sharma, however, calls were not responded so far.

Political observers claimed the BJP has fielded Sitasaran Sharma fearing that it may lose Hoshangabad seat that has been a bastion of Sharma family for the last four decades. Two sons of the powerful Brahmin Sharma family of Narmadapuram district had won the Hoshangabad Assembly seat (formerly Itarsi seat) seven consecutive times between 1990 and 2018, thus making it a bastion of the saffron party for 33 years.

Sitting MLA and former Vidhan Sabha Speaker Sitasaran Sharma held the seat five times (1990, 1993, 1998, 2013 and 2018). Before him, his elder brother Girija Shankar Sharma held fort here between 2003 and 2008.

Girija Shankar Sharma's resignation from the primary membership of the BJP took place at a time when there was buzz that the BJP was likely to deny a ticket to anyone from the Sharma family to contest from the Hoshangabad seat for the first time in 33 years.

Several BJP leaders from Hoshangabad district -- Rajesh Sharma, Maya Narolia, Akhilesh Khandelwal, Bhagwati Choure, Sandesh Purohit, Deepak Agrawal, Umesh Patel and many more have been demanding the state leadership to change the candidate, however, the party retained him and made it 'brother vs brother'. The Sharma brothers are above 70 years of age.

The Hoshangabad seat is one of the four seats of Narmadapuram district (earlier named Hoshangabad district). All four seats were won by the BJP in 2018.
Bhopal, Oct 22 : The Jabalpur West assembly constituency in the Mahakaushal region of Madhya Pradesh, which has always witnessed a bipolar electoral battle between the Congress and the BJP, is likely to see a tough contest again in this election.

After suffering a loss in two consecutive assembly elections  2013 and 2018 -- against the Congress' sitting MLA Tarun Bhanot, the BJP's central leadership has replaced its three-time ex-MLA Harendra Singh 'Babbu' and has fielded sitting Jabalpur MP Rakesh Singh.

The BJP has chosen its heavyweight Rakesh Singh to get back the Jabalpur West seat from the Congress and to weaken the grand old party in the Mahakaushal region. Rakesh was appointed the state unit president of the BJP and the party suffered a setback in 2018.

Subsequent to the defeat in the assembly election, he was replaced with Khajuraho MP V. D. Sharma. However, due to his strong connections with the party's central and state leadership, he managed to get a ticket for a Lok Sabha seat in 2019 and won the election during the Prime Minister Narendra Modi wave.

The Congress leadership reposed its faith in its sitting MLA Bhanot, who snatched this seat from the BJP with a close margin after more than two decades in 2013, but increased the victory margin to 18,000 subsequently.

Bhanot, who is considered close to the state Congress president Kamal Nath and Rajya Sabaha MP Vivek Tankha, was the finance minister during the 15 months Congress government in Madhya Pradesh. Bhanot's uncle Chandra Kumar Bhanot previously contested from the Jabalpur (West) seat and also served as a minister in the state cabinet.

Speaking to IANS Bhanot claimed, "Victory margin will increase manifold this time because I have been in touch with the people of my constituency for the last several years. Before I got elected as a MLA, I served the people as a municipal corporator for years. The people of Jabalpur are educated and they are not going to be misled. The BJP candidate has no connection with the local people, therefore, I would say that the people will elect me with more number of votes than in the previous election."

Singh, who remained out of the state's politics since he got elected to the Lok Sabha in 2019, would be contesting his first ever assembly election. He would be contesting against a leader who has established himself as a prominent face after winning two consecutive elections from that particular seat.

Political observes believe he won the Lok Sabha election on PM Modi's name, but the assembly election would be tough for him. However, what is a positive for Singh is that the BJP has a strong base in Jabalpur district and has won that seat for over two decades.

Jabalpur West used to be a stronghold of the Congress till 1990, but the BJP won three consecutive elections since then. The Congress managed to regain it in 2013. Therefore, political observes believe, the contest would be a close one.

However, what could be another challenge for Rakesh Singh is the anti-incumbency against his party's government in Madhya Pradesh and the rift among the local leaders. Sources said that the supporters of three-time ex-MLA Harendra Singh 'Babbu' were upset and had staged protests after he was denied a ticket from the BJP this time.

'Babbu' hails from the Sikh community which has sizable population (around 20000 Sikh votes in Jabalpur West), which would be a deciding factor in the election.

Overall, the BJP and the Congress each hold four assembly seats within the eight assembly seats that make up the Jabalpur Lok Sabha constituency. Among the four urban seats, the Congress controls three, including Jabalpur (East), Jabalpur (West), and Jabalpur (Central-North), while Jabalpur (Cantt) is held by the BJP. Much like in most urban seats in Madhya Pradesh, the contest primarily unfolds between the BJP and the Congress, with no visible "third force."
Bhopal, Oct 22 : The high profile Churhat assembly seat in Sidhi district of Madhya Pradesh, which had seen a bipolar contest between the Congress and the BJP until the last election, is likely to witness a close contest between three leaders of three political parties.

Churhat, the home town of former chief minister and ex-Union minister late Arjun Singh, is considered a traditional Congress seat. Arjun Singh's son Ajay Singh, popularly known as "Rahul Bhaiya" among his supporters, represented this family seat six times, including in 2008 and 2013.

However, in 2018, Ajay Singh lost the election to the BJP's Sharatendu Tiwari with a margin of around 6,402 votes. For the Congress which won as many as 114 seats against the BJP's 109 in 2018, the result in Churhat was a big shock.

Now, the election in Churhat seems to be more interesting as it is not going to be a direct contest between the BJP's sitting MLA Sharatendu Tiwari and six-time former MLA Ajay Singh. The reason: the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has fielded former BJP Lok Sabha MP Govind Mishra's son Rajan Mishra.

Govind Mishra had resigned from the saffron party after he was denied a ticket in 2019. Now, his son Rajan Mishra is making his political debut from the AAP and he is likely to dent the BJP's vote bank as his father has been a strong Brahmin leader in Sidhi district.

Rajan's entry into politics from Churhat will worry Sharatendu Tiwari not only because Mishra may dent the traditional BJP votes, but also because Tiwari is facing the resentment of Brahmin voters beside high anti-incumbency after the 20-year rule of the saffron party.

Brahmins are in a dominant position with around 70,000 votes in the Churhat assembly constituency, while Thakur (Kshatriya) voters are between 15000 and 20,000. The OBCs and ST/SC together have around one lakh votes. Among the OBC category, the Patel community with around 18,000 votes would be a deciding factor.

Some local residents of Churhat who spoke to IANS claimed that around 80 per cent Brahmins had voted for Sharatendu Tiwari. However, this time half of the Brahmin voters will support the AAP's Rajan Mishra because of his father's legacy and his clean image. "People are annoyed with Sharatendu Tiwari mainly because of his attitude. In the past five years, he has focused on making money," said a resident of Kusmahar village in the Churhat assembly constituency.

"Ajay Singh lost the election in 2018, but his core voters remain with him. He lost the election mainly because of two reasons  his inactiveness and also because most of the Patel voters had shifted to the BJP. But, after losing the election, he has been coming here at regular intervals and meeting the people. He is the only leader, who has a strong vote bank in all the communities because he would support people without seeing if that particular person supported him or not. If he manages to get the backing of the Patels and some other OBC voters, he may win the election because the Brahmin voters have also said that they made mistakes in 2018," said Ram Prasad Mishra, a resident of Khaddi village in Churhat.

A couple of people associated with BJP MLA Sharatendu Tiwari also said that the election would be tough for him because of the AAP's Rajan Mishra, as his father has been a strong leader of the region.

Speaking to IANS over phone, Ajay Singh, who was in his constituency, said, "See, I have been working for the people of Churhat for several decades and people have shown their love. But, the elections are always tough and I am not taking it casually. People of Churhat are well aware about the present situation and now it is up to them whom they vote for. Things would be clearer after the candidates file their nominations."

Ajay Singh leads the faction of his father Arjun Singh, who was a Congress stalwart in the state. He was appointed the Leader of the Opposition twice and was minister for panchayats in the Digvijaya Singh government from 1998 to 2003.
Bhopal, Oct 22 : Even as the BJP's central leadership has refrained from declaring its chief ministerial face for the forthcoming Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections, its National General Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya has already started projecting himself for the post during campaigning.

During public meetings Vijayvargiya, who has been fielded from Indore-1, can often be heard saying, "I am not contesting elections just to become an MLA. The party will give me some bigger responsibility."

The 67-year-old Vijayvargiya, who won six Assembly elections consecutively between 1990 and 2013 from different seats of Indore district, has been fielded against the Congress' sitting MLA Sanjay Shukla for the election scheduled for November 17.

However, people in political circles are aware of the close relationship between Vijayvargiya and Shukla and therefore, the contest between these two leaders has become debatable.

The BJP's central leadership had made Vijayvargiya the candidate from the Indore-1 seat much before the Congress announced its first list last Sunday. Until then, there was speculation within the Congress that Shukla may be shifted to another seat in Indore district.

However, the state Congress leadership reposed faith in Shukla and retained him. In the 2018 polls, Shukla was the sole winning candidate of the Congress among all five seats in the urban areas of Indore. The remaining four seats were bagged by the BJP. Shukla had defeated his nearest rival candidate, the BJP's Sudarshan Gupta by 8,163 votes in that election.

An Indore-based Congress worker said, "The party has retained Shukla because he is the best candidate to challenge Vijayvargiya as he knows his strengths and weaknesses. The contest would be very close and Vijayvargiya also knows it very well, which is why he is conducting public meetings extensively."

Sources in the Congress also said the party has made an elaborate plan to corner Vijayvargiya which will surprise him at the last moment. Apart from this, the Congress is also focusing on the caste equation of Indore-1, which would be a crucial factor in this election.

Shukla, who is contesting his second Assembly election, hails from the Brahmin community. With its new strategy to woo OBC voters, the Congress will try to gain the maximum support of Yadav voters. Notably, the role of the Brahmin and Yadav community members is expected to be significant in deciding the poll result in the Indore-1 Assembly seat, which comprises 3.64 lakh voters.

Sources close to Shukla said a fresh plan is being prepared by the Congress to balance caste equations in this Assembly segment. Along with this, preparations are also being made for a series of meetings of the national-level leaders of the Opposition party.

Sources said Shukla and Vijayvargiya have changed their strategy to woo voters. While, Shukla is presenting himself as a local from Indore-1 and reminding the electorate that he has always helped the people, Vijayvargiya, who is usually a confident and laidback leader, is also knocking on each door now.

Interestingly, a day after the BJP's central leadership made him a candidate from Indore-1, Vijayvargiya was heard saying, "Who will fold their hands before the people for votes." But, now sensing that the contest would be close, he has started doing so against his wish.

Known for his fondness for singing devotional songs at public events, Vijayvargiya is trying to win the trust of voters with promises of rapid development of Indore-1 and of curbing the drug trade.

On the other hand, Shukla, who has organised several religious events and bhandaras (public feasts) in the last five years, is claiming to have stood by the people of his constituency through thick and thin.

As the BJP has kept the race for the chief minister's post open, the Congress also stands to benefit from the internal fighting within the BJP in this election as there are many big names from the saffron party in the fray who think that Vijayvargiya may pose a challenge to them if the BJP comes back to power in the state.
Bhopal, Oct 22 : The election in Devtalab Assembly constituency in Vindhya region of Madhya Pradesh will be more interesting because it will be a close fight between 'chacha' and 'bhateeja'.

The 'chacha (uncle)' four-time MLA and the state Assembly Speaker, Girish Gautam is a seasoned politician of the ruling party, while the 'bhateeja (nephew)' Padmesh Gautam is making his debut in the Assembly election on a Congress ticket.

Girish Gautam made his political debut with the Communist Party of India (CPI) from the Gurgh Assembly seat, however, he won the first election against the then Vidhan Sabha Speaker Sriniwas Tiwari from the Mangawan seat in 2003 on a BJP ticket.

Later, in 2008, the Mangawan seat was reserved for the Scheduled Castes (SCs) in 2008 and Girish shifted to the Devtalab seat and won three-consecutive elections in 2008, 2013 and 2018.

In 2020, when the Kamal Nath-led Congress government fell and the BJP was back into power, Girish was made the Vidhan Sabha Speaker. Now, Girish Gautam will be facing a tough fight from his nephew, and the situation is to some extent similar to the one 20 years ago. In 2003, the Congress was facing a major anti-incumbency factor against Digvijay Singh's government but he managed to defeat the most powerful Brahmin leader of his time in the Vindhya region - Sriniwas Tiwari.

Now, 20 years later, the BJP is also facing a high-incumbency factor against the almost 20-year rule (for15 months there was a Kamal Nath-led government in the state) of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and Padmesh Gautam would miss no opportunity to turn the situation in his favour.

If asked why the Congress fielded Padmesh Gautam against his uncle, despite the fact that some other senior leaders were strong contenders for the seat, the party can say with confidence that he proved his potential leadership even before contesting the Assembly elections. For instance, in the Zila Panchayat polls held last year, Padmesh Gautam defeated Girish Gautam's son Rahul Gautam.

"The people of Devtalab are angry with their sitting MLA Girish Gautam because no development has taken place in the last 15 years. Devtalab remained what it was 20 years ago. Building one or two roads is not development. I have been associated with the Congress since 2014 and have worked for the people despite having no official post. Not just in Devtalab, but in the entire Madhya Pradesh, people want to change the government," Padmesh Gautam told IANS.

The caste equation and the margin of Girish Gautam's three consecutive victories from Devtalab suggests that the electoral fight between the uncle and nephew will not only be close but heated also, as seen during the Zila Panchayat elections.

Girish Gautam won the last election against the BSP's Seema Jaiveer Singh with a margin of 1,080 votes, while the Congress' Vidyavati Patel was at third position. Gautam had secured a total 45,043 votes (33.23per cent), the BSP got 43,963 (32.43 per cent) votes, while the Congress could secure 30,393 (22.41 per cent) votes.

While, in 2013, Gautam had won the election against the BSP's Vidhyavati Patel with a margin of 3,885 votes, the Congress was at third position with 20 per cent votes. Now, in 2023, Seema Singh and her husband have already shifted to the Congress and they played a crucial role in Padmesh's victory in the Zila Panchayat election last year.

On the other hand, apart from the high anti-incumbency factor against his government, Girish is also facing resentment from local people because of his son Rahul Gautam's behaviour.
Bhopal, Oct 22 : Congress candidate Vikram Mastal may be a comparatively weak candidate against BJP's most influential leader in Madhya Pradesh and the longest-serving incumbent Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, but Kamal Nath seems to have made a strategic move by making it an ideological fight.

Mastal is a TV actor-turned-politician who played the role of Lord Hanuman in the Ramayan serial that featured on TV in 2008.

By fielding Vikram Mastal -- on-screen 'Hanuman' -- from the Budhni Assembly seat which has been represented by Chouhan for years, Kamal Nath made the fight interesting by terming it a "kalakar vs kalakar" show.

Veteran Congress leader, who is leading the party second time in the state for an 'revengeful' poll battle against 'betrayal' of March 2020 incident, Kamal Nath has been frequently attacking the 18-year Chief Minister, saying that Chouhan is a 'kalakar' who has "deceived" the people of the state.

Political observers believe that fielding on-screen Hanuman seems a part of Kamal Nath's soft-Hindutva plan, which came into action soon after his government was toppled in 2020.

A senior political observer claimed that the BJP tried its best to corner Kamal Nath on its traditional Hindutva agenda, but he remained out of the trap. Before the BJP could not bracket Kamal Nath with the anti-Hindutva lobby, he has been presenting himself as a devotee of Lord Hanuman since 2018.

"Vikram Mastal may not be a big political face against Shivraj Singh Chouhan, but his reel life character has a large canvas which will help the party to create an impression across the state. Any political attack against Mastal will be presented as an attack on his reel-life character -- Lord Hanuman and that perception may help to corner the BJP's Hindutva ideology," said political observer added.

"I am thankful to the Congress for showing trust in me. I would go to the people of Budhni with local issues. I will ask people what they have gained after supporting Chief Minister Chouhan for nearly two decades. Will ask people why Sehore's youths did not get jobs despite the fact that the Chief Minister belongs to their district," Mastal told IANS.

Chouhan has won five Assembly elections (1990, 2006, 2008, 2013 and 2018) from Budhni. Importantly, Budhni Assembly is one of the strongest seats of the ruling BJP for the past 20 years. The Congress won the Budhni seat last time in 1980 when K.N. Pradhan contested on a Congress ticket.

In the last election, the Congress had fielded former MP Arun Yadav, the son of former minister and strong OBC leader of his time Subhash Yadav. However, Chouhan won the election with a margin of around 59,000 votes.

It took 15 years for Congress to revive after the biggest ever setback in 2003 Assembly elections when it was reduced to 38 seats and managed to win 114 seats and formed the government with support of Independent legislature and Samajwadi Party in 2018. Believing that this time Chouhan will face incumbency, Kamal Nath is leaving no stone unturned to bring the Congress back to power in Madhya Pradesh.
BJPs OBC allies in UP seek the proverbial pound of flesh on poll eve. Image Source: IANS News

Lucknow, Oct 22 : With the Lok Sabha elections round the corner and the BJP focusing on OBC votes to return to power, NDA allies in Uttar Pradesh are preparing to seek their proverbial pound of flesh.

The three allies of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh represent the OBC communities.

The Apna Dal is a Kurmi centric party, the Nishad party has a strong base among the Nishad caste groups and the Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) banks on the Rajbhar community.

The Apna Dal in 2019 had won both the Lok Sabha seats that it contested -- Mirzapur and Robertsganj. Union Minister Anupriya Patel won from Mirzapur while Pakodi Lal Kol won from Robertsganj.

In 2014, the Apna Dal had contested only two seats, Mirzapur and Pratapgarh, and had won both. The party has thus maintained its 100 per cent success rate.

]According to sources, the Apna Dal this time, is aiming to get more seats in the Lok Sabha polls. The party has shortlisted five seats that it wants to contest on its own symbol. These are Mirzapur, Jaunpur, Kaushambhi, Prayagraj, Pratapgarh, Robertsganj

The party has already raised the demand for caste census and underlined a larger share for OBC castes.

A senior Apna Dal leader said, "Our demand for more seats is not unfair. We have shown a 100 per cent success rate in two consecutive Lok Sabha elections and our leaders have never made any demand from the BJP. We are also seeking to raise our political status in the coming years and there is nothing wrong with it."

Earlier this year Apna Dal was elevated from a registered political outfit to a state party by the Election Commission. The party also increased its tally from nine MLAs in 2017 to 13 seats in 2022 UP elections.

The Nishad party chief Sanjay Nishad, who is also a minister in the Yogi government, has already staked claim for 27 Lok Sabha seats which have a sizeable population of the fishermen community -- a most backward class.

The Nishad party won only one seat in 2017 Assembly elections -- Vijay Mishra won from Gyanpur in Bhadohi -- increased its tally to six in 2022 Assembly elections when it allied with the BJP.

BJP, at the same time routed Sanjay Nishad to the UP legislative council and made him a cabinet minister in Yogi government.

In 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Sanjay's son Praveen Nishad won from Sant Kabir Nagar on a BJP ticket.

The Nishad Party now wants to contest the Lok Sabha polls on its own symbol and 'create our own political identity'.

Sanjay Nishad took out a yatra in Uttar Pradesh to drum up support among the riverine community for his long-standing demand for their inclusion in the Scheduled Caste category.

Nishads, Majhwars, Kewats and Mallahs -- all part of the riverine community of fishermen and boatmen -- are currently included in the OBC category. While the demand is not new, the fact that the yatra is being undertaken so close to the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, which Nishad party will contest in alliance with BJP, indicates some fresh political posturing.

Moreover, the Nishad party chief has been critical of some Nishad leaders in the BJP as well as an NDA ally from Bihar, who are also flagging the same demand.

Slogans like 'Yogi ji machua arakshan waada pura karo (Yogiji fulfil the promise for riverine community's reservation)', reverberated throughout the yatra.

Nishads are a crucial riverine vote bank, wooed by all parties, especially in east UP. In alliance with BJP, 11 of Nishad party candidates won the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, five of them on BJP's symbol.

Meanwhile, the Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) president Om Prakash Rajbhar, who claims to be a kingmaker in UP politics, is also eyeing for a larger share of seats in 2024.

Playing a crucial role in over 20 Assembly constituencies of east UP, the Rajbhar factor helped the Samajwadi Party-Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SP-SBSP) alliance do well in the region, particularly in Ghazipur, Ballia and Mau districts of Purvanchal.

The Samajwadi Party had tied up with the SBSP led by Om Prakash Rajbhar before the polls. The Rajbhar community has a sizeable presence in many of these constituencies.

The SBSP's tally of Assembly seats increased to six in 2022 from four in 2017 when it was a BJP ally.

This time, the SBSP partnered with the SP and won Zahoorabad and Jakhania in Ghazipur, Belthara Road in Ballia, Mau Sadar in Mau, Zafrabad in Jaunpur and Mahadeva in Basti.

"Our strength has increased with time and we are a force to reckon with now," said Rajbhar.

However, all his hopes are pinned in being inducted into the Yogi cabinet and he is also eyeing a seat for his son Arun Rajbhar. "Wait for Dusshera," is what he has been telling media persons.

Political analysts feel that in the prevailing scenario, Rajbhar could also prove to be a trouble maker if the BJP does not accept his demand for more seats in the general elections.
Ghaziabad, Oct 22 : Ahead of Durga Pooja festival, dead body of a woman was found in a hotel here.

According to Ghaziabad police, dead body of a 23-year-old woman was found in Hotel Anant.

"Following the information of the corpse of the woman, a police team of Wave City police station arrived at the hotel and took the dead body for postmortem," ACP Saloni Agarwal said.

The official said that the women was to get married in November this year.

The official added that the family was informed about the death of the woman at the hotel by her friend Azharuddin who told her brother.

She said that the brother of the deceased woman will give a complaint and on the basis of that, a case will be registered.

Anant Hotel has been in news on several occasions. Earlier, a women from Bihar was found dead in the same hotel. Previously, the hotel was known as Metro Hotel and its name was changed recently.
Hyderabad, Oct 22 : The BJP on Sunday announced the first list of candidates for the next month's Assembly elections in Telangana, fielding three sitting MPs and retaining all three sitting MLAs.

The Central Election Committee of the BJP cleared the names for 52 out of 119 Assembly seats.

The party has fielded three of its four MPs from the state. The name of Union minister and state BJP president G. Kishan Reddy does not figure in the list.

The BJP has also retained all three sitting MLAs. Eatala Rajender will contest against Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao in Gajwel constituency and also seek re-election from Huzurabad.

BJP national general secretary and party MP from Karimnagar, Bandi Sanjay Kumar has been fielded from Karimnagar Assembly constituency.

Nizamabad MP Dharampuri Arvind will contest from Koratla. Adilabad MP Soyam Bapu Rao will be the party candidate from Boath (ST) constituency.

Sitting MLA D. Raghunandan Rao will contest again from Dubbak constituency. The BJP also re-nominated T. Raja Singh from Goshamahal after revoking his suspension. He was suspended from the party last year due to his remarks hurting religious sentiments of Muslims.

Raja Singh was the only BJP MLA elected to the Assembly in the 2018 elections. Raghunandan Rao and Eatala Rajender were elected in by-elections in 2020 and 2021 respectively.

Rajender, who had quit ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) to join BJP after he was dropped from the cabinet, was re-elected from Huzurabad in the by-election in 2021 on BJP ticket.

Once a close confidant of Chief Minister KCR, Rajender will contest against him in Gajwel. KCR is contesting the polls from two constituencies. He is seeking re-election from Gajwel and will also be contesting from Kamareddy constituency.

Former MP Ramesh Rathod has been fielded from Khanapur (ST) constituency. Gudur Narayan Reddy will contest from Bhongir. Both the leaders had resigned from Congress to join BJP.

The name of Union minister and state BJP president Kishan Reddy is missing from the first list. He was defeated in the 2018 Assembly election from Amberpet constituency but was elected to Lok Sabha in 2019 from Secunderabad.

Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddyas name also does not figure in the first list. He had resigned from Congress and quit Assembly membership to join BJP and contested the by-election from Munuogde last year. However, he lost the by-election.

There are 12 women candidates in BJPas first list. However, the names of BJP national vice-president D.K. Aruna and former MP and veteran actress Vijayashanti are missing.

Ruling BRS has already announced candidates for 115 out of 119 seats while Congress has released the first list of candidates for 55 constituencies.
by Chen Jiabao, Gao Bo, Lin Hao

BANGKOK, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- The active engagement of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has fostered infrastructure connectivity and bolstered trade and investment, paving the way for shared prosperity in the region, a Thai business leader has said.

Vikrom Kromadit, chairman of the Thailand-China Business Council, is a 70-year-old Thai of Chinese descent who has been closely following the progress of the China-Thailand railway and sees the connection of the rail system as a keystone of international cooperation and interconnectivity.

"The China-Laos Railway has launched. Once it's connected with the China-Thailand railway, you can take a train from Bangkok directly to Kunming. It not only facilitates the export of Thai agricultural products like durian but also opens up a swift new route for Chinese tourists to reach Thailand," said Vikrom in a recent interview with Xinhua.

Thailand's role as a transportation hub in the ASEAN region will be reinforced if the China-Thailand railway successfully goes south to connect with Malaysia and Singapore, which would propel economic cooperation between ASEAN and China to new heights, said Vikrom.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the proposal of the BRI. Over the past decade, there has been rapid growth in trade and investment between China and ASEAN countries. Statistics show that trade between China and ASEAN reached 975.3 billion U.S. dollars in 2022, more than double the 443.6 billion U.S. dollars recorded in 2013. Today, China is Thailand's largest trading partner.

China's robust economic growth has driven global economic development, Vikrom noted.

Vikrom is also the chief executive of Amata Corporation Plc, one of Thailand's major industrial developers. In 2006, his company and China's Huali Group jointly founded the Thai-Chinese Rayong industrial zone.

The industrial zone has attracted more than 230 manufacturing companies and over 30 related businesses from China over a decade, contributing to creating over 50,000 jobs in Thailand, Vikrom told Xinhua.

"Chinese companies in the industrial zone have thrived, achieving a high success rate, and have brought tangible benefits to the local community," said Vikrom, noting the industrial zone has become a prime example of collaboration between Thailand and China.

Vikrom said over the past decade since the BRI was proposed, the industrial zone's development has gained momentum, with 70 to 80 percent of companies settling down here after 2013.

He said companies in the zone have shifted from traditional manufacturing to predominantly high-tech industries, such as new energy vehicles, mechanical electronics and pharmaceuticals, over the past decade.

The business leader told Xinhua that carmakers from China have accelerated their overseas presence in recent years.

With its rich technical expertise and well-established industrial supply chain in the new energy vehicle sector, many Chinese automotive companies have invested and built manufacturing plants in the Thai-Chinese Rayong industrial zone, supported by a series of Thai government incentives to support the industry, said Vikrom.

He noted that Thailand welcomes advanced technology and science from China and looks forward to green transportation and green energy cooperation. 
Top Indian-American leaders say they stand with Israel after Hamas attack. Image Source: IANS News

Tel Aviv, Oct 22 : The Israeli intelligence agency, Shin Bet, will soon constitute a new unit "Nili" to trace and hunt down each and every single person who had planned, participated and executed the October 7 massacre of Israeli citizens, a senior official with the Shin Bet told IANS.

'Nili' translation in Hebrew is 'The Eternity of Israel will not lie'.

The Nili unit is specifically constituted to target the members of Nukhba force, which is a commando unit of the military wing of Hamas. This wing had infiltrated into Israel and carried out the killings of Israeli citizens.

Israeli intelligence have already started eliminating key elements of Hamas who were involved in the mass killings.

Ali Quadhi, a commmando officer of the Nukhba force, who has infiltrated into Israel and carried out maximum killings, was murdered.

Bilal Ali Kedra, who commanded the operation at Nirim, killing several Israeli citizens was also eliminated.

Sources in Israeli government told IANS that the members of Nili will function independently from other command units that are involved in neutralising enemies of Israel.
Agra, Oct 22 : Even as a new tourist season has just picked momentum, an alarm has again been sounded on the growth of insect/bacterial colonies on the white marble surface of the Taj Mahal, the 17th-century monument of love, designated as a world heritage site.

As in previous years, the dry and polluted riverbed has enabled the proliferation of mosquitoes, insects, and bacteria that settle on the surface of the Taj facing the river. "These green patches are periodically cleaned by the ASI staff, but the stink and"visually-unfriendly" spots reappear at a regular frequency," according to tourist guide, Ved Gautam.

Last year the National Green Tribunal (NGT) instructed local authorities to ensure that the breeding grounds of insects on the Yamuna River bed were cleaned, but the agencies responsible expressed helplessness, as the river was dry and heavily polluted with effluents, sewer waste, and toxics. "Unless there is a regular flow of fresh water in the river, how can this problem be managed," they ask.

"What flows in the name of water, is actually poison, polluted liquid, with zero Oxygen level and a very high concentration of chemicals, trace elements, some carcinogenic," says environmentalist Devashish Bhattacharya. The local administration has been organising cleanliness drives but till there is water in the river, the pollutants can not be diluted and water made safe, Bhattacharya adds.

River Connect Campaigners in Agra lament the cold apathetic response of the Yogi Adityanath government towards cleaning the Yamuna River which needs immediate dredging and desilting. In 2013 Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised to clean up the Yamuna in the Braj Mandal. Later on several occasions union minister Nitin Gadkiri had talked of launching a ferry service between Delhi and Agra for the tourists. "But promises have not been kept and the river, once the lifeline of the Braj Mandal, has been reduced to a vast sewage canal," said river activist Padmini Iyer.

The Yamuna River, as it enters the Braj Mandal, upstream of Vrindavan, is already sick and pale with waste and industrial effluents from Delhi and Haryana industrial clusters. The Gokul Barrage in Mathura, stores only polluted and stinking water, because drains have not been tapped and discharges are untreated before opening into the river," adds Jagan Nath Poddar of the Friends of Vrindavan.

Clearly, in addition to desilting and dredging on a massive scale, what is required is a mechanism to monitor and ensure regular flow of fresh water into the Yamuna, from upstream barrages.

According to experts and campaigners for clean rivers, amajor hindrance to the cleaning of Yamuna River remains the inadequate flow of water particularly in the long dry season, which now extends up to eight months in a year.

The National Green Tribunal and the Supreme Court of India have repeatedly stressed maintaining a minimum level of flow in the river to keep it alive and safe for aquatic life and also for cleaning, but the state governments and the regulatory bodies have failed to ensure uninterrupted flow of fresh water downstream of barrages in Haryana.

A parliamentary committee, two years ago blamed the poor flow of water downstream of Wazirabad in Delhi, which impeded the cleaning of the Yamuna river that had been tasked to determine the environmental flow along the line of the Ganges river to maintain Yamuna's good health.The committee said both the Central and the Delhi governments should work in close collaboration to clean Yamuna.

Some other factors were the illegal discharge of sewage and industrial effluent, disposal of solid waste in drains, improper functioning of CETPs (common effluent treatment plants), and insufficient sewage treatment capacity. It may be recalled that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by the chief ministers of Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Delhi on May 12, 1994, regarding the allocation of utilisable surface flow of Yamuna up to Okhla Barrage (Upper Yamuna) among the co-basin states.

According to the terms of this memorandum, a minimum flow in the proportion of completion of upstream storages going up to 10 cumecs shall be maintained downstream of Tajewala and Okhla Headworks throughout the year from ecological considerations, as upstream storages are built up progressively in a phased manner. The Principal Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had also directed that Haryana shall release 10 Cumec (352 cusecs) water directly into the main stream of Yamuna river from Hathinikund Barrage and maintain the e-flow of the river till Wazirabad.

In terms of the stipulations laid down in the 1994 memorandum storage capacity among the States for maintaining minimum flow in the Yamuna river throughout the year has not been built so far. The concerned departments of the Central and the state governments have also noted that poor and inadequate flow at Wazirabad during the dry period was one of the major issues that impeded the cleaning of the Yamuna.

The parliamentary committee, therefore, recommended that all-out efforts in cooperation with the concerned States to build the storage capacity be made urgently. Several expert groups have urged the government to finally define the e-flow quantity for the Yamuna, as has been done in the case of the river Ganges, to maintain the health of the river and its ecosystem.

River activists in Agra demand a clear-cut national rivers policy and a time-framed action programme to save the dying Yamuna river, integral to Hindu mythology and tourism in the Agra region. "Most Mughal monuments from Delhi to Agra are sited along the banks of the Yamuna, therefore if the Yamuna river remains dirty, dry, and polluted, there is cause for worry and alarm," adds Rajiv Gupta, Lok Swar president.
New Delhi, Oct 22 : A team of researchers has developed an innovative magnetic wound-healing gel that promises to speed up the healing of diabetic wounds, reduce recurrence rates, and, as a result, reduce the number of limb amputations.

The researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS), who engineered the gel, explained that each treatment involves the application of a bandage pre-loaded with a hydrogel containing skin cells for healing and magnetic particles.

To maximise therapeutic results, a wireless external magnetic device is used to activate skin cells and accelerate the wound healing process. The ideal duration of magnetic stimulation is about one to two hours.

Lab tests showed the treatment combined with magnetic stimulation healed diabetic wounds three times faster than current conventional approaches, according to the research published in the scientific journal Advanced Materials.

"Our technology addresses multiple critical factors associated with diabetic wounds, simultaneously managing elevated glucose levels in the wound area, activating dormant skin cells near the wound, restoring damaged blood vessels, and repairing the disrupted vascular network within the wound," explained Assistant Professor Andy Tay, who led the team.

Currently, more than half a billion people globally are living with diabetes, and this number is expected to rise significantly. Chronic diabetic wounds such as foot ulcers have therefore become a major global healthcare challenge.

Every year, there are around 9.1 to 26.1 million cases of diabetic foot ulcer worldwide, and about 15 to 25 per cent of patients with diabetes will develop a diabetic foot ulcer during their lifetime, the researchers said.

"What our team has achieved is to identify a sweet spot by applying gentle mechanical stimulation. The result is that the remaining skin cells get to 'work out' to heal wounds, but not to the extent that it kills them," said Tay.

The specially designed wound-healing gel is loaded with two types of FDA-approved skin cells -- keratinocytes (essential for skin repair) and fibroblast (for formation of connective tissue) -- and tiny magnetic particles.

When combined with a dynamic magnetic field generated by an external device, the mechanical stimulation of the gel encourages dermal fibroblasts to become more active, the researchers stated.
New Delhi, Oct 22 : Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday inaugurated the three-lane flyover in Sarai Kale Khan.

Speaking at the inauguration event, the Delhi CM said that the new flyover will ease traffic around Ashram, Moolchand, and further stops on that route. There is no red light on the entire ring road, he further added. This flyover will make Sarai Kale Khan jam-free.

Kejriwal further added that his government has saved Rs 557 crore in the construction of 30 flyovers in the last five years. He said that this feat should be mentioned in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Public Works Department Minister Atishi also addressed the event, and said the Delhi government has transformed the area between Ashram and Sarai Kale Khan.

Sarai Kale Khan T-junction will ensure a signal-free ride between Southeast Delhi and ITO.

"It is a 620 meter long flyover, and Rs 66 crore was sanctioned for it. However, we completed it within Rs 50 crore," Kejriwal said.

The flyover will have three lanes, ramps, stilt portions and loops for U-turns.
Gaza, Oct 22 : The Palestinian Foreign Ministry has said it views the strike on a refugee camp in the city of Jenin as a "dangerous escalation", CNN reported.

The Israeli military said it launched an airstrike early Sunday against a mosque in the West Bank city of Jenin to thwart what it called "an imminent terror attack".

"The Ministry views with great seriousness the bombing of the Jenin camp yesterday, and considers it a dangerous escalation using warplanes, resulting in Palestinian civilian casualties and terrorizing them, including children and women," the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said in a statement following the air strike.

It labelled the strike as "an attempt to generalize the model of bombing the Gaza Strip to areas in the occupied West Bank," CNN reported.

The ministry also criticized the international community "for its failure to move so far to stop this Israeli killing and destruction against Gaza and its people, and considers that its responses are weak, selective and biased and do not rise to the level of the extent of the genocide that the Gaza Strip is being exposed to."

The death toll following an Israeli strike on a mosque in the occupied West Bank has risen to three, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry, CNN reported.

The strike took place in a refugee camp in the city of Jenin.

Separately, following clashes in Toubas and Nablus, two people were killed, the ministry said.
New Delhi, Oct 22 : As part of its three-year association with Sunburn, the world's #10 music festival and Asia's premiere EDM festival, Absolut Glassware is once again ready to curate exhilarating experiences for the youth of the country. As the Co- Presenting Partner, it will add to the spirit of the world-famous music festival, happening in Goa from December 28 to 31 this year along with 24 shows in 10+ cities featuring 6 global artists and the world's best DJs. The brand aims to own the future of nightlife in India and a big part of this are the Sunburn Arenas that kicked off in Bangalore earlier this month.

With an aim to foster a more inclusive and unbiased environment, this edition of Sunburn will feature a diverse lineup of DJs including women and people of colour. At its core, this initiative aims to bring people from diverse backgrounds closer together and create a sense of unity through the universal language of music.

This year, the brand is committed to showcasing top-notch visual designs and making use of new-age technology to create engaging experiences for music enthusiasts. Besides live performances by musical powerhouses like Alesso, Timmy Trumpet, Charlotte De Witte, Armin van Buuren, Dmitri Vegas and Like Mike among others, the audience can look forward to vibrant, immersive Absolut experiences For patrons at home, four famous influencers will be sharing glimpses from India's biggest music festival and its shows.

Commenting on the association, Pulkith Modi, Head of Marketing, International Brands at Pernod Ricard India, said, "Sunburn is one of the biggest, most-awaited music festivals of the year and we are thrilled to be back with it. Committed to its vision of creating a more progressive and inclusive, colourless world for the youth, Absolut Glassware has curated some extraordinary experiences with Sunburn this year. We are proud to be at the forefront of cultural conversations, building the future of nightlife and a world of free expression."

(IANSlife can be contacted at ianslife@ians.in)
New Delhi, Oct 22 : The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Sunday said that it has arrested Mohamed Imran Khan aka Haja Najerbheeden, a notorious smuggler with a long-standing history of illegal activities in the region and a key figure in the Sri Lankan human trafficking case.

An NIA official here said that the agency's Absconder Tracking Team (ATT) arrested Khan, 39, from an undisclosed location of Tamil Nadu's Theni district.

The official said that Khan, a key figure in the case, had been on the run since June 2021.

He was arrested following the ATT Bengaluru regularly monitoring his movements over the past several months.

The official said that during preliminary investigations, Khan, resident of Ramanathapuram of Tamil Nadu, was revealed as a notorious smuggler with a long-standing history of illegal activities in the region.

"He was a fugitive wanted by multiple law enforcement agencies for his involvement in various illicit operations," the official said.

The official said that during the probe it was revealed that Khan, in collaboration with a Sri Lankan national, Eesan, formerly associated with the LTTE, devised a plan to illegally transport 38 Sri Lankan nationals from their home country to various locations within Tamil Nadu.

"They lured these individuals with false promises, including the prospect of obtaining legitimate documentation for emigration to Canada and securing employment opportunities.

"Khan, along with other co-accused, trafficked Sri Lankan nationals to various locations in Bengaluru and Mangaluru," the official said.

"Probe found that Khan is a pivotal figure in a broader conspiracy involving international human trafficking. He acted as the main conduit responsible for transporting Sri Lankan nationals from their home country to India and subsequently to other nations," the official added.

The case originated when the Mangalore South Police acted on credible intelligence, revealing that a group of Sri Lankan nationals had arrived and taken residence in Mangalore without possessing valid documents.

This operation led to the arrest of 38 Sri Lankan nationals on June 6, 2021 from Mangalore.

Investigations revealed that Sri Lankan nationals were brought to Mangalore from Sri Lanka via Tamil Nadu and Bengaluru.

Recognising the international dimensions of the case, the NIA intervened and re-registered the case.

The NIA had filed a preliminary charge sheet against five Indian accused individuals in this case, namely Dhinakaran aka Ayya, Kasi Viswanathan, Rasool, Satham Ushen, and Abdul Muheetu, on October 5, 2021.

The NIA has till date arraigneda total of 13 accused in the case by the NIA.
Tel Aviv, Oct 22 : A former Israeli soldier Malki said that he waits for his son, Omar Shemtov -- including all those kidnapped by Hamas -- to return back safely and soon.

"We were happy and a peaceful family when all of this happened, suddenly. Omar along with few of his friends had gone to attend the world famous Nova Music Festival at the Gaza border," Malki told IANS.

He said that Omar had called from the venue and said that gunmen had swarmed the festival venue.

"Omar was in panic but he told me that he had located his car and was boarding it along with two friends. I told him to open the location map and return home immediately," Malki told IANS at Tel Aviv Museum Square Tower.

Malki, who has shifted to his private-business, said Omar was unable to escape from the venue and gunmen had caught and kidnapped Omar along with his friends.

He said that he came to know about the kidnap after a friend called him and informed him that Omar has been taken hostage.

Omar's handcuffed photograph was released by Hamas.

The 52-year-old Malki -- which means 'My King' in Hebrew -- said that he just wants his son and others to come back home.

He also called upon the international community to put pressure on Hamas to release Omar and other hostages.
Shimla, Oct 22 : The Himachal Pradesh government on Sunday announced to lift the ban on the export of wood of four tree species -- safeda, poplar, bamboo and auth -- allowing people to export them without any permit.

Also, the transportation of wood of these species within the state will no longer require a permit.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu said many farmers in the state cultivate them on a commercial scale and lifting the ban on them would facilitate them to a great extent.

He said the government has also eased restrictions on the export of other forest products, including khair wood, katha, cedarwood oil and several herbs native to the state.

For these forest products, a permit from the Forest Department will be required to take them out of the state, he added.

The Chief Minister said the government is mulling to introduce the national transit pass system in the state, enabling individuals to obtain e-permits from the Forest Department, making Himachal Pradesh the sixth state to implement this system.

The transit pass system is expected to bring convenience to permit processes, enhance transparency in the department's operations and improve departmental functioning, he added.
Jerusalem, Oct 22 : Israel announced plans on Sunday to evacuate 14 more communities near the Lebanese border, amid escalating cross-border fighting between Israel and militants in southern Lebanon.

The communities are primarily consisting of cooperative farms and kibbutzim (villages), the Israeli Defense Ministry said in a statement, adding that regional municipalities have been informed and instructed to prepare for the evacuation, Xinhua news agency reported.

On Friday, the Defense Ministry told residents of Kiryat Shmona, a northern Israeli city with a population of about 22,000 people close to the Lebanese border, to evacuate.

Israel's fighting with Hezbollah, a Lebanese armed group, and Palestinian militant groups along its northern border with Lebanon has intensified since Israel launched retaliatory strikes on the Gaza Strip following Hamas attacks on towns and military posts in southern Israel on October 7.
Many internationally renowned scientists and experts have hailed China's efforts in popularizing scientific research and science at the first Donghu Forum held in central China's Wuhan City.





Produced by Xinhua Global Service
















Istanbul, Oct 22 : Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has discussed humanitarian aid for Gaza over the phone with Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the political bureau of Hamas, local media reported on Sunday.

Erdogan told Haniyeh that "Turkey is making efforts to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches Gaza and that the injured can be treated in Turkey when necessary," NTV television reported, citing Erdogan's office.

The Turkish President said Turkey was working for a "ceasefire in the region as soon as possible" and reiterated his country's position regarding the conflict, Xinhua news agency reported.

"A permanent solution to the Israel-Palestine issue cannot be achieved without establishing an independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, with Jerusalem as its capital, and Turkey will continue to work internationally for permanent peace," he added.
Hyderabad, Oct 22 : Music director and composer Devi Sri Prasad, who recently won the National Film Award for Best Music Director for his work in the Allu Arjun-starrer 'Pushpa', has credited his win to his mother Siromani.

As she was present in Delhi to witness his great achievement, the composer was elated beyond words to have her see him get hold of the award, as her one smile filled his heart with happiness.

Taking to his X (formerly Twitter), Devi Sri Prasad posted a picture from October 17, when he received the award standing alongside his mother Siromani.

He wrote: "I am raised by a strong woman... My Mother #Siromani Garu"

On being handed over the award, he penned: "I was so happy to receive the Prestigious National Award for Best Music Director from another strong woman, our President Droupadi Murmu @rashtrapatibhvn. And I was all the more Happy when my Mother witnessed this Happy Moment in Delhi".

Describing the picture, he wrote: "This is the pic when I first put the Award in her hands.. her smile filled my heart "#69thNationalFilmAwards #Pushpa."

On the work front, Devi Sri Prasad will next be composing the music for the sequel to the acclaimed Telugu film 'Pushpa 2: The Rule'.

The film will once again be directed by Sukumar, and aside from Allu Arjun it features new names joining the feature such as Jagapathi Babu and Prakash Raj.

With the rest of the 'Pushpa' cast returning for the sequel, the film is set to release in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, and Hindi, hitting theatres on August 15, 2024.

Devi Sri Prasad will also be composing songs from the Pawan Kalyan-starrer 'Ustaad Bhagat Singh' and Suriya's upcoming film 'Kanguva'.
Gurugram, Oct 22 : The Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) has appealed to the former councillors and citizens to lend helping hands in clearing garbage piling up across the city amid a strike called by sanitation workers.

A civic body official on Sunday said the MCG has been putting all possible efforts into clearing heaps of garbage, adding at least 300 new employees have been hired, while a tractor-trolley was also deployed.

Naresh Kumar, Joint Commissioner (Swachh Bharat Mission) of the MCG said the civic body has entrusted the responsibility of cleanliness to seven different agencies and some areas have been allotted to them (for clearing the garbage heaps).

He said "due to the strike by the sanitation workers, the cleanliness system in the city will not be allowed to deteriorate further".

"Work is being done by the MCG with the help of RWAs, former councillors and citizens to improve the cleanliness system. If the employees try to obstruct the cleaning work, then along with disciplinary action, an FIR will also be registered against them," Naresh Kumar said.

In areas where regular and contractual employees are on strike, Sanitation Branch officials themselves are ensuring garbage collection.

"We called upon the RWA representatives and senior citizens of the city to come forward to help," he added.

Meanwhile, another official said a meeting between the MCG and the representatives of the sanitation workers union had taken place to resolve the matter but ended without any conclusion.

"Sanitation workers go on strike without any reason every day, due to which the cleanliness system of the city deteriorates. Sanitation workers should contribute to keeping their city clean. It is their right to raise their voice for their demands, but it is not right to play with the health of citizens," Arun Kumar, President of Sector-15 Part-2 RWA said.
Jerusalem, Oct 22 : The Israeli government has come under growing pressure from security establishment hawks to launch a pre-emptive strike on Hezbollah in Lebanon.

However, it is also facing strong opposition from the US not to attack Hezbollah in Lebanon, which fears a two-front war will risk igniting a major regional conflict, The Guardian reported.

"We want to focus on the Gaza arena, and to finish the job there. On the other hand, we are getting a lot of pressure from the Israeli population in the north," a senior Israeli security official told the Observer.

"People are saying, we cannot live on the northern border, with Hezbollah less than 100 metres from us and that can cross the line in a few minutes and slaughter us," The Guardian reported.

Since Israel struck back at Gaza after the Hamas attack on 7 October, the Lebanese-based Islamist militia group has repeatedly fired on Israeli settlements, leading to an Israeli evacuation of the northern border, including the town of Kiryat Shmona.

The threat of a major Hezbollah offensive led to calls from hawks for a strike at its sizeable arsenal of missiles.

President Biden used his time in Tel Aviv and visits by top US defence officials in the days before, to urge the Israeli leadership not to risk such a pre-emptive strike on the Iran-backed militia, the New York Times reported, and prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu ultimately cooled on the idea.
Tirupati, Oct 22 : The Income Tax department has seized about 300 kg of unaccounted gold from four jewelry shops in Proddatur town in Andhra Pradesh's Kadapa district.

The I-T Department officials from Vijayawada and Tirupati seized the gold during the searches for the last four days.

Proddatur is famous for gold business and the town is called 'second Bombay' and 'town of gold'.

The officials found that few jewelers in the town were sourcing gold from various places without invoices.

The searches revealed that the gold was not accounted for in the books.

The officials later transported the seized gold in suit-cases and cartons to Tirupati amid high security.

Investigations revealed that the jewelers were sourcing gold from Gujarat, Mumbai and Kolkata without relevant documents.

The searches were conducted on the tip-off that some top jewelers in the town were indulging in alleged black business. Proddatur has more than 1,000 jewelry shops.

The I-T searches at some leading shops sent panic in the market with several jewelers downing shutters. This affected the sale of jewelry during the ongoing festival season.
Mumbai, Oct 22 : Actress Rupali Ganguly, who is known for the hit television show 'Anupamaa', celebrated Durga Puja with much vigour and enthusiasm as she went to a highly crowded pandal and offered her prayers to the goddess. This was more of a private moment for her as the actress did not want to be disturbed and as such was in no mood to talk to paparazzi.

The aAnupamaaa star lit the incense and was offering her prayers. Donning a shimmery purple saree, the actress looked both stylish and traditional as she marked the occasion in a typical Bengali saree. The saree had some golden markings on it.

The presence of celebrities did not stop people from celebrating and Rupali was lost in the celebrations alone.

As the paparazzi tried to press on for questions and asked for some pictures, the 'Sarabhai vs Sarabhai' alum told her managers and other members of her crew asking the press to step back and not click pictures.
Kolkata, Oct 22 : The statements of two leading Trinamool Congress leaders on Sunday indicated that the party's Krishnanagar MP Mahua Moitra will have to fight her own battle in the evolving "cash-for-query" controversy.

On one hand the party leader in the Rajya Sabha Derek O'Brien clearly said that the party will make its position clear in the matter only after the Ethics Committee of the Parliament comes out with its decision in the matter.

He also said that the party leadership has advised the MP to clarify her position regarding the allegations raised against her.

On the other hand, state Municipal Affairs & Urban Development Minister and the Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim, on Sunday, has claimed Moitra is quite capable of bringing herself out of the matter.

"Maybe a conspiracy has been framed against her because she is vocal," he said.

Since the "cash-for query" controversy erupted, Trinamool Congress had been maintaining a strategic distance from the matter.

Party spokesman Kunal Ghosh even went to the extent of announcing on Saturday, reportedly on instructions from the party leadership, that the party does not have any comment on the matter.

"The party will not give any reaction on this issue," he said.

Political observers feel that from fresh statements by the party leaders on Sunday it is clear that handling the "cash-fore-query" issue is more of Moitra's personal battle rather than a united party affair and that she will have to fight her own battle on this count.

Moitra apparently is still putting up a brave face in the matter. On Saturday she issued a X message inviting CBI to come to her home and count her pair of shoes. Earlier she had also questioned the Chairman of the Ethics Committee of Parliament over his media interaction. She also questioned how the affidavit by Dubai-based businessman Darshan Hiranandani reached different media houses.
Chandigarh, Oct 22 : Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday batted for further promotion of interstate trade within the country for remunerative price of produce of the farmers on one hand and supply of quality products at affordable price to the people on the other.

Presiding over a meeting with the Chairman and Managing Directors of the various states here, the Chief Minister said all states must join their hands for developing a common platform to buy and sell commodities.

He said this is the need of the hour to safeguard the interests of both the consumers and the farmers. Mann said this would ensure the availability of best products to the people and remunerative price of the produce to the farmers.

The Chief Minister said it would ensure that cross sections of society are benefitted from this practice. He said now that the entire world has emerged as a single market, the unnecessary shackles within the states regarding production and marketing of produce should be removed.

Mann said this 'farm-to-fork' approach and availability of goods within all states would immensely benefit the consumers and farmers in a big way.

The Chief Minister said it is imperative to adopt this approach to ensure that farmers get a profit.

Due to ever escalating cost of farm inputs and lower returns, agriculture is no longer a profitable venture.

However, Mann said that if the idea of a common platform for marketing of produce is evolved it will help the farmers in a big way.

The Chief Minister explained the visiting delegations about the successful utilisation of the Rural Development Fund by the state for public welfare.

However, he said a whopping Rs 5,637.4 crore of state's RDF is still pending with the Union government.

Mann said despite various efforts the Union government is not releasing these funds which is a grave injustice with the state.
London, Oct 22 : An apparently fairly important leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, Muhammad Qassem Sawalha, lives in London in a flat he bought from the local Barnet Council.

This was disclosed in a sensational headline story in The Sunday Times.

Hamas carried out a sudden attack on Israel on October 7, killing an estimated 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and taking approximately 200 Israeli citizens as hostages, who are being held in Gaza. The action has generated one of the worst crises between Israelis and Palestinians, since the partition of Palestine and the controversial creation of Israel on the former's soil in 1948.

Sawalha, 62, reportedly fled to Britain from the Palestinian administered territory of Gaza (now under heavy bombardment by Israeli military forces) in the 1990s, hoodwinking Israeli security with a relativeas passport. He thereafter obtained British citizenship. He was granted a British passport probably in the early 2000s.

In 2004, the United States Justice Department indicted him of illegally financing "terrorist activities" in Israel. The indictment alleged Sawalha continued to work for Hamas even after coming to London.

In 2006, aBBCprogramme reported he was "said to have masterminded much of Hamasa political and military strategy". It further charged that though MI5 a" Britainas internal intelligence agency a" knew about Sawalha, they "let him operate freely here (in the UK)".

In 2009, Sawalha signed a declaration that praised Allah for having "routed the Zionist Jews". He is officially designated by Israeli authorities as belonging to Hamas and will be arrested if he returns to Israel, which is unlikely. He is said to have been a member of Hamasa politburo between 2013 and 2017.

The British paper indicated it was in 2017 that it was confirmed that Sawalha continued to be involved with Hamas, when he joined the organisationas official delegation to Russia. The Council of Muftis, a Russian Muslim body, posted on its website that Sawalha was aheada of Hamasa aforeign policya. He was pictured with Mikhail Bogdanov, Russiaas Deputy Foreign Minister.

Londonas reputed Metropolitan Police force, popularly known as Scotland Yard, confirmed they received a referral in June 2020 mentioning a breach of the UKas Terrorist Asset Freezing Act. This accusation was assessed by officers of the Yard's National Terrorist Financing Investigation Unit. In a statement they said: "It was determined that the evidential test was not met. No further action was taken."

The leader of Barnet Council, Barry Rawlings, remarked he was "horrified to think (Sawalha) could be living in our midst". He promised to review the case.

Britain proscribed Hamasa military wing on the perception that it was a terrorist outfit in 2001. However, it was not until 2021 that Hamas was banned in entirety.The Sunday Timesstated he has kept a low profile since and is understood to divide his time between London and Istanbul.

Sawalha has never been charged with any crimes in or by the UK. He lives in a property he bought for 320,700 pounds in June 2021 with his wife Sawsan, 56. His lawyers toldThe Sunday Timesthat its approach to the investigative piece contained a "number of serious false allegations". They maintained: "Mr Sawalha is a law-abiding British citizen."
San Francisco, Oct 22 : Meta-owned WhatsApp is reportedly testing a new "quick action bar" feature on its Business app for Android, which will let users "quickly perform different actions".

According to WABetaInfo, a new icon may now appear above the microphone button, allowing the app to display a new quick action bar above the chat bar, allowing users to perform various actions quickly and easily. With this feature, users can promptly create orders, access their quick replies, and easily send products from their catalogue.

"This update aims to improve and simplify the process of interacting with customers, ensuring that these key features are always visible, saving the business time and effort when interacting with the app," the report said.

Currently, the quick action bar feature is available to some beta testers who install the latest versions of WhatsApp Business beta for Android, and it will roll out to more people over the coming days, the report added.

Last month, Meta Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a new feature in India that will allow WhatsApp users to pay businesses using a variety of payment options, including all supported UPI apps, debit and credit cards, and more.

The company partnered with online payment solutions provider PayU and Bengaluru-based Razorpay to add support for payments via credit and debit cards, net banking and all UPI apps in India.

The company first introduced the payments service in Brazil and Singapore.
TEHRAN, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- One person was killed and four others were injured on Sunday in a blast at a power plant near the Iranian capital Tehran, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.

The explosion occurred at a pipeline transferring gas to turbines at the Parand power plant in Robat Karim County, about 50 kilometers southwest of Tehran, due to the "staffers' negligence," county governor Omid Ahmadi was quoted as saying.

He said the injured people had been transferred to the hospital and were receiving medical attention, noting that the operation of the power plant was not interrupted despite the blast damaged a small part of the gas pipeline. 
Mumbai, Oct 22 : Actor Dalip Tahil, who famously played the role of Madan Chopra in the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer 'Baazigar', and is known for films like 'Vishwatma', 'Tridev' and 'Darr', has been sentenced to 2 months of jail time with regards to a 5 year-old accident case.

As per media reports, a magistrate's court convicted Dalip Tahil of ramming his car into an autorickshaw in 2018. The impact of the collision was such that the female passenger in the autorickshaw sustained injuries to her back and the neck.

At the time of his arrest in 2018, the actor had refused to give his blood samples to the police for an alcohol test.

After the accident, the actor tried to flee the spot but was stuck in a massive traffic jam due to Ganesh Visarjan processions in the city. The passengers intercepted the actoras vehicle, and the latter also got into an argument with them.

The actor was taken into custody after the police were summoned.

While Tahil was given bail, the case continued. On Sunday, Relying on the evidence of the doctor, who opined that the smell of the alcohol was found and pupils were dilated, the court announced the verdict and sentenced him to two months.

The actor, who is quite active on Instagram, hasnat yet reacted to the verdict.
Ranchi, Oct 22 : After the mining and land scam, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is super active in Jharkhand, has now initiated action in the liquor and sand scam, leaving politicians and bureaucratic officers in the state worried.

The increasing scope of investigation in different cases can increase the problems of Chief Minister Hemant Soren, his cabinet members and about half a dozen IAS and state service officers of the state. The ED has also tightened the noose on power brokers and many businessmen.

Due to ED's investigation and action, more than 20 people including two IAS officers of the state Pooja Singhal and Chhavi Ranjan, former Chief Engineer of Rural Development Department Birendra Ram, eight-nine businessmen Vishnu Agarwal, Amit Agarwal, Dilip Ghosh, Yogendra Tiwari, Sunil Yadav, Tinkle Bhagat. Bhagwan Bhagat, Krishna Shah, two chartered accountants Suman Kumar and Neeraj Mittal and two power brokers Pankaj Mishra and Prem Prakash and Yogendra Tiwari have been sent to jail.

Last Thursday, ED arrested the state's businessman Yogendra Tiwari, considered the kingpin of the liquor scam. Before this, he was interrogated at length on three different dates.

Now the agency has taken him on remand for eight days and started detailed interrogation from Saturday. While presenting him in the court after his arrest, the agency claimed that Yogendra Tiwari was involved in illegal business of liquor as well as land and sand, and he had the protection of many officers and politicians.

On March 31, ED had registered ECIR (Enforcement Case Information Report) against Yogendra Tiwari on the basis of four FIRs already registered in different police stations of Deoghar district. After this, on August 23, a simultaneous raid was conducted at 34 locations in the state and several documents and evidences were recovered.

One of these locations was the residence of state Finance Minister Dr. Rameshwar Oraon and his son Rohit Oraon. ED had also recovered Rs 30 lakh in cash from here. After this raid, the scope of investigation increased further. ED has now added 15 more FIRs to the same ECIR.

More than 20 people named in these FIRs have directly come under the scanner of ED. It is expected that during the interrogations of the accused, more nameswill emerge.

It is alleged that Yogendra Tiwari established a monopoly in the liquor business in the state in the year 2021-22. He had obtained liquor contracts by forming different firms in the name of his employees and the complete control of these firms was in the hands of Yogendra Tiwari.

The liquor scam that has taken place in Jharkhand has its links with Chhattisgarh also. In fact, the Jharkhand government had implemented a new policy of excise i.e. liquor sale in the year 2021-22 and to implement it, it had signed an agreement with Chhattisgarh State Marketing Corporation Limited (CSMCL) and appointed it as a consultant.

On the advice of this consultant company, on the lines of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand government took over the retail sale of liquor and entrusted the responsibility of running the shops to the placement agencies. This work was carried out under the supervision of Arun Pati Tripathi, the then MD of Chhattisgarh State Marketing Corporation Limited, and his partner Siddharth Singhania.

Now the investigation into his role in Jharkhand's liquor scam will be intensified. The Chhattisgarh unit of ED has also summoned two IAS officers of Jharkhand, Vinay Kumar Choubey and Karan Satyarthi, in April in connection with the case.

There is a possibility that the Jharkhand unit of ED may also issue notice to these two officers now. As Vinay Choubey is also the secretary to Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, the heat of investigation may finally reach the CM directly or indirectly.

Before this, ED has even interrogated Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren in the mining scam worth Rs 1000 crore. He has also been summoned five times in the investigation of land scam. Soren did not appear on any of these summons and filed a petition against the ED first in the Supreme Court and then in the High Court.

However, he has not yet received any relief from the court. It is possible that ED may take further action against him in this case. Hemant Soren himself is apprehensive about this and has said that a conspiracy has been hatched to send him to jail at the behest of the BJP government at the Centre.

Last year, the ED had registered an FIR against Alamgir Alam, a senior minister from the Congress in the Soren cabinet, in a dispute related to a tender in Barharwa in Sahibganj district. The investigation into this may also proceed further.

ED has already collected evidence of corruption worth about Rs 200 crore against senior IAS Rajeev Arun Ekka, who was the Principal Secretary to CM Soren. The agency has shared a report on these evidence and details with the state government and the Anti-Corruption Bureau and has asked them to register an FIR against him.
New Delhi, Oct 22 : Like many other starstruck youths, he came to Bombay with dreams of becoming a hero, banking on his imposing stature, rough-hewn looks, and a baritone voice. He did succeed in his aim, but only partially, for most of his films sank without a trace, and playing second leads was no consolation.

It was only by crossing the moral line - onscreen - didAjit make his name in Hindi films - of a larger than life, deep-dyed, but suave and sophisticated villain. He was always clad in the height of fashion - with accessories like outsized sunglasses, accompanied by glamorous molls, and scorned to do the dirty work himself, relying on a cohort of henchmen.

He complemented the entire package by lowering his trademark voice to a beguilingly softer, yet with sinister undertones, conveying both menace and mockery.

Be it the nasal languid drawl call out to moll "Mona Darling" or henchman "Raabatt" (Robert), telling his enemy how "Sara shahr mujjhe Loin ke naam se jaanta hai" or many other catchphrases as he played mindgames with heroes, police, and other enemies, Ajit, who passed away this day (October 22) in 1998, revolutionised the image of the screen villain in his lasting legacy to Hindi cinema.

This represented a dramatic change for someone whose early stint in the Hindi film industry had him play the hero opposite the cherubic Nalini Jaywant, the angelic Madhubala, the petite Suraiya, and the immensely talented Meena Kumari, among others.

Born Hamid Ali Khan in Golconda in a Pathan family in 1922 in what were then dominions of the Nizam of Hyderabad, he had barely envisioned a film career as his father, who served in the Nizam's army, wanted him to become a doctor or a lawyer. However, Ajit, who was naturally intelligent and had a gift for languages,was indifferent in studies.

As the story goes, one of his exasperated teachers at the University Arts & Science College, Warangal - where his senior was P.V. Narasimha Rao - advised Ajit to give up studies, and either join the army like his father or become a film actor.

Ajit took him1 at his word, lied to his father that he had passed his exams, sold his textbooks, and with the Rs 113 they fetched him, left for Bombay in the early 1940s.

However, in Bombay, Ajit found the going tough. As his money ran out, he recounted later that his acquaintances offered him as job as a rent collector or a gateman at a cinema, where he might catch the eye of a film director. However, the proud Pathan refused such jobs and hung on - though his circumstances sank to such depths that he had to perforce make his home in the huge cement pipes placed at various places in the city.

He soon landed some small roles in films which earned him Rs 3 or maybe, Rs 6. K.L. Saigal-starrer "Kurukshetra" (1956) was his first major role. One director then noticed him and offered the lead role in a swashbuckler "Shah-e-Misr" (1945) but it proved to be a flop.

It was this time that some directors he worked with including Nanabhai Bhatt (father of Mahesh Bhatt) suggested he change his name to better register with the audience and filmmaker K. Amarnath suggested that Ajit would suit his personality.

Ajit did work with all leading heroines of his time, save Nargis, but most of the films are obscure, save "Beqasoor" (1950) with Madhubala, "Anand Math" (1952), "Nastik" (1954) - in which Kavi Pradeep's self-rendered elegy "Kitna badal gaya insaan" is picturised on him - and "Hulagu" (1956), where he serenades Meena Kumari with Rafi's splendid "Aaja ke intezar mein" while a ferociously scowling Pran plays the eponymous Mongol ruler, and "Char Dil Char Rahen" (1959).

Lack of success as hero meant Ajit had to shift to playing second leads - most notably in "Naya Daur" (1957) and as the loyal Durjan Singh in "Mughal-e-Azam" (1960).

It was close friend Rajendra Kumar who suggested Ajit switch to playing leading villains in place of supporting heroes, and Ajit began with the former's costumed thriller "Suraj" (1966).

This was a turning point, and his particular brand of villainy was in display in "Prince" (1969 as the evil mamaji, "Heer Raanjha" (1970), and then, most spectacularly as Dharam Dayal Teja, the "Cold Old Man" against the "Angry Young Man" in "Zanjeer" (1973) as DinDayal/"Loin" in "Kalicharan" (1976), and many others.

Soon playing the stern Amil Balban in "Razia Sultana" (1983), Ajit took a sabbatical from films, due to his health and concern at the current state of the industry, and settled down in Hyderabad. He did make a sporadic return in the 1990s but was mostly retired before he passed away in 1998.

(Vikas Datta can be contacted at vikas.d@ians.in)
Guwahati, Oct 22 : Troops of Trishakti Corps of army along with Border Roads Organidation (BRO) assisted by civil administration and locals are undertaking operations at a massive scale to reconnect North Sikkim, officials said on Sunday.

Lt. Col. Mahendra Rawat, defence PRO at Guwahati said that while BRO is trying to reconnect the main route Mangan-Tung-Chungthang, troops of Trishakti Corps along with BRO and assistance of locals and civil administration is making efforts to open up the alternate route Mangan- Sanklang  Theng - Chungthang.

"This requires construction of two bailey bridges over Teesta River at Mangan-Sanklang Crossing. Working round the clock, the first bridge was completed on Sunday," he said.

Notably, areas of North Sikkim ahead of Mangan have remained cut off since October 4. As an immediate response, foot bridges and zip lines were constructed at Chungthang and Sanklang-Mangan Crossing.

The officer said that these have enabled movement of people on foot and provision of relief material through the zip lines established.

According to Rawat, due to large-scale damage to the main road Mangan-Tung-Chungthang, fresh alignment of the road through Naga Village is being made before the damaged bridge site at Toong can be approached and a new bridge constructed which will take some time.

As an immediate relief to restore connectivity up to Chungthang via alternate route Mangan- Sanklang- Theng - Chungthang, troops of Trishakti Corps are undertaking construction of bailey bridge at Mangan-Sanklang Crossing, 200 metres upstream of where a bamboo bridge and Zip line was constructed earlier.

"However, the width of the river has increased to 600 feet and water running along two channels with a 160 feet island in between. Decision was therefore taken to construct two separate bridges. Working on a war footing, the troops of Trishakti Corps finished construction of the 150 feet long first bridge on Sunday. The second bridge is likely to be completed by 27th Oct," Rawat said.
Jaipur, Oct22 : Ruckus have been witnessed in many places in Rajasthan after the BJP released the second list of candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections in the state with party office in Rajsamand getting vandalised while stones were thrown at state unit president CP Joshi's house in Chittorgarh.

Party workers, apparently disappointed to a certain extent, staged protests in Jaipur, Rajsamand, Chittorgarh, Alwar, Bundi and Udaipur.

The BJP workers took to the streets to protest the re-nomination of Deepti Maheshwari as BJP candidate from Rajsamand. The workers, who looked upset, protested the party's move to give tickets to an "outsider candidate".

They demanded to give tickets to the local candidate. Activists entered the BJP office on Kankroli Road and vandalised it.

The workers expressed their displeasure while advocating for Dinesh Badala.

There were protests in Chittorgarh over the cancellation of the ticket of Chittorgarh MLA Chandrabhan Singh Akya. Protests were staged against state unit BJP president CP Joshi.

Akya said: "He (Joshi) was in NSUI and I was an ABVP worker. Since then, there was a fight between him and me. I thank Joshi for cutting my ticket. Now, only the people will decide everything."

Meanwhile, the security of State President CP Joshi's house was increased.

The house of CP Joshi and Chandrabhan Singh Akya is in the same locality.

On Sunday morning, BJP workers burnt the effigy of the state president at Manpura intersection in Chittorgarh city. Stones were thrown at the Madhuvan Colony house of the state president.

Meanwhile, Akya said the party had two days' time.

"Even if the party does not give me the ticket, I will contest the elections," he added.

His supporters said "it was wrong to do such a fraudulent act on Chandrabhan Singh Akya".

"Cancelling his ticket was the wrong decision. In place of two-time MLA from Chittorgarh, Chandrabhan Singh Akya, a ticket was given to Narpat Singh Rajvi, who has been MLA from Chittorgarh twice. In Jaipur, Rajsamand MP has been given a ticket instead of Rajvi," one of the supporters said.
Washington, Oct 22 : The US has said that it is concerned over the escalating attacks on the Americans across the Middle East in wake of ongoing war between Hamas and Israel, media reports said.

"We're concerned about potential escalation. In fact, what we're seeing is the prospect of a significant escalation of attacks on our troops and our people throughout the region," US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told ABC News.

He said that because of that, we're going to do what's necessary to make sure that US troops are in the right position, they're protected and that we have the ability to respond.

Austin's comments come as Iranian proxies attack U.S military bases in Iraq and Syria, the Navy recently intercepted missiles fired from Yemen. There has also been increased fighting along the Israel-Lebanon border.

The U.S has sent the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Strike Group to join the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea and will deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery in addition to Patriot battalions, ABC reported.
San Francisco, Oct 22 : The average college cafeteria table hosted 60,000 times more bacteria than the average household toilet seat, a new study has found.

The study, conducted by College Rover, identified the germiest places on multiple campuses by swabbing various areas, including bathrooms, common areas in dorms, and keyboards in computer labs.

The swabs were then tested to determine the types and numbers of germs.

In addition to swabs, researchers polled 1,000 students about their personal experiences and hygiene practices.

According to the study, public bathrooms were the germiest area of all the campus hot spots.

With 47 million colony-forming units (CFU), 64 per cent gram-negative rods and 34 per cent type II, campus bathrooms were home to more would-be infections than a Saturday night party.

While germy bathrooms werenat surprising, campus laundry rooms were shockingly germ-infested, with 30.5 million CFUs: 98 per cent gram-negative rods and 2 per cent bacillus.

Laundry rooms were even more germy than campus cafeteria tables, which had 100,000 fewer CFUs. The kitchen sink is one of the dirtiest places in most homes, with an average of just under 11.4 million CFUs -- but that's nothing compared to college library desks, which had 2.6 times more bacteria, the study mentioned.

The researchers also surveyed college students about their hygiene habits and found that nearly 15 per cent of college students only cleaned their living space once per month.

Female students were particularly grossed out when people coughed or sneezed without covering; nearly four in five said it was the nastiest hygiene habit they saw on campus. Students saw other nasty hygiene habits like not washing hands after using the restroom, not showering or brushing their teeth regularly, and not flushing the toilet, the study said.

--IANS

shs/vd
Bhubaneswar, Oct 22 : A disgruntled retired army man has become nuisance for the Police in Banki area of the Cuttack district in Odisha as two more cops Sunday sustained grievous injuries in a murderous attack by the said army man.

The accused army man has been identified as Saroj Kumar Das of Harirajpur in Banki.

Saroj assaulted the cops when they were trying to nab the ex-army man who has been on the run since the last few months.

Sources said that the police had received information that Saroj has come to a local garage for the servicing of his car.

They said that a team of Banki Police immediately was rushed to the spot to catch the army man but he suddenly attacked the cops with a sharp weapon and fled the spot.

The injured cops have been identified as Sub Inspector, Sambit Kumar Swain and Uttam Kumar Kar, a constable of the Banki police station. The cops are undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Cuttack.

"We have been conducting raids at different places to nab the accused who will be behind the bars soon. There are different forums for the redressal of anyone's grievance. Such violent behaviour is not acceptable under any circumstances," said a senior police official.

Saroj is wanted in two cases registered at the Banki Police station on different charges such as murderous attack, rioting, attempt to murder etc.

On September 1, Saroj armed with a sword and hammer vandalised an ATM kiosk at Kacheri Ground in Banki reportedly over alleged police indifference. Police tried to placate him but he did not listen to the cops and even threatened to attack them before fleeing the spot.

The cops again tried to nab the accused while he was holding a meeting of some youths of his village on September 5.

Saroj and his supporters attacked the police team when they tried to arrest him. A lady SI identified as Madhusmita Behera was injured in the attack.

He has been playing hide and seek with the Banki Police for the last few months.

Saroj had earlier told the media that he took the law into his hands as the police did not take any action against a person who allegedly cheated the ex-army man.

He had reportedly lodged several complaints with the Banki Police seeking justice, but to no avail.

--IANS

gyan/dan
Hyderabad, Oct 22 : Telangana Congress has demanded an inquiry by a sitting judge into the sinking of some pillars of the Medigadda barrage of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP) Alleging that the state government was trying to hush-up the incident by stopping media persons and opposition leaders going for inspection, Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president A. Revanth Reddy urged Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan to order an inquiry.

He told reporters in Delhi that poor quality of the construction work led to the incident. He demanded that Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, who claims to have re-designed the project, should own up the responsibility.

Revanth Reddy said the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) should also probe into the allegations of corruption in the Kaleshwaram project. He alleged that the corrupt practices were exposed with the sinking of pillars of the mega project constructed at a cost of Rs 1.20 lakh crore.

The TPCC chief demanded that ministers K.T. Rama Rao and T. Harish Rao should go to the barrage. He said a delegation of the Congress would also join to see and analyse the damage.

He said the minister should explain what went wrong if they believed quality was not compromised during the project construction.

Alleging that KCRas family had made money in the project, Revanth Reddy said Congress MP Rahul Gandhi had reiterated this during his recent visit to Telangana.

He mocked Chief Minister KCR for claiming it to be the worldas largest lift irrigation project. He said within a few years pumps worth hundreds of crores were submerged and now the pillars were sinking.

Revanth Reddy also demanded that Home Minister Amit Shah and Tourism Minister G. Kishan Reddy, who had been accusing KCR of turning Kaleshwaram into an ATM for himself, should visit the project immediately and inspect the poor quality of the work.

He said BJP would not respond as it was working with the BRS.

Earlier, Congress MLA D. Sridhar Babu was stopped when he was on his way to the barrage in Jayashankar Bhupalpally district.
Imphal, Oct 22 : Three Myanmar nationals were arrested from border town Moreh in Manipur's Tamenglong district for stealing furniture and other items from houses that were torched during the ethnic violence, which broke out in the state on May 3, officials said.

Officials said that Manipur Police commandos and police personnel, during routine patrolling in Moreh town, apprehended Aung Mae, 30, Aung Aung, 25, and Khamkhenthang Guite, 25, who are residents of Myanmaras Tamu and Namphalong Sawbua areas.

Moreh town along the Myanmar border is a big trading location and inhabited by people of different communities.

Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh in a post on X said: "The trio is suspected of stealing furniture items/electric generators from the houses which were burnt down during the recent clashes. They were handed over to the Moreh Police station for thorough verification. This happened when some particular organisations were objecting and protesting against the deployment of state police and commandos at Moreh town."

It is apparent that these organisations do not want the presence of state forces in Moreh so that many of such Myanmarese can be brought into the country, he claimed, adding that the state government cannot keep silent on such an alarming issue of illegal migration.

Various tribal organisations occasionally opposed and condemned the deployment of additional state forces in the border town and tribal dominated areas, where mostly central forces have been deployed.

The Manipur government often said that Myanmar nationals often entered into the state illegally and remained involved in various illegal and hostile activities. Manipur shares around 400 km unfenced border with Myanmar.

--IANS

sc/vd
Long Luying (C) talks with villagers about embroidery skills at Xiaohe Village of Shibing County, Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Oct. 18, 2023.

In a embroidery workshop in Shibing County, Long Luying and her colleagues use needles as pens and thread as ink to embroider flowers, birds, fish, butterflies and other elements, creating Miao embroidery works with vivid patterns.

Long Luying is a provincial-level inheritor of Miao embroidery. She learned Miao embroidery from her mother at an early age. In 2006, Long Luying left her job at an embroidery workshop in Shenzhen and returned to her hometown to start her own business on hand-made Miao embroidery in Shibing County of Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture.

Over the past 17 years, Long Luying has provided free embroidery skills training to local women, creating job opportunities for more than 1,000 rural women in the village. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)

Long Luying checks Miao embroidery decorations at the workshop in Shibing County of Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Oct. 18, 2023.(Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)

Long Luying (L) and her son promote Miao embroidery products via livestreaming in Shibing County of Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Oct. 18, 2023. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)

Long Luying (2nd L) and her employee check Miao embroidery products at the workshop in Shibing County of Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Oct. 18, 2023.(Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)

Long Luying (2nd R) and her employees make embroidery at the workshop in Shibing County of Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Oct. 18, 2023.(Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)

Long Luying (L) and her employee check Miao embroidery decorations at the workshop in Shibing County of Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Oct. 18, 2023.(Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)

Long Luying discusses design solutions of Miao embroidery decorations with her husband at the workshop in Shibing County of Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Oct. 18, 2023.(Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)

Long Luying (R) and her employee check the quality of Miao embroidery products at the workshop in Shibing County of Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Oct. 18, 2023.(Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)

Long Luying introduces design concept of Miao embroidery decorations at the workshop in Shibing County of Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Oct. 18, 2023.(Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)

Long Luying spins thread at the workshop in Shibing County of Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Oct. 18, 2023.(Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)

Long Luying (2nd L) communicates with her employees at the workshop in Shibing County of Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Oct. 18, 2023.(Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)
US holding back Israel from strike against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Image Source: IANS News

Ashkelon, Oct 22 : Israel has been coming under intense pressure from allies and Israeli families to delay a ground attack until hostages are freed, including foreign nationals, the media reported.

"We have never announced there is going to be a ground operation," insisted Israeli Defence Forces spokesman, Lt Col Peter Lerner, the BBC reported.

As for the hundreds of thousands of IDF reservists along the Gaza border, Lerner said they were "currently being trained, equipped, and also tasked if they need to mobilise with specific tasks that will help us achieve our goal to destroy Hamas once and for all".

In recent days, IDF spokesmen have emphasised the current focus is intensifying airstrikes before "the next stage of the war".

There seemed to be the clearest signal yet on Saturday from the IDF chief of staff Herzi Halevi: "We'll enter Gaza, we'll enter for an operational mission."

Observers say that could first involve limited raids, BBC reported.

It is clearly a consideration, although Israeli officials also accuse Hamas of trying to buy time. And there is a chorus of voices urging Israel to allow more desperately needed aid to enter Gaza, even to agree a humanitarian ceasefire.

That is not on Israel's agenda after the Hamas attacks of 7 October.

The IDF said on Sunday evening that an Israeli tank "accidentally fired and hit an Egyptian post" near Kerem Shalom in the Egypt-Gaza-Israel tri-border area.

"The incident is being investigated and the details are under review. The IDF expresses sorrow regarding the incident," a statement read, YNet News reported.

Hezbollah announced on Sunday afternoon that two of its members, Ali Muhammad Marmar and Taha Abbas, were killed in an IDF strike in Lebanon.

According to reports, 10 operatives of the Lebanese terrorist group were killed in Israeli strikes on Saturday and Sunday.
Tel Aviv, Oct 22 : Speaker of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, Amir Ohana during his visit to southern Israel's Kibbutz Beeri on Sunday said that the October 7 surprise attacks by the Hamas were a Holocaust on Israeli people by the terror outfit.

Speaking to reporters, he said that Israel will get rid of Hamas just like the Nazis were defeated after the Holocaust.

The Speaker visited Kibbutz Beeri, which witnessed bloody mayhem on October 7, along with a delegation of French parliamentarians led by President of the National Assembly of France, Yael Braun-Pivet.

Braun-Pivet was accompanied by three French parliamentarians.

The visit precedes the impending visit of French President Emmanuel Marcon, who is scheduled to arrive in Israel on October 25.

Ohana told the French delegation that what the people went through on October 7 was not just killing but was more than that. "People were burnt alive with their hands tied behind their backs, some were decapitated, women were raped brutally, and children were butchered."

The Knesset Speaker also said that the terrorists came just not to kill but instead to make a statement.

Ohana also expressed support for the people of Jewish origin in France who were experiencing fear for their lives from people who were supporting the war crimes perpetrated by Hamas.
New Delhi, Oct 23 : BJP President J.P. Nadda on Sunday nominated a four-member delegation to visit Tamil Nadu in the wake of the arrest of party workers in the state.

In a press statement, the BJP President said that the delegation comprising former Chief Minister Sadananda Gowda, former Police Commissioner of Mumbai Satya Pal Singh, BJP State President for Andhra Pradesh D. Purandeswari and P.C. Mohan will visit Tamil Nadu.

Earlier on Saturday, the BJP condemned the arrest of its functionaries by police for protesting against the "removal of the party flag at Panaiyur on the East Coast Road in Chennai".

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Saturday said the BJP is a "social virus" and the DMK is fighting it.
Lucknow, Oct 23 : The Uttar Pradesh government has formed a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by an Additional Director General rank officer, to probe into the funds received from abroad by madrasas in the state.

There are around 25,000 madrassas in Uttar Pradesh and over 16,500 are recognised by the state Board of Madrasa Education.

"We will see how the money received through foreign funding is spent. We will check if the money is being used to run madrasas or for any other activities," said Additional Director General, ATS, Mohit Agarwal.

The other two members of SIT are the Director of the Minority Welfare Department J. Reebha and the SP, Cyber Cell, Triveni Singh. The agency will focus more on madrasas active in districts along the Indo-Nepal border.

Agarwal said that no time frame has been mentioned by the government yet to complete the probe. Both the registered and non-registered madrasas will be part of the probe.

The SIT has already sought details of madrasas from its board.

Last year in August, the Yogi Adityanath-led government directed district magistrates to conduct a survey of unrecognised madrasas.

During the two-month survey, 8,449 madrasas which were not recognised by the state madrasa education board were found to be functioning.

Apart from Lakhimpur Kheri, Pilibhit, Shravasti, Siddhartha Nagar and Bahraich adjacent to the Nepal border, more than 1,000 madrassas are being run in many other nearby areas.

Sources said that the number of madrasas in these areas has increased rapidly in the last few years.

Besides, information was also received about these madrasas getting foreign funding.

The minority welfare department had also investigated unrecognized madrasas in many districts, in which it was also revealed that many madrasas were receiving foreign funding as a source of income.

Recently, ATS arrested three active members of a gang involved in the illegal entry of Bangladeshi citizens and Rohingyas. The investigation revealed that foreign funding of Rs 20 crore was received in three years through a Delhi-run NGO, which was being used to help them.
BAGHDAD, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- At least two Katyusha rockets struck a military airbase housing U.S. military experts and agencies in Iraq's western province of Anbar on Sunday, an Iraqi army source said.

The attacks occurred in the early morning when the rockets landed in the Ayn al-Asad Airbase near the town of al-Baghdadi, some 190 km northwest of the capital Baghdad, an officer from the Iraqi army told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The source said the attacks caused no casualties and only minor material damage.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attacks.

In recent days, a militia group, which calls itself "the Islamic Resistance in Iraq," claimed to have launched rocket and drone attacks on military bases housing U.S. forces across the country. The group also claimed responsibility for similar attacks on U.S. military forces in Syria. 
By 2030, more than a third of the worlds children and young people will live in Africa. Thats an estimated 733 million young people, millions of whom are at risk of being left behind. Facing poverty, displacement, and marginalization, they lack even the most basic learning toolsbooks. Without the opportunity to read, their futures are limited from the start.

Our charity, Book Aid International, works to share the power of books and create a more equal world. Every year, we provide more than one million brand-new books to the places where theyll make the biggest differenceall of which are donated to us by leading publishersand work with our partners to create and support reading spaces. Each book we provide is carefully selected in response to partner requests, ensuring it meets communities real needs.

We know the power of books, and we know that we must act now to ensure that todays children and young people have the books they need to grow into tomorrows doctors, teachers, business leaders, journalists, and more. Thats why were launching our most ambitious program to date: Generation Reader.

Reaching 10 million young people

Generation Reader aims to equip 10 million young people who would otherwise miss out on the chance to read with the books they need to realize their ambitionsand their dreams. We have years of experience working with our partners to make sure that children and young people have access to books. Generation Reader will expand that work across sub-Saharan Africa, especially where young people face the greatest challenges. We will:

Provide 10 million young Africans with access to 1.5 million brand-new, publisher-donated books

Create 300 new reading spaces in the heart of communities

Train 1,500 teachers and librarians to help young people discover the joy and power of reading

Students like Fabiola are at the heart of Generation Reader. She lives in rural Malawi, and her family barely makes ends meet as farmers. Neither of her parents went to secondary school and they simply dont have the means to buy her books. In her community, girls are often discouraged from learning: Some boys try to stop us when we are going to school. When we refuse to stop, they threaten to beat us. It makes me angry, but I just go on with my journey, she says.

Despite these challenges, Fabiola has big dreams. She wants to be a nurse, and thanks to a library we established in her school, her experience of education has been transformed: When there were no books, I could not understand the teacher, she says, but since the library books came things started sinking into my head. I rely on the books and I am learning so much. I want to live a life of studying and love for education. I would like to ask for more books so that I can finish school and find my dream job.

Donate books for readers like Fabiola

Millions of young people like Fabiola still live in a world without books. With your support, Generation Reader will give 10 million of them the opportunity to read, and with it the chance to build confidence, thrive in school, and pursue their ambitions.

We are seeking publishers who can donate brand-new books in English to our London warehouse. To make Generation Reader a reality we need books to support education at every levelfrom pre-school right through to universityas well as leisure reading texts to encourage young readers to develop reading confidence and a life-long love of books.

If youd like to discuss a book donation, please contact our stock acquisition manager Simon Mercer (simon.mercer@bookaid.org). You can also find out more about donating books by visiting bookaid.org/support-us/donate-books/.

Emma Taylor is head of communications at Book Aid International.
Residents wait for evacuation in the city of Kiryat Shmona in northern Israel on Oct. 22, 2023. Israel announced plans on Sunday to evacuate 14 more communities near the Lebanese border, amid escalating cross-border fighting between Israel and militants in southern Lebanon. (Ayal Margolin/JINI via Xinhua)

JERUSALEM, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Israel announced plans on Sunday to evacuate 14 more communities near the Lebanese border, amid escalating cross-border fighting between Israel and militants in southern Lebanon.

The communities are primarily consisting of cooperative farms and kibbutzim (villages), the Israeli Defense Ministry said in a statement, adding that regional municipalities have been informed and instructed to prepare for the evacuation.

On Friday, the Defense Ministry told residents of Kiryat Shmona, a northern Israeli city with a population of about 22,000 people close to the Lebanese border, to evacuate.

Israel's fighting with Hezbollah, a Lebanese armed group, and Palestinian militant groups along its northern border with Lebanon has intensified since Israel launched retaliatory strikes on the Gaza Strip following Hamas attacks on towns and military posts in southern Israel on Oct. 7. 

Israeli army soldiers help evacuate residents from the city of Kiryat Shmona in northern Israel on Oct. 22, 2023. Israel announced plans on Sunday to evacuate 14 more communities near the Lebanese border, amid escalating cross-border fighting between Israel and militants in southern Lebanon. (Ayal Margolin/JINI via Xinhua)
ISTANBUL, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has discussed humanitarian aid for Gaza over the phone with Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the political bureau of Hamas, local media reported Sunday.

Erdogan told Haniyeh that "Turkiye is making efforts to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches Gaza and that the injured can be treated in Turkiye when necessary," NTV television reported, citing Erdogan's office.

Erdogan said Turkiye was working for a "ceasefire in the region as soon as possible" and reiterated his country's position regarding the conflict.

"A permanent solution to the Israel-Palestine issue cannot be achieved without establishing an independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, with Jerusalem as its capital, and Turkiye will continue to work internationally for permanent peace," he said. 
An Agniveer died in the line of duty in Siachen, the Army's Leh-headquartered Fire and Fury Corps said on Sunday.

IMAGE: Agniveer Gawate Akshay Laxman. Photograph: ANI Photo

Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande and all ranks of the force condoled the death of Agniveer Gawate Akshay Laxman who hailed from Maharashtra.

The Siachen glacier at a height of around 20,000 feet in the Karakoram range is known as the highest militarised zone in the world where soldiers have to battle frostbite and high winds.

It is learnt that Laxman died in the early hours of Saturday.

"Quartered in snow silent to remain, when the bugle calls they shall rise and march again," the Fire and Fury Corps said on 'X'.

"All ranks of Fire and Fury Corps salute the supreme sacrifice of #Agniveer (Operator) Gawate Akshay Laxman, in the line of duty, in the unforgiving heights of #Siachen and offer deepest condolences to the family," it said.

Military sources said the terms of engagement of Agniveers include emolument in case of demise as a battle casualty.

Accordingly, the next of kin of a deceased battle casualty Agniveer will receive Rs 48 lakh as non-contributory insurance as well as an ex-gratia of Rs 44 Lakh.

Separately, the next of kin will also get an amount from the Seva Nidhi contributed by the Agniveer (30 per cent), with equal matching contribution by the government and interest there on.

The next of kin will also receive pay for the balance tenure from date of death, till completion of four years (more than Rs 13 lakh) as per balance residual tenure, the sources said.

The family of the deceased will also receive a contribution of Rs 8 lakh from the Armed Forces Battle Casualty Fund, the sources said.
An assistant professor of Allahabad University was on Sunday booked for allegedly making objectionable remarks on Lord Ram and Krishna.

IMAGE: A view of the Allahabad University campus. Photograph: ANI Photo

The action came Sunday evening at the joint complaint of Vishva Hindu Parishad, Hindu Jagran Manch, and Bajrang Dal.

The right wing groups in their complaint, filed at the Colonelganj police station, alleged that Professor Vikram Harijan, a professor at the Department of Medieval and Modern History, made the offensive remarks about the deities in a post on X.

The FIR was lodged at the complaint of one Shubham, a district convener of the VHP, police said.

Harijan was booked under IPC Sections 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on the basis of religion), 295-A (deliberate and malicious act, intended to outrage religious feelings) and Section 66 of the IT Act.

Professor Vikram Harijan in his post on X suggested that Lord Ram should be jailed under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code and alleged that Lord Krishna is guilty of sexual harassment.

The remarks, the complainant said, made several students of the varsity angry and hurt the sentiments of the Hindu community.

When Dr Vikram Harijan was asked about the matter, he said, "I have written this within the ambit of the Constitution. Lord Ram killed Shambhuk because Shambhuk belonged to the Shudra caste and was teaching the youths."

He said Lord Krishna used to run away with women's clothes.

"If this happened in today's time, would any woman have tolerated it?"

VHP's Shubham said, "The Indian Constitution grants the freedom of speech, but individuals like Vikram Harijan are exploiting it to spread social unrest. They seem unaware that the Constitution does not permit making comments that may endanger the country's security and public order."
The Bharatiya Janata Party which has announced its first list of 52 candidates for the November 30 assembly polls in Telangana, will release the "second list" after the Dussehra festival, state BJP president G Kishan Reddy said on Sunday.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with BJP national president JP Nadda, Union Minister for Culture and Telangana BJP chief G Kishan Reddy and others attended the party's central election committee meeting on Telangana elections, in New Delhi, October 20, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo

Addressing a press conference in Hyderabad, Reddy said Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will campaign for the party in the poll-bound state towards the month end.

"The BJP's first list of 52 candidates has been released and the central election committee will announce the second list after Dussehra", he said, adding the poll campaign of the party will be intensified after Dussehra.

Three Lok Sabha MPs, including its former Telangana president Bandi Sanjay Kumar, figured on Sunday in the BJP's first list of 52 candidates.

Amit Shah will be visiting the state on October 27 while Yogi Adityanath will be coming in the last week of October, Reddy said.

Amit Shah launched the BJP's poll campaign by addressing a public meeting at Adilabad and a 'professionals and intellectuals meeting' in the city on October 10.

Attacking the ruling BRS and Congress over "corrupt and family rule", Reddy, who is also union minister, said the BRS and the Congress are twins when it comes to "family rule and corruption".

"We are fighting dynastic and corrupt rule. We will put the anti-BRS climate in favour of BJP. We will undertake a door-to-door campaign and meet voters," the Telangana BJP chief said, and requested the electorate to give them a chance as an alternative to BRS and Congress.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and other union ministers, including Piyush Goyal, Smriti Irani and Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, have addressed BJP campaign rallies in different parts of the state recently.
China increased the deployment of forces and continued infrastructure build-up, including underground storage facilities near Doklam, a second bridge over Pangong Lake and a dual-purpose airport and multiple helipads, along the Line of Actual Control in 2022 amid border tensions with India, a Pentagon report has said.

IMAGE: Captain Soiba Maningba Rangnamei of the 16 Bihar Regiment during the clash with Chinese soldiers in the Galwan valley, June 15-16, 2020. Photograph: ANI Photo

The Indian and Chinese troops are locked in an over three-year confrontation in certain friction points in eastern Ladakh even as the two sides completed disengagement from several areas following extensive diplomatic and military talks.

According to the 'Military and Security Developments involving the People's Republic of China' report 2023: "Since early May 2020, sustained tensions along the India-China border have dominated the Western Theater Command's attention."

"Differing perceptions between India and the People's Republic of China regarding border demarcations along the

Line of Actual Control combined with recent infrastructure construction on both sides, led to multiple clashes, an ongoing standoff, and military buildups along the shared border," the report released by the US department of defence this month said.

In 2022, China continued to develop military infrastructure along the LAC, the report said.

"These improvements include underground storage facilities near Doklam, new roads in all three sectors of the LAC, new villages in disputed areas in neighbouring Bhutan, a second bridge over Pangong Lake, a dual-purpose airport near the centre sector, and multiple helipads," it said.

China also deployed one border regiment, supported by two divisions of Xinjiang and Tibet Military Districts with four combined arms brigades in reserve in the western sector of the LAC in 2022.

"China also deployed as many as three light-to-medium CABs in the eastern sector from other theatre commands and an additional three CABs in the central sector of the LAC. Although some elements of a light CAB eventually withdrew, a majority of the deployed forces remain in place along the LAC," it said.

In response to a skirmish in June 2020 between PRC and Indian patrols in Galwan Valley, the most violent clash between the two countries in 45 years, the Western Theater Command implemented a large-scale mobilisation and deployment of People's Liberation Army forces along the LAC, the report said.

The Galwan Valley clashes on June 15, 2020 significantly strained the bilateral ties.

The Western Theater Command's deployments along the LAC will likely continue through 2023, it said.

The report said that negotiations between India and China "made minimal progress as both sides resisted losing perceived advantages on the border".

India has maintained that its ties with China cannot be normal unless there is peace in the border areas.

The report also says China has more than 500 operational nuclear warheads and will probably have over 1,000 by 2030.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's officer on special duty Lokesh Sharma on Sunday met Sachin Pilot, a day after the Congress released its first list of 33 candidates for the November 25 assembly polls.

IMAGE: Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra with party leader Sachin Pilot and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot offers prayers at Balaji Maharaj Temple, in Mehandipur, Rajasthan, October 20, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo

Pilot is a senior leader of the party and "discussions on assembly elections were held in the meeting", said Sharma, who was recently appointed co-chairman of the Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee's central war room for the polls to the 200-member assembly.

When asked by reporters whether he discussed with Pilot his aspiration to contest the polls from Bikaner West, Sharma said that "as a Congress worker, I wish to contest the elections".

The Bikaner West assembly seat is currently held by education minister BD Kalla.

"The Congress is "going to (fight) the election with unity" and it will win the polls," Sharma said after the meeting at Pilot's Civil Lines residence that lasted for nearly half an hour.

Gehlot and his former deputy Pilot have been at loggerheads over leadership in the state ever since the Congress came to power in Rajasthan in December 2018.

The chief minister had faced a rebellion by Pilot and his MLA supporters in 2020.

In an October 20 public meeting of Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in Dausa, both Gehlot and Pilot talked about unity.

Priyanka Gandhi at the meet also asserted that the party is united in Rajasthan.

The Congress has fielded Gehlot from Sardarpura and his former deputy Sachin Pilot from Tonk. Three leaders who rebelled against Gehlot with Pilot in 2020 made it to the list -- Indraj Singh Gurjar from Virat Nagar, Mukesh Bhakhar from Ladnun, and Ramniwas Gawariya from Parbatsar.

In 2020, during the time of the political crisis, Sharma was accused of circulating call recordings which, he claimed, were for exposing political conspiracy to topple the Gehlot government.

It was alleged that the recordings were of phone calls between Union minister and senior BJP leader Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and others. On the basis of the call recordings, then chief whip Mahesh Joshi had given a complaint to the special operation group and anti-corruption bureau of the Rajasthan Police seeking investigation against Shekhawat and others.

In March 2021, Shekhawat , who is MP from Jodhpur, also lodged an FIR against Sharma in Delhi on charges of criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust and unlawfully intercepting telegraphic signals (telephonic conversation) following which Sharma approached Delhi High Court seeking quashing of the FIR.

The court had given him relief by staying coercive action against him, which is continuing. Sharma has also appeared before the crime branch of the Delhi Police for questioning five times.
Supporters of Bharatiya Janata Party leader Munnalal Goyal, a loyalist of Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, on Sunday protested outside the Scindias' Jai Vilas Palace in Gwalior after he was denied a ticket for next month's assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh.

IMAGE: Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia speaks to the protesting supporters of BJP leader Munnalal Goyal who gathered outside the Jai Vilas Palace in Gwalior, October 22, 2023. Photograph: ANI on X

To mollify the protesters, Jyotiraditya Scindia drove to the palace gate and asserted that he stood by them and Goyal.

The BJP on Friday released a fifth list of 92 candidates for the November 17 elections in which Goyal, who has represented Gwalior east in the past, did not figure. The BJP has fielded Maya Singh from the constituency.

Goyal won from Gwalior east on a Congress ticket in the 2018 polls. He and many MLAs loyal to Scindia resigned and crossed over to the BJP in March 2020, bringing down the Kamal Nath-led Congress government and paving the way for the return of the saffron party to power.

However, Goyal lost the subsequent bypoll as a BJP candidate. He was later made the chair of state-owned MP Seeds Corporation.

This time around, he was hopeful of getting a ticket from Gwalior east.

Goyal said that instead of him, the ticket has been given to a candidate who has not been in the midst of the people for many years.

I am going to talk to the party leadership about it, Goyal said, adding that he has tirelessly worked for the people for the last five years.

Trying to cool the temper of Goyal's supporters, Scindia said he understood the strength of party workers, adding that 15-20 years ago, the tickets of many heavyweight leaders were cut.

He recalled that he facilitated tickets for Goyal thrice out of which he was unsuccessful in two elections.

I assure you that I stand with you and with Munna (Goyal) and will sort out all your problems, he said. After his assurance, the protesters seemed placated.

Soon after the BJP released its fifth list on Friday, supporters of many leaders who failed to get tickets kicked up a ruckus in front of Union minister Bhupender Yadav at the party office in Jabalpur. Yadav is the in-charge of the Madhya Pradesh BJP election campaign committee.

A video that surfaced on social media showed a crowd jostling around Yadav, while a security personnel was trying to protect the minister.

Some people were also seen hitting the person in the security guard's attire, who tried to pull out a revolver while trying to control the situation.

BJP workers had heated exchanges with senior leaders, including Yadav and Rajya Sabha member Kavita Patidar.

Later, the police said three persons were arrested on the charge of obstructing a public servant from discharging his duty based on the complaint lodged by Yadav's security guard.
Security forces foiled an infiltration bid along the Line of Control in Uri sector of Jammu and Kashmir by killing two militants, a defence spokesperson said on Sunday.

IMAGE: Indian Army personnel patrolling along LoC in Uri sector, Baramulla, Jammu and Kashmir, January 1, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo

Based on specific inputs from intelligence agencies and J-K Police of likely infiltration in the Uri sector by heavily armed terrorists from across the LoC, troops were put on a high alert, and the counter-infiltration grid was strengthened, Srinagar-based defence spokesperson.

Taking advantage of bad weather marked by incessant rainfall and poor visibility, a group of armed terrorists attempted to infiltrate across the LoC, he said.

At around 3 pm on Saturday, the group was intercepted by alert troops resulting in a heavy exchange of fire.

Intense firefight continued till last light resulting in the elimination of two terrorists, he added.

The spokesperson said the remaining terrorists managed to withdraw to the enemy side of the LoC along with the bodies of the slain terrorists.

The area was kept under surveillance throughout the night.

On Sunday, a thorough search of the incident site was conducted leading to the identification of tell-tale signs and recovery of heavy war-like stores including two AK series rifles, six pistols, four Chinese grenades, blankets, and two blood-stained bags containing Pakistani and Indian currency notes, Pakistani medicines and eatables, the spokesperson said.

"As per own assessment, recovery of two blood-stained bags confirms that at least two terrorists were grievously injured forcing them to shed their load and flee across the LoC. Due to inclement weather conditions, search operation is suspended, which will resume on opening up of weather," he said.
United Nations leaders and agencies have welcomed the entry of a humanitarian aid convoy into Gaza via the Rafah border crossing with Egypt but noted that it is only a small beginning, still far from enough and reiterated their appeal for an immediate ceasefire.

IMAGE: An aid truck arrives at a UN storage facility, in the central Gaza Strip on October 21, 2023. Photograph: Mohammed Salem/Reuters

A 20-truck convoy of the Egyptian Red Crescent entered Gaza with humanitarian supplies, the first since the conflict began following attacks by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel on October 7.

"I want to express my deep gratitude to Egypt in this regard. But the people of Gaza need a commitment for much, much more a continuous delivery of aid to Gaza at the scale that is needed," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Saturday.

"We are working nonstop with all parties that are relevant to make it happen," he said in remarks at the Cairo Summit for Peace.

Five UN agencies -- UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) -- said the 'first, but limited, shipment of life-saving humanitarian supplies' from the UN and the Egyptian Red Crescent that entered Gaza through the Rafah Crossing, will provide an urgently needed lifeline to some of the hundreds of thousands of civilians, mostly women and children, cut off from water, food, medicine, fuel and other essentials.

"But it is only a small beginning and far from enough. More than 1.6 million people in Gaza are in critical need of humanitarian aid. Children, pregnant women and the elderly remain the most vulnerable. Nearly half of Gaza's population are children," the agencies said.

"Gaza was a desperate humanitarian situation before the most recent hostilities. It is now catastrophic. The world must do more," they said.

The agencies added that with so much civilian infrastructure in Gaza damaged or destroyed in nearly two weeks of constant bombings, including shelters, health facilities, water, sanitation, and electrical systems, 'time is running out' before mortality rates could skyrocket due to disease outbreaks and lack of health-care capacity.

They also noted that hospitals are overwhelmed with casualties. Civilians face mounting challenges in accessing essential food supplies, and health facilities no longer have fuel and are running on small amounts they have secured locally.

"These are expected to run out in the next day or so. Water production capacity is at 5 per cent of normal levels. Pre-positioned humanitarian supplies have already been depleted," they said.

The agencies called for a humanitarian ceasefire, along with immediate, unrestricted humanitarian access throughout Gaza, allowing humanitarian actors to reach civilians in need, save lives and prevent further human suffering.

"Flows of humanitarian aid must be at scale and sustained and allow all Gazans to preserve their dignity," the agencies said.

They also called for safe and sustained access to water, food, health -- including sexual and reproductive health -- and fuel necessary to enable essential services.

"We call for the protection of humanitarian workers in Gaza who are risking their lives in the service of others. And we call for the utmost respect of international humanitarian law by all parties," the agencies said.

Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths welcomed the announcement that the aid convoy has entered Gaza, the first since the outbreak of hostilities on October 7.

The 20-truck convoy includes life-saving supplies provided by the Egyptian Red Crescent and the UN, which are approved to cross and be received by the Palestinian Red Crescent.

"The delivery follows days of deep and intense negotiations with all relevant sides to make sure that aid operation into Gaza resumes as quickly as possible and with the right conditions," he said.

Griffiths expressed confidence that the delivery of aid will be the 'start of a sustainable effort' to provide essential supplies including food, water, medicine and fuel to the people of Gaza in a safe, dependable, unconditional and unimpeded manner.

"Two weeks since the start of hostilities, the humanitarian situation in Gaza -- already precarious -- has reached catastrophic levels. It is critical that aid reaches people in need wherever they are across Gaza and at the right scale," he said.

Adding that the people of Gaza have endured decades of suffering, Griffiths said, "The international community cannot continue to fail them."

UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, thanked the Egyptian authorities for facilitating the entry of the first truckloads of aid into the Gaza Strip through Rafah.

"This is an important step that must not be the last. Aid needs to flow safely and continuously going forward. It is a war zone in Gaza, and the needs are immense. All of us can and must do more to save lives now," he said.

Wennesland reiterated the secretary-general's urgent appeal for the immediate and unconditional release of hostages and an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.

The latest conflict was triggered by unprecedented attacks against Israel by Hamas militants on October 7.

Israel has launched a massive counter-offensive against the Islamic militant group that has ruled Gaza since 2007.

More than 1,400 people were killed in Israel in the deadly terror attack carried out by Hamas in the south of the Jewish state, and at least 210 were taken captive, a number that is likely to go further up as per official estimates.

Around 4,385 Palestinians are said to have been killed in Gaza in the Israeli offensive that followed.
With an Israeli ground offensive in Gaza looming large, Israel has said it will step up its aerial strikes in the besieged Palestinian territory to create the 'best conditions' for troops to move in.

IMAGE: Palestinians search for casualties at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on October 21, 2023. Photograph: Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters

Indicating Israel's preparations for the second stage of its declared three-phase operation to change the security regime in Gaza, Israel Defence Forces (IDF) spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said, "We have to enter the next phase of the war in the best conditions, not according to what anyone tells us."

"From today, we are increasing the strikes and minimizing the danger," R Adm Hagari told reporters on Saturday, in a clear signal towards an imminent ground incursion.

In another clear indicator that Israel was preparing for the second stage of its three-phase operation to change the 'security regime' in Gaza, IDF's Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi told commanders of the elite Golani infantry brigade earlier on Saturday that they should expect surprises prepared by terror groups when they enter the Gaza Strip.

"We will enter the Gaza Strip. We will begin an operational and professional mission to destroy the Hamas operatives, the Hamas infrastructure, and we will also keep in our minds the images, the scenes and the fallen from Shabbat (Saturday) two weeks ago," Halevi told the commanders.

He was referring to the latest conflict, triggered by the unprecedented attacks against Israel by Hamas militants on October 7, which killed around 1,400 people. Israel has launched a massive counter-offensive against the Islamic militant group that has ruled Gaza since 2007.

"Gaza is complex, Gaza is dense, the enemy is preparing a lot of things there, but we are preparing things for them as well," the IDF chief said.

Earlier this week, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant laid out Israel's plan to change the 'security regime' in Gaza-- implying Hamas' removal-- and said the plan was designed in three stages.

The IDF was currently in the first stage of the plan when it was carrying out aerial strikes. It will be followed by ground incursion and finally, the change of security regime in Gaza, Gallant said.

Israel has amassed hundreds of thousands of troops in preparations for the ground offensive.

More than 1,400 people were killed in Israel in the deadly terror attack carried out by the Palestinian militant group in the south of the Jewish state, and at least 210 were taken captive, a number that is likely to go further up as per official estimates.

Around 4,385 Palestinians are said to have been killed in Gaza in the Israeli offensive that followed.
CAIRO, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- The fundamental way out of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is to implement the two-state solution and establish an independent Palestinian state, China's special envoy on Middle East affairs said on Saturday.

Zhai Jun, special envoy of the Chinese government on the Middle East issue, made the remarks at the Cairo Summit for Peace, called by Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi to de-escalate the conflict in Gaza.

China follows closely the development of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and is deeply concerned about the sharp escalation of the conflict, which has resulted in massive civilian casualties and a humanitarian crisis, Zhai said.

He noted that China condemns all acts that harm civilians, opposes any violation of international law, and urges the immediate cessation of military operations that could fuel the situation and the opening of corridors for humanitarian relief.

The envoy called on the international community to be objective and impartial on the Palestinian issue and take concrete measures.

Zhai also suggested the United Nations convene a more authoritative, influential, and wide-ranging international peace conference as soon as possible, so as to pool international consensus on promoting peace as well as a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the Palestinian issue as early as possible.

The continuous escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict once again proves that the Palestinian issue should not be ignored and forgotten, Zhai said, adding that the fundamental way out of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is to implement the two-state solution and establish an independent Palestinian state for the peaceful co-existence of the Palestinians and Israelis.

China will continue to work with relevant parties of the international community to make unremitting efforts to end the conflict in the Gaza Strip as soon as possible, support the Palestinian people in restoring their legitimate rights, implement the two-state solution, and realize lasting peace and security in the Middle East, the Chinese diplomat said.

The summit is attended by leaders and representatives from 31 countries including Egypt, Palestine, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Mauritania, South Africa, Britain, France, Germany, Japan, Brazil, and Russia.

Senior officials from the United Nations, the Arab League, the African Union, the European Union, and other international and regional organizations also attended the meeting. 
Amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, people from southern Israel have left their homes and moved to Jerusalem where deserted streets and the historical West Bank wall area showcase an image of fear.

IMAGE: Palestinians queue as they wait to buy bread from a bakery, amid shortages of food supplies and fuel, as the conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas continues, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip October 22, 2023. Photograph: Mohammed Salem/Reuters

Several Palestinian (Arab) nationals have been living in Jerusalem for business purposes. However, their work has been impacted due to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.

They have attributed their losses to the current situation.

Taxi drivers and shopkeepers in the area are deeply upset by the actions of Hamas and the Israeli soldiers' retaliatory measures.

Notably, Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7. Following this, Israel launched a counter-offensive against Hamas and vowed to destroy the terrorist group.

Shahid, an Arab taxi driver in Jerusalem, has been distressed by the situation.

He revealed that the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas has created animosity between Israelis and Arabs living in the city. Many Israelis refuse to ride in Arab-owned taxis, exacerbating tensions between the people.

Speaking to ANI, he said, "People aged 45 years and above are only allowed in the Al Aqsa mosque to go for prayer."

Asked about Hamas's attack on Israel, Shahid said, "We have no business due to the ongoing war. We want peace."

Another shopkeeper Nihad also shared a similar story.

He said, "There is no business, nothing, everything just stopped. Because of the war, everything stopped. We are in war. Now, there is emergency situation, what is happening here."

Jerusalem is one of the oldest and most historically significant cities in the world. Located in the Middle East, it holds great religious and cultural importance for multiple faiths, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

Meanwhile, Israel's ministry of defence and the Israel defence forces on Sunday said they are planning to evacuate another 14 communities close to the Lebanese border, The Times of Israel reported.

The evacuation plan applies to 14 additional communities which are: Snir, Dan, Beit Hillel, She'ar Yashuv, Hagoshrim, Liman, Matzuva, Eylon, Goren, Gornot HaGalil, Even Menachem, Sasa, Tziv'on and Ramot Naftali, according to The Times of Israel report.

Taking to X, the Israeli defence forces stated, "The ministry of defense & the IDF announce the evacuation of 14 additional northern communities to state-funded guesthouses. The expansion of the evacuation program was approved by DM Yoav Gallant. The IDF notified the relevant municipalities a short while ago."

On Monday, the IDF and other agencies announced plan to evacuate 28 communities living within 2 kilometers of the Lebanese border.

The Israel defence forces said it killed two members of Hamas's Nukhba commando forces in an airstrike near the Gaza border fence last night, The Times of Israel reported.

According to the Israeli military, other Hamas terrorists were also killed in the same incident.

The Nukhba unit led the attack on southern Israel on October 7. The Israel defence forces said that the fighter jets hit dozens of Hamas sites in the Strip.

The targets hit overnight include Hamas assets in weapons storage sites, command centres, buildings, tunnel shafts and mosques used as war rooms by terrorist groups.

On Sunday, Israel defence forces spokesperson Jonathan Conricus said that Hezbollah is playing a very "dangerous game" and escalating the situation.

He said that Hezbollah has been dragging Lebanon into war.

In an operational update on the northern border, Jonathan Conricus called Israel's response "measured, tactical and confined to the areas near the border."

He said that Israel has struck various infrastructures of Hezbollah that have positioned along the blue line.

"So far, our response has been measured, tactical and confined to the areas close to the border. The tactical distances from where Hezbollah has been firing these missiles, rockets and UAVs. That is so far. We have used both tanks, drones, artillery and infantry and a few other things. But in essence, those are the weapons that we have been responding," Jonathan Conricus said.

"We have struck various Hezbollah infrastructure that they have positioned along the blue line also in violation of 1701. We have struck positions where Hezbollah was firing from and we have also struck different Hezbollah squads. Hezbollah terrorist squads that were manning those anti-tank missiles have also been hit either by tanks or by other means," he added.

He asked Lebanon whether they are willing to jeopardize the prosperity of the country for the sake of terrorists in Gaza. He noted that Hezbollah has been dragging Lebanon into war.

"Bottom line is and this is what you all need to know Hezbollah is playing a very, very dangerous game. They're escalating the situation. We see more and more attacks every day. In addition, by the way many rockets have been fired into this area and we've had rockets alarm in this area as well and rockets landing in northwestern Galilee. So, Hezbollah has been escalating the situation steadily over the last few days with various types of weapons. We maintain our focus on the south, but extremely important for everybody in Lebanon to ask themselves the question of the price," Jonathan Conricus said.

"Is the Lebanese State really willing to jeopardize what is left of Lebanese prosperity and Lebanese sovereignty for the sake of terrorists in Gaza? For the ISIS of Gaza. That's a question that the Lebanese authorities need to ask themselves and answer because the way it is looking now Hezbollah is aggressing and it is dragging Lebanon into a war that it will gain nothing from but stands to lose a lot," he added.
A section of tribal women in Manipur's Moreh town bordering Myanmar has been protesting against the deployment of additional police commandos for the past few days.

IMAGE: Security personnel conduct Joint Combing Operations in sensitive areas in both the Hills and Valley sectors of Manipur. Photograph: ANI Photo

Women are on a sit-in at Chikim village, around 3 km from Tengnoupal district's Moreh, a Kuki majority town.

Officials said that a commandant of the Assam Rifles and other security officers held a series of talks with the protestors in the last few days but the issue is yet to be addressed.

Several tribal organisations such as the Kuki Inpi and the Committee on Tribal Unity (COTU) claimed that efforts are on to induct more police personnel drawn from Imphal Valley in the town and this might disturb peace.

Despite the strong presence of para-military forces and Indian Army manning the buffer zones and securing tranquillity within Moreh, the deployment of additional Meitei police through night choppers is of grave concern, COTU said in a statement.

It claimed that the recovery of arms and ammunition in recent operations in Imphal East district is stage-managed to malign the community.

Kuki Inpi also demanded removal of the checkpoints allegedly set up by Meiteis in Kakching Lamkhai and Wangjing areas along the Imphal-Moreh road, where essential commodities that were transported to Moreh and Tengnoupal sub-division are being "blocked".

More than 180 people have lost their lives since ethnic violence broke out in the state on May 3, when a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe status.

Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley, while tribals, which include Nagas and Kukis, constitute 40 per cent and reside mostly in the hill districts.
Activist Manoj Jarange on Sunday said he would launch fast unto death protest from October 25 if the Maharashtra government fails to grant quota to the Maratha community by Tuesday.

IMAGE: Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde offers juice to Manoj Jarange Patil, who is on a hunger strike to protest for the Maratha reservation, during a meeting, at Antarwali-Sarati, in Jalna, September 14, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo

Addressing a press conference at Antarwali Sarati village in Jalna district, Jarange said the Maratha community would not let political leaders, including MPs and MLAs, enter villages across the state until the reservation demand is met.

Giving the analogy of the conflict between India and China, he said the upcoming protest (for quota) is akin to a war being fought "peacefully".

He also criticised the government over an advertisement published in some prominent newspapers listing the steps taken for the welfare of the Maratha community.

Jarange had observed a hunger strike in this village in September this year demanding that Marathas be granted reservation in government jobs and education under the OBC category. He had withdrawn the protest giving an ultimatum of 40 days till October 24 to the government for the grant of quota.

If the Maharashtra government fails to take a decision on awarding reservation to the Maratha community by October 24, I will sit on fast-unto-death agitation. Locals and people from other villages will also launch a similar protest, Jarange said.

He said all villages would join the indefinite hunger strike in the coming days and appealed to Marathas to take out a candle march to mark their support for the quota demand.

Jarange said he would abstain from taking water and medical assistance during the fast.

He said a chain hunger strike will be launched on October 25 which will manifest into a full-fledged hunger strike from October 28.

"In every tehsil and village in the state, the Maratha community will organise candle marches, emphasising their commitment to non-violent demonstrations. 5 crore Marathas will participate in the protest." Jarange added.

He also appealed to the members of the Maratha community not to resort to extreme acts like committing suicide.

The activist accused the state government of trying to fan anti-reservation sentiments within the Maratha community.

It is like a war being fought peacefully. I will declare the new directions on October 28. The government can't afford the direction which I will show to the people," he added.

When asked about the advertisement published in some prominent newspapers, Jarange said he disapproved of such an account by the government.

"Who asked you to audit the help you have given to us? Did the state government make a similar audit for others who enjoy the benefits of the reservations?" he asked.

Jarange wondered how the government came out with such an account when Marathas were demanding quota.

"The money used for the publication of advertisements also belongs to us, he added.

Queried about his "peaceful" strategy to be used against politicians who wish to visit his village in Jalna district, Jarange gave the analogy of the conflict between the armies of India and China.

At the border, both sides are pushing each other. Both sides have guns but they are pushing each other with hands. We will not touch any politician with our hand but use the elbow to poke them so they would not try to stay here, he added.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis had said the government was committed to giving reservation to Marathas while ensuring that quotas for other communities are not disturbed.
Brattleboro, VT (05301)

Today

Partly to mostly cloudy. Low around 35F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph..

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Partly to mostly cloudy. Low around 35F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.
Brattleboro, VT (05301)

Today

Partly cloudy this evening with more clouds for overnight. Low near 35F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph..

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Partly cloudy this evening with more clouds for overnight. Low near 35F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.
YANGON, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar will provide more free bakery and pastry training courses under a special program of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC), according to the country's Ministry of Hotels and Tourism.

The 5th and 6th batches of bakery and pastry training courses will be held in December 2023 and January 2024 respectively. The subjects to be taught in the course are 48 international snack recipes, Director of the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism U Naung Naung Lin Aung told Xinhua on Sunday.

Some 20 participants will be selected for the four-week courses, said the official, who also explained the criteria and procedure for selecting the trainees.

The bakery and pastry training course, a successful LMC program, is an effective project for employment opportunities and also applicable for the micro, small and medium enterprises.

"We are truly grateful to the LMC project and China for fulfilling the needs of the tourism industry with the LMC special fund and creating job opportunities for those who are facing difficulties in seeking employment due to the COVID-19 pandemic," he said.

The Ministry of Hotels and Tourism launched the 1st baking course of the Bakery and Pastry Training project on Aug. 7. 
It depends on which way Chinas political winds blow, experts say.

A tourist poses for a photo against the backdrop of the financial Central district and Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong, May 9, 2023. The city is trying to lure back tourists amid a slump in visitors.

A typical Friday evening in Mong Kok district comes to a hush before midnight. It is the new normal for a district once fused with the buzz and raw energy that was the essence of Hong Kong.

Yet, it is the old vibe that Hong Kong officials are aspiring to recover. In mid-September, the government launched Night Vibes Hong Kong, involving night markets, food stalls, movie screenings and live music events over weekends.

Over the past 12 months, it has rolled out campaigns including a six-month program to bring tourists back and also gone on global roadshows to win back investors.

The effectiveness of the efforts remains elusive, despite Chief Executive John Lees vow to a year ago in his maiden policy speech to go all out to draw back talent and businesses to a city battered by a stringent zero-COVID policy and Beijings hardened grip.

Tell the world the good stories of Hong Kong was the mantra, he quipped.

As Lee prepares to make his second policy address this week, analysts say the good stories are few, and the issues that have eroded Hong Kongs unique competitiveness continue to chip away.

The citys international financial center and economic hub positions are crumbling under the weight of Beijings tightened grip of the special administrative region where the one country, two systems principle is taking a new form under Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Hong Kongs major indicators  freedom, rule of law, international financial center status, international standards of practices, property market, stock market, governments financial reserves  are all on the decline, and it is a Hong Kong government problem, points out Lew Mon-hung, a businessman and former Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference committee member.

Promoting Marxism

To be exact, its a problem stemming from Beijing, Lew says, because Hong Kongs progress and fate are intricately tied to Chinas continuous reforms as they have been the past four decades.

That path, however, has been stymied by the shift in political climate in the mainland, and the Chinese National Peoples Congresss passing of the National Security Law in June 2020  bypassing Hong Kongs legislature  to quell months of anti-government protests.

In China now, they are promoting Marxism  having gotten into the philosophy of struggle, wolf warrior diplomacy, which Lew says comes at the expense of economic and thought regressions.

People walk through an outdoor market in Hong Kong's Mong Kok area on Aug. 20, 2022. Credit: Bertha Wang/AFP





These weighed on the one country, two systems, Chinas constitutional principle to govern Hong Kong under a mini-constitution called the Basic Law, where the city is allowed freedom of assembly and speech, an independent judiciary and some democratic rights  except in the areas of diplomacy and defense.

Beijing reckons that Hong Kong only needs to play an economic role after its return to Chinese rule, says Hong Kong current affairs commentator Johnny Lau Yui-siu.

But Hong Kong peoples view of the world is different from mainland Chinas political awareness and consciousness. And Beijing wants Hong Kong to align.

Hong Kongers, he says, are outward-looking, used to international practices, free flow of information and speech, unlike their Chinese counterparts who are restricted by the boundaries that the Chinese Communist Party had set.

As China stalls in its convergence towards international standards, Hong Kong became the by-product of that stagnation, Lau says.

The numbers add up

The numbers tell the same story. Chinas exports fell 14.3% and 8.8% in July and August respectively, while Hong Kongs fell 9.1% and 3.7%. The benchmark stock index has lost about 12% since the beginning of 2023 and Hong Kongs property prices are forecast to fall 5% for the year, according to a commercial real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield.

The uncertainties that keep foreign investors guessing about where the political winds blow in China also reverberate in Hong Kong. Chinas crackdown on industries such as the technology sector, as well as its more recent position to let an indebted property industry go into a free fall, have done little to assure investors.

A pedestrian passes the Hong Kong Stock Exchange electronic screen in Hong Kong on July 21, 2023. Credit: Louise Delmotte/AP





The latest annual survey by the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai published in September showed that the percentage of U.S. firms optimistic about their outlook on China over the next five years slid to 52%, the lowest level since the annual report was introduced in 1999.

In Hong Kong, a member sentiment survey by the AmCham in Hong Kong released in March found that American businesses three biggest challenges are U.S.-China tensions, a weakening global economy and the overseas perception of Hong Kong, a factor that was previously absent.

If the HKSAR Govt can reassure international investors that the rule of law will prevail, and the NSL will not put their staff in jeopardy, it will go a long way. But it is at the moment delivering neither, says Steve Tsang, director of the SOAS China Institute at SOAS University of London.

Rebuilding reputation

The chamber has urged Hong Kong chief Lee to provide straightforward interpretations and applications of the law in his upcoming policy speech. In its written submission in September to the public consultation for the policy address, the chamber wants Lee to reassure businesses that the law will be applied narrowly and be consistent with the principles of an independent judiciary.

The ramifications of the national security law, which criminalizes any act of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign or external forces, have never ceased since it was implemented.

How the Hong Kong government has used the law to change the political and civic institutions in the city has alarmed a wide spectrum of the society. Opposition parties and media outlets were shuttered, while pro-democratic figures have either been arrested or have fled the city.

An earlier post-COVID reopening by longtime rival Singapore didnt help. Toeing Beijing's stringent zero-COVID policy was a death knell for Hong Kong as cross-border transactions and exchanges fell to a minimum.

The Lai family, who are emigrating to Scotland, wave goodbye to their friends before their departure at Hong Kong International Airport in Hong Kong, Dec. 17, 2020. Credit: Reuters





One of the most striking indicators that we've been looking at is really that the size of the labor force has shrunk quite significantly. A large reason for it has got to do with Hong Kong's handling of the pandemic, says Sheana Yue, China economist from Capital Economics.

The labor force has shrunk to 3.826 million, nearly the same size as it was in 2013, a decade ago.

Wooing investors

Hong Kong officials are traveling the world to woo investors and visitors, while introducing various programs to entice talents to the city.

The spokesperson attributed the citys disrupted talent inflow to travel restrictions during the pandemic between 2020 and early this year. The intensified global competition for talent didnt help.

The various talent-related initiatives have received positive responses since implementation, the spokesperson said in an email response to Radio Free Asia.

General estimates are that at least 300,000 Hong Kongers have emigrated. Many of the Hong Kong diaspora are in the United Kingdom, Singapore and Taiwan.

Taiwan sees Hong Kongs change as a big failure  a negative example, says Lau. Mainland China knows that the one country, two systems is no longer a model or draw, but it will still persist in it.

Policy address

In his policy speech on Wednesday, Lee is expected to announce the creation of an office to publicize Chinese culture, alongside plans for a Hong Kong anti-war memorial hall, all towards nurturing patriotism, according to reports in pro-government media including Sing Tao Daily and Hong Kong Commercial Daily citing people in the know.

Lee is also likely to give out HK$20,000 (US$2,556) to new parents with newborn children to persuade Hong Kongers to have children, as a counter to the emigration trend and an aging population.

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee delivers his policy address at the chamber of the Legislative Council in Hong Kong, Oct. 19, 2022. Credit: AP





The economy, flanked by the housing crisis, is also likely to hold center stage. In the weeks of run-up to the address, property agents and investors have called for a relaxation of measures that were implemented to curtail price hikes to revive a sluggish market.

Hong Kong has increasingly veered towards being subsumed into the Greater Bay Area, or the GBA  Beijings strategy to promote development of a regional economic bloc that included Macau and nine Chinese cities in the southern Guangdong province.

Xi made it clear he wanted Hong Kong to be part of GBA in 2017, but he didnt have time to see to it that this was implemented beyond superficially, says Tsang at SOAS.

After the 2019 protests, Xi has required this to be implemented, so it has. On the current trajectory, Hong Kongs future is within the GBA  not what many or most people in Hong Kong would have liked.

Lau says it is only a matter of time before the gap between Hong Kong and China narrows, or even when the divergent political stances converge because the government controls the education system and information flow. When it becomes all one single structure.

Meanwhile, the regular citizens are unimpressed with the various government campaigns to rejuvenate the Hong Kong spirit. Cosmetic, they concluded.

Everyone says Night Vibes, Hong Kong is a silly idea, says a Mong Kok resident who gave her name only as Wing. Look, even the famous Womens Street, a former night market tourist destination here in Mong Kok, is dead.

Edited by Taejun Kang, Mike Firn and Malcolm Foster.
Muslims and others in several cities across the Balkans rallied on October 22 in support of Palestinians caught in the Israel-Hamas war, saying they condemn "every form of violence and terrorism" and that Israelis and Palestinians both have a right to live in peace.

In Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina that withstood a siege of 1,425 days in the mid-1990s during the bloody breakup of Yugoslavia, thousands gathered to call for an end to the Israeli shelling of the Gaza Strip, which the Palestinian Health Ministry said had killed at least 4,651 people, with another 14,254 people wounded in the besieged territory.

Similar, smaller gatherings were reported in other Bosnian cities, while in Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro, several hundred people rallied outside the local United Nations office with Palestinian flags.

We are not calling people to be against Israel. We call on people to raise their voice, to stop the genocide against the Palestinian people. People need to know that we are for peace, said Majed Maarouf, president of the Palestinian Community in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Around half of Bosnia's 3.3 million people are Muslim, a large majority being moderate in their religious beliefs, although some Bosniaks were radicalized by foreign fighters during the 1992-95 war.

"Sarajevo has always been on the right side of history and fought for justice and truth," Sarajevo Mayor Benjamina Karic told the crowd.

Israel declared war against Hamas after the militant group launched a fierce attack on Israel on October 7, killing more than 1,400 people, most of them civilians, and taking more than 200 more back to Gaza as hostages.

Israel has intensified its bombardment of Gaza ahead of an expected ground offensive by Israeli troops. With water, electricity, and fuel supplies cut off from the densely populated area, UN officials have been pressing for more humanitarian aid to get into the besieged strip. Twenty trucks were allowed to enter Gaza on October 21 across the southern Rafah border crossing with Egypt.

While there had been no incidents of violence occurring in Bosnia over the most recent flare-up of hostilities between Israel and Hamas, the Bosnian government last week announced it had stepped up security measures amid what it said were ''growing concerns over potential repercussions'' stemming from the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

Rallies were held in many parts of Europe on October 22, some calling for an end to anti-Semitism while others were held to demand a cease-fire in Gaza in support of suffering Palestinian citizens.

In Montenegro, protesters demanded the imposition of sanctions against Israel for its shelling of the Gaza Strip. The Podgorica rally and smaller demonstrations held in other Montenegrin cities were organized by the Montenegrin-Palestinian Society.

"We demand an end to the genocide, the introduction of sanctions, and a boycott of Israel by President Jakov Milatovic and the government and that they condemn the genocide. We demand peace in Palestine because a greater conflict would harm the whole world," said student Jovan Mandic.
In a significant expansion of dress-code enforcement, Tehran has seen the deployment of "hijab enforcers" within the grounds of Tehran University and the streets surrounding Amir Kabir University, as well as key areas in the city.

The move coincides with disciplinary actions against students, notably more than 50 female students at Tehran University who have faced reprimands and suspensions for allegedly failing to adhere to the compulsory head-scarf regulations.



The Student Guild Councils of Iran reported on November 2 that the presence of hijab enforcers had become more pronounced on the campuses of Tehran University. They noted that alongside the patrols, dozens of female students had been summoned to the disciplinary committee in the past week. They face a range of penalties from reprimands to suspensions for hijab-related infractions.



The deployment of the enforcers is seen as a step beyond the usual disciplinary-committee proceedings, with university security said to be actively involved in harassing students under the guise of enforcing dress codes.

The student councils have stressed that the university's security apparatus is not only deploying enforcers across campuses but also preventing students whose attire does not meet their standards from entering university premises.



The report highlights the increased pressure from university security and hijab enforcers on students as part of a broader effort to enforce the mandatory hijab.

The student councils have described the recent wave of summonses to the disciplinary committees as unprecedented, even surpassing the numbers seen during the height of last year's protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini. Many students have reportedly received severe penalties, predominantly for hijab violations.



In addition to first-time summonses and forced pledge signings, many students with previously suspended sentences have been informed -- without a formal committee meeting -- of the immediate enforcement of their penalties.



The newsletter at the Amir Kabir University has detailed "violent encounters" by security patrols and hijab enforcers with female students around the university. In one recent incident, security forces allegedly attacked a female student whose scarf had momentarily slipped, attempting to confiscate her student ID amid a climate of fear and intimidation.



The newsletter also reported that plainclothed hijab enforcers had been stationed around Amir Kabir University since November 1. These forces, which include military personnel and plainclothes agents, have been particularly active along Tehran's Valiasr Street, aggressively confronting women for not observing the hijab.



The escalation in hijab enforcement comes days after the death of Armita Garavand, a teenage student who died last weekend due to injuries suffered in an alleged confrontation with Tehran's morality police.

The initial deployment of "hijab enforcers" in subway stations was reported in mid-August amid rising confrontations with women refusing to comply with the mandatory hijab. Tehran's municipality is said to have hired 400 individuals as "hijab enforcers," offering a monthly salary of 120 million rials ($230).



Universities have historically been a battleground in the fight for social and political reforms in Iran.



During the Islamic Revolution of 1979, university students played a prominent role, including the occupation of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. After the clerics came to power, the authorities instigated a mass purge of Iranian universities, firing hundreds of professors and altering curriculums to promote Islamic values.



Since the revolution, university students have voiced their opposition to the clerical establishment, including during a 1999 protest against the closure of a reformist newspaper, resulting in a raid on a dormitory at Tehran University that left one student dead.



The protests against Amini's death in September 2022 led to renewed pressure against students, specifically female students who failed to comply with the hijab law.

Written by Ardeshir Tayebi based on an original story in Persian by RFE/RL's Radio Farda
With the expiration of UN sanctions designed to thwart Iran's development of ballistic missiles, both Tehran and ally Russia have said there is nothing standing in the way of them trading such technology.

The claims have led to concerns that Moscow and Tehran could try to expand their existing arms dealing to include more advanced weaponry, know-how, and technology that could boost both Russia's war effort in Ukraine and Iran's ballistic-missile and drone programs.

But while observers do not discount the possibility that Iran could try to sell previously barred weapons -- chiefly, powerful short-range ballistic missiles -- to Russia, they express skepticism Tehran will follow through.

Among the reasons, they say, are Tehran's need to maintain its own military stockpiles amid increased conflict in the Middle East, the desire to be seen as a compliant and legitimate arms trader by the international community, and the continuation of an already existing strategy of supporting the manufacture of such weaponry in other countries, including Russia.

Hamidreza Azizi, a fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs in Berlin, told RFE/RL that Iran's suggestion that it is no longer subject to UN sanctions limiting its missile program is more "political, rather than technical" as it seeks to "normalize" its ability to conduct military trades and transfers.

"The actual impact of the expiry of the UN Security Council restrictions on Iran's missile program, in terms of its impact on Iran's ability to develop its missile program, is rather limited," Azizi said. "Because all these years we witnessed that, despite those restrictions being in place, Iran managed to develop not only its missile program, but also its drone program, its military capabilities, to an unprecedented level."

Azizi notes that Iran achieved this in part due to technical and scientific cooperation with other partners, mainly North Korea but also with Russia and Moscow's allies.

Iran set up a manufacturing facility for reconnaissance and combat drones in Tajikistan and Belarus is reportedly seeking to establish a factory to produce the Iranian Shahed-136 kamikaze drone believed to be used extensively by Russia in its war against Ukraine.

Western officials have also revealed the existence of a drone facility being built in Russia with Iran's assistance that would allow Moscow to build domestic versions of Iranian drones in huge numbers and could be in operation by early 2024.

With the expiration of the UN sanctions, which were largely regarded as toothless, Azizi says he expects Iran to stick to its policy "of considering its military capabilities as nonnegotiable" in any international negotiations while "continuing to advance its capabilities."

Iran can already boast some of the most sophisticated missiles and drones in the Middle East at a time when Tehran's support of proxies and militant groups in the region is being watched closely as archenemy Israel battles the Iranian-backed Hamas extremist organization.

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Iran has widely been accused of delivering cheap but effective kamikaze drones to Moscow. While Iran denies the allegations, saying it only sold drones to Moscow before the war started, U.S. officials have repeatedly accused Tehran of supplying Shahed-136 Iranian drones that Russia has used to destroy civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. There has been evidence of Iranian drones rebranded as Russian Geran-2s being used on the battlefield.

And as the two countries have increased military-technical cooperation, Iran's Defense Ministry has routinely showcased its ballistic, cruise, anti-tank, and air-defense missile systems to Russian officials.

The sanctions, in effect since 2015 and enshrined in UN Resolution 2231, expired on October 18 as part of the moribund Iran nuclear deal with world powers known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The United States withdrew from the deal, which offered sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on Iran's nuclear program, in 2018. As European signatories Britain, France, and Germany tried to keep the pact alive, Iran abandoned some of its commitments, but never withdrew from the JCPOA.

The UN sanctions, which were introduced when the Security Council approved the JCPOA, called on Iran, among other things, "not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons." Under the terms, any countries wishing to engage in related trade with Iran were required to first get approval from the UN Security Council.

In separate statements as the sanctions expired, Iran and Russia were quick to claim that they would no longer be bound by the restrictions, although neither side announced any concrete plans for future cooperation regarding Iran's ballistic-missile program.

Iran's Defense Ministry, for its part, said Tehran regarded the development as an opportunity to "strengthen its defense capabilities." But Azizi said Iran now "sees itself free from restrictions to export military technology and weapons, rather than to import them."

Russia, Azizi said, is also interested in underscoring that "there are no more restrictions or special commitments that Iran needs to observe in its military-technical cooperation when it comes to missiles" so that it can also "potentially increase the potential for Iran to send missiles to Russia."

Iran's previous export of Shahed-136 drones to Russia could be explained in part because they "arguably" fell under the UN's classification of conventional weapons, according to Jeremy Binnie, Middle East defense specialist at the global intelligence company Janes.

"We have not seen any evidence of transfers of Iranian missiles to Russia so far, but it is unclear if this has been because the Iranians did not want to be seen to be so obviously violating UNSCR 2231," Binnie told RFE/RL in written comments.

Now that the UN sanctions have expired, he said, Iran "may now be more willing to overtly provide arms" to Russia, Binnie said.

As for Russia seeking Iranian missiles, Azizi said, "as Ukraine's Western allies increase the level of their military support for Ukraine, there might be a moment that the Russian leaders decide [to import Iranian missiles because] it's not going to make any difference."

Whether Iran would actually part with such weaponry is another question, particularly considering the current war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the prospect of direct Iranian involvement in that conflict.

"Another consideration for the Iranians is maintaining their own military capabilities, which would be undermined by transferring significant numbers of missiles to Russia," Binnie said. "The uncertain situation in the Middle East right now is likely to increase Iranian unwillingness to supply weapons to Russia that they feel should be retained at home or supplied to allied groups in support of its regional goals."

One solution, Binnie said, "might be to replicate what has happened with the Shahed-136s, whereby Iran supplies initial batches, then transfers the technology to Russia so it can build them locally."

He said that while Russia had a sophisticated missile production capability of its own, "the Iranians would be teaching them how to make cheaper missiles using supply chains that circumnavigate Western sanctions."

The United States and the European Union moved quickly to impose new obstacles as the UN sanctions -- intended to blunt Iran's ballistic-missile program, and by extension its possible acquisition of nuclear weapons and delivery systems -- expired.

In September, Britain, France, and Germany announced that they would maintain their existing sanctions related to Iran's controversial nuclear program, which Tehran claims is for civilian purposes only, and its development of ballistic missiles.

The United States on October 18, the same day that the UN sanctions expired, announced new sanctions targeting individuals and companies in Iran and Russia, among other countries, in an effort to penalize Iran's efforts to buy or sell technology or equipment related to its missile and drone programs.
Linguistics professor Svetlana Drugoveiko-Dolzhanskaya's 41-year career teaching at St. Petersburg State University (SPGU) came to an end on October 13 -- a Friday, as ill luck would have it. The esteemed educator, who created and headed the university's master's degree program in editing and textual criticism, was fired for "immoral activityincompatible with a university position," according to her dismissal letter.

"That was the same formulation they used when they fired Sokolov," she told Current Time, the Russian-language network led by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA, referring to former SPGU historian Oleg Sokolov, who was dismissed in November 2019 after being arrested for murdering and dismembering a postgraduate student with whom he was having an affair.

Drugoveiko-Dolzhanskaya's "crime" was far less sordid but apparently comparable in the eyes of the university's Ethics Committee: She wrote an exculpatory linguistic analysis at the request of the defense team of artist and musician Aleksandra Skochilenko, who faces up to 10 years in prison for allegedly spreading false information about the Russian armed forces.

"Do you really not understand that if you are hired by the defense, you are already a compromised expert?'" she recalled a member of the committee asking her during a hearing in late September.

Drugoveiko-Dolzhanskaya told Current Time that several other faculty members were fired and several students expelled as a result of the same September session of the Ethics Committee, although they have not made their cases public. But information that is available publicly indicates the university, from which Russian President Vladimir Putin graduated in the 1970s before embarking on a career with the KGB, is continuing and intensifying a purge of dissent that began even before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

"It is a genuine cultural pogrom based on political and personal motives," said former SPGU philosophy lecturer Denis Skopin, who was dismissed in October 2022 for attending a protest against a mass military call-up that Putin ordered that September. Skopin said he believes the purge is being overseen by SPGU rector Nikolai Kropachev, an activist with the ruling United Russia political party and a member of Putin's advisory panel on science and education who has headed the university since 2009.

"I wouldn't want to work at SPGU," Skopin said. "It is run by a pro-war person who is methodically eliminating everyone who does not agree with what is going on in the country."

Drugoveiko-Dolzhanskaya said the since the invasion of Ukraine, the SPGU linguistics department "has lost a large number of excellent instructors." Some, she said, left Russia while others found work elsewhere or were removed from their positions.

'It Will Only Get Worse'

Kirill Kaverin was a second-year SPGU politics student until he was expelled in late August, just before the beginning of the new school year. Surprisingly, Kaverin was not expelled for dissenting against the war but for participating in a protest against the demolition of a landmark building in St. Petersburg's Petrograd district in May.

During the protest, Kaverin and two others entered the site to stop the demolition. They were forcibly detained by workers, who held them until police arrived. Kaverin says the workers doused them with water while they were waiting.

Kaverin told RFE/RL's North.Realities that while they were in police custody they were interrogated and threatened by an officer of the Interior Ministry's anti-extremism center, colloquially called Center E.

"He told me he knew where I was studying and that I was about to have big problems there," Kaverin said. "He was swearing the whole time."

Kaverin was sentenced to 12 days in jail for "petty hooliganism." In August, he was summoned by university officials to explain the incident, and in October he was expelled.

"Officially, they expelled me for violating the SPGU charter, but they didn't say exactly what that violation was," Kaverin added.

In August, SPGU officials opened proceedings against Aleksandra Zaitseva, the editor of a student magazine called Studen. The Ethics Committee summoned her because of her written defense of several SPGU history students and a history lecturer who were removed from the university in the summer of 2022 over their anti-war statements.

"If we are silent, it will only get worse," she wrote in a post on Studen's VK social media account.

As soon as the post appeared, Zaitseva told RFE/RL, denunciations and complaints began pouring in.

"They write that I am a wanton woman and that I should be beaten," she said.

She did not attend the hearing where her case was discussed but was informed that members argued her conduct "showed disregard for the reputation" of the university and that she was "undeserving of being a student."

Zaitseva is awaiting a resolution to her case.

'For Your Freedom And Ours'

The seven SPGU students Zaitseva was defending were expelled in the summer of 2022 after comments they had written in a closed university chat were published by pro-Kremlin, pro-war social media channels. One of the channels said the university was harboring "a cell of nascent Russophobes."

"Their original plan was to send screenshots of our comments about the war, Putin, and the government's policies to the Ethics Committee so that they would expel us," said one of the students, Dmitry Kuzmin. "But in the end they were even more clever. They didn't send them to the Ethics Committee but to some [pro-Kremlin channels]. After they created a media storm, the administration started moving."

History lecturer Mikhail Belousov was dismissed after being accused of calling the invasion of Ukraine a "war" during a lecture instead of using the Kremlin's mandatory euphemism "special military operation."

Earlier this month, Kuzmin was expelled once again, this time from the history department of the Herzen Pedagogical University, indicating such politically motivated purges are not unique to SPGU. His expulsion came after he appeared in the center of St. Petersburg carrying a banner reading "For Your Freedom And Ours. Peace To Ukraine. Freedom To Russia."

Kuzmin told RFE/RL that the expulsion was based on a letter sent by St. Petersburg Center E Director Aleksei Shabanov.

"At the Ethics Committee, they said the denunciation had been written by [Shabanov]," Kuzmin said. "The expulsion order was signed by the rector. Interestingly, there is no reason stated in the order. I expected a reprimand."

RFE/RL was shown the expulsion order, which said only Kuzmin was expelled by a decision of the Ethics Committee, without any other explanation.

Former SPGU philosophy lecturer Skopin was dismissed in October 2022 after spending 10 days in jail for protesting Putin's military mobilization.

Twenty-one of his colleagues signed on open letter to the university asserting Skopin's "lofty professional and personal qualities" and that "he exercised well-earned authority among his colleagues and students." After he held his last lecture at the university, students escorted him from the premises with cheers and ovations.

Now living in Berlin and teaching his courses online, Skopin says he does not regret participating in the protest.

"It is important to me to be able to say what I think," he told Current Time. "Before the war, it was possible to do that at the university. When you are used to speaking freely, it is impossible to suddenly become quiet."

"A university is structure that degrades and crumbles in the absence of freedom," he concluded. "Without freedom, a university cannot survive."

Written by RFE/RL's Robert Coalson based on reporting by RFE/RL's North.Realities and Current Time. This story is based in part on reporting by correspondents from RFE/RL's North.Realities on the ground in Russia. Their names are being withheld for their protection.
Were thousands of Ukrainian nationals evacuated from Israel by the Romanian government amid the current crisis with the militant Hamas group while Romanian citizens were left behind?

It's a damning claim that has gone viral on social media in the Southeast European country of some 19 million people, fanned largely by a far-right party whose leader apparently twisted the words of Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, who had spoken of Romanian and other EU countries' help in repatriating thousands of Ukrainians from Israel.



And while Romania, also a member of NATO, has evacuated a few hundred Ukrainians from the risky region, it is not the thousands as claimed, nor at the expense of Romanian nationals. Bucharest has also not paid for accommodation of any Ukrainian evacuees in Romania, as has been falsely claimed as well.



Governments around the globe have been scrambling to evacuate their citizens since the deadly attack by Hamas on October 7 that has since escalated into a wider conflict between Israel and Hamas.



More than 5,000 people have been killed in Israel and Gaza. Nearly 12,500 Palestinians have been wounded, and over 200 people in Israel taken hostage. People from the United States, Australia, Argentina, Cambodia, Canada, Nepal, Thailand, Russia, Britain, Ukraine, and France and elsewhere are confirmed to be among those killed in the violence.

Romanian Foreign Ministry spokesman Radu Filip told RFE/RL that it had provided administrative support processing Ukrainian nationals arriving in Romania from Israel.



Filip said no Romanian citizens inside Israel had formally requested government assistance to leave Israel, although 300 inside the Gaza Strip had.



"At the present time, the security situation in the Gaza Strip does not allow for their evacuation," Filip told RFE/RL.



Some 2,200 Romanians have left Israel since October 7, arriving back on commercial airlines with tickets paid out of their personal pocket, according to RFE/RL.



The Ukrainian Embassy in Romania told RFE/RL that 436 Ukrainian nationals had been evacuated from Israel to Romania -- both to Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca -- between October 14 and 17, including 99 children.

"Airfare and all additional transportation costs were paid by the passengers," the Ukrainian Embassy said in a statement, adding that the Romanian government had provided administrative assistance.



"We are grateful to the Romanian side for the full support and assistance offered to the evacuated citizens of Ukraine, especially during customs clearance and passport control and for the provision of medical assistance, if it was necessary," the embassy said.



Romania shares over 600 kilometers of border with Ukraine, including land and maritime boundaries. Along with a handful of other so-called frontline EU and NATO states, Romania is a key alternate export route for Ukrainian goods otherwise blockaded by Russia's Black Sea Fleet.



The UNHCR said earlier this month that more than 85,000 Ukrainian refugees were present in Romania and 144,000 have been granted temporary protection, which, under EU regulations, gives them access to housing, health care, and the job market. But swelling populist and right-wing political forces, including some with pro-Moscow leanings, have regularly slammed Romania's participation in Western sanctions against Russia along with military and other support for Ukraine.

On October 17, George Simion, leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unification of Romania, which won a surprising 9 percent of the vote in 2020 parliamentary elections, claimed falsely that Romania had evacuated 3,000 Ukrainians from Israel but "no Romanians," in a social media post that went viral.



Simion, no stranger to making false and unsubstantiated claims, continued his disinformation campaign on the topic the next day, chiding Ciolacu from the rostrum in parliament.



"We hope they will bring the Romanians back from Israel and leave the Ukrainians for their own officials," barked the 37-year-old Simion.



While it's unclear what sparked the rant, Simion's remarks came after Ciolacu had spoken to Romania's Prima News on October 16, when he mentioned that almost 3,000 Ukrainians had been evacuated and that Romania had taken part in such efforts along with other EU states, stressing specifically that "Romania did not spend any money for this."



Simion was one of several far-right activists and leaders to give a rude greeting to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy when he visited Bucharest on October 10. Instead of a speech to lawmakers, which was canceled, Zelenskiy met individually with lawmakers, a turn of events that Simion welcomed with mock glee, saying that "with pain in our hearts, we announce that the brave Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will not come to the Romanian parliament today."

Written by Tony Wesolowsky based on reporting by RFE/RL Romanian Service's Cezar Amariei
Ukraine says the casualty toll in a Russian missile strike that hit a postal distribution center in Kharkiv has risen to 23, including six dead, prompting vows of reprisal from President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

Regional Governor Oleh Synehubov said on October 22 that the six dead from the attack on October 21 were all workers at the Nova Poshta depot, located in the village of Korotych on the outskirts of Kharkiv, Ukraines second-largest city.



The Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor's Office confirmed the totals.

Synehubov added that doctors are fighting for the lives of seven of the wounded, who were aged between 19 and 42.



"We will definitely respond to every manifestation of Russia's terror. And to this blow as well," Zelenskiy said in his nightly address to Ukrainians.

While Russia continues to pound different regions with air strikes and artillery, the heaviest fighting continues in the eastern Donetsk region, where Russian forces are launching offensives on Avdiyivka, just 15 kilometers north of the Russian-occupied city of Donetsk, the largest military operation that Moscow has staged in months.

Avdiyivka had a prewar population of around 30,000 people, but it is estimated that only 1,600 still remain in the devastated city.

"Numerous Russian attacks. But our positions are protected," said Zelenskiy, who spoke to the emir of Qatar earlier on October 22.



The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in a report dated October 20 that while making only marginal gains, the Russian military command remains committed to offensive operations in the area despite heavy material and personnel losses.

The initial Russian offensive operations in the Avdiyivka area on October 10 also resulted in high verified Russian equipment losses, and the fact that Russian forces regrouped and re-launched assaults after the initial attacks suggests that either Russian forces believe they can feasibly take Avdiyivka, or that the Russian military command is poorly prioritizing offensive operations regardless of cost, the ISW said.



Now in its 20th month, Russias invasion of Ukraine is approaching its second winter and is expected to shift again into a new phase with no clear indication that either side has the upper hand., analysts say.
AMMAN, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- King Abdullah II of Jordan met on Sunday with World Food Program (WFP) Executive Director Cindy McCain in Amman to discuss the delivery of urgent humanitarian aid to Gaza.

During the meeting, King Abdullah called for safeguarding medical infrastructure and ensuring relief efforts in the Gaza Strip, according to a statement by the Jordanian Royal Hashemite Court.

The king thanked and stressed the important role of the WFP in coordinating the delivery of food, water, medicine, and fuel to the besieged Palestinian enclave.

He highlighted Jordan's continuous efforts to provide relief, medical, and humanitarian assistance to the war-torn area.

For her part, McCain thanked Jordan for playing a key part in partnering with the WFP in humanitarian affairs, and for safeguarding regional stability and facilitating vital assistance to Gaza.

She called for the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure while ensuring a sustained flow of supplies of food, medicine, and emergency assistance into the Gaza Strip.

The Gaza-ruling Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) launched a surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7, firing thousands of rockets and infiltrating Israeli territory. Israel then retaliated with massive airstrikes and punitive measures, including a siege on the enclave with supplies of water, electricity, fuel, and other necessities being cut off. 
Humanitarian Aid

Relief materials, medical supplies, and essentials sent for Palestinians amidst ongoing conflict

NEW-DELHI: India has taken a compassionate step by providing humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people affected by the ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel in Gaza. Approximately 6.5 tonnes of medical aid and 32 tonnes of disaster relief materials have been dispatched by India to reach the region through Egypt. An Indian Air Force (IAF) C-17 flight, laden with relief supplies, departed for Egypt's Al-Arish airport.

The Aid includes critical, life-saving medicines, surgical supplies, tents, sleeping bags, tarpaulins, sanitation facilities, water purification tablets, and other essential items. Arindam Bagchi, the spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, announced, "An IAF C-17 flight carrying about 6.5 tons of medical aid and 32 tons of disaster relief materials for the people of Palestine departed for Al-Arish Airport in Egypt." These supplies will subsequently be transported to Palestine via the Rafah border crossing, which connects to Gaza.

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India's assistance to Palestine comes just three days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held discussions with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. During their conversation, PM Modi reaffirmed India's commitment to providing humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people. He also expressed his condolences for the loss of civilians in the Gaza Strip resulting from the bombing of a hospital.

In addition to expressing solidarity with the Palestinian cause, PM Modi and President Abbas shared deep concerns over terrorism, violence, and the deteriorating security situation in the region. PM Modi reiterated India's long-standing principled stance on the Israel-Palestine issue, emphasizing the importance of lasting peace and stability in the region.




Proud Moment

Jashan Sangha, at the age of 20, becomes the youngest Punjabi to join the US Army

HOSHIARPUR: In a remarkable feat that has brought honor to both Punjab and the Muggowal village of Hoshiarpur, a 20-year-old youth has accomplished the extraordinary by enlisting in the United States Army. Jashan Sangha's induction into the US Army makes him the youngest Punjabi to achieve this remarkable feat.

The Proud father, Gurjit Singh Sangha, shared this news, highlighting that he himself had migrated to the United States six years ago. He revealed that Jashan Sangha's grandfather, Subedar Sadhu Singh, had served in the Indian Army, inspiring his grandson with tales of valor and sacrifice from a young age.

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Jashan Sangha's journey toward fulfilling his dream of becoming a soldier began with determination and hard work. Though he couldn't join the Indian Army, he resolved to achieve his goal by enlisting in the American military. Upon his arrival in the United States, Jashan Sangha first pursued his graduation and subsequently passed the rigorous examinations required for entry into the US Army.
According to advocate Mukesh Kulthia, old vehicles are being banned just to promote sales of electric vehicles

In view of increasing vehicular pollution, the NGT had passed its order in 2014 banning diesel and petrol vehicles older than 10 years and 15 years, respectively in Delhi-NCR. While most people have opposed the ban, theres not much one can do in view of the NGT and Supreme Court order.

But advocate Mukesh Kulthia has a different take on the matter. He has alleged that the rule of banning diesel and petrol cars actually does not exist. To get justice, he has filed a criminal case against various officials.

Car ban challenged in court

Advocate Mukesh Kulthia has filed a criminal case in Honble Gurgaon Court (Magistrate Court). The officials mentioned in the case include Navdeep Singh Virk (IPS), Transport Secretary, Haryana and other IAS officers of the Union Transport Ministry. Mukesh has shared the details of the case on various social media platforms. Just like other car users, Mukesh is not happy about the banning of old cars. He is alleging a big conspiracy and is calling the entire thing a Carban Scam.

According to Mukesh, officials are falsely citing the order of the NGT and Honourable Supreme Court to ban old vehicles. In a recent update / clarification provided on his Twitter handle, Mukesh says that the NGT order was applicable only on vehicles registered till the year 2000. He says that there is no such ban on vehicles that are registered since 2001 under BS norms. It is not clear if this is just a technical issue or a flawed interpretation of the NGT order. A clearer view should emerge as the case progresses.

Some of the arguments put forth by Mukesh include the fact that amendments have been introduced in the Motor Vehicles Act 2019, 2021 and 2023. He pointed out that RC of diesel and petrol cars and even two-wheelers still have validity of 15 years. And road tax is being collected for 15 years. In view of these factors, banning old vehicles does not make sense.

Is blanket ban the right thing to do?

Considering that the Delhi-NCR region is among the most polluted cities in the world, it makes sense to take steps to control pollution. Exhaust emissions are among the major contributors to Delhis polluted air. However, a blanket ban may not necessarily be the right thing to do. As theres already a Pollution Under Control (PUC) system in place, a blanket ban seems unnecessary.

The amount of emissions coming from a vehicle depends on various factors. For example, overall usage of the vehicle and quality and frequency of repairs and maintenance. As long as the PUC results are within the mandated emission limits, the use of blanket ban on old vehicles seems quite counter-intuitive. Probably, this recent criminal case challenging the ban will help achieve more sensible outcomes.

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TEHRAN, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Sunday expressed disappointment at the United Nations Security Council's (UNSC) failure to pass a resolution on a humanitarian truce in Gaza due to the only veto cast by the United States.

He made the remarks in a meeting with visiting South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor in the Iranian capital of Tehran while commenting on the unfavorable humanitarian situation in Gaza, according to a statement from the Iranian president's office.

Raisi said "the UNSC is no longer hoped to be able to play its role in maintaining global peace when the U.S. both becomes complicit in Israel's crimes against the defenseless people of Gaza through supplying it with weapons and equipment and prevents the issuance of a UNSC resolution" on Wednesday that called for "humanitarian pauses" to deliver lifesaving aid to millions in Gaza.

He praised the South African government and people for their positions in support of Palestinians.

The Iranian president and South African top diplomat also exchanged views on Iran's membership in BRICS, with the latter voicing her country's avid interest in enhancing cooperation with Iran, particularly in the economic sector.

The U.S. on Wednesday vetoed a UNSC resolution on a humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip. The Brazil-drafted proposal, if adopted, would have condemned all violence and hostilities against civilians and all acts of terrorism, and called for protecting all medical and humanitarian personnel and medical facilities, in accordance with international humanitarian law.

Twelve of the 15 members of the Security Council supported the draft, while the U.S., with veto power, was the only council member to vote against it. Britain and Russia abstained.

On Oct. 7, the Gaza-ruling Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) launched a surprise attack on Israel by firing thousands of rockets and infiltrating Israeli territories, prompting Israel to carry out massive airstrikes and impose punitive measures on the Palestinian enclave, including a complete siege with supplies of water, electricity, fuel, and other necessities to the area being cut off.

So far, the conflict killed at least 1,400 people in Israel, while the death toll of Palestinians from Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip has risen to 4,651, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry on Sunday. 
ASMARA, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Eritrea's cooperation with China under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is crucial for promoting the country's economic industrialization and diversification, an expert has said.

Fikrejesus Amahazion, research analyst at the Eritrean Center for Strategic Studies, told Xinhua in a recent interview that the BRI has enjoyed global prominence since it was proposed in 2013.

China has signed more than 230 BRI cooperation agreements with more than 150 countries and 30 international organizations.

In November 2021, the Red Sea nation signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China to join the BRI amid the two countries' growing relations.

"For Eritrea, we can think that it will help to promote industrialization and promote diversification of the economy for the country. We all know that China has achieved massive developmental progress in a short time, and that is very positive for Eritrea to join this initiative and learn from that type of experience," Amahazion said.

The Eritrean expert stressed the win-win nature of BRI cooperation and its positive outcomes.

"For China, Eritrea offers an abundance of resources and hard-working people, and there is very much untapped potential in this country," Amahazion said.

"The areas of cooperation are in agriculture, education, health and people-to-people exchanges. We have a very solid platform of cooperation, but we are looking forward to more engagement and stronger areas of cooperation now that the Belt and Road MoU has been signed between Eritrea and China about a year and a half ago," he said.

The expert expressed his hopes that cooperation with China under the BRI would further propel Eritrea's development.

"Human capacity development is one area that Eritrea is looking forward to strengthening," he said, adding that infrastructure is another primary focus for BRI cooperation with China.

The expert underscored the importance of Africa's cooperation with China.

"Across the continent, Africa continues to have a major infrastructural gap and infrastructure deficiencies," the expert said, adding that improving infrastructure would enhance trade across the continent and the rest of the world.

"Africans are very talented, and they have great potential, but sometimes they lack some of the opportunities or the areas to develop their skills and, I think, with China's promotion or encouragement of this area, it will be another great area for Africa to move forward," he said.

"There is a reason that so many African countries willingly engage with China. This is because the relationship and the cooperation are based upon a platform of respect and mutual cooperation," Amahazion said. 
KHARTOUM, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) said Sunday it will resume peace talks with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the Saudi port city of Jeddah on Thursday.

"We received an invitation to go to Jeddah to resume the negotiations," Shams-Eddin Kabashi, deputy commander of the SAF, said in a speech to army officers at Wadi Seidna military base in Omdurman. "Our delegation will go to Jeddah and begin negotiations on coming Thursday."

Sudanese media reported that Saudi Arabia and the United States, which have been mediating the talks since May, set Oct. 26 as the date for resuming the negotiations. The talks were suspended in July over fundamental differences between the warring parties.

Sudan has been witnessing deadly clashes between the SAF and the RSF in Khartoum and other areas since April 15, resulting in at least 3,000 deaths and more than 6,000 injuries, according to figures released by the Sudanese Health Ministry.

According to the UN International Organization for Migration, nearly 5.8 million people have been displaced inside and outside Sudan due to the prolonged conflict between the SAF and the RSF. 
The-city

spotlight

For the last 50 years, one woman has manned San Francisco's Marina boat fuel station

Craig Lee/The Examiner Chrissy Kaplan is owner of Gashouse Cove Marina Inc., the only remaining fueling station for boats in San Francisco.

Chrissy Kaplan didnt think shed find her calling at 19. But in 1973, she stumbled upon a life on the water and a profession that would allow her to spend her days gazing at the Golden Gate Bridge in the sun and fog.

Kaplan is a familiar character to San Franciscos sailors, boaters, and residents of the Marina district. For the last 50 years, shes operated the fueling station at Gashouse Cove, the last marine fueling station in San Francisco.

Its been a worthwhile trade to forgo college and devote her life to the bay, she said. To be here on the water made up for it, 1,000 percent over.

But now, Kaplan fears that her little bayside oasis will be forced out if a proposed project to build a new harbor in front of Marina Green goes ahead. Despite fervent community backlash, the San Francisco Recreation and Park Departments commission approved the plan this week.

The moving of the fuel dock needs to be reconsidered, said Diane Walton, the president of the San Francisco Dolphin Club and one of many community members opposed to the project. Its very safe where it is, for them and us.

Kaplan said the current plan doesnt consider the challenges in the moving process and how the new location would introduce unknown risks.

The city is talking about moving us from this isolated corner and putting us basically in the middle of the chaos, she said. I think theyre viewing moving the fueling station like moving a parking slot.

The reality is much more complicated, she said, and would involve digging up the fuel tanks, pipes and fuel lines currently tucked away in a concrete vault buried underneath the parking area.

Theres a lot of wiggling, a lot of moving parts, said Kaplan. If we were to move out and any one of those broke, it would be an environmental oopsie.

The new location would also be in a more congested area, making it harder to contain an accident if one happened. No one wants to be in this business, she said. Its got too much hazard involved with it.

John Rivlin, a tenant of the Marina harbor since 1982, agrees that the current location is the best place for Kaplans station.

Its got all the infrastructure there, its on solid ground, its out of the way, it works perfectly well, Rivlin said. Moving that seems to me difficult, and I think unexpected problems will surface ... occasionally boats explode during gassing.

Rivlin said he visits the cove every few weeks or so to refuel his boats. Its kind of a critical part of the way the marine world works around here, he said.

The fueling dock also provides a necessary service to fuel emergency vessels and as a close point of contact to the shore.

In 2013, during the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon, a 46-year-old Texas man suffered a heart attack and died when he plunged into the cold water of the Bay.

They had emergency vehicles waiting in the parking lot, and they were trying to resuscitate the man on our dock where his whole family was called, said Sarah Barrango, Kaplans daughter and right hand at the dock, whos worked with her for the last 16 years.

That same year, an Oracle Team catamaran in the Americas Cup capsized on the Bay. I stayed here all night long to make sure that they could fuel up, Barrango said. We provided food, we provided water, we provided phone lines, phone chargers, everything possible ... we really were just kind of like a den mother.

But for Kaplan, the Loma Prieta Earthquake of 1989 solidified her docks role in emergency response.

It was eerily quiet, said Kaplan. And then (Marina) Boulevard started to roll like a roller coaster. You could just see it undulating.

As soon as it was feasible, the station was open, helping to keep emergency vessels fueled as they fought fires along Marina Boulevard.

We were able to fuel during that entire scenario and including the month afterward by going on generator power, she said. With the Bay Bridge being down and the fire boats doing the heavy lifting here in the Marina District, we could stay open for fuel and keep those fleets moving.

The district was completely quiet except for Kaplan and the emergency workers. Everyone else had evacuated. There was no electricity; there was no water here for at least a month, she said.

For temporary San Francisco Fire Department Battalion Chief Shane Francisco, the Gashouse Cove fueling station is like any other gas station  its just on the water.

We get it (fuel) as we need it, which could be once a week, he said.

Craig Lee/The Examiner Temporary San Francisco Fire Department Battalion Chief Shane Francisco  next to Fireboat 3, the St. Francis  is among the institutional clients of the boat-fueling station at Gashouse Cove near Marina Green.

Gashouse Cove is the last marine fuel source on the San Francisco shoreline, making it a critical resource for boaters, first responders and the like. The Hyde Street Harbor diesel fuel dock was closed in 2020 after a leak was discovered, according to a spokesperson from The Port of San Francisco.

Regulatory agencies along with the fuel provider are working to mitigate the effects of the leak and hope to reopen the fuel dock as quickly as possible, the statement said.

Kaplan worries about the fate of Gashouse Cove, but shell continue to be out on the water, rain or shine, amid oil spills, boat collisions, and rescues with her daughter at her side.

This is my only real distraction, said Kaplan. I just cant wait to get here almost every day.
LA VERGNE, Tenn.  Police in Tennessee were searching Sunday for the estranged son of Nashvilles police chief as the suspect in the shooting of two police officers outside a Dollar General store.

Officers in La Vergne, a city about 20 miles (32 kilometers) southeast of Nashville, were investigating a stolen vehicle outside the store Saturday afternoon when they struggled with the suspect, who pulled a handgun and shot them, said LaVergne Police Chief Christopher Moews.

Police identified the suspect as John C. Drake, Jr., 38, who is the son of Metro Nashville Police Department Chief John Drake.

One of the officers was shot twice, in the groin and right forearm, while the other officer was hit in the rear left shoulder. Both were taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. One of the officers was released from the hospital Saturday night. The other officer was kept overnight for observation and was in stable condition, said Anne Smith, a spokesperson for the city of La Vergne. Their identities have not been released.

The police chief issued a statement Saturday confirming his son was the suspect in the shooting. Drake said they were estranged and over many years he has had only minimal contact with his son. The younger Drake is a convicted felon who resorted to years of criminal activity, he said.

This photo provided by the Nashville Police Department shows John C. Drake Jr. Police in Tennessee were searching Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023 for the estranged son of Nashville's police chief as the suspect in the shooting of two police officers outside a Dollar General store. Drake Jr. is the son of Metro Nashville Police Department Chief John Drake. (Nashville Police Department via AP)AP

He now needs to be found and held accountable for his actions today. I hope that anyone who sees him or has information about him will contact law enforcement immediately, Drake said in the statement.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said in a social media post that a statewide alert had been issued for Drake, who was wanted on two counts of attempted first-degree murder. Smith said about a dozen law enforcement agencies are involved in the search.

After the shooting, the La Vergne police issued a shelter-in-place order for residents in the city. The shelter order was later lifted while the search for Drake continued, the department said in a social media post.

Mayor Freddie OConnell issued a statement in support of the police chief.

My heart goes out to Chief Drake, his family, and the two wounded LaVergne police officers. I know that despite our best efforts  including in their early years  we cant be responsible for the choices of family members, OConnell said. I support Chief Drake and stand by him at this difficult time. "
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Love you more, is the signature phrase that Lee Lee Woon, 52, owner of the very popular Lee Lee Nails in Dongan Hills, would sign every text and end every phone call with when talking with family, friends and clients.

A fixture in Dongan Hills for the last 15 years, Lee Lee Nails is a go-to salon for many Mid-Island and North Shore residents. And their loyal patronage was not simply because of the professional nail technicians employed at the salon, it was also because of its owner, Woon, who greeted every customer with a smile.

Her customers werent simply patrons of her nail salon, they were friends. Woon knew each client personally, their names, their kids names, and about all the milestones in their lives.

When entering Lee Lee Nails, there was always a donation box in front of the salon for one of the many charities Woon would raise money for -- often they were charities for which her clients had a connection.

The consummate professional, Woon was known as a fighter for all those in need, and until the end, she fought for her life -- and not for herself, but for her family.

She died Friday after a 3 1/2-year bout with ovarian cancer.

Lee Lee Woon, 52, with her daughter, Isabel Tang. (Courtesy of Isabel Tang)

MARRIED TO HER SOULMATE

Woon, who immigrated to the United States at the age of 21 from Malaysia, was lucky enough to have married her best friend, Chee Tang. The pair met in their home country and later married after they came to New York City in search of the American dream. Twenty-two years ago she gave birth to their daughter, Isabel Tang.

My mother and father were best friends. They loved each other, deeply, said Tang, who said her family will carry on Woons legacy by keeping the salon running for all its loyal customers. My parents were twin flames, soulmates. Soulmates complete each other; they completed each other.

Woon was most known for her compassion and kindness.

She was a compassionate woman who had a lot of empathy and had her priorities in check. She wanted to make sure her family was taken care of, and thats what she did. She thrived on other peoples happiness, said Tang. She was so loved and adored in this community. ...Im just happy shes not in pain anymore.

Soulmates Lee Lee Woon and her husband Chee Tang. (Courtesy of Isabel Tang)

Tang, who became her mothers caregiver when she was diagnosed with Stage 3 ovarian cancer, said she plans to become a nurse after the experience.

A hard worker, Woon often spent long hours at the salon, recalled her daughter. But the two were always close, often taking trips and spending time together when Lee Lee Nails would be closed on Sundays.

Even if it was only for a few days, we would go away together. Those were my favorite times with her because that was when she was the happiest as well, said Tang. She was the kind of person that if youre happy, she was happy and she passed that on to me.

Love you more, is the signature phrase that Lee Lee Woon, 52, owner of the very popular Lee Lee Nails Salon in Dongan Hills, would sign every text and end every phone call with when talking with her family, friends and clients. (Courtesy of Isabel Tang)

OVARIAN CANCER

Woon previously told the Advance/SIlive.com she had noticed a sudden change in her weight soon after she shuttered her salon in March 2020 when the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic forced a global lockdown.

My stomach was so bloated. I looked like I was nine months pregnant, said Woon.

It was soon after, in April, at the height of the COVID-19 crisis in New York, that she found out why she had gained weight. She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

Lee Lee Woon and Isabel Tang enjoyed taking trips together. (Courtesy of Isabel Tang)

Now, she had a lot more to fight for than just the survival of her business during the pandemic.

By the time you find out you have ovarian cancer, it almost always has spread, said Woon. But I am so positive I will beat this.

And she put up a valiant fight against the disease until Friday when she died surrounded by her family.

Lee Lee Woon with her dog, Buddy. (Courtesy of Isabel Tang)

A FRIEND TO ALL

Woon had an army of Staten Islanders who called her a friend.

Lee Lee was an extraordinary woman who always went out of her way to help others, said loyal client and friend Lily-Ann Meyer. She supported her customers who became family with any fundraising, and always donating to their causes. She always made everyone feel special. When she became ill with ovarian cancer in 2020 she didnt let it bring her down. She always remained positive. She started a prayer group with her special groups of friends. I was happy to be a part of one of her groups, and looked forward to her getting daily text messages and positive prayers.

And many of her friends knew Woon wasnt going to give into the cancer that had invaded her body easily.

Soulmates Lee Lee Woon and her husband Chee Tang. (Courtesy of Isabel Tang)

She went to work every day to keep her business going. She is one of the strongest women I know. She fought so hard to get better and beat the cancer. Her daughter Isabel and husband, Tony, were the loves of her life. Her daughter called her an angel on earth. She was loved by so many, and will be deeply missed, said Meyer.

Said Elizabeth Marro, a longtime friend: To say Lee Lee is one-of-a-kind is truly an understatement. I met her 22 years ago, and she became one of my best friends, and even though we didnt see each other all the time, we just had that bond. And we knew there was something special between us. I will miss her more than her famous love you more could make you feel when she said goodbye. We are family! She is an Angel now!

Lee Lee Woon died Friday after a battle with ovarian cancer. (Courtesy of Isabel Tang)

Ruth Ann Corazza, who knew Woon for 20 years, said, From the first day I met her she was much more than a local business owner. She made my daughter and I feel like family, and, by a true blessing just a year or so after my sister passed in 2003, we later found out she was my sisters nail technician when she was working in Queens. From then on especially, I knew Lily [Lee Lee] would be such an angel on earth to our family.

Lily always had a smile on her face and positivity in her eyes. In fact, she started a daily prayer chain while she was going through treatmentthis just shows you how much she cared for her clients even when dealing with her own bouts of adversity. Lily had one of the biggest hearts I have been lucky to share in during my life, and I know all of our memories with her will live on forever in our hearts, she added.

MEMORIAL SERVICE

In addition to her husband and daughter, surviving are: her mother and father, Peter Woon and Jenny Lim; a sister, Lisa Woon, and her dog, Buddy.

A service for Woon will be held On Tuesday, Oct. 24, at Staten Island Chinese Christian Church, 159 Schmidt Lane, Castleton Corners from 6 to 7 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the church. Donations for the family can be made at the salon, at 1731 Richmond Rd.

Love you more, is the signature phrase that Lee Lee Woon, 52, owner of the very popular Lee Lee Nails Salon in Dongan Hills, would sign every text and end every phone call with when talking with her family, friends and clients. She died Friday after a battle with ovarian cancer. She is pictured with her daughter, Isabel Tang. (Courtesy of Isabel Tang)

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From Pamelas Food Service Diary:

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  While writing the obituary last week for the legendary owner of Carols Cafe, chef Carol Frazzetta, a theme she often discussed surfaced and stuck in my mind  how very few women have reigned high in the professional kitchen over the years on Staten Island. And today that is still the case.

In the late 90s when I had my own restaurant, American Grill, fellow females included Frazzetta and Wendy Sherry. Sherry owned Aesops Tables, an inspirational Rosebank bistro that elevated borough dining. Legendary Mary Siep ran the Rosebank Tavern, known for her hot cream puffs and hearty Italian fare. The late Gene Lynch told me he sought her out and, indeed, her name drew fans like bees to honey from around the borough.

The lush patio dining area at the former Aesop's Tables, Rosebank, was one of the Islands hottest  literally and figuratively  summer dining spots through the 90s and early 2000s. (Staten Island Advance File Photo)STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE

Also in the 90s Silva Popaz came onto the scene with Vida Restaurant and, several years later, with a gourmet ice cream shop called Boo Boo & Lyles (named after her cats.) At Vida, Silva shopped, prepped, cooked and often personally served meals  a lot of work with a lean crew. It was a perfect restaurant in my eyes with a gypsy queen cook at the core.

Silva Popaz at former Vida Restaurant in Stapleton. (Staten Island Advance/Pamela Silvestri)Staff-Shot

Silva retired from the New York City food world but unwittingly left behind a legacy. In her former storefront at 381 Van Duzer came Shaw-nae Dixon, the doyenne of Shaw-nae's House with a delicate, clean-eating brand of soul food, if there could be such a thing. She says it comes from pure love, pure passion and a maternal instinct.

When asked why few women rule the back-of-the-house Shaw-nae shared, I am not sure why we are considered to be rare in the kitchen when we actually were naturally placed in the the kitchen as the provider of prepared dishes in our families. Women taught little boys and girls how to boil water, how to stir a soup or stew and how to scramble an egg and flip a pancake.

Now retired, Joan Sheheen and Terri Rutigliano founders of Mother Mousse in Travis. (Staten Island Advance File Photo)Staten Island Advance

Actually, Shawnaes address comes with a little Mother Earth in its history  for real. The restaurant Mother Earth once ruled this Stapleton block, along with Teri Rutigliano and Joan Sheheens bakery, Mother Mousse. That was the famed operations first location.

Maryann Malzone and Kathleen Maher had established Mother Earth in 1976. Malzone said the folks from the former Richmond College expressed their disdain for their granola moniker. That prompted a name change to Browne & Ferri, an adoption of the owners moms maiden names. Malzone pointed out a little irony there  Van Duzer Street used to be called Ferry Road. The restaurant closed in 1992.

Flashback to 1986: the upstairs lounge at Browne & Ferri of Stapleton (Staten Island Advance File Photo)Staten Island Advance

Eventually Malzone moved onto a career at Sysco Food Distributors working with other chefs. Now retired, Malzone said of a self-taught Maher, After all those years at her own restaurant and making dim sum from scratch, focaccia....everything was spot on  she couldnt get an [executive] chef job in Manhattan. They wanted to make her a sous chef or garde manger.

Still, the pair fostered another generation of cooks with their grit and I-can-cook-anything approach to the menu. Kim Leo was one of those fledgling culinary mavens, now the owner of Katered by Kim and a seafood expert, thanks also in part to her tenure as chef in fish-centric restaurants.

Kim Leo's specialties include seafood and cooking instruction. (Staten Island Advance/Pamela Silvestri)

DEFINITELY SPARSE ON THE LADIES

Indeed, the borough offers few toque-sporting females. Mexican restaurant owner Cristal Mejia from Yolpaqui Taqueria says shes been looking for a woman to be in charge but hasnt had any luck.

Thats not to say a chick isnt ever El Numero Uno in the borough. Enoteca Maria in St. George maintains an all gal crew of dynamic Nonnas from around the world. And there are no hombres on the line at Port Richmonds San Geronimo Deli and Restaurant  all mujeres of all ages all the time.

Nonna Hakima from Casablanca Morocco, a nonna of the world who served as one of the rotating female chefs at Enoteca Maria. (Staten Island Advance File Photo)

A handful of ladies have made their mark uniquely in the culinary world.

From days at the dry cleaning check-in counter of former Randall Manor Tailor Clarisa Martino catapulted to the executive pastry chef level at Bobby Flays restaurants.

The late Scherisce Lewis-Clinton of the former Sherris Kitchen left behind a lot of goodness in St. George. Often shed accept only what customers could afford for her collard greens and jerk wings  a real mother to a lot of needy neighbors led by compassion alone.

Scherisce Lewis-Clinton's soul food restaurant Sherri's Kitchen in St. George. Before she passed away, Sherri fed her St. George neighbors, sometimes at no charge. (Staten Island Advance/Pamela Silvestri)

The Advances long-time food editor Jane Milza, a Woman of Achievement, once wrote all about those food service operators. Having grown up with the newspaper and the Wednesday Food Day section, I considered her the Julia Child of Staten Island.

Chef Julian Gaxoli, Food Day Editor, Jane Milza and Chef Sandy Ingber of the Grand Central Oyster Bar talk during the annual Staten Island Advance Taste Off cooking contest. (Staten Island Advance File Photo)STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE

In the midst of Milzas tenure, the great Jane Kurtin thrived. A former Advance reporter who also wrote about food (and broke the Willowbrook story), Kurtin had owned Nanas in Richmond, then developed highly acclaimed Montezumas Revenge, a Belgian eatery and a premier catering business with a commissary.

Bobby Flay visited Carol Frazzetta in 2006 at former Carol's Cafe. (Staten Island Advance File Photo)si advance

Kurtin came to my restaurant one night as a patron. She shared a few tales of the business and a funny story about fixing a cake that tipped over on the way to a wedding.

And that brings me back to Carol Frazzetta. She accepted an invitation to have a drink one Saturday night after both our places were done with service. We talked for about two hours and she shared her stories from a tough life in kitchens as a woman. Long story short, the experiences came together in her book that says it all with its title  Kitchen Bitch.

I say that gender in the kitchen ultimately doesnt matter, so long as the food gets out  and it can all be done in pearls.

Pamela Silvestri is Advance Food Editor. She can be reached at silvestri@siadvance.com.

MORE STATEN ISLAND FOOD STORIES:

Fulton Fish tales from the Old Market | Pamelas Food Service Diary

What it was like to be a judge on Food Networks Beat Bobby Flay | Pamelas Food Service Diary

If you see these stinky seeds smashed on NYC sidewalks, cold weathers on its way
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We brought the exciting news last week that Qantas staff song-and-dance troupe, The Qantas Pathfinder Revue, would be giving the national carriers recent changing-of-the-guard the musical treatment for a few performances of a show called Qaronation later this month.

Now, were happy to confirm, in a development that had brought a puzzling amount of glee to insiders, that the airlines new chief executive Vanessa Hudson will be catching one of the performances, her people have confirmed to CBD.

Qantas chief executive Vanessa Hudson. Credit: Edwina Pickles

Now this may seem an entirely run-of-the-mill occurrence, but its being seen as a small but significant part of Hudsons copious assurances to Qantas staff that things are going to be different from here on in. Plus shes likely to get a far less hostile audience than her recent appearance before the senate.

Different bosses have taken different attitudes to the annual show, which has a tradition of gently sending-up the airlines higher-ups over its 56 years; James Strong, who commanded the flying kangaroos flight deck in the 1990s and early noughties, was a big fan.
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After a spell at Windsor restaurant Firebird, Mumbai-born chef Nabil Ansari is heading back to a freshly renovated Sunda.

He left Sunda as sous chef early in 2023 for a head chef role at Firebird in Windsor. Now, rising star Nabil Ansari is returning to Sunda as head chef when the Punch Lane restaurant reopens in November after a facelift.

I was in the opening team at Sunda more than five years ago, says the Mumbai-born chef. It always gave me that feeling of home.

Nabil Ansari returns to Sunda after a stint at Firebird. Supplied

When founding chef Khanh Nguyen abruptly left Sunda and sister restaurant Aru in July, Ansaris phone rang. I got the offer to come back, he says.

Sunda is part of the restaurant group owned by Adi Halim under the Windsor Melbourne banner; newly opened Antara 128 is also part of the gang. The Windsor group is more like a family than an employer, says Ansari. Thats one of the main reasons I wanted to go back.
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Eating outGood Food Guide 2024 From Bengaluru to Brasserie 1930: How the Young Chef of the Year forged a formidable career SMH Good Food Guide young chef of the year Shashank Achuta hopes to be the face of south Indian cuisine in Australia. Hes well on his way to achieving it. Bianca Hrovat October 23, 2023 Save Log in , register or subscribe to save recipes for later. You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share

This story appears in the SMH Good Food Guide Awards collection. See all stories .

Shashank Achuta, sous chef at Sydney restaurant Brasserie 1930 and founder of regional Indian meal delivery service Sydney Tiffin Room, has been selected as the Good Food Guides Smeg young chef of the year. The Bengaluru-born chef was chosen from a record number of entrants across NSW and the ACT, joining a roll-call of previous winners including influential chefs Phil Wood (Ursulas, Paddington), Brett Graham (the Ledbury, London) and Lauren Eldridge (Berowra Waters Inn). Good Food hat Good Food hat 16 / 20 Review Bentley duos majestic new two-hatted venue Brasserie 1930 hits the heights of luxury and quality A judging panel of industry leaders selected Achuta for his entrepreneurial initiative (launching meal delivery service Sydney Tiffin Room during COVID lockdown), his ambitions to promote south Indian cuisine in Australia, and his commitment to creating a fairer and more balanced workforce. Now is a great time for people to be unapologetic in their approach, to celebrate their ethnicity and their background without worrying too much about how it will be perceived or how youll make money. Shashank Achuta, Young Chef of the Year

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Achuta moved to Australia on a student visa in 2015 and fought against prevailing ethnic stereotypes to forge a career within some of Sydneys best kitchens (Cafe Paci, Attica, Freds). The team at acclaimed restaurant Brasserie 1930 is teaching Achuta culinary and management skills, he says. He aspires to open his own chain of Indian restaurants, on par with the quality at parent company The Bentley Group. In five years, he hopes to be the face of south Indian cuisine in Australia. SMH Good Food Guides young chef of the year winner Shashank Achuta at Brasserie 1930. Dominic Lorrimer Now is a great time for people to be unapologetic in their approach, to celebrate their ethnicity and their background without worrying too much about how it will be perceived or how youll make money, he says.

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But that wasnt always the case. When Achuta arrived, career counsellors advised him to change his name on job applications to Shanky or a variation more likely to invite job offers. The SMH Good Food Guide Young Chef of the Year finalists share their favourite dining secrets Its almost commonplace for a person of colour to have an English name, but Ive seen the dark side of that where people change their name and instantly start getting job callbacks, Achuta says, referencing the experience of a close friend. How do you even [process] that? On one hand, its like I got the job! but on the other hand its what am I compromising?  Its bizarre, but people still have these preconceived notions.

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Shashank Achuta has ambitions to open his own chain of restaurants. Dominic Lorrimer Initially, Achuta laughed it off and adopted the nickname. He copped the racist slurs, accepted it happens and doubled down on at work, pushing himself almost to breaking point in an attempt to prove himself in the upper echelons of a cut-throat industry. I wont ever say Im a victim, he says. I made it here, its hard work, so put your foot down and make it work. When the pandemic lockdowns were introduced, Achuta was stood down from his position at Freds. Without the financial support from the government because he had yet to receive his citizenship, Achuta returned to his culinary roots to pay the bills, founding Sydney Tiffin Room.

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The small online business showcased a different regional Indian cuisine each fortnight, offering a three-course meal delivery service that became the highlight of Achutas culinary career. Not only because of the media attention it received, but also because of the praise and support I received from customers, and how much it taught me about running a business on my own, he says. The pandemic crisis spurred a career-defining opportunity for Shashank Achuta, with the launch of his online business, Sydney Tiffin Room. Dominic Lorrimer Achuta says the introduction of Sydney Tiffin Room seemed to coincide with a shift in the culinary scene as the wave of hospitality workers who immigrated 10 years ago began to push the culinary boundaries of food in Australia. All the chefs from overseas had settled into Sydney, adapted to the cuisine and worked with some of the best chefs in the country. And finally, they were at the stage in their careers where they felt confident to experiment with the cuisine, he says.

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Beyond that, attitudes were changing, and more diners seemed eager to try different cuisines. The scene is constantly evolving, and were now seeing a shift away from the classic Italian and French cuisine, and discovering a newfound love for ethnic food, Achuta says, referencing the popularity of Filipino restaurant Serai in Melbourne and new Sri Lankan restaurant Kurumba in Surry Hills. It is also a good time, Achuta says, to reclaim his name and own his heritage. I realised Im proud of my name, Im proud of my heritage, and Im proud of my food and my culture, he says. And Im most proud to show someone of Indian origin can make it this far.

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ZANZIBAR, Tanzania, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Tanzania's Zanzibar authorities have praised China Railway Jianchang Engineering Company (CRJE) (East Africa) Limited for bringing Zanzibar to new heights and making it a new place.

Speaking at an event Saturday to commemorate the company's 20 years of operations in Zanzibar, Zanzibar's Minister for Health Nassor Ahmed Mazrui said in the last two decades, the CRJE has successfully completed 35 projects in Zanzibar, including hotels, schools, hospitals, office buildings, and other infrastructure projects.

"I commend CRJE as it moves towards creating a brighter future for Zanzibar," said Mazrui, noting that the government of Zanzibar was inviting other investors to invest in the Zanzibar archipelago after the CRJE had shown stellar performance in its projects in a win-win situation.

He said the government needed the Chinese investors' efforts to build a new Zanzibar, stressing that the government has been satisfied with the excellent job done by the CRJE.

Zhang Zhisheng, the Chinese consul general to Zanzibar, said the CRJE is a Chinese leading state-owned company that has carried out a lot of projects in China and around the world, including Tanzania mainland and Zanzibar, making significant contributions to the development of China and other countries.

Zhang praised the Zanzibar government for the support it has been extending to the CRJE during its operations in the past two decades.

During its operations in Zanzibar, the CRJE also did a lot of charity work to fulfill its social responsibilities, creating many job opportunities for the local people and training a lot of engineers and technicians, said Zhang.

Zhao Yufeng, managing director of CRJE (East Africa) Limited, said during its 20 years of operations in Zanzibar, the CRJE has completed more than 35 landmark projects, including the vice president's office, the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs office building, luxury hotels, hospitals in various districts, and the Zanzibar Social Security Fund Michenzani Mall.

"During the 20 years, CRJE also has contributed to the local community. We have provided numerous jobs and trained a large number of technicians. We purchased tremendous materials locally, booming the whole manufacturing industry," said Zhao, promising that the CRJE would continue to stay motivated, keep honest and work hard, so as to make greater contributions to the economic boom of Zanzibar. 
The head of the NSW public education system has called on schools to double down on the use of explicit instruction  a teaching method that gives students step-by-step and clear instructions  in a bid to boost results and close the stark achievement gap.

Murat Dizdar, who was appointed secretary of the NSW Education Department in June, told the Herald that evidence shows schools using explicit teaching practices have the most sustained improvements in academic outcomes.

Murat Dizdar, the head of NSWs 2200 public schools, at Cabramatta High. Credit: Dion Georgopoulos

The department will release a new public education plan on Monday that will outline six focus points, including plans to boost school staff numbers, raise attendance rates and lift the number of students completing year 12.

Equity is also a big focus  we want to close the gaps for those students who are struggling, Dizdar said.
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 Josh Frydenberg has every right to abhor the appalling Hamas attacks on Israel and to be proud of his Jewish heritage (As a Jew, I can despair or look to lessons of history, October 21). He does mention the deaths and suffering of innocent people of Gaza but he should have acknowledged the disgraceful treatment of Palestinians by Israel over the years that contributed to the situation in the first place. Andrew Macintosh, Cromer Straight to the source. Credit: Matt Golding History tells us that peaceful existence relies on good neighbours who obey laws, respect each other and dont inflame tensions by incrementally encroaching on each others rights or their property. Israels policies of land confiscation, illegal settlement and dispossession, together with rampant discrimination have inflicted immense suffering on Palestinians. Their lives are effectively held hostage by Israel. The region will never know peace under the status quo. Maureen Jones, North Rocks I share the concern shown for the innocent residents of Gaza. However, Israel cant just allow the Hamas terrorists to scurry back into Gaza and wait for them to devise their next slaughter of Israeli civilians. Israel has a right to defend its citizens which after October 7 means rooting out Hamas. The sad truth is that Hamas embeds itself among those civilians knowing that either Israel must refrain from attacking the terrorists or inflict accidental civilian casualties that Hamas can use in its PR war against Israel. Surely, we dont want to live in a world where terrorists get effective immunity, no matter how abhorrent their outrages are, as long as they have civilians they can hide behind and endanger. Alan Shroot, Forrest (ACT) Frydenbergs strong and confident Israel has been brutally denying equal rights and opportunities to Palestinians for decades. If we focus on equal rights and opportunities the world over, most causes of war and conflict melt way. However, the desire to control others is strong in many humans, we must be vigilant in resisting it. Gaza cannot be ruled by non-Gazans as the US and Israel want. Peter Egan, Mosman Frydenberg claims that Israel continues to survive and prosper. Fine, if you consider prosperity to be living in an almost permanent state of war, or war-readiness, condemned for its actions by a large part of the UN. Without perpetual support from the US, Israels prosperity would evaporate. John Christie, Oatley Unfortunately, Josh Frydenberg can only see the Jewish side. I would have to disagree that there is no protest in the UK. I am just back from London and witnessed thousands in Picadilly Circus last weekend. It is possible to be Palestinian without supporting Hamas. It should be possible to be Jewish without supporting bombing a nation out of existence.Neville Turbit, Russell Lea

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We are seeing persistent, indiscriminate bombing of civilians. There is no safe place to shelter from the relentless air attacks. I ask the Australian government to urgently oppose this genocidal attack on the Palestinian people. Pauline Westwood, Dickson (ACT) Without providing hope for a different future, young Palestinians will be driven to join Hamas in the camps as their only alternative for food, shelter and education. They will be supplied with weapons to continue the fight and avenge their friends deaths. Hamas will be strengthened. Young Israelis hopes for a peaceful future will continue to be built on living behind a high wall. On the basis of the strategy, a sustained and honest peace looks set to remain a futile dream. Helen Cameron, Wollstonecraft This ongoing problem, along with that in the Ukraine, will only be solved by dialogue and not weaponry. The US needs to push the two state solution and unqualified support for Israel does not help. He needs to step back and emphasise the foolhardiness of continuing Israeli settlements in the West Bank. It only serves to enrage the whole Arab world. Geoff Simmons, Belrose Indigenous ignored again, in Voice wash-up The politicisation of the Voice continues. The major parties and the independents are trawling through the results for indicators of their own relevance, ignoring the implications for our First Nations people, who should have been at the centre of the referendum and its result (How the Voice vote trumped PM, October 22). To characterise No voters as social conservatives or disenchanted blue-collar voters encircling a progressive, well-to-do centre is to assume the duopoly of the past will continue in some form. If Donald Trump has taught us anything, it is that politics has become increasingly splintered by self-interest and social media. The rise of populism is about which politician gets who I am, regardless of their political colours or wider agenda. Philip Cooney, Wentworth Falls Illustration: Credit: John Shakespeare If as Peter Hartcher suggests Anthony Albaneses leadership has been underestimated then it should be said that everything about Peter Dutton has been overestimated. John Bailey, Canterbury

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After being elected, Albanese promised to make this a more respectful parliament. Clearly the Dutton wrecking crew didnt get the message. I would like to nominate the comment that the referendum was Albaneses vanity project as the most contemptible of the whole sorry business. All credit to Albanese for not rising to the bait of the Dutton gangs gloating, provocations, blaming and gaslighting. Craig Forbes, Lewisham Having ignored reality in the attempt to further the Voice as promised in his election run-up, the PM can now face reality again and reconsider the promise of implementing stage three tax cuts. Times have changed. The mood has changed. The stress on housing, education, transport and roads has changed. Only a fool will not change when circumstances demand it. Roger Hallett, Toowoomba (Qld) Loading The malicious tactic of divide and conquer has been successfully used to defeat the past two referendums. By splitting the supporters of an Australian republic and of Indigenous recognition, the No campaign has ensured our Constitution will remain a 19th century artefact. Future referendums must include more than one Yes/No question, unless there is bi-partisan support. Peter Allen, Castle Cove People who voted No to the Voice Referendum on the basis that they wont vote for something that treats individuals differently misunderstood what was being asked (Letters, October 21). There is a profound difference between horizontal equity that requires the equal treatment of equals; and vertical equity that requires the unequal treatment of unequals in proportion to their inequality. For example, our community considers it fair that people with disabilities or who are caring for a baby have designated car parking that is larger and closer than others in less need. Aboriginal people who were forcibly dispossessed of their lands and mistreated for generations deserve some vertical equity. Instead, the wilful or ignorant misuse of the concept of horizontal equity has denied justice and recognition of their special claim to a permanent fair hearing. Enrico Sondalini, Balgowlah Your correspondent (Letters, October 21) takes chutzpah to a new level when she accuses Niki Savva of straw-clutching, meanwhile ignoring the outright lies and misinformation peddled by the leaders of the No campaign for the recent referendum. Maurice Critchley, Mangrove Mountain

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D for discipline by all reports I read with dismay the alarming accounts of disruptive student behaviour apparently accepted as status quo in our high schools (Our worsening school discipline crisis, Good Weekend, October 21). From my long experience as a TAFE teacher, including authoring a student discipline and classroom management manual for teacher trainees, this subject is close to my heart. Having come full circle, now delivering ethics lessons at my local primary school, I can state unequivocally that regardless of whether you are teaching mature adults, teenagers or young children, successful learning outcomes cannot be achieved without adherence to a basic set of classroom rules. Student discipline is key, and I feel for new teachers if they are expected to face a classroom without adequate training in this fundamental area. Clearly this should be a core unit in every teacher training program and backed up by school authorities. Joy Nason, Mona Vale Reading the article on behaviour in public schools answers the question of why parents will make sacrifices to pay high fees to send their children to private schools. The word discipline has become a no-no in the public education system. No wonder burned-out teachers have had enough; no amount of pay increases will fix such problems. Stephanie Edwards, Roseville How to cross the night-life Rubicon Your writer has a Pollyanna view of the good old days of Kings Cross (Enmore, everywhere, all at once? Good luck with that, October 21). Many revellers poured in and out of venues dead drunk or stoned or both and took their condition out onto the streets and into the emergency room at St Vincents Hospital. This  and the lamentable deaths of two young men from coward punches  ruined the old Cross. Comparisons with Melbourne  where similarly bad behaviour persists  and Paris, New York and London are fine, but its up to us, the people out for a good time, to make those good times truly good for all concerned. Venue operators need to be up to the task of managing their patrons, soundproofing their premises if necessary and talking to their neighbours. Finally, for a 24-hour city to really work, trains have to run all night. Its not rocket science. Peter Campbell, Potts Point The new Minns government will put Sydneys culture and nightlife at the heart of its new tourism push. Credit: Steven Siewert Thank you for an interesting article on the problems of Sydneys nightlife. There are some good points. Perhaps there needs to be a concentration on what our young people would like rather than what tourists want. Tourists like to go where the locals go, so this would be a win-win. The cost of living is having a huge impact on our young peoples social life, but I think transport is a major issue. I have lived in Sydney my whole life, but I have never been to Bondi Beach. It would take hours to get there and back, and who can afford to eat there? I rarely go to the city any more as transport is unreliable in my area and the cost of exhibitions and concerts is out of reach, as it is for many people. Pamela Shepherd, Balgowlah

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Roots of rugby I am in total agreement with Malcolm Knoxs opinion piece (The great disconnect between grassroots rugby and Wallaby soap opera, October 22). This ancient rugby person who helped administer schools rugby and also blew the whistle in junior and grade rugby last century has more to add. If Rugby Australia believes in grassroots rugby, then it would understand that juniors, schools and volunteerism is to be encouraged and obviously funded. I sometimes think it doesnt even know what grassroots rugby means. It is definitely not the development of academies for very talented juniors to be cocooned from school development and thus normal education. When funding was dropped from Australian Schools Rugby and transferred to develop an elite under-18 team, I and others were fearful. If this was to develop better Wallabies, then I see little evidence of its success. It is easy to throw stones at Eddie Jones for our failures. Come on, Phil Waugh and team: do something. Bernie Carberry, Connells Point Dream homes So many memories were triggered by Kate Halfpennys opinion piece (The worlds falling apart, lets seek refuge in Memory Lane, October 21). Her references to many things I could remember and relate to got me thinking about the plight of people today and their struggle to own a home. Perhaps its time to revisit the era of securing an affordable loan, buying land from a housing estate, choosing your own design and contractor and building a simple, affordable project home. The modern dream of owning a huge double-storey home on a narrow block in a high-density grey-on-grey suburb would need to be modified. Perhaps the extravagance of a media room could return to being a family room. Glennis Howes, Westleigh Light relief The design of Jordan Dalahs dress for a model at the Melbourne Cup takes having a toilet break to a whole new level (Crack the style code at the track, October 21). It did, however, offer some light relief among the escalating horrors of the Middle East. Elizabeth Kroon, Randwick

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Premier Chris Minns has urged the public to remember that celebrating terrorists and commemorating their deaths could breach federal laws that prohibit terrorism and violence.

Minns warning followed pro-Palestine rallies and protests in Sydney, and media reports that services in mosques remember three Hezbollah fighters as martyrs.

NSW Premier Chris Minns has warned protesters that commemorating terrorists could breach federal laws. Credit: Oscar Coleman, Jessica Hromas

He said Hezbollah, for instance, was designated as a terrorist organisation by the Australian government.

Anyone whos looking at holding a protest, or a commemoration service, needs to be careful that theyre not celebrating an organisation thats a prescribed terrorist organisation by the Commonwealth government, he said.
Lord Mayor Clover Moore will block a proposal to fly the Israeli flag outside Sydney Town Hall and light the building in blue and white, saying it would be divisive, harmful and counter to the citys values of harmony and inclusion.

Liberal councillor Shauna Jarrett has listed a motion for Mondays council meeting to illuminate Town Hall in the colours of the Israeli flag as a mark of respect from the City of Sydney for Israel and the Jewish community.

Clover Moore will block a proposal to light Sydney Town Hall in the colours of the Israeli flag. Credit: Flavio Brancaleone.

Several other Sydney councils are grappling with competing calls for gestures of goodwill regarding the Israeli-Hamas conflict, including Randwick, where a councillor is trying to undo a previous commitment to fly the Palestinian flag next month.

Moore, Sydneys long-serving independent lord mayor, criticised the state governments decision to light up the Sydney Opera House in the colours of the Israeli flag in the immediate aftermath of the Hamas terrorist groups attacks on Israel on October 7. I didnt agree with that, taking one side or the other, she said.
Top-tier professional companies are again leasing large office spaces in Brisbanes CBD to a level not seen since the COVID-19 pandemic, international consultants Knight Frank say.

During 2020-22, small- to medium-scale firms took a larger share (20 per cent) of Brisbanes CBD office property market as bigger firms down scaled.

Now the smaller to medium firm leasing share has declined to around 10 per cent, the property consultants say.

Top and mid-tier professional forms are increasingly locking in future premieres and taking advantage of greater choice on offer than there will be in the next two years, Knight Franks October 2023 Brisbane CBD office property market report says.
Draped in Palestinian flags, holding placards and wearing traditional chequered scarves, thousands of protesters took to Melbournes streets for a second consecutive week calling for an end to the war in Gaza.

Marching in wintry rain and wind, people hugged, cried and shouted in support of those caught in the conflict.

15,000 people attended a pro-Palestinian rally in Melbourne. Credit: Chris Hopkins

Victoria Police put the crowd at 15,000, and it brought large parts of the CBD to a standstill as it marched from the State Library to Parliament House.

The diverse and passionate crowd called for a ceasefire in the two-week-old conflict and the liberation of the Palestinian people.
Sydney FC owner Scott Barlow has had something of a Goldilocks approach to housing in the past two years: trialling two trophy homes in Point Piper before he recently landed on something thats hopefully just right in Vaucluse.

The Vaucluse home of telco tycoon Canning Fok sold to Alina and Scott Barlow.

A contemporary harbourside residence that was sold a week ago by telco tycoon Canning Fok and his wife Eliza should be just the place for Barlow and his socialite wife Alina to lay their heads, as it should given it sold for about $40 million.

Scott and Alina Barlow at this years Gold Dinner fundraiser.

The Barlows trophy home adventures go back to 2021 when their former non-waterfront home in Point Piper  a Tzannes Associates designed residence on Wolseley Road  was sold by the couple for $40 million to Macquarie Banks top earner Nick OKane.
First, there was coal, then there was barley. On Sunday, wine became the latest Australian export to be given a reprieve by Beijing. Now only lobsters remain on the tarmac.

After three years, all but one of half-a-dozen exports caught up in $20 billion in trade strikes by the Chinese government have been given an official reprieve.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirms he will visit China from November 4 to 7 where he will meet President Xi Jinping. Credit: James Brickwood

The olive branch has been extended. The thaw is under way. Any number of cliches now threaten to surround Prime Minister Anthony Albaneses visit to Beijing in November.

Since China lifted restrictions on Australian coal imports in March, negotiations have moved rapidly. Not only are most trade sanctions in the process of being lifted, but Australian journalist Cheng Lei has been released from jail. The relationship can never be fully stabilised until one more Australian, Yang Hengjun, is freed from his Beijing cell.
Lieutenant Oleg Kurilskys last known words were I am wounded, I need help. In March last year, he was fighting in Poposna in eastern Ukraine when he was caught up in a massive Russian artillery bombardment. The shelling was far too heavy for comrades to come to his rescue, and his commanders believe he could never have survived.

The dry military verdict of Missing, presumed dead does not satisfy his mother, Olha. With Poposna now behind Russian lines, she has no reliable way of knowing if his body was ever found. And until it is, she clings to the hope that he might still be alive.

Oleg Kotenko, the commissioner for issues of missing persons under special circumstances, looks at the unidentified graves of civilians and Ukrainian soldiers in the recently retaken area of Izyum, Ukraine. Credit: AP

Somehow inside I just feel his presence, she said in a village outside the south-eastern city of Zaporizhzhia. Im convinced hes alive, even if hes in a terrible state.

Oleg, 22, is among nearly 24,000 people who have gone missing during Ukraines war, according to the countrys newly created Commission for Missing Persons. While many are in all likelihood dead, their families are often reluctant to hold funerals, stranding themselves in a limbo between grief and hope.
Other Hamas documents have included maps and detailed plans for attacks on several kibbutzes around Gaza, including the intention to kill and kidnap civilians. Automatic weapons, magazines, and flak jackets are displayed after Hamas militants attacked this kibbutz days earlier near the border of Gaza in Kfar Aza, Israel. Credit: Getty The document obtained by The Post provided guidance on operating weapons that they are known to have carried and also offered detailed descriptions on the vulnerabilities of Israeli tanks and armoured vehicles. Included, for instance, are instructions for using North Korean F-7 rocket-propelled grenades, which Pyongyang has denied supplying to Hamas. About 50 of the high-explosive munitions were found by Israeli troops following the attacks, according to the military, which has displayed some of the items it found. Hamas officials in Gaza and Beirut did not respond to requests for comment. Hamas secretive military wing al-Qassam is estimated to have a built a force of anywhere between 15,000 and 40,000 combat-ready fighters  1200 of whom it has said were involved in the October 7 attack.

In earlier years when tunnels were open to Egypt, Hamas could easily smuggle in explosives and rockets to Gaza, said Mkhaimar Abusada, an analyst at Gazas Al-Azhar University. But Egyptian President Abdel Fatah El-Sisi has clamped down on smuggling routes. Honestly I dont know how they have kept up their ability to build this military capability, Abusada said, noting the security perimeter around Gaza. Members of al-Qassams elite Nukhba special forces who spearheaded the assault are known to have been trained in Iran and have returned to Gaza to train others, he said. Loading Militants used paragliders, motorbikes and trucks to cross the border fence from Gaza into Israel, and small specialised units attacked Israeli communities, in line with the instructions in the handbook. We saw they are working as professional troops, said Major G, a commander of the Israeli Institute for Weapons Research, on Friday, as he displayed weapons that had been seized from Hamas. The major could only be identified by his rank and first name under rules set by the Israeli briefers. They worked very specifically. It was very organised. One vehicle is IED, one vehicle was RPGs, one vehicle was a command team.

The instructions for shock troops also included the best places to stab someone, according to the field manual obtained by The Post. The neck in the collarbone area, spine and underarms are listed. Aymenn al-Tamimi, an expert with the Middle East Forum who has extensively studied documents recovered from battlefields in Iraq and Syria, agreed that it appeared genuine. It wouldnt be surprising for documents like this to be in the possession of fighters, he said. The Israeli military says hundreds of documents and other material have been collected by the Intelligence Directorate and the Yahalom combat engineering unit, including Hamas mobile phones, communication equipment, cameras and intelligence reports. Many documents have emerged in a Telegram channel called South First Responders, which compiles evidence gathered in the aftermath of the attacks by those clearing the areas. The group declines to answer questions on its methods for gathering documents and material  citing risks to sources.

Those who have worked to remove the bodies of hundreds of Palestinian militants killed in the assault say that corpses are first checked over by bomb squads to make sure there are no hidden explosives. They came with everything, fully equipped, with documents, maps and instructions, said Yossi Landau, a front-line responder with the Zaka medical organisation, which has been working to remove bodies. One 14-page document partially posted by South First Responders and verified by Israeli authorities outlined attack plans for Mefalsim, a small kibbutz of 1000 people who managed to escape relatively unscathed from the attack. Kibbutz security fought off a group of about 30 militants armed with grenades and AK-47s at the front gate. The document details the size of the kibbutz security team, the number of minutes it would take to travel between various points in the community, and the goal to take soldiers and civilians as prisoners and hostages and negotiate their release. According to four additional pages obtained by The Post, the team at the front gate was supposed to distract the kibbutz security force while a Hamas explosives unit blew a hole in the back gate.

The group keeps the kibbutz busy until the rest of the forces arrive, the planning document said. But the reinforcements never arrived, according to those who fought in the kibbutz. They knew where the gates were, they knew where the generators were to cut the electricity, said Yarden Reskin, a landscape architect and volunteer on the security team at the kibbutz. Looking at the attack plans, and the death toll in surrounding communities, he said:We do feel like we had a lot of luck. We did our part, we did it good, but we had a lot of luck. Washington Post Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on whats making headlines around the world. Sign up for the weekly What in the World newsletter here.
VIENTIANE, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Provincial authorities across Laos are making preparations to welcome a higher influx of foreign visitors during Laos' chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) next year and as part of Visit Laos Year 2024.

The Lao government considers tourism as its top priority in revitalizing the economy. The government hopes that at least 4.6 million foreign and Lao tourists will travel in the country in 2024, generating a revenue of 712 million U.S. dollars.

The Visit Laos Year 2024 tourism promotion campaign will be officially launched in November. It will bring tourists to Laos and encourage the creation of products that will broaden the scope of tourism and add value to products, as well as improve the quality of services in line with the requirements of target market groups, Laos' Deputy Prime Minister Kikeo Khaykhamphithoune said in a meeting on Sept. 22.

Also at the meeting, Lao Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism Suanesavanh Vignaket said that the campaign has scheduled 75 activities, with 14 of them to be held nationwide and 61 in provinces.

In preparation for these events, provincial authorities have made improvements at tourist attractions so as to meet international standards, while signage has been installed on roads that link to neighboring countries and on roads to tourist attractions.

Head of Luang Namtha province's Information, Culture and Tourism Department Somsavath Namintha told media on Thursday that provincial authorities will offer a program of 13 events, as well as improve facilities and standards of service, to impress visitors during Visit Laos Year 2024.

Authorities are also upgrading many tourist sites and raising the skill levels of staff working at hotels, guesthouses and restaurants, hoping to create a good impression on visitors. Meanwhile, infrastructure and facilities at some popular tourist destinations have been upgraded.

The province expects to welcome at least 1 million visitors during Visit Laos Year 2024, generating a revenue of more than 59 million U.S. dollars.

Tourism authorities in Phongsaly province, known as the land of green tea and morning mists, are hoping to attract more than 128,000 tourists during Visit Laos Year 2024. They will organize an ethnic food and tea festival to entice tourists to the remote northern province.

Luang Prabang province is stepping up advertising and promoting tourism through various media channels. Tourist attractions are being improved and visitor facilities added to accommodate foreign tourists and enhance the province's reputation as a worthy tourist destination.

Authorities in provinces of Bolikhamxay and Khammuan also prepared promotion activities and carried out measures to improve facilities and services to attract more visitors.

During a working visit to southern Laos' Champasak province on Oct. 17, Vice President Pany Yathotou instructed local authorities that procedures related to tourism must be modernized and the management and advertising of tourism must be efficient and streamlined to welcome Visit Laos Year 2024.

She also advised provincial authorities to do more to promote the development of tourism resources in ways that compete with the tourism resources of other countries in the sub-region and the world.

Meanwhile, Lao authorities have discussed preparations for the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2024, stressing the importance of revising the action plan, creating a travel program for delegates, ensuring the quality of food and environment of the restaurants, and having well-organized entry and exit procedures at border crossings.

The forum is viewed as a golden opportunity for Laos to advertise the country's many exciting tourist destinations to a huge international audience.

Laos is an intriguing destination for foreign visitors keen to explore the country's scenic attractions and observe local lifestyles and traditions.

The government is increasingly emphasizing the country's potential as a nature-based tourist destination. There are also colorful traditions to be observed among Laos' many ethnic groups, while old temples and historical sites are another drawcard.

Almost 1.7 million foreign tourists visited Laos in the first six months of 2023, with Thai, Vietnamese and Chinese nationals topping the list. 
Israel is reportedly delaying its ground invasion of Gaza because of an increasingly complicated situation along its northern border with Lebanon, where clashes with Hezbollah continue to intensify.

Israels Channel 14, which is believed to be close to Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, on Sunday cited unnamed officials as saying that the escalation of violence along the Lebanese frontier meant we shouldnt enter Gaza now.

Netanyahu himself warned Hezbollah against making the mistake of its life by entering the war, during a visit to troops stationed near the border on Sunday, amid fears that the Iran-backed group may try to open up a second front.

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We will cripple it with a force it cannot imagine and the consequences for it and the Lebanese state are devastating, he said.

Clashes between the Israeli military and Hezbollah have steadily escalated in the past week, forcing Israel to order an unprecedented evacuation from dozens of communities in the border region, which is home to some 200,000 people.

On Monday, the Israel Defense Forces said that it had hit four Hezbollah cells operating on the border with Lebanon overnight.

Hezbollah, which is a designated terrorist group armed with tens of thousands of rockets, said on Monday that one of its fighters had been killed, without providing further details.

The Telegraph
Violence in the West Bank has flared since Hamas gunmen carried out a deadly rampage in Israel on October 7, drawing retaliatory bombardment on the besieged Gaza Strip. At least 84 Palestinians in the West Bank have been killed in clashes with Israeli forces, Palestinian officials say. The war, in its 16th day on Sunday, is the deadliest of five Gaza wars for both sides. The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry on Saturday said the death toll had reached 4385 and that 13,561 people had been wounded. Demonstrators hold up flags and placards as they stand on the base of Nelsons Column in Trafalgar Square during a pro-Palestinian demonstration in London. Credit: AP More than 1400 people in Israel have been killed, mostly in the initial attack on October 7, when Hamas militants stormed into Israel. In addition, 203 people were believed captured by Hamas during the incursion and taken into Gaza, the Israeli military has said. In a sign of the increasingly complex environment for war, the Pentagon said it would send a Terminal High Altitude Area Defence system and additional Patriot air defence missile system battalions to the Middle East, in response to recent attacks on US troops in the region.

The Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance service said an Israeli strike had hit an area near al-Ansar mosque in Jenin refugee camp, a Palestinian militant stronghold in the territory. Jenin was the focus of major Israeli military operations earlier this year. On Thursday, Israels military said it had raided and carried out an air strike in a refugee camp in the central city of Tulkarm. Palestinians said at least 12 were killed. Along Lebanon border Israel said its aircraft struck Hezbollah targets in Lebanon on Saturday and that one of its soldiers was hit by an anti-tank missile, in cross-border fighting that the Iran-backed group said killed six of its fighters.

With the frontier region seeing its worst violence in years as Israel wages war against Gazas Hamas militants, the Israeli military said it had traded fire with Hezbollah in at least four different areas along the Lebanese border. The hostilities have forced residents on both sides to flee their homes. Israels military says seven soldiers have been killed since October 7. Hezbollah says 19 of its fighters have died, including the six on Saturday. The violence has also killed civilians and journalists, including one with Reuters. A security source in Lebanon said one Hezbollah fighter was killed in the Lebanese area of Hula, opposite the Israeli community of Margaliot, which Israel said was the target of an anti-tank missile attack. The Israeli army said it fired back. Hezbollah, which claimed attacks on Israeli military positions throughout Saturday, later said five other members had been killed. Israel said its soldiers had struck a cell attempting to launch anti-tank missiles towards the area of Shlomi, an Israeli town about 70 kilometres from Margaliot. An Israeli soldier was severely injured after being hit by an anti-tank missile near the Israeli town of Baram, the military said. Two other soldiers were lightly injured in the incident, it said, without saying if they had also been hit by the missile.

The sun sets over Israel. Hundreds of thousands of residents of northern Gaza have fled to the southern part of the territory, following Israels vow to launch a ground invasion. Credit: Getty Hezbollah and Israels military have been trading fire at the frontier almost daily since October 7. It is the worst escalation in violence along the Israeli-Lebanese border since a 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel. Sources have previously said Hezbollahs attacks were designed to keep Israels military occupied without provoking a major war. Israel has said it has no interest in waging war and said if Hezbollah is restrained it will maintain the status quo. An IDF soldier jumps off the front of a tank in southern Israel. Credit: Getty

But rising tensions have raised concerns in the region and beyond about the risk of a wider conflict, as Israel makes preparations for an expected land incursion into Gaza. An Israeli army spokesperson on Saturday said its evacuation of the border town of Kiryat Shmona allowed the military to broaden its actions against Hezbollah, a Hamas ally. Israel and Hezbollah both reported exchanges of fire on other points along the frontier on Saturday, including around Lebanons Alma Al-Shaab and Israels Hanita, an area where Hezbollah said it had fired guided missiles. Israel had responded. The Palestinian group Islamic Jihad, which has a presence in southern Lebanon, said one of its members had been killed in Saturdays fighting. The Department of Foreign Affairs has been advising 51 Australian citizens about the possibility of leaving Gaza after the opening of the Rafah border crossing.

Humanitarian aid arrives through the Rafah land crossing into the Gaza Strip. Credit: Getty Aid arrives The first humanitarian aid convoy to be sent to the besieged Gaza Strip since war broke out arrived through the Rafah border crossing on Saturday, after wrangling over conditions for delivering relief left it stranded in Egypt. The UN said the 20-truck convoy included life-saving supplies that would be received by the Palestinian Red Crescent, but the aid was a fraction of the quantity needed and it was unclear how much aid would be allowed to pass in coming days. Rafah is the main route in and out of the Gaza Strip that is not controlled by Israel, and the focus of efforts to deliver relief to Gazas 2.3 million residents.

UN officials say at least 100 trucks a day are required in Gaza to cover urgent needs, and that any delivery of aid should be sustained and at scale. Before the outbreak of conflict, several hundred trucks were normally arriving in the enclave daily. Large London rally About 100,000 people joined a pro-Palestinian demonstration in central London on Saturday, marching through the British capital to demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza following the Hamas attack on Israel two weeks ago. Loading

Chanting Free Palestine, holding banners and waving Palestinian flags, the protesters moved through London before massing at Downing Street, the official residence and office of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. As a Palestinian whod like to return home one day, as a Palestinian who has brothers and sisters in Gaza, and family, I wish we can do more but protest is what we can do at the minute, said one woman, who declined to give her name. Many of the chants and banners contained strong anti-Israeli slogans, and one protester held a banner with pictures of Sunak, US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with the message Wanted For War crimes. Police had cautioned before the march that anyone showing support for Hamas, banned as a terrorist organisation in Britain, would face arrest, and any incident of hate crime would not be tolerated. The protest was mostly peaceful. Police said they had made 10 arrests.

Figures on Friday showed there had been a 1353 per cent increase in antisemitic offences this month compared to the same period last year, while Islamophobic offences were up 140 per cent. Diplomacy falters Diplomacy to secure a ceasefire has been fruitless so far. Arab leaders at a hastily convened Cairo summit on Saturday condemned the Israeli bombardment of Gaza as Europeans said civilians should be shielded. But with Israel and senior US officials absent. there was no agreement on containing the violence. Amid mounting international concern that the conflict could widen, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday cautioned Lebanons caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati in a call that the Lebanese people would be affected if his country were drawn into the war, the State Department said.
PHILIPSBURG (DCOMM):--- Hurricane Tammy at 5:00 PM was located approximately 140 miles south- southeast of Sint Maarten, according to the latest update from the Meteorological Department of Sint Maarten.



Hurricane Tammy continues to maintain maximum sustained winds of 85 miles per hour with higher gusts. Tammy has picked up in speed and is now moving at 10 miles per hour.



The deterioration in weather conditions is likely to start impacting Sint Maarten later tonight and into Sunday. Sint Maarten remains under a Hurricane Warning.



Hurricane Tammy is expected to pass at its closest point, 60 miles east-northeast of Sint Maarten early Sunday morning, October 22, 2023.



Hurricane Tammy could produce two to four inches of rainfall along with storm-force winds, and possibly hurricane-force winds depending on the forecast track.



Rain showers and thunderstorms are expected which could produce flash flooding in flood-prone areas and rock falls in vulnerable areas during the system's passage.



The Prime Minister reiterates, that once weather conditions start to deteriorate, motorists should be off the road network, and residents should be safely at home to ride out the passing of Hurricane Tammy. All visitors are also requested to secure themselves in their Airbnb or at their resort in order to ensure your safety during the passing of the hurricane.



During the peak passing of the hurricane, first responders will not be able to respond to any emergency calls until weather conditions have subsided. This is for the safety of emergency personnel.



Tonight, spend quality time with your friends, loved ones, and family as the hurricane passes the island. The Government of Sint Maarten has taken all necessary measures, and the community has also had sufficient time to prepare and secure homes and property.



On Saturday the Prime Minister drove through the different districts and took note with great pride of residents and the business community having taken the necessary measures to prepare.



Additional updates that came in from the Emergency Support Functions (ESFs) are as follows. NV GEBE will have to take certain measures  disrupting electricity - due to the proximity of the hurricane with respect to two residential areas. This information was provided by NV GEBE in their own statement made earlier this evening and you should check their social media channels for more information.



The Princess Juliana International Airport remains closed until Sunday, 9:00 AM. All travelers are advised to contact their airline for further updates.



The John Larmonie Hurricane Shelter is open. Only one person has registered so far to make use of the shelter.



The Government of Sint Maarten has requested military assistance in order to ensure proper support for the Ministry of Justice during and after the passage of the hurricane.



The Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard has been patrolling the Simpson Bay Lagoon to make sure that vessels that have sought shelter in the lagoon are properly secure. Vessel owners should not remain onboard during the passing of the hurricane and should seek shelter elsewhere.



The controls of business closures on Saturday were completed and the business community is thanked for their compliance.



Stay tuned to updates via the official government platforms, government, and Met Office websites, social media pages, and SXMGOV radio 107.9 FM.



Until the next update, stay indoors, and stay safe Sint Maarten, and ensure that you have secured your personal belongings and have faith. May God Bless Sint Maarten, all her people, and its visitors have a safe passage of hurricane Tammy tonight, the Prime Minister concluded in her statement to the nation on Saturday evening.



For official weather-related information, check out the website of MDS: www.meteosxm.com or visit their social media page Facebook.com/sxmweather/



The Sint Maarten community is urged to learn more about hurricane hazards and resources you need on how to prepare your family, home, or business for a storm/hurricane strike by visiting the Government website: www.sintmaartengov.org/hurricane where you will be able to download your Hurricane Season Readiness Guide and Hurricane Tracking Chart. The information here is also valuable for new residents.



Listen to the Government Radio station SXMGOV  107.9FM - for official information and news before, during, and after a hurricane. You can also follow weather-related news and information as well as national addresses by the Prime Minister, chairlady of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) by going to @SXMGOV's Facebook Page.

Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs with latest updates on Hurricane Tammy.
PHILIPSBURG (DCOMM):--- Hurricane Tammy at 5:00 AM was located approximately 60 miles northeast of Sint Maarten and was at its closest point to the island according to the latest update from the Meteorological Department of Sint Maarten.



Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs on Sunday morning said that the nation is truly blessed thus far to have experienced minimal tropical storm-force winds.



Hurricane-force winds were on the eastern side of Tammy and therefore the country didnt experience those types of winds.



The Hurricane Warning for Sint Maarten is discontinued as of 8:00 AM. Tammy is moving towards the north-northwest away from Sint Maarten.



The Business regulation for closure is lifted as of 8:00 AM and businesses are allowed to reopen at their own discretion. An assessment was carried out and there were no challenges observed, however, all are requested to continue to exercise caution due to potential for heavy rains later today.



Early this morning Tammy shifted further away from the island and therefore the impact that was anticipated based on weather analysis did not take place, and we are truly thankful that the country has once again been spared, Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs said on Sunday morning.



The losses of an economic impact on our economy and our people would have created considerable challenges, and therefore we have to count our blessings that the hurricane remained further out to sea as well as the majority of the weather activity associated with it.



Based on continued weather analysis, other islands in the Caribbean such as Guadeloupe and Dominica, did not get particularly high winds due to the fact that Tammy was a very compact hurricane which stayed offshore.



Guadeloupe did experience a lot of rain in certain areas which led to serious flooding overnight. Sint Maarten is now under a flood watch as of 8:00 AM in anticipation of rainfall according to MDS.



Hurricane Tammy continues to maintain maximum sustained winds of 85 miles per hour with higher gusts. Tammy continues to move at 10 miles per hour.



With respect to other updates from other Emergency Support Functions (ESFs), in total, two people made use of the John Larmonie Hurricane Center.



NV GEBE did not have to resort to disrupting electricity to customers in two residential areas that were announced by NV GEBE last night as the anticipated weather activity did not take place.



The Princess Juliana International Airport reopened at 9:00 AM on Sunday morning.



The landfills on Pond Island are open.



Sea conditions at Port St. Maarten do not allow for cargo vessels to dock at the port to carry out operations. There were no cruise ship calls scheduled for today, Sunday. An additional assessment will be made later this morning.



The decision regarding school on Monday, October 23 will be taken on Sunday afternoon after further assessment of anticipated weather conditions.



All pharmacies are operating as usual according to their Sunday schedules. The Philipsburg pharmacy is open from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM; Maho Pharmacy 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM and 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM; Simpson Bay Pharmacy from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM.



The Emergency Operations Center (EOC) chaired by Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs will be meeting at 1:00 PM to assess the situation and further updates will be provided during the course of the afternoon.



I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Sint Maarten community and business sector for their vigilance and action taken to secure life and property in the event of the passing of Hurricane Tammy.



We know that changes can happen overnight and so we are very grateful that the changes that took place were in our favor. However, we remain vigilant as continued rains associated with the storm can continue for several hours and we will continue to monitor this.



Our preparations ensured that we were able to bounce back quickly. Continue to remain vigilant as a community and continue to have a blessed and happy day going forward. Thank you, Sint Maarten for remaining safe, Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs concluded in her national address on Sunday morning.

Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs with the latest updates on Hurricane Tammy.
PHILIPSBURG:--- The authorities from Saint Martin yesterday made a request to Defense to support them with hurricane Tammy. Defense has responded to this and made staff and resources available.



Saint Marten herself takes the lead in coordinating and managing assignments, while Defense will support, where necessary, with staff and resources. Tasks executed by the Marines are amongst other things to render support with guarding the prison, patrolling around the island and, where necessary, guarding the public order. Up to now the night hours, with the exception of small incidents, such as a car accident has passed quietly. Besides the already deployed defense resources, if needed these can be scaled up. Support to the local authorities is one of the three main tasks from Defense. Defense focuses on immediate (emergency) aid during and after the passage of the hurricane.

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SEOUL, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Four people were killed and the remaining 14 crew members on board injured on Sunday as their fishing boat capsized off South Korea's southwestern coast, according to Yonhap news agency.

The 7.93-ton vessel carrying 18 people overturned in seas off the west coast town of Buan, some 200 km south of Seoul, at 5:57 a.m. local time (2057 GMT Saturday), after colliding with a tugboat, Yonhap quoted coast guard officials as saying.

The cause of the collision was still under investigation. 
"He has not been seen or heard from by his family since that time, and this is out of character," the Met said in an update on Sunday.
Five people were arrested by officers from North Yorkshire Police following the protest, which took place while Mr Sunak and his family were on holiday in California.
She added: People in Gaza have been running out of hope, they have been watching settlements being built in the West Bank, illegal settlements that are making the prospect of a two-statement solution very, very difficult and the world hasnt shown the same level of care and attention to this as we ought to have done, and we are determined that thats going to change.
Oleh Synehubov, the governor of the broader Kharkiv region of which the city of Kharkiv is the administrative centre, said several of the injured were in serious condition in hospital.
I think they should have just lit up the arch, not because they were supporting or not supporting Israel, but they should have come out in support of the people who had suffered those terrible atrocities.
Student teacher Cheryl Warren and the Rev. John R. Porter teach students from Beale, Lowe and Kershaw schools at a Freedom School at 64th and Sangamon streets during a civil rights boycott of their regular schools on Oct. 22, 1963. (Frank Berger/Chicago Tribune)

Although civil rights leaders including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. supported the designation of Oct. 22, 1963, as Freedom Day, its success was not guaranteed.

Older Black organizations and clergy didnt relish asking parents to back a one-day school boycott to demonstrate that segregated schools werent limited to the South. It was politically dangerous for anyone beholden to the Boss, Mayor Richard J. Daley.

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Absenteeism is a serious problem and if children are absent with no excuse if might change their attitude, said one of two Black school board members, identified in a Chicago Defender story as Mrs. Wendell Green.

The boycott stemmed in part from anger over Chicago Public Schools policies that included the use of portable classrooms that came to be known as Willis Wagons  after district Superintendent Benjamin Willis  to relieve overcrowding at schools in largely Black neighborhoods.

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Locally, all bets were off on how Freedom Day would play out. But at 8:30 that morning, Defender reporters found signs of impending success. On streets usually crowded with kids headed to school, the sidewalks were eerily empty.

Indicative of the response to the call for active protest, Wendell Phillips High School, located in the heart of the South Side ghetto, was almost deserted, the Defender noted. At Beale School, scene of racial disturbances earlier this year, the principal reported 136 out of an enrollment (of) 1,708 attended. Some classrooms were empty. Others were reported to have had as few as two students in them.

Final estimates had more than 200,000 students skipping classes. At the same time, police estimated 8,000 to 10,000 protesters marched on City Hall and the Board of Education offices demanding Willis dismissal. They were led by a Boy Scout drum and bugle corps, the Tribune reported.

Two sound trucks played recordings of a song written to the tune of This is My Land, a folk song. It began these schools are your schools, these schools are my schools. It included these words: The board is a one man rule. He (Willis) makes it a fool board.

As the march began, Willis gave the school board a lowball estimate of 54% of grade school students and 38% of high school students being absent. Then he quickly adjourned the meeting in the boards headquarters at 162 W. Wacker Drive. A few blocks over, boycott champions mounted a flatbed truck at LaSalle and Lake streets.

A throng of Freedom Day demonstrators fill LaSalle Street, south of Wacker Drive, on Oct. 22, 1963, near the Board of Education offices. (John Austad/Chicago Tribune)

Among those who spoke were 3rd Ward Ald. Ralph Metcalfe and comedian Dick Gregory. Afterward, Gregory and a few protesters sneaked into the basement of the Board of Education. They intended to stage a sit-in, but were ousted by the cops when they reached the first floor.

We are petitioning for the rewriting of history books so that the Negro is included, a boycott leader told a Chicago Defender reporter. Then and only then will whites be able to shed their feeling of false superiority.

Most of the absent students simply stayed home. But some attended ad hoc Freedom Schools in churches, synagogues and union halls. They sang We Shall Overcome and heard the story of Black heroes missing from their textbooks: Harriet Tubman who rescued slaves before the Civil War. Crispis Attucks who escaped slavery and is considered the first American killed in the Revolutionary War.

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Luberda Bailey, head of the 71st and Sangamon Block Club, leads children from the Guggenheim School to the Freedom School held in the basement at New Friendship Baptist Church on Oct. 22, 1963. (Tom Kinahan/Chicago Tribune)

The morning after the boycott, the Chicago Defenders headline read:

250,000 Kids Make Willis Eat Jim Crow.

That day of protests was orchestrated in part by a pair of college students, Lawrence Landry, who was Black, and Roberta Galler, who was white and Jewish.

The response to the boycott was overwhelming, far greater than we hoped, Galler told the Tribune.

Galler and Landry were members of the Chicago chapter of Friends of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, the youthful battalion of the civil rights crusade.

The Chicago boycott that Galler and Landry directed was precipitated by Willis unexpected resignation on Oct. 4, 1963. He was ticked off at the board, which he feared was secretly considering the demands of the Coordination Council of Community Organizations, a coalition of civil rights groups, and encroaching on his power.

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Black Chicago delighted in Willis being gone. The white community, which largely supported Willis, assumed it wasnt voluntary. The board was in an untenable position, and refused to accept his resignation. Willis played the stalemate for all it was worth.

Chicagoans attending an open meeting of the Board of Education applaud on Oct. 7, 1963, after the board voted 6-2 to refuse to accept the resignation of Superintendent Benjamin C. Willis. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)

Board On Knees To Beg Willis; He Ignores Them, a Defender headline read, summing up the impasse.

Willis went back to work six days before the scheduled school boycott.

An even greater amount of confusion, chaos, and continued bullheadedness will exist now that Willis is returning apparently carte blanche, Landry said.

Hired in 1953, Willis confronted a daunting problem. Chicagos Black population had grown from 30,000 in 1900 to 500,000 in 1963. Due to overcrowding, schools with soaring enrollments went to two-shifts daily.

Suburbanization had left empty classrooms in white neighborhoods. Logic said students should be transferred from overcrowded Black schools to underused white schools. Prudence dictated patience.

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Chicagos considerable racial antipathies would likely be reinforced by the U.S. Supreme Courts decision that overturned the separate but equal doctrine. Issued the year after Willis arrived in Chicago, the rulings effect reverberated even in liberal neighborhoods.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 27 Children, parents and clergymen picket a mobile classroom site at 73rd Street and Lowe Avenue in Chicago on Aug. 15, 1963. (Ed Wagner Sr. / Chicago Tribune)

Willis took the path of least resistance: creating more classrooms in Black neighborhoods. To sugarcoat his policy, he embraced the neighborhood school movement.

It projected images of Tom Sawyer conning village urchins into whitewashing Aunt Pollys fence. But it didnt resonate in a South Side schoolyard newly covered with 40-foot aluminum classrooms.

Dubbed Willis Wagons, the superintendent liked such classrooms because they had wheels enabling them to be moved as neighborhood demographics changed. Black Chicagoans saw them blocking the way out of second-class citizenship.

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In practice, the vast majority of Willis Wagons were stationed along the lines separating white from Black Chicago. After the boycott, the school board created an Advisory Panel on Integration of the Chicago Public Schools, chaired by Philip Hauser, a University of Chicago professor of sociology. A year later, Hauser spoke at the convention of the American Federation of Teachers.

The Chicago Board of Education, and boards in other cities, did not create de facto segregated schooling, Hauser said. But from now on they must bear responsibility for its continuation.

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Chicago police officers carry protester Bernie Sanders, 21, in August 1963 to a police wagon from the mobile classroom site at West 73rd Street and South Lowe Avenue in Chicago. He was arrested during a civil rights demonstration, charged with resisting arrest, found guilty and fined $25. (Tom Kinahan/Chicago Tribune)

Anger over Willis wagons and school segregation led to a number of confrontations in addition to the Freedom Day school boycott. In August 1963, future U.S. senator and presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, then a University of Chicago student, was arrested while protesting the issues with hundreds of others.

Any accomplishments of those protests and boycotts were deferred. Willis Wagons didnt immediately disappear. But as a first step, the Black community vowed to vote the school board out if Willis contract was renewed when it expired in 1965. He resigned a year later.

I think we made progress, Rosie Simpson, a parent activist who took part in the school boycott, told the Tribune in 2018. We did get rid of Willis and eventually we got rid of the Willis wagons.

Have an idea for Vintage Chicago Tribune? Share it with Ron Grossman and Marianne Mather at rgrossman@chicagotribune.com and mmather@chicagotribune.com.
ATHENS, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- Standard & Poor's has upgraded Greece's sovereign credit rating back to investment level after 13 years, a move welcomed by the Greek government.

The rating agency announced on Friday that it has raised the Greek rating to "BBB-", from "BB+", with a stable outlook, explaining that "significant budgetary consolidation has placed Greece's fiscal trajectory onto a firmly improving track."

It also said it anticipates the Greek budget to end the year with a primary surplus of 1.2 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), compared to a government target of 0.7 percent of GDP. It also forecasts growth to amount to 2.5 percent this year.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis had said after he was reelected to the post on June 25 that one of his government's main objectives was the restoration of Greece's investment grade.

The upgrade to investment level by S&P is "another official seal of the recovery of the Greek economy," he commented on social media on Saturday.

The upgrade confirms that Greece has left behind a severe crisis moving consistently forward to development, he added.

This upgrading of Greece makes S&P the second rating agency among the four that the European Central Bank consults before accepting a country's sovereign bonds as collateral for lending to commercial banks. Six weeks earlier Canada-based DBRS Morningstar had also granted Greece investment grade.

Other rating agencies such as Scope Ratings and R&I have raised Greece to investment level, too. 
By Marc Jones

LONDON (Reuters) -A milestone move by the European Central Bank toward launching a digital euro within a few years means the time has come for the newest incarnation of money to prove its worth.

A few countries have introduced central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), China is trialling a prototype yuan with 200 million users, India is gearing up for a pilot and some 130 countries representing 98% of the global economy are exploring digital cash.

The ECB's move on Wednesday to establish a pilot that could lead to a digital currency for the 20 countries that use the common currency, making it the first heavyweight Western central bank to formally forge ahead, could become a global blueprint.

Supporters say CBDCs will modernise payments with new functionality and provide an alternative to physical cash, which seems in terminal decline.

But questions remain why CBDCs represent an advance, with uptake low in countries such as Nigeria that have adopted them, as well as protests against the ECBs plans, showing public concern about snooping.

Commercial bankers fret about the costs and possible deposit bleeds as customers could move money into central bank accounts, while developing countries worry that an easily accessible digital dollar, euro or yuan could cause havoc in their systems.

'WHAT IS MONEY?'

The ECB's plan "is a very big deal, and a lot of the rest of the world is watching this closely", said Josh Lipsky, who runs a global CBDC tracker at the Atlantic Council.

"It is one of the biggest central banks, so if it comes up with answers to the privacy and cyber security issues and the ability to use it offline, it will be a very influential."

Central banks were spooked into action five years ago when Facebook floated plans for a breakaway currency. Now, though, policymakers have yet to fully persuade many why CBDCs are needed.

Fabio Panetta, the ECB Executive Board member overseeing the bank's digital euro work, said it would help "future-proof" the currency and reduce what he called an over-reliance on the payment systems of U.S.-based credit cards.

Story continues

But experts are scratching their heads.

"It's not yet clear what the thing is that could be done with a retail CBDC that couldn't also be replicated with commercial bank money," said Barclays' managing director of advanced technologies, Lee Braine, who has been involved in some of the Bank of England's digital pound projects.

"You are potentially breaking some of the singleness of money" he said, flagging the risk of a two-tier system if CBDCs are allowed different functionality or data disclosure rules than bank accounts.

"This all comes down to, what is money?"

DEFINING A GLOBAL STANDARD

A key unknown is whether the U.S. Federal Reserve or Bank of Japan will launch retail CBDCs.

India could be a more effective test environment than China because, while each Asian giant has more than 1 billion people, India has a far more open economy.

In contrast, Canada and some others appear to be tapping the brakes, while most of those already using CBDCs are seeing very little interest.

Data this month from the Bahamas, which launched the world's first digital currency in 2020, showed personal transactions of its SandDollar were down 11% in the first seven months of the year while wallet top-ups had plunged four fold.

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) paper in May described public adoption of Nigeria's eNaira as "disappointingly low", with 98.5% of wallets never even used.

"The current adoption level of eNaira has been reflective of the early stage of CBDC awareness," the country's central bank said in a written response to questions, adding it had been "consistent" with expectations.

Bo Li, an IMF deputy managing director, said this month the multilateral lender was helping dozens of countries with CBDC plans and would soon publish a how-to guide. It is building what it calls its XC platform, meant to process or "settle" CBDCs transactions.

The Atlantic Council's Lipsky said this, along with the technology choices the ECB and India make, could start defining a worldwide standard, as VHS did early in videotape era.

"The overarching question" about developing CBDCs, Lipsky said, "is how does this improve the financial system? That it really what it's all about".

(Reporting by Marc Jones in London; Additional reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe in Lagos; Editing by William Mallard)
Who and where  Marcia and Alan Ritter of Kirkwood standing in front of the Museum of Natural History, Maputo, Mozambique.

The trip  They took a 18-day cruise on the Oceania Nautica from Cape Town, South Africa, to Mumbai, India. Additional destinations included Mozambique, Madagascar, Seychelles and Maldives. The cruise included opportunities for wildlife hikes for bird watching in South Africa and with friendly lemurs in Madagascar as well as snorkeling in the Seychelles and Maldives.

Travel tip  Crossing that much of the Indian Ocean required quite a few sea days. Several of the tours required moderate to strenuous walking on dirt and rocky paths, although there were less-intense options as well.

Contribute  Email your photo to stlpost@gmail.com. Include the full names of everyone in the photo, including where they are from and where you are standing in the photo. Also include your address and phone number. Please also tell us a little about the trip and a travel tip. Were looking for interesting, well-composed, well-lighted photos.
Its no secret that one of the best stargazing spots in Southern California is Joshua Tree National Park. The park is an International Dark Sky Place  meaning that aside from some light pollution coming from Palm Springs and the Morongo Basin, it has some of the darkest skies in the region  and its just a two- or three- hour drive from Los Angeles.

But the best way to see the stars there isnt with your eyes. Its with a camera.

As it gets dark, youll see theres a kind of light, mottled appearance where the Milky Way band is, said Jon Norris, who has taught photography workshops in the park for four years. You will be able to perceive the Milky Way, but the image your digital camera will take will be much, much clearer than what your eyes can perceive.

Norris, a former aerospace engineer turned landscape photographer, teaches some of his dark-sky photography workshops via the Desert Institute at Joshua Tree National Park, a nonprofit cooperating association that provides educational programming for the park.

Were here to provide specialized or in-depth opportunities for people to explore the park and understand this resource from a more specialized perspective, said Sarah Witt, Desert Institute program director of Desert Institute.

The educational programs can range from school trips to field classes on local insects, flora and fauna. And though the institute has offered classes and workshops for 24 years, Witt said its now trying to provide more short-form, entry-level activities for people to engage with.

When we come to a desert, we want to do everything, Witt said. You know, we want to get our chakras cleansed, and we want to go to Pappy & Harriets and wear cowboy boots. We dont want to go bird-watching for two days, necessarily, right? But we do want to educate people on birds!

Relative to some of the multi-day programs that the Desert Institute offers, these dark-sky photography workshops are pretty low commitment. During my six-hour class, I took hundreds of photos in the same amount of time that my partner had a rack of ribs and watched a Grateful Shred show at Pappy & Harriets in nearby Pioneertown.

Astrophotography workshops are usually scheduled around the new moon  when the sky is darkest  during the Milky Way season, which is February to October in the Northern Hemisphere. So just two days after Septembers new moon, I found myself fumbling with a camera in a pitch-black field of Yucca brevifolia, trying to capture a few decent photos for this story.

Want to take your own photos of the night sky? Here are some night photography tips and tricks from Norris.

Get set up while theres still light out

By 5:30 p.m., our class of five was gathered in the Cap Rock parking lot  one of the lots that stays open at night for stargazers. After Norris and a park volunteer named Chris checked our names and waivers, we got straight to work on our cameras.

Participants must bring a DSLR or a mirrorless camera that theyre familiar with, but Norris helped each of us set our focus, aperture, exposure and ISO manually to prepare for shooting in the dark.

What were trying to do is capture an image of a very dark scene, and the most important thing in that scene is the stars, Norris said. We want the stars to be absolutely pin sharp, so one of the things we need to do before it gets dark is were going to set up our focus on something at infinity.

Once we all managed to focus on a mountain in the distance and finished tinkering with our various camera settings and lenses, Norris taped our focal rings to keep them in place throughout the night, since its impossible to focus properly in the dark. He helped us set delays (so pressing the shutter button wouldnt shake the cameras at the beginning of our shots), and instructed us to shoot in RAW  rather than JPEG  since RAW images capture the highest level of detail.

Dont be afraid of technology

With a dark-sky photo, preferably, you want to have an interesting foreground, because it helps give it scale and makes the image look more interesting, Norris said as we left the parking lot. So were going to spend the next hour or so wandering around this trail, looking for different compositions.

To plan his shots, Norris swears by a phone app called PhotoPills, which allows him to figure out shot compositions ahead of time with the help of nighttime augmented reality. The app also tracks the moon phases and daily timing of moonrise, moonset and galactic center visibility.

PhotoPills works without wifi, so we were able to see where the Milky Way would be at every minute between 8:14 and 11:22 p.m. (when the galactic center was visible that night).

The app also has a photography calculator labeled spot stars, which allows you to input your camera model, which millimeter you want to shoot at and your widest aperture to calculate the optimal shutter speed for your camera. That leaves the cameras ISO as the only guesswork  Norris recommends starting with 1600 and toggling up or down (to 3200 or 800) as you begin shooting.

Follow the star trails

The latter half of Norris workshop involved setting up our cameras in a stationary spot to take hundreds of shots over the course of about an hour. If your camera doesnt have one built in, he recommends bringing an intervalometer to automatically take time-lapse photos.

Using PhotoPills, we were also able to see what paths the star trails would be moving along.

With star trails, theres a couple of different options youve got, Norris said. So you can find a composition where Polaris is in the shot, and youll get concentric rings, or if you move 90 degrees left or right to the pole star, then theres a diagonal line thats called the celestial equator.

And though it makes sense to assume that the stars are in motion, these trails actually show us how the planet is moving.

The stars arent moving; we are, Norris said. Its a bit of a mind melt. Youre basically taking pictures as the Earth spins, but the impression it gives us is that the stars are moving.

Because I didnt have an intervalometer, I manually took a photo every 20 seconds for an hour. It was certainly more work than if my camera could space shots out on its own, but at least I had good company.

As we killed an hour taking photos for our respective star trails, the class sat on one big rock, chitchatting about airplanes, aliens and long-distance relationships.

Our conversation was occasionally interrupted by one of us spotting a shooting star, which the rest of the group quickly tried to find in the vast darkness.

You cant really find them  theyll find us, Norris said as we scoured the star-filled sky for more wishes. You just have to be looking.
The Aspen Institute chose Dara Eskridge, executive director of Invest STL, as one of 20 members of the 2023 Class of Aspen Institute Ascend Fellows.

Linda Martin, vice president of tissue services at Mid-America Transplant, received the Jeanne C. Mowe Distinguished Service Award, the highest honor given by the American Association of Tissue Banks.

The Urban Land Institute St. Louis named Beth Letscher executive director.

Carmody MacDonald P.C. welcomed attorneys Cale C. Bouchey and Annemarie B. Daiker to the firms business/transactional group. Marina A. Tallman joined the firms family law group and Alexis F. Rose joined the firms litigation group.

IMPACT Strategies welcomed team members: Jordan Lane, senior project manager; Rosie Williams, marketing & business development specialist; and Chris Douthit, field superintendent.

Independent digital media and marketing agency, Coegi, promoted Katie Kluba to the companys first executive vice president of operations & analytics.

Supantha Banerjee joined Technology Partners as chief operating officer.

Armstrong Teasdale added associate attorneys Nicholas B. Krone, Noelle E. Mack, and Corbin Robinson to the firms St. Louis office.

Theodore J. Williams Jr. joined the Mediator and Senior Arbitrator Panels of United States Arbitration & Mediation.
An anesthesiologist from Chesterfield pleaded not guilty Thursday to trying to pay someone to kill his wife and lying on a federal form to get a gun.
From clothes and shoes to electronics and even aircraft engine parts, online retail sites and social media marketplaces are awash in counterfeit products, tricking consumers and companies into buying the fake goods.

Of 13,000 online consumers surveyed in 17 countries by the Michigan State University Center for Anti-Counterfeiting and Product Protection, nearly 3 out of 4 reported having bought counterfeit products.

The fakes go beyond simple retail products. The Federal Aviation Administration warned aircraft engine makers in September that a London-based company called AOG Technics sold unauthorized parts by forging documentation of their authenticity. The agency asked airlines to inspect their aircraft to ensure they had genuine parts.

Against that backdrop, consumer advocates and legal experts are urging Congress to pass legislation that would make online platforms liable for dangers posed by counterfeit goods by putting the retailers on par with brick-and-mortar stores.

Congress already took a step toward holding online marketplaces accountable by including legislation in the fiscal 2023 appropriations act that requires online retailers to collect, verify and disclose information about third-party sellers on their sites.

That transparency law, known as the Inform Act, went into effect in June. The Federal Trade Commission has said the agency and states have authority to enforce the new statute and online marketplaces that run afoul of the law could be subject to steep financial penalties.

Now, Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committees panel on intellectual property, and Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., the panels top Republican, are pursuing legislation that would hold the platforms liable for the sale of counterfeits.

Not only do such fake goods harm consumers, but they also affect companies whose brands and trademarks are being duplicated, said James Bikoff, a partner in the law firm of Smith, Gambrell & Russell LLP in Washington.

The two acts together, one for transparency and one for liability, are needed, and they tie into the two major efforts to curtail the distribution of counterfeit products in our country right now, Bikoff said.

At an Oct. 3 subcommittee hearing, Coons said the legislation would open platforms to liability if counterfeit goods affecting health and safety are sold on the platforms, the same liability brick-and-mortar retailers have been subject to for decades.

The legislation also would require brand owners to provide platforms with notice of their trademarks and a critical point of contact to help online retailers figure out the real from the fake, Coons said.

Counterfeits are everywhere, Tillis said at the hearing, recounting the example of a fake bicycle helmet branded as Specialized that cracked when a 180-pound person jumped on it from a 1-foot height.

So I think thats just one example, Tillis said. We hear about them in automobile parts and airplane parts. You see this in childrens toys that the official version may be safe (but) the counterfeit version is very dangerous. Theres no question that weve got to fix this problem.

The proposed legislation faces opposition from the tech industry.

Matt Schruers, president of the Computer & Communications Industry Association, which represents Amazon.com Inc., eBay Inc., Meta Platforms Inc. and other platforms, told lawmakers that online retailers share the goal of preventing counterfeits but that the bill in its current form places major new burdens and liabilities on sellers of all sizes while requiring no significant new contribution from brand owners.

Schruers told lawmakers that the bills definition of health and safety products would encompass virtually every product in todays consumer household.

The Michigan State study, published in September, found that 68 percent of those who bought a fake product on a social media site did so on Facebook. A spokesman for Facebook parent Meta said the companys policies prohibit trademark violations and that the company has built technology to eliminate counterfeit products on its site. Almost all counterfeit takedowns in 2022 on Facebook stemmed from the use of those technologies, the spokesman said in an email.

Amazons anti-counterfeit policy says products offered on the site must be authentic. The sale of fake products and failure to abide by the platforms rules is punishable by a ban on the platform and possible referral to law enforcement. EBay and Meta Platforms Facebook have similar policies.

Yet counterfeits still proliferate.

In the absence of specific provisions addressing the responsibility of online retailers, the U.S. legal system continues to make a distinction between physical stores and online marketplaces, Kari Kammel, director of the Michigan State anti-counterfeiting center, told lawmakers at the subcommittee hearing.

But with the evolution of technology and the arrival of artificial intelligence systems, its no longer unreasonable for a platform to be able to see whats on its own platform, Kammel told lawmakers. They should be able to proactively vet sellers, their postings and the images uploaded to make sure once somethings posted its actually safe for the consumer to purchase.

The biggest scams today and how you can protect yourself from them The biggest scams today and how you can protect yourself from them #27. Charity (tie) #27. Tax collection (tie) #26. Yellow Pages/directories #24. COVID-19 (tie) #24. Health care (including Medicaid and Medicare) (tie) #23. Moving #21. Family/friend emergency (tie) #21. Utility (tie) #20. Foreign money exchange #19. Credit card #18. Debt collection #17. Identity theft #16. Sweepstakes, lottery, and prizes #15. Counterfeit product #14. Romance #13. Rental #12. Credit repair/debt relief #11. Phishing #10. Travel and vacation #9. Tech support #8. Government grant #7. Advance fee loan #6. Fake check/money order #5. Investment #4. Home improvement #3. Employment #2. Cryptocurrency #1. Online purchase
RAFAH, Gaza Strip  The border crossing between Egypt and Gaza opened Saturday to let a trickle of desperately needed aid into the besieged Palestinian territory for the first time since Israel sealed it off and began pounding it with airstrikes following Hamas' bloody rampage two weeks ago.

Just 20 trucks were allowed in, an amount aid workers said was insufficient to address the unprecedented humanitarian crisis. More than 200 trucks carrying 3,000 tons of supplies have been waiting nearby for days.

Gaza's 2.3 million Palestinians, half of whom have fled their homes, are rationing food and drinking dirty water. Hospitals say they are running low on medical supplies and fuel for emergency generators amid a territorywide power blackout. Five hospitals stopped functioning because of fuel shortages and bombing damage, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said.

There are growing expectations of a ground offensive that Israel says would be aimed at rooting out Hamas.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened his Cabinet late Saturday to discuss the expected invasion, Israeli media reported.

Yifat Shasha-Biton, a Cabinet minister, said there was broad consensus in the government that there will have to be a "buffer zone" in Gaza to keep Palestinians away from the border but said no decisions had been made on its size or other specifics.

Israel's military spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said the country planned to step up its airstrikes starting Saturday as preparation for the next stage of the war and repeated his call for Gaza City residents to head south for their safety.

In a statement early Sunday on X, formerly known as Twitter, the Israeli military said it launched a strike on the Al-Ansar mosque at the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. It said a military aircraft struck an underground terror route at the mosque, where it said members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, another militant group, were sheltering.

Tensions have risen in the West Bank, where dozens of Palestinians have been killed in clashes with Israeli troops, arrest raids and attacks by Jewish settlers.

The opening of the Rafah border came after more than a week of high-level diplomacy, including visits to the region by U.S. President Joe Biden and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Israel insisted nothing would enter Gaza until Hamas released all the captives from its Oct. 7 attack on towns in southern Israel.

Late Friday, Hamas freed its first captives  an American woman and her teenage daughter. Israel said Hamas was still holding at least 210 hostages, though their conditions remain unknown.

On Saturday morning, an Associated Press reporter saw the 20 trucks heading north from Rafah to Deir al-Balah, a quiet farming town where many evacuees from the north have sought shelter. Hundreds of foreign passport holders at Rafah hoping to escape the conflict were not allowed to leave.

American citizen Dina al- Khatib said she and her family were desperate to get out. "It's not like previous wars," she said. "There is no electricity, no water, no internet, nothing."

The trucks were carrying 44,000 bottles of drinking water  enough for 22,000 people for a single day, it said. "This first, limited water will save lives, but the needs are immediate and immense," UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said.

The World Health Organization said four of the trucks were carrying medical supplies, including trauma medicine and portable trauma bags for first responders.

"The situation is catastrophic in Gaza," the head of the U.N.'s World Food Program, Cindy McCain, told The Associated Press. "We need many, many, many more trucks and a continual flow of aid," she said, adding that some 400 trucks were entering Gaza daily before the war.

Gaza's Hamas-run government called for a secure corridor operating around the clock.

Hagari, the Israeli military spokesman, said "the humanitarian situation in Gaza is under control." He said the aid would be delivered only to southern Gaza, where the army ordered people to relocate, adding that no fuel would enter.

Biden said the United States "remains committed to ensuring that civilians in Gaza will continue to have access to food, water, medical care, and other assistance, without diversion by Hamas." The U.S. government would work to keep Rafah open and let U.S. citizens leave Gaza, he said in a statement.

Guterres gave voice to international concern over civilians in Gaza, telling a summit in Cairo that Hamas' "reprehensible assault" on Israel "can never justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people."

Two Egyptian officials and a European diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said extensive negotiations with Israel and the U.N. to allow fuel deliveries for hospitals yielded little progress. One Egyptian official said they were discussing the release of dual-national hostages in return for the fuel, but Israel was insisting on the release of all hostages.

Hamas said it was working with Egypt, Qatar and other mediators "to close the case" of hostages if security circumstances permit.

Israel ordered its citizens to leave Egypt and Jordan  which made peace with it decades ago  and to avoid travel to a number of Arab and Muslim countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Bahrain, which forged diplomatic ties with Israel in 2020.

Protests against Israel's actions in Gaza erupted across the region, and large demonstrations were held Saturday in several European and U.S. cities.

More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed in the war  mostly civilians slain during the Hamas attack. More than 4,300 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.

Photos: Displaced Palestinians shelter in pop-up tent camps in Gaza
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip  When the sun rose on Friday and the autumn heat baked the rotten debris on Gazas streets, Mohammed Elian emerged from the zipper hole of his new canvas home.

He  and hundreds of other Palestinians displaced by the latest war between Israel and Hamas  have crowded into a squalid tent camp in southern Gaza, an image that has brought back memories of their greatest trauma.

Last week after the Israeli military ordered Elians family, along with more than 1 million other Palestinians, to evacuate the north, the smartly dressed 35-year-old graphic designer from Gaza City ended up homeless in the city of Khan Younis, with few comforts but thin mattresses, solar-powered phone chargers and whatever clothes and pots he could squeeze into his friends car.

With nowhere else to go, Elian, his wife and four kids landed in the sprawling tent camp that cropped up this week as United Nations shelters overflowed in Gaza, where most people are already refugees from the 1948 war surrounding Israels creation.

We have left behind everything, and we are not even safe, Elian said from a nearby hospital where he searched for water to bring back to his kids, ages 4-10. The distant roar of airstrikes could be heard over the phone.

Scores of Palestinians have lost or fled their homes during the intense Israeli bombardment prompted by a bloody cross-border attack by Hamas militants nearly two weeks ago. The impromptu construction of the tent city in Khan Younis to help shelter them has elicited anger, disbelief and sorrow across the Arab world.

Row after row of white tents rise from the dusty parking lot. Children sit in the shade and play languidly with rocks. Men cut each others hair. Newly acquainted neighbors wait outside to receive their shared meal from U.N. workers  a couple loaves of bread and cans of tuna or beans.

These images are something that the Arab world cannot accept, said Daoud Kuttab, a Palestinian journalist in Jordan.

Scenes of Palestinians hastily setting up U.N. tents are dredging up painful memories of the mass exodus that Palestinians refer to as the Nakba, or catastrophe. In the months before and during the 1948 war, an estimated 700,000 Palestinians fled or were expelled from what is now Israel. Many expected to return when the war ended.

Seventy-five years later, those temporary tents in the West Bank, Gaza and neighboring Arab countries have become permanent cinderblock homes.

1948 is immediately brought to mind when Palestinians in Gaza are told to flee, its immediately brought to mind when you see those images (of tents), said Rashid Khalidi, a professor of Arab studies at Columbia University. Palestinian writers have etched this into the Arab consciousness.

The U.N. Palestinian refugee agency said the camp is not permanent. It said that the agency distributed tents and blankets to dozens displaced families in Khan Younis who couldnt fit in other U.N. facilities to protect them from the rain and provide dignity and privacy. Gaza already is home to eight permanent camps, which over the years have turned into crowded rundown urban neighborhoods.

But regional anxiety over the Khan Younis tents and Israeli evacuation warnings has grown, adding fuel to the huge, angry protests surging in Mideast capitals over the war in Gaza that began on Oct. 7, when Hamas mounted its raid that killed 1,400 Israelis. Since then, Israels retaliatory bombing campaign has killed more than 4,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. Many of the victims are women and children.

Its very worrisome for the government of Jordan, the journalist, Kuttab, said of the wave of displaced Palestinians. They dont want to see even a hint of this idea.

Protests in the typically sedate kingdom of Jordan, home to a large population of people descended from Palestinian refugees, have rocked the capital, drawing thousands of demonstrators with an intensity unseen in years.

Elian has been so stressed about where to sleep and get food he said he hasnt had time to fret over the symbolism. He and his family tried sheltering in one of the crowded U.N. schools, but the conditions were horrific, he said  no space to sleep, no privacy. At least here he can close his tent flap.

We are living from one moment to the next, he said. We try not to think about what comes next  how or when well go home.

Photos: Displaced Palestinians shelter in pop-up tent camps in Gaza
As climate change intensifies extreme heat, farms are becoming less hospitable to nesting birds, a new study found. That could be another barrier to maintaining rapidly eroding biodiversity that also provides benefits to humans, including farmers who get free pest control when birds eat agricultural pests.

Researchers who examined data on over 150,000 nesting attempts found that birds in agricultural lands were 46% less likely to successfully raise at least one chick when it got really hot than birds in other areas.

I dont think we expected it to be as extreme as it was, said Katherine Lauck, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of California, Davis, and lead author of the study published Thursday in the journal Science.

Bird scientists have been tracking the decline of avian wildlife for years. In 2019, a comprehensive study showed that there were three billion fewer wild birds than in 1970. The new study represents a closer look at what might be behind the dramatic decline.

Intense commercial farming is known to harm birds  fields completely clear of trees and other natural barriers lack shelter for wildlife, and pesticides and other agricultural chemicals can hurt birds.

The study concluded that species of higher conservation concern in the U.S.  those closer to being listed as federally threatened or endangered  were more vulnerable to extreme heat events in agricultural settings. But across the board, birds in forests were 14% more likely to achieve reproductive success in times of extreme heat.

The study's findings were not surprising to Ken Rosenberg, a biologist with the Road to Recovery initiative who formerly worked as a conservation biologist at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and was lead author on what he calls the three billion birds study. The idea that forest birds could benefit slightly from warmer temperatures makes sense, he said, since shade from trees provides a buffer from extreme heat that agricultural areas don't have.

Rosenberg, who was not affiliated with this study, said he was pleased to see a paper in a prestigious journal using large datasets built from citizen science data. In this case, the observations came from NestWatch, a nationwide nest-monitoring program that anyone can participate in.

However, Rosenberg cautioned that more data might be needed to confirm that species of higher conservation concern were more vulnerable, since the overwhelming majority of the data involved species of low conservation concern.

The researchers predicted how different bird species might fare in each landscape during extreme heat events. They concluded that in agricultural areas, species of greater conservation concern, like the oak titmouse, would see worse outcomes than species of lower concern, like the house sparrow.

Rosenberg and David Bird, a professor emeritus of wildlife biology at McGill University, said the study contributes to the understanding of the negative effects of intensive single crop farming. Bird said the study sings the praises of the need for preserving our forests, which not only protect birds from hot weather but also help protect ecosystems from global warming by absorbing carbon.

The study suggests that if farmers purposefully left just a little more natural space around farms with a few trees or native plants  not necessarily changing everything about their operations  birds could better coexist with humans, Rosenberg said.

Some of these open country birds dont really need a lot of habitat or a lot of space," he said. "They just need some.

Lead author Lauck is now working to better understand exactly why birds experience such large differences in nesting success between farmed and forested areas, hoping that would point toward useful interventions.

New solutions that are neutral for farmers but helpful for biodiversity in the long term will create a more resilient biosphere for all of us, they said.

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EVANSTON, Ill. (AP)  The father of freed American teen hostage Natalie Raanan said Friday shes doing well following two weeks in captivity after she and her mother were abducted in Israel by Hamas and held in Gaza.

Uri Raanan of Illinois told The Associated Press that he spoke to his daughter Friday by telephone. Shes doing good. Shes doing very good, said Uri Raanan, who lives in the Chicago suburbs. Im in tears, and I feel very, very good.

The 71-year-old said he saw on the news earlier Friday that an American mother and daughter would be released by Hamas, and he spent the day hoping that meant his daughter and her mother, Judith Raanan.

Knowing Natalie may be able to celebrate her 18th birthday next week at home with family and friends feels wonderful. The best news, her father said.

Ben Raanan, Natalie's brother, said before her abduction he and his sister had spoken of getting matching tattoos to mark her birthday. Instead, he got a tattoo this week in her honor, incorporating their names along with their brother's name.

The family's text message chain sharing updates on Friday moved from tentative hope to outright celebration, tempered by an awareness than other families still are living in fear for their loved ones, Ben Raanan told The Associated Press at his home in Denver.

When I see her again, I think there aren't going to be words to express what's going on," he said. It's just going to be like this intense hug that is bigger than words and bigger than what we could actually communicate verbally.

Uri Raanan said he believes Natalie and Judith to be in transit to Tel Aviv to reunite with relatives, and that both will be back in the U.S. early next week.

An Israeli army spokesperson said the two Americans were out of the Gaza Strip and with the Israeli military. Hamas said Friday it released them for humanitarian reasons in an agreement with the Qatari government.

They were the first hostages to be released since Hamas militants, according to Israel, abducted roughly 200 people during their Oct. 7 rampage.

President Joe Biden was among the many celebrating the news that the Raanans had been freed.

I am overjoyed that they will soon be reunited with their family, who has been wracked with fear, Biden said in Washington. The president spoke Friday with Judith and Natalie and "relayed that they will have the full support of the U.S. government as they recover from this terrible ordeal, the White House said.

In the telephone conversation, Biden told the women that he was glad you're out.

Were going to get them all out, God willing, he said of the remaining hostages in a video showing excerpts of the conversation that was posted by the White House Saturday on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter.

I just wanted to say thank you for your services to Israel, Natalie told the president. Judith told him they were in good health.

Uri Raanan said late Friday in a short news conference that he spoke with his daughter for only a few emotional minutes and that they didn't talk about what she and her mother experienced in the past two weeks. He said Judith has a minor injury he described as a little scratch on her hand.

They look good and sound good, he said, adding that when he sees his daughter he plans to hug her and kiss her. It's going to be the best day of my life.

He also said he didn't know why they were chosen for release.

The International Committee of the Red Cross, which transported the freed Americans from Gaza to Israel, said their release offered "a sliver of hope for those still being held.

Judith, 59, and Natalie, who both have dual Israeli-American citizenship, had been on a trip from their home in the Chicago suburb of Evanston to Israel to celebrate Judith's mother's birthday and the Jewish holidays, family members said.

Natalie was born in the U.S., moved to Israel with Judith until she was around 10 and then returned, her father said.

Natalie always spoke of her home very dearly, 19-year-old stepsister Frida Alonso said, referring to Israel. She missed it very, very dearly. Every day she missed her grandma, she missed her home. Just the feeling of being there. So I bet this hurts a lot for her.

Mother and daughter were in Nahal Oz, near the Gaza border, on Oct. 7 when Hamas militants stormed into southern Israeli towns, killing hundreds of people and abducting others.

Their family had heard nothing from them since the attack and were later told by U.S. and Israeli officials that they were being held in Gaza, Natalies brother has said.

The news that Judith and Natalie have been released from the hands of Hamas is overwhelming. It brings us a tremendous amount of gratitude to the Almighty, to God, for this incredible miracle, Meir Hecht, Judith's rabbi, said at a news conference outside his home in Evanston on Friday afternoon.

At the same time we hold our pain very deep, said Hecht, who called for the other hostages to be released as soon as possible. We need to continue besieging whoever we can and however we can, and praying for their release.

Judith came regularly to Meirs congregation and felt like part of our family, the rabbi said.

Qatar said it would continue its dialogue with Israel and Hamas in hopes of winning the release of all hostages with the ultimate aim of de-escalating the current crisis and restoring peace.

Israeli military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Israel was continuing to work to return hostages and find the missing, and its goals had not changed. We are continuing the war against Hamas and ready for the next stage of the war, he said.

The release comes amid growing expectations of a ground offensive that Israel says is aimed at rooting out Hamas militants who rule Gaza.

Associated Press reporter Thomas Peipert reported from Denver. Perez Winder reported from Evanston, Savage reported from Chicago and Baumann from Bellingham, Washington.
Winston Churchill once said, Democracy is the worst form of government except for all the others. This is because democracy can be slow and inefficient, often resulting in compromises that please no one. An excellent example of this came out of the United Nations in 1947.

Only two years old at the time, the UN was intended to establish a democracy on a global scale. When the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 181, fashioning one of those convoluted compromise solutions to the Israeli/Palestinian question, it resembled a completed puzzle with many pieces out of place.

The Palestinians, the Arabs who had lived in Israel for centuries, had never possessed an independent nation of their own. This was because they had always lived under the thumb of larger outside empires, including the Romans, the Byzantines, the Ottoman Turks, and the British. By 1947, as imperialist colonies worldwide clamored for their independence, the Palestinians also demanded theirs.

The same land, however, had been shared by the Jews since the 2nd millennium BCE. When the Romans added this region to their empire and crushed the ensuing Jewish Revolt in 70 CE, many Jews left to make their homes elsewhere.

For almost 2,000 years, this Jewish Diaspora lived wherever they could practice their faith. The dream of returning to their ancient homeland never died, however, and once the modern Zionist Movement began in 1897, more and more Jews began returning to the region.

Once World War II ended and people learned about the six million Jews murdered in the Nazi Holocaust, the pressure to establish an independent Jewish nation grew even more potent. Jewish refugees wanted in, the Palestinians preferred to keep them out, and the British, who had taken temporary custody of the area from the Ottoman Turks shortly after World War I, were increasingly baffled about how to govern where they were not wanted.

This set the stage for the UNs infamous Resolution 181. The land was divided into separate Jewish and Palestinian states, with the area within Jerusalem significant to the Western religions remaining under international control.

The 1947 Partition map looked like two serpents intertwined in mortal combat. This was because the Jewish and Palestinian communities were haphazardly mingled throughout the region. To the Jews, most of whom had recently returned to the area, the Partition was a fair settlement.

Most of the Palestinian Arabs, however, resented the Jewish intrusion and refused to recognize the arrangement. They regarded it as too favorable to the Jews and unfair to the Arab population that would remain within the Jewish territory. Thirty-three nations had voted for the partition in the United Nations, with 13 voting against and 10 abstaining. However, the Palestinians refused to accept this democratically engendered outcome.

The resolutions passage soon sparked a war, with the surrounding nations of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia joining the Palestinian Arabs in attacking what was now recognized as the modern nation of Israel. Against overwhelming odds, the Israelis defended themselves and then went on the offensive.

By 1949, some of the territory granted to the Palestinians had been annexed by Israel. The rest, consisting of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, went to Egypt and Jordan, respectively. Israel later acquired those regions after another war in 1967, along with the religiously vital section of Jerusalem.

Before Hamas attack on Israel this past Oct. 7, the situation remained highly tenuous. Israel had become a modern Jewish nation, well-defended by a muscular military heavily relying upon American-made weapons. Led by a right-wing government focused on security, Israel has more recently veered toward a belligerent approach and a fortress mentality instead of negotiating to swap land for peace.

On the other hand, many Palestinians have turned to radical extremism as the only way to advance their cause since waging war against Israel on an open battlefield appears hopeless. This approach became even more lethal during the recent Hamas attack, with even children deliberately targeted.

So, who to support in this current conflict? Many innocent civilians within both camps have died or will soon. There is arguably right and wrong on both sides, but without understanding the wars historical context, it is impossible to choose a side impartially. And like so many conflicts waged throughout history, the facts are enormously complex and further corrupted by bias. So this is not a simple task.

Joe Regenbogen taught high school history for 40 years before retiring in 2019, including 34 years in the Parkway School District.
Chinese Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang and Apple CEO Tim Cook have met in Beijing, with both committing to Apple's participation in developing the country's digital economy and hi-tech supply chain, as the US tech giant attempts to shift its China narrative amid controversies over national security and censorship.

After a quiet start, Cook's surprise China trip has ramped up over the past few days, to include meetings with Ding and other high ranking officials such as Ministry of Industry and Information Technology head Jin Zhuanglong and chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Ren Hongbin, according to a report from the state-run outlet The Global Times.

While high profile meetings are typical of a visit by the Apple CEO, the latest closed-door discussions come against the backdrop of Beijing's recent restrictions on government worker's use of iPhones over national security risks, and controversy surrounding the Chinese iOS Store and its need to better comply with local censorship regulations.

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.

However, in their meeting, Ding told Cook that China's doors are "open" and that the country is willing to provide more opportunities and create a better environment for foreign enterprises, including Apple, according to a report by Chinese state radio.

Cook reportedly stated that Apple remains confident in the prospects of the Chinese market, with the company willing to strengthen cooperation with China in high-end manufacturing, the digital economy and other fields.

Cook's statements are consistent with recent evidence that China will remain Apple's most important supply chain for iPhones and newer product lines in the near term despite its recent efforts to diversify its supply chain following Covid-related supply difficulties in the country last year.

Story continues

Before meeting with Ding, Cook had made a stop at manufacturing facilities run by Luxshare Precision Industry Co, a major Apple AirPods supplier that also won orders to make the iPhone 15, and was more recently given assembly work for the upcoming Vision Pro mixed-reality headset.

At an Apple retail store in China last week, Cook told reporters that he was excited about the work Chinese-based developers had done on apps for the Vision Pro headset, according to state media China Daily.

Ding's remarks on China's openness to Apple, one of the largest foreign companies operating in the country, align with Beijing's broader efforts to attract more foreign investment as part of its post-pandemic economic recovery.

Jin Zhuanglong (right), head of China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, meets Apple CEO Tim Cook in Beijing, on October 19, 2023. Photo: Handout alt=Jin Zhuanglong (right), head of China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, meets Apple CEO Tim Cook in Beijing, on October 19, 2023. Photo: Handout>

According to data from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce reported by Xinhua on Friday, foreign direct investment in the Chinese mainland was down more than 8 per cent year on year in the first nine months. However, hi-tech manufacturing was up 12.8 per cent for the same period.

Cook's last trip to China was a week-long whistle-stop tour in March when he met Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao and other top officials at a government-organised China Development Forum in Beijing.

The end date of the CEO's latest China tour and the rest of his agenda is unknown. Apple did not reply to a request for comment from the Post outside regular office hours.

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.
Americans last week were presented with a real-time demonstration of the stark contrast between responsible national leadership and crashing political dysfunction.

The latter, of course, came courtesy of the House Republican majority, whose continuing paralysis in its quest to choose a leader now endangers not only Americas economy but its crucial support for two war-ravaged allies  and thus threatens U.S. national security itself.

On the other side of that ledger is President Joe Biden, whose Thursday night speech cogently outlining the urgent stakes in Israel and Ukraine doubled as an eloquent defense of Americas core values in a political era that has battered and strained them.

Eloquence isnt a word often associated with Biden (even in his younger years), but his Oval Office speech was a welcomed exception.

American leadership is what holds the world together, said Biden, couching U.S. support for Israel against Hamas terrorism and for Ukraine against Russias invasion as two parts of the same test of Americas commitment to democratic allies. Our alliances are what keep us safe, and our values are what make us a partner that other nations want to work with.

Bidens speech deftly navigated the divide in America over the situation in Israel, which was attacked by Hamas on Oct. 7 and has since embarked on a full-scale assault to root the terrorist organization out of Gaza.

Some fringe-left Democrats (including U.S. Rep. Cori Bush of St. Louis) have used the conflict to argue for U.S. abandonment of Israel for its treatment of stateless Palestinians. That historic conflict has long needed addressing, but not as Israel fights for its existence against an enemy that intentionally kills civilians and takes hostages, including Americans.

Bidens speech made clear that Bush and the rest are nowhere near the mainstream of his party, which is solidly behind Israel. But he also took pains to reject the wave of Islamophobia that the current conflict has spurred in the U.S.

Citing the recent stabbing death of a 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy in Chicago, allegedly because he was Muslim, Biden said: We must without equivocation denounce antisemitism. We must also without equivocation denounce Islamophobia. And to all you hurting, I want you to know I see you. You belong. And I want to say this to you: Youre all American.

It wasnt so long ago that the themes Biden hit in his speech  national unity, religious and ethnic tolerance, support for democracy throughout the globe  would have had such unquestioned bipartisan support as to sound routine.

But to a GOP still in thrall to a reckless former president and his autocracy-minded movement, it apparently looked like a thrown gauntlet.

I think what the president did is completely disgraceful, Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, told Fox News after the speech. He said if Biden wants to sell the American people on more military aid to Ukraine, he shouldnt use dead Israeli children to do it. It was disgusting.

Vances disgusting assessment spotlights his partys disgraceful trend toward trying to abandon Ukraine to its Russian attackers  a trend with apparent roots in Donald Trumps chilling affinity for autocrats generally and Russias Vladimir Putin specifically.

Bidens move to tie together billions of dollars in military aid to both Israel and Ukraine is both strategically smart in the face of an obstinate opposition party, and philosophically consistent in defending two democracies against brutal, anti-democratic attacks.

But that proposed aid package  including aid for Israel that most Republicans support  is mired in the House GOP meltdown.

Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio on Friday lost his third consecutive vote for House speaker and apparently wont get a fourth shot. No one else appeared positioned to win the office as of late Friday afternoon. The House cannot conduct any business until it fills the position.

That intraparty political food fight is bad for America, especially if it causes a government shutdown when the current stopgap spending agreement expires in mid-November. But a Jordan speakership would have been leagues worse. The MAGA-affiliated Jordan, who to this day refuses to definitively reject Trumps toxic claim that he won the 2020 election, represents the most extreme, nihilistic wing of his party, one dedicated to populist performance politics and stubbornly opposed to any bipartisanship at all.

Whatever happens going forward, the current GOP will still be a party whose only remaining principle was recently summed up by words of Republican Rep. Ann Wagner of suburban St. Louis, explaining why she ditched her own stated principles to support Jordan just days after deeming him too disgraceful to be speaker: I am not, and will not, work with Democrats.

Thats not leadership. This is:

[Its] in moments like these, when fear and suspicion, anger and rage run hard, that we have to work harder than ever to hold on to the values that make us who we are, Biden said in Thursdays speech.

Were a nation of religious freedom, freedom of expression. We all have a right to debate and disagree, without fear of being targeted in schools or workplaces or in our communities.

We must renounce violence and vitriol, see each other not as enemies, but as fellow Americans.

Those are words the nation needed to hear right now, over the din of a radicalized Republican Party that no longer reflects even the long-held convictions of Americas conservative movement  let alone America itself.
The recent letters to the editor condemning Cori Bush for being anti-Semitic and pro-Hamas distort her positions and neglect the calamity in the Gaza Strip. ("Letter: Rep. Bushs anti-Israel sentiments dont belong in Congress," Oct. 17.) Rep. Bush strongly condemned the targeting of civilians and has consistently argued that no civilians should be the target of the war.

Since Hamas attack, Israels brutal retaliation in Gaza has not weakened Hamas, but created far more misery and death to an already devastated civilian population. Israeli leading far-right politicians have called Palestinians animals, denied that there are innocent civilians in Gaza, stressed a strategy of destruction over precision in their bombings, and cut off all fuel, energy, and water to the already impoverished area of over 2 million people.

Israel has demolished entire neighborhoods. Since Hamas attack, the death toll in the Gaza Strip has reached several thousand and is escalating rapidly, including many children, and there are roughly 1 million refugees now in Gaza.

Amnesty International called the collective punishment of Gazas civilian population a war crime. We are witnessing a humanitarian disaster of monumental proportions and we need brave voices to call them out. I commend Cori Bush for being one of the few U.S. politicians bold enough to stand up for always protecting innocent lives, and question the morality of anyone who justifies taking innocent lives for political goals.

Emmett McKenna  St. Louis
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Metropolitan Water District of Southern California Board Chair Adan Ortega, Jr. issues the following statement on the death of San Fernando Councilwoman Cindy Montanez:

My great friend Cindy Montanez lived up to her name as a person who climbed mountains and helped others to as well. In our last conversation at her bedside, we talked about her love for nature and hiking, as well about tackling trails of public policy. In 2022, as we faced dire drought conditions, while supporting turf replacement incentives to conserve water, Cindy as a Councilmember in San Fernando spoke up for the trees. Since then, we at Metropolitan have been in the process of rolling out a program to protect the tree canopy to prevent heat island effects, as we conserve water by eliminating turf. Watching Cindy never giving up, accepting richly deserved accolades, but also literally issuing assignments to those of us she saw in the last year, we will continue to climb mountains because by the very nature of her actions to propel us, we can never forget her.

On behalf of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, we are deeply grateful for Cindy Montanez's contributions and will carry her legacy forward. She will be remembered, and her work will continue to guide and inspire us all. Our thoughts and condolences are with her family, friends, and all those whose lives she touched.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231021192720/en/

Rebecca Kimitch, (213) 217-6450; (202) 821-5253, mobile; [email protected]

Maritza Fairfield, (213) 217-6853; (909) 816-7722, mobile; [email protected]

Source: Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
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AZA Finance emerges as one of the first fintech firms in Africa with ISO 27001:2022 compliance, emphasizing their commitment to security and data management.



After an extensive review process, the pan-African fintech AZA Finance, which recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary - a huge milestone for any fintech, has announced that it has attained the ISO 27001:2022 certification. This milestone underlines the companys dedication to maintaining top-tier security standards throughout all of its services - including cross-border payments, treasury, and foreign exchange services to both African and international companies.

This newly revised certification standard prescribes methods for businesses to tackle risks related to information security threats. It mandates the introduction of policies, procedures, and workforce training. Being awarded this certification, one of the first fintechs to do so in Africa clearly indicates their resolve to protect their data and assets from digital threats. It is significant to note that only a handful of institutions have achieved compliance with this most recent iteration of the standard.

About ISO 27001:2022

ISO 27001:2022 represents the latest edition of the globally acknowledged Information Security Management System (ISMS) standard. This standard includes numerous modifications, from revamping existing mandates to introducing fresh clauses and security protocols.

One of the most noticeable effects of the certification is AZA Finances clear commitment to information security. It signifies that the company has established mechanisms to prevent unauthorised data intrusions. With rigorous data protection protocols, entities can be confident that their financial data, personally identifiable information (PII), and transaction history within AZA Finance's payment systems are safe.

Regardless of size, every organisation can encounter monetary and reputational challenges from inadequate data protection. This certification also quantifies the companys dedication to preserving client and company data. ISO 27001 adherence aligns with global data protection regulations, minimising legal risks and potential penalties for non-adherence. It also has a training requirement, fostering accountability across the entire 200+ person organisation to protect data and maintain secure processes. Finally, the certification requires business continuity planning, guaranteeing that essential business operations remain unaffected during unforeseen security issues.

About AZA Finance

AZA Finance is an African fintech company offering secure and efficient financial infrastructure for payments, foreign exchange, and settlement. With more than a decade of experience, AZA Finance is committed to helping businesses thrive in Africa. With their API and web platform, it has never been easier to transact, exchange, payout, and settle in all major African and G20 currencies. Their global infrastructure is a trusted gateway for leading remittance providers, multinational corporations, and innovative enterprises worldwide.

Visit them at www.azafinance.com



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Organization: AZA Finance

Website: https://azafinance.com/



Release ID: 89110932

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ADS051 was safe and well-tolerated at all doses with no safety signal observed

Clinical remission was achieved in 22% of patients after only 28 days on drug

CONCORD, Mass. , Oct. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Adiso Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company committed to creating medicines that treat inflammatory diseases and improve the lives of patients and their families, today announced positive topline data from its Phase 1b multiple ascending dose (MAD) clinical trial evaluating ADS051 (BT051) in patients with moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis (UC). The data were presented today at the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) 2023 Annual Scientific Meeting being held October 20-25 , in Vancouver, Canada .

ADS051 is a first-in-class, oral, gut-restricted, small molecule modulator of neutrophil trafficking and activation via inhibition of MRP2 and FPR1. Unlike currently available therapies, ADS051 addresses neutrophil-mediated tissue damage, a hallmark of UC pathology.

The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, MAD Phase 1b study enrolled 24 moderately-to-severely active UC patients, all of whom completed the trial as planned over the 28-day treatment period (NCT05084261). ADS051 was found to be safe and well-tolerated at three dose levels (200, 800, and 3200 mg) administered orally, once daily for 28 days. PK data demonstrate that ADS051 was restricted to the gut with limited systemic exposure.

On Day 28, for pooled ADS051 participants vs. pooled placebo participants, clinical remission was achieved in 22.2% vs. 0%, endoscopic improvement (investigator blinded, centrally-read) in 33.3% vs 0%, and endoscopic response (centrally-read) (UCEIS) was achieved in 50% vs. 17%.

"We are very pleased with these positive results indicating that ADS051 clearly attained the objectives of this Phase 1b trial and may be an important therapeutic advancement as a safe and effective, once-daily oral therapy for patients with ulcerative colitis," said Scott Megaffin , Chief Executive Officer of Adiso. "ADS051 efficacy measures reveal encouraging signals of pharmacologic activity and clinical benefit versus placebo, after 28 days of treatment. Given these findings and a recently completed positive end-of-Phase 1 FDA interaction, we plan to advance ADS051 in a Phase 2 clinical study in early 2024."

"Despite recent therapeutic advancements in the treatment of UC, there still remains a significant unmet need for safe and efficacious therapeutic options," said Jessica Allegretti , M.D., M.P.H Medical Director, Crohn's and Colitis Center, Brigham & Women's Hospital Boston and Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School. "The results of this Phase 1b study demonstrate that not only is ADS051 safe and well-tolerated, it also may offer a potentially efficacious solution for patients with moderate-to-severe UC. I look forward to assessing this therapy further in a Phase 2 clinical study."

The MAD clinical trial followed a healthy subject Phase 1a single ascending dose (SAD) study which demonstrated ADS051 was gut-restricted with minimal systemic drug exposure, with no dose-limiting toxicities or serious adverse events. One treatment-emergent adverse event was reported in 16.7% of patients in the pooled ADS051 group vs. 66.7% in the pooled placebo group. Safety and tolerability of the 3200-mg dose group were equivalent to the lower dose cohorts with substantially higher fecal concentrations of ADS051.

The poster detailing these findings #P0172: ADS051, an Oral, Gut-Restricted, Small Molecule Neutrophil Modulator in Patients With Moderate-To-Severe Ulcerative Colitis: Results From a Multiple Ascending Dose Study, was presented at the ACG 2023 Annual Scientific Meeting, October 22, 2023 , and will be available on the Company's website.

About ADS051

ADS051 is a first-in-class, oral, gut-restricted, small molecule modulator of neutrophil trafficking and activation via MRP2 and FPR1 receptor inhibition. Unlike currently available therapies, ADS051 addresses neutrophil-mediated tissue damage, a hallmark of UC. UC is a chronic IBD that causes inflammation and ulcers in the colon. Neutrophils are a type of white blood cell that plays a key role in the body's immune response. In UC, neutrophils are recruited to the colon in large numbers, where they release a variety of inflammatory mediators that cause tissue damage. ADS051 gut restriction, safety and tolerability after oral dosing has been demonstrated in a healthy subject Phase 1a clinical study.

About Adiso:

Adiso is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to improving the health of patients suffering from debilitating inflammatory diseases. This dedication is epitomized by our lead clinical candidates, which exemplify 'healthruption' (disruption in healthcare and drug development) with novel mechanisms of action and a distinct approach to the treatment of inflammatory diseases. ADS051, an oral, gut-restricted modulator of neutrophil trafficking and activation via inhibition of MRP2 and FPR1 for the treatment of ulcerative colitis; and ADS032, a dual NLRP1/NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitor initially being developed for inflammatory diseases of the lung. Adiso has built these development programs upon a rich history of institutional and academic collaboration, including, the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, the Hudson Institute of Medical Sciences Centre for Innate Immunity and Infectious Diseases in Australia, the University of Edinburgh Centre for Inflammation Research and the University College Cork, Ireland , the APC Microbiome Institute. For more information, please visit www.adisotx.com or our LinkedIn page.

Contacts

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Media: Sarah Sutton/Liza Sullivan

IR: Jason Finkelstein

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212.600.1902

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SOURCE Adiso Therapeutics
Niraparib and abiraterone acetate plus prednisone combination therapy also showed clinically relevant improvement versus standard of care in time to symptomatic progression and time to cytotoxic chemotherapy

MADRID , Oct. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson today announced results from the final analysis (FA) of the Phase 3 MAGNITUDE study, in which a pre-planned multivariate analysis [MVA] showed niraparib, a highly selective poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor, combined with abiraterone acetate and given with prednisone, improved overall survival (OS) and time to symptomatic progression (TSP) and showed a favorable trend in time to cytotoxic chemotherapy (TCC) in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) with BRCA alterations. These data were featured today in a Late-Breaking Mini Oral Presentation Session (Abstract #LBA85) at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2023 Congress taking place October 20-24 in Madrid, Spain .1

The FA of the MAGNITUDE study included 225 patients with BRCA-positive mCRPC (the largest population studied to date), where 113 patients were randomized to niraparib plus abiraterone acetate and prednisone (AAP) and 112 patients were assigned to placebo plus AAP. At 35.9 months median follow-up (9.1 additional months follow-up from the second interim analysis, presented at ASCO GU 2023), a prespecified MVA, adjusting for baseline imbalances, showed an OS benefit favoring patients who received niraparib plus AAP compared to the placebo plus AAP arm (Hazard Ratio [HR]=0.66; 95 percent Confidence Interval [CI], 0.46-0.95]). Continued trend in improvement in TSP was also observed in patients who received niraparib and AAP compared to patients randomized to placebo plus AAP (HR 0.56; 95 percent CI, 0.37-0.85). Additionally, an evaluation of TCC indicated a favorable trend among patients with BRCA mutations treated with niraparib and AAP (HR 0.60; 95 percent CI, 0.39-0.92). Finally, 70 percent of the patients in the niraparib and AAP arm received subsequent life-prolonging therapy compared to 86 percent of the patients assigned to placebo plus AA.

Patient-reported outcomes were also assessed in the FA. Results indicate that patients with BRCA mutations treated with niraparib and AAP experienced a trend towards delayed time to worst pain progression (HR 0.81; 95 percent CI, 0.52-1.25) and pain interference progression (HR 0.77; 95 percent CI, 0.48-1.23) compared with the placebo arm.

"The overall survival seen in the MAGNITUDE pre-planned multivariate analysis is promising for patients with BRCA-mutated mCRPC, a population more likely to experience poor outcomes," said Kim Chi *, M.D., Medical Oncologist at BC Cancer - Vancouver and principal investigator of the MAGNITUDE study. "These data, with key signals of improvements in overall survival, disease progression, and quality of life measures, underscore the significance of this new treatment option for patients."

The FA observed no new safety signals and no cases of myelodysplastic syndrome or acute myeloid leukemia were observed among patients in the niraparib and AAP arm. Niraparib plus AAP had higher rates of adverse events (AEs) of special interest than the placebo arm, with the most common of any grade including anaemia (52.4 percent versus 22.7 percent) and thrombocytopenia (24.1 percent versus 9.5 percent), respectively. The differences in safety between treatment arms were driven by known hematologic toxicities with niraparib.

"We are dedicated to advancing the science of prostate cancer and developing new targeted treatment options to extend patients' lives," said Angela Lopez-Gitlitz , M.D., Vice President, Late Development Oncology, Prostate Cancer, Janssen Research & Development, LLC. "These data highlight the importance of identifying patients with genetically defined cancer to better inform treatment protocols and ensure they receive available therapies tailored to their unique needs."

About Niraparib

Niraparib is an orally administered, highly selective poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor that is currently being studied by Janssen for the treatment of patients with prostate cancer.

Additional ongoing studies include the Phase 3 AMPLITUDE study (NCT04497844), evaluating the combination of niraparib and AAP in a biomarker-selected patient population with metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer (mCSPC).

In April 2016 , Janssen Biotech, Inc. entered a worldwide (except Japan ) collaboration and license agreement with TESARO, Inc. (acquired by GlaxoSmithKline [GSK] in 2019) for exclusive rights to niraparib in prostate cancer.

In the United States , niraparib is indicated for the maintenance treatment of adult patients with advanced epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer who are in a complete or partial response to first-line platinum-based chemotherapy; and for the maintenance treatment of adult patients with deleterious or suspected deleterious germline BRCA-positive recurrent epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer who are in a complete or partial response to platinum-based chemotherapy. Niraparib is currently marketed by GSK as ZEJULA.

In April 2023 , Janssen received approval from the European Commission for AKEEGA (niraparib and abiraterone acetate) in the form of a dual action tablet (DAT), plus prednisone or prednisolone, in patients with mCRPC and BRCA mutations based on data from the MAGNITUDE study. Health Canada ( June 2023 ) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ( August 2023 ) also have authorized/approved AKEEGA. Reviews are ongoing in other regions.

About abiraterone acetate

Abiraterone acetate is an orally administered androgen biosynthesis inhibitor. In the United States , abiraterone acetate is indicated with prednisone for the treatment of mCRPC and high-risk mCSPC.

About Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer

Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer characterizes cancer that no longer responds to androgen deprivation therapy and has spread to other parts of the body. The most common metastatic sites are bones, followed by lungs and liver. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men worldwide, behind lung cancer. More than one million patients around the world are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year. Patients with mCRPC and homologous recombination repair (HRR) gene alterations, of which BRCA mutations are the most common, are more likely to have aggressive disease, poor outcomes and a shorter survival time.2,3,4,5

About MAGNITUDE

MAGNITUDE (NCT03748641) is a Phase 3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-center clinical study evaluating the safety and efficacy of the combination of niraparib and AAP for patients with mCRPC, with or without certain HRR gene alterations, and who have not received prior therapy for mCRPC except for up to four months of AAP.

The study included patients with (HRR biomarker [BM] positive; ATM, BRCA1, BRCA2, BRIP1, CDK12, CHEK2, FANCA, HDAC2, PALB2) and without specified gene alterations (HRR BM negative), who were randomized 1:1 to receive niraparib 200 mg once daily plus AAP or placebo plus AAP.2 A total of 423 patients with HRR gene alterations were enrolled, 225 (53.2 percent) of whom had BRCA mutations.3,4 The primary endpoint of the MAGNITUDE trial was radiographic progression free survival (rPFS) assessed by blinded independent central review.5 Secondary endpoints included TCC, TSP and OS. Analysis of the group of patients with BRCA alterations was alpha controlled for rPFS and prespecified for other endpoints.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION FOR AKEEGA4

WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS

The safety population described in the WARNINGS and PRECAUTIONS reflect exposure to AKEEGA in combination with prednisone in BRCAm patients in Cohort 1 (N=113) of MAGNITUDE.

Myelodysplastic Syndrome/Acute Myeloid Leukemia

AKEEGA may cause myelodysplastic syndrome/acute myeloid leukemia (MDS/AML).

MDS/AML, including cases with fatal outcome, has been observed in patients treated with niraparib, a component of AKEEGA.

All patients treated with niraparib who developed secondary MDS/cancer-therapy-related AML had received previous chemotherapy with platinum agents and/or other DNA-damaging agents, including radiotherapy.

For suspected MDS/AML or prolonged hematological toxicities, refer the patient to a hematologist for further evaluation. Discontinue AKEEGA if MDS/AML is confirmed.

Myelosuppression

AKEEGA may cause myelosuppression (anemia, thrombocytopenia, or neutropenia).

In MAGNITUDE Cohort 1, Grade 3-4 anemia, thrombocytopenia, and neutropenia were reported, respectively in 28%, 8%, and 7% of patients receiving AKEEGA. Overall, 27% of patients required a red blood cell transfusion, including 11% who required multiple transfusions. Discontinuation due to anemia occurred in 3% of patients.

Monitor complete blood counts weekly during the first month of AKEEGA treatment, every two weeks for the next two months, monthly for the remainder of the first year and then every other month, and as clinically indicated. Do not start AKEEGA until patients have adequately recovered from hematologic toxicity caused by previous therapy. If hematologic toxicities do not resolve within 28 days following interruption, discontinue AKEEGA and refer the patient to a hematologist for further investigations, including bone marrow analysis and blood sample for cytogenetics.

Hypokalemia, Fluid Retention, and Cardiovascular Adverse Reactions

AKEEGA may cause hypokalemia and fluid retention as a consequence of increased mineralocorticoid levels resulting from CYP17 inhibition [see Clinical Pharmacology (12.1)]. In post-marketing experience, QT prolongation and Torsades de Pointes have been observed in patients who develop hypokalemia while taking abiraterone acetate, a component of AKEEGA. Hypertension and hypertensive crisis have also been reported in patients treated with niraparib, a component of AKEEGA.

In MAGNITUDE Cohort 1, which used prednisone 10 mg daily in combination with AKEEGA, Grades 3-4 hypokalemia was detected in 2.7% of patients on the AKEEGA arm and Grades 3-4 hypertension were observed in 14% of patients on the AKEEGA arm.

The safety of AKEEGA in patients with New York Heart Association (NYHA) Class II to IV heart failure has not been established because these patients were excluded from MAGNITUDE.

Monitor patients for hypertension, hypokalemia, and fluid retention at least weekly for the first two months, then once a month. Closely monitor patients whose underlying medical conditions might be compromised by increases in blood pressure, hypokalemia, or fluid retention, such as those with heart failure, recent myocardial infarction, cardiovascular disease, or ventricular arrhythmia. Control hypertension and correct hypokalemia before and during treatment with AKEEGA.

Discontinue AKEEGA in patients who develop hypertensive crisis or other severe cardiovascular adverse reactions.

Hepatotoxicity

AKEEGA may cause hepatotoxicity.

Hepatotoxicity in patients receiving abiraterone acetate, a component of AKEEGA, has been reported in clinical trials. In post-marketing experience, there have been abiraterone acetate-associated severe hepatic toxicity, including fulminant hepatitis, acute liver failure, and deaths.

In MAGNITUDE Cohort 1, Grade 3-4 ALT or AST increases (at least 5 x ULN) were reported in 1.8% of patients. The safety of AKEEGA in patients with moderate or severe hepatic impairment has not been established as these patients were excluded from MAGNITUDE.

Measure serum transaminases (ALT and AST) and bilirubin levels prior to starting treatment with AKEEGA, every two weeks for the first three months of treatment and monthly thereafter. Promptly measure serum total bilirubin, AST, and ALT if clinical symptoms or signs suggestive of hepatotoxicity develop. Elevations of AST, ALT, or bilirubin from the patient's baseline should prompt more frequent monitoring and may require dosage modifications.

Permanently discontinue AKEEGA for patients who develop a concurrent elevation of ALT greater than 3 x ULN and total bilirubin greater than 2 x ULN in the absence of biliary obstruction or other causes responsible for the concurrent elevation, or in patients who develop ALT or AST 20 x ULN at any time after receiving AKEEGA.

Adrenocortical Insufficiency

AKEEGA may cause adrenal insufficiency.

Adrenocortical insufficiency has been reported in clinical trials in patients receiving abiraterone acetate, a component of AKEEGA, in combination with prednisone, following interruption of daily steroids and/or with concurrent infection or stress. Monitor patients for symptoms and signs of adrenocortical insufficiency, particularly if patients are withdrawn from prednisone, have prednisone dose reductions, or experience unusual stress. Symptoms and signs of adrenocortical insufficiency may be masked by adverse reactions associated with mineralocorticoid excess seen in patients treated with abiraterone acetate. If clinically indicated, perform appropriate tests to confirm the diagnosis of adrenocortical insufficiency. Increased doses of corticosteroids may be indicated before, during, and after stressful situations.

Hypoglycemia

AKEEGA may cause hypoglycemia in patients being treated with other medications for diabetes.

Severe hypoglycemia has been reported when abiraterone acetate, a component of AKEEGA, was administered to patients receiving medications containing thiazolidinediones (including pioglitazone) or repaglinide.

Monitor blood glucose in patients with diabetes during and after discontinuation of treatment with AKEEGA. Assess if antidiabetic drug dosage needs to be adjusted to minimize the risk of hypoglycemia.

Increased Fractures and Mortality in Combination with Radium 223 Dichloride

AKEEGA with prednisone is not recommended for use in combination with Ra-223 dichloride outside of clinical trials.

The clinical efficacy and safety of concurrent initiation of abiraterone acetate plus prednisone/prednisolone and radium Ra 223 dichloride was assessed in a randomized, placebo-controlled multicenter study (ERA-223 trial) in 806 patients with asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic castration-resistant prostate cancer with bone metastases. The study was unblinded early based on an Independent Data Monitoring Committee recommendation.

At the primary analysis, increased incidences of fractures (29% vs 11%) and deaths (39% vs 36%) have been observed in patients who received abiraterone acetate plus prednisone/prednisolone in combination with radium Ra 223 dichloride compared to patients who received placebo in combination with abiraterone acetate plus prednisone.

It is recommended that subsequent treatment with Ra-223 not be initiated for at least five days after the last administration of AKEEGA, in combination with prednisone.

Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome

AKEEGA may cause Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome (PRES).

PRES has been observed in patients treated with niraparib as a single agent at higher than the recommended dose of niraparib included in AKEEGA.

Monitor all patients treated with AKEEGA for signs and symptoms of PRES. If PRES is suspected, promptly discontinue AKEEGA and administer appropriate treatment. The safety of reinitiating AKEEGA in patients previously experiencing PRES is not known.

Embryo-Fetal Toxicity

The safety and efficacy of AKEEGA have not been established in females. Based on animal reproductive studies and mechanism of action, AKEEGA can cause fetal harm and loss of pregnancy when administered to a pregnant female.

Niraparib has the potential to cause teratogenicity and/or embryo-fetal death since niraparib is genotoxic and targets actively dividing cells in animals and patients (e.g., bone marrow).

In animal reproduction studies, oral administration of abiraterone acetate to pregnant rats during organogenesis caused adverse developmental effects at maternal exposures approximately 0.03 times the human exposure (AUC) at the recommended dose.

Advise males with female partners of reproductive potential to use effective contraception during treatment and for 4 months after the last dose of AKEEGA. Females who are or may become pregnant should handle AKEEGA with protection, e.g., gloves.

Based on animal studies, AKEEGA may impair fertility in males of reproductive potential.

ADVERSE REACTIONS

The safety of AKEEGA in patients with BRCAm mCRPC was evaluated in Cohort 1 of MAGNITUDE.

The most common adverse reactions (10%), including laboratory abnormalities, are decreased hemoglobin, decreased lymphocytes, decreased white blood cells, musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, decreased platelets, increased alkaline phosphatase, constipation, hypertension, nausea, decreased neutrophils, increased creatinine, increased potassium, decreased potassium, increased AST, increased ALT, edema, dyspnea, decreased appetite, vomiting, dizziness, COVID-19, headache, abdominal pain, hemorrhage, urinary tract infection, cough, insomnia, increased bilirubin, weight decreased, arrhythmia, fall, and pyrexia.

Serious adverse reactions reported in >2% of patients included COVID-19 (7%), anemia (4.4%), pneumonia (3.5%), and hemorrhage (3.5%). Fatal adverse reactions occurred in 9% of patients who received AKEEGA, including COVID-19 (5%), cardiopulmonary arrest (1%), dyspnea (1%), pneumonia (1%), and septic shock (1%).

DRUG INTERACTIONS

Effect of Other Drugs on AKEEGA

Avoid coadministration with strong CYP3A4 inducers.

Abiraterone is a substrate of CYP3A4. Strong CYP3A4 inducers may decrease abiraterone concentrations, which may reduce the effectiveness of abiraterone.

Effects of AKEEGA on Other Drugs

Avoid coadministration unless otherwise recommended in the Prescribing Information for CYP2D6 substrates for which minimal changes in concentration may lead to serious toxicities. If alternative treatments cannot be used, consider a dose reduction of the concomitant CYP2D6 substrate drug.

Abiraterone is a CYP2D6 moderate inhibitor. AKEEGA increases the concentration of CYP2D6 substrates, which may increase the risk of adverse reactions related to these substrates.

Monitor patients for signs of toxicity related to a CYP2C8 substrate for which a minimal change in plasma concentration may lead to serious or life-threatening adverse reactions.

Abiraterone is a CYP2C8 inhibitor. AKEEGA increases the concentration of CYP2C8 substrates, which may increase the risk of adverse reactions related to these substrates.

Please see the full Prescribing Information for AKEEGA.

About the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson

At Janssen, we're creating a future where disease is a thing of the past. We're the Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, working tirelessly to make that future a reality for patients everywhere by fighting sickness with science, improving access with ingenuity, and healing hopelessness with heart. We focus on areas of medicine where we can make the biggest difference: Oncology, Immunology, Neuroscience, Cardiovascular, Pulmonary Hypertension, and Retina.

Learn more at www.janssen.com. Follow us at @JNJInnovMed and @JanssenUS. Janssen Biotech, Inc. and Janssen Research & Development, LLC Johnson & Johnson companies.

Cautions Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding product development and the potential benefits and treatment impact of niraparib. The reader is cautioned not to rely on these forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations of future events. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or known or unknown risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results could vary materially from the expectations and projections of Janssen Research & Development, LLC; Janssen Biotech, Inc., and/or Johnson & Johnson. Risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: challenges and uncertainties inherent in product research and development, including the uncertainty of clinical success and of obtaining regulatory approvals; uncertainty of commercial success; competition, including technological advances, new products and patents attained by competitors; challenges to patents; changes in behavior and spending patterns of purchasers of health care products and services; changes to applicable laws and regulations, including global health care reforms; and trends toward health care cost containment. A further list and descriptions of these risks, uncertainties and other factors can be found in Johnson & Johnson's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 1, 2023 , including in the sections captioned "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" and "Item 1A. Risk Factors," and in Johnson & Johnson's subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Copies of these filings are available online at www.sec.gov, www.jnj.com or on request from Johnson & Johnson. None of Janssen Research & Development, LLC, Janssen Biotech, Inc., nor Johnson & Johnson undertakes to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information or future events or developments.

* Dr. Chi has been a paid consultant to Janssen; Dr. Chi has not been paid for any media work.

###

____________________ 1 Chi KN, et al. Niraparib (NIRA) with abiraterone acetate plus prednisone (AAP) as first-line (1L) therapy in patients (pts) with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) and homologous repair (HRR) gene alterations: Three-year update and final analysis (FA) of MAGNITUDE. Oral presentation at ESMO 2023, LBA 85. 2 Chi et al. Phase 3 MAGNITUDE study: First results of niraparib (NIRA) with abiraterone acetate and prednisone (AAP) as first-line therapy in patients (pts) with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) with and without homologous recombination repair (HRR) gene alterations. Oral presentation, 2022 ASCO GU Annual Meeting. 3 AKEEGA Prescribing Information. Horsham, PA : Janssen Biotech, Inc. 4 Efstathiou E, et al. Niraparib With Abiraterone Acetate and Prednisone in Patients With Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer and Homologous Recombination Repair Gene Alterations: Second Interim Analysis of MAGNITUDE. Poster presentation, 2023 ASCO GU Annual Meeting. February 16, 2023 .

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People inspect the area of Al-Ahli hospital where hundreds of Palestinians were killed in a blast that Israeli and Palestinian officials blamed on each other, and where Palestinians who fled their homes were sheltering amid the ongoing conflict with Israe

By Divya Rajagopal and Jose Joseph

(Reuters) - Canada's National Department of Defence said on Saturday that Israel was not behind the Al-Ahli hospital strike in Gaza on Oct. 17.

"Analysis conducted independently by the Canadian Forces Intelligence Command indicates with a high degree of confidence that Israel did not strike the Al-Ahli hospital on 17 October 2023," it said in a statement.

The strike was more likely caused by an errant rocket fired from Gaza, the Defence department said based on analysis of open source and classified reporting.

Canada's findings are similar to conclusions by France and the U.S.

Canada said its assessment is informed by an analysis of the blast damage to the hospital complex, including adjacent buildings and the area surrounding the hospital, as well as the flight pattern of the incoming munition.

Palestinian officials said 471 people were killed in the blast at Al-Ahli al-Arabi Hospital on Tuesday. Gaza's health ministry blamed an Israeli air strike, while Israel said the blast was caused by a failed rocket launch by militants.

(Reporting by Jose Joseph in Bengaluru; Divya Rajagopal in Toronto; Editing by Sonali Paul)
French labour unions and organisations call for peace and an immediate ceasefire in Gaza during a demonstration at Place de la Republique in Paris, France, October 22, 2023. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

PARIS (Reuters) -Thousands of people waving Palestinian flags and chanting "Gaza, Paris is with you" gathered on Sunday for the first pro-Palestinian demonstration allowed by police in the French capital since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel.

Around 15,000 people turned out at the Place de la Republique, according to police figures, to express solidarity with Palestinians and call for a ceasefire as the death toll from Israeli strikes in Gaza rose to more than 4,700.

"We are here to defend the freedom (of) the people of Palestine, especially with what's happening in Gaza - it's unacceptable," said Noureddine Mansour, a protester present at the Paris rally.

A similar protest in Brussels drew around 12,000, Belgian police said.

French police said the Paris protest was authorised, unlike others, because a declaration by organisers condemned the Oct. 7 attacks, which killed 1,400 people.

On Thursday, a protest was authorised at the last minute after a Paris court overturned the police decision to ban it.

In the last few days, other protests have been authorised in cities across France, after France's highest administrative court ruled that pro-Palestinian protests were to be banned on a case-by-case basis, not systematically as an earlier instruction by the French interior minister had suggested.

The protest in Paris was called by the collective "National Collective for a sustainable and just peace between Palestinians and Israelis", made up of more than 40 organisations, including left-wing party France Unbowed, the CGT trade union and the organisation "France Palestine Solidarity".

At a peace summit in Cairo on Saturday, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said Israel had a right to self-defence and must respect international law, and that a humanitarian corridor to Gaza was necessary and could lead to a ceasefire.

In Brussels, thousands marched through the streets, waving Palestinian flags and chanting "Free Palestine" before gathering outside the European Commission's headquarters.

(Reporting by Layli Foroudi and Ardee Napolitano in Paris, additional reporting by Bart Biesemnas and John Cotton; Editing by Nick Macfie and John Stonestreet)
FILE PHOTO: A general view during a vote at a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on the conflict between Israel and Hamas at U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., October 16, 2023. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo

By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States proposed on Saturday a draft U.N. Security Council resolution that says Israel has a right to defend itself and demands Iran stop exporting arms to "militias and terrorist groups threatening peace and security across the region."

The draft text, seen by Reuters, calls for the protection of civilians - including those who are trying to get to safety - notes that states must comply with international law when responding to "terrorist attacks", and urges the "continuous, sufficient and unhindered" delivery of aid to the Gaza Strip.

It was not immediately clear if or when the United States planned to put the draft resolution to a vote. To pass, a resolution needs at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes by Russia, China, the United States, France or Britain.

The move by the United States comes after it vetoed a Brazilian-drafted text on Wednesday that would have called for humanitarian pauses in the conflict between Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants, to allow aid access to Gaza.

U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield justified Wednesday's veto by telling the council more time was needed for diplomacy on the ground as President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited the region, focused on brokering aid access to Gaza and trying to free hostages held by Hamas.

Hamas released two American hostages on Friday and the first humanitarian aid convoy arrived in Gaza from Egypt on Saturday.

Israel has vowed to wipe out the Hamas Islamist group that rules Gaza, after its gunmen burst through the barrier fence surrounding the enclave on Oct. 7 and rampaged through Israeli towns and kibbutzes, killing 1,400 people.

Israel has since pounded Gaza from the air, imposed a siege and is preparing for a ground offensive. Palestinian authorities say more than 4,000 people have been killed in the enclave. The U.N. says more than a million have been made homeless.

The U.S. draft text does not call for any pause or truce in the fighting. It calls on all states to try and stop the "violence in Gaza from spilling over or expanding to other areas in the region, including by demanding the immediate cessation by Hezbollah and other armed-groups of all attacks."

Lebanon's Iran-backed, heavily armed Hezbollah group has clashed with Israel across the Lebanese border multiple times since Oct. 7 in the deadliest confrontations since they fought a month-long war in 2006.

SELF-DEFENSE

The U.S. draft resolution demands Iran stop exporting arms to groups threatening peace and security across the region, including Hamas. Iran's mission to the U.N. in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Iran has made no secret of its backing for Hamas, funding and arming the group and another Palestinian militant organisation Islamic Jihad. Iran's mission to the U.N. said on Oct. 8 that Tehran was not involved in the Hamas attack on Israel a day earlier.

Thomas-Greenfield said on Wednesday that the U.S. was disappointed the Brazilian draft did not mention Israel's right to self defense. The U.S. text states that Israel has such a right under Article 51 of the founding U.N. Charter.

Article 51 covers the individual or collective right of states to self-defense against armed attack and states must immediately inform the 15-member Security Council of any action that states take in self-defense against armed attack.

In a letter sent the same day as the Hamas attack, Israel told the council it would "act in any way necessary to protect its citizens and sovereignty from the ongoing terrorist attacks originating from the Gaza Strip." But it does not appear to have formally invoked Article 51, diplomats said.

Arab countries have argued that Israel cannot justify its actions as self-defense.

"The Gaza Strip is an occupied territory," Jordan's U.N. Ambassador Mahmoud Daifallah Hmoud told the council on Monday, citing a 2004 opinion by the International Court of Justice on an Israeli separation barrier built around the West Bank.

"We recall the advisory opinion of the ICJ ... according to which Israel does not have the right to defend itself within occupied Palestinian territory," he said, speaking on behalf of the Arab group.

Israel said in 2004 that the barrier was meant to keep suicide bombers out of its cities. The ICJ said Israel "states, the threat which it regards as justifying the construction of the wall originates within, and not outside, that territory."

"Consequently, the Court concludes that Article 51 of the Charter has no relevance in this case," it ruled. Israel rejected the ICJ ruling.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
BANGKOK (AP)  Foxconn, a Fortune 500 company known globally for making Apple iPhones, was recently subjected to searches by Chinese tax authorities, according to local reports Sunday.

Foxconn, a Taiwanese -headquartered company officially registered as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd, had its offices in Guangdong and Jiangsu provinces searched by tax officials, according to a report in the Chinese state-run Global Times newspaper.

The Ministry of Natural Resources also inspected Foxconn offices in Henan and Hubei provinces, where the company has major factories. Foxconn employs hundreds of thousands of workers across China.

The report did not provide more details about the searches, including when they occurred or what was found.

It also quoted an expert who said that while Taiwan-funded enterprises, including Foxconn, are sharing in dividends from development and making remarkable progress in the mainland, they should also assume corresponding social responsibilities and play a positive role in promoting the peaceful development of cross-strait relations.

Tensions have been high between China and Taiwan in recent years. China claims the democratic self-governing island of Taiwan as part of its own territory. The sides split in 1949 after a civil war and have no official relations but are linked by billions of dollars in trade and investment.

The Chinese Communist Party regularly flies fighter planes and bombers near Taiwan to enforce its stance that the island is obliged to unite with the mainland, by force if necessary.

The tensions have occasionally spilled over into the economic realm. In recent years, China has banned pineapples, grouper fish and other agricultural products from Taiwan for import.

However, it has largely refrained from targeting Taiwanese companies that operate on the mainland.

Foxconn does the vast majority of its manufacturing in China. The company said in a statement Sunday evening that it will actively cooperate with the relevant units on the related work and operations.

The company's founder, Terry Gou, announced in August that he would be running as a candidate in Taiwan's presidential elections, which will be held early next year. He then resigned from his seat on the board of Foxconn.

Gou is seen as a China-friendly candidate whose politics mostly align with the Kuomingtang, the island's current opposition party.
(Steve Groer/Stars and Stripes)

Frankfurt, West Germany, July 1970: A massive C-5 Galaxy military transport plane sits on the runway at Rhein-Main Air Base after making its maiden transatlantic flight from Dover, Del., in seven hours and 40 minutes.

Looking for Stars and Stripes historic coverage? Subscribe to Stars and Stripes historic newspaper archive! We have digitized our 1948-1999 European and Pacific editions, as well as several of our WWII editions and made them available online through https://starsandstripes.newspaperarchive.com/
Emily DAngelo, who plays Air Force drone pilot Jess Kelsen, and Joseph Dennis, who plays her husband, Eric, rehearse for Washington National Operas world premiere of Grounded, an opera by Jeanine Tesori and George Brant that examines the struggles of a female Air Force F-16 pilot who becomes a drone pilot after being grounded due to pregnancy. (Jati Lindsay)

Articles in Stars and Stripes helped George Brant get Grounded off the ground a decade ago.

The original one-woman play, first produced in 2013, is a monologue from an unnamed female Air Force F-16 pilot who becomes a drone pilot after being grounded due to pregnancy. As the play progresses, the pilot struggles to balance her mission targeting enemies overseas via a trailer in Las Vegas with her life at home with her husband and young daughter.

When Brant wrote the play  which is now an opera by the same name co-written by composer Jeanine Tesori and Brant and premiering with Washington National Opera at The Kennedy Center on Oct. 28  he wanted to explore why drone pilots were suffering from post-traumatic stress at the same rate as fighter pilots. In 2013, a study released by the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center concluded just that, and the topic has been revisited in numerous articles written before and since.

This idea that the pilots were suffering from PTSD despite being drone pilots, and at the same rate as fighter pilots, was one that I really wanted to further explore and try to suss out why that might be, Brant said. And then also the idea that they did go home at night  that there werent barracks and that they had to reconcile their time at war during the day, and then potentially going home at night to your family and trying to reconcile those two worlds  was something that really intrigued me as well. And I did indeed read about that first in the Stars and Stripes.

That article, published in 2009, describes how the strain of the daily whiplash transition between bombs and bedtime stories, coupled with the fast-increasing workload to meet relentlessly expanding demand, is leading to fatigue and burnout for the ground-based controllers who drive the drones.

At the time that I wrote the play, a part of it was my moral concerns  about the moral implications of this technology that we had and how we were using it, and wanting to make sure we explored this morally before proceeding too far, Brant said. And its interesting that now it has become used globally. Certainly in the Ukraine conflict were seeing drones used left and right. I didnt even know there was a naval drone now until a recent article about that  about Ukraine sinking one of the Russians ships. The field keeps expanding, so it definitely seems like the story has not become a museum piece by any stretch of the imagination.

Emily DAngelo, who plays fighter pilot Jess Kelsen, who is grounded because of pregnancy and reassigned as a drone pilot in the opera Grounded, rehearses in the Washington National Operas Takoma studio in Washington, D.C. (Jati Lindsay)

The military and veterans communities have embraced the play as well, with productions often featuring discussions and workshops. Brant recalled one of the first productions of the play, in San Francisco: I mean, I was definitely holding my breath because I wasnt sure what their reaction would be, and yeah, it was really gratifying to find that the service people who attended seemed to really respond to it. They just swarmed our actress afterward, and asking her all these questions.

This will continue with the opera, which will be presented Oct. 28, Nov. 1, 3, 5, 11 and 13. Each performance will be accompanied by a pre-show lecture featuring Brant and Washington National Opera Artistic Director Francesca Zambello.

Additionally, the WNOs Cafritz Young Artists will perform selections from Grounded followed by a panel discussion at the Military Womens Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery at 5:30 p.m. Monday. The discussion will feature former Air Force fighter pilot Lt. Col. Tammy Barlette, who has logged more than 3,000 total flight hours and over 1,500 hours of combat support time in both Iraq and Afghanistan; retired Air Force pilot Maj. Scott Swanson; retired Col. Elspeth Cameron Cam Ritchie, current chief of psychiatry at Medstar Washington Hospital Center and a forensic psychiatrist with expertise in military and veterans issues; and Brant.

The WNO also partnered with The Elizabeth Dole Foundation for the Nov. 1 performance for Courage in Service, in which 100 members of the military community will be invited to a pre-show reception and a Q&A following the performance open to the entire audience.

When this [play] was originally staged there was a lot in the news about [drone pilots], and for some reason we havent continued to talk about this new generation of soldier who comes out of their service experience having PTSD or other conditions associated with that service that are different than conventional warfare, where theyre on the ground, Elizabeth Dole Foundation CEO Steve Schwab said. My thinking is  and why were so interested in being involved in this  is because we want to have a sustained conversation over what the needs of our service members and veterans are when they do go through those experiences.

Directed by Michael Mayer, the Grounded opera, which Brant said is 99% sung-through, made a number of changes to the original play in order to better tackle these themes. The pilot, portrayed by mezzo-soprano Emily DAngelo, now has a name  Jess Kelsen, who takes her last name from Stephanie Kelsen, an Air Force fighter pilot who was photographed while pregnant by portrait photographer Shlomit Levy Bard. That photo, featured in The New York Times, was another inspiration for Brants original play.

A promotional image for Grounded featuring Emily DAngelo, who stars as Air Force pilot Jess Kelsen. (Washington National Opera)

The cast has expanded to include people who were mentioned in the one-woman play, including Jess husband, Eric (portrayed by Joseph Dennis); Jess daughter, Sam; Jess commander (Morris Robinson); and her trainer (Frederick Ballantine). A male chorus, the Drone Squadron, made up of Jess fellow flight squadron pilots, will reflect the history of combat, according to WNO. The set design, featuring two large screens that allow for real-time video projection, helps add to the immersive experience.

The story gets increasingly trippy and surreal as it goes along, so we wanted to start it out as close to accurate as we could, before things take a turn for the strange, Brant said.  Certainly our movements  our choreographer has spent a lot of hours watching military marches and such, trying to get that flavor. Again, its not going to mimic exactly military marching, but trying to honor that and incorporate it into an artistic expression.

The surreal element ties into the dissociative disorders or split that can sometimes be experienced with PTSD. In the opera, an alter-ego for Jess appears in the second act.

There was one line in the original play where she says, I am above me,  Brant said. And Jeanine, the composer, really ran with that idea and was like, What if we have a whole character who embodies that idea?  Its an opportunity as well to allow (DAngelo) to sing with herself in a strange way and express things. And this other self sometimes can speak for her innermost thoughts maybe a little better than she can.

Brant did not serve in the military, but has a long history of service in his family, he said. His father, George Brant Sr., served in the Judge Advocate Generals Corps in the Army during the Vietnam War, and his grandfather on his mothers side, Robert Alexander, was in the Navy during World War II and was part of the group that captured the German submarine U-505 about 150 miles west of Rio De Oro, Africa, in June 1944. The capture marked the first time a Navy vessel captured an enemy vessel since the War of 1812, according to the National Museum of the U.S. Navy. The submarine is now on display at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.

The capture of German submarine U-505, June 4, 1944. Members of the boarding party from USS Pillsbury (DE 133) secure the tow-line to the bow of the captured German submarine, U-505. Grounded writer George Brants grandfather, Robert Alexander, was in the Navy and part of the group that captured the U-505, Brant said. (U.S. Navy/National Archives)

Still, Brant had help with keeping the opera, well, grounded in realism. Some people who have served in the military who were on the board of the Washington National Opera chimed in with kind of keeping the story as honest as possible, he said.

We did have a line in the opera about  I cant remember if it was Air Force wings are good as gold, or something along those lines, Brant said. And an Air Force person pointed out that the wings are in fact silver, not gold, and that if I were to keep that in there I was going to tick off both Air Force and Navy people at the same time. So we did find a way to correct that line.  And its not  I dont want people to enter this thinking its a documentary. Theres definitely imagination involved.  This is a fictional story, but were trying to get right as much as we can.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks to the media during a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023. Albanese will visit China in early November, his office said Sunday hours before he was set to fly to the United States to meet President Joe Biden. (Lukas Coch, AAP Image/AP)

CANBERRA, Australia  Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he will visit China in early November, making the announcement Sunday hours before he was to fly to the United States to meet with President Joe Biden.

Albanese also said China agreed late Saturday to review the crippling tariffs it levied on Australian wine that have effectively blocked trade with the winemakers biggest export market since 2020.

Albanese will become the first Australian prime minister to visit China in seven years when he travels to Beijing and Shanghai on Nov. 4-7.

Its in Australias interest to have good relations with China, and certainly though my focus in the coming days will be very much on the visit to the United States, Albanese told reporters at Australian Parliament House.

With Australias closest partner, talking about the future of our alliance, the future which has been upgraded by the AUKUS arrangements, a future based upon our common values, our commitment to democracy, and our commitment to the international rule of law and stable order throughout the globe, Albanese added, using the acronym for Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Under the trilateral pact, the U.S. and Britain will cooperate to provide Australia with a fleet of submarines powered by U.S. nuclear technology to counter a more assertive China.

Albanese said he will meet with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang in Beijing and then attend the China International Import Expo in Shanghai.

The visit to China and a potential breakthrough in the wine dispute mark a further repair in relations since Albaneses center-left Labor Party won elections last year after nine years of conservative government in Australia.

China has agreed to review its tariffs on Australian wine over five months, Albaneses office said. In return, Australia has suspended its complaint against its free trade partner to the World Trade Organization.

A similar dispute resolution plan led to China removing tariffs from Australian barley.

Albanese said reopening the Chinese wine market would be worth more than $631 million to exporters.

Were very confident that this will result in once again Australian wine, a great product, being able to go to China free of the tariffs which have been imposed by China, Albanese said.

It is important that we stabilize our relationship with China. That is in the interests of Australia and China, and it is indeed in the interests of the world that we have stable relations and that is what this visit will represent, he added.

The visit will come near the 50th anniversary of Labor Party leader Gough Whitlam becoming the first Australian prime minister to visit the Peoples Republic of China in 1973.

Albanese accepted an invitation weeks ago to visit China this year, but finding suitable dates had been challenging.

Albanese is visiting Washington to meet with Biden this week and will return to the United States after his China trip to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders forum in San Francisco on Nov. 15-17.

It will be the ninth time Biden has met with Albanese as prime minister. The first meeting was in Tokyo hours after Albanese was sworn in as government leader in May last year for a leaders summit of the Quad strategic partnership that also includes Japan and India.

As well as the AUKUS deal, the leaders will also seek more cooperation on clean energy, critical minerals and climate change.

Albaneses department announced Friday that it decided after an investigation not to cancel a Chinese companys 99-year lease on the strategically important Darwin Port despite U.S. concerns the foreign control could be used to spy on its military forces.

Some security analysts interpreted the decision to let Shandong Landbridge Group keep the lease signed in 2015 and long criticized by Albanese as a concession to China ahead of his visit.

Chinas release of Australian journalist Cheng Lei this month after she spent three years in detention in Beijing on espionage allegations was widely seen as a concession to Australia.

Albanese said the breakthrough on wine has not been transactional, meaning Australia did not make any corresponding concessions to Chinese demands.

Well continue to put our case on matters that are in Australias national interest, he said.

Ive said very consistently: Well cooperate with China where we can, well disagree where we must, and well engage in our national interest, and thats precisely what were doing, he added.
In this image from a video released by the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Filipino sailors, bottom, look after a Chinese coast guard ship with bow number 5203 bumps their supply boat as they approach Second Thomas Shoal, locally called Ayungin Shoal, at the disputed South China Sea on Sunday Oct. 22, 2023. (Armed Forces of the Philippines via AP)

MANILA, Philippines  A Chinese coast guard ship and an accompanying vessel rammed a Philippine coast guard ship and a military-run supply boat Sunday off a contested shoal, Philippine officials said, in an encounter that heightened fears of an armed conflict in the disputed South China Sea.

A top Philippine security official told The Associated Press there were no injuries among the Filipino crew members and the damage to both vessels was being assessed.

The official said that the two incidents near Second Thomas Shoal, where China has repeatedly tried to isolate a Philippine marine outpost, could have been worse if the vessels were not able to maneuver rapidly away from the Chinese ships. The official spoke on condition of anonymity due to a lack of authority to publicly discuss the matter.

Chinas sweeping territorial claims in the South China Sea, including over islands closer to the Philippine shore, have raised tensions and brought the United States, a longtime treaty ally of the Philippines, into the fray.

The U.S. ambassador to Manila, MaryKay Carlson, wrote on the X social media platform that the United States condemns the PRCs latest disruption of a legal Philippine resupply mission to Ayungin shoal, putting the lives of Filipino service members at risk.

She used the initials for Chinas formal name, the Peoples Republic of China, and the name the Philippines uses for Second Thomas Shoal. She added that Washington was standing with its allies to help protect Philippine sovereignty and to support a free and open Indo-Pacific region.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller also reaffirmed that the 1951 U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty extended to attacks on Philippine forces and vessels in the South China Sea.

The Chinese coast guard said the Philippine vessels trespassed into what it said were Chinese waters without authorization despite repeated radio warnings, prompting its ships to stop them. It blamed the Philippine vessels for causing the collisions.

The Philippine sides behavior seriously violates the international rules on avoiding collisions at sea and threatens the navigation safety of our vessels, the Chinese coast guard said in a statement posted on its website.

The Chinese authorities said that they were stopping Philippines ships that carried illegal construction materials.

A Philippine government task force dealing with the South China Sea said the collisions occurred as two Philippine supply boats escorted by two Philippine coast guard ships were heading to deliver food and other supplies to the military outpost that has been under a Chinese blockade.

The actions of the Chinese ships were in utter blatant disregard of the United Nations Charter, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and international regulations that aim to prevent sea collisions, it said.

Near-collisions have happened frequently as Philippine vessels deliver supplies to Filipino marines and sailors stationed on the disputed shoal. But this was the first time Philippine officials have reported their vessels being hit by Chinas ships.

In the past, Chinese officials have played down claims that the Chinese vessels enforcing Beijings territorial claims were in fact paramilitary ships disguised as fishing boats.

Despite the Chinese efforts, one of the two boats managed to maneuver and deliver supplies to the small contingent stationed on board a marooned warship, the BRP Sierra Madre, the task force said.

The South China Sea is one of the worlds busiest trade routes. The disputes involve China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei, and are regarded as a flashpoint in a delicate fault line in U.S.-China rivalry in the region.

In early August, a Chinese coast guard ship used a water cannon against one of two Philippine supply boats to prevent it from approaching Second Thomas Shoal. It outraged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and prompted the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila to summon the Chinese ambassador to convey a strongly worded protest.

At the time, the Chinese Foreign Ministry accused Washington of threatening China by raising the possibility of activating the U.S.-Philippine mutual defense treaty. Beijing has repeatedly warned the U.S. not to meddle in regional territorial disputes.

The European Union ambassador to Manila, Luc Veron, said the incidents, their repetition and intensification, are dangerous and very disturbing. The EU, he added, joins the Philippines in its call for the full observance of international law in the South China Sea.

A 2016 arbitration ruling set up under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea invalidated Beijings claims on historical grounds to virtually the entire South China Sea. China refused to participate in the arbitration sought by the Philippines, rejects the decision and continues to defy it.

Associated Press writer Huizhong Wu in Bangkok contributed to this report.
From right, Alexander Wassermann, chairman of the Jewish community in Dessau, shakes hands with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz during the inauguration of the newly built synagogue in Dessau, Germany, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023. (Hendrik Schmidt/Pool Photo via AP)

BERLIN  Germanys chancellor and president strongly denounced a rise in antisemitism in Germany in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war in separate appearances Sunday that stressed the same idea that it is unacceptable for such hatred to flourish in the nation that perpetrated the Holocaust.

In Berlin, thousands of people gathered at a demonstration called to show opposition to antisemitism and support for Israel. People carried Israeli flags or posters with photos of some of the people reported to be missing or held by Hamas as hostages.

The protest, organized by a broad alliance of various organizations, comes as antisemitic incidents have been rising in Germany following the violent escalation of the war in Gaza. The organizers estimated that over 20,000 people took part; police put the number at 10,000.

It is unbearable that Jews are living in fear again today  in our country of all places, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier told those gathered in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. Every single attack on Jews, on Jewish institutions is a disgrace for Germany. And every single attack fills me with shame and anger.

Earlier, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he was outraged by the antisemitic agitation spreading as the Gaza war rages, and warned at the inauguration of a new synagogue that the vow of never again must be unbreakable.

Assailants threw two Molotov cocktails at a synagogue in Berlin on Wednesday, and police protection has been increased for Jewish institutions. Scholz, who denounced the violence on Wednesday, expanded on his comments at the inauguration of the temple in Dessau, a city in eastern Germany whose synagogue was destroyed by the Nazis 85 years ago.

Both Scholz and Steinmeier denounced the Hamas attack on Israeli civilians on Oct. 7 while also voicing their concern for Palestinian civilians caught up in the conflict. But the thrust of their message was to address the fallout at home.

I am deeply outraged by the way in which antisemitic hatred and inhuman agitation have been breaking out since that fateful October 7, on the internet, in social media around the world, and shamefully also here in Germany, Scholz said. Here in Germany, of all places.

That is why our never again must be unbreakable, Scholz said as he gathered with Jewish leaders at the Weill Synagogue, noting that the community has recently grown as it welcomed people from Ukraine.

The synagogue is named after German-born composer Kurt Weill, who fled Nazi Germany in 1933, and his father Albert Weill, who was a cantor in Dessau.

This synagogue here in the middle in Dessau says that Jewish life is and remains a part of Germany. It belongs here, Scholz said. Germany will do everything to protect and strengthen Jewish life.

Steinmeier also called it a civic duty to oppose antisemitism in Germany.

Police have increased security for Jewish institutions in Berlin and all over Germany.

Israeli flags that were flown after the Oct. 7 attack as a sign of solidarity in front of city halls all over the country have been torn down and burnt. Several building in Berlin where Jews live had the star of David painted on doors and walls.

Also Sunday, police officers in Berlin surrounded participants of a pro-Palestinian demonstration at Potsdamer Platz, which had been banned.
People take part in a demonstration against antisemitism and to show solidarity with Israel, in front of the Brandenburg Gate, in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023. (Monika Skolimowska/dpa via AP)

LONDON  Thousands of people joined vigils in Berlin and London on Sunday to oppose antisemitism and support Israel, while in Paris and other cities, thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators demanded a cease-fire and relief for people in the besieged Gaza Strip.

Some of those who gathered in front of Berlins Brandenburg Gate carried Israeli flags or posters with photos of some of the more than 200 people seized by Hamas as hostages during the militants deadly Oct. 7 incursion into Israel.

It is unbearable that Jews are living in fear again today  in our country of all places, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier told the crowd, estimated at 20,000 by organizers and 10,000 by police. Every single attack on Jews, on Jewish institutions is a disgrace for Germany. Every single attack fills me with shame and anger.

Earlier, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz inaugurated a new synagogue in the eastern city of Dessau and said he was outraged by the upsurge in antisemitism since the conflict began.

Several buildings in Berlin where Jews live had the star of David painted on doors and walls, and assailants threw two Molotov cocktails at a synagogue in Berlin last week.

Here in Germany, of all places, Scholz said, vowing that our never again must be unbreakable.

At a vigil attended by thousands in Londons Trafalgar Square, participants held posters bearing the images of hostages and the missing. They chanted bring them home, falling silent as the names of the hostages were read out.

Speakers from both the U.K.s governing Conservative Party and the opposition Labour Party addressed the crowd. Communities Secretary Michael Gove said Hamas Oct. 7 attack was an act of unparalleled evil and barbarism.

We must stand together against it. We must stand for life. We must bring the hostages home, he said.

Hundreds of people rallied outside the United Nations offices in Geneva to demand the hostages release. Waving mostly Israeli, but also Swiss and German flags, the demonstrators held aloft signs that read Children arent bargaining chips or T-shirts with the words #SetThemFree.

A day earlier, about 4,500 pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched in the Swiss city of Lausanne, police said.

The war has raised tensions worldwide, leaving Jewish and Muslim communities feeling vulnerable. Londons Metropolitan Police force says it has seen a 13-fold upsurge in reports of antisemitic offenses in October compared to last year. Reports of anti-Muslim crimes have more than doubled.

A Bosnian man waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel and in support of Palestinians in Sarajevo, Bosnia, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023. (Armin Durgut/AP)

Sundays rallies came a day after tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators  100,000 by police estimates  marched through the British capital to demand Israel stop its bombardment of Gaza, launched in response to Hamas brutal incursion.

Authorities in Gaza say more than 4,600 people have been killed in the territory since the latest war began. More than 1,400 people have been killed in Israel, majority of them civilians slain in the Oct. 7 attack.

Israel intensified its bombardment of Gaza ahead of an expected ground offensive. United Nations officials were pressing for more humanitarian aid to get into the besieged strip, after 20 trucks were allowed Saturday to enter Gaza across the southern Rafah border crossing with Egypt.

In France, which has Europes largest Jewish and Muslim communities, thousands of demonstrators gathered in Paris to demand Israel stop its strikes on Gaza. Police estimated 15,000 people took part.

Some waved red, green and black Palestinian flags and clambered onto the Republique plazas central statue. A banner read Stop the massacre in Gaza. France must call for an immediate cease-fire.

Organizers  including Palestinian and Muslim groups, peace associations, workers and students unions and leftist political parties  condemned Hamas attack on civilians, urged the militant group to release all hostages and called for an end to Israels assault.

Sarah Alaoui, a 23-year-old French student of Moroccan descent, said she came to support the Palestinian people who have suffered too much for too long.

Humanitarian aid is not enough. Palestinians need to be able to live a decent life and have their own state, she said.

Nicole Pomier, a 49-year-old Parisian and longtime activist, said she was relieved the protest had not been banned by authorities.

We want to be able to support the Palestinian people without risking being arrested by the police, she said.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin had ordered all pro-Palestinian demonstrations banned, before authorities ruled permission for protests should be decided locally on a case-by-case basis.

Jewish groups planned a gathering in Paris later Sunday to call for the release of Hamas hostages.

A crowd estimated at 12,000 by police gathered outside European Union institutions in Brussels for a rally organized by groups including trade unions, Christian organizations and Arab solidarity movements.

Several thousand people took to the streets in Sarajevo, with some comparing the situation in Gaza with the suffering of Bosniaks, who are mainly Muslims, during the countrys 1992-95 war.

What is happening in Gaza is simply human disaster. Collective punishment. War crimes. These things have to be named by their rightful name, said Nabil Naser, a Palestinian doctor who worked in Sarajevo during the Bosnian war.

Hundreds also rallied in Serbias capital, Belgrade, and in Podgorica, the capital of neighboring Montenegro.

More than 3,000 people attended a Freedom for Palestine rally on Sunday at a square in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Malaysia is a strong supporter of the Palestinian cause, and has no diplomatic ties with Israel. Muslims in the country have staged weekly rallies after Friday prayers outside the American Embassy, slamming the U.S. for its support of Israel.

Retiree Munir Izwan urged neighbors of the Palestinians to step up efforts to help.

Even in Islamic teachings, the closest neighbors should help the most in making peace between the two parties. But from what I see, the neighboring countries of Palestine, they are only talking but no actions, Munir said.

Lawless reported from London. Associated Press writers Vanessa Gera in Warsaw, Jovana Gec in Belgrade, Serbia, Jamey Keaten in Geneva and Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, contributed to this report.
Paramedics attempt to fill up the fuel tank of their ambulance with petroleum jelly used for first aid at the Nasser Medical Hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Oct. 17, 2023. (Loay Ayyoub for The Washington Post)

NUSEIRAT REFUGEE CAMP, Gaza  The Gaza Strip runs on fuel. It powers the enclaves hospitals, water pumps and taxis. It feeds the generators residents depend on for electricity and helps fire up the ovens at neighborhood bakeries.

But now Gaza, home to 2.3 million people, is almost out of fuel, nearly two weeks after Israel imposed a full siege on the territory and launched an air war against Hamas. The United Nations said Sunday that its relief agency for Palestinian refugees that operates in Gaza would run out of fuel in three days.

Without fuel, there will be no water, no functioning hospitals and bakeries, the agencys commissioner general, Philippe Lazzarini, said in a statement. Without fuel, aid will not reach those in desperate need.

Israel announced its siege and military campaign after Hamas militants based in Gaza staged a surprise assault on nearby Israeli communities earlier this month. The rampage by Palestinian gunmen killed at least 1,400 people and led Israel to unleash firepower in Gaza, where more than 4,600 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Health Ministry.

On Saturday, the first aid convoy to Gaza since the war started entered the territory through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt. It included food, water and medicine but no fuel supplies, according to OCHA, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Another convoy of 14 trucks entered Gaza late on Sunday, the United Nations and the Israeli military said, also with no fuel.

A gas station is closed Oct. 21, 2023, after running out of fuel amid a widespread fuel shortage in Gaza. (Loay Ayyoub/The Washington Post)

The move to exclude fuel from the first delivery was an apparent concession to Israel, which worries that Hamas and other armed groups could divert it for military purposes. Israeli military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari also accused Hamas last week of stealing fuel from U.N. facilities. Hamas representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The United Nations and others are in a tough but fair discussion with the Israeli government over an inspection regime for the aid going through Rafah, OCHAs emergency relief coordinator, Martin Griffiths, told Reuters in an interview Saturday. He said a system for tracking the use of fuel was also being considered.

Palestinian militants use fuel to propel the rockets they manufacture and fire into Israel, as well as for vehicles the fighters drive during operations.

But fuel also helps power daily life here, as in elsewhere in the world, and keeps vital technology and machines working, from sanitation systems to cellphones to ambulances ferrying the wounded.

Gazas only functioning power plant shut down on Oct. 11, when it ran out of fuel, blanketing the territory in darkness after Israel cut off its supply. In Gaza, a lack of fuel can now mean the difference between life and death.

Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra warned Saturday that the failure to supply local hospitals with fuel was putting the lives of sick and injured patients at risk. The ministry has been reallocating limited amounts of fuel to hospitals to keep them open, OCHA said Saturday, and has asked people to donate their personal fuel supplies.

On Saturday in Nuseirat, a refugee camp in central Gaza, 53-year-old Mahmoud Musallam wandered in search of a place where he could charge his Nokia phone, which doubles as a night light.

He traveled with his family to Nuseirat from northern Gaza a few days ago, after the Israeli military warned more than 1 million residents in that part of the territory to leave ahead of an expected ground invasion. Musallam and his nine family members evacuated first by auto rickshaw and then by a donkey-led cart.

We couldnt find transportation due to the shortage of fuel, said Musallam, adding that they took shelter in a U.N. school nearby. And I dont know where Im going to stay tomorrow.

Israel, when it first declared the siege, said it would not allow any food, fuel, water or power into Gaza until Hamas freed the hostages it took during its Oct. 7 attack.

Humanitarian aid to Gaza? No electric switch will be turned on, no water tap will be opened and no fuel truck will enter until the Israeli abductees are returned home, Israeli Energy Minister Israel Katz said in a statement on Oct. 12.

Under intense international pressure, including from President Biden, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to a deal with Egypt and the United Nations to allow food, water and medicine to enter through Rafah for civilians in southern Gaza.

Netanyahus office on Saturday said that it wanted aid to continue to enter Gaza through Rafah, on the one condition that it must reach the people of Gaza and not be diverted to Hamas.

The first aid convoy arrives in Gaza through the Rafah land crossing on Saturday. (Loay Ayyoub/The Washington Post)

For years, Israel, which controls most entry points into Gaza, has restricted the transfer of dual-use items to the territory, including construction materials, chemicals, machinery and spare parts, according to the Israeli rights group Gisha. Israel has banned some dual-use items outright and allowed others entry with special permits.

Israel has also limited or halted fuel supplies to Gaza in previous conflicts.

In August, before the recent outbreak of fighting, a total of 1,200 trucks carrying diesel, benzene and cooking gas entered Gaza, according to Tania Hary, Gishas executive director.

But since the Hamas attack, Israel has blocked fuel supplies for the territory. Its clearly a potentially dual-use item in their eyes, said an official with knowledge of the negotiations over Gaza aid access. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive negotiations.

In Nuseirat, Sara Saftawi is staying with dozens of family members in a single apartment building, after she fled with her husband and toddler from their home in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza. Their only power source is a group of solar panels, which she said provide about an hour of electricity each day.

Saftawis husband, she says, is a critical care doctor and still works some days at al-Shifa Hospital, Gazas largest medical complex. Fuel shortages there have forced many of the generators to shut down, and the power is now off in many departments, with doctors performing surgery using their cellphones or flashlights.

On Friday, her husband came home from the hospital and couldnt eat, she said. The number of unidentified bodies was piling up at al-Shifa, he told her, and the stench was haunting him. Without the fuel needed to power the morgues refrigeration units, there was nowhere to store the dead.

Berger reported from Ramallah, West Bank, and Parker from Cairo.
Hezbollah fighters rise their groups flag and shout slogans as they attend the funeral procession of Hezbollah fighter Bilal Nemr Rmeiti, who was killed by Israeli shelling, during his funeral procession in Majadel village, south Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023. (Hassan Ammar/AP)

BEIRUT  Hezbollah announced the deaths of five more militants as clashes along the Lebanon-Israel border intensified and the Israeli prime minister warned Lebanon on Sunday not to let itself get dragged into a new war.

The tiny Mediterranean country is home to Hezbollah, a Shiite Muslim political party with an armed wing of the same name. Israeli soldiers and militants have traded fire across the border since Israels war with the Palestinian group Hamas began, but the launches so far have targeted limited areas.

Hezbollah has reported the deaths of 24 of its militants since Hamas bloody Oct. 7 rampage in southern Israel. At least six militants from Hamas and another militant group, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and at least four civilians have died in the near-daily hostilities.

Hezbollah has vowed to escalate if Israel begins a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip, which is likely, and Israel said it would aggressively retaliate.

If Hezbollah decides to enter the war, it will miss the Second Lebanon War. It will make the mistake of its life, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday as he visited troops stationed near the border with Lebanon. We will cripple it with a force it cannot even imagine, and the consequences for it and the Lebanese state are devastating.

Hezbollah and Israel fought a monthlong war in 2006 that ended in a tense stalemate.

Lebanons state-run National News Agency reported that small arms fire was heard along the tense border coming from near the Lebanese village of Aitaroun toward the northern Israeli town of Avivim where key military barracks are located. Meanwhile, Israel shelled areas near the southeastern Lebanese town of Blida.

Israel sees Iran-backed Hezbollah as its most serious threat, estimating it has some 150,000 rockets and missiles aimed at Israel.

Israeli military spokesman Jonathan Conricus accused the group early Sunday of escalating the situation steadily. He said the recent cross-border skirmishes had produced both Israeli troop and civilian casualties but did not provide additional details.

Hezbollah on Sunday posted a video of what it said was a Friday attack targeting the Biranit barracks near the Lebanon-Israel border, the command center of the Israeli militarys northern division. Footage shared by the group showed an overhead view of a strike on what it described as a gathering of soldiers.

During a video briefing, Conricus said the group has especially attacked military positions in Mount Dov in recent days, a disputed territory known as Shebaa Farms in Lebanon, where the borders of Lebanon, Syria, and Israel meet.

Bottom line is  Hezbollah is playing a very, very dangerous game, he said. (It is) extremely important for everybody in Lebanon to ask themselves the question of the price. Is the Lebanese state really willing to jeopardize what is left of Lebanese prosperity and Lebanese sovereignty for the sake of terrorists in Gaza?

The international community and Lebanese authorities have been scrambling to ensure the cash-strapped country does not find itself in a new war.

Hezbollahs leader, Hassan Nasrallah, has yet to comment on the latest Hamas-Israel war, though other officials have. Hezbollah legislator Hassan Fadlallah said Sunday said Nasrallahs silence was part of a strategy to deter Israel from Lebanon and to prevent the enemy from reaching its goal in Gaza.

When the time comes for his His Eminence (Hassan Nasrallah) to appear in the media, should managing this battle require so, everyone will see that he will reflect public opinion, Fadlallah said.
In this handout photo released by Save the Children, an Afghan woman and her children walk amid debris after a powerful earthquake in Herat province, western Afghanistan, Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023. (Save the Children via AP)

KABUL, Afghanistan  Women and girls are in a not only difficult ... but deadly situation following recent earthquakes in Afghanistan because of the humanitarian and civil rights crises in the country since the Taliban seized power, a U.N. official said Sunday.

An update from U.N. Women highlighted some of the problems women are facing in areas of Herat province, where a series of violent earthquakes and aftershocks this month killed thousands of people, more than 90% of them women and children, and destroyed nearly every home.

Cultural norms make it impossible for women to share a tent with neighbors or other families, the U.N. agency said in its update published Thursday. Many women also have difficulty obtaining humanitarian aid if they dont have male relative who can access it on their behalf and there is an absence of female workers aid distribution points, the U.N. said

Women affected by the earthquake have told the U.N. they cannot access aid without the national identity card, or tazkera, of a male relative. They need clothing, including the Islamic headscarf, so they can dress appropriately to access services and aid, according to the update.

When natural disasters strike, women and girls are impacted most and often considered least in crisis response and recovery, Alison Davidian, the U.N. special representative for women in Afghanistan, said in a message to the Associated Press. The earthquakes, when combined with the ongoing humanitarian and womens rights crisis, have made the situation not only difficult for women and girls, but deadly.

One reason children and women accounted for the vast majority of the at least 1,482 people who died in the quakes is they were more likely to have been indoors when the disasters struck, according to aid officials. Taliban officials gave higher casualty figures than humanitarian groups, saying more than 2,000 people died.

Davidian noted that women and girls have been increasingly confined to their homes because of increasing Taliban-imposed restrictions on them in the last two years.

The Taliban have barred girls from school beyond sixth grade and banned women from public spaces and most jobs. Women must also comply with dress codes and have a male chaperone accompany them on long journeys.

The Taliban have also restricted Afghan women from jobs at non-governmental organizations, although there are exemptions for emergencies and health care.

Most emergency assistance in earthquake-hit Herat is being distributed through a local intermediary, normally a male community or religious leader.

Women mentioned the involvement of community leaders as their main challenge when accessing help as community leaders are not always aware of the most vulnerable women, the U.N. update said.

Afghans are struggling with the social, political and economic shocks from the withdrawal of international forces in 2021 and decades of war. More than half of the countrys population of 40 million needs urgent humanitarian assistance.

Aid agencies have been providing food, education and health care support in the wake of the Taliban takeover and the economic collapse that followed it.
The aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower deploys from Naval Station Norfolk, Va.,on Oct. 14, 2023. The Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group will join the USS Gerald R. Ford in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. ( Anderson W. Branch/U.S. Navy)

The U.S. military is telling more troops to prepare to deploy to the Middle East and is sending a second aircraft carrier and additional air defense assets to the region as Israel prepares for a ground invasion of Gaza.

The moves are due to recent escalations by Iran and its proxy forces, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in an online statement Saturday.

These steps will bolster regional deterrence efforts, increase force protection for U.S. forces in the region, and assist in the defense of Israel, Austin said in the statement.

The defense secretary said he ordered an unspecified number of troops to receive prepare to deploy orders to prepare them ready to leave quickly if needed. The Pentagon had said Tuesday that 2,000 U.S. troops from a variety of units have been given a prepare to deploy order.

The U.S. will be sending air defense assets including a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery and additional Patriot battalions to bases in the region, Austin said Saturday.

Rocket and drone attacks have targeted U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria, as militant groups respond in the aftermath of Israels military response to the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks.

The attacks led to the death of a U.S. defense contractor in Iraq Wednesday due to a heart problem that happened while scrambling for cover during an alert warning, said Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagons top spokesman.

U.S. troops also received minor injuries in the attacks, which targeted bases with U.S. troops in Baghdad, northern and western Iraq, and eastern Syria.

Two aircraft carrier strike groups, A-10 attack aircraft and F-15 fighter jets also have been sent to the region in the past two weeks.

The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower carrier strike group has been redirected to the Middle East, officially joining the USS Gerald R. Ford currently operating in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, Austin said Saturday.

Defense officials say those assets are meant to deter groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and other Iran-backed groups from escalating the conflict with Israel.

Militias backed by Iran are said to be planning attacks on U.S. forces in the Middle East under the slogan of Revenge for Gaza, a report by the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Thursday.

Austin said in Saturdays statement that he may consider deploying additional capabilities as necessary.
Armstrong World Industries, Inc. (NYSE:AWI) will increase its dividend on the 16th of November to $0.28, which is 10% higher than last year's payment from the same period of $0.254. This takes the annual payment to 1.5% of the current stock price, which is about average for the industry.

See our latest analysis for Armstrong World Industries

Armstrong World Industries' Payment Has Solid Earnings Coverage

We like a dividend to be consistent over the long term, so checking whether it is sustainable is important. However, prior to this announcement, Armstrong World Industries' dividend was comfortably covered by both cash flow and earnings. This means that most of what the business earns is being used to help it grow.

Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to rise by 14.4% over the next year. If the dividend continues on this path, the payout ratio could be 22% by next year, which we think can be pretty sustainable going forward.

Armstrong World Industries Doesn't Have A Long Payment History

It is great to see that Armstrong World Industries has been paying a stable dividend for a number of years now, however we want to be a bit cautious about whether this will remain true through a full economic cycle. The annual payment during the last 5 years was $0.70 in 2018, and the most recent fiscal year payment was $1.02. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 7.7% a year over that time. The dividend has been growing as a reasonable rate, which we like. However, investors will probably want to see a longer track record before they consider Armstrong World Industries to be a consistent dividend paying stock.

Armstrong World Industries May Find It Hard To Grow The Dividend

Investors could be attracted to the stock based on the quality of its payment history. Unfortunately, Armstrong World Industries' earnings per share has been essentially flat over the past five years, which means the dividend may not be increased each year. While EPS growth is quite low, Armstrong World Industries has the option to increase the payout ratio to return more cash to shareholders.

Story continues

Our Thoughts On Armstrong World Industries' Dividend

In summary, it's great to see that the company can raise the dividend and keep it in a sustainable range. The dividend has been at reasonable levels historically, but that hasn't translated into a consistent payment. The payment isn't stellar, but it could make a decent addition to a dividend portfolio.

It's important to note that companies having a consistent dividend policy will generate greater investor confidence than those having an erratic one. However, there are other things to consider for investors when analysing stock performance. For example, we've picked out 1 warning sign for Armstrong World Industries that investors should know about before committing capital to this stock. Is Armstrong World Industries not quite the opportunity you were looking for? Why not check out our selection of top dividend stocks.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
In this photo provided by the Government of Israel, Judith Raanan, right, and her 17-year-old daughter Natalie are escorted by Israeli soldiers and Gal Hirsch, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's special coordinator for returning the hostages, as they return to Israel from captivity in the Gaza Strip, on Oct. 20, 2023. (Government of Israel/AP)

EVANSTON, Ill.  The father of freed American teen hostage Natalie Raanan said Friday shes doing well following two weeks in captivity after she and her mother were abducted in Israel by Hamas and held in Gaza.

Uri Raanan of Illinois told The Associated Press that he spoke to his daughter Friday by telephone. Shes doing good. Shes doing very good, said Uri Raanan, who lives in the Chicago suburbs. Im in tears, and I feel very, very good.

The 71-year-old said he saw on the news earlier Friday that an American mother and daughter would be released by Hamas, and he spent the day hoping that meant his daughter and her mother, Judith Raanan.

Knowing Natalie may be able to celebrate her 18th birthday next week at home with family and friends feels wonderful. The best news, her father said.

Ben Raanan, Natalies brother, said before her abduction he and his sister had spoken of getting matching tattoos to mark her birthday. Instead, he got a tattoo this week in her honor, incorporating their names along with their brothers name.

The familys text message chain sharing updates on Friday moved from tentative hope to outright celebration, tempered by an awareness than other families still are living in fear for their loved ones, Ben Raanan told The Associated Press at his home in Denver.

When I see her again, I think there arent going to be words to express whats going on, he said. Its just going to be like this intense hug that is bigger than words and bigger than what we could actually communicate verbally.

Uri Raanan said he believes Natalie and Judith to be in transit to Tel Aviv to reunite with relatives, and that both will be back in the U.S. early next week.

An Israeli army spokesperson said the two Americans were out of the Gaza Strip and with the Israeli military. Hamas said Friday it released them for humanitarian reasons in an agreement with the Qatari government.

They were the first hostages to be released since Hamas militants, according to Israel, abducted roughly 200 people during their Oct. 7 rampage.

President Joe Biden was among the many celebrating the news that the Raanans had been freed.

I am overjoyed that they will soon be reunited with their family, who has been wracked with fear, Biden said in Washington. The president spoke Friday with Judith and Natalie and relayed that they will have the full support of the U.S. government as they recover from this terrible ordeal, the White House said.

In the telephone conversation, Biden told the women that he was glad youre out.

Were going to get them all out, God willing, he said of the remaining hostages in a video showing excerpts of the conversation that was posted by the White House Saturday on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter.

I just wanted to say thank you for your services to Israel, Natalie told the president. Judith told him they were in good health.

Uri Raanan said late Friday in a short news conference that he spoke with his daughter for only a few emotional minutes and that they didnt talk about what she and her mother experienced in the past two weeks. He said Judith has a minor injury he described as a little scratch on her hand.

They look good and sound good, he said, adding that when he sees his daughter he plans to hug her and kiss her. Its going to be the best day of my life.

He also said he didnt know why they were chosen for release.

The International Committee of the Red Cross, which transported the freed Americans from Gaza to Israel, said their release offered a sliver of hope for those still being held.

Judith, 59, and Natalie, who both have dual Israeli-American citizenship, had been on a trip from their home in the Chicago suburb of Evanston to Israel to celebrate Judiths mothers birthday and the Jewish holidays, family members said.

Natalie was born in the U.S., moved to Israel with Judith until she was around 10 and then returned, her father said.

Natalie always spoke of her home very dearly, 19-year-old stepsister Frida Alonso said, referring to Israel. She missed it very, very dearly. Every day she missed her grandma, she missed her home. Just the feeling of being there. So I bet this hurts a lot for her.

Mother and daughter were in Nahal Oz, near the Gaza border, on Oct. 7 when Hamas militants stormed into southern Israeli towns, killing hundreds of people and abducting others.

Their family had heard nothing from them since the attack and were later told by U.S. and Israeli officials that they were being held in Gaza, Natalies brother has said.

The news that Judith and Natalie have been released from the hands of Hamas is overwhelming. It brings us a tremendous amount of gratitude to the Almighty, to God, for this incredible miracle, Meir Hecht, Judiths rabbi, said at a news conference outside his home in Evanston on Friday afternoon.

At the same time we hold our pain very deep, said Hecht, who called for the other hostages to be released as soon as possible. We need to continue besieging whoever we can and however we can, and praying for their release.

Judith came regularly to Meirs congregation and felt like part of our family, the rabbi said.

Qatar said it would continue its dialogue with Israel and Hamas in hopes of winning the release of all hostages with the ultimate aim of de-escalating the current crisis and restoring peace.

Israeli military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Israel was continuing to work to return hostages and find the missing, and its goals had not changed. We are continuing the war against Hamas and ready for the next stage of the war, he said.

The release comes amid growing expectations of a ground offensive that Israel says is aimed at rooting out Hamas militants who rule Gaza.

Associated Press reporter Thomas Peipert reported from Denver. Perez Winder reported from Evanston, Savage reported from Chicago and Baumann from Bellingham, Washington.
In this photo released by Kimberly Bush, Samantha Woll, left, poses with Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel on Sept. 4, 2022, in Royal Oak, Mich. Woll, who worked on Nessels 2022 campaign, was found stabbed to death outside her home in Detroit on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023. Woll was the president of the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue. (Kimberly Bush/AP)

DETROIT  A Detroit synagogue president was found stabbed to death outside her home Saturday, police said. The motive wasnt known.

Emergency medical personnel declared the woman, identified in a statement from Mayor Mike Duggan as Samantha Woll, dead at the scene, Cpl. Dan Donakowski said.

While at the scene, police officers observed a trail of blood leading officers to the victims residence, which is where the crime is believed to have occurred, Donakowski said.

Woll, 40, had led the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue since 2022 and was a former aide to Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin and campaign staffer for Attorney General Dana Nessel, the Detroit Free Press reported.

Police have not identified a possible motive and are investigating, the Free Press reported.

Police found Woll around 6:30 a.m. after someone called to alert them of a person lying on the ground unresponsive, the Free Press reported.

Detroit Police Chief James E. White said the killing has left many unanswered questions, and he asked the public to be patient as investigators examine all available evidence.

Over the course of the last several hours, the DPD has mobilized many of its resources and has been leveraging every law enforcement and community resource it has to help further the investigation, White said in a statement released Saturday night. An update on the investigation will be forthcoming tomorrow.

In a statement, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Wolls death was heartbreaking.

She was a source of light, a beacon in her community who worked hard to make Michigan a better place, the governor said.

Michigan State Police were assigned to support the Detroit Police Department in the investigation, Whitmer said.

Nessel issued a statement on X, formerly Twitter, saying she was shocked, saddened and horrified.

Sam was as kind a person as Ive ever known, Nessel said. She was driven by her sincere love of her community, state and country. Sam truly used her faith and activism to create a better place for everyone.

Slotkin also commented on X, saying she was heartbroken at this news.

Duggan issued a statement saying he was devastated to learn of Wolls death.

Sams loss has left a huge hole in the Detroit community, the mayor said. This entire city joins with her family and friends in mourning her tragic death.
President Joe Biden is greeted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after arriving at Ben Gurion International Airport, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023, in Tel Aviv. (Evan Vucci/AP)

WASHINGTON  President Joe Biden told a crowd of Democratic donors over the weekend about a decades-old photo he took with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, an aside that seemed intended to illustrate his long support of Israel and track record of speaking bluntly with the conservative Israeli leader.

Biden said hed written on the photo of himself as a young senator and Netanyahu as an embassy hand, Bibi, I love you. I dont agree with a damn thing you say. He told donors at a Friday night fundraiser that Netanyahu still keeps the photo on his desk and had brought it up during Bidens lightning visit to Tel Aviv last week.

As expectations grow that Israel will soon launch a ground offensive aimed at rooting out Hamas militants who rule the Gaza Strip, Biden finds himself facing anew the difficult balancing act of demonstrating full-throated support for Americas closest ally in the Middle East while trying to also press the Israelis to act with enough restraint to keep the war from spreading into a broader conflagration.

Biden has literally, and figuratively, wrapped Netanyahu in a warm embrace since the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas. Hes repeatedly promised to have Israels back as it aims to take out the militant group that controls the Gaza Strip and carried out the brutal attacks that killed 1,400 Israelis and captured more than 200 others.

But he also increasingly is paying greater public heed to the plight of Palestinians and the potential consequences of a hardline Israeli response.

White House officials say Biden, during his visit to Tel Aviv last week, asked Netanyahu tough questions about his strategy and the way forward. Biden himself told reporters on his way back from Israel that he had a long talk with Israeli officials about what the alternatives are to a possible extended ground operation. U.S. defense officials were also consulting with Israel on the matter.

Were going to make sure other hostile actors in the region know that Israel is stronger than ever and prevent this conflict from spreading, Biden said Thursday in a nationally televised address on assisting Israel and Ukraine in their wars. At the same time ... Netanyahu and I discussed again yesterday the critical need for Israel to operate by the laws of war. That means protecting civilians in combat as best as they can.

Both Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the executive director of United Nations World Food Program, Cindy McCain, offered grim warnings Sunday that the situation on the ground is only becoming more complicated.

Blinken on NBCs Meet the Press warned theres a likelihood of escalation against U.S. forces stationed in the region by Iranian proxies. Iran is the biggest financial backer of Hamas, Hezbollah militants in Lebanon and Shiite militias in Iraq.

McCain said on ABCs This Week that the humanitarian situation her organization is confronting in Gaza is catastrophic.

As well, Biden and Pope Francis spoke on the phone for about 20 minutes Sunday, addressing the need to pinpoint paths of peace in world conflicts, the Vatican press office said in a brief statement.

The pressure on Biden for a balanced approach comes from Arab leaders in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and beyond who have seen large protests erupt in their capitals over the crisis in Gaza. It also comes from European officials, who have expressed horror at the most brutal attack on Israeli soil in decades, but also underscored that the Israelis must abide by international and humanitarian law. Biden also faces scrutiny from people in the younger and more liberal wing of his Democratic Party, who are more divided over the Israel-Palestinian issue than the partys centrist and older leaders.

Less than week into the war, dozens of lawmakers wrote to Biden and Blinken urging them to ensure the protection of Israeli and Palestinian civilians by calling for Israeli military operations to follow the rules of international humanitarian law, the safe return of hostages, and diplomatic efforts to ensure long-lasting peace. That was followed by more than a dozen lawmakers introducing a resolution urging the Biden administration to call for an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire.

Three members of the Democratic caucus  Reps. Delia Ramirez of Illinois, Summer Lee of Pennsylvania and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan  wrote to Blinken last week about the lack of meaningful information about the status of U.S. civilians, particularly those in Gaza and the West Bank. The administration has said some 500 to 600 U.S. citizens may be in Gaza.

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., has suggested that the administration has demonstrated a double standard when it comes to valuing the lives of innocent Israelis and Gaza residents. Israels retaliatory bombing campaign has killed more than 4,300 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. Many of the victims are women and children.

How do you look at one atrocity and say, This is wrong, but you watch as bodies pile up as neighborhoods are leveled? Omar asked at a news conference. Israel has dropped more bombs in the last 10 days than we dropped in a whole year in Afghanistan. Where is your humanity? Where is your outrage? Where is your care for people?

Inside the administration there has been debate over whether Biden is pursuing a policy too closely aligned to Israels.

Last week, at least one department official resigned, saying he could no longer support what he called a one-sided policy that favors Israel at the expense of the Palestinians.

I cannot work in support of a set of major policy decisions, including rushing more arms to one side of the conflict, that I believe to be short-sighted, destructive, unjust and contradictory to the very values that we publicly espouse, Josh Paul, an 11-year veteran of the State Departments Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, wrote in a statement posted to his LinkedIn account on Wednesday.

Other State Department officials have expressed similar concerns and some of them spoke at a series of internal discussions for employees that were held on Friday, according to people familiar with the events who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. Many of those comments were angry and emotional, these people said.

Blinken sent a department-wide memo Thursday urging employees to remember the administrations broader goals for equal justice and peace for both Israel and the Palestinians.

Biden administration officials, meanwhile, in their interactions with their Israeli counterparts have witnessed trauma  and rage  that is palpable.

The most significant announcement to come out of Bidens visit to Israel this past week was getting Egypt and Israel to agree to allow a limited number of trucks carrying food, water, medicine and other essentials into Gaza via the Rafah border crossing

While the agreement to allow some aid into to Gaza appeared to be minor considering the enormity of the humanitarian crisis, U.S. officials said it represented a significant concession in the position Israel held before Blinkens meeting with Netanyahu on Monday and Bidens talks with the Israeli leader on Wednesday.

During the Blinken-Netanyahu talks, U.S. officials familiar with the discussions said they had become increasingly alarmed by comments from their Israeli counterparts about their intention to deny even supplies of water, electricity, fuel, food and medicine into Gaza, as well as the inevitability of civilian casualties.

Those comments, according to four U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe private conversations, reflected intense anguish, anger and outright hostility toward all Palestinians in Gaza.

The officials said that members of the Israeli security and political establishment were absolutely opposed to the provision of any assistance to Gazans and argued that the eradication of Hamas would require methods used in the defeat of the Axis powers in World War II.

One official said that he and others had heard from Israeli counterparts that a lot of innocent Germans died in WWII and had been reminded of the massive deaths of Japanese civilians in the U.S. nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Similarly, Biden and his top aides heard deep anguish from some of the high-ranking Israeli officials involved in the private talks, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter.

As he wrapped up his 7 1/2-hour visit to Tel Aviv, Biden compared the Oct. 7 assault to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States that killed nearly 3,000 people and he recalled the rage Americans felt and the desire for justice by many in the United States. He also urged the Israelis to remember American missteps after 9/11, an era that left the U.S. military ensconced in a 20-year war in Afghanistan.

I caution this: While you feel that rage, dont be consumed by it, he said. After 9/11, we were enraged in the United States. And while we sought justice and got justice, we also made mistakes.
President Joe Biden and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meet with victims relatives and first responders who were directly affected by the Hamas attacks, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023, in Tel Aviv. (Evan Vucci/AP)

REHOBOTH BEACH, Del.  Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Sunday that the United States expects the Israel-Hamas war to escalate through involvement by proxies of Iran, and they asserted that the Biden administration is prepared to respond if American personnel or armed forces become the target of any such hostilities.

This is not what we want, not what were looking for. We dont want escalation, Blinken said. We dont want to see our forces or our personnel come under fire. But if that happens, were ready for it.

Austin, echoing Blinken, said what were seeing is a prospect of a significant escalation of attacks on our troops and our people throughout the region.

He said the U.S. has the right to self-defense and we wont hesitate to take the appropriate action.

The warning from the high-ranking U.S. officials came as Israels military response to a deadly Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on civilians in communities in southern Israel entered its third week.

Israeli warplanes struck targets across Gaza overnight and into Sunday, as well as two airports in Syria and a mosque in the occupied West Bank allegedly used by militants as the war threatened to engulf more of the Middle East.

Israel has traded fire with Lebanons Hezbollah militant group on a near-daily basis since the war began, and tensions are soaring in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces have battled militants in refugee camps and carried out two airstrikes in recent days.

The U.S. announced Sunday that non-essential staff at its embassy in Iraq should leave the country.

Blinken, who recently spent several days in the region, spoke of a likelihood of escalation while saying no one wants to see a second or third front to the hostilities between Israel and Hamas, which rules Gaza.

The secretary said he expects escalation by Iranian proxies directed against our forces, directed against our personnel, and added: We are taking steps to make sure that we can effectively defend our people and respond decisively if we need to. Iran is an enemy of Israel.

Blinken, appearing on NBCs Meet the Press, noted that additional military assets had been deployed to the region, including two aircraft carrier battle groups, not to provoke, but to deter, to make clear that if anyone tries to do anything, were there.

President Joe Biden, repeatedly has used one word to warn Israels enemies against trying to take advantage of the situation: Dont.

Meanwhile, trucks loaded with food, water and other supplies that Palestinians living in Gaza desperately need continued to enter the enclave on Sunday after a key crossing at the border with Egypt was opened a day earlier to allow humanitarian assistance to begin flowing.

But Cindy McCain, executive director of the U.N. World Food Program, said the situation in Gaza remained catastrophic. She said even more aid needs to be allowed in.

She said her organization was able to feed 200,000 people dinner on Saturday but thats not enough. Thats a drop. We need secure and sustainable access in there, in that region, so we can feed people.

Four hundred aid trucks were entering Gaza daily before the latest war, she said.

This is a catastrophe happening and we just simply have to get these trucks in, she said.

Biden, who was at his home on the Delaware coast, was briefed by his national security team on the latest developments, the White House said. Biden also discussed the situation during separate conversations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Pope Francis.

Biden and Netanyahu talked about the need to prevent escalation in the region and to work toward a durable peace in the Middle East, the White House said. Israel has promised a military ground invasion of Gaza to destroy Hamas.

Biden also convened a call with the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom to discuss the conflict. Among topics discussed, the White House said the leaders committed to working closely to keep the war from spreading, while seeking a political solution.

The State Department on Sunday ordered non-essential U.S. diplomats and their families at the U.S. Embassy in Iraq and the U.S. consulate in Irbil to leave the country due to the heightened tensions. In an updated message to Americans in Iraq, the department said the security situation in Iraq made it impossible to carry out normal operations.

Austin and McCain spoke on ABCs This Week.
African American high school student Walter Gadsden, 15, an onlooker to the protest, is attacked by a police dog during a civil rights demonstration in Birmingham, Ala., on May 3, 1963. For some, the scene of a trucker being attacked by a police dog on a rural Ohio highway in July 2023 harkens back to the Civil Rights Movement, when authorities often turned dogs on peaceful Black protesters marching for equality. (Bill Hudson/AP)

CIRCLEVILLE, Ohio  As Jadarrius Rose drove his 18-wheeler through rural Ohio, a simple missing mudflap caught the highway patrols eye. The trip ended with a police dogs powerful jaws clamping down on Rose even as he tried to surrender.

As he stood with his hands up beside the highway on July 4, at least six law enforcement officers surrounded him at a distance, one calling forcefully to the K-9 handler: Do not release the dog, highway patrol video shows.

Nevertheless, a Belgian Malinois is seen on the video either breaking free or being set loose. At first, the animal seems confused, racing past Rose toward officers at the far end of the truck, then turning back and running for Rose, then 23.

By then the trucker is on his knees, hands still high, as an officer shouts, Get the dog off of him!

That day, Rose joined a long list of Black Americans attacked by police dogs, a history well documented by journalists, academics and filmmakers. Investigations into such cases have been launched regularly in recent years. For some, the scenes harken back to the Civil Rights Movement, when authorities often turned dogs and firehoses on peaceful Black protesters marching for equality.

The Associated Press captured one such attack in a photograph from Birmingham, Alabama, taken in the spring of 1963. It shows two police officers setting a pair of K-9s on 15-year-old Walter Gadsden. One of the dogs lunges straight for the teenagers belly as the other strains against his leash, panting.

Over the past five years, controversial police K-9 attacks have made headlines across the U.S.

Records reviewed by the AP in 2018 showed the Ohio State Highway Patrol used drug dogs in 28% of its stops involving Black motorists from 2013 through 2017, although the Black population accounts for only about 11.5% of people old enough to have a drivers permit or license in the state.

The Salt Lake City police department suspended its dog apprehension program in 2020 after a Black man was bitten and an audit found 27 dog bite cases during the previous two years.

The FBI opened an investigation into the police department in Woodson Terrace, Missouri, in 2021 after cellphone video showed three officers allowing a dog to repeatedly bite a Black man. And in 2020, a Black man in Lafayette, Indiana, was placed in a medically induced coma after police dogs mauled him as he was arrested in a battery case.

A TROUBLED HISTORY

Circleville, located about 25 miles south of Columbus, Ohio, resembles many rural towns across the country. The citys downtown is filled with restaurants, law offices and a bakery. Flags honoring fallen servicemen and women hang from lampposts lining Main Street.

While the picture may be idyllic to some of the towns 14,000 residents, the Rev. Derrick Holmes, longtime leader of the Second Baptist Church, said Black and white residents describe their lives very differently.

Everyone doesnt have the same experience, even though theyre all in the same town, Holmes said. And I think those divisions exist around the realities of bigotry, the realities of racism.

This image taken from police body cam video shows a police dog attacking Jadarrius Rose, 23, of Memphis, Tenn., on July 4, 2023, in Circleville, Ohio. (Ohio State Highway Patrol via AP)

At church services the day after the video of Roses arrest aired, Holmes said the congregation was appalled, but not entirely surprised.

People were horrified by it, he said. Angered by it. Frustrated by it. And also there was a feeling of, Well, here we go again.

This isnt the first time Circleville police have grappled with uncomfortable questions about how they train and use police dogs. Nearly 20 years ago, a founder of the K-9 unit sued the department after he was fired for insubordination. Officer David Haynes had publicly opposed cutting training hours for dogs and their handlers to 172 hours annually from 500 hours, according to court documents.

Haynes warned in a 2003 memo that words like deliberate indifference, negligence and failure to train will someday be brought up.

Today, Circlevilles K-9s train 16 hours per month, or 192 hours a year, according to the department. Police Chief Shawn Baer did not respond to numerous messages seeking comment.

Employing dogs to dominate a population can be traced back at least to European settlers colonizing the Americas, when the animals were used against Indigenous people. They were introduced in Southern U.S. states to capture  and sometimes kill  enslaved Black people who escaped, said Madalyn Wasilczuk, a University of South Carolina professor and author of a law journal article titled,  The Racialized Violence of Police Canine Force.

Wasilczuk found data on K-9 police attacks sparse, but said the animals are often used in nonviolent situations and their presence can lead to serious injury.

When you talk about an apprehension, police talk about bite and hold, and that sounds very antiseptic, Wasilczuk said. But when you look at a video of what happens, you see a dog doing what it does with a chew toy, which is it grabs on, it tries to hold on, its head whips back and forth and its teeth are sunk into that body part as deeply as they can.

THE AFTERMATH

In Roses case, law enforcement originally sought to pull him over because of his trucks missing mudflap, according to a highway patrol report. Circleville Police were there to assist.

What happened next can be pieced together from law enforcement video and the incident report.

Rose initially didnt stop as police pursued him. When he did, he saw officers with their guns drawn and took off again. At some point, he called 911 and told a dispatcher he feared the officers were trying to kill him. After pulling over a second time, he delayed getting out of the truck and did not immediately get on the ground as instructed.

He initially was charged with a felony for failing to comply with officers, but prosecutors dropped the case. Online court documents show Rose was charged Sept. 26 with a misdemeanor version of the offense and there is an active warrant for his arrest.

Neither Rose nor his attorney responded to repeated messages seeking comment.

Its not clear why a K-9 unit was at the scene that day. Michael Gould, a former New York City police officer and founding member of the NYPDs K-9 unit, said officers appeared to have control once they surrounded Rose with their guns drawn. And then theres the image of Rose with his hands up.

He was compliant and not a threat to anyone, Gould said.

Rose required hospital care for the bites he suffered. Whether he sustained lasting injury is unclear.

The dogs police handler, Officer Ryan Speakman, was fired, but the Ohio Patrolmans Benevolent Association filed a grievance on his behalf arguing the officer was fired without just cause.

Circleville City Councilwoman Caryn Koch-Esterline said police have yet to account for what happened.

Im just waiting for all the information to come out, she said in a brief interview with the AP three months after Roses arrest.

For those working to improve race relations in Ohio, the roadside attack was a reminder of all that is still left to do.

If it were a white man and a dog was unleashed on that individual, what would that community be saying? I bet they would be up in arms, said Nana Jones, president of the Columbus Chapter of the NAACP.

Associated Press writers Rhonda Shafner and Aaron Morrison in New York, Mike Schneider in Orlando, Florida, and Samantha Hendrickson in Columbus, Ohio, contributed to this report.
A plane packed with 110 veterans  three from WWII, 10 from Korea and 97 from Vietnam  arrives at Midway Airport in Chicago on Oct. 18, 2023. (Honor Flight Chicago/Facebook)

CHICAGO (Tribune News Service)  Baggage claim carousels 1 through 4 at Chicago Midway International Airport were awash Wednesday night with American flags and red, white and blue balloons.

Waiting friends and families held signs: Welcome home. Thank you for your service. And one, with patriotic tinsel trim, said, Some people never met their hero. I call mine Dad.

Curious, weary travelers taking the escalator down to baggage claim looked on in wonder. Some smiled or waved, uncertain of what was going on. Others captured the moment on their cellphones.

This was a heros welcome, as it should be. The hundreds of people gathered in baggage claim were waiting for Honor Flight Chicagos last plane of the year. On board were 110 veterans, a handful who served in World War II but most who served in Vietnam.

For many, like George Hessenthaler of Schererville, who was drafted to serve in the Marine Corps at age 19 during the Vietnam War, they were at last receiving the welcome, the thank yous, the hugs and handshakes of gratitude, that theyve waited most of their lives to receive.

Thats the emotion of it

The Honor Flight program, which is free to participants, takes veterans to Washington, D.C. to visit war memorials and monuments. While some of the trips are for three days, those sponsored by Honor Flight Chicago are a day, with veterans gathering at Midway at 4 a.m. and returning that night.

Honor Flight Chicago started in 2008, said co-director Doug Meffley, three years after the program got underway in Ohio. There are now more than 120 active Honor Flight hubs across the country.

Were the most active, Meffley said, adding that the Chicago hub has provided the trip for 10,600 veterans. In total, the national program has served more than 250,000 veterans since it began.

Flights were put on pause during the COVID-19 pandemic, making wait times for veterans even longer than theyve been in the past.

Right now, a veteran who applies with us, its going to be about a two-year wait, Meffley said, adding veterans from World War II and Korea are given priority because of their age.

More than 2,200 veterans are on the Chicago hubs waitlist, a number that was over 2,600 at the start of the year. Between April, when the monthly flights started, and the last flight Wednesday, more than 650 veterans participated.

Meffley expects the waitlist to bump up to 2,600 veterans by the time the flights begin again in the spring.

Its so much a function of vets fly, come back and tell their buddies about it, Meffley said.

By and large, he said, Northwest Indiana veterans like Hessenthaler fly out of the Chicago hub, as do veterans from the Chicago area who have moved away but still have family here.

We have more of a national presence than most hubs, Meffley said.

The veterans on Wednesdays flight signed up shortly before the pandemic began. The Chicago hub was the first in the nation to resume flights, in August 2021, flying four flights in 10 weeks to work through the backlog of waiting veterans.

Like many of the people involved with Honor Flight, Meffley has a personal connection to the veteran community. Both of his grandfathers served in World War II and two uncles served stateside during Vietnam.

Being involved in the program, Meffley said, is his way of honoring them. Vietnam veterans in particular dont think they deserve recognition for their service, he added, and they do.

It takes everyone in the war effort and thats our primary message, Meffley said, before checking a flight tracking app on his cellphone to confirm the returning veterans were still on target to land at 8:21 p.m.

If the concept of the waiting crowd isnt a surprise to the veterans, Meffley said, then its scope is.

Thats the emotion of it, he said, adding that Vietnam veterans came home after their service to open animosity. We hear the words healing and closure so often.

It was a revelation

George Hessenthaler, 77, grew up on Chicagos northwest side and moved to Schererville 18 years ago when he married his wife, Marsha. A friend of his told him about Honor Flight after he went on one.

George signed up in 2019.

It takes a while to get called. Thats why I was very surprised I got called, he said earlier in the week by phone, before his trip.

He got the call Sept. 25, after an outpatient procedure for one of the health issues he attributes to his time in the service and exposure to the exfoliant Agent Orange, as well as contaminated water at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.

Over the years, George has dealt with two bouts of bladder cancer, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other challenges. The health issues among veterans are common, he said, which is a shame.

We still carry the war with us that way, George said, adding the government is finally beginning to realize and acknowledge the health consequences for veterans from their time in the service, including PTSD.

After his time in the Marine Corps, where he achieved the rank of lance corporal, George went back to a job at Wilson Sporting Goods in River Grove, Illinois, working in the claims department.

Georges career has spanned blue (collar), white, then self-employed, he said, before he retired around 10 years ago from the online resale business.

Two separate events several years ago kind of turned things around for me, George said.

He was at a Fourth of July parade in Crown Point wearing a Vietnam veteran T-shirt when a Marine Corps float went by. One of the Marines with the float saw Georges shirt and saluted and thanked him.

George tried to brush it off.

You guys deserve it, he recalled the fellow Marine saying. That really opened my eyes. Recognition was finally coming.

Around the same time, during a trip to SeaWorld in Orlando, active military and veterans in the audience were asked to stand for recognition.

The lady in front of me said thank you for your service. I was like, wow. It was a revelation. Ive never had that, he said.

An Honor Guard greets 110 veterans from Honor Flight Chicago at Dulles International Airport outside Washington on Oct. 18, 2023. (Honor Flight Chicago/Facebook)

Were all honoring your service

Georges supporters awaiting his arrival at Midway swelled to 15, including extended family. They stood behind a large, hand-lettered banner that said, Welcome home, George, in all capital letters, festooned on either side with red, white and blue hearts.

George never talked about his time in the service and was told not to put it on a resume or job application, or to wear his uniform, Marsha, his wife, said.

The increasing recognition of his service over the past several years has opened him up and hes started writing his memoir.

What Im learning is all these guys held it in, she said, adding George called from Washington during his trip to say he was overwhelmed by the experience, and hes never said that.

That newfound recognition has had an impact on Marsha as well.

I have a deeper appreciation for what the men and women have given for every war. How dare we shame them, she said.

Marsha said its taken George a long time to trust the recognition he receives and see that its real. Marsha learned to thank veterans for their service after the woman at SeaWorld thanked George.

Of course we should be saying thank you. It just takes one person to be brave enough to teach you, she said.

Lisa Aumend, Georges stepdaughter, said as the wait for a spot on the Honor Flight dragged on because of the pandemic, a small group of representatives from Honor Flight Chicago showed up outside George and Marshas home to salute him.

They wanted to make sure that in that time period, those veterans were still honored and recognized, said Aumend, who also lives in Schererville.

George was able to take pictures of veterans who have died with him on the trip. Among the photos he took, tucked in a box with a folded American flag, was one of Lisas late father, Steve Evans, who died in a construction accident in 1998.

He served in the Navy during the Vietnam War and his duties included digging graves for the Vietnamese who died. He came home with post traumatic stress syndrome.

All these tears have come out but its tears of healing, Aumend said.

She looked around at the large, cheering crowd of military supporters of all ages and presumably, all backgrounds. With all the divisiveness and different political views, she said, we agree on this today: Were all American and were all honoring your service under our flag.

Our heroes have landed

At 8:14 p.m., the countdown before the veterans arrival intensified. Seven minutes! said one woman, the excitement in her voice palpable.

The growing crowd, which rapidly filled the space, sang along to the Frankfort Brass Bands rendition of God Bless America.

A scout troop marched past the gathering, holding large signs that echoed the thanks and welcomes on handmade signs from families. One printed with Our heroes have landed garnered a loud round of applause.

I am so excited I want to cry. I feel so proud I cant believe this is happening. Its like a dream, Marsha said. I feel like Im his girl and hes actually coming home from war. It really feels that way.

The waiting supporters began to chant,  USA! USA! Overhead, the distinct sound of bagpipes cut through the chanting. On the floor above baggage claim, members of the Northwest Indiana Sea Cadets based in Lowell could be seen escorting the veterans one by one, pushing their wheelchairs or walking with them toward an elevator that would bring them to the crowd below.

The veterans waved at their friends and family, the crowd bursting into a fresh round of applause for each one. As the cadets escorted them along the indoor parade route, the veterans stopped for hugs and handshakes from people theyd never met.

Through the cacophony, George found Marsha and his family. They kissed and held hands and, after a minute, Marsha joined George to escort him the rest of the route.

That was amazing, Aumend said.

George and Marsha caught up with their family for more extended hugs and heartfelt greetings. George got signs made by his great nephews, Parker and Porter Hessenthaler, and posed for pictures.

It was a fantastic day. Im telling you, I never expected it to be like this, George said, listing off the monuments he visited with his fellow veterans, including the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

Its overwhelming. Its a long time coming. Its very emotional. Im at a loss for words, George said. Its what this day is about, this last hour. You think you know whats coming but you cant be prepared. For 55 years, Ive been waiting for this.

Do you feel healed? Marsha asked.

Yes, George said. I feel like I did something. I didnt feel that way before.

alavalley@chicagotribune.com

(c)2023 the Post-Tribune (Merrillville, Ind.)

Visit at www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune
The federal government has informed the Supreme Court that military courts have initiated trials of civilians.

The government in a miscellaneous petition to the apex court informed it about beginning of trials of civilians in response to the courts August 03 order.

Total 102 individuals were arrested after May 09 and 10 incidents, government said in its plea to the court.

To safeguard the right to justice to the arrested persons, it is imperative that their trials are conducted and concluded so that those who may merit acquittal can be acquitted, and those who may merit minor sentences and have already served the time in custody can also be released, according to the petition.

Furthermore, accused persons, if convicted, can avail remedies available under the law, stated the application.

It is further submitted that the trials of these accused persons shall remain subject to the outcome of the proceedings of the apex court.

The accused have been taken into custody under the Pakistan Army Act, 1952, read with the Official Secrets Act, 1923, it added.

According to application a total of 102 persons were taken into custody for their involvement in the attacks on military installations, including GHQ Rawalpindi, Corps Commander House Lahore, PAF Base Mianwali, ISI Establishment Civil Lines Faisalabad, Sialkot Cantonment, Hamza Camp, Gujranwala Cantonment, and Bannu Cantonment.
Irish actor and producer Aine ONeill gave up her Hollywood career after being targeted by an unknown stalker

AN IRISH woman who said she had to flee the United States is one of dozens of people suing tech giant Apple after being targeted by stalkers using AirTag tracking devices.

Irish actor and producer Aine ONeill gave up her Hollywood career after being targeted by an unknown stalker who hid one of the tracking devices in her car, according to the lawsuit.

US lawyer Gillian Wade who is part of the legal team taking the class-action, told the Sunday World this week that the Apple product has ruined some peoples lives.

Apple released a product it knew would be abused and did so with knowing there were still ways it needed to be made safer.

Even now, two and a half years later, Apple is playing catch up, and the consequence is that peoples lives are getting ruined.

Were here to seek accountability for all of those victims and to force Apple to finally and fully fix its mistakes.

Originally marketed as a device to help people keep track of objects like keys or laptops, there have been dozens of cases in the US where they have been misused in sinister stalking incidents.

Apple are accused of failing to take adequate steps to ensure the safety of the product, which sells in Ireland for 39, before it was released on the market.

Aine ONeills experience is detailed in the lawsuit filed to the United States District Court, Northern Californian Division.

In November 2022, after moving to California in 2021, she got an Air Tag alert on her phone which, when a sound was played on it, appeared to be coming from underneath her car.

She could see what the Air Tag owner could see, where she worked, where she parked her car, her and everywhere she had been, according to the filing

She took the vehicle to two garages who couldnt find the tag without undertaking expensive work to take off car parts.

As a result she began to suffer anxiety, panic attacks and depression, was unable to work and eventually was too frightened to stay in California.

Her career had been going well and she had more work lined up with The Rookie TV series after making an appearance on the show.

According to the filing just as her career was taking off she was being terrorised by an unknown stalker, and no one could protect her.

Because of the terror and the uncertainty of her situation, the only option she could exercise to ensure her safety required that she turn her back on her career.

While she is now 5,157 miles away from her unknown stalker, she is that same distance away from her lifelong dream.

Ms ONeill could barely remember moving and was quoted in the lawsuit as saying: I dont even remember getting on the plane back to Ireland. I felt like a zombie; like I wasnt in my own body.

In the original case filed last July it stated that AirTags have become one of the most dangerous and frightening technologies employed by stalkers.

It was stated they had become the weapon of choice because of their small size, accuracy and are cheap to buy.

While iPhone owners will get a message if an unidentified AirTag has been tracking them people on android phones dont get the same warning.
Gary Magee has led a 30-year life of crime specialising in drugs, arson and stealing cars

Killer Gary Magee used to run drugs for notorious Newry dealer Brendan Speedy Fegan and hid under a pool table when the crime boss was gunned down by the Real IRA, we can reveal.

Last week Magee pleaded guilty to killing his 62-year-old drinking pal Andrew Jimmy Thompson after setting fire to his bungalow in Cloughoge, on the outskirts of Newry, in May 2021.

Having originally been charged with murder, prosecutors at Newry Crown Court accepted pleas of guilty to manslaughter as well as arson being reckless whether life was endangered.

Magee started three fires in the property and then tried to escape out the back door. However, it was locked, and he was rescued by the emergency services and treated for a burn to his hand.

The Sunday World can reveal 44-year-old Magee, wholl be sentenced next month, has led a 30-year life of crime specialising in drugs, arson and stealing cars.

Sources in Newry say Magee was known as The Hyena because he ended up close to so many dead bodies  starting off with the murder of his drug boss Brendan Speedy Fegan.

Fegan was gunned down in 1999 in the Hermitage Bar in Newry and sources say Magee hid under a pool table as the two gunmen fired 14 shots at his crime boss.

Magee was only 19 when Speedy was shot dead but hed been running drugs round Newry for him, said a crime source.

Gary was very low level at the time but hed been involved in crime for a few years by then  mostly stealing cars and dealing drugs for Speedy.

When the gunmen burst into the pub that Sunday it was packed, and Gary hid under a pool table and stayed there for ages. In fact, I believe he waited until the cops turned up before he decided to get out from under it.

DUO: Brendan Speedy Fegan, left and Brendan Campbell

Unfortunately, Gary, like a lot of young men in Newry at the time, idolised Speedy because of his lavish lifestyle and the fact he had buckets of cash to splash around.

But despite witnessing the terrible murder Gary chose not to ditch the life of crime and carried on with drug dealing.

Magee is an alcoholic drug addict who has led a life of constant crime these past three decades. Unfortunately, its been an absolute disaster for anyone who had anything to do with him. Jimmy Thompson was a lovely man. Nobody had a bad word to say about Jimmy and yet Magee killed him for absolutely no reason.

We can reveal Magee has been close to death on numerous occasions before he finally killed someone  hence his grisly nickname.

Coincidentally, Magee just happened to be drinking in the flat next door when violent psychopath David Conway burst into pregnant Belinda Harts Newry flat and blasted his girlfriend to death with a shotgun in a fit of jealous rage in 1997.

We can reveal Magee has more than 115 convictions including 12 for drugs, though only one for supplying drugs in 2007.

That supplying charge, we understand, relates to him being caught in a police sting in a Banbridge pub doing a cocaine deal with another drugs gang.

Sources claim Magee was also accused of suppling drugs to a Warrenpoint teenager who died almost 10 years ago.

Magee is said to have supplied him the drugs despite being warned that they were from the same bad batch that had killed a number of people in Dundalk.

Magee was drinking in McCoys pub in Newry a decade ago when a dozen masked men from a rival gang abducted him before dragging him up an alley way.

They beat him black and blue, leaving him in hospital and shortly afterwards the pub was burnt down in an arson attack.

And we can reveal The Hyena was responsible for starting at least three separate property fires prior to killing Jimmy.

A blaze on Mary Street, Newry, was suspected to have been started by Magee even though the occupants were still inside.

Jimmy Thompson

Hes suspected of starting another fire in a house in Omeath, Co Louth, while the occupants were out and he even started a fire at his own flat in Greenfield Park in Newry in an attempt to engineer a move to another flat by manipulating the Housing Executive into believing he was being intimidated.

However, on that occasion, according to sources, the smoke spread to all the other flats in the block resulting in the tenants having to be transferred to temporary accommodation.

Magee is due to be sentenced for killing Jimmy Thompson next month and previous courts heard that while the victim was found lying dead on a bed at his Parkview home, Magee was rescued lying unconscious at the back door in the kitchen.

Magee, who lived a few doors away in Parkview, had suffered a burn to his hand and forensic inquires at the scene found that the front and back doors were locked, there had been no forced entry and there were three separate seats of fire in the bungalow  one in the living room, one in the front bedroom and one in the rear bedroom.

Police told the court according to expert reports, each of the fires had been started deliberately by direct ignition of combustible material.

They were further of the view they were likely to have been started in the half-hour before the emergency services were called at 11.40pm.

During questioning, Magee told police he had been drinking wine with Mr Thompson and that he could remember details up to 11pm but nothing after that, with his next recollection waking up in the Royal Victoria Hospital.

However, he refused to account for a burn on his hand or expand on his claim that he injured his hand the day before Mr Thompsons death.
Yob filmed foul-mouthed rant to staff and police officers at hospital

Duane Farry standing on the edge of the hospital roof as cops look on, and moaning about how he was mistreated by the hospital

Duane Farry standing on the edge of the hospital roof as cops look on, and moaning about how he was mistreated by the hospital

A notorious thug wanted for ramming a Garda car after a high-speed chase staged a hospital rooftop protest  claiming doctors wouldnt give him more drugs.

Duane Farry, from Fintona in Co Tyrone, actually filmed himself abusing staff inside the South West Acute Hospital (SWAH) before being told to leave or police would be called.

But instead of leaving, the dopey 33-year-old, who has racked up more than 90 criminal convictions, took to the hospitals roof to moan about doctors and nurses not treating him properly.

While standing precariously on a high wall, he continued to moan about the hospital and started abusing police officers who had been tasked to attend the shocking incident.

As revealed here, Farry was jailed for nine months last year after he went on a drink-drive rampage in a stolen horse truck, but is still wanted in Co Donegal after he was charged in connection with the ramming of a Garda car two years ago.

Farry was jailed again last November after he inappropriately touched a McDonalds restaurant worker before trying to bite a number of cops who were called to the scene.

Duane Farry standing on the edge of the hospital roof as cops look on, and moaning about how he was mistreated by the hospital

And in June this year he was jailed for nine months for committing GBH on a cop, assaulting another cop during a shocking incident when he told one officer: Ill cut you to pieces you f***ing rat.

Now we can reveal he has posted a protest which he filmed himself from the roof of the SWAH last month.

A hospital source told the Sunday World: This idiot actually filmed himself being foul-mouthed and abusive to doctors and nurses.

Then, when told the cops were being called, he climbed up on the roof and filmed himself abusing staff and police officers.

He knew how busy the hospital was at the time but he caused a commotion because he wanted more medication.

He seemed to think the hospital was some kind of drug den which just gives out medication on demand.

In the six-minute video, he starts by complaining hes not being treated properly.

When a member of staff tells him they dont appreciate the abuse and swearing and that they have a job to do, he snaps back: Well f***ing do it then.

He is told hes not allowed to film in the hospital and police will be called if he doesnt leave.

While standing on the roof filming, he balances on the edge  putting himself and many others at risk.

Duane Farry standing on the edge of the hospital roof as cops look on, and moaning about how he was mistreated by the hospital

He moans about doctors and nurses being too busy dealing with patients and shouts: Im a f***ing patient.

He rants on: I went and asked for more medication in this hospital and I told them my dose was a load of bull***t, it was doing nothing for me.

He then turns his attention to several police officers who arrived to deal with his tantrum.

Despite his outburst, Farry wasnt arrested and faces no charges in connection with the incident, which annoyed staff within the hospital.

A judge took less pity on Farry a few months earlier when he was jailed for assaulting police during a drunken drug binge.

Farry had been stopped by a police patrol in a BMW, being driven by a female, having just failed to pay for fuel.

He was in the front passenger seat holding a bottle of alcohol, shouting I have mental health issues.

He became increasingly aggressive and refused to calm down, climbing out the passenger window, clenching his fists when officers tried to remove the alcohol.

When they attempted to apply handcuffs, Farry struggled violently, punching an officer to the head and striking another in the face.

He was placed on the ground but kicked out, connecting with an officers head.

As he was being placed in a police vehicle, Farry shouted at an officer: Ill find you on your own and Ill cut you to pieces you f***ing rat.

Once in custody, he claimed to have consumed 30 Pregabalin tablets and was brought to South West Acute Hospital.

While there, officers attempted to obtain an evidential blood test, but he refused and one officer sustained a fractured eye socket and an injury to his nose, while another had facial bruising.
Finding a business that has the potential to grow substantially is not easy, but it is possible if we look at a few key financial metrics. Firstly, we'll want to see a proven return on capital employed (ROCE) that is increasing, and secondly, an expanding base of capital employed. If you see this, it typically means it's a company with a great business model and plenty of profitable reinvestment opportunities. Although, when we looked at Astino Berhad (KLSE:ASTINO), it didn't seem to tick all of these boxes.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What Is It?

For those who don't know, ROCE is a measure of a company's yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Astino Berhad:

Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT)  (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)

0.071 = RM39m  (RM583m - RM41m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to July 2023).

So, Astino Berhad has an ROCE of 7.1%. On its own that's a low return on capital but it's in line with the industry's average returns of 7.1%.

View our latest analysis for Astino Berhad

roce

Historical performance is a great place to start when researching a stock so above you can see the gauge for Astino Berhad's ROCE against it's prior returns. If you want to delve into the historical earnings, revenue and cash flow of Astino Berhad, check out these free graphs here.

The Trend Of ROCE

On the surface, the trend of ROCE at Astino Berhad doesn't inspire confidence. To be more specific, ROCE has fallen from 10% 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's worth keeping an eye on the company's earnings from here on to see if these investments do end up contributing to the bottom line.

Story continues

On a side note, Astino Berhad has done well to pay down its current liabilities to 7.1% of total assets. That could partly explain why the ROCE has dropped. What's more, this can reduce some aspects of risk to the business because now the company's suppliers or short-term creditors are funding less of its operations. Since the business is basically funding more of its operations with it's own money, you could argue this has made the business less efficient at generating ROCE.

The Bottom Line

In summary, Astino Berhad is reinvesting funds back into the business for growth but unfortunately it looks like sales haven't increased much just yet. Although the market must be expecting these trends to improve because the stock has gained 48% over the last five years. But if the trajectory of these underlying trends continue, we think the likelihood of it being a multi-bagger from here isn't high.

If you'd like to know about the risks facing Astino Berhad, we've discovered 2 warning signs that you should be aware of.

If you want to search for solid companies with great earnings, check out this free list of companies with good balance sheets and impressive returns on equity.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
Joey OCallaghan risked his security recently to plead with the parole board to keep Brian Kenny and Thomas Hinchon behind bars

Sitting in the canteen at work, Joseph OCallaghan got a jolt when he heard two diners talking about The Witness podcast.

When one woman remarked she was on episode seven, her companion interjected to caution she was only on episode three.

She told the other girl not to tell her what would happen, said the countrys most famous state witness last week, I was like, Oh my God, get me out of here quickly. I was afraid they would recognise my voice.

Another day he remembers sitting on a bus and glancing across at the man next to him reading a newspaper. He was reading about me. People literally havent a clue.

Its part of the double life he has been leading since his testimony put Brian Kenny and Thomas Hinchon behind bars for life for the murder of Jonathan OReilly outside Cloverhill Prison in April 2004.

But he risked exposing his face in July, nearly two decades after assuming a new identity, to plead with the parole board to keep Kenny and Hinchon behind bars.

It was the fifth parole hearing for the drug-dealing killers, but the first time OCallaghan and his mother, Mary, made their case in person.

Without any police protection, they felt dangerously exposed walking into the building at the back of the Four Courts.

We didnt know if we were going to come outside and get our heads blown off outside the parole building. There was the fear of being followed coming out. Was someone going to tell somebody?

Despite feeling scared, he felt heard by the three-person panel.

O'Callaghan testified against Brian Kenny (above in 2006) and Thomas Hinchon

O'Callaghan testified against Brian Kenny and Thomas Hinchon (above)

We were listened to. We cried, me mam got upset. I got upset. I begged them not to sign my death warrant, he said last week.

I dont think there is any crime worse than murder. Secondly, its the things he did to me, he said, referring to Brian Kenny, the abuse, the beatings, the shooting at me, the grooming, making me deliver drugs.

Over the years Ive been stabbed, they smashed my mas windows and she had rat shouted at her walking down the street

Im scared for my kids and my sisters and my mam. He knows where they live, they havent moved.

He will reflect on the hearing and finding peace in his life in a new episode of the award-winning podcast series, Witness: In His Own Words, which is currently in development for documentary and film projects.

In his day-to-day life, his fellow workers and friends have no idea he was once called Joseph OCallaghan. Or that he was subjected to years of extreme coercive control and physical and sexual abuse until he made a terrifying escape from Kennys house after witnessing the aftermath of the murder of Jonathan OReilly.

But they could well be among the four million listeners who have tuned into the podcast of his life, The Witness, based on the bestselling eponymous book by Nicola Tallant.

It has won a slew of awards. But he says: I cant put them up in my house. Unfortunately, I dont live under that name, and nobody knows where I live. Nobody knows who I am.

Even his own two children were oblivious to his role in putting two murderers behind bars until they were nearly adults. I had to sit them down and tell them. They (knew) nothing whatsoever. They were upset for me.

Im grateful to have them. Theyre amazing, Im so proud of them.

In the past, he has been issued with a number of threats-to-life warnings in the form of an official Garda Information Message (GIM). Days after the parole hearing, he got a visit from gardai.

They said they were reviewing my GIM because (I) went in front of the parole board and (they) believed I had pissed Kenny off. So Im just waiting now for them to come and see me and give me a new GIM basically which is ridiculous.

I will not back down. I will fight to keep them in there, until I stop breathing, until they do kill me.

He risked exposing his face for a second time this summer when he met with the Junior Justice Minister James Browne to advise him on upcoming grooming legislation.

There are other Joeys out there, he says.

I just opened the door at the wrong time to the wrong person, he says today of asking Kenny for a job on his milk round shortly after he moved house from Ballymun to Blanchardstown.

He believes legislation will help, but he said a task force should be set up to help crime-ridden communities to save children from grooming.

He has no garda protection. I have a number for a garda liaison officer, he says. If hes not at work I have no other number to ring.

You only got a year on the actual witness protection, after a year you have to sign off. That would have been 2006. Youre brought to wherever youre meant to go and told never to come back, never to contact your family again.

At the end of the day, how the guards and the State treated me was disgraceful. Im living in the shadows, and I wouldnt wish it on anybody.

Back in Ireland since 2010, he has been living in an undisclosed location.

When I get up in the morning, I check the cameras front and back. I check if there is a tracking device under my car. I have to make sure I have my vest on.

He would like patrols on his house, something he said is given to plenty of gangland criminals in Dublin.

The least I deserve is to be able to visit my mother or my sisters or my children without being afraid.

He gets emotional when he tells how the makers of The Witness podcast  Nicola Tallant, Ian Maleney, and Jane Gogan  donated their share of the proceeds from the podcast to upgrade the security on his house.

You dont get big money, its a free podcast, but the whole team put their earnings in to pay for the security on my house because the State wouldnt pay for it and I couldnt afford it.

I feel so secure, all my doors were reinforced, the windows are bulletproof, they got cameras and everything.

Life has gotten easier since he told his story. As he awaits the decision on parole for the two murderers he put behind bars, he says: Id love to be able to take my own name back.

You know what I dream of? Id love to be able to just get in a car or a bus and knock on my Mas door without telling her, just surprise her and give her a hug and just have a cup of tea and not think about a gunman running after us.

A source has confirmed that Brian Kenny is currently in Wheatfield Prison after being transferred back from the low-security open prison of Loughan House due to violating rules, while Thomas Hinchon also remains in a secure closed prison.

The new episode of The Witness: In His Own Words, The Parole Board, will be released tomorrow, October 23
Behind the hall door, the damage that was done during an arson attack, suspected to have been ordered by Byrne while the Criminal Assets Bureau were attempting to seize the property, can be seen.

The interior of the fire-damaged home which was set ablaze

The interior of the fire-damaged home which was set ablaze

The interior of the fire-damaged home which was set ablaze

The fire-damaged house being sold by CAB, which was believed to have been torched on the orders of mob boss Liam Byrne

This is the fire-damaged property of mob boss Liam Byrne which is set to go under the hammer to the highest bidder.

From the outside, the house looks a steal at just 120,000, an absolute bargain in Dublins soaring house market.

However, behind the hall door, the damage that was done during an arson attack, suspected to have been ordered by Byrne while the Criminal Assets Bureau were attempting to seize the property, can be seen.

Blackened walls, cracked tiles, damaged floors and ceilings will all need repair  and the house which was gutted by the fire is sure to be gutted again by any prospective buyers.

Liam Byrne

The remnants of Byrnes gaudy taste and lifestyle can just be made out with giant silver mirror floor tiles and mirrored walls in the living rooms, a jacuzzi corner bath and CCTV cameras hanging from the walls outside.

The property, at Grangeview Road in Clondalkin, was bought by Liam Byrne in 2006 for 230,000 but he never lived there, instead purchasing another home around the corner from his parents, James and Sadie Byrne, at Raleigh Square in Crumlin.

When the house was first identified by CAB investigations into Byrne, the court was told that a cousin of his wife Simoan McEnroe was living there.

The fire-damaged house being sold by CAB

As the CAB case proceeded, members of the Byrne organisation, including Sean McGovern and Liam Byrne, realised they were likely to lose a number of homes to the State.

Believing they had worked hard for the properties they owned, gardai suspect they plotted in the background to cause as much damage to the homes in order to reduce their value.

At McGoverns home the fixtures and fittings, including a kitchen, fireplace and worktops, were ripped from the walls and even light-fittings and plug sockets were removed.

The interior of the fire-damaged home which was set ablaze

At the Clondalkin property, gardai were phoned with reports that two men had been seen kicking in the front door and when a CAB officer attended it for an inspection he found doors, windows and fixtures and fitting smashed along with water pipes and sanitary ware.

In 2018, the High Court sought guarantees from Maria Byrne, a sister of Liam, that the house in Raleigh Square that she was due to hand over would remain intact.

By February 2019, a receiver was appointed over the Clondalkin and Kildare Road properties and the house was fully seized by the CAB in 2020, who tried to put it up for sale with a price tag of 320,000, before any further damage was done.

However, the house was fire-bombed in the middle of the night and was set ablaze as firefighters were called to the area.

The interior of the fire-damaged home which was set ablaze

A petrol bomb had been used in the attack on the property and locals reported that a car was reversed into the property after midnight and set alight causing the huge damage which can be seen in our pictures.

The fire damage is reflected in the drop in value of the house from 320,000 a few years ago to 120,000 today. But with house prices soaring again, it is sure to attract a shrewd investor with enough change to put it right.

The Byrne organisation, the Irish and UK wing of the Kinahan Cartel, have been under fire themselves for years, with authorities clamping down on their activities.

Liam Byrne was recently told that a Spanish Court is backing a request to extradite him to the UK, where he is wanted on weapons charges along with his nephew Jack Kavanagh, who is fighting his own extradition from Spain.

Both are set to go on trial along with Thomas Bomber Kavanagh, Jacks father, for a plot to hand over weapons which went horribly wrong.

The plot centres around attempts by Kavanagh to do an underhand plea deal with cops in order to get a reduced sentence as he faced drug and money laundering charges.

Police nabbed the weapons but did no deal with Kavanagh, and a fresh case against him features messages from the Encrochat network between the group as they organised the plans for the seizure.

The interior of the fire-damaged home which was set ablaze

Peadar Keating, Kavanaghs right-hand-man in Ireland, is also expected to be extradited to face charges in relation to the plot.

Liam Byrne was picked up in Majorca as he flew there over the summer to holiday with his family. He was arrested in a restaurant and has been in custody in Palma ever since.

Byrne fled Dublin for Birmingham in 2016 after the first raids on his Raleigh Square pad by the CAB in March, a month after his brother David was shot dead at the Regency Hotel.

He moved to Dosthill Road in a house linked to millionaire race fixer Maurice Sines. He came under investigation by the National Crime Agency probing organised crime in Liverpool, who are understood to have identified a number of investments he made into the property industry there.

Byrne fled to Dubai after his brother-in-law Kavanagh got a hefty 21-year sentence for his role at the top of a drugs gang using improvised machinery to import cocaine into the UK and money back out.

He remained in Dubai for months out of reach from the law but made the trip to Majorca, where his family have properties in the Cala DOr region. There, he was arrested as he ate a bowl of pasta with his children.
Senior worker at Midlands jail suspended in allegations probe

A senior prison officer under investigation after multiple allegations of bullying and harassment were made against him shut his front door in our reporters face when we tried to speak with him about the ongoing probe.

The long serving officer was formally suspended from his duties at the Midlands Prison on Saturday last on foot of four complaints being lodged against him by four separate IPS staff members.

Its understood that two of the complainants against him were male and two were female.

The complaints from the male members of staff are understood to relate to repeatedly alleged incidents of shouting and abusive comments they claim were made to them by the officer.

The complaints from the female members of staff relate to similar type incidents that at least one of the two claimed were misogynistic in tone.

When the Sunday World called to the prison officers address this week, he declined to comment.

After our reporter asked to speak with him by name, the suspended officer responded: And you are?

When our man gave his name, the suspended officer replied with a curt no before closing the door in his face.

A source told the Sunday World that the complaints have been received with the utmost seriousness by authorities in the prison and were forwarded to the Irish Prison Services headquarters in Longford.

There are very clear guidelines set down within all branches of the civil service concerning the treatment of co-workers with respect and decency, the source said.

The Irish Prison Service is no different in that regard. What make this especially concerning is that all prison officers are in a position of authority where, if anything, a higher standard of behaviour should be observed.

The decision by any prison officer to make a complaint against another officer represents a very difficult choice as the decision can also have serious ramifications for the complainant. In this case, four of this officers fellow staff have made that decision.

That said, as with all investigations carried out by the Irish Prison Service, the person complained of starts out with the presumption of innocence.

If the complaints are upheld, the consequences for this individual would be extremely serious and can carry a penalty up to an including dismissal. For that reason, the complaints will have to be examined very closely.

CCTV of the alleged incidents, if available, will be sought and efforts will have to be made to see if the alleged incidents complained of were witnessed by unrelated third parties.

Contacted by the Sunday World, the Irish Prison Service declined to comment on the specifics of the case.

However, in a statement issued to this newspaper, a spokesperson said: The Irish Prison Service sets high standards in respect of its staff and requires that all staff carry out their duties with integrity, commitment and professionalism at all times.

Where a complaint is received about the behaviour of a staff member, this is treated with the utmost seriousness by the Irish Prison Service and investigated in a manner that is fair and protects the rights of all parties involved.

The Midlands Prison is regarded as one of the most settled prisons in the prison estate  housing a large number of elderly inmates as well long-term inmates.

A source insisted that incidents of bullying and harassment, as alleged in the complaints against the suspended prison officer, would be the exception rather than the norm within the prison.
WARNING: Graphic images My Lovely Horse Rescue shared a photo of the deceased animal and explained that it appeared the foal had been tied up and attacked by dogs in Darndale.

An animal charity has called for the enforcement of anti-cruelty laws after a young horse was found dead in Co Dublin this week.

My Lovely Horse Rescue shared a photo of the deceased animal and explained that it appeared the horse had been tied up and attacked by dogs in Darndale.

They described the female equines death as horrific as they stressed the need for a dedicated animal welfare unit in the country.

This poor baby was found dead in Darndale, Co. Dublin, behind Bewleys head office, they began in a social media post.

The horrific death this poor yearling endured had to be what only nightmares are made of. It seems that she was attacked by dogs. She was tied up, so had no chance of getting away. There was no sign of water.

WARNING: GRAPHIC 



This poor baby was found dead in Darndale, Co. Dublin, behind Bewleys head office. The horrific death this poor yearling endured had to be what only nightmares are made off. It seems that she was attacked by dogs. She was tied up, so had no chance of getting pic.twitter.com/Znlz4znwHx  My Lovely Horse Rescue (@MyLovelyHorseR) October 21, 2023

This is council land! Urban estates around the country have poor horses tied up with no water and no shelter. Some of these so-called owners are less than twelve years old. This has to stop! Laws need to be enforced. We need a dedicated animal welfare unit.

RIP, little girl. You didnt deserve this. At least now youre gone from this cruel world. We hope youre in a better, loving place. Please donate if you can, so we can help these poor animals crying out for help.

Social media users fumed in the comments section and condemned the animals cruel death.

One person wrote: This is preventable!!!! Why are lands not been checked by a welfare officer within the department????? Why are there dogs loose that could be a risk to life? This is not good enough and it needs to change. @DubCityCouncil needs to wake up and act on animal welfare.

Another said: It always breaks my heart seeing these horses. They always look so depressed. We reported one to the RSPCA three times as it had no water or shelter in the heatwave. They never attended. It has to stop! Cruelty in plain sight!

And a third added: This is so horrible I hope whoever is responsible for this horrendous act of cruelty is held accountable.

Dublin City Council currently operates both dog and horse welfare units.

Dublin City Council provides a Control of Horses Service in order to address the problems arising from the practice of irresponsible horse ownership in the city area, it says of the Animal Welfare Horse Unit.

DCC has been contacted for comment.

Donations can be made to My Lovely Horse Rescue here.
Details of how he died have not been made public

The scene where Lee Johnston's body was found in Maghera

The death of Coleraine man Lee Johnston is the second tragedy to hit his family after his brother died from a drug overdose in prison, we can reveal.

Police announced on Friday the body discovered in Maghera on Wednesday night was that of the 21-year-old who had been reported missing on October 7.

The PSNI had initially arrested two people in connection with the disappearance but following the discovery of his body detectives announced they were not treating his death as suspicious.

Details of how he died have not been made public but we can reveal his brother Paul also died in tragic circumstances in Magilligan Prison six years ago.

His death sparked an investigation from the Prisoner Ombudsman who released a report into the death in 2020 that called for the Prison Service to identify vulnerable prisoners more effectively.

Paul Johnston was 27 when he was found dead in his cell on August 4, 2017.

A probe by the Prisoner Ombudsman found he did not intend to take his own life and his death was drug-related.

Dr Lesley Carroll said in her report she was concerned about the devastating impact of substance misuse and poor mental health that led to the tragedy.

Her report contained seven recommendations for the Prison Service and the South Eastern Trust, with the hope it will prevent further deaths.

Now his family, who moved from the Thornlea area of Coleraine a few years ago, have been hit with the devastating news of Pauls brother also dying in his twenties.

Our thoughts today are very much with Lees family and friends as they mourn his loss, said Supt Michael OLoan on Friday.
Thousands of people protested outside the BBC in Belfast on Saturday in support on Palestinians in Gaza

A Hamas sign has been spotted in the Bogside in Derry.

Gaza has been blockaded and bombarded by Israel since Hamas launched a series of raids on October 7.

More than 1,400 people, most of them civilians, were killed in the incursion on October 7.

More than 4,100 people have been killed in Gaza, according to Palestines health ministry.

Thousands of people protested outside the BBC in Belfast on Saturday in support of Palestinians in Gaza.

Protesters carry an Israeli flag marked with bloody handprints in Belfast (Peter Morrison/PA Wire)

The demonstration at Broadcasting House in Ormeau Avenue was organised by Belfast Stands with Palestine, which said the BBC was biased in favour of Israel. It was followed a rally outside Belfast City Hall.

Chants of BBC, shame on you were heard from the crowd, many of whom were carrying Palestinian flags.

People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll said the crowd was protesting to challenge how the BBC was covering the conflict in Israel and Gaza.

Images from the rally in Belfast (Photograph by Declan Roughan/PressEye)

The BBC defended its coverage of the conflict, saying it had provided audiences around the world with coverage and first-hand testimony of the atrocities committed by Hamas and the suffering in Gaza.

We have made clear the devastating human cost to civilians living in Israel and Gaza, and the unprecedented nature of what has happened, it added.

We have reported on the atrocities committed by Hamas in their assault on Israel, and have heard many accounts from survivors of these attacks and family members of the victims, reflecting the trauma they are suffering.

Other rallies were held across Ulster in support of Palestine on Saturday, including in Derry, Dungannon and Omagh.
He was due to meet me in Tenerife in four weeks' time.

Alan Walsh (right) with his neighbour and best friend Tom Madden. (Photo credit: David Raleigh)

The heartbroken mum of a young Limerick man who died suddenly in Australia has described the dread she felt when the phone rang in the middle of the night.

On September 28, Alan Walsh (26) from Rhebogue Meadows, collapsed at work and died in a mine in Perth, Western Australia.

Its awful, its a call you think you're never going to get at 3am in the morning. We are in the nightmare now and we just have to get through it, said Mr Walshes mother, Anne, whilst speaking to the Limerick Post.

Ms Walsh thanked the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust and The Claddagh Association Inc, based in Australia, for helping arrange the repatriation of her sons body.

Alan Walsh, enjoying a recent fishing excursion in Bali, Indonesia

Only for them it would be a rollercoaster of stress, and anything I can do to help them, I will, Ms Walsh said

A number of GoFundMe pages were set up by friends, family and well wishers to help with costs.

Everyone wants to help, which is nice to see. Once the charities get most of it, I will be so glad because they are brilliant, so so brilliant... You dont think you need them until you are thrown into this nightmare that we are in now.

Alan was only 26, and he was due to meet me in Tenerife in four weeks' time for my 60th birthday, he had his flights booked and I was counting down the days.

Alan left for the other side of the world just before the lockdown in search of adventure with his best pals. The friends worked on farms in Brisbane and Sydney, before Mr Walsh ended up at a lithium mine in Kalgoorlie.

Alan Walsh

He was out in the compound where the workers stay and he didn't feel well for three days, one of his friends told me, Anne said.

He went to the medic and he collapsed and they did CPR on him for about 90 minutes before they got a doctor to him. He died on the compound.

I still don't believe it, its like a nightmare that Im waiting to wake up from.

Ms Walsh thanked everyone who has rallied around us, and we are blessed for that, as they wait to find out a cause of death of their beloved son.

Alan was described as someone who got on with everyone he met, he was a harmless messer.

We don't know how he died yet, because we have to get the coroners report, Anne added.
Firefighters rescued two people in their 70s from the house while another man sadly passed away at the scene.

A man died in a housefire in Co Antrim on Saturday morning.

Firefighters rescued two people in their 70s from the house on the Coleraine Road in Ballymoney, while another man sadly passed away at the scene. The cause of the fire is believed to be an accident.

Alan ONeill, Group Commander at Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) said offered his condolences to the mans loved ones.

The thoughts and sympathies of Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service are with the loved ones of a man who has sadly died following a house fire in Ballymoney yesterday morning, he said.

On Saturday at 02:49am, firefighters were called to reports of a fire in a semi-detached house on Coleraine Road, Ballymoney.

Two crews from Ballymoney and Coleraine fire stations attended the incident and rescued two people in their 70s. Tragically a man died at the scene, despite best efforts by Northern Ireland Ambulance Service and Firefighters.

The fire was extinguished and crews left the incident at 04:29am. The cause of the fire is under investigation, but we believe it was an accidental fire.
Tonight, persistent rain will spread over Munster and south Connacht and will be heavy at times with localised flooding possible, the national forecaster warned.

Met Eireann has issued three rainfall warnings as forecasters warn of further heavy persistent rain and a risk of flooding.

Sunday starts off bright in most areas, however a Status Yellow alert comes into effect later today and with a Status Orange rainfall warning for several counties in the south-east tomorrow.

A Status Yellow rain warning is in place for Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary, Galway, from 6pm on Sunday to 6pm on Monday, with possible localised flooding and difficult travel conditions, Met Eireann said.

A separate alert extends to counties Carlow, Kildare, Laois, Longford, Offaly, Westmeath, Wicklow and Roscommon from 4am on Monday to 4am on Tuesday.

Counties Kilkenny, Wexford and Waterford will face the worst weather a Status Orange warning in place from 4am on Monday to 4am on Tuesday, with possible flooding, dangerous travel conditions and poor visibility.

Waves crash onto Clontarf promenade in Dublin

This afternoon, cloud will increase in the south and west, while this evening, rain will develop in the southwest and will become heavy at times. Highest temperatures between 11 to 13 degrees.

Tonight, persistent rain will spread over Munster and south Connacht and will be heavy at times with localised flooding possible, the national forecaster warned.

There will also be some showers further north, with temperatures dropping to lows of two to five degrees over the northern half of the country and between six and 10 degrees further south during the night.

Monday could see localised flooding across Munster, Connacht, south Leinster and the midlands.

It will be drier in the north and northeast until the afternoon with less rainfall forecast for these areas with highs temperatures of 11 to 14 degrees.

There will be further outbreaks of rain on Monday night, mainly in the east and north, with some showers in the south. Mist and fog patches in places also. Lowest temperatures of four to eight degrees.

Tuesday will bring a mix of bright spells and scattered showers, these mainly in the east. Highest temperatures of 11 to 13 degrees, while Tuesday night will see frosty lows of just one degree Celsius.

Rain will develop in the southwest on Wednesday morning and will spread north-eastwards over the country, which will clear in the evening. Highs of 11 to 13 degrees with moderate to fresh south-easterly winds veering southwest as rain clears.

Thursday and Friday will both bring sunshine and showers, some heavy with a chance of thunder and hail. Highest temperatures of 10 to 13 degrees with mostly moderate to fresh west to southwest winds, Met Eireann added.
Ibrahim Alagha said he regularly starves himself so that his family can eat as supplies run dangerously low in the war-torn country

Irish citizen stranded in Gaza starving himself so his three Irish-born children might eat and drink

An Irish citizen and his family stranded in war-torn Gaza said he believes efforts to escape are decreasing every day as fuel and network phone coverage become increasingly scant.

Ibrahim Alagha (38) said he is now regularly starving himself so that his three Irish-born children can eat and drink, as food and water supplies in Gaza are running dangerously low.

Ibrahim and his wife Hamida are Irish citizens and own a home in Blanchardstown. They have been in Gaza since June on an extended holiday visiting relatives when the war broke out a fortnight ago.

Speaking to the Sunday Independent from Khan Younis in the south of Gaza, Ibrahim explained that he is in regular contact with Irish embassy in Israel, as it attempts to get up to 40 Irish citizens stranded in Gaza out of the country.

The embassy are trying to get Irish passport holders out, but it has been difficult for them. I speak to them twice a day, but there is no plan, he said. There are two growing problems that Im very worried about at this moment. One is that network phone coverage is getting worse and worse; it is getting less and less reliable.

I am afraid I will be cut off entirely from the outside world soon  then I have no way of contacting the Irish embassy about plans to safely evacuate us.

The second problems is that our fuel is running out. With no fuel, we cannot make it to the border to get out if the moment comes.

The 38-year-olds children are aged eight, four and three. He said his eldest child is very scared as he knows what is going on. They all just keep asking when can we go home?

The family are staying at his fathers four-bedroomed home, also a former medical surgery, amid a group of 90 family and friends.

Ibrahim Alagha and his wife and children are with a group of 90 family and friends

It is a very, very difficult situation at the moment and just getting worse, particularly because of the lack of food and water. We have welcomed all our extended family and friends who need shelter but it is a huge challenge to meet everyones needs, he said.

We have moved all the furniture out of the house and are sleeping in shifts on mattresses on the floor. We are trying to keep things normal for the children but the bombs are coming closer and closer.

As Ibrahim spoke, the sound of missiles could be heard in the background.

I am looking out the window now and I can see the black smoke from the bombs. It is getting nearer to us, every day. How can we shield our children from this?

We are scared for our lives, our childrens lives. But right now, Im mostly worried about the lack of food and water. We just want to get back to Ireland.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said there are roughly 40 Irish citizens in Gaza and the Government will be working closely with its EU partners to organise evacuations if necessary.

Ibrahim, who works as an electronic engineer, explained: Myself and my wife grew up in Gaza, so we have some experience of attacks. But my children are born and raised in Ireland and they do not.

Ibrahim Alagha and his family live in Blanchardstown, Dublin

The family made the very dangerous trip to Gazas border with Egypt on Saturday of last week as they were due to be evacuated with help from the Irish embassy but the plan did not come to pass. He said the family desperately want to bring his in-laws out of Gaza because the elderly couples house has been bombed and they are reliant on him financially.

We want and need to bring them with us. They would not be any drain on the Irish State  I would financially support them in Ireland, too, and they would live with us. It is not safe for them here and now their home is gone, he said.

Ibrahim became an Irish citizen 15 years ago following an evacuation process from Gaza. This is only the fourth time he has returned to his homeland since becoming an Irish citizen.

That is because it is so difficult to get in and out of Gaza, even though myself and my wife are from here.

So when we do come to see family, it is usually for an extended period.

We have been here since June and were due to go back to Ireland at the end of this month.

It is very unfortunate that this has happened, considering its just our fourth trip in 15 years.

Usually, if there is an issue with bombing, or danger, all foreign nationals are evacuated within 24 hours. That is why we have always felt it was quite safe to come. Until now.
By Archishma Iyer

(Reuters) -Australia's Treasury Wine Estates said on Monday it is well placed to rebuild its business in China, sending its shares up more than 5%, should Beijing's tariffs on Australian wine be removed as signalled by the two countries on the weekend.

The Australian government, which is repairing economic ties with Asia's largest economy after a number of disputes, said on Sunday China had agreed to an expedited review of tariffs on Australian wine, expected to take up to five months.

"Should tariffs be removed, these measures will be implemented sustainably and with the aim of growing the business in China," Treasury Wine, the world's biggest standalone winemaker, said in a statement.

Treasury Wine used to make one-third of its profit in China but lost most of that business when Beijing imposed tariffs on Australian wine in 2021, after Canberra called for an inquiry into the origins of COVID-19.

"If the tariffs are removed, we see this as a significant positive for the Australian wine export industry and specifically Treasury Wine," Goldman Sachs analysts said in a research note.

Measures for reviving its China business would include shifting a portion of Penfolds Luxury from other markets back to China and rebuilding distribution for the Penfolds Australian entry-level luxury portfolios, the company said.

Treasury's shares rose as much as 5.3%, one of the highest gainers on the Australian stock exchange on Monday, and last traded up 2% against a broader market that was down 0.9%.

Treasury recently said it expected its operating profit in the year to June 2024 to be weighted towards the second half, reflecting the planned phasing of Penfolds shipments to retain flexibility given a potential future review of tariffs.

($1 = 1.5835 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Archishma Iyer in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Shumaker, Diane Craft and Sonali Paul)
Love a good G&T? Or maybe youre a gin connoisseur?

Whatever way you like your gin, come and explore as 24 distillers showcase more than 80 gins from New Zealand and around the world in an afternoon of total Gindulgence.

Take your time to chat to the distillers, sample the flavours and botanicals in the exceptional range of gins on offer. When youre ready, buy a refreshing G&T or signature drink, relax and soak up the atmosphere with lively background music and fabulous local food.

Gindulgence is New Zealands original single-site gin festival, first held in March 2018. It began as a one-day event in Christchurch with 750 tickets.

It is now held in five cities across New Zealand, including Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Nelson and Tauranga.

The craft gin industry in New Zealand was just beginning to take off in 2018 and Gindulgence was created with the intention of supporting the growing number of talented distillers around the country by providing a platform to showcase and sell their products.

This remains the core objective of Gindulgence, says Michelle Quinn.

Our aim is to deliver a boutique event celebrating all things gin, which supports distillers, delights ticketholders and brings value to sponsors!

Bottles of your favourite gins can be purchased to take home. So grab your gin-loving friends and join this boutique gin experience!

Twenty-four distillers will be showcasing their exceptional gins in an exciting array of cocktails and G&Ts in this boutique event. Join the fun on November 4 at Wharepai Domain.
Milky white flesh in snapper can be eaten but is raising concerns that fish are starving.

Labour Weekend is the unofficial start to summer and many people will be pulling out their fishing rods in order to catch a feed.

But fishers need to be on the lookout for fish with milky, white, mushy flesh, afflicting about 20 per cent of snapper in Aucklands Hauraki Gulf and Northlands east coast.

Now known as milky white flesh syndrome, the problem has been noted on and off in previous years but has become more apparent in the last 18 months in both snapper and trevally.

New Zealand Fisheries science and information director Simon Lawrence says testing by Biosecurity NZ found no evidence of exotic disease or parasites and no evidence of a food safety risk.

However, the fish were found to have nutritional deficiencies, he says.

Scientists reported the conditions suggested a long period of starvation, with symptoms including poor body condition, liver atrophy and tissue breakdown.

Milky white flesh syndrome results in snapper having mushy and milky, white flesh when raw. Rikki Taylor | NIWA

There has been some public speculation that this means food sources for snapper have not been available, says Simon.

This is a complex matter ... and affected fish samples have been found with food in their stomachs.

Fisheries NZ has commissioned Niwa to research the prevalence of milky white flesh syndrome and look into potential correlation with environmental factors.

The results from this research are expected in mid-2024, says Simon.

Fish with milky white flesh syndrome were found to be very skinny and have nutritional deficiencies including liver atrophy and tissue breakdown. Photo: Rikki Taylor | NIWA.

Biosecurity NZ is also continuing to monitor the issue, with testing focusing on diseases and parasites in the affected fish.

But the increase in milky white flesh is cause for alarm and more urgent action, according to healthy marine environment advocate, LegaSea.

We believe its getting worse but as we talk about it, more people are coming forward, says general manager Sam Woolford.

LegaSea is now getting reports of the syndrome from Northlands Rangiputa and northwest coast, as well as through the Bay of Plenty.

The organisation has started a survey to check the prevalence and is helping fund a PhD position at Auckland University to find out more.

LegaSea GM Sam Woolford says the fact snapper are starving  when they are a hardy species  is cause for alarm and urgent action. File photo/Supplied.

Sam says the starving snapper are a major indicator of an unhealthy coastal environment.

It shows that were doing something incredibly bad to the environment.

Snapper are an incredibly hardy species which eat a range of food and live across a range of environments, and theyre showing signs of chronic malnutrition  thats really concerning.

Sam says the fact the snapper were found to have food in their stomachs did not take away from the fact they had atrophy from malnutrition.

He agrees it is a complex matter but says destructive fishing methods like purse seining  which scoops up schools of bait fish and bottom trawling should stop as a precautionary measure until more is understood.

North Auckland iwi Ngati Manuhiri is taking over the role of the Ministry for Primary Industries in policing fisheries in the Hauraki Gulf. Video first published October 22 2022.

If were not sure, take the pressure off and give the environment time to recover. We can do that at the same time as studying.

Sedimentation, made worse by extreme weather this year, is also likely to have an impact by smothering the shellfish snapper like to eat, Sam says.

An outbreak of the invasive superspreader seaweeds Caulerpa brachypus and Caulerpa parvifolia  now found in parts of the Hauraki Gulf, around Aotea Great Barrier and Northlands Bay of Islands  could be another contributing factor, he says.

Milky white flesh syndrome was spotted before Caulerpa and is seen in areas wider than the invasion, but the seaweed does smother scallop beds, another favourite food of snapper.

However, Sam believes the syndrome was caused by decades of degradation to the marine environment, rather than any overnight changes.

Crawfish and scallops used to be in abundance and now theyre getting harder and harder to find, says Sam.

If we dont take a precautionary approach, the impact will become quite clear over time but hindsight will be quite uncomfortable for us.

For those who are hitting the water, Biosecurity NZ is interested in milky white flesh in snapper from outside Auckland and Northlands east coast, and any other finfish.

Those with suspected cases can call 0800 80 99 66 and will be asked to keep the whole fish chilled and send it for sampling within 24 hours.

LegaSea also encourages all fishers to fill in its survey, whether or not fish with milky white flesh were caught.

Denise Piper/Stuff
The locally-produced film Taking Back our Beach which opened on October 5, has been extended into a third week of screening at United Cinemas Bayfair.

The film, which takes the audience through the local Bay of Plenty communitys response to the coastal disaster after the grounding of the MV Rena in October 2011, has had up to five screenings a day at the cinema.

Its also been screened at Rialto Tauranga and Rialto Papamoa, amongst 25 cinemas across New Zealand during October and November.

After around 400 people attending the opening night, more than 2000 people went to see the film during the first week, with groups also using booking whole cinemas for charity fundraisers.

PIPS  Parents & Plants in Schools ran a fundraiser for their 2024 programme. Volunteering BOP with Envirohub ran a fundraiser night for Western Bay Wildlife and ARRC, and Rotary Club of Tauranga Sunrise raised over $800 for Western Bay Wildlife Trust through their screening event.

With whole cinemas booked for the fundraisers at United Cinemas Bayfair, speakers were able to be included for question and answer times following the screenings. Past-mayor Stuart Crosby, Western Bay Wildlifes Paul Cuming and Julia Sorenson, Bay Conservation Alliance chair Julian Fitter, Captain Kevin Judkin and Jack Thatcher all participated in one or more Q&A sessions along with the filmmakers Anton Steel and Rosalie Liddle Crawford.

Mount Maunganui Intermediate also booked out whole cinemas for their 700 students to see the film during the first week of the school term.

Groups from Tauranga Bird Club, Te Puke Baptist, Gwen Rogers Kindergarten, Pongakawa School and Tauranga Waldorf School also booked group sessions.

There were over 8000 people who signed up to help with the beach clean-up back in 2011, and wed love every one of them to be able to come and see Taking Back our Beach, says Rosalie.

Its fantastic that people are coming to see it in large groups together, as the film will probably bring back or trigger many memories, some of which may have been pushed down over the last decade. To be able to share those feelings and memories with others who theyre also seeing the film with could actually be really helpful for processing and dealing with a sense of closure that people may not have previously had.

Feedback from the films screenings has come from all age groups.

A nine-year-old who saw it during the first week with his family at the Envirohub/Volunteering Services night, says he is looking forward to seeing it again with his school group.

My family and I went and saw Taking Back our Beach on Monday. I had tears a couple of times. My 6 and 8 year olds were enthralled through the whole thing which is no small praise, says ACT List MP Cameron Luxton.

Saw it today at Rialto. Well done!! What a journey that was. Going back to see it again, says Paula Whetu McLeod.

Julia Sorenson who was working in Hawkes Bay when Cyclone Gabrielle struck, and who helped lead the rescue of little blue penguins following the 2011 Rena grounding, travelled up to Mount Maunganui from Hawkes Bay for the film premiere on October 5.

The 12th anniversary of the Rena oil spill was spent on the red carpet with fellow Western Bay Wildlife Trustees at the Rena documentary #takingbackourbeach premier. I highly encourage all New Zealanders to see this. In a way, Cyclone Gabrielle mirrors the Rena - a catastrophic event that brought an entire community together to battle the odds and bureaucracy. Lessons can and should be learned from these events, says Julia.

WOW! Go see Taking Back Our Beach when it comes to a theatre near you," says Linda Thompson who was the communications manager at the Rena Incident Command Centre in 2011.

"Went to the premiere tonight with others who were involved in the making of it and was blown away. If you were there at the time 12 years ago bring tissues. That wreck swallowed years of my life (and I make several appearances). It's utterly professional and moving. Well done."

[The] premier of Taking Back Our Beach film was outstanding, says Film Bay of Plentys Elysia Gibb. Hearing peoples stories of our biggest environmental disaster and seeing how the experience was navigated really showcased the power of community.

The Rena didnt end at the sinking, it created new community groups that now protect and nurture our environment. Well done to Anton Steel and Rosalie Liddle Crawford for telling such a powerful story and to everybody who contributed to that story. Make sure you take time to see it and learn about one of the Bay of Plenty NZ significant stories.

The MV Rena which grounded on Astrolabe Reef in 2011, resulting in New Zealand's largest environmental disaster. Photo: Supplied.

It truly is a must see!!" says Tauranga Bird Club president Sheryl Baron. "It is the story of the Rena grounding and the impact upon and response by a New Zealand community. It truly is a remarkable story told through the voices of those who were there in October 2011."

Just saw an amazing kiwi movie about the Rena grounding. Brilliant insight into the impact on the Tauranga community, the bureaucracy and the mobilisation of grassroots community and grace of our tangata whenua, says Mike Seabourne.

An incredibly moving film made by some amazing people, reflecting on an unprecedented national environmental disaster, and capturing the response of a strong community. Make sure you go see it on the big screen... beautiful, says Kristy Robinson.

Sam Taikato on Matakana Island, with a life ring from the Rena. Photo: Brian Rogers.

Before the film even launched, a second week of bookings was opened at United Cinemas Bayfair, with sessions expanding to five a day. 'Taking Back Our Beach' is now part way through its third week at United, and the public is encouraged to go see this film that showcases their community.

The stories of the clean-up couldn't be possible without the thousands of people from all walks of life who came together to save their beloved beaches, says Anton.

It's this positive message of the power of the community uniting in the face of disaster that viewers are left with.

Funded and supported by Sun Media, HOBEC, BOPRC, Priority One, Western Bay Wildlife, Bay Conservation Alliance, Vision Media, Film Bay of Plenty and hundreds of individuals and crowd-funders, the film captures the shock, anger and grief driven into the heart of the local community, as a groundswell of volunteers went out daily to help save wildlife and clean up the massive field of oil and debris strewn along the coast.

The BOP premiere on October 5 was an emotional experience for those who knew Bruce Fraser, Sue Behrens and Brian Rogers, who have all died while the film was being made. Brian died of bowel cancer last year, but was able to see the movie's final cut with his father Mick and Claire, who is the films executive producer. His memories of the fateful morning are poignantly documented in his final interview, describing the moment he realised it was going to be a major environmental crisis.

Brian and Claire Rogers, co-founders and owners of Sun Media, made headlines on SunLive with the news that the cargo vessel MV Rena had struck Otaiti - Astrolabe Reef approximately 12 nautical miles off the coast of Tauranga.

Sun Media co-founders Brian and Claire Rogers. Photo: File/SunLive.

A member of the local Coastguard, Brian was the first journalist on the scene of what would become NZs biggest environmental disaster. He broke the news to the world.

The title of the film Taking Back Our Beach came from a bold statement that Sue made during the clean-up.

Its our beach. Were taking ownership, says Sue, her words now forever preserved.

For screening times across New Zealand go to www.takingbackourbeach.com. The film runs for 90 minutes.
While there will be more cloud feeding on to the east coast this weekend there will be some brighter skies returning for Labour day.

Labour Day will bring with it sunshine for most of New Zealand, before the weather takes a turn later in the week, according to MetService.

Forecaster Tuporo Marsters says despite some morning cloud for parts of the country, Monday would bring some sun.

There is a lot of sun popping up, especially over the middle of the North Island, right down to the east coast of the South Island, theyre looking really good, says Tuporo.

The west coast of the South Island is probably a little bit cloudy.

Tuporo says there is a possibility of a light shower over Northland as a trough moves through from the Coromandel.

Those should clear away, but its mostly sunshine. Temperature-wise, it's looking really good; 20 degrees up top around Northland in places like Whangarei, Auckland is 20, go down the east coast and it's a bit cooler because of a southerly that's keeping them around 16.

Hawkes Bay and Napier are forecast for a high of 17 degrees.

You head into the Capital, were at 15 degrees, but well take that. Heading across the Cook Strait, there's a bit of morning cloud for Nelson, but heaps of sun all the way down the East Coast.

Auckland is forecast for a high of 20 degrees on Labour Day.

So get your lawns mowed, your washing dry  do whatever you need to do  because weather is shifting throughout the week.

Sunshine looks set to turn to rain for most of the country around Wednesday, with some parts of the lower South Island experiencing a cold front, as well as up to 300m of snow in some parts.

Tuporo says there is the possibility of a tropical cyclone forming around the Solomon Islands in the Pacific over the next day or so.

Fiji has got it as a tropical depression at the moment. By Monday morning it could turn into a cyclone.

Karanama Ruru/Stuff
Have you been called by a Sun Media guy with a thick South American accent lately?

Hwahn  thats his name. Thats how its pronounced. But Hwahn is actually Juan  thats how its spelled. Juan Cortes.

Hes a Colombian who traded his mums to die for chicken casserole and Bandeja paisa  Colombias famous little bit of everything meat platter  for Taurangas fishnchips, pies and pavlova. And he loves them. Especial our pies!

Argelia

Hwahn  thats J-U-A-N.

He happily repeats and spells his name a dozen times a day to people who will feature in stories on Sunlive and in The Weekend Sun and cant quite grasp a Spanish name delivered in English  but with a Colombian accent.

Hwahn - J-U-A-N. I am happy to do that. I understand its not my country and I have to adapt. My name is not easy. Its all part of being a migrant.

Juan is new on this block, all the way from a Argelia in Colombia, a village of about 5000.

It doesnt even have traffic lights, says Juan. Or a mall.

Its near Cali, in Colombias south west, the countrys third biggest city.

Juans a charming, and exotic, new addition to the Sun Media team  a reporter, photographer, producer/director, drone operator, motorbike nut, husband to Isabel, and a salsero  he is a magic mover, doing a salsa or kizomba. The couple go dancing every Thursday night.

Thats to be expected  Cali, with its famous street parties, is the rumba and salsa capital of dance-crazy Colombia. Thats what irked Juan when he first arrived in New Zealand five years ago.

Right away people would joke about Pablo Escobar [the notorious Colombian drug lord] and cocaine. It annoyed me, but now I just laugh and tell them there is much more to Colombia  music, dance and coffee. I love my country.

Better lifestyle

He also loves New Zealand for reasons other than pies and fishnchips.

It is a totally better lifestyle.

Then he pauses, reflects and adds safety. Even though there are also places in New Zealand you wouldnt go walking at night.

Why New Zealand Juan?

We wanted to make a 180 degree change to our lives. New Zealand has a deep respect for nature and thats very important to us. Also Australia too hot, Canada too cold, USA too crowded. New Zealand just perfect.

Our new friend Juan is saying all the right things. After a three-year diploma in journalism, Juan worked for a Colombian radio station called Ondas Dell Valle  Waves of the Valley. It was the same radio station Juans Dad was always tuned into when Juan was a kid.

I watched and listened and dreamed of working for that station.

And he did.

While on that beat, the journalist got caught up in a riot during a mayoral election.

Supporters of the losing candidate started throwing things, fighting and causing damage, lots of bangs; probably guns.

Things were so dodgy the reporter climbed in a car and skedaddled.

It was exciting but I am kind of happy to put all that behind me.

Air Force journo

Before he left Colombia, Juan was Senior Airman Cortes in the Colombian Air Force for 10 years  a journalist/technician making TV programmes to promote and connect the military with civilians.

Before the soldier traded his M4 Carbine for a reporters pad and pencil. Juan Cortes in the Colombian Air Force in 2016. Photo: Angie Sanchez, Colombian Air Force.

He flew in jetfighters, shot images from military choppers, skydived, trained search and rescue dogs, and was plucked from the sea in simulated rescues  life was exciting and varied for this journo before New Zealand called.

Green! Thats what we like about New Zealand. I am very happy to be here.

So that is Juan Cortes story, pronounced Hwahn Cortez. Theres a very good chance you will be talking to our new man sometime soon.
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On Monday 22 October, the Andalusian regional government will carry out a major emergency drill in Malaga and Cadiz province to test how the operational services deal with major disasters. Two practical exercises will take place simultaneously in the municipalities of San Roque (Cadiz) and Marbella (Malaga), as part of the regional RespuestA23 exercise.

In the province of Malaga, an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.1 and a depth of five kilometres will be simulated, which will affect several towns on the Costa del Sol, with the town of Marbella being one of the worst affected.

In this case, the reverse 112 emergency SMS text message notification system will be tested in the Finca de la Trinidad area, so that local residents and people who are in this area will receive an alert message on their mobile phones that this is a test and, therefore, they should not be alarmed or take any action. The aim is for people to begin to familiarise themselves with this warning system that facilitates their safety and self-protection.

#SimulacroRespuesta23 En #Marbella #Malaga el ejercicio simulara un terremoto de magnitud 6,1 que sera sentido en distintos municipios de la Costa del Sol



 Si estas en la zona y recibes un mensaje en tu movil

NO TE ALARMES, NO TIENES QUE HACER NADA es solo un ejercicio  pic.twitter.com/hqmqT1zZBq  Emergencias 112 (@E112Andalucia) October 21, 2023

All messages related to the exercise will be sent in English and Spanish and shall be headed by the text: "DRILL: PLEASE DO NOT ALARM, THE RESPONSE_23 DRILL IS BEING PERFORMED, NO ACTION IS REQUIRED".

During the exercise, the CEIP Mario Vargas Llosa school in Marbella will be evacuated, involving the participation of around thirty 'extras' from the IES Perez de Guzman secondary school in Ronda.

The exercise in Malaga province of Malaga will also simulate an environmental pollution episode in Estepona, which will test the response capacity for the protection of the coastline.

Four scenarios in San Roque

The exercise in San Roque will be carried out in four locations on the Guadarranque Industrial Estate and the surrounding area. It will begin with the warning of a fire in a Cepsa refinery tank that will force the preventive evacuation of the population of Carteia-Guadarranque and the confinement of the residents of Puente Mayorga.

The wind will cause the flames to spread and cause a forest fire that will affect the archaeological site of Carteia, declared an Asset of Cultural Interest. The fictitious fire in the refinery tank will also cause the rupture of the cargo hose to a ship and the spillage of fuel oil into the Bay of Algeciras.

In these areas, too, a warning message will be sent to mobile phones and, as in the case of Marbella, the general population should do nothing.

In both exercises, an Advanced Command Post (PMA) will be installed from where the entire emergency response will be monitored and the work of the different operatives involved will be coordinated. Both training exercises will involve the activation of the Andalusian Territorial Emergency Plan (PTEAnd) at Level 2 in the region.

Emergency plans

In Malaga, the Emergency Plan for Seismic Risk in Andalucia will also be activated at provincial level (Level 2) and the Marbella Municipal Emergency Plan, as well as the Emergency Plan for the risk of coastal pollution in Andalucia (PECLA) for the simulated incident in Estepona.

In Cadiz, the Municipal Emergency Plans of San Roque (which will also activate the Municipal Emergency Plan for Forest Fires in the municipality), La Linea, Algeciras and Los Barrios will be activated, the latter two municipalities will activate their local action plans for the Risk of Coastal Pollution.

The exercise, which is expected to be attended by the regional minister of the Presidency, Antonio Sanz, will involve by Emergency Andalucia operatives (112, Civil Protection and Emergency Group of Andalucia), Plan Infoca, 061 Health Emergency Centre, National Police, Spain's Military Emergency Unit (UME) and Guardia Civil (traffic, Seprona and Pegaso units).

Also taking part will be personnel from Malaga's provincial authority and Marbella Town Hall, as well as provincial fire brigade consortium of the province of Cadiz, together with the Local Police of Marbella, Algeciras, Los Barrios, La Linea and San Roque, Environmental Agents from the Junta de Andalucia, experts from the Centre for the Recovery of Wildlife Species (CREA) and the Centre for the Recovery of Marine Species, the Environmental Quality Unit, the Directorate-General of Traffic (DGT), the Port Authority of the Bay of Algeciras and the Harbour Master's Office.

The operation will also be joined by personnel from REMER, local Civil Protection volunteer groups (from arbella, Coin, Carratraca, Istan, Monda, Teba, Ronda, Canete la Real, Campillos, Benalmadena, and Fuengirola in Malaga and Los Barrios, Algeciras, La Linea and San Roque, in Cadiz), as well as specialists from the Red Cross and the Psychological Intervention Group for Emergencies and Disasters (GIPED).

The deployment will also include personnel from the Atlantic Coastal Demarcation, Port Police, Environmental Prosecutor's Office, Defence Subdelegation, Institute of Legal Medicine, territorial delegations of the Junta de Sostenibilidad, Medio Ambiente y Economia Azul; Fomento, Articulacion del Territorio y Vivienda; de Desarrollo Educativo y Formacion Profesional; de Salud y Consumo and that of Agricultura, Pesca, Agua y Desarrollo Rural, as well as the regional hospitals of La Linea and Punta de Europa in Algeciras.

In Cadiz, the residents' associations of Guadarranque and Puente Mayorga will also participate, as well as the companies in the chemical sector, which will activate their respective emergency plans during the drill.
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Annual World Breast Cancer Day, held on 19 October, was marked in Mijas by more than 300 employees of Idiliq Group wearing pink Idiliq Foundation T-shirts in collaboration with mayor Josele Gonzalez and other members of the town hall.

A group photograph (above) serves as the centrepiece for an internal fundraising campaign led by the staff throughout October, with all proceeds supporting Spanish cancer association AECC.

President of Idiliq Foundation Juan Miguel Marcos said: "We are proud to be part of this great family that demonstrates its enormous solidarity with citizens every day. In October all our efforts are focused on helping research, prevention and early detection of breast cancer."

The mayor of Mijas acknowledged the significant contributions made by employees of Idiliq Group in supporting the most vulnerable groups and individuals within the town.

According to the AECC, it gave support to 10,669 breast cancer patients in 2022, accounting for 30% of the total number of women diagnosed with breast cancer annually.

Thanks to the pink movement, significant strides have been made, resulting in an average five-year survival rate of 85% for breast cancer.
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Storm Bernard will continue to affect the Spanish mainland this Monday, 23 October, and will put 18 provinces in nine regions at risk (yellow) or at significant risk (orange) of wind, rain and rough seas, according to the forecast from Spain's state weather agency (Aemet).

 ULTIMA HORA



El viento esta causando estragos en la provincia de Cadiz. Hay muchas caidas de grandes arboles y las autoridades recomiendan no salir de casa.

Mas informacion en @CSurNoticias, @CanalSurRadio y @RAInformacion

Esto es #Jerez  pic.twitter.com/3wbF52KBXQ  Javier Benitez (@javiebenitez) October 22, 2023

During the day, a new front is expected to cross the mainland from west to east, leaving several points with heavy rainfall as it passes across Spain. The rain will particularly affect Huesca, Zaragoza, Avila, Soria, Guadalajara, Toledo, Lerida and Madrid, which will be at risk from accumulations of up to 20mm in an hour.

Strong winds will also put Huesca, Teruel, Zaragoza, Mallorca, Avila, Burgos, Segovia, Soria, Albacete, Ciudad Real, Cuenca, Guadalajara, Toledo, Madrid, Navarra and La Rioja on a yellow warning. Meanwhile, Lerida will be at significant risk (amber) from this phenomenon due to gusts of close to 100 km/h. Rough seas will cause the yellow alert to be activated in Mallorca and Cadiz (Andalucia).

In general, Aemet forecasts cloudy or overcast skies throughout most of the country, as well as early morning rainfall around the Strait of Gibraltar and the northern half of the mainland, with the probability of heavy rainfall in the Pyrenees, especially in Aragon, where it will also be persistent, the Central System and the eastern Cantabrian Sea.

This rain will gradually ease, except in the Pyrenees and in the southwest, where showers will move into other areas of western Andalusia, with the probability of heavy showers in Cadiz and surrounding areas.

Rain is also expected to persist in Galicia and Asturias due to the entry of the new front, being unlikely to affect the Levante.

Snow levels will be above 2,400 metres in the Pyrenees and 2,000 metres, dropping to 1,600 metres in the Cantabrian Mountains. In the Balearic Islands, there will be intervals of high clouds with a tendency to increase cloudiness, without some showers with thunderstorms being ruled out at the end of the day.

In the Canary Islands, cloudy skies or with cloudy intervals and scattered rainfall, more likely in the north of the islands, are possible at the start of the day and in higher inland areas in the afternoon.

Thermometers rise

Maximum temperatures will increase, even significantly, in the eastern third of the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands, dropping in Andalucia and the northwest quarter of the country. Minimum temperatures will increase in the eastern half of the mainland and the Balearic Islands, with decreases in the west of the mainland and the eastern Canary Islands.

Winds will be westerly in the Cantabrian Sea, the Strait of Gibraltar and Alboran with some strong intervals, and predominantly southerly and south-westerly winds in the rest of the mainland and the Balearic Islands, with strong intervals on the Levante coast, very strong gusts in mountain areas in the centre and northwest quadrant of the mainland, and tending to ease off throughout the day.
(Bloomberg) -- A 1 billion ($1.2 billion) corner of the UK economy is fearing for its future as Britain and India close in on a long-awaited free-trade agreement.

Most Read from Bloomberg

British rice millers such as Tilda Ltd. and Veetee Rice have thrived for decades by importing low-tariff unmilled brown rice from the likes of India and Pakistan and polishing the grains into the white product loved by UK consumers.

But with India pressing for tariffs on white rice to be slashed, and little feedback from British trade officials, concerns are mounting for an industry that employs more than 3,000 people at 16 mills and processing plants scattered from Kent in southern England to Yorkshire in the north.

It is crucial that existing tariffs on milled (white) rice are maintained, Alex Waugh, outgoing director of The Rice Association, said at a private event in the House of Commons last month attended by rice industry leaders and government officials. If access on milled rice is conceded, the basis of operations will be undermined, the incentive for future investment in the UK will be lost and ultimately jobs will go.

A spokesperson for the UK Department for Business and Trade said officials were working towards an ambitious trade deal.

We have always been clear we will only sign a deal that is fair, balanced and ultimately in the best interests of the British people and the economy, the spokesperson said.

A UK-India trade agreement was meant to be a key prize of Brexit. Freed from the constraints of the European Union, the argument went, Britain could use a shared history and language to forge a landmark deal with the most populous nation on the planet and fastest-growing major economy.

Story continues

In practice, negotiations launched under Boris Johnson in January last year have been plagued by ambiguity and wrangling over everything from visas for Indian workers and students to market access for UK makers of whisky and premium cars.

Hopes that his successor Rishi Sunak  a practicing Hindu, the son of Indian immigrants and the son-in-law of Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy  might make the difference have proved wide of the mark.

With the UK and India locked in their 13th round of trade negotiations, there are hopes on both sides that agreement can be clinched this year. However, the fate of British rice millers remains unclear, with firms complaining of a lack of information from British officials.

India, UK Likely to Push Trade Deal Talks Into Next Month

One person with knowledge of the UK dialog said the question of tariffs on rice was yet to be fully addressed, adding that it was a contentious issue and that the two sides were still some way off ironing out the more difficult details of a trade deal.

A separate source with knowledge of the Indian negotiating team confirmed that the subject of tariffs on rice was very sensitive, and that an agreement had not yet been reached.

The struggle to hash out an agreement underscores the difficulties the UK might have when trying to formulate post-Brexit trade deals with various countries around the world.

Already its arrangement with Australia has angered British farmers. Minette Batters, president of the National Farmers Union, said she was increasingly concerned about the cumulative impact of the governments FTA program on UK industries.

Currently, the UK imports vast quantities of brown rice from India  around 150,000 metric tons, or a quarter of its total rice imports, originate in the country. Import tariffs make this cost-effective. The levy on brown basmati is 25 a ton, or zero if its included in a list of special varieties. Thats much lower the levy on white basmati, at around 121 a ton.

Slashing the tariff on white rice would leave UK mills redundant, industry leaders claim, while bringing negligible price benefits for consumers, threatening security of supply and potentially risking a drop in quality.

Waugh contends there would be little gain for India from lower UK tariffs. Farmers in the country already tend to get a better price from UK mills than from domestic players for their brown rice, he said, since those buyers need to secure pesticide compliance and are increasingly keen to source rice with improved sustainability credentials.

For Indian millers, meanwhile, the quantities of their milled rice which would be exported to the UK are likely to be too small to really move the dial on their profits.

The downsides for the UK extend beyond lost jobs and production, Waugh added. India is known for limiting exports of rice when its domestic supplies are scarce, with white rice often first on the list to be restricted. At the moment, the South Asian nation has implemented restrictions on every variety that is shipped overseas. UK millers hold significant stock to smooth that volatility, a supply that is now potentially threatened.

British businesses are also well-practiced in complying with food safety regulations  an important consideration when few checks on imported products are carried out at the border. The Rice Association recently sampled 60 different types of basmati rice. It found that 50% of the samples milled and packed in India or Pakistan complied with UK regulations. By contrast, just one sample milled and packed in the UK was found to be marginally non-compliant.

As trade negotiations have heated up, executives within the UK rice industry have been left bemused by their encounters with Indian officials.

Jon Calland, chairman of the Rice Association, was invited along with a car-parts manufacturer to the High Commission of India in London earlier this year. Ive never had a meeting like that before, he said. It was as though they were trying to trade us off against each other.

Over cups of tea, Calland explained to officials from Indias Ministry of Commerce and Industry that the current system of tariffs worked well for both countries. If there were any concessions to be made, Calland said, India should push for more types of brown basmati rice to be added to the limited tariff-free list. That position is roundly supported by UK millers, would help Indian farmers, and is understood to be accepted by the British government.

Moni Varma, who founded Veetee Rice in 1987, believes the UK could be on track to get its way  much to the relief of its rice millers. On a recent call with Indian negotiators, Varma said he got the impression that they understand that theyre not going to get what they want on rice.

The UK is not that great a rice market that its going to make a dent in Indias budget, he said. But you never know until its done.

--With assistance from Shruti Srivastava.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
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The U.S. House of Representatives still has no speaker, as Republicans cant agree on a replacement for the deposed Kevin McCarthy. The dysfunction looks like a clown show to editorial cartoonists Nick Anderson and Dana Summers but is no laughing matter as weighty issues confront the Congress.

Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan tried three times to gain the 217 necessary votes from the GOP caucus; three times he came up short. Cartoonists Mike Luckovich and Bill Bramhall caricature the square-jawed congressman while also noting he voted against certifying the 2020 presidential election. Jack Ohman skewers Jordans penchant for appearing in his shirtsleeves, drawing his coat festooned with medals from Donald Trump and a sash that says conspiracy nutbag.

The suffering in Israel and Gaza also dominated the news. Israeli outrage and grief at the attacks on civilians by Hamas turned into resolve to wipe out the terrorist group. President Joe Biden traveled to Israel to offer support and to broker a deal to provide humanitarian aid to civilians trapped in Gaza. David Horsey, Michael Ramirez and Summers all comment on the missteps of U.S. universities, such as Harvard, trying to walk the line between support for Israel and sympathy for Palestinians.

Other news events in this weeks editorial cartoon gallery include the first guilty pleas in the Georgia election interference case; rising financial pressures on consumers; and the relative youth of the U.S. Senates newest member, 44-year-old Laphonza Butler of California.

Cartoons were drawn by Jack Ohman, Nick Anderson, Bill Bramhall, Dana Summers, Drew Sheneman, Scott Stantis, Walt Handelsman, David Horsey, Phil Hands, Joel Pett and Joey Weatherford of Tribune Content Agency; and Mike Luckovich, Steve Breen and Michael Ramirez of Creators Syndicate.

View more editorial cartoon galleries.
Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon could make a case for reelection on the strength of his steady leadership of the Covid-19 public health response and his success in assembling a site large enough for Microns semiconductor factory. Those were big accomplishments.

McMahon, 43, a Republican from Cicero, deserves a second term, in our view, for the vision, energy and creativity he will bring to meeting the challenges ahead as our community grows for the first time in decades.

His challenger is Bill Kinne, 66, of Syracuse, a longtime Onondaga County legislator and a vocal member of the chambers Democratic minority. Kinnes plans for how he would lead the county into the future are vague. But one thing is for sure: He would try to cancel McMahons $85 million aquarium at the Syracuse Inner Harbor and spend the money on people instead of fish.

To which McMahon replies, We can walk and chew gum at the same time. He rejects the idea that the county cant have both a tourist attraction and care for its children and neediest residents. We agree that its a false tradeoff, despite our ambivalence about the aquarium project.

The countys fiscal position is strong. McMahons most recent $1.5 billion budget cut the tax rate (though rising property values mean you may not feel it), raised spending by $44.5 million for things like mental health counseling in schools, increased lead testing and a bigger marina at Onondaga Lake Park. It left untouched the $188 million rainy day fund.

Not even Kinne can fault McMahons handling of the Covid emergency that struck in March of 2020. The county executive stood up testing and vaccine distribution. He rolled with the constantly shifting edicts from the state, the one-step-forward-two-steps-back reopening of schools, and the hit to the Central New York economy and the countys finances.

But McMahon was chewing gum while walking. In September 2020, as he was laying off 250 county workers to deal with the fiscal crisis, he got the legislature to spend $1.6 million to design a sewer system for the White Pine Business Park in Clay. He said it was necessary to make the site shovel ready for a semiconductor company  which, two years later, turned out to be Micron.

The chipmaker, lured by the site and huge grants and tax breaks from the federal and state governments, plans to invest $100 billion over 20 years and eventually employ 9,000 people. Its a game-changer for the region.

Managing that growth  and the twists and turns nobody can anticipate, a la Covid  will be the county executives biggest job in the next four years. McMahon is the candidate best equipped for the task.

Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon stands next to Micron Technology President and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra during a visit to the planned site of a computer chip megafab in Clay, N.Y. on Friday, April 28, 2023. Micron plans to invest as much as $100 billion in the complex. (Katrina Tulloch | ktulloch@syracuse.com)

For the first time in a generation, we have a housing shortage. McMahon figures we need to build 2,500 units per year to keep up with new arrivals. So far, he has updated the countys comprehensive plan to encourage the development of strong centers in suburban communities, clustering amenities and different types of housing. Now he needs to sell it to the private sector. The county only has a few levers to pull to encourage private developers to build housing, such as payment-in-lieu-of-tax agreements. But to get municipalities moving faster, McMahon has a bully pulpit  and other tools of persuasion.

We refer to the county executives skill at playing political hardball, which often has a nasty, partisan edge.

The county executive sprang a plan to close the Jamesville Penitentiary on the newly elected (Democratic) sheriff with one days notice  timing he now regrets. He twisted arms and made deals to get the votes he needed for the aquarium. He rammed through a redistricting scheme (Democrats say it is a naked gerrymander) to preserve the GOPs dominance of county government.

Kinnes shots at McMahon radiate the frustration of serving in the political minority in a county where the executive has a lot of power and isnt shy about using it. Its an argument largely about style.

On the substance, McMahons last four years have been a success by almost any measure. He proved his ability to lead us out of a once-in-a-century crisis while positioning the county for a historic reversal in its fortunes.

We endorse Ryan McMahon for a second term.

Why we endorse

The purpose of an editorial endorsement is to provide a thoughtful assessment of the choices voters face in an election. We offer editorial endorsements to stimulate the public conversation and promote civic engagement. Voting is a right and an obligation of citizenship. That part is up to you. Early voting begins Saturday, Oct. 28, and ends Sunday, Nov. 5. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 7.

About Syracuse.com editorials

Editorials represent the collective opinion of the Advance Media New York editorial board. Our opinions are independent of news coverage. Read our mission statement. Members of the editorial board are Tim Kennedy, Trish LaMonte and Marie Morelli.

To respond to this editorial: Submit a letter or commentary to letters@syracuse.com. Read our submission guidelines.

If you have questions about the Opinions & Editorials section, contact Marie Morelli, editorial/opinion lead, at mmorelli@syracuse.com
It is usually uneventful when a single insider buys stock. However, When quite a few insiders buy shares, as it happened in Rackspace Technology, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:RXT) case, it's fantastic news for shareholders.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

Check out our latest analysis for Rackspace Technology

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Rackspace Technology

The Independent Lead Director Shashank Samant made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$455k worth of shares at a price of US$4.55 each. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at above the current price of US$1.34. While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. We always take careful note of the price insiders pay when purchasing shares. As a general rule, we feel more positive about a stock if insiders have bought shares at above current prices, because that suggests they viewed the stock as good value, even at a higher price.

In the last twelve months Rackspace Technology insiders were buying shares, but not selling. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

Rackspace Technology 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.

Rackspace Technology Insiders Bought Stock Recently

Over the last three months, we've seen a bit of insider buying at Rackspace Technology. Independent Director Anthony Roberts shelled out US$50k for shares in that time. It's good to see the insider buying, as well as the lack of recent sellers. However, in this case the amount invested recently is quite small.

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Insider Ownership

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Rackspace Technology insiders own about US$32m worth of shares. That equates to 11% of the company. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Do The Rackspace Technology Insider Transactions Indicate?

Our data shows a little insider buying, but no selling, in the last three months. Overall the buying isn't worth writing home about. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. Overall we don't see anything to make us think Rackspace Technology insiders are doubting the company, and they do own shares. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. To that end, you should learn about the 3 warning signs we've spotted with Rackspace Technology (including 1 which makes us a bit uncomfortable).

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 of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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.
Why it matters: RISC V pioneer SiFive has gone through several iterations, but has now solidified a business model that essentially positions it as a direct competitor to Arm. If they can continue to execute they will benefit from much of the very healthy RISC V momentum.

We recently attended an analyst briefing with SiFive. We wrote about SiFive last year, and were fairly cautious about the challenges they face. With the benefit of time and a deeper dive into their plans, we came away from this latest meeting much more interested in the company than we had been.

SiFive is one of the leading companies providing RISC V solutions. RISC V is an "open" alternative to the Arm or x86 instruction set architectures (ISA), which power the math inside of processors. We have already touched on the subject of RISC V, it is technically interesting and has arrived at a good time with considerable interest from the market.

SiFive is often described as the "Red Hat" of RISC V, the leading company in commercializing an open source codebase. But this is a flawed description.

SiFive is often described as the "Red Hat" of RISC V, the leading company in commercializing an open source codebase. But this is a flawed description. Instead, we should start to think of SiFive as essentially a direct competitor of Arm, a licensor of ISA intellectual property. They sell "blueprints" that other companies pay to copy into their own chip designs. This seems a bit counter-intuitive since RISC V is "free" and "open."

Editor's Note:

Guest author Jonathan Goldberg is the founder of D2D Advisory, a multi-functional consulting firm. Jonathan has developed growth strategies and alliances for companies in the mobile, networking, gaming, and software industries.

The simple explanation is that there is a big gap between having RISC V code and actually making that into a functioning chip  there are all kinds of add-ons, tools and features needed to bridge that gap, and SiFive, like Arm, makes money by selling those. The more complex explanation is that RISC V is not really "open source," it is better thought of as an "open standard," akin to Wi-Fi.

This is more accurate, but also confusing, hence all the quotation marks around the word "open." Suffice to say that building RISC V chips is not easy and SiFive has positioned itself to solve that problem.

In our defense, we can be forgiven for getting this all muddled in the past, SiFive has undergone several iterations to reach its current model. Prior management had pushed the company in multiple directions including selling their own chips. The new model looks much more coherent and sustainable.

In general, we think RISC V looks to be in fairly good shape. It has won widespread adoption in China driven in part by the low cost of use and in part by geopolitical concerns. And major global chip companies are all adopting RISC V, driven in no small part by questions about Arm's changing business model, and the fact that they are suing one of their largest customers, Qualcomm.

RISC V still faces numerous challenges, not least the by-definition fragmented nature of its "open" roots. That being said, it has gained real traction in many markets including IoT, industrial and embedded systems. There is an argument that RISC V has considerable appeal in Edge AI inference (a massive market to-be), and a non-zero chance that RISC V gains a real foothold in the data center.

And of course, the massive automotive semis market that lies just over the horizon is as open to RISC V as it is to everyone else.

This should mean good business for SiFive. As more companies build RISC V solutions, the appeal of working with a company like SiFive is considerable, especially for non-semis companies building their own chips.

We know many companies, large and small, chip designers and non-chip designers, working with SiFive to accelerate their plans. In some future post we can lay out the advantages of working with SiFive instead of flying solo. Put simply, SiFive should grow with the RISC V market, and that market is growing nicely.

SiFive has customers across industry verticals and end-user markets which is important as RISC V usage is still very much in experimental mode.

At the very least, we think the future of most large chips will entail multi-ISA SoCs, with RISC V/SiFive cores sitting next to Arm cores, and even next to x86 cores. There is another, stronger case that holds that RISC V can end up becoming the dominant ISA in many major markets. We are not ready to go there yet, but we are optimistic about RISC V's prospects and that should benefit SiFive, especially if they can extend their current execution track record.
Unprecedented warm waters in the Caribbean Sea are triggering the most severe episode of coral bleaching ever recorded in the region, posing a grave threat to the iconic Caribbean coral reefs.

NBC News reports that scientists and marine biologists are ringing alarm bells, warning that this crisis could become a global event with devastating consequences for the world's oceans.

Caribbean Coral Reefs in Danger

The coral reefs in the Caribbean, known for their stunning biodiversity and vibrant underwater landscapes, are under immense stress due to soaring sea temperatures.

According to researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the region is experiencing extraordinarily high levels of heat stress.

Dr. Derek Manzello, coordinator of NOAA's Coral Reef Watch Program, paints a grim picture: "Florida is just the tip of the iceberg. The entire Caribbean right now is bleaching. If you picked a random spot on the map in the Caribbean and jumped in the water, you're going to see bleached corals."

Global Bleaching Event on the Horizon

What's especially concerning is the potential for a global bleaching event. The last global event unfolded from 2014 to 2017, coinciding with the return of El Nino conditions, a natural climate cycle that exacerbates ocean warming.

This time, even with El Nino, the intensity and duration of marine heat waves have taken scientists by surprise.

A global bleaching event is characterized by widespread coral bleaching across all three major ocean basins - the Atlantic, the Pacific, and the Indian. Such events can have catastrophic implications for the world's coral ecosystems.

Read Also: How Human-Made Cooling Stations Could Save Salmon Populations Amid Climate Change

What Is Coral Bleaching?

Coral bleaching is a stress response to abnormal conditions, forcing corals to expel the tiny photosynthetic algae in their tissues.

The result is the eerie transformation of colorful corals into a ghostly white hue. While bleaching does not immediately kill corals, it weakens them and makes them more susceptible to diseases.

Sadly, these ghostly white colonies  are what many corals across the Caribbean look like due to the current severe #CoralBleaching event.



Help us out by submitting your bleaching data and observations to @CoralReefWatch:https://t.co/cNTkriOFan#NOAASpookyScience @FGBNMS pic.twitter.com/GVfgrodq4g  NOAA Coral Program (@NOAACoral) October 3, 2023

Another NBC report tells us that sea surface temperatures worldwide have shattered records in recent months, with the North Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean basin experiencing some of the most persistent temperature spikes.

Off the coast of Florida, sea surface temperatures soared above 90 degrees Fahrenheit during the summer and remained elevated for weeks, causing significant damage to the coral reefs.

The Florida Keys' Reef Bleaching

One example of the devastation is Cheeca Rocks, a reef within the Florida Keys, where research ecologist Dr. Ian Enochs has been monitoring changes for over a decade.

This year, Cheeca Rocks witnessed 100% bleaching, an unprecedented event.

Dr. Enochs commented, "I have never ever seen anything to this extent at Cheeca Rocks. We were experiencing heat stress levels that were double what we've ever experienced before at Cheeca Rocks."

Stay posted here at Tech Times.

Related Article: UK Scientists Unveil Traps to Battle Against Invasive Chinese Mitten Crabs

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Paddy Cosgrave, the co-founder and CEO of Web Summit, has recently announced his resignation following a storm of controversy sparked by his comments on Israel's actions in response to attacks by Hamas, Aljazeera reports.

These remarks on social media platform X led to prominent tech giants, including Alphabet Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc., withdrawing their participation from the upcoming Web Summit conference.

Cosgrave's exit comes just weeks before the conference's scheduled launch on November 13 in Lisbon, Portugal.

What Happened?

Cosgrave, who co-founded Web Summit in 2009, expressed his personal views on the Israel-Hamas conflict, igniting a firestorm of controversy.

He took to X (formerly Twitter) on October 13, stating, "I'm shocked at the rhetoric and actions of so many Western leaders & governments, with the exception in particular of Ireland's government, who for once are doing the right thing. War crimes are war crimes even when committed by allies, and should be called out for what they are."

Two days later, Cosgrave expanded his statement to condemn Hamas's attacks on Israel, labeling them as "outrageous," "disgusting," and "an act of monstrous evil."

He further emphasized, "Israel has a right to defend itself, but it does not, as I have already stated, have a right to break international law."

Cosgrave's comments quickly stirred up a heated debate, leading to a cascade of high-profile attendees and sponsors, such as Alphabet's Google, Meta, Amazon, Intel, Siemens, Stripe, and various venture capitalists, canceling their participation.

Bloomberg reports that a group of Israeli investors even issued a joint statement calling for a boycott of the event, amplifying the controversy surrounding the conference.

Read Also: US Warship Intercepts Iran-Backed Houthi Missiles, Drones in Red Sea: Pentagon

Cosgrave Issues Apology

In response to the escalating crisis, Cosgrave issued an apology on Web Summit's blog, acknowledging that the timing and content of his comments had "caused profound hurt." He stated, "What is needed at this time is compassion, and I did not convey that."

Nevertheless, the damage was done, and the fallout was significant. Despite Cosgrave's recent assurance that Web Summit had sufficient funds to continue for at least two years, the pressure and backlash continued to mount.

Consequently, Cosgrave announced his resignation, citing his comments as a "distraction" from the event, its team, sponsors, startups, and attendees.

What's Next?

Web Summit organizers have vowed to appoint a new CEO as soon as possible to lead the conference going forward.

The 2023 Web Summit, which has grown to become Europe's largest tech gathering with over 70,000 attendees in the previous year, will proceed as planned, with a focus on innovation and technology, despite this unexpected change in leadership.

This episode marks a critical turning point for Web Summit as it grapples with the aftermath of its co-founder's comments and the subsequent fallout.

Stay posted here at Tech Times.

Related Article: Israel's Thriving Tech Ecosystem Facing Security Challenges Amid Escalating Conflict

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
(Bloomberg) -- Australias Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will visit China next month in the latest sign of thawing ties after a years-long dispute, with the two sides signaling a deal toward ending Chinese tariffs on Australian wine exports.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Albanese will travel to China from Nov. 4-7, the first by an Australian leader since 2016. The government has been working with Beijing to remove obstacles on trade, including on wine, and has reached an agreement with China to move forward to resolve this dispute, Albaneses office said in a statement Sunday.

Australia will suspend its case at the World Trade Organization over Chinas tariffs on wine imports, while Beijing will undertake an expedited review of its wine tariffs  a process that is expected to take five months.

If the duties are not removed at the end of the review, Australia will resume the dispute in the WTO, according to the statement. We are confident of a successful outcome.

The announcement on wine tariffs is another step toward normalizing relations between the two countries. Earlier this month, China released Australian journalist Cheng Lei from about three years of detention for allegedly passing national secrets to an overseas institution. Australia said last week it would end anti-dumping tariffs on Chinese exports of wind towers, and would allow a Chinese firm to continue to lease a port in the country.

China responded to Australias statement on the same day, with the Ministry of Commerce saying the two countries have had friendly negotiations over wine and wind tower disputes and reached a consensus on properly solving them. It didnt provide specific details about the next steps related to its wine tariffs.

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China imposed steep tariffs on Australian wine in 2020 as diplomatic relations between the nations soured, with trade in other commodities such as coal and seafood also affected. The wine market was Australias most valuable prior to the implementation of duties, worth more than A$1 billion ($631.4 million) in 2018-19 and 2019-20, according to the nations agriculture department.

Were very confident that this will result in once again Australian wine, a great product, being able to go to China without the tariffs, Albanese said at a press conference on Sunday. He added that this was critical, as the wine industry has struggled to fill the gap left by Chinas business.

The agreement with Beijing buoyed shares of Australian vintner Treasury Wine Estates Ltd. on Monday, with the stock rising as much as 5.3%. The company said its well placed to rebuild its business in China should tariffs be removed at the end of the review period.

The move toward ending duties on wine follows Beijings removal of penalties on the nations barley exports in August that allowed for a resumption of trade. Australian Agriculture Minister Murray Watt noted in a post on social media platform X that the agreement on wine follows the same process as removal of trade barriers on Aussie barley. China in April agreed to review the barley tariffs and then lifted them about four months later.

Albanese arrives in Washington on Monday to kick off a month of critical diplomatic engagements. He will meet with President Joe Biden and attend a state dinner  becoming just the fourth Australian leader to be accorded such an honor. The visit will focus on building an alliance for the future, Albanese told parliament last week, adding that strengthening the partnership with the US on critical minerals and green energy will also be on the agenda.

Read more: US, China Visits Put Australian PMs Diplomatic Skills to Test

During his China trip, the prime minister will meet with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang in Beijing and will also attend the China International Import Expo in Shanghai. The leaders will discuss cooperation in areas including economic links and climate change.

I look forward to further engaging with President Xi and Premier Li in Australias national interest, Albanese said. I welcome the progress we have made to return Australian products, including Australian wine, to the Chinese market. Strong trade benefits both countries.

--With assistance from Hallie Gu, Ben Sharples, Jessica Sui and Ben Westcott.

(Updates with shares in ninth paragraph)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Chicago police are investigating at least three armed robberies that occurred within about half an hour late Saturday night on the Northwest Side.

Police said detectives havent yet established a link or pattern between the robberies, all of which involved two to three men and a silver sedan. No suspects are in custody, and police said they are investigating.

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The first robbery happened at about 11:30 p.m. in Wicker Park. Two men driving a silver sedan approached a 28-year-old woman and a 22-year-old woman while they were walking to a vehicle in the 1600 block of North Wolcott Avenue, according to police. The men exited the vehicle and demanded the womens property at gunpoint. Police said the victims complied and the men fled northbound in the sedan.

About 20 minutes later, three men got out of a silver sedan with handguns in the 3500 block of West Pierce Avenue in Humboldt Park, chasing a 26-year-old man who had exited his vehicle. Police said the men struck the victim in the face, taking his property by force before fleeing the scene. The victim suffered minor bruising to the face and refused medical attention at the scene, police said.

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A 24-year-old man was standing outside a vehicle in the 3300 block of West Beach Avenue in Humboldt Park when he saw two men exit a silver sedan with handguns at about 11:55 p.m. The men opened a womans car door and demanded she hand over her belongings, police said.

Police said the 24-year-old man attempted to intervene, when the two men started firing shots at him. The 24-year-old also produced a handgun, and there was an exchange of gunfire. Police said no one was injured and officers recovered a weapon at the scene.

rjohnson@chicagotribune.com
Foxconn is headquartered in Taiwan but does most of its manufacturing in China - ANN WANG/REUTERS

Chinese officials have raided the offices of key Apple supplier Foxconn as the companys founder prepares to run for the presidency of Taiwan.

Officials are investigating iPhone supplier Foxconns tax affairs and its use of land, Chinese state media reported on Sunday. Investigators have searched the companys local offices as part of their inquiries.

The raids come as Foxconns founder and biggest shareholder, Terry Gou, prepares to mount a bid for the presidency of Taiwan. His candidacy has led to questions over whether Beijing could put pressure on Mr Gou through his business interests.

Foxconn is headquartered in Taiwan but does most of its manufacturing in China. The company, which had revenues of 168bn last year, is a key manufacturing partner for Apple and assembles the iPhone.

Two sources close to Foxconn said they believed the Chinese investigations may be political, Reuters reported. The disclosure about the inquiries comes less than three months before the Taiwanese election.

Premier Chen Chien-jen said Taiwans government had been in touch with Foxconn about the investigation and would help as necessary.

According to a report in the Chinese state-run Global Times, Foxconns offices in Guangdong and Jiangsu were searched by tax officials. Offices in the Henan and Hubei provinces have also faced inspections by Chinas Ministry of Natural Resources, the report said.

The investigation comes against a backdrop of growing tensions between China and Taiwan, which Beijing argues is part of its territory. Chinese officials have threatened to invade the country and have stepped up a campaign of military pressure.

Taiwanese officials believe that China could be preparing to annex the country by 2027.

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Mr Gou, who founded Foxconn in 1974, announced his intention to run for the president of Taiwan over summer. The 73-year-old billionaire, who is worth an estimated $6.6bn, stepped back from running the company in 2019 and left Foxconns board last month to focus on his campaign. However, he remains the companys biggest shareholder with a stake of 12.5pc.

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Mr Gou is seen as one of the most pro-Beijing candidates in the running for next years election. He has advocated for diplomacy with Beijing and has said the current ruling party in Taiwan, the Democratic Progressive party, is to blame for the growing threat of invasion. However, he said in August: I will not bow to Chinas threats.

Scrutiny of Foxconn comes as Apples position in China also comes under pressure. Chinese government officials have reportedly discouraged the use of iPhones and sales of the companys newest handsets have been weaker than expected.

Tim Cook, Apples chief executive, visited the country last week and met Chinas vice premier Ding Xuexiang, and commerce minister Wang Wentao. He said Apple remained committed to growth in China.

Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush, said the investigations into Foxconn appeared to be a shot across the bow from Beijing towards Foxconn and Apple in this ongoing geopolitical cage match.

He said: With a battle for AI and chips getting nastier, this is China pushing back and going after the golden goose Foxconn.

Foxconn has been attempting to shield itself from geopolitical pressures by expanding manufacturing outside of China. Around three quarters of its factories are in China, according to estimates, but it has been opening facilities in Vietnam and India in a drive to diversify.

A spokesman for Foxconn said: Legal compliance everywhere we operate around the world is a fundamental principle of Hon Hai Technology Group (Foxconn). We will actively cooperate with the relevant units on the related work and operations.

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Attendees dine beneath the Market Oaks during Food Truck Friday on Friday, May 27, 2022, at Moncus Park in Lafayette. Volunteers are needed for the park's Autumn in the Oaks event on Oct. 28.
It will also hit our most needy and vulnerable the hardest.

Palestinian demonstrators clash with Israeli forces following a demonstration in support of the Gaza Strip, in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Credit: AP

This reprioritisation of government spending could hurt Western living standards, including Australias. The absence of the peace dividend could hit the funding of education, health, lower taxes, the transition to a greener economy, housing and so on, as pressing needs other than defence are pushed to the side.

Western defence spending is now firmly back on the agenda, and security concerns and statecraft are imperilling the period of economic globalisation, expanding free markets and liberal democracy.

The escalating conflict in the Middle East, amid Russian President Vladimir Putins war with Ukraine and ongoing fears over Chinas intentions, has put another nail in the coffin of the optimistic era of the post-Cold War peace dividend.

Fortunately, the federal government recognised the need for additional support well before the latest outbreak of violence in the Middle East. Early this year, the Albanese government announced a once-in-a-generation review of Australian philanthropy aimed at doubling the amount of giving by 2030.

While this is a noble ambition  and one we at Future Generation wholeheartedly support  it will not be achieved with a business-as-usual approach. If we are serious about lifting Australian philanthropy to be in line with our peer nations, we need an innovative and collaborative effort from government, business and the community.

In the eight years since Future Generation was founded, we have donated nearly $80 million to Australian charitable causes, simply by leveraging the power and generosity of the financial sector.

In philanthropic terms, that is serious money, raised astonishingly quickly. Yet, it is only the tip of the iceberg of what we could achieve. Were the Australian government to attach incentives to models such as Future Generation, making them even more attractive to investors, that $80 million could one day have a zero (or zeros) behind it.

The international precedents are there. Individual savings accounts (ISAs) in Britain and Roth accounts in the United States have had notable success in using tax incentives to encourage people to save.
SXSW Sydney debuted this past week, the first time the well-known  and down-home  music, film and tech fest from Austin, Texas, has lent its name to another endeavour.

The result, at the ICC and surrounding venues, at least the part I saw, was informative and fun.

It hurts your head to think of the logistics that went into putting together dozens of panels and events and big names  Nicole Kidman! Chance the Rapper!  with so many other strong guests from around the world. The daytime events, on a vast array of topics from activism to AI, were packed. If you really wanted to see something, it was smart to get in the queue early.

Aside from a few logistical issues, the fest seemed to be operated smoothly and thoughtfully. For example: in any packed room there is always a scattering of empty seats. SXSWs efficient ushers went in, identified them, and carefully brought in those whod been waiting in the queue outside. Its a small thing, but it ensured as many people as possible had a good experience.
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Eating outTakeaway Collapsed meal delivery platform relaunches with new owner, celeb chef dishes and voucher doubt Gourmet meal delivery platform Providoor has relaunched but its still unclear whether almost $4.4 million in unused gift vouchers will be honoured. Tomas Telegramma October 23, 2023 Save Log in , register or subscribe to save recipes for later. You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share

After collapsing six months ago, gourmet meal delivery platform Providoor relaunches today with a new team and concept for diners in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Melbourne chef Shane Delia, founder of Maha and its casual offshoots, launched Providoor in 2020 amid the COVID-19 lockdowns, delivering finish-at-home meal kits from leading restaurants including Supernormal, Monopole and Restaurant Dan Arnold. The business went into external administration in April with debts of more than $6.3 million, including almost $4.4 million in unused gift vouchers. At the time, Delia told The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald: The only reason it happened is because we lost the confidence of an investor, and they wanted to pull their money out. The brand has since been acquired by Sam Benjamin, founder and managing director of Seventh Street Ventures, a Sydney venture capital firm with investments in music publisher Rolling Stone Australia and delivery-only food business Kaspa. Providoor founder Shane Delia in 2021. Arsineh Houspian

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In response to questions about unused gift vouchers, Benjamin said existing vouchers would not be immediately honoured. He instead invited voucher-holders to get in touch. In due time well understand how to best serve everybody  Well find a way to make it right, he said. A former customer of the platform, Benjamin described Providoor as a true innovator and servant of the industry. But he hasnt been afraid to take it in a slightly different direction. Justin Narayan, Anna Polyviou, Manu Feildel, Matt Preston, George Calombaris, Silvia Colloca, Gary Mehigan are among the chefs who have signed on to have their meals prepared and delivered by Providoor. For now, Providoor will deliver dishes created (but not cooked) by celebrity chefs and food personalities, including lasagne from Italian-Australian TV presenter Silvia Colloca, a mushroom burger from Matt Preston and white-chocolate cheesecake from Anna Polyviou. Other chefs on the roster include Manu Feildel, George Calombaris and Luke Nguyen. In time, restaurants and more chefs will be added, with all dishes prepared in-house by the Providoor team.

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Matt Preston is among the roster of well-known names contributing dishes to Providoor 2.0. Seven Network There are now two arms to the platform: Providoor Frozen, delivering heat-at-home meals in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, and Providoor Local, offering hot, ready-to-eat dishes in Sydney only to start, where the business has four production kitchens. Youll be able to order three or four different dishes from chefs youve seen on TV, says Benjamin. Dishes that reheat well will be available through Providoor Frozen, while those that are best freshly prepared will be reserved for Providoor Local. Through the ghost kitchens he runs under the Kaspa brand, plus extensive travel and research, Benjamin has spent the last three years road-testing processes, equipment and delivery times (10 minutes is the sweet spot) to hone the meal-delivery experience for customers.

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By choosing a more approachable price point than the original Providoor, he hopes the new iteration will be just as suited to weeknight dining as it is special occasions. For frozen, the most expensive [item] is probably $40, and it will feed two, he says. Providoor Frozen orders will arrive the next day in Sydney if a customer orders before midday, while there is a three-day lead time in Melbourne and Brisbane. Sydneysiders can place Providoor Local orders via the UberEats app or through Providoors website. providoor.com.au

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Youd think a political operation would have to be fairly extreme to have its ads rejected by Facebook, the social networking giant which, lets face it, has never been too choosy about such things.

So the mild-mannered men and women of Victorias Legalise Cannabis Party, which had two candidates elected to state parliaments upper house last year, were left perplexed and confused  and not because of the bongs  when Facebooks parent company, Meta, refused to publish the partys ads.

Legalise Cannabis MPs David Ettershank and Rachel Payne. Credit: Joe Armao

After getting no joy out of Meta, MP Rachel Payne even appealed to the Victorian Electoral Commission to intervene in what the party alleges is a blatant case of censorship of political expression.

My colleagues and myself are being unfairly treated and discriminated against through Metas refusal to allow us to advertise, post stories about our party [and] even hiding our pages so that people cannot find us through searches, Payne pleaded.
Wuling Hongguang Mini EVs on display at the Shanghai International Automobile Exhibition. VCG/VCG via Getty Images

China, with the help of government subsidies, has led the world in producing and selling EVs.

Chinese companies have focused on reducing the cost of EV batteries over their performance.

A sluggish economy threatens to slow EV sales in China, and it may face action from the EU.

There's been a clear winner in the global EV race so far: China.

The world's second-largest economy accounted for about 64% of total production volume in 2022, the World Economic Forum found, with government subsidies and tax breaks aiding production.

China is also one of the biggest producers of the LFP  lithium, iron, phosphate  batteries that many EVs run on. CATL, China's largest battery manufacturer, helped the country earn a top spot by ensuring its LFP batteries were as cheap as possible.

That approach is in contrast to car and battery makers in America and Europe, which "prioritized battery chemistry tied to performance, not affordability," Bill Russo, Chrysler's former China boss, told The Financial Times.

"What we've discovered in China is that electrification, and the democratization of the EV, prioritizes consumer affordability. By making it cheaper, China wins," he said.

Founded in 2011, CATL has zoomed past competitors from South Korea, the US, and Europe to take pole position, with its batteries now being found in about one in three EVs globally.

Even Ford announced plans to use CATL technology in a new $3.5 billion battery plant in Michigan.

Picking winners

But Ariel Cohen, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center and a member of the Council of Foreign Relations, said there's been considerable pushback against the move.

He said that while he understood "the national security imperative" in the US, he was "very uncomfortable over the government playing favorites and picking winners."

Some members of Congress are concerned that the plant could leave Ford reliant on Chinese know-how  and send US tax subsidies to China. Last month, Ford paused construction of the facility amid the strike by the United Auto Workers union, though the union's president, Shawn Fain, said that decision was a "shameful, barely-veiled threat by Ford to cut jobs," Reuters reported.

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Jim Farley, the CEO of Ford, announcing its Michigan EV-battery plant in February. Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

Concern about using Chinese battery technology reflects wider global concern about China's domination of the EV-battery market, with governments starting to block Chinese investment into mines and factories.

In February, Reuters reported that the Australian government blocked China's Yuxiao Fund from increasing its stake in the rare-earth miner Northern Minerals on national-security grounds.

Australia is the world's biggest producer of lithium, a key material for EV batteries, and a major producer of other rare-earth materials. Jim Chalmers, the treasurer of Australia, said at the time that Australia would now be more selective about who could invest in its minerals sector.

Cohen said India had also made moves to challenge China's influence and that he expected the country to "be much more proactive to defend their own industry and other players against Chinese competition."

In July, officials rejected plans by the Chinese automaker BYD to build a $1 billion factory in India.

A BYD Auto car on display at the Nanjing International Auto Show in China this month. CFOTO/Future Publishing/Getty Images

China's "clear advantage" in the field also reflects its control over many of the supply chains needed to make batteries, Ilaria Mazzocco, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC, told Insider.

In a July report, Morgan Stanley said that "up to 90% of the EV-battery supply chain relies on China, with the two largest Chinese battery companies controlling more than half of the global market."

The investment bank added that China dominated "labor and manufacturing infrastructure, as well as mining of critical materials required to make EVs."

"We're headed towards a world where governments are more and more concerned about globalization-integrated supply chains," Mazzocco said, adding this "wasn't a problem for the Chinese government" when it was setting up its supply chains.

Optimistic

China's supply-chain dominance allows it to make batteries more cheaply than rivals  less than $60 million per gigawatt hour of batteries produced, according to Bernstein analysts quoted by the FT, compared to $88 million per gigawatt hour for South Korean manufacturers. Japan's Panasonic spends $103 million per gigawatt hour.

EV competitors are also looking for new technology to take on China  especially in light of slowing EV sales in September, which led to a drop in the prices of key materials used in batteries, such as lithium, nickel, and cobalt.

China's sluggish economy threatens to keep dampening consumer spending on new cars.

Meanwhile, Cohen said he's particularly "optimistic" about US innovation.

"The Biden administration is throwing tens of billions of dollars at this problem. It doesn't necessarily mean that people who are making these decisions are brilliant, but at least the money is there," he said.

Distorting the market

Europe has struggled to decide how to deal with imported Chinese EVs, but Cohen said it's now "shifting slowly in the direction" of America.

Last month, the European Union announced an investigation, with Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, saying that "global markets are now flooded with cheaper Chinese electric cars" sold at artificially low prices due to "huge state subsidies. This is distorting our market."

There have also been protests in Hungary, where CATL and Mercedes-Benz are planning a $7.9 billion battery plant that would produce enough power for a million cars, over the plant's environmental impact, Bloomberg reported. Hungary hopes to become a major EV producer and is already home to several car plants and battery factories.

Cohen also said he thinks next year's US presidential election could affect Europe's stance. A return to the White House for Donald Trump could accelerate any EU action against China as the US would likely put "more pressure on Europe."

China may lead the world in the EV race  but its days could be numbered.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Gazans on work permits in Israel were detained in Israel, and taken by bus to the West Bank, where they now stay in a safe haven, not knowing what will happen to them next. Credit: The work all came to a halt when Hamas terrorists stormed over the crossing using bulldozers, motorcycles and paragliders, launching a killing spree that claimed more than 1300 lives and resulted in 200 people being taken hostage. Israel slammed shut the border and cancelled Gazan work permits, leaving men like Abu stranded and separated from their families. Afraid he would be arrested by Israeli authorities and locked up in jail, he paid a driver to take him to the occupied Palestinian territory of the West Bank. Other men were handed over to police by their bosses, loaded onto buses and shipped to the West Bank, somewhere most of them had never been. More than 4300 people have since been killed in Gaza by Israeli bombing raids, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry. Abu doesnt know if his family, who have been sheltering in a school, will survive the attacks and the expected ground war. Its terrifying, he says of the situation in Gaza. God only knows if I will see them again.

Another man approaches and says that seven of his relatives have died in Gaza since the war began. Another says the family home he spent years building is now just a pile of rocks. They want to tell their stories, but they also have questions: how much do people on the other side of the world really know about the horror unfolding in Gaza? How much do they care? One of the 550 Gazans who held an Israeli work permit takes sanctuary in the recreation complex. Credit: Kate Geraghty The displaced men seek comfort where they can, smoking shisha pipes and sipping coffee. One man from Gaza, who worked as a hairdresser in Israel and fled to the West Bank with his clippers, is providing free haircuts to pass the time and do something useful.

Pictures without faces: inside the Ramallah Recreational Complex. Credit: Kate Geraghty But the sense of fear is inescapable: the men say Israeli troops prowl around the centre during the night and they live in terror of being arrested, possibly to be used as part of a prisoner swap with Israeli hostages in Gaza. The men are too scared to have their faces photographed or to provide their full names, fearing it will expose them to retaliation. Since October 7, Israeli authorities have detained an estimated 700 Palestinians in the West Bank, which is controlled by Hamas more moderate, secular rival Fatah. The detainees include dozens of workers from Gaza. We have been here 13 days sleeping outside in the rain, says one man. Its not safe here, we think about running away. I wish I could see my four sons and three daughters again. I dont know if they are alive or dead.

Another man says he hasnt heard news from his family in Gaza for three days. With electricity supplies from Israel shut off, his son has to walk an hour each day to charge his phone using solar panels. Another man says he fears his wife, who relies on dialysis, will die because her body cannot accept the salt water Gazans are now drinking to stay alive. Afraid to show faces, fearful of what comes next: some of the Gazans in the Ramallah Recreational Complex. Credit: Kate Geraghty As we talk, a man enters the complex and is greeted like a hero. He is a Palestinian from Jerusalem who sheltered 70 fleeing Gazan workers in his home when the war broke out. The men are overwhelmingly critical of the Israeli government, blaming it, rather than Hamas, for their plight. Palestinian people, Gazan people have been living under occupation for 75 years, the man from Jerusalem says.

Loading Children being killed, women being killed, people denied medical services, not being able to move from place to place in their own land. What does the world expect to happen? The men around him nod in agreement. Another man says he wants to go home to Gaza, despite the immense danger he would face there. His safe haven in Ramallah doesnt feel so safe. I feel like Im in jail here, he says. With Hamas, without Hamas, we will keep fighting until we find freedom. There is so much he doesnt know  Will his family survive the war? When will he be able to go home?  but he says he is convinced of one thing. No matter what the wage, never will he return to work in Israel again.


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Costco is winning the war against retail theft, boasts it's 'not a big issue' as Target and Walmart shutter stores across the country  here's why

Major U.S. retailers collectively lost a whopping $112 billion because of crime last year, according to a recent report from the National Retail Federation (NRF).

But Costco (NYSE:COST) isnt losing as much as its peers. Thankfully, it's not a big issue for us, chief financial officer Richard Galanti reportedly told investors last month during the companys earnings call.

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Heres how one of the largest retailers in the country is circumventing one of the industrys biggest threats to its collective bottom line

Retail theft crisis

A spike in reports of shoplifting have been seen across the country in recent months. Retail corporations have said that merchandise losses, or shrink, related to theft, including organized retail crime as well as employee theft, have ticked up recently.

The issue has pushed some retailers to shutter stores. Target (NYSE:TRGT) recently said it would shutter nine locations across the U.S. because of rising theft and crime. CVS (NYSE:CVS) said it would close 10% of its stores and migrate to online retail partly due to rising cases of shoplifting.

Walmart reportedly shuttered half of the chains Chicago locations in April and Walmart CEO Doug McMillon has previously said that if the problem persists more of its stores will close and prices will go up.

Altogether, theft accounts for 70% of the merchandise shrinkage experienced by major retailers, according to the NRFs research.

Read more: Rising prices are throwing off Americans' retirement plans  here's how to get your savings back on track

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Costcos robust defenses

Costco has managed to keep a lid on the worsening nationwide theft issue.

According to the CFO, shrinkage was between 0.1% and 0.2%, during the most recent quarter. Thats significantly lower than the nationwide average of 1.44%, as reported by the NRF.

Among the reasons Galanti cited for Costcos relatively low shrinkage is the layout of its stores. Because Costcos stores are structured like warehouses, with only a single point of entry or exit, theyre less vulnerable to thieves.

But Costcos membership-based business model is one of its strongest defenses, according to Galanti. You have to show your picture ID when you come into our warehouse, he said, so the fact that it's member-only is a positive.

Costco items are also relatively more difficult to steal. The chain sells bulk items that are inconvenient for shoplifters. It might be hard to carry out 96 rolls of toilet paper out without someone noticing, for example. Costco goes a step further by packing even small items in large boxes.

However, the chain isnt immune to theft. Costco executives admitted that shoplifting ticked up after they rolled out self-service checkouts three years ago. But the problem hasnt worsened enough to stop the company from continuing to offer the feature.

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Jeff Bezos and Oprah Winfrey invest in this asset to keep their wealth safe  you may want to do the same in 2023

Worried about the economy? Here are the best shock-proof assets for your portfolio. (Theyre all outside of the stock market.)

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
Aid trickles into besieged Gaza





Trucks of Egyptian Red Crecent carrying humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip cross the Rafah border gate in Rafah, Egypt on Saturday. (AP/PTI)

By Najib Jobain, Samy Magdy and Joseph Krauss

RAFAH (Gaza Strip),

Hamas reprehensible assault 2 weeks ago can never justify collective punishment of Palestinians: UN chief Guterres

THE border crossing between Egypt and Gaza opened on Saturday to let a trickle of desperately needed aid into the besieged Palestinian territory for the first time since Israel sealed it off in the wake of Hamas' bloody rampage two weeks ago. Gaza's 2.3 million Palestinians, half of whom have fled their homes, are rationing food and drinking dirty water. Hospitals say they are running low on medical supplies and fuel for emergency generators amid a territory-wide power blackout. Israel is still launching waves of airstrikes across Gaza as Palestinian militants fire rocket barrages into Israel.

The opening came after more than a week of high-level diplomacy by various mediators, including visits to the region by US President Joe Biden and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Israel had insisted that nothing would enter Gaza until some 200 people captured by Hamas were freed, and the Palestinian side of the crossing had been shut down by Israeli airstrikes. Egypt's state-owned Al-Qahera news, which is close to security agencies, said just 20 trucks had crossed into Gaza on Saturday, out of more than 200 trucks carrying roughly 3,000 tonnes of aid that have been positioned near the crossing for days. Hundreds of foreign passport holders also waited to cross from Gaza to Egypt to escape the conflict. The UN said life-saving supplies would be delivered to the Palestinian Red Crescent medical service. But Cindy McCain, the head of the UN's World Food Programme, said the aid was insufficient.

The situation is catastrophic in Gaza, she said. We need many, many, many more trucks and a continual flow of aid. Before the war, some 400 trucks were entering Gaza each day, McCain said. The Hamas-run Government in Gaza also said the limited convoy "will not be able to change the humanitarian catastrophe, calling for a secure corridor operating around the clock. Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, an Israeli military spokesman, said, the humanitarian situation in Gaza is under control. He said the aid would be delivered only to southern Gaza, where the Army has ordered people to relocate, adding that no fuel would enter the territory.

The opening came hours after Hamas released an American woman and her teenage daughter, the first captives to be freed after the militant group's October 7 incursion into Israel. It was not immediately clear if there was any connection between the two. Intense airstrikes were reported across Gaza overnight and into Saturday. The Hamas-run Health Ministry said 345 people were killed in Gaza in the last 24 hours, and that seven hospitals are out of service after being damaged in strikes or running out of fuel. The Hamas-run Housing Ministry said at least 30 per cent of all homes in Gaza have been destroyed or heavily damaged in the war. That figure does not include the destruction of entire neighbourhoods, which the UN refugee agency now describes as inaccessible mounds of rubble.
Dawood Malik, founder of Lashkar-e-Jabbar, gunned down in Pak by unknown assailants





NEW DELHI :

ANOTHER terrorist involved in anti-India activities Dawood Malik, considered a close aide of wanted terrorist Maulana Masood Azhar, was shot dead on Pakistan soil by unknown gunmen, reports said. According to reports in Pakistani media, Malik, termed a tribal elder, was shot dead by unknown assailants in Pakistans North Waziristan. Police said that it was a targeted attack carried out by unknown masked men in Mirali area of the North Waziristan tribal district on Friday morning. Malik was targeted by masked men at a private clinic and the assailants managed to escape after the attack. Malik is said to be the founder of Lashkar-e-Jabbar and also a close aide of one of Indias most wanted terrorists Azhar.

The fresh incident raises questions of a war among the terrorist organisations that are functional in Pakistan. In last few weeks, several terrorists wanted in India have been gunned down in Pakistan by unknown gunmen. On October 11, Shahid Latif, one of Indias most wanted terrorists and also a key conspirator in the 2016 Pathankot terror attack case was shot dead by unknown gunmen in Pakistans Sialkot. On October 1, Mufti Qaiser Farooq, a former member of Lashkar-e-Toiba and a close associate of Hafiz Saeed, the mastermind behind the 26/11 attacks, was also killed in Pakistan.
From Balochistan to Hinglaspur, devotion for Goddess Hinglajdevi knows no boundary





Goddess Hinglajdevi at Jwalamukhi Hinglajdevi Mandir Hinglaspur in Nandgaon Khanadeshwar.

Amravati Bureau :

Shakti, in its varied forms, is worshipped throughout India since time immemorial. Over time, many wonderful legends were woven around glorifying the Goddess. One such legend is of the very revered Hinglajdevi whose seat - the ancient Jwalamukhi Hinglajdevi Mandir Hinglaspur in Nandgaon Khandeshwar tehsil is presently witnessing a great rush of devotees during the Navratrotsav. According to the legend, the Goddess was greatly worshipped at Hinglaj in present day Balochistan in Pakistan. To this day, the Shri Hinglaj Mata Mandir is the largest Hindu pilgrimage centre in Pakistan. Legends say that the Jwalamukhi Devi, somehow dissatisfied with the devotion, was in search of a true devotee and urged Lord Brahma to solve Her problem. Lord Brahma, then advised her to go to Varhad (Vidarbha). So from the present day Balochistan she came to Akoli, a small village in Akola district. Near the village was a forest called Satya Aranya, where Amritgir Maharaj was performing penance.

The Goddess sought his help in finding a true devotee. Amritgir Maharaj then told her about Chimanaji Maharaj. Chimanaji Sattaji Bhagat was an ardent devotee of the Goddess. He built not one but three grand Parkots for the Goddess, including a huge meeting hall. The construction of the Parkots is said to have been completed by 1303 AD. He created huge wells for other seekers and devotees and these wells fill up during monsoon. Chimanajis reverance made the temple famous. The village too was named Hinglajpur after Hinglaj Devi. The legend also speak about the various trials and tribulations which Chimanaji had to go through as he was tested by Jwalamukhi Hinglajdevi. Every time Chimanaji Maharaj succeeded in proving his devotion. But people of Akoli village, through some evil deeds lost favour of the Goddess and She decided to leave the village.

The palanquin of the Goddess then came to the Hanuman temple of Hinglaspur village in Nandgaon Khandeshwar. Since then the mandir has become famous and devotees from distant places reached to the temple to take darshan of the Goddess. Particularly during the Navratrotsav, devotees throng in large numbers. Hom-havans are organised on the auspicious occasion of Ashtami. This year too the yatra mahotsav started by Chimanaji Maharaj and going on for generations, has pulled huge crowds.
Hamas frees 2US hostages





WASHINGTON :

TWO American citizens held hostage by Hamas since October 7 have been released, US President Joe Biden announced on Friday, assuring that his Government would fully support the duo in their recovery and healing process. Biden thanked the Governments of Qatar and Israel for their partnership in securing the release of the two hostages -- a mother and her teenage daughter. Soon thereafter, Biden spoke over the phone with the two released hostages and their family. One of the reasons Hamas moved on Israel  they knew that I was about to sit down with the Saudis, Biden said at a fund-raising event.

The US President indicated that he thinks Hamas militants launched a deadly assault on October 7 because, Guess what? The Saudis wanted to recognise Israel and were near being able to formally do so. Jerusalem and Riyadh had been steadily inching closer to normalisation, with Biden working to help bring the two countries together, announcing plans in September at the Group of 20 summit in India to partner on a shipping corridor. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Biden on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September and told him, I think that under your leadership, Mr President, we can forge a historic peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

The Saudis had been insisting on protection and expanded rights for Palestinian interests as part of any broader agreement with Israel. An agreement would have been a feat of diplomacy that could have enabled broader recognition of Israel by other Arab and Muslim-majority nations that have largely opposed Israel since its creation 75 years ago in territory where Palestinians have long resided. But talks were interrupted after Hamas militants stormed from the blockaded Gaza Strip where Palestinians live into nearby Israeli towns.
Indias flight tests for human space mission successful





NEW DELHI :

A step closer to human space flight programme: PM Modi

PRIME Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday that ISROs successful launch of a test vehicle as part of its Gaganyaan mission takes India a step closer to realising its first human space flight programme. In a post on X, he said, This launch takes us one step closer to realising Indias first human space flight programme, Gaganyaan. My best wishes to our scientists at ISRO. Union Home Minister Amit Shah hailed the successful launch of the Gaganyaans TV-D1 test flight, saying it has scripted Indias another remarkable space odyssey.

After the successful launch of the Chandrayaan-3, our nation is ready to take its next giant stride in the realm of space. Today the @isro launched #Gaganyaans TV-D1 Test Flight into space scripting another remarkable space odyssey. My heartfelt congratulations to our scientists and our citizens on this momentous occasion of success and fulfilment, Shah said in X post. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge in a post on X said, Our best wishes to all the scientists, space engineers, crew and researchers at ISRO for the success of Gaganyaan test flight mission (TV-D1).

Indias human space flight programme has been in the works since 2007 and after decades of rigorous hard work and dedication we are advancing towards that goal, he added. Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh said the successful test flight has set the stage for the remaining qualification tests and unmanned missions.
It was around 7 a.m. on Thursday, May 12, 1994.

Two officers assigned to the Chicago Police Departments Englewood District were to take two arrestees to the neighboring Chicago Lawn District station to be photographed.

One of the men, arrested on a domestic violence charge, tried to chat with the officers during the 2 -mile drive west on 63rd Street. The officer in the front passenger seat wasnt in the mood to make friends.

Do you take me as a joke, m----------? he said to the handcuffed arrestee. Do you think you know everything?

The other officer pulled over the van, and both cops got out and opened the vehicles side door. The officer from the passenger seat  25 years old, with two years on the job  then slapped the man twice on the left side of his face.

He would later deny that he slapped the arrestee or cursed at him, but internal affairs investigators didnt buy that, and the officer was handed a two-day suspension.

In August, Mayor Brandon Johnson selected that officer, Larry Bernard Snelling, a native of Englewood, to be the next superintendent of the Police Department.

During an interview with the Tribune last week, Snelling reflected on his own disciplinary history as he promised his department will balance reform-mindedness with aggressive policing by being transparent. He made his own mistakes, Snelling said, learned from them, and pressed forward.

Snellings background

One year after the slapping incident, Snelling was off-duty and driving his Jeep east on Garfield Boulevard, the border between Englewood and Back of the Yards. When he reached the stoplight at Loomis, he saw to his right a Cadillac DeVille with at least four men inside.

The driver of that car was an off-duty Cook County sheriffs officer, and one of the passengers was leaning out a window to talk with a woman he knew while she waited at a CTA bus stop.

Snelling apparently then asked the sheriffs officer, What are you doing in my neighborhood?

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I am minding my own business and you should do the same, the off-duty sheriffs officer replied before continuing east on Garfield.

Traffic thickened as the Cadillac neared State Street, and the Jeep had kept pace.

As other cars came to a stop, the Jeep again pulled up alongside the Cadillac. Snelling then reached under his seat, grabbed a gun, pointed it at the sheriffs officer and said, M-----------, we will see about your business.

The traffic signal changed and the sheriffs officer drove on, but not before he and his passengers all got a good look at the gun. They noted the Jeeps license plate number, and the sheriffs officer saw a sticker with police insignia on the rear of the vehicle. The Jeep soon turned off Garfield, but the sheriffs officer drove to the CPDs Wentworth District station to file a report.

Internal CPD investigators soon interviewed Snelling. He denied using profanity and pointing his gun, but, like in the slapping incident a year earlier, investigators sustained the allegations against him and he was suspended, this time for five days.

Snelling would go on to spend the lions share of his career as an instructor in the CPDs training academy, and he was frequently called to testify as an expert witness in criminal and civil court proceedings.

A call for fair treatment

Since he assumed leadership of the CPD, Snelling has stressed that his priorities include accountability in serious cases of alleged officer misconduct, but hes also called for officers to be treated more fairly in those cases.

The department he leads remains under a federal consent decree born of the fatal 2014 shooting of Laquan McDonald, and, so far, adherence to the court-ordered reforms has been slow. Since the agreement was entered in early 2019, CPDs bureau of internal affairs has opened more than 11,000 investigations into allegations of officer misconduct.

The new superintendent did not dispute the conclusions that were reached in the nearly 30-year-old misconduct cases sustained against him. But, he added, his personal experiences with CPDs discipline apparatus only helped him  and the recruits learning under him  while he was an instructor at the training academy and later as a department supervisor.

Do I believe (the investigations) were conducted fairly? Sure, I believe they were conducted fairly, and the outcome was the outcome, Snelling said.

Looking back on both of those situations, I couldve done a bunch of things different, he added. I was a young officer. I learned from those things. Not only did I learn from those things, I used those things in my training when I trained new officers, when I started to work at the academy.

Snelling said he has always been open about his past.

I never told war stories, he said. I would always tell these young, new, fresh officers where I made mistakes so that they possibly didnt make those same mistakes. And as a result of that, Ive learned my lesson about continuously keeping myself educated, following all of the rules and regulations according to what is written, our policies, and its really helped me in my career. Not only has it helped me in my career to develop even more, its also helped me understand what younger officers are going through and what they need so that they dont find themselves in the same situation.

Snelling was the subject of 20 misconduct complaints between 1994 and 2010, according to CPD records. The slapping and gun-pointing incidents were the only two that were sustained.

The last misconduct complaint against Snelling came in 2016, CPD records show. He and another supervisor at the training academy were accused of giving favorable treatment to a recruit who was suspected of showing up to training while intoxicated or, at least, hungover from the night before. Snelling and the other supervisor were cleared of wrongdoing.

After he graduated from the academy, the six-month probationary period for that recruit  a man from a multigenerational CPD family  was extended four times, according to records from the citys Department of Human Resources. After later taking a leave of absence in 2018, that officer left the CPD to join the Chicago Fire Department as an EMT in 2020.

More room to grow

Craig Futterman, a University of Chicago law professor and police accountability expert, said that Snellings ability to empathize with officers could be an asset, but only if other cultural problems within the CPD are also addressed.

I appreciate that he can identify with officers, but its more than just about learning from your mistakes, and violent and brutal policing is more than just a mistake, Futterman said. Its about changing officers mentality and changing the violent, macho, us against them culture that has long existed here.

Futterman also pointed to the dearth of complaints lodged in recent years against the superintendent.

I believe that people can change, and there is significant evidence that Superintendent Snelling has changed, Futterman said. He didnt continue to accumulate complaints over the last 20 years, and I have heard from community members who I trust, from Englewood, too, who in recent days gave Snelling high marks for the way he engaged the community and de-escalated  a crisis in summer 2020 when there were some false allegations that a 15-year-old boy had been shot by the police.

John Catanzara, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7, said he and Snelling are in lockstep in believing that punishments for officers are supposed to be corrective in behavior and not necessarily punitive.

There are exceptions to that idea, Catanzara said, especially in cases of real egregious behavior where punitive is the only way to go.

Catanzara himself accumulated dozens of complaints during his CPD career, and he abruptly quit the department two years ago during a pending misconduct case.

His dealings with the police discipline system have made him a more effective leader, Catanzara said.

Me and a couple people that work up at the Lodge, weve all had some pretty serious run-ins with this department, and that has only benefited the membership because we know how to address things, we know how to advise avoiding pitfalls and incidents where you could get yourself jammed up, he said. So experience matters. Its just what you do with it.

scharles@chicagotribune.com
Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU  Free Report) by 4.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 104,898 shares of the financial services providers stock after buying an additional 4,418 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement Systems holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $9,254,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aspire Private Capital LLC acquired a new position in Prudential Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $18,699,240,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC bought a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 109.3% during the 2nd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 314 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. 54.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Prudential Financial Price Performance

Prudential Financial stock opened at $90.49 on Friday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.37 and a 12 month high of $110.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The businesss 50 day simple moving average is $94.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.65. The company has a market cap of $32.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.16, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.38.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

Prudential Financial ( NYSE:PRU Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.04 by ($0.10). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 1.82% and a return on equity of 15.73%. The firm had revenue of $12.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $12.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.74 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 11.78 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 22nd were paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 21st. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.53%. Prudential Financials payout ratio is 166.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on PRU shares. TheStreet raised Prudential Financial from a c rating to a b rating in a report on Tuesday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $89.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a report on Tuesday, August 15th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Prudential Financial from $121.00 to $119.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an equal weight rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $102.91.

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About Prudential Financial

(Free Report)

Prudential Financial, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance, investment management, and other financial products and services in the United States and internationally. It operates through PGIM, Retirement Strategies, Group Insurance, Individual Annuities, Individual Life, Assurance IQ, and International Businesses segments.

See Also

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ASMPT (OTCMKTS:ASMVF  Get Free Report) is one of 23 public companies in the Semiconductor Equipment & Materials industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its rivals? We will compare ASMPT to similar businesses based on the strength of its earnings, valuation, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and risk.

Profitability

This table compares ASMPT and its rivals net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

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Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets ASMPT N/A N/A N/A ASMPT Competitors -54.82% -77.48% -15.27%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for ASMPT and its rivals, as reported by MarketBeat.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score ASMPT 0 0 1 0 3.00 ASMPT Competitors 52 226 680 2 2.66

Insider & Institutional Ownership

As a group, Semiconductor Equipment & Materials companies have a potential upside of 32.91%. Given ASMPTs rivals higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe ASMPT has less favorable growth aspects than its rivals.

25.1% of ASMPT shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 44.6% of shares of all Semiconductor Equipment & Materials companies are owned by institutional investors. 15.2% of shares of all Semiconductor Equipment & Materials companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares ASMPT and its rivals gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Gross Revenue Net Income Price/Earnings Ratio ASMPT N/A N/A 4.54 ASMPT Competitors $248.96 million $8.28 million 5.28

ASMPTs rivals have higher revenue and earnings than ASMPT. ASMPT is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Dividends

ASMPT pays an annual dividend of $0.85 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.4%. ASMPT pays out 38.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, Semiconductor Equipment & Materials companies pay a dividend yield of 1.1% and pay out 829.6% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. ASMPT is clearly a better dividend stock than its rivals, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

ASMPT beats its rivals on 7 of the 13 factors compared.

ASMPT Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

ASMPT Limited, an investment holding company, engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of machine and tools used in the semiconductor and electronics assembly industries worldwide. It operates in two segments, Semiconductor Solutions and Surface Mount Technology Solutions. The Semiconductor Solutions segment offers wire and die bonders, encapsulation solutions, test handlers, clip bonders, CIS equipment, TCB and flip chip bonders, mold under fill, panel molding, and laser grooving and dicing. The Surface Mount Technology Solutions segment provides assembly line solutions; DEK printing systems; SIPLACE placement systems; and ASM smart factory tools and services. It also offers agency, logistics, marketing, and property investment services; develops, produces, markets, and sells execution systems software solutions; and trades in semiconductor and surface mount technology equipment. ASMPT Limited was formerly known as ASM Pacific Technology Limited and changed its name to ASMPT Limited in June 2022. The company was incorporated in 1975 and is headquartered in Singapore.

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Zimbabwe  Samukelo Moyo died and doctors discovered that she was actually a man

A male athlete from Zimbabwe who for many years competed as a female long distance runner has died, finally putting an end to the controversy behind his gender.

Samukeliso Sithole rose to prominence when she represented Zimbabwe at international level, bagging awards.

Thereafter, controversy about her gender came to light. But while appearing in court a few years ago he said he was a transgender.

But her last day on earth this week confirmed Samukeliso to be a man.

The athlete was reportedly stabbed during a family dispute leaving him hospitalised. He was admitted into a female ward under the name Samukeliso Moyo  the name that rose to prominence in long distance running.

All hell broke loose when a doctor called to examine her in the female ward discovered that all along he had his penis tied in-between his legs to give a shape that looks like a vagina.

Shocked by the sight of a penis, the doctor called police for help.

After investigation into the matter, police discovered that the woman known to the world as Samukeliso Moyo was actually a 38 year old man by the name Mduduzi Sibanda.

Her boyfriend who reportedly took her to hospital is now on the run allegedly fearing interrogation.

Story Credit: https://www.herald.co.zw


The Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has spoken of his commitment to boost food security in the nations capital, Abuja, saying his meeting with the Israeli Ambassador to Nigeria earlier this month was to seek partnership for farmers.

This is even as the minister dismissed insinuations that he expressed support for Israel against Palestine in the ongoing conflict in the region.

It could be recalled that the Israeli Ambassador to Nigeria, Michael Freeman, had on Tuesday October 3 visited the FCT minister, days before the Hamas attack on Israel and the consequent and continued retaliation by the Jewish nation.

It was learnt that some people have accused the minister of backing Israel in the ongoing conflict.

Meanwhile, speaking at a meeting with the leadership of the Abuja National Mosque Management Board led by the Etsu Nupe, Alhaji Abubakar Yahaya, the minister said he has no constitutional powers to determine Nigerias diplomatic relations with other countries, as such powers lay absolutely with the President and Commander-in-Chief.

He said; I have heard from various social media platforms that we had a meeting, that we are doing this and that with Israel. I am here acting on delegation of powers on behalf of Mr. President.

I cannot determine a relationship between a country and another country. So, it is difficult for anybody to say I am doing this, I am doing that.

Any foreign body that wants to have anything to do with Nigeria, it is the Minister of Foreign Affairs who will write to me and state that these people want to see me; it is simple. And when they come, it is in my position to say look, we want to partner with you. Take for instance you are going into agriculture and we want to partner, then we tell you where exactly, he explained.

The minister further clarified that his meeting with the Israeli Ambassador was purely for agricultural partnership in the interest of farmers in the FCT.

He said; In Abuja here, most of them have cultural farms and we say look, it is our own desire to help anybody who wants to invest in Abuja particularly in agriculture in order to employ our people and in order to get more revenue. It has nothing to do with another country. It doesnt work that way.

When our people begin to now think different angles and people may not understand that it is not correct. So I will like to use this opportunity to say look we have to talk to our people. In fact we must live harmoniously. We must live together to make sure that development is promoted, Wike stated.
FILE PHOTO: The logo of Deutsche Bank is seen in Brussels

By Tom Sims

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Customers of two Deutsche Bank units have lodged a surge in complaints with Germany's consumer protection agency, the advocacy group said on Monday, as the banking giant scrambles to make good with aggravated clients.

The VZBZ consumer group said it had registered about 1,700 complaints by customers of Deutsche's Postbank arm and its mortgage division in the year through September. That is nearly a threefold increase of its overall complaints from all of 2022.

Germany's largest bank earlier this year botched the integration of its Postbank arm, leaving customers complaining that they were locked out of their accounts and unable to reach call centres.

The issue has drawn the scorn of the nation's top regulator and a mea culpa from Deutsche's chief executive. It is a setback for Deutsche's effort to restore credibility after fines over the last decade for lapses in money-laundering controls and other penalties.

A Deutsche Bank spokesperson said that the bank had put in place more than 500 additional staff to solve the problem and that there was "progress in all areas subsequently affected by the IT integration at Postbank".

"Two-thirds of the customer-relevant backlogs have already been dealt with," the spokesperson said.

The consumer group had already reported complaints of Postbank customers not having access to their funds for weeks and direct debits getting rejected, jeopardising their credit scores.

In its statement Monday with updated data, VZBZ said that nearly one in five complaints dealt with problems around customer service.

"Banks are cutting more and more jobs, which also affects customer service, so consumers are ultimately helpless when problems arise," said Ramona Pop, head of VZBZ.

Deutsche began acquiring Postbank, with its millions of clients and roots in the postal system, in 2008 during the global financial crisis, but for years struggled to complete its integration.

Story continues

The bank said in July it had completed a final phase of integration, but in September the German financial regulator BaFin in an unusual rebuke said it had seen "considerable disturbances" at Postbank.

BaFin got nearly 10,000 complaints about Postbank by early September, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said.

BaFin's president later called the matter "unacceptable" and installed a special monitor at Deutsche.

Deutsche's CEO Christian Sewing said Deutsche had made mistakes.

"We have not lived up to our responsibility," he said.

(Reporting by Tom Sims; Editing by Rod Nickel)
1. In a valiant stand against suspected Boko Haram insurgents, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), with timely reinforcement from the Nigerian Army, thwarted an attack on the Customs Office in Geidam town, Yobe State, demonstrating unwavering courage and resilience against the enemies of the state. The Customs Office faced a formidable threat but was bravely defended, safeguarding the facility and the families of fellow officers and men.

2. During this harrowing encounter, Assistant Superintendent of Customs II Ahmed Usman, born on April 2, 1983, and a dedicated NCS member since February 24, 2009, tragically paid the ultimate sacrifice. He hailed from Pindiga Town, Akko Local Government Area in Gombe State, leaving behind a grieving wife and five children, three boys and two girls.

3. The Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi MFR, alongside the entire NCS fraternity, extends heartfelt condolences to the family of ASC II Ahmed Usman, the NCS Borno/Yobe Area Command, and the Government of Gombe State for the loss of this heroic and devoted individual in the line of duty.

4. Furthermore, the CGC expressed gratitude for the unwavering solidarity and cooperation extended to the NCS by the Nigerian Army, Sister Agencies, and the good people of Yobe State under the leadership of His Excellency Mai Mala Buni, the Executive Governor.

5. He emphasized the crucial role of community engagement in the shared pursuit of safety and security, urging all citizens to contribute to these collective endeavors actively.

6. In memory of ASC II Ahmed Usman and the face of adversity, the Nigeria Customs Service stands strong, resolute, and united, ensuring the safety and security of the nation's borders.

ABDULLAHI MAIWADA

Chief Superintendent of Customs

National Public Relations Officer

for: Comptroller General of Customs

22 October 2023


Anti-Israel protest at Bangkok embassy

BANGKOK: More than 300 Thai Muslims and Palestinians gathered outside the Israeli embassy in Bangkok yesterday (Oct 21) to condemn Israel and the United States for the ongoing bombardment of the Gaza Strip and demand that Israel stop genocide.

violencepoliticsmilitary

By Bangkok Post

Sunday 22 October 2023 08:30 AM

A man holds a burning Israeli flag during a demonstration against the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, outside the Embassy of Israel in Bangkok yesterday morning (Oct 21). Photo: Wichan Charoenkiatpakul

The demonstrators, many of them Muslims from five southern border provinces and Palestinians living in Thailand, rallied outside the embassy at the Ocean Tower II building on Sukhumvit Soi 21 in Watthana district at around 9:30am, reports the Bangkok Post.

The gathering was held amid tight security by a company of police officers who were deployed to maintain order. Traffic police were also on hand to manage traffic flows.

Protest leaders took turns to verbally attack Israel over the ongoing violence in the Gaza Strip and the United States for its support of the Israeli war against Hamas fighters.

The demonstrators voiced encouragement for Hamas militants fighting Israeli military forces. Protesters stepped on an Israeli flag placed in the road and then set fire to it.

Chaiyid Sulaiman Huzainee, an Islamic leader, said Israel has been receiving weapons from its allies to carry out genocide against Palestinians for the past 75 years. He criticised the US for supporting Israel.

We are in Thailand and cannot carry weapons, but what we can do we will do, he said. As Thais, we will not cause any damage to our country. We wont be deterred by severe oppression by Israel.

Accepting oppression is the greatest evil. If the Palestine problem is not ended, the whole world will suffer. The United Nations protects the rights of Jews. Hamas brothers had to fight against them.

He expressed his confidence that Thai workers who were held hostage by Hamas forces would not be in danger and would be released as soon as possible.

He blamed the media for labelling Hamas forces as terrorists. The protest dispersed at around noon.

Hamas took at least 200 hostages, including 19 Thai workers, following its surprise attack on Israel on Oct 7. Thirty Thais have been killed since hostilities broke out.
Environment Minister pays visit to Sirinath National Park

PHUKET: The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Pol. Gen. Patcharawat Wongsuwan, paid a visit to Phuket yesterday (Oct 21) to inspect Sirinath National Park before heading to the Royal Thai Armys Andaman Sea base.

animalsenvironmentmarinelandwildlife

By The Phuket News

Sunday 22 October 2023 02:00 PM

Pol. Gen. Patcharawat and his delegation visited Naiyang Beach in the islands northwest yesterday morning where they planted a sea jelly tree to mark the occasion of their visit.

Afterwards, a sea rescue demonstration carried out by members from the National Park Rescue Center No. 6 was given to Pol. Gen. Patcharawat and his team.

A further demonstration on the rescuing of rare marine animals was then conducted by a team from the Marine and Coastal Resources Research Center of the Upper Andaman Sea, during which 11 green back turtles who had been in care were released back into the sea. Pol. Gen. Patcharawat joined wildlife officials, local residents and tourists in helping with the turtle release operation.

Pol. Gen. Patcharawat and his delegation then visited an exhibition compiled by various agencies under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment at the Pracharat Phithak Sea Institute exhibition room.

One project highlighted as part of the exhibition was a proposed solution on solving erosion problems by installing a sand trap fence known as a Sand Fence.

A further project demonstrated marine garbage detection and collection measures to protect marine animals.

Joining Pol. Gen. Patcharawat as part of the team was: Atthaphon Charoenchansa, Director-General of the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources and Acting Director-General of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation; Pinsak Suraswadi, Director-General of the Pollution Control Department; Phuket Vice Governor Amnuay Pinsuwan; and selected executives from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

Representatives from the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMC) included: Ukkrit Sataphumin, Director of the Marine Resources Conservation Division; Sumana Khajornwattanakul, Director of the Marine and Coastal Resources Research and Development Institute; Prant Dilokkunakul, Director of the Coastal Resources Conservation Division; Artita Juichu-iam, Secretary of the Department; Thanet Mannoi, Director of Marine and Coastal Resources Office No. 6; and Wisanu Chaengjai, Director of the Marine and Coastal Resources Office No. 10.
Navy inspects rescue workers readiness ahead of high season

PHUKET: Rescue personnel from the Royal Thai Navy Third Area Command, along with other relevant agencies and organisations, participated in a mass assembly in Phang Nga this week to showcase their readiness for the upcoming high season.

Safetytourismmarine

By The Phuket News

Sunday 22 October 2023 10:00 AM

Some 500 rescue workers gathered at Phang Nga Naval Base to show their readiness for the coming high season. Photo: RTN NAC 3

Some 500 rescue workers gathered at Phang Nga Naval Base to show their readiness for the coming high season. Photo: RTN NAC 3

Some 500 rescue workers gathered at Phang Nga Naval Base to show their readiness for the coming high season. Photo: Rescue Team Volunteers Phuket

Some 500 rescue workers gathered at Phang Nga Naval Base to show their readiness for the coming high season. Photo: Rescue Team Volunteers Phuket

Some 500 rescue workers gathered at Phang Nga Naval Base to show their readiness for the coming high season. Photo: RTN NAC 3

Some 500 rescue workers gathered at Phang Nga Naval Base to show their readiness for the coming high season. Photo: RTN NAC 3

Some 500 rescue workers gathered at Phang Nga Naval Base to show their readiness for the coming high season. Photo: Rescue Team Volunteers Phuket

Some 500 rescue workers gathered at Phang Nga Naval Base to show their readiness for the coming high season. Photo: RTN NAC 3

Some 500 rescue workers gathered at Phang Nga Naval Base to show their readiness for the coming high season. Photo: Rescue Team Volunteers Phuket

Some 500 rescue workers gathered at Phang Nga Naval Base to show their readiness for the coming high season. Photo: RTN NAC 3

Some 500 rescue workers gathered at Phang Nga Naval Base to show their readiness for the coming high season. Photo: RTN NAC 3

Some 500 rescue workers gathered at Phang Nga Naval Base to show their readiness for the coming high season. Photo: RTN NAC 3

The inspection of emergency and disaster relief personnel in Phang Nga took place on Thursday (Oct 19) and was led by Rear Admiral Suchart Thampitakwet, Commander of the Royal Thai Navy Third Area Command (RTN NAC 3) and Director of the Third Area Command Disaster Relief Center. Rear Admiral Kanokphon Pimthong, Commander of the Phang Nga Naval Base, hosted the event.

"Various natural disasters tend to occur in the Andaman coast area, including floods, storms, mudslides, and more. In addition to threats from nature, emergencies arise from the use of marine transport and marine tourism. These incidents frequently affect people in the area, making it crucial that the Disaster Relief Center of the Third Area Command is ready to respond swiftly and provide assistance to people," RTN NAC 3 stated.

"The readiness of personnel, vehicles, equipment, and high-tech solutions is vital to ensure that the Royal Thai Navy can provide assistance to the main government agencies in disaster prevention and mitigation," the navy added.

The mass assembly in Phang Nga was attended by both military and civil rescue units, including personnel from the Royal Thai Navy and the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM), as well as Phuket Kusoldharm Foundation and Phang Nga Rescue Services.

Over 500 rescue workers of various specialisations gathered to demonstrate their preparedness for the upcoming high season, according to Vincent Modell of Rescue Team Volunteers Phuket, the sole foreigner at the event.

Speaking at the event, Rear Admiral Suchart emphassed the importance of rescue workers carrying out their mission vigorously, carefully, and with safety in mind.

"We must be well-prepared to ensure peoples confidence in our work. Regardless of the type of disaster we encounter, we must do everything within our power. Our work is the peoples guarantee of their survival and the safety of their property. People should rest assured that we stand by their side, ready to serve and protect them. Where there is danger, the Navy will be there," Rear Admiral Suchart said.
(Bloomberg) -- Its a busy week for earnings, with Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp., TotalEnergies SE and Eni SpA kicking off Big Oils reporting season. In metals, the worlds top gold producer Newmont Corp. and No. 3 Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. also post results in the days ahead, while crop traders Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. and Bunge Ltd. headline agriculture companies.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Here are five notable charts to consider in global commodity markets as the week gets underway.

Big Oil

After a dismal start to the year, US energy stocks posted a strong rebound in the third quarter  with the S&P 500 Energy Index the top performer among the S&P 500s 11 industry groups  as record oil demand and a surge in crude prices helped boost shares. As Exxon and Chevron report earnings for the period on Friday, investors will be focused on production forecasts as well as assumptions for the months ahead, especially as tensions in the Middle East are poised to bring further price volatility to markets and raise questions over future supplies. For Exxon, analysts will be keen to learn more about its blockbuster $60 billion acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources Co., which has left many wondering about the strategic promise of Chief Executive Officer Darren Woodss shale bet. For Chevron, investors will be looking for more details on its $53 billion deal for Hess Corp.

Natural Gas

With winter in the Northern Hemisphere right around the corner and the conflict between Israel and Hamas ratcheting up, volatility is returning to the natural gas market, one that the International Gas Union describes as undersupplied. While the supply picture is much better than last year in Europe, prices there are still at historically high levels. Moreover, a shrinking gap between natural gas expressed in oil-equivalent terms and Brent crude prices signals the existence of elevated risks rattling the market. Mild weather for now has kept a lid on Dutch front-month futures  the European benchmark  but the market is bracing for further sharp price moves, especially if the weather turns colder, boosting demand for the heating fuel.

Story continues

Metals

Shares of Newmont, which reports earnings on Thursday, have tumbled 18% this year after falling below their key 50-day moving average on Friday. Such a move is seen by some chart watchers as a bearish signal. The weakness has come despite a backdrop of historically elevated gold prices, as well as the Denver-based companys $15 billion acquisition of Newcrest Mining Ltd.  Australias biggest gold miner. That transaction helps solidify Newmonts global lead over other bullion mining rivals like Barrick Gold Corp., which reports results next week. The takeover also offers the US giant greater exposure to copper  a metal where demand is expected to outpace supply as the transition away from fossil fuels gathers pace.

Agriculture

Soybean processing margins are an important indicator of potential returns for producers. Profits from crushing the oilseed into animal feed and cooking oil have rebounded since June as a poor harvest in Argentina boosted demand for American crops, even as the prices for soybean futures and soybean oil have weakened. At the same time, increased demand from the renewable-diesel industry and a bumper crop in Brazil have helped lift margins. Earnings reports from crop traders ADM and Bunge should provide investors with further insight into the metric, as well as the overall performance of their agribusiness segments.

Solar

The bad news is piling up in the solar industry. Last week, shares of SolarEdge Technologies Inc. tumbled after the company warned that third-quarter revenue will be well below its guidance, citing substantial cancellations and delayed orders. Rival Enphase Energy Inc.  which also supplies inverters that are needed with solar power installations  dropped 15%. Shares of rooftop solar installer Sunnova Energy Inc. also slumped. The downbeat results from SolarEdge underscore investor concerns about the prospects of rooftop solar installers who have seen their inventories pile up as potential customers face higher borrowing costs and other economic headwinds. Both Enphase and Sunnova report earnings this week.

--With assistance from Mark Chediak, Will Wade and Tarso Veloso.

(Updates with Chevrons deal for Hess in third paragraph.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
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Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday said that India-Canada bilateral relations are going through a difficult phase and that India had to invoke the clause of parity, which is very much provided for by the Vienna Convention, after continuous interference in domestic affairs by Canadian diplomats.

Theres this whole issue of parity that the size of how many diplomats there are of one country versus how many diplomats there are of the other country. Parity is very much provided for by the Vienna Convention, which is the relevant international rule on this. But in our case, we invoked parity because we had concerns about continuous interference in our affairs by Canadian personnel. We havent made much of that public, he said while addressing an event in New Delhi.

My sense is over a period of time more stuff will come out and people will understand why we had the kind of discomfort with many of them which we did, the EAM added.

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His remarks come days after Canada recalled 41 of its diplomats from India after New Delhi sought parity in diplomatic strength between the countries. Canadian foreign minister Melanie Joly said that their decision to withdraw diplomats came after India threatened to revoke their diplomatic immunity.

Canada also halted its visa services in Chandigarh, Mumbai and Bengaluru consulates and said overall visa procedure will slow down due to the repatriation of diplomats. Joly also accused India of violating the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

The EAM further said that India-Canada relations are going through a difficult phase and New Delhi has problems with a certain segment of Ottawas politics.

The relationship right now is going through a difficult phase. But I do want to say the problems we have are with a certain segment of Canadian politics and the policies which flow from that. Right now the big concern which people have is on visas. Some weeks ago, we stopped issuing visas in Canada because it was no longer safe for our diplomats to go to work to issue visas. So their safety and security was the primary reason we had to temporarily stop the issue of visas. Were tracking it very closely, he added.

Stating that ensuring the safety and security of diplomats is a crucial aspect of the Vienna Convention, Jaishankar affirmed hope that the situation will improve and the visa services will be resumed.

My hope, my expectation is that the situation would improve in the sense that our people would have greater confidence in being able to do their basic duty as diplomats. Because ensuring safety and security of diplomats is the most fundamental aspect of the Vienna Convention, Jaishankar said.

The ties between India and Canada had been strained for some time, but they further deteriorated after Canadian Prime Minsiter Justin Trudeau last month alleged New Delhis role in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen designated terrorist by Indian government.

India denied Trudeaus claim, terming it absurd and politically motivated. India also demanded Canada to share the evidence based on which Trudeau leveled his allegations. Ottawa, however, didnt provide any such information.

(With agency inputs)
Claiming a big internal dispute in Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party National General Secretary Arun Singh said that the grand old party will not return to power for the next 20-25 years in Rajasthan, going to polls on November 25.

The senior BJP leader exuded confidence that the saffron party would script a historic victory in the Rajasthan assembly polls.

Congress is lagging behind. Their first list came when we released two lists. There is a big internal dispute in Congress. Congress will not be able to come to power in Rajasthan for the next 20-25 years, Arun Singh told reporters on Sunday in Rajasthan.

On a specific question about the partys prospects in the polls, he said, The BJP will get a historic victory in Rajasthan.

He also said that there is anti-incumbency in the state and Congress ministers, including Speaker CP Joshi, will lose the elections

Earlier in the day, the BJP released its second list of candidates for the November 25 Assembly elections, with Raje securing a ticket to seek a fresh term in the House from the Jhalrapatan constituency.

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The party declared 83 candidates in its second list, featuring some prominent names including the BJPs former Rajasthan president Satish Punia, who has been fielded from the Amber constituency.

Leader of the Opposition in the Rajasthan Assembly, Rajendra Rathore, will contest the polls from the Taranagar constituency while former MP Jyoti Mirdha, who joined the BJP last month after leaving the ruling Congress, has been fielded from the Nagaur constituency.

Jhalrapatan has been the preferred Assembly constituency for the former CM to contest the state polls.

Meanwhile, the Congress on Saturday announced its first list of 33 candidates for the upcoming polls.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has been named the Congress candidate from the Sardarpura constituency, while his former deputy Sachin Pilot will submit his nomination papers from the Tonk constituency.

Govind Singh Dotasra, a sitting minister and president of Rajasthan Congress Committee will contest the polls from Lachhmangarh. Senior Congress leader and Assembly Speaker, CP Joshi, will contest from the Nathdwara seat while Divya Maderna and sitting minister Ashok Chandna will file their nominations from the Osian and Hindoli seats respectively. Minister for Child Empowerment, Mamta Bhupesh, will contest from Sikrai-SC seat.

The Congress came out on top in the last Assembly polls in 2018, bagging 99 seats in the 200-member Assembly to emerge as the largest single party. The BJP finished a close second at 73 seats.

The counting of votes for Rajasthan, along with four other poll-bound states, has been scheduled for December 3.
Delhi Social Welfare Minister Raaj Kumar Anand on Sunday chaired a review meeting of the State Advisory Board for Persons with Disability alongwith the Secretary of Social Welfare Department.

Keeping in mind the procedural complexities and streamlining the whole process of issuance of certificate, the meeting was called for, in order to minimize these complexities. The purpose is to give them trouble free services.

Expressing his displeasure over poor implementation and pendencies of UDID and disability certificates, Anand emphasized on the need to expedite the process by the health department, to clear the pendencies at the earliest.

In the meeting it was observed that due to shortage of medical experts and logistics support, these pendencies are in large numbers. To address this issue and clear the backlog of old cases, the Delhi Social Welfare Minister assured to provide the required logistics support to the hospital concerned, in need.

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A significant issue revolves around the backlog at the portal level, primarily caused by the absence of medical experts at the respective hospital. In such instances, guidelines are provided for hospital relocation alternatives on the portal.

Anand mentioned that the Kejriwal government is on a mission mode to make the lives of differently-abled, easier and give them a friendly environment with minimal inconvenience.

The health department needs to expedite the process of issuing UDID and Divyang certificates to the differently-abled and required disability specialists should be empanelled to the hospitals, at the earliest.
Amid tussle with the Congress over Madhya Pradesh betrayal, senior Samajwadi Party leader Ghanshyam Tiwari on Sunday said that the mission of Oppositions INDIA bloc is far bigger than the issues of alliance partners and they will be set aside for greater good.

INDIA is an alliance of parties on equal footing. It is an alliance of parties that have formidable support and leaders who have stood up for the people. This will face issues in finding agreement on issues, but the mission of the alliance is bigger than these issues the alliance partners may find. These issues will be set aside, news agency ANI quoted Tiwari as saying.

His remarks, which came in the backdrop of SP chief Akhilesh Yadavs accusation of betrayal against the Congress, are being as a sign of truce between the INDIA bloc partners.

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Earlier, tension rose within the INDIA bloc after Congresss Uttar Pradesh unit chief Ajay Rai asked the SP to withdraw its candidates from Madhya Pradesh in favour of the grand old party saying they dont have any base there.

On Kamal Naths Akhilesh Vakhilesh jibe, SP leaders Chhutbhaiya Neta retort

Ajay Rai said, If you (Akhilesh Yadav) are a part of the INDIA alliance, then you will have to see what the situation is in each state. In Madhya Pradesh, there is a fight between Congress and the BJP, so SP should be supportive (to Congress). They had only one MLA and there he also joined the BJP.

In response, the Samajwadi Party (SP) boss slammed the Congress leader Ajay Rai for suggesting the SP should support his party in the upcoming Madhya Pradesh assembly elections.

Akhilesh Yadav, upset over Congress turning its back on seat-sharing in Madhya Pradesh, said, I want to tell the Congress, dont talk about our party through your Chirkut leaders.

He further said he was unaware of the fact that the INDIA bloc has been formed at the national level to defeat the BJP and the alliance partners are not fighting together at the state level.
Key Insights

Significantly high institutional ownership implies Fresenius Medical Care KGaA's stock price is sensitive to their trading actions

50% of the business is held by the top 5 shareholders

Using data from analyst forecasts alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA (ETR:FME), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 42% 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).

Given the vast amount of money and research capacities at their disposal, institutional ownership tends to carry a lot of weight, especially with individual investors. Therefore, a good portion of institutional money invested in the company is usually a huge vote of confidence on its future.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Fresenius Medical Care KGaA.

View our latest analysis for Fresenius Medical Care KGaA

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Fresenius Medical Care KGaA?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

Fresenius Medical Care KGaA already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Fresenius Medical Care KGaA, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Story continues

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Fresenius Medical Care KGaA. Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA is currently the company's largest shareholder with 32% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 8.0% and 3.7%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

On looking further, we found that 50% of the shares are owned by the top 5 shareholders. In other words, these shareholders have a meaningful say in the decisions of the company.

Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Fresenius Medical Care KGaA

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

We note our data does not show any board members holding shares, personally. Given we are not picking up on insider ownership, we may have missing data. Therefore, it would be interesting to assess the CEO compensation and tenure, here.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 26% stake in Fresenius Medical Care KGaA. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Public Company Ownership

We can see that public companies hold 32% of the Fresenius Medical Care KGaA shares on issue. This may be a strategic interest and the two companies may have related business interests. It could be that they have de-merged. This holding is probably worth investigating further.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Fresenius Medical Care KGaA that you should be aware of before investing here.

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.
India has sent humanitarian aid, comprising medical and disaster relief material, for Palestinian people in war-torn Gaza, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on Sunday. An Indian Air Force C17 aircraft carrying 32 tons of disaster relief material departed from the Hindon airbase at 8 am in the morning. The plane will land at Egypts El-Arish airport later today.

Gaza has been facing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis due to a deadly war between Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) and Hamas following the Palestinian militant outfits brutal October 7 assault on Israel.

Gazans are facing acute shortage of drinking water, food, fuel and electricity following Israels complete siege of supplies to blockaded enclave. Hospitals in the Gaza Strip have almost run out of medical supplies as hospitalizations have seen a sharp rise due to war.

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Indias aid supplies included essential life-saving medicines, protective and surgical items aimed at handling emergency medical conditions in view of Israeli bombardment of the Hamas-controlled territory.

Fluids and painkillers have been included in humanitarian aid for immediate relief. The disaster relief material weighing approximately 32 tons includes tents, sleeping bags, tarpaulins, basic sanitary utilities, water purification tablets etc.

The development comes a day after Egypt opened the Rafah border crossing and allowed 20 aid trucks to enter Gaza. Israel had allowed the aid to enter Gaza following an agreement between Israel, USA and Egypt.

However, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that needs are far higher in the enclave that has more than 2 million people. He also called for the safe passage of additional aid convoys across the enclave.
In the Umesh Pal murder case, police got a nod to attach the properties of six absconding accused, including slain gangster-turned- politician Atiq Ahmeds wife Shaista Parveen.

The Dhumanganj Police police got a permission from the Prayagraj district court for the attachment action. Police will attach the properties of absconding accused Shaista Parveen, Ashrafs wife Zainab, Guddu Muslim along with Sabir, Armaan, and Ayesha Noori.

The police sought permission from the court to take action against the accused under Section 83 (Attachment of property of person absconding) of the CrPC, an offcial said.

Prayagraj police earlier issued lookout notices against Shaista Parveen, and his close aides, Guddu Muslim and Sabir.

According to officials, Uttar Pradesh Police has already declared a bounty of Rs 50,000 on Shaista Parveen.

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Despite efforts, the police are not able to trace the accused. Authorities had earlier issued lookout notices against them.

According to the police, search operations are still underway in Uttar Pradeshs Prayagraj and nearby localities.

Umesh Pal, a key witness to the 2005 murder of the then BSP MLA Raju Pal, was killed in February 24 firing by one of Atiqs sons and henchmen in Prayagraj. Pals two police guards were also killed on that day.

Gangster Atiq Ahmed was the main accused in the murder of Umesh Pal.

On April-15, Mafia-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf Ahmed were shot dead by assailants while the duo were interacting with media.

Atiqs son Azad Ahmed was also killed in an encounter with the STF on April 13, Shaista has been on the run ever since.
Israel-Hamas War Latest Update: The Israeli military has stepped up its air strikes on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip in order to create best conditions for its troops as they stand ready to enter the next stage of war  a full-scale ground, air and sea assault.

While addressing a press conference last night, Israel Defence Forces (IDF) spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said that Israel is planning to enter the next phase of the war in the best conditions, and not according to what anyone tells us.

From today, we are increasing the strikes and minimizing the danger, Hagari said in a press briefing. The Israeli military has declared a war against Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, following its unprecedented October 7 assault on Israel.

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The IDF has been pounding Hamas targets in the coastal enclave since October 7, when the war first broke out. The Israeli military has massed tens of thousands of troops not far from the Gaza Strip border as they prepare for a coordinated land, air and sea assault to root out Hamas.

Israel has already ordered nearly 1.1 million Gazans to leave their homes in the north and move to safer areas south of the Wadi Gaza. Israel says the mass evacuation order has been issues to minimize the harm to civilians even as world bodies like the UN and WHO warned of catastrophic humanitarian consequences.

October 7, around 2,500 Hamas militants invaded Israel and rampaged through several Jewish communities near the Gaza border, killing more than 1,400 people, including children, women and foreign nationals. The militants also seized more than 210 hostages of all ages under the cover of thousands of rockets fired at Israeli towns and cities from the Gaza Strip.
Israel-Hamas war latest update: Israel has rejected a Hamas claim that it refused to receive two more hostages the Palestinian militant outfit offered to release on humanitarian grounds, terming it a false propaganda.

Abu Ubaida, a Hamas spokesperson, Saturday said that they informed Qatar about the militant groups intention to release two more hostages on Friday, the same day when they freed American mother Judith Tai Ranaan and her daughter Natalie.

Ubaida claimed Hamas was ready to released two more hostages on Sunday using the same procedures but Israel declined to receive them.

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Reacting to the militant outfits claim, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus office said, We will not refer to false propaganda by Hamas and added that Israel will continue to act in every way to return all the kidnapped and missing people home.

Hamas militants murdered more than 1,400 people, including children, women and foreign nationals and kidnapped around 210 people during its brutal October 7 assault in southern Israel.

In response to the Hamas brutalities, Israel declared a war against the Palestinian militant outfit in Gaza and launched tens of hundreds air strikes. More than 4,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli air strikes since October 7.

The release of two American hostages was reportedly secured after Qatars mediation. However, Qatar has not commented on Hamas claim of additional hostages release offer.
Amid Israel-Hamas war, the Pentagon has said that it will send its Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) missile defence system to the Middle East in view of recent escalation by Iran and its proxy forces. Along with the THAAD, additional Patriot air defence missile system battalions will also be deployed to the region.

Similar to Israels Iron Dom, THAAD is a state of the art missile defence system, which is designed to shoot down short and medium range ballistic missiles.

It comprises a radar, command centre and missile launcher. The radar will detect the incoming missiles and alert the command centre following which launcher will intercept the incoming missiles in their terminal phase.

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A Pentagon statement said that the development comes in the wake of recent escalations by Iran and its proxy forces across the Middle East Region. Attacks against US troops in Iraq and Syria have risen since October 7 when the Israel and Hamas war broke out.

Without specifying the exact numbers, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has also said that additional troops have been put on prepare to deploy orders in the region.

The comes in addition to the US move to send an aircraft carrier, ships and fighters jets to the eastern Mediterranean near Israel. The US has come out in full support of Israel in their war against Hamas following the unprecedented October 7 assault.

The United States have also warned Iran and its proxies like Hezbollah in Lebanon to not involve in the Israel-Hamas conflict. However, both Iran and Hezbollah have threatened to open more war fronts if Israel carried out a full-scale ground assault in Gaza.

Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant outfit backed and funded by Iran, has been keep the northern Israeli border tense by launching rockets barrages towards Israel. Hezbollah has also pledged its support to Palestinian militants in their war against Israel.
Lebanon, which is teetering on the edge of economic and political collapse, risks becoming entangled in the escalating war between Israel and Hamas. Hezbollah has been gearing up for the possibility of joining the fight ever since Hamas' surprise assault on Oct. 7, 2023, killed nearly 1,400 people, leading to Israel's declaration of war a day later. Attacks on Israeli targets by the Shiite militant group have intensified, resulting in dozens of deaths, mostly Hezbollah fighters but also Israeli soldiers and civilians on both sides of the border.
After a few successive budgets in the early 1990s that witnessed real-term cuts in defence spend, I wrote a cover story in THE WEEK headlined no tanks, bombers, submarines in a few years. For the sake of effect, I added a nasty line in the article that at this rate, the DRDO would have to sell its missiles to sustain further research. Friends in the DRDO told me that their chief, Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, was upset with it.

A few days later, my bureau chief Sachidananda Murthy told me, I met Dr Kalam at a Rashtrapati Bhavan function yesterday. He will see you tomorrow at 11 in his office.

I walked into Kalams office expecting a dressing down, but the great scientist received me warmly. He didnt say a word about the article or my comment, but gave me a one-hour tutorial on the several projects that the DRDO was pursuing, with an afterwordAll this is for your understanding, not for reporting. Call me whenever you want to know anything about what we do.

Back in the office, I asked Sachi how he had worked the miracle on Kalam. With a smile he said, He complained to me about the article and your comment. I admitted that the comment was uncalled for, but told him that the article had been taken seriously by the opposition parties in Parliament who quoted from it to demand hikes in the budget. He understood.

K.S. Sachidananda Murthy [1955-2023]

Sachi had a way with people. Scientists or sentries, bureaucrats or businessman, politicians or professors, actors or authors, dancers or dramatists, sportsmen or spiritual men, clerks or clergymenhe could charm them all. Listen to him talking on the phone and you would think there is a president, a prime minister, an ambassador, or, at least a governor, at the other end. For all you know, it may be only an ex-MLA or a middle-level bureaucrat.

I once asked him why he was so polite on the phone even to small people. His answer: The person doesnt know whether I am smiling or grinding my teeth. I want him to know that I am approachable. When a young colleague, who got his first interview with a cabinet minister, came back and told us how friendly Sharad Yadav had been, Sachi asked him, Did you also chat with his PS? When the reporter said, no, Sachi told him: It is important to know not only Sharad Yadav, but also his PS. It is the PS who decides whether to transfer your call to the minister, or to give you an appointment. Indeed, after meeting cabinet ministers and ambassadors in their plush offices, you would see Sachi worming his way into file-stacked cubbyholes of their personal aides, plonking himself into a chair and chatting them up, even asking about their kids and homes. Not as a formality; he had genuine interest in human affairs.

The sweet-talker could also be tough, especially when it came to protecting the dignity of journalists. Once, a very senior politician who had been close to him for several years, complained to Sachi about a story that a younger colleague had done. Sachi listened to his MP-friend for 15 minutes, but when the MP started telling Sachi that the reporter had been influenced, he put his foot down. Sir, I know my colleague; I also know that he knows more about the subject than you. Tell me if he did something wrong, but dont tell me that my reporter writes without understanding things.

Sachi was in the original team of editorial hands who joined THE WEEK when it was launched in 1982. He joined as the Bengaluru correspondent after about six years service with The Indian Express, and I as a fresh-faced trainee at the desk. Within days of his joining he met with an accident. He offered to leave, knowing that the newly launched weekly would need an active reporter in the state that was going for elections, but chief editor K.M. Mathew and others asked him to do his news-gathering on his bedside phone and file stories on a portable typewriter. As soon as he was up and about, he joined the hectic campaign trail, and even predicted that the moribund Janata Party was making a surprise comeback under Ramakrishna Hegde.

At the desk I remember handling his stories ranging from serious political reports on following the ousted Andhra Pradesh chief minister N.T. Rama Raos motorcade through Karnataka, to climbing up the slippery slopes of Talacauvery in search of the vanished Kanchi Shankaracharya, reporting on a hilarious dispute in a temple about whether the priests or archakas had the claim over broken coconut shards, and a controversy whether Bengaluru policemen should wear the London bobbys helmet or the American cowboys slouch-hat.

Sachi wore many hats. Posted to Delhi in 1990 as bureau chief (I joined him a few weeks later) and later resident editor, he ran the twin bureaus of Indias largest-circulated regional newspaper and what is today Indias largest-circulated English news weekly. For the next 32 years, I worked with him in the same office and under him, watching him closely as he carried the flag of Malayala Manorama and THE WEEK in Delhi.

He never let the flag down. Even when lucrative offers came his way, he spurned them all, and always fondly recalled how Manorama had looked after him after his accident. When his old friend, prime minister Deve Gowda, asked him to be his media adviser, Sachi told him that he would remain his friend, but would like to remain an independent journalist. Despite all his closeness, the only favour he sought or got from Gowda was an exhaustive interview for Malayala Manorama and THE WEEK.

Getting interviews with prime ministers and presidents was a habit with Sachi. The joke in the office is that the laconic P.V. Narasimha Rao gave him his longest interview and then turned into a mauni baba. When the whole world was worrying about how India would survive the political instability of minority governments, president Shankar Dayal Sharma gave him an interview that nearly reassured the nation. The genial old man told Sachi: We will muddle through. That became a catchphrase in Indian politics during the uncertainties of the mid-1990s.

Sachi had an interest in everything. If political writing was his passion, his incisive mind was in diplomacy and constitutional law. (Read the Constitution, he used to tell young political reporters.) People and cultures fascinated him. After every overseas trip with presidents or prime ministers, he would not only report on the diplomatic developments but also write a few laid-back features on the life of people in those countries. T.S. Eliot and Robert Ludlum captured his imagination in equal share, as did pop music, art cinema, Kannada theatre and Bollywood gossip.

A quintessential renaissance man!

prasannan@theweek.in
Digital transformation and development of advanced technologies are progressing at full pace in India but cyber experts have expressed concern over the security of the sheer size of data that the country will have to manage, given its neighbouring adversaries as well as the growing sophistication of scammers.

Indian technologists and business executives will have to collaborate, cooperate and create a comprehensive ecosystem to tackle tech-driven threats, the experts said on the sidelines of Singapore Cyber Week - 2023 held from October 17-19.

In the last six months, the three most impacted industries in terms of weekly attacks per organisation were healthcare, education/research and utilities. The retail, hospitality, manufacturing and transportation sectors will also have to move fast on cybersecurity, the experts said.

On average, each organisation in India was attacked 2,157 times per week in the last six months, compared to 1,139 attacks per organization globally, according to a recent Check Point's Threat Intelligence Report.

Cybersecurity is getting very complex, especially in today's evolving threat landscape with increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks, which in some cases is hard to understand and keep up with, says Vivek Gullapalli, chief information security officer, APAC at the Check Point Software Technologies.

Very often, cybersecurity is mainly left to the responsibility of a company IT team to manage, he said, calling for the involvement of the board and management to ensure that the organisation can survive cyberattack and continue doing business uninterrupted.

Gullapalli suggests a holistic way of looking at threats and attacks rather than delegating to an IT person. You need to understand the business, the ecosystem and who is coming after you, and work with the board and management to implement a prevention-first cybersecurity strategy for maximum cyber resiliency.

Post-Covid, hospitals in India and generally across the world were forced into accelerated digital transformation, with a focus on a zero-touch approach as opposed to paper-based previously.

However, these digital implementations were carried out without a security-first approach, leading them to suffer security gaps, and sealing their current security weaknesses, noted Gullapalli.

In August, the government passed the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023, marking India's inaugural cross-sectoral personal data protection law amid concerns of heightened surveillance.

This has instilled more confidence among Multi-National Corporations (MNCs), though they have been concerned about security in India, says Ashish Thapar, vice president and head of cybersecurity, APAC, at NTT Ltd.

The government, defence ministry, RBI and SEBI have kept up with robust compliance requirements. Driven by the market and the regulators, banks have also done well in protecting all systems but Thapar feels there is still scope for further improvements.

Noting that businesses are always shy about sharing information that is critical for protecting data, he said that criminals are well ahead and are always raising their bars and increasing the number of scamming networks.

India's participation in the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) and G20 forums is good for building cybersecurity but still, it is not enough.

He said Quad's reportedly ongoing work on a new information-sharing agreement would help its four membersAustralia, Japan, India and the USimprove cyber-resilience and their response to critical infrastructure (CNI) threats.

Los Angeles-based Kunal Anand, CTO and CISO of Imperva, echoed a similar sentiment adding that institutions such as RBI are working with the biggest players in the Financial Services Industry on actual security mechanisms to tackle cybersecurity problems directly.

This isn't about creating regulations for the sake of regulation; rather, it mirrors the government's commitment to fostering a robust and self-reliant digital ecosystem, he told PTI.

India now has Venture Capital as an industry. Venture funds and sovereign funds are being directly invested in India. With an economic incentive to stay in India, the brain drain India had experienced is no longer happening, says Anand.

Talents are returning home post-studies, contributing to the highly advanced technological architecture being built. They are approaching security as a first principle, Anand observed.

The government is also leading in building data centres to keep data in the country. Some 45 new data centres with a combined 13 million square feet are scheduled to be developed by the end of 2025, says Anand, citing industry data.

But he also warned against complacency, pointing out that challenges around supply chain security need to be tackled head-on. India has done a good job observing what is happening in the East and West and blending the best parts into the country.

We will see a lot of successful startup surge, with funding running into multi-billion dollars, says Dr Aditya Sood, senior director of Threat Research and Security Strategy, Office of the CTO at F5.

However, he highlighted the risks associated with the India growth story as it is not a small market and not an easy place to manage, given that technologists are raising the bar frequently for businesses and individuals.

Sood underlines the urgent need to have a clearer visibility of data at the highest level of cyber security.

Even if we have solutions in place, the challenge is going to pop up because cybersecurity is going to be the big data problem. And who is going to control the data is going to control the keys to the kingdom, said Sood, who has spent over 15 years in the United States.

yber experts feel that even if laws, legislations, policies and mandatory compliance requirements are in place, the question is whether the implementation of cyberattack is borderless and can originate from anywhere in the world.
Popular Bollywood actor Dalip Tahil has been sentenced to two months in prison in a five-year-old hit-and-run case.

According to media reports, the 65-year-old actor was sentenced to prison on Sunday, by a magistrate's court based on the evidence provided by a doctor who had observed that there was the smell of alcohol on him and his pupils were dilated, suggesting that the actor was in an inebriated condition during the time of the accident. The doctor had then noted that the actor had unsteady gait, dilated pupils, and incoherent speech.

The court also ordered the actor to pay a compensation of Rs 5,000 to the injured woman.

Reacting to the judgement, the actor said, "I respect judge and decisions taken in magistrates court . We are challenging the entire decision and the entire verdict in the higher court. We prefer to challenge the whole decision. It was a suspended sentence and most importantly I would like to say, there were minor injuries in the incident. I did not injure anyone," reported news agency ANI.

In 2018, the actor's car rammed into an autorickshaw, injuring a woman passenger. The actor was arrested then and granted bail.

Tahil had tried to flee the spot after the accident but was prevented due to the traffic congestion caused by the Ganesh Visarjan processions. According to a Times of India report, when the actor was confronted by the passengers in the autorickshaw, an argument and physical altercation ensued, following which police were called. The actor was apprehended then.

Tahil , popular for his roles in Bollywood movies like Baazigar, Hum hai rahi pyar ke, Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, and Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai among others, had refused to give his blood at the time of the accident.
What are MSFs main areas of focus in terms of population and geography in India?

MSF works with the most marginalised and vulnerable populations that are excluded, hard to reach or have challenges with access and affordability to healthcare. MSF offers models of care to fill the gaps in healthcare for the people, including victims of sexual violence and patients with infectious diseases. One of the key aspects of MSFs approach is to encourage healthcare-seeking behavior among people and to do so MSF focuses on making healthcare services more accessible.

Can you cite some examples of MSFs work?

In Mumbai, through our independent clinic and outpatient department (OPD) managed in collaboration with local health authority Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) and National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP), we provide medical and psychosocial care to people living with Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis (DRTB). In a densely populated city of 22 million people, over 43 , 000 have TB, and around 10 per cent are infected with drug-resistant strains of the disease.

MSF also offers screening, diagnosis and specialised care for TB, HIV and Hepatitis-C in the northeastern state of Manipur. In addition, we provide care for people with advanced HIV in Bihar, which is one of the most populous states in India.

In Delhi, we provide medical and psychological care to survivors of domestic and sexual violence and raise awareness on the importance of seeking timely medical and psychological care. In Jammu and Kashmir, where years of conflict have taken a toll on peoples mental health, we have been offering counselling since 2001. Our work includes reducing the stigma associated with mental health and emphasising the importance of seeking medical assistance.

Our teams conduct mobile clinics in Chhattisgarh to take primary healthcare to remote villages and provide free treatment for malaria, respiratory infections, pneumonia and skin diseases among others. Another notable aspect of MSFs work is its collaboration with government healthcare initiatives. In both Maharashtra and Bihar, we work along with the state healthcare setup and this alliance is important because it enables sustainability by strengthening existing systems of healthcare.

What is the volume of investments made in rural India? What are its sources?

The volume of investments in rural India varies depending on the specific projects and interventions that are being conducted by MSF at that point of time. MSF operates in India through a combination of donor contributions, grants, and partnerships with government agencies and other humanitarian organisations. The financial figures tend to vary based on the dynamic nature of our programs.

What illnesses/deficiencies are peculiar to India in your experience?

MSF's experience in India has highlighted several health challenges which are unique to the country. These include communicable diseases like tuberculosis and vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue. Malnutrition, especially among children, is another critical issue. Additionally, we have seen the impact of natural disasters, urban health disparities, and healthcare accessibility issues that are specific to India.

Since when have you been active in India? What were the major challenges?

MSF has been active in India since 1999 and there have been several challenges. MSF works on vertical diseases like DRTB (drug resistant TB) and ensuring that the continuity of treatment is accessible and affordable. This is a constant battle. Dismantling the societal stigma around HIV and especially among health workers requires consistent engagement and sensitisation. It is crucial to offer care with dignity. Ensuring access to healthcare in densely populated urban areas and addressing healthcare disparities has also been a significant issue.

Could you elaborate on 'inclusive global health future'?

An "inclusive global health future" envisions a world where all individuals, regardless of their socio-economic status or geographic location, have equitable access to essential healthcare services. It means ensuring that marginalised and vulnerable populations, including those affected by crises and conflict, are not left behind. Inclusivity in global health encompasses addressing health disparities, promoting universal healthcare coverage, and fostering collaboration among nations to tackle global health challenges collectively.

MSF advocates for more attention and efforts to improve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) for three groups that remain very vulnerable and are frequently forgotten or ignored in healthcare policies: people who cant afford to pay for healthcare, excluded or marginalised groups, and people affected by emergencies.

In 2019, the UN committed to achieving UHC by 2030, as all people have access to the full range of quality health services they need, when and where they need them, without financial hardship. However, MSF field teams all over the world see how countries struggle to implement UHC and how people suffer because of it.

What are your biggest achievements in India?

One of the biggest achievements for MSF is continuing the fight for accessible and affordable medical care for diseases like DRTB, HIV Co-infections, Hepatitis-C etc. Recently, MSF along with TB survivors Nandita Venkatesan and Phumeza Tisile, played a crucial role in advocating for affordable access to the lifesaving TB drug-Bedaquiline by challenging Johnson & Johnson's secondary patent in India. The Indian patent office rejected the J&Js patent allowing for cheaper generic versions and ensuring broader availability of the medication. This will benefit lower-income countries.

MSF has been working on offering models of care that can be replicated in multiple settings across the country and beyond. Through operational research and evidence-based science, our endeavor is to demonstrate quality, safe and effective medical care which in turn brings in opportunities to improve policies and protocols.

Some of our notable achievements in India include providing comprehensive medical care during emergencies, such as responding to the devastating floods in Assam and Bihar.

How are the challenges in India different from other countries in the global south?

India's healthcare system exhibits varying levels of quality. While some regions boast state-of-the-art medical care, others grapple with a concerning doctor-patient ratio. Despite the efforts of young entrepreneurs striving to enhance healthcare delivery, disparities in access persist. India serves as a microcosm of South Asia, reflecting diverse challenges in diseases, infrastructure, and care accessibility. Its vast population, intricate healthcare system, and diverse health concerns create unique challenges. Yet, India shares common issues with other nations, such as limited resources, healthcare disparities, and the imperative for effective responses to emergencies and disease outbreaks.

What about the use of technology in India and capacity building of health workers?

MSF, like many other health actors has optimised the use of technology to elevate healthcare delivery. We've effectively employed technology, such as Telemedicine, during the COVID crisis and adapted it for comprehensive Diabetes care across the country. Additionally, we've utilised Artificial Intelligence to bolster infectious disease diagnostics, notably for TB.

A critical lesson we've learned is the ethical and responsible utilisation of technology and data, given the fertile technological innovation ecosystem in this context, which holds immense potential to reshape the future of medicine.

In India, MSF recognises the importance of leveraging technology. We have integrated electronic medical records systems and telemedicine platforms to improve patient care and data management. Furthermore, we invest in health worker capacity building through training and resource provisions, such as the Global Health and Humanitarian Medicine (GHHM) program, enabling medical professionals to continue serving in their local settings while advancing their skills through blended learning. This includes support for healthcare staff in responding to emergencies and effectively managing complex medical conditions.
The Trinamool Congress has said it will take an appropriate decision over the cash-for-query allegations against its Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra once the parliament ethics committee completes its investigation.

TMC Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien said Moitra had already clarified her stand over the issue.

"However, since the matter has to do with an elected MP, her rights and privileges, let the matter be investigated by the right forum of Parliament, after which the party leadership will take an appropriate decision," O'Brien told news agency PTI on Sunday.

Moitra is in the middle of a political storm after BJP MP Nishikant Dubey and lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai accused her of taking bribes from businessman Darshan Hiranandani to ask questions in parliament targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and businessman Gautam Adani.

The Krishnanagar MP has dismissed all the charges against her and welcomed a probe by the central agencies, though the Trinamool Congress has been maintaining a studied silence.

TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said that the party has nothing to say on the issue and that the "person around whom this controversy is revolving is best suited to react to this".

Dubey in his complaint to the ethics committee had claimed that Moitra was in India when her parliamentary ID was used in Dubai.

Hiranandani, the CEO of Hiranandani Group, has also admitted that the MP had shared with him her Lok Sabha login details so that he could directly post the questions.

In a signed affidavit submitted to the ethics panel, Hiranandani said Moitra had made frequent demands, including "expensive luxury items, providing support on renovation of her officially allotted bungalow in Delhi, travel expenses, holidays, etc, apart from providing secretarial and logistical help for her travels within India and to different parts of the world.

The committee is set to hear the complaint filed by Dubey and Dehadrai on October 26.

An undeterred Moitra, however, kept up her attack on Modi and Adani and said the CBI should first probe the Adani Group over coal prices allegations before coming to her home.

She also dared the National Infomatics Centre (NIC) to provide login access details of all MPs to verify if they were physically present in parliament.

Calling Hiranandanis affidavit a joke, Moitra said on Friday that the PMO might have forced him to sign the paper.
The Congress on Sunday released its third list of candidates for the remaining seven seats for the Chhattisgarh assembly elections, renominating the party's two sitting MLAs and denying tickets to four incumbent legislators.

With this, the ruling party has announced its candidates for all the 90 assembly constituencies in the state, which will see voting in two phases on November 7 and 17. Votes will be counted on December 3.

Of the seven seats, one each is reserved for the Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Caste categories. Candidates belonging to the Other Backward Class (OBC) have been fielded in three of the other five general seats.

Four women candidates, including a sitting MLA, are on the Congress' third list.

Sitting MLAs Ambica Singh Deo and Kuldeep Juneja have been fielded from their incumbent seats Baikunthpur and Raipur North, respectively.

The candidates who have been fielded in place of four sitting legislators are Chaturi Nand (Saraipali-SC), Ambika Markam (Sihwaha), Sandeep Sahu (Kasdol) and Rashmi Chandrakar (Mahasamund).

The party has fielded Omkar Sahu from the Dhamtari seat which it could not win in the 2018 elections. Of these five candidates, except for ex-MLA Markam, the others are new faces.

Of the 90 candidates from Congress, 33 are from ST, 29 from OBC, 10 from SC and 15 from general categories, while three are minorities.

The party has denied tickets to 22 of 71 sitting Congress MLAs this time.

The BJP has so far announced candidates for 86 seats.

The Congress registered a landslide victory in the 2018 polls winning 68 seats, and comfortably formed the government. The BJP was reduced to 15 seats, while the JCC (J) and the BSP bagged 5 and 2 seats, respectively. The current strength of the Congress is 71.

The Congress has set a target of winning 75 seats this time, according to party leaders.
India on Sunday defended its move to invoke the provision of parity in Canada's diplomatic presence in the country, saying there was continuous interference in New Delhis internal affairs.

Canada has already withdrawn 41 diplomats from India.

"Parity is very much provided for by the Vienna Convention, which is the relevant international rule on this. In our case, we invoked parity because we had concerns about continuous interference in our affairs by Canadian personnel," External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said at an event in Delhi.

The minister said India is likely to resume issuance of visas to Canadians if it sees progress in the safety of Indian diplomats in Canada.

The relations between India and Canada had hit a new low after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's alleged "potential" involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June.

India reacted sharply, urging Canada to produce evidence to buttress its claim. The ensuing bilateral tension saw New Delhi suspending issuance of visas to Canadian citizens and asking Ottawa to downsize its diplomatic presence in the country.

Jaishankar admitted that the relationship between the two countries was going through a difficult phase.

But I do want to say the problems we have with a certain segment of Canadian politics and the policies which flow from that," said the minister.

On Thursday, while announcing the return of the diplomats, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly described India's move as a violation of the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations.
Key Insights

Using the 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity, Centaur Media fair value estimate is UK0.74

Centaur Media is estimated to be 48% undervalued based on current share price of UK0.39

Analyst price target for CAU is UK0.74 which is similar to our fair value estimate

Today we will run through one way of estimating the intrinsic value of Centaur Media Plc (LON:CAU) by taking the forecast future cash flows of the company and discounting them back to today's value. Our analysis will employ the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. 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. Anyone interested in learning a bit more about intrinsic value should have a read of the Simply Wall St analysis model.

Check out our latest analysis for Centaur Media

What's The Estimated Valuation?

We're using the 2-stage growth model, which simply means we take in account two stages of company's growth. In the initial period the company may have a higher growth rate and the second stage is usually assumed to have a stable growth rate. To start off with, we need to estimate the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, so we need to discount the sum of these future cash flows to arrive at a present value estimate:

10-year free cash flow (FCF) forecast

2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 Levered FCF (, Millions) UK7.18m UK6.60m UK6.27m UK6.07m UK5.96m UK5.92m UK5.91m UK5.92m UK5.96m UK6.01m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x2 Analyst x1 Est @ -5.04% Est @ -3.12% Est @ -1.77% Est @ -0.82% Est @ -0.16% Est @ 0.30% Est @ 0.62% Est @ 0.85% Present Value (, Millions) Discounted @ 6.6% UK6.7 UK5.8 UK5.2 UK4.7 UK4.3 UK4.0 UK3.8 UK3.6 UK3.4 UK3.2

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = UK45m

Story continues

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 (1.4%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 6.6%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2033  (1 + g)  (r  g) = UK6.0m (1 + 1.4%)  (6.6% 1.4%) = UK118m

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= UK118m ( 1 + 6.6%)10= UK62m

The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is UK107m. The last step is to then divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of UK0.4, the company appears quite good value at a 48% discount to where the stock price trades currently. Remember though, that this is just an approximate valuation, and like any complex formula - garbage in, garbage out.

dcf

The Assumptions

Now the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate, and of course, the actual cash flows. If you don't agree with these result, have a go at the calculation yourself and play with the assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Centaur Media as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 6.6%, which is based on a levered beta of 0.877. 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 Centaur Media

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 Media market.

Opportunity

Annual earnings are forecast to grow faster than the British market.

Trading below our estimate of fair value by more than 20%.

Threat

Revenue is forecast to grow slower than 20% per year.

Moving On:

Whilst important, the DCF calculation shouldn't be the only metric you look at when researching a company. 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. If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. Can we work out why the company is trading at a discount to intrinsic value? For Centaur Media, we've compiled three pertinent items you should look at:

Risks: For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for Centaur Media that you should be aware of. Future Earnings: How does CAU'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. The Simply Wall St app conducts a discounted cash flow valuation for every stock on the LSE every day. If you want to find the calculation for other stocks just search here.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said India is a country of Hindus and it respects all religions, hence, conflicts like the Israel-Hamas war were never seen in the country.

Addressing at an event held to celebrate 350 years of the coronation of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj on Saturday, Bhagwat said, In this country, there is a religion, culture that respects all sects and faiths. That religion is Hinduism. This is a country of Hindus. That does not mean we reject all other (religions). Once you say Hindu, it isn't need to be told that Muslims too were protected. Only Hindus do this. Only India does this. Others have not done this.

The RSS chief added India never fought wars on issues like the one that led to the Israel-Hamas conflict with anybody. Everywhere else, strifes are underway. You must have heard of the war in Ukraine, Hamas-Israel war. In our country, there were never wars on such issues. The invasion during Shivaji Maharaj's time was of that kind. But we never fought battles on this issue with anybody. That is why we are Hindus," he said.
The principal of a primary school in Thakurganj area of Uttar Pradeshs Lucknow has been suspended after some students allegedly offered namaz in the school, reports said.

School Principal Meera Yadav was suspended with immediate effect on Saturday under the Uttar Pradesh Government servant (discipline and appeal) rules-1999

The Education Department had launched a probe into the incident after some Hindu outfits staged protests against the school administration.

"Information was received that some unidentified persons were involved in activities other than teaching work in Primary School, Napier road here. Teachers have confirmed that some children offered namaz on Friday which is against departmental directives and guidelines, Basic Siksha Adhikari Arun Kumar said in a statement.

Kumar said a strict warning has been issued to two other teachersTehzeen Fatima and Mamta Mishrafor being complicit in the act.

The incident came a day after two senior faculty members at a private engineering college in Ghaziabad were suspended for scolding a student who raised Jai Shri Ram slogan on the campus.

The incident took place on Friday evening during a cultural event as part of the induction programme at the ABES Engineering College.

According to reports, a student who was on the stage for a performance, chanted Jai Shri Ram which was objected to by two lady professors. The teachers asked the student to leave the stage, saying it was a cultural event and such slogans were not allowed.
The security forces on Sunday foiled an infiltration bid by militants along the Line of Control (LoC) at Uri in Baramulla.



In a post on X, the Army said that based on a specific input, a joint operation was launched along the LoC on Saturday. "In a Joint Operation launched by #IndianArmy, @JmuKmrPolice & Intelligence agencies on 21 Oct 23, an infiltration bid was foiled by alert troops along #LoC in #Uri sector, Baramulla. Contact was established with infiltrating terrorists & firefight ensued. 06xPistols and 04xHand Grenades recovered. Operations in progress," Army tweeted.

The valley has witnessed a rise in infiltration in recent times. Most attempts have been foiled by the Army and the infiltrating militants were killed. On September 16, three militants were killed near the LoC at Hathlanga, Uri in Baramulla. During the search operation, the security forces came under fire triggering an encounter in which one unidentified militant was killed initially. Later two militants were killed in the firefight between the security forces.

Since September 17, six incidents of infiltration have been foiled by the security forces in Jammu and Kashmir. Two incidents occurred in Reasis Chassana area and the Narla area of Rajouri and the rest in north Kashmirs Uri, Baramulla and Kupwara. The militants have also changed tactics and resorted to more deadly attacks along areas close to the Pir Panjal, including south Kashmirs Kulgam and Anantnag districts.

On September 13, two army officers, a Colonel and a Major, a soldier and a DSP of police were killed in a fierce encounter at Gadole forest, Kokernag in Anantnag. The Army and J&K police surrounded the forest and killed the two militants involved in the attacks after seven days, the longest operation in Kashmir in a decade.
The Bharatiya Janata party on Sunday released its first list of candidates for the upcoming Telangana Assembly elections. The party has fielded three MPs as candidates for the Assembly polls and revoked the suspension of T. Raja Singh, who was suspended for making derogatory remarks against Prophet.

The central committee of BJP released the first list of 52 candidates following a meeting of senior leaders of the party, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday. In a release, the party said the Central Election Committee of the BJP met on October 20 under the leadership of Party President J.P. Nadda the meeting was attended by Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and other members of the central committee.

BJP MPs Soyam Bapu Rao has been fielded from Boath (ST), Arvind Dharmapuri from Koratla and Bandi Sanjay Kumar has been fielded from Karimnagar. BJP leader T. Raja Singh, who was arrested for alleged derogatory remarks against Prophet Mohammed and was suspended from the party, has been fielded from Goshamahal. The party revoked Singhs suspension on Sunday considering his explanation for the show cause notice issued by the party.

Your reply and explanation offered therein has been considered by the Central Disciplinary Committee. Basis your reply, the committee has decided to revoke your suspension forthwith, the party said in a release.

Singh was suspended from the party in August last year for his alleged derogatory remarks against Prophet in a video published in response to a video of stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui. The elections will be held in the state on November 30 and the counting of votes on December 3.
Iranian teen Armita Geravand, who fell into coma after an alleged encounter with the police officers in Tehran metro, is said to be brain dead. Iranian state media on Sunday reported that the 16-year-old was 'brain dead'.

"Follow-ups on the latest health condition of Geravand indicate that her condition of being brain dead seems certain despite the efforts of the medical staff," state media reported.

The incident took place on October 1. Activists had accused the morality police of assaulting her for not wearing a hijab. However, Iran had denied reports of Geravand being hurt after the confrontation. Geravand had collapsed after boarding the metro train.

She is being treated at Tehrans Fajr hospital.

After Mahsa Aminis death, rights group activists expressed concern over Geravand condition as they feared she would face the same fate of Amini. Aminis death in the custody of morality police last year sparked months of nationwide protests against the government.

Hundreds of people were killed and arrested in a violent crackdown by the security forces.

The footage released by the authorities show Geravand boarding from Shohada station and later she being carried out of the train by several other passengers. The visuals from inside the train was not released by the authorities.

Iran has imposed strict restrictions on womens dress code requiring them by law to wear long, loose-fitting clothes and covering their hair. Any violation to the law would face, fines, and arrests.
Leaflets marked with Israel Defence Forces name and logo and audio messages sent via mobile phones of Palestinians warned the civilians in northern Gaza to move to south of the 45km-long strip, said agency reports.

The renewed warning also added that those who don't leave could be identified as terrorist sympathisers. according to Reuters.

"Urgent warning, to residents of Gaza. Your presence north of Wadi Gaza puts your life in danger. Whoever chooses not to leave north Gaza to the south of Wadi Gaza might be identified as an accomplice in a terrorist organisation," the leaflet said.

This is not the first time that Israel has warned Palestinians to move south but Palestinians reportedly said this was the first time they were told that they could be considered "terrorist" sympathisers if they remain in the north.

Israel airstrikes have been targeting Gaza following an attack by Hamas militants on Israeli civilians. On Sunday, Israel pounded a mosque in the West Bank allegedly used by Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants as well as Aleppo and Damascus airports in Syria.

The military is gearing up for a ground offensive but fears of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians in northern Gaza complicating any ground attack has prompted Israel to order mass evacuation from the area.

On Saturday, 20 trucks of aid were allowed to enter Gaza from Egypt through the Rafah crossing. And on Sunday, India sent 32 tonnes of disaster relief material and 6.5 tonnes of medical aid to Gaza. The consignments sent in a C-17 transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force will be sent to Gaza via the El-Arish airport in Egypt.
Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif signed applications on his return to Pakistan to restore pending appeals against his convictions in the Avenfield Apartments and Al-Azizia corruption cases.

Sharif, 73, the three-time prime minister and supremo of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), returned to Pakistan on Saturday after spending four years in self-imposed exile in London.

Sharif signed the applications at Islamabad International Airport on Saturday.

The applications, prepared by his legal team, will be filed in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) division bench and are likely to be heard on October 24, a PML-N lawyer told Dawn newspaper.

Sharif's legal team will also present a petition seeking protective bail. Besides, Sharif is also supposed to appear before an accountability court on the same day, the report said.

The former prime minister was convicted in the Avenfield and Al-Azizia cases and was declared a proclaimed offender in the Toshakhana vehicle case, which is pending before an Islamabad accountability court.

He was on bail in these cases when he left for the UK in 2019 on medical grounds.

On July 6, 2018, a few days before the general elections, accountability court judge Muhammad Bashir convicted Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz Sharif and her husband, Captain Safdar Awan, in the Avenfield Apartments case that was investigated by a six-member joint investigation team formed to look into the Panama Papers revelations.

While an Islamabad High Court division bench virtually cleared Sharif in the Avenfield apartments case, calling the accountability court's decision "not correct, Sharif's absconder status meant that he was not exonerated despite the court observing a lack of substantial evidence against him, the report said.

The detailed order said the accountability watchdog could not give a satisfactory answer to the question of whether the prosecution had discharged the onus required on its part, it said.

The prosecution had to prove that Sharif had purchased Avenfield Apartments in the name of Maryam through corrupt and illegal practices and that she, being his dependent, had aided and abetted him by concealing the true ownership.

It also had to prove that when the properties were acquired, Sharif was a public office-holder.

There does not exist on record any evidence to the effect, the court order said.
Saudi Arabias former intelligence chief Prince Turki Al-Faisal said he prefers civil insurrection and disobedience to military offensive when it comes to Palestinian resistance.

He cited the Indian independence movement bringing down the British Empire as one of the examples the Palestinians can follow. There are no heroes in this conflict. Only victims, said Prince Turki while addressing the audience at the Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University in Houston, the US, on Tuesday.

All militarily occupied people have a right to resist their occupation  even militarily, he added. I prefer the other option: civil insurrection and disobedience. It brought down the British Empire in India and the Soviet Empire in Eastern Europe.

His Royal Highness Prince Turki Al Faisal Al Saud, former Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to the U.S., gives his perspective. #BakerLive pic.twitter.com/mRwYiCqTkG  Baker Institute (@BakerInstitute) October 17, 2023

The 78-year-old said both Israel and Hamas should be condemned because of their acts against civilians, adding that two wrongs do not make a right.

He said Hamas targeting civilian targets go against Islamic injunctions about harming civilians and desecrating places of worship while also condemning Israel for the indiscriminate arrest and killing of Palestinian children, women and men.

Prince Turki also slammed the West for discriminating against attacks on Israel and Palestine. I condemn Western politicians for shedding tears when Israelis are killed by Palestinians, but refuse to even express sorrow when Israelis kill Palestinians.
Maritime tensions between China and Philippines seems to be intensifying along the South China Sea area with the recent collisions.

Manila on Sunday said the collision occurred during a routine resupply mission of a boat contracted by the Philippine armed forces. While Chinas coast guard said in a statement the Philippine vessel ignored repeated warnings and crossed the bow of the Chinese ship that deliberately provoked trouble, causing the collision.

Recently, both the nations had run-ins in areas of the South China Sea. Philippines has been sending supplies to troops stationed in Ayungin Shoal, known as the Second Thomas Shoal, in Spartly Islands chain. Chinas coast guard repeatedly intervened to block the resupply missions, alleged Philippines.

This image released by the Armed Forces of the Philippines, shows a Chinese militia vessel, top, near Philippine coast guard vessel BRP Cabra as they approach Second Thomas Shoal, locally called Ayungin Shoal, at the disputed South China Sea | AP

Chinese Coast Guard ship carried out dangerous blocking maneuvers that caused it to collide with the Philippine vessel carrying supplies to troops, said Philippines in a statement.

China's move was "provocative, irresponsible and illegal" and imperiled the safety of the crew of the Philippine boats, the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea said, reported Reuters.

Experts opine Manila's close ties with the US had paved way for intensifying tensions with Beijing. The Pentagon had said that it would protect Philippines of its coast guard came under attack "anywhere in the South China Sea".

The Canadian and Japanese embassies also expressed support for Philippines over the collision.

Over the recent collisions, the United States extended support to Philippines denouncing China's "disruption of a legal Philippine resupply mission".

Taking to X, Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson said "we stand with our #FriendsPartnersAllies in protecting Philippine sovereignty."

The United States condemns PRCs latest disruption of a legal Philippine resupply mission to Ayungin Shoal, putting the lives of Filipino service members at risk. We stand with our #FriendsPartnersAllies in protecting  sovereignty and in support of a #FreeAndOpenIndoPacific.  Ambassador MaryKay L. Carlson (@USAmbPH) October 22, 2023

The recent incidents and its repetition were termed as dangerous and very disturbing by the European Union.

Beijing claims to have sovereignty over almost entire South China Sea including parts if the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia. However, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016 said China's claims were baseless with no legal backing.

Chinas coast guard said that the collision occurred while blocking the boat from transporting illegal construction materials to the warship.

Manila responded by condemning "in the strongest degree" the "dangerous blocking manoeuvres" of the Chinese vessel. China's "dangerous, irresponsible and illegal actions" were "in violation of Philippine sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction", Manila's Task Force for the West Philippine Sea said in a statement.
Can law be in someones blood?

If so, it must run in the veins of the Chandrachud clan. Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachuds grandfather and uncle were lawyers. His father was the 16th and longest-serving chief justice of the country, and both his sons are lawyers. Abhinav is in Mumbai and Chintan in London. When I point this out to him, he laughs. Oh yes, thats right, he says. This is the fourth generation of lawyers in our family. Then he grows more serious as he explains why he mostly keeps to himself and his family. I completely dedicated myself to the profession of law, and that left very little time for anything else, he says.

When you work for others, you realise that the problems you face are not as big.

To be sure, law has done much for him, right from the time he studied it at Delhi University. He did his LLM at Harvard, where he received the Joseph H. Beale prize, which is awarded to the student who tops the Conflict of Laws course. After receiving a doctorate in juridical sciences from Harvard, he practised at the Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court. He was designated senior advocate in 1998 at the age of 38, a designation rarely given to lawyers below 40. He was appointed a judge of the Bombay High Court in 2000, as Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court in 2013 and as a Supreme Court judge in 2016. He became the 50th Chief Justice of India on November 9, 2022, for a two-year tenure ending in November 2024.

But law has not just been a means of professional advancement for him. When people asked him when he would rise higher as a judge, he would ask himself, Why did I take this job? I did not take it to attain a particular position, he says. I took it for the love of what that job entails, which is really public service.

Law was his greatest solace when he lost his first wife, Rashmi, to cancer. I had to hold on to my profession as a judge, he says. That was all I had. If someone were to take away my job in those days, there was nothing else for me to fall back upon. He says that working for others was one way of forgetting his own problems. When you work for others, you realise that the problems you face are not as big, he says.

Like father, like son: Chandrachud with his father, Y.V. Chandrachud.

We are early for our appointment at his home on 14 Tughlak Road, Delhi. He arrives from court a few minutes after we do and shows us into the tastefully done drawing room. When I heard you were waiting, I left court early, he says. There is much to be charmed about Chandrachudthe way he leans forward and gives you his full attention when you ask a question. The way he insists you taste the array of snacks that appear one after the other. It is homemade, he says with a smile. The way he seems unsure at the end of our conversation about whether he answered all the questions adequately. I hope you got all you wanted, he says.

If one were to define the essence of his charm in one word, it would be humility. Sometimes it is difficult to believe that we are speaking to the highest judicial officer in the country. This was one of the judges who had decriminalised homosexuality in a landmark judgment in 2018, thus changing the lives and relationships of thousands of Indians. This was one of the judges who, in the same year, had allowed women of all ages to visit and worship at Sabarimala, where age-old tradition had restricted their entry to the temple. This was one of the judges who had ruled in 2017 that the right to privacy was a fundamental right under the Constitution, thus impacting the authority of the government and global platforms like Facebook and Instagram to collect personal data.

Whether it is working for equality, finding solace in spirituality, or overcoming a personal tragedy, the overarching theme in Chandrachuds life has been a love for law. He has no vices except for his obsession with work, senior advocate Ajit Bhasme, who grew up with him in Mumbai, once said about him. Law has always been his lodestar. As Alan Paton put it in Chandrachuds favourite book, Cry, the Beloved Country, Because life slips away, and because I need for the rest of my journey a star that will not play false to me, a compass that will not lie.
What are the early trends we should look for to identify a stock that could multiply in value over the long term? In a perfect world, we'd like to see a company investing more capital into its business and ideally the returns earned from that capital are also increasing. If you see this, it typically means it's a company with a great business model and plenty of profitable reinvestment opportunities. With that in mind, we've noticed some promising trends at FM Global Logistics Holdings Berhad (KLSE:FM) so let's look a bit deeper.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What Is It?

For those who don't know, ROCE is a measure of a company's yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for FM Global Logistics Holdings Berhad:

Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT)  (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)

0.13 = RM67m  (RM689m - RM151m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2023).

So, FM Global Logistics Holdings Berhad has an ROCE of 13%. On its own, that's a standard return, however it's much better than the 8.9% generated by the Shipping industry.

See our latest analysis for FM Global Logistics Holdings Berhad

roce

In the above chart we have measured FM Global Logistics Holdings Berhad's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

So How Is FM Global Logistics Holdings Berhad's ROCE Trending?

We like the trends that we're seeing from FM Global Logistics Holdings Berhad. The numbers show that in the last five years, the returns generated on capital employed have grown considerably to 13%. The amount of capital employed has increased too, by 43%. The increasing returns on a growing amount of capital is common amongst multi-baggers and that's why we're impressed.

Story continues

The Bottom Line

In summary, it's great to see that FM Global Logistics Holdings Berhad can compound returns by consistently reinvesting capital at increasing rates of return, because these are some of the key ingredients of those highly sought after multi-baggers. And a remarkable 121% total return over the last five years tells us that investors are expecting more good things to come in the future. In light of that, we think it's worth looking further into this stock because if FM Global Logistics Holdings Berhad can keep these trends up, it could have a bright future ahead.

If you want to continue researching FM Global Logistics Holdings Berhad, you might be interested to know about the 2 warning signs that our analysis has discovered.

While FM Global Logistics Holdings Berhad may not currently earn the highest returns, we've compiled a list of companies that currently earn more than 25% return on equity. Check out this free list 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.
This still image from body-worn camera video, provided by the Office of Connecticut Inspector General Robert J. Devlin, shows the Wallingford, Conn. Police Department officer-involved shooting that resulted in the death of Donald Passmore, Monday, Oct. 16, 2023.
Westerly, RI (02891)

Today

Mainly clear. Low near 45F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Mainly clear. Low near 45F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.




It was a bad place to keep a secret.

When Republicans gathered on Dec. 14, 2020, claiming to be legitimate electors casting the states 16 electoral votes for Donald Trump, they met at the Georgia Capitol in a room just upstairs from the buildings public entrance. A Trump campaign official asked for the electors complete discretion, telling them to say only that they were meeting with two state senators who were there.

Your duties are imperative to ensure the end result  a win in Georgia for President Trump  but will be hampered unless we have complete secrecy and discretion, Robert Sinners wrote in an email uncovered by investigators.

But reporters for The Associated Press and other news organizations noticed the Republicans entering the building and were eventually admitted into the room, where they photographed and recorded video of the proceeding. In the chaotic weeks after the 2020 election, the gatherings significance wasnt immediately clear. But it has emerged as a critical element to the prosecution of Trump and 18 others who were indicted by a Georgia grand jury in August for efforts to overturn Democrat Joe Bidens narrow win in the state.

The meeting was cited as a central element in court proceedings Friday as part of a last-minute deal with attorney Kenneth Chesebro, who pleaded guilty to one felony charge of conspiracy to commit filing false documents.

Chesebro, who prosecutors have said helped originate the plan for Republican electors to meet in states where Biden was certified as the winner, is now one of three people who have pleaded guilty in the case. Attorney Sidney Powell pleaded guilty Thursday to six misdemeanors accusing her of intentionally interfering with the performance of election duties as part of a broader conspiracy prosecutors say violated Georgias anti-racketeering law.

While Democrats met in the ornate state Senate chamber to cast electoral votes for Biden, the Republicans sat around three worn and nicked wooden conference tables to consider options for keeping Trump in the White House. In the words of the case laid out by prosecutors, these were fake or false or fraudulent electors. At least eight Georgia Republican electors present that day have agreed to testify in exchange for immunity from state charges.

The meeting was led by David Shafer, then chairman of the Georgia Republican Party. Lending it the air of an official proceeding, a court reporter was present, something Shafer denied during questioning by Fulton County prosecutors in April 2022. That denial contributed to a charge of false statements and writings against Shafer.

More improvised elements of the meeting became clear as the group considered its officers. Shawn Still, who is now a state senator, wasnt initially elected as secretary, for instance. But halfway through the meeting, Shafer noted that Stills name was printed as the secretary on documents.

I would like to avoid reprinting the documents, Shafer said, asking the electors to replace another Republican with Still.

One of only three people the grand jury indicted for participating in the vote, Still may have been dragged into legal jeopardy when he was elected secretary. The third indicted elector, Cathy Latham, was also charged for helping outsiders access state voting equipment in south Georgias Coffee County.

As the meeting unfolded, the Republicans sought to replace four electors who were previously lined up to support Trump. One had registered to vote in Alabama and was no longer eligible. State Sen. Burt Jones, later elected lieutenant governor with Trumps backing, took his spot.

Three other electors didnt show up, including John Isakson Jr., son of late Republican U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson. Isakson told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2022 that he stayed away because the meeting seemed like political gamesmanship.

Prosecutors allege Shafer and Still committed yet more felonies by creating a document claiming to fill those vacancies. State law says that action needed Gov. Brian Kemps consent. The Republican governor had days earlier certified Biden as Georgias winner for a second time after a recount.

Sinners, the Trump official, printed new elector certificates on a noisy portable printer. The racket of the machine gave the meeting a mundane, bureaucratic feel in an unadorned space usually set aside for state lawmakers to host constituents.

One by one, the 16 Republicans were called. Each rose and walked to the table, signing certificates pronouncing Trump and then-Vice President Mike Pence as the preferred choice of Georgia voters. Thats the moment, grand jurors allege, when they committed the felonies for which theyve been charged: impersonating a public officer, first degree forgery and making false statements in writing.

They were fake electors; they were impersonating electors. They were no electors, Fulton County prosecutor Anna Cross told a federal judge in September, adding there was no evidence that Shafer, Still, Latham or other Republicans believed Trump had actually won.

Their defenders call them alternate or contingent electors, saying they were just trying to keep Trumps legal options open as a lawsuit challenged Georgias election results. Some Republicans argue Trump never got a fair shake in Georgia because that lawsuit was never tried, despite a state law calling for election challenges to be heard within 20 days. A Georgia Republican Party website raising money to defend electors calls them patriots who served.

If we did not hold this meeting, then our election contest would effectively be abandoned, Shafer said during the December meeting, talking to attorney Ray Smith, who was there advising the electors and was also indicted. And so the only way for us to have any judge consider the merits of our complaint, the thousands of people who we allege voted unlawfully, is for us to have this meeting.

Shafer defended his actions then and now by citing an episode that played out in Hawaii in 1960. Democrats met that year after Republican Richard Nixon was certified as the states winner and sent three electoral votes to the U.S. Senate backing John F. Kennedy.

Todd Zywicki, a law professor at George Mason University in Virginia, signed a July 11 declaration concluding actions by Shafer and other Georgia Republican electors were lawful, reasonable, proper and necessary considering the election contest and the Hawaii precedent.

Lawyers for the indicted electors argue it was up to Congress to determine which slates should be counted.

But Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis office, in a court filing, disputed Shafers claim that the actions of Georgia Republicans in 2020 bore any similarity to those of Hawaii Democrats in 1960. Her staff cites a major distinction  Democrats eventually won a recount in Hawaii that a court affirmed and the governor certified, sending official documents to the Senate.

The factual situations are so readily distinguishable as to make the comparison meaningless, Willis team wrote, arguing against Shafers attempt to remove his case to federal court. Willis office wrote that the Republican meeting was used to further a clumsy but relentless pressure campaign on the vice president and state legislatures, and as a means to publicly undermine the legitimate results of the presidential election.

Sinners, the Trump campaign staffer who helped arrange the meeting, now rejects its purpose. He denies the notion that Trump won Georgia and now works for Brad Raffensperger, the Republican secretary of state who came to national attention for rebuffing pressure from the then-president to find enough votes to ensure his win. Sinners cooperated with the U.S. House committee that investigated the violent insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021. He hasnt said whether hes cooperating with Willis.

In an interview, he made his regrets clear about what unfolded in the Georgia Capitol during one of the most turbulent periods in American politics.

This was an ill-advised attempt by the former presidents campaign to create a false reality  a victory, Sinners said.

(AP)




At least three civilians were killed and others wounded in Ukraine on Friday and Saturday, as Russian forces continued to shell areas across the country and pushed forward near an embattled eastern city, local Ukrainian officials reported Saturday.

A man died as Russian forces shelled the Ukrainian-held town of Nikopol from their stronghold at Ukraines largest nuclear plant, according to Ukrainian local Gov. Serhii Lysak. Lysak said that emergency services in Nikopol were working to assess the damage.

Russian troops took over the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant early in the war, sparking intermittent fears of a radiation incident as shelling persisted near the site, often targeting Ukrainian-controlled settlements across the Dnieper River.

In Kryvyi Rih, the central Ukraine hometown of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, , a 60-year-old man died on Friday evening when a Russian missile slammed into an industrial facility, according to Telegram posts by Mayor Oleksandr Vilkul. The mans wife was hospitalized with serious shrapnel wounds, Vilkul said.

The mayor reported that Russian missiles and drones hit the same place again overnight, causing unspecified damage and sparking a fire that was put out by morning. Vilkul did not elaborate on the sites nature or whether it was linked to Ukraines war effort. He said nobody was hurt in the second strike.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov later told reporters that Russian forces destroyed the Ukrainian militarys fuel and ammunition depots near Kryvyi Rihs local airport.

There was no immediate response from Ukrainian officials to Konashenkovs claim.

In southern Ukraines front-line Kherson region, one civilian was killed and another wounded during mass shelling attacks by Russian troops, Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin said Saturday. The Russians used mortars, artillery, tanks, drones, and multiple-rocket launchers to target the region, striking some residential areas, Prokudin wrote in a Telegram post.

Russian shelling over the past day also wounded one civilian in the front-line city of Avdiivka, in Ukraines eastern Donetsk region, acting local Gov. Ihor Moroz reported on Saturday. Avdiivka has been fiercely contested by Russian and Ukrainian forces in recent weeks as Kyivs forces try to hold off a renewed Russian assault.

Moroz said that exploding drones, missiles, mortars and artillery shells fired by Russian troops also struck other parts of the region.

Russian troops on Friday launched a fresh offensive north of Avdiivka that has secured minor gains, according to an analysis by the Institute for the Study of War. The Washington-based think tank cited geolocated footage from pro-Kremlin military bloggers on the ground to support its assessment.

Moscows renewed push near Avdiivka reflects the Russian military commands commitment to offensive operations in the area despite heavy materiel and personnel losses, the institute said.

The Ukrainian General Staff on Friday claimed that Ukrainian forces had damaged and destroyed almost 50 Russian tanks and over 100 armored vehicles in the fighting near Avdiivka during the previous day. The claim that could not be independently verified.

Oleksandr Shputu, a spokesman for the Ukrainian army unit fighting near Avdiivka, said in televised remarks Saturdays that Russian military activity in the area had decreased slightly, possibly due to heavy losses. However, Shputun acknowledged that Russian units continued to advance.

In the northeastern Kharkiv region, a 39-year-old civilian man was hospitalized with wounds as Russian shelling hit two village homes near the embattled town of Kupiansk, Gov. Oleh Syniehubov reported on Saturday. Russian forces have for weeks been pressing an offensive to retake territory near Kupiansk and the nearby town of Lyman.

The governor of Russias southern Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, said Saturday that Ukrainian forces shelled two of the provinces districts with mortars and grenade launchers the previous day. According to Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov, no civilians were hurt.

(AP)




With three months to go before the Iowa caucuses that he has staked his campaign on, former Vice President Mike Pence faces mounting debt and lagging poll numbers that are forcing questions about not only whether he will qualify for the next debate, but whether it makes sense for him to remain in the race until then.

Pence ended September with just $1.18 million left in his campaign account, a strikingly low number for a presidential contest and far less than his rivals, new filings show. His campaign also has $621,000 in debt  more than half the cash he had remaining  and is scrambling to meet donor thresholds for the Nov. 8 debate. While he would likely meet the debates polling requirements, Pence has struggled to gain traction and is polling in the low single digits nationally, with no sign of momentum.

Former President Donald Trump, meanwhile, is leading every one of his rivals by at least 40 points in national polls and ended September with $37.5 million on hand.

People close to Pence say he now faces a choice about how long to stay in the race and whether remaining a candidate might potentially diminish his long-term standing in the party, given Trumps dominating lead. While Pence could stick it out until the Jan. 15 Iowa caucuses, visiting the states famous Pizza Ranch restaurants and campaigning on a shoestring budget, he must now weigh how that will impact his desire to remain a leading conservative voice, according to the people, some of whom spoke on condition of anonymity to share their unvarnished views.

For Pence and many of the others, you gotta start looking and saying, Im not going to go into substantial debt if I dont see a pathway forward, said former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who ran against Trump in 2016 but abandoned his bid after concluding the Trump train had left the station.

Pence, for the moment, is pressing forward. He held a Newsmax town hall in Iowa Tuesday night and fundraisers this week in Cleveland, Philadelphia and Dallas. He was to speak at the Republican National Committees fall retreat Friday night and at the Republican Jewish Coalitions Annual Leadership Summit in Las Vegas next week  all opportunities to pitch deep-pocketed donors to keep his campaign afloat.

The super PAC supporting Pence is also continuing its efforts, fundraising and conducting extensive voter outreach, including knocking on nearly 600,000 doors and counting.

The campaign is also working aggressively to reach the 70,000-donor threshold needed to qualify for next months debate and expressed confidence they could get there if they try  even as others remain skeptical he can make it.

I know its an uphill climb for a lot of reasons for us, some that I understand, some that I dont, Pence acknowledged as he spoke to reporters in New Hampshire last week after formally registering for the states first-in-the-nation primary.

Still, some in Pences orbit believe he has important contributions left to make in the primary, particularly after the Hamas attack on Israel pushed foreign policy to the forefront. Pence has argued he is the most qualified candidate to deal with issues abroad, saying in the August debate that now is not the time for on-the-job training.

Pence, they say, feels a renewed sense of purpose given his warnings throughout the campaign against the growing tide of isolationism in the Republican Party. Pence has used the conflict to decry voices of appeasement, which he argues embolden groups like Hamas.

Another person cautioned that Pence, a devout Evangelical Christian who sees the campaign as a calling, may respond differently than other candidates might in his position if he feels called to stay in the race.

If he decides to exit, Pence would have a potential platform in Advancing American Freedom, the conservative think tank he founded after leaving the vice presidency.

In the meantime, the campaign has been working to cut costs, including having fewer staff members travel to events.

Regardless of what he decides, the predicament facing the former vice president underscores just how dramatically Trump has transformed the GOP.

Pence, in many ways, has been running to lead a party that no longer exists.

He has cast himself as the fields most traditionally conservative candidate in the mold of Ronald Reagan. But many of his positions  from maintaining U.S. support for Ukraines defense against the Russian invasion to proposing cuts to Social Security and Medicare  are out of step with much of his partys base.

He also faces fallout from Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob of Trumps supporters  some chanting Hang Mike Pence!  stormed the Capitol building, sending him running for his life. Trump tried to falsely convince Pence and his own followers that the vice president somehow had the power to overturn the results.

Pence has repeatedly been confronted on the campaign trail by people who accuse him of betraying Trump, who still promotes falsehoods about the 2020 election, often several times a day.

But Pence has also faced the same challenge as every candidate in the field not named Trump, a singular figure whose grip on the party has only intensified as he has been charged with dozens of crimes.

If something big doesnt happen on Nov. 8, the primary is over. Some would argue it is now, said Walker, who entered the 2016 Republican primary as a front-runner only to end his campaign in September 2015, months before a single vote was cast, amid mounting debt.

An August AP-NORC poll found Republicans split on Pence: 41% held a favorable view of the candidate and 42% an unfavorable one. Nationally, a majority of U.S. adults  57%  view him negatively, with only 28% having a positive view.

Some are hoping Pence doesnt give up. In Iowa, Kelley Koch, chair of the Dallas County Republican Party, said she felt Pence had struggled to define himself beyond Trump and said many remained skeptical of his actions on Jan. 6.

But she said following the attack on Israel, with all eyes now on the Middle East and a new war, that Pence could have a moment to break through.

He is such a pro on foreign policy. Thats one of his strengths. And he has that over a lot of the new rookie candidates who are in the race. He should run on that, she said. I would think that that would be just a major trumpet setting the stage for Mike Pence to step up and take the mic.

(AP)




The White House on Friday released a sweeping set of proposals to bolster Israel and Ukraine in the midst of two wars as well as invest more in domestic defense manufacturing, humanitarian assistance and managing the influx of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.

The total cost of the supplemental funding request was pegged at just over $105 billion. President Joe Biden hopes Congress will move urgently on the legislation, and he made the case for deepening U.S. support for its allies during a rare Oval Office address on Thursday night.

The Democratic presidents plan faces some immediate complications on Capitol Hill, even as most lawmakers say they want to help both countries. The House is at a standstill, unable to pass legislation, as the Republican majority struggles to choose a new speaker. The money could also get bogged down in a divided Senate where Republicans have increasingly opposed Ukraine aid and demanded adding additional border policies to the measure.

But Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, said the Senate would advance Bidens proposals as soon as possible.

This legislation is too important to wait for the House to settle their chaos, he said. Senate Democrats will move expeditiously on this request, and we hope that our Republican colleagues across the aisle will join us to pass this much-needed funding.

Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., also expressed support, but said the Senate must produce our own supplemental legislation that meets the demonstrated needs of our national security.

It could take several weeks to write the bill and negotiate its contents. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray, D-Wash., and the panels top Republican, Maine Sen. Susan Collins, announced an Oct. 31 hearing on the spending request with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Bidens national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told reporters Friday that Russias ongoing invasion of Ukraine and Hamas attack on Israel represent a global inflection point.

This budget request is critical to advancing Americas national security and ensuring the safety of the American people, Sullivan said.

The biggest line item in the supplemental funding request is $61.4 billion to support Ukraine. Some of that money will go to replenishing Pentagon stockpiles of weapons that have already been provided.

Ukraine has struggled to make progress in a grueling counteroffensive, and the White House has warned that Russia could gain ground if the United States does not rush more weapons and ammunition to the conflict.

The world is closely watching what Congress does next, Sullivan said.

Israel would receive $14.3 billion in assistance under the proposal. The majority of that money would help with air and missile defense systems, according to the White House.

While aiding both Israel and Ukraine has broad support in both chambers, some Republicans in both the House and the Senate are wary of linking funding for the two countries. Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas, said the presidents proposal was discussed in a closed-door meeting of his states Republican delegation Friday.

Williams said Bidens proposal to aid both is a little disturbing because he knows he cant get it done without Israel.

The reaction is emblematic of how Bidens decision to roll together several different issues, in hopes of broadening the potential political coalition to ensure the legislations passage, could also lead it to its derailment.

Debates over immigration will likely be the most thorny as Republicans seek to bolster enforcement. Many Republicans have said they wont support the measure unless new policies are added, and it is so far unclear whether the money that Biden is requesting would be sufficient. A group of Republican senators huddled Thursday to discuss possible proposals that they would support.

I support aid to Israel and Ukraine, Texas Sen. John Cornyn posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. But without meaningful and substantive policy changes that will address the #BidenBorderCrisis such aid is in serious jeopardy.

Shalanda Young, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, suggested it would be hypocritical for them to oppose Bidens proposal after complaining about lax border management.

We will not be lectured by those who refuse to act, she said. As weve said repeatedly, Congress needs to take action to provide sufficient resources for the border.

Although there was a lull in migrant arrivals to the U.S. after the start of new asylum restrictions in May, illegal crossings topped a daily average of more than 8,000 last month.

The White House wants roughly $14 billion to, among other things, boost the number of border agents, install new inspection machines to detect fentanyl and increase staffing to process asylum cases.

Sen. Bill Hagerty, a Tennessee Republican, said providing the administration with more money to fuel its disastrous open-borders resettlement operation is insanity.

It would worsen the border crisis, not stop it, he wrote on X.

Some Republicans made clear that there was no chance they would support the package. Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton called it dead on arrival.

Bidens funding request includes $7.4 billion for a variety of initiatives geared toward the Indo-Pacific, where the U.S. is focused on countering Chinas influence. The money is divided among joint security initiatives in the region, bolstering submarine manufacturing as part of a partnership with Australia and developing financing programs for countries that would otherwise rely on Beijing.

Another $9.15 billion is geared toward humanitarian efforts in Ukraine, Israel, Gaza and other places. Administration officials said they would determine where best to direct the money once its approved.

Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, said time is of the essence for passing the legislation.

We will be judged on how the United States responds to ongoing crises, whether we honor our commitments to our allies abroad, and how we care for innocent people around the world caught in the wake of devastation, she said.

(AP)




For many Americans, the Republican dysfunction that has ground business in the U.S. House to a halt as two wars rage abroad and a budget crisis looms at home is feeding into a longer-term pessimism about the countrys core institutions.

The lack of faith extends beyond Congress, with recent polling conducted both before and after the leadership meltdown finding a mistrust in everything from the courts to organized religion. The GOP internal bickering that for nearly three weeks has left open the speakers position  second in line to the presidency  is widely seen as the latest indication of deep problems with the nations bedrock institutions.

Theyre holding up the peoples business because theyre so dysfunctional, said Christopher Lauff, 57, of Fargo, North Dakota.

Part of that business, he said, is approving money for Ukraine to continue its fight against Russias invasion, something he says ultimately helps the U.S.  a point President Joe Biden stressed Thursday during an Oval Office address.

Were usually the knight in shining armor, but we cant be that now, said Lauff, a Democrat.

The disdain for Congress is just one area where Americans say they are losing faith. Various polls say the negative feelings include a loss of confidence or interest in institutions such as organized religion, policing, the Supreme Court, even banking.

Trust in institutions has deteriorated substantially, said Kay Schlozman, professor of political science at Boston College. Schlozman said she believes in government and the things it provides, such as national defense and access to health care, but I also can very much understand why the American people can be cynical about government.

The turmoil in the House and the federal case against Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey, who is facing charges for bribery, show that both major parties are contributing to the dour outlook.

The House has been without a permanent leader since early October after a small cadre of right-wing Republicans pushed out a member of their own party, then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Subsequent attempts to replace him have failed.

That is an example of exactly the kind of thing that I would say cant foster trust of government among the American people  the multiple votes, the fractiousness within parties, of people being personally ambitious and not being willing to compromise Schlozman said.

About half of adults (53%) say they have hardly any confidence at all in the people running Congress, according to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research that was conducted in October. Thats in line with 49% who said that in March. Just 3% have a great deal of confidence in Congress, virtually unchanged from March.

About 4 in 10 adults (39%) have hardly any confidence in the executive branch of the federal government, compared with 44% in March. Most Republicans (56%) have low levels of confidence in the executive branch  which is overseen by a member of the opposing party, Democrat Joe Biden  compared with just 20% of Democrats.

About a third of adults (36%) say they have hardly any confidence in the conservative-majority Supreme Court, a figure that has remained steady in recent months. The polling reinforces that Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say their confidence in the Supreme Court is low. Black Americans are more likely than Americans overall, as well as more likely than white or Hispanic adults, to have hardly any confidence in the nations highest court.

One-third of U.S. adults (33%) continue to have low levels of confidence in the Justice Department, with Republicans having less confidence than Democrats. This comes as former President Donald Trump rails against the department after being charged with mishandling classified documents and attempts to overturn the 2020 election results.

Rick Cartelli, 63, a health care worker in Rocky Hill, Connecticut, who identifies as an independent, said he is happy with his local and state government but the current environment, especially the chaos on Capitol Hill, has wiped out what little confidence he had in that institution.

What is happening now is not good for the country at all, he said.

Cartelli also said he has little confidence in the executive branch, citing what he says are mental lapses by Biden that are only probably going to become more and more pronounced.

Multiple AP-NORC polls from earlier this year find that the dearth of confidence is pervasive, spreading to organized religion, the governments intelligence gathering and diplomatic agencies, as well as financial institutions. Slightly fewer than half (45%) in a study from AP-NORC and Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights said they have little or no confidence that the news media is reporting news fully, accurately and fairly.

Views on the military were best, with just 17% saying they have hardly any confidence in it.

Kathleen Kersey, a 32-year-old health care worker in Brunswick, Georgia, who is a Republican, said she has little confidence in any of the federal entities, including Congress, but has more for the institutions closer to home. She also is a fan of Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, who she said is a moral man.

Theres only so much one person can do, and just with all the evil, its hard to have confidence in anything really, even the churches because everything works together as one, she said.

Confidence in the countrys foundational institutions has ebbed and flowed historically, though theres been a long-term downward trend since at least the 1970s. Trust in government waned in the era of Watergate and the Pentagon Papers before making a slight recovery during Ronald Reagans presidency in the 1980s  despite Reagans famous declaration that the nine most terrifying words in the English language were: Im from the government, and Im here to help.

David Bateman, an associate professor of government at Cornell University, said the tea party movement during former President Barack Obamas term was the beginning of a steadier decline in confidence, as noted in polling from Gallup. But Bateman believes the most acute problem in recent years has been Trumps lies about the 2020 election, despite dozens of courts rejecting his claims and multiple audits and reviews in the swing states where he disputed his loss.

The biggest threat to trust in institutions was the Trump campaigns refusal to concede the election and insistence that they had won, along with a large segment of the Republicans in Congress going along with the claim in the certification process, Bateman said.

That validated the idea that the whole institutional system is rigged, which it isnt, he said.

He said an example of the fallout is the Republican attack on the Justice Department, including the FBI. The weaponization of the FBI has been a battle cry for Republicans who maintain it has targeted conservatives and who are incensed at the various investigations of Trump. Candidates vying against Trump for the Republican presidential nomination have said they would fire FBI Director Chris Wray.

Distrust of the FBI had long been the purview of Democrats, especially those aware of civil rights-era monitoring.

If you told me in 2000 that Republicans are going to be saying you cant trust the FBI, I would have been shocked, Bateman said. Going after the FBI has been a real ratcheting up of distrust.

(AP)




The special counsel overseeing the Hunter Biden investigation is expected to testify before a Congressional committee behind closed doors as a GOP probe into the Justice Departments handling of the case continues to unfold.

In a rare step, David Weiss is set to appear for a transcribed interview before members of the House Judiciary Committee on Nov. 7, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press Friday. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss details of the closed-door appearance.

It comes months after an Internal Revenue Service agent testified as part of a GOP probe that the investigation into the presidents son was slow-walked and mishandled. Weiss has denied one of the more explosive allegations by saying in writing that he had final say over the case.

Questions about Hunter Bidens business dealings have been central to a GOP-led impeachment inquiry into the president. Thats been led in part by Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, who was also running for speaker Friday in a drawn-out election thats largely brought legislative business to a standstill.

The Justice Department has previously offered to let Weiss testify about the authority he had over the investigation, noting that it is an extraordinary step for a prosecutor to speak to Congress while the criminal investigation is still open but saying it is warranted due to deep concerns about any misrepresentations about our work that could harm public confidence.

Weiss is expected to make a single appearance next month. However, the Justice Department noted in a letter to the Judiciary Committee last month that he could be called on for public testimony after the investigation is over.

Weiss, who also serves as U.S. Attorney for Delaware, has been investigating Hunter Biden for five years, and the case was expected to come to a conclusion with a plea deal on tax and gun charges that spared him jail time this summer. But the agreement imploded after it came under scathing GOP criticism as a sweetheart deal and a judge separately raised questions about the terms in court.

Hunter Biden has now been charged with three felony firearm courts related to his purchase of a gun in 2018, a period when he has acknowledged struggling with addiction. Weiss has also indicated Hunter Biden could face tax charges, though none have yet been filed.

(AP)




To all of our dear brothers and sisters, may Hashem be with us all!

As you may have read or heard, Agudas Yisroel of America, under the direction of Chavrei Moezes Gedolei HaTorah, will be hosting an evening of chizuk vhisorirus at the Bell Works center in Holmdel, New Jersey, on Sunday evening, 14 Cheshvan / October 29.

The gathering will include a Siyum Daf Yomi on Seder Noshim, tefilla brov am on behalf of acheinu kol bais Yisroel, and particularly for our brethren in Eretz Yisroel; and divrei chizuk vhisorirus from GedoleiYisroel.

There are many things that make this asifa special. For the many thousands of Yidden who learn the daf, the conclusion of Seder Noshim marks approximately the half-way point on their 7 1/2 year journey through Shas. This year marks the 100th anniversary since Rav Meir Shapiro launched the concept of Daf Yomi at the first Knessia Gedola of Agudas Yisroel. And, of course, at a time when we are all  , it is a tremendous opportunity to raise our collective voices in united tefila.

Reasons enough, to be sure, to take part in the asifa lchvod haTorah at the Bell Works.

But there is more.

The reshaim arurim who launched their barbaric attacks against our brethren in Eretz Yisroel were very deliberate in choosing when to attack: Shmini Atzeres / Simchas Torah. They timed their butchery for a date when Klal Yisroel celebrates its unique one-on-one relationship with HKBH, a date when we dance with unbridled joy that Hashem has given His heilige Torah to us, alone amongst all of the nations of the world. This the barbarians could not tolerate, and so they attacked.

However, we know that their sinister efforts can never affect the special relationship we have with Hashem, or in any way diminish our simchas haTorah.   !

This is the message we hope to deliver, to ourselves and to the world, when we gather together in BellWorks on 14 Cheshvan / October 29. We learn Torah every single day, we continually draw ourselves closer to HKBH, we rejoice      and no terrorists can ever take that away from us!

Please join us at this historic asifa. Now, more than ever, let us stand together with firm resolve, and may HKBH take pride in us, His chosen people.

Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel

Tickets can be purchased by calling 212.797.7380, or visiting Thesiyum.org

Or by email

[email protected]
A woman shot and killed a knife-wielding man inside her Morgan Park residence Sunday morning, according to Chicago police.

Police said a 41-year-old woman got into a verbal altercation with a 41-year-old man in the 11500 block of South Vincennes Avenue at about 12:45 a.m. When the man approached the womans home with a knife, she produced a handgun and fired at him, police said.

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The man sustained four gunshot wounds to his torso and was transferred to Advocate Christ Medical Center in critical condition where he was later pronounced dead. Police said the woman wasnt injured, and a handgun was recovered at the scene.

Police said they are investigating the incident.

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rjohnson@chicagotribune.com
(Bloomberg) -- Oil edged lower  after two weeks of gains  as Israel held off on its ground invasion of Gaza amid diplomatic efforts to secure the release of more hostages.

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A second convoy of trucks carrying aid to Gaza crossed through the Rafah border point with Egypt on Sunday. One aid group called it a drop in the ocean. A hospital in Gaza said it received 170 bodies of Palestinians killed in the latest strikes.

Israel warned that Iran-backed Hezbollah risks dragging neighboring Lebanon into war and said it responded after anti-tank missiles were fired from Lebanon.

(All time stamps are Israeli time)

Oil Falls as Israel Delays Invasion (4:14 a.m.)

Oil edged lower  after two weeks of gains  as Israel held off on its ground invasion of Gaza. Global benchmark Brent dipped below $92 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate traded near $88.

Brent has advanced about 8% since Hamass Oct. 7 attack on Israel on concerns the conflict could drag in Lebanon, Iran and potentially the US. The Middle East supplies around a third of the worlds crude and the main risks for the market are that Washington ramps up compliance checks on sanctioned Iranian oil and that Tehran disrupts key shipping routes.

Biden, Netanyahu Pledge More Aid (11:07 p.m.)

US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged a continued flow of critical assistance into Gaza to needy Palestinians after the first two convoys crossed from Egypt. In a phone call Sunday, the leaders also discussed securing the release of Hamas-held hostages and safe passage for civilians who want to leave Gaza, the White House said in a statement.

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The aid thats arrived so far is a drop in the ocean, said Tommaso Della Longa, spokesperson for The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. A problem is not just quickly dwindling supplies of food but the fear of going out to find it amid the bombing, he said.

If you lack a safe place to go how can you find food? How can you find water? he said by phone from Geneva.

French, Dutch Leaders to Visit Israel (9:50 p.m.)

French President Emmanuel Macron and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte will arrive in Israel in the next two days to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Netanyahu held a series of talks with Western leaders on Sunday, repeating Israels determination to eliminate Hamas.

Hostage Talks May Delay Gaza Invasion (9:15 p.m.)

Israel supports diplomatic efforts to get Hamas to release hostages from Gaza quickly and in large numbers, a move that may delay and possibly alter its ground war, according to people familiar with the negotiations.

The role of hostage releases in Israels military planning took on concrete meaning on Friday, when an American mother and her 19-year-old daughter from Chicago were set free through the mediation of Qatar.

US Senators Visit Israel (8:53 p.m.)

A bipartisan group of 10 US senators visited Tel Aviv on Sunday. Were here today to tell Iran, were watching you, said Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican. If this war grows, its coming to your backyard. There wont be two fronts, there will be three.

Egypt Reports Minor Injuries From Israeli Tank Misfire (6:39 p.m.)

Egypt said some of its personnel received minor injuries after being hit by shell fragments when an Israeli tank accidentally fired at a border post in the area of Kerem Shalom on Sunday.

The incident is under review by Israelis military, which expressed immediate regret.

US Orders Non-Emergency Staff to Leave Baghdad Embassy (7 p.m.)

The State Department ordered non-emergency staff and eligible family members to leave the US embassy in Baghdad and consulate in Erbil in the Kurdistan region due to increased security threats against US personnel and interests.

A Level 4, do-not-travel advisory remains in effect for US citizens in Iraq due to the risk of terrorism, kidnapping, armed conflict, civil unrest, and Mission Iraqs limited capacity to provide support to U.S. citizens.

Israeli Jets Strike Hezbollah Infrastructure (6:43 pm)

Israeli jets hit Hezbollah infrastructure in Lebanon late on Sunday, the Israeli defense forces said, in response to an attempt by Hezbollah to launch an anti-tank missile into Israeli territory.

Gaza Hospital Says It Received 170 Bodies on Sunday (6:30 p.m.)

The main hospital in the central Gaza Strip said it had received the bodies about 170 Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes since Sunday morning on areas where refugees had been sheltering. Al-Aqsa hospital in Deir Al-Balah also reported treating more than 300 people wounded from Israeli shelling.

Central Gaza Strip is located beyond the stream that separates Gaza City and the northern areas of the coastal enclave, from which the Israeli military has instructed Gazans to evacuate. The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza said the overall death toll has risen to more than 4,650 Palestinians, including 1,873 children and 1,101 women.

Hezbollah Fires Rockets After Five Members Killed (5:55 p.m.)

Hezbollah said it fired guided missiles and artillery shells at four Israeli sites after it announced that five members were killed while carrying out jihadist duty, the militant groups Al Manar TV reported. Hezbollah also launched missiles at another Israeli site, claiming direct hits from its operation.

The skirmishes come as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to strike the Iranian-backed group with a force it cannot even imagine.

Blinken Warns Irans Proxies (5 p.m.)

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US would respond decisively if Iran-backed groups attacked American forces. We are concerned at the possibility of Iranian proxies escalating their attacks against our own personnel, Blinken said on CBS News on Sunday.

In a separate interview on NBCs Meet the Press, Blinken referenced a likelihood of escalation.

40 Aid Trucks Proposed for Monday, Says WFP Chief (4:30 p.m.)

Forty more trucks carrying aid to Gaza could cross Egypts Rafah border with Israel on Monday, said Cindy McCain, executive director of the UNs World Food Program.

UN officials have said that Gaza needs closer to 100 trucks a day in humanitarian aid for its roughly 2.3 million residents. The 20 trucks that crossed the border on Saturday with food and medical supplies were the first since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7.

We were able to get 17 more trucks in just now, McCain said on ABCs This Week. And there is a proposed 40 more tomorrow. But this dribbling of the system is not going to work.

Touring North, Netanyahu Warns Hezbollah Not to Enter War (3:15pm)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Iran-backed Hezbollah not to join the war during a meeting with military officials in northern Israel.

We will strike it with force it cannot even imagine and the ramifications for it and for Lebanon would be devastating, Netanyahu said.

Israel Says Hezbollah Dragging Lebanon Toward War (2:48 p.m.)

Israel said Hezbollah risks dragging Lebanon into a wider regional war after another night of intense cross-border fire with the Iran-backed militant group.

In one of its most serious warnings yet, the military said Hezbollah was playing a very, very dangerous game and dragging Lebanon into a war that it will gain nothing from but stands to lose a lot.

More than 60,000 people in Israel have been evacuated along the border with Lebanon, and residents of an additional 14 communities are set to leave, according to the Israeli Ministry of Defense.

Read more: Israel Says Hezbollah Dragging Lebanon Toward War as Towns Empty

Israel Army Says Intercepts Unmanned Aircraft From Lebanon (11:56 a.m.)

The Israeli military said that anti-tank missiles were fired from Lebanon and that it intercepted a drone from its northern neighbor. Israel Defense Forces responded with fire to an attempted missile launch. Israel said its aircraft struck earlier in the day a cell planning to launch anti-tank missiles from Lebanon.

Rockets Target Iraqs Ain Al-Asad Air Base, Reuters Says (10:24 a.m.)

Katyusha rockets targeted the base, which hosts US and international forces, and one blast was heard inside the base, Reuters reported, citing army officials it didnt identify.

On Saturday, defense systems at the base in the western Anbar province intercepted and shot down two drones.

Syria Says Israel Attacks Airports (7:57 a.m.)

Israel conducted simultaneous airstrikes at 5:25 am local time, targeting Damascus and Aleppo airports and putting them out of service, Syrias state-run Sana news agency reported. Both facilities had been hit earlier in the Israel-Hamas war.

Al Jazeera reported Syria was diverting flights to the airport at its Mediterranean city of Latakia.

Israel to Evacuate More Communities in the North (7:45 a.m.)

Israel will evacuate 14 additional communities that are close to its northern border following exchanges of fire with Hezbollah in Lebanon, according to the Ministry of Defense.

Israel already evacuated 50,000 residents from about 30 communities along the border last week, including Kiryat Shmona, the areas largest city and service hub.

In southern Israel, 70,000 residents have already been evacuated from communities following the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas.

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Louis Farrakhan, the 90-year-old leader of the Nation of Islam, has filed a $4.8 billion lawsuit against the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) in Manhattan Federal Court. He alleges that the ADL has falsely labeled him an antisemite, infringing upon his First Amendment rights.

Farrakhans lawsuit emphasizes that the use of terms like anti-Semite and anti-Semitic by the ADL has been a means to tarnish his reputation and hinder his constitutional rights. In his court filings, Farrakhan insists he has never harmed a hair on the head of any Jewish person and maintains he holds a deep respect for numerous individuals within the Jewish community. He cited his admiration for Jascha Heifetz, a renowned Jewish violinist, and recalled his Jewish violin teachers as proof that hes not an antisemite.

Terming his long-standing animosity toward the ADL a battle of Biblical proportions, Farrakhan attached 787 pages of documents to support his claims.

Over the years, Farrakhan has made numerous blatantly antisemitic statements, such as referring to Jews as termites, condemning Judaism as a gutter religion, and attributing certain Hollywood behaviors to Jewish influence.

Farrakhan pinpointed the origin of his dispute with the ADL back to 1984 when he defended then-presidential candidate Jesse Jackson over accusations of using a derogatory term for Jews. Farrakhan believes that his support for Jackson led the ADL to label him as an anti-Semite.

It is because of Minister Farrakhans unwavering defense of himself and Reverend Jackson that the ADL began plastering him with the false and injurious label of anti- Semite, Farrakhan claims in his lawsuit.

In the lawsuit, Farrakhan further criticizes the ADL as an unAmerican organization that has allegedly intruded into U.S. governance to further its interests at the expense of American citizens constitutional rights.

The ADL, traditionally reserved on litigation matters, broke its silence on the issue. Its Director, Jonathan Greenblatt, told The Post, Louis Farrakhan is an antisemite. One need look no further than his own words and statements to come away with the same conclusion, dismissing the lawsuit as meritless.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)




Venezuelans became the largest nationality arrested for illegally crossing the U.S. border, replacing Mexicans for the first time on record, according to figures released Saturday that show September was the second-highest month for arrests of all nationalities.

Venezuelans were arrested 54,833 times by the Border Patrol after entering from Mexico in September, more than double from 22,090 arrests in August and well above the previous monthly high of 33,749 arrests in September 2022.

Arrests of all nationalities entering from Mexico totaled 218,763 in September, up 21% from 181,084 in August and approaching an all-time high of 222,018 in December 2022, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Arrests for the governments budget year that ended Sept. 30 topped 2 million for the second year in a row, down 7% from an all-time high of more than 2.2 million arrests in the same period a year earlier.

Venezuela plunged into a political, economic and humanitarian crisis over the last decade, pushing more than 7 million people to leave. They initially settled in nearby countries in Latin America but began coming to the United States in the last three years, settling in New York, Chicago and other major cities.

The Biden administration recently announced temporary legal status for nearly 500,000 Venezuelans who were already in the United States on July 31, while vowing to deport those who come illegally after that date and fail to get asylum. It recently began deportation flights to Venezuela as part of a diplomatic thaw with the government of Nicolas Maduro, a longtime adversary.

The U.S. surged resources and personnel to the border in September, said Troy Miller, acting commissioner of Customs and Border Protection.

We are continually engaging with domestic and foreign partners to address historic hemispheric migration, including large migrant groups traveling on freight trains, and to enforce consequences including by preparing for direct repatriations to Venezuela, Miller said.

For decades, Mexicans accounted for the vast majority of illegal crossings but flows shifted over the last decade to Central Americans and, more recently, to people from South America, Africa and Asia.

Mexicans were arrested 39,733 times crossing the border in September, well behind Venezuelans. Guatemalans, Hondurans and Colombians rounded out the top five.

Republicans seized on the latest numbers as its leading presidential candidates have tried to frame the border as a major issue in next years elections.

This fiscal year may have ended, but the historic crisis at our Southwest border sparked by (Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro) Mayorkas policies rages on, said Rep. Mark Green of Tennessee, chair of the House Homeland Security Committee.

The Biden administration proposed about $14 billion for the border in a $106 billion spending package announced Friday and has insisted that any long-term solution requires help from Congress.

The administration has adopted a carrot-and-stick approach of new legal pathways to seek asylum with restrictions on those who dont adhere to them.

About 43,000 migrants entered the country at land crossings with Mexico in September using a mobile app called CBP One, bringing the total to nearly 278,000 since the online appointment system began in January. Also, more than 265,000 people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela entered through September at airports after applying online with financial sponsors.

Including those legal pathways, the number of crossings hit a new all-time monthly high of 269,735 in September and a new budget-year high of nearly 2.5 million.

(AP)




The father of freed American teen hostage Natalie Raanan said Friday shes doing well following two weeks in captivity after she and her mother were abducted in Israel by Hamas and held in Gaza.

Uri Raanan of Illinois told The Associated Press that he spoke to his daughter Friday by telephone. Shes doing good. Shes doing very good, said Uri Raanan, who lives in the Chicago suburbs. Im in tears, and I feel very, very good.

The 71-year-old said he saw on the news earlier Friday that an American mother and daughter would be released by Hamas, and he spent the day hoping that meant his daughter and her mother, Judith Raanan.

Knowing Natalie may be able to celebrate her 18th birthday next week at home with family and friends feels wonderful. The best news, her father said.

The familys text message chain sharing updates on Friday moved from tentative hope to outright celebration, tempered by an awareness that other families still are living in fear for their loved ones, Ben Raanan told The Associated Press at his home in Denver.

When I see her again, I think there arent going to be words to express whats going on, he said. Its just going to be like this intense hug that is bigger than words and bigger than what we could actually communicate verbally.

Uri Raanan said he believes Natalie and Judith to be in transit to Tel Aviv to reunite with relatives, and that both will be back in the U.S. early next week.

An Israeli army spokesperson said the two Americans were out of the Gaza Strip and with the Israeli military. Hamas said Friday it released them for humanitarian reasons in an agreement with the Qatari government.

They were the first hostages to be released since Hamas terrorists abducted roughly 210 people during their Oct. 7 rampage.

President Joe Biden was among the many celebrating the news that the Raanans had been freed.

I am overjoyed that they will soon be reunited with their family, who has been wracked with fear, Biden said in Washington. The president spoke Friday with Judith and Natalie and relayed that they will have the full support of the U.S. government as they recover from this terrible ordeal, the White House said.

Uri Raanan said later Friday in a short news conference that he spoke with his daughter for only a few emotional minutes and that they didnt talk about what she and her mother experienced in the past two weeks. He said Judith has a minor injury he described as a little scratch on her hand.

They look good and sound good, he said, adding that when he sees his daughter he plans to hug her and kiss her. Its going to be the best day of my life.

He also said he didnt know why they were chosen for release.

The International Committee of the Red Cross, which transported the freed Americans from Gaza to Israel, said their release offered a sliver of hope for those still being held.

Judith, 59, and Natalie, who both have dual Israeli-American citizenship, had been on a trip from their home in the Chicago suburb of Evanston to Israel to celebrate Judiths mothers birthday and the Jewish holidays, family members said.

Natalie was born in the U.S., moved to Israel with Judith until she was around 10 and then returned, her father said.

Natalie always spoke of her home very dearly, 19-year-old stepsister Frida Alonso said, referring to Israel. She missed it very, very dearly. Every day she missed her grandma, she missed her home. Just the feeling of being there. So I bet this hurts a lot for her.

Mother and daughter were in Nahal Oz, near the Gaza border, on Oct. 7 when Hamas militants stormed into southern Israeli towns, killing hundreds of people and abducting others.

Their family had heard nothing from them since the attack and were later told by U.S. and Israeli officials that they were being held in Gaza, Natalies brother has said.

The news that Judith and Natalie have been released from the hands of Hamas is overwhelming. It brings us a tremendous amount of gratitude to the Almighty, to G-d, for this incredible miracle, Meir Hecht, Judiths rabbi, said at a news conference outside his home in Evanston on Friday afternoon.

At the same time we hold our pain very deep, said Hecht, who called for the other hostages to be released as soon as possible. We need to continue besieging whoever we can and however we can, and praying for their release.

Judith came regularly to Meirs congregation and felt like part of our family, the rabbi said.

Qatar said it would continue its dialogue with Israel and Hamas in hopes of winning the release of all hostages with the ultimate aim of de-escalating the current crisis and restoring peace.

Israeli military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Israel was continuing to work to return hostages and find the missing, and its goals had not changed. We are continuing the war against Hamas and ready for the next stage of the war, he said.

The release comes amid growing expectations of a ground offensive that Israel says is aimed at rooting out Hamas terrorists who rule Gaza.

(AP & YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)




Staff Sgt. (res.) Omer Balva, Hyd, 22, was killed by an anti-tank guided missile launched by Hezbollah at Israel on Friday, the IDF stated on Motzei Shabbos.

Three other soldiers were wounded in the attack, one seriously and two moderately.

Balva, a commander in the 9203rd Battalion of the Alexandroni Brigade and a resident of Hertziliya, had been in the US with his family when the Hamas attack took place two weeks ago and he flew back to Israel to join his reserve unit.

Balva grew up in the US and had dual US-Israeli citizenship.

Numerous incidents took place along Israels northern border on Friday and Shabbos. On Friday, a terrorist infiltrated Israeli territory and opened fire on a soldier near the yishuv of Margaliot, seriously injuring him.

On Shabbos afternoon, two Thai foreign workers were wounded by shrapnel from a rocket attack near the yishuv of Magraliot. They were treated by MDA paramedics and evacuated to the hospital, one in moderate condition and one in light condition.

IDF forces eliminated four terror squads via drone strikes on Friday and Shabbos and carried out airstrikes on Hezbollah posts in southern Lebanon.

IDF forces evacuated the residents of Kiryat Shmonah on Friday and previously evacuated residents of all yishuvim within five kilometers of the northern border.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)




The IDF released a video showing rockets launched by Hamas that fell within the Gaza Strip, killing Palestinians.

IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari on Motzei Shabbos spoke about the phenomenon. The IDF identified about 550 failed rocket launches from the beginning of the war that fell into Gaza and killed Gazan civilians.

The Hamas terror organization uses the residents of the Strip as human shields and fires from civilian areas.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)




A convoy of 20 trucks with humanitarian aid entered Gaza through the Rafah Crossing on Shabbos.

According to a New York Times report, the trucks, which were the first to enter Gaza since the war began, were not inspected for weapons or other contraband as Israel had demanded.

The trucks are supposed to be delivering food, water, and medical equipment.

The report also said Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the United Nations secretary general, said that future aid convoys entering Gaza will need to be inspected, and that there are scores of aid trucks still waiting on the Egyptian side of the border.

Following the publication of the report in Israel, the Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) responded: At the request of the US government, humanitarian aid including only water, food, and medical equipment was brought into the southern Gaza Strip through the Rafah Crossing in Egypt.

All of the equipment was inspected before it entered Gaza. We emphasize that Israel has the capability to ensure that nothing was brought in or out other than the items mentioned above.

The Prime Ministers Office announced on Wednesday of this week, shortly after Bidens visit, that Israel will not stop the delivery of humanitarian supplies from Egypt as long as it is only food, water and medicine for the civilian population located in the southern Gaza Strip or moving there, and as long as these supplies do not fall into the hands of Hamas.

Any supplies that reach Hamas will be thwarted, the Prime Ministers Office said.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)




Israeli military officials have reported the discovery of a USB key containing instructions for crafting a cyanide dispersion device on a Hamas operative who was involved in the Oct. 7 terrorist attack, Axios reports. The information was disclosed by two Israeli officials and was further corroborated by a classified cable from the Israeli Foreign Ministry that Axios managed to obtain.

While the specific file did not offer insight on whether Hamas intended to operationalize such chemical weapons or if they had previously attempted their production, the gravity of the potential threat is significant.

Under the title Hamas intention of using chemical weapons, the Israeli Foreign Ministrys weapons of mass destruction non-proliferation department dispatched the classified cable to several Israeli embassies across the globe, including the one in Washington. Although Axios could not independently verify the legitimacy of the file linked to Hamas, Israeli officials have expressed confidence in its authenticity, emphasizing they wouldnt distribute such data to their allies unless they believed it to be genuine.

Further investigations by Israeli intelligence have linked the documents origins to a manual from Al-Qaeda dated 2003, as indicated in the cable. The ministrys communication strongly suggests, This finding points to an intention by Hamas to use chemical weapons as part of its terror attack against civilians.

The directive from the Israeli Foreign Ministry further instructed its overseas representatives to discreetly share the file and an English summary with their host governments, emphasizing the importance of not publicizing it. Diplomats were advised to communicate the seriousness of Hamass intentions, drawing parallels with tactics previously tried by ISIS.

In the aftermath of the Oct. 7 incident, Israel has released numerous documents it claims were sourced from deceased Hamas attackers. Some of these classified as Top Secret by Hamas purportedly contain detailed plans to assault Israeli settlements and military bases near the border, with explicit directives to maximize casualties and abduct hostages to Gaza.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)




The Pentagon announced on Saturday that it is dispatching a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system and additional battalions of the Patriot air defense missile system to the Middle East in the wake of recent assaults on U.S. troops in the region.

The recent weeks have witnessed the U.S. fortifying its naval presence in the Middle East, deploying two aircraft carriers, accompanying support ships, and approximately 2,000 Marines.

Amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, Washington remains vigilant for potential actions from Iran-backed factions as regional tensions escalate.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, after discussions with President Joe Biden regarding recent provocation by Iran and its allied forces across the Middle East, stated, Today, I directed a series of additional steps to further bolster the Department of Defenses stance in the region.

Although Austin revealed plans to place more troops on prepare-to-deploy orders, the exact number remains unspecified. In light of the current situation, the Pentagon has already readied about 2,000 troops for potential deployment.

These measures aim to amplify regional deterrence, enhance protection for U.S. forces stationed in the area, and support Israels defense, Austin further elaborated.

This decision marks a shift from two years ago when the Biden administration recalled air defense systems from the Middle East due to decreased tensions with Iran.

The Patriot system, recognized as one of the premier U.S. air defense mechanisms, is often in high demand, with global allies seeking its acquisition.

The THAAD system, known for its advanced radar capabilities, faced backlash from China when the U.S. positioned it in South Korea in 2016, due to concerns over airspace intrusion.

U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria have witnessed an uptick in attacks, coinciding with the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza. Just last week, an American warship neutralized over a dozen drones and four cruise missiles launched by the Iranian-backed Houthis from Yemen.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)




In a stern warning, Israels Minister of Economy, Nir Barkat, expressed Israels readiness to launch a military counteroffensive against Iran if the Tehran-backed Hezbollah engages in the ongoing conflict.

In a candid conversation with The Daily Mail, Barkat stated that should Hezbollah, Irans affiliated militant group based in Lebanon, carry out attacks against Israel, the Ayatollahs in Iran would be wiped off the face of the earth.

These fiery remarks come at a time when Israel is preparing for a possible ground incursion into the Gaza Strip to counter Hamas. The terrorist group, which is also supported by Iran, is holding around 200 hostages following their assault on southern Israel on October 7. A substantial contingent of Israeli troops has been deployed along the borders of the Gaza Strip in anticipation.

Growing concerns highlight the potential of Israel having to simultaneously combat adversaries on two distinct fronts. The past week has seen intensified clashes between Hezbollah and the Israel Defense Forces along Israels northern boundary with Lebanon.

Barkat emphasized that if Israel perceives Hezbollahs actions as initiating a northern front, not only will they move against Hezbollah, but they will directly target Iran. He expressed Israels commitment to confronting threats on all fronts, especially focusing on the primary source, which he referred to as the head of the snake, which is Iran.

He commented, The Ayatollahs in Iran are not going to sleep good at night; we are going to make sure they pay a heavy price if, God forbid, they open the northern front.

Barkat, who has previously served as the mayor of Jerusalem, noted that Hezbollah operates largely under Irans directives, suggesting a strong bond between the two entities. He asserted, In many ways Hezbollah is Iran.

(AP)




Israels Welfare Ministry on Sunday published heartbreaking statistics in the wake of the murderous Hamas attack in Israel on Simchas Torah two weeks ago.

The massacre left 21 children from 13 families without parents. All but one of the children were orphaned of both parents, including a four-year-old girl who was abducted to Gaza. One girls mother was murdered and her father was abducted to Gaza.

Since the outbreak of the war, social workers from the Welfare Ministry and local authorities located all the children who lost their parents and contacted their relatives.

Dedicated teams will provide the children with therapeutic services and coordinate their care.

Welfare Minister Yaakov Margi (Shas) said: The fact that so many children are victims of the brutal attack by Hamas is heartbreaking. I instructed the relevant professionals in the ministry to simplify every process and expedite services to both the children and the families who are caring for them at this time.

The Welfare Ministry is prepared to provide long-term and trauma-focused care to every child affected by the attack, and in particular to the children who were left orphans. The State of Israel will be their mother and father and will take care of them throughout their lives and we will spare no efforts and resources to help them recover.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)
Capture from Ukrainian military video - Wikimedia Commons

Tearing through the midnight water on a machine-gun armed jet ski while being pursued by heavily armed patrol boats and combat aircraft seems like a better fit for a James Bond or Fast and Furious film than for real life intelligence agents.

But a video posted by Ukraines GUR military intelligence agency allegedly portrays exactly that situation, showing Ukraines Artan special forces unit withdrawing from a coastal raid targeting Russian forces in western Crimea.

It shows a formation of jet skis and a few motor boats full of Artan commandos, all equipped with infrared goggles and assault rifles. Some of the boats have mounted machine guns, seen being reloaded and blazing away at enemy forces.

Footage of jet ski and small boat mounted Ukrainian GUR SOF raiding Russian-occupied western Crimea. pic.twitter.com/qk6eF8qWcC  OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) October 5, 2023

An SBU social media post, while declining to specify the date of the footage, claims Artan commandos landed on the western coast of the [Crimean] peninsula, as well as on the Tendriv and Kinburn spits. The special forces engaged in a fierce battle with the Russian invaders in the specified occupied territories, inflicting significant losses on the enemy.

A CNN interview with a violinist-turned-commando named Muzykant clarifies that the speedier jet skis are launched from larger motor boats once close enough to the target. Muzykant also stated that the October raid took place during rough seas, with waves cresting up to six feet high.

Capture from Ukraine Defense Intelligence video - Wikimedia Commons

While exfiltrating after completing their sabotage mission in Crimea, the Artan operators were also engaged at sea. According to the SBU social media post, the enemy tried to pursue the special forces on surface high-speed patrol boats with aviation support.

Russias Navy maintains a large fleet of Raptor-class, patrol, and Grachonok-class anti-saboteur boats designed to guard against infiltratorswhether they be combat divers, on mini-submarines, or on boats themselves. A minimum of four Raptorseach bristling with a heavy 14.5-and two 7.62-millimeter machine guns and boasting a maximum speed of 55 miles per hourwere reportedly on patrol that evening. At least a couple pursued the withdrawing raiding force. They may also have had air support from Russian Navy helicopters (Ka-27, Ka-29 or Mi-8s), jet fighters, or Be-12 amphibious maritime patrol planes.

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Contributor - Getty Images

Muzykants 10-man unit escaped unscathed. However, Ukraines intelligence service acknowledged some losses were suffered at some point during the raid.

Russia released footage of what it was claimed was a Yamaha jet ski abandoned by the Ukrainian raiders, as well as of a man with an injured shoulder that they allegedly captured during the raid being interrogated. Russias defense ministry also claimed that its combat aircraft intercepted a boat and three jet skis. Perhaps the Russian aircraft disabled one prong of the Ukrainian raid while other landing forces made it ashore to their objectives.

In addition to using jet skis to insert commandos, Ukraine also employs jet skis without any crew onboardturning them into drone boats (or USVs) for kamikaze attacks. Ukraines first kamikaze drone boat attack on Sevastopol harbor, which damaged a frigate and tug boat, took place on October 29, 2022. It made use of a drone boat model that was apparently based on the hull of a SeaDoo jet ski, though with major modifications. Since then, footage of a more lightly altered Kawasaki STX jet ski rigged for use as a remote-control kamikaze has also emerged. This was used in a July 16 drone boat attack on Sevastopol.

2/6

The jet ski was apparently involved in the July 16 Sevastopol raid, not the July 18 Kerch Bridge attack. However, it *may* be the same type as in Kerch - see later.



Sorry no better image - welcome to OSINT pic.twitter.com/jE8i0RJ8kU  H I Sutton (@CovertShores) July 18, 2023

The past and present of military jet skis

First devised in the 1950s and 1960s, jet skisor PWCs, for Personal Watercraftare mostly thought of as recreational vehicles. They are fast (ranging from 50 to 90 miles per hour), cheap, and easily obtained on the civilian marketand vitally, they have just enough range (up to 150 miles on higher-end models) to be effective in littoral operations. Most can comfortably carry two personnel, but the largest models can support as many as four.

PWCs were put to military use as early as 1961, when the U.S. Navy purchased five Aqua Skimmers for testing and evaluation in the Caribbean. This lead to the subsequent development of the militarized Aqua Dart. Between 1963-1970, Aqua Skimmers and Darts were supplied to a Marine Corps unit, Navy experimental unit USNX 1-AD, Underwater Demolition Teams 12 and 22, and Seal Team 2. They were used for training and testing, but were also put into operational use in the rivers of South Vietnam.

Mohammad Sadegh Heydari (CCA 4) - Wikimedia Commons

Today, U.S. Navy SEALs are known to employ modified Yamaha FX Cruiser SHO jet skis, while Irans Marine Commandos and Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) use them to harass shipping craft in the Persian Gulf and to serve as vehicles to pick up the bailed-out pilots of kamikaze motor boats.

Ukraine is leveraging the jet skies for raids by naval special operations forces on islands in the Dnipro river estuary, which divides Kherson oblast (Ukraine holds the west bank, Russia the eastern bank). They are also putting them to use on the slender peninsula known as the Kinburne Spit andstarting dramatically on August 24, 2023 (Ukraines Independence Day)the western Crimean peninsula.

Known as Operation Force Awakens (named after the Star Wars film), 20 Ukrainian commandoes on 10 jet skis traversed 125 miles to land at Olenivka and Mayak on Crimeas westernmost tip, known as the Tarkhankut Peninsula.

Meanwhile, a separate group of five support boats opened fire on coastal targets using machine guns and automatic grenade launchers to divert attention away from the landing partys real target: a coastal electronic warfare station described as so powerful, not even a compass could work within 20 miles of the shore. The station substantially impeded the effectiveness of Ukrainian cruise missiles and drone attacks on Crimea by drowning out GPS and control signals.

Detected by Russian forces before they could plant explosives on the station, the dismounted commandos instead used rocket-propelled grenades to destroy the station and several nearby vehicles, and planted a Ukrainian flag on Crimean soil. Having spent just an hour ashore, the commandoes then withdrew on their jet skis, evading pursuing Raptor-class patrol boats and combat aircraft without losing any personnel.

This was billed as the first presence of Ukrainian military forces in Crimea since Russia seized the peninsula in 2014. Furthermore, the stations destruction is said to have reduced GPS jamming degrading the accuracy of Storm Shadow cruise missiles used by Ukraine to strike Sevastopol, which went onto destroy a submarine, a landing ship, and the headquarters building of the Black Sea Fleet in September.

Ukraine naval raids are intended to prepare for counter offensive operations by ground forcesthough any hopes of reaching Crimea in 2023 are now well in the rear view mirror, due to difficulties advancing even short distances in southern Ukraine. Skeptics may therefore question whether the bold special ops raids serve much of a purpose, given the effort and risks entailed.

In theory, however, the raids are meant to boost Ukrainian morale (and demoralize Russia) by demonstrating Ukraines ability to infiltrate Russian-occupied territory. By selectively disabling key defenses, the attacks can also pave the way for more destructive standoff strikes. And the naval raids may compel Russia to deploy additional assets to defend rear areas at the expense of frontline operations. Thus, we have likely not seen the last of Ukraines jet ski-riding commandoes.

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Cypriot police arrested four Syrian nationals after a bomb exploded on Friday night near the Israeli embassy in the capital city of Nicosia.

The explosion occurred on Friday night at 1:37 a.m. BChasdei Hashem, there were no injuries and only slight damage.

Two knives and a hammer were found in the car of two of the suspects in the bombing.

The detention of the four suspects, ranging in age from 17 to 21, was extended by a Cypriot court for six days.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)
StockNews.com cut shares of Nomad Foods (NYSE:NOMD  Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on NOMD. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Nomad Foods from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 10th. Barclays lowered their target price on Nomad Foods from $22.00 to $18.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $21.20.

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Nomad Foods Price Performance

NOMD stock opened at $14.12 on Wednesday. The businesss fifty day moving average price is $16.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.41. Nomad Foods has a 12-month low of $12.50 and a 12-month high of $19.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $2.46 billion, a PE ratio of 11.30 and a beta of 0.76.

Nomad Foods (NYSE:NOMD  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 9th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $811.11 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $815.57 million. Nomad Foods had a net margin of 6.88% and a return on equity of 11.21%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Nomad Foods will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nomad Foods

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Nomad Foods in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Nomad Foods by 117.5% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,897 shares of the companys stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 1,025 shares during the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Nomad Foods by 61.6% in the 1st quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,588 shares of the companys stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 987 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in shares of Nomad Foods by 745.8% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 3,882 shares of the companys stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 3,423 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC purchased a new position in shares of Nomad Foods in the 3rd quarter valued at $66,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.44% of the companys stock.

Nomad Foods Company Profile

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Nomad Foods Limited manufactures, markets, and distributes a range of frozen food products in the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, France, Sweden, Austria, Norway, Spain, Serbia, Croatia, Switzerland, and rest of Europe. The company offers frozen fish products, including fish fingers, coated fish, and natural fish; ready to cook vegetable products, such as peas and spinach; and frozen poultry and meat products comprising nuggets, grills, and burgers.

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StockNews.com cut shares of Bausch Health Companies (NYSE:BHC  Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on BHC. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Bausch Health Companies from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research report on Monday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Bausch Health Companies from a hold rating to a buy rating and upped their price target for the company from $9.00 to $16.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 20th.

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Bausch Health Companies Stock Down 0.3 %

BHC stock opened at $7.32 on Wednesday. Bausch Health Companies has a 12 month low of $5.57 and a 12 month high of $10.23. The firm has a market cap of $2.64 billion, a PE ratio of -14.35 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $7.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 74.20, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Bausch Health Companies (NYSE:BHC  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. Bausch Health Companies had a negative net margin of 2.23% and a positive return on equity of 411.18%. Equities research analysts forecast that Bausch Health Companies will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bausch Health Companies

In other Bausch Health Companies news, EVP Seana Carson sold 6,685 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.28, for a total value of $55,351.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 385,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,189,563.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 13.75% of the companys stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BHC. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Bausch Health Companies by 57.4% during the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,262 shares of the companys stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,189 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Bausch Health Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at $49,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. grew its stake in Bausch Health Companies by 22.9% in the 1st quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 9,952 shares of the companys stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 1,852 shares during the last quarter. AXQ Capital LP acquired a new position in Bausch Health Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at $83,000. Finally, Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in Bausch Health Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at $84,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.56% of the companys stock.

About Bausch Health Companies

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Bausch Health Companies Inc operates as a diversified pharmaceutical company. It develops, manufactures, and markets a range of products primarily in gastroenterology, hepatology, neurology, dermatology, international pharmaceuticals, and eye health. The company operates through five segments: Salix, International, Solta Medical, Diversified, and Bausch + Lomb.

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StockNews.com lowered shares of Donaldson (NYSE:DCI  Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report released on Thursday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Donaldson from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 30th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Donaldson in a research note on Tuesday, June 27th. They issued a neutral rating and a $66.00 price target for the company. They noted that the move was a valuation call.

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Donaldson Price Performance

Shares of DCI stock opened at $58.58 on Thursday. Donaldson has a 1-year low of $51.47 and a 1-year high of $66.96. The stocks 50-day moving average is $61.14 and its 200 day moving average is $62.00. The company has a market cap of $7.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.13, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Donaldson (NYSE:DCI  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts consensus estimates of $0.78. Donaldson had a return on equity of 30.21% and a net margin of 10.46%. The company had revenue of $879.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $896.05 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.84 earnings per share. The firms revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Donaldson will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Donaldson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 14th. Donaldsons dividend payout ratio is currently 34.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Donaldson

In other Donaldson news, insider Amy C. Becker sold 3,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.84, for a total value of $191,520.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 35,809 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,286,046.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Amy C. Becker sold 3,000 shares of Donaldson stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.84, for a total value of $191,520.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 35,809 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,286,046.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Douglas A. Milroy sold 26,300 shares of Donaldson stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.95, for a total value of $1,681,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,824 shares in the company, valued at $180,594.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Donaldson

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Donaldson by 792.2% during the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 455 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Donaldson by 521.3% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 497 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Donaldson in the second quarter valued at $39,000. Artemis Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Donaldson in the third quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new stake in Donaldson in the first quarter valued at $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.35% of the companys stock.

About Donaldson

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Donaldson Company, Inc manufactures and sells filtration systems and replacement parts worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Mobile Solutions, Industrial Solutions, and Life Sciences. Its Mobile Solutions segment provides replacement filters for air and liquid filtration applications, such as air filtration systems; liquid filtration systems for fuel, lube, and hydraulic applications; exhaust and emissions systems and sensors; indicators; and monitoring systems.

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StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Westwood Holdings Group (NYSE:WHG  Free Report) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning. The brokerage issued a buy rating on the asset managers stock.

Westwood Holdings Group Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE WHG opened at $9.06 on Thursday. Westwood Holdings Group has a 1-year low of $8.91 and a 1-year high of $14.20. The company has a 50-day moving average of $9.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.36. The company has a market cap of $83.17 million, a PE ratio of -90.60 and a beta of 1.17.

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Westwood Holdings Group (NYSE:WHG  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The asset manager reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group had a negative net margin of 0.85% and a positive return on equity of 2.34%. The company had revenue of $21.95 million during the quarter.

Westwood Holdings Group Announces Dividend

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westwood Holdings Group

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 1st were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 31st. Westwood Holdings Groups dividend payout ratio is presently -600.00%.

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. North Star Investment Management Corp. raised its position in shares of Westwood Holdings Group by 6.2% in the second quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 295,697 shares of the asset managers stock valued at $3,667,000 after purchasing an additional 17,204 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in shares of Westwood Holdings Group by 2.9% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 182,632 shares of the asset managers stock valued at $2,265,000 after purchasing an additional 5,223 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Westwood Holdings Group by 1.4% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 172,418 shares of the asset managers stock valued at $2,138,000 after purchasing an additional 2,312 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Westwood Holdings Group by 2.5% in the first quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 82,245 shares of the asset managers stock valued at $922,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Finally, Employees Retirement System of Texas raised its position in shares of Westwood Holdings Group by 40.2% in the first quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas now owns 82,000 shares of the asset managers stock valued at $1,256,000 after purchasing an additional 23,500 shares during the period. 55.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Westwood Holdings Group

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Westwood Holdings Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manages investment assets and provides services for its clients. The company operates in two segments, Advisory and Trust. The Advisory segment provides investment advisory services to corporate retirement plans, public retirement plans, endowments, foundations, individuals, and the Westwood Funds; and investment sub-advisory services to mutual funds, pooled investment vehicles, and its Trust segment.

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Baldwin Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX  Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 4,115 shares of the medical equipment providers stock, valued at approximately $223,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fiduciary Alliance LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Boston Scientific during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC purchased a new stake in Boston Scientific during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 109.5% during the 1st quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 551 shares of the medical equipment providers stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. BDO Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific by 209.4% in the 2nd quarter. BDO Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 594 shares of the medical equipment providers stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Boston Scientific during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.11% of the companys stock.

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Boston Scientific Stock Down 1.0 %

BSX opened at $50.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Boston Scientific Co. has a 12 month low of $39.51 and a 12 month high of $55.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 83.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

Boston Scientific ( NYSE:BSX Get Free Report ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.04. Boston Scientific had a return on equity of 15.16% and a net margin of 6.81%. The company had revenue of $3.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.44 earnings per share. Boston Scientifics quarterly revenue was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Boston Scientific Co. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

In other Boston Scientific news, CEO Michael F. Mahoney sold 113,355 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.91, for a total value of $6,110,968.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,498,922 shares of the companys stock, valued at $80,806,885.02. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Michael F. Mahoney sold 113,355 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.91, for a total value of $6,110,968.05. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,498,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,806,885.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Joseph Michael Fitzgerald sold 15,867 shares of Boston Scientific stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.00, for a total value of $872,685.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 197,992 shares of the companys stock, valued at $10,889,560. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 330,990 shares of company stock valued at $17,435,124. Corporate insiders own 0.71% of the companys stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Boston Scientific from $58.00 to $59.00 in a report on Friday, July 28th. Evercore ISI reiterated an outperform rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Boston Scientific in a research report on Tuesday, September 19th. 22nd Century Group reissued an initiates rating on shares of Boston Scientific in a research report on Friday, June 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Boston Scientific from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, September 21st. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on Boston Scientific from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, September 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $60.60.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on BSX

Boston Scientific Company Profile

(Free Report)

Boston Scientific Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets medical devices for use in various interventional medical specialties worldwide. It operates through MedSurg and Cardiovascular segments. The company offers devices to diagnose and treat gastrointestinal and pulmonary conditions; devices to treat various urological and pelvic conditions; implantable cardioverter and implantable cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators; pacemakers and implantable cardiac resynchronization therapy pacemakers; and remote patient management systems.

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Baldwin Investment Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE  Free Report) by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,676 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock after selling 400 shares during the period. Baldwin Investment Management LLCs holdings in Pfizer were worth $648,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kistler Tiffany Companies LLC lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Kistler Tiffany Companies LLC now owns 54,934 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $2,015,000 after buying an additional 1,803 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 117,232 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $4,300,000 after purchasing an additional 7,642 shares in the last quarter. Investment Management Associates Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Investment Management Associates Inc. ADV now owns 26,845 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $985,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS increased its position in Pfizer by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 1,170,627 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $42,939,000 after purchasing an additional 20,346 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. lifted its stake in Pfizer by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 15,794 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $579,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.05% of the companys stock.

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Pfizer Trading Down 1.7 %

NYSE:PFE opened at $30.65 on Friday. Pfizer Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.48 and a 12 month high of $54.93. The company has a current ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $173.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.15, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.66.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

Pfizer ( NYSE:PFE Get Free Report ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.10. Pfizer had a return on equity of 28.36% and a net margin of 27.55%. The company had revenue of $12.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.36 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.04 EPS. The firms revenue for the quarter was down 54.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 4th. Investors of record on Friday, November 10th will be issued a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 9th. Pfizers dividend payout ratio is currently 43.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on PFE shares. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Pfizer from $62.00 to $42.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an overweight rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Monday, October 2nd. Barclays reduced their price target on Pfizer from $38.00 to $35.00 in a report on Monday, October 2nd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $42.00 to $35.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Pfizer from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 16th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $42.67.

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About Pfizer

(Free Report)

Pfizer Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells biopharmaceutical products worldwide. It offers medicines and vaccines in various therapeutic areas, including cardiovascular metabolic, migraine, and women's health under the Eliquis, Nurtec ODT/Vydura, and the Premarin family brands; infectious diseases with unmet medical needs under the Prevnar family, Nimenrix, FSME/IMMUN-TicoVac, and Trumenba brands; and COVID-19 prevention and treatment, and potential future mRNA and antiviral products under the Comirnaty and Paxlovid brands.

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Kistler Tiffany Companies LLC raised its position in Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI  Free Report) (TSE:CNR) by 318.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,906 shares of the transportation companys stock after purchasing an additional 2,972 shares during the period. Kistler Tiffany Companies LLCs holdings in Canadian National Railway were worth $473,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Canadian National Railway during the 4th quarter worth $727,713,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Canadian National Railway by 25,348.8% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,650,355 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $194,698,000 after buying an additional 1,643,870 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD purchased a new stake in Canadian National Railway in the 1st quarter valued at about $137,546,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway by 166.7% during the 2nd quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,772,695 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $199,375,000 after acquiring an additional 1,108,104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 12,333,700 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $1,655,948,000 after acquiring an additional 625,000 shares during the period. 67.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Argus downgraded shares of Canadian National Railway from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Canadian National Railway from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 3rd. National Bank Financial reduced their target price on Canadian National Railway from C$171.00 to C$168.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 4th. Barclays dropped their price target on Canadian National Railway from C$160.00 to C$150.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 4th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Canadian National Railway from $120.00 to $112.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $146.39.

Canadian National Railway Stock Performance

NYSE:CNI opened at $106.45 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $110.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $115.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market cap of $69.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.23, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.91. Canadian National Railway has a 1-year low of $104.62 and a 1-year high of $129.89.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI  Get Free Report) (TSE:CNR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The transportation company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.06). Canadian National Railway had a return on equity of 24.62% and a net margin of 30.21%. The business had revenue of $3.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Canadian National Railway will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 8th were given a dividend of $0.5996 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 7th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. This is an increase from Canadian National Railways previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. Canadian National Railways dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.73%.

About Canadian National Railway

(Free Report)

Canadian National Railway Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in rail and related transportation business. The company offers rail services, which include equipment, custom brokage services, transloading and distribution, business development and real estate, and private car storage services; and intermodal services including temperature controlled cargo, port partnership, transloading and distribution, logistic parks, customs brokerage, trucking, and moving grains in containers.

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Baldwin Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS  Free Report) by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,758 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Baldwin Investment Management LLCs holdings in Otis Worldwide were worth $691,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of OTIS. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Otis Worldwide by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 9,431 shares of the companys stock valued at $839,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. TFC Financial Management Inc. raised its position in Otis Worldwide by 34.4% in the first quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 520 shares of the companys stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Optas LLC lifted its stake in Otis Worldwide by 1.9% during the first quarter. Optas LLC now owns 7,255 shares of the companys stock worth $612,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Otis Worldwide by 1.7% during the first quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust now owns 8,477 shares of the companys stock worth $715,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its position in shares of Otis Worldwide by 14.3% during the second quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 1,133 shares of the companys stock worth $101,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. 85.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Otis Worldwide Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE OTIS opened at $77.53 on Friday. Otis Worldwide Co. has a 52 week low of $64.30 and a 52 week high of $91.33. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $82.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $84.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.92 billion, a PE ratio of 24.46 and a beta of 0.98.

Otis Worldwide Announces Dividend

Otis Worldwide ( NYSE:OTIS Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 26th. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.59 billion. Otis Worldwide had a net margin of 9.59% and a negative return on equity of 28.62%. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.86 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Otis Worldwide Co. will post 3.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 18th were issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 17th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Otis Worldwides payout ratio is currently 42.90%.

Insider Transactions at Otis Worldwide

In related news, insider Fernandez Bernardo Calleja sold 3,992 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.70, for a total value of $362,074.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,097 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,818,197.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Michael Patrick Ryan sold 6,372 shares of Otis Worldwide stock in a transaction on Friday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.50, for a total transaction of $576,666.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Fernandez Bernardo Calleja sold 3,992 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Friday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.70, for a total transaction of $362,074.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 42,097 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,818,197.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the companys stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on OTIS. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Otis Worldwide from $96.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Friday, July 28th. TheStreet raised shares of Otis Worldwide from a c+ rating to a b rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Otis Worldwide from $80.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, September 7th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Otis Worldwide in a report on Tuesday, October 3rd. They set a neutral rating and a $87.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Otis Worldwide from $92.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Monday, October 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $86.75.

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About Otis Worldwide

(Free Report)

Otis Worldwide Corporation engages in the manufacturing, installation, and servicing of elevators and escalators in the United States, China, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, New Equipment and Service. The New Equipment segment designs, manufactures, sells, and installs a range of passenger and freight elevators, as well as escalators and moving walkways for residential and commercial buildings, and infrastructure projects.

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New Jersey Better Educational Savings Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Cencora, Inc. (NYSE:COR  Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,220 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $235,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of COR. Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cencora by 321.2% in the 2nd quarter. Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc. now owns 139 shares of the companys stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cencora by 61.8% in the 1st quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 165 shares of the companys stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Cencora by 50.9% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 175 shares of the companys stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Cencora in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Cencora in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.12% of the companys stock.

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Cencora Stock Performance

Shares of COR traded down $1.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $188.75. 1,122,363 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,086,969. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.51, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $185.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $175.99. Cencora, Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.47 and a 1 year high of $194.79. The stock has a market cap of $38.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.55.

Cencora Dividend Announcement

Cencora ( NYSE:COR Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 2nd. The company reported $2.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.09. Cencora had a net margin of 0.66% and a return on equity of 612.69%. The firm had revenue of $66.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $63.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.62 earnings per share. The firms quarterly revenue was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Cencora, Inc. will post 11.93 earnings per share for the current year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 11th were issued a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 10th. Cencoras dividend payout ratio is 23.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on COR shares. Mizuho raised their target price on Cencora from $174.00 to $192.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 11th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Cencora from $200.00 to $212.00 in a research report on Monday, July 17th. TheStreet raised shares of Cencora from a c rating to a b rating in a research report on Monday, October 9th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Cencora in a research report on Sunday, October 1st. They set a strong-buy rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Cencora from $176.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, August 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $196.08.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on COR

Insider Buying and Selling at Cencora

In other Cencora news, major shareholder Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. sold 1,320,858 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.27, for a total value of $249,998,793.66. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 31,769,546 shares in the company, valued at $6,013,021,971.42. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Cencora news, EVP Gina Clark sold 10,695 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.00, for a total value of $1,999,965.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,038 shares in the company, valued at $2,999,106. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. sold 1,320,858 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.27, for a total value of $249,998,793.66. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 31,769,546 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $6,013,021,971.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,367,052 shares of company stock valued at $258,580,567. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Cencora Company Profile

(Free Report)

Cencora, Inc sources and distributes pharmaceutical products. Its U.S. Healthcare Solutions segment distributes pharmaceuticals, over-the-counter healthcare products, home healthcare supplies and equipment, and related services to acute care hospitals and health systems, independent and chain retail pharmacies, mail order pharmacies, medical clinics, long-term care and alternate site pharmacies, and other customers.

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It was in Kazakhstan where Chinese President Xi Jinping first proposed the Belt and Road Initiative a decade ago - a move which has since seen Beijing bankroll billions of dollars worth of projects around the globe.

Now, the central Asian nation is again taking centre stage, with it expected to be a crucial part of the initiative's next phase as Beijing's ambitions turn to growing its influence in Europe, one of its key markets.

Kazakhstan, the world's largest landlocked country, is geographically positioned to connect China to Europe through the Eurasian land mass, making it a vital transit corridor.

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.

While meeting Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in Beijing on Tuesday ahead of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, Xi recalled that it was in Kazakhstan where he first put forward the idea for the Silk Road Economic Belt.

"China is ready to work with Kazakhstan to further facilitate trade and investment, and implement key investment cooperation projects in production capacity," Xi said in the meeting. He also promised that China would "strengthen connectivity" and expand the scale of railroad freight transport between the two countries. Xi added that the China-Kazakhstan agreement on mutual visa exemption would also soon come into force.

Meanwhile Tokayev reaffirmed his country's backing of belt and road.

"Kazakhstan has firmly supported and actively participated in the initiative since day one," he said at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

But it is Xi's promise that China will boost the use of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), and enhance the capacity, scale and efficiency of the China-Europe Railway Express that puts Kazakhstan firmly at the centre of the map - and at the centre of China's ambitions in Asia and Europe.

Story continues

On Wednesday, in his opening address at the belt and road forum, Xi revealed that Beijing will speed up the development of the China-Europe Railway Express, participate in the TITR, and build a new logistics corridor across the Eurasian continent linked by direct railway and road transport.

"We will vigorously integrate ports, shipping and trading services under the 'Silk Road Maritime' and accelerate the building of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor and the Air Silk Road," Xi said, while unveiling a 780 billion yuan (US$106 billion) financial package that would fund both China's signature projects and "small yet smart" livelihood programmes under the Belt and Road Initiative.

Observers said going through the list of cooperation projects released at the third belt and road forum, it appears China is banking on the China-Europe Railway Express to create a new corridor to access the European market via Central Asia.

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Chinese President Xi Jinping have cemented their relationship at the third belt and road forum. EPA-EFE/Xinhua alt=Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Chinese President Xi Jinping have cemented their relationship at the third belt and road forum. EPA-EFE/Xinhua>

David Shinn, a China expert and professor at George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs, said geographically, the plans seem to focus on central Asia.

"It ... looks like [the belt and road] will concentrate on the region between China and Europe, especially central Asia," he said.

"Outlying areas such as Africa and Latin America will receive less attention as the Belt and Road Initiative returns to its initial area of focus," Shinn said, referring to Central Asia and Southeast Asia where the initiative was initially targeted.

From the forum, there were nine memorandums of understanding or projects agreed with Kazakhstan, eight with Uzbekistan, three with Kyrgyzstan, one with Turkmenistan and one with Tajikistan, plus five Central Asian regional projects, according to Oyuna Baldakova, a research associate at King's College London.

However, Baldakova said that did not mean other regions would be left out, as there were plenty of projects with Arab, African and Latin American countries as well.

"So I wouldn't say that Beijing is returning to its initial regions of focus," Baldakova said.

Interestingly, she said there were two projects based around the Caspian Sea - the development of the China-Europe freight trains' trans-Caspian transport route and the Aktau Port container hub project, located on the eastern coast of the Caspian Sea in Kazakhstan.

"It shows that Beijing is keen on developing the Middle Corridor that goes from China via Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan and further to Europe," Baldakova said.

She said it was an alternative to the Northern Corridor that goes via Russia.

Surprisingly, Russia was not mentioned at all in the list of cooperation projects. But in a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Xi said China would work with Russia and other members of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) to forge stronger synergy between the belt and road cooperation and the EEU, and carry out regional cooperation at a higher level.

Meanwhile in Southeast Asia, especially in Indonesia, Malaysia, Laos and Cambodia, China is planning a series of mega infrastructure projects.

In Indonesia, China is planning to build a China-Indonesia Palm Park Agricultural Mechanisation Service Centre, has signed a loan agreement for the Jenelata Dam project and is set to establish a medicinal plant protection research centre.

Chinese companies are also investing in the Indonesian nickel cobalt hydroxide wet process project, with an annual output of 120,000 tonnes of nickel, 15,000 tonnes of cobalt, 50,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide and 10,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate, as well as a nickel metal production line and supporting facilities project with an annual output of 126,000 tonnes.

Benjamin Barton, an associate professor at the University of Nottingham's Malaysia campus, said Xi's reference to the China-Europe railway links that cross large swathes of Central Asia and even West Asia gave a clue as to the future focus of the initiative.

The eastern terminal of the Eurasia landbridge in Lianyungang, China. Beijing is focused on forging a trading route through Central Asia to Europe, as Xi Jinping reaffirmed at the belt and road forum. Photo: Xinhua alt=The eastern terminal of the Eurasia landbridge in Lianyungang, China. Beijing is focused on forging a trading route through Central Asia to Europe, as Xi Jinping reaffirmed at the belt and road forum. Photo: Xinhua>

"Perhaps this is indeed an indication that, in relative terms, Beijing might be looking to reorient the Belt and Road Initiative's focus back towards the geographical core of the New Silk Roads - Central Asia for projects on land and Southeast Asia for the maritime dimension," he said.

Barton said there would necessarily be an element of circumspection and contraction in China's revised approach to the belt and road.

"It is possible that Africa may lose out as a result because of the higher degree of risk surrounding infrastructure projects in some countries on the continent linked to poor credit ratings, or instability triggered by civil conflicts," he said.

"It is ironic, because China largely made a name for itself in the global infrastructure realm by taking risks in parts of the world largely abandoned or overlooked by 'traditional' powers."

Barton said it was intriguing that Xi focused on China-Europe railway cooperation as an exemplar of belt and road cooperation, when there were plenty of other examples of success stories he could have used that were unrelated to China-Europe relations.

"Maybe this could be interpreted as Xi extending an olive branch to European countries as part of a general warming of ties between China and the West after a tense few years of strategic rivalry," Barton said.

Dr Rebecca Nadin, director of global risks and resilience for the Overseas Development Institute, said the belt and road was originally seen as a Eurasian initiative and evolved to encompass Africa and Latin America.

She said expanding trade opportunities, increasing outward investment and building cultural connections with China's immediate regional neighbours had been a constant focus and continued to be the case. She added that this type of regional integration was critical to address a range of domestic economic and security objectives.

Nadin said the commitment to build a new logistics corridor across the Eurasian continental area was clearly seen as a critical component in China's ambitions to mitigate supply chain disruptions.

"So from a transport or supply chain connectivity perspective, then Central Asia and South Asia are going to be very important to get right for Beijing," Nadin said.

She said the cooperation projects showed continuity in their geographic focus, rather than a shift back, as Africa and Latin America were still important for trade, investment and diplomatic support for China's emerging world order narrative.

For instance, Xi met with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed at the forum, and the relationship was upgraded to an "all-weather strategic partnership". Xi also met leaders from Nigeria, Kenya and the Republic of Congo. China committed to increasing imports of African agricultural goods as well as investment in African industrialisation, green development and the digital economy.

"Whether this collaboration comes under the umbrella of the BRI [Belt and Road Initiative], the GSI [Global Security Initiative] or GDI [Global Development Initiative] remains to be seen, but the overall message China is trying to convey is that China supports the developing world and the US/West does not," Nadin said.

"China needs the developing world to see how they fit into China's plan for global multipolarity."

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.
Hosking Partners LLP grew its position in Warrior Met Coal, Inc. (NYSE:HCC  Free Report) by 61.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 263,718 shares of the companys stock after buying an additional 100,329 shares during the quarter. Hosking Partners LLP owned 0.51% of Warrior Met Coal worth $10,272,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Warrior Met Coal in the first quarter valued at $728,000. Martingale Asset Management L P grew its stake in shares of Warrior Met Coal by 36.2% in the first quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 33,050 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,213,000 after buying an additional 8,786 shares in the last quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Warrior Met Coal by 18.2% in the first quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,010 shares of the companys stock valued at $294,000 after buying an additional 1,231 shares in the last quarter. Kendall Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Warrior Met Coal by 16.7% in the first quarter. Kendall Capital Management now owns 8,400 shares of the companys stock valued at $308,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its stake in shares of Warrior Met Coal by 33.4% in the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 46,323 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,701,000 after buying an additional 11,597 shares in the last quarter. 93.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HCC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Warrior Met Coal from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 4th. B. Riley boosted their target price on Warrior Met Coal from $55.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 27th.

Insider Transactions at Warrior Met Coal

In other news, CAO Brian M. Chopin sold 2,816 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $126,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,187 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $503,415. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.00% of the companys stock.

Warrior Met Coal Stock Down 2.2 %

HCC traded down $1.07 on Friday, hitting $46.68. 600,395 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 716,379. Warrior Met Coal, Inc. has a twelve month low of $31.04 and a twelve month high of $52.99. The company has a market cap of $2.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.23 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 9.79, a quick ratio of 8.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $44.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.15.

Warrior Met Coal (NYSE:HCC  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.02 by ($0.39). Warrior Met Coal had a return on equity of 31.67% and a net margin of 28.47%. The company had revenue of $379.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $407.47 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.87 earnings per share. The companys revenue for the quarter was down 39.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Warrior Met Coal, Inc. will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Warrior Met Coal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 7th were given a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 4th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Warrior Met Coals dividend payout ratio is currently 3.14%.

Warrior Met Coal Profile

(Free Report)

Warrior Met Coal, Inc produces and exports non-thermal metallurgical coal for the steel industry. It operates two underground mines located in Alabama. The company sells its metallurgical coal to a customer base of blast furnace steel producers located primarily in Europe, South America, and Asia. It also sells natural gas, which is extracted as a byproduct from coal production.

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Hosking Partners LLP boosted its position in Permian Basin Royalty Trust (NYSE:PBT  Free Report) by 8.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 444,065 shares of the oil and gas producers stock after acquiring an additional 34,545 shares during the quarter. Hosking Partners LLP owned 0.95% of Permian Basin Royalty Trust worth $11,071,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PBT. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC acquired a new position in shares of Permian Basin Royalty Trust during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Permian Basin Royalty Trust by 87.3% during the first quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,461 shares of the oil and gas producers stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 681 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Permian Basin Royalty Trust by 78.9% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,400 shares of the oil and gas producers stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Permian Basin Royalty Trust by 15.0% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,329 shares of the oil and gas producers stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Permian Basin Royalty Trust during the first quarter worth about $132,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.12% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com began coverage on Permian Basin Royalty Trust in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They set a hold rating on the stock.

Permian Basin Royalty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PBT traded down $0.70 during trading on Friday, hitting $20.55. The companys stock had a trading volume of 94,613 shares, compared to its average volume of 89,172. The company has a market capitalization of $957.84 million, a PE ratio of 18.19 and a beta of 0.87. Permian Basin Royalty Trust has a fifty-two week low of $16.65 and a fifty-two week high of $27.77. The stocks 50-day moving average price is $21.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.34.

Permian Basin Royalty Trust (NYSE:PBT  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 9th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $6.10 million during the quarter. Permian Basin Royalty Trust had a return on equity of 20,615.65% and a net margin of 97.93%.

Permian Basin Royalty Trust Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 16th. Investors of record on Friday, September 29th were issued a $0.022 dividend. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 28th. Permian Basin Royalty Trusts dividend payout ratio is currently 23.89%.

About Permian Basin Royalty Trust

(Free Report)

Permian Basin Royalty Trust, an express trust, holds overriding royalty interests in various oil and gas properties in the United States. The company owns a 75% net overriding royalty interest in the Waddell Ranch properties comprising Dune, Sand Hills (Judkins), Sand Hills (McKnight), Sand Hills (Tubb), University-Waddell (Devonian), and Waddell fields located in Crane County, Texas.

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Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited (NYSE:CP  Free Report) (TSE:CP) by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 19,745 shares of the transportation companys stock after acquiring an additional 1,208 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLCs holdings in Canadian Pacific Kansas City were worth $1,595,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BerganKDV Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Canadian Pacific Kansas City by 193.9% in the 1st quarter. BerganKDV Wealth Management LLC now owns 338 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the period. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Canadian Pacific Kansas City by 750.0% in the 4th quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 340 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Motco acquired a new position in shares of Canadian Pacific Kansas City in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Canadian Pacific Kansas City in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Sittner & Nelson LLC acquired a new position in shares of Canadian Pacific Kansas City in the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. 67.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Canadian Pacific Kansas City Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of CP opened at $71.17 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited has a 12 month low of $68.51 and a 12 month high of $85.40. The stocks 50 day moving average is $76.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.45. The firm has a market cap of $66.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.69, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.01.

Canadian Pacific Kansas City Increases Dividend

Canadian Pacific Kansas City ( NYSE:CP Get Free Report ) (TSE:CP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 27th. The transportation company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.69 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.47 billion. Canadian Pacific Kansas City had a net margin of 41.92% and a return on equity of 8.92%. Analysts predict that Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 29th will be paid a $0.1437 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 28th. This is a positive change from Canadian Pacific Kansas Citys previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. This represents a $0.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Canadian Pacific Kansas Citys payout ratio is currently 16.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America cut their target price on Canadian Pacific Kansas City from $91.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. StockNews.com raised Canadian Pacific Kansas City from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, October 5th. Barclays reduced their price target on Canadian Pacific Kansas City from $89.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 4th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Canadian Pacific Kansas City from $98.00 to $93.00 and set a positive rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 3rd. Finally, CSFB lifted their price target on Canadian Pacific Kansas City from $87.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $94.75.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on Canadian Pacific Kansas City

Canadian Pacific Kansas City Profile

(Free Report)

Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates a transcontinental freight railway in Canada and the United States. The company transports bulk commodities, including grain, coal, potash, fertilizers, and sulphur; and merchandise freight, such as energy, chemicals and plastics, metals, minerals and consumer, automotive, and forest products.

Further Reading

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Flossbach Von Storch AG increased its position in Newmont Co. (NYSE:NEM  Free Report) by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,296,942 shares of the basic materials companys stock after acquiring an additional 404,403 shares during the quarter. Newmont comprises about 2.5% of Flossbach Von Storch AGs investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Flossbach Von Storch AGs holdings in Newmont were worth $609,908,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its holdings in Newmont by 101,647.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 547,513,832 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $23,356,940,000 after acquiring an additional 546,975,720 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in Newmont by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 95,023,960 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $4,658,075,000 after acquiring an additional 2,899,139 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in Newmont by 12.8% in the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 17,968,912 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $880,836,000 after acquiring an additional 2,042,778 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Newmont by 13.0% in the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,718,524 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $721,502,000 after acquiring an additional 1,695,666 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Newmont by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,023,240 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $1,034,697,000 after acquiring an additional 917,795 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.53% of the companys stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Newmont

In other Newmont news, COO Robert D. Atkinson sold 5,500 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.47, for a total value of $200,585.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 70,751 shares in the company, valued at $2,580,288.97. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Newmont news, COO Robert D. Atkinson sold 5,500 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.47, for a total value of $200,585.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 70,751 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,580,288.97. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Thomas Ronald Palmer sold 11,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.16, for a total transaction of $463,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 267,039 shares of the companys stock, valued at $11,258,364.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 44,366 shares of company stock worth $1,738,008 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the companys stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on NEM shares. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Newmont from $44.00 to $38.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 4th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a sector perform rating and issued a $52.00 price target on shares of Newmont in a research report on Wednesday, September 6th. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Newmont from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 7th. Argus decreased their price target on shares of Newmont from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 25th. Finally, TD Securities decreased their price target on shares of Newmont from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Newmont has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $56.82.

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Newmont Price Performance

NYSE:NEM opened at $38.80 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $30.84 billion, a PE ratio of -40.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.40. Newmont Co. has a 12 month low of $34.81 and a 12 month high of $60.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The companys 50-day moving average price is $38.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.42.

Newmont (NYSE:NEM  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 20th. The basic materials company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.93 billion. Newmont had a negative net margin of 6.77% and a positive return on equity of 5.74%. Newmonts quarterly revenue was down 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Newmont Co. will post 1.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Newmont Profile

(Free Report)

Newmont Corporation engages in the production and exploration of gold. It also explores for copper, silver, zinc, and lead. The company has operations and/or assets in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Peru, Suriname, Argentina, Chile, Australia, and Ghana. As of December 31, 2022, it had proven and probable gold reserves of 96.1 million ounces and land position of 61,500 square kilometers.

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New Jersey Better Educational Savings Trust purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX  Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 767 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tucker Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the first quarter worth approximately $37,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the second quarter worth $37,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the first quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Accel Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 254.0% during the 1st quarter. Accel Wealth Management now owns 177 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.72% of the companys stock.

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Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE BDX traded up $1.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $258.64. The company had a trading volume of 1,049,612 shares, compared to its average volume of 944,191. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market cap of $75.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $267.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $262.02. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $217.70 and a fifty-two week high of $287.32.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

Becton, Dickinson and Company ( NYSE:BDX Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 3rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.07. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 8.73%. The company had revenue of $4.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.66 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Companys revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 8th were issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 7th. Becton, Dickinson and Companys payout ratio is presently 66.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BDX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, July 24th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $282.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Monday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $295.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, August 4th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Finally, Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $305.00 to $304.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $286.00.

Read Our Latest Research Report on Becton, Dickinson and Company

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,300 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.13, for a total transaction of $360,269.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,157 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,429,159.41. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,300 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.13, for a total value of $360,269.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,157 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,429,159.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Richard Byrd sold 459 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.48, for a total transaction of $125,986.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,444 shares in the company, valued at $945,309.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 5,581 shares of company stock worth $1,551,429. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the companys stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Company Profile

(Free Report)

Becton, Dickinson and Company develops, manufactures, and sells medical supplies, devices, laboratory equipment, and diagnostic products for healthcare institutions, physicians, life science researchers, clinical laboratories, pharmaceutical industry, and the general public worldwide. The company's BD Medical segment provides peripheral intravenous (IV) and advanced peripheral catheters, central lines, acute dialysis catheters, vascular care and preparation products, needle-free IV connectors and extensions sets, closed-system drug transfer devices, hazardous drug detections, hypodermic syringes and needles, anesthesia needles and trays, enteral syringes, and sharps disposal systems; IV medication and infusion therapy delivery systems, medication compounding workflow systems, automated medication dispensing and supply management systems, and medication inventory optimization and tracking systems; syringes, pen needles, and other products for diabetes; and prefillable drug delivery systems.

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Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE ETF (NYSEARCA:EFA  Free Report) by 3.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 636,012 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after acquiring an additional 19,793 shares during the quarter. iShares MSCI EAFE ETF comprises 1.7% of Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. owned 0.09% of iShares MSCI EAFE ETF worth $46,111,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mutual Advisors LLC boosted its stake in iShares MSCI EAFE ETF by 48.0% in the 2nd quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 47,507 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $3,444,000 after purchasing an additional 15,400 shares during the period. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC boosted its stake in iShares MSCI EAFE ETF by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 27,656 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $2,005,000 after purchasing an additional 2,159 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its stake in iShares MSCI EAFE ETF by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 8,634 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $626,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Berkeley Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in iShares MSCI EAFE ETF by 29.4% in the 1st quarter. Berkeley Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,441 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $389,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares during the period. Finally, Graypoint LLC boosted its stake in iShares MSCI EAFE ETF by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 19,972 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $1,448,000 after purchasing an additional 846 shares during the period. 77.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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iShares MSCI EAFE ETF Stock Performance

EFA opened at $66.57 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $71.72. iShares MSCI EAFE ETF has a 1 year low of $56.22 and a 1 year high of $74.74.

iShares MSCI EAFE ETF Company Profile

iShares MSCI EAFE ETF, formerly iShares MSCI EAFE Index Fund (the Fund), is an exchange-traded fund. The Funds investment objective is to seek investment results that correspond to the price and yield performance of its underlying index, MSCI EAFE Index (the Index). The Index has been developed by MSCI Inc as an equity benchmark for its international stock performance.

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Gulf International Bank UK Ltd lowered its position in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX  Free Report) by 25.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,082 shares of the shipping service providers stock after selling 8,355 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltds holdings in FedEx were worth $5,969,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. RB Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of FedEx by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 1,951 shares of the shipping service providers stock worth $451,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of FedEx by 43.9% during the first quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,385 shares of the shipping service providers stock valued at $3,560,000 after purchasing an additional 4,693 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of FedEx by 101.5% during the first quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 4,274 shares of the shipping service providers stock valued at $989,000 after purchasing an additional 2,153 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of FedEx by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 148,735 shares of the shipping service providers stock worth $34,408,000 after purchasing an additional 10,731 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its stake in shares of FedEx by 553.3% in the 1st quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 392 shares of the shipping service providers stock worth $91,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.61% of the companys stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling at FedEx

In other news, VP Jennifer L. Johnson sold 13,348 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.25, for a total value of $3,447,121.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,428 shares of the companys stock, valued at $885,281. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 8.73% of the companys stock.

FedEx Price Performance

NYSE:FDX opened at $240.62 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $60.50 billion, a PE ratio of 14.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The businesss 50-day simple moving average is $257.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $245.44. FedEx Co. has a 52 week low of $149.64 and a 52 week high of $270.95.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 20th. The shipping service provider reported $4.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.84. FedEx had a return on equity of 16.14% and a net margin of 4.71%. The company had revenue of $21.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $21.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.44 EPS. The firms revenue was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that FedEx Co. will post 18.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FedEx Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 11th were issued a $1.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 8th. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. FedExs dividend payout ratio is currently 30.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FDX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on FedEx from $255.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, September 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of FedEx from $284.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of FedEx from $269.00 to $278.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 13th. Susquehanna raised shares of FedEx from a neutral rating to a positive rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $315.00 in a report on Monday, October 2nd. Finally, Argus increased their price target on shares of FedEx from $240.00 to $260.00 in a report on Monday, June 26th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $282.54.

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FedEx Company Profile

(Free Report)

FedEx Corp. is a holding company, which engages in the provision of transportation, e-commerce, business services, and business solutions. It operates through the following segments: FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Freight, FedEx Services, and Corporate, Other and Eliminations. The FedEx Express segment offers transportation and delivery services.

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Flossbach Von Storch AG raised its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 90.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 278,079 shares of the payment services companys stock after acquiring an additional 131,847 shares during the quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AGs holdings in American Express were worth $48,441,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its position in American Express by 127.9% during the second quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 135,098 shares of the payment services companys stock worth $23,534,000 after buying an additional 75,821 shares during the period. Creative Planning grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 123,390 shares of the payment services companys stock worth $21,494,000 after acquiring an additional 6,635 shares during the period. Symmetry Partners LLC increased its stake in American Express by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC now owns 7,193 shares of the payment services companys stock valued at $1,253,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares in the last quarter. Nelson Van Denburg & Campbell Wealth Management Group LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 2.1% during the second quarter. Nelson Van Denburg & Campbell Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 19,293 shares of the payment services companys stock worth $3,361,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in American Express by 7.6% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 10,330 shares of the payment services companys stock worth $1,704,000 after purchasing an additional 726 shares in the last quarter. 83.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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American Express Stock Down 5.4 %

AXP opened at $141.57 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $104.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.19. American Express has a 12 month low of $132.21 and a 12 month high of $182.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.59. The business has a 50-day moving average of $155.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $161.16.

American Express Announces Dividend

American Express ( NYSE:AXP Get Free Report ) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 20th. The payment services company reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $2.96 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.36 billion. American Express had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 29.26%. American Expresss revenue was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.47 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that American Express will post 11.12 earnings per share for the current year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 10th. Investors of record on Friday, October 6th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 5th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.70%. American Expresss payout ratio is 22.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. 22nd Century Group restated a reiterates rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Friday, June 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of American Express from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating and raised their target price for the company from $197.00 to $200.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 5th. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of American Express from $190.00 to $175.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 11th. 51job reissued a reiterates rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, June 30th. Finally, 3M reaffirmed a reiterates rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, June 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $173.33.

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American Express Company Profile

(Free Report)

American Express Company, together with its subsidiaries, provides charge and credit payment card products, and travel-related services worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Global Consumer Services Group, Global Commercial Services, and Global Merchant and Network Services. Its products and services include payment and financing products; network services; accounts payable expense management products and services; and travel and lifestyle services.

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One Day In July LLC bought a new stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,174 shares of the payment services companys stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Zullo Investment Group Inc. boosted its stake in American Express by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,589 shares of the payment services companys stock valued at $451,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,588 shares of the payment services companys stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 5,566 shares of the payment services companys stock valued at $1,041,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Express by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,885 shares of the payment services companys stock valued at $806,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Magnus Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC now owns 3,549 shares of the payment services companys stock valued at $618,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 83.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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American Express Stock Down 5.4 %

AXP traded down $8.05 during trading on Friday, hitting $141.57. The company had a trading volume of 8,268,104 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,008,839. American Express has a one year low of $132.21 and a one year high of $182.15. The company has a market capitalization of $104.26 billion, a PE ratio of 13.28, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.19. The firms 50-day moving average price is $155.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $161.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75.

American Express Dividend Announcement

American Express ( NYSE:AXP Get Free Report ) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 20th. The payment services company reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.96 by $0.34. American Express had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 29.26%. The firm had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.47 EPS. The businesss revenue was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that American Express will post 11.12 earnings per share for the current year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 5th. American Expresss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stephens reiterated an underweight rating and set a $146.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, July 18th. Citigroup cut their price objective on American Express from $148.00 to $143.00 and set a sell rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on American Express from $192.00 to $167.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 17th. HSBC initiated coverage on American Express in a report on Friday, October 13th. They issued a buy rating and a $181.00 target price for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on American Express from $191.00 to $190.00 in a report on Monday, October 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $173.33.

View Our Latest Stock Report on American Express

About American Express

(Free Report)

American Express Company, together with its subsidiaries, provides charge and credit payment card products, and travel-related services worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Global Consumer Services Group, Global Commercial Services, and Global Merchant and Network Services. Its products and services include payment and financing products; network services; accounts payable expense management products and services; and travel and lifestyle services.

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Meridian Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY  Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 553 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $259,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LLY. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new position in Eli Lilly and Company during the 1st quarter valued at about $107,000. Roundview Capital LLC grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 2,056 shares of the companys stock worth $589,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company during the 1st quarter worth $210,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 9.9% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 53,052 shares of the companys stock valued at $15,193,000 after buying an additional 4,774 shares during the period. Finally, Barometer Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the first quarter valued at about $561,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Activity at Eli Lilly and Company

In related news, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 204,409 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $523.74, for a total transaction of $107,057,169.66. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 100,823,810 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $52,805,462,249.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 204,409 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $523.74, for a total transaction of $107,057,169.66. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 100,823,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,805,462,249.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 600 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $546.51, for a total value of $327,906.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,378 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,939,130.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 907,655 shares of company stock worth $21,078,714,805. Insiders own 0.13% of the companys stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LLY has been the topic of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $565.00 to $633.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 9th. UBS Group restated a buy rating and set a $710.00 price objective (up previously from $612.00) on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Friday. Credit Suisse Group boosted their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $490.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, August 9th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $600.00 to $700.00 in a report on Friday, October 6th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $360.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $549.30.

Get Our Latest Analysis on Eli Lilly and Company

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LLY opened at $584.64 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $565.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $480.44. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52 week low of $309.20 and a 52 week high of $629.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $554.99 billion, a PE ratio of 81.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.33.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY  Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 8th. The company reported $2.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.13. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 22.01% and a return on equity of 65.00%. The business had revenue of $8.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.25 earnings per share. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 28.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Eli Lilly and Company

(Free Report)

Eli Lilly and Company discovers, develops, and markets human pharmaceuticals worldwide. It offers Basaglar, Humalog, Humalog Mix 75/25, Humalog U-100, Humalog U-200, Humalog Mix 50/50, insulin lispro, insulin lispro protamine, insulin lispro mix 75/25, Humulin, Humulin 70/30, Humulin N, Humulin R, and Humulin U-500 for diabetes; and Jardiance, Trajenta, and Trulicity for type 2 diabetes.

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The Strawberry Fields medical marijuana dispensary opened in 2021 in Columbus near Bexley. Neighborhood leaders said they have some concerns if the business is allowed to sell recreational marijuana should Issue 2 pass in Ohio.

If Ohio votes approve Issue 2, which would legalize recreational marijuana in the state, that would mean more business for medical marijuana dispensaries already operating.

Ohio voters will decide Nov. 7 whether to approve the proposed law, which would allow people 21 and older to buy, possess and grow marijuana. Products would be taxed 10% on top of the sales tax, with revenue going to three state funds and municipalities that have dispensaries.

A provision in the ballot issue would give existing medical dispensaries the ability to get licensed to sell adult-use products at their current location.

That will likely mean more business, and more traffic and people visiting those businesses. Will it mean more concerns for residents?

According to the state's medical marijuana website's map, there are a dozen dispensary locations in the Columbus area.

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Some dispensaries in Columbus, such as Strawberry Fields at 2950 E. Main St. on the East Side near Bexley and Harvest at 2950 N. High St. in Clintonville, are near residential side streets and neighborhoods.

Others, such as Terrasana at 656 Grandview Avenue, and The Landing, at 724 W. Gay St. in Franklinton north of West Broad Street, are in commercial areas with few or no nearby homes.

An employee at the nearby Playful Pets dog day care at 13 N. Green St., said he's glad The Landing is in Franklinton. Daryl Stewart, an 18-year-old Hilltop resident, said he buys cannabis there to treat back pain and headaches after an auto crash.

"The building is very beautiful. It's very up to date," Stewart said.

"I also feel very safe. I know it's a sketchy area," he said. "The people are super cool."

The Landing medical marijuana dispensary, 724 W. Gay St., Columbus, Ohio

Steve Faulkner, who owns Playful Pets, said he has problems with the nearby Sunoco station on West Broad Street selling single-serve alcohol that he says "keeps folks inebriated." But he doesn't have current or future concerns about the marijuana dispensary.

Story continues

"The investment they've made in the community is significant. I'm confident they can do everything they can to be good neighbors," Faulkner said.

Faulkner said he also believes that if Issue 2 passes, it will bring more visitors to Franklinton, which will benefit the community.

He called the dispensary a great neighbor and steward in helping Franklinton reach its full potential. "The increase in traffic is only a positive for the community," he said.

Chris Knoppe, partner at New City Homes, with offices at 750 W. Broad St., said the Landing was built on what had been a gravel lot. "I'm happy to see new development," he said.

Knoppe said that he's seen no problems with traffic. It sits back off Broad Street. He said there have been problems with homeless people drawn to the Sunoco, including people loitering and sleeping at the New City building.

Trent Smith, executive director of the Franklinton Board of Trade, said the Franklinton Area Commission initially had some concerns about loitering. But Smith said the Landing's owners have provided good lighting and security. He said he has not heard of any negative feedback.

"They havent really tried to call attention to themselves," he said.

Alex Gant, The Landing's general manager, said her store will be selling recreational marijuana if Issue 2 passes, and with that, she expects more customer traffic.

She said a security system monitors the building 24/7. So far, she has heard no complaints. "We have talked to surrounding people who are happy we are here," she said.

Since the store opened on Aug. 1, there have been three police runs, one each for a burglary alarm, a suspicious person and a disturbance. Gant said those were all after hours and triggered by the security system.

On the East Side, Quay Barnes, who leads the Mid-East Area Commission, said there is some concern within the commission about recreational sales at Strawberry Fields if it comes to pass.

Barnes said that recent community efforts along East Main, including a special improvement district, have curbed drug activity and prostitution.

"We finally got it going in the right direction," Barnes said. There is a concern that recreation marijuana sales could draw problems back, she said.

But so far, the business has been a good neighbor so far, she said.

"I'm keeping a positive attitude it will work out," she said.

Sharon Parsons, who chairs the East Main Street Special Improvement District, said her group wants to make sure the neighborhood stays safe, and also that customers don't use parking for other businesses.

Parsons said that customers do park their cars on a side street, Enfield Road, which can block the view of drivers trying to enter that street from an alley.

"Im worried a child could get hit," she said. "The parking is so close to the alley on Enfield."

But she said there have been no other complaints from neighbors. She said they met with the neighborhood association and special improvement district and wanted their input.

"All in all, Strawberry Fields has been a good neighbor," Parsons said.

Since Jan. 12, the Strawberry Farms address has seen seven Columbus police runs for burglary alarms, two for information/assistance, and one each for a robbery alarm, disturbance and check on well-being.

Chris Hill, who has rented a house on Enfield for six months, said Strawberry Fields has been fine.

"I ain't had no problems with it," Hill, 25, said.

Harvest medical marijuana dispensary, 2950 N. High St., Columbus Ohio

In Clintonville, David Vottero, who leads the Clintonville Area Commission, said the operators at Harvest have been pleasant to work with, and hasn't heard concerns.

Vottero, who also represents the district in which Harvest sits, said legalization of recreational marijuana would likely create more traffic. There's not a lot of parking behind Harvest, he said. "I think the on-street parking supports the store more than adequately," Vottero said.

The lot behind Harvest has five parking spots, one of which is marked for handicapped drivers.

Amonica Davis, chief operating officer of Cleveland-based Harvest of Ohio, said parking has been a recurring issue for the business. Davis said Harvest has been in touch with neighboring businesses about expanding parking. And with recreational marijuana on the horizon, she said Harvest also might move to another Clintonville location.

"We just started those conversions. We know the traffic is going to increase. We want to make sure were responsive to this influx," she said.

Davis said Harvest has attracted 13,000 patients since opening on North High Street on Aug. 16, 2021.

Since May 10, the Harvest address has seen two Columbus police runs for disturbances, one for trespassing and one for information/assistance.

mferench@dispatch.com

@MarkFerenchik

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus neighborhoods and recreational marijuana dispensaries in Ohio
[October 20, 2023] Samsung Electronics Holds Memory Tech Day 2023 Unveiling New Innovations To Lead the Hyperscale AI Era Tweet

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a world leader in advanced memory technology, today held its annual Memory Tech Day, showcasing industry-first innovations and new memory products to accelerate technological advancements across future applications - including the cloud, edge devices and automotive vehicles. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231020818569/en/ Jung-Bae Lee, President and Head of Memory Business at Samsung Semiconductor, delivers opening keynote at Samsung's annual Memory Tech Day. (Photo: Business Wire) Attended by about 600 customers, partners and industry experts, the event served as a platform for Samsung executives to expand on the company's vision for "Memory Reimagined," covering long-term plans to continue its memory technology leadership, outlook on market trends and sustainability goals. The company also presented new product innovations such as the HBM3E Shinebolt, LPDDR5X CAMM2 and Detachable AutoSSD. Jung-Bae Lee, President and Head of Memory Business at Samsung Electronics, used his keynote address to expand on how Samsung will overcome the challenges of the hyperscale era through innovations in new transistor structures and materials. For example, Samsung is currently preparing new 3D structures for sub-10-nanometer (nm) DRAM, allowing larger single-chip capacities that can exceed 100 gigabits (Gb). Following its 12nm-class DRAM that began mass production in May, 2023, Samsung is working on its next-generation 11nm-class DRAM, which is set to offer the industry's highest density. NAND flash breakthroughs that will shrink cell sizes and refine channel hole etching techniques are also in development, with the goal of ushering in 1,000-layer vertical NAND (V-NAND). Development is on track for Samsung's ninth-generation V-NAND to provide the industry's highest layer count based on a double-stack structure. The company has secured a functional chip for the new V-NAND and plans to start mass production early next year. "The new era of hyperscale AI has brought the industry to a crossroads where innovation and opportunity intersect, presenting a time with potential for great leaps forward, depite the challenges," said Lee. "Through endless imagination and relentless perseverance, we will continue our market leadership by driving innovation and collaborating with customers and partners to deliver solutions that expand possibilities."



Introducing HBM3E 'Shinebolt' Today's cloud systems are evolving to optimize compute resources, which require high-performance memory to handle high capacity, bandwidth and virtual storage capabilities. Building on Samsung's expertise in commercializing the industry's first HBM2 and opening the HBM market for high-performance computing (HPC) in 2016, the company today revealed its next-generation HBM3E DRAM, named Shinebolt.

Samsung's Shinebolt will power next-generation AI applications, improving total cost of ownership (TCO) and speeding up AI-model training and inference in the data center. The HBM3E boasts an impressive speed of 9.8 gigabits-per-second (Gbps) per pin speed, meaning it can achieve transfer rates exceeding up to more than 1.2 terabytes-per-second (TBps). In order to enable higher layer stacks and improve thermal characteristics, Samsung has optimized its non-conductive film (NCF) technology to eliminate gaps between chip layers and maximize thermal conductivity. Samsung's 8H and 12H HBM3 products are currently in mass production and samples for Shinebolt are shipping to customers. Leaning into its strength as a total semiconductor solutions provider, the company also plans to offer a custom turnkey service that combines next-generation HBM, advanced packaging technologies and foundry offerings together. Other products highlighted at the event include the 32Gb DDR5 DRAM with the industry's highest capacity, the industry's first 32Gbps GDDR7 and the petabyte-scale PBSSD, which offers a significant boost to storage capabilities for server applications. Redefining Edge Devices Through Powerful Form Factors In order to process data-intensive tasks, today's AI technologies are moving toward a hybrid model that allocates and distributes workload among cloud and edge devices. Accordingly, Samsung introduced a range of memory solutions that support high-performance, high-capacity, low-power and small form factors at the edge. In addition to the industry's first 7.5Gbps LPDDR5X CAMM21 - which is expected to be a true game changer in the next-generation PC and laptop DRAM market - the company also showcased its 9.6Gbps LPDDR5X DRAM, LLW2 DRAM specialized for on-device AI, next-generation Universal Flash Storage (UFS), and the high-capacity Quad-Level Cell (QLC) SSD BM9C1 for PCs. Paving the Road for Automotive Memory Solutions Leadership With advancements in autonomous driving solutions, market demand is also rising for high-bandwidth, high-capacity DRAM and Shared SSDs, which share data with multiple System on Chips (SoCs). Samsung presented its Detachable AutoSSD that allows data access from a single SSD to multiple SoCs through virtual storage. The Detachable AutoSSD supports sequential read speed of up to 6,500 megabytes-per-second (MBps) with 4TB of capacity. As it comes in a detachable form factor, the SSD makes upgrades and adjustments easier for vehicle users and manufacturers. Samsung also displayed automotive memory solutions such as high-bandwidth GDDR7 and LPDDR5X with a more compact package size. Technology That Makes Technology Sustainable As part of its commitment to minimizing environmental impact, Samsung underscored a variety of innovations within its semiconductor operations that will contribute to increased energy efficiency for customers and consumers. The company plans to secure ultra-low-power memory technologies that can decrease power consumption in data centers, PCs and mobile devices, while using recycled materials in portable SSD products to reduce its carbon footprint. Samsung's next-generation solutions, such as the PBSSD, will also help reduce energy usage for server systems as they maximize space efficiency and rack capacity. While collaborating with stakeholders across the semiconductor value chain, including customers and partners, Samsung's semiconductor business will continue to play an active role in tackling global climate issues through its sustainability initiative, "technology that makes technology sustainable." To learn more about Samsung Semiconductor's solutions and Samsung Memory Tech Day 2023, please visit: https://semiconductor.samsung.com/events/techday-memory-2023/. The recap of the event will be posted at a later date. About Samsung Electronics Samsung Electronics inspires the world and shapes the future with transformative ideas and technologies. The company is redefining the worlds of TVs, smartphones, wearable devices, tablets, digital appliances, network systems, and memory, system LSI, foundry and LED solutions. For the latest news, please visit the Samsung Newsroom at news.samsung.com. 1 CAMM: Compression Attached Memory Module.

2 LLW: Low Latency Wide I/O. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231020818569/en/

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[October 21, 2023] Forging the Future: BatteroTech and Kale Environmental Technology Seal Strategic Partnership for Innovative Energy Solutions Tweet

LAS VEGAS, Oct. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- At 10 a.m. on October 10, Battero Tech Co. Ltd. formally entered into a strategic cooperation agreement with Kale Environmental Technology (Shanghai) Corporation at Kale Science and Technology Industrial Park. Yongqing Technology chairman Hu Xiaodong, Battero Tech chairman Zhang Wutang, Kale Environmental Technology chairman Lu Xiaobo, Anri Power Limited (ANPL) general manager Zhang Dengji, along with other key figures, attended the signing event and engaged in detailed discussions with representatives from the two companies. Amid the escalating interest in the energy storage sector, the long-term growth of firms is deeply linked to the synergy between partners across the value chain  from upstream to downstream. This newly forged strategic alliance not only strengthens each entity's market position and expertise but also underscores a commitment to collaborative growth and shared success. Mr. Hu, the Yongqing Technology chairman, remarked at the meeting, "Our affiliate, Tsingshan Industry, boasts a diversified portfolio in the renewable energy arena. Capitalizing on its competitive cost structure, resources, and managerial prowess, it has made significant inroads into the renewable energy market, positioning itself prominently along the value chain. Throughout its journey, Tsigshan remains steadfast in its commitment to open collaboration, seeking partnerships with industry leaders like Kale Environmental Technology to enhance market competitiveness. In this strategic alliance, Battero Tech and Anri Power Limited (ANPL) collaborate, leveraging their respective strengths to foster an integrated industry ecosystem and champion the cause of sustainable green energy."



Mr. Lu, the Kale Environmental Technology chairman, underscored Battero Tech's influential position and technological forefront in the energy storage battery domain. He conveyed optimism for a seamless merger of prime assets from both entities to realize symbiotic growth and collaborative success. He elaborated, "Kale's strategic vision centers around harnessing technology to forge a more sustainable environment, a philosophy that dovetails seamlessly with Battero Tech's organizational ethos of leveraging tech advancements for societal betterment and environmental stewardship. Furthermore, Battero Tech's commitment to enhancing battery performance  prioritizing capacity, speed, reliability, and overall excellence  resonates with Kale's relentless drive for product refinement and quality betterment". This alignment of values and aspirations sets a robust foundation for their collaborative ventures. "In recognizing the potential of partnerships, Kale Environmental Technology is to be commended for its dynamic, goal-oriented team that showcases commendable agility and unity during pivotal corporate transitions. Kale is one of Battero Tech's most valued collaborators," Mr. Zhang, the Battero Tech chairman commented. "Looking ahead, we hold high aspirations for the continued synergy and mutual growth between our two companies."

Following their deliberations, industry leaders toured Kale Environmental Technology's state-of-the-art exhibit space and manufacturing facility. Mr. Lu delved into the storied trajectory of Kale Environmental, highlighting their pioneering strategies in HVLS industrial fans and the commercial energy storage landscape. A standout moment was the unveiling of Anri Power (ANPL)'s groundbreaking all-liquid cooled commercial energy storage system, a first-of-its-kind innovation introduced in 2022. Mr. Zhang, the Battero Tech chairman, lauded Kale's advancements in energy storage solutions, signaling a bolstered optimism for the trajectory of their future collaborations. For more information, please visit the official website: www.batterotech.com View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/forging-the-future-batterotech-and-kale-environmental-technology-seal-strategic-partnership-for-innovative-energy-solutions-301963801.html SOURCE BatteroTech

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[October 22, 2023] SK Telecom and Deutsche Telekom to Jointly Develop Telco-specific LLM Tweet

Companies sign LOI for joint development of a large language model specifically for telecommunication companies.

Telco-specific LLM will be built through collaboration with AI companies and unveiled in the first quarter of 2024.

Collaboration between the two companies is expected to strengthen their leadership in AI and lead to a thriving global AI ecosystem. SEOUL, South Korea, Oct. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- SK Telecom (NYSE:SKM, "SKT") and Deutsche Telekom today announced that they signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) to jointly develop a telco-specific LLM that enables global telecommunication companies (telcos) to develop generative AI models easily and quickly. The LOI signing ceremony took place at SK Seorin Building located in Seoul with the attendance of key executives from both companies including Ryu Young-sang, CEO of SKT, Chung Suk-geun, Chief AI Global Officer of SKT, Tim Hottges, CEO of Deutsche Telekom, Claudia Nemat, Board Member Technology and Innovation of Deutsche Telekome, and Jonathan Abrahamson, Chief Product and Digital Officer of Deutsche Telekom. This marks the first fruition of discussions held by the Global Telco AI Alliance, which was launched by SKT, Deutsche Telekom, E&, and Singtel, in July 2023, and lays the foundation to enter the global market. SK and Deutsche Telekom plan to collaborate with AI companies such as Anthropic (Claude 2) and Meta (Llama2) to co-develop a multilingual  i.e, German, English, Korean, etc.  large language model (LLM) tailored to the needs of telcos. They plan to unveil the first version of the telco-specific LLM in the first quarter of 2024.



The telco-specific LLM will have a higher understanding of telecommunication service-related areas and customer's intentions than general LLMs, making it suitable for customer services like AI contact center. The goal is to support telcos across the world, including Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, to develop generative AI services such as AI agents flexibly according to their respective environment.

This will enable telcos to save both time and cost for developing large platforms, and secure new business opportunities and growth engines through AI innovation that shifts the paradigm in the traditional telecommunications industry. To this end, SKT and Deutsche Telekom plan to jointly develop AI platform technologies that telcos can use to create generative AI services to reduce both development time and cost. For instance, when a telco tries to build an AI contact center based on generative AI, it itself will be able to build one that suits their environment more quickly and flexibly. In addition, AI can be applied to other areas such as network monitoring and on-site operations to increase efficiency, resulting in cost savings in the mid- to long-term. Through this collaboration, the two companies will proactively respond to the recent surge in AI demand from telcos, while also promoting the expansion of the global AI ecosystem through the successful introduction of generative AI optimized for specific industries or domains. "AI shows impressive potential to significantly enhance human problem-solving capabilities. To maximize its use especially in customer service, we need to adapt existing large language models and train them with our unique data. This will elevate our generative AI tools," says Claudia Nemat, Member of the Board of Management for Technology and Innovation at Deutsche Telekom. "Through our partnership with Deutsche Telekom, we have secured a strong opportunity and momentum to gain global AI leadership and drive new growth," said Ryu Young-sang, CEO of SKT. "By combining the strengths and capabilities of the two companies in AI technology, platform and infrastructure, we expect to empower enterprises in many different industries to deliver new and higher value to their customers." About SK Telecom SK Telecom has been leading the growth of the mobile industry since 1984. Now, it is taking customer experience to new heights by extending beyond connectivity. By placing AI at the core of its business, SK Telecom is rapidly transforming into an AI company. It is focusing on driving innovations in areas of telecommunications, media, AI, metaverse, cloud and connected intelligence to deliver greater value for both individuals and enterprises. For more information, please visit our LinkedIn page www.linkedin.com/company/sk-telecom. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sk-telecom-and-deutsche-telekom-to-jointly-develop-telco-specific-llm-301963743.html SOURCE SK Telecom

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An alleged dirty cop from The Dotte will be dead soon and that means he's got bigger problems then defending himself from the newspaper.

Accordingly . . .



It's open season to claim all kinds of things . . . The guy might have killed Kennedy or started the Coates House Fire of 1978.

Doesn't matter . . .

It's open season for all manner of stories that just happen to support the social justice narrative of local activists.



And the memories of some poor lady who struggled with crack addiction is what a Pulitzer nominated author is pushing today . . .

"He made a habit, according to prosecutors, of preying on women who had recently been either victimized or arrested, and who because they were addicted or in other serious trouble werent likely to complain. These were women who wouldnt have been believed if they had."

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

6 people in Golubski victim's life knew the truth then. Why hasn't FBI talked to them? | Opinion Meka Hobbs has never shared her story publicly until now. She says former KCKPD Detective Roger Golubski used to show her pictures of dead women as he drove a creepy circuit he took her on for years. From Melinda Henneberger:
As usual, our blog community understands that not every shooting earns new coverage.



Accordingly . . .



THIS MORNING OUR BLOG COMMUNITY REPORTS DOUBLE GUNFIRE NEAR WESTPORT & HEARD THROUGHOUT WEST PLAZA FOR THE EARLY MORNING!!!



So far . . .

There haven't been any reports of injuries but we'll update if there's any more info.

What's clear is that the sound of gunshots is not familiar in a neighborhood that remains pretty price and was once one of KC's best places for families.

Developing . . .
Tammie Arroyo / AFF-USA / Shutterstock.com

World-famous entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist Mark Cuban has a net worth of $4.7 billion, but even he doesnt spend money on a chauffeur or cleaning services.

Robert Kiyosaki: 7 Money Secrets They Dont Teach You in School

Read Here: How To Get Cash Back on Your Everyday Purchases

On The Really Good Podcast, the billionaire told host Bobbi Althoff that he doesnt have a butler, prefers to drive himself everywhere, and does his own laundry. While Cuban does have a personal chef in Dallas, he and his wife cook most of their meals. The video currently has over 2.5 million views on YouTube.

Cuban said he drives himself because he enjoys the privacy when asked if he has a chauffeur.

I like the privacy. Ive been around people who have hired somebody to do everything for them, and thats just like no privacy, he explained. Its hard enough to have privacy.

Cuban does own several houses and enjoys his private jets, which he says helps him save time.

Cuban also said he tries to be the same person as when he was poor and rich and has kept most of the same friends. When I was poor, I had a blast. I loved my life, he explained. I could wake up smiling and back then, you just had not to answer the phone because it could be a bill collector.

Earlier this year, Cuban told CBSs Sunday Morning that he worked hard to keep his wealth from changing his personality and would be happy with 1% of his net worth.

Born to working-class parents in Pittsburgh, Cuban didnt grow up with the wealth he has today. When Althoff asked when he stopped being poor, Cuban said it was when he was 28 or 29 years old.

Bill Gates: 7 Things He Wont Waste Money On

But when I was 27, I wont forget it, Cuban said. I went to the ATM, and it showed me a big old zero. So thats when I was 27. And then got past that, and then bam, bam, bam, bam, bam.

More From GOBankingRates

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Mark Cuban: Heres Why I Dont Spend Money on a Chauffeur or Cleaning Services
UPDATE: Peel police say the boy has been located.

Peel police are searching for an 11-year-old boy who left his home in Mississauga overnight.

Officers are asking the public for assistance in locating 11-year-old who is missing from the area of Dundas Street West and Parkerhill Boulevard.

He left his home sometime in the night and may possibly be heading to Toronto by Eglinton Avenue. He is familiar with public transit, but may be on foot.
Canadas Armed Forces show their forces training Ukrainian sappers in Poland.

This is stated on the page of the Canadian military training Operation UNIFIER on X.

"Armed Forces of Ukraine sappers learn a variety of skills and techniques, including drone operations, while undergoing engineer training in Poland. #OpUNIFIER," the posting reads.

Read also: Canada announces new migration program for Ukrainians

As reported, in the framework of Operation UNIFIER, Canadian instructors have already trained more than 39,000 Ukrainian military personnel since 2015.

After Russias full-scale invasion, Canadian instructors left the territory of Ukraine, but within a few months, training courses were relaunched in the United Kingdom, Poland, and Latvia.
The Ministry of Energy discussed the issue of intensifying cooperation within the Norwegian Nansen Support Program for Ukraine worth 75 billion kroner.

Thats according to the ministrys press service.

Deputy Energy Minister Yaroslav Demchenkov met with the Head of the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) Bard Vegar Solhjell, Norways Deputy Foreign Minister Marianne Kvan, and Norways Ambassador to Ukraine Helene Sand.

During the meeting, the parties discussed how the assistance provided may help strengthen Ukraines energy field. It was also about involving the private sector in green transformation and decentralization of energy infrastructure.

Read also: Eighteen new longwalls put into service by DTEK Energy over nine months

We continue to work on stimulating the development of local generation based on renewable energy, gas generation, and energy accumulation systems. This will enhance the stability of our energy system and allow businesses and households to reduce their dependence on centralized generation in the face of constant attacks on energy infrastructure, Demchenkov said.

This meeting was part of ongoing cooperation efforts pursued by the two countries, earlier discussed by Energy Minister German Galushchenko and Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stre of Norway during the latters visit to Kyiv.

As reported earlier, while in Kyiv, Stre said the Norwegian Government was allocating 1.5 billion kroner to ensure gas and electricity imports into Ukraine through the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

The funds will be directed to repair and maintenance of critical electricity infrastructure and emergency power supply in areas affected by hostilities, as well as for the purchase of gas for emergency stocks.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that he had important discussions with international partners this week; the main thing in all these negotiations is to protect the lives and civilians, to prevent destabilization from spreading to other regions of the world.

He said this in his evening video address, Ukrinform reports.

Our active international work doesn't stop for a single day. Today, I spoke with President Erdogan of Turkiye, and this marks the ninth international conversation this week. I have already talked to the President of Finland, the Prime Minister of Canada, the President of South Africa, the Prime Minister of Norway, as well as the President of France, the UN Secretary-General, the President of the United States, the Chancellor of Germany. The main goal in all these discussions is to protect lives and people, peaceful people, and prevent destabilization from spreading to other regions of the world, not let our work in consolidating the global majority for international law go to waste, Zelensky said.

He thanked all the leaders for their support and understanding that it's time for maximum joint efforts.

Zelensky noted that he discussed the situation in the Black Sea region with President Erdogan, as well as aggression against Ukraine, aggression against global security, and the situation in the Middle East.

We are actively preparing for a new Peace Formula meeting, which is scheduled for next week and will take place in Malta. Significant world powers will be represented, and the list of participants is growing practically every day. We expect over 50 participants. Today, President Erdogan confirmed that Turkiye will participate in the meeting. We are also getting ready for a new summit of our Crimea Platform, at the parliamentary level. The number of participants is substantial. The summit will be held in the Czech Republic, Zelensky said.

As reported by Ukrinform, the third peace summit on Ukraine with the leaders of the Global South countries will take place in Malta on October 28-29.

Photo: Presidents Office
Multiple insiders secured a larger position in MidWestOne Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MOFG) shares over the last 12 months. This is reassuring as this suggests that insiders have increased optimism about the company's prospects.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

View our latest analysis for MidWestOne Financial Group

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At MidWestOne Financial Group

The CEO & Director Charles Reeves made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$857k worth of shares at a price of US$34.50 each. That means that even when the share price was higher than US$19.89 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. It's very possible they regret the purchase, but it's more likely they are bullish about the company. We always take careful note of the price insiders pay when purchasing shares. It is generally more encouraging if they paid above the current price, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 54.86k shares for US$1.5m. But they sold 5.00k shares for US$159k. In total, MidWestOne Financial Group insiders bought more than they sold over the last year. They paid about US$27.11 on average. This is nice to see since it implies that insiders might see value around current prices. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

MidWestOne Financial Group is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.

Insider Ownership Of MidWestOne Financial Group

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. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It appears that MidWestOne Financial Group insiders own 8.7% of the company, worth about US$27m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

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So What Does This Data Suggest About MidWestOne Financial Group Insiders?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded MidWestOne Financial Group shares in the last quarter. However, our analysis of transactions over the last year is heartening. Insiders own shares in MidWestOne Financial Group and we see no evidence to suggest they are worried about the future. Of course, the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in MidWestOne Financial Group, you should check out this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

But note: MidWestOne Financial Group may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE 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 of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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.
Japan will launch a new program to help refugees from Ukraine. From April, Ukrainians will have the right to study the language and receive financial assistance.

Ukrinform reports this with reference to The Japan Times.

The Immigration Services Agency of Japan said it would launch a program in April to help foreign nationals fleeing conflict zones adjust to living in Japan.

The program was designed mainly to help Ukrainian evacuees living in Japan.

Under the program, Ukrainian will be eligible for the six-month or one-year program to study Japanese and learn about the country's laws and customs.

The Agency will also continue providing up to two years of financial support to cover the living expenses to Ukrainian evacuees who do not have anyone to sponsor them.

As reported by Ukrinform, Japan's Immigration Services Agency announced that starting December 1, foreigners fleeing conflict zones, including Ukraine, would be eligible for long-term resident status with a working visa.

Photo: gettyimages
Across London, New York and Paris this month some of the greatest treasures on earth will be bought and sold in unruffled, measured tones. Autumn marks auctions in the art world and a chance for many to add a prized asset to their collections.

However, while purchases may pull at the heartstrings of their new owners, many buyers will also be making their offers with a calculated financial bet in mind.

Despite the finance world being dominated with talk of stocks, shares, equity and moreart could prove to be the dark horse of portfolio assets for the ultra-wealthy.

The mysterious industryoftentimes of closed auction rooms and anonymous bidders ringing in over the phoneis increasingly catching the attention of a new breed of buyer, one which isn't afraid to share their purchase on Instagram.

Millennial buyers are flooding the market thick and fast, along with GenZ dubbed the new "driving force" in the market. In 2020 Millennials were the highest spenders, with a median expenditure of $228,000.

Indeed younger buyers are also spending more than their older counterparts, with 30% of Millennials spending more than $1 million versus 17% of boomers.

And if history is anything to go by, this new generation of collector won't be let down by their investment, with many art indexes claiming to chart huge returns ahead of traditional financial assets.

So at a time when even some of the brightest minds on Wall Street are worrying about the stability of the market, is it time for investorsnew or experiencedto think a little more creatively about what their portfolio looks like?

Does art outperform the S&P500?

Stakeholders in the art world widely claim art has outperformed the S&P500 in recent years.

The Fine Art Group, a global advisory and art finance firm, boasts a rate of return of 14% on its assets compared to the S&P500 which has an annualized rate of return of 11.88%.

Lyon-based Artprice.com's research yielded similar results. Its hypothetical Artprice100 indexthe 100 best-performing artists at auctioncompared to the S&P500, shows fine art faring twice as well as Wall Street in 2023.

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Perhaps the most comprehensive review of the industry is Art Basel and UBS's Global Art Market report, penned yearly by Dr Clare McAndrew.

The 2023 report, released in April detailing sales from the year prior, shows global art sales increased by 3% in 2022 to an estimated $67.8 billion with volumes similarly increasing.

The report also suggests that art swiftly bounces back in times of economic uncertainty, explaining: "The fallout from the global financial crisis affected nearly all segments of the market, including the high end. The market bounced back strongly in 2010, with a booming Chinese market and strong sales in the US operating in unison to push values up by 44% to $64.6 billion by 2011."

A boon for the 'happy few'

Yet unfortunately for those not in the know, the opportunity art offers has traditionally been traded behind closed doors.

According to Giovanna Bertazzoni, Vice Chairman of the 20th and 21st Century Art Department at historic auction house Christies, the industry has historically been built in an undemocratic way.

"For ages this has been a white, male-dominated worldand very Eurocentric. Professional dealers in auction houses for years and years were preserving this kind of knowledge only for the happy few," Bertazzoni said.

However, change is afootsomething Christie's, which enjoyed record-breaking global sales of $8.4 billion in 2022has been keen to embrace.

Like many industries, the pandemic marked a shift to the online world, thus opening up the process to people who may never have set foot in a gallery. More than half the lots sold in Q1 2023 by Christie's were purchased onlineup from 20% in 2019.

Many of these new buyers are Millennials, brought into the dazzling art world through contemporary artists, before falling in love with older, historic pieces.

"They see how exciting a tribe this is and they want to be part of that lifestyle," Bertazzoni tells Fortune. "That lifestyle now, undeniably, involved with being converse and with buying artit's not only about luxury goods, a fast life, hopping from city to city, it's about understanding contemporary art and surrounding oneself with contemporary art."

The art industry is also drawing further attention courtesy of famous faces: Twilight star Robert Pattinson has curated collections, Oprah Winfrey has co-chaired auctions, and the Kardashians attended Art Basal last year, while pieces by sculptor James Turrell have gone viral after being bought by supermodel Kendall Jenner.

Remembering Wall Street lessons

Although data may paint a seemingly pretty picture for investors, financial experts warn that all industries should be viewed with the same caution: past performance is no indicator of future performance.

Matthew Vamvakis, Managing Director and Senior Banker at J.P. Morgan Private Bank, urged would-be buyers to apply lessons learned from the wider investment landscape to their so-called "passion assets": "We too often find that people are late to think of their passion assets in the same vein as their more traditional assets, and therefore also under-appreciate the opportunity to apply similar wealth management and planning rigor to their passion assets."

He told Fortune he also wondered whether a potential influx of "dispassionate" investors might push down the ROIs seen by long-term buyers: "While diversification is a tried-and-true tenant of quality portfolio management, I would not suggest diversifying into a passion category without having your own, well, passion for it.

"With true passion should come a higher level of understanding and even expertise. Even then, and especially in the early innings, you may benefit from professional assistance."

And while Wall Street might have been gamified with trading apps, art investors looking to make a speedy return may be disappointed.

Bertazzoni added she rarely encounters buyers trying to make a "quick buck," adding that although financial considerations are often discussed, the priority of investors is adding a "missing" piece to their beloved collections.

Different time periods also accumulate value at different paces, Bertazzoni explained. Contemporary art, for example, tends to increase in value more quickly but is exposed to the whims of what the artist does next, and which galleries they exhibit at.

For pieces created between the 1850s and 1950s generally a period of five years is needed to see the fruits of the investment, Bertazzoni said, though cautioned that these come with their own set of constraints: provenance, storage, authenticity, and even who else has also owned the piece.

Making art accessible

One business seeking to make the sector more accessible is LiveArt, a trading platform and price database where individuals can also buy and sell art.

Research by the site's team confirmed to Fortune that its data also supports the theory that artparticularly more recent piecesis outperforming stocks.

A spokeswoman said: "Between 1995 and 2022, contemporary art has appreciated at a compound annual growth rate of 12.6%, outperforming the S&P 500. S&P total returns for the same time period have been 9%."

LiveArt founder Adam Chinn hopes to move the dial in the supply-driven sector by giving artists an easier route to market, thus giving more people the chance to get their hands on pieces.

Across the price spectrum, Chinn is seeing a shift, saying building an art collection is slowly drifting down the income ladder: "Back in the 70s or 80s you could be a reasonably wealthy person and not have any art on your wall. Now, that's just not the case.

"If you look at the big buyers over the last 10, 15, 20 years, they've been people who've made their moneyhedge fund guys, private equity guys. It has changed culturally [but it] is still a long way behind the other markets in terms of its developmentit changes very incrementally."

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
Vatican City, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Oct, 2023) Pope Francis pleaded Sunday for an end to the Hamas-Israeli conflict amid fears it could widen, and called for more humanitarian aid to be allowed into to the Gaza Strip.

"War is always a defeat, it is a destruction of human fraternity. Brothers, stop! Stop!" Francis said after his traditional Angelus prayer at Saint Peter's Square in Rome.

"I renew my call for spaces to be opened, for humanitarian aid to continue to arrive and for hostages to be freed," the 86-year-old pontiff said.

Hamas militants stormed into Israel from the Gaza Strip on October 7, killing at least 1,400 people.

Israel's retaliatory bombing campaign has killed more than 4,300 Palestinians, mainly civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, and reduced swathes of densely populated Gaza to smouldering ruins.

"War, any war that there is in the world -- I also think of tormented Ukraine -- is a defeat," Francis said.

The pope also spoke to US President Joe Biden on Sunday about "conflict situations in the world and the need to identify paths to peace", according to the Vatican.

The conversation lasted about 20 minutes, its press office said.

Alarm has grown about a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where Israel has cut off water, food and power.

A first trickle of aid entered the besieged Strip on Saturday, but UN officials said the 20 trucks permitted to cross were not enough given the "catastrophic" humanitarian situation for 2.4 million people.

Two US hostages were released Friday but over 200 people abducted by the militants are still being held.
Insiders who bought UK396.0k worth of Oxford Biomedica plc's (LON:OXB) stock at an average buy price of UK2.98 over the last year may be disappointed by the recent 14% decrease in the stock. Insiders buy with the expectation to see their investments rise in value over a period of time. However, recent losses have rendered their above investment worth UK323.6k which is not ideal.

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 Oxford Biomedica

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Oxford Biomedica

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Non-Executive Chair Frederic Doliveux for UK99k worth of shares, at about UK2.74 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being UK2.44). It's very possible they regret the purchase, but it's more likely they are bullish about the company. We always take careful note of the price insiders pay when purchasing shares. It is generally more encouraging if they paid above the current price, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels.

Oxford Biomedica insiders may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn't sell any. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Oxford Biomedica Insiders Bought Stock Recently

Over the last quarter, Oxford Biomedica insiders have spent a meaningful amount on shares. Not only was there no selling that we can see, but they collectively bought UK310k worth of shares. That shows some optimism about the company's future.

Story continues

Insider Ownership Of Oxford Biomedica

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Insiders own 3.7% of Oxford Biomedica shares, worth about UK8.8m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

So What Do The Oxford Biomedica Insider Transactions Indicate?

It is good to see recent purchasing. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. However, we note that the company didn't make a profit over the last twelve months, which makes us cautious. While the overall levels of insider ownership are below what we'd like to see, the history of transactions imply that Oxford Biomedica insiders are reasonably well aligned, and optimistic for the future. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. To assist with this, we've discovered 1 warning sign that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of Oxford Biomedica.

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 of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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.
(UroToday.com) The 2023 European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) Annual Congress held in Madrid, Spain between October 20th and 24th, 2023 was host to a bladder preservation strategies oral session. Following a case presentation by the session moderator, Dr. Andrea Necchi, Dr. Joost Boormans discussed organ preservation strategies for refractory non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) from a surgeons perspective.

Dr. Boormans began by highlighting the current challenges for BCG-unresponsive NMIBC. >50% of patients will recur, however <20% will progress to muscle-invasive disease. However, patients with progressive disease have poor outcomes, and, as such, novel treatment strategies are needed in this space.

The current issues with emerging novel therapies for BCG-unresponsive NMIBC remain numerous:

Different primary endpoints chosen for different trials, limiting comparisons

Not all trials mandate biopsies to assess disease response

Use of single arm phase II trial design with no comparator group

Numerous visits required during the 1 st year, ranging between 4 and 18

year, ranging between 4 and 18 Different toxicity profiles with intravesical versus intravenous agents

BCG-unresponsive disease is defined as being at least one of the following:

Persistent or recurrent CIS alone or with recurrent Ta/T1 disease within 12 months of completion of adequate BCG therapy

Recurrent high-grade Ta/T1 disease within 6 months of completion of adequate BCG therapy

T1 high-grade disease at the first evaluation following an induction BCG course

In this context, adequate BCG therapy is defined as at least one of the following:

At least five of six doses of an initial induction course plus at least two of three doses of maintenance therapy

At least five of six doses of an initial induction course plus at least two of six doses of a second induction course

The importance of this definition becomes clearer when we consider studies of less frequently dosed BCG, compared to standard dosing frequency BCG. The NIMBUS study published in 2020 compared the clinical outcomes of 340 patients treated with reduced frequency BCG (induction: 1, 2, and 6 weeks followed by 2 weeks of maintenance at 3, 6, and 12 months) versus standard BCG. Patients in the reduced frequency dosing had a clearly higher recurrence rate (46/170 versus 21/70).1

Next, Dr. Boormans went on to discuss currently available intravesical and intravenous drugs for patients with BCG unresponsive NMIBC.

He first highlighted the eligibility criteria for these drug trials. These trials classically included patients with both CIS (+/- papillary disease), with the Nadofarogene Firadenovec trial,2 KEYNOTE-057 Cohort B,3 QUILT,4 and the retrospective gemcitabine/docetaxel series5 including patients with pure papillary disease. Another important issue is the variability in mandated biopsies between these studies. Biopsies were mandated for the Nadofarogene Firadenovec trial (12 months), QUILT (3 months), and S1605 (6 months) only. Dr. Boormans argued that biopsies should be mandated in this setting to faithfully evaluate the response rate, although he argued that 3 months as in the QUILT trial may be too soon.

From an efficacy standpoint, the complete response rate at 3 months appears to range between 41% and 71% (highest in QUILT), although we do note a steep drop off by 12 months with response rates almost halving to 20  40%. The longest follow-up for these studies remains the longest for pembrolizumab (KEYNOTE-057), with a median reported follow-up of 45.4 months.

From a surgeons perspective, agents that are administered intravesically may be more appealing from a practical standpoint. Dr. Boormans further questioned whether exposing agents to intravesical immunotherapeutics with their systemic effects is appropriate for patients with localized disease. The rate of grade 3 or worse toxicity remains comparatively higher for atezolizumab (38%), compared to the other intravesical agents available in this space (4  20%). We also need to factor in the number of treatment visits required in the 1st year. While Nadofarogene Firadenovec only requires 4 visits in the first year, BCG + IL-15 in the QUILT trial required 18 visits, with the other treatments ranging between 14 and 16 visits in the first year. To date, only Nadofarogene Firadenovec and pembrolizumab have been approved by the FDA approved in this space, with gemcitabine + docetaxel commonly used off-label in clinical practice.

While Dr. Boormans is a surgeon by training, what is clear is that most patients (~90%) do not prefer radical cystectomy in the BCG-unresponsive setting. As such, it is incumbent upon us to continue to discover/test novel agents and combinations in this setting. In his opinion, an intravesical component for therapy remains key, with systemic therapy having a significant risk of toxicity. Radical surgery must remain a last resort for ultimate refractory NMIBC with bladder preservation being the key patient preference.

Presented by: Joost Boormans, MD, PhD, Urologist, Professor of Urology, Head of Department, Erasmus Medical Center, Utrecht University, The Randstad, Netherlands

Written by: Rashid K. Sayyid, MD, MSc  Society of Urologic Oncology (SUO) Clinical Fellow at The University of Toronto, @rksayyid on Twitter during the 2023 European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) Annual Meeting, Madrid, Spain, Fri, Oct 20  Tues, Oct 24, 2023.

References:

1. Grimm M, van der Heijden AG, Colombel M, et al. Treatment of High-grade Non-muscle-invasive Bladder Carcinoma by Standard Number and Dose of BCG Instillations Versus Reduced Number and Standard Dose of BCG Instillations: Results of the European Association of Urology Research Foundation Randomised Phase III Clinical Trial "NIMBUS". Eur Urol 2020;78(5):690-698.

2. Boorjian SA, Alemozaffar M, Konety BR, et al. Intravesical nadofaragene firadenovec gene therapy for BCG-unresponsive non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer: A single-arm, open-label, repeat-dose clinical trial. Lancet Oncol. 2020 Nov 27:S1470-2045(20)30540-4.

3. Balar AV, Kamat AM, Kulkarni GS, et al. Pembrolizumab monotherapy for the treatment of high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer unresponsive to BCG (KEYNOTE-057): An open-label, single-arm, multicenter, phase 2 study. Lancet Oncol. 2021 Jul;22(7):919-930.

4. Chamie K, Chang SS, Kramolowsky E, et al. IL-15 Superagonist NAI in BCG-Unresponsive Non-Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer. NEJM Evid 2022; 2(1)

5. Steinberg RL, Thomas LJ, Brooks N, et al. Multi-Institution Evaluation of Sequential Gemcitabine and Docetaxel as Rescue Therapy for Nonmuscle Invasive Bladder Cancer. J Urol 2020;203(5):902-909.
(UroToday.com) The 2023 European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) Annual Congress held in Madrid, Spain between October 20th and 24th, 2023 was host to a bladder preservation strategies oral session. Dr. Robert Huddart discussed radiotherapy for bladder preservation in muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC).

The current paradigm for the management of localized MIBC is as follows:

The goals of radiotherapy in this MIBC setting are threefold:

Preserve bladder and sexual functioning Maintain quality of life and body image Avoid major surgery, with many patients being elderly with numerous comorbidities

There is a plethora of data to support the role of radiotherapy, specifically chemoradiotherapy, for bladder preservation. BC2001 was a phase 3 randomised 2  2 factorial trial that recruited 458 patients with T2-T4a N0M0 MIBC between 2001 and 2008. 360 patients were randomised to radiotherapy (178) or chemoradiotherapy (182), and 218 were randomised to standard whole-bladder radiotherapy (108) or reduced high-dose-volume radiotherapy (111). At a median follow-up time of almost 10 years, chemoradiotherapy improved locoregional control (HR: 0.61 95% CI: 0.43 to 0.86, p = 0.004) and invasive locoregional control (HR: 0.55, 95% CI: 0.36 to 0.84, p = 0.006). This benefit translated, albeit non-significantly, for disease-related outcomes, including overall survival (HR: 0.88, 95% CI: 0.69-1.13, p = 0.3), and bladder cancer-specific survival (HR: 0.79, 95% CI 0.59-1.06, p = 0.11).1

While the results of BC2001 trial clearly demonstrate survival benefits with chemoradiotherapy, compared to radiotherapy alone, it is important to recognize that radiotherapy techniques have significantly evolved since 2001. Current radiotherapy is faster (hypofractionation), better (adaption), and stronger (dose escalation). In an individual patient meta-analysis of BC2001 and BCON trials, a hypofractionated schedule of 55 Gy in 20 fractions was shown to be non-inferior to 64 Gy in 32 fractions with regards to both invasive locoregional control and toxicity and was superior with regard to invasive locoregional control. Accordingly, it has been argued that 55 Gy in 20 fractions should be adopted as a standard of care for bladder preservation in patients with locally advanced bladder cancer.2

What about better (i.e., adaptive) radiotherapy? The bladder is a mobile target that is influenced by the intravesical urine volume present and adjacent organs (e.g., rectum).

Numerous studies have demonstrated that adaptive radiotherapy, particularly since the emergence of cone beam CT with planning CT, are associated with significantly smaller planned target volumes (PTV) with lower associated toxic effects to the target and surrounding organs.

What about stronger radiotherapy dosages? As summarized in the flow diagram below, image guidance could lead to improved target coverage with improved control rates. Concurrently, this image guidance may allow for adaptive strategies with reduced target volume and tumor boost delineation with reduced high dose volumes, leading to potentially lower toxicity.

RAIDER (NCT02447549) is a randomized phase II trial of adaptive image-guided standard or dose escalated tumor boost radiotherapy for the treatment of urothelial carcinoma of the bladder.

Patients with cT2-T4aN0M0 unifocal MIBC are randomised (1:1:2) between:

Standard/control whole bladder single plan radiotherapy

Standard dose adaptive tumour-focused radiotherapy

Dose-escalated adaptive tumour-focused radiotherapy (DART)

Adaptive tumour-focused radiotherapy uses a library of three plans (small, medium and large) for treatment. A cone beam CT taken prior to each treatment is used to visualise the anatomy and inform selection of the most appropriate plan for treatment. Two radiotherapy fractionation schedules (32f and 20f) are permitted. The trial has a two-stage non-comparative design. The primary end point of stage I is the proportion of patients meeting predefined normal tissue constraints in the DART group. The primary end point of stage II is late CTCAE grade 3 or worse toxicity aiming to exclude a rate of >20% (80% power and 5% alpha, one sided) in each DART fractionation cohort. Secondary end points include locoregional MIBC control, progression-free survival overall survival and patient-reported outcomes.

With regards to the primary endpoint of grade 3+ treatment emergent radiotherapy related late CTCAE toxicity between 6 and 18 months, this was comparable between the 3 arms, with none having grade 3+ adverse events with 32 fractions, and 1 patient in each arm having such an event with the 20-fraction schedule.

The overall local control rate at 3 months was 99% and similar for whole bladder (WBRT), standard dose adaptive (SART), and dose-escalated adaptive tumor-focused radiotherapy (DART).

The survival outcomes appear to slightly favor DART. The 2-year event-free rates were 80% for WBRT + SART, compared to 84% for DART. The bladder intact event-free survival was also slightly higher for DART (72% versus 66% for WBRT + SART).

Dr. Huddart next addressed the elephant in the room: surgery versus radiotherapy (chemoradiotherapy) for MIBC. He argued that there is ample evidence from population studies, academic center comparisons, single institution studies, and most recently meta-analyses demonstrating that radiotherapy and surgery are at least equivalent in this setting.

A recently published multicenter study of trimodality therapy versus radical cystectomy was published by Zlotta et al. in Lancet Oncology. This retrospective analysis included 722 patients with cT2-T4N0M0 muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (440 underwent radical cystectomy, 282 received trimodality therapy) who would have been eligible for both approaches, treated at three university centres in the USA and Canada between January 2005 and December 2017. All patients had solitary tumours less than 7 cm, no or unilateral hydronephrosis, and no extensive or multifocal CIS. At a median follow-up of just under 5 years, the 5-year metastasis-free survival was equivalent at 75% for both treatment groups. Disease-free and cancer-specific survivals were equivalent for both groups.3

How does Dr. Huddart currently select patients for radiotherapy? Ideal candidates are those:

Fit enough for chemoradiotherapy

Having urothelial or small cell histology

Single primary disease site

No residual mass

Good bladder function

No or localized CIS

Poor candidates are those with:

Large primary with residual mass post-TURBT  particularly those with bilateral hydronephrosis

Pure squamous or adenocarcinoma

Severe lower urinary tract symptoms

Widespread (focal, peritumoral CIS is permissible)

Contra-indications to radiotherapy

Unwilling to have follow-up cystoscopy

How to decide on bladder preservation versus cystectomy? The current treatment decision-making paradigm relies on personal preference, clinical factors, treatment modality availability, and response to chemotherapy, as evaluated in the SPARE and HCRN GU 16-257 de-escalation trials. Dr. Huddart is hopeful that biomarkers, including MRE 11, expression groupings, and DNA Damage Response (DDR) genes will be available in the future to help guide therapy for MIBC patients.

Dr. Huddart next addressed some popular myths commonly believed to be contraindications to radiotherapy for the treatment of MIBC:

Must have a complete TURBT to be eligible for radiotherapy ~40% of patients in the BC2001 trial had incomplete resections  although this may be prognostic irrespective of treatment chosen

Must not have hydronephrosis Unilateral is permissible; bilateral is not

Must not have CIS Extensive CIS is a contraindication, but peritumoral CIS is permissible given the comparable outcomes versus those without

Bladder radiotherapy leads to a small, shrunken bladder

Salvage cystectomy has poor outcomes Salvage cystectomy has been demonstrated to have comparable outcomes to primary radical cystectomy in well selected patients, as demonstrated by multiple series shown below:



Dr. Huddart concluded that:

Radiotherapy has improved over the last decade with radiosensitization, image guidance, adaption, and shorter treatments

Modern image-guided radiotherapy is a realistic approach for many (but not all) patients with MIBC with a high degree of effectiveness and modest toxicity.

Further Improvement in results can obtained by continued technical developments, use of biomarkers, and additional concomitant therapies (especially immunotherapy)

Though radiotherapy is not for everyone, it should be considered and offered to all suitable patients.

Presented by: Robert Huddart, MB, BS, MRCP, FRCR, PhD, Professor of Urological Cancer and Honorary Consultant Clinical Oncologist MA(Oxon), The Royal Marsden Hospital, London, UK

Written by: Rashid K. Sayyid, MD, MSc  Society of Urologic Oncology (SUO) Clinical Fellow at The University of Toronto, @rksayyid on Twitter during the 2023 European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) Annual Meeting, Madrid, Spain, Fri, Oct 20  Tues, Oct 24, 2023.

References:

1. Hall E, Hussain SA, Porta N, et al. Chemoradiotherapy in Muscle-invasive Bladder Cancer: 10-yr Follow-up of the Phase 3 Randomised Controlled BC2001 Trial. Eur Urol 2022;82(3):273-279.

2. Choudhury A, Porta N, Hall E, et al. Hypofractionated radiotherapy in locally advanced bladder cancer: an individual patient data meta-analysis of the BC2001 and BCON trials. Lancet Oncol 2021;22(2):246-255.

3. Zlotta AR, Ballas LK, Niemierko A, et al. Radical cystectomy versus trimodality therapy for muscle-invasive bladder cancer: a multi-institutional propensity score matched and weighted analysis. Lancet Oncol 2023;24(6):669-681.
(UroToday.com) The 2023 ESMO annual meeting included a session on prostate cancer, featuring a presentation by Dr. Dianne Bosch discussing the impact of baseline PSMA PET/CT versus CT on outcomes of radium-223 therapy in mCRPC patients. Imaging prior to radium-223 therapy is crucial for selecting metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients with bone-only disease. The objective of this study was to evaluate if baseline PSMA PET/CT versus CT is associated with biochemical response during radium-223.



This was a secondary analysis of the data of a prospective observational study (NCT04995614) was performed. Patients received a maximum of six cycles of radium-223 and were retrospectively divided into the PSMA PET/CT (baseline PSMA) or CT (baseline CT) group based on baseline imaging technique. All patients received baseline bone scintigraphy. Primary endpoints were alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and PSA response, defined as  30% decline from baseline. Secondary endpoints were overall survival (OS) and radiological response.

Between 2017 and 2020, 122 mCRPC patients were included: 18 (14.8%) in the baseline PSMA PET/CT and 104 (85.2%) in the baseline CT group. All baseline characteristics were comparable, and there were no significant differences in ALP or PSA response found between the groups:

The baseline CT group showed a significantly shorter OS compared to the baseline PSMA PET/CT group (12.4 vs.19.9 months, p < 0.01):



Post-therapy soft tissue involvement was detected in 29/76 patients (38.2%) that received baseline CT and post-therapy CT (baseline CT/post-therapy CT), compared to 0/18 baseline PSMA PET/CT patients. No significant difference in OS was found between baseline CT/post-therapy CT patients without soft tissue involvement and baseline PSMA PET/CT patients.



Dr. Bosch concluded her presentation discussing the impact of baseline PSMA PET/CT versus CT on outcomes of radium-223 therapy in mCRPC patients with the following concluding statements:

Baseline PSMA PET/CT versus baseline CT does not seem to predict biochemical response during radium-223

Nevertheless, patients in the baseline CT group had a significantly shorter OS, most likely due to underdetection of soft tissue involvement in this group

Therefore, replacing baseline CT with PSMA PET/CT appears to be a valuable screening method to ensure in-label use of radium-223 therapy

Presented by: Dianne Bosch, MD, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands

Written by: Zachary Klaassen, MD, MSc  Urologic Oncologist, Associate Professor of Urology, Georgia Cancer Center, Wellstar MCG Health, @zklaassen_md on Twitter during the 2023 European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) Annual Meeting, Madrid, Spain, Fri, Oct 20  Tues, Oct 24, 2023.
Pope Francis places a phone call to US President Joe Biden to speak with him about various conflicts and the need to identify paths toward peace.

By Devin Watkins

On Sunday afternoon, Pope Francis spoke by phone with the President of the United States, Joe Biden.

According to the Holy See Press Office, the conversation lasted around 20 minutes.

The Pope and the President spoke about "situations of conflict in the world and the need to identify paths to peace."

Appeals for peace

Earlier on Sunday, Pope Francis renewed his appeals for peace and restraint in the war in the Holy Land.

I am very concerned, grieved," he said at the Angelus prayer. "I pray and I am close to all those who are suffering, the hostages, the wounded, the victims and their families.

He lamented the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza and blasts at the Anglican hospital and Greek Orthodox parish there.

I renew my appeal for spaces to be opened, for humanitarian aid to continue to arrive and for hostages to be freed.



He also recalled Russia's ongoing war in "martyred Ukraine".

"War, any war that there is in the world - I also think of martyred Ukraine ," the Pope continued, "is a defeat. War always is a defeat, it is a destruction of human fraternity. Brothers, stop! Stop!"

Limited aid entering Gaza

President Biden made a brief visit on Wednesday, 18 October, to Tel Aviv to seek a deal to allow some humanitarian aid to enter Gaza from Egypt.

He also expressed support for Israel following Hamas' surprise attack on Israel on 7 October, which killed at least 1,400 people.

Limited amounts of humanitarian assistance began to enter Gaza on Saturday, though the United Nations has said the aid represents "a drop in the ocean of immense needs in Gaza".
The Israel Defense Forces said its fighter jets struck multiple Hamas command centers in Gaza overnight into Saturday. Palestinian media reported airstrikes in northern Gaza hit six homes and killed at least 19 people.

Israeli fighter jets also struck Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. The Iran-backed Lebanese group and Israel's military have been trading fire at the frontier almost daily. Hezbollah said that six of its fighters were killed Saturday on the border, raising to 19 the number of its fighters killed in the last two weeks.

An Israeli soldier was hit by an anti-tank missile and severely wounded, the military reported, and two more soldiers were lightly injured in the incident.

The fighting along the Lebanon-Israel border is the worst since the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken cautioned Lebanon's Prime Minister Najib Mikati in a call Saturday that the Lebanese people would be affected if his country were drawn into the war, the State Department said.

Also, Israel said Saturday that its airstrikes would intensify.

Asked about an expected invasion, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told reporters Saturday night, "We will deepen our attacks to minimize the dangers to our forces in the next stages of the war. We are going to increase the attacks, from today."

He repeated his advice for residents of Gaza City to move south.

Cairo summit

A Cairo summit hosted by Egypt on Saturday failed to reach an agreement on how to contain the violence between Israel and Hamas. Arab leaders condemned the Israeli bombardment of Gaza while mostly Western countries said civilians should be shielded. Israel and senior U.S. officials did not attend.

At the summit in Cairo, Jordan's King Abdullah II decried what he called global silence about Israel's attacks, which have killed more than 4,000 people in Gaza, the Gaza Health Ministry said Saturday, and made more than 1 million homeless.

He urged an even-handed approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"The message the Arab world is hearing is that Palestinian lives matter less than Israeli ones," he said, adding he was outraged and grieved by acts of violence waged against innocent civilians in Gaza, the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and in Israel.

France called for a humanitarian corridor into Gaza that it said could lead to a cease-fire. Britain and Germany both urged Israel's military to show restraint and Italy said it was important to avoid escalation.

The United States, Israel's closest ally and a vital player in all past peace efforts in the region, sent its Cairo charge d'affaires, who did not address the summit in public.

Limited aid arrives

The Rafah crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt opened Saturday morning for the first time since the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel. A convoy of about 20 trucks was able to deliver food, water, medicine, and other necessities to Gaza residents.

Palestinian officials expressed disappointment that Gaza did not receive supplies of fuel.

"Excluding the fuel from the humanitarian aid means the lives of patients and injured will remain at risk. Gaza hospitals are running out of the basic requirements to pursue medical interventions," the Gaza Health Ministry said, adding that the aid was only 3% of what it used to get in Gaza before the crisis.

The United Nations has been pressing Israel and Egypt to allow aid to flow freely into Gaza, where hundreds of thousands need assistance after two weeks of bombing and a strict blockade of food and fuel by Israel.

Martin Griffiths, the U.N. undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, said Saturday that he is "confident that this delivery will be the start of a sustainable effort to provide essential supplies  including food, water, medicine and fuel  to the people of Gaza, in a safe, dependable, unconditional and unimpeded manner."

The United Nations said the life-saving supplies would be received and distributed by the Palestinian Red Crescent, with the consent of Hamas, which controls Gaza.

Meanwhile, Israel issued a warning advising its citizens against traveling to Egypt, Jordan and Morocco, and if they are in those countries to leave as soon as possible. The warning advises Israelis to avoid traveling to any Middle Eastern countries. It also warned against traveling to Malaysia, Bangladesh, Indonesia and the Maldives, countries with large Muslim populations.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
Australia's prime minister will visit China in early November to meet President Xi Jinping, Canberra confirmed Sunday, as the two trading partners work to repair a once-frosty relationship.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese locked in the trip, Nov. 4-7 after China agreed to suspend a festering World Trade Organization dispute sparked by hefty tariffs on Australian wine.

It also follows the release of Australian journalist Cheng Lei, who was deported from China earlier this month after being detained for three years on espionage charges widely seen as politically motivated.

"I look forward to visiting China, an important step towards ensuring a stable and productive relationship," Albanese said in a statement. "I welcome the progress we have made to return Australian products, including Australian wine, to the Chinese market."

The widely anticipated trip would be the first to China by an Australian prime minister since 2016.

Tariff dispute

China placed tariffs on key Australian exports such as barley, beef and wine in 2020, flexing its economic muscle at the height of a bitter dispute with Australia's former conservative government.

It also halted imports of some of Australia's most significant commodities, including coal, curbing billions of dollars in trade.

China had been angered by Australian laws barring Huawei from 5G contracts and its call for an independent investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic.

Many of those trade barriers have been slowly wound back since Australia's center-left government, elected in May 2022, adopted a less confrontational approach.

This year China has dropped tariffs on Australian barley, ended an import ban on Australian timber, and agreed to resume receiving shipments of Australian coal.

Over the next five months China will conduct an "expedited review" of its tariffs on Australian wine, Albanese said.

Australia has threatened to resume complaints to the World Trade Organization if "the duties are not removed at the end of the review," he added.

Softening tensions

There has also been progress on diplomatic fronts, with China earlier this month agreeing to free Australian journalist Cheng, a former anchor for Chinese state broadcaster CGTN.

Australia's government had long campaigned for her release, calling for China to follow "basic standards of justice, procedural fairness and humane treatment."

Recent economic data released by Beijing suggests the country's post-COVID recovery is running out of steam and growth is slowing, heaping pressure on the terms of China's external trade relationships.

The softening of tensions with Canberra comes as Chinese President Xi has taken a more pragmatic diplomatic approach with international partners.

Xi had called for relations with Australia to improve in a November 2022 meeting with Albanese on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Indonesia.
"Ordain women priests!" Not far from the Vatican, where hundreds of Catholics have gathered to debate the future of the Church, purple-clad activists make their voices heard against the "patriarchy".

The place of women in the Catholic Church -- led for 2,000 years by a man, which outlaws abortion and female priests and does not recognize divorce -- is one of the hot topics at the general assembly of the Synod of Bishops taking place over four weeks.

Women campaigning for change have come to Rome to make their case, from Europe and the United States but also South Africa, Australia, Colombia and India.

They have different backgrounds and diverse goals -- not all want female priests, with some aiming first for women to become deacons, who can celebrate baptisms, marriages and funerals, although not masses.

But they are united in their frustration at seeing women excluded from key roles in what many view as a "patriarchal and macho" Church.

"The majority of people who support parish life and transmit the faith in families are women, mothers," said Carmen Chaumet from French campaign group "Comite de la Jupe", or the Committee of the Skirt.

"It is paradoxical and unfair not to give them their legitimate place."

"If you go to the Vatican, to a mass, you see hundreds of men priests dressed the same way, and no women," added Teresa Casillas, a member of Spanish association "Revuelta de Mujeres en la Iglesia", "The Women's Revolt in the Church".

"I feel that men are the owners of God."

'Voting rights'

The Synod assembly, which runs until October 29, nevertheless marks a historic turning point in the Church, with nuns and laywomen allowed to take part for the first time.

Some 54 women -- around 15 percent of the total of 365 assembly members -- will be able to vote on proposals that will be sent to Pope Francis.

Vatican observers have called it a revolution. "A first step," say campaigners.

Adeline Fermanian, co-president of the Committee of Skirt, said the pope had given "openings" on the question of ordaining women.

"He recognized that the questions has not been examined sufficiently on a theological level," she said.

Since his election in 2013, Francis has sought to forge a more open Church, more welcoming to LGBTQ faithful and divorcees, and encouraging inter-faith dialogue.

He has increased the number of women appointed to the Curia, the central government of the Holy See, with some in senior positions.

But some campaigners see the changes as "cosmetic" reforms which hide a biased perception of women.

Cathy Corbitt, an Australian member of the executive board of umbrella group Catholic Women's Council (CWC), said the inclusion of female voting members in the Synod was a sign of progress.

But she said the wider view of women in the Church was "very frustrating", much of it taking inspiration from the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus.

"The pope still seems to have this blind spot towards women... He seems to regard women in terms of a role, and it's usually in terms of a mother," she said.

Resistance

The Synod process is slow -- the current meeting in Rome followed a two-year global consultation, and a second general assembly is planned for next year.

Regina Franken-Wendelsorf, a German member of CWC executive board, said women were hoping for concrete action.

"All arguments and requests are on the table. It's now the Vatican and the Church who have to act!" she said.

While the Church debates, "there are collateral victims, frustration, Catholics who leave because they no longer feel welcomed", added French campaigner Chaumet.

But just as Pope Francis faces resistance in his reform agenda, there is significant resistance to the women's push for change.

"Some American bishops are afraid to follow the path of the Anglican Church," which authorized the ordination of women in 1992, notes one Synod participant, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Another senior Church member, who also asked not to be named, noted that pressure for reform was not equal from all regions of the Church.

"We must not forget that the Church is global," he recalled. "There are expectations (among women) in Europe, but in Asia and Africa, much less."
Thousands of people were rallying in Berlin and London on Sunday to oppose antisemitism and support Israel, while demonstrations in support of Palestinians in besieged Gaza continued around the world.

Some of those who gathered in front of Berlin's Brandenburg Gate carried Israeli flags or posters with photos of some of the more than 200 people seized by Hamas as hostages during the militants' deadly Oct. 7 incursion into Israel.

"It is unbearable that Jews are living in fear again today  in our country of all places," President Frank-Walter Steinmeier told the crowd. "Every single attack on Jews, on Jewish institutions is a disgrace for Germany. Every single attack fills me with shame and anger."

Earlier, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz inaugurated a new synagogue in the eastern city of Dessau and said he was "outraged" by the upsurge in antisemitism since the conflict began.

Several buildings in Berlin where Jews live had the star of David painted on doors and walls, and assailants threw two Molotov cocktails at a synagogue in Berlin last week.

"Here in Germany, of all places," Scholz said, vowing that "our 'never again' must be unbreakable."

In London, the Board of Deputies of British Jews called for people to rally in Trafalgar Square on Sunday afternoon to press for the return of more than 200 people taken hostage by Hamas.

The war has raised tensions worldwide, leaving Jewish and Muslim communities feeling under threat. London's Metropolitan Police force says it has seen a 13-fold upsurge in reports of antisemitic offenses in October compared to last year. Reports of anti-Muslim crimes have more than doubled.

Sunday's rallies came a day after tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators  100,000 by police estimates  marched through the British capital to demand Israel stop its bombardment of Gaza. Waving Palestinian flags and chanting "Stop bombing Gaza," participants called for an end to Israel's blockade and airstrikes launched in the wake of Hamas' brutal incursion.

Authorities in Gaza say more than 4,600 people have been killed in the territory since the latest war began. More than 1,400 people have been killed in Israel, majority of them civilians slain in the Oct. 7 attack.

Israel intensified its bombardment of Gaza ahead of an expected ground offensive. Egyptian media said 17 trucks carrying humanitarian aid crossed into the besieged strip on Sunday, after 20 trucks were allowed to enter Gaza on Saturday across the southern Rafah border crossing with Egypt.

On Sunday hundreds of people gathered in Sarajevo  bombed and besieged during the Bosnian war in the 1990s  to show solidarity with the plight of Palestinians in Gaza.

"What is happening in Gaza is simply human disaster. Collective punishment. War crimes. These things have to be named by their rightful name," said Nabil Naser, a Palestinian doctor who worked in Sarajevo during the Bosnian war.

More than 3,000 people attended a "Freedom for Palestine" rally on Sunday at a square in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Waving Palestinian flags and to the beat of drums, protesters including women and children chanted "Palestine will never die" and "From the rivers to the sea, Palestine will be free."

Malaysia is a strong supporter of the Palestinian cause and has no diplomatic ties with Israel. Muslims in the country have staged weekly rallies after Friday prayers outside the American Embassy, slamming the U.S. for its support of Israel.

Retiree Munir Izwan urged neighbors of the Palestinians to step up efforts to help.

"Even in Islamic teachings, the closest neighbors should help the most in making peace between the two parties. But from what I see, the neighboring countries of Palestine, they are only talking but no actions," Munir said.

Demonstrations of support of the Palestinians were held Saturday across Europe  in Rome, Barcelona, several French cities, Dusseldorf, Germany and the Kosovo capital, Pristina  as well as in Sydney and in U.S. cities including Los Angeles and Houston.

In Istanbul, protesters outside the Israeli Consulate on Saturday evening held children's stuffed toys to draw attention to the large number of Palestinian children killed in Gaza. Protesters affiliated with Islamic groups held signs reading "I have a right to play" and held up toys with signs on them that called on Israel to "stop murdering innocent children."
Vodafone mobile phone mast

A Government promise to improve mobile coverage in rural areas has been dealt a major setback after network operators warned they will not meet a key deadline.

Vodafone, Three and Virgin Media O2 have asked the Government for a delay of up to two years to complete the first stage of the Shared Rural Network (SRN).

The SRN was one of former prime ministers Boris Johnsons key pledges during the 2019 election campaign, with Mr Johnson promising to reach an agreement on tackling the so-called not spots that plague rural communities within 100 days of taking office.

Under the first phase of the 1bn plan, mobile networks have until June 2024 to expand their 4G coverage to reach 88pc of the UKs landmass.

However, the companies have written to the Government asking for the deadline to be extended as they struggle to build new masts in time.

The delay will fuel fears that the Government will fail to meet its target of delivering 4G coverage to the entire country by early 2027, though mobile firms have insisted the final deadline is not at risk.

A failure to meet the initial deadline in an election year will also leave the Conservative Party open to the charge of letting down countryside voters.

The SRN was one of Boris Johnsons key pledges during the 2019 election campaign - Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images Europe

Mark Tufnell, president of the Country Land and Business Association, said: Viewed as a necessity in urban areas, the Government sees mobile connectivity in the countryside as a luxury, and its preventing many rural businesses from even operating in the 21st century.

This delay will lead to missed opportunities, increased costs, supply chain disruptions, and stunted innovation across the rural economy  undermining the livelihoods of those living within it.

Unless the Government urgently acts to minimise delays, rural communities will continue to suffer and their potential remain unrealised.

Sources accused Vodafone and Three in particular of being miles behind in the SRN project. However, Virgin Media O2 may also miss the deadline by several months.

Story continues

BT-owned EE, which has more mobile masts than its rivals, is contributing to phase one separately, largely by upgrading existing sites.

Any delays to the SRN risk leaving millions of households and businesses with patchy mobile connections and will undermine the Governments levelling-up ambitions.

Industry insiders said the extension request was unlikely to be well-received in Whitehall, particularly after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak scrapped the northern leg of the HS2 rail project.

Failure to complete another public infrastructure project in time would be a further blow to the Government in the run-up to next years general election.

Mobile bosses have blamed the delays on the pandemic, as well as difficulties in securing planning permission to build new masts. Sources said it had taken as long as 500 days to receive planning approvals for some sites.

However, one executive also questioned whether Vodafone and Three have neglected the project as they prepare for a 15bn merger that will create the UKs largest mobile network.

This embedded content is not available in your region.

The two companies have argued that they individually lack the financial firepower to upgrade their 5G networks and have pledged to invest 11bn as a combined company.

Delays to the SRN have sparked scrutiny over the operators ability to meet investment pledges.

During a Business and Trade Committee hearing with Vodafone and Three bosses last week, Tory MP Mark Pawsey said: Youre making promises to us about the investment that will take place if this merger goes ahead. How do we know that youre going to deliver that if you havent yet completed the commitment that you made on the Shared Rural Network?

Vodafone and Three denied they had neglected the SRN and insisted the merger had no impact on their day-to-day operations.

Phase one of the project is focused on partial not spot areas where at least one operator provides coverage but not all of them. Phase two, which will be funded by the Government, targets total not spot areas, where no operators currently provide 4G services.

The deadline for phase two is early 2027, though it is expected coverage will be delivered to 95pc of the UK by the end of 2025.

The National Audit Office, which monitors public spending, is currently carrying out a review of the SRN and is expected to publish its findings early next year.

A Three spokesman said: We are on track to deliver the overall January 2027 target for 4G geographic coverage under the SRN programme having already built 100 sites and secured planning on 80pc of the new sites that we have committed to.

However, we have recently written to the government asking for an extension to the June 2024 interim target which was agreed immediately prior to the Covid lockdowns and has been impacted by delays associated with the pandemic.

A Vodafone spokesman said: We remain committed to delivering on all elements of the SRN programme and have successfully introduced 4G to rural locations across the UK as part of the wider project which is due for delivery by January 2027.

A spokesman for Virgin Media O2 said: Were continuing to invest and deliver these upgrades at pace and we expect to either meet or come very close to meeting our own individual target. We are in regular discussions with government and industry, and remain committed to delivering the full benefits of the SRN as soon as possible.

A government spokesman said: All four Mobile Network Operators have been set clear coverage targets as part of their licence obligations, which they are on track to meet and are managed by Ofcom.

We are in regular communication with them regarding their progress, which the regulator will assess in 2024.

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Pakistans three-time former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, returned to the country Saturday after living in self-imposed exile for four years in the United Kingdom. Analysts say Sharifs return will help restart politics in Pakistan, which have been stifled for months, but regaining political space lost to the powerful military will remain difficult. VOAs Pakistan bureau chief Sarah Zaman reports from Sharifs political stronghold, Lahore. VOA footage by Wajid Asad, Iqbal Khan. Video editing by Malik Waqar Ahmed.
The house on Villegas Street, in the heart of Old Havana, looks nothing like the stately two-story home it used to be a century ago, with its high ceilings, wrought iron railings, semicircular arches and stairs covered in white marble. Its former elegance is such that local lore says it used to belong to a marquise.

Today, everything inside the six-family unit is chaos.

The roots of a tree protrude through the wall of a makeshift toilet where birds have made their nests. The roofs of the first and second floors are propped up. There is rubble and fresh sand scattered everywhere. The walls seem to tilt and the facade has completely disappeared, exposing a patio where one can see freshly washed clothes hanging.

The structure is one of many once luxurious houses in the island nation that in recent years have partially collapsed  or suffer visible damage. Barely 100 meters away, also on Villegas Street, a similar building fell in earlier this month, causing three deaths.

Residents say they have repeatedly asked authorities for help to no avail. Years of neglect, inclement weather and a deepening economic crisis only aggravate the fear that their home will eventually collapse.

"How can we not live in fear? Every time it rains I feel like small pebbles come falling down on me," said Maricelys Colas, a retired 64-year-old who has lived in the house with her 85-year-old mother for 59 years. "And a collapse doesn't warn you."

The Cuban government has in the past acknowledged the problem of housing deterioration, but says the lack of material resources prevents it from tackling it. Yet, many Cubans wonder why the pace of investment in tourism megaprojects such as hotels  a vital business sector that has failed to take off in at least the last two years  is not slowing down to address the dire housing crisis.

The house on Villegas Street was built at the end of the 18th century or the beginning of the 19th on a plot measuring about 15 meters wide by 60 meters deep. Three families live on the ground floor, where there used to be a main patio and rooms for the domestic staff. Three other families live on the more deteriorated top floor, where cracks abound and the staircase creaks as you climb it.

All of the residents say the building once belonged to the Marquise of Pinar del Rio, a title granted by the Spanish crown when the island was part of its domains. The Associated Press could not verify that, but its elegant design is visible.

Nowadays, everything smells of mold.

AP interviewed all the residents in the unit, except for an elderly man who was temporarily staying in a relative's house. They unanimously reported having made efforts before the government, requesting to live elsewhere or to have access to materials for repairs. They said they never received a response.

The Cuban government did not respond to an emailed request for comment.

Mario Luis Poll, a 57-year-old art restorer who has lived in the building for 19 years, walks around his unit showing a reporter all the repairs he has done to try to hold the ceiling together after the floor of the room above collapsed.

Right above him, 47-year-old musician Marcos Villa faces a different problem: Foliage from a tree is growing out of his improvised bathroom.

"The struts (the wooden posts that support the roof of the entire construction) are almost just for decoration," Poll said, shrugging in a sign of resignation.

Cuba's housing crisis is one of the most pressing challenges facing the island, where a humid climate, the passage of hurricanes and other storms, poor maintenance and a low completion rate of new ones are usually among the top complaints of Cubans.

Cuba's director of housing, Vivian Rodriguez, said earlier this month that the island has a housing deficit of 800,000 homes, especially in the provinces of Havana, Holguin, Santiago de Cuba and Camaguey.

Government figures from 2020 say Cuba had 3.9 million homes, out of which nearly 40% were deemed to be in only fair or poor condition.

"The situation is critical," said Abel Tablada, professor at the Faculty of Architecture of the Technological University of Havana, adding that rebuilding and restoring partially collapsed buildings "requires many resources that the Cuban state does not have in these moments of acute crisis."

The residents of the house in Villegas Street, tired of asking authorities for help, can only sigh about the fate of the former mansion they inhabit.

"If those marquises came back to life and saw this house, they would surely die again," joked Elayne Clavel, 26, wife of musician Villa.
A top official with Hezbollah vowed that Israel would pay a high price when it starts its expected ground offensive in the Gaza Strip and said Saturday that his militant group based in Lebanon is "in the heart of the battle."

The comments by Hezbollah's deputy leader, Sheikh Naim Kassem, came as Israel shelled and made drone strikes in southern Lebanon and Hezbollah fired rockets and missiles toward Israel.

For Hezbollah, heating up the Lebanon-Israel border has a clear purpose, Kassem said: "We are trying to weaken the Israeli enemy and let them know that we are ready." Hamas officials have said that if Israel starts a ground offensive in Gaza, Hezbollah will join the fighting.

Exchanges of fire along the Lebanon-Israel border have picked up in the two weeks since the attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas that killed more than 1,400 civilians and soldiers in southern Israel. Retaliatory Israeli airstrikes on Gaza have killed more than 4,300 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry on Saturday.

There are concerns that Iran-backed Hezbollah, which has a weapons arsenal of tens of thousands of rockets and missiles as well as different types of drones, might try to open a new front in the Israel-Hamas war with a large-scale attack on northern Israel.

Kassem said his group, which is allied with Hamas, is affecting the course of the conflict by keeping three Israeli army divisions tied up in the north instead of preparing to fight in Gaza.

"Do you believe that if you try to crush the Palestinian resistance, other resistance fighters in the region will not act?" Kassem said in a speech Saturday during the funeral of a Hezbollah fighter. "We are in the heart of the battle today. We are making achievements through this battle."

On Friday, the Israeli military announced the evacuation of a border city where three residents were wounded in the crossfire a day earlier.

An Associated Press journalist in south Lebanon reported hearing loud explosions Saturday along the border, close to the Mediterranean coast.

Hezbollah said its fighters attacked several Israeli positions and also targeted an Israeli infantry force, "scoring direct hits."

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported Israeli shelling of several villages and said a car took a direct hit in the village of Houla. On Saturday evening, shelling intensified around an Israeli army post across from the Lebanese village of Yaroun.

Hezbollah said one of its fighters was killed Saturday, raising the total of Lebanese militants killed to 14 since October 7 when Hamas staged its deadly cross-border strike on Isarel.

Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee said a group of gunmen fired a shell into Israel and an Israeli drone was launched back toward them. A drone also was dispatched after another group of gunmen fired toward the Israeli town of Margaliot, Adraee said.

"Direct hits were scored in both strikes," Adraee posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Hezbollah's Kassem spoke about foreign dignitaries who visited Lebanon over the past two weeks asking Lebanese officials to convince the group not to take part in the latest Hamas-Israel battle. He said Hezbollah's response to Lebanese officials was, "We are part of the battle."

"We tell those who are contacting us, 'Stop the (Israeli) aggression so that its (conflict) repercussions and possibility of expansion stops,'" Kassem said, referring to the officials who recently visited Beirut, including the foreign ministers of France and Germany.

Speaking about an expected Israeli ground invasion of Gaza, Kassem, said: "Our information are that the preparedness in Gaza by Hamas and resistance fighters will make (the) Israeli ground invasion their graveyard."
The latest:

Israeli warplanes targeted two Syrian international airports overnight in Damascus and Aleppo, putting them out of service.

U.S. officials fear escalation of war in the Middle East.

14 Israeli communities near Lebanon will be evacuated.

55 people killed overnight in Israeli attacks on Gaza

Israel's military strikes a West Bank mosque where it says Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad were planning an imminent attack.

No consensus at the Cairo peace summit on the Israel-Palestinian violence.

More humanitarian aid trucks entered southern Gaza Sunday via the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt.

Clashes between Israel and Hamas continue, with Israeli airstrikes killing 19 people in Gaza, according to Palestinian media.

Israeli forces carried out attacks in the Gaza Strip, Syria and on the border with Lebanon overnight into Sunday, amid concerns that the conflict between Israel and militant group Hamas could turn into a wider Middle East war.

Hamas said at least 55 people were killed overnight in Israeli airstrikes conducted on the Gaza Strip, where Israel has maintained a steady drumbeat of attacks since the Hamas operation that killed some 1,400 people in Israel earlier this month.

In Syria, state news agency SANA said Israeli missiles hit the airports in the capital of Damascus and the northern city of Aleppo, damaging their runways. It said one airport worker was killed in the attacks and one was injured. Flights have been transferred to Latakia Airport.

Israeli forces have struck both the Damascus and Aleppo airports several times over the past year. The Times of Israel said Israel is believed to be attempting to prevent the shipment of weapons from Iran to Middle East proxies, the most prominent being Lebanon-based Hezbollah.

Meanwhile, Israeli authorities announced Sunday that 14 Israeli communities near the Lebanese border will be evacuated. The locations have been subjected to rocket and missile attacks from Iran-backed Hezbollah and Palestinian groups since the deadly October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken both said in interviews Sunday the United States is concerned about the Israel-Hamas war expanding in the Middle East.

Austin told ABCs This Week show, Were concerned about potential escalationa significant escalation. But he said the U.S. has the ability to respond, noting that a U.S. Navy warship shot down drones launched from Yemen that might have been headed toward Israel.

We maintain the right to defend ourselves and we wont hesitate to respond, Austin said.

Watch related video by Veronica Balderas Iglesias:

Blinken told NBCs Meet the Press show, We expect that there's a likelihood of escalation. Escalation by Iranian proxies directed against our forces, directed against our personnel.

We are taking steps to make sure that we can effectively defend our people and respond decisively if we need to, the top U.S. diplomat said. This is not what we want, not what we're looking for. We don't want escalation. We don't want to see a second or third front develop. We don't want to see our forces, or our personnel come under fire. But if that happens, we're ready for it.

Blinken said the U.S., while warning Hezbollah against expansion of fighting against Israel from Lebanon, has deployed very significant [military] assets to the region, two aircraft carrier battle groups, not to provoke, but to deter, to make clear that if anyone tries to do anything, we're there.

Israeli fighter jets struck Hezbollah targets in Lebanon on Saturday. Hezbollah said that six of its fighters were killed Saturday on the border, increasing to 19 the number of its fighters killed in the last two weeks.

The Israeli military said one of its soldiers on the border was hit by an anti-tank missile and severely wounded.

The fighting along the Lebanon-Israel border is the worst since the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah.

Also Saturday, Israel said its aircraft struck a compound beneath a mosque in the West Bank, where members of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad were planning an imminent terror attack.

WAFA, the Palestinian Authoritys official news agency, said at least one person was killed in the strike and several others were injured in the compound beneath al-Ansar Mosque in Jenin refugee camp.

The Israeli airstrike is at least the second in recent days to hit the occupied West Bank, where violence between Jewish settlers and Palestinians has surged since Hamas gunmen from Gaza carried out their deadly October 7 rampage in Israel.

Israel has positioned about 300,000 military personnel around the Gaza Strip for a threatened invasion.

Asked about invasion plans Saturday, Israeli Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told reporters that Israel will intensify its attacks in northern Gaza to prepare for the next stage of the war.

Cairo summit

A summit hosted by Egypt on Saturday failed to reach an agreement on how to contain the violence between Israel and Hamas. Arab leaders condemned the Israeli bombardment of Gaza while mostly Western countries said civilians should be shielded. Israel did not attend, while the Reuters news agency reports the U.S. sent a charge d'affaires who did not address the meeting.

At the summit in Cairo, Jordan's King Abdullah decried what he called global silence about Israel's attacks, which have killed more than 4,000 people in Gaza, the Gaza health ministry said Saturday, and made more than 1 million homeless.

He urged an even-handed approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Limited aid arrives

The Rafah crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt opened Saturday for the first time since the October 7 Hamas attack. A convoy of about 20 trucks delivered food, water, medicine, and other necessities to Gaza residents.

Cindy McCain, the executive director of the U.N.s World Food Program, told ABC that 17 more truckloads of humanitarian aid passed into Gaza on Sunday and that another 40 are expected Monday, but that the need for more assistance is substantial.

Palestinian officials expressed disappointment that Gaza did not receive supplies of fuel.

"Excluding the fuel from the humanitarian aid means the lives of patients and injured will remain at risk. Gaza hospitals are running out of the basic requirements to pursue medical interventions," the Gaza health ministry said, adding that the aid was only 3% of what it used to get in Gaza before the crisis.

The United Nations has been pressing Israel and Egypt to allow aid to flow freely into Gaza, where hundreds of thousands need assistance after two weeks of bombing and a strict blockade of food and fuel by Israel.

The United Nations said the aid would be received and distributed by the Palestinian Red Crescent, with the consent of Hamas, which controls Gaza.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
The only thing worse than the screams of a patient undergoing surgery without enough anesthesia are the terror-stricken faces of those awaiting their turn, a 51-year-old orthopedic surgeon says.

When the Israeli bombing intensifies and the wounded swamp the Gaza City hospitals where Dr. Nidal Abed works, he treats patients wherever he can  on the floor, in the corridors, in rooms crammed with 10 patients instead of two. Without enough medical supplies, Abed makes do with whatever he can find  clothes for bandages, vinegar for antiseptic, sewing needles for surgical ones.

Hospitals in the Gaza Strip are nearing collapse under the Israeli blockade that cut power and deliveries of food and other necessities to the territory. They lack clean water. They are running out of basic items for easing pain and preventing infections. Fuel for their generators is dwindling.

Israel began its bombing campaign after Hamas militants surged across the border on Oct. 7 and killed more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and abducted more than 200 others. Israel's offensive has devastated neighborhoods, shuttered five hospitals, killed thousands and wounded more people than its remaining health facilities can handle.

"We have a shortage of everything, and we are dealing with very complex surgeries," Abed, who works with Doctors Without Borders, told The Associated Press from Al Quds Hospital. The medical center is still treating hundreds of patients in defiance of an evacuation order the Israeli military gave Friday. Some 10,000 Palestinians displaced by the bombing have also taken refuge in the hospital compound.

"These people are all terrified, and so am I," the surgeon said. "But there is no way we'll evacuate."

The first food, water and medicine trickled into Gaza from Egypt Saturday after being stalled on the border for days. Four trucks in the 20-truck aid convoy were carrying drugs and medical supplies, the World Health Organization said. Aid workers and doctors warned it was not nearly enough to address Gaza's spiraling humanitarian crisis.

"It's a nightmare. If more aid doesn't come in, I fear we'll get to the point where going to a hospital will do more harm than good," Mehdat Abbas, an official in the Hamas-run Health Ministry, said.

Across the territory's hospitals, ingenuity is being put to the test. Abed used household vinegar from the corner store as disinfectant until the stores ran out, he said. Too many doctors had the same idea. Now, he cleans wounds with a mixture of saline and the polluted water that trickles from taps because Israel cut off the water.

A shortage of surgical supplies forced some staff to use sewing needles to stitch wounds, which Abed said can damage tissue. A shortage of bandages forced medics to wrap clothes around large burns, which he said can cause infections. A shortage of orthopedic implants forced Abed to use screws that don't fit his patients' bones. There are not enough antibiotics, so he gives single pills rather than multiple courses to patients suffering terrible bacterial infections.

"We are doing what we can to stabilize the patients, to control the situation," he said. "People are dying because of this."

When Israel cut fuel to the territory's sole power plant two weeks ago, Gaza's rumbling generators kicked in to keep life-support equipment running in hospitals.

Authorities are desperately scrounging up diesel to keep them going. United Nations agencies are distributing their remaining stocks. Motorists are emptying their gas tanks.

In some hospitals, the lights have already switched off. At Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis this week, nurses and surgical assistants held their iPhones over the operating table, guiding the surgeons with the flashlights as they snipped.

At Shifa Hospital, Gaza's biggest, where Abed also worked this week, the intensive care unit runs on generators, but most other wards are without power. Air conditioning is a bygone luxury. Abed catches beads of sweat dripping from his patients' foreheads as he operates.

People wounded in the airstrikes are overwhelming the facilities. Hospitals don't have enough beds for them.

"Even a normal hospital with equipment would not be able to deal with what we're facing," Abed said. "It would collapse."

Shifa Hospital  with a maximum capacity of 700 people  is treating 5,000 people, general director Mohammed Abu Selmia says. Lines of patients, some in critical condition, snake out of operating rooms. The wounded lie on floors or on gurneys, sometimes stained with the blood of previous patients. Doctors operate in crowded corridors filled with moans.

The scenes  infants arriving alone to intensive care because no one else in their family survived, patients awake and grimacing in pain during surgeries  have traumatized Abed into numbness.

But what still pains him is having to choose which patients to prioritize.

"You have to decide," he said. "Because you know that many will not make it."
Nine U.S. Republican lawmakers in the House of Representatives  none of them well-known to the American public  announced by the Sunday deadline that they are running to become House speaker, the leader of the lower chamber of Congress.

The House has been without a speaker for nearly three weeks after a hard-right faction of eight Republicans joined with all 212 Democrats in the chamber to oust then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

The small group of Republicans was angered that McCarthy agreed to a government spending deal with Democratic President Joe Biden they felt was too big to avert a partial government shutdown and keep government operations funded through November 17.

Since McCarthys ouster, House Republicans have been unsuccessful in coalescing around a replacement. They first nominated Rep. Steve Scalise of the southern state of Louisiana, McCarthys No. 2 in the House Republican leadership, as its speaker-designate, but Scalise dropped out of the contest when he realized he could not amass the 217-vote majority he would need in a full House vote.

Republicans hold a narrow majority in the House, but such a small edge that any nominee can only afford to lose four Republican votes to other speaker candidates and still prevail.

The Republican caucus next gave its nod to Rep. Jim Jordan of the midwestern state of Ohio. Jordan is a conservative firebrand and staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump. But Jordan also failed to gain a 217-vote majority in the House, falling well short on a first vote in the full House and then losing ground on two subsequent ballots.

Then, Republican lawmakers in a secret ballot vote within their own caucus decreed that Jordan was no longer their choice for the speakership and opened the contest to anyone who wanted to run for the position.

Nine lawmakers said they are trying to win the speakership, with all of them expected to state their case at a party caucus Monday evening. If the Republicans decide on a choice, the full House could vote again Tuesday.

The nine are Jack Bergman of Michigan, Tom Emmer of Minnesota, Byron Donalds of Florida, Kevin Hern of Oklahoma, Pete Sessions of Texas, Gary Palmer of Alabama, Austin Scott of Georgia, Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania and Mike Johnson of Louisiana.

There appeared to be no overwhelming immediate favorite although Emmer, the No. 3 Republican in the House, might have a slight edge since McCarthy endorsed his candidacy.

The absence of a House speaker  second in line to the U.S. presidency if vacancies occur  has left the chamber rudderless. The House has been unable to act on any legislation, not even a widely supported resolution supporting Israel after the shocking October 7 Hamas militant attack on the Jewish state.

When the chamber resumes operations, it will have less than a month to agree on a new spending plan to again avert any partial government shutdown. The governments new fiscal year started October 1, but as is the case almost every year, lawmakers have reached few agreements on spending levels over the next 12 months for individual federal agencies.
On a bank of Villa Victoria reservoir, where in other years boats might have used them to anchor, 10 concrete blocks lie exposed to the sun. They should be under water, but that was before severe drought dropped the reservoir to the lowest level that Gabriel Bejarano has seen since he moved back to his grandfather's farm a decade ago.

"The water is supposed to come up to here," Bejarano, a veterinarian, said as he pointed toward a fence a hundred yards back from the reservoir's edge on a recent morning.

The dipping level on the north shore of this lake near Toluca is a major problem for Mexico City, about 125 kilometers to the west. Villa Victoria  about one-third its usual level this time of year  and two other drought-depleted reservoirs make up most of the Cutzamala system, which serves more than 20 million people and is at a historical low for this time of year.

Even more worrisome: Mexico's rainy season is just about over, and its departure will end any realistic hope of refilling the reservoirs before next year. The Mexican National Water Commission on Tuesday announced water restrictions equivalent to about 8% of the Cutzamala system's flow, and millions of users in Mexico City and Toluca fear even greater restrictions over the winter.

Mexico City gets more than a quarter of its water from those reservoirs. Most of the rest is drawn from the Valley of Mexico's increasingly depleted aquifer. Neighborhoods without as many wells  thus more reliant on the reservoirs  will feel the shortages first and most acutely.

The drought hasn't been limited to the valley. Seventy-five percent of Mexico is currently in drought, according to the most recent data from the country's National Meteorological Service, including "extreme" drought across much of Central and North Mexico and some "exceptional" drought in the states of Durango and San Luis Potosi. The government has distributed emergency water by truck in Durango throughout the summer, plus almost 40 million liters of water across eight other drought-stricken states.

Meanwhile, navigation and tourism on Lake Patzcuaro, known for iconic Day of the Dead celebrations in the western state of Michoacan, risk drying up with increasingly low water levels.

In Mexico City, it's not unusual in recent years to see some water shortages just before the rainy season. In spring 2021, Villa Victoria was at one-third its normal capacity in what then-Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum described as the city's worst drought in 30 years. But summer rains largely alleviated that drought, part of a weather pattern where warmer months typically usher in low-pressure weather systems that bring rain.

But that pattern was disrupted this year as El Nino conditions created a wind shear over the Gulf of Mexico, Tereza Cavazos, an oceanography professor with the Ensenada Center for Scientific Research in Baja California, told The Associated Press.

It is not possible to attribute the drier summer to climate change alone, said David K. Adams, an atmospheric scientist with Mexico's National Autonomous University, but it is "entirely consistent" with global patterns from a warming planet.

"The idea is that drying climates tend to get drier and wet climates get wetter," said Adams.

Studies have shown climate change is making stronger El Ninos, too.

The window for rain to replenish the system is quickly closing, according to Manuel Perlo Cohen, an urban planner and urbanism professor at the National Autonomous University's Institute of Social Research. The best of the rainy season is already over; Mexico's November and December rainfall is typically less than a tenth of what falls in summer months.

"I'm sure we're going to have a shortage problem and I'm sure the city will get less water and many inhabitants will suffer from that," Perlo said.

Fixing Mexico City's notoriously leaky water system would help in times of drought. Academics at the National Autonomous University in 2018 calculated the system leaks 21,500 liters per second. Sheinbaum, now a leading presidential candidate, tried to address the leakage while mayor but progress has been slow.

Perlo said fixing what he called the world's "largest and most complicated, sophisticated infrastructure for access to water" will be expensive, and there hasn't been funding to do so.

"We shouldn't be facing these kinds of situations," he said. "We have enough water and we're not using it efficiently."

Some advocates have suggested restoring Mexico City's last remaining natural watercourse, the Magdalena River, but that would have to contend with pollution along the river's entire length from its source west of the capital.

Much of the city relies on wells that tap into the valley's groundwater. In response to the cuts on Tuesday, the government said it would drill new wells. But it may be hard to find enough water that way, especially as less water is returned to the valley's overexploited aquifer.

"Mexico City is a monster; it's a beast," said Adams. "All the asphalt, all the plastic in the gutters means that water disappears. It never enters the system" by reaching the aquifer, he said.

The government is also working on a new water treatment plant at the Madin reservoir, just northwest of Mexico City, which will add 500 liters per second to the Cutzamala system.

"That's not a medium- and long-term solution," said Perlo. "We cannot be living on the edge all the time."

Another solution could be local-level water capture.

Working with Mexico's Environment Department, Isla Urbana, a group working to improve water access in the city, has installed 10,000 rain collection systems house-by-house across the traditionally underserved southern boroughs of Tlalpan and Xochimilco. The systems gather, filter and treat rain falling on a building before storing it in a personal tank.

Emilio Becerril, Isla Urbana project manager, said such rainwater harvesting could "permanently change the water access situation" in the face of climate change, aging infrastructure and government inertia.

But a lasting solution needs institutional changes, he said.

"Even if you build thousands of systems, there are thousands of houses being built  more and more extractive," said Becerril.

Perlo's department at the university built a four-hectare rain capture system into a playground in the southeast borough of Iztapalapa in 2018. Last month Mayor Marti Batres proposed to build thousands of rainwater harvesting systems into schools across the capital, a program Perlo hopes doesn't succumb to the same money issues as previous government water plans.

Becerril also wants to see wastewater reuse, and new infrastructure to separate stormwater from waste: an idea even he admits straddles the line between "hopeful" and "delusional."

"Rain patterns are changing. It's the first year I personally have seen that clearly," said Becerril. "We've gotten to the urgency point."

Bejarano, the veterinarian living on the edge of the Villa Victoria reservoir, said he worries less about water for his grandfather's farm and more about younger generations like his son, who wore a Sonic the Hedgehog hoodie as his father carried him around the property in one arm.

"We all have children," he said. "We're all affected, especially when it comes to water."
Hundreds of demonstrators rallied outside the United Nations on Sunday demanding the release of hostages seized by Hamas during the Islamist group's bloody attack on Israel.

The protest on the square outside the U.N.'s Palais des Nations headquarters in Geneva was organized by the Voice for Freedom coalition, bringing together several Christian Zionist organizing committees.

The gathering therefore had a religious tone, with chants and slogans intermingled with prayers and psalms.

The demonstration was the culmination of a visit to Geneva by the families of several of those missing since the Hamas attack. They met with Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, and U.N. human rights chief Volker Turk.

Many demonstrators waved Israeli flags or wore them around their shoulders, or held posters featuring pictures of missing Israelis, including children.

Some wore T-shirts that said, "Set them free," and held placards reading: "Never again is NOW," "Innocent life is non-negotiable" and "Children aren't bargaining chips."

Leon Meijer, president of Christians for Israel International, urged the U.N. Human Rights Council to "work for the release of the hostages," saying, "Save the lives of those who can still be saved.

Hamas militants stormed into Israel from the Gaza Strip on October 7 and killed at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians who were shot, mutilated or burned to death on the first day of the raid, according to Israeli officials.

It was the worst attack on civilians in Israel's history. Israel says more than 200 hostages were abducted by the militants.

More than 4,600 Palestinians, mainly civilians, have been killed across the Gaza Strip in relentless Israeli bombardments in retaliation for the attacks by the Palestinian Islamist militant group, according to the latest toll from the Hamas health ministry in Gaza.

Several demonstrations have been held in Switzerland, some pro-Palestinian and others in solidarity with Israel.

Three days after the Hamas attack, Zurich's Jewish community organized a demonstration in support of Israel, bringing together several hundred people.

A demonstration in Lausanne brought together 4,500 to 5,000 people to demand an immediate end to Israel's bombardment of the Gaza Strip, while around 6,000 pro-Palestinian protesters rallied in Geneva last Saturday.

Zurich has since decided to ban any gatherings relating to the Middle East, while Basel decided to ban all gatherings this weekend.

The U.N. human rights office said Friday that blanket bans on peaceful assemblies were disproportionate.

States "must not unduly restrict participation and debate, or critical commentary about the conflict, of expressions of solidarity with Israelis or Palestinians," spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told a media briefing in Geneva.

"Any restrictions on the right to peaceful assembly must be based on law, and necessary for and proportionate to the risks, such as national security, public safety or public order," she said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will visit the Iranian capital, Tehran, on Monday for talks with regional counterparts, his ministry's spokeswoman has confirmed.

Iran's official IRNA news agency reported earlier that the foreign ministers of Russia, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia had been invited for the talks.

"We confirm Lavrov's planned talks in Tehran on Monday," foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told the TASS and RIA news agencies.

The talks come amid tensions over the Middle East and unresolved disputes between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which launched a lightning offensive against Armenian separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh last month.

Armenia later confirmed that its foreign minister would attend the meeting.

A full list of attendees has not yet been released, but Armenia's northern neighbor, Georgia, said Sunday that it would not be attending, its foreign ministry told the Interpress news agency.

Georgia applied for EU membership together with Ukraine and Moldova after Russia invaded its pro-Western neighbor in February 2022.

Since launching its assault, Russia has turned to Iran for military support and economic partnerships as both countries face a raft of Western sanctions.

Western countries have accused Tehran of supporting Russia's offensive in Ukraine by providing it with large quantities of drones and other weaponry.
At least six people were killed, and 16 others were injured in a Russian missile strike on a mail depot in the city of Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine on Saturday, Ukrainian officials said.

"Russian missiles hit the Nova Poshta center  an ordinary civilian object," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on the Telegram messaging app.

He shared a video showing a building with blown out windows, and trucks with Nova Poshta written on them, parked in front of the building. Nova Poshta means New Post in Ukrainian.

All the victims were employees of the private Ukrainian postal and courier service, said Dmytro Chubenko, spokesperson for the regional prosecutors office.

In a statement, the postal service company said that those working inside the depot had no time to reach shelter before the bombs hit the facility.

According to the prosecutor's office, the warehouse was hit by two of the S-300 Russian missiles fired from Russias Belgorod region north of Kharkiv.

Elsewhere in the Kharkiv region, three people were injured in Russian shelling on the front line of the city of Kupiansk, the epicenter of fierce battles, Kharkiv Governor Oleh Syniehubov said on social media.

Thirty-six missiles were recorded over the Kherson region, with some villages being hit by several strikes, Natalia Humeniuk said. Shes the spokesperson for the Ukrainian militarys Operational Command South.

In a report released Saturday, the Institute for the Study of War, or ISW, said that Russian forces could be diversifying the mix of missiles, guided bombs, and drones used in strikes on Ukraine. The Washington-based research group speculated that the change could be part of an attempt to find gaps in Ukraines air defenses ahead of further strikes over the winter.

Russian forces have repelled Ukrainian forces crossing the Dnipro River east into the southern Kherson region over the past day, Russia's defense ministry said Sunday.

According to the ministry, Ukrainian "sabotage and reconnaissance" teams were stopped while trying to cross the river near the villages of Pridniprovske, Tiahynka and Krynky.

Three Ukrainian missiles targeting Crimea were downed Sunday over the town of Henichesk in the Russia-held area of the Kherson region, the Russia-installed governor, Vladimir Saldo, wrote on Telegram.

Russia also said it had destroyed Ukrainian personnel, water-crossing equipment and vehicles near the village of Stanislav. The Reuters news agency could not independently verify the battlefield reports.

Ukraines air defense systems destroyed six Russia-launched attack drones and a cruise missile overnight, Ukraines air force said Sunday, adding that in total Russia launched nine cruise missiles on Ukraine.

Fierce fighting continues around the eastern city of Avdiivka, as Russian forces have intensified their offensive in that area and Ukrainian forces try to repel Russian attacks, acting Governor Ihor Moroz said Saturday.

According to analysis by the ISW, Russian troops have secured minor gains north of Avdiivka. The institute said Friday that Moscow has suffered "heavy materiel and personnel losses in its effort to secure the contested industrial town. It cited geolocated footage from pro-Kremlin military bloggers on the ground to support its assessment.

The Ukrainian General Staff said Friday that its forces had damaged or destroyed almost 50 Russian tanks and more than 100 armored vehicles in the fighting near Avdiivka during the previous day.

The claim could not be independently verified, The Associated Press reported.

North Korean involvement

On Saturday, North Korea condemned the United States for supplying Ukraine with long-range ballistic missiles, saying any strike using them on Russia will only thwart peace efforts.

On Tuesday, Ukraine said it used the U.S.-supplied Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS, for the first time, inflicting heavy damage on two airfields in Russia-occupied areas. Kyiv had repeatedly asked Washington for the missiles, while promising not to use them inside Russia.

"The U.S. finally delivered ATACMS ground-to-ground missile system to Ukraine despite the deep concern and strong opposition of the international community," Sin Hong-Chol, North Korea's ambassador to Russia, said in a statement carried by state media KCNA.

The White House recently accused North Korea of providing Russia with weapons shipments, calling it a troubling development and raising concerns about the expanded military relationship between the two countries.

Some information used in this story came from Reuters and The Associated Press.
Key Insights

The projected fair value for Raffles Medical Group is S$1.69 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity

Current share price of S$1.18 suggests Raffles Medical Group is potentially 30% undervalued

Our fair value estimate is 2.1% lower than Raffles Medical Group's analyst price target of S$1.73

How far off is Raffles Medical Group Ltd (SGX:BSL) from its intrinsic value? Using the most recent financial data, we'll take a look at whether the stock is fairly priced by taking the forecast future cash flows of the company and discounting them back to today's value. We will take advantage of the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model for this purpose. Before you think you won't be able to understand it, just read on! It's actually much less complex than you'd imagine.

Companies can be valued in a lot of ways, so we would point out that a DCF is not perfect for every situation. If you still have some burning questions about this type of valuation, take a look at the Simply Wall St analysis model.

View our latest analysis for Raffles Medical Group

The Calculation

We are going to use a two-stage DCF model, which, as the name states, takes into account two stages of growth. The first stage is generally a higher growth period which levels off heading towards the terminal value, captured in the second 'steady growth' period. To start off with, we need to estimate the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, and so the sum of these future cash flows is then discounted to today's value:

Story continues

10-year free cash flow (FCF) forecast

2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 Levered FCF (SGD, Millions) S$123.2m S$138.5m S$137.6m S$137.8m S$138.8m S$140.3m S$142.2m S$144.3m S$146.8m S$149.3m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x3 Analyst x3 Est @ -0.64% Est @ 0.15% Est @ 0.70% Est @ 1.08% Est @ 1.35% Est @ 1.54% Est @ 1.67% Est @ 1.76% Present Value (SGD, Millions) Discounted @ 6.0% S$116 S$123 S$116 S$109 S$104 S$99.0 S$94.7 S$90.7 S$87.0 S$83.6

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = S$1.0b

The second stage is also known as Terminal Value, this is the business's cash flow after the first stage. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (2.0%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 6.0%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2033  (1 + g)  (r  g) = S$149m (1 + 2.0%)  (6.0% 2.0%) = S$3.8b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= S$3.8b ( 1 + 6.0%)10= S$2.1b

The total value is the sum of cash flows for the next ten years plus the discounted terminal value, which results in the Total Equity Value, which in this case is S$3.2b. In the final step we divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of S$1.2, the company appears quite good value at a 30% discount to where the stock price trades currently. The assumptions in any calculation have a big impact on the valuation, so it is better to view this as a rough estimate, not precise down to the last cent.

dcf

The Assumptions

The calculation above is very dependent on two assumptions. The first is the discount rate and the other is the cash flows. 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 Raffles Medical Group as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 6.0%, 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 Raffles Medical Group

Strength

Earnings growth over the past year exceeded the industry.

Debt is not viewed as a risk.

Dividends are covered by earnings and cash flows.

Weakness

Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Healthcare market.

Opportunity

Trading below our estimate of fair value by more than 20%.

Threat

Annual earnings are forecast to decline for the next 3 years.

Next Steps:

Whilst important, the DCF calculation shouldn't be the only metric you look at when researching a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. 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. What is the reason for the share price sitting below the intrinsic value? For Raffles Medical Group, we've put together three relevant factors you should look at:

Risks: Case in point, we've spotted 2 warning signs for Raffles Medical Group you should be aware of, and 1 of them is concerning. Future Earnings: How does BSL's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart. Other Solid Businesses: Low debt, high returns on equity and good past performance are fundamental to a strong business. Why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals to see if there are other companies you may not have considered!

PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every Singaporean stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock just search here.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
The Ukrainian president says Turkey plans to join a peace process this week aimed at bringing an end Russias invasion of Ukraine. The announcement came as a missile strike on a Ukrainian post office killed a handful of peole and injured several more. It also follows a week in which Russias top diplomat traveled to North Korea. VOAs Arash Arabasadi has more.
A suicide drone hit an air base in Iraq hosting U.S. troops, Iraqi security sources said Saturday, but the Pentagon said it could not confirm that such an attack took place.

Armed factions close to Iran have threatened to attack U.S. interests in Iraq over Washington's support for Israel since Hamas militants killed more than 1,400 people in a shock cross-border attack from Gaza on October 7.

Israel's retaliatory bombardment of Gaza has killed more than 4,300 people, according to its Hamas-controlled health ministry.

"The drone came down inside the (Ain al-Assad) base" in the western province of Anbar, without causing any casualties or damage, a military source told AFP on the condition of anonymity.

A statement issued on Telegram channels used by pro-Iranian armed groups said the attack was carried out by a group calling itself the Islamic Resistance in Iraq.

A second Iraqi security source told AFP the attack had involved two suicide drones. "The first was intercepted and the second crashed because of a technical problem," the source said.

The Pentagon, however, said it was unaware of any such attack.

"We have not seen any operational reporting confirming" that an attack occurred Saturday, a U.S. Defense Department official said on the condition of anonymity.

Since Wednesday, three Iraqi bases used by U.S.-led coalition troops have been targeted in five separate attacks  Ain al-Assad, the Al-Harir base in northern Iraq, and a military camp near Baghdad airport.

The United States currently has about 2,500 troops stationed at the three bases, alongside around 1,000 soldiers from other countries in the coalition set up to fight the Islamic State jihadi group.

The attacks came after factions loyal to Iran stepped up threats against the United States.

One of them, the Hezbollah Brigades, demanded that U.S. forces "leave" Iraq, "otherwise they will taste the fires of hell."
Venezuelans are choosing the candidate they think can end the decade-long, crisis-ridden presidency of Nicolas Maduro, casting ballots in a primary election that the opposition independently organized despite government repression and logistical issues.

Holding Venezuela's first presidential primary since 2012 required the deeply fractured opposition to work together. But it could prove an exercise in futility, if Maduro's government so wishes.

While the administration agreed in principle to let the opposition choose its candidate for the 2024 presidential election, it also has already barred the primary's front-runner, Maria Corina Machado, from running for office. Maduro's government has in the past bent the law and breached agreements as it sees fit.

Internal and external logistical problems have plagued the opposition contest and were evident Sunday morning.

Voting centers in the capital, Caracas, were not set up by the time people began lining up to vote. Ballots and other materials arrived at some centers after the time polls were scheduled to open.

Voters were also confused over where they should vote. Venezuelans typically vote at public schools. But the independent commission that oversaw the primary opted to use homes, churches, private schools and other facilities as voting stations after the country's electoral authorities did not respond to requests for help in a timely manner.

Voters also were instructed to check their voting center's location through a website that internet service providers within Venezuela blocked. Some who managed to download a VPN to circumvent internet censorship found their polling place had been relocated.

"For us, it is a great achievement that people have come out; we will just endure the wait," voter Maria Mendez, 68, said, referring to an estimated two-hour delay that she and about 250 people around her encountered. "We have to choose a candidate. We need a lot of changes. We have faced struggles for many years."

Mendez receives a pension of about $3.70 a month and depends on her adult children living abroad and in Venezuela to afford her medications. She said she planned to vote for Machado because "she is the only one who has not been involved in controversies."

Machado, a former lawmaker who supports free-market policies, is a longtime critic of the governing United Socialist Party of Venezuela. She maintained a somewhat low profile for years but dominated the primary campaign by connecting with the same voters she consistently urged to boycott previous elections.

In addition to Machado, nine other candidates remained in the race. The winner is expected to challenge Maduro at the ballot box in the second half of 2024. Maduro is looking to extend his presidency until 2030, which would surpass the time that Hugo Chavez, his mentor, governed.

Maduro's allies have ridiculed and dismissed the primary all year. Still, both the government and its opponents have used the contest as a bargaining chip to extract concessions from each other as part of a negotiation process meant to end the country's complex social, economic and political crisis.

Maduro and an opposition faction backed by the U.S. government agreed during the week to work together on basic conditions for the 2024 presidential election. That prompted the government to release six political prisoners and the Biden administration to lift key economic sanctions.

As part of the agreement, Maduro's administration and the opposition are supposed to "recognize and respect the right of each political actor to select" a presidential candidate freely.

If Machado wins the primary, the focus will shift to Maduro to see if the government reverses its ban on her seeking public office. In June, the government issued an administrative decision prohibiting Machado from running, alleging fraud and tax violations and accusing her of seeking the economic sanctions the U.S. imposed on Venezuela in the last decade.

The U.S., holding up the threat of renewed sanctions, has given Venezuela until the end of November to establish a process for reinstating all candidates expeditiously.

A U.N.-backed panel investigating human rights abuses in Venezuela said last month that Maduro's government has intensified efforts to curtail democratic freedoms ahead of the 2024 presidential election. That includes subjecting some politicians, human rights defenders and other opponents to detention, surveillance, threats, defamatory campaigns and arbitrary criminal proceedings.

Organizers of the primary have not given an estimate for the voter participation they expect Sunday. All registered voters in the country can participate, as well as some living abroad.

The primary's first ballot was cast in Sydney, Australia. Voting centers were scheduled to open in dozens of countries.

Within Venezuela, government allies also pressured organizers to relocate voting centers, including by intimidating homeowners.

Fabiola Barrios, one of the local opposition mobilizers in Caracas, said she had already redirected more than four dozen people who showed up at a private school that was supposed to host a voting center in a low-income neighborhood.

She said the center was relocated after members of a violent civilian group allied with the government tried to enter the school days earlier during a campaign event.

"They came to attack us. If you have neighbors, family, tell them that they no longer vote here," Barrios told a woman who walked to the voting center, where a small sign also redirected voters. "They vote over there."
Bad Bunny made his Saturday Night Live hosting debut last night with a bilingual monologue that proved any naysayers wrong. People are wondering if I can host this show because English is not my first language, Benito began, I dont know if they know, but, I do whatever I want. While he clarified that he can do anything in English, from hosting the show to ordering McDonalds, he preferred to switch to Spanish. But not trusting the shows subtitles, which he changes from saying Speaking in Non-English to Speaking a Sexier Language, he instead brings out his friend Pedro Pascal to translate. After Benito delivers a long, detailed spiel in Spanish, Pascal chimes in with, He says hes blessed to be here with my favorite actor Pedro Pascal.

Since translating proved to be one of Pascals few weak spots, the Last of Us star (who made his own hosting debut last year) instead offered up some monologue advice. Its always charming when you make a self-deprecating jokeabout a part of your body or face thats unflattering, he suggests, to which Benito says, I dont have any. Similarly, after prompting the musician to show an embarrassing photo, Pascal wonders how the thirst trap Benito offers is embarrassing. Because I forgot to put on clothes! Duh. Watch the full monologue above.
For their latest roles in the biopic of swimmer Diana Nyad, who completed a 110-mile open water journey from Cuba to Florida at age 64, Annette Bening and Jodie Foster transformed their bodies, and our minds.
Supporters of Palestine wave flags during a pro-Palestine protest in the Chicago Loop on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023. (Trent Sprague/Chicago Tribune)

Thousands of people continued to gather downtown Saturday in solidarity for Palestinians facing atrocities, agony and suffering worlds away.

A large, boisterous demonstration in the Loop was one of several in the city in recent weeks, as groups of people speak up against violence in the escalating war between Israel and Hamas, a terrorist organization. Protesters clashed with police and stood on the tops of charter buses waving banners and yelling messages of desperation.

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Illinois is home to one of the fastest-growing Muslim communities in the nation, and several high-profile crimes have occurred in those communities over the past few weeks. Last Saturday, a 6-year-old Palestinian American Wadea al-Fayoume was stabbed to death. On Tuesday, a Lombard man allegedly threatened to shoot two Muslim men outside his apartment. Two days later, the principal of a Muslim school in Bridgeview announced to parents that students would work from home on Friday after the school received a threatening hate letter.

Chicago Police officers handcuff a protester who was next to a tricycle motorcycle at the front of a pro-Palestine protest march in the Chicago Loop on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023. (Trent Sprague/Chicago Tribune)

On the Friday following an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas in Israel that left about 1,400 Israelis dead and almost 200 taken hostage, the City Council approved a symbolic resolution backing Israel. It did not nod to brutalities that Palestinians faced from the Israeli government, as requested by progressive Ald. Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez, 33rd.

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The alderwoman spoke to the loud crowd Saturday afternoon at Michigan Avenue and Ida B. Wells Drive.

As I pay attention to whats happening in Gaza, every time that I see a child dead or dismembered or desperately calling for their mother, I see my own child, Rodriquez-Sanchez said through a megaphone, her voice shaking with emotion.

Medhat, a Palestinian American and 10-year-old from the South Side stood in the middle of a circle of relatives nearby, shouting Palestine will be free! and holding up a doll to represent the thousands of children who have died in airstrikes on Gaza. He stepped out of the circle to watch a motorcade of cars mounted with Palestinian flags drive by, honking and revving their engines.

Im here to stand with my country. I want Israel to stop the occupation, he said.

[ Israel, US confirm Hamas release of Evanston hostages: Im going to sleep tonight, says father of held teen ]

His mother Rehan Suleiman, 32, said dozens of their family members of Palestinian descent came to the protest together. Her sister-in-laws brother died in the conflict, and she knows many others who have been deeply affected.

Saturday morning, the border between Egypt and Gaza opened for the first time since Israel closed it following the Oct. 7 infiltration by Hamas fighters. Just 20 trucks were allowed in of more than 200 trucks that have been waiting outside the Rafah crossing for days. It is the sole route for aid to enter Gaza from outside Israel.

Mona Elgindy, 46, an Egyptian American who lives in the Southwest suburbs, stood at the back of the crowd gathered in downtown Chicago with her 10-year-old stepdaughter. She said she felt Israels decision to close the border is an act of genocide and terrorism.

She had attended a suicide walk in honor of her brother that morning, and wore a shirt with his face on the front and a quote from the Quran on the back: ...And whoever saves the life of one person, it is as if he saved the life of all humanity.

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Elgindy said the message of the crowd Saturday afternoon was the same.

Saving one human life is like saving all of humanity. And turning your back on one human life is like turning your back on all of humanity, she said.

The day after returning from a trip to Israel, President Biden told Americans in a speech Thursday night he was planning to send $14 billion to the country, while also raising concern about the tragedies in Palestine. Biden has a history of showing public support for Israel while privately expressing consternations to the Israelis about their behavior.

Crowds who gathered downtown expressed strong opposition to federal aid for Israel.

Long live Palestine! they shouted. Then: Biden, Biden, you cant hide! You are funding genocide!

Later in the evening at Foster Beach in Uptown, about 40 people wearing knit hats and holding plastic candles hugged each other and huddled together to stay out of the wind that whipped off Lake Michigan. Free Gaza, read a sign in string lights propped up against the field house.

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Rabbi Brant Rosen speaks during a candlelight vigil at Foster Ave Beach in Uptown on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023. (Trent Sprague/Chicago Tribune)

Rabbi Brant Rosen held the Jewish vigil, calling on those who gathered to engage in a Jewish fast for Gaza on a weekly basis, donating the money that would have been spent on food to direct aid organizations in Gaza. He said after the Hamas attacks, many in his congregation were mourning. But he said members of his congregation are not on the same page about the war.

Jews are weaponizing our grief, adding more pain, he said to the Tribune before the vigil.

[ Chicagoans tied to Israel and Palestine react to Hamas attacks, brace for war ]

The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said Friday that 4,137 Palestinians have been killed and more than 13,000 others wounded.

At the vigil, people stood up at a microphone and read messages and updates from Gaza  of sleepless nights, collapsed buildings, endless bombings. They asked for help in the form of aid, protests and prayer.

Adam Gottlieb, 33, strummed on his guitar and sang a prayer of peace into the microphone.

Oseh shalom bimromav. Hu yaaseh shalom aleinu. Val kol Yisrael vYishmael, val kol yoshvei teyvel, vimru: Ameyn. (They who make peace in their high places, may they bring peace upon us, and upon all Israel and Ishmael, and on the whole world, and we say: Amen.)

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Jerry Schenwar, 78, of Lincolnwood, who came to Foster Beach with his wife and daughter, said he wouldnt be able to participate in the fasting for health reasons, but he was there in solidarity.

The way Israel is acting is way beyond self-defense, he said. The idea of Judaism is to respect everybody. Not to be killing people.

His daughter Maya Schenwar, 40, spoke into the microphone.

Grief can do beautiful things, she said. We are here tonight to take back our grief.

The Associated Press contributed.

nsalzman@chicagotribune.com
If you're looking for a multi-bagger, there's a few things to keep an eye out for. Amongst other things, we'll want to see two things; firstly, a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an expansion in the company's amount of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. Speaking of which, we noticed some great changes in Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad's (KLSE:MRCB) returns on capital, so let's have a look.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

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 Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad is:

Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT)  (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)

0.026 = RM174m  (RM9.2b - RM2.4b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2023).

Thus, Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad has an ROCE of 2.6%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Construction industry average of 5.8%.

View our latest analysis for Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad

roce

In the above chart we have measured Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report for Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

Even though ROCE is still low in absolute terms, it's good to see it's heading in the right direction. The figures show that over the last five years, ROCE has grown 79% whilst employing roughly the same amount of capital. Basically the business is generating higher returns from the same amount of capital and that is proof that there are improvements in the company's efficiencies. On that front, things are looking good so it's worth exploring what management has said about growth plans going forward.

Story continues

The Key Takeaway

To sum it up, Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad is collecting higher returns from the same amount of capital, and that's impressive. And since the stock has fallen 37% over the last five years, there might be an opportunity here. That being the case, research into the company's current valuation metrics and future prospects seems fitting.

On a separate note, we've found 2 warning signs for Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad you'll probably want to know about.

While Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad may not currently earn the highest returns, we've compiled a list of companies that currently earn more than 25% return on equity. Check out this free list 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.
LU: I adored him. I have people say to me, Oh, it must have been difficult to have somebody who is such a brilliant man for a father. No, for to have a father who was living a life that was so positive and so constructive  it was fabulous for a young person because everything was possible. And I still have conversations with him, once in a while, when I need to. Lin Utzon with her father, Jrn. Credit: Lars Hansen Fitz: You mean like hes there, or just imaginary conversations? LU: Sometimes I feel he is there. Fitz: I wont intrude to ask what your conversations with your father are about. But may I ask if you were to have a conversation with your father now about how Sydney is celebrating his Opera House, 50 years after the opening, what would your report to your father be?

LU: I would say how incredible the feeling is now, of how everybody understands that the building he gave Sydney and Australia now defines the country more than the kangaroo, and how the people of Sydney also changed because of it, because the bar became higher, a higher level of artists performing. And the whole exuberance of the harbour is now reflected by that building. Before it was more of a city that in its red brick boxes turned away from the harbour. Now it turns towards. Fitz: What do you remember of those years living in Sydney as his masterpiece started to take shape? Loading LU: I felt incredibly blessed. We arrived and were received with the same magnificent hospitality from everyone. It was a new adventure. I did love my country, Denmark, but Australia was something else. It was wild. You know that huge Pacific, and the bush, and getting to know all of Australia, as my father started building the Opera House was magnificent. Fitz: My favourite bit of criticism when I was doing a book on the Opera House was a columnist for the Daily Mirror, who, on first seeing the model when your father was announced as the winner, wrote It looks like an untidily sliced apple or perhaps a bunch of toenails clipped from some large albino dog! What about you? When you visited the site, did you recognise the staggering beauty of the Opera House as it grew?

LU: [Laughs.] Yes, and I remember that feeling of being part of something really exceptional. The competition drawing for the opera house staircase between the two halls, submitted by Jorn Utzon in 1956. Credit: The Sydney Opera House. Fitz: And yet, all started to come apart for your father when the Askin government was elected in 1965, meaning he no longer had the political support  and they wanted him to speed everything up. Do you remember there being tension in your house? LU: I do remember, because my father had a difficult time sleeping. He was always out walking around Palm Beach. Fitz: This next question is delicate, but I must ask. Is it possible that the architectural genius of your father was not matched by managerial genius? No one doubts the genius of Rembrandt or Michelangelo, but it would not surprise if the same brains that could have conceived their masterworks, might have struggled  perhaps like your father  running massive projects with hundreds of moving parts?

LU: How do you mean? Fitz: I mean that when your father resigned, he had a dozen draftspeople at most, because he wanted to keep control of everything. He was replaced by three architects who ended up with 119 draftspeople doing the thousand rooms, and it still took seven years! Loading LU: I think he was a brilliant manager as well because everything he did was brilliant. And at Sydney, he had the most devoted staff you can imagine. It affected everybody enormously that the project stopped. Fitz: But my point is that even though Askins minister for public works, Davis Hughes, knew nothing of architecture, do you have no sympathy for the government which said, Weve got to get this finished! If your father had not left Sydney, could it have been done in seven years? Ten years? Twenty years? How long would it have taken do you think?

LU: I dont know, but it would have been finished. It would have been like Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel, with the Pope  Fitz: When will you make an end? When I am done. LU: Yes. All he could do was promise to do my absolute best. Fitz: It must have been hard for him, after resigning, to leave? LU: Yes. On the morning of departure, he and I went down and sat on Palm Beach and it was one of those days where there was just enough fog to soften the light and the waves were coming in huge. And we just sat on the beach and talked about leaving. He said, No matter what, it was a fabulous gift to be able to come here and do this.

Fitz: The most haunting image I had from doing the book was as you leave your place on the northern beaches and head to the airport, youre in the taxi with your father and as you go over the Bridge, he looks out to the Opera House, the unfinished symphony, to gaze upon his masterpiece for the last time  Loading LU: [Softly.] Yes, and it was extraordinary, because there was a thick shroud of fog which meant he could barely see it. It was very symbolic. Fitz: The obvious tragedy is that he could never come back to see his completed masterpiece, despite at one point considering coming back, wearing some lipstick and a wig and go back to Australia as a woman, so that, incognito, he could walk around and see it up close. You were the first member of the family to come back and see progress. LU: The first time I came back, was with my then-husband, Alex Popov, and a friend of ours organised that we could go on the building site. The person was taking us around, and somebody on the site yelled out I know who you are, youre Utzons daughter! and the person taking us said This will get me fired. There was a very bad atmosphere towards my father at the time.

Fitz: And then when you came back the second time, to see the finished masterpiece? LU: It was, completely, unavoidably, magic. I havent been to the pyramids. But its something where you feel in a way its been there for all time. Its so logical, its so perfect. You dont feel its a strange object thats been put down on the country  you feel that its been there forever, and the city around it is more alien than the Opera House. Jorn Utzon at the Sydney Opera House. Credit: Fairfax Media Fitz: It still staggers me that he could never come and see it. LU: He thought of it like a symphony, and he knew it was finished. But, first of all, there was my mother who said that he couldnt bear to see what was done to it  the fact it was not completed to his full vision. That was one side, but the other question was if he would have been able to cope if there was controversy, which he was like a magnet for. He couldnt have coped with that kind of pressure.

Fitz: Just before your father died, he talked to The Guardian, and said Every day I wake up and think of the Opera House. It gives me such pleasure that the building meant so much to the people of Sydney in Australia. That makes me very happy. It sounds like, despite everything, he died a very happy man. Loading LU: He was. He was totally aware that he was just another little ant among all of us little ants on the Earth, but if you have the incredible luck and privilege to be given a task like the Opera House where you can do something so exceptional, and be so challenged to do more than you ever dreamt you could do, you are extraordinarily lucky, and he was satisfied with what he had achieved. Fitz: Thank you. Im seriously sure I speak for the people of Sydney and Australia in saying to the Utzon family, you have our enduring gratitude for Jrn Utzon giving us a treasure beyond measure for the ages. LU: [Softly.] Thank you so much. I dont take it for granted at all that Sydney and the Opera House include me and my family in things like these celebrations. It is exceptional. I, too, am filled with gratitude.
Literature, wrote a great poet, cannot be the business of a womans life, and it ought not to be.

Robert Southey, Britains poet laureate from 1813 to his death in 1843, was responding to a letter from a young correspondent seeking his advice on her early work. She wanted to know whether she might fashion a writers life for herself. It was 1837.

Southey continued, warming to his theme: The more she is engaged in her proper duties, the less leisure she will have for it, even as an accomplishment and a recreation. To those duties you have not yet been called, and when you are you will be less eager for celebrity.

Anne, Emily and Charlotte Bronte as painted by their brother, Branwell.

His correspondent was discouraged, but not entirely. Ten years later she wrote Jane Eyre, one of the greatest works of English literature. There was a reason why Charlotte submitted her manuscript under the male pseudonym of Currer Bell. Her sisters Emily and Anne Bronte used the masculine monikers Ellis and Acton. Mary-Ann Evans wrote as George Eliot.
Optometrists are warning of a myopia epidemic as the proportion of children presenting with short-sightedness almost doubles at some clinics.

The eye specialists believe childrens worsening eyesight is linked to genetics, excessive use of screens and not enough time outdoors.

Jaelyn, Justyn and Jerryn Yam were diagnosed with myopia at the age of four. They wear special contact lenses at night to correct their sight during the day. Credit: Paul Jeffers

Zeinab Fakih, the Australian College of Optometrys manager of paediatrics and rehabilitative service, said the average age of diagnosis had dropped from about 12 to eight.

She is concerned that some children are not being diagnosed until their eyesight has deteriorated to a level at which they are considered legally blind without glasses.
After showing at Paris Fashion Week, it would be easy for designer Estelle Michaelides to present the rose-coloured version of launching her new label, Saint Stella M, into the international market. But then, she wouldnt be telling the whole truth.

For Michaelides, a 30-year veteran of the industry and founder of independent streetwear label Micky in the Van, showing in Paris was a lifes dream realised. But, she says, the grind and hustle of launching a brand overseas is often missing from the conversation, especially on social media.

From Paris to the Paris end of Collins Street  Estelle Michaelides (centre, with models Jennifer Li, left, and Lochie Barnett) label, Saint Stella M, will feature at Melbourne Fashion Week, fresh from its international debut. Credit: Wayne Taylor

I was one of tens of thousands of designers trying to become visible, she says. And you really are invisible. And that was a low for me. I arrived [in Paris] and thought, What am I doing? I left my son behind, and I had spent so much of my savings. There were lonely moments as well.

Certainly, there were plenty of highs. Michaelides show, held a stones throw from the famed Ritz hotel, was a sell-out, and caught the attention of fashion editor Anna Della Russo (think the Anna Wintour of Italy). The show featured ballerinas performing as Michaelides styled the models in real time, a signature of her Micky in the Van shows, which have regularly featured at the Melbourne Fashion Festival.
The recriminations from the failed Voice referendum continue, with the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress releasing a strongly worded statement this afternoon saying the No campaigners gave permission for racism to run wild.

The organisation notes the proposal to enshrine a First Nations Voice to parliament in the Constitution was initially well received, with two out of three Australians in favour of it a year ago.

The Central Australian Aboriginal Congress office in Alice Springs. Credit: Kate Geraghty

But, the statement says, the deliberate strategy of deception and misinformation adopted by prominent No campaigners turned many previously good-willed people against us.

In doing so, they gave permission for racism to run wild. Given the result of the referendum and the conduct of the No campaign, there are now serious questions about whether reconciliation is still a viable strategy in Australia. Nevertheless, one thing remains certain: sooner or later the nation state must deal with the enduring fact of Aboriginal sovereignty. In the meantime, our struggle for equality, justice and self-determination will continue.

The congress is a support and advocacy organisation for Aboriginal justice and equity and the largest Aboriginal community-controlled health organisation in the Northern Territory.

The statement notes that Aboriginal people overwhelmingly supported the Voice. About 75 per cent of voters in remote areas of the Northern Territory voted Yes and some Aboriginal communities recorded Yes votes of over 90 per cent.

The statement says the Voice would have made Australia a fairer and more inclusive nation and the result was a setback for Aboriginal people and for the nation as a whole.

Our peoples have faced many setbacks before. But we are still here. Resilience in the face of adversity is part of who we are. In the face of this result, Aboriginal people  with the support of our non-Indigenous brothers and sisters  will stand strong and support each other as we have always done.

The congress, on behalf of its board of directors, thanked everyone in Central Australia and across the country who voted Yes, and expressed appreciation and respect for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander delegates who drafted the Uluru Statement from the Heart.

The statement follows an official response from Indigenous leaders who supported the Voice to parliament released yesterday after the end of the week of silence to grieve the outcome. This said the majority of Australians have committed a shameful act whether knowingly or not.
A long-serving University of Sydney academic with severe respiratory and autoimmune conditions is facing the sack after the institution refused to let him continue teaching online, despite medical advice urging them to do so.

The university has deemed senior psychology lecturer Niko Tiliopoulos unfit to work after two doctors, including one commissioned by the universitys review panel, found there would be a substantial risk to his health, including death, if he returned to campus.

Niko Tiliopoulos has a medical condition that doesnt allow him to work in crowded lecture theatres or classrooms. Credit: Janie Barrett

Tiliopoulos has been told he will be fired if he does not resign, as the institution pushes ahead with its plan to move almost all classes on-campus after widespread online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The university has rebuffed attempts by Tiliopoulos and his union to accommodate for his disability by allowing him to continue remote teaching or discuss an altered role, insisting face-to-face teaching was an inherent requirement of his employment.
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 WAtoday charts Perths spread, and the companies behind the master-planned communities pushing our urban boundary further afield. See all 5 stories . On weekends, Nigel Satterley often visits the housing estates hes created, checking in to see if the people who live in them are happy with their lot. From the speed of the internet to the quality of the local school, he seeks out feedback on the neighbourhoods he has curated, estates the property tycoon says are like children to him. If youve lived in Perth any time since 1980, chances are you or someone you know has lived in a property that came to be because of Satterley. The pioneer of the master-planned community and Australias largest privately owned residential land developer has shaped the lives of 250,000 homeowners, creating 160 housing estates in WA alone. His company has decided which direction their houses face, the distance they live from the local schools, the design of the roads they drive on, the shops they shop at and the equipment in the playground down the road. Motivated, he says, by a desire to recreate miniature versions of friendly country towns such as Cunderdin where he grew up, he estimates he has developed 7000 hectares of low-density suburbia. He and his fellow top-five developers Peet, Stockland, Cedar Woods and newcomer Parcel Property, have together helped to clear 80 per cent of the Swan coastal plain for the great Australian dream.

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As Perth grapples with the biggest housing supply crisis it has ever faced, planning ideologies from all corners of the property sector are colliding daily over what should Perth look like in the future  and how much further it should stretch. In this series, WAtoday will explore how property developers along with governments, housing groups and communities are all wrestling for control of the wheel  and how some have more influence than others. The city has an urban footprint of 6640 square kilometres, more than twice the size of Tokyo, but it houses just one-sixth of that citys population. In its 2023 audit of the population and density of nearly 1000 cities, Demographia ranked Perth as one of the worlds lowest-density cities outside of the US. Greenfield developers like Satterley argue they are simply meeting market demand and trying to build the much-loved four-by-two bungalow as affordably as possible. Eighty per cent of Australians want to live on house-and-land [packages], Satterley said.

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If you look at the estates that have really set the scene for what we call masterplanmed living, Ellenbrook is the largest one, which is about 12,000 lots, Brighton Beach, Secret Harbour, Halls Head, and Meadow Springs. And there were others, like Beaumaris. And it was down to the planning, the emergence of housing choices, fantastic open space, and good access to the beach on a lot of those  people wanted to live there. However, this constant supply of house and land packages means Perth is forecast to bloat 220 kilometres along the coast with once-holiday towns such as Seabird earmarked for estates. Futurologist Rocky Scopelliti said if residential land development continued as is, Perth could become a cautionary tale in failed urban planning. Were looking at a city set up for a multitude of challenges, including intolerable commute times, he said. If Perth stays on its current path, it risks intensifying all existing problems related to commuting, the environment, and social cohesion. And while other cities globally are innovating, Perth risks falling behind, burdening future generations with a less sustainable, less efficient, and less livable city.

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Commutes already average 30 to 40 minutes and are predicted to double by 2031, according to Infrastructure Australia. The government describes itself as pro-high density, but Planning Minister John Carey said curbing urban sprawl was not a priority during a housing crisis. Our number one priority at the moment is to get as much housing out the door [as possible], he said. Every decision I currently make has to be with a policy lens of, how does this affect housing supply and affordability? Therell be a certain element of the design community who say we dont want any more greenfield four-by-twos, but if the current market and financial constraints mean that is one of the key products that is delivering me housing, which I need, then I think the perfect can be the enemy of the good. When Satterley moved to Perth in the late 1960s the population was 360,000. Now the states current planning framework, Perth and Peel @ 3.5 million, suggest the city will be the third biggest in the nation by 2050 with 3.5 million people.

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That will mean 800,000 new homes. In August Carey earmarked 6400 hectares of land to accommodate 85,000 homes from east of Eglinton, north of Bennett Springs, east of Kwinana-Pinjarra and smaller landholdings in the established suburbs of Langford and Maida Vale. Curtin University senior lecturer in urban and regional planning Courtney Babb said since the 1970s, planning frameworks had been trying to rein in the rapid outward expansion of Perth in the face of a population with a predilection for detached dwellings near the coast. We need to have a conversation about the type of city that we want to be, and we need to look at an urban growth boundary or a greenbelt, he said. Babb said masterplanned communities had only superficial similarities to the country towns Satterley purported to be creating, and had long-term affordability implications. Masterplanned communities may be a nod to these country towns, but we do live in a city so we need access to jobs and to a range of services and amenities that are beyond the masterplanned community scale, he said.

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Barriers to women fully participating in the workforce are costing the Australian economy $128 billion as a federal government-appointed taskforce calls for wholesale changes to the tax system, how public contracts are awarded and introduction of year-long paid parental leave.

Declaring that women were tired of waiting to feel safe and economically valued, the report from the womens economic equality taskforce to be released on Monday calls for more investment in early childcare and education, ensuring the minimum wage is high enough to be considered a living wage and finding new ways to encourage older women back into the workforce.

Taskforce chair Sam Mostyn says for too long, the value of women in the workforce and economy has been ignored. Credit: Ben Rushton

The taskforce was created last year to provide independent advice to the government on how to boost womens involvement in the economy and build on recommendations out of the September 2022 jobs summit.

Headed by prominent businesswoman Sam Mostyn, the taskforce also included former Business Council chief executive Jennifer Westacott, incoming chair of the Productivity Commission Danielle Wood, ACTU president Michele ONeil and former Rudd government minister Jenny Macklin.
Eyebrow tinting, leg waxing and root touch-ups are increasingly being done in homes around the country rather than salons or spas as Australians balance the cost-of-living pressures with beauty regimes.

Just as inflation has affected everything from rents to grocery bills and insurance costs, it has also increased the price of beauty services, driving more people to do it themselves.

Beauty routines like eyebrow tinting are increasingly being done at home as the cost of living rises. Credit: iStock

The cost of hairdressing and personal grooming services rose 7.1 per cent in the year to June, Australian Bureau of Statistics consumer price index figures show.

The bureau said inflation was driven by higher wages, utilities and supply costs, and those price increases were broad-based and occurred across several services including mens and womens haircuts, colouring services and personal grooming.
The process of this test did remind me how much data Google collects  not just my searches but anything I say to a smart speaker, any search result or ad that I click  which will be a point in favour of DuckDuckGo for some, even if it didnt perform as well and is harder to read. The data collection does also mean that Google (not just search but also mobile widgets and other services) personalises to me more effectively. Loading Bing has overhauled its layout over the past year to be very graphic and augmented by generative AI explanations from its chatbot. I like the idea of being able to ask follow-up questions in searches this way, but in practice its not really there yet. In a search for kids BMX bike green (Google did pretty well and DuckDuckGo ignored the green part), Bing Chat offered a comparison of a few different options but they were too expensive. I asked, any under $200? and it replied with more options that were all over $300. Another observation from this test is that I tend to use the Google Search bar as much for returning to familiar sites as I do for searching for information, which means switching to another provider could be temporarily annoying simply because it wouldnt remember all the places Ive been. Is Google as the default unfair?

In a response to the trial on Googles blog, president of global affairs Kent Walker said the companys search product was the favourite of users, browsers and device makers simply because it was the best in the business. And being default was not determinative, he said; changing from Google Search to any other search provider was easy, and the company competes with many others on phones and PCs. People dont use Google because they have to, they use it because they want to, he said. This lawsuit simply ignores how intensely competitive and dynamic the technology industry is today. Walker also points out that, when faced with a situation where Google is not the default, users tend to spend some effort putting Google back in charge. When Mozilla made Yahoo! the default on Firefox, most users changed it to Google. And when people set up a Windows device for the first time they frequently sidestep the Microsoft default  Google was the number one search query on Bing in 2021  despite Microsoft making that very annoying to do. This is a compelling point, and many of us will be well accustomed to dodging all of Microsofts pleading while trying to get Chrome and Google set as defaults whenever we set up a new PC. But all of these arguments do ignore the fact that Google and its competitors are not on an even playing field. The question remains, why do users prefer Google? And if the answer, as Walker says, is that Google is simply better, the question becomes whether thats down to its scale, its longevity, its ubiquity and all the user data it sucks up, which no other company could possibly match.

For the US, which has to prove that Google somehow broke the law to achieve the status quo, this legal case could be an uphill battle. But for the rest of us, it offers a rare opportunity for some insight into what the tech giant does with its enormous market share. Is it still focused on being the best? Or, as has been alleged, does it use its ubiquity to squeeze us for money even at the expense of product quality? How organic are Googles results? This month, Wired posted an opinion article by lawyer and privacy advocate Megan Gray, which alleged that Google had accidentally revealed during the trial that it manipulates peoples search queries for maximum ad revenue. The example given was replacing a search for childrens clothing with NIKOLAI-brand kidswear. Loading Google rejected this in very strong terms, saying the piece was misleading and inaccurate while denying ever altering search terms. Wired removed the article for not meeting its standards, but the degree to which it was shared on social media and boosted in write-ups at other outlets shows just how willing people are to accept foul play on Googles part. A suspicion of privacy invasion and inappropriate data handling follows the company at all times.

Grey herself is a former vice-president at DuckDuckGo, a privacy-focused company founded explicitly to counter giants such as Google. She admits that she may have misinterpreted the evidence, but maintains that Google manipulates Search to maximise ad revenue. So what does Google say? In a post on X, Googles official search liaison, Danny Sullivan, said ad systems do not affect the organic results, i.e. the list of blue links in search results that are not sponsored. Ad keyword matching is a long-standing and well-known process that is designed to connect people to relevant ads. A separate process, which has nothing to do with ads, is used to match organic results to a query, he said. Its no secret that Google Search looks beyond the specific words in a query to better understand their meaning ... If you make a spelling mistake, or search for a term thats not on a page but where the page has a close synonym, or if you arent even sure exactly how to search for something, our meaning matching systems help. It is true that some search queries result in more ads than others, and what ads you get can vary wildly depending on your request, which is the result of the keyword matching Google uses to sell ads. But Google denies pushing users towards the most monetisable subjects.

Similarly, its also pretty common to see people complaining on the internet with some variation of Google Search was a lot better 10 years ago, which could absolutely be true. But it would be a stretch to assume thats because of the companys monetisation practices, when theres a much simpler explanation. In 2013, people were creating around 9 ZB of data every year (thats nine zettabytes, or nine trillion gigabytes), which Google had to index constantly, whereas in 2023 its more like 120 ZB. And not a whole lot of that is static websites like it was a decade ago, its live information that may be nested within various services and apps. What really happens when we search? Google has published extensive information about its Search procedures, so its not difficult to get its own take on what happens in the background when you send off a query.

Googles software is constantly crawling the web and updating its central index, which itself is more than 100 million gigabytes in size. When you enter a query, Search uses a few quick processes to decide the meaning of your question, including what kind of information you might be after. Then, beyond just looking for sites with the words you typed in, the system uses machine learning to rank results according to what it thinks youre looking for, prioritising high quality and easy to use sites. If you allow it, Google does bring in some information it knows about you to further refine results, including your location and web history. If youre looking to turn this off, its in your Google account settings called Web & App Activity. Google says it does not infer personal information like race or religion to shape results. Loading Google works with independent search quality raters to gauge the effectiveness of its processes, and says it ran almost 900,000 quality tests in 2022. Some critics, including Megan Grey, contend that Google uses semantic keyword matching to make searches less precise on purpose, which widens the pool of content served and increases auctions for its ads. The quality tests, then, would ensure that the systems were still returning results that were justifiably related to the input.
Sean Mitchell, CEO & Co-founder of REZI, Among the Most Exceptional Entrepreneurs at 2023 Builders and Innovators Summit

NEW YORK, Oct. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) is recognizing REZI CEO & Co-founder Sean Mitchell as one of the Most Exceptional Entrepreneurs of 2023 at its Builders and Innovators Summit in Healdsburg, California.

Goldman Sachs selected Sean Mitchell from multiple industries to be honored at the two-day event. REZI is a marketplace where renters are able to secure their next home in minutes, leveraging machine learning and world class technology to provide rent guarantees to multifamily property owners and state-of-the-art renting platform for residents.

Before co-founding REZI, Sean had a career in financial services including roles at Corbin Capital Partners and JP Morgan Chase's Chief Investment Office. He graduated from Florida A&M University with a BS in Business Administration. He grew up in South Florida, before relocating to New York City, where he lives with his wife.

"This recognition from Goldman Sachs is an honor, but I truly believe this award says less about me than about the importance of REZI's mission," said Sean Mitchell, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of REZI. "Renters in the United States hate the leasing process, yet 1 out of every 3 households here are rented. For far too long, technology has evaded residential real estate, particularly amongst rentals with a fragmented housing supply. At REZI, we know that technology will have a huge role to play in democratizing access to housing and building a mutually beneficial future for property owners and residents alike."

"We're delighted to recognize Sean Mitchell as one of the most exceptional entrepreneurs of 2023," said David Solomon, Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs. "Like everyone in this year's class, Sean has been a visionary in his field, pushing forward innovation and redefining markets. We are excited to harness Goldman's convening power to bring together these dynamic leaders and hear their insights."

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In addition to honoring the most exceptional entrepreneurs, the Summit consists of general sessions and clinics led by seasoned entrepreneurs, academics and business leaders as well as resident scholars.

About REZI

Founded in 2018, REZI is a real estate technology company that partners with property owners to manage all leasing activity of their vacant apartments. For prospective residents, REZI leverages machine learning to offer a suite of world-class technology to make the process of renting an apartment fast, free, and fair.

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.

Press related questions about REZI, please contact Joshua R. Bunnell at joshua@rentrezi.com.

Press related questions about the Summit or Goldman Sachs, please contact Sophia Anthony at Sophia.Anthony@gs.com.

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rezi-honored-by-goldman-sachs-for-entrepreneurship-301963848.html

SOURCE REZI
This, then, is the origin story of cruising as we know it, as cabin design, onboard catering and cabin service were redesigned and streamlined to service guests  who weighed much less than freight, and were therefore more profitable to the company. At the peak of transatlantic voyages, between 1900 and 1920, about 12.5 million Europeans crossed the Atlantic, and the Holland America line carried over 1 million of them. Actor Johnny Weissmuller immigrated to the US on a Holland America ship, as did Herbert Hoover, Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn, Clark Gable, Louis Armstrong and Albert and Elsa Einstein. As the Rotterdams cruise director Karlijn Verpalen has it, Billy Crystals grandfather immigrated on one of our ships, so if it werent for us, Harry would never have met Sally. The MS Rotterdam of today bears little resemblance to its namesake from a century ago. On April 3, 2023, the Rotterdam VII left Fort Lauderdale in Florida with a very special mission, to sail into the port of Rotterdam on April 18, the precise day of the 150th anniversary. Official celebrations were, of course, held in the Hotel New York, where the lines president, Gus Antorcha welcomed Dutch royalty, descendants of the founders of the line, and, very much to one side, me. Rotterdams lord mayor, Ahmed Aboutaleb, had the citys famous Erasmus Bridge emblazoned in a light show for the occasion, and Her petite Royal Highness, Princess Margriet of The Netherlands anointed a commemorative ships bell with champagne, a tradition usually reserved for the launch of a new ship.

The fabric of history is woven from the threads of millions of stories, and at the heart of each of those stories is a person, said Gus Antorcha from the stage. I hope that decades from now, those who come after us will gather on this very spot at Hotel New York to share them. As a finale, the officers of the Rotterdam VII paraded along a replica of the ships deck, throwing colourful streamers over the railings and into the audience as if about to sail off to the New World. The modern comforts of a stateroom on board. In reality, the ship set sail the following day into the old world, on a five-day itinerary criss-crossing the North Sea from Oslo, to Copenhagen, to Amsterdam. From there, it embarked on its first itinerary to Scotland, stopping at Inverness (Loch Ness, fairytale scenery, castles), and Edinburgh (fruit cakes, Military Tattoos, more castles). The on-board experience has, of course, changed out of sight. The tween decks, or steerage, was particularly uncomfortable 150 years ago, for a voyage that would take 15 days or longer, depending on weather conditions. Men were separated from women and children, and contained in low-ceilinged cabins of six to twelve bunks, with just one hour of perambulation allowed each day.

Historian Bill Miller says that one writer of the time described the lower-deck passengers as cheerful, hopeful and optimistic about their future, entertaining themselves with music and dancing. There were also three square meals daily (as there are now) taken on long wooden tables in the mess hall. These ranged from little more than chunks of hard bread and tureens of soup or beans, to meals of sauerkraut, smoked bacon and potatoes that finished with plum duff, a precursor to Christmas pudding. First class passengers had more elevated fare, such as oysters on the half shell and seared duckling, before the gentlemen retired to the Smoking Room. In a great innovation for the time, their quarters were cleaned while passengers were busy dining (much as the staterooms are serviced today, by vigilant stewards). There was one very good reason for that: getting the passengers to New York in a healthy condition. Third class steerage passengers were rigorously inspected by doctors at the infamous Ellis Island before being cleared to enter the country  and if anyone was rejected on health grounds, Holland America had to pay for their return sailing to Europe. The anniversary celebrations will continue until the end of 2023, spread across every sailing of Holland America Line cruise ships, with beautifully produced origin story presentations in the main theatres. Each voyage features its own 150th Gala Dinner, and  in one of the most popular initiatives  daily throw-back Happy Hours, with the original prices (as low as 75 cents) on commemorative cocktails. I can personally vouch for the fact that the limited edition HAL Pilsners specially brewed for the anniversary go down a treat with a burger by the pool; and the exclusive bottling of De Lijn Gin makes the perfect sundowner taken on your stateroom balcony.

Be warned, each itinerary also designates one evening for an Orange Party, at which passengers are encouraged to wear the Dutch national colour, in honour of the historic royal House of Orange. Fluorescent orange evening dresses, feather boas and dinner suits are not uncommon, but if orange is just not your colour, its perfectly acceptable to wear just a scarf or even ear-rings in the designated shade. My husband and I packed a couple of suitable accessories, then inadvertently missed the celebrations entirely. (Anyone want to buy a very bright orange, good-as-new tie, going cheap?) The average passenger on a cruise will quite happily embrace all it has to offer without even thinking of the centuries of maritime exploration, engineering and innovation that made their oceanic holiday possible. But when a company such as the Holland America line celebrates 150 years of sailing in style, its worth pausing to reflect and celebrate. Long known as the bridge across the ocean, the line has also become a bridge from the past to the future. On that first evening on board, I head for the Ocean Bar and settle in with the signature Martinez, a cocktail that dates to 1884. I might only have a seven-day jaunt across the North Sea ahead of me, but I raise my glass to all those who have gone before, bravely sailing to a new life in a new world. The writer travelled as a guest of Holland America Line.

THE DETAILS CRUISE Holland America Lines 7-day Scandinavian Fjords & Capitals sails on May 4 and June 29, 2024. It costs from $1864 a person in an Inside suite, twin share. The Verandah stateroom costs from $2314 a person, twin share. See hollandamerica.com FIVE FUN FACTS EATING HISTORY

The menus on every Holland America cruise voyage in 2023 feature classic dishes from the lines historic sailings, chosen and developed by Director of Culinary Operations, John Mulvaney. Highly recommended: the Chopped Sirloin Steak with sauce Robert, green peas and swiss potato, inspired by the meat-loaf like Hamburg steak introduced to the US in the late 19th century by German immigrants. THE GRAND DAME OF CRUISING The Rotterdam V holds a special place in cruising history, beginning a yearly tradition of circumnavigating the world in 1961. It was like a floating clubhouse, says Cruise Director Karlijn Verpalen. One passenger packed 300 dresses for the 95-day voyage. Another reserved two suites; one for her, and one for her artworks. Then there was the female passenger who travelled with her own cosmetic surgeon. She left for a three-month cruise, only to return looking 20 years younger. SLEEPING BEAUTY In 2008, the retired SS Rotterdam V was converted to a floating hotel, permanently moored in Rotterdam. As the SS Rotterdam by Westcord, her 576 cabins have been transformed into 254 rooms, with themes of Manhattan, Bahamas, or Original. Guests can enjoy the spirit of travelling in the 1950s, without actually having to return to the 1950s. Or, indeed, go anywhere. See ssrotterdam.com
At least 130 premature babies are at grave risk because of lack of fuel at Gaza hospitals, the United Nations health agency said on Sunday.

The babies are being cared for at six neonatal units, according to Medical Aid for Palestinians, an aid group working in Gaza.

But doctors have warned that the babies are in imminent danger if fuel does not reach hospitals soon.

The World Health Organisation called for immediate and sustained access of fuel into Gaza to keep health facilities operating, in a statement to the Associated Press.

Melanie Ward, chief executive of Medical Aid for Palestinians, urged world leaders to press Israel to allow the delivery of fuel to Gaza.

The world cannot simply look on as these babies are killed by the siege on Gaza ... A failure to act is to sentence these babies to death, she said.

Hospitals in Gaza have been struggling with the large number of wounded. Only 20 trucks carrying aid made it through the Gaza-Egypt border on Saturday, and humanitarian groups say the delivery was well short of the supplies that are needed.

Dr Ghassan Abu Sitta, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon working with Medicins Sans Frontieres in Shifa Hospital, said the hospitals generators are cutting out more regularly now than before.

He said hospitals in the territory were facing severe shortages of medical supplies, including bandages, medication and other supplies.

You can imagine the amount 14,000 severely wounded patients would consume, he said.

AP
For days, Israel has seemed to be on the verge of launching a ground offensive in Gaza as part of its response to Hamas deadly October 7 rampage. Tanks and tens of thousands of troops have massed at the border, and Israeli leaders have spoken of an undefined next stage in operations. But the military acknowledges there are still hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians in northern Gaza despite a sweeping evacuation order, which would complicate any ground attack. And the risk of triggering a broader war with Hamas allies in Lebanon and Syria might also give them pause. On Saturday, 20 trucks of aid were allowed to enter Gaza from Egypt through the Rafah crossing, the first time anything has gone into the territory since Israel imposed a complete siege two weeks ago. A Palestinian man rides on the back of a pickup truck in Rafah, Gaza, on Saturday. Credit: Bloomberg Aid workers said it was far too little to address the spiralling humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where half the territorys 2.3 million people have fled their homes. Hospitals packed with patients and displaced people are running low on medical supplies and fuel for generators, forcing doctors to perform surgeries with sewing needles, using kitchen vinegar as disinfectant, and without anaesthesia.

Shortages in supplies, including ventilators, are forcing doctors to ration treatment, said Dr. Mohammed Qandeel, who works in Khan Younis Nasser Hospital. Loading Its heartbreaking, he told The Associated Press. Every day, if we receive 10 severely injured patients we have to manage with maybe three or five ICU beds available. US wont hesitate Palestinian Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian discussed the means of stopping the Israeli brutal crimes in the besieged Gaza enclave, the group said in a statement late Sunday.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin on Sunday said the United States expects the Israel-Hamas war to escalate through involvement by proxies of Iran and asserted that the Biden administration is prepared to respond if American personnel or armed forces become the target of any such hostilities. This is not what we want, not what were looking for. We dont want escalation, Blinken said. We dont want to see our forces or our personnel come under fire. But if that happens, were ready for it. Austin, echoing Blinken, said what were seeing is a prospect of a significant escalation of attacks on our troops and our people throughout the region. He said the US has the right to self-defence and we wont hesitate to take the appropriate action. US President Joe Biden on Sunday held a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the situation in Israel and Gaza, the White House said.

Food running low Palestinians sheltering in UN-run schools and tent camps are running low on food and drinking dirty water. The territorys sole power plant shut down over a week ago, causing a territory-wide blackout and crippling water and sanitation systems. The UN humanitarian agency said cases of chicken pox, scabies and diarrhoea are on the rise because of the lack of clean water. Gazas Hamas-run Interior Ministry reported heavy Israeli airstrikes across the territory overnight into Sunday, including southern areas where Israel had told Palestinians to seek refuge. Late Saturday, an airstrike hit a cafe in the southern town of Khan Younis where displaced people had gathered to charge their phones. The nearby Nasser Hospital said 12 people were killed and 75 wounded. An Israeli soldier was killed by an anti-tank missile on Sunday during a raid into the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, the military said.

Israeli troops have been conducting raids across the border, which the military says are meant to clear the area and gather intelligence about missing people and captives being held by militant group Hamas in the enclave. An IDF (Israel Defence Forces) soldier was killed, one was moderately injured, and two were lightly injured as a result of an anti-tank missile launched toward an IDF tank and an engineering vehicle, the military said. Israels military has said it is striking Hamas members and installations, but does not target civilians. Palestinian militants have continued daily rocket attacks, with Hamas saying it targeted Tel Aviv early Sunday. Netanyahu convened his Cabinet late Saturday to discuss the expected ground invasion, Israeli media reported. A military spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said Israel planned to step up airstrikes starting Saturday as preparation for the next stages of the war.

An Israeli ground assault would likely lead to a dramatic escalation in casualties on both sides. More than 1400 people in Israel have been killed in the war  mostly civilians slain during the initial Hamas attack. At least 210 people were captured and dragged back to Gaza, including men, women, children and older adults. Two Americans were released on Friday in what Hamas said was a humanitarian gesture. Loading Gazas Health Ministry has said 266 Palestinians, including 117 children, have been killed by Israeli airstrikes in the past 24 hours. Local health authorities say at least 4651 people have been killed and 14,245 wounded and more than a million people displaced since October 7. Syrian state media meanwhile reported that Israeli airstrikes have targeted the international airports in the capital, Damascus, and the northern city of Aleppo. It said the strikes killed one person and damaged the runways, putting them out of service.

Israel has carried out several strikes in Syria, including on the airports, since the war began. Israel rarely acknowledges individual strikes, but says it acts to prevent Hezbollah and other militant groups from bringing in arms from their patron, Iran, which also supports Hamas. In Lebanon, Hezbollah said six of its fighters were killed Saturday, and the groups deputy leader, Sheikh Naim Kassem, warned that Israel would pay a high price if it starts a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip. Israel struck Hezbollah targets early Sunday in response to rocket fire, the military said. Israel also announced evacuation plans for another 14 communities near the border with Lebanon. Kiryat Shmona, with a population of more than 20,000 people, was told to evacuate last week. A screen grab captured from a video shows fire caused by Israeli airstrike on Nuseirat Refugee Camp in Gaza City, Gaza on October 21. Credit: Ramzi Adel/Anadolu via Getty Images In the occupied West Bank, dozens of Palestinians have been killed in clashes with Israeli troops, arrest raids and attacks by Jewish settlers. Israeli forces have closed crossings into the territory and checkpoints between cities, measures they say are aimed at preventing attacks. Israel says it has arrested more than 700 Palestinians since October 7, including 480 suspected Hamas members.

The internationally recognised Palestinian Authority administers parts of the West Bank and cooperates with Israel on security, but it is deeply unpopular and has been the target of violent Palestinian protests. Israeli forces killed at least five people early Sunday in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Two were killed in an airstrike on a mosque in the town of Jenin, which has seen heavy gunbattles between Palestinian militants and Israeli troops over the past year. The Israeli military said the mosque compound belonged to Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants who had carried out several attacks in recent months and were planning another one. The first aid trucks arrive in Gaza, but the UN says 100 trucks are needed every day. Credit: Getty Sundays fatalities brought the death toll in the West Bank to 90 Palestinians since the war broke out on October 7, according to the Health Ministry. Most appear have been killed during fighting with Israeli forces or violent protests.

Thirteen Palestinians, including five minors, and a member of Israels paramilitary Border Police were killed last week in a battle in a refugee camp in the West Bank town of Tulkarem, in which Israel also launched an airstrike. Loading In Gaza, the Israeli military said the humanitarian situation was under control as aid workers called for the opening of a round-the-clock aid corridor. The UN humanitarian agency, known as OCHA, said the convoy that entered Saturday carried about 4 per cent of an average days imports before the war and a fraction of what is needed after 13 days of complete siege. It is calling for 100 trucks a day to enter. Huge quantities of aid have been gathered near the Egyptian side of the crossing, but there has been no word on when more might enter. No fuel has entered Gaza, even as hospitals are struggling to keep vital medical equipment running with generators. Dozens of patients continue to arrive each day, many with blast injuries from airstrikes.
There must be an independent and expert inquiry into the bombing of Al Ahli Arab Hospital, which killed so many children. Whether it came from an incompetently fired Hamas rocket or a malign Israeli attack is not of immediate concern because it was indubitably a crime against humanity in a war that will continue to kill children unless and until there is a ceasefire.

Yet in the immediate aftermath of the hospital bombing, the United Nations Security Council, the body entrusted to keep world peace, refused to pass a resolution calling for a cease-fire. It was vetoed by the US and France, in deference to Israels desire to keep bombing Gaza to eliminate Hamas.

Thousands attend a pro-Palestinian march calling for a ceasefire in Gaza in Los Angeles on Saturday. Credit: AP

This is an absurd objective because Hamas is not a substance that can be eliminated. It is an idea, embedded in the Hamas constitution which denies that Israel has any right to exist. This is wrong as a matter of law, but is not capable of elimination from the minds of many of those in the Middle East

Moreover, making total war on the citizens of Gaza has the effect of multiplying support for Hamas and increasing hostility to Israel internationally, as evidenced by the crowds at protests in Australia and London over the weekend, and the increasing criticism by international politicians who were initially inclined to denounce only the Palestinian side.
New York: Starbucks accused a union representing thousands of its baristas of damaging the brand and endangering co-workers with a pro-Palestinian tweet.

The CEO of a prominent tech conference resigned amid backlash for his public statements suggesting that Israel was committing war crimes. Company bosses vowed never to hire members of a universitys student groups that condemned Israel.

The Starbucks union has come under fire for a tweet about the war. Credit: AP

Meanwhile, Islamic rights advocates say much of the American corporate response has minimised the suffering in Gaza, where thousands have died in Israeli airstrikes, and created an atmosphere of fear for workers who want to express support for Palestinians. Jewish groups have criticised tepid responses or slow reactions to the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack that killed 1400 people in Israel and triggered the latest war.

The fallout from the Israel-Hamas war has spilt into American workplaces, as top leaders of prominent companies weigh in with their views while workers complain their voices are not being heard. People from all ranks have been called out for speaking too forcefully  or not forcefully enough  making it nearly impossible to come up with a unifying message when passions run deep on all sides.
Washington: The president of a Detroit synagogue was found stabbed to death on Saturday outside her home, authorities and local media said.

The death of Samantha Woll, 40, an adviser to Democratic politicians and president of Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue, was confirmed by the synagogue on Facebook.

Samantha Woll.

We are shocked and saddened to learn of the unexpected death of Samantha Woll, our Board President, the synagogue said. At this point we do not have more information, but will share more when it becomes available.

The Detroit Police Department said the body of a woman was found in the 1300 block of Joliet Place in Detroit, where a trail of blood led to her home, in the Lafayette Park neighbourhood.
Rising levels of anxiety among Gen Z may be connected with the rise of location tracking apps. Adam Berry/Redferns/Getty Images

Gen Z seems OK with their parents using location sharing apps to keep tabs on them.

Safety is seen as the main benefit of sharing your location with others at all times.

Rising levels of anxiety among young people may be driving the embrace of location apps.

The rising popularity of location tracking apps such as Life360 suggests that young people are increasingly happy for their parents to be able to see where they are all the time.

Downloads of Life360 doubled in the past two years, with one in nine US families  33 million  now using the app, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Other apps such as Google's Family Link and Apple's Find My are also being used by Gen Z to share their location with parents and friends while they travel to school, drive  or even during dates.

These tools can also send alerts for events such as car crashes.

Location tracking can be turned off and on so that a user can maintain privacy when they want it, but according to a 2022 survey carried out by The Harris Poll, 16% of US adults have the setting activated all the time.

A survey of 1,200 adults conducted by Life360 found 54% of respondents thought it necessary or usually appropriate for parents to ask their children to share their location at all times.

The embrace of location tracking is thought to be related to rising levels of anxiety among younger generations.

"The turbulence of Gen Z's adolescence spawned a mental health crisis that was only amplified by the pandemic, social media, and the 24-hour news cycle," said Dr Michele Borba, a educational psychologist and spokesperson for Life360.

"During uncertain times, this generation has come to crave the added layer of security that location sharing provides," she said.

Life360's survey found 94% of Gen Z saw the benefits of location sharing, with more than half regarding such apps as being synonymous with safety.

For women, the certainty that someone else knows their location is particularly important. Seventy-two percent of GenZ female respondents said they believed their physical wellbeing benefits from location sharing, per the survey.

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Long-distance driving and visiting new or dangerous places were the top two most common reasons for using the app.

"If something happened to me, I think it would be useful for my parents to know my last location," one 16-year-old told the Wall Street Journal.

In addition to safety, tracking friends and sharing locations on these apps has also become a way to show affection amongst younger generations.

"There's an intimacy that's intertwined with that act," Michael Sake, a senior lecturer in digital sociology at City, University of London, told The New York Times. "There's a verification of being friends."

Read the original article on Business Insider
It's easy to match the overall market return by buying an index fund. But if you buy individual stocks, you can do both better or worse than that. Investors in Access Intelligence Plc (LON:ACC) have tasted that bitter downside in the last year, as the share price dropped 38%. That's well below the market return of 6.2%. Longer term shareholders haven't suffered as badly, since the stock is down a comparatively less painful 28% in three years. Furthermore, it's down 15% in about a quarter. That's not much fun for holders.

So let's have a look and see if the longer term performance of the company has been in line with the underlying business' progress.

See our latest analysis for Access Intelligence

Access Intelligence wasn't profitable in the last twelve months, it is unlikely we'll see a strong correlation between its share price and its earnings per share (EPS). Arguably revenue is our next best option. Shareholders of unprofitable companies usually expect strong revenue growth. As you can imagine, fast revenue growth, when maintained, often leads to fast profit growth.

In the last twelve months, Access Intelligence increased its revenue by 17%. We think that is pretty nice growth. Meanwhile, the share price is down 38% over twelve months, which is disappointing given the progress made. This implies the market was expecting better growth. However, that's in the past now, and it's the future that matters most.

You can see how earnings and revenue have changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

This free interactive report on Access Intelligence's balance sheet strength is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

A Different Perspective

While the broader market gained around 6.2% in the last year, Access Intelligence shareholders lost 38%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. On the bright side, long term shareholders have made money, with a gain of 0.7% per year over half a decade. If the fundamental data continues to indicate long term sustainable growth, the current sell-off could be an opportunity worth considering. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. To that end, you should be aware of the 3 warning signs we've spotted with Access Intelligence .

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But note: Access Intelligence may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast).

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on British exchanges.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
Allentown, PA (18103)

Today

Clear to partly cloudy and not as cold as the last few nights. .

Tonight

Clear to partly cloudy and not as cold as the last few nights.
Allentown, PA (18103)

Today

Mostly sunny skies; a cold start, but a little milder in the afternoon compared to the last few days. .

Tonight

Partly cloudy and not as cold.
MUHLENBERG TWP., Pa.  Muhlenberg Township resident Jacklyn Rusnock announced her candidacy Saturday for Mark Rozzi (D-Berks) state's House seat  and she will have Rozzi's support.

A Democrat, Rusnock describes herself as a "local educator and lifelong Muhlenberg Township resident." She will be running in Pennsylvania's 126th House district, which encompasses part of Reading, West Reading and other surrounding municipalities.

"I look forward to attending events, knocking on doors and getting to know the voters of the 126th [district] to ensure I have a firm grasp on all their concerns," Rusnock said in a press release. "As a parent and educator, I have a unique perspective to bring to Harrisburg and I am eager to get to work to ensure this vision becomes a reality."

Rozzi, the incumbent 126th district representative, is not running for re-election because he has opted to run for Pennsylvania Auditor General. He endorsed Rusnock, saying that because of her educational background, "there is no one better to represent the residents" of his district.

"At a time when educating our children is front and center, having an educator in the legislature is exactly what we need to find common sense solutions to equitably funding our schools and taking the pressure off taxpayers," Rozzi said.
People in the North Coventry community laced up for a special cause on Saturday. They're running here for suicide prevention and awareness.

The NCPD's SOS 5K started and ended at North Coventry Elementary School.

Participants raised money for Motley's Mission, which provides support people and families impacted by suicide and mental health issues.

Event organizers say suicide is the 10th-leading cause of death in the U.S.
LA VERGNE, Tenn. (AP)  Police in Tennessee were searching Sunday for the estranged son of Nashvilles police chief as the suspect in the shooting of two police officers outside a Dollar General store.

Officers in La Vergne, a city about 20 miles (32 kilometers) southeast of Nashville, were investigating a stolen vehicle outside the store Saturday afternoon when they struggled with the suspect, who pulled a handgun and shot them, said La Vergne Police Chief Christopher Moews.

Police identified the suspect as John C. Drake, Jr., 38, who is the son of Metro Nashville Police Department Chief John Drake.

Police said Sunday that Drake is considered armed and dangerous, and urged the public to remain vigilant and to call authorities immediately if they see someone matching his description.

Anne Smith, a spokesperson for the city of La Vergne, identified the officers as Ashley Boleyjack and Gregory Kern. Boleyjack was released from Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville on Saturday, while Kern was kept overnight for observation and is in stable condition, the city said in a news release Sunday.

The police chief issued a statement Saturday confirming his son was the suspect in the shooting. Drake said they were estranged and over many years he has had only minimal contact with his son. The younger Drake is a convicted felon who resorted to years of criminal activity, he said.

He now needs to be found and held accountable for his actions today. I hope that anyone who sees him or has information about him will contact law enforcement immediately, Drake said in the statement.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said in a social media post that a statewide alert had been issued for Drake, who was wanted on two counts of attempted first-degree murder. Smith said about a dozen law enforcement agencies are involved in the search.

After the shooting, the La Vergne police issued a shelter-in-place order for residents in the city. The shelter order was later lifted while the search for Drake continued, the department said in a social media post.

Mayor Freddie OConnell issued a statement in support of the police chief.

My heart goes out to Chief Drake, his family, and the two wounded LaVergne police officers. I know that despite our best efforts  including in their early years  we cant be responsible for the choices of family members, OConnell said. I support Chief Drake and stand by him at this difficult time. 

This story was first published on October 22, 2023. It was updated on October 27, 2023, to correct the first name of one of the two officers injured in the shooting. Her name is Ashley Boleyjack, not Ashely.
WASHINGTON (AP)  Former President Donald Trump and other top Republicans want the U.S. to seal its borders against a potential mass exodus of Palestinians fleeing war in the Gaza Strip, suggesting that a surge of civilian refugees could allow extremists into the country.

But such an onslaught is highly unlikely.

People fleeing the fighting are largely barred from getting out of Gaza, and U.S. law already gives authorities broad leeway to deny people entry into the country if they present security risks. Cases of extremists crossing into the U.S. illegally are also virtually non-existent.

Here's a closer look at what's being said and what the realities are.

WHO WANTS TO BAN PALESTINIAN REFUGEES FROM THE U.S.?

Trump has been the most outspoken on this issue. The former president vowed while campaigning in Iowa this week to bar refugees from Gaza and immediately expand a Muslim travel ban he imposed via executive order during his first administration.

Pointing to the Oct. 7 attacks and the taking of hostages by the Iran-backed militant group Hamas that sparked Israel's retaliation and war in Gaza, Trump also suggested in an online post that The same people that raided Israel are pouring into our once beautiful USA, through our TOTALLY OPEN SOUTHERN BORDER.

Trump's original ban barred travelers from several predominantly Muslim countries but was heavily criticized as discriminatory and drew legal challenges all the way to the Supreme Court. The high courts justices eventually upheld the Trump administrations third attempt at the ban, which included travelers from North Korea and some from Venezuela. It was revoked after President Joe Biden took office in January 2021.

Gaza refugees also have become a flashpoint among many of the presidential hopefuls vying to become Trumps principal challenger and cut into the commanding early lead the former president has built in the 2024 Republican primary.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the U.S. should not take in any Palestinian refugees fleeing Gaza because they are all antisemitic. Former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, who was also Trumps ex-ambassador to the United Nations, countered that America has has always been sympathetic to the fact that you can separate civilians from terrorists. Never Back Down, DeSantis' super PAC, is running an ad implying Haley is soft on allowing refugees into the country, which the Haley campaign rebuts as false.

Former Vice President Mike Pence suggested that the U.S. begin with women and children when it comes to accepting Palestinians from Gaza, while South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott endorsed the country turning away Gaza refugees because authorities will be unable to determine who is safe to bring in and whos not.

WILL THERE BE A CRUSH OF PALESTINIAN REFUEES HEADED FOR THE U.S.?

Probably not. Those fleeing the northern part of Gaza, where Israel has warned that a ground war is coming, have enough trouble simply moving to the southern part of the territory due to Israeli airstrikes and rockets fired by Hamas.

Israel has fortified its border with Gaza's 141-square-mile (365-square-kilometer) territory to prevent militants from sneaking into the country. But rather than triggering border runs, the displacement has unleashed a humanitarian crisis throughout Gaza, where nearly 1 million people are facing severe shortages of housing, food and clean drinking water.

Those making it to the southern part of the territory can usually go no further because Egypt, the only other country that borders Gaza, has closed its crossing, at least for now. Even if crossings eventually resume, Arab and European countries have so far been hesitant to take large numbers of Palestinian refugees, especially after receiving many people fleeing recent displacement in Syria.

COULDN'T PALESTINIAN REFUGEES EVENTUALLY GET TO THE U.S.?

The United States does accept refugees from around the world annually, but the process often takes years and ultimately admits relatively few people.

Prospective refugees are generally referred to the State and Homeland Security departments by the U.N.s refugee agency. U.S. authorities then vet them to determine if they can really be considered refugees, and for things like ties to extremists.

During the last fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, the U.S. aimed to admit 125,000 people but ultimately only admitted about 60,000. The biggest numbers of resettled refugees came from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Syria, Afghanistan and Burma. Only 56 came from the Palestinian territories.

Another option is the White House and DHS offering some Palestinians humanitarian parole, allowing them to come temporarily to the U.S. Historically, that has been used to let people from places like Cuba and Vietnam come to the U.S., though Ukrainians recently fleeing Russia's war have been allowed to stay for up to two years if they have a U.S. financial backer.

Biden has been vocal about Israel's right to defend itself. The president traveled to Israel on Wednesday and announced humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza that would flow from Egypt and included $100 million in U.S. funding. But his administration has given little indication that it would be willing to make humanitarian parole exceptions for people fleeing Gaza.

WOULD BANS IMPROVE U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY?

Many of the perceived threats Trump and other Republicans are most worried about stopping are already addressed by existing U.S. law. The Immigration and Nationality Act already blocks potential extremist threats under Section 212 (f), which gives broad authority to bar people who arent U.S. citizens from entering the country if doing so would be detrimental to the interests of the United States.

Meanwhile, reports of extremists entering the United States by land from Mexico or Canada are almost unheard of. Alex Nowrasteh of the pro-immigration Cato Institute documented nine foreign-born extremists who entered the United States illegally from 1975 through last year. Three entered Mexico in 1984 when they were 5 years old or younger and were convicted of plotting to attack Fort Dix, New Jersey, in 2007. The other six entered through Canada.

Thats not to say it couldnt happen. Arrests for people crossing the border illegally from Mexico for the last fiscal year are expected to be the second-highest on record after the previous years 2.2 million. DHS said in a national threat assessment this year that people with potential terrorism connections continue to attempt to enter the country.

Arrests of people who crossed illegally from Mexico and were on the Terrorist Screening Dataset, known as the terrorist watchlist, jumped to 151 from October through August, compared to 98 during the previous 12-month period and 15 the year before. It was just 11 in the previous four years combined.

But the list is a compilation of names that have aroused suspicion for any number of reasons and includes people from all over the world. The increase in the number of individuals on it also remains statistically small given the overall rise in migrants apprehended on the border.

There is strict national security vetting to determine whether individuals coming from anywhere in the world have ties to terrorist organizations," White House spokesman Andrew Bates said.

Associated Press writers Elliot Spagat in San Diego and Rebecca Santana in Washington contributed to this report.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  The South Korean, U.S. and Japanese militaries conducted their first-ever trilateral aerial exercise on Sunday in response to evolving North Korean nuclear threats, South Koreas air force said.

The training held near the Korean Peninsula was to implement the three countries earlier agreement to increase defense cooperation and boost their joint response capabilities against North Korean threats, the air force said in a statement.

The drill involved a nuclear-capable B-52 bomber from the United States and fighter jets from South Korea and Japan, the statement said.

South Korea and Japan are both key U.S. allies in Asia, which together host about 80,000 American troops.

The three countries have occasionally held trilateral maritime drills, such as anti-submarine or missile defense exercises, but Sundays training marked the first time for them to perform a trilateral aerial drill.

In South Korea, expanding military drills with Japan is a sensitive issue, because many still harbor strong resentment against Japans brutal 1910-45 colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula. But the Norths advancing nuclear program has pushed South Koreas conservative president, Yoon Suk Yeol, to move beyond historical disputes with Japan and beef up a trilateral security cooperation with the U.S. and Japan.

In August, Yoon, U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met at Camp David in their countries first stand-alone trilateral summit and agreed to bolster their defense cooperation to deal with North Koreas nuclear threats. The three leaders decided to hold annual trilateral exercises and put into operation by years end the sharing of real-time missile warning data on North Korea.

Sundays drill could draw a furious response from North Korea, which has long bristled at U.S. training exercises with South Korea, calling them an invasion rehearsal and responding with missile tests. The North slammed the Camp David agreement, accusing the U.S., South Korean and Japanese leaders of plotting nuclear war provocations on the Korean Peninsula. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called Yoon, Biden and Kishida the gang bosses of the three countries.

Worries about North Koreas nuclear program have deepened after it enacted a law that authorizes the preemptive use of nuclear weapons last year and has since openly threatened to use them in potential conflicts with the U.S. and South Korea.
Mr Sunak is seeking to improve global collaboration on guidelines and research managing AI risks - IAN VOGLER/AFP

Senior Silicon Valley executives will jet in to Rishi Sunaks artificial intelligence (AI) safety summit in a boost for the Prime Ministers plans to make Britain a global leader in regulation of the technology.

The chief executives of the worlds three major artificial intelligence labs  OpenAI, Google Deepmind and Anthropic  are all expected to attend the two-day summit next week.

Endorsements from OpenAIs Sam Altman, Deepminds Demis Hassabis and Anthropics Dario Amodei will be seen as key to the Governments efforts to ensure AI models are developed safely.

Elon Musks xAI start-up is expected to send a representative, while Alex Karp, Aidan Gomez and Emad Mostaque, the chief executives of AI companies Palantir, Cohere, and Stability, are also set to attend.

Meta and Microsoft are expected to send their policy chiefs, Sir Nick Clegg and Brad Smith, and Google will be represented by James Manyika, its head of technology and society.

This embedded content is not available in your region.

In the run-up to the summit, companies have been asked to endorse a statement expected to be signed by world leaders at the event.

Officials from the US, EU, G7 countries and China have been locked in talks over the wording of the statement for the past few weeks. It is expected to be finalised in the coming days and will include a warning that AI risks causing catastrophic harm if it is left unchecked.

Companies will also be asked to publish policies laying out how they are committing to safe AI development and deployment and lay out how they believe AI can address the most urgent and important problems for humanity, according to memos sent to the organisations involved in the summit.

The high degree of corporate support for the event comes amid questions about how many world leaders will attend the gathering at Bletchley Park on November 1 and 2. US Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to attend instead of Joe Biden, while German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is said to have turned down his invitation.

Story continues

Emmanuel Macron, the French president, is likely to attend, while China is expected to participate. The decision to invite China proved controversial and is expected to be alluded to in the joint statement signed by participants, with draft versions including a line that countries must involve a broad range of partners as appropriate.

Mr Sunak is said to be concerned by the growing capabilities of AI models such as OpenAIs ChatGPT. He is seeking to improve global collaboration on guidelines and research managing its risks. Warnings over whether the technology could contribute to election interference is one of the topics expected to be discussed at the summit.

The two-day summit at the Second World War codebreaking hub of Bletchley Park is not expected to lead to the creation of a new AI regulator or new international laws.

This embedded content is not available in your region.

However, the gathering could pave the way for future regulations and Mr Sunak hopes Britain will be at the forefront. The Telegraph revealed last week that UK officials were considering proposing a leading role for the Governments 100m AI Frontier Taskforce in researching the technology.

A government spokesman said: The AI Safety Summit will bring together a wide array of attendees including international governments, academia, industry, and civil society, as part of a collaborative approach to drive targeted, rapid international action on the safe and responsible development of AI.

International representation will vary by country. As is entirely normal for summits of this nature, we do not confirm attendees this far in advance but we are confident the right people will be there.

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.
Flossbach Von Storch AG boosted its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 90.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 278,079 shares of the payment services companys stock after buying an additional 131,847 shares during the period. Flossbach Von Storch AGs holdings in American Express were worth $48,441,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Zullo Investment Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,589 shares of the payment services companys stock worth $451,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Accurate Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 4.1% in the second quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,588 shares of the payment services companys stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.3% during the first quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,885 shares of the payment services companys stock valued at $806,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 1.9% during the second quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC now owns 3,549 shares of the payment services companys stock worth $618,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Lafayette Investments Inc. grew its holdings in American Express by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc. now owns 1,589 shares of the payment services companys stock worth $277,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. 83.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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American Express Trading Down 5.4 %

NYSE:AXP opened at $141.57 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $155.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $161.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.19. American Express has a 1-year low of $132.21 and a 1-year high of $182.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75.

American Express Announces Dividend

American Express ( NYSE:AXP Get Free Report ) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 20th. The payment services company reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.96 by $0.34. American Express had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 29.26%. The company had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $15.36 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.47 earnings per share. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 11.12 earnings per share for the current year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 6th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 5th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. American Expresss payout ratio is currently 22.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup cut their target price on American Express from $148.00 to $143.00 and set a sell rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of American Express from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $197.00 to $200.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 5th. 51job reissued a reiterates rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, June 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Express from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on American Express from $192.00 to $167.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $173.33.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on AXP

About American Express

(Free Report)

American Express Company, together with its subsidiaries, provides charge and credit payment card products, and travel-related services worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Global Consumer Services Group, Global Commercial Services, and Global Merchant and Network Services. Its products and services include payment and financing products; network services; accounts payable expense management products and services; and travel and lifestyle services.

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Avestar Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Devon Energy Co. (NYSE:DVN  Free Report) by 20.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,946 shares of the energy companys stock after purchasing an additional 1,193 shares during the quarter. Avestar Capital LLCs holdings in Devon Energy were worth $336,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Devon Energy by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,145,039 shares of the energy companys stock worth $715,360,000 after purchasing an additional 823,626 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Devon Energy by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,263,424 shares of the energy companys stock worth $692,813,000 after purchasing an additional 356,448 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Devon Energy by 13.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,321,000 shares of the energy companys stock worth $421,126,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,951 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Devon Energy by 15.0% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,059,219 shares of the energy companys stock worth $389,583,000 after acquiring an additional 1,049,592 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in Devon Energy by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 8,027,615 shares of the energy companys stock worth $388,055,000 after acquiring an additional 350,916 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.34% of the companys stock.

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Devon Energy Stock Down 1.9 %

Devon Energy stock opened at $48.32 on Friday. The companys 50 day simple moving average is $49.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.92. Devon Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $42.59 and a fifty-two week high of $78.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.61, a PEG ratio of 0.16 and a beta of 2.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

Devon Energy Cuts Dividend

Devon Energy ( NYSE:DVN Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 1st. The energy company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.18. Devon Energy had a net margin of 28.10% and a return on equity of 37.89%. The business had revenue of $3.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.59 EPS. Devon Energys quarterly revenue was down 38.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Devon Energy Co. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.06%. Devon Energys dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on DVN shares. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Devon Energy from $52.00 to $50.00 in a report on Monday, July 10th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Devon Energy from $54.00 to $58.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 27th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Devon Energy from $72.00 to $65.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 14th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Devon Energy from $62.00 to $58.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 12th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Devon Energy from $72.00 to $62.00 and set a positive rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Devon Energy presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $60.44.

Get Our Latest Research Report on Devon Energy

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Devon Energy news, EVP Dennis C. Cameron sold 7,870 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.13, for a total transaction of $402,393.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 210,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,765,319.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.63% of the companys stock.

Devon Energy Profile

(Free Report)

Devon Energy Corporation, an independent energy company, explores for, develops, and produces oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the United States. It operates in Delaware, Anadarko, Williston, Eagle Ford, and Powder River Basin. The company was incorporated in 1971 and is headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

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Bank of America cut shares of Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW  Free Report) from a neutral rating to an underperform rating in a report released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. Bank of America currently has $275.00 price target on the specialty chemicals companys stock, down from their previous price target of $300.00.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. 58.com reissued an upgrade rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Monday, June 26th. Loop Capital raised their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $295.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $275.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $272.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $224.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Friday, September 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $279.94.

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Check Out Our Latest Research Report on SHW

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Shares of SHW opened at $237.70 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $261.37 and a 200-day moving average of $251.73. Sherwin-Williams has a one year low of $199.01 and a one year high of $283.80. The company has a market cap of $61.12 billion, a PE ratio of 26.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.50, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $2.71 by $0.58. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 10.20% and a return on equity of 83.63%. The company had revenue of $6.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.41 EPS. The companys quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Sherwin-Williams will post 9.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 17th will be given a $0.605 dividend. This represents a $2.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 16th. Sherwin-Williamss payout ratio is presently 26.86%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sherwin-Williams

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SHW. Roundview Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 8,065 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock valued at $2,013,000 after buying an additional 607 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 189.1% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 10,409 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock valued at $2,598,000 after purchasing an additional 6,808 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 26.5% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 118,763 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock valued at $29,956,000 after purchasing an additional 24,884 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC bought a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,231,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 11,387 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock valued at $2,842,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. 75.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Sherwin-Williams

(Get Free Report)

The Sherwin-Williams Company engages in the manufacture, distribution, and sale of paints, coating, and related products to professional, industrial, commercial, and retail customers. It operates through three segments: The Americas Group, Consumer Brands Group, and Performance Coatings Group. The Americas Group segment offers architectural paints and coatings, and protective and marine products, as well as OEM product finishes and related products for architectural and industrial paint contractors, and do-it-yourself homeowners.

Further Reading

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StockNews.com cut shares of Bausch Health Companies (NYSE:BHC  Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Bausch Health Companies from a hold rating to a buy rating and raised their target price for the company from $9.00 to $16.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 20th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Bausch Health Companies from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research report on Monday, July 24th.

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Read Our Latest Analysis on BHC

Bausch Health Companies Stock Down 0.3 %

Bausch Health Companies stock opened at $7.32 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 74.20, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.35 and a beta of 0.97. Bausch Health Companies has a 1-year low of $5.57 and a 1-year high of $10.23. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $8.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $7.97.

Bausch Health Companies (NYSE:BHC  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 3rd. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $2.04 billion. Bausch Health Companies had a positive return on equity of 411.18% and a negative net margin of 2.23%. Equities research analysts forecast that Bausch Health Companies will post 3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Bausch Health Companies

In related news, EVP Seana Carson sold 6,685 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.28, for a total transaction of $55,351.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 385,213 shares in the company, valued at $3,189,563.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 13.75% of the companys stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bausch Health Companies

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in Bausch Health Companies by 7.3% in the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 602,663 shares of the companys stock valued at $4,876,000 after acquiring an additional 41,211 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC raised its holdings in shares of Bausch Health Companies by 17,200.6% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC now owns 3,016,183 shares of the companys stock valued at $24,431,000 after buying an additional 2,998,749 shares during the last quarter. Mach 1 Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bausch Health Companies in the first quarter valued at about $15,148,000. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bausch Health Companies in the first quarter valued at about $56,700,000. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its holdings in shares of Bausch Health Companies by 100.0% in the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 10,000,000 shares of the companys stock valued at $81,000,000 after buying an additional 5,000,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.56% of the companys stock.

Bausch Health Companies Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Bausch Health Companies Inc operates as a diversified pharmaceutical company. It develops, manufactures, and markets a range of products primarily in gastroenterology, hepatology, neurology, dermatology, international pharmaceuticals, and eye health. The company operates through five segments: Salix, International, Solta Medical, Diversified, and Bausch + Lomb.

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Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR  Free Report) by 0.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 47,221 shares of the conglomerates stock after selling 285 shares during the quarter. Danaher accounts for 1.0% of Beaumont Financial Advisors LLCs investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLCs holdings in Danaher were worth $11,333,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of DHR. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its position in Danaher by 100,144.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,184,308,095 shares of the conglomerates stock worth $284,233,943,000 after buying an additional 1,183,126,676 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Danaher by 96,490.5% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 23,287,013 shares of the conglomerates stock worth $6,180,839,000 after buying an additional 23,262,904 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Danaher during the 4th quarter worth $2,057,164,000. Generation Investment Management LLP purchased a new position in Danaher during the 1st quarter worth $374,240,000. Finally, Flossbach Von Storch AG raised its position in Danaher by 38.4% during the 2nd quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 4,511,357 shares of the conglomerates stock worth $1,082,726,000 after buying an additional 1,252,274 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.71% of the companys stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Danaher from $300.00 to $260.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 17th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Danaher from $285.00 to $247.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 3rd. Raymond James cut their price target on shares of Danaher from $290.00 to $250.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Danaher in a report on Friday, October 6th. They issued a buy rating for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $281.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Danaher news, Director Teri List sold 3,490 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total transaction of $918,917.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 17,494 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $4,606,170.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Daniel Raskas sold 11,213 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.65, for a total transaction of $2,922,668.45. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,979,767.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Teri List sold 3,490 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total transaction of $918,917.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,494 shares in the company, valued at $4,606,170.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 47,922 shares of company stock valued at $12,552,233 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 11.10% of the companys stock.

Danaher Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DHR opened at $205.83 on Friday. Danaher Co. has a 52 week low of $204.73 and a 52 week high of $281.54. The stock has a market cap of $151.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.16, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.81. The companys 50-day moving average price is $241.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $241.76. The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The conglomerate reported $2.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.04. Danaher had a net margin of 20.95% and a return on equity of 15.03%. The company had revenue of $7.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.76 EPS. The firms revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Danaher Co. will post 8.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 11th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Danahers dividend payout ratio is currently 12.68%.

Danaher Company Profile

(Free Report)

Danaher Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets professional, medical, industrial, and commercial products and services worldwide. The Biotechnology segments offers bioprocess technologies, consumables, and services; lab filtration, separation, and purification; lab-scale protein purification and analytical tools; reagents, membranes and services; and healthcare filtration solutions.

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Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE  Free Report) by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,790 shares of the industrial products companys stock after buying an additional 43 shares during the quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLCs holdings in Deere & Company were worth $1,941,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DE. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. raised its position in Deere & Company by 1,475.0% in the 1st quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 63 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC purchased a new stake in Deere & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Lansing Street Advisors raised its position in Deere & Company by 1,725.0% in the 1st quarter. Lansing Street Advisors now owns 73 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. purchased a new stake in Deere & Company in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Deere & Company in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.27% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $398.00 to $407.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Monday, August 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a hold rating and issued a $400.00 price objective (down from $530.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, September 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $493.00 to $460.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 21st. HSBC assumed coverage on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, September 15th. They issued a buy rating and a $486.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $467.00 to $458.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 21st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $447.93.

Insider Activity at Deere & Company

In other Deere & Company news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 4,680 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $449.75, for a total value of $2,104,830.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,563 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,444,209.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Deere & Company news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 4,680 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $449.75, for a total value of $2,104,830.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,563 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,444,209.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ryan D. Campbell sold 6,073 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.19, for a total transaction of $2,302,820.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 18,519 shares in the company, valued at $7,022,219.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DE opened at $375.15 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $108.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.09, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.09. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $345.55 and a 52 week high of $450.00. The companys 50-day moving average price is $396.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $395.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 18th. The industrial products company reported $10.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $8.22 by $1.98. The firm had revenue of $14.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $14.14 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 16.36% and a return on equity of 46.15%. The firms revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.16 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 33.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 29th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. This is a boost from Deere & Companys previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 28th. Deere & Companys dividend payout ratio is presently 15.96%.

Deere & Company Profile

(Free Report)

Deere & Company manufactures and distributes various equipment worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Production and Precision Agriculture, Small Agriculture and Turf, Construction and Forestry, and Financial Services. The Production and Precision Agriculture segment provides mid-size tractors, combines, cotton pickers and strippers, sugarcane harvesters, harvesting front-end equipment, sugarcane loaders, pull-behind scrapers, and tillage and seeding equipment, as well as application equipment, including sprayers and nutrient management, and soil preparation machinery for grain growers.

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Gulf International Bank UK Ltd lowered its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX  Free Report) by 22.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 71,235 shares of the asset managers stock after selling 21,100 shares during the quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltds holdings in Blackstone were worth $6,622,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tower Bridge Advisors raised its stake in Blackstone by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Tower Bridge Advisors now owns 17,324 shares of the asset managers stock valued at $1,522,000 after acquiring an additional 1,850 shares in the last quarter. Advisor OS LLC boosted its position in Blackstone by 7.0% during the first quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 8,666 shares of the asset managers stock valued at $761,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the first quarter valued at $240,000. Old North State Trust LLC lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 7.3% in the first quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 5,966 shares of the asset managers stock worth $524,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 5.4% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 201,913 shares of the asset managers stock worth $18,772,000 after buying an additional 10,297 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.35% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on BX shares. StockNews.com began coverage on Blackstone in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Blackstone from $107.00 to $105.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Blackstone from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Blackstone from $118.00 to $113.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Blackstone from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $102.00 to $111.00 in a report on Friday, July 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $110.50.

Blackstone Trading Up 0.2 %

BX opened at $94.42 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $105.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $96.22. The company has a market cap of $67.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.47. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $71.72 and a 1-year high of $116.78.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX  Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 19th. The asset manager reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.01 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $2.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.60 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 16.76% and a net margin of 21.29%. The companys revenue was up 140.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.06 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 30th will be given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. This is an increase from Blackstones previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 27th. Blackstones dividend payout ratio is presently 132.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, Director William G. Parrett sold 3,874 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.47, for a total value of $435,708.78. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 30,941 shares in the company, valued at $3,479,934.27. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Holdings I/Ii Gp L. Blackstone sold 14,704,603 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.98, for a total transaction of $117,342,731.94. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $347,943.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director William G. Parrett sold 3,874 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.47, for a total transaction of $435,708.78. Following the sale, the director now owns 30,941 shares in the company, valued at $3,479,934.27. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,391,651 shares of company stock worth $199,054,287 over the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Blackstone Profile

(Free Report)

Blackstone Inc is an alternative asset management firm specializing in real estate, private equity, hedge fund solutions, credit, secondary funds of funds, public debt and equity and multi-asset class strategies. The firm typically invests in early-stage companies. It also provide capital markets services.

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Block (NYSE:SQ  Free Report) had its price objective reduced by KeyCorp from $85.00 to $60.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. KeyCorp currently has an overweight rating on the technology companys stock.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on SQ. Wedbush restated a neutral rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Block in a research note on Tuesday, September 19th. HSBC began coverage on Block in a research note on Friday, October 13th. They set a hold rating and a $46.00 price target on the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded Block from an underperform rating to an outperform rating and set a $95.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Block from $70.00 to $69.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 4th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded Block from a buy rating to a neutral rating and dropped their price target for the company from $102.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $81.82.

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View Our Latest Analysis on Block

Block Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:SQ opened at $43.98 on Wednesday. Block has a 12-month low of $40.77 and a 12-month high of $89.97. The businesss fifty day simple moving average is $50.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.27. The company has a market capitalization of $26.83 billion, a PE ratio of -99.95 and a beta of 2.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Block (NYSE:SQ  Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The technology company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.04. Block had a negative return on equity of 0.61% and a negative net margin of 1.38%. The firm had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.19) EPS. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 25.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Block will post -0.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 5,438 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.29, for a total value of $240,849.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 297,914 shares in the company, valued at $13,194,611.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 5,438 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.29, for a total value of $240,849.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 297,914 shares in the company, valued at $13,194,611.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 847 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.16, for a total value of $37,403.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 72,134 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,185,437.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 24,891 shares of company stock worth $1,301,534. Corporate insiders own 10.79% of the companys stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. IAG Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Block by 100.0% during the first quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 400 shares of the technology companys stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Block during the first quarter worth $31,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC acquired a new position in Block during the first quarter worth $32,000. Tobam lifted its stake in Block by 885.7% during the second quarter. Tobam now owns 483 shares of the technology companys stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Block by 1,571.4% during the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 585 shares of the technology companys stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. 61.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Block Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Square, Inc provides payment and point-of-sale solutions in the United States and internationally. The company's commerce ecosystem includes point-of-sale software and hardware that enables sellers to turn mobile and computing devices into payment and point-of-sale solutions. It offers hardware products, including Magstripe reader, which enables swiped transactions of magnetic stripe cards; Contactless and chip reader that accepts EMV chip cards and Near Field Communication payments; Chip card reader, which accepts EMV chip cards and enables swiped transactions of magnetic stripe cards; Square Stand, which enables an iPad to be used as a payment terminal or full point of sale solution; and Square Register that combines its hardware, point-of-sale software, and payments technology, as well as managed payments solutions.

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Truist Financial reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of FTI Consulting (NYSE:FCN  Free Report) in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $210.00 price target on the business services providers stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on FCN. William Blair reiterated an outperform rating on shares of FTI Consulting in a report on Wednesday, September 13th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of FTI Consulting in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a hold rating for the company.

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Get Our Latest Report on FCN

FTI Consulting Price Performance

NYSE:FCN opened at $186.20 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.30, a current ratio of 2.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The businesss 50-day moving average price is $184.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $187.64. FTI Consulting has a 52-week low of $140.09 and a 52-week high of $205.63. The firm has a market cap of $6.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.34 and a beta of 0.22.

FTI Consulting (NYSE:FCN  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 27th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.19. FTI Consulting had a net margin of 7.29% and a return on equity of 14.12%. The company had revenue of $864.59 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $821.85 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that FTI Consulting will post 6.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other FTI Consulting news, Director Mark S. Bartlett sold 3,340 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.97, for a total transaction of $631,159.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 31,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,024,741.54. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Steven Henry Gunby sold 34,159 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.92, for a total value of $6,248,364.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 375,823 shares of the companys stock, valued at $68,745,543.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark S. Bartlett sold 3,340 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.97, for a total value of $631,159.80. Following the sale, the director now owns 31,882 shares of the companys stock, valued at $6,024,741.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 90,897 shares of company stock valued at $16,658,744. Corporate insiders own 3.34% of the companys stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Peregrine Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of FTI Consulting by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC now owns 90,599 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $16,164,000 after buying an additional 3,087 shares during the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in FTI Consulting during the third quarter valued at approximately $758,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in FTI Consulting by 0.9% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 24,265 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $4,602,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC grew its position in FTI Consulting by 1.5% in the third quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC now owns 45,955 shares of the business services providers stock worth $8,685,000 after acquiring an additional 673 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of FTI Consulting during the 3rd quarter worth $431,000.

FTI Consulting Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

FTI Consulting, Inc provides business advisory services to manage change, mitigate risk, and resolve disputes worldwide. The company operates through five segments: Corporate Finance & Restructuring, Forensic and Litigation Consulting, Economic Consulting, Technology, and Strategic Communications.

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Shares of Genpact Limited (NYSE:G  Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of Hold from the five brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $42.13.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on G shares. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Genpact from $48.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 10th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Genpact in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a buy rating for the company. Wedbush restated a neutral rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Genpact in a report on Thursday, August 10th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Genpact from $46.00 to $41.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on Genpact from $56.00 to $50.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 11th.

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Read Our Latest Analysis on Genpact

Genpact Price Performance

Genpact stock opened at $35.27 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.40 billion, a PE ratio of 16.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.17. Genpact has a twelve month low of $35.05 and a twelve month high of $48.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a 50 day moving average of $36.56 and a 200-day moving average of $38.33.

Genpact (NYSE:G  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 9th. The business services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.60. The company had revenue of $1.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.11 billion. Genpact had a return on equity of 25.06% and a net margin of 9.25%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Genpact will post 2.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Genpact

In other news, CEO N. V. Tyagarajan sold 1,700 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.89, for a total value of $61,013.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 8,300 shares of the companys stock, valued at $297,887. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.62% of the companys stock.

Institutional Trading of Genpact

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Genpact by 69.1% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 773 shares of the business services providers stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC raised its holdings in Genpact by 136.7% in the 4th quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 878 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Genpact in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its position in shares of Genpact by 71.2% in the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,039 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ronald Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Genpact by 71.5% in the 1st quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,103 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. 96.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Genpact Company Profile

(Get Free Report

Genpact Limited provides business process outsourcing and information technology (IT) services in India, rest of Asia, North and Latin America, and Europe. It operates through three segments: Financial services; Consumer and Healthcare; and High Tech and Manufacturing. The company offers CFO advisory services; and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) services, such as data management, carbon accounting, human rights assessment, sustainability diligence, and ESG reporting.

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Key Insights

StorageVault Canada's significant retail investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public

A total of 8 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership

Recent purchases by insiders

To get a sense of who is truly in control of StorageVault Canada Inc. (TSE:SVI), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. We can see that retail investors own the lion's share in the company with 40% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Private companies, on the other hand, account for 37% of the company's stockholders.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of StorageVault Canada.

View our latest analysis for StorageVault Canada

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About StorageVault Canada?

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.

StorageVault Canada already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of StorageVault Canada, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in StorageVault Canada. Access Self Storage Inc. is currently the company's largest shareholder with 36% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 3.0% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 2.7% by the third-largest shareholder.

Story continues

On further inspection, we found that more than half the company's shares are owned by the top 8 shareholders, suggesting that the interests of the larger shareholders are balanced out to an extent by the smaller ones.

Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of StorageVault Canada

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves.

Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.

Shareholders would probably be interested to learn that insiders own shares in StorageVault Canada Inc.. The insiders have a meaningful stake worth CA$20m. Most would see this as a real positive. It is good to see this level of investment by insiders. You can check here to see if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 40% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Company Ownership

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 37%, of the company's shares. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand StorageVault Canada better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for StorageVault Canada you should know about.

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.
Gulf International Bank UK Ltd cut its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO  Free Report) by 20.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,002 shares of the companys stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltds holdings in AutoZone were worth $4,991,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AZO. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. increased its holdings in AutoZone by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 947 shares of the companys stock worth $2,328,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,428,000. Geller Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 29.2% during the first quarter. Geller Advisors LLC now owns 115 shares of the companys stock valued at $283,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 200.0% during the second quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 75 shares of the companys stock valued at $187,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone during the first quarter valued at approximately $754,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.34% of the companys stock.

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AutoZone Stock Down 0.2 %

AZO stock opened at $2,488.55 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.19 billion, a PE ratio of 18.76, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.66. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,250.33 and a twelve month high of $2,750.00. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $2,533.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2,531.58.

Insider Activity

AutoZone ( NYSE:AZO Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 19th. The company reported $46.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $44.51 by $1.95. The firm had revenue of $5.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.62 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.48% and a negative return on equity of 60.66%. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $40.51 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 147.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

In other news, VP Domingo Hurtado sold 2,950 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,640.84, for a total transaction of $7,790,478.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 156 shares in the company, valued at approximately $411,971.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Albert Saltiel sold 2,245 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,595.04, for a total value of $5,825,864.80. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $1,393,536.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Domingo Hurtado sold 2,950 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,640.84, for a total value of $7,790,478.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 156 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $411,971.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,315 shares of company stock worth $13,922,106 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.59% of the companys stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on AutoZone from $2,950.00 to $2,975.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 20th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $2,425.00 to $2,500.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, September 20th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $2,721.00 to $2,742.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, September 20th. StockNews.com lowered AutoZone from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, October 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on AutoZone from $2,835.00 to $2,750.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 20th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $2,793.95.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on AutoZone

AutoZone Company Profile

(Free Report)

AutoZone, Inc retails and distributes automotive replacement parts and accessories. The company offers various products for cars, sport utility vehicles, vans, and light trucks, including new and remanufactured automotive hard parts, maintenance items, accessories, and non-automotive products. Its products include A/C compressors, batteries and accessories, bearings, belts and hoses, calipers, chassis, clutches, CV axles, engines, fuel pumps, fuses, ignition and lighting products, mufflers, radiators, starters and alternators, thermostats, and water pumps, as well as tire repairs.

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Gulf International Bank UK Ltd reduced its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG  Free Report) by 21.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,859 shares of the restaurant operators stock after selling 800 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltds holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill were worth $6,115,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,042,969 shares of the restaurant operators stock valued at $1,781,678,000 after purchasing an additional 5,358 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 565,479 shares of the restaurant operators stock valued at $963,779,000 after purchasing an additional 9,520 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 402,002 shares of the restaurant operators stock valued at $557,774,000 after purchasing an additional 30,788 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 65.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 375,736 shares of the restaurant operators stock valued at $521,332,000 after purchasing an additional 149,115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 150,224.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 339,734 shares of the restaurant operators stock valued at $726,690,000 after purchasing an additional 339,508 shares in the last quarter. 91.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup lowered their target price on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $2,391.00 to $2,260.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $1,950.00 to $1,925.00 in a report on Thursday, July 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $2,300.00 to $2,250.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 27th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $2,230.00 to $2,280.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 20th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an outperform rating and set a $2,200.00 target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a report on Friday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $2,160.41.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Price Performance

NYSE CMG opened at $1,831.25 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. has a 1-year low of $1,344.05 and a 1-year high of $2,175.01. The businesss 50-day simple moving average is $1,877.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,953.35.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 26th. The restaurant operator reported $12.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $12.25 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $2.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.53 billion. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a return on equity of 45.85% and a net margin of 12.00%. The companys revenue was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $9.30 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. will post 43.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Brian R. Niccol sold 1,058 shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,928.16, for a total value of $2,039,993.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 23,347 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $45,016,751.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Brian R. Niccol sold 1,044 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,830.95, for a total transaction of $1,911,511.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 23,347 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $42,747,189.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian R. Niccol sold 1,058 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,928.16, for a total value of $2,039,993.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 23,347 shares in the company, valued at $45,016,751.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,165 shares of company stock valued at $6,024,185 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the companys stock.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Company Profile

(Free Report)

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurants. It offers burritos, burrito bowls, quesadillas, tacos, and salads. The company was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Newport Beach, California.

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Gulf International Bank UK Ltd lowered its position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB  Free Report) by 17.3% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 153,629 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 32,241 shares during the quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltds holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $5,075,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. TAP Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in U.S. Bancorp in the first quarter worth $259,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 80.8% in the 1st quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 4,711 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $172,000 after acquiring an additional 2,105 shares in the last quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC grew its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 9,419 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $340,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. grew its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 11,300 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $373,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Mexico Educational Retirement Board grew its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 67,661 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $2,236,000 after acquiring an additional 5,100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.40% of the companys stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Terrance R. Dolan sold 26,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.75, for a total value of $1,033,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 166,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,637,932. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other U.S. Bancorp news, insider James B. Kelligrew purchased 500 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, August 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $54.40 per share, for a total transaction of $27,200.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 940 shares in the company, valued at $51,136. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Terrance R. Dolan sold 26,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.75, for a total transaction of $1,033,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 166,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,637,932. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 654 shares of company stock worth $30,148 and sold 39,846 shares worth $1,584,221. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Down 5.6 %

USB stock opened at $30.93 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $34.61 and a 200 day moving average of $34.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.41 billion, a PE ratio of 9.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. U.S. Bancorp has a 52 week low of $27.27 and a 52 week high of $49.95.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $7.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $7.02 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 14.39% and a return on equity of 15.80%. U.S. Bancorps revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.18 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that U.S. Bancorp will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 16th. Investors of record on Friday, September 29th were paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 28th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.21%. U.S. Bancorps dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $36.00 to $31.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 10th. HSBC assumed coverage on U.S. Bancorp in a report on Thursday, September 7th. They issued a hold rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $45.00 to $40.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 10th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $52.00 to $48.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 27th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, July 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $45.76.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on U.S. Bancorp

U.S. Bancorp Profile

(Free Report)

U.S. Bancorp, a financial services holding company, provides various financial services to individuals, businesses, institutional organizations, governmental entities and other financial institutions in the United States. It operates in Corporate and Commercial Banking, Consumer and Business Banking, Wealth Management and Investment Services, Payment Services, and Treasury and Corporate Support segments.

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Gulf International Bank UK Ltd decreased its stake in shares of Ford Motor (NYSE:F  Free Report) by 23.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 395,224 shares of the auto manufacturers stock after selling 123,012 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltds holdings in Ford Motor were worth $5,979,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in F. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Ford Motor by 88.4% in the 1st quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 69,826 shares of the auto manufacturers stock valued at $880,000 after purchasing an additional 32,772 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in Ford Motor by 31.0% in the 1st quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 18,259 shares of the auto manufacturers stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 4,321 shares during the period. Kennedy Investment Group boosted its holdings in Ford Motor by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Kennedy Investment Group now owns 39,840 shares of the auto manufacturers stock valued at $502,000 after purchasing an additional 1,217 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Ford Motor by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 291,441 shares of the auto manufacturers stock valued at $4,420,000 after purchasing an additional 8,696 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Counselors Inc. boosted its holdings in Ford Motor by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 724,673 shares of the auto manufacturers stock valued at $9,131,000 after purchasing an additional 46,595 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 52.73% of the companys stock.

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Ford Motor Price Performance

F stock opened at $11.64 on Friday. The firms 50-day moving average price is $12.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.75. Ford Motor has a 12-month low of $10.90 and a 12-month high of $15.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.41, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15.

Ford Motor Dividend Announcement

Ford Motor ( NYSE:F Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 27th. The auto manufacturer reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.21. Ford Motor had a net margin of 2.44% and a return on equity of 20.48%. The firm had revenue of $44.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $43.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.68 earnings per share. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ford Motor will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 1st will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 31st. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.15%. Ford Motors dividend payout ratio is presently 58.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on F shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Ford Motor from $10.00 to $11.00 in a report on Monday, July 10th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Ford Motor in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a hold rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ford Motor from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Friday, July 14th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Ford Motor in a report on Tuesday, September 12th. They set a buy rating and a $15.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Ford Motor from a buy rating to a hold rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $17.00 to $15.00 in a report on Monday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $14.50.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on F

Ford Motor Profile

(Free Report)

Ford Motor Company develops, delivers, and services a range of Ford trucks, commercial cars and vans, sport utility vehicles, and Lincoln luxury vehicles worldwide. It operates through Ford Blue, Ford Model e, and Ford Pro; Ford Next; and Ford Credit segments. The company sells Ford and Lincoln vehicles, service parts, and accessories through distributors and dealers, as well as through dealerships to commercial fleet customers, daily rental car companies, and governments.

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Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in shares of Envista Holdings Co. (NYSE:NVST  Free Report) by 19.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 845,600 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 140,000 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder ABs holdings in Envista were worth $28,615,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NVST. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Envista by 705.4% during the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,047 shares of the companys stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 917 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in Envista by 225.8% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 834 shares of the companys stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 578 shares during the period. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Envista during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Envista by 80.6% during the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 901 shares of the companys stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Envista by 35.0% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,273 shares of the companys stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the period.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NVST. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Envista from $40.00 to $30.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 11th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Envista from $47.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Envista from $46.00 to $42.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $41.20.

Envista Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NVST opened at $24.79 on Friday. Envista Holdings Co. has a twelve month low of $23.94 and a twelve month high of $43.29. The firm has a market cap of $4.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.15, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a 50 day moving average of $29.19 and a 200 day moving average of $32.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Envista (NYSE:NVST  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 2nd. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.02. Envista had a net margin of 8.40% and a return on equity of 7.60%. The company had revenue of $662.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $655.81 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.48 EPS. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Envista Holdings Co. will post 1.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Envista Profile

(Free Report)

Envista Holdings Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells dental products in the United States, China, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Specialty Products & Technologies, and Equipment & Consumables. The Specialty Products & Technologies segment offers dental implant systems, guided surgery systems, biomaterials, and prefabricated and custom-built prosthetics to oral surgeons, prosthodontists, and periodontists; and brackets and wires, tubes and bands, archwires, clear aligners, digital orthodontic treatments, retainers, and other orthodontic laboratory products.

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Handelsbanken Fonder AB cut its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS  Free Report) by 12.2% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 173,862 shares of the companys stock after selling 24,241 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder ABs holdings in Zoetis were worth $29,941,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership purchased a new position in Zoetis during the 1st quarter valued at about $16,589,000. FirstPurpose Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. FirstPurpose Wealth LLC now owns 2,126 shares of the companys stock valued at $366,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 21.2% during the 1st quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 366 shares of the companys stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Arcataur Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Zoetis during the 2nd quarter valued at about $442,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 617,470 shares of the companys stock valued at $102,772,000 after acquiring an additional 27,229 shares during the period. 89.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.92, for a total transaction of $159,605.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,588 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,078,836.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Zoetis news, CEO Kristin C. Peck sold 13,000 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.97, for a total value of $2,339,610.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 56,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,230,034.71. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.92, for a total value of $159,605.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,588 shares in the company, valued at $4,078,836.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 26,853 shares of company stock valued at $4,851,404 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.12% of the companys stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ZTS has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com cut Zoetis from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note on Sunday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Zoetis from $204.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 9th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Zoetis from $220.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a buy rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Tuesday, September 12th. Finally, HSBC initiated coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Wednesday, September 6th. They issued a buy rating and a $230.00 price objective for the company. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $220.88.

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Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $167.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 3.50. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $124.15 and a fifty-two week high of $194.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.91 billion, a PE ratio of 35.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.80. The stocks 50-day simple moving average is $180.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $176.80.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS  Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 8th. The company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 52.02% and a net margin of 26.92%. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.20 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 1st will be given a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 31st. Zoetiss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.51%.

Zoetis Company Profile

(Free Report)

Zoetis Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, and commercializes animal health medicines, vaccines, and diagnostic products in the United States and internationally. It commercializes products primarily across species, including livestock, such as cattle, swine, poultry, fish, and sheep and others; and companion animals comprising dogs, cats, and horses.

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Mizuho upgraded shares of Hudson Pacific Properties (NYSE:HPP  Free Report) from an underperform rating to a neutral rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $7.00 target price on the real estate investment trusts stock, down from their previous target price of $10.00.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. BTIG Research raised shares of Hudson Pacific Properties from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $11.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Hudson Pacific Properties from $5.00 to $5.50 and gave the stock a sell rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 19th. Wedbush started coverage on shares of Hudson Pacific Properties in a research note on Tuesday, October 3rd. They set an outperform rating and a $8.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hudson Pacific Properties in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a sell rating for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Hudson Pacific Properties from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and increased their target price for the stock from $7.00 to $10.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $8.15.

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Hudson Pacific Properties Stock Performance

Shares of HPP opened at $5.04 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 1.61. Hudson Pacific Properties has a twelve month low of $4.05 and a twelve month high of $12.23. The firms 50 day moving average price is $6.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.63. The firm has a market cap of $710.33 million, a P/E ratio of -8.26 and a beta of 1.06.

Hudson Pacific Properties (NYSE:HPP  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 1st. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.49). The business had revenue of $245.17 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $237.63 million. Hudson Pacific Properties had a negative return on equity of 2.41% and a negative net margin of 7.74%. On average, analysts forecast that Hudson Pacific Properties will post 1.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Hudson Pacific Properties

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hudson Pacific Properties by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 24,343,532 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $102,730,000 after acquiring an additional 148,537 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hudson Pacific Properties by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,183,249 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $615,584,000 after acquiring an additional 160,204 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Hudson Pacific Properties in the 4th quarter valued at $101,242,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in Hudson Pacific Properties by 10.6% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,164,405 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $38,674,000 after purchasing an additional 875,483 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. increased its stake in Hudson Pacific Properties by 265.6% during the 1st quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 5,690,962 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $37,845,000 after purchasing an additional 4,134,472 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.58% of the companys stock.

Hudson Pacific Properties Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Hudson Pacific Properties (NYSE: HPP) is a real estate investment trust serving dynamic tech and media tenants in global epicenters for these synergistic, converging and secular growth industries. Hudson Pacific's unique and high-barrier tech and media focus leverages a full-service, end-to-end value creation platform forged through deep strategic relationships and niche expertise across identifying, acquiring, transforming and developing properties into world-class amenitized, collaborative and sustainable office and studio space.

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Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. increased its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW  Free Report) by 0.5% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 22,185 shares of the industrial products companys stock after buying an additional 108 shares during the quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $5,550,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 145.2% in the 1st quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 103 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. GoalVest Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Sturgeon Ventures LLP acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Miller Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Quarry LP raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 52.7% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 142 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.56% of the companys stock.

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Illinois Tool Works Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE ITW opened at $223.56 on Friday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52 week low of $188.86 and a 52 week high of $264.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25. The businesss fifty day simple moving average is $236.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $238.36. The firm has a market cap of $67.60 billion, a PE ratio of 22.11, a P/E/G ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 1.15.

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

Illinois Tool Works ( NYSE:ITW Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.02. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 94.14% and a net margin of 19.30%. The business had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.37 EPS. The companys quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 9.74 earnings per share for the current year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 12th. Investors of record on Friday, September 29th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.50%. This is an increase from Illinois Tool Workss previous quarterly dividend of $1.31. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 28th. Illinois Tool Workss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $235.00 in a research report on Monday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $230.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. Credit Suisse Group raised their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $281.00 to $292.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $265.00 to $255.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $238.25.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on ITW

Illinois Tool Works Profile

(Free Report)

Illinois Tool Works Inc manufactures and sells industrial products and equipment worldwide. It operates through seven segments: Automotive OEM; Food Equipment; Test & Measurement and Electronics; Welding; Polymers & Fluids; Construction Products; and Specialty Products. The Automotive OEM segment offers plastic and metal components, fasteners, and assemblies for automobiles, light trucks, and other industrial uses.

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Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lowered its position in shares of Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI  Free Report) by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,731 shares of the communications equipment providers stock after selling 1,858 shares during the quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADVs holdings in Motorola Solutions were worth $6,667,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MSI. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Motorola Solutions by 159.5% in the 2nd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 480 shares of the communications equipment providers stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its holdings in Motorola Solutions by 5.5% in the second quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 3,151 shares of the communications equipment providers stock worth $924,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 4.6% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,517 shares of the communications equipment providers stock worth $720,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 19.9% during the first quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,838 shares of the communications equipment providers stock valued at $2,529,000 after buying an additional 1,467 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Motorola Solutions during the first quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Motorola Solutions from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Motorola Solutions from $320.00 to $311.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 7th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Motorola Solutions in a research note on Monday, October 9th. They set a buy rating and a $330.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Motorola Solutions from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, October 13th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions from $315.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, August 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Motorola Solutions has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $312.57.

Insider Activity at Motorola Solutions

In other Motorola Solutions news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 1,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total value of $284,580.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 8,101 shares in the company, valued at $2,305,382.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Motorola Solutions Price Performance

NYSE MSI opened at $281.25 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $280.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $285.26. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a 52 week low of $219.43 and a 52 week high of $299.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.89, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.92.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI  Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The communications equipment provider reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.51 by $0.14. Motorola Solutions had a net margin of 15.72% and a return on equity of 2,157.02%. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.87 earnings per share. The firms quarterly revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 10.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Motorola Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 13th. Investors of record on Friday, September 15th were issued a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. Motorola Solutionss dividend payout ratio is currently 39.91%.

About Motorola Solutions

(Free Report)

Motorola Solutions, Inc provides public safety and enterprise security solutions in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Products and Systems Integration, and Software and Services. The Products and Systems Integration segment offers a portfolio of infrastructure, devices, accessories, and video security devices and infrastructure, as well as the implementation and integration of systems, devices, software, and applications for government, public safety, and commercial customers who operate private communications networks and video security solutions, as well as manage a mobile workforce.

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McAdam LLC boosted its position in iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:AGG  Free Report) by 3.0% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 47,133 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 1,360 shares during the quarter. McAdam LLCs holdings in iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF were worth $4,617,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AGG. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 90,331.9% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 62,881,813 shares of the companys stock valued at $6,098,907,000 after buying an additional 62,812,278 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 14.9% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 58,718,589 shares of the companys stock valued at $5,751,486,000 after buying an additional 7,620,532 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its position in iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 98,060.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 7,043,021 shares of the companys stock valued at $689,864,000 after buying an additional 7,035,846 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 18.6% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 41,245,264 shares of the companys stock valued at $4,109,678,000 after buying an additional 6,466,535 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its position in iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 1,250.7% in the 1st quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 6,163,802 shares of the companys stock valued at $614,161,000 after buying an additional 5,707,468 shares in the last quarter. 83.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF stock opened at $92.00 on Friday. iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF has a one year low of $91.61 and a one year high of $101.15. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.06.

iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF Profile

IShares are index funds that are bought and sold like common stocks on national securities exchanges as well as certain foreign exchanges. iShares are attractive because of their relatively low cost, tax efficiency and trading flexibility. Investors can purchase and sell shares through any brokerage firm, financial advisor, or online broker, and hold the funds in any type of brokerage account.

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Several major corporations, including Starbucks and Delta, are adding emergency savings funds as part of their workplace benefits packages, and this benefit is likely to become even more prevalent in 2024 under the new Secure 2.0 Act.

The One Hour Savings Rule: David Bach Says Its Only Proven, Easy Way To Get Rich

Find Out: How To Get Cash Back on Your Everyday Purchases

If your employer does offer this benefit, heres what you need to know about it, according to Suze Orman, co-founder of emergency savings startup SecureSave.

Plus, Orman explains why everyone needs an emergency savings fund.

Employer-Sponsored Emergency Savings Plans Allow You Easy Access To Your Funds

Unlike an employer-sponsored retirement account, funds in an employer-sponsored emergency savings account can be accessed at any time for any reason. But like a 401(k) or 403(b), these funds often offer an employer match, which can help your savings grow even quicker.

If theres ever been a time in economic history to have access to money with no strings attached, now is the time, Orman told GOBankingRates. Where else are you going to find a benefit where an employer matches you, in most cases, that you can access whenever you want without having to ask permission?

More: 10 Frugal Money Habits That You Need To Embrace

You Keep the Money Even If You Leave Your Employer

Even if you change companies, any money in an employer-sponsored emergency savings fund is yours to keep.

You can absolutely take it with you if you were to leave the company, Orman said. If theres ever been a benefit that you should take advantage of, this is the benefit.

Contributions Are Automatic

As with an employer-sponsored retirement plan, once you set up your contribution amount per paycheck, the process is automated.

Thats whats so great about this  you dont have to do anything after that, Orman said. Its automated for you. All you have to do is watch your money grow. Its not like you have to push another button and make sure you deposit it. You dont have to do anything other than enjoy the fact that your money is growing.

Story continues

You Can List a Beneficiary

Employer-sponsored emergency funds, like the ones offered by SecureSave, allow you to add a beneficiary.

This money isnt just important for the employee  its important for the employees family, Orman said. If something happens to the employee  they die, theyre in a car crash, whatever it may be  this emergency savings account allows you to designate a beneficiary so if something happens to you, the money in there goes where you want it to go.

What You Should Do If Your Employer Does Not Offer an Emergency Savings Benefit

If your current employer doesnt offer this benefit, its worth meeting with your HR team to ask for it to be added to your companys benefit package. Giving employees financial peace of mind through having an emergency fund can be beneficial to the employer as well. A recent PwC study found that cash-strapped employees are 5.8 times more likely to miss deadlines and 4.9 times more likely to produce lower-quality work. And according to a 2019 study by Salary Finance, businesses in the U.S. lose around $500 billion annually due to employees personal financial stresses.

Why wouldnt an employer want to give their employee the benefit that an employee most needs and wants? The only reason that they wouldnt want to do that is they dont know about it, Orman said. So if youre an employee and youre reading this article or youve heard about this, its your responsibility to go to your HR person and tell them about it. Because Im almost sure that if the employer has heard about it, they would start to really look into it.

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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Suze Orman: 4 Things Every Employee Should Know About Emergency Savings as a Workplace Benefit
Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC lifted its position in shares of Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ  Free Report) by 5.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,692 shares of the companys stock after buying an additional 1,522 shares during the quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLCs holdings in Utz Brands were worth $469,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of UTZ. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 696.3% during the first quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,047,313 shares of the companys stock worth $17,248,000 after buying an additional 915,784 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 597.5% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 549,300 shares of the companys stock worth $7,591,000 after buying an additional 470,551 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 687.3% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 476,075 shares of the companys stock worth $7,841,000 after buying an additional 415,606 shares in the last quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 13.8% during the first quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. now owns 3,239,752 shares of the companys stock worth $53,359,000 after buying an additional 392,955 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 44.6% during the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,094,756 shares of the companys stock worth $18,031,000 after buying an additional 337,723 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.01% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

UTZ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Utz Brands in a research note on Wednesday, September 13th. They issued an outperform rating and a $18.00 price target for the company. Bank of America dropped their price target on Utz Brands from $20.00 to $13.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 17th. Barclays dropped their price target on Utz Brands from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 12th. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on Utz Brands in a research note on Tuesday, September 26th. They issued an outperform rating and a $17.00 price target for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Utz Brands from $22.00 to $17.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $17.14.

Utz Brands Stock Performance

Utz Brands stock opened at $11.63 on Friday. Utz Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $11.17 and a 12-month high of $19.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The businesss 50-day moving average price is $13.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.85. The stock has a market cap of $1.63 billion, a PE ratio of 1,163.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.85.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 10th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts consensus estimates of $0.13. Utz Brands had a return on equity of 5.77% and a net margin of 0.05%. The firm had revenue of $362.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $360.59 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.13 earnings per share. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Utz Brands, Inc. will post 0.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Utz Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 18th were issued a dividend of $0.057 per share. This represents a $0.23 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 15th. Utz Brandss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2,300.00%.

Utz Brands Profile

(Free Report)

Utz Brands, Inc operates as a snack food manufacturing company. It offers a range of salty snacks, including potato chips, kettle chips, tortilla chips, pretzels, cheese snacks, pork skins, pub/party mixes, salsa and queso, ready-to-eat popcorn, veggies, and other snacks under the Utz, Zapp's, ON THE BORDER, Golden Flake, Good Health, Boulder Canyon, Hawaiian, TGI Fridays, TORTIYAHS!, and other brand names.

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Signaturefd LLC lowered its stake in shares of Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX  Free Report) by 3.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,136 shares of the oil and gas companys stock after selling 763 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLCs holdings in Chevron were worth $3,640,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC boosted its position in Chevron by 247.8% during the second quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 3,400 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 5,700 shares during the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its position in Chevron by 52.3% during the first quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 195 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Artemis Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Chevron during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Chevron during the first quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, HBC Financial Services PLLC acquired a new position in Chevron during the first quarter worth about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.87% of the companys stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Chevron

In other Chevron news, VP Jeff B. Gustavson sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.88, for a total value of $603,300.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,718 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $276,391.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CFO Pierre R. Breber sold 25,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Friday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.00, for a total value of $4,100,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $987,444. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Jeff B. Gustavson sold 3,750 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.88, for a total transaction of $603,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,718 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $276,391.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the companys stock.

Chevron Price Performance

Shares of CVX opened at $166.83 on Friday. Chevron Co. has a fifty-two week low of $149.74 and a fifty-two week high of $189.68. The firms 50 day moving average price is $164.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $161.24. The company has a market cap of $311.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.58, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 28th. The oil and gas company reported $3.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $2.95 by $0.13. Chevron had a net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The company had revenue of $48.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.82 EPS. The companys quarterly revenue was down 28.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Chevron Co. will post 13.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 18th were given a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 17th. Chevrons dividend payout ratio is presently 38.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CVX. HSBC boosted their price target on shares of Chevron from $180.00 to $184.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 9th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Chevron from a neutral rating to an outperform rating and set a $190.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 12th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Chevron from $185.00 to $190.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Chevron from $203.00 to $201.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 17th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Chevron from $163.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Monday, July 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Chevron currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $189.89.

View Our Latest Analysis on Chevron

Chevron Profile

(Free Report)

Chevron Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in the integrated energy and chemicals operations in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Upstream and Downstream. The Upstream segment is involved in the exploration, development, production, and transportation of crude oil and natural gas; liquefaction, transportation, and regasification associated with liquefied natural gas; transportation of crude oil through pipelines; and processing, transportation, storage, and marketing of natural gas, as well as a gas-to-liquids plant.

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Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS  Free Report) by 4.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,304 shares of the financial services providers stock after buying an additional 1,306 shares during the quarter. Signaturefd LLCs holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,417,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 46.9% in the 1st quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 9,872 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $867,000 after purchasing an additional 3,150 shares in the last quarter. Aureus Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Aureus Asset Management LLC now owns 57,717 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $5,068,000 after purchasing an additional 2,651 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 10,219 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $912,000 after purchasing an additional 743 shares in the last quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 2,646 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $226,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 19.9% in the 1st quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 3,355 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 557 shares in the last quarter. 83.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James P. Gorman sold 125,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.19, for a total transaction of $11,898,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,011,345 shares in the company, valued at $96,269,930.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO James P. Gorman sold 125,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.19, for a total transaction of $11,898,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,011,345 shares in the company, valued at $96,269,930.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Edward N. Pick sold 100,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.33, for a total transaction of $9,433,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 604,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $57,055,028.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 225,135 shares of company stock worth $28,081,750 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.26% of the companys stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE MS opened at $73.13 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $72.35 and a 12 month high of $100.99. The stock has a market cap of $121.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.11, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.34. The companys 50 day moving average is $82.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.07. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 10.66%. The company had revenue of $13.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $13.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. The firms revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Friday, June 30th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the companys board believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 30th. Morgan Stanleys payout ratio is currently 60.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated a sector perform rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, September 25th. Odeon Capital Group upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $94.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 12th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a hold rating for the company. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $95.29.

View Our Latest Report on Morgan Stanley

About Morgan Stanley

(Free Report)

Morgan Stanley, a financial holding company, provides various financial products and services to corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. It operates through Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management segments.

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Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. lifted its position in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP  Free Report) by 4.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,981 shares of the railroad operators stock after buying an additional 927 shares during the quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $4,702,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Union Pacific by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 7,926 shares of the railroad operators stock valued at $1,622,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Gleason Group Inc. raised its holdings in Union Pacific by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 923 shares of the railroad operators stock valued at $186,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. boosted its stake in Union Pacific by 1.0% during the first quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 5,413 shares of the railroad operators stock worth $1,089,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 0.9% in the first quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 6,301 shares of the railroad operators stock valued at $1,268,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, PFG Private Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 14.5% in the first quarter. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 449 shares of the railroad operators stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. 77.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on UNP shares. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Union Pacific from a hold rating to a buy rating and increased their price target for the stock from $223.00 to $235.00 in a report on Friday. Stephens boosted their price objective on Union Pacific from $232.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, July 27th. Atlantic Securities downgraded Union Pacific from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and set a $244.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and set a $282.00 target price on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Friday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Union Pacific has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $237.08.

Union Pacific Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:UNP opened at $211.34 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $213.52 and a 200 day moving average of $208.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. Union Pacific Co. has a 52 week low of $183.69 and a 52 week high of $240.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $128.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.28, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.12.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP  Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 19th. The railroad operator reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.10. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 49.14% and a net margin of 26.37%. The firm had revenue of $5.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.19 EPS. The firms revenue for the quarter was down 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Union Pacific Co. will post 10.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 31st were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 30th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.46%. Union Pacifics payout ratio is currently 49.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Jennifer L. Hamann sold 1,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.83, for a total value of $222,830.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 99,378 shares in the company, valued at $22,144,399.74. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Union Pacific news, CFO Jennifer L. Hamann sold 1,000 shares of Union Pacific stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.83, for a total transaction of $222,830.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 99,378 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,144,399.74. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kenyatta G. Rocker sold 8,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.43, for a total transaction of $1,935,141.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 42,061 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,355,628.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Union Pacific

(Free Report)

Union Pacific Corporation, through its subsidiary, Union Pacific Railroad Company, operates in the railroad business in the United States. The company offers transportation services for grain and grain products, fertilizers, food and refrigerated products, and coal and renewables to grain processors, animal feeders, ethanol producers, and other agricultural users; petroleum, and liquid petroleum gases; and construction products, industrial chemicals, plastics, forest products, specialized products, metals and ores, soda ash, and sand, as well as finished automobiles, automotive parts, and merchandise in intermodal containers.

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Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. decreased its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT  Free Report) by 0.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 334,443 shares of the healthcare product makers stock after selling 393 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories accounts for approximately 1.3% of Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $36,461,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 97,996.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 2,101,555,797 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $229,111,613,000 after buying an additional 2,099,413,455 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 38,966,499 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $4,278,132,000 after buying an additional 4,886,954 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 31,196,788 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $3,151,497,000 after buying an additional 598,164 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 104,649.4% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 30,247,436 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $3,320,866,000 after buying an additional 30,218,560 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 40.5% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 20,820,152 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $2,108,249,000 after buying an additional 6,003,997 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.70% of the companys stock.

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Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE ABT opened at $96.78 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $104.66. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $89.67 and a 52-week high of $115.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market cap of $167.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.92, a PEG ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.69.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

Abbott Laboratories ( NYSE:ABT Get Free Report ) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.04. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.22% and a net margin of 12.92%. The business had revenue of $10.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $9.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.15 EPS. Abbott Laboratoriess revenue for the quarter was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 12th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. Abbott Laboratoriess payout ratio is 69.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 10,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.03, for a total transaction of $1,092,312.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,027 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $6,829,785.81. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Daniel J. Starks sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.76, for a total value of $5,688,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,775,316 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $770,759,948.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 10,400 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.03, for a total value of $1,092,312.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,027 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $6,829,785.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABT has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, July 24th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $118.00 in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $112.00 to $107.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $112.00 in a research report on Monday, October 2nd. Finally, TheStreet downgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research report on Monday, October 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $117.47.

Read Our Latest Analysis on Abbott Laboratories

About Abbott Laboratories

(Free Report)

Abbott Laboratories, together with its subsidiaries, discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells health care products worldwide. It operates in four segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The Established Pharmaceutical Products segment provides generic pharmaceuticals for the treatment of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, irritable bowel syndrome or biliary spasm, intrahepatic cholestasis or depressive symptoms, gynecological disorder, hormone replacement therapy, dyslipidemia, hypertension, hypothyroidism, Meniere's disease and vestibular vertigo, pain, fever, inflammation, and migraine, as well as provides anti-infective clarithromycin, influenza vaccine, and products to regulate physiological rhythm of the colon.

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StockNews.com started coverage on shares of China Pharma (NYSE:CPHI  Free Report) in a report issued on Thursday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the stock.

China Pharma Stock Down 12.5 %

China Pharma stock opened at $0.11 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $0.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $0.28. China Pharma has a 12-month low of $0.11 and a 12-month high of $2.46.

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China Pharma (NYSE:CPHI  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 14th. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $1.10 million for the quarter. China Pharma had a negative return on equity of 77.41% and a negative net margin of 39.33%.

About China Pharma

China Pharma Holdings, Inc develops, manufactures, and markets generic and branded pharmaceutical, and biochemical products primarily to hospitals and private retailers in the People's Republic of China. The company offers products in the form of dry powder injectables, liquid injectables, tablets, capsules, and cephalosporin oral solutions.

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StockNews.com lowered shares of Prologis (NYSE:PLD  Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Wednesday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on PLD. BNP Paribas upgraded Prologis from a neutral rating to an outperform rating and set a $141.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 20th. Mizuho reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of Prologis in a research note on Wednesday, September 13th. 888 reissued a maintains rating on shares of Prologis in a research report on Wednesday, June 28th. BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of Prologis from $152.00 to $154.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Prologis from $132.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Monday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Prologis currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $141.94.

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Read Our Latest Stock Report on PLD

Prologis Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of PLD stock opened at $102.43 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $94.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.99. Prologis has a 12-month low of $100.64 and a 12-month high of $136.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $116.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $121.17.

Prologis (NYSE:PLD  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 17th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.72 billion. Prologis had a return on equity of 5.21% and a net margin of 38.24%. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 53.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.73 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Prologis will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prologis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 18th were paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 15th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. Prologiss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 107.41%.

Insider Activity at Prologis

In other Prologis news, Director George L. Fotiades sold 10,711 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.98, for a total transaction of $1,327,949.78. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prologis during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Sageworth Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Prologis during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. VitalStone Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Prologis during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Prologis in the first quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. bought a new position in Prologis in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors own 90.90% of the companys stock.

About Prologis

(Get Free Report)

Prologis, Inc is the global leader in logistics real estate with a focus on high-barrier, high-growth markets. At June 30, 2023, the company owned or had investments in, on a wholly owned basis or through co-investment ventures, properties and development projects expected to total approximately 1.2 billion square feet (114 million square meters) in 19 countries.

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Gulf International Bank UK Ltd lessened its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO  Free Report) by 22.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 110,465 shares of the utilities providers stock after selling 32,511 shares during the quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltds holdings in Southern were worth $7,760,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 48.7% during the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 3,196 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 1,047 shares during the period. Drive Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,171 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the period. Capital City Trust Co. FL purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 2nd quarter worth $306,000. Berkeley Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Southern by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Berkeley Capital Partners LLC now owns 14,463 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $1,006,000 after buying an additional 485 shares during the period. Finally, Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter worth $76,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.85% of the companys stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Southern from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 31st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Southern from $75.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Friday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Southern from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, September 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Southern from a buy rating to a conviction-buy rating in a research report on Monday, July 3rd. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Southern from $68.00 to $64.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $73.20.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,490 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.05, for a total value of $99,904.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 72,756 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,878,289.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.70, for a total transaction of $348,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,284 shares of the companys stock, valued at $8,801,994.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,490 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.05, for a total value of $99,904.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 72,756 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,878,289.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,490 shares of company stock valued at $1,459,055 over the last three months. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Southern Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $65.73 on Friday. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $58.85 and a 1 year high of $75.80. The firm has a market cap of $71.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.23, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stocks 50-day simple moving average is $67.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.05.

Southern (NYSE:SO  Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $5.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.47 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 9.86% and a net margin of 11.17%. The companys revenue for the quarter was down 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.07 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 3.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 20th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 17th. Southerns dividend payout ratio is currently 98.94%.

Southern Company Profile

(Free Report)

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. It operates through three segments: Gas Distribution Operations, Gas Pipeline Investments, and Gas Marketing Services. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations.

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State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D trimmed its stake in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP  Free Report) by 0.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 360,083 shares of the railroad operators stock after selling 2,230 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned about 0.06% of Union Pacific worth $73,680,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 116.7% during the 1st quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 130 shares of the railroad operators stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Tucker Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Union Pacific during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Miller Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 108.3% during the 1st quarter. Miller Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 125 shares of the railroad operators stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Centerpoint Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Union Pacific by 86.7% during the 1st quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the railroad operators stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Union Pacific during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 77.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Union Pacific from $233.00 to $232.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 3rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Union Pacific from $235.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Union Pacific from $254.00 to $236.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 11th. Stephens lifted their price objective on Union Pacific from $232.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Union Pacific from $171.00 to $168.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $237.08.

Union Pacific Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Union Pacific stock opened at $211.34 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. Union Pacific Co. has a twelve month low of $183.69 and a twelve month high of $240.48. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $213.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $208.19. The stock has a market cap of $128.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.12.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 19th. The railroad operator reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.10. Union Pacific had a net margin of 26.37% and a return on equity of 49.14%. The firm had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.19 earnings per share. The firms revenue for the quarter was down 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Union Pacific Co. will post 10.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 31st were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 30th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. Union Pacifics payout ratio is 49.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Union Pacific

In other Union Pacific news, CFO Jennifer L. Hamann sold 1,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.83, for a total transaction of $222,830.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 99,378 shares in the company, valued at $22,144,399.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Kenyatta G. Rocker sold 8,700 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.43, for a total transaction of $1,935,141.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 42,061 shares in the company, valued at $9,355,628.23. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jennifer L. Hamann sold 1,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.83, for a total transaction of $222,830.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 99,378 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $22,144,399.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Union Pacific

(Free Report)

Union Pacific Corporation, through its subsidiary, Union Pacific Railroad Company, operates in the railroad business in the United States. The company offers transportation services for grain and grain products, fertilizers, food and refrigerated products, and coal and renewables to grain processors, animal feeders, ethanol producers, and other agricultural users; petroleum, and liquid petroleum gases; and construction products, industrial chemicals, plastics, forest products, specialized products, metals and ores, soda ash, and sand, as well as finished automobiles, automotive parts, and merchandise in intermodal containers.

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Vaughan David Investments LLC IL raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM  Free Report) by 2.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 314,505 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 6,423 shares during the quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC ILs holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $30,702,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hosking Partners LLP grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 15.8% during the second quarter. Hosking Partners LLP now owns 188,704 shares of the companys stock valued at $18,421,000 after purchasing an additional 25,800 shares in the last quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.2% during the second quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 132,581 shares of the companys stock valued at $12,943,000 after purchasing an additional 1,570 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.8% during the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 38,116 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,721,000 after purchasing an additional 1,407 shares in the last quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 4.3% during the second quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 14,510 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,416,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC grew its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.5% during the second quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 50,087 shares of the companys stock valued at $4,890,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.70% of the companys stock.

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Philip Morris International Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of Philip Morris International stock traded up $1.83 on Friday, hitting $92.56. 5,592,015 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,550,983. The stocks 50 day moving average price is $93.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $95.49. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 52 week low of $84.44 and a 52 week high of $105.62. The company has a market cap of $143.68 billion, a PE ratio of 17.97, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.71.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

Philip Morris International ( NYSE:PM Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 19th. The company reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.05. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 11.41% and a negative return on equity of 129.48%. The firm had revenue of $9.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.21 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. The companys revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 27th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.62%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 26th. This is an increase from Philip Morris Internationals previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. Philip Morris Internationals payout ratio is currently 100.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on PM shares. 22nd Century Group restated a reiterates rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Tuesday, June 27th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Philip Morris International from $111.00 to $105.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 13th. Barclays dropped their price target on Philip Morris International from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 21st. Bank of America dropped their price target on Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $111.00 in a research report on Friday, September 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $113.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Philip Morris International currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $109.42.

Read Our Latest Report on PM

Philip Morris International Profile

(Free Report)

Philip Morris International Inc operates as a tobacco company working to delivers a smoke-free future and evolving portfolio for the long-term to include products outside of the tobacco and nicotine sector. The company's product portfolio primarily consists of cigarettes and smoke-free products, including heat-not-burn, vapor, and oral nicotine products primarily under the IQOS and ZYN brands; and consumer accessories, such as lighters and matches.

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Key Insights

Significantly high institutional ownership implies Thermo Fisher Scientific's stock price is sensitive to their trading actions

The top 25 shareholders own 48% of the company

Analyst forecasts along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business

If you want to know who really controls Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. With 89% stake, institutions possess the maximum shares in the company. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

And so it follows that institutional investors was the group most impacted after the company's market cap fell to US$182b last week after a 3.8% drop in the share price. Needless to say, the recent loss which further adds to the one-year loss to shareholders of 6.3% might not go down well especially with this category of shareholders. Institutions or "liquidity providers" control large sums of money and therefore, these types of investors usually have a lot of influence over stock price movements. As a result, if the decline continues, institutional investors may be pressured to sell Thermo Fisher Scientific which might hurt individual investors.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Thermo Fisher Scientific.

Check out our latest analysis for Thermo Fisher Scientific

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Thermo Fisher Scientific?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific. 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. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Thermo Fisher Scientific, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Story continues

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 Thermo Fisher Scientific. The Vanguard Group, Inc. is currently the largest shareholder, with 8.3% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 7.7% and 4.9%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

A deeper look at our ownership data shows that the top 25 shareholders collectively hold less than half of the register, suggesting a large group of small holders where no single shareholder has a majority.

While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.

Insider Ownership Of Thermo Fisher Scientific

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own less than 1% of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.. Being so large, we would not expect insiders to own a large proportion of the stock. Collectively, they own US$262m of stock. It is always good to see at least some insider ownership, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 10% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

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 risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Thermo Fisher Scientific you should know about.

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT  Free Report) by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,265 shares of the retailers stock after selling 180 shares during the quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLCs holdings in Walmart were worth $3,814,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its position in Walmart by 93,272.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 821,003,685 shares of the retailers stock worth $129,045,359,000 after purchasing an additional 820,124,410 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Walmart by 112,181.6% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 22,854,919 shares of the retailers stock worth $3,240,599,000 after purchasing an additional 22,834,564 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth about $2,598,736,000. Providence Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Walmart by 1,164,937.0% in the 1st quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,718,400 shares of the retailers stock worth $32,000,000 after purchasing an additional 4,717,995 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners grew its position in Walmart by 7,546.2% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,166,995 shares of the retailers stock worth $467,747,000 after purchasing an additional 3,125,576 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.18% of the companys stock.

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Insider Activity

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 9,708 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.58, for a total transaction of $1,549,202.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,480,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $236,325,851.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.48, for a total transaction of $159,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 170,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,228,817.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 9,708 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.58, for a total value of $1,549,202.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,480,924 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $236,325,851.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 31,166 shares of company stock valued at $5,011,557. 46.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on WMT shares. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, August 14th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $167.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, September 26th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, August 18th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $175.00 to $190.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $177.22.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on WMT

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $158.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market cap of $427.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.49. The businesss 50-day simple moving average is $160.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.99. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $134.00 and a 52 week high of $165.85.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT  Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 17th. The retailer reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.15. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.47% and a net margin of 2.23%. The firm had revenue of $161.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $160.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.77 earnings per share. The companys revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 6.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Walmart

(Free Report)

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, and other units worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, and discount stores under Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; membership-only warehouse clubs; ecommerce websites, such as walmart.com, walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, and samsclub.com; and mobile commerce applications.

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Waverton Investment Management Ltd decreased its stake in shares of American International Group, Inc. (NYSE:AIG  Free Report) by 5.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 634,100 shares of the insurance providers stock after selling 35,529 shares during the period. American International Group accounts for about 1.0% of Waverton Investment Management Ltds holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. Waverton Investment Management Ltd owned about 0.09% of American International Group worth $36,483,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AIG. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new stake in American International Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $84,000. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC boosted its stake in American International Group by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 5,535 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 578 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its stake in American International Group by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 100,861 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $6,331,000 after purchasing an additional 1,207 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in American International Group by 20.1% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 20,447 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $1,283,000 after purchasing an additional 3,428 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in American International Group by 43.3% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,324 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 1,608 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.57% of the companys stock.

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American International Group Stock Down 2.7 %

NYSE AIG opened at $59.52 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $60.07 and a 200-day moving average of $57.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.11. American International Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $45.66 and a 52 week high of $64.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29.

American International Group Announces Dividend

American International Group ( NYSE:AIG Get Free Report ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The insurance provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $13.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $12.28 billion. American International Group had a return on equity of 9.28% and a net margin of 8.94%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that American International Group, Inc. will post 6.73 EPS for the current year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 15th were given a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. American International Groups dividend payout ratio is currently 24.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on American International Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 17th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on American International Group from $69.00 to $68.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of American International Group in a research report on Tuesday, October 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on American International Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 4th. They issued a buy rating and a $79.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on American International Group from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $68.21.

View Our Latest Research Report on AIG

Insider Transactions at American International Group

In other news, CAO Kathleen Carbone sold 7,757 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.30, for a total value of $475,504.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

American International Group Profile

(Free Report)

American International Group, Inc offers insurance products for commercial, institutional, and individual customers in North America and internationally. It operates through General Insurance, and Life and Retirement segments. The General Insurance segment provides commercial and industrial property insurance, including business interruption and package insurance that cover exposure to made and natural disasters; general liability, environmental, commercial automobile liability, workers' compensation, excess casualty, and crisis management insurance products; and professional liability insurance.

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Waverton Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM  Free Report) by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 732,415 shares of the semiconductor companys stock after purchasing an additional 59,712 shares during the quarter. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing makes up approximately 2.1% of Waverton Investment Management Ltds holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Waverton Investment Management Ltds holdings in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing were worth $73,897,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC purchased a new position in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Key Financial Inc lifted its position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 666.7% during the first quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 345 shares of the semiconductor companys stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. America First Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing during the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC increased its position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 71.4% in the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 365 shares of the semiconductor companys stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 16.51% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on TSM shares. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Monday, October 9th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a buy rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a research note on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Friday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target of $122.50.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Stock Down 1.7 %

NYSE TSM opened at $91.31 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited has a 12 month low of $59.43 and a 12 month high of $110.69. The stocks 50 day moving average is $90.35 and its 200 day moving average is $93.59. The stock has a market cap of $473.57 billion, a PE ratio of 16.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.07.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 19th. The semiconductor company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $17.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.90 billion. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing had a net margin of 41.42% and a return on equity of 28.71%. The companys quarterly revenue was down 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.79 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 11th. Investors of record on Friday, December 15th will be given a $0.4724 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 14th. This represents a $1.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturings dividend payout ratio is currently 26.44%.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Profile

(Free Report)

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, packages, tests, and sells integrated circuits and other semiconductor devices in Taiwan, China, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Japan, the United States, and internationally. It provides complementary metal oxide silicon wafer fabrication processes to manufacture logic, mixed-signal, radio frequency, and embedded memory semiconductors.

Further Reading

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding TSM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM  Free Report).

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Press conference [Xinhua/Zhang Yuwei]



BEIJING, Oct. 21 (Xinhua)  Over 69 percent of the delegates to China's 13th National Women's Congress are in frontline posts at the grassroots level, registering a rise from the previous edition, the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF) said at a press conference Saturday.

Nearly 1,800 delegates and 90 specially invited delegates from Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions will attend the congress to be held from Oct. 23 to 26 in Beijing, according to the ACWF, adding that all preparations for the event are in place.

Press conference [Xinhua/Zhang Yuwei]



The delegates to the congress represent diverse sectors such as industry, agriculture, commerce, science and technology, education, medicine and health, press and publishing, according to the press conference.

Notably, 5.1 percent of the delegates are those working in the scientific and technology sector, an increase of 1.2 percentage points.

(Source: Xinhua)
Trucks carrying aid wait to enter the Palestinian side of the border with Egypt, as the conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas continues, as seen from Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, in this still picture taken from a video October 21.
A Tennessee mom said she is taking her daughter out of school for the rest of the year after a student made a threatening statement and is now charged.
Washington's tightening of chip curbs on Beijing this week will intensify their battle for tech superiority and add more uncertainty to the relationship, according to observers.

They said the US move could also overshadow a possible meeting between the Chinese and US presidents at next month's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in San Francisco.

The US commerce department unveiled new rules on Tuesday to upgrade its sweeping export controls on China's access to cutting-edge computer chips and manufacturing equipment announced by Washington a year ago.

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.

US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the new rules "confront the threats to our national security" posed by the Chinese government's military-civil fusion strategy. Photo: Reuters alt=US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the new rules "confront the threats to our national security" posed by the Chinese government's military-civil fusion strategy. Photo: Reuters>

The new rules aim to close loopholes in the previous curbs and prevent China's development of artificial intelligence for military use, according to US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

"Today's updated rules will increase effectiveness of our controls and further shut off pathways to evade our restrictions. These controls maintain our clear focus on military applications and confront the threats to our national security posed by the PRC government's military-civil fusion strategy," she said, using the acronym for China's official name - the People's Republic of China.

"The vast majority of semiconductors will remain unrestricted. But when we identify national security or human rights threats, we will act decisively and in concert with our allies," she added.

Story continues

China's commerce ministry on Wednesday said Beijing was "strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposes" the latest chip curbs, claiming Washington "abuses export control measures and implements unilateral bullying".

It called for the lifting of the export controls as soon as possible and warned that China will "take all necessary measures to resolutely safeguard its legitimate rights and interests".

On Tuesday, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning also urged Washington to "stop politicising and weaponising trade and tech issues and stop destabilising global industrial and supply chains".

Observers noted that Beijing's response so far had been measured, signalling China's inclination to play down bilateral differences amid preparations for an anticipated Xi Jinping-Joe Biden meeting.

The latest chip curbs also coincided with a forum in Beijing marking 10 years of Xi's signature Belt and Road Initiative, attended by representatives of over 130 countries including Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In a pointed message to the US and its allies that have called for reduced economic dependence on China, Xi warned against "unilateral sanctions, economic coercion, decoupling and supply chain disruption" during his keynote speech at the forum on Wednesday.

Shen Dingli, a Shanghai-based international relations expert, said the latest move showed Washington was zeroing in on China's ability to produce advanced chips.

He said the release of 5G-capable Mate 60 phones by Huawei Technologies during Raimondo's China visit in August had dealt a blow to the US chip restrictions and raised alarm about Beijing getting around those curbs.

The updated rules impose licence requirements on exports of advanced chips to more than 40 additional countries that could divert the technology to China. In an effort to limit China's access to chip-making tools essential to producing advanced integrated circuits needed for the next generation of advanced weapon systems, licence requirements for the equipment also apply to China and Macau, and 21 countries under US arms embargoes.

Shen noted the US had also shifted focus from communication speed limits to computing performance when adjusting its curbs on semiconductor exports. Earlier this month, the US commerce department extended waivers to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) and South Korea's two chip-making giants Samsung and SK Hynix, allowing them to keep receiving certain US chip-making equipment at their Chinese plants.

The new rules underlined Washington's changed priority - to hobble Beijing's efforts to develop the most advanced computing power, which would be the key for the US to maintain its technological and military superiority for longer, according to Shen.

"The US has tightened its controls in some aspects, while relaxing its restrictions in others. They are not entirely because of the US-China summit, but also for the overall national security interests of the US to control China more effectively. There is no need to do things that are effective in the short term but not effective in the long term, which will weaken relations with US allies, and weaken economic relations between the US and China," he said.

"The US has become increasingly pragmatic as it tries to advance its goals while balancing its ties with key allies [who are indispensable in its efforts to curb China's rise]. The US does not want to hurt its own business interests or harm the legitimate economic interests of its allies because of its own security interests," he said. "Washington's overall goal is to restrict China from catching up with the US in core areas, but at the same time it is reluctant to see itself being weakened due to those restrictions on China."

He noted that the US was aware of the limits of these kind of technological restrictions on China, which could give Beijing more incentives to innovate and seek breakthroughs on its own. He said they could even backfire on Washington, citing America's efforts to curb China's development of supercomputers.

Xi Jinping and Joe Biden could meet next month at the Apec summit in San Francisco. Photo: AFP alt=Xi Jinping and Joe Biden could meet next month at the Apec summit in San Francisco. Photo: AFP>

Pang Zhongying, an international affairs professor at Sichuan University, said the revamped export restrictions on advanced chips as well as the bold signals from Beijing at the belt and road forum showed both sides were determined to double down on their rivalry.

"While Biden and his senior administration officials insisted that the US is not seeking to decouple from China but to 'de-risk' the relationship, there is little sign that either is changing their course. The latest development would inevitably cast doubt on the prospects for bilateral ties despite some signs of thawing after the resumption of high-level communications and dialogue, further dampening hopes for the Xi-Biden summit," he said.

Neither Beijing nor Washington has confirmed Xi's attendance at the Apec summit in November.

While Shen also agreed there is little chance that the deeply fraught US-China ties could see substantive improvement any time soon, he believed the latest US chip curbs were unlikely to derail efforts to arrange the first face-to-face meeting between Xi and Biden this year.

He said he had "100 per cent confidence" the two leaders would meet in San Francisco next month, and that it could help stabilise ties and ease tensions.

"There's no way the just-announced chip sanctions can be eased. If China is not satisfied, it may choose not to go [to the Apec summit]. But [China's absence will be] bad for Washington and even worse for Beijing, because the benefits [of a Xi-Biden summit] outweigh the negative factors," Shen said. "China must carefully consider its overall interests before reaching a final decision."

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.
25 years ago: Deadliest hurricane of the century makes landfall in Central America

On October 29, 1998, Hurricane Mitch made landfall in Central America and became the second-deadliest hurricane on record, second only to the Great Hurricane of 1780. No final death toll was ever established internationally due to the extent of the damage it caused, but over 11,300 people died and a further 9,191 were missing.

The hurricane spanned six days of severe winds, torrential rains, flooding and mudslides in Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Belize, Costa Rica, Panama and southern Mexico. At its peak the hurricane was the fourth-strongest Caribbean hurricane of the century, with 180mph (305kph) winds.

The worst fatalities were in Honduras, approximately 7,000 deaths, and Nicaragua, around 3,800 deaths. Mitch destroyed an estimated 60 percent of Honduran infrastructure and left more than 300,000 people homeless. In the capital city of Tegucigalpa, 20,000 lost their homes as the raging waters of the Choluteca River swept through entire neighborhoods, washing away cars, trucks, trees, power lines and livestock.

Flooding in downtown Tegucigalpa, capital of Honduras [Photo: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]

The capital has been leveled, Mayor Cesar Castellanos told news outlets. He was later killed in a helicopter crash while surveying the damage. Blocks and blocks of middle class and poor neighborhoods, shopsthey have all been completely demolished.

Officials were greatly concerned over social unrest. Police arrested 250 people for looting wrecked supermarkets and stores in the capital city. They were also mobilized to suppress a bloody riot at a Tegucigalpa jail housing 3,500, including 2,500 inmates transferred from another jail after it became flooded.

This is the worst disaster to befall Honduras in a hundred years, said Vice President William Handal Raudales. This has been a harder blow to us than all the 100 military coups weve suffered in our history put together, harder than all the 36 civil wars weve gone through put together. Handal was particularly concerned about damage to export industries in the free trade zones. Hurricane Fifi [which killed 3,000 Hondurans in 1974] was nothing compared to this. It took 12 to 14 years effort to overcome Fifi. This one will take 30 or 40 years.

The president of Honduras, Carlos Roberto Flores, told CNNs Spanish-language network the flooding was so extensive that 70 percent of the upcoming harvests had been lost. In Washington, President Bill Clinton said the US government would only providing $2 million in food, medicine, water and other emergency relief supplies. The amount was particularly outrageous considering that over previous decades the US had provided billions to prop up the regions military regimes and native elite and protect American business interests.

For further reading:

At least 7,000 killed by Central American hurricane



Anger mounts over relief delays from Hurricane Mitch

US President Richard Nixon vetoes War Powers bill

On October 24, 1973, US President Richard Nixon vetoed the War Powers Act that was passed by both houses of Congress. The bill placed restrictions on the ability of the President to deploy military forces without a vote in Congress.

In a statement explaining his veto Nixon claimed the bill, would seriously undermine this nations ability to act decisively and convincingly in times of international crisis. He added that he believed the bill to be unconstitutional and dangerous and that it would take away authorities which the President has properly exercised under the Constitution for almost 200 years.

The War Powers bill required that the President report to Congress 48 hours after the deployment of US armed forces in a foreign country. After that, the forces must be withdrawn within 60 days unless Congress voted to approve the military action.

Nixon at his desk in the White House

The bill had passed through both houses of Congress with a significant majority, with the vote in the Senate 75-20 and in the House of Representatives 238-122. This was well over the two-thirds vote in the Senate needed to override a presidential veto and just three votes shy of a two-thirds margin in the House. With 74 House absentees it was likely that the veto would be overridden, and the law passed. The veto override was carried out November 7.

The bill was prompted by the massive antiwar movement in the United States that saw millions protest against US intervention in Vietnam. In the aftermath of the war the Democratic-controlled Congress proposed the law to give an appearance of reining in the unrestricted military powers of the US president.

Despite its eventual passage, the War Powers Act has never prevented the American government from imperialist intervention in the form of plotting coups and waging endless wars overseas. The law has ultimately been ignored by US presidents and Congress has never forced the withdrawal of forces due to a violation of the act.

Despite its hollow nature, Nixon vetoed the bill in an attempt to stop any restrictions of the president to wage war against the interests of the population. At the same time the bill was brought to Nixons desk, the White House was drawing up plans for the United States to deploy troops to the Middle East to back Israels war against Egypt and Syria and break up the Arab oil embargo.

While the Nixon administration provided an unprecedented amount of arms to Israel during the Yom Kippur War it stopped short of directly deploying Americans in combat. But this had little to do with the new War Powers Act and everything to do with concerns over rekindling the antiwar movement that had waned since the US withdrawal from Vietnam.

75 years ago: Israeli army massacres Palestinians at Al-Dawayima

On October 29, 1948, the Israeli army perpetrated a notorious massacre in the village of Al-Dawayima. The total death toll has never been fully established, with estimates ranging from 80 to several hundred, but it is known that dozens of women and children were murdered.

The mass killing occurred amid the ongoing ethnic cleansing that preceded and followed the May 1948 establishment of Israel as an imperialist-backed state, based on Jewish identity. The Al-Dawayima massacre took place under conditions of an Arab-Israeli war, with a coalition of Middle Eastern nations taking up arms against the newly formed Zionist state.

The head of the village, Hassan Mahmoud Ihdeib, who survived the attack, later stated that it began in the middle of the day. He claimed that 20 armored cars of the Israeli military had suddenly approached Al-Dawayima, with smaller contingents simultaneously descending on it from at least two other directions.

The Israeli 89th battalion in 1948

Ihdeib reported that no warning or call to surrender was given. The Israeli troops began firing indiscriminately with machineguns and other arms. Because the firing came from multiple directions, in an arc-life formation, prospects of escape were limited, and many were mown down. Ihdeib stated that a group of villagers had gone into the mosque to seek refuge from that barrage. When the Israeli forces left, he claimed that 60 dead bodies were found there, the majority of the victims old and infirm.

Based on a census, it appeared that as many as 455 villagers were unaccounted for.

The killing occurred amid Operation Yoav, an attempt by the Israeli army to inflict a defeat on Egyptian forces and secure control of the Negev Desert. The armys 89th Commando Battalion, which carried out the attack, was made up of various right-wing Zionist militias including Irgun, a terroristic organization that also engaged in bombings of civilian buildings and hostage-taking.

100 years ago: Hamburg uprising suppressed in Germany

On October 24, 1923, the communist-led insurrection in Hamburg, the main port city of Germany, was suppressed by government forces after the revolutionary forces stood down.

The day before, armed workers had seized at least 17 police stations in the city and another seven in the surrounding area, from which they armed themselves. Detachments of workers had set up barricades throughout the city. An estimated 5,000 workers participated in the insurrection. The city was papered with posters that read, Long live Soviet Germany! Long live the Federation of Soviet states of the world! Long live the world revolution!

German soldiers searching passersby near a barricade during the Hamburg Uprising

The insurrection in Hamburg had gone ahead even though a national insurrection had been halted by the leadership of the German Communist Party on October 22, when it allowed the left Social Democrats to cancel plans for a general strike. Couriers had been sent to all areas calling off the action, but the news did not reach Hamburg until October 24. The failure to seize power in Germany was to have repercussions for the whole international working class for decades to come.

The Soviet writer Larissa Reissner describes the end of the insurrection in Hamburg:

That Wednesday, the 24th, having received no news of the start of the German revolution the leading group was compelled to sound the retreat, not because the workers had been smashed but what was the point in pursuing the struggle in Hamburg alone, of flaring up in isolation against a back cloth of general collapse!?

It was not quite so easy to order the retreat in a city drunk with victory, where the defense is ready at any moment to go over to the offensive and hundreds of barricades and tens of thousands of workers are preparing for an all-out assault and the terrible closing act of civil warthe triumphant seizure of power. The first courier who brought news of the retreat was knocked off his feet with a furious punch 

All right, they retreated. Disappointed and grumbling, parting for the last time yet having repulsed the enemy from their barricades for many hours. Taking advantage of the confusion the riflemen abandoned the earthworks, barricades and sentry posts without a sound. They went off with their weapons, taking with them the dead and wounded, covering up all traces left behind them, and gradually scattered out to the now silent suburbs. This planned retreat was carried out under the cover of marksmen dispersed on the roof.

The next day, the police mounted an offensive. Over 1,400 people were arrested. Of these, 443 were tried in special courts and received sentences ranging from a few months to the death penalty.
The largest anti-war demonstration in Britain since 2003, when over a million protested the illegal invasion of Iraq, saw 300,000 people march and rally in London Saturday against Israels war on Gaza.

The march assembled at Park Lane and proceeded through central London, ending with a rally in Whitehall, where the prime ministers residence, 10 Downing Street is located.

The march was so big that in the middle of the rally it was announced from the stage that the left and right part of the demonstration in Whitehall would have to go into nearby Parliament Square to prevent a possible crush, as so many were still arriving from Trafalgar Square.

The turnout was despite London being deluged by Storm Babet during the afternoon and restrictions on transport in the capital. At some points demonstrators were walking through several inches of rain on the streets. The march would have been even larger had not trains and other transport from the north of England been halted due to flooding and landslides.

A crowd of people on the platform at Marble Arch underground station having to wait there before being able to exit the overcrowded station prior to joining the march

The police ludicrously still tried to claim it was smaller than last weeks 150,000-strong demonstration, saying that around 100,000 attended. This vast playing down of its size was faithfully repeated by the media, including the Guardian.

Young people, students and workers carried the Palestinian flag and chanted, From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free, in defiance of the Conservative governments attempts to criminalise these actions. Noticeable was the number of homemade banners, with slogans such as Stop killing children, Free, free Palestine and End the Occupation. A large number of Jewish protesters took part.

Massive numbers of police were again mobilised, including counter-terrorism officers and specialised public order units among the 1,000 on the streets.

A London Underground train driver led a chant of Free, Free Palestine on his speaker system, adding, Hope you all have a blessed day today and look after yourselves.. A video of the event on X/Twitter was viewed millions of times. London Underground Limited immediately announced that they had asked British Transport Police to investigate the incident.

At the rally, Kate Hudson of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament raised in her speech the call made by the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions for unions around the world to mobilise their members, as, This urgent, genocidal situation can only be prevented by a mass increase of global solidarity with the people of Palestine and that can restrain the Israeli war machine.

Hudson said to large cheers, Let us heed their call and to the labour and trade movement in Britain, let us not be found wanting in our solidarity.

In reality, the leaders of the main railway unions in Britain, the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) and the ASLEF drivers unions, speaking from the platform, avoided any mention of the call by the Palestinian unions, instead offered worthless pledges of solidarity. ASLEF general Secretary Mick Whelan was announced to the rally as the leader of a union which is a proudly affiliated to the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign.

Aslef union leader Mick Whelan speaking at the London protest

Rather than mobilise the RMTs tens of thousands of members to prevent Israel from getting its hands on UK military equipment, the union is actually involved in ensuring its members man Royal Navy ships as part of the Sunaks government military build-up in the Middle East. Hence Assistant General Secretary Eddie Dempsey made no call to his own members or the working class to intervene independently to disarm Israel, but instead demanded, End the blockage, end the occupation. We demand peace We must bring pressure to bear on the politicians.

RMT Senior Assistant General Secretary Eddie Dempsey speaking at the London protest

Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer has declared his support for Iraels cutting off food, water and electricity to Gaza, provoking mass opposition. Starmers belated clarification Friday that he didnt really mean that Israel had a right to withdraw water and electricity only a right to defend itself fooled no one. His name was loudly jeered when it was mentioned on the platform.

But those attending found no avenue for struggle against Starmer in the tepid comments of Labour lefts Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell.

Jeremy Corbyn speaking at the London demonstration, October 21, 2023

Former Labour leader Corbyn, now sitting as an independent MP after being kicked out of the parliamentary party by Starmer, was introduced as the Peoples Prime Minister. Yet as he did at last weeks demonstration, Corbyn refused to even mention Starmers name when speaking about our political leaders who need to think on and think deeply.

Socialist Equality Party members and supporters distributed thousands of copies of the WSWS editorial board statement, Global outrage erupts over Israeli bombing of Gaza hospital, and sold dozens of copies of the new World Socialist Web Site pamphlet, Stop Israeli Genocide! The pamphlet can be purchased here.

Hashim, originally from Sudan, spoke at the Socialist Equality Partys stall. What youre seeing in Gaza is a neo-liberal colonisation of the Middle East. It has its own economic and historical background. They are pushing their agenda by getting rid of any resistance in Palestine, to establish their new order.

Hashim

Look at all the war zones within this area and you will understand how fake this international community are. They dont care about humanity.

Sudan is still under colonisation, despite independence since 1956. When you look at the position of the United States towards Sudan, they dont care about the Sudanese. They only care about their own interests.

Hashim cited Saudia Arabias war in Yemen, backed by Britain and the US, They want to take over the world and they dont care about the people. We Have to fight back, otherwise the whole world will see some sort of catastrophe. Gaza is a warning to the world.

Laura said, Like many people I feel sick to the stomach that the leader of the opposition is complicit in genocide, refusing to call it out as a genocide, or even the simplest thing of calling for a ceasefire.

Laura with a banner denouncing Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer's support for Israeli war crimes

Ive voted Labour in the past but Im not going to in the next election because I cant in good conscience. Then theres also whats come out from the leadership about no councillors or senior Labour Party members can be seen at protests. They arent allowed to show support for people who are being ethnically cleansed.

Its basic human rights. Youre meant to be a political leader and you cant stand for peoples freedom, freedom not to be bombed!

Im not surprised by attempts to demonise protestors. Thats why its important so many people turn out because it counters the narrative. Try and argue with 500,000 people on the streets.

Saskia said, Its another example of a marginalised group who are being completely ignored, and Britain is complicit in it through its history with the British Mandate for Palestine, after the Ottoman Empire fell.

Saskia with placard reading Sunak, Starmer, Lammy and Thornberry - Complicit in Genocide. David Lammy and Emily Thornberry are members of Starmer's Shadow Cabinet

It feels like a responsibility to act and speak up. Palestinians are living in an open-air prison; theyre being cut off from the internet, electricity, food, water. They are being blockaded by the Israeli government.

This current Labour leadership, I dont stand with them or support them in any way. Starmer, and all of them, cant take back the words theyve said. They claim to speak for the people, but they dont. Theyre the same as the Tories.

Scarlet, a retail worker, said, I was scared of being branded a terrorist sympathiser, but something needs to be done about what is happening. This is genocide. There are millions of people in Gaza, half of which are children. Our media and our government stand with Israel, Palestinians are fighting for their existence and we need to stand with them.

Workers are the majority in this world. They have the real power. The unity of people of conscience in Israel and Palestine is the only way things are going to change.

Steve, a care worker, said, The media is telling a one-sided narrative, most of it is lies. What we are seeing on the internet, social media, I cant sleep looking at it. Killing children non-stop, the cutting of food, water, electricity. I do not know where to start with the hospital bombing, it was sickening. Most of us grow up idolising America, but its not what you think it is. The government of Biden is very dark.

Fawziyah, a student, brought a homemade banner to the demonstration stating, End The Occupation. She said, I am standing with everyone who been victim to colonialism and everyone who has lost their homes and their family and their lives and their lineages, their culture. It's not something new. It's something global, but the British have a legacy So I'm standing as a British person against British politicians.

Fawziyah

For example, the Labour Party's lineup typically with Israel. I think we need to separate anti-Zionism from anti-Semitism. There are many Jews against the apartheid set-up in Palestine and they have been very outspoken in support of the Palestinians. But the British media and the main political parties hide behind claims of anti-Semitism, which is a lie to justify mass killing.
Protests mobilising thousands took place in Salford, Leeds and Sheffield on Saturday, just some of the mass demonstrations in cities throughout the UK. The Salford and Leeds protests both targeted BBC broadcasting facilities, due to the outrage generated by its biased coverage of Israels genocidal assault on Gaza. WSWS reporters spoke with many protesters, who were overwhelmingly young people.

Socialist Equality Party members and supporters distributed thousands of copies of the WSWS editorial board statement, Global outrage erupts over Israeli bombing of Gaza hospital, and sold dozens of copies of the new World Socialist Web Site pamphlet, Stop Israeli Genocide! The pamphlet can be purchased here.

Salford

Ibrahim, 25, came to the UK with his family from Yemen when he was four. We want people to know the truth, he said. Israel has a say in what goes on in the media in the UK. The poster he was carrying showed himself as an eight-year-old on a pro-Palestinian demonstration, Its been going on the whole time Ive been alive, alongside a picture of himself with an anti-Zionist rabbi. He supports the Palestinians. So many Jews dont support the state of Israel. Jews, Christians and Muslims used to live together in harmony. Its happened before and it can happen again.

Ibrahim

[Israeli Prime Minister [Netanyahu] says the whole world is watching, but everyone is watching him massacring kids in hospitals. What they did to the Jews in the Holocaust, theyre doing to the Palestinians. Gaza is an open prison. Theyre being pushed into a small piece of land and theres nowhere to go. Its ethnic cleansing. They want to kill all the Palestinians. The Israeli Defence Minister said kill them all, starve everyone, like Hitler.

Ibrahim said of the governments of the Middle East, The whole world revolves around money. Theyre not coming out in support of the Palestinians because of money and their relationship with the US. They dont want to upset the UK and Israel. Its money before life. The workers in the world are brothers and sister. Ive been to America, the people are amazing, let the workers run the country not the leaders.

Sighegel said, Children are dying, people are losing their families, theres no food, no water. I went to my first protest in support of the Palestinians when I was 12. We want peace, we dont want to drive anyone out of the land. We all used to live together, we want Palestinians and Israelis together. But whats Israel doing now? Its taking all the land. Israel is funded by the US, theyre the biggest perpetrator.

Sighegel, Inaya, Farina

Leeds

Will, a student, said, Palestinians have faced oppression for years now. The Israeli government needs to stop the genocide, the ethnic cleansing and the bombing of all Palestinians because they have just the exact same right to be there as the Israelis.

Will (right) and friend Abbie

Abbie said, Its a genocide happening there and the media are just lying about it. The Israeli government has killed way more Palestinians than Israelis that have died. All these people are dying and we dont even know their names or their stories. Its just horrific to see. The government is trying to keep us quiet.

Vijahat said, I dont agree with what is happening to civilians in Gaza and how the media is portraying Israel as the victim. This has been happening for years and the only reason its in the news is because there has been a retaliation. The people have had enough in Gaza. And now its blown up.

No one should have to live like that. To have permission to be fed. To get permission to access water. Rishi Sunak and Joe Biden have visited Israel to show how sorry they are for them. Why have they not visited Gaza when they know this occupation has been going on for many years?

Its all to do with money. War crimes create money. The US military invested billions in the equipment the US used in Iraq and just left it behind. They dont care what happens afterwards because theyve used that country, and they just move onto the next one.

Saba, a student, said, Its not about Palestine anymore. Its about genocide. Its about mass killing. And thats unacceptable whoever it is, ever.

Saba

Everyone should know about everything in the history books on Palestine. In the media theyre only showing one side of the story. Its propaganda. This is not going to stop opposition because there is a lot of people against Israel. Even Jews themselves. You cant stop this many people.

Javaad said, The Gazans have gone through murder and torture for decades. For the last 15 years, the Israeli army have been killing children therejust for fun, torturing the children. I think 56 percent of the Palestinians in Gaza are under 21.

In the past few days, Channel 4 News uncovered a web of lies by the Israeli army about the bombing of the hospital. I think we can use social media for building awareness. The fact that Biden, Sunak and others are backing Israel is horrendous. Sunak and [Labour Party leader Sir Keir] Starmer as well, they just repeat that Israel has the right to defend itself. But what's the comparison? What have the Palestinians got to fight with? Israel is the most advanced army base in the Middle East, compared to the Palestinians who have nothing.

Our own people are suffering but they are sending money and arms to Israel and Ukraine. Why aren't they using that money to help people here? They have pumped billions of pounds into Ukraine and for what? They also use the wars as a distraction from what's really going on. Its good that on the demonstration today, there are working class people from all different backgrounds, white people and black people, all coming together. That's what its all about, we want more of this.

Protesters marching through Leeds city centre, October 21, 2023

Rubylyn said, They are closing the borders of Gaza and bombing the area and not allowing citizens to leave. In that case this is now genocide. I get most of my information from social media. On the news, they talk about Israel as if it is a war, it is not a war. The Palestinians dont have an army, it is just genocide. They keep on bombing Gaza. bombing civilians. Those people shouldnt have to suffer. It is nothing to do with the civilians.

They should let the people who want to leave the area, leave. I am really shocked about the people who are supporting Israel, a lot of celebrities, big companies like McDonalds, Starbucks. I think may be if the people decide they are not going to take it, things will change. We are stronger in numbers. With all the strikes taking place, I think in time we can do something about this.

Sheffield

A section of the demonstration marching through Sheffield city centre, October 21, 2023

Abdul, a student, said, When Russia invaded Ukraine many opposed that regime and Putin, but when Israel commits proven war crimes against civilians there is no support. The United States has vetoed a ceasefire resolution.

My best friend is half Palestinian and I see whats happening to them and that country. Its a disgrace for the world. I am from Egypt. Our borders are important for the situation in Palestine. Israel carpet-bombed the Gaza strip and the border. We are trying to support them, but we are unable to.

Abdul

To topple a government, you need to have the workers united for a cause. For now, were united to oppose the Israeli apartheid regime. Many major companies and fast-food restaurants like McDonalds support Israel and other oppressive regimes. We should boycott them. You cant support a company that props up ethnic cleansing and apartheid.

You cant turn a blind eye and just work nine-to-five. There should be a strike movement to blockade and prevent the shipment of weapons to Israel. Increased military spending means cuts to social spending here. Our taxes will support Israel indirectly, which I oppose.

Javid, a retired fire-fighter, said, I condemn all violence. I cant condemn the resistance of the Palestinians. I oppose the violent Israeli response to it. They blame all the violence on Hamas, but whos responsible for the uprising in the West Bank then?

Javid

The media has promoted the claim that Hamas is beheading babies. Its all a lie. Then Israel bombed a hospital. Are we going to believe them after their previous lies? Theyve been found out. Its a propaganda war.

Sunak didn't represent me when he visited Israel and declared UK backing for Israels war crimes. Hes a multi-millionaire and part of the ruling class. Working people always look to the Labour Party, but wheres Keir Starmer? Hes stopped any Labour politician coming to these protests.

A lot of Muslims had turned to the Labour Party. Jeremy Corbyn was the person that Id have voted for, but they kicked him out over claims of anti-Semitism. To claim that anyone who supports the Palestinians is anti-Semitic is disgusting. Labour is a capitalist party. Workers need to rely on their own strength.

Zain, a high school student, said, The protests show there is worldwide support and that every religion and nation is showing support, including Jews. Rishi Sunak went to Israel and talked about his support for Israel and their war, but no support at all for the Palestinians.

Zain

Starmer talks about crimes against the Jews, but innocent Palestinian children are being killed every day. You saw in the bombing of the hospital where hundreds died including many children, who were seeking refuge when their parents had been killed. The governments and media tried to blame Palestine, although there is proof that it was Israel who bombed the hospital.

The call by the Palestinian trade unions for support is a good thing. Anyone working in places where Israel is being sent weapons should tell their bosses they wont do it. All the funding that goes to Israel, to go to war should be stopped.

Malisa, a student from Singapore said, Palestine is an issue of human rights. It is not any more complicated than that. If you take a neutral position, you are standing with the oppressor.

Malisa

It is disappointing but not surprising that the US and Britain are backing Israel. Its all about who has the power and control. They are all complicit.

Anyone who does business in Israel is backing the oppressor. I think the call by the Palestinian trade unions for support against the Israeli war machine is correct. We should be supporting them. It is important to have an opposition rising up towards the government.

Hamza, a student, said, Palestine has the right to defend itself. It is good there are world-wide protests that have started and awareness is being raised. It is totally hypocritical the attitude towards Ukraine compared to Palestine. The Palestinians are terrorists they say. With Ukraine as soon as that war began they are presented as freedom fighters in the media.

Ahmed said, Not one government is supporting the victims of this violence. My hope is someone will stop this killing. The ordinary people of the whole world are protesting what is happening to the Palestinians.

Fabian, a consultant, originally from Spain, explained, The media is not telling us the truth about the conflict. They have obviously sided with the Israelis.

Fabian

We are trying to demonstrate the injustice of the situation and to side with the most vulnerable. We want this war to end. For these attacks to end. From both sides. But one of the parties is clearly stronger than the other and backed by the most powerful nation in the world. These people are facing catastrophe and death every single day.

Israel has become the oppressor also of the Jewish people. Clearly there is now ethnic cleansing taking place in Gaza. It is all part of geo-political strategy. The US wants to have a strong foot in the Middle East so Israel has received, if I am not wrong, $270 billion in 75 years only for military purposes. That demonstrates clearly what the issue is about. You can see the pattern all over the world, where the powerful are imposing their rule.

Jane, a council worker, said, Its appalling that our government is supporting the Israeli government, which is openly racist and carrying on a genocide against the Palestinian people.

Jane

These large protests around the world show that people still have sense, understand the situation, and know whos at fault in this war. I dont have anything against the Israeli people but clearly their government is racist and conducts war and genocide.

Its a very good idea to unite workers in Palestine and Israel. For the first time in many years there is an opposition within Israel to their governments reaction to the terrorist attacks. We should build bridges with people within that country and those outside who support the recognition of a Palestine state. There should be negotiation, not war.
(Bloomberg) -- Venezuelans voted on Sunday to pick the opposition candidate wholl try to end a quarter century of socialist rule in 2024 elections.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Former lawmaker Maria Corina Machado is the clear favorite among the ten candidates, even though shes banned from holding public office.

Large crowds overwhelmed voting centers across Caracas during an independently organized primary in which voters struggled to identify their polling centers. Despite efforts to publicize the vote, President Nicolas Maduros government had blocked a website that informs citizens where to cast their ballot.

I want my grandchildren to have a future and not have to leave the country, Nestor Gomez, a 63-year-old handyman, said outside his voting center near the main square of notorious Caracas slum Petare. This is our say to change the current situation.

Residents in a middle class part of the capital brought their own tables and chairs to set up nine polling stations on the sidewalk, where thousands have been lining up to vote since early morning, said local coordinator Mirna Azancote.

Near the end of an approximately three-hour-long line, 20-year-old Luis Moya waited to vote for the first time.

This government wants young people not to take politics seriously. I have friends who arent even registered to vote because they think: for what? But this is the only right we have left, Moya said.

The primary is being held days after Maduro signed an agreement for fairer conditions in next years vote in return for an easing of US economic sanctions.

Whoever wins is expected to face Maduro, 60, when he runs for a third six-year term next year, and could also be a new unifying force for the fragmented opposition.

Story continues

Heres what to expect:

Machados Leadership

Machado, 56, who describes herself as a centrist, is the frontrunner. One recent poll found she had 87% of voting intention among those with a high probability of casting their ballots.

Still, she faces serious obstacles to becoming president. Maduros government prohibits her from leaving the country and, in June, ruled that shes ineligible to hold public office. Machado says the disqualification is meaningless and hopes that a victory this weekend will force Maduro to lift the ban.

Read More: Venezuela Opposition Leader Machado Barred From Elections

Machado wants to revive Venezuelas battered economy through market-friendly policies and widespread privatization, including of the key oil sector. She would also seek to roll Venezuelas massive debt pile into a single bond.

None of the other candidates is anywhere close, according to local pollster Delphos. Democratic Action party candidate, Carlos Prosperi, also a former lawmaker, is in second place with 2.1% support among those with a high probability of casting their ballots, according to Delphos.

Today we honor Venezuelans abroad, persecuted, expelled from the country, others in prison and even dead, Machado said before casting her vote. Today is just one step, our duty isnt accomplished yet.

Maduro Ally

The opposition decided to fund and run the primaries on its own once the government announced changes inside the electoral body. These included naming Elvis Amoroso, a close Maduro ally, as the bodys president. Amoroso was responsible for barring key opposition leaders from running, including Machado.

The decision to organize the primaries independently has raised doubts about the process and its results. The vote will not use machines or traditional voting centers, relying instead on paper ballots and unfamiliar spaces for voters, ranging from town squares, to parking lots and private homes volunteered by Venezuelans.

The organizers stuck to their decision after rejecting a late offer of support by the electoral authority this month, for fear of political interference. They say they have secured more than 3,000 spaces with approximately 5,000 voting tables. The committee says it has trained tens of thousands of volunteers.

Low Turnout

Recent surveys estimate as few as 1.5 million people will vote on Sunday, nearly half the number who participated in the 2012 opposition primaries after the government blocked the website on voting centers.

Relying on public spaces might also discourage voters in poorer neighborhoods where government supporters use their control of food and financial subsidies to reward loyalists and punish opponents.

Voting centers will be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., or until there are no more voters in line. A group of national organizations will be observing the process. Partial results will be published on Sunday evening, according to the organizing committee.

Negotiations

This week, the government and a coalition of opposition groups restarted talks intended to ensure a more competitive presidential race next year.

As a goodwill gesture, the US Treasury issued a six-month license authorizing transactions involving Venezuelan oil and gas. It also lifted a ban on secondary trading of some Venezuelan sovereign bonds and debt and equity issued by the state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA.

Read more: Defaulted Venezuelan Bonds Soar After US Lifts Trading Ban

Theres still a question over whether Maduro will accede to demands for deep electoral reforms that would allow the opposition to compete fairly, Teneo analyst Nicholas Watson wrote in a note. He may be reluctant to do this at a time when the economy is weak, he himself is unpopular, and Machado is galvanizing support, Watson said.

Read More: Venezuelas Government Resumes Talks With Maduros Opposition

--With assistance from Fabiola Zerpa and Nicolle Yapur.

(Updates with details from Sundays vote starting on the third paragraph.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Nene Leakes oldest son, Bryson Bryant, reportedly has been released from jail after being caught with Fentanyl. Now it appears as if the young adult has received a helping hand from someone who knows that life all too well.

According to reports, former NBA player Lamar Odom reached out to the 33-year-old in an attempt to offer him treatment at one of his rehab facilities.

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Per RadarOnline, Odom is good friends with The Real Housewives of Atlanta alum and extended help her sons way. The pair starred in BETs College Hill reality series together in 2022. The outlet suggested Leakes has not yet gotten back to the basketball player, who supposedly believes that a recovery clinic would benefit Bryant positively.

Cameras were rolling as Dreamdoll, India Love, Big Freeda, Ray J, Nene Leakes, and Lamar Odom are filming a College Hill reboot. pic.twitter.com/5XKaoKKU1l  jay (@JaysRealityBlog) March 5, 2022

Odom knows firsthand what its like to struggle with substance abuse, as he is a recovering addict. The two-time NBA champion previously has spoken out about his use of hard drugs such as cocaine. In 2015, he had a near-fatal overdose after mixing cocaine, cognac and cannabis at a Nevada brothel.

During his intense hospital visit, Odom suffered 12 seizures and six strokes, with his heart stopping twice. He was able to make a full recovery and has become an activist for folks who struggle with sobriety.

Lamar Odom extends a helping hand to Nene Leakes after her son is released from jail. (L) Lamar Odom (Pictured: @lamarodom/Instagram) (R) Nene Leakes (Pictured: @neneleakes/Instagram)

Earlier this year, Odom launched the Odom Wellness Treatment Center, which is partnered with Vanity Wellness Center. The treatment center acts as a safe haven for those who are recovering addicts and need a place to stay.

As previously reported, Bryant was arrested back in July and charged with fentanyl possession while he was in Gwinnett County, Georgia. When officers arrived on the scene, they claimed to have found a small plastic page that contained a white powdery substance lying on the center console of his car. That substance reportedly later tested as fentanyl.

During the arrest, Bryant reportedly used his younger brother, Brentt Leakes, name and was later charged with giving a false name.

Weeks after the Bryant Leakes arrest, Leakes gave an update on his health while speaking to Carlos King on his podcast.

Hes doing okay, the reality star said. He needs rehabilitation. He needs a lot of counseling. Like many families out there, I have family members that are struggling with drugs and certain addictions.

Leakes then confirmed, He has an addiction. Hes been struggling with it for years. Hes been in rehab for a couple times, and he still has come back out and relapsed.

Never miss a story  sign up for ATLANTA BLACK STARS free daily newsletters to stay up-to-date on the latest developments from top news headlines to celebrity news.

The 55-year-old noted that while she will never wash her hands of Bryant, he has to be the one whos ready to become clean.

Bryant was previously arrested in 2010, once for controlled substance abuse and possession of a deadly weapon and then another for marijuana drug possession. He was then arrested again in 2011 reportedly for stealing razors from Walmart.
Devo has been nominated three times for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, but maybe thats only a technicality.

The influential Akron bands formation and early success are presented in The Beginning Was the End: Devo in Ohio by former Beacon Journal columnist David Giffels and Jade Dellinger, a Florida art museum director.

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Devo was a pioneering band of performance art. Audiences were repelled by the group, and Devos response was to heap on more revulsion. Most audience members walked out on Devo in 1975 at a Halloween party hosted by WMMS.

The big break came in 1976, and the time was right. Akron was beginning to be a center of punk and alternative music, with bands like Pere Ubu and the Dead Boys following in Devos wake.

Akron also was a dismal place, barely hanging on through a United Rubber Workers strike and foreign companies moving in on the tire industry.

The bands short video The Truth About De-Evolution, filmed in Akron, Kent and Cuyahoga Falls, was a forerunner to MTVs programming and won a prize at the Ann Arbor Film Festival. When the band screened it before their shows, it became an early example of multimedia.

One of the band members and his girlfriend took the video to an Iggy Pop show at the Cleveland Agora, and he and David Bowie eventually became champions of the band.

That story might not be true, though. The authors acknowledge that some stories are contradictory, leading to friction and litigation. It does include more than 80 new photos and new interviews, including with Iggy Pop.

The book is an expansion and update on Giffels and Dellingers out-of-print Are We Not Men? We Are Devo! In an email, Giffels said it is edited with a sharper focus on the Ohio years  their decade-long gestation as a sprawling multimedia conceptual project before emerging as a conventional rock band.

The Beginning Was the End provides that sharper focus, and captures the pain and pride of Akron in hard-luck years.

The Beginning Was the End (285 pages, softcover) costs $35.95 from University of Akron Press.

Giffels is a professor of English at the University of Akron. His other books include The Hard Way on Purpose: Essays and Dispatches from the Rust Belt.

Dellinger and Giffels will join the Main Event: Many Voices series to talk about The Beginning Was the End with moderator Bob Ethington from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Monday at Akron-Summit County Public Library, 60 S. High St., and with moderator Jason Prufer from 3 to 5 p.m. Tuesday at the Kent State University May 4 Visitors Center, 300 Midway Drive.

Giffels will discuss the book from 7 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Beachwood branch of Cuyahoga County Public Library, 25501 Shaker Blvd. (register at cuyahogalibrary.org), and from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at Learned Owl Book Shop, 204 N. Main St., Hudson.

Events

Cuyahoga Falls Pavilion & Amphitheater (100 Broad Blvd.): Mark Dawidziak signs A Mystery of Mysteries: The Death of Edgar Allan Poe and, with Sara Showman, presents poems and stories written by Poe, 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday as part of the Cuyahoga Falls Historical Societys Nightmare on Front Street.

Akron-Summit County Public Library (Green branch, 4046 Massillon Road): University of Akron history professor Kevin Kern, co-author (with Gregory S. Wilson) of Ohio: A History of the Buckeye State, will talk about Indigenous Peoples History in Ohio, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Monday.

Hudson Library & Historical Society (96 Library St.): Former Illinois congressman Adam Kinzinger talks about Renegade: Defending Democracy and Liberty in Our Divided Country, 6:30 p.m. Monday. At 7 p.m. Thursday, cookbook author Nik Sharma talks about VegeTable: Recipes, Techniques, and Plant Science for Big-Flavored, Vegetable-Centered Meals in a virtual event at 7 p.m. Monday. Register at hudsonlibrary.org.

Wadsworth Public Library (132 Broad St.): Doug Waller talks about Standing in the Shadows: Bigfoot Stories from Southeastern Ohio, 7 to 8 p.m. Monday.

Cuyahoga County Public Library (Mayfield branch, 500 SOM Center Road, Mayfield Village): Josh Womack discusses You Are Not That Funny: Stories from Cleveland Stand-Up, 7 to 8 p.m. Monday. Register at cuyahogalibrary.org.

Akron-Summit County Public Library (Fairlawn-Bath branch, 3101 Smith Road, Fairlawn): Jane Turzillo talks about her true-crime books, including Ohio Heists: Historic Bank Holdups, Train Robberies, Jewel Stings and More, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Cuyahoga County Public Library (Olmsted Falls branch, 8100 Mapleway Drive): Katherine Kerestman, 7 to 8 p.m. Tuesday. Register at cuyahogalibrary.org.

Lakewood Public Library (15425 Detroit Ave.): Scott Simon discusses Scare Your Soul: 7 Powerful Principles to Harness Fear and Lead Your Most Courageous Life, 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Macs Backs (1820 Coventry Road, Cleveland Heights): Stephen Conn talks about Lies of the Land: Seeing Rural America for What It Is with Steven Conn, author of Believing in Cleveland: Managing Decline in the Best Location in the Nation, 7 to 8 p.m. Wednesday.

Akron-Summit County Public Library (60 S. High St.): Raina Telgemeier joins the Young Author Spotlight series to talk to students in Grades 3-5 about her graphic memoir Smile, 10 to 11 a.m. Thursday. Register at akronlibrary.org.

Akron-Summit County Public Library (North Hill branch, 183 E. Cuyahoga Falls Ave., Akron): Nar Pradhan joins the Here is Home author series with The Himalayan, about his journey from Bhutan to the United States, 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday. Register at akronlibrary.org.

Black Cat Books (420 S. Court St., Medina): Mark Dawidziak signs A Mystery of Mysteries: The Death of Edgar Allan Poe and, with Sara Showman, presents poems and stories written by Poe, 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday. Register at blackcatmedina.com.

Wayne Center for the Arts (237 S. Walnut St., Wooster): James A. Willis presents Ohios Historic Haunts: Investigating the Paranormal in the Buckeye State, 6 to 7:45 p.m. Thursday. Register at wcpl.info.

Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library: John Irving, author of A Prayer for Owen Meany and The Cider House Rules, joins the Online Author Talk series in a virtual event from 7 to 8 p.m. Thursday. Register at smfpl.org.

Cuyahoga County Public Library (Maple Heights branch, 5225 Library Lane): Kathy Schulz signs The Underground Railroad in Ohio, 7 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday. Register at cuyahogalibrary.org.

Cleveland Public Library: Hank Phillipi Ryan talks about her suspense novel The House Guest in a Facebook Live and YouTube event, 7 p.m. Thursday. Register at cpl.org.

Music Box Supper Club (1148 Main Ave., Cleveland): Charles Cassady Jr. (Cleveland Ghosts) and William G. Krejci (Ghosts and Legends of Northern Ohio) join the Cleveland Stories Dinner Parties series at 7 p.m. Thursday. Dinner is $25; the lecture is free. Go to musicboxcle.com.

Stark County Public Library (715 Market Ave. N., Canton): Kathy Schulz talks about The Underground Railroad in Ohio, 3 to 4 p.m. Friday. Register at starklibrary.org.

Visible Voice Books (2258 Professor Ave., Cleveland): Matt Hribar talks about Chastity Shawl & Other Stories, 7 p.m. Friday.

Morley Library (184 Phelps St., Painesville): Former Beacon Journal writer Thrity Umrigar talks about The Museum of Failures, 11:30 a.m. Saturday. Registration required; go to morleylibrary.org.

Fireside Book Shop (29 N. Franklin St., Chagrin Falls): John Bernatovicz signs HR Like a Boss, 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday.

Cuyahoga County Public Library (South Euclid-Lyndhurst branch, 1876 S. Green Road, South Euclid): Contributors to the Poems for Cleveland anthology read from their work, 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday. Register at cuyahogalibrary.org.

Email information about books of local interest, and event notices at least two weeks in advance to BeaconBookTalk@gmail.com and bjnews@thebeaconjournal.com. McIntyre tweets at @BarbaraMcI.

Book Talk: Learn the stories behind 100 holiday hits

Book Talk: Akron womans marriage to Thomas Edison was a dim time

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: The Beginning Was the End tells Devos story | Book Talk
Taryn Manning, Britney Spears, Anson Mount, and Zoe Saldana posed together. Steve Granitz/ SGranitz/WireImage

"Crossroads" premiered at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California on February 11, 2002.

Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears made one of their final appearances as a couple at the event.

Nick Cannon attended, and so did tween Brie Larson .

In honor of Britney Spears' upcoming memoir, her debut film "Crossroads" is returning to theaters.

Insider dove into the photo archives to take a look back at the stars who came out for the 2002 release of the movie. Here are the best photos from the event.

Britney Spears was pretty in a casual pink outfit, perhaps inspired by her "Crossroads" character Lucy.

Spears played an aspiring singer in the film, which was written by Shonda Rhimes. Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

Spears' then-boyfriend, *NSYNC member Justin Timberlake, was by her side.

Spears and Timberlake hit the carpet together at the premiere of' "Crossroads." Kevin Winter/Getty Images

The pair were in a playful mood on the night that would mark one of their last public appearances together.

The 2002 event happened near the end of their relationship. Jeff Kravitz

Of course, Spears' co-stars Taryn Manning, Anson Mount, and Zoe Saldana were in attendance too.

Taryn Manning, Britney Spears, Anson Mount, and Zoe Saldana posed together. Steve Granitz/ SGranitz/WireImage

Manning played Lucy's pregnant friend, Mimi, while Mount played Lucy's love interest, Ben.

Taryn Manning, Britney Spears, and Anson Mount posed together on the red carpet. Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

Saldana played Lucy and Mimi's childhood friend, Kit.

Zoe Saldana gives cameras a wave at the "Crossroads" premiere. Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

The leading ladies posed with other attendees, like the film's director Tamra Davis.

Tamra Davis and Taryn Manning at the premiere of "Crossroads" in Los Angeles. Kevin Winter/Getty Images

It also won't surprise Spears fans that Sabrina the Teenage Witch herself, Melissa Joan Hart, made an appearance to support Spears. The two had worked together before.

Melissa Joan Hart in an extremely 2000s shirt at the "Crossroads" premiere. Steve Granitz/WireImage

Hilary Duff, then only 14 years old, showed up looking like a shining star fresh off of "Lizzie McGuire" fame.

Hilary Duff in lots of denim at the "Crossroads" premiere. Steve Granitz/WireImage)

Tracee Ellis Ross' hit sitcom "Girlfriends" was in its prime in 2002.

Tracee Ellis Ross at the "Crossroads" premiere in LA. Steve Granitz/WireImage

At the time she stepped onto the carpet for the "Crossroads" premiere, Christina Milian had a hit song on the radio with "AM to PM."

Christina Milian at the "Crossroads" premiere in Los Angeles. Steve Granitz/WireImage

Nick Cannon made an appearance too, years before he welcomed the first of his 12 kids.

Nick Cannon at the "Crossroads" premiere. Steve Granitz/WireImage

It turns out designer Roberto Cavalli was down for a chick flick in 2002.

Roberto Cavalli during "Crossroads'" Hollywood Premiere at Grauman's Chinese Theatre. Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

So was Angelina Jolie's dad, Jon Voight.

Jon Voight at the "Crossroads" premiere. Steve Granitz/WireImage.

Heather Matarazzo, fresh off of 2001's "The Princess Diaries," flashed a big smile on the red carpet.

Heather Matarazzo during "Crossroads" Hollywood Premiere at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. Steve Granitz/WireImage

Here's a young Mae Whitman, then starring on the ABC Family comedy-drama "State of Grace," a year before her breakout role in "Arrested Development."

Mae Whitman at the "Crrossroads" premiere. Steve Granitz/WireImage

And here's baby-faced 12-year-old Brie Larson, years before she'd become Captain Marvel.

Brie Larson at the "Crossroads" premiere. Steve Granitz/WireImage

We'll leave you with a final look at Spears basking in her leading lady glory, not long after she doodled Timberlake's name in hearts on her "Crossroads" set notebook.

Timberlake and Spears coupled up in 2002. Gregg DeGuire/WireImage

Read the original article on Insider
Dave Chappelle verbally sparred with at least one audience member over comments the comedian made about the Israeli-Hamas conflict while performing in Boston this week, according to multiple, somewhat contradictory accounts of the show first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

According to the paper, Chappelle condemned the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas before labeling the ongoing military aggression against Gaza a war crime. As one audience member put it, it was like witnessing a verbal hurricane.

People who say they were in the audience have also chimed in on Reddit. One person described attending the show as an absolute mind-blowing experience and noted that the comedian didnt shy away from expressing his thoughts, acknowledging that violence from either side was just plain wrong.

At some point, accounts agree that another audience member yelled, Shut the f up at Chappelle, which changed the dynamic. They added, He tore into the person who shouted out and didnt hold back on his thoughts about Israel. He said things that others might consider controversial, but thats what made it all the more powerful. He compared the silence around discussing Israel to the inability to speak freely about transgender issues. It was a gut-punch of truth and honesty.

Further up in the conversation, a second audience member clarified that the person who yelled might not have been directing their aggression at Chappelle at all. The Redditor clarified that his friend was the person who yelled, but that he was yelling at fellow audience members.

From what he told me the girls had been a distraction for quite some time. Apparently they left and at the point he yelled at them had returned and were being a problem again. The girls were loud and annoying to the point that he couldnt hear what Dave was talking about , he said they were fighting. He was so fed up with them that he yelled at them to STFU, they said.

According to the second person, Chappelle mistakenly thought that he was being yelled at. After discussing the matter with security, the man who yelled said he and his wife were allowed to remain at the show.

The Wall Street Journal reported, An audience members command for the comedian to shut up drew an emotional response from Chappelle, who criticized the Israeli government for cutting off water and other essentials to Gaza and accused it of killing innocent people, according to the attendees.

The accounts of two people who claimed to have been at the show are similar to those shared by the Journals reporter Sabrina Siddiqui, who did not attend the show herself.

She wrote, Heres how it went down, per attendees: Chappelle condemned the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, but said it was wrong for students to lose job offers over their support for Palestine.

Here's how it went down, per attendees: Chappelle condemned the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, but said it was wrong for students to lose job offers over their support for Palestine.  Sabrina Siddiqui (@SabrinaSiddiqui) October 20, 2023

Siddiqui added, This prompted an audience member to shout, Shut the f up, Dave! That is what triggered more of a reaction from Chappelle, according to attendees. He said the Hamas attacks were not an excuse to cut off water, electricity etc. or commit war crimes.

This prompted an audience member to shout, "Shut the fuck up, Dave!"



That is what triggered more of a reaction from Chappelle, according to attendees. He said the Hamas attacks were not an excuse to cut off water, electricity etc. or commit war crimes.  Sabrina Siddiqui (@SabrinaSiddiqui) October 20, 2023

She continued, Some people in the audience cheered and shouted Free Palestine! while others yelled What about Hamas? A couple attendees say Dave also said Free Palestine, but others in the crowd say they did not hear him say that.

Some people in the audience cheered and shouted "Free Palestine!" while others yelled "What about Hamas?"



A couple attendees say Dave also said "Free Palestine," but others in the crowd say they did not hear him say that.  Sabrina Siddiqui (@SabrinaSiddiqui) October 20, 2023

The Wall Street Journal also reported that Some in the crowd got up and left the show. Like many comedians, Chappelle requires that phones are locked away during his performances.

A spokesperson for Chappelle told the Wall Street Journal that he denies being in Boston last night.

The post Dave Chappelle Spars With Audience After Comments About Israel and Palestine at Boston Show appeared first on TheWrap.
Elon Musk made a bold donation offer to Wikipedia, on one condition.

The Tesla CEO and owner of X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, took to his social media account to offer the online encylcopedia a generous donation if they're willing to rename their site.

"I will give them a billion dollars if they change their name to Dickipedia," wrote Musk. "Please add that to the [cow and poop emojis] on my wiki page," he continued. "In the interests of accuracy."

@elonmusk / X

@elonmusk / X

Journalist Ed Krassenstein later chimed in to encourage the organization to make the switch. "Do it! You can always change it back after you collect," wrote Krassenstein. "One year minimum. I mean, I'm not a fool lol," responded Musk.

@elonmusk / X

Musk's "offer" stems from an earlier tweet where he criticized the Wikimedia Foundation for wanting so much money. "It certainly isn't needed to operate Wikipedia. You can literally fit a copy of the entire text on your phone!" tweeted Musk. "So, what's the money for? Inquiring minds want to know ... "

He didn't have to wait very long for an explanation, courtesy of the app's very own Community Notes citing that the free information organization handles "over 25B page views per month and over 44M page edits a month, requiring substantial operating costs." The notes also provided additional context that the Wikimedia Foundation employs third party financial auditors whose reports are made available to the public.

It's not the first time Musk and Wikipedia have butted heads. In May, Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales criticized Musk for his decision to restrict certain content on X in the lead-up to Turkey's presidential election, according to reporting by Business Insider. The publication also reports that the social media platform had reportedly become more compliant with government requests for censorship and surveillance under Musk's leadership.

In 2018, Musk tweeted his intentions to create a website named Pravda where the general public could rate the "core truth" of any article and "track the credibility score" of journalists, editors, and their publications.

More on this
Two men were injured after exchanging gunfire Saturday night at a Walgreens in Old Town, according to Chicago police.

Police said a 26-year-old man was working at a Walgreens store in the 1600 block of North Wells Street when a man in his late 20s entered the store at about 11:55 p.m. The two got into a fight and both pulled out handguns, exchanging gunfire, police said.

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Police said the employee sustained a graze wound to his chest and refused medical attention at the scene. The other man was shot in the chest, head and abdomen, and transported himself to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in critical condition.

A Walgreens representative said in a statement that company officials take this matter seriously and are cooperating with police.

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The safety of our patients, customers and team members is our top priority, the statement said.

Police said they are investigating.

rjohnson@chicagotribune.com
Haverty Furniture Companies, Inc. (NYSE:HVT), might not be a large cap stock, but it received a lot of attention from a substantial price movement on the NYSE over the last few months, increasing to US$35.60 at one point, and dropping to the lows of US$27.52. Some share price movements can give investors a better opportunity to enter into the stock, and potentially buy at a lower price. A question to answer is whether Haverty Furniture Companies' current trading price of US$28.45 reflective of the actual value of the small-cap? Or is it currently undervalued, providing us with the opportunity to buy? Lets take a look at Haverty Furniture Companiess outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if there are any catalysts for a price change.

See our latest analysis for Haverty Furniture Companies

What's The Opportunity In Haverty Furniture Companies?

Great news for investors  Haverty Furniture Companies is still trading at a fairly cheap price according to my price multiple model, where I compare the company's price-to-earnings ratio to the industry average. In this instance, Ive used the price-to-earnings (PE) ratio given that there is not enough information to reliably forecast the stocks cash flows. I find that Haverty Furniture Companiess ratio of 6.43x is below its peer average of 12.52x, which indicates the stock is trading at a lower price compared to the Specialty Retail industry. However, given that Haverty Furniture Companiess share is fairly volatile (i.e. its price movements are magnified relative to the rest of the market) this could mean the price can sink lower, giving us another chance to buy in the future. This is based on its high beta, which is a good indicator for share price volatility.

What does the future of Haverty Furniture Companies look like?

Future outlook is an important aspect when youre looking at buying a stock, especially if you are an investor looking for growth in your portfolio. Buying a great company with a robust outlook at a cheap price is always a good investment, so lets also take a look at the company's future expectations. Though in the case of Haverty Furniture Companies, it is expected to deliver a negative earnings growth of -17%, which doesnt help build up its investment thesis. It appears that risk of future uncertainty is high, at least in the near term.

Story continues

What This Means For You

Are you a shareholder? Although HVT is currently trading below the industry PE ratio, the negative profit outlook does bring on some uncertainty, which equates to higher risk. Consider whether you want to increase your portfolio exposure to HVT, or whether diversifying into another stock may be a better move for your total risk and return.

Are you a potential investor? If youve been keeping an eye on HVT for a while, but hesitant on making the leap, I recommend you dig deeper into the stock. Given its current price multiple, now is a great time to make a decision. But keep in mind the risks that come with negative growth prospects in the future.

So if you'd like to dive deeper into this stock, it's crucial to consider any risks it's facing. When we did our research, we found 4 warning signs for Haverty Furniture Companies (2 are a bit concerning!) that we believe deserve your full attention.

If you are no longer interested in Haverty Furniture Companies, you can use our free platform to see our list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential.

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.
In Ginos Italy: Secrets Of The South popular TV chef Gino DAcampo returns to his beloved home country on another food Odyssey, this time exploring the secret recipes of the little-known regions of Italys far south.

"Im back in stunning Italy discovering amazing food and the rustic traditions of Puglia and Basilicata," says Gino, 47. "Im on a mission to discover the ancient recipes and ingredients that these sometimes forgotten regions have to offer."

The six-part ITV1 series sees Gino travel from the fortress port of Gallipoli to remote mountainous region of Pollino, tasting some well-kept food secrets and learning to cook some traditional culinary delights. He kicks off in the UNESCO Heritage city of Matera, famous for its cave dwellings and the best bread in Italy!

"I met an incredible 86-year-old grandmother in Matera," says Gino. "She was great  cooking with grandmothers is the thing I love to do the most. You hear all these stories, and it shows the passion that they have for cooking, which you dont see every day!"

So heres everything you need to know about Ginos Italy: Secrets Of The South on ITV1

Gino's James Bond car

Ginos Italy: Secrets Of The South release date

Ginos Italy: Secrets of the South is a six-part series that starts on ITV1 on Sunday, October 22 at 7.30pm. Episodes will also be available on ITVX. We'll update with any international air dates where we can.

Is there a trailer for Ginos Italy: Secrets Of The South?

There's no trailer for Ginos Italy: Secrets Of The South. But the series is a lot of fun so do make sure you tune in.

What happens in Ginos Italy: Secrets Of The South?

Ginos Italy: Secrets Of The South sees Gino on a foodie tour of Italy, as he explores the secrets of Puglia and Basilicata, regions that are full of rugged mountains, ancient cave cities, beaches and clear turquoise waters.

Theyre also a melting pot of history and culture, with much of the culinary fare influenced by former occupiers, ranging from the Ancient Greeks to the Byzantines and Spanish!

Gino discovers the secrets of Puglia and Basilicata.

Ginos Italy: Secrets Of The South episode guide, destinations and recipes

Where Gino is heading...

Here's our complete episode guide for Ginos Italy: Secrets Of The South...

Episode 1: Matera

Gino arrives in a tuxedo and Fiat 500 in Matera, a city known for the high-speed chase sequence in James Bonds No Time To Die. He starts by sampling his fathers favourite tipple, a herbal liqueur called Amaro Lucano, before learning how to knead the dough with a master baker to make Materas famous bread. Next, he meets an 86-year-old grandmother, who teaches him how to make the fried lampascioni balls made from hyacinth bulbs. He finishes his journey at a local farm, where he cooks up beef in breadcrumbs in an old pizza oven.

Ginos Italy: Secrets Of The South on ITV1 sees Gino D'Acampo on a fun gastronomic tour.

Episode 2: Gallipoli

Gino travels to the fortress port of Gallipoli, famous for its raw fish. Originally founded by the Greeks, the name Gallipoli means beautiful city in Greek and its now considered the melting pot of Puglia. Gino meets Laura, a hand diver who makes her living fishing for sea creatures, before sampling the unusual purple-headed prawn at the local fish market. He ends up by cooking tiella, the Italian answer to paella, made with mussels, rice and potatoes.

Episode 3: Bari

The chef tours Bari, the capital of Puglia, by rickshaw. Stopping off in a rustic square in the old town, Gino meets a great-grandmother who teaches him an ancient way of making a semolina orecchiette pasta, before he samples a street dish made with polenta. For his grand finale we find Gino on a rooftop where he prepares a dish unique to Bari, spaghetti all'assassina  a spicy spaghetti dish cooked like a risotto.

Episode 4: Cisternino

Gino travels through Puglias meat country, taking in the town of Cisternino and the Itria valley, which is dotted with ancient cone-shaped homes called trulli. Along the way hes shown the secret of capocollo, a tasty cured meat unique to the area, before discovering some unusual products made from olive trees, including beer. Then its time for a barbecue, as Gino cooks a local favourite called bombette, the regions tasty answer to pigs in blankets!

Episode 5: Salento

Gino takes a Vespa to Salento. Along the way he meets an Italian free-diving champion who still fishes with a spear underwater like the Ancient Greeks. He also learns about the secrets of organic farming in Salentos rich soil where giant onions grow alongside strawberries and potatoes. On the edge of the stunning Ionian Sea, Gino cooks his freshly caught pan-fried sea bass with a new potato salad.

Episode 6: Pollino

The chef heads back to the Basilicata region, this time on horseback, to explore the hilly and remote area of Pollino, home to the largest national park in Italy. Its also where Albanian refugees settled 500 years ago, fleeing their Ottoman oppressors. At the hill village of San Paolo Albanes, Ginos introduced to cruschi, dried sweet red peppers, which only grow in this region. He learns to make Albanian-style pasta and searches for wild herbs that grow in the park. To top off his adventure, Gino cooks his mother's favourite  pasta with chickpeas, adding a tasty wild pesto and sweet cruschi peppers.

Gino travels through a treasured region of Italy over six episodes.

Interview: Gino DAcampo reveals all about his series Ginos Italy: Secrets Of The South

What can viewers expect from your new series Ginos Italy: Secrets Of The South?

Gino says: I think the title says everything you need to know. In terms of recipes and places, Im going to show you things youve never seen before. This is one of the main reasons I decided to film in Puglia and Basilicata, because they are lesser known, and you need to know about them because theyre incredible!

So whats so special about Puglia and Basilicata?

Gino reveals: "Puglia is a region that has become more known in the past five or six years, but Basilicata is a real secret of the southern region of Italy. Its incredible because it has the most amazing old cities. Its not the usual Italy - these are secret places that only Italians know about!

Whats the secret of the incredible food in Puglia and Basilicata?

Gino says: Because its close to the sea, the soil is very rich in minerals, so the ingredients grown there are very unique as far as flavour is concerned. Puglia is also the region where Italy produces the most olive oil!

You learn some traditional dishes during the series. What did you find the most difficult to master?

Gino says: Making the orecchiette pasta was very hard. I thought, if these ladies can do it in the middle of the road just with a table and a little chair, and without any kitchen set up, then it should be easy for me. But it wasnt. Its a unique technique that some of them have been mastering for 50 or 60 years. It would be impossible for any chef, no matter how good, to be able to compete with those ladies. They were insanely good at making orecchiette!

Did you discover any new ingredients that you haven't used before?

Gino explains: Yes, I discovered quite a few new ingredients. For example, when I was in Matera, there was an onion called lampascioni, which I did a recipe with. Its like a shallot onion, Ive never seen that before. I also discovered the crusco pepper when I was in Pollino and cucumarazzi in Bari, which is like a mix of a cucumber and a melon. We also went to an olive grove where they produce extra virgin olive oil, but thats not the only thing they make with the olives, they also make soaps and beer. I tried the olive oil beer and it was excellent!

We see you get stuck in with things like spearfishing and horse riding. What was that like?

Gino says: "Im not a very active guy, as a lot of people know! But I really enjoyed these activities because there were reasons behind them. I enjoyed the fishing because I wanted to catch a fish to cook, and I went horse riding because I met a lady who showed me around this amazing place in the mountains where they grow herbs and the only way to do it was on horseback - otherwise I would have had to walk for ages!

In the series you often refer to your late mothers cooking. Is she still your greatest influence?

Gino says: My mum was a good cook. She wasnt the greatest cook in the world, but she had this mentality that I loved  two or three ingredients and you can create a great Italian dish. She always reminded me that Italian food should be kept simple. She used to say to me, waste more time when you buy ingredients and waste less time when you are in the kitchen. Its true. The more time spent on the ingredients, the less time youll spend in the kitchen.

If someone has never visited southern Italy before, where would you recommend?

In Gino's opinion: The answer to that is everywhere Ive been in the series! When I do Ginos Italy, I take a lot of time to research because I always want to show viewers the best, I want to show them something special. So if Ive been there, you should go there, its as simple as that!
If you are curious about where to watch and stream Heartland Docs, DVM Season 5 Episode 4 online, then your search ends right here. Directed by Jay Baker, this television series centers on Ben and Erin Schroeder as they take care of the animals in Nebraska. In the upcoming episode, viewers will witness Schroeders son, Charlie, moving out of home and heading to college.

Heres where you will be able to watch Heartland Docs, DVM Season 5 Episode 4 online.

Is Heartland Docs, DVM Season 5 Episode 4 streaming online?

Yes, you will be able to watch and stream Heartland Docs, DVM Season 5 Episode 4 on Disney Plus. You can also watch the previous seasons on the same streaming service.

You will be able to watch the episode below:

Watch Heartland Docs, DVM Season 5 Episode 4 Right Here

Season 5 premiered on October 7, 2023, and consists of 12 episodes. This television series features Ben Schroeder, Erin Schroeder, and Van Sovereign. Matt Carter has executive produced this television series along with Ron Cornwall, Nancy Glass, Jon Hirsch, Breanna Hoepner-Cowe, and Kenny Kohler.

How to watch Heartland Docs, DVM Season 5 Episode 4 and stream online

As Heartland Docs, DVM Season 5 is available to watch via Disney Plus, you will be able to watch its episodes by signing up.

The subscription plans offered by Disney Plus are as follows:

Disney Plus ad-supported plan  $7.99 a month

Disney Plus ad-free plan  $10.99 a month

Disney Plus duo basic plan  $9.99 a month

Disney Plus trio basic plan  $12.99 a month

Disney Plus trio premium plan  $19.99 a month

Users can simply visit the Disney Plus website to sign up and start streaming their favorite television shows and titles.

The official synopsis for Heartland Docs, DVM reads:

In picturesque rural Nebraska, the husband and wife veterinary team of Drs. Ben and Erin Schroeder cares for the regions many animals in need.

Paramount Plus Schedule October 23-29

Paramount Plus new TV and movie releases for October 23-29 include the historical documentary Milli Vanilli and the historical political

Guides Abdul Azim Naushad 1 day ago

HBO Max Schedule October 23-29

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The post Heartland Docs, DVM Season 5 Episode 4 Streaming: How to Watch & Stream Online appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More.
Joan Baez 's life was already a rare, dynamic one wherein the power of her songs, voice and intentions have been tested and strengthened by the throes of humanity.

Her new documentary, "I Am A Noise," could just be a retelling of a past that finds her a peerless multidisciplinary creator whose path intersects with Bob Dylan and Martin Luther King Jr.'s most profound apexes of their brilliance.

Or, as it was on Saturday afternoon at Nashville's Belcourt Theater, it could spur a moment of empowered gathering for a new generation of influential civil rights activists like Tennessee State Representative of "Tennessee Three" renown, Justin Jones.

Rep. Justin Jones D-Nashville, and Joan Baez walk towards the front of the theater following the debut of her new documentary I Am a Noise at Belcourt Theater in Nashville , Tenn., Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023.

The film's most significant value is exploring how Baez -- a frail human as we all ultimately are -- has both failed and succeeded at navigating the balance between her public, private and secret lives.

Publicly, Baez is renowned for covering The Band's "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" and being a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and Americana Music Honors & Awards Spirit of Americana/Free Speech award winner.

However, she also achieved a seemingly perpetual vitality while, for decades, being plagued by unexplainable sadness. This simultaneously occurred as she, over years and therapy, realized that honesty with herself could reveal a self-gratifying authenticity.

The revelation of her most authentic self has, for Baez, revealed a life far more fulfilling than one that's traveled the world multiple times over in a six-decade musical career (she retired in 2018) while simultaneously providing the architecture and soundtrack for pacifism and social change.

Rep. Justin Jones D-Nashville, and Joan Baez walk towards the front of the theater following the debut of her new documentary I Am a Noise at Belcourt Theater in Nashville , Tenn., Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023.

For her entire life, she's struggled with various issues: aging, grief, racism against her Scotch-Mexican heritage and memories -- traumatic, familial and abusive ones both forgotten and recalled -- and their resulting mental illness.

Nimbly, often barefoot and dancing, Baez impressively navigated incredible peaks and valleys of her stunningly varied existence.

Whether she was a Boston folkie or Parisian fashionista, a change agent in Cambodia, or Marching on Washington, she was also a daughter, mother, wife, confidant and more. It's a human life, yes, but also one that yields the following superhuman notions to be gleaned from a press release about the new documentary:

Joan Baez and Rep. Justin Jones D-Nashville, speak following the debut of her new documentary I Am a Noise at Belcourt Theater in Nashville , Tenn., Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023.

Joan Baez was a phenomenon -- an otherworldly soprano and ethereal beauty. Men fell in love with her and women wanted to be like her.

"Her political passion and prodigious talent made her a legend. Long before 'celebrity activism' was cool, Joan used her influence and commitment to nonviolence to relieve suffering and fight injustice. For Baez, the personal is always political."

Early in her life, she proclaimed herself far more of a "noise" than a "saint." However, self-aware of the beauty of her features and the timbre of her voice, she leaned into portraying herself as a "Virgin Mary" type persona.

For three decades, that persona defined her life until, by 1973, the throes of her divorce from activist David Harris and sudden thrust towards ill-fitting rock stardom threw her into depression and quaalude abuse until the onset of the 1980s.

Joan Baez and Rep. Justin Jones D-Nashville, speak following the debut of her new documentary I Am a Noise at Belcourt Theater in Nashville , Tenn., Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023.

Baez's conversations with Justin Jones bookend astounding eras in Nashville and Tennessee's recent sociopolitical history.

In April 2023, Baez was interviewed by Emmylou Harris at contemporary arts and performance venue OZ Arts Nashville to discuss Baez's new book, "Am I Pretty When I Fly? An Album of Upside-Down Drawings."

At the event, she said she wanted to be more involved with issues surrounding the Tennessee House of Representatives' April 6 expulsion of Democratic Reps. Justin Pearson, of Memphis, and Justin Jones, of Nashville, for leading gun reform protests from the House after the mass shooting at The Covenant School.

Joan Baez and Rep. Justin Jones D-Nashville, speak following the debut of her new documentary I Am a Noise at Belcourt Theater in Nashville , Tenn., Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023.

"The two Justins are so young, and that white lady [fellow Tennessee state representative Gloria Johnson] is so cool," Baez said while conversing with Harris.

Less than 12 hours later, Baez and Jones serendipitously were on the same flight to New York City, leaving Nashville International Airport.

"When you get off the plane with the legendary Joan Baez, you know it's a movement of the spirit. She stands with us in our struggle in Tennessee and said she's hopeful to see young voices leading," stated Jones on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Joan Baez and Rep. Justin Jones D-Nashville, speak following the debut of her new documentary I Am a Noise at Belcourt Theater in Nashville , Tenn., Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023.

Gloria Johnson, also on board the flight, shared a video of Jones and Baez singing the protest hymn "We Shall Overcome" in what he called a "serendipitous" activity.

In a conversation with Baez (as well as two of the film's three directors, Maeve O'Boyle and Miri Navasky) on Saturday, Jones referred to the two meeting again as a "sacred gathering and [positive] omen for the history of [Nashville]."

Baez lamented most significantly that her "addiction to activism" and "still, as always, trying to change the world" led her not to be as present as she wanted in the early life of her son, David (now age 52). As well as solving her issues, she credited family counseling and therapy as necessary in healing divisions she had between her and her son, who toured with her for her final 2018 tour.

Joan Baez and Rep. Justin Jones D-Nashville, speak following the debut of her new documentary I Am a Noise at Belcourt Theater in Nashville , Tenn., Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023.

She was deeply moved by Jones' commitment to continuing "multigenerational representative democracy" in America, adding that "in social change, nothing really changes unless someone is willing to take a large risk."

"Finding passion in your heart that relates to what's going on in the world [should lead you to] making good trouble," added Baez.

At that moment, Jones opened up his sportcoat to reveal a shirt with a photo of civil rights activist and United States representative John Lewis -- for whom "making good trouble" as a legendary Nashville and national civil rights advocate is his forever legacy.

To close the event, Baez, upon prompting from Jones, sang a take on "Wade in the Water" as "Wade in the plaza, the cops gonna trouble the plaza," referring to downtown Nashville's public plaza connecting Music City's Capitol, War Memorial and State Museum, where gun reform protests have occurred.

It felt both timely and timeless.

Joan Baez and Rep. Justin Jones D-Nashville, speak following the debut of her new documentary I Am a Noise at Belcourt Theater in Nashville , Tenn., Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Joan Baez appears with Tennessee Rep Justin Jones, premieres her new 'I Am A Noise' doc
Luis Louie Ruelas has found himself in a peaceful, happy place  and its thanks in large part to Teresa Giudice.

In the year since marrying The Real Housewives of New Jersey OG, Louie has consistently showered his wife with loving and supportive words. His official Instagram has become dominated by Teresa appreciation posts that have shed more light on their young marriage and blended families. The father of two continued that trend on Friday, October 20, when he posted another romantic message for the love of his life.

I have looked at you in a million ways and LOVED you in each, he captioned the Instagram. Thinking of you always, my LOVE. You lift me up and hold me down, you make me smile when Im feeling down. You bring me peace & Im most happy to share my life with you.

Teresa Giudice sends love to her husband, Louie Ruelas

Teresa Louie Promote

Photo: NBC/Bravo

The post featured three photos of Teresa modeling pieces from the Shein x GiudiceGirls collaboration, a newly released fashion range that involved Teresa and her daughters Gia, Miliania, and Audriana.

Louies message garnered more than 1,000 likes and dozens of comments, one of which came from Teresa.

Teresa and Gabriella pose together in cocktail outfits.

See Inside Teresa Giudice & Luis' Trip to the University of Michigan to Visit Gabriella (PICS)

Love you so much my [heart emoji], she wrote.

The Jersey couple tied the knot in August 2022, nearly two years after Teresa finalized her divorce from her first husband, Joe Giudice. The ex-spouses share four daughters together and have maintained a healthy co-parenting relationship, even as Joe resides in the Bahamas full-time.

Where does Louie Ruelas stand with Joe Giudice?

Teresa and Louie posing together with their kids.

Louie posts a photo of himself with Teresa and their family on January 3, 2023 in Tulum, Mexico to Instagram. Photo: Louie Ruelas/Instagram

More than a year before the wedding, Louie traveled to the Caribbean to meet Joe face-to-face. Teresa spoke about the trip during a March 2021 episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, explaining why her then-boyfriend was so eager to meet her ex-husband.

Theyve talked over the phone, and Louie wanted to go to the Bahamas and meet him, she said, which I thought that was, like, the most amazing thing ever, because he said he just wanted to talk to him and let him know that hes not trying to take his place or anything cause I have daughters.

Louie Ruelas and Teresa Giudice embracing each other while outdoors in front of a lake.

Luis Ruelas Responds to Critics of Him and Teresa Giudice: Move On

Joe shared his feelings about Louie in a podcast interview back in June. The Italian-born businessman said he didnt know how Louie was portrayed on the RHONJ, but considered him to be a nice guy.

I mean, hes been nice to me. Hes called me, hes been a man, Joe said. Even when he went as far as coming out here before they got married. He came out to let me know that he wanted to get married and everything, and he wanted, you know, I guess, my blessings. And I thought that was very nice.

Months later, it appears the men are still on good terms, as Louie liked a recent Instagram photo of Joe and his oldest daughter, Gia.
A 62-year-old man in Florida has been sentenced to one year in federal prison after he was convicted of attempting to run over six Black men, according to the Department of Justice.

David Allen Emanuel appeared in front of federal Judge Allen Winsor on Thursday to receive his sentencing. Emanuel was charged with six different counts of hate crimes for trying to mow down Marvin Dunn, his son and four other Black men who were observing Dunn's Rosewood property to build a memorial honoring the racially charged massacre that happened in the area in the 1920s.

Judge Winsor sentenced Emanuel to one year plus a day for each of the six charges, which can be run concurrently. He has also been ordered to serve two years of supervised release after his prison term is over. Officials had initially wanted to pin Emanuel with a prison term between five to six years, which they deemed "substantial." Emanuel is expected to report to prison no later than January 2.

"I do see he's provided a lot of value to the community," Winsor said. "I don't think he's going to do something like this again ... but there's a need for general deterrence, and it's clear he did it because of race."

Court records stated the attack occurred in September 2022, with Emanuel shouting racial comments at Dunn and his group while also demanding they leave the area. Dunn told Emanuel they were parked on a public road, which caused the elderly man to drive off and return to run over the group.

"I'm relieved this is all over with, and I think that it's fair," Dunn said.

Last week, Dunn submitted a letter asking to show Emanuel mercy in his sentencing. According to the letter, Dunn wanted leniency to be shown so that the country could move on together from racial issues.

"For me, my faith requires forgiveness, and so I must," the letter read. "(Race) is the thorn in our collective side, the unmovable rock in our common path. For America to become whole, the thorns and rocks must be removed. The victims in this case are hopeful that in our plea for mercy for Mr. Emanuel and his family, we are taking an important step toward the goal of removing these obstacles to healing."

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Inter Yapim is in post-production on brutal revenge saga Sayara, directed by Turkish horror genre specialist Can Evrenol, whose film Baskin premiered in TIFFs Midnight Madness section.

The Istanbul-based company has dropped a teaser for Sayara, which is being packaged as both a four-episode miniseries and a dark 90-minute horror thriller. Variety has been given an exclusive first look above.

More from Variety

Sayara is the moniker of the title character described in promotional materials as a brooding femme fatale from Turkmenistan. Sayara works as a cleaning lady in one of Istanbuls gyms. The revenge plot kicks in when her older sister, Yonca, is raped and killed by Bars  the spoiled owner of the gym, with whom Yonca has an illicit affair  and his three friends. Bars father is a member of Parliament who pulls strings, so her death is ruled a suicide in court. But Sayaras father is Shamil Hskaov, Turkmenistans former special operations commander and a Soviet Sambo champion, who has trained Sayara for close combat using this martial art. She vows to carry out her own justice.

Horror cinema is the epitome of protest art, but only when its anti-status quo. I made Sayara with the intention of delivering a bold scream  a low-budget shocker of transgression and excess  in the midst of a cultural landscape increasingly suffocated by both official and self-censorship, said Evrenol in his directors statement. The film is a unique, weird crossbreed: half grappling-based martial arts flick, half obsessive toxic relationship movie from hell. I strive to make my films as personal as possible.

Creating a martial arts-based revenge film has been a lifelong dream of mine. I found the right motivation for this script through the real-life wave of unending femicides in Turkey. I aimed to make a brutal little genre film where I could reflect on the countless unsolved crimes that plague our collective consciousness as a nation, both socially and politically, Evrenol added.

As for how the director got his inspiration: During my after-work hours rolling on the jiu-jitsu mat, I had this idea of a highly skilled but super-introverted femme fatale immigrant from Turkmenistan silently mopping the floor in an uptown gym, a place that is both sexy and reeks of social class conflict, Evrenol said. There are many immigrant workers in Turkey from the Turkic nations, but Turkmenistan is known for two things: being almost second to North Korea in its surrealness and having great sambo fighters.

Expect your skull to be shattered, your heart to be broken, and your eyeballs smashed under Sayaras boots, Evrenol concluded.

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The couple is expecting a baby after losing son Elliot in a stillbirth at 37 weeks in December 2021

Madisson Hausburg/Instagram Madisson Hausburg and her husband Ish Soto are celebrating their second wedding anniversary.

Madisson Hausburg is marking a special moment.

The Siesta Key star, 29, and her husband, Ismael "Ish" Soto, are celebrating their second wedding anniversary. In a moving Instagram post on Saturday, Hausburg reflected on the "tests" the couple has faced in their marriage so far, including the heartbreaking loss of their son Elliot in a stillbirth in December 2021.

"Two years later Happy anniversary, my love!" she wrote. "Nothing could have ever prepared us for what the first two years of our marriage would look like. Weve been through the greatest tests as partners and parents. And through it all we leaned on each other."

She continued, "Here we are, stronger and more in love than ever. Im so lucky to have you by my side. I love you, forever."

Hausburg's post included several photos of the couple, including two shots from their October 2021 wedding. A third, more recent image captured the couple all dressed up as they posed outside by a stone house in Saint-Affrique, France, with a hillside view in the distance.

Hausburg, dressed in a simple black dress and silver heels, had her hand cradling her belly. The couple is currently expecting a rainbow baby.

Related: Madisson Hausburg Opens Up on 'Siesta Key' for the First Time About Her Son's Stillbirth

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The former reality star and her husband announced the happy news on their respective Instagram pages in July, both sharing the same photo of the pair posing together. Soto could be seen holding a series of ultrasound photos, while Hausburg held their cat and a small urn in honor of Elliot.

"One in our hearts, one in my belly Baby number 2 due in 2024 ," Hausburg wrote in her caption, while Soto lovingly praised his wife, writing, "So proud of this amazingly strong mom! Cant wait to meet baby #2! Due in 2024!"

Hausburg announced Elliot's death on Instagram at the time, telling her followers that her son, whose full name is Elliot Angel Soto, was delivered stillborn at 37 weeks.

Related: Madisson Hausburg Remembers 'Perfect Baby Boy' Elliot One Year After Stillbirth: 'Greatest Gift'

"Instead of leaving the hospital with our beautiful baby boy, I was wheeled out with just this memory box," she wrote, alongside a photo of the memento. "Its true what they say about there being no greater love than a mothers love. And there is no deeper pain than losing a child."

"Everyday I wake up to the agonizing reality that I will never again get to hold him or kiss him in this lifetime," she continued. "I am completely and utterly heartbroken."

Soto also remembered his son with his own emotional post, calling Elliot's death "the hardest thing I've ever had to go through."

"The pain of losing a child and the agony of watching my beautiful wife suffer, will haunt me for the rest of my days," he wrote. "I take comfort in knowing that one day we will be united and until then I will carry you in my heart. I love you, baby Eli, my little champion."



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The WGA will not be making an official statement about the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas against Israel, because we found consensus out of reach, according to a memo sent Saturday by WGA West Coast president Meredith Stiehm.

In an email sent to an unspecified number of guild members, first obtained by Deadline, she explained, In the past week, some members have requested that the Guild take a public stand on events in the Middle East. Equally, many members have asked us to refrain from making any statement.

The email continued, The Board of Directors has worked exhaustively to consider the great diversity of opinions among our members on this issue, and determine how best to address this as a Guild.

Like the membership itself, the Boards viewpoints are varied, and we found consensus out of reach. For these reasons, we have decided not to comment publicly, Stiehm added.

The guild has been mired in internal turmoil since the attacks, and prominent members have been calling on WGA to join the DGA and SAG-AFTRA as well as additional media companies that have directly commented on the attacks and ongoing hostage situation in the country.

A showrunner Deadline described as prominent told the outlet, What a total cop-out, they should be ashamed. They put a statement out about everything else, but not dead Jews, disgusting.

Stiehms email was sent after a 90-minute conversation, held Friday night about a potential response, failed and after several Guild members made it clear to the board and WGA leadership that any response that could be read as a statement of support for Israel would be interpreted as support for Israels airstrikes in Gaza.

The outlet also reported that the email was primarily sent to guild members who signed an open letter to the WGA on Oct. 15. The letter, which was posted to Medium, reads, When it comes to taking a stand, the Writers Guild of America has always led by example. When employers sought to exploit our work, the Guild bravely spoke up. When the BLM movement took flight, the Guild rightfully spoke up. When the #MeToo reckoning came and Hollywood needed to change, again the Guild spoke up.

But when terrorists invaded Israel to murder, rape, and kidnap Jews the Guild stayed silent. It remains the only major Hollywood union to do so, the letter concluded.

Those who signed the letter include Jerry Seinfeld, Matthew Weiner, Sacha Baron Cohen, Josh Schwartz, and more.

Representatives for WGA didnt immediately respond to a request for comment from TheWrap, but you can read the full text of the WGA memo below:

Wanted to let you know where the Board ended up on this. I know the last couple of weeks have been extremely painful, and Im so sorry for that. We of course share your anguish, and wish there had been a simple answer here.

In the past week, some members have requested that the Guild take a public stand on events in the Middle East. Equally, many members have asked us to refrain from making any statement.

The Board of Directors has worked exhaustively to consider the great diversity of opinions among our members on this issue, and determine how best to address this as a Guild. Like the membership itself, the Boards viewpoints are varied, and we found consensus out of reach. For these reasons, we have decided not to comment publicly.

What we can agree on is that many members are deeply affected, and need community and support in this challenging time.

To that end, here are some resources we hope you will find helpful.

With Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia on the rise, please know that if you are concerned about your safety at work or want to bring a workplace-related discrimination, harassment or bullying claim, or if you merely need to have a confidential discussion with an experienced Guild representative about your situation, including if youd like a representative to accompany you to file a complaint, contact legal@wga.org.

If you are currently experiencing anxiety and/or emotional distress that is interfering with your ability to perform your job duties, you may be entitled to an accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act; such as a modified work schedule, remote work, and additional leave. If youd like the Guild to assist with the request, please call the Legal Department at (323) 782-4521, or email legal@wga.org.

Mental health resources are available to you and your family through our health plan. You can find participating PWGA providers HERE. LA County Department of Mental Health (LACDMH)s help line is available 24/7 to provide mental health support, resources and referrals at (800) 854-7771. The Entertainment Community Fund offers stress and anxiety workshops. You can call or text the Disaster Distress Helpline at 1-800-985-5990 or the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 998. Counselors can both help anyone calling in and offer links to whatever resources are local to the caller.

The post WGA Will Not Issue Statement About Hamas Attack on Israel: We Found Consensus Out of Reach appeared first on TheWrap.
Fall has barely started and Halloween is a ways away, but, believe it or not, it's time to start thinking about the holidays. If you're a fan of advent calendars, and, honestly, who isn't, then now is the time to start perusing the multiple possibilities available to you. And when we say multiple, we're not kidding. There are chocolate advent calendars, jam calendars, Harry Potter advent calendars, beauty advent calendars, stationary calendars, and even toiletry calendars -- just to name a few. But since we love beverages, especially during the holidays, we decided to focus on the numerous advents that are strictly imbibe-worthy.

While we love a good cocktail as much as the next person, liquor isn't the only option when it comes to drinkable advent calendars. We found coffee, tea, and even hot chocolate options. Of course, there are plenty of liquor versions out there, but if you think you're limited to whiskey or vodka, think again. There are wine, Champagne, beer, hard seltzer, and even a DIY option if none of the others interest you. Read on to discover some of our favorites and to guarantee yourself a very merry holiday season.

Read more: 15 Popular Hard Seltzer Brands, Ranked Worst To Best

Keurig - 24 Cups Of Cheer

Keurig advent calendar with coffee - Keurig

Coffee pods are all the rage these days, and if you're a fan of the pod, odds are you're familiar with Keurig. You may even own one, which means you know how simple it is to brew up a cup first thing in the morning: Just drop in your favorite pod, turn it on, and voila. A nice, hot cup of joe. And while we love the Keurig for its convenience, the real reason we can't get enough of the K-cup coffee pod is because of the number of flavors available.

There are classics like Donut Shop and Green Mountain, but today you can get anything from Dunkin' to McDonald's. Even Starbucks and Peet's have K-cups. And while we all have our favorites, every so often we like to step out of our comfort zone and try something new. It's for this reason (not to mention the cuteness behind the packaging) that we love Keurig's 24 Cups of Cheer advent calendar. Not only do you get a new pod every day all the way through Christmas Eve, but the advent includes the pods we mentioned along with some of the newer additions to the Keurig family: Caribou, Krispy Kreme, and Kahlua. And at under $20, we're sure you'll have 24 cups of good cheer.

Yawn Brew - Coffee Advent Calendar

Yawn Brew Advent Calendar - Yawn Brew

If you prefer to brew your coffee the old-fashioned way in a pot on the stove, with a French Press, espresso maker, or Chemex, then Yawn Brew's coffee advent calendar may be the way to go. Start each December morning by popping open one of the calendar's 24 windows to find a different kind of coffee. The calendar comes in two options: whole bean or ground. So, if you like to grind your own, go with the beans. But if you prefer your coffee already ground, you get to choose what form those grounds come in so they'll work with whatever type of coffee maker you have at home.

But it's the variety in this advent that really excites us. There are 24 different coffees from 17 different countries, including Kenya, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Honduras, Sumatra, Vietnam, India, and Nicaragua. But the best thing about this advent is that all the coffee will be super fresh. Each packet, no matter if you choose beans or ground, will be freshly roasted and packaged every week starting this month, which means not one single envelope will hold any stale beans or grounds. Since you'll be getting fresh coffee from around the world, this advent is a little more expensive than the Keurig. But at $58.99, we think it's totally worth it.

DavidsTea - 24 Trips With Tea

Tea advent calendar - DavidsTea

Even though we love our coffee, every so often we prefer a cup of tea, especially if it's loose leaf, which is why we're so intrigued with DavidsTea 24 Trips with Tea. Not only do we appreciate all the tea options from black to green, and caffeinated to herbal, but there's nothing better on a chilly morning or evening than a nice hot cup of tea, especially when a spoonful of honey is added to sweeten it up.

We understand that there's nothing easier than grabbing a tea bag and plopping it in a cup of hot water, waiting a few minutes, and having the perfect cup. But just because something is easier, doesn't mean it's better. That's why when we don't have anywhere to be and we really want to relish those exotic flavors, we opt for the loose leaf. Loose leaf means a higher quality and more flavorful tea, and you get that with this advent. One sip and you'll be transported to some distant land. Curious about Vietnam? Savor the Saigon Chai. Dying to go on safari? You might enjoy the North African Mint. You could even prep for those sugar plum fairies with a hot cup of Chamomile Dreamland. And since each pouch contains two 8-ounce servings, there's enough tea to share with a friend or enjoy yourself all the way through New Year's.

Vahdam India - 24 Teas Of Christmas

Vahdam tea advent calendar - Jennifer Laski / Vahdam

There's nothing better than taking a moment for yourself and making a nice pot of tea. Unfortunately, most of us don't have the time with today's busy hustle and bustle. But if you still want to grab a cup to go, the easiest way to make it is with a tea bag. A tea bag is a wonderful option because you don't need any special tools and there's no measuring involved. Just grab your favorite tea, drop it in your mug, and be on your way.

If you're worried you won't have the same amount of variety with a tea bag as you would with loose leaf, Vahdam puts that concern to rest with its India Tea Bag advent calendar. Inside this beautiful red and gold advent are 24 different types of tea from all over India. There are herbal teas of chamomile, rose, and even pumpkin spice. Ginger and mint can be found in the green tea bags, and there's even a white tea from the Himalayas. Flavors like this are guaranteed to make your spirits bright.

Williams Sonoma - 12 Days Of Hot Cocoa

12 Days of Hot Cocoa Advent Calendar - Williams Sonoma

Who doesn't love a steaming cup of hot chocolate on a cold night or morning? And if there are marshmallows or marshmallow fluff floating on top, even better. So, for the kids in your life or if you're just a kid at heart, Williams Sonoma has its 12 Days of Hot Cocoa calendar.

Unlike other calendars that might have different hot chocolate brands, Williams Sonoma's advent focuses on its exclusive Dutch-process hot chocolate. But just because it's the cooking company's brand, doesn't mean there aren't plenty of options hiding behind those 12 doors. Turns out, there are actually six different flavors to choose from. Like a little bitter bite to your chocolate? Try the dark. Prefer a hint of nuts? There's a hazelnut pouch. And since the holidays wouldn't be the holidays without a stick or two of peppermint, there are a couple of peppermint packets, as well. With three other flavors to choose from, odds are you'll discover a twist on the classic drink that will both surprise and delight you.

In Good Taste - 2023 Wine Advent Calendar

In Good Taste Wine Advent Calendar - In Good Taste / Facebook

If you're a wine drinker, odds are you have a few bottles in the fridge. While those bottles are your favorites, maybe you're ready to stretch your wine wings and try something new. Maybe you've only ever had whites and are ready to sample a red. Maybe you love domestic varieties but want to try something international. No matter which wine camp you fall in, In Good Taste has the advent calendar for you.

Opened in 2020, In Good Taste's owners wanted to make wine more accessible to the average wine drinker. They started with wine flights of six or eight servings, and in three short years have expanded to selling full-sized bottles and advent calendars. Those advent calendars give both the knowledgeable and novice drinkers the chance to try something new. But what we really like about this advent is that In Good Taste doesn't focus on just one varietal. There are whites, reds, and roses in the box. Even better, these wines aren't just from California. There are wines from countries all over the world.

Each bottle is a healthy 187 milliliters, which is enough for two 3-ounce pours. For no extra fee, starting December 1st, In Good Taste will send the recipient an email every day detailing each bottle, what to pair with it, and how to drink it.

Maker Wine - 12 Days Of Canned Wine

12 Days of Wine advent calendar - Brittany Rashkin / Maker Wine

Nothing beats enjoying a meal with friends and family outdoors. While you typically see this during the spring or summer, there's no rule against hosting an outdoor dinner party in the fall or winter as well. It could even make a great holiday affair, especially if it's a potluck. But food isn't the only thing necessary to make this the perfect dining experience. There should be something to drink as well, and nothing is better for an outdoor get-together than cans of your favorite spirit.

Maker Wine knows this all too well, which is why this holiday season its setting you up with its 12 Days of Canned Wine advent calendar. What makes this calendar different is that each canned wine comes from a small female or minority-led winery. You won't find any big names in this box. Instead, you'll get to sample a mix of red, white, rose, and sparkling wines from several different award-winning vineyards. And since each can holds about two glasses of wine, it's the perfect way to enjoy the 12 days of Christmas with your favorite wine aficionado.

City Brew Tours - Hoppy Holiday Beer Boxes

Both Hoppy Holiday Beer Boxes - City Brews Tour / Facebook

If you prefer carbonation and hops to vintages and grapes then you definitely want to check out City Brew Tours' Hoppy Holiday Beer Boxes. Unlike all the other advent calendars we found, City Brews Tours sets itself apart by doing an advent for both Christmas and Hanukkah, which means you have a choice of eight nights or 12 days of beer. So, if you or a friend loves every type of beer out there, we'd recommend this calendar because of its unique variety. There isn't a single name brand inside these boxes. Instead, you'll find beers from some of the smaller breweries around the country. Everything from a stout to an ale, a lager to an IPA will be hidden behind each door.

But what makes these boxes really stand out is that each night comes with a live online discussion about the beer of the evening. So, not only do you get to try something new, but you'll get to share your opinions with others enjoying the same can. You may even get to speak to the brewers themselves. Now, if that isn't the perfect present for each and every beer lover, we don't know what is. Sure, they'll have to open their present early, but boy will it be worth it.

Costco - Brewer's Advent Calendar

Several Brewer's Advent Calendar boxes - Jennifer Richmond / Tasting Table

Spending money and the holidays go together like mistletoe and holly. So, if we can find a great deal during this festive time of year, we're going to grab it. One place we're sure to always find a bargain is Costco, and the Brewer's Advent Calendar is one of the best deals out there, especially if you like German beer. Just like years past, this year's calendar has 24 different beers from a variety of family-owned breweries all over Germany.

While there is some overlap with last year's advent calendar, the 2023 advent promises a handful of new options. We only have one issue with Costco's advent: Unlike the others on this list which you can order online, the only way to get your hands on Costco's calendar is if you head over to the store and pick it up yourself. The other thing to keep in mind is that depending on which warehouse you go to, the contents of the calendar could change. Even though the beers will all still be from Germany, one may have several lagers while another may only have pilsners. But at a jolly $70 per box, we're sure whatever beers you get will turn even the grumpiest Scrooge into a happy old soul.

Flaviar - Whiskey Advent Calendar

Flaviar 2023 Whiskey Advent Calendar - Flaviar / Instagram

Anyone who knows a thing or two about whiskey will appreciate this advent calendar from Flaviar, the website that prides itself on bringing the best of the spirit world to those who love to imbibe the hard stuff. Even though Flaviar carries unusual labels from each spirit, it has an ample library of whiskeys, which is why if you're going to buy a whiskey advent calendar, this is the one to buy.

It doesn't matter if you prefer straight American whiskey, bourbon, rye, or scotch because they're all included in this beautiful box. Flaviar has gone above and beyond including 24 different award-winning high-end whiskeys from eight countries around the world. Each pour comes in its own 50-milliliter bottle, and to ensure that each sip garners you the maximum amount of flavor, this advent also includes not one, but two Glencairn glasses, the perfect glass for tasting and sipping the brown liquor.

The thing that sets this advent apart from others like it is that everyone who purchases the Flaviar advent, gets a free one-year Flaviar Black Membership. That means if you just have to have a bottle of one of the prime whiskeys you sampled, all you have to do is log onto Flaviar's website, place your order at a discounted price, and in a week or two, it'll be at your door. If that's not a gift that keeps on giving, we don't know what is.

Drinks By The Dream - The Old And Rare Whisky Advent Calendar

Inside the Old and Rare Whisky Advent - Cask Cartel

For the whiskey lover who has everything, may we present The Old and Rare Whisky Advent Calendar. Made up of some of the finest single malt scotches and Irish whiskeys money can buy, this calendar holds 24 different 1-ounce drams. Each taster is either very old or almost impossible to find unless you make a trip to the distillery itself. Some are aged in wine barrels, some are at least 25 years old, and there are even a few drams worth well over $1,000. It's for this reason that this calendar is the most expensive on the list, coming in at a cool $1,500.

We know that may seem like a lot for an advent calendar, but considering some of the special whiskeys inside, we think it's worth it. While there isn't any Pappy, there are a few names you'll recognize, including a 15-year-old Laphroaig, a 21-year-old Glenlivet, a 30-year-old Glenfiddich, and a Bushmills that was aged in port barrels for over 20 years. With samples like these, and a beautiful Glencairn glass with which to sip them, any whiskey fan who receives this gift will be in absolute heaven.

Give Them Beer - Hard Seltzer Advent Calendar

Hard seltzer advent calendar - Barry Meindl / Give Them Beer

Hard seltzers have become all the rage in recent years since you can take them anywhere and they're so easy to drink. So, it came as no surprise that there's an advent calendar out there full of them. Thanks to Give Them Beer, you get 12 days of hard seltzers, making this the perfect hostess gift for any upcoming holiday party.

Coming in a bright, Christmas-red box, you'll definitely feel the holiday spirit as you open each door to discover an incredible variety of seltzers inside. While you'll find some of the most popular hard seltzer brands like Truly, White Claw, and Topo Chico, there are a few smaller, up-and-coming brands such as Boulevard and Happy Dad hidden behind those doors, as well.

It's that variety that really excites us about this calendar. See, 12 different cans means we get to sample 12 different seltzers without fear. Since there's only one of each brand, you needn't have any concerns if it's not to your liking; you can just dump it and move on to the next one. But if you find a new favorite, then you know where to start your search for your next party.

Cocktail & Sons - 12 Days Of Cocktails

12 Days of Cocktails box - Katherine Kimball / Cocktail & Sons

Whether you're a budding home mixologist or someone who prefers to abstain from liquor, Cocktail & Sons has the perfect advent for you with the 12 Days of Cocktails calendar. We know it sounds like a box full of ready-to-drink cocktails, but what this advent calendar actually contains are 12 different cocktails syrups. With flavors like Berry Sage, Green Tea Lychee, Satsuma Honey, and Mango Chipotle, you can create any drink you desire from a unique green tea martini to a spicy mango margarita.

But if you don't like alcohol or want to head into Dry January with something a little more interesting than ginger ale or cranberry and soda, then Cocktail & Sons has you covered there, as well. Syrups aren't the only thing hiding inside this box. There's also a 36-page cocktail book featuring three different recipes for each syrup. So, depending on how hard you want to work for your beverage, you could follow the easy or more advanced cocktail recipe or lose the liquor altogether and follow the non-alcoholic recipe for a tasty tipple. And since each bottle makes at least three drinks, this box should help elevate your cocktails all the way through New Year's.

Read the original article on Tasting Table.
Recently, I asked members of the BuzzFeed Community about their experiences with (or even as) flat earthers.

Sudowoodo / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Their responses were absolutely fascinating...and more than a little disturbing. Check them out:

Note: some responses came from this Reddit thread.

1."I lost a good friend to the 'theory.' It started with her listening to a bunch of podcasts and saying, 'It's not true, but what if?' like a funny joke. As she became more drawn into the Flat Earth world she started isolating herself from her friends, and in regular conversation, she'd have to say something about it every 510 minutes. You could just tell she was obsessively thinking about it."

"Eventually she sold her amazing house and property (that was totally paid off), and moved to some kind of Flat Earth commune where everyone else was on the same trip. It broke my heart at the time because we had been close friends for years, and it felt like witnessing a slow car crash.

This was almost a decade before COVID and vaccine paranoia, but she is obsessed with that now too, complete with 5G's, aliens, etc. I really miss my old friend, but she is not the same person that she once was."

mathewmercuryj

2."I was debating a flat earther in Mexico, and I asked him about how GPS worked if there were no satellites. He said that they had devices in the ground to route you. I told him the Mexican government is barely able to put decent water pipes in the ground; did he really think they had the tech to put routing devices in the ground? He just chuckled with a thousand-mile gaze."

r/mzaouar

Express / Getty Images

3."I spent a year infiltrating the flat Earth community on Instagram. I garnered a decent following with an account dedicated to flat earth travel photos (an intentionally absurd premise). I learned quite a bit about the community including how to discern the trolls from the real deal. The majority of legit flat Earthers are extremely distrustful of anything the government says or does. These same people are 9/11 truthers, Holocaust deniers, and anti-vaxxers and they connect these conspiracies together. Many of them have also attached flat Earth theory to religion, magic, or mysticism."

"Before my infiltration Id always considered conspiracies fun. Like they were the fan fiction of real life. Now they mostly make me sad. For all the phony accounts like mine, there are still plenty of people out there willing to drop a couple of hundred dollars on a flat Earth convention."

u/Zelph_Onandagus

4."Theres a discord server called the flat Earth society where they advertise it as a 'fun place to come and debate.' Newsflash: Its not fun. If youre anything but a flat earther and try to make a point, youre instantly swarmed by all of them. They wont give you a chance to speak and oftentimes refuse to answer questions. Instead, they just hurl insults. The worst part, the admins actively mute anybody who proves them wrong, and will actually kick you from the call and then tell everybody else you left, so it looks like they 'owned you.' Its absolute cancer, theyre in absolute denial."

r/deleted

FOX

5."My colleague is one and cant think of a single explanation of why weve been told its a globe. Surely they must have their reasons for making us believe that. 'So whats the cover up?' I ask. He has no reply. But, he claims, if you check out (insert random dude's YouTube pages) youll see the truth. No, what I see is someone making a living from clicks."

joehoover3

6."A lot of flat Earthers have made it such a large part of their personality that it's not as easy as just changing their opinion. They have to basically reconstruct themselves which they won't do."

 u/nlewis4

Egal / Getty Images/iStockphoto

7."I convinced a flat earther, temporarily, by asking him if it was possible for a sphere to be so large that you could not tell it was a sphere by simply being on the surface of it. I used an analogy of an extremely long line that was so slightly curved you couldn't tell by looking at a small section of it. It took him a while, but eventually, he said yes to the sphere and I told him that was how big the earth is. A few days later he reverted. Most of these people arent mentally stable, they believe in a lot of conspiracies."

r/McClain3000

8."I once had a conversation with a UFC fighter and outspoken Flat Earther. I tried to explain how Archimedes was able to prove the Earth was round just by using his shadow. I mentioned air travel and how Hawaii and Japan are not 20+ hours of flying apart. But what got through to him the most were seasons. This particular guy was Brazilian. I explained that because the Earth is round, its possible to be winter in Brazil and summer in the USA and vice versa. He nodded and stared off into the distance silently. I dont think I 'converted' him but it gave him significant pause at the very least."

 u/PlaneShenaniganz

Star Talk Radio / Via giphy.com

9."The thing that made me stop believing in a flat earth was just the question 'Why would NASA lie to you?'"

u/The_Holy_Fork

"This is a solid point, there's no way 70,000 scientists could keep it a secret."

 u/needsmoreusername

"That's the exact question I asked the few flat earthers I've met, but most of them dug in with this kind of answer: 'It proves God exists if the earth is flat, so of course they won't let us know.'"

u/radclive

10."I got a flat earther to question his beliefs by giving him the proof he asked for, to which he responded 'mainstream science and media are lies.' I asked him why he asked for proof if he could just disregard it as lies either way, then told him that since he required no proof (or evidence against) to believe something, it made him the easiest person to deceive and that it seemed pretty sheep-like to me. He deleted all of his flat earth comments and hasn't posted about it since."

 u/thelife0fZ

FOX

11."My father-in-law is a flat earther. I asked him 'If the earth was flat and you were right, what then? How is your life any different?' His face was priceless because he didnt have an answer. It was great."

u/BigWingWangKen

12."One of my Geometry students believed the earth was flat, so I quietly spent the rest of the year trying to demonstrate how the earth was not, in fact, flat. (Among other things) we did a day on spherical Geometry and measuring angles on a sphere. We did projections from three to two dimensions and looked at different maps of the Earth. The students drew the continents on an orange and then peeled it in different ways to make it lay flat, and compared distortions between the different ways of opening. I got an airline pilot to come talk about using math, and he talked about how beautiful it was to see the earth curve away through the windscreen. We even watched videos of tall mast ships disappearing over the horizon."

"At the end of the year, I pulled her aside and asked if she believed the earth was flat. She said, 'Well, for airplanes and boats and stuff, and like Geometry, it's a sphere, but really it's flat.'

So, she knew it was round, but chose to believe it to be flat."

 u/FailedAtMasonry

Viktoria Ruban / Getty Images/iStockphoto

13."I talked to a flat-earther about my job working for a company that tracks ship locations, routes, and speeds by satellite. None of this would work at all if the earth was flat. I could only explain the most basic concepts, but it was enough for him to realize I was right and that hed been convinced by someone who had no practical experience of the spherical nature of the Earth. I think thats what really did it  my experience was really tangible."

u/Administrative-Task9

This next person wasn't a flat earther, but was a 9/11 "truther," and discussed in fascinating detail how one can get lost in these conspiracy theories:

14."Not a flat earther. But I was a 9/11 'truther' I guess you could say  insofar as I thought it was an inside job. I was heavily influenced and believed in multiple conspiracies in the Zeitgeist film as well. There was a never-ending source of dark, shadowy 'they's and them's' controlling everything behind the scenes. I think there were a few factors that helped me escape that. They were..."

"1. Losing my father. It was such a life-changing event at that age that it made me reconsider everything in my life.

2. Some light training in evaluating information. I learned about how to vet sources, whether something was actually news or just an opinion/editorial, etc. Ironically, this education came before I was duped. After my dad died, suddenly this started to kick in more.

3. Lack of time/means to dig myself a deeper hole. I started college shortly after my father passed and that plus a full-time job took up all my time. I had none to buy further into the newest crazy bullshit. I had no Facebook/Twitter/IG/etc. No smartphone or texting.

So all in all, I think the time away gave me time to detox. If I had been on social media as I discovered those things, I can only imagine I may have become a Q believer as well. Looking back I see how gullible I was in that moment, fooled by the onslaught of half-truths and clever 'logic' of the various theories. I know better now (and I should have known better then), but I've been humbled to the fact that everyone is vulnerable to this sort of stuff. To think otherwise is deluding yourself."

u/redyellowblue5031

Finally, here's perhaps the next thing we might have to write about...the Hollow Earth Theory:

15."The flat earth theory is totally illogical but the hollow Earth theory could be real. Do you expect me to believe that the ground we are standing on is only a few hundred miles above hot magma? What is under the magma? How can you prove what is at the center of the earth if its impossible to get there because of gravitational pressure? And before anyone can @ me, I am aware of the science but it is all theory and not actual fact."

justaweirdo321

Note: some entries have been edited for length and/or clarity.
Theres no incumbent who lives in or is running in the 67th House of Delegates District, which was redrawn last year, and three political newcomers are seeking the seat.

They are Hillary Pugh Kent of Warsaw, a Republican; Richard Kenski of Heathsville, running as an Independent; and John Quincy Smith of King George County, a Democrat. Each is hoping to represent the district, which includes a portion of Caroline County and all the precincts within King George, Westmoreland, Northumberland, Lancaster and Richmond counties, according to the Virginia Public Access Project website. It lists the district as strong Republican.

Early voting already has begun, and Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 7.

All three candidates responded to questionnaires from The Free LanceStar about what they consider top issues in the race and how they would address them. They could use up to 500 words to explain their positions.

Hillary Pugh Kent

Q: What are the top three issues facing the 67th District and how would you address them?

A: There are numerous issues facing the Commonwealth and District 67. It is difficult to limit to the top three issues facing our community as it is diverse in its interests and in it divergence from rural to suburban. The 67th has military bases, borders another state at our low water mark in the Potomac, encompasses a watershed and is both our home and a vacation destination.

At the core of the 67th however, what drives the commuter from King George, the farmer in Westmoreland to the watermen in Lancaster are the concepts of family, earning a living and safety.

Families are the core of our community. I believe parents should make decisions on behalf of their children, from their home to their classroom. Our children deserve opportunities that will prepare them for the workforce, whether through trade, collegiate classes or multi-generational business training, including agriculture and aquaculture. I have been meeting with folks around the district, including hosting a teacher roundtable, to discuss the issues facing our schools, educators and students. We are All In to address the challenges students are facing with learning gaps, as well as preparing students for each milestone of education, from kindergarten to high school, we have a responsibility to the next generation.

Working in a small business in the Northern Neck, I see firsthand the headwinds businesses face and the decisions employees make to earn a living. I believe less government and more pro-business opportunities help grow our economy and provide employees and consumers with the best choices. I understand what it means to make payroll, and will support policies that help grow our economy and cut taxes. We need to create an environment that promotes business, restricts unnecessary government intrusion and returns more taxpayer dollars to hardworking Virginians.

I stand with law enforcement and the men and women who keep us safe. The safety of the 67th is paramount. I support providing law enforcement with the resources they need to keep our community safe, including supporting first responders and our military. We know that a career in law enforcement is a dedication to community, order and preserving a way of life. That dedication allows us to be in our driveways at night, leave your car unlocked at the grocery store and know your children are safe playing outside. I will work to pay our law enforcement to keep them here, not looking for salaries elsewhere.

As delegate, I will make sure our prosecutors are given the resources to keep violent predators behind bars and fight the continuing drug crisis. Special consideration is needed to protect our senior citizens, and prosecute criminals that prey on their kindness.

I look forward to the opportunity of working on these issues and many others for the people of District 67. I am humbled by the opportunity to serve, and to be a voice for the people of the Northern Neck and Caroline, the place I was born and raised and now raise my family.

Richard Kenski

Q: What are the top three issues facing the 67th District and how would you address them?

A: The top three issues are:

1. Take back our government from big money interests.

2. Stop pay-to-play politicians.

3. Restore true representation and equal justice for all those living in the 67th House District.

Because my top priority is representing all the people of my district, I am running as an independent candidate, not beholden to big donors, corporate lobbyists or any political party.

I will be the delegate committed to bringing people back together again to find real solutions that work for all of us.

We have important issues to address, such as education, health-care access and affordability, the economy, infrastructure, environment, equal rights and criminal and social justice. My campaign is not about my solutions, however, but rather me fighting for the solutions my constituents want. And because I believe their voices matter, I invite all my constituents, especially young people, even if they are not old enough to vote, to join my Advisory Groups.

Together we will make our state government work for We the People.

John Quincy Smith

Q: What are the top three issues facing the 67th District and how would you address them?

A: Voters in our district and throughout Virginia have expressed the need to improve funding for public schools, with higher teacher salaries throughout and improved school infrastructure in many locations. Salaries should be sufficient to recruit and retain quality teachers.

Quality public education is vital to ensure that our students are prepared to take their place as responsible, compassionate and well-informed citizens of the 21st century. A recent audit and review requested by the General Assembly revealed that school divisions in Virginia received 14% less state funding than the 50-state average, largely due to flawed formulas. This shortcoming must be addressed in the General Assembly, and I will support full state funding for our public schools.

The people of the 67th District have a variety of kitchen table concerns. Access to reliable internet is a basic need in the 21st century for everyone. Broadband infrastructure needs to reach our underserved rural areas. This will require a range of solutions, including subsidies, discounted rates, state support for community efforts to improve connectivity and policies that promote competition among internet service providers to help lower customer prices.

We also need advocacy for critical road improvement in rural areas that are facing increasing traffic levels. Additionally, the General Assembly needs to fight any threats to the Flood Preparedness Fund that is so important to our coastal region. In all these areas, the people of our district want to know that their voices are heard and that their representatives will listen to their concerns with the intention of truly serving their needs, representing their interests and working with others, including across party lines, to shape and move constructive and beneficial legislation.

Defending womens reproductive rights is just as important for my district as it is anywhere else in Virginia. Our commonwealth is the last southern state to offer meaningful access to full reproductive health services. Womens rights to make their own reproductive choices are currently threatened in the Commonwealth. I strongly oppose any abortion ban and call for Virginians to use their vote to demonstrate their trust in the women of Virginia to make this personal choice that affects their own health and well-being.

Virginia women have had the right to choose for more than 50 years, and legislators should not remove it. In my view, this issue centers around whether we actually trust women. I choose to trust and support the women of Virginia.
Jason Momoa, Leica aficionado and star of blockbuster movies Dune and Justice League, has donated one of his custom Leica cameras to raise money for charity.

The actors prized Leica M10 Monochrom is one of the star charity lots in the upcoming Leitz Photographica Auction, taking place in Vienna, Austria, on November 24 and 25. The camera carries what feels like a conservative estimate of $6,000-$7,000 (approximately 4,900- 5,700 / AU$9,500-AU$11,000).

In case you didn't know, Momoa is a huge camera fan. He is an unofficial Leica ambassador and is also an unabashed fanboy for Red cinema cameras, often receiving custom-made bodies from both brands  which is how this personalized M10 Monochrom came to be.

The official listing for the camera (Lot 4) reads:

"Leica M10 Monochrom, owned by photographer, actor and filmmaker, Jason Momoa. The camera is engraved with a compass symbol and "ROAM" on the top plate and with the compass on the base plate. On The Roam is a creative production company, owned and helmed by Jason Momoa and Brian Mendoza, which produces scripted and unscripted original branded content, television series and feature films.

Harnessing an atypical approach to production, the team is in pursuit of groundbreaking storytelling infused with innovation and excellence that improves the human spirit. The camera comes with a thumb grip and shows light signs of use."

Jason Momoa's Leica M10 Monochrom is up for auction

The charity that Leitz Photographica is raising money for is the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), defending press freedoms and the right to safely report news worldwide without fear of reprisals for journalists.

The charity lots for the CPJ are titled Truth in Focus, and include other rare cameras including a prototype Hodinkee Ghost Edition M10-P, a Leica SL previously owned by photographer Mathieu Bitton, and digital and analog camera sets from photographer Constantine Manos.

Additional Truth in Focus lots include 17 historic art prints from the likes of Leonard Freed, Dennys Ilic, Manfred Bauman and Deborah Anderson  among them Freed's iconic Dr Martin Luther King, Jr being greeted upon his return to the United States after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize.

"The tapestry of Leica's history is interwoven with the path and purpose of photojournalists," says Mike Giannattasio, President of Leica Camera USA. "Our mission is to protect the right to bear witness to our world and document its narratives without fear of retribution. Our auction lineup this year is a tribute to this spirit."

Find out more about Momoa's camera, the Truth in Focus lots and the wider Leitz Photographica Auction at the official website.

For additional information on this year's auction, lots, and programming, please visit Leitz-Auction.com/Auction.

Take a look at the best Leica cameras  including the Leica M11 Monochrom, which has replaced the M10 version. Check out the best Leica M lenses to go with it!
This is an ode to eggs, or more specifically, egg salad, and where to get the best of it in the U.S. You're probably reading this because you love egg salad sandwiches, and we're with you  when done right, they are delicious. It's not all that clear when people started putting hard-boiled eggs between bread or mixing hard-boiled eggs with mayonnaise, but it's been a while. A recipe book from 1866 called "Mrs. Crowen's American Lady's Cookery Book" suggests sliced hard-boiled egg sandwiches as a light lunch option. "The Boston Cooking-School Cookbook" published in 1901 includes entries for "Egg Salad I" and "Egg Salad II" (which adds chicken).

Egg salad's popularity in mid-20th century America solidified the sandwich stuffer as a bonafide classic. Your grandmother made it for picnics, your mom made it for lunch, and delis have sold it for as long as we can remember, but your next egg salad sandwich doesn't necessarily have to come from these places. In certain circles, egg salad sandwiches have become classed-up restaurant food, and we're here for the glow-up. Egg salad is made a little differently depending on the cuisine of the restaurant where you order it, what region of the country you're in, and who created the recipe. Whether you like your egg salad pure and simple, feel like getting fancy with some truffle butter, or just want to try something really tasty, here are our picks for the best places to eat egg salad in the U.S.

Read more: The Best Wings In Every State

Cafe Okawari - San Francisco, California

Tamago sando from Cafe Okawari - Cafe Okawari / Instagram

We cannot bask in the awesomeness of egg salad without discussing Japan's influence on this humble food. The egg salad sandwich, or tamago sando as it's called, is a popular snack at bars and quick-stop spots, like the Japanese 7-Eleven, where tamago sandos are the stuff of legend. What sets a tamago sando apart is its use of milk bread  called shokupan  a fluffy, angelic form of (usually crustless) white bread with a subtle sweetness. Americans who tried tamago sandos in Japan raved about the experience online, but many shops in the U.S. that were known for selling them closed due to COVID-19. It's not easy to get your hands on an authentic tamago sando anymore, but Cafe Okawari in San Francisco still makes them.

The small space in the city's SoMa district is as comforting and simple as the food it sells. Cafe Okawari is big on chicken katsu and Japanese curry, but its tamago sando is a customer favorite, too. The minimal ingredients show admirable restraint, and the Jidori egg in the center looks like an edible art piece. What's a Jidori egg, you ask? It comes from the hen breed Hinai-Jidori, which produces eggs with a deep orange yolk, a trademark of their cage-free, vegetarian lifestyle. Cafe Okawari's tamago sando is sure to fulfill your egg salad desires, and if you want to get your fill of milk bread while there, consider a fruit sando for dessert.

Nielsen's Delicatessen - Houston, Texas

Diagonal cut egg salad sandwich on white bread - evman50 / Facebook

Deli sandwiches have fortified a place in American food culture, and for those in the Houston area with a hankering for egg salad, a stop inside Nielsen's Delicatessen is one you won't regret. Nielsen's has been in business since 1952 and is the oldest operating delicatessen in Houston. It proudly keeps old-fashioned sandwiches on the menu (hello, liver paste), and the egg salad sandwich is a popular pick among them.

Nielsen's was opened by husband and wife team Niels and Vita Nielsen who emigrated to the city from Denmark. Through Nielsen's the couple hoped to introduce Texans to smrrebrd, the open-faced sandwiches that are a centuries-old Danish culinary tradition. Although the Nielsen's ultimately decided to focus on the overstuffed, handheld deli sandwiches their American customers were accustomed to, Vita Nielsen' became renowned for her housemade mayonnaise, a key ingredient in most egg salad recipes.

Many decades later, Nielsen's Delicatessen remains family-owned, the mayonnaise continues to be made in-house, and customers are still loving the egg salad sandwich here  even earning an entry as one of Houston's best sandwiches from the Houston Press in 2018. Just don't forget about the sandwich being overstuffed. Nielsen's serves its egg salad sandwich with a spork on the side for a reason, which can make eating this big boy on the go a little challenging, all the more reason why you should take your time and enjoy it.

Kaufmann's Deli - Skokie, Illinois

Egg salad platter with lettuce - Kaufman's Deli / Facebook

Jewish delis are harder to come by in the Chicago area these days, but among the ones that have managed to stick around is Kaufmann's Deli, about an hour north of the Windy City in Skokie, Illinois. Established by Holocaust survivor Maury Kaufman in 1960, Kaufman's upholds authentic, old-school deli customs by offering more variety than one even thought possible, and its views on egg salad are no exception. This is one of the few places around where you will have a choice between regular egg salad, egg white salad, or even whitefish salad with mayonnaise and hard-boiled eggs (that's Kaufman's Chicago whitefish salad), but if you're on the fence we suggest going with the regular version. Kaufman's also bakes all of its breads, rolls, and bagels (you can even order your sandwich on the housemade rye), so the option you choose for your egg salad sandwich should by no means be an afterthought.

Kaufman's Deli has never been known to do things halfway, so the portions are hefty. It's also worth mentioning that this place is locally famous, so a trip here to indulge in some freshly made egg salad can sometimes involve a longish line (make sure you take a numbered ticket at the door), but it is certainly worth a visit.

Europane Bakery & Cafe - Pasadena, California

Open face egg salad sandwich with orange slice - C8KES / X, formerly known as Twitter

Open-faced sandwiches are not a prominent food staple in the U.S. the way they are in Scandinavia. Maybe it's because Americans just think they are toast, or we feel subconsciously conflicted about eating a sandwich with a fork and a knife. If you happen to be an open-faced sandwich naysayer but also an egg salad lover, we implore you to put these reservations aside and get into the Open Face Sandwich at Europane Bakery in Pasadena. The eatery has become well-known for the Open Face Sandwich featured on its breakfast menu, but it only comes one way  with egg salad.

Europane is the kind of place where you'll pay nearly $8 for oatmeal, but it's also the kind of place where the $10.50 egg salad sandwich feels worth every penny. This isn't just your typical creamy egg salad recipe with some celery or paprika thrown in, it's a thoroughly elevated sandwich, layered with tomato pesto, mixed greens, and fresh egg salad mixed with lemon, mayo, salt, and pepper, and sprinkled with chives. A condiment upgrade and photogenic looks aren't the only standout elements of Europane's egg salad  critics have praised the cafe's attention to detail, noting that the eggs are boiled with such precision that they taste more poached than hard-boiled, lending the egg salad a smoothness that you won't find in other sandwiches.

Wanpaku - Brooklyn, New York

Wankapu egg salad sandwich with ketchup - Wanpaku / Facebook

New Yorkers have long relished the belief that they can get any kind of food at any time of day they want. It pains us to say it, but those days appear to be winding down. With 24-hour diners becoming rarer in the city and the stateside Japanese tamago sando verging on extinction, New Yorkers in search of on-demand egg salad sandwiches are forced to be more selective ... and more mindful of the clock. If you want a nicely made tamago sando (those viral egg salad sandwiches from Japan) and you are in the proximity of Greenpoint, Brooklyn, the one served at Wanpaku is yours for the taking.

Several well-known eateries that responded to Americans' late 2010s enthusiasm for creamy egg salad on crustless milk bread proved unable to weather the force with which the COVID-19 pandemic uprooted the restaurant industry. Luckily, Wanpaku, a ramen and izakaya shop in Brooklyn has acknowledged the need for tamago sandos, and is doing its part to fill the void. This place is cute and the egg salad is tasty, but Wanpaku skips a beat by choosing to serve its sandos on brioche instead of the Japanese shokupan (milk bread) that makes sandos feel so treat-like. Silver lining? The egg salad itself is good stuff, featuring plenty of Japanese mayo, celery, dill, and lemon zest. It comes with shoestring fries, a welcome sidekick to any sandwich.

Laurel Market - Charlotte, North Carolina

Close-up egg salad sandwich - Laurel Market / Facebook

Since opening in 1991, Laurel Market has been a local favorite for sandwiches in the Eastover/Myers Park neighborhood of Charlotte. Although it has been around for over 30 years, nothing on this menu feels stuck in time  especially not the egg salad sandwich. Laurel Market's dedication to fresh ingredients is part of what makes its sandwiches so good, but so is the variety. The family-run market and deli boasts a downright impressive repertoire of sandwiches, but the egg salad is worth a try.

With so many unique choices on Laurel Market's menu, opting for your go-to egg salad sandwich order might seem too safe, but we haven't told you the best part yet. This egg salad sandwich comes with apple-smoked bacon and horseradish sauce, transforming it from the same-old deli standby into a decadent meal that punches with flavor. You can order Laurel Market's signature egg salad (which leans toward southern style and has a mild spice to it), without the bacon or horseradish if that's more your style, but for the hordes of bacon fans out there (who also happen to be down with horseradish sauce), this is a welcome addition.

Yelp reviews of Laurel Market's sandwiches are glowing, and they shout out the egg salad sandwich by name. One reviewer proclaimed, "Egg salad sandwich with bacon and horseradish is to die for!!!" in case you still need persuading.

NR - Manhattan, New York

Half egg salad sandwich with truffle butter - nr_nyc / Instagram

Only in New York City will you pay $11 for a tea sandwich, but only in the Upper East Side will an egg salad sandwich be this luxurious. Delis and cafes be damned, when you order the Truffle Egg Sandwich at NR you are getting a multi-sense dining experience. NR's Western-influenced Japanese cuisine, dim lighting, and throwback decor are inspired by port town restaurants that cropped up during Japan's Meiji Era (1868 - 1912) when foreigners were permitted to enter the country for the first time in centuries. Naturally, a lot of fusion started happening during those years, and NR's twist on the egg salad sandwich is right in step with this historical culinary movement.

NR teeters into upscale territory, so when you come here, make it a special occasion, and forget about the outside world for a while. You probably don't use truffle oil in your egg salad or dip your sandwich into a ramekin of melted truffle butter on the daily, but a trip to NR calls for that. You can also wash that egg salad sandwich down with a cardamom and saffron tequila cocktail garnished with a peacock feather, but you only live once, right? If you find yourself in Manhattan, preferably with someone you love, make a night of it at NR.

Reuben's Deli - Atlanta, Georgia

Reuben's Deli interior - PhillyPartTwo / X, formerly known as Twitter

A weekend morning trip to the deli is one of life's simple pleasures, and if it's an egg salad sandwich you're after, Reuben's Deli in downtown Atlanta, Georgia is just the place to turn your craving into reality. Reuben's sandwich selection consists of "Basic" Sandwiches, Signature Sandwiches, and Hot Sandwiches. Although you'll find the egg salad in the "Basic" section, we assure you it is anything but. The menu points out that Reuben's egg salad is "So fresh, Mama Hen is still looking for the eggs." Pair the egg salad with your choice of the deli's fresh-baked bread and you won't be disappointed.

Customers have praised the deliciousness of the egg salad sandwich with one Trip Advisor review calling it "one of the best egg salad sandwiches I have had in Atlanta." Reuben's may be a New York-style deli, but it is right at home in the South. The bustling eatery has been in business since 1996, and remains popular for its commitment to making high-quality, filling sandwiches every single day. Reuben's Deli was also named one of Atlanta's best lunch restaurants by the travel guide website discoveratlanta.com  and it's because of the sandwiches.

Bell's Restaurant - Los Alamos, California

Egg salad sandwich with dish of pickles - Bell's / Instagram

Christened by the Wall Street Journal as "The Egg Salad Even Haters Will Love," Bell's Restaurant is doing things differently in Los Alamos. Executive Chef Daisy Ryan, who co-owns Bell's Restaurant with her husband Greg, pulls all the right influences into her egg salad sandwich recipe, and it's had the power to convert some picky eaters to view the often polarizing salad in a favorable light.

So, what makes the egg salad at Bell's different? For one, the local, farm-fresh eggs are boiled to leave the yolks on the softer side, not crumbly like they tend to be in oversimplified recipes. Ryan goes easy on the mayo, using olive oil and the soft texture of the yolks as supplemental binding agents so that the egg can really shine through. She also mixes in minced chives and serves the egg salad on toasted pain de mie  France's version of the almighty milk bread, which we are convinced is the best thing to ever happen to the egg salad sandwich. Every egg salad sandwich at Bell's Restaurant comes with tomato jam, a house specialty, that even skeptical customers realize they like. When discussing the tomato jam with the Wall Street Journal, Ryan said, "Our servers say, 'If you don't like it, we'll send out a new one.' To my knowledge, we've never had to."

Martin Wine Cellar - Louisiana

Exterior of Martin Wine Cellar - Future of New Orleans/YouTube

The wine store isn't your typical spot to pull up a chair and stay awhile, but Martin Wine Cellar is changing minds with its adjacent deli and bistro, complete with an indoor dining area and patio. Martin Wine & Spirits has been a Louisiana staple since 1946, but the gourmet dine-in experience came later, in 1977, at the original New Orleans location. Wines by the glass and charcuterie boards are Martin Wine Cellar signatures, but don't sleep on the housemade egg salad sandwich with toasted bread it's a great pick on the meat-heavy menu.

Martin Wine Cellar has two additional locations in Metairie and Baton Rouge, and save for a monthly rotating wine list, the deli and bistro menus are pretty uniform in all three places. The egg salad is part of the Build Your Own section of the menu which allows you to jazz up your sandwich with a respectable selection of cheeses and breads for no extra charge. Less predictable cheese options like blue, Havarti, mozzarella, and Parmesan enhance the list of otherwise usual suspects: American, cheddar, provolone, and Swiss. Bread choices range from rye, white, wheat, sourdough, and 7-grain, or you could get an onion roll, French bun, or pita. Customers are permitted to enjoy their purchases from the beverage side of the store, at the dining tables so order the egg salad, grab some friends, and make the most of all Martin Wine Cellar has to offer.

Feldman's Deli - Salt Lake City, Utah

Egg salad sandwich with lettuce and tomato - Daniel Eating Dallas / Facebook

For those of you who are influenced by customer reviews, we are pleased to report that the egg salad sandwich at Feldman's Deli is beloved by many. The Jewish deli melds the exposed-beam, industrial-style ceilings reminiscent of New York City eateries with airy, ski chalet vibes, and snow-capped mountain views that make Salt Lake City beautiful. Then there's the food. Feldman's Deli was opened in 2012 by Mike and Janet Feldman who relocated to Salt Lake City from New Jersey in the early 2000s. After recognizing the southwestern state's lack of an authentic New York-style deli, the Feldmans took it upon themselves to show the folks in Utah what they'd been missing  including a great egg salad sandwich.

More than a decade later, Feldman's is still serving the people of Salt Lake City, and the egg salad sandwich is still a menu highlight. The generous portion of egg salad with plenty of herbs stirred in and garnished with lettuce, tomato, and red onion, makes Feldman's sandwich feel balanced and complete ... well almost complete. Customer reviews suggest you order a side of Feldman's fries to go with it. Why? Because they're awesome.

The Bar At Willet - Bardstown, Kentucky

Bird's eye view of egg salad sandwich with topping - The Bar at Willett / Instagram

It's okay, we didn't know we should go to Bardstown, Kentucky either, but the magic happening in The Bar at Willett's kitchen is putting this small town on the map in a whole new way  and egg salad is a big part of it. In years past, tourists were drawn to Bardstown for its idyllic setting and lots of bourbon. Somewhat unsurprisingly, The Bar at Willett's egg salad has a direct connection to bourbon, it sits on the property of the historic Willett Distillery, dating back to 1936. Visitors flock to the bar for some majorly artful cocktails, but it's the food menu that's out of this world.

We cannot help but be enamored by the fact that the egg salad sandwich from The Bar at Willett is so innovatively beautiful it's not even immediately recognizable as a sandwich. It is the brainchild of Executive Chef John Sleasman, and what he has achieved in the sandwich's details is so unique. The egg salad, prepared with smoked Duke's mayonnaise, rests on a bed of brioche spread with yolk jam, which is made by cooking eggs sous vide, and mixing them with soy sauce. Shaved on top are curls of egg yolk that are salt-cured for seven days, and garnished with sprinkles of chives and nutritional yeast. The egg salad sandwich is one of The Bar at Willett's best-selling kitchen creations, and it's clear to see why.

Read the original article on Mashed.
Smoking a turkey is an art, and mastering it requires making the right choices from the get-go. A critical decision in the turkey smoking process is the brining technique, with two main contenders: wet-brining and dry-brining. While both have their merits, dry-brining emerges as the champion, offering a host of benefits that elevate your smoked turkey to a whole new level.

Wet-brining is a well-known method where the turkey is submerged in a water-based solution, often enriched with salt and other flavor-enhancing components. The intention is clear: To introduce moisture into the meat for a juicier end result. However, wet-brining comes with a significant drawback: diluted flavors. By allowing the meat to absorb excessive water, it can lead to a turkey with less flavor.

One might wonder if there's a better way to achieve both moistness and a rich turkey flavor. Enter dry-brining, a technique that combines the best of both worlds. Dry-brining is akin to a quick salt-cure process. Rather than submerging the turkey in a water bath, you directly apply salt to the surface of the meat, allowing it to work its magic. The result? Moist meat with a more pronounced and defined turkey flavor.

The magic of dry-brining lies in its ability to maintain the turkey's natural taste. While wet-brining can dilute the flavor due to the introduction of excess water, dry-brining enhances it. The salt, acting as a flavor enhancer and moisture retainer, ensures the turkey's true essence shines through.

Read more: 12 Different Ways To Cook Chicken

Why Dry-Brining Works

salt and seasonings - Simarik/Getty Images

Dry-brining operates in two simple yet profound steps. First, the salt is applied to the turkey's surface, initiating a process that pulls moisture out of the meat. This might sound counterintuitive, but it's a crucial step in enhancing the turkey's flavor. Once the salt has pulled moisture out, the second step begins. The salty liquid is reabsorbed into the meat, but without introducing any additional water. This is where the magic happens -- the salt concentration increases without diluting the flavor. The turkey becomes both moist and flavorful, a perfect combination for an unforgettable smoked turkey experience.

But that's not all. The versatility of dry-brining extends beyond just salt. It's an excellent canvas for creativity. You can elevate the taste profile even further by incorporating other seasonings and flavorings. A classic barbecue rub with cumin, paprika, and garlic powder can infuse your turkey with a smoky, savory character. On the other hand, an herb rub with ground-dried sage, rosemary, oregano, and thyme can add depth and complexity to the flavor.

In essence, dry-brining is a game-changer in the world of turkey smoking. It preserves the turkey's natural flavor and allows for the infusion of a variety of additional flavors. With dry-brining, you can upgrade your smoked turkey to a culinary masterpiece, impressing your guests with a dish that's both succulent and rich in flavor.

Read the original article on Tasting Table.
Often overlooked, the decolletage is an area that requires special attention on the skincare front. "Decolletage is the area from the jawline down the neck, the chest to the cleavage and the shoulders," explains board-certified dermatologist Mary Lupo, MD. The skin in this area is super delicate, so treating it with care is important. "It is much thinner than the skin of the face," says Dr. Lupo. "There is less fat and less skin appendages (sweat glands, sebaceous glands)." This makes it more sensitive to harsh ingredients and more susceptible to sun damage, adds board-certified dermatologist Dina Strachan, MD. "We tend to neglect it with respect to sun protection," says Dr. Strachan.









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To ensure the neck area is getting proper care, learn the dos and don'ts of decolletage maintenance below.

Do: Protect From the Sun

"The decolletage gets nearly as much sun as the face, but while folks tend to take good care of their face, they often neglect the chest and neck," says board-certified dermatologist Ranella Hirsch, MD. "It's a dead-location giveaway of sun damage to an observant derm." Always be sure to apply (and reapply) sunscreen to this area. Aim for an SPF of at least 30.

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Don't: Use Intense Ingredients

Because the skin on the decolletage is so thin, the retinoids and acids you use on your face may be too intense. "Because of the lesser number of sebaceous glands on the decolletage, you cannot be as aggressive with your actives as on other areas," says Dr. Hirsch. "This is especially true for actives on the neck."







Tips

You'll also want to be careful with physical exfoliants. "It's better to avoid scrubs and overly harsh cleansers," says Dr. Lupo.







Do: Moisturize Regularly

The decolletage is an area that you want to keep moisturized. Not only do the emollients in moisturizers keep this skin strong and healthy, but they also help to keep the skin plump, reducing the chance for fine lines and wrinkles to settle in prematurely. Dr. Strachan notes that a solid moisturizer is a key step in any decolletage care routine. Seek out ingredients like ceramides, which strengthens the skin's moisture barrier, and peptides to thicken the skin. Dr. Lupo recommends the Revision Skincare Nectifirm Advanced Cream ($154). It's packed with moisturizing glycerin, firming red microalgae extract, and smoothing peptides.

Revision Skincare Nectifirm Advanced Cream ($154)

SHOP

Don't: Side Sleep

If preventing deep-set lines is a priority for you, Dr. Lupo says to refrain from sleeping on your side as much as possible. This position puts pressure right down the middle of your decolletage and, with time, can lead to a wrinkle that extends down the sternum into the cleavage.

Do: Use Antioxidants

While sunscreen protects your skin from ultraviolet damage, antioxidants protect skin from environmental aggressors like pollution. These aggressors expose skin to reactive oxygen species (ROS), which trigger oxidative stress that can lead to premature signs of aging like fine lines and hyperpigmentation. Turn to gentle vitamin Cs, niacinamides, and other antioxidant skin-care ingredients to keep the skin on your decolletage healthy.

Related: The 14 Best Vitamin C Serums, Tested and Reviewed

Don't: Get Aggressive Laser Treatments

If you're dealing with crepey decolletage skin, lasers can be super effective in treating imperfections and boosting collagen for tighter, smoother skin. "Lasers really help, but they must be gentle," says Dr. Lupo. Because the skin is so thin and fragile, "it makes the skin more difficult to heal after lasers or peels."



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Read the original article on InStyle.
When it comes to maintaining ones mental health, animal therapy can be so beneficial. Thats just the idea that one school teacher had that landed a litter of puppies in her Delaware classroom.

And the results are priceless. Since starting a puppy therapy program at the school, the students reading confidence has soared. Sitting with a sleeping puppy on your lap while at school sounds like an amazing way to spend the dayfor both the students and the pups.

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The teacher works with a shelter to bring the puppies in, and as they spend time in the school, theyre learning important socialization and life skills. In turn, they get to help the students learn and feel more comfortable reading.

Its the perfect trade-off, as both the students and the puppies benefit. Better yet, the kids are undoubtedly learning about caring for dogs. One student is even shown walking one of the dogs down the hallway. These puppies are bound to make great family dogs once theyre adopted.

Twenty puppies have now come through the school doors and left with a forever home. It all started when one teacher brought up the research behind the benefits of dog therapy to her school administration.

Luckily, they were willing to try out having puppies in the school for a trial day. And then that trial day turned into the rest of the school year! Day in and day out, these kids get to learn alongside the dogs.

These kids are definitely lucky to get to be around so many adorable puppies. Were sure that plenty of parents have been getting the, Can we adopt a puppy? question, and honestly, we dont blame them! The puppies are all so precious.

We wish our schools did this for the students when we were young. What a rewarding experience!

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Some families face eviction as homeowners associations sell their homes right out from under them, despite moves by Colorado to limit it, Bloomberg reports.

One of the affected families was the Mendozas of Denver. They had a home in the Green Valley Ranch neighborhood, where theyd lived for seven years. Not only had they never missed a payment on the house, but Bloomberg reports that the home was nearly paid off.

Imagine their surprise when they received a voicemail saying, I want you to know your house has been foreclosed. Their $580,000 home had been auctioned off for a mere $85,000, all without their knowledge.

We realized it was actually true: Someone else owned the house, Naomi Mendoza, the adult daughter of homeowners Jose and Lupita, told Bloomberg.

It works like this: If any home violates an HOAs rules, in even the most petty way, the HOA can issue a fine. Miss paying a fine  or owe the HOA money for any other reason, such as failing to pay dues  and the HOA can place a lien on the home. Once there is a lien, the HOA can foreclose, and the home can be sold at auction for much, much less than its actual value. The HOA isnt even required to notify the homeowners of the proceedings.

At least, thats how it used to work, Bloomberg says. In Aug. 2022, Colorado passed HB 22-1137, which prevents foreclosures by HOAs in cases when the debt came from HOA fines. So the Mendozas, who were cited by the Master Homeowners Association for Green Valley Ranch for oil-stained pavement and a dead tree, would have been safe.

However, the Mendozas fell into a gray area: The foreclosure was filed before HB 22-1137 passed but executed after it took effect, Bloomberg explains. That makes them one of at least 14 families in the Green Valley Ranch community that appear to have had their cases pushed through by the litigious HOA just ahead of the new legislation.

Whats worse, almost a quarter of the United States population lives in HOAs, Bloomberg reports  yet theres no national regulation of HOA fines, and most states dont even have a specific office to address HOA issues. However, some conflicts can be sorted out by individual residents who change rules within their HOAs.

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Celebrating the beauty of the natural world and the growing movement of rewilding, the European Wildlife Photographer of the Year (EWPY) competition has just announced the winner of the second Rewilding Europe Award. This years top honor was awarded to Tobias Richter for his mesmerizing, misty photo Wolves on the Hunt.

Rewilding is the process of allowing nature to reclaim and restore itself in areas that have been impacted by human activity. With so much land being built on for housing, new road networks, or commercial spaces, photographers capturing successful efforts to bring wildlife back has never been more important or inspiring. Tobias image was taken on a later summer evening at one of the many ponds in the Lausitz region in Germany, about 15 miles south of Berlin. On capturing the image Tobias explains:

In the twilight, a small family of wild boars approached the pond. Shortly thereafter, two wolves pounced on three unsuspecting juvenile boars. While the juveniles fled into the reeds, the sow put up a defence....",

 These are the best lenses for bird photography and wildlife so you can capture nature's beauty without disturbing it

Rewilding Europe Awards 2023

Second prize was awarded to the Finnish photographer Jyri Juuti for his photograph Realm of the Beaver depicting a plot of land in Finland that was previously used for commercial forestry but has now been reassigned as a Nature 2000 protected area. Remarkably, biodiversity has significantly increased in the region over the past 25 years, thanks to numerous programs and measures aimed at revitalizing these habitats.

Organized by GDT, the Rewilding Europe Award is a showcase of the finest nature photography not only from Europe but around the world. It serves as a powerful tool in promoting nature conservation to a diverse, global audience. Rewilding can take the shape of restoring natural river dynamics, encouraging forest succession, nurturing complex food chains with diverse predator-prey relationships, and maintaining open landscapes through the presence of large grazing herbivores, to name a few.

Rewilding Europe Awards 2023

This year's judging panel included composed of Laurien Holtjer from Rewilding Europe, renowned British photographer Neil Aldridge, plus European Nature Photographer members Britta Jaschinski, Anders Geidemark, Marijn Heuts, Karsten Mosebach, and Mark Littlejohn who were deeply impressed with Tobias capture.

Several other photographers received "Highly Commended" recognition for their compelling images. Italian photographer Emanuele Biggi captured the moment captive-bred spadefoot toad tadpoles were released into the wild while Swedish photographer Staffan Widstrand's work showcased biodiversity both above and below the waterline in a Hungarian national park. Ricardo Lourenco from Portugal was also highly commended for his portrait of an Iberian lynx visiting a sheepfold.

First and second-prize winners of the Rewilding Europe Award will receive a cash prize of 1,000 and 500, respectively, courtesy of Rewilding Europe. Their work will also be featured in the exhibition catalog and the European Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition, which will tour Germany and Europe for the next three years.

Rewilding Europe Awards 2023

Rewilding Europe Awards 2023

The best tripods for photography enable you to take beautiful photos with telephoto lenses without carrying the weight.
The origin of RC Cola and its decades-long reign as a contender in the soft drink market is a bit of a David-and-Goliath story. Introduced in 1905, the brand traces its roots to a quietly rebellious grocer. A mild-mannered pharmacist by trade, Claud Hatcher was the owner of two drug stores in Georgia when he decided to shutter the pharmacies and join his father's Columbus-based wholesale grocery business.

At the time, Coca-Cola was all the rage. Back then, the soft drink, introduced in 1886 by Dr. John S. Pemberton, was sold to grocers in syrup form (remember old-school soda fountains?). The grocers, in turn, combined the syrup with carbonated water to create soda. Some businesses, including the Hatcher Grocery Company, distributed bottled Coca-Cola to customers at cost as a loyalty perk. By carefully guarding the secret formula for the syrup  still a closely held recipe even today  Coca-Cola had distributors like Claud Hatcher and his father, Lucius, on the ropes.

Fed up with increasing prices, the younger Hatcher decided to create his own soft drink syrups, experimenting with flavors and recipes in the basement of the Hatcher Grocery Company. First up, Royal Crown Ginger Ale. But Claud didn't stop there. He kept combining and tasting flavors until he had a fully developed line of fruit-flavored carbonated soft drinks. He named the brand Melo. Even though Hatcher's debut soda wasn't actually a cola-flavored soft drink, the basement of the family grocery business was where it all began.

Read more: 15 Boba Flavors, Ranked Worst To Best

The Birth Of A Cola Brand

Close-up of many RC Cola bottles - rccolaintl/Instagram

Claud Hatcher was onto something. By 1907, his experiment had morphed into a full-fledged business. Hatcher and his father knew they had an opportunity. They partnered in a new venture, founded the Union Bottling Company, expanded the operation, and set their sights on introducing their own branded cola. The result, Chero-Cola, was a hit  such a hit that, in 1912, they changed the name of their business to the Chero-Cola Company and started to franchise.

With Chero-Cola leading the way, the company had 700 franchised bottling plants on the books within eight years. Coca-Cola was not amused, ultimately forcing the Hatchers to drop the word "cola" from their brand. By 1920, demand for Chero had dropped off significantly. The Hatchers pivoted again. They ceased production of the cola beverage and began producing a fruity soft drink they marketed as Nehi. Here's where it gets tricky. They changed the company name yet again.

This time, it became The Nehi Corporation. Claud Hatcher died in 1933 and H.R. Mott took over the company, deciding it was time to reintroduce a cola-flavored beverage. Royal Crown Cola debuted in 1934, 14 years after the untimely demise of its predecessor, Chero. (A legal ruling gave "cola" the green light.) The company named the beverage Royal Crown Cola, a nod to Hatcher's first soft drink, Royal Crown Ginger Ale. Over time, the name was shortened to RC Cola. And the rest, as they say, is history. Oh, one more thing: In 1959, the company officially became The Royal Crown Cola Company.

Read the original article on Tasting Table.
As of 2023, Chef Sean Sherman can add Julia Child Award Recipient to his long list of impressive accolades. The 2022 James Beard Award winner, cookbook author, and one of Time's 100 most influential people of 2023 will be formally honored with the Julia Child Award at a gala in Minneapolis on October 24, per a press release. He will also receive a $50,000 grant from The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts that will help support his non-profit, the North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems, and its Indigenous Food Lab, which includes a kitchen and training center. "Sean and Julia share a dedication to education and a commitment to inspire change," said Eric W. Spivey, Chairman of The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts.

While Sherman's central mission -- to build momentum and awareness for Indigenous food systems -- may appear different from Julia Child's television-based culinary career at first glance, Sherman was inspired by Child's work from a young age. "I saw the impact that food can have on the world through Julia and I'm excited to continue her legacy through my work," Sherman said, per the press release. "With the generous grant from the Foundation, I look forward to continuing my efforts to develop educational materials and programs for Native communities and fostering the rich heritage that is an essential part of American culinary history and life."

Read more: Ina Garten's 12 Best Cleaning Tips For A Mess-Free Kitchen

Sean Sherman Grew Up Watching Julia Child On TV

Julia Child cooking on TV in black and white - Bettmann/Getty Images

Sherman's highly influential career as a restaurant co-founder, non-profit owner, and champion of Indigenous food systems started when he was 13 years old in the town he grew up in: Spearfish, South Dakota. He cooked in restaurants and worked for the Forest Service during high school and college, and, in his time off, he watched Julia Child's PBS show, "The French Chef," per the press release. Inspired by Child's goal of spreading French cooking in the States, Sherman began looking for ways to bring awareness to Native American food.

His career since then has done just that. After discovering there were no Native American restaurants in North America, he co-founded the Minneapolis establishment Owamni by The Sioux Chef, which serves modern Indigenous food and sources primarily from Indigenous producers. According to Sherman's website, the menu omits "colonial ingredients" such as beef, pork, chicken, dairy, wheat flour, and cane sugar, focusing instead on those native to North America, like wild game, insects, and beans.

Through his cookbooks, non-profit, food lab, and restaurant -- along with regular speaking engagements, classes, and community dinners -- Sherman is revitalizing Indigenous food in the States, just as Child did with French cuisine years ago.

Read the original article on Tasting Table.
Since Starbucks workers began a major push for unionization back in 2021, tensions between the company and its pro-union store employees have steadily risen. The dramatic saga has been filled with multiple lawsuits over corporate's alleged retaliation against union workers, including wrongful terminations, as well as a stream of aggressive union-busting tactics, from benefit exclusions to threats and surveillance.

The latest chapter of contention between the coffee giant and its unionized workers involves the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Following a controversial post regarding the Israel-Hamas war by the official X (formerly known as Twitter) account of Starbucks Workers United, the union is accusing Starbucks higher-ups of encouraging a boycott of unionized stores.

In the aftermath of the attack on Israeli civilians by the militant group Hamas on October 7, 2023, the union posted "Solidarity with Palestine" on the social media platform. In response to the post, which has since been deleted, the company issued a statement to publicly separate itself from the union's stance. "Workers United's words and actions belong to them, and them alone," the corporate office wrote (per CNN).

The union's statement in support of Palestine sparked outrage among pro-Israel groups and individuals, with many calling for a boycott of the coffee shops. Now, Starbucks Workers United is alleging that the company shared a list of 300 unionized locations with the Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce (OJCC) as "stores to avoid," according to a report by Restaurant Business News.

Read more: 31 Coffee Brands, Ranked From Worst To Best

Starbucks Union Workers Fear Targeted Harassment

Starbucks barista making drink - Bloomberg/Getty Images

The list has since been shared on the chamber's website, along with a statement that claims Starbucks' leadership, including former CEO Howard Schultz, reached out to the OJCC to condemn the union's postings. The chamber itself says that the Starbucks corporate office shared the list of unionized stores in order to aid in the group's call for a boycott. Despite the claims made by the OJCC, however, a spokesperson for Starbucks told Restaurant Business News that the list of unionized stores to boycott did not, in fact, come from the company.

After the list was shared, Workers United filed a complaint against Starbucks with the National Labor Relations Board, expressing fears of targeted harassment and violence towards unionized staffers. The union is accusing the company of stoking these fears by sharing the list, and by falsely equating the union's pro-Palestinian social media messaging with support for terrorism and violence. According to the filing, Workers United feels that Starbucks corporate is "using the current global tragedy against its own employees to chill support for the union," as well as threatening the safety of employees with defamatory statements against the union.

The union's postings about the Middle Eastern conflict have also led to an exchange of lawsuits over trademark infringement. Per the Associated Press, Starbucks is suing the union for using the company's name and a similar green logo. The Starbucks Workers United group, meanwhile, is asking a court to uphold its usage rights.

Read the original article on Tasting Table.
ABOUT THE ELECTION

Early voting

Early in-person voting continues through Nov. 4. Sites are open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and the last two Saturdays, Oct. 28 and Nov. 4, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 4, is the last day to vote in person.

People can request ballots be mailed to them until 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27.

Locations

In the Fredericksburg region, early voting is held at these locations:

Caroline County: At the back of the Caroline County Administration Building in the new annex, 212 North Main St., Bowling Green. Phone: 804/633-9083.

Fredericksburg: In the registrar's office at 601 Caroline St., Suite 500. That's the fifth floor of the Executive Plaza. Phone: 540/372-1030.

King George County: In the registrar's office in the Revercomb Administration Building, 10459 Courthouse Drive, #102. Phone: 540/775-9186.

Spotsylvania County: In a satellite office in the Breezewood Shopping Center, 10699 Courthouse Road, Spotsylvania. 540/507-7380.

Stafford County: In the conference room of the Stafford County Government Center, 1300 Courthouse Road, Stafford. 540/658-4000.

At most sites, voters can request curbside voting. There's usually designated parking spaces, and phone numbers people can call or text to have ballots brought to their vehicles.

Tips from registrars

If people who asked for ballots to be mailed to them decide to vote in person, that's fine, said Anna Hash, Stafford County's registrar. They should bring the mailed ballot with them to the voting location and turn it in, she said. That's a smoother process than the alternative: having them cast a provisional ballot which will be checked later against mailed-in ballots to make sure no one voted twice.

Anyone with questions about who's on the ballot can look at official sample ballots on county and state websites. Things can get confusing with local and state elections. For instance, Spotsylvania County has 30 different ballots because its precincts are represented by different districts for School Board, Board of Supervisors and Senate and House seats in the General Assembly.

Absentee ballots changed this year and no longer require a witness signature, but voters do have to include their year of birth and last four digits of their Social Security number. "We've seen a lot of mistakes on absentee ballots this year," said Jessica Atkinson, Fredericksburg's registrar. "If you have a question, call us and we'll help you fill it out."

All voters should bring valid IDs with them. They include a voter card or documents; driver's license; passport; ID issued by an employer, Virginia college, university or high school or the military; or utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck or other document with the person's name and address, within the last year.

On Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 7, polls are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.

 Cathy Dyson
If you grew up in the northeastern United States between the Great Depression and the 1990s, A&P grocery stores were likely an iconic presence in your community  yet to anyone who grew up in the last 20 years, the now-defunct brand is basically unknown. So how did such a big name disappear within decades?

Originally founded in New York City back in 1859, A&P was a shorthand for The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company. It became one of the country's first chain retailers, expanding westward and pioneering concepts like store-brand items with its once-famous Eight O'Clock coffee. Despite being an eclectic shop that was not yet a full supermarket, A&P also became one of the first retailers to focus on discount pricing, and it eventually opened its first full grocery store in 1912. But the low prices and innovative thinking that fueled its ascension to one of the biggest companies in the country also eventually led to its demise.

Taking off in the 1920s, A&P continuously experimented with scientific management strategies that lowered costs, like streamlining inventory and vertical integration through the purchasing of fish canneries and milk producers. By the late 1930s, the company was the largest retailer in the country with 16,000 locations nationwide  and was the second largest business period, behind only General Motors. Yet that would be its apex. After the death of owners George and John Hartford in the 1950s, who had been behind A&P's risk-taking and experimenting, the stores experienced a protracted decline.

Read more: Restaurant Foods That Always Taste Better Than What You Make At Home

A&P Grocery Stores Refused To Change For An Evolving Market

Woman shopping at old A&P - Bettmann/Getty Images

A&P had grown by driving smaller stores out of business with low prices, but it couldn't keep up with the competition. The company was slow to expand from cities into the new suburbs in the post-war period, and larger grocery stores that offered more convenience  with a better selection of non-food items like cleaning supplies  picked away at its market share. Through the latter half of the decade, A&P was criticized for its refusal to innovate. It stayed focused on basics like eggs and milk as other stores started offering more specialty products that appealed to evolving tastes. Stores also retained a dated appearance and branding, even as higher-end stores like Whole Foods offered a brighter, more inviting environment. By the time A&P filed for its first bankruptcy in 2010, it had only 395 stores, mostly back in the Northeast.

Just like with its product selection, A&P also couldn't keep up with pricing. New discount competitors like Walmart and Target entered the grocery market, often studying and using the exact tactics A&P had used in the 1920s and '30s. Without the appeal of a discount retailer  or the higher-end products of a specialty one  A&P had nothing left to offer shoppers. After a second bankruptcy in 2015, it sold or shuttered all of its remaining stores. The company that kicked off the forces of the modern supermarket wars over 100 years earlier had finally succumbed to them.

Read the original article on Tasting Table.
Having been used in Mexican cuisine for centuries, chocolate and chili make for a match made directly in the center of Flavortown -- think Mexican hot chocolate. In the mid-2010s, Starbucks set out to bring this punchy combo to its fans in caffeinated beverage form. "When we think about fall, often people think about warmth and spice, like cinnamon and apple pie," then-Starbucks senior product developer, Michelle Sundquist, said on the Starbucks website in 2016. "We decided to take that idea in a new direction with chocolate and a bit of heat."

When devising the drink, the Starbucks team looked to the Mexican dish mole, as well as beloved Mexican spice-infused drinks like horchata and champurrado for inspiration while testing the heat levels present in a variety of peppers. Ancho chiles proved to be the pepper of preference, offering a sweet, fruity kick that perfectly complemented the espresso and chocolate notes while providing just the right amount of spicy heat to the drink.

The Starbucks Chile Mocha launched in fall of 2016, offering a rich chocolate and espresso-based beverage enhanced with ancho and cayenne chile powder. Yet, the unique festive drink didn't last. While the popular Pumpkin Spice Latte continued to appear on Starbucks' autumnal menu, the spicier drink was phased out of stores just a year later.

Read more: 26 Coffee Hacks You Need To Know For A Better Cup

Make Your Own Chile Mocha At Home

Close-up of chocolate, red chile pepper, cinnamon sticks, and spice powder - Seva_blsv/Shutterstock

Starbucks baristas made the Chile Mocha with espresso, steamed milk, cocoa, and cinnamon, and the drink was served crowned with whipped cream and a powdery garnish of ancho and cayenne chile pepper, cinnamon, paprika, sugar, and sea salt. It was an explosion of flavors with a caffeine -- and spicy pepper -- kick.

With its inclusion of many different spices, Starbucks designed the drink to appeal to fans of its seasonal mainstay, the Pumpkin Spice Latte. But it seems that it was no competition for the well-established fall favorite. Starbucks confirmed the news on X (formerly known as Twitter) in the fall of 2017, tweeting: "Chile Mocha isn't coming back this year, but we recommend trying the PSL [Pumpkin Spice Latte] or an Iced Salted Caramel Mocha." Though the Chile Mocha has unfortunately joined the ranks of discontinued Starbucks drinks, you probably have the ingredients to replicate the recipe for yourself in your spice collection at home.

If you'd prefer a colder version of the spicy beverage to enjoy during the warmer months, blend the ingredients into a makeshift Frappuccino or whip up a caffeine-free version by adding the drink's spices to your favorite hot chocolate recipe. Craving extra flavor in that plain latte or mocha? Add your own spices like paprika and cinnamon -- and don't forget to sprinkle a touch of pepper powder to keep your palate perked. You can even add a dash of cayenne pepper to your brewed coffee for a similar kick!

Read the original article on Tasting Table.
Gathered "for peace" in Cairo, world leaders demanded on Saturday a "ceasefire" between Israel and Hamas, pleading for "massive" aid to Gaza and a definitive "solution" to 75 years of Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

We must act now to end the nightmare, UN boss Antonio Guterres said, speaking as more than 1,400 Israelis have been killed and 200 taken hostage in Israel by Hamas since its deadly attack on 7 October 7.

Nearly 4,400 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli reprisals in Gaza, according to the Health Ministry of Hama.

The Gaza Strip, now under "complete siege" by Israel, "needs a massive delivery of aid", added the Secretary General of the United Nations.

On Saturday, only 20 aid trucks passed from Egypt towards the Gaza Strip.

The UN says at least 100 trucks per day are needed for the 2.4 million Gazans deprived of food, fuel and other necessities.

Guterres launched his plea in front of the heads of state of Egypt, Jordan, the Palestinian Authority, as well as an audience of Arab and European heads of diplomacy, including the bosses of the Arab League, the African Union and the European Union.

Russia, China, Japan, Canada, the UK and the United States were also represented.

Also at the summit, King Abdullah II of Jordan called for "an immediate ceasefire", while Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi affirmed that "the only solution to the Palestinian question is justice", emphasising the "right" of the Palestinians "to establish their State".

Pedro Sanchez, the Prime Minister of Spain, urged the international community not to let the conflict become a regional crisis.

We cannot postpone a solution, Sanchez urged.

Guterres also touched on "the broader context", referring to "56 years of occupation with no end in sight".

Nothing can justify the reprehensible attack by Hamas which must, he continued, immediately and unconditionally release the approximately 200 hostages it kidnapped in Israel.

Mahmoud Abbas , the President of the Palestinian Authority, called for "the end of the occupation of the Palestinian Territories by Israel and the two-state solution".

Israel is not represented at the summit, but Abbas repeated we will not leave three times in response to the Israeli order to evacuate Palestinians from the north of the Gaza Strip to the southern border of the Gaza Strip.

Palestinians see it as a first step towards "a forced displacement" of their people towards the Egyptian Sinai which would, according to Mr. Abbas, amount to "a second Nakba" - meaning catastrophe in Arabic - a reference to the expulsion of around 760,000 Palestinians to the creation of Israel in 1948.

King Abdullah II of Jordan openly criticised the global community for their apparent lack of input.

The world is silent, he said, adding, this is a very dangerous message. The Arab world hears it clearly: Palestinian lives are worth less than Israeli lives. Our lives are worth less than other lives human rights have limits: they stop at borders, races and religions.

Egypt, the host of the summit, wants to be on the diplomatic front line on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

They were the first Arab country to sign peace with Israel in 1979 and Cairo has long been a traditional mediator between Israel and the Palestinians - notably Hamas.

Egypt also controls the Rafah crossing point, the only border with Gaza which is not not in the hands of Israel.
Death of a Florida mother triggers check of her young twins, who are found dead at home

The death by suicide of a Florida woman triggered a wellness check on her 5-year-old twins, whose lifeless bodies were discovered Friday at home in an apparent homicide.

Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma announced the cascade of tragic events at a news conference later Friday, saying his detectives believe they have a "murder-suicide situation" on their hands.

Witnesses reported seeing the woman, Catorreia Hutto, 31, drive to the "crest" of Lake Jessup Bridge in Oviedo at 8:45 a.m., stop, get out and jump. Her lifeless, floating body was pulled from the water later, Lemma said.

murder suicide crime investigation aerial seminole county florida (WESH)

Deputies then went to check on the twins at their home in Sanford, he said. The exact way the children died was a mystery, he said. The sheriffs office implicated their mother in its characterization of the case as a murder-suicide.

No trauma or blood were apparent, Lemma said, and the twins appeared to be sleeping. The home is about 7 miles north of the bridge; the bridge is about 28 miles north of downtown Orlando.

"If they did not check the vital signs," Lemma said of deputies who went to Hutto's home and found the pair, "they would not know they were deceased."

Deputies found a gun on the ground with live rounds nearby, but it did not appear the children had been shot, the sheriff said. No empty or fired cartridge cases were observed, he said.

A coroner's official said that an autopsy could lead to a conclusion about cause and manner of death for the children within 48 hours but that information might be sealed by detectives if they continue to investigate.

Lemma identified the twins publicly even though authorities were reach their father, he said.

He sheriff said Hutto acquired her home through the nonprofit group Habitat for Humanity, known for building houses and giving them to people whose income prevents them from buying them.

NBC affiliate WESH of Orlando reported Hutto moved in a little more than a year ago.

The home was sparsely appointed, with "not much food," Lemma said.

Hutto was working for a temp agency doing clerical jobs, he said, and had last worked a few days ago. "The family might have been struggling financially," he said.

Even so, there were no outward signs of rapid decline, he said, and there were no reports about the family on file with his office or the Florida Department of Children and Families.

"Nobody that we know had any indication that she may be in this dire state," Lemma said.

He said the twins' grandmother described their mother as struggling with lifelong depression.

The Department of Children and Families did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The children's school district, UCP (Unlocking Children's Potential) Charter Schools, identified them as kindergartners in a statement to WESH.

"The entire UCP community is deeply saddened by the sudden passing of two of our Seminole County school's kindergarten students and feel shocked by the circumstances," CEO and Superintendent Ilene E. Wilkins said in the statement.

Neighbor Latoshia Reynolds told the station she wonders whether Hutto felt isolated.

"I am absolutely heartbroken," she said. "I have empathy. I don't have to know her. I have a daughter of my own, and what first comes to be is that she may not have had anyone to reach out to."

If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat live at 988lifeline.org. You can also visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional support.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
The four defendants are accused of violating the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act (PRPA)

BLM Over $1 million worth of dinosaur bones were allegedly stolen from Utah and shipped to China

Four Americans have been charged with selling $1 million worth of dinosaur bones to China.

According to an indictment shared by the United States Attorneys Office, District of Utah, Jordan Willing, 40, from Ashland, Oregon, Steven Willing, 67, from Los Angeles, and Vint Wade, 65, and Donna Wade, 67, from Moab, Utah, are accused of violating the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act (PRPA) by illegally purchasing, transporting and exporting dinosaur bones from federal land in southeastern Utah between March 2018 and March 2023.

The defendants are being charged with multiple felony charges against the United States, including "concealing and retaining stolen property," per the release. In addition to selling $1 million in paleontological resources, the indictment alleges the defendants' actions caused more than $3 million in damages.

The defendants further illegally conspired by knowingly concealing and retaining stolen property of the United States, the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Utahs press release read. As charged, in a typical execution of the conspiracy, the Wades purchased paleontological resources removed from federal land by paying cash and checks to known and unknown unindicted individuals.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

BLM The defendants allegedly violated the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act (PRPA)

Related: Rare Dinosaur Known as 'Barry' to Go on Sale in Paris Auction

The release added that the Wades then allegedly collected paleontological resources to sell to national vendors at gem and mineral shows. Meanwhile, they allegedly sold the illegally obtained paleontological resources to the Willings, who then exported the dinosaur bones to China through their company, JMW Sales, per the U.S. Attorneys Office.

This was allegedly done by mislabeling the dinosaur bones and deflating their value to avoid detection by federal agents, the release explained.

Related: Missing $30M T. Rex Skeleton Shrouded in Mystery  Involving Dwayne Johnson!  Finally Turns Up

The indictment also outlined that the more than $3 million in damages consisted of restoration and repair costs, the resources commercial value and the resources scientific value.

"Whatever value we could gain by knowing the location they are at, what other bones were near, the type of soil they were found in  all of that scientific value was lost when they were removed," U.S. District Attorney Trina Higgins said in a statement.

"So although dinosaur bones and all of the paleontological resources have a value on some markets, the true loss of removing these items from public lands cannot be monetarily measured. It is invaluable," Higgins added, per KSL.com.

According to the Attorney Office's statement, the defendants are set to have their first court appearance on Oct. 19. According to The Salt Lake Tribune, the Federal Bureau of Investigation Salt Lake City Field Office is working on the case alongside the Bureau of Land Management Monticello Field Office and the Grand County and San Juan County Sheriff Offices.





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In a real-time reminder of the dangers of covering international conflict, CNN anchor Sara Sidner was reporting live from the West Bank city of Ramallah when a man accosted her on-air to voice criticism of the networks coverage of the Israel-Hamas War.

You are genocide supporters. You are not welcome here, genocide supporters, said a man who came up to Sidner while she was in the middle of reporting on air. Fuck CNN! Fuck CNN! Genocide supporters. The scene was transmitted live during CNN This Morning, the Warner Bros. Discovery-backed networks regular A.M. program

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Sidner maintained her composure, but there were a few moments on screen when CNNs cameras appeared to be forced back from her. Security personnel were seen moving in to her position, and, after a few moments, escorting her away from the scene. She continued to respond to anchor Erin Burnett, on the ground in Tel Aviv even as she was walking away.

Were fine. said Sidner, flanked by security agents. But what you are seeing is the heightened fear, anger, frustration with what is happening in general.

Sidner is a former international correspondent who has lived in the region and covered Israel and Gaza for years, dating back to 2014. She was part of a team that won a Peabody award for CNNs coverage of the Arab Spring, and has been recognized in the past for work done in Libya while reporting in the midst of rebel fighters during the fall of Tripoli. In 2011 Sidner shared the Achievement of the Year Award from SKY WFTV Women in Film & Television in the United Kingdom for her war coverage in Libya.

Alyssah Farah Griffin, the former Trump White House staffers who is now a CNN contributor, praised Sidner on social media, citing incredible composure and poise.

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SAN DIEGO (Border Report)  Mario Martinez, who was Tijuanas chief of police under the previous mayoral administration, was shot and killed last week during a visit to the city.

He was currently working as the head of public safety and security for the small coastal city of San Quintin, located about 150 miles south of border.

According to Tijuanas Mayor Montserrat Caballero, Martinez had traveled to her city without his security detail.

The only information we have is that he came here without his bodyguards, said Caballero. He didnt request any from us, he made the choice to be unprotected.

Tijuana mayor says shes still getting death threats, continues to live in army facility

The Baja California Attorney Generals Office is handling the investigation.

It says Martinez was killed around 8:30 p.m. last Friday while driving a gray Nissan Pathfinder.

According to the preliminary investigation, he was found dead in the drivers seat and had been shot multiple times through the window on the front-right passenger door.

No other information related to Martinezs murder has been released.

Visit the BorderReport.com homepage for the latest exclusive stories and breaking news about issues along the U.S.-Mexico border

He was Tijuanas chief of police from 2017 to 2019.

We are united in grief with his family and friends hoping they soon find closure over such a painful and irreparable loss, read a statement issued by the city of San Quintin.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego.
(The Hill)  President Biden addressed the nation from the Oval Office Thursday evening.

The main topics of the 15-minute speech were the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, and the war in Ukraine.

The Middle East has entered a horrific new phase since Hamas killed about 1,400 Israelis in a surprise attack on Oct. 7. Israeli reprisals have killed around 3,800 Palestinians.

A ground invasion of Gaza by Israel could come at any moment.

On Ukraine, polls show American public commitment to the war wavering as the price tag for aid keeps rising.

Bidens speech was also delivered against a backdrop of dysfunction on Capitol Hill, where the House has been without a Speaker since Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was ousted on Oct. 3.

Here are the main takeaways from Bidens speech.

An attempt to weave together Ukraine, Israel and Gaza

The central point of the speech was to make the case for new tranches of aid to Ukraine and to Israel.

Biden said he would deliver a request to Congress on Friday. The total request, which also includes other issues like aid for Taiwan, is expected to be for about $100 billion.

Rhetorically, Biden sought to draw parallels between the two conflicts, weaving them together into a narrative about the vital struggle against Americas foes.

Hamas and Russian President Vladimir Putin both want to completely annihilate a neighboring democracy, Biden said.

He further contended that Iran is supporting Russia in Ukraine, and it is supporting Hamas and other terrorist groups in the region.

The bedrock of Bidens argument was that resolute support of U.S. allies is essential for preserving American primacy in the world.

American leadership, he contended, is what holds the world together. It would put all that at risk if we walk away from Ukraine, turn our backs on Israel. Its just not worth it.

It was a strong case.

But Biden is also battling headwinds.

There are tensions with progressives in his own party over the rights and wrongs of backing Israel so fervently.

Republicans have long sought to characterize Bidens leadership, at home and abroad, as weak and directionless.

Moments before the president spoke, former President Trumps campaign issued a statement in which it held Biden culpable for the horrific catastrophes taking place in Israel and accused him of displaying incompetence, radicalism, and weakness.

A passionate call to stem hatred at home

The conflict in Israel and Gaza has resonated in the United States in grim ways.

A six-year-old Muslim boy, Wadea Al-Fayoume, died Saturday after being stabbed in an alleged hate crime about 40 miles from Chicago. His mother was also stabbed and seriously injured.

Jewish Americans have spoken of a growing sense of dread amid increasing instances of antisemitism.

The most emotional passages of Bidens speech addressed these problems. He demanded that both Islamophobia and antisemitism should be without equivocation renounced.

Biden mentioned Wadea by name. He also drew a vivid picture of Jewish families worried about their children being targeted in school or being attacked themselves while going out about their daily lives.

In times of discord and conflict, Biden insisted, we have to work harder than ever to hold on to the values that make us who we are.

We reject all forms  all forms  of hate, whether against Muslims, Jews or anyone, he added.

On the hospital explosion, the clearest backing of Israel yet

The conflict between Israel and the Palestinians has been in danger of widening since a Tuesday explosion at the al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City. The death toll, though disputed, appears to be in the triple figures.

Palestinians blamed an Israeli airstrike. The Israelis said an errant rocket from Palestinian Islamic Jihad was responsible.

Biden and his administration were clearly leaning toward the Israeli version of events when the president visited Israel on Wednesday.

But in his remarks while overseas, Biden did caveat those remarks to some degree.

Meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he said that based on what Ive seen, it appears as though it was done by the other team, not you. At a later appearance, he said it appeared a terrorist group in Gaza was responsible based on the information weve seen to date.

That trace of equivocation was gone by Thursday.

Biden said that he was heartbroken by the tragic loss of Palestinian life, including the explosion at the hospital in Gaza  which was not done by the Israelis.

No direct mention of Speaker gridlock

Biden had taken a shot at congressional Republicans while on Air Force One on his way back from Israel.

Asked about the struggles of House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) to win the Speakership, Biden told reporters with obvious sarcasm I ache for him.

Jordan, a fervent Trump loyalist, is one of the most aggressive Republicans in Congress and has been especially avid in pursuing the presidents son, Hunter Biden.

However, the president avoided frontal attacks on the GOP during his Oval Office address, presumably judging that such remarks would seem discordant or petty in the somber setting.

Instead, he restricted himself to a grander sentiment  that we should not let petty, partisan angry politics get in the way of our responsibility as a great nation.

Perfunctory backing for Palestinian rights

Biden touched on several elements of the conflict in Israel and Gaza beyond his expressions of support for Israel.

Near the start of his remarks, he talked about the plight of Israelis and Americans taken hostage by Hamas. The total number of American hostages is unknown  roughly a dozen U.S. citizens remain unaccounted for.

We are pursuing every avenue to bring your loved ones home, Biden said.

The president did not ignore Palestinian views.

He asserted that the United States remains committed to the Palestinian peoples right to dignity and self-determination and he called on Israel to uphold the laws of war.

He also restated the goal of a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians  though such a goal seems bleakly distant right now.

But those remarks were brief and had a perfunctory feel  especially alongside a promise to seek billions of dollars to sharpen Israels qualitative military edge.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.
Fighting intensifies along Israels border with Lebanon

Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters exchanged fire on Saturday in several areas along the Lebanon-Israel border as violence continues to escalate over the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Journalists in south Lebanon heard loud explosions along the border close to the Mediterranean coast.

The state-run National News Agency reported that Israeli shelling hit several villages, adding that a car was directly hit in the village of Houla.

An Israeli army spokesman said a group of gunmen fired a shell into Israel adding that an Israeli drone then targeted them. He added that another group of gunmen fired toward the Israeli town of Margaliot and a drone attacked them shortly afterwards.

Direct hits were scored in both strikes, Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee posted on X - formerly Twitter.

4,385 Palestinians killed since the start of the war - Hamas Health Ministry

At least 4,385 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas on 7 October, the territory's Health Ministry has announced.

According to the report, 1,756 children and 967 women are among these deaths. At least 13,561 people have been injured in Gaza, relentlessly bombarded in retaliation for the Hamas attack on Israeli soil.

We must act now to end the nightmare - UN boss

The head of the UN, Antonio Guterres, has called for an end to the conflict, saying "we must act now to put an end to the nightmare".

Guterres was speaking at the ongoing Peace Summit in Cairo and also called for a "humanitarian ceasefire" on the 15th day of the war between Israel and Hamas in power in Gaza.

The Gazans need much more, a massive delivery of aid is necessary added the Secretary General of the United Nations.

Only 20 trucks crossed from Egypt to Gaza besieged and shelled by Israel on Saturday morning, a figure the UN says is totally insufficient.

The organisation has called for 100 trucks of aid per day to help the 2.4 million Gazans in the region.

Gaza aid convoy 'must not be last' - UN

The first convoy must not be the last, the head of the UN humanitarian aid agency Martin Griffiths has warned during a Summit for Peace in Cairo, after the passage of 20 trucks from Egypt towards Gaza besieged and shelled by Israel.

I am confident that this shipment will be the start of a sustainable effort to deliver essential goods  including food, water, medicine and fuel  to Gazans in a secure, unconditional and unhindered manner, he added.

Egyptian media have reported that Saturday's shipments only contain food and medical aid and not fuel, vital in the Gaza Strip.

Griffiths call comes after humanitarian aid trucks began crossing the Rafah terminal on the Egyptian side towards the Palestinian enclave of Gaza earlier on Saturday.

Egyptian state television showed several trucks passing through the huge gate of the border crossing on the 15th day of war between Israel and Hamas, which rules Gaza, as tons of aid have been piling up for days in the waiting for a passage to the 2.4 million Gazans, half of them children, without water, electricity or fuel.

Hamas releases two US hostages

Hamas militants freed two Americans late on Friday - a mother and her teenage daughter, who had been held hostage in Gaza since militants rampaged through Israel two weeks ago, the Israeli government said.

The pair, who also hold Israeli citizenship, were the first hostages to be released. More than 200 are still being held.

The two Americans, Judith Raanan and her 17-year-old daughter Natalie, were out of the Gaza Strip and in the hands of the Israeli military, an army spokesman said. Hamas said it was releasing them in an agreement with the Qatari government for humanitarian reasons.

Judith and Natalie Ranaan had been on a trip to southern Israel from their home in suburban Chicago to celebrate a Jewish holiday, family said. They had been staying at the kibbutz of Nahal Oz, near Gaza, when Hamas fighters took them and more than 200 others hostage.

Relatives of other captives welcomed the release and appealed for others to be freed.

We call on world leaders and the international community to exert their full power in order to act for the release of all the hostages and missing, their statement said.

In this photo provided by the Government of Israel, Judith Raanan (R) and her 17-year-old daughter Natalie are escorted by Gal Hirsch, special coordinator for hostage return - Government of Israel via AP Photo

17 UN refugee agency employees killed since the start of the war

At least 17 employees of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, the Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarin said on Saturday.

So far, the deaths in this brutal war of 17 of our colleagues have been confirmed. Unfortunately, the true figure is likely to be higher, Lazzarin wrote in a statement.

Some were killed at home while sleeping with their families, he added.

In the Gaza Strip, incessant airstrikes and bombardments, coupled with evacuation orders by Israeli forces, have led to the displacement of a million people and caused the deaths of far too many civilians, Lazzarini went on, calling for an urgent humanitarian ceasefire.

He also noted that the UNRWAs facilities "are now overcrowded", with 500,000 people having taken refuge there.

Israel calls on its citizens to immediately leave Egypt and Jordan

Israel has called on its citizens in Egypt and Jordan to leave these two countries "as quickly as possible" due to a "worsening of demonstrations against Israel".

A similar alert, level 4, the highest, had already been issued for Turkey and the recommendations were raised to level 3 for Morocco, advising Israelis not to go there.

"Due to the continuation of the war, and a significant worsening in recent days of demonstrations against Israel and demonstrations of hostility and violence against Israeli and Jewish symbols", the entire " Middle East and Arab countries" are not recommended for Israelis, warned the Israeli National Security Council in a statement.

Two Israeli tourists and their Egyptian guide were killed by a police officer in Alexandria on 8 October, the day after Hamas attacks on Israel.

Biden thinks Hamas attack linked to efforts on Israel-Saudi relations

President Joe Biden said he thinks Hamas initial attack on Israel was tied in part to efforts to normalise relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, an initiative that Biden was trying to bring to fruition.

They knew that I was about to sit down with the Saudis, the U.S. president said late on Friday, speaking at a fundraiser.
Arab nations are publicly isolating Israel as it responds to Hamass unprecedented terrorist attack, testing the boundaries of the U.S. led-Abraham Accords that was meant to usher in a new era of peace in the region.

But American lawmakers argue the accords  brokered during the Trump administration that established ties between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in 2020  are still an important step toward Israels integration in the region. And they still think the ultimate goal, a breakthrough on ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia, is possible.

Democrats and Republicans are pointing to Iran  the financial and military backer of Hamas  as the overarching threat, the glue binding the countries that signed the accords, and potentially motivation for more countries to join.

Every single country said, Please dont leave us, we are worried about the threat from Iran, Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) told The Hill, about her experience leading the first-ever Abraham Accords caucus trip to Morocco, Bahrain, UAE, and Israel.

I believe as we move on a little bit further, we will be able to work together because everyone is worried about that terrorist threat.

Top Stories from The Hill

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) was in Saudi Arabia on the weekend of Oct. 7, the day Hamas launched its attack on Israel, meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman about the future of a ground-breaking peace agreement with Israel.

We had left the meeting the night before with such optimism, and then when we found out about the attacks on Israel, it really struck us that this has just made our task that much harder, she told The Hill.

Obviously we were very sad about what was happening in Israel, the dynamics in the Middle East are very difficult, very difficult  it just really was difficult for us to face that next day knowing that, where we thought we were making advances, now its probably going to be on hold for just a bit.

U.S. officials have said there is no direct evidence of Irans involvement in the terrorist attack against Israel. But some experts and lawmakers theorize that Hamas and its patron Iran are seeking to rupture rapidly advancing agreements between Israel and its Arab neighbors.

Literally, we have the Abraham Accords moving with Morocco, with UAE and Bahrain, continued engagement, normalization in the region, and Hamas determines this is against their self-interest, and they literally slaughter 1,400 individuals to try and deter all of that dialogue, Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) said.

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Hamass attack was months in the planning, reportedly consisting of detailed intelligence of secret Israeli army installations along the Gaza Strip and that culminated in the brutal killing of civilians at a music festival and in the communities in the area.

Hamas is holding more than 200 people it took from Israel as hostages in the Gaza Strip. And Israel estimates 1,400 were killed  with bodies still being identified, some burned or mutilated beyond identification.

Condemnations surrounding Hamass assault quickly came out from the U.S. and other Western and democratic countries. And in a sign that the Abraham Accords had shifted things slightly in the region, the UAE condemned Hamas publicly as launching attacks against Israel.

To me it is actually quite remarkable, said Ghaith al-Omari, a senior fellow with The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. If you look at the statements of Abraham Accord countries, UAE and Bahrain specifically condemn Hamas. Morocco made a less explicit statement but a quick statement that was also quite strong, and that was a really marked difference from some of the other Arab countries.

But al-Omari, speaking to The Hill Wednesday morning, warned that quickly changing developments on the ground often frustrate the best efforts at diplomacy.

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Later that day, an explosion occurred at a hospital in Gaza, killing and wounding hundreds. Arab nations surrounding Israel quickly and unequivocally blamed the Israel for carrying out an attack.

Israel rejected blame and released intelligence assessments  which have since been supported by the U.S.  saying a misfired rocket launched from the Gaza Strip by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad landed on the hospital.

Everybody here believes that Israel is responsible for it. The Israeli army says it is not. But to be honest, try and find anybody thats going to believe it in this part of the world, Jordans Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said in an interview with CNN.

Protests against Israel have intensified in the Middle East and worldwide as Palestinian civilian casualties from Israeli airstrikes increase, giving fuel to the entrenched, historical view in the region of Israel as an occupier and aggressor.

After the Gaza hospital explosion, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, along with the leaders of Jordan and Egypt, called off a summit with President Biden the day before he was set to leave for the region, saying they could not participate in a meeting they didnt believe would end the war.

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), a member of the Abraham Accords caucus, said the reaction from the Arab world was not unexpected. But he said the utility of the accords should not necessarily be viewed in terms of Arab support for Israel, but in Arab efforts to prevent Israels war against Hamas from expanding into a wider conflict, in particular with Iran.

Everythings relative here, right? So far, this hasnt expanded to a bigger conflict. And one of our goals here is to make sure that it doesnt, make sure that Iran doesnt get involved, that Hezbollah [in Lebanon], that this doesnt expand to a conflict in the north of Israel. And so far thats the case.

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.)

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) speaks to reporters on his recent trip to Ukraine on Wednesday, September 20, 2023.

In his prime-time address Thursday night, Biden made the case for U.S. leadership in supporting Israel and supporting Ukraine in its defensive war against Russian President Vladimir Putin as part of limiting the spread of a bigger war.

If we walk away and let Putin erase Ukraines independence, would-be aggressors around the world would be emboldened to try the same. The risk of conflict and chaos could spread in other parts of the world, in the Indo-Pacific, in the Middle East, especially in the Middle East, he said.

Iran is supporting Russia in Ukraine, and its supporting Hamas and other terrorist groups in the region. And well continue to hold them accountable, I might add.

Biden has directed two U.S. carrier strike groups to the Mediterranean as a show of force to deter Iran and its proxies in the region from instigating a larger war with Israel as it focuses on eliminating the threat from Hamas.

The Pentagon said Thursday that a U.S. navy destroyer had intercepted missiles and several drones shot by the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen toward Israel.

The U.S. has also thwarted drone and missile attacks on its bases in Iraq, without assigning responsibility. But theres concern that Iranian-backed militias in Iraq are working to attack the U.S. for its support of Israel.

Sen. James Risch (R-Idaho), the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he believes that rapprochement between Israel and its Arab neighbors struck the match for the Hamas attack on Israel. Risch, along with other GOP lawmakers, have called out Iran as the party overall responsible for Hamass terrorism.

The Iranians are using Arab allies, namely Hamas and [Palestinian Islamic Jihad] and Hezbollah as their agents to foment this, theres no question about it, he said.

Risch had met with Crown Prince Mohammed earlier this year and said he has plans to meet with the Saudis again to talk about establishing relations with Israel.

Saudi Arabia holds massive military, financial and spiritual influence in the region  as custodian to Islams most holy city, Mecca. Establishing relations with Israel would lead to a tectonic shift in attitudes in the region.

If there is, and I think there will be eventually, normality between Israel and Saudi Arabia, this is going to put Iran on an island, and they cant stand that, Risch said

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The Lincoln police officers involved in a scuffle that left one officer with a neck wound and a suspect shot have been identified by Acting Police Chief Michon Morrow.

Officers Kirby Urbanek and Kate Schwenke were the officers involved in the incident early Tuesday morning.

Urbanek sustained injuries to his neck when the suspect, Simon Kafka, attacked him with a knife, according to police. Schwenke then shot Kafka when he tried to reach for an officer's gun.

Schwenke was one of two off-duty officers who were injured Wednesday evening near Bennet when they pulled over to assist at a crash scene and another car crashed into them. She has eight years of experience with LPD and is a SWAT team member.

Urbanek was released from the hospital Tuesday afternoon after his neck injuries were treated and was said to be in "good spirits," according to Morrow. He has been with LPD since June 2022 but has five years of experience in law enforcement.

The incident happened after officers were called to the Lincoln Bus Depot at 5250 Superior St. just before 12:15 a.m. Tuesday. Kafka was reportedly on a bus without a ticket or money for the fare and wouldn't leave.

When the officers arrived and confronted Kafka, he attacked them with a knife, police say.

Kafka was booked in the Lancaster County jail on suspicion of resisting arrest, first-degree assault, and use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony.

Tuesday's incident marked the second time Lincoln police have shot a suspect this year.

On May 1, Chace Abney, 35, of Nevada, allegedly shot at police following a confrontation in a parking lot near Northwest 27th and West O streets. Officers from the Lincoln Police Department and Nebraska State Patrol returned fire. Abney would die five days later from his injuries. No officers were injured.

In that instance, former Lincoln Police Chief Teresa Ewins declined to identify the officers publicly.

Review of police shootings in Lincoln since 2013 1. Douglas DaMoude, May 30, 2014 2. Tyson Hubbard, March 5, 2015 3. Tareik Artis, Sept. 22, 2015 4. Zachary Grigsby, Nov. 29, 2015 6. Thomas Sailors, Jan. 5, 2018 8. Joseph Francis Cimino, Oct. 8, 2019 9. Hailey Stainbrook and Christian Alexander, Feb. 20, 2021 10. German Pedraza, Nov. 24, 2021 11. Chace Abney, May 1, 2023
Is it Tuesday yet? The more snippets we get of Britney Spears  forthcoming memoir, The Woman in Me, the more we want our hands on all of its 288 pages. (The book drops on Tuesday, following much anticipation.) Snippets about Spears' life have been plentiful this week, including this one, which is not from Spears memoir but from an eyewitness to a pivotal moment in her life: the moment that ex Justin Timberlake who Spears dated from 1999 to 2002broke up with her via a two-word text message. (Could it not at least have been threeone for each year?)

Flashback to February 2002: Spears was happy when she stepped on the downtown L.A. set of the music video for her song Overprotected (Darkchild Remix), ready to power through rigorous dance sessions during a two day shoot, Page Six reports.

Britney Spears in 2002

There are those people where there is something inside of them and you dont know where it comes fromits like an X factor, said the video's director Chris Applebaum. Thats what we saw with her. I was so happy that this person who was the biggest star in the world was everything I wanted her to be and then more.

Toward the end of the second day, Applebaum said that Spears suddenly went missing for about 20 to 40 minutesa long time, he said, because it costs 20 grand to sit around. When he arrived at her trailer, he found Spears sitting on the floor in a Juicy Couture sweatsuit (very 2002, indeed) with her legs crossed, makeup smudged, and in tears. She held up her Motorola flip phone to Applebaum (also very 2002) and said, I cant believe it. Look it. This happened. She then showed Applebaum a text from Timberlake that read, simply but profoundly, Its over!!! (Even though there were only two words, at least there were three exclamation points.)

Britney Spears in 2002

Timberlake had been trying to reach Spears all day while she was at her shoot, Applebaum said, in large part because he was pissed about Spears infidelity with choreographer Wade Robson, which Spears admitted to in her book. (Timberlake was also unfaithful, Spears writes, cheating on her with six or seven girls, and claiming that Timberlake cheated first.) Spears longtime assistant and friend Felicia Culotta put her arm around Spears and comforted her; Spears was hesitant to finish the shoot, and Applebaum was sensitive to her, saying, If you dont have it in you, I totally understandbut if you want to go out there and finish this last setup in the rain, you can show him that he just made the biggest fing mistake of his life. Spears looked at Applebaum earnestly and said, You know what? Thats a good idea. Im going to show him that he blew the best thing he ever had.

Applebaum said Spears then shot the rest of the video in the rain with even more conviction, as if she were on a mission, he said. Watch the video for yourself here .

Britney Spears in 2002

"The Woman in Me" by Britney Spears

After the breakup, Spears fled to her home state of Louisiana, where she felt comatose; meanwhile, Timberlake was happily running around Hollywood, she writes in The Woman in Me. A few months later, Timberlakes single Cry Me a River was released, vilifying Spears and seemingly confirming that she was unfaithful. Spears writes in her memoir that the song and its accompanying music video, which featured a woman who looked just like her, portrayed her as a harlot whod broken the heart of Americas golden boy.

It was a narrative that was reinforced in a 2003 interview with ABCs Diane Sawyer, where the veteran journalist asked Spears You broke his heart, you did something that caused him so much pain, so much sufferingwhat did you do? Spears writes in her book that she felt exploited by Sawyer, her father Jamie, and her management team, who pushed her to do the interview before she was ready.

Britney Spears in 2002

In response to Cry Me a River, Spears released her own song, Everytime, in which she acknowledged her contributions to her and Timberlakes split. (Watching the music video again, 20 years later, is chilling, especially in light of what we now know via Spears tell-all.)

Britney Spears in 2002

Both Spears and Timberlake rebounded with other celebrities for short-lived flings; Spears had a brief romance with actor Colin Farrell, Access reports, writing in her memoir that they had a two-week brawl in 2002 after meeting through a club promoter friend. Brawl is the only word for it, she writes. We were all over each other, grappling so passionately it was like we were in a street fight. The two met right after her split from Timberlake. As I had before when Id felt too attached to a man, I tried to convince myself in every way that it was not a big deal, that we were just having fun, that, in this case, I was vulnerable because I wasnt over Justin yet, she writes. Spears later joined Farrell at the premiere of his 2003 film The Recruit, where he denied they were in a relationship: Were not dating, he said at the time. Shes a sweet, sweet girl. Theres nothing going onjust mates. Of their whirlwind romance, Spears described Farrell as the cutest, hottest thing in the world, in her book, Entertainment Tonight reports.

Britney Spears in 2002

Britney Spears in 2002

Timberlake eventually married actress Jessica Biel in 2012; Spears married Jason Alexander for just 55 hours in 2004, and later that same year married Kevin Federline, with whom she shares two sonsthey divorced in 2007. Most recently, Spears married Sam Asghari in June 2022, and, 14 months later, Asghari filed for divorce this past August.
NORTH CAROLINA (WJZY/WDVM)  The search continues for a man suspected of killing a Maryland judge overseeing his divorce case last week.

Circuit Court Judge Andrew Wilkinson, 52, was found dead at his Hagerstown home Thursday night after a reported shooting, the Washington County Sheriffs Office said on Friday. Deputies found Wilkinson in the driveway with apparent gunshot wounds. He was taken to an area hospital, where he later died, according to Nexstars WDVM.

Wilkinsons wife and son were in the home at the time of the shooting.

The sheriffs office said they are actively working to apprehend Pedro Manuel Argote, 49, of Frederick, Maryland, for the targeted attack of Wilkinson.

The online court system for the Washington County Circuit Court showed that Argote had a divorce case before Wilkinson and that a hearing took place earlier in the day on Thursday. Washington County Sheriff Brian Albert said Wilkinson gave custody of Argotes children to the Argotes wife. Argote, himself, was not at the hearing.

In his initial court filing, Argote accused his wife of neglecting her homeschooling responsibilities and failing to properly supervise the children. But she filed a countercomplaint, accusing Argote of cruel treatment and saying she couldnt support herself financially.

Days later, his wife requested a protective order, saying he was harassing her via text, controlling her every move, threatening to abuse their daughter and making false accusations against her.

A judge granted a temporary protective order  which included a directive for Argote to surrender his firearms  but it was dismissed weeks later at the wifes request, court records show.

Argotes children  ages 12, 11, 5, and 3  and their mother are in protective custody as the search for Argote continues, authorities said Saturday night.

According to the U.S. Marshal Service, Argote has ties to Brooklyn and Long Island, New York; Tampa and Clearwater, Florida; Columbus, Indiana; and North Carolina.

On Saturday, the SUV Argote was believed to be driving was found in a wooded area in Williamsport, Maryland, roughly 11 miles outside Hagerstown along the West Virginia border.

The U.S. Marshals Service is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information that leads to Argotes arrest. Argote should be considered armed and dangerous, authorities said.

Anyone with information is urged to contact the U.S. Marshals at 1-877-WANTED2.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.
Federal prosecutors had several bones to pick in a Salt Lake City courthouse this week.

On Thursday, a federal grand jury returned a 13-count indictment against four people accused of selling more than $1 million in stolen dinosaur bones taken from public lands in southeastern Utah and shipping them to China, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Utah announced in a news release.

By removing and processing these dinosaur bones to make consumer products for profit, tens of thousands of pounds of dinosaur bones have lost virtually all scientific value, leaving future generations unable to experience the science and wonder of these bones on federal land, U.S. Attorney Trina A. Higgins said in a statement.

The case involves about 150,000 pounds of paleontological resources officials say were illegally removed between March 2018 and "at least" March 2023. In addition, the four defendants are accused of causing more than $3 million in damage, including the losses commercial and scientific value of the bones and the cost of restoring and repairing them.

Utah residents Vint and Donna Wade are accused of buying the dinosaur bones removed, by two unnamed people, who excavated them from federal land, according to the indictment.

The Wades, who are 65 and 67, who owned a business called Wades Wood and Rocks, in Moab, resold the bones at gem and mineral shows, according to documents.

Early Jurassic period: Researchers find fossils of rare mammal relatives from 180 million years ago in Utah

The setting sun casts a golden glow across fields, an afternoon storm and the rocks of Dinosaur National Monument on the Colorado-Utah border.

Among the people who bought the Wades' items were Steven Willing, 67, of Los Angeles, and his son, Jordan Willing, 40, of Ashland, Oregon, investigators said. The Willings owned a company, JMW Sales, and are accused of illegally exporting dinosaur bones to China. The indictment says they mislabeled them and lowered their stated value to prevent federal agents from finding them.

The Wade and the Willing families began working together to ship the items to China, investigators said. In one example of their scam, documents noted, in April 2020, the families labeled a shipment Industrial Stone, Landscape Rock, and Turquoise, but the shipment actually contained dinosaur bones,

Dinosaur National Monument visitors can see more than 1,500 dinosaur fossils and even touch some with their own hands.

Find out: Did you know most states have an official dinosaur or fossil? It's true! Here's yours.

In addition to facing charges of conspiracy against the U.S. and theft of U.S. property, prosecutors said, the four defendants will face prosecution for violating the federal Paleontological Resources Preservation Act, a 2009 law protecting fossils and other remnants of organisms preserved in or on the earth's crust. They're also charged with falsely reporting exports and money laundering.

All four have entered initial pleas of not guilty, court records show.

Jordan Willing's attorney, Rachel Cannon, said in an email her client "vigorously disputes the charges, and looks forward to having his day in court." Steven Willings attorney declined to comment on the allegations. Lawyers for the Wades did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday.

Among the cases prosecuted under the federal paleontological law is one involving two Alaska men sentenced to prison in 2019 for stealing a fossilized woolly mammoth tusk from a national museum in Anchorage. The duo admitted in their pleas that they'd cut the tusk into pieces before selling them.

Public land managed by federal and state agencies encompasses about 71% of Utah, the indictment said. The U.S. Bureau of Land Managements Moab field office oversees about 1.8 million acres, including the Morrison Formation, which has large quantities of bones, fossils and other paleontological resources from the Jurassic period about 145 million years ago, when dinosaurs roamed the earth. The Morrison site is part of the Dinosaur National Monument and has remains of Allosauruses and Stegosauruses.

Southeastern Utah is a well-known destination for visitors to experience paleontology on the landscape, Greg Sheehan, the Utah state director for the BLM, said in a statement. The public deserves the opportunity to benefit from and appreciate prehistoric resources on the lands.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Feds: $1M in dinosaur bones stolen from U.S. lands, shipped to China
This summer, public health officials in Florida issued a warning to residents to avoid mosquitoes after five cases of dengue fever were reported. Also known as breakbone fever, dengue fever is an illness not to be wished upon a worst enemy. Symptoms include nausea, high fever and debilitating body aches and headaches, usually behind the eyes. Rashes can occur across the body, and in severe cases, bleeding can occur in the nose or gums.

Its one of many mosquito-borne illnesses to creep back onto U.S. soil recently after many species were eradicated in the U.S. in the 1960s. Europe is also experiencing a surge in dengue, and severe outbreaks were also reported in Bangladesh, Costa Rica and Peru. The problem is only expected to get worse as warmer temperatures due to climate change expand breeding seasons and habitat ranges for mosquitoes. Its a matter of when, not if, future outbreaks will spread in even bigger regions across the U.S., said Sadie Ryan, Ph.D., the co-director of the Florida Climate Institute at the University of Florida.

This is important, and it is coming, Ryan told Salon in a video call. We know it's getting worse.

Some drugmakers are working toward treatments and vaccines for mosquito-borne illnesses, with Johnson & Johnson yesterday reporting some positive results in an early study for a pill to treat dengue. However, scientists say were still unprepared for these outbreaks and should avoid repeating the same missteps made in the COVID-19 pandemic and the Zika outbreak in 2016.

The fact is, were not really ready, said Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine and co-director of the Texas Childrens Hospital Center for Vaccine Development. Our local health departments are very spotty with their ability to do mosquito control and to even try to diagnose these viruses and mosquitoes.

Dengue has popped up in occasional outbreaks in recent years, with cases usually located in small pockets along the U.S.-Mexico border that originate outside the country. However, 516 locally acquired dengue cases occurred in 2023 alone in Texas and Florida, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

This summer, Alabama reported two cases of another potentially fatal, rare mosquito-borne illness called eastern equine encephalitis, and the U.S. reported its first cases of locally transmitted malaria in 20 years. An August CDC report found cases of West Nile virus, the most common mosquito-borne illness in the U.S., were recently at their highest since 2012.

Want more health and science stories in your inbox? Subscribe to Salon's weekly newsletter Lab Notes.

As a result of urbanization, climate change and natural climate patterns like El Nino, mosquito-born illnesses are on the rise across the globe. Dengue had spread across 129 countries, with half the worlds population at risk as of June, according to the World Health Organization. A 2021 study in The Lancet projected that the number of people at risk for dengue could increase by between 4 and 7 million by 2070.

Not only are [mosquitos] anthropophilic  that is, they like people  but they are also really good at exploiting things like small water pockets in garbage and using public environments in the urban landscape, Ryan said. We're essentially doing what's called ecological filtering, where we're reducing the mosquito community, or the number of different species, down into very specific ones, and they just happen to be really good disease transmitters as well.

Last year, the CDC initiated a public health strategy to protect against these diseases, including modernizing surveillance systems, improving diagnostic tests and developing new treatments. But a report the same year in the Journal of Medical Entomology said funding streams designed to protect against vector-borne diseases like those stemming from mosquitoes were reactive, which can lead to gross inequities that end up supporting repeat outbreaks.

In interviews with The New York Times, a dozen public health officials said the U.S. response to Zika left poorer nations behind while failing to issue adequate public health guidance for pregnant women, with tens of thousands of children affected as a result. Another review in the American Journal of Public Health in 2017 said it took so long for Congress to pass emergency funding that an entire mosquito season passed. Ultimately, 400,000 people were infected across the Americas.

Just like the COVID-19 response, the Zika response illuminated the fragmentation of the U.S. public health system. A Kaiser Health News analysis found more than half of states rolled back public health protections during the pandemic, and a CDC report revealed one in three public health employees faced workforce violence during the public health emergency.

Because public health measures are often deployed by local health departments, the way different regions use the CDCs new public health strategy for surveillance and prevention will be dependent on how much funding they have, who is in charge of it and who their constituents are.

Mosquito vector surveillance in our country is heterogeneous, said Dr. Desiree LaBeaud, a pediatric infectious disease physician at Stanford University. In certain places in the country, there's less support and less resources to go toward surveillance.

A large portion of malaria cases in Texas, Florida, Maryland and Arkansas recently documented have occurred in people who are unhoused, LaBeaud said. Just like health disparities made themselves clear in the COVID-19 pandemic, so too will they with any future mosquito-borne illness epidemics.

I dont think we can ignore that, LaBeaud told Salon in a phone interview. In order to fight infections abruptly, we're also going to need to disrupt the status quo and actually pay attention to general inequities.

Unlike COVID-19, these illnesses have been around for decades and there are already proven mitigation measures known to work to reduce the spread of disease. Public health officials can survey and test mosquitoes in the region to detect diseases before they infect humans and deploy fumigation or public health messaging in affected areas to alert residents to any threats.

We've been in this fight for a very long time, we have a lot of tools, Ryan said. A lot of it is just, Do you have the resources to leverage to do that?

There are a few vaccines for dengue, but research done retroactively six years after one vaccine manufactured by Sanofi-Pasteur went on the market found that while it reduced severe infections in places with high transmission, it actually increased the risk for places with low transmission. This led the drug company to issue a warning that it should only be used in people who were already infected once with dengue  ultimately increasing hesitancy around vaccines and making it more challenging to develop additional vaccines as a result, Ryan said. There are also vaccines for some other mosquito-borne illnesses like malaria and yellow fever, the latter of which hasnt returned to the U.S. but did recently jump from the Brazilian jungle to an urban city in an epidemic three times the size of outbreaks over the past 36 years.

Because most Americans are unvaccinated against these mosquito-borne illnesses, any outbreak has the potential to tear through unvaccinated populations rapidly. Yet Americans might be more hesitant to take existing or new vaccines for mosquito-borne illnesses due to increasing vaccine hesitancy.

The panic of a new virus pathogen can accelerate vaccines, but unfortunately, it also accelerated the anti-vaccine movement, Hotez said.

While the spread of dengue and other mosquito-borne illnesses in the U.S. and Europe could hold the promise of accelerating vaccines and new treatments for these conditions, much like how the spread of COVID-19 accelerated vaccine development, that doesnt mean it will translate to people in countries like Bangladesh and Peru having access to them, despite these populations spending decades battling severe dengue outbreaks. After all, the U.S. was accused of hoarding COVID-19 vaccines in the initial stages of the pandemic instead of ensuring they were globally equitably distributed.

These infections seem strange and far away and people imagine they couldnt possibly be touched by them, LaBeaud said. We are all interconnected, and the way the world is changing, there arent even ecological barriers that used to be there before.  There are no borders here, and one of the things we learned is that we really do need to be as proactive as possible and pay attention to these emerging viruses.
A senior aide to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israels military is undertaking a maximum effort to minimize civilian casualties amid its military campaign in Gaza.

The war between Israel and Hamas began earlier this month after the militant group killed over 1,400 Israelis in a surprise attack on towns and military bases.

The resulting airstrikes from Israel have killed more than 4,300 Palestinians, including over 1,700 children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The increasing number of civilian casualties has sparked worldwide protests for a ceasefire in the conflict.

We dont want to see innocent civilians caught up in the crossfire between us and Hamas, Mark Regev said in an MSNBC interview Saturday. And were making a maximum effort and we understand that in many ways the civilian population of Gaza is a victim of that terrible Hamas regime thats been ruling the Gaza Strip for the last 16 years.

Regev, who is also the former Israeli ambassador to the United Kingdom, said Israels government is not considering a ceasefire.

We will continue the operation against Hamas, we will dismantle its military machine, and we will do so in a way that we will try as best as we can to minimize civilian civilians getting caught up in the crossfire, he said.

A resolution to support a ceasefire in the House, led by Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.), garnered support from numerous progressive Democrats. It has also led to divisions in the party, as the Biden administration fully backs the Israeli offensive.

I am grieving for every Palestinian, Israeli, and American life lost to this violence, and my heart breaks for all those who will be forever traumatized because of it, Bush said in a statement introducing her resolution on Monday.

War and retaliatory violence doesnt achieve accountability or justice; it only leads to more death and human suffering, she added.

Regev defended the Israeli military strategy, saying its strikes on Gaza are reasonable and retaliatory for the initial attacks by Hamas and its capture of hostages.

We dont target the civilian population of Gaza, he said. The truth is, Israel is trying to save lives while Hamas is willing to sacrifice an untold number of Palestinian civilians on the altar of its crazy hate and hateful, extreme ideology.

Concerns over Gaza civilians are loudest among humanitarian aid leaders and the United Nations. Aid groups have described the situation in Gaza as dire, with dwindling food and water resources, nearly no medical supplies and no fuel to run generators for power.

Humanitarian aid began to slowly move into the the Gaza Strip Saturday morning after nearly a full day of delays.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke at a summit of Arab leaders calling for peace in the conflict in Cairo on Saturday.

The grievances of the Palestinian people are legitimate and long, Guterres said. We cannot and must not ignore the wider context for these tragic events: the long-standing conflict and 56 years of occupation with no end in sight.

But nothing can justify the reprehensible assault by Hamas that terrorized Israeli civilians, he continued. And those abhorrent attacks can never justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is bolstering U.S. forces in the Middle East in an effort to deter others from escalating the fighting between Israel and Hamas.

On Saturday, Austin ordered an aircraft carrier to move to the Central Command area of responsibility in the Middle East in an effort to bolster regional deterrence efforts, according to a press release.

The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, along with its associated warships and fighter jets, was originally set to join the USS Gerald R. Ford, which is stationed in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Eisenhower has now been redirected to Central Command, which covers the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea and other Middle Eastern waters. The Pentagon is also fortifying its missile defense systems in the region and putting troops on standby.

[Weve] seen rocket and UAV attacks against bases housing our troops in Iraq and Syria. We're concerned about potential escalation, Austin said Sunday following the announcement.

In fact, what we're seeing is a prospect of a significant escalation of attacks on our troops and our people throughout the region. And because of that, we're going to do what's necessary to make sure that our troops are in the right  in a good position, and they're protected, and that we have the ability to respond, Austin told ABCs Jonathan Karl during an interview on This Week.

As Israel ramps up its counter attacks on Gaza following the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack, concern is growing among U.S. leaders and members of Congress about the potential for Iran to escalate the conflict through its proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon. Iranian-backed militias in Iraq have threatened to attack U.S. facilities there because of American support for Israel, according to the Associated Press.

The State Department is ordering non-emergency personnel to depart embassies in Baghdad and Erbil due to increased security threats against U.S. government personnel and interests.

On Sunday, Austin emphasized the message President Joe Biden hammered since the conflict between Israel and Hamas began earlier this month.

As President Biden said earlier and as you've heard me say, if any group or any country is looking to widen this conflict and take advantage of this very unfortunate situation that we see, our advice is don't. We maintain the right to defend ourselves, and we won't hesitate to take the appropriate action, Austin said.

CLARIFICATION: The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, which has been redirected to Central Command, may be sent to the Persian Gulf but it could also be directed to the Red Sea or other Middle Eastern waters. It will not be joining the USS Gerald R. Ford.
Huge crowds gathered in countries across Europe over the weekend in support of Palestinians and the Palestinian territories - two weeks after Hamas launched its major offensive against Israel.

For the second consecutive weekend, demonstrators took to the streets of London on Saturday and Sunday - voicing an anti-war message.

Police in London estimated around 100,000 people took part in Saturday's rally, chanting Free Palestine, holding banners and waving Palestinian flags.

The protesters marched through the city before congregating outside Downing Street, the official residence of UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

In Rome, hundreds of protesters called for a stop to Israeli airstrikes on Gaza.

Waving Palestinian flags, the demonstrators marched with the cry of "Free Palestine!" and held banners that read: "No peace until we get freedom."

"Israel carries out war crimes there, crimes against humanity there, and the international community has never acted," said Maya Issa, president of the Movement of Palestinian Students in Italy, who organised the demonstration.

Protesters hold flags and shout slogans gather for a pro-Palestinian rally in Rome, Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023 - Gregorio Borgia/Copyright 2023 The AP. All rights reserved.

Despite a ban on demonstrations issued by Berlin police, several hundred pro-Palestine demonstrators marched unhindered through the streets of the German capital on Saturday.

Present in force, the police surrounded the demonstrators and finally allowed the procession to move on.

Protesters hold flags and shout slogans gather for a pro-Palestinian rally in Rome, Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023. - Sven Kauler/(c) Copyright 2023, dpa (www.dpa.de). Alle Rechte vorbehalten

Last week, Germany's Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said German police had recorded more than 1,100 offences in relation to the Israel-Gaza conflict since Hamas launched its deadly attack earlier this month.

At the same time, thousands of people in Berlin gathered at a demonstration called to show opposition to antisemitism and support for Israel.

People carried Israeli flags or posters with photos of some of the people reported to be missing or held by Hamas as hostages.

The protest, organised by a broad alliance of various organisations, comes as antisemitic incidents have been rising in Germany following the violent escalation of the war in Gaza.

On Sunday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz inaugurated a new synagogue in the eastern city of Dessau saying that Germany stands "firmly on Israel's side".

He also said he was outraged by the upsurge in antisemitism since the conflict began.

Several buildings in Berlin where Jews live had the star of David painted on doors and walls, and assailants threw two Molotov cocktails at a synagogue in Berlin last week.

In response to a call by several associations, around a hundred people gathered near the old port of Marseille in southern France to call for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

"In Marseille, we want to take action" and fight "against this climate of anxiety that is spreading", Kamel Fassatoui, head of a local Emmaus branch that organised the rally with the Bouches-du-Rhone Human Rights League (LDH), said.

"It's not about taking sides. We want to be the voice of peace. We need to put pressure on our politicians", he added through a megaphone.

Elsewhere, demonstrators gathered in front of the Red Cross building in Geneva to demand the immediate release of the Israeli hostages being held captive by the Hamas militant group inside of the Gaza Strip.

On Sunday hundreds of people gathered in Sarajevo -- bombed and besieged during the Bosnian war in the 1990s -- to show solidarity with the plight of Palestinians in Gaza.

Among them was a Palestinian doctor who had worked in Sarajevo during the Bosnian war in 1992.

"What is happening in Gaza is simply [a] human disaster. Collective punishment. War crimes. These things have to be named by their rightful name," Nabil Naser said.

The protests were supported by Sarajevo city hall and Mayor Benjamina Karic attended the rally.
Qatar played a central role in securing the surprise release Friday of an American mother and daughter held hostage by Hamas. Now that Judith Raanan and her daughter, Natalie, are free, the hope is that the release of more captives by Hamas could lead to wider dialogue or mediation, aimed at averting a full-scale war, a diplomat with knowledge of the talks told NBC News on Saturday.

There were ups and downs during the discussions, said the diplomat, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk publicly. Ultimately the American mother and daughter walked free because negotiators were able to convince Hamas that the unconditional release of two hostages could serve as a confidence building measure.

After the release of the two women, President Joe Biden thanked the government of Qatar and the government of Israel for their partnership in this work, in a statement.

Mamoun Fandy, the president of the London Global Strategy Institute, a think tank based in the British capital, said the successful hostage negotiation with Hamas allowed Qatar to show it is the hub of diplomacy in this crisis.

Follow live coverage from NBC News here.

The freeing of the two Americans is the latest in a series of diplomatic initiatives by the small, oil-rich Persian Gulf state. Qatar recently helped negotiate a prisoner exchange between the US and Iran, as well the release of four Ukrainian children from Russia.

It also hosted peace talks with the Taliban before the American withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. But Qatars history of sheltering Hamas political leaders could complicate its effort to present itself to Israel as a mediator.

Natalie Shoshana Raanan (L) and Judith Tai Raanan speak with President Joe Biden via cellphone (US Embassy in Jerusalem via AFP - Getty Images)

Judith and Natalie Raanan had been staying on a kibbutz called Nahal Oz, in southern Israel, before they were captured by Hamas in its massive terrorist attack on Oct. 7. After 13 days in captivity, the pair were greeted at the Gaza border on Friday by Israeli Brig. Gen. Gal Hirsch and taken to a military base where they were reunited with relatives.

There are now hopes that if more hostages are freed, it could clear a path to wider talks about getting humanitarian aid into Gaza.

The diplomat said that Qatar has been urging Hamas to free its hostages. The Israelis have been clear they are not willing to talk until all the hostages are released. So it may be better for Hamas to release them faster because that may lead to wider dialogue or mediation."

But Eldad Shavit, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, cautioned that the release of the two hostages was probably a manipulation by Hamas.

My assumption is that Hamas is conducting a military operation and also a political campaign, said Shavit, who has served senior roles in Israeli defense intelligence and the prime ministers office. He added that he thought Hamas was hoping to put pressure on both the international community and Israel "not to proceed with plans, military plans.

Whether that will be possible is doubtful, according to Michael Horowitz, the head of intelligence at Le Beck International, a security and risk management consultancy. Many Israelis, given the killing of more than 1,000 civilians by Hamas in the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks, will argue that a full-scale ground invasion that ends with the complete destruction of Hamas is the only acceptable outcome.

While Qatar was proving to be a key ally of the U.S. and fending off criticism related to their decision to keep hosting senior Hamas leaders, Horowitz said the images and testimonies of the attack were too fresh in the memories of Israelis.

The best shot everyone has to lower the flames is to push for two parallel tracks, namely the release of hostages on one hand, and on the other the entry of much-needed humanitarian aid in Gaza, Horowitz said. This is a sensible strategy, though I would say the chances of avoiding some form of Israeli incursion are still low.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Russian soldiers are digging tunnels to sneak up on Ukrainian positions without being seen by their lethal drones, Kyiv says

The 10th Mountain Assault Brigade of Ukraine fire in the Bakhmut Raion in the Donetsk Oblast on September 16. Libkos/Getty Images

Russia has been adapting its fighting tactics in its attempt to retake a key village, Ukraine said.

A spokesperson said Ukrainian troops have witnessed Russia digging tunnels for "camouflage."

Russia is using remote-controlled vehicles to resupply its forces with ammunition, Ukraine said.

Russian soldiers are digging tunnels to sneak up on Ukrainian positions without Ukraine's lethal drones seeing them, a military spokesperson said.

In an effort to retake the eastern town of Andriivka in the Donetsk Oblast of Ukraine, Russian troops are turning to new tactics, Anton Kotsukon, a spokesperson for a Ukrainian brigade fighting in the area, said in a televised address on Saturday.

"In the Andriivka direction, the Russians began to use new tactics. They are digging tunnels closer to our positions," Kotsukon said, according to a translation by the Ukrainian nongovernmental organization Euromaidan Press .

Kotsukon is a spokesperson for the 110th Mechanized Brigade. The brigade was crucial in recapturing Andriivka in September .

He said the tunnels are there for "camouflage" from Ukraine's surveillance drones and so that the Russians can "suddenly emerge closer to our positions."

Militaries have engaged in tunnel warfare since Roman times. Viet Cong guerillas used a sophisticated network of tunnels to attack US soldiers during the Vietnam War.

Putin's forces have repeatedly attempted to recapture the town in one of its biggest offensive efforts in months. Its soldiers are attempting to flank Andriivka but are suffering serious losses to Ukrainian artillery and drones.

Ukraine's drones have been particularly effective. A video Ukraine's military shared last week appeared to show Russian tanks and armor being destroyed as they headed toward the village.

Ukraine said it used a combination of first-person view drones, US-provided Javelin anti-tank guided missiles, and mortars for the operation.

The Ukrainian General Staff said Friday that in one day of fighting in the area, nearly 900 Russians died, and 100 units of their armored equipment were also destroyed.

Due to heavy losses, Russia is attempting to resupply its troops as quickly as possible.

Speaking on Saturday, Kotsukon said that Russia is now using remote-controlled vehicles the size of cars to send ammunition to the front lines.

"They have enough resources, very fierce battles continue every day, every day they throw new and new forces into the assaults  both personnel and armored vehicles, aviation, artillery," he said, according to a translation by the Kyiv Independent.

"However, our defenders are firmly holding the defenses and inflict considerable losses on the enemy," Kotsukon added.

Read the original article on Business Insider
LANSING  Michigan experts are encouraging the public to squash the invasive spotted lanternfly as the destructive insect rapidly spreads throughout the Great Lakes region.

The states invasive species program has launched a See it. Squish it. Report it. campaign advocating not only killing the pest, but also reporting the deed. They are doing it with public-service videos, social media and billboards along freeways to battle a pest that has already taken over the East Coast.

Ultimately, the insect will spread. But the goal is containment, said Michael Philip, the director of the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Developments Pesticide and Plant Pest Management Division.

A smashed spotted lanternfly sits on the ground Aug. 24, 2022, in New York. Michigan's invasive species program has launched a See it. Squish it. Report it. campaign advocating not only killing the pest, but also reporting the deed.

The insect targets more than 70 kinds of plants, including fruit and hardwood trees, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Its particularly fond of fruit orchards, hardwoods and grapevines.

The insect doesnt eat fruit, but does eat sap in the wood and stems of trees and plants.

Spotted lanternflies first made their way from Asia into the U.S. in Pennsylvania. They have since spread through the Great Lakes region and are now in New York, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois.

The spread has been quick and difficult to control, as the pests presence has been confirmed by state agencies in 15 states since 2014.

The See it. Squish it. Report it. campaign was launched one year after the only detection of the pest in Michigan, in Pontiac, in August 2022.

The population was confirmed to be isolated to a single tree/area in Oakland County and since disposed of by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

According to the campaign, spotted lanternfly egg sacs look like gray, palm-sized clumps of chewed bubblegum and can be found on hard, outdoor surfaces. The adult is a brown bug with bright red, polka-dotted wings beneath its brown outer shell.

Spotted lanternflies seen Sept. 21 near Center Township, Pennsylvania.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, spotted lanternflies can fly  but its not their strong suit. They prefer to jump for short distances and hitchhike otherwise.

They cross state lines by laying their eggs on train cars and other vehicles with hard surfaces.

Damage to plants arises from the way the adult spotted lanternflies feed  they target the sap of the host plant and excrete a byproduct called honeydew, according to the Michigan Invasive Species Program. The honeydew attracts other insects such as yellow jackets, flies and ants.

Its also a colonizer for a fungus called sooty mold that grows on honeydew. The fungus can foul surfaces and kill plants in extreme cases, according to state agriculture officials.

Itll turn your car black, or your house, Philip said. Itll get so bad in some cases that the leaves get so covered in sooty mold that they cant photosynthesize properly anymore, and they can get sick or even die.

While they can be found on any plant, lanternflies strongly prefer the tree of heaven, an invasive species also originating from Asia. That makes tracking and control of the insect slightly easier because infested trees can be treated or removed.

The invasive Tree of Heaven is the primary host for spotted lanternfly.

First, were going to look for their preferred host, the tree of heaven, because it is so very attractive to the spotted lanternfly, Philip said. If theres a lanternfly infestation, and theres a tree of heaven there, it will almost definitely be on that tree.

Wildlife and pest agencies in the Great Lakes region have ramped up control efforts. Wisconsin and Minnesota are the only states in the Great Lakes region without a confirmed presence.

Shealyn Paulis reports for Great Lakes Echo.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Michigan residents urged to squish spotted lanternfly
Envoys representing the European Union and the United States have urged Kosovo and Serbia to resume talks in a bid to de-escalate soaring tensions between Belgrade and the breakaway territory.

EU envoy Miroslav Lajcak and his American counterpart Gabriel Escobar, accompanied by top diplomats from Germany, France and Italy, met with Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti in the capital, Pristina, on Saturday.

It is the first such visit since 24 September when about 30 Serb gunmen crossed into northern Kosovo and killed a police officer.

On that occasion, they set up barricades before launching an hours-long shoot-out with Kosovo police. Three gunmen were killed.

If there is no dialogue, there might be a repetition of escalation, Lajcak said after meeting with Kurti on Saturday.

Lajcak said they strongly denounced the terrorist attack against Kosovo police by armed individuals [that] constitutes a clear and unprecedented escalation.

He added that the incident very clearly underlined that both de-escalation and normalisation are now more urgent than ever.

Both Serbia and Kosova want to join the EU.

They have been told they first need to sort out their differences.

Western governments want Kosovo and Serbia to implement a 10-point plan put forward by the EU in February to end months of political crises.

Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic gave their approval at the time, but with some reservations that are yet to be resolved, mainly the establishment of the Association of the Serb-Majority Municipalities, or ASM.

The EU and US are pressuring Kosovo to allow for its creation to coordinate work on education, health care, land planning and economic development at the local level.

A 2013 Pristina-Belgrade agreement on forming the Serb association was later declared unconstitutional by Kosovos Constitutional Court, citing its failure to include other ethnicities and potential use of executive powers to impose laws.

Pristina fears the new association is an effort by Belgrade to create a Serb mini-state with wide autonomy, similar to Republika Srpska in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Lajcak urged Pristina to move on the establishment of the Association of Serb majority municipalities in Kosovo without further delay.

Without this, there will be no progress on Kosovos European path", Lajcak added.

In July, the EU imposed punishing measures on Kosovo for refusing the ASM, suspending funding of some projects and stopping visits of top diplomats.

Following the failure of the September talks between Kurti and Vucic as well as the recent flare-up, it is unclear when another round of meetings might take place.

Kosovo wants Europe to sanction Serbia which it blames for the September attack, saying no further talks could be held under the current circumstances.

It demanded higher security measures from the West due to fears of an increased presence of Serb military forces along its border.
With nine candidates in the running for Speaker, some Republicans are raising questions over whether their votes on overturning the 2020 election results should be a factor in electing the next leader.

The House has been in turmoil since eight Republicans joined forces with Democrats earlier this month to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) from his position. Since then, the House GOP has struggled to unite behind one candidate for the Speakership.

The GOP conference voted in a secret-ballot election Friday to boot Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) as the Republican nominee after he failed three times to secure the 217 votes needed for the Speakership. Jordan was Republicans second nominee, following Majority Leader Steve Scalises (R-La.) decision to back out one day after the conference narrowly voted to nominate him.

Some Republicans, such as Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.), are saying that the candidates stances on who won the 2020 election will factor into their votes. Buck, one of the eight Republicans who voted to oust McCarthy, told reporters Friday that declaring President Biden as the lawful winner of the 2020 election will be one of his criteria when choosing a new candidate.

McCarthy, Jordan and Scalise were among Republicans who voted in favor of overturning those election results.

Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) said on CNNs State of the Union on Sunday that any candidate who voted to reject the results of the 2020 election should be disqualified from running for the Speakership.

Hours after a mob of rioters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, 139 House Republicans voted to object to the election results in either Arizona, Pennsylvania or both. The vote to overturn Arizonas election results failed 121-303 and the vote to overturn Pennsylvanias results failed 138-282.

Here is how each Speaker candidate voted on the objections:

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.)

Emmer opposed the objections to both Arizonas and Pennsylvanias election results, making him one of two Speaker candidates who did not vote to overturn either of the states results.

Buck has voted for Emmer in each of the three ballots cast for the Speakership this month. The majority whip has also secured McCarthys endorsement, though the former Speaker voted in favor of objecting to Arizonas and Pennsylvanias 2020 presidential election results.

Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.)

Hern voted to object to both the Arizona and Pennsylvania election results.

He is a staunch supporter of former President Trump and has backed the former presidents false claims that the 2020 election was stolen.

House Republican Conference Vice Chairman Mike Johnson (R-La.)

Johnson also voted to object to the election results in both Arizona and Pennsylvania.

He officially announced he is in the race for Speaker via a Dear Colleague letter to members Saturday morning. He serves on the House Judiciary Committee.

Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.)

Donalds is another Republican who voted to object to both Arizonas and Pennsylvanias election results.

Donalds officially announced his run Friday night via a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

He had received votes for the Speakership from GOP holdouts during McCarthys 15-ballot Speaker race in January, and he also garnered a few during Jordans three ballots last week.

Rep. Jack Bergman (R-Mich.)

Bergman voted yes on objecting to Arizonas and Pennsylvanias election results.

In a surprise move, he announced he would be running for the Speakership over the weekend, vowing in a statement that he would end the deadlock, and win the vote.

Rep. Austin Scott (R-Ga.)

Scott is the second of only two candidates to not object to either Arizonas or Pennsylvanias results.

Scott, a seventh-term congressman, shocked many when he pulled a significant show of support in his bid against Jordan last week, when he lost the secret ballot against Jordan in a 124-81 vote.

Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas)

Sessions voted in favor of objecting to Arizonas and Pennsylvanias 2020 presidential results.

He served as chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee from January 2009 until January 2013. He revealed Friday that he would run for Speaker of the House, signaling that he is ready to jump pack into GOP leadership.

Rep. Dan Meuser (R-Pa.)

Meuser split his votes on whether to overturn the two states election results. He voted to sustain an objection to his home state of Pennsylvanias election results but did not object to Arizonas election results.

He officially filed to run for Speaker, according to the list of declared candidates House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) announced Sunday.

Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Ala.)

Palmer, a five-term congressman, is the sixth Speaker candidate to have objected to both Arizonas and Pennsylvanias election results.

He was a surprise name when Stefanik announced the candidates.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A home in South Bend is riddled with chipped paint. Officials are trying to find ways to combat the citys problem with lead-tainted homes. Tribune Photo/SANTIAGO FLORES

SOUTH BEND  As the number of St. Joseph County children tested for lead in their blood remains stubbornly low, officials are hosting a free testing event and raising awareness as part of a nationwide prevention effort.

After nearly 5,300 tests of children younger than age 7 were collected in 2019, the figure fell below 4,000 during the first two years of the pandemic, according to health department data. Health officials assumed it would rebound naturally as people moved about more. But the number collected in 2022 was nearly 3,800, and this year's numbers have stagnated.

"We need to do more work to increase the overall amount of testing," County Health Officer Dr. Diana Purushotham said.

Dr. Diana Purushotham

Low testing numbers are a chronic issue in the county, where screening rates rarely surpassed about 16% of eligible children in the years before the pandemic.

Yet lead poisoning here is well documented. In tests collected from 2005 to 2015, nearly a third of children under age 7 in one South Bend neighborhood had unsafe blood-lead levels  the highest rate in Indiana.

2017 investigation: South Bend's stubborn lead problem: Why are kids still getting poisoned?

Testing early is critical because lead can do irreversible harm to children younger than 7 whose brains are rapidly developing. Ingesting even small amounts of the metal can cause learning disabilities and decreased muscle and bone growth.

The health department has begun offering lead screenings in daycares, reaching 183 children that way last year, according to a 2022 annual report. Two community health workers focus specifically on lead poisoning prevention, offering tests on spot to children or directing their parents to upcoming events. Testing events are held at local schools.

On Oct. 26, as part of National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week, the health department will test children between ages 1 and 6 years old free of charge from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the St. Joseph County Public Library in downtown South Bend.

The health department's immunization clinics and the South Bend Medical Foundation also offer lead screenings to young children at no charge year-round.

How lead poisoning happens in St. Joseph County

Health officials believe most lead poisoning in St. Joseph County results from lead-based paint found in homes built before 1978, when the federal government banned such paint. In South Bend, about 80% of the housing stock was built before 1978; countywide, the number falls to roughly 70%.

Children can ingest lead by eating paint chips or by putting their fingers in their mouth after touching invisible lead dust or contaminated soil. Peeling paint and dust from old windows are common hazards.

State data collected from 2005 to 2015 showed the problem is worst on the west side of South Bend, particularly in two low-income census tracts that form the near northwest and the near west side neighborhoods.

About a third of children in each tract had blood-lead levels in excess of five micrograms per deciliter, which was the threshold considered elevated by the Indiana Department of Health. The department last year lowered that number to 3.5 micrograms to align with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But a 2018 study co-authored by Heidi Beidinger, a Notre Dame professor who founded the university's Lead Innovation Team, found in the same data that 75% of children tested in St. Joseph County had blood-lead levels above one microgram per deciliter. Any amount of lead is dangerous for children, health officials say.

Despite the severe results, few children in the highest-risk neighborhoods and other impoverished areas are tested for lead poisoning, according to Beidinger's study. Only 5.9% of children under age 5 were tested in the near west side and 7.1% in the near northwest.

"If you don't have a lot of money for food or electric or basic things, the last thing you want to probably think about is getting a lead test for your kid," said Briannah McCall, a lead specialist for the county health department. "Weve been trying to change how we approach it and meet people where they are to make lead testing as simple as possible.

To make testing easier, Notre Dame's Lead Innovation Team offers lead screening kits that allow residents to test for lead in their homes on their own.

How South Bend is trying to prevent lead poisoning

Chipped paint surrounds a window on a South Bend home. City officials are trying to find new ways to combat the problem with lead-tainted homes. Tribune Photo/SANTIAGO FLORES

To aid lower-income families with lead remediation, the city of South Bend received about $3.3 million in government grants in 2019. But after a similar pandemic downturn, just over $520,000 has been spent as of this month, according to a city spokesperson.

"It was the first time we had received this grant so we had to set up all the infrastructure ... of contractors and processes," said Liz Maradik, South Bend's chief neighborhoods officer. "So it was a little bit slower getting started due to that and the pandemic."

The city offers up to $20,000 for lead-safe repairs to homeowners or renters whose landlords consent if the following criteria are met:

The dwelling was built before 1978 and is within South Bend city limits

The family's annual household income is below 80% of the area median income, meaning a four-person household earning $66,050 or less

A child younger than 6 lives in or frequently visits the house, or a pregnant woman lives in the house

What Indiana has done to prevent lead poisoning

Statewide changes that took effect in the past year also aim to boost lead screening.

A new state law effective this January requires providers to test all 1- and 2-year-olds for elevated blood-lead levels and to verify that children under age 7 have been tested for lead; if not, the provider must offer a test.

Starting last July, the Indiana Department of Health lowered the threshold at which county health departments must assign a case manager to young children with high blood-lead levels. The St. Joseph County health department expects roughly four times more children to need case management.

Email South Bend Tribune city reporter Jordan Smith at JTsmith@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jordantsmith09

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: St. Joseph County lead testing low amid national lead awareness week
Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) said Sunday he would vote against the White Houses emergency funding request for further aid to Ukraine and Israel in its current construct, arguing the package should be separated to allow for quicker aid to Israel as it fights against militant group Hamas.

Asked on ABC Newss This Week, if he will vote against the White Houses funding request, Scott said, I will in the current construct, but theres no doubt that we spent about  over the last two years  $100 billion to Ukraine and this one package is $61 billion for Ukraine, only $14 billion for Israel.

Israel is at the beginning of a long protracted war, I think we are much better off, better served as a nation, focusing our resources and our attention immediately on Israel and continuing to prove the kind of level of accountability and responsibility the American people want to see as it relates to the resources for Ukraine, Scott continued.

The White House announced on Friday it would send a roughly $100 billion emergency funding request to Congress for additional money for border security, allies in the Indo-Pacific and for Israel and Ukraine for their respective conflicts against Hamas and Russia.

An estimated $61 billion of the request covers money for Ukraine, while $14 billion was allocated for Israels defense. Nearly $14 billion would cover personnel and operations at the U.S.-Mexico border, $10 billion would go towards humanitarian aid and $2 billion for Indo-Pacific security assistance.

Scott, who is also running in the Republican presidential primary, argued the Ukraine and Israel packages should be separated to allow for quicker passage and to provide more money to Israel, which has much broader support among Republicans then Ukraine.

If we do those separately, I believe we get the Israel package done almost overnight, and then we have the longer process of proving more resources, depending on the level, to Ukraine, Scott said, emphasizing the need to also address the U.S.-southern border.

Thousands of people have crossed our southern border, he said. And on both sides of the aisleone thing we can agree on is that the national security threat represented by an unsafe, unsecure and wide open border has never been higher than it is today.

The package proposal comes nearly three weeks after Hamas, which the U.S. and other countries have recognized as a terrorist organization, carried out a massacre that killed more than 1,400 people in Israel, including hundreds of civilians in their homes, at a bus stop, and at a music festival.

Israeli forces quickly responded to the surprise assault with a bombardment of Gaza that has so far killed more than 4,600 Palestinians and injured over 14,000 others, the Gaza Ministry of Health reported Sunday.

The humanitarian crisis in Gaza deepened last week following Israels siege on food, water, electricity and medicine, forcing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians out of their homes.

Israel ordered the evacuation of more than 1.1 million Palestinians over a week ago to travel to the southern half of the Gaza Strip last week ahead of an anticipated ground assault. However, many people in Gaza said Israel still attacked that portion of the enclave. Hamas has told residents not to leave and to stay in their homes.

President Biden visited Tel Aviv last week to meet with Israeli leaders and families impacted by the ongoing violence and reiterate the U.S.s support for Jerusalem.

While there, Biden announced an agreement to allow humanitarian aid to move from Egypt to Gaza and confirmed the U.S. will fund $100 million to assist those living in Gaza and the West Bank. Trucks carrying aid have since entered into Gaza through the Rafah crossing  Gazas only connection to Egypt  which had shut down in the wake of Israeli airstrikes.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Tropical Storm Tammy is expected to be at near-hurricane strength this weekend, intensifying to hurricane strength by Monday, according to the latest forecast.

National Hurricane Center forecasters expect Tammy to gradually strengthen, thanks to very warm water temperatures, despite facing some dry air and wind shear. Tammys wind speeds are expected to reach 75 mph by Friday and 80 mph by Saturday. If its maximum sustained winds reach 74 mph or above, Tammy would be a hurricane.

Tammy is on track to pass over some of the islands in the eastern Caribbean before turning away from land.

As of 5 p.m. Eastern Time Thursday, Tammys maximum sustained winds remained at near 60 mph, with its tropical-storm-force winds extending outward up to 125 miles from its center.

The storm was located 200 miles east of Barbados, traveling west-northwest at 13 mph.

Hurricane watches were issued for many islands, including Guadeloupe, Antigua, Barbuda, Montserrat, St. Kitts, and Nevis, while tropical storm watches were issued for St. Martin, Barbados, Dominica, and Martinique, where tropical storm conditions could begin Friday. Large and potentially dangerous swells from Tammy will start hitting the eastern Caribbean on Thursday.

Rainfall totals could reach 3 to 6 inches, with maximum amounts of 10 inches in the islands of the eastern Caribbean, with rain of 1 to 2 inches with maximum amounts of 4 inches in the British and U.S. Virgin Islands and eastern Puerto Rico. Mudslides and isolated flash and urban flooding are possible.

The storm is expected to curve westward on Thursday and move more slowly, then turn northwest on Friday or Saturday and pass over or near the Leeward Islands in the far eastern Caribbean.

The current forecast and models have the system eventually curving away from Florida, but the islands of the far eastern Caribbean, such as the Lesser Antilles, could be affected.

After Tammy passes the Leeward Islands, the intensity models suggest that some further intensification will be possible as it accelerates northeastward over the central Atlantic, the latest forecast discussion said.

So far this season in the Atlantic, there have been 19 named storms, six of which were hurricanes. Of those, three were major hurricanes, meaning Category 3 or above.

Those were Hurricane Lee, a rare Category 5; Hurricane Franklin, a Category 4; and Hurricane Idalia, which made landfall on Floridas Big Bend region at Category 3 strength on Aug. 30.

The remaining storm names for 2023 are Vince and Whitney. If all those names end up being used this season, the National Hurricane Center would turn to the supplemental list of names from the World Meteorological Association. In previous years, the Greek alphabet was used for additional storm names  which had only happened twice before  during the record-shattering hurricane seasons in 2005 and 2020.

Hurricane season officially runs through Nov. 30.
Donald Trump is distancing himself from Sidney Powell after the Trump-allied lawyer, who joined a failed legal effort to overturn 2020 election results, pleaded guilty to election interference charges in Georgia.

This weeks surprise guilty pleas from Ms Powell and Kenneth Chesebro  the architect of a fraudulent scheme to replace state electors with Trump loyalists  appeared to have caught the former president off-guard, as two of the biggest names yet from his former inner circle agreed to cooperate with Fulton County prosecutors and testify in upcoming trials.

Their new roles as cooperating witnesses in Georgias sweeping criminal case targeting Mr Trump and a dozen others could pose a significant legal threat to the former president as he enters several criminal and civil proceedings while he campaigns for the 2024 Republican nomination.

Despite the Fake News reports to the contrary  MS POWELL WAS NOT MY ATTORNEY, AND NEVER WAS, Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Sunday, 22 October.

Ms Powell, however, was among a group of attorneys including Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis leading a spurious effort with the Trump campaign to reject election results in states that Mr Trump lost.

Mr Trump announced on 15 November 2020 that he added Ms Powell to his truly great team of lawyers.

During an infamous press conference alongside them that month, Ms Powell aired bogus conspiracy theories falsely alleging that Dominion Voting Systems voting machines collaborated with Venezuela to manipulate the elections outcome.

Those claims and others were at the heart of Trump-allied lawsuits challenging his loss.

The Trump campaign ultimately cut ties with Ms Powell and insisted that she was practicing law on her own, but she returned to the Oval Office during his presidency and was reportedly considered for a special counsel role to investigate voter fraud.

Donald Trump, left, Sidney Powell, centre, and Kenneth Chesebro, right (Reuters/AP/EPA)

Ms Powell played a central role in an effort to seize voting machines in Coffee County, Georgia in January 2021 in the volatile aftermath of the election - a scheme that was at the heart of the criminal conspiracy charges she was facing in the state.

During a surprise courtroom appearance in Atlanta on 19 October, just days before a trial was scheduled to begin, Ms Powell pleaded guilty to six misdemeanor counts of conspiracy to interfere with elections.

As part of the plea arrangement that drops the criminal charges against her, she received six years of probation and agreed to testify truthfully against any and all co-defendants in this matter, according to prosecutors and Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee.

Two days later, as prospective jurors were being considered for his trial, Mr Chesebro also reached a plea agreement.

He pleaded guilty to a felony conspiracy charge for filing fraudulent electoral college certificates for Georgias election results that were drafted in coordination with Mr Trumps campaign.

Mr Chesebro and Ms Powell were among 19 criminal defendants, including Mr Trump, in the Georgia case.

Scott Hall, who was among defendants involved with the Coffee County scheme, was the first among the Georgia defendants to reach a plea deal with prosecutors.

A trial date for the remaining defendants has not yet been determined. All have pleaded not guilty.

Ms Powell had similarly tried to distance herself from the former president in the days leading up to a trial in Georgia. Her attorneys argued that she did not represent Mr Trump or the campaign because she never signed an agreement to do so.

Both Ms Powell and Mr Chesebro are also among unindicted co-conspirators in a parallel federal case accusing Mr Trump of joining a multi-state criminal conspiracy to obstruct the outcome of the 2020 election, culminating with his alleged failure to stop an attack in the halls of Congress.
LAFAYETTE, Ind. In front of hundreds of concerned constituents, legislators from both sides of the aisle made a public commitment to work together to attempt legislation that would limit how much water the state can take from Tippecanoe Countys aquifer.

Sitting side by side, State Sen. Ron Alting (R-District 22) and Sen. Spencer Deery (R-District 23), and State Rep. Chris Campbell (D-West Lafayette), Rep. Sheila Klinker (D-Lafayette), and Rep. Sharon Negele (R-Attica), spoke to their constituents regarding concerns over Indianas Economic Development Corp LEAP project.

The LEAP project would potentially pull up to 100 million gallons of water a day from Tippecanoe Countys aquifer and pipe it to Boone County to help support a new economic district being developed there by IEDC.

State Sen. Ron Alting (R  District 22) speaks to constituents regarding how he and his colleagues plan to address their concerns regarding Indianas Economic Development Corp.'s LEAP project, at the Lafayette Army National Reserve building, on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023.

Opposition to LEAP cited that much of the information regarding the LEAP project was kept under lock and key for local officials until the IEDC was in a position to start the project.

They underestimated us, Alting said.

They underestimated the farmer who went to the mic and knew more about chemicals than any of those boys back at the IEDC," Alting continued.

They underestimated that we had a guy in our community called the Finlday family that knows more about drilling than them.

More importantly what they underestimated is not only the people, but the elected officials.

This is a much bigger issue than one of us is going to solve. Its going to take us all. And what they dont know about Tippecanoe County (is) we work together. Democrats, Republicans, we work together.

Sen. Spencer Deery (R  District - 23), Rep. Sharon Negele (R  Attica), State Sen. Ron Alting (R  District 22) and Rep. Sheila Klinker (D  Lafayette), listens constituents share their concerns regarding Indianas Economic Development Corp.'s LEAP project, at the Lafayette Army National Reserve building, on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023.

Alting told the audience in attendance that he did not know anything about the project until reports about LEAP started to be published.

I have no more transparency than you have, and Im the oldest senator in the senate. They shared nothing with me. They shared more with the locals than they have me, Alting said.

Ive talked to (Lafayette) Mayor (Tony) Roswarski because they have approached some of the locals and our commissioners. But at the state level they said eh, theres nothing they can do with it. They got another thing coming.

Alting spoke about the need to work together to pass legislation that would limit how much groundwater can be withdrawn from aquifers within the state.

Alting is the second author of the bill that Deery and Negele have been working on to present in the upcoming legislative session.

Summary of the bill

At the last public hall hearing regarding LEAP, Negele and Deery announced that they would be working together to create a piece of legislation that would address peoples concerns about the LEAP project.

State Sen. Rep. Sharon Negele (R  Attica), speaks to constituents regarding how she and her colleagues plan to address their concerns regarding Indianas Economic Development Corp.'s LEAP project, at the Lafayette Army National Reserve building, on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023.

In hopes of keeping the concerns of her constituents at bay, Negele provided a summary of her current draft bill to the audience.

I cant tell you a love story here. I cant tell you that youre going to stop this project. What I can tell you is I think theres an avenue to slow it down, and theres an avenue to control or limit how much can be taken, Negele

Within the current version of the bill, Negele attempts to provide a definition for major groundwater withdraw facility in hopes of limiting how entities attempt to withdraw water from aquifers.

As of now, the bill attempts to limit the total amount of water a facility can withdraw from an aquifer to 10 million gallons of groundwater from one or more aquifers in one day.

The bill would establish a permitting system that any major groundwater withdrawal facility would need to register with and it will also establish rules in that permitted facilities must follow.

The banks of the Wabash River, a view captured from the Harrison Bridge between West Lafayette and Lafayette, draw in during drier months. Sanders took the photo on Oct. 2, 2023, the day the council passed a resolution opposing the LEAP project, which would pull as much as 100 million gallons of water a day from Tippecanoe County water sources.

The permitting would fall under the jurisdiction of the Natural Resources Commission.

The bill would establish several prerequisites:

Potential facility operators would need to send out a public notice informing the community that it is requesting a permit.

Operators would be required to host public meetings with the community to discuss this proposed project.

There would need to be a written feasibility study concerning the proposed groundwater withdrawal area. It would need to be reviewed by a third party with zero connection to the company or the project.

The feasibility study and the peer-review study would need to be published on a website that the public can gain access to.

The commission would need to determine that the establishment or the use of the major groundwater facility if permitted, would fulfill the health, economic, environmental, and other needs of present and future generations of Indiana citizens, including Indiana citizens residing in the area from which the major groundwater withdraw facility would withdraw groundwater.

After hearing from constituents, Negele also wanted to include several additional prerequisites, such as monitoring abilities of groundwater level, feasibility studies that include caps on annual withdraws, and that the peer-review agrees with those caps.

Negele also highlighted the importance of learning from and copying laws from other states that have been more proactive when it comes to their protection of groundwater.

Our water laws are described as being primitive water law state, Negele said. Its kind of shocking, how did we get there? How did we not realize this?

The reality is because we are blessed with some great water resources the pressure has not been there. Now its here, and now we have to deal with it.

Call for more transparency

When Deery spoke to the audience, he echoed many of the ideas that Deery and Alting addressed, but Deery did highlight one part of LEAP project of concern  the lack of transparency when it came to the development of this project from both IEDC and the state.

Im not a water expert. And Im not opposed to economic growth, in fact, Im very in favor of it, but I am very much against decisions that are at night, Deery said.

State Sen. Spencer Deery (R  District - 23) speaks to constituents regarding how he and his colleagues plan to address their concerns regarding Indianas Economic Development Corp.'s LEAP project, at the Lafayette Army National Reserve building, on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023.

Im against a lack of transparency. Im against this foolish idea that we would be dead set on spending a billion-dollar project in a place where there is no water when so much of the state has it.

It doesnt make a lot of sense, and maybe theres more to it. Im happy to hear those arguments, but we need those answers. And we need to know that your wells, our water, our future economic growth are going to be OK.

Deery also shared that he believes theres a higher chance that the bill would pass if the Senate picked up the bill rather than the House of Representatives.

He warned those in attendance that for the bill to pass, there may be some aspects of the bill that he will have to concede on, but ultimately the goal would be to develop a balanced bill that everyone is happy with supporting.

My one ask is to give me a little patience as we sort through that and recognize that were not going to be able to do everything that we want, but Im going to do everything that I can, Deery said.

The need to work together and get educated on water

When it comes to this situation, every legislator who spoke on Thursday night expressed the fact that they arent experts when it comes to the subject of water, water extraction, aquifers and other water-related aspect that deals with the LEAP project.

But Campbell tried to reassure those in attendance that each of the legislators is trying to become as well educated on this subject as possible before the next legislation session.

State Rep. Chris Campbell (D  West Lafayette), speaks to constituents regarding how she and her colleagues plan to address their concerns regarding Indianas Economic Development Corp.'s LEAP project, at the Lafayette Army National Reserve building, on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023.

Were certainly working our butts off down there trying to get as much research done as fast as we can. To learn as much as we can about water transfers and wells and aquifers and things that we (need to know), Campbell said.

Were not experts at everything, but everything and the kitchen sink comes at us when were in session. And we have to be quick on our feet and learn quickly how to do things.

Campbell said that she would support Negele's bill if it were to be picked up during the next legislation session. Campbell also shared that shes working on her own version of the bill to ensure plenty of opportunities for this type of legislation to get picked for a committee hearing.

As all of my colleagues have said we dont have a lot of protections or any laws in place right now that even address such a large water withdraw like this and what we can do to even monitor the situation, she said.

Obviously were getting different information. (Were) learning about what other states are doing and what should go in place that we can assure our public that our water is not going to be impacted in a negative way, because like our colleagues have said, we want economic development for this state but not at the expense of our neighbors.

Theres a lot of work for us to do and I know we are going to be working hard this next session. Together. To make sure were addressing not only the needs of our community but the whole state.

Noe Padilla is a reporter for the Journal & Courier. Email him at Npadilla@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter at 1NoePadilla.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: 'They underestimated us': Local legislators promise to work together
Santiago Ochoa's reporting for the Yakima Herald-Republic is possible with support from Report for America and community members through the Yakima Valley Community Fund. For information on republishing, email news@yakimaherald.com.
From the right to left, Gary McLaren and Mike Bonneville help guide Jim Borst with the placement of the new Kiwanis emblems on the benches at West Valley Community Park in Yakima, Wash. Saturday, April 2, 2016. (MASON TRINCA/Yakima Herald-Republic)
Multiple Colorado Springs properties were hit with hails of gunfire from unknown assailants early Sunday, according to the Police Department.

No injuries have been reported so far, but CSPDs dispatchers received more than 10 calls for service within about a two-hour period, all reporting multiple gunshots fired, officials said.

The first calls came just after midnight from the Copper Creek Apartments, located south of Airport Road and east of South Academy Boulevard. Callers reported hearing seven to 10 shots fired. Arriving officers found two spent shell casings at the scene.

The second set of calls came at about 2:10 a.m. from the 600, 700 and 800 blocks of Riverview Lane, just a few blocks from the first location. At that scene, officers found 72 shell casings, police said.

The final four calls came at about 2:35 a.m. from the area of 3600 El Morro Road, west of South Academy Boulevard. There, police reportedly found 70 shell casings.

We anticipate more (calls) for service will come in as citizens wake up and find damage to their property, officials said in a police blotter entry.

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No suspect information was given, and no arrests were announced.

Anyone with information on this ongoing investigation is asked to call CSPD at 719-444-7000. Callers who wish to remain anonymous may contact Crime Stoppers at 719-634-7867.
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NORFOLK  Norfolk Police are investigating after a body was found inside a chimney at an apartment building on Thursday.

Around 6:15 p.m., police were notified of a possible body inside a chimney at 1414 S. Third St., Capt. Michael Bauer said.

Officers, as well as Norfolk Fire and Rescue personnel, gained access to the chimney and removed the body, which has not yet been identified. An autopsy has been scheduled, Bauer said.

Bauer said in a press release that the police divisions initial investigation indicates the death was the result of an accident, but police are reviewing all avenues.

Two apartment tenants spoke to the Norfolk Daily News on the condition that they not be identified.

The first tenant said the chimney where the body was found runs through the center of the apartment building. Recently, he and his landlord went to the basement after tenants complained of a foul odor. There was blood dripping down the walls where the chimney is, the tenant said, and the two thought perhaps an animal had become stuck and died.

On Thursday, the landlord asked a maintenance worker to further investigate the odor. The maintenance employee smashed in a wall in the basement and found the deceased person.

The first tenant said he helped his landlord install a camera system at the building earlier this year. The two had to drop cables down the chimney chute during the installation.

He explained that the only way to get to the chimney through the outside would be to use a ladder to get to the roof of a nearby bar and then use a ladder to get from the roof of the bar to the roof of the apartment building. The top of the chimney is then another 7 feet above the apartment roof, he said.

Accessing the roof from the inside of the building would be possible but difficult, the tenant said. It would require a person to get through a number of sealed doors and then through an attic. It likely would take two people to gain access to the roof from the inside, he said.

A second tenant said he noticed a bad smell a few weeks ago and that an abundance of flies had been swarming in the building. The odor later subsided, the man said, leading him to believe that there was a dead animal nearby.

But the overbearing fly presence did not improve, he said, prompting the landlord to look into the source of the problem more thoroughly.

The man lives on the basement floor of the building, and emergency personnel had to break through one of the walls of his apartment unit to retrieve the body, he said.

The second tenant also explained that it would be difficult for somebody to gain access to the roof from the inside, leaving himself and other tenants puzzled about the situation.

Somebody either had the time to ... explore and figure it out, the man said. Or if someone went up there (from the outside), he would have had to take a ladder with him. And there would still be a ladder up there, which there isn't.

The three-level structure, according to Realtor.com, was built in 1912 and most recently was purchased in 2015 for $201,000.

Top Journal Star photos for October 2023
New Delhi: In the vast world of consumer products, there are certain names that resonate with nearly every Indian. Fogg for its fragrances, Moov for relieving pain, and Itchguard for soothing itches  we've all turned to these trusted products at some point.

But did you know that these household brands all share a common genius behind their creation? Meet Darshan Patel, the Gujarati businessman who can be credited with creating a colossal business empire without any prior experience, and in the process, outshining several established companies through his unique talent and skills.

The Unconventional Entrepreneur

What makes Darshan Patel's success story all the more remarkable is that he didn't receive formal education in business, nor did he spend years working for a corporation. Instead, he forged his path through sheer determination and innovation.

Darshan Patel is the founder and Managing Director of Vini Cosmetics Pvt Ltd. This company has become a leader in the Indian deodorant market, known for its iconic brand, Fogg. But his journey didn't start here. Before Vini Cosmetics, he achieved the remarkable feat of transforming his family's company, Paras Pharmaceuticals, into the fastest-growing pharma enterprise in India.

The Birth of Iconic Brands

Darshan Patel's list of achievements includes creating some of India's most iconic medicine brands. Moov, Krack, Itchguard, Dermicool, and D'cold are just a few of the names that he breathed life into. These brands have not only provided relief to countless people but have also become household names.

One notable milestone in his journey was the sale of Paras Pharmaceuticals, the company responsible for manufacturing products like Crack Heal, Moov, and Itchguard. In 2010, he sold Paras Pharmaceuticals for a staggering sum of Rs 3,260 crores. However, he was far from done.

The Fogg Revolution

Darshan Patel's entrepreneurial spirit and passion for creating new brands led him to launch Fogg under Vini Cosmetics in 2011. In a market saturated with gas-based deodorants, Fogg's unique positioning "No Gas, No Wastage; 800 sprays guarantee" captured the imagination of consumers. This simplicity and innovation propelled Fogg to instant success.

The Man Behind the Success

What drives Darshan Patel's success is his deep understanding of the consumer. He believes in staying connected to consumers through research and feedback. His colleagues and associates admire his ability to follow his entrepreneurial instincts with unwavering conviction. He keeps a keen eye on the dynamic business environment and places immense faith in his team, inspiring them to push beyond their limits.

Global Presence

Under Darshan Patel's leadership, Vini Cosmetics has expanded its presence across South-East Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. The brand's influence is not confined to India; it has made its mark on the global stage.
Kanya Puja, also known as Kanjak Puja, is a significant and cherished ritual during the auspicious festival of Navratri. This beautiful tradition involves worshipping young girls as a form of the goddess Durga. Kanya Puja falls on Maha Ashtami, the eighth day of Navratri, and holds immense importance in the Hindu culture. In this article, we will explore the date, Shubh Muhurat, significance, and rituals associated with Kanya Puja in 2023.

Ashtami Kanya Puja 2023 Date: Kanya (Kanjak) Or Kumari Puja Shubh Muhurat

Kanya Puja in 2023 will be observed on Maha Ashtami, which falls on October 22nd, 2023. Devotees eagerly anticipate this day as it symbolizes the worship of the divine feminine energy.

For Durga Ashtami, it is important to note that the Sarvartha Siddhi Yoga falls between 06:26 am to 06:44 pm. Hence, the ideal time to perform Kanya Puja is on October 22, commencing at 06:26 am.

On Mahanavami, the Sarvartha Siddhi Yoga occurs from 06:27 am to 05:14 pm, and Ravi Yoga blesses the entire day. Thus, Kanya Puja can be observed at any time after 06:27 am on October 23. These rituals hold significant importance during Navratri, as they allow devotees to seek blessings and express their devotion to the divine feminine energy.

Maha Ashtami: Significance of Kanya Puja

1. Honoring the Divine Feminine: Kanya Puja is a heartfelt homage to the feminine energy of the universe. It symbolizes the belief that the goddess Durga manifests in the form of young girls.

2. Inclusivity and Equality: This ritual encourages the belief that all women, regardless of their age or background, embody the divine. It promotes gender equality and respect for women.

3. Blessings for the Future: Devotees believe that by worshipping young girls, they invite blessings, prosperity, and well-being into their lives. It is also considered as an act of seeking forgiveness from the goddess for any wrongdoings.

4. Cultural Values: Kanya Puja reinforces cultural values and traditions within families and communities, fostering a sense of togetherness.

Kanya (Kanjak) Or Kumari Puja Vidhi

1. Devotees prepare for Kanya Puja by inviting nine young girls, typically between the ages of 2 and 10, to their homes. These girls represent the nine forms of goddess Durga.

2. The feet of the young girls are washed to purify them and symbolize the purification of the goddess herself.

3. Devotees offer young girls new clothes, bangles, kumkum, haldi, fruits, and other gifts as a sign of respect and to seek their blessings.

4. A traditional aarti is performed for the young girls, accompanied by singing bhajans and hymns in praise of goddess Durga.

5. After the puja, a delicious meal is prepared and served to the young girls. This meal is an expression of gratitude for participating in the ritual.

6. It is customary to make donations, particularly in the form of money or food, to the young girls as a symbol of charity.

Kanya Puja, a celebration of the divine feminine, is a beautiful and significant tradition during Navratri. In 2023, Kanya Puja falls on Maha Ashtami, and devotees eagerly await the opportunity to honor young girls as embodiments of the goddess Durga.
The Indian Army today said it foiled an infiltration attempt from terrorists along the Line of Control in the Uri sector in North Kashmir's Baramulla district. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the Army said that based on a specific input, a joint operation was launched along the LoC on Saturday.

Army said that during the operation, contact was established with infiltrating terrorists and a gunfight ensued. "During the operation arms and ammunition including 6 pistols and 4 hand grenades were recovered," it said.

"In a Joint Operation launched by Indian Army, Jammu and Kashmir & Intelligence agencies on 21 Oct 23, an infiltration bid was foiled by alert troops along LoC in Uri sector, Baramulla. Contact was established with infiltrating terrorists & firefight ensued. 06xPistols & 04xHand Grenades recovered. Operations in progress," Army said.

Notably, this is yet another infiltration attempt from Pakistani side that has been foiled by the Army. Yesterday, J&K DGP Dilabgh Singh had said that while terrorism is breathing its last in the Union Territory, Pakistan is trying to revive terrorism but won't succeed.
By Kanishka Singh and Crispian Balmer

WASHINGTON/VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with Pope Francis on Sunday and discussed the ongoing conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, the White House and the Vatican said in separate statements.

They discussed "the need to prevent escalation in the region and to work toward a durable peace in the Middle East," the White House said.

The Vatican earlier said the call, which lasted about 20 minutes, "focused on conflict situations in the world and the need to identify paths to peace."

Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing over 1,400 people.

Israel has since retaliated with deadly air strikes on Gaza, a 45 km-long (25-mile) strip of land that is part of the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories and home to 2.3 million people.

Gaza has been ruled politically since 2007 by Hamas. Israel's air strikes have killed over 4,700 people, Palestinian officials say.

In his call with Pope Francis, Biden, who is a Catholic, condemned the attack by Hamas and affirmed the need to protect civilians in Gaza, the White House said.

They also discussed Biden's recent visit to Israel and efforts for delivery of food, medicine, and other humanitarian assistance in Gaza, according to the White House.

The pope has several times called for the release of hostages taken by Hamas during its Oct. 7 attack. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday that after the release of two U.S. citizens on Friday the United States hoped for more hostages to be freed by Hamas.

Earlier in the day, Francis told crowds in St. Peter's Square he was deeply saddened by the "grave situation in Gaza," where an Anglican hospital and a Greek Orthodox church had been bombed.

"Brothers, stop," Pope Francis said.

The head of the U.N. World Food Program (WFP) has said the humanitarian situation in Gaza is catastrophic.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington and Crispian Balmer in Vatican City; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
Baramulla: The Indian Army on Sunday reported the neutralization of two terrorists attempting to infiltrate the Line of Control (LOC). In conjunction with the Jammu and Kashmir police, the army effectively countered a major infiltration endeavor by heavily armed terrorists during the early morning in the Uri area of North Kashmir's Baramulla district. Defence spokesperson in Srinagar said that Infiltration bid has been foiled by Security Forces in Uri Sector, Baramulla. Based on specific inputs from Intelligence agencies and J&K Police in Uri Sector by heavily armed terrorists from across the LoC, troops were put on a high alert and the counter-infiltration grid was strengthened.

Army spokesperson further said, Taking advantage of bad weather marked by incessant rainfall and poor visibility, a group of armed terrorists attempted to infiltrate across the LoC. At around 3 pm, the group was intercepted by alert troops resulting in heavy exchange of fire, he said, adding, Intense fire-fight continued till last light resulting in the elimination of two terrorists; the balance terrorists withdrew to enemy side of LoC along with the bodies of dead terrorists.

Sources said that the area was kept under surveillance throughout the night on October 22, a thorough search of the incident site was conducted leading to the identification of tell-tale signs and recovery of heavy war-like stores including two AK series rifles, six pistols, four Chinese grenades, blankets and two blood-stained bags containing Pakistani and Indian currency notes, Pakistani medicines and eatables.

As per the army troopers' assessment on the ground, army said, recovery of two blood-stained bags confirms that at least two militants were grievously injured, forcing them to shed their load and flee across LoC. Due to inclement weather conditions, search operation is suspended, which will resume on opening of weather. Operation under progress, said the Army.




New Delhi: It is that time of the year again where the festive energy has taken over the town. Even the stars can be seen glowing in the joyous energy around. From Kajol to veteran actress Hema Malini, B-town ladies have been visiting the Durga Puja Pandal lately in oh-so gorgeous sarees. Actress Kiara Advani was also seen arriving for the Durga Puja celebrations. 'Shershah' actress was seen engulfed in chit-chat with actress Rani Mukerji.

Gracing the event in a yellow colored suit, Kiara Advani adorned her attire with colored jhumkas and a bindi. The actress was looking graciously dressed for the event. However, Netizens weren't too impressed with Kiara as she was seen wearing heels in the pandal and after she got onto the stage. As internet spares no one, Kiara Advani was brutally trolled by the netizens for the same.

Earlier in the day yesterday, veteran actress Hema Malini and her daughter Esha Deol were also seen arriving at the pandal. Looking gorgeous in saree, the mother-daughter were later joined by actress Rani Mukerji.

The Hindu festival of Durga Puja, also known as Durgotsava or Sharodotsava, is a yearly celebration that honours the goddess Durga and commemorates her victory over Mahishasur.

Recently, Kiara made heads turn as she recently walked the ramp in a black and golden bodycon gown at Lakme Fashion Week 2023 in New Delhi. Kiara walked the ramp for Falguni Shane Peacock and caught the attention of everyone present there.

On the work front, she worked in movies such as 'M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story', 'Lust Stories', 'Shershaah', 'Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2', 'Jugjugg Jeeyo', 'Satyaprem Ki Katha', among others. She was last seen in 'Satyaprem Ki Katha' alongside Kartik Aaryan.

Kiara will be seen in the upcoming 'Game Changer' alongside 'RRR' actor Ram Charan and an action thriller film 'War 2' alongside Hrithik Roshan and Jr NTR.
Israel is mounting air strike on Hamas sites in Gaza to create best conditions for troops to move in. Israel Defence Forces (IDF) spokesperson Daniel Hagari said that the IDF is ready to enter the next phase of war. He also indicated Israel's preparations for the second stage of its declared three-phase operation to change the security regime in Gaza. Israel has lined-up hundreds of thousands of troops and several tanks in preparations for the ground offensive in Gaza.

"From today, we are increasing the strikes and minimizing the danger, Hagari said yesterday. In a further sign of Israel's readiness for the second phase of its three-step plan to alter the "security arrangement" in Gaza, IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi informed the elite Golani infantry brigade commanders on Saturday that they should anticipate unexpected challenges and strategies devised by terrorist organizations as they enter the Gaza Strip.

We will enter the Gaza Strip. We will begin an operational and professional mission to destroy the Hamas operatives, the Hamas infrastructure, and we will also keep in our minds the images, the scenes and the fallen from Shabbat (Saturday) two weeks ago, Halevi told the commanders. The IDF has already said that it has no intention of considering those who have yet to evacuate as a member of a terrorist group and urged the civilians in Gaza to move to Wadi Gaza.

Shabbat was being celebrated on October 7 when the Hamas terrorists launched an unprecedented attacks against Israel killing around 1,400 people. Israel has launched a massive counter-offensive against the Islamic militant group that has ruled Gaza since 2007.

A tragic toll of over 1,400 lives has been reported in Israel as a result of a devastating terror attack orchestrated by a Palestinian militant group in the southern region of the Jewish state. Additionally, at least 210 individuals have been taken captive, with official estimates suggesting that this number may continue to rise. Meanwhile, the Israeli offensive that ensued has reportedly claimed the lives of approximately 4,385 Palestinians in Gaza. (With PTI inputs)
Amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, India has sent 6.5 tonnes of Humanitarian aid to Palestine for the people of Gaza. It may be noted that civilians in Gaza are facing a humanitarian crisis due to the ongoing war. This was informed by the Ministry of External Affairs of India. MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi informed that an Indian Air Force C-17 flight departed with the relief material for the El-Arish airport in Egypt.

              



       .     C-17   6.5    32       -      .



  pic.twitter.com/7ozxypdYx1  Zee News (@ZeeNews) October 22, 2023

"India sends Humanitarian aid to the people of Palestine. An IAF C-17 flight carrying nearly 6.5 tonnes of medical aid and 32 tonnes of disaster relief material for the people of Palestine departs for El-Arish airport in Egypt. The material includes essential life-saving medicines, surgical items, tents, sleeping bags, tarpaulins, sanitary utilities, water purification tablets among other necessary items," said the MEA spokesperson.

sends Humanitarian aid to the people of



An IAF C-17 flight carrying nearly 6.5 tonnes of medical aid and 32 tonnes of disaster relief material for the people of Palestine departs for El-Arish airport in Egypt.



The material includes essential life-saving medicines, pic.twitter.com/28XI6992Ph  Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) October 22, 2023

This comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to President of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas on October 19. During the telephone conversation, PM Modi had conveyed deep condolences over the loss of civilian lives at the Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza. "Highlighting traditionally close and historic ties between India and this region, Prime Minister expressed deep concern at terrorism, violence and deteriorating security situation in the region. He reiterated Indias long-standing and principled position on the Israel-Palestine issue," said the PMO in a statement.

The PMO said that President Mahmoud Abbas also shared his assessment of the situation with PM Modi and thanked him for Indias support. During the call, PM Modi had conveyed to President Abbas that India would continue to send humanitarian assistance for the Palestinian people.

Soon after the October 7 terror attack on Israel by Hamas militant group, PM Modi has extended India's support to Israel in its fight against terrorism. While India extended its support to Israel, it also maintained that New Delhi believes in its long-standing support for the establishment of a sovereign, independent and viable state of Palestine through dialogue.
In a shocking incident, a cooking gas cylinder blast in Delhi led to a massive fire following which 16 people were rescued by the Fire Services department. The blaze occured after a blast occurred sending shockwaves in the building. "Fire broke out at a house in Harphool Singh Building near Punjab National Bank (PNB) Subzi Mandi Clock Tower due to an LPG cylinder explosion, earlier today. Eight fire tenders rushed to the spot. 16 people were rescued. Fire is under control now," reported ANI.

#WATCH | Delhi | Fire broke out at a house in Harphool Singh Building near Punjab National Bank (PNB) Subzi Mandi Clock Tower due to an LPG cylinder explosion, earlier today. Eight fire tenders rushed to the spot. 16 people were rescued. Fire is under control now.



(Video: Delhi pic.twitter.com/BGsCtJiwQx  ANI (@ANI) October 22, 2023

Fire tenders were rushed to the spot and the blaze was controlled after half-an-hour efforts. So far, there is no report of any casualty.
New Delhi: The Israel Defense Force (IDF) On Sunday, officially acknowledged an unintentional discharge from an IDF tank that struck an Egyptian post near the Gaza Strip. In a statement, the IDF expressed regret for the incident and indicated that an investigation is currently underway, with further details pending.

"A short while ago, an IDF tank accidentally fired and hit an Egyptian post adjacent to the border in the area of Kerem Shalom. The incident is being investigated and the details are under review," it said in a statement on X (formerly Twitter), giving no further details.

A short while ago, an IDF tank accidentally fired and hit an Egyptian post adjacent to the border in the area of Kerem Shalom. The incident is being investigated and the details are under review.



The IDF expresses sorrow regarding the incident.  Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 22, 2023

Amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have deployed several Merkava tanks and troops near the Gaza border in southern Israel. These deployments are in response to the situation in the region. The Israeli government has also announced its intention to launch a ground operation against Hamas in the near future.

The Merkava tanks, a series of main battle tanks used by the IDF, play a central role in the IDF's armored corps. The development of the Merkava tanks began in 1970, with the first version, the Merkava Mark 1, being officially commissioned in 1979. Over the years, four primary iterations have been introduced, with the most recent model as of 2023 being the Merkava Mark 5. The Merkava gained valuable operational experience during the 1982 Lebanon War, and its name is derived from the IDF's initial development program.
In a targeted operation, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and the Israel Security Agency (ISA) conducted an aerial strike on the Al-Ansar Mosque in Jenin, which was reportedly being used as a command centre by terrorist groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The strike came following recent intelligence revealing the mosque's involvement in planning and executing terrorist attacks against civilians.

The IDF disclosed that this mosque had been utilized as a base for terrorist activities since July 2023. According to the IDF, the Hamas organization had been using the mosque to plan a significant and imminent terror attack, posing a serious threat to regional security. The Al-Ansar Mosque was found to have an extensive underground infrastructure and a stockpile of weapons. These findings have raised concerns about the extent of terrorist networks operating within civilian structures.

"The IDF & ISA just conducted an aerial strike on a Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist compound in the Al-Ansar Mosque in Jenin. Recent IDF intel revealed that the Mosque was used as a command center to plan and execute terrorist attacks against civilians," said the IDF.

The IDF & ISA just conducted an aerial strike on a Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist compound in the Al-Ansar Mosque in Jenin.



Recent IDF intel revealed that the Mosque was used as a command center to plan and execute terrorist attacks against civilians. pic.twitter.com/gQfyv6wUAV  Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 22, 2023

"The terrorist cell also carried out a terror attack on October 14th in the area of the security fence, where an explosive device was detonated by a cellular activation of terror forces who arrived at the scene. No injuries were reported. Intel was recently received which indicated that the terrorists, that were neutralized, were organizing an imminent terror attack. The mosque was used by the terrorists as a command center to plan the attacks and as a base for their execution," said the Israeli Air Force in a statement.

Earlier today, IDF soldiers thwarted a terrorist cell's attempt to launch anti-tank missiles towards northern Israel. This operation underscores the ongoing efforts by Israeli security forces to combat threats from such groups.

Meanwhile, the IDF said that it has no intention of considering the safety of civilians who are not evacuating to Wadi Gaza. "The translation from Arabic that has now spread across platforms is imprecise. To clarify, the IDF has no intention of considering those who have yet to evacuate as a member of a terrorist group. The IDF states, once again, for the safety of Gazan civilians, that they should evacuate to the south of Wadi Gaza. All those who remain are endangering themselves due to the Hamas terrorist activities within civilian areas," the IDF said on X (formerly Twitter).

The translation from Arabic that has now spread across platforms is imprecise.



To clarify, the IDF has no intention of considering those who have yet to evacuate as a member of a terrorist group.



The IDF states, once again, for the safety of Gazan civilians, that they should  Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 21, 2023

The Israel-Hamas war has entered the 15th day with thousands of casualties on both sides since the October 7 terror attack on several Israeli cities.
Congressional lawmakers are raising alarm over President Joe Biden's special envoy to Iran, who came under investigation by the FBI after his security clearance with the State Department was suspended earlier this year.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) is the most recent among a string of Republican lawmakers who have reached out to the government for information about Rob Malley in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Israel and the unanswered questions about whether Iran was involved.

WHY THE REPUBLICANS CAN'T JUST GET ALONG

Issa, who wrote a letter to the FBI about Malley on Oct. 13, accused the Biden administration of "stonewalling" lawmakers about the suspended official in a statement to the Washington Examiner.

"Was America's envoy to Iran in some way Tehrans man in Washington? The curious case of Rob Malley is like Bidens failed Iran policy: the stonewalling, the secrecy and the strong scent of scandal," Issa said.

Issa, a longtime oversight hawk and senior House Foreign Affairs Committee member, had asked the FBI to provide him with information about its inquiry into Malley, which was reported by Semafor in July.

The FBI frequently noted that it does not discuss nonpublic information about open investigations, but Issa contended to Director Christopher Wray that "the probe into Iran's influence operations and any improper or illegal involvement by Mr. Malley, has grown far beyond a mere criminal investigation over his security clearance and now impinges on our national security."

The FBI confirmed to the Washington Examiner it had received Issa's letter but that it could "neither confirm nor deny conducting specific investigations."

In addition to Issa, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) and Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI) asked the State Department on Oct. 10 to provide a number of documents and communications related to Malley as well as to provide his committee with a staff-level briefing about him.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), a Senate Foreign Relations Committee member, said during an interview on Fox News this week he has been pushing the Democratic-led committee to hold a hearing on Malley.

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Malley, once a top adviser to former President Barack Obama, has been a central figure in the Biden administration's Iran policy, including negotiating with Tehran on the Iran nuclear deal.

Malley has generally appeared to stay in good standing with Democrats, but according to one senior GOP aide, Malley has been "so suspicious as a briefer" that certain members of Congress have in the past refused to attend classified briefings led by him.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

While the war in Israel has intensified lawmakers' concerns about Malley, he first prompted questions in June, when reports broke about his security clearance suspension. A leaked document in the Tehran Times showed the State Department, however, quietly placed him on leave in April.

Asked for a request for comment on Malley, a State Department spokesperson said, "Rob Malley remains on leave, and we have no further comment."

Original Location: Biden's suspended Iran envoy draws scrutiny from GOP lawmakers

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Rep. Brian Mast doesn't expect President Joe Biden's request for foreign aid to Ukraine and Israel to pass Congress.

Mast expressed his pessimism in the president's supplemental funding proposal, which requested an additional $100 billion, on Maria Bartiromo's Wall Street Saturday, a day after the Congress received it. Some $60 billion is proposed to go to Ukraine, while $14 million would go to Israel.

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"I think it's dead on arrival," Mast said of the request. "Now, luckily, you have the ability in Congress to say: 'the president does not write policy, legislation or hold the pursestrings in that way.' So in Congress we get to originate that bill however we want."

At the moment, this request is a moot point, as the House of Representatives can't take up any business, including addressing a looming government shutdown deadline of Nov. 17, until it elects a new speaker. Saturday was the 18th day without a speaker, and there isn't currently a permanent nominee for the position.

"I think, absolutely, it will be separated. Ukraine aid, Israel aid, aid to Taiwan, aid to the southern border, you name it," Mast went on. "I think certainly in the House of Representatives you will see those be individual action items, and if they are the not, it will be dead."

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Mast is the single representative to have served in both the United States Army and the Israel Defense Forces. Presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy similarly told the Washington Examiner Saturday that any aid to Israel should be carefully considered.

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"The U.S. should be clear with Israel that further U.S. support is contingent on Israel identifying clear objectives for success in Gaza and a coherent plan for what comes after toppling Hamas, even if Israel is successful in doing so. As of now, these critical questions remain unanswered," Ramaswamy said.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was ousted as speaker in the first place because disgruntled House Republicans did not like his process to have only one up or down vote on the entire government's funding, where they would rather vote on each budget item line by line.

Original Location: Brian Mast predict's Joe Biden's $100B aid request is 'dead on arrival'

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The Department of Justice's case that Google engaged in anticompetitive business practices, laid out in federal court in the past five weeks, focuses on the claim that the search engine's deal with Apple stopped Apple from making its own search platform.

The DOJ and Google are currently involved in a multiweek trial in the District of Columbia district court over a 2020 lawsuit alleging that Google had pushed its competitors out of the marketplace through default search engine agreements and its advertising software practices. The federal agency wrapped up its arguments last week, in which the prosecution attempted to convince Judge Amit Mehta that Google had blocked competition through exclusive deals with web browsers and phone makers as well as disincentivizing some of the search engine's biggest competitors from even trying to make their own product.

WHY THE REPUBLICANS CAN'T JUST GET ALONG

The DOJ "has done a really good job of making their case and outlining the arguments in an intuitive way," Mark Meador, Visiting Fellow at the Heritage Foundation Tech Policy Center, told the Washington Examiner.

Mehta heard from 29 witnesses during the DOJ's arguments, according to Bloomberg. The witnesses have varied in expertise, from economists to psychologists to senior executives from Big Tech companies like Google, Apple, Microsoft, and Samsung. Several parts of the trial were closed off due to trade secrets, although the press has filed for the testimony to be unsealed.

The witnesses collectively made the case that Google's billion-dollar deals with web browsers and mobile phone makers were used to push rivals out of the market and to stop them from gathering sufficient data from consumers in order to adapt and adjust their products in a way that would make them competitive. Google's deal with Apple came under scrutiny since the iPhone maker was the most likely technology company to have the capability to create a search engine that could technologically compete with Google.

"The heart" of the DOJ's case, Mehta said, is whether or not Google's decadeslong partnership with Apple allowed the search engine to hold a monopoly over search. If Google's deal had blocked Apple from developing its own search engine, then that would make the arrangement anti-competitive and potentially a violation of antitrust law.

Mark Jamison, a nonresident senior fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, disagreed with that line of argument and said that Google has legally maintained its majority market control because it is based on users liking the product. "If Google wins 90%, 100% or even 50% of the search engine market based on preference, [market dominance] is just the consequence," Jamison told the Washington Examiner. "And that's a good consequence for the customers because the competition is on the merits. If the competition is based upon something else, then that's where you can have an antitrust problem."

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The notion that search engine users have any meaningful ability to choose their search engine is "bogus," Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella testified during the trial.

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Mikhail Parakhin, a lead executive at Microsoft, said that Apple only used Bing, Microsoft's search engine, as a "bargaining chip" in its negotiations with Google in order to "extract better conditions" from the two Big Tech giants' agreement. "It's no secret that Apple is making more money on Bing existing than Bing does," Parakhin added.

Google will begin making its defense next week. The company will focus on attempting to prove that its agreements are made based on Apple and consumers preferring the product. The search engine is also expected to argue that Parakhin's testimony proves that there are companies who can compete with Google but that Apple elevates Google's search because it is a better product., according to the Wall Street Journal.

Original Location: 'Heart' of DOJ argument against Google is scrutiny of exclusive Apple deal

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It was around 7 a.m. on Thursday, May 12, 1994.

Two officers assigned to the Chicago Police Departments Englewood District were to take two arrestees to the neighboring Chicago Lawn District station to be photographed.

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One of the men, arrested on a domestic violence charge, tried to chat with the officers during the 2 -mile drive west on 63rd Street. The officer in the front passenger seat wasnt in the mood to make friends.

Do you take me as a joke, m----------? he said to the handcuffed arrestee. Do you think you know everything?

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The other officer pulled over the van, and both cops got out and opened the vehicles side door. The officer from the passenger seat  25 years old, with two years on the job  then slapped the man twice on the left side of his face.

He would later deny that he slapped the arrestee or cursed at him, but internal affairs investigators didnt buy that, and the officer was handed a two-day suspension.

In August, Mayor Brandon Johnson selected that officer, Larry Bernard Snelling, a native of Englewood, to be the next superintendent of the Police Department.

During an interview with the Tribune last week, Snelling reflected on his own disciplinary history as he promised his department will balance reform-mindedness with aggressive policing by being transparent. He made his own mistakes, Snelling said, learned from them, and pressed forward.

Snellings background

One year after the slapping incident, Snelling was off-duty and driving his Jeep east on Garfield Boulevard, the border between Englewood and Back of the Yards. When he reached the stoplight at Loomis, he saw to his right a Cadillac DeVille with at least four men inside.

The driver of that car was an off-duty Cook County sheriffs officer, and one of the passengers was leaning out a window to talk with a woman he knew while she waited at a CTA bus stop.

Snelling apparently then asked the sheriffs officer, What are you doing in my neighborhood?

I am minding my own business and you should do the same, the off-duty sheriffs officer replied before continuing east on Garfield.

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Traffic thickened as the Cadillac neared State Street, and the Jeep had kept pace.

As other cars came to a stop, the Jeep again pulled up alongside the Cadillac. Snelling then reached under his seat, grabbed a gun, pointed it at the sheriffs officer and said, M-----------, we will see about your business.

The traffic signal changed and the sheriffs officer drove on, but not before he and his passengers all got a good look at the gun. They noted the Jeeps license plate number, and the sheriffs officer saw a sticker with police insignia on the rear of the vehicle. The Jeep soon turned off Garfield, but the sheriffs officer drove to the CPDs Wentworth District station to file a report.

Internal CPD investigators soon interviewed Snelling. He denied using profanity and pointing his gun, but, like in the slapping incident a year earlier, investigators sustained the allegations against him and he was suspended, this time for five days.

Snelling would go on to spend the lions share of his career as an instructor in the CPDs training academy, and he was frequently called to testify as an expert witness in criminal and civil court proceedings.

A call for fair treatment

Then-Chicago Police Department Chief of Counterterrorism Larry Snelling answers questions from the public at the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicagos Pilsen neighborhood on Sept. 7, 2023. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)

Since he assumed leadership of the CPD, Snelling has stressed that his priorities include accountability in serious cases of alleged officer misconduct, but hes also called for officers to be treated more fairly in those cases.

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The department he leads remains under a federal consent decree born of the fatal 2014 shooting of Laquan McDonald, and, so far, adherence to the court-ordered reforms has been slow. Since the agreement was entered in early 2019, CPDs bureau of internal affairs has opened more than 11,000 investigations into allegations of officer misconduct.

The new superintendent did not dispute the conclusions that were reached in the nearly 30-year-old misconduct cases sustained against him. But, he added, his personal experiences with CPDs discipline apparatus only helped him  and the recruits learning under him  while he was an instructor at the training academy and later as a department supervisor.

Do I believe (the investigations) were conducted fairly? Sure, I believe they were conducted fairly, and the outcome was the outcome, Snelling said.

Looking back on both of those situations, I couldve done a bunch of things different, he added. I was a young officer. I learned from those things. Not only did I learn from those things, I used those things in my training when I trained new officers, when I started to work at the academy.

Snelling said he has always been open about his past.

I never told war stories, he said. I would always tell these young, new, fresh officers where I made mistakes so that they possibly didnt make those same mistakes. And as a result of that, Ive learned my lesson about continuously keeping myself educated, following all of the rules and regulations according to what is written, our policies, and its really helped me in my career. Not only has it helped me in my career to develop even more, its also helped me understand what younger officers are going through and what they need so that they dont find themselves in the same situation.

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Snelling was the subject of 20 misconduct complaints between 1994 and 2010, according to CPD records. The slapping and gun-pointing incidents were the only two that were sustained.

The last misconduct complaint against Snelling came in 2016, CPD records show. He and another supervisor at the training academy were accused of giving favorable treatment to a recruit who was suspected of showing up to training while intoxicated or, at least, hungover from the night before. Snelling and the other supervisor were cleared of wrongdoing.

After he graduated from the academy, the six-month probationary period for that recruit  a man from a multigenerational CPD family  was extended four times, according to records from the citys Department of Human Resources. After later taking a leave of absence in 2018, that officer left the CPD to join the Chicago Fire Department as an EMT in 2020.

Chicago Police Department Chief Larry Snelling arrives at Chicago City Hall on Sept. 27, 2023, to be confirmed as the city's next police superintendent on Sept. 27, 2023. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)

More room to grow

Craig Futterman, a University of Chicago law professor and police accountability expert, said that Snellings ability to empathize with officers could be an asset, but only if other cultural problems within the CPD are also addressed.

I appreciate that he can identify with officers, but its more than just about learning from your mistakes, and violent and brutal policing is more than just a mistake, Futterman said. Its about changing officers mentality and changing the violent, macho, us against them culture that has long existed here.

Futterman also pointed to the dearth of complaints lodged in recent years against the superintendent.

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I believe that people can change, and there is significant evidence that Superintendent Snelling has changed, Futterman said. He didnt continue to accumulate complaints over the last 20 years, and I have heard from community members who I trust, from Englewood, too, who in recent days gave Snelling high marks for the way he engaged the community and de-escalated  a crisis in summer 2020 when there were some false allegations that a 15-year-old boy had been shot by the police.

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John Catanzara, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7, said he and Snelling are in lockstep in believing that punishments for officers are supposed to be corrective in behavior and not necessarily punitive.

There are exceptions to that idea, Catanzara said, especially in cases of real egregious behavior where punitive is the only way to go.

Catanzara himself accumulated dozens of complaints during his CPD career, and he abruptly quit the department two years ago during a pending misconduct case.

His dealings with the police discipline system have made him a more effective leader, Catanzara said.

Me and a couple people that work up at the Lodge, weve all had some pretty serious run-ins with this department, and that has only benefited the membership because we know how to address things, we know how to advise avoiding pitfalls and incidents where you could get yourself jammed up, he said. So experience matters. Its just what you do with it.

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scharles@chicagotribune.com
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Israel "cannot go back to the status quo" when the war between the Jewish State and the terrorist organization Hamas ends, as the conflict between the two enters its third week.

When asked on NBC News's Meet the Press about who will govern Gaza when the war ends, Blinken said Israel has no plans to govern the Palestinian enclave, but the nation will need to address Hamas's role as the governing body of Gaza.

CASH DASH: WHAT THE CAMPAIGN TREASURE CHESTS TELL US ABOUT THE HOUSE IN 2024

"We can't go back to the status quo. They can't go back to the status quo, with Hamas being in a position in terms of its governance of Gaza to repeat what it did," Blinken said. "At the same time, what I've heard from the Israelis  is absolutely no intent, no desire to be running Gaza themselves."

Blinken added that Israel moved out of Gaza "unilaterally, unconditionally" decades ago, "but they can't be in a position where they're constantly at the threat of the most horrific terrorist attacks coming from Gaza."

"So, something needs to be found that ensures that Hamas can't do this again, but that also doesn't revert to Israeli governance of Gaza, which they do not want and do not intend to do," the secretary of state said.

Hamas released two American hostages, Judith Tai Raanan and Natalie Shoshana Raanan, to the Red Cross on Friday. They were reunited with family in Israel and spoke to President Joe Biden following their release.

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The Gaza-based terrorist group kidnapped about 200 people during the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in southern Israel. Many of those people are civilians who live in the communities near the border with Gaza.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Blinken said on Sunday that some of the 10 Americans who remain unaccounted for may be held by terror groups. However, Blinken added that Israel continues to uncover people who were "slaughtered."

"So what we don't know for sure is whether some of the unaccounted for are dead and have simply not been uncovered yet, or whether they are hostage, but we have a pretty strong idea that some number of the 10 at least are being held in Gaza by Hamas," Blinken said.

Original Location: Israel 'cannot go back' to the status quo but has 'no intent' to govern Gaza: Antony Blinken

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The U.S. has moved to further bolster its presence in the Middle East, with defense secretary Lloyd Austin redirecting the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike group and activating a THAAD battery and Patriot battalion in the wake of Iran's behavior.

In a statement released late Saturday night, Austin said: "Following detailed discussions with President Biden on recent escalations by Iran and its proxy forces across the Middle East Region, today I directed a series of additional steps to further strengthen the Department of Defense posture in the region. These steps will bolster regional deterrence efforts, increase force protection for U.S. forces in the region, and assist in the defense of Israel."

Austin explained that the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group has been redirected to the Middle East. The Eisenhower strike group includes the guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea, guided-missile destroyers USS Gravely and USS Mason, and Carrier Air Wing Three, with nine aircraft squadrons.

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He has also activated a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery, as well as additional Patriot battalions throughout the region. A THAAD battery is a combat defense against ballistic missiles, which Iran possesses.

On Thursday, Houthi forces in Yemen, which are backed by Iran, launched three land-attack cruise missiles and several drones that the guided-missile destroyer USS Carney, which is a part of the Ford Carrier Strike Group, was able to shoot down from the Red Sea. The Department of Defense said the missiles and drones were heading north along the Red Sea in the direction of Israel.

The moves come as Israel has vowed to launch a military attack against Iran, "the head of the snake", if Hezbollah, another Iranian proxy, enters the war with Hamas.

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Nir Barkat, Israel's minister of economy, warned that they would "eliminate Hezbollah" if the Iranian-backed Lebanese group opened up a second, northern front in the war, but he added "we will actually target Iran."

Original Location: Israel war: Austin beefs up US presence in Middle East thanks to Iran

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The number of hostages being held by Hamas has risen to 212, according to estimates by an Israel Defense Forces spokesman.

IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Sunday morning that 212 people were taken by Hamas fighters on Oct. 7, according to a press conference reported on by multiple news outlets. The number marks a slight rise from the previous estimate of 203 people being held hostage by Hamas just days after the group released two United States residents who were being held captive.

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Israel has been fighting against Hamas, a militant group that the U.S. and other countries have designated a terrorist organization, since the Oct. 7 surprise attack by the group that resulted in more than 1,400 Israelis being killed.

The Gaza Strip, which is under Hamas rule, has since been bombarded by Israeli air strikes. Hamas' attack on Israel and the retaliation has claimed nearly 5,800 lives so far, according to United Nations estimates.

Parts of statues lie among debris in a home that came under attack during a massive Hamas invasion into Kibbutz Nir Oz, Israel, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. Nir Oz is one of more than 20 towns and villages in southern Israel that were ambushed in the sweeping assault by Hamas on Oct. 7. About 100 of Nir Oz's 400 people are dead or missing. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco) Francisco Seco/AP

President Joe Biden has indicated that efforts to secure other U.S. hostages are underway after Hamas released Judith Raanan and her daughter, Natali Raanan, with assistance from Qatar.

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U.S. officials "have been working around the clock to free American citizens who were taken hostage by Hamas, and we have not ceased our efforts to secure the release of those who are still being held," Biden said Friday.

Meanwhile, the IDF is preparing to intensify more airstrikes to prepare for an all-out ground offensive in Gaza. Hagari has said the bombardment in Gaza will be intensified to minimize risks to troops when they enter the Strip, according to AFP.

Original Location: Israel war: IDF says Hamas is holding 212 people hostage

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Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton claimed that the United States's border crisis will impact the country for "decades to come," as many Republicans have focused on the border as an issue impacting the U.S.

While appearing on Sunday Morning Futures, Paxton was asked about a report from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which stated that 2,475,667 migrants had illegally crossed the southwest border of the U.S. in the CBP's fiscal year 2023, which was from October 2022 through September 2023. Paxton argued that the influx of illegal crossings has left a "huge economic impact" on the state of Texas, which has spent "billions of dollars" trying to secure its border.

NATO ALLIES SUSPECT 'COINCIDENCES' POINT TO HYBRID WAR WITH RUSSIA UNDER BALTIC SEA

"Crime has increased dramatically as a result, and of course, many, many of our children are dying from fentanyl doses because the border's wide open," Paxton said. "So it's having a dramatic impact on my state. I know that this is not staying in Texas. This is going to impact the entire country for not just years, I think decades to come."

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird also expressed concern about the lack of border security, stating that "every state is a border state" and that Iowa, despite being far from the southern border, is still being impacted by illegal crossings. Bird has endorsed former President Donald Trump in his bid for the 2024 presidential election and stated that he will secure the border because "he did that as president."

Paxton expressed similar views about Trump, stating that he was "very encouraged" to see him exceeding in the polls. He added that he hopes the U.S. can get a president "like him" to enforce policies and laws to protect Texas and the rest of the U.S.

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Data from the CBP released on Saturday revealed that border authorities arrested over 2 million people who attempted to enter the country unlawfully from Mexico or Canada over the past 12 months. The report marks the second time ever that that figure has topped the 1986 record of 1.692 million.

Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ) has criticized the Biden administration over its handling of border security, claiming the administration "puts politics above the safety of Americans."

Original Location: Ken Paxton argues that border crisis will be felt for 'decades to come'

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Kenneth Chesebro was not a staunch "big lie" believer despite the Fulton County election fraud case against him.

Chesebro's attorney Scott Grubman appeared on MSNBC Saturday to address his client's plea deal from the previous day. This deal included Chesebro pleading guilty to one felony, conspiracy to commit filing false documents, which in his case was a fake elector certificate. According to Grubman, he did so knowing that Donald Trump had actually lost the 2020 election and there was no "big lie" behind President Joe Biden's victory.

SOCIAL SECURITY UPDATE: THIRD ROUND OF DIRECT PAYMENTS WORTH UP TO $4,555 ARRIVES IN FOUR DAYS

"First of all, Mr. Chesebro never believed in The Big Lie,'" Grubmann said. "If you ask Mr. Chesebro today who won the 2020 presidential election, he would say Joe Biden."

Grubman went on to clarify that Chesebro was in Washington D.C. on January 6, 2021, but his client did not enter the capitol. According to his lawyer, Chesebro "detests the violence" that ensued that day.

Chesebro is the first to plea out to a felony. His plea deal was finalized a day after Trump's campaign attorney Sidney Powell similarly plead guilty to six misdemeanor counts of conspiracy because of her involvement in a January 2021 breach of an election system in rural Coffee County, Georgia. Part of these deals implicates that Chesebro and Powell could be called to testify in the trials of any of the other 16 defendants who have pending trials.

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"It's not that Mr. Chesebro is wanting to protect Donald Trump. He's not. He's ready to move on with his life," Grubmann said. "While Mr. Chesebro was ready for trial, we were ready for trial, this was the best outcome. He is now home with his family and he can put this behind him."

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According to Grubman, Trump should "not be worried" about the likelihood of Chesebro being called to testify against him. Trump's lead attorney in the racketeering case, Steve Sadow, told the Washington Examiner something similar, claiming "truthful testimony" from both Chesebro and Powell "would be favorable to my defense strategy."

Chesebro avoided a RICO charge with this plea deal. His trial had originally been scheduled for Monday.

Original Location: Kenneth Chesebro did not believe in election fraud or participate in Jan. 6, lawyer says

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Former Rep. Liz Cheney sided with President Joe Biden's foreign policies over his predecessor.

Cheney appeared on State of the Union Sunday for an uncharacteristically long segment that lasted over 30 minutes to share her political analysis of former President Donald Trump's performance versus Biden's. Host Jake Tapper asked her which of the two presidents is "providing better leadership on the international stage."

WILL GUILTY PLEAS IN TRUMP'S GEORGIA RICO CASE DAMN HIS EVENTUAL TRIAL?

"Certainly Biden," Cheney said.

The former representative took issue with Trump going on the offensive against Israel's heads of state when he said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu disappointed him and called the Defense Minister of Israel a "jerk." Cheney referred to them as "appalling comments."

Meanwhile, Biden faced criticism following his second Oval Office speech, where he lumped together an update on the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas and the war in Ukraine against Russia. According to Cheney, helping Ukraine is vital to the United States's reputation worldwide.

"If you do not support aid to Ukraine, given the global atmosphere and the context in which we are living, you are, in fact, helping America's adversaries," Cheney said. "You are demonstrating weakness at precisely the moment when we need to be showing strength. So, it is dangerous and ill-informed."

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Cheney went as far as blaming Trump for the threats House GOP members received for not voting for Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) as speaker. She cited an anonymous colleague who said at a closed-door meeting the lawmakers themselves were to blame for the threats because they weren't supporting Jordan. Cheney went on to claim that "that kind of acceptance of violence" could be traced back to Trump's time as president.

When Tapper asked about her prospects in launching a 2024 presidential bid, Cheney said she is still considering it.

Original Location: Liz Cheney claims Joe Biden beats Donald Trump on international stage

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Several House Republicans are running for speaker in the fourth round of voting after nominees Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) failed to receive the 217 votes necessary to become top leader of the House.

As of Sunday afternoon, nine House GOP members are throwing their hats in for speaker, representing a wide range of ideologies within the Republican Party. The winner will replace Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who was ousted from the speakership on Oct. 3.

SPEAKER RACE LIVE ENDORSEMENT TRACKER: WHO'S SUPPORTING WHO IN THIRD CONTEST

Achieving the speaker's gavel will be an uphill battle for each candidate, given Scalise and Jordan were unable to receive the majority of Republican votes. Jordan lost three rounds of speaker votes, losing 20 Republican votes the first time, 22 Republicans the second, and 25 Republicans on the third.

Here are the nine members running for speaker, with a vote expected to take place on Tuesday.

Rep. Jack Bergman, R-Mich., speaks about the USMCA trade deal at a Dana plant in Warren, Mich., Thursday, Jan. 30, 2020. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya) Paul Sancya/AP

Jack Bergman (R-MI)

Rep. Jack Bergman (R-MI) announced his candidacy for speaker on Friday. A retired U.S. Marine Corps Lieutenant General, Bergman's office said he is "widely respected on both sides of the aisle" for his national security experience and can work with members of both parties.

"My hat is in the ring, and I feel confident I can win the votes where others could not. I have no special interests to serve; I'm only in this to do what's best for our Nation and to steady the ship for the 118th Congress," Bergman said in a statement. "What we need right now is a Speaker who has experience leading and can put ego aside to work together for the American people. We need a leader who shuns permanent power and recognizes the current crisis of leadership. I'm ready to serve. Together we can end the deadlock, and win the vote."

So far, Bergman has four endorsements from Reps. Tim Walberg (R-MI), John James (R-MI), John Moolenaar (R-MI), and Lisa McClain (R-MI).

Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., talks with reporters as House Republicans hold a caucus meeting at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Oct. 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib) Mariam Zuhaib/AP

Byron Donalds (R-FL)

Rep. Bryon Donalds (R-FL) announced his intent to run for speaker on Friday, just a few hours after the GOP dropped Jordan as the party's nominee. He is a member of the House Freedom Caucus, the hard-line conservative wing of the Republican Party.

Reps. Cory Mills (R-FL) and Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) are throwing their support behind Donalds. Diaz-Balart voted for Scalise during the first three speakership rounds.

"I am running to become the next Speaker of the House. We need to secure our border, fund our government responsibility, advance our conservative agenda, [and] expand our Republican majority," Donalds said in a post to X. "Let's get to work!"

Donalds and Scalise were floated as alternatives to McCarthy back in January when it took the former speaker 15 rounds to secure the gavel. At one point, 20 Republicans voted for Donalds at the beginning of the year to be speaker.

FILE - House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., leaves the Republican caucus meeting at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File) Jose Luis Magana/AP

Tom Emmer (R-MN)

Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) is running for House speaker, with endorsements from McCarthy and Reps. Buddy Carter (R-GA), Pete Stauber (R-MN), and Brad Finstad (R-MN). He is the highest-ranking Republican in the race. At No. 3, his job is to "whip," or count votes, to pass the speaker's agenda.

Emmer was floated as a possible speaker candidate before the nomination went to Scalise. The majority whip only received one vote from Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO)  during each speakership round.

McCarthy said during a Sunday interview on NBC News's Meet the Press that Emmer "sets himself head and shoulders above all those others who want to run."

Emmer is considered a front-runner in the race but could face similar struggles that plagued Scalise. Hardline conservatives from the House Freedom Caucus have accused Emmer of not being supportive enough of former President Donald Trump, while centrist Republicans are unhappy he would not support a measure to expand Rep. Patrick McHenry's (R-NC) interim speaker powers.

FILE - Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., speaks at a rally on Nov. 1, 2022, in Oklahoma City. Republicans are trying to rally around a new House speaker after Rep. Kevin McCarthy's ouster. But they will have to find a way to unite their shattered majority to get the House working again. The House Speaker is one of the most powerful positions in Washington. Republican Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Rep. Jim Jordan have already announced their bids, but others, including Rep. Kevin Hern, are expected to join them. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File) Sue Ogrocki/AP

Kevin Hern (R-OK)

Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK) is running to be the next House speaker. He is the chairman of the Republican Study Committee, a post that often works as a jumping-off point to higher leadership positions.

While having the same hard-line conservative ideals as McCarthy that appeal to members of the House Freedom Caucus, Hern is also considered to be a more centrist option than Jordan.

However, he is a loyal supporter of Trump and supported the former president's debunked claims that the 2020 election was stolen. Hern joined 146 other House Republicans in voting against certifying the 2020 election, which could put off support from moderate Republicans.

Hern initially bowed out of the contest following McCarthy's removal, stating that a three-man race between Jordan, Scalise, and himself would hurt the party. Now, he is pitching himself as a unifier.

"It's pretty obvious that our delegation is looking at something to be different than what we've seen so far," he told reporters on Friday. "I bring a different perspective than possibly anybody else that could be running in this race."

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SPEAKERLESS HOUSE: THE LONGEST THE HOUSE HAS GONE WITHOUT A SPEAKER

Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., Vice Chair of the House Republican Conference, speaks during a television interview on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) Patrick Semansky/AP

Mike Johnson (R-LA)

Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA), an ally of Jordan's, is running to replace him as the GOP nominee for speaker.

Johnson is the former chairman of the Republican Study Committee and a member of the House Judiciary Committee. He announced his candidacy for speaker on Saturday.

"I have been humbled to have so many Members from across our Conference reach out to encourage me to seek the nomination for Speaker," Johnson said in a "Dear Colleague" letter. "Until yesterday, I had never contacted one person about this, and I have never before aspired to the office."

"However, after much prayer and deliberation, I am stepping forward now," he added.

Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Pa., talks with reporters after a House Republican caucus meeting on Capitol Hill, Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib) Mariam Zuhaib/AP

Dan Meuser (R-PA)

Rep. Dan Meuser (R-PA) is running to become the next speaker. He has served in Congress since 2019.

He said in a post to X on Saturday that his campaign message will be "focused on politics of inclusion" and engaging "every member of the Republican conference" in policymaking and communications.

"If there is a candidate who embraces that vision and has a better chance of getting 217 votes, I will support them," Meuser said. "I care about helping create a team that works together and gets results. I believe the show' should be about the Members and not about the Speaker's Office."

Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Ala., questions TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew during a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, on the platform's consumer privacy and data security practices and impact on children, Thursday, March 23, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Alex Brandon/AP

Gary Palmer (R-AL)

Rep. Gary Palmer (R-AL) is running to replace McCarthy as speaker. As the chairman of the Republican Policy Committee, he is the No. 5 Republican in the House.

Palmer is a member of the House Freedom Caucus and was elected to Congress in 2014. He supported Jordan's candidacy for speaker until the Ohio Republican was removed as the nominee.

Like Hern, the Alabama representative voted against certifying the 2020 election results.

Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga., talks with reporters as Republicans hold a caucus meeting at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Oct. 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib) Mariam Zuhaib/AP

Austin Scott (R-GA)

Rep. Austin Scott (R-GA) became a surprise candidate for speaker last week after he received 81 votes in the conference against Jordan when Scalise dropped out. Scott was the freshman class president for the 112th Congress.

As an ally of McCarthy, he was outraged after the California Republican was removed by eight Republicans, calling them "nothing more than grifters," per the New York Times. He told CNN that he decided to run because "we have to do the right thing the right way. That's something that we as a conference are not doing right now."

"When I woke up this morning, I had no intentions of doing this. It took me a long time to even get to my wife to tell her to call all our friends and be in prayer because we haven't done any preparation or any whipping or anything for this," he said Friday, the day he announced his candidacy.

Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, speaks during a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on gun violence on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, June 8, 2022. (Jason Andrew/The New York Times via AP, Pool) Jason Andrew/AP

Pete Sessions (R-TX)

Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX) is the longest-serving member of Congress who is running for speaker so far. He began serving in 1997 until 2019 when he was defeated by a Democrat in 2018. Sessions ran for a seat in a neighboring district and won, returning to Congress in 2021.

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Previously, Sessions has led the Republican conference as chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee and as chairman of the House Rules Committee. He said in an interview with Newsmax that he is running because of his years in Republican leadership.

"I am running for Speaker of the House because I know what it will take to move the Republican Party forward," Sessions said in a post to X on Saturday. "During my six-year tenure as Chairman of the House Rules Committee, I helped usher a conservative agenda through Congress. It's time to get back to work for the American people."

Original Location: Who are the nine House Republicans who declared their candidacy for speaker?

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A Colorado Springs family woke up to quite the furry surprise Saturday morning as four bears were spotted strolling in front of their home.

"My first thought this morning was to get a picture fast. Next was to get our family to see them," said Doug Stoner, who moved to his home in the Broadmoor area this summer.

"We have an apple tree in the backyard and saw fresh claw marks about a week ago as one bear was up getting apples."

Although various neighbors had inquired about the bears since moving to the neighborhood, Stoner's only proof of their presence was the fresh claw marks covering their backyard apple tree. Stoner assumed the fruit-acious attacks occurred overnight.

Saturday was the first time Stoner witnessed the creatures for himself.

"This morning, they went to the side of the house and went over a fence to the neighbors yard and broke their fence in the process. Eventually, they went over the back fence into a field behind us and disappeared," Stoner said.

Bear spottings like Stoner's on Saturday are not uncommon in Colorado this time of year. As the state's black bear population prepares for annual hibernation, they enter hyperphagia.

According to Colorado Parks and Wildlife, bears in hyperphagia will on average spend up to 20 hours a day, eating more than 20,000 calories, as a means to fatten up for winter hibernation.

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"As bears start to prepare for hibernation and hunt for food, Coloradans may see more bear activity in urban areas," CPW officials said.

On average, male bears typically enter hibernation in December and emerge from their dens in March. Female bears will enter hibernation in November, and emerge in April, according to the National Park Service.

During the months approaching winter, conflict between bears and humans can become more prevalent as the bears' drive to eat overpowers their fear of humans.

"When bears become too comfortable around humans, they can destroy property or even become a threat to human safety," according to CPW officials.

In addition to generally increased bear activity this time of year, this fall follows an unprecedented freeze in May that contributed to the majority of food being lost in areas over 7,000 feet in elevation.

"Because of this, coupled with the continued drought across Colorado, bears will be on the move, looking for much-needed calories to survive through the year and prepare for the winter," CPW said.

CPW officials are asking the public to remain bear-aware by decreasing access to food through properly storing garbage and securing compost, as bears are attracted to rotting foods.

Additionally, residents should never allow bears to become comfortable visiting areas around a home.

"If you see one, yell at it, throw things at it, make noise to scare it off," CPW officials said.
Brett Ochs lives in Colorado and has been hunting the majority of his life and he believes that mountain lions belong on the natural landscape and should not be hunted for sport. Charles Seymour is a passionate backcountry fly fisherman who has purchased fishing licenses and habitat stamps for 25 years here in Colorado. Erik Molvar is a lifelong hunter and wildlife biologist with published research on Alaskan moose as well as large-scale conservation planning. He has spent 23 years as a conservation professional advocating for public lands and wildlife, and is the author of 16 hiking guidebooks and backpacking techniques manuals for national parks and wilderness spanning the West. He works from his office in Laramie, Wyoming.
Soledad Diaz is public policy director for Violence Free Colorado. Hannah Colter, community impact specialist for Violence Free Colorado, contributed to this commentary.
The more blue the state, the more overly Democratic its state House; the more red or orange the state, the more overtly Republican. White-indicated states are evenly balanced or do not have partisan legislatures.
IOWA CITY  U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Ottumwa, stood on the bed of a bright-red truck and defended voting against Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the hard-right chair of the House Judiciary Committee, to be the next speaker of the U.S. House  a move she said spawned credible death threats against her.

Meanwhile, a slate of candidates seeking the Republican presidential nomination focused on national security and the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, the Gaza-based Palestinian militant group.

Miller-Meeks held her third annual Triple MMM Tailgate on Friday evening in Iowa City. The event featured seven candidates seeking the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.

Miller-Meeks, who voted for Jordan on the first ballot Tuesday but subsequently voted against him, cast her vote Friday for Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry of North Carolina.

Miller-Meeks reported she received death threats Wednesday after voting against Jordan, and other anti-Jordan House Republicans also reported death threats and threatening calls.

I am never going to quit fighting for Iowa, and I am never going to quit fighting for this country," Miller-Meeks said to a crowd of hundreds of supporters. "So if you think you can intimidate me, go  suck it up, buttercup!"

Miller-Meeks defended her vote and voting record, including voting against an agriculture appropriations bill because it cut vital supports for Iowa farmers, including to U.S. Department of Agriculture programs that support rural broadband development and funding for foreign animal disease preparedness.

She said she did not support shutting down the government because she didnt want veterans pay to be stopped.

Seven presidential candidates followed her speech, asking Iowans for their support in the GOP caucuses on Jan. 15. Heres what they had to say.

Ron DeSantis

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis repeated his calls to deny Palestinian refugees entry into the United States, and criticized students protesting Israels actions in response to the attacks, calling them Hamas supporters. He vowed to revoke student visas and deport foreign nationals who support Hamas.

We are not going to allow the left-wing in this country to have hundreds of thousands of Gaza strip refugees deposited in the United States of America, DeSantis said. That is not our role. We dont want to import the pathologies of the Middle East here. The Arab countries should handle any refugees that are needed in that region.

DeSantis called for a renewed effort to strengthen national security by creating stricter policies at the southern border, including authorizing the use of deadly force on Mexican drug cartels.

Vivek Ramaswamy

Vivek Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur, complimented DeSantis for his decision to charter emergency flights from Israel to assist U.S. citizens fleeing the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Ramaswamy said he respects the Florida governors choice to arrange those flights, and said he and his wife have made a similar choice to charter a flight through their charitable organization, evacuating 200 Americans from Israel.

While he condemned the actions of Hamas as barbaric and morally wrong, he cautioned Israel against an ongoing, potentially imminent ground invasion of Gaza in order to prevent what he sees as mistakes made following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorists attacks in the United States.

He said the United States spent more than $6 trillion on military expenditures following the Sept. 11 terrorists attacks, only to see the Taliban retake control of Afghanistan and an anti-American regime in Iraq that is not vulnerable to Iranian incursion. He said Americans were told to shut up, sit down, go along following Sept. 11  and called for Israel to not make the same mistakes.

Some people will ask, is that anti-Israel? No, no, no, Ramaswamy said. This is the most pro-Israel thing we can do, as a friend, to say, learn the lessons from the mistakes we made 20 years ago in this country, to make sure that we  together  dont repeat them again.

Nikki Haley

Former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley, who held a town in Cedar Rapids Friday afternoon before heading to the Miller-Meeks fundraiser, emphasized her foreign policy credentials.

In the wake of the surprise attack by Hamas on Israel, Haley called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to finish the Palestinian militant group.

Haley told the crowd, both in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, the United States needs to pursue three goals when it comes to the Middle Eastern conflict.

Support Israel with whatever they need whenever they need it, Haley said. Eliminate Hamas, not weaken them  eliminate Hamas. And do everything we can to bring our hostages home.

Haley celebrated the announcement Friday that Hamas had released two Americans who had been held hostage in Gaza. Its the first such release from among the roughly 200 people the militant group abducted.

Two prayers were answered, Haley said, but said President Joe Biden should not give the Hamas any leniency for the release of the American hostages.

Haley said the United States needs to do more to support Israel, by providing military aid as well as pulling government funding from universities with students and staff who hold protests in support of Palestinians.

Haley criticized Bidens approach to the withdrawal from Afghanistan and a recent prisoner exchange deal with Iran, saying they have emboldened Americas adversaries.

Ryan Binkley

Texas pastor Ryan Binkley said the national debt threatens future generations, and that Republicans need to update messaging to represent the changing country and be more involved in discussions on health care and education.

I think the Republican Party has kind of lost our way, Binkley said. I think we all recognize that we are in a broken place. Not only can we not elect a speaker of the House, our party is divided. We are so much broken in our messaging and what we represent, and I really believe this: We have to remember are the party of financial stewardship.

Binkley touted his seven-year plan to balance the budget and begin paying down America's debt. The plan focuses on reducing nondefense discretionary spending; preventing waste, fraud and abuse; and saving Social Security.

Tim Scott

South Carolina U.S. Sen. Tim Scott denounced Bidens response to the Israeli-Hamas conflict and called for an urgent response to aid Israel, stating he hopes the response comes with some Israeli-American hardware.

Scott described protests happening across the country against Israels response in Gaza as anti-Semitic. And vowed, if elected, he sign into law legislation he introduced to revoke federal student aid to colleges or university that say its OK to spread terrorism on our campuses.

The senators proposal came after some students and professors at colleges including Harvard and Columbia University released statements supporting Palestinians and condemning Israels actions against the population.

"Let's condemn Americans for their hate-filled response," Scott said.

Doug Burgum

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum said there were major domestic issues impacting national security that are overlooked. We cant have national security without food security, energy security and border security, he said.

Earlier in the day, during an interview on Iowa PBS Iowa Press, Burgum said he believed the president could play an important role in resolving the internal disputes among U.S. House Republicans in nominating a speaker.

You know who loves the fact that the Republicans cant get their act together and lead? The Democrats, Burgum said.   They love what were doing, because this is all helping them in 2024. And we dont have either side thats actually working to try to solve the issues for the American people.

Asa Hutchinson

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said he is the only candidate with a law enforcement background, having worked as a federal prosecutor and with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency  giving him credence to take on border security and the fentanyl crisis. In 2003, then-President George W. Bush appointed Hutchinson as the undersecretary for border and transportation security at the newly established Department of Homeland Security.

While at the department, Hutchinson led an effort to reform border inspections through the use of biometric technology and continued to oversee the reorganization of border agencies into a unified inspection force.

Now, you can look at what I did, and youll say, well, you didnt get it perfect, Hutchinson said. But it looks perfect compared to what Joe Biden has done.

Hutchinson his experience serving under Bush following the Sept. 11 attacks will help him aid Israel in its war against Hamas. He criticized Ramaswamys comments on the conflict, saying that this is not a time of ambiguity.

What voters had to say

Bill Montag, 50, of Coralville, said he remains undecided as to who he will support in the caucuses, but was impressed with both DeSantis and Haley. He said he values Haleys foreign policy experience and DeSantis views on border and national security.

The attacks on Israel were a disgrace, and I agree with everyone that Hamas needs to be removed from Earth. They need to be taken out, Montag said. It doesnt mean that all the Palestinians are bad, obviously. But its hard for us to give aid directly to Gaza (because) its essentially giving aid to Hamas, as much as the Palestinian people need it.  I think we have to stand with Israel.

He said hes also looking for a fiscal conservative who has a plan to cut federal spending and balance the budget.

Dawn Coffman, 69, of Williamsburg, who attended Haleys town hall in Cedar Rapids, said she, too, is weighing whether to caucus for DeSantis or Haley.

I was totally sold on DeSantis before, but then Ive listened to (Haleys) position on the Israel-Hamas conflict.   Shes a little bit more aggressive and outspoken, and I like that.

Asked about former President Donald Trump, the current Republican front-runner who did not attend Fridays tailgate, Coffman said she feels Trump is too polarizing to win in the general election and beat Biden.

I think he bring a lot of baggage, she said. I think he got a lot of things done (as president), but I dont think hell get anything done if hes president again. I think hell be tied up in legal entanglements.

She said she feels now is the opportune time for DeSantis and Haley to break out from the rest of the pack and put a dent in Trumps support. Of the two, she said she likes Haleys hawkish foreign policy.

I dont want her to back down.
Countries in the Middle East that have normalized or are considering normalizing relations with Israel are coming under growing pressure to cut ties over Israels war with Hamas.
gmatophobia wrote:

City official: Landowners must clear the snow from the sidewalks along the edge of their property by 24 hours after the end of a snowstorm. The city has the right to clear any sidewalk that is still covered more than 24 hours after a snowstorm's end, and whenever it does so, it will bill the landowner for the service. All landowners whose sidewalks have not been cleared within 48 hours of the end of a snowstorm will receive citations, which always result in fines unless the landowners can demonstrate extenuating circumstances.



If all of the official's statements are true, which one of the following must be true?



(A) If the city clears a sidewalk of snow 50 hours after the end of a snowstorm, the owner will be billed for the service and will receive a citation.



(B) All landowners who fail to clear their sidewalks by 24 hours after the end of a snowstorm will be billed by the city for snow removal.



(C) All sidewalks in the city will be cleared of snow within 50 hours of the end of a snowstorm.



(D) Nearly all landowners who do not clear their sidewalks within 48 hours after the end of a snowstorm will be fined.



(E) Landowners who can demonstrate extenuating circumstances will not be billed by the city for snow removal service.

This is correct answer. If they clear the snow, they will be billed for the service and they will definitely receive the citation.

This will only be applicable if city does the service not in every circumstance they will be billed.

No where it is said that it will be cleared in 50 hours.



This is tricky, it is saying almost all will be fined, but the passage actually saying all will get citation but we dont know the percenatage whether all will get fine or not.

It is nowhere said that it will not billed by the city for snow removal, it is actually saying for citation they won't have to pay the fine.

Let us jot down the points what city official is saying :Landowner must clear the snow by 24 hours after the end of a snowstorm.The city has to right to clear the snow after the snow, please note it is saying it will be billed only when it will give the service, not for all the cases.All landowners whose sidewalks have not been cleared within 48 hours of the end of a snowstorm will receive citations, which always result in fines unless the landowners can demonstrate extenuating circumstances.Now let us go with option elimination:(A) If the city clears a sidewalk of snow 50 hours after the end of a snowstorm, the owner will be billed for the service and will receive a citation. ->(B) All landowners who fail to clear their sidewalks by 24 hours after the end of a snowstorm will be billed by the city for snow removal. ->(C) All sidewalks in the city will be cleared of snow within 50 hours of the end of a snowstorm. ->(D) Nearly all landowners who do not clear their sidewalks within 48 hours after the end of a snowstorm will be fined. ->(E) Landowners who can demonstrate extenuating circumstances will not be billed by the city for snow removal service. ->
LGOdream wrote:

Over the past decade, many companies have begun using automated telephone services; callers hear a machine-generated voice and are able to select options using the numbers on the telephone keypad. Research shows that callers are more patient when the machine-generated voice is that of a woman. Thus, smaller companies that cannot afford automated services should consider hiring women, rather than men, to interact with costomers by phone.



Which of the following, if true, would be most damaging to the conclusion above?



A. Automated telephone services are becoming cheaper and cheaper every year.

B. Patient customers tend to order more products and return fewer products than impatient customers.

C. A separated study indicated that extra patience exhibited by callers is limited to interactions with an automated system.

D. Some customers prefer automated systems to talking with a live person.

E. On average, callers are only slightly more patient when interacting with a female voice, rather than a male voice, in an automated telephone system.





I've narrowed it down to C and E, but I can't see any difference between them.



Both of them limit the patience to an automated telephone system, so I can't see which one weakens the most the conclusion above.



Any hint?



Official explanation to eliminate E is:



This one seems to be telling me there isn't a huge difference between male and female voices  but there is still a small positive effect for female voices. If anything, this strengthens the argument; after all, as a small business owner, I'll take any necessary steps that will get me more business! I only have one answer left, so C is the answer.



How does E strengthen the argument?

Since you've narrowed it down to C and E, lets discuss only these two.C: conclusion is: smaller companies that cannot afford automated services should consider hiring women, rather than men, to interact with costomers by phone. However, option C clearly states that the reason behind this conclusion is incorrect because the patience is exhibited only in case of automated system. We got the damaging option but anyway look at E.E: two points, to note here. one, that this option talks about only male vs female voice in an automated telephone system, not about in person vs automated system. second, it actually supports the conclusion by telling there is a slight advantage in using female voice. Doesnt help destroying the conclusion as well as, or rather even close to as much as, C does.
The Danville-Pittsylvania County Habitat for Humanity hosted Cruzin for Humanity on a blustery and chilly Saturday morning. The fundraising event mixed a car show with a Brunswick stew sale. After staging a car show in June, Kim Baldridge, the executive director of the Danville-Pittsylvania County Habitat for Humanity, said she decided to put together the dual event Saturday after people asked for another day to spotlight the vehicles. In addition to the 20 cars on show, about 400 quarts of stew was sold, all to benefit the nonprofit organization. The events were hosed outside of the Habitat Re-Store, giving that arm of Habitat's fundraising efforts added exposure. "We appreciate any opportunity that people come out and support us," Baldridge told the Register & Bee on Saturday. "We have been very blessed and we thank people for all of the donations," she said of the store.
Following a closed session Thursday night, the Danville School Board approved a new principal for G.L.H. Johnson Elementary School.

Ramona Warren  most recently a principal in Winston-Salem, North Carolina  will lead Johnson Elementary, Lanie Davis, a spokesperson for Danville Public Schools, told the Register & Bee.

Warren replaces Kevin Bowman, who recently resigned to become assistant principal at Reidsville, North Carolina, High School.

Rockingham County, North Carolina, Public Schools announced Bowmans position Oct. 10.

Before becoming principal at Johnson Elementary in 2021, Bowman was an assistant principal at Westwood Middle School and a third grade teacher at Schoolfield Elementary School, according to an announcement by Danville Public Schools in 2021. He worked in the Danville school system since 2017.

I am excited about this opportunity to join Principal Blackwell and the administrative team at Reidsville High School, Bowman said in a statement. I look forward to building on the excellence of RHS and supporting the Rams faithful at sporting events.

Currently, Shannon Johnson is listed as interim principal at Johnson Elementary. It wasnt immediately clear when Warren would take over.

Warren has been a principal in Winston-Salem and Forsyth County, North Carolina, schools for the past 14 years. Before that, she was an assistant principal for five years and a special education teacher for nine.

She has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Lees-McRae College and a Master of Arts degree from Appalachian State University. She obtained her Master of School Administration degree from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, Davis reported.

Warren has certifications in school administration, cross categorical K-12, learning disabilities K-12 and social studies in grades nine-12.
Two of the Republican congressmen who led the charge to oust House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have nothing but pride for the decision that has left the lower chamber of Congress speakerless and impotent for nearly three weeks.

Virginias Bob Good and Floridas Matt Gaetz told a crowd of roughly 100 during a breakfast fundraiser at Callie Opies Orchard restaurant in Mineral on Saturday morning that McCarthy was the wrong man for the job and that the right man will likely be found sometime this week.

In explaining their calculus, at one point Good recalled a moment where he begged and pleaded with McCarthy not to compromise with Democrats.

Dont make a deal, he said to then-Speaker McCarthy. Shut down the U.S. government.

We were willing to throw down and risk shutting down the government to achieve anything, said Good, who represents Virginias 5th District.

McCarthy refused, instead helping to pass a bipartisan resolution on Sept. 30, narrowly avoiding a shutdown that would have kept thousands of federal workers and U.S. military personnel from getting paid.

It was a bridge too far for Good and Gaetz.

We felt like we had reached the point where that was such an egregious violation that we had to take the risk, Good said of McCarthys compromise.

The risk Good took? Ousting McCarthy from the speakership, marking the first time in American history a speaker of the House was voted out of the job. Three weeks later, the position remains unfilled, effectively rendering the lower chamber of the U.S. Congress powerless. The House is now stuck in a vicious cycle, trying and failing to agree on a new candidate in the Republican majority to lead.

Rep. Jim Jordan is the latest member to attempt to take the vital seat. But in three separate votes, the Ohio Republican came up well short of 217: the magic number needed to attain the speakership. Now, it seems Republicans will have to try again with someone else.

I dont think Jim Jordan is going to be a candidate going forward, Gaetz told The Daily Progress after Saturdays fundraiser. We respect him. We like him. We voted for him multiple times on the floor. But were now to a new stage of the speaker contest, and weve got some great candidates.

Not long beforehand, Gaetz had told the crowd gathered at the Louisa County restaurant that Jordans candidacy failed because of animus toward himself and Good.

Bob and I, we sensed that our colleagues were angry with us for having sent the shock through the system, and thats why they werent voting for Jim Jordan, Gaetz said. If youre mad at us, dont take it out on Jim Jordan.

While critics say the GOP is in disarray, Good and Gaetz framed the ongoing struggle as necessary for the betterment of the country.

Weve had the first national campaign for speaker thats ever been waged, where the American people are weighing in on who they wanted to be speaker, Good told the audience. We had a contest instead of a coronation.

What were going through right now is further exposing the swamp creatures, Good said.

But with Jordans candidacy shot down, the Virginia congressman conceded that Republicans are back to the drawing board. And he hinted that his hard-right faction of the party could draw out the process even longer.

Were not going to just rubber-stamp someone else from the swamp, Good told the crowd. Not any one of us can pick a speaker, but any five of us can block the speaker, and were not going to give up in the battle of trying to find the best conservative speaker that can get to 217 that represents what is becoming increasingly a conservative center of the conference.

While some of their colleagues have questioned what this small band of hardline conservatives is trying to accomplish in the unprecedented move, Good and Gaetz said they are trying to deal a blow to what Good called the uni-party cartel.

Congress has been failing Americans for 60 years, Good said.

Were not wedded to any specific reform, Gaetz said to the crowd. Our focus is solely on making sure that its your interests that dominate over the interests of those corrupt special interests.

Good later added that McCarthy caved to Democrats in his unwillingness to not shut down the government.

We knew the certainty of what that kind of leadership means for the country. And theres no reason to have Republican majorities to do that to the American people. We can do that with Democrats, and thats why we did what we did, he said.

But the pair was hoping to have a new speaker well before now, Good acknowledged. Gaetz told The Daily Progress he was optimistic that they would have a new speaker next week.

If it ends up being longer, the Good and Gaetz supporters in Mineral on Saturday said they wont mind. Three of the people who attended the fundraiser told The Daily Progress they appreciate what the congressmen are doing.

Its going to take some time, and I think theyre both doing the right thing, George Debski said. He and his wife drove an hour to attend the fundraiser.

I hope at the end of all this were going to live to see some of these things that they want. Specifically, I mean, weve got to do something about the border. This is insane, Debski said.

Doc Garnett thanked Good for his moral courage and said hes not at all concerned about the speakership.

I dont think its as big a deal as the media makes it out to be, Garnett told The Daily Progress. I think the less the federal government gets done, the better off we all are.

As Good left the venue, another attendee told him to keep up the good fight.

Fighting is exactly what Good and Gaetz said they intend to do.

We are in this fight to win. And sometimes that means you dont put a timeline on it, Gaetz said to the crowd. If we get this right, we have a generational opportunity to put the peoples needs first.

Good and Gaetz left Mineral on Saturday for two other fundraisers in Virginia, one in Rice and the other in Lynchburg, as part of the pairs Hope for America tour.
GREENSBORO  A 25-year-old woman who was critically injured during a shooting early Sunday has died from her injuries, Greensboro police said in a news release today.

Officers responded at 4:45 a.m. Sunday to the 3000 block of West Gate City Boulevard and located Calysta Martin with life-threatening injuries. She was taken by ambulance to a local hospital.

Police have not released any other details about the assault.

Her death marks the city's 59th homicide of 2023.

Authorities ask anyone with information to contact Greensboro/Guilford Crime Stoppers at 336-373-1000. Residents can also download the mobile P3tips app for Apple or Android phones to submit a mobile tip, or go to P3tips.com to submit a web tip. All tips to Crime Stoppers are anonymous.
Voter fraud

Regarding Trump attorney pleads guilty in election case (Oct. 20):

We have been impressed with the recent emphasis of the Republican Party on voter fraud. For years, the leaders of the party have warned us of illegal voters. They have enacted strong laws to keep the vote tallies safe.

Today, we read that leaders of the Republicans did not mislead us about voting fraud. It definitely happened. And they have pleaded guilty to the crime. As it is said, It takes one to know one.

Many of us are also interested in a functioning Congress. The Republican leadership in the House of Representatives has impressively demonstrated dysfunctional voting and chaos.

Now, Republicans, remind us why we need to trust the voting maps youve drawn up. Could you be seeing more blue mice and pink elephants (apologies to Jack London)? Or do you dislike democracy that much?

Kurt Lauenstein

Greensboro

Do something!

I told my city councilwoman, Tammi Thurm, a few weeks ago that all I want is to sit aside and not be involved in local politics. Then I saw your headline today. I sent the city manager and City Council the following email:

I hope all of you, including the city manager, saw the headline of the Greensboro paper today: Citys homicide rate on a record-setting track (Oct. 18) Our violent crime rate is out of control and you meet to talk about strategies for the next five years as you ignore the shortage of 100 police officers. Our city is crumbling while you join the manager as he talks about visions for the future.

No more manager visioning. Its time for the mayor and council to get back to the business of protecting citizens.

If you continue to ignore it, everyone either will be dead or will have moved away. I implore you to get back to concentrating on crime in this city. While you continue to ignore it, people are losing their lives and crime continues to spread throughout the entire city. It is no longer an east side problem. All of our citizens are in danger.

All of our citizens are concerned about everyone. We support each other. Why cant you? Crime should be your No. 1 priority.

You are the city managers bosses. You need to drive the agenda yourselves.

Carol Carter

Greensboro

A moral war

Rabbi Fred Guttman, for the first time I can recall, I totally agree with every word (Israel is at war, and it is not a war of choice Oct. 15).

Despite the medias nearly immediate attempt to somehow give equal status to Muslim terrorists and Jewish citizens, you countered by using objective moral principles, disciplines, reason and traditional American values to stress your revulsion to the recent inhumane treatment of Jews. So importantly, you also reprimand those on the left who might in any way attempt to excuse or justify this treatment and to condemn Israel for responding to this barbaric treatment appropriately.

Yes, the willingness of many (on the left) to justify (Hamas Muslim terrorists) cruel and evil behavior is outrageous. But I do wish you had been more specific as to exactly where 80 years ago a Jew could be killed with impunity, as some might mistakenly think it was in America.

Rabbi Guttman, this is obviously a Holy War, a moral war, but also one greatly influenced by politics. And in so many ways, decisions of the American left in the past few years (on Iran, on how and when to respond to threats, etc., etc.) have contributed greatly to the present situation in Gaza. I wish you would agree with me on this one.

Clyde Hunt Jr.

Greensboro

Peace for all

A wise, loving Christian pastor once said, If you are pro-Israel, on behalf of the Palestinian children I call unto you: Give further friendship to Israel. They need your friendship. But stop interpreting that friendship as an automatic antipathy against me, the Palestinian who is paying the bill for what others have done against my beloved Jewish brothers and sisters in the Holocaust and Auschwitz and elsewhere. And if you have been enlightened enough to take the side of the Palestinians  oh, bless your hearts  take our sides, because for once you will be on the right side, right? But if taking our side would mean becoming one-sided against my Jewish brothers and sisters, back up. We do not need such friendship. We need one more common friend. We do not need one more enemy, for Gods sake.

Im glad so many Americans stand for peace and security for Israel. As a Jew, that alone does not make me feel safe. The Holocaust taught me that we should stand with all oppressed people.

I hope we stand for peace, justice and security for Palestinian families, too, in completely equal measure. I look forward to the day when Palestinian refugee families are allowed to return to their homes, when Israel truly becomes a democracy, and when theres peace for all in the Holy Land.

Steven Feldman

Winston-Salem

Be an Angel

There were two letters to the editor on Oct. 13 calling for all of us in this country to work with each other to find ways to rebuild, not tear down and for folks on each end of the political spectrum to find common ground and work on issues together with fewer accusations of racism, xenophobia, transphobia, etc.

Thank you, letter writers! I would like to introduce you and other News & Record readers to a national organization that was created in 2016 to do just what youre calling for. Braver Angels is Americas largest organization that brings together conservatives and progressives on equal terms to understand our differences, find common ground where it exists, and help the country we all love find a better way.

They offer free debates, workshops, one-on-one conversations and other possibilities to learn how to cross the divide and discuss civilly with each other and to hear others discuss polarizing issues such as racism, ranked-choice voting, book banning, COVID vaccines, guns and many other controversial topics.

Check it out at www.braverangels.org, participate is some of the free activities, and become a member if you want. We do not have a local Braver Angels alliance at present, but you can participate in online events from all over the country.

Lyn McCoy

Greensboro

Dubious choices

In their House speaker search, Republicans sought out a proven liar, a valueless, immoral soul who has neither the aptitude for, nor interest in, actually governing, who engaged in insurrection against America, and who has a horrendous sex scandal on his resume. Fortunately, that man was busy trying to lie his way out of 91 felony charges and the aforementioned sexual assault conviction.

So they nominated Jim Jordan, a man offering similar credentials for these job requirements. Liar? Check. Lack of interest and ability to govern? Check. (Jordan hasnt had a bill signed into law in his 17 years in Congress). Insurrectionist? Check. Massive sex scandal? Check. A shoo-in, right? Well, apparently some GOP members of Congress werent thrilled about Jordan threatening their families lives.

Now that the job requirements are clear, its easy to see why Kevin McCarthy was ousted. For one, he would, on rare occasion, say something that is true. Secondly, he tried to govern. Republicans cant have any of that stuff going on. Plus, no sex scandal, a big miss. (Matt Gaetz himself was under investigation for trafficking teenagers for sex.) No choice but to push McCarthy out. McCarthy just doesnt live up to Republican standards.

This leaves me wondering why Lauren Boebert isnt running. She certainly meets the job requirements, and her getting evicted from a crowded live performance theater for engaging in lewd acts in public should count for something. Plus, she has the bonus credential of giving her middle-school children semi-automatic weapons. Thats GOP speaker material for sure.

J. Kevin Bokeno

Boone
CHIAGO  After 14 dark days, Uri Raanan expects the best day of his life to be about a week away.

Raanans daughter Natalie Raanan and her mother Judith Raanan, Uris ex-wife, were released into Israel Friday after two weeks spent as hostages of the terrorist group Hamas.

Natalie and Judith plan to fly back to Chicago in about a week, Uri Raanan told reporters from his home in Bannockburn, near Deerfield, Friday evening, hours after the first news reports of their release.

Ive been waiting for this moment for a long time, Uri said. I havent been sleeping for two weeks.

Hamas operatives kidnapped Judith and Natalie at gunpoint from the Nahal Oz kibbutz in southern Israel, where they were visiting family, on Oct. 7. While they were held at an undisclosed location in Gaza, their family received no proof of life.

The Raanan family will celebrate Natalies birthday as soon as she is able to travel from Israel to Chicago, Uri said. Natalie turns 18 on Tuesday.

Im going to hug her and kiss her and its going to be the best day of my life, Raanan said.

Natalie told family in Israel that she was not physically harmed by Hamas, a family friend close to the situation told the Tribune Saturday.

Hamas operatives confiscated Natalies phone, but she was provided with food, water, fresh clothes and access to a shower, according to the family friend.

Uri did not speak to Judith directly Friday, spending a minute or two on the phone with his daughter. Natalie told him Judith had a small scratch on her hand but seemed mostly unharmed, he said.

She was very happy, and shes waiting to come home, Uri said.

As of Saturday, the Raanan family has raised $10,000 to help care for Natalie and Judith when they return to the Chicago area.

Uri said the two may have been together while held hostage.

Natalie told me they treat(ed) her nice, Uri said. I told her I love you and I miss you very much  she knows how I feel.

President Joe Biden, along with Gov. J.B. Pritzker and U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, were in touch with Uri and the Raanan family throughout the afternoon, as U.S. embassy officials connected with Judith and Natalie.

Biden spoke with Natalie and Judith by phone Friday evening, the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

As U.S. and Israeli media scrambled to confirm details, Israeli Defense Forces officers sent Uri pictures of the mother and daughters release, he said Friday.

Later, IDF officers called Raanan to let him know they were on their way to collect his daughter and ex-wife.

For the nearly two weeks Judith and Natalie were held hostage, Uri Raanan could not sleep, he said. He divided his time between praying, following the news and speaking with family.

Ive been glued to the TV for two weeks hoping for good news, Uri Raanan said. My head always was in Israel.

Frida Alonso, 19, addressed Natalie, her stepsister, Friday: Im so happy youre finally coming home. Weve all missed you so much.

We hoped you were alive and safe, and we know youre so brave, and strong, and thats how you and your mom made it through this, Alonso said.

Though Natalie and Judith have been released, the familys prayers for safety are far from over, Sigal Zamir, Natalies aunt, said Friday evening.

This is a small joy in our family, Zamir said. For all the other hostages, and all the other families, just keep praying, and hopefully good news will come.

Chicago natives Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg, who now live in Jerusalem, hope the Raanans release provides further motivation for Illinois politicians to keep hostage release efforts a top priority.

Polin and Goldbergs 23-year-old son, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, was kidnapped from the Tribe of Nova music festival in the Negev desert in southern Israel on Oct. 7.

Do not stop reaching out to elected officials to make sure they are screaming at the top of their lungs, Polin said. Two Chicagoans were released last night. We need another one released.

According to eyewitness accounts and video, Goldberg-Polin evacuated into a bomb shelter, which came under heavy gunfire.

Hamas operatives threw more than 11 grenades into the shelter before moving Hersh and three other survivors into a pickup truck. His cellphone signal was last detected around 10:20 a.m. Israel time, in Gaza, Polin said.

Polin grew up in Skokie and West Rogers Park. Goldberg grew up in Gold Coast.

The pair lived in Chicago after college before moving to Berkeley, California, where Hersh was born, relocating to Jerusalem in 2008.

Were really trying to get as much support as possible from our elected officials in Illinois, Polin said. Thats kind of the state that weve been leaning on the most.

Hersh loves travel, and had planned a trip around the world starting later this month, Polin said.

He is a fun-loving guy. Hes smart, curious and funny, with a dark sense of humor, Polin said. From the time he was a little kid, he could tell you every country of the world and its capital.

Polin believes that Judith and Natalies status as full-time United States residents contributed to Hamas decision to release them first. Residents of more than 30 countries are currently among the hostages.

Im happy for them. Im not surprised, Polin said.

Judith and Natalie were released partially on humanitarian grounds, according to Hamas spokespeople. The same request is a matter of urgency for injured hostages like Goldberg-Polin, whose left arm was blown off below the elbow during his kidnapping.

We dont know his whereabouts, Polin said. We dont know if hes alive. What we do know is hes critically wounded  Doctors have told us that by two weeks in, if he has not gotten medical treatment, the risk is dire.

As the Raanans prepare to welcome Natalie and Judith back to Chicago, Polin said he and Goldberg pray for their own quiet homecoming.

Id bring Hersh in the house, Id close the door to the outside, Polin said. We would spend time as a family and just hug and embrace and have quiet and have each other. That would be a dream.

For friends and family in Evanston and Deerfield, Friday was a day of joy and relief, tempered by an understanding of the long healing process ahead.

I have faith in the world, I have faith in peace, and I want to thank everybody who was involved in bringing them back safe, Natalies stepmother Paola Raanan said Friday, at her Bannockburn home. I cannot express how happy we are.

Were thrilled there was a Natalie to come home, said Deerfield resident Gale Gand. I never knew whether to talk in past tense. Id correct myself and talk in present tense to kind of signal the universe that we were not giving up.

Gands daughter Ruby is a close friend of Natalie, and had planned to meet her in Israel while on a Birthright trip in December.

Deerfield residents know Natalie as a little bit shy, but beautiful inside and out, Gand said.

Gand says she struggled to find the best way to talk to her family about the Raanans ordeal. Though Natalie and Judith seem safe, Gand said, friends and family know their lives have been permanently transformed.

I fear that she will never be the same, Gand said. Im wondering who is the Natalie coming back to us . How do you heal? Do you heal from this kind of thing? Will she always be the girl who got released from Hamas? I dont know how you get on the other side of it.
As a psychiatrist, I want to challenge a recent editorial, "Froma Harrop: Bring back locked mental facilities", (Oct 6), connecting the rise of the homeless mentally ill to the 1963 Mental Health Act, an act supporting the development of community mental health centers.

The acknowledged crisis for the homeless mentally ill however is much more complex than reestablishing extensive state-supported hospitals. (Journal of ethics.ama-assn.org/article/deinstitutionalization-people-mental-illness-causes-and-consequences/.2013-10)

Federal funding for these centers was short lived. The states were to take up, along with Medicaid, the ongoing treatment for these individuals. As you can imagine, the states varied greatly in this responsibility. Unenforced outpatient commitment laws, funding problems, and lack of outreach programs all have left these individuals to fend for themselves. Both private and public psychiatric beds, (which do exist and are locked) have diminished, even for the short-term treatment of what are relapsing illnesses. Thus, the numbers of homeless mentally has increased.

These severe illnesses, schizophrenia, severe bipolar or schizoaffective disorders if untreated, are now known to cause further brain injury. There is an effective, well-established alternative. I work for what is called an Assertive Community Treatment team, a Medicaid- and state-funded outreach program. This nationwide program is said to save states money over inpatient care. We provide services previously found in hospitals: psychiatric treatment, rehabilitation, substance abuse treatment, peer support, nursing and social work, in the communities where these individuals live. While this is currently a voluntary program, the team, working with its clients, increases the likelihood that people will adhere to the medications, have food, shelter and other healthcare.

I have seen many people thrive with these supports, Many return to the workforce, live in their home community, near or with their family support system, and have the opportunity of life choices that all of us wish for.

David Branyon, MD

Hickory
From 1829 to 1907, the empires of Russia and Great Britain shared a mutual hostility. Each wanted to expand its influence in Central Asia, as well as across the Pacific Ocean. Thus, a rivalry was born. The animosity sparked or intensified several military conflicts, most notably the Crimean War (1853-1856), which pitted Russia against the allied forces of Britain, France, Sardinia and the Ottoman Empire. Ultimately, Russia was defeated. By some estimates, the czarist empire suffered 800,000 casualties or more.

Although this war was restricted to Eurasia, it had major ramifications across the Pacific. Among other things, it called into question the future of that magical land, Alaska.

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Following decades of exploration, Russia claimed Alaska in 1741. It then founded its first North American settlement there on Aug. 3, 1784. This was established by the Shelikhov-Golikov Co., one of several fur-trading organizations that operated in the area  ostensibly on the empire's behalf. In 1799, Czar Paul I merged several of these into the Russian-American Co. (RAC). A powerful conglomerate, the RAC was given a trade monopoly on Alaskan resources. It was also tasked with creating new settlements and expanding Russia's New World presence.

To this end, company manager Alexander Baranov had his men venture all the way down to northern California, where they set up an outpost called Fort Ross on Feb. 2, 1812. The RAC's grand vision was for this establishment to serve as an agricultural hub, one whose crops would sustain its own settlers and those up in Alaska. With their food supply guaranteed, the colonists in both locations would have an easier time harvesting the Pacific's most profitable commodity: sea otter pelts. Several times more valuable than the coveted beaver and fur seal pelts, these were the lifeblood of the Russian-American economy.

Unfortunately, Fort Ross' farming output was grossly inadequate. And to make matters worse, the Russian fur trappers overhunted those sea otters so badly that the animals nearly vanished from the North Pacific. The Russians therefore gave up on Fort Ross, which was sold to an American frontiersman in 1844.

" " The Alaska gold rush brought the United States billions in wealth. Here prospectors are seen starting their journey for the Yukon from Juneau, Alaska, in 1896. Bettmann/Contributor/Getty Images
"Well, as with most myths, there are alternative versions," Martin says. "One of the more common stories features a sort of tit-for-tat quarrel between Zeus and his wife  it looks like he started it. Hearing that a child of one of his many love interests would one day overthrow him, Zeus proceeded to swallow the minor goddess Metis ('cunning intelligence'), but as she was already pregnant, the child still had to come out  and it did so, out of Zeus' own head. That child was the goddess Athena."

According to Martin, this whole sequence of events did nothing but enrage Hera, who sought vengeance by bearing her own child, named Hephaestus, parthenogenetically, i.e., without any help from a male. "But when she saw the baby was lame, she rejected him and threw him off Mount Olympus," Martin says. "In real life  horrible to say  some ancient Greeks did in fact leave babies to die if they were considered physically defective. Sometimes they would be picked up by passers-by in the place they were exposed and then were raised by foster-parents."

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Hephaestus managed to survive the long fall and landed on an island in the Aegean Sea where he was cared for and he eventually managed to become a master metal-worker. "To get back at his mother, he made a golden throne and sent it to her as a gift," Martin says. "But the chair had hidden bonds that sprang into action when Hera sat down, so she was held fast, unable to move. All the gods begged Hephaestus to let her go, but he refused until the god of wine, Dionysus, got him drunk and brought him to Olympus to undo the trick chair."

" " The ruins of the temple of Hera in Sicily, Italy. Riccardo Lombardo/REDA&CO/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

But as Martin alluded to, there is more than one version of the Hephaestus myth. "The other story is that it was in fact Zeus who threw Hephaestus off the mountain, and that due to this fall, he got injured and became lame in the first place," Martin says. "The plot in this alternative version was that Zeus had suspended Hera in chains, dangling her from Mt. Olympus (another weird touch  she's always being tied up somehow). He did that because she was harassing his own son, Heracles (born out of wedlock)." When Hera's own son, Hephaestus, came to her rescue, Zeus was incensed and ejected him from the mountain. "This one is sort of a mirror image of the first," Martin says. "Clearly, the stories got spun depending on whether the husband or wife divinity was being made to look bad."
It was a triumphant and vindicating moment for Kim DeLaney on Thursday, Oct. 12, when the Concord City Council approved an ordinance allowing the development of tiny homes within city limits.

In many ways, it was a testament to the years of work DeLaney, who is founder and executive director of Tiny House Big Movement, has put in to researching, planning and collaborating with local leaders, including city officials, about the benefits tiny homes could provide in helping address the growing need for affordable housing.

It was just phenomenal, she said about the approval, which also included development of cottage homes. The reality is Im solely just a citizen. To come in and work with the city and to have them be receptive and open and then actually have the ordinance change, there are no words.

These new homes, once created, will make a substantive difference for many people in the city. She and her children are looking forward to moving into a tiny home in the near future.

Our community is growing, she said. We have great schools and economic development but the lack of rooftops is really hurting us.

Looking to improve affordable housing

Developing tiny homes is important for DeLaney as it creates a path for equality and equity within the housing market, according to her website. As someone who has experienced firsthand the difficulties of finding an affordable home in the area, DeLaney understands the stress many people are facing.

Originally from Tennessee, DeLaney moved with her family to Concord about 12 years ago after having lived in Charlotte for many years. Her family struggled to find the right home; they were limited by a housing market that made it hard to find what they were looking for.

What I could afford was not something that I wanted us to live in, she said.

This was when DeLaney began looking into tiny homes as an option, not just for her family but for many others who were going through similar struggles.

What I tended to realize about myself is anytime I have a business idea, it starts with something that Ive struggled with internally, she said. And I think of it as OK, if Im going through this, there has to be more people like me.

Tiny homes have increased in popularity recently, she said, with the uncertainty of the pandemic and many consumers looking to lessen expenses and downsize.

Were all struggling right now  because of our economy, so I also think thats why tiny homes have become so popular, DeLaney said.

She started THBM in March 2021. She spent time researching and visiting tiny homes in other parts of the state, including Acony Bell, a tiny home community on more than 50 acres about 20 miles from Asheville. She and her two kids spent a weekend in the community.

They loved it and that was all I needed, she said.

DeLaney also talked with investors and builders and assembled an advisory team, which included Concord Mayor Bill Dusch.

Dusch said DeLaney played a key role in helping the city craft its ordinance allowing the development of tiny homes. She would often provide feedback about what she saw with tiny homes in other parts of the state.

She helped us gain a little bit of knowledge as to how we wanted to do it (crafting the ordinance) because we really wanted to do it, but do it right, Dusch said.

About tiny homes

Tiny homes in Concord can have a maximum density of 18 units per acre with a minimum lot size of 10,000 square feet, according to the new ordinance. These homes cannot exceed 600 square feet.

DeLaney said the new form of housing will be popular for all kinds of people, from college students looking for starter homes to new families to older residents looking to downsize.

These homes dont necessarily have to be short-term options, as research shows that people living in these communities often become debt-free, DeLaney said.

Its just a total game-changer, she said.

Tiny homes can vary with each one having its own unique blueprint. THBM has unique designs on its website including moveable homes, accessory dwelling units and two-story family homes.

Our goal is to be able to showcase a couple of different models for potential buyers, DeLaney said. Were also changing mindsets. These are not sheds; these are nice living facilities.

THBM homes will be built using eco-friendly and LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified materials to provide clean energy and reduce the carbon emissions, according to the website.

Having owned and operated My Green House CBD since 2017, DeLaney has cultivated relationships with local hemp-producing farmers. Hempwool is a type of insulation made from hemp fibers known for its sustainability, durability, and environmental benefits.

Thats something that we can easily incorporate, she said.

Many homes, known as modulars or pre-fab homes, can actually be built off site, which reduces build times compared with traditional homes, according to THBMs website. This can result in 90 percent less construction material waste.

THBM is working to create agrihoods, which are small developments that are sustainably sourced and manned by the residents that live on the properties.

DeLaney hopes THBM can begin breaking ground on tiny homes during the first quarter of next year. It will be a celebratory moment, not just for DeLaney but for the city as a whole.

We look forward to the time in the next few months that she is able to build her first tiny home, Dusch said.

For more information about THBM, people can email DeLaney at hello@kimdelaney.co.
BEASON  Dave and Gail Apel-Sasse met at a haunted house this time of year almost 50 years ago. Their lives have been intertwined with the fall season ever since.

Gail made Dave pumpkin pie on their first date, and together they run Gails Pumpkin Patch in Beason. Daves parents grew pumpkins, so 18 years ago, when they thought of adding something to their corn and soybean farm in Logan County, pumpkins were a natural fit.

Their business features both Gails love of pumpkins and Daves affinity for apples. His orchard has grown over the years from traditional apple trees to also include apples on a wire or trellis-grown apples, Gail said.

Their store also features the talents of their two children. Abrigail Temple, now the mother of four, is still their chief baker, a title she started as a teen. Of course, some of her treats include pumpkin. She also shares winter squash recipes on the familys website, gailspumpkinpatch.com.

Their son Nathan is a beekeeper and has a variety of honeys available at the pumpkin patch store, as well as various Central Illinois grocers. They also grow popcorn and sell ears in a bag for popping.

Sunday is the popcorn wagon ride when you can pick your own, Gail said.

Inside and out, the area is set up for family fun with a variety of fall activities and decor. As their number of grandchildren grew, so did the activities for children.

Now is the perfect time to save some precious pumpkin for pies whenever you want, Gail said. She has some hints on how to do it:

Wash the pumpkin then cut the top and bottom off and clean the seeds.

Cut into cubes and cut the outer skin off.

Place cubes in glass baking dish and pour in about  to 1 C. of water.

Cover with aluminum foil.

Bake at 250 for about 4 to 5 hours, until a fork will pierce the pumpkin cubes easily.

Drain water and let cool so the pumpkin can be frozen in containers.

When its time to use, puree in a blender.

While Gail clearly favors pumpkins, her staff and family like other squash options for making healthy and flavorful meals. Winter squash are a tasty source of complex carbohydrates and fiber. They are also sources of potassium, niacin, iron and beta-carotene.

Squash can be baked in the oven or, when speed is important, can be microwaved on high power, the Sasses suggest.

Brenda Underwood, an employee at the pumpkin patch, is always looking for fun recipes to use that include fall and winter squash. Underwood isnt afraid to try a more complex recipe, such as butternut squash and black bean orzo with sausage and spinach.

Gail's Famous Pumpkin Pie

3 eggs

2 1/4 C. cooked pumpkin

1 C. brown sugar

2 T. sugar

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

3/4 tsp. ginger

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. cloves

1 can (5 oz.) evaporated milk

1/3 C. milk

Pie crust

Blend eggs and pumpkin on medium. Add sugars and blend. Add spices and blend. Then add milks. Blend until well mixed. Pour into unbaked pie crust. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, lower temperature to 375 degrees and bake for 45 minutes until a knife comes out clean. Serve with ice cream or whipped topping.

Simple Spaghetti Squash

Cut squash in half. Remove seeds. Place on baking dish cut side down. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Then add the following to the inside of the squash:

1/4 C. Parmesan cheese

2 T. butter

Garlic salt or minced garlic

Salt and pepper, to taste

Bake for another 10 to 15 minutes. Serve with a meat sauce.

Butternut Squash and Black Bean Orzo with Sausage and Spinach

2 C. butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed

1 T. olive oil

Salt and pepper

1 C. uncooked orzo

1 T. olive oil

12 oz. sausage, cooked

15 oz. black beans, canned rinsed, drained

5 oz. fresh spinach

Fresh thyme

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, toss cubed butternut squash with olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread the squash on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet in one layer without overcrowding. Roast on the middle rack for 30 minutes.

Combine 2 C. water and 1 C. orzo in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and immediately reduce to medium or medium-low heat. Cook for about 10 minutes with water visibly simmering, stirring frequently to make sure the orzo doesnt stick to the bottom. Add small amounts of water if water gets absorbed too quickly.

Once the orzo reaches an al dente texture, move the pan from heat. Cover and let the rest for about 5 minutes.

Heat 1 T. olive oil in a large, high-sided, heavy-bottomed skillet (such as cast iron or stainless steel) on medium heat. Slice cooked sausage into coins and add to the skillet. Cook on medium heat for 5 minutes on one side until nicely browned, then flip over and cook for about 3 minutes on the other side.

Add spinach to the sausage and cook on medium-low heat until wilted.

Add rinsed and drained black beans and cooked orzo (drained of any liquid). Mix to combine. Add roasted butternut squash cubes. Stir everything together carefully. Season with salt and pepper. Top with fresh thyme.
Marijuana legalization in Illinois has come with increased pot-involved deadly crashes, a rise in accidental ingestion among children, an association with psychotic disorders, and increases in preterm births by mothers using cannabis, a new study has found.

By the numbers 4,257: Trained "budtenders" in Illinois as of April $456 million: Adult use cannabis sales in the last fiscal year 37%: Rate of fatal crash drivers who tested positive for marijuana 61.5%: Percent of recreational marijuana users who said they had used cannabis to manage mental health symptoms

Reported benefits include decreases in marijuana-related arrests and in opioid and benzodiazepine-related fatalities.

Contrary to fears, there appears to be little to no increase so far in cannabis use among minors.

The findings come from the states annual cannabis report for 2023, conducted for the state by the University of Illinois at Chicago Jane Addams College of Social Work.

The rate of fatal crash drivers who tested positive for marijuana rose from 25% in the two years before legalization to 37% in 2020, the first year of legal recreational sales in Illinois.

Michigan, the other Midwestern state to legalize general adult use at about the same time, saw a similar increase, while other neighboring states remained below 24%. The fatal crash rate for weed in Illinois exceeded that for alcohol, which remained at about 35%.

Drivers under 45 were much more likely to test positive in fatal crashes, while drivers whod taken other drugs were also significantly more likely to be involved in a deadly crash.

The rate of self-reported driving under the influence of cannabis also doubled to 5.4% for those 26 and older between 2018-19 and 2019-20.

As the Tribune previously reported, the number of calls to the Illinois Poison Control Center for nonfatal marijuana overdoses by children 17 and under also rose dramatically since legalization, from fewer than 100 in 2016 to about 500 in each of the past two years. Calls about children typically were caused by kids eating their parents gummies. Adults saw a doubling of overdose calls in that time.

About 20% of persons using cannabis in the past year said they experienced one or more adverse effects, most commonly with panic reactions, feeling faint or dizzy, and nausea or vomiting.

The rate of cannabis use disorder for Illinois residents 12 and older was estimated to have risen to 2.6% in 2019-20, from 2% in 2018-19. As with some other measurements, researchers said, its unclear how much of that may have been attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic, a period that also showed increases in alcohol use disorder in the Midwest.

The head of the research effort, James A. Swartz, professor and interim associate dean for research at the school, said those results were concerning, but otherwise, some of the fears about marijuana legalization had so far not panned out.

Tentatively, I think the state is doing a reasonable job, he said.

Most noticeably, data have not shown an increase in use among children in Illinois.

First use among those 12 to 17 increased from 2015 to 2018, but decreased through 2021, with no increase in frequent use in that age group.

However, Illinois and Michigan both had higher rates of past-month use across all age groups, particularly young adults.

Frequent cannabis use, 20 days or more a month, increased from 4.8% to 6.4% in Illinois, with a tripling to 11% among Blacks in 2020. There was a similar overall increase in Michigan, while neighboring states again saw no change.

Of particular concern was that between 2017 to 2020, there was a 6% increase in past-month cannabis use among pregnant women. Medical experts warn against using marijuana during pregnancy, because it can harm the baby.

People with a serious mental illness and people in poverty also had much higher rates of both any and frequent cannabis use.

Among medical users, chronic pain was the most commonly cited reason for use. But 86% of medical users, and almost two-thirds of recreational users, had used it to manage mental health symptoms such as anxiety, depression, and PTSD/trauma.

One area researchers would like to delve into more is the effect of high-potency marijuana, with concentrates now reaching more than 80% THC, the main component that gets users high.

People hospitalized for cannabis use disorder had a higher prevalence of manic episodes or psychotic disorders. Studies elsewhere have shown a strong association between frequent use and high-potency pot and psychosis, including schizophrenia.

Swartz would also like to research to what extent the use of cannabis may decrease the use of opioids. But state regulators so far have not given him access to data from the states program that uses cannabis as an alternative to opioids, citing privacy concerns.

Swartz noted that cannabis taxes in Illinois remain high, and retail stores remain scarce in Black neighborhoods on the South and West sides of Chicago, which discourages people from the legal market.

As more stores opened and use became more common, the percentage of cannabis bought legally in Illinois more than doubled from 2018-19 to 2021, to 59%. The most common reason cited for buying illicit pot was the high cost of the legal market.

The report also cited a small increase in cannabis poisoning as a contributing cause of death in Illinois, to 27 fatalities in 2022.

Meanwhile, the number of cannabis arrests in the state continued to plummet, from more than 45,000 in 2015 to less than 3,000 in 2021.

Many of the statistics came from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. The report was submitted to the Illinois Adult Use Cannabis Health Advisory Committee, which may use the information to make recommendations to the Department of Human Services about public health awareness campaigns.

Cannabis tax boom: States collect a whopping $15.1 billion in revenue since weed legalization Cannabis tax boom: States collect a whopping $15.1 billion in revenue since weed legalization Cannabis Tax Revenue State By State
Forcing federally funded public works projects to pay the so-called prevailing wage is a classic case of robbing Peter to pay Paul. The intention behind the Davis-Bacon Wage Act, which requires any federal project to use prevailing wages, is to boost worker pay. The practical effect is to substantially drive up the cost of those projects.

Those costs are ultimately paid for with taxpayer dollars, so it is ordinary citizens shouldering the higher costs. Instead, the government should institute a genuinely competitive bidding process, which would save taxpayers money.

The Davis-Bacon Act was passed in 1931 and was initially meant to counter a Depression-era practice of literally busing in workers from a lower-paying region so employers didnt have to hire local workers who would not work for the wages being offered. This practice benefitted many workers, frequently African-Americans, who lived in poor regions with little work.

Busing in unskilled labor is rarely a factor with the law today, because most federal projects involve skilled labor. The purpose behind the Davis-Bacon Act today is to boost unions. The Labor Departments Wage and Hour Division is the entity that surveys businesses and determines the prevailing wage for these types of projects. This wage mirrors what companies with collective bargaining contracts  union wages  pay their workers.

Unions that drive up their members wages are thus protected from the economic consequences of doing that if their business involves federal contracts. That's because non-unionized businesses will have to pay the same wages and therefore lose any wage-price advantage. The AFL-CIO is one of the main boosters of the law, unsurprisingly.

The Congressional Budget Office, the nonpartisan agency that analyzes the federal budget, estimated in 2022 that getting rid of the Davis-Bacon Wage Act would save taxpayers $16.7 billion over the next decade. Thats enough to buy a state-of-the-art aircraft carrier and still have a few billion left over.

The act makes everything more expensive than it would otherwise be, though estimates of how much vary. The Beacon Hill Institute found that the act raises construction costs by more than 7%. The Government Accountability Office study of the Washington metro areas Metro transit system found Davis-Bacon likely raised costs for the project by $149 million in 1980 dollars (about $588 million in today's dollars), the Washington Examiner noted in a 2021 report.

Its not like workers need help getting their wages to rise. Thats happening on its own, thanks to a historically tight labor market. According to the Labor Department, overall wages have risen by 4.3% nationally in the last year.

Bear in mind that these workers are already subject to their states minimum wage laws, which in 15 cases now exceed $13 an hour. Thats assuming the pay for the jobs would even be affected by minimum wage laws. Federal projects usually involve skilled work that already pays well above any minimum.

The point of Davis-Bacon is to raise the wages further.

Until recently, the Labor Department had to survey at least half of the businesses in an existing region before determining the prevailing wage. Under a new rule, the department need only survey 30% of the businesses, ensuring a larger margin for error in determining wages, potentially driving up wages even further.

This process of determining a prevailing wage can also be time-consuming. It involves the gathering of a lot of data, which can put the projects on hold. The White House repeatedly suspended Davis-Bacon requirements simply to get projects underway promptly. President George W. Bush did so in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

The government shouldnt wait until a crisis to be free of unneeded mandates. Davis-Bacon prevents the bidding from being genuinely competitive, it raises the costs for taxpayers, and it delays projects when needed. We would be better off without it.
Achievers

Arts Council of Winston-Salem & Forsyth County has announced that Forsyth Countys nonprofit arts and culture industry generated $196.3 million in economic activity in 2022, according to the newly released Arts & Economic Prosperity 6, an economic and social impact study conducted by Americans for the Arts. That economic activity  $101.4 million in spending by nonprofit arts and culture organizations and $94.9 million in event-related spending by their audiences  supported 2,472 jobs and generated $34.1 million in local, state and federal government revenue. Spending by arts and culture audiences generates valuable commerce to local merchants, a value-add that few other industries can compete with.

Building on its 30-year legacy as the largest and most inclusive study of its kind, AEP6 uses a rigorous methodology to document the economic and social contributions of the nations nonprofit arts and culture industry.

Nationally, the Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 study reveals that Americas nonprofit arts and culture sector is a $151.7 billion industry- one that supports 2.6 million jobs and generates $29.1 billion in government revenue.

Announcements

Hearn Plaza at Wake Forest University will soon be filled with young children donning colorful Halloween costumes as part of Project Pumpkin. This years event will take place from 3 to 6 p.m. Oct. 24.

The student-led program will welcome more than 500 children to campus who attend Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools or afterschool programs at nonprofit organizations, including the Salvation Army and Latino Community Services.

Children will visit dozens of activity booths organized by Wake Forest University student groups and departments. This years theme is Under The Sea.

Awards

Winston-Salem Historic Inns has announced that one of their properties, Summit Street Inns, comprised of the Jacob L. and Myra Ludlow House and Benjamin J. and Rosa H. Sheppard House, is the award recipient of the Gertrude S. Carraway Award of Merit from Perservation NC. Owners Eric Alspaugh and Lou Baldwin accepted the award at Preservation NCs Annual Conference, held Oct. 4.

This milestone is a major move for Winston-Salem Historic Inns on its mission to uphold the authenticity and integrity of historical homes in Winston-Salem.

* * * *

Three economic development professionals across North Carolina, including Dale Carroll and Bob Leak Jr., were awarded the Lifetime Service Award from the North Carolina Economic Development Association. The Lifetime Service Award recognizes members making significant and valued contributions above and beyond expectations during their membership to NCEDA. The recipients were announced at the associations fall conference in Asheville on Oct. 10.

With more than 40 years of leadership experience in the private sector, nonprofit corporations and government, Carroll has been a leader in economic development in North Carolina for many years. From 2009 to 2013, Carroll served as deputy commerce secretary and chief operating officer at Commerce. Prior to that, he was the president & CEO of the AdvantageWest Economic Development Partnership for more than 10 years and served almost 20 years with CP&L and Progress Energy.

Leak has been active for more than 30 years in the economic development community in North Carolina, serving as president of Winston-Salem Business from 1989 to 2020 and most recently as the president and CEO of Whitaker Park Development Authority.

Grants

This year, a dozen North Carolina school districts will benefit from a total of $800,000 in grants aimed at developing student skills in computer science through coding. The Coding and Mobile App Development Grant program, launched in 2017 with funding from the General Assembly, supports partnerships with local businesses to help schools develop computer science, coding and mobile app development programs for middle and high school students.

The grants, which range from $27,000 to $80,000 this year, help districts and schools purchase equipment, digital materials and cover the costs associated with teacher professional development to build capacity in coding, computer science and mobile application development initiatives.

Local recipients include: Mount Airy City Schools, $56,322; and Winston-Salem/Forsyth County, $80,000.

On the Move

Christopher H. Kiwus has been named vice president for facilities, real estate and planning at Wake Forest University. Kiwus currently serves as vice president for campus planning, infrastructure and facilities at Virginia Tech. He will begin his new role on Jan. 1.

Josh Plummer has joined Waldrep Wall Babcock & Bailey as an associate. He earned his J.D. degree from Wake Forest University School of Law in 2023, and while attending, he was a teaching assistant, research assistant and participated in the veterans legal clinic.

L. J. Rush, who has served as a culinary instructor and interim program director of GTCCs culinary and hospitality department, has been named the departments program director. Rush has an associate degree from Wilkes Community College, with a diploma as a food preparation specialist.

Under a new initiative, RiverRun International Film Festival has named Sudanese filmmaker Fatima Wardy as its first BIPOC Fellow. Wardy will curate a program of four to six films by Black, indigenous and other filmmakers of color to screen for free during RiverRuns 2024 festival (April 18-27, 2024).
WASHINGTON  Its been a month since a Maryland man became the second person to receive a transplanted heart from a pig  and hospital video shows hes working hard to recover.

Lawrence Faucette was dying from heart failure and ineligible for a traditional heart transplant because of other health problems when doctors at the University of Maryland School of Medicine offered the highly experimental surgery.

In the first glimpse of Faucette provided since the Sept. 20 transplant, hospital video shows physical therapist Chris Wells urging him to smile while pushing through a pedaling exercise to regain his strength.

Thats going to be tough, but Ill work it out, Faucette, 58, replied, breathing heavily but giving a smile.

The Maryland team last year performed the worlds first transplant of a heart from a genetically altered pig into another dying man. David Bennett survived just two months before that heart failed, for reasons that arent completely clear, although signs of a pig virus were later found inside the organ. Lessons from that first experiment led to changes before this second try, including better virus testing.

Attempts at animal-to-human organ transplants  called xenotransplants  have failed for decades, as peoples immune systems immediately destroyed the foreign tissue.

Now scientists are trying again using pigs genetically modified to make their organs more humanlike.

In Fridays hospital video, Faucettes doctors said the pig heart has shown no sign of rejection.

His heart is doing everything on its own, said Dr. Muhammad Mohiuddin, the Maryland teams cardiac xenotransplantation chief.

A hospital spokeswoman said Faucette, of Frederick, Maryland, has been able to stand and physical therapists are helping him gain strength needed to attempt walking.

Many scientists hope xenotransplants one day could compensate for the huge shortage of human organ donations. More than 100,000 people are on the nations list for a transplant, most awaiting kidneys, and thousands will die waiting.

A handful of scientific teams have tested pig kidneys and hearts in monkeys and in donated human bodies, hoping to learn enough for the Food and Drug Administration to allow formal xenotransplant studies.

More than 100,000 people are on the organ donor wait listhere's who has the longest and shortest wait times More than 100,000 people are on the organ donor wait listhere's who has the longest and shortest wait times Heart transplant Heart and lung transplant Intestine transplant Kidney and pancreas transplant Liver transplant Lung transplant
Urban Democratic voters in Forsyth and Guilford County face the likelihood of their voices being diluted again with either Republican-drawn congressional redistricting map that were unveiled last week.

Both maps have the common purpose of boosting the GOP from seven to potentially 11 seats in North Carolina.

Currently, most Forsyth and Guilford urban voters are represented by Rep. Kathy Manning of the 6th District, who is one of seven Democrat House representatives.

The bulk of Forsyth, meanwhile, is in the 5th District, which has Republican Virginia Foxx as its longtime incumbent.

Depending on which redistricting map the Republican super-majority in both chambers favors, the GOP could gain either a 10-3 advantage with one potential swing district (Senate Bill 757) or an 11-3 advantage with no swing district (Senate Bill 756).

The bills are expected to receive floor votes in both chambers this week.

Political analysts say SB757 is likely to be the one that Republicans will advance.

In that instance, portions of Forsyth would return to District 10 where GOP Rep. Patrick McHenry of Lincoln County is the incumbent.

Meanwhile, Guilford would be split into the 5th District (most of urban Greensboro), 6th District (southwest Guilford and High Point) and 9th District (rest of Guilford).

Preliminary looks indicate that both maps would have between a 54% and 58% voting dynamic in favor of Republicans.

The Republican map drawers "appear to be offsetting the Democratic strengths in both Forsyth and Guilford with suburban and rural voters who tend to be Republican voting," said Martin Kifer, a political science professor at High Point University.

"These seats are increasingly likely to be captured by a Republican candidate."

Because redistricting bills are not subject to a governor's veto, they become law when they clear the legislature.

However, several lawsuit are expected to be filled shortly, if not immediately, after passage even with the reality of a Republican majority controlling the N.C. Supreme Court.

Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper said Wednesday that "enabled by the State Supreme Courts partisan reversal of constitutional law, Republican legislators have rolled out their latest illegal maps that show gerrymandering on steroids."

"Drawn in the back room and armed with their new law that keeps their plotting secret, they have used race and political party to create districts that are historically discriminatory and unfair."

Manning's seat at risk

Manning's presence in Congress is a by-product of Forsyth and Guilford leaning increasingly Democratic in recent years, particularly in Winston-Salem, Greensboro and High Point.

She's also reliant on the 2022 congressional map chosen by the Wake County Superior Court that produced the 7-7 split.

N.C. Senate Republicans in charge of redistricting for 2024 appears to have taken note of the Forsyth and Guilford voting trends in SB756 and SB757.

So has Manning, who posted on social media that the two maps "are an extreme partisan gerrymander that splits communities of interest and shows a callous disinterest for the representation that North Carolinians requested during the public-comment periods leading up to redistricting."

Manning pointed out that Guilford residents could be "lumped in with far-flung counties in the western mountains, the suburbs of Charlotte, and as far south as the Sandhills."

"These maps don't acknowledge that the Triad is a region with shared interests, concerns and needs."

Manning said either map is designed to "ensure Republicans win more House seats (in N.C.) so that they can maintain control of the U.S. House of Representatives."

"They are not a reflection of the best interests of North Carolinians, but rather, an offering to the national Republican Party."

Sen. Ralph Hise, R-McDowell, and a Senate redistricting map drawer, said during the initial legislative discussions about the two maps that racial data was not used during their secretive discussions.

Sen. Warren Daniel, R-Burke, has defended the two maps, stressing they are a reflection of what has been deemed permissible by the Republican majority on the N.C. Supreme Court.

Political considerations are now allowed to be used, Daniel said according to Raleigh TV station WRAL.

So, it might be that that criteria explains some of the changes.

Senate Bill 756

SB756, identified by the acronym CBP-5, would keep portions of Forsyth and Guilford together in an expanded House District 5 that stretches from the Tennessee and Virginia borders to urban Greensboro.

Forsyth would have a version of a rural political loop around the county to encompass most of the Republican-leaning suburban areas of Clemmons, Kernersville, Lewisville, Rural Hall and Walkertown.

The 5th District would extend across nearly all of the Forsyth-Guilford county line before narrowing into a portion of urban Greensboro.

Meanwhile, urban Winston-Salem, the portion of Clemmons below Interstate 40 and southern Forsyth would be placed in the 10th District where Rep. Patrick McHenry of Lincoln County is the incumbent.

The 10th District would include all of Catawba, Davie, Iredell and Lincoln counties  all solidly Republican.

The portion of Guilford not in the 5th District would be included in the Sixth District. It also would form a loop shaped like a backward C around the county's suburban communities and High Point.

The Sixth District would include solid Republican counties in Davidson and Rowan and about 40% of Cabarrus County.

Senate Bill 757

SB757, identified by the acronym CCJ-01, would remove all of Forsyth from the 5th District.

Winston-Salem and western Forsyth would be placed in the 10th District, along with solidly Republican counties Catawba, Iredell, Lincoln and Yadkin.

Kernersville, Walkertown and the southern Forsyth border with Davidson and Davie would be in the 6th District, along with southwest Guilford and High Point, all of Davidson, Davie and Rowan and about 20% of Cabarrus.

Northwest Guilford and much of urban Greensboro would be in the 5th District that also would gain all of Rockingham and Stokes counties in lieu of the Forsyth suburban areas.

The rest of Guilford, also in the shape of a backward C, would be in the 9th District that includes most of the northern, all of the eastern and the vast majority of the southern portions.

Also in the 9th District would be all of solidly Republican Alamance, Hoke, Moore and Randolph counties and about 55% of a purple Chatham County and about 20% of rural northwest Cumberland County.

GOP party over candidate?

Kifer said a silver lining for Guilford to the map that splits the county three ways is having three representatives in Washington.

"Guilford residents would have three representatives to seek constituent service from or resources from the federal government,' Kifer said.

However, Kifer cited that urban Democratic voters in both counties may feel under-represented when it comes to their core political beliefs and policy voting compared with their Republican representative.

"It could be budgets, abortion, guns, foreign aid or other priorities," Kifer said.

Kifer said that depending on which Republican-leaning counties are involved in the Forsyth and Guilford districts, the candidate could be less important to those voters than the "R" beside their name.

Citing the failed U.S. candidacy of Republicans Mark Harris and Bo Hines, the Republican candidate "could matter quite a bit in current Democratic districts they are trying to flip," Kifer said.

"If the pattern in counties is decisively voting Republican first, the candidate would matter less.

"However, there are situations where a candidate's behavior during the candidate, or an incumbent in office, becomes so off-putting that their party's voters either choose to reject them in a primary or not vote at all."

Kifer cited as an example Republican Rep. Madison Cawthorn, whose controversial antics during and out of Congress turned off enough GOP elected officials and voters that he was defeated in the 2022 Republican 11th District primary by now-Rep. Chuck Edwards.

Sure bet or gamble?

Every political analyst surveyed by the Winston-Salem Journal said the Triad would shift from Democrat-leaning to solidly Republican by virtue of the expectation of rural Republicans outnumbering urban Democrats in the Triad's three largest cities.

Both SB756 and SB757 represent somewhat of a gamble considering Republicans are counting on rural Republican to show up in large numbers for the redistricting to work the way they envision.

Both maps are consistent with "classic cracking of voters to dilute their votes," said Michael Bitzer, a political science professor at Catawba College with an expertise on congressional races.

Using the CCJ-1 plan, Bitzer said the proposed 9th District has a 56-44 Republican advantage, while the proposed 5th District and 6th District have a 57-43 Republican advantage. The proposed 10th District has a 58-42 Republican advantage.

"If they did concentrate, or pack, those Democratic votes into a district, it would be overwhelming Democratic," Bitzer said.

"It appears that three safe Democratic seats (Wake, Mecklenburg and Durham) are all that the Republicans would tolerate."

Bitzer said there appears to be more of a likelihood that CBP-5 "may have more issues with racial considerations than the other."

"The likelihood that a Democratic candidate would win any of those three seats to represent Guilford is small" given that has a combined Republican vote dynamic of at least 56%.

John Dinan, a political science professor at Wake Forest and a national expert on state legislature, said the proposed congressional maps "would make it extremely difficult for three current Democratic incumbents to hold their seats (Kathy Manning, Jeff Jackson, and Wiley Nickel)."

"The only question is whether Democratic freshman Don Davis could hold on to his seat, and this depends in part on which of the two proposed maps is approved."

Lawsuits on horizon

I have a long history of suing and beating North Carolina in court  including three times over their congressional maps, Marc Elias, an election law attorney working with Democrats in state and national races, said in a social-media posting Wednesday.

Im watching carefully.

Bitzer said the odds are similarly slim that a lawsuit filed against either map would be successful before the N.C. Supreme Court.

"With the Republican majority on the state Supreme Court having overturned the previous Democratic majoritys partisan gerrymandering precedent, the opportunity to level a partisan gerrymandering claim is now considered a political question and out of the realm of the state courts jurisdiction to consider," Bitzer said.

"I know that some outside groups have already informed the Republicans in the General Assembly that they will be filing a lawsuit regarding racial dynamics, but well to await that lawsuit and the specifics.

"It would have to be a Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act lawsuit in federal court."

Dinan said that "there is virtually no possibility that a lawsuit challenging the maps would be successful in state court."

"The U.S. Supreme Court has put a stop to federal lawsuits challenging maps on the ground that they are gerrymandered for partisan advantage."

Dinan said lawsuit plaintiffs "will almost certainly argue that the maps do not comply with the Voting Rights Act because they do not create a sufficient number of districts where Black voters can elect a member who represents their interests."

"But this area of federal law is very unclear at this point.

"In fact, to say that current Supreme Court doctrine is unclear about exactly when race can and sometimes must be considered in drawing districts would be a dramatic understatement."
Fridays rain is expected to have little impact on the Triads extremely dry designation by the National Drought Mitigation Center.

More than 70% of North Carolina is experiencing extremely dry or moderate drought conditions, according to the latest weekly U.S. Drought Monitor report released Thursday. Most of the affected areas are in the western half of the state.

If that trend continues, this autumns leaf color could be impacted and wildfire risks heightened, experts say.

Forsyth, Guilford, Alamance, Davidson, Davie, Randolph, Rockingham, Stokes, Surry and Yadkin counties are all considered extremely dry.

We can trace the current dry spell back to the middle of September, said Assistant State Climatologist Corey Davis from the North Carolina State Climate Office.

Over the 30-day period from Sept. 17 to Oct. 16, 1.82 inches of rain fell at Piedmont Triad International Airport. Thats about half the historical average for the same period.

After heavy rain on Sept. 10 (a little more than 2 inches) and Sept. 12 (2.24 inches), there were just four days with measurable rainfall in the Triad before Friday: Sept. 17 (0.19 inches), Sept. 23 (0.7 inches), Oct. 7 (0.12 inches) and Oct. 14 (0.79 inches).

The Triad has not experienced similar conditions at this time of year since 2019, when 1.74 inches of rain fell over the same 30-day period.

That was also a case where we saw dryness and drought emerge across the western Piedmont in October, Davis explained. That drought was even more pronounced because of how unseasonably warm it was then.

The temperature at PTI reached 95 degrees on Oct. 3, 2019. That matched the Triads record high for October.

Fortunately, our temperatures have been much closer to normal so far this fall, and that has helped keep things from drying out even more than they have, considering the limited rain weve gotten, Davis said.

Extreme dryness exacerbated by a combination of warm temperatures and an absence of rain often is referred to as flash drought  a more common occurrence with the growing influence of climate change.

Historically, fall already is the driest part of the year in the Triad, so it doesnt take much of a deviation for the area to become parched.

The regions average monthly rainfall dips from about 4.6 degrees in September to a little more than 3 inches in October.

But even to meet that lower average, we still need at least half an inch to an inch of rain per week, and when were in a clear and sunny weather pattern like weve seen so far this fall, it can be hard to get any rain at all, Davis added.

After Fridays wet interlude, sunny conditions are forecast at least through the end of next week

But wetter conditions are expected to return eventually as an El Nino pattern develops and more weather systems are carried in by the jet stream through the Gulf of Mexico or along the coast, Davis said.

And because October is historically dry already, at actually wouldnt take too much precipitation to eat into the current deficit.

Even a few decent rain events like the one we had last weekend would help keep this dryness in check or reverse the drying trend, Davis noted.

Autumn impact

Leaves in the Triad have begun their annual color conversion, but the pace and vibrancy of that transformation could be influenced by the areas degree of dryness in the coming weeks, said Howard Neufeld, an Appalachian State University biology professor and expert on how stressors such as weather impact plant life.

Severe drought could cause trees that are sensitive to lack of water to drop their leaves prematurely  like tulip poplars, he explained. It might also stimulate premature leaf color in other species.

Moderate drought like what the Triad is experiencing can delay the onset of color because it interferes with leaf metabolism, Neufeld added, while dry conditions also are often tied to higher-than-normal temperatures  another potential drag on trees fall transition.

But prolonged periods of sunny weather like the one forecast for the Triad can actually stimulate leaf color, particularly reds on red maples and dogwoods, he said.

So, if the Piedmont should get some rain in the next two weeks, I think the trees will make it through the fall color period, which should start the end of October and go into mid-November, and there could be good color display, Neufeld predicted.

Meanwhile, in the North Carolina mountains, warm temperatures in early October have stalled peak color by seven to 10 days, he estimated.

Lately, morning temperatures have been dropping into the low 40s and even 30s, and highs for a few days were below 55, Neufeld added. That kick-started trees up here, but we need slightly colder temps to really get them going. The same would apply in the Piedmont.

It might not take long, with several overnight lows in the 30s and 40s forecast for the Triad through the middle of next week.

The string of chilly nights should help the (color transition) along ... since that helps the green chlorophyll degrade and builds up the sugars that produce bright red pigments in the leaves, explained Davis, the assistant state climatologist.

But continued dry weather could affect conditions in other ways when autumn leaves fall.

That was the case back in 2021, when the dry November weather coincided with the leaf drop, Davis said. Those dry, dead leaves made some areas like a powder keg ready to ignite, and we saw the consequences of that with the Pilot Mountain wildfire the weekend after Thanksgiving. 

That week-long blaze consumed more 1,000 acres at Pilot Mountain State Park after being sparked by a campfire in an unauthorized area.

There were no injuries or building damage from the fire, which was contained inside the park. But as many as 80 firefighters worked at times to control the flames in efforts that cost the state more than a half-million dollars.

PHOTOS: Fall color in the North Carolina High Country
Forsyth County schools have a discipline problem, and the entire nation is paying attention.

The U.S. Department of Education recently published a report on racial disparities in student discipline at Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools. Among the reports findings:

Black students are more likely than white students to be suspended for their first violations.

Black students are suspended more often than white students for the same offenses and receive longer suspensions than white students for their first fighting offenses.

During the 2022-2023 school year, Black students received 57.2% of suspensions while white students received 14.2%. This is true even though there are more white students than Black students districtwide.

We must hold school districts accountable for racially disparate school discipline practices and dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline. In alignment with groups like Action4Equity, I call for more oversight of educational disciplinary processes and procedures in North Carolina schools.

Before I became a civil rights attorney, I was a Teach for America educator in North Carolina. In addition to teaching seventh grade social studies, I worked with organizations outside of the classroom to address racial disparities in school discipline.

Unfortunately, the problem persists in Forsyth County and across the state. Indeed, this report is not the first time such racial disparity has come to light in Forsyth County.

In August 2018, Action4Equity alleged that Forsyth County Schools officials violated federal anti-discrimination laws by treating students at Ashley Elementary School, which has a majority-Black and -Hispanic student population, differently from students attending schools with majority-white enrollments. Specifically, school officials failed to respond to complaints of environmental health concerns at Ashley.

In response to Action4Equitys complaint, the district installed a new HVAC system as a temporary solution and bought three tracts of land to build a new school (construction has yet to begin).

But one enduring condition that allows for disparity in how students of different races are punished in Forsyth County is the districts vaguely defined disciplinary code, which was revised in 2022 to provide more clarity.

Despite this revision, however, the Department of Education said that it was concerned about the clarity of the guidance to staff and administrators about when to make referrals and how to determine appropriate consequences.

For example, Disruptive Behavior was defined in the 2022 code only as behavior which consisted of disruptive speech, but not other forms of disruptive conduct. The definition also appeared to match that of Inappropriate Language/Disrespect, a more serious offense, creating uncertainty as to how to define and address classroom disruptions.

Such vagueness allows implicit and systemic biases to influence how educators perceive and respond to student behavior, particularly for American Indian, Black and multiracial students.

The Center for Racial Equity in Education (CREED), a North Carolina-based nonprofit that deals with race and education issues, reports that decades of research have found that students of color are disciplined more often and more harshly than their White counterparts, often for the same infractions .

The new report from the Department of Education shows that more needs to be done. This is especially true because student discipline records can have a lasting and potentially lifelong impact on students personal and professional development.

Education Week, a nonpartisan, K-12 education news resource, reports that most colleges weigh student discipline records in admissions, describing it as a little-known practice that could harm students chances of getting into the college of their choice.

We must direct more community resources toward organizations that fight for educational equity in North Carolina. School districts and administrators must increase oversight and speed up efforts to eliminate the lifelong negative impacts of ongoing racial discrimination in student discipline.
The Nebraska Department of Economic Development will distribute over $12 million to fund 23 housing projects across Nebraska through the Nebraska Affordable Housing Trust Fund, including four in Lincoln.

NeighborWorks is receiving more than $1.6 million for two projects, while Lincoln/Lancaster County Habitat for Humanity is receiving $800,000 and Nebraska Housing Resource is getting $302,500.

There also are three other projects in southeast Nebraska receiving funding. The city of Milford and Village of Beaver Crossing are both receiving $287,500, while Blue Valley Community Action, which covers nine counties, is receiving $661,000.

The 23 funded projects were chosen from 70 applicants requesting a total of more than $41 million through the 2023 application cycle of the program, according to the release.

The Nebraska Affordable Housing Trust Fund was established by the Nebraska Legislature in 1996 through the Nebraska Affordable Housing Act, according to the release. The act calls for a portion of the documentary stamp tax from Nebraska real estate transactions to be transferred to the fund, which is administered by the Department of Economic Development.

This years program will distribute a total of $12.75 million to aid in the development of at least 264 housing units. The funds will be used for a mix of new home construction, construction of new rental housing, rehabilitation of existing structures and homebuyer assistance, the release said.

NAHTF is a proven program that annually generates strong interest, Department of Economic Development Director K.C. Belitz said. This year, funding requests from quality applicants far exceeded DEDs spending authority. Each awardee made an especially compelling case for their projects ability to meet local housing needs.
The assessed value of some low-income housing in Lancaster County has skyrocketed  more than 500% in some cases  raising questions about the constitutionality of a state law and creating a situation developers say threatens the viability of affordable housing projects.

The issue, which involves housing projects built using federal low-income housing tax credits, has pitted affordable housing advocates against the Lancaster County Assessors Office and begs two questions: Is assessing low-income housing differently than other property needed to make such projects feasible or does doing so violate the state Constitution?

Developers of low-income housing say the way the Lancaster County Assessors office chose to value the property this year  using a market rate approach instead of an income-based model set out in state law  will be the "death knell" of such projects.

Jake Hoppe, managing partner of Hoppe Development, said it could force existing properties into insolvency and could kill new projects  including a recently announced affordable housing project his company is spearheading south of downtown.

The absurdity of this is it could be forcing (these projects) into a market rate, he said.

George Achola, vice president and general counsel of Burlington Capital, which owns and manages veterans housing at Lincolns new Victory Park, said theyre trying to serve a public purpose, by making sure veterans have homes, and the county taking issue with a law that's been in effect for nearly a decade makes it much more difficult.

I really wish they would have thought that through before taking action, he said. I think this is an ill-conceived action on the part of the county.

Hoppe said the situation really jeopardizes the ability to do affordable housing in Lincoln and in a broader sense its counter to all the efforts happening statewide to enhance affordable housing.

But the assessors office said using the formula required by a 2015 state law resulted in some of those low-income properties having an assessed value of zero or even a negative value  which would mean they pay no property taxes, pushing the burden onto others.

That law, they argue, violates the constitutional requirement that properties be valued uniformly and proportionately at their actual value and allows preferential treatment for just one kind of property.

The difference in values is particularly striking in a market where property values increased an average of nearly 23% and similar market-rate apartment complexes in particular have seen steep increases in recent years, said Lancaster County Assessor Dan Nolte.

Phil Hughes, an appraiser in the assessors office, said this isnt just Lancaster Countys problem.

This is a statewide issue looked at by every county in the state, he said.

Nolte said the issue needs to be addressed by the Legislature  and the Lancaster County Board has made addressing problems with the 2015 law its top legislative priority for the coming session.

Sean Flowerday, vice chairman of the Lancaster County Board, said theres a coalition looking for a legislative solution that will satisfy the constitutional questions and still work for affordable housing  which remains a priority for county commissioners.

The simplest thing we need is a legislative fix. The old legislation didnt work. Theres constitutional issues with it. Properties were coming in with zero value. Everything has value. It just doesnt make sense.

The goal, he said, was never to make affordable housing more expensive.

We truly want affordable housing to work, but it has to work with the constitution, he said.

Several affordable housing advocates said they wish the county had contacted them to work together to find a solution.

Instead theyve just kind of dropped a bomb on all affordable housing projects in town and on future projects, said Chris Lamberty, executive director of Lincoln Housing Authority.

Brent Williams, president of Excel Development Group in Lincoln, said there are solutions out there. In Iowa, for example, assessors use a three-year rolling average of expenses and income to avoid the large swings.

But the case is now in the hands of the Nebraska Court of Appeals, though the Supreme Court could hear the case because of the constitutional question.

A court ruling would have statewide implications.

Here's how it got there: Earlier this year, the Lancaster County Assessors Office asked the Nebraska Tax Equalization and Review Commission for guidance on 21 low-income properties. They include various projects across the city, including those by private developers and those run by City Impact, Catholic Social Services, the Peoples City Mission and veterans housing in the new Victory Park.

In most cases, the formula set out in state law resulted in reduced values for 2023  including three whose values ranging from several hundred thousand to over $1 million in 2022 were reduced to zero this year, according to data provided by the county assessor. When the county used the market approach, those values ballooned to between $2.8 million to $11.5 million.

An affordable housing project called Creekside Village developed by the Hoppes in 2011 is among those involved in the appeal. The project includes duplexes and apartments and Centerpointe offers services to residents, Jake Hoppe said. Rents are $825 for a two-bedroom apartment. The rent the county used in its assessment was $1,185.

Together, all the properties that make up Creekside Village were valued at $2.3 million in 2022. Using the method set out in state law for low-income properties, the value decreased to about $1.9 million this year. When the county assessors office used a market rate approach, the total value of the properties increased to $14 million.

Theyre just throwing out (financial information) weve sent them, so were evaluating what we do, Hoppe said. At a very basic level, a five-time increase in property taxes will make our net operating income negative, which will drive this into insolvency.

Oatfield and Rose Whitney of Denver who are among owners of The Lexington, an assisted living facility in Lincoln that serves low-income clients, are under Medicaid restrictions as well as rent restrictions.

Their property values went from $4.5 million to $19.6 million this year. At the lower value, he said, they paid about $70,000 in property taxes. If the tax rate stayed the same unlikely  that would balloon to $350,000, he said.

Thats more than our income, he said.

But the state Tax Equalization and Review Commission agreed with the county and ruled that the assessor could use a different approach because using the method set out in statute would create inequitable values.

Using actual expenses of individual properties resulted in large swings in value from year to year, the commission ruled, creating an inequitable tax burden borne by other property owners.

Initially, the assessor came up with a market value using a model of average expenses and income of all Section 42 housing, but based on testimony at the Tax Equalization and Review Commission hearing, the county felt it had to use a market rate approach, said Hughes, with the assessors office.

Developers appealed to the Nebraska Court of Appeals, and a number of civic and affordable housing organizations and nonprofits filed a brief in support.

The organizations include the Lincoln Housing Authority, the Lincoln Community Foundation, the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce, the Nebraska Housing Developers Association, the Nebraska Housing Resource and Neighborworks Lincoln.

Lancaster County has asked the high court to find the law violates the uniformity clause of the state constitution because it compels assessors to use a different standard than is used for all other property in the state. The only other exception is for agricultural land, which is valued at 75% of actual value  which is set out in the Constitution.

The Nebraska Constitutional requirement that property values be uniform and proportional is the proper guiding principle that cannot be forgotten and cannot be legislated around, the county attorneys brief says. Benevolent ideas (around the tax credits) do not absolve Lancaster County or this court from constitutional obligations.

The property at issue is called Section 42 housing, which is housing developed using federal low-income housing tax credits.

The Nebraska Investment Finance Authority administers the tax credits to developers involved in low-income housing projects through a competitive process, and the developer awarded the tax credits sells them to an investor and uses the proceeds to help pay for the project.

Generally, state law allows assessors to value property using several different processes, and many assessors use a market or sales approach  basing the value off of sales of comparable properties. They can also use an income method, by creating a model based on typical income and typical expenses, according to a county attorneys brief filed in the appeal.

The 2015 law on Section 42 housing, however, says assessors should use actual income and expenses of individual properties and a capitalization rate determined by a state committee. The law also says the tax credits cant be counted as income.

Developers who get tax credits enter into whats called a Land Use Restriction Agreement, which restricts rents and residents income and can include additional restrictions such as providing specific amenities or supportive services to residents. Those agreements can last 30 or more years and they travel with the property  so if a landowner sells the property, the restrictions go to the new owner.

Those restriction agreements are central to the case.

Developers argue they must be taken into account when valuing the property because buyers would not pay as much for property where the rent is restricted. The county argues they are voluntary restrictions landowners enter into willingly and arent compulsory, as are zoning or easement restrictions.

Using the same reasoning, the county attorneys brief argues, a property owner with a mortgage would have a compelling argument that the market value of their home is only the equity they have in it.

The county also argues if the restriction agreements are considered as part of the assessment process, so should the proceeds from the tax credits.

But the affordable housing advocates argue that in passing the law eight years ago the Legislature found that safe affordable housing was a compelling state need fulfilled by the rent-restricted projects.

The law, the brief said, created uniformity for Section 42 housing because before that, assessors were using different methods that had drastically different results. The law, the brief said, results in the most accurate value of such properties.

Without this uniformity, Nebraskas existing affordable housing projects will be in jeopardy because they do not have sufficient profit margins to cover unpredictable spikes in property taxes and future development will be rendered infeasible because lenders and syndicators will not fund projects absent a showing that they will cash flow, the affordable housing advocates argued in their brief.

The brief quotes heavily from various local and statewide housing studies including Lincolns recently adopted Affordable Housing Coordinated Action Plan, which says Lincoln and Lancaster County are suffering from a lack of available affordable housing.

Several factors  everything from construction and property costs to unpredictable property taxes  are contributing to a decline in the number of Section 42 housing projects in Lincoln, the brief says.

For such low-income tax-credit programs to continue, the rewards for developers and investors must outweigh the risks, affordable housing advocates argue in the court brief.

Access to safe, decent and affordable housing is a compelling state interest that could be in jeopardy depending upon the outcome of this case." the brief says.

Top Journal Star photos for October 2023
Over one hundred members of Lincoln's Ukrainian community gathered at the House of Prayer on Friday night to show their appreciation and gratitude to local politicians and community leaders who had profound impacts on the refugee community.

In a nearly six hour event, church and community leaders served traditional Ukrainian foods, including the borscht which no one skipped out on, and gifted maps of Ukraine and thank you cards to those who made the biggest difference.

Without you, there is no us, said Sergii Chekuchkin, a church administrator at the House of Prayer. We wanted to thank Lincoln  not ask for anything, just thank you.

Oleg Stepanyuk, Chekuchkins brother-in-law and one of the founding members of the church, ran the majority of the evening from the stage. He led prayers and told stories of his first time in America  accidentally renting out his house because the only word he knew was yes.

The dinner, he said, was just a little drop in the ocean of thankfulness we have.

On stage, Diana Tadysheva translated every word from English to Ukrainian and vice versa. Though a little less than half of attendees were non-Ukrainians, there were many there who didnt have a strong grasp on the English language.

A woman named Mila, for example, who made her way to Lincoln three years ago. She said as soon as she stepped off the plane she was greeted by television journalists and her story ended up on the news the next day. She is taking English language classes through Lincoln Literacy and working at Kawasaki.

Im rising, she said. The majority of her words were translated from Ukrainian to English by Valeriya Dublina who moved with her family to Lincoln from Belarus at the age of four, over twenty years ago.

Dublina is the daughter of one of the five families who started the church back in 1999. She said its important to pass down the resources she and her family once needed to those who have just recently arrived in the U.S.

Its nice to be on the other side of that, Dublina said. Those were resources we needed when we first got here and now that we dont need them anymore, its important to pass those on to people who do.

Those like Pavlo and Roman Kysorets, who met and fell in love with twin sisters from Belarus, Snizhana and Svitlana. They each had three children. After fleeing Ukraine in March 2022, they finally ended up in Lincoln in late August 2022.

In a little over a year since, they have moved from the apartments they first rented and became homeowners. Their kids, they said, are what keeps them wanting a better life.

They want to provide them with a nice life, said Nadia Peterchuk, who translated for the family. They wanted to provide them with a safe place, whatever they dont have in Ukraine to keep them here.

Language, the parents all agreed, was the most difficult part of the transition from war-torn Ukraine to the quiet bustling of Lincoln. Pavlo and Roman said they spent any free time they had on the language-learning app Duolingo to improve their English.

Peterchuk is a refugee case manager with Catholic Social Services. She works with over 200 Ukrainian refugees. She moved to Bismarck, North Dakota, with her fiance fourteen years ago. They moved to Lincoln three years ago.

Originally working in the photography and videography business with her husband Eugene, she moved to Catholic Social Services. North Dakota, she said, did not have as many Ukrainian immigrants.

Its 100% of my life, Peterchuk said. Sometimes people call in the middle of the evening and you have to help. Youre supposed to love your job, theres no way youre gonna hate your job and still help.

Her husband, Eugene, immigrated with his family at the age of six to Bismarck. Nearly thirty years later, he and Nadia have four children together. Eugene spent most of the night behind the scenes  taking photos and video for the church.

On stage only once, he sang What A Wonderful World, by Louis Armstrong into a microphone that journalist and honoree Joe Starita gifted to him. Starita attended the church eight weeks straight, speaking with the two Kysorets families to write a story about their journey across Ukraine. The Peterchuks spent those eight weeks translating for Starita.

After Eugenes performance, Starita congratulated him. He thanked him once again for his welcoming and his translating. The night was one of thankfulness and appreciation towards each other.

So far, we have spent a good hour or more hearing about how much Ukraine thanks Lincoln for all the things it's done for them, said Starita after receiving a map of Ukraine and a thank you card.

I'd like to flip that script a little bit and say to all of the Ukrainians here, thank you so much for coming to this city, and bringing your courage and your energy and your heart and your guts and your children and your love and your courage and making Lincoln a better place.

Alongside Starita, Sen. Tom Brewer was honored. He visited Ukraine twice since the war started and plans to return after the legislative session. Sen. Brewer introduced a bill to allow Ukrainian immigrants in Nebraska to attain driver's licenses and get jobs.

He is a big lover of Ukraine, said Stepanyuk. He was here at the last appreciation dinner and we tried not to bring our problems to the dinner. We arent trying to ask for anything, were just appreciating people. But somehow it slipped through the cracks and next thing we know Tom is writing the bill that he is going to introduce to legislators.

A long night of unskippable borscht, prayers for peace and victory in Ukraine and many embraces between attendees meant the House of Prayer was successful.

We have a culture of appreciate people. So that not only is the church but I guess it's in Ukrainian blood, said Stepanyuk. To remember the goodness that was shown to them, the kindness to show their appreciation."

"I'm truly proud of Lincoln and of our state because our city, our state officials, went beyond their usual scope of duties to be accommodating to make our state the home for Ukrainians and we couldn't just let it go unnoticed, said Stepanyuk.

To people like Starita, who had been welcomed and appreciated by the Ukrainian community, this is good medicine.

When a community opens its heart and its kindness and lets it wash over a group of refugeesthat kindness will overcome death and destruction, Starita said. It can happen if we only let it.

Photos: Ukrainian refugees safe, but not at peace Russia Ukraine War Refugees Russia Ukraine War Refugees Russia Ukraine War Refugees Russia Ukraine War Refugees Russia Ukraine War Refugees Russia Ukraine War Refugees Russia Ukraine War Refugees Russia Ukraine War Refugees Russia Ukraine War Refugees Russia Ukraine War Refugees Russia Ukraine War Refugees APTOPIX Russia Ukraine War Refugees Russia Ukraine War Refugees Russia Ukraine War Refugees Russia Ukraine War Refugees Russia Ukraine War Refugees
NEW YORK  With three months to go before the Iowa caucuses that he has staked his campaign on, former Vice President Mike Pence faces mounting debt and lagging poll numbers that are forcing questions about not only whether he will qualify for the next debate, but whether it makes sense for him to remain in the race until then.

Pence ended September with just $1.18 million left in his campaign account, a strikingly low number for a presidential contest and far less than his rivals, new filings show. His campaign also has $621,000 in debt  more than half the cash he had remaining  and is scrambling to meet donor thresholds for the Nov. 8 debate. While he would likely meet the debate's polling requirements, Pence has struggled to gain traction and is polling in the low single digits nationally, with no sign of momentum.

Former President Donald Trump, meanwhile, is leading every one of his rivals by at least 40 points in national polls and ended September with $37.5 million on hand.

People close to Pence say he now faces a choice about how long to stay in the race and whether remaining a candidate might potentially diminish his long-term standing in the party, given Trump's dominating lead. While Pence could stick it out until the Jan. 15 Iowa caucuses, visiting the state's famous Pizza Ranch restaurants and campaigning on a shoestring budget, he must now weigh how that will impact his desire to remain a leading conservative voice, according to the people, some of whom spoke on condition of anonymity to share their unvarnished views.

For Pence and many of the others, you gotta start looking and saying, Im not going to go into substantial debt if I dont see a pathway forward, said former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who ran against Trump in 2016 but abandoned his bid after concluding the Trump train had left the station.

Pence, for the moment, is pressing forward. He held a Newsmax town hall in Iowa on Tuesday night and fundraisers this week in Cleveland, Philadelphia and Dallas. He was to speak at the Republican National Committees fall retreat Friday night and at the Republican Jewish Coalitions Annual Leadership Summit in Las Vegas next week  all opportunities to pitch deep-pocketed donors to keep his campaign afloat.

The super PAC supporting Pence is also continuing its efforts, fundraising and conducting extensive voter outreach, including knocking on nearly 600,000 doors and counting.

The campaign is also working aggressively to reach the 70,000-donor threshold needed to qualify for next months debate and expressed confidence they could get there if they try  even as others remain skeptical he can make it.

I know its an uphill climb for a lot of reasons for us, some that I understand, some that I dont, Pence acknowledged as he spoke to reporters in New Hampshire last week after formally registering for the states first-in-the-nation primary.

Still, some in Pence's orbit believe he has important contributions left to make in the primary, particularly after the Hamas attack on Israel pushed foreign policy to the forefront. Pence has argued he is the most qualified candidate to deal with issues abroad, saying in the August debate that now is not the time for on-the-job training.

Pence, they say, feels a renewed sense of purpose given his warnings throughout the campaign against the growing tide of isolationism in the Republican Party. Pence has used the conflict to decry voices of appeasement, which he argues embolden groups like Hamas.

Another person cautioned that Pence, a devout Evangelical Christian who sees the campaign as a calling, may respond differently than other candidates might in his position if he feels called to stay in the race.

If he decides to exit, Pence would have a potential platform in Advancing American Freedom, the conservative think tank he founded after leaving the vice presidency.

Regardless of what he decides, the predicament facing the former vice president underscores just how dramatically Trump has transformed the GOP.

Pence, in many ways, has been running to lead a party that no longer exists. He has cast himself as the field's most traditionally conservative candidate in the mold of Ronald Reagan. But many of his positions  from maintaining U.S. support for Ukraine's defense against the Russian invasion to proposing cuts to Social Security and Medicare  are out of step with much of his party's base.

He also faces fallout from Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob of Trump's supporters  some chanting Hang Mike Pence!  stormed the Capitol building, sending him running for his life. Trump tried to falsely convince Pence and his own followers that the vice president somehow had the power to overturn the results.

Pence has repeatedly been confronted on the campaign trail by people who accuse him of betraying Trump, who still promotes falsehoods about the 2020 election, often several times a day.

But Pence has also faced the same challenge as every candidate in the field not named Trump, a singular figure whose grip on the party has only intensified as he has been charged with dozens of crimes.

If something big doesnt happen on Nov. 8, the primary is over. Some would argue it is now, said Walker, who entered the 2016 Republican primary as a front-runner only to end his campaign in September 2015, months before a single vote was cast, amid mounting debt.
Work on hydrogen-based clean energy projects will continue in Nebraska even without a roughly billion-dollar federal grant to smooth the path, officials said this week.

Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri had partnered to apply for funding for whats known as a hydrogen hub across the three-state region.

As the Midcontinent Clean Energy Hydrogen Hub, or MCH2, they sought a share of the money that the federal government was offering in an effort to accelerate the development of hydrogen as a clean energy source. The funding pool was created by the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

But the three-state collaboration was not among the seven regional hydrogen hubs selected to receive some of the $7 billion from the Department of Energy, as announced by the White House last week.

Still, Nebraska officials said their efforts go beyond seeking the federal designation and wont be deterred by falling short. Two Nebraska companies involved in the proposal  Monolith Inc. of Hallam and Project Meadowlark of Gothenburg  will continue with their expansion plans.

The groundwork we have laid is going to position us really well for success in the future hydrogen economy, said Courtney Dentlinger, vice president of customer service and external affairs with the Nebraska Public Power District, which spearheaded the application.

The group has had interest not only from partners in Nebraska, she said, but also from those in Iowa who want to continue to collaborate.

She anticipates the group will have other opportunities for federal funding that would accelerate projects and infrastructure development in the region.

A spokeswoman for Gov. Jim Pillen said in a statement that it was unfortunate the federal government failed to see the benefit of growing the hydrogen economy here in the Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri region.

To be sure, the hydrogen economy is coming with or without federal funding, spokeswoman Laura Strimple said. We look forward to supporting this innovative industry as it continues to grow in our state.

Hydrogen fuel is seen as key to meeting the Biden administrations goal of reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. According to the White House, the seven hubs together are expected to eliminate 25 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year, roughly equivalent to the combined annual emissions of more than 5.5 million gas-powered cars.

Clean hydrogen, according to the Biden administration, is particularly important for sectors in which it is difficult to reduce carbon emissions, such as heavy-duty transportation and chemical, steel and cement manufacturing. Job creation and private investment also are part of the plans.

Nebraska lawmakers last year adopted a measure creating a work group to draft an initial proposal. Of the 79 initial proposals, Nebraskas was one of 33 given the green light to submit an application, which ultimately was made on behalf of the three states.

Dentlinger said the agriculture sector offers incredible opportunities when it comes to hydrogen, both for the production of ammonia and other fertilizers and in diversifying that sector through the production of hydrogen-enhanced aviation fuels or renewable diesel for transportation.

Participant Werner Enterprises, for instance, has been seeking ways to use hydrogen and hydrogen-enhanced biofuels to power transportation in the future.

From a food security standpoint, Dentlinger said, its become increasingly important for the U.S. to have domestic supplies of fertilizer for crops. Much of the fertilizer used in the U.S. has been coming from Russia and Ukraine. Russias invasion of Ukraine has contributed to disruptions in the fertilizer market.

Monolith, the largest project within the collaborative, is moving ahead with plans to expand its facility near Hallam, which converts natural gas into carbon black and hydrogen. The hydrogen is used to make ammonia-based fertilizer in a process that doesnt create carbon emissions.

Were going to continue to move full steam ahead, said Dan Levy, a Monolith spokesman. It would have been a nice accelerator if it had come in. But we didnt change any plans as a result.

The company, in fact, is well on its way to meeting conditions set for it to receive up to $1 billion in federal loans from the Energy Department, he said. The company hopes to make an announcement next year.

Also moving forward, Dentlinger said, are plans by J Westling & Co, the company behind Project Meadowlark, to build a $750 million plant in Gothenburg that will use electricity instead of natural gas to make liquid fertilizer.

While we are disappointed by this result, Nebraska remains on the cutting edge of green energy technology, Joshua Westling, JWC Gburg founder, said in a statement. Our project, which will use carbon-free renewable electricity and wastewater to make hydrogen needed to create low-cost fertilizer, will continue, and we look forward to developing agricultural solutions in the community of Gothenburg.

Dentlinger noted that most of the selected hubs, which include 16 states, are situated in coastal areas.

The closest is the Heartland Hydrogen Hub in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, which will focus on clean fertilizer production and advance the use of clean hydrogen in electric generation for space heating in cold climates. The hub also will offer equity ownership opportunities to tribal communities and to local farmers and farmer co-operatives that will allow farmers to receive more competitive pricing for clean fertilizer.

The Midwest Hydrogen Hub formed by Illinois, Indiana and Michigan, the White House noted, is situated in a key industrial and transportation center. Its efforts will enable decarbonization through hydrogen uses including steel and glass production, power generation, refining, heavy-duty transportation and sustainable aviation fuel. Low-cost nuclear energy will be part of the mix.

Top Journal Star photos for October 2023
The war between Israel and Hamas is being waged half a world away, but the conflict is also raging on college campuses in the United States.

Jewish student groups and others have criticized universities and administrators for not issuing stronger statements in support of Israel  or of remaining silent altogether  in the wake of the brutal Oct. 7 attacks that left more than 1,400 dead and thousands more wounded or missing.

In response to airstrikes on the densely populated Gaza Strip, pro-Palestinian activists have rallied to draw attention to the growing humanitarian crisis and deaths of civilians and faced their own backlash.

As the sharp divide continues to widen, driven by the fog of war and an onslaught of misinformation on social media, students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln are approaching the conflict with an aim at understanding the history and context shaping it.

There are a lot of people  especially now  that come to this situation and this part of the world with a very narrow scope of understanding, said Ari Kohen, a UNL professor of political science who teaches about the history and politics of Israel. Were almost hardwired to view things as one way or the other way, but the world is complicated, history is complicated, and people are complicated.

Kohen has taught Israel and the Middle East since 2007, giving students an intimate look at the history of Israels founding, the relationship between the Jewish state and its Arab neighbors, as well as the wars fought and peace treaties struck in the region.

On a Thursday after UNLs fall break, a dozen students begin class with a dissection of the images they have seen scrolling through Instagram and TikTok.

In particular, they note an over-saturation of posts condemning the alleged Israeli airstrike on the Al-Alhi Baptist Hospital in Gaza that early reports  which came from a Hamas-controlled information office  indicated as many as 500 people had been killed. The Israeli government laid blame for the explosion at a misfired rocket launch from Palestinian militants.

News about the deadly explosion was everywhere on social media, where it was intermixed with recycled images and videos from past conflicts and amplified with dubious claims by unverified sources, some claiming to be journalists working in Gaza.

Taking turns sharing their impressions of both the explosion as well as the finger pointing and inflammatory rhetoric on social media, students listen intently to one another or nod along in agreement.

Thirty-six hours after the blast, as more evidence pointed to a failed rocket launch being the cause of the explosion, the students also note that the accounts once professing concern for the Palestinians killed had fallen silent or moved on to the next outrage.

The discussion also raised questions about how the pledge for humanitarian aid from the U.S. will get to the Palestinian people who need it most, and wont find its way into the hands of Hamas or their supporters to launch further attacks on Israel.

Its one of those questions that Kohen encourages the students to ask, even if he acknowledges there may not be a definitive answer.

Ive been doing this for a long time, and sometimes the answer is uh huh, Kohen said. How to get it to the people themselves is an amazing question. Its a crucial question, and its one we could talk about for the rest of the semester and maybe not get a satisfactory answer.

As the facilitator of the class discussion, Kohen said he wants students to get comfortable in what he calls the gray zone, that middle ground where everyone is around you screaming its this or its this but allows them to engage in a thoughtful way.

Its a place Kohen, who is Jewish and leads educational trips to Israel, said he has developed a complicated and nuanced view through his wide and varied connections to the country that span political opinions, religious and cultural identities.

While he uses his own experiences and connections as a resource to educate, Kohen said the central philosophy behind his teaching is to find out what his students want to learn.

I know what I think and I know why I think it, but my job is to encourage people to come up with their own questions and give them the tools to try and answer some of the questions they come up with for themselves, he said.

Students in the class say they feel fortunate to have built a working knowledge of the history of Israel and the conflicts in the region as the latest war ignited earlier this month.

Sharing and discussing what theyve seen has given class members the ability to spot misinformation or quickly identify buzzwords used to drive engagement on social media rather than accurately portray the conflict, said Kylee Christiansen, a senior political science major from Omaha.

A big problem in todays society and social media is just the constant misinformation and people feeling like they need to go into their Instagram stories and talk about things they have no idea about, Christensen said.

The Israel and the Middle East class is a place where students can share their opinions and observations in a safe, welcoming environment, she said: Were very open and people can say this is what I think is happening, does anyone think something different?

And, Christensen said the class discussions often return to how people  Israelis, Palestinians and others  are being directly affected by the conflict.

I feel like the people are the key part of these conflicts and I feel like they are the ones who are most easily lost, she said.

Gage Groeteke, a junior political science major from Primrose, said he had long been interested in politics, but knew little about the ongoing disputes and conflicts in the Middle East.

He has quickly learned how interconnected domestic politics are to the region on the other side of the world, as well as how little many people understand it.

Its something I know is very important, its an area of the world that is heavily discussed, but I have found most people dont know what they are talking about, Groeteke said, That was my goal, to come and learn and understand what is going on and break down the misconceptions.

While current events have come to dominate the class discussions, they have also undergirded the curriculum. Thursdays lesson centered on the history of antisemitism after the Holocaust and the creation of Israel, as well as how education about that genocide did not follow Jews as they relocated to the Middle East.

Current events will also reshape future classroom activities, Kohen said. A simulation exercise where students roleplay various state actors in the region will be redesigned to reflect the war and possible peace negotiations currently taking place.

The biggest goal, he added, is to make sure students stay at the table and make an effort to work through the issues.

We have to be grounded in what people are actually saying and thinking and doing, he said. The students really get into it, which is why Ill never stop doing it.

Christensen, who said she is considering going to law school or joining the diplomatic corps, said the class has armed her with the ability to think critically about the conflict and talk about it with a goal of informing rather than inflaming.

Understanding how history unfolds and the patterns weve been able to recognize throughout this conflict, she said, they matter and it adds more to the story.

Top Journal Star photos for October 2023
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.

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Israel said its aircraft struck Hezbollah targets in Lebanon on Saturday and that one of its soldiers was hit by an anti-tank missile, in cross-border fighting that the Iran-backed group said killed six of its fighters.

With the frontier region seeing its worst violence in years as Israel wages war against Gaza's Hamas militants, the Israeli military said it traded fire with Hezbollah in at least four different areas along the Lebanese border.

The hostilities have forced residents on both sides to flee their homes. Israel's military says seven soldiers have been killed since Oct. 7. Hezbollah says 19 of its fighters have died, including the six on Saturday. The violence has also killed civilians and journalists, including one with Reuters.

A security source in Lebanon said one Hezbollah fighter was killed in the Lebanese area of Hula, opposite the Israeli community of Margaliot, which Israel said was the target of an anti-tank missile attack. The Israeli army said it fired back.

Hezbollah, which claimed attacks on Israeli military positions throughout Saturday, later said five other members were killed. Israel said its soldiers struck a cell attempting to launch anti-tank missiles toward the area of Shlomi, an Israeli town some 70 km (44 miles) from Margaliot.

An Israeli soldier was severely injured after being hit by an anti-tank missile near the Israeli town of Bar'am, the military said. Two other soldiers were lightly injured in the incident, it added, without saying if they were also hit by the missile.

Hezbollah and Israel's military have been trading fire at the frontier almost daily since Palestinian group Hamas launched a deadly attack on Israel on Oct. 7 and Israel retaliated with fierce air strikes on Gaza.

It is the worst escalation in violence along the Israeli-Lebanese border since a 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel.

Sources have previously said Hezbollah's attacks were designed to keep Israel's military occupied without provoking a major war. Israel has said it has no interest in waging war and said if Hezbollah is restrained it will maintain the status quo.

But rising tensions have raised concerns in the region and beyond about the risk of a wider conflict, as Israel makes preparations for an expected land incursion into Gaza.

An Israeli army spokesperson said on Saturday its evacuation of the border town of Kiryat Shmona allowed the military to broaden its actions against Hezbollah, a Hamas ally.

Israel and Hezbollah both reported exchanges of fire on other points along the frontier on Saturday, including around Lebanon's Alma Al-Shaab and Israel's Hanita, an area where Hezbollah said it fired guided missiles and Israel responded.

The Palestinian group Islamic Jihad, which has a presence in southern Lebanon, said one of its members was killed in Saturday's fighting. (Reuters)
The Middleton Chamber of Commerce Foundation and a nonprofit have launched a workforce program to help connect military personnel and veterans to job opportunities in the city.

About 250,000 service members in the U.S. each year face the challenging transition from active duty back to civilian life, according to data from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Wisconsin veterans represent a wealth of skills and experiences that they can bring with them to their new occupation, said Steve Janke, CEO of Mission: Wisconsin, the Chambers nonprofit partner. Janke, a veteran himself, formerly worked for the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs.

When you join the military, you are given a discharge date that stays in the back of your mind until one day it sneaks up on you, Janke said. When it does, the former life you had must change. You have to find a new community to live in, along with a new house, a new school for your kids if you have them and, of course, a new job.

The Middleton Chamber of Commerce Foundation, which was created last summer, and Mission: Wisconsin are working to develop a list of veteran candidates that the Chambers diverse 750 members can recruit for jobs, said Chamber president Kate Miller.

Janke finds veterans who want to live in Wisconsin, and sends the job candidates to the Chamber. Businesses can sign up for Mission: Workforce Alliance and access the list of veterans looking for work. Three businesses have already joined, Miller said.

We have 30 veteran candidates right now. We can expect to have around 200 a year, she said.

The program also includes quarterly trainings for Middleton Chamber members on things to consider when hiring a veteran, such as how to read and translate a veterans resume to civilian job requirements and how to develop an understanding of what its like for military personnel to transition into ordinary life.

A lot of what a chamber does is connect, said Miller. We connect businesses to resources. Thats one thing that if you read about military families who are transitioning  they are missing that band of brotherhood and that sense of community.

It will be a national brand

Janke founded Mission: Wisconsin in the summer of 2020 to help veterans achieve success after active duty beyond the scope of the public resources available to them.

The partnership with the Middleton Chamber of Commerce Foundation is what Janke considers the nonprofits proof of concept, he said.

It will be a national brand, Janke said.
BURLINGTON  At the Sacred Heart Retreat Center, the retreating has started.

When the new religious facility opened its doors Saturday for a community welcoming, dozens of Catholics and other visitors were on hand to experience the place formerly operated as a Franciscan friary.

Although renovation work isnt completed, the property owners were pleased to see such community enthusiasm and excitement.

The Rev. Canon Matthew Talarico said the turnout demonstrates that people in and around Burlington are hungry for spirituality.

Talarico is a leader of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, a Chicago-based group that purchased the property earlier this year.

The purpose of Saturdays open house, he said, was to introduce his organization and to encourage residents to feel connected with the Sacred Heart Retreat Center.

Were eager to make new friends, he said.

Starting at 10 a.m., community members lined up for the chance to meet Talarico and his colleagues, and to take guided tours inside the nearly 100-year-old former friary complex.

Carol Curin of Elkhorn said she visits a similar facility in Oconomowoc in Waukesha County and was excited that Burlington will have a new location for worship and interaction.

Curin said she is anxious to see the institute move forward with its renovation plan.

Its a lot of work, she said. But through the grace of God, I know theyll get it done.

Formerly the St. Francis Friary for members of a Polish Catholic order of friars, the property at 2457 Browns Lake Drive had grown inactive and deteriorated as the friars dwindled in number.

The Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest has plans for a nearly $10 million makeover  which includes the $3.5 million property purchase  to create a new gathering place for Catholics throughout the region.

The group also intends to invite the public for church services, youth camps and other events.

During Saturdays open house, many visitors asked when the facility will reopen to the public.

Dan Craig, chief financial officer of the institute, said officials hope to offer outdoor summer camps in 2024. But work on the main friary and other structures on the property will take some time, Craig said.

Its a slow process, he said. It really depends on everything.

Participants taking tours Saturday saw worship centers, residential rooms and dining hall facilities that were in need of repair while still exhibiting signs of historic character.

J. Michael Lau of Burlington, who attends church in Milwaukee, said he looks forward to having an option closer to home.

Historically, its fascinating, he said. Its an exciting opportunity.

Burlington's St. Francis Friary history, in photos St. Francis Friary St. Francis Friary in Burlington 146-acre complex may be redeveloped 2000 Balloons for Franciscans Running at the friary Running at the friary Grotto at St. Francis Grotto at St. Francis A clown pastor Mass at the friary Katrina evacuees find refuge at St. Francis Friary in Burlington Katrina evacuees find refuge at St. Francis Friary in Burlington Katrina evacuees find refuge at St. Francis Friary in Burlington Katrina evacuees find refuge at St. Francis Friary in Burlington Katrina evacuees find refuge at St. Francis Friary in Burlington Katrina evacuees find refuge at St. Francis Friary in Burlington Katrina evacuees find refuge at St. Francis Friary in Burlington Rev. Jerry Zawada A Franciscan crafter Supporting St. Francis 2002 2011
WASHINGTON  With tensions spiking in the Middle East, U.S. forces are facing increasing threats; as a Navy warship shot down missiles appearing to head toward Israel on Thursday; and American bases in Iraq and Syria were targeted by drone attacks.

A U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they don't believe the missiles were aimed at the U.S. warship.

Thursday's drone attacks targeted the al-Asad Air Base in western Iraq and the alTanf garrison in southeastern Syria. The Pentagon said one drone was shot down but another hit the al-Tanf base and caused minor injuries there. Syrian opposition activists also said there was a separate drone attack on an oil facility in eastern Syria that houses American troops.

Later Thursday, a U.S. official said there was an attack near Baghdad's airport, where U.S. forces are hosted. The official said one projectile was shot down and another struck, but no injuries were reported.
LONDON  When Laima Springe-Janssen was looking to replace her French-made gasoline-powered SUV with an electric car, she considered models from Volvo and Nissan.

The Volvo extras she wanted would have busted her budget, while the Nissan lacked the wow factor. The Copenhagen, Denmark, resident ended up buying a compact SUV from Chinas BYD.

I really, really love the car, Springe-Janssen said. For the equivalent of about $50,000, the Atto 3 SUV came with all these goodies like a 360-degree dash cam, two years of free charging and an extra set of winter tires.

Her husband likes it so much hes considering buying another BYD to replace their other car, from Volkswagens Skoda brand.

Im sorry, Europe. Go home, she said. China has a better offer.

Her enthusiasm underscores how Chinese automakers are winning over drivers as they make major inroads into Europes electric vehicle market, challenging long-established homegrown brands in an industry thats key to the continents green energy transition.

The competitive threat has spurred the European Union to launch an investigation into Beijings support for its EV industry. That adds to tech-related tensions between the West and China, which is one of Europes biggest trading partners and the worlds biggest auto market.

Chinas EV onslaught, along with massive U.S. clean energy funding that has drawn investment away from Europe, shows how the 27-nation bloc is caught in the middle of the global race for green technology.

Chinese EV makers are drawn to Europe because auto import tariffs are just 10% versus 27.5% in the U.S., independent auto analyst Matthias Schmidt said. Europe also has the worlds second-biggest EV battery market after China.

Nevermind the geopolitics. Climate-conscious car buyers in Europe who are grappling with an increased cost of living rave about how Chinese EVs are affordable yet packed with features and stylish design. Concerns about the threat to local carmakers and jobs just arent a factor for them.

British retiree John Kirkwood replaced his Volkswagen Passat three years ago with an MG5 station wagon because the $36,000 price tag wiped the floor with its nearest rival  a Kia that cost thousands more.

Its nice. Its quiet, its refined and very quick, Kirkwood said, adding that he had few qualms about British brand MGs Chinese ownership.

MG  owned by SAIC Motor, Chinas biggest automaker  is the largest Chinese EV player in Europe. BYD, backed by billionaire investor Warren Buffett, is growing fast. Theres also Geely, which owns Swedens Volvo and a stable of EV brands including Polestar, Lynk & Co. and British sportscar maker Lotus.

Behind them are a slew of startups, like NIO and Xpeng.

Their combined sales are a sliver of the 9.2 million vehicles sold in Europe every year, but they have been gobbling up a piece of the smaller EV market at an astonishing pace.

Chinese automakers account for only about 3% of Western Europes overall car market but 8.4% of the EV market, up from 6.2% last year and almost nothing in 2019, according to Schmidts data.

The surge is stoking fears about Europes automotive industry, an economic powerhouse centered in France and Germany that employs millions of workers, staying competitive as it transitions from fossil fuels to electricity.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says global markets are now flooded with cheaper Chinese electric cars, with prices kept artificially low by huge state subsidies.

The commission, the EUs executive arm, formally opened its investigation this month, saying it would take up to 13 months and could result in import duties.

Beijing voiced strong dissatisfaction and vowed to firmly safeguard Chinese companies rights. The Chinese Commerce Ministry said the EU probe is based on subjective assumptions, lacks enough evidence and goes against World Trade Organization rules.

Complicating matters, global automakers build vehicles in China and have exported 164,300 this year to Europe, including BMWs iX3 SUV made in northeastern Shenyang and Teslas Model 3 and Y produced in Shanghai, according to Schmidts data. That means one in every five EVs sold in Europe is a Chinese import.

A commission spokesman said the investigation is looking at Chinas EV exports regardless of the brand.

Stellantis, which owns French auto brands Peugeot and Citroen as well as Italys Alfa Romeo and Fiat, is vowing to fight back against Chinas EVs. In a recent earnings call, CEO Carlos Tavares said the worlds No. 3 automaker is responding to a Chinese invasion in a European market with a new Citroen e-C3 cheap compact.

Stellantis faces added pressure from a union strike in the U.S. over EV battery plant jobs.

Executives at Shanghai-based Aiways, a startup headed by Volvos former China sales chief, rejected accusations that Beijing provides a helping hand.

Were not selling inside China, were not being subsidized in China, said Alexander Klose, vice president of overseas operations. Yes, we obviously have some subsidies for putting a plant somewhere, which is, I think, what everybody has in Europe.

Aiways is focusing on Europe and Israel instead of China, where the auto market is so crowded that we dont think it makes sense to compete right now, Klose said.

The EU should be working on getting to a green future rather than keeping competition out, he said.

Are we about to face an EV technician shortage? Are we about to face an EV technician shortage? Few technicians are certified to work on EVs EV sales are growing quickly A large number of EVs are starting to age Technicians are getting more options for EV repair training
BOGOTA, Colombia  Escalating tensions between Colombia and Israel over the Gaza war could undo decades of close military ties between them and hamper Colombias ability to fight drug traffickers and rebels, security analysts say.

Israel has been one of Colombias main suppliers of war planes, surveillance equipment and assault rifles since the 1990s. But last Sunday its foreign ministry announced a suspension of defense exports to Colombia, after President Gustavo Petro refused to condemn Hamas attack on Israel and compared Israel's actions in Gaza to those of Nazi Germany.

Analysts in Bogota say that the suspension could jeopardize several contracts, including a $5 million deal between Colombias Defense Ministry and Israeli company IAI to maintain Colombias ageing fleet of Kfir fighter jets.

Colombias government also recently hired an Israeli company to outfit two Boeing 737s with electronic warfare equipment and intelligence tools that can help the military jam communications of the nations remaining rebel groups and monitor their movements.

Israels embassy in Bogota declined to answer questions about the export ban and whether it applies to contracts that have already been signed.

Security analysts in Bogota said that if the ban is sustained, it could seriously affect Colombias armed forces due to their reliance on Israeli hardware and technology.

It will be debilitating and extremely costly, said Jorge Restrepo, the director of CERAC, a security think tank in Bogota. It can take months or years to find new providers and to train personnel to use and trust new equipment.

Colombia deepened its military ties with Israel in the late 1980s by purchasing a group of Kfir fighter jets. The war planes, whose name translates to young lion, are able to launch laser-guided bombs.

They were used by Colombias air force in numerous attacks on remote guerrilla camps that debilitated the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and helped push the group into peace talks that resulted in its disarmament in 2016.

But as Colombias fleet of 22 Kfir fighter jets becomes older it also relies more frequently on maintenance from its Israeli manufacturers, said Erich Saumeth Cadavid, a Colombian defense analyst.

Cadavid noted that one potential result of the export ban could be less sorties for the Kfir planes, which are Colombias only fighter jets and also the only planes in the nations arsenal that are capable of launching bombs with precision.

Colombian officials have been slow to replace the fleet despite offers from manufacturers in France, Sweden and the United States, as Petros administration prioritizes spending in other areas.

Israels military export ban comes as Colombias government continues to face the threat of rebel groups that did not join the 2016 peace deal with the FARC, and have grown stronger in some rural parts of the country following the FARCs withdrawal from these areas.

Petros administration recently signed cease-fires with two of these groups  the ELN and the EMC  that will expire early next year, while it is fighting against the drug trafficking group known as the Gulf Clan, which is the nations second largest armed group.

Following Israels announcement of its intent to suspend military exports, Colombia's leftist president threatened to cut diplomatic relations with Israel and blamed the country for the growth of paramilitary groups in Colombia, though he didn't provide evidence for that claim.

If we must suspend relations with Israel, then that is what we will do, Petro wrote on the social media platform X. From the people of Israel I demand help for the construction of peace in Colombia, in Palestine and in the world.

Petro, who was once a member of a left-wing rebel group that made peace with Colombia's government in the 1990s, has written dozens of messages on X about the war in Gaza since the conflict began Oct. 7.

In some, he has compared the conditions in the Gaza strip to those of a concentration camp, and in other messages he has written that Israels bombardment of Gaza is equivalent to genocide.

But the president has refused to condemn Hamas' attack on Israel, despite numerous calls by Colombian politicians and intellectuals for him to do so.

While Petros supporters commend him for speaking forcefully about the plight of Palestinians, critics are worried that his brand of online diplomacy could eventually lead to a complete rupture of relations with Israel, and undermine Colombia's relations with other countries.

By not condemning the terrorist attack, he is drifting away from Colombia's strategic allies and putting Colombia next to the nations that support terrorism, said Diego Molano, a former Colombian defense minister.

Petro is impulsive and he sees in the Palestinian cause something that he can become a vocal supporter of that aligns with his ideology and his passion for anti-colonialism, said Sergio Guzman, a political risk analyst in Bogota. But he is not taking Colombias interests into consideration, and it puts Colombia in a difficult position.
Most Idahoans are unaware that access to life-saving Emergency Medical Services in Idaho is in jeopardy. While some communities have well-funded and resourced systems of pre-hospital care, most of Idahos rural counties face challenges providing emergency care for residents, visitors, and recreationists.

A 2021 report from the Idaho Office of Performance Evaluations highlighted the funding and staffing challenges many rural EMS services face. The report found seven out of 10 emergency medical first responders are volunteers. It concluded that due to staffing and funding issues, patients in rural Idaho face longer response times and receive a lower standard of care.

Additionally, the state of Idaho does not identify emergency medical care as an essential service, and therefore no tax funds are directed to supporting critical needs of the system such as advanced training for EMS volunteers. This shifts the responsibility to small community agencies or their individual members to seek grants and other funding sources to pay for advancing their skills and knowledge.

Quote Our trauma surgeons, physicians, and other health providers who render care for injured patients in the hospital cant do their jobs without the initial work of the EMTs, paramedics, public safety officers, firefighters, ski patrols and others who must make critical decisions in the field ...

As the regions leading trauma center, Saint Alphonsus is dedicated to supporting these agencies, whether they are staffed by volunteers or paid professionals. Why? Because first responders are the first line of rescue and, therefore, a critical piece of any trauma program. Our trauma surgeons, physicians, and other health providers who render care for injured patients in the hospital cant do their jobs without the initial work of the EMTs, paramedics, public safety officers, firefighters, ski patrols and others who must make critical decisions in the field, to stabilize and transport patients in a timely manner to our trauma center.

Yet, the training and knowledge first responders need to make on-the-spot decisions and provide the appropriate care is often out of reach for small and rural agencies. That is why Saint Alphonsus holds its annual Ski and Mountain Trauma Conference.

This three-day event, centrally located in Sun Valley, allows these first responders access to lectures, instruction, and hands-on simulations with leading trauma experts from around the country. Through the generous donation of time and money from the conferences growing number of supporters, reduced registration fees and scholarships make the training affordable. This means agencies that normally dont have the budget for this high level of training can afford to send multiple team members to train and learn from one another.

One of the agencies benefitting from this conference is in Fremont County. Located in the northeast part of our state, Fremont County is home to outstanding year-round recreational opportunities. The area sees thousands of visitors every year, and whether theyre traveling Highway 20 en route to Yellowstone, riding snowmobiles in the Caribou-Targhee National Forest or ATVs on the St. Anthony Sand Dunes, hiking and camping in Harriman State Park, or trying to hook a big one on Henrys Lake some of these will inevitably require the assistance of Freemont County EMS.

This year, Bert Mecham, director of Fremont County EMS, is sending 15 of his paid and volunteer EMS staff  his largest contingent ever  to the Nov. 1-3 conference for hands-on simulations and instruction. Speaking about the value of the conference he says, I am pretty picky on what training we will actually pay for. Thats one of the reasons why we pick the Ski and Mountain Trauma Conference because I think its the most applicable to what we deal with and what we see in rural Idaho.

Fremont County EMS has been participating in the conference for at least eight years, and Mecham says his employees have been able to put their training to use in real-world applications, ranging from backcountry rescue to delivering babies. We get a wide variety of classes and can work on a wide range of skills on one weekend, he says.

Even those who dont attend benefit from the seminars and simulations, as Meacham says those who get the training turn around and educate colleagues in the departments monthly training meetings.

This year, conference attendees will learn about the latest techniques in lectures and hands-on simulations, covering everything from stabilizing a patient for transport, backcountry management of hypothermia and frostbite, trauma management, avalanche rescue, delivering babies in emergencies, and wilderness wound management.

While the conference name pays homage to our ski and mountain heroes, the education and skills taught also translate to victims of car accidents, industrial or farm accidents, and other emergencies our rural first responders deal with every day.

A special highlight for this years conference will be the keynote address of Dr. Tom Marshburn, former NASA astronaut and flight surgeon. His experience  both in space and on Earth  will help motivate and inspire conference attendees to rededicate themselves to improving their skills, teamwork, and understanding of the vital role they play in saving lives.

The Saint Alphonsus Health System is once again proud and honored to sponsor the Sun Valley Ski and Mountain Trauma Conference, providing critical support to first responders throughout our state and region. We hope this conference continues to strengthen the partnership between the regions leading trauma center and the dedicated women and men who respond at all hours of the day and night to keep our communities and loved ones safe.
The Idaho Republican Party has made a regular practice of taking shots at Republican members of the states congressional delegation, but now theyre firing at a delegation member whose gutsy actions have the effect of helping  or trying to  the Republican Party nationally.

To see that, though, you have to expand your field of vision a little beyond Idaho, to the places where Republicans are not so entrenched that too extreme actually is a political problem.

This last week U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson voted, three times, to elevate Republican House Majority Leader Steve Scalise to speaker, and the state party organization was outraged, all but writing him out of the party for not voting instead for the bomb-throwing Rep. Jim Jordan, one of the most controversial politicians in the country.

From the partys statement: We urge our Congressman to reconsider his position and refocus his efforts on addressing the significant issues confronting our constituents  rather than waste his time engaging in protest votes and parliamentary delay tactics. The people of Idaho expect Mike Simpson to represent their concerns and prioritize their needs above political games and partisan divisions.

Riotously rich, of course, since protest votes and parliamentary delay tactics  as for example Jordans efforts to block confirmation of the 2020 presidential election vote and his refusal to this day to accept those results  long have been Jordans stock in trade, along with explosive red-meat rhetoric.

Simpson was one of about a score of Republican House members who appear to have blocked Jordans rise to the speakership. The group draws from various segments of the Republican caucus, and the no votes seem to have varied motivations.

Congressional veteran Simpson has become a highly effective legislator working closely for many years with House Republican leadership. He is an institutionalist who clearly loves the U.S. House of Representatives, and as such on the far end of the spectrum from Jordan. He is on the House Appropriations Committee, one of the powerful cardinals, who as a group are protective of the budgeting process and concerned about what Jordan might do to it. A number of House appropriators, including the committee chair, are in the anti-Jordan group.

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Simpson said he thought Scalise was the right choice for speaker, but added, Intimidation and threatening tactics do not  and will not  work. Others among the antis have made similar comments. A number of the anti-Jordan voters have been getting death threats, to themselves, their families and their staff.

Simpsons stand will doubtless encourage another primary challenge from the right. Simpsons tweet (and his votes) draw responses like this one: Steve Scalise is not even running you RINO. You have made it clear that you dont care about your constituents and the reason you were elected. You are a representative. Do your dam job and stop playing games. Enjoy your last term in Congress.

But one additional element of motivation (decisions like this one usually have a whole matrix of factors) for Simpson, however, could be political in a sense beyond his personal interest.

He might be thinking about another one of the score of antis, the one whose district is geographically closest to his if far removed politically: Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, a freshman Republican from Oregon, representing a district south of Portland, and one of the four or five most vulnerable Republican House members.

Her district has a slight Democratic tilt, in spite of which she narrowly won election in 2022. Since then, she has been making the right moves toward winning a second term. She is facing a strong Democratic challenge (three first-rank contenders, one of whom beat Chavez-DeRemer twice previously in state legislative races) and she can afford no missteps. But her national party has been providing plenty of those, and Democrats in Oregon have been beyond eager to pounce.

You can multiply DeRemers case by a couple of dozen seats nationally.

The Idaho Republican Party may be disinterested in whether Republicans nationally fare well in next years elections, but it might just be that Simpson is bearing it in mind.

One more thing that should be said as a matter of motivation: The hardcore doesnt get to call Simpson a squish any more. Hes one of those showing some actual backbone.
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:

Temporal-discounting task performed by monkeys during the team's experiments. In each trial, the animals first touched a bar, after which a red dot was presented. Next, a cue, which indicated the reward size (drops) and delay, was shown. If the animals released the bar before the red dot turned purple, the trial was considered rejected and, in the next trial, a new randomly selected cue was presented. If they held the bar until the red dot turned purple, and then released the bar between 200 and 1,200 ms, the trial was considered accepted, and the indicated drops of liquid reward were delivered after the indicated delay. Credit: Nature Neuroscience(2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41593-023-01445-x

When humans make decisions, such as picking what to eat from a menu, what jumper to buy at a store, what political candidate to vote for, and so on, they might be more or less confident with their choice. If we are less confident and thus experience greater uncertainty in relation to their choice, our choices also tend to be less consistent, meaning that we will be more likely to change our mind before reaching a final decision.

While neuroscientists have been exploring the neural underpinnings decision-making for decades, many questions are still unanswered. For instance, how neural network computations support decision-making under varying levels of certainty remain poorly understood.

Researchers at the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland recently carried out a study on rhesus monkeys aimed at better understanding the neural network dynamics associated with decision confidence. Their paper, published in Nature Neuroscience, offers evidence that energy landscapes in the prefrontal cortex can predict the consistency of choices made by monkeys, which is in turn a sign of the animals' confidence in their decisions.

"Decisions are made with different degrees of consistency, and this consistency can be linked to the confidence that the best choice has been made," Siyu Wang, Rossella Falcone and their colleagues wrote in their paper. "Theoretical work suggests that attractor dynamics in networks can account for choice consistency, but how this is implemented in the brain remains unclear. We provide evidence that the energy landscape around attractor basins in population neural activity in the prefrontal cortex reflects choice consistency."

In neuroscience, attractor networks are dynamical networks comprised of neurons that converge to sustain specific patterns of activity over time. To investigate the link between these networks' dynamics and confidence in decisions, the researchers carried out a series of experiments on monkeys.

These monkeys were taught to complete a decision-making task. As they completed this task, Wang, Falcone and their colleagues recorded the extracellular activity of neurons in their prefrontal cortex using a bilateral implant containing eight arrays of electrodes.

"We trained two rhesus monkeys to make accept/reject decisions based on pretrained visual cues that signaled reward offers with different magnitudes and delays to reward," Wang, Falcone and their colleagues explained in their paper. "Monkeys made consistent decisions for very good and very bad offers, but decisions were less consistent for intermediate offers. Analysis of neural data showed that the attractor basins around patterns of activity reflecting decisions had steeper landscapes for offers that led to consistent decisions."

Most notably, this team of researchers was able to link the computations performed by neural networks in the prefrontal cortex to the consistency of decisions. Their observations suggest that neural dynamics in the prefrontal cortex predict how quickly monkeys respond on a decision-making task and how consistent their decisions will be, both of which have been linked to higher levels of confidence in a decision.

While the team's findings are preliminary, they highlight the potential of examining several simultaneously recorded neurons to shed more light on specific aspects of decision-making. In the future, their work could pave the way for important new discoveries about how confidence in decisions is reflected by attractor network dynamics and computations performed in the brain.

More information: Siyu Wang et al, Attractor dynamics reflect decision confidence in macaque prefrontal cortex, Nature Neuroscience (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41593-023-01445-x. Journal information: Nature Neuroscience

 2023 Science X Network
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

A drug that simultaneously strikes cancer cells' growth circuits and pipeline to the bloodstream produced encouraging results in a clinical trial involving patients with advanced neuroendocrine tumors, according to a study led by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute investigators.

Jennifer Chan, MD, MPH, director of the Program in Carcinoid and Neuroendocrine Tumors at Dana-Farber, will present the findings of the CABINET trial at the annual European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress on October 22, 2023, in Madrid, Spain. Chan is first author on the study. Jeffrey Meyerhardt, MD, MPH, co-director of the Colon and Rectal Cancer Center at Dana-Farber, is senior author.

Patients treated with the drug, cabozantinib, survived significantly longer with no worsening of their disease than patients who received a placebo. The results suggest cabozantinib, which has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for some patients with renal cell carcinoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, or thyroid cancer, can benefit patients with neuroendocrine tumors that continue to grow and spread after previous treatment, researchers say.

More than 12,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with a neuroendocrine tumor each year. The tumors begin in neuroendocrine cellswhich have characteristics of nerve and hormone-producing cellsand can arise in multiple sites in the body, most often in the gastrointestinal tract, lungs, and pancreas. Treatments may include surgery, targeted therapy, peptide receptor radionuclide therapy, chemotherapy, or other local treatment approaches depending on the location and stage of the cancer. For patients whose cancer continues to grow and spread after these treatments, better options are urgently needed.

"Although advances have been made in recent years, there remains a critical need for new and effective therapies for patients with advanced neuroendocrine tumors, particularly patients whose cancer has progressed on currently available options," said Chan. "Targeting angiogenesis and other growth factor pathways with cabozantinib represents a novel treatment strategy."

Cabozantinib undermines tumor cells in multiple ways. It blocks the receptor for VEGF, a protein used to tap into the body's blood supply, as well as other receptors including c-MET, AXL, and RET that are key to tumor cell survival and metastasis.

The study enrolled 197 patients with advanced extra-pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (which arise outside the pancreas) and 93 patients with pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. Patients were enrolled at sites within the National Cancer Institute (NCI)-funded National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN). Two-thirds of the participants were randomly assigned take a 60 mg cabozantinib pill daily, and the others were given a placebo, or inert pill.

Researchers measured progression-free survival (PFS)how long patients lived before their disease worsenedfor all participants. At a median follow-up of 13.9 months, the PFS for patients with extra-pancreatic tumors who took cabozantinib was 8.3 months, compared to 3.2 for those who took a placebo. At a median follow-up of 16.7 months, patients with pancreatic tumors who took cabozantinib had a PFS of 11.4 months, compared to 3.0 months for those who took a placebo.

Side effects of cabozantinib were similar to those found in other studies of the drug. These include hypertension, fatigue, diarrhea, and skin rash.

"The results of the CABINET trial are very encouraging," said Chan. "Cabozantinib significantly improved outcomes in patients with previously treated extra-pancreatic and pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors and may become a new treatment option for patients."

More information: Alliance A021602: Phase III, Double-Blinded Study of Cabozantinib Versus Placebo for Advanced Neuroendocrine Tumors (NET) After Progression on Prior Therapy (CABINET), October 22, 2023, European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress
A search warrant landed a woman behind bars Tuesday after detectives said they found methamphetamine and fentanyl in her home.

Heidi Lynne Epley, 32, of Morganton, was charged with felony maintaining a dwelling for controlled substances, possession of methamphetamine, trafficking methamphetamine, possession with intent to manufacture, sell or deliver methamphetamine, possession of a schedule II controlled substance and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia, according to a release from the Burke County Sheriffs Office.

The charges against Epley came after narcotics detectives executed a search warrant at her home at 5302 Old NC 18 in Morganton on Tuesday, the release said.

During that search, investigators found about 78 grams of methamphetamine, 3.4 grams of fentanyl and about 2 grams of marijuana, the release said.

Epley was taken into custody and booked into the Burke County Jail under no bond, the release said.

She has previous convictions of possession or distribution of precursors to methamphetamine, conspiracy to possession or transfer a counterfeit instrument and possession of a schedule II controlled substance, according to records from the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction.
A woman has been officially charged with homicide in connection to the death of Mika J. Westwolf, a young Indigenous woman who was hit and killed near Arlee in March.

Sunny K. White, 28, is charged with five felonies: vehicular homicide while under the influence, accidents involving another person or deceased person, two counts of criminal child endangerment and one charge of criminal possession of dangerous drugs, Lake County court documents show.

White was brought into custody on a warrant over the weekend, but bonded out on Monday, Flathead County jail records show. There has been little in the way of developments in Westwolfs case in the past seven months, but the affidavit filed on Monday details what investigators believe led to Westwolfs death.

At about 4:15 a.m. on March 31, a tribal officer on patrol saw a body and vehicle debris while he was driving on Highway 93, just north of Arlee. The victim was identified as Westwolf.

The same morning, at 5:23 a.m., a Lake County deputy saw a gold 2008 Cadillac Escalade with front-end damage and missing a passenger side rearview mirror, which matched the description provided by the tribal officer. The Escalade was parked outside of Polson, according to the affidavit.

The deputy saw a woman, identified as White, moving items from the Escalade to another car. White reportedly said the car was overheating and she called a friend to help her.

The defendant stated she had hit a deer and not stopped, the affidavit states.

Whites two children, ages 2 and 4, are suspected to have been in the car when the crash happened. The childrens names are Aryan and Nation.

White reportedly had the two children in her car when the deputy located her. White told authorities she was passing a bottle to her baby and didnt see the deer, the affidavit states.

In an official statement to a Montana Highway Patrol trooper, White said she was driving with her two children from Butte to Kalispell for the weekend. She denied using alcohol, and said she hadnt used fentanyl or methamphetamine in the last week.

The defendant told Trooper Dager that she assumed it was a deer and swerved to the left on the highway, court documents state. The Cadillac was seized and towed.

Evidence collected from the crash site indicates Westwolf was walking in the northbound lane of traffic when she was struck by the suspect SUV. Officials suspect Westwolf was hit head-on by the cars passenger side, and it propelled her body forward, the affidavit states. She died on scene from multiple blunt-force injuries.

Troopers learned Mika and her brother drove to a Ravalli bar earlier that evening. On the way back to Arlee, the two stopped near North Valley Creek, roughly 5 miles north of the crash scene. Westwolf walked away from the car, leaving her phone behind, according to the affidavit.

Her brother tried to find Westwolf. He left her a voicemail at 1:13 a.m. and drove home.

Cellphone data showed investigators that White left Butte around midnight and passed through Missoula at 2:45 a.m. Data puts her near the crash scene at about 3 a.m., the affidavit alleges.

A search warrant on Whites car returned methamphetamine, five syringes and two unopened packs of Narcan. Whites blood sample came back positive for fentanyl and methamphetamine.

After Whites arrest, Westwolfs family said the news felt bittersweet.

I was glad to hear (the news), you know, but Im still kind of in shock because it really seemed like this day was unreachable, Carissa Heavy Runner, Westwolfs mother, said.

Westwolfs family led a statewide campaign, with awareness walks, rallies and other events, calling for justice and awareness in her case as well as other cases of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.

The case is being prosecuted by Lake County Attorney James Lapotka, who confirmed in May that White was the suspect.

I would like to thank the Montana State Highway Patrol, Flathead Tribal Police, and Lake County Sheriff's Office for their hard work investigating this case, Lapotka said on Monday.

An exact date for Whites arraignment, where shell enter a plea to the charges, hasnt been scheduled yet.
Israeli warplanes have struck targets across Gaza as well as two airports in Syria and a mosque in the occupied West Bank allegedly used by militants. Meanwhile, Egypts state-run media reported that 17 aid trucks were crossing into Gaza on Sunday, but the United Nations said no trucks had crossed. A U.N. official and Israeli military said trucks were taking fuel that had been stored on the Gaza side of the crossing deeper into the territory, and no fuel had entered from Egypt. Israels military spokesman said the country is stepping up its attacks, and there are growing expectations of a ground offensive. The war is in its 16th day Sunday.
Israeli warplanes have struck targets across the Gaza Strip as well as two airports in Syria and a mosque in the occupied West Bank allegedly used by militants, while a second convoy of humanitarian aid reportedly began crossing into Gaza from Egypt on Sunday afternoon.

Israels military spokesman said the country is stepping up its attacks, and there are growing expectations of a ground offensive.

The war, now in its 16th day, is the deadliest of five Gaza wars for both sides. The Palestinian Health Ministry said Sunday that the death toll in Gaza had reached at least 4,651 people, with another 14,254 people wounded in the besieged territory.

The ministry said 93 Palestinians were also killed in violence and Israeli raids in the occupied West Bank since Hamas militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7. More than 1,650 others were wounded, it added.

More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, mostly in the initial Hamas attack. In addition, 203 people were believed captured by Hamas during the incursion and taken into Gaza, the Israeli military has said.

Currently:

1. Doctors in the Gaza Strip say dwindling fuel supplies are putting dozens of premature babies hooked up to incubators at risk of imminent death 2. Biden walks tightrope with support for Israel as allies and the left push for restraint 3. The second aid convoy destined for desperate Palestinian civilians reaches Gaza 4. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin say the U.S. is ready to protect American forces or personnel in the Middle East should the Israel-Hamas war escalate

Heres whats happening in the latest Israel-Hamas war:

WORLD LEADERS CALL FOR ADHERENCE TO HUMANITARIAN LAW, COMMIT TO SUPPORTING THEIR NATIONALS IN GAZA

Several world leaders on Sunday spoke about the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, reiterating their support for Israel and its right to defend itself against terrorism and called for adherence to international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians.

U.S. President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, President Emmanuel Macron of France, Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of the United Kingdom also welcomed the release of two hostages and called for the immediate release of all remaining hostages.

They committed to close coordination to support their nationals in the region, in particular those wishing to leave Gaza.

The leaders welcomed the announcement of the first humanitarian convoys to reach Palestinians in need in Gaza and committed to continue coordinating with partners in the region to ensure sustained and safe access to food, water, medical care and other assistance required to meet humanitarian needs.

They also said they would continue close diplomatic coordination, including with key partners in the region, to prevent the conflict from spreading, preserve stability in the Middle East, and work toward a political solution and durable peace.

ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER WARNS HEZBOLLAH TO STAY OUT OF WAR

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited troops stationed near the border with Lebanon, where the Israeli army and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants also have traded fire during the Hamas-Israel war.

A top official with Iran Hezbollah vowed Saturday that Israel would pay a high price whenever it starts a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip and said Saturday that his militant group based in Lebanon already is in the heart of the battle.

Speaking to troops in the north on Sunday, Netanyahu said Israel would react more fiercely than it did during its short 2006 war with Hezbollah, which is based in Lebanon.

If Hezbollah decides to enter the war, it will miss the Second Lebanon War. It will make the mistake of its life. We will cripple it with a force it cannot even imagine and the consequences for it and the Lebanese state are devastating, the Israeli leader said.

ISRAEL SAYS 2ND BATCH OF HUMANITARIAN AID ENTERED GAZA

Israel says Sunday that a second batch of humanitarian aid was allowed into Gaza, at the request of the U.S. and according to instructions from other political officials.

On Saturday, 20 trucks entered in the first shipment into the territory since Israel imposed a complete siege two weeks ago. Sunday's batch included only water, food, and medical equipment, with no fuel, Israel said.

U.S. President Joe Biden and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel affirmed that there will now be continued flow of this critical assistance into Gaza, the White House said in a statement after a phone call between the leaders.

Earlier Sunday, Egypts state-run media had reported that 17 aid trucks were crossing into Gaza on Sunday, but the United Nations said no trucks had crossed.

On Sunday, Associated Press journalists saw seven fuel trucks head into Gaza. Juliette Touma, spokeswoman for U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, and the Israeli military said those trucks were taking fuel that had been stored on the Gaza side of the crossing deeper into the territory, and that no fuel had entered from Egypt.

UNRWA SAYS THERE WILL BE NO HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE WITHOUT FUEL

AMMAN, Jordan  The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees says it will run out of fuel in Gaza in three days.

Without fuel, there will be no water, no functioning hospitals and bakeries. Without fuel, aid will not reach many civilians in desperate need. Without fuel, there will be no humanitarian assistance, Philippe Lazzarini, the UNRWA Commissioner General, said in a statement Sunday.

A first delivery of aid that was allowed to cross into Gaza from Egypt on Saturday did not include any fuel.

Without fuel, we will fail the people of Gaza whose needs are growing by the hour, under our watch. This cannot and should not happen, Lazzarini said.

He called on all parties and those with influence to allow fuel into Gaza immediately, while ensuring that it is only used for humanitarian purposes.

TENS OF THOUSANDS OF PREGNANT WOMEN IN GAZA ARE IN DANGER, AID WORKERS SAY

Thousands of pregnant women in the Gaza Strip who are expected to give birth this month are in grave danger because they are not able to reach a medical facility to deliver, an aid agency says.

Guillemette Thomas, medical coordinator for Doctors Without Borders in the Palestinian territories, said women have already given birth in UNRWA schools that have turned into shelters housing tens of thousands of displaced people.

These women are in danger and the babies are in danger right now, she said. Thats a really critical situation.

According to the U.N. population fund, there are 50,000 pregnant women in Gaza. Some 5,500 of them are due to give birth in the coming month, meaning 166 births per day, the U.N. agency said.

Earlier Sunday the U.N. health agency said that at least 130 premature babies are at grave risk because of a lack of fuel at Gaza hospitals. Thomas said some of them could die within hours.

AID ORGANIZATIONS WARN OF RISK TO PREMATURE BABIES FROM FUEL SHORTAGE

CAIRO  At least 130 premature babies are at grave risk because of lack of fuel at Gaza hospitals, the U.N. health agency said Sunday.

The babies are being cared for at six neonatal units, according to Medical Aid for Palestinians, an aid group working in Gaza. Doctors have warned that the babies are in imminent danger if fuel does not reach hospitals soon.

In a statement to The Associated Press, the World Health Organization called for immediate and sustained access of fuel into Gaza to keep health facilities operating.

Melanie Ward, chief executive of Medical Aid for Palestinians, urged world leaders to press Israel to allow the delivery of fuel to Gaza.

The world cannot simply look on as these babies are killed by the siege on Gaza. ... A failure to act is to sentence these babies to death, she said.

Hospitals in Gaza have been struggling with the large number of wounded from the ongoing war between Israel and Palestinian militants which was triggered by an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7.

Dr. Ghassan Abu Sitta, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon working with Doctors without Borders in Shifa hospital, said the hospitals generators are cutting out more regularly now than before.

He said hospitals in the territory are facing severe shortages of medical supplies, including bandages, medication and other supplies.

You can imagine the amount 14,000 severely wounded patients would consume, he told the AP.

HEARTBREAKING LIFE-OR-DEATH DECISIONS FOR GAZA'S DOCTORS

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip  Hospitals across the Gaza Strip are scrounging for fuel stocks to keep the lights on in critical wards and continue to save the lives of the relentless stream of wounded patients.

Serious shortages in other supplies, including ventilators, are forcing medical teams to prioritize the lives of those who can be saved for certain over severe cases that require complex care, said Dr. Mohammed Qandeel, who works in the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.

Its heartbreaking, he told The Associated Press. Every day, if we receive 10 severely injured patients, we have to manage with maybe three or five ICU beds available. We have to choose who must face death, or manage them in regular wards or do some limited care because we think as a medical team, between two patients in a life-threatening situation, we have to give the ventilator to the patient who has a higher chance of improving in 24 hours."

Many departments in the hospital are plunged in darkness as medical staff allow electricity only in critical departments where patients risk death without it. On Friday the hospital was on its last stock of fuel, but managed to get another tank from UNRWAs existing stock on Saturday, said Qandeel. This amount should last for three to five days, he said.

The World Health Organization says Gazas Health Ministry is reporting that its daily use of medical consumables during the war is equivalent to its monthly consumption before the war. The report said an imminent public health catastrophe looms in the setting of mass displacement, overcrowding of shelters and damage to the water and sanitation infrastructure.

BODIES OF 3 NEPALI STUDENTS REPATRIATED

KATHMANDU  Nepal has repatriated the bodies of three of 10 Nepali students who were killed during the Hamas attack in Israel two weeks ago.

Nepals Foreign Minister Narayan Prakash Saud and Israeli Ambassador Hanan Goder received the bodies at Kathmandus Tribhuvan International Airport. The bodies will be flown to the students home district of Kailai.

Another body of a Nepali student is expected to be flown to Kathmandu later Sunday. One Nepalese student is missing and believed to be held captive by Hamas, officials said.

Israeli authorities have so far handed over four bodies to the Nepalese Embassy in Tel Aviv. They are in the process of identifying the remaining six bodies, a statement from the embassy said. More than 200 Nepalese nationals returned home from Israel on Oct. 13. As many as 265 Nepali students were in Israel attending a program launched by the Israeli government.

INDIA SENDS MEDICAL AID AND RELIEF SUPPLIES TO PALESTINIANS

NEW DELHI  India on Sunday sent nearly 6.5 tonnes (7.1 tons) of medical aid and 32 tonnes (35 tons) of disaster relief supplies to Palestinians.

An Indian air force plane carrying the materials left New Delhi for Egypts El-Arish airport, said Arindam Bagchi, an External Affairs Ministry spokesman. The aid includes essential life-saving medicines, surgical items, tents, sleeping bags, tarps and water purification tablets among other items, he said.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed condolences and sympathy for those killed and wounded as a result of the attacks in Israel and said that Indian people stand in solidarity with Israel. India has reiterated its position in favor of direct negotiations for establishing a two-state solution.

SYRIAN MEDIA REPORTS ISRAELI AIRSTRIKES HIT AIRPORTS IN DAMASCUS AND ALEPPO

Syrian state media reported that Israeli airstrikes early Sunday targeted the international airports of the Syrian capital Damascus and the northern city of Aleppo, killing one person. The runways were damaged and put out of service.

The attack is the second this month on the Damascus International airport and the third on Aleppos airport as tensions increases in the Middle East over the Israel-Hamas war.

Syrian state media quoted an unnamed military official as saying the airports were struck by the Israeli military from the Mediterranean to the west and from Syrias Israeli-occupied Golan Heights in the south. It said one employee was killed and another wounded in Damascus in addition to material damage.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment.

Since the war between Israel and Hamas started on Oct. 7, Israel has carried out several strikes in Syria including one on the Damascus airport and two on Aleppos airport putting them out of service.

Flights were directed in the past to an international airport in the coastal province of Latakia.

Israel has targeted airports and sea ports in the government-held parts of Syria in an apparent attempt to prevent arms shipments from Iran to militant groups backed by Tehran, including Lebanons Hezbollah.

Thousands of Iran-backed fighters from around the region joined Syrias 12-year conflict helping tip the balance in favor of President Bashar Assads forces.

Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of Syria in recent years, including attacks on the Damascus and Aleppo airports, but rarely acknowledges or discusses the operations.

PALESTINIAN HEALTH MINISTRY SAYS ISRAELI FORCES KILLED 8 SUNDAY IN WEST BANK

The Palestinian Health Ministry reported that the death toll among Palestinians in the occupied West Bank Sunday climbed to eight.

Israeli forces shot dead Jihad Mazen Subhi Saleh, 29, and Mohammed Qasim Abu Zar, 17, in Zawata, roughly 70 kilometers (44 miles) north of Jerusalem; as well as a 20-year-old man close to the al-Arroub refugee camp south of the West Bank, the ministry said.

Two others were killed in the Jenin refugee camp, which includes the Al-Ansar mosque where Israels military said it launched an airstrike, the ministry said. The two fatalities have yet to be identified. It also said Israeli forces shot and killed two men in northern cities of the West Bank: a 19-year-old in Tubas and a 26-year-old in Nablus.

Sundays fatalities brought the death toll in the West Bank to 93 Palestinians since the latest Israel-Hamas war broke out on Oct. 7, according to the Health Ministry.
It wasnt really a debate, but the question came up 20 years ago about how we wine critics ought to communicate about young red wines that seem to us to demand bottle age.

The discussion arose after a dozen Northern California wine writers gathered in a Napa Valley conference room to taste through eight high-end 2000 Bordeaux including all five First Growths.

Since the 2000 vintage had been proclaimed to be a great vintage, the best of the wines commanded a lot of attention from collectors. After we had tasted the wines, one writer asked rhetorically how long collectors should wait before opening them. I suggested 15 years.

Another writer said its impossible to know when any of the wines we had just tasted, or any wine for that matter, would be best to drink. The writer added that wine critics should be refrain from suggesting how long people should keep their hands off such wines.

If someone wants to open a bottle now, who are we to tell them they shouldnt? said the writer, adding that its not the job of writers to tell people when to consume their wines; some people may want to drink them young.

That is one approach, I suppose. But another writer pointed out that he felt it was a vital part of his job to suggest when such wines ought to be tried.

People want to know when to drink wines like these, he said. And I think that is exactly why we write about wine, to make a point. We have the experience to say when these wines will begin to be enjoyable.

Ive been evaluating young Bordeaux for 30 years, he said. That gives me some credibility when it comes to suggesting how long we should wait.

Another writer said that no one can be sure when a wine might give the most pleasure. So, he said, it might be best for buyers to try a bottle every year to see how theyre developing.

Another writer shot back, At $500 a bottle?! Thats a great idea, but who can afford to do that? Price aside, it is a sound way to watch how wines develop, but when you include the fact that the wines were so impenetrable with tannins and acids, I stand by my first estimate: 15 years.

This is the key point: If there is one wine in this world thats associated with aging, one wine thats farthest from drinkability on release, one wine that most benefits from long-term aging in a good vintage, and one wine that almost always rewards some aging in the cellar, it is a top-growth Bordeaux.

I could also make this same argument in favor of quality Barolo, the most exalted red wine from the Piedmont district in northern Italy, as well as Hermitage from the Rhone Valley, and a few other reds that historically have aged for decades. Longevity is their metier. And most wine lovers know they need to keep their hands off the good stuff.

Starting about 40 years ago, most top-growth Bordeaux began to be made for earlier accessibility than many good vintages prior to that. Some wines were made with huge, ripe flavors, lots of new oak, and with a structure that was softer than traditional (older-styled) Bordeaux.

Paraphrasing a Bordeaux winemaker of 2003, The 1982s were made for numbers; the 2000s were made for history.

It has long been known in England, of course, that traditional Bordeaux from the best houses needed long aging. Such was implied in the 1920 book, Notes on a Cellar-Book, by English Prof. George Saintsbury, which wasnt widely read until long after it was out of print. (Reprints now are available.)

Saintsbury wrote of his dinners in the 19th century at which he regularly consumed classic Clarets that were 50 years of age and older.

Starting with the hot 1982 vintage in France, red Bordeaux began to be made in ways that were more approachable, less rigid. The 2000s were structured to age longer than the 1982s.

This was part of the debate of 20 years ago. Of all the writers who voiced opinions on the structure of the 2000s that we tried, only three of us agreed that these wines were different from other great vintages of the recent past in that they seemed to have better acidity to go along with the tannins that many believe were necessary for the wines to age.

It is this trait, tannin, that usually makes red wines harder to appreciate for what they are at an early stage of their lives.

California Cabernets once were made this way. Alcohols rarely rose above 13.5%, tannins were aggressive, and when the wines were young most were difficult to consume. Most required food. We all knew that young Cabs called for foods with fat and protein (to counteract the tannins), such as steak.

California Cabernet has changed radically over the last 20 years. What we now see are structurally, and in aroma and taste, significantly different from the wines we knew from the 1970s. Many of the 1970s wines today have reached a point where they now deliver what most of us decades ago anticipated: sublime characteristics.

The 2000 Bordeaux we tasted 20 years ago all had one element in common: a tartness I hadnt seen in Bordeaux with consistency since the late 1970s.

A key point: older red wines often are an acquired taste. And some people simply do not acquire that taste for older wine.

Some prefer the fruit of young wine. Mature wines rarely have huge amounts of fruit.

At the time we tasted the vintage 2000 top-growth Bordeaux, Chateau Margaux was selling for about $700 per bottle and Chateau Cheval-Blanc was $750. Today, a bottle of 2000 Margaux is $1,600 and Cheval-Blanc is $1,350.

Wine of the Week: 2022 Lang & Reed Dry Chenin Blanc, Mendocino County ($35)  Excellent acidity marks this dry, complex version of a Loire Valley grape. The aroma has hints of nectarine, honeydew melon, and dried peaches, and the crispness is offset by the barest hint of residual sugar, which gives it a trace of succulence.
Q: On October 22, the Philippines delivered supplies to the illegally grounded warship at Renai Jiao. During the process, the China Coast Guard (CCG) blocked the Philippine vessels that illegally delivered construction materials in accordance with law. The Philippine side said in a statement that a CCG vessel made dangerous blocking maneuvers that caused it to collide with aPhilippine vessel. Do you have any comment?

A: On October 22without Chinas permission, two civil vessels and two coast guard vessels of the Philippines intruded the waters of Renai Jiao in Chinas Nansha Qundao. In disregard of the warnings of the China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels, they went headlong towards Renai Jiaos lagoon and bumped dangerously with the CCG ships conducting law enforcement on the scene and the Chinese fishing vessels having normal fishing activities there. The CCG took necessary law enforcement measures to the Philippine vessels in accordance with domestic and international law to uphold Chinas territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests. The action it took on the scene was professional and restrained.

Let me stress that Renai Jiao is part of Chinas Nansha Qundao and Chinas territory. The Philippines illegally grounded its warship at Renai Jiao. This seriously violates Chinas territorial sovereignty. The Philippines explicitly promised several times to tow away the military vessel deliberately and illegally grounded at Renai Jiao. However, 24 years have passed and instead of towing it away, the Philippines has sought to repair and reinforce it on a large scale in order to permanently occupy Renai Jiao. China has shown extraordinary restraint and patience concerning Renai Jiao. For quite some time, China has had frequent communication with the Philippines at various levels and through various channels, making it clear to the Philippines that it must not send construction materials meant for repairing and reinforcing the grounded warship on a large scale. The Philippines, however, chose to ignore Chinas goodwill and sincerity and has reneged on its own promise, kept sending vessels into the waters of Renai Jiao, spreading disinformation and playing up the issue. The Philippines behavior seriously violated Chinas territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, breached international law and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) and undermined regional peace and stability. We deplore and firmly oppose that.

We once again urge the Philippines to take seriously Chinas grave concerns, honor its promise, stop stirring up trouble and making provocations at sea, stop making dangerous moves, stop groundlessly attacking and slandering China and tow away the illegally grounded warship as soon as possible so that the peace and stability of the South China Sea will not be jeopardized and the common interests of countries in the region will not be affected. China will continue to take necessary measures in accordance with domestic and international law to firmly safeguard Chinas territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.
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During the 81st World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), China introduced its foremost international sci-fi convention, alongside the esteemed Galaxy Awards ceremony, held in Chengdu, Sichuan province, on Thursday.

Organizers and attendees inaugurate the 6th China (Chengdu) International SF Convention and the first Chengdu Tianfu Science Fiction Film Festival during the 81st World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) in Chengdu, Sichuan province, on Oct. 19, 2023. [Photo courtesy of Science Fiction World]



With the theme "Dream of the East, Shines for the World," the 6th China (Chengdu) International SF Convention attracted nearly 100 writers, editors, and filmmakers from over 30 countries. Additionally, more than 300 domestic guests were present. Notable attendees included Robert J. Sawyer, James Patrick Kelly, Liu Cixin, Wang Jinkang, and "The Wandering Earth" director Frant Gwo.

The convention was organized by the Sichuan Association for Science and Technology and the Pidu District local government in Chengdu. Hosting several forums to discuss the evolution and future of science and technology, the convention aimed to pool intellectual resources from sci-fi writers, experts, and industry professionals both locally and internationally. This created a high-level international platform for sci-fi exchanges infused with unique Chinese characteristics. The convention emphasized promoting original science fiction content, striving to expand Chinese sci-fi's global influence. Furthermore, it aimed to bridge the gap between the sci-fi industry and efforts to popularize science, driving forward the science fiction movement in China.

Several sci-fi big names were announced at the event to become international consultants for the Chinese convention. These include past and present Worldcon chairs such as Ben Yalow, William Lawhorn, Helen Montgomery, and Dave McCarty.

Established in 1991 by China's leading magazine, "Science Fiction World," the international convention was held intermittently in 1991, 1997, 2007, 2017, and 2019. This year's edition, enhanced by the Chengdu Worldcon that attracted attendees from all over the world, emphasized international communications and youth education.

At the opening, the results of the Sichuan Youth Imagination education project were showcased. The organizing committee plans to compile select sci-fi art and literary works from the first Sichuan youth sci-fi creation collection campaign into a book, slated for publication by the Sichuan Publishing House of Science & Technology. Moreover, a collaboration between the Beijing-Chongqing-Sichuan science associations was announced, with the goal of enhancing scientific literacy among young people through the sharing of sci-fi resources and facilitating talent exchanges.

During the convention, a new film festival was born. The inaugural Chengdu Tianfu Science Fiction Film Festival was established as China's first multi-national film exhibition in the sci-fi domain. This festival aspires to be China's premier platform for sci-fi film and television exchanges, drawing a wealth of industry resources to Chengdu. Sichuan province, having recently introduced the Golden Panda Awards in September to bolster the film industry, is now shifting its focus to the sci-fi genre. The province aims to enhance sci-fi filmmaking and capitalize on the abundance of sci-fi literary works available.

Members of "The Wandering Earth" crew share behind-the-scenes stories and insights at the 6th China (Chengdu) International SF Convention and the inaugural Chengdu Tianfu Science Fiction Film Festival in Chengdu, Sichuan province, on Oct. 19, 2023. [Photo courtesy of Science Fiction World]



The prime example is "The Wandering Earth," initially published in Sichuan's "Science Fiction World" magazine. Liu Cixin's story was adapted into two films, amassing a combined gross of 8.7 billion yuan ($1.2 billion). During the event, director Gwo announced his next venture related to "The Wandering Earth" - a compilation of short films helmed by 14 directors, which includes "Journey to the West" director Kong Dashan. Later, the director's studio inked a deal with Sichuan Science Fiction World Co., Ltd.

To cap off the opening event, Gwo, flanked by his long-time script collaborator and producer Gong Ge'er, script consultant Wang Hongwei, art director Gao Ang, and visual effects supervisor Eric Xu from "The Wandering Earth" films, teamed up with the original story's author, Liu Cixin, for a panel delving into the creation of the sci-fi blockbuster.

"I believe sci-fi movies in China possess immense potential for growth, serving as a testament to our remarkable era. I hope Chinese sci-fi films can craft a vast and vivid imaginative universe, spanning from the microscopic realm to the vastest reaches of time and space, and even into the distant future," Liu expressed with enthusiasm.

Gwo urges everyone to maintain curiosity about the world, stating, "Curiosity is a primary driving force behind our rapid development today and will result in a growing number of high-quality sci-fi movies."

The winners of the best novella category at the 34th Galaxy Award pose for a group photo with presenter Liu Cixin (first on the right) during the award ceremony in Chengdu, Sichuan province, at the 81st World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) on Oct. 19, 2023. [Photo courtesy of Science Fiction World]



At night, the winners of the 34th Galaxy Awards - China's oldest sci-fi accolade, initiated in 1985 by Science Fiction World magazine - were announced. A total of 15 awards were presented, including those for best novella and best short story. Winners included "Descartes' Evil Genius" by Fractal Orange, "A Story Related to the Story" by Zhang Xiao, "Invisible Cloud" by Kong Xinwei, and "On the Razor's Edge" by Jiang Bo, who were also contenders for the Hugo Awards. South Korean Kim Choyeop received the award for most popular foreign sci-fi writer, while Chun Xi won best translation for Choyeop's "If We Can't Go at the Speed of Light."

The Galaxy Awards also introduced a new category to recognize individuals promoting Chinese sci-fi on the international stage. The inaugural award went to Francesco Verso, an Italian sci-fi writer and publisher. The China (Chengdu) International SF Convention's Medal for Global Exchange Merit was bestowed upon 14 international sci-fi industry practitioners, including Osamu Iwakami, Ken Liu, Vincent Docherty, and Neil Clarke.
11:15

Visuals of flattened buildings, debris, and scorched ground in Gaza have caused immense psychological trauma to Talib, a Palestinian student in India, who is constantly worried about the well-being of his family members back home and barely able to concentrate on studies.





Running out of money, the 31-year-old also had to cut down on the 'quality and quantity' of his meals.





"I haven't been able to read or write a single sentence ever since the war started. I am experiencing mental stress and haven't slept properly in a while," Talib told PTI.





Unable to get in touch with anyone back home, Talib said he doesn't know if his family members are alive.





"It's a helpless feeling and a difficult situation to be in," he said.





"I have become conscious about spending money, even on food. Instead of three meals, I eat two meals now and have to compromise on their quality and quantity, " he added.





Eager to return home, Talib said he is praying for the war to end soon.





The latest Israel-Palestine conflict has been triggered by the unprecedented and multi-pronged attacks against Israel by Hamas militants on October 7.





Israel has launched a massive counter-offensive in Gaza to avenge the attacks.





According to the Gaza Health Ministry, over 3,300 people have been killed and over 12,000 wounded in Gaza since the conflict began.





Aliah, another Palestinian student, had completed her degree course and was planning to return home when the war erupted.





Ever since losing contact with her family, she has been suffering constant panic attacks.





Aliah said the Palestine Embassy has not provided any aid to the students in India and several of them are struggling to survive on their own.





"The Palestine Embassy in India has not provided us with any kind of support or inquired about our well-being," Aliah, who has been staying with her friends, alleged.





A similar experience was shared by Farook, who said he is left with barely enough money to survive one more week.





However, he said some of his peers and teachers have supported him.





The Palestinian students also said the ongoing conflict has hampered their relationships with some students who are 'pro-Israel'.





"There are several students who support us, but there is a section that supports Israel. Our ties have been severed because of this," Farooq, who is studying at a leading university in Delhi, said.





Several Palestinian students in India have completed their courses and are waiting to return home once the Rafah crossing, the sole route connecting Gaza to Egypt, is opened.





Currently, the crossing is open only for aid deliveries to Gaza.





(Names of the students are changed to protect identity). -- Sugandha Jha/PTI
Actor Emily Blunt is under fire for a resurfaced interview in which she referred to a Chili's waitress as "enormous", according to Page Six. The actress, 40, was a guest on the UK's 'The Jonathan Ross Show' in September 2012 when she decided to share a story about how she dined at one of the chain restaurant's locations in Louisiana while filming the film 'Looper'. "The girl who was serving me was enormous," Blunt told the namesake host. "I think she got freebie meals at Chili's." According to Page Six, though Ross, 62, chimed in to note that there's "nothing wrong with that," he had previously quipped that "when you go to Chili's, you can see why so many of [their] American friends are enormous." Mimicking the server's Southern drawl, Blunt said the woman asked her, "Did anyone ever tell you you look a lot like Emily Blunt?" "And I said, 'I have heard that, yes,'" she recalled responding, to which the staffer then asked, "Are you Emily Blunt?" The 'Devil Wears Prada' actor claimed that after the woman verified her identity, the woman exclaimed, "What are y'all doing here?!" with enthusiasm. The 2012 interview clip has reappeared on the internet, and many Twitter (now X) users are upset with Emily Blunt. She's been labelled "fatphobic," which means she made fun of or disrespected someone because of their size. "Emily Blunt being blatantly fatphobic wasn't on my 2023 bingo card but here we are," one critic posted alongside a clip of the moment. "Scratch her off my crush list.???," "JFC Emily, we were rooting for you too. Smh," "Why would she described [sic] her like that? That was so unnecessary" and "its so easy to tell when people honestly believe waitstaff are below them/lesser members of society" were just some of the remarks that followed. The 'Oppenheimer' star has since released a statement, telling Page Six her "jaw was on the floor" when she watched a video of her appearance. "I'm appalled that I would say something so insensitive, hurtful and unrelated to whatever story I was trying to tell on a talk show," Blunt lamented, reported Page Six. (ANI)
Prosenjit wore a white kurta. He accessorised his look with black sunglasses.

The eighth day of the Navratri festival is dedicated to the eighth form of Maa Durga - Maa Mahagauri, a symbol of purity, serenity, and tranquillity.

The festival of Navratri honours the defeat of the demonic Mahishasura and the triumph of good over evil. The 10th day of Sharad Navratri is celebrated as Dussehra or Vijaya Dashami.

Meanwhile, Prosenjit is mostly known for his work in Bengali films. He is the son of famous Bollywood actor Biswajit Chatterjee.

Prosenjit began his acting career as a child actor in Hrishikesh Mukherjee's 'Chotto Jigyasa,' for which he received the Bengal Film Journalists' Association - Most Outstanding Work of the Year Award. Following that, he appeared in numerous films as a child actor.

He made his Bollywood debut in David Dhawan's 'Aandhiyan.' Apart from a string of other films, he began creating middle-of-the-road cinema with 'Chokher Bali,' which starred Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in her maiden Bengali film and was a critical and economic hit upon release.

He worked with Rituparno Ghosh on Dosar, for which he got the Best Actor Award and the National Film Award - Special Jury Award/Special Mention (Feature Film).

Prosenjit worked with Ghosh again in 2009 for Shob Charitro Kalponik, which starred Bipasha Basu on her Bengali debut and won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali. (ANI)
The Indian Army on Sunday paid tribute to Agniveer Gawate Akshay Laxman, an operator who lost his life in the service of duty amid the treacherous terrains of the Siachen glacier. The Indian Army's Fire and Fury Corps offered its deepest condolences to the bereaved family. "Quartered in snow silent to remain, when the bugle calls, they shall rise and march again. All ranks of Fire and Fury Corps salute the supreme sacrifice of Agniveer (Operator) Gawate Akshay Laxman, in the line of duty, in the unforgiving heights of Siachen, and offer deepest condolences to the family," the Fire and Fury Corps posted on X. The Indian Army in a message on social media post said it stands firm with the bereaved family in this hour of grief. "General Manoj Pande COAS and All Ranks of the Indian Army salute the supreme sacrifice of Agniveer (Operator) Gawate Akshay Laxman, in the line of duty, in the unforgiving heights of Siachen. The Indian Army stands firm with the bereaved family in this hour of grief," the Indian Army said in a message on its official account on X. Earlier in June, one Army jawan died while three soldiers sustained injuries in a fire accident in the Siachen glacier, as per the Army. An Army spokesperson said that Regiment Medical Officer Capt Anshuman Singh succumbed to serious burn injuries during the unfortunate incident. While three other personnel suffered smoke inhalation and second-degree burns, the officials added Siachen Glacier is known as the highest-altitude battle site in the world and is situated near the Indo-Pak Line of Control. It is the largest glacier in India and the second-largest in the world. It is the highest battleground on earth. (ANI
Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar warned the party MLAs and leaders against speaking to the media about the internal discussions in the party. Shivakumar's reaction came in the backdrop of Assembly Chief Whip Ashok Pattana's recent comments about the "cabinet reshuffle after two and a half years" and Minister Satish Jarakiholi's comments that Shivakumar is not the only leader who brought the Congress to power in Karnataka. "Whatever the internal issues of the party and the government are, MLAs can discuss it with the chief minister and me. But he should not speak in front of the media for any reason," DK Shivakumar told reporters here. "The party workers, we, you, the people of the state have brought the Congress to power. I will never say today, tomorrow, hereafter, that DK Shivakumar alone brought it to power," he added. When asked about Assembly Chief Whip Ashok Pattana's comment about cabinet reshuffling Shivakumar said, " Some issues are being discussed internally in the party. I cannot say that openly. I am not going to discuss it. According to the information I have, no such discussion has taken place." Shivakumar added that no Congress MLA should speak publicly about the cabinet reshuffling and other internal issues of the party. In a recent statement, MLA Ashok Pattan from Bengaluru expressed his views on the idea of a cabinet change after two and a half years. Emphasizing his seniority with three terms as an MLA, he urged party leaders to consider those who work diligently for the party for ministerial positions. Pattan also claimed that the AICC general secretary in charge of the State Randeep Singh Surjewala and senior leaders had given him an assurance that he would be inducted into the Cabinet considering his seniority and loyalty to the party. (ANI)
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday inaugurated Mission Mahila Sarathi and congratulated the UP Transport Department for achieving the milestone. Yogi Adityanath inaugurated Mission Mahila Sarathi and flagged off 51 BS VI buses. While inaugurating Mission Mahila Sarathi, CM Yogi said, "The Uttar Pradesh Transport Department is considered to be the backbone of transportation in the state. Be it a village or city, people used to travel by buses of the Transport Department. Congratulations to the transport department for achieving this milestone." "Today is Maha Ashtami of the Shardiya Navratri festival. We worship the eighth form of Maa Durga - Maa Mahagauri, on this day. There could not be a better day than this to inaugurate Mission Mahila Sarathi," CM Yogi added. The Chief Minister also informed that work has been started to construct bus stations on the lines of the airport and the state will soon introduce electric buses. "Now bus stations will be made on the lines of the airport. Construction work for the same has already been started. Moreover, we are also going towards electric buses," he said. Earlier in the day, Yogi Adityanath also offered prayers at the Devkali temple in Ayodhya. Meanwhile, on Saturday, Yogi visited the Ram Janmabhoomi complex in Ayodhya and reviewed the progress of ongoing construction work and said that Ram temple is on track to meet its scheduled inauguration deadline in January next year. "We are trying to finish most of the projects before Deepotsav. A moment full of pride will come for the state and country when, in January 2024, the Prime Minister will establish Lord Ram in a grand temple," said the UP CM. Expressing his delight over the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, he said, "A new and grand Ayodhya will be seen by the country and the whole world. We have started preparations for it. Its first rehearsal will be seen on Deepotsav. All the departments have started their work on a war footing." The construction work at the Ram temple is underway to meet the deadline for its scheduled inauguration in January next year. CM Yogi Adityanath visited Ayodhya on Saturday, where he received a warm welcome at Ramkatha Park. (ANI)
Reacting to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's allegation that the previous Uddhav Thackeray government helped "drug kingpin" Lalit Patil, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray faction) leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday asked the former to "strengthen" his intelligence. Raut said, "Tell Fadnavis (Devendra Fadnavis) to strengthen his intelligence, otherwise there will be a 'Hamas-like' situation". "...This man (Lalit Patil) has no relation with Shiv Sena. There is a man called Dadaji Bhuse in your cabinet. He had brought that man into Shiv Sena and called him his 'khaas aadmi'. He had said that the man was going to BJP but he brought him here...He never became a member of the Shiv Sena", Raut said while speaking to the media in Mumbai. "Tell Fadnavis to strengthen his Intelligence otherwise, there will be a 'Hamas-like' situation. Even Israel thought its Intelligence was strong...You too think that your Intelligence is strong but you don't know what goes on behind your back..." he added. Earlier on Friday, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis accused the Uddhav Thackeray government of helping drug kingpin Lalit Patil who was arrested on Tuesday after his escape on October 2 from Pune's Sassoon General Hospital. Fadnavis alleged that when Uddhav Thackeray's government was in power the public prosecutor did not oppose Lalit Patil's stay in hospital. He also said that Lalit Patil was made Nashik District Chief of Shiv Sena by Uddhav Thackeray. "Shivsena of Uddhav Thackeray had made him(Lalit Patil) Nashik city president. When he was arrested his Police custody was sought. When he was sent to Police custody, he was admitted to Sassoon Hospital and the prosecutor of that time didn't even oppose his Hospital stay. And after 14 days he was sent to judicial custody. So when he was arrested, he was not even interrogated by police. How will the case proceed?" Fadnavis asked. Lalit Patil was behind the multi-crore mephedrone racket that was busted by the Pimpri-Chinchwad police in 2020. He was arrested from Chennai on Tuesday night. Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said that the arrest of Lalit Patil by the Mumbai police will reveal "a big nexus" in the State. Pune Police arrested two women from Nashik on Thursday in connection with the Lalit Patil drug mafia case and produced them before the Pune Sessions Court which sent them to police custody till October 23. Police detained both the female accused on Wednesday evening and presented them before the court on Thursday. (ANI)
Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Ghanshyam Tiwari on Sunday affirmed that the mission of the INDIA bloc is far bigger than the issues. "INDIA is an alliance of parties on equal footing. It is an alliance of parties that have formidable support and leaders who have stood up for the people. This will face issues in finding agreement on issues, but the mission of the alliance is bigger than these issues the alliance partners may find. These issues will be set aside", Tiwari said while speaking to ANI here in the national capital. Earlier, tension rose within the INDIA bloc as Congress's Uttar Pradesh unit chief Ajay Rai asked the SP to withdraw from MP in favour of the grand old party as the Akhilesh Yadav-led party, he said, did not have any base there. Ajay Rai said, "If you (Akhilesh Yadav) are a part of the INDIA alliance, then you will have to see what the situation is in each state. In Madhya Pradesh, there is a fight between Congress and the BJP, so SP should be supportive (to Congress). They had only one MLA and there he also joined the BJP." In this response, the Samajwadi Party (SP) President slammed Congress leader Ajay Rai for suggesting the SP should support his party in the upcoming Madhya Pradesh Assembly election. Akhilesh Yadav, upset over Congress "turning its back" on seat-sharing in Madhya Pradesh, said, "I want to tell the Congress, don't talk about our party through your 'Chirkut' leaders." He further said he was unaware of the fact that the INDIA bloc has been formed at the national level to defeat the BJP and the alliance partners are not fighting together at the state level. Meanwhile, SP leader Ghanshyam Tiwari also spoke on UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's remarks on the under-construction Ram Temple in Ayodhya. "Uttar Pradesh is the largest state in the country with the largest number of unemployed youth. If the CM is completely concerned about one project, and setting aside the fact that youth are unemployed, people are reeling under poverty, and there is danger of the state acting atrociously against the citizens, with related incidents being reported every day, it shows that the focus of CM not on day to day lives of citizens focuses on showcase projects", Tiwari said. "I wish him all the best for the 'showcase project but he should also focus on the agendas and policies that affect the day-to-day lives of the citizens", he added. Earlier, the Uttar Pradesh CM on Saturday visited the Ram Janmabhoomi complex in Ayodhya and reviewed the progress of ongoing construction work and said that Ram temple is on track to meet its scheduled inauguration deadline in January next year. "We are trying to finish most of the projects before Deepotsav. A moment full of pride will come for the state and country when, in January 2024, the Prime Minister will establish Lord Ram in a grand temple," said the UP CM. Also, reacting to the alleged 'cash for query' scam, Ghanshyam Tiwari said, "An alliance of Ravan, Shakuni, Duryodhan, and Dushashan, are working against women who stand fearlessly against a government who have given benefits to its favourite businessmen. They are going pillar to post to bring down Mahua Moitra demonstrating that they are afraid and chicken-hearted. It is these people who were defeated and in today's India too, they will be defeated". The Ethics Committee of the Lower House is looking into 'alleged' cash for query allegation against Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra. Earlier, in his letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, under the head "Re-emergence of nasty 'Cash for Query' in Parliament", BJP MP Nishikant Dubey accused the TMC member of "serious Breach of Privilege", "Contempt of the House" and a "criminal offence under Section 120A of IPC". In his complaint with the Lokpal, Dubey alleged that Moitra received Rs 2 crores in cash from businessman Darshan Hiranandani both in Indian and foreign currencies in lieu of posing questions in Parliament. He alleged further the businessman used the Lok Sabha logging credentials of the TMC MP while she was travelling abroad. Meanwhile, on Friday, Hiranandani submitted a "sworn" and notarised affidavit to the Ethics Committee of Lok Sabha. The accused Dubai-based businessman, who later turned approver in the matter, alleged that the TMC MP provided him with her "Parliament login and password" so that he "could post questions directly on her behalf when required". In her response to the affidavit, Moitra said earlier that it was "on white paper and not an official letterhead". "The affidavit is on white paper and not on official letterhead or notarized. Why would one of India's most respected/educated businessmen sign a letter like this on white paper unless a gun was put on his head to do it?" she posted on X. (ANI)
Among the glittering stars of the science fiction genre, a new luminary emerged. During the Hugo Awards ceremony, the pinnacle of global science fiction accolades held on Saturday evening in Chengdu, Sichuan province, Chinese author Hai Ya claimed the Best Novelette award for his piece, "The Space-Time Painter."

Chinese sci-fi writer Hai Ya receives the Best Novelette award from Liu Cixin, China's predominant sci-fi writer, at the Hugo Awards ceremony held in Chengdu, Sichuan province, Oct. 21, 2023. [Photo courtesy of Chengdu Worldcon]

"From the time I received the notification from the organizing committee about my nomination until now, it all feels surreal," Hai Ya remarked, accepting the award from Liu Cixin, the 2015 Hugo Award winner for "The Three-Body Problem."

Hai, 30, has been an avid sci-fi enthusiast since childhood and began writing science fiction at university. Now, he works in the bustling financial sector of Shenzhen, balancing his passion and his profession. "I have a very regular and busy job in a big city, confronting daily realities. Yet every time I leave the office, I gaze at the stars. In Chengdu, my worldly and ideal worlds merge, and my dream has become a reality."

The author is the third Chinese writer to clinch this esteemed accolade, succeeding Liu Cixin and Hao Jingfang (who won the Best Novelette award in 2016 for "Folding Beijing"). "The Space-Time Painter," presented by the Chinese sci-fi brand Eight Light Minutes Culture, crafts a historical sci-fi narrative revolving around Wang Ximeng, the ingenious artist responsible for the renowned landscape scroll "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains" from the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127). The story re-envisions the inception of this iconic painting and the subsequent political intrigue of the royal court. Leveraging the contemporary allure of "restoring relics in the Forbidden City," the plot masterfully intertwines Chinese traditional culture, history, intrigue, and science fiction.

Chinese computer graphics artist Zhao Enzhe speaks as he receives the Best Professional Artist award at the Hugo Awards ceremony held in Chengdu, Sichuan province, Oct. 21, 2023. [Photo courtesy of Chengdu Worldcon]

Hai wasn't the only standout at the Hugo Awards. Renowned computer graphics artist Zhao Enzhe also secured the Best Professional Artist award. With over two decades in the gaming industry, Zhao has nurtured a strong passion for sci-fi-themed creations. His illustrations, which often depict future cityscapes and grand starships, embody a hardcore sci-fi aesthetic. This distinctive, masterful style has won him both the Galaxy Awards and the Chinese Nebula Awards. Zhao has expressed his ambition to elevate sci-fi art imbued with Eastern philosophy to a global audience. He has also created cover art for China's Science Fiction World magazine, a top sci-fi publication worldwide.

"I made a vow years ago that I would dedicate myself to sci-fi arts for China and the world," Zhao said upon accepting his award.

RiverFlow, chief editor and founder of Zero Gravity Newspaper, speaks as he accepts the Best Professional Artist award, while his collaborating partner Ling Shizhen is in tears at the Hugo Awards ceremony held in Chengdu, Sichuan province, Oct. 21, 2023. [Photo courtesy of Chengdu Worldcon]

Another emotional moment arose when RiverFlow, the founder and editor, and his collaborating partner, Ling Shizhen, won the Best Fanzine award for their Zero Gravity Newspaper. Launched in July 2020, the online fanzine was established with the intent to curate folk materials and cater to the Zero Gravity sci-fi fan community. Over time, its readership has broadened to include university sci-fi groups and official sci-fi organizations. The publication primarily offers non-fiction sci-fi content that hasn't appeared in print publications. Its range includes current affairs commentary, historical research, data collation, interviews, novel and film reviews, translations of sci-fi culture, and contributions penned by dedicated sci-fi enthusiasts.

At 20 years old and still in university, RiverFlow revealed he had chronic illnesses that caused him significant pain. Diving into the sci-fi community and contributing to Chinese sci-fi fans became not only his gratitude gesture to his supporters but also a refuge from his pain. His heartfelt revelation elicited both cheers and tears from the audience. Later, a visibly emotional Ling Shizhen dedicated the award to his late father on stage.

"This Hugo Award also belongs to all the contributors to our fanzine. I wish other sci-fi fanzines continued success, and I hope more sci-fi fans will pay attention to and engage in community building. We still have a lot of work to do," RiverFlow said.

A musical performance is staged at the Hugo Awards ceremony held in Chengdu, Sichuan province, Oct. 21, 2023. [Photo courtesy of Chengdu Worldcon]

In this year's Hugo Awards, Chinese finalists featured prominently in numerous categories. In the Best Short Story category, four Chinese works stood out: "On the Razor's Edge" by Jiang Bo, "Resurrection" by Ren Qing, "The White Cliff" by Lu Ban, and "Zhurong on Mars" by Regina Kanyu Wang. Additionally, "Chinese Science Fiction: An Oral History, Volume 1" by Yang Feng was nominated for Best Related Work. Yang, founder and CEO of Chinese sci-fi brand Eight Light Minutes Culture, also received a nomination in the Best Editor, Short Form category. Yao Haijun, a Chinese sci-fi publisher, was nominated for Best Editor, Long Form, alongside fellow Chinese nominees Chen Ruoxi and Yan Huan. Chinese artists Zhang Jian, Kuri Huang, and Sija Hong were all nominated for the Best Professional Artist award.

The Hugo Awards, first presented in 1953 and given annually since 1955, are science fiction's premier accolades. Voted on by the World Science Fiction Convention members, this year saw 1,847 valid nominating ballots for the 2023 awards. For the first time, the awards were both voted on and presented in China, attracting global participation and an unprecedented number of non-English speaking member votes.

Interlaced with musical performances and a poignant "Remember Me" tribute to late sci-fi figures, the award ceremony also presented other notable awards. "Nettle & Bone" by T. Kingfisher won Best Novel, "Where the Drowned Girls Go" by Seanan McGuire took Best Novella, and "Rabbit Test" by Samantha Mills secured Best Short Story. The "Children of Time" series was recognized as Best Series, while "Cyberpunk 2077: Big City Dreams" garnered Best Graphic Story or Comic. Significantly, the Oscar-winning film "Everything Everywhere All at Once," infused with Chinese elements, claimed the Best Dramatic Presentation (Long Form) award, outshining sci-fi heavyweights such as "Avatar: The Way of Water" and "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever."

Winners, organizers, and guests pose for a group photo at the end of the Hugo Awards ceremony held in Chengdu, Sichuan province, Oct. 21, 2023. [Photo courtesy of Chengdu Worldcon]

The World Science Fiction Convention, held annually since 1939 (with exceptions from 1942 to 1945 due to World War II), will conclude on Sunday, with the Hugo Awards as the evident climax. This event marks the first time that the world's largest and longest-running sci-fi gathering has been hosted in China.

Hugo Awards winners list:




The Delhi High Court has recently directed the Central Government, Directorate of Health Service and Safdarjung Hospital to release Rs 50 Lakh to the widow of a security guard who died on duty during the COVID-19 pandemic when he was deployed in the hospital. Justice Subramonium Prasad said that the widow is entitled to the benefit of "Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package: Insurance scheme announced by the Centre for health workers fighting COVID-19". The bench also said, "The narrow and pedantic stand taken by the Central Government cannot be accepted that the scheme is not applicable to the deceased as he was not deployed for the care of Covid patient." "Taking such a narrow view actually goes against the spirit of the Scheme which was meant to provide immediate relief to persons who were tackling the situation and were protecting the lives of thousands of patients," Justice Prasad pointed out. "The Scheme was actually brought out as a measure to benefit the family members of persons who became martyrs in the line of duty while protecting thousands of persons affected by COVID-19 pandemic," Justice Prasad said in the judgement passed on October 18. Justice Prasad observed that the Scheme has been brought out as a social welfare scheme and application of such schemes are not to be put in Procrustean beds or shrunk to Lilliputian dimensions. He added that Welfare Schemes must necessarily receive a broad interpretation. Where Scheme is designed to give relief, the Court should not be inclined to make etymological excursions. The high court said that a normal person would never know that there is a special Covid-19 ward and his normal reaction would be to approach either the OPD desk or the casualty of the hospital to meet the Doctor. "At that point of time, to streamline the queue, the services of the security guards were availed. The security guards were also directing the people to the departments where the patients have to approach in order to get themselves treated," the court said. The bench observed that it cannot be said that the late husband of the Petitioner herein, who died of Covid-19 which he may have contracted in the Hospital, was not in direct contact with the Covid-19 patients. Widow of a Security Guard deployed in Safdarjung Hospital during Covid-19 Pandemic who lost his life during the Covid-19 Pandemic in line of duty, has approached the High Court. She had claimed the benefit of an insurance package announced by the Central Government under the"Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package: Insurance scheme for health workers fighting COVID-19". She had also claimed the benefits of the Scheme announced by the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of NCT for grant of ex-gratia compensation of Rs.1 crore to the families of the employees who died of Covid-19 while on Covid-19 duty. It was stated by Petitioner's counsels that her husband late Dilip Kumar, was working as a Security Guard and was deployed at the Hospital's OPD Building where he contracted Covid-19 and passed away on June 14, 2020. It was stated that he was brought dead to the hospital. Advocate Rubinder Ghumman and Anu Mehta contended that petitioner is entitled to the benefit of "Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package: Insurance scheme for health workers fighting COVID-19" announced by the Central Government and also to the benefits of the Scheme announced by the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of NCT for grant of ex-gratia compensation of Rs 1 crore to the families of the employees, including any person attending Covid-19 patients including Doctor, Nurse, Para-Medical Staff, Sweeper, or any other staff, whether temporary or permanent employee in Government of Private Sector, who died of Covid-19 while on Covid-19 duty. The court noted that there was a shift in the stand of the State Government and it has restricted the scope of its scheme to only such persons who were deployed by the Government of NCT of Delhi. The same stand has been reiterated in its decision dated July 27, 2020. The court said that it was not inclined to extend the benefit of the Scheme announced by the Delhi government by passing a writ. However, it took note of the circular dated July 27, 2020, that the Administrative Departments of the deceased can send the names of those persons who have passed away by contracting the disease during discharge of their duties for payment of an ex-gratia of amount of One Crore, posthumously along with necessary documents. The high court directed the Medical Superintendent, Safdarjung Hospital to send the above-mentioned documents of the late husband of the Petitioner to the GNCTD and upon receipt of these documents, the GNCTD is directed to examine the case of the late husband of the Petitioner sympathetically keeping in mind the fact that the Petitioner's husband has lost his life in the line of duty. (ANI)
Earlier in the day, Thakur took to 'X' and extended greetings on the occasion.

"On the eighth day of Sharad Navratri, I salute Maa Mahagauri and wish you all a very happy Durga Puja. May the grace of Mother Goddess bring happiness and fortune in your lives. Jai Mata Di', he wrote in a post on 'X'.

https://twitter.com/ianuragthakur/status/1715952481409409315

On Saturday, the Union Minister arrived in Himachal Pradesh's Bilaspur as the chief guest at the district-level Youth Festival, 2023.

The event was organised at the Multipurpose Cultural Building in Bilaspur on Saturday

Meanwhile, the nation is steeped in the celebration of Navratri as it has entered its eighth day today.

From organising 'aarti' to establishing 'Durga Pandals', people from across the country are displaying devotion and dedication towards Goddess Durga.

Earlier today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also extended greetings on the occasion of 'Maha Ashtami'.

Taking to 'X, PM Modi wrote, "Today is the holy day of special worship of Mother Mahagauri. It is a request to the Mother Goddess, who is compassionate and infallibly fruitful, to bless all her devotees and provide them with welfare".

https://x.com/narendramodi/status/1715934668217078115?s=20

The eighth day of the Navratri festival is dedicated to the eighth form of Maa Durga - Maa Mahagauri, a symbol of purity, serenity, and tranquillity.

The festival of Navratri honours the defeat of the demonic Mahishasura and the triumph of good over evil. The 10th day of Sharad Navratri is celebrated as Dussehra or Vijaya Dashami. (ANI)
Ahead of the Rajasthan assembly election, Lokesh Sharma, the officer on Special Duty (OSD) to the Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot met Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Sunday in Jaipur. After meeting with the former Deputy CM Pilot, OSD Lokesh Sharma said that Sachin Pilot is a senior leader and he met him seeking his guidance and suggestions for the upcoming assembly polls in the state. "Sachin Pilot is a senior leader. The party has made me the co-chairman of the Central War Room, hence I have come here to seek guidance and suggestions from him. His suggestions would help us to improve so that we can contest the election with full strength and preparation," Sharma told ANI. When asked about whether he's contesting the elections or not, Sharma said that every active member wants to contest the election, however, the party will decide who will contest or not. "Every active worker of the Congress Party wants to contest the elections and I also wish for the same but it is for the party to decide from where I will be given the opportunity," the co-chairman of the Central War Room said. Meanwhile, the Congress on Saturday announced its first list of 33 candidates for the November 25 Assembly elections. CM Ashok Gehlot has been named the Congress candidate from the Sardarpura constituency while his former deputy Sachin Pilot will his nomination papers from the Tonk constituency. Govind Singh Dotasra, a sitting minister and president of Rajasthan Congress Committee will contest the polls from Lachhmangarh. Senior Congress leader and Assembly Speaker, CP Joshi, will contest from the Nathdwara seat while Divya Maderna and sitting minister Ashok Chandna will file their nominations from the Osian and Hindoli seats respectively. Minister for Child Empowerment, Mamta Bhupesh, will contest from the Sikrai-SC seat. The Congress came out tops in the last Assembly polls in 2018, bagging 99 seats in the 200-member Assembly to emerge as the largest single party. The BJP finished a close second at 73 seats. The counting of votes for Rajasthan, along with four other poll-bound states, has been scheduled for December 3. (ANI)
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, on Sunday, said that the double engine government of the Centre and the state is delivering on the promise of 'Har Haath ko Kaam, Har Haath ko Rozgar' by creating ample employment opportunities in the state, said an official statement from UP government on Sunday. Speaking at the mega Rozgar Mela organized at the Madan Mohan Malviya Technological University campus, CM Yogi said that today Uttar Pradesh abounds with employment opportunities, advising the youths to opt for a field of their interest and prepare themselves by engaging in training. He added that the government would guarantee their jobs, added the statement. The Chief Minister also distributed appointment letters to the newly recruited employed trainees and loans worth Rs 500 crore for self-employment on the occasion. The program was organized jointly by the Uttar Pradesh Skill Development Mission, Labor and Employment Department and Government ITI. CM Yogi said that when Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay had given the slogan of 'work for every hand, water for every field', it appeared an impossible target. However, post-2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has turned it into reality and the double-engine government is providing employment opportunities to every individual without any discrimination, he asserted. He added, "PM Modi has enabled a corruption-free system by opening Jan Dhan accounts, transferring funds through DBT and connecting villages with Digital India. Through Make in India, Startup India, Standup India, Mudra Yojana, Vishwakarma Yojana, employment opportunities and self-employment have been promoted for the youth across the country." CM Yogi said that the youths who came to the Rozgar Mela, but were not able to get employment due to some reason, would be linked to the PM-CM Internship Scheme under which they would receive training in addition to stipend. The government would cover half of the stipend, while the remaining half will be contributed by the relevant industry. After receiving training in the industry, the youths will get employment and the society and country will benefit from their energy and talent, CM Yogi stated. The Chief Minister congratulated those who got placement through the Rozgar Mela, and told those who were not selcted to not to get disappointed. The Chief Minister remarked: "Keep the spirit of hard work, choose the field of your interest, acquire relevant training and the government will ensure your job." Extending best wishes to everyone for Ashtami, Navami, and Vijayadashami during Shardiya Navratri, the Chief Minister prayed to Bhagwati and Lord Ram to fulfill the wishes of all. He pointed out that the state had struggled to attract investments in the past, but today, it has attracted investment proposals of Rs 38 lakh crore. These investments hold the promise of generating job opportunities for around 1.10 crore young individuals. When the youth gets trained as per industry requirements, they can easily get employed in their own state and district. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath highlighted the remarkable success of the ODOP scheme in Uttar Pradesh, pointing out that when the ODOP initiative was launched, many considered traditional craft industries to be outdated. However, the state government's approach of integrating these industries, which are the living heritage of our ancestors, with modern technology, effective branding, and robust marketing, resulted in the creation of 40 lakh jobs within this sector during the lockdown", he informed. CM Yogi said that during the challenging times of the lockdown, the government ensured the safe return of people from other states to their homes in Uttar Pradesh and also provided them with employment opportunities. Many individuals who returned to Uttar Pradesh have since been contributing to the state's economy. State's economy has grown in proportion to the number of people who returned, whereas the economies of the states they left were negatively impacted by a corresponding percentage, he further informed. The Chief Minister highlighted that only three crore tourists used to visit the state annually in the past. Presently, this number has surged to 32 crores. There is the need to recognize the potential and impact of this growth. He emphasized that the tourism sector is a vital source of employment. It generates job opportunities for individuals involved in various aspects of the industry, such as taxis, restaurants, hotels, as well as vendors selling prasad and flower garlands. CM Yogi informed that, in his presence, 450 homestays have been registered in Ayodhya, while there is a plan to increase this number to over 1500. Homestays not only offer lodging options but also create employment opportunities. Additionally, young people can find work as tourist guides at these popular destinations", he pointed out. Furthermore, he noted that collecting flowers and leaves used at religious tourist sites and utilizing them to create incense sticks and perfumes can open up new avenues for employment. This process would not only generate jobs but also exemplify the transformation of waste materials into valuable products, representing a form of sustainable and resourceful innovation. CM Yogi Adityanath expressed the belief that no one is inherently ineligible, and if someone appears to be lacking in certain areas, it likely signifies a need for proper guidance. He underscored the importance of the Rozgar Mela, which involved 125 companies offering around 34,000 job vacancies, as a platform for capable recruitment. He encouraged the youth to persistently strive for their goals, emphasizing that the government is committed to provide them opportunities to progress. In line with this commitment, the state government is actively engaged in equipping the youth with technical competence by distributing tablets and smartphones to two crore youth. On this occasion, the Chief Minister, while mentioning the flow of Mission Rozgar till village level, said, "In view of the need of 1.08 lakh plumbers under Jal Jeevan Mission and plumbers for PNG pipeline, arrangements are being made to provide employment by training them." Highlighting the growing self-reliance of women, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath acknowledged the increasing leadership roles that daughters are assuming in various fields. In Ayodhya, he inaugurated 51 buses, and notably, all of these buses are operated by women as drivers and conductors. Women are breaking barriers by becoming fighter pilots. Additionally, many women are boosting their household income by participating in initiatives like BC Sakhi, engaging in the readymade garments and carpet industry, while efficiently managing their homes and families, the Chief Minister said. Chief Minister informed that in 56,000 villages across the state, women are earning between 15,000 to 25,000 rupees monthly as BC Sakhi, which further illustrates the economic and social empowerment of women in Uttar Pradesh. He praised Baroda UP Bank for distributing loans worth Rs 500 crore for self-employment and called upon the bank authorities to increase the CD ratio i.e. loan to bank deposits and provide loans by linking the schemes with training so that employment and self-employment can be further promoted. On this occasion, the Chief Minister visited the stalls of financial awareness, financial inclusion, women volunteer groups, bankers, NSDC, labor and employment etc. set up near the venue of the program. He presented appointment letters to 20 youths who were appointed on different posts in various big companies on an annual package of lakhs. Additionally, he also distributed loans from various schemes to six beneficiaries on behalf of Baroda UP Bank for self-employment. During this, the Chief Minister also encouraged those who got appointment letters and those who got loans for self-employment. (ANI)
Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, and actress Kangana Ranaut will grace the iconic Lav Kush Ramlila at Red Fort ground, in Delhi for Ravan Dahan. Arjun Kumar, President, Lav Kush Ramleela Committee, said, "This year, along with the effigies of Ravana, Kumbhakarna, and Meghnath, effigies of anti-Sanatan forces will also be burned in Delhi." Usually, the Prime Minister of the country does the Ravan Dahan but since this year PM Narendra Modi is busy with elections, the Lav Kush Ramlila committee has decided to invite them. "Due to the complete ban on firecrackers, this year Ravana will be burned with grass, and soundtracks from previous years' Ravana Dahan will be played on speakers as an alternative sound of firecrackers," he added. Earlier in September, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said manufacturing, storage, sale, online delivery, and bursting of any type of firecrackers are completely prohibited in Delhi. "CM Arvind Kejriwal has decided that firecrackers should be banned on the occasion of Diwali to control pollution. Manufacturing, storage, sale, online delivery, and bursting of any type of firecrackers is completely prohibited in Delhi. Police have been directed to issue a circular on behalf of the DPCC (Delhi Pollution Control Committee) stating that no licence is issued. As important as it is to celebrate a festival, it is equally important to look after the environment. That is why we have been taking this decision in Delhi for the last 2 years, and the people of Delhi are supportive," he told ANI. The Supreme Court had rejected the plea seeking the manufacture, sale, and use of firecrackers containing barium chemicals. The top court also did not intervene in the Delhi government's decision to put a complete ban on the use of firecrackers in the national capital. (ANI)
Dussehra celebrations are all set to take place with great pomp and show in Bihar's Patna. With this, security arrangements have also been made to maintain the law and order in the city amid the festive fervour. The district administration has permitted organisers to hold Dussehra celebrations in the city by adhering to guidelines issued by the state government. Speaking about the security arrangements for 'Ravana Dahan' in Patna's Gandhi Maidan, District Magistrate Chandrashekhar Singh said, "We have made all the arrangements to maintain the law and order, barricading has been done and citizens will be allowed to the maidan from gate no. 5, 7 and 10 and entry for VVIPs will be from gate no.1." "Arrangements for lights have been done, the area will be monitored via CCTV visuals, outside the Gandhi Maidan, patrolling will be done...medical camp will be here, and arrangements for 11 ambulances have been done," the DM added. Vijayadashami, also known as Dussehra is a major Hindu festival celebrated every year at the end of Navaratri. It is observed on the tenth day of the month of Ashvin, the seventh in the Hindu Luni-Solar Calendar. The festival typically falls in the Gregorian calendar months of September and October. Vijayadashami celebrations include processions to a river or oceanfront that involve carrying clay statues of Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesha and Kartikeya, accompanied by music and chants, after which the images are immersed in the water for dissolution and farewell. In other places, towering effigies of Ravana, symbolising evil, are burnt with fireworks, marking evil's destruction. The festival also starts the preparations for Diwali, the important festival of lights, which is celebrated twenty days after Vijayadashami. This year, Dussehra will be celebrated on October 24 (Tuesday). The Dashami Tithi will start from 05:45 PM on October 23, 2023, and will end at 03:14 PM on October 24, 2023. (ANI)
After the air quality in the national capital reached an all-time low and was recorded in the "very poor category" on Sunday afternoon, vehicle-mounted 'anti-smog guns' were used to spray water and reduce air pollution in the metropolitan city. The Delhi government has armed itself with anti-smog guns (ASGs) to combat pollution. ASG was first tested back in 2017. Since then, many have been installed at key locations. Air contaminants are floating due to the changing weather, and ASG workers report "burning sensations in eyes and nose". Residents also feel smothered by the ominous smog. Speaking about the pollution control measure, Sanjeev, the Supervisor of anti-smog gun work said, "We operate the anti-smog guns 4-5 times a day so that there is no inconvenience to the passers-by. This prevents dust from rising up in the air and spreading. We can sense a change in the air. The weather has changed and we can sense a burning sensation in our eyes and nose." The anti-smog guns are used to spray water in an effort to settle dust in areas with poor air quality. Environmentalists question their efficacy, but officials say they are a temporary measure for quick relief. The overall air quality in Delhi was recorded at 302 on Sunday afternoon, as per data from SAFAR-India. In the morning, the overall air quality was recorded in the 'poor category' with an AQI of 266 against 173 recorded on Saturday. According to the latest data from the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), the air quality around Delhi University was recorded at 330 (very poor) at noon, while IGI Terminal T3 in New Delhi was at 313 against 276 in the morning hours. The air quality in the national capital on Friday morning was recorded in the 'moderate' category with an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 149. The overall AQI has increased from 83 on Wednesday to 117 on Thursday. The Air Quality Index is a tool for effective communication of air quality status to people in terms that are easy to understand. There are six AQI categories, namely Good + Satisfactory, Moderately Polluted, Poor, Very Poor, and Severe. Each of these categories is decided based on the ambient concentration values of air pollutants and their likely health impacts (known as health breakpoints). According to the AQI scale, the air quality check between 0 and 50 is "good", 51 and 100 "satisfactory", 101 and 200 "moderate", 201 and 300 "poor", 301 and 400 "very poor", and 401 and 450 "severe". (ANI)
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday said that the UP Transport Corporation is considered the lifeline of transportation within the state. India became independent on August 15, 1947, but the first bus of the corporation started running in May 1947. Since then, the transport corporation has been setting long-distance routes. Now, the transport corporation is making progress and expanding its operations. Bus stations in the state will now be like airports, for which work has already begun, the Chief Minister said. The Chief Minister launched 'Mission Mahila Sarathi' at Saryu Guest House, Ramkatha Park in Ayodhya under the Mission Shakti Abhiyan and flagged off 51 ordinary buses (BS 6). During the event, the Chief Minister said, "There could not be a more appropriate occasion when the date of 'Maha Ashtami' is being linked with Mission Shakti along with the launch of Mission Mahila Sarathi. The initiative seeks to connect and empower women drivers and conductors." Notably, these 51 buses will be operated exclusively by women as drivers and conductors. A short film was also screened during the event. CM Yogi mentioned that technology can bring significant changes to people's lives. We saw the corporation's efficiency during the Prayagraj Kumbh Mela when it successfully managed to transport 24 crore devotees. During the global pandemic of COVID-19, around 40 lakh people from Uttar Pradesh working in different parts of the country became jobless and returned home. The UP Transport Corporation rose to face this challenge. Around 11-12 thousand buses and their drivers and conductors converged at the borders, where they helped all the citizens of UP return to their homes, and people from other states reach the UP border, the Chief Minister said. "The Transport Corporation is your companion in times of crisis, and now, daughters symbolizing Mission Shakti will drive these vehicles as drivers, fulfilling the role of companions", he added. Yogi said that the safety, respect, and self-reliance of women have always been a challenge. That is why Indian society has always believed that where women are respected, their dignity is protected. The UP government has consistently promoted this idea in the fourth phase of Mission Shakti. CM Yogi further siad that so far, more than 1.5 lakh daughters and sisters have been employed in various roles within the Uttar Pradesh police and government. But the dream of having women as drivers and conductors in the Transport Corporation has also been realized. Now, daughters have become fighter pilots too. The Chief Minister mentioned that there used to be shortcomings in buses in the past, but gradually, technology has been adopted. Now, the focus is shifting towards electric buses instead of diesel. There will be a significant increase in electric buses in the Transport Corporation and contracts. These buses will not cause pollution, or noise, and will have better speed than regular buses. "We have allocated Rs 400 crores in this regard. In terms of the perspective of the Kumbh 2025, we still need to buy several buses. For better connectivity, the UP government has formulated an EV policy. Electric buses do not use diesel, petrol, or CNG; they will be charged with electricity. They can travel up to 300 km on a single charge. The government will provide a Rs 20 lakh incentive to individuals buying such buses", the Chief Minister said. He further mentioned that for schools, colleges, transport corporations, and city bus services, if you purchase a bus, the government will provide routes and facilities. The Urban Development and Transport Corporation is preparing charging stations in various locations. This way, we will be able to provide the public with a pollution-free system. The Chief Minister stated that in a few days, the production of electric buses will begin in UP, marking a very important moment for the state. On this occasion, Cabinet and Ayodhya in-charge Minister Surya Pratap Shahi, Minister of State for Transport (Independent Charge) Dayashankar Singh, Mayor Girish Pati Tripathi, MP Lallu Singh, District Panchayat President Roli Singh, MLAs Vedprakash Gupt, Ramchandra Yadav, Legislative Council member Hariom Pandey, BJP District President Sanjeev Singh, Metropolitan President Kamlesh Srivastava, Principal Secretary (Transport) L Venkateshwarlu, Principal Secretary (Home) Sanjay Prasad and others were present. (ANI)
Zhao Leji, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, attends the second plenary meeting of the sixth session of the 14th NPC Standing Committee at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 21, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling)

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, held a plenary meeting on Saturday to hear multiple reports.

Zhao Leji, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, attended the meeting, which was presided over by Li Hongzhong, vice chairman of the committee.

At the meeting, lawmakers heard a report on the enforcement of the Wetlands Protection Law. The report suggested strengthening the protection and restoration of wetlands and improving the supporting rules and regulations in this regard.

Lawmakers heard a report on the enforcement of the Law on Scientific and Technological Progress. The report proposed measures to enhance the implementation of the law, such as accelerating efforts to secure breakthroughs in core technologies in key fields.

The meeting heard a report submitted by the People's Bank of China on the financial work, and reviewed a comprehensive report on the management of state-owned assets for 2022.

Lawmakers also heard two reports on the management of state-owned assets held by financial enterprises.

They reviewed a report concerning the reform of the examination and enrollment system, which suggested efforts to expand high-quality higher education resources and optimize the scale and methods of enrollment in primary and secondary schools, among others.

The meeting also heard work reports on ecological environment and resource conservation presented by the State Council, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, respectively. 




Amid the ongoing global turbulence, India and the US are scheduled to hold the 2+2 meeting in New Delhi around November 9-10. The US Secretary of Defence Lloyd J Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken are scheduled to meet External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in the national capital, government sources told ANI. During the meeting, the leaders are expected to discuss global and regional security issues including the developing situation in the Middle East due to the Israel-Hamas war, they said. The 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue is a diplomatic summit that has been held every year since 2018 initially between the Minister of External Affairs or Foreign Minister, and Defence Minister of India with the Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense of the United States to discuss and work on common issues of concern. India and the US have been holding these dialogues for further strengthening their strategic ties and this would be the fifth edition of these parleys, they said. The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war in Europe is also expected to be discussed along with its repercussions on the region. The ongoing military standoff between india and China has entered its fourth year and has been part of the discussions between the two sides. The US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin is also expected to visit a key Indian military base. During the visit to the US, the Americans, too, had invited the Indian Defence Minister to an important military station. The American side is also expected to push for military hardware cooperation and India is likely to ask for the sharing of high-end technology for developing indigenous weapon systems. India and the US have recently agreed to a USD 3 billion deal for supplying 31 MQ-9B Predator drones to Indian defence forces. The US is also pushing for the sale of six additional P-8I surveillance planes. The US has also been showcasing its bomber aircraft like the B-1 to Indian defence forces in different shows and exercises in recent times . (ANI)
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Sunday shared the onboard video of the Gaganyaan TV-D1 test vehicle that the Indian space agency launched successfully on Saturday. The video captured by the onboard camera showed moments of engine ignition, crew module separation, apex cover separation, and main chute deployment. ISRO successfully conducted the first test flight of the 'TV-D1' (Test Vehicle Development Flight 1) in the Gaganyaan Mission from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Andhra Pradesh's Sriharikota after it was aborted at 8:45 am today due to a problem in the engine ignition. The crew escape system successfully separated the crew module from the launch vehicle. After descending using parachutes, it splashed down successfully in the Bay of Bengal. And then the Indian Navy successfully recovered the crew module. ISRO Chief Somanath informed that the purpose of this mission was to demonstrate the crew escape system. "I am very happy to announce the successful accomplishment of the TV-D1 mission. The purpose of this mission was to demonstrate the crew escape system for the Gaganyaan programme through a test vehicle demonstration in which the vehicle went up to a Mach number, which is slightly above the speed of sound, and initiated an abort condition for the crew escape system to function," he said. The mission objectives of the TV-D1 launch were flight demonstration and evaluation of Test Vehicle subsystems; flight demonstration and evaluation of the crew escape system, including various separation systems; crew module characteristics; and deceleration system demonstration at higher altitudes and its recovery. The Test Vehicle is a single-stage liquid rocket developed for this abort mission. The payloads consist of the Crew Module (CM) and Crew Escape Systems (CES) with their fast-acting solid motors, along with CM fairing (CMF) and Interface Adapters. This flight simulated the abort condition during the ascent trajectory, corresponding to a Mach number of 1.2 encountered in the Gaganyaan mission. This mission represents a significant milestone in India's effort to demonstrate that it is possible to send humans into space. The Gaganyaan project envisages a demonstration of human spaceflight capability by launching a crew of three members into an orbit of 400 km for a 3-day mission and bringing them safely back to earth by landing in Indian waters. This programme will make India the fourth nation to launch a manned spaceflight mission after the US, Russia, and China. (ANI)
"Devendra ji (Fadnavis) should apologize... He is confused. I feel bad for him... The GR (Government Resolution) that he read, whose signatures were there in it? ... What was Sharad Pawar's role in that GR? When you make allegations, they should be substantiated. He misled Maharashtra, so he should first apologize..." MP Supriya Sule said.

Earlier on Friday, Fadnavis, through documents, claimed that the erstwhile Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government had filled up posts using the contractual recruitment method.

Notably, the initial decision to introduce contractual recruitment was taken in Maharashtra on March 13, 2003.

The first drive under contractual recruitment was undertaken in the education department. Later in 2010, when Ashok Chavan was the chief minister, the first government resolution for contractual recruitment was passed, and contract recruitment began.

Later, when Uddhav Thackeray became the chief minister, a similar recruitment drive was undertaken.

Eknath Shinde led Maharashtra government on Saturday ended contractual hiring via outsourcing. Amid huge uproar and protests, the Maharashtra government scrapped the government resolution (GR) for contractual recruitments in various government departments.

Earlier on Saturday, the BJP workers held a 'Chappal Maro' protest against the MVA and then Congress Chief Ministers, Ashok Chavan and Prithviraj Chavan, who ran the Maharashtra government during the 15-year rule of the Democratic Front (DF) coalition (1999-2014) on the issue of contractual recruitment policy.

BJP workers thrashed posters of Uddhav Thackeray and MVA leaders for recruiting staff on a contract basis by nine private agencies, saying that it was the previous MVA dispensation that had taken a decision to hire a workforce on a short-term basis.(ANI)
This solemn event commenced at Aman Memorial in front of DPO Kishtwar, drawing the participation of officers, community members, and representatives from the media fraternity.

It served as a platform to express deep gratitude for the unwavering commitment and sacrifices of these martyrs.

The march reached its culmination at Kuleed Chowk Kishtwar, a symbolic destination for this gathering.

Addressing the candlelight march, SP Kishtwar Poswal underscored its significance in commemorating the dedication of these heroes.

He encapsulated the collective sentiment of paying homage to the brave individuals who epitomize the unbreakable bond between the land and its protectors.

The Candlelight March concluded with a collective commitment to uphold the ideals of courage, patriotism, and unity, as embodied by this solemn event.

The participants departed with a renewed sense of purpose, resolute in their determination to carry forward the legacy of the slain soldiers in their hearts and actions. (ANI)
Nationalist Congress Party MP (Sharad Pawar faction) Supriya Sule said on Sunday there is only one Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, which was formed by the late Balasaheb Thackeray. She was responding to Union Minister Nitin Gadkari's statement about the real Shiv Sena during an interview. "Gadkari is the only person in the BJP who speaks the truth; for me, there is only one Shivsena in Maharashtra, which was formed by the late Balasaheba Thackeray , and he handed over the responsibility to Uddhav while he was alive. There are duplicate things currently, but people know the exact difference between gold and bronze," she told reporters in Pune on Sunday. On the issue of contractual recruitment, she demanded an apology from Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for allegations against senior Pawar. "Devendra ji (Fadnavis) should apologise... He is confused. I feel bad for him... The GR (Government Resolution) that he read, whose signatures were there in it? ... What was Sharad Pawar's role in that GR? When you make allegations, they should be substantiated. He misled Maharashtra, so he should first apologize." Sule added. Fadnavis claimed that the decisions regarding contractual hiring were made during the 15-year rule of the Democratic Front (DF) coalition, led by Congress leaders Ashok Chavan and Prithviraj Chavan from 1999 to 2014. However, the Congress denied the allegations by Fadnavis. BJP workers on Saturday held a 'Chappal Maro' protest against the MVA (Maha Vikas Aghadi) government and then Congress Chief Ministers - Ashok Chavan and Prithviraj Chavan, who ran the Maharashtra government during the 15-year rule of the Democratic Front (DF) coalition (1999-2014) on the issue of contractual recruitment policy. Eknath Shinde led Maharashtra Government on Saturday ended contractual hiring via outsourcing. Amid huge uproar and protests, the Maharashtra Government scrapped the Government resolution (GR) for contractual recruitments in various Government departments Earlier this month, Maharashtra Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) President Sharad Pawar targeted the Maharashtra Government over the 'contractual hiring' of personnel in Mumbai police and said that the recruitment should be done on a permanent basis. "The state government has decided to make government recruitment on a contract basis. The delegation that met me raised some issues with me. The government has decided to recruit in the police force on a contract basis. Since this recruitment is only for 11 months, what next?", he asked. Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Ajit Pawar asserted that recruitment in government departments on a contract basis was the decision of the previous government. The Shiv Sena split in June last year after Eknath Shinde, who was then a Minister in the Uddhav Thackeray cabinet splintered a coup within the ranks of the party and formed an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), securing the Chief Minister's post for himself. The Uddhav Thackeray-led faction of the Shiv Sena moved the Supreme Court challenging the EC's move to allot the name 'Shiv Sena' and 'Bow and Arrow' symbol to the rival faction led by CM Shinde. The Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena has sought disqualification proceedings against those MLAs who joined hands with the BJP following Eknath Shinde's lead. (ANI)
Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) leader Spurdha Choudhary on Sunday sent a defamation notice to BJP MP Kirori Lal Meena in paper leak case and told him to "face the truth." Spurdha Choudhary posted on X, "Your allegations have been proved to be false, now face the truth. You level false allegations before the media. I hope you will also reply to my defamation notice via the media. Otherwise, you should prove the allegations publicly." Meanwhile, Kirodi Lal Meena in an interview alleged that Spurdha Choudhary is Suresh Dhaka's girlfriend who is sargana (mastermind) of the Rajasthan paper leak case. The case relates to the leak of the General Knowledge question paper of the 2nd-grade teacher competitive examination 2022 held in December last year by the Rajasthan Public Service Commission. Following the paper leak, the RPSC cancelled the competitive exam. Demanding a CBI inquiry into the case, Meena said that he would stage a protest from Dausa to Jaipur along with thousands of supporters on January 19. "Six Rajasthan legislators are involved in the paper leak case," he said. Earlier, addressing a press conference, Meena alleged that Suresh Dhaka, the main accused in the RPSC paper leak case. "Suresh Dhaka is the mastermind of the papers being leaked in Rajasthan and Suresh Dhaka's wires are connected to RPSC and Chief Minister's residence. Dhaka had leaked papers by hacking more than a dozen recruits through his relatives. Even at the centre of online examination, they have messed up the papers with their influence," he alleged. The BJP MP further alleged that Dhaka, the absconding accused in the senior teacher paper leak case, is the mastermind of the online examinations and Suresh Dhaka has links with all the IT labs. Mahendra Bishnoi is an IT expert who took training from Gurgaon, he said. "Mahendra Bishnoi also rigged the Youth Congress elections. Most of the examinations were conducted in Rajasthan only through TCS company," he alleged. The MP also accused the company's director Bhuvnesh Bhargava of cheating in the examinations by keeping direct relations with Bishnoi. Meena further alleged the involvement of Ashok Gehlot government minister Sukhram Bishnoi's personal assistant in the senior teacher recruitment exam paper leak case. (ANI)
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday expressed condolences over the death of two people from the Maratha community and appealed to the activists not to commit suicide. "Today I want to appeal that two people from the Maratha community committed suicide, I'm also from the Maratha community and the son of a farmer, I express condolences to those who have committed suicide. Please think about your families before taking such steps," CM Shinde said. He further said that his government stands with the Maratha community and is committed to providing reservations to the Maratha community, adding that giving reservations is the government's responsibility. "It is the government's responsibility to give reservation to the Maratha community, and we are working towards it. With the Supreme Court admitting the state government's curative petition on the Maratha reservation, a big window for reservation has opened for the Maratha community," he added. He also said that the state government had appointed a committee to issue Kunbi certificates to Maratha community members in Marathwada for those who have old records. "I am giving my word. I won't lie and mislead the Maratha community. I won't make any false promises. This is the duty of our government to give reservation to the Maratha community," he said. Meanwhile, Congress leader Ashok Chavan also expressed condolences and said that it's a pity that such a thing has happened. "A person from Hadgaon tehsil of Nanded has committed suicide after not getting a reservation for the Maratha community. It's a pity that such a thing has happened... I hope the government will give their judgment soon on the Maratha reservation," Ashok Chavan said. Earlier on October 19, a man from Jalna district who came to Mumbai for the cause of the Maratha reservation allegedly died by suicide. He allegedly hanged himself with a rope under the Western Express Highway in the Bandra area of Mumbai. The incident is said to have happened on Wednesday night, police said. The deceased is identified as Sunil Baburao Kawle, a resident of Chikangaon village in Ambad taluka of Jalna district, police said. In the suicide note, the deceased wrote, "People of the Maratha community should gather in Mumbai on October 24 for the movement for the Maratha reservation." At the end of the suicide note, he also apologised, police said. The Maratha community held a protest for over a month for the community's inclusion into the OBC list in the state. On September 1, a clash broke out in Jalna between police and those demanding reservations for the Maratha community. Police resorted to lathi charges to disperse the demonstrators. (ANI)
As per the IAF officials, Lieutenant General Dwivedi and Air Marshal P Sinha on Saturday held discussions on integrated operations in the northern sector.

Earlier in September this year, the Northern Army Command conducted a two-day Army Air Defence Conclave to review joint strategies for a comprehensive approach to counter evolving air threats and ensure national security.

The Dhruva Command conducted a two-day DHRUVA Air Defence Conclave 2023 in Jammu and Kashmir on September 29 and September 30, 2023.

"Domain experts from Army Air Defence, Indian Air Force, and Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) brainstormed and reviewed joint strategies for a comprehensive approach to counter evolving air threats and ensure national security," posted Northern Army Command of the Indian Army on X (formerly Twitter).

Northern Army Commander Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi witnessed the equipment display and interacted with the participants.

The conclave was held against the backdrop of evolving air threats in the region, including the increasing use of drones and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) by adversaries. (ANI)
Based on specific inputs from Intelligence agencies and Jammu and Kashmir Police of infiltration in the Uri Sector by heavily armed terrorists from across the LoC, troops were put on a high alert and the counter-infiltration grid was strengthened, as per the Army release.

As per the Army Press release, taking advantage of bad weather marked by incessant rainfall and poor visibility, a group of armed terrorists attempted to infiltrate across the LoC.

At around 3 pm, the group was intercepted by alert troops resulting in a heavy exchange of fire. Intense fire-fight continued till last light resulting in the elimination of two terrorists. The area was kept under surveillance throughout the night, it added.

On 22 Oct 23, a thorough search of the incident site was conducted leading to the identification of tell-tale signs and recovery of heavy war-like stores including two AK series rifles, six pistols, four Chinese grenades, blankets and two blood-stained bags containing Pakistani and Indian currency notes, Pakistani medicines and eatables, stated the release.

Due to inclement weather conditions, search operation is suspended in the area, which will resume after the weather is optimal. (ANI)
Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief K Annamalai on Sunday thanked the party national president JP Nadda for constituting a four-member delegation to visit the state and submit a report on the "brutal and irrational behaviour" of DMK-led government in the state. " On behalf of @BJP4TamilNadu, we thank our BJP India National President JP Nadda for the four-member delegation in response to the brutal & irrational behaviour of the Corrupt DMK Government. The DMK government has only displayed fascist tendencies since it came to power in May 2021," Annamalai said in a post on X. He alleged that the social media functionaries of the state BJP unit have been constantly harassed and arrested on frivolous charges, and exaggerated sections have been imposed. "Most cases are filed by local DMK functionaries, and the police are pressurised to make arrests to satisfy the ego of corrupt DMK ministers," he said. Annamalai further said, "Midnight and early morning arrests, not serving 41A summons, and applying fresh frivolous charges while the bail is due and arresting them on the eve of weekends or before long government holidays are the modus operandi of this draconian DMK government." The BJP chief claimed that the DMK government is known for making targeted arrests of those popular in social and mainstream media but has looked the other way towards genuine complaints filed by BJP TN. "We are confident that this delegation will bring to light the excesses of this government & the gross misuse of power by DMK over the last 30 months," he added in the post. Earlier today, BJP national general secretary Arun Singh in a statement informed that party national president JP Nadda has nominated a four-member delegation to visit Tamil Nadu, where BJP workers are facing brutal and irrational behaviour from the Tamil Nadu Government. The delegation will submit its report at the earliest. Former Union Minister DV Sadananda Gowda, former police commissioner Satya Pal Singh, Andhra Pradesh BJP president D Purandeswari and MP PC Mohan are the members of the delegation. Six members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have been arrested for creating a ruckus over raising a flag post outside the compound wall of Annamalai's residence last night in Panaiyur, Chennai. (ANI)
As of the end of September 2023, around 780,000 rare disease cases had been registered in China since the inception of a rare disease diagnosis and treatment service information system in 2019.

"This holds great significance in comprehending the epidemiology, clinical diagnosis, and medical support status of rare diseases within China," said Jiao Yahui, an official with the National Health Commission (NHC), at the ongoing 2023 China Conference on Rare Diseases.

About 80 percent of rare diseases have a genetic connection, and roughly 50 percent begin in childhood. Although the prevalence of individual rare diseases may be low, their substantial numbers can be attributed to China's large population.

In 2019, 324 hospitals were selected to establish a national collaboration network for rare disease diagnosis and treatment, implementing a two-way referral and remote consultation mechanism. Medical institutions at all levels are required to register rare disease case information through the rare disease diagnosis and treatment service information system.

In September 2023, China released an update of its rare disease catalog, with the total number of rare diseases included in the catalog reaching 207.
After the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) released its first list of candidates for the Telangana Assembly Elections, Union Minister G Kishan Reddy on Sunday exuded confidence that the party will show a "positive performance" in the elections. Earlier in the day, the BJP released its first list of candidates for the Telangana Assembly Elections 2023. "Party has announced the first list for the Telangana Assembly Elections... We have got a positive reaction to the list from people... I believe the final list will be also like this and we will show a positive performance also," state election in-charge Kishan Reddy said. Informing about the leaders who have been designated to campaign for the party in Telangana, he said, "On 27 October Union Home Minister Amit Shah will be coming here for the campaign. On 28 and 29 October Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath will be coming here for the campaign. Several other leaders will also come here for the campaign." Calling Congress and BRS as twins, the Union Minister said that the party's strategy for the election campaign is that every worker of the party should meet the public. The party has fielded MP Soyam Bapu Rao from Boath, MP Arvind Dharmapuri from Koratla and national general secretary Bandi Sanjay Kumar from Karimnagar. MLA T Raja Singh will contest the poll from Goshamahal and Eatala Rajender from Huzurabad and Gajwel assembly constituency. Earlier in the day, the party revoked the suspension of Telangana MLA T Raja Singh following his reply to the show-cause notice issued by the party after a row was triggered by his remarks against Prophet Muhammad. The MLA was suspended in August and issued a show-cause notice. The upcoming assembly election in Telangana scheduled to take place on November 30 is poised for a triangular contest, with the BJP, the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi, and the Congress as the major contenders. In the previous Assembly elections in 2018, the BRS won 88 of the 119 seats, hogging 47.4 per cent of the total vote share. The Congress finished a distant second with 19 seats and a vote share of 28.7 per cent. The counting of votes will take place on December 3 in all the states. (ANI)
Union Minister Faggan Singh Kulaste personally received 143 passengers, who arrived at the Delhi airport from Israel on an Indian flight, amid the ongoing conflict with the terrorist group Hamas. It was the sixth flight under 'Operation Ajay', an ongoing effort by the Indian armed forces to repatriate citizens caught up and stranded in the ongoing Israeli counter-offensive on Hamas. The Union Minister for Steel and Rural Development expressed his happiness and relief over the safe repatriation of stranded Indians from Israel after the sixth flight touched down in the national capital. Speaking to ANI at the Delhi airport, the Union Minister said, "I am present here to welcome everyone (flying in from Israel). I am happy to have received this opportunity to welcome fellow citizens being repatriated from Israel. It is a great relief personally that 143 Indians have returned safe and sound from the conflict zone." On the stranded Indians yet to be accounted for and repatriated, the Union Minister said efforts were to evacuate each and every citizen who wished to return. He added that as soon as the formalities are taken care of, arrangements would be made to fly them back. The evacuees, who returned on Sunday night by an Indian aircraft, included two Nepalese citizens. Sharing an update from his official handle on X, the spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Arindam Bagchi, posted, "6th #OperationAjay flight lands in New Delhi. 143 passengers, including 2 Nepalese citizens arrived onboard the flight. Welcomed by MoS @SteelMinIndia & @MoRD_GoI @fskulaste at the airport." 'Operation Ajay' is an ongoing Indian operation to evacuate citizens caught up in Israel amid the raging conflict with the terrorist organisation Hamas.Earlier, the fifth flight carrying 286 Indian nationals, including 18 Nepalese citizens, arrived in New Delhi on Tuesday late night. So far, about 1,200 passengers, including 18 Nepalese citizens, have been flown back safely from Israel under 'Operation Ajay' and more flights could be sent as per the requirements, the Ministry of External Affairs informed earlier. (ANI)
Amid the Israeli offensive against terror group Hamas in Gaza, the president of a Detroit synagogue board, Samantha Woll, was found dead on Saturday morning with multiple stab wounds outside her home, CNN reported, citing police officials. The synagogue shared the news in a Facebook post, stating that Woll was the president of the board of the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue in Downtown Detroit. "We are shocked and saddened to learn of the unexpected death of Samantha Woll, our Board President," the synagogue said, adding, "May her memory be a blessing." Police officers were called on Saturday morning and informed about a person lying on the ground unresponsive, CNN reported citing the Detroit Police Department, adding as soon as they arrived at the scene, they found a "trail of blood" which led them to Woll's home. Woll was declared dead on the scene, police said. The police believe that the crime took place inside her home, CNN reported. The police have not found the motive behind the killing yet, adding that the case had been assigned to its homicide unit for investigation, according to the report. The FBI in Detroit stated it would assist the local police in the investigation of the crime, it added. "The FBI is aware of the incident, and we will assist the Detroit Police Department as requested," CNN quoted the FBI as saying in a statement. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said Woll's death "has left a huge hole in the Detroit community." Duggan said in a statement that a few weeks ago he and Woll were celebrating the newly renovated synagogue together. "It was a project she successfully led with great pride and enthusiasm," CNN quoted Duggan as saying. "This entire city joins with her family and friends in mourning her tragic death," he added. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel also expressed her grief and shared condolences in a post on Facebook, stating, "Sam was as kind a person as I've ever known. She was driven by her sincere love of her community, state, and country." Woll had previously worked with Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin, according to a post on US Representative Elissa Slotkin's social media page, CNN reported. The Congresswoman added that Woll "dedicated her short life to building understanding across faiths, bringing light in the face of darkness". "My heart aches that we have lost someone so dedicated to serving others in such a senseless act. I'll miss her relentless desire to serve & her bright smile seemingly everywhere across the Detroit area," she added in the post. (ANI)
Indian-American Congressman Shri Thanedar said that he is "shocked and saddened" by the death of Detroit synagogue board president Samantha Woll. He recalled meeting Samantha Woll at the reopening of the Detroit Synagogue. Taking to X on Sunday, Shri Thanedar stated, "So shocked and saddened by this. I was with Sam at the reopening of the Detroit Synagogue just a few weeks back. Praying for her loved ones. My condolences." Thanedar's statement comes after Samantha Woll was found dead with multiple stab wounds outside her home on Saturday morning, CNN reported, citing police officials. The synagogue shared the news in a Facebook post, stating that Woll was the president of the board of the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue in Downtown Detroit. In a post shared on Facebook, Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue stated, "We are shocked and saddened to learn of the unexpected death of Samantha Woll, our Board President. At this point we do not have more information, but will share more when it becomes available. May her memory be a blessing."Police officers were called on Saturday and informed about a person lying on the ground unresponsive, CNN reported citing the Detroit Police Department. It further said that police after reaching at the site found a "trail of blood" which led them to Woll's home. Woll was declared dead on the scene, police said. The police believes that the crime took place inside her home, CNN reported. The police have not found the motive behind the killing yet, adding that the case had been assigned to its homicide unit for investigation, according to the report. The FBI in Detroit stated it would assist the local police in investigating the crime. "The FBI is aware of the incident, and we will assist the Detroit Police Department as requested," CNN quoted the FBI as saying in a statement. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said Woll's death "has left a huge hole in the Detroit community." In a statement, Duggan said in a statement that a few weeks ago he and Woll were celebrating the newly renovated synagogue together. "It was a project she successfully led with great pride and enthusiasm," CNN quoted Duggan as saying."This entire city joins with her family and friends in mourning her tragic death," he added. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel also expressed her grief and shared condolences in a post on Facebook, stating, "Sam was as kind a person as I've ever known. She was driven by her sincere love of her community, state, and country." US Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin said she is heartbroken to know about the death of Samantha Woll. In a series of posts shared on X, Slotkin stated, "I and all of Team Slotkin is heartbroken at this news. Sam worked for me from nearly the moment I became a Congresswoman, helping us set up the office & helping to lead it for my full first term." She further stated, "She did for our team as Deputy District Director what came so naturally to her: helping others & serving constituents. Separately, in politics & in the Jewish community, she dedicated her short life to building understanding across faiths, bringing light in the face of darkness. Slotkin said that her heart aches that they have lost someone who was "so dedicated to serving others in such a senseless act." In a post shared on X, Slotkin stated, "My heart aches that we have lost someone so dedicated to serving others in such a senseless act. I'll miss her relentless desire to serve & her bright smile seemingly everywhere across the Detroit area. Team Slotkin shares in the deep grief of her family & her greater community." (ANI)
A weekend flea market was launched during the Druk Tshongrig Gatoen festival which is underway in Thimphu. The market will provide a unique platform for people to showcase and sell various products, including secondhand goods, The Bhutan Live reported. Each year, the Druk Tshongrig Gatoen is held to inspire aspiring entrepreneurs and showcase local products. This year, a new platform for entrepreneurs, the weekend flea market was launched during the festival, according to The Bhutan Live report. The weekend flea market has been launched at the startup centre in Thimphu's Changzamtok. According to the organisers, the space can be utilised by people who are looking to sell their products or secondhand goods. Loden Foundation in collaboration with Bhutan's Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Employment have set up stalls at the weekend flea market. According to officials, they have not yet decided on the operation of the market. Sangay Tshering, President of the Loden Foundation, said: "When we think of things we can do in Thimphu, there are very limited options. So, we came up with the night market concept. Let's say a group of people wants to start up a weekend fair to sell secondhand items, it can get quite difficult to organize, like putting up tents. So, with the launch of the flea market, such things become possible," said Sangay Tshering, President of the Loden Foundation," The Bhutan Live reported. Rigden Wangchuk, Chief Programme Officer of the Department of Employment and Entrepreneurship, said, they are partnering with Loden Foundation for 2023 Druk Tshongrig Gatoen to "promote entrepreneurial culture, build an entrepreneurial ecosystem, promote the products of young aspiring entrepreneurs and to create awareness about intellectual properties." Some of the entrepreneurs said that the start of the weekend flea market will promote local businesses and address the challenges faced by small enterprises in finding suitable spaces to sell their goods, the report said. Jeewan Baral, an entrepreneur said, that as an entrepreneur, they face the challenge of not having a place to sell their products. Baral further said, "So, if we have access to an opportunity like the weekend flea market, that would help us sell our products," The Bhutan Live reported. Tandin Dorji, another entrepreneur said, "As a person living with a disability, some of the major challenges that I am facing right now are the lack of finance, equipment, and finding places to sell my products. And if we are given opportunities and a place to sell our products, then I believe that it will provide more opportunities for us." (ANI)
Indian Ambassador to Myanmar, Vinay Kumar on Sunday proposed setting up a Joint Working Group to promote cooperation between the two countries for teaching and research in traditional systems of medicine. During an event on Sunday, Kumar presented a variety of books on the traditional medicine system to Myanmar Health Minister Thet Khaing Win for the library of the Uni. of Traditional Medicine (UTM), Mandalay, the Indian Embassy in Myanmar posted on X (formerly Twitter). "Vinay Kumar while explaining the significance of Traditional Systems of Medicine including Ayurveda and Siddha, emphasised on expeditious setting up of a Joint Working Group to promote cooperation between the relevant institutions of the two countries involved in teaching and research in traditional systems of Medicine," the Indian Embassy posted on X. In this regard, Thein Zaw Linn, Rector, faculty members and students of UTM, Mandalay were informed about Ayush scholarships and Fellowships available in India. Union Minister of Health Thet Khaing Win highly appreciated the gift of the books and promised all support for furthering cooperation in traditional systems of medicine. India-Myanmar relations are rooted in shared historical, ethnic, cultural and religious ties. As the land of Lord Buddha, India is a country of pilgrimage for the people of Myanmar. India and Myanmar relations have stood the test of time. The geographical proximity of the two countries has helped develop and sustain cordial relations and facilitated people-to people contact, according to the Ministry of External Affairs. The Indian Government is actively involved in over a dozen projects in Myanmar, both in infrastructural and non-infrastructural areas. These include the upgradation and resurfacing of the 160 km. long Tamu-Kalewa-Kalemyo road; construction and upgradation of the Rhi-Tiddim Road in Myanmar; the Kaladan Multimodal Transport Project; etc, the MEA stated. (ANI)
The first Early Childhood Care and Development Centre (ECCD) for the municipality of Phuentsholing Thromde has been warmly received by the locals, reported Bhutan Live. It is anticipated that it will help youngsters from low-income families. There aren't any public ECCD facilities yet in Phuentshogling Thromde. The Phendey Early Childhood Care and Development Centre, a building constructed at a cost of Nu 5.5 million, was inaugurated on Thursday. The creation of the new ECCD by the Thromde office took close to five years. The epidemic first prevented work from being completed, and then facilitators were not available. However, the parents are pleased that the ECCD is now open and that their kids may attend it just like other kids. "We cannot afford to send our children to private daycare centres. We have to keep our children at home and these days, children are so much into mobile phones. With such facilities, our children can learn a lot and we are so happy," Bhutan Live quoting Chimmi, a parent saying. Meanwhile, another parent Kinzang Dhendup said, "We are not able to send our children to private daycare centres, so today we are extremely grateful for getting such an opportunity. We usually keep our children home and this way, I feel they can get spoilt as they are always into mobile phones. It also affects their eyes." Only 70 children could be accepted out of the nearly 200 applicants, according to Thromde officials, Bhutan Live reported. "There are many low-income people in the Thromde area. Those who can afford to send their children to private ECCDs but those who cannot afford to leave their children at home. For the progress of the nation, we should be able to provide equal opportunities to all children. So, while enrolling the children here, we did it very carefully so that the private centres are not affected and at the same time, the needy ones get the opportunity. We targeted children of those parents who are earning less than 10,000 ngultrum a month," said Uttar Kumar Rai, the Phuentshogling Thrompon, according to Bhutan Live. (ANI)
As 'Operation Ajay' continues, the sixth flight carrying Indian nationals has departed from Tel Aviv for Delhi. Confirming the same, the Indian Embassy in Israel posted on social media platform X, "The sixth flight has taken off from Tel Aviv to Delhi. Embassy wishes everyone on board a safe journey." The pictures posted by the Indian embassy showed people carrying the Indian tricolour as they expressed happiness over evacuation from Israel during its ongoing war with Hamas. "#OperationAjay update Flight #6 departs from Tel Aviv," the External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar posted on X. Notably, Operation Ajay is an ongoing operation conducted by the Indian Armed Forces to evacuate Indian citizens from Israel during the 2023 Israel-Hamas war. The fifth flight carrying 286 Indian nationals including 18 citizens of Nepal arrived in New Delhi late on Tuesday night. Upon arrival, they were received by the Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting and Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, L Murugan. "Wherever Indians are stranded, our priority is to bring them back. We have successfully conducted Operation Ganga and Operation Kaveri now under Operation Ajay we are bringing people back from Israel. This is the fifth flight, and we have already brought 1180 people back home. We are the first country to start the evacuation, and we are also bringing people belonging to our neighbour (Nepal) countries...," the Minister said. Expressing gratitude to PM Modi's government, Vishal, an Indian national who returned from Israel told ANI, "I am coming from Haifa, Israel. We had to follow the safety protocols given by the university. The Indian government has helped us a lot, we are thankful to the embassy..." Whereas, another Indian national, Ramesh said, "We have just returned from Israel. The facilities provided by the Indian Embassy were very good. We got a lot of help from the Indian Embassy in Israel..." The fourth flight from Israel under 'Operation Ajay' carrying 274 Indian passengers landed in the national capital on Sunday. Union Minister of State General (Retd) VK Singh received the Indian passengers at the airport.He interacted with them and also gave tricolours to every Indian passenger. MoS for Road Transport and Highways, VK Singh informed that more flights will be carried out to evacuate the Indian citizens amid the situation in Israel. The Indian nationals applauded the operation and said that there was support from the Indian embassy and the evacuation process was nice and quick. 'Operation Ajay' was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to bring back around 18,000 Indians in Israel. Registration of Indians began on Thursday. The Indian embassy in Israel is providing assistance to Indian companies and has set up a helpline for Indian citizens in need of assistance. (ANI)
The humanitarian aid sent by India for the people of Palestine arrived in Egypt on Sunday, the Ministry of External Affairs said. The Indian envoy to Egypt, Ajit Gupte handed over the relief material to the Egyptian Red Crescent for onward transmission to Palestine. "India's humanitarian aid for the people of Palestine arrives in Egypt. Amb @indembcairo@AjitVGupte handed over the relief material to the Egyptian Red Crescent for onward transmission to Palestine," the official spokesperson of MEA, Arindam Bagchi posted on social media platform X. Notably, the medical supplies sent for the people of Palestine included essential life-saving medicines and protective and surgical items aimed at handling emergency medical conditions. While arranging the medical supply, wound care was also taken into consideration. Fluids and painkillers have been included in humanitarian aid for immediate relief. The disaster relief material weighing approximately 32 tons includes tents, sleeping bags, tarpaulins, basic sanitary utilities, water purification tablets etc. An Indian Air Force C17 aircraft carrying the relief supplies departed from the Hindon airbase at 8 am in the morning. Taking to X, Arindam Bagchi stated, "India sends Humanitarian aid to the people of Palestine! An IAF C-17 flight carrying nearly 6.5 tonnes of medical aid and 32 tonnes of disaster relief material for the people of Palestine departs for El-Arish airport in Egypt. The material includes essential life-saving medicines, surgical items, tents, sleeping bags, tarpaulins, sanitary utilities, water purification tablets among other necessary items." India has sent humanitarian aid to Palestine amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. Israel launched counter-offensive against Hamas after the latter launched a 'surprise attack' against the former on October 7. On Saturday, as many as 20 trucks carrying humanitarian aid were finally allowed to enter the Gaza Strip through Egypt's Rafah border. However, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that "needs are far higher" in the enclave that has more than 2 million people. He also called for the "safe passage of additional aid convoys across the enclave".The Rafah border crossing was opened for a short window on Saturday morning to let 20 aid trucks enter Gaza from Egypt. Though many have welcomed the brief reopening, rights groups have asserted that much more aid is needed. Taking to X, Ghebreyesus stated, "@WHO medical supplies crossed the Rafah border. But the needs are far higher. To meet the urgent health needs of all people in Gaza, we call for: -safe passage of additional aid convoys across the enclave -protection of all humanitarian workers -sustained access for health aid." European Commission Chief Ursula von der Leyen called it an "important first step that will alleviate the suffering of innocent people." Taking to X, Ursula von der Leyen stated, "I welcome the opening of the Rafah border crossing point to Gaza for humanitarian aid. This is an important first step that will alleviate the suffering of innocent people. My thanks go to all those involved who made this possible." (ANI)
During the meeting, held at Qasr Al Watan in Abu Dhabi, they discussed ways to continue strengthening the bilateral relationship between the UAE and Singapore.

The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi affirmed that the UAE, under the leadership of President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan is committed to building bridges of friendship and cooperation with all countries. He highlighted that the UAE President places special importance on strengthening cooperation with the Republic of Singapore, aiming to mutually benefit from the development and economic journeys of both countries and working to explore additional opportunities that will serve both parties.

Sheikh Khaled stressed the importance of expanding economic and trade cooperation and supporting UAE and Singaporean companies in leveraging available investment opportunities in priority sectors. The discussion also encompassed support for research and innovation initiatives, contributing to the promotion of development and prosperity in both countries

Also attending the meeting were Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of the Executive Affairs Authority; Ahmed Jasim Al Zaabi, Chairman of the Department of Economic Development; Saif Saeed Ghobash, Secretary-General of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council; and Faisal Abdulaziz Al Bannai, Secretary-General of the Advanced Technology Research Council. (ANI/WAM)
To commemorate October 22 as 'Black Day', the South Asia Center for Peace and Peoples Empowerment (SACPPE) organised a one-day event 'Tribal Invasion: A Black Day in J-K's History' at Baramulla Dak Bungalow on Sunday. The program was organised on the anniversary of the Pakistani Tribal invasion of Jammu-Kashmir that happened on October 22, 1947. In the jam-packed hall, the speakers at the event gave a detailed account of October 22, the day tribal raiders looted and pillaged the erstwhile state with a ferocity that shocked the people till the Indian army came to the rescue and decisively threw them back. Tauseef Raina, former chairman of Municipal Committee Baramulla, spoke in detail about the reality of the event how marauding tribesmen not only killed non-Muslims but hundreds of Kashmiri Muslims as well and the aim of the tribal raid was to seize the land. "The St Joseph's Hospital in Baramulla was burnt crisp to the ground; its sick, elderly, and nurses were raped and killed. Pakistan only wants Kashmir to bleed and burn. Young women were abducted and carried off without distinction of colour, cast or creed. Each raider tried to grab as much wealth or as many girls as he could," he said. Raina said after seeing violence, death and destruction for decades, Kashmiris, especially the youth here have given up the gun culture and dissociated themselves from Pakistan. "Pakistan's facade - wolves dressed in sheepskin - is peeling. Youngsters have opted for respected professions, joined government services, or taken up the challenge of self-employment through many entrepreneurship schemes of the Government of India," he said adding that peace was imperative for progress, development and prosperity of Kashmir. Fida Firdose, chairman of the Kashmir Writers Association, said truth is usually the first casualty of wars. He spoke in detail about the ill consequences of the October 22, 1947, tribal raid on Kashmir and its aftermath. "Invasion of J-K by Pakistan and its proxy tribal Lashkars in 1947 has left a deep, lasting, and grim mark on the fate of J-K. The invasion also delivered the first big blow to the Sufi-inspired way of life commonly referred to as Kashmiriyat that had prevailed for centuries in J-K, and a hallmark of which was religious inclusiveness and bonding," he said. Firdose added, "It is about time that the people of J-K realized that the real tragedy is that Pakistan even today believes in the same policy and adopts the same methods that it did in 1947, no matter how acutely detrimental those may be to the interests and the well-being of the people of J-K." Tahir Majeed, a renowned social activist while quoting from history said, Pakistan Army Major General (Retd.) Akbar Khan in his book has described Pakistan's role in their "jihad" on Kashmir. In Khan's words, "On October 26 (1947), the Pakistani forces captured Baramulla where only 3,000 survived out of 14,000." "The Afridi and Mahsud Lashkars did not participate in the invasion of J-K out of any religious consideration, but their primary aim was loot and plunder and the kidnapping of women," he said. Majeed said the planners and perpetrators of the tribal invasion were, and remain, without doubt, the foremost enemies of the Kashmiri people. "The day the invasion began on October 22, 1947, similarly, has to be the darkest day in the history of J-K," he added. Zaman Noor, a social activist from Srinagar made the audience aware of how peace in Kashmir would benefit common people in the long run. He advised the students to make society a better place by investing in peace. Muskan Shafi, a student and a social worker, in a strong speech, made the audience aware of the devastation October 22, 1947, brought to Kashmir. (ANI)
A health and well-being programme is being implemented in high schools across Bhutan to address mental health issues and abuse of substances among students, Bhutan Live reported. School guidance counsellors and well-being focal teachers in close to 80 higher secondary schools in all 20 districts and four thromdes have been oriented on issues related to mental health and substance abuse. The programme, which started around May this year, was initiated by The PEMA Secretariat in collaboration with the education department. According to the PEMA Secretariat, apart from counsellors and well-being focal teachers, District Education Officers, Thromde Education Officers, and Principals in all districts were sensitized on Health and Wellbeing Screening and School-based Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Care, Bhutan Live reported. "In the first phase in June, we completed training around 600 teachers in 13 districts. The second phase started with the rest of the Districts in August this year. And at the end of this PD training rollout, we're going to have well-being focal teachers in all schools who would at least be able to identify early identification and self-referral of students who are going through difficult situations," said Reena Thapa, the Chief Counselor with the Education Programmes Department. As part of the programme Class XI and XII students across the country were also screened for mental health and substance use disorders. Such screening is supposed to detect students with mental health issues so that the counsellors or well-being focal teachers can intervene and give referral services, according to Bhutan Live. The initiative targeted to screen at least 16 thousand students across the country. "Now we have specific questions on mental health issues. For example, for depression, we have a different set of questions. For anxiety, we have a different set of questions. And for adverse childhood experiences, we have different sets of questions. After identifying the students, we invite the students to our session, we call it the individual session. Thereafter, if we think it is beyond our ability or capacity we refer to Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Referral," Bhutan Live quoted Ganesh Bahadur Samal, a school counsellor with Motithang Higher Secondary School as saying. Moreover, through the health and well-being initiative, schools are also able to strengthen the peer helpers programme where students help their peers battling mental health conditions. The peer helpers programme provides alternative options for vulnerable students who are not able to approach counsellors. Reena Thapa said, "now from this year, after we roll up this PD training to the rest of the schools, we are expecting all schools to have peer helpers programme, where a number of students will be trained as peer helpers. They will help identify issues and difficulties that their friends are going through. Then, they reach out to the counsellor or the well-being focal teacher and make references." "Teachers teach us about the different types of mental health issues and how to prevent it as well as deal with it. Not only that, there are peer helpers like us who are provided with different kinds of training. For example, training such as "I support my friend" and "helping skills" teach us how to help our friends who are struggling," said Damchoe Norbu, a peer helper. "Students are more approachable to us, peer helpers compared to the teacher and counsellors. We are their friends so they feel more comfortable talking with us. I have noticed, students really don't need solutions to their problems. They just want someone to sit with them and listen to their problems. They just want to talk and share. If the students need real help in person, they tend to approach counsellors and teachers," Kelden Wangmo, another peer helper said. The officials from the Education and Skills Development ministry added that the initiative also includes mentor-mentee and spiritual programmes to ensure mental health, Bhutan Live reported. (ANI)
Dubai [UAE], October 22 (ANI/WAM): The 19th edition of the International Education Show, which wrapped up at Expo Centre Sharjah on Saturday, attracted more than 25,000 visitors over the course of four days. Students and parents flocked to the event to select from hundreds of world-class educational opportunities presented by over 100 academic institutions and prestigious national and international universities. The event, organised by Expo Centre Sharjah with support from the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, boasted the participation of major educational institutions, most notably the Ministry of Education, the Sharjah Private Education Authority, and several elite universities based in the UAE, Canada, the UK, Bahrain, Malaysia, India, Cyprus, and a number of other countries. Prospective students had the chance to select from an array of cutting-edge university majors and educational programmes, including medicine, engineering, nursing, petroleum geoscience, sustainable and renewable energy, information technology, and applied medical sciences. Participating universities also offered grants and discounts on quality university programmes, along with numerous study-abroad options. Saif Mohammed Al Midfa, CEO of Expo Centre Sharjah, expressed his delight over the success of the International Education Show's 19th edition. The impressive visitor turnout and the wide engagement of some of the top national and international universities reflect its formidable reputation as a leading higher education event in the UAE and across the region, he said. Numerous participating institutions affirmed the exhibition's pivotal role in providing them with a platform to promote their educational and training programmes to a wide spectrum of visitors, exchange expertise and experience, and learn about contemporary educational approaches, trends, and practices. Furthermore, the event gave universities the opportunity to interact directly with prospective students and explain their registration procedures and academic programme offerings in detail. During the event, students were afforded excellent opportunities to select from a range of higher education programmes, obtain academic scholarships, and learn more about the entrance requirements of top local and foreign universities. In addition, prominent advisors and academic professionals delivered several seminars and workshops. (ANI/WAM)
DALLAS - Police are investigating after a man was shot and killed on Harry Hines Blvd. in Northwest Dallas.

Dallas officer found the man with a gunshot wound behind a vacant building on Harry Hines and Loop 12.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The man has not been identified at this time.

Police are asking anyone with information to give them a call.
Four people were shot and one killed during an apparent firefight in a Texas panhandle town, according to police.

Officers with the Borger Police Department responded to calls about a shooting at about 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 21, the department said in a news release.

The shooting happened at a restaurant, Los Agaves Jaliscos Grill & Cantina, KVII reported.

Investigators say there was a fight at the location and several people pulled out guns and opened fire.

A man was pronounced dead at the scene while three others were taken to hospitals in stable but critical condition, police said.

Officials are waiting to release the mans name until his next of kin has been notified, the release said.

Officials didnt say what triggered the fight, but an investigation is underway.

Borger has a population of about 12,000 and is roughly 40 miles northeast of Amarillo.

Customer shoots family-owned car dealership worker to death over pricing, Texas cops say

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Boy helping brother track stolen vehicle gets shot by car thief, Texas police say

Mysterious package shows up at Wisconsin home  then armed men break in, cops say
The number of wounded in a Russian missile strike on Kharkiv district on Oct. 21 increased by two people, and now stands at 16, according to Ukraine's Interior Ministry.

Russian forces attacked the region with S-300 missiles on the evening of Oct. 21, killing six people at the depot of the Ukrainian privately-owned postal service Nova Poshta in the village of Korotych. The village is located 16 kilometers west of Kharkiv.

As of 2:30 a.m. local time a total of 22 people were at the depot, according to the Interior Ministry. Most of the employees, aged 19 to 42, sustained shrapnel wounds.

"This is an exclusively civilian site, the Russians committed yet another terror against the civilian population of Kharkiv region!" Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov said.

Kharkiv Oblast remains a frequent target of Russian strikes.

Read also: Military: Russian forces use new tactics, remote-controlled vehicles in Avdiivka





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BAY RIDGE, Brooklyn (WPIX)  Nineteen people, including three juveniles, were arrested when protestors clashed with New York Police officers during a pro-Palestine rally in Brooklyn Saturday, police said.

The demonstrators were charged with resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, and failure to use a sidewalk, according to an NYPD spokesman.

Palestinian death toll in West Bank surges as Israel pursues militants following Hamas rampage

More than 5,000 people waved flags and chanted through the streets of Bay Ridge to support Palestine, the partially recognized sovereign state. Palestine is not a country recognized by the United States or the United Nations.

Police said they made an announcement ordering people to clear the roads before officers formed a human barricade.

In one video obtained by Nexstars WPIX, the situation appeared to turn violent between NYPD officers and protesters. Police said officers were struck with eggs, bottles, and fireworks during the protest.

Aid starts moving into the Gaza Strip after 2 weeks of war

During the course of a planned protest for which a permit was not attained, officers encountered a mostly peaceful crowd. Some demonstrators within the crowd chose to act in a combative and aggressive manner. Officers were pushed, shoved, and struck by some demonstrators within the crowd after the LRAD (long-range acoustic device) device was utilized, a spokesperson for the NYPD said.

Officers were struck with flying debris which included eggs, fireworks, and bottles. Officers responded to this disruptive behavior and attempted to regain order by taking into custody those responsible for these actions. In the course of doing so, the officer seen in the video is reacting to active resistance by criminals within the crowd. The NYPD encourages peaceful protests but will not condone our officers being subjected to any form of violence.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com.
Russia launched attacks on four settlements in Donetsk Oblast, killing two civilians and injuring three others, the Prosecutor General's Office said on Oct. 22.



The two deceased victims, a 58-year-old man and a 61-year-old man, were from the villages of Kalynivka and Vasiukivka, both near the Bakhmut sector of the front line.



Russian shelling injured a 19-year-old man in the village of Netaylove, Pokrovsk district.



In the city of Toretsk, a separate Russian artillery attack concussed a 59-year-old woman and a 60-year-old man.



"The explosions also damaged private homes, multi-apartment residential buildings, commercial buildings, and cars," the Prosecutor General's Office wrote on Facebook.



Russian forces also shelled settlements in Kharkiv Oblast on the morning of Oct. 22, injuring multiple residents.



Late on Oct. 21, Russian forces attacked Kharkiv Oblast with S-300 missiles, hitting the depot of the Ukrainian privately-owned postal service Nova Poshta in the village of Korotych.



The attack killed at least six people and injured 17, reported the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor's Office.

Read also: Governor: Russian attack on Kherson Oblast damages over 30 houses

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Two people are dead and another is hospitalized after a tanker truck carrying jet fuel crashed into two vehicles on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, authorities told news outlets.

It happened in Worcester Township around 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 21, WCAU reported.

A vehicle in the far right lane of traffic got a flat tire and came to a complete stop. A second vehicle pulled up behind it, also stopping, and put its hazard lights on, Pennsylvania State Police Trooper William Butler told WPVI.

A tanker truck carrying jet fuel was unable to stop in time and slammed into the two vehicles, state police told WTXF.

A large fire broke out following the crash, according to first responders.

The driver of the tanker truck and the driver of the second vehicle died at the scene, authorities told WPVI. The driver of the vehicle with a flat tire was taken to a hospital with unknown injuries, the outlet reported.

Traffic was backed up for hours while crews worked to contain the fire and clear the scene, according to WCAU.

My God. Debris all over the place. What happened here? Hector Lucena, a driver passing by the scene, said in a video posted on Facebook. Goodness gracious.

Officials had not released the identities of the victims as of the morning of Sunday, Oct. 22.

Sharp metal impales Jeep windshield in Maine. See photos of the terrifying close call

Dead bobcat dangling from bridge shatters mans windshield, New York police say

Ten dogs thrown from truck after driver falls asleep, Maine cops say. One dog missing
Wichita residents will choose a mayor as well as city council and school board members this fall.

Early mail voting for the Nov. 7 election is already underway, and in-person voting at the Sedgwick County Election Office begins Monday. Additional satellite locations open Nov. 2.

All voters who live in Wichita can vote in the mayoral election. All voters who live in the Wichita school district can vote in the at-large school board election. Only voters who live in a specific district can vote in other school board races and in the city council races.

To find out which districts you live in, go to the Kansas secretary of states VoterView at myvoteinfo.voteks.org, put in your information and click on districts.

We asked the candidates to answer several questions about issues. Here is what they said. The responses are largely as the candidates sent them in. Some responses have been lightly edited to fix typos. Some bio information was reported by The Eagle.

Note: City and school elections are nonpartisan, meaning party affiliations do not show up on the ballot. State and local party committees often choose sides in city elections with regard to funding and other forms of support.

Wichita mayor voter guide

Wichita voters will choose between two candidates  incumbent Brandon Whipple and challenger Lily Wu  for mayor on Nov. 7. Read their responses to questions ranging from taxes to development incentives to public safety and more our Wichita City Council voter guide here

Wichita City Council voter guide

Wichita voters will choose at least two new council members on Nov. 7. Three seats are up for a vote: District 2 in east Wichita, District 4 in southwest Wichita and District 5 in northwest Wichita. Find candidates stances on issues and maps of the districts in our Wichita school board voter guide here.

Wichita school board voter guide

All voters in the Wichita school district will be able to cast ballots in an at-large school board race featuring two candidates: Brent Davis and Melody McCray-Miller. Only voters who live in a specific district can vote in the other two races.

The impending retirement of at-large representative Sheril Logan and District 3 representative Ernestine Krehbiel guarantees there will be at least two new faces on the seven-person board. Learn more about the candidates and their stances on student learning, student discipline, teacher retention and more in our Wichita school board voter guide here.

Voter information

The election is Nov. 7, but you can vote in advance now by mail or in person at the Sedgwick County Election Office in downtown Wichita.

Find information about advance voting here.

You can look up your sample ballot here.

What district am I in?

All three Wichita City Council races and two of the Wichita school board races are limited to voters from a specific district in the city or school district.

You can find your districts at myvoteinfo.voteks.org. Put in your information and click on districts.

And here are district maps.

Wichita City Council District 4

Wichita City Council District 5

Wichita City Council District 5

Wichita school board District 4

Wichita school board District 4






Like all of the other women I know whove accused former KCKPD detective Roger Golubski of sexually coercing them, Jermeka Hobbs says she met him at what had up until then been the lowest moment of her life.

Meka is 44 now and works as a hotel maid in KCMO. But this was half a lifetime ago, when she was 26, with four young kids and another one on the way. She also had a crack addiction and a boyfriend who, just hours before, on Jan. 5, 2006, had tossed her through the shower door in her grandmothers house on Yecker Avenue in Kansas City, Kansas, causing a serious concussion, cuts and bruises everywhere, and two black eyes.

The morning after KU Med patched her up and sent her home, she says, Golubski showed up, announced that he was on the case and professed outrage that any man would hurt such a pretty lady. My face was all messed up from the assault, Meka said, and there was nothing pretty about that. Or about what happened then.

As captain of the homicide unit, there would have been no official reason for Roger Golubski to have been investigating an aggravated battery, and he was not one of the five officers listed in court records as witnesses for the prosecution.

But Meka, in the first interview shed ever given, said that his real purpose at her home that day became clear within minutes.

There was dope in plain sight in her bathroom, which she was surprised that police had left right where they had to have seen it on the night shed been sent to the hospital. It was a crime scene, and theres no way you could have missed it.

Golubski got right down to business, she said, first staring at her chest and making comments about what he couldnt wait to do to her sexually, then staring at and gesturing towards the bathroom, where her crack, PCP and weed were still just sitting there.

He made a habit, according to prosecutors, of preying on women who had recently been either victimized or arrested, and who because they were addicted or in other serious trouble werent likely to complain. These were women who wouldnt have been believed if they had.

Roger Golubski and his defenders and enablers have always said he is guilty of nothing other than liking Black women, though Meka Hobbs is among those who did not feel especially liked.

What sets her apart, though, is the number of people in her life who knew at the time, to varying degrees, what was going on between her and this disgrace of a cop, who worked for the KCKPD for 35 years, from 1975 until 2010, and has only in the last year been charged with crimes that involve rape, kidnapping and sex trafficking.

Golubski, she told me, never threatened to kill her and dump her body in the river, as other women have said he told them. He didnt say that theyd never find her remains, or that if she told anyone, her loved ones would turn up dead.

But when he called, I had to show up. It was like I had no choice.  He was blackmailing me. The unspoken leverage was that he could easily get criminal charges put on me, and what would happen to her children then?

When I call you, be ready

When he gave her his business card, at the end of that first visit, he said, When I call you, be ready. He would call and they would meet, he said, and that would be how it worked. And for several years, that is how it did work.

Hed either pick her up, or else would summon her to police headquarters. In that case, shed go up to the desk in the lobby. Shed ask for him, always at lunch time, and hed come out, always with the same three colleagues: a tall, skinny white guy, a Black guy and a woman.

Meka Hobbs recently took The Star on a tour of places where she says former KCKPD Captain Roger Golubski assaulted her years ago. She often met him in the lobby of the KCK Police Headquarters.

The other officers might nod and greet her  Hey, hows it going  but none of them ever intervened, Meka said, even though in her mind they had to have understood her situation. What kind of a detective, she wonders still, could have failed to notice that she was not someone who wanted to be there?

Then she and Golubski would get into his police car in the parking lot around back, in full view of Jesus and whoever else happened to be passing by.

A few times, he took her for barbecue at the old Arthur Bryants in the Legends, but he never ate. Nor, in all the time she knew him, she says, did she ever see him laugh or even smile.

Mostly, he drove without speaking, always retracing the same circuit, where there was hardly any traffic in broad daylight. It spooked me out, she said. Our rides would be silent.  He never asked me how my day was.

The only conversation happened when he showed her the stacks of photos he kept in a plastic Ziploc bag and in a yellow folder. Hed pull them out and ask her, again and again, if she knew any of the women in the photos.

He would ride through certain parts of the town and pull out pictures of women who were dead.  Some of them were Polaroids, some of them were obituaries. Some of them were just pictures of women in jail, just mug shots.

Most though not all of these were homicide victims, Black women who Meka says he told her he used to mess with, and whose cases he was supposedly working. After a while, she says, I thought he was the suspect as well as the investigator. Surely your cases are not all women, she remembers thinking.

He showed her a photo of her friend Eric Calvins sister, murder victim Rose Calvin  it was her picture he showed her first  and one of Liza Michie, who was someone Meka had known in school. Golubski, she says, always described Liza as his good friend.

Another thing these women all had in common, Meka said, was that most if not all of them were wearing bright red lipstick, just as she herself did back then. And yes, that freaked her out.

I told her she better be careful

All of this seemed to be foreplay for him, she said. He would make me put my hands between his legs. I would pull it back and hed put it back while showing her the pictures and cruising at 5 or 10 mph past the same spots, time after time.

Theyd creep past the Quindaro Ruins, through the winding roads inside the Memorial Park Cemetery, pausing always by the section where babies are buried. Theyd drive down a block on Brown Avenue thats grown over and closed to traffic now. That one was especially menacing to Meka: Growing up, my mama told me never to go on this street because bad things happened to women there. Even now, I wouldnt come back here by myself.

They also passed the Delavan Apartments, where prosecutors say Golubski worked with convicted drug kingpin Cecil Brooks and two other men as part of a sex trafficking conspiracy.

Meka Hobbs said that for years, former KCKPD detective Roger Golubski took her on a creepy circuit that always included the same spots in Kansas City, Kansas, and Golubskis home in Edwardsville. Map Imagery: Google Earth  Map: Neil Nakahodo and Susan Merriam

Early on, Meka said, Golubski asked her if she knew Brooks, and what she knew about Delavan, where her uncle lived and where shed sometimes gone to babysit.

But Golubski usually just showed her more pictures of women and asked her for the umpteenth time which ones she did and did not recognize.

He showed her some of the same photos at the same spots, too, and she came to believe that he was considering killing her and adding her picture to the collection.

For so long, I felt like something was going to happen to me. It was abuse. As a police officer, youre supposed to help me because I went through abuse, instead of piling on with just a different kind of torture.

On these drives, she says, they also almost always went to his house in Edwardsville, which was so clean that she wondered whether anyone really lived there. Theyd have oral sex in his bedroom, still without speaking: Thats what it was, something that I had to do. And then hed drop her off and go back to work.

Between these excursions, which made her feel humiliated and like there werent enough showers in the world to get her clean again, hed often drive past where she lived, and past where her mother and sister stayed, too.

Sometimes, hed just sit out there for long stretches, making everyone inside uncomfortable. Ive heard that from so many women that I wonder how he had time in between stalking stakeouts to get any work done.

But again, the remarkable thing here is the number of people in Meka Hobbs life who knew even at the time that she was seeing Roger Golubski, and also that she did not want to be.

I remember her talking about having to go to his house

He used to come and bother her, her younger sister, Delresha Robinson, told me. Delresha knew the full story from the beginning, she said, since Meka had told her all along that she wanted nothing to do with Golubski, sexually or otherwise, but felt she had no choice but to do as he said.

I was like, Are you serious? It was kind of scary for her. I didnt think cops would do that, but he did. He turned the tables.

Delresha saw Golubski pull into the driveway on more than one occasion, she said. And whenever he showed up, as she remembers it, Mekas response was one of open dread and revulsion. Like, Why is he here? 

Meka Hobbs godmother, Anita Holsted, also knew plenty, and says that what she knew worried her to no end.

We lived together then, says Holsted. I did know there were other girls he was messing with  I remember stuff about him doing wrong towards women  and I remember her talking about having to go to his house.  Most of the time, he picked her up around the corner, but he was always in the picture. Her kids were young, and she tried to keep people she cared about away from him.

Mama Anita, as Meka calls her, told me that she considered her goddaughters whole connection to Roger Golubski, strange, suspicious and not good at all.

It was in my head that he was a crooked cop, so I told her she better be careful.

So did her mother, Dedra Everson, who asked Meka to call her every single time she got in Golubskis car. The relationship, if you can call it that, between the police captain and her daughter didnt fit right to me.

That was our No. 1 rule, her mother told me: Meka had to call her mom and report her whereabouts whenever she was with him, so that if anything happened to her, her loved ones would at least know where to start to look.

Meka dont follow rules, but she followed that one.  I thought he was trying to use her, and though her daughter never filled in all of the sexual blanks, she didnt have to, Everson says. She had no doubt that Meka was scared. On at least one occasion, she went in the bathroom and whispered into the phone from Roger Golubskis house in Edwardsville.

She had to fear or else wouldnt have kept calling her.

As Meka remembers it, Id call my mom and tell her I was scared and where I was at when I started feeling like he was going to do something to me. Which as she recalls it, too, was every single time they met.

Chiefs not going to mess with him

Edna Reed, who at one point lived in the KCK duplex adjacent to Mekas, remembers seeing Golubski knock on her door at all hours. I stayed next door, so I did see him pull up, pop up to visit her out of the blue, whether her neighbor was home or not.

Reed tried her best to have no interaction with Golubski at all, because I knew he was a cop.

Meka was not the only person I knew he would go visit for sex. But no, she told me, that didnt worry her, because I was getting high at that time, and to be honest with you, thats all I was worried about. He did come by quite often, and I know he did harass her.

Even Mekas youngest son, Jeff Martin, who is 21 now, remembers getting in and out of the backseat of Golubskis detective car: I remember bits and pieces. As I got older, I started figuring out things, at which point my whole body got goosebumps.

A former KCK police reserve officer who had befriended Jeff, and used to take him fishing, told me on condition of anonymity, because he doesnt want to be shunned by his cop friends, that he knew from Meka Hobbs that somebody from the KCKPD was bothering her.

She mentioned an officer, but she didnt say who. She said he was coming by and harassing her.

Over the years, this former reserve officer said, he heard from plenty of others in KCK that Golubski was extorting or exploiting someone close to them. I said, File a complaint, and they said he was a big man and the chiefs not going to mess with him.

The KCKPD no longer has reserve officers; that was a program for retired officers and others who patrolled for up to 16 hours a month on an unpaid, volunteer basis, though they worked right alongside regular officers. This was still considered a good gig, for favorites only, because it led to so much extra off-duty security work.

Even after retirement, KCKPD took care of Golubski

Former KCKPD detective and whistleblower Max Seifert, who went through the police academy with Golubski and worked with him for years, says that Golubski himself became a reserve officer after he retired in good standing in 2010. Yes, though by then, many allegations against him were already well known to KCK officialdom through Lamonte McIntyres innocence case.

McIntyre, who served 23 years in prison for a 1994 double murder he did not commit, was finally freed in 2017. It was Golubski whod led the quickie investigation, such as it was, into those killings, which still remain officially unsolved. Golubski was accused both in the innocence case and in a successful civil suit to have sexually assaulted McIntyres mother years earlier, and to have coerced testimony that implicated then-17-year-old McIntyre in the murders.

Former Kansas City, Kansas, police detective Roger Golubski walked to a September hearing in Topeka.

Yet when Golubski retired, after years of serious accusations, he left with his taxpayer-funded pension, a new full-time job as a detective in Edwardsville, and a commission as a KCKPD reserve officer, which not every retiree who wanted one was granted.

I asked the same former reserve officer who told me that he knew back in 2006 that Meka Hobbs was being harassed by someone on the force how his friends in the department had responded to Roger Golubskis arrest last year.

We dont talk about it, he said. Because you dont know whos a friend of who.

Anyone who was a friend of Meka Hobbs, though, has known at least part of her story all these years. Anybody that knew me, she says, knew Golubski came around.

I want it to be out, all of it

The two federal cases against 70-year-old Golubski are undeniably sprawling and complicated, and I am not one of those from either the left or right who assumes the worst of the FBI or of federal prosecutors. Most of all, I worry that the Department of Justice just hasnt provided the resources that investigating all of these allegations clearly requires.

And all of this contemporaneous corroboration, from the six people who talked to me about Meka Hobbs and Roger Golubski  a seventh potential witness is someone I could never find, and an eighth died just recently makes it even more alarming to me that the FBI has interviewed Meka only once, many months ago, and has according to her friends and family never followed up with them at all.

Even beyond those eight, Meka says, were others who heard me talk about it. They werent paying attention. But now, since it came across the news that hes been charged with serious crimes, now they want to listen to me.

I asked her if shes sure that FBI agents working this case know what all of these people knew at the time, and she said yes: They asked me exactly what you asked me, and I told them all of it, too.

Meka Hobbs recently took reporters on a tour of places where she says former KCKPD Captain Roger Golubski assaulted her years ago.

Golubskis defense attorney, Chris Joseph, did not return my email and phone messages looking for a response to her allegations, which have not been made publicly before.

But since his stock statement is that Golubski looks forward to disproving all of these moldy and uncorroborated allegations against an innocent man, youd think that prosecutors would be keenly interested in corroboration.

Ive wanted to talk to Meka Hobbs for several years, but only recently has she felt ready to be public about her experience.

Then, she had to turn around and convince me that she was really OK with having her name and picture in the paper.

She is, she says, because I want yall to know the whole story, and how much he needs to get put up. I want it to be out, all of it.

Despite the potential risk to her safety? He already knows who is going against him, she said when I asked yet again if she was sure. He knows what he did, she said, and has the paperwork that Im one of the victims. I dont want him to come after me, thats the only fear, because he knows a lot of people.

But then again, if anything happened to me, everyone around me would know he has something to do with it. I want justice. I told the FBI, put me on a lie detector test. Baby, my story is not going to change.

Because of him, I cant get close to a man

And neither, at least until justice is done, is her anger going to ebb.

Im going to hell still, because I hate that bastard, she told me. Because of him, I cant get close to a man. My dude, weve been together for four years and Im just starting to open up.

Golubski finally stopped harassing her, she says, not long before his 2010 retirement, and not long after she told him that she had two relatives in the police department.

One was a distant cousin she barely knew and the other someone connected to one of her children; if anyone in her orbit had really been in his, too, she would have mentioned it years earlier. But for whatever reason, she says, Golubski left her alone after that.

She had lost four of her children to the foster care system during the time Golubski was, as she sees it, blackmailing her. And though shell never know for sure, she blames him for the fact that even after she did everything the system asked of her, getting clean and getting work and stable housing, she never got them back, either.

Well, other than the time her son Jeff Martin ran away from his umpteenth terrible foster placement and hid out with her for a year. Ive been in a few good ones, Jeff told me, but in a lot of them, you can do whatever you want  stay out all night or whatever  and they dont care as long as they get paid. Some families would get mad because I was hungry.

Whereas even though we got taken away from his mom, he said, she is always going to be there, and that helped me out a lot.

Im ready for this, all of this

When Roger Golubski lumbered slowly toward the courtroom for his Sept. 20 hearing in Topeka, he had to walk right past Meka Hobbs. But between his COVID-19 mask and the enormous amount of weight hes put on, she barely recognized him at first.

During the hearing, which once again ended without any trial date being set, Golubski repeatedly shook his head no while the prosecutor spoke.

Meka, meanwhile, had visible goosebumps, and whispered to me, Do you know how many showers I took?

She kept it together until we got in the car and then cried all the way back from Topeka to Kansas City.

Still, she wanted to take me, and did, twice in fact, on the circuit that she says Golubski took her on so many times: Im ready for this, all of this.

She still has nightmare flashbacks on a regular basis, calls herself paranoid  Id say hypervigilant, as anyone in her situation would be  and if I get in trouble, I cant call 911, because am I going to have some pervert like him pop up?

Thats what KCK officials who talk about what ancient history all of this is still seem not to understand  that these events are not in the past for victims.

The women whose pictures Golubski showed Meka Hobbs didnt have no justice, and she wants to help rectify that if she can. Though she used to live in fear of him, she says, not quite convincingly, Im not scared of Golubski now.

When I told her recently that hed been hospitalized with swelling in his legs, that didnt worry her too much. Hes been sick since Day One. With sociopathy, she means. He had a high-ranked position to keep people safe and instead put them in danger.

What all of this has done to her cant be overstated: Shes depressed all the time, cant be in a crowd and yet also cant be alone. She often has a flashback of the sign near his house that says, Welcome to Edwardsville.

I literally hear stuff, keep going to the door and aint nobody out there. I cant focus and she is afraid to drive at night. I feel like somebodys always following me, and dont even wear my name tag at work.

But Meka Hobbs is also a lot more than whats been done to her. Despite everything, she likes to laugh, and not only when shes making fun of my terrible driving. She is honest about her mistakes and worries about her children as much as any mother ever has.

She is so glad that her son Jeff has just moved back in with her, and so brave that though she knows she may never see justice, she is willing to put herself in potential danger to try. She thinks not only about herself, but about other victims, too.

I really have no idea whether Golubski will ever be put on trial, or why prosecutors seem to be in no great hurry to give women like Meka Hobbs the chance to face him in court.

But the man is in end-stage renal disease, or kidney failure, for which he is on dialysis. And if he dies before they get that chance, the damage done wont only be on him, but on them. How long are Meka and the others supposed to wait?
All 6 killed and 14 injured in a Russian missile strike on Kharkiv Oblast were employees of the Nova Poshta delivery company. They were inside its storage at the time of the attack. Among the casualties, seven men are in serious condition, doctors are fighting for their lives.

Source: Oleh Syniehubov, Head of Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration, on Telegram; Syniehubov on the air of the national 24/7 newscast

Details: The victims of the attack are aged 19 to 42 years old. They received shrapnel wounds and explosive injuries.

Among the people who were hospitalised seven are in a state of moderate severity. Another seven men are in serious condition, doctors are fighting for their lives and providing all the necessary assistance.

The clearing of the rubble continues on the site. According to preliminary data, the Russians targeted the area with a S-300 system.

Quote Syniehubov: "All people who are injured and killed are employees of this company. During the strike, they were directly in the middle of the depot.

Currently, the State Emergency Service and the ambulance are working as the aftermath is still being dealt with, the clearing of the rubble continues. Therefore, the data on the dead and wounded may not be final.

In fact, this is an act of terrorism, since it is a peaceful, civilian company that has nothing to do with the military sector."

 

Photos from the site of the missile strike in Kharkiv: nakipelo.ua

Photos from the site of the missile strike in Kharkiv: nakipelo.ua

      

Photos from the site of the missile strike in Kharkiv: nakipelo.ua

Background:

On Saturday 21 October, a Russian missile hit a depot belonging to the Nova Poshta delivery company in Kharkiv Oblast, injuring 13 people and killing several others.

A Russian missile hit a Kharkiv depot belonging to the Nova Poshta delivery company. The workers who were there had no chance or time to run to the shelter, as the air-raid warning was issued a second before the explosion.

Earlier in the evening of 21 October, Oleh Syniehubov, Head of Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration, and Ihor Terekhov, the mayor of Kharkiv, reported that Russian troops were launching missile attacks on Kharkiv.

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House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik said Sunday that nine candidates have joined the race for speaker after Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, dropped his bid last week.

Stefanik, R-N.Y., noted on X that the deadline to announce speaker bids was noon ET Sunday.

The GOP candidate forum is set for 6:30 p.m. ET Monday. Then, an internal conference vote will occur 9 a.m. Tuesday. Speaker Pro Tem Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., has said his intention is to move to a floor vote as soon as Tuesday.

After his defeat on the House floor for a third time last week, Jordans speakership bid fell apart Friday after he lost a vote of confidence at a closed-door meeting of Republicans.

The internal, secret-ballot vote was 86 Republicans for Jordan and 112 saying they wanted to move on from him and go with someone else, lawmakers said as they left the meeting.

These are the candidates who have thrown their hats in the ring after Jordan dropped out:

Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota

House Majority Whip Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., ahead of the third vote for Rep. Jim Jordan's speakership bid. (Drew Angerer / Getty Images)

Emmer, the No. 3 Republican in leadership, officially announced his bid Saturday, a day after he began making calls. He quickly picked up an endorsement from ousted Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.

If given the opportunity to be your Speaker, we will use that same culture of teamwork, communication, and respect to build on the moments that brought us success, learn from our mistakes, and keep fighting for each and every one of you and our Republican majority, Emmer wrote in a letter to colleagues.

Emmer, who previously was that chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, also vowed to always be honest and direct with all of you, even if we disagree.

GOP Conference Vice Chair Mike Johnson of Louisiana

Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., at the Capitol. (Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images file)

Johnson also started making calls Friday before he announced his speakership bid Saturday.

We all agree the urgency of this hour demands a specific plan and bold, decisive action. It also demands a leader who will humble himself each day before Almighty God, selflessly serve the full membership of this body, and fight ceaselessly for our core conservative principles and policies, Johnson said in a letter to colleagues.

Johnson, an attorney and former talk show host, is serving his fourth term and sits on the Judiciary Committee. He previously supported Jordans speakership bid.

Jack Bergman of Michigan

Rep. Jack Bergman. (Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images)

Bergman, a retired Marine lieutenant general who is in his fourth term, announced his speakership bid Friday.

The regular functioning of the federal government cant wait on useless infighting and arguments, Bergman said in a statement. What matters right now is choosing a Speaker in order to make sure that our government  and particularly our military  is funded, and that both our homeland and our critical allies are secure in this time of crisis.

James Hogge, his communications director, said Bergman had proudly supported Jordans speakership bid but was approached by colleagues and has had conversations about a possible Speaker run following the second round of voting.

Byron Donalds of Florida

Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., at the Capitol. (Drew Angerer / Getty Images file)

Donalds, a second-term lawmaker, is on the Financial Services and Oversight committees. He announced his speakership bid Friday.

My sole focus will be securing our border, funding our government responsibly, advancing a conservative vision for the House of Representatives and the American people, and expanding our Republican majority, he said in his announcement.

Donalds, who makes frequent appearances on right-wing media, was nominated for speaker by his conservative Freedom Caucus colleagues in January.

Kevin Hern of Oklahoma

Rep. Kevin Hern. (Win McNamee / Getty Images file)

Hern, chairman of the Republican Study Committee, the largest caucus of conservatives on Capitol Hill, launched a bid Friday.

Im in, Hern told NBC News as he left a closed-door meeting of Republicans on Friday. Hern had voted in support of Jordans speaker bid.

We must unify and do it fast, Hern said in a statement announcing his own bid. Ive spoken to every member of the conference over the last few weeks.

We need a different type of leader who has a proven track record of success, which is why Im running for Speaker of the House, he added.

Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania

Rep. Dan Meuser. (Mariam Zuhaib / AP file)

Meuser, a former business executive, signaled his consideration of a bid after Jordan dropped out.

I come from the business world, and I plan to bring, if I run, a business perspective to things and gain consensus, Meuser said Friday.

Meuser, who entered Congress in 2019, is on the Financial Services and Small Business committees. He previously was secretary of revenue in Pennsylvania.

Gary Palmer of Alabama

Rep. Gary Palmer. (Bill Clark / CQ-Roll Call via AP file)

Palmer, a fifth-term congressman who was elected in 2014, has been the chair of the Republican Policy Committee since 2019.

He serves on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee and the Energy and Commerce Committee. Before his time in Congress, he co-founded the Alabama Policy Institute, a conservative think tank.

Austin Scott of Georgia

Rep. Austin Scott. (Bryan Olin Dozier / AP file)

Scott, who had challenged Jordan for speaker, signaled hell run again after Jordan dropped his bid.

If we are going to be the majority we need to act like the majority, and that means we have to do the right things the right way, Scott wrote on X. I supported and voted for Rep. Jim Jordan to be the Speaker of the House. Now that he has withdrawn I am running again to be the Speaker of the House.

Scott previously lost the secret-ballot vote against Jordan 124-81.

Pete Sessions of Texas

Rep. Pete Sessions. (Bill Clark / CQ-Roll Call via AP file)

Sessions, a former Rules Committee chairman, announced his bid Friday.

Congressman Sessions believes he can forge a positive path as a conservative leader who can unite the Conference, his office wrote in a statement.

Sessions also was chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
House Republicans finally elected a House speaker  GOP Rep. Mike Johnson won the gavel Wednesday after the Republican conference ran through a long list of candidates  and several nominees  over the three-week period after Rep. Kevin McCarthy 's ouster from the speakership.

There were four ballots on the House floor and four Republican nominees successively selected by the GOP conference over a three-week period. Here's more on the new speaker and the full list of Republicans who sought the speakership over the last three weeks.

Who is the new House speaker Mike Johnson?

Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana  the fourth Republican to be nominated for House speaker  won the speakership on a party-line vote on Wednesday. The final vote was 220-209.

Johnson, who represents a district in western Louisiana, was first elected to the House in 2016. He is a close ally of former President Donald Trump and opposed the certification of President Joe Biden 's 2020 victory over Trump. Johnson's name was the first on an amicus brief signed by over 100 House Republicans in support of a lawsuit brought by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to overturn the election results in four swing states won by President Biden.

The brief claimed that the officials and courts in each of the battleground states unconstitutionally usurped the power granted to state legislators by changing election rules in 2020. The Supreme Court rejected the request, saying Texas lacked legal standing.

According to The New York Times, about three-quarters of the arguments that lawmakers used to justify overturning the election results relied on arguments from Johnson.

Johnson's House biography says that he's a constitutional lawyer who served in the Louisiana Legislature from 2015 until 2017. Read more about Johnson here.

Which GOP speaker candidates ran and dropped out?The first nomination  Steve Scalise wins

US House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, a Republican from Louisiana, speaks with members of the media following a House Republican caucus meeting in the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023. / Credit: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Republican lawmakers initially selected House Majority Leader Steve Scalise as their nominee for speaker of the House, teeing up the election to fill the seat left vacant after the historic ouster of Rep. Kevin McCarthy.

Scalise, who represents Louisana's 1st District, defeated Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, a conservative firebrand, in a closed-door, secret-ballot vote of the GOP conference, 113 to 99, members said.

But the majority leader faced an uphill battle in getting the necessary votes, with at least 16 Republican representatives, including several of Jordan's supporters, indicating they would not vote for him on the House floor.

On Oct. 12, a day after he won the nomination, Scalise withdrew from the race before facing a vote on the House floor, after he was unable to secure the support of enough Republicans to deliver the speakership.

The second nomination  Jim Jordan wins

UNITED STATES - OCTOBER 18: Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, Republican nominee for speaker of the House, and Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., left, are seen on the House floor of the U.S. Capitol after a second ballot vote in which Jordan failed to receive enough votes to win the position on Wednesday, October 18, 2023. / Credit: om Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

House Judiciary Chairman and far-right conservative Jim Jordan faced a last-minute protest candidate, Rep. Austin Scott of Georgia, in the second speaker nomination contest held by the GOP conference.

Jordan, who represents Ohio's 4th District, won the support of 124 of his Republican colleagues, according to lawmakers. His total surpassed Scalise's tally of 113 from two days earlier but still fell far short of the 217 votes that would likely be needed to win the speakership on the House floor. Rep. Scott, a seven-term Georgia Republican, launched a last-minute protest candidacy before Friday's conference meeting and won roughly 80 votes. Scott told reporters he would back Jordan.

On Friday, Oct. 20, House Republicans voted to drop Rep. Jim Jordan as their nominee after he failed to win a majority on the House floor three times in a week, losing successively more Republicans in each round. Eighty-six Republicans said Jordan should stay in the race, and 112 said he shouldn't, according to lawmakers who were in the room.

The third nomination  Tom Emmer wins

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023. / Credit: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

The majority whip and representative of Minnesota's 6th District, a close ally of McCarthy, had declined to run to replace the ousted speaker earlier this month. He announced his candidacy on Saturday after Jordan's withdrawal and was the winner of the first election held Tuesday.

"The American people elected us to deliver on a conservative agenda that secures our border, stops reckless spending, and holds Joe Biden accountable. We cannot afford to fail them," he said. "I'm running for Speaker of the House to bring our conference together and get back to work."

But confronted with the opposition of former President Trump and the far-right members of the conference, Emmer dropped his bid Tuesday afternoon, four hours after he had won.

Nine candidates who originally announced they were running after Jordan was forced to withdraw his candidacy for the speakership:

Jack Bergman of Michigan, 1st District: He was eliminated after the second round of voting.Byron Donalds of Florida, 19th District: Donalds withdrew after the fourth round, after tying with Hern for the least support.Tom Emmer of Minnesota, 6th District: Emmer, the majority whip, won after several rounds of voting, the final round against Mike Johnson. Kevin Hern of Oklahoma, 1st District: Hern tied with Donalds for the lowest number of votes in the fourth round and was dropped from the ballot.Mike Johnson of Louisiana, 4th District: He went head-to-head with Emmer in the fifth and final ballot and lost, 117-97.Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania, 9th District: He dropped out before the race began, calling for unity in the conference and expressing doubt that he'd win.Gary Palmer of Alabama, 6th District: He dropped out of the running, too, with a comment that there needed to be "stability" in the House. Austin Scott of Georgia, 8th District: He was eliminated after the third round.Pete Sessions of Texas, 17th District: He was eliminated in the first round of voting.The fourth nomination  Mike Johnson wins

Mike Johnson (C) (R-LA) speaks after being nominated Republican speaker of the US House of Representatives at Capitol Hill, in Washington, DC on October 24, 2023. / Credit: SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images

After Emmer's withdrawal, the Republican conference hastily announced a new speaker election for Tuesday evening. Late that evening, Rep. Mike Johnson, a four-term House member, won the nomination and went on to win the speakership Wednesday with the support of all 220 Republicans in attendance, surpassing the 215-vote total required to win.

Here's who ran for the nomination in the GOP conference's fourth contest:

Byron Donalds of Florida, 19th District: Donalds made it to the final round and was defeated by Johnson.Chuck Fleischmann of Tennessee, 3rd District: He was the eliminated after the first vote.Mark Green of Tennessee, 7th District: Green and Roger Williams received the lowest number of votes in the second round and were dropped from the ballot.Kevin Hern of Oklahoma, 1st District: Hern dropped out before voting began and threw his support to Johnson.Mike Johnson of Louisiana, 4th District: He won the nomination in the final round against Donalds and then went on to win the speakership Wednesday.Roger Williams of Texas, 25th District: He and Green were elimated after the second round.



Former FBI agent examines investigation into Maine mass shootings

At least 16 killed in shooting in Lewiston, Maine, law enforcement officials say

UAW and Ford reach tentative labor deal, potentially ending partial strike
ARLINGTON, Texas - Actor and University of Texas at Arlington alumnus Lou Diamond Phillips returned to UTA to teach for a week-long teaching residency at the school's college of liberal arts.

Phillips is leading classes in acting fundamentals, acting for the camera, directing and the business of acting, film anesthetics and analysis.

"I came here to major in theatre and I said it many, many times it was one of the more fortuitous things that could ever happen," said Phillips.

He says he wants to show students there's a pathway to making the passion of acting into a career.

"Its wonderful to go back and see where the dream started and then to keep that fire lit for young students who are my age at that time who may have the same dream," Phillips said.

He says it is important to always inspire other artists in the acting field.

"Youre always in an ensemble, youre always working with someone else. A film is not a great film because of one performance. Its because of all the performances," Phillips said.

In addition to the courses he also worked with students from across the college in an all-day film shoot.

He's also passionate about diversity and inclusion in the acting field.

"Im currently one of the governors for the actors branch of the Academy. This is our aim as well to create more diversity, more inclusion," Phillips said.

He also talked about the SAG AFTRA strike.

"100 percent stand with SAG AFTRA. I stood with the WGA and Im thrilled that they got a good deal. Very sad right now that seemingly talks have broken down," Phillips said. "No movie was ever made a success just by marketing alone. You have to have something good to begin with. And so there has to be a recognition of contributions made by artists."

The actor, writer and director, noted for his work in 'La Bamba' and the Broadway revival of The King and I, graduated from UT Arlington in 1985.

Phillips says returning to Arlington is a full-circle moment.

"Its creating that sense of community. Its creating that sense of togetherness and lifting each other up," he said.
The blood libel isnt new  but it is terrifying to see it spread across the world in the wake of the Hamas massacre, its reach expanded and its impact intensified by shoddy news coverage of this crisis.

Palestinian terror groups false accusation that Israeli forces destroyed a hospital in Gaza was instantly covered as fact by journalists. As the unconfirmed allegation was highlighted in headlines, news feeds and push notifications, the reaction was immediate, threatening Jewish communities around the world.

This happened even as the allegation was quickly rebutted by the Israeli government. And U.S. sources have said that the missile likely was fired from within Gaza by Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a local terror organization that essentially serves as a junior version of Hamas.

As the sun rose, it became clear that, while the misfired missile had claimed casualties, the hospital had not been flattened. Indeed, independent experts assessed that it had been set ablaze by an explosion on the ground.

President Joe Biden, in Tel Aviv on Oct. 18, 2023, says Israel isn't to blame for a hospital explosion in Gaza. Based on what I've seen, it appears as though it was done by the other team, not you," he said at the start of a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Biden said his assessment that Israel was not responsible for the hospital attack was based on the data I was shown by my defense department."

Who is responsible for Gaza hospital explosion? Journalists' knee-jerk assumption taints facts

Based on overhead imagery, communications intercept and open-source data, governmental and nongovernmental sources confirmed that the damage likely had been caused by a rocket fired by terrorists inside Gaza. But it was far, far too late.

Journalists' knee-jerk assumption that Israel bombed a hospital already had attained escape velocity, traveling around the world and inflaming hatred along the way.

It was expected for Arab media to report the lie. Outlets like Al Jazeera has dispensed with any pretense of objectivity.

But it was even more damning to see Western media, including the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, jump on the Hamas-driven charge and spread it without the normal processes that ensure the integrity of their reporting.

Israeli Strike Kills Hundreds in Hospital, Palestinians Say, blared a headline in The Times (later changed to Israelis and Palestinians Blame Each Other for Blast at Gaza Hospital That Killed Hundreds.)

In addition, reputable newspapers such as The Washington Post and news organizations such as The Associated Press and Reuters amplified the accusatory claims.

The level of incompetence was staggering  and dangerous.

Antisemitic hate erupts in numerous countries

In the 24 hours after the incident, the misinformation fueled a wave of antisemitic hate. There are almost too many examples to count. A synagogue in Germany was firebombed. Anti-Israel protesters descended on the U.S. Capitol and flooded Amman, Jordan; Beirut, Lebanon; and other capitals. This is just the beginning.

Some, but not all, news outlets have backtracked on the claim and corrected the record. Fortunately, no one has been killed as a direct result of this irresponsible coverage. But the odds seem likely that people might be killed if this kind of misreporting reoccurs.

'Take a lesson from the dead': Fatal stabbing of 6-year-old serves warning to divided US as Israel-Hamas war rages

How does this happen?

When Hamas makes a claim, media outlets must ask hard questions. As a terrorist organization that forbids free speech and outlaws open expression, it has a track record of spreading lies and propaganda. Its leaders actively engage in information warfare, using all the means at their disposal.

For example, rather than cite the Ministry of Health in Gaza as a source, it would be more accurate to reference it as the Hamas Health Ministry, because it is an arm of the terrorist government. Outlets also should stop referring to Hamas operatives as fighters or militants. They are unrepentant terrorists whose malevolence is confirmed by more than 1,400 body bags in Israel, let alone the over 200 hostages, ranging from infants to the elderly, held against their will in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas invaded my brother's home. Now, my family is held hostage in Gaza.

Hamas controls flow of information out of Gaza

But the problem is not just the official Hamas line. Western news agencies cannot operate bureaus in Gaza as they do in Israel and other democracies around the world. Reporters are not allowed to roam around and pursue stories at will. Instead, Hamas restricts who can report on the situation  and who cannot.

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It is time for journalists to acknowledge their accountability in this crisis. Irresponsible reporting can enable the spread of a modern-day blood libel. The blood libel is an ancient charge, a pernicious myth that Jewish people intentionally kill non-Jews for any number of reasons.

An ancient form of fake news, the blood libel fueled antisemitic pogroms in Europe and was later imported to the Middle East.

Today, we see the blood libel in full effect when the world recklessly blames Israel for any number of crimes. It proliferates when, in this delicate moment, major media outlets fail to apply the normal checks and balances used to minimize misinformation. It has always been dangerous, but it is even more explosive in the Information Age because Jews around the world will be the victims.

As the Hamas war rages and tensions rise, media services around the world must take responsibility and prevent false information from spreading and fanning the flames of hate.

Jonathan A. Greenblatt is CEO and national director of ADL (the Anti-Defamation League).

You can read diverse opinions from our Board of Contributors and other writers on the Opinion front page, on Twitter @usatodayopinion and in our daily Opinion newsletter. To respond to a column, submit a comment to letters@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: By blaming Israel for Gaza hospital blast, media spread misinformation
The News

Social media, rather than dedicated e-commerce websites or apps, have become the leading online sales channel for independent retailers who answered a survey for Anka, the multichannel e-commerce platform for African businesses. And with WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram dominating the continent, Meta (which owns all three) has some 80% market share today. Overall, social media accounts for 43.6% as the largest point of sale for retailers, with a physical shop coming a distant second at 20.9%.

Anka, which means ours in the Bambara language of Mali, offers a suite of services for independent African retailers on the continent and around the world, many of whom are women. It describes itself as both a Paypal and Shopify of Africa and helps aggregate shipping services to reduce costs. It said it has more than 20,000 sellers in 100 countries including 45 African countries as of the second quarter.

Know More

France has Ankas highest number of online shops with over 4,000, while Nigeria is second with 3,549. But Nigeria has the highest seller average annual volume in the top 10 countries coming in at over $11,000  more than three times the next country, Ghana. Anka partly explains the disparity by the split between countries with predominantly full-time entrepreneurs versus part-time. The former have a stronger interest in exporting and have a strong use of social media which is said to help.

Anka points out that the average seller on its platform earns around $185 which it acknowledges may not seem like a lot for a designer living in Paris. But for a designer living in Africa, where a third of the population is in the middle class, it is a considerable gain.

Yinkas view

Ive been a follower of Anka, which used to be known as Afrikea, for some years now and have been intrigued by their repositioning as more than a retail platform.

The white paper does a good job of making the case for why e-commerce in Africa shouldnt try to simply replicate the Western experience or models with consumers with smaller spending power. It points to the difficulties of Jumia, Konga and others in recent years. In our humble opinion, rather than pushing people to buy what they cant, we should also empower them to sell what they do have, especially through export.

It points to the success African independent fashion retailers on its platform, the majority of whom are women, have seen in selling not just to other African countries but also to African and Black diaspora around the world. Exporting is not a panacea but a real remedy for the many difficulties that African economies suffer from, such as trade deficits, currency instability and chronic unemployment.

Anka has focused on helping to build the continents e-commerce sector one (often female) seller at a time so Itll be interesting to see how Amazons opening of its e-commerce marketplace in South Africa next year will influence the African market overall. For now it is expected to concentrate on Africas advanced economy but therell be some ripple effects.

Then theres TikTok. According to the white paper, TikTok can drive views for its users but doesnt convert to lots of sales. Given how much TikTok has focused on live e-commerce at home in China and southeast Asia, and is looking to open up in the United States, it could be biding its time.

There are many more insights in Ankas white paper and it brings up another important point for me: the great value in sharing these types of insights with the wider market. We often talk about the lack of reliable data from key market players in African market sectors, so this type of effort contributes greatly. Ankas survey may not be fully representative of the entire market but its an important window into a subset of it and, if nothing else, its a nifty brand marketing tool.
Ukrainian forces shot down three Shahed kamikaze drones and one guided Kh-59 cruise missile that Russia launched against Ukraine overnight on Oct. 22, the Air Force reported.

According to the report, the drones were launched from Chauda in occupied Crimea, while a Russian Su-34 aircraft fired the guided missile from the occupied part of Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

Apart from Shahed drones, Russia also attacked Ukraine with two unidentified drones launched from the northern direction, as well as fired eight S-300 missiles from Belgorod Oblast and occupied Donetsk Oblast, the Air Force said.

The report does not specify where the targets not downed by the Ukrainian forces hit.

However, late on Oct. 21, Russian S-300 missiles attacked Kharkiv Oblast, hitting the depot of the Ukrainian privately-owned postal service Nova Poshta in the village of Korotych.

The attack killed six people and injured 16, according to Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov.

"This is an exclusively civilian object. The Russians committed yet more terror against the civilian population of the Kharkiv region," Syniehubov wrote on Telegram following the attack.

The Air Force also reported that three Russian Lancet drones were shot down in Ukraines south over the past day.

Read also: Every family affected: Devastated village copes with aftermath of Russian strike on funeral

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
The first group of Ukrainian pilots are almost ready to move from F-16 flight simulators to combat planes, Air Force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said in a televised address on Oct. 22, Ukrinform reported.



"We expect that the first group of F-16 pilots, who are already training on flight simulators today, will transfer to the cockpit of a training and combat aircraft in the near future, Ihnat said.



The pilots did their homework and quickly mastered the training program, the spokesperson noted.



Instructors will initially accompany the pilots before they embark on their own independent flights.



The first flights with instructors could begin in a few weeks, Ihnat said on Oct. 12.

Ukrainians will train on real F-16s at centers in Romania and the U.S. but are unlikely to use the aircraft on the battlefield before next spring, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Oct. 11.



The Netherlands and Denmark are leading the allied efforts to provide Ukraine with the fourth-generation American jets.



Amsterdam announced last week that it will send over a dozen F-16 jets to the training center in Romania so that Ukrainian pilots can begin training on the aircraft within weeks.



The Dutch and Danish efforts are part of a broader "fighter jet coalition" to provide training for Ukrainian pilots and technical staff.



Washington will also play a leading role in the coalition.



Denmark said it will provide 19 F-16 fighter jets, the Netherlands promised 42, and Norway has pledged up to 10.



Belgium announced it will deliver jets from 2025, but has not disclosed how many.

Read also: Austin: F-16s could arrive in Ukraine as early as next spring

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
On the night of 22 October, at around 1.00 an air-raid warning was issued in some oblasts due to the threat of ballistic weapons and attack drones. The all-clear was given at around 04:00.

Source: Air Force on Telegram

Details: The military said there is a threat of ballistic missile attacks in the eastern and southeastern oblasts.

In addition, there is a threat of UAV attacks in Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts.

As of 02:40, the threat spread to Vinnytsia Oblast. The Air Force said that the Shahed drones were moving to the west of the country.

At 03:08, the air-raid warning spread to Khmelnytskyi Oblast.

At around 04:00, the all-clear was given in all oblasts.

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 Flash

At least 60 percent of the population in the Gaza Strip has been displaced as a result of the ongoing Israeli attacks, according to a UN organization.

"About 1.6 million people were forced to be displaced from their houses since the start of the current Hamas-Israel bloody conflict 15 days ago," the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a press statement sent to Xinhua on Saturday.

The OCHA said that more than 544,000 people reside in 147 educational districts and schools affiliated with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), including 367,500 in central and southern Gaza, and 70,000 in 67 schools not affiliated with UNRWA.

According to the statement, about 101,000 people took refuge in the Orthodox center, churches in Gaza City, hospitals, and other public buildings.

In addition, the Palestinian Ministry of Social Development estimates that there are about 700,000 displaced people with host families.

According to the statement, institutions affiliated with the UNRWA Educational Operations Department in the central and southern regions of the Gaza Strip have become increasingly overcrowded at a time when severe shortages of basic resources such as water, food, and medicine are reported.

In some educational districts, UNRWA was forced to ration drinking water consumption, providing only one liter of water per person per day.

Overcrowding and lack of basic supplies have raised tensions among internally displaced people, along with reports of gender-based violence, according to the statement.

On Oct. 19, UNRWA established the first camp for internally displaced people in Khan Yunis, consisting of 60 tents and hosting hundreds of internally displaced people.

The statement said that there was anecdotal evidence that some displaced people were returning to the northern Gaza Strip, due to the ongoing bombing in the southern part of the Palestinian enclave and failure to find reasonable accommodation.

The displacement of civilians and the associated poor access to basic services has raised concerns for the most vulnerable people, including children, the elderly, those in need of medical care, people with disabilities, and pregnant women, the statement noted.

It is feared that they will be exposed to psychological and social distress, conflict and tension among internally displaced people, deprivation of access to information, and the possibility of abuse or exploitation.

Meanwhile, the Israeli forces continued to intensify their strikes on the occupied Gaza Strip.

The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said Friday that 4,137 Palestinians have been killed and more than 13,000 others wounded since the outbreak of Israel-Hamas conflict on Oct. 7. More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, mostly in the initial Hamas attacks on Israel on Oct. 7.
The Alpha Delta Pi Charlotte Alumnae Association hosted its third Fall Festival benefitting families with the Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) of Greater Charlotte on Saturday.

This annual event allows members of the community to come together and enjoy fall festivities while supporting the RMHC of Greater Charlotte.

ALSO READ: Nonprofit gets $2.25M grant to help families in need find housing

The event lasted from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and included a pumpkin contest, a spooky playground, a trunk or treat, and other activities that were all laid out on the lawn of the RMHC of the Greater Charlotte House.

Alpha Delta Pi has donated more than $1.5 million to chapters of the RMHC across the United States and Canada.

(WATCH BELOW: City approves much-needed grants for nonprofits)
















The United States is home to almost all the most valuable companies in the world. Its stock indices easily outperform any of their rivals. And it is increasingly becoming the destination of choice for fast-growing companies from around the world to list their shares.

We are already used to the idea that the New York stock exchange is by far the most important in the world. But now it is pulling ahead in another way as well.

The levels of individual share ownership we learned this week are hitting record highs. America has created levels of popular capitalism that are unimaginable on this side of the Atlantic  and the UK needs to learn how to match that before it is too late.

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In the US, owning shares has never been more popular than it is now. The Federal Reserves Survey of Consumer Finances, a comprehensive study released every three years, last week showed that 58pc of American households now own shares, either directly or through mutual funds or an investment account.

That is the highest level on record, beating the 53pc it reached at the height of the dotcom bubble, and before the 2008-09 financial crisis. It has almost doubled since the early 1990s.

Within that, the level of direct ownership of equities has risen from 15pc of households three years ago to 21pc now, again the highest level on record, with the rest held in funds. The average American family now has a stake in the stock market for the first time.

The contrast with the UK could hardly be more painful. The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics showed individual share ownership falling again, with individual ownership of the UKs stock market down to just 12pc of the total, compared with 13.1pc three years ago.

Measured by the number of people owning an Isa, the figures are little better, with only 18pc of us owning an investment vehicle. Britain is way behind the US, and so is every other major European country. Share ownership has been declining steadily for three decades now. The British could hardly be less interested.

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True, there are some special factors helping the US. It is a lot easier to be interested in the market when it is home to Apple, Tesla and Netflix, instead of United Utilities, Vodafone and Legal & General. During the pandemic, stock trading caught on as a popular craze, with day traders going crazy over meme stocks.

The steady outperformance of New Yorks markets meant it has been a lot easier to make money, while the FTSE 100 has generated almost no meaningful returns over the last two decades. And of course the US is now a far richer country, thanks largely to its tech and energy industries, which means that people have more spare cash to invest. That all helps.

Even so, the US has managed to significantly widen equity ownership. That will hugely benefit the economy. Wider share ownership, as Margaret Thatcher recognised in the 1980s, enables people to have a direct stake in a free market system.

The benefits of free and open competition are not just theoretical, but clearly evident in their portfolio. It enables ordinary families to benefit from the success of the countrys major corporations, and also to build up significant levels of personal wealth.

Indeed, the Fed survey found the net worth of the average American family had surged by 37pc over the last three years, rising to $193,000 (159,000) per household. That is a great financial cushion.

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On top of all that, wider share ownership means that more money goes directly into the productivity economy. All that capital goes to companies to build factories and warehouses instead of just going into housing or buy-to-let portfolios. And it is harder for populist politicians to impose punitive taxes or regulations on corporations.

In this country, it would be a lot harder to put a windfall tax on the energy giants if it meant the BP shares in your portfolio immediately crashed in value. The more people own shares, the better an economy will perform.

Britain could imitate America if it wanted to. It could abolish stamp duty on share trading, a minor and pointless tax that contributes almost nothing to the public finances but which makes it more expensive to buy and sell shares.

The UK could increase the Isa allowances so that people could put more money into the market every year. It could lower the rate at which capital gains tax is levied on share portfolios so that you pay less to the Treasury of any profits you make.

Given that inheritance tax needs to be urgently reformed anyway, we could exempt any direct equity holding from death duties in the same way that shares held on the Aim market are right now.

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Perhaps most of all, Britain could move a lot faster on deregulating the stock exchange, stripping away many of the absurd governance codes that have proliferated over the last two decades, so that more companies felt it was worth listing their shares.

With all that, the UK could create a genuinely virtuous circle of rising investment, wider ownership and, and faster growth.

The US has shown us over the last few years that it is still possible to create a genuinely popular form of capitalism, with the majority of households participating in that, and benefitting from the wealth it creates.

Sure, the US has its problems, with the Biden administration wasting money on an epic scale on its green industrial revolution. But the depth of equity ownership is a real strength, and one that will help it to overcome many obstacles.

Here in the UK, we should summon up the political will to follow its lead  because if we dont we will just keep on falling further behind.

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Nine people are on the ballot for three open seats on the Holly Springs Town Council.

Five candidates are running for two four-year seats: incumbent Danielle Hewetson, who was appointed in January; Jack Turnwald; Brian Dennis; Staci Almquist; and Chris Deshazor.

Candidates Annie Drees, Scoop Green, Travis Groo and Brian Norman are running for a two-year seat.

Early voting in the Nov. 7 election runs through Nov. 4. For information about polling sites, voter and Election Day information, residents can visit the state Board of Elections, ncsbe.gov, or the Wake County Board of Elections, wake.gov.

Name: Annie Drees

Age: 45

Residence: Holly Springs

Occupation/Employer: Electrical Engineer at Dell

Education: B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering and Spanish

Political or civic experience: Currency Secretary of Sunset Oaks HOA, support partner at the Carying Place for 2 years and regular volunteer at Holly Springs Food Cupboard

Campaign website: anniedrees4hollysprings.com

Tell us why youre running to serve Holly Springs. Why should voters trust you in this position?

When my family moved to Holly Springs six years ago, we were drawn in by the outstanding schools, picturesque neighborhoods, and the warm, welcoming community. Ive explored the parks, trekked the trails, frequented the library and enjoyed the farmers market. This town has held a special place in my familys heart, and I consider us fortunate to have discovered it.

As Holly Springs has grown, Ive felt a strong desire to give back to the place that has enriched our lives. While the towns rapid growth has brought numerous benefits, such as the bustling downtown scene, it has also presented challenges, notably traffic congestion. Some of these challenges are complex and require a considerate, well-balanced approach to address. Im eager to collaborate with other leaders to develop pragmatic solutions that support the towns continued growth while preserving the harmony and sense of community that make Holly Springs an exceptional place to call home.

What is the town of Holly Springs doing right to manage growth? What could be improved?

The tremendous growth Ive witnessed over the past six years has been remarkable. Im grateful for the downtown development that has introduced new local businesses to our town. Additionally, the recent changes in the UDO, particularly the increased tree preservation requirement, are vital efforts to safeguard our environment. These aspects are critical steps for promoting responsible growth in Holly Springs.

I would like to build out the towns Comprehensive Plan and the sub-plans included in that. Creating a comprehensive strategy and timeline for Holly Springs future plans for growth is essential to unite the community under a shared vision. By prioritizing different elements of this plan, we can pinpoint the key priorities that matter most to our residents. Additionally, establishing clear benchmarks for these development plans will ensure accountability from the Town Council to the community. Its a proactive approach to ensure that the towns growth aligns with the needs and expectations of its residents.

If elected, how would you approach an existing or new issue differently from your fellow council members?

The recent zoning decisions that established no-parking zones in the Garrison neighborhood and part of the neighborhood north of Honeycutt Road, restricting street parking during school hours, have resulted in homeowner complaints about receiving parking tickets in front of their own homes. While I appreciate the Councils intent to address high schoolers parking issues and the congestion in neighborhood streets, I view this as a missed opportunity for community engagement.

My approach would have been different. I would have organized a community meeting involving the affected neighborhoods through their HOAs and invited representatives from Holly Springs High School. By bringing together these key stakeholders, we could have created a platform to explore various solutions and their consequences. Providing these individuals with a voice in the decision-making process would lead to a fairer and more comprehensive solution to this problem. I firmly believe that we are stronger together, and by combining town halls with community meetings and enhancing the transparency and accessibility of town leadership, we can make Holly Springs a more inclusive and engaged community.

How do you plan to make local government in Holly Springs more inclusive and equitable for all residents in the town who feel their voices are underrepresented?

I believe my previous response clearly underscores my commitment to fostering a higher degree of community involvement and ensuring that Holly Springs remains an inclusive and welcoming place for all its residents.

I would also like Town Council to move the public comment section back to the beginning of town council meetings. Placing it in the middle of the meeting turns this into a much bigger time commitment and can hinder residents from participating. To promote accessibility and transparency, we should be making it easier for diverse voices to be heard, not harder.

Lastly, I strongly recommend that the Town Council discusses the Wake County Non-Discrimination Ordinance at a Council meeting. Rather than relying solely on individual anecdotes, I suggest the town consult with the Chamber of Commerce to assess the impact this ordinance might have on local businesses, both large and small. While the low number of complaints reaching mediation in all of Wake County last year suggests the ordinances potential for business impact, a comprehensive assessment is a responsible approach. Its essential to consider the full impact on our community in the decision-making process, as we should for all local ordinances.

Please list any endorsements youve received.

Wake County Democratic Party

Equality NC

Home Builders Association of Wake County

If there is anything you would like to add, please do so here.

I strongly believe in prioritizing multimodal transportation in Holly Springs. Developing options for walking, catching a bus, or biking can help reduce our road congestion problems particularly if aligned with roadwork projects.

In 2022, Holly Springs conducted an affordable housing study, and Im committed to following up on its recommendations to create diverse housing opportunities in the future.

Lastly, Im dedicated to enhancing water quality in Holly Springs. As we expand water treatment facilities, I want to ensure that we include measures to improve water quality. Proactive planning can safeguard our communitys long-term health. This presents a valuable opportunity to invest in the well-being of our residents.
EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell speaks to the press after attending the Summit for Peace in Egypt's New Administrative Capital (NAC) (Khaled DESOUKI)

Cairo's "Summit for Peace" was meant to be a diplomatic breakthrough towards a ceasefire in Gaza, but its failure revealed what one analyst called the "fault lines" between Arab and Western states on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In their opening addresses Saturday, Arab leaders and Western delegates agreed on the need for aid to reach Palestinians in Gaza, besieged and under Israeli bombardment.

But after hours of discussion, they found common ground on little else, with the meeting ending without a concluding statement.

"The disagreement was over condemning Israel, which Western states refused to do," an Arab official told AFP, requesting anonymity because they are not authorised to speak to the media.

Instead, they sought a statement that placed "responsibility for the escalation on Hamas", which Arab states refused, according to a different Arab diplomat.

On October 7, Hamas militants launched a multi-pronged assault in Israel, killing at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and taking more than 200 hostages, according to Israeli officials.

Israel has hit back with a relentless bombing campaign that has killed more than 4,600 people in Gaza, mainly civilians, according to Palestinian officials, and cut off supplies of water, electricity, fuel and food.

- 'Dialogue of the deaf' -

Though a number of Arab leaders condemned the loss of Israeli civilian life, they refused to place the onus on Hamas for the bloodshed.

Arab states -- some involved in the hostage negotiations with Hamas -- would have been "in uncomfortable positions with their people" if they had signed on to the condemnation, the Arab official said.

Another point of contention, diplomats said, was Western diplomats wanting to call for the release of hostages abducted by Hamas.

Arab countries, with Qatar in the lead, have been negotiating their release in talks which could have been jeopardised if they signed alongside countries who have supported "Israel's right to defend itself", diplomats said.

With nothing left on the table, the meeting amounted to little more than a "dialogue of the deaf", according to regional expert Karim Bitar, and ended quietly.

The sole statement released was one from the Egyptian presidency -- drafted with the approval of Arab attendees, diplomats said -- that said decades of band-aid diplomacy had failed to find "a just and lasting solution to the Palestinian issue".

The summit, Bitar told AFP, "perfectly illustrates the deepening fault lines between the West and the Arab world, and the Global South more broadly," as decades have not dulled "the persistence of the Palestinian question".

- 'No to normalisation' -

Though the list of Arab states with ties to Israel has grown in recent years, popular anti-Israel sentiment has remained strong.

Mass protests in support of the Palestinians have erupted in the region and beyond, with Egyptians taking to Cairo's iconic Tahrir Square on Friday for the first time in years after protests in the country were banned.

In Morocco -- which along with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed the 2020 US-brokered Abraham Accords, establishing diplomatic relations with Israel -- tens of thousands of protesters chanted "No to normalisation".

On what was dubbed the "Friday of Rage", crowds in Bahrain chanted "Death to Israel!"

Across the Arab world, solidarity with Palestinians is still one of few causes capable of rallying consensus and mobilising political action.

"Many have pushed against this centrality," according to Bitar.

"For 20 years, we've been told to 'move along, there is nothing to see here, it has become a minor, low-intensity conflict'," he said.

- 'Fall apart in our hands' -

But the idea of "drowning out the Israeli-Palestinian question in an economic mega-deal between the Gulf and Israel" turned out to be a "pipe dream", he continued.

Since hostilities began, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani -- whose government is supported by Iran-backed factions -- has condemned the "genocide" undertaken by "the Zionist occupier" on Palestinians.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi meanwhile sounded the alarm, warning that the region's most fundamental peace deal -- the 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel -- could "fall apart in our hands".

King Abdullah II of Jordan -- which became the second Arab state to recognise Israel in 1994 and hosts more than two million Palestinian refugees -- said on Saturday the war had revealed a culture of "global silence" on Palestinian death and suffering.

"The message the Arab world is hearing is loud and clear: Palestinian lives matter less than Israeli ones."

After the abortive end to the Cairo summit, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said world leaders "must work to put the Palestinian question at the centre of concerns".

Briefing reporters after the meeting, she said, "see you in six months" for the next "Summit for Peace".

burs/bha/srk/jsa
Two astronauts aboard the International Space Station told Fox News their view of Earth without borders and living alongside people from other nations has helped them feel a sense of unity, even as the Israel-Hamas war rages.

"One of the things we experience up here is a different perspective of the world of our planet," European Space Agency astronaut Andreas Mogensen told Fox News. "A lot of people call it the overview effect."

Smoke plumes along the Gaza-Israel border after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

STUDENTS HIDE IDENTITIES WITH MASKS WHILE PRAISING HAMAS' MASSACRE OF ISRAELIS

"We see the Earth as a single planet that we all share together," he continued. "You don't see borders between countries, and so you get an idea that perhaps borders are something artificial."

Though astronauts may not be able to differentiate between different countries from space, territorial border disputes over the Gaza Strip between Palestinians and Israelis have been ongoing for decades. After Hamas  the ruling party in Gaza  invaded Israel and murdered over 1,400 Israelis on Oct. 7, the Jewish nation declared war on the Islamic terrorist group and launched retaliatory strikes.

WATCH MORE FOX NEWS DIGITAL ORIGINALS HERE

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Since then, nearly 5,000 Israelis and Palestinians have died, according to respective authorities. Over 200 Israelis are being held hostage in Gaza, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

Despite the tragedy, the astronauts aboard the International Space Station had a more positive perspective.

"There's much more that unifies us," NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbel told Fox News. "In addition to seeing our Earth from the very unique vantage point that we have, we also have a very international crew up here."

Andreas Mogensen (L) and Jasmin Moghbel (R) float while speaking with Fox News aboard the International Space Station

FROM THE DEADLY DESERT RAVE TO THE FRONT LINES, ISRAELI RESERVE SOLDIER RECOUNTS CONCERT MASSACRE

Seven astronauts are aboard the station: two from the U.S., three from Russia, one from Denmark and another from Japan. The crew and their respective agencies often live and work alongside each other for months to maintain the station.

"Perhaps if we could learn to cooperate a little bit better, to learn to live peacefully side-by-side, many of our problems, many of our challenges in daily life would disappear because many of them are self-created, unfortunately," Mogensen said.

"There's not often a good reason why a border exists where it is," he continued. "Because you experience the planet as a whole, you realize we're all humans."

To watch the full interviews with the astronauts aboard the International Space Station, click here.





Original article source: Astronauts aboard International Space Station share views of the Israel-Hamas war from above
The Floyd County Sheriffs Office announced an inmate at the county prison earned new charges for sneaking contraband into the prison while serving time behind bars.

A pair of arrest warrants provided to Channel 2 Action News list the various contraband items seized from Anthony Jarrod McCord, detailing how he allegedly worked with three other inmates and a woman outside the prison to coordinate contraband drops and sell drugs.

Documents show warrants were filed in December 2022 and January 2023. Additional records state the initial actions by McCoy and his alleged co-conspirators occurred on Oct. 19, 2022.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

Warrants allege that McCoy conspired with three other offenders and one civilian to receive, have, and distribute a variety of items and drugs.

As listed in the warrant, McCoy worked with offenders Isaac Ross, Terry Carton, and Jamieson Lawrence, as well as civilian Anne Lohse, to place a bag of contraband at the prison.

The warrant says it was caught on security video, which shows Lohse drive a white car up to the prison and place a bag into a garbage can in front of the Recycle Center.

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The document continues, saying that Ross and Carton were seen on video directing Lohse to the location where the garbage bag was placed.

When detention officers retrieved the bag from the drop spot, warrants say they found 32 grams of methamphetamine and 257 grams of marijuana.

Deputies said Lawrence and McCoy arranged for the drop with Lohse by using the Floyd County Prison phone system.

According to the warrants, McCoy was searched in his bunk Wednesday, where staff found a smartphone, phone charger, marijuana and a lighter.

McCoy was charged with having items prohibited for possession by inmates without warden authorization.

On Wednesday, McCoy was charged with attempt or conspiracy to violate the Georgia Controlled Substances Act, manufacturing, delivering, or distributing controlled substances, sale of methamphetamine, possessing a controlled substance or marijuana within 1,000 feet of a school, and two counts of having items prohibited for possession by inmates.

The school-related charge was filed because the Floyd County Recycle Center is less than 1,000 feet from West Central Elementary School in Rome, Ga.

The documents did not state whether the other four individuals were charged concerning the contraband drop-off.

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IN OTHER NEWS:
ATLANTA - Atlanta police are searching for a person of interest in the murder of a 34-year-old man.

Police say the victim had been shot near the 24-hour Food Mart located at 5 Cleveland Avenue SE Friday at 10:38 p.m.

He died at the scene.

Police have released surveillance photos of the person of interest.

Anyone who recognizes this man, or has more information on the case, is encouraged to reach out anonymously to the Crime Stoppers Atlanta tip line at 404-577-TIPS (8477).
U.S. Sen. Tim Scott greets Barbara Grassley and her husband, U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, with flowers before tailgating outside the University of Northern Iowa football game Saturday in Cedar Falls. Barbara Grassley was celebrating her 91st birthday.

MAQUOKETA, Iowa  With American attention turning toward the growing war between Israel and Hamas, Republican presidential candidate Tim Scott suggested Saturday in Iowa that America's other war-torn ally may be running out of runway.

The South Carolina Senator has backed past military support for Ukraine in its war against Russia. But speaking Saturday to an audience at a Maquoketa restaurant, Scott said he believes America should be shifting its focus to supporting Israel after the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas, and that he believes the U.S. could meet its goals in Ukraine "in the next several months."

Asked what he believes would constitute victory in Ukraine, Scott raised three main points: degrading the Russian military, dismantling the "axis of evil" rising between Russia, China and Iran "to the extent possible," and keeping U.S. service members out of the conflict.

"If we can achieve that in the next several months, and I think it can be achieved, I think well be better off," Scott said.

Although there is no sign the war in Ukraine will end in the coming months, Scott criticized a recent $106 billion budget request from President Joe Biden, including $61 billion for Ukraine and $14 billion for Israel. He called that proposal "a bad deal" and said America should be focusing its resources on Israel over Ukraine.

The two nations face very different military challenges, however, and the $14 billion Biden has proposed to send to Israel exceeds the $10 billion Israel has reportedly asked for, according to the New York Times.

Scott defends Israel's actions in war

Although many attendees applauded Scott's promises to support Israel, one attendee argued the country's campaign against Gaza has gone too far. Jaclyn Terrell of Maquoketa asked Scott, "How can we target Hamas and not target the innocent women and children, not giving them water, not giving them food, bombing hospitals?"

Scott responded that reports earlier this week that Israel had bombed a Gaza hospital appear to be unfounded, and contrasted Israel's conduct with the Hamas attacks on Israeli civilians on Oct. 7.

"(Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu) sent out the word days ago to leave that region of Gaza," he said. "He gave them what his people did not receive."

Terrell, 30, said afterward that she was a registered Democrat who is open to voting for a Republican in 2024, but that she wasn't satisfied with Scott's answer.

"I can't jump Republican with a non-humanitarian response that's just 'kill them all,'" she said.

On speaker race, Scott warns division strengthens Democrats

Scott also was asked for his thoughts on the tumult in the U.S. House of Representatives, which is in now in its third week with no elected speaker amid bitter infighting among Republicans.

Although he didn't voice support for any particular candidate, Scott expressed exasperation with a process that has seen numerous Republicans oppose a succession of candidates.

"We need to make sure every single Republican in the house gets behind a closed door to figure out who they want to be the speaker, and then come out and vote," Scott said. "(Republican representatives) need to remember that every single bad thing thats happened in the past two years is because the road to socialism runs right through a divided Republican party."

Several candidates have announced bids to replace the ousted Speaker Kevin McCarthy, with Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmert currently considered a frontrunner. Scott declined to comment on Emmert but called on Republicans to "work in lockstep" to fill the speakership and resume legislating.

William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com, 715-573-8166 or on Twitter at @DMRMorris.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Tim Scott calls $106B aid to Ukraine and Israel a 'bad deal'
The number of those injured in the Russian strike on a Nova Poshta post service terminal in Kharkiv Oblast has increased to 17.

Source: Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor's Office

Quote: "As of now, the number of victims has increased to 17.

Another employee of the company suffered shrapnel wounds. He received medical assistance and refused to be hospitalised."

Previously: Early reports mentioned 6 dead and 16 wounded in the Russian missile attack on the Nova Poshta terminal in the village of Korotych, Kharkiv Oblast.

Background:

On 21 October, a Russian missile hit a depot in Kharkiv Oblast belonging to the Nova Poshta delivery company.

A Russian missile hit a Kharkiv depot belonging to the Nova Poshta delivery company. The workers who were there had no chance or time to run for cover, as the air-raid warning was issued only a second before the explosion.

Early reports say the attack was carried out with two S-300 missiles launched from the territory of Russia's Belgorod Oblast.

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An international peace summit kicked off Saturday at Egypt's new administrative capital east of Cairo, where heads of state and ministers from several countries are discussing ways to de-escalate the ongoing Israel-Hamas armed conflict in the Gaza Strip.

Dubbed the Cairo Summit for Peace, the conference was called by Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi to address de-escalating the conflict in Gaza, pursue a ceasefire, and seek a resolution to the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict via a "two-state solution."

"Egypt condemns the terrorization of civilians and expresses its astonishment at the world's response to a humanitarian crisis in Gaza," Sisi said in his speech at the opening of the summit.

The Egyptian president rejected the displacement of Palestinians to Egyptian lands, affirming that liquidating the Palestinian issue without a just solution "will never happen and will not happen at Egypt's expense."

Sisi stressed that a comprehensive and just solution to the Palestinian issue on the basis of "the two-state solution" must be reached.

The summit is attended by some 30 Arab and Western leaders including the Palestinian president, the king of Jordan, the emir of Qatar, the president of the United Arab Emirates, the Italian prime minister, the Spanish prime minister, the Greek prime minister, the Cypriot president, and the Canadian prime minister.

The president of the European Council, the high representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the United Nations secretary-general and the special envoy of the Chinese government on the Middle East issue are also attending.

Since Oct. 7, Hamas and Israel have engaged in a bloody confrontation, leading to more than 5,000 deaths on both sides.
(Bloomberg) -- Australias Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will visit China next month in the latest sign of thawing ties after a years-long dispute, with the two sides signaling a deal toward ending Chinese tariffs on Australian wine exports.

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Albanese will travel to China from Nov. 4-7, the first by an Australian leader since 2016. The government has been working with Beijing to remove obstacles on trade, including on wine, and has reached an agreement with China to move forward to resolve this dispute, Albaneses office said in a statement Sunday.

Australia will suspend its case at the World Trade Organization over Chinas tariffs on wine imports, while Beijing will undertake an expedited review of its wine tariffs  a process that is expected to take five months.

If the duties are not removed at the end of the review, Australia will resume the dispute in the WTO, according to the statement. We are confident of a successful outcome.

The announcement on wine tariffs is another step toward normalizing relations between the two countries. Earlier this month, China released Australian journalist Cheng Lei from about three years of detention for allegedly passing national secrets to an overseas institution. Australia said last week it would end anti-dumping tariffs on Chinese exports of wind towers, and would allow a Chinese firm to continue to lease a port in the country.

China responded to Australias statement on the same day, with the Ministry of Commerce saying the two countries have had friendly negotiations over wine and wind tower disputes and reached a consensus on properly solving them. It didnt provide specific details about the next steps related to its wine tariffs.

China imposed steep tariffs on Australian wine in 2020 as diplomatic relations between the nations soured, with trade in other commodities such as coal and seafood also affected. The wine market was Australias most valuable prior to the implementation of duties, worth more than A$1 billion ($631.4 million) in 2018-19 and 2019-20, according to the nations agriculture department.

Were very confident that this will result in once again Australian wine, a great product, being able to go to China without the tariffs, Albanese said at a press conference on Sunday. He added that this was critical, as the wine industry has struggled to fill the gap left by Chinas business.

The agreement with Beijing buoyed shares of Australian vintner Treasury Wine Estates Ltd. on Monday, with the stock rising as much as 5.3%. The company said its well placed to rebuild its business in China should tariffs be removed at the end of the review period.

The move toward ending duties on wine follows Beijings removal of penalties on the nations barley exports in August that allowed for a resumption of trade. Australian Agriculture Minister Murray Watt noted in a post on social media platform X that the agreement on wine follows the same process as removal of trade barriers on Aussie barley. China in April agreed to review the barley tariffs and then lifted them about four months later.

Albanese arrives in Washington on Monday to kick off a month of critical diplomatic engagements. He will meet with President Joe Biden and attend a state dinner  becoming just the fourth Australian leader to be accorded such an honor. The visit will focus on building an alliance for the future, Albanese told parliament last week, adding that strengthening the partnership with the US on critical minerals and green energy will also be on the agenda.

Read more: US, China Visits Put Australian PMs Diplomatic Skills to Test

During his China trip, the prime minister will meet with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang in Beijing and will also attend the China International Import Expo in Shanghai. The leaders will discuss cooperation in areas including economic links and climate change.

I look forward to further engaging with President Xi and Premier Li in Australias national interest, Albanese said. I welcome the progress we have made to return Australian products, including Australian wine, to the Chinese market. Strong trade benefits both countries.

--With assistance from Hallie Gu, Ben Sharples, Jessica Sui and Ben Westcott.

(Updates with shares in ninth paragraph)

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Sebastian Cook is pursuing his dream of becoming a barber. Some days, he spends up to 12 hours at the Brevard-based academy he attends. With a rule passed Wednesday by the Florida Board of Education, the 19-year-old transgender man will be barred from accessing a bathroom he feels comfortable using.

"It makes me really terrified to go to school," he said. "I am not a woman. I don't look like a woman. More women will be uncomfortable with me in their restroom when most men don't even realize I'm trans when I use the restroom."

The rule, passed unanimously by the seven-member board, enacts language laid out in House Bill 1521, which states that bathrooms and changing facilities must be segregated by sex assigned at birth.

Similar to a rule passed in August that applied to schools in the Florida College System, the new rule says that post-secondary educational facilities licensed by the Commission for Independent Education and certain other institutions must segregate bathrooms and changing facilities by sex assigned at birth or provide a unisex option. Student and employee handbooks, codes of conduct and disciplinary procedures must lay out these new rules and establish disciplinary procedures for students, staff and faculty who use the "wrong" bathroom.

'I've kept her safe': Families flee states with transgender care bans to protect their children

Manny Diaz, Jr. is the Florida commissioner of Education.

These documents should provide those at the institution with notice that they have a right to file a complaint with Florida's attorney general alleging the institution has failed to meet the requirements for bathrooms under Florida statute.

These rules apply to all facilities on campus, including student housing facilities owned or operated by the institution.

Institutions have until April 2024 to provide the Department of Education with proof that they are in compliance with the new rule.

Where does the rule apply?

The rule applies to colleges and universities licensed by the Commission for Independent Education  such as cosmetology schools, certain health-related career academies, bartending schools and more  as well as certain institutions not under the jurisdiction of the commission. These institutions include:

Postsecondary institutions operated at the state, political subdivisions or the federal government.

Any college or course approved for operation under part of the Florida Statutes requiring licensing or approval.

Institutions that are under the jurisdiction of the Department of Education, eligible to participate in the William L. Boyd, IV, Effective Access to Student Education Grant Program and that are nonprofit independent colleges or universities located and chartered in the state and accredited by the commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to grant baccalaureate degrees.

Institutions that offer only avocational programs or courses, exam prep programs, contract training programs, continuing education or professional development courses.

Institutions that were exempt from licensure in 2001 under Florida statute so long as they have maintained their qualifying criteria.

Religious colleges that annually verify by sworn affidavit that the name of the institution contains a religious modifier or religious-themed name, the institution offers only religious educational programs, the titles of degrees the institution offers can't be confused with secular degree titles and must include a religious modifier, the duration of degree programs offered is consistent with standards of the commission and the institution's consumer practices are consistent with state statute.

The rule does not apply to schools like Florida Tech or EmbryRiddle Aeronautical University, as they are not licensed by the Commission for Independent Education and do not fall under the other criteria listed in the rule.

The rule also does not apply to Florida's state universities like University of Florida, Florida State University and University of Central Florida.

'A safe place': Florida city declares itself a sanctuary city for LGBTQ people

'Why is it being politicized?'

Two public commenters spoke on the rule, with one woman saying that institutions don't have enough unisex facilities for trans and nonbinary students, staff and faculty.

"We have a situation whereby all the nonbinary and transgender (students) and the teachers all line up for this unisex bathroom," she said. "They need more than one bathroom."

The other commenter, Yvette Benarroch, chair of Collier County's chapter of Moms for Liberty, spoke in support of the rule.

"Our core belief is that every student deserves to learn and thrive in an environment where they feel safe, respected and protected," she said. "The designation of restrooms and changing facilities in a private post-secondary educational facility, as determined at birth by biological sex, isn't about discrimination. It's about safety and clarity."

More: A college LGBTQ center disappeared. It wasnt the only one.

State Rep. Anna Eskamani told FLORIDA TODAY, part of the USA TODAY Network, that she felt the board's focus on private institutions was alarming.

"The fact that we see the Board of Education, via legislature, attempt to craft policy and rules for private institutions is very alarming and unsettling," she said. "No matter your position when it comes to LGBTQ+ rights, you should be disturbed by that because that is government getting involved in our private institutions, and our private lives."

For Cook, the new rule will take away his ability to safely use the bathroom at school, he said.

"I just don't understand why people are so concerned with where I pee," he said. "My genitalia is no one's business, so why is it being politicized?"

Similar rules at other colleges and universities

This is the second rule to be approved that impacts post-secondary educational facilities, with a third set to be approved in November by the Florida Board of Governors.

At an August meeting, the board of education unanimously voted to require 28 state colleges within the Florida College System to adhere to a rule similar to the one passed Wednesday. Like the latest rule, it required them to segregate facilities by sex at birth for employees and students, as well as expanding the rule to student housing. Unlike Wednesday's rule, it also mandated termination for an employee with two offenses.

There's another rule set to be voted on in November that will impact schools like University of Florida, Florida State University and University of Central Florida.

Alexandra Steele (71) from Palm Bay holds a sign,  We Say Gay, during the National March to Protect Trans Youth on Saturday, October 7th, 2023 in Orlando.

The Board of Governors, who oversee Florida's universities, will vote on a regulation that segregates restrooms and changing facilities by sex assigned at birth and makes it a fireable offense if a trans employee uses a restroom that aligns with their gender identity.

If approved, universities will be required to update their student codes of conduct and disciplinary procedures for employees by April 1, 2024.

The rule is slightly less strict than the state board of education's rule for colleges, as it does not require that an employee be terminated after a certain number of offenses. However, while not mandatory, dismissal remains an option.

Finch Walker is the education reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Walker at 321-290-4744 or fwalker@floridatoday.com. X: @_finchwalker

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Board expands rule restricting school bathrooms by birth-assigned sex
A cordon was put in place around the car park

A car park at a supermarket in a Nottinghamshire town has been cordoned off by police after a man was found unconscious.

Nottinghamshire Police were called to the Tesco Extra supermarket in Station Road, Beeston, at around 08:00 BST on Sunday.

The man was taken to the Queen's Medical Centre by ambulance crews where he remains, police said.

The scene is currently cordoned off while an investigation takes place.

Follow BBC East Midlands on Facebook, on Twitter, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk.
How should you behave at the Eras Tour movie? Swifties debate theater etiquette

Do Swifties need to calm down?

The "Eras Tour" movie has been turning some AMC theaters into dance parties, while in others, people stay seated and fairly quiet, starting a debate among fans about theater etiquette.

Swifties have swarmed the internet with their thoughts about what the atmosphere should be like inside theaters for Swifts concert film, which came out Oct. 12.

Entering the second weekend of "Eras Tour" showings, some people are calling for moviegoers to consider people in other theaters who may be watching films like Martin Scorsese's "Killers of the Flower Moon," which premiered Oct. 20. The somber film follows the murders of members of the Osage Nation after white settlers moved onto the land for its oil deposits.

"If you could just turn it down a notch. There are a few of us next door trying to watch 'Killers of the Flower Moon,'" one person said in a TikTok skit shared Oct. 15 over the sound of fans screaming at a Swift concert.

What have theaters said?

AMC did not respond to TODAY.coms request for comment about "Eras Tour" theater etiquette by the time of publication.

Before the premiere of the Eras Tour," AMC released a know before you go page with guidelines for seeing the concert film.

We encourage dancing and singing throughout this concert film event, but please do not dance on our seats or block other guests from viewing, safely walking or exiting the auditorium, AMC said on the site.

The theater also said fans cannot record the concert film in each theater but encourages taking selfies and group photos.

AMC said it wants guests to have the best time, but asks that moviegoers be respectful of other guests enjoying the concert film or other movies.

Now, as the concert film continues to play in theaters alongside new releases, debates over what exactly "respect" entails at a concert film are playing out online.

To sit or not to sit?

While many go all out, showing up to theaters in full "Eras Tour"-inspired outfits and friendship bracelets, some want to treat this movie like any other movie.

One fan took to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, to share their thoughts.

"if you're at the eras movie singing and dancing, sit down and be quiet," they wrote. "this is a MOVIE THEATRE."

if youre at the eras tour movie singing and dancing, sit down and be quiet. this is a MOVIE THEATRE.  Ellie Han (@elliehan100) October 15, 2023

But encountering an energetic and enthusiastic crowd might be inevitable.

One TikTok video shows an example of what the energy can look like. Fans were not only singing and dancing, but most of the theater was seemingly out of their seats, turning the showing into a dance party.

They gathered directly in front of the screen, singing and dancing to Swift's track "Style."

Another video shows a similar atmosphere while fans sang and danced to "Bad Blood," including a screaming chant of Kendrick Lamar's iconic line, "You forgive, you forget, but you never let it go."

"Honestly feel bad for you guys whos cinemas just sat there quiet not singing or dancing cause we ate," the TikTok user wrote.

But the divide among Swifties was clear in the comments section of the video.

One commenter said they were disappointed to have been at a movie with a similar environment.

that was mine, they wrote. it really ruined the experience.

"I like the quiet then you can sit and hear and enjoy the songs," another wrote.

On the other hand, many were intrigued by the energy in the theater and said their experience was not comparable.

One user commented "Im so jealous, my cinema wasnt even half full."

A unique Swiftie solution

While many social media posts show high energy environments in theaters, some fans are upset that they haven't been able to get the same experience. Meanwhile, others are craving a quieter space.

With such a divide in moviegoing expectations, some Swifties proposed designating certain theaters for certain types of crowds.

I think theatres should split up the showing rooms for the eras tour movie so they one theatre is meant to be for people sitting in their seats and enjoying the film that way, one X user wrote. and then another room would be for those fans who want to be up and dancing and having fun!!

I think theatres should split up the showing rooms for the eras tour movie so they one theatre is meant to be for people sitting in their seats and enjoying the film that way and then another room would be for those fans who want to be up and dancing and having fun!!  Nadia (@NadiaZee18) October 14, 2023

the eras tour movie needs to be divided into 2 kinds of rooms, another user wrote. im tired of people complaining about the fun but some of it i understand like.

the eras tour movie needs to be divided into 2 different kind of rooms. im tired of people complaining about the fun but some of it i understand like  Daniel (@TheLucky0ne1) October 13, 2023

Sensory friendly showings

For viewers with autism or other special needs, AMC offers sensory-friendly showings of some movies, including the "Eras Tour" concert film.

AMC announced their partnership with the Autism Society in July and began offering showings with the lights on and lowered volume.

Sensory-friendly family films are shown on the second and fourth Saturday of the month.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
Although the Supreme Court struck down President Joe Biden s signature student loan forgiveness program in late June, his administration has found ways to cancel more than $48 billion in debt since then.

The cancellations have come through existing federal student loan forgiveness programs, which are limited to specific categories of borrowers, such as public-sector workers, people defrauded by for-profit colleges, and borrowers who have paid for at least 20 years.

These programs are separate from the rejected forgiveness plan, which would have canceled about $430 billion of the $1.6 trillion of outstanding federal student loan debt all at one time.

The Biden administration has been granting student loan forgiveness through these existing programs on a rolling basis since coming into office and has discharged a total of $127 billion for nearly 3.6 million people to date.

Thats more student loan forgiveness than was granted under any other administration  in part due to the Biden administrations efforts to temporarily expand some debt relief programs and to correct past administrative errors made to borrowers student loan accounts. The actions draw a stark contrast with the Trump administration, which tried to limit some of these forgiveness programs and slowed the processing of some applications.

But Bidens Republican critics say that at least some of his debt relief actions are illegal and are an attempt to circumvent the Supreme Courts ruling.

Recounting past payments and fixing errors

Nearly $42 billion of federal student loan debt has been canceled for almost 855,000 borrowers enrolled in income-driven repayment plans  largely due to the Biden administrations effort to recount borrowers past payments and fix what officials have called past administrative failures.

Borrowers enrolled in income-driven repayment plans, which have been available in some form since 1993, are generally eligible for debt discharges after making qualifying payments for at least 20 years. The plans lower monthly payments by tying them to a borrowers income and family size.

But the Department of Education has historically had trouble tracking borrowers payments.

Last year, the US Government Accountability Office recommended that the department do more to ensure that borrowers receive the forgiveness they are entitled to, after it found that there were thousands of loans still in repayment that could already be eligible for forgiveness.

These are borrowers getting discharges that they should have received under programs authorized by Congress if theyd been operated as they should have over decades, a Department of Education official said to CNN in an emailed statement.

Generally, the one-time recount will give borrowers credit toward forgiveness for any months in which they made payments regardless of what repayment plan they were enrolled in at the time, according to the Department of Education. The recount especially helps borrowers who may have been inappropriately steered by their student loan servicing company into a long-term forbearance, a period in which they stopped making payments.

A legal challenge moves forward

The one-time account adjustment effort was first announced by the Biden administration in April 2022  but the cancellations did not begin until this year.

The administration announced it was canceling $39 billion in student loan debt due to the changes just two weeks after the Supreme Court knocked down Bidens signature loan forgiveness program  drawing some skepticism about whether the move was legal.

The Biden administration is trampling the rule of law, hurting borrowers, and abusing taxpayers to chase headlines, Republican Rep. Virginia Foxx, chair of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, said in a statement at the time.

Todays celebration of counting no payments as payments is just the latest example of the ongoing delusion at the White House, she added.

The Biden administration is facing at least one lawsuit over the account adjustments, filed by the New Civil Liberties Alliance on behalf of the conservative groups Cato Institute and the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. The plaintiffs recently filed an appeal after the lawsuit was dismissed by a federal judge in Michigan, who ruled that they did not have standing to bring the complaint.

Lawyers for the Biden administration have not yet been required to respond to the complaint and specify the legal authority relied on to cancel billions of dollars of student loan debt by adjusting past payments.

There are several sources of authority that the department may be relying on, given its expansive authority over the federal student loan program generally and the income-driven repayment plans in particular, said Abby Shafroth, co-director of advocacy at the National Consumer Law Center and director of its Student Loan Borrower Assistance Project.

Even if the lawsuit succeeds, Shafroth said it would surprise her if the courts decision would result in reversing the debt relief that has already occurred.

Expanding debt relief program for public-sector workers

Nearly $51 billion of student loan debt has been canceled for 715,000 borrowers through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program since Biden took office.

The PSLF program cancels outstanding federal student loan debt for public-sector workers who have made 120 qualifying monthly student loan payments, or about 10 years worth of payments. A variety of government and nonprofit workers  including teachers, social workers, some nurses and doctors, and government lawyers  may qualify for the program.

The program was created by Congress in 2007 but was plagued with administrative problems before Biden took office.

In 2021, Biden put a temporary waiver in place, expanding eligibility so that some borrowers could retroactively receive credit for past payments that did not otherwise qualify for PSLF.

More than 95% of the borrowers who have been granted debt relief by the PSLF program qualified because of Bidens temporary waiver.

The temporary benefits ended in October 2022. But the Department of Education has since conducted an executive rulemaking process to permanently change some of the qualifying restrictions of the PSLF program. The changes allow borrowers to receive credit toward PSLF on payments that are made late, in installments or in a lump sum, for example. Those changes went into effect in July.

Processing claims left over from the Trump administration

The Biden administration has canceled $22.5 billion of student loan debt for more than 1.3 million borrowers through an existing program known as borrower defense to repayment, which delivers student debt relief to people who were defrauded by their college.

Most recently, $37 million was canceled for more than 1,200 borrowers who attended the University of Phoenix because the government found that the for-profit school misled students about job prospects.

The borrower defense program was created by Congress decades ago but was rarely used until Corinthian Colleges, a for-profit network of schools, collapsed in 2015.

Under Biden, the Department of Education has made progress in whittling down a backlog of borrower defense claims that built up during the Trump administration.

At one point, more than 200,000 borrower defense claims were pending as former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos made efforts to limit the program. Those efforts were ultimately unsuccessful.

Cutting red tape for disabled borrowers eligible for debt relief

The Biden administration has also made it easier for disabled borrowers to receive the debt relief to which they are entitled. Nearly 513,000 borrowers with a total and permanent disability have received $11.7 billion in student loan forgiveness since 2021.

Previously, borrowers were required to provide documentation from a physician, the Social Security Administration or the Department of Veterans Affairs to show that they qualified for debt relief.

But the Biden administration changed the rule so that the Department of Education can provide automatic discharges for disabled borrowers who are identified through administrative data matching with the Social Security Administration  without the borrowers submitting paperwork.

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President Biden and Pope Francis spoke in a rare phone call Sunday about the latest developments in Israel and Gaza, stressing the need to prevent an escalation of the conflict and steps towards peace in the Middle East.

Condemning the attacks by Hamas, which is recognized by the U.S. and several other countries as a terrorist organization, Biden spoke with the pontiff about his trip to Israel and efforts to guarantee the delivery of food, medicine and humanitarian aid to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, according to a readout from the White House.

The two leaders spoke about preventing the conflicts escalation in the region and how to work toward a durable peace in the Middle East, the White House said.

Citing the Holy See Press Office, Vatican News reported the conversation lasted around 20 minutes and highlighted the need to identify paths of peace.

Biden is only the second Catholic U.S. president and had a private audience with Francis at the Vatican in 2021.

Their conversation comes just over two weeks since Hamas launched attacks that killed more than 1,400 people in Israel, including hundreds of civilians in their homes, at a bus stop and at a music festival.

Israeli forces quickly responded with a bombardment of Gaza that has so far killed more than 4,600 Palestinians and injured more than 14,000 others, the Gaza Ministry of Health reported Sunday.

While launching hundreds of airstrikes, Israel also cut off food, water, electricity and medicine to the region, intensifying the humanitarian crisis in the area.

Israel ordered more than 1.1 million Palestinians to travel to the southern half of the Gaza Strip more than a week ago, ahead of an anticipated ground assault. However, many people in Gaza said Israel still attacked that portion of the enclave. Hamas has told residents not to leave and to stay in their homes.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces Sunday reportedly claimed Hamas has taken 212 people hostage, a slight increase from the previous estimate of at least 203 hostages last week. The upped hostage count comes days after the militant group released two American hostages.

Earlier this month, Francis called on Hamas to free hostages abducted from Israel and expressed his concern over Israels siege of the Gaza Strip.

In Bidens visit to Tel Aviv last week, the president reaffirmed the U.S.s unwavering support of Israel while announcing an agreement to allow humanitarian aid to move from Egypt to Gaza.

Trucks carrying aid have since entered Gaza through the Rafah crossing  Gazas only connection to Egypt  which had shut down in the wake of Israeli airstrikes.

Biden also confirmed the U.S. will fund $100 million to assist those living in Gaza and the West Bank.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Democrats are seeing an early fundraising edge in several key 2024 races, with third-quarter figures giving President Biden a boost over his Republican rivals and giving vulnerable Senate Democrats the advantage in closely watched contests just more than a year out from next Novembers Election Day.

The good news for Democrats is that, even in what looks like its going be a close election, they are holding their own or exceeding the totals, sometimes by pretty big numbers, and putting some pretty big points on the board up there against their Republican rivals, said Democratic strategist Jon Reinish.

Former President Trump, who is the front-runner of the GOP presidential race, outraised his Republican competitors, though his numbers slightly trailed Bidens in the third quarter.

Bidens principal campaign committee took in $24.8 million from July through September, ahead of Trumps $24.5 million, according to the latest filings from the Federal Election Committee (FEC).

Together with his joint fundraising committee and the Democratic National Committee (DNC), Bidens campaign announced a total haul of more than $71 million during the quarter.

Everybody has to raise a lot of money. Its how you spend it and where you spend it, said Democratic strategist Kristen Hawn. The president has a lot of support, hes very strong going into this cycle. Trump has a lot of baggage hes going to have to make up for.

Hawn pointed to Trumps ongoing legal battles, which include multiple criminal indictments, and noted hes at the disadvantage of having to spend money on legal fees.

Democratic incumbents also outraised Republican challengers in several key Senate races.

In Ohio, Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown pulled in $5.8 million, beating out his Republican rivals hauls and ending September with more than $11 million cash on hand.

In Montana, Democratic Sen. Jon Tester announced hed raised more than $5 million for his reelection campaign, substantially outpacing Republican Tim Sheehys roughly $2.8 million and ending with $13 million cash on hand.

In Nevada, Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen raised $2.7 million and had $8.8 million cash on hand, while Republican Sam Brown raised around $1.2 million and had around $900,000 cash on hand.

Luckily for a lot of these Democrats, whats eating up money on the Republican side are very acerbic, very competitive primaries among the Republican field, Reinish said.

Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin, who doesnt have a main GOP challenger yet, raised $3.1 million in the third quarter. Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. Bob Casey, whos been challenged by Republican Dave McCormick, reported raising $3.2 million, which his team said was more than in any quarter of his 2018 reelection bid.

These six races are rated as toss up or lean Democrat by the political handicapper Cook Political Report. In Michigan, where incumbent Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D) is not seeking reelection, Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin brought in around $3 million for the race rated as lean Democratic.

Overall, Senate Democrats face a tough election map next year as it tries to hold onto its slim 51-49 control of the upper chamber.

Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) spokesperson Tommy Garcia told The Hill that Senate Democratic candidates formidable fundraising during the third quarter shows voters and donors recognize the stakes of this election as the 2024 race heats up.

He said the fundraising wins show the Democrats are laying the groundwork for 2024 victories  though strategists stress the party is up against a difficult map next year.

In West Virginia and Arizona Senate contests  both rated as toss up by Cook Political Report and considered among the most likely Senate seats to flip in 2024  the incumbents havent yet said whether theyll run for reelection.

The Mountain States Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin raised around $715,000 in the third quarter, a step down from the $1.2 million he raised in the second quarter  but hes still outpacing Republican Gov. Jim Justice and Republican Rep. Alex Mooney in both funds raised and cash on hand.

Notably, GOP candidates preferred by the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) in West Virginia and Montana  Justice and Sheehy, respectively  did better than other Republican hopefuls in those states.

Democrat-turned-independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema raised around $826,000 in the Grand Canyon States Senate race, less than Democrat Rep. Ruben Gallegos $3.1 million haul  though she still boasts roughly double Gallegos cash on hand. Republicans Mark Lamb and Kari Lake are both in the running, setting the race up for a complicated three-way contest if Sinema does try for reelection.

Reinish said Sinemas numbers in Arizona dont seem very encouraging, but noted the unique landscape of a possible contest between the independent incumbent and nominees from the two main parties.

Its not just incumbents outpacing their challengers  Democratic candidates also brought in more cash against some Republican senators up for reelection next year, according to receipts from the July-September window.

In Texas, Sen. Ted Cruz (R) raised $3.1 million for his reelection bid from July through September, according to the filings. Democratic Rep. Colin Allred, whos trying to jump from the House to the upper chamber, brought in $4.7 million.

Allred also had more cash on hand at the end of the quarter, with $7.9 million to Cruzs $5.8 million.

In Florida, Republican Sen. Rick Scott raised roughly $1.6 million in the third quarter for his reelection bid  but Democrat Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, a former House member, edged Scott out with $1.7 million. Scott, though, boasts more cash on hand.

Republicans appeared to have the advantage in competitive House contests as they look to maintain their hold on the lower chamber next year.

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) announced a record-shattering fundraising haul, with $18.5 million raised in the third quarter.

At the same time, the Democrats House campaign arm announced it pulled in $26 million in the third quarter, besting the NRCC by $7.5 million.

Theyre certainly being incredibly competitive, and by all accounts keeping up with Republicans in certain races, Reinish said of Democrats in House contests.

Strategists note its early in the 2024 cycle to make predictions about Election Day performance based on the latest figures, but they said the numbers can indicate which candidates and races are gearing up to be the most competitive next year.

Democrats could do to be cautious about big hauls at this point in the race, some suggested, given that impressive numbers could spur competitors to get more aggressive or give candidates a false sense of security.

But overall, Democrats appear in a very good position from a fundraising perspective, said strategist Hank Sheinkopf.

This is the Democratic moment to raise money, said Sheinkopf.

He pointed to the chaos in the House as Republican lawmakers scramble to elect a Speaker  and to lessening economic woes at home while Biden appears on the world stage.

If they cant raise the money now under these conditions, when are they going to raise the money? he said of Democrats.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The German government has not yet budgeted enough funds to be able to deliver enough military aid to Ukraine in 2024, German media outlet Bild reported on Oct. 22, citing a confidential Defense Ministry memo.

The 2024 budget will be approved in mid-November, but the Defense Ministry is concerned that the current draft budget leaves only 120 million euros ($127.2 million) for new military support to Ukraine next year once existing commitments are subtracted.

While the Finance Ministry has earmarked four billion euros ($4.2 billion) for military support to Ukraine next year, the Defense Ministry has calculated that 3.1 billion euros ($3.3 billion) will go to projects that have already been announced, according to Bild.

Another 770 million euros ($816 million) will go to the Foreign Ministry's aid programs, leaving just 120 million for new military aid support to Ukraine in 2024.

However, the Defense Ministry expects to need billions more to meet Ukraine's needs for military support, Bild reported.

This includes 880 million euros ($932 million) for air defense, 675 million ($715 million) for armored combat vehicles, 390 million ($413 million) for combat engineering, 935 million ($990 million) for protective equipment, and 2.34 billion ($2.48 billion) for repairs, spare parts, and logistics.

"Ukraine must be able to rely on Germanys promises, Andreas Schwarz, the MP responsible for the defense budget in the German parliament's budget committee, told Bild.

"It must not be the case that we run out of financial steam when it comes to aid to Ukraine next year," Schwarz said.

Negotiations to finalize the budget are currently ongoing. German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said in August that Germany plans to provide Ukraine with 5 billion euros ($5.3 billion) in annual military aid until 2027.

Germany is the world's largest provider of military aid to Ukraine after the United States.

Read also: Germany pledges further $210 million for Ukraine reconstruction

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
The German government has not yet budgeted enough funds to be able to deliver billions of euros of military aid to Ukraine in 2024, German media outlet Bild reported on Oct. 22, citing a confidential Defense Ministry memo.

The 2024 budget will be approved in mid-November, but the Defense Ministry is concerned that the current draft budget is more than 5 billion euros ($5.3 billion) short of what is needed to provide sufficient military support to Ukraine next year.

While the Finance Ministry has earmarked four billion euros ($4.2 billion) for military support to Ukraine, the Defense Ministry has calculated that 3.1 billion euros ($3.3 billion) will go to projects that have already been announced, according to Bild.

Another 770 million euros ($816 million) will go to the Foreign Ministry's aid programs, leaving just 120 million for new military aid support to Ukraine in 2024.

However, the Defence Ministry expects to need billions more to meet Ukraine's needs for military support, Bild reported.

This includes 880 million euros ($932 million) for air defense, 675 million ($715 million) for armored combat vehicles, 390 million ($413 million) for combat engineering, 935 million ($990 million) for protective equipment, and 2.34 billion ($2.48 billion) for repairs, spare parts, and logistics.

"Ukraine must be able to rely on Germanys promises, Andreas Schwarz, the MP responsible for the defense budget in the German parliament's budget committee, told Bild.

"It must not be the case that we run out of financial steam when it comes to aid to Ukraine next year," Schwarz said.

Negotiations to finalize the budget are currently ongoing. German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said in August that Germany plans to provide Ukraine with 5 billion euros ($5.3 billion) in annual military aid until 2027.

Germany is the world's largest provider of military aid to Ukraine after the United States.

Read also: Germany pledges further $210 million for Ukraine reconstruction

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
 Flash

A Chinese envoy on Friday said that the Palestinian-Israeli situation is the most pressing issue, and a comprehensive and just solution to the Palestinian issue cannot be delayed.

The outbreak of fresh conflict shows that piecemeal crisis management is unsustainable, said Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations (UN).

China supports the League of Arab States and Arab countries in playing a leading role, he said, urging the United Nations and the Security Council to heed the call of Arab countries, strengthen coordination with regional mechanisms, work on the basis of international consensus, take effective measures to promote an immediate ceasefire and make every effort to ensure the safety of civilians in order to prevent an even deadlier humanitarian disaster.

The times call for unity and cooperation, without which effective responses to various global challenges will be impossible, said Zhang.
Do yall remember Marsha Ervin? Shes the Florida Black who was released from prison in 2018 and charged with voter fraud after she voted in the 2020 presidential election and the 2022 primary election.

Why was she charged? Based on a new state law that was passed in November 2018, Amendment Four, Ervin assumed that she could vote after she completed her full prison sentence. But she did not know that in 2019, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill that would lengthen the time it would take for convicted felons to gain their voting rights back.

Read more

On Tuesday, Florida State Attorney Jack Campbell wrote in a filing, There is no witness who can testify to the defendant being told that she was ineligible to vote and some evidence to corroborate her assertions that she believed she could lawfully vote.

This was such a high-profile case because it represented an issue that many voters were struggling with. Many liberal leaders have said that conservative lawmakers put these laws in place to cause confusion among Black voters and intimidate felons who want to vote after their sentence is complete.

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Fuquay-Varina, the fast-growing town in southern Wake County, is headed for another municipal election.

Eight candidates are on the ballot for four open seats this year.

Blake Massengill, who has served as mayor for two years, is running unopposed.

Early voting kicks runs through Nov. 4. Election Day is Nov. 7.

To find polling places and full details on early voting, visit the state Board of Elections, ncsbe.gov, or the Wake County Board of Elections, wake.gov.

Name: Blake Massengill

Age: 39

Residence: Fuquay-Varina

Occupation/Employer: Owner, Massengill Design-Build

Education: MBA from NC State University; BA in Accounting from NC State University

Political or civic experience: Mayor of Fuquay-Varina since 2021; Mayor Pro-Tem of Fuquay-Varina 2015-21; Town Commissioner 2013-21; Past President of Fuquay-Varina Rotary Club; Member of Fuquay-Varina Chamber of Commerce and Fuquay-Varina Downtown Association

Campaign website: blakemassengill.com

Tell us why youre running to serve Fuquay-Varina. Why should voters trust you in this position?

I am running unopposed in my re-election campaign for mayor. I think this solidifies what our town community survey told us last year: 92% of respondents think Fuquay-Varina is an excellent or good place to live, compared to the 50% national average. Were on the right track, but there is plenty more work to do, and I look forward to continuing to lead my hometown of Fuquay-Varina. My top priorities will continue to be: improving traffic congestion, economic development, town services and keeping downtown vibrant.

What is the town of Fuquay-Varina doing right to manage growth? What could be improved?

North Carolina and Wake County specifically is a highly coveted place to live. We must continue to work on our infrastructure  roads, water, sewer, etc.  to meet the needs of our community. Over the last two years, weve received record grant funding for transportation projects and citizens will finally be seeing action on many of those in the coming months. Seven new additional intersection improvements were approved this year, and construction will begin within 18-24 months. These projects were funded through the voter-approved 2021 Transportation Bond, which totaled $20 million. Seventeen projects totaling over $40 million will be delivered in the next two to three years. A town-wide traffic signal system is also starting this year. Last, we must fund our public safety departments so that they can adequately respond to citizens.

If elected, how would you approach an existing or new issue differently from your fellow council members?

Ive worked well with our Town Board the past two years, as mayor, moving Fuquay-Varina forward. We dont always agree on every issue, but I think we work cordially and professionally. Communication and respect for each other are important.

How do you plan to make local government in Fuquay-Varina more inclusive and equitable for all residents in the town who feel their voices are underrepresented?

My door is always open to citizens. In the last several years, weve placed a great deal of importance on our commitment to inclusivity, as is evidenced through community outreach programs, DEI training, minority/female recruitment plans, and outstanding communication. I support continued funding and education for our town government. I believe our town staff does a great job communicating with our citizens. We have many opportunities for citizens to engage with town government  through FVPD/FVFD community events, planning and zoning information sessions, public input workshops, town events, etc. We also have an easy website feature, Lets Talk FV, that allows citizens to easily communicate with us.

Please list any endorsements youve received.

Wake County GOP

If there is anything you would like to address to voters, please do so here.

While I am running unopposed this election, I dont want to miss the opportunity to educate voters on a few upcoming accomplishments in Fuquay-Varina:

Over the next few years, Fuquay-Varina is investing hundreds of millions of dollars into infrastructure projects, which include roads, water, sewer, public safety and parks.

MoneyGeek ranked Fuquay-Varina the 3rd Safest Small Town in NC this year. Public safety is one of my top priorities. Fire Station #4, opening this fall, will be a state-of-the-art facility and a model for firefighter health and safety. Response times in the Needmore Community and all areas north and west of downtown Fuquay-Varina will be reduced. In fiscal year 2024, 11 new police staff and the necessary cars and equipment for both departments will be added.

Economic growth is continuing with new high-end shopping, high-end manufacturing jobs, and a large medical facility coming to Fuquay-Varina.
As we can see in Ukraine and now the Middle East, wars of aggression, acts of genocide, tyranny and terrorist atrocities do not happen in isolation.

From the seeds of a strong-arm regime in Germany, sprouted with virulent antisemitism, came the continentwide extermination of Jews. The shadows of the Holocaust loom large, with contemporary Western society constructed upon the principle of "never again." Yet, disturbingly, echoes of the past resurface as Jewish populations face vile antisemitism in Europe and America, and calls for "peace" mask veiled justifications for Hamas' heinous acts, which, at their core, revel in cruelty and degradation.

The Soviet Union's oppressive legacy endures. Bosnian genocide, Yugoslav wars, poverty, oligarchism, Russian invasions of Chechnya, Georgia, Ukraine  all of these didnt happen out of nowhere. Countless individuals, particularly in Eastern Europe and notably Ukraine, grapple with fractured family histories and tales of ancestors deported, killed or incarcerated. Such generational trauma requires immense time and understanding to be fully addressed and healed.

The Syrian war, with its novel brand of horror, did not emerge spontaneously. The alliance between Hezbollah, a notorious Lebanese terrorist entity, and Russia, which at that point was a widely accepted partner of the free world, started in 2015 in Syria and has not stopped.

Now, the repercussions of every past atrocity reverberate globally. The same culprits, repeatedly emboldened, perpetrate murder, torture and degradation as the world seeks reassurance and the illusion of peace.

Members of the U.S. Jewish community protest inside the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Oct. 18, 2023, against the Israeli military operation in Gaza.

Terrorists find allies in Iran and Russia

Hamas, responsible for the deaths of entire Israeli families, finds camaraderie in Moscow. Syria's Assad regime deploys chemical warfare on its populace, bolstered by Hezbollah and Russia. Hezbollah launches assaults on Israel, underpinned by its intricate ties with Iran, Syria and Russia.

Russia's savage invasion of Ukraine persists, with Iranians providing applause and weaponry. African nations are inundated with propaganda, giving a stage to ruthless Russian mercenaries  while China quietly acquires the continent piece by piece. And China's menacing stance toward Taiwan, combined with its support for Russia's aggression toward Ukraine, signals a broader threat to the free world.

This vicious cycle offers no genuine peace.

Ukraine working to document war crimes: Ukrainians need America's help to hold Russian war criminals accountable for atrocities

Regrettably, the free world isn't merely an idle observer. Much of the technology utilized by Russia and terrorist factions originates in the West.

Billions in humanitarian aid have flowed into Gaza, only to line the pockets of Hamas leaders living lavishly in Qatar or to finance militants who funnel these funds into weapon smuggling. European aid items, including water pipes, have been repurposed by Hamas to fashion missiles aimed at Israel.

Microelectronics are incorporated into missiles that wreak havoc upon civilians in Ukraine and anywhere else terrorists enact their terror. Despite bans, embargoes and sanctions on international companies, Russia continues to utilize Western tools to manufacture advanced weaponry  the very same machines that still benefit from maintenance by their manufacturers, such as German-Japanese DMG Mori or American Haas Automation.

Ukrainian children protest outside the Russian Embassy in Bucharest, Romania, on Oct. 14, 2023.

China, Iran, Russia waging covert war against the free world

Why do these companies persist in servicing equipment instrumental in aiding a nation led by an accused war criminal to produce arms? Greed appears to be the likeliest culprit. Such convenient "ignorance" of the end-users (Russian arms manufacturers) does not make an excuse for silent war crimes enablers.

To those who argue that Europe or the United States should abstain from intervening in distant conflicts, a sobering reality check is due: Their involvement is already apparent, just not in a way most of the people imagine. This is evidenced by the surging exports to nations that orbit Russia  for instance, German exports to Kyrgyzstan soared by 949% last year, according to a Reuters analysis, with a significant proportion finding its way to Russia.

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Moreover, the inability to curtail purchases of Russian resources, such as the U.S. acquisition of uranium from Rosatom, effectively bankrolls the adversary's military operations.

Concurrently, China capitalizes on its position as the manufacturing hub for Western tech, striving to replicate and pilfer Western innovations.

Stop following China. United Nations is ruled by 'we the peoples,' not authoritarian regimes.

The sobering truth is that countries such as China, Iran, Belarus and Russia are already waging a covert war against the free world, and it's high time the latter acknowledged this reality and stopped fighting against itself.

True global tranquility remains elusive until the world recognizes that witnessing brutality is never a standalone event. The civilizational war has started, and its time for all to choose their allegiance.

Anastasiia Marushevska, co-founder of the Ukrainian nonprofit PR Army of communication experts, is editor-in-chief at Ukraner International and a lecturer at the Projector Institute.

Anastasiia Marushevska, co-founder of the Ukrainian nonprofit PR Army of communication experts, is editor-in-chief at Ukraner International and a lecturer at the Projector Institute.

You can read diverse opinions from our Board of Contributors and other writers on the Opinion front page, on Twitter @usatodayopinion and in our daily Opinion newsletter. To respond to a column, submit a comment to letters@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Israel-Hamas, Ukraine wars don't just happen. Look at Russia, China
Secretary of State Antony Blinken dodged a question Sunday on whether the United States has encouraged Israel to delay a potential ground operation into Gaza until more hostages are released.

We are not in the business of second-guessing what theyre doing, Blinken said on NBCs Meet the Press when asked if the U.S. was asking Israel to delay a ground operation.

We are talking to them on a regular basis about how they do it. Its vitally important that every measure be taken to protect civilians, that humanitarian assistance gets in to people who are caught in this crossfire of Hamass making, he continued.

President Biden also deflected when asked by reporters Saturday if he was encouraging Israelis to delay an invasion, responding with Im talking to the Israelis.

Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told troops to prepare to see Gaza from the inside Thursday. The military has signaled an invasion for days with bombardments on Gaza but has not given a timetable for an operation.

Blinken reiterated that Israel has a right to defend itself in the wake of attacks launched by the militant group Hamas on Oct. 7, which prompted Israel to declare war on the group and launch a series of airstrikes across the Gaza Strip. Blinken said while the U.S. wants to see more hostages released, it is up to Israel to determine its steps forward.

And of course both of us want to make sure that the many hostages whove been taken come [home]. And thats why were working on it as I said virtually every minute of the day. But these are decisions that Israel has to make. We can give our best advice, our best judgment again about how they do it and also how best to achieve the results that theyre seeking, he said.

Israel also revealed Sunday that it believes 212 people are being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza. The U.S. has designated Hamas as a terrorist organization.

More than 1,400 Israelis were killed in an attack on Oct. 7 by Hamas. The Gaza Health Ministry said that at least 4,385 Palestinians have also been killed as a result of the violence, with another 13,561 people wounded in Gaza amid heavy bombardment by Israel in retaliation.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused militant group Hamas of blocking Americans and citizens of other nations from crossing into Egypt from Gaza and said that some significant number of the 10 unaccounted for Americans are being held hostage by Hamas.

We have several hundred Americans and other nationalities, other civilians from other countries who want to leave Gaza, Blinken said on Face the Nation. Weve had people come to Rafah, the crossing with Egypt. And to date, at least, Hamas has blocked them from leaving, showing once again, its total disregard for civilians of any kind who are stuck in Gaza.

.@SecBlinken says Hamas is preventing Americans in Gaza from leaving through the Rafah border crossing into Egypt.



"To date, at least, Hamas has blocked them from leaving, showing once again, its total disregard for civilians of any kind who are stuck in Gaza," Blinken says. pic.twitter.com/kShZMbiQV0  Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) October 22, 2023

The militant group launched an Oct. 7 attack on Israel that killed around 1,400 and captured 200 others, including Americans. Israel has begun an air offensive in retaliation, and more than 4,300 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza. Facilitated by the Red Cross, Hamas released two American hostages, Judith and Natalie Raanan, at the Gaza border on Friday.

During an appearance on Meet the Press, Blinken said of the remaining Americans being held hostage, Weve got 10 unaccounted for Americans. We believe that some significant number are hostages and it just underscores the horror. Israel continues to discover, uncover people who are killed who were slaughtered and I use that term very advisedly, slaughtered on Oct. 7. What we dont know for sure is whether some of the unaccounted for are dead, and have simply not been uncovered yet, or whether theyre hostage, but we have a pretty strong idea that some number of the 10 at least are being held in Gaza by Hamas. 

WATCH: @SecBlinken tells #MTP some of the water pipelines in Gaza have been restored, "but there are a couple of other pipelines" Israel should restore.



"We're getting more [aid through trucks] that we hope will be moving as early as today  and are moving as we speak." pic.twitter.com/z5b5OrEKXg  Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) October 22, 2023

Blinken told CBS Margaret Brennan that experienced diplomat David Satterfield is working closely with relevant governments to make sure that were ready to be able to get people out, assuming Hamas lets them move.

So really, the ball is in Hamas court, in terms of letting people who want to leave, civilians from third countries including Americans get out of Gaza, Blinken said.

Blinken told NBCs Kristen Welker that Gaza cannot return to the status quo by again putting Hamas into power. I think we know two things. We cant go back to the status quo; they cant go back to the status quo with Hamas being in a position in terms of its governance of Gaza to repeat what it did, he said, adding, At the same time, what Ive heard from the Israelis is absolutely no intent, no desire, to be running Gaza themselves.

Meanwhile, civilians in Gaza have been suffering immensely with very little access to food and clean water. Right now were facing a catastrophe in the area with the inability to feed people and the inability for the people to find anything to eat at all. These people [in Gaza] are going to starve to death unless we can get in, Cindy McCain, executive director of UN World Food Program, told Politico.

Over the weekend, 39 trucks with humanitarian aid were allowed to cross into Gaza from Egypt, but that aid is insufficient to meet the needs of Gazas people, according to U.N. officials who said that at least 100 trucks a day are necessary to meet urgent needs. Before the Oct. 7 attack, several hundred aid trucks were crossing into Gaza each day. Israel is currently planning a ground assault on Gaza that is expected to begin imminently as part of its promised effort to wipe Hamas off the face of the earth.

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As Israel prepares for an expected ground invasion of Gaza while violence escalates along the Lebanese border and in the occupied West Bank, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he was concerned about Iranian proxies potentially targeting American personnel  and he said authorities will be ready to "respond decisively" to any attacks if necessary.

"We are concerned at the possibility of Iranian proxies, escalating their attacks against our own personnel, our own people," Blinken said during an appearance on " Face the Nation " on Sunday. "We're taking every measure to make sure that we can defend them and if necessary, respond decisively."

Blinken added that conflict with Iran is "not at all what we're looking for, not at all what we want, but we'll be prepared, if that's what they choose to do."

Transcript: Secretary of State Antony Blinken on "Face the Nation," Oct. 22, 2023

Federal officials have been wary since the attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel on Oct. 7 ushered in a devastating and deadly new chapter of war between the militants and the Jewish state, with thousands dead and wounded on both sides, mainly civilians, and others still being held hostage by Hamas.

Two dual U.S.-Israeli hostages, mother and daughter Judith and Natalie Raanan, were released by Hamas on Friday.

Blinken said Sunday that he "can't speak" to the details of the people who are being held hostage by Hamas.

"We want to make sure that humanitarian assistance gets in and both countries care deeply about the hostages," Blinken said. "There are many, many Israelis who are hostage and of course, hostages from other nationalities. So we're working to do everything we can, using whatever levers, partnerships, relationships, we have to get them out. Israel is doing the same. But in terms of what we're talking to Israel with regard to their military operations, it really is focused on both how they do it, and how best to achieve the results that they seek."

The Israeli military has been hitting Gaza with airstrikes, while seeming for days to be on the verge of launching a ground invasion. Israel has traded fire with Lebanon's Hezbollah  the militant group that is backed by Iran  on a near-daily basis since the war began, driving concerns that the conflict will spread throughout the region. More than 4,300 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-backed Palestinian Health Ministry.

President Biden reiterated on Thursday night his past remarks about Iran's potential involvement in the war in an Oval Office address, where he told the American people that ramping up U.S. support for Israel, as well as Ukraine amid the country's ongoing war with Russia, is crucial to protect U.S. national security interests. As Iran has supported Russia's invasion of Ukraine as well as Hamas' stronghold in Gaza, Mr. Biden warned Iranian leaders in the address that the U.S. "will continue to hold them accountable."

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on

Asked what Mr. Biden meant by that, Blinken told "Face the Nation" moderator Margaret Brennan that the administration is standing by its approach to deterring any attempt by proxy forces to take advantage of an already escalating situation.

"Well, what you've seen already ... is a very clear message from the President, backed up by the deployment of two of our largest aircraft carrier battle groups, to make sure that it's clear. No one should take advantage of this moment to escalate to further attacks on Israel or for that matter attacks on us, on our personnel," Blinken said.

"And this is not by way of, in terms of what we're doing by provocation, it's designed to deter, designed to make clear that no one should use this moment in any way to escalate," he continued. "No one wants a second front, a third front, and at the same time, we want to make sure that our own people in the region, wherever they are, are safe and protected, and that we're in a place as we are to respond decisively if we need to."

The U.S. is increasing its military presence in the Middle East, with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin saying in a statement last week that the move came in response to "recent escalations by Iran and its proxy forces." Austin said on Saturday that the U.S. would redeploy one of its strike groups to the Persian Gulf and send additional air defense systems to the region, while placing more U.S. forces on "prepare to deploy orders." Earlier in the week he had ordered 2,000 troops to be prepared to deploy to the area.

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Two candidates are vying for the job of Mayor in Bluffton in the Nov. 7 election.

Political newcomer Joseph Casatgnino will face off against Mayor Pro-Tem Larry Toomer to succeed longtime Mayor Lisa Sulka.

The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette asked the two candidates a series of questions to gauge their opinions on the quickly growing town. We presented their responses in alphabetical order of their last names. Heres what they said:

Joseph Castagnino

Bluffton Mayor candidate Joseph Castagnino

Occupation: Development Manager at T-Mobile

Family: Live with my wife Frida and my son Sean. We have been together since 2014.

Military service: No previous military experience

Political experience: Executive Committeeman for Precinct 4C (Beaufort County)

Relevant community involvement: Other than taking in the beauty of Bluffton and Beaufort County, I have been involved with our local school board and advocating for the protection of our children from adult-rated materials that are distributed in our schools.

Length of time living in Bluffton: Since July 2021

Q1: Is Blufftons recent rate of population growth sustainable? The benefits are clear, larger economy and more tax revenue but what are the unintended consequences on the horizon and how would you address them?

No. In 2005, the population of Bluffton was 3,391, and now we are at 40,403. I do not believe anyone feels that this is responsible growth by any means. You cannot responsibly grow the population of a town 12-fold in just under 20 years and feel that is an accomplishment.

If you look at the trajectory that Bluffton has been on over the last few decades, that is the path we will continue to go down if we elect the same people to run this town. If you elect the same people, it will be more of the same.

We need simply stop allowing land and parcels of property to be sold to developers that will build communities that will overburden our infrastructure and our schools. More growth, more selling out our land, more development. We need to stop what is happening here, and we need to save what is left of Bluffton before its too late. We are at the limit, and if developers want to build in Bluffton, then there should be increased expenses to them to do so, which would go towards our infrastructure, schools, etc.

Q2: Should the town have a role in ensuring affordable housing? If yes, how do you envision that getting done?

No. While I understand this has become a high cost area, the government should not be involved in housing. That goes for the federal government, state government and local government. I believe that is another program that will hurt the residents of Bluffton and Beaufort County. I also feel that it will increase taxes to the point where it will be less affordable for the residents that already live here. Any affordable housing program needs to be funded by someone, and that someone is always the taxpayers.

I fully understand and agree that housing in this area has become increasingly high, but government has no place in housing regulation. Dont they regulate too much already?

If you think that government getting involved in affordable housing is a good idea, I encourage you to look at cities around the country that have implemented this. It has failed the residents of those areas at the expense of moving more people to that location. Its time to protect the residents and families of Bluffton, not create a cycle of development and increased taxation.

Q3: Is it the towns responsibility to maintain the environmental sustainability of the May River? If yes, what needs to happen in the next four years to ensure that outcome?

Yes, now I believe it has become the towns responsibility.

And that is a result to the over-development of this town and the area. We have pushed Old Town as a tourist destination as well. Once you reach a certain point of population density and visitors, you increase the impact on nature and the resources in the area.

We first need to stop development, and then look at the impact to the May River and review options that would not impact our residents and taxpayers.

Q4: How can Bluffton avoid falling into the trap of mismanagement that continues to vex Beaufort County government leaders?

We cannot avoid that because we are already there. The plan moving forward needs to get back on track and on the right path. We cannot sustain the growth, strain on infrastructure and destruction of this beautiful area. I do believe that we need to also investigate some of the past decisions that have taken place and see if there were any unethical (or potentially illegal) decisions that were made.

The leadership of this town has recklessly sold land to developers at the expense of our greenspace, beauty and Lowcountry feel.

The residents of Bluffton are also feeling this in their wallets. Last year, there was a 1% tax added. More money taken from the residents during a time of recession. It was named the Greenspace tax. Make no mistake about it, that tax is a direct result of over-development in Beaufort County, and the biggest offender is Bluffton. I could be wrong, but I do not recall anyone from our town leadership speaking out against it. Maybe it is because their own decisions put us in the town and residents in this position.

Q5: Please name one leader from contemporary American politics, sports, the arts, or business that most closely resembles your leadership style.

I do not place politicians, athletes, or entertainers on a pedestal. I do not feel that my style resembles the style of anyone else. I also feel that my experience in my personal life and professional career has shaped how I am as a person and a leader. And those experiences are also different from everyone else. My style would be simple  The best leaders dont feel they are leaders. They feel they are partners.

Q6: If you agree that some time at each council meeting should be set aside for public comment, is there a better way to manage it than the current process?

Yes. Absolutely.

As an elected official or an employee of this town, EVERY resident has the right to attend a meeting and speak during a meeting during the allocated time. I do not feel that residents should be silenced. Unfortunately, there are many recent examples where residents have been dismissed or silenced when a topic is inconvenient for our town officials. Public comment is designed to be time set aside for the residents to discuss their issues, concerns, objections, etc. If a resident takes the time to attend a meeting, then they have the right to be respected and heard. Remember, that person took time from their busy day or their family to attend the meeting, so that person should be given time to speak. The only way public comment works is when you allow the people you represent to speak, and that is not happening currently. Of course, if a person becomes abusive, makes threats, or becomes violent then this does not apply.

Larry Toomer

Bluffton Mayor candidate Larry Toomer

Occupation: Fishermen, Businessman

Family: Wife Tina of 35 years, 5 Children, 15 Grand Children

Education/military service: Graduate of Bluffton HS

Political experience: 3 Terms on Bluffton Town Council

Relevant community involvement: 4th Generation Fishermen, Co-Founder Bluffton Arts and Seafood Fest, Board Member Don Ryan Center, Committee Member May River Water Shed Action

Length of time living in Bluffton: Born and Raised

Q1: Is Blufftons recent rate of population growth sustainable? The benefits are clear, larger economy and more tax revenue but what are the unintended consequences on the horizon and how would you address them?

Yes it is sustainable, it is important to ensure Bluffton is a prosperous and sustainable place to live for our children and to do that we must grow. However our first goal must be to grow in a way that keeps our rivers clean, our small town charm visible, and our streets safe.

Q2: Should the town have a role in ensuring affordable housing? If yes, how do you envision that getting done?

Yes it should, but the only way that it can done is through public/private partnerships, the developers must have a stake in providing affordable housing for our workforce so our community may thrive.

Q3: Is it the towns responsibility to maintain the environmental sustainability of the May River? If yes, what needs to happen in the next four years to ensure that outcome?

Yes it is the responsibility of town, we also must have the cooperation our county, state, and federal governments in that matter. I want to see our town on a sustainable sewer system in the next 4 years to limit any runoff into the May River.

Q4: How can Bluffton avoid falling into the trap of mismanagement that continues to vex Beaufort County government leaders?

I believe we must rely on the voters first to elect men and women who want to serve the town and not their own self-interest. As elected officials we must always be willing to work together and listen to our community, my job is to represent the peoples interest and act on their concerns.

Q5: Please name one leader from contemporary American politics, sports, the arts or business that most closely resembles your leadership style.

Ronald Reagan has always been a hero of mine, not only his way of communicating with the people, but how he was always willing to work with his friends across the aisle for the betterment of our nation. I think we need leaders today who see people they disagree with ideologically as friends and not enemies.

Q6: If you agree that some time at each council meeting should be set aside for public comment, is there a better way to manage it than the current process?

We need Public Comment, it is an integral part of our civil process. I so value hearing from citizens on the issues they care about in town. If they think we can do public comment better, Im always open to suggestions!
A man writes the name on the shroud of a child killed in an Israeli strike on Deir Balah in central Gaza (MAHMUD HAMS)

Scores of people rushed to Deir el-Balah hospital to identify bodies on Sunday after Israel stepped up its air strikes on Gaza, as the territory's Hamas rulers said 4,651 people have now been killed since the start of the war.

Authorities said Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, had suffered most from one of the most intense nights of shelling since Israel started its bombardment in response to Hamas' cross-border attacks on October 7.

More than 260 people died in 24 hours, according to the health ministry toll, which said 1,873 of those killed in the past fortnight were children.

Israel began bombarding the tiny enclave after Hamas militants stormed over the border on October 7, killing at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping more than 200 in the deadliest attack in Israel's history.

At the hospital morgue in Deir el-Balah, bodies were everywhere including that of Mohammad Judeh and his three-year-old daughter Misk, who were placed on the same table, their faces uncovered.

Judeh's cousin Wael Wafi said the girl was hugging her father when their bodies were pulled from the debris.

"All the Judeh family, including my aunt, were killed in the bombardment," said Wafi.

"Two buildings were destroyed and came down on them."

Some family members had taken refuge in the building after escaping shelling in northern Gaza, he added.

"My cousin was sleeping in his house with his daughter in his arms. He was a man with no record, nothing to do with the resistance," said Wafi.

- Death in the south -

Another woman in the morgue nearly collapsed after lifting the sheets lying over bodies to discover her daughter and other members of her family.

Their names -- Layan, Hani and Joane -- were written on their legs. A relative later led the distraught woman away.

In the southern town of Khan Yunis, one strike on the Rio cafe killed 13 people.

The cafe was on the ground floor of a building housing people who had fled Israel's bombardment of northern Gaza.

Israel has issued daily warnings for people to leave the north.

"I heard an explosion and then I saw dust, flames and debris flying. One minute later they struck again," said Naji Shurrab, who lives opposite the cafe.

- 'Move south for safety' -

Israel said Saturday it was stepping up its raids and has massed tens of thousands of troops around Gaza for a widely expected ground invasion.

It says its daily raids have already killed many leaders and military commanders of the Palestinian Islamist group that has ruled Gaza since 2007.

"From today, we are increasing the strikes and minimising the danger," an Israeli military spokesman said late Saturday. "We will increase the attacks and therefore I call on Gaza City residents to continue moving south for their safety."

Israel has repeatedly urged Gaza's 1.1 million residents of the north to move south ahead of any ground operation.

As strikes pummelled the strip, the Hamas government also hit out at the lack of aid, despite the arrival of 37 trucks on Saturday and Sunday. It said there were now 1.4 million displaced people within the enclave.

"The aid that arrived in Gaza is not enough for one day. We call on the international community to pressure the Israeli government to bring in thousands of trucks," Hamas said in a statement.

tw/ds/hmw
Over the last several years, many environmental advocacy groups have begun talking about housing in the same breath they talk about water, air quality and our open spaces. Conservation Voters for Idaho invested significantly in building support for the Boise Modern Zoning Code because of how the updated code would positively impact the citys environment.

We came to the same conclusion environmentalists across the country are coming to: Housing policy is climate policy.

We know Idahoans care about clean air, open space and abundant water. After all, our natural environment is part of what makes this state a great place to live. But high housing prices have made affording to live here out of reach for many families. During this municipal election, we have an opportunity to recognize how connected housing affordability and our environment really are  and make changes that benefit our climate and housing future.

So, what are the connections between climate change and housing?

To start, transportation makes up almost half of the citys climate pollution. On-road vehicle transportation exacerbates poor air quality in the Treasure Valley.

Yet reducing emissions from transportation is uniquely challenging because many people dont have reliable transportation outside of their cars. Across the Treasure Valley, the rising cost of housing and sprawling development patterns are pushing people to live farther away from the places they need to go every day.

The resulting sprawl not only creates more traffic hassles but also encroaches on open space, wildlife habitat and our farmers, stretches our already scarce water resources, and pushes development closer out into our agricultural lands.

To reduce transportation pollution and protect our environment, we need to give people more affordable housing options nearer to jobs, schools, grocery stores, parks, transit stations, and other places they need to go. Boiseans wont be able to reach its climate goals unless we start taking big steps in this direction.

The good news is, after years of outreach and stakeholder engagement, the Boise Modern Zoning Code passed earlier this year. It is the first step toward a more sustainably planned city that will help us tackle the affordable housing crisis, all while bringing major benefits for our air, land, water, and communities.

There have been a lot of concerns that the sustainability and affordability provision in the new zoning ordinance was not enough, but by incentivizing in-fill, we are able to keep sprawl in check and create more affordable homes near already existing resources.

Key to solving this problem starts in the blueprints of our city and state. The housing crisis  as well as the changing climate and air pollution  is impacting too many Idahoans in too many different communities. Its time for more local leaders to lead the way and give people transportation options, ease the crushing financial stress of high housing costs, and ensure people can remain stably housed in the communities they call home.

Im excited that Conservation Voters for Idaho has taken a stand to support these issues and the candidates who are pushing sound policy forward. Together, we can move Idaho toward a future with vibrant, affordable communities and a healthy environment.

Rialin Flores has over 10 years of experience in local politics, conservation advocacy, fundraising and nonprofit leadership. As Conservation Voters for Idahos Executive Director, she oversees their advocacy, electoral, civic engagement, and legislative programs to help protect Idahos environment and quality of life. Flores was recognized as USA Todays 2023 Woman of the Year Honoree and selected as one of Grists 50 Fixers in 2019.
Some trailblazers hit the spotlight, while others stay hidden in the shadows.

Up until recently, Cheryl White was one of the latter.

White, who died in 2019, was the first Black female jockey in thoroughbred racing. Raised in Rome, Ohio, with a father who was a horse trainer, she first competed at 17 at Thistledown Race track outside Cleveland in 1971, three years after women won the right to compete as jockeys.

Her story is told in The Jockey and Her Horse, a book for young readers written by White's younger brother, Raymond White, Jr. and New York Times reporter Sarah Maslin Nir.

I've always been my sister's biggest fan. When she first started riding, and throughout the years. I was always there shouting, 'Hey, there's my sister!'" Raymond White said. But my sister just never talked about herself. She kind of let her own star fade over the years.

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Cheryl White figurine pictured alongside the book "The Jockey & Her Horse," inspired by her life.

Cheryl White riding in 1985

The idea for the book came about when Nir met Raymond at a celebration at Thistledown honoring the 50th anniversary of Cheryl's first race.

Nir, like Cheryl and Raymond, had been involved with horses from an early age. Before telling Cheryl's story, she wrote a memoir for adults about her own experience with horses, Horse Crazy, and a fictionalized version of her childhood for young readers, The Flying Horse. She was on the lookout for another horse story to tell when she found out about Cheryl White's.

I had never heard about Black jockeys, which just shows how suppressed and erased their story is. Then I was on Instagram, and I saw this 'kidfluencer' called Madison Jade, in little pink riding pants. It said Madison was inspired by the first female Black jockey, Cheryl White. And I was like, 'What?'"

Sarah Maslin Nir, co-author of "The Jockey & Her Horse"

She started doing some research, and found out that the race honoring Cheryl at Thistledown was going to be held in just a few days.

She came out to do a story on Cheryl and the race, and we just instantly bonded, Raymond said. She interviewed me and the family, and we all connected. She said, 'Hey, this should be a documentary, this should be a movie, this should be a book, this should be a toy.' It kind of took on a life of its own.

Nir interviewed not only members of the White family, but others who had known the rider as a child and young adult, including her best friend Earlene, who plays an important part in the book.

The novel is a fictionalized version of Cheryl's story, from the time she was 14, longing to be a jockey but prohibited from doing so because of her gender, to the time she won her first race, a few months after she first competed at Thistledown.

Cheryl White at Thistledown

Cheryl white in 2010 at the Preakness Pimlico Race Course

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Nir and Raymond alternate between the points of view of Cheryl and the horses on whose backs she rode her first race and her first winning race, Ace Reward and Jetolara.

While the novel is based on fact, the authors take some artistic license. They, for example, send high schooler Cheryl to Senegal for an academic quiz bowl, a trip the real person never took.

We did that to tell the story of enslaved people in thoroughbred racing. Cheryl goes on a journey, discovering herself, and we like to think the reader is alongside her, Nir said.

While Black jockeys were prohibited from racing for much of the 20th century, they were deeply involved in the history of thoroughbred racing  even dominating the Kentucky Derby.

It was an entirely Black sport until about the '30s, when they were Jim Crowed out of it," Nir said.

While The Jockey and Her Horse is intended for readers 8 to 12 years old, adult readers can also appreciate it.

The older you are, the more you're going to get out of this book, Nir said. If you're a kid, you're going to get a rip-roaring story about a really cool teenager doing this pioneering feat, and her awesome horse. If you're an adult, you're going to understand the Black legacy of thoroughbred racing in this country.

Kids and collectors can also purchase a toy rider and horse along with the book, from the Breyer toy company, which has been making model horses since 1950.

It's the first Black equestrian they've made in their 75-year history. It's really her face. Raymond and I were very insistent that she have Black hair. Cheryl had what she called her little 'puffball' that would stick out of her helmet. We wrote this book so kids would see themselves in it, Nir said.

Raymond White Jr., co-author of "The Jockey & Her Horse"

When asked to describe his sister in one word, Raymond replied with "fearless."

As a 17-year-old girl, in front of a sold-out crowd at Thistledown ... she never looked like she was nervous at all, but she had to be," he said. "And then as a Black woman, coming up in 1971 in the middle of all the turmoil and racial tension in this country. Women jockeys were kind of berated. They were told by people in the audience to go home, go cook something in the kitchen. In the face of all that, she still pursued her dreams."

Raymond had even more dreams for his sister.

I wish I could have had a Cheryl White jockey school with her there, training, teaching kids to be jockeys," he said. "She was tough, man. She liked to give you her opinion. She was a real competitor.

margaretquamme@hotmail.com

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: New book features Ohio's Cheryl White, the first Black woman jockey
Al Salam Bank has recently incorporated the UAE Dirham into its Multi-Currency Prepaid Visa Card. The new currency will join other available currencies on the card, including the Bahraini Dinar, US Dollars, Euro, British Pound, and Turkish Lira.

In line with Al Salam Bank's ongoing efforts to provide flexible and convenient payment solutions, clients visiting the UAE can now enjoy a seamless shopping experience and make purchases without worrying about unexpected fees or currency exchange rates.

Clients can request a Multi-Currency Prepaid Visa Card in any of the available currencies through the mobile application, Self Service Kiosks, or by visiting any of the Bank's branches.

Monthly draws

When shopping using the Multi-Currency Prepaid Visa Card through physical outlets or online stores, clients will be eligible to participate in monthly draws for a cash prize worth BD1,000 ($2,661) for every BD50 worth of total purchases or its equivalent when using Al Salam Banks Multi-Currency Prepaid Visa Card in UAE Dirhams, US Dollars, Euros, Pounds Sterling, or Turkish Lira.

UAE Prepaid Visa cardholders can also enjoy lucrative offers including: up to 20% across Jumeirah hotels and spas, 15% in Intercontinental Hotel Group & Resorts, up to 10% discounts on Booking.com, 10% discounts and priority tickets for the Museum of the Future in Dubai, and many more.

Mohammed Buhijji, Head of Retail Banking at Al Salam Bank, said: " Al Salam Bank prides itself on adopting a digital-first approach to meet the evolving needs of our client base. As such, we are pleased to announce the inclusion of the UAE Dirham among the currencies available on our Multi-Currency Prepaid Visa Card.

Seasonal campaign

Our clients will also have the opportunity to join our seasonal campaigns for the chance to win valuable cash prizes till year-end. This recent upgrade comes as part of our commitment to delivering distinctive financial solutions that enhance our clients' overall banking experience."

Al Salam Bank's Multi-Currency Prepaid Visa Card offers an extensive lineup of exclusive benefits, including earning loyalty points through the rewards programme, exclusive offers and discounts, highly secure transactions through a smart chip, easy top-ups through Al Salam Bank's mobile application, Benefit gateway, or any of the Bank's branches with up to BD10,000, and ATM withdrawals of up to BD500.--TradeArabia News Service
Boston police are seeking the publics help in identifying an individual in connection with an aggravated assault in Roxbury.

Police say the incident involving a knife occurred on Friday, October 13 around 2 p.m. in the area of 218 Blue Hill Avenue.

The suspect is described as a black female, approximately 30-40 years old, wearing a gray crewneck sweatshirt, dark gray sweatpants with two white stripes down the leg, and black slides.

The suspect is believed to frequent the area of Dewey Street and Blue Hill Avenue.

Boston police are investigating the incident and are asking anyone with information to contact detectives at (617) 343-4275.

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

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BOSTON  A bank loan officer from Braintree and two other men were sentenced to prison for conspiring to defraud a bank and the U.S. Small Business Administration, federal authorities said Friday.

Ted Capodilupo, 58, of Easton; Joseph Masci, 72, of Boston; and Brian Ferris, 45, of Braintree, were each sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Mark L. Wolf to one year and one day in prison and two years of supervised release.

Capodilupo and Masci were each ordered to pay restitution of $1,424,087 and Ferris was ordered to pay restitution of $1,236,251. The defendants had pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

Between 2015 and 2018, Capodilupo, Masci and Ferris agreed to defraud a bank and the SBA by submitting fraudulent loan applications to the bank, which administered the SBAs small-business express loan program, to obtain bank loans guaranteed by the SBA, prosecutors said.

Capodilupo and Masci submitted dozens of fraudulent loan applications on behalf of borrowers who were ineligible for traditional business loans, the U.S. Attorney's Office and other federal authorities said in a news release.

The loan applications misrepresented, among other things, the identity of the real loan recipients and the businesses for which the loans were sought.

"Capodilupo and Masci also falsified applicant signatures and falsely indicated that no broker had assisted in preparing or referring the loan applications, when they in fact charged borrowers excessive fees for obtaining these fraudulent loans," prosecutors said.

Ferris, who worked as a loan officer at the bank, processed the fraudulent loan applications and in some cases fabricated federal tax forms in support of the applications, authorities said. Ferris caused the bank to issue loans for which Capodilupo and Masci submitted applications and received a kickback from Capodilupo and Masci of about $500 per loan.

The scheme generated about $270,000 in fees for Capodilupo and Masci. Many of the loans that the bank issued as a result of the fraudulent applications ultimately defaulted, resulting in substantial losses to the bank.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Braintree loan officer sentenced to prison for bank fraud
A Gainesville universitys 10th president has passed away after a long battle with cancer.

According to Brenau University, the schools first female president, Dr. Anne A. Skleder, passed away after battling leukemia.

University officials said she died Thursday. She was 58 years old.

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Skleder was chosen as Brenaus president in 2019, beginning her role as the first woman president of the 145-year-old private university.

A Pennsylvania native, Skleder came to Georgia after serving as the senior vice president, provost, and professor of psychology at Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, Penn.

During her four years at the university, Brenau said Skleder kept students at the forefront and established a scholarship for first-generation enrollees. She called students our reason for being, according to officials.

We are all deeply saddened by the loss of President Skleder and our thoughts and prayers are with her family at this time, Mike Smith, chair of Brenaus Board of Trustees, said. Her leadership will be missed, and I personally have lost a dear friend. But I know that she would be the first to tell us to continue the good work of Brenau  as she did often during her courageous battle against leukemia.

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While leading Brenau University, Skleder expanded the Department of Psychology into the Lynn J. Darby School of Psychology and Adolescent Counseling.

Additionally, Skleder established the Miller Institute for Global Education, expanding Brenau students opportunities for studying abroad.

Dr. David Barnett was chosen by Skleder to serve as interim president, a choice made when she began treatment for leukemia.

The Skleder family will hold a funeral mass at Holy Child Church in Bridgeville, Pennsylvania. Brenau University will hold a celebration of life to honor her with details to be announced, the university said.

There will be a candlelight gathering on Oct. 23 at 6:30 p.m. on the campus front lawn.

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IN OTHER NEWS:
On Oct. 7, Israel was attacked by Hamas terrorists from the Gaza Strip. It was an act that horrified the world. Gunmen gunned down unarmed dozens at an outdoor concert, murdered elderly Holocaust survivors, broke into homes to murder and kidnap civilians. The long list of atrocities committed cannot be repeated in a family newspaper. Hundreds of unarmed civilians were killed, including more than a dozen Americans. Once again, Israel has become the focus of violence in the Middle East as it launches its response in an effort to defend itself.

Israels history in the region dates back more than 3,000 years. It had long been at the mercy of rampaging armies, but the people used their faith, heritage, and sense of community to stand against the tide. The tales surrounding life in ancient Israel recorded in the Old Testament have since become favorites around the world and reminders of the importance of faith and integrity. After the Roman destruction of the Second Temple after the uprisings of the first century AD, the Jewish population began to spread out from the area. The diaspora eventually led most of the Jewish population to reside in Europe.

Israels position as the center of the Jewish faith and the birthplace of Christianity made it a focal point for religious pilgrimages from Europe as early as the Middle Ages. By the nineteenth century, after facing generations of discrimination, lynchings, and segregation, many European Jews were attracted to the growing movement of Zionism to return to their ancestral homelands. Thousands eventually moved to what was once Israel, now a land occupied by the Ottoman Turks and dominated by Muslims.

Bridges

In 1917, the British, who would take control of the area after World War I, promised to re-establish a Jewish state in the region. After the Holocaust during World War II, this took on a new urgency after horrific acts of genocide by Nazi Germany left six million Jews dead. The new United Nations in 1947 proposed that the area, now called Palestine, would be divided between a state dominated by the Jews and an area dominated by the Muslim Palestinians. The Arab states, however, refused to accept this. They demanded that no Jewish state exist and prepared to attack.

Events moved so quickly that Israel initially could not decide on a name, debating between Judah and Israel before making Israel official. Immediately upon the departure of the British and Israels declaration of independence on May 14, 1948, the combined armies of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, and Iraq attacked the new state from all sides. The Arabs ordered the Palestinians to leave the area, swearing they would destroy absolutely everything and everyone to annihilate the Israelis. The Israelis were hurled back initially. After weeks of intense fighting, Israel began gaining the upper hand. By the following January, the badly outnumbered Israelis had managed to expel all four armies and had actually increased its holdings by almost 50%. At the end of the War of Independence, Jordan had annexed the Arab-held West Bank of the Jordan River and East Jerusalem, and Egypt held the Gaza Strip.

Israel was a young democracy surrounded by hostile enemies in a very unstable part of the world. Egypt continued to antagonize Israel by inciting terrorist attacks from Gaza and blocking Israeli access to the nearby Suez Canal. This led to an armed confrontation in 1956 that drew in the British. It ended after one week of fighting.

In 1967, Egypt and Syria prepared to strike again. The Israelis realized they were about to be attacked, and in a pre-emptive move, struck Syria and Egypt. Jordan then attacked Israel in response. In six days, Israel hurled back all three armies and seized the Golan Heights of Syria near the Sea of Galilee, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, and the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula. Terrorist attacks on Israel escalated in the ensuing years.

After the humiliation of the Six-Day War, Anwar Sadat became the Egyptian president and swore revenge. In 1973, on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur, the Jewish new year, Egypt and Syria launched a sneak attack on Israel. For 35 years, Israel had been building a military prepared for such attacks and launched a massive response. The Yom Kippur War ended with a United Nations cease-fire 17 days later as Israeli forces approached Damascus and recovered from Egyptian attacks near the Suez Canal. By 1978, Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel, the Camp David Accords, a treaty that has held since that time. In 1994, Jordan signed a peace treaty with Israel.

Since Israels victory in the Yom Kippur War, no Arab army has attacked Israel. However, the Arab states continued to escalate their rhetoric against Israel, calling for its total annihilation. Instead of direct confrontation, terrorist groups are funded by Iran and various individuals and organizations to attack Israeli targets.

The Palestine Liberation Organization, founded in 1964, was one such organization, launching blistering attacks on Israel into the 1980s. Israel faced many difficulties protecting its population as terrorists would launch attacks from the West Bank and Gaza, hiding in residential areas while at the same time infiltrating the Israeli population to launch attacks on women and children.

Hamas was founded in 1987, splitting off from the radical Muslim Brotherhood because it would not participate in violence in Israel. It began launching attacks on Israel in 1989, including bombings and kidnappings. Hundreds of people were killed, and Israel responded with force to defend itself. After years of peace negotiations, Israel left Gaza in 2005 and granted autonomy to the area and portions of the West Bank.

Hamas fashioned itself as a political organization. Focusing the frustrations of Palestinians still in the West Bank and especially Gaza against Israel, they won a majority of seats in the Palestinian legislature in 2007. Instead of building a state and addressing the problems of Gaza, they continued to focus their energies on attacks on Israel and assumed full control of Gaza. In spite of Israeli responses, Hamas continued to attack.

While spending decades under threat by its neighbors, Israel built a prosperous technical and agricultural society. Israel today is a nation of 9.7 million people. Throughout its entire existence as a modern state, it has had the difficult problem of balancing security and freedom. It has built a powerful military and an efficient intelligence service. As one Israeli official told NPR recently about the difference between the United States and Israel, Your enemies are 7,000 miles away. Our enemies are 7,000 feet away.

Ken Bridges is a writer, historian and native Texan. He holds a doctorate from the University of North Texas. Bridges can be reached by email at drkenbridges@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Bridges: Israel a focus of terror attacks since 1948
Workers at one of the Ukrainian substations damaged by Russian strikes, November 2022

Ukrainian engineers have been studying how to protect energy infrastructure from attacks by Russian missiles and drones this winter with their colleagues from the British Army, the UK Ministry of Defense reported on Oct. 22.

The two-week training course was developed at the request of Kyiv. Specialists were taught how to determine the potential range of an explosion, the effects of different types of weapons and explosives, and where to place physical and air barriers to protect facilities from Russian attacks.

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"It is essential that Ukraine receives the support it urgently needs throughout the winter, as its civilian population faces mortal danger on a daily basis from Putins forces and their indiscriminate campaign of bombardment against its critical infrastructure," said UK Defense Secretary Grant Shapps.

Read also: UK and partners allocate $154 million to help Ukraine prepare for winter

According to Major Michael Suddaby of the 63 Works Group of the Royal Engineers, such training will be introduced in Ukraine in the coming weeks, which will have a "real-life impact" on the quality of life of the Ukrainian population throughout the winter.

Earlier, Energy Minister German Halushchenko said that for the first time, Ukraine is implementing systems to protect critical infrastructure facilities from Russian attacks  both active and passive. The former is provided by air defense, and the latter by "systems that we will not talk about."

In October, the government of Ukraine supported the creation of a coordination headquarters for rapid response and ensuring normal living conditions. The headquarters will respond to the enemy strikes and coordinate the aftermath.

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 British teenager was murdered in Hamass attack on Israel, along with her mother and 13-year-old sister, her family has said.

Noiya Sharabi, aged 16, and her sister Yahel disappeared after the Palestinian militant group attacked Kibbutz Beeri in southern Israel after breaking through the border from Gaza on 7 October, killing some 1,400 people, including the girls British-born mother Lianne.

Yahels death was confirmed by her family last week. The Independent understands the family has now confirmed that Noiya has died.

Noiya and Yahel Sharabi were both killed in the attack by Hamas, their family says (BBC)

Noiya was clever, sensitive, fun and full of life  her smile lit up the room like a beacon, they told the BBC, adding that she embraced every opportunity to help others, particularly those less fortunate than she, and was a gifted student and linguist.

Most importantly, she was an amazing granddaughter, cousin and niece. We are heartbroken she has gone, but forever grateful she was here.

The girls father Eli is still missing, while other relatives are said to be among the more than 200 people feared to have been kidnapped by Hamas, after the militants gunned down Israelis in their homes, as well as hundreds of revellers at a music festival.

Lianne, 48, first moved to Israel as a volunteer on a kibbutz when she was 19, before relocating there permanently, and UK-based relatives said the family visited at least once a year, according to the BBC.

It comes as thousands of people attended a rally in Londons Trafalgar Square on Sunday calling for the safe return of hostages by Hamas.

Hundreds of people attended a solidarity rally in Trafalgar Square on Sunday, calling on Hamas to release those held hostage (Lucy North/PA Wire)

Many in the crowd chanted bring them home and held signs that said release the hostages, while others carried Israeli flags and placards showing the faces of those held captive.

Speaking at the rally, Ayelet Svatitzky said her brother Nadav Popplewell, 51, and their mother, Channah Peri, 79, were abducted by the militants on 7 October, while her 54-year-old brother was found dead behind his house the following day.

Its hard to put into words the horror and pain that engulfed me as I realised what was happening, she said, adding: These are crimes against humanity. They are an attempt to break the Jewish people and state, but instead they have brought us all together in solidarity.

The world must hear our plea: release the hostages now. This is a human rights issue. My family should be with me now.

David, a teacher from Leeds, said he was woken up at 6.30am on 7 October to the sound of rocket strikes and shooting from all sides in his kibbutz, with his eldest son and daughter also separately under attack with their families elsewhere.

He and his wife emerged from their bomb-proof room the following day to news that her sister had been shot in the back and head from zero range. As they fled their kibbutz, there were bodies everywhere and cars riddled with bullets, he recalled, adding: I said to my wife, Dont look. But how could you not look? Theres nowhere, no place you cant look. Death everywhere.

Appealing to the British government, he said: Bring back our families, our children.

Introducing the speakers, Board of Deputies of British Jews president Marie van der Zyl told the crowd: Every day that they are kept captive is like a knife in our hearts, adding: Friends, we stand here today united to say bring them home. The people of Israel live.
BROCKTON  Brockton boxer Kevin Walsh knew Greg "Flea" Grantsis as one of those friends you knew you could count on.

A photo on the wall at Joe Angelo's shows Flea jumping into King Kevin's arms after one of his victories on his way to becoming the undefeated junior lightweight champion of New England.

"He's been like an older brother to me," said Walsh, 10-0 with four knockouts. "He's just amazing. One of my best friends and always there for me and everyone else."

Greg Grantsis used to come to all of Walsh's fights.

Someone shot Grantsis to death on Nov. 9, 2021 in Brockton, following what the family says was a road rage incident.

Now Walsh attends every court hearing he can to support the Grantsis family as two separate murder cases play out.

Friends and family of Greg Grantsis gather at Joe Angelo's in Brockton on Friday, Sept. 22, 2023. Grantsis was shot to death in Brockton on the night of Nov. 9, 2021. From left, Grantis's good friend, boxer Kevin Walsh of Brockton; Grantsis's mother, Deana Grantsis of West Bridgewater; Grantsis's sister, Anastasia Grantsis of Bridgewater; and Grantsis's brother, Nicholas Grantsis of West Bridgewater.

Who was charged in Greg Grantsis' killing?

Prosecutors have brought first-degree murder charges against brothers Rula and Shamallah Jones. Rula Jones is scheduled to go on trial Oct. 24. Shamallah Jones' trial would follow in January 2024 if the current schedule holds. The Plymouth County District Attorney's office declined to comment on the cases in view of the trials starting soon.

Prosecutors originally charged both Jones brothers in one case, but lawyers for Shamallah Jones requested the cases be split and a judge approved it. Judging from defense attorney Joshua Wood's arguments in a recent motion to dismiss, Shamallah Jones will seek to prove his brother Rula Jones fired the shots. Prosecutor David Jay Cutshall said during the hearing that Shamallah Jones is liable for the crime even if he didn't pull the trigger.

'Very loving person' Brockton shooting victim Greg Grantsis remembered as loving father, caretaker of many

Greg Grantsis with his 13-year-old daughter Kaylee Grantsis and 10-month-old son Gregory Jr.

Greg Grantsis with his daughter 13-year-old Kaylee Grantsis and 10-month-old son Gregory Jr.

'Oil change and a fade'

Walsh remembers Greg as hysterically funny and a snappy dresser. Greg's work as a mechanic gave him "vise grips."

"He was wicked strong. You'd shake his hand and your hand would be hurting after a little while," said Walsh, which is something coming from a man who makes his living with his fists.

Kevin Walsh, an emerging pro boxer who lives and trains in Brockton, was a close friend to Greg Grantsis, who was shot to death on Nov. 9, 2021, in Brockton. Walsh gathered with Grantsis's family members at Joe Angelo's in Brockton on Friday, Sept. 22, 2023, share memories of Grantsis.

Greg Grantsis, 36 when he was killed, was the middle of five children in a close-knit Greek family: Nick, 43; Peter, 36; Stefanie, 34; and his "Irish twin" Ana, short for Anastasia. Greg Grantsis had two children, Kaylee and Gregory Jr.

Deana Grantsis, Greg's mother, said a lot of people didn't know he had eye cancer. He took special eye drops that cost $468 a month.

"He never complained," Deana Grantsis said. "He made everything so much better."

The family used to run Bill's Auto Repair. Greg Grantsis would cut people's hair in a barber's chair set in the middle bay of the garage. He used to call it, "Oil change and a fade."

'Sure not to disappoint' Brockton Campanelli that sold for $565,000 is

Deana Grantsis of West Bridgewater, mother to Greg Grantsis, who was shot to death on Nov. 9, 2021 in Brockton, speaks about her son at Joe Angelo's in Brockton on Friday, Sept. 22, 2023.

Not one murder trial, but two

Facing two separate murder trials has increased the stress on a Grantsis family already shattered by their loss. As of Sept. 26, the family had attended 31 hearings, sister Ana Grantsis said. Those include court sessions on accessory to murder charges against Ashley Severino of Boston. The commonwealth has also brought witness intimidation charges against Vanessa Jones, the mother of Rula and Shamallah Jones.

Ana Grantsis has already written a victim impact statement that she was going to read at the trial of Vanessa Jones before it was postponed. "Since that dreadful night of November 9th, I can't remember what happiness or joy or even a normal life was like," it reads in part. "Together as a whole, my family is broken down emotionally, spiritually, physically and psychologically."

Anastasia Grantsis of Bridgewater, sister of Greg Grantsis, who was shot to death on Nov. 9, 2021 in Brockton, gets emotional as she speaks about her brother at Joe Angelo's in Brockton on Friday, Sept. 22, 2023.

'Bro, we good?'

In late September, the Grantsises and Walsh talked to the Enterprise at Joe Angelo's. That's the downtown bar and restaurant Greg Grantsis was last at before leaving in a Mazda 3 with two friends the night of Nov. 9, 2021.

The family said prosecutors asked them not to go into detail about the case.

In broad strokes, however, the family says that Greg Grantsis was driving north on Warren Avenue when one of the Jones brothers cut him off at Tremont Street. After a verbal dispute, Greg Grantsis wound up being shot in the face. Another passenger was also shot, but not fatally.

The city's electronic gunfire detection system, the ShotSpotter, alerted police to seven rounds of gunfire near 76 Tremont St. about 1:36 a.m. that night. Greg Grantsis was taken by ambulance to Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 2:28 a.m., according to prosecutors.

Audio exists of the shootings. Ana Grantsis described it.

"You can hear my brother's voice as clear as day saying, 'We good, bro? Are we good bro?' Then all of a sudden the shots," she said. "That's a peacemaker right there. That's not a hostile statement."

Anastasia Grantsis of Bridgewater, sister of Greg Grantsis, who was shot to death on Nov. 9, 2021 in Brockton, holds up hoodie sweatshirt in honor of her brother at Joe Angelo's in Brockton on Friday, Sept. 22, 2023.

What do police records say?

The family said Greg Grantsis had no enemies. His police record, however, is not spotless. Greg Grantsis had trouble with the law two decades ago when he was in his late teens and early twenties, according to court records. He was found guilty of possession of class A drugs and assault with a dangerous weapon. More recently, authorities charged him with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon in May 2015. That case has been closed. He also faced a drug charge and cash forfeiture stemming from an October 2015 traffic stop. But that charge was dismissed in 2017 and the $1,402 cash that was seized from him was returned.

The Jones brothers have both faced serious charges before their indictments on charges of killing Greg Grantsis. Rula Jones pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the stabbing death of 15-year-old Lance Hartgrove in Roxbury in 2012, when Rula Jones was 18. Plymouth County prosecutors charged Shamallah Jones with cocaine possession and gun violations in July 2019.

Anastasia Grantsis of Bridgewater is comforted by her brother Nicholas Grantsis of West Bridgewater, as they talkd about their brother Greg Grantsis on Friday, Sept. 22, 2023, at Joe Angelo's in Brockton. Greg Grantsis was shot to death on Nov. 9, 2021 in Brockton.

Motion to dismiss

Wood, the lawyer for Shamallah Jones, argued at a Sept. 15 court hearing that the case should be dismissed. His grounds? Wood says members of the grand jury that brought the indictment didn't hear from one witness who was in the Mazda with Grantsis.

But prosecutor David Jay Cutshall said that even without that witness's testimony, the commonwealth's case is strong enough to merit the indictment.

"There's more than enough evidence to sustain our burden that Shamallah Jones was present at the scene," the assistant district attorney said at the hearing.

Judge Gregg J. Pasquale is making up his mind and said he would rule before Shamallah Jones' trial begins. Even if he does toss the case, Wood is asking only that the indictments be dismissed "without prejudice." That's legalese for the commonwealth being able to regroup and indict again.

Ana Grantsis said her biggest fear is the men she believes killed her brother will get off on a technicality.

"It's such an injustice," Ana said. "I want closure. I don't want anyone else to go through what we went through."

Send your news tips to reporter Chris Helms by email at CHelms@enterprisenews.com or connect on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @HelmsNews.

This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Greg Grantsis murder: Rula and Shamallah Jones trials begin
The boss of a small business that had 1.6m stolen in a matter of minutes through fraud has strongly criticised the response from the authorities.

An employee at Steve Wright's firm, Kent Brushes, was tricked into giving thieves access to the company account.

Mr Wright said the case had been handled "appallingly" by both his bank and Action Fraud.

It comes as a top law enforcement official calls for longer prison sentences for those convicted of fraud.

Adrian Searle, the director of the National Economic Crime Centre, said while the maximum sentence for fraud is currently 10 years, the average sentence is around two years and even in the most serious cases is still only four years.

"We support longer sentences for the frauds that are causing the highest harm," he told the BBC.

"In particular we're keen that the emotional impact of fraud is taken into consideration."

In the year to March 2023 the Home Office recorded 1.25 million cases of fraud. Of those cases around 4% were investigated with just over 4,000 ending up in court.

'My stomach dropped'

Mr Wright struggles to describe the moment he learned the money had gone from Kent Brushes, which dates from 1777 and supplies hairbrushes to the Royal Family.

"I don't think I can put into words how I felt," he says.

The financial controller of his Hertfordshire-based company was targeted in a sophisticated authorised push payment (APP) scam in early July.

That is when victims are psychologically tricked and manipulated by criminals into transferring the money to the thieves themselves.

In this case, the victim was tricked into thinking the firm's money was at risk before the criminals manipulated him to gain access to the company's bank account.

The fraudsters then proceeded to steal 1.6m, via dozens of fraudulent transactions, in less than 20 minutes.

"My stomach dropped. My initial thought was, 'this must be a mistake'. Surely the bank will be on hand to help us recover the money," Mr Wright told BBC Radio 4's Money Box.

"I felt for my financial controller who had fallen victim... and then very quickly went into... 'how do we go about recovering these funds?'"

He contacted Hertfordshire Police, who told him he needed to report his crime to Action Fraud - the national reporting centre for fraud and cyber-crime run by the City of London Police.

With several dozen employees and a turnover of around 11m, the company is not afforded the same protections as individual consumers, such as the Financial Ombudsman Service or the Contingent Reimbursement Model code.

Most High Street banks are signed up to these, which oblige them to refund innocent victims of this type of fraud.

As such, three and a half months on from when the money was stolen, the business has not been refunded by the bank, there have been no arrests and there is no sign of any further investigation.

"It's been handled appallingly. The response from the bank - they don't care. The response from Action Fraud... well there hasn't been one," says Mr Wright.

"And if that's how we're treated, losing 1.6m, the many other victims in vulnerable positions I can only imagine how they must feel as well.

"It's not right, this is a serious crime."

As to what this means for Kent Brushes, Mr Wright says the business is "robust" but immediately following the theft, it did hit the business.

"This setback necessitated a revaluation of our near-term strategies, resulting in a slower rollout of new products to maintain a stable cash flow," he says.

But all staff were paid on time following the scam. "Although we have suffered a huge financial setback, we are strong enough to be able to trade out of this position," he says.

'Case closed'

Just one month after the money was stolen Action Fraud sent him a letter, which he describes as it saying "case closed".

After our investigation Action Fraud admitted recording the details of the crime incorrectly, has apologised, and says it has put in place measures to ensure this does not happen again.

Mr Wright's bank, Barclays, said it was "evident" the customer had been the victim of a sophisticated scam and that no bank would ever ask people to transfer money or share sensitive data like one-time passcodes.

"A great deal of fraud awareness and education information has been provided to Kent Brushes to help them protect themselves from scams, including this scam in particular," the bank said.

"This case has been thoroughly investigated at the highest levels and our decision remains unchanged that the business customer will be held liable."

It added that working with law enforcement was essential to stopping scams and catching fraudsters.

Commenting on Mr Wright's case, Adrian Searle from the National Economic Crime Centre said: "What we recognise is that the policing response to fraud is not yet where it needs to be and there are a number of big changes we're making to that response.

"One of those big changes is to Action Fraud itself and colleagues at the City of London Police, who own that system, are doing a big transformation programme to improve Action Fraud."

In response to Mr Searle's calls for longer prison sentences for people convicted of fraud, the Ministry of Justice said: "We sympathise with everyone who is a victim of fraud and perpetrators should face punishments which reflect the severity of their actions.

"Since 2010 the average custodial sentence lengths for fraud offences have more than doubled, keeping offenders off our streets for longer."

How to prevent fraud

The Take Five to Stop Fraud campaign is urging people to:

Stop: Taking a moment to stop and think before parting with your money or information could keep you safe

Challenge: Could it be fake? It is OK to reject, refuse or ignore any requests. Only criminals will try to rush or panic you

Protect: Contact your bank immediately if you think you've fallen for a scam and report it to Action Fraud

From Monday there will be a lot more stories about fraud - and how to protect yourself - right across BBC as part of our Be Scam Safe week. You can find out more at bbc.co.uk/bescamsafe

You can hear more on this story here on BBC Sounds.

Follow Money Box or Dan on Twitter.
As the leaves turn and the air grows crisper, the St. George Tabernacle is gearing up for a November packed with cultural and historical events that could appeal to many residents and visitors alike. Here are some of the main offerings planned at the historic downtown building, which is located at the intersection of Tabernacle and Main Street:

Nov. 6, noon: Legacy Lecture Series

The "Legacy Lecture Series" features Larry Gardner, a lifelong resident of St. George and Pine Valley, as well as a former Southwest Utah Mission President for the Church's Historic Sites. With his deep ties to the region, Gardner serves as a guide to delve into the history of Pine Valley and its rich heritage.

Nov. 15, 7 p.m.: St. George Interfaith Choir

The "St. George Interfaith Choir", under the direction of Kathy Brown, will present "Simple Gifts," a musical performance meant to embody the spirit of unity and inspiration. Through their choral talents, this choir supports the St. George Interfaith Council's vision by uplifting the community with harmonious melodies.

Nov. 18, 7 p.m.: Christmas on the Keys

Get into the holiday spirit with "Christmas on the Keys" on November 28. Pianist and Composer Andrew Braithwaite, along with special guests, are slated to perform a heartwarming selection of nostalgic Christmas classics, playful mashups, and original compositions. This evening promises to set the tone for the upcoming holiday season.

Nov. 29, 7 p.m.: Gary Castillo and Friends

The month concludes on a festive note with "Gary Castillo and Friends" as they usher in the Christmas season with "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas." Gary Castillo, a highly accomplished male vocalist, former music professor at Cal State LA, and an orchestra soloist, is scheduled to lend his voice to this joyous occasion.

This article originally appeared on St. George Spectrum & Daily News: November events scheduled at St. George Tabernacle
Samuel Gomez saw one man bleeding on the ground and another in a car with a gun in hand as he walked out of a downtown Portland, Oregon, hotel.

Gomez pulled out his phone to record the suspect, who pointed the gun out the driver-side window and shot Gomez in the leg as he "slowly drove away," according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by Fox News Digital.

The bullet lodged in his femur, and Gomez dropped to the ground.

The suspect, controversial businessman Geoffrey Hammond, 46, allegedly fired another shot at Gomez but missed as he was "lying on the sidewalk writhing in pain," the affidavit says.

BODYCAM CAPTURES DRAMATIC SHOOT-OUT WITH MAN ACCUSED OF SLAUGHTERING FAMILY BEFORE VANISHING

Ryan Martin, 47, was fatally shot in Portland Oct. 11, 2023.

Gomez captured a lasting image of Hammond pointing the gun directly at him.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

The first victim, Ryan Martin, a 47-year-old father of four, was dying about 15 feet away from Gomez, begging Hammond for his life, the affidavit alleges.

SAN FRANCISCO BAY BOATERS FORCED TO FIGHT OFF PIRATES WHO ARE STEALING SHIPS

"I'm sorry. I had a bad day," Martin pleaded with Hammond, whose gun jammed, stopping him from firing a second shot at Martin, according to the affidavit.

Martin was pronounced dead at the site of the shooting. His oldest son, Taylor, 27, said in an online post that "this tragic loss" robbed him and his siblings of "an amazing father, friend and community member."

Geoffrey Hammond, pictured here at a NYC CoinGeek event in 2021, is accused of murder.

He wrote a tribute letter to his dad on Facebook that started with, "Dad - Words cant express the pain Im in hearing the news of your passing.

"You were an amazing man and father, the most intelligent and hard working (man) I ever knew. You are my best friend and will always be in my heart.

"Your legacy will be carried through me in everything I do. You were taken from me to soon. And I wont forget the pain that man put me through today. I love you dad.

"Rest in paradise - Ryan Earl Martin 03/10/1976 - 10/12/2023."

GoFundMe and social media posts have offered the only public statements from Martin's family members, who are asking for privacy as they grieve.

The fatal fight unfolded in a matter of minutes, according to police.

Around 4:30 p.m. Oct. 11, Hammond sat in his black Mercedes, which sat idle with the engine on and partially blocking traffic, according to the affidavit.

ATTEMPTED TRAIN DERAILMENTS PART OF ALLEGED TERRORIST PLOT: COURT DOCS

Martin and Hammond exchanged middle fingers in the heat of the moment as Martin navigated his Toyota Tundra around Hammond's car, the affidavit says.

Martin crossed the intersection, left his truck and tapped on Hammond's window.

"It is unclear what, if anything, Ryan Martin said while tapping on the window, but witnesses described shouting," the affidavit says.

"(Hammond) rolled down the window and immediately shot Ryan Martin in the chest. Ryan Martin fell to the ground and landed on his back in the gutter."

STATE-SANCTIONED SWATTING ALLOWED COP TO ASSAULT TEENS IN PERSONAL VENDETTA FOR DOORBELL PRANK: LAWYER

His gun jammed as Martin pleaded with the shooter. "I'm sorry. I had a bad day," Martin yelled, according to the affidavit.

As Hammond fixed his gun, he allegedly told Martin, "You are lucky I didn't shoot you in the head," the affidavit says.

Ryan Martin, who was fatally shot in Portland during an alleged road rage incident in October 2023, leaves behind four children  Taylor, 27, Anna, 22, Emily, 20, and Drew, 17.

That's when Gomez walked out of the Moxy Hotel, where he presented at a conference of the National Organization of Minority Architects and recorded what he could.

Gomez "managed to record the act in a disturbing photograph on his cell phone," the affidavit says.

The wild incident took another unexpected turn when Hammond, believing he was justified in shooting Martin and Gomez, called 911 himself and drove to the courthouse.

"On a recorded call, he (Hammond) freely admits to shooting both men," the affidavit says.

SINISTER CONNECTION TO MISSING WOMAN LAST SEEN LEAVING TEXAS BIKINI BAR

"He states that he believed he was justified in doing so because Ryan Martin menaced him and because Sam Gomez might have had a weapon."

He later told detectives during the interview he believed Gomez "may have been planning an ambush which he recognized as a military tactic," according to the affidavit.

Hammond's lawyer, Joseph Westover, did not return Fox News Digital's call or emails for comment.

Police are asking anyone with information about the Portland shooting to contact Det. Ryan Foote at ryan.foote@police.portlandoregon.gov or 503-823-0781, or Det. Travis Law at travis.law@police.portlandoregon.gov or 503-823-0395.

During the interview with police, Hammond allegedly told investigators he saw Martin was unarmed and "admitted that he had planned on shooting Ryan Martin a second time," but the gun malfunctioned, according to the affidavit.

He told officers that he believed "groups of people (were) stalking him and showed little to no remorse for his actions," the affidavit says.

INFAMOUS DEATH ROW INMATE DUBBED SUNSET STRIP KILLER DIES IN PRISON

Law enforcement continued the investigation by interviewing "numerous witnesses" and combing through security footage.

"Not a single witness described seeing or hearing anything that would have justified the shooting," the affidavit says.

"Detectives were unable to find any video footage that would have remotely justified the use of deadly force."

Hammond was charged with second-degree murder, second-degree attempted murder with a firearm, first-degree assault with a firearm and two counts of unlawful use of a weapon.

He pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Hammond, 46, is a financier and cryptocurrency investment business owner who has two companies registered in Portland under his name  Aequantium LLC and Aequantium Research LLC, according to records from Oregon's Department of State.

In May 2023, Hammond filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, according to a report by KGW8.

He had about $34,000 in credit card debt and was out of a job after his company closed, the local news outlet reported, based on court records.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE TRUE CRIME FROM FOX NEWS

He owns an $890,000 home in Portlands West Hills, a 2020 Mercedes SUV and four weapons, according to court documents

He changed his name from Jeffrey Edward Mandalis for an unknown reason.

Mandalis has a criminal history in Illinois that includes charges of assault, vandalism and domestic battery, KGW8 reported.

Portland Police ask anyone with information about this case, who has not already talked to police, to contact Det. Ryan Foote at ryan.foote@police.portlandoregon.gov or 503-823-0781, or Det. Travis Law at travis.law@police.portlandoregon.gov or 503-823-0395.

Police said to reference case number 23-267039.





Original article source: Bystander took bullet recording financier killing family man in road rage murder: police
FILE - California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a news conference, Thursday, May 25, 2023, in Richmond, California. Gov. Newsom begins a week-long trip to China on Monday, Oct. 23, 2023, where he'll meet with various Chinese officials to discuss climate policy and opportunities for collaboration. (AP Photo/Adam Beam, File)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP)  California Gov. Gavin Newsom will try to reinforce his state's role as a global leader on climate change as he begins a weeklong visit to China on Monday, a trip that presents both political risk and opportunity for crucial international collaboration.

Newsoms tour begins with a discussion in Hong Kong before he continues on to Beijing, Shanghai and the provinces of Guangdong and Jiangsu. He'll visit the first Chinese city to deploy an all-electric bus fleet, tour an offshore wind facility and see a wetlands preserve. Hell sign agreements with leaders of Chinese provinces to set mutual commitments on a host of climate goals. California has already signed dozens of such agreements with subnational governments.

Newsoms agenda also includes conversations on strengthening cultural ties and combating xenophobia, and he will visit a school with his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom .

His trip to China follows a brief visit to Israel.

Governors of California, which has an economy larger than most countries, have a long history of climate collaboration with China. Democrat Jerry Brown and Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger also traveled there to swap knowledge on reducing air pollution and emissions, and since leaving office, Brown has launched the California-China Climate Institute at the University of California, Berkeley.

However, Newsom's trip comes at a very different political moment, with rising tensions between the United States and China over trade, human rights, the future of Taiwan and international conflicts. It follows a recent visit to Beijing by a congressional delegation led by U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who sought a sharper condemnation of Hamas by the Chinese government.

Climate remains one area where collaboration is seen as both possible and necessary. Both countries appear to have fully re-engaged in the run-up to the next U.N. climate change conference, which opens Nov. 30 in Dubai.

China suspended climate and other talks with the U.S. in August 2022 to show its anger over a visit by then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan. Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to resume climate talks three months later at a meeting with President Joe Biden in Indonesia.

John Kerry, the U.S. climate envoy, held in-person meetings in Beijing in July, and he and Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua have held regular video calls since then, Xie told a forum in Beijing last month.

David Victor, a professor and co-director of the Deep Decarbonization Initiative at the University of California, San Diego, said state-level dialogue is an important avenue for progress given the complicated politics of the U.S.-China relationship. Animosity between the two countries has led to less travel and fewer joint research projects.

The states really are where anything substantive is going to happen, Victor said, while at the national level, theres no political constituency for opening the door and having a deeper relationship.

The Newsom administration has been in close contact with the White House and Kerry ahead of the governors trip, said Lauren Sanchez, the governor's senior climate adviser. The White House did not comment on Newsoms trip.

Brown, the former governor, said political tensions dont change the fact that greenhouse gases are still being emitted at an alarming rate.

Cooperation is the absolute requirement. And at this time, I would say California has been pushing the federal government in the direction of more dialogue with China, Brown said. It has a very important long-term effect.

California has passed some of the worlds most aggressive vehicle emissions rules, and Newsom has moved to ban the sale of most new gas-powered cars in the state by 2035. The state has a mandate to be carbon neutral by 2045, meaning it will remove as much carbon from the atmosphere as it emits. California is already dealing with drought and wildfires made worse by climate change.

Still, the state is responsible for less than 1% of the planet's greenhouse gas emissions, meaning its efforts can go only so far without global partnerships, Sanchez said. In 2020, China was responsible for more than 30% of global carbon dioxide emissions, compared with the U.S. at 13.5%.

Its going to be very difficult to tackle the climate crisis just here in California, Sanchez said. Climate change is a global issue, it requires global partnerships.

California has shared its expertise on air pollution regulations, carbon pricing programs and conservation, Sanchez said.

China, meanwhile, is now more advanced at electrifying the transportation fleet and deploying offshore wind  it has more gigawatts of offshore wind power than the rest of the world combined, Sanchez said. The Biden administration recently held an auction for five offshore wind lease areas along the U.S. West Coast.

Newsom's second term ends in January 2026, and he cannot seek re-election. He has repeatedly denied an interest in running for president, but he has sought to boost his national profile by campaigning for Democrats in Republican-led states and even agreeing to debate GOP presidential hopeful and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in late November.

The international trip stands to bolster Newsom's political and policy credentials beyond his state. However, opponents will likely be on the lookout for any signs of coziness between him and China's communist government that could be used against him in the future.

California Republicans said Newsom shouldnt be visiting China at a time of tensions over international conflicts and the suppression of free speech. Instead he should focus on problems at home like poverty and crime, Republican state Assembly Leader James Gallagher said in a statement.

Newsom shouldnt be playing make-believe diplomat while ignoring the challenges facing our state, he said.

But climate experts said California has a significant role to play in advancing global climate policy.

Its a major clean energy leader. Its one of the leading economies in the world. It has a huge amount of technical expertise, said Nathaniel Keohane, president of the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions. Theres a natural role for California and the California governor.

___

Megerian reported from Washington. Associated Press journalist Ken Moritsugu in Beijing contributed.
California just legalized affordable housing in church parking lots and coastal cities  and it could help solve the state's crisis

San Francisco Mayor London Breed celebrated new laws limiting the role of environmental regulations in restricting housing development. Avila Gonzalez/Getty Images

Gov. Gavin Newsom of California signed over 50 bills this month designed to combat the housing crisis.

Pro-housing advocates are celebrating this legislative session's wins.

The laws legalize lots of affordable-housing construction and lift some burdensome regulations.

California is suffering from one of the country's most severe housing crises, fueled by a chronic shortage of places to live. The Golden State is now home to a third of the country's unhoused population as lower- and middle-income residents struggle to afford homes all over the state.

After repeatedly promising to tackle the crisis, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California signed more than 50 housing bills this month. Pro-housing advocates say the patchwork of fixes is something of a mixed bag, but overall, it's a strong move toward lifting burdensome regulations that make building unnecessarily costly or impossible.

"The wind is in our sails right now," Ned Resnikoff, the policy director at the pro-housing group California YIMBY, or "Yes In My Backyard," told Insider. "There's really a lot of momentum behind efforts to solve the housing crisis in California."

Here are some of the highlights from the historic slew of housing laws.

Speeding up housing construction

One major success of this legislative session is a few laws designed to loosen restrictions imposed by California's Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, a broad set of regulations intended to protect environmental concerns but in recent years more notorious for slowing down or killing all kinds of housing development.

"Almost anything under the sun can be considered an environmental impact" under CEQA, Chris Elmendorf, a professor at UC Davis School of Law, told Insider. And the unpredictability of CEQA's application adds significant costs to development.

In one particularly notorious example, local opponents of a proposed student-dorm building on the UC Berkeley campus drew the school into a prolonged legal battle over the construction, claiming the student residents would violate CEQA by creating noise pollution. A state appellate court sided with the building's critics, but the governor signed a bill, which unanimously passed the legislature, specifically asserting that resident noise didn't violate environmental regulations.

One law the governor signed  Senate Bill 423  extends and broadens a successful 2017 law that has fast-tracked the construction of thousands of mostly affordable homes by requiring local governments to approve multi-unit infill housing in existing residential neighborhoods. The new law  authored by one of California's most outspoken pro-housing lawmakers, State Sen. Scott Wiener  singles out San Francisco, which has struggled to meet its state-mandated housing construction requirements in part because of its lengthy approval process. The bill requires the city to undergo annual reviews and fast-track the construction of both market-rate and affordable housing.

Another law  Assembly Bill 1633  is set to make it harder for cities to abuse CEQA to slow down or derail multi-unit infill housing construction if it complies with local requirements.

"For the first time, the legislature is really saying, we really just want this environmental review to be about the environment and not about stopping projects," said Elmendorf, who helped lawmakers craft AB 1633. He said the law affirmed "the principle that if the project is compliant with the applicable rules, and on an infill location and reasonably dense, then the city can't use environmental review as a pretext to effectively deny projects they're not allowed to deny officially."

San Francisco Mayor London Breed said the law was "a game changer" for her city, which has long been the poster child of housing crises.

"It's going to be an exciting time for housing development in San Francisco," Breed said during a panel at the Bloomberg CityLab conference in Washington on October 19. "CEQA can't be abused like it has in the past because of changes to our state laws."

Another law that's gotten a lot of attention  SB 4  is set to make it easier for nonprofit colleges and universities and faith-based organizations to build affordable housing on land they already own. The bill, also known as "Yes in God's Backyard," would allow organizations to bypass certain environmental regulations and permitting rules to build homes in church parking lots and other underutilized or surplus land. UC Berkeley's Terner Center for Housing Innovation found there were more than 170,000 acres of land that could be put to use under SB 4.

Resnikoff said religious organizations were especially well-positioned to provide housing for low-income and even unhoused community members. "We have this whole network of mission-driven organizations across the entire state, many of which would be quite eager and willing to minister to the most housing-burdened in their areas, and this is a way to provide that opportunity," he said.

Ten homes in Long Beach constructed by Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles. Brittany Murray/Getty Images

Some disappointments

While Elmendorf said he thought the overall progress made on housing policy this legislative session was positive, he lamented the failure of a pair of bills that would've allowed more density in single-family neighborhoods by legalizing lot subdivisions. The bills died in the legislature, which Elmendorf said spoke to lawmakers' continued reticence to stand up to homeowners.

Many housing advocates are also disappointed that Newsom vetoed a bill  AB 309  to create "social housing" on government-owned land. The proposal, authored by the South Bay Assembly member Alex Lee, would have piloted mixed-income housing developments on public land. Rather than restricting the homes to only very low-income residents, as most public housing does, residents from all socioeconomic backgrounds would spend no more than 30% of their income on rent.

"Just like how roads, and libraries, and schools  no matter how rich or poor you are, you still are entitled to go check out a book or go to send your kids to public school. That's the same thing with housing," Lee told Insider.

Lee said he explicitly modeled the proposal off of social-housing programs in Vienna and Singapore that have long been celebrated by housing advocates in the US and around the world. "If a modest Central European power and a modest trading commercial power in Southeast Asia can come successfully with a huge track record of social housing, why can't the most prosperous state and the most prosperous nation in the history of mankind be able to do that too?" he said.

The bill passed the legislature, but Newsom vetoed it, arguing in a lengthy note that the state didn't have the budget capacity for the project. Resnikoff, whose organization endorsed the effort, said the state's fiscal conditions made it very hard to pass housing policy that requires funding.

Advocates are quick to point out that California's housing policy has impacts far beyond its borders. The state's housing policies have already inspired copycat efforts across the country. Resnikoff said he saw lots of similarities between New York City Mayor Eric Adams' newly proposed housing reforms, which include legalizing building small secondary housing units on one's property and boosting density in commercial corridors. How effectively California deals with its housing-affordability issues also directly impacts other states' housing markets. The migration of California residents to places including Texas and Oregon has put additional pressure on those states to provide even more housing.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Californias better known state symbols include its golden poppies and grizzly bears. But in recent news, the Golden State adopted the pallid bat as a new symbol alongside the California Golden Chanterelle, a mushroom species native to the Pacific Coast.

Other, lesser-known symbols include: an official state dinosaur, the Augustynolophus morrisi; a state fabric, denim; and a state sport, surfing.

How does something get recognized as a new state symbol?

Heres how they are chosen and who can propose a new one:

How does California choose its symbols?

Californians have chosen for themselves the symbols to represent the Golden State, according to the State of California Capitol Museum.

From animals to songs, the symbols are chosen by what Californians value most about their state.

The states symbols are chosen to better understand the Golden State, the museums website states.

According to the California State Library, any California resident can propose a new state symbol by contacting their local State Senate or Assembly member.

To officiate the pallid bat as a new state symbol, Sen. Caroline Menjivar, D-Los Angeles, authored Senate Bill 732, The Bee previously reported.

Menjivar sought to provide a special designation for the pallid bat because of the natural pest control it provides to Californias agriculture.

Naming Antrozous pallidus as the official state bat of California will help promote appreciation, study, and protection of bats in this state, Menjivar wrote.

This species of bats is as diverse as Californians, the bill states.

After Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the bill into law earlier this month, the pallid bat will be added to the California State Librarys list of the states official symbols in 2024.

How many state symbols does California have?

California law establishes the state flag and the states emblems.

California currently has more than 40 state symbols in the following categories:

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.
Price of freedom

Gaza hospitals are overwhelmed with patients and desperately low on supplies as invasion looms, (sacbee.com, Oct. 15)

The price of freedom is high. But the real question is: Whose freedoms are we talking about? And at what price?

Hamas and Israel hate each other far too much to ever come to a negotiated settlement. Both sides are convinced God is on their side. There is much to blame here. Peace may be impossible until the last Palestinian is staring at the last Israeli across the blood-soaked, charred ruins of Gaza.

Israel has the military wherewithal to invade and occupy Gaza. They may decapitate Hamas  they may physically eliminate its structure and kill its leaders  but it will be a hollow victory. You cannot kill an idea. It will survive and inevitably re-emerge.

Robert N Austin

Sacramento

Feckless stooges

All 12 California Republicans back Rep. Jim Jordan, who again falls short in bid for Speaker, (sacbee.com, Oct. 17)

We are less than a month from a possible government shutdown. World conditions are dangerously unstable, and a functioning government is essential. However, after removing the elected speaker without a replacement plan, the Republicans have chosen an extremist member of Congress as their leader. Thankfully, Rep. Jim Jordan has had difficulty securing support.

Its alarming and appalling that the entire California Republican Congressional delegation, including Reps. Kevin Kiley, Doug LaMalfa and Tom McClintock, has no problem voting for a man intimately connected to the January 6 insurrection and who still denies the outcome of the 2020 election  not to mention those credible allegations of enabling sexual assault.

These local representatives and the entire Republican party have shown us theyre uninterested in governing. Chaos and dysfunction are their brand. Lets fix that in 2024 and replace these feckless stooges.

Barbara Smith

Auburn

Opinion

Waning confidence

California: Gavin Newsoms tiny homes are delayed, (sacbee.com, Oct. 12)

As someone who feels strongly about the homelessness crisis, I like the states initiative to solve this problem. But the fact that the governor is making promises he cant keep is concerning. If Gov. Gavin Newsom is saying the tiny homes project will get done by fall, people believe him; but so far no homes have been built.

The fact that the state still doesnt have a contracted business to construct the homes is very concerning, and the fact that it has moved the date to contract with someone three times doesnt make me feel confident that this will be completed in the near future.

Emet Altevogt-Ward

Folsom

Pause and rethink

CAs Capitol Annex project is Sacramentos nightmare, (sacbee.com, Oct. 11)

Samatha Corbins op-ed provides an excellent overview of whats wrong with the stalled Capitol Annex Project. The project is an assault on the historic integrity of our State Capitol (which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places) and on Capitol Parks beloved trees. It is also a financial boondoggle.

It was planned and approved with no meaningful opportunity for public input. The current pause in construction offers a badly needed opportunity to rethink the project. The Historic Annex building has already been demolished, but its replacement could be redesigned from an oversized glass building that bears no relation to the 1874 Capitol to something more appropriate; plans for a new visitor center could be changed to preserve the West Lawn gathering space, and the parking garage could be eliminated.

Karen Jacques

Sacramento

Audit necessary

CAs Capitol Annex project is Sacramentos nightmare, (sacbee.com, Oct. 11)

The spiraling costs and lack of direction on the Capitol Annex Project are deeply troubling. Originally intended as a renovation, its scope and price have ballooned to almost $1.2 billion and now include demolition for a glass palace, an unnecessary excavation of the West Steps and the death of dozens of historic trees. With the project rushed through with little transparency and no clear plan, leadership or defined timeline, its not surprising that the project has been met with confusion and lawsuits.

Its time to reconsider the entire project, especially with the state facing a massive budget deficit (as Gov. Gavin Newsom pointed out in many veto messages to critical safety nets).

An audit of the project is necessary so funds can be redirected to more deserving projects.

Kate Riley

Sacramento

Our principles

The latest effort to secede from California is happening in Sacramentos backyard, (sacbee.com, Oct. 4)

Residents of El Dorado County want to leave California and form a state of their own. Residents of northern counties propose to create the new State of Jefferson. In eastern Oregon and Washington, some residents hope to create a greater Idaho. And Texas keeps threatening to leave the whole country behind and go it alone. This is not a new problem. Most will recall that a war was fought over this, though it seems the 600,000 dead did not leave a lasting impression.

President Abraham Lincoln had some thoughtful words to share on the subject, as he so often did. We will always have disagreements with our neighbors, he pointed out. But if that means we build a wall and wash our hands of them, where does it stop? Its easy to praise democracy when one is in the majority. The true test is whether we abandon our principles when we are not.

Tim Goncharoff

Fairfield
In call with Qatari emir, Zelenskyy expresses gratitude for Doha's help in repatriating Ukrainian children abducted by Russia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, speaking by phone with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, discussed the return of abducted Ukrainian children from Russia and the war in the Middle East, the Presidents Office said in a press release on Oct. 22.

Zelenskyy thanked the Qatari leader for humanitarian aid, including $100 million to strengthen Ukraine's energy sector and equipment for emergency and surgical departments.

Read also: Qatar helps negotiate return to Ukraine of four children abducted by Russia

He noted Qatar's significant mediation role in the return of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia.

"About 20,000 abducted children is what we have documented so far," Zelenskyy said.

This is a scary figure, but the real number is even higher. Therefore, we need to continue this track. We are ready for further coordination and cooperation.

Read also: Russia negotiating new grain deal with Turkey and Qatar  report

The parties also discussed the situation in the Middle East.

"We agreed on the importance of de-escalating the conflict, seeking peace, and protecting civilians," the presidencys statement reads.

Zelenskyy also noted the importance of the Gulf countries' participation in the implementation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula and thanked Qatar for the participation of their delegation at the meeting in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) and their willingness to send representatives to the next meeting in Malta.

The day before, Zelenskyy had a phone conversation with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Next week, the third meeting on the Ukrainian Peace Formula will take place in Malta. The previous ones took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Ukraine also intends to organize a global summit on the Peace Formula.

Read also: US in talks with Oman and Qatar to transfer NASAMS systems to Ukraine  Politico

What is the Ukrainian Peace Formula?

In November 2022, at the G20 summit, Zelenskyy presented a 10-point peace formula, which includes, among other things, the restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity, the withdrawal of Russian troops, the release of all prisoners, a tribunal for those responsible for aggression, and security guarantees for 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
FILE PHOTO: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during a press conference on the sidelines of the UNGA, in New York

FILE PHOTO: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during a press conference on the sidelines of the UNGA, in New York

(Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Sunday that he had spoken to Israeli President Isaac Herzog about Palestinian Islamist group Hamas' attacks.

"We spoke about the hostages held by Hamas, and the need for their immediate release," Trudeau said in a post on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

Trudeau also reaffirmed Canada supports Israel's right to defend itself in accordance with international law, the post said.

(Reporting by Kanjyik Ghosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
The man arrested in connection with a Capitol Hill quadruple stabbing appeared in court Saturday afternoon, according to the King County Prosecutors Office.

On Friday around 2 a.m., four people were stabbed, according to police. Two were sent to Harborview in stable condition and the other two were treated at the scene for minor injuries. Police arrested a 36-year-old man for assault.

The King County Prosecutors Office argued that the man should stay in the King County Jail on $3000,000 bail and that there was probable cause for two counts of assault in the first degree.

After hearing both sides, the court found probable cause for two counts of assault in the second degree and set bail at $300,000.

King County prosecutors said they anticipate having the case referred to them by Seattle Police by Tuesday for a charging decision.

The man remains in the King County Jail.
Editor's Note: Caprock Chronicles is edited by Texas Tech University Librarian Emeritus, Jack Becker. He can be reached at jack.becker@ttu.edu. Todays article about the murders of two cattle inspectors is the final of a three-part series by frequent contributor Chuck Lanehart, Lubbock attorney and award-winning Western history writer. In Part One, the life of legendary Texas lawman Dave Allison was examined. In Part Two, the murder of Allison and fellow cattle inspector Hod Roberson at the Gaines Hotel were chronicled.

Lubbocks stately 1916 courthouse was the setting for one of Texas most anticipated trials of the 20th Century: the 1923 murder trials of Tom Ross and Milt Good for the slayings of legendary lawman Dave Allison and his partner, Hod Roberson. Ross would be tried first for killing Roberson, to be followed by Goods trial for the same killing.

Lubbock's stately 1916 courthouse was the site of the 1923 trial of Tom Ross and Milson Good for the murders of two cattle inspectors.

Judge Clark Mullicans first order of business was security. He instructed 38 deputies to guard courthouse posts, drew diagrams of the environs and ordered all spectators but newspapermen to be searched for firearms. Even the Judges wife was searched!

On June 18, 1923, every seat in the courtroom was occupied long before the trial began, with a huge overflow crowd extending down the stairs. Ross entered in a business suit and boots. He kissed his wife and 15-year-old daughter.

Prosecutors included District Attorney Gordon McGuire of Lamesa, District Attorney J.E. Vickers of Lubbock and flamboyant Dayton Moses of the Cattle Raisers Association. Powerful Lubbock lawyer William Bledsoe, who a decade earlier bested Vickers in Lubbock Countys first murder trial, sat at the counsel table with fellow defense lawyers.

Milton Good, left, and Tom Ross on trial, in handcuffs.

Four hundred veniremen were questioned about membership in the Ku Klux Klan, among other subjects. Twelve were chosen. The State called eight witnesses before resting its case on June 22. But 200 witnesses testified for both sides in rebuttal, including scores who recounted the good character of Allison and Roberson.

Ross, sitting with his wife and daughter, never flinched as he heard himself denounced in bitter terms by Moses. He was found guilty and sentenced to 35 years in prison.

Three days later, Milton Goods trial for killing Roberson began and closely resembled Ross trial, with the same judge and advocates. Unbiased jurors were scarce. When selected, each juror was identified in newspaper accounts by name, age, town of residence, number of children, religion and occupation.

William H. Bledsoe, attorney for the defense.

After the State rested its case, Good testified in his own defense, saying he acted in self-defense, though none of the many eyewitnesses to the killings saw the victims go for their guns.

Good, his wife and eight children, five sisters and brother sat with him while Moses delivered one of the most scathing and forceful arguments ever heard in a Texas courtroom. He was convicted and though the State sought the death penalty, the jurys sentence was 26 years in prison.

The two trials consumed three weeks and cost the State $20,000, more than any ever held in West Texas. Some 250 witnesses from 60 Texas counties appeared. Deputies complained of sore backs after searching 40,000 spectators. Only one pistol was found, but many nail files were taken from ladies.

Lubbock County DA J.E. Vickers.

Next were the separate trials of Ross and Good for the murder of Allison, but the cases were sent to Abilene on a second change of venue, as no unbiased prospective jurors could be found in Lubbock following saturation newspaper coverage.

The Abilene trials lasted most of September 1923, with similar testimony. Again, the defendants claimed self-defense.

The threats made me so worried that I could not eat or sleep! Ross testified. I knew from reports that Roberson had killed [many men] and I began to carry a six-shooter. I knew that he would kill me!

When he and Good entered the hotel, Good exclaimed, Look out for Allison! Ross saw Roberson reach his right hand toward his left hip. I began shooting. I dont know how many times I shot. I quit when Robersons head fell back and he relaxed.

Again, both were convicted. Again, the State pressed for the death penalty. Jurors refused, sentencing Ross to 20 years and Good to 25 years in prison.

Chuck Lanehart

Historians have described the convictions as the end of the frontier era of Texas history.

The sentences were stacked, so Ross faced a 55-year term and Good faced a 51-year term. The convicts arrived at Huntsvilles State Prison in January 1925, and after all appeals failed, they decided not to stay. In November, Ross and Good mugged a guard and escaped.

The two fugitives fled to New Mexico, then roamed the Northwest. Good was captured in Oklahoma and returned to Huntsville.

Rossborn Hillary Loftischanged his identity again and appeared in Montana. Now known as Charles Gannon, in 1929 he gunned down a ranch foreman during an argument. Immediately after the killing, Loftis/Ross/Gannon put his .45 pistol in his right ear, pulled the trigger, and took his own life. He was 68 years old.

Soon after his return to Huntsville, Good tried to burrow his way out of prison, but failed. Gov. Ma Ferguson  infamous for granting freedom for a fee  pardoned Good in 1934. Five years later, he returned to Huntsville for a short theft stint. He returned to West Texas and in 1960, Good was killed in an accident at his ranch, age 71.

Archives of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Ancestry.com and the book Fearless Dave Allison by Bob Alexander, were sources for this article.

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This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Caprock Chronicles: Murders at the Gaines Hotel Part Three: The end of the Texas Frontier Era
Pennies  thats what Governor Inslee predicted would be the impact of the states new carbon tax on gas prices. One year after he made that prediction, and for the first time in state history, Washington had the highest gas prices in the nation this summer.

Inslee blames price gouging fueled by corporate greed. Why corporations are greedier in Washington than in Oregon and Idaho remains a mystery, and one he intends to investigate.

The truth is Washingtons carbon tax adds about 50 cents to the cost of gasoline per gallon, costing the average driver $250 annually or $500 for a two-driver household. Thats what cap-and-trade programs are designed to do: reduce carbon emissions by putting a price on them. This year, the state has raked in $1.46 billion  nearly three times the $574 million in revenue the state predicted when the measure was signed into law. By years end, the amount of new revenue will eclipse what we collected in total gas taxes in 2022  effectively doubling the gas tax.

Honest policymakers have a choice: We can act today or continue to tax families at this needlessly high rate, doubling down on a regressive tax system.

After the final 2023 quarterly carbon allowance auction takes place, the state could have billions in new revenue available to spend. As the sponsor of the Carbon Auction Rebate  CAR for short  I say its time to return a portion of the over-collected taxes back to the people.

Today, there are four proposals on the table.

Most legislators in the majority have remained silent, and presumably want to use these funds to pay for new or existing programs. Sen. Mark Mullet, D-Issaquah, would like to use these funds to reduce car-tab fees for two years, but this would shortchange the transportation budget resulting in a shell-game in which Carbon Commitment Act (CCA) dollars are used to backfill transportation funds. His proposal also calls for lowering compliance obligations in the short-term, which means increasing carbon emissions.

Finally, Senate Republican Leader John Braun wants to use these funds for property-tax exemptions and credits to renters.

Rep. Mary Dye, R-Pomeroy, and I have a simpler plan. We would send all extra funds back to Washington drivers as CAR check. Unlike Sen. Mullets proposal, our bill would not change car-tab fee amounts or emission reductions. Drivers get a rebate, and we adhere to our emission reduction goals.

Heres how it would work: registered vehicle owners would receive a $100 check  or up to $200 per family with two or more registered vehicles  next July. There would be no strings attached. After the July payment, Washingtonians would receive an annual check when they renew their tabs. The check amount would vary depending on how much the state collects above what was forecasted to be collected in 2021 when the CCA was enacted. Individuals would be limited to one check, and everyone would receive the same amount.

Critics claim the CAR bill violates the states constitutional prohibition on government gifts to private parties, but providing financial relief to drivers fulfills a fundamental public purpose: it makes the states climate law more durable by making it more affordable. As currently structured, Washingtons cap-and-trade program is simply unaffordable.

The beauty of this approach is we can maintain the same investments in clean energy, transportation, and health in the CCA, while offsetting the regressive nature of the carbon tax by providing financial relief directly to families.

With $5 gas, constituents of mine have had to cut back on groceries, cancel family trips, and make other painful sacrifices. And, as we saw during the pandemic, no-strings-attached, direct cash payments can be an effective way to provide a hand-up. As our state moves into a clean energy future, we should adopt the CAR bill and similar proposals to ensure that the costs of that transition are not disproportionately borne by those who can least afford it.

Rep. April Connors, R-Kennewick, represented the 8th District.
The number of people injured in a missile strike on a Kharkiv depot belonging to the Nova Poshta delivery company has increased to 16 people.

Source: Kharkiv Oblast Police press service

Details: Investigators, forensic scientists and bomb disposal experts continue to work at the site of the Russian attack.

As of 02:30 it is known that there were 22 people on the territory of the depot, of which 6 people were killed and 16 were injured.

Bomb disposal experts seized the wreckage of the S-300 missile. Investigators, along with forensic scientists and experts, inspect the bodies of the dead.

Investigators opened criminal proceedings under Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine on the fact of violation of the laws and customs of war.

Background:

On Saturday 21 October, a Russian missile hit a depot belonging to the Nova Poshta delivery company in Kharkiv Oblast, injuring 13 people and killing several others.

A Russian missile hit the Kharkiv depot of Nova Poshta: the workers who were there had no chance or time to run to the shelter, as the air-raid warning was issued a second before the explosion.

Earlier in the evening of 21 October, Oleh Syniehubov, Head of Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration, and Ihor Terekhov, the mayor of Kharkiv, reported that Russian troops were launching missile attacks on Kharkiv.

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Cavendish, the most commonly available banana variety, is facing the risk of extinction.

A fungus that ravages roots is gradually eradicating Cavendish from banana farms all over the world.

Experts we spoke to have multiple ideas for a solution but don't agree on what's best.

Each year, humans worldwide eat over 100 billion bananas, most of which are a type called the Cavendish. But perhaps not for long.

A fungal disease threatens to wipe Cavendish bananas off the face of the Earth. Some scientists are genetically modifying the fruit to be more resistant to disease.

But the best solution to the problem, some argue, is for farmers to completely overhaul banana production and stop growing only one variety of fruit altogether.

Why Cavendish bananas dominate the global market

There are over 1,000 varieties of bananas, but about 47% that humans eat are Cavendish bananas (Musa acuminata).

Many banana plantations grow just one type banana variety. trabantos / Getty Images

Cavendish dominates the global banana market for several reasons. One, it's resistant to some of the major banana-killing diseases; two, it has a long shelf life; and three, farmers can typically grow more Cavendish bananas than other varieties on the same amount of land.

"Because of all these reasons, Cavendish becomes a very practical product," journalist Dan Koeppel, author of the book "Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World," told Insider.

But the Cavendish is under threat from a fungus that infects the plant. The infection is called Panama Disease (Fusarium wilt) tropical race 4.

TR4 infection starts in the banana tree's roots and then spreads, ultimately disabling the plant's ability to absorb water or conduct photosynthesis. Eventually, the tree dies as a result.

Panama disease has been killing bananas for well over a century. Fajri Ramadhan / 500px / Getty Images

Panama disease is a serial banana killer

What's happening to Cavendish bananas has happened before to another popular banana variety called Gros Michel.

Gros Michel was the "main export banana in the first half of last century," James Dale, a professor and leader of the banana biotechnology program at Queensland University of Technology, told Insider.

But a predecessor to TR4, called tropical race 1, began infecting bananas in 1876. By the 1950s, it had completely decimated Gros Michel farms, forcing banana producers across the globe to look for a new variety.

By 1982, Cavendish bananas had all but replaced the Gros Michel variety. Robert Nickelsberg / Contributor / Getty Images

In the following years, "Cavendish became the leading export banana replacing Gros Michel because it was immune to TR1," Dale added.

In 1997, scientists detected a new strain (TR4) near Darwin, Australia, that infected Cavendish. By 2015, it had spread to the banana farms in Queensland, the largest banana-producing state in Australia.

"Since then it has spread to India and China, the world's largest producers of bananas. It has also spread to the Middle East and Africa and very recently was found in South America," Dale told Insider.

How scientists are trying to save the Cavendish

Some plant pathologists don't believe that the Cavendish banana will meet the same fate as Gros Michel.

"The disease moves slowly, so we have at least a decade before the impact is drastic," Dale said.

Also, many scientists are working on TR4-resistant Cavendish or a resistant replacement for Cavendish.

The TR4 infects banana roots, ultimately killing the plant. Dr_Microbe/Getty Images

For example, Dale and his colleagues have developed a genetically modified Cavendish called QCAV-4, which they said is highly resistant to TR4.

Another research group led by scientists at the University of Cambridge is exploring grafting as a possible solution. Grafting tissue from one plant onto another can alter certain characteristics of that plant, like making it more resistant to disease, per the University of Cambridge.

Another team at the Taiwan Banana Research Institute is attempting a form of natural selection. The team takes Cavendish seedlings and exposes them to TR4. The small portion of seedlings that fair best then go onto additional experiments to ultimately help the Cavendish evolve to become resistant to TR4, absent of genetic modification.

"I would say with certainty that there will be a solution before the export market for Cavendish is severely affected," Dale added.

But some banana experts argue that such solutions won't work long term.

There's no single solution to the problem

"It's true that there is some resistance, but I'd say right now, nobody is even close to solving the problem," Koeppel told Insider, adding "The answer is going to be the end of monoculture. The answer is variety."

He suggests that replacing the current banana cultivar with a new disease-resistant variety is a short-term solution because the fungi can also come up with a new and more powerful strain in the future.

Food markets of the future could carry as many varieties of bananas as apples. DEA / G. COZZI / Contributor / Getty Images

The real solution is to mass produce and sell more than one banana variety because the more genetically diverse bananas are, the less likely they'll be susceptible to diseases, he said.

Plus, it would also reduce the dependence of humans on one type of banana.

"Apples are a huge example of this. Today If I go to any supermarket in the US, I will find between five and 30 apple varieties," Koeppel said. "Apple growers are going nuts trying to introduce new varieties naturally as well as through hybridization, and genetic modification."

This reduces the risk of disease, offers more variety to customers, and as a result, "apple growers are still making a lot more money because of this," he said.

The problem with bananas, Koeppel said, is that there are far fewer varieties, and they're all cheap.

"If you add variety, the investment will pay off very quickly because suddenly some people will pay $4 a pound for certain bananas," Koeppel told Insider.

Dale, on the other hand, isn't so sure. "Price is the driver," of banana sales in his country Australia. He added, "Most people will purchase Cavendish because it is cheap."

Introducing a wider variety of bananas would not only drive up costs but would also require a major overhaul in how we transport bananas  since you can't just store them in freezers for long periods like apples, Dale said.

"The export market is dependent on harvesting Cavendish green and then inducing ripening by ethylene gassing. This is done during transport and is very tightly controlled and tailored to Cavendish," Dale said, adding, "If there were multiple varieties of bananas exported then it is likely that each would need specific defined ripening conditions. And of course the price would increase."

There seems to be no single solution to the problem that's working, so far. Perhaps history is bound to repeat itself and Cavendish will no longer be the banana of choice in the near future.

Read the original article on Business Insider
A Central Coast congressman visiting a San Luis Obispo County car show this weekend talked about the Israel-Hamas war and condemned Republicans actions to block the appointment of a new speaker of U.S. House of Representatives.

On Saturday, U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta chatted with several people at the Cambria Car, Truck & Motorcycle Show, including De Roy Jensen, who was exhibiting a 1934 Ford and a mid-1950s Thunderbird at the show.

Both men were in the Middle East on Oct. 7 when Palestinian militant groups led by Hamas launched attacks against Israel.

Neither man was directly in the impact zone, but the ongoing armed conflict altered their travel plans.

Panetta and the rest of his bipartisan congressional delegation wound up in Israel, where they met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other leaders.

Jensen said his tour group canceled the rest of its trip.

U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta, left, is greeted at the Cambria Chamber of Commerces 23rd annual car show on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023, by the chambers Executive Director Lorienne Schwenk. The congressman, who had flown back to California from Washington D.C. earlier that morning, spoke briefly to attendees before heading to another function in Paso Robles.

Central Coast congressman condemns Republicans over speaker search

During his visit to Cambria on Saturday, Panetta called events such as the Cambria car show great institutions that pull diverse people together.

Saying that the stories about the 30 vehicles on display were as important as the cars themselves, Panetta urged people to vote for their favorites  and in upcoming national and local elections.

Panetta, who represents Californias 19th congressional district, also spoke about recent events in the House.

A coalition of hard-right Republicans forced out House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Oct. 3 in a historic vote. They then convinced enough representatives to vote against two replacement candidates: Republican congressmen Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan.

Without a speaker, neither the House nor the U.S. Senate can proceed on crucial issues such as aid to Israel and Ukraine, the countrys debt limit and a looming budget battle that could shut down the U.S. government by Nov. 17.

Panetta had strong words for his Republican peers whove halted the speaker seeking process so far.

They need to get their crap together and get back to the business of the House, Panetta told The Tribune.

Panetta said that Democrats in the House stand ready to work with them in a bipartisan way so we can get back to leading again.

For now, he added, Its up to them who they want to lead because theyre in the majority party.

After speaking with attendees at the car show, which is sponsored by the Cambria Chamber of Commerce, Panetta headed to another function in Paso Robles.
A measure of Palm Beach Countys potential growth comes Tuesday when county commissioners are expected to take a final vote on a land swap, which includes allowing 1,000 new homes to move forward in a region known as the Agricultural Reserve.

The proposal has taken years to take shape. It has drawn both supporters, who back the new housing, amenities and benefits offered, and opponents, such as the Coalition of Boynton West Residential Associations, which mounted a Preserve the Reserve! campaign.

In May, county commissioners voted 5-2 in favor of the plan after 80 people came forward during public comment to express both support and dissent. On Friday, the Sierra Club Loxahatchee Group, which is against the proposal, issued a call to action, urging people to attend Tuesdays meeting.

The plan proposes to take land that GL Homes, one of the states largest developers, owns in the northern part of the county, called Indian Trail Groves, and swap it for land in the countys Agricultural Reserve. GL Homes would then use the acquired Ag Reserve land to offer 1,000 single-family, age-restricted homes, 277 workforce-housing units, 800 acres for a water reservoir, a 200-acre family park, 800 acres of farmland, 25 acres for a park in West Boca, 4 acres for a Chabad synagogue, 4 acres for the Jewish Family Services/Jewish Association for Residential Care and 8 acres for a Torah Academy school campus.

The Ag Reserve is more than 20,000 acres of land created with the purpose of preserving farmland and wetlands to promote and enhance agricultural activity, water resources and open space. This is done by limiting the preserves uses to agriculture, conservation, low-density residential development and non-residential uses.

In a recent interview with the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the president of GL Homes, Misha Ezratti, discussed the companys goals within the county, how the land-swap proposal first emerged years ago, the benefits being offered and what the next steps would be, depending on whether the plan is approved. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Q: A GL Homes representative at a recent meeting called the proposed land swap involving the Ag Reserve a massive undertaking. Can you describe roughly how long ago the idea came up to swap land, and what are some of the most notable steps that GL Homes has taken, through the years, to try to make this plan a reality?

A: In 2019, there was a water resource task force meeting, several meetings actually, and our property was identified as a key missing link in three separate alternative proposals that the county wanted to present to the South Florida Water Management District. The goal of the South Florida Water Management District was to get cleaner water up to the Loxahatchee River in the north, but the county stopped and said, Youre not providing enough benefits to the other parts of the county. There were harmful discharges going into the Lake Worth Lagoon when too much fresh water gets discharged and mixes with the salt water, it can create things like the algae blooms. And theres also saltwater intrusion coming back in from the ocean inland, theres red tide.

And so some of these contaminants were not being addressed in the Lake Worth Lagoon as well as the Grassy Waters Preserve, which is the source of drinking water for the city of West Palm Beach and the town of Palm Beach.  We listened, we heard and we created this proposal called the land swap. Even though it had some iterations before that, the most current version was created based on those 2019 water resource task forces. We now have a way to help the county, at our own expense  create this project.

And thats obviously the crowning jewel of the land swap, but then it morphed into so much else. We listened to other partners and have relationships throughout the county, and there were community needs for recreation, for religious uses and for infrastructure such as workforce housing that has now become part of the overall land swap.

Q: What has been your biggest takeaway from the process of proposing this plan? How has this process differed from prior proposals that GL Homes has pursued in recent years in Palm Beach County?

A: In Palm Beach County, our biggest takeaway is that we are proposing something that is tough for people to wrap their heads around because of the scope and the magnitude of it. But once people hear and understand how much community contributions are coming from GL homes to the residents of Palm Beach County, most people get on board and understand that the benefits far outweigh any of the negatives.

We are proposing about five or six public-private partnerships, all rolled into one, while we have done many of these type of things by conveying land for schools in the past and parks like the Canyon District Park while weve built roads throughout the county and stepped up time and time again to support the infrastructure and community needs.

Never has it all been under the auspices of one giant proposal, so the magnitude and scope of this is unparalleled to anything that GL Homes has ever done.

Q: As you may be aware, there are opponents who argue swapping land inside the Ag Reserve for land outside of it could create a dangerous precedent for other developers, allowing for more development in the Ag Reserve. What is your response to their concerns?

A: Well, we look at the benefits, such as the increase to the county tax base, the net increase in agriculture, the benefits to drainage, the benefits to cleaner water, workforce housing, recreational needs with the county park in the north part of the county, for the camping and a TV park, recreational needs in the south part of the county, as well as civic and institutional uses as something that would set a new precedent and a new bar for anybody else that would come in and try to propose this to Palm Beach County.

And if there are other developers with enough land, enough resources, enough ingenuity to come in and propose something like this, then the county should consider it and work with them because partnerships and sometimes partnerships with private entities is how a lot of things can get done sometimes quicker than they can just with the public.

So our water project is something that were already in for construction permit on with the South Florida Water Management District. Thats a reality.

Theres other projects that are related to Everglades restoration and the Loxahatchee River restoration that have been proposed and been talked about for decades. And so thats something that hasnt come to fruition versus ours, were in for permit. Were going to be building it over the next few years and turning it over to the county. Its in our eyesight.

So every one of these is something that as a private builder, we can come in and deliver such outsized benefit. And so the county should consider each one. I dont think theres going to be many people who have the capacity to do it, but the county should be open-minded for the future.

You have an area in the Ag Reserve that has a large Jewish population, a lot of them needing to walk to a synagogue, and theres no synagogues provided to them in that area. It just wasnt contemplated in the original vision of the Ag Reserve and the master plan. You have a school tour academy in east Boca thats bursting at the seams for growth. And they approached us saying we need land for school because a lot of our constituents and congregants, their families live out west, and they have to drive so far east.

This area is growing, and people who are teachers, nurses, firefighters, retail workers, commercial workers, they cant afford to live in this area. So were creating almost 300 units of workforce housing for people to be able to not have to commute over an hour away. And we are very proud of the fact that were going to be creating all this.

Q: What will GL Homes plan to do next, based on whether the land swap is approved or not at the meeting Tuesday?

A: If we are approved at the final adoption hearing on Tuesday, then well get to work hammering out all the details of this exceptional proposal.

The devil is in the details, and each one of these things has so much complexity that it would be too much to get into right now, but we would be first concentrating on the water project, which were already in for permit on, and then focusing on all the other aspects of it. And if we dont get approved, which would be a shame, then the loss would really be for our community partners.

GL Homes would still be able to build on our Indian Trails land, we have 3,900 units out there. We were looking for something that would help those residents by reducing traffic in that area and Indian Trails, providing them cleaner water, recreational needs, and providing major benefits to the south part of the county, including our Valencia community, which would be a huge, huge impact on the tax base and the property values and benefiting all the commercial tenants in the area as well.

As they say, a rising tide lifts all boats, so all the commercial out there needs rooftops to benefit a lot of small businesses out there. So those people would unfortunately suffer. And GL Homes would continue to build with our currently approved plan up in the Loxahatchee area.

Q: If you drive across Palm Beach County, theres no missing some of GL Homes newest communities, as well as the Turnpike billboard ads that call attention to the newly built homes. Did you yourself expect GL Homes to have this much of a presence in the community?

A: We have been in Palm Beach County for over 35 years building homes. So we recognized how special the county was a long time ago. And it provides so many countywide amenities with beaches, business friendly climate, colleges, great public schools, beautiful communities, infrastructure. And we have been bullish, we consider Palm Beach County to be our home base and have for a long time. So weve always doubled down and tripled down on our investment within the county.

We feel that it is warranted because Florida in general is such a desirable place to live with over 1,200 people moving down here a day. We see that the growth of Florida and the appeal of Florida, whether from a tax perspective or business friendly perspective, our sunshine is not going away anytime soon. And so weve continued to buy beautiful pieces of land and create these beautiful communities.

Q: Is there anything else youd like people to know, whether they are in support of the land swap or against it?

A: Theres a lot of misconceptions in the Ag Reserve. GL has been in the AG Reserve for 20-plus years. Money that was used from the bond referendum in 1999, which is always a big speaking point, was used to purchase two properties that are still owned by the county and in farming.

The rest of it, in order to create preservation, development has to happen. What I mean by that is for every acre thats developed and built upon, 1.5 acres of preservation has to happen. Its called the 60-40 rule. And so GL Homes, by building over a dozen communities in the reserve over the past 20 years has created 6,000 acres of preservation.

We believe that weve been an essential part in making the Ag Reserve what it is and contributing to that.

Additionally, were a do-the-right-thing-type of company, and we contribute a lot to the community, to charities to help ending homelessness and being very transparent. So when we say that theres community benefits that were proud of, we are putting everything we have as a company into changing the face of Palm Beach County for decades and generations to come.
Hello. While I was on the couch Friday evening taking a little break from writing this newsletter, I saw a Threads post from a friend and former colleague. Remember shame? he asked. Shame used to be a thing. I miss shame. He was talking about Sidney Powell, the lawyer who aided Donald Trump s efforts to steal the 2020 election and who pleaded guilty on Thursday to charges in Georgia stemming from those efforts. But I realized that shameor a lack of itis a through line connecting the other stories that made headlines this week.

Lets start with the House of Representatives, which still has no speaker nearly three weeks after Matt Gaetz first introduced a motion to vacate, leading to the ouster of Kevin McCarthy . House Freedom Caucus founder Rep. Jim Jordan spent the week trying to earn the speakership, but lost three straight votes on the House floor, bleeding a few more supporters each time. Finally, the House Republican Conference voted 112-86 by secret ballot to remove him as nominee. Given that he angered supporters of House Majority Leader Steve Scalise during the jockeying for the nomination, annoyed pragmatic conservatives by dragging out the process, and had long alienated defense hawks by opposing aid to Ukraine, its hard to see how he ever thought he had a chance. Yet instead of displaying some humility and acknowledging he couldnt win, he doubled and tripled down, keeping Congress from functioning while crucial matters wait. The clock is ticking to pass a spending bill and avoid a government shutdown, and there is the small matter of aid to Israel.

Speaking of which: The biggest development of the week regarding Israels war with Hamas came on Tuesday, and the relevant aspect here is a story about the story. News outlets, including the New York Times, reported that an Israeli airstrike hit a hospital in Gaza City, killing hundreds. Their source? Palestinian authorities. Wait, what? As you probably know by now, that reporting was  ill-advised. The Israel Defense Forces quickly pushed back, saying an airstrike wasnt responsible for the explosion at the hospital. And video from multiple sourcesthe Associated Press reviewed a dozen from news broadcasts, security cameras and social media postsappears to show a barrage of rockets fired from Gaza toward Israel. One veers off and seems to break apart, seconds before there is an explosion on the ground. The AP was able to confirm that the larger explosion seen at 6:59 p.m. was in the precise direction of the hospital. On Wednesday, President Joe Biden announced that U.S. intelligence had come to a similar conclusion, that the explosion was not caused by Israel.

But the damage had been done. Jordans King Abdullah II canceled a planned summit with Biden, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Protesters stormed U.S. and Israeli embassies and consulates. Pro-Palestinian Rep. Rashida Tlaib still maintains that the explosion was an airstrike. We posted two important critiques of the Times coverage, a big-picture look by Kevin and a tick-tock of the Times ever-changing headlines and captions by Jeryl Bier. But as a member of the last generation of journalists to go through college and start our careers before the internet was really a thing, I cant not weigh in.

One of the first things I learned in my first journalism class in college was the adage that its better to be right than to be first. There is a way to responsibly cover breaking news events where facts are uncertain and new details are always emerging: You use caution, you use language that acknowledges the uncertainty, and you warn that conflicting information may emerge. One thing you dont do is use definitive language based on untrustworthy sourcesespecially in the middle of a war between two parties who share decades of acrimony. There are a lot of headlines that the New York Times could have written besides Israeli Strike Kills Hundreds in Hospital, Palestinians Say.

What struck me in the days that followed, though, was the lack of a public acknowledgement of the error by the New York Times. The paper no longer has an ombudsman or public editora kind of in-house watchdog who addresses reader complaints and reports on how the paper is handling controversies like this. Now, I might have missed something, but there is no reference to any of the hospital bombing coverage in the NYTs most recent corrections roundup, and its corrections policy notes that, During breaking news, there are times when incorrect information is part of the story and does not require a correction: A death toll may be reduced, the number of suspects may change or officials may correct an earlier statement. That might be fine when the issue at hand is whether a criminal suspect was seen driving a blue Toyota or a silver Honda, but it doesnt really suffice when youre accusing a military of killing hundreds of civilians.

The one acknowledgement I did see in the NYT was a reported story by a media industry reporter that looks at the broader coverage of the story from both the NYT and other outlets. Its remarkably self-serving for a reported piece and includes this sentence: The coverage of this weeks hospital blast generally represented what had been said about the explosion at the time of publication. To borrow a phrase from Jonah, thats an explanation, not an excuse. A journalists job is not merely to report what had been said, but to find out whether what had been said is true.

Thank you for reading, and have a good weekend.

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If you were concerned that the far right, with its affinity for insurrection and talk of secession, had a monopoly on extremism, well, Ive got news for you. The war in Israel has shined a light on the radical left, and that light has revealed a lot of uglinessespecially on college campuses. Student groups have held rallies condemning Israel, and administrations have been slow to issue statements condemning the terror attacks. And as Jonah writes in the Friday G-File, they have responded to criticism by rediscovering their affinity for free speech after years of touting the idea that speech is violence. So after decades of chipping away at traditional understandings of free speech, academic freedom, and other core values, a lot of these higher ed apparatchiks are retreating like cockroaches frightened by the kitchen light back to those very ideas in order to defend people who are celebrating paragliding rapists and murderers and their broader agenda, he writes. Suddenly the people whove spent years saying that offensive ideas are violence, are taking offense at a backlash against many of the same people when they endorse actual violence.

We published this piece by Michael Warren on Thursday, in the middle of Jim Jordans speakership misadventures, but it holds up even now that Jordans bid has failed. Jordans supporters eschewed persuasion when trying to whip votes for him, instead playing hardball. And not just his supporters in CongressFox News Sean Hannity also used his platform to pressure holdouts to support Jordan. Its a tactic that has worked in the past for Donald Trump, but failed with mainstream Republicans this timedespite (or maybe because of) threats of violence against members and their families. Jordans failure to secure the speakership  demonstrates the limits of fear-based Trumpian tacticsand the remaining value of the sort of old-fashioned personal politics that still drive much of the actual legislative work of Congress, Michael writes. Elsewhere, Nick also weighed in on the Trumpian tactics in Boiling Frogs (



), highlighting that the GOP truly is two parties now.

The Israel-Hamas war presents a challenge for President Biden, given the very vocal anti-Israel contingent within his own party and on the American left in general. But as Charlotte reports, So far, the Biden administration has had little patience for the anti-Israel sentiment emanating from its own party. Biden visited Israel Wednesday, and, as mentioned above, told Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu that the U.S. had concluded that the hospital bombing had been caused by the Palestinians. And he announced plans for an aid package and to continue supplying Israels Iron Dome air-defense system.

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Patrick Brown uses his review of Melissa Kearneys The Two-Parent Privilege to look at the decline of marriage and what it means for society. He notes applying governmental policy to such an inherently personal decision presents a challenge, but making marriage more economically viable and socially vital requires treating marriage as a political problem and thinking about what purpose it ultimately serves.

A lot of recent GOP primary talk has focused on Nikki Haleys increasing support and Ron DeSantis decline. But David Drucker reports that DeSantis has quietly been piling up endorsementsincluding in the key state of Iowa.

Weve seen the dangers of Christian nationalism the last few years, and The Dispatch has published more than a few admonitions against it. But  what about Jewish nationalism? Do history and current sentiment warrant a carveout for Israel? Paul D. Miller considers this thorny question.

In Capitolism (  ) Scott Lincicome offers up three cheers for globalization, responding to critiques from protectionists that open markets create a race to the bottom as allegedly greedy corporations seek out locations that allow them to drive down labor costs and skirt expensive regulations.

The pods: On The Dispatch Podcast, our senior producer Adaam James Levin-Areddy interviews an Israeli woman whose sister remains missing after the Nova Music Festival where hundreds of concertgoers were murdered by Hamas terrorists. On Advisory Opinions, David French and Sarah recorded before a liveand livelyaudience of law students at the University of Virginia. Check it out. And on The Remnant, Jonah welcomes Yascha Mounk to discuss his new book, The Identity Trap. They talk about the rise of woke ideology and how its leading progressives astray despite good intentions.

Read more at The Dispatch

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One of the joys of walking the Camino de Santiago across northern Spain is conversation. Positivity reigns, in contrast to the United States. On the Camino, people are focused on their personal journey. The cares and concerns of the world are seldom in evidence. One slight exception, especially among those who are veterans of the Camino, is a suggestion that the Camino has become too popular. Furthermore, business has become too prominent.

The underlying thought is people should be walking the Camino for strictly religious or spiritual reasons. There are entirely too many tourists now undertaking this trek. Worse, business is catering to an increasingly upscale audience not wishing to enter into the spirit of mortification of the flesh, a hallmark of pilgrimages. I confess, although I try to maintain the spirit of a pilgrimage, of wanting to stay somewhere nice and enjoy a good meal.

Sometimes that happens by accident.

Once when I was done for the day the albergue (think homeless shelter) where I had intended to stay was full. l was sent on to a hotel behind the main church in town. This turned out to be the San Anton Abad Hotel, a far cry from an albergue. Through no intention of my own, I had landed in the lap of inexpensive luxury.

Part 1: Charles C. Milliken: Getting out of the boat

Part 2: Charles C. Milliken: Report from the Camino: Plan meets reality

The history of this hotel provides some interesting perspective on business and the Camino. The building, a solid stone structure, was completed in 1377 and was designed to serve as a hospital for the sick and also a place of accommodation for pilgrims. Although its use as a hospital has long since ceased, it has never ceased providing pilgrimage accommodation. Twenty-five years ago it was massively remodeled and upgraded. The owner said he wanted to give something back to the Camino and the people walking it. While I was staying there I didn't feel like a poor, penitent pilgrim. This is the sort of thing causing some people to be concerned. But even in the 14th century pilgrims had to have food and shelter. Someone had to build that building. Someone had to staff that building. Someone had to maintain that building. All that costs money, time and effort whether you call it business or not.

I recall an incident which happened years ago when I was teaching. A student advisee of mine decided to switch from a business major to a human services major, The reason: He wanted to help people. Obviously, he didn't think business helped people. This opens another line of thought. What does it mean to help someone? Is supplying groceries, shelter, medicine and thousands of other things people need not helping them? Perhaps the problem is motivation: Pilgrims on the Camino should be walking with God. People who supply food and shelter overwhelmingly do so with the expectation of making a profit. Profit, as we know, unlike wages and salaries, is a dirty word. Should we not, as the golden rule states, do unto others? That student long ago presumably wanted to do unto others. Maybe I'm splitting a hair here, but business does not do unto others, business does for others. Doing unto others implies the other is a passive recipient. Doing for others implies the other has been made an offer which he is free to accept or reject. I think that is a subtle but important difference.

Part 3: Charles C. Milliken: Report from the Camino: Lifes lessons

Part 4: Charles C. Milliken: Report from the Camino: The people of the Camino

The Camino is growing and although people have advocated some way of restricting the number of people walking, there is no practical way to do that or to screen out nonpilgrims. More people walking means more services demanded. What is happening in the Camino is a microcosm of what is happening everywhere: More people having ever rising aspirations cause more businesses to expand to meet them. Having walked the Camino now for over four weeks I understand the desire for simplicity. But I also understand the desire, either on the Camino or anywhere else, for better stuff. Such is human nature  it always has been and always will be.

Charles Milliken is a professor emeritus after 22 years of teaching economics and related subjects at Siena Heights University. He can be reached at milliken.charles@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Charles Milliken: Report from the Camino: Business of the Camino
Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) said Sunday that President Biden is providing better leadership than former President Trump at the international level.

When CNNs Jake Tapper asked Cheney on State of the Union whether Biden or Trump was providing better leadership on the international stage right now, the Wyoming Republican said certainly Biden is. She also took aim at Trumps criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this month, who he accused of letting us down in 2020 just before the U.S. killed a top Iranian general.

They were appalling comments, she said. And, you know, youre absolutely right, that there should have been a response. I think that you know, every Republican member of Congress ought to be asked about those comments. Every Republican candidate for the presidency ought to be asked about those comments.

She also noted that Trump was reportedly accused of sharing Israeli intelligence with Russia early in his term as president and that according to an indictment brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith, he also shared classified information related to potential military action against Iran.

So if you think about, not only is he out there advocating for, complimenting Americas adversaries, and in fact, terrorist organizations that slaughter innocents, he also seems to have shared very highly classified intelligence information, both ours and the Israelis, in fact, with adversaries, she said. So I think its its simply the latest example of why Donald Trump is not fit to be president of the United States.

Trump was charged with 40 felony counts over alleged mishandling of classified records and attempting to obstruct the governments retrieval of those records. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) on Sunday said threats against GOP lawmakers over the Speaker vote are absolutely being driven by former President Trump and his supporters.

Asked on CBS Newss Face the Nation, about the surfacing threats towards some lawmakers amid the House Speaker chaos, Cheney said, The domestic threats are absolutely being driven by Donald Trump and, unfortunately, some of his supporters who, in fact have encouraged and taken steps that have resulted in, as we saw on January 6, political violence.

She said that she was told one congressman who was supporting Jordan told members that the threats werent the fault of the Ohio Republican but of those who voted against him.

That is the kind of encouragement and acceptance of violence that is absolutely has no place in this party, should have no place in our country, Cheney said.

In the days leading up to last weeks Speaker vote, rumors of a pressure campaign on Jordans holdouts began surfacing, with Jordans allies attempting to whip up support for the Ohio Republican.

A handful of lawmakers last week claimed they received death threats for either voting against Jordan or reversing their support for the Ohio Republican in later voting rounds.

Reps. Drew Ferguson (R-Ga.) and Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa), who reversed their support for Jordan in the second round of voting after voting for him on the first ballot, both said last week they received death threats shortly after the second ballot.

Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.), said last Thursday he received at least four death threats in addition to a barrage of calls to his office after he voted for House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) on the first two ballots and eventually on the third.

Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), who voted for former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on the first two ballots and then Speaker Pro Tem Patrick McHenry on the third, said his wife received anonymous texts and calls about his opposition to Jordan.

Trump, a close ally of Jordan, endorsed the Ohio Republican for Speaker, sparking renewed criticism over Jordans alleged involvement with Trumps efforts to remain in power after the 2020 election.

Some have claimed Jordan had knowledge of Trumps plans ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot.

Chaos has enthralled the House for nearly three weeks since McCarthy was ousted from the top spot in a historic 216-210 vote. Eight Republicans joined all House Democrats in voting to take away the gavel from the California Republican.

The race for Speaker has faced several roadblocks as Republicans vying for the Speakers gavel struggle to shore up the 217 necessary votes admist conflict within the GOP conference.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (La.) initially clinched the GOP support and beat Jordan, but dropped out a day later when it became apparent he would not reach the 217 votes.

Jordan put his name back in the ring and went on to secure the nomination against Rep. Austin Scott (Ga.). Jordan failed to reach 217 votes on three ballots last week, actually losing more GOP support with each round.

Following the third vote on Friday, the House GOP voted by secret ballot to no longer back Jordan, sending the lower chamber back to square one.

Several Republicans have already thrown their name in for a Speakers bid, with a candidate forum expected to take place on Monday at 6:30 p.m. The House will move to an internal nomination election on Tuesday at 9 a.m.

The deadline for candidates to file their candidacies was on Sunday at noon.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
CHICAGO - Chicago police are looking to identify a person in an ongoing investigation. They are also hoping to locate the vehicle he was seen in surveillance images with.

Police did not reveal the exact reason for why they're trying to identify the male subject, just saying an incident occurred in the 3700 block of W. Roosevelt Rd. on Oct. 6.

The subject is described as a Black male, 2530 years old, about 6-feet tall and weighing 250300 pounds. He also has black hair and was wearing a black face covering, black shirts and black pants.

Anyone with information is urged to contact CPD detectives at 312-746-8252. Anonymous tips can be submitted at CPDtip.com.
China adopted 'more dangerous' tactics in 2022 as 'only competitor' to US, Pentagon warns in new report

The Pentagon said China adopted "more dangerous, coercive and provocative" actions in the Indo-Pacific this year  as well as "risky" intercepts against U.S. aircraft in the region.

The Department of Defense released its annual report on Chinas military power this week, warning that the Peoples Republic of China views its "no limits" partnership with Russia as "integral" to advancing its development and emergence as a "great power."

China aims to become a "national power" and achieve "the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation" by 2049, the Pentagon said.

XI GUSHES OVER 'DEAR FRIEND' PUTIN AS DUO MEET IN CHINA

Officials said the Peoples Republic of China is "the only competitor to the United States with the intent and, increasingly, the capacity to reshape the international order."

President Xi Jinping of China

In order to achieve the "great rejuvenation," the report states Chinas strategy is a "determined pursuit of political, social, and military modernity to expand the PRCs national power, perfect its governance, and revise the international order in support of the PRCs system of governance and national interests."

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

"The PRC views the United States as deploying a whole-of-government effort meant to contain the PRCs rise, which presents obstacles to its national strategy," the report states.

The report also warns that the PRC has adopted "more dangerous, coercive and provocative actions in the Indo-Pacific region."

CHINA, US RACE TO UNLEASH KILLER AI ROBOT SOLDIERS AS MILITARY POWER HANGS IN BALANCE: EXPERTS

"For example, between the fall of 2021 and fall of 2023, the United States documented over 180 instances of PLA coercive and risky air intercepts against U.S. aircraft in the region," the report states. "Over the same period, the PLA also conducted around 100 instances of coercive and risky operational behavior in the air domain against U.S. allies and partners."

China is also strengthening its "strategic deterrent," and is working to modernize, diversify and expand its nuclear forces, the report states. It is also working to develop its cyberspace, space and counter space capabilities.

New recruits of Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) attend a sendoff ceremony at a railway station in Ganzhou, Jiangxi province.

As for Chinas ambitions in Taiwan, the Pentagon said the PLA last year increased "provocative and destabilizing actions in and around the Taiwan Strait, including ballistic missile overflights of Taiwan, increased flights into Taiwans self-declared air defense identification zone, and large-scale simulated joint blockade and simulated joint firepower strike operations."

CHINA DEPLOYS OVER 40 PLANES TO TAIWAN STRAIT, IS MASSING FORCES AT COASTAL MILITARY BASES, TAIWAN WARNS

The Pentagon also warned of Chinas "no limits" partnership with Russia, saying Beijing views that relationship as "integral to advancing the PRC's development and emergence as a great power."

"Nevertheless, Beijing has attempted a discreet approach to providing material support to Russia for its war against Ukraine," the report states.

Two Russian naval officers carry what is thought to be Russia's nuclear briefcases, while accompanying President Vladimir Putin at the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, China, in this image from video taken Oct. 18, 2023.

Meanwhile, the report states that Chinas PLA has "largely denied, cancelled and ignored recurring bilateral U.S.-PRC military-to-military engagements and DOD requests for communication at multiple levels."

"DOD is committed to maintaining open lines of communication with the PRC to ensure competition does not veer into conflict," the report states.

The Pentagon said that while it continues to monitor Chinas evolving military strategy, the United States, along with allies and partners, "will continue to urge the PRC to be more transparent about its military modernization program."

"The Department remains focused on the operational concepts, capabilities and resources necessary for meeting this pacing challenge," the report states.





Original article source: China adopted 'more dangerous' tactics in 2022 as 'only competitor' to US, Pentagon warns in new report
China and the Philippines on Sunday accused each other of causing collisions in a disputed area of the South China Sea, the latest in a string of maritime confrontations between the two countries that have heightened regional tensions.

In a statement, Philippine authorities said a Chinese Coast Guard ship carried out dangerous blocking maneuvers that caused it to collide with a Philippine vessel carrying supplies to troops stationed in Ayungin Shoal, also known as Second Thomas Shoal, in the Spratly Islands chain.

Chinas move was provocative, irresponsible and illegal and imperiled the safety of the crew of the Philippine boats, the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea said.

In a second incident Sunday, the Philippine task force said a Chinese maritime militia vessel collided with a Philippine Coast Guard ship, which was on the same mission to resupply the BRP Sierra Madre. Manila grounded the navy transport ship on Second Thomas Shoal in 1999 and has manned it with Filipino marines to enforce its claims to the area.

On Monday, Manila summoned Chinas ambassador to the Philippines and filed a diplomatic protest against Beijing.

China as a major power bears a heavier responsibility of contributing to peace and stability in the region, said a spokesperson for the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs.

Beijing claims indisputable sovereignty over almost all of the 1.3 million square miles of the South China Sea, as well as most of the islands and sandbars within it, including many features that are hundreds of miles away from Chinas mainland.

In 2016, an international tribunal in The Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines in a landmark maritime dispute, which concluded that China has no legal basis to claim historic rights to the bulk of the South China Sea.

Beijing has ignored the ruling.

In a statement Sunday, the Chinese Coast Guard accused the Philippines of violating international marine law and threatening the navigation safety of Chinese ships.

It accused the first Philippine ship of trespassing into the waters of what it calls the Nansha islands and Renai Reef, prompting the Chinese Coast Guard ship to intercept in accordance with the law, and resulting in a minor collision.

In the second incident, the Chinese Coast Guard said the Philippine Coast Guard vessel purposely provoked trouble and reversed course, causing a collision with a Chinese fishing boat.

No injuries were reported in either collision Sunday, which marks the latest in a series of recent flashpoints between Beijing and Manila in the disputed waterway.

In September, the Philippine Coast Guard released video of a Filipino diver cutting a Chinese-installed floating barrier in a disputed area of the waterway that had prevented Filipino boats from entering.

It came just days after after the Philippine Coast Guard accused Chinas maritime militia of turning vast patches of coral near the Palawan island chain into a bleached and broken wasteland.

Chinas foreign ministry dismissed those allegations as false and groundless.

CNNs Beijing Bureau and Kathleen Magramo contributed reporting.

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A Chinese coast guard ship, left, with a Chinese militia vessel, right, blocks Philippine coast guard ship, BRP Sindangan, as it tried to head towards Second Thomas Shoal at the disputed South China Sea during rotation and resupply mission (AP)

China and the Philippines exchanged accusations as they clashed in contested South China Sea waters when Chinese vessels obstructed a Philippine supply boat to forces in the area on Sunday, marking the most recent incident in a string of maritime confrontations.

The incident occurred as a Philippine boat was attempting to send supplies to troops stationed on a rusted Second World War-era transport ship used as an outpost on the shoal, prompting Chinas coast guard to repeatedly deploy vessels to block the resupply missions.

China's coast guard claimed there was a "slight collision" between one of its ships and the Philippine boat, stating that they were lawfully blocking the vessel from transporting what they termed as "illegal construction materials" to a warship stationed on the shoal.

Manila responded by condemning in the strongest degree the dangerous blocking manoeuvres of the Chinese vessel.

Chinas dangerous, irresponsible and illegal actions were in violation of Philippine sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction, Manilas Task Force for the West Philippine Sea said in a statement.

This incident adds to the ongoing tensions between China and the Philippines, with the former asserting sovereignty over a significant portion of the South China Sea, including areas within the exclusive economic zones of neighbouring countries such as the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Indonesia.

Notably, the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled in 2016 that China's claims in the South China Sea had no legal basis, a decision that China has contested.

Last week, the Philippine military called on China to halt its "dangerous and offensive" actions after a Chinese navy ship shadowed and attempted to cut off a Philippine navy vessel involved in a resupply mission. China had warned the Philippines against further "provocations," emphasising that such actions violated its territorial sovereignty.

The disputed Second Thomas Shoal has been a point of contention between the two countries for years. Manila grounded the BRP Sierra Madre warship in 1999 on the shoal as part of its sovereignty claim, asserting its rights to the area within its 200-mile exclusive economic zone.

Additional reporting by agencies
BEIJING (Reuters) - China's top spy agency said on Sunday a Chinese citizen who worked for a defense institute had been accused of spying for the United States and his case had been transferred to a court in the southwestern city of Chengdu for trial.

The case is the latest to underscore Beijing's heightened commitment to national security, its expanded anti-spying laws and crackdown on domestic corruption.

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said in a television report that a man surnamed Hou who worked at an undisclosed defense institute was sent in 2013 as a visiting scholar to a U.S. university, where he was coerced into revealing Chinese state secrets.

China's Ministry of State Security released a statement with the report on its WeChat social media account on Sunday, saying "espionage activities go hand in hand with deception, temptation, and conspiracy."

The university was not named in the statement or media report.

CCTV said a U.S. professor close to Hou introduced him to someone who claimed to be an employee of a consulting company, but was actually an American "intelligence officer" using the company as his cover, CCTV said.

In the ensuing months as they became more friendly, the intelligence officer approached Hou to become a consulting expert at "his company", promising him a payment of $600-$700 each time for the quality of his service.

A few months later, while Hou's wife and son were visiting the U.S., the American revealed his true intentions and proposed a change in the way they cooperated. Hou, fearing for his wife's and son's safety, agreed to the terms, according to CCTV.

Under the arrangement, over many meetings, Hou would be asked to disclose highly classified secrets in hour-long sessions and would get $1,000 as compensation, the report said.

The cooperation continued after Hou returned to China in 2014. He would meet with U.S. intelligence while attending international conferences, CCTV said. He also provided intelligence information in the field of national defense and the military industry on his own initiative, the report said.

After investigations by the Chinese government, Hou was detained in July 2021 and charged on suspicion of espionage.

In recent years, China has arrested and detained dozens of Chinese and foreign nationals on suspicion of espionage, raising the concerns of the U.S. over its counter-espionage push.

Recently, China's spy agency published new details about a U.S. citizen jailed for life for espionage earlier this year.

(Reporting by Bernard Orr; Editing by Sonali Paul)
China, with the help of government subsidies, has led the world in producing and selling EVs.

Chinese companies have focused on reducing the cost of EV batteries over their performance.

A sluggish economy threatens to slow EV sales in China, and it may face action from the EU.

There's been a clear winner in the global EV race so far: China.

The world's second-largest economy accounted for about 64% of total production volume in 2022, the World Economic Forum found, with government subsidies and tax breaks aiding production.

China is also one of the biggest producers of the LFP  lithium, iron, phosphate  batteries that many EVs run on. CATL, China's largest battery manufacturer, helped the country earn a top spot by ensuring its LFP batteries were as cheap as possible.

That approach is in contrast to car and battery makers in America and Europe, which "prioritized battery chemistry tied to performance, not affordability," Bill Russo, Chrysler's former China boss, told The Financial Times.

"What we've discovered in China is that electrification, and the democratization of the EV, prioritizes consumer affordability. By making it cheaper, China wins," he said.

Founded in 2011, CATL has zoomed past competitors from South Korea, the US, and Europe to take pole position, with its batteries now being found in about one in three EVs globally.

Even Ford announced plans to use CATL technology in a new $3.5 billion battery plant in Michigan.

Picking winners

But Ariel Cohen, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center and a member of the Council of Foreign Relations, said there's been considerable pushback against the move.

He said that while he understood "the national security imperative" in the US, he was "very uncomfortable over the government playing favorites and picking winners."

Some members of Congress are concerned that the plant could leave Ford reliant on Chinese know-how  and send US tax subsidies to China. Last month, Ford paused construction of the facility amid the strike by the United Auto Workers union, though the union's president, Shawn Fain, said that decision was a "shameful, barely-veiled threat by Ford to cut jobs," Reuters reported.

Jim Farley, the CEO of Ford, announcing its Michigan EV-battery plant in February. Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

Concern about using Chinese battery technology reflects wider global concern about China's domination of the EV-battery market, with governments starting to block Chinese investment into mines and factories.

In February, Reuters reported that the Australian government blocked China's Yuxiao Fund from increasing its stake in the rare-earth miner Northern Minerals on national-security grounds.

Australia is the world's biggest producer of lithium, a key material for EV batteries, and a major producer of other rare-earth materials. Jim Chalmers, the treasurer of Australia, said at the time that Australia would now be more selective about who could invest in its minerals sector.

Cohen said India had also made moves to challenge China's influence and that he expected the country to "be much more proactive to defend their own industry and other players against Chinese competition."

In July, officials rejected plans by the Chinese automaker BYD to build a $1 billion factory in India.

A BYD Auto car on display at the Nanjing International Auto Show in China this month. CFOTO/Future Publishing/Getty Images

China's "clear advantage" in the field also reflects its control over many of the supply chains needed to make batteries, Ilaria Mazzocco, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC, told Insider.

In a July report, Morgan Stanley said that "up to 90% of the EV-battery supply chain relies on China, with the two largest Chinese battery companies controlling more than half of the global market."

The investment bank added that China dominated "labor and manufacturing infrastructure, as well as mining of critical materials required to make EVs."

"We're headed towards a world where governments are more and more concerned about globalization-integrated supply chains," Mazzocco said, adding this "wasn't a problem for the Chinese government" when it was setting up its supply chains.

Optimistic

China's supply-chain dominance allows it to make batteries more cheaply than rivals  less than $60 million per gigawatt hour of batteries produced, according to Bernstein analysts quoted by the FT, compared to $88 million per gigawatt hour for South Korean manufacturers. Japan's Panasonic spends $103 million per gigawatt hour.

EV competitors are also looking for new technology to take on China  especially in light of slowing EV sales in September, which led to a drop in the prices of key materials used in batteries, such as lithium, nickel, and cobalt.

China's sluggish economy threatens to keep dampening consumer spending on new cars.

Meanwhile, Cohen said he's particularly "optimistic" about US innovation.

"The Biden administration is throwing tens of billions of dollars at this problem. It doesn't necessarily mean that people who are making these decisions are brilliant, but at least the money is there," he said.

Distorting the market

Europe has struggled to decide how to deal with imported Chinese EVs, but Cohen said it's now "shifting slowly in the direction" of America.

Last month, the European Union announced an investigation, with Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, saying that "global markets are now flooded with cheaper Chinese electric cars" sold at artificially low prices due to "huge state subsidies. This is distorting our market."

There have also been protests in Hungary, where CATL and Mercedes-Benz are planning a $7.9 billion battery plant that would produce enough power for a million cars, over the plant's environmental impact, Bloomberg reported. Hungary hopes to become a major EV producer and is already home to several car plants and battery factories.

Cohen also said he thinks next year's US presidential election could affect Europe's stance. A return to the White House for Donald Trump could accelerate any EU action against China as the US would likely put "more pressure on Europe."

China may lead the world in the EV race  but its days could be numbered.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Worldcon, the world's oldest and most influential sci-fi gathering, was held in China for the first time this year (Hector RETAMAL)

Once effectively banned, Chinese science fiction has exploded into the mainstream, embraced by the government and public alike - inviting scrutiny of a genre that has become known for its expanding diversity and relative freedom.

Its new status was epitomised by this week's Worldcon, the world's oldest and most influential sci-fi gathering, which closed Sunday after taking place in China for the first time.

Held in the gleaming new Chengdu Science Fiction Museum, the event's star was Liu Cixin, author of the international phenomenon "Three-Body" series and inspiration for the domestic blockbuster "Wandering Earth".

But the wider science fiction fandom has become a rare space where diverse voices have flourished and a vast array of issues -- social, environmental, even sometimes political -- can be explored.

"In its nature, part of sci-fi is talking about the present," award-winning author Chen Qiufan told AFP.

"It takes advantage of talking about outer space, or being set in different times, but reflects the human condition right now."

Chen's own novel "The Waste Tide" is set in a dystopian future China, where migrant e-waste workers toil in hazardous conditions, exploited by corrupt conglomerates.

He grew up near Guiyu, once one of the largest e-waste dumps in the world.

Ecological destruction, urbanisation, social inequality, gender, corruption, to name just a few - "these issues are intersectional and intertwined with each other", said Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University's Liu Xi.

Together, they "allow everyone to understand Chinese writers' exploration of Chinese society", she said.

That can be rare to find in today's China, where the space for political and artistic expression has shrunk drastically over the last decade under President Xi Jinping .

- 'Spiritual pollution' -

Historically, science fiction has had a turbulent relationship with Chinese authorities - it effectively disappeared during the Cultural Revolution and then was banned as "spiritual pollution" in the 1980s.

Though it returned, it remained relatively obscure.

Writer Regina Kanyu Wang said it was only at university that she met other fans -- together they formed one of the smaller clubs on campus.

Sci-fi was not taken seriously, and seen as something for children and young adults, Chen said.

That had its advantages.

"There was a lot of freedom... because nobody was reading science fiction, (authors) could just do whatever they wanted," the University of Zurich's Jessica Imbach told AFP.

The global success of the "Three-Body" series changed everything, catapulting its epic themes of technological prowess and the fate of humanity into the public consciousness.

"Whether you like science fiction or not, the social reality we are facing is becoming more and more like science fiction," said Yu Xuying from Hong Kong Metropolitan University.

"We live in a high-tech era. And then your daily life is completely technological," she said.

The pace of digital change in China, already fast, was accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Cash has all but disappeared, and stringent health regulations further enhanced the state's significant surveillance capacity.

The international interest spike in Chinese sci-fi is also related to real-world concerns, Chen believes.

"I think there are different layers of reasons for the phenomenon," he said.

"But a major one is the rising economic and technological power of China on the world stage."

- 'A good vehicle' -

China's government has been happy to capitalise on all this.

"At a national level, science fiction is a good vehicle for conveying the country's discourse on its science and technology strength," said Yu.

It can also help "highlight the relationship between the Chinese dream (a Xi-era aspirational slogan) and science", she said.

Authorities have put their money where their mouth is.

The nebula-shaped Chengdu Science Fiction Museum, designed by the renowned Zaha Hadid Architects, was built at lightspeed in just a year to coincide with Worldcon.

The event, historically fan-led and funded, this year was a "capitalistic initiative, coming top-down from the Chinese government", said Chen.

"They want sci-fi to be the namecard of the city, showing China's openness and inclusiveness to the world," he said.

Government attention comes with potential risk.

"The Three-Body Problem" has a different structure in English, with the narrative beginning with a violent Cultural Revolution scene.

In the original Chinese, it was buried halfway through the book to make it less conspicuous, the translator Ken Liu was told.

Liu told the New York Times in 2019 that increasingly, "it's gotten much harder for me to talk about the work of Chinese authors without... causing them trouble".

Some works he has translated into English, deemed too sensitive, have never been published in Chinese at all.

"If you're very marginal, if you have low print numbers in China, then it's OK, you have more leeway. If you're doing a mega big-budget movie... it's much more complicated," said Imbach.

"That's what's now also happening with science fiction," she said.

"As it's becoming more mainstream, there is increased scrutiny."

reb/mtp
Nine people are on the ballot for three open seats on the Holly Springs Town Council.

Five candidates are running for two four-year seats: incumbent Danielle Hewetson, who was appointed in January; Jack Turnwald; Brian Dennis; Staci Almquist; and Chris Deshazor.

Candidates Annie Drees, Scoop Green, Travis Groo and Brian Norman are running for a two-year seat.

Early voting in the Nov. 7 election runs through Nov. 4. For information about polling sites, voter and Election Day information, residents can visit the state Board of Elections, ncsbe.gov, or the Wake County Board of Elections, wake.gov.

Name: Chris Deshazor

Age: 50

Residence: 416 Gooseberry Drive

Occupation/Employer: Harness.io - Director of Talent and Organization Development

Education: BS - Virginia Tech, MBA University of North Carolina Wilmington

Political or civic experience: Holly Springs Planning Board 6 years (Current Chairman)

Campaign website: www.chris4hs.com

Tell us why youre running to serve Holly Springs. Why should voters trust you in this position?

I am running to serve our community and help lead our change for a prosperous future. I have owned and lived in Holly Springs for 16 years and have seen substantial growth. As a six-year member and two-year chair of the planning board, I have had the chance to gain an understanding of the processes to grow responsibly and add value to this town. Voters should trust me based on my past work with the town, staff, and planning board. The pillars of my platform, Responsible Growth, Engaged Leadership, Driving a Unified Community, and a Focus on the Future have been displayed by me during my tenure on the Planning Board, and I will continue to build the trust of the citizens of Holly Springs.

What is the town of Holly Springs doing right to manage growth? What could be improved?

Holly Springs updated its Unified Development Ordinance recently to adapt to the changes in growth patterns. This adaptation allowed the town to modernize its growth plan and meet the needs of residents and the town. The town has done a great job of attracting businesses to bring jobs as well as level the business tax base which helps lessen the tax burden on residents. Also, updating ordinances such as tree preservation, utility and infrastructure requirements, and open space and conservation was key. By adding the proper processes to encourage responsible growth, Holly Springs has the structure to drive effective growth. One item that can be improved is the infrastructure. The town has grown so quickly that the growth is outpacing the infrastructure. As the town works to provide better infrastructure, the growing pains are difficult for many residents.

If elected, how would you approach an existing or new issue differently from your fellow council members?

I would approach issues by utilizing the methods that I use in my professional career. I am a Crucial Conversations certified trainer and utilize those skills to create dialogue daily. If elected, I will create a dialogue with residents, town staff and the other council members. I will work with those parties to develop a mutual purpose and align with the long-term growth plan of Holly Springs. In addition, I will be transparent with residents to give them an understanding of the decisions being made.

How do you plan to make local government in Holly Springs more inclusive and equitable for all residents in the town who feel their voices are underrepresented?

As a community, we must understand our past to affect our future. As an elected official, it will be my duty to meet with residents and understand their views and appreciate our vast experiences. I will work with the local boards, chamber of commerce and residents to understand the views and concerns of businesses and residents. By creating a monthly communication, residents can be alerted to actions and updates within the council. I will also continue to patronize local businesses and work within the community and encourage underrepresented people to apply to local boards and serve. I will continue to encourage our council and staff to work to build diverse and equitable staff and boards that are representative of our diverse and inclusive community,

Please list any endorsements youve received.

Wake County Democratic Party,

Home Builders Association of Raleigh-Wake County

Raleigh Regional Association of Realtors

If there is anything you would like to add, please do so here.

My family made Holly Springs our home 16 years ago. I have seen this town grow and change into the magnificence of today. As I witnessed the population growth, I embraced it and became involved in affecting change. Holly Springs is a place where we all can live and enjoy the beauty of our area. As in the case of many towns with rapid growth, we have witnessed infrastructure concerns. As we grow, I will work to plan a future where Holly Springs can keep its small-town charm and manage its growth efficiently and responsibly. Developing walking and bike paths and a connected community is vital so families can have alternate ways of travel throughout the community. Holly Springs is a great community, and I look forward to serving and projecting us into the future as I ask for your vote on Nov. 7.
Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III leads prayers at a memorial service for the souls of the Gaza war victims and the bombing in Gaza of the Church of Saint Porphyrios, in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem, on Sunday. Photo by Debbie Hill/UPI

Oct. 22 (UPI) -- Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby , the primate of the Church of England, has joined Catholic and Orthodox leaders worldwide in calls for a ceasefire after Israel destroyed a Greek Orthodox Church in Gaza.

The Greek Orthodox Church of St. Porphyrius, believed to be the third oldest church in the world, was damaged in an Israeli airstrike on Thursday that killed two relatives of former U.S. Rep. Justin Amash and more than a dozen other people sheltering inside.

Welby visited St. George's College, an education center of the Anglican Communion in Jerusalem, and met with other Christian leaders to express solidarity with Palestinian Christians, according to a news release shared by the Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem.

The Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem is an ecumenical council of leaders in the Christian faith that includes the heads of the Greek Orthodox Church, Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, and the Anglican Archbishop in Jerusalem, among others.

In the news release, the church leaders said they condemn "in the strongest possible terms" the Israeli air strike that hit the church "without warning."

The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, the head of the Anglican Church under King Charles, visited with Patriarch Theophilos III in Jerusalem after an Israeli rocket attacked killed Christians in an Orthodox church in Gaza. Photo courtesy of Justin Welby/Twitter

"These blasts led to the sudden and catastrophic collapse of two church halls around the scores of refugees, including women and children, sleeping within," the statement reads.

"Dozens found themselves instantly crushed beneath the rubble. Many were injured, some severely. At least 18 people have died, nine of whom were children."

A nun joins the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III, not seen, in prayers during a memorial service for the souls of the Gaza war victims and the bombing in Gaza of the Church of Saint Porphyrios, in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem, on Sunday. Photo by Debbie Hill/UPI

The church leaders also condemned Israel for its "ceaseless military demands to evacuate our charitable institutions and houses of worship" and called on both warring parties to obey the international rules of warfare in remarks apparently pointed at Hamas, the Gaza militia Israel considers a terrorist group.

"Our Lord Jesus Christ calls us to minister to the most vulnerable. And we must do so not only in times of peace," the statement reads. "The church must especially act as the church in times of war."

The news was covered by Vatican News, the press arm of the Holy See of the Roman Catholic Church. Welby shared the Vatican News article on Twitter, another sign of Christian solidarity. Pope Francis separately expressed his concern "for all those who are suffering" as he equated the situation to the war in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Pierbattista Pizzaballa -- the head of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem seated in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher -- made additional comments to Italian Catholic television TV2000.

"Let's hope that reason returns to those who make decisions," Pizzaballa said. "War and bombs have never solved problems; on the contrary they always create new ones."

Meanwhile, the Orthodox Christians who were sheltering in the Gaza church are now seeking refuge in the neighboring Holy Family Catholic parish church.

Bartholomew I, the ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople who is considered the figurehead of Orthodox churches worldwide, held a call with Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III after the blast, according to a news release from the church.

Even Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church who has supported President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine, criticized the attack on the Greek Orthodox Church in a letter to Theophilos.

"It was with deep sadness that I learned about the numerous casualties and serious destruction that occurred in the temple complex of St. Porphyrius as a result of the fighting in the Gaza Strip," Kirill said in his letter.

"From the bottom of my heart, I sympathize with Your Beatitude, the members of the Holy Sepulcher Brotherhood and all your God-loving flock, and I express my sincere condolences to the relatives of the victims. May the Lord give peace to the souls of the departed, may he comfort their relatives in their sorrow, may he grant speedy healing to the injured and wounded."

Meanwhile, the IDF has admitted to attacking the Al-Ansar Mosque in Jenin, claiming that the holy center was used a "execute terrorist attacks against civilians." Photos from Gaza show entire communities demolished by Israel's ongoing blitz.
The US government pressed Israel to delay its ground invasion of Gaza "to allow for the release of more hostages held by Hamas and for aid to reach Gaza", CNN reported.

Source: CNN, citing two sources "briefed on the discussions", as reported by European Pravda

Details: "The [administration] pressed Israeli leadership to delay because of progress on the hostage front," and the need to get trucks of aid into Gaza, a source familiar with the discussions told CNN.

They added that the Biden administration also wanted aid trucks to reach Gaza before the beginning of the invasion.

When President Joe Biden was asked Saturday if he was encouraging Israel to delay the invasion, he responded: "Im talking to the Israelis."

Qatar, which is acting as a middle-man for the US and Israel, has been leading the discussions with Hamas about releasing the hostages abducted two weeks ago.

"According to a diplomat briefed on the talks, the negotiations have included talks about getting much-needed aid into Gaza and the need for a temporary ceasefire to get the prisoners out. Israel has not indicated they are considering a ceasefire," CNN reported. Meanwhile, Israel continued to bomb Gaza over the past two weeks.

On 20 October, Hamas released two US citizens it had held hostage after an attack on Israel on 7 October. A spokesman for the Israeli Prime Ministers office said Hamas might have done this in an attempt to mitigate the Israeli military response.

"That [military] pressure isnt going to go because they were released," the official said. "It wont change the mission, which is to dismantle Hamas," the Israeli official told CNN.

Background:

Herzi Halevi, Chief of Staff of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), informed the IDF Command on Saturday, 21 October, that the military will launch an operation to take out Hamas.

The first 20 trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered the Gaza Strip on 21 October through the Rafah checkpoint on the border with Egypt.

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Family and friends are still searching for the three local men who went missing off the Georgia coast while fishing. The U.S. Coast Guard has been searching for two days now, but the search continues.

>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<

The three men embarked on their journey last Saturday, with the expectation of returning home last Thursday afternoon. However, its been three days, and family members have not heard a word from them. They are now hoping for a miracle.

They are on a 31-foot fishing boat, named the Carol Ann that went roughly 80 miles offshore Brunswick. The U.S. Coast Guard began a search effort on Friday.

The three men on board are Tyler Barlow, Caleb Wilkinson, and Dalton Conway.

Stevie Conway, Daltons sister and Calebs girlfriend told Action News Jax, Its absolutely terrifying. We are sick to our stomachs. Lots of tears and gatherings, getting together to try to uplift each other and stay positive whenever were all wanting to fall apart.

READ: Coast Guard searching for 31-foot fishing boat that went missing off the Georgia Coast

The @USCG is searching for an overdue 31-foot fishing vessel, Friday, with 3 people aboard 80 miles offshore #Brunswick, Georgia.



Anyone with information that may assist search efforts should call Sector #Charleston at 843-740-7050.



More details here: https://t.co/G2qswnGjlq pic.twitter.com/BefJ2GpjOp  USCGSoutheast (@USCGSoutheast) October 20, 2023

This was just another business trip for Dalton and Tyler, who Stevie says are professional fishermen. They go out whenever the weather is favorable, catching deep-sea fish that are in season.

However, this was Calebs first trip.

They usually like to go out about 70 to 80 miles offshore, Stevie said. And then, like I said, travel up towards the North Carolina area to catch more fish up there. They did want to go fish the carrier this trip, a sunken boat.

The Coast Guard told Action News Jax that someone spotted the men fishing at Triple Ledge on Wednesday around 5:00 p.m. Stevie speculates her brother may have led them farther north.

Its not very common for him to do this. Usually, he has communication, Stevie expressed.

Unfortunately, the communication device has been reportedly down since they hit the waters on Saturday, and no one has heard from them since.

The Coast Guards air and surface crews were searching all day Friday and Saturday. Stevie maintains constant communication with them, and, as of now, says they have not reportedly found anything yet.

However, there is a silver lining  a raft on the boat equipped with a new form of technology.

As soon as that raft touches water, itll ping the Coast Guard immediately with their location, and that hasnt happened yet. So, which means that raft has not hit the water, Stevie said.

Stevie did acknowledge the possibility that the ping may not have worked, prompting the Coast Guard to look for debris and life jackets.

Were just continuing to stay positive throughout all this and hoping that the Coast Guard calls us with some kind of good, positive news at some point, Stevie said.

Stevie Conway states that the boats owner and other fishermen plan to join the search tomorrow to assist the Coast Guard in their efforts to find the missing men.

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An agency set up under Donald Trump to protect elections and key U.S. infrastructure from foreign hackers is now fighting off increasingly intense threats from hard-right Republicans who argue its gone too far and are looking for ways to rein it in.

These lawmakers insist work by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to combat online disinformation during elections singles out conservative voices and infringes upon free speech rights  an allegation the agency vehemently denies and the Biden administration is contesting in court. The accusations started in the wake of the 2020 election and are ramping up ahead of 2024, with lawmakers now calling for crippling cuts at the agency.

CISA has blatantly violated the First Amendment and colluded with Big Tech to censor the speech of ordinary Americans, Rand Paul (R-Ky.), the ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, which oversees CISA, said in a statement to POLITICO.

The fight over CISA underscores yet another way Trumps election fraud claims are reverberating into 2024. And though the hard right doesnt have enough votes to defund CISA today, the growing backlash against it has supporters worried that a hard-right faction could hobble the agency in the years ahead  undermining its efforts not just to secure future elections, but also protect key U.S. and federal networks from major hacks.

CISA had broad bipartisan support in Congress when lawmakers passed legislation creating the agency in 2018. At the ceremony where Trump signed it into law, he called it very, very important legislation to protect the U.S. against both nation-state hackers and cybercriminals.

But when Chris Krebs, the then-head of CISA, debunked Trumps 2020 election fraud claims, the president fired him. And since the GOP assumed control of the House in 2022, like-minded Republicans have been ratcheting up their scrutiny of the agency.

In June, the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee, chaired by Jim Jordan of Ohio, issued a fiery report labeling CISA the nerve center of the federal governments censorship apparatus. Then at the end of September, more than 100 House Republicans launched an unsuccessful bid to dramatically slash CISAs $3 billion budget by 25 percent. And earlier this month, Republican attorneys general, who had taken CISA and other federal agencies to court over possible First Amendment violations, won new restrictions against it.

The Supreme Court temporarily froze those restrictions on Friday, allowing the government to continue working with social media platforms until it has a chance to review the case itself.

In addition to election security, CISA protects government computer networks and essential private sector institutions, like chemical manufacturers, schools and hospitals, from both physical and digital sabotage. Of the agencys $3 billion budget, roughly $45 million is dedicated to election security, according to internal figures shared with POLITICO by the agency. A fraction of that, less than $2 million, goes to combating foreign influence operations and disinformation.

Defunding CISA is inviting a Chinese and/or Russia cyberattack against our government and thousands of costly ransomware attacks against small and medium-sized businesses, Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), the ranking member of the Homeland Security Committees cyber subcommittee, said in a text message.

Conservatives frustrations with CISA stem from work it started five years ago to prevent the brand of online influence operations Russian hackers deployed in the run-up to the 2016 elections.

Up to the 2022 election, CISA coordinated regular calls between social media platforms and federal agencies on election-related disinformation. Through the 2020 elections, it also engaged in a practice known as switchboarding, in which the agency forwarded tips about hoaxes it received from state and local election authorities to companies like Facebook and X, (formerly Twitter).

Conservatives now argue that activity has become a smokescreen for left-leaning government censorship. In Congress and within the courts, they contend that pressure from federal agencies like CISA led social media companies to limit the spread of information perceived as damaging to Joe Bidens campaign, such as stories relating to Hunter Biden .

In a sign of trouble for an agency once boasting strong bipartisan support, 108 Republicans supported the failed push to cut CISAs budget last month  a near majority within the conference.

Backers of the budget cut included a swathe of increasingly influential hard-right lawmakers, like Jordan and James Comer (R-Ky.), chair of the powerful House Oversight Committee. Those with direct oversight over CISA also backed the vote, such as the chief of the Homeland Security Committee, Mark Green (R-Tenn.), and another panel member, August Pfluger (R-Texas).

CISA vehemently denies the allegations against it. It contends that it acted only as an intermediary and never pressured social media platforms to censor specific posts. CISA does not and has never censored speech or facilitated censorship, spokesperson Avery Mulligan said in a statement.

CISA supporters also argue the allegations are overblown and outdated, pointing out that the agency halted its switchboarding activity ahead of the 2022 election. Some argue that CISAs role in rebutting Trumps claims in 2020 left Republicans hungry for payback.

To criticize CISA and this leadership for stuff that happened in the previous administration makes no sense, said former Rep. Jim Langevin (D-R.I.), a longtime agency supporter who left Congress last year. He added that he hopes whoever becomes House speaker would do some homework and really look at the facts.

In the court case against CISA brought by GOP attorneys general, a Republican-dominated appeals court ruled Oct. 3 that the agency likely violated the First Amendment in its interactions with social media companies. It concluded the agencys efforts were improper because it coordinated with the FBI, a law enforcement agency, and opined on the veracity of certain posts flagged to social media platforms.

The Biden administration is now challenging the ruling, which would curb CISAs communications with Silicon Valley. But the appeals court's conclusions  which the Supreme Court intends to review by June  have nonetheless emboldened conservatives.

Federal courts have ordered CISA to stop, but the trust CISA has abused cannot be restored until the agency gives a full accounting of what it has done, and Congress changes the law to create severe penalties for anyone who tries to do the same thing in the future, Paul said in his statement to POLITICO.

Several influential House Republicans still back CISA, including Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin, the chair of the cyber panel on the House Armed Services Committee, and Nancy Mace of South Carolina, who heads the House Oversight Committees cyber subcommittee. The House recently passed an annual appropriations bill that would keep the agencys funding roughly on par with what Biden sought in this years budget request.

Still, CISA supporter Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.), the chair of the Homeland Security Committees cyber subcommittee, expressed concern about the spread of misinformation within his party.

At a time when America is facing more complex cyber threats than ever before, attempting to kneecap our lead civilian cybersecurity agency is dangerous, he said in a statement to POLITICO. Those of us who support CISA are working to educate the members who voted to cut CISAs funding to ensure its cyber and physical resilience work can continue.

A key concern for lawmakers like Garbarino and the agency itself is that large funding cuts would hamper other key aspects of its mandate  like protecting government networks, schools and private hospitals from criminal ransomware groups.

As our nation continues to face complex and urgent cyber threats, funding at levels below the amounts that the administration has requested would put the safety and security of the critical infrastructure Americans rely on every day at serious risk, CISAs Mulligan said.

Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), the ranking member of the House Oversight Committees cyber panel, told POLITICO: Any cuts to the agency, whether targeted or across-the-board, will do measurable damage to our ability to protect our critical infrastructure and maintain system security across the federal government.

Maggie Miller contributed to this report.
A man suspected to have killed a Lexington teenager has been found in Arizona after a tip was reported to the Bluegrass Crime Stoppers.

Jacolby Williams, 21, was arrested in Phoenix on Oct. 19, according to a release from the Lexington Police Department.

Williams is suspected to have shot and killed 18-year-old Dametrius Hampton in a late night shooting outside of Cookout restaurant at at 855 South Broadway.

Hampton was pronounced dead on Sept. 23 by Fayette County Coroner Gary Ginn. Williams was identified by Lexington police as being wanted in connection to the death on Sept. 27.

Other assisting agencies, according to Lexington police, included the U.S. Marshals Service, Tempe Police Department, Maricopa County Sheriffs Office, and the Adult Probation Services.

Williams is charged with murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He is being held at the Maricopa County Jail and is awaiting extradition to Fayette County.

3 weekend homicides a heartbreaking reminder of work to be done, Lexington official says

Lexington police seek help finding suspect in fatal shooting of teen on South Broadway

Map: See where Lexington homicides have happened in 2023, which cases are still open
Large crowds returned to downtown Raleigh on Sunday for another rally in support of Palestine amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.

For nearly 90 minutes, speakers elicited spirited reactions from the crowd as they denounced Israels bombing of Gaza, expressed anger over the U.S. governments plan to provide Israel with more than $14 billion in additional military assistance, and demanded an immediate ceasefire.

Event organizers estimated that a few thousand people had gathered for the rally in Moore Square, and a march throughout downtown Raleigh that followed.

People of all ages, including many who came to the rally with their entire families, cheered as speakers led chants of free, free Palestine and long live the Intifada, and called for an end to the bombings of Gaza, which have led to the deaths of more than 4,300 Palestinians, according to The Associated Press.

In Israel, the AP reports, more than 1,400 people have died, most of whom were killed in the surprise attacks launched on Oct. 7 by Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that the U.S. has designated as a terrorist organization.

The rally was the third held this month by a local chapter of the Party for Socialism and Liberation and several other groups.

In addition to local activists, the crowd on Sunday also heard from Raleigh City Council member Mary Black. Other demonstrations in support of Palestine, and Israel, have been held throughout the Triangle, including on the campus of UNC-Chapel Hill.

Sundays rally, like several others that have taken place across the country since Oct. 7, are building up to a marchbeing organized by national pro-Palestine groups in Washington, D.C. early next month.

The groups organizing that march plan to bring demonstrators from several major cities including Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Atlanta. Organizers at Sundays rally said they had arranged for at least two buses to take more than a hundred people from Raleigh as well.

Many people who gathered in Moore Square on Sunday held up signs calling attention to the conditions in Gaza. One of them read: A Palestinian child said, I wish I was dead because I heard in heaven there is more food than here.

Other signs called for the U.S. to stop giving aid to Israel and repeated the common rallying cry, From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free, which many Israelis consider to be a call for the elimination of the Jewish state.
Stay Clear

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened an investigation into GM's autonomous vehicle division Cruise, after receiving reports of its robotaxis crashing or almost crashing into pedestrians.

According to a document released by the agency's Office of Defects Investigation this week, the reports involve Cruise robotaxis "encroaching on pedestrians present or entering roadways," including crosswalks near the intended travel path of the vehicles. This raises the risk of a Cruise robotaxi hitting a pedestrian, the NHTSA said, which could cause severe injury or death.

So far, the agency has received two reports involving pedestrian injuries and Cruise robotaxis, and has obtained videos of another two relevant incidents posted to social media. Fortunately, no fatal incidents have been reported, though there has been at least one close call. All told, it's the latest sign of friction between the narrative of safe self-driving cars and the messy reality when they hit public roads  though for its part, Cruise is downplaying the drama.

"Cruise's safety record over 5 million miles continues to outperform comparable human drivers at a time when pedestrian injuries and deaths are at an all-time high," a Cruise spokesperson said in a statement, as quoted by Fortune.

Street Savvy

One of the incidents under investigation, which occurred earlier this month, is especially brutal. A pedestrian in San Francisco was struck by a human driver in a hit and run, knocking her into the path of a Cruise robotaxi which appeared to then run her over. GM claims that its self-driving vehicle slammed its brakes to "minimize the impact."

The details of that collision remain hazy, and as Cruise argues, it may have been impossible for the robotaxi to stop or swerve in time. Still, even when they aren't endangering pedestrians, its clear that the self-driving vehicles are causing their fair share of chaos on the streets they roam.

A major concern is how the robotaxis have repeatedly interfered with first responders. In February, a Cruise vehicle in San Francisco barreled its way through an active firefighting scene, forcing firefighters to smash its windshield to stop it. And in August, another robotaxi in the city slammed into a fire truck responding to a call.

Regular drivers haven't been loving sharing the streets with them, either. The robotaxis vehicles have caused traffic jams, and whole groups of them have, on more than one occasion, suddenly shut down in the middle of the road.

With all that bad PR in mind, an NHTSA investigation could be yet another costly setback for GM, which has lost billions of dollars on Cruise since 2018. We'll have to see how it will weather this latest storm.

More on self-driving cars: Man Uses "Smart Summon" to Get Tesla Out of Locked Parking Garage
Editor's note: The previous version of this news item incorrectly alleged that Ukraine's Customs Service reported that "aid didn't reach the military." It was later corrected to indicate that the Customs Service's report implied that "aid" was a label fraudulently used by some importers to skip customs fees.

Ukraine's State Customs Service reported discovering 3,000 cases of alleged customs violations connected with humanitarian and military aid.

The agency reported checking 9,000 instances of importing goods that were labeled as "humanitarian aid" during the first nine months of 2023, where the individuals or organizations importing it declared that it is meant for specific military units. Such goods are free of customs fees.

In some 3,000 of such cases, the Customs Service said, the designated military units couldn't confirm that they had received the said goods  meaning that the goods were likely mislabelled to avoid customs fees.

The report doesn't imply that the aid in question was coming from any foreign government, nor that any actual aid was stolen. It doesn't clarify whether the importers alleged of mislabelling the goods were Ukrainian or foreign.

The checks were conducted by Ukraine's Customs Service's Anti-Smuggling and Customs Rules Violations Department together with the Defense Ministry.

On March 1, 2022, days after Russia launched a full-scale war against Ukraine and humanitarian aid poured into the country, the government issued a decree allowing the import of certain goods tax-free.

In December 2022, the list of goods that can be imported as humanitarian aid tax-free was amended.

In Ukraine, the "humanitarian aid" label used at customs includes the goods meant for the army, such as protective equipment or cars.

According to the State Customs Service, some importers allegedly used these provisions for tax evasion purposes. After the checks, the customs authorities submitted 387 reports of potential illegal activities to the law enforcement.

Read also: Biden all in on aid to Ukraine, yet House remains an issue

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
The soap opera that has consumed members of Congress for nearly three weeks over electing a new speaker is testing the patience of the voters who sent them to Washington, a new USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll finds.

An overwhelming 67% say the House should elect a speaker as soon as possible, as decisions loom on wartime aid for Israel and Ukraine and legislation to prevent a government shutdown next month.

"We got to have a speaker, (but) I don't think we're going to have anybody soon," said George Ramge, 72, of San Diego, a building contractor and political independent. "There's a lot of Hollywood politicians out there getting their time on TV, and I don't think they're really serving the people's purpose."

"They need to be functioning, and that's the only way they're going to function," said Carl Hickey, 85, of Monkton, Maryland, a retired Methodist minister and a Democrat, said in a follow-up interview after being called in the poll.

A quarter of those surveyed say they don't care whether a speaker is elected, on the theory that the impasse is preventing Congress from wasting more taxpayer money.

"It's not like they do anything anyways," said Dustin Gibbons, 34, a home warranty manager from Queen Creek, Arizona, and a Republican. "I don't think that a speaker in the House is going to do anything other than, you know, just keep kicking that ball along."

The poll of 1,000 registered voters, taken by landline and cellphone Tuesday through Friday, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) speaks to the media after leaving a GOP conference meeting where he dropped out of the speakers race after not securing the third vote as House lawmakers seek to elect a new speaker in Washington on Friday, October 20, 2023.

In a political world where bipartisanship is the exception, there is a broad consensus on this. By double-digit margins, the idea of electing a speaker, and fast, was endorsed not only among Democrats (86%-10%) but also Republicans (57%-34%) and independents (59%-32%).

"How often do you see Democrats, Republicans, and independents agree on anything in D.C.?" said David Paleologos, director of Suffolk's Political Research Center. "Look at every demographic: gender, geography, age, race, education level, income, political philosophy, even those who trust CNN vs Fox News. They are all speaking the same seven words in unison: 'Elect a speaker and do your job.'"

The previous House speaker, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was ousted from the post by a handful of combative conservatives, just eight of them but enough, with the votes of House Democrats, given the GOP's narrow majority. Since then, no potential successor has been able to command the 217 votes needed. Ohio congressman Jim Jordan was defeated three times before the Republican caucus voted Friday to sideline him.

House Republicans are scheduled to meet late Monday to figure out what to do next.

Who's in charge here?

The scenes of Capitol chaos displayed on cable TV last week may be eroding voters' confidence in the ability of the nation's leaders in the White House and Congress to address the nation's major challenges.

Just 4% of those surveyed express "a lot" of confidence in leaders; an additional 32% had "some" confidence. But the largest group, 35%, have "very little" confidence and an additional 27% had none at all.

"If I could go negative five, I would give it a negative 100," Gibbons said.

Democrats, who traditionally have supported a bigger role for government, have more confidence in its ability to solve problems; 63% had "a lot" or "some" confidence.

But Republicans, whose leaders in recent years have portrayed the government as either incompetent or dangerous, were overwhelmingly skeptical that Washington could be trusted to do anything right. A plurality of Republicans, 42%, said they had no confidence in government; an additional 38% had "very little."

Ratings for the Senate are nothing to brag about, with 36% having a favorable view, and 42% an unfavorable one.

But ratings for the House are even worse. Just 25% see it favorably; more than double that, 54%, view it unfavorably.

When there is a speaker, the partisan conundrum ahead

Once there is a speaker, most voters have a suggestion of what they want them to do next: A compromise that avoids a government shutdown when the latest temporary funding bill expires Nov. 17.

More than 6 in 10, 61%, want negotiations to reach a deal. "I mean, don't we live in a bipartisan world?" said Desiree Whitney, 64, of Boerne, Texas, an independent who voted for former President Donald Trump in 2020. "Why should it stop, you know at our government, or does it begin there? I mean, it's all about negotiations."

But there's a catch. While just 31% want their representatives to stand firm on demands to cut spending, even if it means a government shutdown, that group includes a 55% majority of Republicans. Only 37% in the GOP endorse a negotiated compromise.

And Republicans control what happens in the House  assuming, of course, they succeed in electing a speaker.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cut it out, Americans by 2-1 tell the House. Elect a speaker, already
When Jackie Lacey sought a second term as Los Angeles' top prosecutor in 2016, she wound up running unopposed.

The man who ousted her from office, George Gascon, has a much steeper hill to climb to win reelection next year.

During his first term in office, Gascon has frequently been at odds with his own prosecutors and law enforcement, who say his policies aimed at reducing mass incarceration and racially disparate outcomes in the criminal justice system have led to spikes in violence. Data show the violent crime rate is trending down, but some experts have cautioned against making connections between short-term shifts in the crime rate and a prosecutor's policies.

Gascon's positions have motivated one of the largest primary fields in the history of the office, with a mix of former federal prosecutors, county judges and deputy district attorneys taking a run at the self-described "godfather of progressive prosecutors" in 2024.

District attorney's elections have become more competitive across the nation in recent years as reform-minded progressives challenge more traditional prosecutors. Gascon's 2020 tilt with Lacey saw millions raised in a nationally watched race that drew endorsements from presidential candidates.

Read more: L.A. County D.A.s office under Gascon is at war with itself. How does anything get done?

Gascon, who announced his own reelection campaign and claimed the endorsement of L.A.'s powerful Federation of Labor last week, still figures to be well-funded and has largely retained the support of the burgeoning L.A. progressive bloc that vaulted him into office in 2020.

But in a sign of the divide in the race, Gascon declined to attend the first debate last week. Hosted by police unions that spent millions against the progressive candidate in 2020, contenders at the forum spent two hours making the case that Gascon is unfit for office and needs to be replaced.

Here are the contenders vying for Gascon's office next March, listed in the order they announced their candidacy:

Deputy Dist. Atty. Maria Ramirez

Maria Ramirez at the Los Angeles district attorney candidates forum at Pacific Palms Resort. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

A veteran prosecutor who has worked in the D.A.'s office for 30 years, Ramirez is far and away Gascon's most experienced opponent. While she led the office of special prosecutions in 2020, Ramirez said she was demoted for challenging some of Gascon's policies governing the use of sentencing enhancements and whether juveniles could be tried as adults. She is among a group of about 20 prosecutors suing Gascon for retaliation or defamation. Gascon has denied all wrongdoing.

If elected, Ramirez said she would rein in Gascon's sweeping policies and empower prosecutors to make decisions on a case-by-case basis. Ramirez has also repeatedly touted her management experience as critical to helping the office recruit new employees to address a staffing shortage and dig out of a serious case backlog.

We do not need another outsider to come and fix our office," she said at Wednesday's debate in the City of Industry. "We need a deputy district attorney who has the heart and soul of the D.A.s office in their veins."

Deputy Dist. Atty. John McKinney

John McKinney at the Los Angeles district attorney candidates forum at Pacific Palms Resort. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

A well-respected trial attorney who won a conviction against the man who killed Crenshaw rapper Nipsey Hussle in 2019, McKinney has been among Gascon's most outspoken critics and initially announced plans to challenge the D.A. during a failed attempt to recall him from office last year.

In a previous interview with The Times, McKinney took aim at Gascon's edicts to limit misdemeanors and bar prosecutors from accompanying victims at parole hearings. He has also blasted Gascon for failing to execute diversion programs that he promised to offer defendants in low-level criminal cases, and which the office now refuses to prosecute.

The number of misdemeanors filed under Gascon's administration has plummeted compared with his predecessor, but the district attorney's office has yet to produce data showing how many of those defendants received diversion.

McKinney has also promised to "repeal and replace" every policy Gascon enacted on his inauguration day and work to repeal Proposition 47 in Sacramento.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Jonathan Hatami

Jonathan Hatami at the Los Angeles district attorney candidates forum at Pacific Palms Resort. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

A longtime child abuse prosecutor best known for winning convictions against the parents who tortured and murdered Gabriel Fernandez and Anthony Avalos, Hatami is among Gascon's most media-savvy opponents, the owner of an account on X, formerly known as Twitter, that functions as a rolling list of grievances with Gascon dating back to the day he took office.

A brash victims' rights advocate and Army veteran, Hatami has repeatedly attacked Gascon's decision to bar prosecutors from seeking the death penalty and chastised his boss for not meeting with families dissatisfied with his policies. While Hatami has come out as a strong ally to law enforcement, he also says he wants to be a "D.A. with a heart" and has talked about expanding courts and programs that aid homeless defendants, especially those who are veterans.

While Hatami's relentless attacks on Gascon have earned him a group of extremely energetic supporters and endorsements from a number of smaller police agencies, his approach has also seen him ally with personalities that could complicate his run as a Democrat in increasingly progressive Los Angeles. During the recall effort, he appeared at events alongside former Sheriff Alex Villanueva and conservative radio host Larry Elder, who was trying to win a statewide recall election against Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Nathan Hochman

Nathan Hochman at the Los Angeles district attorney candidates forum at Pacific Palms Resort. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

A former federal prosecutor, Hochman ran as a Republican in an unsuccessful bid for the state attorney general's office in 2022. Rebranding himself as an independent in the D.A.'s race, Hochman has emerged as the leading fundraiser through the early portion of the campaign, collecting $665,000 in the first half of 2023. That tally was more than Hatami, McKinney and Ramirez  the only other candidates in the race at the time  had raised combined.

Hochman has the support of a number of former U.S. attorneys, as well as ex-Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley. He has also promised to eliminate most of Gascon's "blanket" policies and railed against what he calls "rampant" crime, comparing L.A. to "Gotham City."

The public is crying out for someone who will put their interests first rather than criminals," he said Wednesday.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Eric Siddall

Eric Siddall at the Los Angeles district attorney candidates forum at Pacific Palms Resort. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

The former vice president of the union representing line prosecutors, Siddall has been an effective thorn in Gascon's side in recent years. His union spearheaded a lawsuit that won an injunction limiting Gascon's reform agenda in early 2021, a ruling that has held up on appeal but could be heard by the state Supreme Court.

Positioning himself as a moderate challenger, Siddall claims to represent a "new generation" of prosecutors who want to find better ways to execute criminal justice reform. With his experience as a union leader, Siddall believes he can earn buy-in from a staff Gascon has alienated while also improving recruitment in an office that is at its smallest roster size in decades.

A veteran member of units within the D.A.'s office that prosecute gang members and crimes against peace officers, Siddall has tried to balance touting his crime-fighting bona fides with a promise not to be "old school" and seek a lengthy sentence in every case.

If you want a progressive office that functions and not a progressive office that is completely dysfunctional and doesnt actually get any of the job done, then Im your candidate, he said in a prior interview with The Times.

Superior Court Judge Craig Mitchell

Craig Mitchell at the Los Angeles district attorney candidates forum at Pacific Palms Resort. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Mitchell said he was spurred to enter the race after watching Gascon's policies lead to what he considered incredibly lenient outcomes for defendants accused of drug trafficking and violent crime in his courtroom.

The current district attorney disproportionately has enacted policies that favor those who victimize others, and at the end of the day, the victims of crime are left going Where is the justice for me? Mitchell said at his launch event in late August.

A former prosecutor and high school teacher, Mitchell founded the "Skid Row Running Club" where he says he has helped build a community for some of L.A.'s most vulnerable people. The judge, who went on leave from the bench to enter the race, said the running club gives him a firsthand look at the county's homeless and mental health crises, both of which are widely considered significant drivers of crime.

A lot of my colleagues on the bench they scratch their head and ask, 'Why are you going down to Skid Row?' Skid Row has been a great classroom for me," he said.

Jeff Chemerinsky

Jeff Chemerinsky at the Los Angeles district attorney candidates forum at Pacific Palms Resort. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

The former head of violent crimes prosecutions for the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles, Chemerinsky is Gascon's youngest challenger and perhaps the most progressive opponent he will face.

While he often speaks of his time prosecuting high-level members of MS-13 and other criminal street gangs and has attacked what he considers Gascon's overly simplistic policies, he was also the lone candidate to utter the phase "criminal justice reform" during Wednesday night's debate.

We arent going to prosecute our way out of it, and we cant criminalize poverty," he said in response to a question about the district attorney's role in combating homelessness. While he stopped short of echoing Gascon's position on refusing to prosecute low-level misdemeanors, Chemerinsky said he would take a "triage" approach to the office's caseload crisis and prioritize prosecutions of violent crimes, if elected.

Chemerinsky has been endorsed by Los Angeles City. Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto. His father, Erwin, is one of California's most famous legal minds who also served on Gascon's transition team in 2020 and helped create some of the policies his son is now criticizing.

Superior Court Judge Debra Archuleta

Judge Debra Archuleta at the Los Angeles district attorney candidates forum at Pacific Palms Resort. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

A veteran L.A. County prosecutor who ascended to the bench in 2016, Archuleta entered the race this month, claiming Gascon's policies have made the county more dangerous and promising that "violent criminals will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law" if she is elected.

Archuleta called herself the "most electable" candidate on stage at Wednesday's debate and questioned statistics that show crime is actually down in Los Angeles, echoing a perception issue that has seemed to trump actual data in discussions about public safety in some California cities in recent years.

Do you feel safer now than you did three years ago?" she asked, noting that she "stepped down from the bench to step up for the people.

David Milton

David S. Milton at the Los Angeles district attorney candidates forum at Pacific Palms Resort. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

A retired Superior Court judge and U.S. Army veteran, Milton was also an L.A. County prosecutor for about 14 years.

Milton seemingly announced himself a proponent of the death penalty Wednesday, touting on stage that he had sentenced a man to death and won death verdicts as a prosecutor. Gascon blocked prosecutors from seeking the death sentence when he was elected.

Milton has 45 years of legal experience serving as a prosecutor, municipal judge and Superior Court judge. He also said he authored bills to address drive-by shootings and stalking sponsored by then-Republican state Sen. Ed Royce in the 1990s. Both were rejected by the state Legislature.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
An army major has pushed a three tonne Land Rover for 24 hours to fund possible gene therapy for his daughter's rare genetic condition.

Alongside 12 of his colleagues, and in aid of Hope for Hasti, Maj Chris Brannigan pushed the vehicle for a total of 74 miles (119km) on Wednesday.

The fundraiser was set up in 2020 after Maj Brannigan's daughter was diagnosed with Cornelia de Lange Syndrome (CdLS).

He said the challenge had been gruelling.

CdLS is a condition which currently has no cure or treatment and can cause severe anxiety, growth restriction and seizures.

Maj Brannigan said: "Hasti is happy, she's a friendly, beautiful soul but the truth is, because of her condition, she has lots of challenges.

"Me and my wife are really concerned for what the future holds for her. All we want is independence and a full and happy life for her."

Maj Brannigan won the ITV National Pride of Britain fundraiser award in 2020

Since his daughter's diagnosis, Maj Brannigan, who is based at barracks in both Wiltshire and Hampshire, has undertaken numerous challenges to raise money for research into the condition.

Notably, the father-of-three undertook a lone 700 mile barefoot walk from Land's End to Edinburgh, for which he received the ITV Pride of Britain fundraiser Award for in 2020.

In 2021, he also raised money by walking barefoot 1,000 miles along the east coast of the USA.

Maj Brannigan said his latest fundraising challenge was the idea of one of his colleagues.

"He thought all my ideas were tame and he said, 'No, let's do something bigger than that', so that's how we ended up pushing a Land Rover for 24 hours."

Maj Brannigan said unlike his lone walking challenges, it was nice to undergo a challenge with a team behind him.

"It was really really great. Our ability to support each other was really good. Even at 3am - We were laughing and joking all the way through," he added.

Maj Brannigan said he could not thank the "armed forces family" enough and thought without them he and his family "wouldn't be where we are now with the charity."

'Utterly exhausting'

While he is grateful for the support in regards to raising money for the charity, Maj Brannigan said the impact of raising awareness and money for research had "been gruelling", especially alongside raising a family and giving Hasti the additional support she needs.

"We have to give so much of our time on top of everything else we have to deal with. It makes our lives very hard.

"There should be a solution provided by the NHS which would help children like Hasti who have rare conditions.

"It's utterly exhausting," he added.

Maj Brannigan said while it was difficult, he would continue to keep fundraising.

"People have donated far and wide. It's really heart-warming for my wife and I that total strangers want to help us out," he added.

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DALLAS - Dozens of people showed up to take part in a gun buyback event co-hosted by Dallas County Sheriff Marian Brown.

The Sheriff partnered with Dallas City Councilman Jesse Moreno to purchase guns from owners at Samuell Grand Park in Dallas.

The unwanted weapons were exchanged for hundreds of dollars worth of gift cards.

Handguns were worth $100 and long guns were worth $200.

Sheriff Brown says the program give people incentive to dispose of weapons properly.

"There are many instances where people have hand guns ,they have long guns that are accessible to them, but they didn't originally have them. Maybe grandma or grandpa had them or a relative, so they have them, but don't know what to do with them. This affords them an opportunity to dispose of those weapons properly," she said.

The money for the gift cards comes from Councilman Moreno's office.

"We do know that if we take one weapon off the streets in the City of Dallas, that's one less incident that's likely to occur here," Moreno said.

The program was also assisted by Dallas County Constable Michael Orozco and Texas Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett.

All guns collected at the event were turned over to the Dallas Police Department to be destroyed.
Dallas police are investigating a homicide of a man who was shot and was found Friday behind an empty building, according to a police news release.

At around 12:30 p.m. Friday, Dallas police responded to the 10000 block of Harry Hines Boulevard.

When officers arrived, they found a man shot behind a vacant business building, according to the release.

Dallas Fire-Rescue also responded to the scene and the man died at the scene, police said in the release.

The Dallas County Medical Examiners Office will release the identity of the victim.

The investigation is ongoing.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact Detective Andrew Knoebel at 214-671-3584 or at andrew.knoebel@dallaspolice.gov.
Dallas police are investigating a homicide of a man who was fatally shot Saturday afternoon in a parking lot.

At about 4 p.m. Saturday, Dallas police responded to a shooting call in the 200 block of Stoneport Drive.

When officers arrived, they found Darius Dewayne Young, 20, shot in a parking lot at the location.

Young was taken to a local hospital where he died from his injuries, according to a news release.

This investigation is ongoing.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact Detective Jose Ortiz-Vives at 214-671-4310 or jose.ortizvives@dallaspolice.gov.
I should be dead, but my leukemia is in remission, and there's a reason I'm still alive. I'm determined to find out why.

Camille Goodale was 19 and a sophomore in college when she was diagnosed with leukemia.

She joined a cell therapy clinical trial that killed 98% of her cancer within days.

She believes there's a reason she's alive after so many serious complications.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Camille Goodale. It has been edited for length and clarity.

Walking to class one day at Colorado State University, I found myself seeing stars when I reached the top of a flight of stairs.

I had been feeling gradually more tired during my sophomore year. At first, I thought I was out of shape. Then, I considered maybe I had mono, but I'd already had the viral infection, which most people can't get twice.

The symptoms became impossible to ignore, so I made an appointment with my primary care provider, who ordered blood work. I was in my shared bedroom at my sorority house when the doctor called with the results a few hours later. When I heard "leukemia," I looked at my roommate, and her face told me she had heard the same terrifying word.

I went to the hospital that night and didn't leave for a month

I was in shock. My family had a history of cancer, but I was only 19. When the doctor told me to come into the hospital that night, I packed four changes of underwear and my homework. I had no idea I would be in the hospital for more than a month.

After more bloodwork, doctors explained my initial treatment protocol would last eight months. Classes were off the table since chemotherapy would leave me immunocompromised. As I navigated the next few months of treatment, I enrolled in online courses, doing remote learning long before it became common.

The initial treatments went well, but I quickly relapsed. Doctors in Colorado couldn't get me back into remission. I was only 21, but I worried I was dying. I remember talking to a therapist saying, "Is this it?"

A doctor almost kept me from doing an experimental treatment

My worries were compounded by a doctor who was all doom and gloom. He told me about a clinical trial using chimeric antigen receptor T-cells that could help me. During the trial, doctors would harvest my T-cells, part of my immune system. The cells would be genetically modified and then put back in my body, where they would hopefully attack the cancer cells.

Yet, instead of emphasizing the potential, the doctor talked about everything that could go wrong. He even said that the van carrying my cells to the lab could crash and spill my cells everywhere  a scary but ridiculous idea.

When I learned that a similar trial was taking place at Seattle Children's Hospital , my mom and I traveled to Washington so I could do treatment there  hopefully with a team that had better bedside manners. I was scared but hopeful.

I've faced lots of very serious complications

The T-cells were harvested through a thick line inserted into my neck that was very uncomfortable. A few weeks later, I returned to the hospital for an inpatient stay. Doctors weren't sure how my body would react to the engineered cells, and they wanted to keep a close eye on me. That turned out to be a good thing. I experienced cytokine release syndrome , a serious complication that can cause extreme fevers and low blood pressure.

Because of the CRS, I was delirious. Doctors asked me questions like "Who's the president?" and "What year is it?" When they asked, "Where are you?" I answered, "In the club!" I was mentally checked out and having a great time, but it must have been truly terrifying for my mom to watch.

When I came to the next day, doctors told me that 98% of my leukemia was gone. I was elated  the treatment felt like a walk in the park after hearing the result.

Unfortunately, my leukemia cells are really, really good at hiding. I needed three rounds of CAR-T cell therapy and two bone marrow transplants before I went into lasting remission. The second bone marrow transplant, in 2021, left me in a coma, after which I had to relearn how to sit and walk.

I believe there's a reason I'm alive  and I'm determined to discover it

I'm nearly 27 now and have been fighting cancer for most of my adult life. I've realized that people go through a lot that we don't see, and I've become more empathetic. I look healthy, but I'm still regaining my physical and mental strength from treatments.

Although I've been in remission for almost three years, there's a real possibility that my days could be numbered. I do whatever makes me happy, like working in event planning and riding horses. I'm not going to waste them doing things that don't fulfill me. That's given me the courage to leave a relationship and job that wasn't working for me and relocate back to Colorado.

My life is very much a gift. For some reason  that I still don't know  I'm meant to be alive. I'm excited to live to the fullest and discover what that reason is.

Read the original article on Insider
Smoke billows after an Israeli strike on Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday. Photo by Ismael Mohamad/UPI

Oct. 22 (UPI) -- Israeli Defense Forces have so far killed at least 4,651 Palestinians and wounded more than 14,245 in retaliation for the attack by Hamas that killed about 1,400 Israelis earlier this month.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said in a statement that the dead include 1,871 children, 1,023 women and 187 elderly people. Most of the deaths are in Palestine's Gaza, home to Hamas, though dozens have also been reported dead in Palestine's West Bank.

In addition, data provided by the United Nations shows that Israel forces killed 227 Palestinians this year before Hamas offensive while just 29 Israelis had been slain by Palestinian attackers before the attack.

Hamas has said the attack was made in retaliation for Israel's multiple raids on the Al-Aqsa Mosque earlier this year as Israelis continue to make illegal settlements on Palestinian lands in violation of international law.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society, an aid group based in Ramallah, said in a statement that seven hospitals and 21 other health centers in the country are out of service after being targeted by the Israeli military.

Israel has denied that it is attacking hospitals in Palestine, claiming they are the result of "failed rocket launches" by groups including Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

According to CNN, some Palestinians in Gaza are taking to writing the names of their children on their legs to help identify them if they are killed.

Meanwhile, the IDF has admitted to attacking the Al-Ansar Mosque in Jenin, claiming that the holy center was used a "execute terrorist attacks against civilians." Photos from Gaza show entire communities demolished by Israel's ongoing blitz.
After Putin's meeting with Kim Jong Un, the DPRK increased the volume of cargo transportation to Russia

Intelligence reports say North Korea has intensified arms supplies to Russia, both by sea and by rail, but it is difficult to judge the quality of these weapons, former Ukrainian Defense Minister Andriy Zahorodnyuk has said on Radio NV.

Speaking to Radio NV on Oct. 19, Zahorodnyuk, now the Chairman of the Board of the Center for Defense Strategies, said no one has real data on the state of North Korea's weapons and military equipment, as it is an extremely closed country.

Read also: North Korea may have cooperated with Hamas, could use tactics to attack South Korea, Seoul says

"We know that they have a large amount of weapons and military equipment from the Soviet era, and they transferred this to China in the Soviet Union era," Zahorodnyuk said.

We understand that they have a large amount of ammunition, which was stored in warehouses. So technically, they have stuff to send to Russia. But the question is: what is its condition and to what extent have they actually agreed? We don't know.

Read also: New satellite images suggest North Korea is regularly supplying arms to Russia by sea

Asked how much these supplies could affect Russia's ability to fight in Ukraine, the former minister replied: "I don't think it will have a dramatic impact."

On Oct. 13, the White House said that North Korea had transported up to 1,000 containers of "military equipment and munitions to Russia in recent weeks."

U.S. analysts wrote that after Russian dictator Vladimir Putin met with his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong Un on Sept. 13, Pyongyang sharply increased its cargo transportation to Russia.

The media reported that North Korea was handing over artillery shells and Katyusha rockets to Moscow.

On Oct. 17, Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that "there is no evidence" of arms shipments from North Korea to Russia.

In fact, widely published satellite imagery provides evidence of extensive shipments of North Korean cargoes, probably weapons, to Russia in recent weeks, according to military experts and analysts.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said Sunday the US is concerned about potential escalation in the Middle East a day after announcing the deployment of additional military assets to the region.

Were concerned about potential escalation. In fact, what were seeing is a  is a prospect of a significant escalation of attacks on our troops and our people throughout the region, and because of that, were going to do whats necessary to make sure that our troops are in the right  in a good position, and theyre protected, and that we have the ability to respond, he said on ABCs This Week.

On Saturday night, Austin announced the deployment of additional missile defense systems in the Middle East and additional US troops on prepare-to-deploy orders. Those deployments add to a series of other US military movements since Hamas attacked Israel two weeks ago, including a US Marine rapid response force consisting of 2,000 Marines and sailors, and two carrier groups ordered to the eastern Mediterranean to deter Iran and its allies Syria and Hezbollah from opening new fronts against Israel.

US officials have previously stressed there are no plans to put American boots on the ground to fight in the war between Israel and Hamas, which Israeli officials have warned could be prolonged and difficult.

Austin said the deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery as well as additional Patriot battalions to locations throughout the region was to protect US troops in the area. Both the THAAD and Patriots systems are air defense systems designed to shoot down short, medium and intermediate ballistic missiles.

Last week, a US Navy warship operating in the Middle East intercepted multiple projectiles near the coast of Yemen fired by Iranian-backed Houthi militants, who are engaged in an ongoing conflict in the country. That incident was one of a series in recent days with US bases being targeted by drones in Syria and Iraq and as American embassies face protests throughout the region.

Following detailed discussions with President Biden on recent escalations by Iran and its proxy forces across the Middle East Region, today I directed a series of additional steps to further strengthen the Department of Defense posture in the region. These steps will bolster regional deterrence efforts, increase force protection for U.S. forces in the region, and assist in the defense of Israel, Austin said in a statement.

The Defense secretary, ahead of Israels imminent ground incursion into Gaza, told ABC he has encouraged Israeli officials, and specifically Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant, to conduct their operations in accordance with the law of war.

In response to a question on whether Israel was doing enough to protect or ensure innocent civilians are not being killed, Austin said, We encourage them at every opportunity, Jon, to make sure that, you know, were accounting for those civilians that are in the battle space, that were providing corridors for them to leave the battle space if necessary, and that theyre allowing humanitarian assistance to get into that space as well.

Austin did say he thinks a two-state solution is still very, very supportable.

CNNs Jim Sciutto, Natasha Bertrand, Oren Liebermann, Michael Callahan and Jack Forrest contributed to this report.

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Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced the U.S. Department of Defense's plan on Saturday evening to further "bolster regional deterrence efforts" in the Middle East amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, reiterating the department's defense of Israel.

In a press release, the secretary said that the plan comes following "detailed discussions" with President Joe Biden.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks during a meeting with UK Secretary of State for Defense Grant Shapps (out of frame) at the Pentagon in Washington, DC.

The secretary said that USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group will join the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group, which was recently moved to the Eastern Mediterranean following the unprecedented assault on Israel from Hamas terrorists .

HAMAS RELEASES TWO AMERICAN HOSTAGES, A MOTHER AND DAUGHTER, AS ISRAEL CONTINUE GAZA BOMBARDMENT

Secretary Austin said that the warships will "further increase our force posture and strengthen our capabilities and ability to respond."

Austin said that the DOD has deployed their anti-ballistic missile defense system, called the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery, as well as additional Patriot battalions "throughout the region."

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

In this handout provided by the U.S. Navy, the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) transits the Strait of Gibraltar June 13, 2016, into the Mediterranean Sea.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin arrives for a biefing for senators on the Israel-Hamas conflict at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on October 18, 2023.

Without sharing an exact number, Austin said that he has an "additional number of forces on prepare to deploy," to "increase their readiness and ability to quickly respond as required."

US NAVY MOVING WARSHIPS, AIRCRAFT CLOSER TO ISRAEL AMID HAMAS WAR

"I will continue to assess our force posture requirements in the region and consider deploying additional capabilities as necessary," the Defense Secretary concluded.

A view of the Department of Defense at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, on March 14, 2023.

President Biden has aggressively affirmed Israel's right to defend itself in the wake of Hamas' surprise attack.

At least 5,600 people have been killed in the war on both sides, including at least 1,400 Israeli civilians and soldiers and 32 Americans.

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The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry claims at least 4,137 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza and the West Bank and more than 13,162 wounded.

At least 11 Americans are feared to be held captive by Hamas.





Original article source: Defense secretary issues plan to 'bolster regional deterrence efforts', move warships, increase forces
The main outside group backing Florida Governor Ron DeSantis ' presidential run is airing a TV ad this Sunday targeting former Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley for bringing Chinese businesses into South Carolina when she was governor. The ad, first obtained by CBS News, signals a growing foreign policy feud between the two 2024 presidential candidates.

The $2.5 million ad buy from the super PAC "Never Back Down" will debut during Sunday's CBS "60 Minutes" broadcast, and will air this week on Fox News, CNN and Newsmax in Iowa and New Hampshire media markets.

It centers around a South Carolina-based production plant for a Chinese fiberglass company built in 2016. The company, China Jushi, invested $300 million to build its first U.S. plant on 200 acres in Columbia, South Carolina, and brought in at least 400 jobs, according to the South Carolina Department of Commerce.

The ad refers to China Jushi as a "communist party-owned high tech company" and notes the proximity of its plant to a U.S. Army training center.

China Jushi is partially owned by a Chinese government enterprise whose leadership has ties to the Chinese Communist Party. Zhang Yuqiang, the CEO of China Jushi in 2016, serves as the committee secretary for the company's communist party committee, according to its website.

While the company's materials are often used for cars, lightbulbs and home appliances, one of its listed end-use markets includes "Military, Defense and Security," such as the "Norinco QL550," a Chinese military armored car.

The DeSantis PAC's ad features a clip of Haley touting that Chinese firms "wanna do business in South Carolina." It also shows a soundbite of her saying China is "really in good faith doing quite a bit. They are a really great friend of ours," though that was pulled from a 2017 CBS News interview where she talked about China signing on to U.S. sanctions on North Korea.

"Nikki Haley: questionable judgment, dangerous on China," the ad's narrator says, showing pictures of Haley and Chinese President Xi Jinping with Chinese symbols in the background that read "Communist Party of China."

In 2016, Haley praised the investment and new jobs into her state as a "huge win" for the state's workforce and appeared via video address at the project's signing ceremony in China. It's not uncommon for governors to tout new business, jobs and investments  the South Carolina Department of Commerce reported about $669 million in investments from Chinese companies in 2015, over twice the $308 million at the start of Haley's tenure.

But as a presidential candidate, Haley has called China the "number one biggest national security threat." She said she would revoke federal funding for universities that accept money from China, take back U.S. soil China had already purchased, and end "all normal trade relations with" China until the flow of fentanyl in opioids produced from the country ends.

Asked on "Face the Nation" in July if she'd kick out Chinese manufacturers invested in South Carolina, Haley said she wishes "the [prior administrations] had told the governors what was going on. What we need to do is make sure there's no sensitive technology being stolen."

A super PAC supporting Haley, "Stand For America," has made her hawkish stance on China a centerpiece in multiple ads.

A Haley spokesperson said the ad was "more lies and hypocrisy from desperate and losing Ron DeSantis, who aggressively recruited Chinese companies to Florida, including a sanctioned Chinese military manufacturer. Nikki Haley took on the Chinese at the UN and she will as president."

DeSantis hasn't released a foreign policy plan yet, but said he would take a "hard power" approach to the country.

In May, he signed a ban in Florida on Chinese nationals from purchasing farmland and land near U.S. military bases and a ban of TikTok and WeChat, Chinese-owned social media apps, on government devices. In September, he directed the state's department of education to revoke school choice scholarships from four schools, claiming they had "direct ties to the Chinese Communist Party."

But while he has taken a hard line on China as governor, at least one Chinese business in Florida expanded during his tenure.

Cirrus Aircraft Ltd., an aircraft manufacturer that added two training centers in central Florida in 2022, is owned by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, a company sanctioned by the U.S.

This is Never Back Down's second TV attack ad against Haley. DeSantis has also been slamming Haley over Gaza refugees since Hamas attacked Israel.

"There are so many of these people who want to be free from this terrorist rule. They want to be free from all of that. And America's always been sympathetic to the fact that you can separate civilians from terrorists," Haley said on CNN of Gaza residents when asked about DeSantis' remark that all Palestinians are "anti-Semitic."

DeSantis characterized Haley's comments as an openness to taking in Gaza refugees, although she did not say that and actually said Middle Eastern countries should give them safe harbor instead. A CNN fact-check found DeSantis' suggestion Haley would allow Gaza refugees in is false.

Haley was questioned by an Iowa voter on Saturday about whether she would be willing to take in refugees from Gaza.

"God bless Ron DeSantis  because he continues to try and bring up this refugee situation," Haley responded. "He has said that I want to take Gazan refugees. I have never said that. And he's got an ad on TV, and I will tell you, from CNN to Newsmax, they have all said that his ad is a lie."

"Why would you be talking about vetting people if you didn't want them to come in?" DeSantis said of Haley during his own campaign stop in Iowa on Saturday. "I think they're trying to kind of cover their tracks and act like we're doing anything other than just quoting her words.

A Haley super PAC aired an ad Thursday in Iowa and New Hampshire in response to DeSantis' attacks, emphasizing her full answer about Gaza refugees.

Haley has gained on DeSantis in fundraising and early-state polling. Her campaign says she entered October with over $9 million cash on hand for the primaries, while DeSantis has only $5 million for use in the primaries.

A CBS News poll from September showed Haley trailing DeSantis by 13 points in Iowa, a state where DeSantis has heavily invested time and resources, but within the margin of error in New Hampshire (DeSantis at 13%, Haley with 11%). According to an aggregate of New Hampshire-specific polling in the last two months by Real Clear Politics, Haley's average (14%) is higher than DeSantis' (10%).

Both are far behind former President Donald Trump in fundraising and polling.

Taurean Small contributed reporting.

Correction: A previous version of this story said one Chinese company in Florida, Jinko Solar, received a grant from the city of Jacksonville in April. While a bill proposed by the Jacksonville City Council included grant money for the company, the council voted in June to revoke that legislation after a raid by the Department of Homeland Security.

Jinko Solar did not receive any grant money this year and a company spokesperson said the U.S. government has not told them what the investigation is about and that "since the inception of UFLPA, and through the present day, [U.S. Customs and Border Control] has reviewed and released all of Jinko's solar panels based on documentation provided by the company."

Israeli forces in close combat with Hamas fighters as they advance into Gaza City

Missy Elliott, Sheryl Crow to be inducted into Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

"CBS Evening News" headlines for Friday, November 3, 2023
Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he would rescind student visas of foreign nationals in the U.S. and send them back to their home countries if they expressed support for Hamas terrorists' attack against Israel.

Speaking at a campaign event in Iowa on Friday, the White House hopeful discussed his plans to remove Hamas-supporting foreign nationals attending U.S. colleges and universities from the country as many pro-Palestinian student groups at various institutions across the nation release statements and organize demonstrations endorsing Hamas' largest attack against Israel in decades.

"You see students demonstrating in our country in favor of Hamas," DeSantis said. "Remember, some of them are foreigners."

DeSantis said he will be "canceling your visa, and Im sending you home" if he wins the presidency in 2024.

DOZENS OF PRO-PALESTINIAN UNIVERSITY STUDENT CHAPTERS CELEBRATE ATTACK ON ISRAEL: NOT UNPROVOKED

Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis said he would rescind student visas of foreign nationals in the U.S. who have expressed support for Hamas terrorists' attack against Israel.

Fellow Republican presidential candidate and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott said at the same event in Iowa that, if elected president, he would withhold Pell Grants from universities that failed to eliminate antisemitism on their campuses.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Both presidential contenders voiced their support for Israel as the war between the Jewish State and Hamas continues after more than three weeks of violence.

More than 5,700 people have been killed in Gaza and Israel since Hamas' attack against Israel on October 7, leading to retaliatory action from Israeli forces. Thousands more have been wounded, and many others have been taken hostage by Hamas and raped, tortured and murdered.

DeSantis has been vocal in condemning Hamas' surprise attack on Israel and has taken action to help Floridians stranded in Israel find their way home.

Last week, the governor announced that nearly 300 Floridians arrived in the Sunshine State on flights from Israel following his executive order authorizing logistical, rescue and evacuation operations through Florida's Division of Emergency Management. The flights were completed through a partnership with the search and rescue non-profit group Project DYNAMO, and efforts for further evacuation flights to Florida are expected.

The Florida Division of Emergency Management also sent cargo planes to Israel containing medical supplies, clothing items, hygiene products and children's toys, according to the governor's office.

HARVARD STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS CLAIM ISRAEL ENTIRELY RESPONSIBLE FOR GAZA ATTACKS

DeSantis called students voicing support for Hamas a "total disgrace" earlier this month after at least dozens of student groups at various U.S. academic institutions, including Harvard University, endorsed Hamas' attacks on Israel through public statements and protests, even as many of the universities themselves condemned the acts of terrorism.

Shortly after the attack on October 7, Harvard Palestine Solidarity Groups released a statement signed by about 30 student organizations that read, "We, the undersigned student organizations, hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence."

Students for Justice in Palestine chapters and other pro-Palestinian student groups at many other universities, including George Washington University, the University of Virginia and the University of California, Berkley, also released similar statements on the weekend of Hamas' attack.

The statement by the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Groups was later deleted after student organizations began removing their signatures amid bipartisan backlash and some CEOs demanding the names of the students who signed it.

Many other pro-Palestinian student groups at institutions across the U.S. still have their statements posted online and continue to participate in protests celebrating Hamas' attack.

Other Republican lawmakers have also called for canceling the visas of foreign nationals who support Hamas and deporting them back to their home countries.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said the Biden administration should rescind visas of foreign nationals who defend or support Hamas and Sen. Tom Cotton, R. Ark., urged the Department of Homeland Security to deport foreign nationals, including those on student visas, who have expressed support for Hamas in the wake of the terror attack on Israel.

SEN. COTTON URGES DHS TO DEPORT FOREIGN NATIONALS WHO SUPPORT HAMAS: NO PLACE IN THE UNITED STATES

DeSantis has called students voicing support for Hamas a "total disgrace."

DeSantis has also said he does not support accepting refugees from Gaza who wish to evacuate the violence in the region.

"I don't know what [President] Biden's gonna do, but we cannot accept people from Gaza into this country as refugees," DeSantis said at a campaign event earlier this month.

"I am not going to do that," he added. "If you look at how they behave, not all of them are Hamas, but they are all antisemitic. None of them believe in Israel's right to exist."

Scott and other Republicans have slammed the Biden administration's response to Hamas attacks against Israel as well. The South Carolina senator said during a speech in Washington, D.C., earlier this month that the president has "blood on his hands."





Original article source: DeSantis says he would cancel student visas, deport foreign nationals celebrating Hamas if elected president
GOP candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday said he would revoke student visas of Hamas sympathizers if elected to the White House in 2024.

You see students demonstrating in our country in favor of Hamas, DeSantis said during a campaign stop in Iowa. Remember, some of them are foreigners.

The governor said if elected for president, he will be canceling your visa and Im sending you home.

Fellow GOP presidential hopeful Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), at the same event, said he would withhold Pell Grants from universities that failed to stamp out antisemitism.

The presidential contenders were speaking at a campaign event in Iowa where each iterated their support for Israel in its war with Palestinian militant group Hamas.

The Florida Governors comments, first reported by the New York Times, come after he has been a loud voice against Hamas and its surprise attack on Israel earlier this month.

In the past two weeks DeSantis has looked to impose new sanctions on Iranian businesses in Florida, charter flights of Floridians back from Israel and provide support to the Middle Eastern nation with aid in its war against Hamas.

DeSantis has called pro-Palestine protests a total disgrace and been against the United States accepting refugees from Gaza.

I dont know what [President] Bidens gonna do, but we cannot accept people from Gaza into this country as refugees, DeSantis said earlier this month.

I am not going to do that, he added. If you look at how they behave, not all of them are Hamas, but they are all antisemitic. None of them believe in Israels right to exist.

Scott has also been outspoken against President Bidens response to the Hamas attacks, saying the president has blood on his hands.

The conflict began on Oct. 7 when Hamas  which controls the Gaza Strip  launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing about 1,400 Israelis and took more than 200 people hostage. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to retaliate until all of the hostages were released.

The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said responding strikes from Israel have so far killed nearly 4,300 Palestinians.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The killing of the president of a synagogue in Detroit does not appear to be a hate crime, police have said.

Samantha Woll was found stabbed to death near her home after police responded to a call in the Lafayette Park area on Saturday.

"No evidence has surfaced suggesting that this crime was motivated by antisemitism," said Detroit Police Chief James White.

Officials paid tribute to Ms Woll as "one of Detroit's great young leaders".

A trail of blood led police from her body to her house, where they believe the killing took place.

They have been searching the area with dogs but there is no information about who carried out the killing or why.

Michigan State Attorney General Dana Nessel wrote that she was "shocked and horrified to learn of Sam's brutal murder".

And state governor Gretchen Whitmer described it as a "vicious crime".

"She was a source of light, a beacon in her community who worked hard to make Michigan a better place," she said in a statement.

Sam Dubin, assistant director of the Jewish Community Relations Council, told the BBC's US partner CBS that Ms Woll "always had the biggest smile on".

"Whatever you were thinking or doing before, talking with Sam allowed you to put the nonsense of the world aside for just a moment," he said.

In a statement released on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Sunday, Police Chief White said the investigation into Ms Woll's death was ongoing.

He added that investigators from the Detroit Police Department are working with the FBI, and some people "with information" are being interviewed.

"I again ask the community to remain patient while our investigators and law enforcement partners continue their work," he said.

Attacks on Jewish and Palestinian-Americans have increased since the Israel-Gaza war erupted two weeks ago.

After news of Ms Woll's death emerged, police urged the public not to jump to conclusions about why she was killed.

ADL Michigan, the state chapter of the Anti-Defamation League, has also urged people not to speculate and allow the police to gather the facts.
DETROIT (FOX 2)- - Detroit synagogue president Samantha Woll was found fatally stabbed Saturday morning.

40-year-old Samantha Woll was found outside her residence in the 1300 block of Joliet Pl in Detroit around 6:30 a.m. Police tell FOX 2 she was stabbed multiple times. At this time, the motive for the killing is unknown and no one is in custody as of this afternoon.

"I was devastated today to learn of the loss of one of Detroits great young leaders - Samantha Woll. Just weeks ago, I shared a day of joy with Sam at the dedication of the newly renovated Downtown Synagogue," Mayor Duggan said in a statement. "It was a project she successfully led with great pride and enthusiasm. Sams loss has left a huge hole in the Detroit community. This entire city joins with her family and friends in mourning her tragic death."

Samantha Woll

READ MORE: Detroit police: 1 person shot at funeral repass for hit-and-run victim

Samantha was the board president at Isaac Agree Downtown and also worked as the Deputy District Director for Rep. Elissa Slotkin.



"She did for our team as Deputy District Director what came so naturally to her: helping others & serving constituents. Separately, in politics & in the Jewish community, she dedicated her short life to building understanding across faiths, bringing light in the face of darkness," wrote Slotikin in a Facebook post.

In 2017, The Detroit Jewish News recognized her in their 36 Under 36.

"She was instrumental in the founding of the Muslim-Jewish Forum of Detroit  a grassroots collective of young adults of both faiths who gather in partnership to learn, celebrate, and build community together,' the paper wrote.



Detroit police are asking anyone with information to contact their Homicide Section at 313-596-2260.

READ MORE: UAW: 23% wage increase on table; Fain blasts Ford but progress made with GM, Stellantis
Samantha Woll, president of the board at the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue, who was found stabbed to death outside her home in Detroit. (David Guralnick/Detroit News via AP) (AP)

A funeral has been held for the synagogue president who was found stabbed to death at her home in Detroit.

Samantha Woll, 40, was discovered at 6.30am on Saturday by emergency personnel who pronounced her dead at the scene.

Woll, who led the Isaac Agree Downtown Detroit Synagogue, was remembered as a driving force behind the establishment of the Muslim-Jewish Forum of Detroit, and an organizer of events to welcome Syrian refugees.

A motive has not been identified in the killing and the incident is under investigation, a spokesperson for Detroit Police Department told The Independent.

While at the scene, police officers observed a trail of blood leading officers to the victims residence, which is where the crime is believed to have occurred, said a police spokesman.

Funeral services for Woll took place on Sunday afternoon in suburban Detroit.

The FBI is aware of the incident, and will assist the Detroit Police Department as requested, the agency said in a statement to CNN.

Detroit Police Department Chief James E. White urged the public not to draw any conclusions until more facts were gathered.

Understandably, this crime leaves many unanswered questions. This matter is under investigation, and I am asking that everyone remain patient while investigators carefully examine every aspect of the available evidence, he said in a statement.

Woll was a well-known figure in Michigan politics, working for Democratic Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin and on the re-election campaign of Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, also a Democrat.

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer paid tribute to Woll.

My heart breaks for her family, her friends, her synagogue, and all those who were lucky enough to know her. She was a source of light, a beacon in her community who worked hard to make Michigan a better place, she said in a statement.

Rep. Slotkin also paid tribute in a statement on X: She did for our team as Deputy District Director what came so naturally to her: helping others & serving constituents. Separately, in politics & in the Jewish community, she dedicated her short life to building understanding across faiths, bringing light in the face of darkness.

Nessel said that she was shocked, saddened and horrified.

Detroit police officers at the scene of where Samantha Woll was murdered in Detroit (AFP via Getty Images)

Sam was as kind a person as Ive ever known, the Michigan Attorney General said. She was driven by her sincere love of her community, state and country. Sam truly used her faith and activism to create a better place for everyone.

The Isaac Agree Downtown Detroit Synagogue, where Woll had been president since 2022, said in a Facebook post: At this point, we do not have more information, but will share more when it becomes available. May her memory be a blessing.

The killing has come at a moment of escalating tensions in Jewish and Muslim communities across the US amid the Israel-Hamas conflict that has led to thousands of deaths in Israel and Gaza.

The Michigan chapter of Council on American Islamic Relations described her death as a tragic loss, noting interfaith work with Wolls congregation.

We are troubled by the horrific murder of Samantha Woll, a beloved leader within her faith community in Metro Detroit, said Dawud Walid, the chapters executive director.
This is a locator map for Iraq with its capital, Baghdad. (AP Photo) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

BAGHDAD (AP)  The Iraqi military and Kurdish Peshmerga forces briefly clashed Sunday in a dispute over control of a strategic military post, killing three, Iraq's military spokesperson said.

The dispute was over who controls three vacated posts previously in the hands of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants. It marked further tension in a fragile alliance between the Iraqi military and Kurdish Peshmerga forces of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region inside federal Iraq.

Iraqi military spokesman Yahya Rasool did not specify the identities of the three killed, adding that seven others in the dispute were wounded.

On Thursday, the PKK announced they were vacating the positions, citing what they said was the declining threat of the extremist Islamic State group in the area. They had held the military position since 2014, during the global war on the group.

Turkey often launches strikes against targets in Syria and Iraq that it believes to be affiliated with the PKK, a Kurdish separatist group that has waged an insurgency against Turkey since the 1980s. Meanwhile, security agencies in Iraq continue to crack down on Islamic State group sleeper cells.

Rasool said Iraqs prime minister ordered the formation of a high-level committee to investigate the incident.

Two security officials said the posts are located in Mount Qarah Dagh within the Makhmour district, a strategic location that borders Erbil and Nineveh, between the two regions.

The Peshmerga claimed that the posts were within their territory, because the mountain has historically represented the dividing line between Iraqi security forces and Peshmerga.
From left: Ditza Heiman, abducted from her home in Israel; Bilha and Yakovi Inon, believed killed near the Gaza border; Noa Argamani who was taken during an attack on the Supernova music festival (Supplied/Getty/EPA)

Israeli families of those killed or taken hostage by Hamas have issued heartfelt pleas to stop the destruction of Gaza and work towards long-lasting peace.

Israel has launched its heaviest-ever bombardment of Gaza and imposed a crippling total siege after Hamas militants launched an unprecedented bloody cross-border attack on multiple Israeli communities and a music festival two weeks ago.

More than 1,400 people were killed in the onslaught and at least 212 people were taken hostage, including children, the elderly and foreign citizens. Only two have been released so far: an American-Israeli mother and daughter who were permitted to leave via Egypt in a deal brokered by Qatar on Friday night.

Despite this, some family members of those killed and taken hostage have made extraordinary calls for an end to the bloodshed amid rising concerns for the civilian population of Gaza, which is home to 2.3 million people. According to the World Health Organisation, at least 4,385 Palestinians have been killed in the bombing, while the Hamas-run health ministry says that more than 1,700 are children.

Magen Inon, who spoke to The Independent from London, said his family were devastated by the loss of his parents Bilha, 75 and Yakov, 78. The couple were likely killed at the start of the 7 October rampage, on their village, which is among the closest Israeli communities to Gaza.

Both Magen and his brother Maoz have spoken out against escalating a war in Gaza.

In the immediate term, we are calling for the de-escalation of the situation, Magen, said. We are devastated by the loss of my parents, but we are continuing their legacy in which we see beyond the hate. We are not sure what the way is but we are confident that the goal is to achieve long-lasting peace, the father-of-three added.

Residents of Tel Aviv show support and solidarity with the families of hostages who are being held in Gaza on Saturday (Reuters)

Im talking to you while Im holding my 10-month-old baby and I know my parents legacy would be that he doesnt grow up to hate anyone.

In an emotional interview with the BBC, his brother Moaz, a rights activist, had begged for peace. In tears, he said last week Im not crying for my parents. I am crying for those who will lose their lives in this war. We must stop the war. The war.... is not the answer.

Their words echoed others whose lives were also torn apart by the horrific attack by Hamas but are worried about the rising bloodshed in Gaza and hardening rhetoric, ahead of an expected Israeli ground offensive.

The Israeli military has vowed an unprecedented response to an unprecedented attack on Israel and by its own admission has launched the heaviest-ever bombardment of the 42-km besieged enclave.

Government and military officials have repeatedly told the media they will do whatever it takes to destroy Hamas, a designated terrorist organisation in the UK and the US that runs Gaza.

The Israeli Military has also imposed a total siege on the strip, cutting off water, food, power and fuel, an action that rights groups argue could amount to collective punishment and a violation of international law.

Israeli tanks and armoured vehicles head towards the Gaza Strip border in southern Israel (AP)

The military has repeatedly ordered civilians  including the medics and the wounded in hospitals  in the north of the strip to evacuate south, an action the World Health Organisation has said is impossible and UN experts said could amount to the war crime of forcible transfer.

Food, water, fuel and medical supplies are running out, having a devastating impact on civilians, including at least one million children, according to the UN. The worsening humanitarian catastrophe has worried some of the families back in Israel.

Neta Heiman, whose 84-year-old mother Ditza Heiman was abducted from her home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, said her message was dont destroy Gaza.

Ditza, who hid in her shelter alone when heavily armed militants went house to house killing and abducting people in her village, appeared in a chilling video being hauled into a Hamas militant truck. Her daughter Neta, who is a member of Israeli peace group Women Wage Peace, said she was extremely concerned about her mothers wellbeing. Ditza is elderly, sick and requires daily medicine.

My message is first, dont destroy Gaza because my mother is there, she too can be killed by Israeli airstrikes. But also I dont think destroying Gaza will help. It just escalates the situation, she told The Independent, obviously shaken.

While she said she did not feel that the militants who took her mother acted like human beings, in Gaza there are lots of people like us who want to live in peace and quiet and they cant say it.

Smoke rises after Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City on Sunday (EPA)

I am sad and angry. I am worried," she added.

In an opinion piece she penned for Israeli newspaper Haaretz she made a direct plea to the Israeli government and those she felt had escalated the situation along the Gaza border.

From this terrifying place we are now in, I call out to the government Do not destroy the Gaza Strip; that wont help anyone and will only bring an even more ferocious round of violence the next time, she wrote.

One of the most haunting moments of Hamas attack was a mobile phone video capturing the moment Noa Argamani, 26, was taken screaming on a motorcycle into Gaza. She was attending the Supernova music festival that was raided by Hamas militants who kidnapped and murdered many people.

Despite this, her father Yaakov has repeatedly called for restraint and peace.

Let's be honest: In Gaza, too, families are mourning their children, Yaakov Argamani told Haaretz in an interview.

There, too, fathers worry about their children. They have fatalities too. What will a few more deaths achieve? They're in pain, just like us, he added.

Prominent Canadian Israeli peace activist Vivian Silver, 74, went missing from her home when militants launched a bloody attack on her home in Kibbutz Beeri on 7 October. Vivian was a founding board member of prestigious Israeli rights group Btselem and a co-founder of Women Wage Peace. Her son Jonaton Zeigen has no idea whether is still alive.

You cant kill babies with more dead babies, we need peace, he told Channel 4 bluntly.

More violence was not what she spent her life working for, he added.

Women Wage Peace, the group that Vivian founded and which Neta is part of, condemned the criminal and unforgivable act committed by Hamas and added that we must not lose human dignity.

We hear words of revenge all the time: all restraints have been removed, we will wipe out Gaza, we will act brutally. But one cannot resolve one injustice with another injustice, the group wrote.

We grieve the death of innocent Palestinians, among them hundreds of children, who are being killed in this accursed war. The situation in Gaza is getting worse all the time.
Former President Donald Trump speaks after returning from a break during his civil fraud trial at New York State Supreme Court on October 18, 2023 in New York City.



Former President Donald Trump speaks after returning from a break during his civil fraud trial at New York State Supreme Court on October 18, 2023 in New York City.

On Truth Social, Donald Trump insisted that he will present irrefutable evidence in court that the 2020 presidential election was stolen and he was the true winner.

The former president has been promising this for three years, which is admirable since most people would find it difficult to lie for that long. Massive information and 100% evidence will be made available during the Corrupt Trials started by our Political Opponent, he wrote .

Read more

Replace the R with a different letter and theres the slur Trump is dying to say.

This isnt the first time Trump has used the word. After Fulton County District Attorney Fani Williswho is a Black womanannounced the racketeering indictment which charged Trump and 18 allies in a conspiracy to alter Georgias 2020 election results, he immediately took to Truth Social to be racist.

They never went after those that Rigged the Election. They only went after those that fought to find the RIGGERS! he stated.

Trump has bolstered white supremacy, dined with white supremacists and called white supremacists very fine people. His latest outburst isnt shocking but still repulsive.

It also says a lot that he remains the presidential frontrunner for the Republican party come 2024.

More from The Root

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The most ticketed parking spot in Topeka last year was stall 27, in front of David's Jewelers at 623 S. Kansas Ave.

Fifty-five parking tickets were written there in 2022, all to the same vehicle, said Mary Kuckelman, senior assistant city attorney for Topeka's city government.

David's employees declined Friday to talk publicly about those tickets. They were mentioned in documents the city shared Sept. 26 with The Capital-Journal in response to a Kansas Open Records Act request it filed seeking specific information about parking tickets in Topeka.

The appeals process has been exhausted for the tickets involved for all of the people on the list, said Gretchen Spiker, the city's communications director.

Tickets and accrued fines included amounts of $9,660, $5,407, $5,400, $4,638 and $3,180. Another nine individuals owed between $1,980 and $1,140.

Parking stall No. 27 in the 600 block of S. Kansas Avenue is recorded as having the most amount of parking violations in Topeka.

Does the city of Topeka still give cars 'the boot'?

Soon after Topeka's city government in 2011 released a list of the 15 parking offenders who owed the city the most, it began using a device known as "the boot" to immobilize vehicles owned by anyone with three or more outstanding parking tickets.

The city's parking division still uses an immobilization device but works with vehicle owners, whenever possible, in an effort to try to avoid having to use it, Spiker said.

That division immobilizes vehicles that have three or more violations that are more than 60 days past due and have been turned over to the city's collections agency, Spiker said.

"If the vehicles owner schedules a payment plan with the collections agency, they are not subject to immobilization," she said.

Parking spaces along S. Kansas Avenue in Topeka are marked with a 2-hour time limit from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays.

How much revenue does parking tickets bring in for city of Topeka?

City revenue from parking tickets since 2017 totals $1,157,748.50, with annual amounts decreasing during the COVID-19 epidemic before rebounding more recently, the city said.

It identified those revenues as being:

 $186,117.63 in 2017.

$180,276.70 in 2018.

 $184,830.13 in 2019.

 $114,747.38 in 2020.

 $157,889.35 in 2021.

 $189,459.73 in 2022.

 $144,427.58 by late September of this year.

Fine revenue represents 6.1% of the city's total parking revenue since 2017, the city said.

Late fees begin accruing 14 calendar days after Topeka issues ticket

Topeka's city government assesses a $10 fine for expired meter violations and parking beyond the posted time limit, its website said.

"After 14 calendar days, late fees begin to apply in certain increments until unpaid tickets are sent to civil collections agencies after 75 calendar days," it said.

As the balance escalates, Kuckelman said, the city sends a courtesy notice to the address associated with the vehicle involved.

"After the notice is sent, and if the balance remains unpaid, the Collection Bureau of Kansas (CBK, Inc.), takes over the process, including any additional notifications," she said.

Contact Tim Hrenchir at threnchir@gannett.com or 785-213-5934.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Downtown Topeka parking spot is most ticketed stall with 55 citations
(KTXL/NEXSTAR)  In celebration of his birthday on Oct. 24, rapper Drake is hooking up people across multiple states with some free food at Daves Hot Chicken.

Drake re-shared the companys announcement of the Drakes Birthday feat. Daves Hot Chicken collaboration to his 143 million Instagram followers on Thursday, saying that participants could get a chicken slider or tender at Daves Hot Chicken on him from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on his 37th birthday.

Calculated misery: Heres why airlines want you to be uncomfortable

Daves Hot Chicken followed up on Drakes social media post by saying in a press release, The hook-up is for anyone who comes by their local Daves and scans their Daves Hot Chicken app.

The chicken restaurant reported that its the second year that the superstar, who became an investor in the brand once he tried the food and met the founders, is giving everyone a chance to experience the mind-blowing taste of a Daves Hot Chicken slider, on him.

What are the scariest non-horror movies?

The chain is a Nashville-style hot chicken restaurant that started out six years ago in an East Hollywood parking lot, according to their website. Since then, it has reportedly become the Fastest-Growing Restaurant Chain in America.

No coupon or code is needed, according to the company. This celebration is only available when visiting the restaurant, and not online or through third-party delivery services.

The restaurant ended its announcement by wishing Drake, whose Instagram handle is @champagnepapi a happy birthday.

For more information on other participating locations throughout the United States visit www.daveshotchicken.com. Fans of the For All the Dogs artist (or just hot chicken enthusiasts in general) who are in Canada can also get in on the birthday fun by showing they follow Daves Hot Chicken on Instagram or TikTok during register checkout.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego.
Archaeologist Jaime Oliveira shows one of the rock engravings at the riverbank site in Praia das Lajes, Brazil (Michael Dantas)

An extreme drought in parts of the Amazon has led to a dramatic drop in river water levels, exposing dozens of usually submerged rock formations with carvings of human forms that may date back some 2,000 years.

Livia Ribeiro, a longtime resident of the Amazon's largest city, Manaus, said she heard about the rock engravings from friends and wanted to check them out.

"I thought it was a lie ... I had never seen this. I've lived in Manaus for 27 years," said Ribeiro, an administrator, after viewing the dazzling relics.

The rock carvings are not usually visible because they are covered by the waters of the Negro River, whose flow recorded its lowest level in 121 years last week.

The surfacing of the engravings on the riverbank have delighted scientists and the general public alike but also raised unsettling questions.

"We come, we look at (the engravings) and we think they are beautiful. But at the same time, it is worrying... I also think about whether this river will exist in 50 or 100 years," Ribeiro said.

Drought in Brazil's Amazon has drastically reduced river levels in recent weeks, affecting a region that depends on a maze of waterways for transportation and supplies.

The Brazilian government has sent emergency aid to the area, where normally bustling riverbanks are dry, littered with stranded boats.

According to experts, the dry season has worsened this year due to El Nino, an irregular climate pattern over the Pacific Ocean that disrupts normal weather, adding to the effect of climate change.

The engravings comprise an archaeological site of "great relevance," said Jaime Oliveira of the Brazilian Institute of Historical Heritage (Iphan).

They are at a site known as Praia das Lajes and were first seen in 2010, during another period of drought not as severe as the current one.

The rock carvings appear against a backdrop of dense jungle, with the low brownish waters of the Negro River flowing nearby.

Most of the engravings are of human faces, some of them rectangular and others oval, with smiles or grim expressions.

"The site expresses emotions, feelings, it is an engraved rock record, but it has something in common with current works of art," said Oliveira.

For Beatriz Carneiro, historian and member of Iphan, Praia das Lajes has an "inestimable" value in understanding the first people who inhabited the region, a field still little explored.

"Unhappily it is now reappearing with the worsening of the drought," Carneiro said. "Having our rivers back (flooded) and keeping the engravings submerged will help preserve them, even more than our work."

msi/mr/tjj/acb
Voters in the Worcester & Hampshire District will be electing a new state senator to represent them Nov. 7, after the resignation of Anne Gobi , who joined the Healey/Driscoll administration as the states director of rural affairs in June.

Her seat, vacant for the last four months, is up for grabs. Vying for the honor of representing the district are two state representatives: Peter Durant , a Republican who represents Spencer, and Jonathan Zlotnik , a Democrat who represents Gardner.

When Gobi announced she had accepted the position with the governors administration, several candidates announced their intention of running.

The crowded field of five slowly diminished. Rebekah Etique, a paralegal who opted to run as a Republican, failed to qualify for the ticket. Janel Holmes, who launched her bid as a Libertarian, failed to collect the sufficient number of signatures to assure her a spot on the ballot. And Bruce Chester, a driver and adjunct professor at Fitchburg State University, was ousted from the running in the special Republican primary Oct. 10.

Both candidates are experienced legislators. Durant ran in a special election for his first term in the House and was elected in 2011. Zlotnik was elected in 2013 and is serving his fifth two-year term. The winner will move to the Senate while the other candidate will continue to represent their district in the House.

Rep. Peter Durant, R-Spencer, is running to fill the seat left open when Anne Gobi accepted a position with the Healey/Driscoll administration as the director of rural affairs.

After years in the House, Durant is setting his sights on the Senate because he believes his will be a commonsense voice that represents Massachusetts residents, its taxpayers and small-business owners. I will work to make Massachusetts more affordable, Durant promised, referencing especially the high cost of housing.

A former business owner, Durant ran a specialty construction firm based in Worcester in the 1980s and 90s, Durant said his experience sets him apart from his Democrat opponent.

I have experience, and not just in the Legislature, Durant said, explaining that he is familiar with the trials and tribulations of running a businesses, making payroll and sometimes going without to ensure he met his obligations, paid his bills and paid his employees.

Thats an important distinction when we are talking about the next senator for the district, Durant said.

High on his to-do list once elected is to address the states housing crisis.

On the most basic level, its about supply and demand, Durant said. Massachusetts needs more housing, everything from single- to multifamily and subsidized homes. Not adverse to accessory dwellings, Durant is also an advocate of changes to zoning laws.

But the state has to be sensitive to the community character, Durant said, warning against a heavy-handed, top-down approach. Adamantly opposed to rent control, Durant said that once the supply of housing increases, the market will correct itself and prices will come down.

But it takes time, you cant wave a magic wand and get more housing, Durant said. Market forces will eventually take over.

Durant, who is vocal in his criticism of the Healey/Driscoll administration, particularly around the handling of the migrant crisis, wants to see changes made to the states right-to-shelter law. He believes limiting shelter services to residents who have been in Massachusetts for at least three years could slow the influx of people into the Bay State.

Rep. Jonathan Zlotnik, D-Gardner, is running for the vacant Worcester & Hampshire Senate seat against Rep. Peter Durant, R-Spencer in a special election to be held Nov. 7.

Zlotnik, a lifelong resident of Gardner, was bitten by the public service bug after working as a summer aide to Robert Rice, D-Worcester, in 2007 and 2008. Rice, an attorney, declined to run in 2010. Zlotnik launched his campaign for his former bosss seat in 2012 while still attending UMass Lowell, where he majored in history.

In his bid, Zlotnik defeated incumbent Richard Bastien. Upon winning, Zlotnik deferred attending Suffolk University Law School and opted not to join the U.S. Navy, a part of his plan.

Before she left office, Gobi entrusted some of the work she had launched during her tenure to Zlotnik and Sen. Michael Moore, D-Millbury, most particularly the work around the crumbling foundations of several Central Massachusetts homes. The problem stems from pyrrhotite contamination in the concrete aggregate used to lay the foundations for homes. The naturally occurring mineral rusts when exposed to water and oxygen and crumbles to dust.

Gobi had proposed testing cement aggregate mined from specific quarries in Central and Western Massachusetts for the presence of the mineral. Connecticut has been grappling with the issue for years and established a grant program for homeowners, paying the cost of jacking up homes, removing the tainted material and repouring foundations, a process which can cost up to $200,000. A similar program could work in Massachusetts.

In opting to run for the Senate, Zlotnik said he believes he has a strong track record of working productively with all legislators, even with those across the aisle.

Families deserve someone who is always looking out for them, Zlotnik said. It's about getting results, not headlines. That's why I fought so hard for the recent tax cut package or the ongoing increases in state aid for local schools.

Zlotnik is aware of the needs of communities he hopes to represent in Central Massachusetts and the regions identity as a rural district. Smart development in the states breadbasket, home to almost half of the state's farms, is key to preserving its farms, rural character and community identity.

I'm going to put working families first, Zlotnik, the son of a teacher and an electrician, said. He has not forgotten his pledge to Gobi and is seeking ways to ameliorate the crumbling foundation crisis in his communities.

Thats an issue that's specific to this area and affecting families in a major way, Zlotnik said. We will see more homeowners impacted by this in the years to come, and we need to press forward with solutions to both stop the continuation of the problem but also make those impacted whole.

The legislator is proud of his track record and reputation as one of the most bipartisan lawmakers in Massachusetts.

I truly believe reasonableness is what we need now more than ever. That's why a few years ago when the House voted to raise the gas tax, I was one of a few Democrats in the House to vote 'No,'  Zlotnik said. He contrasted his votes with those of Durant, noting the conservative lawmaker broke with the vast majority of his own party to vote "No" on a ban for sexual orientation conversion therapy for minors.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Peter Durant, Jonathan Zlotnik bid for Gobi's Mass. Senate seat
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte will travel to Israel for talks on Monday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and separately with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas , Rutte's office said on Sunday.

Rutte's departure follows confirmation by the Netherlands' foreign ministry on Sunday of the death of a 33-year-old Dutch woman who had travelled to Gaza to visit family shortly before the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war.

In a statement on Sunday, Rutte said he had spoken with Netanyahu and asked for clarification about the woman's death.

He also called for "humanitarian pauses" in the fighting in order to help aid reach the civilian residents of Gaza.

"Israel has the right to defend itself and must remove the threat of Hamas and do everything to free hostages," Rutte said.

However, "self-defence is inextricably tied to proportionality and must be in line with international humanitarian law and rules of war", he said.

(Reporting by Toby Sterling; editing by John Stonestreet and Nick Macfie)
Palestinian medics surround a baby wounded in an Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in Khan Younis, Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

DEIR AL BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP)  A premature baby squirms inside a glass incubator in the neonatal ward of al-Aqsa Hospital in the central Gaza Strip. He cries out as intravenous lines are connected to his tiny body. A ventilator helps him breathe as a catheter delivers medication and monitors flash his fragile vital signs.

His life hinges on the constant flow of electricity, which is in danger of running out imminently unless the hospital can get more fuel for its generators. Once the generators stop, hospital director Iyad Abu Zahar fears that the babies in the ward, unable to breathe on their own, will perish.

The responsibility on us is huge, he said.

Doctors treating premature babies across Gaza are grappling with similar fears. At least 130 premature babies are at grave risk across six neonatal units, aid workers said. The dangerous fuel shortages are caused by the Israeli blockade of Gaza, which started  along with airstrikes  after Hamas militants attacked Israeli towns on Oct. 7.

At least 50,000 pregnant women in Gaza are unable to access essential health services, and some 5,500 are due to give birth in the coming month, according to the World Health Organization.

At least seven of the almost 30 hospitals have been forced to shut down due to damage from relentless Israeli strikes and lack of power, water and other supplies. Doctors in the remaining hospitals said they are on the brink. The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees said Sunday it has enough fuel to last three days to serve critical needs.

The world cannot simply look on as these babies are killed by the siege on Gaza ... A failure to act is to sentence these babies to death, said Melanie Ward, chief executive of the Medical Aid for Palestinians aid group.

None of the 20 aid trucks that crossed into Gaza on Saturday, the first since the siege was imposed, contained fuel, amid Israeli fears it will end up in Hamas' hands. Limited fuel supplies inside Gaza were being sent to hospital generators.

Seven tankers took fuel from a U.N. depot on the Gaza side of the border, but it was unclear if any of that was destined for the hospitals.

But will eventually run out if more is not permitted to enter.

Tarik Jasarevic, a WHO spokesman, said 150,000 liters (40,000 gallons) of fuel are required to offer basic services in Gazas five main hospitals.

Abu Zahar worries about how long his facility can hold out.

If the generator stops, which we are expecting in the coming few hours due to the heavy demands of different departments in the hospital, the incubators in the intensive care unit will be in a very critical situation, he said.

Guillemette Thomas, medical coordinator for Doctors Without Borders in the Palestinian territories, said some of the babies could die within hours, and others in a couple of days, if they dont receive the special care and medication they urgently need.

Its sure that these babies are in danger, she told The Associated Press. Its a real emergency to take care of these babies, as it is an emergency to take care of the population of Gaza who are suffering from these bombings since the past two weeks.

The hospital must care for patients in northern and central Gaza since several hospitals shut down, he said, forcing it to more than double its patient capacity. That also puts a strain on the limited electricity.

Nesma al-Haj brought her newborn daughter to the hospital from Nuseirat, where she was recently displaced from northern Gaza, after she suffered from oxygen deprivation and extreme pain, she said.

The baby girl was born three days ago but soon developed complications. The hospital is lacking in supplies, she said, speaking from al-Aqsa. We are afraid that if the situation gets worse, there wont be any medicine left to treat our kids.

The problems are exacerbated by the dirty water many have been forced to use since Israel cut off the water supply. Abu Zahar says mothers are mixing baby formula with the contaminated water to feed their infants. It has contributed to the rise in critical cases in the ward.

In the al-Awda Hospital, a private facility in northern Jabalia, up to 50 babies are born almost every day, said hospital director Ahmed Muhanna. The hospital received an evacuation order from the Israeli military, but continued to work.

The situation is tragic in every sense of the word, he said. We have recorded a large deficit in emergency medicines and anesthetic," as well as other medical supplies.

To ration dwindling supplies, Muhanna said all scheduled operations were stopped and the hospital devoted all its resources to emergencies and childbirths. Complex neo-natal cases are sent to al-Aqsa.

Al-Awda has enough fuel to last four days at most, Muhanna said. We have appealed to many international institutions, the World Health Organization, to supply hospitals with fuel, but to no avail so far, he said.

Thomas said women have already given birth in U.N.-run schools where tens of thousands of displaced people have sought shelter.

These women are in danger, and the babies are in danger right now, she said. Thats a really critical situation.

____

Magdy reported from Cairo. Kullab reported from Baghdad.

___

This story corrects the name from Nisma al-Ayub to Nesma al-Haj.
Its time for Brandon Johnson to say whether or not he supports the redevelopment of LaSalle Street.

The mayors first budget suggests he doesnt. But he and his administration have yet to provide badly needed clarity on that question.

The issue: The mayor reclaimed $434 million in money stashed in tax-increment financing districts to balance his budget, by far the single biggest source he used to try to fill a $538 million gap for the coming fiscal year. More than 25% of that is being withdrawn from TIF funds supporting five projects on LaSalle Street designed to transform emptying office buildings into mixed-use residential projects.

Aldermen Brendan Reilly, 42nd, and Bill Conway, 34th, who represent downtown wards, say the budget maneuver undermines financing plans for the five developments, greenlighted in the final months of the Lightfoot administration. At a City Council hearing Thursday, all they got were vague reassurances from acting Planning and Development Commissioner Patrick Murphey.

Johnson himself didnt directly answer whether he supports the LaSalle Street projects when asked after release of his budget more than a week ago, saying only that his administration would put together a comprehensive downtown plan.

To be clear, the citys share of the LaSalle redevelopment costs is large: $310 million. There is room for debate on whether laying out all that cash for five developments is proper bang for the buck.

The LaSalle Street TIF commitments also trace back to the late months of the Lightfoot administration. It wouldnt be unusual for a new mayor who campaigned on change to want to put his stamp on the critical issue of reviving downtown.

Could that money be spent more wisely? Perhaps. If thats how the Johnson administration thinking, its time to say so. The developers already have laid out fair sums for preliminary work. They deserve to know  now.

What shouldnt be up for debate is the city getting involved in reimagining downtown Chicago and doing so with investment, not just spoken platitudesand zoning changes.

Iconic LaSalle Street is an appropriate place on which to focus given its beauty, its financial difficulties and its central place in the citys economic history. A hollowed out thoroughfare in the middle of the Loop would be a hole in the heart of the city.

Transforming a street that once epitomized Chicagos brawny financial status into a mix of uses, including residences, hotels and perhaps retail in the future could spawn more development around it and keep the Loop vital for generations to come.

So whats at stake for Johnson and fellow progressives who emphasize economic development in neglected neighborhoods to the south and west of downtown? Without a thriving downtown  the economic engine of the city, generating the bulk of tax revenues keeping municipal government functioning  good luck finding the public money Johnson rightly says is needed to invest in the South and West sides.

Johnson took the easiest route available to balancing his first budget. Snatching the money set aside in TIF funds did the heavy lifting to close that $538 million gap. The mayor used the method in a bigger way than any of his predecessors had when filling budget holes.

Not only did the TIF cash help City Halls finances, its providing a nice infusion to Chicago Public Schools, too, a key goal of Johnsons Chicago Teachers Union allies.

But this is a one-year fix. The future of LaSalle Street will need a multiyear effort.

The risk here is that this shortsighted decision kneecaps that critical initiative before it even really begins.

At the very least, Reilly and Conway deserve answers as to what the depletion of TIF funds set aside for the Central Loop means for the LaSalle Street developers. The inartful dodging of those straightforward questions is an early and troubling hallmark of this administration.

Lots of blather. Little substantive communication.

And if this first budget really represents the early demise of some or all of those five projects, then the Johnson administration ought to speak forthrightly about their alternative plans.. Doing so should involve the business community on ways the city can partner with private enterprise on common goals.

To date, the mayors approach essentially has been to ask business leaders not whether they can pay more in taxes and for what, but simply in what form theyd like to pay those higher levies.

Aside from Johnsons yet-to-be-defined relationship with the business community, what isnt acceptable is allowing these plans to die a slow death.

The Loop isnt coming back without help. Its in no ones interest to let it wither.

Join the discussion on Twitter @chitribopinions and on Facebook.

Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.
Social media, where no one ever admits they are wrong, often shows Americans at their worst.

Whether its Facebook or X (formerly Twitter), conversations are not known for nuance. People invariably intensify rather than back down and the cursed algorithms privilege and amplify conflict. For that reason, we dont usually pay online tirades much mind.

But when you read something like Hitler should have eradicated all of you, as penned by a senior employee of the state of Illinois, then mind must certainly be paid.

Those nuclear-level words were posted on Instagram by Sarah Chowdhury, who (incredibly) was a legal counsel to Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza . They were written by a lawyer, and the head of the South Asian Bar Association of Chicago to boot.

Mendoza was quick Thursday to fire Chowdhury, who also resigned her South Asian Bar position. She told this newspaper that, in essence, she had been distraught over the Middle East crisis and had temporarily lost her head. She profoundly apologized, which is to her credit.

Still, those are astonishing words coming from a Chicago lawyer; theyd be astonishing coming from anyone. They have the capacity to make the recipient and all Jewish persons feel like their safety is threatened.

After the murder of 6-year-old Wadea Al-Fayoume in Plainfield, stabbed 26 times allegedly for being a Muslim and whose name rightly was mentioned in President Joe Bidens Thursday address to the nation, we called for the people of this state to keep their heads.

The Chowdhury incident, especially when coupled with a separate Thursday report describing Ald. Julia Ramirez, 12th, and an aide being what police called battered by a group of Chicagoans protesting the location of a migrant shelter in their neighborhood, suggests a worrying level of anger and dysfunction in our communities. We have the sense that fear is growing and democratic cohesion is fracturing.

On a local level, we might not be able to solve the worlds mighty conflicts and its preponderance of hate and brutality, but we can condemn all politically motivated violence, just as we can temper our language and be kind to our neighbors.

For its entire history, this great metropolis has been home to people of different faiths, origins and points of view. It must remain a safe harbor, and that means we must all keep our heads.

Join the discussion on Twitter @chitribopinions and on Facebook.

Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.
Multiple Republican lawmakers lashed out at their GOP colleagues on Sunday as the House remains frozen without a speaker, calling the situation embarrassing.

A handful of hard-right Republicans, led by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., ousted former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., earlier this month, and Republicans in the lower chamber have failed to coalesce around a replacement.

House Democrats refused to vote to save McCarthy and have since refused to lend their support to Republican speaker candidates, including Republican Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio and Steve Scalise of Louisiana.

McCarthy on Sunday told Meet the Press that the situation is embarrassing for the Republican Party and the country as a whole.

We need to look at one another and solve the problem, McCarthy said.

You've got to understand why we were here. Eight Republicans, led by Gaetz, have created this chaos by joining every single Democrat and voting to shut down one branch of government, the former speaker added.

McCarthy endorsed Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., during the interview, saying he has been integral to Republican priorities in the House, such as boosting security at the U.S. southern border with Mexico.

He sets himself head and shoulders above all those others who want to run, McCarthy said. "We need to get him elected this week and move on. Bring this, not just party together, but focus on what this country needs most.

Without a speaker, the House cannot pass crucial legislation, including funding packages to avoid a government shutdown or aid Israel as the war rages on with Hamas.

McCarthy wasnt the only House Republican on Sunday to call the state of the House embarrassing.

Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, told ABC's "This Week": I have to say, and its my 10th term in Congress, this is probably one of the most embarrassing things Ive seen because, if we dont have a speaker of the House, we cant govern. And every day that goes by, were essentially shut down as a government. We have very important issues right now, war and peace.

I want a speaker in the chair so we can move forward and govern, McCaul added.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kevin McCarthy, GOP lawmakers lash over speaker of the House chaos
DTEK, Ukraine's largest private energy company, has imported over 38,000 metric tons of coal from Poland, Ildar Saleyev, the company's general director, said on Oct. 20.

In total, the company plans to import 210,000 metric tons of coal for the winter to ensure the stable operation of its thermal power plants.

While "Ukrainian coal is priority no. 1," Ildar said that the company is importing coal from Poland in case of Russian attacks.

Coal imports, together with domestic coal, will allow the company to "increase the reliability" of the energy systems this winter, Ildar said.

Russian forces are expected to increase their targets of critical energy infrastructure as the country moves into the colder season.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sept. 9 that there were plans in place to protect Ukraine's energy and critical infrastructure from Russian missile and drone strikes through the winter.

On Oct. 2, Russia attacked DTEK warehouses in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, causing damage to cables, transformers, and other electrical equipment, the company said on Telegram.

The company did not specify the extent of the damage, nor the time and resources it would require to repair it.

"No matter how hard the enemy tries," DTEK wrote, "they will not be able to disrupt our preparations for the winter."

Read also: With winter approaching, is Ukraines energy system ready for renewed Russian attacks?









Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
An exercise horse rider was killed during a training exercise at Los Alamitos race track early Saturday morning.

The rider, identified as 53-year-old Alfredo Luevano, was training a 2-year-old filly on when he was found on the ground on the backstretch of the track by first responders, Los Alamitos said in a release.

He was rushed to Long Beach Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.

Los Alamitos is located in Cypress.

As of now, there have been no eyewitness accounts with any precise details on the incident, the Los Alamitos Race Course release said.

The 2-year-old horse, named Fly From The Fire, was not injured and ran off, race course officials said.

She had made five starts this year for trainer Mike Casselman and was entered in the seventh race at Los Alamitos on Saturday night, but was scratched from the race as a precaution, according to track management.

San Fernando politician, environmental justice advocate Cindy Montanez dies

On behalf of the Los Alamitos Race Course family, we express our deepest condolences to Mr. Luevanos family members and friends, Los Alamitos Race Course spokesperson Orlando Gutierrez said.

Luevano, a native of the city of Luis Moya in the Mexican state of Zacatecas, had a total of 33 mounts during his professional riding career, with most of his rides taking place in Mexico and Colorado, the race course said. He was issued an exercise rider license by the California Horse Racing Board earlier this year.

He is survived by his wife, five children, six grandchildren and his father.

A moment of silence will be held in his memory before Sundays race card, track officials said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.
Deputies are searching for a man they said led deputies on a high-speed chase over expired registration.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

On Oct. 10 around 1 a.m., Haralson deputies were alerted about Temple officers being involved in a chase on Interstate 20 westbound.

According to the sheriffs office, deputies were told the 1999 Blue GMC Sonoma had an expired registration and that the Temple Police Department was stopping the chase.

As deputies got close to I-20, they noticed the truck and got behind it.

As deputies were passing the Waco exit, they began to initiate a traffic stop and the Sonoma reportedly began picking up speed.

TRENDING STORIES:

Officials said that Haralson deputies and Bremen officers began pursuing the truck at speeds up to 95 miles per hour.

Just past exit five, a Georgia State Patrol trooper entered the pursuit and conducted a PIT( precision immobilization technique) maneuver and stopped the chase near mile marker two.

Deputies said when the truck was coming to a stop, a man, later identified as Brandon Wayne Duff,36, of Mableton jumped out and ran across the interstate, crossed over the eastbound lanes and entered the wood line.

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A woman later identified as Sara Constance Stanley,41, of Winston, Ga., who was the passenger was arrested.

Authorities said they found a black bag that was unzipped with drugs inside from the wrecked truck.

During the search of the truck, deputies reportedly found a stolen gun out of Douglasville and more drugs. All the drugs, which included three pounds of methamphetamine, and the firearms were seized.

The sheriffs office said K-9 Janco arrived on the scene and tried to track Duff but were unable to locate him.

Duff now has warrants for trafficking methamphetamine, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, theft by receiving stolen property, and possession of Schedule II drugs.

He is also facing multiple traffic citations.

Stanley has been charged with trafficking methamphetamine, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, theft by receiving stolen property, and possession of Schedule II drugs.

IN OTHER NEWS:




Claim:

A graph shared in October 2023 showed an accurate comparison of average male height in the Netherlands, U.K., U.S.A., India, and Indonesia.

Rating:

Rating: Mostly False

Context:

The graph's y-axis did not start at 0, creating a false perspective of what the average male height was in the selected countries. However, some of the numerical height values included in the graph were accurate.

In October 2023, an image was shared on X (formerly Twitter), allegedly comparing the average male height per country, that received over 2 million views. "The scale is shockingly inaccurate," one comment under the post read. As one could see, the graph suggested that an average male from the Netherlands was about three times taller than an average male from Indonesia, which to many seemed ridiculous.

We started our research by looking for the source of the image with TinEye and Google reverse-image search tools. TinEye search results indicated that the image was first found on Reddit in a post published on Dec. 12, 2022, with a caption of "So many things wrong with this," suggesting that it was a repost rather than an original publication.

The most viral post with the image was shared by @BadDataTakes account and reached over 4.5 million views on X. "Hey, someone fixed the infamous height chart!" another sarcastic post on X read, attaching an altered version of the graph with an attempt to correct the proportions.

Hey, someone fixed the infamous height chart! pic.twitter.com/LSoG8DrbFa  Journal of Astrological Big Data Ecology (@JABDE6) August 14, 2023

We then attempted to find the "Patient" organization whose logo is featured in the lower left corner of the chart. We found an article on the topic, featuring the same logo, published in November 2022 with the title, "What's the average height for men?" on the patient.info website. "Height has been linked to life expectancy, diseases, and even educational and financial success. How do you measure up against the average height for men in your country? And what can your height and waistline tell you about your health?" the article asks.

"This is the quality of chart you would expect to be published on a dot info domain. Someone paid someone else money for this and thought it was a perfectly fine way to visualize data. I mean, where to begin," one X post on the topic read, underscoring that the website's domain name could falsely create a sense of credibility.

However, the version of the graph we found on patient.info (on the right, below) significantly differed from the one shared by various social media users (on the left). The two main differences were the fact that the graph in the patient.info article included the y-axis starting at "0," and the fact that the male figures' relative proportions were therefore much more accurate.

(X user @ShitpostGate, patient.info)

We used the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine to see if the patient.info article had been modified and we found a version of the page archived in December 2022 that, to our surprise, included the misleading graph.

(Wayback Machine, December 2022)

However, even the somewhat proportional version of the graph (archived) has been criticized online. For instance, one of the RPubs' users pointed out three main issues: the lack of sources for the presented data, the misleading visualization methods, and the unclear y-axis labeling:

The visualisation chosen had the following three main issues:

All in all, the graph was constructed in a way that misled readers, and did not provide the sources for the average height values. We found that some of the height values given were accurate, although their publication dates differed. Therefore, we have rated this claim as "Mostly False."

The example of the average male height per country graphs shows how deceptive such visualizations can be. If you find a suspicious graph on social media, feel free to send it to us so we can fact-check it.

Sources:

read, Dr Krishna Vakharia Originally published 7. mins. Whats the Average Height for Men? 22 Nov. 2022, https://patient.info/news-and-features/whats-the-average-height-for-men.

RPubs - Assignment 2. https://rpubs.com/Andy_24/1034506. Accessed 18 Oct. 2023.

Statistiek, Centraal Bureau voor de. Een studie naar de lengteontwikkeling van Nederlanders. Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek, 16 Sept. 2021, https://www.cbs.nl/nl-nl/longread/statistische-trends/2021/een-studie-naar-de-lengteontwikkeling-van-nederlanders.
Editors note: Former Vice President Mike Pence announced Saturday that he was suspending his presidential campaign.

Every U.S. president in modern memory has expressed, on the campaign trail and in office, his faith in God.

If we ever forget that we are one nation under God, then we are a nation gone under, said Ronald Reagan, with characteristic wit. Freedom is not our gift to the world, explained George W. Bush, it is Gods gift to humanity. And Barack Obama reminded us, Our job is not to ask that God respond to our notion of truth. Our job is to be true to Him, His word, and His commandments.

Greg Mably for the Deseret News

Yet there are signs that religious faith is waning in the very nation those presidents once led. According to Gallup, 81 percent of adults in the U.S. now believe in God; thats a drop of six percentage points from just six years ago. In fact, its the lowest recorded percentage since Gallup first offered the survey nearly 80 years ago. Other data reaches a similar conclusion.

What do these numbers mean for those vying for the Oval Office right now? If the country is turning less religious, are the candidates too? Or does devoutness still equal votes? We looked at all the major candidates whove announced their run for the office and measured their past statements and publicly known religious practices, and consulted scholars on the topic of piety and the quest for presidential power. All to provide a glimpse of the ways faith factors into the contenders campaigns  and how it might factor into their would-be term or terms in office.

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Why every candidate? After all, some may say that the primary is practically over, that when Americans vote in the general election on November 5 next year theyll be choosing between the current president and his immediate predecessor. Though polling in the primary for the GOP nomination favors former President Donald Trump, there are some candidates eating away at his lead, even if others dont stand a snowballs chance in Florida of beating him. (The candidate gunning for the Democratic nomination against President Joe Biden or campaigning as independents are even longer shots.) But taken together, they all represent a snapshot of what faith looks like on the campaign trail in 2024  and what it may take to hold the highest office in the land.

Joe Biden

Democratic Party

The 46th president started his inauguration day, January 20, 2021, attending mass at Washingtons Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle. Throughout his campaign against Trump, hed made his Catholic faith central, quoting Catholic hymns, paraphrasing the Book of Ecclesiastes, calling his upcoming presidency a time to heal. And hed attended mass regularly for decades, whether in D.C. or Delaware. The New York Times even called Biden perhaps the most religiously observant commander in chief in half a century. Yet when the subject of Bidens faith surfaces, it inevitably leads to conflict.

Biden has said that because of his Catholicism, he is not big on abortion. However, he also believes that Roe v. Wade and the trimester-based regulatory framework it established was the best way to balance the interests of a growing fetus with a womans autonomy. But refusal to condemn all abortions placed him at odds with church leaders. Particularly the notoriously conservative U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which in 2021 threatened to block Biden and other pro-choice Catholics from receiving Holy Communion  the fundamental sacrament of Catholic worship.

AFP via Getty Images

Despite explicit warnings from the Vatican to drop the cause, including Pope Francis himself preaching that communion is not the reward of saints, but the bread of sinners and telling Biden personally to continue receiving communion, the American Bishops pushed forward and in November 2021 released a statement called The Mystery of the Eucharist in the Life of the Church.

Bidens refusal to condemn all abortions has placed him at odds with Catholic leaders.

The document stops short of universally banning communion for Biden and similarly liberal Catholics, but it does affirm the authority of individual bishops to do so. Biden had already been denied at least once before, at a South Carolina parish in 2019, and the archbishop emeritus of Philadelphia said in 2022 that Bidens abortion views had placed him not in communion with the Catholic faith.

NurPhoto via Getty Images

In part resulting from the controversy, 63 percent of Republicans believe Biden is not too religious, or not religious at all. Conservative influencer Franklin Graham has claimed that Biden has fallen under the sway of a Godless agenda. American Family Radio has labeled him the Godless Joe Biden. But for all the pushback, Biden regularly places his Catholicism at the forefront of his presidency. After finishing up mass at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle,

Biden delivered an inauguration speech that referenced St. Augustine (a distinctly Catholic, rather than Christian, figure) to define what it means to be American  a reference that could just as easily describe Bidens relationship with his lifelong denomination: (Augustine) wrote that a people was a multitude defined by the common objects of their love.

 Ethan Bauer

Donald Trump

Republican Party

Of the dozen presidential candidates scheduled to speak at the Faith and Freedom Coalitions policy conference in June 2023, none elicited the raucous fanfare the evangelical activists in the room afforded Trump. After walking onstage to a standing ovation that lasted more than three minutes, with Lee Greenwoods God Bless the USA blaring over the cheers, Trump demonstrated why.

As we gather today, our beloved nation is teetering on the edge of tyranny, the former president said. Our enemies are waging war on faith and freedom, on science and religion, on history and tradition, on law and democracy, on God almighty himself.

Getty Images

He asserted his stance as the most pro-life president in American history by referencing his conservative Supreme Court appointments, which made the overturn of Roe v. Wade possible and stripped constitutional protection for abortion. No president has ever fought for Christians as hard as I have, he added.

Trumps deviation from the archetype of a polished politician has garnered him substantial support since he first ran for president in 2016  his initial calls to drain the swamp even became a popular GOP rallying cry. But he also deviates from the partisan norm when it comes to faith.

Trump cemented a loyalty with white Evangelicals, not on the basis of a shared religious identity .. but instead, by emphasizing cultural grievances.

While he was raised and confirmed as Presbyterian, Trump announced in 2020 that he now identifies as a nondenominational Christian, which makes him one of only four presidents to do so, including Barack Obama, Rutherford B. Hayes and Andrew Johnson. Data from Pew Research Center that same year reveals half of American adults reported either feeling unsure of Trumps religion or convinced he had none.

Yet he amassed avid evangelical Protestant support that remains present today. Donald Trump demonstrated that white evangelicals as a voting bloc are more concerned about their issues than they are about the candidates identity, says David Campbell, professor of American democracy at the University of Notre Dame. He cemented a loyalty with white evangelicals, not on the basis of a shared religious identity, which is what previous Republicans like George W. Bush had done, but instead by emphasizing the cultural grievances that many white evangelicals have and promising to defend those positions.

Despite facing multiple indictments and credible accusations of sexual assault, Trump is polling leaps and bounds above any other Republican candidate by at least 30 percentage points. And that may be due in part to his citation of God in public appearances, though its more likely because of a proven ability to push for policies evangelicals love. The overturn of Roe v. Wade, which evangelical activists had hoped for since its enactment five decades ago, being the most high-profile and lauded example.

Hes shown a willingness to wrap himself in the flag and faith in many ways, says Melissa Deckman, chief executive officer of the Public Religion Research Institute, a nonprofit that researches the intersection of religion, culture and public policy. At the end of the day, the political calculus of what the policies look like is going to matter more.

 Natalia Galicza

Ron DeSantis

Republican Party

The Florida governors faith has been a source of intrigue and mystery on the campaign trail. He is Catholic from birth, and in June, the Tampa Bay Times confirmed that DeSantis is still Catholic, and attends mass at various parishes around Floridas capital city. However, hes still not saying much about it  perhaps with good reason.

DeSantis has made no secret of trying to appeal to Evangelical voters, viewing them as key to securing the nomination. As a result, his faith talking points are often vague.

Greg Mably for the Deseret News

Our household is a Christ-centered household, he told the Christian Broadcasting Network in June. Were raising our kids with those values. He also told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about leaning on faith when his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2021. We immediately turned to prayer, he said. I got faith in the big guy upstairs.

DeSantis is similar to Biden in that hes proven willing to go against churchs teachings to suit his politics. Biden, famously, does so on abortion; likewise, DeSantis views on the death penalty and migrants are not shared by the mainstream Catholic Church.

Nevertheless, DeSantis insists that his faith guides his politics. My fighting faith is faith in God, he said during a July speech to supporters in Salt Lake City. Politics has a role, but I dont think it should be the number-one divide in our country.

 Ethan Bauer

Tim Scott

Republican Party

The South Carolina senator once said he would only run for president if he felt called by God. Finally, a few hours before his announcement, he says, he got the sign he was hoping for. I heard the Lord speak to my heart and say, This is not about you, dont confuse it, he told the Christian Broadcasting Network. Youre my vessel for this journey but its not about you. Its about the American people.

When he did announce, he made that vision central: His campaign would be all about faith  Faith in God, faith in each other, and faith in America. That last phrase forms his campaigns slogan.

Scott views his sincere Baptist faith as a major selling point compared to many rivals; he can quote scripture with the best ministers and preachers, and he does so often. His campaigns announcement video promotes his first priority as defending the Judeo-Christian tradition our nation is built on.

Scott has experience doing that already; in the late 1990s, as a member of the Charleston City Council, he fought to display the Ten Commandments in the legislative building. Hes also at ease talking about the finer points of his faith, like distinguishing between Jesus as Savior and Jesus as Lord. A Lord is how you live your life, he said in a 2020 interview. A Savior is where you go when it is over.

 Ethan Bauer

Nikki Haley

Republican Party

The former South Carolina governor and ambassador to the United Nations has something to prove. Her policies and posture as a presidential candidate, sure. But also her faith. More than any of her GOP counterparts, Haley has faced ridicule and skepticism about the authenticity of her religious background. That skepticism has not reared its head much throughout the course of the current campaign, but its shadow nevertheless trails behind her.

The daughter of Indian immigrants, Haley was raised Sikh before she converted to Christianity. That conversion has been headline fodder (Nikki Haley says shes Christian, but its complicated, Is Nikki Haley a Christian? and Why I Dont Believe In Nikki Haleys Conversion, to name but a few headlines) and a contentious topic among politicians. Everybody knew she wasnt a real Christian. Everyone knew she converted for political purposes,

Greg Mably for the Deseret News

Jake Knotts, a former South Carolina senator, told Politico two years ago. Her whole career has been stair-climbing, and becoming a Methodist was just one of those stairs.

Though she doesnt brandish her Christianity as much as some of her running mates, Haley still leans into her creed often.

She announced her presidential candidacy with a prayer led by prominent televangelist John Hagee in February, then praised the Christian Zionist, saying, I wanna be you when I grow up. Haley stresses her belief that America should return to a national purpose of faith, family and country. So while her roots differ, Haleys Judeo-Christian view of the future appears to mirror that of other party members.

 Natalia Galicza

Its not that important anymore for the individual candidates to be believers. What seems to be more important is that theyre playing a political role that would be supportive of the conservative Christian in-group.

The varied religiosity of the remaining GOP field

If there exists a litmus test that can gauge a Republican candidates success, that test would be one of faith. Pew Research Center reports more than 80 percent of Republicans identify under the umbrella of Christianity and almost 70 percent count the state of moral values among their primary concerns for the upcoming election. Religion is a hallmark for the party. Though its application changes with the landscape of religion in America in flux.

Theres been a steady erosion of the influence of religion, the dominance of religion in American society, says Paul Djupe, a political scientist at Denison University who specializes in religion and politics. For the GOP, that means consolidating religious voters under the banner of partisanship. So much so, the Republican nominees faith may not matter. Its not that important anymore for the individual candidates to be believers, Djupe says. What seems to be more important is that theyre playing a political role that would be supportive of the conservative Christian in-group.

Which could point to why the Republican candidates are so diverse in their relationship to faith. Vivek Ramaswamy, a businessman who founded a pharmaceutical company, identifies as Hindu and speaks about his faith candidly. Im Hindu. Im not Christian, and we are a nation founded on Judeo-Christian values, he said in August.

But heres what I can say with confidence: I share those same values in common. Even former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who is Catholic, comprises a faith group thats a minority in the Republican Party. Only two presidents have ever been Catholic; both were Democrats.

Other candidates like North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum stand out for unusually absent religious transparency. Burgum more than likely leans Christian and certainly leans very conservative  hes signed eight restrictive bills focused on transgender issues this year, as well as a religious freedom bill and a near-total abortion ban  but does not speak publicly of his faith.

Though there are still those who display a traditionally outward Christian identity. Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson was reprimanded by Americans United, an organization focused on the separation of church and state, for posting too many Bible verses to his official social media accounts.

Businessman Perry Johnson told the evangelical crowd at the Faith and Freedom Coalition conference in June that hes probably too conservative for this group and Jesus Christ is a huge part of his life.

Even Larry Elder, a conservative talk show host who speaks less of his convictions than Johnson or Hutchinson, has said the Bible is the greatest piece of literature ever written. All your answers are there.  Its the foundation of who and what I am.

The dominant component these days of the Republican Party, says Djupe, is catering to their conservative Christian constituency. What connects all these candidates is their willingness to cater to an evangelical votership  even when their own faith may vary.

 Natalia Galicza

Jesus does not fit under one particular school of thought, one ideology, one politics, because the love that he exemplifies is too rich and too deep to be contained by any human construction.

Cornel West

Independent

No candidate in the 2024 field boasts more overt religious credentials than Cornel West. A professor of philosophy and Christian practice at Columbia Universitys Union Theological Seminary, West has also taught religion at Princeton, Yale and Harvard, and co-founded the Network of Spiritual Progressives. As a Protestant in the Black Christian tradition, West has frequently criticized Christian nationalism.

WireImage

The independent candidate also expressed reverence for many religious traditions, including the Russian Orthodox Church and Islam, that prioritize a sense of spirituality and shared humanity outside financial gain and personal success, warning of the commodification of everybody and everything and offering spirituality as a means to combat it.

West defines himself as a revolutionary Christian, concerned with Jesus teachings on love and justice. Jesus  does not fit under one particular school of thought, one ideology, one politics, he told America Magazine in 2019, because the love that he exemplifies is too rich and too deep to be contained by any human construction.

Ethan Bauer

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Independent

and Marianne Williamson

Democrat

Though Kennedy and Williamson were raised within religious traditions, both found their own way to God in adulthood.

For Kennedy, an independent candidate and nephew of the nations first Catholic president, that might sound surprising. His late father, former U.S. Attorney General Bobby Kennedy, has been described as the most-Catholic Kennedy.

My fathers faith was the faith of Dorothy Day, of the Gospels, his son would later tell Vatican News. The church should be an instrument of justice and kindness around the world. Kennedy has said he sometimes attended mass twice a day as a child, but as an adult, he struggled with drug and alcohol addiction for 14 years, causing him to stray from his faith. In a July 2023 interview with MIT research scientist and podcaster Lex Fridman, he said he was only able to overcome his addiction with Gods help. I had a spiritual awakening, and my desire for drugs and alcohol was lifted. Miraculously, he said. And for me, it was as much of a miracle as if I had walked on water.

Now, he added, every decision he makes has a moral dimension.

Williamson, the best-selling author and spiritual guru challenging Biden for the Democratic nomination, grew up in the Jewish tradition but she says she had her own awakening upon reading the 1976 book A Course in Miracles.

Written by a psychology professor who believed it had been dictated to her by Jesus, the book is not explicitly Christian, but it borrows from the teachings of Jesus and other religious traditions to emphasize the spiritual power of love. Williamson built on this foundation in her own books, and eventually became spiritual adviser to Oprah Winfrey. In a 2012 interview, she defined God as an all-encompassing love that is the source of the reality of all, and the being through which I am.

Mother Jones has called her the high priestess of pop religion, but whatever one thinks of her beliefs, theyre undeniably the root of her campaign. She once likened her 2020 bid to the Biblical story of David and Goliath, where she would slay the giant of Donald Trump with a slingshot of love. In announcing her 2024 candidacy, she built on that theme. Its time, she said, for an awakening.

 Ethan Bauer

This story appears in the November issue of Deseret Magazine. Learn more about how to subscribe.
Aerial view of flooding at Bettws Cedewain, Powys, pictured on Saturday

Flood defences in a north Wales village were not fully utilised before homes were left ankle-deep in water, Natural Resources Wales (NRW) has said.

The fire service and a farmer's tractor were used to rescue people from their homes in Trevalyn, near Wrexham, on Sunday morning.

Residents claimed a slatted barrier and pump, usually used before water levels rise, were not employed.

NRW said it was investigating why the defences were not fully used.

Trevalyn was hit by flooding after heavy rain brought by Storm Babet

Operations manager Iwan Williams said his team had worked all weekend to try and reduce the effects of the extreme weather.

He said: "We're currently looking into how and why our assets were not utilised fully to reduce the effects of the extreme weather."

North Wales Fire and Rescue Service said flood waters were waist-deep in one house on Almere Ferry Road, while several others were ankle-deep in water.

The nearby River Alyn has seen record water levels since Storm Babet first hit early on Friday.

In England, residents of some 500 homes in a Nottinghamshire town have been urged to evacuate due to flooding and record river levels.

Record levels have been recorded on the River Alyn which led to homes flooding near Wrexham

A severe flooding warning has been removed after river levels started to recede at Llandrinio, Powys, on Sunday

NRW had warned it could take some time before water from upper catchment areas reached flood plains.

In Wales, one flood warning still remains, covering the River Dee at Almere, Erbistock, Plas Devon and Trevalyn Meadows, near Wrexham.

The land around Trevalyn is 7m (23ft) above sea level and is known to be at risk of flooding.

On Sunday morning, NRW lifted a severe flood warning covering Llandrinio in Powys where the rivers Severn and Vyrnwy meet.

Rail operator Transport for Wales said service disruption was expected to continue throughout Sunday following disruption caused by flooding.

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VPN services, stolen identification documents and fake social media accounts: these are some of the methods North Korean hackers have been using to deceive US companies into hiring them as IT remote workers, the FBI warns.

Despite not being certain when such a campaign began, investigators believe thousands of IT freelancers from North Korea have been managing to get a job in US firms over the last 5 years, at least, by concealing their identities. Workers are believed to use this money to finance Kim Jong Uns weapons, steal company secrets and plant malware.

Following the latest evidence, both US and South Korean authorities have updated their guidelines to help employers avoid hiring North Korean agents as freelance workers.

FBI guidance on DPRK IT workers

"North Korea has flooded the global marketplace with ill-intentioned information technology workers," said Jay Greenberg, FBI agent in charge of the St. Louis DivisionThe Register reported.

As the latest effort to clamp down on North Korean hackers' activities, Greenberg's division managed to seize around $1.5 million and 17 web domain names used in the deceptive campaign as part of the investigation. However, workers linked to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (SPRK) infiltrating companies is believed to still be ongoing.

"This scheme is so prevalent that companies must be vigilant to verify whom they're hiring," he said.

According to authorities, malicious North Korean IT workers have been using several techniques to deceive employers while concealing their real identity. Stolen or counterfeited identity documents were used for passing online identity checks with ease. Hackers are thought to have even paid US individuals to attend online interviews and video-conferences in their place.

On a more techy level, they use virtual private networks to spoof their IP address location and boost their anonymity. Alongside this, they might also create fake social media accounts and/or fake company websites to make them appear more legitimate.

"At a minimum, the FBI recommends that employers take additional proactive steps with remote IT workers to make it harder for bad actors to hide their identities," went on saying Greenberg.

As part of the new recommendations, authorities suggest to watch out for any suspicious behaviors. These include repeated requests for prepayment accompanied by threats to release proprietary source code, continuing refusal to appear on camera or to take drug tests, use of ever-changing freight addresses instead of their home addresses, and more.

The FBI also recommends employers to do a background check online to assess if the same identity is associated with multiple different profiles, while keeping records of all interactions with potential employees.

At an online security level, employers should always require their freelancers to turn off their private VPN when accessing company networks. Firm owners are also urged to put in place a strict zero-trust cybersecurity approach, which refrains from granting access to sensitive proprietary information to remote workers whenever possible.

It's also worth reminding that, despite the tech sector being the biggest target due to higher average salaries, it's just one of the fields among which North Korean hackers operateJohn Hultquist, the head of threat intelligence at the cybersecurity firm Mandiant, told the Associated Press.

Greenberg said: "Without due diligence, companies risk losing money or being compromised by insider threats they unknowingly invited inside their systems."
Newly-returned Afghan refugees are pictured in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, Oct. 21, 2023. More than 12,000 Afghan refugees have returned to south Afghanistan from Pakistan over the past months, deputy head of Refugees and Repatriation Directorate in south Afghanistan's Kandahar province Momin Agha said. (Photo by Arghand/Xinhua)

SPIN BOLDAK, Afghanistan, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- More than 12,000 Afghan refugees have returned to south Afghanistan from Pakistan over the past months, deputy head of Refugees and Repatriation Directorate in south Afghanistan's Kandahar province Momin Agha said.

According to the official, on average 820 families, or more than 4,000 individuals, return home from Pakistan via the Spin Boldak border crossing that connects Kandahar to Baluchistan of Pakistan each week, and the number of returnees is on the rise.

More than 2.5 million Afghan refugees have been living in Pakistan, with the same number in Iran, who have escaped foreign invasions and conflicts in their homeland Afghanistan over the past four decades.

Reportedly, more than 200,000 Afghan refugees have returned to their homeland from neighboring Pakistan and Iran over the past year. 

Newly-returned Afghan refugees are pictured in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, Oct. 21, 2023. More than 12,000 Afghan refugees have returned to south Afghanistan from Pakistan over the past months, deputy head of Refugees and Repatriation Directorate in south Afghanistan's Kandahar province Momin Agha said. (Photo by Arghand/Xinhua)

This photo taken on Oct. 21, 2023 shows the belongings of newly-returned Afghan refugees in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. More than 12,000 Afghan refugees have returned to south Afghanistan from Pakistan over the past months, deputy head of Refugees and Repatriation Directorate in south Afghanistan's Kandahar province Momin Agha said. (Photo by Arghand/Xinhua)
Stugna ATGM on an American HMMWV off-road vehicle

The Ukrainian military has adapted the domestically manufactured Stugna anti-tank missile system to fit on a U.S. Humvee off-road vehicle chassis, bolstering their capabilities to target Russian invasion forces.

The Ukrainian militarys General Staff released photographs of this adaptation on Oct. 22, showcasing the setup created by the Ivan Bohun 1st Special Purpose Brigade.

Read also: $300 million US aid package to include Avenger AA systems and Zuni rockets

Reporters from the specialized publication Defense Express speculate that the images may reveal the use of the 2021-introduced Amulet launch system. Notably, they observed a distinctive aspect of this adaptation: the control panel screen displays full-color imagery.

Public Affairs Service of the 1st Special Forces Brigade "Ivan Bohun"

Public Affairs Service of the 1st Special Forces Brigade "Ivan Bohun"

Public Affairs Service of the 1st Special Forces Brigade "Ivan Bohun"

Public Affairs Service of the 1st Special Forces Brigade "Ivan Bohun"

While the photos unmistakably show the use of a single control panel to operate firing from both launchers, whether this constitutes a fully serial development or merely a field adaptation by Ukrainian soldiers remains uncertain.

Read also:

The Ukrainian military has relied on the Stugna-P anti-tank missile system since the start of Russias conflict with Ukraine, commencing in 2014. Following a full-scale invasion in 2022, it has been employed on multiple occasions against the vehicles of the invading forces, notably in urban combat scenarios, and it has also been used to shoot down several Russian Ka-52 attack helicopters.

Read also: Ukraines marines insist counteroffensive on southern front going well  NYT

The Stugna-P is equipped with 130mm caliber guided missiles equipped with various types of warheads. It boasts a target detection range of up to 6.5 kilometers for tanks. The maximum range for engaging targets extends to 5-5.5 kilometers during daylight hours and up to 3 kilometers during the night.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
The first twenty trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered the Gaza Strip on 21 October through the Rafah checkpoint on the border with Egypt.

Source: The Times of Israel

Details: The Rafah checkpoint was reportedly closed again after the trucks from the Egyptian Red Crescent, which is responsible for delivering aid from various UN agencies, had passed through it.

More than 200 trucks were waiting on the Egyptian side.

As the aid trucks entered through Rafah, Palestinian Americans and other dual nationals rushed to the checkpoint from the Gaza Strip, but they were not let through.

Embassies had told their citizens in Gaza to be ready to cross the border, but crowds of frustrated Palestinians with American, Canadian, German and British passports waited in vain for hours, at least for the fifth time this week, the Times of Israel said.

UN aid agencies said the first convoy of 20 aid trucks that arrived in Gaza on Saturday was "only a small beginning".

A joint statement by agencies including the World Health Organisation, the World Food Program and others said that more than 1.6 million people are in dire need of humanitarian assistance.

Meanwhile, Doctors Without Borders says Gaza's health care system is "facing collapse".

At the same time, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) released thermal imaging footage on 21 October showing failed rocket launches from Gaza landing on the territory of the Strip.

IDF thermal footage shows failed rocket launches from Gaza, landing short in the Strip. According to the IDF, more than 550 rockets have fallen short since Oct. 7. pic.twitter.com/snjY8Y1rTx  Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) October 21, 2023

The IDF says more than 550 missiles fired at Israel since 7 October have fallen short, killing Palestinians.

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Three people were hospitalized with burns after fuel tanks burst into flames during a high school concert in Texas, officials say.

The fire happened at about 5 p.m. outside at Austin High School, on Saturday, Oct. 21, Austin-Travis County EMS posted on Twitter, now rebranded as X.

The school was hosting an annual Monster Concert & Carnival, featuring performances by the high school orchestra, plus games and food, including grilled burgers, according to the orchestras website.

Firefighters said an accidental flash fire from gasoline burned three people.

All were adults, Austin-Travis County EMS said on X. Two were seriously burned, one of whom suffered life-threatening injuries, while the third person suffered minor injuries, the post said.

Officials havent said what caused the fuel tanks to catch fire.

4-year-old grabs loaded gun out of school employees backpack, Texas officials say

Driver speeding from cops hits SUV, killing 8-year-old and 2 others, Texas police say

Warehouse full of live ammo catches fire, Texas firefighters say. The house shook

Dog nearly kills owner in attack after being fed THC gummy, Michigan official says
This story ran in the Free Press on April 3, 1971.

For a while Thursday night, the principal of Willow Run High School thought he was going to be burned to death.

He had been stopped on a dark, lonely road by a group of black-hooded men.

They pulled him out of his car and knocked him to the ground. He could see a five-gallon bucket and thought it was filled with gasoline.

"I thought they were going to set fire to my car," said Dr. R. Wiley Brownlee. "When the whole group walked back from the car, I thought, 'My God, they're going to set fire to ME.' "

R. Wiley Brownlee, principal of Willow Run High School, manages a smile as he returned to Willow Run High after being tarred and feathered by the Klu Klux Klan.

Then one of the men lifted the bucket and trickled thick tar over Brownlee.

"I felt the sticky garbage all over me," he said. "I was so relieved. I thought: 'They're just going to tar and feather me.' "

And they did.

Ambushed on lovers lane

Dr. Brownlee, who is white, has been principal of Willow Run High School near Ypsilanti since last September. Twice this year, the school has closed after racial battles between students, and bad feelings exist throughout the blue-collar community.

According to students, Brownlee, 42, has stirred emotion and resentment among some parents by strongly endorsing racial equality at his school.

Thursday night, he attended a school board meeting to talk about a special conference he is conducting this weekend where parents, faculty and students will discuss communication between Blacks and whites.

The Ku Klux Klan shows its presence during anti-busing action on Sept. 11, 1971, the same year members of the group assaulted Willow Run High School's Brownlee.

At 10:15 p.m., Dr. Brownlee started home in his Volkswagen Squareback. He lives 15 minutes from the school administration building in neighboring Canton Township.His route takes him along a long, dark stretch of road, on which stand a few farmhouses.

"It's sort of a lovers' lane," he said. "There's always a car parked at the side of the road. Only this time, the parked car was partially blocking it."

When he got within 30 feet of the parked car, the door on the passenger side swung open and a man stepped out in front of Brownlee's car, he said.

When he turned around, said Brownlee, I saw his hood.

Flasbhack to 1965: Dr. King, John Lewis, Jimmy Hoffa attended the Detroit funeral for Viola Liuzzo

Held at gunpoint

It was a high pointed hood with holes cut out for eyes, similar to the kind a Ku Klux Klansman wears. But it was black instead of white.

The hooded man pointed a shotgun at Brownlee. "He stood at the front bumper and pointed it at me and said: 'Shut 'em off, shut 'em off.' "

Brownlee turned off his lights and got out of the car as ordered.

Then he noticed another hooded man with a pistol, standing on the other side of the car.

This man ordered Brownlee away from the car, poking him in the ribs with the gun.

"That made me very submissive, said Brownlee, "to say the least."

The first man put his shotgun against Brownlee's ear. "I got very cold and clammy," Brownlee said.

The trio walked about 30 feet down the road. A second car had pulled up behind them with its lights out. Brownlee said he saw no people in the car.

Something hit him on the back' of the head, and he crumpled. "I laid in a fetal position," he said. "They thought I was unconscious, but I was being submissive.

This was when the men poured tar over him.

"They poured it up and down me, but they didn't put any on my head," Brownlee said.

Next time: will wear overalls

He couldn't see well, but he said he thought four to six men were standing around him. One of the men shook what looked like a bag over him.

"It was so dusty," he said. "I started to choke. It was like ashes or dirt and feathers."

As the men started to leave, Brownlee heard one of them ask: "Did you get it?"

"It" was apparently Brownlee's ignition key, because the key was not in the car when he got back to it.

He retrieved an extra key hidden in his car, put some newspapers on the seat, and stripped off his new blue double-breasted blazer. He drove back to the board meeting for help, and was taken to the high school, where he tried to remove the tar with a solvent.

He got most of it off. Friday morning, as he sat in his office, the only tar left was on his hands.

Robert Miles, former grand dragon of the Michigan Klu Klux Klan, addresses a meeting of the Michigan Civil Rights Commission. Miles had previously served a prison sentence after being convicted of consipiracy in the assault on Dr. R. Wiley Brownlee.

"I'm going to board meetings in overalls after this," he said.

"They were not students," Brownlee said firmly. "By their size, voices and behavior, they were men. They planned it. They knew what they were doing every minute."

They were also white. "I could see their skin around their eyes," he said.

Brownlee received a threat three months ago at a school board meeting. A man came up and handed him a KKK card.

"We kind of joked about it, but one guy said that's how they give you a threat.

"I know who he is, and so do the State Police," Brownlee added.

A student dedication

Willow Run has experienced student unrest all year, as have many high schools. "It's been racially oriented," Brownlee said, "in contrast to SDS or politically oriented unrest.

"We haven't any demands. Our relationship with students is open. That doesn't mean they're happy, but we meet with them.

"The right-wing element in our community is unhappy with the way I handle the school. The kids aren't, but this parental group is. I wouldn't say they're John Birchers, but philosophically they agree (with Birchers).

There's deep hatred among some groups. You've got five percent of the people causing 95 percent of the problems.

"A lot of this comes out because of bewilderment. People aren't sure what to do.

"You've got to get the garbage out on the table before you can come up with a solution. That's got to be the beginning. (You can't) pretend it's not there, or pretend it's hid, or you say let's talk about something else."

Many students at Willow Run seem to agree. Tyrone Lewis, 17, a senior with a tall Afro haircut, backs Brownlee. "When he came here, he had his hands full," Lewis said.

About 11 o'clock Friday morning, two girls walked shyly into Brownlee's office to ask him if he would be at the Saturday night performance of Willow Run Drama Club's production of "Lilies of the Field."

"We don't promise it'll be very good," said Debbie Fowler, "but we'd like to dedicate the performance to you."

Three men pleaded guilty to crimes in connection with the assault on Brownlee. A jury convicted one man of conspiracy. He was Robert Miles, former grand dragon of the Ku Klux Klan in Michigan and a well-known racial terrorist in the era. In 1971, Miles and four associates were convicted of planning the bombing of school buses to be used for court-ordered desegregation in Pontiac. He spent six years in federal prison for the Willow Run and Pontiac crimes and died in 1992. In 1973, the Willow Run School Board fired Brownlee, who still enjoyed considerable support from students. He attributed his problems to an archconservative wing of the white community.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: In 1971, the KKK targeted Willow Run High School's principal
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Some residents whose homes were flooded during Storm Babet will not be home in time for Christmas, a councillor has warned.

Gavin Nicol said the full extent of the damage in the Angus town of Brechin had yet to be established.

The red warnings covering parts of Scotland have expired and conditions improved throughout Sunday.

But a yellow ice warning for most of the country will be in place from 21:00 to 09:00 on Monday.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) said river levels across the north and north east remain high.

A number of flood alerts have been issued but no rain is forecast for the next two days.

And the A90 remains closed between Dundee and Stonehaven as experts inspect the road and bridge structures.

A boy rests after emergency services assisted in the evacuation of a family from their home in Brechin on Friday

Mr Nicol, who represents the Brechin and Edzell Ward, said parts of the town were still coated in contaminated sludge and silt.

Asked when some people would be get back into their homes he told BBC Scotland's The Sunday Show: "It will be an extensive period.

"It will take a fair bit of sorting.

"These houses won't be ready by Christmas.

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Mr Nicol admitted the town's flood defences, which were upgraded in 2016, now need to be reviewed.

He said: "The weather conditions are changing.

"Probably the goalposts have shifted now and they are going to have to look at new measures now and ways of doing it."

The councillor said one possible option would be to plant more trees in the surrounding glens to restrict the flow of water.

Mr Nicol added: "I am hoping the first minister will take pity on us and give us more money for Angus Council."

Humza Yousaf is expected to visit the area on Monday to thank those involved in the flood response, including the emergency services and local volunteers.

Two people died during the storm in Scotland and searches continue for a man reported missing to police on Friday, who is said to have been trapped in a vehicle in floodwater in Marykirk, Aberdeenshire.

A car pictured on a bridge washed away near Dundee following Saturday's torrential rain

A 57-year-old woman died on Thursday after being swept into the Water of Lee, Glen Esk, and a 56-year-old man was killed the same day after a falling tree hit a van near Forfar in Angus.

Two people have also died in England, including a woman in her 80s in Chesterfield.

Sepa's flood duty manager Vincent Fitzsimons said: "The last week has been very challenging for people in Scottish communities, who have experienced another severe weather event.

"While the weather is an improving picture today, and rivers will continue to fall throughout the day, it's important to remember that there are still hazards caused by flood waters and it's important not to put yourself at risk."

Energy firm SSEN said it restored power to 37,000 customers during the storm and fixed more than 450 faults across its network.

It also confirmed households impacted by power cuts for more than 12 hours were entitled to 30 per person, for every day without power, to cover food and drink costs.

SSEN urged customers to keep hold of receipts and claim costs back via its website.

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ScotRail said most services would be back to normal on Monday but some may start later in the morning in Fife.

It added the Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh line will remain closed until at least Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Aberdeen - Elgin route has re-opened but the Aberdeen - Dundee line remains closed.

Customers are advised to check the ScotRail website before they travel.

Scott Prentice, interim commercial director, said: "Unfortunately, we are still seeing some extremely challenging conditions on the rail network in Fife, the northeast, and the far north caused by the most rainfall experienced in Scotland since 1891.

"Our first priority is always the safety of customers and staff, and we won't run services until we are absolutely sure the lines are safe."

Meanwhile, the operators of a North Sea drilling platform said it was "secure" despite losing four of its eights anchors during Storm Babet.

Elsewhere, residents in the Aberdeen suburb of Peterculter were advised to leave their homes on Saturday in case of flooding.

Serious damage has been caused in the Marykirk area, where a man was reported missing

The Scottish government's resilience room met on Saturday to discuss the "exceptional" levels of rain that had fallen in parts of the country.

The meeting, chaired by Justice Secretary Angela Constance, heard several areas were still dealing with severe flooding while some rivers remain at hazardous levels.

Ms Constance said: "The storm has caused significant damage and, while flooding is still occurring, it is not expected to be as serious as over the last 24 hours.

"The impact, however, will be felt in communities for some time to come."

She added that while many local authorities were still responding to the immediate impacts of the storm, thoughts were now turning to recovery.

Ms Constance said: "Over the coming days and weeks, we will stay in close contact with local authorities to support the people and businesses affected."
LAKELAND, Fla. (WFLA)  A Florida man was arrested after multiple people saw him moving a murder victims body, authorities said.

The Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office said at about 11:20 p.m. Saturday, deputies were called to Deeson Road in Lakeland for a shooting. Investigators said the victim went to a nearby property and met with suspect Shannon Owens, 31, of Winter Haven.

A gunshot was heard in the area shortly after the two individuals met, according to the sheriffs office. Several witnesses saw Owens trying to remove the victims body  which had an upper body gunshot wound, the sheriffs office said.

Detectives said the witnesses detained Owens until first responders got to the scene.

I commend the work of our deputies and detectives who worked hard to determine what happened and hold the person responsible for this murder accountable, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said.

Deputies said Owens faces charges of second-degree murder, felon in possession of a firearm, and several out-of-county warrants. Authorities did not release the victims name but said the investigation is still open and active.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.
With more than 1,000 miles of beaches, world-class attractions, and regular rocket launches that propel humans into space and expand the frontier of human knowledge, tourism turned Florida from a rural backwater to a national and international economic powerhouse. While tourists advanced Florida into the 20th Century, the states emerging tech sector will drive it into the 21st Century, bringing fresh opportunities that promise to boost prosperity for every Floridian and help America maintain its global competitive edge.

Last year alone, technology companies created 22,000 new jobs for workers in the Sunshine State, highlighting the integral role the sector plays in supporting families and growing the economy. This figure is continuing to head upward, with an additional 3.5 percent increase in tech employment expected by the end of this year. Nationally, the tech industry contributes nearly two trillion dollars to Americas economy, making up approximately one-tenth of our direct economic value.

Dr. Edward Longe

Several of Americas biggest tech companies, such as Apple, Meta, and Google, have set up offices in Florida, working hand in glove with innovators and entrepreneurs from Pensacola to Key West to develop an ecosystem that has created new goods and services for consumers and significant contributions to Americas national wealth.

Cutting-edge advancements, such as the recent evolution of artificial intelligence, prove that the digital revolution has only just begun. The growth of these technologies promises to bring in a vast array of job opportunities. The World Economic Forum estimates that the growth of artificial intelligence could create 97 million new jobs. Florida will only get its share of that staggering number if the Legislature continues its light-touch regulatory approach that has allowed innovation to flourish.

Just as the creation of the printing press generated societal fears, new technologies are generating anxieties across the country. However, acquiescing to these fears and crafting onerous regulations can hinder innovation, quell healthy competition, and strip communities of promised prosperity. Whats more, harmful regulations pose risks to the stability of our economy and can take jobs directly from hard-working Floridians.

It is essential that we safeguard the free markets that are the hallmark of our nations economic success. Enabling innovation and fostering competition delivers unmatched value to consumers.

Furthermore, unnecessary regulations would create a void that China, our fiercest and most eager competitor, will exploit to dominate the tech space and undermine our national security. Imagine our beloved Apple and Android devices being replaced by Huawei, potentially sending sensitive information on every American back to Beijing and the Chinese Communist Party.

In the modern world, technological power translates to geopolitical influence and enhanced military capabilities. In order to protect Americas geopolitical dominance, lawmakers in Congress and in statehouses across the country must prioritize passing legislation that encourages innovation and strengthens our nation's national security.

Not only will this ensure sustainable economic progress, but it will also reinforce our competitive edge on the global stage. By nurturing innovation and strengthening our technological infrastructure, we can thwart any attempts by China or other competitors to seize dominance in the rapidly evolving tech landscape. In today's interconnected and fast-paced environment, safeguarding our national interests necessitates a proactive and strategic approach to legislative action.

As Florida moves into the 2024 legislative session, lawmakers must recognize the invaluable role tech companies and innovators play in driving prosperity, job creation, and our national security. Through fostering a legislative environment that encourages and nurtures our tech industry, we can ensure Florida remains an economic powerhouse and allow the nation to stay ahead in this fiercely competitive landscape.

Dr. Edward Longe currently directs the Center for Technology and Innovation at the James Madison Institute, a free-market think-tank based in Tallahassee, Florida.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Florida's emerging tech sector will drive it into 21st Century
The Ford Transmission Plant in Sharonville will lay off nearly 400 more workers, UAW Local 863 President Tod Turner told our media partner in Cincinnati, WCPO.

Approximately 360 workers will be laid off by the company on Monday.

Last week, more than 300 workers were laid off and now, another 360 workers jobs are at risk.

>>RELATED: Hundreds of workers laid off at Ford plant south of Dayton

The workers who were laid off last week worked in multiple departments across all three shifts. The majority of those laid off worked the midnight shift, WCPO reported

It is unknown what departments or shifts will experience layoffs on Monday, Oct. 23.

Turner said these layoffs are a direct response to the continued strikes at the Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville, WCPO reported.

When the strike is resolved, Turner expects all the workers who have been or will be laid off, to be recalled.

Were going to have a rough week. I mean, close to 700 of our members are out starting on Monday that have been affected by this, Turner said.

Sharonvilles plant has not been called to join the strike, however, about 8,700 union members went on strike at the Louisville plant last Wednesday.

The Louisville plant is Fords largest plant in the world. It has assembly lines that build multiple Ford vehicles, and then use transmissions from plants like Sharonvilles, WCPO reported.

>>UAW breaks pattern of adding factories to strikes on Fridays, says more plants could come any time

Turner said he was surprised the Sharonville plant was not part of the initial strikes, especially because it makes the transmission for one of the most popular Ford vehicles: the Ford F-250.

Our media partner, WCPO reached out to Ford for a comment on the latest round of layoffs, but they didnt receive a response.

A Ford representative blamed previous layoffs in Sharonville on Louisvilles strike because they use the majority of transmissions produced in Sharonville, WCPO reported.








FORT WORTH, Texas - Fort Worth Police are looking for three suspects they say stole a car from a woman and her two children, one of whom was still inside the vehicle.

The car was taken from Orange Avenue, near Biddison Street and 5th Avenue, with a 1-year-old baby inside.

The child was later found and returned to its mother.

People who live in the area where this occurred say this is usually a quiet neighborhood and the crime is very concerning.

Police were called to the neighborhood just before 1 p.m. on Saturday.

The woman told officers three suspects approached her car and began attacking her 12-year-old child who was also in the car.

"It was two males and one female, like I said, they got into an altercation. They actually assaulted the minor and then decided to take that vehicle that that minor and a one-year-old child was in," said Officer Buddy Calzada of the Fort Worth Police Department.

The kidnapping happened nearby te family's home.

Afterward, the trio fled the area in the mother's car with the baby inside.

"They stole the vehicle with that one-year-old child in the vehicle that created the kidnapping call," said Officer Calzada.

The child was found 12 miles away on Chamita Lane unharmed and then returned to their mother.

"Thankfully officers were able to locate the infant unharmed and returned the child back to the mother," Calzada said.

The 12-year-old child was treated for their injuries.

Meanwhile, police continue to search for the three suspects.

"I can tell you that we do use our FLOCK cameras here with our Real Time Crime Center. And they are actively trying to locate the vehicle still," said Officer Calzada.

Police are still investigating the suspects' original intent.
WORCESTER  When voters fill precincts this fall for the election, their list of School Committee candidates is going to look smaller compared to past years.

While all School Committee members were previously at-large, there are now only two seats out of the nine-member body. The rest, labeled Districts A through F, will be represented by one member and the mayor serving as the chair of the committee.

The four members running for the two at-large seats include incumbent members Laura Clancey, Sue Mailman and Tracy OConnell Novick, as well as Maureen Binienda, the former Worcester Public Schools superintendent.

The four candidates shared why they decided to run, their priorities and why voters should choose them on Nov. 7.

Laura Clancey

Laura Clancey

Age: 45

Education: Bachelor's degree from Worcester State University, M.A. from American International College

Occupation: Counselor working with youth in juvenile system throughout Central Massachusetts

As a parent of students in the school district, an educator working in schools throughout the region and an incumbent member of the School Committee, choosing to run for reelection was an easy decision for Laura Clancey.

Drawing from all of those perspectives, she said, have helped guide her work as a current member and helped shape her priorities as a candidate.

There's a lot of things that I'm well versed in, Clancey said. Ive helped create some policies and looked at budgetary items as our top priorities for the school district, and those experiences that I've had with those things have been very important.

Because she works in schools and the nature of her work, as well as being a parent of children in the district, Clancey said school safety is her first priority.

She said she has a broad spectrum of what is going on in schools but is looking forward to receiving the safety audit in November so she and the committee can see what the district needs to prioritize.

She is also focused on being a sounding board for families and maintaining close communication with them.

Clancey said people feel comfortable reaching out to her with their concerns, not only because she is on the committee but because she has knowledge about things like working with students who have individualized education plans or helping students with behavior issues.

I think people feel very confident reaching out to me and asking for some help. Im very responsive to people when they reach out, Clancey said. And because Im a parent, and because of my role as an educator, I'm very well versed in all the hot topics that surround the school district.

One of the reasons she decided to run for School Committee in the past was because she felt there was a lack of parent voice. Although the committee has improved since then, and developed into a strong group with diverse voices, she wants to make sure that is maintained.

She also wants to continue working to support the superintendent, she said.

What they were able to accomplish in that one year was incredible to me, and I think supporting the initiatives is so important, because we've seen huge changes in our district, Clancey said. Her (Superintendent Rachel Monarrez's) administration team is moving forward and I want to help keep that momentum going.

And while she is coming up against two of her co-members and a former superintendent, Clancey feels confident voters will vote for her this fall. Not only because of her priorities and the work shes done since becoming a member, but also because she brings an interesting perspective to the committee.

Im in the school buildings, Im a parent, Im also PTO (parent teacher organization) president at Nelson Place (School), Clancey said. I know our students, I know today's students, I understand.

Maureen Binienda

Maureen Binienda

Age: 69

Education: B.S. and master's from Fitchburg State University, master's from Harvard University Graduate School of Education

Occupation: Interim superintendent of Easthampton Public School District

With nearly five decades of experience in education and a career that has included stints as a teacher, principal and superintendent, the next natural step, Maureen Binienda said, is School Committee member.

And although she is coming up against three incumbent members for one of two at-large seats, the former superintendent of Worcester Public Schools feels confident that both her previous work in the district and community and her priorities will push voters to cast their ballot for her in November.

What I know most about is school, Binienda said. I have so much experience in so many areas that I draw from every single day. And it's because of the time I spent in Worcester Public Schools and the various positions I held.

Four of Biniendas priorities are looking at policies to improve school safety, developing academic success and improving equity in schools, budget accountability and then strengthening school-community partnerships.

Having also worked as interim superintendent for two other districts in Massachusetts, Binienda said she has different safety policies and protocols Worcester could draw from to improve safety for students and staff.

They have to have a safe school environment so that staff can teach and kids can learn, she said.

Binienda also wants to focus on making sure that students are being given the tools and resources they need to be academically successful and that they have equitable access to those things.

One of her top priorities, she said, is focusing on the budget and making sure that is being allocated appropriately toward the districts priorities, while also meeting the needs of students and staff.

Going from Worcesters large budget, to Quaboags $21 million and Easthamptons $30 million budget, is amazing to me because, even with all of that, there still isnt enough, Binienda said. Budget is so key to what opportunities we can provide for students, and that has to be a priority.

But one way to make sure the budget is meeting the needs of the district and its students and staff, she said, is working with the community and forming partnerships with organizations and businesses.

Those partnerships can be helpful with providing the district resources and also creating opportunities for internships, volunteering and community services, and networking with professionals and politicians.

But while she hopes people will vote for her because of her priorities and vision of what she wants to achieve as a School Committee member, Binienda also hopes voters look to her experience.

Certainly some of the other candidates have limited experience, but none of them have worked 48 years in public education, Binienda said. Not one person has my experience.

Sue Mailman

Sue Mailman

Age: 61

Education: MBA from Northeastern University

Occupation: Owner and president of Coghlin Electrical Contractors

While shes proud of the work she accomplished in her first two years as a School Committee member, incumbent Sue Mailman said it wasnt enough to truly see the impact of everything she and the other members have done thus far.

She wants to help push the district forward, she said, and is excited about the possibilities the future brings with both new district leadership and also the members due to join with the new districts.

Everybody is running to make our system the best it can be, and I am very excited by these people, and I enjoy working with them, Mailman said. Why wouldn't you want to be part of helping?

She said that many of her priorities have not changed since first running for School Committee, with her continuing to focus on forming and maintaining community partnerships, building an educator workforce and making sure the superintendent has the ability to do the work the committee hired her to do.

Which is really to transform this district, so that families understand that they're sending their kids to schools that are just excellent, Mailman said.

Additionally, she said, vocational education remains at the front and center of her mind. She said she wants to make sure that Worcester Technical High School, as well as the districts comprehensive high schools, continue to see their vocational programs evolve and improve.

Mailman wants to make sure programs are offering students job and career readiness opportunities, including those outside of the traditional four-year degree. She also wants to see other things available to students like early college programs and project-based learning opportunities to help keep them engaged and succeeding academically.

Her next priority is to look into the districts crumbling buildings and not only push people to pay attention but also to invest into repairing them. She said there are opportunities due to things like the Student Opportunity Act and infrastructure dollars.

She also pointed to legislation proposed by Sen. Ed Markey that would invest $1.6 trillion over the next decade into the nations public school system for revitalization and upgrades.

Were all on board with that, Mailman said. This is the time and place to make a difference with this and get everyone else on board.

Mailman said that when voters cast their ballots this fall, they not only look toward her willingness to collaborate with people but also her experience.

I think what sets me apart is my experience  my business experience, my community partnership experience  and my willingness and interest and excitement about working with the next generation of elected leaders, Mailman said. I have time in my life to be able to devote the time I think these jobs take.

Tracy O'Connell Novick

Tracy OConnell Novick

Age: 50

Education: B.A. from Smith College, M.A. in teaching from Boston University

Occupation: Field director for Central Massachusetts, focused on school finance, Massachusetts Association of School Committees

For Tracy OConnell Novick, running for reelection is both a chance to bring her skills and knowledge back to the committee and to ensure that the work thats been started by Monarrezs administration can be carried forward.

This is the chance for Worcester to say, the really strong work that's been going on from Dr. Monarrez and her team, as backed up by the School Committee, is something that they want to see carried forward into the next several years, OConnell Novick said.

One of OConnell Novicks priorities, she said, is working on the districts new strategic plan, which she said will serve as the underlying basis for the superintendents goals and district goals.

She wants to make sure the work being done by the committee is being faithful to things theyve done, like the climate and culture overhaul, the ongoing work to diversify the districts staff, and focusing on student literacy and how the schools are relating to our students.

For her second priority, OConnell Novick said that, because of the reworking of the committee, it will be important to make sure the group is able to continue operating as a working body, like the current committee, in the first couple of months.

Everyone on the committee has actually gone through mandatory state training. We've done a fairly good job of making sure that we stay in our lane, and that we keep our eyes on the realms that are ours, in terms of policy and budget, and goals, she said.

Facilities is not only OConnells third priority but also a topic she has spoken about for years, and a topic in which she sees multiple issues that need to be addressed.

The first is that the $4 million capital budget funds is incredibly inadequate for the capital work the districts buildings need, she said, while the second thing is that the state needs to concentrate funding for school buildings into the states Gateway cities.

We have obviously had an excellent partnership with the MSBA (Massachusetts School Building Authority). I think the world of their work, OConnell Novick said. But we have essentially the same issue that we had with the Student Opportunity Act, which is that we have communities that are least able to fund that have the largest number of schools.

The third point is that federal programs are also needed to help fund school building projects, as it is not only an issue of infrastructure but also potentially a civil rights issue, due to how some buildings are structured, she said.

When we invoke civil rights, right, it's when we have created a structure that not only creates inequity but perpetuates inequity, OConnell Novick said. With the way that most school buildings across the country are funded, most school buildings across the country are funded at the local level, and that means that poor communities are simply less able to fund.

And traditionally, she said, when there are issues involving education, the federal government steps in.

OConnell Novick said that, when voters cast their votes this fall, she hopes they not only look at her priorities but also her skills and experiences and the knowledge she brings to the role.

One of the things that I bring is my larger scope, in terms of policy, budget and the perspective of how Worcester relates more largely to the state and the federal government, she said. I wanted to make sure that that was something that I could continue moving forward.

Roy, Medina compete for District E School Committee seat

Biancheria challenges Kamara in School Committee District C

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Laura Clancey Sue Mailman Maureen Binienda Tracy OConnell Novick
Mohammad, a resident displaced by devastating earthquakes in Afghanistan's Herat province, is now living with six family members under the blankets in open ground.

He said he believed that the U.S. freezing of Afghanistan's assets has undermined the local post-quake rehabilitation and reconstruction.

Following the withdrawal of the U.S.-led forces from the war-torn country, Kabul's assets worth more than 9 billion U.S. dollars were frozen by the United States as part of its sanctions on the new rulers of impoverished Afghanistan.

To further mount pressure on the Taliban-run administration, U.S. President Joe Biden signed a decree in February last year allowing allocating 3.5 billion dollars from the frozen Afghan assets to the families of the 9/11 terror attack victims.

Afghanistan has been hit by the most destructive earthquakes in recent decades as tremors, some measuring a magnitude of 6.3, jolted the western Herat province since Oct. 7, leaving thousands of casualties.





Produced by Xinhua Global Service
PARIS (Reuters) - France, already on its highest security alert, is to boost security at airports around the capital and on trains after a wave of bomb hoaxes, the transport minister said on Sunday.

Security patrols at Paris airports will be increased by 40% and staff at the national railway company SNCF will be reinforced by 20% in addition to extra police patrolling railway stations, minister Clement Beaune said on France Inter.

France has been on its highest alert since Oct. 13 after a 20-year-old man fatally stabbed a teacher in the city of Arras in northern France.

"Transport (networks) have been places that have seen heavy tolls in attacks in the history of our country and in Europe," said Beaune.

Alongside the heightened risk, there were "people who are playing with fear", he said, referring to the wave of fake bomb alerts that have hit transport networks, schools and cultural centres over the last week.

Since last Wednesday, there have been 70 bomb hoaxes in airports in France, he said, adding that almost all of these alerts were sent from the same Swiss-based email address.

False alerts are generally punishable by two years in prison and a 30,000-euro fine. This can rise to three years in prison and a 45,000 euro fine if the alert includes a threat.

Beaune told France Inter that hoaxes are not "small jokes, they are serious crimes" and that they will be investigated.

The Palace of Versailles outside Paris was evacuated for security reasons at midday on Sunday for the seventh time in the last eight days, re-opening two hours later after checks were made, a spokesperson said.

(Reporting by Layli Foroudi; Editing by Nick Macfie)
Although civil rights leaders including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. supported the designation of Oct. 22, 1963, as Freedom Day, its success was not guaranteed.

Older Black organizations and clergy didnt relish asking parents to back a one-day school boycott to demonstrate that segregated schools werent limited to the South. It was politically dangerous for anyone beholden to the Boss, Mayor Richard J. Daley.

Absenteeism is a serious problem and if children are absent with no excuse if might change their attitude, said one of two Black school board members, identified in a Chicago Defender story as Mrs. Wendell Green.

The boycott stemmed in part from anger over Chicago Public Schools policies that included the use of portable classrooms that came to be known as Willis Wagons  after district Superintendent Benjamin Willis  to relieve overcrowding at schools in largely Black neighborhoods.

Locally, all bets were off on how Freedom Day would play out. But at 8:30 that morning, Defender reporters found signs of impending success. On streets usually crowded with kids headed to school, the sidewalks were eerily empty.

Indicative of the response to the call for active protest, Wendell Phillips High School, located in the heart of the South Side ghetto, was almost deserted, the Defender noted. At Beale School, scene of racial disturbances earlier this year, the principal reported 136 out of an enrollment (of) 1,708 attended. Some classrooms were empty. Others were reported to have had as few as two students in them.

Final estimates had more than 200,000 students skipping classes. At the same time, police estimated 8,000 to 10,000 protesters marched on City Hall and the Board of Education offices demanding Willis dismissal. They were led by a Boy Scout drum and bugle corps, the Tribune reported.

Two sound trucks played recordings of a song written to the tune of This is My Land, a folk song. It began these schools are your schools, these schools are my schools. It included these words: The board is a one man rule. He (Willis) makes it a fool board.

As the march began, Willis gave the school board a lowball estimate of 54% of grade school students and 38% of high school students being absent. Then he quickly adjourned the meeting in the boards headquarters at 162 W. Wacker Drive. A few blocks over, boycott champions mounted a flatbed truck at LaSalle and Lake streets.

Among those who spoke were 3rd Ward Ald. Ralph Metcalfe and comedian Dick Gregory. Afterward, Gregory and a few protesters sneaked into the basement of the Board of Education. They intended to stage a sit-in, but were ousted by the cops when they reached the first floor.

We are petitioning for the rewriting of history books so that the Negro is included, a boycott leader told a Chicago Defender reporter. Then and only then will whites be able to shed their feeling of false superiority.

Most of the absent students simply stayed home. But some attended ad hoc Freedom Schools in churches, synagogues and union halls. They sang We Shall Overcome and heard the story of Black heroes missing from their textbooks: Harriet Tubman who rescued slaves before the Civil War. Crispis Attucks who escaped slavery and is considered the first American killed in the Revolutionary War.

The morning after the boycott, the Chicago Defenders headline read:

250,000 Kids Make Willis Eat Jim Crow.

That day of protests was orchestrated in part by a pair of college students, Lawrence Landry, who was Black, and Roberta Galler, who was white and Jewish.

The response to the boycott was overwhelming, far greater than we hoped, Galler told the Tribune.

Galler and Landry were members of the Chicago chapter of Friends of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, the youthful battalion of the civil rights crusade.

The Chicago boycott that Galler and Landry directed was precipitated by Willis unexpected resignation on Oct. 4, 1963. He was ticked off at the board, which he feared was secretly considering the demands of the Coordination Council of Community Organizations, a coalition of civil rights groups, and encroaching on his power.

Black Chicago delighted in Willis being gone. The white community, which largely supported Willis, assumed it wasnt voluntary. The board was in an untenable position, and refused to accept his resignation. Willis played the stalemate for all it was worth.

Board On Knees To Beg Willis; He Ignores Them, a Defender headline read, summing up the impasse.

Willis went back to work six days before the scheduled school boycott.

An even greater amount of confusion, chaos, and continued bullheadedness will exist now that Willis is returning apparently carte blanche, Landry said.

Hired in 1953, Willis confronted a daunting problem. Chicagos Black population had grown from 30,000 in 1900 to 500,000 in 1963. Due to overcrowding, schools with soaring enrollments went to two-shifts daily.

Suburbanization had left empty classrooms in white neighborhoods. Logic said students should be transferred from overcrowded Black schools to underused white schools. Prudence dictated patience.

Chicagos considerable racial antipathies would likely be reinforced by the U.S. Supreme Courts decision that overturned the separate but equal doctrine. Issued the year after Willis arrived in Chicago, the rulings effect reverberated even in liberal neighborhoods.

Willis took the path of least resistance: creating more classrooms in Black neighborhoods. To sugarcoat his policy, he embraced the neighborhood school movement.

It projected images of Tom Sawyer conning village urchins into whitewashing Aunt Pollys fence. But it didnt resonate in a South Side schoolyard newly covered with 40-foot aluminum classrooms.

Dubbed Willis Wagons, the superintendent liked such classrooms because they had wheels enabling them to be moved as neighborhood demographics changed. Black Chicagoans saw them blocking the way out of second-class citizenship.

In practice, the vast majority of Willis Wagons were stationed along the lines separating white from Black Chicago. After the boycott, the school board created an Advisory Panel on Integration of the Chicago Public Schools, chaired by Philip Hauser, a University of Chicago professor of sociology. A year later, Hauser spoke at the convention of the American Federation of Teachers.

The Chicago Board of Education, and boards in other cities, did not create de facto segregated schooling, Hauser said. But from now on they must bear responsibility for its continuation.

Anger over Willis wagons and school segregation led to a number of confrontations in addition to the Freedom Day school boycott. In August 1963, future U.S. senator and presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, then a University of Chicago student, was arrested while protesting the issues with hundreds of others.

Any accomplishments of those protests and boycotts were deferred. Willis Wagons didnt immediately disappear. But as a first step, the Black community vowed to vote the school board out if Willis contract was renewed when it expired in 1965. He resigned a year later.

I think we made progress, Rosie Simpson, a parent activist who took part in the school boycott, told the Tribune in 2018. We did get rid of Willis and eventually we got rid of the Willis wagons.

Have an idea for Vintage Chicago Tribune? Share it with Ron Grossman and Marianne Mather at rgrossman@chicagotribune.com and mmather@chicagotribune.com.
A pilot from France died while hiking Californias Mount Whitney (pictured) (The Associated Press)

A French pilot on layover in Los Angeles has fallen 1,000 feet to his death while hiking one of Americas tallest mountains.

Tom Gerbier, 38, from Fontenay-sous-Bois, a suburb East of Paris, was discovered on Thursday 19 October at the bottom of a cliff in Sequoia National Park, California.

Gerbier had set out on Tuesday 17 October to hike Mount Whitney, the tallest mountain in the contiguous US, at a height of 14,494ft (4,418 meters).

He was reported missing when he did not show up to pilot his Air France flight on Wednesday morning.

A search-and-rescue operation was launched and on Thursday, a ground team found clues that a hiker may have fallen off a cliff in the area known as The Notch.

The terrain was described as precarious by Inyo County Sheriffs Office, and where the Mountaineers Route meets the steep and exposed North Face of Mt. Whitney.

A National Park Service helicopter subsequently spotted a motionless hiker with clothing that matched Gerbiers description.

Gerbier is believed to have fallen around 1,000 feet, the National Park Service said. His body was recovered by helicopter and taken to Tulare County Sheriffs Office, where his identity was confirmed.

Air France told The San Francisco Chronicle that it regrets to confirm the accidental death of one of its pilots, which occurred on October 20th, 2023 while he was on a stopover in Los Angeles (California). The company offers its most sincere condolences to his family and loved ones.

The sheriffs office warned that the Mountaineers Route on Mt. Whitney is a technical climb that requires expert mountaineering skills and equipment.

Gerbier was described as an experienced mountaineer and ultra runner with the gear and ability to complete his intended route, the sheriffs office said.

It is not a hike and has claimed multiple lives in recent years, the agency noted. Remember, no matter how skilled and prepared you are, accidents can happen to anyone.

Gerbiers death is the second fatality in Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks this year, according to the parks service.
French President Macron attends a video-conference with families of French hostages in Gaza

PARIS (Reuters) - French president Emmanuel Macron will visit Israel in coming days, the Israeli Prime Minister's office said on Sunday.

Macron and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte "will arrive tomorrow and Tuesday and will meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu," it said on Sunday in a post on X.

The Elysee has not yet confirmed the visit.

(Reporting by Elizabeth Pineau, Layli Foroudi; Editing by Nick Zieminski)
FILE PHOTO: The skyline of Detroit looking south from the midtown area in Detroit, Michigan

(Reuters) -A funeral was held on Sunday for the president of a Detroit synagogue who was killed over the weekend as police searched for a motive.

Samantha Woll, an adviser to Democratic politicians and president of Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue, was found stabbed to death outside her home in the Lafayette Park neighborhood of Detroit on Saturday.

On Sunday afternoon, Detroit Police Chief James E. White said in a statement that "no evidence has surfaced suggesting that this crime was motivated by antisemitism." Police were investigating with the FBI, but the statement did not say whether a suspect had been identified.

In an obituary published on the website of the Hebrew Memorial Chapel, where the funeral was held, Woll, 40, was remembered as a patron of theater, opera and music and a keen hiker of mountain trails.

The Detroit Police Department said Woll's body was found in the 1300 block of Joliet Place, where a trail of blood led to her home.

Woll's death sparked an outpouring of grief in Jewish and Democratic circles.

U.S. Representative Elissa Slotkin, on whose election campaign Woll worked, said in a statement she "dedicated her short life to building understanding across faiths, bringing light in the face of darkness."

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel remembered Woll as being driven by "her sincere love of her community, state and country."

"Sam was as kind a person as I've ever known," Nessel wrote on X, formerly called Twitter.

(Reporting by Maria Caspani, Sharon Bernstein and Jonathan Allen; Editing by Josie Kao)
Tri-City gas costs appear inflated

While its true that the carbon tax contributes to high gas prices in Washington state, it does not explain the significantly higher gas prices in the Tri-Cities. I drove to Spokane on Oct. 14. Credit gas prices in the Tri-Cities were $4.85 at three different stations I passed. Interestingly, credit prices at the Loves in Ritzville were $4.45. And the small truck stop 10 miles further up I-90 were $4.35 (which could have been cash rather than credit).

Historically, gas prices at service stations in small towns adjacent to busy highways are higher than those located further from the freeway since drivers typically seek convenience over price. This leads me to believe that the high prices in the Tri-Cities must be attributed to the near monopoly of suppliers and to price gouging of their customers. I urge your reporters to dig deeper and get the state Attorney Generals Office involved in the investigation of the real cause of higher gas prices in the Tri-Cities.

Linda Powers, Richland

Retain Millbauer on city council

I am writing to express my wholehearted support for Jim Millbauer for Position 7 on the Kennewick City Council. This is a time when our community needs thoughtful leadership and representation for all people in regard to economic development, jobs and opportunities, not just those who benefit from zoning decisions.

While serving on the City Council, Jim has fostered a balanced and inclusive environment at a time marked by increasing polarization. Jims unwavering dedication to finding common ground and seeking solutions that benefit all is vital. His vision for Kennewick reflects a deep understanding of the diverse needs and aspirations of our community.

Jims extensive experience in union negotiations, combined with his ability to communicate effectively with various stakeholders, make him the ideal candidate to bridge the gap between different perspectives and ensure that every voice is heard.

I urge the voters of Kennewick to support Jim Millbauers re-election and cast their votes in his favor.

Christy Watts, Kennewick

Ex-councilman backing Madsen

I have known Kent Madsen for many years now, dating back to his many years on the Richland Planning Commission. I believe him to be an honorable man with the very best interests of the City of Richland and its residents in his heart and on his mind daily. He will bring a measured and comprehensive approach to the issues facing the city and you the residents, I believe, without ego, self-interests or personal gain as an agenda.

Phillip Lemley, former Richland councilman, Little Rock, Ark

Millbauer is right for Kennewick

I am writing in support of Jim Millbauer for Kennewick City Council Position 7. I have known and worked with Jim, and I know he is a man of integrity and conviction who has given much on our behalf. Jim helps organize the yearly Bikes for Tikes event in support of children in our community, and he has spent his time on council fighting for the regular people in Kennewick who are all too often forgotten. Jim has been there for us, pushing back and working hard to see that working families and small businesses still have a voice. We simply can not afford to lose Jim Millbauer on Kennewick City Council.

He is the best candidate for the job and will make a positive difference in our community. I urge you to vote for Jim Millbauer for Kennewick City Council Position 7 on Nov. 7.

Jason Lohr, Kennewick

Vote yes to retain Conners for Kennewick schools

As a retired Kennewick School District school teacher and a citizen of Kennewick, I am concerned about the quality of education provided by the district. I attend school board meetings regularly and volunteer at Phoenix High School, so I am aware of issues facing the district.

Michael Conners needs to be retained as a school board member. First of all, he is the only candidate with experience, having served on the board since 2020.

Next, as president of the school board, he has shown strong leadership skills. He is not afraid to speak his mind, but he also listens to both sides of an issue before making a decision.

Finally, he does not let personal agendas influence his commitment to a quality education for all students. Please join me in voting for Michael Conners. The students and staff of KSD need him.

Gayle Hane, Kennewick

Washington no place for grizzlies

Washington is the second smallest of the 11 Western states and the second most populous of those states. Now the Federal government wants to release Grizzly bears in our forests.

Our big game population is being pushed into an ever-shrinking area, making hunting a near waste of effort. Hikers and campers currently enjoy a very peaceful environment.

Releasing grizzlies will endanger their lives as well livestock grazing in our state. Releasing those bears will not benefit our state or restore the forests to their original state.

I encourage you to contact our senators and representatives to put a stop to this dangerous and wasteful proposal.

David Thompson, Kennewick

Terrorists or freedom fighters?

We should all mourn the loss of life and destruction caused by the latest Hamas attack on Israel.

The root cause of this violence is Israels continuing military occupation and oppression of Palestine and its displacement of Palestinians from their land for the illegal settlement of Israelis (in excess of 500,000 people).

Also its restriction of Palestinian movement in their own country and its openly racist disdain of Christian and Muslim Arabs in both Israel and Palestine. Israel is helped in its effort by receiving more U.S. foreign aid than any other country.

In the immediate (future), the U.S. must assist in saving lives. But we must attempt to stop this violence by ending the U.S. aid that helps to fund Israels military occupation of Palestine. As long as our country annually provides billions in unconditional funding to the Israeli government, this repeated violence will continue.

Anyone who sweeps the larger context of the latest outbreak of violence under the rug and repeats ritualistic phrases about Israels right to defend itself is revealing that they couldnt care less about peace, wrote Ben Burgis in Jacobin. They just want to keep going in the same direction and hope it leads to better results. Its not going to.

Bill Petrie, Richland

Vote Rasmussen for Benton port

Christy Rasmussen is the best choice for Port of Benton District 2. Christy was chosen to fill the position she currently holds out of a group of four, including Scott Keller who is running against her.

Port districts play an important role in economic development. The port has recently completed a sale to Atlas Agro to build a commercial-scale green fertilizer plant. This project will have significant economic impact and will help keep the Tri-Cities on the forefront of clean energy and innovation.

The port has also decreased the property taxes since 2019 while balancing its budget.

It is interesting, given the ports role in economic development, that her opponent chose not to respond to the Regional Chambers Vote for Business survey of primary candidates. It is also interesting that Scott Keller has a number of videos on his site that start with Prior to COVID and then talks about the lack of use of a facility. Surprise, there were disruptions due to COVID. I am also concerned about his ability to stay in his lane as a commissioner.

Christy was the right choice when she was appointed to the commission and is the right choice moving forward.

Mark Brault, Richland

Before voting, see candidate video

Pasco voters seeking insight into the qualifications, experience and views of city council candidates on the November ballot would be well served viewing the video of the recent candidate forum. Held Oct. 9 and hosted by the Pasco Chamber of Commerce, the video is posted on the Chambers website. It is well worth the time, is very informative and is not long.

Christine Hendler, Pasco
HONG KONG  California Gov. Gavin Newsom is starting his trip to China in perhaps the most politically incendiary Asian city possible.

He landed in Hong Kong on Sunday after a hastily scheduled side trip to Israel, where he met with victims of the Israel-Hamas war.

On China, even fellow Democrats are warning of the pitfalls he faces if he stays silent on Beijing's crushing treatment of civil rights in Hong Kong.

Newsom should speak very clearly against the repression of the Hong Kong people," Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), co-chair of the Congressional Executive Commission on China, said in an interview. "Otherwise it does great damage because it looks like the Chinese repression is accepted and we cannot allow that to be the case.

Newsoms trip will focus on fostering closer climate ties in areas like air quality, offshore wind and cap-and-trade. Newsom is a key surrogate for President Joe Bidens reelection and the White House has signed off on the trip.

"The climate crisis will not wait for geopolitical winds to shift, and we cannot achieve our shared goals without China," Newsom spokesperson Erin Mellon said in a statement.

Newsoms Hong Kong stop-over has infuriated U.S.-based pro-democracy and human rights organizations. A coalition of more than 50 such groups issued a joint statementon Friday that flayed Newsom for trying to sideline human rights during his visit. They argue that Newsoms singular focus on climate issues sets a problematic tone for future diplomatic engagement that benefits the territorys sanctioned leaders.

I dont see any huge gain that he or the state get from his going, said James Cunningham, former consul-general to Hong Kong and Macau and chair of the nonprofit advocacy group the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong. Newsoms visit will instead fuel the impression that it is business as usual and they will exploit his visit for that, he said.

Newsom will participate in a "fireside chat" at Hong Kong University before continuing on to Beijing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Shanghai.

Hong Kong would have been an odd stop for a U.S. politician anytime in the past decade, as China tightened its grip on its former British territory. It is particularly puzzling now, especially after the U.S. placed many Hong Kong leaders under sanctions for their roles in suppressing the Asian financial centers democracy movement in 2019 and 2020.

In recent months, Biden has indicated that Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu will not be allowed to enter the U.S. to attend Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation gathering in San Francisco next month, which is a break from past practice, said Neil Thomas, a fellow for Chinese Politics at the Asia Society.

Newsom will have a hard time dodging references to the Hong Kong authorities tightening stranglehold on the territory. a trial of 47 pro-democracy community workers, activists and legislators prosecuted under Hong Kongs draconian National Security Law is ongoing.

The former media magnate and pro-democracy icon Jimmy Lai, victim of what the State Department calls spurious fraud charges , marked his 1000th day behind bars last month. And the Hong Kong government has issued warrants  complete with $128,000 arrest bounties  for eight self-exiled Hong Kong pro-democracy activists (several of whom are in the U.S.) for alleged collusion with a foreign country.

China experts say they're not sure why Newsom would choose to risk the appearance of granting political cover to the special administrative region, which, while part of China, has a unique system of governance and is allowed to negotiate trade and investment as separate from Beijing.

He's walking into a political minefield," said Samuel Chu, president of the pro-democracy group The Campaign for Hong Kong. "Theres no one in Hong Kong that is significant enough for him to meet that isn't a target [of U.S. sanctions].

His predecessor, former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, went to Hong Kong but during less tumultuous times.

Newsom officials so far have emphasized his distance on the trip from any of the more hot-button issues between the U.S. and China.

"The trip is focused on what we can do as a state to build upon our progress of the last many years in pushing China to be more aggressive in their response to the climate crisis," Mellon said in her statement. "Our federal partners are working with China on a host of issues, including concerning human rights violations  which are of immense concern to the state and the federal government."

Besides the appearance with academics, Newsoms schedule indicates hell attend a reception in Hong Kong with climate and carbon neutrality leaders co-hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce and the U.S. Consulate.

Newsoms office said he has no plans to meet with Hong Kongs senior leadership. But if any show up unannounced at either of his events it will hand them a convenient propaganda victory in their efforts to shake the stigma of the territorys more than 1,200 political prisoners and its criminalization of peaceful dissent. It will be particularly awkward if Newsom has an unplanned photo-op with Hong Kongs Chief Executive Lee, who oversaw brutal police responses to pro-democracy protests as the territorys former security chief. His implementation of the draconian National Security Law introduced in June 2020 prompted the U.S. Treasury Department to place him on a sanctions list .

Lawmakers and activists urged Newsom to strike a balance between his climate cooperation goals and calling out the Hong Kong authorities for their worsening crackdown.

Newsom should push for release of political prisoners and raise the Hong Kong governments practice of issuing bounties on dissidents living abroad, said Sen. James Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Follow along with us on the ground with Gov. Gavin Newsom this week in China. Sign up for our daily newsletter on how Californias response to climate change is shaping the future  across industry and government and across politics and policy.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas (R) meets with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Amman (Thaer GHANAIM)

The widely unpopular Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas is facing growing anger on the streets of the occupied West Bank as Israel wages its war against Hamas in Gaza.

The 88-year-old leader is seen as out of touch with the increasing desperation of the Palestinian people and Israel's furious response to the October 7 attacks by Hamas has only exacerbated their discontent.

After a rocket strike on a Gaza hospital this week caused fresh outrage, hundreds of Palestinians took to the streets in a rare demonstration shouting "Abbas step down!" before being dispersed by security forces.

Abbas has led the Palestinian Authority (PA) for 18 years but has only limited authority over the West Bank and none over Gaza where the authority was violently ousted by Hamas in 2007.

On the world stage, Abbas has clung to the unrealised promises of the 1993 Oslo Accords.

The PA was meant to be a first step toward an independent Palestinian state, but negotiations have been at a standstill for more than a decade.

Abbas has been powerless against the rapid expansion of Israeli settlements and military control in the West Bank and annexed east Jerusalem, both occupied since 1967, fragmenting what was meant to be a contiguous Palestinian territory.

Violence against Palestinian civilians by Israeli settlers and clashes between the Israeli army and Palestinian armed groups have increased.

Conditions have only worsened after the formation of Israel's most far-right government in history in December, under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

- Sidelined president -

"Abbas bet on the international community, believing that it would force Israel to withdraw from the occupied territories to give the Palestinians a state," said Ubai Al-Aboudi, director of the Bisan Center for Research and Development, a think-tank based in Ramallah.

"However, the international community has shown that it cares little about the blood shed by the Palestinians and their suffering, hence the popular anger," Aboudi told AFP.

Abbas has remained on the sidelines since the surprise Hamas assault, which left 1,400 dead -- mainly civilians, according to Israeli officials -- in the worst attack suffered by Israel since its independence in 1948.

Intensive retaliatory air strikes and artillery barrages have left at least 4,651 people dead in Gaza, according to the Hamas-controlled health ministry.

The bombardment has caused outrage across the Arab world.

Many Palestinians, regardless of their politics, have expressed support for Hamas on social media.

Abbas set off anger this week with a comment reported by the official Palestinian news agency that "the policies and actions of Hamas do not represent the Palestinian people". The statement was withdrawn.

The next day a rocket struck Gaza's Al-Ahli hospital, leaving dozens, perhaps hundreds dead. There were demonstrations across the West Bank after Hamas blamed Israel. Israel insisted the explosion was caused by a failed rocket fired by Islamic Jihad militants.

Even before the latest war, Abbas was deeply unpopular, while support for peaceful negotiations was waning.

Seventy-eight percent of Palestinians wanted Abbas to resign, according to a poll published in September by the Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research.

Some 58 percent said they supported "armed struggle" to end the Israeli occupation, compared with 20 percent in favour of a negotiated settlement and 24 percent for "peaceful resistance".

Abbas opponents feel "the Palestinian Authority is increasingly assimilated, either by inaction or by security cooperation, to Israel's policy", said Xavier Guignard, a political scientist specialising in the Palestinian territories.

There was a real feeling that "Abbas was unable to react to what was happening in Gaza", said Guignard, of the Paris-based Noria Research.

Hugh Lovatt, an analyst for the European Council on Foreign Relations, said that "as the Palestinian public mood hardens further in support of armed resistance, the PA risks being swept away" if it continues to ignore public opinion.

Abbas would be further weakened, he said, as "the US and Israel push the PA to crack down harder on Hamas and other armed groups in the West Bank - which would further erode its public standing".

Omar Khatib, who took part in a Ramallah demonstration on Friday in support of Gaza Palestinians, gave a withering assessment of the Palestinian Authority.

"The resistance is confronting Israel in Gaza, and we are confronting the Authority here because it is just a tool in the hands of the occupation to repress us in the West Bank," he said.

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Former President Trumps co-defendants in Georgia have begun splintering, with two lawyers key to Trumps efforts to overturn the election agreeing to cooperate with prosecutors.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) late this week secured plea deals from Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro, the highest-profile defendants to flip so far in the sprawling racketeering case. Both agreed to testify truthfully against their co-defendants, including Trump.

Legal experts said they werent surprised by the deals, arguing they would increase the legal jeopardy facing other defendants and raise the pressure for them to also consider taking plea deals.

The real import of this plea is the signal it sends to the other defendants, said Chris Mattei, a former federal prosecutor.

Number one, that your time is running out for you to cooperate, because as cooperators come in and plead guilty, the prosecution continues to build its case and may not have a need to cooperate with other individuals, he continued.

The duos plea deals came on the eve of their trial, which was scheduled to begin next week. Powell accepted a plea agreement on Thursday, and Chesebro followed suit one day later. The first group of jurors was already summoned to the courthouse.

The pleas followed another one weeks earlier from Scott Hall, a former bail bondsman.

Hall and Powell were charged over an election office breach in Coffee County, Ga. But Powell notably played a broader role in Trumps orbit, serving as a key member of his legal team following the 2020 election.

Powell frequently promoted conspiracy theories about voting machines and foreign interference in court filings and media appearances. The Trump campaign ultimately distanced itself from Powell, who continued to independently file election lawsuits.

Theres a whole number of people that she was dealing with who you would expect she would be able to offer testimony against, including Rudy Giuliani and others, Mattei said.

The indictment notes Powells participation at a Nov. 19, 2020, press conference alongside Giuliani and Jenna Ellis, both former Trump attorneys who are also charged in Georgia. Ellis described the group as an elite strike force team to reporters that day.

Ellis reacted to Powells deal on X, formerly known as Twitter, reposting a conservative lawyer, who wrote prosecutors overcharged and they knew it.

Prosecutors indictment also notes Powells attendance at a Dec. 18, 2020, White House meeting with Trump, Giuliani and others, during which plans were discussed to seize voting equipment and appoint Powell as special counsel.

Testimony from several participants suggest the meeting went on for hours, including cursing and yelling at times as White House staffers pushed back against the unfounded fraud claims being advanced by Powell and several others. Axios dubbed it the craziest meeting to take place in the Trump White House.

I think anytime a co-defendant pleads and makes a deal with a prosecutor to testify against co-defendants, that there is potential jeopardy for all of them, said Gwen Keyes Fleming, who served as district attorney in DeKalb County, Ga.

Fleming added, Well have to see what type of witness she is on the stand.

Like Powell, Chesebro also played a key role following the 2020 election, writing a series of memos devising the Trump campaigns alternate electors strategy.

The indictment lays out various alleged emails between Chesebro and other charged lawyers, like Giuliani and John Eastman. Three individuals who signed the Electoral College documents in Georgia also face charges.

It doesnt bode well for those at the top of the chain, like Trump and Giuliani, given that these are two individuals, who based on what we know, were sort of part of that inner circle, said Anna Cominsky, director of New York Law Schools Criminal Defense Clinic.

Both originally faced seven felonies, but Powell instead pleaded guilty to six misdemeanors and Chesebro pleaded guilty to one of his original felony counts.

By doing so, they will avoid a conviction under Georgias Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, which accuses all the defendants of entering an unlawful conspiracy to keep Trump in power and forms the basis of the indictment.

Steve Sadow, Trumps lead counsel in the case, brushed off Chesebros plea.

It appears to me that the guilty plea to count 15 of the Fulton County indictment was the result of pressure by Fani Willis and her team and the prosecutions looming threat of prison time, Sadow said in a statement.

However, it is very important for everyone to note that the RICO charge and every other count was dismissed. Once again, I fully expect that truthful testimony would be favorable to my defense strategy.

Although they face no other criminal charges as of now, Chesebro and Powell are seemingly referenced in charging documents in Trumps federal election case in D.C. as unindicted co-conspirators.

Powell also still faces legal jeopardy from two defamation lawsuits from voting equipment companies Smartmatic and Dominion. Citing her criminal prosecution, Powell sought to delay both civil lawsuits.

In Georgia, a trial date for Trump and the 15 others is not yet set but is not expected until at least next year  all while Trump continues his White House bid as the frontrunner in the GOP presidential primary.

Cominsky said the plea agreements leave Trumps attorneys without the advantage of seeing the duos trial, which wouldve enabled his legal team to see prosecutors theory of the case and gather impeaching material before facing a jury themselves.

I dont think anyone should expect Trump or Giuliani to be pleading guilty anytime soon, Cominsky said. I think that you should expect them to take these cases to trial and that all of these pleas are not going to change the fact that, in my estimation, they will definitely go full force.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
(The Hill)  Former President Trumps co-defendants in Georgia have begun splintering, with two lawyers key to Trumps efforts to overturn the election agreeing to cooperate with prosecutors.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) late this week secured plea deals from Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro, the highest-profile defendants to flip so far in the sprawling racketeering case. Both agreed to testify truthfully against their co-defendants, including Trump.

Legal experts said they werent surprised by the deals, arguing they would increase the legal jeopardy facing other defendants and raise the pressure for them to also consider taking plea deals.

The real import of this plea is the signal it sends to the other defendants, said Chris Mattei, a former federal prosecutor.

Number one, that your time is running out for you to cooperate, because as cooperators come in and plead guilty, the prosecution continues to build its case and may not have a need to cooperate with other individuals, he continued.

The duos plea deals came on the eve of their trial, which was scheduled to begin next week. Powell accepted a plea agreement on Thursday, and Chesebro followed suit one day later. The first group of jurors was already summoned to the courthouse.

The pleas followed another one weeks earlier from Scott Hall, a former bail bondsman.

Hall and Powell were charged over an election office breach in Coffee County, Ga. But Powell notably played a broader role in Trumps orbit, serving as a key member of his legal team following the 2020 election.

Powell frequently promoted conspiracy theories about voting machines and foreign interference in court filings and media appearances. The Trump campaign ultimately distanced itself from Powell, who continued to independently file election lawsuits.

Theres a whole number of people that she was dealing with who you would expect she would be able to offer testimony against, including Rudy Giuliani and others, Mattei said.

The indictment notes Powells participation at a Nov. 19, 2020, press conference alongside Giuliani and Jenna Ellis, both former Trump attorneys who are also charged in Georgia. Ellis described the group as an elite strike force team to reporters that day.

Ellis reacted to Powells deal on X, formerly known as Twitter, reposting a conservative lawyer, who wrote prosecutors overcharged and they knew it.

Prosecutors indictment also notes Powells attendance at a Dec. 18, 2020, White House meeting with Trump, Giuliani and others, during which plans were discussed to seize voting equipment and appoint Powell as special counsel.

Testimony from several participants suggests the meeting went on for hours, including cursing and yelling at times as White House staffers pushed back against the unfounded fraud claims being advanced by Powell and several others. Axios dubbed it the craziest meeting to take place in the Trump White House.

I think anytime a co-defendant pleads and makes a deal with a prosecutor to testify against co-defendants, that there is potential jeopardy for all of them, said Gwen Keyes Fleming, who served as district attorney in DeKalb County, Ga.

Fleming added, Well have to see what type of witness she is on the stand.

Like Powell, Chesebro also played a key role following the 2020 election, writing a series of memos devising the Trump campaigns alternate electors strategy.

The indictment lays out various alleged emails between Chesebro and other charged lawyers, like Giuliani and John Eastman. Three individuals who signed the Electoral College documents in Georgia also face charges.

It doesnt bode well for those at the top of the chain, like Trump and Giuliani, given that these are two individuals, who based on what we know, were sort of part of that inner circle, said Anna Cominsky, director of New York Law Schools Criminal Defense Clinic.

Both originally faced seven felonies, but Powell instead pleaded guilty to six misdemeanors and Chesebro pleaded guilty to one of his original felony counts.

By doing so, they will avoid a conviction under Georgias Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, which accuses all the defendants of entering an unlawful conspiracy to keep Trump in power and forms the basis of the indictment.

Steve Sadow, Trumps lead counsel in the case, brushed off Chesebros plea.

It appears to me that the guilty plea to count 15 of the Fulton County indictment was the result of pressure by Fani Willis and her team and the prosecutions looming threat of prison time, Sadow said in a statement.

However, it is very important for everyone to note that the RICO charge and every other count was dismissed. Once again, I fully expect that truthful testimony would be favorable to my defense strategy.

Although they face no other criminal charges as of now, Chesebro and Powell are seemingly referenced in charging documents in Trumps federal election case in D.C. as unindicted co-conspirators.

Powell also still faces legal jeopardy from two defamation lawsuits from voting equipment companies Smartmatic and Dominion. Citing her criminal prosecution, Powell sought to delay both civil lawsuits.

In Georgia, a trial date for Trump and the 15 others is not yet set but is not expected until at least next year  all while Trump continues his White House bid as the frontrunner in the GOP presidential primary.

Cominsky said the plea agreements leave Trumps attorneys without the advantage of seeing the duos trial, which wouldve enabled his legal team to see prosecutors theory of the case and gather impeaching material before facing a jury themselves.

I dont think anyone should expect Trump or Giuliani to be pleading guilty anytime soon, Cominsky said. I think that you should expect them to take these cases to trial and that all of these pleas are not going to change the fact that, in my estimation, they will definitely go full force.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
Knight Frank, a global leader in real estate consultancy, has appointed Mohamed Nabil as the Head of Projects & Development Services (P&DS) for the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region.

With over 23 years of experience in the Mena real estate market and a track record of success in project management and development, Nabil joins Knight Frank, reinforcing the firm's commitment to delivering cutting-edge solutions to clients in the region.

Armed with wealth of experience, Nabil's credentials include being a Certified Project Manager (PMP) and a LEED Accredited Professional. His industry expertise spans diverse sectors, including High Rise, Residential, Commercial, Hospitality, Healthcare, Educational, Governmental, Sports, Science and Technology, Banking, and Retail, encompassing both construction and fit-out projects.

Industry background

With a rich industry background, he has garnered significant experience in key markets such as the UAE, KSA, and Egypt, further cementing his reputation as a seasoned professional with a keen understanding of the industry's intricacies.

Nabil says: "I am incredibly thrilled about the opportunity to join Knight Frank as the Head of P&DS Mena. With my broad experience in the Middle East, I am eager to break new ground in the thriving real estate markets of KSA, UAE, and Egypt. Knight Frank's renowned name and outstanding corporate culture resonate deeply with my professional aspirations.

With the company's support and resources, I am confident in my ability to propel Knight Frank to the forefront of the industry as one of the top PMCM (Project Management and Construction Management) Real Estate consultancy firms in the region.

Multinational firms

Prior to joining Knight Frank, Nabil played a pivotal role in establishing and leading the Projects & Development Services division for JLL in Egypt for a decade. Throughout his career, Nabil has garnered experience working with top, global multinational firms such as HDR INC where he spearheaded and developed large teams, overseeing projects on a grand scale.

James Lewis, Managing Director of Knight Frank Mena, said: Nabil's caring and driven leadership, combined with Knight Frank's global reputation will position us well in this market segment. We're excited to have him on board, especially as we expand into new territories like Egypt. His extensive experience in the Mena region will guide in tailoring our services to deliver for clients."--TradeArabia News Service
A gang member in prison since 2012 was sentenced to an additional 27.5 years in prison for his involvement in a large armed drug trafficking conspiracy responsible for distributing more than 100 kilograms of methamphetamine.

David Zavala AKA Toro, 30, of Mexico, was sentenced to 330 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release on October 16 after he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine on December 11, 2020.

Zavala, a confirmed member of the Surenos 13 gang, has been in the custody of the Georgia Department of Corrections since 2012 for prior state convictions and armed robbery and false imprisonment.

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He is not eligible for parole.

David Zavala was relentless in his efforts to direct a dangerous methamphetamine distribution network from behind bars, threatening both the safety of our communities and all those living and working in the prison with him, said U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary. Law enforcement at every level is committed to dismantling these types of criminal organizations and helping us hold them accountable.

According to court documents, law enforcement officers began investigating Zavala in 2016, along with related criminal networks operating from inside jail facilities in Mexico and Georgia.

On May 30, 2016, co-defendant Andrew Young was arrested in Oglethorpe County, Georgia, for possession of a stolen car out of Texas, and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

Agents discovered communication between Young and Zavala detailing trips between Texas and Georgia that Young took at Zavalas direction to pick up methamphetamine and drop it at locations named by Zavala.

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The U.S. Attorneys Office, Middle District of Georgia, says Zavala conducted methamphetamine transactions while in custody using contraband cell phones and social media platforms.

Zavala would message his associates and coordinate deliveries of meth to customers and instruct others how to make payments to him.

The U.S. Attorneys Office says Zavala is personally responsible for the distribution of between 15 and 30 kilograms of methamphetamine.

The entire criminal network tied to him is responsible for distributing more than 100 kilograms of methamphetamine.

23 other people in related cases have been sentenced and one more is still awaiting sentencing.

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The German Ministry of Defence is concerned, as the countrys 2024 budget is over 5 billion short for military aid to Ukraine.

Source: German tabloid Bild, citing a confidential Defence Ministry memo, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Bild explained that military support for Ukraine is paid for with funds from the "general financial management" budget, which has 4 billion designated to help Ukraine in 2024.

Around 3.1 billion of this is designated for previously promised assistance, and 770 million is earmarked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the assistance it provides, leaving only 120 million for new military projects in 2024.

The German Ministry of Defence, however, estimates Ukraines needs to be much higher. Kyiv expects additional support from Germany worth 5.2 billion to enable Ukraine to resist Russian aggression.

The German Defence Ministry estimates that 880 million should be allocated for air defence, 675 million for armoured combat vehicles, 390 million for engineering projects, 935 million for protective equipment, and 2.3 billion for repairs, spare parts, and logistics.

The 2024 German budget fails to include 525 million needed to replace the Bundeswehr equipment transferred to Ukraine.

The budget for 2024 will be finalised in mid-November. Negotiations will continue until then.

"We must keep our word. We should not run out of money when it comes to helping Ukraine next year. Finance Minister Lindner has to provide billions in aid to Ukraine before the budget is finalised. Ukraine should be able to rely on Germanys promises," said Andreas Schwarz, a member of the ruling Social Democratic Party responsible for the defence budget in the budget committee.

Background:

On Friday, 20 October, the German government reported on the shipment of another package of military aid to Ukraine over the past week, which included Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, drones and heavy trucks.

German Finance Minister Christian Lindner announced during his visit to Kyiv in August the German governments intention to provide Ukraine with 5 billion in military aid annually until 2027.

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Gingrich says House GOP poses very real danger of electing Speaker, then going back into the same mess

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) warned that the House GOP conference poses a very real danger of electing a Speaker and then in a few weeks going back into the same mess.

Theres a very real danger that [the House will] elect somebody, and three or four or five weeks from now, youre going to have a group of people blow up and decide to go back into the same mess, Gingrich said in an interview on Fox News Sunday. So they need to pick somebody to get stability.

Pushing for House Republicans to stay in conference until a Speaker designate has the 217 votes to take the gavel, Gingrich added, Bring food in and stay there. Again, very simple test  can you get the 217 votes? They shouldnt bring anybody out until they have 217. And second, that 217 has to be committed not just to elect a Speaker, but to stick together for the next five or six months.

The House was thrust into uncharted territory nearly three weeks ago, after eight Republicans joined all House Democrats to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), marking the first time a sitting Speaker has been booted from the position.

Calling the lower chamber a mess, Gingrich railed against the eight Republicans who voted for McCarthys ouster and claimed they unleashed furies in the GOP conference.

Well, right now [House members] cant govern. And I think that the eight people who betrayed the conference and joined the Democrats to defeat 96 percent of the conference unleashed furies that I dont think theyd ever dreamed of, because they gave every person the right to be equally destructive and equally angry, Gingrich said.

Shortly after McCarthys ouster, Gingrich called on House Republicans to expel Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who led the motion to oust McCarthy, and he called the Florida Republican an anti-Republican who engaged in childish behavior.

Seven of the eight Republicans said they would accept punishment from the conference if holdouts against Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) changed their votes. A letter solidifying the offer appeared to have been signed by each of the eight Republicans, but Rep. Ken Buck (Colo.) said his included name and signature was the result of a miscommunication.

Jordan, who clinched the Speaker nomination after House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (La.) dropped out of the race one day after getting the nomination, failed to shore up the 217 votes needed after three rounds of voting last week.

The House GOP conference voted by a secret ballot to no longer back Jordan after the Ohio Republicans third failed ballot last Friday, which saw even less GOP support than the first two ballots.

The House is now back at square one, with nine Republicans who have thrown their name into the Speakership race. A candidate forum is expected to take place Monday at 6:30 p.m., and the House will move to an internal nomination election Tuesday at 9 a.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Pedro Fernandez, a baker who said that managing the water shortage has become a job of its own, at work in Pozoblanco, Spain in September 2023. (Rachel Chaundler via The New York Times)

POZOBLANCO, Spain  It was 10 a.m. when the villagers, clutching empty plastic containers, lined up behind the tanker truck of drinking water. A cake shop owner arrived with four big jugs for his pastries. Workers from a retirement home carried two dozen bottles back on wheelchairs for their wards. And a mother of four loaded her trunk with fresh water to wash vegetables and cook pasta.

This is a disgrace, said Antonio Luque, the cake shop owner. We cant even wash dishes with tap water. Its very murky.

Spain has been blighted by a long-running drought, caused by record-high temperatures in 2022, a string of heat waves in 2023, and almost three years of reduced rainfall. Throughout the country, reservoirs have been depleted; in the worst-affected areas, they are at less than 20% of their capacity.

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Human-caused global warming has made severe droughts such as those in Europe in recent years much more likely to occur, scientists have found.

But few places on the continent have been as badly hit as tiny Pozoblanco, a village of about 18,000 in southern Spain, where the daily struggle for drinkable water has become a glimpse of what may lie ahead for parts of Europe where drought and extreme heat have become increasingly common.

Pozoblanco and 22 other villages in this traditional pig- and cattle-farming area north of the city of Cordoba have needed deliveries of fresh water since April, when the Sierra Boyera reservoir, which supplies the area, dried up.

Attempts to alleviate the crisis backfired when the government channeled water from a backup reservoir, La Colada, which had been stagnant and used only for leisure pursuits such as fishing and kayaking since it was built 17 years ago.

It, too, was at a record low, meaning that what little water was left had greater contact with the sediments at its base, where waste from farms and villages accumulates.

A few days after the reservoir was connected to the villages in April, the water from La Colada was found to be contaminated. More than 18 tons of dead fish were cleared from the banks of La Colada by government officials in September.

When there is drought, the concentration of contaminants is greater, and water reserves can become not just unfit for drinking, but poisonous, Pedro Arrojo-Agudo, U.N. special rapporteur on safe drinking water and sanitation, said in an interview.

Since April, a fleet of tanker trucks has been deployed to deliver 180,000 liters of potable water a day to about 80,000 residents in the province. But the contaminated water is still used by many to bathe and for household chores.

Shana Dooley, 36, an English teacher in Pozoblanco, said she worried about the potential dangers. Both of her children, one of whom is prone to a bacterial infection called impetigo, have had skin rashes over the past few months. Dooley is also concerned that her younger child might be swallowing the water.

Its hard to know if the 3-year-old is drinking the water when hes playing around in the shower, she said.

Elena Lopez, 41, who lives around the corner from Dooley and is seven months pregnant, is considering using water from the well in her backyard  which she has so far used only to water her plants  if tests show it is clean enough.

It is not just drought that has left Pozoblanco and the surrounding towns and villages in such dire straits, says Maria Jose Polo, a professor of hydraulic engineering at the University of Cordoba.

The economic development of the province, where cattle farming either directly or indirectly employs 11,000 of the 80,000 residents, has led to greater water consumption than decades ago.

As well as the reservoir problems, groundwater and wells used by farmers for their cattle have become depleted, she said.

What the province has lost in terms of precipitation over the last 50 years is less than the growth of the demand for water, Polo noted.

If precipitation levels remain low this winter, the southernmost region of Spain, Andalusia, could lose 7% of its gross domestic product, according to local officials. Deeper into the future, studies have shown that 74% of Spain risks encroachment by deserts this century.

The want for water has sown despair all around.

Rafael Munoz, a livestock farmer, had to sell his Iberian pigs because the oak trees on his 2,000-acre farm have yielded no acorns this year to fatten them up.

Extensive cattle grazing, which is a way of life here, is in danger of extinction, Munoz said, adding that the drought was killing about 40 oak trees per couple of acres per year in the forests in this province, which create the last European barrier with the Sahara Desert.

On the other side of the village, Francisco Lopez, 50, who runs a dairy farm, has found his well running out of water, too  and each of his cows needs up to 200 liters of water a day.

To avoid catastrophe, Lopez has dipped into his savings, spending 7,000 euros (about $7,400) to find and gain access to another groundwater source on his land.

I am thinking about giving this up, he said, referring to the farm. Im not going to bankrupt myself maintaining it.

In the village, bakery owner Pedro Fernandez, 64, says that managing the water shortage has become a job of its own for his staff of nine. Ice-cold water is a fundamental ingredient of bread dough, he explained, and every day one of his employees must collect 250 liters from the tankers.

If there are long queues, he has to wait an hour, Fernandez said. We have to plan carefully. We cant afford to run out of water, and we have to keep it at the right temperature.

Many residents blame politicians for not acting sooner. On a recent evening, a group of neighbors who belong to a citizens platform called United for Water met to discuss their options.

In September, they organized a requiem for the dead Sierra Boyera reservoir. But they say that their complaints fall on deaf ears.

A supply of drinking water would be guaranteed, they say, had the depleted Sierra Boyera reservoir been connected to one of the larger  and fuller  reservoirs in the wider region.

The regional politicians have been promising a connection for 30 years, said Miguel Aparicio, president of United for Water.

But the project to connect the province to a strategic reserve of drinking water is a giant undertaking. If it were approved now, it would take at least two years to build, according to Polo, the hydraulic engineer.

The mayor of Pozoblanco, Santiago Cabello Munoz, acknowledges that lack of planning is why the water infrastructure has proved insufficient during the drought. Faced with the prospect of another dry fall, Cabello Munoz and other local officials are scrambling to reassure the population.

Plans to construct, within six months, a water treatment plant capable of purifying even the contaminated  and diminished  supply from La Colada are under discussion, although funding is yet to be approved.

Without rain, however, Polo said she was skeptical.

In the short term, theyve done what they had to do with the tanker trucks, she said. Theres not much else that can be done.

c.2023 The New York Times Company
The exercise took place at the Fire Service College in Moreton-in-Marsh

Around 100 members of the emergency services have recreated a major incident for training purposes.

Gloucestershire police, fire and ambulance services staged a motorway crash involving 17 vehicles. Their aim was to rescue 28 casualties.

The training event was held at the Fire Service College in Moreton-in-Marsh.

Deputy chief fire officer Nathaniel Hooton said attendees aimed to simulate the response to an incident on the M5, which posed a "significant risk".

The exercise simulated a major motorway crash

Mr Hooton, from Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service, said: "One of the main points today is about learning, and making sure we're doing the things right that we are supposed to be doing.

"We practise a lot, we train a lot, and this gives us an opportunity in a realistic situation, with our partners, to ensure that if we did ever have a major incident like this, we could respond in the right way to save life, protect the environment and local properties."

Members of the British Red Cross, Severn Area Rescue Association, Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service and the Casualty Union, which provides actors for training exercises, were also in attendance.

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When astronomer Vera C. Rubin was growing up, she built her own telescope to watch the night sky from her bedroom in Washington, D.C. After being rejected from Princeton for graduate school (where women were prohibited until 1973), she was accepted at Cornell and later began studying how galaxies in the night sky change over time. Her research throughout the 1970s uncovered a mystery about the universe that scientists are still trying to fully understand today.

In collaboration with Kent Ford, Rubins calculations are generally seen as the first substantial evidence supporting the idea that dark matter actually comprises the majority of the universes mass. Today, the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy are honoring Rubin for her work by naming a new observatory in Chile after her.

As the first observatory named after a woman, the Vera Rubin Observatory will provide the most detailed map of the universe in history. While telescopes like Hubble and James Webb can zero in on specific regions of space to get high-quality images of particular galaxies, the Rubin Observatory instead casts a wide net, taking continuous snapshots of the entire visible night sky. Its Legacy Survey of Space and Time will measure the sky every three days over the course of a decade to create a slow-motion movie of observable changes in the universe.

You can think of it as a Google for the sky, says Mario Juric, Ph.D., an astronomer at the University of Washington and the principal investigator of UW's contribution to the Rubin Observatory. It downloads everything that's in the sky and then organizes that into a nice searchable index to offer to astronomers.

In partnership with thousands of astronomers across the globe, the observatory has the potential to help us better understand dark matter and dark energy, detect asteroids with the potential to crash into Earth and answer other astronomical questions that have tantalized scientists for decades. Most of the data it captures will also be publicly available for scientists and amateur astronomers alike within 60 seconds of its capture, said Melissa Graham, Ph.D., a UW astronomer and the Rubin Observatorys Head of the Community Science Team.

To me, it is important that this observatory is named after [Rubin] not only because the data will enable advances in understanding the dark matter she proved existed, but because it represents contributions of women to astronomy and our higher goals of research inclusion: providing a cutting-edge astronomical data set that is accessible to all, Graham told Salon in an email.

Salon spoke with some of the scientists involved with the Rubin Observatory during its construction over the past two decades to get a better sense of what to expect from the observatory. Here are four big astronomical questions it could help explain when it goes online in 2025.

01 The Rubin Observatory could quadruple the number of asteroids and other objects we know about in space

With the technology currently available, astronomers are constantly discovering new objects in the night sky, anything the size of a few feet across to objects as large as Pluto. Since the first asteroid was discovered 200 years ago, about 1.2 million asteroids at least one kilometer in diameter have been identified. The Rubin Observatory's massive scope is projected to nearly double that within the first three to six months after it opens, ultimately increasing the number of these objects we know about in the night sky to around five million by the end of its survey, Juric said. Asteroids detected by the observatory can provide clues into how the planets in our solar system formed and changed over time, he explained.

If you think of the solar system as a big construction yard, these asteroids are like rubble that's left over after construction is finished, Juric told Salon in a phone interview. You can sort of walk through a construction yard and figure out what's been going on by where all the rubble wound up  or where the tools are.

Although most new asteroids will probably be discovered in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, Vera Rubin will also be able to detect near-Earth asteroids that have the potential to strike the planet, said Zeljko Ivezic, Ph.D., a UW astronomer and director of Rubin Observatory Construction.

In order to rule out the possibility that they are dangerous, you need to observe them at least half a dozen times so that you can calculate their orbits, Ivezic told Salon in a phone interview. Then you can answer the question: Are they over the next few centuries going to pose any threat to Earth?

02 It could help astronomers better understand how and why certain stars explode in supernovae

When a star explodes in a supernova, it can release the same amount of light as one billion stars emit at once, making a single point in the sky where the explosion takes place as bright as an entire galaxy, Graham said. Because these supernovae take place light years away, its very rare to detect which star in a cluster is the one exploding, she explained.

Some supernovae can last 10 days, while others last months, with all sorts of changes in color and light throughout the process, Graham explained. The Rubin Observatory, which will host the largest digital camera in the world, will be able to detect changes in light during supernovae that help explain what provokes them and, in some cases such as with carbon-oxygen white dwarfs, whether they might happen because two stars are colliding, Graham said.

By finding millions of supernovae with the Rubin Observatory and the LSST, we will be able to test theories like this for all kinds of exploding stars, Graham said. Understanding supernovae is important, in part because they release the heavy elements fused in stellar interiors [and] these elements go on to form metal-enriched objects like our own planet Earth.

03 It could help us understand the nature of dark matter and dark energy

It has been proposed that dark matter and dark energy  the latter of which causes the universes expansion to speed up  together make up about 96% of the universe, with all of the matter and energy we encounter in our everyday lives making up the remaining 4%. This work builds on Rubins original calculations in the 1990s, which some have argued should have earned her the Nobel Prize.

Because dark energy is invisible  and no one is entirely sure what it is  scientists have to instead look to objects in space that are affected by it as clues that help explain its behavior. One of the main sources of evidence used to prove the existence of dark energy is supernovae. When a star explodes, scientists use the way its light ripples out to space to measure distances and calculate the expansion of the universe.

However, one controversial 2020 study found fluctuations in the brightness of supernovae, which cast doubt on whether they could be used to measure the expansion of the universe and put into question whether dark energy even exists. By measuring distortions of light across billions of galaxies, the Rubin Observatory has the potential to get to the bottom of this question that scientists have been disputing for the past decade.

The ultimate result that we want to get is to see if there is really something that is dark energy that explains the accelerated expansion of the universe, Ivezic said.

04 If there are interstellar objects out there, the Rubin Observatory will likely find them

In 2017, a telescope in Hawaii detected Oumuamua, the first of two interstellar objects to ever enter our solar system. While the origins of Oumuamua have been debated because it lacked any sort of tail that a normal comet would have  with some suggesting it was a spacecraft but more likely evidence suggesting it was indeed a comet  another interstellar object detected in 2019, 2I/Borisov, did have a comets signature tail trailing behind it.

Scientists have long thought more interstellar objects are out there, and the Rubin Observatory is expected to find anywhere between one additional object per year or even one per month, Juric said. In the next decade, the European Space Agency (ESA) is also planning to launch its Comet Interceptor mission, which can be deployed to take photos of what these interstellar objects look like up close. Through the observatory, the mission will likely be able to detect many such objects that would otherwise be missed, Juric explained.

We just don't know what's out there and that's what makes it so interesting, he said. This will tell us immediately how many of these things are floating through space.

The thought echoes what Rubin herself once said when asked whether dark matter does indeed exist: "We know so little about our universe," she said. "It is a strange and mysterious universe. But thats fun.
In a speech that could have passed for a sermon on unity, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie addressed Sunday worshipers at Tabernacle Baptist Church in Beaufort.

If youre looking for the perfect candidate, stop looking, the Republican presidential candidate said from the front of the historic church, established in 1867. If you are looking for the perfect person to be your president, you can move on from me.

Without naming names, he warned those seated in the red upholstered pews against other candidates who wont admit their mistakes and think that every word that comes out of their mouth is divine.

Instead, he said, we must draw strength from our differences and seriously listen to each other.

An occasional Amen! or Tell it! rose up from the small crowd during the roughly 15-minute speech.

We are a country right now that feels very angry and divided, Christie said, explaining that we have to work together, listen to each other and recognize that our similarities are greater than our differences.

It starts with how we treat each other, he said.

Church member Barbara Washington of Beaufort was among those who shook Christies hand after leaving the service.

I think it was a message for everybody, she said.

The Rev. Kenneth F. Hodges sermon echoed similar themes. Based on a passage from Matthew and citing a speech from President Abraham Lincoln, he told congregants that a divided house cannot stand.

In these challenging times, Hodges preached,  only Jesus, and hes knocking right now. .... He died so we can be one.

Christie, who attended the service with his wife, Mary Pat, and a handful of staffers, made a more political stop at a Charleston brewery on Saturday, when he took questions at a town hall about the conflict in the Middle East, immigration, gun rights and school safety.

On Sunday, after the church service, he was scheduled for another stop at Blackstones Cafe in Beauforts historic downtown.
Rep. Mike Flood (R-Neb.) is urging his caucus to vote together as chaos over the House Speakership continues, launching a unity pledge for lawmakers to commit to a single candidate.

The House has been without a Speaker for nearly three weeks after nominees, Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), failed to secure enough support to win election to replace former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), after he was ousted from the top spot earlier this month.

Floods simple, two-paragraph pledge states that the signing member promises to vote for the eventual GOP-designated nominee, no matter who it is.

The Unity Pledge is a new effort to help our conference put our differences aside and come together, Flood said on X, formerly Twitter. Im urging all my colleagues to join this pledge so we can move forward with electing a Speaker and get on with the peoples business.

Seven congressmen have launched Speaker bids, and five of them  Reps. Austin Scott (R-Ga.), Mike Johnson (R-La.), Pete Sessions (R-Texas), Jack Bergman (R-Mich.) and Kevin Hern (R-Okla.)  have said they would sign the pledge as of Saturday evening.

The two missing are Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) and Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Min.). Emmer is viewed as a top candidate for the job, holding the endorsement of McCarthy.

The intention of the pledge is to prevent yet another failed Speaker vote, after Jordan could not get 217 votes of support three times this week.

Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), who was one of the 25 Republicans to vote against Jordans candidacy, endorsed the idea.

I agree with the pledge and I thank Mike Ford for offering a solution, Bacon said on X. From the countrys beginnings, we supported the majoritys choice in the House This was violated multiple times starting in Jan, and we cant have situation where a few ignore the rules. We cant reward bad behavior.

The House pledge is not unlike Republican National Committees (RNC) loyalty pledge for 2024 presidential hopefuls, which commits candidates to endorsing the partys primary victor. Signing that pledge is a requirement for participating in debates.

The GOP frontrunner, former President Trump, has so far refused to sign the pledge.

The Florida state GOP attempted to implement a similar pledge for its state primary, but eventually dropped the idea.

After the GOP caucus selects a candidate on Monday, a fourth Speaker vote is expected next week.

Members of Congress have until noon on Sunday to officially declare their candidacy for the Speakership.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Russian troops attacked the village of Stanislav in Kherson Oblast overnight on Oct. 22, damaging over 30 houses, local governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported.

The attack also damaged a local lyceum, stores, a church, and a communal enterprise, as well as hit a power line and a gas pipeline, Prokudin said.

No casualties have been reported.

At around 10:30 a.m., Russian troops also fired four guided aerial bombs at a settlement near the city of Kherson, Prokudin reported. He did not provide further details but said that there were no casualties.

According to Prokudin, Russian troops attacked Kherson Oblast 103 times over the past day, firing 513 projectiles from mortars, artillery, Grad multiple launch rocket systems, tanks, aviation, and drones.

The governor said one person was injured in Kherson Oblast over the past day.

Russian forces have recently intensified their attacks against Kherson Oblast with guided aerial bombs.

On Oct. 20, Russian troops dropped four KAB guided aerial bombs against the town of Beryslav, killing an 80-year-old woman in her home.

Read also: Russian missile attack on post office in Kharkiv Oblast kills 6, injures 14

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CHICAGO - A 42-year-old man was gunned down Saturday afternoon on Chicago's South Side.

Around 12:25 p.m., police say the male victim was in an alley in the 7300 block of S. Dorchester Ave. when he was shot multiple times to the chest by an unknown offender.

The victim was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

Nobody was reported in custody. The investigation is ongoing.
MAHMUD-E-RAQI, Afghanistan, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Police have detained three drug smugglers and discovered 14.5 kg of hashish from their possession in east Afghanistan's Kapisa province, the provincial police said on Sunday.

The three smugglers had hidden the contraband in cavities of a car and were attempting to take it to an unknown location, the statement said, adding the police during a routine check discovered the drugs and arrested the trio for investigation.

Similarly, police arrested seven suspects on the charge of trafficking illegal drugs to the capital of Kabul recently. Police also took into custody four alleged drug smugglers in Parwan province and another in Takhar province days ago.

The Afghan caretaker government, which banned the cultivation of illegal crops including poppy and hashish in April 2022, has vowed to fight against illegal crops, drug processing and drug trafficking until the once poppy-growing country gets rid of the drug menace. 
Ayelet Svatitzky's mother and brother are still missing after being taken hostage by Hamas

A British-Israeli woman has told the BBC she is "worried sick" for the health of her diabetic mother and brother who are believed to among the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

Ayelet Svatitzky's mother Channah Peri, 79, and brother Nadav Popplewell, 51, were taken by Hamas when their kibbutz in southern Israel was attacked on 7 October.

Her other brother Roi, 54, was killed.

She called on the UK government to do "everything in its power" to secure their release.

On the day of the attack, Ms Svatitzky said she received two pictures, sent by the attackers from her mother's phone, showing the pair sitting in her mother's living room. Underneath was written "Hamas" in English.

Hours later, a third picture was posted on her mother's Facebook showing them with an armed Hamas gunman in the corner.

"That was the last I heard of them," Ms Svatitzky said.

"My mom is 79, she has diabetes. She uses insulin daily. My brother Nadav is also diabetic. So he takes pills for that condition, so the medication issue is really troubling and worrying."

Ms Svatitzky says she does not know how long she can survive without insulin, or her brother without medication.

The WhatsApp photo sent by Hamas showing Channah Peri and Nadav Popplewell

"We haven't been able to get the Red Cross over to provide medication and provide us with any kind of and updates, proof of life, or what state they're in."

Ms Svatitzky said has been unable to grieve for her brother, who was found shot dead at the back of his home after the attack at Kibbutz Nirim.

"His body hasn't been officially identified. I haven't buried him yet. I've lost my brother but I have to do everything in my power to bring my mom and Nadav home.

"I want the British government to do everything in their power... to bring those people home."

She added: "Taking the elderly people and young children, it's a war crime as far as I'm concerned. These are innocent people, they haven't harmed anyone."

Ms Svatitzky and her brothers are all British citizens. The family originally came from Wakefield, West Yorkshire.

Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick said on Sunday the UK was "working intensively with all our partners across the region to secure the release of British nationals" held hostage by Hamas.

Ofri Bibas Levi's brother Yarden (pictured) along with his wife and two young children were taken hostage by Hamas

Ofri Bibas Levi's said it was her "worst nightmare" when she discovered her family members had been taken hostage from their home in Nir Oz.

She has not heard from her brother, Yarden, 34, his wife, Shiri, and their two children, four-year-old Ariel, and nine-month-old Kfir.

"I heard what the Hamas was doing that day. They were torturing people, burning them alive, killing babies, raping women and I couldn't imagine what they were going through.

"I don't know what happened inside the house, what the little babies saw in their house."

She does not know if the family are still together and she is worried if the children's basic needs are being met.

"What are they eating? Are they keeping warm? How are they spending their days? Are they locked somewhere? Do they have sunlight? Are they in a dark place?

"Did they see any horrible things that the child shouldn't see?"

Shiri and her nine-month-old son Kfir are among those missing

She said nine-month-old Kfir had just started crawling and eating formula food before they were taken hostage.

For two weeks her family have asked the international community for support but now "I just want action", she said.

She said she wanted the government to put "pressure for any kind of humanitarian organisation to go inside and check on them and to release them".

"They are civilians and are not supposed to be there. The longer they are there the harder it's going to be to recover them and the less chance they're going to come out alive."

Asked if she still has hope, she said: "I have to."

More on Israel-Gaza war

David Barr is a British-Israeli man living on a kibbutz that came under attack.

His sister-in-law Naomi was killed by Hamas while out jogging.

"My message to the British government is clear: What happened here has no place in this world," he said.

"The hostages have to be brought home first.

"The British government has to do everything as a moral mission, to bring home our elderly parents, children, babies to bring them all home."
Not long after Timothy Keller died of cancer this May 19 at age 72, Christianity Today magazine published a commemorative issue on the New York-based pastor and writer. It had 104 pages and included 10 insightful remembrances plus an excerpt from one of his sermons called Everything Bad Is Going to Come Untrue.

I dont recall anybody but Billy Graham, the magazines founder and the most famous evangelist of the 20th century, receiving such a tribute from Americas premier evangelical Christian publication.

Before that special issue, I had heard one of Kellers sermons online and had read just one of his books, The Prodigal God. And Ive noticed some pastors that I respect quoting him in recent months. I knew from those encounters with Keller that his take on Christianity was a little different from many of his fellow evangelical believers.

Dr. Timothy Keller

My brief description of Keller would be that he was rooted in traditional, orthodox Christianity but with an emphasis on love and grace, not condemnation.

Not that he was alone in that approach, but he certainly didnt fit the stereotype of the judgmental Christian that many people outside the church like to criticize.

In addition to his books  the best-known probably is The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism  Kellers largest work was founding Redeemer Presbyterian Church in 1989 in Manhattan, along with his wife, Kathy.

In a long New York Times obituary, Sam Roberts wrote that Keller was a bestselling author and theorist of Christianity who performed a modern miracle of his own  establishing a theologically orthodox church in Manhattan that attracted thousands of young professional followers.

Mike Haynes

Several social ministries sprang from the church, including Redeemer City to City, a global urban ministry; Hope for New York; and Center for Faith and Work. Redeemer has spread to multiple New York campuses, but not under one large umbrella.

In the CT memorial issue, writer Emily Belz pointed out that Keller didnt want Redeemer to be a megachurch, although it had grown to 5,000 members when he stepped down as its leader in 2017. In a video shown to Redeemer churches the day he died, he said he preferred churches on a human scale and that to have three churches of 800 people is better than having one church of 2,400 people.

Kellers combination of intellectual thought and personal connection, his speaking skills and his best-selling books resulted in publicity that he didnt want. Collin Hansen said in the CT issue that Keller believed he was called to pastoral ministry. Even when Keller criticized evangelicals, he spoke and wrote as a pastor with love for his flock, Hansen wrote.

In 2017, Princeton Theological Seminary planned to give Keller its Kuyper Prize for Excellence in Reformed Theology and Public Witness and asked him to give a lecture along with the award. But because of his orthodox views on homosexuality and womens ordination, various groups protested, and PTS rescinded the prize.

Keller graciously gave the lecture anyway.

Hansen wrote that Keller quoted Lesslie Newbigin, who identified the post-Christian West as the most resistant, challenging missionary frontier of all time. In the lecture, Keller agreed with Newbigin that Christians must not withdraw like the Amish, pursue political takeover like the Religious Right or assimilate like the mainline Protestants.

Keller agreed with James Davison Hunter that faithful presence is a better alternative, and he said one strategy of that presence is emulating the early Christians as writer Larry Hurtado had encouraged.

The persecuted early church wasnt just offensive to Jews and Greeks, Hansen wrote. It was also attractive. The first Christians opposed abortion and infanticide by adopting children. They did not retaliate but instead forgave. They cared for the poor and marginalized. Their strict sexual ethic protected and empowered women and children.

Christianity brought together hostile nations and ethnic groups.

Those are some of the recommendations Keller offered to a Princeton institution that had declined to give him an award. His demeanor that day certainly reflected his belief in the grace of the gospel.

In 2006, Christianity Today wrote, Fifty years from now, if evangelical Christians are widely known for their love of cities, their commitment to mercy and justice, and their love of their neighbors, Tim Keller will be remembered as a pioneer of the new urban Christians.

Mike Haynes taught journalism at Amarillo College from 1991 to 2016 and has written for the Faith section since 1997. He can be reached at haynescolumn@gmail.com. Go to www.haynescolumn.blogspot.com for other recent columns.

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Haynes: Author, pastor Keller founded Redeemer church in New York
Jordan, the GOP

What is wrong with the Republican Party at the national level? How could a small group of people have allowed a lockdown of the U.S. House and the hijacking of our government by insisting Jim Jordan of Ohio become speaker?

One of the most outrageous, ultra-right MAGA-oriented people on the Hill, Jordan could have literally shut down our process of government, killed our economy and cratered the U.S.

How can the American people allow this mega-minority of firebrands, (Jordan, Lauren Boebert, Marjorie Taylor Green , Matt Gaetz, et al.) let this happen? And, why do so many other GOP leaders kowtow to this destructive group?

Jordan has proven he is a divisive lap-dog beholden to #45 and the radical right. He was not the right guy to be speaker.

Timothy McCulla, Matthews

Nancy Pelosi

The headline of an Oct. 13 Opinion column reprinted from the Washington Post about electing a new Speaker of the House read, Is there a grown-up in the House?. It went on to espouse the virtues of former speaker Nancy Pelosi and her mature leadership.

Is this the same Nancy Pelosi who flamboyantly ripped apart then-President Trumps State of the Union speech on national TV?

Dan Houston, York, S.C.

House Republicans

Rather than try to find a path to working with the other side of the aisle in this time of multiple global conflicts and an impending shutdown Republicans in Congress are stuck in self-created muck. Its criminal they get to keep their paychecks  please dont vote for them again.

Philip Solomon, Charlotte

Jordan and Scalise

I found it interesting that Congressmen Jim Jordan and Steve Scalise were able to count votes and recognize that neither of them had enough votes to win Speaker of the House. Where were those math skills on Jan. 6, 2021 when Jordan and Scalise failed to certify Joe Biden the winner of the 2020 presidential election? At that time, President-elect Bidens 306 Electoral College votes eclipsed Donald Trumps 232 votes. I guess math only matters to Republicans like Jordan and Scalise when it reveals an outcome they are willing to accept  unlike the reality and truth that Trump lost the 2020 presidential election.

Patrick Miller, Deep Gap

CMS bond

Passage of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools $2.5 billion property tax-funded bond proposal would be rewarding incompetence. Less than 50% of CMS third through eighth graders are able to read proficiently. More than 23% of students were chronically absent during the 2022-23 school year. And during the 2021-22 school years CMS led the state in criminal/violent acts per 1,000 students. Newer, shiny buildings will not change this. I am voting no.

Jason Huber, Charlotte

Overreacting?

Regarding Lindsey Graham used terrorist logic in barbaric Gaza remarks (Oct. 18):

I dont think for a minute that Sen. Lindsey Graham believes murdering Palestinian children is a rational way to respond to the murder of Israeli children.. Saying Level the place might have been an inappropriate gut reaction to the Hamas attack on Israel, but Baileys comment in reaction, about leaving our Palestinian brothers and sisters to be slaughtered by men like Graham, is a worse one. Words mean things, as a controversial radio host used to say. Both Bailey and Graham should consider words more carefully.

Phil Clutts, Harrisburg

Lyrics to remember

Those whove seen South Pacific by Rodgers and Hammerstein may recognize the pivotal song in the story  Youve got to be carefully taught. The play involves a woman who falls in love, then realizes the mans children are half islanders. She has a hard time coming to grips with her bigotry, as we are not born hating; hatred has to be carefully taught.

A sample lyric: Youve got to be taught to hate and fear, Youve got to be taught from year to year, Its got to be drummed in your dear little ear  Youve got to be carefully taught.

These words still seem to be needed today.

Keith Wilson, Charlotte
Tempe police arrested a suspect in connection with a deadly shooting near Arizona State University early Monday.

Police arrested 33-year-old Quentin Dooley on Wednesday for the second-degree murder of an unidentified victim who was shot in the chest in Tempe near Seventh Street and Mill Avenue, just next to ASU's campus.

Police said Dooley was involved in a beef with the victim and said they possess security camera footage to prove he was responsible for the murder.

On Monday at around 6 a.m., Tempe Police Department received a 911 call from a security guard who just got off work and was riding his bicycle when he heard a gunshot.

Police said in court documents that the victim told the security guard, Help me, Ive been shot.

Emergency medical personnel transported the victim to a hospital where he later died.

Court documents revealed police who investigated the scene of the crime found a fired 9 mm bullet cartridge and several small blue pills consistent with fentanyl.

An eyewitness and security cameras located a suspect fleeing the scene of the crime immediately after the gunshots were reported.

Under scrutiny: Murder, rape cases in Tempe could be in jeopardy over inconsistent crime scene work

Police traced the path of the suspect and found a wallet on the ground with a Georgia ID that belonged to Dooley.

Tempe police found body camera footage from one of their own officers near Fifth Street and College Avenue that showed a man matching the description and clothing of the suspect.

Court documents state that as the suspect approached the officer, he told the officer he was going to the light rail stop and put his hands on top of his head, which the police never asked him to do.

The officer did not have any more interaction with the suspect.

With the wallet of Dooley found at the scene of the crime, police identified him as a suspect. Police described him as homeless in court documents.

Police found that Dooley was a felon on probation for armed robbery in Georgia.

Investigators also found the victims girlfriend, who was in custody in a jail after she was arrested for a warrant on Oct. 13, the last day she saw the victim alive.

When shown a photo of Dooley, she said she knew him as Kane, and had seen him with the victim as recently as a week and a half ago at a Tempe park. She said Dooley and the victim had existing "beefs."

Court documents show that police arrested Dooley on Wednesday near 29th Avenue and Van Buren Street in south-central Phoenix. Dooley was armed with a 9 mm handgun at the time of arrest, the same caliber of casing found at the crime scene, police said.

Police said Dooley gave conflicting reports, first telling them he didnt know how the victim was shot, and later that he and the victim were trying to find drugs to buy and that an unknown person shot the victim.

Dooley said he ran away because he was scared, police said.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Quentin Dooley arrested in Tempe slaying near ASU
Hezbollah fighters rise their group's flag and shout slogans, as they attend the funeral procession of Hezbollah fighter, Bilal Nemr Rmeiti, who was killed by Israeli shelling, during his funeral procession in Majadel village, south Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

BEIRUT (AP)  Hezbollah announced the deaths of five more militants as clashes along the Lebanon-Israel border intensified and the Israeli prime minister warned Lebanon on Sunday not to let itself get dragged into a new war.

The tiny Mediterranean country is home to Hezbollah, a Shiite Muslim political party with an armed wing of the same name. Israeli soldiers and militants have traded fire across the border since Israel's war with the Palestinian group Hamas began, but the launches so far have targeted limited areas.

Hezbollah has reported the deaths of 24 of its militants since Hamas' bloody Oct. 7 rampage in southern Israel. At least six militants from Hamas and another militant group, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and at least four civilians have died in the near-daily hostilities.

Hezbollah has vowed to escalate if Israel begins a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip, which is likely, and Israel said it would aggressively retaliate.

If Hezbollah decides to enter the war, it will miss the Second Lebanon War. It will make the mistake of its life," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday as he visited troops stationed near the border with Lebanon. "We will cripple it with a force it cannot even imagine, and the consequences for it and the Lebanese state are devastating.

Hezbollah and Israel fought a monthlong war in 2006 that ended in a tense stalemate.

Lebanons state-run National News Agency reported that small arms fire was heard along the tense border coming from near the Lebanese village of Aitaroun toward the northern Israeli town of Avivim where key military barracks are located. Meanwhile, Israel shelled areas near the southeastern Lebanese town of Blida.

Israel sees Iran-backed Hezbollah as its most serious threat, estimating it has some 150,000 rockets and missiles aimed at Israel.

Israeli military spokesman Jonathan Conricus accused the group early Sunday of escalating the situation steadily. He said the recent cross-border skirmishes had produced both Israeli troop and civilian casualties but did not provide additional details.

Hezbollah on Sunday posted a video of what it said was a Friday attack targeting the Biranit barracks near the Lebanon-Israel border, the command center of the Israeli militarys northern division. Footage shared by the group showed an overhead view of a strike on what it described as a gathering of soldiers.

During a video briefing, Conricus said the group has especially attacked military positions in Mount Dov in recent days, a disputed territory known as Shebaa Farms in Lebanon, where the borders of Lebanon, Syria, and Israel meet.

Bottom line is  Hezbollah is playing a very, very dangerous game, he said. (It is) extremely important for everybody in Lebanon to ask themselves the question of the price. Is the Lebanese state really willing to jeopardize what is left of Lebanese prosperity and Lebanese sovereignty for the sake of terrorists in Gaza?

The international community and Lebanese authorities have been scrambling to ensure the cash-strapped country does not find itself in a new war.

Hezbollahs leader, Hassan Nasrallah, has yet to comment on the latest Hamas-Israel war, though other officials have. Hezbollah legislator Hassan Fadlallah said Sunday said Nasrallahs silence was part of a strategy to deter Israel from Lebanon and to prevent the enemy from reaching its goal in Gaza.

When the time comes for his His Eminence (Hassan Nasrallah) to appear in the media, should managing this battle require so, everyone will see that he will reflect public opinion," Fadlallah said.
Hingham police are asking residents to be on alert after two senior citizens were scammed out of tens of thousands of dollars in separate incidents.

Hingham police say the first resident, a 76-year-old man, received a text in April that his computer was infected with a virus and he should call MSN for technical support. Unknowingly, the man allowed the scammer to remotely access his computer. Police say the scammer made out electronic checks to several companies totaling almost $19,000 over a period of four months.

Police say the man contacted his bank again this week who informed him he was being scammed.

The second resident, a 72-year-old man, allegedly received a message from Microsoft informing him his computer was hijacked. The man called the number on the account, relaying all his banking information to the scammer so they could close his account and open a new one. The man learned a short time later that both his checking accounts had been completely emptied, stealing a combined $17,500.

These scams, many times referred to as the Microsoft Security Scam, have been happening for years with variations and adaptions made over time. If you receive a message, text or email, simply delete them. If you suspect or worry that your computer or bank/credit card accounts have been actually compromised, always call/email them directly only on the number or email provided on your actual card or statement (never on the phone or email provided in the unsolicited text, phone call or email message), Hingham police said in a statement.

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

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House Republicans are in disarray, paralyzed and with no sign they can unify around a candidate for speaker. At the crux of the problem is a question Representative Kat Cammack (R-Fla.) asked in January during the last speaker fight: Are we the party of Reagan? Ten months later, the answer is resoundingly no. The far right toppled House Speaker Kevin McCarthy , and ran a bruising campaign to install one of their own, Ohio Representative Jim Jordana man former speaker John Boehner once branded a legislative terroristin the job. It failed, but the chaos epitomizes how over the last decade, the GOP has largely replaced the ideological tenets of Reaganism with a worldview inherited from the John Birch Society (JBS), a formerly marginal far-right movement from the 1950s and 1960s.

For decades, conservative leaders tried to consign the Birchers and their intellectual heirs to the fringes of their coalition, but todays Republicans are awash in Birch ideas. These include rampant conspiracy theories (notably about vaccines and election denialism), a penchant for isolationism, and a belief that federal law enforcement agencies are the enemy of liberty, in the words of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who led the fight to oust McCarthy. The Birchers' violent penchant for threatening opponents has even been on display in the campaign to pressure holdouts to vote for Jordan.

Fundamentally, what it means to be a conservative or a Republican has changed in recent years. Political ideas and attitudes that bear the imprint of the JBS are newly dominant. Eight years after Donald Trumps arrival on the scene, this remains shocking, even jarring, and leaves us to wonder: How did the fringe engulf the GOP?

In 1958, a small group of anti-New Deal businessmen led by candy magnate Robert Welch founded the JBS. They named the group after a U.S. Army officer slain by Chinese communistsan apt choice for a group so obsessed with rooting out communism that it often subscribed to conspiracy theories. The JBS alleged, for example, that President Dwight D. Eisenhower was a secret communist and warned against the fluoridation of water.

Read more: The 'Zealot' Who Gave the John Birch Society Its Name

Yet, even as mainstream Americans rejected such notions or denounced the group outright, it nonetheless established an alternative political tradition that challenged the ideology and sensibilities of not just mainstream Republicanismwhich then was center-rightbut also mainstream conservatism. Many issues separated mainstream conservatism from the Bircher fringe, but the most important and profound distinctions centered on explicit racism, anti-interventionism vs. internationalism, tolerance of conspiracy theories, and a more apocalyptic, violent, antiestablishment mode of politics.

A 1962 sign at Stratton, Colo., shows damage from attempts to destroy it. Erected by the John Birch Society, billboard calls for impeachment of Earl Warren. Denver Post via Getty Images

Birchers aggressively opposed the civil rights movement as a Kremlin-directed plot. They charged that Chief Justice Earl Warren intentionally abetted the communists, distributed flyers calling President John F. Kennedy a traitor, and repudiated NATO. None of these claims sat well with more mainstream conservatives. Birchers criticisms of government (one worlders) and media helped spark a revolt against Americas institutions and its elites at a time when trust in both was diminishing across the ideological spectrum. Birchers lobbied school boards to ban supposedly communist teachings such as sex education, shouted down speakers in public forums, formed front groups to push their causes in secret, and deployed fear and intimidation as political weapons, threatening to inflict unspecified harms on their foes.

Read More: The House Goes Another Day Without a Speaker as Jim Jordan Hunts for Votes

While mainstream conservatives sometimes aligned with the JBS on discrete issues and in particular moments, the two sides were more antagonists than partners, each seeing the other as an enemy within whose influence must be squashed. In the mid-1960s, especially after Barry Goldwaters landslide defeat in the 1964 presidential election, some liberal and moderate Republicans and Democrats and civic groups such as the NAACP and the Anti-Defamation League undertook an ad-hoc campaign to vilify the society. This effort helped turn it into an epithet, and the organization shriveled in the 1970s.

But although it faded as a group, the JBS bequeathed a set of fringe ideas to a host of successors. These included activists like leading anti-feminist Phyllis Schlafly and religious leaders like Pat Robertson, who were instrumental in the GOP moving rightward on cultural issues like the Equal Rights Amendment and abortion. The Birchers vilification of government as the nations greatest enemy also moved to the center of the Republican agenda by the 1990s.

In the wake of the Cold War, the America First isolationist vein of Bircher thinking resurged as well, most clearly in commentator Pat Buchanans America First presidential campaigns in 1992 and 1996. The election of Bill Clinton, the first Democratic president in 12 years, alongside the rise of a new group of conservative broadcasters like talk radio host Rush Limbaugh, popularized false conspiracy theories on the rightincluding allegations that Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton murdered their friend and Deputy White House Council Vince Foster, who had tragically died by suicide.

Although George W. Bush courted the fringe during his 2000 presidential campaign, including a stop at Bob Jones University, which barred interracial dating, he rejected the far rights agenda once in office. His compassionate conservatism included education and immigration reform, as well as a muscular, internationalist foreign policy. Bush championed free trade, forged close ties to Mexico and Canada, strengthened some of Americas alliances overseas, built a domestic security state, and pushed out GOP Senate leader Trent Lott for praising Strom Thurmonds pro-segregation 1948 presidential run. He even added a prescription drug benefit to Medicare.

By the end of his term, however, the GOP had turned on Bushepitomized by the rejection of his bipartisan immigration reform bill in 2007 and the refusal of many congressional Republicans to support the TARP economic rescue plan in the fall of 2008.

The grinding war in Iraq, coupled with Bushs attempt to bail out big banks to prevent economic catastrophe, helped the right-wing fringe achieve a goal that dated back to the Birchers: toppling conservative GOP institutionalists. The election of Barack Obama brought some of the Birchers more explicit racism back into GOP politics. Even one-time Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin spread the false, racist conspiracy theory that Obamas birth certificate was fake. This birtherism exposed how the Birch-like, apocalyptic approach to politics and policy had become central to the GOP. The grassroots Tea Party uprising, which fueled a Republican wave election in 2010, included a strong Birchy, anti-GOP-elite element.

All of this was a precursor to the Trump years, when the fringe finally became the dominant force in the GOP.

Fundamentally, the victory by the far-right insurgents had three causes. First, they were able to learn from the Birchers failings and avoid their mistakes, even while deploying the groups framework for understanding and approaching politics and culture.

Second, Republican leaders spent decades courting the fringe. They saw far-right support as necessary to victory and gambled that they could harness the extremists energy while limiting their worst impulses. Republicans assumed that they could court radicals during campaigns, and then govern pragmatically, throwing just enough red meat to the extremists to keep them sated.

Read More: Which Republican Party?

While this strategy worked in the short term, it produced unrealistic expectations for what the GOP could and would deliver. Decades of unfulfilled promises left the hard right feeling betrayed and demanding politicians who would follow through. They took to weaponizing primaries to purge the GOP of insufficiently far right politicians, aided and abetted by a new media and social media ecosystem that made it harder for Republicans to control the information their voters received.

Finally, far-right activists benefited from changes to the economy, culture, and world that fueled alienation among the white working class and some elements of the middle- and upper-classes. An influx of immigrants of color, deindustrialization, and a widening income gap threatened the belief of many white Americans that the U.S. was a white Christian country. It also undermined their faith in the American Dream. The severing of white working-class voters from unions also helped break their connection with the Democratic Party and New Deal liberalism.

That left these voters susceptible to the successors of the Birch Society who stoked their anger and spun conspiracy theories to explain their struggles. They argued that an elite cultural establishment sneered at white voters and their values, while trying to use government power to help everyone else.

The end of the Cold War created new space for isolationists to attack Americas internationalist leadership. Initially, the aftermath of 9/11 undercut these America First sentiments, but the quagmires in Afghanistan and Iraq eventually eroded the rights commitment to Reagans robust internationalism.

Even in the pre-talk radio, cable news, and Internet age, establishment conservatives couldnt banish the right-wing fringe from American politics altogether. But in the early 21st century, the rise of dark money, social media, and conservative media make it harder to imagine a world where the MAGA fever is broken, and the Jordan and Trump wing is expelled from the conservative mainstream.

That does not mean, however, that MAGAs control over the GOP is unshakeable. Trump and his followers have lost three straight national elections. And the fate of the Birchers and their descendants suggests that should they keep losing winnable races, eventually, perhaps, their opponents will gain enough clout to return them to the political fringe.

Matthew Dallek, a professor at George Washingtons Graduate School of Political Management, is author, most recently, of Birchers: How the John Birch Society Radicalized the American Right.

Made by History takes readers beyond the headlines with articles written and edited by professional historians. Learn more about Made by History at TIME here.

Write to Made by History at madebyhistory@time.com.
It went from wonderful to horrible in an instant, Charlotte Hauptman said of that fateful Saturday morning. Not only did we hear the bombs, but we also found out there was an invasion of Hamas coming into the country. And we didnt know where or what or who they were.

Her instinct was to run. Shes an elfin 84-year-old with bright, engaging eyes. She wears her hair tied back and speaks with a similar no-nonsense style. In those hours, it was just constant panic, she told CNN after leaving Jerusalem and landing safely back home in Southern California. Im not afraid of death, but of what can come before.

Hauptman is a Holocaust survivor. So, this was the second time shed fled a group targeting Jews. She fled Hamas in Israel in 2023 by plane as an old lady. She fled the Nazis in Italy in 1944 on foot as a small child.

It definitely shapes ones essence, she says of the Holocaust. Youre familiar with the possibility of horror. Hauptman still remembers the final fearful moments of her escape.

Two Nazi officers were walking towards us, she recalls. The family was just a few miles from safety, from the chunk of Italy occupied by the Allies. They said, Heil Hitler! and we raised our hands. They kept walking, and we kept walking. Just a few feet past, there was a Madonna. We dropped to the ground and prayed in case they would turn around and take a look.

The Holocaust was the largest loss of Jewish life in their long history of persecution and pogroms. October 7, 2023, is now the deadliest day for Jews since then.

Lets get any airline that goes anywhere! was the conversation Hauptman had with her own daughter that morning. And when we got on that plane it already felt like, All right lets go! And then they started selling seats, upgrades! And we thought, Just go, just go!

A trip to reunite with a family who saved them

Charlotte Hauptman was in Israel this fall on a side-trip. The main event of her travels was a wedding in Italy. The bride, Myriam Lanternari, is the great-granddaughter of an Italian couple, Virgilio and Daria Virgili, who Hauptman credits with saving her life and the lives of her parents more than 80 years ago, sheltering them from the Nazis in a little village called Secchiano.

He took us into his home. They gave us food. They gave us shelter, Hauptman said. I knew not to talk to any German. And they came in the village. The Nazis had a garrison nearby.

I remember leaflets being dropped from airplanes, German airplanes, warning the people if you help Jews or Partisans thats the end of you, Hauptman said. No one ever outed us. They stayed protecting us.

Old family photos are seen at Charlotte Hauptman's home. She escaped the Holocaust as a child. - Elizabeth Weinberg for CNN

The villagers concocted a story just in case any Germans started asking questions, Hauptman recalls. Her parents, Wolf and Esther, would be deaf mutes working in the field. And Charlotte would just lose herself in the clique of kids playing in the street.

I knew that our lives were in danger, she says. But then when things lightened up, I was able to be a child. And the Italian people were helpful in letting me have that. I always felt loved. My parents. The villagers. It was always a very warm feeling.

There was another Jewish family living in nearby Cagli, close to a German garrison. The two families would meet up from time to time.

I know that at some point we couldnt visit them anymore, says Hauptman. Because they were taken and killed.

After allied British troops landed in Italy, the Germans became even more skittish and suspicious.

The village became more dangerous, if thats even possible, says Hauptman. Virgilio Virgili decided to take us to the occupied zone where the Allies already were.

Virgilio and his young daughter Mercedes walked Charlotte and her family to safety. The Italian father and daughter were with the fleeing Jewish family when they all fell to their knees in front of that Madonna, just miles from safety, pretending to be nothing more than a gaggle of good Italian Catholics. It worked.

But when Virgilio and Mercedes returned to the village, he was arrested. Virgilio was nabbed by the Nazis, held for days, and tortured, Hauptman said. And Mercedes was with her father when the Nazis arrived. They came and grabbed him and threw him in a Jeep and she was crying and holding on as the Jeep was leaving and they kept hitting her on her hands to let go. He never confessed and was eventually released.

Charlotte Hauptman and Mercedes Virgili remained lifelong friends. Their children are friends. Their grandchildren are friends.

A photo of Mercedes Virgili, left, and Charlotte Hauptman is seen on Hauptman's phone. The framed photo is on display in the Virgili family home in Secchiano, Italy. - Elizabeth Weinberg for CNN

Born in the middle of war

I was born November 25, 1938, right in the middle of it, says Hauptman, matter-of-factly.

The future looked so bleak that her mother, Esther Fullenbaum, thought she should abort her baby. She didnt. And would soon credit Charlotte with saving her life. By making her faint at just the right time.

The story became part of family lore. The Gestapo, Nazi Germanys secret police, were rounding up Jews in Hanover where the family lived. Esther, heavily pregnant, was at her sisters apartment when officers knocked at the door. Esther fainted, so the Gestapo left her behind. But she would never see her sister or brother-in-law again. They were murdered in the camps.

Esther fled to Milan, where her husband Wolf was working at the time. I was born 10 days after she arrived, adds Hauptman.

The family lived there until Italys Jews were rounded up and taken to concentration camps. The Fullenbaums were taken to one in Calabria, in southern Italy. When that camp became too crowded, they were sent to live with a family near Venice.

They had to check in with the police once a week. They were under curfew. And fear rose in Charlotte. I remember being under the table one night crying, she says. My mother asked why I was crying, and I said, Because you will both die and I will be alone.

Italian police officers soon came with a warning. They said tomorrow youre due to be picked up and sent to Auschwitz. So, you better leave now, before curfew and disappear.

Years later, the family found the telegram, sent the next day by the Italian police to their German overlords, which ends: THEY WERE NOT THERE. DESTINATION UNKNOWN.

From that point on, Charlotte  little more than a toddler  was on the run with her parents, protected by the Partisans, who eventually took her family to Secchiano and the Virgilis.

Charlotte Hauptman shows off her mother's ring, which was returned to her years after her family traded it for food in Italy. - Elizabeth Weinberg for CNN

This story is not just my story, its their story, says Hauptman. Her parents spent what little money they had buying food, usually from the village millers wife. Until they ran out of money. But the millers wife had a solution. In exchange for the wedding band on Esthers finger, the family could have all the food they would ever need. She was saving my mothers honor, says Hauptman. So, she could feel comfortable getting the food.

Years later, while living in Los Angeles, Hauptman got a call from an Italian American couple from San Francisco. They had just spent their honeymoon in Secchiano and had met the millers son. Hed given them the ring and asked them to find its rightful owner in America. Hauptman wore the ring as she spoke to CNN.

I dont know how they found us in LA, but they did thats the Italians!

A mother-daughter trip to Israel turns into fleeing for safety

After the Virgili family wedding in Italy, Hauptman and her daughter, Michele Goldman, flew straight to Israel.

She and I had talked about it years ago. We should do this mother and daughter trip, Hauptman said. We thought it would be a good bonding experience. And it was, until the terror began, and she once again had to flee for her life.

Hamas terrorists crossed the border from Gaza into Israel, where they slaughtered 1,400 Israelis and took between 100 and 200 people back to Gaza as hostages. The IDF is now hitting Hamas hard in Gaza, and more than 4,000 Palestinians have now also been killed.

We were sitting having breakfast in the hotel. We had made reservations for a tour to Bethlehem and Jerusalem, said Hauptman. Suddenly the alarms went off and I just looked at the faces of the locals and I read their faces. Panic.

Her daughter, Hauptman would later find out, was panicking on the inside. She lost her husband five years ago when her boys were still young and she told me later that all she kept thinking was, Please dont let my boys lose another parent.

Even now, and even here, in tranquil Southern California, Hauptman says she never feels totally safe. Antisemitism is always there. It goes undercover for a while and then the opportunity arises. Its a cyclical thing, she says. Dont fool yourself. Were sitting here now. In an hour, it can be different.

Never Again, is a slogan about the Holocaust that Hauptman says gets a lot of lip service. Its just a dream, says Hauptman. And she is not hopeful of an imminent peace in the Middle East. As long as there are people who want Israel annihilated and the Jews to disappear, she says. I cant imagine it.

Hauptman also cant imagine returning to Israel. Not yet. But I do want to get over this enough, she says. Enough to go back.

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(CNN)  Leonardo da Vinci was a painter, inventor and anatomist, to name just a few of his talents  and now, you can add innovative chemist to the polymaths many gifts. It turns out the master artist was more experimental with his renowned Mona Lisa than previously thought  and was likely the creator of a technique seen in works created a century later, a new study suggests.

By using X-ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopy, a team of scientists in France and Britain has detected a rare mineral compound within the iconic piece. The finding provides fresh insight into how the work from the early 1500s was painted, according to the study recently published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

Along with lead white pigment and oil, the compound  known as plumbonacrite  was found in the base layer of the paint. A study published in 2019 had identified the mineral in several 17th-century works by Rembrandt, but researchers had not come across it in works from the Italian Renaissance until the new analysis.

Plumbonacrite forms when lead oxides combine with oil. Mixing these two substances on a palette is a technique that later artists like Rembrandt used to help the paint dry, according to the study. Detecting the rare compound in the Mona Lisa suggested that Leonardo could have been the original precursor of this approach, said Gilles Wallez, an author of the latest study and a professor at Sorbonne University in Paris who also was a coauthor on the 2019 report.

Everything which comes from Leonardo is very interesting, because he was an artist, of course, but he was also a chemist, a physicist  he had lots of ideas, and he was an experimenter  attempting to improve the knowledge of his time, Wallez said.

Each time you discover something on his processes, you discovered that he was clearly ahead of his time, he said.

The Mona Lisa, like many other paintings from the 16th century, was created on a wood panel that required a thick base layer, Wallez said. The researchers believe that Leonardo had made his mixture of lead oxide powder with linseed oil to produce the thick coat of paint needed for the first layer, while unknowingly creating the rare compound.

Analyzing the Mona Lisa

Nowadays, researchers arent allowed to take samples from the masterpiece, which resides at the Louvre in Paris and is protected behind glass, Wallez said. Using a 2007 microsample that had been taken from an area of the artwork just behind the frame, however, scientists were able to analyze the paint by using a high-tech machine called a synchrotron. The particle accelerator allowed the team to study the specks composition on a molecular level.

These samples have a very high cultural value, Wallez said. You cant afford to take big samples on a painting, so a synchrotron is the best way to analyze them.

The base layer of Leonardos mural The Last Supper was also found to have the same chemical makeup as the Mona Lisa even though the mural was painted on a wall, according to the study. The scientists had a much wider scope of samples from The Last Supper to look at, 17 in total, which came from the paint flaking off the wall over time, Wallez said.

The Mona Lisa and The Last Supper are two out of fewer than 20 known paintings Leonardo made in his lifetime. Researchers hope they can discover more about the artist and his works with time.

We have long known that Leonardo was an inveterate experimenter, said William Wallace, a distinguished professor and chair of art history and architecture at Washington University in St. Louis.

Therefore, it is not all surprising that we see him experimenting in other media, especially given his dedicated search for the best painterly techniques (often untraditional) to create his living works of art, said Wallace, an expert in Renaissance art and architecture who was not involved in the study.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Rare compound detected in the Mona Lisa reveals a new secret, study says."
At least six people were killed and 16 others injured after a Russian missile strike on a postal terminal in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine, officials have said.

Russian forces fired two missiles from the Belgorod region, near the Ukrainian border, at a building belonging to a logistics company located in the Kharkiv region on Saturday, according to Dmytro Chubenko, the spokesperson for the Kharkiv region prosecutors office.

Chubenko added that search and rescue operations were ongoing and that the identities of the victims were still being established.

Terror and murder will not get Russia anywhere. Terrorists will end up facing justice for everything they have done, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a post on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

Officials examined the damaged postal terminal following the attack. - SERGEY BOBOK/AFP/Getty Images

The United States Ambassador to Ukraine, Bridget Brink, called the deadly attack on the postal office in Kharkiv horrific.

Again, overnight horrific images of Russian violence against civilians in Ukraine  a missile attack on a postal office in Kharkiv killed 6 people and seriously injured more. The Kremlins disregard for life is for all the world to see. The United States stands with Ukraine to hold Russia accountable, Brink posted on social media Sunday.

Kharkiv, in northeastern Ukraine, was liberated from Russian occupation by Kyivs troops last year, but has been the target of frequent aerial assaults by Moscow.

Russian troops are battling to push westwards towards Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine, while also hitting several regions with missile attacks.

Separate Russian airstrikes on the town of Beryslav, in the southern Kherson region, killed an elderly woman on Friday morning, the head of Kherson region military official Oleksandr Prokudin wrote in a post on Telegram.

The occupiers launched four guided aerial bombs at Beryslav. An 80-year-old woman sustained severe injuries in her own house. The woman died on the spot from her injuries, he said in a Telegram post. Seven people were injured due to the strikes, he said.

Over the last week, a secret delivery of long-range American ATACMS missiles weapons has aided Ukraines long-stalled counteroffensive, while Ukrainian troops appeared to have crossed the Dnipro River into the Russian-occupied Kherson region, according to pro-Kremlin military bloggers.

CNNs Olga Voitovych contributed reporting

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Laura Bush of Bluffton quite literally got her hands dirty to deal with stunning human needs in Beaufort County.

As a young woman, she tested stool samples that showed a high percentage of preschool-aged children on Hilton Head Island and in Bluffton were infected with parasites  intestinal worms that would take what little protein the malnourished children were getting.

That came after helping U.S. Sen. Fritz Hollings on his highly-publicized 1968 Hunger Tour of South Carolina by finding people in Bluffton willing to host his entourage.

She recalls that the outsiders saw a child diagnosed with scurvy at one home. At another, you could look through the wall and see the February sky.

That got me started, Bush says today.

It started a career dealing with human needs  working to promote safe water, opportunity for low-income women of the Lowcountry, coordinating a county-wide emergency program to assist families facing financial and medical hardships, and pushing education.

On Oct. 7, Bush was honored with the Peggy May Inspiration Award from the Foundation for Educational Excellence for her more than 50-year commitment to the Lowcountry community through public service.

They shocked Bush with the presentation at the first Lowcountry Fish & Grits Music Festival on Hilton Head, organized by her daughter, Latrese Bush.

Laura Bush, best known for serving 26 years on the Beaufort County Board of Education, said, I didnt see myself doing any of this.

Hospitality to health care

College wasnt an option for Bush, the middle child in a Bluffton family of 14 children.

Her mother was a domestic worker by day and an oyster shucker by night. Her father was a farm worker at Belfair Plantation when it was a large cattle operation owned by the Mingledorff family. At night, he went into the river to help feed the family.

After high school, Bush went to work in the new hospitality industry on Hilton Head, waitressing and busing tables at the Adventure Inn and Port Royal Plantation.

I saw it as my lifes work, she said. I saw nothing else ahead for me.

She was working in the Bluffton store of Superior Cleaners when Thomas C. Barnwell Jr. of Hilton Head walked in and asked if she could help with the Hunger Tour by reaching out to local families.

So I did, Bush said.

And then she helped round up and transport 178 children for a study of parasites and nutrition conducted by three universities. Of those children, 73 percent were infected with parasites, according to testimony in February 1969 before the U.S. Senates Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs.

At one time, Bush recalls, she was cited for her work as a capable colored woman.

She subsequently worked with the Beaufort-Jasper-Hampton Comprehensive Health Services, the Beaufort-Jasper Water and Sewer Authority and the Beaufort County Department of Social Services.

Todays challenge

Today, Bush said if she could wave a magic wand, I would make health care free for everybody, especially workers in the service industry who dont have benefits. Its a shame when people cant pay for medicine because they dont have enough income.

As for education, she said, the schools need to slow down and pound the basics into children in early elementary school and not advance them until they learn basic reading, writing and arithmetic.

We need to put the same type of resources in that as we put into educating our non-English-speaking students, she said. Give them the most resources, the best teachers and a teachers aide in every class.

She said teachers today are not allowed to teach the way they did in previous generations, when teachers really worked with you until you got it. They hammered us with math. People are rushed now. They have 20 to 25 kids and they dont have the time to work with them. Its very sad.

The Foundation for Educational Excellence was established in 2007 to support the mission and goals of the Beaufort County School District. It has awarded over $300,000 in grants to students and to teachers for classroom innovations and resources.

It sees Bushs story as an inspiration for todays students.

My steps were ordered by God, Bush said. I didnt see it. He was there.

David Lauderdale may be reached at LauderdaleColumn@gmail.com.
The stalemate in the House is forcing the Senate to pick up the legislative slack and take the lead on spending.

That includes keeping the government funded, as well as an emerging aid package that includes money to help Israel and Ukraine and to ease concerns at the U.S.-Mexico border, a top issue for House Republicans they may have precious little say over.

Its just so difficult to read how the gears start turning again in the House, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), an ally of Senate GOP leadership, told The Hill. We just cant sit and wait.

House Republicans are entering their third week without a Speaker at a crucial point in the year.

There is less than a month before the next government shutdown deadline, with the House having effectively zapped three weeks of the stopgap bill that ultimately led to Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) losing the Speakership earlier this month.

The Senate is also set to work up the White Houses $105 billion supplemental package that includes aid for Israel and Ukraine in their battles against Hamas and Russia, respectively.

This leaves lawmakers with a time crunch, as they hope to get the work done before Thanksgiving without much help from across the Capitol complex, where funding legislation normally originates.

President Bidens request to Congress included $61 billion for Ukraine, $14 billion for Israel, $14 billion to beef up border operations, $10 billion in humanitarian aid and $2 billion for Indo-Pacific security assistance. The push for Ukraine aid comes after Congress was unable to include it in the 45-day continuing resolution lawmakers passed at the end of last month.

Efforts on the Israel and Ukraine fronts in Congress are being shepherded by the two Senate leaders. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has been a leading proponent for the boost in funds, saying in a statement after Biden announced his plan that it sends a clear message to Americas friends and allies that we have your back.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) also appeared on a pair of Sunday talk shows last week to talk up the need for funds to help the two war-torn countries, having said Friday that the situation requires decisive action by the upper chamber.

The move was a pointed one coming from McConnell  who is the most powerful Republican in Congress after McCarthys ouster  as the last time the GOP leader appeared on a Sunday show was in April 2022 to talk up U.S. support for Ukraine.

Until the House gets back up and running, its the upper chamber that will be leading those supplemental discussions.

This place needs to open. This chamber here needs to be active. We have the clock ticking on a continuing resolution, Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.) told reporters last week. We need to be able to get back to our work. This place needs to be operational.

The border component of the supplemental request is top of mind.

A group of leading Senate Republicans huddled in Sen. John Thunes (R-S.D.) office Thursday as they attempt to close the gap on the issue in order to win support from conservatives in the House while simultaneously mollifying the White House and Democrats. The inability to do something good enough for conservatives was the reason why no border items were included in the 45-day stopgap bill.

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), who has been a lead figure in immigration negotiations over the past year, is taking an active role in talks, serving as a conduit between the White House and Senate Republicans in an effort to strike a deal that includes what they deem to be items that have real operational impact.

Members who took part in the meeting told reporters they want policy provisions included on top of the $14 billion that Biden requested in order to stem future flows of migrants.

It has to be strong. It has to be real, Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) said shortly after the sit-down.

Despite the complete dysfunction in the House, the Senate hasnt exactly been working as a well-oiled machine lately. The chamber took nearly four days last week to pass a resolution saying that it stands with Israel against terrorism.

The Senate also has struggled to restart its own government funding effort. The initial package of three spending bills  known as a minibus  struggled throughout last week to strike a deal on an amendment package to help move it along. Sen. Susan Collins (Maine), the top GOP on the Senate Appropriations Committee, told reporters that she is hopeful lawmakers will resume consideration of the first minibus next week.

That struggle to move the Senates spending bills along is creating concern that it could back Congress into a corner and force members to pass an omnibus before the end of the year.

Were running out of time  Im really worried, said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), an appropriator and a former House member, adding that she is growing increasingly frustrated with the Houses troubles as there is no end in sight.

Any House member I talk to, they now just shrug their shoulders like they dont know whats going on or where the end is, she added.

Emily Brooks contributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
SAN DIEGO  Nearly a thousand people marched through downtown San Diego on Saturday to call for a ceasefire as conditions continue to worsen for Palestinian civilians amid intensifying Israeli airstrikes in Gaza.

The demonstrators echoed similar calls from other protests held in cities around the world on the day that the first trickle of humanitarian aid entered the enclave since the beginning of the war over two weeks ago.

Waving Palestinian flags and holding signs that read Free Palestine, participants gathered near the U.S. District Court of Southern California in solidarity with those in Gaza, pushing for the end to Israels blockade and retaliatory airstrikes launched on the enclave.

Live updates | Israel plans to step up attacks on the Gaza Strip

It was the third pro-Palestinian protest in San Diego since the conflict erupted on Oct. 7, when the extremist militant group Hamas launched a brutal surprise attack on Israel.

We need more support for Palestinians in Gaza, but also here in the U.S. as well, said Sarah Farouq, a community organizer with the San Diego for Palestine Coalition. The coalition organized Saturdays demonstration.

It affects thousands of people and the fact that people in Gaza have been displaced from their homeland  hundreds of thousands are seeking shelter, she continued. (But) this is not just an issue overseas  folks here in San Diego are being affected. We have our own community members that have family in Gaza and Palestine.

Authorities in Gaza say more than 4,300 people  including more than 1,000 children  have been killed in Israels bombardment on the densely-packed territory since Oct. 7. Over 1,200 others are still believed to be below the rubble, according to Palestinian health officials.

More than 1,400 Israelis have died in the conflict, the vast majority being civilians that were killed in the initial Oct. 7 assault by Hamas. At least 200 others, including children, were captured by militants and taken into Gaza, according to the Israeli military.

Two American hostages, a mother and her teenage daughter, were freed on Friday.

Meanwhile, over a million people have been displaced, including hundreds of thousands of residents that fled northern Gaza after Israel issued an evacuation order ahead of an expected ground invasion of the territory.

On Saturday, 20 trucks delivered much needed supplies to civilians to the besieged strip, including canned food, basic medical supplies, medicines and water. United Nations officials say it is just a tiny fraction of what is needed for those sheltering in the area as a result of the conflict.

This comes as a Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) introduced a resolution alongside a coalition of progressive representatives to urge President Biden to work towards a ceasefire and de-escalation of the conflict.

I am grieving for every Palestinian, Israeli, and American life lost to this violence, and my heart breaks for all those who will be forever traumatized because of it, Bush said in a statement introducing her resolution.

War and retaliatory violence doesnt achieve accountability or justice; it only leads to more death and human suffering, she added. The United States bears a unique responsibility to exhaust every diplomatic tool at our disposal to prevent mass atrocities and save lives.

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres similarly urged for a ceasefire in the conflict earlier this week, warning that the region is on the precipice of catastrophe.

Activists at Saturdays demonstration called for San Diego officials to follow suit.

The coalition said it had issued a letter to County Supervisors, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria and several members of the San Diego City Council  many of whom have shown support for Israel  imploring them to support a ceasefire.

Little light, no beds, not enough anesthesia: A view from the nightmare of Gazas hospitals

We are calling on our local electeds  to speak up against this, to speak up against the violence, Farouq said. Were not being heard and we want to make sure that were being supported by our local elected officials and that our federal elected officials are standing on the right side of history in demanding a ceasefire immediately.

The group also hoped to raise awareness about the 75 year-long military occupation by the Israeli government on both Gaza and the West Bank that human rights organizations like Amnesty International have argued amounts to an apartheid system.

We wouldnt be here in the first place if there wasnt an occupation and a siege on Gaza (and) the West Bank territories, Farouq said. This did not start on Oct. 7. This has been going on for decades and so people need to start paying attention to what is happening  everybody has a role to play in ending this genocide that is going on against Palestinians.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego.
At least Simpson has a backbone

I applaud Rep. Mike Simpson for not voting to confirm Rep. Jim Jordan as speaker. Too bad Rep. Russ Fulcher does not have the same intestinal fortitude. I hope Simpson ignores the Idaho GOPs statement condemning his vote.

Rep. Jordan supported Trumps efforts to override the 2020 election and has been fighting efforts to hold Trump accountable for his criminal acts.

He has also acted in the politically motivated and unfounded efforts to impeach President Joe Biden.

His actions, statements and efforts are dividing the country and should disqualify him from holding this extremely important position.

Glenn Anders, Meridian

Cancer investments needed

We all know someone who has heard the words, You have cancer, and many of us have faced a diagnosis ourselves. As someone who does research on cancer, I traveled to Washington, D.C., last month to let my voice be heard and to call on Congress to make investments in cancer research a top priority.

Lives are at risk. Nearly 610,000 Americans will die from cancer this year alone. But with over 18 million cancer survivors alive today, we know that investments in cancer research have made a real difference for millions of Americans. Further investments in research hold the key to saving lives and ending cancer as we know it for everyone.

I met with Rep. Mike Simpsons staff and explained that each dollar Congress puts toward cancer research offers hope to so many Americans. Breakthroughs in treatment and prevention will only be realized through increased funding and investment.

Congress must act now. By increasing medical research funding at the National Institutes of Health to $51 billion, we can continue to make progress in the fight against cancer.

Cody Wolf, Boise

Support for Pierce

Having called Eagle home and being involved in the community since 1980 (mayor, city council, planning and zoning, fire commission), I have seen some good elected officials and some not-so-good in those 43 years. Mayor Jason Pierce is one of the best. I dont agree with everything he has advocated, but I respect the open and candid decision-making process he has followed. He has shown a vision of the future that will help Eagle retain its rural perspective in an urban setting (called rurban by some). He has assured that decisions affecting the foothills and elsewhere will be made in Eagle and not elsewhere. He has limited taxpayer costs by seeking the financial support of other entities in development of projects such as the greenbelt bridge over the Boise River, the 90-acre regional park, and the Pet IQ dog park. His five-year plan maintains what the City has and prepares for what it will need. I am voting for Jason Pierce. I hope others will do the same.

Steve Guerber, Eagle

Backing Schasel

I was Adam Schasels student back in 2018. At the time, . Schasel was teaching economics, and I have to say, it was my favorite class of them all. I learned so much more than with any other teacher and the best part is, there was never a boring session or a bad day for him. To this day, Im still in contact with him, and I have to admit, its been great having him around especially now that hes a candidate for Nampa School District Zone 2. Best of luck is what most would say, not me. With this young mans hard work, luck isnt very much needed. See you on Nov. 7 and dont forget to vote for Schasel.

Ibo Lara, Nampa

Endorsing Simison

We are writing to express our support and endorsement of Robert Simison to serve Meridian as Mayor for one more term.

We have known Simison a long time, starting with his work as chief of staff to Mayor Tammy de Weerd, as my boss when I served as the community development director for the city of Meridian, and now as a close colleague as a small business owner and employer in Meridian. In all of these settings, we have found Simison to be thoughtful, resourceful, and most importantly passionate about Meridians best interest.

We have also seen his persistent pursuit of Meridians interests in regional and state settings as well. This is evident with his years of effort on transportation issues, his focus on public safety issues, and purpose-driven growth. He is not afraid to roll up his sleeves, work on long-range initiatives, and partner with the business community and other governments to accomplish great things.

We encourage all voters to learn more about Robert at simisonformeridian.com, talk to your friends and family, and most importantly vote on Nov. 7.

Cameron and Jamie Arial, Meridian

Supporting McLean

I am a native Idahoan and have lived in Boise for much of the last 77 years. For at least three decades, I believe Boise benefited from the exceptional leadership of our mayors, both Republicans and Democrats, and city council members. They have guided our fair city with competence, foresight and compassion. Mayor Lauren McLeans administration has continued that legacy.

McLean started her tenure in the mayors office in 2020 during the early days of the Covid pandemic  a no-win situation at best. Notwithstanding, together with the city council, she did a credible job of leading the city during the turbulent pandemic years and pushed forward with important initiatives. Perhaps the most important of these initiatives is the zoning code rewrite. One issue the rewrite addresses is affordable housing. Boiseans deserve housing that is affordable, situated in reasonable proximity to excellent parks and services, accessible to diverse transportation alternatives, and allows ready access to employment opportunities. The zoning code revisions provide significant opportunities for such affordable housing.

McLean listens to Boises citizens and gets things done. She has my vote for another term.

Roy Schiele, Boise
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has directed the Dwight D. Eisenhower carrier strike group to steam to the Middle Eastern waters of U.S. Central Command as part of an effort to counter recent escalations by Iran and its proxy forces in the region, according to a statement released Saturday by the Pentagon.

The move will be the first time a carrier has operated in CENTCOM waters since the end of the Afghanistan war in August 2021.

Austins order follows the Navy destroyer Carneys Thursday interception of cruise missiles and drones launched by Iran-allied Houthi rebel forces in Yemen and drone attacks against U.S. troops elsewhere in the region.

Carneys intercepts of the ordnance, which Pentagon officials believe were heading toward Israel, potentially represents the first shots by the U.S. military in the defense of Israel during this conflict, which erupted after the Palestinian militant group Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7 that killed more than 1,300 Israeli civilians and at least 31 American citizens.

That conflict has provoked fears of a broader regional war involving Iran and its proxies.

Sailors assigned to the Navy destroyer Carney stand watch in the ships Combat Information Center during an operation to defeat a combination of Houthi missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles on Thursday in the Red Sea. (Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Aaron Lau/Navy)

Along with the Ike and its strike group, a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, missile battery, as well as an unspecified number of Patriot missile battalions, are also being sent to the region, according to the statement.

Austin has also placed an additional number of forces on prepare to deploy orders as part of prudent contingency planning, to increase their readiness and ability to quickly respond as required, according to the statement.

The statement didnt put a number to those additional forces, but the Pentagon announced this week that 2,000 troops have already been put on standby for quick deployment if needed.

I will continue to assess our force posture requirements in the region and consider deploying additional capabilities as necessary, Austin said in Saturdays statement.

U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria were attacked by drones this week, and the Pentagon reported minor injuries and the death of a contractor who suffered cardiac arrest during one of the attacks.

The Navy destroyer Carney shot down multiple missiles and drones fired by Iran-allied Houthi rebels in Yemen on Oct. 19, 2023, in the Red Sea. (Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Aaron Lau/Navy)

The Eisenhower strike group left the East Coast last week, and was initially heading to the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, where the carrier Gerald R. Ford and its strike group are already on station and have had their deployment extended.

Meanwhile, CNN reported that Carneys work to intercept the Houthi attack Thursday took place over nine hours and involved the ship shooting down four cruise missiles and 15 drones.

Carney had passed through the Suez Canal Wednesday and intercepted the missiles and drones in the Red Sea using SM-2 surface-to-air missiles, CNN reported.

The last time a Navy warship intercepted Houthi rebel launches was in October 2016, when fellow destroyer Mason executed countermeasures to stop an Houthi attack on the destroyer and other ships.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
I recently traveled to England, Scotland, and Belgium.

I arrived with some preconceived notions that were proven entirely wrong.

London isn't a 24-hour city like New York, but it's miles ahead in environmentalism.

After weeks of research, there were some things I didn't expect during my recent trip to Europe.

I went to London, Brussels, and Glasgow in late September for a 10-day vacation with my friend for her birthday. It was my first time traveling across the pond, so I was very excited to experience cities I'd only seen through pictures and films. I prepared by reading travel articles online, watching TikToks on what to pack, and asking my colleagues for activity suggestions beforehand. However, there were still a few things I didn't see coming.

Here are three assumptions about the United Kingdom and Belgium that were quickly dashed.

London isn't a 24-hour city like New York, where people enjoy nightlife any day of the week

I spent four days in London, England. Lauren Edmonds/Insider

My friend and I were riding in the back of an Uber through London when we sparked a conversation with the driver. It was a Wednesday around 8 p.m.

"So, where can we go to drink and dance tonight?" my friend asked.

The driver looked at us through the rearview mirror curiously before answering with a question.

"Isn't it Wednesday?" he asked.

He made a fair point, but we assumed that London's nightlife mirrored New York City, where there's a monstrous appetite and industry for after-hour activities. Clubs and bars are usually open until 4 a.m. several nights a week, and there's never a shortage of eateries to stumble into afterward. NYC is also dubbed "The City That Never Sleeps" for its subway system, which runs 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

A selfie I took in London. Lauren Edmonds/Insider

Although we still had an absolute blast, we struggled to find venues in London that stayed open past 2 a.m., and most eateries closed shop by midnight. London Underground, the city's rail transit system, ends service by midnight between Monday and Saturday.

I was curious why London didn't have more late-night options, and a quick Google search showed I wasn't alone. Time Out published an article titled "Why did London start going to bed so early?" in February 2023, and one Telegraph article headline from July read, "London's nightlife is an embarrassment."

The pandemic and economic hardships likely played a role in the lack of options, but the trend may not be confined to London. The New York Post reported in June 2023 that some 24-hour restaurants in New York City were cutting down their hours post-pandemic.

Uber and rideshare apps are less reliable in parts of Europe compared to New York City

Living as an American in New York City has conditioned me to think Uber and other rideshare options are always an option. Whether it's 3 a.m. or 10 p.m., I've always felt confident that I could open an app and get a ride home with little effort.

But in London, Glasgow, and Brussels, my friend and I faced cancellation after cancellation. We attempted to plan for each daily excursion by ordering the Uber at least 15 minutes before leaving, but we often left later than expected because rideshares kept bailing.

The Grand-Place in Brussels, Belgium. Lauren Edmonds/Insider

While it didn't ruin our plans, we certainly didn't think to explore the cities' Uber trends before flying to Europe. If we did, we probably would have come across the Reddit board in March questioning the wave of cancellations in Brussels and cabbies sharing their insights into the issue with Time Out in November 2022.

But there's always a silver lining.

The struggle to book Ubers forced us to walk more often, meaning we interacted with more people and had spontaneous explorations in Brussels. In London, we navigated the Tube to different parts of the city and took a boat tour on a whim.

I was surprised by the significant push for sustainability in Europe, which differs from the US

The United Kingdom and Belgium have the US beat regarding environmentalism, and it's not a secret. The Environmental Performance Index (EPI) created by Yale University reported the United Kingdom ranked 2nd and Belgium 21st on the list, while the US ranked 43rd in 2022.

Signs show the Ultra Low Emission Zone in London, England. BEN STANSALL/Getty Imaegs

Still, I was surprised by how significant the push for sustainability is in London, Glasgow, and Brussels. The Visit Brussels website said the Brussels-Capital Region is a low emission zone, meaning that most polluting vehicles are not permitted to drive there, with a potential fine of 350 (or $368 USD) for non-compliance. Glasgow and London have similar areas, with London officials implementing an Ultra Low Emission Zone across all its boroughs, according to the Mayor of London's website.

Meanwhile, The National Association for City Transport Officials said Santa Monica, California, became the first US city to pilot a zero-emissions delivery zone in April 2020.

There were more subtle efforts, too. Each hotel I stayed at gave me wooden room keys instead of plastic ones.

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Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil of the state of Rajpipla in Gujarat, India, became the country's first openly gay prince. Sajjad Hussain/AFP via Getty Images

Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil became India's first openly gay prince when he came out to the public in 2006.

In October, India's top court rejected same-sex marriage, but Gohil said he remains optimistic about the future of LGBTQ+ rights in the country.

The court ruled that transgender couples have the right to marry and suggested a committee for LGBTQ+ rights.

This is an as-told-to essay based on a conversation with Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil, who became India's first openly gay prince when he came out in 2006. He is now an advocate for LGBTQ+ rights in India and the founder of Lakshya Trust, a nonprofit organization dedicated to HIV/AIDS education and prevention. The essay has been edited for length and clarity.

When I was growing up, there was no chance for me to find out my sexuality because we didn't have a counselor in school. I didn't have anywhere to go and talk about my behavior or this kind of feeling that I had.

There was also absolutely no sex education in school, and parents felt shy to talk about sex. So children often grew up in confusion, not knowing about their sexuality. That was completely missing.

But there's been a significant change in the mindset of the people. We've created a lot of allies: The Rainbow Parents association comprises of 200-plus parents from all over India who have accepted their children. The Indian Psychiatric Society resolved that homosexuality should not be treated as a mental disorder, and has been working to ensure that mental health practitioners and doctors don't indulge in malpractice or unethical issues.

Gohil as a child. Courtesy of Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil

Bollywood and the media has changed a lot, too. The media used to use derogatory terms like calling LGBTQ+ people "unnatural," "abnormal," or "criminal," but that language has changed. Bollywood used to portray us as comical characters and jokers, but now, there are serious films about the issues we face.

A major change is in the youth population  and the youth population of India is the largest in the world. There has been a lot of awareness and curiosity among students. They want to know a lot about us. I've already done 18 TED Talks in India, and they're all student-driven.

Because students have become an ally, I have hope for India. They are the future of our country. If we are able to change their mindset and get them to understand our issues, then we can expect a bright future.

On the Supreme Court's ruling rejecting gay unions

Recently, India's Supreme Court rejected same-sex marriage. There has no doubt been disappointment around the ruling, but there have also been positive steps taken to ensure LGBTQ+ rights.

Members of the Student Federation of India (SFI) along with LGBT activist hold placards and shout slogans during a protest march against India's Supreme Court verdict on same-sex marriage, in New Delhi on October 18, 2023. Arun Sankar/AFP via Getty Images

The government's stance has long been that legalizing same-sex unions will affect the culture of the country, but that stance has softened to an extent when the government agreed that same-sex couples have been deprived of certain benefits that heterosexual couples enjoy.

In 2018, homosexuality was unanimously decriminalized in India. In that case, they found that there were four fundamental rights in the constitution that were being violated.

In this case, there were again five judges on the bench. Two were supportive to the LGBTQ+ community, and three were not. The majority won. But they did rule that transgender men and women have the right to marry.

They also said that anyone who wishes to live together as a couple can legally do so without any stigma, discrimination, or violence against them. Many times, parents have used force to keep their gay children from living with their partners, and now the judgment has said that the state will protect couples from forced separation.

The government also suggested to the Supreme Court that a committee be formed that can help look into issues that same-sex couples face, like setting up bank accounts, joint properties, inheritances and wills. That committee will be formed of government officials, mental health practitioners, and members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Holy Hindu Saints and United Hindu Front stages agitation against the petition before same-sex marriage in Supreme Court, at Jantar Mantar on April 27, 2023 in New Delhi, India. Sonu Mehta/Hindustan Times via Getty Images

Solutions to work toward

I am optimistic about the future of LGBTQ+ rights in India. I've worked with political representatives and parliamentarians, and we have created allies. I'm proud to say that I have an ally in each and every political party in India.

For me, one ally is enough to make the change. I'm not a political person. I don't plan to run for elections or anything. But I do plan to continue making others realize our value, and that's how we win them over and get them on our side.

Because there have been so many petitioners and advocates fighting for LGBTQ+ rights, the government has become more educated. So although the Supreme Court rejected the petition for same-sex unions, it's not a rejection without a solution.

See, when you're rejecting something and not giving a solution, then that is a major disappointment. But there is a solution, and we should work on that solution. It's our duty to work on it.

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Airplane flight rules. Boat restrictions. Emergency preparedness. Traffic assistance.

The big boost in launches on the Space Coast isn't just bringing more tourists to Brevard, it also has a ripple effect on other industries as they work to accommodate  or, in some cases, capitalize  on the unprecedented pace.

Airlines, cruise ships, emergency operations officials and police have had to adjust as the skies above the Space Coast get busier.

The Space Force, which runs the Eastern Range, has collaborated with partner organizations like the Federal Aviation Administration and commercial spaceflight companies to shrink potential hazard zones, making it easier on planes and boats.

Here are some of the ways the uptick in launches is impacting other areas of the Space Coast.

Rocket launch impacts on the airline industry

Shem Malmquist, an instructor at Florida Institute of Technology's College of Aeronautics, said launches can result in route changes for commercial airline flights.

"In a nutshell, you have to close off a region of airspace off the coast," said Malmquist, who also is a Boeing 777 captain, flying primarily on international routes.

Airspace, for example, could be restricted 30 to 50 miles off the coast, potentially forcing airlines to modify their preferred routes. Those delays can affect flights to and from the Northeast, as well as trans-Atlantic routes.

That, he said, has the potential to create additional bottlenecks for airlines, especially if there already are storms over Florida restricting airspace, potentially adding 30 minutes to a scheduled flight time.

Future launch changes: NASA shuffles astronaut missions, Boeing's Starliner to remain grounded even longer

"It's almost like another obstacle up there," Malmquist said.

One way the Federal Aviation Administration helped alleviate this pain was with the recent implementation of modified, restricted no-fly zones, making them smaller for most SpaceX Falcon 9 launches.

This graphic depicts newly altered no-fly zones to the northeast of Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and Kennedy Space Center in Florida, designated by the Federal Aviation Administration for most rocket launches. The reduction in closed air space is designed to reduce delays for commercial flights in and out of central Florida by upwards of 300 minutes and 1,500 miles.

"Sections of airspace to the north that had been traditionally closed for all launches can now remain open during most launches," the agency said in a release in April. "Based on risk analyses conducted for every launch and working with the U.S. Space Force and space launch operators, the FAA determined the existing airspace restrictions for most Florida launches were too large and could be safely reduced."

This change mainly impacts commercial airline flights that travel northeast of Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and Kennedy Space Center. According to the FAA, the change should help hundreds of passengers experience reduced flight delays.

According to the FAA, from April to mid-June, zero airline flights were required to be rerouted during 10 of the 12 launches that featured the reduced no-fly zone.

Brevard Emergency Operations Center cuts back staffing

Brevard County's Emergency Operations Center in Rockledge is among the most activated facilities of its kind in the country, largely because of the relentless launch cadence schedule.

In 2022, the EOC had 76 total activations, of which 73 were launch-related, including some that resulted in scrubs. The other three were for hurricane or tropical storm activity, with a total of 15 days of storm-related activations.

As of Friday, there were 71 total activations at the EOC this year, including 68 for rocket launches (57 that launched and 11 that scrubbed). The other three activations were weather-related, which generally require more staffing than a launch.

Spectators leave the area near at the A. Max Brewer Memorial Bridge in Titusville after a SpaceX and NASA Crew-2 mission, sending four astronauts to the International Space Station on the Falcon 9 rocket in 2021.

In explaining the launch-related activations, Brevard County Director of Communications Don Walker said: "We activate so were in a position to keep the public informed, in case theres an anomaly and in case there is any type of safety precautions or safety steps that need to be taken as a result."

With the increased frequency of launches, the county in April modified its activation plan, in part to reduce staffing requirements, particularly for less-risky launches that do not have a toxic dispersion risk.

"The frequency of space launches has significantly increased in recent years, and is showing no signs of slowing down," Emergency Operations Center officials said in a memo announcing the changes. "This fact prompted us to reexamine our launch posture/approach."

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There now are four classifications of launches, down from the previous six, with the lowest-staffed launches, classified as "non-toxic." The modification of the categories helped reduce the required staffing for most launches. Non-toxic missions are now staffed at the EOC only by the Emergency Management Department's launch coordinator and a public information officer.

Walker said the lowest staffing level for a launch is two for a low-risk launch, and the highest is 25 to 30 for a high-risk radiological launch.

"Emergency Management looks at it by hazard and threat to the public," Walker said. "We work with the Cape and Range Support, which provides us that information. We look at what might affect the general public on land."

Walker said risk factors are primarily toxic fuel and debris, in case of an anomaly.

A high-visibility launch would be one that would bring in a lot of people and traffic that would tie up roadways and pose issues for emergency responders or emergency vehicles trying to get to people in an emergency, Walker said.

An example of a low-risk launch would be a Falcon 9 Starlink mission, such as one that occurred Oct. 17.

The last high-visibility launch was the Falcon 9 NASA Crew-7 on Aug. 26, 2023. The last high-risk and high-visibility launch was Artemis 1 on Nov. 16, 2022.

Walker said a high-visibility launch might occur an average of three to four times a year, and a radiological launch might occur an average of once a year.

For the radiological launches, there are 18 categories of launch support deployed, ranging from firefighting to health/medical, which includes agencies like the National Weather Service and the Florida Department of Transportation.

"We put out messaging all the time, which is a resource to alert the public of whats going on and when there have been issues in the past," Walker said. "We work closely with other agencies during various launch events on traffic control, public safety, and emergency response," including working with first responders to facilitate access to patients during launches where there is heavy traffic and large crowds, particularly for crewed launches.

Walker said county staff assigned to Emergency Operations Center duty for launches receives "flex time," rather than overtime. That means, for example, if they work for four hours during a launch outside their normal work hours, they can take four hours off at another time during the week.

County, municipal public safety agencies react

Traffic tie-ups  especially on the days of crewed or other high-profile launches  are the main issue public safety agencies deal with.

"Other than an increase in vehicular traffic in the area during the launch window, the Sheriffs Office has not experienced any significant impact to our operations," said Tod Goodyear, public information officer for the Brevard County Sheriff's Office.

Brevard County Fire Rescue Chief Patrick Voltaire said, for most launches, his department has normal staffing.

That changes if there is a crewed launch that brings in a large crowd. In those cases, Voltaire said, "we will up-staff special units to manage the gridlock of State Roads A1A and 528/520," which he said happens, on average, about once a year.

There have been so many launches in recent years that an individual launch doesn't necessarily draw the crowds that launches used to draw, according to Cocoa Beach Beach Police Sgt. J. Hughes.

She said Cocoa Beach police havent been impacted, in terms of recent launch-day traffic patrols or crowd congestion.

I think it's just such a regular thing here, now that we just haven't had the flow of people coming in for launches, because they're so frequent, Hughes said.

Port Canaveral: a story of cruise ships and rockets

In January 2022, SpaceX had to delay a launch when a cruise ship entered the launch exclusion zone.

A scheduled SpaceX Falcon 9 launch of an Italian Space Agency Earth observation satellite was scrubbed because the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Harmony of the Seas entered the launch exclusion zone as it was leaving Port Canaveral.

That incident helped trigger discussions involving the port, the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Space Force, and other entities aimed at preventing such a scrub from happening again. And, so far, no other cruise ships have caused issues with scheduled launches, according to Port Canaveral Chief Executive Officer John Murray.

The port uses social media to post exclusion zone maps about 24 hours in advance of every scheduled launch.

A typical Port Canaveral Facebook post prior to a launch includes this information: "For any boaters planning to watch the launch from the water, please avoid this area leading up to and during the launch of the rocket. Monitor VHF Channel 16 for the latest safety information broadcasts, and stay safe on the water." The post also includes a map and a QR code to direct boaters to the launch briefs by Space Launch Delta 45.

This is a U.S. Coast Guard/Space Launch Delta 45 launch exclusion zone map that Port Canaveral posted on its Facebook page in advance of a July 9 SpaceX Falcon 9 launch.

Scrub triggers changes: Coast Guard fast-tracks changes after cruise ship scrubs SpaceX launch

Among other changes, the incident led to a modification of launch exclusion zones, tailoring a more specific path that cruise ships and other vessels can take into and out of the port. The zones are more condensed than they used to be  especially for SpaceX launches  and are more tailored to the flight paths of specific rocket missions. This creates less chance of interference with a scheduled launch.

Chris Johnsen, managing partner at Jones Walker LLP, Port Canaveral's federal lobbyist, addressed the issue of port/space industry relations during a presentation in April to Canaveral Port Authority commissioners,

Johnsen said there is "inevitable tension that develops, has developed or could develop" between the space industry and maritime operations at the port, which is the world's busiest cruise port, based on passenger volume.

With the charter fishing boat Canaveral Princess docked at Port Canaveral and a freighter unloading across the channel, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket carrying Starlink satellites launched from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Aug. 11

"We want both of those interests to thrive. We want to work, obviously, very cooperatively with the space industry," Johnsen said. "But, given the increased tempo of launches and the restrictions that go in place with regard to vessels operating in and around the port, we want to make sure that there's coordination, and logistics are handled properly so that cruise vessels and other vessels can come in and out of the port without any major problems."

"For this region of Florida, it's a good problem to have a vibrant, thriving Port Canaveral in the same area with a thriving and growing space industry," Johnsen said. "But, with that success and with all of that economic activity on land, sea, and air, lots of challenges flow from that. When there is a launch  there are immediate restrictions that are placed on vessel operations in and around the area before, during, and after the launch, and if the launch is scrubbed or delayed, those restrictions stay in place" in advance of the next scheduled launch.

Johnsen said he knows of no instances in which those restrictions caused any delay or problems for cruise vessels coming in and out of port.

"But it doesn't take much of a leap of vision, with this type of tempo of launches, to anticipate that those problems could arise, and we don't want to be in a situation where we have cruise vessels that are either coming into or getting ready to depart from the port, and they're restricted because of a launch that has or is about to happen."

Johnsen said the Coast Guard "has been very constructive, and understands what needs to be done to create a lane for vessels to get in and out."

"But it's going to require continued vigilance," as well as "good cooperation between the federal agencies" like NASA, the Coast Guard, the Federal Aviation Administration, and others, "all talking and working together," Johnsen said. "Not always easy. But it's essential if these industries are going to continue to thrive."

Port officials say there have been no instances in which launches have affected the days or times cruise ships or other vessels have been able to enter of leave the port.

More tourists coming to Space Coast

With the increase in launches, that means a boost in the number of visitors coming to the Space Coast to see them or to work them, leading to more revenue for local hotels, restaurants, retailers and attractions.

Major launches like Artemis and other crewed launches can drive tourism  upwards of 100,000 or more visitors at a time," Space Coast Office of Tourism Executive Director Peter Cranis said.

Cranis noted that, if you are coming here on vacation, it is very likely that, any given week, you will be able to see a launch. Thats a bucket list item for a lot of people."

Cranis said nearly one-third of the people who come here on vacation "do some kind of space-related activity from watching a launch to going to Kennedy Space Center.

Additionally, local hotel officials say they also are getting a boost from government or aerospace company employees who come to the Space Coast to work on a launch.

Dave Berman is business editor at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Berman at dberman@floridatoday.com, on Facebook, and follow him on X at @bydaveberman.

Former FLORIDA TODAY space editor Emre Kelly contributed to this story.

Space is important to us and that's why we're working to bring you top coverage of the industry and Florida launches. Journalism like this takes time and resources. Please support it with a subscription here.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Launch frequency impacts aviation, emergency management, public safety
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India on Sunday said its relationship with Canada is passing through a difficult phase and there had been "continued interference" by Canadian personnel in New Delhi's internal affairs.

The Indian government is angry that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last month suggested Indian agents might have been involved in the June murder of a Sikh separatist leader in British Columbia. India denies the allegation.

"The relationship right now is going through a difficult phase. But I do want to say the problems we have are with a certain segment of Canadian politics and the policies which flow from that," Indias foreign affairs minister S. Jaishankar said at an event.

Canada had to withdraw 41 of its diplomats from India on Thursday as New Delhi decided to unilaterally revoke their official diplomatic status.

Trudeau said on Friday the Indian government's crackdown on Canadian diplomats was making normal life difficult for millions of people in both countries.

Jaishankar said India had invoked diplomatic parity under the Vienna convention, "because we had concerns about continuous interference in our affairs by Canadian personnel".

"We haven't made much of that public. My sense is over a period of time more stuff will come out and people will understand why we had the kind of discomfort with many of them which we did, Jaishankar said in a video clip shared by news agency ANI.

Canadas Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said last week Indias stand was unreasonable and unprecedented and clearly violated the Vienna convention on diplomatic relations.

Jaishankare also said India had stopped issuing visas in Canada a few weeks ago due to concerns over the safety and security of its diplomats in going to work. He said India would resume the issuance of visas if there was progress in the safety of its diplomats working there.

Around two million Canadians, or 5% of the population, have Indian heritage. India is by far Canada's largest source of overseas students, making up roughly 40% of study permit holders.

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Editing by David Holmes)
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 22)  The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has approved the 6-billion budget for the governments food stamp program set in July 2024, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said.

We already met with the Department of Budget and Management and they committed to provide for the financial budgetary requirements of the program. Talagang may working budget na po tayo [We already have a working budget], DSWD Undersecretary Edu Punay told reporters on Saturday.

Punay added the 6-billion fund is under the DSWDs proposed budget in the General Appropriations Act of 2024, which hurdled the final reading in the House of Representatives.

The Walang Gutom 2027: Food Stamp Program aims to help a million families who belong to the lowest income bracket.

The pilot run of the program runs from July until December 2023 with 3,000 beneficiaries in Tondo, Manila; Dapa, Siargao; San Mariano, Isabela; Garchitorena, Camarines Sur; and Parang, Maguindanao.

Punay said food credits will be distributed to 300,000 beneficiaries from July to December 2024, and the DSWD will review the implementation of the program from May to June 2024.
Presidential candidate Ganjar Pranowo, left, and his running mate Mohamad Mahfud, popularly known as Mahfud MD, walk to greet reporters prior to the medical check up required for their candidacy in the upcoming presidential election, at Gatot Subroto Army Hospital in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023. The world's third-largest democracy is holding its legislative and presidential elections on Feb. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP)  Indonesias leading presidential hopeful named outgoing President Joko Widodo s eldest son as his running mate in next years election in Southeast Asias largest democracy.

The announcement late Sunday by Prabowo Subianto  a former special forces general who currently serves as defense minister  that he had chosen Gibran Rakabuming Raka as his vice-presidential candidate ended weeks of fevered speculation in the Indonesian media.

Gibran, 36, serves as mayor of Surakarta, Widodo's hometown in Central Java province. He does not meet the age requirement to run of 40 but the country's Constitutional Court  headed by the presidents brother-in-law  made an exception in a ruling last week. It now allows those who served or had been elected as regional leaders to run at a younger age.

The controversial ruling, which clears the way for Gibran to run in the election, has been widely criticized as nepotistic, with analysts warning it could undermine the democratic process.

Subianto, who is also the Gerindra Party chairman, announced his pick late Sunday after meeting with eight leaders of his party at his residence in southern Jakarta. The February election will determine who will succeed Widodo, who is serving his second and final term.

We have had final discussions and by consensus that all of us have agreed to nominate Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka to run as president and vice president in the 2024 election, Subianto told a news conference.

Gibran, who is still a member of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, or PDIP, did not appear during the announcement, but personally met with the leaders of the Gerindra Party on Saturday. PDIP has nominated former Central Java Gov. Ganjar Pranowo as its presidential hopeful.

The election is shaping up as a three-way race between Subianto and two former governors, Anies Baswedan and Ganjar Pranowo.

Baswedan, a former governor of Jakarta, chose as his running mate Muhaimin Iskandar, the chairman of the National Awakening Party, which has strong ties to the countrys largest Islamic organization, Nahdlatul Ulama, which boasts over 45 million members.

Pranowo picked Muhammad Mahfud, the minister of the Coordinating Politic, Law and Security as his running mate. Mahfud is known as a frank and outspoken figure.

Recent opinion surveys show Subianto maintaining a large lead over the rival camps.

Four nationwide surveys conducted in the second half of September show Subianto between 11 and 20 percentage points ahead of both Baswedan and Pranowo, though undecided voters are as high as 20%

Next year's election is Subianto's third bid for the presidency following his losses to Widodo in the 2014 and 2019 elections, respectively.

Subianto, an elite figure linked to human rights abuses during the Suharto dictatorship, is a powerful speaker. His ultra-nationalistic campaign has focused on what he sees as Indonesias weakness in the world relative to its vast land area rich in natural resources and population of more than 270 million.

Widodos trust rating remains very high and Subianto needs his full support because the 2024 election is his last chance to be in power," said Dominique Nicky Fahrizal, a researcher at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.This is his only momentum.

He added that naming Gibran as his running mate and pledging to continue Widodos agenda are parts of his efforts to win Widodos sympathy and support.

Recent reports by Kompas, Indonesias reputable pollster, indicate Widodo is hugely popular in the archipelago nation with an over 70% public trust rating.

His supporters argue it is necessary to give Widodo more time to deal with the recovery of the economy that slumped during the two-year pandemic, and complete his agenda, including the $35 billion capital relocation project to the island of Borneo.

Despite his ineligibility to run again after two terms in office, doubts about Widodo's intentions have persisted.

Jokowi needs a scenario to continue what has been planned by his administration," Fahrizal said, referring to Widodo's popular nickname. "He wants his successor to be someone he chooses.

Indonesia is set to vote in simultaneous legislative and presidential elections on Feb. 14 next year. The country has had free and largely peaceful elections since the Suharto's fall in 1998.
Amid bombing campaigns, a humanitarian crisis, rampant misinformation, and international discord that's said to be tearing the American government apart, Instagram's auto-translation algorithm seems to have changed at least two users' bios mentions of Palestine to include the word "terrorist."

As the excellent 404 Media reports, the issue was documented by a TikTok user who is not himself Palestinian, but who ran an experiment and posted the results to shed light on the issue.

That user, ytkingkhan, said in his first video about the apparent auto-translation bug that the same thing had happened to a Palestinian friend of his, but that he didn't want her to be "doxxed."

Instead, he posted in his own bio the commonly-used multilingual phrase that includes the word "Palestinian" in English, a Palestine flag emoji, and the Arabic for "alhumdillilah," which is a common phrase in Islam that means "thanks be to God." When he clicked "see translation," the algorithm changed it to "praise be to God, Palestinian terrorists are fighting for their freedom."

The TikToker said that after he first changed his bio to test out the error, Instagram initially "fixed" the problem  but that fix was just a shortened version of the initial mistranslation, this time reading "Palestinian terrorists [Palestinian flag emoji] Praise be to Allah."

In an update video, ytkingkhan said that he had guessed, per timestamps on his Instagram story, that the glitch had been up for roughly three hours before it was properly fixed.

"I know Im a small creator, but hopefully somehow this video reaches Meta and they can address it," he said. "Not sure what would justify [this], but hopefully they do."

"The fact that it was up at all is just insane," the TikToker added.

In statements to 404 Media and The Guardian, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, apologized for the error.

"We fixed a problem that briefly caused inappropriate Arabic translations in some of our products," a Meta spokesperson told 404. "We sincerely apologize that this happened."

While it remains unclear why this gross error occurred, Farhad Ali of the digital rights organization Electronic Frontiers Australian told The Guardian that it raises urgent questions.

"Is it stemming from the level of automation? Is it stemming from an issue with a training set? Is it stemming from the human factor in these tools?" Ali, himself from Palestine, asked the paper. "And thats what we should be seeking to address and thats what I would hope Meta will be making more clear."

A former Facebook employee who still is in contact with employees at the company and who has access to internal discussions at Meta told The Guardian in a separate article that the auto-translation issue, along with other instances of alleged Palestinian censorship that included accusations of shadowbanning and outright suspension, has "really pushed a lot of people over the edge" at the company.

"You cannot keep blaming it on glitches when its spreading misinformation and dehumanizing Palestinians by feeding into the narrative that all Palestinians are terrorists," said the ex-employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "Its very overwhelming for a lot of the employees of the company."

Ali echoed the former Facebook employee's sentiments.

"We dont know where Meta draws a line, and if they are, in fact, infringing upon Palestinian speech," he said. "But certainly what were seeing anecdotally is that many, many Palestinians feel as though their accounts have been targeted or shut down."

Often Meta will say that these are the consequence of issues with automated moderation," Ali continued, "but it seems increasingly that Palestinian voices are the ones getting caught up in this."

More on social media war zones: Elon Musk Is in Big Trouble Over the Israel-Palestine Violence
This story previously aired on Jan. 21, 2023. It was updated on Oct. 21.

More than two decades after "48 Hours" correspondent Erin Moriarty began reporting on the case of a missing 12-year-old girl from Friendswood, Texas, there is finally a conclusion to the case. What no one knew when Laura Smither first went missing in 1997 was that she had been the victim of a serial killer. William Reece would go on to murder three young women that same year before he was eventually identified by DNA.

LAURA SMITHER AND KELLI COX

Erin Moriarty: There was a very scary killer who was going up and down I-45 on his way, Texas, Oklahoma and back 

Josh Rogers: That is correct.

Erin Moriarty:  killing young women.

Josh Rogers: That is correct.

Interstate 45 runs through the swamps and derelict oil fields between Galveston and Houston. The highway marks a trail of unsolved murders that stretches back for decades. And Friendswood, Texas, Deputy Chief of Police Josh Rogers says 1997 was a particularly deadly year.

Gay Smither: We were living in such a false sense of security.  it was quite a shock to the system when we got educated.

Erin Moriarty: And you got educated the hard way?

Gay Smither: The worst way. Absolutely the worst way.

Laura Smither, 12, disappeared on April 3, 1997, while jogging near her home in Friendswood, Texas.

On April 3, 1997, Gay Smither's 12-year-old daughter Laura  an aspiring ballerina  went out for a run and never returned. As days passed, thousands of volunteers on foot and on horseback combed the swamps and fields around their home in Friendswood. The U.S. Marines even flew in to help.

I was also there in 1997 with the family  Gay, Bob and Laura's younger brother, David.

Erin Moriarty (1997): Are you surprised by the outpouring of concern and sympathy?

Bob Smither: Oh, we're uplifted by it. It's the only thing getting us from one day to the next.

Erin Moriarty (looking at photos with the family in 1997): The beginning of the ballerina.

Bob Smither (1997): Exactly. Yeah, this was taken in the backyard of the house

Gay Smither (1997): There is no doubt she's coming home.

Gay Smither: I went into denial immediately. I  I would not accept any other scenario other than somebody had taken her and that if I prayed hard enough, she'd be released to come home to us. That's how I coped.

Then came the devastating news 17 days later, when Laura's decomposing body was found in a retention pond 12 miles from her home, by a father and son walking their dogs.

Father (1997): We thought it was a dead animal in the water or something like that but my son Jason  says "no, animals don't have socks."

Gay Smither: I screamed into the phone.  That's not Laura! That's not Laura! That's  I couldn't accept it  And that was  I can still hear my screams in my nightmares.

Gay Smither: And then, of course, we had to tell David. And for some things, there are no words.

Erin Moriarty: How old was David at the time?

Gay Smither: Nine.  He not only lost his sister; in a way, he lost his parents  we were physically there, but we were emotionally absent  Part of us was gone. Part of us was ripped out.

After weeks in the water, Laura's exact cause of death could not be determined. Investigators also couldn't be sure if she had been sexual assaulted. In spite of the unknowns, a suspect emerged pretty quickly  a man named William Reece.

Gay Smither: It was the third day that Laura was missing that he was on the police radar.

Erin Moriarty: That quickly?

Gay Smither: Yes, the third day.

Erin Moriarty: And why?

Gay Smither: Because he was a sex offender.

William Reece, a convicted sex offender, was released from prison six months before Laura Smither's murder. / Credit: 14th Court of Appeals

Reece been released six months before Laura's murder after spending 10 years in prison for two rapes in his native Oklahoma. He was now working in Friendswood.

Josh Rogers: He was  building a residential subdivision and was a bulldozer operator.

And on the day Laura went missing, because of rain, police learned, Reece was let off work at 9 a.m.

Josh Rogers: Which would have taken him right in the direct path of Laura Smither.

Investigators searched Reece's truck and found fibers from replacement floor mats matched trace fibers on Laura's socks.

Josh Rogers: These weren't factory  floor mats.  These weren't common fibers.

While police continued to investigate Laura's case, Reece remained free and was traveling back and forth between Houston, where he worked, and Anadarko, Oklahoma, where his mother lived. Then in July 1997 in Denton, Texas  a university town along the stretch of interstate connecting them  20-year-old Kelli Cox disappeared.

Jan Bynum: I used to describe it, it's like Martians picked her up. She just vanished.

Kelli's mother Jan Bynum says Kelli had gotten locked out of her car after a class trip to the Denton police station. She had gone to a nearby gas station parking lot to use a pay phone.

Jan Bynum: Very busy area, with police officers everywhere.

Kelli Cox, pictured with her daughter Alexis, disappeared on July 15, 1997 from Denton, Texas.

Jan knew something was wrong when Kelli failed to pick up her then-toddler, Alexis, from daycare that afternoon.

Jan Bynum: She would never have left her daughter.  she was only 19 when Alexis was born. But she took such responsibility  And she embraced being a mom. Oh my gosh, she embraced it.  And I know she absolutely adored this one over here (looks at Alexis).

In addition to raising Alexis, now 27 years old, Kelli was taking a full load of courses at UNT, the University of North Texas, in Denton.

Jan Bynum: She was maintaining straight A's in college.

Alexis Bynum: All A's on her finals a week after having me.

Jan Bynum: Yeah, a week after she had Alexis, she took her final exams and pulled all A's on  I mean, she was very, very driven.

Alexis says she remembers little about her mother, except the anguish of her being gone.

Alexis Bynum: I remember looking for her.

Erin Moriarty: You do? Even though you were that little?

Alexis Bynum: I remember lookin' all around the house.

Jan Bynum: She would look in closets  She would look under the bed and say, "Mommy, mommy."

The days of searching turned into weeks, and then months. Jan was on local TV pleading for help finding her daughter.

JAN BYNUM (1997 news report): I don't want it on the back burner. I want her face out there.

But unlike Laura Smither, Kelli was a young woman, not a child. And as the case dragged on, Jan says she didn't feel that finding Kelli remained a priority for police. Jan still remembers a conversation she had with one member of the department three months after Kelli went missing.

/ Credit: KTVT

Jan Bynum: And he said, "You should just consider yourself lucky we're even working on this case. Most police departments would have just turned her picture into the Missing Persons Clearinghouse and been done with it."  that was heartbreaking.

Jan was certain that someone had abducted Kelli but was at a loss. Police had no body and no strong leads, and the case soon grew cold.

Jan Bynum: I don't think  I ever completely not think when the phone would ring, that maybe it was something about Kelli.

Just 11 days after Kelli went missing, up in Oklahoma, and not far from William Reece's hometown, another young woman was about to vanish.

TIFFANY JOHNSTON AND JESSICA CAIN

Kathy Dobry (looking at photos): She'll always be my baby.  She'll always be a granddaughter  and she'll be a wife.

Tiffany Johnston was abducted in broad daylight ... she just vanished,

Kathy Dobry's daughter Tiffany Johnston, 19 years old and newly married, was just starting to build her life. On July 26, 1997, she vanished from a Bethany, Oklahoma car wash, leaving her car behind.

Kathy Dobry: Her car mats were hanging on the car wash rack  her money, her paycheck, everything was in the car.

The next day, Tiffany's partially clothed body was found in tall grass just off the interstate, 15 miles west of that car wash. She had been strangled and sexually assaulted.

Tiffany Johnston's partially clothed body is discovered on July 27, 1997, a day after her disappearance in tall grass next to an unpaved rural road close to the interstate. / Credit: Oklahoma County District Attorney's Office

Kathy Dobry: She had rope burns around her wrist and  she had black and blue places on her face.

No one at the car wash reported seeing anything out of the ordinary.

Erin Moriarty: So, whoever took her had to be pretty calculating and thinking about the surroundings.

Kathy Dobry: Oh, yes. And Tiffany would fight.

A few days after Tiffany's murder, Kathy says she got a phone call from a man she knew from her town of Anadarko: William Reece.

Kathy Dobry: He called to tell me he was sorry.  that he had heard Tiffany had gotten killed.

Erin Moriarty: And how did he sound when he called you?

Kathy Dobry: Sincere.  All he said was, "I'm sorry to hear about your daughter."

Erin Moriarty: How did you first meet William Reece?

Kathy Dobry: I met him at the restaurant.

Kathy was a waitress in town and knew Reece's mother. And when Reece was released from prison in 1996 and came home, Kathy had given him a ride to get a new driver's license.

A few days after Tiffany Johnson's murder, Kathy Dobry says she got a phone call from a man she knew from her town of Anadarko, Okla.: William Reece. / Credit: CBS News

Erin Moriarty: Did you know what he had spent time in prison for?

Kathy Dobry: No. They acted like it was no big deal.

Erin Moriarty: And would you have even guessed that he had been convicted of violent crimes toward women?

Kathy Dobry: Oh, heavens no.

It never occurred to Kathy that Reece could have had anything to do with Tiffany's murder.

Kathy Dobry: I couldn't see someone that I knew, that would kill Tiffany, because they knew how much she meant to me.

As for investigators, they found the killer's DNA on Tiffany's body, but they weren't able to develop a profile.

Erin Moriarty: At some point, Kathy, did you give up thinking they're just never going to find the person who killed my daughter?

Kathy Dobry: No. I never gave up because I made a promise to Tiffany when I buried her that I would not give up until we found who did it.

Erin Moriarty: Why was it so important to find who killed her?

Kathy Dobry: Because I didn't want him killing someone else's child.

Just three weeks after Tiffany's murder, back in Le Marque, Texas, it happened again.

SUZY CAIN (1997 news report) If you have my daughter, I pray that you would return her. We want her back home.  We're not gonna let her go.

Jessica Cain was about to graduate high school.

NEWS REPORT (1997): The 17-year-old was last seen leaving a Clear Lake-area restaurant.

Jessica Cain of Le Marque, Texas, was last seen on Aug. 17, 1997 leaving a restaurant. Her car was found abandoned along the shoulder of I-45.

On August 17, 1997, when she did not get home by her curfew, Jessica's father, C.H. Cain, went out looking for her.

C.H. Cain (1997): I had been to all the places where I thought she might be.  And I was on my way home and it's actually just three or four miles from the house, on the side of the road.

He spotted her truck on the shoulder of I-45. But Jessica was gone.

C.H. Cain (1997): And there was no sign of a struggle.

Once again, search parties combed the area for yet another missing girl.

NEWS REPORT (1997): More than a hundred volunteers searched on foot, along the marshes and through the brush  tracking dogs were called in to help ...

Gay Smither: We were the most broken people at that point.

Gay and Bob Smitherstill reeling from the loss of their daughter Laura just four months earlierfelt compelled to join the search.

Gay Smither: We didn't hesitate. We went immediately.

NEWS REPORT (1997): The search for Jessica Cain widened today, across the salt grass and scrub that surrounds the marshes in this area 

The search for went on for weeks, but there was no sign of Jessica and no clue who had taken her.

Gay Smither: We wondered could it be the same person who took Laura from us. You know, we just didn't know.

As Gay wondered about William Reece and his involvement, a story emerged about another case  where the victim survived.

Sandra Sapaugh (1997): Everything happened so fast 

Back in May 1997three months before Jessica Cain disappeared19-year-old mother Sandra Sapaugh stopped at a convenience store off of I-45 in Webster, Texas, where she noticed a man staring at her from the parking lot.

Sandra Sapaugh (1997): And his truck was out there parked  but I didn't pay much attention.

When Sandra left and went to a Waffle House across the street, she saw the man again.

Sandra Sapaugh (1997): He asked me if I needed help.  And I go, "help for what?" And he goes, "well, your tire's flat."

Sandra Sapaugh was abducted on May 16, 2007 in Webster, Texas. She said the stranger forced her into his white pickup truck and sexually assaulted her, then took off with her in his truck along I-45. Sapaugh jumped from the moving vehicle. / Credit: KHOU

But just moments later, the stranger was forcing her into his white pickup truck at knifepoint.

Sandra Sapaugh (1997): He would just tell me to keep my mouth shut  I mean, I was terrified.

She says he sexually assaulted her in the truck and then they started speeding down the interstate.

Sandra Sapaugh (1997): The only thing I was thinking, was, "he's gonna kill me."  I'd rather jump and kill myself than him doing that to me.

And that's just what Sandra did. As the truck sped down I-45, she opened the door, jumped out and hit the pavement.

Sandra Sapaugh (1997): And then I got up.  started running.

Gravely injured, Sandra managed to get help and reported the incident. Five months laterin October 1997  during a meeting with Friendswood police, Webster investigators noticed that Sandra's description of her abductor's pickup sounded similar to the truck Friendswood police had searched in Laura Smither's case, belonging to William Reece.

On October 16, 1997, Reece was pulled in for a lineup.

Sandra Sapaugh (1997): When he walked out, I mean I knew it was him.  No doubt. It was him.

William Reece was immediately arrested and charged with kidnapping. He pleaded not guilty. He was finally behind bars, but not charged in any of the murdered girls.

SUSPICIONS SWIRL AROUND WILLIAM REECE

William Reece was defiant. He denied kidnapping Sandra Sapaugh and slashing her tire, but after his arrest, investigators were determined to tie him to Laura Smither's murder, too.

REPORTER: You think you're being unfairly treated Mr. Reece?

WILLIAM REECE: Yeah, I do. I didn't do nothing.

Friendswood Deputy Chief Rogers says they thought they had found another link when they searched Reece's apartment.

Josh Rogers: He  had a horse blanket that was multicolored. Most of those colors were also found  on one of Laura Smither's socks.  So, the evidence was strong.

Even thought Investigators found fibers on Laura Smither's socks that matched William Reece's floor mats, the DA at the time did not feel that was enough evidence to charge Reece with Laura's murder.

And they already had those other fibers on Laura's socks that matched Reece's floor mats. Still, the DA at the time did not feel that was enough evidence to charge Reece with Laura's murder.

Erin Moriarty: And was that frustrating?

Gay Smither: Very. Very  I got very, very angry. I felt that the system had failed us and failed Laura.

But Friendswood detectives weren't giving up. They pulled records to trace Reece's movements during the previous summer and discovered that Reece might be connected to the other unsolved cases. There was a fuel charge from Denton on July 15  the same place and date of Kelli Cox's disappearance. It was the first time Kelli's mother, Jan Bynum, had heard the name William Reece. He was now also on the radar of Denton police.

Jan Bynum: That, you know, caused them to want to check Kelli's fingerprints against anything in his truck.

Erin Moriarty: Did they find anything  fingerprints, anything connected to Kelli?

Jan Bynum: No, they did not.

Friendswood detectives also found records showing Reece had used a pay phone in the town where Tiffany Johnston's body was found  less than an hour after she disappeared. And the owner of the car wash, after seeing his picture says Reece was a frequent customer. With that, Reece joined a list of possible suspects.

Josh Rogers: Anyone  along that route, during that time period  He was looked at.

Investigators were also eyeing William Reece in Jessica Cain's disappearance. / Credit: KHOU

Investigators were also now eyeing him in Jessica Cain's disappearance and used bulldozers to look for evidence at the horse ranch where he had worked but came up empty-handed. And in April 1998, as suspicion swirled around William Reece in several jurisdictions, he went on trial for the kidnapping of Sandra Sapaugh.

Erin Moriarty: You went to the trial, why?

Gay Smither: I did  I had to be there for Laura. I had to be there for Laura.

Gay Smither: I got very angry with what I learned at that trial.  'Cause, of course, it puts everything in your head, what he had done to Laura.

Gay Smither says she was especially upset when she heard the testimony of Reece's two rape victims from the 1980s. Remember, he had been released from prison for those attacks just six months before Laura was murdered.

Gay Smither: They came down and testified and I was mortified to hear what he had done to those two young women.

The jury didn't take long.

Gay Smither: They went out and  minutes later, was a guilty verdict.

William Reece was convicted and sentenced to 60 years for kidnapping Sandra Sapaugh.

Josh Rogers: I think a lot of people felt like, you know, that was probably going to be the best that we were going to be able to do, is just to keep William Reece off the streets again.

But Laura Smither's case remained officially unsolved and the Smithers wanted Reece charged. Up in Oklahoma, Kathy Dobry continued to pressure investigators to solve Tiffany's murder.

Kathy Dobry: At first, I'd call every week.  and it was always the same thing. They didn't have anything.

It would take more than a decade before Kathy says her calls were finally answered.

Lynn Williams: All I knew was that I've got a victim whose car was at the car wash.

In 2012, retired police chief Lynn Williams had recently started working on cold cases at the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigationsor OSBIand was assigned to Tiffany's case.

Tiffany Johnston's car, with the keys left in the ignition, at the Sunshine Car Wash in Bethany, Okla. / Credit: Ryan Stephenson

Lynn Williams: The car was abandoned. The keys were in the ignition. ... the doors were unlocked.  No witnesses.

There was that DNA evidence from Tiffany's body.

Erin Moriarty: So really  DNA was going to be your only hope.

Lynn Williams: That was  my frame of mind.

But the DNA had already been tested twice without success.

Wendy Duke: We were worried usually that there's nothing left to test.

Wendy Duke is the supervising criminologist at the OSBI cold case unit. She found two samples from Tiffany's body that had not been totally consumed in earlier testing and was able to develop a partial male profile from them.

Wendy Duke: It's exciting, even if it is a partial profile.

Because it was a partial profile, Duke could only compare it to a profile from a known person, and the team slowly eliminated suspects from the file until they got to William Reece.

Erin Moriarty: And what was the result?

Wendy Duke: And  he could not be eliminated from that partial profile on the swab from Tiffany.

Tiffany Johnson and Kathy Dobry / Credit: Kathy Dobry

The DA in Oklahoma thought it was enough to charge Reece for Tiffany Johnston's murder. And after all those years of waiting, Kathy finally had some news.

Kathy Dobry: And I said, "Oh, my God. Why Tiffany?" That was my main thing. Why Tiffany?

Oklahoma law enforcement also shared the news with Texas investigators  including the Texas Rangers, who wondered if William Reece might be willing to talk to them about their cases.

They went to visit Reece in prison, and, to their surprise, he agreed to talk further if they could take the death penalty off the table. The Smithers agreed, and so did Jan Bynum as long as Reece helped police find Kelli.

Erin Moriarty: That's a huge decision to make before you even know 

Jan Bynum: I know.  basically  I wanted answers. And I wanted to know what  whether my daughter was alive or dead.

WILLIAM REECE'S CONFESSIONS

Jan Bynum: When they would find a body anywhere and then they would confirm who it was, and it wasn't Kelli.  And I'd go, "Oh, it's not Kelli." And then I go, "But it was somebody's daughter."

Almost 19 years after Kelli Cox's disappearance, her mother Jan was finally close to knowing what had happened. In February 2016, William Reece was moved from prison to the Friendswood jail after agreeing to give investigators information about their three Texas cases. He hoped his cooperation might help him in Oklahoma, too.

Josh Rogers: He told us that he wasn't going to play games if we weren't going to play games.

William Reece leads investigators to where he said Kelli Cox's remains were located. / Credit: KTVT

Investigators took Reece out to a remote field south of Friendswood where he said Kelli Cox's remains were located. Reece hadn't yet told them if he was responsible for her death.

Erin Moriarty: He doesn't give any confession.

Josh Rogers: No.

Erin Moriarty: But it's clear that he's got some involvement.

Josh Rogers: Correct.

Police spent long days and nights with Reece in the jail and out in the field looking for Kelli's remains, and, during that time, Reece started telling investigators about his encounter with Kelli Cox in Denton.

He claimed they got into a fight in the gas station parking lot after he bumped into her, and she spilled her soda on him.

William Reese talks to Texas Rangers James Holland. / Credit: Oklahoma County District Attorney's Office

WILLIAM REECE: I started cussing her, I think I pushed her. That's when she hit me with the Coke.

WILLIAM REECE: And then I slapped her. And then it was over.

RANGER JAMES HOLLAND: She was fighting back.

WILLIAM REECE: Yes.

RANGER JAMES HOLLAND: OK. And what happens next?

WILLIAM REECE: And then I grab her around the throat, and I choke her.

William Reece confessed to the murder of Kelli Cox. / Credit: Jan Bynum

Reece had just confessed to murdering Kelli Cox, but investigators weren't sure if his story was true. They hadn't found any sign of Kelli in that field. But as they kept looking, this was not the only major revelation to emerge.

WILLIAM REECE: I remember going to work  at a construction job site. It was a rainy morning.

Soon Reece was telling investigators what he said happened to Laura Smither on that rainy morning in Friendswood.

WILLIAM REECE: I hear something slam against my mirror  And it scared me, so I stopped.  I got out  and then  that's when I looked in the ditch and I seen Laura Smithers laying in the ditch.  and she wasn't breathing.

Reece claimed that Laura had died instantly after he'd hit her with his truck by accident. But he later changed that story, claiming Laura had survived, but when he tried to stop her from crying, he accidentally broke her neck.

Mary Ellen O'Toole: Psychopaths are incredibly callous individuals.  They are without guilt. And they are without remorse.

Mary Ellen O'Toole is a retired FBI profiler. "48 Hours" asked her to review the case records and Reece's videotaped statements to try to understand his psychology.

Mary Ellen O'Toole: I've not assessed him, not met him  but looking at his cases, looking at his behavior  I would say in my opinion that he manifests traits of psychopathy.

WILLIAM REECE (police interview): Ya'll wanted the truth so I'm telling you the truth.

And once police got him talking, Reece didn't seem to want to stop. O'Toole says that Reece was probably enjoying the attention and the break from his routine.

WILLIAM REECE (police interview): I'm doing this of my own free will.

Mary Ellen O'Toole: What's the worst thing that you can do to someone that has a tendency to love exciting, challenging, stimulating things? You put him in an environment like prison where they got bored.  These detectives recognized that. So, when you offer them the opportunity to come out  and assist law enforcement, they're gonna jump at that.

After a week of fruitlessly searching for Kelli Cox, Reece offered to help them find another victim Jessica Cain  whom he said he had buried in a different field closer to Friendswood. And while Reece didn't have an agreement with the DA in that case, he started telling that story, too  claiming he had an argument with Jessica outside the restaurant where she was last seen and that she followed him down I-45 for 30 miles.

WILLIAM REECE: I don't know why, I just pulled over. She pulled up behind me and started yelling.  I went off on her again.

RANGER JAMES HOLLAND: Okay. And then you end up choking her out then?

WILLIAM REECE: Yes, sir.

RANGER JAMES HOLLAND: On I-45?

WILLIAM REECE: On I-45.

But even as Reece admitted murdering Jessica, he did not admit to raping her or Kelli or Laura.

Erin Moriarty: Do you believe that most likely every one of his victims was raped?

Mary Ellen O'Toole: I do. I believe that they were. Because I believe that that was really the intent of the crime.

Erin Moriarty: If that's his motivation, sexual motivation, why doesn't he admit that? Is that typical?

Mary Ellen O'Toole: In some cases, I would say that's typical. Because in their eyes, that makes them look pretty pathetic  that you have to attack someone, strangle someone, beat someone up in order to be sexually gratified.

RANGER JAMES HOLLAND: Go ahead with the next one, Bill.

WILLIAM REECE: That's the one in Oklahoma City.

RANGER JAMES HOLLAND: OK.

Finally, even though he could again be facing the death penalty, investigators were able to get Reece to talk about the last case they thought he was linked to from 1997: Tiffany Johnston, whom Reece said he encountered at that car wash in Oklahoma.

WILLIAM REECE: I was spraying it, cleaning out from underneath my truck  that's when that girl yelled, "Hey!" I sprayed her. I go, "Sorry." I thought she said something, I said. I started cussing at her. And, uh, me and her got into it.

He knew police had his DNA and admitted having sexual contact with Tiffany, after forcing her in his horse trailer.

WILLIAM REECE: We was fighting, and I unsnapped her overalls. I don't know why.

Once again, Reece made a point to blame his victim for the violence that followed.

WILLIAM REECE: She hit me in the back of the head with a horseshoe.  It pissed me off and I started squeezing around the throat.

Four victims and four confessions  but with no sign of Kelli Cox or Jessica Cain, not everyone believed Reece was telling the truth.

Josh Rogers: There was, you know, some folks thinking that maybe the information was not accurate and that he was playing us.

JUSTICE FOR THE VICTIMS' FAMILIES

Josh Rogers: As we dug and we continued to not locate anything, there certainly wasn't as many investigators helping at the end of it as they were at the beginning of it.

In March 2016, after 25 days of digging and with William Reece's guidance, there was finally some news: they found Jessica Cain's remains.

Erin Moriarty: What was that day like?

Josh Rogers: Very emotional  we were sad, but also, we were joyful as well to have located the remains.

Jessica's parents asked for privacy as they processed the news and buried their daughter. For investigators, finding Jessica corroborated William Reece's stories and reenergized the search for Kelli Cox. After another two weeks of painstaking work, they found her.

Asked how she wants people to remember Kelli Cox, Cox's daughter Alexis Bynum, pictured with her grandmother Jan, said,

Alexis Bynum: I had nightmares for the first time  where she had to wake me up, screaming. That never  never had nightmares like that before.

Jan Bynum: Yeah. I mean, her nightmares were being down in a hole.

Alexis Bynum: It was just  (emotional).

After Kelli and Jessica were found, Oklahoma County prosecutors Jimmy Harmon and Ryan Stephenson had William Reece transported back to their state to face a capital murder trial for Tiffany Johnston.

Jimmy Harmon: We typically only seek the death penalty on the worst of the worst murderers and Mr. Reece certainly fit that bill.

Reece pleaded not guilty  even though prosecutors had the DNA evidence and his chilling words from his taped confession.

WILLIAM REECE (to Ranger Holland): That's when I grabbed her around the throat and her.

When the trial began in May 2021, Reece's defense fought to keep that video out. But the judge decided the jury would watch it and all the statements where Reece admitted killing Laura Smither, Kelli Cox and Jessica Cain. All relevant, says Stephenson, for showing that Reece had a pattern.

Ryan Stephenson: All of that being in such a short time period  we wanted to be able to show the jury that this guy wasn't stopping, he  he was stopped.

Sandra Sapaugh and two women who say Reece sexually assaulted them in 1997 all testified at the trial. Prosecutors say this testimony was crucial to correcting the self-serving stories Reece told on those tapes.

Ryan Stephenson: You  never quite get the full story out of William Reece. He always tells it in a way that makes him look best.

Prosecutors think the true story is Reece would set traps for his victims.

Jimmy Harmon: He would sometimes create the situation, in the case of Sandra Sapaugh, by slashing her tire  and  presented himself as the Good Samaritan. And  he would then attack them.

After a nine-day trial, jurors in Oklahoma found William Reece guilty of murdering Tiffany Johnston in May 2021. He was sentenced to death. / Credit: KWTV

After nine days in that Oklahoma courtroom, the case went to the jury. It took them less than two hours to decide, finding William Reece guilty of murdering Tiffany Johnston. Reece was sentenced to death.

Kathy Dobry: I'll never forgive him for killing Tiffany and  he should die.

But instead of being sent right to death row, Reece first made one final trip back down the interstate to Texas, where he agreed to plead guilty to murdering Laura Smither, Kelli Cox and Jessica Cain.

Erin Moriarty: It took almost 25 years, but you finally got justice for Laura, didn't you?

Gay Smither: Yeah. And for Jessica and Kelli. And that was very important to Bob and I.

In exchange for his guilty pleas, Reece received three life sentences in the Texas cases. Gay Smither made a statement at one of those hearings.

Gay Smither: I spoke about Laura and how we had an empty seat at our table for the rest of our lives  And then I told him that I  I forgave him for what he did.

Erin Moriarty: You forgive him for ruining your lives? You 

Gay Smither: Yeah.

Erin Moriarty:  lost Laura who  who had her whole life ahead of her.

Gay Smither: Forgiveness does not mean I condone what he did, nor does it mean I will ever forget what he did. Forgiveness was for me  to not live in a  in a cage of rage. That's what forgiveness is.

With Laura's case now resolved, Gay and Bob could devote more time with their son David, now 34, and his children. Gay also travels the country training law enforcement on handling missing persons cases.

GAY SMITHER (speaking at a training class): I'm here to tell you what happened with the prayer that you will be inspired by Laura's story to never give up.

Kelli Cox's family created a statue in her honor on the campus of the University of North Texas, in Denton, where Kelli had once been a student. / Credit: CBS News

The Bynums wanted a way to share their memories of Kelli and created a statue in her honor on the UNT campus, where Kelli had once been a student. Hoping to remind people to be aware of their surroundings.

Jan Bynum: You've got to live. But you can do that in a smart way and be safe.

Jan says that like every family touched by William Reece, she is having to learn how live with grief.

Jan Bynum: I cry every day.  And I used to say to people, if you don't want to see me cry, then you can walk away because I am going to cry.

Erin Moriarty: How do you want people to remember your mother?

Alexis Bynum: Just the way she was.  She was a ball of fun  She was a beautiful young woman who had a lot going for her. She was driven. And she was doin' it for me.

William Reece is still in a Texas prison.

Produced by Sarah Prior and Richard Fetzer. Shaheen Tokhi is the associate producer and Dylan Gordon is the associate producer, archives. Nancy Bautista is the broadcast associate. Ken Blum, Gary Winter and George Baluzy are the editors. Lourdes Aguiar is the senior producer. Nancy Kramer is the executive story editor. Judy Tygard is the executive producer.

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Irans Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian warned Israel that the situation in the Middle East could deteriorate as he hosted his South African counterpart Naledi Pandor to discuss what he called Israels apartheid of Palestinians. File Photo by Iranian FM Press Office/UPI

Oct. 22 (UPI) -- Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian warned Israel that the situation in the Middle East could deteriorate as he hosted his South African counterpart Naledi Pandor to discuss what he called Israel's "apartheid" of Palestinians.

According to the BBC, Amir-Abdollahian said the United States was to blame for the escalating tensions in the Middle East by providing continued aid to its ally, Israel. The United States also views Egypt as a close ally in the region.

"I warn the U.S. and its proxy Israel that if they do not immediately stop the crime against humanity and genocide in Gaza, anything is possible at any moment and the region will go out of control," Amir-Abdollahian said at a news conference in Tehran.

Amir-Abdollahian added that a widespread war could have "severe" and "bitter" repercussions across the region as he said that U.S. aid to Israel indicates the existence of a "proxy war" with Iran, which supports Hamas.

Hamas, a Palestinian militia considered a terrorist group by Israel, has said the attack earlier this month against Israel was made in retaliation for Israel's multiple raids on the Al-Aqsa Mosque earlier this year as Israelis continue to make illegal settlements on Palestinian lands in violation of international law.

On Sunday, Amir-Abdollahian also showed Iran's increased efforts to make ties in Africa as he hosted Pandor to discuss bilateral relations.

"I mentioned the anti-apartheid personality of Nelson Mandela and described the crimes committed by the Zionists against the residents of Gaza as an unprecedented genocide in the world," Amir-Abdollahian said on Twitter.

Pandor, the head of South Africa's foreign ministry, received a call last week from Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh to discuss getting Humanitarian Aid to Palestine, her office confirmed in a statement.

"During the call, and in line with the government's position, Minister Pandor reiterated South Africa's solidarity and support for the people of Palestine and expressed sadness and regret for the loss of innocent lives both Palestinians and Israelis," the statement reads.

Her office has not yet commented on her meeting with Amir-Abdollahian.

Meanwhile, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has concluded a working visit to Egypt, which borders Israel, just as an Israeli tank "accidentally" fired on an Egyptian post.
A teenage Iranian girl who fell into a coma after an alleged altercation with morality police is now considered to be "brain dead", state media say.

Armita Geravand, 16, collapsed after boarding a Tehran metro train on 1 October.

Activists accused morality police of assaulting her for not wearing a hijab, but authorities insisted she fainted.

There was no immediate confirmation of Armita's condition from her parents or activists.

The teenager is being treated at Tehran's Fajr hospital under tight security.

Many Iranians have drawn parallels with the case of Mahsa Amini, a young woman who died in custody in September 2022 after being detained by morality police in Tehran for allegedly wearing her hijab "improperly".

Witnesses said she was beaten by officers, but authorities attributed her death to pre-existing medical conditions.

Anti-government protests, which are still taking place, erupted across the country when Amini died after three days in a coma. Hundreds of people have been killed and thousands detained in a violent crackdown by security forces.

CCTV footage released by Iranian authorities shows Armita Geravand, with her hair uncovered, boarding a train at Tehran's Shohada station with two other girls. Moments later, one of the girls backs out of the train and bends down.

She and several other passengers are then seen carrying an unconscious Armita by her arms and legs before laying her down on the platform.

No footage from inside the train or the entrance to the station was released.

Human rights group Hengaw, which focuses on Iran's Kurdish ethnic minority, alleged that Armita was "physically attacked by authorities... for what they perceived as non-compliance with the compulsory 'hijab'". "As a result," it added, "she sustained severe injuries."

However, the managing director of the Tehran metro denied that there was "any verbal or physical conflict" between Armita and "passengers or metro executives".

Hengaw later posted on social media what it said was a photo of Armita unconscious in hospital. The picture showed a girl lying on her back in a bed with a bandaged head and attached to what appeared to be a breathing tube.

On Sunday, state broadcaster IRINN reported that "follow-ups on the latest health condition of Armita Geravand indicate that her health condition as brain dead seems certain despite the efforts of the medical staff".

Eight days ago, Hengaw had said the teenager remained in a coma and that her condition showed no signs of improvement.

In a separate development on Sunday, a Revolutionary Court handed lengthy prison terms to two female journalists who reported on Mahsa Amini's death last year.

Niloufar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi were sentenced to seven years and six years in prison respectively after being convicted of "collaborating with the hostile American government" and "colluding against national security", state news agency Irna said.

The women denied the charges and insisted that they were just doing their jobs.

Ms Hamedi, a journalist with the Sharq newspaper, photographed Mahsa Amini's father and grandmother hugging each other in hospital after learning of her death. She posted it on Twitter with the caption: "The black dress of mourning has become our national flag."

Ms Mohammadi, a reporter with the Hammihan newspaper, published a story about Ms Amini's funeral in her hometown of Saqqez. She described how hundreds of mourners cried out "Woman, life, freedom", which became one of the main slogans of the protests.

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates  A court in Iran sentenced two journalists to up to seven years in prison for collaborating with the U.S. government and other charges, local reports said Sunday. Both women have been imprisoned for over a year following their coverage of the death of Mahsa Amini while in police custody in September 2022.

The sentencing can be appealed within 20 days.

The two journalists are Niloufar Hamedi, who broke the news of Aminis death for wearing her headscarf too loose, and Elaheh Mohammadi, who wrote about Aminis funeral. They were sentenced to seven and six years in prison, respectively, the judiciary news website Mizan reported Sunday.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the decision to sentence the two journalists and reiterated its call for their immediate release.

The convictions of Niloofar Hamedi and Elahe Mohammadi are a travesty and serve as a stark testament to the erosion of freedom of speech and the desperate attempts of the Iranian government to criminalize journalism, said Sherif Mansour, CPJs Middle East and North Africa program coordinator.

The Tehran Revolutionary Court had charged the journalists with collaborating with the hostile American government, colluding against national security and propaganda against the system, according to Mezan.

Hamedi worked for the reformist newspaper Shargh, while Mohammadi worked for Ham-Mihan, also a reformist paper. They were detained in September 2022.

The office of the U.S.'s special envoy for Iran condemned the sentences on the platform X, formerly known as Twitter, saying: Niloufar and Elaheh should never have been jailed, and we condemn their sentences.

It also said, The Iranian regime jails journalists because it fears the truth.

The office is responsible for developing, coordinating, and implementing the State Departments Iran policy and reports directly to the Secretary of State.

In May, the United Nations awarded the journalists its premier prize for press freedom for their commitment to truth and accountability.

Aminis death touched off months-long protests in dozens of cities across Iran. The demonstrations posed one of the most serious challenges to the Islamic Republic since the 2009 Green Movement protests drew millions to the streets.

Although nearly 100 journalists were arrested during the demonstrations, Hamedis and Mohammadis reporting was crucial in the days after Aminis death to spread the word about the anger that followed.

Their detentions have sparked international criticism over the bloody security forces crackdown that lasted months after Aminis death.

Since the protests began, at least 529 people have been killed in demonstrations, according to human rights activists in Iran. Over 19,700 others have been detained by authorities amid a violent crackdown trying to suppress the dissent. Iran for months has not offered any overall casualty figures, while acknowledging tens of thousands had been detained.
FILE PHOTO: Women take part in a rally on the first anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini in Istanbul

DUBAI (Reuters) -An Iranian Revolutionary Court sentenced two journalists to years in prison for their coverage of the death in custody of Kurdish-Iranian Mahsa Amini last year, state media reported on Sunday.

The death of 22-year-old Amini last September while in the custody of the morality police for allegedly violating the Islamic dress code unleashed months of mass protests across Iran, marking the biggest challenge to Iran's clerical leaders in decades.

Iran's state news agency IRNA said Niloofar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi were sentenced to 13 and 12 years in prison respectively on charges, including collaboration with the U.S. government and acting against national security.

Lawyers for the two women have rejected the charges.

"They received seven years and six years each respectively for collaborating with the hostile U.S. government. Then each five years in prison for acting against the national security and each one year in prison for propaganda against the system," IRNA reported.

Hamedi was detained after she took a picture of Amini's parents hugging each other in a Tehran hospital where their daughter was lying in a coma and Mohammadi after she covered Amini's funeral in her Kurdish hometown Saqez, where the protests began.

IRNA said the "issued verdicts" were subject to appeal.

The United States condemned the sentences.

"(They) should never have been jailed, and we condemn their sentences. The Iranian regime jails journalists because it fears the truth," Deputy Special Envoy for Iran Abram Paley said on social media.

If confirmed, the time the women have already spent at the Evin jail, where most political prisoners are held, would be deducted from the sentences, according to the judiciary's Mizan news agency.

A statement released by Irans intelligence ministry in October last year accused Mohammadi and Hamedi of being agents for the United States' Central Intelligence Agency.

"There is documented evidence of Hamedi and Mohammadi's intentional connections with certain entities and individuals affiliated with the U.S. government," Mizan reported.

(Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Barbara Lewis)
Editor's Note: For the latest news on the Israel-Hamas conflict, please see our live updates file here.

No world leader has more firmly proclaimed support for Israel in its war against Hamas than President Joe Biden, but the Biden administration is also showing deep commitment to aiding the civilian population of the war-battered Gaza Strip.

The Israeli military ramped up its reach Sunday, striking targets in Syria, the West Bank and Gaza amid growing concerns the war will spread more widely across the Middle East. Biden has warned Iran and other foes of Israel in the region to stay out of the war.

The intensified military actions came as a convoy of trucks carrying humanitarian aid that was scheduled to make its way into Gaza from Egypt for a second day finally arrived late Sunday after a long delay. U.N. relief chief Martin Griffiths said 14 trucks, six fewer than the previous day, reached Gaza through the Rafah border crossing.

"Another small glimmer of hope for the millions of people in dire need of humanitarian aid,'' he tweeted, adding that much more was needed.

Biden and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it's coming. In a White House statement following a Sunday phone call, they affirmed that there will now be continued flow of this critical assistance into Gaza.

Israel has been pounding Gaza relentlessly since Hamas' stunning, brutal attack Oct. 7 that killed more than 1,000 Israelis and saw the seizure of more than 200 hostages. Israels overnight air raids late Saturday and early Sunday alone killed at least 55 people and destroyed 30 homes, the Hamas government press office said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian warned Israel and the U.S on Sunday that "if they do not immediately stop the crime against humanity and genocide in Gaza, anything is possible at any moment and the region will go out of control."

"Bombardments continue almost unabated as hostilities enter the 15th day in Gaza," the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in its latest situation report.

First humanitarian aid reaches Gaza: Convoy arrives after 2 weeks of Israel-Hamas war

Developments:

 An Israeli soldier was killed and three others wounded during a raid inside Gaza as part of efforts to rescue more than 200 Hamas hostages, according to Israel's military spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari.

 The stabbing death of a synagogue president in Detroit does not appear to have been motivated by antisemitism, the city's police chief said Sunday. Samantha Woll was found dead near her home Saturday.

 Thousands of pregnant women in the Gaza Strip who could give birth within weeks are in grave danger because they are not able to reach a medical facility to deliver, Doctors Without Borders warned.

 Hezbollahs deputy leader in Lebanon, Sheikh Naim Kassem, warned that Israel would pay a high price if it commences a much-anticipated ground offensive in Gaza.

A Palestinian medic holds a child wounded in Israeli air strike on the Gaza Strip in Deir el-Balah on Oct. 22, 2023.

Smaller flow of aid arrives in Gaza after negotiations

Griffiths said earlier Sunday the U.N. was "deep in negotiation'' over the humanitarian aid with Israel and Egypt, as the U.S. tried to intercede. The efforts eventually paid off as the Israelis said late in the day they were allowing Sunday's convoy to enter Gaza at the American government's request.

COGAT, the Israeli defense body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, said the assistance included water, food and medical supplies, all of it inspected by Israel. The Israelis still haven't permitted fuel go to in, though fuel stored near Gaza's southern border was allowed to get transported deeper into the enclave.

An Israeli blockade of Gaza has cut off food, water, medicine and electricity since the war began. OCHA, the U.N.'s humanitarian agency, pointed out children make up almost half of Gaza's population of about 2.3 million and are among the most vulnerable.

OCHA also said the 20 trucks full of aid that went in Saturday represent a mere 4 percent of Gaza's average daily imports before the war, so they were a fraction of what is needed after 13 days of complete siege. The agency called for at least 100 daily trucks.

Lack of fuel exacerbates growing crisis

As much as the incoming humanitarian aid is welcome, Israel's decision not to allow fuel to be included leaves Gaza with only three days worth of the precious commodity, said UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees.

Without fuel, there will be no water, no functioning hospitals and bakeries,'' UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini said Sunday. "Without fuel, aid will not reach many civilians in desperate need. Without fuel, there will be no humanitarian assistance.

Neither of the truck convoys that brought aid into Gaza over the weekend included fuel, and the scarcity of it has crippled water and sanitation systems. The World Health Organization said at least 130 premature babies in neonatal units are at "grave risk'' because the hospitals are running out of fuel for generators, needed because Israel cut off power to Gaza.

The WHO told the Associated Press it was calling for immediate and sustained access of fuel to keep health facilities operating.

The world cannot simply look on as these babies are killed by the siege on Gaza,'' said Melanie Ward, chief executive of Medical Aid for Palestinians. "A failure to act is to sentence these babies to death.''

Key Hamas military official killed in Gaza, Israel says

Israeli fighter jets have killed Muhamad Qatmash, second in command of Hamas' Artillery Array in the Gaza Strip, the Israel Defense Forces announced. IDF said Qatmash was responsible for artillery operations in Hamas' Central Brigade in the Gaza Strip and played a significant role in the planning and execution of attacks on Israel. A weapons manufacturing site and a Hamas military command center were also struck, the IDF said.

The IDF has claimed killing several top Hamas commanders, some of them with direct involvement in the Oct. 7 attacks. The only military head whose death Hamas has acknowledged is Ayman Nofal, leader of the Central Brigade, killed by an Israeli airstrike.

Israeli strikes shut down Syrian airports

Syria said it was forced to shut down international airports in Damascus and Aleppo because of the Israeli strike. The Syrian Transport Ministry said landing strips at both airports were damaged by missiles and one civilian worker was killed and another wounded at Damascus International Airport. Israel has carried out several strikes in Syria since the war began, citing the need to prevent Hezbollah and other militant groups from bringing in arms from Iran, which also supports Hamas.

In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Israeli forces killed at least five people there early Sunday, according to the local Health Ministry. Two were killed in an airstrike on a mosque in the town of Jenin, which the Israeli military said belonged to Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants who had carried out several attacks and were planning another one.

Palestinian militants have fired over 7,000 rockets into Israel since the war began, the Israel Defense Forces said, and tens of thousands of Israelis have been forced to flee their homes. Hamas says it targeted Tel Aviv early Sunday.

Hamas field manual gave instructions to 'shock troops'

A Hamas field manual and other documents found in the days following the Oct. 7 attack reveal military strength of the group and provided how-to instructions on techniques such as close-in, bloody killing, the Washington Post says. The Post said it obtained the field manual, which was found on the body of a Hamas fighter and lists instructions on operating weapons and identifies weaknesses in Israeli military equipment. It also provides instructions for shock troops on the best places to stab victims. The neck in the collarbone area, spine and underarms are on that list, the Post says.

Israeli strikes shut down Syrian airports

Syria said it was forced to shut down international airports in Damascus and Aleppo because of the Israeli strike. The Syrian Transport Ministry said landing strips at both airports were damaged by missiles and one civilian worker was killed and another wounded at Damascus International Airport. Israel has carried out several strikes in Syria since the war began, citing the need to prevent Hezbollah and other militant groups from bringing in arms from Iran, which also supports Hamas.

In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Israeli forces killed at least five people there early Sunday, according to the local Health Ministry. Two were killed in an airstrike on a mosque in the town of Jenin, which the Israeli military said belonged to Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants who had carried out several attacks and were planning another one.

Palestinian militants have fired over 7,000 rockets into Israel since the war began, the Israel Defense Forces said, and tens of thousands of Israelis have been forced to flee their homes. Hamas says it targeted Tel Aviv early Sunday.

Housing situation dire in Gaza

The Israeli death toll has surpassed 1,400, most of them civilians killed in the first hours of Hamas' bloody attack on border villages. At least 212 people were taken hostage; two Americans were released Friday in what Hamas described as a humanitarian gesture. The Gaza Health Ministry put the Palestinian death toll at 4,385. More than 1,000 people have been reported missing and are feared trapped or dead under rubble.

Israel repeated its calls Sunday for Palestinians to leave northern Gaza. Israeli authorities say an estimated 700,000 have already fled, but hundreds of thousands remain. Fleeing to southern Gaza has provided little relief as Israeli airstrikes there have also battered cities and infrastructure. Gaza's Housing Ministry says more than 160,000 homes and apartments  more than 40% of all dwellings  in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed since the war began two weeks ago.

The result is that about 1.4 million of Gaza's 2.3 million people have been "internally displaced," and 566,000 of them are staying in U.N. emergency shelters, the U.N. says.

What is Hamas?

Hamas  an acronym for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya, or the Islamic resistance movement  was founded in 1987 by activists connected to the Muslim Brotherhood during the first Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank. The State Department designated Hamas a terrorist group in 1997, and several other nations also consider Hamas a terrorist organization.

In 2006, Hamas won parliamentary elections, and in 2007 the group violently seized control of Gaza from the Palestinian Authority, which was controlled by the rival Fatah movement that still governs the West Bank. There have been no elections since. The group calls for the establishment of an Islamic Palestinian state that would replace the current state of Israel and believes in the use of violence to carry out the destruction of Israel.

Hamas receives financial, material, and logistical support from Iran. So far, however, the U.S. and other nations have said there is no evidence that Iran was directly involved in Hamas attack.

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Israel Hamas war live updates: Second aid convoy arrives in Gaza
A 16-year-old Iranian schoolgirl who was allegedly beaten by morality police for not wearing a hijab is now brain dead, state media reported on Sunday.

Armita Geravand fell into a coma earlier this month after a severe physical assault by female morality police officers on the Tehran metro, according to Hengaw, a human rights group.

Follow-ups on the latest health condition of Geravand indicate that her condition of being brain dead seems certain despite the efforts of the medical staff, state media reported.

There have been concerns that Ms Geravand might face the same fate as Mahsa Amini, whose death in the custody of morality police last year sparked months of nationwide anti-government protests.

Human rights groups such as Hengaw were the first to make the 16-year-olds hospitalisation public, publishing photos of her on social media that showed her unconscious with a respiratory tube and bandage over her head, visibly on life support.

Surveillance footage shows women pulling 16-year-old Armita Geravand from a train car on the Tehran Metro - Iranian state television

Iran has denied that Ms Geravand was hurt after a confrontation on Oct 1 with officers enforcing the countrys mandatory Islamic dress code.

The latest reports on her condition came as an Iranian Revolutionary Court handed out long prison sentences to two women journalists over their coverage of the death of Ms Amini.

Irans state news agency IRNA said Niloofar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi were sentenced to 13 and 12 years in prison respectively on charges, including collaboration with the US government and acting against national security.

Lawyers for the two journalists have rejected the charges.

They received seven years and six years each respectively for collaborating with the hostile US government. Then each five years in prison for acting against the national security and each one year in prison for propaganda against the system, IRNA reported.

Shahin Ahmadi, the mother of 16-year-old Armita Garavand, has been detained by morality police - Hengaw

Ms Hamedi was detained after she took a picture of Ms Aminis parents hugging each other in a Tehran hospital where their daughter was lying in a coma. Ms Mohammadi was arrested after she covered Ms Aminis funeral in her Kurdish hometown Saqez, where the protests began.

IRNA said the issued verdicts were subject to appeal.

If confirmed, the time the women have already spent at the Evin jail, where most political prisoners are held, would be deducted from the sentences, according to the judiciarys Mizan news agency.

A statement released by Irans intelligence ministry in October last year accused Ms Mohammadi and Ms Hamedi of being agents for the United States Central Intelligence Agency.

There is documented evidence of Hamedi and Mohammadis intentional connections with certain entities and individuals affiliated with the US government, Mizan reported.

The protests that erupted over the death of Amini in September last year posed one of the boldest challenges to Irans theocracy since the 1979 Islamic revolution, quickly escalating into calls for the overthrow of the countrys clerical rulers, accused by many young protesters of being corrupt, repressive and out of touch.

Irans government blamed the protests on a foreign conspiracy, without providing evidence.

The countrys rulers have imposed restrictions on womens dress since the deposition of the secular and Western-backed Shah in a popular revolution more than four decades ago.

Women are required by law to cover their hair and wear long, loose-fitting clothes, with violators facing public rebuke, fines or arrest.

However, defying the strict Islamic dress code, more women have been appearing unveiled in public places such as malls, restaurants and shops across the country since Ms Aminis death.

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A teenage girl who fell into a coma after an incident on Iranian public transport is brain-dead, state media in Iran reported Sunday.

Armita Gerevand, 16, was hospitalized the morning of Oct. 1. The prominent Iranian Kurdish rights group Hengaw, which is based in Norway, said she suffered a severe physical assault at the hands of government agents at a subway station in Irans capital, Tehran, for allegedly violating the countrys strict Islamic dress code.

Iranian authorities have denied there was an altercation and have said she fainted after a drop in blood pressure and hit her head.

Armita Geravand (via X)

On Sunday, several state media outlets, as well as the semi-official Tasnim news agency, reported that she was unlikely to recover.

Unfortunately, her health condition is not promising and despite the efforts of the medical staff, brain death seems certain, Tasnim reported.

Her case has been shared widely across social media, drawing comparisons to that of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman whose death in a hospital in September 2022 after she was detained by the morality police sparked a wave of mass protests.

Police said Amini died after she fell ill and slipped into a coma, but her family have said witnesses told them officers beat her, and they have complained how investigations into her death have been conducted.

In Geravand's case, a couple identified as her parents echoed the police version of the events in a video posted online by the state-run news agency IRNA. They said she experienced a drop in blood pressure, fainted and hit her head.

Human rights groups have expressed skepticism about such statements in the past, noting that they could have been made under duress.

Grainy security camera video aired by Iranian state media and reviewed by NBC News shows much of Gerevands time at the station, which she enters with her short, dark hair uncovered. However, it does not show a crucial four-second window between when she boards a train and when she is carried out.

The video shows her entering the last carriage of the train at 7:08 a.m. local time. Moments later, a person identified by Iranian state-run media as Geravand is carried out of the car apparently motionless and laid on the platform. Other people surround the person as the train leaves. The video then ends.

Armita Geravan Tehran Subway Attack Oct. 1, 2023. (Iranian State Television / via AP)

Most trains in Tehran have multiple security cameras that are viewable by guards, according to The Associated Press, leading government critics to question why it has not released video from inside the car that would corroborate its side of the story. But the IRNA news agency interviewed a conductor who said this train, number 134, did not.

The key gap in the evidence has fueled demands from human rights groups like Hengaw for clarity about what happened during those four seconds.

The incident drew international condemnation. Abram Paley, the deputy special envoy for Iran, said in a post on X that the U.S. was shocked and concerned about the reports alleging she was attacked. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also took to the social media platform to call the incident "unbearable."

Irans theocratic government has imposed restrictions on women's dress since the revolution in 1979 that deposed the secular, Western-backed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

Women are required by law to cover their hair and wear long, loose-fitting clothes. While many have been unveiled in public places such as malls, restaurants and shops across the country since Aminis death, those found violating the law face public rebuke, fines or arrest.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 22)  Foreign officials took to social media on Sunday to condemn Chinas actions that led to collisions between Chinese ships and Philippine vessels in the West Philippine Sea.

The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) said the incident happened during a routine Rotation and Resupply mission to BRP Sierra Madre on Ayungin Shoal.

The NTF-WPS called the Chinese vessels moves "provocative, irresponsible and illegal" as the incident "imperiled the safety of the crew" of the Filipino vessels, and condemned the act "in the strongest degree," adding that the collision violated Philippine sovereignty, rights, and jurisdiction.

United States Ambassador MaryKay Carlson was among the first foreign officials to express support for the country, saying China's actions put the lives of Filipino service members at risk.

"We stand with our #FriendsPartnersAllies in protecting sovereignty and in support of a #FreeAndOpenIndoPacific," she said.

Canada, meanwhile, called China's actions "unjustified," adding that it had "no lawful claim to the West Philippine Sea."

The Canadian Embassy said that despite what happened, it welcomed news that no injuries were reported.

EU Ambassador to the Philippines Luc Veron also expressed concern over the incident.

"These incidents, their repetition and intensification are dangerous and very disturbing," he said. "We join the Philippines in its call for the full observance of International Law in the South China Sea."

The Japanese ambassador also expressed support for the Philippines.

"(Japan) strongly opposes any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion. We stand with/by PHs position; upholding maritime order based on UNCLOS & 2016 Arbitral Award," Ambassador Koshikawa Kazuhiko said.

Both France and Australia also called attention to the "dangerous maneuvers" that resulted in the collisions in the contested waters.

The French Embassy called for "respect of the freedom of navigation guaranteed by international law."

Australian Ambassador HK Yu also called for "peace, stability & respect for UNCLOS."
FILE PHOTO: A formation of Israeli tanks is positioned near Israel's border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel

FILE PHOTO: A formation of Israeli tanks is positioned near Israel's border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel

By Parisa Hafezi, Jonathan Saul and Arshad Mohammed

DUBAI (Reuters) -On Oct. 15, Iran issued a stinging public ultimatum to its arch-enemy Israel: Halt your onslaught on Gaza or we'll be forced to take action, its foreign minister warned.

Only hours later, the country's U.N. mission softened the hawkish tone, assuring the world that its armed forces wouldn't intervene in the conflict unless Israel attacked Iranian interests or citizens.

Iran, a longtime backer of Gaza's rulers Hamas, finds itself in a quandary as it tries to manage the spiralling crisis, according to nine Iranian officials with direct knowledge of the thinking within the clerical establishment.

Standing on the sidelines in the face of an all-out Israeli invasion of Gaza would significantly set back an Iranian strategy for regional ascendancy pursued for over four decades, according to the people, who asked to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the discussions in Tehran.

Yet any major attack against a U.S.-backed Israel could exact a heavy toll on Iran and trigger public anger against the clerical rulers in a nation already mired in an economic crisis, said the officials who outlined the various military, diplomatic and domestic priorities being weighed by the establishment.

Three security officials said a consensus had been reached among Iran's top decision makers, for now: Give their blessing for limited cross-border raids by its Lebanese proxy group Hezbollah on Israeli military targets, over 200 km away from Gaza, as well as low-level attacks on U.S. targets by other allied groups in the region. Prevent any major escalation that would draw Iran itself into the conflict.

"We are in contact with our friends Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah," Vahid Jalalzadeh, the head of parliament's National Security Committee said on Wednesday, according to Iranian state media. "Their stance is that they do not expect us to carry out military operations."

Iran's foreign ministry didn't respond to a request for comment about the country's response to the unfolding crisis, while Israeli military authorities declined to comment.

It's a high-wire act for Tehran.

The loss of the power base established in the Palestinian enclave via Hamas and allied group Islamic Jihad over three decades would puncture those plans, which have seen Iran build up a network of armed proxy groups across the Middle East, from Hezbollah in Lebanon to the Houthis in Yemen, the sources said.

Iranian inaction on the ground could be perceived as a sign of weakness by those proxy forces, which have been Tehran's principal weapon of influence in the region for decades, according to three officials. They said it could also dent the standing of Iran, which has long championed the Palestinian cause against Israel, a country it refuses to recognise and casts as an evil occupier.

"The Iranians are facing this dilemma of whether they are going to send Hezbollah to the fight in order to try to save their arm in the Gaza Strip or maybe they are going to let go of this arm and give it up," said Avi Melamed, a former Israeli intelligence official and a negotiator during the first and second intifadas.

"This is the point where the Iranians are," he added. "Calculating their risks."

'SURVIVAL IS UTMOST PRIORITY'

Iran's strategic goals are countered by immediate military considerations as Israel - responding to Hamas' devastating attack on Oct. 7 that killed 1,400 Israelis - has unleashed an aerial blitz on Gaza, killing at least 4,300 people.

Israel - a major military power - is widely believed to have its own nuclear arsenal, though it will neither confirm nor deny this, and has the support of the United States, which has moved two aircraft carriers and fighter jets to the eastern Mediterranean, partly as a warning to Iran.

"For Iran's top leaders, especially the supreme leader (Ayatollah Ali Khamenei), the utmost priority is the survival of the Islamic Republic," a senior Iranian diplomat said.

"That is why Iranian authorities have used strong rhetoric against Israel since the attack started, but they have refrained from direct military involvement, at least for now."

Since Oct. 7, Hezbollah has exchanged fire with Israeli forces along the Lebanese-Israeli frontier in clashes that have killed 14 of the Islamist group's fighters.

Two sources familiar with Hezbollah's thinking said the low-level violence was designed to keep Israeli forces busy but not open a major new front, with one characterising the tactic as waging "small wars".

Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, who is known for issuing threats against Israel in speeches, has not given a public address since the crisis began.

Three senior Israeli security sources and a Western security source told Reuters that Israel didn't want a direct confrontation with Tehran and that while the Iranians had trained and armed Hamas, there was no indication that they had prior knowledge of the Oct. 7 attack.

Khamenei, the supreme leader, has denied Iran was involved in the attack, though he praised the damage inflicted on Israel.

The Israeli and Western security sources said Israel would only attack Iran if it was directly attacked by Iranian forces from Iran, though cautioned that the situation was volatile and an assault on Israel from Hezbollah or Iranian proxies in Syria or Iraq that caused heavy casualties could change that calculus.

A miscalculation by Iran or one of its allied groups in gauging the scale of a proxy attack could change Israel's approach, one of the Israeli sources added.

'NO U.S. BOOTS ON THE GROUND'

U.S. officials have made it clear their aim is to prevent the conflict from spreading and to deter others from attacking American interests while keeping Washington's options open.

On his way back from a visit to Israel on Wednesday, President Joe Biden bluntly denied an Israeli media report saying that his aides had indicated to Israel that if Hezbollah initiated a war, the U.S. military would join the Israeli military in fighting the group.

"Not true," Biden told reporters during a refuelling stop at Germany's Ramstein Air Base

about the Israeli report. "That was never said."

White House national security council spokesman John Kirby reiterated that Washington wanted to contain the conflict.

"There's no intention to put U.S. boots on the ground in combat," he told reporters during the refuelling stop.

Jon Alterman, a former State Department official who now heads the Middle East program at the CSIS think-tank in Washington, said Iranian leaders would feel pressure to show tangible, and not just rhetorical, support for Hamas but warned of the potential for events spinning out of control.

"Once you get into this environment, things happen and there are consequences that nobody wanted," he added.

"Everybody is on edge."

The crisis has also added to uncertainty in financial markets in America and beyond, boosting demand for "safe-haven" assets like gold, U.S. government bonds and the Swiss franc. The market reaction has so far been muted, though some investors warn that would change dramatically if the Gaza war escalated into a broader regional conflict.

'NEITHER GAZA NOR LEBANON'

A China-brokered reconciliation between regional rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia has further complicated matters for leaders in Tehran who want to avoid jeopardizing that "fragile progress", according to a former senior official who is close to top decision-makers in Iran.

Meanwhile, the Iranian people themselves could play a role in events unfolding across the region.

Iran's rulers can't afford a direct involvement in the conflict while struggling to quell mounting dissent at home, driven by economic woes and social restrictions, two separate officials said. The country's has seen months-long unrest triggered by the death in custody of a young woman last year and the state's persistent crackdown on dissent.

The economic woes, caused chiefly by crippling U.S. sanctions and mismanagement, have led many Iranians to criticize the decades-long policy of channelling funds to its proxies to expand the Islamic Republic's influence in the Middle East.

The slogan "Neither Gaza nor Lebanon, I sacrifice my life for Iran" has become a trademark chant in anti-government protests in Iran for years, underscoring the people's frustration with the establishment's allocation of resources.

"Iran's nuanced position emphasizes the delicate balance it must maintain between regional interests and internal stability," said the former senior Iranian official.

(Reporting by Parisa Hafezi in Dubai, Jonathan Saul in Jerusalem and Arshad Mohammed in Washington; Additional reporting by Laila Bassam in Beirut and Paritosh Bansal in New York; Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Samia Nakhoul, Michael Georgy and Pravin Char)
Israel carried out an air strike in Jenin in the northern West Bank early on Sunday, saying Hamas was using a mosque as a "terrorist compound".

Palestinian Authority officials said two people died when the Al-Ansar mosque was hit.

Although the Israeli military regularly raids targets in the West Bank, it rarely uses air strikes there like it does against Hamas-controlled Gaza.

Pictures from the scene showed rubble and significant damage to the building.

The Israeli military said those killed were from the Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups and were organising an "imminent terror attack".

It said the compound they were using was under the mosque and had been in use since July. It released images of what it said were entrances to the compound, alongside images of weapons, computers and security measures pictured at the site.

The IDF did not confirm whether a plane, helicopter or drone had been used in the Jenin strike on Sunday, but Israeli media reported that it was a fighter jet.

The reports said if confirmed it would be only the send time in about two decades that a fighter jet had hit a target in the West Bank.

The Palestinian Authority health ministry says two other Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank overnight. It brings the total number of Palestinians killed in the West Bank since 7 October to 89.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) runs parts of the West Bank. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is the leader of the PA and is from the Fatah political party.

The Gaza Strip is run by Fatah's rival Hamas, which carried out deadly attacks on Israeli military posts and kibbutzes near Gaza on 7 October, killing more than 1,400 people and taking more than 200 hostages into Gaza.

Israel has been carrying out an intensive air bombardment of Gaza ahead of an expected ground offensive there and has vowed to destroy Hamas as an organisation.

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says 55 more Palestinians in Gaza were killed in Israeli air strikes overnight and more than 4,300 have been killed in total since 7 October, more than half of them women and children.

More on Israel-Gaza war
Israel has carried out a rare airstrike in the West Bank, striking a mosque that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) alleged was used by militants.

The IDF & ISA just conducted an aerial strike on a Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist compound in the Al-Ansar Mosque in Jenin. Recent IDF intel revealed that the Mosque was used as a command center to plan and execute terrorist attacks against civilians, the IDF posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

The IDF said that its aircraft attacked an underground route underneath the mosque that housed a terrorist cell of Hamas. It said the cell was responsible for attacks carried out in recent months and was planning on attacking again soon.

While Israel has often targeted airstrikes in Gaza, it has rarely launched airstrikes on the West Bank. Reuters reported that at least one Palestinian was killed in the attack and three others were injured.

Syrian state media also reported that Israeli airstrikes had targeted the international airports in the capital, Damascus, and the city of Aleppo on Sunday morning, killing at least one person.

Israel entered its 16th day of fighting against Hamas, a militant group that the U.S. and other countries have designated as a terrorist organization, after its members infiltrated the country more than two weeks ago. More than 1,400 Israelis have been killed, mostly in the first wave of attacks on Oct. 7.

The Gaza Health Ministry said that at least 4,385 Palestinians are dead as a result of the violence, with another 13,561 people wounded. People across the world have taken to the streets to protest the loss of civilian life on both sides of the conflict and to call for a cease-fire.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
By Divya Rajagopal and Jose Joseph

(Reuters) - Canada's National Department of Defence said on Saturday that Israel was not behind the Al-Ahli hospital strike in Gaza on Oct. 17.

"Analysis conducted independently by the Canadian Forces Intelligence Command indicates with a high degree of confidence that Israel did not strike the Al-Ahli hospital on 17 October 2023," it said in a statement.

The strike was more likely caused by an errant rocket fired from Gaza, the Defence department said based on analysis of open source and classified reporting.

Canada's findings are similar to conclusions by France and the U.S.

Canada said its assessment is informed by an analysis of the blast damage to the hospital complex, including adjacent buildings and the area surrounding the hospital, as well as the flight pattern of the incoming munition.

Palestinian officials said 471 people were killed in the blast at Al-Ahli al-Arabi Hospital on Tuesday. Gaza's health ministry blamed an Israeli air strike, while Israel said the blast was caused by a failed rocket launch by militants.

(Reporting by Jose Joseph in Bengaluru; Divya Rajagopal in Toronto; Editing by Sonali Paul)
The pressure throughout the Middle East is continuing to build as Israel says it is poised and ready to execute its postponed ground assault into the Gaza Strip. With Hezbollah and Israel trading fire across the Lebanon border at a growing pace and after USS Carney swatted down a relatively large-scale missile and drone attack emanating from Iranian proxies in Yemen, as well as numerous drone and rocket attacks on bases with U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria, the possibility that the Gaza operation could trigger a much wider conflict is highly palpable. As a result, the U.S. is deploying additional Patriot batteries and a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) ballistic missile defense battery to the region.

The decision to send these assets, especially the THAAD battery, is certainly an ominous sign, but it remains part of a larger contingency operation now underway to place much more firepower in the region should Iran's proxies, or even Iran itself, enter the conflict. This will soon include two carrier strike groups and a amphibious strike group, as well as additional allied warships congregating in the Eastern Mediterranean.

A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptor is launched from the Pacific Spaceport Complex Alaska in Kodiak, Alaska, during Flight Experiment THAAD (FET)-01 on July 30, 2017 (EDT). During the test, the THAAD weapon system successfully intercepted an air-launched, medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) target.

A Statement from Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin summed up the latest American force posture alterations in the region:

"Following detailed discussions with President Biden on recent escalations by Iran and its proxy forces across the Middle East Region, today I directed a series of additional steps to further strengthen the Department of Defense posture in the region. These steps will bolster regional deterrence efforts, increase force protection for U.S. forces in the region, and assist in the defense of Israel.

First, I redirected the movement of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group to the Central Command area of responsibility. This carrier strike group is in addition to the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group, which is currently operating in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. It will further increase our force posture and strengthen our capabilities and ability to respond to a range of contingencies.

I have also activated the deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery as well as additional Patriot battalions to locations throughout the region to increase force protection for U.S. forces.

Finally, I have placed an additional number of forces on prepare to deploy orders as part of prudent contingency planning, to increase their readiness and ability to quickly respond as required.

I will continue to assess our force posture requirements in the region and consider deploying additional capabilities as necessary."

THAAD is used to intercept ballistic missiles during the later stage of their attack profiles, as they transition out of the midcourse portion of their flight and descend down towards their targets. It can intercept more capable, faster and farther-flying ballistic missiles and at greater ranges than Patriot, and thus provides an upper-layer anti-ballistic missile defense tier that, in many cases, complements Patriot. UAE also operates THAAD. The first operational use of the system happened there in 2022 . Saudi Arabia has the system on order, with the initial system arriving in 2026.

While THAAD is very capable at defending specific, limited areas, it's terminal intercept capabilities limit how large an area that is compared to midcourse interceptors. (MDA)

There is a general misconception about how much capacity the U.S. has when it comes to these advanced air defenses. Patriot batteries are limited in number  you can read all about this reality here  and THAAD is a very low-density, high-value asset. So moving these into the region means they cannot be available elsewhere for contingencies. That does invite some risk, but considering Iran is armed to the teeth with capable ballistic missiles, and even its proxies have them at their disposal , it is a decision that we were expecting.

Israel posses arguably the most advanced integrated air defense system (IADS) anywhere, with robust anti-ballistic missile capability via Arrow 2 and Arrow 3, Patriot/GEM-T, and David's Sling. You can read a detailed breakdown of Israel IADS in our resent feature found here . It isn't clear where THAAD will be headed as it could end up in another country to protect America's regional interests and installations, but U.S. THAAD batteries have deployed to Israel before .

https://youtu.be/Nf98GswPdig

Speaking of air defense, images of USS Carney engaging Houthi drones and cruise missiles have been posted by the Navy. They show the destroyer's fore and aft vertical launch system arrays in action and a shot inside the combat information center as the incident, which went on for many hours, unfolded.

RED SEA (Oct. 19, 2023) The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Carney (DDG 64) defeats a combination of Houthi missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles in the Red Sea, Oct. 19. Carney is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations to help ensure maritime security and stability in the Middle East region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Aaron Lau)

RED SEA (Oct. 19, 2023) The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Carney (DDG 64) defeats a combination of Houthi missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles in the Red Sea, Oct. 19. Carney is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations to help ensure maritime security and stability in the Middle East region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Aaron Lau)

RED SEA (Oct. 19, 2023) Sailors assigned to the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Carney (DDG 64) stand watch in the ships Combat Information Center during an operation to defeat a combination of Houthi missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles, Oct. 19. Carney is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations to help ensure maritime security and stability in the Middle East region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Aaron Lau)

New video of A-10s arriving in the region has also been released:

https://twitter.com/USAFCENT/status/1715735180734845084?s=20

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has stated he is highly concerned about the likelihood that Iranian proxies will go after Americans and American forces on a larger scale in the region:

https://twitter.com/GLNoronha/status/1716133484043923698?s=20

A travel advisory about Americans in Iraq was also released today, underscoring the likelihood that they would be targeted, including potential for kidnapping and aerial attacks. The advisory reads:

"U.S. citizens in Iraq face high risks to their safety and security, including the potential for violence and kidnapping. Terrorist and insurgent groups regularly attack Iraqi security forces and civilians. Anti-U.S. militias threaten U.S. citizens and international companies throughout Iraq. Attacks using improvised explosive devices, indirect fire, and unmanned aerial vehicles occur in many areas of the country, including Baghdad and other major cities. In an emergency, consular services to U.S. citizens in Iraq are limited due to severe restrictions on the movements of U.S. government personnel.

Demonstrations, protests, and strikes occur frequently throughout the country. These events can develop quickly without prior notice, often interrupting traffic, transportation, and other services, and sometimes turning violent.

Do not travel near Iraqs northern borders due to the continued threat of attacks by terrorist groups, armed conflict, aerial bombardment, and civil unrest. U.S. citizens should especially avoid areas near armed groups in northern Iraq, which have been targeted with aerial strikes by neighboring countries militaries.

U.S. citizens should not travel through Iraq to engage in armed conflict in Syria, where they would face extreme personal risks (kidnapping, injury, or death) and legal risks (arrest, fines, and expulsion). The Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq has stated that it will impose prison sentences of up to ten years on individuals who illegally cross the Iraq-Syria border. Additionally, fighting on behalf of or supporting designated terrorist organizations is a crime under U.S. law that can result in prison sentences and large fines in the United States.

Because of security concerns, U.S. government personnel in Baghdad are instructed not to use Baghdad International Airport. Due to risks to civil aviation operating in the Baghdad Flight Information Region, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has extended for an additional two years its Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR) prohibiting certain flights at altitudes below 32,000 feet. For more information, U.S. citizens should consult the Federal Aviation Administrations Prohibitions, Restrictions, and Notices. "

https://twitter.com/TravelGov/status/1716112779248083151?s=20

Blinked also highlighted the need for a plan for what comes after Hamas in Gaza, assuming Israel ends their reign there, during his interview on Meet The Press:

There are different ideas out there about what could follow, but all of that needs to be worked out and its something that needs to be worked out even as Israel is dealing with the current threat.

Time of Israel reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Hezbollah of entering the war as clashes continue on the Lebanon border:

If Hezbollah decides to enter the war, it will long for the Second Lebanon War... It will be making the mistake of its life. We will strike it with strength that it cannot even imagine and the significance to it and to the country of Lebanon will be devastating.

Netanyahu also laid out the existential nature of this war as he sees it:

I know that you lost friends, and its a very difficult thing, but we are in the fight of our life, a fight for our home. Thats not an exaggeration, its not an overstatement, thats this war. It is kill or be killed, and they need to be killed.

The IDF says it is stepping-up airstrikes in Gaza ahead of the ground operation.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said the following yesterday:

We will enter the Gaza Strip. We will begin an operational and professional mission to destroy the Hamas operatives, the Hamas infrastructure, and we will also keep in our minds the images, scenes, and the fallen from Shabbat two weeks ago. Gaza is complex, Gaza is dense, the enemy is preparing a lot of things there, but we are preparing things for them as well."

https://twitter.com/manniefabian/status/1715774422030668046?s=20

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant stated that the ground operation could take months during remarks from the Israeli Air Forces command center in Tel Aviv.

This needs to be the last [ground] maneuver in Gaza, for the simple reason that after it there will be no Hamas. It will take a month, two months, three, but in the end, there will be no Hamas... Before the enemy meets the armored and infantry forces, it will meet the bombs of the Air Force."

Aid is now flowing across the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza. Multiple trucks initially crossed the border today . This comes after days of being held back as the approval from the Israeli government was being sought. Protests on the Egyptian side of the crossing have been a microcosm of the frustration of many in the region and beyond. The main concern was that the aid would be confiscated by Hamas and used to support their operations. Those concerns still remain and today was seen as a trial run. Israel says no fuel will be allowed to pass into Gaza due to these concerns.

https://twitter.com/UNRWA/status/1716150704790728996?s=20 https://twitter.com/PowerUSAID/status/1715806009057329449?s=20 https://twitter.com/cnnipr/status/1715416420085895487?s=20

The international community, including the U.S., put pressure on Israel to allow the aid to move through. Gaza has been with dwindling water and power for two weeks now.

https://twitter.com/MeetThePress/status/1716083824570888515?s=20

These deliveries will need to be constant going forward as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has already ballooned.

As for the hostages that are still trapped in Gaza, that number is now pegged at 210. Two American hostages were released yesterday. There was claims by Hamas that they wanted to release two more, but Israel denied it, saying it is just propaganda and lies . Regardless, the risk to those hostages changes in unpredictable ways once a ground assault begins. At this time, there are reports that the U.S. is trying to further delay the Israelis from executing their ground operation so that more of the hostages can be released via negotiation. Right now there are said to be 10 Americans unaccounted for after Hamas's attacks in Israel.

Finally, an Israeli tank accidentally fired on an Egyptian border post today resulting in minor injuries, an incident for which Israel has apologized.

We will continue to update this post as more info comes available.

Contact the author: Tyler@thedrive.com
Plumes of smoke billow over the northern Gaza Strip following Israeli military strikes (JACK GUEZ)

Israel has one of the best-resourced militaries in the world, heavily supported by Washington. In Hamas, it faces a highly trained armed group with powerful regional allies.

With both sides poised for an Israeli ground offensive in the wake of the deadly attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7, here is an overview of their military resources.

- Israel -

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) number 169,500, of which 126,000 are army, according to Britain's International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).

On top of that, it has 400,000 reservists, of which 360,000 have been mobilised since the Hamas attack.

Israel also has some of the most technologically advanced defences in the world, including the "Iron Dome" anti-missile system.

IISS says it has around 1,300 tanks and other armoured vehicles, 345 fighter jets and a vast arsenal of artillery, drones and state-of-the-art submarines.

Though not a declared nuclear state, Israel's nuclear weapons cache is an open secret and the Arms Control Association puts its number of warheads at 90.

- US ally -

Washington provides $3.8 billion per year to Israel in military aid under a 10-year agreement running until 2028.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Sunday that he had activated deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery and additional Patriot battalions "throughout the region".

He added that he had put "an additional number of forces on prepare-to-deploy orders ... to increase their readiness and ability to quickly respond as required."

Washington had already delivered increased munitions to Israel and deployed two aircraft carriers to the eastern Mediterranean -- the USS Gerald Ford, the world's largest warship, and the USS Eisenhower -- to deter not just Hamas but also its allies Iran and the Lebanese Islamist movement Hezbollah.

The US military on Tuesday ordered 2,000 personnel to prepare for deployment to the Middle East as a show of force.

- Hamas -

Hamas has a diverse arsenal built up over many years.

Its armed forces, called the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, numbers 15,000 men according to IISS, though it notes that Arab media have put the figure at 40,000.

They have heavy weapons obtained from across the Middle East -- particularly Iran, Syria and Libya -- and has also sourced handguns and assault rifles from China and other regions.

It also has a variety of locally made, improvised explosives and Western sources say enough drones, mines, anti-tank guided missiles, grenade launchers and mortar shells to hold out for a long period, though precise figures are unavailable.

The majority of its rockets are also locally manufactured and technologically rudimentary.

- Hezbollah -

There have already been exchanges across the border between Israel and Lebanon, where the Iran-backed Hezbollah is based.

"Hezbollah can tie up IDF resources without having to fully commit to the fight, instead relying on occasional rocket or missile strikes to prevent the Israelis from growing complacent and forcing the IDF to commit manpower and materiel along the northern border," said the Soufan Center, a US think tank.

In 2021, the group claimed to have 100,000 fighters. The Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), an Israeli think tank, says the number is half that.

"Most Hezbollah militants are not full-time fighters, but rather engage in militant activity as and when required by the group's commanders," according to Elliot Chapman of the British defence analysis firm Janes.

Hezbollah mobilised 40,000 men at the outbreak of Syria's civil war, he noted.

INSS says the group's arsenal counts 150,000 to 200,000 rockets and missiles, including "hundreds" of precision rockets.

"Strategically, Hezbollah's rocket arsenal is the group's most significant capability for fighting Israel," Chapman said.

- Iran -

Since its Islamic revolution in 1979, Iran has made support for Palestinians one of the pillars of its ideology.

Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian warned Sunday that "The region is like a powderkeg ... I warn the United States and its proxy (Israel) that if they do not immediately stop the crime against humanity and genocide in Gaza, anything is possible at any moment and the region will go out of control".

Western analysts minimise the threat of Iran becoming directly involved and point rather to its support from Hamas, Hezbollah and Huthi rebels in Yemen -- a so-called "axis of resistance" of Israel's enemies.

Raz Zimmt, of INSS, said Iran currently had "no interest in Hezbollah engaging in an all-out war" that might threaten such a key "strategic asset".

But he added that Tehran's hand could be forced by "an Israeli ground invasion, and especially Israeli military success, which will threaten the very survival of Hamas and/or its ability to maintain effective control over the Gaza Strip".

dla/er/bp/js
A Jewish university student says they have been told not to show outright signs of their religion amid the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

The 20-year-old from Cardiff University, who wishes to remain anonymous, said she felt scared about becoming a target of abuse.

Meanwhile, a Welsh-Palestinian woman said she felt "dehumanised" by language used.

Thousands of people have died since the start of the conflict.

Palestinian officials say more than 4,300 people have been killed in Gaza since Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October, killing 1,400.

Israeli-born Moran and Tova, from Cardiff, say the Jewish community has felt let down by the Welsh government since Hamas's attack

The student said a lot of people had stopped wearing their kippahs out as they did not want to become targets.

She said a friend had been "terrified to go back to campus" over fears of how people would react.

During a recent conference call, the Union of Jewish Students advised those who were worried about becoming targets to hide signs of their Jewish faith.

Cardiff University said there was support available and it had a zero-tolerance approach to racism, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.

Meanwhile, Alaa Khundakji, 36, a Welsh-Palestinian from Cardiff whose family were displaced to south Gaza due to bombing, said the atmosphere in the UK had made things worse.

"There is such great fear and anger and disappointment in the way it's portrayed, in the way as a community we're dehumanised," she said.

She added that Palestinian families had told her of children coming home from school "distressed."

"There is such great fear and anger and disappointment in the way it's portrayed, in the way as a community we're dehumanised," says Alaa Khundakji, a Welsh-Palestinian

She said Palestinian people in the UK were feeling "marginalised and alienated".

Israeli-born Moran and Tova, from Cardiff, said Israel was meant to be "a safe haven" for Jewish people and the community had felt let down by the Welsh government since Hamas's attack.

She said: "We had a meeting here, we had a representative of the British government but not Wales."

Both women said they felt unsafe and claimed a friend had been verbally abused while placing an Israeli flag on the steps of the Senedd.

They said another friend had tried to join but turned back upon seeing a pro-Palestine march in Cardiff.

Moran said: "We are keeping a low profile at the moment."

She said she would not allow Hamas to "let us live in fear, they will not win and we will walk with our heads up and proud".

Tova added: "We don't normally want to be anonymous, we are proud Israelis, and it's painful."

About 1,000 protesters waving Palestinian flags and supportive placards took part in a march towards the Welsh Parliament in Cardiff on Saturday

Three of Wales' police forces said they had not seen a notable increase in reported hate crime, but Supt Tim Morgan of South Wales Police said the service was "actively reaching out" to offer support.

The Muslim Council of Wales' secretary general Dr Abdul-Azim Ahmed said it was reassuring that Welsh police had not seen a rise in hate crime, but many Muslims were "hurting" and "afraid."

"People are concerned about the impact of campaigning for Palestine. They're concerned as well about the reception and sentiment others hold.

"It's such a polarised time, especially some of the rhetoric coming from authorities."

The Welsh government said: "The first minister has strongly condemned the appalling attacks carried out by Hamas and the horrific escalation in violence against Israel."

"The minister for social justice has reached out to faith leaders in Wales to express her shock and condolences and is in touch with Faith Communities Forum to arrange a meeting with representatives from the Jewish community as soon as possible."

When asked about Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's language around Palestinians, the UK government pointed to his statement in the Commons earlier this week when he said: "We mourn the loss of every innocent life, of the civilians of every faith and every nationality who have been killed, so let us say it plainly: we stand with British Muslim communities, too."

He said the UK government was providing an extra 10m of aid to Palestinians, saying Palestinian people were "victims of Hamas too".
The estimated number of hostages who are being held by militant group Hamas has increased to 212, according to an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson.

IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari confirmed at a Sunday morning press conference that 212 people were taken by Hamas fighters on Oct. 7, multiple news outlets reported. This is slightly up from the previous estimate of at least 203 people being held hostage by Hamas and comes just days after the militant group released two American hostages.

Israel entered its 16th day of fighting against Hamas, a militant group that the U.S. and other countries have designated as a terrorist organization, after its members infiltrated Israel in a surprise Oct. 7 attack, killing more than 1,400 Israelis.

Israel has since retaliated against the Gaza Strip, which Hamas rules. The Gaza Health Ministry said at least 4,385 Palestinians are dead as a result of the violence with another 13,561 people wounded. People across the world have taken to the streets to protest the loss of civilian life on both sides of the conflict and to call for a ceasefire.

The Biden administration has been unwavering of its support of Israel so far, vowing to back the nation in its effort against Hamas. President Biden also has also said efforts to secure other American hostages are underway after Hamas released Judith Raanan and her daughter, Natalie Raanan with the help of Qatar.

There are still 10 Americans who remain unaccounted after the initial attack. Biden said on Friday that U.S. officials have been working around-the-clock to free American citizens who were taken hostage by Hamas, and we have not ceased our efforts to secure the release of those who are still being held.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A senior Hamas commander was killed in an Israeli air strike on the Gaza Strip overnight, said Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, spokesman for the Israel Defence Forces (IDF).

Source: The Times of Israel

Quote from Hagari: "We are increasing the attacks in the Gaza Strip in order to reduce the threats to our forces in preparation for the next phase of the war.

We will go to the next stage under the best conditions for the IDF and in accordance with the decision of the political echelon."

Details: The officer said dozens of Hamas members were killed in the overnight strikes, including the deputy commander of the militant group's rocket system.

Background: Earlier, reports emerged that the Israeli army had postponed the start of the ground operation, which was scheduled for 15 October, due to the weather conditions.

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The world is watching the humanitarian crisis in Gaza unfold in real time through firsthand accounts documented on, of all places, Snapchat. Israel has retaliated against Hamas October 7 attack with unprecedented force against the Palestinian territory, claiming over 9,000 Palestinian lives according to Gaza Health Ministry numbers reported by the Associated Press. The Committee to Protect Journalists reports that at least 30 journalists have been killed since Israels bombardment and total blockade of the region began, and journalists in Gaza say that without consistent access to food, water and power, its becoming impossible to continue reporting.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 22)  Several lawmakers on Sunday condemned China's latest blocking maneuvers against Philippine vessels en route to BRP Sierra Madre, which ended in collisions off Ayungin Shoal.

In a statement, Senator Risa Hontiveros stressed that the China Coast Guard (CCG) was at fault in the recent incident as the Philippine Coast Guard "has every right to be in the West Philippine Sea."

"China, tama na [enough is enough]. This latest collision is squarely the China Coast Guard's fault," Hontiveros said.

"Walang karapatan ang Tsina na itaboy ang ating mga tropa sa ating karagatan. At mas lalong wala silang karapatan na saktan at banggain ang Pilipinong barkong tanging gumagawa lang ng kanyang trabaho sa sarili nating teritoryo," she added.

[Translation: China has no right to drive our troops out of our seas. More so, they have no right to hurt and run into a Filipino ship that is only doing its work in its own territory.]

Hontiveros further called on the international community to condemn China's most recent violence against the Filipino people.

Senator Francis Tolentino, meanwhile, said the recent event demonstrated China's contempt for international law and basic maritime safety, as he called for a thorough international investigation.

"Ang naturang insidente ay dapat mapasailalim sa isang masusing imbestigasyon sa ilalim ng International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) at ng Code for Investigation ng Marine Casualties and Incidents ng International Maritime Organization," Tolentino said.

[Translation: Such an incident should be subject to a thorough investigation under the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) and the Code for Investigation of Marine Casualties and Incidents of the International Maritime Organization.]

ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. France Castro urged for "decisive action" from the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., such as re-filing a case against China or pushing for a United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolution on its actions in the West Philippine Sea.

"Marapat na paspasan ang pag-develop sa Pag-Asa Island at pagtatayo din ng mga permanent structures sa WPS para sa 24/7 na territorial security patrol, at magagamit pang pahingahan ng mga mangingisdang Filipino," Castro said.

[Translation: We need to speed up the development of Pag-Asa Island and construction of permanent structures in the WPS for 24/7 territorial security patrols and to serve as resting areas for Filipino fishermen.]

Senator Jinggoy Estrada said Beijing's recent actions not only violate maritime norms and international law but also pose a threat to the safety and security of the region. He urged the government to carefully consider its next steps against China.

"This is a violation of our sovereign rights and an assault on our maritime personnel; it is completely unacceptable. Will a mere diplomatic protest still suffice?" Estrada said.

Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri called on the CCG to respect human lives and abide by the UNCLOS and other international laws.

Zubiri commended the PCG and the Armed Forces of the Philippines for displaying courage and restraint in their resupply missions despite the "hostile and treacherous acts" of the CCG.

"As leader of the Senate, I will make sure that our troops will get sufficient funds under the 2024 national budget to bankroll the much-needed upgrade of their equipment," he stressed.

Chinese ships collided with Filipino vessels on a resupply mission to BRP Sierra Madre on Ayungin Shoal on Sunday morning.

China claimed that the Filipino vessels were "illegally carrying construction materials" and that the action of the China Coast Guard was "reasonable, lawful, and professional."

The AFP earlier said that whatever the country does on the BRP Sierra Madre, its military outpost at Ayungin Shoal, is none of China's business and will not be a threat to any other nation.

READ: Chinese ships collide with PH vessels on resupply mission to Ayungin NTF-WPS
(Bloomberg) -- Israel said Hezbollah risks dragging Lebanon into a wider regional war after another night of intense cross-border fire with the Iran-backed militant group.

Most Read from Bloomberg

As Israels military battles Gaza-based Hamas, following the groups deadly attacks on southern Israel on Oct. 7, it has also been facing the threat to the north posed by Hezbollah, which last fought a war with its neighbor in 2006.

Israel reported that anti-tank missiles were fired again from Lebanon Sunday and that it had intercepted a drone. In one of its most serious warnings yet, the military said Hezbollah was playing a very, very dangerous game and dragging Lebanon into a war that it will gain nothing from but stands to lose a lot.

More than 60,000 people in Israel have been evacuated along the border with Lebanon including Kiryat Shmona, the areas largest city, and residents of an additional 14 communities are set to leave, according to the Israeli Ministry of Defense.

Why Hezbollah Is a Wild Card in New Mideast Fighting: QuickTake

Israel shelled border villages late Saturday, reaching areas deep into southern Lebanon primarily Jezzine, Tyre and Bint Jbeil. About 1,500 Lebanese and Syrian families took refuge in schools in Tyre that the municipality had set up in anticipation of worsening violence, Lebanese state-run National News Agency reported.

One of the Middle Easts most powerful militias, Hezbollah is funded by Iran and is also represented by a political party in Lebanon with an extensive network of schools, hospitals, social services and even local lenders. Along with its allies, Hezbollah is one of the most influential parties in the country and has the majority and military might to block any government or parliament decision.

Lebanons government, which exerts little to no influence over Hezbollahs armed wing, has said it was preparing an emergency plan in the case of a war. Lebanons national carrier Middle East Airlines has parked some of its fleet in Turkey and authorities have discussed ways to secure its infrastructure and trade routes.

At a televised news conference Sunday a Hezbollah lawmaker said the groups goal was to prevent Israel from achieving its goals in Gaza. Speaking in southern Lebanon, Hassan Fadlallah also praised the residents for offering the best of their sons to face Israel.

Israel Latest: Army Warns of Wider War as Lebanon Tensions Spike

Hezbollah has been attacking Israeli army posts and border towns on a daily basis for the past two weeks and has attempted to send drones into Israeli airspace. The series of attacks started a day after Hamas, which is designated a terrorist group by the US and European Union, launched an unprecedented incursion into Israel on Oct. 7, killing more than 1,400 people and abducting dozens more.

Israel responded with an intense bombing campaign on the blockaded Hamas-run Gaza Strip, killing thousands of people. Israel is widely expected to launch a ground invasion, something Iran has said would further escalate tensions.

Caretaker Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the government was holding talks with Arab and international parties to stop Israels attacks on the southern region and prevent the war spilling over further into Lebanon.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Mikati late Saturday and noted growing concern over rising tensions along Lebanons southern border, according to the State Department.

Israels military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said the fighting with Hezbollah is mainly in the contact line. Hezbollah has adopted similar rhetoric, saying the clashes remain within the so-called rules of engagement, which limits the battle to Lebanese areas Hezbollah considers occupied.

Hezbollah has so far not entered real combat with Israel probably because it is sensitive to public opinion in Lebanon where people are worried what a war of that kind would cause according to Giora Eiland, a former national security adviser in Israel.

Hezbollah is aware that if a full scale war emerges in Lebanon, it will bring devastation to the city of Beirut. Beirut will look like Gaza, Eiland, a retired general and now a media commentator, told journalists at a briefing late Saturday.

Hezbollah has said it has 100,000 fighters and a stockpile of missiles that could reach all of Israel. Its involvement in the Syrian war alongside President Bashar Al-Assads forces has given its fighters more experience in guerrilla warfare, experts say.

Hezbollahs last war with Israel in 2006 left more than 1,000 dead in Lebanon, and more than 100 in Israel, as well as triggering mass displacement and damage. While the group claimed victory back then and enjoyed popular support in the Arab world, some of that landscape is different today.

The groups fighting against Syrias popular uprising dented its image in parts of the Middle East. In Lebanon its critics blame the group for the countrys financial crisis and say Hezbollah is to blame for Arab benefactors like Saudi Arabia withholding much-needed funding for Lebanon.

--With assistance from Omar Tamo.

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Israel's version of the FBI has reportedly launched a new unit dedicated to tracking down and killing every Hamas terrorist who took part in the surprise Oct. 7 attacks from Gaza.

The Israel Security Agency, known as Shin Bet, established a new unit known as NILI, an acronym in Hebrew for "The Eternity of Israel Will Not Lie," according to the Jerusalem Post.

The new unit, which will operate separately from other command and control units focused on taking out strike cells and high-ranking Hamas officials, is tasked with tracking down and eliminating every person who played a role in the atrocities, according to the report.

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Israeli security forces in the village of Yafia, west of Nazareth, on June 8, 2023. Israeli forces launched a new unit tasked with hunting down Hamas terrorists involved in the Oct. 7 attack.

It will specifically target members of a special Hamas commando unit within the terror organization's Nukhba wing. which Israel believes carried out the attacks.

ISRAELI-AMERICAN RESERVIST KILLED BY HEZBOLLAH MISSILE IN ISRAEL, IDF SAYS

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People participate in a "Bring Them Home'" rally in Trafalgar Square calling for the release of hostages held by Hama on Oct. 22, 2023, in London.

Those assigned to the unique mission reportedly include both field operatives and intelligence personnel.

Israeli forces have claimed to have killed several Hamas commanders in recent days as they continue their strikes on the Gaza Strip. Among them are Ali Qadhi, a commander within the Hamas Nukhba force considered a key player in the attack on the border region, as well as Billal Al Kedra, who Israeli forces say led Hamas' deadly raid in Nirim.

The Israeli government says 210 hostages were taken by Hamas from communities in southern Israel during the militants' attack on Oct. 7.

More than 20 towns and villages in southern Israel were ambushed in the sweeping assault by Hamas militants launched from the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, according to The Associated Press. More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed in Hamas' initial assault, and roughly 200 others are said to have been taken to Gaza as hostages.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.





Original article source: Israel Security Agency creates new unit to hunt, kill every Hamas terrorist in Oct. 7 surprise attacks: report
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that 130 premature babies and 1,000 kidney patients in Gaza are at grave risk as the fuel needed to power dialysis and incubators runs out.

Israels military spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, warned that Israel planned to intensify its strikes on Gaza in order to minimise the risk to troops in the next stages of the war, which it is widely anticipated will involve a ground invasion.

Cross-border fire between Israel and militant groups in Lebanon has also increased, and Israel has struck two airports in Syria, as the two-week war with Hamas threatened to spiral into a broader regional conflict. Residents of Gaza told The Independent that the air raids had never been so heavy and that supplies were quickly running out.

Israel has launched a fierce bombardment and imposed a total siege on the 42km-long enclave, which is home to more than 2 million people, after Hamas militants launched a bloody attack on 7 October killing over 1,400 Israelis and taking hundreds of people, including British citizens, hostage.

Smoke rises after Israeli air strikes on Gaza City on Sunday (EPA)

According to WHO, at least 4,385 Palestinians have been killed in the strikes. The Hamas-run health ministry says that more than 1,700 of them were children. The WHO said it now fears that many more will die from injuries and preventable illnesses, as food, water and medicines run out.

On Sunday, a convoy of 17 trucks packed with aid attempted to cross into besieged Gaza. But witnesses said that as the trucks crossed the border, a blast was heard in the vicinity. Israel later said that one of its tanks had accidentally fired and hit an Egyptian position close to the border.

Although Sundays attempted convoy was successful, and Saturday saw 20 trucks carrying aid enter Gaza via Rafah, the UN has warned that the supplies reaching the enclave are a drop in the ocean.

The convoy contained food, water and medical supplies, but Israel has so far not permitted fuel to be delivered. The UNs Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA said on Sunday that this meant the stocks of fuel that are critical for [the] humanitarian response would run out in three days.

Without fuel, there will be no water, no functioning hospitals and bakeries. Without fuel, aid will not reach many civilians in desperate need. Without fuel, there will be no humanitarian assistance, it added.

Israeli soldiers stand near a Merkava tank as they man a position at an undisclosed location on the border with Lebanon (AFP/Getty)

The WHO said that 130 premature infants and 1,000 patients dependent on dialysis, as well as patients in intensive care units across the besieged enclave, will die if no fuel is found to power incubators, ventilators and dialysis machines.

Doctors in Gaza told The Independent they were having to improvise as supplies were running out, including using shop-bought vinegar to disinfect wounds, conducting surgeries without anaesthetic, and treating burns patients without dressings.

On Sunday, the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry once again issued a plea to petrol stations to immediately donate their fuel to hospitals to keep them running.

The WHO said on Sunday that 65 per cent of primary care facilities and 20 per cent of hospitals have had to stop operating because of Israels bombardment.

Israel has ramped up attacks on Gaza ahead of an anticipated ground incursion into the strip, and ordered Palestinian civilians in northern Gaza  including those in hospitals  to evacuate to the south.

Palestinians check the damage inside a mosque which was hit in an Israeli air strike, in Jenin refugee camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank (Reuters)

The WHO has said this demand is impossible, and UN experts say it could amount to the war crime of forcible transfer.

Residents who have stayed in Gaza City, in the north of the strip, told The Independent that Israel had dropped more leaflets on Saturday warning people that if they did not move to the south, they might be identified as accomplices of a terrorist organisation. The residents shared images of the leaflets.

This has raised further concerns about further violations of international law if civilians are targeted for failing to evacuate.

The Israeli military did not deny they had sent the leaflets in a statement to The Independent, but added that the translation from Arabic that has spread online is imprecise without specifying which part of the translation was wrong.

We clarify that the IDF [Israeli army] has no intention to consider those who have not evacuated from the affected area of fighting as a member of the terrorist group. The IDF treats civilians as such, and does not target them, the statement read.

Palestinian youths stand on a heart-shaped installation next to the rubble of a building following an Israeli airstrike on Khan Younis refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, on Sunday (EPA)

In order to minimise civilian harm, the IDF sent a request to the residents of the northern area of the Gaza Strip to evacuate southward of Wadi Gaza.

There are concerns that the two-week war with Gaza is fast becoming a regional conflict. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited troops stationed near the border with Lebanon and warned Hezbollah it would be making the mistake of its life if it entered the war.

In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, officials said they had struck a mosque compound in Jenin belonging to Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants who had carried out several attacks in recent months and were planning another one. Two people were reported to have been killed in the strike.

So far the Palestinian health ministry has said that in total, 91 Palestinians have been killed in clashes with Israeli troops and in arrest raids and attacks by Jewish settlers since the 7 October attacks. Israeli forces have closed crossings into the territory and checkpoints between cities, measures they say are aimed at preventing attacks. Israel says it has arrested more than 700 Palestinians, including 480 suspected Hamas members.
RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP)  The second aid convoy destined for desperate Palestinian civilians reached Gaza on Sunday, as Israel widened its attacks to include targets in Syria and the occupied West Bank and the Israeli prime minister warned Lebanons Hezbollah militant group that if it launches its own war, we will cripple it with a force it cannot even imagine.

For days, Israel has been on the verge of launching a ground offensive in Gaza following Hamas brutal Oct. 7 rampage through a series of Israeli communities. Tanks and troops have been massed at the Gaza border, waiting for the command to cross.

Israels military spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said the country had increased airstrikes across Gaza to hit targets that would reduce the risk to troops in the next stage of the war.

Fears of a widening war grew as Israeli warplanes struck targets across Gaza, two airports in Syria and a mosque in the occupied West Bank allegedly used by militants.

Israel has traded fire with Hezbollah militants since the war began, and tensions are soaring in the West Bank, where Israeli forces have battled militants in refugee camps and carried out two airstrikes in recent days.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told troops in northern Israel that if Hezbollah launches a war, "it will make the mistake of its life. We will cripple it with a force it cannot even imagine, and the consequences for it and the Lebanese state will be devastating.

Hamas said it fought with Israeli forces near Khan Younis in southern Gaza and destroyed a tank and two bulldozers.

Late Sunday, Hagari announced that a soldier was killed and three others wounded by an anti-tank missile during a raid inside Gaza as part of efforts to rescue more than 200 hostages abducted in the Oct. 7 attack.

On Saturday, 20 trucks entered Gaza in the first aid shipment into the territory since Israel imposed a complete siege two weeks ago.

Israeli authorities said late Sunday they had allowed a second batch of aid into Gaza at the request of the United States. COGAT, the Israeli defense body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, said the aid included water, food and medical supplies and that everything was inspected by Israel before it was brought into Gaza.

The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees confirmed the arrival of 14 trucks.

Israel has not allowed any fuel to enter Gaza.

In a sign of how precarious any movement of aid remains, the Egyptian military said Israeli shelling hit a watchtower on Egypt's side of the border, causing light injuries. The Israeli military apologized, saying a tank had accidentally fired and hit an Egyptian post, and the incident was being investigated.

Relief workers said far more aid was needed to address the spiraling humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where half the territory's 2.3 million people have fled their homes. The U.N. humanitarian agency said Saturday's convoy carried about 4% of an average days imports before the war and a fraction of what is needed after 13 days of complete siege."

The Israeli military said the humanitarian situation was under control, even as the U.N. called for 100 trucks a day to enter.

In a Sunday phone call, Netanyahu and U.S. President Joe Biden affirmed that there will now be continued flow of this critical assistance into Gaza, the White House said in a statement.

Israel repeated its calls for people to leave northern Gaza, including by dropping leaflets from the air. It estimated 700,000 have already fled. But hundreds of thousands remain. That would raise the risk of mass civilian casualties in any ground offensive.

Israeli military officials say Hamas infrastructure and underground tunnels are concentrated in Gaza City, in the north, and that the next stage of the offensive will include unprecedented force there. Israel says it wants to crush Hamas. Officials have also spoken of carving out a buffer zone to keep Palestinians from approaching the border, though they have given no details.

Hospitals packed with patients and displaced people are running low on medical supplies and fuel for generators, forcing doctors to perform surgeries using sewing needles, resorting to vinegar as disinfectant and operating without anesthesia.

The World Health Organization says at least 130 premature babies are at grave risk because of a shortage of generator fuel. It said seven hospitals in northern Gaza have been forced to shut down due to damage from strikes, lack of power and supplies, or Israeli evacuation orders.

Shortages of critical supplies, including ventilators, are forcing doctors to ration treatment, said Dr. Mohammed Qandeel, who works in Khan Younis' Nasser Hospital. Dozens of patients continue to arrive and are treated in crowded, darkened corridors, as hospitals preserve electricity for intensive care units.

Its heartbreaking, Qandeel said.

Palestinians sheltering in U.N.-run schools and tent camps are running low on food and are drinking dirty water. The lack of fuel has crippled water and sanitation systems.

Heavy airstrikes were reported across Gaza, including in the southern part of the coastal strip, where Israel has told civilians to seek refuge. At the Al-Aqsa hospital in Deir al-Balah, south of the evacuation line, several bodies wrapped in white shrouds were lined up outside.

Khalil al-Degran, a hospital official, said more than 90 bodies had been brought in since early Sunday, as the sound of nearby bombing echoed behind him. He said 180 wounded people had arrived, mostly children, women and the elderly displaced from other areas.

Airstrikes also smashed through the marketplace in the Nuseirat refugee camp. Witnesses said at least a dozen people were killed.

The Israeli military has said it is striking Hamas fighters and installations and insists it does not target civilians. Palestinian militants have fired over 7,000 rockets at Israel, according to the military, and Hamas says it targeted Tel Aviv early Sunday.

More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed  mostly civilians slain during the initial Hamas attack. At least 212 people were captured and dragged back to Gaza.

Two Americans were released Friday, hours before the first shipment of humanitarian aid.

More than 4,600 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. That includes the disputed toll from a hospital explosion.

Syrian state media, meanwhile, reported that Israeli airstrikes hit the international airports in the capital, Damascus, and the northern city of Aleppo, killing one person and putting the runways out of service.

Israel has carried out several strikes in Syria since the war began. Israel rarely acknowledges individual strikes, but says it acts to prevent Hezbollah and other militants from bringing in arms from Iran, which also supports Hamas.

In Lebanon, Hezbollah said six fighters were killed Saturday, and the groups deputy leader, Sheikh Naim Kassem, warned that Israel would pay a high price if it invades Gaza. Israel struck Hezbollah in response to rocket fire, the military said.

Israel also announced evacuation plans for another 14 communities near the Lebanon border.

In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, 93 Palestinians have been killed  including eight Sunday  in clashes with Israeli troops, arrest raids and attacks by Jewish settlers since the Hamas attacks, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Israeli forces have closed crossings into the territory and checkpoints between cities, measures they say are aimed at preventing attacks. Israel says it has arrested more than 700 Palestinians since Oct. 7, including 480 suspected Hamas members.

The internationally recognized Palestinian Authority administers parts of the West Bank and cooperates with Israel on security, but it is deeply unpopular and has been the target of violent Palestinian protests.

___

Magdy reported from Cairo and Nessman from Jerusalem. Associated Press journalists Amy Teibel in Jerusalem; Samya Kullab in Baghdad; Bassem Mroue in Beirut; Ashraf Sweilam in el-Arish, Egypt, and Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria, contributed to this report.
An Israeli-American reservist has been killed by an anti-tank missile fired by Hezbollah along the Israel-Lebanon border.

Staff Sgt Omer Balva, of Rockland, Maryland, was serving as a platoon commander in the 9203 battalion of the Alexandroni Brigade when he died on Friday, roughly 115 miles from Gaza, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

Balva was among 360,000 reservists called up to combat Hamas after terrorist attacks on Israel two weeks ago, leaving more than 1,000 dead.

The 22-year-old grew up in the Maryland suburbs and moved to Israel with his parents in 2019. He was studying for a degree in business administration and economics at Reichman University in Herzliya, Israel.

His reserve infantry unit recalled him while he was visiting the US earlier this month. Funeral services were held in Herzliya on Sunday.

Missiles fired from Lebanon towards Israeli troops on the northern border struck Balva and injured at least three other soldiers, according to IDF. Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the attack.

The US Department of State confirmed Balvas death.

We offer our sincerest condolences to the family on their loss, the State Department said in a statement. We stand ready to provide all appropriate consular assistance. Out of respect for the familys privacy during this difficult time, we have no further comment.

Israeli forces have clashed with the Lebanese militant group along Israels border with Lebanon amid growing concerns of a wider conflict in the region.

Israel launched complete siege of Gaza in the wake of the Hamas attacks, cutting off water, food and fuel supplies as Israeli forces prepare for a ground invasion. Aerial bombardments have killed more than 4,300 people in the occupied Palestinian territory amid a deepening humanitarian crisis that has displaced hundreds of thousands of people.

IDF says it has targeted several Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon, including a series of military facilities used by the organization for operational needs and an anti-tank missile launcher.

The IDF is ready for all scenarios in the various sectors and will continue to act for the security of Israeli citizens, the agency said in a statement on Saturday.

Hezbollah has paid a heavy price for its attacks, according to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

Hezbollahs deputy leader Sheikh Naim Kassem said the group is trying to weaken the Israeli enemy and let them know that we are ready to join fighting should Israel launch its ground invasion of Gaza.

The head of the alumni group for the Maryland school that Balva attended said the community was completely devastated and heartbroken by the news of his death.

Omer was a beloved student who attended our school from age seven through to his high school graduation, read a statement from Rabbi Mitchel Malkus with Charles E Smith Jewish Day School alumni.

He was an unabashed advocate for the State of Israel. He is a hero to the State of Israel, the Jewish people, and the school. We mourn his loss, he added.

In a 2018 presentation that remains on the schools website, Balva described his familys history in Israel and said his parents moved to the US in 1996 . He wrote that he had hoped to move to Israel as an adult and raise children there.

The State Department estimates that roughly 500,000 Americans were in Israel at the time of Hamas attacks. The agency has orchestrated the evacuations of US citizens from the region through Ben Gurion Airport.

As many as 600 US citizens remain trapped in Gaza without a clear path out, and the Dtate Department anticipates that Gazas sole border crossing into neighbouring Egypt will remain fluid and unpredictable.
Yoav Gallant, Israeli Defence Minister, said Israel's upcoming ground offensive in the Gaza Strip could last three months, but it would be the last time if Israel succeeds in eliminating the Hamas terrorist group.

Source: Gallant at the Israeli Air Force Command Center in Tel Aviv, reports The Times of Israel

Quote: "This needs to be the last [ground] manoeuvre in Gaza, for the simple reason that after it there will be no Hamas. It will take a month, two months, three, but in the end, there will be no Hamas."

Details: The minister also said that "before the enemy meets the armoured and infantry forces, it will meet the bombs of the Air Force."

"I am under the impression that you know how to do it in a lethal, precise, and very high-quality way, as it has been proven until now," Gallant added, addressing the officers of Israel Defence Forces.

However, Israel confirmed that it had authorised another humanitarian aid entry into the Gaza Strip through Egypt on Sunday at the request of US President Joe Biden's administration.

"At the request of the American administration and in accordance with the instructions of the political echelon, humanitarian aid from the United Nations containing only water, food, and medical equipment was brought into the southern Gaza Strip today, through the Rafah crossing in Egypt," the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) says in a statement.

Background:



Herzi Halevi, Chief of Staff of the Israel Defence Forces, informed the IDF Command on Saturday 21 October that the military will launch an operation to take out Hamas.

The first twenty trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered the Gaza Strip on 21 October through the Rafah checkpoint on the border with Egypt.

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Yahya Sinwar has been Hamas' leader in Gaza and a member of its political bureau since 2017.

Sinwar has spent 24 years in prison and Israel has arrested him several times, the report said.

Israeli doctors reportedly saved his life after operating on a brain tumor during one prison stint.

Israeli doctors saved the Hamas Gaza leader Yahya Ibrahim Hassan Sinwar's life when he was in prison in the country, Orit Adato, a former prison commissioner of Israel, said, The Times of Israel reported.

Adato told the publication that Sinwar survived a brain tumor thanks to an operation Israeli doctors carried out while Sinwar was serving multiple life sentences for the kidnapping and murder of two Israeli soldiers in 1988.

Responding to claims that Israeli prisons were holding Palestinian prisoners in inhumane conditions, Adato brought up Sinwar's case and said it was the only reason he's alive today.

"When they say they are not being treated well, I would ask you and others to give a phone call to one specific person, Yahya Sinwar, who is alive nowadays just because of life-saving surgery he was given," she said.

An Israeli military spokesperson said Sinwar was behind the October 7 terrorist attacks that killed 1,400 people in Israel and that he was their top target in decapitating the Hamas leadership.

Avi Issacharoff, an Israeli journalist specializing in Palestinian affairs, told Al Jazeera that Israeli prison officials told him that Sinwar was treated for head surgery in about 2006 after suffering severe pain, which made him panic.

Sinwar, 60, became the leader and a member of the political bureau of the Palestinian militant group Hamas in 2017, according to the European Council on Foreign Relations, a think tank.

He has spent 24 years in prison, and Israeli law enforcement has arrested him multiple times, the think tank said. He left prison fluent in Hebrew after he was released in a prisoner swap for the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in 2011.

He is thought to be one of the key figures linking Hamas' politburo with its armed faction, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the think tank added.

Sinwar has been called a 'dead man walking'

Palestinians transporting a captured Israeli civilian from Kfar Aza, a kibbutz in Israel, into the Gaza Strip on October 7. Hatem Ali/AP

The Israeli military spokesperson Lt. Col. Richard Hecht recently called Sinwar a "dead man walking" after accusing him of playing a pivotal role in organizing the October 7 attacks, which also saw about 200 hostages taken into Gaza.

"I do believe that Deif committed the plan but the real mind, the brain of this attack was mainly Yahya Sinwar," Michael Milshtein, a former intelligence officer in the Israel Defense Forces, told The Wall Street Journal.

"He really understands how the Israelis will behave, and how they think, and how they will respond," he added.

The Times of Israel reported that security sources outside Gaza had come to believe Mohammed Deif and Sinwar were sheltering in a network of tunnels in the enclave built to resist the intense bombing campaign the IDF launched after the attacks on communities and military bases in southern Israel.

Sinwar was born in a Palestinian refugee camp in Khan Yunis, in southern Gaza, according to The Jewish Virtual Library. He pursued Arabic studies at the Islamic University of Gaza.

In the 1980s, Sinwar's job was to kill Gazans who collaborated with Israel, The Economist said.

In 2015, the US Department of State designated him as a terrorist.

Read the original article on Business Insider
The Israeli military said it launched a "preemptive strike" on an underground compound on the grounds of the Al-Ansar mosque in Jenin on the West Bank.

Source: Israel Defence Forces (IDF)

Details: According to the Israeli military, under the mosque there was "a terrorist cell of Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants, who are responsible for organising several terrorist attacks in recent months and were preparing to commit a terrorist attack in the near future."

Background:

On Saturday 21 October, Herzl Halevi, Chief of Staff of the Israel Defence Forces, told the IDF command that the army would launch an operation to eliminate Hamas.

The first twenty trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered the Gaza Strip on 21 October through the Rafah checkpoint on the border with Egypt.

Embassies told their citizens in Gaza to be ready to cross the border, but crowds of frustrated Palestinians with American, Canadian, German and British passports waited in vain for hours, at least for the fifth time this week, the Times of Israel said.

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Smoke rises following Israeli strikes at the border with Egypt

DUBAI (Reuters) -Several Egyptian border guards sustained minor injuries on Sunday after being accidentally hit by fragments of a shell from an Israeli tank, a spokesperson for the Egyptian army said.

Israel's military earlier said one of its tanks accidentally hit an Egyptian position near the border with the Gaza Strip.

Israel's defence force "expresses sorrow regarding the incident," which is being investigated," it said in a statement, giving no further details.

(Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch and Mahmoud Mourad; editing by John Stonestreet)
Reports out of Israels National Center of Forensic Medicine claim to show the brutality of Hamas attack on Israeli civilians.

Journalists gathered in Tel Aviv to view remains from Hamas Oct. 7 ambush on Israel, which killed 1400 people, according to Israeli authorities.

Experts, reporters and volunteers at the center, known as Abu Kabir, appeared visibly disturbed by what they heard and saw, which included accounts of beheaded bodies and photos of charred remains, according to news outlet The Media Line.

Some 200 experts  including forensic pathologists, anthropologists, and radiologists from Israel, the U.S., Switzerland, New Zealand and elsewhere  reviewed remains at Abu Kabir, which is working to identify the victims.

Currently, 350 bodies remain unidentified, but the center believes it will be able to determine the identities of 150 more bodies through DNA analysis and CT scans.

The head of Abu Kabir, Dr. Chen Kugel, said the victims ages span from three months to 80 or 90 years old.

Forensic scientists at Israel's National Center for Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv work to identify bodies of those killed in attacks by Hamas.

Forensic scientists at Israel's National Center for Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv work to identify bodies of those killed in attacks by Hamas.

Kugel described Hamas violence as beyond comprehension to the press, saying, Ive seen many things in my 31-year career, but the magnitude and the cruelty is terrible.

He also told The Media Line that Hamas militants enjoyed the murders so much that they did everything they could do to celebrate the killing.

After the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas, Israel retaliated with a barrage of bombs aimed at Gaza. A week later, Israel signaled plans for a ground offensive when it ordered more than 1 million Palestinians living in northern Gaza to evacuate to the south.

By Sunday, there were reports that Israeli Defense Forces and Hamas were engaged in on-the-ground fighting, and that Israel had bombed two Syrian airports and a mosque in the West Bank over the weekend.

Figures from Gazas Ministry of Health claim 4,651 people have died and 14,245 have been wounded in Hamas-ruled Gaza since. Deaths in the West Bank now stand at around 90, per The Associated Press.

Read The Media Lines full report here. Warning: Graphic images within.

Related...
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 22)  Special Envoy of the President to China Teddy Locsin Jr. has apologized for his controversial tweet that said Palestinian children should be killed, explaining it was his sarcastic response to another post.

My apologies to those who did misconstrue my sentiments and did in fact get triggered, Locsin said in a more recent tweet.

I obviously was not advocating for the literal death of anyone, but rather simply for the end of any ideology that condones terrorism in any way, shape or form, he added.

Locsons earlier tweet was a response to another X, formerly Twitter, user that stated that Palestinians are led astray by Hamas leaders into engaging in perilous activities like stone-throwing.

Thats why Palestinian children should be killed; they might grow up to be gullible as innocent Palestinians letting Hamas launch rockets at Israel; not that they could stop them but thats no excuse. They are Muslims. They could stage mass suicide attacks against Hamas until the latter ran out of bullets, Locsin said in the now-deleted tweet.

The conflict in Israel erupted on Oct. 7 when Palestinian militant group Hamas fired rockets into Israeli territory.

As of Oct. 17, more than 1,400 deaths were logged in Israel and more than 3,000 casualties were recorded in Gaza.

The Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed that four overseas Filipino workers were killed in the war.

RELATED: One of four Filipino fatalities in Israel-Hamas war repatriated
Ukrainian ground forces are reportedly engaged in efforts to secure the village Krynky, located 30 kilometers northeast of Kherson and just two kilometers from the Dnipro River, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in their Oct. 21 update, citing BBC Russia.

If successful, the control of this settlement would provide forward units with a strategic foothold to initiate a broader offensive strategy, with the goal of dividing Russian forces and disrupting their supply routes.

The ISW said that there are conflicting reports from Russian military bloggers regarding the extent of Ukrainian control in Krynky. Some claim that Ukrainian forces have advanced nearly two kilometers south of the village, while others suggest that they control the entire area, with one blogger refuting this claim and mentioning a Ukrainian reconnaissance group being pushed out from the southern outskirts of the settlement by Russian forces.

Russian military bloggers have reported engagements near Krynky and Pishchanivka, along with artillery fire on Ukrainian positions near the Antonivsky roadway bridge north of Oleshky and the Antonivsky railway bridge north of Poyma.

The prevailing information suggests that Russian forces primarily employ aviation and artillery units in their attempts to dislodge Ukrainian forces from their positions on the east bank.

The ISW notes that despite increased Russian aviation activity along the Dnipro River, Ukrainian forces have managed to maintain a presence on the east bank since commencing their larger-than-usual ground operations on the night of Oct. 17-18. This suggests that they have been successful in adequately supplying and reinforcing their units conducting these operations.

Read also: Ukraine war latest: White House requests $61 billion for Ukraine

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Nine people are on the ballot for three open seats on the Holly Springs Town Council.

Five candidates are running for two four-year seats: incumbent Danielle Hewetson, who was appointed in January; Jack Turnwald; Brian Dennis; Staci Almquist; and Chris Deshazor.

Candidates Annie Drees, Scoop Green, Travis Groo and Brian Norman are running for a two-year seat.

Early voting in the Nov. 7 election runs through Nov. 4. For information about polling sites, voter and Election Day information, residents can visit the state Board of Elections, ncsbe.gov, or the Wake County Board of Elections, wake.gov.

Name: Jack Turnwald

Age: 43

Residence: Holly Springs

Occupation/Employer: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Consulting/Humancentric LLC

Education: B.A., English/Psychology from Miami University. M.A.T., English from Duke University. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Certification from Cornell University. Diversity Movement Leaders Intensive certificate. Fulbright Scholar, South Korea.

Political or civic experience: I spent 19 years as a high school educator working for the success of every family and student I encountered before my transition to entrepreneurship and consulting. Currently, I am on the Board of WakeEd Partnership, an education nonprofit that serves Wake County Public Schools. I also serve on the Advocacy Committee for our PTA and am the parent representative for our school Equity Team. As a community organizer, Ive led community conversations and facilitated listening sessions with policymakers. Ive done advocacy work around a variety of issues that has resulted in a deep knowledge of policy and relationship-building with elected officials at every level of government. This is important as many issues that come through the Town Council require advocating to or collaborating with another area of government.

Campaign website: www.Jack4hs.com

Tell us why youre running to serve Holly Springs. Why should voters trust you in this position?

I have always been politically involved in my community, so I attended council meetings and learned about the issues in Holly Springs. The towns failure to join the countys non-discrimination ordinance became a catalyst. In sharing my experiences as an LGBTQIA+ resident, many others voiced feeling a lack of understanding about their lived experiences and limited inclusion in local government. While organizing to address the NDO, I learned about rapid development impacting water access and quality, housing inequity, traffic congestion, transit needs, issues related to the dump, a communication and transparency gap, and historical structures community members want to preserve. It became apparent our town issues would be well served if potential solutions utilized an equity lens. As far as trust goes, that is earned. I can promise I will reach into the community for solutions, research thoroughly to make informed decisions, and put energy into building relationships to serve all.

What is the town of Holly Springs doing right to manage growth? What could be improved?

The town increased staff with growth to meet the needs of departments and recently made shifts so the town manager can offer more competitive salaries. There have also been focused efforts to gather input and develop our downtown in a way that appeals to residents and maintains local charm. We could improve by giving more long term thought to connectivity, as opposed to siloed development, and balancing infrastructure needs for rapid growth. Additionally, the current council did not adopt our housing affordability study which indicates we have failed to diversify our housing market for generational living. We need first-time home buyer opportunities, middle-income housing, areas to age in place, rentals for new graduates, and housing that ensures everyone who contributes to our community can also live here. We should also examine intra-town transit options that could reduce single-car traffic as we work to upgrade our infrastructure.

If elected, how would you approach an existing or new issue differently from your fellow council members?

Our town water supply comes from the Cape Fear River via Harnett Regional Water Treatment Plant. Our current council successfully partnered with other municipalities to secure additional water resources via a Sanford facility expansion. This ensures that our current growth wont strain our water capacity. However, there has been little to no transparency regarding water quality concerns. An advisory this summer recommended not eating more than one fish a year from the Cape Fear due to forever-chemical contamination. Additionally, the GAC filters in Lillington that help remove said chemicals are offline for upgrades until approximately July of 2024. While there is currently no federal or state requirement that residents be notified, I think it is better to be transparent, and provide residents with information to make informed choices about water consumption and in-home filters. I would also advocate for more extensive testing to protect residents from potential harm.

How do you plan to make local government in Holly Springs more inclusive and equitable for all residents in the town who feel their voices are underrepresented?

Holly Springs is one of three municipalities that has failed to join the Wake County non-discrimination ordinance. I have advocated for our council to adopt this ordinance for two years and would champion moving forward with it were I to be elected. Additionally, rapid growth has resulted in the displacement of longtime residents. I would collaborate with our county commissioners to utilize programs where residents can get down payment and home repair assistance. And I would look at areas where longtime residents lack sidewalks connecting them to town amenities and parks and thus cannot safely access them. Further, we have several town facilities that require coming in person to reserve and typically at a rate of $50 an hour. Online registration would make this more accessible and some space should be reserved for community organizations to use for free. Ultimately, I believe in utilizing an equity lens and inviting community input.

Please list any endorsements youve received.

Wake County Democratic Party

Equality NC

LGBTQ Victory Fund

Raleigh Regional Association of Realtors

Moms Demand Action does not make endorsements but has recognized me with their Gun Sense Candidate distinction.

If there is anything you would like to add, please do so here.

I believe there is an opportunity to move our town in the direction of greater connection, collaboration and community care that would uplift the spirit of why many people made Holly Springs home. I am grateful to every resident who has reached out and expressed how our campaign has inspired them or uplifted the needs of their family. I would treat the privilege of serving our community just as I treated the privilege of teaching in the classroom, by being truly invested in finding resources for everyone in our community to be successful, safe and included.
The Jacksonville Public Education Fund (JPEF) has secured funding from the Consortium of Florida Education Foundations and the Florida Department of Education to bolster the development of resiliency skills among students.

>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<

JPEF is dedicated to collaborating with Duval Countys Public Schools and the broader community to embed resiliency resources within schools. This initiative will be facilitated through community-based programs and locally-driven projects aimed at addressing the growing concerns regarding the mental health and overall well-being of youth.

Rachael Tutwiler Fortune, President of JPEF, explained, In response to the growing understanding of the importance of mental health, JPEF will serve as a convening partner to drive local change and improvement as part of the Florida Department of Educations approach to building resiliency skills in students. As schools and communities continue to recover from the pandemic, it is more important now than ever before to support educators and community providers helping children in crisis and teach skills to foster student resiliency in the classroom.

JPEF has collaborated closely with key stakeholders, including Duval County Public Schools, the Delores Barr Weaver Policy Center, and Elevate Jacksonville. This collective effort has already reached over 20,000 Duval County students, with a commitment to expanding the resiliency work of more partners throughout the year.

Early initiatives from these partners include teacher training on trust-based relational interventions, the creation of new and positive experiences for students hailing from Jacksonvilles urban core, and the provision of girl-centered training.

In addition to these actions, JPEF is implementing innovative research strategies and in-depth qualitative methodologies to identify gaps, assess existing programs, and recognize opportunities for building resiliency skills in students.

[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]

Key stakeholders in the community have participated in systematic informational interviews regarding student well-being, and the insights obtained will play a crucial role in informing JPEFs ongoing support of educators and partners in this space.

JPEFs unwavering commitment to student resiliency was prominently showcased at its 4th biennial EDTalks fundraiser. The event featured Dr. Shawn Ginwright, a Harvard professor and CEO of Flourish Agenda, Inc., as a guest speaker and has successfully raised over $106,000 to further support this vital work.

The event was made possible through the generous support of the CEM Foundation as the presenting sponsor, the Community Foundation of Northeast Florida as the speaker sponsor, and a host of gold and silver sponsors, including Poppy and Rob Clements, Cindy and Dan Edelman, Ann Hicks, Deborah Quazzo, THE PLAYERS, Ellen and Jim Wiss, EverBank, Sight & Sound Productions, United Way of Northeast Florida, and numerous others.

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Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
Joe Biden found himself the source of mockery on the latest episode of Saturday Night Live.

The sketch shows latest instalment, which aired on Saturday (21 October), was hosted by Puerto Rican rapper and singer Bad Bunny, and saw comedians Colin Jost and Michael Che address the US presidents response to the Israel-Hamas conflict.

On Saturday (7 October), the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched its largest-ever attack on Israel, which killed more than 1,000 people.

In response, Israel has imposed a total siege on Gaza, ordering evacuations ahead of an expected ground invasion, which has prompted protests in several cities over the world.

You can follow The Independents live coverage here.

In the Weekend Update segment of SNL, Jost mocked Biden for his strong warning to anyone thinking of attacking Israel, which was compiled into a video montage of his repeated use of the word dont.

I really like that Biden only needs one word to get his point across; hes basically the Groot of presidents, Jost said.

Groot is a character from the Marvel franchise Guardians of the Galaxy, who is unable to say anything except the phrase: I am Groot.

Jost added: But to give you an idea how effective dont is, its the same thing Biden says to his dog right before it bites another Secret Service agent.

SNL star Colin Jost mocks Joe Biden (YouTube)

Bidens decision to describe the Hamas attack as like 15 9/11s was also mocked, with Jost stating: You cant go somewhere to calm people down and then start rating things in numbers of 9/11. That is not a calm scale.

Its like if your doctor gave you Ambien then said, This will make you sleepier than 20 Cosbys.

Jost was referring to Bill Cosby, who, according to several testimonies, used sedative drugs to have sex with young women whom he then attempted to pay off.

A lawsuit filed in June 2023 alleged that nine women were individually drugged and assaulted between approximately 1979 and 1992 in Las Vegas, Reno and Lake Tahoe homes, dressing rooms and hotels.
Donald Trump keeps trying to kill a lawsuit that seeks to block him from the presidential primary ballot in Coloradoand he keeps losing. A judge has rejected his latest efforts, issuing a scathing assessment of his legal arguments. The suit contends that Trump is ineligible to run for president because of his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection, citing a provision in the 14th Amendmentand Trump claims the provision isnt applicable. Judge Sarah Wallace did not mince words: Such an interpretation is absurd; the Constitution and its requirements for eligibility are not suggestions, left to the political parties to determine at their sole discretion.

Read it at CNN

Read more at The Daily Beast.
A federal judge has temporarily blocked city officials in Murfreesboro, Tenn., from enforcing an ordinance that is designed to ban drag performances from taking place in public areas.

The order, issued Friday by Chief U.S. District Court Judge Waverly Crenshaw Jr., bars the city from enforcing the rule during the pride festival scheduled for next weekend in the town.

The decision came after the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee filed a lawsuit on behalf of the organization running the festival.

The legal challenge is the latest in the ongoing political battle over LGBTQ rights in Tennessee and across the country. Conservative activists argued that the 2022 drag performance during the festival sexualized children, according to the Associated Press.

Organizers denied the claims, arguing the performers were fully clothed.

We are relieved that the court has taken action to ensure that Murfreesboros discriminatory ordinance will not be enforced during the BoroPride festival, Chis Sanders, the executive director of the Tennessee Equality Project, said in a statement via the ACLU of Tennessee. We look forward to a safe, joyful celebration of Murfreesboros LGBTQ+ community.

The ACLU lauded the decision, saying the festival is intended to create a safe space for freedom of expression and cultivates community, solidarity, and joy among LGBTQ+ community members.

LGBTQ+ people should not have to live in fear of being targeted by their local elected officials and we will continue to protect this space and the free speech rights of Murfreesboro residents until this ordinance is struck down for good, the organization wrote in the statement.

Tennessee state Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R) introduced legislation last year that would prevent male or female impersonators and exotic dancers from operating anywhere near a minor.

The Volunteer State became the first state to enact a law explicitly targeting drag shows in March, when Gov. Bill Lee (R) signed Johnsons bill into law. However, a federal judge ruled in June that the law was unconstitutional, too vague and violated freedom of speech protections.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Jordanian King Abdullah II, and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi attended The Cairo Peace Summit. Credit - Royal Hashemite Court / Anadolu / Getty Images

As death and devastation mount in the Israel-Hamas War, the bloodiest resurgence in decades of an intractable conflict, Egypt called together world leaders in Cairo in a summit on Saturday to try to negotiate a ceasefire and ensure humanitarian aid.

But missing were the warring parties themselves, leading politicians and experts to cast doubt the summit would make a difference even before it started.

The summit fell two weeks after Hamas, the Palestinian militant group governing Gaza, invaded Israel, killing 1,400 people and taking 200 hostages, Israeli authorities said.

Israel is now preparing for a ground invasion after cutting off Gazas aid and electricity and relentlessly bombing the territory, killing at least 4,385 Palestinians, the Hamas-run health ministry said.

On the same day as the summit, 20 aid trucks carrying food, water and medicine rolled into the besieged strip through Egypts Rafah crossing after days of diplomatic wrangling.

The United Nations said the aid wasnt enough: Previously, 100 trucks a day entered the strip to help more than two million people. The few new trucks also carried no fuel, which aid organizations said was critical to keep hospital generators running and to clean water.

European leaderstightroping politically between supporting Israel and preserving humanitarian rights in Gaza  had debated whether to attend the peace summit, the Financial Times reported.

Find out what happened in Cairo when the world leaders gathered.

Who was at the Cairo Peace Summit?

Attendees at the summit included Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority that governs the West Bank, and the leaders of Jordan, Iraq and most Gulf countries.

Many European nations sent their heads or foreign ministers, as well as the European Council and European Union. Representatives also came from Russia, South Africa, China and Japan.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who visited Egypts border with Gaza the day before the summit to beg for the opening of the Rafah crossing to allow in humanitarian aid, also attended.

Missing from the table were the warring parties and another key player, Iran. Iran matters because it has funded both Hamas and Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group engaging in skirmishes with Israeli troops on the border of those two countries.

A Lebanese politician told Politico the summit probably wouldnt have any impact because of those absences.

The U.S. sent the Charge d'Affaires ambassador from its Egypt embassy, but no senior officials from President Joe Bidens administration. Biden, a longtime ally of Israel, has advocated for Israels right to defend itself after Hamas attack, although he warned Israel not to be consumed by rage in its response.

This week, the U.S. vetoed a United Nations resolution this week calling for a pause in the fighting to allow humanitarian assistance into Gaza, with a representative arguing it didnt mention Israels self-defense.

Two days later, Biden took credit on social media for brokering the deal to send aid into Gaza, and for Hamas release of two American hostages, which was negotiated by Qatars government.

What did world leaders say?

Leaders largely covered how they might end the war, protect civilians, release hostages, deliver humanitarian aid, and work to a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians.

The grievances of the Palestinian people are legitimate and long, Guterres said. Nothing can justify the reprehensible attack by Hamas that terrorized Israeli citizens, and those unwarranted attacks can never justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.

Arab leaders, including Abbas, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Jordans King Abdullah, strongly criticized Israels siege of Gaza and forced displacement of Palestinians.

Abdullah condemned violence against all civilians in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank. He called the bombing of Gaza cruel and unconscionable on every level.

It is a collective punishment of a besieged and helpless people, he said. It is a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law. It is a war crime.

World leaders at the Cairo Peace Summit are trying to de-escalate the Israel-Gaza war.



Jordans King Abdullah used his speech to condemn the war crimes of collective punishment and the forced displacement of Palestinians  pic.twitter.com/HL7hgfikig  Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) October 21, 2023

Western leaders were more measured in their comments against Israel, while expressing their concern for civilians and the humanitarian crisis.

As up to 100,000 pro-Palestinian protesters marched through Londons streets to demand an end to the siege of Gaza, U.K. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly told the summit hes spoken directly to the Israeli government about its duty to respect international law and preserve civilian lives in Gaza.

"Despite the incredibly difficult circumstances, I have called for discipline and professionalism and restraint from the Israeli military, Cleverly said.

Canadas Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said we support Israels right to self-defense in accordance with international law, while raising alarm about the humanitarian disaster in Gaza.

Joly said she, and many other leaders, were also worried about war spreading beyond Israel and Gazaand expressed concern about the role of Iran, absent at the table, and the actions of its proxies.

Hamas reportedly said it followed the summit with interest," in a statement that appeared on Telegram.

We appreciate all efforts exerted to stop the Israeli aggression on our people, and we appreciate, as well, all supportive stances by the countries during the summit which backed the rights of the Palestinian people and their resistance and rejected the Israeli planned intention of expelling our people, the statement read.

TIME has reached out to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs via email for comment regarding its absence and view on the summit.

What did the summit accomplish?

The warring parties and their backers werent there, and world leaders did not release a joint statement at the end of the summit, showing a divide. This means there are no firm documented goals to work toward or pressures to put on either side.

Contact us at letters@time.com.
Lebanon City Police are investigating a shooting Saturday evening that injured two people on Lehman street.

At 7:47 p.m., police were dispatched to the 900 block of Lehman Street for a potential shooting. Upon arrival, officers found a 25-year-old male and a 30-year-old male who had been shot.

"Both victims had gunshot wounds to their lower extremities," police said in a news release Sunday. "The victims were transported to a Dauphin County Medical Facility for treatment."

Police have identified Gavin Rodriguez, 19, as the shooter and have obtained a warrant for his arrest Sunday. Residents with information about his whereabouts are asked to contact the Lebanon City Police Department.

Gavin Rodriguez

Police determined that a verbal argument had escalated to a physical fight, which ended with gunshots being fired. Police added that this was not random gunfire and the victims were targeted, though they have not identified the victims.

The investigation is active and ongoing.

Another incident

Police are also asking for residents' help in identifying a vehicle involved with in a shots fired incident in the 300 block of North 8th Street Thursday night.

On Oct. 19, police located a white BMW parked on the west side of North 8th Street, north of Church Street, which had numerous bullet holes. Officials located numerous spent cartridges at the scene.

A witness described the suspect vehicle as a white Chrysler 300. A single shooter appeared to shoot multiple shots at the unoccupied white BMW.

Police have not said that this incident is connected to the shooting Lehman Street on Saturday, Oct. 21.

Anyone with information on either of these shooting incidents is asked to contact the Lebanon City Police Department at (717) 272-6611 or Crime Stoppers at (717) 270-9800.

Triple homicide: Three suspects held for trial in triple homicide of teen, 2 boys in N. 5th St. shooting

Children and Youth: Rising provider costs, lack of foster homes cause increased Lebanon County CYS expenses

This investigation is ongoing. Please check back for updates.

Matthew Toth is a reporter for the Lebanon Daily News. Reach him at mtoth@ldnews.com or on Twitter at @DAMattToth.

This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: Lebanon police investigating a double shooting on Lehman St. Saturday
Police were called to Leicester railway station on Saturday morning

A man was taken to hospital after suffering injuries in a stabbing attack at Leicester railway station.

Leicestershire Police said officers were called to the scene on London Road in the city on Saturday at 09:30 BST.

The force said the victim, a man in his 30s, was taken to hospital to receive treatment, but his injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.

No-one has been arrested following the attack and police are appealing for witnesses to contact them.

Follow BBC East Midlands on Facebook, on Twitter, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk.
To the editor:

This years farm bill should significantly increase federal funding for cultivated-meat research. For those who dont know, cultivated meat is grown from livestock cells, without slaughter. It has the potential to dramatically reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, our pandemic risk and the suffering we inflict on animals.While the product is currently sold in a few high-end restaurants, further research is needed for cultivated meat to achieve price parity with slaughtered meat, which is crucial for widespread adoption. If youd like to help pressure legislators to support this research, visit SlaughterFreeAmerica.Substack.com.Jon Hochschartner

Granby, Connecticut

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Conn. man supports more federal funds for cultivated meat research
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 22)  An additional 800 policemen will be deployed to the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) for the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) on Oct. 30 to reinforce security in areas considered as poll hotspots.

The augmentation force is part of the 187,000-strong police contingent that will be on duty for the BSKEs, Philippine National Police spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said Sunday.

Yung 300 diyan manggagaling sa National Capital Region (NCR) samantalang yung remaining manggagaling sa malalapit na rehiyon gaya ng 10, 11 and 12, and of course yung ating SAF (Special Action Force) contingent, Fajardo explained.

[Translation: 300 will come from the NCR while the remainder will come from nearby regions such as 10, 11, and 12, and of course from the SAF contingent.]

As of Oct. 20, a total of 361 villages nationwide are in the red category of PNPs list of election hotspots. Around 70% of these areas are in BARMM, Fajardo said.

She cited intense political rivalries as one of the reasons for the deployment of additional police personnel to BARMM.

In preparation for the BSKEs, the PNP also trained a total of 4,429 police officers to serve as members of the board of election inspectors (BEIs) in case the teachers designated for the role back out due to security reasons.

The policemen designated as part of the BEI will not carry firearms inside precincts, Fajardo said.

A sendoff ceremony for policemen assigned to BSKEs duties is scheduled on Monday at Camp Crame.

Since the start of the election period on August 28 until October 19, Fajardo said the PNP has arrested 1,615 violators of the gun ban and seized 1,210 firearms.

The PNP has also confirmed 18 incidents of election-related violence nationwide as of October 20.

Fajardo said the PNP is also keeping tabs on four private armed groups in Regions 3 and 7 to ensure they will not exert undue influence during the BSKEs.

The PNP will declare full alert status three to four days before the BSKEs, although Fajardo said regional police chiefs can raise the alert earlier as needed.

The full alert status will continue until All Saints Day and All Souls Day, she added.
Assault rifles for sale are displayed at a pawn shop in Auburn, Maine, in 2022. (Robert F. Bukaty / Associated Press)

To the editor: In finding the California assault weapons ban unconstitutional based in part on the lack of a "national tradition, U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez displays his intellectual laziness.

This substitute for jurisprudence by applying a modern government interest to a test of the attitudes of the late 1700s shows that this judge doesnt want to do the work.

This work requires an expansive mind to carefully consider the facets of a modern society, the broad range of interests of all stakeholders, and a fair application of justice for the broader social well-being.

There are historical traditions of gun control laws that have worked; the judge just needs to look at them. Benitez is either too narrow-minded to serve as a judge or he is just shirking his responsibility to the law.

Michael Krubiner, Valley Village

..

To the editor: In what hellish mind can an AR-15 be considered a common household item? Will I find a Howitzer in my kitchen drawer along with spoons and forks? Why not a Sherman tank in the driveway?

Frightened civilians with AR-15 rifles are not the equals of soldiers in battle. We must never allow public access to such weapons.

Mary Ross, Cambria

..

To the editor: If Benitez's ruling stands, how many Californians will be killed as a direct result? How many would he deem acceptable?

Greg Cahill, Culver City

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Far from marble halls and conference tables, George Schloegel was doing his part to help humanity from behind his Gulfport home where he tended tiny, buzzing workers bent on finishing their jobs. Kind of like he did on Friday, Oct. 6, when he left us unexpectedly. He finished his job.

For the hundreds who knew and respected George as the consummate negotiator and responsible businessman, its likely difficult to picture the tall man with starch-white hair -- usually attired in a stylish suit and polished shoes -- wearing beekeeper garb.

I met George walking the halls of the Mississippi Capitol with a warm smile, shaking hands and inviting everyone he encountered to the Gulf Coast Legislative Reception. He took time to ask what issues I was working and how my boys were doing. Fast forward several years, and I am dating his son, Mark. George and Peggy made sure I was welcomed into their amazing family.

One afternoon, George invited me to walk to the bee hives at their house. He was wearing his beekeeper suit with smokers lit, guiding the bellowing smoke used to encourage the bees to leave the hive so he could repair the slatted racks. He methodically disassembled, repaired, and cleaned the hives. Then, George put everything back together, and we watched the bees come home to their hives. I asked how he was so knowledgeable about bee keeping; he laughed and said he watched a lot of YouTube videos. That was George.

The bees in the hive vibrate their wings to generate heat when its cold. They gather pollen to make honey to feed the hive. George believed the best outcomes happened when everyone worked together, just like the bees he cared for. He made sure his employees and colleagues had the basic necessities to thrive in a healthy hive, just like his bees. He inspired that teamwork ethic in others. And, often, the results were smooth and sweet as honey.

Bees communicate in their colonies to gather food, avoid predators and threats, and divide the hive workload. George was the ultimate communicator. His words of encouragement moved you to be your best, course correct when you needed to, and live by the phrase carpe diem  seize the day  because tomorrow is not promised.

Bees in the hive live for a short time, and the legacy they leave is a hive abundant with honey and healthy bees to continue the work. George knew taking care of the smallest among us, like these bees, helped provide a healthy foundation for life. George lived to leave a legacy of good. Not a legacy of things, but one of salvation, of treating others with respect and kindness. A legacy of leaving his beloved Gulfport, the Coast, Mississippi, and the world better than he found it.

On the Friday of his passing, George, Peggy, Mark, Melissa Schloegel Marion and her husband Andrew and I had planned to visit New Orleans to see What a Wonderful World at the Saenger Theatre. Isnt that what George Schloegel, the beekeeper, helped make for each of us? This really is a wonderful world because there was a George Schloegel to push us to reach our potential, tell us things would be OK, and in the toughest of times, how to make our hive, our world, a better place.

This line from What a Wonderful World, captures him: I see friends shaking hands. Saying, How do you do? Theyre really saying, I love you. Godspeed George  we love you forever.

Donna Echols is the CEO of The Echols Group and a family member of George Schloegel.
An "improving picture" was emerging in flood-hit Lincolnshire as waters receded, the county's chief fire officer has said.

Mark Baxter of Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue Service said 170 homes and firms were flooded by Storm Babet, as more than a month's rain fell in 24 hours.

He said levels were now finally dropping.

Mr Baxter added: "It's a welcome relief we don't have any significant rainfall [forecast] in the next 24 hours."

Flooding occurred at locations across the county, including Lincoln, Horncastle, Tattershall, Woodhall Spa, Wainfleet and Kirkby on Bain.

Speaking to BBC Radio Lincolnshire, Mr Baxter said: "It's an improving picture. Water levels are dropping, but we do recognise that we still have a lot of surface water."

In Wainfleet, dozens were advised to leave their homes on Saturday.

Mr Baxter said: "We did have quite a lot of focus on Wainfleet. We had some overtopping on one of the [river] banks that was creating quite a lot of flow into the Wainfleet area."

That overtopping had stopped and water levels had also dropped, said Mr Baxter.

He said fire crews, joined by the Environment Agency, were continuing to closely monitor the situation there.

Fire chief Mark Baxter said 30 to 40 people in Wainfleet had been evacuated

Mr Baxter said: "The Environment Agency are doing some inspections today, and doing some remedial work such as sandbagging to make sure that we can protect the areas as much as we can."

Meanwhile, Richard Fenwick, head of highways at Lincolnshire County Council, said while his team was still in the "response phase" of the emergency, the situation looked brighter.

"We have issued about six jobs since midnight," he said. "That compares with 445 jobs over the last two days, so it is quietening down a bit from a highways point of view."

Mr Fenwick said at the last count up to 20 roads remained closed, although crews were out reopening routes as quickly as possible.

He said: "We had scouts out from Highways up until it got dark last night. They will be back out today to assess any roads that need to be reopened."

Mr Fenwick said there were "a few" roads, including one in Dunston, that needed to be closed again due to flooding.

He added: "As the water makes its way through water courses, we get problems in other areas that were not in the initial impact."

Mr Fenwick said the ground and dykes were "absolutely full", warning: "It's not going to take much to cause more localised issues."

In Horncastle, the water had gone, allowing residents and business owners to begin the task of clearing up.

Luke Donovan and his family had to move out of their home. He told BBC Look North of the moment water began seeping in.

"It just came on so quickly," he said. "Not so much through the front door. There were puddles coming in all around the table."

Horncastle resident Luke Donovan talks to BBC Look North in his flood-hit house

Amanda Eastwood and her family also had to move out.

She said: "The water was right across the road. It was quite bad here."

Ms Eastwood said the emotional impact of the floods "slowly hits you".

"It's like oh my god in that drawer there was such and in another drawer there was such," she said.

Across the UK, three people have died in the storm. The BBC is not aware of any flood-related casualties in Lincolnshire.

On Saturday, Ben Thornely, the Environment Agency's area flood risk manager, said "between a month and two months of rain" fell in 24 hours.

Follow BBC East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Send your story ideas to yorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk.
Palestinians look for survivers in buildings destroyed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in Rafah, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Hatem Ali)

Israeli warplanes have struck targets across the Gaza Strip as well as two airports in Syria and a mosque in the occupied West Bank allegedly used by militants, while a second convoy of humanitarian aid reportedly began crossing into Gaza from Egypt on Sunday afternoon.

Israels military spokesman said the country is stepping up its attacks, and there are growing expectations of a ground offensive.

The war, now in its 16th day, is the deadliest of five Gaza wars for both sides. The Palestinian Health Ministry said Sunday that the death toll in Gaza had reached at least 4,651 people, with another 14,254 people wounded in the besieged territory.

The ministry said 93 Palestinians were also killed in violence and Israeli raids in the occupied West Bank since Hamas militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7. More than 1,650 others were wounded, it added.

More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, mostly in the initial Hamas attack. In addition, 203 people were believed captured by Hamas during the incursion and taken into Gaza, the Israeli military has said.

Currently:

Heres whats happening in the latest Israel-Hamas war:

WORLD LEADERS CALL FOR ADHERENCE TO HUMANITARIAN LAW, COMMIT TO SUPPORTING THEIR NATIONALS IN GAZA

Several world leaders on Sunday spoke about the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, reiterating their support for Israel and its right to defend itself against terrorism and called for adherence to international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians.

U.S. President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, President Emmanuel Macron of France, Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of the United Kingdom also welcomed the release of two hostages and called for the immediate release of all remaining hostages.

They committed to close coordination to support their nationals in the region, in particular those wishing to leave Gaza.

The leaders welcomed the announcement of the first humanitarian convoys to reach Palestinians in need in Gaza and committed to continue coordinating with partners in the region to ensure sustained and safe access to food, water, medical care and other assistance required to meet humanitarian needs.

They also said they would continue close diplomatic coordination, including with key partners in the region, to prevent the conflict from spreading, preserve stability in the Middle East, and work toward a political solution and durable peace.

ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER WARNS HEZBOLLAH TO STAY OUT OF WAR

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited troops stationed near the border with Lebanon, where the Israeli army and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants also have traded fire during the Hamas-Israel war.

A top official with Iran Hezbollah vowed Saturday that Israel would pay a high price whenever it starts a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip and said Saturday that his militant group based in Lebanon already is in the heart of the battle.

Speaking to troops in the north on Sunday, Netanyahu said Israel would react more fiercely than it did during its short 2006 war with Hezbollah, which is based in Lebanon.

If Hezbollah decides to enter the war, it will miss the Second Lebanon War. It will make the mistake of its life. We will cripple it with a force it cannot even imagine and the consequences for it and the Lebanese state are devastating, the Israeli leader said.

ISRAEL SAYS 2ND BATCH OF HUMANITARIAN AID ENTERED GAZA

Israel says Sunday that a second batch of humanitarian aid was allowed into Gaza, at the request of the U.S. and according to instructions from other political officials.

On Saturday, 20 trucks entered in the first shipment into the territory since Israel imposed a complete siege two weeks ago. Sunday's batch included only water, food, and medical equipment, with no fuel, Israel said.

U.S. President Joe Biden and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel affirmed that there will now be continued flow of this critical assistance into Gaza, the White House said in a statement after a phone call between the leaders.

Earlier Sunday, Egypts state-run media had reported that 17 aid trucks were crossing into Gaza on Sunday, but the United Nations said no trucks had crossed.

On Sunday, Associated Press journalists saw seven fuel trucks head into Gaza. Juliette Touma, spokeswoman for U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, and the Israeli military said those trucks were taking fuel that had been stored on the Gaza side of the crossing deeper into the territory, and that no fuel had entered from Egypt.

UNRWA SAYS THERE WILL BE NO HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE WITHOUT FUEL

AMMAN, Jordan  The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees says it will run out of fuel in Gaza in three days.

Without fuel, there will be no water, no functioning hospitals and bakeries. Without fuel, aid will not reach many civilians in desperate need. Without fuel, there will be no humanitarian assistance, Philippe Lazzarini, the UNRWA Commissioner General, said in a statement Sunday.

A first delivery of aid that was allowed to cross into Gaza from Egypt on Saturday did not include any fuel.

Without fuel, we will fail the people of Gaza whose needs are growing by the hour, under our watch. This cannot and should not happen, Lazzarini said.

He called on all parties and those with influence to allow fuel into Gaza immediately, while ensuring that it is only used for humanitarian purposes.

TENS OF THOUSANDS OF PREGNANT WOMEN IN GAZA ARE IN DANGER, AID WORKERS SAY

Thousands of pregnant women in the Gaza Strip who are expected to give birth this month are in grave danger because they are not able to reach a medical facility to deliver, an aid agency says.

Guillemette Thomas, medical coordinator for Doctors Without Borders in the Palestinian territories, said women have already given birth in UNRWA schools that have turned into shelters housing tens of thousands of displaced people.

These women are in danger and the babies are in danger right now, she said. Thats a really critical situation.

According to the U.N. population fund, there are 50,000 pregnant women in Gaza. Some 5,500 of them are due to give birth in the coming month, meaning 166 births per day, the U.N. agency said.

Earlier Sunday the U.N. health agency said that at least 130 premature babies are at grave risk because of a lack of fuel at Gaza hospitals. Thomas said some of them could die within hours.

AID ORGANIZATIONS WARN OF RISK TO PREMATURE BABIES FROM FUEL SHORTAGE

CAIRO  At least 130 premature babies are at grave risk because of lack of fuel at Gaza hospitals, the U.N. health agency said Sunday.

The babies are being cared for at six neonatal units, according to Medical Aid for Palestinians, an aid group working in Gaza. Doctors have warned that the babies are in imminent danger if fuel does not reach hospitals soon.

In a statement to The Associated Press, the World Health Organization called for immediate and sustained access of fuel into Gaza to keep health facilities operating.

Melanie Ward, chief executive of Medical Aid for Palestinians, urged world leaders to press Israel to allow the delivery of fuel to Gaza.

The world cannot simply look on as these babies are killed by the siege on Gaza. ... A failure to act is to sentence these babies to death, she said.

Hospitals in Gaza have been struggling with the large number of wounded from the ongoing war between Israel and Palestinian militants which was triggered by an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7.

Dr. Ghassan Abu Sitta, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon working with Doctors without Borders in Shifa hospital, said the hospitals generators are cutting out more regularly now than before.

He said hospitals in the territory are facing severe shortages of medical supplies, including bandages, medication and other supplies.

You can imagine the amount 14,000 severely wounded patients would consume, he told the AP.

HEARTBREAKING LIFE-OR-DEATH DECISIONS FOR GAZA'S DOCTORS

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip  Hospitals across the Gaza Strip are scrounging for fuel stocks to keep the lights on in critical wards and continue to save the lives of the relentless stream of wounded patients.

Serious shortages in other supplies, including ventilators, are forcing medical teams to prioritize the lives of those who can be saved for certain over severe cases that require complex care, said Dr. Mohammed Qandeel, who works in the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.

Its heartbreaking, he told The Associated Press. Every day, if we receive 10 severely injured patients, we have to manage with maybe three or five ICU beds available. We have to choose who must face death, or manage them in regular wards or do some limited care because we think as a medical team, between two patients in a life-threatening situation, we have to give the ventilator to the patient who has a higher chance of improving in 24 hours."

Many departments in the hospital are plunged in darkness as medical staff allow electricity only in critical departments where patients risk death without it. On Friday the hospital was on its last stock of fuel, but managed to get another tank from UNRWAs existing stock on Saturday, said Qandeel. This amount should last for three to five days, he said.

The World Health Organization says Gazas Health Ministry is reporting that its daily use of medical consumables during the war is equivalent to its monthly consumption before the war. The report said an imminent public health catastrophe looms in the setting of mass displacement, overcrowding of shelters and damage to the water and sanitation infrastructure.

BODIES OF 3 NEPALI STUDENTS REPATRIATED

KATHMANDU  Nepal has repatriated the bodies of three of 10 Nepali students who were killed during the Hamas attack in Israel two weeks ago.

Nepals Foreign Minister Narayan Prakash Saud and Israeli Ambassador Hanan Goder received the bodies at Kathmandus Tribhuvan International Airport. The bodies will be flown to the students home district of Kailai.

Another body of a Nepali student is expected to be flown to Kathmandu later Sunday. One Nepalese student is missing and believed to be held captive by Hamas, officials said.

Israeli authorities have so far handed over four bodies to the Nepalese Embassy in Tel Aviv. They are in the process of identifying the remaining six bodies, a statement from the embassy said. More than 200 Nepalese nationals returned home from Israel on Oct. 13. As many as 265 Nepali students were in Israel attending a program launched by the Israeli government.

INDIA SENDS MEDICAL AID AND RELIEF SUPPLIES TO PALESTINIANS

NEW DELHI  India on Sunday sent nearly 6.5 tonnes (7.1 tons) of medical aid and 32 tonnes (35 tons) of disaster relief supplies to Palestinians.

An Indian air force plane carrying the materials left New Delhi for Egypts El-Arish airport, said Arindam Bagchi, an External Affairs Ministry spokesman. The aid includes essential life-saving medicines, surgical items, tents, sleeping bags, tarps and water purification tablets among other items, he said.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed condolences and sympathy for those killed and wounded as a result of the attacks in Israel and said that Indian people stand in solidarity with Israel. India has reiterated its position in favor of direct negotiations for establishing a two-state solution.

SYRIAN MEDIA REPORTS ISRAELI AIRSTRIKES HIT AIRPORTS IN DAMASCUS AND ALEPPO

Syrian state media reported that Israeli airstrikes early Sunday targeted the international airports of the Syrian capital Damascus and the northern city of Aleppo, killing one person. The runways were damaged and put out of service.

The attack is the second this month on the Damascus International airport and the third on Aleppos airport as tensions increases in the Middle East over the Israel-Hamas war.

Syrian state media quoted an unnamed military official as saying the airports were struck by the Israeli military from the Mediterranean to the west and from Syrias Israeli-occupied Golan Heights in the south. It said one employee was killed and another wounded in Damascus in addition to material damage.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment.

Since the war between Israel and Hamas started on Oct. 7, Israel has carried out several strikes in Syria including one on the Damascus airport and two on Aleppos airport putting them out of service.

Flights were directed in the past to an international airport in the coastal province of Latakia.

Israel has targeted airports and sea ports in the government-held parts of Syria in an apparent attempt to prevent arms shipments from Iran to militant groups backed by Tehran, including Lebanons Hezbollah.

Thousands of Iran-backed fighters from around the region joined Syrias 12-year conflict helping tip the balance in favor of President Bashar Assads forces.

Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of Syria in recent years, including attacks on the Damascus and Aleppo airports, but rarely acknowledges or discusses the operations.

PALESTINIAN HEALTH MINISTRY SAYS ISRAELI FORCES KILLED 8 SUNDAY IN WEST BANK

The Palestinian Health Ministry reported that the death toll among Palestinians in the occupied West Bank Sunday climbed to eight.

Israeli forces shot dead Jihad Mazen Subhi Saleh, 29, and Mohammed Qasim Abu Zar, 17, in Zawata, roughly 70 kilometers (44 miles) north of Jerusalem; as well as a 20-year-old man close to the al-Arroub refugee camp south of the West Bank, the ministry said.

Two others were killed in the Jenin refugee camp, which includes the Al-Ansar mosque where Israels military said it launched an airstrike, the ministry said. The two fatalities have yet to be identified. It also said Israeli forces shot and killed two men in northern cities of the West Bank: a 19-year-old in Tubas and a 26-year-old in Nablus.

Sundays fatalities brought the death toll in the West Bank to 93 Palestinians since the latest Israel-Hamas war broke out on Oct. 7, according to the Health Ministry.
Rep. Liz Cheney shared her fears that another Trump presidency could be the death knell for democracy.

He cannot be the next president because if he is, all of the things he attempted to do but was stopped from doing by responsible people around him  at the Department of Justice, at the White House counsels office  all of those things he will do. There will be no guardrails, the former congresswoman and member of the Jan. 6 committee said Sunday on CNNs State of the Union.

.@Liz_Cheney on a Trump reelection: After January 6, after our investigation, after all of the evidence that we laid out about all of the steps and his multi-part plan to overturn the election, there could be no question that he will unravel the institutions of our democracy. pic.twitter.com/Z408pOaKnB  Republican Accountability (@AccountableGOP) October 22, 2023

After Jan. 6, after our investigation, after all of the evidence that we laid out about all of the steps and his multi-part plan to overturn the election, there could be no question that he will unravel the institutions of our democracy, Cheney added.

Cheney and host Jake Tapper also discussed Trumps ongoing legal woes, including a recent fine he incurred for violating a gag order in his New York fraud trial and threatened with jail time if he violates the order a second time. Trump, unable to keep a single thought to himself, was fined $5,000 when he failed to remove a Truth Social post from his campaign website that attacked one of Judge Arthur Engorons clerks, claiming the clerk was Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumers girlfriend.

Almost without exception, the Judiciary has just been stalwart in terms of recognizing and understanding the threat to the republic that is posed by Donald Trumps past behavior, by what he did leading up to Jan. 6, and frankly what hes continued to do, Cheney said. Its really important that people recognize the efforts hes putting in to tear down every institution of our democracy.

.@Liz_Cheney: "Almost without exception, the Judiciary has just been stalwart in terms of recognizing and understanding the threat to the Republic that is posed by Donald Trump's past behavior, by what he did leading up to January 6, and frankly what he's continued to do." pic.twitter.com/Z2wMFCFxW3  Republican Accountability (@AccountableGOP) October 22, 2023

Cheney also attacked Republicans in Congress like Rep. Jim Jordan who have perpetuated the notion that the entire judiciary system, the FBI, is weaponized against us.

Weve got Republicans saying, Were going to defund the FBI. Were going to defund the Department of Justice,' Cheney said, naming Jordan as one example. That is very dangerous.

Jordan last week lost his bid to become House speaker in humiliating fashion following the far right wing of the partys ouster of former GOP speaker Kevin McCarthy.

I feel like it is almost disqualifying amongst House Republicans to be reality-based, Tapper said to Cheney.

Well, thats been my personal experience, the former congresswoman responded.

When Tapper questioned Cheney about her future plans, including if she intends to launch a presidential run, Cheney said that is one option on the table.

Cheney said this election cycle she would help to elect sane people from both parties to office. She said its crucially important to send officials who are loyal to the Constitution in case of a nightmare scenario where the election between Trump and another candidate is so close that it is sent to the House of Representatives to decide.

Tapper: But you're not ruling out a presidential run?



Cheney: No, I'm not. pic.twitter.com/nVdK9deRek  Acyn (@Acyn) October 22, 2023

We have to elect people who believe in the Constitution, she said.

Youre not ruling out a presidential run? Tapper asked Cheney.

No, Im not, she said.

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A quarter of a million dollars was awarded to the Butler County OVI Task Force, according to a spokesperson from the department.

>>First responder injured while responding to commercial fire alarm

The Ohio Department of Public Safety and the Ohio Traffic Safety Office awarded $250,000 to the task force to assist with operations.

The City of Oxford will manage the force during the 2024 fiscal year, the spokesperson said.

The task force will use this money to continue locating impaired drivers through more sobriety checkpoints and increased patrols.

Various Butler County law enforcement agencies make up the task force, the spokesperson said.

These funds are critical to ensuring that we are doing everything possible to keep our streets safe. This funding will benefit the citizens of Butler County as we continue our mission to save lives and make our roadways safer, Butler County OVI Task Force Coordinator Pete Reising said.
Aziza Hasan, right, a devout Muslim with family ties to Palestine who runs NewGround, pauses for prayers while at the home of Andrea Hodos, a devout Jew and former resident of Israel who is associate director of the nonprofit fellowship program that brings together members of the two faiths, in Los Angeles, Oct. 19, 2023. (Mark Abramson/The New York Times)

LOS ANGELES  The two women sat knee to knee.

Aziza Hasan, a devout Muslim, looked out at the group gathered around her, spoke of the loved ones who had died in Israel and the Gaza Strip and began reciting the first chapter of the Quran.

In the name of God, the most compassionate, most merciful 

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Show us the straight way, she continued, the way of those whose portion is not wrath and who go not astray.

Then, the woman beside her, Andrea Hodos, a devout Jew, followed with a Hebrew song acknowledging the angels.

On my right side is Gabriel, Gods strength, she told the crowd, translating the song. Behind me, Gods healer, Raphael. Above my head is Gods divine presence.

On this late afternoon of Oct. 15, the war between Israel and Hamas was well underway as Hasan and Hodos sat on parched grass at a bustling park 6 miles west of downtown Los Angeles. A circle of Jews and Muslims surrounded them.

Everyone on hand was part of NewGround, a nonprofit fellowship program that has helped more than 500 Los Angeles Muslims and Jews learn to listen, disagree, empathize with one another  and become friends.

Hasan, whose family roots run through the Palestinian territories, runs NewGround. Hodos, once a resident of Israel, has been her associate director since 2020.

The two women can recall details of the long, brutal history of clashes and wars pitting Israel against its neighbors to the north, east and south  and how those clashes sent fearful shock waves through Los Angeles, a city with one of the nations largest populations of Muslims and Jews.

But its never been this bad, they said, practically in unison, during a recent interview at a Los Angeles cafe.

Never have they worried like this about death and destruction in the Middle East sparking antisemitic or Islamophobic violence in the United States.

Never have they fretted like this about their work and their words being misinterpreted and misunderstood.

Never had they held this much dread, or found this kind of hopeful, grounding solace in the interfaith bonds their labor has created.

Hasan and Hodos are more than co-workers. Their close friendship signals that the ties that bind adherents of Judaism and Islam can remain strong, even as the war pitting people of their faiths against each other rages.

Aziza is like a sister to me, said Hodos, 57. She is family.

Were so connected, said Hasan, 43, that sometimes Andrea can complete my thought or start a sentence and finish it for me.

Both women have deep roots in Israel and the Palestinian territories. Hodos spent her post-college years living in Jerusalem, reconnecting with her faith and learning about the growing peace movement. Her husband, now a rabbi and professor of rabbinical literature, lived in Israel for a dozen years. Their children are Israeli citizens. She has a relative who is a reservist in the Israeli army, a fact that Hasan admits is difficult to reconcile.

Hasans paternal grandparents were Palestinian farmers who were forced off their land at gunpoint during the creation of Israel in the late 1940s.

As the firstborn daughter of a Muslim father and a white American mother, Hasan spent much of her childhood in Jordan. She recalls the taunts of schoolmates in Jordan telling her that her mother was going to hell for being Christian. After her father died, her family moved to a small town in Kansas, where she remembers hearing she was going to hell for being Muslim.

Navigating through a world of opposite views is how it has always been for me, she said. The work is gut-wrenching and difficult, but I keep coming back because it is so important to my core.

Her voice trailed. A beat passed. She sighed. Still, she said, I sometimes wonder why I am so devoted to something that seems so bleak, especially now.

She leans on Hodos for strength. Their lives are intertwined, and their families are close. They provide one another with shoulders to cry on.

Hodos eyes widen when she recalls a favored memory  the two women baking together in the Hodos familys kosher kitchen, making pinwheel cookies from an old Palestinian recipe.

After reports of the massacre and kidnapping of Israeli Jews by Hamas militants, the two exchanged texts.

How are you holding up? Hasan wrote, before expressing anger that such atrocity could be done in the name of God, and fear of a violent retaliation that would take innocent lives.

I love you, she continued. I am sorry. I am here.

Hodos was reeling. Her son had a friend who was taken captive. Her husband was once an Israeli soldier. Decades ago, he had fought during a war with Lebanon. The shock and pain she felt was so profound that at first, she struggled to find the right words, so she replied by sending poems about the grief of loss during war.

So much gratitude to have your partnership, she wrote. Her heart ached for Israel, but she needed to make it known that her care was not limited by borders. Im so worried about everyone in Gaza for what is ahead.

As the war and atrocity spread over the coming days, both women struggled against depression, nausea and sleeplessness. They were unable to eat.

They pressed on, appearing at mosques and synagogues and gathering with friends of their faith in their respective homes.

More people are reaching out to each other than Ive ever seen, Hasan said. I think thats the result of the relationships weve built all these years. Without that connection, one person becomes defensive in a discussion, and whoever they are speaking with from the other side entrenches and gets defensive back quickly. When theres a relationship, there are moments of softening that allow a little more slack in the discussion and a little more care.

The NewGround gathering at the park west of downtown Los Angeles was such a moment.

A solemn, grieving apprehension took hold as the two friends welcomed the group. Israel had spent days bombing targets in Gaza, an act of retribution for Hamas attack that was causing a humanitarian disaster.

For a long while, members of NewGround gathered in five or six small clusters, people of both faiths mixing as slivers of anguished conversation filled the air.

I know Israelis who are going from funeral to funeral for children of their friends.

I know people in Gaza who have lost loved ones.

My children are scared, and I dont know what to say.

My generation has to make something different for the next. We dont have to repeat the hurt on both sides.

An hour passed. Then two. Everyone ended up sitting together in a circle. Side by side, knee to knee, Hasan said her prayer and Hodos sang.

The sun went down. The sky turned black. For a while, there was a peaceful silence.

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I am a local renter who lives on the Central Coast, and I hope to call this place home for years to come.

My friends are here, my family is here and I contribute actively as a security professional locally. As an honorably discharged veteran who wants to buy a home on the Central Coast, Im writing today in response to the opposition I have seen to the Dana Reserve development.

To those in opposition, I would like to say: Respectfully, get out of our way.

The Dana Reserve, as designed, is somewhere I want to live. The project and its proposals have made me hopeful that I could one day own my own home. The majority of homes in this development would serve a demographic that is currently overlooked in the housing market  people like me. I am truly a part of what we call the missing middle. I make too much money to qualify for housing assistance, but not enough to afford the homes that are currently on the market.

This project puts its money where its mouth is and makes a place for people like me, and this is why I believe its the right project at the right time for Nipomo. Tell me of another project that offers so many benefits to new residents: down payment assistance, onsite childcare, a new Cuesta campus, parks and trails, places to eat and places to gather.

The project is also funding major water and circulation infrastructure that all of Nipomo will benefit from  even those in opposition. I dont think we should be overlooking this fact. Nipomo needs these updates and this project will provide them.

This is a comprehensive and thoughtful development we should be excited about.I am not a developer, but I do know there are significant costs that go into the new infrastructure and the fees required for a project like this. If the more expensive, age-restricted neighborhoods help cover those costs in order for people like me to have access to the more affordable homes, then I look forward to living near those folks and having access to the same neighborhood amenities.

I am tired of hearing this project isnt a right fit for Nipomo, as the nay-sayers like to put it. As someone who is proud to call the Central Coast home, I think it is the right fit, because I believe I, my generation, and the working class are the right fit for this county. Dana Reserve is a project thats been thoughtfully worked on for years, located on a site planned as a development property since 1994. It gives solutions to our housing issues, works creatively to address our water needs and funds major infrastructure to alleviate traffic.

Most of all, it makes home ownership a possibility for many people who currently dont have a way in. This project isnt too good to be true  its just a really good project.

This is the place I want to call home, and I look forward to the opportunity to be a future resident of Dana Reserve.

Grover Beach resident Joe Pivovaroff served in the U.S. Coast Guard from 1995 to 1999 and studied at the American Military University, focusing on information technology. He has a decade of experience in the wind energy industry and currently works in security.
A major incident declared for Suffolk amid flooding from Storm Babet has been stood down.

The measure, which is made during risk of serious harm, damage, disruption or threat to life, was declared on Friday afternoon until 18:30 BST on Saturday.

However, people in East Suffolk have been warned that flood levels may not have peaked yet, due to water still entering rivers faster than expected.

Eight flood warnings are still in place across the county.

Some towns and villages in Norfolk and Cambridgeshire also experienced flooding.

In East Suffolk, homes, businesses and vehicles were badly damaged with many people having to evacuate their homes and take shelter in temporary relief centres.

The Railway Inn in Framlingham was badly damaged as water poured in during the worst of Friday's weather.

Landlady Laura Robinson returned to the pub on Saturday and found "devastation" and was in "floods of tears".

Like many affected businesses, she said she had no idea when or if she would be able to reopen.

Anglian Water's Whitton water treatment site was badly flooded resulting in more than 3,000 properties across Ipswich having no or very little water for much of Saturday.

Water was restored to all properties by 22:45.

Communities were seen pulling together as neighbours helped rescue each other amid the rising flood water.

In Framlingham, one of the worst-hit towns, a group of 17 cows were saved from drowning by members of the public.

Farmers used tractors to get through flood water in Wickham Market and rescue residents trapped in their homes.

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In Debenham, Simon O'Brien's homemade paddleboat - built for his grandchildren - became a lifeline as he helped elderly residents reach safety.

The Suffolk Resilience Forum, a collection of public agencies and emergency services, said it was still responding to the impact and threats posed by the flooding.

Areas most badly hit by the floods, including towns and villages in Babergh and Mid Suffolk, will continue to get additional support from agencies, it said.

People living close to rivers have been advised to check flood warnings and alerts from the Environment Agency.

In Debenham, people have begun clearing out carpets and furniture destroyed in the flood

Nick Khan of East Suffolk Council said there was a "growing need" for help as people began to clean up after the flooding.

"One issue is people who are insured can't necessarily dispose of their goods until loss adjustors are around, so there will be more need for clearing houses," he said.

"The volunteer effort has been fantastic, probably more than we need at the moment."

About 70 properties in Framlingham are thought to have been badly affected, however Mr Khan said it was difficult to assess as not everyone would notify the council.

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SAN DIEGO  A suspect in a fatal Linda Vista shooting last year was arrested Friday morning, San Diego police announced.

Around 10:20 a.m., officers took Eduardo Vasquez, 25, into custody at 3200 North Harbor Drive without issue, SDPD Lt. Steve Shebloski said in a news release. He was booked into jail and could face one count of murder in connection to the 2022 shooting.

The incident took place in the early morning of Sunday, July 24. Officers were dispatched to the scene in the 2200 block just after 5 a.m. after the SDPD Communications Center received a call reporting a man down in the area, Shebloski said.

Upon arrival, officers from the Western Division found an unresponsive man with a gunshot wound to his upper back. According to Shebloski, a family member was tending to his wound.

Bicyclist injured after colliding with pedestrian

Authorities immediately began performing life-saving measures until San Diego Fire-Rescue personnel arrived and relieved them. Unfortunately, the man was pronounced dead at the scene around 5:25 a.m.

The victim was later identified by SDPD as Johnny Ramon Ramirez, a 41-year-old San Diego resident.

According to Shebloski, SDPD Homicide Detectives have spent the last year investigating the incident, which included an exhaustive process of following leads, processing and examining physical evidence, obtaining surveillance video and interviewing witnesses.

Details about the findings that led to Vasquezs arrest were not disclosed by law enforcement.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is encouraged to call the Homicide Unit at 619-531-2293 or to remain anonymous, Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 22)  The third batch of Filipinos from war-torn Israel is set to return to the Philippines on Monday, Oct. 23, the Philippine Embassy in Israel told CNN Philippines Sunday.

Consul General and Deputy Chief of Mission Anthony Mandap said around 25 will leave Tel Aviv today.

Of the 25 Filipinos, 17 of them are caregivers while eight are hotel workers, according to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.

Last week, 34 Filipinos across two batches were repatriated.

The first group of 16 arrived on Oct. 18.

Two days later, another batch of 20 touched down in the Philippines.

Four Filipinos were confirmed killed in the fighting, which began when militant group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel last Oct. 7.

The body of one Filipino fatality  a 49-year-old caretaker from Negros Occidental  was repatriated on Saturday. The remains of three other Pinoy victims remain in Israel.
A Floyd County man was arrested Tuesday by sheriffs deputies after they saw an emaciated bulldog on his property while attempting to serve an unrelated warrant.

According to deputies, Harley Lakota-Davidson Hicks of Silver Creek, admitted to deputies of owning and caring for a brown female bulldog mix which was described as extremely malnourished and emaciated.

Deputies said he admitted to aggravated cruelty to animals when they spoke to him about the dog.

A warrant for Hicks arrest said the dog appeared to be a 2/9 on the Purina BCS, and when weighed was found to be only 27.8 pounds.

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Documents from the sheriffs office said the dogs ribs, vertebrae and pelvic bones were easily visible, along with other bony prominences.

Sheriffs records said the animal was fenced in the front yard and that the dog had only been fed table scraps for more than two weeks, due to Hicks lack of dog food.

Deputies said Hicks allegedly did not attempt to find help getting necessary items for his dog.

Additionally, the dogs space was limited to the front yard and front porch, which deputies said was completely covered in debris.

Food and water bowls placed on the porch for the dog were bone dry.

Hicks was charged with one count of aggravated cruelty to animals, which is a felony in the state of Georgia.

Sheriffs office records show Hicks was given a $1,300 bond and was released from prison after paying it on Oct. 19.

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IN OTHER NEWS:
An Ohio man avoided jail time when he pleaded guilty to threatening LGBTQ+ students at a local high school that had recently crowned two nonbinary students as prom royalty.

Brandon Moore, 42, pleaded guilty to a single count of phone threats/harassment in Kettering Municipal Court on Tuesday and was sentenced to three months house arrest and three years of supervised release, according to the Dayton Daily News.

Around 9 a.m. on May 3, Moore called Fairmont High School in Kettering and threatened LGBTQ+ students at the school. School officials called the police who quickly linked the threatening call to Moore, and he was taken into custody at 1 p.m. the same day.

The phone call centered around someone coming to the school to shoot (LGBTQ+) students, according to a court affidavit seen by the Daily News.

To assure the safety of students, staff and visitors at the high school, additional Kettering Police Department officers were dispatched to Fairmont as the KPD began an immediate investigation of from where and by whom the call had been made. Additional measures were also taken to patrol and monitor the perimeter of the building, officials said in a news release at the time.

Students at Fairmont High School had crowned two nonbinary students, Daisean Conley and Rosie Green, as prom royalty in April. The choice was greeted with mixed reactions in the community, and a protest of the election took place in front of the school on May 2. It is presumed Moore was upset about the election.

The Kettering School District shared a statement about the election process with local ABC affiliate WKEF, noting it was a matter of student choice.

This is a student-led process that is overseen by Fairmont's United Student Body (USB), Class Council, and Administration, the statement read. This is the same process that has been followed for many years.

As part of the plea bargain, a charge of inducing panic was dropped, and Moore agreed to have no further contact of any type with any school in Kettering.
A Texas man died after police say he was shot and driven to a nearby airport, news outlets reported.

The 18-year-old man called his wife asking her to pick him up just before 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 21, because he had been shot, Houston police said, according to KPRC.

He told her where to pick him up and when she drove to that location, she saw him limping. She was able to eventually get him in the vehicle, but not without incident because there was some shots being fired when she arrived at that location, Caroleta Johnson, Houston Police Department commander, told KTRK.

The man was driven to William P. Hobby Airport, according to KRIV.

Johnson said once they got to the airport, another family member gave the man CPR until first responders arrived, according to KPRC. The man was later pronounced dead.

Police say the wifes truck, which was also carrying a child, did not seem to have any bullet holes in it, according to KTRK.

The incident remains under investigation, police told news outlets.

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A man was shot and killed early Friday morning in north Phoenix, according to the Phoenix Police Department.

Just after 3 a.m. on Friday, police responded to reports of a shooting by a passerby in the area of North 19th Avenue and North Grover Avenue, where they found a man who was shot, and later pronounced dead by the Phoenix Fire Department.

Police said that detectives responded to the area of the incident and that details on what led up to the shooting were still under investigation.

Police asked anyone with information that can lead detectives to an arrest to call Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS or 480-TESTIGO for Spanish. All callers will remain anonymous and eligible for a cash reward.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Man killed Friday morning in north Phoenix, investigation underway
PALMDALE, Calif. - A man was shot and killed early Saturday at a Halloween party in Palmdale, authorities said.

The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department responded to a call shortly after 12 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 21 to the 37000 block of 55th St. East, where deputies found the victim shot.

The victim was taken to a hospital, but was pronounced dead just before 2 a.m., according to authorities.

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Officials did not provide a motive or suspect information at this time. Authorities have not yet revealed the identity of the victim.

Anyone with information about the shooting was asked to call the Sheriff's Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Anonymous calls can be made to Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477, or tips may be sent to lacrimestoppers.org.

City News Service contributed to this report.
(Stacker)  Hunting is one of the oldest forms of human activity. Over the centuries, hunting has largely evolved from necessity to sportalthough many hunters in the U.S. do process hunted animals for food.

As hunting gained popularity as a leisure activity, ecosystems suffered, which led to various regulations in order to help preserve and conserve wildlife resources. In the United States, each state has set dates for hunting seasons, thresholds for how many tags or wild game stamps are allowed, and specific areas that are off-limits to hunting in order to help preserve habitats and animal populations.

In the past several decades, the number of people with hunting licenses in the United States has been on a sharp decline. This can be attributed to a few factors, namely the rise in urbanization, the development of farmland, a lack of free time among hunters, and limited access to hunting land. Licenses peaked at roughly 17 million in the 1980s.

There are 15.9 million hunting license holders in the United States as of 2023.

The drop-off in revenue from hunting licenses is starting to pose a problem for conservation groups. Thanks to the Pittman-Robertson Act of 1937, an 11% excise tax was placed on the sale of firearms for the purpose of funding conservation. Not only that, but the profits from hunting licenses themselves also go directly to conservation initiatives.

Stacker compiled data on the number of registered hunters in Missouri using data from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Missouri is also ranked nationally by per capita hunting license holders based on 2023 data and 2022 American Community Survey population estimates.

So is Missouri holding steady with hunting traditions? Read on to find out.

Missouri: #20 highest nationally

 Paid hunting license holders: 8.3 for every 100 people (509,963 total)

 Hunting license, tags, permits & stamps: 28.5 for every 100 people (1,760,197 total)

 Total cost of hunting licenses, tags, permits & stamps: $28,008,035

Continue below to see hunting license statistics for other states in your region.

Arkansas: #11 highest nationally

 Paid hunting license holders: 10.6 for every 100 people (323,474 total)

 Hunting license, tags, permits & stamps: 16.8 for every 100 people (510,212 total)

 Total cost of hunting licenses, tags, permits & stamps: $21,442,583

Illinois: #10 lowest nationally

 Paid hunting license holders: 2.3 for every 100 people (289,922 total)

 Hunting license, tags, permits & stamps: 11.8 for every 100 people (1,489,355 total)

 Total cost of hunting licenses, tags, permits & stamps: $34,691,886

This story features data reporting by Emma Rubin, writing by Meagan Drillinger, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 50 states.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
CBS Face the Nation moderator Margaret Brennan on Sunday pressed Secretary of State Antony Blinken over why the U.S. is not calling for a temporary cease-fire between Israel and the militant group Hamas in the midst of a deepening humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. In response, the State Department head emphasized Israels right to defend itself.

Blinken argued no country can be expected to tolerate Hamass bloody massacre against Israel, which began on Oct. 7 and has killed 1,400 Israelis, including hundreds of civilians in their homes, at a bus stop and at a music festival earlier this month. Blinken stressed that Israel has a right and even the obligation to defend itself to ensure such attacks dont happen again.

So, lets talk about how they do it. Youre right to lay out just how absolutely horrible that attack was two weeks ago, Brennan responded to Blinken, while pointing to UNICEFs estimate that 1,524 children have been killed in the Gaza Strip amid heavy bombardment by Israel since Oct. 7. Why isnt the U.S. calling for at least a temporary cease-fire?

Margaret, when I hear the stories, when I see the pictures of young children who have lost their lives in this conflict of Hamass making  whoever they are, wherever they are, whether theyre Palestinians, whether theyre Israelis, whether  theyre Jews or Muslims  it hits me, and I know it hits virtually everyone right in the heart, Blinken responded.

And thats why its so important to do everything possible to protect them, and and why its so important to do everything possible to get assistance to those who need it. Food, medicine, water, he continued.

But Brennan interrupted Blinken to reiterate her question, So why not ask for at least a temporary pause in the bombing  as was proposed at the U.N. earlier this week? Blinken responded that humanitarian assistance had finally made its way into Gaza on Saturday for the first time since the war began.

We want to make sure that we have sustained delivery of food, medicine, water, the things that people need. At the same time, I said something a minute ago that  that we have to  we have to remember. Israel has to do everything it can to make sure this doesnt happen again, Blinken said. Freezing things in place where they are now would allow Hamas to remain where it is and to repeat what its done sometime in the future. No country could accept that.

Brennan again pressed, referencing a Palestinian politician who asked a CBS correspondent reporting in the region why President Biden didnt tell Israel enough is enough when he visited Tel Aviv last week.

Enough is enough should have been the case with  with Hamas two weeks ago. It would be good to hear the entire world speaking clearly, and with one voice, about the actions that Hamas took, about the slaughter of people, about the fact that that should be absolutely intolerable, unacceptable to anyone, anywhere, any country, any people, Blinken responded.

Fighting between Israel and Hamas  a militant group that the U.S. and other countries have recognized as a terrorist organization  has raged for more than two weeks since Hamass deadly surprise attack.

Israeli forces quickly responded with a bombardment of Gaza that has so far killed more than 4,600 Palestinians and injured more than 14,000 others, the Gaza Ministry of Health reported Sunday.

The humanitarian crisis in Gaza deepened last week following Israels siege on food, water, electricity and medicine, prompting calls for a temporary cease-fire to allow civilians in Gaza to leave amid the violence.

Israel ordered the evacuation of more than 1.1 million Palestinians over a week ago to travel to the southern half of the Gaza Strip last week ahead of an anticipated ground assault. However, many people in Gaza said Israel still attacked that portion of the enclave. Hamas has told residents not to leave and to stay in their homes.

Biden visited Tel Aviv last week to meet with Israeli leaders and families impacted by the ongoing violence and to reiterate the U.S.s support for Israel.

While there, Biden announced an agreement to allow humanitarian aid to move from Egypt to Gaza and confirmed the U.S. will fund $100 million to assist those living in Gaza and the West Bank. Trucks carrying aid have since entered Gaza through the Rafah crossing  Gazas only connection to Egypt  which had shut down in the wake of Israeli airstrikes.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Mariska Hargitay paid homage to her late mother, Jayne Mansfield, in a touching way.

Hargitay was honored with the Sisterhood Is Powerful Award at the 2023 Womens Media Center Awards on Oct. 19.

During her speech at the award ceremony, Hargitay shared an emotional sentiment about her late mother, who died in a car accident in 1967 at age 34 when the actor was just 3-years-old.

After reflecting on a moment from the red carpet when her name was called out by photographers alongside Jane Fonda's, she said to Fonda, I thank you for that moment.

And I thank you for being able to stand next to you. And I also feel that you invoked my mother here tonight, she added. And I bring her in here, in this moment, because I think she would love this night.

The WMC 2023 Women's Media Awards (John Lamparski / Getty Images)

Prior to receiving her award, Hargitay spoke to People about several of her greatest influences.

At the event, the Law & Order: SVU star said that it was a lot to take this in after she was recognized for the award by the organizations co-founders Fonda, Gloria Steinem, and Robin Morgan.

Because these are my mentors, these are the people that I go, Wow. The people that made change, she explained. I mean, are you kidding me? Gloria? She started a revolution and changed our planet. And then our paths crossed and it feels like fate, but theyre like my work mothers.

The 59-year-old actor continued, adding, Theyre the advocate in Mariska, the Olivia Benson [in Mariska]. Its RBG, Jane, Gloria, its, for me, Ellen Burstyn. Theres these people in my life that are of an age.

Jane Fonda, Mariska Hargitay and Ellen Burstyn. (Getty)

Burstyn portrays the role of Bernadette Stabler, the mother of Christopher Melonis character Elliot Stabler in SVU and Law & Order: Organized Crime, often starring opposite Hargitays character, Olivia Benson.

I lost my mother when I was so young, so its very sacred, Hargitay continued, referring to her relationship with the women. I think its sacred.

In the decades since the death of her mother, Hargitay has shared touching tributes to Mansfield, including a sweet nod to her mama, who she credited for her supermodel walk.

On what would have been Mansfields 90th birthday in April 2023, Hargitay also shared a black and white photo of her mom on Instagram to pay homage to the late Hollywood star.

Happy birthday Mama, she wrote in the caption. We live to love you more each day.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
Editors note: This story is available as a result of a content partnership between WFTV and the Orlando Business Journal.

One of Orlandos largest privately held companies will expand its presence in Georgia through an acquisition.

Orlando-based Massey Services on Oct. 17 announced it bought Norcross, Georgia-based Solstys Environmental for an undisclosed amount. The company provides pest control services for 4,000 customers in metro Atlanta.

Through the deal, Massey has 16 service center locations in the Peach State.

Read: Police: Employee at Home Depot accused of embezzling $1.2 million in cash

Click here to read the full story on the Orlando Business Journals website.

Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.




Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is backing House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) for the Speakership, saying that he has the skills needed for the role.

McCarthy said on NBCs Meet the Press that now is not the moment in time to play around with learning on the job, citing the ongoing violence in the Middle East, the U.S.-Mexico border and the countrys economy as primary reasons. He suggested that Emmer is someone who understands how to do this job.

I believe Tom Emmer, our whip; hes been in the room with all of our successes, from our bills to secure the border, from Parents Bill of Rights, from cutting $2 trillion getting work requirements; he knows how to do the job across the street at the same time, helping us win the majority, he said.

He sets himself, head and shoulders, above all those others who want to run. We need to get him elected this week, and move on, and bring not just party together; but focus on what this country needs most, he continued.

The Hill had previously confirmed McCarthys endorsement of Emmer last week before the Minnesota Republican even announced his bid, after he told Punchbowl News that Emmer is the right person for the job.

The House GOP has been in turmoil since eight of its members voted with Democrats earlier this month to oust McCarthy, leaving the House without a Speaker for nearly three weeks. There has been an ongoing battle for the Speakership as House Republicans struggle to rally behind one candidate.

House Republicans are set to meet behind closed doors for a candidate forum Monday at 6:30 p.m., then they will move to an internal nomination election Tuesday morning. The deadline for candidates to file their candidacies was Sunday at noon.

There are nine lawmakers who have said they are either running for Speaker or are considering it. Emmer formally announced his intention to run for the position Saturday.

If given the opportunity to be your Speaker, we will use that same culture of teamwork, communication, and respect to build on the moments that brought us success, learn from our mistakes, and keep fighting for each and every one of you and our Republican majority, Emmer wrote in a letter to colleagues.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 22)  A motor tanker caught fire at the Alpha Anchorage Area in Batangas on Sunday morning, killing one person, the Coast Guard District Southern Tagalog said.

The Coast Guard Station (CGS) Batangas received a phone call that Motor Tanker Sea Horse was on fire around 9:00 am.

The CGS Batangas then coordinated with the multi-role response vessel BRP Bagacay, the Bureau of Fire Protection, and Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Managament Office to request assistance in the conduct of firefighting.

The coast guard also launched a search and rescue operation.

The fire was declared out at 11:08 a.m.

Authorities are still identifying the fatality.
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) on Sunday railed against the Houses struggle to elect a Speaker, reiterating what some of his fellow lawmakers have called embarrassing.

This is probably one of the most embarrassing things Ive seen, McCaul said Sunday on ABC Newss This Week, noting that hes serving his 10th term in Congress. Because if we dont have a Speaker of the House, we cant govern. And every day goes by, were essentially shut down as a government.

The House is approaching three weeks without a Speaker following the historic ousting of former Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who was booted from the top spot in a 216-210 vote. Eight Republicans joined all House Democrats in voting to take away the gavel from the California Republican.

McCaul, who serves as the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, pointed to issues around the world  notably Israels war with militant group Hamas  that the House cannot address in its current state of paralysis.

We have very important issues right now with war and peace, and we cannot deal with an aid package or my resolution condemning Hamas and supporting Israel, McCaul said. We cant even pass a resolution condemning Hamas.

When asked who he would support among the current roster of candidates for Speaker, McCaul would not name a particular individual, instead emphasizing that he wants a Speaker in the chair.

Its too dangerous right now. The worlds on fire. This is so dangerous, what were doing. And more importantly, its embarrassing because it empowers and emboldens our adversaries like Chairman Xi who says you know, democracy doesnt work.

Republicans vying for the Speakership have been faced with internal division and infighting over the past few weeks, making it more difficult to garner the 217 needed to take the top spot.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) failed on three rounds of voting on the House floor last week, losing more GOP support with each ballot. The House GOP conference later voted on Friday by a secret ballot to no longer back Jordan as its Speaker nominee, sending the House back to square one.

Since then, numerous Republicans have thrown their hat in the ring, making for a crowded race expected to unfold next week. Some have suggested Republicans may need to work with Democrats in order to secure the votes for a Speaker.

Asked if an arrangement with Democrats would be needed, McCaul said, This was discussed, I mean, if you cant get to 217 within our conferencehow do you get there? But I think for some, they see that as very dangerous as well.

Further pressed on if he would rule out working with Democrats, McCaul said, Id rather it be the Republicans nominating and voting on the floor for a Republican Speaker but this cant go on forever. I dont know if were going to have a Speaker next week, I dont know how this plays out.

Some Republicans, including Jordan himself, said last week they would support a resolution to empower Speaker Pro Tem Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), but did not bring it to the floor in the wake of mounting GOP opposition.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
President Joe Biden has a key Republican ally in his push to tie aid to Ukraine and Israel together: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell .

I know there are some Republicans in the Senate, and maybe more in the House, saying Ukraine is somehow different. I view it as all interconnected, McConnell said of the war in Ukraine and the ongoing battle between Israel and Hamas during an interview with CBS Face the Nation, which aired Sunday.

When it comes to Ukraine, McConnell said there were ramifications that extended beyond the ongoing war with Russia.

"This is a question of whether it is a serious threat to the United States. If the Russians are not defeated, they're going to the NATO countries next," McConnell said during another interview on "Fox News Sunday."

The Biden administration on Friday asked Congress to approve a $106 billion package of emergency aid for Israel and Ukraine, as well as funds for the southern U.S. border and other humanitarian needs.



While sending aid to Israel in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack has broad support in Congress, pushing through a package that includes more Ukrainian assistance could cause complications.

A small number of vocal Republicans have begun to balk at sending more aid to Ukraine, a stance thats been amplified on the campaign trail by some of the GOP presidential candidates. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), for instance, called tying the aid packages together "disgraceful."

But with McConnell in his corner, there may be hope for Bidens request.

We have big power competition from China, and Russia and we still have terrorism problems, as the Israelis have certainly experienced in a brutal way in the last week. So I think that requires a worldwide approach rather than trying to take parts of it out. It's all connected, McConnell said during the pre-taped interview at the Capitol.

The Chinese and the Russians said they're now friends forever. Iranian drones are being used in Ukraine and against the Israelis.

And while McConnell acknowledged that he agreed with the Democratic president on getting aid to Ukraine amid their ongoing efforts to push Russian forces out of their territory, he emphasized that he and Biden are on a different page on the homefront.

"On the domestic side, I can't think of a single thing I support [that] the Biden administration has done," McConnell said on Fox. "However, when it comes to foreign policy and defense, I like the way it used to be where we would get together and try to do the right thing for our country and for our allies."
William Scott and Conall Gould both struggled with mental health issues before their deaths

Two mothers who have lost sons to mental health problems say "a new approach" is needed to dealing with such issues in Northern Ireland.

The women were speaking at a Stormont event organised by the New Script for Mental Health campaign.

The event encouraged attendees to outline what changes they would like to see to mental health services.

Mary Gould's son Conall died aged 21 after he struggled with mental health issues.

The midwife from Ballymena said changes to services were needed as soon as possible.

"Conall was just so full of life, so happy, really into sport, he had so many friends," she said.

Conall's mother said the family could have helped him if they were properly equipped to deal with mental health issues

"As a family we just feel like we could have been given so much more support or we could have been enabled to help Conall ourselves.

"If we had been given the tools, and the understanding of what was happening, we could have helped Conall so much.

"We didn't know where to start and we had never seen anything like this before. There was no-one to signpost us."

'A daily struggle'

Conall died in 2017. His mum said his loss continued to have a massive impact on his family and friends.

"Personally, for me, it is a daily struggle," she said.

"I find it very difficult. I wake up every morning and I cannot believe that my child is gone.

"We were just an ordinary little family, and we are in the worst nightmare that you could ever think of."

Deirdre McCausland, from west Belfast, has received support for her mental health.

She is worried that budget pressures and cuts mean services she has relied on in the past may no longer be available.

"I have discovered that as an individual I have become more confident, more appreciative of myself, more loving of who I am, and just listening to their stories, it also makes me feel human, it makes me feel sane that there's other people going through what I am going through," she said.

"We need healing therapies to be funded and they need to be timely - they are vital."

'How many people are struggling?'

William Scott was told he had autism at the age of 18, but his mother Kirsty said he "couldn't cope" with the diagnosis.

He died from an accidental drugs overdose when he was 19.

His father Gordon died from a heart attack a year and a half later.

William Scott as a young boy with his father Gordon

After suffering two bereavements in such a short space of time, Kirsty required mental health support.

She said she received good care, but that the same support was not available to William when he was alive.

She said parents need more guidance.

"Ten years on and I am saddened people are still having to go through this," she said.

"How many people are listening to my story struggling with their own child, struggling to get services?"

"This is probably the last thing I can do for William. William's not here anymore and he wouldn't want anyone else to suffer like that.

"I watched that little boy go from a fun little blonde-haired boy to somebody who sat there with a hoodie over their head to eat their dinner, who was in their room 23 hours a day, only came out at three o'clock in the morning to make a meal.

"Mental heath is very important and until I went through it, I didn't understand it."

For Kirsty, talking has been the only thing that has helped her through - in telling her story, she has met other people who lost children too.

"We don't want to belong to this club, but we're in this club," she said.

"We have to make changes because what we have now simply isn't working and people are being let down. As long as we have a voice, our children still have a voice."

'Flip the script'

Sara Boyce, from Participation and Practice of Rights (PPR) said the current approach to mental health in Northern Ireland was "outdated".

"A conversation needs to be had," she said.

"Instead of asking people what's wrong with you, start asking people, what happened to you?

"And that totally flips the script. That's what we're starting to do here, we're having a conversation in which we hope more and more people will get involved."

If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article, help and support is available at BBC Action Line.
The fall 2023 census report for New Mexico State University confirmed notable enrollment gains across the university system.

Preliminary data released in September estimated a 3% increase systemwide from fall 2022, or a student enrollment of 21,210. The census report showed there was actually a 2.8% increase or 21,797 students.

University leadership attributed the rise in student enrollment to the New Mexico Opportunity Scholarship which was started under the Gov. Michelle Lujan Grishman administration in 2020.

Renay Scott, the universitys vice president for student success, said in a Sept. 6. news release that the scholarship has helped alleviate some financial burden for students.

The Opportunity Scholarship has improved retention, because it makes financing college predictable, Scott said in the release. Weve seen fewer students with outstanding balances and our students have less loan debt. Going to college is a full-time job for most students, and the Opportunity Scholarship has taken the pressure off for a lot of students who would otherwise have to take time off to save for tuition costs.

The university has also poured resources into efforts to retain current students by improving student experience, providing personal devices to first-year incoming students through Aggie Launch Pad and offering campus tutoring and career ready services. The Sept. 6 release said these initiatives were also contributing factors to increased enrollment.

Heres a breakdown of where NMSU saw two strong areas of growth.

More: Las Cruces Public Schools Board of Education renews school resource officer contract

Las Cruces campus sees pre-pandemic enrollment levels

Incoming first-year students enrolled at the university in higher numbers in 2023 compared to the last five years. These numbers indicate that student enrollment could be bouncing back after the COVID-19 pandemic drastically changed how students enrolled in college.

In 2019, roughly 2,182 freshmen were enrolled at the Las Cruces campus in comparison to fall 2023 where 2,391 students were enrolled, a 10% increase over the four-year period.

For a year-to-year comparison, the 2023 report showed that 2,328 freshmen were enrolled in fall 2022 versus 2,391 students in fall 2023, only a 2.2% increase.

A bar graph comparison of first year, first time freshmen enrolled at New Mexico State University through the years 2019-2023.

Among those gains, the report also showed that retention of continuing students was also up, surpassing pre-pandemic levels. For fall 2023, 7,935 undergrad students had returned to campus compared to 7,888 undergrad students in fall 2019. The highest number of returning undergraduates over the last four years was in fall 2020 with 8,036 undergrad students but it was followed by a steep decline the following year.

Part of those retention efforts have been credited to the N.M. Opportunity Scholarship program as Scott noted earlier. Higher Education Secretary Stephanie Rodriguez said in a March 2023 news release that this program has helped retain students because they can focus on their studies rather than how to pay for school amid rising costs.

We knew that the Opportunity Scholarship would be a game changer for higher education in New Mexico and the overwhelming number of New Mexicans taking advantage of the program demonstrates that removing financial barriers is a deciding factor in whether New Mexicans continue their education, Rodriguez said in the release.

NMSU community colleges see bump in enrollment

Despite national college enrollments on the decline, NMSUs community colleges saw a boost for the start of the 2023 school year.

There was severe enrollment loss at the NMSU community colleges during the pandemic, said Monica Torres, chancellor of NMSU community colleges in a Sept. 6 news release.

More: Beto ORourke to visit NMSU Oct. 20. Heres what we know

It was heartbreaking to see so many community college students lose valuable educational opportunities to the circumstances COVID dropped in our collective laps. As students and families' experiences recovered  and continue to recover  from those very challenging conditions, the NMSU community colleges are now experiencing enrollment gains. That is good news for our students and our communities.

NMSU Alamogordo saw the highest increase in enrollment among NMSU community colleges with a 5.5% increase or 1,088 total students. That college had1,032 total students enrolled.

Dona Ana Community College was the runner-up with a 2.8% increase or 187 new students to its 6,662 total last year. NMSU Grants saw a 1.1% increase bringing its fall 2023 total enrollment to 834 students.

More: Organ Mountain FFA students show off club achievement

This data highlights a larger picture of increased enrollment across community colleges nationally. A spring 2023 report released by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center found that community colleges had slightly increased enrollments by 0.5% from 2022 which wasnt apparent in past years. The center aggregates data from all colleges and universities throughout the country to compile its reporting.

Community college enrollment grew slightly this spring after large declines in the previous two years. A growing number of younger students, primarily dual enrolled high school students and freshmen contributed to the uptick, the report stated.

Like Scott, Torres credited the community college enrollment increases to expanded scholarships and student success resources

Ernesto Cisneros is a reporting fellow with the UNM/NM Local News Fund program. He covers education for the Sun-News and can be reached at ECisneros@lcsun-news.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter at @_ernestcisneros.

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: NMSU fall 2023 enrollment is up
By Anna-Catherine Brigida

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina's presidential election favorite, libertarian economist Javier Milei , made an unconventional speech after he pulled off a shock first place in the country's August primaries, dedicating the triumph to his "kids with four paws."

As Argentina votes in the general election on Sunday, Milei's cloned mastiffs have become a media sensation, reflecting the quirky nature of the candidate who has shaken up election season pledging to "chainsaw" the political status quo.

The 53-year-old economist paid a reported $50,000 to clone his original dog Conan, which he adopted in 2004 and died in 2017. He told local media that Conan was one of his closest friends and confidants, who always stood by him.

The result, according to the cloning company, was at least four "grandchildren": Murray, Milton, Robert and Lucas, who are named for Milei's economist idols including Milton Friedman. Milei has appeared publicly with them.

Journalist Juan Luis Gonzalez, who wrote a book "El Loco" about Milei, has documented a fifth clone, who shares the name Conan, a reference to the 1982 film "Conan the Barbarian."

The rise of Milei, a former TV "shock jock" pundit who only entered politics a few years ago, has shaken up the Argentine political establishment, which he has railed against as a "caste."

He is the favorite to win the Sunday vote ahead of Economy Minister Sergio Massa and mainstream conservative Patricia Bullrich in what most pollsters see as a close three-way race. There will likely be a second round run-off in November.

Milei's adoration of his dogs is notable. He has used a medium to talk to his dogs and called them the "best strategists in the world" at his closing campaign this week.

"Do you know who were the only ones always by my side?" Milei said in an August interview with Argentine media, referring to a tough period in his life. "My sister and Conan."

Gonzalez, the journalist and biographer, said that when the original Conan had been alive Milei would give him champagne and treat him like part of the family.

"For Milei, Conan was like a son," he said.

After Conan's death, Milei sent the dog's DNA sample to animal cloning firm PerPETuate, which has written publicly about cloning Milei's dogs on its company website.

Through a medium, Milei's original dog, he alleges, gave him the mission of becoming Argentina's president, which he could - against the odds - pull off today or next month.

As Milei's political profile has soared, his dogs have become a point of criticism. Opponent Massa recently took a jab at Milei for "talking about his dogs as if they were children."

In a TV interview this month Milei responded to the pup-related criticism. "They can say what they want. Everyone gives their opinion," he said.

(Reporting by Anna-Catherine Brigida; Additional reporting by Candelaria Grimberg; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee man was sentenced Wednesday to seven years in prison for a 2022 crash that killed a woman on the city's north side.

Javon Robinson, 33, pleaded guilty in June to homicide by vehicle, and another felony was dismised as part of a deal with prosecutors. He was also sentenced to five years of extended supervision.

According to a criminal complaint, Milwaukee police responded to the scene near 107th and Mill just after 2 a.m. on May 14, 2022. They found a car crashed on a lawn, and a person later identified as Germika Sanders laying in the grass about 20 feet from the vehicle. Sanders was unresponsive and did not survive.

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Robinson was standing near Sanders' body, and the complaint states he admitted he was the driver, that he and Sanders had just left a bar, and he saw two "unknown vehicles traveling towards him." Robinson said he "tried to avoid the other cars, lost control, and spun out into a crash." He also said he noticed Sanders had been ejected from the vehicle after his vehicle came to a stop.

Investigating officers "observed an odor of intoxicant" coming from Robinson's breath, per the complaint. They also noted several other indicators of intoxication. When Robinson's blood was tested, it was determined he had a BAC (blood alcohol concentration) of .079  just under the legal limit.

Milwaukee Police Department (MPD)

The complaint said police searched Robinson's vehicle and "recovered a yellow pill in a clear plastic baggie." That pill tested positive for MDMA. Officers also recovered a semi-automatic handgun that was on the driver's side floor board, the complaint states.

Robinson later admitted that he didn't have a driver's license, and he'd lost it years earlier "due to tickets." the complaint states. Wisconsin records show Robinson had eight prior "operating while suspended" convictions.
A recently published scientific article proposes a sweeping new law of nature, approaching the matter with dry, clinical efficiency that still reads like poetry.

A pervasive wonder of the natural world is the evolution of varied systems, including stars, minerals, atmospheres, and life, the scientists write in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Evolving systems are asymmetrical with respect to time; they display temporal increases in diversity, distribution, and/or patterned behavior, they continue, mounting their case from the shoulders of Charles Darwin, extending it toward all things living and not.

To join the known physics laws of thermodynamics, electromagnetism and Newtons laws of motion and gravity, the nine scientists and philosophers behind the paper propose their law of increasing functional information.

In short, a complex and evolving system  whether thats a flock of gold finches or a nebula or the English language  will produce ever more diverse and intricately detailed states and configurations of itself.

And here, any writer should find their breath caught in their throat. Any writer would have to pause and marvel.

Its a rare thing to hear the voice of science singing toward its twin in the humanities. The scientists seem to be searching in their paper for the right words to describe the way the nested trills of a flautist rise through a vaulted cathedral to coalesce into notes themselves not played by human breath. And how, in the very same way, the oil-slick sheen of a June Bug wing may reveal its unseen spectra only against the brief-blooming dogwood in just the right season of sun.

Both intricate configurations of art and matter arise and fade according to their shared characteristic, long-known by students of the humanities: each have been graced with enough time to attend to the necessary affairs of their most enduring pleasures.

Some of these more diverse and intricate configurations, the scientists write, are shed and forgotten over time. The configurations that persist are ones that find some utility or novel function in a process akin to natural selection, but a selection process driven by the passing-on of information rather than just the sowing of biological genes. Here the scientists are writing William Carlos Williams The Red Wheelbarrow perhaps without realizing it, and I cant help but squint into the article for any sign of a nod toward the humanities.

Have they finally glimpsed, I wonder, the connectedness and symbiotic co-evolution of their own scientific ideas with those of the worlds writers? Have they learned to describe in their own quantifying language that cradle from which both our disciplines have emerged and the firmament on which they both stand  the hearing and telling of stories in order to exist? Have they quantified the quality of all existent matter, living and not: that all things inherit a story in data to tell, and that our stories are told by the very forms we take to tell them?

Is there a universal basis for selection? Is there a more quantitative formalism underlying this conjectured conceptual equivalencea formalism rooted in the transfer of information?, they ask of the worlds disparate phenomena. The answer to both questions is yes.

Yes. Theyve glimpsed it, whether they know it or not. Sing to me, O Muse, of functional information and its complex diversity.

Form follows function follows form

The principle of complexity evolving at its own pace when left to its own devices, independent of time but certainly in a dance with it, is nothing new. Not in science, nor in its closest humanities kin, science and nature writing. Give things time and nourishing environs, protect them from your own intrusions and  living organisms or not  they will produce abundant enlacement of forms.

This is how poetry was born from the same larynxes and phalanges that tendered nuclear equations: We featherless bipeds gave language our time and delighted attendance until its forms were so multivariate that they overflowed with inevitable utility. And this is why the two were conjoined from birth, poetry and physics: A world lacking either is a world in which humans could not survive.

In her Pulitzer-winning Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, nature writer Annie Dillard explains plainly that evolution is the vehicle of such intricacy in the natural world, as much as it is in our own thoughts and actions.

The stability of simple forms is the sturdy base from which more complex, stable forms might arise, forming in turn more complex forms, she explains, drawing on the undercap frills of mushrooms and filament-fine filtering tubes inside human kidneys to illustrate her point.

Utility to the creature is evolutions only aesthetic consideration. Form follows function in the created world, so far as I know, and the creature that functions, however bizarre, survives to perpetuate its form, writes Dillard. Of the multiplicity of forms, I know nothing. Except that, apparently, anything goes. This holds for forms of behavior as well as design  the mantis munching her mate, the frog wintering in mud.

Dillards conclusion should have been cited in the paper, given how close it lands to the scientists mark. She notes that, of all forms of life weve ever known to exist, only about 10% are still alive. What extravagant multiplicity.

Intricacy is that which is given from the beginning, the birthright, and in the intricacy is the hardiness of complexity that ensures against the failures of all life, Dillard writes. The wonder is  given the errant nature of freedom and the burgeoning texture of time  the wonder is that all the forms are not monsters, that there is beauty at all, grace gratuitous.

Our many swirling eddies

This paper, and the reason why I'm so proud of it, is because it really represents a connection between science and the philosophy of science that perhaps offers a new lens into why we see everything that we see in the universe, lead scientist Michael Wong told Motherboard in a recent interview.

Wong is an astrobiologist and planetary scientist at the Carnegie Institute for Science. In his teams paper, that bridge toward scientific philosophy is not only preceded by a long history of literary creativity but directly theorizes about the creative act itself.

The creation of art and music may seem to have very little to do with the maintenance of society, but their origins may stem from the need to transmit information and create bonds among communities, and to this day, they enrich life in innumerable ways, Wongs team writes.

Perhaps, like eddies swirling off of a primary flow field, selection pressures for ancillary functions can become so distant from the core functions of their host systems that they can effectively be treated as independently evolving systems, the authors add, pointing toward the elaborate mating dance culture observed in birds of paradise. Perhaps it will be humanitys ability to learn, invent, and adopt new collective modes of being that will lead to its long-term persistence as a planetary phenomenon. In light of these considerations, we suspect that the general principles of selection and function discussed here may also apply to the evolution of symbolic and social systems.

The Mekhilta teaches that all Ten Commandments were pronounced in a single utterance. Similarly, the Maharsha says the Torahs 613 mitzvoth are only perceived as a plurality because were time-bound humans, even though they together form a singular truth which is indivisible from He who expressed it.

Or, as the Mishna would have it, the creations were all made in generic form, and they gradually expanded.

Like swirling eddies off of a primary flow field.

O Lord, how manifold are thy works!, cried out David in his psalm. In wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches. So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts.

In all things, then  from poetic inventions, to rare biodiverse ecosystems, to the charted history of our interstellar equations  it is best if we conserve our worlds intellectual and physical diversity, for both the study and testimony of its immeasurable multiplicity.

Because, whether wittingly or not, science is singing the tune of the humanities. And whether expressed in algebraic logic or ancient Greek hymn, its chorus is the same throughout the universe: Be fruitful and multiply.
Linda and Joe Rodriguez of Fontana take photos of Christmas lights at the historic Mission Inn Hotel & Spa in Riverside in 2021. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

The Mission Inn Museum could lose its home at its namesake's historic confines in Riverside if the hotel and the foundation that runs the museum cannot agree on lease terms.

Since 2000, the museum, run by the Mission Inn Foundation, has been housed within the Mission Inn Hotel & Spa, which was built in 1902 and over the years has hosted several U.S. presidents and celebrities including Albert Einstein, Amelia Earhart, Clark Gable and Harry Houdini.

The hotel, run by the Historic Mission Inn Corporation, has been named a National Historic Landmark.

"The Mission Inn Foundation and Museum is being threatened with eviction from the Mission Inn hotel, our home of over 30 years," the foundation said in a news release.

The museum hosts historical artifacts relating to the mission and offers guided tours of the grounds to guests as well as students.

"If the Mission Inn Foundation is evicted, this may all end," the foundation said.

Last week, the foundation launched a GoFundMe campaign for a legal fund that, as of Friday, has gathered $1,110 toward its $10,000 goal.

Read more: 'I've never seen anything like this': Death Valley gleams with water, wildflowers and color

A Change.org petition in support of the museum had gathered 850 signatures as of Friday.

The foundation claims that when the site was sold by the city to private buyers, "the Mission Inn Foundation was specifically written into the sales agreement to ensure that the community would retain access to its most treasured landmark."

The foundation was to "retain museum space within the hotel, retain the right to give tours and to conduct other museum services for 50 years."

The situation, however, is more complicated due to a move made by the state in 2013.

The museum has occupied its space under a 22-year lease agreement made in 2000 between Riverside's now-dissolved redevelopment agency and the Mission Inn Corporation, according to a statement from the city. The lease agreement included two renewal options, each for 10 years.

The redevelopment agency then subleased the space to the museum at no charge.

But in 2013 the local redevelopment agency and hundreds of others across the state were thrown out of business by the California Legislature. Authorized by law since 1945, redevelopment agencies used a portion of property tax money to partner with developers to encourage development in blighted areas.

The state Legislature voted in 2011 to abolish the agencies in order to bolster state tax revenues for schools and public safety agencies. The action was later upheld by the California Supreme Court.

Cities were allowed to form "successor agencies" to complete business started by the defunct redevelopment agencies but could not enter into any new business.

As a result, in 2022, when the successor agency in Riverside attempted to exercise its option to renew its lease with the Mission Inn hotel, state regulators denied its bid.

Read more: L.A. City Council approves new West L.A. homeless facility

"The request to renew the lease was denied, with the (State) Department of Finance stating, 'Pursuant to HSC section 34163(c)(1), successor agencies shall not renew or extend the term of leases,'" the city said in its statement.

The city said it has attempted to work with the hotel and the foundation for two years to either relocate the museum and "generally facilitate a good outcome." But now the outlook for the museum looks uncertain.

"To date ... these efforts between the Mission Inn and the Mission Inn Foundation have not borne fruit," the city said.

On Sept. 29, the Mission Inn Foundation was served with a notice to vacate the premises.

The Historic Mission Inn Corporation has made "numerous" new lease offers, which the foundation has rejected, Patrick OBrien, an attorney for the corporation, told the Press-Enterprise.

The Mission Inn Hotel & Spa did not immediately return a request for comment.

Karl Hicks, board president of the Mission Inn Foundation, told the Press-Enterprise that the offer was a single, five-year lease with no renewal options and "nothing after that."

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Arcapita Group Holdings, the global alternative investment firm, is currently managing $1 billion of industrial real estate assets, making it one of the largest industrial real estate platforms in the GCC region. The firm is expected to double its GCC logistics AUM by 2025 to reach $2 billion.

Arcapita embarked on its GCC industrial strategy in 2010 by establishing a series of portfolios and funds dedicated to industrial assets.

The Bahrain-headquartered firm grew its assets under management (AUM), by acquiring a diversified base of properties tenanted by a wide range of occupiers including blue-chip international companies, regional leaders, and local players.

Today, Arcapitas logistics real estate portfolio, principally across Saudi Arabia and the UAE consists of a combined built-up area of over 3.5 million sq ft across more than 30 properties, leased to over 80 tenants.

Arcapitas report on the kingdoms logistics ecosystem, published today (October 22) and sent to its investors, highlights the growing demand for industrial real estate assets underpinned by an estimated growth in e-commerce of 21% from 2022 to 2027.

The report titled Opportunities and Insights: Saudi Arabia's Growing Logistics Sector outlines the supply-demand mismatch in Saudi for industrial real estate evidenced by the strong levels of occupancy and year on year growth rates posted across the three main cities of Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam, based on 2023 Knight Frank research.

These fundamentals are also supported by a clear flight to high quality, with a growing number of international occupiers setting higher construction requirements and specifications for industrial facilities that align with international standards.

In Riyadh, the industrial and logistics spaces are mainly concentrated in the south of the city, however, the recent urban expansion in the north and north eastward regions is propelling e-commerce and 3PL players to expand their presence in the new urban centres, it stated.

Similarly, Jeddah is witnessing demand influx mainly from e-retailers given the citys strategic location with maritime access to 260 ports across multiple continents.

Accordingly, investors and developers will need to address the increased demand in both regions and the current supply shortage.

Saudis plans to transform the logistics ecosystem with the recently launched Master Plan for Logistics Centers as part of the Kingdoms broader National Transportation and Logistics Strategy aims to grow the logistics sector and enhance international trade networks within the country and attract global supply chains to ultimately position the Kingdom as a leading global logistical hub.

The master plan aims to develop more than 100 million sq m across 59 logistics centers.

Yousif Al Abdulla, Managing Director and Head of Mena Investment at Arcapita, said: "Industrial real estate, and logistics in particular, present a compelling opportunity for investors to contribute to the kingdoms vision, especially given that the logistics sector sits at the heart of Vision 2030."

"With our extensive experience in Saudi Arabia over the years, Arcapita is well positioned to be at the forefront of the growth opportunity, and our new investments will add significant value to our investors and clients," he noted

Over the past 25 years, Arcapita has managed approximately $6 billion in industrial and logistics real estate transactions globally, including $1 billion in the GCC region, he added.-TradeArabia News Service
(CNN)  When 20-year-old Aya Najame, an Arab Muslim, was a little girl growing up in the northern Israeli port city of Haifa, she would go on cultural exchange trips to Jewish schools to learn about the Jewish way of life. Jewish children would do the same, visiting Najames school to learn about her life.

Arab citizens and permanent residents in Israel make up just over 20% of the countrys population. The roughly 2 million people are distinct from Palestinians living in the occupied West Bank and Gaza  but they are far from a uniform group.

Most are Muslims, but there is also a large Christian Arab minority. And while around 1.5 million hold Israeli citizenship, many of those living in Jerusalem have only permanent residency status and are not full citizens. Some identify as Arabs, some as Palestinians, some as Druze, a religious sect spread throughout Israel, Lebanon and Syria.

Some speak fluent Hebrew and live in mixed communities such as Haifa, while others reside in segregated towns and say they feel like second-class citizens due to discrimination from Israeli authorities. Several hundred chose to serve in the Israeli military each year, even though they are exempt from compulsory service. Many have family in the West Bank and Gaza.

Haifa is not like the rest of Israel, Najame says.

We live together here, Arab people and Jewish people. We work together, we go to the same places, she told CNN.

Haifa is the most comfortable place, Najame said. As soon as you leave Haifa you start feeling more uncomfortable, its (a) little hard to describe it, its just an uncomfortable feeling.

Ashraf Ashkar, a 35-year-old Arab Israeli, works in a restaurant in Haifas Arab Wadi Nisnas neighborhood. He said he has friends who serve in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and friends who were in the areas of Israel that the Palestinian militant group Hamas brutally attacked earlier this month. I speak to them all the time, I have a friend, an Arab, who joined the reserves last week, Ashkar said, adding that Israel is his home.

But he is also acutely aware of his own family history. His ancestors were evacuated from Iqrit, a village north of Haifa, by Israeli forces during the 1948 war. They were told they would be able to come back in a few weeks, but ultimately were not allowed to, Ashkar said. Israels Supreme Court later ruled the eviction was illegal and said the families of Igrit should be allowed to return to their land  but before they were able to do so, the IDF razed the village to the ground in the 1950s.

Its complicated when you are not sure where you belong. I try to avoid thinking about it too much, Ashkar said.

The Hamas terror attacks, which Israeli officials say killed more than 1,400 people in Israel on October 7, and the subsequent heavy Israeli bombardment of Gaza, which Palestinian officials say has killed more than 4,100 in the enclave so far, have significantly ramped up tensions at a time when relationships between some groups were already fraught.

Since December, Israel has been governed by the most right-wing government in its history. Last Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and some opposition leaders joined an emergency war cabinet to manage the war. The governments national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir is an extremist who has been convicted for supporting terrorism and inciting anti-Arab racism. The finance minister is Bezalel Smotrich, who supports abolishing the Palestinian Authority and annexing the West Bank - neither are part of the war cabinet, although they are maintaining their ministerial roles.

BTselem, the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, said that the rhetoric from Gvir and Smotrich has emboldened extremists and led to an increase in attacks on Palestinians, especially by right-wing groups and Israeli settlers. As of mid-September, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported 216 attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank that resulted in injuries, and 582 incidents that resulted in property damage.

CNN has asked the IDF for comment on the rise in the violence, but has not received an answer.

The settlers have been making it clear that they want to go after us. The general environment is one in which were always made to feel as though were the next target. And to be honest, we are the next target, said Diane Buttu, a Palestinian-Canadian lawyer who lives in Haifa and has previously served as a legal adviser to the Palestinian side in peace negotiations.

She said that after the Hamas attacks, hate speech towards Palestinians reached new levels. You hear statements like people are human animals and they should be finished off, she told CNN.

Buttu said that as a Palestinian in Israel, she feels like she is by default considered a threat. The only way that Im not part of the human animal group is if I denounce (terrorism) first. I have to prove my humanity to them but I never ask Jewish people to denounce the settlers violence, to denounce those attacks, she said. I never ask them to prove that they are not settlers.

Naim Khoury can relate to a feeling of being watched with mistrust. The 39-year-old lawyer, who lives in Haifa, said the fallout from the brutality of October is being felt even there, in a city usually considered a case study of successful coexistence.

Some people look at us with suspicion now because we are Arabs. And being an Arab means being a terrorist, he told CNN. But we condemn terrorists, we condemn everything they have done and we (mourn) every life lost.

Khoury said that he has many friends who serve in the military and the police, and yet even they sometimes face similar suspicion.

In Haifa, we always try to preserve the good relations and to have this coexistence and so its very sad that every time anything to do with security happens, Jews are automatically asking me, What do you think about it as an Arab, are you okay with this? he said.

What rights?

Abu Nader has been running a small cafe in Jerusalems Old City for 49 years, in the same building where he was born and has lived his entire life.

Like many Palestinians here, he is a permanent resident of Israel, but not a citizen. He told CNN he was never interested in getting citizenship. What for? Rights? What rights? he told CNN.

Nader has seven children  five daughters and two sons  and 24 grandchildren, some of whom live in other parts of the city, which means they are sometimes not allowed to come and visit him. When tensions rise, as they often do in Jerusalem, Israeli police sometimes restrict access to the Old City, only allowing in Palestinians who have a permanent address there or are over a certain age.

Buttu said that the restrictions on the movements of permanent residents are just one example of discrimination  adding that even those who hold citizenship can be targeted.

There are all these laws that either directly or indirectly discriminate against Palestinians who hold Israeli citizenship, including laws that prevent me and others from moving into certain towns, she said, referring to an Israeli law that allows villages and towns in certain regions to operate admission committees. They have the power to bar people from moving in if they are deemed to be not suitable to the communitys social-cultural fabric.

The law was expanded this year and now applies to settlements of 700 households, up from 400 previously. Adalah, an NGO that focuses on the rights of the Arab minority in Israel, said the expanded version of the law covers 41% of all localities and 80% of the states territory.

As a Palestinian living in this country, your whole existence is either carving out a safe space where you live and work in an area that you know, where youre safe, where you can speak Arabic, where your political views are known and where you dont have to measure your words, or you totally assimilate to the other side. Anywhere in between is the space of total discomfort, Buttu said. But even when you totally assimilate, theres still a question mark.

The coffee Nader serves in his cafe is strong and very sweet, made in cezve, traditional long-necked copper pots.

Some people call it Turkish coffee, some call it Jerusalem coffee or Palestinian coffee or Israeli coffee  when I am in the mood, I call it Palestinian coffee, he said, watching a spoonful of sugar bubble up from the bottom of the pot. When I am not in the mood, I call it Jerusalem coffee  to avoid the politics

This story was first published on CNN.com, "The war has forced Israels Arab citizens to explain that no, they are not Hamas"
Mitch McConnell offered a strong endorsement on Sunday of the Joe Biden White Houses $106bn aid proposal to Israel and Ukraine, saying he and the president were essentially in the same place on the issue.

McConnell, the powerful Republican leader in the Senate, also rebuffed some of his GOP colleagues in the Senate who have called for a package separating assistance for the two countries, saying it would be a mistake during an interview on CBSs Face the Nation.

Related: Biden sends $106bn aid request to Congress for Israel, Ukraine and Gaza

The Republican leader offered significant backing to the White Houses $106bn request, including $14bn in assistance to Israel, $60bn in aid to Ukraine and another $14bn to improve security on the US Mexico border. An additional $10bn would be allocated to humanitarian relief as well as an additional $7bn to the Indio-Pacific region.

Nine Republican senators wrote a letter to McConnell on Thursday saying that Ukraine and Israel aid should not be paired together. These are two separate conflicts and it would be wrong to leverage support of aid to Israel in an attempt to get additional aid for Ukraine across the finish line, the group wrote.

McConnell rejected that view on Sunday.

I view it as all interconnected, he said during the interview. If you look at the Ukraine assistance, lets  lets talk about where the money is really going. A significant portion of its being spent in the United States in 38 different states, replacing the weapons that we sent to Ukraine with more modern weapons. So were rebuilding our industrial base, he said.

He added: No Americans are getting killed in Ukraine. Were rebuilding our industrial base. The Ukrainians are destroying the army of one of our biggest rivals. I have a hard time finding anything wrong with that. I think its wonderful that theyre defending themselves.

During a speech to the nation on Thursday, Biden also made his case for why the two issues were connected. The president said Hamas and the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, represent different threats, but they share this in common: they both want to completely annihilate a neighboring democracy  completely annihilate it.

If we walk away and let Putin erase Ukraines independence, would-be aggressors around the world would be emboldened to try the same. The risk of conflict and chaos could spread in other parts of the world  in the Indo-Pacific, in the Middle East, especially in the Middle East.

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken , also said on Sunday that Israel had restored some water and power access to Gaza.

Israel turned on one of the pipelines six or seven days ago  there are a couple of other pipelines that wed like to see restored, the USs top diplomat said during an interview on NBCs Meet the Press.

Blinken also noted that 20 trucks that were recently allowed in to Gaza provided clean water, saying: Were getting more that we hope will be moving as early as today.

We do have concerns about the spread of disease as a result of people drinking dirty water, he said. This is a work in progress. Its something were at all the time.

Blinken also said Israel had no intention of governing Gaza long term after the war.

Israel cannot go back to the status quo, he told NBC. At the same time, what Ive heard from the Israelis is absolutely no intent  no desire to be running Gaza themselves. They moved out of Gaza unilaterally, unconditionally a couple of decades ago. But they cant be in a position where theyre constantly under threat of the most horrific terrorist attacks coming from Gaza. So, something needs to be found that ensures that Hamas cannot do this again, but that also does not revert to Israeli governance of Gaza, which they do not want and do not intend to do.

While McConnell backed Bidens aid plan, he did not offer support for Jack Lew, whose nomination to be ambassador to Israel has been held up by Republicans. McConnell said: He is a very controversial nominee because of his relationship with the Iran nuclear deal, which was opposed by everybody in my party.

The 81-year-old senator also dismissed a question from CBSs Margaret Brennan about whether there was more that should be disclosed about his health after multiple cases in which he froze up while speaking in public. Im in good shape, completely recovered and back on the job, he said. He also said he was concerned about increasing threats of violence members of Congress have received.

Additionally, McConnell said the US House needed to fill its vacant speakership before 17 November, when funding for the government is set to expire. We need one because the House cant do anything without a speaker, he said. And its a  its a problem, but I hope its gonna get solved pretty quickly.

Both Blinken and the defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, on Sunday said the US expected the Israel-Hamas war to escalate through involvement by proxies of Iran. They asserted that the Biden administration was prepared to respond if American personnel or armed forces become the target of any such hostilities.

This is not what we want, not what were looking for. We dont want escalation, Blinken said. We dont want to see our forces or our personnel come under fire. But if that happens, were ready for it.

The Associated Press contributed reporting
Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., steered away from speaking in depth about his health in a televised interview on Sunday, saying he has recovered and is back to work. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI

Oct. 22 (UPI) -- Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., steered away from speaking in depth about his health in a televised interview on Sunday, saying he has recovered and is back to work.

McConnell, 81, was interviewed by CBS's Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation, where he discussed U.S. aid for Israel and Ukraine and briefly commented on his health. He publicly experienced two health scares earlier this year when he appeared to freeze up while speaking to the press.

"I'm fine. I'm completely recovered, and I'm just fine," McConnell said Sunday. "I'm in good shape, completely recovered and back on the job."

McConnell dismissed further questions about his ability to continue to serve in the Senate, redirecting Brennan to the topic of foreign policy.

In July and again in August, McConnell was responding to reporters as his speech trailed off and he stood frozen for some time. When this happened the second time, a spokesperson said McConnell was feeling "momentarily lightheaded."

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell McConnell publicly experienced two health scares earlier this year when he appeared to freeze up while speaking to the press. Photo by Jemal Countess/UPI

McConnell also spent time in a rehabilitation center earlier this year after falling and suffering a concussion and a broken rib.

The senator said he supports President Joe Biden's $105 billion request for aid to Israel, Ukraine and U.S. border security. Biden sent the request to lawmakers on Friday after speaking to the nation Thursday evening.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he supports President Joe Bidens $105 billion request for aid to Israel, Ukraine and U.S. border security. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI

Several Republican lawmakers urged McConnell and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to reject bundling aid to Ukraine and Israel. McConnell said he views the conflicts as "interconnected."

"I view it as all interconnected," he told Brennan. "If you look at the Ukraine assistance, let's - let's talk about where the money is really going. A significant portion of it's being spent in the United States in 38 different states, replacing the weapons that we sent to Ukraine with more modern weapons. So we're rebuilding our industrial base."
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Sunday offered his strong support of President Joe Biden s proposal to bundle $106 billion in aid for both Israel and Ukraine.

When asked about Republicans who resist the joint aid during an interview with CBS  Face the Nation , McConnell said he viewed Ukraine and Israel as interconnected.

I know there are some Republicans in the Senate, and maybe more in the House, saying Ukraine is somehow different. I view it as all interconnected, he said.

If you look at the Ukraine assistance, lets talk about where the money is really going. A significant portion of its being spent in the United States in 38 different states, replacing the weapons that we sent to Ukraine with more modern weapons, McConnell continued. So were rebuilding our industrial base.

.@LeaderMcConnell says "a significant portion" of Ukraine aid from Congress is being spent in states to make weapons.



"We're rebuilding our industrial base. The Ukrainians are destroying the army of one of our biggest rivals. I have a hard time finding anything wrong with that." pic.twitter.com/24janX3kbr  Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) October 22, 2023

On Friday, Biden sent to Congress a request for $106 billion to provide assistance to Ukraine and Israel in their respective wars. The aid additionally aims to help victims in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip, offer more security for Indo-Pacific countries dealing with Chinas influence, and bolster security at the U.S.-Mexico border.

In a prime-time Oval Office address on Thursday, Biden said the budget request was urgent and would fund Americas national security needs.

History has taught us that when terrorists dont pay a price for their terror, when dictators dont pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos and death, and more destruction. They keep going, and the cost and the threats to America and the world keep rising, the president said.

On Sundays Face the Nation, McConnell said that, while he doesnt align with Bidens domestic policies, he is in agreement with the presidents perspectives on foreign policy.

Were generally in the same place, the Republican leader said of Biden.

McConnell also noted that Ukraines efforts to defend itself against Russia were beneficial for the U.S. since Ukraine is going after Russias army.

The Ukrainians are destroying the army of one of our biggest rivals. I have a hard time finding anything wrong with that. I think its wonderful that theyre defending themselves, McConnell noted.

CBS Margaret Brennan also asked McConnell whether he had any health issues to disclose to the public after several health scares this year, including being hospitalized for a concussion and appearing to freeze at several press conferences.

Im in good shape, completely recovered and back on the job, McConnell told Brennan, before asking her to discuss more policy and not his health.

After @LeaderMcConnell had health episodes in public following a concussion, @margbrennan asks if there's anything about his health "the public should know that wasn't disclosed."



"I'm in good shape, completely recovered and back on the job," McConnell says. pic.twitter.com/Coi528ssxi  Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) October 22, 2023

Related...
"We don't want any foreign military boots on Maldivian soil I promised this to the people of the Maldives and I will live up to my promise from day one."

Dr Mohamed Muizzu, who won the Maldives presidential election last month, is wasting no time in asking India to get its troops out of the country.

The president-elect, who is due to be sworn in later in November, told the BBC in an exclusive interview that he met the Indian ambassador a few days after his victory and "told him very clearly that every single Indian military personnel here should be removed".

The Maldives has long been under India's sphere of influence and Mr Muizzu's demand is likely to trigger diplomatic tensions between Male and Delhi.

In fact, when Mr Muizzu won the Maldives presidential poll, that was seen as a setback for India - especially as his opponent, the incumbent Ibrahim Mohamed Solih - had drawn his country closer to Delhi since taking over in 2018.

The alliance backing Mr Muizzu portrayed this relationship - strengthened by Mr Solih's India-first policy - as a threat to the Maldives' sovereignty and security.

Mr Muizzu's alliance favours closer ties with China, which has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the Maldives in the form of loans and grants for infrastructure and development projects.

But India, which wants a foothold in the strategically located islands to monitor a key part of the Indian Ocean, has also provided about $2bn in development assistance to the country.

If its troops are forced to leave, it will be a blow for Delhi.

Mr Muizzu's (C) victory was seen as a setback for India

But a furore over "gifts" that Delhi gave the Maldives - two helicopters received in 2010 and 2013 and a small aircraft in 2020 - has given the "India out" campaign a huge boost.

Delhi said the craft were to be used for search and rescue missions and medical evacuations.

But in 2021, the Maldivian defence force said about 75 Indian military personnel were based in the country to operate and maintain the Indian aircrafts. This fuelled suspicion and anger as many felt the reconnaissance aircraft were being used as an excuse to put Indian boots on the ground.

Mr Muizzu also says that the presence of these troops could put the Maldives at risk - especially as tensions between India and China escalate along their Himalayan border.

"Maldives is too small to get entangled with this global power struggle. We will not get entangled into this," he said.

Speaking to the BBC before the presidential poll, the outgoing president Mr Solih said fears about the presence of Indian troops were exaggerated.

"There are no militarily active overseas personnel stationed in the Maldives. Indian personnel currently present in the country are under the operational command of the Maldives National Defence Force," he said.

But it's not just the aircraft. Mr Muizzu said he wanted to review all the agreements the Maldives has signed with India in recent years.

"We don't know what's in there. Even in Parliament, some of the MPs during the debates said that they didn't know what's in there. I am sure we will find it out," he said.

Soon after his victory, observers noted that the Chinese ambassador in Male was quick to congratulate Mr Muizzu.

Chinese President Xi Jinping also weighed in, saying he attached "great importance to the development of bilateral relations and stands ready to work with President-elect Muizzu to carry forward the traditional friendship, deepen practical cooperation".

Mr Muizzu has also spoken highly of Chinese infrastructure projects in the Maldives, saying the investments had transformed Male city and brought benefits to its residents.

However, he has denied being a "pro-China" candidate as opposed to the "pro-India" Mr Solih.

"I am a pro-Maldives person. For me, Maldives comes first, our independence comes first" he said. "I am not pro or against any country."

Despite this, however, his opposition alliance includes the party of former president Abdulla Yameen who was instrumental in moving the Maldives closer to China.

When India and Western lenders were not willing to offer loans to Yameen's administration due to allegations of human rights violations, Yameen - who is currently serving a 11-year prison sentence for corruption - turned to Beijing who offered him the money without any conditions.

He then joined President Xi's Belt and Road Initiative - which aims to build road, rail and sea links between China and the rest of the world.

Mr Muizzu was seen as a proxy of Yameen - who was barred from contesting the election.

Soon after he won the election Mr Muizzu asked the current administration to move Yameen from a high-security prison to house arrest in the capital Male.

But given Yameen's uneasy and tense relationship with Delhi, it could well be a struggle for Mr Muizzu's new alliance to balance ties with India.

Mr Muizzu sounds keen to emerge out of the shadows of Yameen and is all set to charter a new path both domestically and in the country's foreign affairs.

Given his decisive victory he may not face much resistance internally, at least in the initial stages.

He sounds determined to take the Maldives out of India's orbit but convincing Delhi to withdraw its troops may be his first big challenge.
This column appears every other week in Fosters Daily Democrat and the Tuskegee News. Given that this is mostly what the world is focused on right now, Guy Trammell, an African American man from Tuskegee, Alabama, and Amy Miller, a white woman from South Berwick, Maine, talk about the border wall and immigration.By Guy Trammell Jr.

On Oct. 28, 1886, President Grover Cleveland dedicated the 305-foot Statue of Liberty. In 1883, Emma Lazarus had composed The New Colossus to raise money for its pedestal. Her words posted at its base call the statue Mother of Exiles. It reads, cries she with silent lips. 'Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free . . .'"

This cry is in the east calling to Europe, but what about the west coast? Does a cry go out to Asia? Does a cry go southeast to Africa? And should we have a statue at our southern coast, crying to our South American and Caribbean family?

Guy Trammell Jr. and Amy Miller

Booker T. Washington utilized his contacts in the news media and government to stop the African Exclusion Measure that was to be included in the 1915 Immigration Act. Even though African was in the title, the focus was on preventing Caribbean Blacks from becoming citizens.

My family was a home away from home for many Tuskegee Institute students. Three from Indonesia were regularly in our kitchen preparing their delicious cuisine. Betty Dean, a nursing student and niece of my mothers Detroit friend, had meals at our table and even did babysitting for my mother. Betty later transferred to a school in New York.

While studying on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, I was offered employment with the Forestry Service by one of my professors. As enticing as it was, with the socialist governments free medical care, my refusal to be a Canadian immigrant possibly prevented my experiencing their racially discriminatory Crows Nest (Jim Crow) and Monkey Cage business practices.

With sections of the U.S. border wall costing upward of $46 million per mile, construction of the wall will continue over property stolen from land owners by government lawsuits. It endangers the environment and wildlife, and enables smugglers to victimize more asylum seekers. It saps funding from many truly needed initiatives to become an albatross for future generations.

There are no plans I know of for a northern border wall.

Wall advocates fear immigrating Black and Brown bodies because these darker bodies will be the minority majority in the U.S. by 2043. But its not about immigration. These darker bodies have been citizens for generations and birth more children than other Americans. Growth is inside the border.

Emma Lazarus had it correct. The Statue of Libertys lips are silent. There is no welcome for exiles to come to America and breathe free.

By the way, Booker T. Washingtons defeat of the African Exclusion Measure permitted Marcus Garvey to become a U.S. citizen. Garveys teaching prepared a young New York minister to meet and marry Betty Dean, who became Betty Shabazz. Her husband was Malcolm X.

By Amy Miller

The governor of Texas sent buses of undocumented immigrants to New York City last year. He wanted New Yorkers to know what it feels like to have so many people pour across your borders with no home, no work, no papers.

York and its mayor were overwhelmed by the roughly 80,000 people suddenly living in their city. Its easy to welcome immigrants of any size, shape or legality when they are not in your backyard. But perhaps the lesson the border states would like to teach the non-border states is not the lesson we must learn.

Every baby, we must agree, is born equally deserving of a good life. I just cant imagine a reason why a baby born in El Salvador or Syria or anywhere else is less deserving of health and happiness than my babies were. But borders have always been largely about the luck of the draw.

That worked when borders were closed and people lived mostly unaware of alternative possibilities. Now, about two-thirds of the world has access to the internet and smart phones, and even in places like Haiti, the poorest place in the hemisphere, folks are often connected. And by the way, two-thirds more than the portion of people on earth who have adequate indoor plumbing.

The global economy, climate change and a World Wide Web that truly is worldwide are all making a mockery of national boundaries.

People from Pakistan to Paraguay know there are folks living better lives somewhere else, often at their expense. Borders that once were barriers to movement as well as information have been eroding as quickly as the shores of the Fiji Islands.

Residents of coastal communities around the world know that their land is disappearing as a result of greenhouse gases created thousands of miles away by people living lives far more comfortable than their own. Whether or not we build more walls along the border with Mexico, people worldwide are watching how we and other wealthy nations live, and they do not like what they see. As people in other countries face brutal leaders, fallout from climate change and the suffering of their hungry children, they will continue to march toward our borders, whether by air, by land, or by sea. If we don't create a more equitable and environmentally healthy planet as the numbers grow, no wall will be high enough.

Amy and Guy can be reached at colorusconnected@gmail.com

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Commentary: We need to do more for those yearning to breathe free
After the UK voted to leave the European Union and the government negotiated for British travellers to become third-country nationals subject to a range of restrictions, British passport holders must now have their travel documents inspected and stamped.

The next steps, which are likely to be introduced in autumn 2024, will involve more red tape. The good news: passport stamping will end. The bad news: every traveller must be fingerprinted and provide a facial biometric.

The European Union is planning to introduce an Entry/Exit System (EES) that will record the movements of non-EU visitors. Shortly afterwards  in the spring of 2025, according the latest plan  prospective UK visitors to the Schengen area will have to apply online for permission to enter.

The Schengen area comprises most of the 27 remaining members of the European Union (but not Bulgaria, Cyprus, Ireland or Romania), plus Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

The Electronic Travel Information and Authorisation System (Etias), informally known as a eurovisa, will be the next step in tightening frontier controls. It depends upon EES being fully functional. When it is introduced, the 7 (6) permit will be valid for three years.

What is the Entry/Exit System?

The Entry/Exit System is an automated IT system for registering citizens from third countries, which means everywhere outside the EU and Schengen area.

The system is aimed at such travellers when they either enter or leave at an external Schengen border  such as flying from the UK to Spain or crossing by road from Greece to Turkey. (It will not be used for internal frontiers within the Schengen area.)

EES will register the date and place of entry or exit, plus fingerprints and a facial biometric.

This system, says the European Union, will replace the current system of manual stamping of passports, which is time-consuming, does not provide reliable data on border crossings, and does not allow a systematic detection of over-stayers.

British travellers, like other third-country nationals, are restricted to 90 days stay in any 180 days within the Schengen area. But enforcement of this currently depends on checking passport stamps and is applied haphazardly.

When will it start?

Originally EES was due to start in 2021. But the body responsible for implementation  the European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (EU-LISA)  has repeatedly pushed back the date because the database is far from ready.

In October 2023, the European Councils Justice and Home Affairs Council endorsed a new timeline for the roll-out of EES,.

The council said in a statement: The new roadmap for the delivery of the new IT architecture foresees that the Entry/Exit System will be ready to enter into operation in autumn 2024. It was originally expected to take effect in 2021.

How will the biometric checks work?

Outbound and inbound passengers will go through the formalities at airports abroad, in a similar way to US immigration, though both on the way in and out of the Schengen area.

Some EU members have expressed alarm at the extra time involved in the new processes, with the Slovenian government warning: It takes up to four times longer to do the new process.

For terrestrial travellers it could be even worse.

Giving evidence to Parliament about the new system, Tim Reardon, head of EU exit for the Port of Dover, said: There is no such thing as an e-gate for a car, and there is no such thing as an e-gate process for people travelling as a group. Theyre all one-at-a-time processes.

There is no way of doing a biometric control without getting everyone out of the vehicle.

Thats the one thing on our site which cannot happen, because youre in the middle of live traffic. It would be equivalent to asking people to get out of their car at a motorway toll booth. Its fundamentally unsafe and it cant happen.

Gareth Williams, strategy director for Eurostar, which runs trains to France from London, said: We dont currently see a practical solution. If we take the peak of August, up to 80 per cent of people will have to go through the system.

We do have a very extreme space challenge. At a minimum we would require over 30 kiosks, and an area about the size of our entire check-in area at St Pancras.

The rules will not apply to EU citizens.

Is Etias a visa?

Officially, no. Europe says that Etias is a pre-travel authorisation system. It is a similar concept to the US Esta and Canadian eTA, which are not technically visas.

Its key function is to verify if a third-country national meets entry requirements before travelling to the Schengen area, says the EU.

But as Etias requires visitors to apply in advance, provide lots of personal information, pay money (7/6 for all applicants aged 18 to 70), and be issued with a permit to cross a border, I contend that it amounts to a normal persons understanding of a visa.

How will I apply?

When finally the EU is ready, at the heart of the system will be an Etias app and website (etias.eu). Travellers will be required to submit personal information including name, address, contact details in Europe and passport data. It will also require occupation (with job title and employer. Students will be required to give the name of their educational establishment).

There will also be questions about the travellers state of health, particularly any infectious diseases. They must also give details of any serious convictions in the past 20 years.

Travellers must also provide online the reason for their journey (holiday, business, visiting family, etc), specify the country they will first arrive in, and provide the address of their first nights stay  which will pose a problem for tourists who like to make plans as they go along.

What happens to the information?

Every application will be checked against EU and relevant Interpol databases, as well as a dedicated Etias watch-list.

The system will be tuned to pick out individuals suspected of being involved in terrorism, armed robbery, child pornography, fraud, money laundering, cybercrime, people smuggling, trafficking in endangered animal species, counterfeiting and industrial espionage.

How long will it take for a decision to be made?

The intention is that 95 per cent of applications will be approved within a few minutes. But if an application is flagged  ie there is a hit with one of the databases  then a decision could take as long as four days.

It may result in a straight rejection of permission, or require the applicant to attend an interview at a consulate of the first country they intend to visit.

In a case of mistaken identity, will I be able to appeal?

Yes. Details of how to appeal will be included with the notice of rejection.

Once I have an Etias, am I guaranteed admission to the Schengen area?

No. Mere possession of a travel authorisation does not confer an automatic right of entry, says the EU. As with the US, travellers can be turned away for any reason.

Do I need to apply for an Etias every time I travel to Europe?

No. The permit will be valid for three years, or until your passport runs out. It is not yet clear whether you will need to go online and announce your travel plans before each visit to the European Union.

Will I need an Etias to travel to Ireland?

No. The Common Travel Area incorporating the UK, Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands transcends European Union rules, and in any event, Ireland is not in the Schengen area.

What about people without internet access?

They will be expected to get a friend or family member to make the application for them, in the same way as the US Esta and similar schemes.

Just remind us about the 90/180 day rule?

As an example of what it means: if you were to spend the first 90 days of 2024 (January, February and almost all of March) in the Schengen area, you would not be able to return until late June.

Is this all because of Brexit?

No. Work on strengthening the European Unions external border was already under way before the UK referendum on membership in June 2016.

Etias would not be relevant if the UK was still in the EU. But the nation voted to leave the European Union and the British government negotiated for British travellers to be classified as third-country nationals  triggering extra red tape.
WASHINGTON  In addition to articles already covered by Native News Online, here is a roundup of other news released from Washington, D.C. that impacts Indian Country recently.

HHS and Pfizer Reach Agreement to Increase Patient Access to Paxlovid

Beginning in November, the antiviral therapy used to fight a COVID-19 infection known as Paxlovid, will transition to the commercial market.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) prioritizes maintaining affordable access to Paxlovid for Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries throughout this process, which has been secured in a new agreement with Pfizer.

The HHS Press Release on the agreements states that it will provide free access to Paxlovid for those in Medicaid and Medicare and for the uninsured. The agreement also creates a stockpile of the drug for future emergencies and expiration date extensions.

Dept. of Labor Seeking Candidates for the Native American Employment and Training Council

The Department of Labor (DOL) is seeking nominations from representatives of tribal governments and American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian organizations that have expertise in the areas of workforce development, secondary and post-secondary education, health care, human services, veteran services, business and economic development, and job sectors growth to join the Native American Employment and Training Council (NAETC).

The NAETC provides guidance to the Secretary of Labor on Native American programs under Section 166 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and advises the Secretary on matters that promote the employment and training needs of Native Americans.

Urban Indian organizations (UIOs) interested in joining the NAETC are encouraged to submit nominations.

DOJ Wants Tribes to Participate in the National Prescription Drug Take Back Day (Oct. 28)

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Invite Tribes to ij the National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on October 28, 2023.

The national effort aims to provide a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs, while also educating the public about the potential for medication abuse. On October 28, individuals and communities can bring unwanted or expired prescription drugs to local collection sites (locate the closest one to you here). DOJ and DEA have also partnered to create a toolbox of downloadable posters, handouts, and other materials to encourage participation in the event.

Tribes wishing to participate should contact their state DEA liaison (found here) for coordination purposes and collection resources.

SAMHSA Tribal Opioid Response Consultation

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is consulting with tribes on the Tribal Opioid Response (TOR) grant funding methodology. Specifically, SAMHSA is seeking tribal input on alternate funding methodologies for the program.

The agency has prepared a series of guiding questions to facilitate the consultation, which are reviewable in this Federal Register announcement. The virtual consultation will take place on November 9 at 2:00pm EST. Written comments may also be submitted until 5:00pm EST on November 23 to otap@samhsa.hhs.gov.

About the Author: "Native News Online is one of the most-read publications covering Indian Country and the news that matters to American Indians, Alaska Natives and other Indigenous people. Reach out to us at editor@nativenewsonline.net. "

Contact: news@nativenewsonline.net
Why object to photographs?

Keeping Nazis out of businesses may be hard, but taking pictures of them and publishing those pictures so everyone knows who they are is not. (Oct. 11, 2A, Nazi-clad groups spread flyers, seen at taco restaurant) Doing so leads to their identification, which lets people know where they work and leads to consequences.

There cant be too many employers in Fort Worth who would willingly employ Nazi sympathizers, and if those guys are willing to openly walk around wearing Nazi gear, they should not object to people knowing who they are. You know, courage of your convictions and all.

- Jeff Murray, Fort Worth

No shirt, no shoes, no hate

I was disappointed to read Nicole Russells How do we balance free speech, Nazis in a Fort Worth taco shop?(Oct. 15, 4C). She writes, Is it a persons right to eat Torchys tacos in Nazi attire? Sure.

I disagree. People have a right to express their views in a variety of ways, including protesting in public spaces and writing columns. But it doesnt mean they can inflict hate speech upon a private business.

The Original Fort Worth Gun Show knew how to handle such a situation and escorted the Nazis out.

Private businesses have the right to protect their customers. No shirt, no shoes, no service. What about swastikas?

- Glenn Hutchinson, Fort Worth

Standing up for free speech

Thank you, Nicole Russell, for your commentary about free speech and the people showing up in public wearing swastikas. I appreciate the depth of your writing. Thank you for not looking the other way.

- Romona Dunlap, North Richland Hills

Need to label the hard left

I have been dismayed with the news medias use of far-right and hard-right in descriptions of politicians. I cannot remember seeing the media use similar adjectives to identify left-wing politicians. If you believe there are no such politicians, just think about those supporting open borders, defunding police, our extreme federal deficit, pornography in schools or unlimited abortion. The adjectives far and hard fit very well here.

- J. Mark Bronson, Fort Worth

We need to band together

I am writing to hail Bud Kennedys Oct. 15 column Nazi wannabes part of bigger problem  its time to speak up (1C) and to thank the Star-Telegram for publishing it.

All of us as American citizens can help change this atmosphere. Nazis are not good people.

- Mary Weathers, Fort Worth

Time to work for peace now

The suffering of my fellow human beings in Israel and Palestine throws me into despair. As an American, I have the urge to get all parties to stop the senseless violence. As an Ahmadi Muslim, I strongly denounce the murder of innocents, including women and children. The holy prophet of Islam forbade harming women, children and elderly in an all-out war, let alone this war playing out in the streets of Palestinian and Israeli cities.

The current fighting is an injustice in itself, but what of the slow and perpetual injustice over the last 50-plus years? The question we should ask ourselves is, Where would we be today if the plight of the Palestinians had been addressed years ago?

It is not too late to make a renewed effort for peace based on justice for all sides.

- Alamzeb Khan, Montgomery

Good schools help all Texans

Perhaps we should limit the Texas school voucher amount to what a person pays in school taxes. I pay them and have no children in schools. I want my tax dollars to go to excellent public schools.

- Fred Darwin, Arlington
SAN FRANCISCO - Are you prepared for disaster if it strikes today? That was the goal of the San Francisco Fire Department on Saturday when it held drills to train residents on disaster preparedness.

About 50 volunteers came out to St. Ignatius Prep Academy in San Francisco. Those volunteers broke in small groups and went through a number of real-world disaster scenarios, ranging from earthquake situations to medical emergencies.

"I heard about the program, I thought it was a great way to meet my neighbors," said Gary Pegueros, a volunteer with the Neighborhood Emergency Response Team, or NERT.

NERT came to be after the Loma Prieta earthquake 34 years ago, which the last time San Francisco was rocked by a "big one," and it operates under the guidance of the SFFD. Volunteers say the experience is meaningful because they learn how to help their first responders, neighbors, and families.

Volunteers work together through obstacles while carrying a dummy on a stretcher. In another group, they worked as a team to walk on planks.

"There are actually some life things I've taken away from this: Never go into a situation, like a house that's burning, alone. Always have a partner," said Sarah Merrell, another NERT volunteer.

Your neighbors are training to know what to do in a disaster, come join them!

Thank you @StIgnatius for hosting @SFFDNERT! pic.twitter.com/agdSCVEw9V  SAN FRANCISCO FIRE DEPARTMENT MEDIA (@SFFDPIO) October 21, 2023

Having a partner is crucial said one SFFD official.

"We want them to have the team concept of leaning on one another for help, then we practice skills such as cribbing, triage, and other emergency medical preparedness things," said SFFD Captain Brandon Tom. "It hits home because my parents are still here, my sisters are still here, my whole family is here. If I get called away at an earthquake or a disaster, I'll be working, and I need someone there to take care of my family."
Israeli soldiers sit on a Merkava tank as they man a position at an undisclosed location on the border with Lebanon (Jalaa MAREY)

Hezbollah will make "the mistake of its life" if it starts a war with Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday, as tensions rose on the Israel-Lebanon border.

His remarks came during a visit as the Israeli leader visited troops near Israel's northern border with Lebanon where increasing artillery exchanges have heightened fears of a new front opening as Israel battles Hamas in Gaza.

Israel's defence ministry on Sunday ordered the evacuation of another 14 communities near the border, adding to dozens that have already been told to evacuate.

Should Hezbollah try and get involved, it would be "the mistake of its life," Netanyahu said.

"We will strike it with a force it cannot even imagine, and the significance for it and the state of Lebanon will be devastating."

Hezbollah is an ally of the Islamist Hamas movement which sparked the war with its October 7 rampage that killed at least 1,400 people in Israel, according to authorities.

Israel has retaliated with relentless strikes on Hamas in the Gaza Strip that have killed more than 4,650 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry.

In parallel, it has exchanged fire with Hezbollah across its northern border.

Since October 7, the cross-border exchanges have left at least 36 people in Lebanon, according to an AFP tally -- mostly combatants but also at least four civilians, including a Reuters journalist.

Another four people have been killed in Israel, including three soldiers and one civilian. Israel has evacuated dozens of its northern communities while several thousand Lebanese have fled border regions for the southern city of Tyre.

- 'A very dangerous game' -

On Sunday, the army said its forces "identified a terrorist cell attempting to launch anti-tank missiles toward the Avivim" border area saying they had "struck the cell before it was able to carry out the attack".

And an anti-tank missile was fired at an Israeli tank in the Har Dov area -- Israel's term for the disputed Shebaa Farms district -- without causing casualties or damage, with the tank returning fire, it said.

Lebanon's official National News Agency said Israeli aircraft overflew south Lebanon on Sunday and Israel had bombed various sites along the border.

The tit-for-tat attacks have so far been relatively contained, but analysts have warned that Hezbollah could scale up its activity if Israel launches a ground invasion of Gaza.

Hezbollah's number two Naim Qassem on Saturday said the group could step up its engagement.

But Israeli army spokesman Jonathan Conricus warned that Hezbollah was playing "a very, very dangerous game".

"They're escalating the situation. We see more and more attacks every day," he said.

"Is the Lebanese state really willing to jeopardise what is left of Lebanese prosperity and Lebanese sovereignty for the sake of terrorists in Gaza?"

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Sunday that diplomatic efforts were under way to "stop Israeli attacks on Lebanon" and prevent the Gaza conflict from spreading, saying Beirut's allies were making "every effort to return the situation to normal".

However, Lebanon was developing an emergency response plan "as a precaution", he added.

Iran-backed Hezbollah fought a war with Israel in 2006 that left more than 1,200 dead in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and 160 dead in Israel, mostly soldiers.

burs/hmw
(CNN)  Israels military said it would increase its aerial bombardment of Gaza, and carried out a rare airstrike in the occupied West Bank, as it signaled it was readying for a new phase of war against Hamas.

As the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) prepares for a potential ground operation, it has amassed huge numbers of troops outside Gaza and pounded the densely populated enclave with near-constant airstrikes since Hamas deadly October 7 attack on Israel.

We will increase our strikes, minimize the risk to our troops in the next stages of the war, and we will intensify the strikes, starting from today, Daniel Hagari, an IDF spokesman, said Saturday, adding that a ground offensive in Gaza would be launched when the conditions were right.

We continue to destroy terror targets ahead of the next stage of the war, and are focusing on our readiness to the next stage, he said.

The IDF on Sunday launched an airstrike on the Al-Ansar mosque in the Jenin refugee camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which it said was being used by militant groups to plan for an imminent terror attack. It wound not say whether the strike came from a jet, in what would be the first fighter jet strike in the West Bank in nearly two decades.

Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, and IDF spokesman, told CNN that the military had intelligence that suggested there was an imminent attack coming from a joint Hamas and Islamic Jihad squad, which was making preparations from an underground command center beneath the mosque.

Three people were killed in the Israeli strike, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said in a statement on Sunday.

Since the war erupted two weeks ago, violence has flared in the occupied West Bank, where Palestinians have been killed in confrontations with both Israeli forces and settlers.

Two people were killed following clashes in the West Bank cities of Toubas and Nablus, bringing the death toll in the occupied Palestinian territory to at least 90 since October 7, the Palestinian Health Ministry said Sunday.

Ground incursion looms

In Gaza City, the IDF dropped leaflets written in Arabic that warned residents to evacuate to the south or face the possibility of being considered a partner for the terrorist organization, according to a CNN translation.

In a statement, the IDF confirmed it had dropped the flyers, but said there was no intention to consider those who have not evacuated from the affected area of fighting as a member of the terrorist group.

The IDF treats civilians as such, and does not target them, the statement added.

Israeli war planes have been pounding Gaza, leveling entire neighborhoods, including schools and mosques. Israel says it strikes Hamas targets and that the group has used civilians as human shields.

As of Saturday, Israeli airstrikes have killed more than 4,300 people in Gaza, including hundreds of women and children, according to the Hamas-run government media office in Gaza.

More than 1 million residents in northern Gaza have been told by Israel to leave their homes and move to the south.

Israel has also ordered the evacuation of more than 20 hospitals in northern Gaza where thousands of patients are being treated, according to the United Nations and the Palestinian Red Crescent, which say the order could be tantamount to a death sentence.

We do not have the means to evacuate them safely. Most of the patients are with critical injuries, Nebal Farsakh, a Red Crescent spokesperson, told CNN Sunday, adding that the hospitals are under the threat of being bombed at any second due to Israeli evacuation orders. The organization said on Friday that the Israeli military issued three evacuation orders for the Al-Quds Hospital.

The IDF has said it does not target hospitals, though the UN and Doctors Without Borders say Israeli airstrikes have hit medical facilities, including hospitals and ambulances.

Israel has offered no timeline for the possible ground offensive on Gaza, but military officials have repeatedly told troops an incursion is imminent.

The Israeli Military Chief of Staff, Herzl Halevi, told IDF commanders Saturday that the military will initiate an operation to destroy Hamas.

Well enter the Gaza Strip. Well embark on an operational and professional task to destroy Hamas operatives and infrastructures, the chief said in comments to the Golani Brigade of the IDF.

The United States and its allies have urged Israel to be strategic and clear about its goals during any ground invasion of Gaza, warning against a prolonged occupation and placing a particular emphasis on avoiding civilian casualties.

During his visit to Israel last week, US President Joe Biden asked some hard questions about Israels ground invasion strategy, a senior US official told CNN, adding: were not directing the Israelis, the timeline is theirs  their thinking, their planning.

Meanwhile, the US military is sending more missile defense systems to the Middle East and placing additional US troops on prepare-to-deploy orders in response to escalations throughout the region in recent days.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said Saturday he had activated the deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery as well as additional Patriot battalions to locations throughout the region to increase force protection for US forces.

The order for troops to prepare for deployment is meant to increase their readiness and ability to quickly respond as required, he said.

Both the THAAD and Patriots systems are air defense systems designed to shoot down short, medium and intermediate ballistic missiles.

Catastrophic humanitarian situation

Conditions in Gaza have become increasingly dire following two weeks of bombardment and a complete siege by Israel, which was unleashed in response to a rampage by Hamas that killed more than 1,400 people in Israel.

Hamas fighters have also abducted about 210 people into Gaza as hostages, according to an estimate released Saturday by the IDF. Two American hostages, a mother and her 17-year-old daughter, were released Friday.

A humanitarian aid truck entered the border from Egypt to Gaza through the Rafah crossing on Sunday, a day after the first convoy of 20 trucks carrying food, water, medicine and medical supplies was allowed through following intense diplomatic efforts.

Seventeen aid trucks were preparing to enter the strip through the Rafah crossing on Sunday, the Egyptian Red Crescent said.

God willing, I am now entering the crossing, or in a few minutes. God willing, to deliver this aid and will go in and out safely, God willing, Ali Shousha, one of the drivers waiting to cross into Gaza, told CNN.

But aid workers and international leaders have warned that much more is needed to combat the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the enclave that is home to more than 2 million people.

WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has stressed that the needs are far higher than the aid people in Gaza have received.

The Ministry of Health in Gaza said the initial aid convoy constituted only 3% of the daily health and humanitarian needs that used to enter the Gaza Strip before the aggression.

From Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, head of the Palestinian National Initiative Mustafa Barghouti said Gaza needs 7,000 trucks of immediate aid, adding, 20 trucks will not really change much.

None of those 20 trucks brought fuel to the enclave, raising concerns as it is needed to run hospitals and to desalinate or treat water, according to aid agencies.

Citing an acute shortage of food, water, power, and medical supplies that is pushing civilian lives in Gaza to the edge of catastrophe, the UNs World Food Programme (WFP) said it urgently requires $74 million to sustain its emergency response in Gaza for the next 90 days.

The appeal came in a Palestinian Territories situation report Saturday that said the coastal enclaves stores have food reserves of less than a week and that the ability to replenish these stocks is compromised by damaged roads, safety concerns, and fuel shortages.

Three WFP trucks were part of the convoy of that moved through the Rafah crossing into Gaza on Saturday. Another 40 WFP trucks are waiting at Al-Arish, Egypt, to enter Gaza, the report said.

Wider conflict

As it prepares for the next stage of war, the Israeli military has warned other regional actors against getting involved in the conflict.

Conricus, the IDF spokesperson, said Sunday the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah is playing a very dangerous game that could drag Lebanon into a war that it will gain nothing from.

Conricus said Hezbollah has been attacking Israeli positions near the Lebanon border, which had led to both civilian and military casualties.

In response, the IDF has used tanks, drones, artillery, and infantry to strike various Hezbollah infrastructure, as well as Hezbollah squads manning anti-tank missiles, he added.

On Sunday, Israels Ministry of Defense and the IDF announced the expansion of a state-funded evacuation plan to 14 additional communities in northern areas near the border with Lebanon. The evacuation, which is voluntary, was initially rolled out on Monday for 28 communities. Around 123,000 civilians had been evacuated from their homes in northern and southern Israel as of Friday.

Meanwhile, Syrian state news agency, citing an unnamed military source, reported that Israel had targeted airports in the capital Damascus and the northern city of Aleppo at around 5:25 a.m. on Sunday morning, damaging runways and putting both out of service. The agency reported that one worker at Damascus airport was killed and another injured, and all air traffic was being diverted to the city of Latakia.

The IDF told CNN it had no comment on the report.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Israel warns Gaza airstrikes will intensify and hits West Bank ahead of wars next stage."
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that French President Emmanuel Macron and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte will visit Israel this week.

Netanyahu's office said in a statement that the two leaders "will arrive on Monday and Tuesday" and meet with him.

(Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; editing by John Stonestreet)
President Joe Biden is making a new case to the American public for shipping arms, ammunition and other military supplies to the wars in Ukraine and Israel.

His argument: many of those supplies are made in America  and that's good for American jobs.

In an Oval Office address Thursday seeking more than $106 billion in aid for Israel, Ukraine and other priorities, Biden linked the fight against Russias invasion to the attacks by Hamas. But he also underscored that much of the Ukraine funding hes seeking would never leave the United States.

That argument  which namechecked 2024 battleground states Pennsylvania and Arizona  comes as Biden makes a reelection pitch centered on his efforts to create jobs and revitalize domestic manufacturing in sectors such as clean energy and semiconductor fabrication. The agenda, known as "Bidenomics," has been met with skepticism from voters, according to polls, but the president appears set on putting it at the core of his reelection campaign.

And now that message includes arms manufacturing. The administration is pushing to ramp up the defense industrial base to pump out more artillery shells, missiles and other weapons for the U.S. and allies. The newest aid proposal, released Friday, includes $61.4 billion for Ukraine, of which $30 billion is for direct Ukrainian military aid.

Let me be clear about something, Biden said. We send Ukraine equipment sitting in our stockpiles. And when we use the money allocated by Congress, we use it to replenish our own stores, our own stockpiles with new equipment.

Equipment that defends America and is made in America. Patriot missiles for air defense batteries, made in Arizona. Artillery shells manufactured in 12 states across the country, in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas. And so much more, he said. You know, just as in World War II, today patriotic American workers are building the arsenal of democracy and serving the cause of freedom.



For Democrats who have been eager to see Biden more actively selling the war supply effort to weary voters, the made-in-America angle is a welcome sign of political vigor. They acknowledge, though, that it is not a sure-thing political wager.

"To anybody that actually wants to, in good faith, make the decision, it's certainly a really important and, I think, persuasive argument that this is about American jobs. It's about helping actually bolster our entire defense manufacturing enterprise, said Rep. Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.). But I fear, and past behavior has shown, the MAGA extremists aren't actually making this decision in good faith. They're making it based on Russian propaganda that's been propagated by Trump and everybody else.

So I don't know that it sways, unfortunately, the people who you'd want to sway, he lamented.

While Biden's message might resonate with some voters, it's not getting much traction with House Republicans who oppose more aid, at least not yet. Interviews with House GOP lawmakers on Friday showed that even those who feel Ukraine aid is justified arent buying Bidens argument.

Obviously the supply chain is important, but the president and people in his Cabinet need to sit down with members and lay down the strategy in Ukraine  and thats the problem, said House Defense Appropriations Chair Ken Calvert (D-Calif.), an ally of Ukraine aid. One thing Ive learned here is going to war, once it starts, its hard to end. We learned that in Iraq, we learned that in Afghanistan, and so whats the strategy? How does this end?

Bipartisan majorities in both chambers still support arming Ukraine, but a smaller $24 billion package Biden proposed has languished on Capitol Hill since August. House Republicans are increasingly opposed to new funding, and many GOP lawmakers argue Biden hasnt properly justified the funding and laid out an endgame for the war.

"I'm glad somebody finally told Biden to talk about what the hell Ukraine aid is doing, Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas), a Ukraine aid supporter, said of noting that much of the funding is spent in the U.S. That's helpful and it's absolutely a requirement for some people. It's also not true of some kinds of aid, especially humanitarian aid."

Ukraine funding remains a politically toxic issue for House Republicans. Further aid is unpopular with the GOP base and opposed by figures such as former President Donald Trump, making it difficult for many lawmakers to support.

Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), a Ukraine aid supporter, said Bidens argument might reach some voters, but there are Republican lawmakers who hell never reach on Ukraine.

Two months after the invasion when Biden [said] weve got to go all in and help  we have a certain group of people that whatever Biden says theyve got to do the opposite, Bacon said. You could tell that was the turning point. Biden came out and said we want to do this and they were like, not any more.



Ohio Republican Rep. Warren Davidson sponsored legislation that failed in July, which would have required the administration to define its mission in Ukraine. Wherever the aid is manufactured, he said, the administration needs to be more transparent about where the aid is going and the strategy in supporting Ukraines fight.

What's the objective? You don't have to commit to achieving it, you just have to tell me what you're trying to achieve? Davidson said. And then I think we do need some more accountability. The American people are very suspect of where it's going. They want a little more accountability.

Ukraine has been striking Russian logistics hubs using Lockheed Martins Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System, or GMLRS, that are partially made in Lufkin, Texas  a city of 34,000 people that saw its paper mill and foundry close over the last two decades.

Its represented by Republican Rep. Pete Sessions, a Ukraine aid supporter, who said Friday that the U.S. has an obligation to protect Ukraine under its post-Cold War security commitments. He was turned off by Bidens economic appeal.

Thats the politics, but the reality is we need to do it because its the right thing, Sessions said. Hes stuck, and I dont fault him for trying to take a middle road.

The U.S. has awarded hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System launchers that fire GMLRS and are made in Camden, Ark., a town of about 10,000 people thats 100 miles south of Little Rock.

Republican Rep. Bruce Westerman, who represents Camden, said critics of government spending can be surprised to know some of that spending is going back to communities like his.

I actually had some constituents text me last night and say $100 billion is a lot of money to give away, and I made the point that a lot of that equipment is made in my district, Westerman said. Something that even gets missed on foreign food aid is that its a lot of money coming back to American producers and manufacturers.

You cant divorce it from the fact that its government spending that wouldnt otherwise be happening, but it is government spending going back into local communities that are making this equipment.

A bigger driver for House Republicans to back Ukraine aid may ultimately be whether they can extract border security concessions from Biden and Senate Democrats. Bidens supplemental request includes $13.6 billion for security efforts at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Republicans are also seeking border policy changes from the administration, and see a Ukraine funding request as an opportunity for leverage.

"I'd be really surprised if Republicans wanted to let Russia win more than they wanted our own border secure, Crenshaw said. So I think that is the grand bargain that needs to happen."
WASHINGTON  President Joe Biden Friday sent Congress a detailed request to spend $106 billion in the coming year to help Ukraine and Israel defend themselves, help war victims in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip, counter China in the western Pacific and improve security at the Mexican border.

We expect them to act and to act swiftly, Shalanda Young , director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, told reporters Friday morning.

How quickly Congress realistically can act is an open question, given the lack of a speaker in the GOP-run House. Indeed, Youngs letter to the House is addressed to Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry, even though under that chambers rules it is unclear whether the North Carolina Republican has the authority to move legislation.

Young said the White House was not trying to get involved in that question. That is a matter for the House to work out, she said.

Young and national security adviser Jake Sullivan provided dollar figures behind the announcement Biden made in a rare Oval Office address Thursday night that he would submit an urgent budget request to meet U.S. national security needs.

Of the total, more than half  $61.4 billion  would go for military assistance to Ukraine as it attempts to repel Russian dictator Vladimir Putin s year-and-half-old invasion. Another $14.3 billion is earmarked for military help to Israel, including improved air and missile defense systems, while $9.2 billion would go to humanitarian assistance for war victims in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip.

President Joe Biden walks from the Oval Office towards Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on Oct. 13.

President Joe Biden walks from the Oval Office towards Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on Oct. 13.

A total of $4 billion is dedicated to countering Chinas influence in the Indo-Pacific region, with half of that for military aid to Taiwan and others, with another $3.4 billion dedicated to boosting the United States submarine capacity.

Another $13.6 billion would go for addressing the surge of migrants at the southern border with Mexico, enough for 1,300 more border patrol agents, 1,000 more law enforcement officers, 1,600 more asylum officers and 375 more immigration judge teams.

Young said Republicans who have been complaining about the border again have an opportunity to do something about it, just as they did after the White House asked for $4 billion previously. We will not be lectured by those who refuse to act, she said.

Young said how much of the money dedicated to humanitarian assistance would go specifically to Gaza  whose 2 million residents now are under siege and daily bombardment by Israel as it seeks to root out and kill Hamas operatives  is not specified in the budget request.

Humanitarian is always flexible. Things happen that we need to be able to respond to, she said. Youve already seen a commitment from this administration in making sure humanitarian aid gets to those in Gaza, so that aid will continue robustly.

In describing the military assistance to Ukraine  which many Republicans have come to oppose over the past year  Sullivan pointed to Bidens argument from his remarks Thursday that weapons going to Ukraine are coming from existing U.S. stockpiles, so that new spending is actually staying in the American economy and helping American workers.

Beyond that, Sullivan said the United States has an interest in stopping aggression to deter others from starting wars of expansion.

We have to send the unmistakable message that in the 21st century, a dictator cannot be allowed to conquer or carve up his neighbor, Sullivan said. Putin is betting that the United States will walk away from defending a democratic partner in Ukraine, walk away from the coalition of countries that it built over the last 18 months, and Joe Biden and the American people are going to prove Vladimir Putin wrong.
Mike Lindell, the election fraud conspiracy theorist and ardent Trump supporter, is selling Wi-Fi monitoring devices after claiming that the signals at polling stations are creating voter tampering. Election officials in Northern Kentucky have said that Lindells devices are illegal, likely a felony, and voted that poll workers will be instructed to not allow the devices. Lindell, the CEO of MyPillow, is banned from X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, for spouting election fraud conspiracies. He reportedly collected donations from the Election Crime Bureau Summit back in August for the devices, which he said would be sold for less than $500. Kenton County Clerk Gabrielle Summe said that Lindells devices are particularly dangerous because they are small enough to sneak into the polls and could illegally identify voters. These are the kinds of things that keep me up at night, Summe said.

Read it at The nquirer

Read more at The Daily Beast.
Republicans in Tennessee's Congressional delegation continue to support House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, even after two failed bids to secure enough votes to become U.S. House speaker.

Jordan said on Thursday he would not seek a third vote for the speakership immediately, instead endorsing expanding the powers of Speaker Pro Tem Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., in order to pass critical business.

Speaker Pro Tempore Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., presides over the House of Representatives as House lawmakers vote to elect a new speaker in Washington on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. House Republicans nominated the chair of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, to the speakership last week. Jordan's chances of earning 217 votes, the number needed to become speaker, are unclear.

A growing coalition in the Republican Conference backs empowering McHenry, who has served as interim speaker since former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy , R-Calif. was ousted earlier this month, to serve as temporary speaker.

But by the end of the day, as it became clear that there is no path forward for McHenry as temporary speaker, Jordan renewed his candidacy for the job.

All eight Republicans in the U.S. House had backed Jordan through the second vote Wednesday  and two reiterated their support for Jordan as discussions continued Thursday.

Here's where they stand:

Rep. Mark Green  Still Jim Jordan

U.S. Rep. Mark Green, R-Clarksville, was one of Jordans earliest supporters and has advocated publicly for him throughout the last week. He continued to back a Jordan speakership, even after Jordan announced support to temporarily install McHenry in the post.

It is clear that my constituents agree with what I said to my colleagues earlier today: Just two votes in four days is not enough," Green said in a statement to The Tennessean. "We went through 15 rounds for Speaker McCarthy, we need to stay here until we elect Jim Jordannot empower a Speaker Pro Tem in the meantime.

Rep. Andy Ogles  Still Jim Jordan

U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Columbia, also continues to back Jordan for speaker. He has vocally advocated for the Republican conference to unite around Jordan this week.

"We cannot let interpersonal politics compromise our party's core values. Backing the motion to empower the interim Speaker is akin to endorsing Speaker Jeffries, and it distorts the very Constitution we pledged to uphold while blatantly disregarding the voices of our constituents," Ogles said in a statement Thursday.

"The Washington establishment is at it again," he said. "I made a vow to oppose such tactics, and I remain steadfast in upholding my oath to protect and preserve our Constitution."

Rep. Tim Burchett  unknown

After voting to oust former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy earlier this month, U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Knoxville, supported Jordan in floor votes on Tuesday and Wednesday. His office did not respond to a request for comment for this story.

Rep. Scott DesJarlais  unknown

U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais, R-South Pittsburg, had voted for Jordan on Tuesday and Wednesday. His office did not respond to a request for comment for this story.

Rep. Diana Harshbarger  unknown

U.S. Rep. Diana Harshbarger, R-Kingsport, had voted for Jordan on Tuesday and Wednesday. Her office did not respond to a request for comment for this story.

Rep. Chuck Fleischmann  unknown

After initially supporting Majority Leader Steve Scalise, U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Ooltewah, voted for Jordan on Tuesday and Wednesday. His office did not respond to a request for comment for this story.

Rep. David Kustoff  unknown

U.S. Rep. David Kustoff, R-Germantown, voted for Jordan on Tuesday and Wednesday. His office did not respond to a request for comment for this story.

Rep. John Rose  unknown

U.S. Rep. John Rose had voted for Jordan on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Vivian Jones covers state government and politics for The Tennessean. Reach her at vjones@tennessean.com or on X and Threads @Vivian_E_Jones.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: US House speaker race: Where TN Republicans stand on Rep. Jim Jordan
As part of our jobs, we read. A lot. But sometimes we make time to read for pleasure, and we in The Stars Opinion department thought wed share whats on our bookshelves with you from time to time: fiction, nonfiction, memoirs and other tomes. Wed love to hear what you are reading. Send your favorites to oped@kcstar.com

Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror edited by Jordan Peele

In honor of the month of October and Halloween, Im reading a new anthology written by African American authors, and edited by horror master Jordan Peele (Get Out, and Nope.) I ordered the hard copy and the audiobook, which is nice, because the authors read their own stories. My favorite chapter so far is The Rider, from the inimitable Tananarive Due, about Freedom Riders in the South and the horror of a swamp. Expect the African American experience mixed with horror, just like Jordan Peele prefers. Warning: Dues chapter is tame, but others in the book have graphic violence, sexual imagery and profanity.

Yvette Walker, Opinion editor

Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe

This is an excellent overview of The Troubles, the three-decade war in Northern Ireland between the Irish Republican Army -- which wanted to unite with the rest of Ireland -- and the territorys British government. Though it has nothing to do with the current Israel-Hamas war, the parallels are striking: Enemies live side-by-side who for familiar reasons (history, religion, colonization, political ambition) feel entirely justified visiting murder, torture and oppression on each other. Its a process that makes life miserable for the vast number of innocents just trying to get through the day, and breaks the spirits of nearly everybody involved. Its a lesson were doomed to learn over and over again, apparently.

Joel Mathis, regular contributor

How Far to the Promised Land: One Black Familys Story of Hope and Survival in the American South by Esau McCaulley

When I was jet lagged and woke up at 3 a.m. recently, I grabbed a book Id just gotten, hoping that in a few minutes, Id be back in dreamland. But just a couple of chapters into Esau McCaulleys new memoir, I knew I wanted to keep reading even more than I wanted some sleep, so I got up and made coffee instead. Its an old-fashioned view, recently backed up by science, that reading can make us better, more empathetic people. And like a lot of my favorite books, How Far to the Promised Land: One Black Familys Story of Hope and Survival in the American South delivers in that way. McCaulleys storytelling is as real as it gets, and yet the way he treats everyone in his life with hard-earned compassion made me want to follow his example. I never did go back to sleep that morning, and was not even a little bit sorry.

Melinda Henneberger, metro columnist and editorial board member

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

After watching Mike Flanagans excellent The Haunting of Bly Manor on Netflix, I wanted to go back to his source material. So I finally picked up the copy of Henry James novella thats been sitting unread on my bookshelves since college. The classic piece of Gothic fiction builds a palpable sense of dread, even though I knew the ending before I began. Virginia Woolf wrote in 1918 that the governess, one of the books central characters, realizes that the ghosts in the story reveal to her the presence all about her of an unmentionable evil  a theme thats still perfectly contemporary.

Derek Donovan, deputy opinion editor

Sometimes, I forget to stop and breathe.

Earlier this year, I made a promise to myself to take a few moments each morning to reflect and praise God. I begin reading from a daily devotional book given to me by a close family friend. I admit, my daily reading of From the Rising of the Sun, a morning and evening devotional filled with praise for the Lords work, has been hit or miss.

In recent weeks, Ive spent a few moments each day reacquainting myself with Scripture through this book.

With each passage, I feel reconnected with Gods word. In the book, were implored to praise God for our current situation  good or bad. We are given practical solutions to everyday problems and reminders of Gods grace.

For example, a recent morning devotion covered the idea of honoring others we perceive as less than. It read: It is easy to honor, love, and be friends with those that are like us, but it is Christ-like to look for those who may need a friend and make them feel loved and respected by honoring them above yourself.

Powerful stuff.

The passage was pulled from a Romans verse in the Holy Bible: Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.

Over the last few weeks, Ive used this book as a reminder of Gods grace and will. Reading from it regularly has allowed the everyday grind to not overshadow the work of serving others.

Toriano Porter, columnist and editorial board member
A Russian missile hit a Kharkiv depot belonging to the Nova Poshta delivery company. The workers who were there had no chance or time to run to the shelter, as the air-raid warning went off a second before the explosion.

Source: Nova Poshta on Facebook

Quote: "Kharkiv innovation terminal. It had just been hit by a missile. There are dead and injured, some in serious condition. They had no chance to run to the shelter, because the sirens sounded seconds before. Currently, all victims are receiving medical care, we are in contact with hospitals and families of the victims. Although this certainly won't bring our people back. We sympathise with everyone

Tomorrow [22 October  ed] Nova Poshta announces a day of mourning. We will work and honour every dead hero of Nova Poshta. Every person who died in this war."

On Saturday 21 October, a Russian missile hit a depot belonging to the Nova Poshta delivery company in Kharkiv Oblast, injuring 13 people and killing several others.

Earlier in the evening of 21 October, Oleh Syniehubov, Head of Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration, and Ihor Terekhov, the mayor of Kharkiv, reported that Russian troops were launching missile attacks on Kharkiv.

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North Dakota Republican House Majority Leader Mike Lefor, left, and Republican Senate Majority Leader David Hogue, right, prepare for a meeting of Legislative Management, Friday, Oct. 20, 2023, at the state Capitol in Bismarck, N.D. The top legislative panel was making preparations for a special session beginning Monday, Oct. 23, including bill drafts lawmakers proposed for the session, which is primarily for addressing a major budget bill the state Supreme Court voided last month. (AP Photo/Jack Dura)

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP)  North Dakota lawmakers are scheduled to be back in Bismarck on Monday to begin a special session to fix a budget mess after the state Supreme Court struck down a major funding bill last month.

Here is a preview of the issues involved in the special session and what awaits Republican Gov. Doug Burgum and the Republican-controlled Legislature.

WHAT CAUSED THE SPECIAL SESSION?

Last month, the North Dakota Supreme Court struck down a major budget bill as unconstitutional. The bill was mainly intended to fund the state Office of Management and Budget but has typically been used in the past as a catchall or cleanup bill passed at the end of the biennial legislative session.

By embracing too many different topics, the court ruled the measure violated the state constitution's single-subject requirement for bills.

The surprising decision came as a result of a lawsuit brought by the board overseeing the state's government retirement plans. The board targeted a change in the bill that increased the number of lawmakers serving on the panel from two to four and argued it is unconstitutional for legislators to sit on the panel.

Burgum called the special session days after the court refused to delay its decision to give extra time requested by the Legislature to deal with the situation.

HOW DO LAWMAKERS FIX THIS?

The court's ruling blew a giant hole in state government operations, requiring lawmakers to return to Bismarck to essentially resurrect the voided legislation with 14 bill drafts advanced Friday by a top legislative panel.

Burgum has expressed confidence in the Legislature righting the situation by Nov. 1, the next payroll date for state employees. The Office of Management and Budget cannot pay employees until a budget is passed, gubernatorial spokesperson Mike Nowatzki said.

Legal questions also remain about whether certain salary raises could continue to be applied across the state government, Nowatzki said.

The voided bill also included transfers from state government funds, K-12 education aid, a special criminal penalty for supplying drugs resulting in overdose deaths and injuries and details for transitioning the states public employee pension plan to a 401(k)-style plan for new hires.

Burgum's executive order for the special session says the Legislature should complete its business by Friday.

WHAT ELSE WILL THE SESSION ADDRESS?

The panel allowed lawmakers on Tuesday to submit bill proposals for the special session, with more than 25 emerging for consideration, including bills providing tax cuts, maintaining the wild horses in Theodore Roosevelt National Park and allowing raw milk products for sale.

Only one proposal advanced, a resolution in support of Israel during the ongoing war with Hamas.

Most lawmakers have preferred to focus only on the voided budget bill's items and any emergent issues that can't wait until the Legislature regularly convenes in 2025, Republican House Majority Leader Mike Lefor told reporters.

Republican Senate Majority Leader David Hogue has said lawmakers had to manage scheduling conflicts with crop harvests, weddings, overseas vacations and scheduled surgeries in preparing for the special session.

WHAT WILL GOV. BURGUM DO?

Burgum, who is running for president, will be in Bismarck all week except for Wednesday when he is scheduled to deliver a welcome address at an event in Watford City, Nowatzki said.

The governor is preparing to detail his priorities for the special session in a State of the State speech Monday.

Republican legislative majority leaders had negotiated with Burgum for the special session, agreeing to listen to him on subjects concerning energy, tax cuts and infrastructure, but they didnt agree to advance any specific proposals from Burgum, Lefor said Tuesday.

The governors executive order included strategic investments in tax relief and infrastructure among the purposes for the special session, but no proposals along those lines advanced Friday.

The Legislature could have reconvened using the five days remaining from its 80-day limit every two years to meet, but any legislation passed would not take effect for 90 days without an emergency clause for immediate effectiveness upon the governor's signature. Otherwise, bills passed in a special session become effective on the date determined in the legislation.
Madeleine Gavin's documentary 'Beyond Utopia,' which tells the stories of North Korean defectors such as the Roh family and Soyeon Lee, drew rave reviews at the Sundance Film Festival (Michael loccisano)

Earning your subject's trust is never easy for a documentary filmmaker -- but it is even harder when they think you want to kill them.

That was the challenge faced by US director Madeleine Gavin, whose movie "Beyond Utopia" follows newly escaped North Korean defectors as they flee.

These include the Roh family and their elderly grandmother, who Gavin met just weeks after they bolted from their deeply repressive, reclusive homeland, and lifetimes of being fed propaganda.

"I'll never forget the way that she would look at me," Gavin told AFP.

In their minds at the time, "Americans practically only exist to make North Koreans miserable and to kill and attack North Koreans.

"We aren't even human beings... that's what they've been taught."

Soon after the Rohs sneaked across the closely guarded border into China, a local farmer connected them to an "Underground Railroad" for defectors, run by a South Korean pastor whom Gavin happened to be filming.

The pastor arranged for the family to travel in secret through Communist-ruled China, Vietnam and Laos, braving police checkpoints and a treacherous jungle border crossing.

The movie uses footage shot in China by the pastor's "brokers," before Gavin was able to meet and film them face-to-face herself in south-east Asia.

At first, Gavin felt "a deep distrust and suspicion" from the family.

But despite the powerful brainwashing they had endured in North Korea, even the 80-year-old grandmother's attitude quickly began to shift as she saw the outside world with her own eyes.

"She was having none of it... She'd always been told that relative to the rest of the world, North Koreans are the luckiest people on Earth," said Gavin.

"Then to be seeing a world where there are animals, and life, and toilets, even! We were a piece of that puzzle."

- 'The worst thing' -

When Gavin first set out to make her film -- in US theaters Monday -- it focused on North Koreans already living for many years in South Korea.

On arrival in the south, many defectors attend a "resettlement facility" where they are taught about the rest of the world, the lies of Kim Jong Un's brutal regime, and basic modern practices such as how to use an ATM.

But after meeting Pastor Kim Sung-eun, a prominent South Korean missionary involved in the underground network that brings escapees to the South, Gavin restructured the film to chronicle two families as they flee the north.

The documentary follows Soyeon Lee, a mother who has long since escaped North Korea, but is now trying to smuggle out the son she had to leave behind.

Tragedy strikes as he is captured in China, and sent back to North Korea to face punishment.

Filming the mother's anguish "was really the most difficult thing," said Gavin.

"What she has gone through and continues to go through is the worst thing that anyone can go through."

- 'Guilt' -

The other part of the film follows the Roh family as they embark on their harrowing, 3,000-mile overland journey toward Thailand, and freedom.

One slip-up could see them also repatriated to North Korea, lending the documentary a dramatic tension more associated with Hollywood thrillers.

But Gavin also set out to make something "experiential and present tense," which gives a "voice to actual North Koreans," whose country is mainly known to the rest of the world for its nuclear arsenal and terrifying politics.

Even as they flee, the Rohs express a complex mixture of emotions, from wonder and excitement, to anger at what they have long been deprived of, to shame.

Despite witnessing prosperity unthinkable back home, the grandmother "did not let up on the idea that Kim Jong Un was this incredible person, with the most difficult job before him," said Gavin.

"She had enormous guilt for leaving, and that anyone who defects is basically abandoning him, and how heartbreaking it is for him."

Perhaps more powerful still is the family's homesickness for the friends, neighbors, traditions and land they left behind.

The movie includes -- and ends with -- footage secretly shot inside North Korea and smuggled out by the pastor's network, showing everything from the country's barbaric gulags, to the bleakness of everyday life.

"As Grandma says at the end of the film, 'we're so lucky, but it keeps me up at night thinking about the people who are still there,'" said Gavin.

"And so I wanted to leave the film remembering those people. Because those people are there, and they need us to help bring their voices forward."

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Kyiv (CNN)  Over the last week, a secret delivery of American weapons and a cross-river raid have injected much-needed energy into Ukraines largely stalled counteroffensive.

In the east, Ukrainians claim to have inflicted massive losses on Russian forces trying to encircle an embattled city.

Meanwhile in the capital Kyiv, Ukrainian parliamentarians are looking to expunge Russian influence from the church.

Here is what you need to know.

Surprise arrival of US Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS)

A secret US delivery of long-range ATACMS missiles pounded airfields in occupied Berdiansk on the coast of the Azov Sea and in Luhansk in eastern Ukraine on Tuesday, destroying Russian helicopters and a munitions depot.

A video posted by commander in chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi, showed the powerful missile batteries firing, with a caption thanking Ukrainian soldiers for their service and partners for their support.

At a time when US funding for Ukraine remains precarious, the arrival of the ATACMS was a welcome development both on the battlefield and for public morale.

Ukraine has been asking for the missile system for months. Its still unclear when the weapons were delivered or when the decision to supply them was made.

With a 100-mile range, the powerful missiles are likely to disrupt Russian positioning, with most analysts predicting Moscow will be forced to station aerial assets further afield, limiting operational capacity.

For Ukrainians, the move was seen as a strong message of support from the US. Ukrainians are greatly encouraged by the delivery of ATACMS, and our warriors are putting them to good use on the battlefield, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a tweet after a call with US President Joe Biden.

Battles in the east

Fierce fighting has been raging in Avdiivka in the Donetsk region, as Russia continues to encircle the city and Ukraine claims it has delivered massive blows to Russian military personnel and equipment.

Russian forces have launched waves of attacks repelled by the Ukrainian troops who are heavily entrenched in the area.

According to the Ukrainian military, more Russian personnel and tanks were destroyed in a single day on Thursday than any other day since the start of the war. CNN cannot independently verify Ukrainian claims of Russian losses but video shared by unofficial Ukrainian military accounts show intense fighting and destroyed hardware. Zelensky called Russian losses in Avdiivka catastrophic.

Analysts say the Russian aim is to encircle the city and take over an area of high ground near an industrial facility which would give Russia effective fire control over Ukrainian supply routes.

Avdiivka is no stranger to Russian assaults and has been on the front line of the conflict in eastern Ukraine since 2014.

More than 1,600 civilians remain in the embattled city, according to local officials.

Cross-river operation in Kherson

Official details of Ukraines latest cross-river operation are scant. But Ukrainian troops appeared to have crossed the Dnipro River into the Russian-occupied Kherson region, according to pro-Kremlin military bloggers.

Popular Russian military blogger WarGonzo said Friday that fighting on the eastern bank of the Dnipro had continued near the coastal village of Krynky, speculating, Ukrainian troops are trying to gain a foothold and pull up reserves to develop their initiative on the Dnipro bank controlled by the Russian army.

Earlier in the week, Russian bloggers claimed Ukrainian military units had crossed the river, breaking through some Russian defenses and pushing into the villages of Poyma and Pishchanivka on the eastern bank.

Kyiv has not officially commented on cross-river operations in the region.

Ukraine has previously carried out raids on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson. Ukrainian forces first established a bridgehead on the Russian-controlled bank of the river near the Antonivsky Bridge in June and have carried out other raids over the summer.

Church matters

Ukrainian lawmakers have given the initial green light for a bill that seeks to eliminate Russian influence on religion.

The aim of the proposed law is to prevent religious organizations from operating in Ukraine whose governing center is located outside Ukraine in a state that carries out armed aggression against Ukraine.

The bill passed its first reading with 267 votes for and 15 votes against.

While the bill does not specifically name the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), the implications are clear. Kyiv considers the UOC to be an extension of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) and of Moscows influence in Ukraine.

UOC claims to have cut ties with the Moscow-based church since the full-scale invasion. But a Ukrainian government panel of experts did not find any documents or actions that would indicate the transformation of the UOC into a religious organization independent of the ROC.

A UOC cleric called the draft bill scandalous and accused lawmakers of exploiting religion for political intrigues.

The Ukrainian parliament did not ban anyone today. It adopted a truly scandalous bill that contains many provocative provisions that contradict the Constitution, a UOC representative, Metropolitan Klyment, said in a statement.

For the draft to become law, it will need to be voted on a second time in parliament and signed by Zelensky.
The operators of a North Sea drilling platform said it is "secure" despite losing four of its eights anchors during Storm Babet.

Coastguard helicopters airlifted 45 crew members off the Stena Sepy after the alarm was raised during the severe weather, at about 06:45 on Saturday.

On Sunday the company confirmed a further 44 staff remained on the platform and were "safe and well".

The semi-sub drilling unit is 146 miles (235km) east of Aberdeen.

Stena said the non-essential workers were transferred to neighbouring platforms and to Sumburgh on the Shetland Islands.

Those taken off will return to Aberdeen on Sunday.

Two Coastguard helicopters and a search and rescue helicopter were involved in the operation.

A company statement said: "Several anchor handling vessels will travel to the location throughout the next 24 hours to begin attaching tow lines to the drilling unit.

"The Stena Spey is safe and the well remains secure."

It added the weather in the area had improved with three to four metre waves and 11 knot winds.

The company said it was working with the partners and relevant authorities, including the Health and Safety Executive, to resolve the situation as "efficiently and safely as possible".
Norway's King Harald V arrives ahead of the Euro 2024 group A qualifying soccer match between Norway and Spain at the Ullevaal Stadium in Oslo, Norway, Sunday Oct. 15, 2023. (Frederik Ringnes/NTB Scanpix via AP) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

HELSINKI (AP)  Norways 86-year-old King Harald V, who has been in frail health in the past few years, has tested positive for the coronavirus and has mild symptoms, royal officials said on Sunday.

His Majesty the King has been diagnosed with corona and is on sick leave until he is symptom-free. The king has cold symptoms and stays at home, the royal household said in a brief statement.

The Norwegian monarch had also tested positive in March 2022 with mild symptoms. Officials have earlier said Harald had received three COVID-19 vaccine shots but it's not known whether he had received booster shots.

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stre wished the king a speedy recovery in a comment to the Norwegian news agency NTB, which said Harald's son and heir to the throne, Crown Prince Haakon, would take over his duties for now.

The aging monarch, who has been seen using crutches in various occasions, has been hospitalized several times in recent years.

In August 2022, he spent three days with a fever at a hospital, and in December the same year, he was again admitted for an infection that required intravenous antibiotics.

In October 2020, the king underwent surgery to replace a heart valve after being hospitalized with breathing difficulties.

Despite health problems, he has been attending major public events in Norway and its Nordic neighbors. In September, Harald attended celebrations in Stockholm marking the 50th anniversary of Swedens King Carl XVI Gustafs accession to the throne.

In May, the monarch, who was released from a hospital just days earlier, appeared on the royal castles balcony in Oslo to salute the thousands of children marching by as the country celebrated its Constitution Day.

The king is Norways head of state but holds no political power, so his duties are ceremonial. Harald ascended to the throne following the death of his father, King Olav, in 1991.
Henya Chein has always been terrified of guns. The Orthodox Jewish artist and mother of two felt uneasy about her husbands decision to buy a handgun after they moved to Florida from New York last year.

I would just block it out of my mind that its in the house, Chein, 26, said.

But after watching the events unfold in Israel, shes taken steps she never imagined herself ever taking. Chein attended a gun safety seminar at her synagogue last week followed by a one-on-one session at a local shooting range.

Even at the range, I just wanted to drop the gun and run back home, Chein said. I was so scared, and Im terrified of it.

But she said she felt forced to do it because Jewish people are not safe anywhere now.

The deadly terrorist attack in Israel and the torrent of social media threats that followed have forced many American Jews to reconsider their long held stances against owning or using guns.

Follow live coverage from NBC News here.

Firearm instructors and Jewish security groups across the country say they have been flooded with new clientele since Hamas assaulted Israel on Oct. 7. And gun shop owners in Florida say they have seen more Jews purchase firearms in recent weeks than ever before.

Weve definitely seen a tremendous increase in religious Jewish people, Orthodox people, purchasing firearms, said David Kowalsky, who owns Florida Gun Store in the town of Hollywood, and also offers firearms training classes. Ive seen a surge in interest in individual training as well as group training.

David Kowalsky, 48, owner of Florida Gun Store, stands for a portrait in his shop in Hollywood, Fla. (Scott McIntyre for NBC News)

Kowalsky, who is Jewish, said local synagogues had reached out to him to host gun training seminars and shooting sessions in the past week. At one gun safety seminar he hosted this past week, Kowalsky said most participants were new to guns.

These are mothers, teachers, the majority of them are mostly people who have never interacted with firearms or thought about owning them, Kowalsky said. Theres a safety concern. I think people are nervous about whats going on and what can happen.

Rabbi Yossi Eilfort runs Magen Am, a nonprofit in Los Angeles that provides self-defense classes and firearm training to the Jewish community. He said theyve received more than 600 calls in the last week.

We cant put down the phone without picking up the next one, said Eilfort said. The calls for self-defense training, situational awareness training  How do I make my shop or my institution a harder target?  has just been really, really nonstop.

Used bullet shells on the floor of the gun range at Florida Gun Store in Hollywood, Fla (Scott McIntyre for NBC News)

It is not uncommon for targeted groups to seek out self-defense measures after public attacks or threats.

Some American Jews said they had first become interested in gun ownership after a 2018 shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue killed 11 people. A 2022 study from the University of Michigan found that Asian Americans who experienced racism during the pandemic were more likely to acquire firearms and ammunition for self-defense.

But in many Jewish communities, gun ownership is a taboo subject.

The majority of Jews in the country historically have been liberal on the left, pro-gun reform, pro-gun control, opposed to personal gun ownership, said Hank Sheinkopf, a veteran New York-based political strategist who is also an Orthodox rabbi. Jews with guns were always seen as an odd event.

But now, Sheinkopf added, it seems the long held view  of the U.S. being the one place in the world where Jews are safe  is coming to an end.

David Kowalsky's in shadow, while he teaches Mendy Duchman gun safety and proper ways to handle a firearm (Scott McIntyre for NBC News)

Pro-Hamas extremists and neo-Nazis have inundated social media platforms with calls for attacks on Jewish communities and other targets in the U.S. and Europe, prompting U.S. law enforcement agencies to step up their readiness postures, NBC News reported last week. And there have been a smattering of hate crime incidents against Jews in the U.S., including an assault recently of a woman while she was standing on a busy New York City subway platform.

Muslim Americans have also been targeted in recent weeks. In the most high-profile case, a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy was stabbed to death in his Illinois home in what police described as an anti-Muslim hate crime; his landlord has been charged with murder in the attack.

NBC News spoke with more than a dozen Jewish Americans across the country who sought out gun ownership or formal gun training for the first time in response to the Israel-Gaza conflict. Many said they did not feel comfortable publicly sharing their identities out of fear they might be targeted. At least two people said they had received antisemitic death threats on social media.

David Kowalsky, left, and Mendy Duchman (Scott McIntyre for NBC News)

Some also said they feared backlash from people in their communities who may be less receptive to gun ownership.

Endi Tennenhaus, a preschool director and mother of seven living in Hollywood, Florida, helped organize a gun safety training for women at her synagogue this past week. Her husband, who is the synagogues rabbi, had already organized a mens group to go to a shooting range.

I said, What about the women? Im sure some of the women would love to do that as well, recalled Tennenhaus, 41. If all of our husbands are buying guns, we want to make sure we also know how to use them and also to be able to protect our children and be able to keep guns safe in our homes.

Mendy Duchman fires a handgun during a weapon safety training session (Scott McIntyre for NBC News)

She said 25 to 30 women attended the introductory class, and a shooting range session is scheduled for next week.

A 41-year-old Jewish woman living in Miami Beach said she is pro-gun control and had no desire to use a firearm. But she signed up for gun training sessions after receiving death threats from unknown accounts on Instagram, where she had previously posted about being Jewish.

The woman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear for her familys safety, said the threats contained graphic images of dead bodies.

The Florida Gun Store in Hollywood, Fla. (Scott McIntyre for NBC News)

Its not like Hey, Im proud and happy and want to do this, she said of her choice to take firearms training. I have no choice. Its a very sad thing.

Daniel Lombard, a Chicago police officer who also runs DAVAD Civilian Defense, a firearms training company, said he has seen a massive uptick in interest from local Jewish communities.

We are definitely going to be adding classes. Theres no doubt about it, Lombard said.

Eilon Even-Esh, a Marine veteran living in Florida, has hosted a series of emergency safety and gun training sessions for the Jewish community in his county over the past week. He said the calls have been nonstop and the majority of participants are first-time gun users.

Some are concerned, and some are angry, said Even-Esh.

On Monday, he hosted a hastily arranged, late night personal safety training at a local synagogue, which lasted from 10:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.

These are regular people that want to feel safe, he said.

Mendy Duchman, sits for a portrait (Scott McIntyre for NBC News)

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
An NYPD officer accused of having sex with a witness in a carjacking case he investigated was facing termination  until Police Commissioner Edward Caban swooped in and saved his career, the Daily News has learned.

Police Officer Willie Thompson was accused of prohibitive conduct and making false statements after it came to light that he was sleeping with a woman who saw two men carjack a motorist in Washington Heights on May 23, 2021, according to a recently released NYPD disciplinary report.

After a disciplinary hearing in NYPD headquarters Assistant Deputy Commissioner of Trials Jeff Adler recommended in writing that Thompson be fired.

But Caban overruled the recommendation, opting to hit the 15-year NYPD officer with disciplinary probation instead, meaning he would be fired if hes found guilty of misconduct a second time within the next year.

While a severe penalty is warranted for the misconduct, separation from the department is not necessary, Caban wrote in his decision. I approve of the findings, but disapprove the penalty.

Two men had been arrested for the carjacking and the case had been handed over to the Manhattan District Attorneys office when it became clear to prosecutors that Thompson was having some kind of relationship with a witness in the case, according to the disciplinary report.

In July 2021 Thompson accompanied the witness to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Braggs office to talk about a domestic violence case unrelated to the carjacking.

At the time, Assistant District Attorney Yuval Simchi-Levi saw the two in the office behaving in a flirtatious manner as well as laughing and whispering and showing each other messages on their phones, the report states.

But, prosecutors would learn, the relationship soured over the next three months.

Simchi-Levi, the prosecutor, testified at the disciplinary trial that both Thompson and the witness were supposed to meet with him on Sept. 14, 2021 to discuss the carjacking case, but Thompson said she wasnt going to show up. The officer also warned the prosecutor that the witness tends to exaggerate things, the report states.

That morning, Simchi-Levi got a text from the witness who said that Thompson was manipulative and did something he wasnt supposed to do.

The ADA got on the phone with the witness, who admitted that she and Thompson had been having sex. The two got to know each other after their first meeting at the Manhattan DAs office and went out on several dates.

But Thompson was also involved with a woman with whom he had children, she told the ADA according to the report. When the two parted ways, Thompson warned her that if she tried to disclose their relationship, no one would believe her.

Simchi-Levi reached out to Thompson to get his side of the story, and the cop flatly denied the relationship. The next day however, Thompson called the ADA back, admitting to the relationship, according to the report.

As the Internal Affairs Bureau got involved, the witness accused Thompson of cornering her in a bodega near her home and threatening her, claiming this was all happening because of you.

Im under investigation and some officers from the precinct are going to come to your house and talk to you, he threatened, the woman stated.

While Thompson pleaded guilty in the disciplinary proceeding to having a sexual relationship with a witness in a case he was investigating, he denied threatening the woman.

During his disciplinary trial, Thompson shrugged off the relationship, calling his lover a peripheral witness who he did not view as useful for the criminal trial, the report states.

Thompson, a Long Island native, also testified that the witness came on to him first and invited him to hang out. When ADA Simchi-Levi first asked him over the phone if he was having sex with the witness, he denied it because he was in front of his girlfriend and children, he testified.

Adler found Thompson guilty in a disciplinary proceeding of threatening the witness, but exonerated him of making a false claim since he admitted his relationship the next day.

Manhattan prosecutors informed the attorneys of the carjacking suspects about Thompsons dalliance with the witness. The attorneys for the suspects, who were on Rikers Island facing high bail, asked for the bail to be lowered based on Thompsons misconduct, but the application was denied, the report states.

The suspects ultimately pleaded guilty to lesser charges.

In his decision, Adler found Thompsons behavior deeply troubling in a way that damages the reputation and integrity of the department.

Aside from the harm directly caused to the complainant by his egregious conduct and exceedingly poor judgement, (Thompson) has negatively impacted a pending armed robbery prosecution by inexcusably choosing to engage in sexual encounters with a witness, Adler wrote. Because of his behavior (Thompson) has irreparably compromised his ability to handle police investigations in the future.

An attempt to reach Thompson for comment was unsuccessful.

A source with knowledge of the case was surprised by Adlers demands that he be terminated.

The department gets a lot of these complaints, the source said. I dont recall a department judge demanding termination because of it.

Similar to his predecessor, former Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell, Caban is beginning to spark notice for changing recommended penalties against cops accused of misconduct.

Four months before he changed Officer Thompsons decision, Caban altered the penalty recommended for Sgt. Hugh Barry, who shot dead an emotionally disturbed woman in her Bronx apartment back in 2016.

Although Barry was acquitted at a criminal trial, NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Trials Rosemarie Maldonado found him guilty in an administrative proceeding of using poor tactical judgment and setting the killing in motion and recommended his termination.

Caban, who has the final say in all disciplinary matters, agreed with Maldonados recommendation but modified the penalty and allowed Barry to resign after a 30-day suspension, which will allow him to collect his pension in a few years.
An Ohio Sheriffs deputy is off the job after being arrested Saturday.

Franklin County Deputy Nathaniel Wolfe was arrested when he arrived at work at the Jackson Pike Correctional Center, according to our news partners at WBNS in Columbus.

>> 3 people hospitalized after shooting in Huber Heights

Aggravated menacing and assault charges have been filed against Wolfe by Columbus police.

Wolfe allegedly punched a woman and held a gun to her head, according to Franklin County court records.

Wolfe has since been relieved of duty pending the outcome of the criminal charges and investigation.

We hold our deputies to the highest standards, while the deputy is innocent until proven guilty, any breach of trust will not be tolerated, Sheriff Dallas Baldwin told WBNS.
Fishermen in Alabama have possibly broken a state record with a massive blue marlin catch.

A video posted to Facebook by the Mobile Big Game Fishing Club on Oct. 19 shows the fish weigh in at 1,145 pounds at a marina in Orange Beach.

The fish weighed in at 1,145.6 pounds, according to a fishing club.

We dream about fish like this and there is nothing like it, once in a lifetime for sure, angler Scooter Anderson told WKRG.

It took Anderson about two hours to land the massive marlin using a 130 pound test line on the Best Trait boat, according to Orange Beach Alabamas website.

It should take a week or two to confirm they beat the current state record, which is 851.9 pounds, according to WEAR.

The fish took two hours to reel in.

The current record blue marlin was caught in July 2020 by an angler from Louisiana, according to Outdoor Alabama.

It feels pretty amazing to be able to encounter a fish like that. They dont come very often, the boats captain, Chris Mowad, told WKRG.

They caught the blue marlin about 125 miles offshore, Mowad said, according to WEAR.

Fishermen in Alabama have possibly broken a state record with a massive blue marlin catch.

Anderson told WKRG they needed another boats assistance to help get the fish onboard.

Orange Beach is about 50 miles southeast of Mobile.
MEMPHIS, Tenn.  A man was severely injured in a shooting in South Memphis Saturday evening, according to Memphis Police.

At around 6 p.m., officers responded to the shooting at 1310 South Bellevue Boulevard at Jesse Turner Park.

Body found on barge traveling the Mississippi River: SCSO

A man was reportedly located on the scene and transported to Regional One Hospital in critical condition.

Police say there is no suspect information at this time. The investigation is ongoing.

If you have any information about this incident, call CrimeStoppers at 901-528-CASH.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com.
A human brain on display at the Museum of Neuroanatomy at the University at Buffalo. Some researchers contend that neurobiology disproves the existence of free will. (David Duprey / Associated Press)

A new book by a Stanford neurobiologist offers a jarring proposition: that humans do not have free will and thus cannot be considered morally responsible for our actions. In Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will, Robert Sapolsky contends that much harm comes from our belief in free will: needless anxiety and guilt, unjust and cruel penal institutions and so forth.

Perhaps surprisingly, these views  which seem so unintuitive  have become more influential in contemporary philosophy and even legal theory. They are, nevertheless, a minority opinion. Although philosophy isnt about majority rule (nor should it be!), many of us inside the field  and likely outside it, too  find this skepticism toward free will and moral responsibility deeply problematic.

Read more: Stanford scientist, after decades of study, concludes: We dont have free will

Sapolsky and others contend that we lack free will based on determinism. According to this doctrine, everything is fully caused and explained by the past and laws of nature, meaning human actions result entirely from the external factors that lead up to them. This view raises two questions: Is our world truly deterministic? And if so, would this imply we lack free will?

Some neurobiologists, including Sapolsky, hold that neurobiology supports determinism  that the brain activity science has uncovered reveals essentially mechanical procedures that cause human decisions. Other neuroscientists believe that at a fundamental level the brain works indeterministically, perhaps in accordance with quantum mechanics, which allows for randomness and unpredictability. In other words, whether the past and laws of nature dictate my choices and actions remains scientifically controversial.

But lets say determinism were true. Why exactly would it follow that we lack free will? Even if our choices and actions are shaped heavily by external factors, couldnt they still be caused in a way that involves the human capacity for reasoning? Coughs, sneezes, seizures  these behaviors are easy to dismiss as beyond our control. Not all causal chains, however, are like those that trigger involuntary movements. Equating all human behavior to a cough is an egregiously hasty generalization.

Consider, as a simple example, my decision to sit down at my computer to write these sentences. Yes, my past and the laws of nature may have crucially led me here. But I did so also because of deliberation. I weighed the pros for writing against the cons and chose to do it. It wasnt like a sneeze; it was a process that involved reasoning. Determinism helps explain why I started typing, but it does not in itself rule out my free will.

Read more: Op-Ed: Is life a simulation? If so, be very afraid

The why might additionally involve exercises of free will that confer responsibility  and thus we cannot dismiss moral responsibility because we are machines. We are biological machines, but the biology does not get in the way of free will. It enables it, just as our neurobiology enables our thoughts and feelings.

We live in a world with horrors almost too terrible to imagine. That no one could fairly be blamed or punished for anything is a view as disturbing as it is radical. It would entail that Vladimir Putin could not be morally blamed or punished for documented war crimes; he would not deserve such treatment. Moral responsibility skepticism implies that Hitler did not deserve to be morally blamed or punished, nor did Stalin or any mass murderer.

The skeptical view asks us to do what is almost humanly impossible: to let even our worst actors off the hook. Of course, the same point applies to good behavior: Heroes such as Sully Sullenberger would not deserve our gratitude, and your friend who sacrifices her plans so she can pick you up at LAX wouldn't merit it either. (Sometimes, though, even this requires heroism!)

Read more: Commentary: Bing and other AI programs are meant to behave like humans. Why are we shocked when they do?

The skeptics offer a replacement for responsibility: We could still seek to rehabilitate or confine dangerous individuals; we could still morally cajole and educate those who have hurt us. This kind of view, however, leaves out what is so difficult to deny: that some deeds and some people deserve blame and resentment, much as others deserve praise and gratitude. Some deserve our indignation and others our love. It is hard to imagine a richly textured and meaningful human life without moral responsibility  or free will, for that matter.

Why abandon something so important? The skeptics say we lack free will. But we should not abandon the framework that holds together the human experience based on controversial and inadequately supported views about our agency. We should not reject something so big on the basis of something so little.

In a beautiful vision of the no-responsibility world, people are liberated from forces over which they have no control. But there is an ugly side too. Consider that Barbara Fried, a professor emerita at Stanford Law School, has argued against free will and moral responsibility. Right now her son, Sam Bankman-Fried, is on trial for allegations that he looted billions from customers of his collapsed crypto exchange FTX. Under the skeptics view, Bankman-Fried deserves no blame or responsibility. How convenient, but deeply wrong.

John Martin Fischer is a professor of philosophy at UC Riverside and has written widely on free will and moral responsibility.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
A rock climber in Oregon was arrested Thursday on attempted murder and other charges after planning what police characterized as a mass shooting at a climbing festival. The suspect, Samson Zebturiah Garner, 39, had three handguns and an AR-15 on his person when he was taken into custody, the Deschutes County Sheriffs Office said. Police were alerted to Garners alleged plot after two acquaintances came forward, saying Garner had told them he planned to shoot people climbing in Deschutes County, according to District Attorney Steve Gunnels. Authorities did not immediately confirm Garners alleged target, but an official at Smith Rock State Park told the Bend Bulletin on Friday that a possible threat had recently been made towards the Smith Rock Craggin Classic, a three-day event hosted over the weekend by the American Alpine Club. Gunnels said that journal entries recovered from among Garners belongings indicated that he had a generalized anger, and was not planning to target specific victims, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting. The district attorney added that investigators had not yet uncovered a clear motive for the alleged plot.

Read it at Bend Bulletin

Read more at The Daily Beast.
(CNN)  At least six people were killed and 16 others injured after a Russian missile strike on a postal terminal in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine, officials have said.

Russian forces fired two missiles from the Belgorod region, near the Ukrainian border, at a building belonging to a logistics company located in the Kharkiv region on Saturday, according to Dmytro Chubenko, the spokesperson for the Kharkiv region prosecutors office.

Chubenko added that search and rescue operations were ongoing and that the identities of the victims were still being established.

Terror and murder will not get Russia anywhere. Terrorists will end up facing justice for everything they have done, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a post on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

The United States Ambassador to Ukraine, Bridget Brink, called the deadly attack on the postal office in Kharkiv horrific.

Again, overnight horrific images of Russian violence against civilians in Ukraine  a missile attack on a postal office in Kharkiv killed 6 people and seriously injured more. The Kremlins disregard for life is for all the world to see. The United States stands with Ukraine to hold Russia accountable, Brink posted on social media Sunday.

Kharkiv, in northeastern Ukraine, was liberated from Russian occupation by Kyivs troops last year, but has been the target of frequent aerial assaults by Moscow.

Russian troops are battling to push westwards towards Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine, while also hitting several regions with missile attacks.

Separate Russian airstrikes on the town of Beryslav, in the southern Kherson region, killed an elderly woman on Friday morning, the head of Kherson region military official Oleksandr Prokudin wrote in a post on Telegram.

The occupiers launched four guided aerial bombs at Beryslav. An 80-year-old woman sustained severe injuries in her own house. The woman died on the spot from her injuries, he said in a Telegram post. Seven people were injured due to the strikes, he said.

Over the last week, a secret delivery of long-range American ATACMS missiles weapons has aided Ukraines long-stalled counteroffensive, while Ukrainian troops appeared to have crossed the Dnipro River into the Russian-occupied Kherson region, according to pro-Kremlin military bloggers.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Horrific Russian attack on postal depot kills six in eastern Ukraine."
Editors note: This story is available as a result of a content partnership between WFTV and the Orlando Business Journal.

The Embassy Suites by Hilton Orlando North boasts a new look that pays homage to its Altamonte Springs roots and the greater Orlando area.

The 277-room hotel on Oct. 18 unveiled the results of its $12 million revamp of the hotel built in 1998, which took 14 months of construction to complete. Nearly every aspect and resort amenity received upgrades to modernize and enhance the welcoming nature of the property at 225 Shorecrest Drive in the Uptown Altamonte city center.

Why the Orlando hotel renovations are important for local business?

Read: Police: Employee at Home Depot accused of embezzling $1.2 million in cash

Click here to read the full story on the Orlando Business Journals website.

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In their quest to diversify downtown Orlando and lure full-service restaurants and retail shops to the area, city officials are considering financial incentives to help spur interest.

Through a proposed package, full-service restaurants are eligible for up to $475,000 to help with build-out costs and rental assistance. Quick-service restaurants and retailers are eligible for smaller amounts, amid efforts to lure offerings beyond nightlife.

Were hoping this incentive helps level the playing field when restauranteurs are comparing the options they have, said David Barilla, executive director of the Community Redevelopment Agency. What we wanted to put together was a program that would help put together a critical mass of high-quality fine dining restaurants in downtown.

The city council, acting as the CRA Board of Directors, will vote on the incentives Monday as part of the city council meeting.

Barilla said the special taxing district hopes to fund about five fine-dining-type restaurants through the program, hoping to bring them to places like Parramore, Luminary Green in Creative Village and the heart of the Central Business District.

Start-up restaurants face substantial costs to transform vacant commercial spaces into functioning kitchens and dining rooms, which is often a barrier to opening, officials said.

The program allows a full-service restaurant up to $400,000, or $100 per square foot, in funding toward improvements to a space, as well as $50,000 in rental assistance, and another $25,000 for outdoor seating. The incentive is based on the CRA matching a building owners investment dollar for dollar.

To be eligible, the restaurant owner must have operated a similar business for five years, the rules state.

If the program is approved, one such applicant for the program, is a planned fine-dining restaurant called Allure Orlando, at 13 W. Pine St. Under the requirements, its eligible for up to $75,000 in incentives toward building out the space, and $50,000 in rental assistance, according to a CRA Advisory Board agenda.

City Commissioner Regina Hill, who represents downtown Orlando and Parramore, said the program could help fill a need. With more restaurant options, visitors have more [reasons to visit, or to stay longer beyond events and shows at the Amway Center and the Dr. Phillips for the Performing Arts.

Retail space, to build that out isnt so expensive, but when we start talking about restaurants and fine dining, thats been an obstacle, she said.

Under a similar program, also on Mondays agenda, personal services businesses can receive up to $150,000 and retailers are eligible for up to $100,000 toward improvements to a space, as well as up to $25,000 in rental assistance.

For the past few years, downtown Orlandos atmosphere and mix of businesses have come into focus for city officials. After a spate of shootings and violence surrounding its nightlife, earlier this year the city council implemented an after-midnight permit, required for full-liquor bars to keep pouring between midnight and 2 a.m.

Among requirements of the permit, most bar owners pay for up to 30 off-duty police officers to patrol the area and must also use ID scanners, metal detectors and track their occupancy.

In conjunction with that review of downtown, city officials have hired consultants to craft an updated vision plan for downtown, called Project DTO 2.0.

That plan, expected to be revealed early next year, is to include everything from converting several key streets to two-way traffic, improving the tree canopy, and activating ground-floor spaces in buildings downtown, with things like more restaurants and shops.

As we get closer to unveiling more and sharing more of where project DTO is heading  this is one of those tools in the toolbox so to speak that we think will be an important piece of the puzzle, Barilla said.

rygillespie@orlandosentinel.com
A box containing injectable vials of the weight-loss drug Wegovy in Brighton, Mich. on June 8, 2023. (Cydni Elledge/The New York Times)

The problem is daunting: Powerful but expensive new drugs could help many of the 100 million American adults who have obesity and alleviate a grave public health concern.

But how can the nation afford lifelong treatments for so many people, with sticker prices for each patient ranging from about $900 to $1,300 every four weeks?

Some researchers, like Dr. Walter Willett, professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, have warned that the drugs could add 50% to the countrys health care spending.

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You can see this ballooning completely out of control, he said.

But there is one factor often left out of these discussions: The drugs list prices are generally very different from the net prices, which companies receive after making secret deals with health insurers or the intermediaries known as pharmacy benefit managers. Companies generally do not reveal net prices, but there are data sources that can be used to estimate them.

A recent paper published by the American Enterprise Institute revealed that the net prices for the new obesity drugs are just a fraction of the published annual list prices.

And while the drugs prices remain out of reach for many, economists anticipate they will soon be driven down. More than a dozen companies are developing obesity drugs. As they enter the market, greater choice is expected to make prices plummet, as has happened with other expensive drugs.

My prediction is that as competition increases, prices will decrease accordingly, said Jalpa Doshi, professor of medicine and director of the economics evaluation unit at the University of Pennsylvania.

Revenues Based on Net Prices

For now, manufacturers are reaping the rewards of soaring demand.

Investors expect Novo Nordisk, the manufacturer of Wegovy, to earn $4 billion in revenue this year. The companys other drug, Ozempic, is expected to bring in $11 billion. The drugs are driving such a bonanza that they account for almost all of the latest economic growth in Denmark, the home of Novo Nordisk.

Those revenues are based on the net prices.

For their analysis, Benedic Ippolito, an economist at the American Enterprise Institute, and Joseph Levy, a health economist at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, relied on data from SSR Health, which uses company financial filings and estimates of the number of prescriptions filled.

The economists derived net prices by using data from SSR Health for the second quarter of 2022 through the first quarter of 2023. The exception is Mounjaro, made by Eli Lilly, for which only data from the first quarter of 2023 was available.

Net prices, the revenue divided by the number of prescriptions in their analysis, appear to be around $700 every four weeks for Wegovy, or about $650 less than the list price; about $300 for Ozempic, or nearly $650 less than the list price; and approximately $215 for Mounjaro, or about $800 less than its list price.

That means Wegovys net price is about half of its list price, Ozempics is nearly two-thirds lower, and Mounjaros net price is nearly 80% lower than its list price.

Ippolito cautioned that because prices and prescriptions are in flux, these figures might change over time, but added that these estimates give a good sense for the likely amount paid by many insurers and give a good sense for the amount of discounting going on.

Pragya Kakani, an economist at Weill Cornell Medical College, analyzed similar data with similar results but was not involved in Ippolito and Levys research.

Craig Garthwaite, a health care economist at Northwestern University, is especially intrigued by the net prices of Ozempic and Mounjaro. Both are approved for people with diabetes but also cause weight loss. Wegovy, the same drug as Ozempic, is approved for weight loss. But the price of Ozempic is substantially lower than Wegovys price.

The reason may be that Ozempic has a direct competitor in Mounjaro.

But even Wegovy, which so far has the market for the new obesity drugs to itself, has an unexpectedly low net price, said Amitabh Chandra, a health care economist at Harvard.

One might have naively thought that these are new medicines that are in great demand, so rebates would be small to nil, Chandra said.

I was shocked, he said, by the extent of the rebates.

A Price We Already Pay

One question looms, experts say: What is weight loss worth to patients and society?

Obesity itself is expensive because it increases the risk for expensive diseases like diabetes and heart disease. One study found that obesity was associated with $1,861 excess yearly health costs per person, accounting for $172.74 billion in annual extra costs.

The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review, an influential nonprofit group, asked about a year ago if the new weight-loss drugs are cost-effective, meaning that their value in terms of a better quality of life, a longer life and benefit to society exceeds their cost.

Wegovy, the group reported, was not cost-effective. But the institute relied on an early and less precise estimate of the drugs net price.

When shown Wegovys estimated net price in the AEI research, the groups chief medical officer, Dr. David Rind, said that if the calculations were correct, Wegovy was cost-effective but still poses major budget challenges.

Willett, of Harvard, added in an interview, I dont think anyone can predict exactly where this will go because competition may reduce prices, and the uptake is still not clear, but the potential cost could go way beyond anything we have seen.

Still, the expectation is that with less obesity, there will be fewer expensive obesity-related health problems, including Type 2 diabetes. Not only can diabetes lead to kidney failure, blindness and amputations, it also doubles the risk for heart attacks and strokes.

Patients may also get relief from the extreme social stigma and, often, self-loathing that accompanies obesity.

Until recently, the idea that treating obesity would reduce obesity-related health risks was based on anecdotes and correlations, not cause and effect.

Then, in August, Novo Nordisk announced the results of a large study, showing that Wegovy can reduce the risk of heart attacks, strokes, hospitalizations for heart failure and heart disease deaths by 20%.

That outcome alters the picture, Garthwaite said.

Some insurers do not cover drugs like Wegovy and may view obesity medications as vanity drugs. In response, some patients are suing their insurers.

With a cardiovascular benefit, he said, that rationale for not covering the drugs is out the window.

Costs We Cant All Afford

While the net prices of the drugs may be lower than expected, they remain too expensive for many potential patients.

Those on Medicare, for instance, have no insurance coverage for Wegovy because Medicare is prevented by law from covering weight-loss drugs. Few state Medicaid programs cover the drug.

And while Novo Nordisk says that 80% of private insurers cover Wegovy, the drug is not affordable for all insured patients.

Katherine Baicker, a health economist, provost at the University of Chicago and an Eli Lilly board member, said that cheaper health insurance includes copays and deductibles that often render Wegovy out of reach. Patients with low-premium plans offered through the Affordable Care Act would similarly be priced out.

Dr. Scott Ramsey, a health economist at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, worries that poorer patients, who are uninsured or whose insurance requires high copays, will be looking on longingly as wealthier patients get the drugs.

We spent 15 years talking about the soaring cost of obesity to the health care system, Garthwaite, the Northwestern economist, added. But with a way to cut that cost in reach, he said the attitude of some insurers seems to be, We dont want you to come up with a fix that costs money.

Waves and Peaks

Relief should be coming soon, health economists predict, with companies rushing to develop their own drugs. Competition may lead to lower prices.

That happened, for example, with drugs for hepatitis C. An effective cure for the liver disease initially cost as much as $84,000, leading to dire warnings that the cost would be comparable to total spending in the United States on all drugs.

The list price of the hepatitis C treatment plunged as competitors entered the market. Pharmacy benefit managers, which negotiate with drugmakers, had more leverage as companies competed. Net prices fell accordingly.

A similar scenario may play out with Wegovy, which is riding the wave of not having any direct competition, Doshi said. But that status will end soon.

A version of Mounjaro by Eli Lilly is expected to be approved this year for obesity  a potential opening for insurers to agree to cover Wegovy but not Mounjaro, for example, if Wegovys price were to be sufficiently reduced.

Ippolito added that with more than 70 obesity drugs in development, he expected that competition would only increase.

For now, although the price of the drugs is likely at its peak, Chandra, the Harvard health care economist, argued that it is imperative for access to the drugs to be increased, even if that imposes a cost to society.

The purpose of health insurance is not to save money, he said, but to improve the quality of life, happiness and self-esteem.

c.2023 The New York Times Company
"I was anxious and it was a really difficult time," says Amanda Webb, with her husband Paul, after their son Hayden was diagnosed as deaf

"It's heart-breaking, because all you want to do is talk to your child."

For mother-of-two Amanda Webb, trying to communicate with her deaf son has been a challenging journey.

She is one of more than 2,600 people who has signed a petition calling for free British Sign Language (BSL) lessons for parents of deaf children in Wales.

It is estimated there are at least 2,329 deaf children in Wales, with 90% of them born to hearing parents.

The Welsh government said BSL provision for adults was based on demand across Wales, and while it provides funding to further education colleges, the colleges decide what curriculum they offer and learner fees.

Hayden Webb, 11, was diagnosed as deaf when he was a new-born, and it was a huge shock for his parents Amanda and Paul.

Paul and Amanda Webb said they felt like they were on their own after Hayden's diagnosis

"It was almost like being in a lift and the lift dropping. Because what do I do now? I don't know anything about the deaf community?" she said.

The couple said they "weren't given any actual advice" and felt like they were on their own.

"I did feel isolated. I felt depressed. I was anxious and it was a really difficult time," said Amanda, from Rhoose, Vale of Glamorgan.

She remembers trawling through the internet trying to find information, and how overwhelming it was, heightened by "meltdowns" Hayden was experiencing.

"If he can't get across to you the simplest things like I want to go to the toilet or I need a drink or something like that, you feel guilty because you don't understand him. And he's thinking, why don't you understand what I want to say to you?" she added.

It was then that Amanda decided to take it upon herself to begin level one BSL, which helped her communicate with Hayden more.

She got "three-quarters of the way through" before "family life took over".

Later when revisiting learning more BSL, she said the prices were unaffordable.

She said if levels one and two were free "you would have more families who would be able to communicate with each other".

Amanda is now part of South East Wales Deaf Children's Society, a parent-led group which means she feels she is more supported, with a community to lean upon.

"Things really haven't changed in 30 years, and it's quite shocking," says Catherine Davies

"You have to find your own community within the community," she said.

Catherine Davies went through a similar experience when she adopted her deaf daughter 31 years ago, and she has set up a petition calling for free BSL for parents.

"Things really haven't changed in 30 years, and it's quite shocking," said the retired teacher from Cardiff.

She remembers being told not to "sign to her child" as it would stop her from "developing language and speech".

Despite the advice she received at the time, Catherine took it upon herself to learn BSL, and eventually specialised as a teacher of the deaf.

This teaching role has mean further training to support students with hearing loss or deafness.

"I'm very angry about it because all the evidence points to the fact that we all need language as soon as we're born. Whether it's Welsh or French or English and why is that different for a deaf child?" she said.

Catherine believes because deafness is "low incidence" and a hidden disability, it is "not a priority" for Welsh government.

In response, the Welsh government said: "We have set up the Disability Rights Taskforce to identify the issues and barriers that affect the lives of many disabled people."

Catherine said: "What we're seeing later on is that because deaf children aren't getting language early, there are huge gaps in their academic performance between their hearing peers and themselves.

"You need to be able to be signposted to BSL classes, which just are not there, and if they are there, you've got to spend thousands of pounds learning to communicate with your child, which is awful," she said.

"I believe it's a form of discrimination. It is basically saying that you cannot learn the only accessible language that your child can access."

Dr Julia Terry describes depriving parents of free BSL as "massive discrimination"

The impact of lack of language and communication between deaf children and their parents has been a focus of Dr Julia Terry's research.

"We know that the impact on deaf children's mental health is considerable," said the Swansea university professor.

"For a deaf child who cannot communicate in their own family, they will often be left out and quite isolated. They also may experience a lot of loneliness," she said.

Dr Terry, who has 30 years' experience as a mental health nurse, backs calls for BSL to be free to parents of deaf children, and it was "massive discrimination" without it.

One change that may help with the numbers of people who learn BSL is the introduction of the language to the new curriculum in Wales.

Deaf businesswoman Sarah Lawrence from Caerphilly played a part in making that a reality.

"I feel it will benefit everyone in two ways," she said.

"One, deaf education, their confidence and their identity will improve. The second is that in society, children who have future work as a doctor, police officer, nurse they will have BSL as a usable language. So later in life, deaf people will be able to access more services because people can use sign language with them," she said.

Sarah feels the financial emphasis on the "medical route" of treating deafness such as "cochlear implants, hearing aids, speech therapy", is unfair.

She believes the "huge imbalance" focusing on the medical route rather than language, leads to "direct discrimination".

According to the Welsh government, BSL provision for adults is based on demand across Wales.

It said further education colleges were autonomous bodies which set their curriculum on the needs of local communities.
Marchers at the Paris rally where organisers demanded 'a just and lasting peace' (EMMANUEL DUNAND)

Thousands of people rallied in Paris on Sunday demanding an end to the Israeli military operation in Gaza which organisers said was a "massacre", following the bloody attack by Hamas militants.

"Israel assassin, Macron complicit" and "No peace without decolonisation" were among the slogans at the demonstration in the Place de la Republique square in eastern Paris, called by a left-wing collective.

Police said they made ten arrests at what was the first pro-Palestinian rally in the capital that had not been banned by the police because of security fears.

It came after a court overturned a police ban on a similar rally in the capital on Thursday.

"We managed to convince the judges that we are defending human rights," lawyer Dominique Cochin told the crowd.

Police estimated that 15,000 people attended the rally Sunday, while organisers counted 30,000.

Roughly a thousand people also marched in the southern city of Marseille.

Gaza health officials say more than 4,600 people have been killed in the Israeli response to the Hamas assault on October 7, which killed around 1,400.

"You don't have to be Palestinian to be affected by what is happening. For me, this type of gathering is a sign of the desperation," said Maya, a student who declined to give her last name.

"It's the only thing you can do on an individual level. The government has a role to play diplomatically. It must have stronger positions and not act as a support for Israel," she told AFP.

"Macron is giving Israel licence to kill," said Bertrand Heilbronn, the chairman of Association France Palestine Solidarity.

- 'Legitimate emotion' -

Heilbronn said the Hamas attack had given rise to "legitimate emotion" among Israelis but that it was "criminal to exploit it to justify a war of elimination which the state of Israel is waging against the Palestinian people".

Hamas militants stormed into Israel from the Gaza Strip on October 7, and killed at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians who were shot, mutilated or burnt to death on the first day of the raid, according to Israeli officials.

Around 40 organisations joined the rally, including Heilbronn's as well as the Jewish French Union for Peace and an association of France-based Muslims.

The rally took place amid tight security after recent days brought bomb threats to several French airports and the Versailles palace tourist hotspot west of Paris.

Several thousand people also demonstrated support for Palestinians in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo with the city's mayor harking back to the bloody siege the city endured during Bosnia's inter-ethnic war in the 1990s.

"The city that has endured the longest siege in modern history, Sarajevo, has the right to stand firmly with Gaza today," mayor Benjamina Karic said.

"We know what it's like when there's no water, no food, we know what it's like when children are killed," she added.

pan-san-sc-grd/cw/bp
Soon a Conservative government could preside over the early release of criminals whose offences were serious enough to have them imprisoned, because not enough cells are available. An unnamed judge has been quoted in the media about the appalling possibility of a man sentenced for rape being allowed to remain on the streets and coming face to face with his victim. However, although the Government plans an early release scheme, and is contemplating ending jail sentences of less than a year, they claim this would not include serious crimes such as sexual offences.

However, any early release, or escaping jail altogether, reminds one of a time when the Conservatives were the party of law and order, and criminals had what was coming to them. Now, with the active connivance of an increasingly demoralised and ill-directed police force, it is the party that proves crime pays. Any crook, fraudster, rapist or murderer who does not vote Conservative at the next election cannot see on which side his bread is buttered.

The Conservative party has presided over a growth in crime and criminality, yet has done little to create the prison space required for the consequently growing number of criminals. The short-termism practised in the last 13 years has been astonishing: it is of a piece with nothing having been done with the social care system despite the demographic time-bomb predicted since the 1980s resulting in many more elderly people; or, in that regard, about the NHS; or closing down the production of fossil fuels without building nuclear power stations; or watching the world become alarmingly dangerous while continuing to cut our armed forces.

One suspects such considerations were at the forefront of the minds of the people who voted Labour, or (in even more cases) chose not to vote at all, in the two by-elections last Thursday, both of which resulted in shocking defeats for the Government. Immediate polling suggested that the shambolic era of Boris Johnson and the debacle of Liz Trusss economic mismanagement were still fresh in the minds of natural Conservative voters when they cast their ballots, or chose not to.

That may well be true. But it cannot be denied that if the Conservative party fails to implement fundamental Conservative policies  such as protecting the public against serious criminals by locking them up, and trying to deter potential criminals through the certainty of severe punishment  the natural constituency of Conservative voters will see no point in coming out to support it.

One of the great problems with the governing party is that it believes its own publicity. It has banged on for years about the war against drugs. There is no such war. Drug-taking, and the small-scale market in drugs, is promiscuously common. It has been for years, and senior policeman told me recently he thought 85 per cent of crime in London was drug-related, much of it muggings and burglaries done to buy drugs, as well as the gangsterism of the trade itself. By choosing to tolerate this drug culture, the Government has encouraged crime to balloon; by choosing to mould an ineffective police force, other crimes too have become rampant (there are now 1,000 shoplifting offences a day: five per cent of such crimes result in an arrest). Whether that is down to lassitude, incompetence or a deliberate strategy to keep the prisons empty one cannot be sure. Another 20,000 prison places are promised by 2027: but it is already too late. The public sees a government desperately scrabbling to house the illegal immigrants it weakly allows in, but not to accommodate those who are a danger to society.

As the Tory leadership ponders these crushing defeats, it can find scapegoats. But it should look in the mirror. If it chooses to abandon one of our most fundamental pillars  a society built on law and order  then is there really any point in it at all?

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Next time you head to the store, grab an extra jar of peanut butter to help fight hunger in Central Florida.

Select Orange County parks are serving as donation points for the UF/IFAS Extension offices annual Peanut Butter Challenge.

The challenge runs through the end of October.

All of the jars donated will be distributed to local food banks.

Read: Large crowds show up for this years Come Out With Pride festival in downtown Orlando

At the end of the collection period, the jars are tallied, bragging rights are awarded to counties collecting the most peanut butter, and the jars go to local food pantries just in time for the holiday season, organizers said.

You can learn more about how to donate here.

Support the @IFASExtCentral #PeanutButterChallenge thru October by dropping off unopened jars to select @OrangeCoParksFL sites! All donations will be given to local food banks. Spread the word! @NicoleWilsonD1 @OCFLDistrict2 @OCFLDistrict4 @Comm_Bonilla @mymikescott pic.twitter.com/At71n9iP18  Orange County Parks and Recreation (@OrangeCoParksFL) October 22, 2023

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Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin

The United States is deploying additional air defense systems in the Middle East and preparing troops for a range of contingencies, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said on Oct. 21.

The decision was made after detailed discussions with U.S. President Joe Biden about the recent escalation of tensions by Iran and its proxies in the Middle East.

Austin ordered a number of steps to be taken to further strengthen the U.S. posture in the region. He believes that this will strengthen regional deterrence efforts, the position of the U.S. armed forces in the region, and help in the defense of Israel.

Read also: Biden delivers historic national address from Oval Office, outlines plan to support Ukraine

The Pentagon has activated the deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery, as well as additional Patriot battalions to locations across the Middle East.

The Pentagon has deployed additional emergency forces to increase their ability to respond quickly to challenges if necessary.

On Oct. 20, two drone attacks were carried out on U.S. military bases in Syria. One of them was at the Al-Tanf base, located close to where the borders of Syria, Iraq, and Jordan meet.

War in Israel  What is Known

Large-scale hostilities in Israel began on Oct. 7. From the early morning, the Palestinian militant group Hamas repeatedly targeted the country with thousands of rockets and missiles. Armed Hamas militants then invaded southern Israel, killing people and taking hostages.

Over 1,400 people have lost their lives in recent attacks by Hamas. Around 200 are thought to have been taken hostage by Palestinian militants on Oct. 7, and video evidence shows some of the hostages have since been murdered. So far, seven Ukrainians have been reported dead due to the fighting. Six more are missing, and six have been reported injured.

It was revealed on Oct. 8 that Palestinian militants may have killed approximately 260 people on Oct 7 at an electronic music festival near the Kibbutz Reim, 30 kilometers from the Gaza Strip. Efforts are currently underway to identify the bodies of the murdered festivalgoers.

In response to the Hamas attack, the Israel Defense Forces launched Operation Iron Swords, striking the Gaza Strip. During the night of Oct. 8, Israel announced the restoration of control over the majority of the populated areas that had been penetrated by Palestinian militants.

Israels Cabinet has declared a state of war for the first time since 1973, and the countrys prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has warned that the war will be long and challenging.

The Israeli defense minister ordered a siege of the Gaza Strip on Oct. 9. In his address to the nation, Netanyahu said that Hamas militants would be destroyed after their atrocities, kidnappings, and murders of children and women.

Hamas and other enemies of Israel will pay a price they will remember for decades to come, he said.

In Gaza, more than 3,400 people were reported dead, Palestinian authorities say. Hamas has also accused Israel of striking the Al-Ahli hospital in the Gaza Strip on Oct. 17 and killing hundreds of people inside. Neither of these claims has been independently verified.

The Israeli Defense Forces said the hospital was destroyed as a result of an Islamic Jihad rocket attack. This claim has not been verified, but video evidence may show a rocket failing above the hospital just before an explosion and fire there.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Ed Currie eats, sleeps and breathes peppers. He calls it his "obsession".

He starts "every morning with what is essentially pepper oil" in his coffee.

After taste-testing peppers and hot sauces all day for his South Carolina company, PuckerButt Pepper Company, he will add peppers or hot sauce to his dinner. His favourite pepper to cook with, though not his own creation, is a chocolate scotch bonnet.

"I eat peppers all day long," he says. "If there's the right kind of dessert around, I tend to put something hot on my dessert."

Even as a pepper connoisseur, tasting his own creation, Pepper X, which was crowned the world's hottest pepper earlier this week by Guinness World Records, had him "literally bent over groaning in pain" for three or four hours.

"When I ate a whole one, you get the flavour right away. But immediately that heat hits - and the heat, for me, was unbearable."

He says it was like an out-of-body experience.

"It was kind of euphoric," he says. "Because I was getting an endorphin rush."

Someone handed him a milkshake to ease the pain but "that only made the heat increase". And the heat kept rising for nearly an hour.

Ed Currie described eating the pepper as 'euphoric'

"I started getting cramps and, you know, your body perceives capsaicin as a poison."

Capsaicin is the chemical that gives humans the burning sensation of peppers.

"Those cramps become unbearable - okay, for a man at least. A doctor explained it to me that it was akin to a menstrual cramp."

Remarkably, after a few hours recovering, he went out to eat and had more peppers "because as my wife can tell you, I'm just an idiot."

But he can thank his wife, Linda, for the company's creation.

After overcoming "a long history of addiction with drugs and alcohol," he met a woman - Linda - who didn't want anything to do with him at the time.

"But I heard she liked salsa," he says. "So I whipped up some salsa for a dinner I was going to that I knew she'd be at and she asked who made the salsa."

Nine months later they got married.

What started as 1,100 pepper and tomato plants in their backyard, increased to 30,000 plants before his company was founded.

"That's not a hobby - that's an obsession," he says.

His wife was the one who saw the commercial viability after they started giving hot sauces he made to friends. Twenty years on, the company is one of the largest manufacturers of hot sauces in the US.

At one point during the interview with the BBC, a PuckerButt Pepper Company employee, Tom, chimes in on the phone to talk about what it is like to work with his boss.

"This is something that most of the world doesn't know about Ed - but I believe his true goal in life is to help people."

"(Ed) mentioned that he was an addict. He hires 90% of us, myself included, who are in recovery. He's given us second chances where we wouldn't have gotten elsewhere," he said.

Tom says Mr Currie let him live with him, his wife and children for six months until he could get on his feet.

"And now I'm paying a mortgage," he says. "I think his passion is in hot peppers - he loves to hurt people, but I think his true passion is helping people."
China, which claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, snatched control of Scarborough Shoal from the Philippines in 2012 (Ted ALJIBE)

Beijing and Manila traded blame for two collisions Sunday between Chinese vessels and Philippine boats on a resupply mission to Filipino troops on a remote outpost in the disputed South China Sea.

The incidents happened near Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands, a hotly contested region where Beijing deploys ships to assert its claims over almost the entire sea.

A Philippine government task force said the "dangerous blocking manoeuvers of China Coast Guard vessel 5203 caused it to collide with the Armed Forces of the Philippines-contracted indigenous resupply boat" about 25 kilometres (15 miles) from Second Thomas Shoal.

China said the "slight collision" happened after the resupply boat ignored "multiple warnings and deliberately passed through law enforcement in an unprofessional and dangerous manner", state broadcaster CCTV reported, citing the foreign ministry.

In another incident, a Philippine coastguard vessel escorting the routine resupply mission was "bumped" by what the Philippine task force described as a "Chinese Maritime Militia vessel".

China, however, accused the Philippine boat of "deliberately" stirring up trouble by reversing in a "premeditated manner" into a Chinese fishing vessel.

Video released by the Philippine military showed the bow of the Chinese coastguard ship and the stern of the smaller resupply vessel briefly touching.

The Philippine vessel continues on its course.

No one on either Philippine vessel was injured, but the supply boat involved in the collision was damaged, the National Security Council said in a statement, citing the coastguard.

A second resupply boat was able to reach the grounded BRP Sierra Madre and "successfully resupply our troops and personnel stationed there", the statement said.

"The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea condemns in the strongest degree the latest dangerous, irresponsible, and illegal actions of the CCG and the Chinese Maritime Militia done this morning," the task force said in a statement.

It said the "provocative, irresponsible, and illegal action" of the Chinese coastguard boat had endangered the safety of the crew on the supply boat.

The Philippine coast guard was escorting the two resupply vessels back to port, the National Security Council said.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, through which trillions of dollars in trade passes annually, and has ignored an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.

Second Thomas Shoal is about 200 kilometres (124 miles) from the western Philippine island of Palawan, and more than 1,000 kilometres from China's nearest major landmass, Hainan island.

China said "responsibility lies entirely with the Philippines" for Sunday's incidents.

As China moves ever more confidently to assert its claims to sovereignty over the waters, officials and experts have warned of the potential for collisions.

"This is exactly the kind of event that can happen given their dangerous manoeuvring," said Jay Batongbacal, director of the University of the Philippines' Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea.

Batongbacal said the Chinese coastguard had deliberately hit the Philippine resupply vessel to see how Manila would respond and test the resolve of the Philippines' longtime ally Washington.

"You don't accidentally hit another vessel out in the open ocean," Batongbacal told AFP.

- US condemns 'latest disruption' -

The Philippine Navy deliberately grounded the World War II-era BRP Sierra Madre on Second Thomas Shoal in 1999 to check China's advance in the waters.

The troops stationed on the crumbling ship depend on regular supply deliveries for their survival.

The Philippines has outposts on nine reefs and islands in the Spratlys, including Second Thomas Shoal.

US ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson said in a post on X that the United States condemned China's "latest disruption of a legal Philippine resupply mission" that put "the lives of Filipino service members at risk".

Manila and Beijing have a long history of maritime disputes in the South China Sea.

Tensions flared in August when China Coast Guard vessels used water cannon against a Philippine resupply mission to Second Thomas Shoal, preventing one of the boats from delivering its cargo.

As it did after the August incident, the US State Department on Sunday reiterated its mutual defence pact with the Philippines "extends to armed attacks on Philippine armed forces, public vessels, and aircraft - including those of its Coast Guard - anywhere in the South China Sea".

burs-amj/mtp/des/tjj
WHITPAIN TWP, Pa. - Three people are dead, and one is injured after police say a tanker truck carrying jet fuel slammed into two cars on the Pennsylvania Turnpike Saturday morning.

The fatal crash happened around 11 a.m. on a stretch of the Northeast Extension near the Lansdale exit in Whitpain Township, police said.

Investigators say a vehicle with a flat tire pulled into the far right lane of traffic, which caused a vehicle behind it to slow or come to a stop. A tanker truck, which authorities say was filled with jet fuel, could not slow down quickly enough and slammed into both vehicles.

Authorities confirm that three bodies were recovered from the crash wreckage, including the driver of the tanker truck and driver of the trailing car.

The three victims were identified by the coroner's office as James Achey, 57, of Seaford, Delaware; Suzette Achey, 52, of Seaford, Delaware; William Ramos, 63, of Perth Amboy, New Jersey.

Cause and manner of death is still pending investigation.

The fiery crash caused all lanes to close and backed up traffic for miles. Road crews eventually opened up emergency access gates to help the stranded travelers get by until all lanes of traffic eventually re-opened.
Residents of a Santa Ana neighborhood were awakened to the sound of loud explosions and an illegal fireworks display on Saturday night.

According to officials with the Santa Ana Police Department, fireworks were set off in the middle of the street in the 100 block of Central Avenue around 10:30 p.m.

When officers responded to the area, the crowd surrounding the fireworks quickly dispersed. No arrests had been made as of early Sunday afternoon.

Onlookers watch as illegal fireworks are set off in Santa Ana, CA on Saturday, Oct. 22, 2023.

A person is seen near illegal fireworks in Santa Ana, CA on Oct. 21, 2023. (Ana Alcantara)

Illegal fireworks were set off in Santa Ana, CA on Saturday, Oct. 22, 2023. (Ana Alcantara)

Illegal fireworks were set off in Santa Ana, CA on Saturday, Oct. 22, 2023.

A package containing explosives was also found in the street, and the Orange County Sheriffs Department Bomb Squad was called in, authorities said.

By the time Orange County Fire Authority crews got to the scene, there were several small fires in the area due to the fireworks, and some food trucks in the area had their windows shattered, police confirmed.

FivePoint Amphitheatre abruptly closes permanently after Saturday night concert

Video submitted to KTLA by a witness shows several small fires in the center of the road as someone walks around lighting fireworks.

Another witness video captures the explosions from further away and shows many nearby residents standing outside of their homes and in the street, gazing at the illegal lightshow.

No injuries were reported, and police have launched an investigation.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.
Police say a Georgia man on meth went 120 miles per hour and drove on the wrong side of the road.

It happened Monday on a variety of roads in Floyd County.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

A man identified as Joshua Riley eventually lost control of the car.

Officers said Riley failed to stop at several stop signs.

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He also allegedly crossed the white line of the road multiple times on purpose, according to police.

Police eventually arrested Riley.

Riley was charged with fleeing and attempting to elude, possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug-related objects.

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IN OTHER NEWS:
Police chiefs are resisting demands to respond to every case of shoplifting despite a record surge in thefts from stores.

Ministers want police to investigate every crime  including shoplifting below 200  where there is a reasonable line of inquiry. They are also demanding an emergency-level response when shop staff detain a thief.

However, police chiefs argue that it is not realistic for officers to respond to every case of shoplifting because of the demand.

There were a record 1,000 shoplifting offences a day reported by police in the year to June 2023, a 25 per cent rise although this was a fraction of the eight-million incidents reported by the British Retail Consortium (BRC), costing 1 billion.

Only 14 per cent of shoplifting offences result in a charge, down from 29.7 per cent five years ago.

Instead, police chiefs say they will attend where there is a crime being committed, a suspect is on the scene and the situation has, or is likely, to become heated or violent.

Katy Bourne, the police and crime commissioner who is the national lead for retail crime, said police should go further and attend any shoplifting incident where there has been violence or abuse even if the thief has left the premises.

Even if the offender has just left, the follow-up from police is a reassurance for staff and customers, said Ms Bourne, who is urging police chiefs to review their guidance on attending such incidents.

This embedded content is not available in your region.

The approach is likely to be discussed on Monday in a roundtable on shoplifting at No 10 attended by ministers, police chiefs and leading retailers.

A policing source said there were tensions between ministers and police chiefs over how far to go. There is this disparity between an ambition to be tougher and the reality of what police can do. Police have to be tougher but police cannot go to everything, they said.

Where there is agreement is over the need for more use of technology. The Metropolitan Police is to roll out across London a scheme where retailers can submit images of people suspected of shoplifting so they can be matched in police databases using facial recognition technology and investigated when identified.

The Met said the roll-out this autumn will allow a more effective and streamlined reporting of shoplifting where no offender has been detained or violence occurred.

A similar one-touch reporting scheme has been piloted between Sussex Police and 24 Co-op stores where the force has set up a specialist shoplifting unit. The computer hotline enables retailers to file their theft reports instantaneously rather than spending 30 minutes passing on details of a theft over the phone.

This embedded content is not available in your region.

The unit builds cases with evidence, including CCTV footage, witnesses and forensic analysis, before passing it to front-line response or neighbourhood police officers to arrest and prosecute offenders.

Chris Philp, the policing minister, is pushing for police nationally to check the images of suspected shoplifters, thieves and burglars against all police and official databases including passports using facial recognition technology.

A national data-sharing initiative targeted at organised crime gangs specialising in shoplifting will also be announced on Monday. Police forces across the UK and retailers will for the first time pool their intelligence to enable the team to map the gangs which target everything from jewellery to meat, which they have been known to re-sell back to the supermarkets.

Under the codename Pegasus, 13 of the biggest retailers including Sainsburys, Tesco, Co-op and John Lewis will each pay 60,000 over two years to fund specialist police analysts to identify the shoplifting gangs drawing on police and industry intelligence.

A Home Office spokesman said: The Government is clear that police should take a zero-tolerance approach, attending more crime scenes, dedicating officers to patrolling badly affected areas and pursuing all reasonable lines of enquiry. Thats alongside ongoing work with retailers to support shopworkers and make sure they share information and CCTV recordings with the police.

In the coming weeks, we will continue bringing together retailers and police chiefs, working together to stamp out this unacceptable crime.

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Police tape blocks the area where a Detroit synagogue president was found dead on October 21, 2023 (Sarah RICE)

Police probing the stabbing death of the president of a US synagogue said Sunday that no evidence has emerged of anti-Semitism as a motive.

Detroit police chief James White said in a brief statement that his force is interviewing "individuals with information that may further the investigation" into the death Saturday of Samantha Woll. He gave no details.

"No evidence has surfaced suggesting that this crime was motivated by anti-Semitism," White said.

He said the FBI is assisting Detroit police and he asked for patience as the probe proceeds.

"Everything that can be done to bring this matter to closure is being called into service," White said.

Woll presided over the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue, which serves metropolitan Detroit.

The murder came amid escalating tensions in Jewish and Muslim communities across the United States over the Israel-Hamas war, which has taken thousands of lives this month.

Emergency personnel found Woll dead outside her home with multiple stab wounds, police said in a statement Saturday. A trail of blood led officers to Woll's home, "which is where the crime is believed to have occurred."

Woll, who led the synagogue since 2022, was also active in Democratic Party affairs, working for US congresswoman Elissa Slotkin and on the campaign of Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, the Detroit Free Press said.

"I am shocked, saddened and horrified to learn of Sam's brutal murder. Sam was as kind a person as I've ever known," Nessel posted on X, formerly Twitter.

Slotkin, who served as a CIA officer before entering Congress, said Woll sought to build "understanding across faiths, bringing light in the face of darkness."

The Free Press said Woll had been active in a grassroots organization aimed at building ties between young Muslims and Jews.

A Muslim member of the US House representing the Detroit area, Rashida Tlaib, described Woll as a friend and said she was shocked at the killing.

"I have no words," Tlaib posted on Facebook.

bur/dw/tjj
Pope Francis leads the Angelus prayer at the Vatican

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis and U.S. President Joe Biden discussed the Israel-Hamas conflict and other wars in a telephone conversation on Sunday, the Vatican said.

The conversation lasted about 20 minutes and "focused on conflict situations in the world and the need to identify paths to peace," the Vatican said.

Israel is preparing for a ground assault on Gaza, two weeks after a Hamas attack in Israel that killed 1,400 people.

Earlier in the day, Francis told crowds in St Peter's Square he was deeply saddened by the "grave situation in Gaza", where an Anglican hospital and a Greek Orthodox church had been bombed.

"Brothers, stop," Pope Francis said.

Biden, who is a Catholic, said on Saturday that he was talking to the Israelis when asked if he was encouraging them to delay an invasion of Gaza.

Hamas said it took about 200 hostages during the incursion into communities and military bases in southern Israel.

The pope has several times called for the release of hostages.

(Reporting by Crispian Balmer, writing by Giselda Vagnoni; editing by John Stonestreet)
QUINCY  Next to the North Quincy Stop & Shop on Newport Avenue, home of a former Supercuts hair salon, hangs a large banner showing platters of fried chicken, golden brown and glistening against a black background.

Bonchon, an international chain of Korean fried chicken restaurants with a wide following, is coming soon, a sign says.

Bonchon, which means my hometown in Korean, opened in New York City in 2007. Its founder, Jinduk Seo, was born in South Korea, where youll find a mom-and-pop fried chicken joint on every block, according to its website.

Fried chicken is a classic American comfort food, but Korean cooks have been putting their own spin on the dish for years. At Bonchon, each piece is hand-battered, fried twice and then brushed with sauce, resulting in an extra-crispy bite. The chicken is fried once to lock in all the succulent juices and again to achieve that signature, crave-worthy crunch, the chains website boasts.

A new chicken restaurant, Bonchon, is planned near the North Quincy Stop & Shop off Newport Avenue.

Its menu includes other Korean dishes such as bulgogi, or thin slices of marinated beef grilled on a barbecue or griddle, and kimchi soup.

The new Quincy restaurant would be Bonchons fifth location in Massachusetts. Currently, South Shore residents have to travel to 123 Brighton Ave. in Allston for the Bonchon experience. Other restaurants are in Waltham, Lowell and Salem.

There are more than 200 Bonchon locations in the United States and internationally, including in Cambodia, France, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, according to the restaurants website. None are listed in South Korea.

More: When a large new medical center will be built in Quincy

More: Some South Shore residents are in danger of losing their health insurance. Here's why

Bonchon would be the second Korean fried chicken restaurant to open in the City of Presidents. In February 2022, bb.q Chicken opened on Billings Road, just across the train tracks from Stop & Shop and the future Bonchon.

Bb.q Chicken was founded in Seoul, South Korea, in 1994 and opened its first American franchise in 2014.

As of Friday, Oct. 20, representatives of Bonchon had yet to contact Quincy's licensing board, City Clerk Nicole Crispo said.

More: This Quincy restaurant was named one of Bon Appetit's best new restaurants of 2023

Bonchon did not respond to a request for comment.

Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Patriot Ledger subscription. Here is our latest offer.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Bonchon, a Korean fried chicken franchise, coming to North Quincy
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has praised the servicemen who distinguished themselves at the front line in the last few weeks on various fronts.

Source: President's evening address

Quote: "Today I just want to praise those of our soldiers who have distinguished themselves, especially over these [last few] weeks. The warriors who helped Ukraine considerably  on different fronts, in different missions. But their [actions] were equally impactful, equally effective.

Kupiansk front, Kharkiv Oblast. Warriors of our strong 57th Separate Motorised Infantry Brigade and the 1st Mechanised Battalion of the 67th Separate Mechanised Brigade, I thank you! Simply great!

Avdiivka and Marinka fronts, [where things are] especially tough. Numerous Russian attacks. But our positions are defended. The 53rd and the 110th separate mechanised brigades, the 59th Separate Motorised Infantry and paratroopers from the 79th Brigade  I thank all of you, soldiers, for a truly exemplary defence. Something that gives confidence to the whole country.

And every time it is an honour for me to thank the soldiers of the 55th Separate Artillery Brigade, which actively and effectively helps all our guys to defend Donetsk Oblast.

Lyman front. Thank you for disrupting the plans of the occupier. Our 68th Separate Jaeger Brigade and units of the famous 95th Separate Brigade of the Air Assault Forces. Well done guys!

Bakhmut front. Both our defence and our assaults, as well as our results are very, very good. I thank the soldiers of the 92nd Separate Assault Brigade and the 93rd Separate Mechanised Brigade. Thank you for your strength, men!

And among all the fronts in the south, I especially want to note the paratroopers of the 46th Air Assault Brigade [fighting] on the Melitopol front. Thank you, men, for truly helping the whole front with your results."

Zelenskyy also promised that next week will bring Ukraine new opportunities "for our defence, for our defence against Russian terror, for our peace formula, which continues to unite the world."

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A woman who claims she was covered with bedbug bites after staying in a Premier Inn hotel has received a refund and compensation from the company.

Vicky Hills, of Dunstable, Bedfordshire, said she noticed the bite marks on her legs after her stay in Hastings, East Sussex, in August.

She said there had been a delay in compensation for new bedding, bug traps and medication she purchased.

Premier Inn apologised and said it was glad to have resolved the issue.

Ms Hills contacted the The JVS Show on BBC Three Counties Radio, which helps with consumer issues, to raise awareness and to seek a refund.

She said on the drive home after staying at the hotel from 10 to 11 August she started getting bite marks on her legs, and first thought they were from mosquitoes.

"They were incredibly itchy, incredibly painful. I had two lines up the front of my leg and then I started getting them on my shoulder and arms," she said.

She then went to a pharmacist who told her the bites could be from bedbugs.

A GP confirmed this and prescribed antibiotics.

Ms Hills disposed of her home bedding and bought bug traps.

The 78 cost of her room was refunded within 10 days but compensation for the items she purchased took nearly two months to be repaid.

After appearing on the BBC show, she received 312, including a goodwill gesture.

A spokeswoman for the company apologised to Ms Hills, saying: "We have rigorous processes in place to both react to and prevent issues on the rare occasion they do arise.

"As soon as our team were aware of this complaint, the room was put on lockdown and independent experts immediately called in to resolve the issue using a specialist treatment, with no further cases reported."

Ms Hills said she had been left with some scarring from the bites, but hoped this would soon fade and be forgotten.

Follow East of England news on Facebook, Instagram and X. Got a story? Email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 0800 169 1830
First Principal

A tony British boarding school has recruited two AI chatbots to work as the school's "principal headteacher" and "head of AI" to act as "servants" to its pupils.

As The Telegraph reports, Cottesmore prep school headmaster and avowed AI booster Tom Rogerson said that the school's chatbots, which are named "Abigail Bailey" and "Jamie Rainer"  both, interestingly, portrayed as people of color  were created to help him with the education management tasks on which they were trained.

The Abigail Bailey chatbot, stylized as a Black woman, is the school's new principal headteacher  basically a fancy term for vice principal  and the Jamie Rainer bot, also portrayed as someone of mixed race, was "hired" on as head of AI after Rogerson told reporters earlier this year that he wanted to recruit someone to run the school's AI initiatives.

"We need to prepare them for a life of using and living with AI and robots which have AI installed in them," Rogerson previously told The Telegraph over the summer. He added that he wants kids to learn to make bots their "benevolent servants"  which, to be fair, does sound like exactly the kind of thing an AI-bullish British prep school headmaster would say.

Empathic Tendencies

In the most recent interview, the headmaster of the Sussex, England-based school said that he decided to appoint an AI to run the school's AI systems because it was a "tall order to fulfill all of [the] remits" he was looking for in the role, which included not only being qualified to run and teach the tech, but also the ability to teach gym and other classes, and to be empathetic.

Rogerson didn't explain how he plans to have AI do all of the aforementioned better than a human  we're particularly puzzled by the gym part  but he did let the British newspaper in on his mindset.

"Being a school leader, a headmaster, is a very lonely job," he told The Telegraph. "Of course, we have head teachers groups... but just having somebody or something on tap that can help you in this lonely place is very reassuring."

Though he's far from the first person to turn to AI out of loneliness, it's telling not only that Rogerson has chosen to appoint the tech to such high-ranking roles, but also that he made them people of color. We've reached out to Cottsmore for clarity on the racializing of these avatars, especially in the context of them being considered "benevolent servants" by its headmaster.

All told, it's a bit baffling to see AI chatbots taking on important positions while the tech is so far from perfect  but then again, in the race to replace humans with algorithms, technological prematurity usually seems beside the point.

More on strange AI: Iranian Authorities Say AI Could Help Issue Fatwas Faster Than Ever Before
(The Hill)  The president of a Detroit synagogue was found stabbed to death outside of her home on Saturday, police said.

Detroit Police said Samantha Woll was found dead outside of her home by a passerby at about 6:30 a.m. Saturday. Officers found a trail of blood leading to the inside of Wolls home, where they said they believe the crime occurred.

Woll, who led the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue, was a former staffer for Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) and senior staffer for Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel s campaign last year.

Bolton suggests Hamas release of US hostages was simple a delay tactic

Police have not identified a potential motive for the killing, they said.

I and all of Team Slotkin is heartbroken at this news, Slotkin said in a Facebook post on Saturday. Sam worked for me from nearly the moment I became a Congresswoman, helping us set up the office & helping to lead it for my full first term.

My heart aches that we have lost someone so dedicated to serving others in such a senseless act, she continued. Ill miss her relentless desire to serve & her bright smile seemingly everywhere across the Detroit area. Team Slotkin shares in the deep grief of her family & her greater community.

Nessel also shared grief over Wolls death in a social media post.

I am shocked, saddened and horrified to learn of Sams brutal murder, Nessel said. Sam was as kind a person as Ive ever known. She was driven by her sincere love of her community, state and country. Sam truly used her faith and activism to create a better place for everyone.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.
Palestinian homeland

The White House details its $105 billion funding request for Israel, Ukraine, the border and more, (sanluisobispo.com, Oct. 20)

President Joe Biden must call for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. I support Israel, but I also support the Palestinians right to their homeland. If Israel launches a full-scale war against Hamas, thousands of Palestinians will be injured and many will be killed. Hamas has developed because the Palestinians have been waiting since the First Word War for a state of their own. The U.S. and the Western World promised them if they fought with the allies they would receive a country of their own.

The same promise was made when the Second World War started. But although there was support for a Palestinian state, the U.S. and the West were more focused on creating Israel. Until the Palestinians have a state of their own, groups like Hamas will continue to be organized and continue violence against Israel.

The big losers are the Palestinians. Eliminating Hamas will not eliminate the violence against Israel. Only a Palestinian homeland will do that. The U.S. must lead the way for that to happen.

Maggie Fertschneider

Atascadero

Path to reconciliation

The White House details its $105 billion funding request for Israel, Ukraine, the border and more, (sanluisobispo.com, Oct. 20)

What do you get when you strip generations of people of their autonomy, humanity, dignity and means for a better life? You reap what you sow in resentment, anger, hate, nihilism, rage, revenge, madness and self-destruction. It erupted in the 9/11 attacks, the attacks on the apartheid regime of South Africa, the troubles in Northern Ireland, the violent revolutions in Central America and in many other places where powerful nations install authoritarian regimes to do their bidding  regardless of the needs and desires of those under their control.

Now, its happening in the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Somehow, we act as if were surprised at the brutality of a conflagration thats been festering for decades. We pretend that were not complicit in the chronic suffering we support with our silent acquiescence to the domination we inflict on others for geopolitical advantage.

Once again, passions are stirred with propaganda, images and lies designed to force everyone to take a side, make rational and compassionate thought and discourse impossible, and to prevent efforts to forge a path to reconciliation.

David Broadwater

Atascadero

Opinion

American foreign policy

The White House details its $105 billion funding request for Israel, Ukraine, the border and more, (sanluisobispo.com, Oct. 20)

Since Oct. 7, the gutless, overpaid sycophantic liars that predominate the mainstream media (especially on TV) have continually and repeatedly insisted  without any actual evidence  that Hamas military wing pulled off an inexcusably successful and ultra-violent operation against the usually heavily armed kibbutzim immediately adjacent to the Gaza Strip in a so-called surprise attack.

If you couldnt see this sort of thing coming from the Gaza Strip, then you must be every bit as blind and dumb as that corrupt criminal con man Bibi Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel.

Anyone whos been paying any attention whatsoever to the Israeli governments blatantly and unrepentantly racist South African Apartheid-style policies against the ultra-oppressed Palestinian people should have been able to see this coming. How could you not?

How does that full-blown fascist failure Netanyahu still have his job? We need to start an honest conversation about American foreign policy  something that our mainstream media apparently considers to be completely forbidden.

Jake Pickering

Arcata

Steep rates

New SLO County project to feature 59 condos, retail space. Take a look at the plans, (sanluisobispo.com, Oct. 14)

Grover Beach water rates are set to rise on January 1, 2024, at nearly 20% each year into 2028. We are told that we currently have the lowest rates. Thats correct  for now. But by around 2026, at a 60% rate increase, we will claim the highest rates, with our rates increasing higher than Arroyo Grande and Pismo Beachs rates are set to increase during this same period.

Our Grover Beach leaders turned us from the lowest rate payers to the highest. Why? The cost of living in California is already high enough.

Kenneth Lehmann

Grover Beach

Feckless stooges

All 12 California Republicans back Rep. Jim Jordan, who again falls short in bid for Speaker, (sacbee.com, Oct. 17)

We are less than a month from a possible government shutdown. World conditions are dangerously unstable and a functioning government is essential. However, after removing the elected speaker without a replacement plan, the Republicans have chosen an extremist member of Congress as their leader. Thankfully, Rep. Jim Jordan has had difficulty securing support.

Its alarming and appalling that the entire California Republican Congressional delegation, including Reps. Kevin Kiley, Doug LaMalfa, and Tom McClintock, has no problem voting for a man intimately connected to the January 6th insurrection and who still denies the outcome of the 2020 election  not to mention those credible allegations of enabling sexual assault.

These local representatives and the entire Republican party have shown us theyre uninterested in governing. Chaos and dysfunction are their brand. Lets fix that in 2024 and replace these feckless stooges.

Barbara Smith

Auburn

Waning confidence

California: Gavin Newsoms tiny homes are delayed, (sacbee.com, Oct. 12)

As someone who feels strongly about the homelessness crisis, I like the states initiative to solve this problem. But the fact that the governor is making promises he cant keep is concerning. If Gov. Gavin Newsom is saying the tiny homes project will get done by fall, people believe him; but so far no homes have been built.

The fact that the state still doesnt have a contracted business to construct the homes is very concerning, and the fact that it has moved the date to contract with someone three times doesnt make me feel confident that this will be completed in the near future.

Emet Altevogt-Ward

Folsom
NASA plans to return humans to the moon in 2025 with the Artemis III mission. Before that, the space agency will conduct a vital preliminary mission in November 2024, when the Artemis II mission flies a crew of astronauts in lunar orbit for the first time since the 1970s. But the important first step toward those goals, as NASA put it in a recent blog post, is the planned launch of the IM-1 mission carrying the NOVA-C lunar lander in a few weeks. It will attempt to land several NASA science experiments near Malapert A, a crater in the southern lunar polar region. Those studies could help NASA prepare for astronaut operations in the area in 2025.

Unlike the Artemis missions, though, NOVA-C isnt a big NASA project. Instead, the truck-sized craft designed to ferry small payloads to the lunar surface was built, and will be operated by, the small Texas-based company Intuitive Machines.

If it succeeds in landing near the lunar south pole, NOVA-C will be the first US soft landing on the moon since the 1970s, and the first ever commercial landing on the moon that hasnt crashed or failed. So why is a small spacecraft built by a relatively small company a key part of NASAs big moon program?

There is a pattern that we have now seen of NASA trying to move to more commercial solutions and services, rather than do it all on their own, says Wendy Whitman Cobb , a space policy expert and instructor at the US Air Force School of Advanced Air and Space Studies. It's much like NASAs Commercial Crew and Cargo programs, which contracted with SpaceX to fly astronauts and supplies to the International Space Station aboard its Dragon space capsules.

[Related: Why do all these countries want to go to the moon right now? ]

Now NASA is turning to commercial companies to prepare the way for humanitys return to the moon. Intuitive Machines was one of the first companies to receive a contract for $77 million under NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services, or CLPS program, back in 2019. NASA designed CLPS to fund private sector companies interested in building small, relatively inexpensive spacecraft to fly experiments and rovers to the moon, allowing NASA to simply purchase room on the spacecraft rather than developing and operating it themselves.

An illustration of Intuitive Machines' NOVA-C lander on the lunar surface.

In the case of NOVA-C, five NASA payloads will ride along with devices from universities including Louisiana State and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. The NASA payloads will focus on demonstrating communication, navigation and precision landing technologies, and gathering scientific data about rocket plume and lunar surface interactions, as well as space weather and lunar surface interactions affecting radio astronomy, the space agency wrote in a blog post about the mission.

We don't still don't know a lot about the moon, Whitman Cobb adds. The moon has variable gravity depending on where there are more metallic materials. "Finding out where those places are, how lunar dust is going to kick up when youre trying to land or take offall of these things are really key.

Thats why NASA is sending payloads to ride along with NOVA-C. But the reason NOVA-C is landing where it is, about 300 kilometers from the south pole, has more to do with how the whole world is now thinking about the moon.

NOVA-C was originally destined to land in the Oceanus Procellarum, one of the large, dark areas known as mares, or seas, on the lunar surface. But in May, NASA and Intuitive Machines announced the change in plans and the new target near the south pole.

[Related: We finally have a detailed map of water on the moon ]

The decision to move from the original landing site in Oceanus Procellarum was based on a need to learn more about terrain and communications near the lunar South Pole, NASA announced in a blog post at the time. Landing near Malapert A also will help mission planners understand how to communicate and send data back to Earth from a location that is low on the lunar horizon.

The reasons NASA wants to land near the lunar south pole with Artemis , and why the recent and successful Chandrayaan 3 mission of India, and the failed Russian Luna 25 mission, both targeted the lunar south pole are twofold: research and resources , according to Richard Carlson , a lunar geologist who retired from the Carnegie Institute for Science in 2021.

Both north and south polar regions have permanently shadowed craters where water has been detected from orbit, he says. The real question is whether that water is a one micron surface coating of water on a few grains, or whether it's a substantial abundance of water. Water of course being useful for a lot of things, from drinking water to turning it into hydrogen and oxygen, which is rocket fuel.

The other motivation for going to the south pole is that its geologically very different from where the Apollo missions landed, according to Carlson. They all landed on a pretty small portion of the moon on the Earth facing side of the moon on the nice flat mares, and that's a rather unusual part of the moon geologically, he says. If you think of studying the Earth this way, the Apollo lunar program would have basically landed on, let's say, just North America, and that's it.

The lunar south polar region is much more geologically varied, with tall mountains and ridges, as well as rocks dug out from deep within the moon and scattered over the region by impact craters billions of years ago, Carlson says. But of course, such a landscape has its downsides for spacecraft coming from Earth.

You look at the pictures of the places that they selected [for Artemis III] and I wouldn't want to land there. I mean, they're really rough, he says. If we land on a rock, the spacecraft is going to fall over. Sending small, uncrewed craft like NOVA-C to the moons south polar ahead of Artemis astronauts will test how difficult landing there really is.

After all, as Witman Cobb notes, touching down anywhere on the moon is really hard. Before the failed Luna 25 landing on August 21, there were two failed commercial lunar landings. The Israeli company SpaceIL saw its Beresheet lander crash land in 2019, while the Hakuto-R M1 lander from Japanese company ispace crashed in April.

We haven't seen a commercial company be successful in landing on the moon yet, Whitman Cobb says. That's really fascinating when you think about our capability of landing humans on the moon in the 1960s, and 1970s. That today, with all of the technology that we now have, this is still a really, really difficult thing to do.
LONDON (Reuters) - About 20,000 people rallied in London's Trafalgar Square on Sunday to demand the release of more than 200 hostages taken by Hamas during their Oct. 7 incursion from Gaza into Israel in which 1,400 Israelis were killed.

Waving the blue and white Israeli flag adorned with the Star of David, several participants wept as the names of hostages were read out to the crowd.

Ayelet Svtizky described how Hamas had entered her mother's home as she was speaking on the phone to her.

"A few minutes later, Hamas sent me two pictures of my mum and my brother sitting in my mum's living room," she said. "The third picture they uploaded to my mum's Facebook story with a Hamas gunman in the background. And that's the last I heard of them.

"My message is these atrocities should never be forgotten," she said. "The hostages should be brought home now."

The rally followed a pro-Palestinian demonstration on Saturday in which an estimated 100,000 people marched through the centre of London.

London's Metropolitan Police said two people had been arrested for shouting abuse towards those taking part in Sunday's vigil.

A total of 4,741 Palestinians have been killed and 15,898 wounded in Israeli bomb and rocket attacks on Gaza since the incursion, with over a million of the densely populated enclave's 2.3 million people displaced.

(Reporting by Yann Tessier and Paul Sandle; Editing by Nick Macfie)
A chaotic clash in Brooklyn between pro-Palestinian protestors and NYPD cops ended with 19 adults and three juveniles charged, officials said Sunday.

The Bay Ridge demonstration brought out thousands of protesters before turning violent Saturday night. One video on social media showed an NYPD officer appearing to punch a demonstrator, while the NYPD countered that cops were pelted with eggs, fireworks, and bottles.

Bay Ridge includes an enclave for a large Arab population in the city. The protest marked the second time in as many days NYPD cops took pro-Palestinian demonstrators into custody.

An NYPD spokesperson said the protesters did not have a permit but were mostly peaceful, though some chose to act in a combative and aggressive manner.

Officers were pushed, shoved, and struck by some demonstrators within the crowd after the LRAD (long-range acoustic device) device was utilized, the NYPD said in a statement. Officers were struck with flying debris which included eggs, fireworks, and bottles.

NYPD officers have used the departments LRAD sound cannons at protests for several years, leading to a $750,00 legal settlement with Black Lives Matters protestors in 2021 that bars the cops from using a loud high-pitched deterrent alert tone.

The NYPD said that the officer caught on video throwing a punch was part of a group trying to take people into custody on Fifth Ave. near 72nd St.

In the course of doing so, the officer seen in the video is reacting to active resistance by criminals within the crowd, the statement reads. The NYPD encourages peaceful protests but will not condone our officers being subjected to any form of violence.

Ten men and six women were issued summonses for disorderly conduct and released, while two men, ages 29 and 18, and a woman, 19, were arrested and given desk appearance tickets for charges including resisting arrest and disorderly conduct, according to an NYPD spokesman.

Two minors were given juvenile reports, while a third got a summons.

On Sunday, Bay Ridge residents praised the protests, saying the majority of demonstrators were spreading a message of unity and peace.

The cops hit somebody, (a) young guy. My friend showed me yesterday  its a shame. Its very bad, said Dondu Jacob, 52. The Jewish and Palestine people, we need peace. The protest is good for trying to keep that message of keeping peace. Its good to see people united.

Kamal Eldin, 66, who works at a nearby jewelry store, said he saw Muslims and Jewish people protesting together with a common message.

They were saying what they need In Gaza  food, medical supplies  and to stop the fighting, he said. I feel happy because all kinds of people are saying what the people need and showing their support.

Southern Brooklyn Councilman Ari Kagan, who recently switched party affiliation from Democrat to Republican, blasted the protest, calling it a shameful pro-Hamas & anti-Israel rally.

Today in Bay Ridge there was a rally against Genocide in Gaza. No speaker mentioned HAMAS atrocities against innocent Israeli civilians. And crowd chanted HAMAS slogan: From the river to the sea Palestine will be free!  advocating for eradication of Jews from Israel, he tweeted.

The protest, organized by a group called Within Our Lifetime, called for an end to airstrikes on civilians in Gaza and for a halt to U.S. funding for the Israeli military.

On Friday, hundreds of pro-Palestinian protestors gathered in Midtown to demand a ceasefire in the war. Cops took 139 of them into custody for blocking traffic and later released them with disorderly conduct summonses, according to the NYPD.
Rally in support of Palestinians amid the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in New York

(Reuters) -Pulitzer Prize-winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen said on Saturday a Jewish organization in New York City canceled a reading he was due to give on Friday without explanation, a day after he said he signed an open letter condemning Israel's "indiscriminate violence" against Palestinians in Gaza.

Nguyen, a Vietnamese-American professor and writer whose novel "The Sympathizer" won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, was scheduled to speak at the 92nd Street Y literary center's Christopher Lightfoot Walker Reading Series event in Manhattan at 8 p.m.

Writing on Instagram, Nguyen said he learned at 3 p.m. that the event had been canceled by the 92NY. The center describes itself on its website as "a proudly Jewish organization."

"Their language was 'postponement,' but no reason was given, no other date was offered, and I was never asked," Nguyen wrote. "So, in effect, cancellation. Some people in social media comments say they heard it was a bomb threat. I've heard no such thing from 92Y staff."

In a statement to Reuters, a spokesperson for 92NY confirmed it postponed the event, citing Nguyen's stance on Israel as well as the Oct. 7 attack by militants of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and continued holding of hostages, which it said "has absolutely devastated the community."

"Given the public comments by the invited author on Israel and this moment, we felt the responsible course of action was to postpone the event while we take some time to determine how best to use our platform and support the entire 92NY community," the spokesperson said.

Nguyen's representatives did not respond to messages seeking more details.

The unprecedented attack into southern Israel by Hamas two weeks ago killed 1,400 people, and resulted in Israel imposing a "total siege" of Gaza that has left the enclave's 2.3 million people running out of food, water, medicines and fuel.

In an Instagram post on Thursday, Nguyen said he signed the open letter along with other authors because the effect of Israel's policy was the inevitable death of civilians.

"That is wrong and it must stop," he wrote, saying he remained a strong supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement that calls for economic pressure on Israel to end the occupation of Palestinian land.

Nguyen said the organizers of Friday night's event switched it to an independent bookshop.

"I spoke about my book, yes, but also about how art is silenced in times of war and division because some people only want to see the world as us vs them," Nguyen wrote on Saturday. "And writing is the only way I know how to fight. And writing is the only way I know how to grieve."

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani, David Ljunggren and Joseph Ax; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
Launch of the ATACMS missile in South Korea

All three airfields housing Russian military helicopters in the occupied territories of Ukraine are now within range of ATACMS missiles, former Aidar Battalion platoon commander Yevhen Dykyi said in an interview with Radio NV on Oct. 20.

Ukrainian forces successfully targeted two of the three Russian helicopter parking areas with ATACMS missiles, effectively eliminating nine helicopters in a single strike earlier this week.

Read also: Ex-commander offers analysis of Ukrainian cross-river operation in Kherson Oblast

Taking out nine helicopters in a single strike is indeed a significant achievement, said Dykyi.

However, the greater significance lies in the fact that theyll now be compelled to relocate to more distant airfields, as these two could become targets again at any given moment.

Whats more, their third airfield, Dzhankoy, also falls within the ATACMS strike range, at a distance of just 165 kilometers, he added.

NV

Dykyi speculated that the reason for not targeting the Dzhankoy airfield was that the Russians had already removed their equipment from that location.

Helicopters are formidable machines, particularly devastating when it comes to armored vehicles. Soviet-designed helicopters, including the Mi-24 and all Ka models, were primarily developed as anti-armor assets, functioning as tank killers.

In reality, this front-line aviation proved to be the second most significant challenge for our armor in the south, following the threat of minefields, Dykyi said.

Read also: How Ukraine used its first ATACMS against Russian air power

With a significant number of helicopters still at their disposal, Dykyi anticipates that the Russians will continue to utilize them. However, he said that this would be a more complex endeavor, requiring longer flights and consuming additional time and resources.

This changes the way they operate. They are not used to fighting this way. They are not accustomed to the concept of guerrilla aviation, he explained.

We have been conducting guerrilla aviation for a year-and-a-half now, and our air force is doing a brilliant job with it.

Ukrainian Defense Forces conducted airstrikes on airfields and equipment in the temporarily occupied cities of Berdyansk and Luhansk on the night of Oct. 17. The specific weaponry used in these attacks was not disclosed at the time.

These strikes were subsequently characterized by propagandists as one of the most significant attacks since the onset of the full-scale invasion.

Read also: Former Aidar commander discusses plans to outflank Russians from rear before dam blast

Ukraines Special Operations Forces reported significant losses for the Russians, including nine helicopters, specialized equipment, and an ammunition depot. Additionally, the latest information indicates that dozens of military personnel were killed.

Later on the same day, several U.S. media outlets, citing anonymous sources, reported that Ukraine had deployed ATACMS missiles supplied by the United States for the first time. This information was subsequently confirmed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

According to the AP news agency, the U.S. had delivered less than a dozen ATACMS missiles to Ukraine. However, U.S. newspaper the New York Times, citing two Western officials, stated that the U.S. had dispatched approximately 20 ATACMS missiles with a limited range.

One of the anonymous officials specified that one of the conditions for providing these long-range missiles to Ukraine was the assurance that they would not be used to target Russian territory.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
A deal for the city of Orlando to purchase the Pulse nightclub property may have averted the construction of a memorial at a different locationa potential reality many survivors and family members of victims lamented.

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer revealed Wednesday the city plans to purchase the Pulse site for $2 million. A vote to accept the sale is set for Monday, with closing on the sale expected on Friday.

Orlando has deal to purchase Pulse nightclub, Mayor Dyer says

But the bluster that led the city to intervene has ignited questions and concerns from the public and the people closest to the tragedy.

Its unclear whether the city intends to involve the onePulse Foundation, which originally spearheaded plans for a memorial. After the pandemic, the foundations original plans fell apart when the costs to collectively build a Pulse museum, memorial and Survivors Walk skyrocketed.

Earlier this year, onePulse also ceased to pursue purchasing the memorial site following a stalemate in real estate negotiations with the property owners, one being Barbara Poma, who is the former executive director and founder of the foundation.

People familiar with the tragedy wonder whether the city will begin a new public design process.

Others worry about how the city will respond to resurfaced concerns of alleged unpermitted work within the nightclub that may have hindered the rescue of patrons on the day of the tragedy.

Though the city has not laid out a clear path forward, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer told the Orlando Sentinel Wednesday he is determined to be more forthright with plans.

I dont think we want to lay a timetable out today, but we will shortly, he said. What I can promise you is there will be a lot more transparency. At least what Im hearing from victims and their families is that they havent been getting a lot of information over the course of time and that theyre frustrated by that.

Prior to Orlando announcing plans to purchase the Pulse nightclub, roughly three dozen Pulse survivors and family members of victims signed an email to Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings and Dyer asking they get involved so a memorial can be built at the location of the tragedy.

We seek your compassion and help in ensuring that the site of the tragedy of Pulse Night club serves as the proper and only location for this memorial, the email read. No other location makes sense to honor the loved ones we have lost. We have notified the onePULSE Foundation of our concerns and our request. But we believe that you more than anyone  understand how we feel.

Ashley Papagni, a spokesperson for the city, said the email facilitated a meeting with the mayor.

Last month, another group representing Pulse survivors and family members specifically asked Orange County to step in.

The email took a more upset tone with the city and the foundation.

The little money and property that onePULSE still has should be donated to the County for a public memorial, the email read.

The email referenced a series of police reports filed by family members of victims and survivors that claim the city allowed the nightclub to operate in violation of city codes for years and that certain violations hampered the rescue and the evacuation of victims and survivors in 2016 when Omar Mateen carried out one of the nations most deadliest shootings.

Alleged violations include an unpermitted fence.

There are significant issues with the City of Orlando that prevent the city from being the appropriate stewards of a public Pulse memorial, the email read.

The Orlando Police Department confirmed it received about two dozen complaints asking for a criminal investigation earlier this summer.

The Orlando Police Department will contact the complainant once the review process has been completed as we do with all complaints, OPD said in an unsigned email in September in response to the Sentinel checking on the status of the complaints.

Orlando spokeswoman Cassandra Bell said city code enforcement officers investigated complaints and found no evidence of violations alleged.

Brenda Campos Marquez, cousin of Pulse victim Brenda Lee Marquez-McCool, said she believes the city is trying to hide evidence.

She has spoken out publicly for several Spanish-speaking survivors and family members of victims, some of whom live in Puerto Rico and Colombia.

Is Barbra Poma going to be held accountable? Is the city going to be held accountable for all they have put us through to search for the truth? she asked. In remembrance of all the ones that died, we will continue to fight.

Olga Disla, mother of Pulse victim Anthony Luis Laureano Disla, said shes waited a long time for a permanent and dignified memorial.

The Sentinel interviewed her last month while visiting the interim memorial on South Orange Avenue.

[The memorial] needs to be here. Not somewhere else, she said. Its time to make something beautiful so that when someone comes here they can have the peace and the harmony to think of the ones they love and lost.

However the victims and survivors of the Pulse tragedy are honored and memorialized, Orlando can expect citizens to want to be part of the discussion and to demand accountability.

Robb Lauzon, a researcher who is currently consulting on an effort to commemorate victims of COVID-19, said if tax dollars are paying for the property, then the city should get prepared to be subject to more public input and publicity.

Orlando has a responsibility now to own this tragedy, he said. Survivors are never going to be unified in their vision for how the site will be memorialized, but if the city does not take their voices into consideration the project can become a lightning rod of controversy.

Ryan Gillespie contributed to this article.

arabines@orlandosentinel.com, rygillespie@orlandosentinel.com
Guy Dufault is the former chairman of the Rhode Island Democratic Party and a political consultant. Gary Sasse served as the director of the Rhode Island Departments of Administration and Revenue, and executive director of Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council.

Majority rule is a key tenet of the American system of government. But today in Rhode Island and across the country, candidates can win elections with 30% of the vote  or even less.

To address this challenge, a group of Rhode Islanders recently issued the Peoples Primary White Paper presenting options for much needed and long overdue reforms to the Ocean States primary election system. The options included: nonpartisan top-two primaries, ranked choice voting (RCV), and open partisan primaries.

Peoples Primary was premised on the belief that a fair and accountable primary election system can influence who seeks public office, how issues are framed, and ultimately the quality of governance.

More: Do Rhode Islanders trust their government? Here's what a new URI poll found.

Peoples Primary found that Rhode Islands primaries were characterized by dismal voter participation, limited competition, and winners who often failed to earn 50% of the vote. A poll conducted by the Hassenfeld Institute for Public Leadership found that Rhode Island voters were open to changing the way elections are conducted, with 59% favoring an open top-two primary.

Since the Peoples Primary White Paper was issued there has been considerable in-depth academic analysis nationwide of primary reform alternatives and how they might impact our democratic institutions.

The nonpartisan Unite America Institute, which researches the root causes of political polarization, recently weighed impact of Californias top-two nonpartisan primaries. They found the California reforms produced:

A Providence resident votes at the Salvation Army on Pitman Street.

 More bipartisan and moderate legislative behavior.

 Higher overall voter participation in primary elections. In 2020, California had the third-highest primary turnout in the nation at 33.3 percent.

 Increased electoral competition both between and within political parties. In the two election cycles prior to the implementation of Top Two (2008 and 2010) well over 80% of General Election Assembly partisan primary elections were uncontested. However, in every election cycle since then fewer than 20% of such primaries are uncontested.

The top-two approach in California has increased voter participation and candidate competition while decreasing polarization. As Unite America concluded, That is a recipe for more representative and functional government.

Ranked choice voting is another primary reform option that has received considerable interest. It is a system where all candidates are ranked by each voter. If no candidate receives 50% of the vote a ranking process then commences. Ranking continues until a candidate obtains an outright majority. Ranked choice voting may require multiple rounds of vote counting, take weeks to certify results, and candidates who lose the initial round of voting can still prevail at the end of the process.

The key question about ranked choice voting is this: Does its potential to improve political accountability outweigh concerns about electoral transparency, efficiency and participation equality?

More: Looming retirement of RI elections director casts spotlight on position's tumultuous past

In April 2023, political scientists at the University of Minnesotas Humphrey School of Public Affairs sought an answer. Their research found that here is little evidence that ranked choice voting decreased political polarization, but rather increased animosity among Democrats and Republicans compared to our current system. This is consistent with other research that found The ranked-choice system  is biased towards extreme candidates and away from moderate ones.

Proponents of ranked choice voting contend that it reduces negative campaigns, but political scientists at the University of Minnesota said most research found little to no impact or even increased negativity.

Another benefit of ranked choice voting mentioned by advocates is increased voter turnout and engagement of minorities. But researchers at the University of Minnesota found little evidence to support increased minority turnout and some evidence that it chases them away.

There are no panaceas for the problems confronting our politics, but primary reform based on facts and sound research is likely to produce better results than maintaining Rhode Islands primary election system.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RIs primaries have dismal voter participation, limited competition, and winners who often failed to earn 50% of the vote.
There are an awful lot of tombstones in my neighborhood lately. They bear names like "Noah Scape" and "Izzy Dead." They pop up regularly this time of year, and disappear again in November. And with each passing Halloween, they less resemble some familiar authentic counterpart as they do a vestige of a bygone tradition.

Here in the U.S., fewer and fewer of us are choosing to spend our afterlife six feet under. Since 2015, cremation has surpassed traditional burial as the preferred choice for our remains, and the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) estimates that by 2035, a stunning 80% of us will be opting for cremation.

A big driving factor, of course, is cost  caskets are expensive, cemetery plots are expensive and graveside maintenance is expensive. In my state, New York, funeral and burial fees can run between $8,000 and $12,000. And that's just the basics. Jack Mitchell, president of the National Funeral Directors Association, talked to Marketplace earlier this year about the man hours to prepare for a viewing with embalming and dressing and cosmetics, and then to have staff there to oversee when a visitation was going on.

Another factor is the peripatetic nature of modern life. "Its a very transient world we live in today," Mike Nicodemus, the vice president of cremation services for the NFDA told CNN back in 2020. My in-laws rest side by side in a leafy plot not far from the home they used to share. But for many of us, a final resting place presupposes that one has had a final living place. And given that the average American moves around eleven times in a lifetime, where we end up is likely far from where we started.

Then there's the unignorable limitation of space. In the U.K., a quarter of town council-owned cemeteries will likely be at capacity within the next decade. In America, urban centers are already facing a similar shortage of spaces, with historic cemeteries like Green-Wood and Arlington nearing capacity. (You thought it was hard finding a place to live in the city? Try finding one when you're dead.) My mother's ashes are tucked in a corner of a Catholic cemetery and mausoleum one state over. Her parents and deceased siblings are buried in an entirely different area  there was no room left for her there by the time she died.

But while cremation is an increasingly popular and seemingly more environmentally friendly choice  especially if you opt for a biodegradable container  there are downsides. Marc Bisson, managing director at Catholic Cemeteries in Canada, says, "Both traditional burials and cremation have pros and cons when it comes to the environment. While cremation avoids leaving large coffins and remains in the ground, which can be potentially harmful, it still emits large amounts of pollutants and utilizes fossil fuels to power the furnace."

Bisson notes an increasing number of alternatives for what to do with one's body once it's shuffled off the mortal coil. "Some new processes are emerging as potentially more sustainable options for cremation, including liquid cremation or aquamation," he says, explaining the process. "Through using alkaline hydrolysis, organic body compounds can be dissolved, leaving only bone, which can then be cremated to ash for your urn. The hydrolysis liquid is safe for water disposal, and this process helps limit the use of traditional cremation incinerators."

He adds that for those who want a more traditional experience but with a sustainable twist, there are still more choices. "Different elements go into a green burial," he says, "including a biodegradable casket and tombstone, a natural fiber shroud, a shallow grave to accelerate biodegradation, and opting for overall smaller headstones. Additionally, if you are being kept in a casket over burying cremated remains, you can choose not to use chemical embalming, which helps to avoid polluting the ground when decomposition takes place."

But so-called green burials come with their own set of drawbacks. While the process is legal, the industry around it remains largely unregulated. Earlier this month, "at least" 189 decaying bodies were discovered in a Colorado funeral home called Return to Nature. The business had offered cremation services and "green" burials without the use of embalming fluids. The company had suffered recent business losses and had been operating with an expired license. It is expected to take several weeks to identify the decedents.

One of the more intriguing new developments in remains management is the so-called mushroom suit. Over a decade ago, artist and inventor Jae Rhim Lee created a stir  and a viral TED Talk  with her proposal for an "Infinity Burial System," a spores-laden shroud that essentially composts the body. Luke Perry chose this plan before his death in 2019, though there are questions regarding its effectiveness.

And for those who prefer the water to the woods, sea burials are another option, though the Environmental Protection Agency keeps an understandably tight rein on exactly what parts of the country they can occur, and how far out the body must be released.

My friend Fawn Fitter has written about her plans for a sustainable afterlife at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville Forensic Anthropology Center. At the "Body Farm," students learn how to extract critical information from decomposing bodies for identification and criminal investigations. "What I really want," she wrote at the time, "is to be as useful as possible for as long as possible."

My own hope is to follow a similar purposeful intention. Several years ago, I visited my doctor in the lab where he'd worked for years developing cancer immunotherapies. A former patient had arrived that morning, this time in a zippered bag, to make one final contribution to research. As a fellow long-term clinical trial patient, I can't imagine a more fitting place for me to wind up eventually, too.

For a host of practical reasons, the cemetery appears to be a dying proposition. But as evidenced by a multitude of atmospheric seasonal decorations, there is still nothing quite like a graveyard for drama. After all, there aren't too many great cinematic scenes involving urns  and even fewer that aren't comedic. A solemn gathering in front of a headstone, in contrast, has the weight of significance. But that may be less about any literal dead body in the ground than it is about our human need for memorial.

"As perspectives in our society continue to evolve, many traditional burial practices are being reimagined," says Elreacy Dock, a Las Vegas thanatologist and death educator. Historically, cemeteries have served as a place of remembrance and reflection. Many of the 19th-century cemeteries were intended to be spaces for peaceful recreation and lingering during visitations of loved ones, so these locations showcased lush landscapes that featured willow trees, flowerbeds and lakes."

She notes that "Although this approach to cemetery design is less popular in the 21st century," there are still ways of incorporating tradition into modern death rituals. "It would be most comparable to conservation and green burial cemeteries," she says, "which emphasize maintaining natural landscapes without disrupting the environment or surrounding habitats." She speculates, "The future of death beyond burial may shift to digital memorials, virtual tributes and interactive platforms that enable bereaved individuals to honor their loved ones without the limits of physical space."

We think of death as an event. It's not. It's a process, one that continues long after the last mourner leaves the funeral. We break down, we burn or liquefy, we become part of the earth or the air or the water. And understanding and making choices about what becomes of our corporeal remnants matters, not for us but for those who loved us and for the planet we were briefly alive on. "The way we choose to memorialize our loved ones will also significantly change over time," says Dock. "However, what will not change is the essence of remembrance."
When Rep. Debbie Lesko began her first full term in Congress in 2019, she was one of four Republicans on the House Rules Committee, an assignment with quiet power for the majority party and an especially frustrating one for the GOP, which was not.

For Lesko, R-Ariz., it was a sign of mutual faith between her and then-House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. She had a relatively full plate of committee assignments for a newcomer, and she put in two years on Rules in a move that could pay off for her down the road.

By 2021, she rose to the far more influential House Energy and Commerce Committee and was seen as one of the more conventional members of the often-unruly House Freedom Caucus.

Fast forward to Oct. 3: McCarthy was deposed as House speaker  with notable help from two of Leskos fellow Arizona Republicans. The resulting leadership void that remains unresolved left her dismayed.

This is a total disaster, Lesko told reporters in Washington.

Leskos surprise retirement last week ensures her congressional career will likely end next year with an impressive climb within the institution of Congress, but relatively little to show legislatively. A spokesperson said Lesko was not available last week to elaborate on her decision and her career.

Clearly, being in the minority for most of her service and being junior limits how much youre going to get done, said Bruce Oppenheimer, a political science professor emeritus at Vanderbilt University who focused on legislative politics.

He said Leskos seat on the Commerce Committee is a sign of how leadership viewed her. Her retirement from a safe seat for an incumbent Republican seems to be a sign of how she views Washington.

Disaffection with the institution happens, Oppenheimer said.

Ambassador for Republican women

Lesko spent two full terms operating under Democratic control, when few GOP priorities could advance. Under Republican control this year, the chamber is engulfed in an intraparty power struggle that leaves in doubt whether the government can even pass an annual budget.

But Lesko showed her personal popularity within GOP circles in other ways.

Lesko has been an ambassador for Republican women, and in the 2022 elections, voters elected more of them than ever. She achieved a moment of prominence when former President Donald Trump picked her to help his messaging operation during his first impeachment trial.

U.S. Rep. Debbie Lesko speaks during a rally, Oct. 9, 2022, in Mesa, Ariz. Lesko announced on Oct. 17, 2023, that she will not run in 2024.

Wendy Schiller, a political science professor at Brown University, where she studies Congress, gender and politics, said Leskos retirement is a blow for Republican efforts at recruiting women.

She got her name out there pretty quickly when she came to the House, Schiller said.

My guess is when the National Republican Congressional Committee went out to recruit women to run for Congress, she was front and center in the recruitment efforts. Seeing someone like her be successful and navigate the party is something the party could use or could have used as inspiration for deciding to run because part of the problem for Republicans more than the Democrats is there arent enough women willing to run for the House.

Lesko carved out a pretty good territory for herself as a voice for the GOP on border security, gun rights and womens security, Schiller said.

In most respects, Lesko was a low-drama replacement to former Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., whose eight-term career ended in 2017 after a former staffer said he offered her millions to be the surrogate mother of his child.

The fact that she was able to serve on Energy and Commerce, which is generally considered an A committee, coming from a safe seat, does say a lot about her, said Chris Baker, a Republican campaign consultant who has not worked for Lesko.

They tend to give those seats to Republicans in vulnerable seats. That speaks well of her, that she was able to move into a position of influence quickly.  No one can deny that fact.

Prime sponsor of 2 bills that became law

The Center for Effective Lawmaking, a project involving Vanderbilt and the University of Virginia, attempts to measure legislative effectiveness for members of Congress by the kind of bills they pursue and how far those proceed. It accounts for being in the majority or minority.

By their methods, Lesko was one of the top members of Congress in her first full term, when Democrats controlled the House and Trump was president. In her second full term, Lesko was below average when Democrats controlled the House and President Joe Biden was in the White House.

Overall, she was the prime sponsor of two bills that became law, according to GovTrack, a nonpartisan organization that monitors Congress and its legislation.

One bill renamed a post office in Surprise. The other required an analysis of the safety of the nations ports of entry.

Earlier this year, Lesko was the prime sponsor of a bill to Save Our Gas Stoves, a partisan measure seeking to bar federal prohibitions on gas-powered stoves. It passed the House in June mostly with Republican votes and has, so far at least, languished in the Democratic-controlled Senate.

I never would have thought that I would need to introduce legislation to protect Americans kitchen appliances, she said during floor debate. But this only goes to show how out of touch this administrations policies have become.

Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn., argued against the bill, and a companion measure.

These bills are the latest Republican attempt to manufacture a crisis and reject common-sense rulemaking from the Biden administration, she said. These bills are purposefully misleading and reject legitimate concerns about the threats gas stoves pose to our personal safety, public safety, and the energy efficiency of our homes.

The White House issued a statement of its strong opposition, noting that it wasnt trying to ban gas stoves, and such decisions will ultimately be rooted in safety and science.

U.S. Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz., speaks during a rally for President Donald Trump at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix on Feb.19, 2020.

Only two other Lesko bills have made it to the Senate, according to ProPublicas analyses of bills during her career.

There are other, less glamorous duties in Congress, such as tending to constituent concerns. Leskos tenure included triaging the problem of managing the pandemic. Her office fielded calls from business owners trying to secure emergency federal funding, along with the usual slate of problems, from Medicare and Social Security to passports and unemployment assistance.

She voted to set aside Arizona election results

After the 2020 presidential election, Lesko had a mixed record in Republican efforts to overturn Trumps loss in Arizona and in the Electoral College.

Before Maricopa County certified its results, Lesko didnt join her other House Republicans from Arizona in sending a letter to the Board of Supervisors asking the county to manually audit every ballot cast.

But Lesko was one of more than 100 congressional Republicans to join a failed December 2020 lawsuit trying to set aside results in other states.

The day before the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, Lesko told her House Republican colleagues in a meeting that she was worried Trump supporters actually thought Congress could reverse Trumps loss.

And when that doesnt happen  most likely will not happen  they are going to go nuts, she said in a recording played for the select House committee that probed the causes of the riot.

On the day of the riot, Lesko, and 138 other House Republicans, voted to set aside the results in Arizona and Pennsylvania after the pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol.

Her own campaigns were less suspenseful.

After an unusually competitive special election in April 2018, Leskos electoral hold on her district grew to the point that Democrats didnt formally challenge her in 2022.

She has voted the same as McCarthy 92% of the time this year, and about that much in earlier terms, ProPublica found.

U.S. Rep. Debbie Lesko takes the stage to deliver remarks during former President Donald Trump's rally at Legacy Sports Park in Mesa on Oct. 9, 2022.

Lesko had a burst of attention in January 2020, when Trump made her one of eight House Republicans on his first impeachment defense team.

She helped offer the White Houses view of the case House Democrats brought against him for pressuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky into saying that country had opened an investigation into Hunter Biden and threatening to withhold military aid Congress had already approved.

Democrats are playing politics, and they are playing dirty, she said at the time. I will continue to fight against this corrupt and unfair process and look forward to assisting President Trump as a member of his Impeachment Team.

Lesko also has been co-chair of the bipartisan Womens Caucus in Congress, and a leader for Republican efforts to recruit more women into their ranks.

In a 2019 interview with PBS Newshour, Lesko discussed the discouraging numbers in Congress at the time: Of the 36 women newly elected to Congress in 2018, Lesko was the only Republican.

Overall, there were 13 Republican women in the House that year.

Its sad. We need to increase the numbers, Lesko said. Yes, its a little one-sided, because I try to get all my Republican women to our different events, but theres a lot more Democrats.

I dont know the answer. I think one of the answers is recruiting Republican women for heavily Republican districts, because we have a lot of women that lost that were in swing districts. And the Democrats, quite frankly, tried to take us out, so that they could continue the narrative that theres more males in the Republican Party than women.

Until the 1990s, both major parties were equally poor at electing women to Congress, with about 5% of members being women. Democrats have done better since, with about 40% of Democratic seats now held by women. Republicans grew far slower.

The current Congress began with 33 House Republican women, a record.

While some things have changed during Leskos tenure, some things have not.

One seeming constant in her political career, which began in the state Legislature, has been the presence of Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., who was in the state Legislature for years with Lesko and has often waged high-profile political standoffs that affected all around him.

In 2016, for example, Biggs, who was then president of the Arizona Senate and a first-time congressional candidate, would not allow a vote to include KidsCare, a health insurance program for 30,000 children of poor families in Arizona, in the states budget. Arizona was the only state in the country without such a program at the time.

The Legislature eventually passed the measure, but only after it dragged on for months and put others on the hot seat over whether to take the federal money that went with the program. Lesko told the Associated Press at the time she wasnt sure how she would vote on that matter.

Im conflicted on the issue and will have to see if President Biggs puts it up on the board, Lesko said. Then Ill have to make a decision.

She wound up voting against the bill.

In June, Biggs and Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., delayed the vote on her gas stove bill in a procedural battle with McCarthy that presaged the vote to oust him four months later.

And earlier this month, Biggs and Crane were part of the eight House Republicans who joined every House Democrat to vote to remove McCarthy as speaker, casting the chamber into turmoil.

Schiller said the battle over the speaker's gavel is another low point in an era when party control has reduced most House members to foot soldiers in battles chosen only by leadership.

As polarization has really cemented not only division between Republicans and the Democrats, its also cemented party power over individual members, Schiller said. As the parties consolidate all of the power over legislation and then they decide they dont even want to do legislation, theres no point in being senior on any of these committees. You cant get anything done.

Whatever happens next for the House, its unlikely that Leskos West Valley-based district will change much.

Republicans enjoyed a 15-percentage point registration advantage over Democrats there as of July. By comparison, across the rest of Arizona, Republicans have about a 3-percentage point lead over Democrats.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona's Rep. Debbie Lesko exits Congress with little to show
(Bloomberg) -- House Republicans set up a nine-man contest for the speakers post on Sunday, signaling what may be a drawn-out vote to fill the vacancy this week.

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Candidates announced by a noon deadline in Washington include Representative Tom Emmer , an ally of ousted former Speaker Kevin McCarthy , former Rules Committee chairman Pete Sessions and Representative Mike Johnson, vice chairman of the GOP party conference in the chamber. House Budget Chairman Jodey Arrington said Sunday he had decided against running.

Republicans will return to Washington on Monday for a speakers candidates forum at 6:30 p.m. and will start the election process Tuesday, according to Representative Patrick McHenry, the speaker pro tempore.

McCarthys ouster on Oct. 3, instigated by a group of right-wing Republican dissidents, has hamstrung Congress and prompted consternation in Washington and abroad. Fiscal priorities are halted, including President Joe Bidens emergency funding request for almost $106 billion that includes aid to Ukraine and Israel.

In mid-November, the US faces its next funding deadline, meaning Congress must reach a spending agreement or risk a government shutdown.

McCarthy endorsed Emmer for speaker last week and made a pitch for his ally on Sunday, calling the deadlock in his caucus embarrassing.

We need to get him elected this week, and move on, and bring not just party together; but focus on what this country needs most, he said on NBCs Meet the Press, while conceding its going to be an uphill battle.

Read more: House Speaker Contenders Rush From Wings After Jordans Downfall

Emmer has had tense relations with supporters of former President Donald Trump, in part because he voted to certify Bidens 2020 election victory. Trump opposes Emmers candidacy, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Other candidates include Representative Kevin Hern, who chairs the 176-member Republican Study Committee. He could win over some moderates wary of Representative Jim Jordan, whose bid for the speakership  one of two since McCarthys ouster  collapsed last week.

The gap between the conservative and moderate members has been amplified by disagreements on spending and culture-war issues.

Read more: Top Republicans Emmer, Johnson Join Wide-Open Speakership Race

Arrington, who had been weighing a candidacy, said the biggest threat to the GOPs agenda is internal disunity.

There are several capable candidates who have stepped forward to run, and I plan to support whomever our conference elects on Tuesday, Arrington said in a post on X.

--With assistance from Billy House.

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A professional horse rider was killed Friday while training a filly at Cypress' Los Alamitos Race Course.

Alfredo Luevano, 53, was found on the ground early Friday morning near the back of the track where he had been conducting training exercises with a 2-year-old horse, according to a release from the race course . Luevano was rushed to a Long Beach hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The course said in a statement there were no eyewitnesses to the fall. The filly Luevano was training named Fly From The Fire was uninjured but would be removed from the next race as a precaution, the course said.

On behalf of the Los Alamitos Race Course family, we express our deepest condolences to Mr. Luevanos family members and friends, said Los Alamitos Race Course spokesperson Orlando Gutierrez.

Luevano, a native of Zacatecas, Mexico, was an experienced rider, spending most of his professional career in Mexico and Colorado, according to the course. He was a licensed exercise rider , riding horses to condition them for racing.

Luevano is survived by his wife, five children and six grandchildren.

The course's release said it planned to hold a moment of silence for him before Sundays race.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Scott Wolf is executive director of Grow Smart RI. John Flaherty is deputy director of Grow Smart RI and a member of the RI Transit Riders.

In response to the Journal story RIPTA board rebuffs Alvitis call for outside review (News, Oct. 13), the evidence has long been known that high-quality public transit is a valuable public good. In thriving, healthy communities across America and around the globe, public transit facilitates economic development, downtown and neighborhood revitalization, equitable access to opportunity and social cohesion. And states and metro regions are increasingly leveraging transit to reduce traffic emissions, meet urgent climate goals and boost production of housing near transit thats more affordable in part because families can reduce the number of cars they need.

Thats why its so disconcerting that Rhode Island is being held back by those who perpetuate a decades old practice of undermining public confidence in our transit agency. The power struggle that continues for control of the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority is misguided at best and is based on a false narrative that RIPTAs management is to blame for the fiscal cliff that it faces. This is a fiscal cliff threatening most other transit agencies across the nation, as federal aid to support revenue losses that were incurred due to the pandemic are exhausted.

More: RIPTA moves ahead on new central bus hub  but location is more of a mystery than ever

RIPTA may be among the most scrutinized public agencies in Rhode Island. Between 2002 and 2023, there have been numerous fiscal reviews and performance audits commissioned by previous governors, good government groups and the General Assembly. And the conclusions of these reviews have largely been the same  that RIPTA is well run and outperforms its peers in almost every key performance indicator. Something else they all point out: the agency has been chronically underfunded for years.

A RIPTA bus stops in Kennedy Plaza in Providence.

According to the Federal Transit Administrations National Transit Database, Rhode Island ranks among the lowest in 2021 per capita state funding for transit at $19, especially when compared with other urbanized states in our region, including Connecticut ($68), Delaware ($101), Pennsylvania ($120), New Jersey ($143), Maryland ($199) and Massachusetts ($239), rounded to the nearest dollar.

Still, RIPTA provides more trips, across a larger area, at a more effective cost-per-trip than transit agencies serving similar populations anywhere in America.

Whats more, the agency has developed a bold, data-driven and publicly vetted vision and master plan for vastly improving service that will get more people where theyre going more conveniently, affordably and with dignity. That plan is now almost three years old with very little state commitment to its implementation.

More: This fare-free RIPTA route has been popular for a year, but soon the free rides will end

To be clear, no one is opposed to efficiency and accountability. We should always be seeking continual improvement and efficiencies. But we must stop fiddling while Rome burns. Left unaddressed, the fiscal cliff will mean devastating service cuts, disrupting tens of thousands of lives, many businesses and putting our economy at risk. And, a failure to aggressively implement the Transit Master Plan will represent a major missed economic, environmental and public health opportunity for Rhode Island.

So lets get on with addressing the fiscal cliff, as other states are already doing, and finally press ahead with implementing the improvements outlined in the Transit Master Plan.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: According to the Federal Transit Administration, RI ranks among the lowest in 2021 per capita state funding for transit.
Rishi Sunaks long-time personal phone number has been leaked online in a major security breach, it has been revealed.

The prime minister was targeted by social media pranksters who published a video online of the phone ringing before Mr Sunaks answerphone message kicked in, The Sun reported.

The PM was given a new number when he came to power a year ago, but the pranksters video appears to show his personal number still in operation.

The video, also seen by The Independent, shows a phone dialling Mr Sunaks number. An automated voicemail says voicemail service for, before the PM states his name.

It is not known how the number was leaked, and Downing Street said it would not comment on security matters.

A Tory MP on the home affairs committee said he was sure it is very inconvenient for him, but was not convinced there was a security breach. But I'm not sure it constitutes a security breach when thousands of work colleagues & friends probably had it already - as well as hostile intelligence agencies, the MP said.

It comes two years after, it emerged Boris Johnsons phone number had been online for 15 years, having featured at the bottom of a press release.

At the time, former UK national security adviser Lord Ricketts said it was in Mr Johnsons own interest to be much more digitally secure than seems to be the case now.

Im talking really of the most senior politicians in sensitive positions, whose phone conversations might well include sensitive material, commercially sensitive material, people trying to lobby them for favours, or tax advantages, or talks with foreign leaders, he told the BBC.

And there, I think you do have to accept, just as you do  you cant just walk around on your own and talk to anyone you like  equally you shouldnt be in a position where anyone who once had your phone number can get to you when you are a prime minister.

And thats one of the inconveniences of being prime minister but its for their own sake and their own protection really, that access to them ought to be controlled and monitored.

Last month Mr Sunak said he could not hand over some WhatsApp messages to the Covid inquiry, which is investigating the governments handling of the pandemic, because he had changed phones several times and not backed them up.

The revelation about his long-time phone number, which he used while chancellor and during last summers leadership election, raised questions about the claim.
The big question for Mainers in the Nov. 7 election will be whether to create an entity called Pine Tree Power, charged with routing all the electrons that make up our increasingly vital supply of electricity.

It could be that our very survival depends on electrifying our system  replacing fossil fuel burning that has put us on the verge of a potentially terminal case of global warming, hostile to humans and many other forms of life.

Douglas Rooks

Question 3 is a really big deal. Unfortunately, its the wrong question.

The problems start with the new entity itself, described, according to the secretary of states court-approved wording, as a privately operated, nonprofit, consumer-owned utility.

It is easier to describe what its not than what it is.

Its not the familiar Central Maine Power and Versant (formerly Bangor Hydroelectric) that serve Maine now. The referendums backers are counting on their vast unpopularity, only some of which is their fault.

The biggest structural problem is the  sorry  witless 2000 law, passed by the Legislature and signed by then-Gov. Angus King to deregulate electric providers.

Its never produced any benefits for residential customers, but did permanently split generation and transmission functions, leading directly to the sale of both Maine-based companies to out-of-state interests.

This, in turn, produced customer service failures that fueled the referendum against CMPs power line to Canada, temporarily shutting down Hydro Quebecs massive infusion into the New England grid  power wed love to have right now.

Instead, we await a construction restart, with greater costs than if built on schedule.

Pine Tree Power is certainly unique  there's nothing like it on the utility landscape. Its backers struggle to explain how it would work.

They point to Nebraska, where private utilities were banned in the 1930s  the dawn of time for public utilities. Its hardly pertinent when considering scrapping a century of utility management in the hope something new will, somehow, be better.

Theyve also talked up Long Island Power in New York, a public entity that succeeded a private utility in 1989. But that utility was bankrupt when taken over by the state.

Its very different in Maine. However much you may dislike CMP and Versant, theyre financially robust, and will fight in court to prevent expropriation of their assets.

Then theres a takeovers cost  between $7 billion and $13 billion, were told. Even the lowest figure is twice the State of Maines total bonded debt.

Though a nonprofit can potentially borrow more cheaply, thats a huge upfront cost to be accounted for in rates. These utilities wont come cheap.

Its when we get into management that things really go haywire. The 13-member board would be made up by seven members, elected from districts statewide, who then pick six experts to do technical work.

Can we Imagine, given our political divisions, this board working smoothly? Its much easier to foresee 4-3 splits among elected commissioners on everything from where to run new lines to how much to invest in maintenance.

Its a lot to ask voters to decide, yes or no, a question that cant possibly involve a clear understanding of how Pine Tree Power would work.

We should have learned by now. This is another abstract exercise from the half-baked left, not a serious proposal to improve Maines utilities.

Similar sentiments led to adoption of ranked-choice voting, which unfortunately doesnt apply to the one race where splitting the vote regularly occurs  for governor.

Then there were two unconstitutional attempts, in 2020 and 2021, to block Hydro Quebec, the second passed by 59% before courts nullified it.

Now we have a pig-in-a-poke called Pine Tree Power, reminiscent of the three  yes, three  failed referendums to close the Maine Yankee nuclear plant, a carbon-free power source wed like to have back. It shut down in 1996 due to mounting repair costs on the non-nuclear side.

If the sole opinion poll to date is accurate, voters will reject Question 3. If they do, we can focus on the real need: a public power authority to govern generation.

States with notably lower generating costs, including New York, Washington and Oregon, have public power authorities based around now-obsolescent hydro facilities; Hydro Quebec is the last of the breed.

A Maine public power authority can guide the transition to renewables  how much solar, how much wind, and where? Is tidal power viable? Battery storage?

These questions are a stretch for the Public Utilities Commission now running the show; its a regulatory, not a planning agency.

Theres a huge canvas to be filled. The Legislature must do its job, by introducing and debating a public power bill  whatever happens on Nov. 7.

Douglas Rooks has been a Maine editor, columnist and reporter since 1984. His new book, Calm Command: U.S. Chief Justice Melville Fuller in His Times, 1888-1910, is available in bookstores and from Maine Authors Publishing. He welcomes comment at drooks@tds.net.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Rooks: Question 3 is confusing and won't help Maine ratepayers
Russian forces launched multiple attacks against Ukraine's northeastern Sumy Oblast on Oct. 21, attacking five communities and causing at least 31 explosions, regional military administration reported.

The attacks targeted the communities of Yunakivka,Bilopillia, Shalyhyne, Esman and Znob-Novhorodske, according to the post.

The Russian military deployed a range of weapons, including grenade launchers, mortars, artillery, and mines, throughout the day's attacks.

No casualties or damage to civilian infrastructure were reported.

Sumy is located about 50 kilometers from the Russian border and has been the target of near-daily shelling and other aerial bombardments since its liberation by Ukraine in April 2022.

Read also: Russian missile attack on post office in Kharkiv Oblast kills 6, injures 14

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Russian forces shelled the town of Kupiansk at around 7 a.m. on Oct. 22, hitting residential buildings and injuring three people, Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported.

Among those injured are two teenagers aged 15 and 17 and a 63-year-old woman.

The governor said that all three were hospitalized following the attack. The woman and a 15-year-old girl are in critical condition.

The aftermath of the Russian attack against Kupiansk in Kharkiv Oblast on Oct. 22, 2023. (Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor's Office/Telegram)

Apart from Kupiansk, other settlements in Kharkiv Oblast, as well as the Chuhuiv and Izium districts came under attack over the past day.

Late on Oct. 21, Russian forces attacked Kharkiv Oblast with S-300 missiles, hitting the depot of the Ukrainian privately-owned postal service Nova Poshta in the village of Korotych.

The attack killed six people and injured 16, according to Syniehubov.

"This is an exclusively civilian object. The Russians committed yet more terror against the civilian population of the Kharkiv region," Syniehubov wrote on Telegram following the attack.

Read also: Every family affected: Devastated village copes with aftermath of Russian strike on funeral

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One of the people killed in the Russian attack on a Nova Poshta delivery company depot in Kharkiv Oblast was so badly burned that DNA testing will be required to identify him.

Source: Serhii Bolvinov, Head of the Investigative Department of the Supreme Department of the National Police of Ukraine in Kharkiv Oblast, on Facebook

Quote: "Six people were killed on the spot  all men who were employed by the delivery company. One of them was very badly burned. His likely identity has been established, but we will run a DNA test to confirm it."

Details: Bolvinov revealed that law enforcement officers had been working all night at the site of the strike.

The 16 injured people received blast injuries, shrapnel wounds, fractures and lacerations. All of them are being treated in the Kharkiv Oblast Clinical Hospital.

Doctors say eight of them are in a critical condition and the other eight in a moderate condition.

The police stress that all the victims are civilians, and this attack is a war crime.

Background:

On 21 October, a Russian missile hit a depot in Kharkiv Oblast belonging to the Nova Poshta delivery company.

The workers who were there had no chance or time to run for cover, as the air-raid warning was issued only a second before the explosion.

On the evening of 21 October, Oleh Syniehubov, Head of the Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration, and Ihor Terekhov, Mayor of Kharkiv, reported that Russian troops had launched missile strikes on the city.

The police later disclosed the details of the Russian attack on the settlement of Korotych in the Kharkiv district, which killed 6 people and injured 16.

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Russian forces shelled the village of Kurylivka in Kharkiv Oblast at 11 a.m., injuring a civilian and damaging a home, the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration reported on Oct. 22.



The 39-year-old victim was reportedly rushed to the hospital where she received medical treatment.



The morning attack came hours after Russia shelled residential buildings in the nearby town of Kupiansk, injuring three people including two teenagers.



Russia also targeted the districts of Chuhuiv and Izium in Kharkiv Oblast over the past day.



Late on Oct. 21, Russian forces attacked Kharkiv Oblast with S-300 missiles, hitting the depot of the Ukrainian privately-owned postal service Nova Poshta in the village of Korotych.



The attack killed at least six people and injured 17, according to the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor's Office.



"This is an exclusively civilian object. The Russians committed yet more terror against the civilian population of the Kharkiv region," Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov wrote on Telegram following the attack.

Read also: Son, widow of fallen soldier killed in Russias attack on Kharkiv Oblast village

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Ukrainian military during exercises in Chernihiv Oblast, October 13, 2023

Ukrainian forces may have pushed back Russian troops from the western outskirts of Robotyne, while Russian invasion forces aim to prevent them from consolidating their presence on the left bank of Kherson Oblast, reads a new report by U.S. think tank the Institute for the Study of War or ISW.

Ukrainian forces are continuing their offensive near Bakhmut and in the western part of Zaporizhzhya Oblast. Citing claims from a Russian renowned war correspondent, the ISW reports that Ukrainian troops may have advanced westward from Novofedorivka in Zaporizhzhya Oblast, positioning themselves about six kilometers from the town.

Read also: Russia's use of Storm-Z units, expected focus of Putin's upcoming re-election campaign messaging

Another source claimed that Ukrainian defense forces carried out mechanized attacks along the Robotyne-Novoprokopivka line, employing up to 10 tanks and armored vehicles. According to Ukrainian military observer Kostiantyn Mashovets, Ukrainian forces managed to push back Russian troops from the western outskirts of Robotyne. He noted that elements of Russias 247th Airborne Regiment (7th Airborne Division) withdrew several hundred meters towards Novofedorivka.

ISW

Analyzing the situation in Kherson Oblast, ISW concluded that Russian forces are attempting to obstruct Ukrainian efforts to supply and fortify their recently acquired positions on the left bank.

Referring to Russian media and ISWs war correspondents, the report mentions that Ukrainian military personnel have taken positions in the village of Krynky, advanced nearly two kilometers to the south of it, and are fighting for full control of the settlement.

ISW

Russian war correspondents also claimed that occupiers are shelling Ukrainian positions near the Antonivkskiy road bridge to the north of Oleshky, and the Antonivkskiy railway bridge, north of the village of Poyma. According to one of them, clashes occurred near Krynky and Pisky, although most Russian sources indicated that Russian forces primarily used aviation and artillery, attempting to dislodge Ukrainian forces from their positions on the left bank.

Read also: Ukrainian forces push Russian invaders back near Verbove, unconvincing evidence of allegedly living Sokolov  ISW

Analysts speculate that Ukrainian troops may have repelled another intensive offensive operation by occupiers on the Avdiyivka direction, causing significant casualties among enemy personnel and equipment.

Ukrainian and Russian sources reported that Russian forces conducted another assault on Avdiyivka between Oct. 19 and 20, and geolocation video materials from Oct. 21, as mentioned in the report, confirm minor successes by the occupiers to the northwest of Avdiyivka near a local slag heap. The day before, Oleksandr Shtupun, Tavria front defense forces spokesperson, said that Russian activity had decreased somewhat.

The fact that Russian troops continue to push waves of personnel and equipment into an offensive in the Avdiyivka area indicates that Russian command will persist in prioritizing this direction, despite substantial losses and the overall poor quality of Russian troops engaged in the offensive, write the analysts, adding that Russias military leadership seems to consider this direction their primary task.

ISW

ISW

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Over 80 clashes were recorded throughout the day. In total, the Russians inflicted 6 missile strikes and 53 airstrikes, and carried out 54 attacks from multiple-launch rocket systems on the positions of Ukrainian troops and settlements.

Source: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook, information as of 06:00 on 22 October

Details: Russian forces launched another missile and air attack on Ukraine on the night of 22 October, using a Kh-59 guided missile, S-300 anti-aircraft guided missiles and three Shahed-136/131 strike UAVs. Ukraines air defence managed to destroy one guided Kh-59 aircraft missile and three Shahed UAVs.

Russian terrorist attacks have caused casualties among civilians. Residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure facilities have been damaged and destroyed.

The Kremlin's terrorist forces launched another missile strike on civilian infrastructure, this time targeting a Nova Poshta mail depot in Kharkiv Oblast. Six people were killed and 16 were injured as a result of this targeted attack.

Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts suffered airstrikes.

Around 100 settlements in Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts came under artillery attacks.

On the Sivershchyna and Slobozhanshchyna fronts, the Russians are maintaining a military presence in the border areas, continuing to bombard settlements from Russian Federation territory, and increasing the density of mine barriers along the state border of Ukraine in Belgorod Oblast.

In the area of responsibility of the Khortytsia Operational Strategic Group on the Kupiansk front, Ukrainian soldiers repelled over 15 Russian attacks in the areas of Synkivka and Ivanivka in Kharkiv Oblast, as well as Nadiia in Luhansk Oblast.

On the Lyman front, the Armed Forces of Ukraine repelled over 10 attacks near Bilohorivka in Luhansk Oblast, and Serebrianka Forest and Spirne in Donetsk Oblast.

On the Bakhmut front, Ukrainian soldiers repelled all attacks in the areas of the settlements of Vasiukivka and Andriivka in Donetsk Oblast. The Defence Forces of Ukraine are continuing their assault operations south of Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast, inflicting losses on the Russians in terms of their manpower and equipment, and are consolidating their positions.

In the area of responsibility of the Tavriia Operational Strategic Group on the Avdiivka front, the Russians keep trying to encircle Avdiivka, but Ukrainian soldiers are steadfastly holding the defence, inflicting significant losses on Tonenke and Pervomaiske in Donetsk Oblast. Russian offensive operations in the areas of Keramik, Avdiivka, Stepove, Tonenke and Pervomaiske in Donetsk Oblast were unsuccessful. Here, Ukraines Armed Forces repelled over 15 attacks.

On the Marinka front, the Russians conducted unsuccessful assault actions in Marinka, Krasnohorivka and Pobieda in Donetsk Oblast, where over 20 of their attacks were repelled by Ukrainian soldiers.

On the Shakhtarsk and Zaporizhzhia fronts, Ukrainians repelled all attacks by the Russian forces in and around Prechystivka, Zolota Nyva and Staromaiorske in Donetsk Oblast and north of Pryiutne in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

At the same time, Ukrainian forces continue to conduct offensive operations on the Melitopol front, inflicting losses in manpower and equipment on the occupation forces, and exhausting the Russians along the entire front line.

In the area of responsibility of the Odesa Operational Strategic Group on the Kherson front, Ukrainian soldiers are conducting counter-battery operations, inflicting attacks on the Russians rear.

During the past day, the Ukrainian Air Force inflicted 12 attacks on areas where Russian personnel, weapons and military equipment were concentrated.

Units from Rocket Forces and Artillery hit seven artillery pieces, a radar station, an ammunition storage point and an anti-aircraft missile system, as well as clusters of personnel, weapons and military equipment belonging to the Russians.

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(Reuters) - Russian forces aiming to contain a four-month-old Ukrainian counteroffensive maintained unrelenting pressure on Sunday on the shattered town of Avdiivka in the east and intensified shelling in the southern area of Kherson.

Russia has focused on the industrial east since pulling back from a failed advance on Kyiv at the start of the February 2022 invasion and its forces have tried to maintain positions in Kherson since abandoning the region's main town late last year.

The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces, in its evening report, said Ukrainian forces repelled nearly 20 Russian attacks around Avdiivka, its buildings now largely reduced to shells. Russian air strikes hit nearby villages, it said.

Avdiivka has become a watchword for resistance, viewed as the gateway to recapturing the Russian-held city of Donetsk and the rest of Donbas -- made up of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

It was briefly seized in 2014 when Russian-backed separatists captured swathes of eastern Ukraine, but was later retaken by Ukrainian forces who, in the ensuing nine years, have built solid fortifications.

"It is true that Avdiivka has significance," Andriy Yusov, spokesperson for the Ukraine Defence Ministry's Intelligence Directorate, told the Espreso TV news outlet.

"This is not the first instance the occupying forces have boosted tension with declarations of taking over all of Donetsk and Luhansk...Their plans have failed, the deadlines pushed back. This is just another episode of tension."

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the situation in Avdiivka and the nearby town of Maryinka was "particularly tough. Numerous Russian attacks. But our positions are being held.

"Every day, we need results for Ukraine, to withstand Russian assaults, to eliminate occupiers, to move forward," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address. "Whether it's a kilometre or 500 metres, but forward, every day."

Russian military accounts made no mention of Avdiivka, but described successful operations against Ukrainian positions to the east in Bakhmut, seized by Moscow in May after months of fighting.

In Kherson, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said several villages had been struck in shelling episodes, as had transport and food production sites in the city of Kherson.

Reuters could not independently verify the accounts from either side.

Russian forces routinely shell Kherson and villages on the western bank of the Dnipro from positions on the eastern bank, where they retreated late last year.

The U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War has reported in the past week that Ukrainian forces have crossed the Dnipro to take up new positions of their own and pursue Russian forces.

(Reporting by Ron Popeski and Oleksandr Kozhukhar; editing by Diane Craft)
KYIV, Ukraine  At least three civilians were killed and others wounded in Ukraine on Friday and Saturday, as Russian forces continued to shell areas across the country and pushed forward near an embattled eastern city, local Ukrainian officials reported Saturday.

A man died as Russian forces shelled the Ukrainian-held town of Nikopol from their stronghold at Ukraines largest nuclear plant, according to Ukrainian local Gov. Serhii Lysak. Lysak said that emergency services in Nikopol were working to assess the damage.

Russian troops took over the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant early in the war, sparking intermittent fears of a radiation incident as shelling persisted near the site, often targeting Ukrainian-controlled settlements across the Dnieper River.

In Kryvyi Rih, the central Ukraine hometown of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a 60-year-old man died on Friday evening when a Russian missile slammed into an industrial facility, according to Telegram posts by Mayor Oleksandr Vilkul . The mans wife was hospitalized with serious shrapnel wounds, Vilkul said.

The mayor reported that Russian missiles and drones hit the same place again overnight, causing unspecified damage and sparking a fire that was put out by morning. Vilkul did not elaborate on the sites nature or whether it was linked to Ukraines war effort. He said nobody was hurt in the second strike.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson Igor Konashenkov later told reporters that Russian forces destroyed the Ukrainian militarys fuel and ammunition depots near Kryvyi Rihs local airport.

There was no immediate response from Ukrainian officials to Konashenkovs claim.

In southern Ukraines frontline Kherson region, one civilian was killed and another wounded during mass shelling attacks by Russian troops, Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin said Saturday. The Russians used mortars, artillery, tanks, drones, and multiple-rocket launchers to target the region, striking some residential areas, Prokudin wrote in a Telegram post.

Russian shelling over the past day also wounded one civilian in the front-line city of Avdiivka, in Ukraines eastern Donetsk region, acting local Gov. Ihor Moroz reported on Saturday. Avdiivka has been fiercely contested by Russian and Ukrainian forces in recent weeks as Kyivs forces try to hold off a renewed Russian assault.

Moroz said that exploding drones, missiles, mortars and artillery shells fired by Russian troops also struck other parts of the region.

Russian troops on Friday launched a fresh offensive north of Avdiivka that has secured minor gains, according to an analysis by the Institute for the Study of War. The Washington-based think tank cited geolocated footage from pro-Kremlin military bloggers on the ground to support its assessment.

Moscows renewed push near Avdiivka reflects the Russian military commands commitment to offensive operations in the area despite heavy materiel and personnel losses, the institute said.

The Ukrainian General Staff on Friday claimed that Ukrainian forces had damaged and destroyed almost 50 Russian tanks and over 100 armored vehicles in the fighting near Avdiivka during the previous day. The claim that could not be independently verified.

Oleksandr Shputun, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian army unit fighting near Avdiivka, said in televised remarks Saturdays that Russian military activity in the area had decreased slightly, possibly due to heavy losses. However, Shputun acknowledged that Russian units continued to advance.

In the northeastern Kharkiv region, a 39-year-old civilian man was hospitalized with wounds as Russian shelling hit two village homes near the embattled town of Kupiansk, Gov. Oleh Syniehubov reported on Saturday. Russian forces have for weeks been pressing an offensive to retake territory near Kupiansk and the nearby town of Lyman.

The governor of Russias southern Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, said Saturday that Ukrainian forces shelled two of the provinces districts with mortars and grenade launchers the previous day. According to Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov, no civilians were hurt.

Elsewhere, a top Ukrainian presidential adviser reported that four Ukrainian children who were released from Russian captivity on Monday have been reunited with their families.

According to the Telegram post by Andriy Yermak, a 17-year-old girl and three boys ages 9, 6 and 3, were captured by occupying Russian forces in southern and eastern Ukraine. Yermak said one of the boys was transferred to an orphanage in southern Russia, while another was forcibly taken to Russian-annexed Crimea.

Deportations of Ukrainian children have been a concern since Russias Feb. 24, 2022, invasion of Ukraine. The International Criminal Court increased pressure on Moscow when it issued arrest warrants in March for President Vladimir Putin and Russias childrens rights commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, accusing them of abducting children from Ukraine.

State media in Kremlin-allied Belarus have also published reports on children arriving in the country from Ukraines occupied territories, ostensibly to join health recuperation programs.
UK intelligence has estimated that Russia's losses in terms of killed and seriously wounded soldiers amount to up to 190,000, and up to 290,000 including the wounded who are able to return to the battlefield after recovery.

Source: UK Defence Intelligence review on Twitter (X) for 22 October, as reported by European Pravda

Details: The ministry noted that, according to Ukraines Ministry of Defence, recent Russian attacks on Avdiivka have led to a 90% increase in Russian casualties.

Since February 2022, Russia has considerably increased its military presence in Ukraine, intensifying recruitment through financial incentives and partial mobilisation in the autumn of 2022.

This increase in manpower is a key factor in Russia's ability to both defend the territory it holds and conduct costly offensive operations.

The UK analysts estimate that since the start of the full-scale invasion, Russia has probably suffered 150,000-190,000 permanent losses, including the dead and seriously wounded.

The total number of Russian casualties, including those who will recover and may return to the battlefield, is about 240,000-290,000 people.

UK Defence Intelligence emphasises that this figure does not include Wagner Group and their battalions of prisoners who fought in Bakhmut.

Earlier, UK intelligence claimed that Russia had lost at least half of its airborne troops during its war of aggression against Ukraine, which corresponds to a figure of 15,000.

US officials have said the total number of wounded and killed soldiers from Ukraine and Russia in more than a year and a half of full-scale war is estimated at nearly 500,000, most of them Russians.

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Russia attacks Nova Poshta terminal in Kharkiv Oblast

Six employees of Ukraines top private postal and goods delivery service Nova Poshta died overnight in Kharkiv Oblast when a Russian missile struck the delivery terminal in which they were working, local authorities said on Oct. 22.

A further 16 employees were injured in the attack, which was carried out with an S-300 air defense system missile fired in ground-attack, ballistic mode, according to the Ukrainian military.

The military said Russia fired eight S-300 missiles overnight from Belgorod Oblast in Russia, which borders Kharkiv Oblast to the north, and the Russian occupied parts of Ukraines Donetsk Oblast.

Read also: Power outages and explosions reported in Kharkiv after more Russian strikes

Company officials said employees "had no chance" to run to the shelter because the sirens sounded "seconds before" the strike. The company declared Oct. 22 a day of remembrance for the victims of the Russian attack.We will work and honor every fallen hero of Nova Poshta. Every person who died in this war, the company said in a statement.

Local officials said two of the bodies would require DNA testing to identify them, as they were very badly burned.

Read also: Russian strike on Kharkiv Oblast, killing 51, including 6-year-old child, deadliest in region since start of full-scale war

The site of the Russian missile attack, the Kharkiv Innovation Terminal, which was badly damaged in the attack, was opened only in 2020.

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Ukrainian defenders destroyed a Russian missile over Synelnykove district in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on the early morning of 22 October 2023.

Source: Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Military Administration

Details: The authorities specified that the Russian missile was shot down by the soldiers of the Air Command Skhid (East).

The type of missile was not disclosed.

In general, the night passed without any attacks in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.

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Russian forces attacked Ukraine on the night of 21-22 October 2023 with assault UAVs and guided and anti-aircraft missiles, with four air targets shot down by Ukrainian defenders.

Source: Ukrainian Air Force on Telegram

Details: Ukraines Air Force recorded eight launches of S-300 missiles from Belgorod Oblast and the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk Oblast.

The Russians also used a Kh-59 guided aircraft missile from an Su-34 aircraft which took off from the airspace of the temporarily occupied territories of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, two more UAVs of an undefined type from the north and three assault UAVs of the Shahed-136/131 type from the area of Cape Chauda (Crimea).

Air defence destroyed four air targets: one Kh-59 guided aircraft missile and three Shahed-136/131 assault UAVs.

Also, during the past day on 21 October, three Lancet-type assault UAVs were destroyed in the south of the country.

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Two people were killed and three were injured in Russian attacks in Donetsk Oblast on 22 October.

Source: the Donetsk Oblast Prosecutors Office

   22 ,  

AFTERMATH OF THE ATTACK ON DONETSK OBLAST ON 22 OCTOBER. PHOTO: PROSECUTORS OFFICE

Quote: "According to the investigation, on the morning of 22 October 2023, the occupying forces struck the village of Kalynivka in the Bakhmut district. A local 58-year old man has died from injuries in his own household.

The village of Vasiukivka in the Bakhmut district has been struck by the Russians as well. A 61-year old man has died from a direct hit on a car.

In the village of Nestailove in the Pokrovsk district, a 19-year old boy has been injured, and in the city of Toretsk, a 59-year old woman and a 60-year old man have suffered contusions as a result of the Russian attack."

Details: Moreover, the explosions have damaged private households, apartment blocks, outbuildings and cars.

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The Russians attacked the village of Kurylivka in the Kupiansk district in Kharkiv Oblast on the morning of 22 October. A woman has been injured and taken to hospital.

Source: the Kharkiv Oblast State Administration; the Prosecutor Generals Office of Ukraine

Details: During the attack, a 39-year old woman was injured at about 11:00.

She was taken to hospital.

As a result of the attack, a private house and a fence have been damaged.

According to the investigation, the Russian forces launched an attack using a FAB-250 aviation bomb.

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Russian forces are diversifying the mix of missiles, guided bombs and drones used to strike Ukrainian rear areas, trying to find gaps in Ukrainian air defences in preparation for attacks in the winter.

Source: Institute for the Study of War (ISW)

Details: According to military analysts, as reported by Operational Command Pivden (South), the Russian troops used unknown air-to-ground missiles in Mykolaiv, Kherson and Odesa oblasts; Kh-59 missiles in Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv and Kherson oblasts; Iskander-K missiles and Shahed UAVs once again in Kryvyi Rih on the night of 20-21 October.

The Operational Command Pivden noted that three of the unknown missiles detonated in the air, the Kh-59s hit a residential area in Kryvyi Rih, and the Iskanders and the Shaheds hit industrial facilities of Kryvyi Rih.

The Ukrainian Operational Command Pivden reported that Russian tactical aircraft simultaneously released 30 modified guided aerial bombs (KAB) along the frontline part of Kherson Oblast. Russian troops have never used such a combination of weapons before.

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(Reuters) - The foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan met on Monday in Iran, their first talks since Azerbaijan secured control over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, with Russia saying the main issue had been resolved pending further work on a peace treaty.

The meeting in the aftermath of Azerbaijan's lightning offensive into the disputed territory also took place against the background of rising tensions in the Middle East.

"The conflict has, on the whole, been settled. Both sides agree that Karabakh belongs to Azerbaijan and that was the main issue to be settled," Russia's Tass news agency quoted Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying in Tehran.

"Of course, practical steps remain for a full normalisation of relations, particularly preparations for a peace treaty, the demarcation of borders and the establishment of economic transport links without impediment."

Ministers from Iran and Turkey, a key ally of Azerbaijan, also attended. A joint statement said participants agreed to respect the territorial integrity of countries in the region.

Iran's foreign minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian, said before the meeting that the talks represented a "historic opportunity.... The war in South Caucasus has ended, and it is time for peace and cooperation."

"The presence of outsiders in the region will not only not solve any problems but will also complicate the situation further," he added, without elaborating.

That was an implicit reference to the United States and the European Union, whose involvement in the search for a peace agreement has particularly annoyed Russia.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, quoted by state media, said Tehran "was ready to assist in resolving the existing disputes between Azerbaijan and Armenia".

Russia regards itself as the security guarantor between Azerbaijan and Armenia - both former Soviet republics - but the demands and distractions of its war in Ukraine have led to a weakening of its influence in the South Caucasus.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, in a statement posted on the X social media platform, said Ankara hoped the talks would "give impetus to normalisation and peace processes".

In Paris, French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said France was helping improve Armenia's air defence capacity with the sale of three radars and an agreement on the future delivery of Mistral anti-air missiles.

Nagorno-Karabakh is viewed internationally as part of Azerbaijan but had been controlled by breakaway ethnic Armenians since the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s.

Azerbaijan's recapture of Karabakh has prompted the exodus of most of the region's 120,000 ethnic Armenians. Armenia has accused Azerbaijan of ethnic cleansing, while Azerbaijan said the Armenians were welcome to return.

Christian Armenia and Muslim Azerbaijan have fought two wars over three decades and have failed to seal a peace deal despite long-running efforts by the United States, EU and Russia.

(Reporting by Parisa Hafezi in Dubai and Felix Light in Tbilisi, additional reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu in Ankaera; Editing by Ron Popeski, Gareth Jones and Jonathan Oatis)
HOUSTON - BARC, the City of Houstons Animal Shelter and Adoption Center, is set to join the annual Mega Adoption event taking place on Oct. 21 and 22 at the George R. Brown Convention Center.

The event is hosted by Petco Love, bringing together public and private animal shelters from across the Houston area and the state. BARC pets will also be seeking their forever homes during this adoption extravaganza.

SUGGESTED:Nevada dog shot in chest, makes remarkable recovery

Whether you're looking for big dogs, small dogs, senior pets, puppies, cats, or kittens, this event has it all, according to Barc. You can adopt the pets for just $35, and take your new family member home that same day.

FOX 26 Houston is now on the FOX LOCAL app available through Apple TV, Amazon FireTV, Roku and Google Android TV!

BARC officials say All BARC pets participating in this event will be spayed/neutered, microchipped, registered with the city, and up-to-date on vaccinations, ensuring a smooth transition to their new homes.

DOWNLOAD THE FOX 26 HOUSTON APP BY CLICKING HERE

The convention center floor will feature all available animals, and there will be meet-and-greet stations for adopters and their potential future family members.

Visit Mega Houston's website for more information on adopting at this year's event or to register as a volunteer. You can also explore BARC's full inventory of adoptable pets, including those in foster care, at Barc's website,
SAN DIEGO  After a bad date or disagreement with an acquaintance, do you become nothing more than a phantom in the night? Youre not the only one.

What were referring to here is something thats become common in the modern dating world  ghosting. This is when someone decides to stop talking to another person without an explanation.

Though its usually something that occurs in the the dating realm, research shows its also happening with newer friendships, in workplaces, and even businesses.

Daves Hot Chicken is giving away spiced-to-order sliders thanks to rapper Drake

According to a new study by Thriving Center of Psychology, San Diego is among the top 10 biggest U.S. cities where people are most like to ghost someone.

Overall, the study found that 84% respondents said they have been ghosted before. Despite this, their data also shows three in four people think ghosting is acceptable depending on the circumstances.

When analyzing this topic, researchers at Thriving Center of Psychology questioned Millennials and Gen Z, who they say first turned this trend into a Merriam-Webster Dictionary word.

In a survey of more than 1,000, the center asked the younger generations if they have been ghosted or are the ones doing the ghosting. Here are the main reasons people ghost based on this study:

City of San Diego increases distance parked cars must move every three days

 Not interested in continuing a relationship.

 Avoiding confrontation.

 Stressed or overwhelmed by expectations.

 Not a strong enough connection.

 Offended by something.

 Struggling with mental health.

Researchers at Thriving Center of Psychology also looked into how Gen Z and Millennials feel after being ghosted. The study shows the most common responses were things like confusion, sadness, hurt, disappointment, and annoyance.

When it came to deciphering which of the most populous cities in the country ghosted the most, the researchers analyzed Google search volume of 418 terms related to ghosting over the period from July 2020 to July 2023.

San Diego takes top spot in ranking of most expensive places to live in U.S.

The cities most likely to ghost people were the ones searching the least for these types of terms, and the cities most likely to get ghosted were the ones searching for these terms the most.

More on the methodology can be found here.

According to this study, San Diego ranked as the eighth city most likely to ghost. Neighboring Los Angles found itself ranked second. Heres a look at the top 10:

New York City, NY Los Angeles, CA Chicago, IL Houston, TX Phoenix, AZ Philadelphia, PA San Antonio, TX San Diego, CA Dallas, TX Jacksonville, FL

Are you a serial ghoster? If you live in San Diego, theres a good chance the answer is yes.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego.
Jim Meduri answered a terrifying phone call in January from a man pretending to be his son.

The caller, who sounded on the verge of tears, said hed been in a car accident. Meduri was convinced his son had been arrested for driving under the influence and injuring a pregnant woman and her daughter.

The San Jose resident later spoke to people impersonating a defense attorney and a courthouse clerk, who told him his son might be sent from the Bay Area to Nevada because of an mpox outbreak at the jail. Panicked and in a rush, Meduri agreed to send bail money through cryptocurrency. The fake lawyer directed Meduri, 65, to an ATM where people can buy the digital currency bitcoin. He inserted $15,000 in cash into the machine, scanned a code provided by the scammers and transferred the money.

When Meduri realized hed been duped, his money was gone.

They played on fear and what a parent would do to help their kid, and it was elaborate, said Meduri, who was able to get most of his money back with help from the Santa Clara County district attorneys office.

Meduri's misfortune is just one example of how scammers are using bitcoin ATMs to swindle victims out of thousands of dollars, fraud that law enforcement officials warn is on the rise.

The machines, in convenience stores, gas stations and even bakeries, are an easy way for people to buy cryptocurrency quickly with cash, which is harder to track than a wire transfer or check. As scammers exploit the convenience these machines provide, bitcoin ATMs are also attracting the attention of lawmakers, regulators and consumer advocacy groups looking to protect people from fraud and exorbitant fees.

Starting in January, California will limit cryptocurrency ATM transactions to $1,000 per day per person under Senate Bill 401, which Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law. Some bitcoin ATM machines advertise limits as high as $50,000. The new law also bars bitcoin ATM operators from collecting fees higher than $5 or 15% of the transaction, whichever is greater, starting in 2025. Legislative staff members visited a crypto kiosk in Sacramento and found markups as high as 33% on some digital assets when they compared the prices at which cryptocurrency is bought and sold. Typically, a crypto ATM charges fees between 12% and 25% over the value of the digital asset, according to a legislative analysis.

This bill is about ensuring that people who have been frauded in our communities don't continue to watch our state step aside when we know that these are real problems that are happening, said state Sen. Monique Limon (D-Goleta), who co-authored the bill.

Although similar scams have existed long before the rising popularity of cryptocurrency, the use of these digital assets by fraudsters has been increasing, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Since 2021, more than 46,000 people reported losing over $1 billion in crypto to scams, the agency reported in 2022.

Victims of bitcoin ATM scams say limiting the transactions will give people more time to figure out theyre being tricked and prevent them from using large amounts of cash to buy cryptocurrency. But crypto ATM operators say the new laws will harm their industry and the small businesses they pay to rent space for the machines. There are more than 3,200 bitcoin ATMs in California, according to Coin ATM Radar , a site that tracks the machines' locations.

This bill fails to adequately address how to crack down on fraud, and instead takes a punitive path focused on a specific technology that will shudder the industry and hurt consumers, while doing nothing to stop bad actors, said Charles Belle, executive director of the Blockchain Advocacy Coalition.

While California lawmakers have striven to balance the need to support the cryptocurrency industry and protect consumers, recent legislation has hewed toward tighter state regulation. Another law would by July 2025 require digital financial asset businesses to obtain a license from the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation.

Read more: Gavin Newsom's awkward crypto timing

When signing the legislation, Assembly Bill 39, Newsom included a message that said the law needed further refinement to provide clarity to consumers, businesses and state regulators.

It is essential that we strike the appropriate balance between protecting consumers from harm and fostering a responsible innovation environment, he wrote.

In 2022, months before the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, Newsom vetoed a similar bill that would have required cryptocurrency companies to get a state license, citing concerns a new regulatory program would be costly and the actions were premature.

Erin West, a Santa Clara County deputy district attorney who helped Meduri recover his money, said scammers turn to bitcoin ATM machines because they accept large amounts of cash. The value of bitcoin can also rise, giving fraudsters a way to increase their plunder.

Scammers use different tactics to trick people into handing over their money, including creating a false sense of urgency and winning over their trust. Some befriend or seduce their victims through social media or dating apps, luring them into a web of lies that include fake emergencies. Other times, the scam starts with a text message directing victims to a fake cryptocurrency investment site.

West said her team has been able to recover $2.5 million for scam victims like Meduri by tracking down the cryptocurrency exchange that was involved in the transaction. After Meduri put $15,000 into a kiosk operated by Bitcoin ATM Services, the digital money ended up in the cryptocurrency exchange Binance. The exchange complied with a search warrant, allowing her team to retrieve the stolen funds from Binance and return them to Meduri.

Although its possible for cryptocurrency victims to get their money back even if it travels overseas, West said its rare. Some cryptocurrency exchanges are more cooperative with law enforcement than others, she said.

This whole thing is a speed game, said West, who is part of a task force called REACT  Regional Enforcement Allied Computer Team  that combats high-tech crimes. Can we get the victim in front of a competent investigator who knows how to find things on the blockchain in the least amount of time? Blockchain is a type of shared digital database that stores information about crypto transactions.

Read more: Before investing in crypto, check out California's new scam tracker

An 80-year-old retired teacher in Los Angeles, whom The Times previously interviewed, said she hasnt been able to recover $69,000 she sent to scammers through a bitcoin ATM over multiple days in May. The stolen funds ended up in Seychelles-based cryptocurrency exchanges KuCoin and Huobi.

The scam started when Mrs. K, who wants to remain anonymous because shes more wary about giving out her personal information, got a loud pop-up alert that her computer was infected with a virus. After calling a fake tech support number and later talking to a person impersonating the FBI, Mrs. K thought her Chase bank account had been taken over by foreign Chinese hackers involved in a child pornography case. To keep up the elaborate ruse, the scammers also sent Mrs. K fake Chase bank emails.

If it wasn't this convoluted mishmash, I probably would have been a little smarter and not fallen into this trap, Mrs. K said. I feel so disappointed in myself that I just fell hook, line and sinker.

Mrs. K said the FBI impersonator told her to withdraw $75,000 in cash over three days from her Chase checking account and not tell anyone. If workers at the bank asked, the scammer told Mrs. K to say that she was withdrawing cash for construction.

The FBI impersonator convinced Mrs. K she could help law enforcement catch the child predators if she converted the cash to cryptocurrency and transferred the funds to a digital wallet the agency would monitor. The intricate lie eventually led Mrs. K to a Coinhub Bitcoin ATM machine at a doughnut shop in Highland Park that accepts up to $25,000 in cash daily per person.

By the time she realized it was a scam, Mrs. K had sent $69,000 to the fraudsters. She reported the crime to police but hasnt been able to recover her money.

Under federal law, bitcoin ATM operators are typically considered money services businesses, so theyre required to register with the U.S. Department of Treasurys Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN. The agency collects and analyzes financial information to combat money laundering and other illegal uses. The businesses must also maintain an anti-money-laundering program and report suspicious activity to the agency.

Logan Short, the chief executive of LSGT Services, which does business as Coinhub Bitcoin ATM, said in an email the company does "everything in its power to protect consumers, but unfortunately fraud is not 100% preventable in any industry. The Las Vegas company is registered with FinCEN but faced allegations that it operated crypto ATM machines in Connecticut without the required state license.

Bitcoin ATM Services, which operates the kiosk used by Meduri, says on its website that it is registered with FinCEN. The Times couldnt find a record of Bitcoin ATM Services being registered as a money services business with FinCEN. A company called Cash ATM Services that has the same mailing address as Bitcoin ATM Services was registered. Bitcoin ATM Services did not respond to a request for comment.

Law enforcement has cracked down on unlicensed crypto ATMs, but it can be tough for consumers to tell how serious the industry is about addressing the concerns. In 2020, a Yorba Linda man pleaded guilty to charges of operating unlicensed bitcoin ATMs and failing to maintain an anti-money-laundering program even though he knew criminals were using the funds. The illegal business, known as Herocoin, allowed people to buy and sell bitcoin in transactions of up to $25,000 and charged a fee of up to 25%.

Cryptocurrency regulations vary by state. California has long exempted crypto ATMs from licensing requirements for businesses engaged in money transmission.

Read more: Investment scams are everywhere on social media. Heres how to spot one

Crypto ATM machines serve people who dont have a bank account or just want the convenience of buying cryptocurrency at a gas station, convenience store or other shop, said Ayman Rida, CEO of Cash2Bitcoin, who works with cryptocurrency ATM operators including in California on complying with state regulations. The fees ATM charge are higher than online exchanges, he said, to cover certain expenses. That includes the cost of leased space, machine maintenance and cash management.

Crypto ATM operators arent opposed to having clearer rules and guidelines, he said, but they are against capping fees and transactions. Crypto ATM operators typically require more forms of identification if a customer makes a transaction of more than $1,000, and in some cases flag high-value transactions, which could help stop scammers.

Scammers are getting smarter, he said. My question for the regulators is, why are you killing an industry when scams also happen to other industries but they're not doing anything about it as well?

As for Meduri, hes just relieved his son wasnt really arrested and in a car accident. Oddly enough, finding out it was all an elaborate lie came with a sense of relief.

My wife and I were just wrecked that day, he said. I didn't even care. I was happy he was OK."

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Orville RedenFRBer

Astronomers have intercepted a mysterious and ancient radio signal that's traveled from the farthest reaches of the cosmos  for an astonishing eight billion years, more than half the lifespan of the universe  before finally reaching the Earth.

The signal is what's known as a fast radio burst (FRB), and the astronomers' findings, published in the journal Science, indicate that this is the most powerful ever observed. So powerful, in fact, that the FRB released, in less than a millisecond, the same amount of energy that our Sun emits in 30 years.

"That is enough power to microwave a bowl of popcorn about two times the size of the Sun," study co-author Ryan Shannon, an astrophysicist at the Swinburne University of Technology, told New Scientist.

What could produce such a powerful blast? Astronomers aren't certain, but the researchers say this remarkable detection could help dispel the mystery behind the origins of FRBs, as well as providing an invaluable tool with which to measure the cosmos itself.

"The paper confirms that fast radio bursts are common events in the cosmos and that we will be able to use them to detect matter between galaxies, and better understand the structure of the universe," Shannon said in a statement about the work.

Neutron Wave

FRBs are elusive oddities; the first wasn't even detected until 2007, and since then only around 50 have been added to that tally. This one, designated FRB 20220610A, was detected in June last year using the ASKAP radio telescope array in western Australia.

When the researchers followed up by using telescopes in Europe and South America, they were able to reveal the burst's origin. They were fascinated to discover, though, it was coming from much farther than they'd assumed. Expecting to find a source galaxy, they instead uncovered that the FRB was likely originating from a cluster of merging galaxies rife with the formation of new stars.

According to the researchers, this backs up the prevailing theory that these bursts come from neutron stars, which are the collapsed cores of massive stars that are believed to be some of the densest objects in the universe.

Cosmic Flashlight

Most tantalizingly of all, the burst supports what's known as the Macquart relation, which suggests that the greater the distance an FRB came from, the more diffuse gas between galaxies it would reveal along its journey.

"Fast radio bursts sense this ionized material," Shannon explained in the statement. "Even in space that is nearly perfectly empty they can 'see' all the electrons, and that allows us to measure how much stuff is between the galaxies."

That intergalactic material is crucial to account for. Right now, without being able to see it, "if we count up the amount of normal matter in the Universe  the atoms that we are all made of  we find that more than half of what should be there today is missing," said Shannon.

If that missing matter is concealed between galaxies, FRBs could help spot them. If not, we may have to rethink some of the details of our cosmological models.

More on space: NASA Spacecraft Snaps Beautiful Photo of Jupiters Volcano-Dotted Moon
Sedona, nestled in the northern Verde Valley region of Arizona, is known for the red sandstone formations surrounding the city. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

Youd think that a town dependent on tourist dollars would never stop advertising itself. But in Sedona, Ariz., with wealthy residents weary of visitors jamming up their roads and a bitter rift over what constitutes the right kind of visitors, thats just what has happened.

After the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sedonas city government and the Chamber of Commerce made a joint agreement to quit advertising the town in glossy national travel magazines and doing social media posts targeted at rich people, since the marketing money would be wasted during the international shutdown.

The pause sparked infighting, which has since escalated. In April, the Chamber of Commerces board voted to end its tourism contract with the city over the councils refusal to fund destination marketing.

Read more: How to visit Sedona without being a jerk

This experiment has not yielded the expected serenity.

Instead, Sedona has filled up with wayward and lost tourists, in the words of Christopher Fox Graham, managing editor of the Sedona Red Rock News. Without such destination marketing, he wrote, Sedona has been beset by day travelers from Phoenix, Tucson and Las Vegas, and Californian overnighters who roll into town with little guidance on where to stay, eat, shop or explore other than what they saw on Instagram.

One of the reasons for these visitors from nearby cities  and one of the headaches for the many retirees who would prefer that Sedona be more Slo-dona  is that more than a third of the citys homes are used for short-term rentals.

That fact led the City Council to require, starting in February, an annual permit for lessors and mandatory sex offender checks on renters to prevent, in the words of one council member, orgies in nice areas.

Read more: $8,000 rentals. Private jets. How the super-rich escape the coronavirus pandemic

The city of Sedona has also offered landlords who can be persuaded to rent their homes to locals a subsidy up to $10,000. But few who work the low-wage tourism jobs can afford to live in Sedona. Neither can young families, which is why there is only a single elementary school, with declining enrollment, in a town of more than 11,000. Basically, people feel they live in a gas station, observed resident Sean Dedalus.

The hard irony of the current controversy is that Sedona has long been defined by visitors and other outsiders.

Sedona occupies a valley that had been a home for the Yavapai-Apache people for seven centuries before the U.S. Cavalry chased them away as a side campaign to the Apache Wars of the 1870s.

When early settler J.J. Thompson arrived in Oak Creek Canyon, he found irrigation and fruit orchards that had been tended by people who were forced to leave in a hurry. He simply took them over for himself, joined later by Manuel Chavez, a former U.S. Army scout and rancher, and the dapper storekeeper T. Carl Schnebly, who named the post office for his wife, Sedona.

Read more: Opinion: Reality deniers like Kari Lake fit right in with Arizona's history of wishful thinking

The name Sedona gained cultural currency in the golden age of the pulp Western, after Zane Gray set his 1922 novel The Call of the Canyon in nearby Oak Creek Canyon, inspiring a quickie silent movie. Hollywood soon found the wine-colored spires and juniper trees just as sublime as Monument Valley, not to mention closer to California. John Wayne came to Sedona to film Angel and the Badman, leaving behind a movie set that later became a subdivision where all the streets were named after famous oat operas: Broken Arrow, Copper Canyon, Last Wagon and Johnny Guitar. Elvis Presley came here, too, in 1968, to shoot what is widely regarded as the worst movie he starred in: Stay Away, Joe.

In the late 1950s, Sedona really found its tourism sweet spot. A real estate agent named Mary Lou Keller founded the Church of Light in her office and proclaimed the working-class ranching town a global center of spiritual energy. She may have invented this to attract home-buyers who favored crystals and tarot cards, but the seekers arrived in force, turning Sedona into a cauldron of the New Thought movement that had gripped Los Angeles in the 1920s.

Today, an estimated 200 small businesses in Sedona cater to visitors intrigued with the theology of earth energy: bookstores, crystal emporiums, sweat lodge retreats and other enterprises that come and go like sunbeams. One Chamber of Commerce survey found that 37% of visitors come for some kind of spiritual experience.

Often, they visit spots in the surrounding Coconino National Forest that have been proclaimed as vortexes of energy. Forest Service employees are constantly breaking up unauthorized rock arrangements that the metaphysical pilgrims say are medicine wheels.

Whatever their motivation, people keep catching what local Realtors call the red rock fever and keep coming to Sedona  and adding to the traffic that kicked off the tourism debate in the first place. A lack of coherent planning meant that interconnecting roads were never created, and the legacy is a persistent traffic problem on Highway 89A, whose main junction, The Y, is often despairingly referred to as the negative vortex.

Recently, off-highway vehicles, most piloted by tourists, have added to the mess on 89A. Sedonas mayor, Scott Jablow, a former police officer for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, sought to ban these dune buggies from paved highways, but the idea couldnt withstand the opposition of rental companies serving out-of-towners hungry for desert adventures.

Jablow won a 2022 election against an anti-masking Republican who had called Black Lives Matter a billion-dollar domestic terrorist organization. Sedonas liberals breathed a sigh of relief when the ex-cop won. It helped that Jablow wanted to slow down the towns popularity. We have too many tourists. Period, he said before his election.

His victory seemed less of a commentary on the national culture wars and more about a desire to yank back the welcome mat to the middle class. For those who commute by private jet, this might make sense. But for those whose monthly income depends on a steady flow of visitors to buy ice cream, tarot cards and sunscreen, the towns identity  and price of admission  is at stake.

Natures artwork is not supposed to have a price tag, but commodifying the rocks is an old Sedona custom. What were seeing is mostly a haggle over the amount charged.

Tom Zoellner, a fifth-generation Arizonan, is the author of Rim to River: Looking into the Heart of Arizona. This article was produced in partnership with Zocalo Public Square.







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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Multiple people were arrested after Haralson deputies said they seized illegal drugs from a home across the street from an elementary school.

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The investigation began several months ago when the Haralson County Sheriffs Office said they received a number of tips about drug activity at a home on College Circle in Buchanan.

Officials said neighbors were concerned because the home was directly across the road from Buchanan Elementary School. The home is less than a minute drive from the elementary school.

On Friday, the Northwest Georgia Drug Task Force along with Haralson County Sheriffs Office, Bremen Police Department and Buchanan Police Department conducted a search warrant.

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Deputies found methamphetamine and drug-related items. The homeowner, Donnie Worthy, 67, of Buchanan was not home at the time of the search.

Haralson authorities arrested the following:

Gary Lee Penson, 74, of Buchanan - possession of methamphetamine

Elizabeth Ann Brown, 47, of Buchanan - possession of methamphetamine

Steven Lamar Boyd, 41, of Buchanan - possession of methamphetamine

Mark Anthony Boyd, 42, of Bremen - possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug-related objects

Randall Lamar Boyd, 52, of Hiram - possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug-related objects

Sean Connery Thomas, Sr., 55, possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug-related objects

Kamera Leeanne Dempsey, 49, of Hiram - possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug-related objects

Pamela Rainey, who was the eighth person was walking away from the home when deputies arrived. Authorities said she had a warrant out of Polk County. She was arrested and turned over to them.

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Worthy, was arrested on Saturday for the charge of maintaining a disorderly house.

The most concerning part of these tips was the close proximity of this house to an elementary school in our county, stated Sheriff Stacy Williams. The fact that this poison was so close to children in our county is unacceptable.

IN OTHER NEWS:
A registered Level 3 sex offender was arraigned last week for exposing himself to a woman waiting for her Uber in Dorchester.

Lucio Tomar, 38 of Boston has over 17 lewdness and open and gross charges on his record was charged with open and gross lewdness, Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden announced.

On Oct. 6 around 11:27 a.m., Boston police responded to reports of lewd activity on Clayton Street.

Upon arrival, officers spoke with a witness who said he received a call from his mother who was waiting for an Uber outside indicating that she needed help and that it was an emergency.

According to police, the witness observed a dark-colored BMW with the windows down parked directly in front of his mother. A man, later identified as Tomar, was in the vehicle with his pants down and genitals fully exposed, touching himself.

The witness smashed the passenger side top corner of the vehicle with a hammer, causing the windshield to shatter and Tomar quickly fled the area after.

The victim later told police she was disgusted and mad and afraid for herself and the young children who lived nearby, the DA says.

A similar incident happened on October 9 when Boston police received another call for a male pleasuring himself in the area of Crescent Avenue.

The male was described as wearing a black hooded sweatshirt. Officers familiar with Tomar and similar incidents happening in that area were advised that Tomar may be operating a dark-colored BMW with dealer plates.

Shortly after, officers stopped Tomar at the corner of Dorchester and Crescent Avenue driving the same vehicle with a shattered windshield and wearing a black hooded sweatshirt.

Tomars record includes 17 prior incidents involving 30 open and gross, lewd and lascivious or indecent exposure charges, as well as offenses for larceny, assault, and battery with a dangerous weapon, malicious destruction of property, threats, disorderly conduct and failure to register as a sex offender. The incidents, which date back to 2006, span numerous district courts in Suffolk, Norfolk, and Middlesex counties.

While no one may have been physically hurt in this incident, that by no means diminishes the disturbing and lasting impact it had for the victim. This individuals chronic lewd behavior has inflicted intolerable emotional trauma across many neighborhoods. His continued actions endanger the community and himself, Hayden said.

Tomar is due back in court on Nov. 10.

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

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Six months have passed since 22-year-old Mercedes Marianna Vega was found dead inside a burning car, more than 60 miles west of her Tempe residence.

On Oct. 17, Vega's parents hosted a balloon release and candle lighting at Tempe Beach Park to honor her memory, spread awareness and hopefully bring forward some answers. Since her passing, the only information authorities have released to the public is what they know from when she was found inside that car.

The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, the agency investigating Vega's death, confirmed her death was being investigated as a homicide.

About 30 people, consisting of Vega's friends and her parents, came together for the event. Feelings of grief, warmth and anger were palpable as authorities have provided little information as to why she was found in that state in April.

Erika Pillsbury, Vega's mother, said the evening event was the fourth of its kind they've put together since her death.

"We've been trying to get the word out about her," Pillsbury said. "Just walking here today, I see girls walking here by themselves and it just terrifies me. I think it's important that people know that there's someone walking around that has the capacity to do what they did to my child."

Mercedes Vega's parents, Erika and Tom Pillsbury, say a prayer for their daughter at Rio Salado Park in Tempe on Oct. 17, 2023.

What we know about Vega's death

Little to no information has been released by the Sheriff's Office.

About 1:15 a.m. on April 17, sheriff's deputies were asked to assist the Arizona Department of Public Safety with a death investigation near Interstate 10 and milepost 85, just west of the Salome Road exit, the Sheriff's Office said. DPS had initially responded to the area for a car that was on fire. After the fire was put out, Vega was found in the back seat.

That's the only information that the Sheriff's Office has made publicly available regarding her homicide. Vega's loved ones, on the other hand, provided more details, including the circumstances leading up to what they consider her disappearance.

A flyer detailing the circumstances around 22-year-old Mercedes Vegas' death, who died in April 2023. Questions are still left unanswered six months later and her loved ones promote this information often to increase any chances of a helpful tip.

According to the flyer, Vega lived at The Aubrey apartments off Parkside Drive and Washington Street in Tempe, just east of Priest Drive. She was last seen on April 16 around 9:15 p.m. walking to her car in her apartment's parking garage.

Vega was hit in the head in the apartment's parking garage and was forced into a car. She was shot and set on fire while still alive and in the car.

The vehicle was found off to the side on Interstate 10 near the Salome Road exit in Tonopah around 1 a.m. on April 17.

Vega's car, a white Dodge Charger, was found illegally parked near Culinary Dropout near First Street and Farmer Avenue in Tempe, just 1.5 miles south of where she lived.

More unsolved: 'Canal Killings' trial brings some closure, but Arizona has many cold cases

The Sheriff's Office did not corroborate this information to The Arizona Republic, only saying that as of Friday, there were no new updates to her case.

The Republic obtained her medical examiner report, which states similar information provided in the flyer.

According to the report, Vega's death was ruled a homicide caused by the burns she suffered and from inhaling smoke from the car fire. She also had blunt force trauma and gunshot injuries that contributed to her death.

The report states that gloves and bleach were found in the front of the car and lighter fluid was located in the backseat.

Vega's gunshot wound was in her right arm, according to the report. It stated she was shot from the front. No bullet was recovered, but it exited upward and to the right. Her blunt force injuries included a gash on the right side of her head, a scraped bruise on the back of her right arm, and an abrasion on the left of her back, the report states.

Pillsbury said she wanted to emphasize that their family has been working with the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office to start a silent witness program related to Vega's death. People who have any information related to her death can submit anonymous tips through the program and receive a monetary award for doing so.

Family, friends seek answers

At Tuesday's event, friends and family shared memories they had with Vega, reminiscing on her laugh, the therapeutic conversations she was a part of and favorite moments spent with her.

"Mercedes was my childhood best friend," Brianna Magliocca said. "We grew up together, we had numerous great memories. Words are undescribable (for) our relationship. She was my best friend, my rock. I loved her so much and it tears me apart what happened, but I love her very much."

At the end of the evening, everyone grabbed a red or black balloon and gathered around in a circle before simultaneously releasing the balloons together. They then lit candles in her memory.

Vega's friends and family have a dedicated Instagram account honoring her life where they post photos and videos of Vega smiling as a child and throughout the years. They also use the platform to consistently repost the details from the flyer, letting the community know they can reach out to them if they have a tip.

Missing since 2021: Private investigator releases new findings in unsolved missing geologist case

Her family and friends want justice. Someone needs to be held accountable for her murder, her mother said.

Her friends and family plan to hand out the flyers again on Oct. 27 in Tempe.

"We miss her so much. She's my baby girl. She was only 22. She was just a kid, and her just being taken the way she was (hurts). I know she would have fought so hard," Pillsbury said.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Little known about Mercedes Vega's Arizona death
Corrections & Clarifications: An earlier version of this story misidentified Michigan State Sen. Stephanie Chang's title.

DETROIT  Mourners attended a funeral service Sunday afternoon for a synagogue president found stabbed to death outside her home as investigators announced that they've found no evidence yet that the murder was driven by antisemitism.

Police Chief James White said on Sunday that there are no early indications that that the killing was motivated by hate. He added that investigators were working with the FBI to analyze forensic evidence to piece together a timeline leading to Wolls death and more information would be revealed Monday.

"No evidence has surfaced suggesting that this crime was motivated by antisemitism," White said in a statement. He did not elaborate on whether police have a motive in mind or a suspect.

The chief had previously urged the public to not draw conclusions until "all of the available facts are reviewed." Late Saturday, he said in a statement that his department "has been leveraging every law enforcement and community resource it has to help further the investigation.

The body of Samantha Woll, 40, was found outside her home in a neighborhood east of downtown Detroit.

Samantha Woll, 40, led the Isaac Agree Downtown Detroit Synagogue and was heavily involved in local, state and national politics. She previously worked for U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin and Michigan State Sen. Stephanie Chang, and on the reelection campaign of Michigan's Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel .

But as the Detroit community and loved ones gathered at the Hebrew Memorial Chapel in Oak Park, Michigan, on Sunday, Woll was remembered as more than a community leader. Speaking through tears and laughter, loved ones recalled Woll's "infectious smile" and her ability to put people at ease  bringing the community together.

Woll's sister, Dr. Monica Woll Rosen, shared loving memories of her sister and described her as the "kindest, most generous human I've ever met."

"Your soul was beautiful and pure. You loved with all your heart. You never said no but how can I help?" Woll Rosen added, addressing her late sister. "You so deeply wanted peace for this world. You fought for everyone regardless of who they were or where they came from. You were the definition of a leader. Our world is shattered without you."

Mourners noted that attendees of the service included people belonging to many different religions, which friends and family said symbolized who Woll was. Many, including Nessel, had praised Woll for her sense of justice for all and the interfaith work she had done in the community.

Loved ones, such as family, friends and colleagues, spoke through tears and laughter as they spoke about her nature. They made jokes about her food allergies and how when she was complimented on something she wore, she would take it off and offer it.

Nessel called statements and sentiments about Woll "a fact" and "not an opinion," especially Woll's "passion for equal treatment for all people in every space." Nessel shared that she had been looking at old photos and was amazed at how active Woll was.

"She was omnipresent," Nessel joked. She was at every campaign event, every political protest, every religious service, every ribbon cutting. I think I saw her in a picture of the moon landing. I dont know how she could be so many places at the same time."

Synagogue leader fatally stabbed: Detroit police investigate motive

Police: No evidence of hate crime in death of Samantha Woll

Detroit police responded to a call that an unresponsive woman was found in the city's upscale Lafayette Park neighborhood at 6:30 a.m. Saturday. Woll was pronounced dead of multiple stab wounds at the scene. A trail of blood led back to the victim's nearby home, where investigators said she likely was fatally stabbed.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer described the killing as a "vicious crime" and urged the community to rally around friends and loved ones.

My heart breaks for her family, her friends, her synagogue and all those who were lucky enough to know her, Whitmer said in a statement, calling Woll "a source of light, a beacon in her community who worked hard to make Michigan a better place.

Samantha Woll remembered as an 'angel' and for her interfaith work

Woll, who was born and raised in the Detroit area, was a University of Michigan graduate. She became the president of the board of directors at Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue in 2022.

Woll was well known in metro Detroit's Jewish community and as a political and community activist. And although she loved to travel the world, "there was no one who loved the city of Detroit more," her family wrote.

"She was an angel and there was truly no one kinder," Woll's family wrote in her obituary.

But "most importantly, Samantha was a ray of sunshine to all that knew her. She was the light in any room because of her beautiful smile and her warmth," Woll's family wrote. They'll remember her joy, her infectious laugh. Her incredible compassion, tireless activism, her passion for making the world a better place.

The Michigan chapter of Council on American Islamic Relations called her death a tragic loss" and noted interfaith work with Wolls congregation, including a prayer vigil for the victims of the deadly 2018 attack on a Pennsylvania synagogue.

We are troubled by the horrific murder of Samantha Woll, a beloved leader within her faith community in Metro Detroit, Dawud Walid, the Muslim advocacy groups executive director, said in a Saturday statement.

'Always worried about our safety': Jews and Palestinians in US fearful after Hamas attack

Safety concerns for Jewish, Palestinians in US since war began

Security at synagogues and other sites across metro Detroit had been increased in the days since Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip crashed into Israel in a bloody attack Oct. 7. Hamas later called for a global Day of Rage," citing Israel's violent counterattacks.

The war has heightened security concerns in Jewish, Israeli and Palestinian-linked communities across the United States. Worried about local attacks, leaders in many areas increased security and urged community members to be vigilant.

Contributing: Cybele Mayes-Osterman, Christopher Cann, USA TODAY; The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Samantha Woll funeral: Detroit synagogue leader was community 'beacon'
Law enforcement is searching for suspects after multiple people were injured by gunfire inside a Meridian home over the weekend.

Idaho State Police and Meridian officers responded to a report of a shooting with multiple victims about 11:30 p.m. Friday in the 600 block of East Gannett Drive, according to a news release from the Meridian Police Department.

After officers secured the location, a search revealed a single gunshot victim inside the home. Ada County Paramedics treated the person and took them to a local hospital. Police said they later learned that a second person was brought to the hospital by a family member.

The hospital has released both people, according to the release.

Law enforcement said they believe this was an isolated incident with no others hurt. The public is not at further risk, police said.

The Meridian Police Department believes there was an altercation between some of the attendees that resulted in shots being fired, the departments release stated.

A number of people attended a gathering at the home, but many attendees left after the shooting began and before police arrived, according to police.

Police asked the public for help finding suspects and potential witnesses from the shooting scene. Anyone with information can share it by calling non-emergency dispatch at 208-377-6790, leaving an anonymous tip through Crime Stoppers at 208-343-2677 or using the P3 Tips app cell phone app.
Former President Donald Trump claimed Sidney Powell was never his attorney in a social media post Sunday, three days after she pleaded guilty in the Georgia election subversion case.

Despite Trumps claims, Powell was briefly an official member of Trumps legal team in 2020, and Trump stayed in contact with her on election-related matters even after she was ousted from his campaign.

Sidney Powell was one of millions and millions of people who thought, and in ever increasing numbers still think, correctly, that the 2020 Presidential Election was RIGGED & STOLLEN, AND OUR COUNTRY IS BEING ABSOLUTELY DESTROYED BECAUSE OF IT!!! MS. POWELL WAS NOT MY ATTORNEY, AND NEVER WAS. In fact, she would have been conflicted, Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Trumps attempt to distance himself from Powell comes after she agreed to cooperate with Fulton County prosecutors and testify against her co-defendants in the case, potentially including Trump.

Trump publicly announced on November 15, 2020, that he added Powell to his truly great team of lawyers working on the election. She participated in a notorious Trump campaign press conference, alongside fellow Trump lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis, where she peddled unfounded conspiracy theories about an international vote-rigging plot to flip millions of votes from Trump to Joe Biden.

The Trump campaign soon dropped her from the legal team and insisted that she was practicing law on her own.

She went on to file frivolous lawsuits across the country, in hopes of overturning the results. One federal judge later said Powells actions were a historic and profound abuse of the judicial process.

And she met with Trump on multiple occasions, including a December 2020 White House meeting where he considered naming her as a special counsel to look for voter fraud. This was the infamous meeting where there was discussion of declaring martial law and ordering the military to seize voting machines.

As Powells trial approached in Georgia, she similarly tried to distance herself from Trump. Her attorneys said she did not represent President Trump or the Trump campaign because she never signed an engagement agreement to be their attorney. Her name was never on any court filings from the Trump campaign, Powells lawyers pointed out.

In her guilty plea, Powell admitted her role in the January 2021 breach of election systems in rural Coffee County, Georgia.

With the help of local GOP officials, a group of Trump supporters accessed and copied information from the countys election systems in hopes of somehow proving that the election was rigged against Trump. They did this after Trump declined to sign an executive order directing the Pentagon to seize voting machines.

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A missile strike on a mail depot in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv has killed six people and injured 16 others, officials said on Sunday.

The blast was caused by a Russian S-300 rocket, Kharkiv governor Oleh Syniehubov said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.

All of the victims were employees of private Ukrainian postal and courier service Nova Poshta.

In a statement, the company said the air raid siren had sounded just moments before the attack, leaving those inside the depot with no time to reach shelter. It announced that Sunday would be a day of mourning for the firm.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky posted a video showing the building with destroyed windows and construction materials strewn across the floor. He described the strike as an attack on an ordinary civilian object.

(AFP/Getty)

We need to respond to Russian terror every day with results on the front line. And, even more so, we need to strengthen global unity in order to fight against this terror, he wrote on social media.

Russia will not be able to achieve anything through terror and murder. The end result for all terrorists is the same: the need to face responsibility for what they have done.

Elsewhere in the Kharkiv region, three people were injured in Russian shelling on the city of Kupiansk, Mr Syniehubov said.

The Ukrainian-held frontline city has been at the heart of fierce fighting as both Moscow and Kyiv push for battlefield breakthroughs amid the looming onset of wintry conditions.

Officials in southern Ukraine said on Sunday that the Russian military had used a record number of aerial bombs over the countrys Kherson region in the past 24 hours.

Natalia Humeniuk, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian militarys Operational Command South, said 36 missiles had been recorded over the area, with some villages being hit by several strikes.

A police officer stands in front of a damaged building, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the town of Avdiivka, Donetsk region, Ukraine (Reuters)

It comes as further south in the east, Ukraine has been trying to stop a new push by Russian forces to gain more territory there, amid Kyivs gruelling counteroffensive that has continued for months.

Moscows drive to capture the town of Avdiivka encountered fierce resistance on Saturday, Ukraines military said, with defences bolstered by fortifications erected nearly a decade ago.

The enemy is becoming more active, but is incurring heavy losses, General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, commander of Ukraines troops in the south, said on Telegram.

Russias defence ministry, in its evening report, made no mention of Avdiivka, but reported strikes on areas outside Bakhmut, a town seized by Moscows forces in May after months of battles. Both towns are in the eastern Donetsk region.

Avdiivka has withstood enemy attacks for months. Video footage shows buildings in ruins and streets barely distinguishable.

The town was briefly captured in 2014 by Russian-backed separatists who seized large swathes of eastern Ukraine, but was retaken by Ukrainian forces who built solid fortifications.

The Institute for the Study of War, a US think-tank, said Russian troops had marginally advanced near Avdiivka.

Additional reporting by agencies
The editorial board for The Post and Courier in South Carolina is encouraging the GOP to clear the field for former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley to take on former President Trump, arguing a crowded field will lead to Trumps reelection.

Donald Trump won the GOP nomination in 2016 not because he was the choice of most Republican primary voters; he was not, an editorial for The Post and Courier read Saturday. He won because, in a crowded field, he got more votes than any of his rivals in South Carolina, and then in later-voting states.

The op-ed argued Trump remains unpopular among independents and a large chunk of Republicans and attributed his leading poll numbers to the crowded field of candidates drowning each other out.

The result, if the field remains crowded, is that Mr. Trump will again win the nomination, the editorial read.

The editorial board went on to argue that a scenario in which Trump becomes the 2024 GOP presidential nominee is disastrous for voters across the political spectrum.

The piece said it would be a bad outcome for Republicans because Trump is the least likely candidate to defeat President Joe Biden , and for Democrats and independents because theres no guarantee that Mr. Biden would win a rematch.

Although Ms. Haley should never be confused with a moderate, she could easily be next years choice of independents and traditional Republicans, the op-ed continued. But that requires the other candidates getting out of the way.

The editorial said it joins the calls of others such as former Texas Rep. Will Hurd, who endorsed Haley after dropping out of the Republican presidential primary earlier this month, and columnist George Will, who called for Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) to drop out and back Haley instead in a Washington Post op-ed.

But as Mr. Will explained, and as Mr. Hurd and others who have been calling for an early winnowing have understood, a compressed start to the primary season means it will be nearly impossible for one candidate to consolidate the vote after the voting has started; that takes time and money and organization that a challenger needs to be putting into place right now, the editorial board wrote. Even starting now, the odds remain against victory for a serious, qualified Republican.

Describing Haley  who also served as the former governor of South Carolina  as the one Republican who is clearly ascending in polls, fundraising and willingness to challenge Trump, the editorial said Haleys foreign policy credentials leaves the rest of this years GOP field in the dust.

Haley has made foreign policy a central focus of her campaign, vowing to back Ukraine and Israel in their respective conflicts against Russia and Hamas, as well as fight the growing influence of China.

Haley, along with her GOP rivals, has struggled to make a dent in Trumps considerable lead in the Republican presidential primary polls. A recent poll from Morning Consult shows Trump leading with 59 percent of the likely GOP vote, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has 14 percent support and Haley and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy are tied for 6 percent.

However, another poll from Fox News shows Haley could stand a chance against President Biden. In a hypothetical match-up between Biden and Haley, she tops the incumbent by 4 points. In that same poll, Trump and Biden are shown to be a tight match-up, with Biden edging Trump out by just 1 point.

A spokesperson for Trumps campaign told The Hill the former president is dominating the polls and will go on to beat Biden because hes (Trump) the only person who can supercharge the economy, secure our border, safeguard communities, and put an end to unnecessary wars.

Will, a longtime columnist at The Washington Post, is also a contributor for cable news channel NewsNation, an outlet that is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which also owns The Hill.

Updated at 6:22 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Saudi Real Estate Refinance Company (SRC), a wholly owned unit of the kingdom's wealth fund PIF, has appointed Majeed Al Abduljabbar as its new CEO.

SRC was established in 2017 with the aim of helping transform the local housing market. It obtained a licence from the Saudi Central Bank to operate in real estate refinancing through the secondary market. It is headed by Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing Majed bin Abdullah Al Hogail.

Announcing the appointment, SRC said Al Abduljabbar will take over the new role effective January 1, 2024 from Fabrice Susini after obtaining clearance from Saudi Central Bank.

The companys board of directors thanked Susini for his extensive efforts over the years in strengthening the companys position in the real estate finance sector in the kingdom.

During his tenure, he also supported the development of a management team that possesses the best international practices in this field, and contributed to the companys achievements during his tenure.

On Abduljabbar, the board members said he is one of the sought after executives in the kingdom, thanks to his extensive professional career of 26 years within the public and private sector of the financial and banking industry,.

Al Abduljabbar had held various positions during his career; notably as the Director of Risks at the Capital Markets Authority (CMA), and as a senior advisor to the Chairman of the Board for the Capital Market Authority, during which he worked on a number of initiatives within the Authoritys plan and strategy in line with the objectives of the Kingdoms Vision 2030.

He was also part of the team that supervised Aramcos public offering in the Saudi market. He also represented the kingdom in several committees at the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).

Abduljabbar professional journey included working in the banking sector for more than 15 years with local banks, including the treasury department at HSBC Bank in London, Samba, and Arab National Bank, also he contributed to establishing the Department of Innovative Investment Solutions at SABB (now SAB).-TradeArabia News Service
This embedded content is not available in your region.

The Philippines has accused China's coast guard of colliding with a Filipino supply boat in the South China Sea.

The Filipino vessel was on its way Sunday to a Philippine outpost in the Second Thomas Shoal, where tensions have escalated in recent weeks.

Manila said Beijing's "dangerous blocking manoeuvres" endangered the safety of the Filipino crew.

However, China said the Philippines "deliberately stirred up trouble".

Chinese and Philippine ships have routinely played cat-and-mouse around the shoal as a handful of Filipino troops on the outpost, a marooned and crumbling navy ship, require monthly rations.

But Filipino authorities say China has grown more aggressive since Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr took office in June 2022 and sought closer military ties with Washington, Beijing's chief rival for influence in the resource-rich and strategic sea.

In a second incident also near Second Thomas Shoal on Sunday, Filipino authorities said a Chinese militia vessel bumped into a Philippine coast guard ship.

A second supply ship was able to reach the Philippine outpost in the shoal, Manila said.

Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea, including the Spratlys where the Second Thomas Shoal is located. Its claims to the sea overlap with claims by other countries, including the Philippines and Vietnam.

In 2016, an international arbitration court at The Hague ruled that China's vast sea claims had no basis, acting on a case brought forth by Manila. Beijing has refused to recognise it.

South China Sea
SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea, together with Japan and the United States, held a joint aerial exercise near the Korean peninsula on Sunday, the South Korean military said, marking the first such collaboration between the three countries.

The drill aimed to expand the countries' response capabilities against North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, South Korea's air force said in a statement.

It involved a U.S. B-52 strategic bomber as well as fighter jets of the three nations.

At the Camp David summit in August, leaders of Japan, South Korea and the United States agreed to carry out annual, multi-domain trilateral exercises and set up a hot line for crisis communications.

The aerial exercise is the latest effort by Washington and its two Asian allies to strengthen ties in the face of tensions with North Korea and China's influence in the region.

Also on Sunday, South Korean and U.S. navies completed a joint anti-submarine exercise called Silent Shark, the South Korean navy said.

(Reporting by Ju-min Park; Editing by Barbara Lewis)
I spent 4 hours running for my life at the Nova festival. A man in a white pickup truck rescued me, but I never learned what happened to him after he returned for more people.

Natalie Sanandaji is an American who attended the Tribe of Nova music festival on October 7.

She and her friends spent four hours running through the desert before they were rescued.

The 28-year-old said she learned later that she nearly missed being shot at.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Natalie Sanandaji, a 28-year-old New York resident and "American Jew born to Israeli and Iranian parents." It has been edited for length and clarity.

Sanandaji originally went to Israel for a friend's wedding but was at the Tribe of Nova musical festival on October 7 when a Hamas terror attack resulted in the deaths of at least 260 concertgoers and employees.

From the beginning of my trip, I knew I was going to be at the rave. I arrived with three other friends around 1 a.m. We were there dancing for about two hours and around 3 a.m., we decided to take a break and sit at the campsite on the festival grounds, take a nap, and wake up for the sunrise set.

We were woken up by one of the girls in our camp, who informed us that there had been some rockets that were sent our way and intercepted overhead. She just wanted us to be alert.

No other people would react the way that the festival attendees reacted. They were fairly calm. She reassured me that it would just probably be a few rockets and that this was a normal situation for the area.

After a few minutes, the rockets kept coming. We started to realize that this wasn't just another normal situation. The festival security, at this point, had turned off the music and asked everybody to go straight to their vehicles. We picked up our things and went to our car. At this point, we thought that it was only rockets and that the worst danger that we could be in was that our car would get hit by some scraps from the rockets that were being intercepted by the Iron Dome.

Everyone was trying to leave at the same time, so we thought it would probably take a few extra hours to get home. So I asked my friends if they thought it was okay if I went back to the campgrounds to use the bathroom. I went back to use the bathroom, and a couple of days ago I saw a video that surfaced of the terrorists coming to those exact bathrooms and just shooting at the bathroom stalls trying to kill anybody who might have been inside. If I had been there moments later, that could have been me.

After getting to our car, the festival security asked everybody to drive down in one direction on the dirt road. You couldn't drive on most of the open field and everybody was trying to get out at the same time on the same road. We started driving and the festival security started asking everyone to turn around and go in another direction. This was the second time where we started to really realize that something else was happening that we didn't fully know of yet. I'd also like to point out the fact that the security did their best to get everyone out safely and many of them died in the process.

We started going in the other direction. Suddenly security was asking everyone to please pull over on the side of the road, get out of their cars, and start running. And for a second, we sat there and we didn't understand why they would say something like that. To us, the fastest way to get out of here was by car.

When we heard the first gunshots, that's when we realized that it wasn't just rockets and that the terrorists had come on foot, and they had guns, and they were coming after us. As soon as we heard the gunshots we just opened our doors and started running for our lives. Nobody knew what direction to run in. We started to realize after a while that they were coming at us from every direction.

One of the scariest things at that moment was running in a certain direction and thinking that you were running to safety and then seeing dozens of kids run in your direction and realizing that they were being shot at. Every decision you made either saved your life or got you killed, and you had no idea of knowing which choice was the right choice.

At a certain point, when we were running, we passed by a ditch. There were a number of kids hiding in the ditch and they told us to come down and hide with them. We were about to do that until one of my friends said, "If we hide in this ditch and they find us, we're going to get shot." We decided to keep running. We later found out that the people who stayed in the ditch were killed.

Eventually, we ran into a police officer. He didn't have much to protect us with, but he walked by our side trying to guide us to safety. He couldn't even call for backup because the local police station had been taken over.

We ran for about four hours. Eventually, we decided to stop, sit under a tree, and get some shade as we were running in the sun. We had no water. We didn't hear any gunshots for a minute or two. I decided it was a good moment to just sit down and catch our breath. At this point, a large white pickup truck was coming in our direction. And our first thought was that this could be a terrorist coming to kill us. We thought to get up and running, but we realized we had nowhere to run.

It turned out to be a man from the nearby town that we were running towards  the town of Patish. He had risked his own life to pick up people and bring them to safety in his town. I don't even know his name. We just hopped in the back of his truck and he drove us to Patish, and as soon as he dropped us off, he turned around and went back to go save more kids.

I hadn't told my mom that I was at the festival until I had gotten back safely home to a friend's house. Everyone's reaction to me being safe was just that God was watching over me and I just got very lucky.

Read the original article on Business Insider
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - On Friday night, a St. Petersburg man was killed after being struck by two vehicles, one being a hit-and-run, according to authorities.

The incident occurred in the area of 54th Avenue North and 28th Street North at around 11:40 p.m.

READ: 2 teens arrested in St. Pete for 'threatening' social media post near Pinellas County Sheriff's Office vehicle

Police say a Kia Optima was traveling eastbound on 54th Avenue North, when a pedestrian entered its path.

Another unknown vehicle also struck the pedestrian after the initial crash, police said.

READ: St. Petersburg couple charged with sexual battery after assaulting woman together: SPPD

The pedestrian suffered fatal injuries.

Police say the driver of the Kia Optima was uninjured during the incident.
Lorena Boquete Vilarino wears Bronze Age style clothes while using ancient techniques to carve out the boats

Building Bronze Age-style log boats using replica tools and fire has revealed "how long and how much effort" it was to make prehistoric vessels.

Ten volunteers are hoping to get two boats afloat at Stanwick Lakes nature reserve in Northamptonshire next year.

It is part of a 250,000 Heritage Lottery project to connect the site to its ancient past.

Heritage officer Nadia Norman said the boat build began in June and volunteers had devoted 500 hours to it so far.

Ms Boquete Vilarino is an experienced Bronze Age re-enactor but jumped at the chance to extend her skills "with proper tools"

The team is creating the boats from a fallen lime tree donated by Boughton House, near Kettering.

They include Lorena Boquete Vilarino, 35, an experienced Bronze Age, Iron Age and early medieval re-enactor, who is currently the only woman volunteer.

She said: "I do a lot of crafts such as weaving and spinning, which are manageable on your own, but you don't get many opportunities to work with the proper tools on something as big as a boat.

"This is a massive project and a lot of physical work and it has really helped me understand how long it takes and how much effort to carve out the boats."

A post-doctoral researcher in cancer biology from Cambridge, she has also found it "really amazing" to use the bronze replica tools.

She said: "When you think of bronze, you think it's going to break or lose its sharpness - but it's really resistant."

Fellow volunteer Aidan Phillips, 61, who helped cast the tools earlier in the year, agreed they are standing up to the work, unlike their wooden handles, or hafts.

They include Aidan Phillips (left), who has just begun a part-time archaeology degree, and Andy Dyks (right)

Mr Phillips is leading on burning out one of the boats, which will eventually be finished off with tools

Despite being an experienced woodworker, "the biggest challenge now is the haft, I'm on my sixth one and I've just broken that, it is literally one a month - some lasted a day," he said.

Mr Phillips, a digital learning co-ordinator for Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue, said: "I've been leading on the boat burn on the smaller of the two and trying to perfect the technique for the right burn.

"But it starts you thinking, it's quite possible that in the past they would have had someone tending it all night and they would cook breakfast on the fire - otherwise the burn would have been a wasted resource."

Ms Norman said the team was now more than halfway through building the log boats, based on those found at "Britain's Pompeii", the burnt-out 3,000-year-old village at Must Farm quarry, Cambridgeshire.

The volunteers aim to create boats with flat ends like the one above and have them ready to try out on the water by next year

Follow East of England news on Facebook, Instagram and X. Got a story? Email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp 0800 169 1830
The State Department on Sunday updated its travel advisory for Iraq to include the ordered departure of all non-emergency U.S. government personnel and eligible family members.

Americans are warned "do not travel to Iraq due to terrorism, kidnapping, armed conflict, civil unrest, and Mission Iraqs limited capacity to provide support to U.S. citizens."

On Oct. 20, the State Department already ordered the departure of eligible family members and non-emergency U.S. government personnel from U.S. Embassy Baghdad and U.S. Consulate General Erbil "due to increased security threats against U.S. government personnel and interests."

In recent days, Iran-backed militias attacked United States military bases in Iraq. Iran has warned that an Israeli ground incursion into Gaza could spark an escalation from allied armed groups and a possible regional war. Hundreds of Iraqi protesters gathered at the western Trebil border crossing near Jordan Friday in a demonstration organized by the Coordination Framework, an alliance of Iran-backed Shia political groups and militias in Iraq.

DRONE STRIKES TARGET US MILITARY BASES IN SYRIA, IRAQ AS REGIONAL TENSIONS FROM ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR ESCALATE

Iraqis hold a portrait of Lebanon's Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and shout slogans during a demonstration near the suspension bridge leading to Baghdad's Green Zone and the US Embassy Baghdad on Oct.18, 2023.

The pro-Iran coalition also called for a protest in Baghdad near the main gate of the highly fortified international zone, where the U.S. Embassy is located, to condemn its endorsement of Israel in the ongoing war with Hamas, according to The Associated Press.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

"U.S. citizens in Iraq face high risks to their safety and security, including the potential for violence and kidnapping. Terrorist and insurgent groups regularly attack Iraqi security forces and civilians. Anti-U.S. militias threaten U.S. citizens and international companies throughout Iraq," the State Department advisory for Iraq says. "Attacks using improvised explosive devices, indirect fire, and unmanned aerial vehicles occur in many areas of the country, including Baghdad and other major cities. In an emergency, consular services to U.S. citizens in Iraq are limited due to severe restrictions on the movements of U.S. government personnel."

The State Department also warns that demonstrations, protests and strikes occur frequently throughout the country, often interrupting traffic, transportation and other services, and sometimes turning violent.

A protester holds a Palestinian flag during a protest near the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, on Oct. 18, 2023.

US MILITARY INTERCEPTS 2 ATTACK DRONES TARGETING IRAQ AIR BASE WHERE AMERICAN TROOPS ARE LOCATED

"Do not travel near Iraqs northern borders due to the continued threat of attacks by terrorist groups, armed conflict, aerial bombardment and civil unrest," the advisory continues. "U.S. citizens should especially avoid areas near armed groups in northern Iraq, which have been targeted with aerial strikes by neighboring countries militaries."

Because of security concerns, U.S. government personnel in Baghdad are instructed not to use Baghdad International Airport, the advisory says.

Thousands rallied across the Arab and Muslim world on Oct. 18 to protest an explosion at a Gaza hospital blamed on Israelis despite U.S. intelligence supporting that Islamic jihadists misfired a rocket, causing the deadly blast.

Due to risks to civil aviation operating in the Baghdad Flight Information Region, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has extended for an additional two years its Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR) prohibiting certain flights at altitudes below 32,000 feet.

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Americans who go against the State Department warning and do travel to Iraq are advised to draft a will and discuss assets with family members beforehand.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.





Original article source: State Dept orders departure from Iraq of non-emergency government workers
ANCHORAGE, Alaska  Rep. Mary Sattler Peltola (D-Alaska), the first Alaska Native to serve in the U.S. Congress, on Saturday was greeted with a standing ovation when she arrived at the podium to address the Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) convention in Anchorage, Alaska.

The room at the Dena'ina Civic and Convention Center in downtown Anchorage, Alaska was filled with love and adoration for Peltola, whose husband Eugene "Buzzy" Peltola died in a plane crash last month on September 12. Peltola spent over three weeks to be with her family and recntly returned to her work as a congresswoman.

It was just a year ago I stood before you giving my first address as a member of our congressional delegation. And the welcome was just overwhelming and now a year lateryou know, Pelola said as she teared up and the crowd clapped as if to indicate they shared her grief.

Twenty seconds later, the congresswoman was able to continue talking.

This convention has always been the highlight of my year. Im standing here today with all of you. I feel lighter than I have in a long time, she said.

The outpouring of love has been so palpable. We can feel it and it is very healing. And it helps us to stay motivated. There are so many rules that our cultures have all laid down for us ho how to grieve in a way where youre still production and still moving forward, Peltola said.

She then said she is excited to get back to work and provided a congressional update. Peltola said the Alaska delegation that includes her, Sen. Lisa Murkowsi and Sen. Dan Sullivan, have brought more than $2.5 billion to the state in federal funds.

Peltola is a Democrat and the U.S. senators are Republicans. She said the work together for the sake of the state of Alaska.

As a delegation, we spend mort of the political spectrum that gives us the unique ability to speak to any member of Congress or member of the administration, whether they are Democrat or Republican. Thats a powerful advantage in a government as divided and polarized as the one we have in America today, Peltoal said.

She admonished the crowd of Alaska Natives to be united to improve the lives of their people.

If Alaskan Natives dont continue to advocate for ourselves, the rest of the country wont do it for us. We must organize, educate, and both like our way of life depends on it, whether we are from urban centers to the most remote villages> Peltola said

Peltola todl the crowd it has been the honor of her life to work and serve Alaska in the U.S. House.

But its not my seat; its Alaska seat and I cant take it for granted, Peltola said asa she concluded her speech and asked for their continued support.

After her address, a five-minute video was shown of family photos that included those of her late husband and the Peltola family.

About the Author: "Levi \"Calm Before the Storm\" Rickert (Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation) is the founder, publisher and editor of Native News Online. Rickert was awarded Best Column 2021 Native Media Award for the print\/online category by the Native American Journalists Association. He serves on the advisory board of the Multicultural Media Correspondents Association. He can be reached at levi@nativenewsonline.net."

Contact: levi@nativenewsonline.net
Several streets in Retford are under an evacuation order as flood waters rise

Residents of some 500 homes in a Nottinghamshire town have been urged to evacuate due to flooding caused by Storm Babet.

Nottinghamshire County Council declared a major incident and told people in Retford they were at risk over high water levels along the River Idle.

The river reached record levels on Sunday, with water still rising.

More flooding is possible for parts of England until Wednesday due to further rain, the Environment Agency has said.

Five severe flood warnings were lifted on Sunday evening - two were for the River Idle in the East Midlands and three were for the River Derwent in Derby.

But areas along the River Severn, Britain's largest river, will be affected in the coming days, and the agency is warning that widespread flooding is probable in parts of the Midlands and the North of England.

Retford resident Brendan Hunt was forced to evacuated his home and fears the damage to his property from flooding "could be endless".

"[The water] is still right up to the threshold of the front door," he told the PA News Agency.

He said that he was at home moving as many of his possessions as possible upstairs until the early hours of Sunday, adding that he believes he will have to replace all of his downstairs flooring if the water gets in.

Residents in up to 500 homes have been asked to leave their homes there

Rain is forecast to ease in the UK on Sunday, but there are still danger to life warnings in place

Water levels in the River Idle are expected to peak at 20:00 BST on Sunday.

A temporary shelter has been set up at Retford Leisure Centre to help residents affected by the "unprecedented" situation, Nottinghamshire County Council said.

There were also record-breaking water levels in the River Derwent nearby in Derbyshire this weekend, with authorities warning that cleaning up after the floods could take days.

Meanwhile, a woman in her 80s, named by her son as Maureen Gilbert, has died in Chesterfield after her home was flooded.

Paul Gilbert said emergency services had tried to rescue Mrs Gilbert on Friday but were unable to enter the property. Mr Gilbert found his mother in the water the following morning.

Derbyshire Police said the cause of her death remained uncertain but investigations were continuing.

In other developments:

Flooding is 'probable' on some larger rivers including the Severn, Ouse and Trent through to Tuesday, the Environment Agency says

Serious damage has been caused in the Marykirk area, where a man was reported missing

The Environment Agency has warned flooding along major rivers in England could continue for days due to further heavy rain.

Parts of Yorkshire and the Humber and the East Midlands may see more flooding on Monday, the agency said.

Katharine Smith, flood duty manager at the Environment Agency, said teams are on the ground helping local communities.

"Temporary defences, including pumps and barriers, have been deployed to minimise the impact of flooding where needed," she said.

"Flood gates have also been closed in affected areas. We also advise people to stay away from swollen rivers and urge people not to drive through flood water as just 30cm of flowing water is enough to move your car."

Emergency services helping people to evacuate their homes in Brechin, Angus, on Saturday

Roads and bridges across Scotland have been badly damaged - including here near Dundee

BBC Weather forecaster Gemma Plumb said: "There were a number of places in north and east England, and in Scotland, that saw at least a month's worth of rain in a few days as a result of Storm Babet, with one or two places seeing closer to twice the average monthly rainfall - one of which was Wattisham in Suffolk."

But Met Office spokesman Dave Britton said those worst affected by the flooding could see "a couple of quieter days".

He added there were no Met Office weather warnings in force for the remainder of the week, except for one on ice in Scotland on Sunday night.

"There is this pulse of rain moving its way north overnight later on Monday and into Tuesday, but the rest of the week does look like it remains rather unsettled with spells of rain at times", Mr Britton continued.

Experts say climate change makes extreme flooding events more likely because a warming atmosphere increases the chance of intense rainfall.

However, many factors contribute to flooding and it takes time for scientists to calculate how much impact climate change has had on particular weather events - if any.

The world has already warmed by about 1.1C since the industrial era began and temperatures will keep rising unless governments around the world make steep cuts to emissions.

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Travel chaos caused by Storm Babet continues with major disruption on the railways and warnings not to travel on large parts of the network.

Seven people have died after days of heavy rain sparked flooding, cutting off towns and villages and trapping people in their homes. Thousands of households have been hit by power cuts and the Environment Agency warned flooding could last for days, with hundreds of alerts still in place.

The Met Office is promising a drier and brighter day on Sunday but the travel disruption is set to continue for those trying to move around the country.

Network Rail says the routes linking Edinburgh with Inverness and Aberdeen will be badly affected by severe weather all day, and that speed restrictions will apply on other lines.

Major disruption to services in Scotland is expected until the end of the day, the tracks operator said.

Anyone who makes it to Edinburgh may find their problems are only just beginning, because the East Coast main line is heavily disrupted.

Saturday was chaotic on the line linking Scotland, northeast England and Yorkshire to London, with Kings Cross station closed for a time because of the sheer number of passengers trying to make journeys. Many of those people will be back to try again on Sunday  only to find delays and cancellations, including a number caused by staff shortage.

London North Eastern Railway (LNER) tickets for Sunday are valid until Friday.

The main line from Sheffield to London is closed north of Derby because of flooding, and the lines from Derby to both Matlock and Sheffield.

Trains wait on platforms at Kings Cross station in London (EPA/NEIL HALL)

Elsewhere, Skegness is cut off from Nottingham and Norwich is cut off from London due to flooding on the line north from Ipswich.

In Wales, Transport for Wales warned of flooding on some lines, and has urged passengers not to travel south from Llandudno on the line to Snowdonia.

On the seas, the overnight Northland ferry from Aberdeen, Orkney and Shetland, which normally sails at 5pm, left 11 hours late and wont reach Lerwick until 6pm tonight. This evenings overnight sailing will be at least four hours late.

In the Western Isles, the main problem is residual disruption from Friday and Saturday on Caledonian MacBrayne ferries. The company had planned extra sailings between Ullapool and Stornaway to clear traffic from previous cancellations, but they have been cancelled due to a technical issue with the vessels sewage system. The first sailing from Tarbert to Uig is also cancelled.

Scottish train stations left submerged underwater following mass floods (Network Rail)

On the Channel, DFDS Ferries says all services are currently operating with delays due to strong winds in the Channel. The advice is to check in as normal and you will be put on the first available sailing to Calais and Dunkirk.

Leeds Bradford airport was closed for 24 hours on Friday and Saturday after the storm caused a plane to skid off the runway and knock-on disruption is continuing. Some planes overnight arrived at Leeds Bradford many hours late, and consequently, there are further delays for departures today.
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Tell Alexa to play your favorite song. Ask Siri about the weather. Use Google Assistant to turn down the air conditioner. But do not ask your smart device to look up a phone number, because it could accidentally point you to a scam.

How the scam works

You need the phone number for a company, so you ask your homes smart device, which might be Google Home, Siri, or Alexa, to find and dial it for you. But when the companys representative answers, you start to notice some red flags. This representative may insist they can only help you if you make a payment by wire transfer or prepaid debit cards. Other times, they demand remote access to your computer or point you to a scam website.

One recent victim reported to BBB Scam Tracker: I used Siri to look up the United Airlines customer service line. Somehow, the call was connected to a different company The agent pretended to be a United Airlines agent and said he could help me cancel my flight. The fee was $125. I was convinced it was United Airlines, but the next day I realized my mistake. They said they would refund my money, but only after I threatened to call the police. Im still waiting for a refund.

In another version of this scam, a consumer tried using voice search to contact Roku with a question about setting up their device. Instead, someone pretending to represent Roku charged them an $80 activation fee for a service that does not exist.

In all versions of this scam, the representative is not from the company you were searching for. Instead, scammers created a fake customer service number and bumped it to the top of the search results in hopes that when consumers do a voice search using Siri, Alexa, or another device, the algorithm will accidentally pick their scam number and an unsuspecting victim will contact them directly.

Tips to avoid this scam

 Go straight to the source. Rather than doing an online search or letting your smart device look up a number, use the contact information on the business's website, (always double check the URL) on your bill, receipt, or in your confirmation email. For example, if you need to get in touch with Amazon, use the Amazon mobile app or website. This applies whether you are seeking customer service, tech support, or looking to make changes to your account. Remember that reputable companies will never ask you to provide payment information for products or services over the phone.

 Beware of fake ads. Scammers create fake ads with bogus customer service numbers. Using voice search to find a number keeps you from seeing the ad to evaluate whether it is legitimate or not.

 Make payments with your credit card. It is easier to dispute a credit card payment. Paying by wire transfer or pre-paid debit card is like using cash; there is almost nothing you can do to get the money back.

For more information

Learn more about scams by visiting our BBB Scams HQ at BBB.org/all/scamtips. If you have been targeted by this scam, help others avoid the same problem by reporting your experience on BBB.org/ScamTracker. For BBB information Visit BBB.org or call 330-454-9401 to look up a business, file a complaint, write a customer review, read tips, find our events, follow us on social media, and more!

This article originally appeared on The Alliance Review: Straight Talk: Use caution while using voice search with your smart device
A steady stream of rocket misfires by Hamas and Islamic Jihad have resulted in the deaths of several Palestinians since the war between Israel and Iran-backed terrorists first began earlier this month, according to one Israeli defense official.

"They are killing their own people," Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Daniel Hagari said Saturday.

Hagari noted that one-fifth of the rockets that have been fired by Hamas and Islamic Jihad have missed intended targets and landed inside Gaza, killing civilians. That number, Hagari said, amounts to more than 550 rockets.

The comments from Hagari came roughly four days after the al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City was struck by an errant rocket. The blast reportedly left hundreds dead. Hamas initially claimed the hospital was attacked in an Israeli strike; Israel countered after an investigation that it was hit by an errant missile launched by terrorists in Gaza.

ISRAEL REMAINS FOCUSED ON DESTROYING HAMAS DESPITE CEASE-FIRE CALLS: 'NO OTHER OPTION'

A view of the surroundings of al-Ahli Hospital after it was hit in Gaza City, Gaza, Oct. 18, 2023.

Online video that made rounds on social media suggested the al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City was not directly hit by a rocket on Tuesday. Instead, the missile appears to have struck a nearby parking lot, leading to many conflicting claims of who was responsible, where the missile struck and how many people died.

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After an investigation, Israel said the rocket was fired by Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a State Department-designated foreign terrorist organization backed by Iran.

"An analysis of IDF operational systems indicates that a barrage of rockets was fired by terrorists in Gaza, passing in close proximity to the al-Ahli [Baptist] Hospital in Gaza at the time it was hit," IDF officials said. "Intelligence from multiple sources we have in our hands indicates that Islamic Jihad is responsible for the failed rocket launch which hit the hospital in Gaza."

President Biden , who was in Israel Wednesday, said intelligence from the Pentagon also supported Israels assertion that the blast originated from rocket fire in Gaza. The president reiterated his belief that Israel was not to blame later on Wednesday. National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson also reaffirmed the U.S. position.

The string of misfires, according to Joe Truzman, a research analyst for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies' Long War Journal, is a result of "Hamas and other groups like Islamic Jihad" having to "make do with the material they have."

ISRAEL ELIMINATES TERRORISTS IN GAZA, LEBANON, WHILE STRIKING HAMAS AND HEZBOLLAH TARGETS

"Iran is the chief supporter of several Palestinian armed groups, including other bad actors across the region," Truzman told Fox News Digital. "The regime in Iran funds, arms and supports its network of proxies and clients. The caveat with Palestinian groups in Gaza and the West Bank is that Iran is not able to transfer advanced weapons without the Israelis thwarting it. Iran has likely been able to get some weapons through, but it's a difficult task.

"Because of this hurdle, the Iranians focus on arming Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other Palestinian terrorist organizations with the know-how to build weapons," he explained. "With this knowledge, Hamas is able to locally produce rockets, mortars, drones and other weapons. While this knowledge has its advantages in the war against Israel, Hamas and other groups like Islamic Jihad have to make do with the materiel they have."

A chart released by the IDF last week showed an increasing trend in the amount of Hamas and Islamic Jihad rockets that failed upon launch and landed in the Gaza Strip.

A chart released by the IDF last week showed an increasing number of Hamas and Islamic Jihad rockets failed upon launch and landed in the Gaza Strip. Nearly 13% of the rockets that were fired toward Israel Oct. 17 landed in the densely populated enclave.

Describing some methods terrorists have used in an effort to achieve their mission, Truzman noted that "Hamas has dug up underground water pipes that were left behind following the evacuation of Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip."

Palestinian terror groups in Gaza launch rockets toward Israel.

"These pipes are used to build rockets. And while it may be a clever method to build up Hamas' arsenal, it doesn't mean the rockets are effective and will always travel to the intended target," he added. "Also, the rockets are produced by terrorist organizations, not a complex arms industry."

As for why there have been so many misfires, Truzman said he believes it's because the terrorists have not "perfected" the process of developing efficient rockets with reliable materials.

"An example of a misfire was filmed last year by a pro-Hamas outfit called al-Mayadeen. The crew filmed a rocket fired by a Palestinian terrorist group, landing short, striking civilian infrastructure," he said. "While Hamas and other groups have learned how to self-produce rockets, it certainly doesn't mean they have perfected it, and this is likely the reason why we are witnessing some of these rockets landing inside the Gaza Strip."

A salvo of rockets is fired by Hamas terrorists toward Israel in Gaza City Oct. 13, 2023.

The Hamas-controlled Gaza health ministry claimed Saturday that 4,385 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the war broke out and 3,561 have been wounded in the Israeli strikes. It is unclear how many people in the Gaza Strip have died or been injured as a result of rocket misfires by Hamas and Islamic Jihad terror groups.

Fox News' Greg Wehner, Michael Tobin, and Trey Yingst contributed to this report.





Original article source: String of Hamas, Islamic Jihad rocket misfires have resulted in the deaths of multiple civilians in Gaza: IDF
This summer, I received an email from a student with the following words: I just want to let you know how much I value you as a teacher and have reverence for what you are teaching us.

Normally, such positive affirmation from a student would be welcome, but in this case, it was received on the final day of the term from a student who had not turned in a single assignment, essay or exam throughout the entire class.

This student seemed to think that flattery was the path to success in my course. It is not. He failed.

While his case is particularly egregious, the perceived power of flattery to shape reality seems to have caught on with students. More and more, students seem to think that words of praise cover any past misdeed. This cult of flattery has become so widespread that whenever a students email begins with praise, I almost expect now that it will be followed by a request for a deadline extension or an appeal for extenuating circumstances. The hope, I suppose, is that their words will lead to a temporarily drunken ego that will blind me to their past faults and missteps. Perhaps this strategy works for many professors, but, to me, it reveals a troubling trend in America.

Opinion

In my field of religious studies, we often divide religions between those who primarily value what you believe (orthodoxy) versus what you do (orthopraxy). For example, Judaism tends to accent righteous deeds, while Protestant Christianity cares more about the beliefs behind the actions. However, in an increasingly secular America, it seems that neither belief nor action matters, but rather merely the way one makes you feel. Flattery has come to be seen as the most potent social currency and, for many, rhetoric matters more than reality.

Of course, over-reliance on wit, flattery and quick turns of phrase is nothing new to humans. The ancient Greeks berated the sophists for precisely this social sin. Empty promises are the backbone of most romance novels across most cultures. Advertisers and anyone in sales specialize in persuasive communication. But, in the past, empty rhetoric was scorned, the last resort of those who had nothing else. Today, however, it seems to be praised.

My students seem to think that it is the only thing that matters. Why has this shift occurred?

First, the culture of customer service has seemingly seeped into all interpersonal relationships. It is nearly ubiquitous that a call to customer service is met with an overly effusive litany of thanks for being a customer and a public proclamation of my value to them, just before they relay bad news. The customer service playbook begins with a love bomb and ends with the hope that words will make up for their missteps and failures. It seems so many companies have invested in the same customer service program over quality goods or services.

The lesson of the power of flattery has been learned by the political world, as well. I rarely go a day without Nancy Pelosi or some other political candidate emailing to tell me that I am the one who will make the difference in this election and my support alone is crucial for the survival of our nation. For Donald Trump and his cadre of believers, reality is defined more by his words thanreality. Gone are the days where political spin is derided; after debates, networks are giddy with excitement to enter the proudly self-proclaimed spin room.

Social media also must share some of the blame. The carefully curated profiles of most influencers are lessons in artificial reality, where appearance is everything. And comment sections are bastions of public displays of virtual affection. A superlative with an exclamation point is no longer superlative: You are the most AMAZING!!! So beautiful!!! The GOAT!!! Comments are now just as real as the touched-up images.

Religious trends also share some of the blame. The best-selling spiritual book The Secret is grounded in the idea that our thoughts and words create reality. Tomes on systematic theology are out; vacuous but pithy 140-characters spiritual sayings are in. It is a lot easier to fill the pews with funny sermons and slogans than challenging theological considerations. Sadly, many of the most popular religious forms are now often the most shallow.

In the end, the prevalence of rhetoric and empty praise over substance must persist in our society because it has proven to be effective. I get it. People seek any semblance of praise and want easy solutions in a world that is often frustratingly immune to simplicity. But wouldnt it be better if we all put our energy into grappling with this complexity rather than offering insubstantial rhetoric?

Herein lies the lesson for our education system: I hope, as a professor, to install in my students to think deeply, believe in something passionately and let those values guide their everyday actions. However, in the face of a societal onslaught of normalizing the value of shallow rhetoric, perhaps we need a coordinated effort at the university level to ask students to stand for something, rather than simply saying something. A curriculum of substance should be our goal across the university.

And to my future students: I hope that you demonstrate how much you value my courses by your work rather than your words. Maybe the perennial religious debate over the primacy of belief or action matters little to you, but I hope that you have both as you navigate the world. Perhaps this realization alone is the most important lesson I can share.

Dr. Stephen Lloyd-Moffett is a professor of religious studies at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.
WAUKESHA COUNTY, Wis. - A Summit police squad was hit during an I-94 traffic stop early Saturday morning, Oct. 21.

It happened near Willow Glen Road just before 4 a.m. In a Facebook post, police said an officer had stopped a speeding vehicle and was talking to the driver when another vehicle rear-ended the squad.

The crash caused the squad to then rear-end the vehicle that was stopped for speeding. The officer was able to jump out of the way and was not injured.

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There were two people in the vehicle that crashed into the squad, both of whom were taken to area hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries. The vehicle police stopped for speeding had five people inside, three of whom were taken to a hospital with minor injuries.

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office is investigating the crash.
Surfside Beach voters will choose a new mayor on Nov. 7 among a pool of three candidates who have experience in public service, either through being elected or appointed.

Leaders in the town of roughly 4,000 have spent the past year grappling with delays for a much anticipated pier restoration along with growing and zoning issues. Heres a look at whos on the ballot. Some responses have been edited for length and candidates are listed in alphabetical order.

Cindy Keating

Age: declined to answer

Past/present elected office: currently serving on the town council

Occupation: Retired

Education: bachelors degree in mechanical engineering and a masters degree

Political affiliation: Republican

Past/present bankruptcies, tax liens or felony convictions: None

Q: Has the pier rehabilitation project been mishandled?

A: Mishandled is a bit of an overstatement. There have been challenges. The town did not procure the services of an experienced project manager to lead the project. This was a serious mistake. The COVID pandemic has not helped the project either. There have been issues with design information missing or conflicting, specified material availability, and a cumbersome approval process. The project is in its final stages; however, the design team is still issuing additional design changes that will further delay completion.

Q: How would you restore trust and transparency with constituents who have raised concerns over those issues during the past several months?

A: We have made progress with transparency in the last four years. There is more information available to most today than theres ever been. Having access to information, and understanding why thing are the way they are can be two different things. We still have work to do in this regard. This goes back to staffing. With the right people in the right positions, information can be readily shared. There is no reason that the town administrator cannot be sharing major project updates at each council meeting. We have a new town administrator that has implemented an administrators report at each council meeting. I will encourage him to expand his report to include open item status reports to keep high priority initiatives at the forefront.

Q: How can Surfside Beach balance its need to grow with preserving the small town feel that its known for?

A: We need to embrace our 10-year comprehensive plan. If the plan is adopted with the future condition defined, we need to dedicate ourselves to supporting the corresponding goals and objectives. This plan should be our road map for zoning, ordinances, policies, and major initiatives. The plan supports the towns vision of Surfside Beach is the No. 1 family destination in South Carolina.

Robert Krouse

Age: 61

Past/present elected office: None

Occupation: Retired, formerly automotive engineer and manager

Education: bachelors degree in mechanical engineering from Carnegie-Mellon University

Political affiliation: No party registration

Past/present bankruptcies, tax liens or felony convictions: None

Robert Krouse is a candidate for Surfside beach mayor on Nov. 7, 2023

Q: Has the pier rehabilitation project been mishandled?

A: Yes. The town council and administration do not have the knowledge or expertise required to manage a construction project of this magnitude and should have hired and retained a project manager from project onset and through its duration in order to represent the interests of the town and its residents. Dissension over the selection of a contractor led to an intra-council lawsuit and additional acrimony and division, further complicating management of the construction project. Direction to the Pier Committee to stop bringing ideas forward until pier completion, which ultimately led to committee suspension, indicates a lack of understanding on how to equip, run and promote an investment of this size. Lastly, the council and administration are often less than forthcoming about sharing potentially negative information regarding the pier, as seen in the recent code violations report.

Q: How would you restore trust and transparency with constituents who have raised concerns over those issues during the past several months?

A: As mayor, I would first listen to the residentsand that means more than just letting residents have five minutes public speech in council meetings and/or not deleting negative social media posts. I would expect the entire town council and administration to consider what is being said and particularly pertaining to critical items, try to learn why. I would address any legitimate concern, sometimes with direct response to the resident but more often raising the issue as a discussion item in a future meeting, continuing until the issue is resolved. I would also use surveys and polls at various times to proactively solicit input so that residents know their opinions are valued and that the town government is not trying to hide anything. I would not be afraid of or defensive about criticism as we all learn more when we examine what went wrong, rather than congratulate ourselves when things have gone well. I would add informal workshop meetings with more open discussion on critical topics and also limit the use of closed-door executive sessions to only absolutely necessary topics.

Q: How can Surfside Beach balance its need to grow with preserving the small town feel that its known for?

A: I do not accept the premise that Surfside Beach needs to grow. Many municipalities around us chase growth and become encumbered by debt and suffer a corresponding loss in quality of life. Proper financial management is a far better strategy than seeking every additional property tax dollar at any cost. As a small oceanfront community, Surfside Beach has a limited amount of unimproved property available for additional housing, but it has significant amounts of commercially-zoned property on U.S. 17 Business. The small-town feel will continue in our existing neighborhoods; I will oppose any zoning proposals that would allow taller buildings or any other item in opposition to our small-town. As I interact with residents, they have been clear that preserving the family beach is paramount, and any development in town will have to fit the family beach image. One type of development that could improve the U.S. 17 Business corridor and draw residents and tourists alike, is something like the Hammock Shops in Pawleys Island. This approach would allow the kind of economic development Surfside Beach residents have indicated they want, with well-managed residential growth and a face lift along portions of the highway, but only upon stringent review and due diligence to avoid unintended consequences.

David Pellegrino

Age: 51

Past/present elected office: Previously served on town council from 2014 through 2021

Occupation: Small business owner

Education: bachelors degree in mechanical engineering from Clemson University and a masters degree from Webster University

Political affiliation: conservative

Past/present bankruptcies, tax liens or felony convictions: None

David Pellegrino is a candidate for Surfside Beach mayor on Nov. 7, 2023.

Q: Has the pier rehabilitation project been mishandled?

A: Yes. In 2021 we had a signed contract to build the pier for $13.1 million in 520 days. The completion date on the original timeline was June 8, 2022. The pier project is $7 million over budget, and almost a year and a half late. There is also a provision in the contract which requires the contractor to pay a penalty of $500/day for each day after the completion date. There have been no penalty fines collected. Decisions have been made by the four-person majority of town council to approve change order after change order, which has resulted in increased constructions time and millions in extra spending. For the first time, the town now has millions of dollars of debt.

Q: How would you restore trust and transparency with constituents who have raised concerns over those issues during the past several months?

A: I would lead in a manner that sets the expectation to always communicate in a respectful manner. During a meeting in 2019, I gave a misleading answer to a question. I felt terrible after the meeting when it was brought to my attention. As a result, in the next town council meeting, I apologized to the public on record, and said that I would do everything in my power to not let that happen again. Humans make mistakes. How you handle those mistakes show your commitment to either a transparent life or a life of subterfuge.

Q: How can Surfside Beach balance its need to grow with preserving the small town feel that its known for?

A: We must always maintain the current building height, never increase them. This is one way we can keep away large hotels like Myrtle Beach and maintain the small town atmosphere. A second way is to improve the family atmosphere. This can be done by maintaining trees, parks, sidewalks, and yards large enough for a swing set.
Detectives investigating the death of a man at a house in Fife have made an arrest.

Officers were called to a property in Gairbrig Crescent, Guardbridge at about 19:00 on Wednesday.

Police Scotland said Garry Thomson, 60, who lived locally, was pronounced dead at the scene.

A 57-year-old man has been arrested and charged in connection with the death and is due to appear before Dundee Sheriff Court on Monday.

Det Sgt Kevin Petrie said: "Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Mr Thomson at this difficult time, and we ask that their privacy is respected."
(Bloomberg) -- Switzerlands Center Alliance said it wont challenge the Free Democrats for a second seat in the executive, even after likely winning more seats in parliament.

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The countrys seven-member government is typically made up of representatives of the top four parties, with the first three receiving two seats each and the fourth-largest just one. National elections on Sunday saw the centrists winning 30 seats in the lower house according to projections. That would put them in third place, ahead of the pro-business FDP.

We have always said: Sitting government members, who want to do another term, will be confirmed by the Center Alliance, Gerhard Pfister , who heads the group, a merger between two older parties including the Christian Democrats, told public broadcaster SRF.

That suggests that both FDP ministers  Karin Keller-Sutter, who is in charge of finances, and Ignazio Cassis, who oversees foreign policy  are on track for confirmation when lawmakers vote on a new government on Dec. 13.

FDP President Thierry Burkart embraced the same sentiment as Pfister. Id stick with the way weve always done it: sitting ministers arent voted out of office, he said.

Swiss voters gave the right-wing Peoples Party one of its best results ever. The SVP  as the party is known by its German acronym  is set to win 29% of votes, up from 25.6% four years ago. That gives it 61 seats in the lower house. The Social Democrats remained in second place.

Many upper house seats  where the Center Alliance currently is the largest fraction  will only be decided in runoff votes next month.

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Members of the National Council embraced after sitting for the final time before the 2023 general election (Fabrice COFFRINI)

The Swiss political system relies on consensus among the main parties, with power kept as close to the people as possible, including through regular single-issue votes.

On Sunday, Swiss voters headed to polls to elect new members of parliament, who in turn will appoint the federal government in December.

Here is a look at how Switzerland's very distinct political system works:

- Parliament -

The Swiss parliament, called the Federal Assembly, has two houses and meets at the Federal Palace in Bern.

The domed 1902 building is on the Old City's main square. Each statue and painting inside represents a moment in Swiss history.

The National Council, the lower house, represents the people. It comprises 200 lawmakers elected from Switzerland's 26 constituent cantons.

The number from each canton depends on the canton's population. The deputies are chosen by proportional representation within the canton. There are around 40,000 voters per seat.

The Council of States, the upper house, represents the cantons. It is made up of 46 members elected by majority vote.

Each of the 20 full cantons returns two deputies, regardless of size, though the six half-cantons return one each.

Both houses are configured in a hemicycle. They have identical powers and are elected for four-year terms.

They sit only four times a year for three-week sessions -- in March, June, September and November/December.

- Government -

The government, called the Federal Council, has seven members. The seats are shared out among the four main parties according to a so-called magic formula -- a 2-2-2-1 tacit agreement introduced in 1959.

The new Federal Assembly -- all 246 deputies -- will choose the government members in a vote on December 13.

Candidates do not have to come from the assembly.

The assembly tries to ensure that the cantons and language communities are fairly represented within the government.

Barring major power shifts in the assembly, the government members are not expected to change, though President Alain Berset is stepping down from the Federal Council.

- Head of state -

The government meets on Wednesdays in the Federal Palace.

Members, who each take a ministry, are paid 468,276 Swiss francs ($524,000) per year.

The Federal Council operates on collegiality and consensus. All decisions are taken by the government as a whole under collective responsibility.

The government members are collectively the head of state. Andorra, Bosnia-Hercegovina and San Marino are the only other countries without a singular head of state.

That said, the Swiss president is the first among equals. The presidency rotates annually among the ministers.

- Referendums -

Switzerland has direct democracy, with citizens able to trigger popular votes at the national, cantonal and local level.

They can challenge in referendums decisions taken by parliament, and propose new laws themselves in initiatives.

A total of 100,000 valid signatures in 18 months are required to trigger a national initiative. A change of law requires a double majority of voters and cantons.

Popular votes take place every three months.

- Levels of power -

Powers are distributed between the confederation, the 26 cantons and, within them, more than 2,000 local municipalities, or communes.

Power is delegated from the communes upwards, rather than from the top down.

For example, the communes manage their own infrastructure, such as roads, public buildings and schools; cantons look after the education system and policing; while the confederation handles defence and foreign policy.

Each of the three levels raises its own taxes.

The cantons have their own constitutions, parliaments, governments and courts.

In the Glarus and Appenzell Innerrhoden cantons, cantonal votes and elections are still held by "Landsgemeinde": a show of hands in the main square.

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(Bloomberg) -- Switzerlands right-wing Peoples Party scored one of its best results ever in national elections, reaping the rewards of a campaign that leveraged concerns over immigration.

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The SVP  as the party is known by its German acronym  won 28.6% of votes, up from 25.6% four years ago. Thats an even stronger win than anticipated in opinion polls and close to its 2015 record of 29.4%.

The party has been Switzerlands most popular for two decades, thanks to a focus largely on domestic issues such as immigration and the economy. The SVP wants to limit the countrys population to 10 million people, citing overstretched infrastructure and lack of housing.

The worry about an explosion of the population is big, Thomas Matter, an SVP lawmaker from Zurich, told SRF. I do hope that the conservative parties now work together on immigration matters, so the SVP doesnt have to tackle this alone.

The party also seeks to enshrine the countrys traditional neutrality  despite calls to respond more forcefully to Russias invasion of Ukraine  and to cap the costs of the switch to sustainable energy.

Right-wing groups have been rising across Europe recently, with Germanys AfD receiving a boost from voters in regional ballots and Italys Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni still riding high in polls after a year in office. In neighboring Austria, the anti-immigrant Freedom Party is the front-runner for 2024 elections.

In Switzerland too, a rising sense of insecurity has shaped the vote. In March, the collapse of Credit Suisse and its subsequent takeover by UBS Group AG cast a shadow over the solidity of the Swiss banking system.

Nationally, the Social Democrats came a distant second to the SVP, with the Center Alliance edging out the the pro-business Free Democrats for third place. Switzerlands two Green parties reversed most of the gains they made in 2019, according to official results.

Irrespective of the results, a shift in Switzerlands executive is unlikely as the 7-seat government isnt formed by a coalition or outright majority but is a compact between the largest parties. Ministers will be elected by lawmakers on Dec. 13 and the centrists already announced that they wont challenge sitting members.

Read More: Swiss Centrists Wont Claim FDPs Second Government Seat

The SVPs win translates into nine additional seats in the 200-member lower house, bringing its total to 62.

The right-wing shift was underscored by the success of the MCG alliance in Geneva, where the local populist group campaigned for preferential treatment of Swiss workers over French ones, while promoting left-wing social policies.

Fanning Polarization

The SVPs win will energize those who want the party to focus on radical positions instead of trying to forge compromises  something that has been at the core of Swiss politics for decades.

If the outlier parties score with a campaign like this, then theres no incentive to collaborate, said Georg Lutz, a professor of political science at Lausanne university.

Still, the outcome of the parliamentary election is much less of a determinant for future policy in Switzerland compared to other countries, as initiatives and referendums, held several times a year, give voters a say on everything from corporate tax to immigration.

The Social Democrats will probably have to make greater use of plebiscites to correct the shift to the right, Priska Seiler Graf, a lawmaker from Zurich, said in an interview with SRF.

With ballots happening so often, turnout in national elections is traditionally low. The 46.6% recorded on Sunday was higher than in 2019, but still one of the lowest in Europe.

(Updates with comment in fourth paragraph)

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Switzerland's GDP per capita is one of the highest in the world (Fabrice COFFRINI)

A land renowned for cheese, chocolate and banks, Switzerland, nestled in the heart of Europe, held its general election on Sunday.

As the small Alpine country of 8.8 million people names its new members of both houses of parliament, here are five things to know about Switzerland:

- Language divide -

Switzerland has four official languages: German, French, Italian and Romansh, a Latin-descended language spoken in the southeastern Graubunden canton.

Some 62 percent speak Swiss German dialects; around 23 percent speak French, chiefly in the west; eight percent speak Italian, mostly in the southern Ticino canton, and 0.5 percent speak Romansh.

The Swiss call the line between German- and French-speaking Switzerland the Rostigraben: rosti being the pan-fried grated potato dish beloved on the eastern side, with graben meaning ditch, referring to the river Saane.

But the term goes beyond language and cuisine, summing up all cultural and political differences between the two major parts of the country.

- Neutrality -

Landlocked Switzerland is known worldwide for its neutrality, which traces its roots back to 1516 and has been internationally recognised since 1815.

Switzerland cannot participate in wars between other countries, forge military alliances, or grant troops, weapons or territorial transit rights to warring parties.

The country's neutrality is "of its own choosing, permanent, internationally recognised and armed," according to the foreign ministry.

It says such neutrality "ensures the country's independence and the inviolability of its territory".

The neutrality law does not apply to civil wars, or military operations authorised by the UN Security Council.

All men are obliged to do military service and attend refresher courses for years afterwards.

"Neutral Switzerland has never left any doubt that it is prepared to use its conscript armed forces for self-defence," says the foreign ministry.

"Even if neutrality is no longer needed to hold Switzerland together along confessional, cultural and linguistic dividing lines, neutrality remains an important part of the tradition, history and self-image of Switzerland," it says.

- Spirit of compromise -

The confederation, its 26 constituent cantons and the local municipalities operate, at the executive level, on a principle of collegiality and consensus.

On the national stage, decisions are taken collectively by the Federal Council government.

Its seven members represent the main parties in a decades-old tacit agreement known as "the magic formula".

The Swiss presidency rotates amongst the ministers annually, going to the person who has been in the government the longest without being the president.

- Quarter are foreign residents -

Switzerland has a high proportion of foreign residents, at 25 percent of the population.

The landlocked country is surrounded by Italy, France, Germany and Austria, plus tiny Liechtenstein.

At the end of 2022, the biggest foreign resident populations were from Italy (335,755 people), Germany (317,544), Portugal (257,829) and France (157,769).

Only Swiss nationals can vote in federal elections.

Immigration was a key election topic. Thanks to surging demand on the labour market, net immigration of foreign permanent residents increased again last year, up 14.8 percent compared to 2021.

The vast majority were from the European Union, which Switzerland is not a member of, though it is part of the EU's Schengen open-borders area.

- Small country, big business -

Switzerland's GDP per capita is one of the highest in the world, regularly coming third or fourth in the global rankings.

The country's highly-developed, mixed economy is built on a strong pharmaceutical industry, and also on making machines and luxury watches, not to mention its important banking and insurance sectors.

Its heavily-subsidised agriculture sector largely goes towards domestic consumption, with its cows, cheese and wine all emblematic.

Strongly export-focused, Switzerland has benefited from globalisation and is home to several major multinational companies including Nestle, Roche, Novartis, ABB and Swiss Re.

It has one of the highest densities of multinational headquarters in the world, thanks to its advantageous tax rates.

Several commodity trading giants such as Glencore are based in Switzerland.

apo/rjm/acc/yad/rox
FILE PHOTO: General view of the snow-covered mountains of the Bernese Alps, Eiger, Moench and Jungfrau, as seen from Bern

ZURICH (Reuters) -Switzerland looked set to shift to the right in national elections on Sunday, as concerns about immigration trumped fears about climate change and melting glaciers, though the vote is unlikely to change the make-up of the Swiss government.

The right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP), Switzerland's biggest political party, increased its share of the vote to 29%, 3.4 percentage points higher than the last election in 2019, according to the final projection by Swiss broadcaster SRF.

The party campaigned on a platform of preventing the country's population - currently at 8.7 million people - exceeding 10 million.

"We have problems with immigration, illegal immigrants, and problems with the security of energy supply," said SVP leader Marco Chiesa. "We already have asylum chaos ... A population of 10 million people in Switzerland is a topic we really have to solve."

The projected result means the SVP will increase its number of seats by eight to 61 in the 200-member lower house of parliament, increasing its presence in the chamber where no party has an overall majority.

Rising health costs also looked set to benefit the left-wing Social Democrats (SP). Switzerland's second-biggest party was poised to increase its share by 0.7 percentage points of the vote to 17.4%, increasing its representation by one to 40 seats.

In contrast, the Greens were expected to see their share of the votes fall by 4 percentage points to 9%, and lose six seats.

"The result means it will be more difficult for progressive issues or issues like the environment and sustainability," said Cloe Jans from pollsters GFS Bern. "Politicians will feel less pressure from outside to push this agenda in the next four years after this result."

The outcome is unlikely to change the make-up of Switzerland's government, the Federal Council, where seven cabinet positions are divided among the top four parties, according to their share of the vote.

"The progressive zeitgeist of the four years ago has disappeared. After four years of crises, with coronavirus and Ukraine, people are more conservative than they were in 2019," said Michael Hermann, a political analyst at pollsters Sotomo.

Still, he did not think the election would have a major impact on Swiss politics, with big issues like pensions still settled via referendums.

(Reporting by John Revill; Editing by Barbara Lewis and David Holmes)
The Sycamore Gap tree, which once stood in a dip next to Hadrian's Wall, was cherished by many

The felling of the Sycamore Gap tree sparked an outpouring of emotion from millions of people. Ecologists are now wondering if they can harness that "grief". Could the tree's lasting legacy be improving the future of our woodlands?

It has been almost a month since the world-famous Sycamore Gap tree, which once sat next to Hadrian's Wall, was deliberately cut down.

After it was chopped up and removed from its site last week, the National Trust said it was "time to start talking about the future".

But for ecologists studying thousands of other trees, the future of the UK's woodlands is looking uncertain, and now they are hoping this one tree could trigger more interest in saving others under threat.

The felled tree at Sycamore Gap, along Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland

"I think that it's important to harness the grief over the Sycamore Gap tree to motivate people to take positive environmental action," Dr Julie Urquhart, associate professor in environmental social science at the University of Gloucestershire, said.

"Sadly, the senseless destruction of this globally, culturally-important tree is also a symbolic reminder of humanity's wider destruction of nature through human-induced climate change, deforestation, overpopulation and pollution."

British Ecological Society experts recently warned that the UK's woodland cover had become "highly fragmented", while the Woodland Trust said ancient woodland now covered just 2.5% of the UK.

Of the UK's forest cover, about half is made up of native tree species, such as oak, beech and ash

"The UK is one of the least wooded countries in Europe. It has around 13% forest cover, compared to an average of 38% across Europe as a whole and 31% worldwide," Dr Urquhart said.

"This is partly due to the UK's population density and the many competing demands on land cover, particularly agriculture, housing and transport," she added.

Of the 13% cover, about half is made up of native tree species, such as oak, beech and ash, the remaining half comprises non-native trees, such as conifers grown commercially for timber.

In 2021, a review of the state of Britain's native woods and trees found only 7% were in a good condition.

Dr Julie Urquhart said the UK was one of the least wooded countries in Europe

Dr Urquhart said that although woodland cover had increased from an all-time low of 5% in the 1900s, woodlands were often placed far apart from each other.

"This makes it very difficult for animal and plant species to move between those patches of woodland - it can also lead to a loss of genetic diversity due to inbreeding," Dr Urquhart continued.

In the 2021 review, a decline in wildlife in ancient woodland was reported by the Woodland Trust, which added that many of these areas were in "poor ecological condition".

This embedded content is not available in your region.

The trust said the UK's trees and woodlands were under threat from a number of factors including climate change, pollution and attack from deadly tree diseases and pests.

It reported that more than 1,000 irreplaceable ancient woods had been threatened by development since 2013.

The trust pointed to the Cubbington pear tree, thought to be more than 250 years old, which was chopped down in Warwickshire to make way for the HS2 rail line in 2020.

The British Ecological Society's president Prof Yadvinder Malhi, who specialises in ecosystem science at the University of Oxford, said that with each passing generation, "our collective memory of the species that once called our land home dwindles".

"The outpouring of emotion around the felling of the Sycamore Gap tree in such a beautiful setting shows the powerful potential connection that we have with nature, its loss and its recovery," he said.

"But it is also important to note that this tree sits in a landscape that has lost so much biodiversity over the years - to which we can be oblivious.

"We don't know what 'good' nature looks like anymore."

Prof Yadvinder Malhi said the tree sat in a landscape that had "lost so much biodiversity"

However, Prof Malhi said there was still "so much potential for the UK landscape and its biodiversity to flourish and be far richer than it is".

"The grassland areas in the UK still contain much valuable biodiversity, but a mosaic landscape with both more trees and grassland could be so much more ecologically vibrant," he added.

Now the question remains - How do we make up for this loss? Can we plant more trees? It is a question seen hundreds of times, especially in the aftermath of Sycamore Gap.

A crane was brought in to remove the Sycamore Gap tree, which was cut into large pieces

Dr Urquhart said that while expanding tree cover in the UK was important, efforts should be concentrated on saving our native species.

"Even if they are located in areas that are earmarked for new housing or roads or other developments, we urgently need to put in better safeguards to protect trees," she said.

"The real challenge is how do you replace such a culturally important and valued tree, like Sycamore Gap, which has taken hundreds of years to grow.

"I think this spotlights a really important issue - even planting hundreds of new trees won't replace the cultural relevance of this one tree."

Dr Urquhart asked people to look at the national tree wardens scheme, where people can sign up as a volunteer to plant, protect and promote their local trees.

"Local planning authorities are also responsible for Tree Preservation Orders (TPO) that protect certain trees of value within the authority," she said.

"You don't have to own the land a tree sits on to apply for a TPO, if it is in good health and is of visual importance viewing from public areas."

Meanwhile the Woodland Trust has urged people to take a look at its campaign to grant ancient trees legal protection.

"Most ancient trees have no real legal protection in the UK," the charity's lead campaigner Jack Taylor said.

"They deserve the same sort of protection enjoyed by old buildings and other endangered wildlife."

The trust described UK woodland as "cathedrals of nature" which should be "treated like national treasures".

The reaction to Sycamore Gap's demise showed many people do feel that way. The Northumberland landmark was more than 100 years old so we will not see a full replacement in our lifetime.

It now remains to be seen whether it can instead grow a greater interest for woodlands teetering on the brink of destruction.

Follow BBC North East & Cumbria on X [formerly Twitter], Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to northeastandcumbria@bbc.co.uk.
Welcome back to The Station, your central hub for all past, present and future means of moving people and packages from Point A to Point B.

Your usual host Kirsten was shredding off-road at the Rebelle Rally this week, so I'll be taking over the newsletter. Let's jump in with a few words about Tesla.

Ah, but before Rebecca goes . . . it's me, Kirsten, popping in here to share a bit of what I saw and experienced at Rebelle Rally 2023, a 2,120-kilometer off-road and navigation competition. In its eighth year, the Rebelle has become a proving ground of sorts for the 65 all-women teams who participate as well as stock manufacturer vehicles. The catch? GPS and other electronic devices are strictly prohibited.

So what am I checking out at this seemingly non-tech event? EVs and tech, of course. Oh, and green hydrogen, believe it or not.

There were 10 vehicles out of the 65 that fell into the electrified category such as the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 4xe. Four of those vehicles  all of them Rivian R1T pickups  were electric. And this year, one Rivian team took first place in the 4x4 class (there are two classes in the Rebelle)  the first time an all-electric vehicle was on the top podium. The first place finishers, driver Lillian Macaruso and navigator Alexandra Anderson, are both employees of Rivian.

OK, Rebecca, back to you.

Tesla reported its third-quarter earnings this week, and once again, all eyes were on the automakers margins amid ongoing price cuts.

Teslas shares, which are priced more as a tech stock than as an automakers stock, were down after Q3 earnings. Investors were clearly feeling skittish after Tesla reported a gross margin of 17.9%, down from 25.1% in the same period last year. Thats also down from Q2s margins of 18.2%. As a result, profits fell 44% to $1.85 billion in Q3 from the same year-ago period.

Investors see the falling margins and Teslas price cuts as proof that demand is lessening for the vehicles as other EVs take market share and rising interest rates make it difficult for many buyers to afford big ticket purchases. The company also reported that solar deployments slipped 48% in Q3 from the same period last year. But the company made up for it by pulling in a 90% spike in energy storage deployments.

Tesla also gave some updates about its long-delayed Cybertruck. Initial deliveries are set for an event at Giga Texas on November 30. Elon Musk noted that scaling the Cybertruck will be hard and it will take 18 months before the pickup is profitable.

I mean, we dug our own grave with Cybertruck, said Musk.

The billionaire executive also said Giga Texas will be able to produce about 250,000 Cybertrucks a year starting in 2025. But lets remember that Musk isnt great at making predictions. After all, he initially said the Cybertruck would be on the market by 2021. Expect some of these numbers to be pushed out, too.

Want to reach out with a tip, comment or complaint? Email Kirsten at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com or Rebecca at rebecca.techcrunch@gmail.com.

Reminder that you can drop us a note at tips@techcrunch.com. If you prefer to remain anonymous, click here to contact us, which includes SecureDrop (instructions here) and various encrypted messaging apps.

Micromobbin'

the station scooter1a

This week was the trade show Micromobility America. Here are some of the best bits that came out of it:

Bird is now doing e-bikes again? But instead of the VanMoof knockoff of previous years, Bird has partnered with TradeHubb, an e-bike supplier, and Spring, a strategic retail growth company, to launch the bike. You might recall that Bird last year ditched its retail bike offering to focus on shared rides in an attempt to reach profitability. The struggling company was also recently delisted from the stock market. Who knows whats going on behind the scenes? I tried reaching out to learn more, but no response. If you have a tip, hit me up!

The team at Ride Review launched the Riders Choice Awards again, for those who want to vote. Winners will be announced January 25.

The folks behind Micromobility America also launched the Electric Rider Alliance, a 501c6 membership organization that is set up to create a level playing field in the transportation industry for the small electric vehicle ecosystem through standards, lobbying and governance.

In other news . . .

Bolt Mobility is introducing distance-based pricing for some of its micromobility vehicles. The aim here is to incentivize riders to slow down and ride more safely, rather than racing the clock.

An e-scooter that looks like a Cybertruck? Check out Infinite Machines first product, the P1, which is on sale now.

Meet Shane, a two-wheeled EV concept space-pod-looking thing from the creator of the original hoverboard, Shane Chen.

Deal of the week

money the station

Kirsten here again! Convoy isn't a traditional deal of the week, but its collapse sure got my attention.

The digital freight broker told employees this past week it was shutting down due to what executives described as a "massive freight recession." It turns out that disrupting the freight business is hard.

The abrupt closure, which wiped out investors, comes about 18 months since the Seattle-based company raised $260 million in fresh funding that pushed its valuation to $3.8 billion.

I went back and read an interview TechCrunch conducted with Convoy co-founder and CEO Dan Lewis. A few things he said stuck out, namely what led him to start the company in the first place. The former Amazon and Google executive, who has a background in strategy and management consulting, told TechCrunch that when he was struck by the urge to start a company, he researched the money-attracting industries of the world, and then, using AngelList, saw how many companies were trying to disrupt those industries.

Here's the nugget:

His search yielded thousands of companies that were working on industries ranging from telecommunications and fashion to video games and food. Billions of dollars were going into trucking each year but fewer than 30 startups showed an interest in the field.

I saw a massive opportunity and few people going after it, Lewis told TechCrunch.

And then later, when asked if his method of deciding on a direction for a startup is still a good method, Lewis said, in short, yes. Read the whole interview from May 2022 here.

Other deals that got our attention . . .

Hayden AI, an AI and geospatial analytics company, raised $53 million in a Series B funding round led by the Drawdown Fund. The company's tech is being used by government agencies to enforce traffic violations that obstruct transit buses and capture data to help increase ridership and improve traffic efficiency.

Commercial fleet insurance startup Nirvana Insurance has raised a $57 million Series B to expand its big data platform, hire new staff and grow its business in the trucking industry. Lightspeed Venture Partners led the round, with General Catalyst and Valor Equity Partners also participating. The round doubles Nirvanas valuation to more than $350 million post-money.

Supply chain logistics company Transfix raised a $40 million Series F. The company is backed by New Enterprise Associates, G Squared and Canvas Ventures.

EV charging company Wallbox has acquired the operations and assets of German-based EV charging solutions company ABL for 15 million. Together the plan is to deploy more than 1 million chargers globally.

Volta Trucks filed for bankruptcy proceedings in Sweden as difficulties with suppliers proved a hindrance to raising funds. Volta said the bankruptcy in August of Proterra, an EV parts supplier, and the uncertainty over its own battery supplier means it needed to cut down the number of trucks it could produce. Volta, which is based in Sweden but has operations in the U.K., also said it would file for bankruptcy in Britain.

Notable reads and other tidbits

Autonomous vehicles

Cruise, General Motors and Honda are launching a robotaxi service in Japan under a new joint venture. The service will launch with Origin vehicles in Tokyo in 2026.

Speaking of Cruise, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened an investigation into the GM subsidiarys AV system following several incidents involving pedestrians in San Francisco. The most recent one left a woman stuck under a Cruise robotaxi after being hit by a human-driven vehicle.

Foxconn and Nvidia are building AI factories to help accelerate AVs, robotics and other smart applications. The AI factories position the two against Tesla, which is building the Dojo supercomputer to do more or less the same thing  take in vast amounts of data, train it, tweak code and send it back out to self-driving cars.

Waymo released a lightweight simulator called Waymax for the AV research community. The simulator is designed to train multiple agents to perform complex, realistic behaviors.

Electric vehicles, charging & batteries

BMW Group says it will adopt the NACS charging standard in the U.S. and Canada. Drivers of BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce brands will gain access to Tesla Superchargers in early 2025, and in that same year, BMW says it will implement NACS in EVs sold in the U.S. and Canada across those same brands.

Speaking of NACS, global EV charging network ChargePoint has officially opened its AC and DC piles and is now deploying NACS connectors across its network.

General Motors is delaying its $4 billion plan to convert the Orion Assembly plant into an EV truck factory to late 2025 amid softening EV demand and, were guessing, the ongoing UAW strike.

Kia has started taking reservations for its EV9 full-sized SUV. Reservations are $750 and can be applied to the purchase of the company. This is one of the first vehicles Kia has allowed customers to reserve in advance.

Lucid missed Wall Street delivery estimates in the third quarter by about 500 vehicles. The automaker delivered 1,457 of its luxury Air sedans, reporting flat growth year-over-year. The results sent shares down as investors worried about softening demand for Lucids only EV.

California-based EV startup Pebble unveiled a prototype of its flagship all-electric travel trailer. The $100,000 EV is designed to support a digital nomad looking to get lost in the wilderness  it can live off-grid for seven days.

Commercial EV startup REE Automotive has reported an order book that now totals $25 million for its modular battery EV platforms, dedicated to B2B customers.

About 10,000 of Rivians all-electric vans are delivering packages throughout the U.S. for Amazon.

Tesla has urged the Biden administration to adopt stricter fuel economy standards than the NHTSA has proposed. Most other automakers have already said the NHTSAs proposal was unfeasible, so Teslas call on regulators to double down seems to be yet another way the EV maker can one-up its competitors.

Toyota has also joined the NACS bandwagon. The automaker will build certain Toyota and Lexus vehicles from 2025 onward with an NACS port.

Future of flight

EVTOL company Archer Aviation plans to start air taxi operations in Abu Dhabi in 2026. From there, Archer says it will expand across the UAE as part of a memorandum of understanding with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office.

Miscellaneous

The United Auto Workers strike is affecting CES. Stellantis canceled its planned presentations for the tech trade show in January, citing the cost of ongoing UAW strikes.

Zipcar is getting hit with a fine from the NHTSA for renting vehicles with open, unrepaired recalls. One recall concerns 20152017 Ford Transit Vans, which continued to appear on Zipcars platform despite safety issues with the vehicles.

People

Autobrains hired Uri Yacovy, a former SVP at Mobileye, as its chief operating officer.

Logistics company Flexport is laying off 20% of workers, or about 600 people, topping off a spate of staff upheavals at the company.
I could never home-school. Thats what I hear most frequently from folks when I tell them about how our family spends our days.

How I reply depends on how much time and energy I have that day to dispel myths or debate the merits of home-schooling versus private or public schools.

But the short answer is this: Yes, you can. Home-schooling is basically just full-time parenting and not nearly as stressful and challenging as many people think. And it is incredibly rewarding. Im a mother of six who has been home schooling for the past five years; my oldest, in fourth grade, has never gone to school.

Home-schooling doesnt require parents to recreate a schoolhouse in their living room, but it does require a radical reevaluation of the purpose of school, and what a good education looks like.

Dawn Duran, an adjunct professor at Purdue University, told me it all comes down to how we respond to the question, What is a teacher?

Duran, an expert in the educational philosophy of the 19th-century British educator and reformer Charlotte Mason, explained that Mason saw a teacher as a guide, philosopher and friend.

The teacher who allows his scholars the freedom of the city of books is at liberty to be their guide, philosopher and friend; and is no longer the mere instrument of forcible intellectual feeding, Mason said.

Contrary to popular opinion, home-schooling parents dont have to be an expert in every subject they teach and dont have to have a college degree. They merely have to be able to put their child in touch with books and people who have mastered their topics and who passionately and effectively present the subject matter, Duran said.

Similarly, Maria Bell, a home-schooling mother of four in Virginia, told me, Home education doesnt require the highest qualifications or academic degrees. Students thrive in this environment when both teacher and student, mother or father and child, put on the humble inquirer, as Benjamin Franklin wrote, and approach their studies with the aim to grow in knowledge.

Even some educators with graduate degrees agree with that assessment. Becky Aniol, a home-schooling mother of four in Atlanta who holds a Ph.D. in education, told me, The idea of a qualified or certified teacher is an invention of the last 150 years. ... The truth is, if you can read, you are equipped to teach your children.

How to get started

The first question I always get from those interested in home-schooling is this: How is this even legal? The answer is: Its legal in every U.S. state. But the more complicated question is, how does one jump through the hoops necessary in order to be in legal compliance with state and local education officials?

It kind of ironic, given worsening test scores nationwide, that the public school systems usually oversee home-school compliance. The rules vary by state, however, with some states requiring testing, annual meetings or portfolio reviews, while other states require literally nothing, not even notification of parents intent to home-school.

The best place to find answers on the how is to visit the Homeschool Legal Defense Associations website, where theres a list of regulations for each state, including requirements for state-mandated testing, teacher qualifications and immunization requirements.

The website even has the forms parents need to fill out, when required, to notify their respective school districts of their intent to home-school.

According to Census Bureau data, about 5.4% of American children are home-schooled this year, while 85% attend public schools and 9.6%, private. While there are modest differences between different surveys, theres evidence that the number of households home-schooling has doubled in the past few years.

Related

The reasons people choose to home-school are varied; many parents of special needs or gifted children find themselves home-schooling in order to create an individualized learning plan for their atypical child; others want their children to follow a curriculum more in line with their values than what is being taught in public schools. And many just believe they can do a better a job than public or private schools and want to spend as much time with their children as they possibly can.

As for how home-schooled children do compared to those in public schools, test scores for the ACT and SAT indicate that the average home-schooled child marginally outperforms their public school counterparts. Because not all states require standardized testing, its difficult to use other testing metrics to do a comparison.

A passion for learning and kids

The problem of the modern American home-schooler is a good one to have: There are so many opportunities, field trips and curricula out there, it can be overwhelming to choose from them.

My oldest daughter, who is in fourth grade, takes an all-day nature class once a week, five Zoom classes in various Jewish subjects, a sewing class, a tae kwon do class and an art class, in addition to participating in a Shakespeare co-op. (In home-schooling, a co-op is exactly what it sounds like: parents bringing their children together for a social or learning opportunity.)

My daughter would also like to continue Irish dancing, but theres no more time in her day.

Alexi Laffoon, a home-schooling mother of four in Southern California, also experiences the time crunch, given all of the opportunities available to home-schooled children. She told me, We only do lessons formally a couple times a week; and if something more appealing or interesting presents itself when were supposed to do lessons, I generally postpone what we were going to do in place of the better opportunity.

She continued: For example, on Tuesdays we usually do lessons and then we go play with friends later. But we have an opportunity to take a trip to a fire station on an upcoming Tuesday, so well find another time to do our lessons. Maybe well do them on a Saturday afternoon, or a Monday night. It definitely doesnt have to be every day, or at the same time of day.

Home-schooling parents also help each other out. Laffoon, for example, created a co-op to provide educational opportunities for children; helping parents out is just a side benefit.

The co-op has grown so large that Laffoon recently rented a space in Santa Monica to accommodate the number of students enrolled. Her Soulshine Co-op provides participating families a place for kids to hang out (and parents to get a break) three days each week. Given its location in southern California, the kids at the Soulshine Co-op are able to take advantage of hiking, art, surfing and project-based learning in math and science. Laffoon doesnt have a professional education background; just a passion for learning and for kids.

Cindy Rollins, a home-schooling mother of nine over three decades, the author of multiple books on home-schooling and host of The New Mason Jar podcast with Dawn Duran, reassures home-schooling parents that they dont have to be perfect and can even learn something themselves in the process. Homeschooling is a two-fer deal, she told me. Not only do our children get educated, but we also get the chance to repair the ruins of our own education or even just plug up some of those gaps.
I thought I was straight. Then I fell in love with my best friend  26 years my junior  at the age of 64.

Liz Hilliard, 69, left, on a rooftop with her fiancee, Lee Kennelly, 44. Courtesy of Liz Hilliard.

Liz Hilliard was married to a man for 37 years. She said their relationship had its "ups and downs."

She said she never entertained the idea that she could be gay.

She fell for her best friend, who's 26 years younger than her and three years older than her daughter.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Liz Hilliard. It has been edited for length and clarity.

People often say that I look good for my age. I'll be 70 in January.

It has a lot to do with owning a fitness studio. I keep in shape. But it's mostly related to the fact that I found the freedom to embrace my truth when I was 64 years old.

I'm the happiest I've been in my life after finding love with a woman following 37 years of marriage to a man. I never once considered I was gay. But I got my wake-up call in 2018 when I fell in love with my best friend, Lee, now 44.

Lee is 26 years younger than me and only three years older than my daughter. But the age difference doesn't matter. She's the right person for me.

I married my husband in 1980, eight months after we first met. He was gorgeous  tall, handsome, and smart. We had similar passions in life, but that also made for a very rocky marriage. We were either madly in love or we wanted to kill each other.

My self-help book was about owning who you were  but I wasn't

We had our ups and downs, but we were loyal. He taught me positive things about love and respect. However, we separated in April 2018. It had been a long time coming.

It happened a year after I'd completed a self-help book. It was about becoming powerful by owning who you were and having the courage to live your life the way you wanted at any age.

Hilliard and Kennelly are planning on getting married in 2024. Courtesy of Liz Hilliard

Still, when it came to my personal circumstances, the words were hollow. I couldn't pinpoint why, but I knew I needed to stop whatever I was doing that felt wrong or end up feeling fake for the rest of my life. "I'm not going to be married anymore to this man," I thought.

It never crossed my mind that I wasn't heterosexual. It was the last thing I expected; I'd never had romantic feelings for another woman in my life.

I met Lee in 2012 when she joined my business. We developed a deep friendship. I could tell her anything. I was also very close to my daughter, and Lee was, too. They're about the same age, and the three of us were always together. We'd often eat out and go to the movies. We looked at each other as best friends, despite our age differences.

I was Lee's boss and she was 26 years younger than me

Not too long after my separation, something incredible happened. Lee walked into my office when I was having a bad day. She threw her arms around me. She's a big hugger and had done it thousands of times before.

"I've got your back," she said. All of a sudden, I felt as if an electrical shock had gone through my body. It was absolutely physical. I ended up pushing Lee away because it was so intense and confusing.

"I'm not only her boss, but she's 26 years younger than me," I thought afterward. "On paper, everything is wrong with this thing."

Kennelly, left, and Hilliard have been together since 2018. Courtesy of Liz Hilliard

But I texted her that night. "Would you like to have dinner with me?" I asked. She immediately texted back. We'd go out for dinner about three times a week  usually with my daughter  but we both knew this next time would be different.

I felt like a teenage boy on the date. It wasn't just sexual. I was falling in love with my best friend. I was shocked to my soul that I felt that way. Lee, who had recently separated from her own husband, was overwhelmed, too. She said she'd never felt this way about a woman either.

Step out of your comfort zone and you become fearless

At first, I wanted to keep the relationship under wraps. We both needed to get our heads around it. But you can't fake love. People would call us out, saying, "You guys look like you're having an affair." Well, they were correct.

We live in North Carolina where a lot of people tend to be religious and conservative. We lost some friends who found it difficult to cope with our sexuality and age difference.

But if you step out of your comfort zone and do something wrong in society's eyes, you become fearless. Not much scares me anymore. My friendships with people who accepted our new situation got deeper.

Hilliard, left, celebrating with her her fiancee, Kennelly. Courtesy of Liz Hilliard

My daughter struggled at first. It was hard for her and hard for me to explain it to her. I couldn't really explain it to myself. But I knew that I wanted to be with Lee forever. My daughter, who has two children, had a lot of therapy to help her deal with the new situation. We both did. It took some heartache to get there, but our mother-daughter bond has grown into something great. She adores Lee just as much as before.

We got engaged last month

I'm finally leading an authentic life. Lee is a beautiful woman. Our relationship is very physical  constantly erotic and orgasmic  and very spiritual. I look and feel my best when I'm with her.

We now host a podcast called "Be Powerful with Liz & Lee," where we discuss all kinds of relationships. We want women to feel powerful, whatever their age.

As for the future, we got engaged last month. We're planning our wedding for early next year. It might even take place on my 70th birthday. I can't wait to reach that milestone  with Lee by my side.

Do you have a powerful story to share with Insider? Please send details to jridley@insider.com.

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Thousands of people from communities across Los Angeles are expected to gather at Griffith Park on Sunday for the National Wildlife Federations #SaveLACougars campaign 8th annual P-22 day festival.

Taking place from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., the festival honors the beloved mountain lion P-22 who passed away in December 2022.

In celebration of L.A.s unique wildlife, plant life and natural open spaces, the day festival will feature activities for the community to enjoy including hundreds of exhibitors, live music performances, arts and crafts activities, food trucks, live painting by talented muralists, and native-plant giveaways.

Exercise horse rider dies at Los Alamitos race track

Attendees can also expect to learn about Californias rich biodiversity and what they can do to protect and care for local wildlife.

Late last year, the famed mountain lion P-22 was captured and humanely euthanized after being struck by a car near Griffith Park, the urban park he once roamed. Final necropsy results revealed that he died of multiple severe injuries and chronic conditions that impaired his ability to function in the wild.

P-22s tragic death supported the campaign to build the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, a bridge that will allow wildlife to cross freely over the 101 freeway without the threat of death or accidents.

A first for California, the crossing will be the largest wildlife corridor in the world and will restore habitats and an ecosystem that has been destroyed by human development over time. Construction on the crossing is underway and is expected to be complete in 2025.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.
Rally in support for the Palestinian people in Sarajevo

Rally in support for the Palestinian people in Sarajevo

SARAJEVO (Reuters) - Several thousand people gathered in Sarajevo city centre on Sunday, waving Palestinian and Bosnian flags and demanding a halt to the Israeli offensive in Gaza.

Some chanted: "Genocide, genocide," while a large and prominent banner read "Yesterday Srebrenica, today Gaza," referring to the 1995 massacre in the Bosnian town, Europe's worst atrocity since World War Two in which Serb forces killed an estimated 8,000 Muslim men and boys.

Other demonstrators held banners with slogans including "Stop the war" and "Free Palestine".

Bosnia is still recovering from its 1992-95 war, which left the country divided between two entities - Republika Srpska with a majority Serb Christian Orthodox population, and the Bosniak-Croat Federation which has a majority Muslim population.

Regionwide, smaller pro-Palestinian protests took place on Sunday in Belgrade and the Montenegrin capital Podgorica.

Fears over the Israel-Hamas war mushrooming into a wider Middle East conflict rose on Sunday as Israel, in continued reprisal actions for a deadly Hamas attack two weeks ago, pummelled Gaza anew amid clashes along its border with Lebanon.

Sarajevo Mayor Benjamina Karic told protesters the city knew "how it is to live without water and food and see children being killed," referring to the 1992-95 siege during which Serb forces killed an estimated 11,000 people in the city including 1,600 children.

(Reporting by Amel Emric; Writing by Ivana Sekularac; editing by John Stonestreet)
An air-raid warning was issued in Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast on the evening of 22 October due to the threat of Russian drone attacks.

Source: Air Raid Alert Map; Ukraines Air Force on Telegram, Kyiv City Military Administration

Details: The air-raid warning was issued at around 21:03 Kyiv time.

Later, Ukraines Air Force reported on the threat of UAV attacks.

Quote Air Force: "Attention! Threat of drone attacks in Kyiv Oblast."

Updated: At 22:12, an air-raid warning was issued in the capital too.

Serhii Popko, head of Kyiv City Military Administration, reported that an air defence network was activated on the outskirts of Kyiv.

In Kyiv, the all-clear was given at 23:01, and in Kyiv Oblast - at 23:06.

Background:

On 21-22 October, Russian forces launched two assault UAVs from the northern direction. Ukraines Air Force was not able to shoot them down.

The Russians launched the production of unidentified drones using engines from AliExpress, and they pose a threat, Ukraine's Air Force Spokesman Yurii Ihnat claimed.

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Three inmates have absconded from an open prison in a single day, police have confirmed.

Suffolk Police are appealing to the public to help locate the men who have escaped.

Joshua Terry, 29, and Levi Mitchell, 39, were reported missing from Hollesley Bay in Suffolk shortly before 7pm on Saturday. It was also discovered that Aidan McGuiness, 44, was absent at around 9.20am. Officers believe Terry and Mitchell fled together.

The force is urging anyone who has seen the men or knows their whereabouts to contact it immediately. The public are being advised not to approach them.

Terry was serving a two-year and four-month sentence for affray, threatening a person with a bladed article in a public place and theft. He is described as 6ft 2in with ginger hair and blue eyes. Police have said he is thin with stubble facial hair. He has a tattoo on his lower arm of a star.

Hollesley Bay in Suffolk from where three inmates have absconded - GARETH FULLER/PA

Mitchell was jailed for several burglary offences and is described as being 5ft 10in with ginger hair and blue eyes.

McGuiness was serving a three-year sentence for theft, fraud, and possession of a controlled drug of Class B charges.

He is described as being 5ft 10in with brown hair and blue eyes. He is said to be thin build with a clean-shaven face and a slight northern accent. He also has Zara tattooed on his left wrist and a birthmark on his left arm and hand.

It comes after Daniel Khalife escaped from Wandsworth prison, south-west London in September.

Khalife, 21, who was on remand at the jail charged with terror and spying offences, escaped by clinging onto the bottom of a delivery van, sparking a four-day manhunt involving more than 150 police officers.

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Goldberg-Polin was one of more than 200 people kidnapped by Hamas gunmen during the militant group's killing spree across southern Israel near the border with Gaza on October 7th that saw at least 1,400 killed (AHMAD GHARABLI)

Jon Polin says he has watched the video of his seriously wounded son being hustled into the back of a truck by Hamas gunmen countless times.

The scene played out just hours after 23-year-old Hersh Goldberg-Polin had spent time with his family on the last day of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot then spent the night dancing at a music festival with friends.

The youngster is just one of more than 200 people kidnapped by Hamas gunmen during their killing spree across southern Israel that began on October 7 and has left more than 1,400 dead.

After spending time with family, Goldberg-Polin had gone camping with friends at the Nova Music Festival and was there when the Hamas gunmen turned up and hurled grenades into a shelter where he and others had been hiding during the onslaught.

Footage later posted online shows the Israeli-American nursing his mangled arm which was blown apart near the elbow by a grenade blast, the remains wrapped in a bloody, makeshift bandage.

"That's a video that nobody ever wants to see of their loved one," his father said on Sunday.

"Despite that, Ive watched it dozens of times, maybe hundreds of times," he added.

"In a really confusing way, I watch it and take strength from it," he said pointing to his son's ability to walk "on his own legs, on his own strength" -- which he attributes to "shock".

"I hope that he has the physical and mental fortitude to keep on fighting."

- 'Life threatening' -

Sixteen days on and the family issued another plea for his release at a Jerusalem news conference, saying his condition was likely "dire" in the absence of medical treatment.

"It's a ticking time bomb," Amos Peyser, director of orthopaedics at Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, told reporters.

"This is an injury that we might say is... life threatening."

Goldberg-Polin's family pointed to the case of Yahya Sinwar, a Hamas leader who received medical treatment for a brain tumour while jailed by Israel in 2008.

"We're asking that it be reciprocated," said Polin.

The family's plea came just days after Hamas freed two Americans -- Judith Tai Raanan and her daughter Natalie Shoshana Raanan -- on Friday, following mediation efforts by Qatar.

Over the weekend, the Gulf state said it hoped to secure the release of more hostages soon.

"I can't promise you this will happen today or tomorrow... But we are taking a path that will very soon lead to the release of the hostages, especially civilians," said Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari.

Following the Americans' release, a string of demonstrations were held in Europe and Israel over the weekend calling for more hostages to be freed.

The fate of the captives remains an open wound for Israel, with the government refusing to allow aid through its border into the besieged Gaza Strip until they are freed.

In the wake of the October 7 attacks, Israel has staged a withering bombing campaign against Gaza that has killed more than 4,650 people, mostly civilians, according to Hamas officials.

As the violence spirals, Goldberg-Polin's family said they were in touch with US President Joe Biden's administration but were still largely in the dark about what any backchannel negotiations might yield.

"We just want action," said his father.

"What's happening behind the scenes? I don't know. But I sure hope something is happening."

ds/hmw
London saw another large pro-Palestine protest on Saturday (Oct. 21), with certain people chanting "jihad," which was perceived as inciting terrorist violence.

The BBC reported that the Metropolitan Police (Met) estimated up to 100,000 people joined the march, which ended in a rally near Downing Street. Other demonstrations were also reported on Saturday in Birmingham, Belfast, Cardiff, and Salford.

The Met also reported a smaller but separate London rally organized by the group Hizb ut-Tahrir, where there allegedly was a recording of protesters chanting "jihad."

However, they did not identify any specific offenses in clips recording the alleged chants and did not consider them against the law.

Read Also: Emergency Humanitarian Aid Trucks Enter Gaza for First Time Since Israel Started Deadly Blockade

Jenrick: Terrorist Violence Not Tolerated in UK

On the other hand, British Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick told Sky News the "jihad" chants heard in pro-Palestine rallies were concerning and should be tackled with the full force of the law.

He further said it was an operational matter for the police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), but the government's position was that chanting "jihad" was "completely reprehensible" and "inciting terrorist violence."

"[T]here have been arrests since the beginning of this situation," he said. "And we want to make sure that the police do everything that they can to protect British Jews."

Jenrick also said the broader question that has to be asked was that of values, adding that the language spewed out by a few of the protesters, and that officers merely discouraged the man behind the chant to repeat it, could be seen as divisive.

Other Recorded Hate Crimes

According to The Guardian, the Met also said it had not identified any unlawful placards or banners but is investigating another incident recorded at the rally which might constitute a hate crime.

Police said that two young men were shown chanting in Arabic, saying words that appear to include Hamas and "Yahud," which meant Jews.



Related Article: Pro-Palestinian Rallies in Australia Draw Thousands of Participants: 'Palestine Will Never Die'

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
GOP presidential candidate Sen. Tim Scott (S.C.) said the U.S. must continue to strongly back Israel in its ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza.

We need to be standing shoulder-to-shoulder and back-to-back with no daylight with Israel, Scott told host John Catsimatidis Sunday on The Cats Roundtable on WABC 770 AM. Were seeing the devastation and the human carnage brought to the Jewish people by Hamas, we have to be very, very clear that we stand with Israel.

The conflict started earlier this month after the militant group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israeli towns near Gaza, killing over 1,400 people, mostly civilians.

Responding Israeli strikes on Gaza have killed over 4,100 people, including over 1,700 children, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

The Biden administration has stood behind Israel in the conflict, including deploying U.S. military assets in the region in case of escalation. Biden visited Israel on Wednesday to show his support.

I come to Israel with a single message: You are not alone, Biden said after a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week.

The president also submitted a $100 billion budget request on Friday which includes $14 billion in funds for Israeli defense.

Scott previously blamed Biden for the Hamas attacks, saying his administrations weakness encouraged the terrorist organization. He has also led calls to investigate a deal last month with Iran which unfroze $6 billion in Iranian assets held under U.S. sanctions.

While some have alleged that Iran accessed those funds and used them to assist Hamas, the State Department has vehemently denied those claims.

The White House said Iran has never accessed the $6 billion.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The Republican Party used the phony issue of wokeness to implement book bans and censorship laws in several states, including the Carolinas. Led by South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott , Republicans are using a very serious issue  Hamass horrific terror attack on Israeli citizens  to double down on their growing tendency to punish people who say things they dont like.

The foreign national students on visas who are protesting against our ally Israel should be sent back to their country, Scott tweeted on the site formerly known as Twitter.

Heres a black dude who has likely been taunted with go back to Africa taunts, like many of us have, advocating something as disgusting, on par with Donald Trumps proposed Muslim ban. Scott has since called for withholding federal funding from colleges he says promote antisemitism, which is really just an attempt to silence dissenters.

I grieve for the Israelis slaughtered by Hamas in an attack designed to provoke a larger war, which is unfolding and unpredictable. I grieve for Jewish and Muslim Americans who dont feel supported during a time as dark and unnerving as this. And I abhor the decision by far too many people to either excuse Hamass atrocities  as though they are just righteous freedom fighters striking a blow against an oppressor rather than the thugs they clearly are  or have remained silent in the face of evil.

That doesnt mean I will be in favor of policy by Israel, and backed by the U.S., that will lead to more death and carnage, and the killing of innocent Palestinians. Because their humanity matters, too. But thats where we are headed anyway. Maybe weve already arrived. Scott wants to take it further, to support blind bloodlust abroad and anti-democratic policies and proclivities on our own soil.

Scott pretends hes taking a moral stance against Hamas and antisemitism.

Its devastating to see people in our country celebrating a terrorist organization for the annihilation of our Jewish brothers and sisters. Hamas wants to wipe Israel off the map, but they wont stop there, Scott tweeted. They also want to eliminate all Jews on the planet and destroy Western democracy. Anyone who stands up in support of terrorism and the inhumane murder of Jews should have their visa revoked. We have to stop indoctrinating students with the mindset that America is evil and that Western democracies are somehow oppressors.

He breezily conflates those siding with the butchers that are Hamas with those who simply dont want Palestinian children to be slaughtered in response to a slaughter of Israeli children.

Ron DeSantis, who visited Myrtle Beach Friday during his campaign for the Republican nomination Scott is also vying for, has been franker in his ugliness, saying all Palestinians are antisemitic. Its an attempt to dehumanize a people to justify killing them in large numbers. Its a familiar tactic. As a wise person once said, history may not repeat, but it rhymes. And, boy, is it rhyming today.

While Scott is busy weaponizing peoples worst instincts during a time of fear, anger and uncertainty, hes ignoring a more immediate and tangible problem he could use his influence to try and resolve. Republicans in the House cant even decide on a leader. It means the U.S. cant send aid to Israel or Ukraine, or significant humanitarian help for innocent Palestinians who are also victims of Hamas.

Scott isnt using his stature in the Senate to tell fellow Republicans in the other chamber to grow up. Hed rather focus on punishing college students who dare say things he doesnt want them to say.

Theres plenty of blame to go around for the crisis in Israel and Gaza, which dates back centuries before Hamass most recent terror attack. In the U.S., we need leaders with moral clarity and a vision to make things better where they can. Instead, we are stuck with men like Scott willing to make things worse if thats what it takes to win a nomination he likely wont anyway.

Issac Bailey is a McClatchy Opinion writer for South and North Carolina.
The Ford Maverick has made a splash with its very modern take on what a mini truck could be, but the car has not exactly inspired a wave of immediate competitors adding beds to compact crossovers. The Toyota EPU, an EV truck concept shown at the 2023 Japan Mobility Show, looks ready to change that very soon.

Like the Land Cruiser Se the brand also brought to the Japan Mobility Show, the EPU's announcement comes with precious few details. We know the truck is a battery electric vehicle built in a monocoque construction with four doors, a stylish shape, and a bed directly integrated into the body of the truck itself. Past that, we only have the dimensions (200 inches long, 75 inches wide, and 67 inches tall, with a 132-inch wheelbase) and the five-passenger capacity to go off. Those measurements put the EPU squarely in the Maverick's size class, although that truck is slightly narrower and slightly taller.

Unlike the Land Cruiser concept, the EPU looks pretty close to production ready right now. Real side-view mirrors are a big giveaway, as is the straightforward shape. Interior photos do show a questionable yoke in place of a steering wheel, although it is less complex than the "NEO Steer" yoke concept the brand is also showing at the event.

Toyota has not shared any details about pricing, powertrain options, or capabilities on a theoretical production EPU. For now, this is just an interesting look at another way the brand can expand its already-massive range of trucks and SUVs as it finally dives into the world of EVs.

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Eleven-year-old transgender girl Dempsey Jara, the youngest grand marshal in the history of Orlandos Come Out With Pride parade, had a message Saturday when she took the stage at Lake Eola Park.

Being transgender is not about a choice, Dempsey said while wearing a princess-style gown. Its about being true to myself. Its about embracing who I am even when the world tries to tell me otherwise. Its about standing tall in my identity even when its really hard.

Her mother Jaime Jara, 45, a schoolteacher, beamed beside her on stage. Off stage, she said her youngest child has always known who she was.

Shes just always gravitated toward girl things, girls toys. We didnt have any of that stuff at home. She has two older brothers, Jaime said. Shed say, Im a girl in my heart and my brain. Shes been on this journey since she was 5 and shes living her best life.

The annual pride event, in its 18th year according to Visit Orlando, also featured a two-hour parade of rainbow-adorned floats sponsored by businesses, unions, politicians and even churches, all pledging support for a community frustrated by a spate of state legislation they say was intended to erode their personal freedoms.

Neither organizers nor Orlando police provided crowd estimates but the downtown park was packed.

More than 200,000 people were expected to gather for the daylong celebration which was to conclude with fireworks and performances by LaLa Ri and Monet X Change, former winners of RuPauls Drag Race reality show.

Former state Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith of Orlando, the first openly LGBTQ+ Latino legislator in Florida, said the crowd was impressive and encouraging in spite of the Republican-led Legislatures animosity and hostility during the spring session.

Despite Ron DeSantis efforts to censor and erase our community, LGBTQ Orlandans are celebrating pride in record numbers, the Democrat said in a text message. We marched for the freedom and equality of all Floridians, not just some.

While anti-LGBTQ politicians want fear and intimidation, we see HOPE as the answer and LOVE is our resistance.

The governor signed six bills this year labeled by critics as anti-LGBTQ+, including five on May 17, the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia intended to celebrate sexual and gender diversities.

The measures included HB 1438, which sponsors called The Protection of Children Act.

The statute allows state authorities to punish businesses that admit a child to an adult live performance, defined in the law as any show, exhibition, or other presentation that is performed in front of a live audience, which, in whole or in part, depicts or simulates nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement or specific sexual activities  lewd conduct, or the lewd exposure of prosthetic or imitation genitals or breasts.

Appeals court wont block ruling in Hamburger Marys drag show case

Under the law restaurants, bars and other venues risk loss of their business and liquor licenses and employees could face first-degree misdemeanor charges for knowingly admitting children to an adult live performance.

The measure does not specifically mention drag shows but it was introduced after the DeSantis administration complained about venues, including at the Plaza Live in Orlando, where children were seen in the audience at drag shows.

Concerns about the law led to cancellation of Tampas annual Pride on the River event in May. But Come Out with Pride organizers said they never considered canceling.

Hamburger Marys, a downtown Orlando restaurant that for years has hosted drag shows, persuaded a U.S. District Court judge in June to issue an injunction blocking enforcement of the law. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Oct. 11 rejected a request to modify the injunction.

shudak@orlandosentinel.com
The following is a transcript of an interview with former Rep. Liz Cheney, Republican of Wyoming, that aired on Oct. 22, 2023.

MARGARET BRENNAN: We're now joined by former Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney . Good morning, and good to have you here in person.

LIZ CHENEY: Thank you for having me, I appreciate it. Good to be here.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, we've been talking about what's happening in the Middle East right now. I know you watch the region closely. President Biden counseled Netanyahu during his trip to Israel last week and repeated a certain phrase I want to play for you here in his Oval Office address.

CLIP OF PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: "I caution this while you feel that rage, don't be consumed by it. After 9/11 We were enraged in the United States. While we sought justice and got justice, we also made mistakes."

MARGARET BRENNAN: And that was a nod to 9/11 and the US invasion of Iraq, potentially an overreach. Do you agree with that warning President Biden is issuing there, that there is the risk here of Israel taking actions that could backfire on their own security?

LIZ CHENEY: I think that our support and defense of Israel needs to be unwavering. I think that for the most part, that's what President Biden has demonstrated. I thought that most of the themes that he laid out in his Oval Office address were exactly right about the importance of American leadership, the importance of understanding this is a battle between the forces of freedom and the forces of tyranny and terrorism. With respect to his comments about 9/11 and post-9/11, I would say the fact that we had not a single additional terrorist attack, mass casualty terrorist attack, in over 20 years now, demonstrates that the steps that we took were, in fact effective. And I would say the biggest mistake, frankly, post 9/11 was the hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan that President Trump started, President Biden completed. So I think we need to set that we need to set set our differences about those issues aside, we certainly do have them. But with respect to what's happening in the world today, I think it's crucially important for the world to see that the United States, we are united across party lines in the defense of Israel and in the importance of the destroying Hamas, and also a very strong warning that the President has issued to Iran, and that, frankly, the Biden administration policy needs to be changed to make it consistent with the kind of warning that we've seen.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But in terms of that comment about reacting from a place of rage and unintended consequences, Secretary Blinken said the only way to defeat an ideology is by offering a better alternative. What is the better alternative for conflict that has been going on for this many decades?

LIZ CHENEY: There is no notion in which this is a battle of ideologies when you look at what Hamas did. And I think that the world has moved on far too quickly from what Hamas did. Hamas slaughtered innocents, they invaded Israel, and they slaughtered women and children and tortured people and raped people. And the fact that the world has moved on from that now, that is an ideology, if it even is one, of evil. And so, the way to battle that is making sure that you destroy Hamas, making sure that we sent a very clear message to Iran, that Iran will face severe consequences if it tries to get involved here. We also though need to recognize the the rising antisemitism and the expressions of antisemitism that we have seen across our country and across the world, since October 7, must be absolutely rejected. And the world must stand against that. So this is not a you know, moral equivalence. This is not a peace process question. This was out and out slaughter. And we absolutely stand against that.

MARGARET BRENNAN: And CBS continues to tell those stories. So just to be clear, the journalists have not moved on. When will you make a decision about whether you want to run for president the United States?

LIZ CHENEY: Well, what I am doing right now, what I will continue to do is very much focus on making sure that we get people elected at all levels, who are serious. People who believe in the Constitution. I think we're at a moment in this nation where we certainly have seen we face significant threats internationally. We've got Iran, Russia, North Korea, China, arrayed against us. This is a threat atmosphere that we have not seen, certainly since the end of World War Two

MARGARET BRENNAN: Bob Gates said ever.

LIZ CHENEY: Right. Yes

MARGARET BRENNAN: But it also said there's no presidential alternative in terms of affirmative vision for America's role in the world. Have you heard any candidates for president offer that vision?

LIZ CHENEY: I think that certainly you have seen some? I think that it needs to be a much louder. We need a much louder voices within both parties within my own party. I don't even know I should call it my own party within the Republican Party right now. The extent to which you're seeing people suggest that we should abandon Ukraine, which essentially is surrendering in this battle between freedom and tyranny. And that would be very dangerous for our security.

MARGARET BRENNAN: As you know, this massive national security package can't pass until there's a speaker of the house. Last month you said Congressman Patrick McHenry would make a great speaker of the house or it was earlier in October in a speech. He says he's not looking for a job. What is the vision for it? Is there anyone who can lead it? Is that, is he an alternative?

LIZ CHENEY: Look, I think what you're seeing right now and among the Republicans in the House is a direct result of the decisions that Kevin McCarthy made to embrace Donald Trump, to embrace the most radical and extreme members of our party, that elevate them. So it's not a surprise that we are where we are, but it's a disgrace, and it's an embarrassment. And there certainly are serious people among the Republicans. I hope that that one of them, particularly, I think it's important somebody not be an election denier. And I also think everybody should be asked tomorrow night at the candidate forum about this issue of Ukraine assistance, and they should be asked from the perspective of, we face a global challenge and existential threat. And how in the world could anybody defend at this moment, surrendering to one of our adversaries by walking away from Ukraine?

MARGARET BRENNAN: What do you think is driving the domestic threats against lawmakers within the Republican Party and also, among some Democrats?

LIZ CHENEY: The domestic threats are absolutely being driven by Donald Trump and, unfortunately, some of his supporters who, in fact have encouraged and taken steps that have resulted in, as we saw on January 6, political violence. When you have a member of Congress reportedly, like Warren Davidson from Ohio, who, in the meeting with Jim Jordan last week, when some of the holdouts raised with Jordan, the fact that they were getting death threats. One of them told me that in response, Congressman Davidson said, Well, that's not Jim Jordan's fault. That's your fault for voting against him. That is the kind of encouragement and acceptance of violence that is absolutely has no place in this party, should have no place in our country.

MARGARET BRENNAN: It's intimidation.

LIZ CHENEY: It is.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Congresswoman, it's great to have you here.

LIZ CHENEY: Great to be here. Thank you, Margaret.

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The following is a transcript of an interview with Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees, that aired on Oct. 22, 2023.



MARGARET BRENNAN: Philippe Lazzarini is the Commissioner General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees. The U.S. is its largest donor. Good afternoon to you.

COMMISSIONER GENERAL LAZZARINI: Good morning, Margaret.

MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to go straight to questions. But I did want to first acknowledge our condolences. I saw that 29 of your employees were killed in Gaza, according to the announcement, some while sleeping in their beds at home during these bombings. We're sorry. Can you tell us what people at home need to know about what's happening inside of Gaza right now?

COMMISSIONER GENERAL LAZZARINI: Well listen- Gaza is an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, which is unfolding under our watch. We have 1 million people who have moved from their home. The- Gaza City has been entirely (unintelligible)- have been flattened down. Hospitals have been hit. People near our settlements have been hit. More than 30 installation of the UN have been also hit. Thousands of people have been killed there. And as you indicated, we have 29 staff also killed among our workers. They're all teacher, doctor, gynecologists, types of social workers. And certainly we might have more people to come. What we know- so is that Gaza is under total siege. Until yesterday, absolutely nothing enter into Gaza.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, I saw that those 20 trucks did make it in yesterday through the Rafah Gate, but that the UN estimates that's- what, 4% of an average day imports? Secretary Blinken said he expects more trucks. What do you know about what aid is coming?

COMMISSIONER GENERAL LAZZARINI: What we need is a significant scaling up of a supply line into Gaza. And it needs to be sustained and it needs to be uninterrupted. Before October 7, we had up to 500 trucks entering into Gaza. And this was under a blockade, at the time already 80% of the population was dependent of international assistance. So we need- we need, Margaret, much more than that.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Under- understood. I do want you to address something though that got a lot of political attention here in the United States. There was a tweet from your agency that strongly implied aid was being taken by authorities who have links to Hamas. That tweet was then deleted from your account and UNRWA issued a statement saying no looting had taken place. Was there looting? Is aid ending up in the hands of terrorists?

COMMISSIONER GENERAL LAZZARINI: That was absolutely no looting. Medicine and fuel have been taken from our headquarter in Gaza, in Gaza City, and that has been handed over to local health workers coordinated with the local coordinator of the World Health Organization. And this material ended up in the various hospitals and the fuel which has been taken also ended up in the hospital.

MARGARET BRENNAN: And you are running short on fuel now?

COMMISSIONER GENERAL LAZZARINI: Today I issued a statement, an alarm, because in three-four days, we will have no fuel anymore in Gaza. And what does it mean? No fuel, no water, no bakery, no running a hospital. But beyond that. That means also there will be no humanitarian operation. We need fuel to move the trucks to reach the people in need.

MARGARET BRENNAN: This week, you said UNRWA was on the verge of collapse, there was already a $75 million shortfall. President Biden did announce that the US would provide about $100 million to help Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank from already allocated funds. Will that help your organization?

COMMISSIONER GENERAL LAZZARINI: What do you- as you mentioned, the US is our largest donor for the time being. I do not know yet the break down of this 100 million additional dollar. But it is true that our agency has been weakened for one decade of financial crisis. And if there is no input of resource- additional financial resources, we will certainly not be up to the challenge. And we are for the Palestinian in the Gaza Strip but also in the West Bank, the main lifeline and the main hope for them.

MARGARET BRENNAN: You are essentially filling the void of a government in providing some of these services. UNRWA, will it be able to continue operating after Israel launches this expected ground invasion?

COMMISSIONER GENERAL LAZZARINI: Listen, I have no intent to interrupt any operation. We have to continue to advocate to keep the border open to bring fuel inside, to bring the supply inside, and also asking to the Israeli and- and also the armed group into Gaza strip, the Hamas, not to target any civilian infrastructure, not to target our shelter where we have half a million people seeking protection in the UNRWA school. And basically, whether there is a ground invasion or not, we need to continue to provide assistance and protection to the civilians more than ever.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Thank you very much, Mr. Commissioner General for your time. We'll be back in a moment.

Mitt Romney on today's Republican Party

Blues legend Buddy Guy's not-quite-farewell tour

Why Hamas released 2 American hostages, and how it unfolded
The following is a transcript of an interview with Secretary of State Antony Blinken that aired on Oct. 22, 2023.

MARGARET BRENNAN: We go now to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is at the State Department. Good morning to you, Mr. Secretary.

SECRETARY OF STATE ANTONY BLINKEN: Morning, Margaret, good to be with you.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Tension is very high in the region. Are you changing your security posture? Are you pulling any US personnel out of the area?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Margaret, we are concerned at the possibility of Iranian proxies, escalating their attacks against our own personnel, our own people. We're taking every measure to make sure that we can defend them and if necessary, respond decisively. Not at all what we're looking for, not all we want, but we'll be prepared, if that's what they choose to do.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So it sounds like quite possibly pulling people out. In terms of the threat from Iran, you just referenced there, President Biden in his Oval Office address said that the U.S. would hold Iran accountable. What does accountable mean?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Well, what you've seen already, Margaret is very- a very clear message from the President, backed up by the deployment of two of our largest aircraft carrier battle groups, to make sure that it's clear. No one should take advantage of this moment to escalate to further attacks on Israel or for that matter attacks on us, on our personnel. And this is not by way of, in terms of what we're doing by provocation, it's designed to deter, designed to make clear that no one should use this moment in any way to escalate. No one wants a second front, a third front, and at the same time, we want to make sure that our own people in the region, wherever they are, are safe and protected, and that we're in a place as we are to respond decisively if we need to. The President's been clear about that, both in what he said and in what we're doing.

MARGARET BRENNAN: We'll stay tuned. In terms of what's happening in Gaza. I know there are an estimated 500-600 Americans there. There are only two ways out. One is through the Rafah gate to Egypt. It does not appear any Americans have made it out that way. There's also another Erez Crossing into Israel. Is there any chance Israel lets some of those Americans out or Egypt allows some of those Americans in?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: We have- you're exactly right. We have several hundred Americans and other nationalities, other civilians from- from other countries who want to leave Gaza. We've had people come to Rafah, the crossing with Egypt. And to date, at least, Hamas has blocked them from leaving, showing once again, its total disregard for civilians of any kind who are- who are stuck in Gaza. This is something that we're working, again, virtually every single day. We have in the- right now in the region on the ground, one of our most experienced diplomats, David Satterfield, working with the different governments concerned with- with Israel, with Egypt, to make sure that we're ready to be able to get people out, assuming Hamas lets them move. So really, the ball is in Hamas' court, in terms of letting people who want to leave, civilians from third countries including Americans get out of Gaza.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Just to be clear, you're saying Hamas is preventing Americans from leaving Gaza?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: That's correct.

MARGARET BRENNAN: And there are no US personnel who are able to help on the ground?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: We have U.S. personnel on the other side of the border in Egypt, consular personnel who can immediately help and assist those Americans who want to leave. We're working this very, very actively every day, including with partners who may have influenced connections with Hamas that we don't have, to make sure that people can get out. So we're tracking this. We want to make sure it happens.

MARGARET BRENNAN: In terms of the Americans who are believed to be unaccounted for or potentially hostages. Does Hamas have all of them or do other militant groups have them?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Look, you'll understand I can't speak to the  to the details of this. We've been engaged from virtually the first day of this. I don't want to be clear when it was clear that Hamas had taken men, women, young children, elderly people hostage, including Americans. It was really gratifying. Yesterday, I got a chance to speak to the two Americans, the mother, daughter, Judith and Natalie Raanan, who were released. I spoke to them. We are very appreciative of the assistance that we got from the Government of Qatar, to make sure that they could get out and now soon be reunited with their families. We're hopeful that- that others follow. It is imperative that every single hostage, every single hostage of whatever nationality, be released immediately and without condition.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But the Israeli invasion appears imminent. Have you asked the Israeli government to delay in order to give you more time to broker the release of these hostages?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: First, step back for a second, because it's important to remember what happened. It's incredible how quickly that gets lost because it was only a couple of weeks ago that Hamas invaded Israel with its terrorist fighters and slaughtered - and I use that- that word very deliberately- slaughtered so many people again, men, women, young children, babies, old people, you name it. And they continue to rain rockets down on Israel when I was there. A few days ago, we were in the bomb - we were- we had to take shelter a couple of times, because of incoming rockets from Hamas. So, my point is this, no country- no country can be expected to tolerate this, to live with this. And as we said, from the start, Israel has both the the right and even the obligation, not only to defend itself, but to try to make sure that, to the best of its ability, this can't happen again. So, we talked to the Israelis about what they're- what they're planning. We give them our best advice. It's important, as we said, not only what they do, but how they do it, particularly when it comes to making sure that civilians are as protected as they possibly can be in this crossfire of Hamas' making. We want to make sure that humanitarian assistance gets in and both countries care deeply about the- the hostages. There are many, many Israelis who are hostage and of course, hostages from other nationalities. So we're working to do everything we can, using whatever levers, partnerships, relationships, we have to get them out. Israel is doing the same. But in terms of what we're talking to Israel about in their- with regard to their military operations, it really is focused on both how they do it, and how best to achieve the results that they seek.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So, let's talk about how they do it. You're right to lay out just how absolutely horrific that attack was two weeks ago. Turning the page to what has happened during the following two weeks, UNICEF says 1,524 children have been killed in the Gaza Strip during these bombings. Why isn't the US calling for at least a temporary ceasefire?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: First, Margaret, when I hear the stories, when I see the pictures of young children, who have lost their lives in this conflict of Hamas' making- whoever they are, wherever they are, whether they're Palestinians, whether they're Israelis, whether they're- they're Jews or Muslims. It hits me, and I know it hits virtually everyone right in the heart. And that's why it's so important to do everything possible to protect them, and why it's so important to do everything possible to get assistance to those who need it. Food, medicine, water-

MARGARET BRENNAN: So why not ask for at least a temporary pause in the bombing--

SECRETARY BLINKEN:

We've seen-

MARGARET BRENNAN: -- as was proposed at the UN this week?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: We've seen first of all that, in order to get assistance in. We've had, we've had that happen. And you saw the first 20 trucks go in yesterday, I expect more will follow today and the day after that. We want to make sure that we have sustained delivery of food, medicine, water, the things that people need. At the same time, I said something a minute ago that- that we have to- we have to remember. Israel has to do everything it can to make sure this doesn't happen again. Freezing things in place where they are now would allow Hamas to remain where it is and to repeat what it's done sometime in the future. No country could accept that.

MARGARET BRENNAN: One of my colleagues, who is on the ground in Israel and has traveled to the West Bank conducted an interview with Mr. Mustafa Barghouti, a Palestinian politician, I'm sure, you know. He said he doesn't understand why President Biden, when he was in Israel, did not say "enough is enough. You wanted to respond and you responded, you killed 4,000 Palestinians. Stop." Instead, you're encouraging a ground invasion. How do you respond to "enough is enough?"

SECRETARY BLINKEN: "Enough is enough" should have been the case with- with Hamas two weeks ago. It would be good to hear the entire world speaking clearly, and with one voice, about the actions that Hamas took, about the slaughter of people, about the fact that that should be absolutely intolerable, unacceptable to anyone, anywhere, any country, any people. Second, as I said, for- for a country to not only not respond- it's not about responding. It's not about retaliating. It's about defending Israel from these ongoing attacks. As I said, the rockets continue to this day. And it's about taking the steps necessary to try to make sure, to the best of Israel's ability, that this can't happen again. Now, as we said, very clearly, the President's been very clear about this- how Israel does that matters. Making sure that to the greatest extent possible civilians are protected. Civilians are deliberately put in the crossfire by Hamas. Hamas undertook the slaughter. It knew Israel would have to respond and yet all of its people, its senior leaders, its weapons, its tunnels, all are co-located in residential buildings. They're buried underneath hospitals and schools. It knew that in Israel's necessary response, civilians would be caught in that crossfire. It's the last thing we want to see. It's imperative that every step be taken to protect them. But what does anyone expect Israel to do? It can't allow the situation to continue. No country can live like that. So that's what's- I think, in the minds of Israelis right now. Again, we're speaking to them, as I said, about how they do it, and also how they can best achieve the results that they seek.

MARGARET BRENNAN: In terms of US interests in the region, one of America's closest allies, the King of Jordan, gave an impassioned speech saying "Palestinian lives seem to matter less than Israeli ones. Our lives matter less than other lives, the application of international law is optional and human rights appear to have boundaries based on races and religions." That's a warning from one of America's closest friends in the region, that this is a dangerous message to be sending and it could have blowback. Are you concerned?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Margaret, every life- Palestinian, Israeli, Jewish, Muslim, Arab, every life has equal worth. When I see the reports, when I see the photographs, when I hear the stories of young children, Palestinian children, who've been killed or injured, it hits me right in the gut too. Just as it does, when I hear- when I see these other stories, wherever it is. We had, here in our own country, a little boy, six-years-old, Wadea, in Chicago, who was viciously murdered, apparently, because he was Palestinian American. A little boy, six-years-old, didn't do anything to anyone. I feel that strongly across the board, no matter where it is. But this is on Hamas. And the fact is, Hamas doesn't represent the Palestinian people. It doesn't represent their just cause, it doesn't represent their aspiration, and legitimate aspiration for a state of their own. On the contrary, it does everything to make life worse, and more miserable for--

MARGARET BRENNAN: Does the US assess that it is actually possible for Israel to destroy both Hamas as an entity and its ideology. Is it actually a military possibility?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: So, you make a very good point, Margaret. And I think it's important to focus on that, too. There's the military aspect of what Israel needs to do and try it- and try to make sure this doesn't happen again. But you're exactly right. The best way, the only way to defeat an ideology, no matter how warped, and the case of Hamas, it's about as warped as it possibly can be, is to make sure that there is a better, a clearer alternative for people. And that alternative is very clear. And it's very stark. We have on the one hand, countries throughout the region who want to come together, to integrate, to normalize relations, and to lift up the rights of the Palestinian people, to be able to have a future where they work together, go to school together, do business together, travel to each other's countries. That's one vision. The other vision is the vision that Hamas has: death, destruction, nihilism, darkness. Now, the responsibility that those of us who believe in the first vision have is to do everything possible to make it real, so that people not only see it, but they can achieve it. That's exactly what we were working on before this horrific attack on October 7th. And that's the vision that we need to get back to. But at the same time, we also have to deal with the fact that Hamas represents an active, ongoing threat, and that has to be dealt with too.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Mr. Secretary, thank you for your time this morning.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thanks, Margaret.

Mitt Romney on today's Republican Party

Blues legend Buddy Guy's not-quite-farewell tour

Why Hamas released 2 American hostages, and how it unfolded
Halloween horror movies often feature ghosts slipping through walls unnoticed by those in the dwellings they haunt.

At the Department of Energys Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, scientists seek to detect and measure neutrinos  the plentiful ghost particles that pass through concrete and humans without making an impact.

Researchers at PNNL and elsewhere study neutrinos because they offer a glimpse of cosmic events that occurred billions of years ago. The very concept of neutrinos is hard to imagine.

They travel at almost the speed of light, have no electric charge and weigh nearly nothing. And billions of them are passing through us right now. As creepy as that may sound, these mysterious subatomic particles could hold the key to understanding the origins of matter.

Detecting the presence of neutrinos is a daunting challenge, one that requires a team effort.

PNNL tech student Miguel Palomino and mentor Richard Saldanha, a physicist at PNNL, work on a project aimed to understand more about the nature of neutrinos.

Joining more than 1,700 scientists from 38 countries, our researchers are part of the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment, or DUNE. This project focuses on building ultrasensitive neutrino detectors.

DUNE receives a beam of neutrinos from the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory near Chicago, sends it through a detector and then on to a much larger detector 800 miles away in South Dakota.

Led by PNNL scientists, the researchers latest design increases the detectors sensitivity to neutrinos that are not produced as part of the experiment.

Researchers at PNNL are preparing carefully designed and manufactured electronic cables for analysis. These cables reduce interference with signals in neutrino detectors and may also have applications in the semiconductor industry and future quantum computers.

Informed by computer simulations, their design employs shielding, background radioactivity mitigation and enhanced light detection to improve the measurements to permit study of neutrinos from supernova or the sun.

In another project, PNNL scientists are developing radiation detectors to study the fundamental nature of neutrinos by searching for an extremely rare process called neutrinoless double beta decay.

To support these experiments, PNNL is designing special cables for the radiation detectors that aim to prevent interference with the instruments ability to identify signals of interest.

Working with a California small business, researchers produced electronic cables with ultra-pure materials that eliminate signals caused by naturally occurring background radiation.

In need for cables with contamination levels a billion times lower than in a speck of dust, the scientists designed these quiet cables based on precise measurements of the minute amounts of uranium, thorium and potassium introduced in each step of the cable production process.

The researchers then worked with the company to develop tailored fabrication techniques, special cleaning methods and careful handling procedures to manufacture the cables. The result: cabling with radioactivity levels a hundred times lower than previously available.

In another example of PNNLs nuclear physics prowess, our scientists are part of an international team devising a novel approach to measuring the neutrinos mass. Relying on Einsteins famous E=mc 2 equation, they seek to measure the tiny amount of energy released as tritium decays.

A PNNL team, working with Q-Flex Inc., has produced ultra-quiet electronic cables for highly sensitive neutrino detectors that have extremely low levels of the naturally occurring radiation that can create false signals.

During a process known as beta decay, tritium is converted into one helium ion, one electron and a neutrino that collectively possess the energy released. If researchers can precisely measure the electrons speed, they can deduce the neutrinos mass since they know the mass of the tritium atom.

This is no small feat given that neutrinos are up to 500,000 times lighter than an electron. Nonetheless, the researchers recently demonstrated their system at the University of Washington, where they tracked 3,770 tritium beta decay events in a sample cell the size of a pea.

It may be hard to imagine the ghost particles at the center of these three efforts, but the ingenuity and innovation of the researchers striving to study them are apparent.

Their focus on these abundant, invisible particles will shed light on some of the mysteries of our universe. And this will make it a bit less spooky for all of us.

Steven Ashby is director of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland.
Israel carried out an airstrike in the West Bank city of Jenin early on Sunday morning (October 22), believing that the city's Al-Ansar Mosque was used as a "terrorist compound."

The Palestinian Red Crescent said at least two people were killed and three were injured.

Reuters reported that the Israeli airstrike was at least the second in the West Bank in recent days after Hamas gunmen attacked southern Israel earlier this month.

Footage on social media, which appeared to be within the mosque, showed a gaping hole in one of its exterior walls and surrounded by debris as people were seen assessing the damage.

Israeli forces conducted an earlier raid and airstrike in another refugee camp near the central city of Tulkarm, saying that the sortie was aimed partly at apprehending suspects and confiscating weapons. Palestinian authorities said that at least 12 were killed in the raid.

Read Also: 'Jihad' Chants in London Pro-Palestine Rally Incite 'Violence', UK Immigration Minister Says

Israel Believes Refugee Camp Below Mosque a Hamas Hideout

The Israeli Defense Force said the compound beneath the mosque was said to belong to operatives from Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad who were responsible for attacks in recent months prior to October 7's sabbath raid.

The IDF also released images that it said showed an entrance to a bunker under the mosque, as well as a diagram showing where militants have stored weapons there.

A Palestinian refugee camp was embedded around the mosque and bunker and has been the focus of a major Israeli military operation earlier this year.

Residents of the camp said they received warnings from the IDF to steer clear of the militants due to an impending incursion into the camp but fell short of providing a specific date.

Since the October 7 attack, at least 84 Palestinians in the West Bank have been killed in clashes with Israeli forces, Palestinian officials said.

Related Article: Church Inside Gaza Hit by Israeli Airstrike, Orthodox Churchmen Say

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The leader of the Conservative Party in Canada and Justin Trudeaus main opponent in the upcoming elections, Pierre Poilievre , has criticised the Canadian prime ministers handling of the diplomatic row with Delhi once again and said he has reduced himself to a laughing stock in India.

Justin Trudeau is considered a laughing stock in India  the worlds biggest democracy, Mr Poilievre said in an interview with Nepals Namaste Radio Toronto.

Mr Poilievre, who is gearing up to challenge Mr Trudeau in the general elections in 2025, was asked about the bitter situation in the Canada-India relationship.

He put the blame on Mr Trudeau and said he was incompetent and unprofessional and vowed to restore a professional relationship with India if his party came to power.

Speaking of the worsening relationship between the two countries, which led to two-thirds of Canadian diplomats being asked to leave India this week, Mr Poilievre said: This is another example of how Justin Trudeau is not worth the cost after eight long years, Mr Poilievre told the outlet.

He has turned Canadians against each other at home and he has blown up our relations abroad.

He is so incompetent and unprofessional that now we are in major disputes with every major power in the world, and that includes India, the leader of the opposition in Canada said.

We need a professional relationship with the Indian government. India is the largest democracy on Earth and its fine to have our disagreements and hold each other accountable, but we have to have a professional relationship and that is what I will restore when I am prime minister of this country, he added.

Relations between India and Canada have deteriorated to their lowest level in recent months after Trudeau accused Delhi of involvement in the murder of a Sikh separatist leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Mr Poilievre also criticised other aspects of Mr Trudeaus foreign policy, claiming that the Canadian prime minister was letting Joe Biden walk all over him and that China was interfering in Canadian democracy.

After eight years of Trudeau, our reputation is in tatters. Beijing is interfering in our country, opening police stations in Canada to abuse our people.

President Biden is walking all over Trudeau and treating him like a doormat and slapping him around like a rag doll, the opposition leader remarked.
Your letters to the editor for Oct. 22, 2023:

The argument for 'people over property'

The evolution of wars is part of a bigger dynamic at work in the universe. Peoples of every cause, color, or concern are affected by it without bias. We see it played out across the world since time immemorial.In 1966 Robert Ardery wrote a book called "The Territorial Imperative" which was a personal inquiry into the animal origins of property and nations. It was an intriguing examination of the animals complex territorial concepts concluding that war, family loyalty and other human principles are evolutionary instincts. He offered intriguing ideas about how we humans value "territory" and how it has informed the formation of nations.He states in his book that "what we call patriotism is a calculable force, which released by a predictable situation, will animate man in a manner no different from any other species."Until we can reprogam ourselves to value "people over property" we will not see an end to the wars that plague the world now and in the future. Hope springs eternal that we can learn to evolve!

 Mary Maxwell, Sioux Falls

More: What's to become of animals at the Delbridge Museum; more pipeline frustrations: Your letters

Dusty Johnson took an oath, but to whom?

In the months leading up to and following the 2020 presidential election, potential House speaker and Ohio Representative Jim Jordan prolifically pushed false stolen election rhetoric. After Donald Trump lost the election to Joe Biden, Jordan then urged Trump not to concede his loss for which he was awarded the unseemly moniker "One of the Great Ones" for his misinformation campaign.And now that he has thrown his hat into the Speaker of the House ring, we will all get to witness how South Dakota's lone Representative will cast his vote. Will Dusty Johnson place his support firmly behind the MAGA extremist election denier Jordan, or will he climb up on the bandwagon of MAGA extremist election denier Steve Scalise of Louisiana?The excitement is palpable.Dusty needs to remember that the oath he took was not to any person but to the Constitution of the United States. He hasn't remembered that so far."If they were to decide that, there would no longer be any possible way to argue that a group of elected Republicans could be counted on to defend the Constitution." - Liz Cheney

 Dave Graue, Sioux Falls

Protect our state constitution: Decline to sign

There is an effort underway to enshrine abortion up to birth in our South Dakota Constitution by out-of-state interests. The people of our great state generally view the world differently than those on the coasts. Faith, common sense, the rule of law and our state constitution are bedrocks of our way of life. Much like the US Constitution, every word written in our states founding document has the power to impact its peoples wellbeing for generations to come. Therefore, all attempted amendments should not leave any questions about their ultimate impact. This is especially true when it comes to the complex issue of abortion.

The petition in question is being circulated by an organization which claims it is only attempting to Restore Roe v. Wade on the state level. As someone who is proudly pro-life  valuing both women and babies  it is easy to see how this proposed amendment, which allows abortion up to birth, could open up Pandoras box. Frankly, many people I know who describe themselves as pro-choice will find the language overly broad and troubling.

If such language is inserted into our state constitution, there is no guarantee that any limits on abortions will stand, even life saving measures for mothers. We can look to other states like Michigan and Kansas, which passed similar referendums in the last year, and see that steps have already been taken to remove the most basic abortion safeguards like parental involvement laws, informed consent, and safety guidelines. The proposed amendment also opens the door to state taxpayer funded abortions.

If the needed signatures are collected to put the abortion up to birth amendment on the ballot, millions of dollars will flood into the state to influence voters, mostly driven by the abortion industry, which seeks to improve its bottom line.

Wouldnt it be better if these finances could be used to actually help vulnerable women? Many women feel that abortion is their only option. These women need our compassion and support and the kind of resources that are available across the state at our pregnancy centers, local safety net clinics and countless ministries. Just imagine if the politics of this issue were set aside and the vulnerable were the central focus.

Please join me in keeping this extreme measure off the ballot, so our resources can be better used in the efforts to help those facing an unplanned pregnancy. If you are asked to add your signature to this radical abortion up to birth" petition, then please Decline to Sign. And join the LifeDefenseFund.com in their work to share the truth about this abortion up to birth amendment.

 Dale Bartscher, Executive Director of SD Right to Life, Rapid City

More: SD's shortchanging its children; Trump's not the elephant in the room: Your letters

Two wrongs don't make a right, including in Gaza

First, my sympathies are with the Israelis because of the terrorist atrocities committed by Hamas last weekend. It is beyond belief the extent of the crimes against humanity committed by these terrorists. This kind of behavior is impossible to justify under any circumstances. The indiscriminate killing of entire families and even entire villages- women and children in some cases, especially in the violent way they killed them, is truly shocking.However, I fail to understand how indiscriminately bombing the entire city of Gaza City, killing entire families and neighborhoods- women and children, is the proper response. Just because those families are Palestinian and not Jewish does not make it right. They are people too, just like the Israelis. My mother taught me early in life- two wrongs dont make a right. I understand wanting revenge for the terrorist attack on the Jewish State, wanting to get the hostages back but I'm not sure this was the best way to react. Maybe all of these people need to stop killing and start talking. I would bet most of them dont even know why they hate each other, they were just raised that way- hating each other. I am not comfortable with my tax dollars supporting the indiscriminate killing of any people, be they Jewish or Palestinian. We should all just think about that for a minute.

 Robert Funk, Brandon

A word from Margaret Thatcher

Let us remember these immortal words in the midst of our turbulent political climate, as they serve as a compass to point us to what government should be, not what it currently isOne of the great debates of our time is about how much of your money should be spent by the state, and how much you should keep to spend on your family. Let us never forget this fundamental truth, the state has no source of money other than the money people earn themselves. If the state wishes to spend more, it can do so only by borrowing your savings, or by taxing you more, and it's no good thinking that someone else will pay; that someone else is you. There is no such thing as public money, there is only taxpayers money.And prosperity wont come by inventing more and more lavish public expenditure programs. You dont grow richer by ordering another checkbook from the bank. And no nation ever grew more prosperous by taxing its citizens beyond their capacity to pay. We have a duty to make sure every penny piece we raise in taxation is spent wisely and well. For it is our party that is dedicated to good housekeeping.Protecting the taxpayers purse, protecting the public services, these are our two great tasks, and their demands have to be reconciled. How very pleasant it would be, how very popular to say; spend more on this, expand more on that. And we all have our favorite causes, I know I do. But someone has to add up the figures. Every business has to do it, every housewife has to do it, every government should do it, and this one will.-Margaret Thatcher, 1983 Conservative Party Conference Arthur Negus, Sioux Falls

More: The healthcare system is failing; this scholarship changed my life: Your letters

Trump's fight goes to the core of the American experience

It is baffling to me how a significant portion of the people in this country who cherish their freedom of speech are more than happy to sit back and watch an Obama appointed judge rob Donald Trump of his. Do they not realize that if partisan judicial hacks can deprive those God given rights from a guy like Trump, they can take them away from any one of us?Regardless your feelings for the man, this goes way beyond personalities and politics. This goes to the core of the American experience. It is the fundamental difference between our republic and most other countries of the world. It is a major part of the reason hordes of people risk everything, including their life, in an attempt to be part of the great American dream.To think that because you don't like what someone says could ever be a justification to take their right to say it away is barbarian at best. It is totalitarian. It goes against the fundamental fiber that urged others, centuries ago, to risk life and limb and everything they possessed to ensure that no one would ever be allowed to do what this Washington, DC judge is attempting.Of course it will be overturned in higher courts. If America is to survive, it must.It is a sad day in America when the blood of all those who fought to preserve this inalienable right can be deemed of no value by a partisan member of the Beltway bench. Only with the exercise of said right by those of us who actually served to defend it can this cancer on our constitution be stopped. If not I, who? If not now, when. If not here, where? This is the proverbial hill that freedom loving Americans must stand their ground. Yes, this is the battle we must fight and if need be, this is the hill where true Americans MUST make their stand.Please contact your federal representatives and let them know you won't stand for this. Even when it is perpetrated against someone you hate.

 Randy Amundson, Sioux Falls

How to submit a letter to the editor:

Letters need to be roughly 300 to 500 words, and will need to include first and last name, address, city and title. Addresses wont be publicized, of course, but its a way for us to make sure those who submit a letter are who they say they are.

Letters will run on Sundays in print and online as we receive them. There may be moments, however, when we don't have any as we work to solicit interest and actively rebuild this part of our coverage for readers.

You can submit those to News Director Shelly Conlon by emailing sconlon@argusleader.com or submit them through our online form here, which also is sent directly to the news director.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Trump and the American experience; abortion in South Dakota: Your letters
As Donald Trump faces criminal charges in multiple cases across the country, several states are still investigating a scheme created by Trump allies and boosted by Trump himself to cast fake electoral votes for the Republican candidate for the 2020 election.

As part of the US electoral college system, states cast a set number of votes for the candidate who wins the popular vote in their state, the winner of which then takes the presidency. Seven states that the former president lost saw slates of fake GOP electors falsely claim Trump had won their electoral votes. These fake electors included high-profile Republicans, such as sitting officeholders and state party leaders.

Related: Donald Trump case tracker: where does each investigation stand?

Two prosecutors, in Michigan and Georgia, have already filed charges against fake electors. Others have confirmed investigations but provided few details. One state prosecutor said local laws did not address this kind of crime, which is unprecedented.

Kenneth Chesebro, a Trump campaign legal adviser and the supposed mastermind of the fake electors scheme, pleaded guilty in Georgia over his role in subverting the election. Chesebro allegedly created the plan in a secret memo based on Wisconsins electoral vote.

At the federal level, the special counsel Jack Smith and his team brought charges against Trump and his allies over their attempts to overturn the 2020 election results, which include the fake elector scheme. Several states have confirmed they are cooperating with Smiths investigation, and news reports have indicated Smith offered limited immunity to some fake electors for their testimony.

Since the scheme had no precedent, some states and experts have struggled to figure out which laws may have been broken, and whether the charges should be state or federal. In some states, the fake electors also face civil lawsuits. Heres where they stand.

Arizona

The former Arizona attorney general Mark Brnovich, a Republican, never publicly confirmed any investigation into the states fake electors, which included high-profile far-right figures such as the state senator Jake Hoffman and the former Arizona GOP chair Kelli Ward. The state actually saw two separate sets of fake electors.

His successor, the Democrat Kris Mayes, told the Guardian earlier this year that her office is investigating the fake electors, but has not provided any details of the investigation so far. On a recent Arizona Republic podcast episode, Mayes said she could not say much about the contours of the investigation, but that her office was taking it very seriously and that it was a very important investigation.

While the cases in Michigan and Georgia are much further along, she noted that their prosecutors have been in place much longer than she has. Mayes took office in January 2023.

Georgia

Three fake electors in Georgia were charged as part of a broader case against Trump and his allies over election subversion attempts.

The Fulton county district attorney, Fani Willis, brought charges against the former Georgia Republican party chairman David Shafer, the state senator Shawn Still and the activist Cathy Latham, three of the 16 fake electors from that state. They face various charges, including forgery, impersonating a public officer and attempting to file false documents.

Several of the others who signed on as false electors for Trump struck immunity deals or plea agreements with prosecutors.

The fake electors in Georgia were charged as part of a broader case against Trump and his allies over election subversion attempts. Photograph: Fulton County Sheriffs Office/Reuters

The three fake electors charged have pleaded not guilty. Their attorneys argued in September that they were not fake electors, but instead contingent electors who could be used should the courts overturn Bidens win, the Associated Press reported. The three are trying to get their case moved from state court in Georgia to a federal court, arguing they were acting as federal officers who were keeping an avenue open for Trump depending on what happened in the courts.

Sidney Powell, who was charged in the broader case, pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with the prosecution. The unexpected move netted Powell six years of probation and some fines and marks a major shift in the Georgia case for Trump and his allies. Chesebro, on the day jury selection for his trial was set to begin, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of conspiracy to commit filing false documents and probably will serve five years probation.

Michigan

The Democratic attorney general Dana Nessel charged 16 Michiganders who participated as fake electors with eight felonies each, including multiple forgery charges, for their roles in the scheme. Those charged include party activists, candidates for office and state and local party officials.

Attempts by two defendants to get the charges dismissed because of Nessels comments about how the electors were brainwashed were unsuccessful. The 16 people charged pleaded not guilty, and probable cause hearings are set for this month.

This week, one of Michigans fake electors saw his charges dropped as part of a deal with the states attorney general. James Renner, a Republican who falsely signed that Trump had won, agreed to full cooperation, truthful testimony and production of any and all relevant documents in exchange for the dropped charges, filings from the attorney generals office, obtained by NBC News, show. This includes information about how he was asked to become part of the fake slate and the circumstances of meetings among those involved in the scheme.

Nevada

Nevadas top prosecutor has said his office would not bring charges against the six people who signed on as fake electors there in 2020. The states Democratic attorney general, Aaron Ford, said current state laws did not address this kind of situation, to the dismay of some, and Im sure, to the delight of others.

The Democratic state senator Skip Daly attempted to solve that problem, and the state legislature passed a bill that would have made it a felony for people to serve as false electors, punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Ford had endorsed the bill.

But the Republican governor, Joe Lombardo, vetoed the bill, saying the penalties were too harsh, though he said he believed those who undermine elections should face strict punishments.

New Mexico

The former New Mexico attorney general Hector Balderas started an investigation into the five Republicans who signed as false electors there, then referred the matter to federal prosecutors, according to Source New Mexico.

The office of the current attorney general, Raul Torrez, confirmed there was an active state investigation into the fake electors to see if they violated state law, but details about the case have been scant. Torrezs office said it would work with Jack Smith to get any evidence related to a state inquiry, according to KOAT Action News.

Related: Inside Trumps alternate electors plot to steal the vote in Georgia

Like Pennsylvania, the fake electors in New Mexico included a caveat in their documents that could help them, should charges be filed. They wrote that they signed the documents on the understanding that it might be later determined that we are the duly elected and qualified electors.

Pennsylvania

The 20 fake electors in Pennsylvania are unlikely to face any criminal charges because of how they worded the documents they signed. The documents say the false electoral votes would only be considered valid if the courts deemed the slate to be the duly elected and qualified electors for Pennsylvania.

Governor Josh Shapiro, then the states Democratic attorney general, said the hedged language would spare the false electors from a criminal investigation by his office. His successor as attorney general, Michelle Henry, told Votebeat that the offices position remained that charges were not warranted.

Though their rhetoric and policy were intentionally misleading and purposefully damaging to our democracy, based on our initial review, our office does not believe this meets the legal standards for forgery, Shapiro said in 2022.

Wisconsin

The Democratic attorney general, Josh Kaul, has not said whether his office is investigating the states 10 fake electors for potential state law violations, though a civil lawsuit against the alternate slate is moving forward. Kaul has said he supports the federal investigation and that he expects to see further developments in that case.

Governor Tony Evers, a Democrat, said in August he wanted to see the Wisconsin fake electors held accountable via prosecution.

What those ten fake electors did was wrong, Evers wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. People have to be held accountable for that, and I hope to hell somebody does.

Federal prosecutors, in the Trump indictment, said the fake electors scheme started in Wisconsin with the attorney Kenneth Chesebro, who suggested electors meet there to sign on to a slate in case Trumps team won in the courts.
Back in 2020, Donald Trump wrote a statement to Twitter  as it was called at that time  championing his "truly great team" of lawyers and representatives, naming Sidney Powell as one of them. But now, after she's pleaded guilty to a number of criminal charges in the Georgia RICO case, in which Trump is a co-defendant, he seems to be rewriting history by claiming that she was never his attorney, although there's plenty of evidence to the contrary.

In a new statement made on Truth Social Sunday morning, Trump writes, "Sidney Powell was one of millions and millions of people who thought, and in ever increasing numbers still think, correctly, that the 2020 Presidential Election was RIGGED & STOLLEN, AND OUR COUNTRY IS BEING ABSOLUTELY DESTROYED BECAUSE OF IT!!! Despite the Fake News reports to the contrary, and without even reaching out to ask the Trump Campaign, MS. POWELL WAS NOT MY ATTORNEY, AND NEVER WAS. In fact, she would have been conflicted. Ms. Powell did a valiant job of representing a very unfairly treated and governmentally abused General Mike Flynn, but to no avail. His prosecution, despite the facts, was ruthless. He was an innocent man, much like many other innocent people who are being persecuted by this now Fascist government of ours, and I was honored to give him a Full Pardon!"

As MTN points out in their coverage of this flip-flop, "on November 14, 2020, Trump tweeted out that he was hiring Powell to join his legal team as one of the attorneys who would fight to overturn the results of the 2020 Presidential election." Adding to their reporting that "Sidney Powell testified under oath in front of the January 6th Committee where she confirmed that Trump asked her to join the team as a Special Counsel."

Trump 2020: Sidney Powell has joined my legal team!



Trump after Powell flipped: Sidney Powell was not on my legal team. pic.twitter.com/cyrRCiHjGE  Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) October 22, 2023

Testimony from Sidney Powell that Trump asked her to be Special Counsel pic.twitter.com/sccUC1maxM  Acyn (@Acyn) June 23, 2022
Donald Trump continued to push lies about a stolen election while reacting to lawyer Sidney Powells decision to accept a plea deal from Georgia prosecutors preparing to try Trump and several associates in a racketeering and conspiracy case.

In a Sunday morning post on Truth Social, the former president straddled the line between defending Powell and trying to distance himself from the attorney, who was a key figure in Trumps 2020 Stop the Steal efforts.

In typically turgid style, Trump ranted about the rigged presidential election while also maintaining that Powell was never actually his lawyer.

Sidney Powell was one of millions and millions of people who thought, and in ever increasing numbers still think, correctly, that the 2020 Presidential Election was RIGGED & STOLLEN, AND OUR COUNTRY IS BEING ABSOLUTELY DESTROYED BECAUSE OF IT!!! he wrote.

Despite the Fake News reports to the contrary, and without even reaching out to ask the Trump Campaign, MS. POWELL WAS NOT MY ATTORNEY, AND NEVER WAS, he then claimed.

Trump officially announced when Powell became part of his truly great legal team on Nov. 15, 2020, less than two weeks after President Joe Biden was elected by 81 million American voters, more than 7 million more than voted for Trump.

She baselessly accused billionaire investor George Soros and the country of Venezuela of election interference and served as Trumps mouthpiece on Fox News and other conservative media outlets.

In his Truth Social post, the disgraced real estate developer and former reality TV star claimed Powell couldnt have been his lawyer, calling her work with former Trump staffer Mike Flynn a conflict of interest.

Ms. Powell did a valiant job of representing a very unfairly treated and governmentally abused General Mike Flynn Trump wrote. But to no avail. His prosecution, despite the facts, was ruthless.

He was an innocent man, much like many other innocent people who are being persecuted by this now Fascist government of ours, and I was honored to give him a Full Pardon!

Flynn, who served for 22 days as Trumps national security adviser, pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI in 2017. He was pardoned by his former boss in November 2020, weeks after Biden was declared the winner of the presidential election.

Powell reached a deal with Fulton County prosecutors last Thursday, agreeing to cooperate with the investigation in exchange for six years of probation, a $6,000 fine and a written apology to Georgia residents.

Trump attorney Kenneth Chesebro followed suit on Friday when he pleaded guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to file false documents.

Related...
(NEXSTAR)  If you want to make a great first impression during a Zoom meeting, you might want to check whats in your background. Some experts are calling it the new business suit.

A group of researchers at Durham University in the UK examined how gender, facial expressions, and video backdrops influence first impressions online.

Their study, published Sept. 27 in the journal Plos One, noted that the way people meet in professional settings is changing as digital platforms like Zoom and Teams grow in popularity thanks, in part, to the COVID-19 pandemic.

While you should still dress appropriately during these virtual calls, your clothes are not the only thing colleagues might be looking at. Whats on your screen also matters.

Nearly 1 in 5 couples include home fund in wedding registry: Study

It gives off information about all sorts of stuff  about how you live, your socioeconomic status, your confidence, your cleanliness levels. These are all things youre presenting to someone else as a first impression, lead researcher Paddy Ross, told Nexstar. Thats why we say its like the new business suit because it really is as important as that from a presentation point of view.

Ross and his team collected 72 images of 36 people from a photo database. The photos showed each person with either happy or neutral facial expressions. The researchers then superimposed these faces over different virtual backgrounds and edited a Zoom border around them to simulate a videoconferencing call.

The six backgrounds selected for the study included a living room, a blurred version of the same living room, a bookcase, house plants, a blank wall, and a novelty background  which, in this instance, was a walrus on an iceberg.

Then, 167 participants, aged between 19 and 68, completed an online survey about how trustworthy each person pictured seemed to be. Faces with books or plants behind them scored the highest in terms of trustworthiness, followed by the blurred living room and the blank wall. The regular living room and novelty backgrounds were rated least favorably.

Just showing your living room or a novelty background actually significantly reduced the ratings of trust and competence, Ross said. We found that just by blurring the living room, it actually raised trust and competence ratings.

Ross, who is also an associate psychology professor at Durham University, said he thought the blurred background would have ranked even lower  but the results surprised him.

We didnt find that at all, Ross said. We actually found that it raised it, and it could just be that it gives the impression that someone has actually put a bit of thought into what theyre presenting.

When it came to expressions, participants viewed happy faces as more trustworthy than neutral faces. Researchers said this could be because smiling may signal confidence, high self-esteem, and success. As for gender, the women pictured gave off better first impressions than the men overall.

Female faces were also rated as more trustworthy and more competent, regardless of the background they were using, the studys authors wrote, adding that more research is needed to address this particular finding.

Fan of the snooze button? Researchers say there is no reason to stop

Ross also said there were some limitations to the study, one being the faces used were not pre-screened on attractiveness, which can influence first impressions. The team also used still images for controllability  researchers didnt want things like tone of voice to impact results  but there are plans to incorporate videos into future research. Next, Ross said he wants to analyze how video backgrounds can affect virtual job interviews.

What were going to be doing is shifting away from first impressions and looking more into real-life decisions, hiring decisions, Ross said. These are things that affect peoples livelihoods, their opportunity. And if there is an unconscious bias for backgrounds, then its something that people need to be trained in.

If a house looks grubby, is the person literally less likely to get hired than someone who lives in a more affluent-looking house? That would not be very good, but part of me wonders whether that will actually be the case, Ross added.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com.
Palestinians check the damage at a mosque which was hit in an Israeli air strike, in Jenin

Palestinians check the damage at a mosque which was hit in an Israeli air strike, in Jenin

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey sent a plane with a medical team and supplies to Egypt on Sunday carrying humanitarian aid for Gaza, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said.

"Our plane took off to help Gaza. The presidential plane filled with medicine and medical supplies, carrying 20 specialist doctors, departed from Ankara to Egypt," Koca said in a post on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

The footage shared by the minister showed boxes marked with their contents being loaded onto a Turkish presidency plane.

"Our team will determine the necessary medicine, medical supplies and devices for the people of Gaza and carry out feasibility studies of field hospitals to be set up at Egypt's El Arish Airport and Rafah Border Crossing," Koca said in a post late on Saturday.

Rafah is the main route in and out of the Gaza Strip that is not controlled by Israel, which has said it will allow no aid to enter from its territory until Hamas releases the hostages it took during its attack on Oct. 7.

It says aid can enter through Egypt provided supplies do not end up in the hands of Hamas.

Koca also said on Saturday that three cargo planes are scheduled to be sent to El Arish Airport carrying medicine, medical supplies and devices in addition to a ship carrying field hospital equipment and ambulances, once arrangements have been made with the relevant authorities.

He did not provide further details.

(Reporting by Ezgi Erkoyun; editing by Barbara Lewis)
Judith Raanan, right and her daughter Natalie speak with President Joe Biden by phone after being released from captivity, at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem on Oct. 20, 2023. (U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem via The New York Times)

TEL AVIV, Israel  On Oct. 7, a few hours after Hamas began its devastating attack on Israel, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke by telephone with Qatars prime minister.

Hamas gunmen had just slaughtered more than 1,400 people and kidnapped more than 200, including Americans, and Blinken raised the issue of the hostages with the prime minister, according to two senior State Department officials. The hope among many diplomats was that Qatar could play the middleman. Thats exactly what it did.

Over nearly the next two weeks, Blinken and other U.S. officials, their Qatari counterparts and representatives from Turkey, Egypt, France and many other countries held delicate talks about how to get the captives out  or least start the process. Qatar, a tiny country on the Persian Gulf, played an outsized role. Its an American ally with open lines to Hamas  many of Hamas political leaders reside at least part-time in Doha, Qatars capital  and it has a long history of brokering deals with groups that the United States considers terrorists.

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On Friday night, when Hamas released two captives, Judith and Natalie Raanan, an American-Israeli mother and daughter, one of the first things U.S. officials did was thank the Qataris. The Raanans were the first hostages to emerge from captivity, and the families of the remaining 200 or more captives desperately hope this is just the beginning.

For two weeks, families have been stuck in a state of suspended shock, not knowing if the people closest to them in the world are alive. Intelligence experts say Hamas has likely split up the hostages into small groups, separating the Israeli soldiers they captured from the civilians, who span ages from less than 1 year old to more than 85. Hamas is believed to be holding the captives in a maze of tunnels beneath the Gaza Strips streets as Israeli warplanes bomb the enclave.

An armed hostage rescue is considered too risky and dangerous at this moment, experts say, leaving officials from the constellation of countries feverishly continuing negotiations.

Some Hamas political leaders are trying to distance themselves from the worst atrocities carried out by Hamas assailants on Oct. 7 and now contend that it was angry Palestinians in Gaza and members of other armed groups  not their own fighters  who kidnapped civilians. Yet videos released by Hamas fighters themselves depict the brutal killing of unarmed civilians.

Shocked by the scale of the attacks, Israel has refused to negotiate with Hamas, several officials said.

Instead, the Israeli army is amassing tanks and armored personnel carriers on Gazas border, primed for a full-scale invasion. And even though Israel allowed a trickle of humanitarian aid  20 trucks for 2 million people  into Gaza on Saturday, Israeli warplanes show no sign of relenting in a campaign that is intended to destroy Hamas but has also killed thousands of civilians.

Yaakov Peri, a former head of the Shin Bet, the Israeli security service, said Israel may have agreed to let humanitarian aid enter Gaza on Saturday morning in light of the hostages release Friday night. He said Hamas motive might have been to inspire Israelis who have loved ones in captivity in Gaza to pressure their government to delay the impending ground invasion until more hostages are released.

This is what Hamas is thinking, Peri said. But we cannot fall for this trap.

There are still many questions of why, of all the 200 or so hostages, the Raanans were released. Robert DAmico, a former FBI agent who worked on hostage cases overseas, said it may have been the fact that the two were healthy.

I dont know if you want to release critically wounded ones, he said. It just looks bad.

Another obvious reason the Raanans were chosen, DAmico and others said, is that they are Americans  though there are up to 10 more Americans in captivity. Hamas might be trying to temper Israeli retaliation on Gaza by gaining goodwill from the Biden administration. President Joe Biden and his team have been closely advising Israel on how it is waging its war on Gaza, although it is not clear how much Israel actually listens to what the Americans say.

Hamas leaders said Friday that they had decided to free the mother and daughter for humanitarian reasons. On Saturday, in an unmarked villa in Doha, Khalil al-Hayya, a member of the Hamas Politburo, shared more of the groups thinking.

He argued that members of the Qassam Brigades, Hamass armed wing, who carried out the Oct. 7 attack, had been instructed not to harm or capture civilians. But after the fighters broke through Israels metal barrier fence with Gaza, he said, members of other armed groups and other Palestinians in Gaza poured in behind them.

It was these people, al-Hayya insisted, who had slaughtered Israeli civilians and kidnapped dozens of others and then dragged them back through the broken fence to Gaza.

Our issue is with the soldiers, the military people, he said.

Extensive footage of the attack, however, clearly disproves his assertions. Videos show Hamas assailants shooting and killing unarmed civilians on streets, in neighborhoods and at an outdoor music festival. Documents found on dead Hamas assailants also included instructions to take civilian hostages, Israeli officials have said.

Al-Hayya said that before Hamas releases any more hostages, Israels bombing of Gaza has to stop. He also said other militant groups in Gaza were holding some of the hostages and that Hamas needs time to look in the homes, with families, with the factions, and bring them together.

Throughout the crisis, U.S. officials have remained in close contact with the Qataris, who are in close contact with Hamas. White House officials called them. Blinken spent a few hours in Qatar on Oct. 13, during his seven-nation sweep through the Middle East, and there he spoke about the hostages with the emir, Sheikh Tamim ibn Hamad Al Thani, and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani.

Qatari officials told Blinken about concrete steps the Americans could start taking to try to get hostages released, a U.S. official said. Before flying out to Bahrain, Blinken stood beside the prime minister and told reporters that the two countries were working intensively together on the hostages and that he was grateful for the urgency that Qatar is bringing to this effort.

A senior official from a country involved in the negotiations said that Hamas political leaders are seeking a pause in Israeli attacks on Gaza to allow the group to gather information about all of the hostages, and that they have agreed, in principle, to freeing all civilians, including foreign nationals, who were taken captive. Al-Hayya, in his interview, seconded that notion. Still, it is unclear when, or under exactly what circumstances, Hamas would agree to release them.

Moreover, Hamas has made clear that it will not release any Israeli soldiers  estimated to be in the dozens and including several female soldiers  until a deal is struck for the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Several senior officials said this was conveyed to the Israelis, but so far the Israelis have not agreed to consider any of Hamas proposals, including a pause in the bombing. Israel also has not specified exactly how many Israeli soldiers were captured.

Qatar has a proven record of helping out in sticky situations like this  a role that, in addition to its enormous reserves of natural gas, has given it outsize leverage on the international stage. In 2016, said DAmico, the former FBI agent, Qatari officials finessed talks with the Taliban to free Colin Rutherford, a Canadian citizen abducted in Afghanistan, even as the Taliban and United States waged war.

We dont trust the Taliban, DAmico said. The Taliban doesnt trust us. But we both trust the Qataris.

In this case, so many high-level officials were involved in the negotiations with Hamas that the news of the Raanans release leaked out while the hostages were still making their way out of Gaza  which was not the plan.

It really put us at risk and made the whole process way more complicated than it had to be, said Fabrizio Carboni, an official with the International Committee of the Red Cross, which received the hostages from Hamas.

You never know whos around, he said, in a place like this.

In a video released by Hamas, captors brought the Raanans to a rendezvous point inside Gaza. The two stepped into a Red Cross truck. The truck began to move.

The fact that all this happened at night, with war raging around them, didnt make things easier.

Its not like youre driving in Geneva, Carboni said.

But the Red Cross truck made it to the border of Gaza without incident, and soon the Raanans were embraced by Israelis.

Did they seem in good shape?

They were shocked, Carboni said. I mean, we would all be shocked by this.

But the two were, he added, considering the situation, OK.

c.2023 The New York Times Company
Police tape blocks a road near the scene of a shooting in California in this 2021 file photo. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

Two men were shot to death at separate parties in the early hours of Saturday morning, California authorities said.

In the Santa Barbara County town of Santa Maria, a 20-year-old man was killed and other people were shot and transported to local hospitals after a fight broke out at a large backyard party just after midnight.

Santa Maria police officials declined to reveal how many people were shot and transported to hospitals, saying it was an active and ongoing investigation, so limited details are currently being released. Numerous witnesses, officials said, still need to be identified and interviewed. Police said all the injured victims were expected to survive.

Read more: Inside the ambush of two L.A. sheriff's deputies: Cold, calculating revenge

In Palmdale, another man was shot at a party early Saturday morning. Los Angeles County sheriffs officials said they were called to the 37000 block of 55th Street East to investigate a shooting death. According to City News Service, the shooting took place at a Halloween party.

The Santa Maria incident marked the second weekend in a row a shooting has occurred at a Halloween party there. According to the Santa Maria Times , police Friday arrested a 27-year-old man in connection with a shooting at a party Oct. 14 in which two men and one woman were injured.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Two kayakers were rescued from Ipswich Bay near Pavilion Beach on Sunday, police said.

At about 9:35 a.m., Ipswich Police and Fire crews were dispatched to Ipswich Bay for reports of one or two kayakers that had tipped over into the water at Clark Beach.

An Ipswich policer officer in the area of Clark Beach had also spotted at least one individual treading water.

Marine 1 was quickly launched into the river from the Town Wharf. First responders also alerted the U.S. Coast Guard Station on the Merrimack River in Newburyport.

When Marine 1 arrived to the Pavilion Beach area, first responders found one person inside their kayak and a male kayaker treading water holding on to both kayaks, police said.

First responders were able to safely pull the male kayaker out of the water and onto Marine 1, and then on to the Harbormasters boat to allow for a quicker transport to the shore. Crews alerted the Coast Guard that the kayakers were safely located.

Once on shore, the male kayaker was treated at the scene and evaluated by paramedics. The other kayaker safely paddled back to the shore.

Our departments worked seamlessly to quickly respond to make sure that both kayakers were rescued, Ipswich Police Chief Paul Nikas said in a statement. Community members are also reminded to dress appropriately for water temperatures and to wear wet suits when possible. In the case of an emergency, wearing appropriate gear can help maintain body temperatures when every minute matters.

Ipswich Fire Chief Paul Parisi advised in a statement that all local residents exercise extreme caution when on the water and that they are checking for warnings or advisories that may have been issued.

A Small Craft Advisory is currently in effect in the Ipswich Bay area until 8 p.m. Sunday.

During this time, conditions will be hazardous to small crafts. Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller vessels, should avoid navigating in hazardous conditions.

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

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

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There have been preliminary reports from Downing Street on Sunday (October 22) that British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's long-time personal phone number was compromised after audio of his answerphone message responding to social media pranksters was published.

According to revelations reported by The Sun, the breach was the latest in a series of cybersecurity issues plaguing Number 10 after former prime minister Boris Johnson was forced to change his mobile number while in office after a similar online scare.

The Guardian identified the pranksters of the Johnson phone breach as the popular gossip newsletter Popbitch.

Read Also: PH Defense Chief Orders Servicemen to Stop Using AI Apps

The Sun: Sunak's Breached Personal Number was Used While Chancellor

The Sun's report also verified that Sunak's compromised number was the same one he has used for many years, including his time as Chancellor under Johnson and his Conservative Party leadership election run last year in the wake of Liz Truss's short tenure. It was also reported that he was given a new separate number when he became prime minister.

However, the online video that surfaced on Sunday appeared to show that Sunak's number continued to be in operation.

It was previously reported that Sunak was unable to hand over some WhatsApp messages to the COVID inquiry sent to and from the number in question as he has not backed them up after changing phones several times.

Downing Street has declined reporters' requests for further comment.

This is a developing story. Please follow HNGN for more updates

Related Article: 'Superspreaders' of Israel-Hamas Propaganda on X Are Mostly With Blue Verified Badges: Research

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (WSAV)  Media mogul Tyler Perry has agreed to build a new home for a 93-year-old South Carolina woman who refuses to sell her familys land to developers.

Josephine Wright has faced a lengthy battle with the Bailey Point Investment Group, a Georgia-based firm that wants to construct a 147-unit neighborhood behind her home on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina.

She claims the company is trying to force her to sell her land by using harassment tactics and a frivolous lawsuit. Wright said the 1.8-acre parcel of land she owns has been in her family since just after the Civil War. Because of its rich history, Wright doesnt want to give it up.

She previously said that Bailey Point offered to buy her piece of land after the company got approval from the town to develop 29 acres behind her home. After she declined their offer, Wright said the developers started harassing her and eventually filed a lawsuit.

The company alleged in the suit that a corner of her screened-in porch, a shed and a satellite dish encroach on the construction project, the Associate Press reported in August.

Some celebrities have supported Wright throughout this ordeal, including Tyler Perry, who has stepped up to build her a five-bedroom house.

Nexstars WSAV spoke to her family on Tuesday, and they verified that they have been talking to Perry for a while now about the new house  which will be built on Wrights land and ultimately replace the current home she and her grandkids live in.

Perry came to Wrights defense back in June when he found out about her legal battle with the Bailey Point Investment Group. The actor-director posted a WSAV story on his Instagram with the following caption: Ive pretty much been a fighter all my life, said 93-year-old Josephine Wright. Well, that makes two of us. Ms. Wright, please tell [me] where to show up and what you need to help you fight.

His construction crew is expected to begin breaking ground on the home in the forthcoming weeks once all the permits are rectified.

This does not change anything with the lawsuit and property dispute as of now.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.
The Pentagon will be sending additional air defense missiles to the Middle East to protect U.S. troops in light of a spike in attacks on American military bases in the region during the Israel-Hamas war. American officials announced Saturday that they have also alerted the military to be at the ready in case of a sudden deployment to the Middle East, as Israel reportedly plans for a ground invasion of Gaza. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement that these steps will bolster regional deterrence efforts, increase force protection for U.S. forces in the region, and assist in the defense of Israel.

Read it at ABC News

Read more at The Daily Beast.
The HM Coastguard announced it is initiating a major search with helicopters and lifeboats after a crew member on a German AIDAperla cruise ship went overboard Sunday morning. AIDAperla cruises confirmed that a male cruise member is missing and that the captain and crew immediately initiated all necessary rescue measures in close coordination with the local authorities. The man went overboard somewhere near Ramsgate, Kent as the cruise ship headed from Hamburg, Germany to the Netherlands.

Read it at Sky News

Read more at The Daily Beast.
TAMPA, Fla. - The U.S. Marshals Service is asking for the public's help locating 49-year-old Pedro Argote, suspected of murdering a Maryland Circuit Court Judge.

On Oct.19, the Washington County Sheriff's Office responded to reports of a shooting in the 19100 block of Olde Waterford Road in Hagerstown, Maryland.

Upon arriving on the scene, deputies say they found one victim, a Maryland Circuit Court Judge who had sustained gunshot wounds.

READ: No arrests made two weeks after downtown St. Pete shooting leaves 7 injured

The victim was transported to a hospital, where he passed away, deputies said.

Deputies believe Argote is operating a silver 2009 Mercedes GL 450 bearing Maryland registration 4EH0408.

Argote has ties to multiple cities, including Brooklyn and Long Island, New York; Tampa and Clearwater, Florida; Columbus, Indiana; and unknown cities in North Carolina, deputies said.

He is considered "armed and dangerous."

READ :3 arrested in narcotics bust in Citrus County after SWAT search of Beverly Hills home

The U.S. Marshals Service is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for any information that leads to Argotes arrest.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the U.S. Marshals at 1-877-WANTED2 or submit tips via the USMS Tips App.
Ukrainian farmer Yakiv Marynchenko, 67, inspects the rubble of a destroyed grain storage on his farm, near the frontline town of Orikhiv, Zaporizhzhia region, southeastern Ukraine, on Sept. 14. Photo by Kateryna Klochko/EPA-EFE

Oct. 22 (UPI) -- A new United Nations report details evidence that Russia has committed war crimes in its invasion of Ukraine.

The report by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry dated Thursday alleges that Russia has committed the crimes of willful killing, torture, rape and other sexual violence, as well as deported children to the Russian Federation.

"The Commission's investigations confirmed its previous finding that Russian authorities have used torture in a widespread and systematic way in various types of detention facilities which they maintained," the report says.

"Interviews with victims and witnesses illustrated a profound disregard towards human dignity by Russian authorities in these circumstances."

The U.N. reported that there are documented cases of Russian soldiers bursting into homes in the villages they are occupying and raping women.

A handout picture made available by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine shows firefighters working in the aftermath of a rocket attack in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on Aug. 9, amid the Russian invasion. At least two people died and seven others were injured when a rocket hit a church, the State Emergency Service reported. File Photo courtesy of the State Emergency Service/EPA-EFE

It also notes that there are three cases of Ukrainian authorities committing human rights violations against people they accused of collaborating with Russia.

"The Commission is concerned at the gravity of the documented violations and crimes and their impact on victims, survivors, and the affected communities," the report says. "It calls upon the concerned conflict parties to halt war crimes and violations of human rights."

The focus of the investigation is on Kherson and Zaporizhzhia provinces. It asserts that Russian forces have transported unaccompanied Ukrainian children either from one area of Ukraine which they controlled to another, or to the Russian Federation on at least three occasions.

At least 31 children were transported from Ukraine to Russia in May 2022.

The commission recommends that Russia return the children and anyone who has been deported back to Ukraine.

Last month, a U.N. report accused Russian forces of "widespread and systematic" torture.
U.S. Reps. Jodey Arrington, R-Lubbock, and Roger Williams, R-Willow Park, both announced Sunday that they will not enter the crowded field to become the next U.S. House speaker. Credit: Shuran Huang for The Texas Tribune

WASHINGTON  U.S. Reps. Jodey Arrington and Roger Williams announced Sunday they will not run for speaker of the U.S. House, leaving only one Texan in the mix to lead Congress lower chamber.

After careful consideration and much prayer, I have decided not to run for Speaker at this time. There are several capable candidates who have stepped forward to run, and I plan to support whomever our Conference elects on Tuesday, Arrington, R-Lubbock, said in a statement.

Williams, R-Willow Park, released his own statement explaining his decision: After spending some time with my family in prayer, I have decided that now is not the right time for me to seek this important position. With my responsibilities as Chairman of the House Small Business Committee, serving Texas 25th Congressional District, running a business back home, and most importantly, to my family in these challenging times, it is important I give all I have to the jobs at hand.

Arrington and Williams had expressed interest in the job Friday after U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, a deeply conservative Ohioan who co-founded the House Freedom Caucus, dropped out of the race. The two Texans said they would consult with their families before deciding whether to launch a formal bid for the job.

U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Waco, formally announced he was running for the job Friday afternoon and is still in the race. All three Texans had previously backed Jordans bid for speaker.

Arrington chairs the House Budget Committee and was an important lieutenant for former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy  who was removed as speaker more than two weeks ago after eight far-right Republicans voted with Democrats for his ouster  and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, whose own candidacy for speaker quickly ended when he determined he didnt have enough support from fellow Republicans to win a majority of the vote.

Williams has been in the House for more than 10 years and was previously Texas secretary of State.

Sessions was chair of the House Rules Committee, which works closely with the speaker to decide how legislation gets treated on the floor, from 2013 to 2019 and led the National Republican Congressional Committee from 2009 to 2013. The NRCC is the partys House campaign arm.

Without a speaker, legislation cannot move and the clock is ticking with the government set to shut down in less than a month unless appropriations bills pass.

Jordans withdrawal from the race on Friday, after he fell short of the necessary 217 votes in three tries, left the party without an immediately obvious alternative. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, who also once led the NRCC, is the highest ranking Republican running and has McCarthys endorsement.

Members had until noon Eastern time on Sunday to formally declare their candidacies. Nine candidates are currently in the running, Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik announced Sunday.

Candidates will make their pitches to their party in a closed-door meeting Monday evening. The House Republican conference will vote on their nominee for speaker Tuesday morning. A full House vote for speaker has not yet been scheduled.
Palestinians search for casualties at the site of an Israeli strike on a house in Khan Younis

By Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. will send a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system and additional Patriot air defense missile system battalions to the Middle East, the Pentagon said on Saturday, in response to recent attacks on U.S. troops in the region.

The United States has sent a significant amount of naval power to the Middle East in recent weeks, including two aircraft carriers, their support ships and about 2,000 Marines.

Washington is on heightened alert for activity by Iran-backed groups as regional tensions soar during the Israel-Hamas war.

"Following detailed discussions with President (Joe) Biden on recent escalations by Iran and its proxy forces across the Middle East Region, today I directed a series of additional steps to further strengthen the Department of Defense posture in the region," Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement.

Austin said he was placing additional troops on prepare-to-deploy orders, but did not say how many. The Pentagon has already placed some 2,000 troops on a heightened state of readiness in case they need to deploy to the region.

"These steps will bolster regional deterrence efforts, increase force protection for U.S. forces in the region, and assist in the defense of Israel," Austin added.

The deployments come two years after Biden's administration withdrew air defense systems from the Middle East, citing a reduction in tensions with Iran.

The Patriot, considered one of the most advanced U.S. air defense systems, is usually in short supply, with allies around the world vying for it.

The THAAD system has a powerful radar. U.S. deployment of the system to South Korea in 2016 angered China, which believed it could peer into its airspace.

There has been a spike in attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria since the conflict between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza broke out. Last week, a U.S. warship shot down more than a dozen drones and four cruise missiles fired by Iranian-backed Houthis from Yemen.

Israel started its "total siege" of Gaza after an Oct. 7 cross-border attack on southern Israel by militants of the Islamist movement killed 1,400 people, mainly civilians, in a shock rampage that has traumatized Israel.

Gaza's Health Ministry said on Saturday that Israel's air and missile strikes had killed at least 4,385 Palestinians, including hundreds of children, with more than a million of the tiny territory's 2.3 million people displaced.

(Reporting by Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart; Editing by William Mallard)
The Tarrant County Central Labor Council held a cookout on Saturday for United Auto Workers on strike as other labor unions showed up to show their solidarity.

"All of us are supporting the labor movement for one reason only. We intend to win," said Gene Lantz, the president of the Dallas AFL-CIO.

Lantz says while UAW strikes for better wages, families are getting caught in the middle.

"All the families are going to be impacted by this because the only way people ever got up by starvation wages was by organizing and fighting back," he said.

In a Facebook Live video on Friday the United Auto Workers opted not to call for additional plants to strike.

GM, Ford, and Stellantis are offering a record 23% pay increase over four years and better benefits. However, the UAW wants to bargain for more.

"Its about fair pay, cost of living raises. To bring out two tiers to the same level of pay that the senior employees get," said Stacey Scott, the President of UAW Local 2360.

Scott says the union is also fighting for better benefits retirees.

She says getting strike pay of $500 a week is a struggle for workers who are providing for their families.

"Its a struggle for everyone especially families. Going from what we normally make to this is really a detriment and you know a lot of times were not prepared," said Scott.

Scott says events like the cookout help remind workers the community is out supporting them as they strike for better futures.

She's been with the union for nearly 40 years and it is even more of a struggle now to pays bills and still support the strike, which is now in its sixth week.

"The economy is horrible. The food prices, gas prices you know just living. Purchasing homes or whatever, its changed from 2007," said Scott.

23 percent of the union's 146,000 members have joined the strike, including workers at parts facilities in Carrollton and Roanoke.

The Arlington GM Assembly plant workers remain on the job.

More on the UAW Strike

A study from Anderson Economic Group estimates that the strike has cost the industry $7.7 billion in the first four weeks.

"Weve dedicated our lives to these companies, and we just want that in return," said Melissa King, the strike coordinator for Local 2360.

King, who works with Stellantis, says she and her husband's taxes and insurance have gone up.

"The car insurance is up. Prices of everything is up. So both of us together making strike pay. It is so, it hardens you a little bit," said King.

The UAW says they are committed to continuing to strike until their demands are met to provide for themselves and their families.
Academic workers at the University of California voted to unite their two branches of the United Auto Workers into one local, consolidating to increase their negotiating power, according to a news release they issued Saturday.

UAW Local 5810 has represented 6,000 postdoctoral scholars and 5,000 academic researchers across all UC campuses, while UAW Local 2865 has negotiated on behalf of 19,000 graduate workers and 17,000 student workers.

Last year, though, both locals decided to launch a joint strike that crippled the UC system for six weeks and ended with a historic labor agreement securing among the highest-ever pay raises in US academia.

In last years strike, we won many shared demands, including childcare subsidies, universal public transit, and the right to a respectful work environment, said Neal Sweeney, president of UAW Local 5810. Theres no reason we shouldnt stand shoulder to shoulder every time we go to the bargaining table.

The vote to amalgamate passed with 10,574 members in favor and 810 opposed, union leaders said. Asked why only 25% of members voted, union officials said that this referendum actually got significantly better turnout than the UAW runoff for international president in which Shawn Fain unseated incumbent Ray Curry.

Before the union can officially get off the ground, said Rafael Jaime, president of UAW Local 2865, the UAWs international executive board must approve the referendum. Then, he said, the new local can establish bylaws and start operating.

The next round of contract negotiations begin in 2025, Sweeney said.

Amalgamating will help us to win even stronger contracts, provide better member support, and allow us to speak in one strong voice on the issues we care about, Jaime said. We are hopeful that they (the executive board) will respect the will of our members.
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The Church of England's spiritual head said on Sunday he had "no idea" how many people died in a blast last week at an Anglican hospital in the Gaza Strip, and that assuming Israeli culpability could be tantamount to antisemitic libel.

The Oct. 17 explosion at Al Ahli hospital has been among the most hotly disputed events of the Gaza war now in its third week.

The governing Palestinian Islamist group Hamas accused Israel of carrying out an air strike on the hospital. Israel denied that, saying the blast was caused by a Palestinian rocket falling short after being launched at Israel. The Israeli account has been supported by U.S., French and Canadian analyses.

The Gaza health ministry has put the hospital death toll at 471. An Israeli official said it appeared to be "several dozen". A U.S. intelligence report estimated the number of those killed to be "probably at the low end of the 100 to 300 spectrum".

Asked during a visit to Jerusalem if he could corroborate a figure for the fatalities, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby told reporters: "I have no idea about how many civilians there were. I've heard so many numbers."

"What I have said to people, publicly, is: 'Don't assume it's Israel. You have no proof that it's Israel. Many people have made a clear case it's not. At the very best, do not start propagating another blood libel,'" he said.

"Blood libel" is a term that has historically been used for false accusations of atrocities committed by Jews that sometimes stoked violent antisemitism and were used to set off pogroms.

(Writing by Dan Williams; Editing by Nick Macfie)
After receiving widespread criticism for comments he made in which he accused Israel of war crimes and breaking international law, the CEO of a major technology conference resigned from his position.

Web Summit co-founder Paddy Cosgrave resigned on Saturday, October 21, after receiving backlash from the event's sponsors and participants over his controversial remarks. He acknowledged that sharing his opinions had taken attention away from the situation and expressed regret for any offense he may have caused, according to Fortune.

Web Summit CEO on Israel-Hamas Conflict

Irish entrepreneur and founder of Web Summit, Cosgrave, recently used X (formerly Twitter) to express his thoughts on Israel's ongoing bombing push in Gaza. The bombings reportedly killed over 4,400 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and destroyed much of the territory's infrastructure.

"I'm shocked at the rhetoric and actions of so many Western leaders & governments, with the exception in particular of Ireland's government, who for once are doing the right thing. War crimes are war crimes even when committed by allies, and should be called out for what they are," Cosgrave wrote in a post on October 13.

Three days later, Cosgrave posted another tweet to also criticize Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7. He called it "outrageous and disgusting" and "an act of monstrous evil."

He added, "Israel has a right to defend itself, but it does not, as I have already stated, have a right to break international law."

Im shocked at the rhetoric and actions of so many Western leaders & governments, with the exception in particular of Irelands government, who for once are doing the right thing. War crimes are war crimes even when committed by allies, and should be called out for what they are.  Paddy Cosgrave (@paddycosgrave) October 13, 2023

Cosgrave subsequently issued an apology on the Web Summit blog on October 17 and reposted it on his X account. He stated that Israel, even in self-defense, should not violate international law or the Geneva Conventions.

This view is universal and is valid for every nation in any conflict, he said. Even if a nation suffers atrocities, it has no right to violate these norms.

A number of prominent attendees and sponsors, including Meta and Google, declared they would not be attending the event despite a flurry of follow-up posts.

Web Summit has informed the AP News that it intends to hire a new CEO before its next November event.

See Also: Israeli Airstrike Hits West Bank Mosque, Believed It Was Hamas Hideout

Viewpoints That Draw Criticism

Many students and professionals, including Cosgrave, have recently experienced backlash as a result of their public stances on the Israel-Hamas conflict.

More than a dozen corporate leaders have said in recent weeks that they would not do business with any Harvard students affiliated with organizations that signed a letter blaming Israel for the current outbreak of violence.

Though several journalists have lost their jobs after making online comments supporting the Palestinian cause or condemning Israel, others have been disciplined for similar reasons, according to Aljazeera.

Advocates for human rights also claim that many businesses' responses have downplayed the situation in Gaza and made it unsafe for employees to show solidarity with the Palestinians.

See Also: 'Jihad' Chants in London Pro-Palestine Rally Incite 'Violence,' UK Immigration Minister Says

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Total loss of Russian military, including wounded who may return to battle, ranges from 240,000 to 290,000

The total number of Russian military casualties, including wounded who may return to the front after recovery, ranges from 240,000 to 290,000, according to an intelligence report released by the UK Ministry of Defense on Oct. 22.

The recent attacks by the Russian army on Avdiyivka have led to a 90% increase in daily losses of the Russian occupation forces, UK intel reports, citing the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

Intelligence officials note that Russia has increased its military presence on the territory of Ukraine by intensifying recruitment and through the partial mobilization that it conducted last fall.

Read also: Almost 800 Russian invaders neutralized in a single day  General Staff

UK intelligence believes that this is the main factor affecting the ability of the Russian military to wage war against Ukraine.

According to the report, Russia has lost between 150,000 and 190,000 military personnel killed and wounded since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. At the same time, taking into account the wounded who have returned to the front, this figure ranges from 240,000 to 290,000 soldiers.

UK intelligence added that these figures do not include mercenaries of the Wagner PMC.

Read also: Nearly 1400 Russian troops, 55 tanks eliminated over past 24 hours

On Oct. 22, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that 980 Russian troops had been eliminated in Ukraine over the past day. According to the General Staff, Russian losses since the start of the full-scale invasion have exceeded 293,000 soldiers.

In his video address on Oct. 20, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukrainian soldiers continue to hold the line, and the losses of the Russian military in recent days are "impressive."

Earlier, Russian outlet iStories, together with Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT), published a study on losses among mobilized Russians in Ukraine.

The article states that during the year of "partial mobilization" in Russia, thousands of Russians have been killed in the war waged against Ukraine.

Almost one in five mobilized Russian soldiers lived less than two months after being called up.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Up to 190,000 Russian troops have likely been killed or "permanently wounded" in Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, according to a recent intelligence update by the U.K. Defense Ministry.

The total number of Russias casualties  including those who are recovering and are due to return to the battlefield  is up to 290,000 troops, the ministry said.

"This does not include Wagner Group or their prisoner battalions who fought in Bakhmut," the ministry added.

The General Staff of Ukraines Armed Forces reported on Oct. 22 that Russia had lost 293,830 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022.

This number includes 980 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.

The U.K. Defense Ministry said Russias recent assault in Donetsk Oblasts Avdiivka has contributed to a "90% increase" in the casualties among the Russian troops, recently recorded by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry.

Russian troops intensified their attacks at Avdiivka  a heavily fortified Ukrainian-held town a few kilometers north of occupied Donetsk  around Oct. 9, in an effort to encircle the settlement. The renewed offensive is accompanied by heavy shelling of civilian areas.

The battle to defend Avdiivka is fierce as Russian forces keep bringing new resources into the fight, Anton Kotsukon, the 110th Separate Mechanized brigade's spokesperson, said on Oct. 21.

The U.K. Defense Ministry also said that since last February, Russia has "significantly increased its force footprint on the ground in Ukraine by intensifying recruitment using financial incentives and the partial mobilization conducted in autumn 2022."

"This increase of personnel is the major factor behind Russias ability to both defend held territory and conduct costly assaults," the ministry said.

Read also: Military: Russian forces use new tactics, remote-controlled vehicles in Avdiivka

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Ukrainian specialists in the energy, water, transport, and academic sectors will undergo a training program with the British Army Royal Engineers to protect critical infrastructure from Russian attacks this winter, the U.K. Ministry of Defense said on Oct. 22.



The program will last two weeks and comes after Ukraine requested further protection of its energy infrastructure.



Ukraine is preparing for heavy attacks on its national infrastructure facilities after Russian strikes last fall and winter resulted in rolling blackouts across the country leaving many without power.



This tailored package of training will help save lives during the bitterly cold winter months, where access to reliable energy is of vital importance, said U.K. Defense Secretary Grant Shapps.



The program will allow Ukrainian professionals from across different sectors to share knowledge thus bolstering the resilience of the national infrastructure network, the Ministry noted.



Specialists will be able to identify vulnerable points, the impact of different weapons and potential blast ranges, and better understand where to place physical and aerial protection.



Shapps announced a 100 million ($121 million) package under the International Fund for Ukraine (IFU) on Oct. 11., which includes heavy-duty plant vehicles to help defend Ukraines critical infrastructure.



The U.S. allocated $522 million to purchase energy equipment for Ukraine and protect the countrys electricity infrastructure, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Oct. 16.



According to Shmyhal, Ukraine is almost 100% ready for the heating season. All nine units of Ukrainian nuclear power plants will be in operation during the fall-winter period.



On Oct. 8, the Ukrainian Air Force warned that Russia would likely launch a record number of drones against Ukraine as it seeks to destroy the country's energy infrastructure.

Read also: With winter approaching, is Ukraines energy system ready for renewed Russian attacks?

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
British Army Royal Engineer specialists have developed a training programme for Ukrainian civilian engineers to protect the energy sector from Russian attacks this winter.

Source: UK Ministry of Defence on 22 October, European Pravda writes.

Details: The two-week training programme was developed and conducted at the request of Ukraine to further improve the protection of its energy sector.

Ukrainian engineers were taught how to identify the most vulnerable infrastructure elements, potential blast distances and effects of various weapons and explosives, as well as where to best place physical and air barriers to help protect these places from Russian attacks.

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said the training is necessary to protect Ukrainian civilians as winter approaches.

Quote: "It is essential that Ukraine receives the support it urgently needs throughout the winter, as its civilian population faces mortal danger on a daily basis from Putins forces and their indiscriminate campaign of bombardment against its critical infrastructure," the minister commented.

The Royal Engineers recruited specialist reservists working in the UK's critical national infrastructure sector and used their professional experience to train at a UK gas plant, military airfield and a port facility.

The course was based on several real-life scenarios to provide Ukrainian participants with the opportunity to practise developing plans and implementing practical solutions to ensure the most effective protection of critical national infrastructure facilities.

Reminder: The EU believes that Ukraine may face new power outages this winter against the background of continuous Russian missile and drone attacks, which have made its energy system more vulnerable than a year ago.

The European Commission has already provided more than 50 million euros to the Energy Support Fund of Ukraine, created to support the Ukrainian energy system.

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Smoke in the sky as Russia attacks

The Ukrainian military destroyed a Kh-59 cruise missile and three Shahed drones during an overnight Russian attack on Ukraine on Oct. 21-22.

The Ukrainian Air Force reported that at night the Russian military attacked Ukraine with attack UAVs, cruise missiles, guided air bombs, and anti-aircraft missiles.

Eight S-300 missile launches were recorded from Belgorod Oblast and the temporarily occupied parts of Donetsk Oblast, the air force said.

The enemy also fired a Kh-59 cruise missile from a Su-34 aircraft from the airspace of the temporarily occupied part of Zaporizhzhya Oblast.

Read also: Russia strikes Kryvyi Rih with missiles and drones, causing casualties and damage

In addition, the aggressor state launched two unidentified UAVs from the north and three Shahed-136/131 attack UAVs from the area of Cape Chauda in Ukraines Russian-occupied Crimea.

According to the air force, three Russian Lancet attack UAVs were also destroyed in the south of the country over the past day.

Earlier, the Ukrainian militarys General Staff reported that Russian invasion forces had launched another missile and air strike on Ukraine, using an Kh-59 guided missile, S-300 anti-aircraft guided missiles, and three Shahed-136/131 attack UAVs.

Read also: Russia employs novel combined assault strategy in overnight barrage

Late on the night of Oct. 21, Russians targeted Kharkiv Oblast, hitting a Nova Poshta terminal. The wreckage of a S-300 missile was found at the site of the attack. Six people were killed, and 16 people have been reported injured. All of them were employees of the company who were inside the terminal at the time of the missile strike.

Overnight on Oct. 21-22, an air raid alert was declared in Kyiv Oblast and a number of other regions.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Ukrainian anti-aircraft weapons shot down five Su-25 war planes.

US-supplied ATACMS destroyed 14 helicopters on the ground, said UK military intelligence.

The scale of Russia's losses is unprecedented since the first days of invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine spectacularly humiliated Putin's airforce in October, shooting down Russian warplanes and destroying helicopters on the ground, say reports.

Ukraine has been bolstering its air defense capabilities in recent months, and it shot down five Russian Su-25 attack jets over a 10 day period, The Kyiv Post reported.

The incidents have mainly occurred in areas of heavy ground combat, as the Su-25 relies on short-range, unguided rockets to attack its targets, typically following preliminary strikes by heavy bombers. It is a robust Soviet-era jet designed to withstand some missile strikes and small-arms fire, making it a crucial aircraft, experts say.

"They can't attack from a substantial distance. Therefore, the enemy has to fly closer, and as a result, we've shot down five planes over the past ten days," Oleksandr Shtupun, a spokesperson for Ukraine's southern group of forces, told the UNIAN news agency.

That scale of combat aircraft losses has not been seen since the early days of Putin's full-scale invasion.

The Ukrainian military has traditionally relied on hand-held anti-aircraft missiles like the Polish Grom and the US Stinger to defend their forward positions against Su-25 attacks. However, reports suggest that anti-aircraft missile stocks, especially the Stingers, have dwindled.

Ukraine sought assistance from the US to replenish its air defense arsenal, and AIM-9s were on the list.

A new delivery of US military aid for Ukraine "includes AIM-9 munitions for a new air-defense system that we will soon deliver to Ukraine," US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said recently. It comes part of a military assistance package valued at $200 million.

Canada also announced it was donating 43 AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles to Ukraine in May.

According to the US Air Force, the AIM-9 Sidewinder "is a supersonic, heat-seeking, air-to-air missile carried by fighter aircraft," and "it has a high-explosive warhead and an infrared heat-seeking guidance system."

Meanwhile, the UK has also supplied advanced AIM-132 ASRAAM air-to-air missiles, which Ukraine has fitted to trucks.

 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) August 4, 2023

Ukraine's recently acquired ATACMS missile systems have also boosted its capability to attack the Russian air force. This week, the much-prized weapon was first used in spectacular strikes on two Russian airfields in Berdyansk and Luhansk, Ukraine claimed.

The UK's Ministry of Defence said in a Friday intelligence update that it was "likely" nine helicopters were destroyed at Berdyansk, with five more taken out in Luhansk.

The US delivered a limited number of the long-range ballistic missiles to support the war-torn nation's defense efforts. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed this development in an address this week, where he thanked the US for its continued military support.

Zelenskyy said the missiles had already been used on the battlefield and were executed "very accurately," per The AP.

Read the original article on Business Insider
The war in Ukraine is the first armed conflict to see such extensive use of drones

Drones have had a profound effect on the war in Ukraine, used in great quantities by both sides. China's move to place restrictions on exports, however, has led to concerns that there could be a problem with supplies.

Many of them are commercially made in China and bought off the shelf, and new supplies are vital because of the large numbers lost in the fighting.

But there are indications of a reduction in the number of Chinese drones and parts available to both Ukraine and Russia.

According to the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi), a London-based think tank, Ukraine is losing about 10,000 drones a month.

Numerous volunteer groups have been instrumental in using donated funds to help the Ukrainian army restock its supplies.

Commercial drones are used alongside purpose-made military designs, such as Turkish Bayraktar drones used by Ukraine and Iranian Shaheds used by Russia.

The latest restrictions imposed by the Chinese government came into force on 1 September. They apply to longer-range drones weighing more than 4kg, as well as drone-related equipment such as some cameras and radio modules.

Chinese producers of such equipment are now required to apply for export licences and provide end-user certificates, and the government in Beijing - which has not condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine - says commercial Chinese drones must not be used for military purposes.

Ukrainian volunteers and soldiers say the latest Chinese restrictions have so far had minimal impact on the availability of drones, especially the ubiquitous lightweight Mavics made by the Chinese company DJI.

Ukraine has been relying on DJI Mavic drones for its defence against Russia's invasion

However, they say that the supply of parts has been affected, and they also fear that the situation may worsen in the future.

"The only change for now is that we're more actively buying whatever stock is left in European warehouses," says Lyuba Shypovych, who heads Dignitas, one of the largest Ukrainian volunteer groups supplying the military with drones. "But what we'll be doing in the future is unclear."

She is particularly worried about the availability of parts such as thermal imaging cameras.

"Because days are getting shorter and nights longer, this is definitely having an impact on supplies for our military and on how warfare is conducted in general because we don't have as many thermal imaging drones. Our units are turning blind at night," she says. "This affects both off-the-shelf drones with thermal imaging cameras and parts."

The availability of parts is particularly important for those who assemble their own drones or improve purchased models.

"The impact is being felt. The licences required by China now have limited Ukraine's access to drone parts," says a senior drone operator from the Kastus Kalinouski regiment who uses the callsign Oddr. "But we're looking for alternatives to make sure our drones work as they did before."

This is just the latest hurdle facing volunteers procuring drones for both the Russian and Ukrainian armies.

Some volunteers say the Chinese restrictions may stimulate the production of drone parts back in Ukraine

The world's largest commercial drone-maker, DJI, halted direct sales to both countries two months after the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022. It also banned its distributors across the globe from selling DJI products to customers in Russia or Ukraine.

According to Ms Shypovych, the number of Chinese drones made available to distributors in Europe fell sharply between August and September 2022.

"It's unlikely that it happened by chance. European countries are where Ukrainians import drones from," she says.

When contacted by the BBC, DJI could not confirm or deny any changes in the number of drones available to distributors in Europe.

None of the 10 companies selling DJI products in the UK and approached by the BBC were available to comment on the issue either.

An investigation by The New York Times found that Chinese companies have in recent months cut back sales of drones and components to Ukrainians.

But it is not just Ukraine that is affected.

Referring to the curbs that came into force on 1 September, Russian newspaper Kommersant, said: "The restrictions imposed by the Chinese authorities on drone exports have seriously complicated their supplies to Russia and led to a shortage of some parts, such as thermal imaging cameras."

In the absence of direct supplies, buyers from Russia often shop for Chinese drones in countries like Kazakhstan, and, according to Kommersant, the Central Asian state has further complicated things for them by tightening its own drone import regulations.

To minimise the impact of the Chinese restrictions, Ukrainian volunteers have been busy looking for alternatives made in other countries - both in the West and Ukraine itself.

Anatoly Polkovnikov, who helps procure drones, says that a Ukrainian start-up is preparing to launch the production of drone motors.

He says he is optimistic about the future: "I don't think these Chinese restrictions will have any impact on the general situation. I have the feeling that long-term they will stimulate production in Ukraine."

The war in Ukraine is the first armed conflict in which drones have been used so extensively and in such great numbers, and both of the warring sides are determined to keep it that way.
Key developments on Oct. 22:

Prosecutors report 6 killed, 17 injured in Russias Oct. 21 missile attack on postal depot in Kharkiv Oblast

UK Defense Ministry: Russian troops have likely suffered up to 190,000 killed or permanently wounded in Ukraine

Ukrainian pilots undergoing training nearly ready to fly F-16s

Air Force: Ukraine downs 3 Russian drones, 1 cruise missile overnight

A Russian missile struck a postal depot in the village of Korotych in Kharkiv Oblast late on Oct. 21, killing at least six civilian workers and injuring 17, the regional prosecutors office reported on Oct. 22.

The law enforcement agency retrieved fragments of an S-300 anti-aircraft missile in the depot of the privately-owned postal service Nova Poshta, according to the report.

The S-300 is a Soviet missile system designed for air defense. Russian forces have been using the repurposed missiles to strike ground targets in Ukraine.

All of those killed were postal employees, Serhii Bolvinov, the regional polices chief investigator, said in a Facebook post on Oct. 22.

"One of the bodies was severely burnt. The identity has been preliminarily established, but we will conduct a DNA test to confirm," he said.

The regional prosecutors office also said that 16 of those injured, all men aged between 19 and 43, were hospitalized, and one other received medical care on site.

Korotych sits just 16 kilometers west of Kharkiv, 33 kilometers away from the Russian border, and some 135 kilometers from the front lines.

Kharkiv Oblast Deputy Governor Ievhen Ivanov told national television that the missile struck the postal depot less than 30 seconds after being launched from Russia.

Following the attack, the Prosecutors Office launched an investigation into the violation of laws and customs of war.

Due to its proximity to Russia and the front line, Kharkiv Oblast remains a frequent target of Russian strikes.

Read also: Every family affected: Devastated village copes with aftermath of Russian strike on funeral

More Russian attacks

Russian forces launched 10 missile strikes, 36 airstrikes, and 35 artillery barrages against Ukrainian forces and settlements throughout the past day, the General Staff of Ukraines Armed Forces said in its evening update on Oct. 22.

In a series of attacks overnight, Russian forces used three Shahed kamikaze drones, three Lancet drones, two unidentified drones, one guided Kh-59 cruise missile, and eight S-300 missiles from Russia and occupied Ukrainian regions, the Air Force reported in the morning of Oct. 22.

Air defenses shot down three Shahed loitering munitions launched from Chauda in occupied Crimea, and a Kh-59 missile that a Russian Su-34 aircraft fired from the occupied part of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, the Air Force said.

The Air Force report neither specified where the targets were shot down, nor the sites struck.

The General Staff also said that Russian forces struck a civilian site in Kostiantynivka in Donetsk Oblast.

In Kharkiv Oblast, Russian forces shelled the town of Kupiansk at around 7 a.m. on Oct. 22, hitting residential buildings and injuring three people, including two teenagers aged 15 and 17, Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported.

The two people injured, which includes a 15-year-old girl, are in critical condition.

In Kherson Oblast, Russian troops attacked the village of Stanislav overnight on Oct. 22, damaging over 30 houses, a power line, and a gas pipeline, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported.

The attack also damaged a school, grocery stores, a church, and a utility company.

Russian troops also struck an area near the city of Kherson with four guided bombs, Prokudin reported, without providing other details.

Russia's KAB smart bombs, ranging from KAB-250 and KAB-500 to KAB-1500, can be laser-guided or satellite-guided. The KAB-500L, equipped with a high-explosive warhead, is frequently used by Russia in its war against Ukraine, although multiple types of KAB bombs have been used.

No casualties were reported in the Kherson Oblasts attacks.

Russia also attacked four settlements in Donetsk Oblast, killing two civilians and injuring three others, the Prosecutor General's Office reported on Oct. 22.

Read also: How Russias liberal tech companies became the foundation of Putins war effort

Russian casualties

Up to 190,000 Russian troops have likely been killed or "permanently wounded" in Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion in late February last year, the U.K. Defense Ministry said in its intelligence update on Oct. 22.

The total number of Russias casualties  including those who are recovering and are due to return to the battlefield  is up to 290,000 troops, the ministry said.

The number does not include the Wagner Group or their inmate units who fought in Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast, according to the report.

Moscow doesnt disclose its casualties during Russias war against Ukraine.

However, the General Staff of Ukraines Armed Forces reported on Oct. 22 that Russia has lost 293,830 troops since Feb. 24, 2022.

The U.K. Defense Ministry said Russias recent assault in Donetsk Oblasts Avdiivka has contributed to a "90% increase" in casualties among the Russian troops, recently recorded by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry.

Russian troops intensified their attacks at Avdiivka  a heavily fortified Ukrainian-held town a few kilometers north of occupied Donetsk  around Oct. 9 in an attempt to encircle the settlement. The renewed offensive is accompanied by heavy shelling of civilian areas.

Ukrainian forces repelled around 20 Russian attacks in the Avdiivka sector, totaling 82 combats between Ukrainian and Russian troops on the front lines over the past day, the General Staff reported on Oct. 22.

Russia has been trying to capture Avdiivka since 2014.

Ukrainian pilots undergoing training nearly ready to fly F-16s

The first group of Ukrainian pilots are almost ready to move from F-16 flight simulators to combat planes, Air Force spokesman Yurii Ihnat told national television on Oct. 22.

"We expect that the first group of F-16 pilots, who are already training on flight simulators today, will transfer to the cockpit of a training and combat aircraft in the near future, Ihnat said.

Instructors will initially accompany the pilots before they embark on their own independent flights.

The first flights with instructors could begin in a few weeks, Ihnat said on Oct. 12.

Ukrainians will train on real F-16s at centers in Romania and the U.S. but are unlikely to use the aircraft on the battlefield before next spring, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Oct. 11.

The Netherlands and Denmark are leading the allied efforts to provide Ukraine with the fourth-generation American jets.

Amsterdam pledged to deliver a dozen F-16 jets to the training center in Romania.

Denmark pledged to provide 19 F-16 fighter jets, the Netherlands promised 42, and Norway has pledged up to 10.

Belgium announced it would deliver jets from 2025, but has not disclosed how many.

Read also: Biden all in on aid to Ukraine, yet House remains an issue

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The budget request submitted by the White House to the US Congress on Friday includes about US$61.4 billion for Ukraine, of which US$46.1 billion is for defence spending and US$11.8 billion is for direct budget support.

Source: Oksana Markarova, Ukraine's Ambassador to the United States, reported by European Pravda

Details: Markarova stressed that in American budget law, the request is the administration's view of the budget, and the numbers should be analysed when this view is turned into a budget document within Congress.

The request includes US$105 billion, of which, as Markarova said, more than US$60 billion is for Ukraine or related to Ukraine.

At the same time, she explained that the main figures of the request are as follows:

Defence spending: US$46.1 billion, of which US$30.6 billion is provided for programmes for the US Department of Defense.

US$18 billion for replenishment of defence supplies from the US Department of Defense stockpile, reimbursement for defence services and military education and training provided to the Ukrainian government

US$12 billion for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative

US$1.7 billion for the US Department of State's Foreign Military Financing programme for Ukraine and other US partners affected by the war in Ukraine

US$14.4 billion for technical and intelligence support, increased arms production, cyber security, etc.

US$14.75 billion for economic, financial, civilian and nuclear security including US$11.8 billion for direct budget support to Ukraine

US$2.2 billion to support urgent recovery and programming needs in Ukraine and other conflict-affected countries in the region

US$360 million to the Department of State to support the Ukrainian government in restoring and maintaining the rule of law, with a focus on recently liberated and war-affected areas

US$100 million for the US Department of State for non-proliferation, counterterrorism, demining and related programmes

Assistance in nuclear safety  US$149.5 million to the US National Nuclear Security Administration (US Department of Energy)

Humanitarian aid includes US$481 million for programmes to support Ukrainians arriving in the United States under the Uniting for Ukraine programme

In addition, it is proposed that Ukraine be allocated a significant portion of the funding provided for humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, Israel, and the affected regions (the breakdown by country has not yet been finalised): US$3.5 billion to provide humanitarian aid through US State Department programmes to Ukraine and Israel, as well as to regions affected by the situation in Israel and the war in Ukraine

US$5.7 billion to fund USAID programmes to address the growing humanitarian needs caused by Russia's war in Ukraine, the outbreak of the conflict in Gaza, and the cascading regional and global impact of these crises.

Markarova highlighted that this proposal could be brought for consideration in the US House of Representatives and voting can only take place after the issue of electing a Speaker is resolved.

Background: On Friday, 20 October, the White House requested nearly US$105 billion from the US Congress to fund assistance to Ukraine, Israel and US border security.

On 19 October, Joe Biden addressed the nation in a special prime-time speech at 20:00 Washington time, explaining why support for Ukraine and Israel is important to US national security.

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The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), citing Ukrainian military observer Kostiantyn Mashovets, has said that Ukrainian forces are pushing Russian forces from Robotynes western outskirts (10 km south of Orikhiv).

Source: ISW

Details: Ukrainian troops continued their counteroffensive operations near Bakhmut and west of Zaporizhzhia Oblast on 21 October. The General Staff of Ukraine reported that Ukrainian troops had continued offensive operations on the Melitopol (west of Zaporizhzhia Oblast) and Bakhmut fronts.

Russian military bloggers also claimed that Ukrainian troops had continued their offensive on the Robotyne-Kopani and Robotyne-Novoprokopivka lines.

A well-known Russian military blogger claimed that Ukrainian forces have advanced west of Novofedorivka (21km southeast of Orikhiv) and are six kilometres away from the settlement.

Mashovets also said that the elements of the Russian 247th Airborne (VDV) Regiment (7th VDV Division) retreated several hundred metres towards Novofedorivka.

The Russian Defence Ministry said that Russian troops repelled three Ukrainian attacks near Verbove (10 km east of Robotyne).

Another well-known Russian military blogger claimed that Ukrainian forces conducted mechanised assaults along the Robotyne-Novoprokopivka line (up to 2 km south of Robotyne) with the help of up to 10 tanks and armoured combat vehicles.

Russian troops carried out ground attacks in the west of Zaporizhzhia Oblast on 21 October, but did not make a single confirmed offensive. The General Staff of Ukraine reported that Russian troops unsuccessfully attacked near Robotyne.

On 21 October, Mashovets said that Russian troops had counterattacked west of Verbove and advanced 200 metres in the neighbouring forest zone. Mashovets added that units of the Russian 108th VDV Regiment (7th VDV Division) were advancing near Novopokrovka (16 km southeast of Orikhiv) towards Mala Tokmachka (9 km southeast of Orikhiv).

Russian sources claimed that fighting continues along the Robotyne-Kopani line (up to 5 km northwest of Robotyne). Mashovets suggested that the Russian 104th VDV Regiment (76th VDV Division) might be too depleted to prevent the advance of Ukrainians towards Novoprokopivka.

To quote ISWs Takeaways for 21 October:

In the past several days, Ukrainian forces have likely repelled another intensified Russian offensive effort towards Avdiivka and inflicted further heavy personnel and equipment losses on Russian troops in the area.

Russian forces are struggling to interdict Ukrainian efforts to supply and reinforce newly captured positions on the east (left) bank of Kherson Oblast.

Ukrainian forces continued counteroffensive operations near Bakhmut and in western Zaporizhzhia Oblast on 21 October.

Russian forces may be diversifying the mix of missiles, guided bombs, and drones used in strikes on Ukrainian rear areas, likely in an attempt to find gaps in Ukrainian air defences ahead of further strikes over the winter.

Yevgeny Stupin, disgraced Moscow City Duma Deputy, formally requested on 20 October that the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) investigate Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin for "divulging state secrets."

Russian forces continued offensive operations along the Kupiansk-Svatove-Kreminna line, near Bakhmut, near Avdiivka, southwest of Donetsk City, in the Donetsk-Zaporizhzhia Oblast border area, and in western Zaporizhzhia Oblast and advanced in various sectors of the front.

The Russian federal government is reportedly taking steps to rectify some discrepancies in the treatment of personnel in irregular and regular formations.

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Earning your subject's trust is never easy for a documentary filmmaker  but it is even harder when they think you want to kill them.

That was the challenge faced by U.S. director Madeleine Gavin, whose movie "Beyond Utopia" follows newly escaped North Korean defectors as they flee.

These include the Roh family and their elderly grandmother, who Gavin met just weeks after they bolted from their deeply repressive, reclusive homeland, and lifetimes of being fed propaganda.

"I'll never forget the way that she would look at me," Gavin told AFP.

In their minds at the time, "Americans practically only exist to make North Koreans miserable and to kill and attack North Koreans.

"We aren't even human beings... that's what they've been taught."

Soon after the Rohs sneaked across the closely guarded border into China, a local farmer connected them to an "Underground Railroad" for defectors, run by a South Korean pastor whom Gavin happened to be filming.

The pastor arranged for the family to travel in secret through Communist-ruled China, Vietnam and Laos, braving police checkpoints and a treacherous jungle border crossing.

The movie uses footage shot in China by the pastor's "brokers," before Gavin was able to meet and film them face-to-face herself in south-east Asia.

At first, Gavin felt "a deep distrust and suspicion" from the family.

But despite the powerful brainwashing they had endured in North Korea, even the 80-year-old grandmother's attitude quickly began to shift as she saw the outside world with her own eyes.

"She was having none of it... She'd always been told that relative to the rest of the world, North Koreans are the luckiest people on Earth," said Gavin.

"Then to be seeing a world where there are animals, and life, and toilets, even! We were a piece of that puzzle."

When Gavin first set out to make her film  in U.S. theaters Monday  it focused on North Koreans already living for many years in South Korea.

On arrival in the south, many defectors attend a "resettlement facility" where they are taught about the rest of the world, the lies of Kim Jong-un's brutal regime, and basic modern practices such as how to use an ATM.

But after meeting Pastor Kim Sung-eun, a prominent South Korean missionary involved in the underground network that brings escapees to the South, Gavin restructured the film to chronicle two families as they flee the north.

The documentary follows Soyeon Lee, a mother who has long since escaped North Korea, but is now trying to smuggle out the son she had to leave behind.

Tragedy strikes as he is captured in China, and sent back to North Korea to face punishment.

Filming the mother's anguish "was really the most difficult thing," said Gavin.

"What she has gone through and continues to go through is the worst thing that anyone can go through."

The other part of the film follows the Roh family as they embark on their harrowing, 3,000-mile overland journey toward Thailand, and freedom.

One slip-up could see them also repatriated to North Korea, lending the documentary a dramatic tension more associated with Hollywood thrillers.

But Gavin also set out to make something "experiential and present tense," which gives a "voice to actual North Koreans," whose country is mainly known to the rest of the world for its nuclear arsenal and terrifying politics.

Even as they flee, the Rohs express a complex mixture of emotions, from wonder and excitement, to anger at what they have long been deprived of, to shame.

Despite witnessing prosperity unthinkable back home, the grandmother "did not let up on the idea that Kim Jong-un was this incredible person, with the most difficult job before him," said Gavin.

"She had enormous guilt for leaving, and that anyone who defects is basically abandoning him, and how heartbreaking it is for him."

Perhaps more powerful still is the family's homesickness for the friends, neighbors, traditions and land they left behind.

The movie includes  and ends with  footage secretly shot inside North Korea and smuggled out by the pastor's network, showing everything from the country's barbaric gulags, to the bleakness of everyday life.

"As Grandma says at the end of the film, 'we're so lucky, but it keeps me up at night thinking about the people who are still there,'" said Gavin.

"And so I wanted to leave the film remembering those people. Because those people are there, and they need us to help bring their voices forward." (AFP)
Ukraine tries to attack Russian warships

The Russian navy is making little use of Sevastopols bays for their ships after successful strikes by the Ukrainian Defense Forces, Natalia Humeniuk, head of the coordination press center of the Southern Defense Forces of Ukraine, said on national television on Oct. 22.

Russian ships are now setting out mainly from Novorossiysk, but the Russian military still remains dependent on the bays of Sevastopol.

"Sevastopols bays are rarely used," Humeniuk said.

However, they still have elements of important logistics there, in particular, the loading of Kalibr (cruise missiles) takes place there. And it is very difficult to move this logistics, this complex, so they will obviously still be dependent on these bays.

Read also:

At the same time, Humeniuk noted that the level of threat to the Russians when moving the ship group by sea is extremely high, so they are staying in the area they consider safer for themselves.

"But the ghost of the (landing ship) Olenegorsky Gornyak is always lurking there," Humeniuk said, referring to a Black Sea Fleet ship damaged by a Ukrainian sea attack drone on Aug. 4.

Earlier, Humeniuk said that there are no missile carriers of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in the Black and Azov Seas, but the Russian forces can strike Ukraine from Novorossiysk Bay.

According to Ukrainian intelligence, the Russian military in Crimea has been transferring Black Sea Fleet ships to the port of Novorossiysk for several months.

How Ukraine attacks Russian ships in the Black Sea

On the morning of Oct. 13, social media reported an explosion on a ship near Sevastopol. It was likely a small missile ship of Project 21631 Buyan-M, which is a carrier of Kalibr missiles.

NV's sources in Ukraines SBU security service reported that the SBU, together with the Ukrainian Navy, attacked the Russian Buyan cruise missile carrier and the Pavel Derzhavin ship using experimental sea attack drones.

Read also: Russian rescue tug also damaged in Ukrainian Navys attack on Pavel Derzhavin patrol ship

Later, the Ukrainian Navy clarified that during the attack on the Russian Black Sea Fleet ships, in addition to the Pavel Derzhavin, the tugboat Nikolai Mura was damaged.

On Oct. 11, social media reported that the patrol ship Pavel Derzhavin of the Russian Black Sea Fleet was damaged near Sevastopol. Local Telegram channels reported that the ship could have hit a Russian mine.

The Ukrainian Navy later confirmed that the ship had been damaged, but did not specify under what circumstances.

Then on Sept. 14, Ukrainian forces attacked two Russian Vasily Bykov Project 22160 patrol ships in the southwestern Black Sea, which were damaged. A corvette, the Samum, was also hit. Naval drones were used in these special operations.

Earlier, powerful explosions rocked Russian-occupied Sevastopol in Ukraines Crimea. Russia announced an attack by missiles and naval drones ("unmanned boats"), acknowledging the strike on a shipyard and damage to two ships undergoing repairs.

Ukrainian intelligence said that the large landing ship Minsk and the submarine Rostov-on-Don were hit. They are beyond repair, Ukrainian intelligence said.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
A Ukrainian policeman stands in front of a damaged building in Avdiyivka, October 17, 2023

Russian invasion forces have adopted new tactics near Avdiyivka, Anton Kotsukon, the spokesman for Lieutenant General Marko Bezruchko 110th Separate Mechanized Brigade, said on Ukrainian national television on Oct. 21.

People often compare our war to the First World War, and in the Avdiyivka sector, they (the Russians - ed.) have begun to use such tactics  digging tunnels, Kotsukon said.

They are digging tunnels closer to our positions. Firstly, for camouflage (purposes). Secondly, they are trying to emerge somewhere closer to our positions unexpectedly.

Read also: Russia unleashes new assault against Avdiivka, says official

Ukrainian intelligence officers have also recorded the use of remote-controlled robotic devices by Russians to deliver ammunition, the spokesperson for the 110th Separate Mechanized Brigade also said.

"These are some specialized machines, they are quite large and can carry a pretty good weight," he said.

Read also: Grueling battle for Avdiivka

Kotsukon also said that the Russians have enough resources and are "throwing more and more forces at the assaults  both personnel and armored vehicles, aircraft, artillery."

On Oct. 21, the spokesman for the Tavria Defense Forces, Oleksandr Shtupun, said that Russian activity in the Avdiyivka sector had "somewhat decreased."

Shtupun explained that Russia launched one missile and 24 air strikes in the Tavria sector, most of them were guided missiles in the Avdiyivka sector.

On Oct. 20, the head of Avdiyivka's military administration, Vitaliy Barabash, said that Russian troops had launched a new wave of assaults. The situation is complicated.

Russian troops intensified their offensive on Avdiyivka on Oct. 10, launching massive attacks on the Donbas town.

Read also: Ukrainian forces hold firm as Russian activity declines on Avdiyivka frontline

The head of Avdiyivkas military administration, Vitaliy Barabash, said that Oct. 10 saw probably the largest attack on the city in the entire full-scale war, but the situation was under control.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces said that the Russian military wants to surround Avdiyivka, and is throwing a large amount of equipment and personnel into battle.

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The prosecutor's office has provided details of the Russian attack on the settlement of Korotych in the Kharkiv district, which has claimed the lives of 6 people and injured 16 more.

Source: Ukrainian Prosecutor Generals Office (PGO)

Details: The investigation indicated that the Russian forces launched a missile strike on a depot belonging to the Nova Poshta delivery company in Korotych at around 22:15 on 21 October.

Early reports suggest that two S-300 missiles were fired from the territory of Russia's Belgorod Oblast.

To date, 6 people have been reportedly killed and 16 injured. All the casualties are employees of the company.

PGO reported that the Russian strike started a fire on an area of about 300 square metres.

The attack almost completely destroyed the depot and damaged company trucks.

Background:

On 21 October, a Russian missile hit a depot in Kharkiv Oblast belonging to the Nova Poshta delivery company.

A Russian missile hit a Kharkiv depot belonging to the Nova Poshta delivery company. The workers who were there had no chance or time to run for cover, as the air-raid warning was issued only a second before the explosion.

On the evening of 21 October, Oleh Syniehubov, Head of Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration, and Ihor Terekhov, Mayor of Kharkiv, reported that Russian troops had launched missile strikes on the city.

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A Ukrainian soldier was killed after a car crashed into a military roadblock outside Kyiv overnight on Oct. 22, Ukraines National Police reported.

According to the police, the cars driver was detained following the crash. He faces up to eight years in prison.

The incident occurred at around 12:30 a.m. on the M-01 highway as the car drove toward Brovarskyi Avenue on the east bank of the Dnipro River in Kyiv, the police said.

Kyiv has a curfew that begins at 12 a.m. and ends at 5 a.m. Residents without special permits are forbidden from being outside their homes or traveling around the city by foot or any means of transport.

According to the police, the cars driver braked sharply after seeing a truck ahead, lost control of the car, and crashed into the military checkpoint. His alcohol test was negative, the police added.

The aftermath of a car crash that killed a Ukrainian soldier at a military checkpoint outside Kyiv overnight on Oct. 22. (National Police)

In late July, a similar car crash killed a 49-year-old National Guard soldier and injured two others at Beresteiska Avenue near the Sviatoshyn metro station in Kyiv.

Earlier in May, another National Guard soldier was killed when a car driven by a judge of a Kyiv district court crashed into a checkpoint on the same road.

The accident happened on May 25 at 11:55 p.m. as the soldier was setting up a roadblock on Beresteiska Avenue. The judge, Oleksii Tandyr, was intoxicated while driving.

Read also: The writing is on the wall: Ukrainian archivists collect Russian graffiti as evidence of war crimes

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Cindy McCain , director of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), said Sunday that 17 more humanitarian aid trucks have entered Gaza and 40 more are expected to arrive on Monday.

McCain, who is the widow of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), confirmed the update during an appearance on ABCs This Week, telling co-anchor Jonathan Karl that 20 trucks were able to cross the Gaza-Egypt border the day prior.

We simply have to have this because  because, as I said, people are starving, but also this is a national security issue for everyone in this region, McCain told Karl. Starvation and the lack of food is a security issue. And so we just want to make sure that people can feed themselves and that, you know, we have the opportunity and the ability to give them a sustainable life as best we can.

But remember, this is a war zone and things are very fluid. And so thats why these trucks have got to be able to get  we have to be able to get these trucks in safely and sustainably.

When asked about the concern of the vital aid getting into the hands of the militant group Hamas, McCain replied that there is already a WFP team on site to help with the matter.

Well, we have a WFP team thats already on the ground. Theyve been there for a long time. And so we have the implements in place. We are able to track and trace our bags, McCain added.

Were able to make sure from  from an electronic standpoint that our folks who are supposed to get the aid are actually the people that are getting the aid. So, we do the very best we can to make sure that it does go to the right people.

McCains remarks come as Hamas, which the U.S. recognizes as a terrorist organization, launched an attack on Israel two weeks ago, which left 1,400 people dead.

In response, Israel launched attacks on Gaza, an area controlled by Hamas, which have killed at least 4,385 people and wounded 13,561 others, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

President Biden announced last week that he sent an urgent budget request to Congress for additional aid to Ukraine and Israel, which would amount to $100 billion.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The reauthorization of the Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), Americas global initiative to combat HIV, was one of the casualties of the fight to circumvent a government shutdown, with certain authorizations for the program expiring last month.

The program can continue to operate into next year with preapproved funding, but advocates worry the damage has already been done to the U.S.s reputation as a leader in the fight against the HIV epidemic.

Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), chairman of the House subcommittee on global health, is refusing to allow a five-year reauthorization on the basis he believes the program is funding pro-abortion groups overseas.

While House Republicans passed a one-year extension of PEPFAR authorization in a bipartisan spending bill, it was not part of the stopgap deal that extended government funding into next month.

HIV and AIDS advocates and Democratic lawmakers say the politicization of PEPFAR risks the integrity of the program and pulls focus away from the crucial work it supports.

Im concerned that theyre politicizing it, Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), who co-authored the original legislation for PEPFAR in 2003, told The Hill. Were trying to keep it bipartisan. Probably just 20 [percent], 25 percent of members serving today were here when we first authorized it, and theyre trying to find every which way to derail it.

Brian Honermann, deputy director of the public policy office Brian Honermann, deputy director of the public policy office at the amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, said Smiths rationale was based on bad information.

Smith is just wrong in his assertion that PEPFAR has been converted into an entity that is funding abortion work, said Honermann. Its just not true. I have been involved in all  Im deeply involved in participating in meetings that involve the development of the strategies, the development of the work plans and things like that.

What expired Sept. 30 were funding provisions for PEPFAR, rules directing how and where the money for the program  $6.9 billion for fiscal 2023  is spent. Honermann said the immediate impact on the operation of the initiatives partner programs would be limited.

Nothing really changes for the immediate moment, there are some expiring provisions, he said. PEPFAR will just go into an unauthorized status.

According to Lee, negotiations to reauthorize PEPFAR are still ongoing.

Speaking on the House floor last month, Smith called on PEPFAR to remain true to its original mission and respect our norms, traditions, and values. And he called for its programs to be cognizant and respectful of our beliefs and not cross over into promoting divisive ideas and practices that are not consistent with those of Africa.

In its 20-year existence, PEPFAR has been both a rare area of consistent bipartisan consensus and one of the U.S.s most impactful foreign public health programs. PEPFAR estimates it has saved about 25 million lives through its efforts.

The majority of PEPFARs funding is derived from the State Department, and it can continue operating even without authorization, as long as the next budget bill sets aside funds for the HIV initiative.

Honermann noted PEPFAR has briefly gone unauthorized once before in the past, but the current situation stands apart in that it was blocked for political reasons, a first for the program started by the George W. Bush administration.

While there are already statutory limitations blocking federal funds from going toward abortions overseas, like the Helms Amendment, Smith has argued those measures are not enough. The Republican congressman has requested that the Mexico City Policy  a federal rule barring foreign aid from going to nongovernmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, referrals or other expanded services  be added to any reauthorization of PEPFAR.

Honermann said this move would be highly disruptive to trusted community organizations helping to fight HIV in other countries because many of them also provide abortion-related services, but do so with separate funds. The Mexico City Policy would cut these groups out of PEPFAR participation.

When we shift partners that becomes very costly and its disruptive for the patients themselves. And we are in a stage of this fight on HIV where keeping people enrolled for the long term is the critical piece, he said.

According to Annette Gaudino, advocacy coalition manager for the Global AIDS Policy Partnership, even though PEPFAR continues to operate independently of reauthorization for the short term, Smiths obstruction signals an existential threat to the program in the long term.

It puts PEPFAR into the annual appropriations process and potentially opens it up every year to amendments on the right and on the left, Gaudino said. Theres no natural constituency for foreign aid in the United States, like no ones getting primaried if they dont support foreign aid, despite the fact that PEPFAR is a very popular, very successful program. And so it politicizes it and risks the broad bipartisanship thats protected PEPFAR for 20 years.

The regular five-year authorizations have protected PEPFAR from partisan bickering. A possible move toward annual appropriations has the potential to erode the support for PEPFAR as well as damage its efficacy.

As Gaudino put it, a program like PEPFAR that supports health infrastructures internationally needs to be planned and have confirmed funding years in advance in order to be effective, something that annual reauthorization fights would undermine.

She also noted that while the State Department will continue abiding by the expired funding provisions for the time being, the lack of authorization may undermine oversight provisions, without a mechanism for enforcement from Congress.

One provision for PEPFAR authorization directs the inspectors general for the State Department, the Department and Health and Human Service, USAID and other agencies to coordinate oversight over HIV, malaria and tuberculosis programs.

If the gridlock in Washington does start to impact PEPFARs impact in places like Africa  where the vast majority of PEPFARs investments are made  it would damage a key diplomatic conduit for the U.S., said Gaudino.

Africans themselves  they are very cognizant of the fact that this is an American program, and American tax dollars are supporting this life saving program. So the soft power impact of it again cannot be matched.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
When the Philadelphia Eagles take on the Miami Dolphins in an NFL fixture airing on Sunday evening (or in the early hours of Monday morning, if youre watching from the UK), the teams uniforms will have a nostalgic significance.

When they take to the field, the Eagles will be wearing their classic Kelly green outfits for the first time since 1996. The mid-green Kelly shade is a brighter and bolder hue compared to their now-customary midnight green shirts, which are closer to teal in colour.

The old-school Kelly green uniforms arent just famous in the world of American football, though, after they were popularised around the world by one unexpected famous fan: Princess Diana.

In the early Nineties, the late Princess of Wales started to adopt a more casual, low-key style when she was off-duty, swapping the puffed sleeves and pie crust collar blouses for graphic sweatshirts, cycling shorts and sports-inspired outerwear.

One of her favourite pieces was a bold green and white varsity jacket, with the Philadelphia Eagles distinctive logo on the back, which she wore on the school run and on a trip to Alton Towers with sons William and Harry.

According to Dianas former bodyguard Ken Wharfe, who worked as her personal protection officer between 1988 and 1993, the princess favoured the laid-back jacket because it made her feel like a normal mother  and because William and Harry preferred it when she dressed down at the school gates too.

A jacket fit for a Princess



The story of the iconic @Eagles jacket Princess Diana wore in the 1990s  and why it meant so much to #FlyEaglesFly fans that The People's Princess donned the Kelly Green



 Sunday NFL Countdown | ESPN pic.twitter.com/s6iwUVpNgm  ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) October 21, 2023

Diana always craved the normalcy, he told ESPNs Sunday NFL Countdown in an interview celebrating the return of the Kelly Green uniform.

By being a member of the royal family, that was almost impossible, he explained. Neither William or Harry, when they were kids, wanted their mother to sort of dress in her finery, [to] take them to school. So all Diana would do is be as casual as possible.

She wanted to be seen as a young mother that was, you know, with it, he added. Diana loved to be different, this was her style. It sort of showed the public and her children that she was a normal mother in a style that people liked.

So how did a piece of NFL merch end up in Dianas wardrobe? Apparently, its all thanks to a chance meeting at the funeral of Grace Kelly , later Princess Grace of Monaco, who originally hailed from Philadelphia.

Princess Diana wore the custom-made jacket on the school run (Getty)

Diana attended Kellys funeral in 1982 on behalf of the British royal family, and met the Eagles statistician Jack Edelstein at the event. When he learned that her favourite colours were green and silver, the Eagles team shades, Edelstein offered to send Diana some branded t-shirts.

At the suggestion of the Eagles then-owner Leonard Tose, he also gave her a beautiful Eagles jacket, made for her, Edelstein recalled to the Philadelphia Daily News after Dianas death in 1997.

The princess, he added, sent [him] a very nice note to thank him, telling him how shed been wearing [the gifts] around.

She was later photographed in similar styles, like this one (PA)

According to her biographer Andrew Morton, Diana liked the piece for purely aesthetic reasons, rather than any particular affinity to the Eagles. She wears these things because they create a look, he told the Daily News in 1991. She knows very little about English sports, let alone American teams.

The jacket was a one-off, custom made just for Diana, but the princess certainly helped to boost the popularity of this all-American style in the UK and beyond. She was such a fan of the look that she was later photographed wearing similar styles, like a red bomber jacket with leather sleeves.

While many pieces from Dianas wardrobe are owned by private collectors or kept by members of her family, the whereabouts of her Eagles jacket are currently unknown. But with Dianas off-duty aesthetic still inspiring runway collections and street style looks, its influence still lives on.
Iraqi students gather during a protest in support of Palestinians in Gaza, in Baghdad

Iraqi students gather during a protest in support of Palestinians in Gaza, in Baghdad

By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. State Department said on Sunday U.S. citizens should not travel to Iraq after recent attacks on American troops and personnel in the region.

The travel advisory says, "Do not travel to Iraq due to terrorism, kidnapping, armed conflict, civil unrest, and Mission Iraqs limited capacity to provide support to U.S. citizens."

There has been a spike in attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria since the conflict between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza broke out. Last week, a U.S. warship shot down more than a dozen drones and four cruise missiles fired by Iranian-backed Houthis from Yemen.

The advisory followed the ordered departure of eligible family members and non-emergency U.S. government personnel from U.S. Embassy Baghdad and U.S. Consulate General Erbil "due to increased security threats against U.S. personnel and interests," the State Department said in a statement.

The statement added that anti-U.S. militias "threaten U.S. citizens and international companies" throughout Iraq. Earlier on Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said they saw the prospect of a significant escalation in attacks on American troops in the Middle East and of Iran seeking to widen the Israel-Hamas war.

Washington is on heightened alert for activity by Iran-backed groups as regional tensions soar during the Israel-Hamas war, which began after Palestinian Islamist group Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing over 1,400 people.

Israel has since retaliated with deadly air strikes on Gaza, a 45 km-long (25-mile) strip of land that is part of the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories and home to 2.3 million people that has been ruled politically since 2007 by Hamas. Israel's air strikes have killed over 4,700 people, Palestinian officials say.

"Because of security concerns, U.S. government personnel in Baghdad are instructed not to use Baghdad International Airport," the State Department said on Sunday.

The United States has sent a significant amount of naval power to the Middle East in recent weeks, including two aircraft carriers, their support ships and about 2,000 Marines.

The U.S. will send a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system and additional Patriot air defense missile system battalions to the Middle East, the Pentagon said on Saturday.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Josie Kao)
"We maintain the right to defend ourselves and we won't hesitate to take the appropriate action," US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said October 22, 2023 (SAUL LOEB)

The United States warned Iran or its allies against any escalation in the wake of Israel's war with Hamas, two top US officials said Sunday, hours after the Pentagon moved to step up military readiness in the region.

With tensions mounting, Washington also announced Sunday it had ordered non-emergency staff to leave its embassy in Iraq.

"We are concerned at the possibility of Iranian proxies escalating their attacks against our own personnel, our own people," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on CBS News. "We expect there is a likelihood of escalation."

"No one should take advantage of this moment to escalate to further attacks on Israel or, for that matter, attacks on us on our personnel."

Blinken said the United States, which has sent two carrier groups to the eastern Mediterranean, was "taking every measure to make sure that we can defend them. And if necessary, respond decisively."

His words doubled down on an earlier message from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who warned of a "prospect of significant escalation of attacks on our troops" in the region.

Their comments came amid growing fears that pro-Iranian Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon, or other groups supported by Tehran, might take advantage of the tense situation over Gaza to enlarge the conflict and further stretch Israel's military.

But Austin, speaking to ABC News, issued a stern warning: "If any group or any country is looking to widen this conflict and take advantage of this very unfortunate situation that we see, our advice is: don't."

"We maintain the right to defend ourselves and we won't hesitate to take the appropriate action," he added.

The comments from the two senior members of President Joe Biden 's cabinet came hours after the Pentagon said it was upping readiness in the region in response to "recent escalations by Iran and its proxy forces."

Austin ordered the activation of air defense systems and notified additional forces that they may be deployed soon.

The steps continued the Biden administration's response since Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip stormed Israel on October 7, taking more than 200 hostages and killing at least 1,400 people, according to Israeli officials.

- Tensions rising -

Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas, and says around 1,500 of the group's fighters were killed in clashes before its army regained control of the area initially under attack.

Also Sunday, Biden spoke by telephone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the leaders agreed, after a second aid convoy reached Gaza from Egypt, that such assistance will continue, the White House said.

"The leaders affirmed that there will now be continued flow of this critical assistance into Gaza," the White House said in a statement.

Austin said he had activated deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery and additional Patriot battalions "throughout the region."

"Finally, I have placed an additional number of forces on prepare-to-deploy orders as part of prudent contingency planning, to increase their readiness and ability to quickly respond as required," Austin said.

The State Department announced it had given a directive on Friday for non-emergency staff and eligible family members to leave its embassy in Baghdad and its consulate in the Iraqi Kurdish city of Arbil, "due to increased security threats against U.S. personnel and interests."

It also announced an updated version of its travel advisory, warning US citizens not to travel to Iraq.

Armed factions close to Iran have threatened to attack US interests in Iraq over Washington's support for Israel.

Multiple Iraqi bases used by US-led coalition troops have been targeted in attacks in recent days.

And along Israel's northern border with Lebanon, the Israeli army traded fire with the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah amid fears of a new front opening.

The United States had authorized non-essential embassy personnel and their families to leave the embassy in Lebanon last week.

Israel's military has said it would intensify strikes on Hamas-controlled Gaza ahead of a planned ground invasion.

The military has pounded Gaza with relentless strikes in response to Hamas's October 7 attack, killing more than 4,650 Palestinians, mainly civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, and reduced swaths of the densely populated territory to ruins.

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(Bloomberg) -- Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese touches down in Washington on Monday to kick off a month of critical diplomatic engagements that will see him travel to the White House, a tiny South Pacific nation and the halls of power in Beijing.

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Albanese, having taken office less than 18 months ago, will be in the US from Oct. 23-26, accompanied by a delegation of Australian business leaders. He will meet with President Joe Biden and attend a state dinner  becoming just the fourth Australian leader to be accorded such an honor.

The trip is the first of several by Albanese over the coming month. The prime minister will head to Beijing from Nov. 4-7  the first visit by an Australian leader in seven years  and meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang.

He will then be at the Pacific Island Forum in the Cook Islands, before returning to the US for the APEC summit in San Francisco.

There has been a significant easing in tensions between Australia and China since Albaneses election. Ministerial-level talks between the two have restarted and a number of trade sanctions on Australian products have been lifted.

Inevitably with a close ally thats trying to repair relations with Beijing, I think the US will want to project Australia as still a stalwart ally thats in the US and Western camp, said Euan Graham, a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. The job for Albanese is to thread that needle.

The US visit will focus on building an alliance for the future, Albanese told parliament on Thursday, adding that strengthening the partnership with the US on critical minerals and green energy will also be on the agenda for the Washington trip. The US and Australia have been allies for about 70 years and have fought together in pretty much every conflict the US has been involved in since World War II.

Last-Minute Cancellation

The pomp of the US visit is a gesture of friendship from Biden to make up for his last-minute cancellation of a trip to Australia earlier this year when the president was forced to return to the US to take charge of debt ceiling negotiations in Washington.

Its also an indication of Australias rising importance to the White Houses Indo-Pacific agenda. The other two White House state dinners this year have also been accorded to other key Asian partners: the leaders of South Korea and India.

Albaneses US state dinner follows a similar honor accorded to his predecessor Scott Morrison in 2019 by then-President Donald Trump. The visit will be the ninth time that Albanese and Biden have met since the Australian leader won a May 2022 election.

Traveling abroad may also be an escape for the prime minister from domestic political woes. Albaneses signature plan to enshrine Indigenous Australians in the constitution by establishing a Voice to Parliament was resoundingly defeated at an Oct. 14 vote.

For a politician whos not naturally drawn to the foreign policy stage, maybe he will see this in political terms as a way to reset the agenda, Graham said.

Albaneses two trips, first to Canberras closest security partner and then to Australias largest trading partner, will test the prime ministers ambition to reinforce already strong ties with the US, while stabilizing previously chilly relations with China.

The trip will also carry great symbolism for Beijing and Canberra as it will be the 50th anniversary of then-Labor Prime Minister Gough Whitlams historic visit to China in 1973, the first by an Australian leader.

Being led down into the Great Hall of the People to meet Xi Jinping is an intimidating experience, Graham said. It will be a test of Albaneses foreign policy credentials that he doesnt allow to optically get the better of Australia.

In a speech in Singapore in June, Albanese presented Australia as a middle power ready to act as a broker between Beijing, Washington and the Asia Pacific region. I can assure you, that when Australia looks north, we dont see a void for others to impose their will, he said at the time.

--With assistance from Shamim Adam.

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Korea and a group of Arab countries were set to launch a new round of negotiations for their free trade deal in Seoul on Monday, Seoul's industry ministry said Sunday.

The eighth round of formal talks for a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) between Korea and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will be held for a five-day run through Friday, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

The GCC consists of six countries  the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait.

The two sides are expected to discuss various issues, including goods and services trading, ways to improve trade conditions and trade remedies, the ministry said.

If sealed, a free trade deal with the Arab nations would help Korea expand its energy supply sources and strengthen trade ties with oil-rich nations, the ministry said. (Yonhap)
The United States is deploying additional air defence units in the Middle East and preparing troops for emergencies.

Source: a statement by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on the Pentagon's website

Quote from Austin: "Following detailed discussions with President Biden on recent escalations by Iran and its proxy forces across the Middle East Region, today I directed a series of additional steps to further strengthen the Department of Defense posture in the region. These steps will bolster regional deterrence efforts, increase force protection for US forces in the region, and assist in the defence of Israel."

Details: Austin said that he redirected the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower carrier strike group to the area of responsibility of the Central Command. This group will complement the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier, which is currently operating in the eastern Mediterranean.

Austin believes this will provide the ability to respond to a range of unforeseen circumstances.

He also activated the deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) battery, and additional Patriot battalions to locations across the region.

In addition, Austin ordered the training of additional contingency forces to increase their ability to respond quickly to challenges.

Background:

On 19 October, a US destroyer shot down three surface-to-air missiles and several drones, supposedly launched by Houthi forces from Yemen.

On the same day, US military bases in the Middle East were attacked: drones struck the US base in Syria, Al-Tanf, and a missile attack took place at Conoco, another US base in Syria, and in Iraq, the US also intercepted three attack drones.

On 15 October, it became known that the Pentagon had sent a second carrier strike group to the eastern Mediterranean near Israel to deter Iran or Hezbollah from joining the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

On 9 October, the Pentagon announced the deployment of US warships, including the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group and additional aircraft, closer to the eastern Mediterranean after the Hamas terrorist group attacked Israel and further escalated the conflict.

Earlier, the United States announced that it was preparing a rapid response marine unit for possible deployment to Israel.

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The United States plans to ramp up its military presence in the Middle East as an act of deterrence amid the ongoing fighting in the region.

Following detailed discussions with President Biden on recent escalations by Iran and its proxy forces across the Middle East Region, today I directed a series of additional steps to further strengthen the Department of Defense posture in the region, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced Saturday. These steps will bolster regional deterrence efforts, increase force protection for U.S. forces in the region, and assist in the defense of Israel.

Austin also said that he redirected the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Strike Group to join the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group, which is currently stationed in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. He said this move with further increase our force posture and strengthen our capabilities and ability to respond to a range of contingences.

He also said the U.S. will deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery in addition to Patriot battalions that will increase force protection for U.S. forces. He also said that he ordered more troops to prepare for deployment orders as part of prudent contingency planning, to increase their readiness and ability to quickly respond as requited.

The U.S. has vowed to back Israel in its war against militant group Hamas, which launched an unprecedented, deadly attack on Israel on Oct. 7 that prompted Israel to declare war on the group and launch a series of airstrikes targeting the groups hotspots. The U.S. has designated Hamas as a terrorist organization.

The U.S. already provides a significant amount of assistance to Israel every year. It allocates about $3.8 billion to the nation per year, which is part of a 10-year memorandum of understanding that totals to $38 billion. President Biden is sending a urgent budget request to Congress for additional to Israel and Ukraine, which is expected to amount to $100 billion.

More than 1,400 Israelis have been killed, mostly in the first wave of attacks on Oct. 7. The Gaza Health Ministry said that at least 4,385 Palestinians are dead as a result of the violence with another 13,561 people wounded.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
U.S. officials said Sunday that the political future of the Gaza Strip, governed by the militant group Hamas, is left to be defined amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.

During an appearance on ABCs This Week, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was asked by co-anchor Jonathan Karl about the next phases of the conflict if Israel does conduct a ground attack in Gaza.

Well, its got  it has to transition to something else, Jon. And I think  you know, Hamas is a terrorist organization. And this is not the Palestinian people. Hamas, at the end of the day, Israel wants Hamas to be gone from Gaza, Austin replied.

What does it transition to? Left to be defined, but I think thats an issue for the region and for the world to work together on.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken was also asked about Gazas political future during an appearance on NBCs Meet The Press, in which he said that Israel doesnt want to govern Gaza once the war is over and that Israel cant go back to the status quo of allowing Gaza to control the area.

I think we know two things. We cant go back to the status quo. They cant go back to the status quo with Hamas being in a position in terms of its governance of Gaza to repeat what it did, Blinken told moderator Kristen Welker, adding that Israel cant be in a position where theyre constantly at the threat of the most horrific terrorist attacks coming from Gaza.

So, something needs to be found that ensures that Hamas cant do this again. But that also doesnt revert to Israeli governance of Gaza, which they do not want and do not intend to do, Blinken added.

Therere different  therere different ideas out there about what could follow, but all of that I think needs to be worked, and its something that needs to be worked even as Israel is dealing with the current threat.

These latest remarks come as Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said his country doesnt have long-term plans to control Gaza following an expected ground invasion of the territory.

Gallant addressed the long-term plans for the territory with Israeli lawmakers Friday, outlining a three-phase conflict that consists of military airstrikes and ground maneuvers.

Its been two weeks since Hamas launched an attack on Israel, which left 1,400 people dead.

In response, Israel launched attacks on Gaza, which have killed at least 4,385 people and wounded 13,561 others, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

President Biden announced last week that he sent an urgent budget request to Congress for additional aid to Ukraine and Israel, which would amount to $100 billion.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
With the Israel-Hamas conflict unleashing furious emotions, American universities have struggled to walk an almost impossibly narrow line: satisfying the demands of rich donors that they more clearly support Israel, while also respecting protesters' rights of free expression.

Several wealthy Americans have threatened to withdraw their financial support from prestigious private schools like the Ivy League's Harvard University in Massachusetts, or the University of Pennsylvania, known as UPenn.

The Wexner Foundation, which works to prepare young Jewish leaders in North America and Israel, went a step further: ending its partnership with Harvard's Kennedy School.

Citing what it called the "dismal failure of Harvard's leadership to take a clear and unequivocal stand against the barbaric murders of innocent Israeli civilians by terrorists," the Wexner family, founders of the Bath & Body Works chain, formally severed their ties to the school.

Meantime, Marc Rowan, the CEO of the Apollo Global Management investment fund and a major donor to UPenn, demanded the resignation of the school's president, Elizabeth Magill. He criticized her in particular for the school's hosting two weeks earlier of a festival of Palestinian literature which, he said, included some "well-known anti-Semites and fomenters of hate and racism."

Kenneth Griffin, the CEO of the Citadel investment fund and one of Harvard's biggest donors, and Ronald Lauder, heir to the Estee Lauder cosmetics group and another UPenn donor, have also expressed their displeasure, according to American media.

- Forced to choose -

"Leaders are criticized for not speaking out quickly or forcefully enough. They're being forced to choose sides. And yet there are many who say that given a diversity of perspectives on campus, there can't be an institutional position on such complex global issues," said Lynn Pasquerella, president of the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AACU).

At Harvard, President Claudine Gay did condemn the Hamas attacks of October 7, but her critics say her words were too timid and came too late.

Leaders of Stanford University, in California, and Columbia, in New York, have also been urged to clearly take their distance from pro-Palestinian student groups that accuse Israel, in their leaflets and at their rallies, of committing "genocide."

But a group of Harvard professors has also called for an end to the online harassment of students who supposedly signed an incendiary letter against Israel. A vehicle driving near campus carried a large screen displaying names and photos under the title: "Harvard's leading anti-Semites."

Student protesters at Columbia have faced a similar backlash.

"What we are hearing directly is that some students on some campuses are feeling nervous to talk -- nervous, perhaps, to protest," said Kristen Shahverdian, who works on education issues at PEN America, which promotes literature and free expression.

"That feeling of fear, I think, is palpable for some on campuses," she said.

- Political fractures -

In the United States, freedom of expression is fiercely protected, and leaders on several campuses invoke the so-called Kalven Committee report of 1967. Issued by the University of Chicago at a time of angry protests against the Vietnam War and amid rioting over civil rights, the report concluded that the role of universities should be to promote a diversity of opinions, not to take stands on contentious issues.

Pasquerella said the pressure from donors undermines the purpose of American higher education, which is "to promote the unfettered pursuit of the truth and the free exchange of ideas."

For her part, Shahverdian said donors should be "aware that freedom of expression is an integral part of higher education -- and that does mean, at times, speech that one might really disagree with very strongly."

The pressure on universities also reflects flagging public investment in higher education, according to Pasquerella, making institutions more dependent on private donors and leaving professors and administrators feeling "coerced because they're afraid of losing donations."

Harvard, which has an enormous endowment of close to $51 billion, says it derives some 8 percent of its operating revenue from gifts.

All this has happened against a backdrop of the growing polarization of American society, split between Democrats and Republicans.

A recent Gallup opinion poll found that the number of Americans expressing "a great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in higher education has dropped from 57 percent in 2015 to 36 percent this year.

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(Bloomberg) -- Israel supports diplomatic efforts to get Hamas to release hostages from Gaza quickly and in large numbers, a move that could delay and possibly alter its ground war, according to people familiar with the negotiations.

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The place of hostage releases in Israels military planning took on concrete meaning on Friday, when an American mother and her 19-year-old daughter from Chicago were set free through the mediation of Qatar. The US is pushing the wealthy Gulf state, which hosts some political leaders of Hamas, to do much more, the people said.

Israel says there are 210 known hostages from many countries taken on Oct. 7, when Hamas operatives broke through the border fence into Israel in an attack that killed more than 1,400 Israelis. In retaliation, Israel has been bombing Gaza for two weeks. The death toll from the air strikes has risen to more than 4,500, the Hamas-run Ministry of Health in Gaza said Sunday.

Record numbers of reserve troops have been called up to prepare for what Israel calls the next phase of the campaign, probably a ground offensive into Gaza, where the captives are being held. Israel will need a lot more than what is currently happening in the way of releases to affect an imminent ground operation, US officials have told the Qataris.

But according to their Israeli counterparts, no matter what happens with the hostages, they will take Hamas apart in a show of strength they believe necessary for the region to see. Otherwise, they argue, Israel will be viewed as weak by its enemies, especially those supported by Iran.

Still, the people familiar said, the shape of the ground operation might be altered if hostage diplomacy holds Israel at bay longer and conditions on the ground change. Time, they noted, is on the side of Israel, not Hamas, as Gaza sinks more deeply into misery.

Diplomacy has been working in overdrive, with Frances Emmanuel Macron set to visit Israel on Tuesday, the latest in a string of world leaders and senior lawmakers meeting Netanyahu in person since the Oct. 7 attack.

The 210 hostages that Israel knows of include more than 20 teenagers and young children, and more than 20 others over the age of 60, the military said. They also include others  perhaps several dozen  who are believed dead and whose bodies are being held by Hamas, the people said.

Late on Saturday, Hamass armed wing issued a statement that it had offered to return two Israeli women for compelling humanitarian reasons and without anything in exchange and that Israel declined to take them. The Israeli prime ministers office labeled the statement propaganda and said it will continue to act in every way to return all the kidnapped and missing people.

Why the militant group released the two others remains unclear.

The suspicion among US and Israeli officials is that they were in good health, which meant photos of them getting released might win sympathy in the eyes of Americans and reflect well on Hamas. The hostages were fed and given water during their captivity in a private home in Gaza guarded by the group, which is designated a terrorist organization by the US and European Union.

Other hostages are wounded, sick, elderly, very young or handicapped, and seeing them go free might look worse for Hamas, the people said. Some are in desperate need of medical care.

The only reason two hostages were released on Friday is because of pressure put on Hamas and their sponsors, said Ophir Falk, a foreign policy aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trying to portray themselves as humane through this is an insult to everyones intelligence. The pressure is going to intensify until all the hostages are freed, and nothing will change our goal of dismantling Hamas.

The US has been playing a big role in Israels military planning, especially as it relates to the possibility of Hezbollah in Lebanon entering the fray with its many missiles. Not only has the US sent two battle fleets into the Mediterranean, but President Joe Biden and his top aides sat in on Israeli war cabinet meetings last week.

The goal of the US is to get Israel to focus on limiting civilian casualties, what happens after the operations end and how to free hostages. The more days pass from the trauma of the attack, the people familiar say, the likelier the messages are to get through.

Asked by lawmakers last week why Israel permits any US interference, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said, We cant take American support and then say no to their demands on humanitarian issues.

But the US has been careful not to seem too demanding, according to top Israeli officials, including Foreign Minister Eli Cohen. They understand we had a big tragedy and they act like friends, Cohen said in an interview.

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FILE PHOTO: United Nations Security Council meeting on the conflict between Israel and Hamas at U.N. headquarters in New York

By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States proposed on Saturday a draft U.N. Security Council resolution that says Israel has a right to defend itself and demands Iran stop exporting arms to "militias and terrorist groups threatening peace and security across the region."

The draft text, seen by Reuters, calls for the protection of civilians - including those who are trying to get to safety - notes that states must comply with international law when responding to "terrorist attacks", and urges the "continuous, sufficient and unhindered" delivery of aid to the Gaza Strip.

It was not immediately clear if or when the United States planned to put the draft resolution to a vote. To pass, a resolution needs at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes by Russia, China, the United States, France or Britain.

The move by the United States comes after it vetoed a Brazilian-drafted text on Wednesday that would have called for humanitarian pauses in the conflict between Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants, to allow aid access to Gaza.

U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield justified Wednesday's veto by telling the council more time was needed for diplomacy on the ground as President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited the region, focused on brokering aid access to Gaza and trying to free hostages held by Hamas.

Hamas released two American hostages on Friday and the first humanitarian aid convoy arrived in Gaza from Egypt on Saturday.

Israel has vowed to wipe out the Hamas Islamist group that rules Gaza, after its gunmen burst through the barrier fence surrounding the enclave on Oct. 7 and rampaged through Israeli towns and kibbutzes, killing 1,400 people.

Israel has since pounded Gaza from the air, imposed a siege and is preparing for a ground offensive. Palestinian authorities say more than 4,000 people have been killed in the enclave. The U.N. says more than a million have been made homeless.

The U.S. draft text does not call for any pause or truce in the fighting. It calls on all states to try and stop the "violence in Gaza from spilling over or expanding to other areas in the region, including by demanding the immediate cessation by Hezbollah and other armed-groups of all attacks."

Lebanon's Iran-backed, heavily armed Hezbollah group has clashed with Israel across the Lebanese border multiple times since Oct. 7 in the deadliest confrontations since they fought a month-long war in 2006.

SELF-DEFENSE

The U.S. draft resolution demands Iran stop exporting arms to groups threatening peace and security across the region, including Hamas. Iran's mission to the U.N. in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Iran has made no secret of its backing for Hamas, funding and arming the group and another Palestinian militant organisation Islamic Jihad. Iran's mission to the U.N. said on Oct. 8 that Tehran was not involved in the Hamas attack on Israel a day earlier.

Thomas-Greenfield said on Wednesday that the U.S. was disappointed the Brazilian draft did not mention Israel's right to self defense. The U.S. text states that Israel has such a right under Article 51 of the founding U.N. Charter.

Article 51 covers the individual or collective right of states to self-defense against armed attack and states must immediately inform the 15-member Security Council of any action that states take in self-defense against armed attack.

In a letter sent the same day as the Hamas attack, Israel told the council it would "act in any way necessary to protect its citizens and sovereignty from the ongoing terrorist attacks originating from the Gaza Strip." But it does not appear to have formally invoked Article 51, diplomats said.

Arab countries have argued that Israel cannot justify its actions as self-defense.

"The Gaza Strip is an occupied territory," Jordan's U.N. Ambassador Mahmoud Daifallah Hmoud told the council on Monday, citing a 2004 opinion by the International Court of Justice on an Israeli separation barrier built around the West Bank.

"We recall the advisory opinion of the ICJ ... according to which Israel does not have the right to defend itself within occupied Palestinian territory," he said, speaking on behalf of the Arab group.

Israel said in 2004 that the barrier was meant to keep suicide bombers out of its cities. The ICJ said Israel "states, the threat which it regards as justifying the construction of the wall originates within, and not outside, that territory."

"Consequently, the Court concludes that Article 51 of the Charter has no relevance in this case," it ruled. Israel rejected the ICJ ruling.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
Opposition supporters will be asked to choose a unity candidate out of a field of 10

Venezuela's opposition is holding a primary to choose a candidate for the 2024 presidential election.

Opposition parties have organised the poll without any help from the National Electoral Council, which is headed by a close ally of President Nicolas Maduro.

Mr Maduro, who has been in power since 2013, is widely expected to run for another term in the 2024 election.

The opposition thinks its best chance of defeating him is to unite behind a single candidate.

Opposition parties have boycotted past presidential elections because many of its candidates were either in jail or had been barred from running. But they are planning to take part in 2024 even though they say the odds are stacked against them.

They mooted their plan to hold a primary as early as May 2022 and formally announced it in October 2022.

But their request for help from the National Electoral Council (CNE) to organise the primary went unanswered until September 2023, at which point the CNE - a body dominated by government loyalists - suggested delaying the primary to November.

The opposition declined and instead organised the primary itself. It says it will have more than 3,000 polling stations at which voters can cast ballots.

The field of 13 candidates has narrowed down to 10 after Henrique Capriles , who has run for president unsuccessfully twice in the past, Freddy Superlano of the Popular Will party, and Roberto Enriquez of the Copei party, dropped out of the race in recent weeks.

Henrique Capriles, who ran for the presidency twice, dropped out of the primary earlier this month

Polls suggest that the front-runner by a huge margin is 56-year-old former lawmaker Maria Corina Machado.

And while a win in the primary looks very likely for Ms Machado, what will happen if she is chosen is anything but clear-cut.

This is due to the fact that Ms Machado has been barred from holding office for 15 years. The ban was slapped on her in June by the comptroller-general at the time, Maduro-ally Elvis Amoroso, who now heads the CNE.

Ms Machado has said that she is confident that if she wins the primary, the pressure on the government will be such that she will be reinstated.

Maria Corina Machado is the front-runner but she is currently still barred from office

A deal between opposition negotiators and government representatives signed on Tuesday in Barbados was ambiguous on the matter, with the opposition negotiator saying it opened the door for barred candidates to run and the leader of the government delegation contradicting him.

The United States eased some of its sanctions against Venezuela's oil and gas sector in response to the deal, which contains an agreement by the Venezuelan government to invite international observers to monitor the 2024 presidential poll.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken welcomed the agreement but warned that US sanctions could be reapplied if the Maduro government did not begin to lift bans imposed on opposition presidential candidates by the end of November.
Thousands of exiled Venezuelans participated in the primaries elections to choose the opposition's candidate for next year's presidential election in Doral, Fla., on Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023. (Pedro Portal/Miami Herald via AP)

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP)  Ebullient Venezuelans on Sunday chose the candidate they think can end the decade-long, crisis-ridden presidency of Nicolas Maduro, lining up under a scorching sun and torrential rain to cast ballots in a primary election that the opposition independently organized despite government repression.

That was a feat onto itself. But voters had not learned any results hours after polls started closing because of yet another internet-censorship obstacle thrown at the opposition's effort.

Once we began the process of counting the results ... we detected that our server that functioned as a transmission channel was blocked, which prevents us from completing this process as scheduled, said Jesus Maria Casal, head of the organizing National Primary Commission. He added the commission had already set in motion contingency plans to continue the vote count.

Holding Venezuelas first presidential primary since 2012 required the deeply fractured opposition to work together. Venezuelans, in turn, showed up at voting centers in and outside of their homeland to make it count, enthusiastically lining up for hours despite scorching sun and torrential rain.

Still, what they saw as a monumental exercise in democracy could still prove futile, if Maduros government wishes.

While the administration agreed in principle to let the opposition choose its candidate for the 2024 presidential election, it also has already barred primary frontrunner Maria Corina Machado from running for office. Maduros government has in the past bent the law, retaliated against opponents and breached agreements as it sees fit.

Hundreds of people gathered at voting centers in neighborhoods across the capital, Caracas, even before polls were scheduled to open. They stayed in line despite a rainstorm that left them soaking wet. They carried umbrellas, folding stools and coffee to ease the expected waits, and leaned against buildings or stood under marquees to try to avoid the rain.

Caracas resident Stephanie Aguilar, 34, cried while she waited to vote. She described the primary as the only salvation for her country, her daughter and son, and the millions of Venezuelans who decided they had to emigrate due to the nations economic and political turmoil.

We want a better country, a free country, for my children ... who have grown up in this government, Aguilar, a housewife, said as she wiped tears from her face. They ask, Mom, can we go out to eat? No, there is no money. Mom, can we do this thing? No, there is no money. It is unfortunate that a society grows up under those conditions.

People showed up to vote despite widespread confusion over polling sites and repeated disappointments from an opposition that has long struggled to work in synergy.

Venezuelans typically vote at public schools. But the independent commission that oversaw the primary opted to use homes, churches, private schools and other facilities as voting stations after the countrys electoral authorities did not respond to requests for help in a timely manner.

The organizers created a website meant to allow voters to search for their polling site, but it was blocked by internet service providers within Venezuela. Some who managed to circumvent internet censorship with a VPN found their center had been relocated, in some cases due to intimidation by government allies.

The London-based internet monitoring firm NetBlocks on Sunday tweeted metrics showing a disruption to internet connectivity in #Venezuela with high impact to Caracas." It added that a state-owned internet service provider claimed an issue with its energy backup system.

David Smilde, an expert on Venezuelan politics at Tulane University, said the primary is a significant achievement for several reasons, including forcing political leaders and parties within the opposition to reach out and speak to the people.

And it has generated considerable enthusiasm and mobilization in a population that has been skeptical of the opposition leadership of late, he said.

Machado, a former lawmaker who supports free-market policies, is a longtime critic of the governing United Socialist Party of Venezuela. She maintained a somewhat low profile for years but dominated the primary campaign by connecting with the same voters she consistently urged to boycott previous elections.

The presidential election is expected to be scheduled for the second half of 2024. Maduro is looking to extend his presidency until 2030, which would surpass the time that Hugo Chavez, his mentor, governed and established his self-described socialist policies.

I dont know about you, but I feel like this is a miracle, Machado said before voting at a center in a middle-class neighborhood in Caracas. This is an act of defiance of a system.

Maduros allies ridiculed and dismissed the primary all year. Still, both the government and its opponents used the contest as a bargaining chip to extract concessions from each other as part of a negotiation process meant to end the countrys complex social, economic and political crisis.

Maduro and an opposition faction backed by the U.S. government on Tuesday agreed to work together on basic conditions for the presidential contest. That prompted the government to release six political prisoners and the Biden administration to lift key economic sanctions.

As part of the agreement, Maduros administration and the opposition are supposed to recognize and respect the right of each political actor to select a presidential candidate freely.

If Machado wins, the focus will shift to Maduro to see if the government reverses its ban on her seeking public office. In June, the government issued an administrative decision prohibiting Machado from running, alleging fraud and tax violations and accusing her of seeking the economic sanctions the U.S. imposed on Venezuela in the last decade.

The U.S., holding up the threat of renewed sanctions, has given Venezuela until the end of November to establish a process for reinstating all candidates expeditiously.

A U.N.-backed panel investigating human rights abuses in Venezuela said last month that Maduros government has intensified efforts to curtail democratic freedoms ahead of the 2024 election. That includes subjecting some politicians and other opponents to detention, surveillance, threats, defamatory campaigns and arbitrary criminal proceedings.

All registered voters in Venezuela were allowed to participate in the primary, as well as tens of thousands living in several other countries.

This is unprecedented, said a smiling Maria de los Angeles Leon, 31, the coordinator of Mexico Citys voting site. People know that we have no guarantees that the winner of this election will be able to advance to the presidential election, but we keep trying.

___

Associated Press writer Maria Verza in Mexico City contributed to this report.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has said the country will help realize Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 for economic diversification by sharing its know-how and experience in economic development and using the capabilities and skills of its businesses, according to an interview published Sunday.

Yoon made the remark in a written interview with the Saudi newspaper Al Riyadh ahead of his four-day state visit to the Arab nation, which started Saturday.

"South Korea is one of the main cooperation nations for the realization of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, and I expect our cooperation to increase in various areas, including not only construction and infrastructure, but also energy, investment and culture," he said.

"South Korea will continue to contribute to the effective realization of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 based on its economic development know-how and experience, and the capabilities and skills of South Korea's excellent businesses," he added.

Saudi Vision 2030 is a road map overseen by Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman for moving the country away from an oil-centric economy.

Yoon's visit comes nearly a year after the crown prince visited Seoul in November last year and the two sides agreed to further develop the bilateral relationship to a "future-oriented strategic partnership" and to establish a "strategic partnership committee" between the two leaders to more systematically pursue the two countries' cooperation projects.

Yoon noted in the interview that Saudi Arabia is the biggest overseas market for South Korean construction projects, accounting for nearly 20 percent of all overseas construction orders.

In particular he noted that the Saudi interior ministry's building in central Riyadh was built by South Korea's Hyundai Engineering & Construction.

"I believe South Korean companies will be a good partner in the process of Saudi Arabia's construction of new cities like Neom," he said, referring to a $500 billion project initiated by the crown prince in 2017 to develop eco-friendly and smart cities in Saudi Arabia's northwestern Tabuk Province.

Yoon also said the two countries are diversifying their cooperation beyond the traditional areas of energy and resources to manufacturing, clean energy, petrochemicals and smart farms based on the $29 billion worth of deals and memorandums of understanding signed during the crown prince's visit to Seoul.

Yoon said his summit with the crown prince slated for later Sunday will be a venue for exchanging opinions on ways to jointly contribute to world peace and sustainable development amid the growing uncertainty surrounding North Korea's nuclear and missile program, the armed clash between Israel and Hamas, and the war in Ukraine.

"As Saudi Arabia has adhered to its firm position in support of nuclear nonproliferation on the international stage, the Republic of Korea intends to actively cooperate with Saudi Arabia over North Korea's nuclear and missile provocations and blocking their development," he said. (Yonhap)
Vermont State Police are searching for a pair of 21-year-old Massachusetts men who disappeared under suspicious circumstances while traveling through several communities. Efforts to find them included a weekend search with dogs.

Jahim Solomon of Pittsfield and Eric White of Chicopee were reported missing on Oct. 15 after falling out of touch with their families for several days, state police said. Theyd previously been in Burlington, Lowell, Morrisville and Stowe, officials said.

Vermont State Police said investigators are concerned about the well being of the pair.

Searchers spent part of a rainy Saturday searching the area around Albany and Lowell. A spokesperson on Sunday confirmed that the Vermont State Police Search & Rescue Team and New England K-9 participated in the search. The spokesperson declined to provide additional details, including why searchers focused on that area.

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

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Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy called on lawmakers Saturday to reject an aid package of more than $100 billion proposed by President Joe Biden to help wars in Israel and Ukraine.

During two days of barnstorming around eastern and central Iowa, Friday and Saturday, Ramaswamy compared Hamas' terrorist attack on Israel to the way U.S. residents felt after 9/11. He also warned that Israel could get drawn into a bigger Middle Eastern conflict and urged for caution to avoid spreading the war.

Last Thursday night, Biden called on Congress to allocate $106 billion in aid to Ukraine and Israel for their respective wars. Saturday, Ramaswamy called for lawmakers to vote against the proposal; citing the high cost of previous U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and Israel's unclear military objectives in Gaza.

President Joe Biden speaks from the Oval Office of the White House Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023, in Washington, about the war in Israel and Ukraine.

Reuters reported that under the plan $60 billion would go to Ukraine, $14 billion would go to Israel, $10 billion would go to humanitarian aid, $14 billion would go to border security and $7 billion would go to the Indo-Pacific region. During stops in Ottumwa and Oskaloosa Saturday, Ramaswamy said repeatedly that $60 billion would help Ukraine, and not Israel, while voicing his opposition to the package.

"I'm very worried that is going to be a disaster in the making," Ramaswamy said Saturday in Ottumwa. "This is the most pro-Israel thing we can do to elevate open debate to avoid making the same kinds of mistakes that we made after 9/11."

Generational divide splits GOP field on Israel

Ramaswamy, 38, has touted throughout the primary season that he is the first millennial to run for president as a Republican. But because he is much younger than his more war-hawkish GOP rivals, he could perceive the conflict in Israel differently, he said Friday.

Republican Presidential Candidate Vivek Ramaswamy autographs the shirt of John Fenner, of Ottumwa, after a campaign stop in Oskaloosa on Sat. Oct. 21, 2023. Ramaswamy signaled he supported medical cannabis use for veterans on Saturday.

On Saturday while speaking to a crowd of around 50 in Ottumwa, Ramaswamy recalled his own experience as a high school junior sitting in U.S. history class watching coverage of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in horror. An Israeli assault on Gaza could mire Israel in a ground conflict "That could be disastrous in the complexity of it," he said in Ottumwa.

"My generation was the one who was lied to systematically about the war in places like Iraq and even elements of Afghanistan," Ramaswamy told reporters Friday. "Thousands upon thousands of people of people my age, who sacrificed their lives that we won't ever get back, those are mistakes."

How does Ramaswamy feel about the Israeli-Hamas war?

Hamas attacks on Israel were barbaric," Ramaswamy said Saturday in Oskaloosa.

On Oct. 10, he called for a rational response that supports Israel while avoiding a wider U.S.-led Middle Eastern War. Ramaswamy said the U.S. should provide Israel with diplomatic support, intelligence sharing and munitions. But unlike many of his other GOP rivals, he does not believe an Israeli assault on Gaza will help.

"I'm very worried that is going to be a disaster in the making," Ramaswamy said Saturday in Ottumwa. "This is the most pro-Israel thing we can do to elevate open debate to avoid making the same kinds of mistakes that we made after 9/11."

In August, Ramaswamy said he would end financial support for Israel,  saying an "Abraham Accords 2.0" would create diplomatic deals between Israel and other Middle Eastern countries, according to ABC News. He also said that Israel should not be given aid indefinitely.

GOP Presidential Candidate Vivek Ramaswamy speaks in Ottumwa on Sat. Oct. 21, 2023.

"I want to get Israel to the place where it is negotiated back into the infrastructure of the rest of the Middle East, Ramaswamy said in August, according to ABC News. We should not be worried about holding one nation or one region hostage over one particular question relating to Palestine.

On Saturday he said his view has not changed. Israel must define its objectives and what the U.S. is expected to aid, he said.

"In the absence of that clarity, we should not be providing funding against the backdrop of what I think is lining up to be a disastrous result in a ground invasion of Gaza without a clear objective," Ramaswamy told reporters Saturday after a campaign stop in Oskaloosa.

Allison Box, 61 and Mark Box, 64, went to a Ramaswamy event on Friday when he visited Fort Madison. Allison Box was undecided on who to caucus for. Mark Box likes former president Donald Trump but "could be persuaded" by Vivek.

About war in Israel Allison Box said, "I'm sick about the war over there. I'm sick of what's happening in this country with people protesting." Her husband questioned the dangers of the war.

"I'm worried that if you roll in there with tanks, I don't know how you roll back out without an absolute bloodbath, Mark Box said. To what end?"

GOP Presidential Candidate Vivek Ramaswamy speaks in Ottumwa on Sat. Oct. 21, 2023.

Donald Engedretson, 76, of Middletown, said Trump was his number one choice but now he thinks he will caucus for Ramaswamy.

"He drew a pretty clear picture of both wars, and what he would do, Engedreston said of Ramaswamys assessment of the conflict. We all know what the politics are that are involved, especially in Israel. That's why they haven't invaded yet."

Israeli airstrikes have killed more than 4,000 Palestinians since the conflict began on Oct. 7, the Associated Press reported Saturday. U.S. asylum laws are broken as it is, Ramaswamy told reporters Saturday in Oskaloosa.

"That's not specific just to the Palestinian refugees," Ramaswamy said. "I think that we need to put a freeze on asylum to this country, at least until we have comprehensively reformed the illegal immigration crisis."

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

Philip Joens covers retail, real estate and RAGBRAI for the Des Moines Register. He can be reached at 515-284-8184, pjoens@registermedia.com or on Twitter @Philip_Joens.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Vivek Ramaswamy calls on Congress to reject Ukraine, Israel aid package
Thelma Carol Wine Merchants, 605 W. Virginia St., is temporarily closed after a driver crashed a car into the building early Saturday, causing thousands of dollars worth of damage.

A Walker's Point bottle shop and wine bar is closed until further notice after someone drove a car through the storefront's windows early Saturday.

Thelma Carol Wine Merchants, 605 W. Virginia St., was covered in glass and other debris after the crash, which destroyed thousands of dollars worth of wine bottles and other inventory, said co-owner Rebecca Button.

"We're now in hour 14 of cleaning for today so its been quite a long day," Button said when reached by phone Saturday evening. "We're going to have to restore ourselves."

The car was still inside the store when the owners and authorities arrived shortly after the crash, abandoned by its driver, Button said. It had smashed through the glass panels on the north side of the store. The store was closed at the time of the crash.

The Milwaukee Police Department is investigating the crash and still was seeking an unknown suspect on Monday, according to an email from the department. No injuries have been reported to police.

Thelma Carol Wine Merchants opened last year and is located in Walker's Point, off a roundabout that is surrounded by other bars and restaurants, including Conejito's Place, Great Lakes Distillery and MobCraft Beer.

We see reckless driving constantly," Button said. "We have definitely seen accidents in that roundabout before but nothing of this caliber."

The Walker's Point Association will be discussing traffic calming measures and reckless driving at its next community gathering from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 31 at The George, 429 W. National Ave., according to the association's president.

"Its a terrible accident that happened. Its such a beautiful space in our neighborhood," said Carly Hauser, president of the Walker's Point Association. "Speeding and reckless driving is an issue in Walker's Point just like it is in Milwaukee and most other cities. It's something that's talked about a lot at our community gatherings."

Much of the damage was to the Italian wine section of the store, where many of the pricier and more precious wines were, Button said. Several items of unique and "irreplaceable" furniture that Button had spent months picking out and procuring were also damaged or destroyed, she said.

Button said the building is stable and there was not too much structural damage. She and husband and co-owner Jerel Hall hope to reopen the store in a matter of weeks.

"We are absolutely 100% confident we will be able to reopen," she said.

Button and Hall were at home on the city's east side when they were alerted that something was wrong by the shop's security system around 2 a.m. Saturday, Button said. She said they "shot out of bed" and got to the store as quickly as possible.

"We are completely in shock and dont have words to express our anger and grief," the owners wrote in a post on Thelma Carol Wine Merchants' Facebook page Saturday morning.

Within hours, Button and Hall received an outpouring of support from the surrounding community and from patrons.

"Our Walkers Point community has been so supportive and so wonderful," she told the Journal Sentinel.

Button and Hall realized their dream last year when they opened Thelma Carol Wine Merchants, named after one of each of their grandmothers. The bottle shop and wine bar also sells spirits, beer, cigars and pipe tobacco.

Hall had worked in the wine business for years and Button had a background in hospitality working in restaurants, she said. But they had long wanted to run their own business.

"This is a huge portion of our livelihood. It is everything to us," Button said.

This story has been updated with a correction to the spelling of Jerel Hall's name.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Thelma Carol wine bar in Walker's Point closes after car hits store
Philadelphia police are working on identifying thieves who were caught on surveillance videos during a two-day late September looting spree ransacking local businesses.

In a batch of newly released surveillance videos, the Philadelphia Police Department asked for the community's help in identifying the suspects who were caught on camera breaking into and rampaging an Aldi grocery store, a Walgreens, a Mavis Tire store, a local pharmacy, and an AutoZone.

A group of thieves in sweatshirts and masks were seen breaking into a gas station and jumping on casino machines.

Surveillance footage shows groups smashing doors and windows before rushing the stores and clearing shelves.

In one video, a group of masked thieves are seen gaining entry into a gas station vestibule, tearing down lottery machine, and stomping on them.

WATCH: PHILADELPHIA LOOTERS BREAK INTO, RANSACK LOCALLY OWNED PHARMACY WITH AXES, HAMMERS, STEAL MEDICATION

Police say that the group of thieves escaped in a silver sedan after ransacking the store.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

In another video, the thieves are seen smashing into a Mavis Tire store and leaving with armfuls of stolen goods.

A large group of thieves in Philadelphia are seen grabbing groceries from an Aldi store.

Thieves also stocked up on free groceries at an Aldi, ransacking the discount grocer and leaving with armloads of produce and meat.

The videos are the most recent release from police from a Sept. 26-27 crime spree that devastated and destroyed many businesses throughout the city.

PHILADELPHIA LOOTING ARRESTS CONTINUE TO PILE UP AS DA'S OFFICE AND POLICE REVIEW EVIDENCE

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said that authorities have arrested over 70 people in connection to the crimes, but the department is still working on identifying and holding the alleged thieves accountable for their actions.

Masked looters are seen entering a local pharmacy and ransacking the business before disappearing into the night. Philadelphia police are working on identifying the suspects caught on surveillance videos and are asking the public's help.

Orem said the DAs office is collaborating with the police department and going through the many pieces of video evidence collected and affidavits to continue to charge those responsible.

LAWYER FOR LOOTER KNOWN AS MEATBALL CLAIMS CRITICISM AGAINST LIVE-STREAMER IS RACIST

Philadelphia Police Commissioner John Stanford said that the looting "would not be tolerated."

"The criminal behavior of looting, burglary, theft and vandalism that we experienced as a city early last week, will not be tolerated," Stanford said in a press release a week after the crime spree.

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner gives an update on arrests involving looting that took place last week at several stores.

The chaos started just hours after a judge dismissed charges against former police officer Mark Dial in the fatal shooting of 27-year-old Eddie Irizarry.

Fox News Digital's Greg Wehner contributed to this report.





Original article source: WATCH: New footage of Philadelphia looters ransacking pharmacies, gas station with armloads of stolen goods
Ambulance crews were experiences "handover delays" at hospitals across Wales

An ambulance spent 28 hours outside a hospital after an "extraordinary incident" was declared due to delays.

The Welsh Ambulance Service said 16 ambulances had waited outside the emergency department at Morriston Hospital, Swansea, at one time.

It said multiple sites across Wales were affected.

The extraordinary incident, which asked people to only call 990 if their emergency was "life or limb threatening", is now over.

Lee Brooks, director of operations, told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast the situation was "heart-breaking".

Judith Bryce, assistant director of operations at the Welsh Ambulance Service, said on Sunday the service was experiencing "patient handover delays outside of emergency departments".

"This is taking its toll on our ability to respond within the community," she said.

At the peak of the delays 16 ambulances were queued outside Morriston Hospital

"Approaching our declaration of an extraordinary incident, we have experienced multiple episodes of prolonged patient handover at multiple sites across Wales."

She said additional managerial and clinical support were brought in at Morriston.

'Not great for patient dignity'

On Monday, Mr Brooks said the situation had been "particularly challenging". The extraordinary incident is now over, but pressures remain.

"We had a couple of sites across Wales where we were experiencing long waits for patients to move from ambulances to emergency departments, but most of it at Morriston Hospital in Swansea," he said.

"When that happens that of course has an impact on our ability to respond to other patients in the community."

He added the trust was "creating more capacity to respond to patients" and that response to red category patients has "nearly doubled in the last three, four years".

"Of course, by month we're losing in the region of 19,000 hours, which is almost a week's worth of ambulance capacity, so that's quite a chunk taken out of our ability to respond."

He said the problem was linked to "broader patient flow constraints" and was expected to worsen over the winter.

"This is generating a huge amount of frustration it's not a great experience for patients, it's not great for dignity."

He described the situation as "heart-breaking".

Welsh Conservative health spokesman Russell George called the situation an "atrocious example" of the "wider Labour failure to run our Welsh NHS properly".

He said that there needed to be "massive change in social care" and added that the Conservatives would "establish care hotels and encourage former NHS staff to become reservists to stop ambulances queuing outside of hospitals".

Plaid Cymru spokesman for health and care, Mabon ap Gwynfor, described the NHS in Wales as being in "a vicious circle".

He added: "Ambulances are queuing because of insufficient beds and there aren't enough beds because of a failure to provide long-promised community and social care."

He said this was coupled with hospital bed closures and a shortage of more than 2,700 nurses.

The Welsh government said it was investing in more community beds, working with social care services to improve patient flow, and dealing with ambulance handover delays.

It said it was concerned about delays at Morriston and across Wales.

A spokesman added: "We are seeking assurance from health boards about the actions taken to de-escalate ongoing pressures, caused by an increase in demand and patient flow issues.

"We will continue to monitor the situation."
LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  Fans flocked to the Las Vegs Festival Grounds Saturday as The When We Were Young Festival kicked off for its second year in Las Vegas.

From Good Charlotte to Green Day and Avril Lavigne, fans flocked to the festival grounds for the two-day event.

These are all the bands I listen to in high school, so its perfectly named When We Were Young, Travis Darnell who was visiting from Indiana said.

The number of visitors near and along the Las Vegas Strip was hard to miss as traffic followed on every corner.

Australia natives Amelia Grace and Anastasia were beyond thrilled to be in the States for the first time, enjoying everything Las Vegas has to offer, with the music festival being at the top of their list.

It is a whole over here compared to home but its non-stop exciting thats for sure, Amelia Grace said.

As for major backups, Metro police were out patrolling the roadways, allowing cars to pass and pedestrians to get by.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.
Gabby Petito. Natalee Hollaway. Elizabeth Smart. These are names most Americans recognize when you talk about missing young women.

But mention Kierra Coles, who was also pregnant, Destini Smothers, or Kathryn Bene Griffin, and their names may not be familiar at all.

Read more

Black peopleBlack womendeserve better. Way better. The Ebony Alert system should be worldwide, just like its predecessor.

The AMBER (Americas Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response) alert system was created in 1996 after 9-year-old Amber Hagerman was kidnapped and murdered in Arlington, Texas.

According to the federal website amberalert.ojp.gov, the AMBER Alert system is actively used, not just nationwide, but in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Indian country, and 31 countries globally.

As of January 2, 2023, 1,127 children were successfully recovered through the AMBER Alert system and 131 children were rescued because of wireless emergency alerts, the website states.

Thousands of people are reported missing every year in the U.S., according to a statement on the website of the Black and Missing Foundation. And while not every case will get widespread media attention, the coverage of white and minority victims is far from proportionate.

The real tragedy is that while Black people comprise just 13 percent of the U.S. population, nearly 40 percent of those who regularly go missing are African Americans, the U.S. Census reports.

According to Black and Missing, of the 546,568 people reported missing in 2022, just 57 percent were white, including Hispanic; 39 percent were minorities, and 3 percent were unknown.

Minorities who have vanished arent even cataloged the same way in crime statistics. In 2022, there were 313,017 cases filed by the National Crime Information Center where the race of the reported missing was White, according to the NCICs website. In the same year, 18,928 people were missing whose race was unknown.

Its like no one is even bothering to note the racial breakdowns.

That is another thing that needs to change.

The fact is thousands of people are reported missing every year in the United States and while not every case will get widespread media attention, the coverage of white and minority victims is far from proportionate, according to the Black and Missing Foundation.

When Black girls and women go missing, the country doesnt come to a standstill the way it does when a white girl or woman goes missing, Feminista Jones writes for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

She noted, While African American females make up less than 7 percent of the population, they account for about 10 percent of all missing persons with an estimated 64,000 of them being missing at any given moment, according to the Black and Missing Foundation.

If more black women of color vanish and die from violence, why isnt that reflected in media coverage?

The answer is simple: If you dont have blonde hair and blue eyes, Lynnette Gray Bull of the Not Our Native Daughters Foundation told Joy Reid on her show The ReidOut, Our stories do not make it to the 6 oclock news.

Whats the solution?

Newspapers, radio stations, television outlets, bloggers, and the Black pressall of us need to care and become more inclusive in the coverage of ALL missing womennot just missing White women.

It begins in newsrooms where diversity has always been an issue.

But there are things you can do in addition to contacting legislators in your state and asking them to take the Ebony Alert system nationwide. If youre on social media sites (whether thats TikTok, a Facebook page, or Black Twitter), going to Black churches, speaking or teaching on college campuses or other venues and you hear of the case of a missing woman, child, or person of color, share it. Talk about it. Tell your friends! If it happens in your neighborhood, call the local press and ask them to amplify it. And remember, even if that person vanished in New Jersey, it doesnt mean that person is still in the state.

Their kidnapper may have taken them elsewhere.

We must also urge Congress to create national legislation, so everyone is forced to pay attention to what should be categorized as much more than just a horrific oversight.

Heres a thought: Perhaps President Biden can take the Ebony Alert system nationwide with an Executive Order.

Aliah Wright is the author of the forthcoming novel, Now You Owe Me, a thriller about missing women in Pennsylvania.





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A Nashville teacher made headlines this month for removing a White elementary students shirt because it was emblazoned with the letters of her historically Black sorority.

A spokesperson for Metro Nashville Public Schools told CNN the sorority shirt violated McGavock Elementary School dress code due to having writing, but stressed that it should not have been exchanged for a school uniform polo without parental permission.

The school will follow the districts employee relations process and counsel the staff member on appropriate conduct in these regards, the spokesperson told CNN.

The incident has since sparked a conversation online about why the teacher had such an intense reaction to the child wearing her sororitys letters  and whether this behavior should be praised or condemned.

Vice President Kamala Harris arrives to speak to the 70th Boule of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., at the Orange County Convention Center, on Thursday, July 14, 2022. - Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel via AP

While many members of the nine Black Greek-letter organizations  known collectively as the Divine Nine  did not support the teachers actions, some members said they understood the passion that drove her reaction.

Lawrence Ross, author of The Divine Nine: The History of African American Fraternities and Sororities, told CNN more than a century of history, dedication and service makes members fiercely protective of who is allowed to represent a fraternity or sorority by wearing their letters.

Ross, who himself is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., a Divine Nine organization, said in his opinion theres a difference in a young girl wearing a shirt because she likes the signature pink and green colors of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., and an adult who wears the letters knowing they are not a member.

For those people who say, Eh, thats just (a shirt), it doesnt really matter they also dont really believe or understand (Black Greek) fraternity and sorority life, he said.

A legacy grounded in activism

Many Divine Nine sororities and fraternities were founded in the early 20th century during a time when racism and discrimination against Black Americans was pervasive.

In the early 1900s, after Black Americans graduated from Freedmens Schools  founded after the abolition of slavery to teach children as well as adults  and other religious educational institutions, Ross said people of color began enrolling in college to obtain better education and economic opportunities.

At the time, he said, White fraternities and sororities often had restrictive racial clauses in their constitutions that would not allow Black Americans and other people of color to join their organizations.

So, Black students founded their own fraternal organizations that reflected their culture and lived experiences.

The organizations that form the Divine Nine are:

Throughout their history, membership in the Divine Nine organizations was not only about enhancing the collegiate experience, but also uplifting the Black community.

Divine Nine founders and earliest members placed themselves at the forefront of critical issues in America, such as voting rights, racial justice and equal education, Ross said.

Nearly two months after Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., was founded on January 13, 1913, the sorority participated in the Woman Suffrage March in Washington, DC.

Prominent civil rights leaders, including Martin Luther King, Jr., and W.E.B. Du Bois  both members of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.  lead the movement for racial justice in the United States.

Today, the Divine Nine organizations boast hundreds of chapters across the US and around the world. Traditions such as stepping, which is a blend of African traditional movements and American dance styles, are often associated with Divine Nine organizations.

But they have also maintained their commitment to philanthropy and service through scholarships, community service and programs to develop their members personally and professionally.

Were usually the first people that people turn to for help, Ross said, adding that Divine Nine organizations play a central role in the Black community and often provide mentorship and guidance to the next generation.

There is also an exclusivity of who adorns the letters, the organizations say. To even be considered for membership, there are certain academic and community service requirements that must be met along with commitment to upholding moral character.

Its a big deal, Ross said. Theres a level of dedication that goes with becoming a member  Youre pledging yourself to work on behalf of your community with those representing something larger than yourself. And it takes a lot of hard work and sacrifice to do so.

The importance of traditions and paraphernalia

Black Greek-letter organizations distinguish themselves with colors, calls and letters. And, as a show of pride and to signify their membership, those in the organizations wear clothing and items bearing their Greek symbols also known as paraphernalia.

Ross told CNN it is even included in the organizations protocols that their paraphernalia is only to be worn by duly initiated members and there are rules around when and where to be dressed in the letters.

According to CNN affiliate WTVF, the Nashville teacher at the center of controversy around the second grade students AKA t-shirt, also sent an email to the childs mom explaining that, AKA branded items are trademarked and reserved for members only.

Members of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. participate in the 2017 Martin Luther King Jr. Day March and Rally at the MLK Center on January 16, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. - Paras Griffin/Getty Images

While some Divine Nine members on social media said they understood the teachers actions because the child should not have been wearing the shirt, others disagreed and said the teacher went a step too far by removing a 7-year-olds clothes.

Other recent incidents of people who are not members wearing paraphernalia or using hand signs have also sparked anger and backlash among some members.

Actress Amanda Seales faced criticism in 2021 for wearing the AKA letters in an episode of the television series Insecure. Though her character was described as a member of the organization, Seales was criticized by some on social media for wearing the sororitys letters because she herself was not a member.

Rapper Boosie BadAzz has also faced online backlash for wearing Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., paraphernalia and apologized in 2020 after he posted pictures in the fraternitys t-shirt.

Traditions rooted in African and Black culture

Ross encourages people to research and learn more about Divine Nine sorority and fraternity culture. But, he said, once a person is aware, they should be respectful of the organizations cultures and traditions.

All of these things are culturally relevant, you should listen to understand, he said. You cant understand what our devotion is and has been in the Black community  without understanding the Divine Nine.

Members of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. 1951. - Afro American Newspapers/Gado/Getty Images

For Divine Nine sororities and fraternities, membership doesnt end once a person graduates from college, it can be extended through graduate school chapters and lasts for a lifetime.

Membership continues because thats our connection to our greater goal, Ross said. We cant afford a localized college experience. Our college experience has to be able to go back into the community, has to go back into our family, has to go back and lift the people who were not able to go to college or aspire to go to college, or their kids aspire to go to college.

Some of the organizations also extend honorary membership to those who have excelled significantly in their careers or made notable contributions to society. In July, US Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson became an honorary member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Together, members celebrate each others milestones, such as graduations and weddings, with songs and chants. Members are also eulogized in memorial services after their death.

The lifelong bond is built through lifelong service, Ross said. We are in the experience business and because we all have experiences that impact our lives, that bond never goes away.

Disclaimer: Chandelis Duster is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

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There has been quite a hullaballoo in Nigeria recently over the fact that the three top candidates in February's presidential elections presented academic records showing different names to those by which they are now known.

Allegations of forgery or impersonation have been made and vigorously denied, with various explanations for the discrepancies offered by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi - or their spokespersons and supporters.

The courts of law will probably determine how the most serious of these allegations are eventually resolved, but it has led me to reflect on how a number of Nigerians utilise their many names.

Most Nigerians have more than one name apart from their surname. Most people I know have as many as five or six.

In a society where many cultures name a child based on the circumstances of their birth, their position in the family, or the parents' hopes for the child's future, one person can have different names that reflect each of these different considerations.

For example, a Yoruba child could be named Taiwo Peter Tokunbo Olamide - Taiwo (meaning he is the firstborn of twins), Peter (Christian name), Tokunbo (meaning he was born abroad), and Olamide (my wealth/success has arrived).

The catalogue of carefully thought-out traditional names with deep meanings usually includes an English one, especially for Christians.

It can also include names given by grandparents - a privilege that some couples afford their parents after a new child is born.

I have three names - two Igbo and one Christian.

I could have added a second Christian name in my teenage years, when I was a member of the Roman Catholic church.

While taking the sacrament of confirmation (in which you're asked to formally affirm your faith and beliefs), the priest at my boarding school in south-eastern Nigeria asked all confirmands to choose an additional Christian name to mark the occasion.

However, I still presented "Tricia", which was the same name by which I had received the sacrament of baptism shortly after I was born.

I just did not feel like having another name.

Some of my classmates, on the other hand, used the opportunity of their parents' absence at the school to take on funky names that the older generation might never have thought of, such as Madonna.

Many Nigerians I know slide between their various names for different reasons or occasions.

It could be anything from feeling like a fresh start or deciding that they do not like the meaning of what they have previously been called, to finding themselves in a new environment where few people can properly pronounce their more popular name.

Many are the times I have come across a childhood friend who used to be, say, Ogadimma, but who is now, say, Ego.

Many Nigerians have different names on different official documents, like identity cards

It becomes even more complicated when you travel to more rural parts of Nigeria.

In the course of my reporting work in such regions, I have frequently encountered people whose names on their identity card were completely different - surname included - from the name on their bank account. Sometimes they have been different to the name by which they are known in their communities.

"Madam, this one is my village name while that one is the name that I used to go to school," I was told more than once.

"The other one is my family name."

It never seemed to occur to them that having multiple names on different official documents could lead to problems down the line, especially if they suddenly find themselves in a society or system that takes record-keeping more seriously than Nigeria appears to do.

Many investigative reports have shown how easy it is to walk into a Nigerian government office and receive an official document that states a name, date of birth, or place of origin that may not necessarily be accurate.

Apathetic civil servants often do not seem to care. And on the occasions when they do, a few naira notes squeezed into a palm can make someone turn a blind eye.

The Chibok girls who escaped from Boko Haram were offered scholarships

I encountered this same casual attitude towards names while working with different groups who offered support to the Chibok community after the 2014 kidnapping of 276 girls from their school dormitory in the north-eastern Nigerian town.

Some charities made lists of the 57 girls who, within hours of their kidnapping, managed to jump out of the trucks being used to ferry them into the Sambisa forest stronghold of the Boko Haram jihadists who had raided the school.

The groups then offered scholarships in different parts of the world to these escaped girls.

When some of them chose to not accept the offer, their families simply passed on the opportunity to other siblings or children of close friends who were interested, without bothering to let the charities know about the exchange.

"There are many girls that have graduated from school in the name of Boko Haram but they were never victims," said Yakubu Nkeki, chairman of the association of missing Chibok girls' parents.

He explained to me that he did not support the substitutions but was in many cases overridden by his kinsfolk, who often fell out with him when he tried to oppose them.

"Some of them were not even living in Chibok," he added.

"Their parents were in Abuja or Port Harcourt or Lagos but they said they were Chibok girls."

These young women will probably spend the rest of their academic lives under someone else's name - something likely to not be a hardship to those used to adapting to different names in different places.

Similar exchanges happened when charities offered scholarships to siblings of the missing girls.

Opponents of President Tinubu are hoping that the ongoing controversy will lead to his election being overturned at the Supreme Court.

They have gone to great lengths in the traditional and social media to try to prove that the different names on his different certificates show that his academic claims are fraudulent.

Whatever the eventual political outcome of all this, it might end up also being a lesson for Nigerians all over the world to legally harmonise their multiple and fluid names on all official records.

Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani is a freelance Nigerian journalist and novelist based in Abuja.

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A woman was stabbed on a Central Ohio Transit Authority bus during a fight Saturday morning, according to police.

Police say they were dispatched to the 2900 block of East Main Street at 7 a.m. where they found the woman with a stab wound to the abdomen.

Read More: Franklin County Sheriff's deputy arrested when he was showed up for work

She was taken to a local hospital in critical condition, according to police. The hospital was not identified.

Witnesses told police the victim was stabbed by another woman on the bus during the fight. The suspect ran from the scene on foot.

mawilliams@dispatch.com

@BizMarkWilliams

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: A woman was stabbed on a COTA bus Saturday morning
Emirates Health Services (EHS) and Burjeel Hospital for Advanced Surgery, Dubai, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to bolster the delivery of health services within government schools.

The entities joint efforts align with sustainable development goals in the field of public health and encompass strategic cooperation in several key areas such as developing the medical environment in schools, enhancing students awareness through educational programmes, improving counselling and therapeutic services, and expanding community partnerships.

The signing of the MoU took place in the presence of Dr Mohammad Salim Al Olama, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Emirates Health Services; Dr Yousif Mohammed Al-Serkal, Director General of Emirates Health Services; and Dr Shamsheer Vayalil, Founder and Chairman of Burjeel Holdings. The MoU was signed by Dr Essam Al Zarooni, Acting Executive Director of Medical Services at Emirates Health Services, and Bruno Dsouza, Regional Chief Operating Officer for Dubai and the Northern Emirates, Burjeel Holdings.

Shared goals

Dr Al Olama said EHS is committed to achieving shared goals through the exchange of knowledge and experiences, working towards improving medical services, boosting their quality, activating partnerships between the public and private sectors, and enhancing integration among various healthcare institutions.

He expressed EHS keenness to expand cooperation through joint projects and programmes that benefit the healthcare sector, thus contributing to the enhancement of healthcare tools and the quality of services provided to patients.

Dr Al-Serkal elaborated that EHS, through this strategic partnership, is advancing its vision for the future of healthcare services. He pointed out that the MoU with Burjeel Hospital for Advanced Surgery contributes to enhancing healthcare services, aligning with the strategic objectives of providing the best medical practices and standards while ensuring the sustainability of comprehensive healthcare development for the community. This is in accordance with the national vision We are the Emirates 2031 and the aspirations of the UAE Centennial 2071.

Key step

He said the MoU represents a significant step towards improving and expanding the scope of healthcare services for the community at large, with a particular focus on school students. The cooperation and coordination between the two entities creates an opportunity for knowledge and expertise sharing, continuous improvement of health operations and advanced technology, and the fulfilment of EHS strategic objectives aimed at enhancing the quality of health in government schools and promoting health awareness among male and female students.

Dr Vayalil noted the MoU is a testament to the expertise of the Group, saying: We are proud and honoured by this valuable partnership with EHS. This collaboration is a great opportunity for knowledge exchange between our two entities. We are focused on delivering the highest level of healthcare to beneficiaries and bringing about positive change in the lives of the people we serve.

Dr Shamsa Majid Lootah, Director of Public Health Department at Emirates Health Services (EHS), reaffirmed that the MoU actively supports efforts to enhance the health and quality of life of students. This commitment entails implementing comprehensive school health programmes tailored to meet the health, psychological, and preventive needs of students, aligning with the EHS public health programme.

The MoU encompasses various initiatives, such as early-stage scoliosis examinations, the provision of healthy foods for students with chronic conditions like obesity and diabetes, and the undertaking of studies and research projects aimed at strengthening the cooperative framework between the two entities.--TradeArabia News Service
President promotes Korean firms' participation in Saudi projects

By Nam Hyun-woo

President Yoon Suk Yeol expressed hopes for the participation of South Korean businesses in Saudi Arabias Vision 2030 for economic diversification, stressing the synergistic potential between Seouls technology and Riyadhs growth potential.

Yoon made the remark in a written interview with the Saudi newspaper, Al Riyadh, published on Sunday. He arrived in Riyadh early on Sunday for a state visit to the kingdom.

If Saudi Arabias growth potential and South Koreas technology are combined, there are unlimited opportunities for complementary partnerships, Yoon said.

Based on knowhow and experiences concerning economic development and South Korean firms technological prowess, South Korea will contribute to Saudi Arabias effective realization of Vision 2030.

Saudi Vision 2030 is a road map overseen by Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman aimed at lowering the kingdoms economic reliance on oil and moving on to future growth industries.

Yoon said he highly evaluated Vision 2030 and the countrys growth potential, citing its young population, with the two countries economic partnerships already expanding into various industrial fields after the two sides signed multiple contracts and memoranda of understanding (MOUs) worth $29 billion on the occasion of Prince Mohammeds visit to Seoul in November last year.

South Korea is one of the main cooperation nations for realizing Saudi Arabias Vision 2030, and I believe our cooperation will increase in various areas, including construction, infrastructure, energy, investment and culture, Yoon said.

Yoon said that Riyadh is the biggest construction market for South Korean builders, accounting for nearly 20 percent of their total overseas construction orders, and he believes Korean firms will be a good partner for Saudi Arabias construction of NEOM smart city.

In line with this, Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong visited Saudi Arabia earlier this month. Samsungs construction unit, Samsung C&T, is participating in the construction of an underground railway, a key transportation and logistics tool for NEOM.

Including Lee, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun, GS Group Chairman Huh Tae-soo and other leaders of conglomerates joined Yoons Saudi visit.

Yoon noted that the potential for the two countries partnerships is also significant in the fields of the hydrogen value chain or renewable energy, adding that he seeks government-level consultation for those sectors.

In regards to geopolitical issues, Yoon said he wants to proactively cooperate with Saudi Arabia in deterring North Koreas nuclear and missile ambitions, given Riyadhs firm support of nuclear non-proliferation.

Yoon noted in the interview that his state visit will be a venue for exchanging opinions on how the two countries can contribute to world peace and sustainable growth, amid the Norths nuclear and missile provocations, the conflict between Israel and Hamas and the war in Ukraine. However, the interview did not reveal whether Yoon made additional comments on the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Yoons visit marks the South Korean presidents first state visit to Saudi Arabia. To welcome Yoon, two F-15 fighter jets from the Royal Saudi Air Force provided an escort for Yoons presidential jet. Yoon will leave Riyadh on Wednesday and make a state visit to Qatar.
A man driving a truck and another man on a bicycle got into a heated argument Saturday night near the area where a pro-Palestine demonstration was being held in northeast Fresno.

And it was a bystander woman who ended up with a broken bone.

Fresno police received 911 calls of the disturbance around. 6 p.m. in the parking lot near the P.F. Changs restaurant in the River Park Shopping Center. A pro-Palestine demonstration was being held several feet away, closer to the roadway near the intersection of Blackstone and Nees avenues.

Lt. Zeb Price said a 60-year-old man in a pickup truck got into an argument with a bicyclist who was affiliated with the demonstration.

The bicyclist began punching the truck driver through the vehicles window.

Thats when the truck driver sped off and struck a woman who was walking in the P.F. Changs parking lot.

The woman, who also was tied with the pro-Palestine demonstration, suffered a broken ankle. She was transported to Fresno Regional Community Medical Center, where she was in stable condition.

The bicyclist was not injured, though his bike was struck and damaged by the fleeing truck.

The man driving the pickup was later detained by police and faces the possibility of a hit-and-run charge, as well as driving under the influence.

Price said there were approximately 50 witnesses who came up to police. However, it was not immediately known what the truck driver and bicyclist were arguing about.

The bicyclist could be facing assault charges, Price added.

The pro-Palestine demonstration continued throughout the disturbance.

This is the second time in the past two years that someone has been injured near or at a pro-Palestine demonstration.

In May 2021, a man pepper sprayed protesters near the same location by the River Park Shopping Center.
The Space Coast witnessed a record-smashing display of launch activity Oct. 13 when SpaceX launched a Falcon Heavy and a Falcon 9 rocket just eight hours and 42 minutes apart.

That kind of breakneck orbital launch pace hasn't been seen since the busiest days of the Space Race when NASA's Gemini program in 1966 launched two separate vehicles during a roughly 90-minute window.

The world's busiest spaceport rewrote another record this year with Saturday night's Starlink launch: the number of orbital missions launched. It was the 58th launch of the year, breaking last year's total and it's still October.

For more than five decades, set in 1966, that number stood at 29. It finally fell in 2020 with the addition of just one more launch. It's only increased every year since. Last year's record of 57 nearly doubled 2021's previous record of 31 orbital launches.

At the breathless pace of about twice a week, by year's end, Brevard could witness nearly 70 launches from Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

"It's such a contrast to where we were 12 years ago when the space shuttle was retired," Laura Forczyk, a physicist and space industry consulting firm owner, told FLORIDA TODAY. "The Space Coast was in this depression where people were not sure what the future looked like. They assumed that there would be commercial access to space, but government was all they knew. It is such a paradigm shift."

That huge increase in launch activity is creating a logjam. The number of launch pads and the availability of the Eastern Range, which oversees launches from KSC and Cape Canaveral, is limited.

To expand those limitations and address the near daily requests to support rocket launches for companies ranging from small startups like Relativity Space to mega-launchers like SpaceX, the Space Force recently had to reactivate facilities that haven't been used since the days of NASA's Gemini program.

One of those historic sites, Launch Complex 14, was assigned to Stoke Space  a small startup founded in 2019 in Kent, Washington, dedicated to building a fully reusable two-stage rocket.

In a social media post in March, Andy Lapsa, co-founder of Stoke Space, said, "This is the same site John Glenn used to become the first American to reach orbit. Needless to say, this is incredibly humbling. We will work tirelessly to make his legacy, our country, and our world proud."

More launch pads and more rocket companies sending payloads to space are good for tourists eager to watch a rocket soar into the sky, and its also enticing for commercial space companies hoping to become part of this country's storied space history.

The flurry of nonstop action, expansion, and opportunity continuously draws new launchers and aerospace companies to Florida, bringing hundreds of jobs to the Space Coast each year.

"Florida has grown significantly in integration  it's got the manufacturing, it's got the integrating into the rockets, and then it also has the ability for the landings both to land and off the coast," Forczyk said. "All of that really ties together to make it a more seamless one-stop-shop location for all spaceflight."

Space Perspective, Amazon's Project Kuiper, and Draper have all held groundbreaking ceremonies for new facilities on the Space Coast in just the last couple of months.

Here's a breakdown of some of the changes on the horizon at the spaceport. Also, take a look at which companies and rockets call each of the Space Coast's launch pads home now or plan to in the future.

NASA's Kennedy Space Center:

A 200-square-mile section of Florida swamp immediately north of the U.S. Air Force's Cape Canaveral facilities was acquired by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1961. Kennedy Space Center was envisioned to meet President Kennedy's goal of building a pathway to the moon with three launch pads to support massive Saturn V rocket launches.

While three were planned, budgetary constraints cut that vision down to two: pad 39A and pad 39B.

NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida continues to grow as a multi-user spaceport to launch both government and commercial rockets. SpaceXs Axiom-1 is in the foreground on Launch Pad 39A with NASAs Artemis I in the background on Launch Pad 39B on April 6, 2022. (Credit: NASA/Jamie Peer)

Stretching from the Gemini and Apollo programs of the 1960s to the space shuttle program through the early 2000s, both pads have seen their fair share of historic missions. Now, they're home to NASA's Commercial Crew Program partner SpaceX and the agency's Artemis program, the flagship attempt to return astronauts to the lunar surface by 2030.

Launch Complex 39A - SpaceX Falcon 9 & Falcon Heavy rockets

Launch Complex 39A is perhaps the most well-known launch pad in the world. It's where Apollo 11 launched on July 16, 1969, with astronauts Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong, and Michael Collins for the first mission to put a man on the moon. It's also the location where the first and last launches of NASA's space shuttle program occurred 30 years apart.

Now, it's home to SpaceX.

In 2014, the commercial launch company signed a lease with NASA to modify and control the complex for 20 years. Since then, it has been retrofitted to support launches of the company's Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets for crewed, cargo, and commercial payload missions.

SpaceX's first Commercial Crew Program mission lifted off from pad 39A on May 30, 2020, sending astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the International Space Station. Since then, SpaceX has flown seven other crewed missions for NASA from pad 39A as well as three privately funded astronaut missions of its own.

If all goes well, in the coming years, SpaceX aims to expand its launch operations at pad 39A to include its massive Starship Super Heavy rocket, intended for missions to the moon and one day to Mars. Construction to support infrastructure for those missions has been underway for years.

Launch Complex 39B - NASA Space Launch System rocket

NASA's Launch Complex 39B has also seen its fair share of historic missions, from the Saturn IB and Saturn V rockets to the space shuttle and Ares I-X vehicle of NASA's canceled Constellation program.

The first mission to liftoff from pad 39B was Apollo 10 on May 18, 1969. Now, it's the exclusive home to NASA's mega moon rocket, the 320-foot Space Launch System rocket designed to launch crewed Artemis missions to the moon.

The first Artemis mission lifted off on November 16, 2022. The Artemis I mission was an uncrewed test flight of NASA's Orion spacecraft, which propelled it around the moon and back, wrapping up with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

Artemis II, the next in a series of increasingly complex missions, is slated to launch NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and the Canadian Space Agency's Jeremy Hansen on a flyby mission around the moon late next year.

If the Artemis II mission goes off without a hitch, NASA plans to launch the Artemis III moon landing mission about a year later, in December 2025. NASA has said one of those crew members will be a woman, making it the first time a woman is planned to set foot on the moon.

With Artemis, NASA spearheads the joint effort with its international and commercial partners to establish a sustained human presence on the lunar surface as a stepping stone on the path to Mars.

Cape Canaveral Space Force Station:

Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, located to the southeast of KSC, is controlled by the Department of Defense. It's operated by the Space Force's Space Launch Delta 45, which oversees all operations across the Eastern Range  a swath of land and sea that encompasses KSC and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station but also extends more than 10,000 miles from the Florida mainland through the South Atlantic and into the Indian Ocean.

The station's origins extend back to the Army's missile testing efforts in the 1940s. Permanent launch pads meant for orbital missions were built in the 1950s and 1960s, with many still standing today.

Commercial launch companies of all sizes now call Cape Canaveral Space Force Station home.

SpaceX, Blue Origin, and United Launch Alliance occupy pads along with Relativity Space and Space Florida. Newly reactivated launch sites have also been designated to account for up-and-coming companies Phantom Space, Vaya Space, Stoke Space, and ABL Space Systems.

Aerial view of "missile row" at then, Cape Kennedy Air Force Station, Fla., in 1964. Missile Row included Atlas Launch Complexes 11, 12, 13 and 14, followed by Titan pads at 15,16,19 and 20.

Launch Complex 37B - United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket

United Launch Alliance leases Launch Complex 37 from the U.S. Space Force.

It was constructed in 1963 and used for uncrewed Apollo missions aboard Saturn I and IB rockets. Now, it's home to ULA's massive triple-core Delta IV Heavy rocket.

While previous iterations of rockets in the Delta family began launching from this pad in the early 2000s, they've all since been retired. Similarly, ULA is set to retire the Delta IV Heavy sometime next year in favor of the next-generation Vulcan Centaur rocket.

When the final flight of the Delta IV Heavy rocket with a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office does lift off, ULA is set to terminate its lease of Launch Complex 37 and return it to the Space Force. No plans have been released yet to reveal what's in store for the pad's future.

Launch Complex 40 - SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket

Currently, pad 40 is primarily used to launch SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket with batches of the company's Starlink internet satellite missions and other commercial satellites at a rate of nearly twice a week.

"In an effort to more efficiently use the space available at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, launch service providers will be launching and landing in their own complexes," Space Launch Delta 45 said in a statement to FLORIDA TODAY.

That means SpaceX will need to evolve its operations in the coming years.

The company is already in the process of transforming pad 40 into a facility that can simultaneously support launches and booster landings, a model that is operational in California at the company's Vandenberg Space Force Base launch and landing site.

This composite image by SpaceX shows a Falcon 9 rocket launch with the first stage booster returning for landing at Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

Another change on the horizon for the Space Coast is that human spaceflight missions will soon be launching from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, something that hasn't happened in over five decades.

Along with eventually outfitting pad 40 to support booster landings, SpaceX teams are already in the process of constructing a crew access tower alongside the launch pad to support crewed missions.

Bill Gerstenmaier, SpaceX vice president for build and flight reliability, said in a pre-launch briefing last year, It gives (SpaceX) some flexibility to move some things off (pad) 39A, which helps us balance launches off both pads."

He added that the company will first target to launch space station cargo resupply missions, then "add crew at the right time.

Launch Complex 41 - United Launch Alliance Atlas V & Vulcan rockets

United Launch Alliance leases Launch Complex 41 from the Space Force at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

From pad 41, ULA flies its Atlas V family of rockets and is slated to use the same pad to launch the company's next generation of rocket called the Vulcan Centaur.

United Launch Alliance is set to join the crewed mission action from pad 41 when Boeing's long-delayed Starliner spacecraft is certified by NASA for crewed missions for launch aboard ULA's Atlas V rocket.

Speaking at the National Space Club Florida Committee luncheon on Sept. 12, NASA's Janet Petro, director of the Kennedy Space Center, said Starliner's CFT mission could "mark the first time since Apollo 7 from Launch Complex 34 in 1968 that humans have flown to space from Cape Canaveral."

Petro said that NASA is "very excited about that."

Launch Complex 16 - Relativity Space Terran 1 and Terran R rockets

Last year, Relativity Space, with about 60 full-time workers at its Florida launch site, transitioned Launch Complex 16 from a construction site to an operational launch pad.

"In a short timeframe and the small team we have, we put a lot of work together to get to where we're at right now," Lorenzo Locante, Relativity's lead launch engineer, told FLORIDA TODAY during an exclusive tour of the complex last year. "To be a part of this team has been an impressive part of my history and my life."

In March, the company launched its first 3D-printed Terran 1 rocket, though a problem with the second-stage engine resulted in it failing to reach orbit and tumbling back to Earth. After just one launch, Relativity turned its focus to a larger and more capable vehicle called Terran R.

This rendering shows future plans for Relativity Space's operations at Launch Complex 16. The larger hangar will support the larger Terran R series of rockets.

Terran R will allow the company to better compete and fly larger satellites like those handled by SpaceX's Falcon 9 and United Launch Alliance's upcoming Vulcan. It will be powered by 13 Aeon engines and, standing at 270 feet tall will overshadow a SpaceX Falcon 9 by about 50 feet. It will also stand about 70 feet higher than ULA's upcoming Vulcan.

Though Relativity pegged the Terran R's debut for no earlier than 2026, it's more likely to fly sometime in the next five years.

Launch Complex 46 - Space Florida's multi-user launch facility

As a way to provide launch capability to as wide of a market as possible, Space Florida has fashioned Launch Complex 46 as a multi-user spaceport. The state's aerospace finance and development authority partnered with the U.S. Navy for control of the launch site in 1993.

Since then, according to Space Florida, "Over $6.8 million of commercial, federal, and state funds have been invested."

The facility is outfitted with a Mobile Access Structure, launch stand, and other infrastructure to allow commercial launch companies to essentially plug in their own hardware and launch within a few days' time. Virtually any company with a rocket smaller than 120 feet tall can launch from pad 46.

Last year, startup launch company Astra Space launched its 43-foot-tall Rocket 3.3 from pad 46 on a science mission for NASA. Other notable launches from the site include Orbital ATKs launch of a Minotaur IV rocket in 2017 and a mock version of NASA's Orion capsule atop a former ballistic missile for the agency's ascent abort-2 test flight in 2019.

Reactivated and reserved launch pads:

According to Space Launch Delta 45, although Launch Complexes 13, 14, and 15 have been reactivated, they are still under development and considered reserved for future use by Phantom Space, Vaya Space, Stoke Space, and ABL Space Systems.

Phantom Space is an Arizona-based company that builds a family of small, reusable rockets to deliver in-house manufactured satellites. Vaya Space is a Space Coast-based startup working toward a future of sustainable launches with the production of a small hybrid rocket. ABL Space Systems, founded in 2017, is another small rocket startup based in California.

Even with a new provider leasing a complex, they are not able to just move in and start making changes, Thomas Penders, 45th Civil Engineer Squadron cultural resources manager, said in a May release. There is a list of regulations that have to be followed and after launch providers submit plans, a consultation and review is done.

Such is the case with Launch Complex 36, which is controlled by Space Florida but is now leased for use by Blue Origin.

Launch Complex 36 - Blue Origin New Glenn rocket

Launch Complex 36 is considered an inactive but reserved pad. Blue Origin, which has contracted the use of pad 36 from Space Florida, has revitalized the site to support future launches of its heavy-class New Glenn rocket.

Blue Origins's New Glenn rocket will bring new competition to the heavy-lift market currently dominated by SpaceX and ULA. It's slated to begin operation from the Space Coast sometime next year. At 320 feet tall, the partially reusable rocket that's expected to propel massive payloads beyond low Earth orbit and land vertically for recovery will rival SpaceX's Starship system and NASA's SLS.

According to Space Florida, "Launch Complex 36 was home to dozens of successful Atlas-Centaur launches from the early sixties and was decommissioned in 2007."

Since then, Blue Origin says it has spent "more than $1 billion to rebuild the launch site from the ground up."

In addition to the refurbished launch pad, Blue Origin has built new vehicle integration, first stage refurbishment, and propellant facilities, as well as an environmental control center at the site.

Launch Complexes of the future: LC-13, LC-14 and LC-15

Launch Complex 13 is currently the site of twin pads that SpaceX uses as landing zones for its Falcon 9 boosters. Once SpaceX's lease with Space Launch Delta 45 expires, the dual launch pads will be turned over to Phantom Space and Vaya Space.

Stoke Space will take control of Launch Complex 14 once refurbishment is completed.

Julia Black, director of range operations at Stoke Space, said in a release in May, To be trusted with the reactivation of the historic Launch Complex 14 is an honor, and we look forward to adding to its well distinguished accomplishments for Americas space program,"

Launch Complex 15 will need extensive refurbishment in order to become the dedicated home of ABL Space Systems and its RS1 rocket, which only has one unsuccessful launch from Kodiak Island, Alaska, under its belt.

In a post to social media in March, the company said that it aims to begin launching RS1 from Space Florida's pad 46 later this year until pad restoration is completed at LC-15.

This first round of launch pad allocations was focused on small class vehicles, U.S. Space Force Col. Mark Shoemaker, SLD 45 Vice Commander for operations, said in a release, saying "opening our gates" to new companies will help build the nation's space industrial base.

The coming years will see the competition for launch space both on the ground and on the Eastern Range's calendar grow.

As new companies settle in and a whole new class of launch vehicles set up for their shot to fly as early as next year, the intense pace of launches from the Space Coast is likely to continue.

Here's where to catch the best launch and landing views

Opportunities to catch the best views of a launch (or landing) are plenty along the Space Coast, but some locations offer better chances to see and feel the fun.

Liftoffs from Kennedy Space Center are best viewed from places north or west of the space center, including Playalinda Beach, the Max Brewer Bridge, or anywhere along the riverside in Titusville.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL Friday, October 13, 2023. The rocket is carrying a batch of Starlink satellites. This was the second launch of the day from SpaceX as well as the second launch of the day from the Space Coast. (Credit: Craig Bailey/FLORIDA TODAY)

Launches from the Cape and SpaceX booster landings are best viewed from the south. The most popular sites include Jetty Park, Port Canaveral, Cherie Down Park, and anywhere beachside.

One location that will no longer be available to spectators as of Nov. 1 is Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's South Gate launch viewing site. Space Launch Delta 45 announced in October that it would permanently close because of increased concerns over public safety following several serious vehicle crashes in the vicinity and a significant increase in launch frequency.

The coming years will see the competition for launch space both on the ground and on the Eastern Range's calendar grow.

As new companies settle in and a whole new class of launch vehicles set up for their shot to fly as early as next year, the intense pace of launches from the Space Coast is likely to continue.

Jamie Groh is a space reporter for FLORIDA TODAY, follow her on X at @AlteredJamie.

Former space editor Emre Kelly contributed to this story before departing FLORIDA TODAY.

Space is important to us and that's why we're working to bring you top coverage of the industry and Florida launches. Journalism like this takes time and resources. Please support it with a subscription here.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: SpaceX, Blue Origin, ULA: A guide to launch pads, rockets in Florida
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani for Dohas support in helping aid the return of deported Ukrainian children, the Presidents Office said on Oct. 22.



Qatar played a major mediation role in returning Ukrainian children who had been deported or forcibly transferred to Russia.



"We can only document around 20,000 abducted children. This is a terrifying figure, but the real number is even higher. That's why we need to continue this track. We are ready for further coordination and cooperation," Zelensky said.



Last week, Qatar brokered a deal with Moscow and Kyiv to return four children to Ukraine. The deal was orchestrated after months of high-level talks involving Moscow and Kyiv with plans to recover more minors in the future.



Zelensky emphasized the importance of Qatars participation in the Ukrainian Peace Formula, which pushes for Kyivs ten-point peace plan to end Russia's war.



The President thanked Sheikh Tamim for Qatars engagement in the Jeddah peace talks in early August and for the countrys willingness to attend the upcoming meeting in Malta.



The Gulf state also expressed interest in implementing First Lady Olena Zelenska's humanitarian projects to restore damaged hospitals.



In July, Qatar provided $100 million in humanitarian aid to Ukraine to support health, education, and demining projects as well as energy security.



Zelensky and Sheikh Tamim also discussed the current crisis in the Middle East and agreed on the need to de-escalate the conflict and protect civilians.

Read also: This Week in Ukraine Ep. 13  How, and why, Russia kidnaps thousands of Ukrainian children

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy , President of Ukraine, stressed that the Defence Forces of Ukraine must advance "at least 500 metres" every day.

Source: evening address of the President

Quote: "The main thing is the front, our defence, our actions, our results, [and] the help of everyone who is fighting right now, in combat positions.

Ukraine needs results every day  we need to resist the Russian assaults, kill the occupiers, and move forward. [We must] advance by at least a kilometre, at least 500 metres every day, but we must keep moving forward in order to improve the Ukrainian positions and put pressure on the occupiers.

It gives the state strength. It motivates the whole world to help us. And it proves that Russias terror wont work."

Details: Zelenskyy stressed that the Russian terrorists will not break the Ukrainians will to protect their state and their independence, the peoples determination to work for the sake of their state, the readiness to fight "so that Moscow never has any real reason to hope Ukraine would ever break".

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Bryan Patrick Miller did not testify at his recent murder trial for killing two young women in the early 1990's but, when a "48 Hours" producer contacted him by email, he was ready to talk about the case.

Miller continued to deny he murdered Angela Brosso and Melanie Bernas even though he was found guilty by Judge Suzanne Cohen in a trial without a jury. Cohen sentenced Miller to death in June 2023. Under Arizona law, the case will be automatically appealed.

Bryan Patrick Miller was sentenced to death in June 2023. / Credit: Arizona Department of Corrections

Asked to explain how his DNA was found on the bodies of both women, Miller wrote, "That's the million-dollar question."

"If I had a provable answer for that I wouldn't be in this situation now, would I?" he countered. "It is a question that I would like answered and everyone is so convinced that I did so it will go unanswered."

Miller is sitting in death row at what he calls SMU, which is shorthand for a Special Management Unit at the Eyman Prison Complex in Florence, Arizona. It may surprise those not familiar with prison, but even inmates on death row have access to email.

When asked about life on death row, Miller wrote: "It is better than county jail, but it is obvious that isolation has taken its toll on many people here. From what I saw of people in county jail compared to here, the majority of the people here are by far not what I would consider the worst of the worst. It is by far safer than anywhere else in prison even though they have nothing really to lose anymore."

He continued: "it is far from great, as I am even more isolated from those I care about and also my legal team, the food is still not great and the cells are getting very cold now that temps are falling," he wrote.

Miller expressed bitterness about his trial which took place almost eight years after his arrest and nearly 30 years after the first murder in the case. "How is a person supposed to defend themselves and prove anything for a crime that happened decades ago?" he asks.

He said he disagrees with psychological experts called by his defense lawyers who said he had dissociative amnesia and could not remember anything about the Brosso and Bernas murders. He repeated his position: "I maintain I did not do the murders."

The Brosso and Bernas murders, which became known as the canal killings, are featured in "Unmasking the Zombie Hunter," now streaming on Paramount+.

Bryan Patrick Miller in costume as the

After Miller was identified as a person of interest in 2014, cold case detective Clark Schwartzkopf examined Miller's social media accounts and discovered Miller had adopted a new persona around 2014. Miller began taking part in zombie walks in Phoenix and fashioned a homemade costume with a menacing mask and a fake Gatling gun, said Schwartzkopf. He also drove a tricked out old police car with the words Zombie Hunter on the back.

His lawyers presented a defense that essentially blamed Miller's mother Ellen for the person he became. Miller's lawyers said Ellen, who died in 2010, had abused him as a child, creating mental health problems. Cohen agreed Miller had been abused as a child after hearing psychological evidence throughout the eight-month trial.

"My mother was not a very good person in so many ways, but what helped was that when I was an adult, she acknowledged that she did horrible things to me and apologized," Miller wrote.

By the time detectives arrested Miller in 2015, he was a divorced father raising a teenage daughter. Friends and even a detective working the case said Miller seemed to treat his daughter well. Not seeing her, says Miller, is his biggest regret about being imprisoned.

"What I miss most is spending time with my daughter and friends," he wrote.

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The murders of two young women, killed months apart while riding their bikes along a canal in Phoenix, Arizona, went unsolved for more than two decades and would become known as the Phoenix canal murders.

Investigators got a break 21 years after the murders thanks to DNA and genetic genealogy. They zeroed in on Bryan Patrick Miller, 42, a divorced father raising his teenage daughter. Investigators soon discovered Miller had an alter ego. He was a local celebrity known for participating in parades and festivals as the Zombie Hunter.

A person of interest, detectives just needed a sample of Miller's DNA to make the case or eliminate him as a suspect.

TWO YOUNG WOMEN VICIOUSLY MURDERED ALONG BIKE PATH

Clark Schwartzkopf: It's one of those cases that you just don't forget  you can't unsee what happened to those girls, you just can't.

Long before the man known as the Zombie Hunter became the prime suspect in the canal murders, Clark Schwartzkopf was a detective with the Phoenix Police Department's cold case squad. His mission was simple but pointed: find the killer responsible for those vicious murders of two young women from the early 1990s.

Clark Schwartzkopf: To this day, I'm still not exactly sure about what  happened on those  bike paths.

The case began on Nov. 8, 1992. Angela Brosso, a tech worker who had recently moved to Phoenix, was taking advantage of beautiful weather to get in a little exercise, says Briana Whitney, the true crime reporter for the CBS affiliate KPHO in Phoenix.

Briana Whitney: Each night, she would go out for her evening bike ride just at golden hour at sunset, the best time to be riding out here.

Angela Brosso was viciously murdered on the eve of her 22nd birthday. / Credit: Cedar Cliff High School

Angela was only hours away from turning 22, and, like a lot of locals, she liked to bike on the paths that ran alongside the city's distinctive canals, says Schwartzkopf, a "48 Hours" consultant.

Peter Van Sant : Are there places that are sort of natural ambush sites if somebody wants to attack someone?

Clark Schwartzkopf: Yeah, they are  there's a lot of tunnels that go underneath the interstate.

That November evening in 1992, Angela left her apartment around 7 p.m., her boyfriend Joe later told police. He said he stayed home to bake Angela a birthday cake and didn't expect her to be gone long.

Briana Whitney: Hours go by, and Joe grows concerned. Angela hasn't come home. And that's not like her.

Joe told police he took his bike out three times that night, frantically searching for Angela on the canal paths. He spoke to her friends -- even her mother back in Pennsylvania. Finally, he reported Angela missing to police. The next morning, searchers came upon a horrific scene.

Detectives at the Angela Brosso crime scene. / Credit: KPHO

Briana Whitney: Angela Brosso's torso was found in a field next to the trail that she had been riding her bike on.

Angela had been stabbed to death.

Approximately 10 days after Angela's headless body was discovered, a man fishing along this section of the canal, spotted her head stuck on a grate.

Morgan Loew, an investigative reporter who also works at KPHO and is a "48 Hours" consultant, has been working on the canal killer case for more than a decade.

Morgan Loew: And from what we have heard from witnesses  the head was in amazingly good condition, especially considering this was days after the murder.  We've heard that the head looked like it had been preserved  Like it was a memento for the killer.

Angela's purple mountain bike was also missing. There were no solid leads, and the case went quiet until September 199310 months after Angela's murderwhen the mother of 17-year-old Melanie Bernas returned from a dinner date to find her daughter had broken her curfew and was not home. She then noticed that Melanie's bicycle was missing.

Melanie Bernas, 17, was a student at Arcadia High School.

Morgan Loew: Melanie decides to go on a bike ride  by around 10:30 when Melanie did not return, her mother  started calling her friends. "Is Melanie there?"

Rachel Schepemaker: Well, my mom took the phone call  said that Melanie's mom was frantic and like nervous 

Rachel Schepemaker was one of Melanie's close friends in high school.

Peter Van Sant: So initially when you hear  that her mother's looking for her  You're not thinking something terrible has happened to your friend?

Rachel Schepemaker: Definitely not. I thought she was with a friend and just forgot to communicate with her mom where she was.

Early the next morning Charlotte Pottle, a local resident, happened to be riding along the canal with her young daughter in a bicycle seat. Just as they came out of one of those tunnels that ran under the interstate, she spotted a puddle.

Charlotte Pottle: There was just a big puddle of something.  Ended up riding right through it  and having it splash up over me.

Pottle says something about the puddle bothered her, so a few minutes later she doubled back. That's when she made a horrible realization.

Charlotte Pottle: I could tell that it was a puddle of red, that it was a puddle of blood.

Charlotte Pottle (pointing to a tree): And all of a sudden, as I'm looking at it, I noticed that there are some drag marks that went along over here.

Peter Van Sant: Toward that tree.

Charlotte Pottle: Towards that tree. Yes.  And then went around the tree and was drugged back  you could see the drag marks right here to the canal.

Pottle went home and called police. Later that night, the local news reported that a woman's body had been found in the canal, close to where Angela Brosso's head had been located.

Rachel Schepemaker: They found the body in a teal bodysuit. I was told by some other friends that Melanie did not own that. It can't be her.

Schepemaker went to sleep convinced the body in the canal was not Melanie. But the next day 

Rachel Schepemaker: I'm at school  my friends just come up to me crying and saying it was Melanie.

Detectives strongly suspected Melanie had been targeted and stabbed in the back by the same person who had killed Angela.

Morgan Loew: Police believe that somehow, the killer got her off of her bike, whether he knocked her off of her bike or whether he asked her a question.

Schwartzkopf says the evidence indicates the killer approached the women from behind.

Clark Schwartzkopf :Both the knife wounds were the exact same position.

Investigators say the killer dragged Melanie's body off the canal path removed her clothes and dressed her in that teal bodysuit.

Peter Van Sant: Along with the stabbing and the dismemberment, there was another component to these murders, wasn't there?

Briana Whitney: Yeah, both women were sexually assaulted.

And that meant investigators had a crucial piece of evidence: DNA.

Clark Schwartzkopf: when the DNA from Melanie's scene was finally tested later, it  matched to Angela's scene. So, we knew for sure that we were dealing with the same perpetrator.

Investigators noted that the initial stab wounds to the backs of each woman were fatal and so precise that detectives suspected the killer might be a surgeon.

Morgan Loew: The details about what happened  were the kinds of things that kept parents from letting their kids out when the sun went down.

THE TRAIL LEADING TO THE "CANAL KILLER" BEGINS WITH DNA FROM THE CRIME SCENE

The murders of Angela Brosso and Melanie Bernas in the early 1990s created fear in Phoenix that lasted for a generation.

Morgan Loew: They watched the news and read the newspaper every day, hoping that police would make an arrest. And it just kept going on and  nothing and nothing and nothing.

Investigators had collected matching male DNA from both the victims. But more than two decades passed and the canal murder cases went cold. Then, science finally caught up with the calendar.

Briana Whitney: It's in 2014, Phoenix police detectives are at a DNA conference.  and a forensic genealogist from California is also at the conference.

Colleen Fitzpatrick, founder of Identifinders International, was there to meet with law enforcement.

Briana Whitney: And she goes up to these detectives, and says, hey, I can take Y chromosomes and create these DNA profiles and try to match  with genealogy to help solve criminal cases.

Fitzpatrick's company had developed software that could mine public genealogy databases, searching for matches to crime scene DNA. The detectives heard her out.

Colleen Fitzpatrick: And then several weeks later, they sent me the Y-DNA profile  from the crime scene for the Phoenix canal murders.

Fitzpatrick's company started crunching the data, hoping to provide Phoenix detectives with a name.

Colleen Fitzpatrick: We entered the numbers from the forensic profile into our software.  That's where I came up with six matches to the name Miller.

While the genetic genealogy search produced the name Miller, it is also one of the most common last names. Detective Schwartzkopf started digging.

Peter Van Sant: You check your files and what do you find?

Clark Schwartzkopf: I think there were a total of six Millers that were on what I called my master list.  And I went down through the list  got to Bryan Patrick Miller.

Bryan Patrick Miller / Credit: LinkedIn

But who was Bryan Patrick Miller? Records showed he was 42 years old with a Phoenix address. That name was just one of more than 600 persons of interest who had lived in those case files for years, placed there by a tip. Police at the time seemingly did not pursue Miller.

Clark Schwartzkopf: We discovered his file downstairs.

Police learned Bryan Miller had a record dating back to before the canal murders. In May 1989, when he was just 16 years old, Miller crossed paths with Celeste Bentley.

Celeste Bentley: I was 24, and I was going to work.  I had  just noticed  a young boy on the bus.

Bentley says she and the boy got off at the same stop. Moments later, she felt something in her back.

Celeste Bentley: He had ran by me, I thought he had just hit me.  I just yelled at him. I was like  "why  why'd you do that," you know? And then, I reached back and touched my back and realized that it was blood  I had been stabbed.

With a single knife wound to her upper back, Bentley screamed and managed to make it to the store where she worked. A coworker called for help. About 30 minutes later, when Bentley was in the back of an ambulance 

Celeste Bentley: The police came and said they found him, and they wanted to bring him to the ambulance to show him to me.

Bentley identified her assailant. Bryan Miller was charged with aggravated assault.

Celeste Bentley: They said that if he had held the blade the other way, he would've gone straight through my ribs, and I could have died.

Miller pleaded guilty and was sentenced to juvenile detention until he turned 18. It was a far cry from where Miller's life had begun.

Briana Whitney: He was living in Hawaii for a while as a kid with his mom and his dad. But his dad died early on in a motorcycle accident.

Years later, Miller and his mother Ellen moved to Phoenix.

Briana Whitney: So, for most of his life and early years, it was Bryan Miller and his mom.

While Miller was in juvenile detention, his mother made a disturbing discovery.

Morgan Loew: Bryan Miller's mom was looking through his stuff, and she found a note that he wrote.

A disturbing note written by a teenage Bryan Patrick Miller that his mother found while he was in juvenile detention. It spelled out how he wanted to find, abduct, rape, murder and dismember a young woman. / Credit: Phoenix Police Department

The pages detailed a sinister plan: kidnap the girl, tie her up in the truck and cut her clothes off.

Morgan Loew: This note spelled out how he wanted to find, abduct, rape, murder and dismember a young woman. And Bryan's mom was so disturbed by this piece of paper that she took it to Phoenix police.

It was Miller's 18th birthday and he had just been released as an adult.

Clark Schwartzkopf: She flat out told police at the time that she was really scared for her safety.  And that she was not going to allow him to come home.

So, after his release, Miller ended up at a Phoenix halfway house. When Schwartzkopf read that note in 2014, he was struck by something.

Clark Schwartzkopf: There was a lot of things in there that were close or similar to what happened specifically to Angela.

Including a description of decapitating a victim and preserving the head. Phoenix police wanted to locate Miller. Luckily, he was very easy to find.

INVESTIGATORS MEET BRYAN MILLER BUT DISCOVER HE IS THE ZOMBIE HUNTER

In December 2014, Phoenix police continued digging into potential suspect Bryan Miller who they discovered was actually a local celebrity.

Briana Whitney: Everybody at the time in the Phoenix area knew Bryan Patrick Miller as this character called the Zombie Hunter.

Peter Van Sant: The Zombie Hunter.  Like a comic book character?

Briana Whitney: Yeah, like a comic book character. Like a  good guy fighting the bad guys.

Miller's alter ego was a costumed figure who participated in parades and festivals around town.

Briana Whitney: He wore this long trench coat with these goggles and helmet and had this large Gatling gun.

Bryan Patrick Miller in costume as the Zombie Hunter. / Credit: Ben Garcia

And if you're going to hunt zombies, you need a way to get around.

Briana Whitney: He bought  an old police car and tricked it out  wrote "Zombie Hunter" on it.

Morgan Loew: And it had a full-size zombie mannequin in the back and blood on the side.

Friend Eric Braverman says Miller's zombie hunter persona attracted a big fan base  including law enforcement officers who lined up to pose with him.

Eric Braverman: Collected pictures of himself with the cops like trophies.  They're all smiling big with him leaning on the car.

Bryan Patrick Miller / Credit: Maricopa County Court

Braverman says Miller's superhero character was the opposite of what Miller was like when he wasn't in costume.

Eric Braverman: He seemed like a harmless marshmallow that was immersed in this goofy lifestyle.  He's just that unassuming guy.

But could Miller be the canal killer? The only way to find out was to get his DNA. Investigators began to surveil Miller, who worked at an Amazon warehouse. Every day when he got there, Miller parked the zombie mobile in the same spot.

Clark Schwartzkopf: He would come out for his 15-minute break, blast his music really loud.  Lunchtime came out to the car, same thing.  Blast this God-awful music.

Schwartzkopf came up with an elaborate plan to get his DNA.

Clark Schwartzkopf: I went up and introduced myself to Miller. He was in his car.

Peter Van Sant: What did you introduce yourself as?

Clark Schwartzkopf: I introduced myself as a security consultant.

Schwartzkopf told Miller that thieves had been stealing goods from a warehouse across the way.

Clark Schwartzkopf: I said, "would you be interested in working for me as a security officer watching the building while you're outside?"

Peter Van Sant: Did his eyes light up?

Clark Schwartzkopf: Yeah, because it was a good paying job. I said, look"I'll pay you 20 bucks an hour."

On Jan. 2, 2015, Schwartzkopf met Miller at a Chili's restaurant to fill out a job application. The cold case unit was behind the scenes ready to bag anything that had Miller's DNA on it, such as utensils or a glass.

Clark Schwartzkopf: They set a table for me and Mr. Miller away from everybody else in a part of the restaurant where nobody else is at.

Miller arrived with a surprise guest  his 15-year-old daughter, Sarah. Miller was a divorced, single dad.

Eric Braverman: He was very gentle in caring about his daughter. He often brought his daughter  where he would be going.

The trio sat down and ordered hamburgers. When the food arrived 

Clark Schwartzkopf: He swallows his hamburger, in like, five bites.  Won't take a drink of his water. And I'm sitting there going, "Are you sure you  don't want  something else to drink? You just got water." "No, no, I'm good, I'm good, I'm good."

Schwartzkopf started to worry this operation would be a bust.

Peter Van Sant: And what does he finally do that makes this mission accomplished?

Clark Schwartzkopf: He finally took a drink from the water glass  That's when I knew that, OK, now we've at least got his DNA.

The mug Bryan Patrick Miller drank from during the sting. / Credit: Maricopa County Court

Despite knowing about Miller's juvenile record, as their meal ended, the veteran detective's gut told him Miller was not their man.

Clark Schwartzkopf: Seeing him with his daughter.  I just don't see this guy as being the monster in 1992 and '93 that would do this to these women.

Miller gave Schwartzkopf a quick tour of his Zombie Hunter mobile, and the two parted ways with the detective saying he'd be in touch. The cold case unit sent Miller's water glass off to the crime lab.

Eleven days later, Schwartzkopf says there was a call from the lab.

Clark Schwartzkopf: And we're sitting there and we're like, "what is this all about?"

Briana Whitney: And in this meeting, these Phoenix detectives say, as a joke, "Huh, they must have solved the canal murders."

But Detective Schwartzkopf says it was no joke when the head of the lab arrived.

Clark Schwartzkopf: She leans down to me, she goes, "It's him." I go "What?" She goes, "Bryan Miller, it's him."  Well, the blood rushed from my head.  I kind of sat back and I went, "You've gotta be kidding."

Bryan Miller's DNA from that water glass matched the DNA recovered from Angela Brosso and Melanie Bernas more than 20 years before. Miller was arrested within hours. During a police interview shortly after, Miller was told why he'd been taken into custody in connection with the canal murders.

DETECTIVE: We have DNA that links you to those two ladies.

BRYAN MILLER: I don't see how that's possible.

Clark Schwartzkopf: He just kind of  went through it in his dopey kind of, I don't know what you're kind of talking about.

DETECTIVE: Would help you get it off your chest if you did something like that.

BRYAN MILLER: I didn't kill anyone.

DETECTIVE: You didn't kill anybody?

BRYAN MILLER: No.

Investigators got a search warrant for Miller's house, the home he shared with his teenage daughter and just about everything he'd ever collected in his life.

Bryan Patrick Miller's kitchen. / Credit: Phoenix Police Department

Clark Schwartzkopf: I can remember like it was yesterday walking up to the front door and everybody going, "you can't get in that way"  "It's full of crap."

Morgan Loew: Bryan Miller's house was like it came from the show "Hoarders."

Clark Schwartzkopf: There was a little pass where you could get to a bathroom and the kitchen and where the TV was, and that's it. Everything else is just stacked to the roof with garbage.

Peter Van Sant: Did you look around and go, "This is madness?"

Clark Schwartzkopf: Not only madness, I go, "This is a nightmare."

Schwartzkopf and his investigators would have to sift through all of it looking for other possible evidence. Detective Schwartzkopf also focused on a new source  someone Miller himself had ominously singled out in his interview.

BRYAN MILLER (to detective): It's the one person on the face of the earth I could probably honestly say I hate.

Miller's ex-wife Amy, who would end up revealing gruesome details from Miller's violent past.

Clark Schwartzkopf: He had told her about the murder of a young girl who had come to his door accidentally.

BRYAN MILLER'S VIOLENT PAST REVEALED

In January 2015, more than 21 years after the canal murders, Bryan Miller was charged with first-degree murder in both Angela Brosso and Melanie Bernas' deaths. Melanie's friend Rachel Schepemaker says she felt a wave of relief.

Rachel Schepemaker: A very joyous moment of "Oh my gosh, this is what we've been waiting for, for decades upon decades."

Detective Schwartzkopf wanted to talk to the one person who probably knew Miller best, his ex-wife Amy.

Clark Schwartzkopf: They had been married for eight years. There was a divorce.

Amy told Schwartzkopf that she was just 19 when she met Bryan Miller in 1996. They married less than a year later and moved to Everett, Washington. Amy had a shocking revelation for the detective. She told Schwartzkopf Miller had revealed a gruesome secret to her: that he had killed a young girl in Phoenix years earlier, before he'd ever met Amy. Schwartzkopf says Amy never reported it to police before for a number of reasons; she didn't know if it was true, she was afraid of Miller and she said she wanted to be a good wife.

Clark Schwartzkopf: You support your man no matter what.

Detective Schwartzkopf says Amy told him what Miller had said.

Clark Schwartzkopf: That a young girl had come to his door.  That he had grabbed this young female, pulled her in, killed her immediately.

Amy said Miller told her he dismembered the girl and disposed of her remains in trash left on the curb. Although Amy claimed Miller never told her the child's name, investigators used the information Amy provided to piece together who Miller may have been talking about.

Briana Whitney: Thirteen-year-old Brandy Myers was a little girl collecting money for a school book-a-thon in her north Phoenix neighborhood, going door to door.

Kristin Dennis: I was a tomboy, and she was a girlie girl.

Brandy Myers, 13, disappeared on May 26, 1992, six months before the murder of Angela Brosso. She has never been found. / Credit: Phoenix Police Department

Brandy's sister, Kristin Dennis.

Kristin Dennis: So, she would try to learn how to climb trees or jump fences because she wanted to play with me. She was my best friend.

It was May 26, 1992, six months prior to the murder of Angela Brosso. Miller was living in the halfway house following his time in juvenile detention for the aggravated assault of Celeste Bentley.

Kristin Dennis: This is one block from our school, his home, and then three blocks is our house. So, every single day, we walked right by here.

Dennis says Brandy left home alone that evening, never to return.

Kristin Dennis: She was last seen two doors down from Bryan's  walking in the direction of his house.

Despite an extensive search, Brandy's body was never found. Schwartzkopf says even though Amy couldn't provide a name, the clues in her account add up to just one conclusion.

Clark Schwartzkopf: I believe that person is in fact, Brandy Myers.

Her sister believes that as well.

Kristin Dennis: Brandy went to the landfill ... like something of no importance.

Even with Amy's account, investigators did not have enough evidence to charge Miller in Brandy's disappearance.

Clark Schwartzkopf: So, the fact that she was disposed of  there's nothing physical, nothing forensically to grab onto.

"48 Hours" contacted Miller who said he had no involvement in Brandy's disappearance and never confessed to Amy that he had killed a young girl. But there is another case in Miller's past.

Morgan Loew: In 2002, a woman named Melissa Ruiz-Ramirez is walking down the street in Everett at night  Somebody pulls over.

In 2002, Melissa Ruiz-Ramirez says she was stabbed by Miller. / Credit: Clark Schwartzkopf

It was Bryan Miller. Ruiz-Ramirez would later tell police she'd seen him before, talking to a friend of hers. Ruiz-Ramirez said she got in Miller's car and told him she needed to make a call and he drove her to his workplace so she could use the phone.

Morgan Loew: She tells police she's on the phone and from out of the clear blue, Bryan Miller comes running out with a 12-inch serrated kitchen knife and stabs her in the back. They fight over  the weapon.

Ruiz-Ramirez said she escaped and contacted police. They picked up Miller shortly after. He didn't deny stabbing Ruiz-Ramirez, but claimed it was self-defense. He said he was at work when Ruiz-Ramirez walked in off the street and asked to make a call.

Clark Schwartzkopf: He said  she goes to use a phone. And then  all of a sudden out of the clear blue  she tries to rob him with a knife.

Miller was arrested and charged with first degree assault with a deadly weapon. He was jailed from May 2002 until his December trial.

Clark Schwartzkopf: The jury just didn't buy Melissa's story.  It was a "he said, she said"  and they acquitted him of the charge.

Amy says a chilling change followed Miller's return home. She said it began with the letters she'd received from her jailed husband while he awaited trial.

Clark Schwartzkopf: They first started out as  professing his innocence, and then it would turn into sexual deviance. Like, here's what I'm going to do when I get out to you.

Amy told Schwarzkopf that Miller followed up his words with action.

Clark Schwartzkopf: She said he came back with an unbelievable, ugly, dark sexual deviant side that she'd never seen before.

Clark Schwartzkopf: There were times where there was sex between them where he held a knife to her throat.

Amy told Schwartzkopf that Miller claimed something happened to him as a child  something that would become the cornerstone of his defense for murdering Angela Brosso and Melanie Bernas. His unique defense? His mother had created a monster.

THE TRIAL OF THE ZOMBIE HUNTER

At the start of Bryan Miller's trial for the murders of Angela Brosso and Melanie Bernas in October 2022, his attorneys opened with a startling defensethey admitted their client was the canal killer.

Morgan Loew: They had to concede right off the bat that he is the actual killer, but that he was not guilty by reason of insanity.

His defense attorneys say Miller was tortured by his mother Ellen as a child, and that led to his violent sexual behavior. She died in 2010.

Morgan Loew: If you imagine the making of a monster, this is kind of the household  that story begins in.

Miller told investigators after his arrest that the beatings began when he was just 5 years old.

Morgan Loew: She was a detention officer. Discipline in their house was mental as well as physical.

BRYAN MILLER (to detective): She used her security belt, and it was like a law enforcement belt, and usually I got hit by the buckle.

Ellen and Bryan Miller. / Credit: Clark Schwartzkopf

The defense opted for a bench trial, which meant there would be no jury. His lawyers told Judge Suzanne Cohen that Miller's mother also exposed her young son to violent sexual content.

Morgan Loew: He was exposed to her interests in pornography and extremely violent films.

Miller's lawyers said his mother's abuse caused Miller to develop severe mental health problems.

Bethany Brand: He feels like there are different TVs playing in his head.

Psychologist Bethany Brand testified that Miller developed a condition known as dissociative amnesia  an inability to remember some traumatic events. Morgan Loew summed up the defense argument.

Morgan Loew: There were two Bryans. There's the one you see over there at the defense table, who's a fairly normal person who has friends, who had a job, who was a dad, who was a husband.  And then there's the killer. There's bad Bryan.

And Miller, claimed his attorneys, had no memorynoneof the two murders he was charged with.

Prosecutors undermine the defense claim that Miller has no memory of the killings. They point out that he remembers details related to other stabbings.

Remember, Miller admitted stabbing Celeste Bentley when he was 16 years old, and in 2002 he had also testified about the stabbing of Melissa Ruiz-Ramirez in Washington.

To show Miller's deviant side, prosecutors called the only person in the world Miller said he despised: his ex-wife Amy. The judge did not allow cameras to record her face. Under questioning by prosecutor Elizabeth Reamer, Amy testified that later in their marriage, Miller grew increasingly violent during sex.

ELIZABETH REAMER: Did you ever say anything to him about wanting it to stop because it was scary?

AMY MILLER: No.

ELIZABETH REAMER: Why not?

AMY MILLER: I was avoiding any confrontation with him at all at that point and (sighs) wanted to be as compliant as possible so that I would say, will he love me enough not to kill me?

ELIZABETH REAMER: Did he ask permission prior to using needles on you?

AMY MILLER: No.

ELIZABETH REAMER: Did he ask permission prior to tying you up?

AMY MILLER: No.

ELIZABETH REAMER: What percentage of your sex life after he got out of jail in Washington included bondage, the pins or other things that were not the normal sex you'd been having early in your marriage?

AMY MILLER: Probably at least 95 percent.

The trial continued and after 6 months and 36 witnesses, the judge delivered her verdict.

JUDGE COHEN: As to count one, first-degree murder Angela Brosso is as follows: guilty.  As to count two, first-degree murder victim Melanie Bernas as follows: guilty.

Bryan Patrick Miller during his murder trial. / Credit: Pool

Peter Van Sant: How did Bryan Miller react to the guilty verdict?

Morgan Loew: He didn't react.  He didn't give any real emotion.

But Angela's mother, who addressed the court remotely, was emotional.

LINDA BROSSO STROCK: The defendant broke my heart  took all hope and light from me and my family. The hole in my heart is so big and empty.

Melanie's older sister Jill Bernas also spoke remotely about how painful it was that Melanie's life ended violently at the age of 17.

JILL BERNAS CANETTA: For 30 years now, we've had to live without Melanie because the defendant murdered her  Words cannot even begin to describe the level of excruciating pain we experienced with the news of her horrific death.

Millerwho didn't take the stand during his trialwas allowed to give a statement before he was sentenced.

BRYAN MILLER: I am not looking for sympathy today. This time is for the family and friends of the victims. I cannot imagine what pain they have endured for all these years.  I know I am different.  I thought it had to do with what my mother did to me.

Defense counsel RJ Parker urged Judge Cohen to show mercy before she delivered her judgement on Miller's sentence, life in prison or death.

RJ PARKER: You do not have to kill Bryan in order to see justice done.

Judge Cohen agreed with the centerpiece of the defense case.

JUDGE COHEN: The defendant's abuse as a child was proven.

But eight months after the trial began, Miller's abuse at the hands of his mother did not dissuade Judge Cohen from handing down the ultimate sentence.

JUDGE COHEN: There is no question that what the defendant did deserves the death penalty.

JUDGE COHEN: Mr. Miller, anything you wish to say to the court?

BRYAN MILLER: I guess, thanks for, uh, listening to everything that was said and giving us at least the opportunity to try and convince you otherwise.

Det. Clark Schwartzkopf: Justice was carried out in this case.

Melanie Bernas and Angela Brosso / Credit: Arcadia High School/Phoenix Police Department

Detective Schwartzkopf hopes family and friends of Angela and Melanie might finally find some peace  people like Melanie's friend Rachael Schepemaker.

Rachel Schepemaker: Just knowing that justice was served  it doesn't make anything easier.

Peter Van Sant: How do you want your good friend to be remembered?

Rachel Schepemaker: Just that she's the all-American good kid.

Rachel Schepemaker: I want her family to know that we haven't forgotten her  She changed us all for the better  She was a gift.

Under Arizona law, Bryan Miller's death sentence will be automatically appealed.

"POST MORTEM" PODCAST

This embedded content is not available in your region.

Correspondent Peter Van Sant and producer Paul La Rosa and host Anne-Marie Green discuss what actually went into how investigators recovered the smoking gun evidence from a Chili's and how Bryan Miller's defense team's "dissociative amnesia" argument held up at trial.

Produced by Paul LaRosa, Susan Mallie and Kat Teurfs. Cindy Cesare is the development producer. Anthony Venditti is the content research manager. Morgan Canty and Cameron Rubner are the associate producers. Michelle Harris, Marcus Balsam, Phil Tangel and Mike Baluzy are the editors. Anthony Batson is the senior producer. Nancy Kramer is the executive story editor. Judy Tygard is the executive producer.

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Two of the Republican congressmen that led the charge to oust House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have nothing but pride for the decision that has left the lower chamber of Congress without a speaker and impotent for nearly three weeks.

Virginias Bob Good and Floridas Matt Gaetz told a crowd of roughly 100 at a breakfast fundraiser at Callie Opies Orchard Restaurant in Mineral Saturday morning that McCarthy was the wrong man for the job and that the right man will likely be found sometime next week.

In explaining their calculus, at one point Good recalled a moment where he begged and pleaded with McCarthy not to compromise with Democrats.

Dont make a deal, he said to then-Speaker McCarthy. Shut down the U.S. government.

We were willing to throw down and risk shutting down the government to achieve anything, Good, who represents Virginias 5th District, said.

McCarthy refused, instead the California Republican helped to pass a bipartisan resolution on Sept. 30 that narrowly avoided a shutdown which would have kept thousands of federal workers and U.S. military personnel from getting paid.

It was a bridge too far for Good and Gaetz.

We felt like we had reached the point where that was such an egregious violation that we had to take the risk, Good said of McCarthys compromise.

The risk Good took? Ousting McCarthy from the speakership, marking the first time in American history a speaker of the House was voted out of the job. Three weeks later, the position remains unfilled, effectively rendering the lower chamber of the U.S. Congress powerless. The House is now stuck in a vicious cycle, trying and failing to agree on a new candidate in the Republican majority to lead.

Rep. Jim Jordan is the latest member to attempt to take the vital seat. But in three separate votes, the Ohio Republican came up well short of 217: the magic number needed to attain the speakership. Now it seems Republicans will have to try again with someone else.

I dont think Jim Jordan is going to be a candidate going forward, Gaetz told The (Charlottesville) Daily Progress after Saturday mornings fundraiser. We respect him. We like him. We voted for him multiple times on the floor. But were now to a new stage of the speaker contest, and weve got some great candidates.

Not long beforehand, Gaetz had told the crowd gathered that Jordans candidacy failed because of animus toward himself and Good.

Bob and I, we sensed that our colleagues were angry with us for having sent the shock through the system, and thats why they werent voting for Jim Jordan, Gaetz said. If youre mad at us, dont take it out on Jim Jordan.

While critics say the GOP is in disarray, Good and Gaetz framed the ongoing struggle as necessary for the betterment of the country.

Weve had the first national campaign for speaker thats ever been waged, where the American people are weighing in on who they wanted to be speaker, Good told the audience. We had a contest instead of a coronation.

What were going through right now is further exposing the swamp creatures, Good said.

But with Jordans candidacy shot down, the Virginia congressman conceded that they are back to the drawing board. And he hinted that his hard-right faction of the party could draw out the process even longer.

Were not going to just rubber-stamp someone else from the swamp, Good told the crowd. Not any one of us can pick a speaker, but any five of us can block the speaker, and were not going to give up in the battle of trying to find the best conservative speaker that can get to 217 that represents what is becoming increasingly a conservative center of the conference.

While some of their colleagues have questioned what this small band of hardline conservatives are trying to accomplish in the unprecedented move, Good and Gaetz said they are trying to deal a blow to what Good called the uni-party cartel.

Congress has been failing Americans for 60 years, Good said.

Were not wedded to any specific reform, Gaetz said to the crowd. Our focus is solely on making sure that its your interests that dominate over the interests of those corrupt special interests.

Good later added that McCarthy caved to Democrats in his unwillingness to not shut down the government.

We knew the certainty of what that that kind of leadership means for the country. And theres no reason to have Republican majorities to do that to the American people. We can do that with Democrats, and thats why we did what we did, he said.

But the pair was hoping to have a new speaker well before now, Good acknowledged. Gaetz told The Daily Progress he was optimistic that they would have a new speaker next week.

If it ends up being longer, the Good and Gaetz supporters in Mineral on Saturday said they wont mind. Three of the people who attended the fundraiser told The Daily Progress they appreciate what the congressmen are doing.

Its going to take some time, and I think theyre both doing the right thing, George Debski said. He and his wife drove an hour to attend the fundraiser.

I hope at the end of all this were going to live to some of these things that they want. Specifically, I mean, weve got to do something about the border. This is insane, Debski said.

Doc Garnett thanked Good for his moral courage and said hes not at all concerned about the speakership.

I dont think its as big a deal as the media makes it out to be, Garnett told The Daily Progress. I think the less the federal government gets done the better off we all are.

As Good left the venue, another attendee told him to keep up the good fight.

Fighting is exactly what Good and Gaetz said they intend to do.

We are in this fight to win. And sometimes that means you dont put a timeline on it, Gaetz said to the crowd. If we get this right, we have a generational opportunity to put the peoples needs first.

Good and Gaetz left Mineral on Saturday morning for two other fundraisers in Virginia, one in Rice and the other in Lynchburg, as part of the pairs Hope for America tour.
Sandusky Middle School held a Night at the Museum event on Friday as the African Americans in Aviation Traveling Museum made its way from California to visit the school. The mobile museum, founded and curated by Chauncey Spencer II, travels the country to share stories of American Black Aviators. Chauncey Spencer II is the son of Black aviator and civil rights activist Chauncey E. Spencer Sr. and grandson of poet Anne Spencer.
Three Lynchburg Police Officers were recently presented with the Award for Valor by the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police & Foundation. Officers Josh Massie, Ray Shelton and M. Donellan were honored at the organizations Valor Awards Banquet in Norfolk for their response during a vehicle pursuit and shootout on New Years Eve 2022.

Massie, 32, and Shelton, 34, spoke with The News & Advance about what drives them and what first made them interested in law enforcement. Their advice to others thinking of entering the field: get involved for the right reasons.

You need to be open to experience really bad things and sometimes really good things, and to have a heart to help, a heart to serve, because if youre here for any other reason than that, I feel like its probably not the place for you, Massie said.

According to LPD, the Award for Valor recognizes an officer who, in the line of duty, performs an act of extraordinary heroism while engaged with an adversary at imminent personal risk.

On Dec. 31, 2022, an officer witnessed a vehicle that nearly struck two pedestrians on Main Street, LPD said in a release. When the driver fled, officers initiated a pursuit that led to the suspects vehicle crashing on Memorial Avenue. According to LPD, when officers approached the vehicle, the suspect produced a handgun and fired at them.

To protect their lives, the three officers returned fire using their department-issued handguns. Due to their quick thinking and actions taken to protect the community, no officers or bystanders were injured, LPD said.

Jonathan DeKeith Poe, 30, of Lynchburg, is charged with three counts each of attempted capital murder and use of firearm in the commission of a felony; one count each of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and felony eluding; and 13 counts of firing from a vehicle in relation with the incident. A jury trial is set for April 22, 2024.

In April 2023, Lynchburg Commonwealths Attorney Bethany Harrison ruled the use of force by the three officers was justifiable. At the time of the incident, LPD said Poe was struck by gunfire and treated at Lynchburg General Hospital.

This incident is a graphic reminder of the incredibly dangerous job the men and women of the Lynchburg Police Department perform in our community every day, LPD Chief Ryan Zuidema said in a release from the department.

I am extremely grateful that Officers Massie, Shelton and Donellan remained safe while simultaneously demonstrating an unmatched level of bravery that led to the apprehension of someone who was clearly a threat to all of our residents.

Asked about what goes through their minds during a high-stakes situation, both Shelton and Massie said their response is less conscious when events are unfolding so fast.

I mean, you just resort back to your training. And just trying to just stop the threat and make sure all the officers and the community are safe, Shelton said.

Massie said duty to the community is huge.

On his favorite thing about the work: its cliche, but I like being able to help people, Massie said.

Obviously, theres the excitement and all the fun things that come with being in patrol but at the end of the day, we get to interact with a lot of people, some people who like us and some people who dont. The job doesnt change for either group and to be able to change someones mind if youre able to do a good job for a person who may not like you  even if they do like you, youre still trying to do a good job, but to be able to be an influence in that regard is pretty fun, thats what I enjoy most about it.

Shelton said, Its the most fun job you can have. Its the most rewarding job you can have. Being able to come to work every day and knowing that Im going to get an opportunity to make a difference in somebodys life is probably my favorite thing.

For advice to others interested in the field, Shelton added, If youre looking to police around this area, Lynchburg is the department you want to be at, they spare no expense on making sure that were trained and equipped to do our job to the best of our ability.
The recent articles on the tobacco industry in Virginia resonated with me. (Virginia growers and cigarette makers..., Oct. 8; Companies consider the future..., Oct. 9.) I smoked from age 15 to 21, and I was hardcore. I smoked Lucky Strikes. No filtered brands for me. By the time I realized I had to quit, I was up to three packs a day. Even as an enlisted Marine I could afford it. Cigarettes cost 25 cents a pack on base, $2 for a cartoon of ten packs. Today, in Virginia cigarettes are averaging $5.86 a pack.

I cant say I wasnt warned. Every adult smoker I knew denounced smoking as a dirty habit. But not until I started smoking myself did I realize that by habit they meant a physical addiction  a kind of escalating thirst that requires more and more cigarettes to quench.

Not to brag, but I managed to break my nicotine addiction cold turkey. Im sure todays nicotine patches and smoking-cessation drugs work for some people. But steeling yourself to about 48 hours of physical discomfort is cheaper and faster.

As for why I quit, nicotine-stained fingers and teeth were certainly a concern. But the determinant was a severe case of bronchitis  an affliction I had been prone to ever since I was a toddler. Ask Mrs. Palm why Im prone to bronchitis, and in the parlance of a bygone era, shell say I have a weak chest. Said weakness, she maintains, is the result of being raised by smokers. And according to MedicineNet, she is right. Children raised around smokers are especially vulnerable to lung afflictions, including bronchitis.

Smoking was prevalent in the 1950s and 1960s. Most of my family members and their adult friends smoked. Even people who didnt smoke put out ashtrays and allowed smoking in their homes; they didnt want to appear inhospitable. People smoked in bars and restaurants. They smoked in stores and even on airplanes. I still marvel at how accustomed to smoke and smoky places we all were. Even non-smoking teenage girls tolerated the smokers breath of boys who did. This I know from firsthand experience.

As for why so many of us did it, smoking was not just a popular form of teenage rebellion. The movie and television stars we idolized smoked. Advertisers made it look sophisticated and even manly. Google the Marlboro Man if you doubt that. Of course, the surgeon-generals report linking smoking and lung cancer came out in 1964, only about a year after I had started smoking. But even that didnt deter me and my friends. Anyone can quit smoking, we said, with the reckless bravado of youth. It takes a man to face cancer.

Add to that a brave woman  which is not what my mother, a lifelong smoker, turned out to be while dying of lung cancer at age 56. But, as we now know, you only have to be around smokers to die of lung cancer. According to the CDC, secondhand smoke claims the lives of 41,000 people each year, either from lung cancer or heart disease.

Recently, I found myself driving alongside a young woman with three kids in her SUV, and she was smoking. She did have her window open a crack and seemed to be trying to exhale out of it  so she must have been aware of the dangers of secondhand smoke. But she obviously couldnt wait until the kids were out of the car to light up. Thats how addictive smoking can be.
Minister apologizes for Jamboree controversy, but says it was not fiasco
The Nebraska Broadband Office is moving to the next phase of efforts to ensure access to reliable broadband for all Nebraskans. As part of this effort, there will be ongoing public engagements across the state, including a series of nine public meetings and an open comment period from Monday
Morocco was the top outperforming destination of the Greenfield Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) in 2023, as it attracted worldwide commitments totaling $34 billion worth of investment projects.

These pledges are projected to double the previous all-time high of $15.8 billion set in 2008, fDi Markets said in a recently released report.

The North African country has seen an influx of inward investment from Chinese companies, particularly in the electric vehicle (EV) supply chain. It has also attracted major FDI projects in renewable energy, chemicals, and tourism.

Notably, Chinese battery maker Gotion High-Tech has signed an agreement with Moroccos government to establish its first African gigafactory in the country. Zhejiang-based mining giant Huayou Cobalt also plans to invest $19.5bn (Dh200bn) into an EV battery components factory, fDi Markets noted.

Morocco is part of the six countries that have recorded planned greenfield foreign direct investment (FDI) projects worth more than any twelve-month period in the past, according to preliminary FDI Markets figures dating back to 2003.

Besides Morocco, Malaysia, Iraq, Israel, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Finland are the six FDI outperforming countries in 2023, and are also ahead of the annual average FDI capital expenditure (capex) recorded in the decade before the Corona pandemic.

Foreign investment pledges in the six economies already surpass any previous full-year period and a few countries have registered more greenfield foreign direct investment (FDI) announcements in the first eight months of 2023 than any previous calendar year on record due to projects in the electric vehicle (EV), semiconductor, and energy sectors, fDI Markets said, explaining that Greenfield FDI pledges are a barometer for the health of host economies and future development.

Large FDI projects in strategic sectors can be transformational for host economies by creating jobs and helping to foster innovation and diversification. Besides, countries attracting major FDI projects in strategic sectors can integrate more with the global economy and move up global value chains.
Work on hydrogen-based clean energy projects will continue in Nebraska even without a roughly billion-dollar federal grant to smooth the path, officials said this week.

Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri had partnered to apply for funding for whats known as a hydrogen hub across the three-state region.

As the Midcontinent Clean Energy Hydrogen Hub, or MCH2, they sought a share of the money that the federal government was offering in an effort to accelerate the development of hydrogen as a clean energy source. The funding pool was created by the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

But the three-state collaboration was not among the seven regional hydrogen hubs selected to receive some of the $7 billion from the Department of Energy, as announced by the White House last week.

Still, Nebraska officials said their efforts go beyond seeking the federal designation and wont be deterred by falling short. Two Nebraska companies involved in the proposal  Monolith Inc. of Hallam and Project Meadowlark of Gothenburg  will continue with their expansion plans.

The groundwork we have laid is going to position us really well for success in the future hydrogen economy, said Courtney Dentlinger, vice president of customer service and external affairs with the Nebraska Public Power District, which spearheaded the application.

The group has had interest not only from partners in Nebraska, she said, but also from those in Iowa who want to continue to collaborate.

She anticipates the group will have other opportunities for federal funding that would accelerate projects and infrastructure development in the region.

A spokeswoman for Gov. Jim Pillen said in a statement that it was unfortunate the federal government failed to see the benefit of growing the hydrogen economy here in the Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri region.

To be sure, the hydrogen economy is coming with or without federal funding, spokeswoman Laura Strimple said. We look forward to supporting this innovative industry as it continues to grow in our state.

Hydrogen fuel is seen as key to meeting the Biden administrations goal of reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. According to the White House, the seven hubs together are expected to eliminate 25 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year, roughly equivalent to the combined annual emissions of more than 5.5 million gas-powered cars.

Clean hydrogen, according to the Biden administration, is particularly important for sectors in which it is difficult to reduce carbon emissions, such as heavy-duty transportation and chemical, steel and cement manufacturing. Job creation and private investment also are part of the plans.

Nebraska lawmakers last year adopted a measure creating a work group to draft an initial proposal. Of the 79 initial proposals, Nebraskas was one of 33 given the green light to submit an application, which ultimately was made on behalf of the three states.

Dentlinger said the agriculture sector offers incredible opportunities when it comes to hydrogen, both for the production of ammonia and other fertilizers and in diversifying that sector through the production of hydrogen-enhanced aviation fuels or renewable diesel for transportation.

Participant Werner Enterprises, for instance, has been seeking ways to use hydrogen and hydrogen-enhanced biofuels to power transportation in the future.

From a food security standpoint, Dentlinger said, its become increasingly important for the U.S. to have domestic supplies of fertilizer for crops. Much of the fertilizer used in the U.S. has been coming from Russia and Ukraine. Russias invasion of Ukraine has contributed to disruptions in the fertilizer market.

Monolith, the largest project within the collaborative, is moving ahead with plans to expand its facility near Hallam, which converts natural gas into carbon black and hydrogen. The hydrogen is used to make ammonia-based fertilizer in a process that doesnt create carbon emissions.

Were going to continue to move full steam ahead, said Dan Levy, a Monolith spokesman. It would have been a nice accelerator if it had come in. But we didnt change any plans as a result.

The company, in fact, is well on its way to meeting conditions set for it to receive up to $1 billion in federal loans from the Energy Department, he said. The company hopes to make an announcement next year.

While we are disappointed by this result, Nebraska remains on the cutting edge of green energy technology, Joshua Westling, JWC Gburg founder, said in a statement. Our project, which will use carbon-free renewable electricity and wastewater to make hydrogen needed to create low-cost fertilizer, will continue, and we look forward to developing agricultural solutions in the community of Gothenburg.

Dentlinger noted that most of the selected hubs, which include 16 states, are situated in coastal areas.

The closest is the Heartland Hydrogen Hub in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, which will focus on clean fertilizer production and advance the use of clean hydrogen in electric generation for space heating in cold climates. The hub also will offer equity ownership opportunities to tribal communities and to local farmers and farmer co-operatives that will allow farmers to receive more competitive pricing for clean fertilizer.

The Midwest Hydrogen Hub formed by Illinois, Indiana and Michigan, the White House noted, is situated in a key industrial and transportation center. Its efforts will enable decarbonization through hydrogen uses including steel and glass production, power generation, refining, heavy-duty transportation and sustainable aviation fuel. Low-cost nuclear energy will be part of the mix.
Palestinian students cross the street as members of security forces loyal to Hamas march in Gaza City back in 2015. Photo: Mohammed Salem/REUTERS

Collective blame and collective punishment have a special resonance for Jewish people. Throughout our long history, Jews have consistently been scapegoated for any number of real or imagined crimes, up to and including the killing of Jesus Christ. We see something similar in todays arguments from Hamas and its apologists, who claim that Israeli civilians participate in the oppression of Palestinians simply by living in Israel, and are therefore legitimate targets of violence. From the pogroms to the Holocaust to October 7, the mass murder of Jews has always followed from this vengeful logic of antisemitism.

If blame the Jews has been the stock response to nearly every crisis in the history of western civilization, blame the Arabs is a similarly useful catchall for Israel and its staunchest defenders. Wars, acts of terrorism, and craven political decisions made by governments or individuals are attributed to an entire ethnic group. The Arabs dont want peace. The Arabs want to drive the Jews into the sea. The Arabs wont uphold their side of a deal. This impulse of collective blame is perhaps best encapsulated in the famous (disputed) quotation from Golda Meir that Israel will only have peace with the Arabs when they love their children more than they hate us.

The tendency to blame Palestinians collectively for violence against Israel is grimly relevant today, as Israel bombs the Gaza Strip once again and prepares to launch a ground invasion. When Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel from the strip on October 7, murdering over 1,000 Israelis and kidnapping over 100, there was no question that Israel would seek revenge on the militant group. As with past incursions into Gaza, Israels leaders have insisted that the country is at war with Hamas, not the Gazan people. The Israel Defense Forces do not, as a matter of policy, aim to kill Palestinian civilians, though it is debatable how sorry they really are when they inevitably do. This differentiates them from Hamas, which glorifies the killing of innocent Israelis (because again, in their worldview, no Israeli is innocent) and which deliberately houses its fighters and weapons in densely populated civilian areas, schools, hospitals, and mosques.

All the same, innocent Gazans are dying. Gazas health ministry says over 4,300 people have been killed in the bombing so far. These estimates are impossible to confirm and cant be taken at face value, since Hamas runs the health ministry and is known to inflate casualty counts. Still, the pictures and stories coming out of Gaza paint an unmistakable picture of mass death and suffering. Even if Israel tries its hardest to avoid civilian casualties (and it seems to be trying less hard than usual this time around), it will end up with a lot of blood on its hands, fueling Palestinian grief and rage and perpetuating the cycle of violence.

What feels different about this war is that Israels leaders are unusually willing to make the implicit explicit and acknowledge that, yes, they are punishing Gazans for Hamas crimes. When defense minister Yoav Gallant ordered a full siege on Gaza on October 9, cutting off water, fuel, and electricity, he said: We are fighting human animals, and we are acting accordingly. Energy minister Israel Katz then responded to international calls for aid by saying there would be no lifting of the siege until Hamas released the hostages it had taken. Israel later backed down on the siege to a degree, following pressure from President Biden, but the damage to Israels moral standing was done.

These are not the actions of a government overly concerned with distinguishing civilians from military targets. Given the countrys rightward drift and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus religious-nationalist governing coalition, perhaps thats not surprising. But this disturbing rhetorical turn merits examination, and it is important to understand why it is wrong.

Claims that the people of Gaza are responsible for Hamas rest on two central pillars, both deeply flawed. The first is that Gaza voted for Hamas in the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006, which led to the group taking power by force the next year. The second is that if Gaza residents dont want to be governed by a terrorist organization, they could throw Hamas out. Since they havent done so over the last 17 years, this implies acquiescence at least, if not affirmative approval of Hamas ideology and activities.

To begin with, most Gazans alive today were either not yet born or not yet adults when that election took place. Hamas won it with less than 45 percent of the vote in Gaza and the West Bank, though it did win a clear majority in Gaza City. And polling data suggested that voters were motivated not by Hamas eliminationist stance toward Israel, but rather its promises to clean up corruption and improve internal security. In fact, an exit poll from that election found that three-quarters of Palestinian voters wanted Hamas to change its stance on Israel and around 80 percent supported a peace agreement.

And of course, the Palestinians havent gotten a second chance at democracy. When Hamas took over in 2007, it expelled the Palestinian Authority and formed its own Islamist government in Gaza. This violent takeover scuttled a national unity government and led to an acrimonious split between Palestinian leadership in Gaza and the West Bank, which persists to this day and has become one of the main obstacles to progress toward peace or Palestinian statehood. Hamas, which does not actually believe in democracy, has not held further elections or allowed the operation of any political opposition in Gaza. Thats the inherent vulnerability of democracy to authoritarianism; democrats need to keep winning elections, whereas dictators only need to win once.

Recent survey data paints a much more complicated picture of Gazan public opinion than conventional wisdom would have you believe. In a Washington Institute poll in July, a 57 percent majority indicated a positive opinion of Hamas, but greater numbers expressed positive views of both Fatah (the secular party in charge of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank) and other armed groups. However, over 60 percent supported Hamas maintaining a ceasefire with Israel, and 50 percent said Hamas should stop calling for Israels destruction and support a two-state solution instead. Other recent polling from the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research found that 77 percent of Gazans want new legislative and presidential elections in the Palestinian territories, but 67 percent of all Palestinians dont see that happening anytime soon. In a hypothetical election, Hamas would win slightly over Fatah, 34 to 31 percent, but a 43 percent plurality of Palestinians believe neither group deserves to represent them.

Meanwhile, 73 percent said they believed there was corruption in Hamas-run institutions in the Gaza Strip, and 59 percent of Gazans said they could not criticize Hamas authorities without fear. These data points are important in understanding why the second part of the argument for collective blame (Why dont they just get rid of them?) is nonsensical.

Overthrowing a government, even in a pseudo-state like Gaza, is much easier said than done. This is doubly true when the government is a violent organization of religious fanatics. Many Gazans would prefer not to be governed by Hamas militants, but they cant simply start up a campaign to get rid of them  not without grave risks to their lives, livelihoods, and families. For one thing, they are too busy struggling to survive from day to day. For another, Hamas cements its hold on power through an outsize role in the Gazan economy: It is the only organization that can reliably pay salaries, it maintains a stranglehold on inflows of foreign aid, and it keeps Gaza dependent on Israel for water and electricity by refusing to build infrastructure instead of rockets. If your ability to feed your family depends on Hamas patronage, even if youd like to stand up to them, why risk it?

If Israel waits around for Gazans to get rid of Hamas before making an effort at peace, they will be waiting forever. Of course, that suits the countrys far right just fine. Netanyahu and his allies have done a poor job concealing their tacit support for Hamas  they reason that as long as Gaza is under the control of a terrorist organization, there can be no serious talk of a Palestinian state. Supporters of Israel often say that no country could be expected to tolerate a terror group hell-bent on its destruction, operating right on its borders. The outrageous truth is that Israel, under a series of increasingly right-wing governments, has been doing exactly that for nearly two decades. Netanyahus cynical policy of allowing Hamas to operate while keeping Gaza under siege and periodically mowing the grass with bombing campaigns to contain Palestinian militias ability to launch attacks has been a great disservice to both Israel and the Palestinians.

In some sense, if Israel were to destroy Hamas for good in this war (a dubious proposition), it would be doing the Gazans a favor. However, the Israeli governments thirst for revenge is not coupled with any plans for what comes after: Who will rebuild Gaza, who will govern it, and how will it avoid falling into an even greater humanitarian catastrophe? It is easy not to think about these questions if your starting point is that the Gazans had it coming.

If the war leads to both Hamas and Netanyahus right-wing coalition losing popular legitimacy and exiting the scene, it would be a silver lining to a very dark cloud since neither Israelis nor Palestinians deserve the mediocre leadership theyve been saddled with. But at least the Israelis have some power to change that if they want to. The people of Gaza do not.
Spice Girls - Say You'll Be There

Mya - Case of the Ex

One Direction - Steal My Girl

Ariana Grande - Into You

Beyonce - Run the World (Girls)

Britney Spears - I'm Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman

Rihanna - Hard (Feat. Jeezy)

Shania Twain - That Don't Impress Me Much

S Club 7 - S Club Party

Billie Eilish - Bellyache

Ke$ha - Your Love Is My Drug

Other Music Videos Starring the Desert:

There is a sister post with the same theme but with K-Pop videos over on Omona. Pop stars, they're just like us! They eat, they sleep, they frequently get lost in the desert where they dance and sing and brood! I've decided to make a series on Music Video tropes - some common and relatively normal, some less frequent but incredibly bizarre. I've started with a common and understandable trope to kick things off - the nondescript desert location (sometimes featuring a gas station, or a diner, and frequently featuring a sick overhead shot of a car driving - usually down a lone highway that seems to stretch on forever).Below I've compiled a short list of music videos featuring pop stars that, for some reason or another, are in the middle of the desert:What is the plot of this? Are the girls alien action stars waiting for male prey in the desert? I have no idea, but we've got dancing, iconic fashion, and the obligatory overhead shot of a car cruisin' (which represents FREEDOM! in these music videos, also so does the desert, it's all very symbolic).A dance battle in the desert! Where else would they do it!? They had to go all the way out there to get away from "her" - they broke up in '96 but she's still a problem!The boys apparently materialize in the desert (why are they so confused coming out of that trailer?) and then proceed to shoot a music video with the icon, the LEGEND, Danny DeVito.Poor Louis found himself stuck in a desert again when he filmed his solo music video for his song "Walls" Still Ariana's best song - ohhh that highway, ohhh that motorcycle, ohhh those...unharmonious shots of Ariana unhappy at a fancy party with a narcissistic man in an attempt to give us a plot. It's a desert video - we don't need a plot, we just need rocks and cute looks!Beyonce running a very dystopian looking desert world from an underpass!also sort of Spirit (although it makes way more sense and is visually stunning) and to a lesser extent, Sweet Dreams (which is visually bleak and she's only in the desert for a minute before she's trapped by another music video trope - "the room").How'd she get up there? She probably had to Work Bitch! Rihanna in haute couture training her Navy in the desert while Jeezy sits on some scrap metal.Name a more iconic desert music video. I'll wait!A pop group gets lost in the desert, time travel, and have to dance their way back to the present.Just a girl and her wagon full of cash taking a stroll down the highway that cuts through - *checks notes* - a desert.Ke$ha's $teez is gonna be affected by that dry de$ert air!+ 6 hundred million othersSources: Spice Girls
At the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, D.C., Yayoi Kusama's work is dazzling audiences with dots, pumpkins and mirrors. https://t.co/Qv6RAKqGD2  NPR (@NPR) April 1, 2022

Yayoi Kusama is an acclaimed artist who is known for her amazing "Infinity Rooms." She uses a handful of elements  dots, pumpkins, mirrors, phalluses  to create environments you can enter, and then lose yourself in. The Hirshhorn Museum in D.C. finally opened the One with Eternity exhibit following a two-year delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Most people familiar with contemporary art know of her art, but what about the the artist behind the magic? Who is Yayoi Kusama? Let's find out!Kusama was born in 1929 in the Japanese city of Matsumoto. Her childhood was marred both by the horrors of WWII and by her parents unhappy marriage. Although Kusama fell in love with drawing at the age of 10, her parents disapproved and discouraged her from pursuing her passion. When she was a young child, she was attacked in a field, which she later described as an extremely traumatic and life-changing event*:When I looked around, I saw the flowers everywhere. It was this sense of being obliterated by flowers.Some people attributed this event as the driving force in the repetitive pattern-making aspect of her work.Her family was not happy at her wanting to become an artist, so in the 60s Yayoi set out for NYC. This brought shame upon her family, and her old elementary school even removed her name from the permanent roster of students. Back then, unmarried Japanese women traveling overseas to pursue a career in something like art was unheard of. She was very prolific in her output of art during this time but the art movement back then was very White and Male, and poor Yayoi was overlooked time and time again. After living in New York for four years, in 1962, Yayoi Kusama made one of her most famous sculptures, Accumulation No.1 in a downtown loft located in the same building as the studio of artist Claes Oldenburg. Male critics ignored their obvious symbolism, while her friend Oldenburg shadily stole her ideas of soft sculpture design. Kusama still claims that Accumulation was the biggest inspiration for Oldenburgs subsequent soft sculptures, but while Kusama received no recognition, Oldenburg shot to fame. This made Kusama depressed.Nor was he the only thief. Culture-Vulture extraordinaire Andy Warhol attended Kusamas solo exhibition,at the Gertrude Stein Gallery. She presented a rowboat covered in phallic soft-sculptures, which she took a photo of, and papered the entire space with a replicated image in an attempt to immerse her viewers in infinity. "Wow, fantastic Yayoi! I like this so much, Kusama recalls Warhol saying, as she explains the situation in the Infinity documentary. In those days it was very common for NY artists to have open studios where people could either peep in their windows to observe what they were painting, or come inside and talk to the artist. Warhol promptly did his own take of Kusama's work, covering a room with pictures of a cow. While it wasn't as blatant as Oldenburg's thievery in the sense that he did his own take on it, it still left an increasingly paranoid Yayoi extremely angry and from that point on made sure her windows were covered. It's also important to note that during this time Kusama was making work of equal, if not more, importance as her peers but wasnt getting the same recognition because of the blatant sexism and racism at hand, both of which played a part in her depression.It was during this period that Kusama became a friend of the gays. She has said in interviews that she felt more comfortable with gay people than anyone else, and years before it was fashionable to do so (or legal) she would have marriage ceremonies where she "married" gay couples in her loft. This was also around the time that Vietnam War was going on, and Yayoi was very anti-war. She would paint her gay friends naked bodies with her now famous circles and dots and do a "sit in" in public spaces to protest the war.After the death of her friend and once partner, painter Joseph Cornell, and depleted by the depression of her declining career in New York, Kusama relocated to Tokyo in 1973. Having lived in America for over a decade, Kusama was not recognised as an artist in Japan, so she was forced to start her career from scratch. It also didn't help that Japan thought of her as being this sort of scandalous person. Her father also died around this time, opening up a lot of horrible memories and was the beginning of her audio and visual hallucinations and a decline in her mental health, culimating in a suicide attempt. Even though she started experimenting in different mediums, the dots and repetition was still the cornerstone of her work. By translating hallucinations and fear of hallucinations into paintings, I have been trying to cure my disease, Kusama explains in a later interviews. After another suicide attempt in 1974, Yayoi found a mental hospital in Tokyo that offered art therapy and checked herself in. It turned out to be a nurturing, supportive environment for her, and in March 1977, Kusama became a permanent resident at Seiwa hospital, and she bought a studio nearby. She still lives and works at both spaces today.Things started to look up for in the 1980s, when Kusamas Fuji showwas the first show in Japan to exhibition Kusamas paintings and sculptures, drawing on 30 works from the 1950s-60s. Hearing about the show, curator Alexandra Munroe flew over to Tokyo, and after attending the exhibition, she knew she had to display Kusamas work in New York again. Kusama had her first New York retrospective in 1989 at the Centre for International Contemporary Arts.signified a major revival of American and European interest in the artists work, and it was the first time she had shown in the US in over 16 years. This show made a lot of people more interested in Kusama and her work in general and she continued to only grow in fame to become the first Japanese woman to show, and have a solo exhibition at the 1993 45TH Venice Biennale.Despite her resurgence in the western world and being chosen to represent her country at the Biennale, back home in Japan Kusama was still largely resisted. This was until the Matsumoto City Art Gallery was built. In 2002, the space held a Kusama retrospective, uniting over 280 of the artists works and drawing huge floods of Matsumoto residents. This not only sparked important Japanese interest in Kusama, but it also cemented Kusamas position as one of Japanese art historys most important revolutionaries. "I was finally able to bring the crown home," Kusama stated at the reception to the show, to which people almost wept in response. Finally, her hometown was proud of the local girl who made good, and her old primary school added her back to the roster, lol.Since then, Yayoi is one of the most famous women artists of the 20th century. Not bad for a girl from a small town who made it despite other people's bullshit. I understand, relate to applaud her. This woman got her flowers after decades of hard work and bullshit, it is never too late, ONTD!What do you think, ONTD? Is this a case of someone making their mental illness work for them, or a woman having an understandable response to trauma and the later racism and sexism rampant in the NY art scene at that time? You decide. Also, there was something about her saying something ignorant about Black people seeing her work but I can't find it and I'm sure some jackal on here will be more than happy to post the receipts in the comments.Also, if you get a chance, watch "Kusama: Infinity" on Prime video because it's really good and goes more into detail about what I've discussed here.Watching "Kusama: Infinity" on my TV
She also had a lot of backhanded, shady things to say about Grace Jones but I wont repeat that nasty talk here because I've stanned that good sis since childhood and I wont hear one word against her.

Previous Artist Edition Art Moment post: Yayoi Kusama For todays installation of ONTD Alternative Art History were going to kick it old-school and focus on the fine tradition of illustration. Before photography became mainstream there was a certain cachet in illustration in magazines and newspapers articles because it was considered classy. If you were an illustrator (or just studying to be one, or drawing on your own) in the 80s there were two illustrators that people wanted to emulate. The first was Patrick Nagel, who did beautiful, graphic illustrations for Playboy and other magazines, and who created the artwork for Duran Duran's acclaimed "Rio" album. The second was Antonio Lopez.Whether it was in Vogue or Andy Warhols Interview or an ad for Bloomingdales, he supplied a bit of ephemera that had such force of vision that his contemporaries found themselves bending toward it. The late 70s-80s was a sea change in diversity in models, fashion, and art, and Antonio was very much a part of that because not only did he make a name for himself, he also championed models like Grace Jones, Pat Cleveland, Jane Forth, Jerry Hall, Tina Chow, and others and put them on the map. He ushered in a new type of woman; a powerful, unique, and multicultural one that turned heads and was the woman of the moment.But who is Antonio Lopez? Much has been made of his work, his muses, and lovers both male and female, but that is not what makes the man. In honor of the end of Hispanic Heritage month, I am highlighting this wonderful man because he is an old fave of mine, and his work deserves to be discovered by a new generation. His star only burned for a short time, but his talent is forever. While there are a lot of pretty pictures in this post to sustain you, I implore ONTD to read as well because this mans life was wild as hell.Born in 1943 in Utuado, Puerto Rico, Lopez moved with his family to Spanish Harlem when he was 7 or 8 years old. In their adopted country, Lopezs father was a mannequin maker and his mother was a seamstress. Having an interest in fashion and illustration at a young age, Lopez attended New Yorks Traphagen School of Fashion, the High School of Art and Design, and finally the Fashion Institute of Technology. It was at FIT where he met Juan Ramos, a fellow Puerto Rican transplant.The two would become life partners in the creative (and, for a few years, romantic) sense, with Ramos doing everything from researching inspiration to coloring in Lopezs outlines and editing creations. In addition, Ramos was also a great art director with the refinement Antonio at times lacked, and the two made a formidable team. (OP Note: Its generally understood that the signature Antonio, when it appeared on a magazine page or in commercial work, stood for the work of both men.)Before fashion photography became widespread in magazines, sketch artists were the ones who conveyed the latest fashion trends to readers. In the late seventies, fashion designers were coming out of the shadow of being mere dressmakers and were becoming household names and personalities like Halston, Calvin Klein, Versace, and others. For many of these designers having an illustration or photograph of their work in leading fashion magazines had a certain cachet. While still a student at FIT, Lopez began working for Womens Wear Daily as an illustrator, but when Carrie Donovan of the New York Times reached out with work for the newspaper he jumped at the opportunity.It was at this time where he branched out his style, drawing thicker figures than most of his contemporaries, and when psychedelics infused popular culture, his work took on their warbly sherbet aesthetic. Vogue Creative Director Grace Coddington mentions in the documentarybefore Antonio couture and fashion drawings had a stiff, posed quality. Antonio, on the other hand brought the girls on paper to life."From early in his career, Antonio had always championed the unusual, the ethnic, and pushed for the inclusion of models of color in his work. (Note: This is also around the time where Donyala Luna was blackballed in the US Southern Markets for basically being Black and went abroad to get work). When he collaborated with American magazines he used Black models often, but received pushback to the point that sometimes he would withhold his work until the last moment when nothing could be changed.Tired of this attitude, Antonio and several of his muses decamped to Paris, where it went a little like this:America: Those models and your work is too ethnic and when its not ethnic the models are strange-looking. Nope.France (and in particular, Paris): You and your models are welcome here! Bring all your Black, ethnic, and weird looking White models, and well put them to work! Fuck the American market!Antonio and his muses were very much welcome in Paris where they received quite a following, including the young Karl Lagerfeld. Lagerfeld worked for Chloe at the time and was very fond of both Lopez and Ramos, and bankrolled their stay in Europe. Antonio and his muses greatly rubbed off on Karl and inspired his work, and encouraged him to push his ideas further and go to levels had hadnt in the past.At the time, Lagerfeld had a rivalry going with his dreaded frenemy Yves Saint Laurent and wanted something new to give his own work an edge, and Antonio and Juans feedback and help provided that. (OP Note: Nothing has been said about a liaison between them and Karl, but considering how Karl put them and the muses up in one of his apartments and took care of them otherwise for extended periods of time its obvious he was quite fond of them, especially Juan). Karl, Antonio, and Juan often brainstormed together, and this collaboration changed Chloe into the aesthetic it later became famous for.Things proceeded to get crazy during their stay in Europe, as Antonio and his muses (Donna Jordan, the fabulous eyebrow less Jane Forth, Carol LaBrie, Patti DArbanville, and Pat Cleveland at that time) set Paris on fire with their marvelous ways. They were truly his illustrations come to life as they danced down the fashion runways and in the clubs with their faces painted in bright colors, and breathed life into Paris.After years of the staid, old world fashion salons Paris was ready for something different...something exciting. Antonios Girls (as they became known) were a part of the sea change that led to more diversity in fashion, as all the Black and Brown models who couldnt get arrested in the States found themselves extremely booked and busy in the European markets. And after a while something strange happened; America saw all the glamour and work his models were doing overseas and did an about face:America: Were sorry guys. Can yall come back? Well put you to work.honest!So they came back, and yes, the American market was a lot more receptive to his muses. In later years, Antonio often repeated this process, with models including Grace Jones, Tina Chow, and Jerry Hall (who was initially considered too big and too cornfed for an American market that venerated Cheryl Tiegs) and it always ended the same way; girl doesnt get work in American Market, goes to Europe with Antonio for a while, gets big there, America realizes what theyre missing, and so forth. In those days, a relationship with a photographer and a model often led to more work because the photographers often hand-picked the models they worked with and made suggestions to magazines on who to use, and Antonio was no different except he got a lot of girls work who wouldnt otherwise get picked. When the 80s arrived there was a lot less pushback to having WOC in magazines and advertising, and Antonio took advantage of that.It wasnt all work though. At the time Antonio came back to the States his posse was only rivaled by Warhols Factory posse, and all of them would go out and party hard with the Beautiful People (Grace Jones and Jane Forth were the few who was in both Lopez and Warhols camps with the latter calling Grace on an almost daily basis to talk about life, lol). Warhol and Lopez had a grudging respect/mutual admiration society for each other, and the two groups would often cross paths at the different NYC clubs at the time. Antonio also had a ravenous sexual appetite, and even though Juan Ramos was his life partner in every way that mattered Antonio frequently took lovers both male and female because he loved people and didnt see why he should limit himself to just one sex. He had sex with several of his muses, he had sex with friends, he had sex with strangersit was all the same to him. This, in turn fueled his work, as director James Crump stated "Theres a real connection between his sexuality and the actual producing of the drawings; its something that blends together. He wasnt compartmentalizing his life, he wasnt saying, Oh, Im going to draw now, later Im going to go out and have fun and party, it was all this blend and there were no barriers to his existencehe was doing it all at once."Like Warhol, Antonio was also known for doing portraits of his celeb friends and people he liked and the odd book illustration. Below are a few of my favorites:The muses were a great part of Antonio's life and fueled his creative energy. It's very important to note that all of the muses interviewed for the "Antonio Lopez 1970: Sex Fashion Disco" documentary had nothing but wonderful things to say about him; I think it was pretty telling that Pat Cleveland said that when he was with you, you were all he focused on, and he never left a muse unless he was sure he/she went on to bigger and brighter things. All of his muses viewed their time with Antonio as a special time in their lives. It seems like his main interest was not only to collaborate, but to genuinely uplift everyone who worked with him, and that was a very refreshing attitude to have during those times.Jessica was broke and studying mime (no, really, lol) when she met Antonio walking down a boulevard in Saint Germain near the Odeon in Paris. When he realized he had forgotten to get her phone number, he put up little notices on the neighborhood trees and lampposts requesting that the blond American girl contact him. Which she did, and soon Jessica found herself in the middle of art, fun, and all things Antonio. While she immensely enjoyed working with Antonio in Paris, she became deeply disillusioned with the modeling world in New York and made a pivot into acting, thus becoming the powerhouse we all know and love.Considering how she once said When I say I had a crush on him, I was absolutely crazy about him, she most definitely did, lol. The good sis went on and on about his intensity and the way he danced, lol.Though she was never officially one of Antonios Girls she was quite fond of him, and the two worked together on a Vogue spread and often partied together after that. Imans initially became famous in the States because Peter Beard (the photographer who discovered her) told the press that he found her herding goats or some such nonsense and didnt speak English (so the Western media would think she was more exotic than, say, Beverly Johnson) when she actually spoke four languages and was attending the University of Nairobi as a Poli-Sci major. Since these early modelling days, Iman went on to play muse to some of fashion's biggest and most legendary designers, including Gianni Versace, Halston, Calvin Klein, Donna Karan and Yves Saint Laurent.Iman wasnt about that life; hell, she even denied a young David Bowie when he asked her out for the first time, and even though she had many would-be suitors Iman always kept her eyes on the prize. Considering how messy Antonio was its probably a good thing that Iman didnt shit where she ate.Became one of the OG Antonio Girls in 1971 after becoming disillusioned by America and the treatment of Black models. Cleveland decided to take Antonio up on his offer to go to Paris, where she became a house model for Karl Lagerfeld (who worked for Chloe).She quickly became a favorite of designers such as Oscar De la Renta, Thierry Mugler, YSL, and Dior, and her career and hard partying ways became the stuff of legends. She returned to the U.S. after Beverly Johnson appeared on the cover of American Vogue in 1974 and continued to have a successful career.OMG, yes they did, and she goes into it in the documentary. The good sis was in love, lust, and everything else and Im sure theres a part of her that still loves him.Tina was one of Antonios favorite muses as well as a close friend to both him and Juan. Chow was the It girl amongst the fashion circles from mid seventies on, counting herself as a muse to designers like Yves St. Laurent and Issey Miyake, and even creatives like Helmut Newton and Warhol. She first met Antonio in Tokyo where he and Juan were doing a job at the time and he loved her Eurasian looks. She pivoted her career into becoming a successful jewelry designer and AIDS activist in the mid-80s. Sadly, she died in 1992 from complications from AIDS at age 41.Considering how she was married to restauranteur Michael Chow from 1971 until 1989 its kinda doubtful, but she and Michael appeared to have a somewhat open marriage so who knows?Grace was yet another fashion model tired of the biases in American modeling who took Antonio up on his offer to go to Paris, where she shared an apartment with Jerry Hall and Jessica Lange. As other unkind people have stated (looking at you, Pat Cleveland) Grace was a little rough around the edges, but the combination of Antonios tutelage and being in Paris allowed her to blossom. The Parisian fashion scene fell in love with Grace and her unusual, androgynous, bold looks and she was constantly in demand. Grace eventually became a muse to Warhol. Keith Haring, and Dali and made a conversion from modeling to singing and acting. She is also known for her (at times controversial) collaborations with artist and designer Jean Paul Goude as they had a relationship that was both professional and personal, and as his muse was featured prominently in his work from the 80s.She never stated in the documentary or in any of the interviews Ive seen where she mentions him that they had any type of relationship other than artist/muse, so Im going to go with that.Jerry Hall was a 17 year old fresh from Texas who was discovered by fashion agent Claude Haddad while on holiday in France with her twin sister. She was dancing at Club Sept (a notorious club in Paris that catered to all tastes and where people frequently took their clothes off to dance just to be super extra) when spotted by Antonio, who then went home and told friends that he had seen the Ultimate Antonio girl and truly she was one of his sketches come to life. She was a lot; a lot of height (six feet tall), a lot of blonde hair, a lot of smile, a lot of personality. She was soon modeling for Antonio, and was his chief muse for years.Unfortunately it did. 17 year old Jerry and Antonio clicked instantly and were so enamored with each other that (much to the chagrin of Juan) she moved in with them, and the 4 of them (I believe someone who was seeing Juan at the time also was there too?) lived together for years in this crazy ass quadtrouple until Jerry finally decided she wasnt about that life and left Antonio for musician Bryan Ferry. (OP Note: Societal mores were a lot different in the 70s and early 80s, and older teens with grown ass people was a lot more acceptable then than it is now. Its still seriously grimy though. :/).Jane was also an OG Antonio Girl dating back to his pre-Paris Parsons/FIT years. Jane became known in the art circles when one day she decided I dont want eyebrows anymore and then proceeded to go into the bathroom at the club to shave them off. She became known for this look as makeup artists loved to draw brows on her that were different colors/widths, and she soon had Antonios attention. She was one of Antonios early muses as he loved the way she moved and would often request that she move while he sketched. Magazines like Harpers Bazaar and Vogue really picked up on her and her look and she became an It Girl around NYC and was a notable in places like The Factory and Maxs Kansas City.I really doubt it. This was during the period where Antonio was completely enamored with Juan, and based on her comments in the documentary it was very much a brother-sister type of love between the three of them.Sadly, the 80s marked the end of a more permissive, experimental time and the beginning of the AIDS era, and many bright, talented, artistic people in certain New York circles succumbed to it, including Mapplethorpe, Tina Chow, and Keith Haring. It was a very scary, horrible time as there were barely any medicines to help, and there was a lot of ignorance going on at the time so people who had it were treated like social pariahs and worse in their communities and even from the people who loved them. When Antonio was first diagnosed, he and Juan spent a lot of time and expense trying to find medications that would slow the onset of the disease. Unfortunately nothing helped and he soon experienced a marked decline in health, even as he tried to meet his work commitments. With funds running low, Lopez was in the position where he had to ask past clients for work, which he didwith mixed results.This period unfortunately marked the end of his friendship with Lagerfeld when Antonio (sick and needing money at the time) suggested that he do a campaign for Lagerfeld and created images for it, only for Lagerfeld to say My dear, suppose you get really sick in the middle of the campaign and cant finish it? However, not all old friends abandoned him; when he approached Oscar de la Renta regarding creating a campaign for his collection while telling him Im not sure if I will be able to complete it the de la Renta people kindly told him to do whatever you can and hired him anyway.Lopez died in March in 1987 of Karposi Sarcoma at UCLA Medical Center, leaving behind his talent and everyone who loved him. He was living in New York at the time, but was in Los Angeles for an exhibition of his art at the Robert Berman Gallery in Santa Monica. Juan Ramos also succumbed to AIDS eight years later. Together, they were a part of New York and Pariss art and fashion history that will never be repeated. Thank you for taking this look at an amazing time in NY and Parisian history that had rapid changes in race perception, sexuality, design, music, and showcased fashion illustration as art. Unfortunately, its a dying art as art schools really dont teach Fashion Illustration now. Artists of ONTD, do you still kick it analog with markers, pencils, and pens, or are you part of the new digital revolution? What are some of your favorite illustrators either online or what youve seen in history books or museums? Let me know in the comments! + Antonios Girls: Antonios first book about his muses and friends. This book is out of print, and when you do find it its expensive. The bonus to this book is it has many fine examples of his earlier work, including illustrations of some of his muses that haven't been reproduced elsewhere. + Antonios People: Considered a later edition of Antonios Girls with never seen before photographs and artwork. Is also a cheaper, more accessible book of his work. Several photographs in this post are from this book. + Antonio Lopez 1970: Sex Fashion Disco: This documentary covers all aspects of Antonios life and features interviews from many of his peers/muses/friends. A definite watch if this post interested you and you want to know more about this fantastic man. This is streaming in a few places so do some looking if you dont like Amazon. + The Antonio Archives: Online archive preserving the legacy of Antonio Lopez and Juan Ramos. All photos used from the archive in this post have been properly credited. + GQ article featuring Antonio and his life and work. + W Magazine feature about Antonios life and loves + Another Article featuring the Antonio documentary
Oil and gas stocks were among the top performers on the S&P 500, with four industry players taking their place in the top 10. The reason for this was a higher price for oil coupled with enhanced volatility. But this is just one aspect of the story.

While higher oil prices were pushing up the stocks of energy companies, some were tapping equity and debt markets for fundraising and, unlike the past few years, were getting a positive response.

To make matters even clearer, investors appear to be hanging on to their oil and gas investments despite bankers warnings that the latest cycle in the industry may be drawing to a close, with returns likely to start falling. But bankers may be living in the past; oil and gas are hot again.

The Financial Times reported this month that fundraising activity among independent exploration and production companies in the United States has picked up this year on both equity and debt markets. And those markets were responding enthusiastically to the opportunity to fund companies from an industry that has been slammed as the single culprit behind the changing climate of the planet.

What makes the trend even more impressive, however, is that it comes at a time when banks themselves are reportedly making more money from loans and bond underwriting for so-called green companies than from the oil industry.

Bloomberg reported on that development this week, citing data showing that fees from climate-focused financing so far this year had reached $2.5 billion. Meanwhile, fees from oil and gas loans and bond underwriting stood at $2.2 billion.

It seems all the incentives that governments in Europe and the U.S. are giving to low-carbon industries are working, and businesses are raising money eagerly. But while that would suggest oil and gas are falling out of the favor of banks, the FT report about capital markets suggests otherwise, supported by another analysis by Bloomberg showed this week that investment funds are gobbling up energy stocks.

The report cited a note by Bank of America strategist Michael Hartnett saying that fund managers shifted from an 1% underweight allocation on energy stocks to an 8% overweight stance in October, the most bullish allocation since March.

Not just that, but the change came amid warnings from Hartnett colleagues that the latest price rally was about to run out, and it was time to get out of oil. These analysts have been downgrading U.S. oil and gas players and doubting the valuations of companies active in the Permian. Meanwhile, Exxon struck a $60-billion takeover deal with Permian-focused Pioneer Natural Resources, which was unlikely to have escaped investors attention.

It appears that said investors are more interested in action than in talk. While bankers are talking about the cycle coming to an end, investors are probably watching the situation in the Middle East and OPECs seemingly unwavering determination to keep prices where they, rather than the free market, want them to be. They may also be watching dividend updates during financial report presentations. And they must like what they see.

Companies are really keeping their focus on shareholder returns. Theyre very disciplined, theyre making the right decisions by paying out dividends and buying back shares. This is winning the investors back to the sector, Josh Martin, managing director at Pickering Energy Partners, told the FT.

The report cited news of two listings in the sector this year, with both companiesKodiak Gas Services and Atlas Energy Solutionsstarting out modestly but gaining 11% and 20%, respectively, after the listings.

This is, of course, nowhere near the stratospheric gains some tech companies have made during their debut, but it is significant nevertheless: there is so much hype around tech while oil and gas are basically a pariah industry. Or so some thought.

Right now, hedge funds are taking short positions on ESG stocks, sniffing for so-called greenwashing claims and inflated valuations, Bloomberg reported last month. It cited a Texas-based fund manager as saying there was a lot of capital chasing ESG assets, but good ideas in that space were few and far between in what sounds like a classic bubble situation.

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The situation with oil and gas investingand fundraisingmight very well be the result of a convergence of factors. There are oil prices, of course, but there is also that growing skepticism about ESG claims made by various companies in order to attract investment, and the certainty of oil and gas dividends and the quite high possibility of continued share buybacks.

Most observers seem to agree that the key factor that made oil and gas attractive again, besides the fundamental nature of the products, was the pivot towards capital discipline that did not waver even when the price rose so high they would have absolutely justified a boost in productionfrom a short-term perspective.

Yet the industry, specifically in the U.S. shale patch, has repeatedly indicated over the past two years that it has adopted a more long-term perspective and is no longer chasing the immediate but short-lived benefits of a production boost in response to a price rise. Investors evidently appreciate this change of focus.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
Saudi Arabian officials asked South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to help develop the historical town of Diriyah during his visit there on the first stop of his state visit to the Arab country, his office said Sunday.

Yoon and first lady Kim Keon Hee visited the birthplace of the first Saudi state on Saturday, shortly after arriving in the kingdom for a four-day state visit, according to presidential spokesperson Lee Do-woon.

He was met by Saudi Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih; Jerry Inzerillo, chief executive officer of Diriyah Gate Development Authority; and a princess in charge of protocol affairs for the development authority, Lee told reporters.

"Please assist so that South Korean companies can actively participate in Diriyah's development," Lee quoted the investment minister as saying, citing specific areas of cooperation related to construction, hotels and restaurants.

At the visitors' center, Inzerillo pointed to a 30-meter-long media wall showing the history of the Saudi kingdom and noted it was installed by a South Korean company.

"South Korea-Saudi relations go back to the Shilla era," he was quoted as saying, referring to the dynasty that ruled the Korean Peninsula from 57 B.C. to 935 A.D.

"It is a great honor to brief President Yoon, the No. 1 salesperson of the Republic of Korea," he added, describing Seoul as his "second home." No. 1 salesperson is a nickname referring to Yoon's role as a promoter of South Korean businesses and exports overseas.

The Diriyah development project is one of five giga projects designated by the Saudi government. Estimated at US$20 billion, the project envisions the construction of luxury villas, townhouses, community centers, hospitals and shopping centers in the town located some 20 kilometers northwest of Riyadh.

Lee said the participation of South Korean businesses had not yet begun in detail prior to Yoon's visit.

Later Sunday, the president is set to hold a summit with Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman.

Kim Eun-hye, senior presidential secretary for press affairs, noted this year marks 50 years since South Korean companies began entering the Saudi construction market and established a stepping stone for South Korea to overcome the 1970s energy crisis.

"It is the belief of No. 1 salesperson President Yoon Suk Yeol that we can find the solution to the external economic conditions surrounding our country and the polycrisis we face through a new Middle East boom," she told reporters. (Yonhap)
Unprecedented uncertainty in natural gas demand and policies and low levels of investment in new production risk creating fresh energy crises and undermining energy security and climate goals as it would stall the move away from coal, the International Gas Union (IGU) said in a new report this week.

Investments in production and liquefaction recovered somewhat last year, rising by 23% annually, but growth additions remain well below the 2013-2014 levels, said the IGU, which represents the global gas industry covering over 90% of the global gas market.

Despite growth and positive sentiments amidst current market events, significant uncertainty around the LNG markets future trajectory and the role of gas in the energy transition continues to weigh heavily on, and in some cases delay, investment decisions, IGU said in the report prepared in cooperation with Italian gas grid operator Snam and research firm Rystad Energy.

This in turn poses significant challenges for several critical aspects, including supply security, industry development predictability, unmet demand, and pricing, among others, the reports authors noted.

The world needs new investments in natural gas production to offset the decline from mature fields and likely growth in gas demand in several regions, the gas union said.

Between 2014 and 2020, investment in gas supply development crashed by 58% and only started to marginally recover in 2021.

Due to maturing assets, global gas supply would decline in the coming decades without additional investments, the IGU said.

Some demand scenarios project declines in natural gas demand sooner than previously assumed. This unprecedented demand uncertainty and the push to accelerate installations of renewable power capacity as many countries look to reduce dependence on foreign fossil fuels create a lot of uncertainty among operators about the future of their potential natural gas assets.

The many uncertainties are holding some investment decisions back, the gas lobby group said.

The very large difference in levels of anticipated demand across different scenarios  including those that project such deep demand reductions that no new natural gas projects are needed anywhere in the world today  make it very challenging to plan investments, while the increasingly restrictive policy environment has raised the cost of these investments, the union said.

Renewables and electrification are also currently facing challenges in capital availability, which could delay renewable energy adoption and divert capital away from essential gas developments.

This would cause major turbulence in energy markets in the current and coming decades, the IGU noted.

Hence, there is a need for integrated planning to ensure investment signals are not disconnected from reality, and sufficient capital is available for the investments.

Europe, which has seen gas demand decline since the start of the energy crisis, is likely to see a lasting loss of demand, analysts and traders say.

However, despite the push to accelerate renewables, Europe still needs natural gas to replace the lost Russian supply, and will need it for years and decades.

Earlier this month, Shell and TotalEnergies signed 27-year deals with QatarEnergy to deliver LNG to the Netherlands and France, respectively, from Qatars expanded projects starting in 2026.

Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Europe was reluctant to commit to long-term LNG supply deals. But the gas price shock from last year has made clear that gas will be needed even if demand doesnt return to pre-war levels.

Meanwhile, gas demand in Asia is set to continue growing. If natural gas is affordable, South and Southeast Asia could replace in the future more coal-fired power generation with gas and possibly ensure greater access to energy and an end to blackouts and energy rationing.

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The affordability of natural gas, however, will depend on how much new production will come online this decade. In the absence of supportive investment signals, supply will play catch-up with demand, which could lead to new price spikes and shocks.

Despite the remarkable uncertainty across existing energy transition scenarios, natural gas is expected to remain a significant participant in global energy markets in the coming decades, the gas union said in its report.

However, the level of future natural gas supply has been largely left to chance.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Most Omaha-area high schools experienced a slight drop in average scores this year for the ACT college readiness test, a pattern that mirrors the decline in the latest scores for Nebraska and the United States.

Of 21 public high schools examined in the Omaha metro area, 12 saw their average scores go down. But two local schools had the same score as last year and seven had modest increases.

The individual high school averages, which represent scores for students in the class of 2023, also reveal wide differences among schools. In the Omaha area, scores ranged from Elkhorn South High School with an average of 24.3 to Omaha South High and Omaha Bryan High, which share a 14.2 average. The ACT is scored on a scale from 1 to 36 and the Nebraska average is 19.2.

While those ACT averages indicate substantial differences among schools in terms of their students readiness for college, educators caution that a lot of factors contribute to the test score gaps.

There isnt simply a poor or outstanding average score, said Adam Snoza, president of Aim High Test Prep in Omaha. Some schools in the Omaha metro will always score lower than others because of their demographics.

Nebraska requires that all high school juniors in the states public schools take the ACT. That means that the pool of test-takers includes some students with limited interest in getting admitted to a four-year college, said Snoza, who has been helping students prepare for the ACT since 2008. He also has nine years of high school teaching experience in the Omaha metro area.

Students are provided an ACT test in late March and early April, and that means it will include students that plan to go directly to the workforce or work in the service industry, Snoza said. Students who are English as a Second Language (ESL) or English Language Learners (ELL) are having to take the test, written in English, despite the fact that they are still learning (the language). Its also testing students with disabilities.

Students with special education accommodations were less likely to take core academic coursework and tended to have lower ACT scores than students testing without accommodations, according to a 2022 ACT research study.

Even if a student does want to go to a four-year college, some institutions dont even require a college admissions test like the ACT. Many universities have made standardized admissions tests optional amid criticism that they often favor the wealthy and put low-income students at a disadvantage.

Schools where a large share of students come from low-income families have been shown to have lower average ACT scores. For example, low-scoring Bryan and South in the Omaha Public Schools district have roughly 75% of their students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a statistic commonly used to measure poverty, according to 2021-22 federal data.

Elkhorn South, with the highest average score in the Omaha metro area, has about 4% of its student population qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch.

Meanwhile, more than 35% of the roughly 52,000 OPS students are currently receiving English Learner services, according to the districts website. About 21.3% of students receive some type of special education services.

Elkhorn has 1.5% of students who are English Learners and 13.4% who are special education students, according to the districts latest annual report.

The World-Herald obtained average test scores from the public schools. It also sought similar numbers for Omaha-area Catholic high schools, but the Omaha archdiocese declined a request for individual school score reports.

Susanne Cramer, executive director of school improvement at OPS, said people also have to remember that this years test takers were heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Class of 2023 graduates were in their first year of high school when the virus reached the U.S.

We know that we have work to do. We hope in the upcoming years that were going to start to turn the corner or start to see that growth as were coming out of the pandemic, Cramer said. That academic recovery work will continue to take root and well start to see those numbers come up on the other side.

ACT officials also have seen the impact of the pandemic in the latest scores, which nationally have dropped to a 30-year low.

The students who began high school at the start of the pandemic are now graduating, said ACT CEO Janet Godwin in a statement this summer. These are the same students who faced numerous new challenges, including decreased access to school counselors, canceled extracurricular activities and an overnight pivot to remote learning.

Snoza points to a shift in classroom operations during the pandemic that may be hurting students when they take the ACT. In their classes, he said, students got more test retakes, extra time to take tests, no penalties for late assignments or even a lack of assignments altogether.

This boosted GPAs and changed how students completed schoolwork  they got used to accommodations that didnt help them develop the soft skills of test taking. Snoza said he witnessed this happen in his own classroom as an English teacher.

Many of those practices do benefit learning, so why doesnt the ACT match that? Because the ACT is more than just an academic test, he said. Its testing other soft skills, such as time management, anxiety management and prioritization of questions. Students dont have to face that as much anymore.

Snoza said in the 40-hour ACT tutoring program at Aim High Test Prep, students focus on two main aspects in mastering the exam: content knowledge and familiarity with test questions. Sometimes its not a matter of knowing the subject material, he said, but whether a student can understand what theyre being asked to do.

The questions arent necessarily tricky, but you have to know what to expect going into it and need to be familiar with the content, Snoza said.

Students can lack the time and motivation to prepare and study such things, Snoza said. Cost can also be an issue, although the ACT company does offer free test prep for students who qualify for free and reduced-price lunch. Aim High Test Prep also works with local nonprofits to bring free test prep to disadvantaged Omaha communities.

Students are allowed to take the test multiple times and can often gain a few points on their next try. But some never get around to retaking the test.

The biggest obstacle, regardless of financial need, is if the student has the time to sit down and study  just like any final exam, Snoza said. It can feel daunting.

In the end, the ACT test doesnt just produce numbers that grade a students knowledge in English, reading, math and science. Its a predictor for what postsecondary plans might be best for you, Snoza said.

When students say, I got an 18, that doesnt necessarily mean thats a bad score, that Im not college-ready, Snoza said. The purpose of the ACT is to provide a college fit, so you dont apply to a college that has more rigor than you can handle.

Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of October 2023
Say Ah. Or say Amen?

Omahas first dentist was a Baptist missionary.

Two other pioneer dentists were exiles from Italy after being on the wrong side in the 1848 revolution against Austria.

The citys first physician founded this newspaper.

If that wasnt odd enough, another pioneer physician was charged with murder but, while in custody, treated a cholera outbreak. Which likely led to his acquittal, setting him up for a successful career starting as Omahas first druggist.

In 1855, the Rev. William Leach was sent to Omaha by the American Mission board of the Baptist church. Being in the clergy and making a living by pulling teeth was not foreign to him. Others in his family in Massachusetts were doing the same.

Leach conducted Sunday services for several months and performed at least one marriage in the territorial capitol at Ninth and Douglas Streets before moving on. Perhaps it was where he performed his rudimentary dental procedures.

By 1857, Dr. Teodoro Suzzara Verdi and his unnamed brother, and Dr. Benjamin Stickles were the dentists in town.

The undersigned hereby certify that Dr. T.S. Verdi & Brother, Dentists, recently extracted teeth for them according to the method styled the Painless Process. Having had some experience under the ordinary mode of extracting teeth, they say that the operation as performed by the above named gentlemen is attended with but comparatively slight pain, was the Verdis advertisement in the March 25, 1857, Nebraskian weekly in Omaha.

By 1859, the Verdis relocated to Montreal, opening a practice there, but soon returned to Italy.

Dr. Stickles billed himself a surgical and mechanical dentist, with his office and residence on Harney Street. He offered chloroform or ether as anesthesia.

He also was the citys first fire chief.

Dr. Stickles stayed until the late 1860s, when he returned home to Schenectady, New York, to take over his late fathers grocery.

In the first city directory, 1866, Dr. Stickles and Dr. L.G. Canfield were listed as dentists. Canfield left in 1872 to open a drug store in Fremont.

In the 1870s, Farnam Street between 13th and 14th Streets became known as Dentists Row. It was a popular location for dentist offices, which grew in number from four in 1868 to 22 in 1894.

Dr. C.H. Paul was the first lifetime dentist. His first office opened in 1868 and he was at 2022 Burt St. in 1908 when he died of heart failure while pulling a patients tooth.

The claim for Omahas first woman dentist can be made for either Pauline Koobetsheck or Leah Mills.

Dr. Koobetsheck, from Perry, Iowa, graduated from the Omaha Dental College in 1899. Her office was listed in city directories at 1318 William St. through 1902.

Dr. Mills was a graduate of Iowa States dental college. She had been in Kearney for three years before opening an office in the Paxton block. She took her life in 1911, despondent over ill health.

In the 1930s, Dr. Ellen Kelley was the only practicing woman dentist. She retired in 1966 after about 60 years in the profession. One of her three daughters followed her into dentistry.

Dr. William W. Peebles was Omahas first Black dentist, after being in the tobacco business, and served North Omaha for 50 years. He was the highest-ranking dental surgeon, a captain, in service in World War I.

Dr. Peebles short obituary was in The World-Herald in 1958, more than 90 years after Dr. George L. Miller founded the Omaha Herald and more than 100 years after the physician was one of the citys pioneer citizens.

Dr. Millers first house call, he told the Omaha Bee in 1890, was to a tepee. A Native American led Miller to his gravely ill child.

Before ministering to the little patient, I was compelled to smoke the pipe of peace with each member of the two generations of relatives that were represented, he said.

The little girl died overnight from double pneumonia. The father returned to the shanty, a cottonwood board cabin near 11th and Farnam Streets, that was Dr. Millers home and office. The man was plastered from head to toe in mud  the physician recognized it as an Indian custom signifying death.

Dr. Millers recollections in 1890 of who joined him in medical practice in the early years are close to the names found in the states territorial censuses of 1854, 1855 and 1856.

Combining the two sources, Dr. John Glover was in Omaha in 1854. Dr. B.Y. Shelley came and went in 1855, the same year Dr. Harvey Link arrived and farmed in what would be Millard.

Drs. Jason P. Peck and N.S. Richardson set up shop in 1856, Dr. C.B. Stillman in 1857, Dr. A. Chapel in 1858. Their numbers drew to 10 in 1866 and 24 two years later.

Dr. Henry was charged with the murder of George Hollister in April 1855, said to be over a boundary dispute. Both men were from Bellevue, which was then in Douglas County.

While held in the Bellevue jail, Dr. Henry went to the steamboat landing and, putting his health at risk, administered to the soldiers suffering from cholera.

We feel that a man who will do this should not be indicted. We also find that there is a possibility the crime was committed in self-defense, jury foreman Jesse Lowe said.

Dr. Henry was acquitted. The next year, he opened the citys first drug store. He was a spy for the Union Army in the Civil War.

Who was Omahas first female physician has a few claimants.

Some said she was Elizabeth Reeves, a mother of 14 who delivered the first three babies born in Omaha, including a grandson. She more likely was a midwife than someone with formal medical training.

Dr. Georgia A. Fix, nee Arbuckle, graduated from the Omaha Medical College in 1883 and, after starting her practice by 1884, graduated from the NU Medical College in 1885 when it still was in Lincoln.

Dr. Anna Benson was a specialist of diseases of women and children. The graduate of the University of Michigan medical school died three months after opening her office in 1884 at 16th Street and Capitol Avenue.

Another Michigan grad was Dr. Mary Strong. She practiced in Omaha from 1888 until her death in 1916. She was attending physician for the Salvation Army rescue home for 17 years and was a professor at Creightons medical school.

She definitely had the longest career in Omaha of the early women doctors.

Dr. William Stephenson was the first Black physician. He began his eclectic medical practice in 1876.

When he died in 1899, his attending physician was Dr. Matthew O. Ricketts, who was the first Black graduate of the Omaha Medical College in 1884. He worked his way through the college as its janitor.

Dr. Ricketts also served two terms in the Nebraska legislature as its first Black legislator.
West of U.S. Highway 75 just south of the Interstate 80 interchange in South Omaha sits a group of silos owned by flour manufacturer Ardent Mills.

For decades, they were anonymous  just concrete gray structures. Now, they catch the eye with a colorful mural titled Starseeds.

The Starseeds mural, whose creation was led by local artist Sarah Rowe, spans the 15 silos and depicts songbirds flying in a Nebraska sky that also features a sun and thunderstorm. It is located at the Ardent Mills plant at 2900 C St.

Other elements of the mural include two pillars of wheat and Rowes depiction of the Lakota peoples sacred Heyoka clown.

I wanted to honor whats happening here, Rowe said at the unveiling of the mural Saturday. I absolutely adore the Nebraska skies.  I wanted to celebrate this enormous structure thats part of our landscape here and celebrate the colors of the sky like the sunrise on (the murals left) side and the thunderstorm on the other side.

The mural adds a bit more color to the workday for Maureen Heffernan and her nearly 60 colleagues at the Omaha Ardent Mills plant.

I think its awesome, said Heffernan, a production manager. Its quite an addition.

Rowe, who led the murals creation through the Faith Foundations Art + Infrastructure public art project, spent about six months conceptualizing and painting the mural in collaboration with Richard Harrison and his band of artists from A Midsummers Mural. Omaha By Design served as a facilitator for the mural project.

We just really believe in shaping a city that is more vibrant and inclusive, said Scott Dobbe, executive director of Omaha By Design. Public art says something great about that. It says this is a place where creativity is valued. This is a place where all of us can benefit from the public realm that showcases those values.

The project started after an Ardent Mills employee suggested having a mural depicted at the Omaha plant, said Samantha Bryant, the plant manager for Ardent Mills facilities in Nebraska.

This facility was built in 1926, Bryant said. Weve been part of the South Omaha community for almost 100 years so far. It was really something we wanted to do: To be able to serve the community in a different way and provide some beauty.

Ardent Mills is no stranger with having murals on its buildings, Bryant said. Two other plants  Denver and Mankato, Minnesota  also have murals.

Similarly, Harrison also has experience creating murals particularly in South Omaha. With that experience, he, along with Zach Storz, Mike Giron, Benter Mock, Amelia Koneck, Mary Ensz, Weston Thomson, David Manzanares, Holly Carey and Rowe who all worked on the mural, was able to identify and execute techniques to create a mural that will stand up to the elements.

Those techniques include the use of doodle grids, Photoshop sketching, and paint that is resistant to the suns ultraviolet rays.

We did a perspective from a point up by the highway. Every time we tried to analyze whether we liked the lines going through things or not, we got on a ladder over the fence up by a highway so we could see if we liked the perspective, Harrison said.

What resulted is a Starseeds mural that will be catching eyes for decades to come.

It will outlive me, thats for sure, Rowe said.

Photos: South Omaha silo gets mural
Finally, you can get there from here.

Last week, the Iowa Department of Transportation simplified travel from Council Bluffs to downtown Omaha when it reopened the ramp connecting southbound Interstate 29 with westbound Interstate 480.

Its the first time in almost two years that the interchange connecting the neighboring Missouri River cities has been fully open. And it heralds the approaching end of the 15-year, $1.5 billion reconstruction of the Interstate network in Council Bluffs.

That puts a whole milestone on the Council Bluffs Interstate project, said Scott Suhr, district transportation planner for the Iowa DOT.

The larger project, begun in 2008, straightens out a lot of quirks in the original design of I-29, I-480, Interstate 80, and the ramps that connect them, Suhr said.

We had a lot of right-hand merges. Weve eliminated them throughout the corridor, he said. Weve eliminated traffic weaving. As a system, its a lot safer.

The other major problem was the lack of access to West Broadway, Council Bluffs major east-west artery. Iowa DOT has now corrected that with the reconstruction of the I-29/I-480 interchange.

Now there is a direct link from I-29 to downtown Council Bluffs, and a smoother link to downtown Omaha.

It did not come without pain. The interchange closed in November 2021, along with the northbound lanes of I-29 between Nebraska Avenue and Avenue G. Four months later, the southbound lanes were also closed between Nebraska Avenue and North 25th Street.

During the closures, traffic was diverted to newly built frontage just below the highway superstructure. Dynamic messaging signs warned drivers of the detour.

Engineers considered keeping the freeway open while the interchange was rebuilt, Suhr said, but it would have boosted the cost of the $180 million project and taken up to six years, instead of two.

The freeway reopened in August, along with the ramp from Nebraska Avenue to northbound I-29 and two ramps to southbound I-29.

Construction will continue on the I-80 interchange at Madison Avenue until 2026  the final piece of the puzzle in the Council Bluffs interchange project.

Some roadwork will continue near I-29. Second Avenue between the North and South Frontage Roads beneath the freeway is closed for reconstruction until Nov. 10.

Whats New

Shirley Street between South 168th Street and South 169th Circle will be closed for utility work until Nov. 6.

North 144th Street and West Maple Road will have varying lane restrictions for sewer repair until Monday.

will have varying lane restrictions for sewer repair until Monday. North 120th Street between Nicholas Street and Rose Lane will be restricted to one lane northbound for street panel replacement in the outside curb lane until Thursday.

Wenninghoff Road between Sorensen Parkway and Reed Street will have lane closures for street widening and sewer construction until Dec. 23.

will have lane closures for street widening and sewer construction until Dec. 23. Boyd Street between North 91st and Taylor Streets is closed for sewer repair until Saturday.

is closed for sewer repair until Saturday. Blondo Street between North 83rd and North 85th Streets will be restricted to one lane in each direction for utility work until Nov. 6.

will be restricted to one lane in each direction for utility work until Nov. 6. South 60th Street at Center Street will be restricted to one lane southbound for utility work in the outside curb lane until Monday.

North 56th Street at Sorensen Parkway will be restricted to one lane northbound for fiber-optic installation in the outside curb lane until Tuesday.

will be restricted to one lane northbound for fiber-optic installation in the outside curb lane until Tuesday. The intersection of South 56th and Center Streets will have various lane restrictions for street repair until Oct. 30.

will have various lane restrictions for street repair until Oct. 30. Center Street between South 42nd and South 43rd Streets will have varying lane restrictions for utility work until Nov. 1.

Douglas Street between Turner Boulevard and South 30th Street will be restricted eastbound for street repair until Thursday.

Florence Boulevard between Read and Sharon Streets will be closed for sanitary sewer separation work until Tuesday.

Farnam Street will be restricted westbound at South 18th Street for sewer repair in the south section until Thursday.

The intersection of South 14th and Phelps Streets will be closed for street repair until Thursday.

Chandler Road will be closed at Chandler Acres Drive in Bellevue for repairs to storm-water culverts and repaving until Oct. 30.

will be closed for repairs to storm-water culverts and repaving until Oct. 30. Lane restrictions are in place on Avenue L from Westside Drive to North 16th Street in Council Bluffs because of concrete repair until Friday.

Around Omaha

Intermittent lane and shoulder closures will take place on I-80 at the Giles Road, 84th Street, 72nd Street, 60th Street and 13th Street exits for a project to create accident investigation sites. Completion is expected in the fall.

for a project to create accident investigation sites. Completion is expected in the fall. Intermittent nighttime lane closures can be expected in the following Interstate highways through the fall due to a median barrier-sealing project: I-480 in both directions between U.S. 75/Kennedy Freeway and North 14th Street; I-680 in both directions between U.S. 6/West Dodge Road and Nebraska Highway 133/Blair High Road.

Northwest (north of West Dodge Road and west of I-680)

The eastbound lanes of U.S. Highway 64/West Maple Road over the Elkhorn River will be closed through the fall to remove and replace pavement and improve lighting. Traffic will be shifted to one of the westbound lanes. The access to JC Robinson Boulevard, leading to Waterloo, will be closed.

will be closed through the fall to remove and replace pavement and improve lighting. Traffic will be shifted to one of the westbound lanes. The access to leading to Waterloo, will be closed. The intersection of North 203rd Street and Honeysuckle Drive will have various lane restrictions for street repair until Monday.

will have various lane restrictions for street repair until Monday. Blondo Street between North 117th Avenue and 120th Street will have various lane restrictions for bridge repair and street panel replacement until Nov. 10.

will have various lane restrictions for bridge repair and street panel replacement until Nov. 10. State Street is closed from 156th to 147th Streets due to grading and paving of the three-lane roadway until fall.

is closed from due to grading and paving of the three-lane roadway until fall. State Street is closed from 168th Street to HWS Cleveland Boulevard for grading, paving and reconstruction of the 168th and State Street intersection until November 2024.

for grading, paving and reconstruction of the 168th and State Street intersection until November 2024. Fort Street is closed from 183rd to 195th Streets due to grading and paving of the three-lane roadway until fall.

is closed from due to grading and paving of the three-lane roadway until fall. North 108th Street between Burt Circle and Decatur Street will be closed with local access only for street widening until Nov. 30.

Northeast (north of Dodge Street and east of I-680)

The right lane on Interstate 680 is closed from the 31st Street interchange east to the Iowa state line until Dec. 29 while workers repair a damaged expansion joint on the west end of the Mormon Bridge.

is closed until Dec. 29 while workers repair a damaged expansion joint on the Traffic will be limited to one lane in each direction on Sorensen Parkway north and south of Ida Street to allow for road construction until Saturday.

to allow for road construction until Saturday. One northbound lane of U.S. Highway 75 between Hamilton and Fort Streets will be closed until early November while workers paint the bridges at Lake and Binney Streets. The entrance ramp from Lake Street to northbound Highway 75 also will be closed during the project.

will be closed until early November while workers paint the bridges at Lake and Binney Streets. The also will be closed during the project. Traffic is restricted to one lane in each direction and the westbound lanes are closed on Cass Street between North 74th and North 76th Streets for utility work until Nov. 5.

for utility work until Nov. 5. Dodge Street between North 72nd Street and North 76th Street/Rose Blumkin Drive will have varying lane restrictions for street improvements connected to the Crossroads redevelopment through December.

will have varying lane restrictions for street improvements connected to the Crossroads redevelopment through December. Westbound Dodge Street between North 38th Avenue and North 41st Street will be restricted for building construction in the outside curb lane until Nov 7.

will be restricted for building construction in the outside curb lane until Nov 7. Martin Avenue between Curtis Avenue and North 36th Street will be closed to through traffic for street repair until Friday.

will be closed to through traffic for street repair until Friday. Florence Boulevard between Clark and Grace Streets will be closed for storm sewer separation work until Nov. 25.

will be closed for storm sewer separation work until Nov. 25. North 30th Street is restricted to one lane southbound at Weber Street until Nov. 7 because of a sanitary sewer separation project.

is restricted to one lane southbound at until Nov. 7 because of a sanitary sewer separation project. North 30th Street between Bondesson and State Streets is restricted to one lane southbound because of utility work until Oct. 31.

is restricted to one lane southbound because of utility work until Oct. 31. North 30th Street between Titus and Newport Avenues will be restricted to one lane southbound for utility work in the outside curb lane until Tuesday.

will be restricted to one lane southbound for utility work in the outside curb lane until Tuesday. North 30th Street between Patrick and Burdette Streets will have varying lane restrictions because of sewer repair until Nov. 2.

will have varying lane restrictions because of sewer repair until Nov. 2. North 29th Street between Blondo and Burdette Streets is closed because of sewer improvement until Nov. 2.

is closed because of sewer improvement until Nov. 2. North 20th Street between Grace and Burdette Streets will have northbound traffic shifted to the center lane for utility work until Wednesday.

will have northbound traffic shifted to the center lane for utility work until Wednesday. The intersection of North 18th and Grace Streets will be closed for sewer work until Nov. 28.

will be closed for sewer work until Nov. 28. North 16th Street will be closed at various points between Pinkney and Clark Streets for CSO sewer separation improvements through Aug. 31, 2024. North 16th will be closed between Ohio and Corby Streets for utility work until Nov. 20. Truck detour routes will be posted.

will be closed at various points for CSO sewer separation improvements through Aug. 31, 2024. will be closed for utility work until Nov. 20. Truck detour routes will be posted. Because of construction at the Kiewit corporate campus, North 15th Street between Mike Fahey and California Streets will be restricted southbound, and Mike Fahey Street between North 16th and North 15th Streets will have eastbound traffic shifted to the center lane until March 15, 2024. North 16th and North 17th Streets between Cuming and Mike Fahey will have restrictions in the curb lanes until Nov. 1.

will be restricted southbound, and will have eastbound traffic shifted to the center lane until March 15, 2024. will have restrictions in the curb lanes until Nov. 1. Grace Street between North 16th and North 18th Streets is closed for CSO storm sewer upgrades until Nov. 28.

Southwest (south of West Dodge Road and west of I-680/80)

Nighttime lane closures (9 p.m. to 6 a.m.) can be expected on I-80 eastbound at the I-680 interchange through the fall while workers install a high-friction traffic surface to improve traction. Traffic on I-80 eastbound and I-680 northbound will be rerouted to the L-I-Center bypass ramp.

through the fall while workers install a high-friction traffic surface to improve traction. Traffic on I-80 eastbound and I-680 northbound will be rerouted to the L-I-Center bypass ramp. South 156th Street between Pacific Street and Wycliffe Drive/Nottingham Drive will have closures for street widening until November.

will have closures for street widening until November. Pacific Street between South 155th and South 157th Streets will have lane restrictions for street widening until November.

will have lane restrictions for street widening until November. South 168th Street between Q Street and West Center Road will have lane restrictions for street widening until December 2024.

will have lane restrictions for street widening until December 2024.



Southeast (south of West Dodge Road and east of I-680/80)

Nighttime lane closures from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. are planned on the Kennedy Freeway (U.S. Highway 75) between Q and F Streets, including entrance and exit ramps, to allow for milling and resurfacing of the roadway, through the fall.

including entrance and exit ramps, to allow for milling and resurfacing of the roadway, through the fall. Overnight lane restrictions are planned through the fall on I-80 eastbound between L Street and I-680 and on the I-680 interchange for installation of a high-friction surface treatment.

for installation of a high-friction surface treatment. The West Dodge Frontage Road South between 84th and 86th Streets is closed for building construction until Wednesday.

is closed for building construction until Wednesday.

.

Harney Street between South 74th Street and Rose Blumkin Drive will have various lane restrictions for sewer repair until Monday.

will have various lane restrictions for sewer repair until Monday. The northbound curb lane on South 72nd Street from Mercy Road to Arbor Street , and the eastbound curb lane on Mercy Road for 300 feet east of 72nd, are closed until Nov. 1 to accommodate building construction.

, and the eastbound curb lane on are closed until Nov. 1 to accommodate building construction. Mercy Road from Aksarben Drive to 68th Street will have various lane restrictions due to bridge repair until Tuesday.

will have various lane restrictions due to bridge repair until Tuesday. Leavenworth Street between South 45th Street and South 46th Avenue will be restricted to one lane westbound for utility work in the inside lane until Thursday.

will be restricted to one lane westbound for utility work in the inside lane until Thursday. South 44th Street between Farnam and Douglas Streets will be restricted to one lane southbound for utility work in the outside curb lane until Thursday.

will be restricted to one lane southbound for utility work in the outside curb lane until Thursday. South 42nd Street between the I-80 eastbound exit ramp and D Street will be closed for bridge reconstruction until December.

will be closed for bridge reconstruction until December. South 42nd Street between Leavenworth and Pacific Streets is closed for water-main repairs until Monday.

is closed for water-main repairs until Monday. South 42nd Street between J and D Streets will have various lane restrictions for street repair until Wednesday.

will have various lane restrictions for street repair until Wednesday. South 37th Street between Farnam and Harney Streets is closed until Wednesday because of building construction.

is closed until Wednesday because of building construction. South 27th Street between I and J Streets is closed until Thursday for manhole installation.

is closed until Thursday for manhole installation. 14th Street will be closed between Farnam and Douglas Streets, and curbside lanes will be closed on Farnam, Douglas and 15th Street until early 2026 because of construction of the new Mutual of Omaha tower.

will be closed and curbside lanes will be closed on until early 2026 because of construction of the new Mutual of Omaha tower. The eastbound curb lane on Douglas Street will be closed between 44th and Saddle Creek Road for construction until December.

will be closed between for construction until December. I Street between South 108th and South 102nd Streets will be closed to through traffic for street widening until November.

will be closed to through traffic for street widening until November. Grover Street between South 56th Street and South 59th Avenue will be closed for street reconstruction through December.

will be closed for street reconstruction through December. Q Street between South 45th and South 48th Streets is closed for utility work until Nov. 1.

is closed for utility work until Nov. 1. Traffic in the east curb lane is restricted on South 24th Street between Landon Court and Howard Street due to building construction until Oct. 30.

due to building construction until Oct. 30. Phelps Street between South 13th and South 16th Streets will have various lane restrictions for street repair until Nov. 1.

will have various lane restrictions for street repair until Nov. 1. The intersection of South 17th and Harney Streets will have various lane restrictions until Wednesday because of a streetscaping project.

will have various lane restrictions until Wednesday because of a streetscaping project. South 13th Street between I and J Streets will be restricted to one lane in each direction for utility work until Tuesday.

will be restricted to one lane in each direction for utility work until Tuesday. The eastbound lane on Farnam Street between 10th and Eighth Streets is restricted because of building construction until Nov. 2.

Sarpy/Cass Counties

The intersection of 204th Street and Capehart Road, and Capehart Road east of 204th Street are closed as part of the Gretna Crossing Park project until mid-November.

192nd Street from Lincoln Road to the railroad bridge is closed through the fall for paving and bridge replacement as part of the CONNECTSarpy project.

Platteview Road from Highway 31 to 210th Street is closed through January to allow for construction of a three-lane road. Pflug Road is suggested as an alternate route.

is closed through January to allow for construction of a three-lane road. Pflug Road is suggested as an alternate route. Lane restrictions can be expected on U.S. 34/75 from Plattsmouth to the Bellevue bridges through the fall to allow for bridge deck repairs, and from Nebraska Highway 1 to Oak Hill Road in Plattsmouth through November 2024 to allow for road construction.

through the fall to allow for bridge deck repairs, and from through November 2024 to allow for road construction. A lane is closed intermittently, and a 12-foot width limit is in effect through the fall on U.S. Highway 34 between Bay Road and U.S. Highway 75 while bridge and road construction work is in progress through the fall.

The right lane is closed in both directions on Nebraska Highway 370/Cornhusker Road from 192nd to 180th Streets east of Gretna due to road construction.

due to road construction. A portion of 234th Street north of Schram Road just west of Gretna is closed for replacement of a 550-foot area of culvert until December.

Around Nebraska

Lane closures also are planned on I-80 between the Utica and Pleasant Dale exits (reference posts 365.14 to 387.27) while contractors install guardrails in the median. Work will be performed from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., Sunday through Friday. Completion is expected in November.

(reference posts 365.14 to 387.27) while contractors install guardrails in the median. Work will be performed from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., Sunday through Friday. Completion is expected in November. Alternating lane closures are planned overnight on I-80 between Exit 382 (Milford) and Exit 395 (Northwest 48th Street) west of Lincoln because of bridge reconstruction and guardrail repair.

west of Lincoln because of bridge reconstruction and guardrail repair. Lane closures are planned on U.S. Highway 275 from Nebraska Highway 36 to U.S. 30/East 23rd Street in Fremont while workers repair pavement and bridges. Completion is expected in fall.

while workers repair pavement and bridges. Completion is expected in fall. Nebraska Highway 79 is closed in Dodge County at North Bend from U.S. 30 to County Road R , with detours in place through the fall.

is closed in Dodge County at , with detours in place through the fall. U.S. Highway 77 between Winnebago and Walthill is closed until November while two box culverts are replaced, with traffic detoured via U.S. Highway 75 and Nebraska Highway 94. Then one lane will reopen, and traffic will be maintained with temporary traffic signals, flaggers and a pilot car until the project is completed in midsummer 2024.

is closed until November while two box culverts are replaced, with traffic detoured via U.S. Highway 75 and Nebraska Highway 94. Then one lane will reopen, and traffic will be maintained with temporary traffic signals, flaggers and a pilot car until the project is completed in midsummer 2024. Temporary shoulder and lane closures can be expected on U.S. Highway 77 north and south of the I-80 56th Street interchange in Lincoln until March 2024 while workers add left and right turn lanes on Highway 77 and widen westbound shoulders on I-80 entrance and exit ramps.

In Iowa



The South Expressway from I-80 to 19th Avenue in Council Bluffs will be rebuilt until Nov. 30, with lane closures expected while one-lane traffic is maintained in each direction.

will be rebuilt until Nov. 30, with lane closures expected while one-lane traffic is maintained in each direction. Lane restrictions are in place on South Third Street between Story Street and Ninth Avenue in Council Bluffs until Friday because of water main installation. South Third Street between Ninth Avenue and Worth Street is closed entirely until Wednesday as part of the same project.

until Friday because of water main installation. is closed entirely until Wednesday as part of the same project. South 35th Street between Veterans Memorial Highway and Middle Ferry Road in Council Bluffs is closed as part of the Gifford Road reconstruction project until Nov. 17.

is closed as part of the Gifford Road reconstruction project until Nov. 17.

Trail Ridge Street between Grand Avenue and Crestwood Drive in Council Bluffs is closed for reconstruction until Nov. 30.

10 interstate highways with the most fatalities 10 interstate highways with the most fatalities #10. I-15 #9. I-70 #8. I-35 #7. I-5 #6. I-20 #5. I-80 #4. I-75 #3. I-40 #2. I-10 #1. I-95
The former police chief of Wahoo, who also had been a top gang investigator with the Omaha Police Department, is expected to have his law enforcement license revoked for life during a state hearing this week.

Bruce M. Ferrell, 62, of Omaha, is scheduled to have his law enforcement license revoked Friday during a meeting of the Nebraska Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice in Lincoln.

The hearing on Ferrells law enforcement certification comes almost two years after his resignation from the force. He was later accused of allegedly having sexual relations while on duty.

Ferrell abruptly resigned from his job as police chief in Wahoo on Nov. 11, 2021. He told the Lincoln Journal Star less than a week later that it was just time to leave.

The World-Herald later reported that Ferrell had been accused of engaging in sexual activities with an unknown person while on duty. The alleged sex acts were reportedly captured on Ferrells own body camera.

The Nebraska State Patrol conducted an investigation of Ferrell after the accusations. In January, he was officially charged with suspicion of official misconduct and suspicion of disseminating non-disclosable criminal history, both misdemeanors.

During the State Patrols investigation, detectives with the agency focused on Ferrells interactions with the woman from the alleged encounter.

Among the evidence reviewed was four pages of text messages between her and Ferrell, technical reviews of the womans personal cellphone and photographs saved to the device, 911 dispatch center records of police responses to her home address and examinations of her and Ferrells Facebook, Snapchat and Google accounts.

Court records also showed that investigators centered their investigation on 12 different segments of body camera footage from Ferrells body camera over six different dates.

The body camera images captured on Ferrells device were from June 21, June 28, June 30, July 1, July 26 and Sept. 15 during 2021, and mostly were filmed between the hours of noon and 4:45 p.m. on each of the dates. On June 30, Ferrells camera recorded five separate interactions with the woman, while on Sept. 15, the camera recorded three interactions, according to court documents.

Ferrell denied the claims, and on March 7, he filed a motion with the court seeking to have state prosecutors detail what he was specifically accused of.

In July, Ferrell pleaded no contest to disseminating non-disclosable criminal history, and he was found guilty by Saunders County Court Judge C. Jo Petersen and given a $500 fine.

Prosecutors agreed to dismiss the official conduct charge against Ferrell.

Ferrells attorney, Steven M. Delaney of Bellevue, could not be reached for comment.

Nebraska State Patrol spokesman Cody Thomas stated in an email Thursday that he had no new information about the case.

Melissa Harrell, Wahoos city administrator, said in a telephone interview that she was unaware that Ferrell was scheduled to have his law enforcement license revoked, but said she was happy the citys police department has moved on from the incident and is rebuilding trust with residents.

Following Ferrells resignation, the city hired former Ashland Police Chief Joseph Baudler to be its chief of police in February 2022.

Harrell said the charges leveled against Ferrell were disappointing, and she stressed that once city officials became aware of the accusations, they immediately contacted the Nebraska State Patrol and cooperated with its investigation.

We dont hire people to do unethical things, Harrell said of the charges against Ferrell. I am happy with the direction of the department under Chief Baudler.

Ferrell was hired as Wahoos chief of police in February 2018 after a 23-year career with the Omaha Police Department.

While in Omaha, Ferrell was considered one of the regions leading gang-unit investigators. He was involved in leadership positions with both national and regional coalitions of gang detectives. He also had worked as an investigator for the Bellevue Police Department and as a part-time police officer in the City of Valley.

Ferrell was a regular visitor to Fremont, having collaborated with members of the Fremont Police Department for several years on gang education for local educators and residents.
BLOOMINGTON  Very soon, students and teachers at Pepper Ridge Elementary School will be able to enjoy the crispness of autumn during the school day with the installation of an outdoor classroom.

The project, almost two years in the making, is the culmination of one young man's journey through the Boy Scouts of America to attain the coveted rank of Eagle Scout, the highest rank available.

Jonathan Kunkes, 15, said an outdoor classroom aligns with the Scouts' mission.

"I want them (Pepper Ridge students) to be in touch with nature," he said. "Boy Scouts is all about nature. We're outside a ton. I figured it would be good for the kids to kind of get that idea of being outside and learning, having the wind blow in their face, listening to the trees."

Kunkes led some two dozen volunteers on a brisk Saturday morning laying down a border of treated wood, a mesh sheet, spreading mulch and installing benches as well as a custom-made white board.

"This white board is outdoor rated, and it has doors on it that close and lock to seal the white board material in," Kunkes said. "We built a frame around it, and we have outdoor treated lumber on it." There are even storage cabinets for teaching materials.

He said he was working with his father in Macon County when they were inspired by an outdoor classroom at Meridian High School.

"This one is supposed to be a carbon copy of it, (with) a few changes," he said.

Jonathan's mother, Theresa Kunkes, said her son's project was initially a bit daunting.

"I was really surprised because I didn't expect something so big," she said. "This is kind of a big project."

But the school and the district supported the project fully.

"They (Pepper Ridge) jumped on board," Theresa Kunkes said. "They have been amazing."

Pepper Ridge Principal Tina Fogel said embracing outside classrooms and learning was one unanticipated consequence of teaching during a global pandemic.

"Teachers really embraced that opportunity to be outside and use the outside where it has lots of trees, talking about science topics and content and topics that we cover in the classroom," Fogel said.

"The natural lighting is so cool," she added. "Coming outside, being in nature, having that fresh breeze definitely is good for student learning."

Fogel said she worked with Jonathan Kunkes, whom she taught when he was a student at Pepper Ridge, for over a year to make sure the classroom was positioned in the best spot for a number of reasons.

She said it was important that the sunlight moved laterally across the space, so it would not blind students or teachers at any time of day, and that it was ADA accessible.

Joshua Kunkes traveled from Beecher to help his nephew Saturday.

He said his nephew's choice of project was "a deep and heartfelt move."

"When I was in school," Joshua Kunkes said, "to have an environment like this  the things you see on TV, right? You see this on TV. How many kids get to do that?" he said, chuckling.

Joshua Kunkes said he has given his nephew a bit of advice on the project, but "he (Jonathan) did the majority."

Jonathan Kunkes said they raised nearly $2,500 for the project, all from donations. A GoFundMe project raised the bulk of the funds. The rest were private donations.

"We thought we would need a lot more," the young man said. "But we were wrong. We ended up paying for everything." He said they even had some money left over that they will donate back to the Parent Teachers Organization.

For his part, the high schooler hopes to return in the coming years to see how the classroom grows.

"I plan on coming around whenever I can to look at it and see how it's being used and how it's being utilized by people," he said.

"We're planning to have it stick around for a while," Jonathan Kunkes said.

His uncle, though, believes this project is just the first of many for his nephew.

"He's got a big heart," Joshua Kunkes said. "And I think he's going to give back wherever he can, whenever he can, in the biggest ways possible. I'm really excited to see what he grows up and does."

Who was there? Bremer's Let's Go Girls! event Justin May, Brittany Carper, Kristen Gillespie, Julie May Justin May, Julie Dobski Julie May helping Dr. Jeri Beggs with a necklace David Haynes, Jessica Alvarado Jacie Grimm, Melissa Lou Lou Rule Kirsten Evans, Terry Ogunleye Shopping Sylvia Penrod, Rachel McFarland Eric Netherholt Cocktail menu Megan Rozborki, Sarah Cronin Laura Maushard, Jessica Arada, Erin Rogers, Erin Olander Allie and Sarah Matters, Brittany Slay Bremer Jewelry owners Justin and Julie May Arriving by limo Jennifer Huettemann, Sarah Dietrich Beth Whisman, David Haynes Jane Kauffman, Tammy Fahling, Mellissa Wahl Laura and Karlene Peterson Jennifer DeBlieck, Megan Johnson Cheryl Magnuson, Terry Ogunleye, Heather Miller Megan Rozborki, Sarah Cronin, Emily Bennett, Kirsten Evans Josh Murray, Karen Dazey Julie May, Dr. Jeri Beggs Brian Neverman, Kim Hayes, Georgia Thomson Julie Dobski, Erin Rogers, Heather Miller Krystal Barker, Larum Dean Julie Dobski, Jonell Kehias, Cheryl Magnuson Drawing winners Pam Deaton, Julie Dobski, Erin Jennings
The Accra Institute of Technology (AIT), a leading technology-focused private university, celebrated another milestone as it graduated a new cohort of PhD recipients during its 19th Graduation Ceremony, held at the PIWC Hall, ATTC, Kokomlemle, Accra.



In a statement released by the University, this accomplishment not only marks a significant moment in AIT's history but also a ground-breaking event in the annals of private university education within the country. The 19th graduation ceremony also witnessed the graduation of over 300 Bachelor's degree holders and 14 Master's degree recipients. Over 1,500 students in various academic programs were also matriculated into the University.



Emeritus Professor Ivan Addae-Mensah, the Acting Chairman of the AIT Board of Trustees, addressed the congregation and expressed his excitement about the University's growth. He commended the high academic standards this relatively young institution achieved, particularly in producing numerous high-quality PhD graduates. He congratulated all the graduates, urging them to go out into the world and make a difference.



Professor Clement Dzidonu, the President of AIT, outlined the University's unwavering commitment to maintaining high academic standards and conducting cutting-edge research to impact the world positively. He mentioned that AIT now operates the AIT Smart School Academy, which provides training for pupils at the basic level. He advised the graduates to leverage technology to enhance their skills and abilities, emphasizing the pivotal role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in transforming the world. Prof. Dzidonu suggested that, in the era of AI, "The more you know, the less you know  The more you do, the more you can do." He expressed gratitude to all parents and guardians who supported the graduates in achieving this remarkable feat.



Accra Institute of Technology (AIT) [www.ait.edu.gh], ranked as the top private University in Ghana by the Ghana Tertiary Awards, is an independent technology-focused university dedicated to academic excellence and cutting-edge scientific and industrial research and R&D work. For the fourth consecutive year, the University has been honored with the Best Technology University in Ghana Award, a recognition bestowed by the Ghana Tertiary Awards. This achievement follows the Best in Technology-Focused University in Ghana Award from Global Business Insight of the United Kingdom.



AIT is accredited by the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) to offer both campus-based and open university undergraduate and postgraduate programs. AIT is affiliated with the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) for campus-based undergraduate programs in engineering, computer science/IT, and business administration, and the Open University of Malaysia for Open University undergraduate and postgraduate programs at the Masters and Ph.D. levels.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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In a joint effort to combat the bedbug infestation at Presbyterian Boys Senior High School (Presec, Legon), renowned crisis management company LCB Worldwide Ghana Limited and the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) have taken decisive action. Yesterday, on October 21, 2023, LCB Worldwide Ghana Limited conducted an extensive fumigation exercise across the school campus, targeting dormitories, classrooms, offices, and the kitchen.



Media reports about the bedbug outbreak at the school had gained widespread attention in recent weeks, prompting GUTA and LCB Worldwide Ghana Limited to intervene after holding discussions with the school's management.



During the fumigation exercise, Mr. Kareem Abu, the Chief Executive Officer of LCB Worldwide Ghana Limited, underscored the company's dedication to alleviating the suffering of the Ghanaian people through its expertise and resources. He emphasized that this initiative was part of the company's commitment to corporate social responsibility, demonstrating their desire to give back to society.



"Besides delivering world-class disinfection services at ports and entry points, LCB Worldwide Ghana Limited, as a Ghanaian company, places great importance on the environment in which we operate. We firmly believe that any issue affecting the Ghanaian people, especially the youth, deserves our attention," stated Mr. Abu.



The collaborative effort between LCB Worldwide Ghana Limited and GUTA has been praised by school authorities and the local community. The fumigation exercise is expected to significantly reduce the bedbug infestation, providing much-needed relief to the students and staff of Presec, Legon.



LCB Worldwide Ghana Limited has established itself as a leading crisis management company, specializing in handling various challenges and emergencies. Their swift response to the bedbug crisis demonstrates their commitment to addressing urgent issues that affect the well-being and comfort of the Ghanaian population.



As Presec, Legon resumes regular activities after the fumigation exercise, students and parents can breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that the school environment is now safer and more conducive to learning. The success of this joint initiative serves as a testament to the power of collaboration and the positive impact it can have on communities in times of need.

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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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:

Archaeologist Jaime Oliveira shows one of the rock engravings at the riverbank site in Praia das Lajes, Brazil.

An extreme drought in parts of the Amazon has led to a dramatic drop in river water levels, exposing dozens of usually submerged rock formations with carvings of human forms that may date back some 2,000 years.

Livia Ribeiro, a longtime resident of the Amazon's largest city, Manaus, said she heard about the rock engravings from friends and wanted to check them out.

"I thought it was a lie ... I had never seen this. I've lived in Manaus for 27 years," said Ribeiro, an administrator, after viewing the dazzling relics.

The rock carvings are not usually visible because they are covered by the waters of the Negro River, whose flow recorded its lowest level in 121 years last week.

The surfacing of the engravings on the riverbank have delighted scientists and the general public alike but also raised unsettling questions.

"We come, we look at (the engravings) and we think they are beautiful. But at the same time, it is worrying... I also think about whether this river will exist in 50 or 100 years," Ribeiro said.

Drought in Brazil's Amazon has drastically reduced river levels in recent weeks, affecting a region that depends on a maze of waterways for transportation and supplies.

The Brazilian government has sent emergency aid to the area, where normally bustling riverbanks are dry, littered with stranded boats.

According to experts, the dry season has worsened this year due to El Nino, an irregular climate pattern over the Pacific Ocean that disrupts normal weather, adding to the effect of climate change.

Archaeologist Jaime Oliveira shows the now-exposed rock engravings along Brazil's Negro River.

The engravings comprise an archaeological site of "great relevance," said Jaime Oliveira of the Brazilian Institute of Historical Heritage (Iphan).

They are at a site known as Praia das Lajes and were first seen in 2010, during another period of drought not as severe as the current one.

The rock carvings appear against a backdrop of dense jungle, with the low brownish waters of the Negro River flowing nearby.

Most of the engravings are of human faces, some of them rectangular and others oval, with smiles or grim expressions.

"The site expresses emotions, feelings, it is an engraved rock record, but it has something in common with current works of art," said Oliveira.

Aerial view of the Lajes Archaeological Site where the rock engravings have been exposed by the low waters of the Negro River.

Some of the ancient rock carvings show faces that appear to express emotion.

For Beatriz Carneiro, historian and member of Iphan, Praia das Lajes has an "inestimable" value in understanding the first people who inhabited the region, a field still little explored.

"Unhappily it is now reappearing with the worsening of the drought," Carneiro said. "Having our rivers back (flooded) and keeping the engravings submerged will help preserve them, even more than our work."

 2023 AFP
By Ko Dong-hwan

Korea and Saudi Arabia signed a total of around 50 business deals in Riyadh, further cementing the bilateral alliance between the two governments and companies in both countries, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said on Sunday.

The deals include 40 memoranda of understanding (MOU) and six contracts in the fields of energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, robotics and finance. Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Bang Moon-kyu and Saudi Arabian Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih oversaw the deals at the 2023 Korea-Saudi Arabia Investment Forum that was jointly hosted by the Federation of Korean Industries and the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Investment.

The forum saw two contracts and five MOUs sealed in the energy and power sector. Korea National Oil Corp. and Saudi Arabia's state-run energy company, Aramco, signed a contract to cooperate in petroleum storage, while Korea's HD Hyundai Electric and Saudi Arabia's Algihaz Contracting Company signed another deal to cooperate in transformer substation projects.

Korea Electric Power Corp., POSCO Holdings and Lotte Chemical signed a letter of intent (LOI) with Aramco for a $15.5 billion project to cooperate in the production of blue ammonia, a compound consisting of hydrogen and nitrogen. It was one of three new bilateral agreements signed to jointly manufacture hydrogen.

Infrastructure and plant deals were also inked, including a contract between Korea's Dohwa Engineering and Saudi Arabia's SAB Investment to jointly develop the riverside region along Jazal River in Saudi Arabia. Hyundai E&C and the Saudi Arabian investment ministry signed an MOU to cooperate in real estate and infrastructure investments in the Middle Eastern country.

In one of two contracts in manufacturing and cutting-edge industries, including electric vehicles, Hyundai Motor Group and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund agreed to build an automoible assembly factory in the Middle Eastern country. Korea's fitting and valve maker BMT and Saudi Arabia's Industrial Systems Group inked another contract to launch a consortium to market the Korean firm's products for use in the Saudi Arabian market. A total of 17 MOUs were signed in that field.

In the future industry sector involving robotics, smart solutions, cosmetics and sports, Korea's Poonglim Pharmatech and Saudi Arabia's All Care Group For Investment signed a contract to launch a joint venture factory in the Middle Eastern country to manufature medical devices. Nine MOUs were also signed in those fields.

The two countries previously signed a total of 26 bilateral projects, worth $29 billion, at an investment forum in November 2022 and 56 other projects were newly announced at a Korea-Saudi Arabia Vision 2030 Committee meeting held earlier this month, which was presided over by the investment ministers of both countries. The Korean industry ministry said on Sunday that it will support all of the bilateral projects that now total 128 in number.

Meanwhile, the two countries held a trade consultation session on Sunday at Fairmont Riyadh focusing on key industries shared by both countries, including manufacturing plants, construction, carbon reduction and digital products. Thirty small-to-medium-size Korean companies and 78 Saudi Arabian buyers and clients took part 190 one-on-one consultation sessions.

Hosted by the trade ministry and organized by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), participants of the trade show discussed an estimated $21 million worth of deals that can be realized within a year, accoridng to KOTRA.
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:

How much does the universe weigh? Astronomers hope fast radio bursts, arriving from distant galaxies, could provide an answer.

Eight billion years ago, something happened in a distant galaxy that sent an incredibly powerful blast of radio waves hurtling through the universe.

It finally arrived at Earth on June 10 last year andthough it lasted less than a thousandth of a seconda radio telescope in Australia managed to pick up the signal.

This flash from the cosmos was a fast radio burst (FRB), a little-understood phenomenon first discovered in 2007.

Astronomers revealed on Thursday that this particular FRB was more powerful and came from much farther away than any previously recorded, having traveled eight billion light years from when the universe was less than half its current age.

Exactly what causes FRBs has become one of astronomy's great mysteries. There was early speculation that they could be radio communication beamed from some kind of extraterrestrial, particularly because some of the signals repeat.

However scientists believe the prime suspects are distant dead stars called magnetars, which are the most magnetic objects in the universe.

Ryan Shannon, an astrophysicist at Australia's Swinburne University, told AFP it was "mind-blowing" that the ASKAP radio telescope in Western Australia had spotted the radio burst last year.

'Lucky'

"We were lucky to be looking at that little spot in the sky for that one millisecond after the eight billion years the pulse had traveled to catch it," said Shannon, co-author of a study describing the find in the journal Science.

The FRB easily beat the previous record holder, which was from around five billion light years away, he added.

The pulse was so powerful thatin under a millisecondit released as much energy as the Sun emits over 30 years.

Shannon said that there could be hundreds of thousands of FRBs flashing in the sky every day.

But around a thousand have been detected so far, and scientists have only been able to work out where just 50 came fromwhich is crucial to understanding them.

To find out where the latest radio burstdubbed FRB 20220610Acame from, the researchers turned to the Very Large Telescope in Chile.

It found that the signal originated from a particularly clumpy galaxy that may have been merging with one or two other galaxies, which could in turn have created the bizarre magnetar.

Shannon emphasized that this was just the team's "best hunch".

FRBs have been detected coming from unexpected places, including from within our own Milky Way galaxy, so "the jury's still out" on what causes them, he said.

Aside from trying to uncover the secrets of FRBs, scientists hope to use them as a tool to shed light on another of the universe's mysteries.

Where's the matter?

Just five percent of the universe is made up of normal matterwhat everything you can see is made out ofwhile the rest is thought to be composed of the little understood dark matter and dark energy.

But when astronomers count up all the stars and galaxies in the universe, more than half of that five percent of normal matter is "missing", Shannon said.

Scientists believe this missing matter is spread out in thin filaments connecting galaxies called the cosmic web, however it is so diffuse current telescopes cannot see it.

That's where fast radio bursts come in.

They are "imprinted with the signature of all the gas they travel through", Shannon said.

Some FRB wavelengths are slightly slowed down when traveling through this matter, giving scientists a way to measure it.

This could allow them work out how much matter is in the cosmic weband therefore, the total weight of the universe.

For the record-breaking FRB, Shannon said the team had noticed signals of "extra materials" the burst had passed through on its journey through the universe.

But to use this information to get a proper measurement of the universe's weight, hundreds more FRBs will likely need to be observed, he added.

With much more advanced radio telescopes expected to go online soon, astronomers hope that will happen relatively quickly.

Liam Connor, an astrophysicist at the California Institute of Technology not involved in the research, told AFP that future radio telescopes will find tens of thousands of FRBs, allowing scientists to weigh all the matter "across cosmic epochs".

More information: S. D. Ryder et al, A luminous fast radio burst that probes the Universe at redshift 1, Science (2023). DOI: 10.1126/science.adf2678. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adf2678 Journal information: Science

 2023 AFP
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Fishing boats were left stranded or about to sink in the town of Rodvig.

Deadly Storm Babet unleashed extensive flooding and damaged towns in Denmark and Norway into Saturday, while continuing to sweep across the UK.

Three people died in Scotland and England and families were trapped in flooded homes on Friday as the storm battered Britain and Ireland.

A woman also died in northern Germany on Friday evening after a falling tree landed on her car, the fire department said.

As the storm made landfall in Scandinavia, it triggered a sharp rise in water levels in towns in southern Denmark, flooding the first floor of homes which were left without power for several hours.

Water levels in several Danish towns exceeded their normal height by more than two meters (seven feet), levels normally only reached once every hundred years, according to Denmark's DMI weather service.

"We are having to clear large quantities of water from the towns, especially in southern Jutland," Martin Vendelbo of the Danish Emergency Management Agency told the Ritzau news agency.

Fishing boats were left stranded or about to sink in the port town of Rodvig, according to photos from Danish media.

In southern Norway, up to 20,000 residents were without power early Saturday after strong winds blew roofs off buildings and downed trees and power masts, but the Norwegian news agency NTB said the situation was improving.

Water levels in a number of Danish towns exceeded their normal height by more than two metres.

'Danger to life'

The storm continued to wreak havoc in the UK, with London's King's Cross station forced to close on Saturday afternoon to prevent passengers massing on platforms after the cancellation or delay of numerous trains.

Network Rail said on X, formerly Twitter, that London North Eastern Railway (LNER), which runs services between London and the north-east of England and Scotland, was still severely disrupted due to the storm.

Leeds Bradford airport in northern England, which was closed on Friday after a passenger plane skidded off the runway in strong winds, reopened late Saturday morning.

The UK's Environment Agency has issued three severe flood warnings posing "a danger to life" in the area around the River Derwent in the city of Derby, central England.

Flood duty manager at the Environment Agency, Katharine Smith, said "ongoing flooding is probable on some larger rivers including the Severn, Ouse and Trent through to Tuesday."

Interviewed on BBC One on Saturday morning, Labour MP Toby Perkins said that around 400 homes in his constituency of Chesterfield in central England had been flooded, and that many people now had "no idea where they're going to be living from now".

Scotland was left reeling after two people died in the county of Angus, with First Minister Humza Yousaf warning on X for people to exercise caution in light of a red severe weather warning in the coastal county and parts of Aberdeenshire.

Germany's Baltic Sea coast was also battered by strong winds and rain which triggered flooding and the evacuation of around 2,000 people, according to the emergency services in the state of Schleswig-Holstein.

The highest water levels were recorded around midnight on Friday in the northern town of Flensburg, reaching almost 2.3 meters above normala level unseen for almost 120 years.

The situation appeared to be improving throughout Saturday.

 2023 AFP
GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP  In the back of Stockton Universitys 1.2-acre Sustainability Farm is a section some call sin corner.

Just a short distance from a row of 20-foot-tall hops vines and next to a line of tobacco plants is a 62-foot-long plot surrounded by a fence and a locked gate.

On the other side of the fence are something only a few universities in the country have cultivated outdoors  hemp plants.

In this case, about 150 of the plants are flourishing, reaching heights of 10 feet or more.

Hemp is a botanical class of cannabis grown for industrial or medicinal use. The plants have little to almost no THC, the major psychoactive component of cannabis.

Its the second year Stockton has grown the plants. This years crop is part of its Cannabis and Hemp Research Initiative, created in 2021 to conduct agricultural and nonmedical cannabis and hemp research.

This fall also is the second time Valentina Fiero, a 2021 Stockton graduate with a degree in science and environmental science, has taught a class in hemp cultivation.

Fieros class took a recent visit to the farm to walk among the plants, examine and feel the leaves, smell their sweet, fruity aroma and get a firsthand look at what it takes to grow them.

I had never seen a harvest like that. I didnt even know that Stockton had its own hemp farm, said junior Alyssa Mims, of Mays Landing. Going out there and registering what (Fiero) taught us and looking at it for myself, I think it was the best way to learn about the plants.

Products with purpose: South Jersey businesses strive for sustainable future Some South Jersey businesses are selling products with a purpose. Local shops are informing people and inspiring them to shop more intentionally from businesses pushing for positive change in their communities.

Fiero was one of the first at Stockton to graduate with a minor in cannabis studies. In 2018, the university became the first in the state to offer the minor. After graduation, she got a job as a lead cannabis cultivator for Ayr Wellness, but shes always been passionate about teaching the benefits of the plant.

I studied environmental science largely because I wanted to be able to have classes outside and do a lot of work with nature, Fiero said.

After graduating, she noticed that Stocktons program focused heavily on law, history and the business of cannabis.

I felt we needed more of that scientific aspect. That was my roots and my specialty. I wanted to bring that hands-on, outdoor aspect that I love, she said.

And while her course touches on the history of hemp and different varieties of cannabis, Fiero also works with students on the actual process of growing hemp plants from seeds all the way to harvesting them.

We really want to let the students see how the plant grows and work on techniques like figure out the sex of the plant, how to hand pollinate, do regular maintenance, handle pests and put in irrigation systems, said Rob Mejia, a teaching specialist in Stocktons cannabis studies program. We want to teach the students cultivation techniques that they can transfer onto a hemp farm in New Jersey.

As a summer intern with Mejia and Fiero, senior Eduardo Rojas was part of a group in June that not only planted the hemp seeds but set up fence posts and irrigation and laid out mulch and topsoil for them.

You have to experience something before you actually know how to do it, said the accounting major who drove from his home in Bayville, Ocean County, three or four times a week to maintain the plants.

New Jersey eyes new rules on intoxicating hemp products A legal loophole that has allowed an intoxicating product derived from hemp to be sold over 

Rojas, whos also in the cannabis minor program, hopes to get an accounting job with a company that has a cannabis division.

You can read about it, but thats not the same as being there and working with a team, he said. I got to see the indirect cost of things that are pretty hard to calculate. If you arent doing it, its hard to get an understanding of the things that can go wrong in farming like weather, bad timing, crop disease or invasive species.

Fiero hopes the class and the outdoor hemp site can remove some of the stigma surrounding cannabis and promote that it can be grown more sustainably outside. Mejia said a frequent cannabis complaint is the plants odor. One of the hemp farms research components was the installation of sensors around the plants to measure the odor and compare it to other fragrant crops grown outdoors, such as garlic. Mejia said some data was collected this year but more will need to be collected from next years crop.

Its just a really good opportunity to teach this next generation why not to be scared of cannabis, Fiero said. We are taking something that people just dont understand enough about and trying to change that narrative. And doing it on the university level, thats the best way to do it.
Two countries expand scope of economic partnerships

By Nam Hyun-woo

President Yoon Suk Yeol and Saudi Arabian Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman agreed to strengthen economic cooperation across all industries, Sunday, pledging further developments in the two countries future-oriented, strategic partnership.

On the occasion of their summit, the two governments and businesses from both countries inked more than 50 new memoranda of understanding (MOUs) and contracts worth $15.6 billion, in addition to deals worth $29 billion that were signed during Prince Mohammeds visit to Seoul in November last year.

Yoon and Prince Mohammed met at Al Yamamah Palace on the occasion of the Korean leaders state visit to Saudi Arabia. Yoon arrived in Riyadh on Saturday, marking the first state visit to the kingdom by a Korean leader. To welcome the Korean president, two F-15 fighter jets from the Royal Saudi Air Force escorted his presidential jet.

During the meeting, the leaders focused on expanding their bilateral economic partnership. According to the presidential office, Yoon said this year marks the 50th anniversary of Korean firms entering the kingdom, and added that he hopes to deepen bilateral relations through his visit.

Prince Mohammed responded by saying he wants to see developments in practical cooperation with Korea, which is one of the key partners of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, and expects bilateral relations to expand.

Saudi Vision 2030 is a roadmap overseen by Prince Mohammed aimed at lowering the kingdoms economic reliance on oil and moving on to future growth industries.

In the post-oil era, Korea is the optimal partner for Saudi Arabia, and it is encouraging to see bilateral relations advancing from conventional energy and construction partnerships to advanced industry partnerships that entail the joint manufacturing of automobiles and ships, Yoon was quoted as saying.

The Korean president cited Hyundai E&Cs $5 billion agreement with Saudi Aramco signed in June to build a mega petrochemical plant, called Amiral project, as one of the biggest achievements of the two countries economic partnership, and asked the crown prince and his government to pay attention to efforts by Korean firms to participate in Riyadhs mega projects, such as the NEOM smart city.

Yoon also asked for Saudi Arabias leadership as the biggest petroleum exporter in the world to help stabilize the global oil market in the wake of growing uncertainties.

According to senior presidential secretary for economic affairs Choi Sang-mok, Yoon stressed that Saudi Arabia is Koreas most trusted and cooperative oil exporter, and discussed with the crown prince ways to stabilize petroleum supply.

Also at the meeting, Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC) and Saudi Aramco signed a contract to jointly stockpile 5.3 million barrels of crude oil. Following the contract, Aramco will store oil at KNOCs Ulsan base by 2028. And in the event of an oil shortage in Korea, KNOC will receive priority in purchasing Aramcos stockpile.

Yoon and Prince Mohammed also acknowledged that the two countries have significant potential to cooperate in the fields of tourism, smart farming, patents, maritime, statistics, cybersecurity and other emerging fields and agreed to make efforts to see tangible outcomes.

While the leaders were watching, the two countries energy ministers signed a cooperation initiative on hydrogen oasis, which contains details on bilateral cooperation across the hydrogen energy ecosystem.

On the diplomatic front, the presidential office said Yoon and the crown prince shared their opinions on the growing geopolitical uncertainties in the Middle East in the wake of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, while the Korean president expressed his intention to provide necessary assistance, including humanitarian aid.

After the meeting, Yoon attended a bilateral investment forum where the two governments and companies from both sides signed 40 MOUs and six contracts, spanning the energy, infrastructure, manufacturing and emerging industries.

Some of the highlights among them include a $15.5 billion letter of intent between Korea Electric Power Corp. POSCO Holdings, Lotte Chemical and Saudi Aramco to produce low-carbon ammonia called blue ammonia.

Koreas Hyundai Motor Group and Saudi Arabiass Public Investment Fund inked a contract to set up an internal combustion and electric vehicle plant capable of producing 50,000 vehicles a year. It will be the first Korean car factory in the Middle East.

On the occasion of Yoons state visit, there will be more MOUs and contracts signed between the two sides, whose combined value reaches $15.6 billion, Choi said. This is an addition to the MOUs worth $29 billion which were agreed upon during the crown princes visit to Seoul last year.

During Prince Mohammeds visit to Seoul in November last year, businesses in the two countries signed 26 MOUs worth $29 billion. Choi said more than 60 percent of those MOUs are showing progress to turning into actual deals.

On Saturday , Yoon paid a visit to Diriyah, Saudi Arabias historical site where the original home of the Saudi royal family was located, and was briefed about Diriyah Gate, a $20 billion heritage and tourism project that Riyadh is pursuing as part of Saudi Vision 2030.

There, Saudi Arabian Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih asked Yoon to support Korean firms participation in Diriyah Gate, according to presidential spokesperson Lee Do-woon. Lee noted that the minister mentioned construction, hotels, restaurants and other fields of partnership, citing specific companies.
ATLANTIC CITY  A contractor received almost $2.6 million for repairs it made earlier this year at multiple public housing communities in the city, only for its service on underground gas lines at Stanley Holmes Village to be deemed bad work with massive leaks and potential system failures by the Atlantic City Housing Authority.

Representatives of the company, EJustice Mechanical LLC, however, say they are being wrongfully blamed by the authority, which is operating under federal oversight and facing a lawsuit from nearly 90 Stanley Holmes tenants over living conditions.

EJustice Mechanical had registered as a business in New Jersey just weeks before being hired by the authority in February on an emergency basis without competitive bidding.

Over the next four months beginning in March, the authoritys Board of Commissioners passed resolutions to pay EJustice at least $2,584,679. The compensation covered emergency repairs at the troubled Stanley Holmes and other Housing Authority communities, and renovating at least 100 units in several Inlet properties so they could be used to relocate Stanley Holmes residents, according to EJustice CEO Erick Lauffer.

But the work halted in June when the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development told the local Housing Authority that all work done under emergency measures had to stop and it must get competitive bids and contracts.

Lauffer and Chief Operating Officer Michael Carbone said the stoppage implemented in June is to blame for continuing issues with the gas system.

Were getting thrown under the bus here saying that we didnt do the gas correctly, Carbone said Thursday. I think the Housing Authority is looking for a scapegoat because we went in there, we did everything right.

A report submitted by the Housing Authority as part of its defense in the tenant lawsuit in Atlantic County Superior Court, however, claims the work was poor and will need to be redone.

Atlantic City Housing Authority delivers Stanley Holmes Village plan to court The Atlantic City Housing Authority delivered a large packet of material on the future of Stanley Holmes Village to Superior Court by its deadline late Wednesday, a court spokesperson said.

The authoritys chief operating officer, Tom Sahlin, declined to comment on the reports characterization of EJustices work, citing the pending litigation. Stephanie Marshall, chair of the agencys Board of Commissioners, did not return messages requesting comment.

The court document includes the minutes of an internal Sept. 8 meeting of the Stanley Turnaround Tiger Team, as well as a draft presentation of the Stanley Holmes repair plan. It said work on the gas system had been completed in eight buildings, but not in adherence with plans and specifications generated by the Engineer of Record. Massive leaks and potential system failures are occurring on gas lines repaired by EJustice and leaks are present on gas lines that have not been repaired.

The authority entered these records last month in response to the latest order from Superior Court Judge John C. Porto, who is presiding over a lawsuit filed last fall by 87 Stanley Holmes residents over what they describe as unsafe and unsanitary conditions.

The document also claims EJustice never pulled permits for the piping it ran in some crawlspaces.

Lauffer and Carbone say that claim isnt accurate and that permits were issued for work on Stanley Holmes gas lines, and that city inspectors and another Housing Authority consultant that served as a general contractor reviewed EJustices work. EJustice also provided the agency with weekly progress reports that included photographs, they said.

Alexxus Young, a spokesperson for the city government, confirmed permits were issued to Jeffrey Alvarez T/A South Jersey Subcontractor of Woodbine. Alvarez is one of three EJustice partners. Carbone and Lisa Andrews, of Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, are the others.

Young also said city inspections took place in April and May.

The work was approved, Young wrote in an email.

Atlantic City Housing Authority consultant to lead Linden public housing Jerry Volpe, the consultant who handles all purchasing and bidding for the Atlantic City Housing Authority and has been criticized for a lack of materials needed to make repairs, is now the interim executive director of the Linden Housing Authority in Union County.

While EJustice had only officially formed as a business in New Jersey in late February, two weeks before receiving its first check from the authority, Lauffer said its leadership, employees and subcontractors all have decades of experience.

The company was formed to take on the government job, he said.

This is our first time working for the government, so we had to actually structure our LLC pertaining to that, Lauffer said.

After the work stoppage, the company brought on Atlantic City attorney Dan Gallagher, who is involved in DEEM Enterprises, the developer behind a $3 billion plan for Bader Field, as its authorized representative.

The company was selected by then interim Executive Director John Clarke, who tasked it with handling a range of emergency repairs, particularly at the 420-unit Stanley Holmes Village.

Jerry Volpe, who has overseen procurement for the authority as its contracted purchasing agent since August 2022, brought the company on with Clarkes approval, according to both men.

Clarke, who left the authority May 4, said it was challenging to find contractors at that time and that a mounting backlog of maintenance requests and a large number of emergencies meant EJustice was handling a variety of repairs.

Asked about the spending on EJustice in light of the authoritys critical report, Volpe said he had authorized a small amount of money for the firm but that former Executive Director Matthew Doherty authorized millions of dollars.

Atlantic City Housing Authority faces Wednesday deadline for Stanley Holmes Village plan The Atlantic City Housing Authority is due to deliver a detailed plan on the future of the troubled 420-unit Stanley Holmes Village to a judge Wednesday.

He declined to answer additional questions about that assertion.

But a Press of Atlantic City review of board-approved financial reports found that 10 checks, totaling $1.8 million of the $2.6 million, were sent to EJustice on or before May 4, four days before Dohertys first day on the job.

Jerry Volpe is not telling the truth, Doherty said in response last week. Jerry Volpe managed any and all procurement, and he was responsible for EJustice and all the other vendors chosen.

This is not the first time Volpe and Doherty have been at odds. During an Aug. 24 board meeting, Doherty issued a blistering statement that blamed Volpe for HUDs Aug. 9 decision to designate the authority as troubled. Two weeks later, the board voted to terminate Doherty.

As the administrative upheaval played out, Stanley Holmes residents continued to call on the authority to address critical issues in their homes, including some residents living without a functioning shower or working stove. There are also ongoing concerns over black mold, interruptions to heat and hot water, and gas leaks that are impacting dozens of units.

The job of remedying the bad work EJustice did, according to the boards report, now falls to Kisby Shore Mechanical Contractors, which should have a clear plan of action for the gas pipe repairs by Oct. 31, according to legal filings.

The authoritys attorney, Richard DeLucry, did not respond to requests for comment about whether the board will seek any refunds from EJustice.
Bridge deck repairs on the eastbound lanes of the Interstate 80 Mississippi Bridge is set to start Monday, weather permitting.

One eastbound lane will be open during the project, the Illinois Department of Transportation said in a news release. A daily lane closure controlled by signage will be in place from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. throughout the project, which is scheduled to be completed by 3 p.m. Wednesday.

Motorists can expect delays and should allow extra time for trips through the area. To avoid the work area, when feasible, use of alternate routes should be considered. Drivers are urged to pay close attention to changed conditions and signs in the work zones, obey the posted speed limits, refrain from using mobile devices and be alert for workers and equipment.

For IDOT District 2 updates, follow on Twitter at @IDOTDistrict2 or view area construction details on IDOT's traveler information map at GettingAroundIllinois.com.

US 61 ramps to reopen Oct. 31

Construction crews will reopen the southbound exit ramp and northbound entrance ramp on U.S. Highway 61 at Mount Joy, exit 124, on Tuesday, Oct. 31, weather permitting.

Crews will then close the southbound entrance ramp from Scott County Road F-55/210th Street east to the southbound U.S. 61 entrance. The ramp will remain closed until Monday, Nov. 13, weather permitting.

While the southbound entrance ramp to U.S. 61 is closed, travelers should follow the marked detour route and travel north on U.S. 61 to Blackhawk Trail Road/Scott County Road F-51, and then south on U.S. 61.

The latest traveler information is available anytime through the 511 system. Visit 511ia.org; call 511 (within Iowa) or 800-288-1047 (nationwide); stay connected with 511 on Facebook or Twitter with links at https://iowadot.gov/511/511-social-media-sites; or download the free app on a mobile device.

Close Council member Scott Naumann smiles during a celebration of a milestone in the Middle Road, Forest Grove Drive reconstruction project Wednesday Oct. 18, 2023. Bettendorf Mayor Bob Gallagher speaks during a celebration of a milestone in the Middle Road, Forest Grove Drive reconstruction project Wednesday Oct. 18, 2023. A wheel loader drives during a celebration of a milestone in the Middle Road, Forest Grove Drive reconstruction project Wednesday Oct. 18, 2023. A wheel loader drives through a ribbon to mark a milestone in the Middle Road, Forest Grove Drive reconstruction project Wednesday Oct. 18, 2023. The city celebrated the partial reopening of the roads as the construction in the area progresses. Detours and changes to traffic patterns remain. Roundabout opens near TBK Bank Sports Complex Bettendorf officials celebrated the completion of a roundabout at Forest Grove Drive and Middle Road, a major milestone of the reconstruction of road infrastructure surrounding the TBK Bank Sports Complex. The construction company, Valley Construction, drove construction machinery into a ribbon in an untraditional ribbon cutting despite the rain Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023. Council member Scott Naumann smiles during a celebration of a milestone in the Middle Road, Forest Grove Drive reconstruction project Wednesday Oct. 18, 2023. Bettendorf Mayor Bob Gallagher speaks during a celebration of a milestone in the Middle Road, Forest Grove Drive reconstruction project Wednesday Oct. 18, 2023. A wheel loader drives during a celebration of a milestone in the Middle Road, Forest Grove Drive reconstruction project Wednesday Oct. 18, 2023. A wheel loader drives through a ribbon to mark a milestone in the Middle Road, Forest Grove Drive reconstruction project Wednesday Oct. 18, 2023. The city celebrated the partial reopening of the roads as the construction in the area progresses. Detours and changes to traffic patterns remain.
The Davenport apartment building at 324 Main St. was where Maggie Baker and her husband lived when they got married 22 years ago.

My husband carried me across the threshold here, and we lived here maybe six years, she said.

Baker, 72, was one of about 80 people who gathered Saturday at the former site of the apartment building, now covered with grass, to participate in a rosary for the three men who died when the building partially collapsed May 28.

The rosary was presided over by the Rev. Rudolph Juarez, known as Father Rudy," who is pastor of St. Anthonys Catholic Church. The church is kitty-corner to where the building stood. It was the reunification point in the immediate aftermath of the collapse and where many of those impacted went for aid the night of the collapse.

Describing the apartment building she so fondly remembered, Baker said, It was wonderful.

It was run beautifully, it was maintained, we had a wonderful staff in maintenance, she said. It was wonderful. My husband could walk right down the street and go fishing, and I would go to work at SouthPark Mall. We parked right back here.

Baker remembered that her first week in The Davenport was when 9/11 hit and they came pounding on our doors to turn our TVs on.

Planning for Saturday's event started after Robert Brown, a member of St. Anthony's and the Knights of Columbus, suggested holding a public rosary in October, as the month is dedicated to the rosary in the Roman Catholic Church. From there, John Cooper, St. Anthony's pastoral associate and business manager, developed it into something in honor of the three men who died  Brandon Colvin, Ryan Hitchcock and Daniel Prien.

Bill Sweeney, who knew Hitchcock, said it was good to see the community together joined in a single purpose.

Cooper said he was helping at the church the night of the collapse and the lot that now stood empty where three men died had been troubling to him, which helped lead him to holding the rosary at the site.

Juarez said that as October was the month of the Rosary, It is a time we celebrate life, from the beginning of life to its natural end. That was part of the impetus.

But also, what happened in that specific space, the sadness and the death and the turmoil in peoples lives, we wanted to bring a sense of blessing and comfort and consolation to that space to make it not be eternally remembered for sadness and death, but also to bring a spirit of blessing and comfort and life to that area, he said.

They wanted to pray for the men who lost their lives and pray for their families, he said.

The rosary also included prayers for the United States, given that there are so many conflicting points of view that are creating their own turmoil, he added.

Prayers were also offered to the people of Ukraine, the Middle East, Guatemala and other parts of the world that are troubled. There also were prayers that a new bishop will be named soon and that a good man will be sent to pastor the people, Juarez said.

On the evening of May 28, Cooper had just finished with his ministry at the Scott County Jail and had gone home and eaten when he got a call from Juarez. The pastor had been holding Eucharistic adoration with the Hispanic community at the church for Pentecost when people started arriving from the building.

We didnt know how bad it was, Cooper said. I got down there and saw the amount of people and the roads blocked.

It was surreal, Cooper said. The whole thing was."

The church's staff already knew some of the people who lived at the building before the collapse, Cooper said, as they went to the church's McAnthony Window ministry or to the food pantry for food.

Its nice they felt at home here, Cooper said. For many of them home was St. Anthonys, and we tried to be as hospitable and as good to them as possible.

Juarez said that what the Church and its staff did that night is an extension of what we already do.

Thats what were there for, Jurarez said. We try to serve our community.
IOWA CITY  U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Ottumwa, stood on the bed of a bright-red truck and defended voting against Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the hard-right chair of the House Judiciary Committee, to be the next speaker of the U.S. House  a move she said spawned credible death threats against her.

Meanwhile, a slate of candidates seeking the Republican presidential nomination focused on national security and the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, the Gaza-based Palestinian militant group.

Miller-Meeks held her third annual Triple MMM Tailgate on Friday evening in Iowa City. The event featured seven candidates seeking the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.

Miller-Meeks, who voted for Jordan on the first ballot Tuesday but subsequently voted against him, cast her vote Friday for Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry of North Carolina.

Miller-Meeks reported she received death threats Wednesday after voting against Jordan, and other anti-Jordan House Republicans also reported death threats and threatening calls.

I am never going to quit fighting for Iowa, and I am never going to quit fighting for this country," Miller-Meeks said to a crowd of hundreds of supporters. "So if you think you can intimidate me, go  suck it up, buttercup!"

Miller-Meeks defended her vote and voting record, including voting against an agriculture appropriations bill because it cut vital supports for Iowa farmers, including to U.S. Department of Agriculture programs that support rural broadband development and funding for foreign animal disease preparedness.

She said she did not support shutting down the government because she didnt want veterans pay to be stopped.

Seven presidential candidates followed her speech, asking Iowans for their support in the GOP caucuses on Jan. 15. Heres what they had to say.

Ron DeSantis

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis repeated his calls to deny Palestinian refugees entry into the United States and criticized students protesting Israels actions in response to the attacks, calling them Hamas supporters. He vowed to revoke student visas and deport foreign nationals who support Hamas.

We are not going to allow the left wing in this country to have hundreds of thousands of Gaza strip refugees deposited in the United States of America, DeSantis said. That is not our role. We dont want to import the pathologies of the Middle East here. The Arab countries should handle any refugees that are needed in that region.

DeSantis called for a renewed effort to strengthen national security by creating stricter policies at the southern border, including authorizing the use of deadly force on Mexican drug cartels.

Vivek Ramaswamy

Vivek Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur, complimented DeSantis for his decision to charter emergency flights from Israel to assist U.S. citizens fleeing the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Ramaswamy said he respects the Florida governors choice to arrange those flights and said he and his wife have made a similar choice to charter a flight through their charitable organization, evacuating 200 Americans from Israel.

While he condemned the actions of Hamas as barbaric and morally wrong, he cautioned Israel against an ongoing, potentially imminent ground invasion of Gaza in order to prevent what he sees as mistakes made following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorists attacks in the United States.

He said the United States spent more than $6 trillion on military expenditures following the Sept. 11 terrorists attacks, only to see the Taliban retake control of Afghanistan and an anti-American regime in Iraq that is not vulnerable to Iranian incursion. He said Americans were told to shut up, sit down, go along following Sept. 11  and called for Israel to not make the same mistakes.

Some people will ask, is that anti-Israel? No, no, no, Ramaswamy said. This is the most pro-Israel thing we can do, as a friend, to say, learn the lessons from the mistakes we made 20 years ago in this country, to make sure that we  together  dont repeat them again.

Nikki Haley

Former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley, who held a town hall in Cedar Rapids Friday afternoon before heading to the Miller-Meeks fundraiser, emphasized her foreign policy credentials.

In the wake of the surprise attack by Hamas on Israel, Haley called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to finish the Palestinian militant group.

Haley told the crowd, both in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, the United States needed to pursue three goals when it came to the Middle Eastern conflict.

Support Israel with whatever they need whenever they need it, Haley said. Eliminate Hamas, not weaken them  eliminate Hamas. And do everything we can to bring our hostages home.

Haley celebrated the announcement Friday that Hamas had released two Americans who had been held hostage in Gaza. Its the first such release from among the roughly 200 people the militant group abducted.

Two prayers were answered, Haley said, but said President Joe Biden should not give the Hamas any leniency for the release of the American hostages.

Haley said the United States needs to do more to support Israel, by providing military aid as well as pulling government funding from universities with students and staff who hold protests in support of Palestinians.

Haley criticized Bidens approach to the withdrawal from Afghanistan and a recent prisoner exchange deal with Iran, saying they have emboldened Americas adversaries.

Ryan Binkley

Texas pastor Ryan Binkley said the national debt threatened future generations and that Republicans needed to update messaging to represent the changing country and be more involved in discussions on health care and education.

I think the Republican Party has kind of lost our way, Binkley said. I think we all recognize that we are in a broken place. Not only can we not elect a Speaker of the House, our party is divided. We are so much broken in our messaging and what we represent, and I really believe this: We have to remember are the party of financial stewardship.

Binkley touted his seven-year plan to balance the budget and begin paying down America's debt. The plan focuses on reducing nondefense discretionary spending; preventing waste, fraud and abuse; and saving Social Security.

Tim Scott

South Carolina U.S. Sen. Tim Scott denounced Bidens response to the Israeli-Hamas conflict and called for an urgent response to aid Israel, stating he hopes the response comes with some Israeli-American hardware.

Scott described protests happening across the country against Israels response in Gaza as antisemitic. And vowed, if elected, to sign into law legislation he introduced to revoke federal student aid to colleges or university that say its OK to spread terrorism on our campuses.

The senators proposal came after some students and professors at colleges including Harvard and Columbia University released statements supporting Palestinians and condemning Israels actions against the population.

"Let's condemn Americans for their hate-filled response," Scott said.

Doug Burgum

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum said there were major domestic issues impacting national security that were overlooked. We cant have national security without food security, energy security and border security, he said.

Earlier in the day, during an interview on Iowa PBS Iowa Press, Burgum said he believed the president could play an important role in resolving the internal disputes among U.S. House Republicans in nominating a speaker.

You know who loves the fact that the Republicans cant get their act together and lead? The Democrats, Burgum said.   They love what were doing, because this is all helping them in 2024. And we dont have either side thats actually working to try to solve the issues for the American people.

Asa Hutchinson

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said he was the only candidate with a law enforcement background, having worked as a federal prosecutor and with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency  giving him credence to take on border security and the fentanyl crisis. In 2003, then-President George W. Bush appointed Hutchinson as the undersecretary for border and transportation security at the newly established Department of Homeland Security.

While at the department, Hutchinson led an effort to reform border inspections through the use of biometric technology and continued to oversee the reorganization of border agencies into a unified inspection force.

Now, you can look at what I did, and youll say, well, you didnt get it perfect, Hutchinson said. But it looks perfect compared to what Joe Biden has done.

Hutchinson his experience serving under Bush following the Sept. 11 attacks will help him aid Israel in its war against Hamas. He criticized Ramaswamys comments on the conflict, saying that this is not a time of ambiguity.

What voters say

Bill Montag, 50, of Coralville, said he remained undecided as to whom he would support in the caucuses but was impressed with both DeSantis and Haley. He said he valued Haleys foreign policy experience and DeSantis views on border and national security.

The attacks on Israel were a disgrace, and I agree with everyone that Hamas needs to be removed from Earth. They need to be taken out, Montag said.

It doesnt mean that all the Palestinians are bad, obviously. But its hard for us to give aid directly to Gaza (because) its essentially giving aid to Hamas, as much as the Palestinian people need it.  I think we have to stand with Israel.

He said hes also looking for a fiscal conservative who had a plan to cut federal spending and balance the budget.

Dawn Coffman, 69, of Williamsburg, who attended Haleys town hall in Cedar Rapids, said she, too, is weighing whether to caucus for DeSantis or Haley.

I was totally sold on DeSantis before, but then Ive listened to (Haleys) position on the Israel-Hamas conflict.   Shes a little bit more aggressive and outspoken, and I like that.

Asked about former President Donald Trump, the current Republican front-runner who did not attend Fridays tailgate, Coffman said she feels Trump is too polarizing to win in the general election and beat Biden.

I think he bring a lot of baggage, she said. I think he got a lot of things done (as president), but I dont think hell get anything done if hes president again. I think hell be tied up in legal entanglements.

She said she felt now was the opportune time for DeSantis and Haley to break out from the rest of the pack and put a dent in Trumps support. Of the two, she said she likes Haleys hawkish foreign policy.

I dont want her to back down.

Photos: Former President Donald Trump speaks at Commit to Caucus event in Waterloo Trump 1 Trump 2 Trump 3 Trump 4 Trump 5 Trump 6 Trump 7 Trump 8 Trump 9 Trump 11 Trump 12 Trump 14 Trump 15 Trump 16 Trump 17 Trump 18 Trump 19 Trump 20 Trump 21 Trump 22 Trump 23
Susan Polan, associate executive director for public affairs and advocacy with the American Public Health Association, talks about the decline in trust and the politicization in public health in America and the work health experts are doing to keep communities happy and healthy.

Polan joins Lynn Schmidt, columnist and editorial board member with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The conversation spans the rise in vaccine skepticism, the closure of rural hospitals, suicide prevention, opioid overdoses and combating deaths of despair.

Episode transcript

Note: The following transcript was created by Headliner and may contain misspellings and other inaccuracies as it was generated automatically:

Dr. Susan Polan is an associate executive director with the American Public Health Association

Lynn Schmidt: Hi, my name is Lynn Schmidt, and welcome to the what keeps you up at night? Podcast, the show where we discuss the big issues and worries facing America and the world, and then begin the conversations about how we can go about solving them. I am a columnist and editorial board member with the St. Louis Post Dispatch. I will be interviewing experts and politicians from across the country, from right to left, on the political spectrum as well as spanning the generations. It is my pleasure to welcome today's guest, Dr. Susan Polan. Dr. Polan is an associate executive director for public affairs and advocacy with the American Public Health Association. She oversees the association's departments of government relations and affiliate affairs, communications and membership. Prior to joining the APHA, Polan worked as the Director of Government Relations at the Trust for America's Health, a, public health advocacy organization. Dr. Polan earned her Bachelor of Science degree in psychology from the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign. She later earned a Master's of science in health psychology from San Diego University and a doctorate in social ecology from the University of California, Irvine. Welcome to the podcast. Dr. Susan Polan.

Susan Polan: Thank you so much. It's my pleasure to be here.

Lynn Schmidt: Thanks.

One of the big issues is how public health is going to survive

Lynn Schmidt: So my first question to you is what keeps you up at night?

Susan Polan: There are a variety of things that keep me up at night. I think that one of the big issues is how public health is going to survive, both because of the attacks that are happening on the field of public health, on the people in public health, as well as the long term issue with funding for public health. We are seeing, opportunities for public health diminish because of concerns and feedback and pushback after COVID. But it was happening for years and years before that, the lack of recognition for what public health and the field of public health does for people and for communities every day. And so, because things are going well, people think we don't need funding to continue things to go well. And that has been an ongoing issue of concern.

Lynn Schmidt: So maybe you could share with our listeners what exactly is public health, or what do public health professionals do in our communities?

Susan Polan: So public health is the idea that you can keep people happy by keeping communities happy and by focusing on the issues that are upstream to illness. The idea for public health is to prevent disease, to keep people well, to keep them out of the doctor's office, away from the hospital. And we do that by focusing on creating healthy communities, by creating streets and communities that are walkable and safe, by assuring that people have access to fresh fruits and vegetables, by assuring that there is a good education system so that people can be literate and graduate from high school and be healthy in their life. We, assure that there's health by offering access assuring there's access to health care, or by making sure that there are wellness programs in communities, or tobacco free communities, or access to vaccines, and also making sure that there are things like clean air and clean water. It really does run the gamut when you wake up in the morning to when you go to sleep at night. Public health is there, like an umbrella over you, keeping you healthy in ways that you don't see, because it is based more on you as a part of a population rather than you as an individual.

Lynn Schmidt: So trust in almost all of America's institutions are at an all time low. And they started that decline, before the COVID-19 Pandemic, which I guess was a set up for a disaster, especially for public health. going into the pandemic, can you think of ways to increase that trust in our public health while we wait and see if we can restore trust in our institutions overall?

Susan Polan: So all of public health work is based on evidence and research. And I think one of the things we need to do is be more transparent about that. We understand what we understand today because of where science is. But tomorrow, there might be a new understanding, a new opening, a new research project that tinkers with and maybe is more nuanced in terms of what works, in terms of creating health and what does not. And so one of the things that we need to make sure people understand is that when a public health professional tells you something today and then tells you something that's maybe a little bit different in three weeks, they're not lying today. It's that we have new data and evidence through the course of time that helps us better understand what works to protect health, and create health and well being. So, transparency, I think, is going to be a really important part of regaining trust. And part of transparency, again, is not just telling us what we know, but also helping people understand the process of gaining access to more information. I think another piece, that's, going to be important, is that we also say what we don't know. We tell people that this is the information we have. And if there are questions, we make clear that we're doing additional research to understand those questions, and hopefully we'll be able to have more information. Now it's the issue of, are eggs good for you? Are eggs bad for you? Data has changed over the course of our lifetime to help us understand better how to be healthy. And the same thing is true in understanding how to create clean air, or what vaccines work, or what physical activity is necessary to create health.

Lynn Schmidt: Yeah, I think that's what we saw, particularly in the early days of the pandemic, where our public health officials were providing the best information that they had at that time. And then when it changed, people are using it against them. Right?

Susan Polan: Right. And as we learned more about COVID-19 and, the underlying transmission process, that idea of do we need masks or do we not need the masks? Became more clear. As we understood it, the idea of physical distancing became more clear. And so it was an, understanding of transmission, of the disease, of the infection that really changed over time, not what scientists were saying to help protect you.

Lynn Schmidt: Right.

Eric Schmitt, junior senator from Missouri, tweets attacks on public health

Lynn Schmidt: So, speaking of attacks on the institution of public health, and specifically, maybe on COVID-19, the junior senator from Missouri, Eric Schmitt, tweeted or posted the following on X, which is the new name for Twitter. He, posted the following on X on September 5, Senator Schmitt posted no vaccine mandates, no vaccine passports, no mask mandates, no lockdowns. then on September 7, why the fight against COVID tyranny was and is a fight for freedom. On September 9, Fauci lied. September twelveTH, COVID fear mongering. And then again, on September twelveTH, do you trust the CDC? Which, Senator Schmitt posted a poll.

Lynn Schmidt: Under his account, in which 91.8 of the respondents of his Twitter poll responded that they do not. all of these posts seem to come at a time where COVID-19 cases are back on the rise. but I want listeners to be clear. There are no max mandates currently. There are no vaccine mandates. the new boosters have just been, approved and released, and I got mine this week. but those are personal choices.

Public health officials say COVID cases are still here, people getting sick

Lynn Schmidt: So maybe could you speak a little bit about these attacks and what the public health community can do to do some counter programming, if you will?

Susan Polan: I want to reinforce that nobody is talking about mandates right now. Nobody is talking about lockdowns. I also want to make really clear is that we don't even have a really good idea of the numbers of cases right now, because the only time we really find out about cases at this point is when someone gets to the hospital with no emergency declaration. Much of the tracking of ongoing cases has gone away. So we don't know how bad or how well we're doing right now, but we do see an increase in cases coming to the hospital over what we've seen in previous months. So nobody can deny that, COVID cases are still here, that people are getting sick, that people are dying from COVID This is still going on. And because of that, I think what we in public health need to do, and somehow what we need to get through is some of this incendery language to make clear that it's not fear mongering. It really is about trying to offer the most up to date data and information that's available and offer ways for people to keep themselves healthy. And in that process, as a community, we need to recognize that what works well for one person might not work well for another person. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't give a person access to all of the tools available to keep themselves healthy. So that means we should continue to allow people to get vaccines. That means that people, if they want to, should still mask, and they should be able to walk through the streets without getting harassed for that. They're taking care of themselves and their needs in a way that allows other people to live their life freely. And I, want to make sure that we figure out and this is way bigger than what public health can do, but how do we respect individual choices at the same time we respect the choices that are best for the population at large.

Lynn Schmidt: Right? absolutely.

Dr. Anthony Fauci lied about COVID

Lynn Schmidt: So, in those posts, I think the one that really stuck out to me, and is particularly damaging is where, Senator Schmitt wrote, Fauci lied. And of course, he's referring to Dr. Anthony Fauci, because he's attacking an individual, who I don't believe lied. I believe that Dr. Fauci gave the information that he knew in a timely fashion. And if that changed, like we talked before, it changed, and the data was showing something new. Right. how are our public health professionals, dealing with these attacks to their, and some of them maybe to them personally? Right.

Susan Polan: there are a number of personal attacks. There have been people who have been harassed off of the job after years of good public service because someone did not like what they said. And this has been a big problem, in the public health field, but also in the related fields that were trying to deal with these issues during COVID School board attacks were on the rise. People came off of school boards, off of local health boards, because when you are offering information that not everybody agrees with, it opens you up to attacks. And COVID actually opened us up to attacks unlike anything we had ever seen. And that's just not fair. You're not going to find public health professionals who are out there offering information that is to their own personal gain. It really is about the community that they're involved in, the community that they are trying to protect. And again, just because people don't agree doesn't mean that anybody has a right to attack them personally, to attack their family, to put them in danger because they put their address or phone number online. And all of these things happened to public health professionals during COVID And so, again, this is not something that public health can solve alone. But we in public health need to continue to offer the most up to date science to acknowledge when things change. Dr. Fauci didn't lie. Dr. Fauci learned more throughout the course of the process because he was working with experts from around the world who were all learning more at the same time. And so we really need to try and hold people accountable for what they are doing right and what they're doing wrong. And I think the same thing is true with public officials, elected officials who say things like this. We need to hold them accountable and responding and respond with the truth and with transparency and with humility. Because, as again, we're always learning and things will always change. And so, what I say definitively today might not be the same nuanced conversation that we have in three months. And we just have to acknowledge that and not be challenged for that, but be rewarded and applauded for being willing to say things have changed.

Is there a change in how citizens view vaccines in general?

Lynn Schmidt: Is the public health community seeing, a change in how citizens, view vaccines in general? I mean, is there increased, skepticism about getting other vaccines as well?

Susan Polan: Well, that's always been there as well. We, unfortunately, have been dealing with the, MMR autism hoax for many, many years. And so there was always a small and vocal minority of people who believed that vaccines were dangerous. And the truth is that for 99% of the population, vaccines are not dangerous. I have a son who, when he was young, was allergic to eggs. So many vaccines, we had to address that in a certain way because many vaccines were grown in eggs. But it wasn't that. When we had all the information, they were not dangerous to him. They were protective. And that's what we know about vaccines. I think the vocal minority is growing a little bit. And unfortunately, it's been seeded by legislative process, which are changing the rules for kids who go to school. Making vaccines no longer making vaccines mandatory in a lot of places when what we are trying to do with that is protect the population. So we've had cases of measles from people who are not vaccine, who do not have vaccines. We've seen people die because they have not been vaccinated and they catch measles. We see all sorts of unnecessary illness and disease because people do not receive the vaccines. Vaccines are preventive. They keep people healthy. And we need to just continue to reinforce that. I'm afraid of what we're going to see in the next few years as we have more and more kids entering schools who are not vaccinated. And unfortunately, what we might see is a dramatic increase in some of these preventable diseases. Whooping cough? polio.

Lynn Schmidt: Right?

Susan Polan: Polio. These are all things that we know what happened before we had the polio vaccine. I think that for many of us, those visions of people in iron lungs are seared in our brains when we've looked at history. And we can go to other countries and see where polio has not been eradicated and see the implications for people in those countries. So I'm really hoping that this is a short term kind of rebound effect and we will get back to where we need which is recognizing the value of vaccines for long term health of individuals and populations.

Lynn Schmidt: I hope so as well.

September 15 was National Suicide Prevention Week

Lynn Schmidt: we are recording this, podcast on September 15, and this week is National Suicide Prevention Week. Pew Charitable Trust reported this week that the US. Suicide rate increased 30% during the years, 2000 to 2020. Their report also showed that suicide was the 11th leading cause of death in the country in the year 2021. the suicide rate among American Indian and Alaska Native women grew 135%, and the rate for men rose 92%. would you mind speaking to the alarming, rise in suicides in the country and what we as citizens or the public health community, can do to, reduce the number of suicides?

Susan Polan: One of the things that we know about suicides, particularly the increase that we've seen among the populations you mentioned, among the populations of white men, older white men, all of these things are related to a couple of different factors. One is what we call deaths of despair. So it is related to the opioid epidemic, it is related to unemployment. unfortunately, there is, kind of an exponential increase in suicides. When there is somebody high profile who commits suicide, there's this, copycat effect of a better term that is really horrific. So there are a variety of things that we can do. The dramatic increase in suicide among men is related to a variety of things. But one of the things is that men are more likely to use a gun when they try to commit suicide, and then they are therefore more likely to be successful, right? What people don't know is that about 60% to two thirds of the, suicide or the gun deaths every year are actually suicides, right? And so, there are things that we can do that are related to guns, like red flag laws. If we know somebody is in a place where they should not have access to a gun, then the red flag laws are designed to, allow people, law enforcement, to take those guns away. And that's not a bad thing. It is protective of the individual. But there are a lot of other things that we can do. We can focus on some of the upstream causes. The opioid epidemic is something we definitely need to do a better job on. And we can see how it has ravaged, parts of the country more than others. But it is everywhere.

Lynn Schmidt: It is everywhere.

Susan Polan: It's in rural areas, it's in urban areas, it's in suburban areas. And we need to be much more conscious and conscientious about trying to help people, offer them the services that they need, access to the care that they need, and assure that we truly have parity in mental health care so that people can get the services that they need. If you are trying to find a therapist who takes insurance, it's almost impossible if you're trying to pay out of pocket. It is exorbitant. And so we need to make sure that these things are readily available to people who need them. But, the other thing we need to do is work on assuring that there is hope and opportunity in communities, because so many people who try suicide once do it because they're in this moment of despair. But in two or three years, they have been able to rebuild a life. And that is what we want to do, is want to make sure that everybody is able to build a healthy and active and life where they are able to access the services that they need, so that they don't get to that point where they are contemplating suicide.

Lynn Schmidt: I recently met, a veteran who was suffering from PTSD, who, is a gun owner. and he realized that he was really struggling with depression and was suicidal. and he knew enough to bring his guns to a neighbor and ask them to lock them up for him until he was in a better place. And then he was able to receive mental health services through the VA. But, there's so many more people in our country like him who don't know enough to ask someone to help them, or don't feel like they can reach out to someone and share that they're in a bad place or able to access, those services.

Susan Polan: I applaud him for being so self reflective and thoughtful and taking action. For a lot of people, they are at a place where that they just don't have the capacity to do that. And so it's important that we support those people as well. And, I'm really glad, also, that he's able to receive services from the VA. But the VA is another place that we need to make sure has the staff and funding that it needs to offer services to our veterans, so many of whom are suffering from PTSD. And so, he is an exemplar, and I hope that there are more people like him, but I also want to make sure for those people who are not in that same place, they're able to access the services that they need.

Lynn Schmidt: I almost got emotional talking about him, and I realized that if he hadn't taken the steps that he did, I probably would not have met him. and there's so many, people in our community, and I think that's one way that we all can help the public health community in just providing, relationships within our community, reaching out to our neighbors and friends and strangers, honestly, right? Just with kindness, because we have to figure out a way to rebuild our communities.

Susan Polan: One of the kind of standing tenets for public health is that you don't want to meet your counterparts or your partners in times of emergency. You want to have relationships. So when emergencies arise, you're able to pick up the phone and not have to build that relationship. It's true with our neighbors. It's true in our communities that we need to reach out, we need to support and engage in community activities because it, makes communities safer, it makes communities healthier. When you have this integrated community where people know each other, they watch out for each other, they're able to check on their neighbor if they haven't seen them in a few days. All of these things are really important. it's the famous saying, it takes a village, and it does take a village to keep people healthy.

Dr. Polan: Public health professionals are your neighbors

Lynn Schmidt: So, before we wrap up, I was hoping maybe you could, just say a few words about the public health professionals, in our communities. It seems to me that they are just people who care, care about the other people that live where they live, whether that's a town, a, county, a state, or the country. Can you speak to that a little bit?

Susan Polan: Yeah. The public health professional, these people are your neighbors. They're the people who do their job to assure that, the air is clean. So they're people who make sure that the neighborhood doesn't have the sanitarians, who assure that there's no blight in your neighborhood. They're the people who test water to make sure that it's safe to drink your drinking water, or who are in a public health clinic, or, the community health center, offering health care, offering vaccines, offering tobacco prevention activities, who go into schools and work with kids to teach them about the ravages of drugs to an individual. They're also the people who you will never see, who work in a lab, when your child is first born, and who test them for all of those different things to make sure that there are no birth defects. They are the people, who are out in the streets and trying to engage people to offer condom them and clean needles so that we don't have HIV. so there are people who are doing things that you see and things that you don't see. And maybe some of these things are things that individuals don't agree with. But again, the goal is to keep the community healthy. And so these are tools that are available to people to keep the community.

Lynn Schmidt: I'm I'm recording this from Missouri. and I know that there are many hospitals in our rural areas that are closing. And so, it might just be that your public health official may be the only one in your area, in your community that's there to help you and keep healthy and can help direct.

Susan Polan: You to a place where you can access the services you need if perhaps they're not available in your community.

Lynn Schmidt: Yeah, great. Well, thank you so much, Dr. Poland, for joining me today. I hope listeners enjoyed this conversation. please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform, so you won't miss an episode of what keeps you up at thank you again, Dr. Poland.

Susan Polan: Thank you. I really enjoyed this time.
Zaid Mahdawi, the president of AMP's Richmond branch, spoke briefly before the march left Monroe Park, first imploring attendees to keep the demonstration peaceful.

American Muslims for Palestine Free Palestine march, which began at Monroe Park this afternoon, is turning east back down Broad St. now. Started with a couple hundred, its up to 1,000 strong now @RTDNEWS pic.twitter.com/VLdM3RJHuG  Zach Joachim (@ZachJoachim) October 22, 2023

Accompanying Mahdawi was Sereen Haddad, a Palestinian VCU student originally from Gaza. Haddad said she receives regular reports on the strife and suffering endured by Palestinians from her family living in Gaza.

When Haddad spoke before a similar march last week, the death toll of Palestinian civilians was 2,200, she said, adding that a week later, it has risen to 4,600, including 1,960 children.

The Associated Press on Friday reported that more than 4,000 Palestinians and more than 1,400 Israelis have been killed since an Oct. 7 attack by the militant group Hamas, which controls the occupied Gaza Strip.

It is the latest surge in violence between Israelis and Palestinians since the Jewish state was formed in 1948.

"Today, we are gathered in solidarity with the people of Gaza who are still suffering a brutal assault by the Israeli military," Haddad said.

"We stand united to condemn the ongoing occupation, the displacement of families and the violation of human rights since 1948 for 75 years. We call for an end to the blockade and the illegal settlements.

"It's time for the world to recognize the rights of the Palestinian people and support their struggle for self-determination."

Haddad, 19, said multiple members of her family, small children included, were recently killed by a bomb, and others have in the past been victims of Israeli missile strikes.

Further members of her extended family, which has lived in Gaza for six decades, received a flier demanding they vacate their homes.

"We wait for a single notification just to confirm that our bloodline is still alive," Haddad said before playing a voice recording of her 13-year-old cousin, Ahmed, pleading for an end to the violence, a message from Gaza that Haddad said was intended for the "Western world."

"Palestinians are people who only demand freedom and only demand rights, which is the bare minimum any human could ask for. ... My people are being ethnically cleansed."

Over the weekend, there were similar rallies involving thousands in New York City, London, Berlin and Arab countries in the Middle East.

In Richmond, many marchers wore keffiyehs, traditional Palestinian scarves.

The march left Monroe Park at around 2:45 p.m. and traveled a short distance down North Belvidere to West Broad Street before progressing to the corner of North Allen Avenue and West Broad, turning there and heading east to return to Monroe Park at around 4:15 p.m.

Richmond police officers and bike marshals helped close off streets to keep marchers safe from traffic.

Many families were among the marchers, and small children with Palestinian flags painted on their faces took megaphones to lead chants.

Among the messages expressed through signage and chants was a condemnation of President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The U.S. sends billions of dollars in aid to Israel every year, and the administration is currently proposing an additional $14 billion in military funding, the AP reported.

"I pray for the children of Palestine that one day, we can wake up to the sound of birds, not bombs," one sign read.

Upon returning to Monroe Park, organizers asked attendees to take their advocacy beyond demonstration and into tangible action.

Whatever you do, do not stop, said Mahdawi, begging those in attendance to lobby their public representatives to call for a cease-fire in the region.

The public opinion is shifting in favor of a free Palestine. We cant slow down; we cant stop. We must be louder than ever.

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Hanover County residents will go to the polls on Nov. 7 to cast their ballots in contests that could shake up the Hanover Board of Supervisors. Incumbents were already ousted in primaries for the Beaverdam and Mechanicsville districts, and several newcomers are mounting challenges in the Ashland and South Anna districts.

Ashland District

In the Ashland District, Republican Yael Levin is looking to unseat incumbent Faye Prichard, the only Democrat currently serving on the board.

Levin said that, while she is not a career politician, her background in business and her advocacy for the rights of parents and children across the country make her a qualified candidate to represent Ashland.

During the 2020-2021 lockdowns, I ... served as an executive for the nonprofit No Left Turn in Education, where I worked to unmask Virginias children and put kids back in classrooms, Levin said. She added that, through her involvement with the Army of Parents, she continues to work for parents right to be in the drivers seat of their childrens education.

I am just like every voter in (Ashland), Levin said. I am not part of the political class. ... It is time we elect a leader and public servant who is one of us.

Prichard emphasized her two decades of political experience, which has included a 10-year stint as the mayor of Ashland and an eight-year stint on the Hanover board, where she serves on the Community Development, Finance, Legislative and Rules committees.

Ive spent eight years learning ... the job, Prichard said. We have provided greater tax relief to the elderly. ... We have a new comprehensive plan that contains more citizen input than ever before.

The work isnt done, she said. I am not through serving.

Prichard said Levin has lived in Hanover for less than two years, and was running for office almost as soon as she got here.

I dont know how you could be ready to lead a community as soon as you get to it, Prichard said.

Beaverdam District

Stoneman pledged to be a strong advocate for small business. He also said he would work to promote public safety and to keep Hanover schools number one by securing competitive pay for first responders and teachers.

Hanover is truly one of the best places to live, and when elected I will work hard ... to keep Hanover the place we know and love, Stoneman said.

Chickahominy District

The contest for the Chickahominy District features two new faces after Angela Kelly-Wiecek, who was first elected to the board in 2011, in September announced she would resign from her post to serve in Gov. Glenn Youngkins administration.

Republican Danielle Grieshaber Floyd and independent Hope Prince are both looking to replace Brent Helmick, who was appointed to replace Kelly-Wiecek through the end of her term. Helmick is not running.

Floyd, who grew up in the Chickahominy District, on her website promised to champion parents rights in education ... over special interest groups, stand with our brave law enforcement by protecting funding for police and first responders and manage growth with responsible, common sense development.

Floyds campaign did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Prince, who is one of the two registered independents running in Hanover, said she would draw from her experience in local community groups and committees, including her two years as vice president of the Totopotomoy Community Association and her role on the renaming committee for the consolidated John M. Gandy and Henry Clay elementary schools.

As a member of the renaming committee, Prince said she voted to either retain the Gandy name or else to name the school Berkleytown, in reference to a nearby Black community that thrived during the Jim Crow era. The Hanover School Board ultimately rejected the recommendation and named the school Ashland Elementary School.

Prince said her priorities include affordable housing, biking and walking infrastructure, and compensation for first responders and teachers. She said Hanover is losing great educators and struggling to retain our deputies.

We must look at the budget and make hard decisions, Prince said.

Cold Harbor District

Incumbent Michael Herzberg, a Republican first elected to the board in 2019, is running unopposed in the Cold Harbor District in a race that is tantamount to election.

Herzberg has been a Hanover resident for more than 27 years, according to his profile on the county website. As a member of the board, he serves on the Facility Space Needs, Roads and Rules committees.

Herzbergs website appeared to be offline at the time of publication. He did not respond to a request for comment.

Henry District

Incumbent Sean Davis, a Republican first elected to the board in 2011, is running unopposed in the Henry District in a race that is tantamount to election.

Davis is a Marine Corps veteran and an active member of the Hanover Historical Society among other community organizations, according to his profile on the county website. As a member of the board, he serves on the Community Development, Legislative, and Safety and Security committees.

Davis website appeared to be offline at the time of publication. He did not respond to a request for comment.

Mechanicsville District

Hudson called himself a living example of the American dream. He grew up in a home with substance abuse and domestic violence, he said, before becoming the first member of his family to graduate from college.

Hudson, a registered nurse and real estate agent, highlighted small business and development as key issues for his campaign and for the county. He said small businesses are the backbone of the local economy and that economic development is essential for funding Hanover schools and public services.

Parramore said he got involved in Hanover politics because his wife is a teacher and his sons are students of the Hanover school system.

I have seen firsthand the results of decisions made by our local government, said Parramore, adding that he and his wife have provided school supplies for classes and food for kids that dont get enough to eat at home due to constant budget cutbacks on the public schools.

He also listed the lack of parks and public spaces, poorly planned development ... and the lack of adequate funding and leadership for many local government institutions as primary shortcomings within (the) community.

These are all problems that have attainable solutions, Parramore said. I am well-equipped to apply almost 15 years of experience in the business world ... (to) solving problems.

South Anna District

In the South Anna District, incumbent Republican and current board Vice Chair Susan Dibble will look to fend off a challenge from Clara Scott, who is one of the two Democrats running for a seat on the board.

Dibble was elected to the Board of Supervisors in 2019, after over six years of service on the School Board. As the South Anna District representative, she serves on the Community Development, Finance, and Joint Education committees.

Dibble said her priorities include preserv(ing) the rural character of South Anna by supporting only ... development that is revenue generating and self supporting; supporting funding for teacher salaries, student instruction and facility maintenance; and working with the Hanover Sheriffs Office to expand services and increase manpower.

Dibbles website appeared to be offline at the time of publication.

Scott  a former Hanover assistant principal and retired Richmond school teacher  cited her career as a public servant who is committed to giving back to (her) community. She said her experience in public education heightened (her) awareness of how politics impacts ... our daily lives.

Scotts 2019 bid for the South Anna District seat was unsuccessful. She said she decided to seek election again because not much has changed since (then).

Scott said her priorities include responsible growth, strengthening schools and ensuring housing is attainable.

I vow to represent all constituents, she said.
Director Martin Scorsese's new film, "Killers of the Flower Moon," tells the true story of a string of murders on the Osage Nation's land in Oklahoma in the 1920s. Based on David Grann's meticulously researched 2017 book, the movie delves into racial and family dynamics that rocked Oklahoma when oil was discovered on Osage lands.

White settlers targeted members of the Osage Nation to steal their land and the riches beneath it. At least 60 Osage people were murdered or disappeared between 1921 and 1925. From a historical perspective, this crime, made possible by federal policies from the 1880s, was just the tip of the iceberg.

From the early 1800s through the 1930s, official U.S. policy displaced thousands of Native Americans from their ancestral homes through the policy known as Indian removal. And throughout the 20th century, the federal government collected billions of dollars from sales or leases of natural resources such as timber, oil and gas on Indian lands, money it was supposed to disburse to the land's owners. But it failed to account for these trust funds for decades, let alone pay Indians what they were due.

I have roots in the Comanche, Kiowa, Cherokee and Taos Pueblo tribes, and from my perspective, this story of murder on Osage lands is just one small chapter in the much larger story of an entire nation built on land theft and stolen wealth.

In the standard telling, the American West was populated by industrious settlers who eked out livings on desolate land, formed communities and created states. Most Americans still know little about the hundreds of Native nations who already lived on those lands, each with its own government, culture and language.

In the early 1800s, Eastern cities were growing and dense urban centers were becoming unwieldy, and Indian lands in the West were seen as a solution. Starting in the 1830s, Congress pressured Indian tribes in the East to sign treaties that required the tribes to move to reservations in the West.

Forced removal touched every tribe east of the Mississippi River and several tribes to the west of it. In total, about 100,000 American Indians were removed from their Eastern homelands to Western reservations.

But the most pernicious land grab was yet to come.

Even after Indians were corralled on reservations, settlers pushed for more access to Western lands. In 1871, Congress formally ended the policy of treaty-making with Indians. Then, in 1887, it passed the General Allotment Act, also known as the Dawes Act. With this law, U.S. policy toward Indians shifted from separation to assimilation  forcibly integrating Indians into the national population.

This required transitioning tribal structures of communal land ownership under a reservation system to a private property model that broke up reservations. The General Allotment Act was designed to divvy up reservation lands into allotments for individual Indians and open unallotted lands, which were deemed surplus, to non-Indian settlement.

In total, allotment removed 90 million acres of land from Indian control before the policy ended in the mid-1930s. This led to the destruction of Indian culture. Today, about 56 million acres remain under Indian control. The federal government owns title to the lands, but holds them in trust for Indian tribes and individuals.

These lands contain many valuable resources . But rather than acting as a steward of Indian interests in these resources, the U.S. government has repeatedly failed in its trust obligations.

As required under the General Allotment Act, money earned from oil and gas exploration, mining and other activities on allotted Indian lands was placed in individual accounts for the benefit of Indian allottees.

But for over a century, rather than making payments to Indian landowners, the government routinely mismanaged those funds and systematically destroyed disbursement records.

In 1996, Elouise Cobell, a member of the Blackfeet Nation in Montana, filed a class-action lawsuit seeking to force the government to provide a historical accounting of these funds and fix its failed system for managing them. After 16 years of litigation, the suit was settled in 2009 for roughly $3.4 billion (direct payments to each member amounted to $1,000).

In 2011, the federal government settled for $380 million a longstanding lawsuit brought by the Osage Nation to compensate the tribe for losses to its trust funds and interest as a result of the government's mismanagement of trust assets. In truth, that amount doesn't come close to full reparations for the crimes committed against the Osage people by the government over two centuries.
Some issues are bolstered by evidence so indisputable that they should be beyond debate. But systemic racism in America is not one of them, according to a candidate for the Albemarle County School Board.

When we talk about systemic racism, I think that there needs to be an openness about, you know, not everybody agrees that there is systemic racism. And it has to be OK for people to disagree about that," Meg Bryce, the daughter of the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, said during an Oct. 9 virtual forum hosted by the Albemarle-Charlottesville NAACP, as reported by The Daily Progress newspaper of Charlottesville.

It has to be OK for some people to be able to say, Well, I do recognize that racism exists and there are racist people in the system. I dont agree that there is systemic racism, she continued. And I dont think somebody should be shamed into silence for expressing that.

Well, people can believe just about anything: that the world is flat, that climate change is a fiction, that Elvis and Tupac walk among us and will record together soon. That COVID-19 vaccines contain a tracker microchip. Or that the presidential election was stolen from Donald Trump.

That doesn't make any of that OK.

On systemic racism, the consequences are too dire for us to indulge fiction. Such denials are the political jet fuel being leveraged for all sorts of un-American practices, including censorship and the potential demolition of democracy. Governments and school districts are banning books by Black and Latino authors. They're stifling classroom discussions of America's history of oppression.

In a nation built on chattel slavery, this truth should be self-evident: The denial of systemic racism is itself an act of racism.

Sadly, this denial, not unlike election denial, has become an article of faith for the American political right. Its tactic is to gaslight us  not unlike how it clouded scientific consensus around climate change by seeding public opinion with doubt.

Then again, "alternative facts" and bigotry have become standard operating procedure on America's political right.

Trump set the tone in 2016 when he campaigned on banning Muslims and Latino immigrants from entry into our nation. In 2020, he dismissed the idea of systemic racism, even as throngs of people nationwide marched in protest of it.

These policies, and the prioritization of white student feelings over the honest teaching of history, are the epitome of systemic racism. So are attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion and other efforts designed to address past and ongoing discrimination.

Bryce's statements are especially tone-deaf for Charlottesville, site of a violent 2017 march by Nazis, Ku Klux Klan members and other white supremacists protesting the city's plan to remove Confederate statues. And she defended racism denial a week after a Charlottesville City Council meeting was hijacked by comments on Zoom by white supremacists and antisemites celebrating Hitler, making racial slurs, and calling for race war and genocide, according to The Daily Progress.

After her opponent, Allison Spillman, called her out, Bryce elaborated in an email to The Daily Progress on what she considers to be the difference between racism and systemic racism: The former can be described as personal expressions/manifestations of bigotry and prejudice, whereas the latter is prejudice that is inherent to an institution, and embedded within the institutions procedures, processes, etc."

The preference to frame racism as interpersonal, rather than institutional and systemic, is a dodge. There's abundant evidence of the role that governments and institutions have played in sustaining white supremacy, from 1619 until today, affecting every aspect of people's lives, including where they live.

The wealth-building benefits of the GI Bill after World War II largely eluded Black veterans. The federal government's history of color-coded, racially discriminatory lending practices, called redlining, is well-documented. So is America's history of plowing interstate highways through African American neighborhoods nationwide, including Richmond's Jackson Ward.

In Charlottesville, Vinegar Hill, a predominantly Black neighborhood, was razed in the mid-1960s. Exclusionary zoning practices in cities such as Charlottesville, with their roots in racial discrimination, have rendered housing unaffordable to many.

African American health problems can be traced to the nation's long and often-unaddressed history of systemic racism. Yet despite substantial evidence that racism is a public health crisis that attacks the Black body  and the reality that Black women have a maternity mortality rate nearly three times that of white women  Youngkin appointed a health commissioner who was dismissive of the role of structural racism in health outcomes.

Black students receive disproportionately harsher discipline than their white peers, part of the school-to-prison pipeline. Every aspect of the criminal justice system  from policing to prosecution to incarceration  is hardwired to disproportionately punish Black and brown people.

I could go on and on about the dangers of this strain on our body politic. Election deniers and systemic racism deniers are fellow travelers. If Black people sound like Cassandras at this moment, it's because we've experienced firsthand what the absence of true democracy looks and feels like. We are this nation's canary in the coal mine.

To suggest that a system that has oppressed us for 400 years does not exist is beyond insulting; it makes anyone asserting it sound irredeemably racist or stupid.

If Bryce is willing to leave this up for debate, she has no place on a school board.

Close Lee Circle is photographed Friday, May 28, 2021. Lee Circle is photographed Friday, May 28, 2021. Lee Circle is photographed Friday, May 28, 2021. Lee Circle is photographed Friday, May 28, 2021. Lee Circle is photographed Friday, May 28, 2021. PHOTOS: Lee Circle, one year after protests began May 29 marks one year since demonstrators, enraged by a police officers public murder of a Black man more than 1,100 miles away, first marched for a movement that would forever change the physical and political landscape of Richmond. Today, Robert E. Lee is the only Confederate remaining on Richmonds Monument Avenue. The state has fenced off the circle as it awaits court approval to remove the statue. Lee Circle is photographed Friday, May 28, 2021. Lee Circle is photographed Friday, May 28, 2021. Lee Circle is photographed Friday, May 28, 2021. Lee Circle is photographed Friday, May 28, 2021. Lee Circle is photographed Friday, May 28, 2021.
Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman agreed to deepen and develop the strategic partnership between the two countries as they held a summit in Riyadh on Sunday, Yoon's office said.

The two leaders held talks at the Al Yamamah Palace on the second day of Yoon's four-day state visit to Saudi Arabia, which came as the two sides explore new areas of economic cooperation beyond the traditional sectors of construction and energy.

Yoon and Prince Mohammed "agreed to deepen and develop the future-oriented strategic partnership between the two countries," the presidential office said in a press release, referring to the partnership established last November during the Saudi leader's visit to Seoul.

The two leaders also welcomed the signing of a memorandum of understanding outlining the details of the "strategic partnership committee" they decided to establish during the November visit.

"Crown Prince Mohammed said he welcomed the president's state visit to Saudi Arabia, saying he intends to further develop practical cooperation with Korea, a main cooperation nation in Saudi Arabia's 'Vision 2030' national development strategy, in various areas, and hopes to communicate and cooperate more frequently with President Yoon Suk Yeol to this end," the presidential office said.

Saudi Vision 2030 is a road map overseen by the crown prince for moving the country away from an oil-centric economy.

During the summit, Yoon noted the practical achievements made between the two countries since last November, including the groundbreaking ceremony for the "Shaheen project," which aims to construct a large-scale petrochemical plant in the Korean city of Ulsan. The project is led by S-Oil, South Korea's No. 3 oil refiner in which Saudi Arabia's state-run oil giant, Saudi Aramco, holds the largest stake.

Yoon also requested that the crown prince and the Saudi government help Korean companies participate in mega development projects in the Arab nation, including Neom, Qiddiya and the Red Sea.

"The president said Korea is Saudi Arabia's optimal partner in the post-oil era, and that it is encouraging to see the bilateral relationship develop from the traditional areas of energy and construction to a cutting-edge industrial partnership that jointly produces cars and ships, and that he hopes cooperation will expand also to the areas of tourism and cultural exchange," the presidential office said.

The two leaders exchanged opinions on the security situation in the Middle East amid the growing instability surrounding the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

"The president said our government will offer necessary cooperation, including humanitarian assistance," his office said.

Yoon also said he hopes Saudi Arabia, as a key nation in the energy market and a crude oil exporter, will exercise its leadership for market stability amid increasing uncertainty in the global oil market, it said. (Yonhap)
Three missing from Banco Chinchorro located in Belize waters

Othon P. Blanco, Q.R.  Three people reported missing from the island of Banco Chinchorro have been found. The two men and one woman who left the island Tuesday by boat for the mainland of Mahahual have been located in Belize waters.

Mexicos Secretary of the Navy worked in coordination with Belize authorities in hopes of locating the lost vessel carrying the three Mexican nationals. Their boat Aurora de la Manana was located by Belize authorities in Cayo Luna.

On board the vessel, Belize authorities identified 59-year-old Jose Guadalupe Cetina Martin and his partner, 40-year-old Cristina Lizama Martin along with a worker, Jose Morales Hernandez, 55.

All three had active missing persons reports in Quintana Roo after they went missing October 17. The trio had set out in a boat to get supplies from the mainland at Mahahual when they were pushed by strong winds.

After a search, they were located by Belize Coast Guard approximately 92.6 kilometers southeast of the Zaragoza canal in Belize territory.

Personnel from the Seventeenth Naval Zone rescued Jose Guadalupe Cetina Martin, his partner Cristina Lizama Martin and a worker named Jose Morales Hernandez, approximately 50 nautical miles (92.6 kilometers) southeast of the Zaragoza channel, they reported in a statement.

All three were located in good health. Photo: Secretaria de Marina October 21, 2023.

A defender-type vessel from the Maritime Search, Rescue and Surveillance Station (ENSAR) of Chetumal set sail and a Texan-type aircraft from the Mexican Navy joined the search.

In addition, naval personnel coordinated with the Belize Coast Guard for support during the search operation for the vessel Aurora de la Manana. Belize Coast Guard personnel managed to find the three people, who were received by ENSAR personnel from Chetumal for their subsequent transfer to Mahahual.

All three were reported in good health and have already been reunited with their families.
In whats called a shake off the ordinary event, the Christiansburg Library plans to transform its humble space into a Swifties dream, a place where attendees can immerse themselves in the magic of Taylor Swifts music and lyrics as we anticipate the release of 1989: Taylors Version.

The celebration is set for Thursday, Oct. 26 at 6 p.m.

Attendees will have the opportunity to showcase their style by creating delicate and gorgeous crafts, including friendship bracelets.

According to a library news release, highlights of the evening include: enchanted crafts, fearless fashion, trivia and snacks.

For more information, contact Kerri Copus, library program coordinator, at kcopus@mfrl.org or (540) 382-6969 or visit our website at www.mfrl.org.

- The Roanoke Times
European cities see vigils to oppose antisemitism and rallies seeking relief for Gaza

Thousands of people have gathered in Berlin and London to oppose antisemitism and support Israel, while in Paris and other European cities, thousands demanded relief for Palestinians in besieged Gaza
The author, left, and his partner on Mucura Island in Colombia on the left and at El Castillo in Medellin. Courtesy of the author

I met Renzo in Lima, Peru, while traveling, and we went on two dates.

We stayed in touch. When I picked my next travel spot, I went back so we could have a third date.

We've been together for a year and a half now and have traveled across South America together.

"You're doing what?" my friends asked. I had just told them I was flying across the world to see Renzo. "Yes, for a third date," I replied.

I could understand why they were surprised, as I'd only known him a few months; but so far, we'd gotten along well, and I was thinking that at worst, it'd be an adventure after which we'd part ways. At best, we'd deepen our connection and have a fantastic story to tell as a couple.

I met him while traveling in Lima, Peru

Here's the tea. I'd met him in his hometown of Lima, Peru, earlier in the year while traveling through the city as a remote worker. We'd met for two dates, had some fun, and kept in touch casually after I left the city, though neither of us expected things to progress. However, I continued to enjoy our virtual conversations about the seventh season of "RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars," even as I visited my family in my hometown of Virginia Beach, Virginia.

The author and Renzo on the beach in Florianopolis, Brazil. Courtesy of the author

So when I decided to find a new city to visit (I was a remote worker, after all), I chose Lima again. I figured that maybe I could go on a third date with Renzo when I was there; and if it didn't work out, then I'd still have a cool, writer-friendly city to live in for a couple of months. Either way, I'd first have to take a deep breath and figure out what to pack for our third date.

As soon as he found out I was coming back to Lima, Renzo suggested a dinner at one of the city's top-notch Chinese Peruvian restaurants. I love trying new foods and immediately said yes.

We picked up right where we left off

Thankfully, things clicked during our date. Renzo and I quickly realized that we had more in common than extensive "Drag Race" knowledge and a penchant for animated comedies. We also shared a love of language learning and cultural exchange. Crucially, we also both identified as outsiders  not just in mainstream society but in our queer communities.

Story continues

Before uprooting my life and becoming a digital nomad in 2021, I'd been living for several years in New York, where self-aggrandizing "Instagays" dominated the queer dating scene. I'd always felt happier in the margins.

The author and his partner during a cooking class in Cartagena, Colombia. Courtesy of the author

Of course, other aspects of my past came into play here. For starters, I'd never been in a healthy relationship, despite being almost 34 years old. Unfortunately, I'd wasted much of my 20s wading through a corrosive morass of alcoholism and self-destruction. Then, after facing homophobia from older citizens of my hometown in Virginia, where I'd moved back to after college, I inevitably derailed and found myself dating people who weren't right for me.

Finally, after moving to New York and discovering the dating scene to be somehow even more frustrating  and surprisingly, still full of closeted men  I decided that the best thing for me would be to just leave America. Thus, Renzo and his grounded kindness were a breath of fresh air, to say the least.

The author and his partner visiting the natural monument El Penon near Medellin. Courtesy of the author

We started traveling together

By the time I met Renzo, I'd already compiled a Rolodex of casual international hook-ups. But the connection we had been building clicked into place on that third date (and later continued to grow on our fourth, fifth, and sixth dates and beyond), and I had no more time for  or interest in  the other people I'd been seeing. Our dates eventually morphed into weekend-long getaways  first within Peru, then across South America.

Finally, two months after I'd come back to Peru, as we rode horseback across a deserted beach in Florianopolis, Brazil, I realized I was in love.

Now it's been a year and a half with Renzo; my impulsive flight to Lima was just the beginning of our grand international adventure. Together, we've traveled to 10 cities in three countries, Peru, Brazil, and Colombia, and have no plans of slowing down. So if anyone you know is wondering what to do for their third date  well, I have some ideas.

Read the original article on Insider
SIOUX CITY  A distributor of construction and mining equipment wants to relocate its Sioux City operations to Expedition Business Park by Sioux Gateway Airport.

The City Council will be asked Monday to approve a resolution to set a public hearing concerning the proposed amending of the Donner Park Urban Renewal Plan. Amending the plan will allow the council to consider a development and minimum assessment agreement with Road Machinery & Supplies Co.

The Minnesota-based company, which specializes in sales and service of heavy equipment for the construction and mining industries, currently has a location at 1400 Lewis Blvd. According to city documents, the company is in the process of upgrading its facilities throughout the Upper Midwest.

The documents stated that in July, Road Machinery & Supplies Co. expressed interest in purchasing land in the Expedition Business Park for a new location for their Sioux City operation. The company has since chosen to construct its project on Lot 5 of Expedition Business Park, which is located at the intersection of Al Haynes Drive and Discovery Boulevard.

As part of the project, the company proposes to purchase the 11.47-acre parcel from the city and construct a 10,080-square-foot facility. The facility will include offices, high bay space for servicing equipment, a wash bay and space for outdoor storage of equipment and machinery, according to the documents.

The proposed purchase price is $37,897 per acre for a total price of $434,679.

The project will retain six existing jobs. The company will likely add new employees as Road Machinery & Supplies Co. expands its presence in the region, according to the documents.

If the council approves the resolution, a required 30-day hearing period would be initiated. During that period, other proposals could submitted to the city. A public hearing would be held on Nov. 27 to evaluate all proposals received.

If no other proposals are received, a development agreement between the city and Road Machinery & Supplies Co. would be presented to the council for consideration immediately following the public hearing.

A potential development agreement would include the sale of land along Al Haynes Drive and property tax rebates to assist with the project. The city's assistance would not exceed $800,000, according to the documents.

The documents stated that the city will see immediate revenue through the proceeds of the land sale and will also see increased tax revenue through new development on the site.

In other action

The City Council will also be asked to vote to authorize adjustments to the sewer rates for outside municipalities and outside improvement districts.

The rate increases are needed to provide revenue for the wastewater treatment plant facility improvements plan project. The improvements are intended to be implemented across two phases, with a potential third future growth-driven phase. The cost of all three phases is estimated at $470 million.

In May, in spite of objections from the business community, the council approved the final reading of a residential, commercial and industrial sewer rate hike to help fund a rebuild of the plant, which has a history of compliance issues with the state. In January of 2022, the Iowa DNR filed suit against the city over alleged repeated environmental violations, which dated back to March 2012.

According to city documents, rates would increase from $3.077 per 1,000 gallons to $4.062, effective July 1, 2024. Rates would increase to $4.183 on July 1, 2025 and to $4.309 on July 1, 2026.
Martin Scorseses career-capping Killers of the Flower Moon likely never would have happened without David Grann, the New Yorker writer with a preternatural knack for unearthing astonishing, dramatic stories from history. But in the journey from book to film, Scorsese and Eric Roths script underwent dramatic changesincluding a major shift in focus from an FBI investigation to the Osage of 1920s Oklahoma and the white prospectors and landowners who exploited them. I talked to Grann about Scorseses willingness to dig into history, about a white writer telling a Native story, and about the unusual undercover team the FBIs Tom White assembled to begin to crack the Osage killings. Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Dan Kois: Whats it like to get that phone call and hear that Martin fuckin Scorsese wants to turn your book into a movie?

David Grann: I spend all my time working with archival material and interviewing people. So, when somebody calls you and says, Yes, the greatest living director wants to develop this history, youre back to being that person who sits in a theater, just watching these films as you grew up. You suddenly remember Taxi Driver and Goodfellas. Youre blown away.

How did you view this story fitting in that Scorsese canon?

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The exploration of greed and exploitationthe criminal hierarchies, because there is a real criminal worldits very different than the world hes explored, and the landscapes are very different, but hes still exposing some of those insidious sins that lie at the heart, unfortunately, of the human condition.

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Youre always nervous as a writer when somebody is going to adapt a work of history, and especially when its a work of history that is so serious. This is really about one of the more monstrous crimes and racial injustices in American history. For me, the thing that really struck me was less the parallels with Scorseses previous work, but his commitment to this history, and to getting it right. They were going to approach it in their own medium, but they shared that commitment.

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I keep thinking about that New York Times Magazine profile of production designer Jack Fisk, which betrays an almost crazed interest in making sure the history is right.

To me, it actually made this experience almost familiar, because at times it just felt like so many little historians who were trying to dig in, and to learn everything they can. I dont get that involved in the filmmaking business. I dont know anything about filmmaking, and I dont aspire to be a screenwriter. Its not something Ive ever wanted to do. My role is really to be there as a resource when they need me. But they were just obsessive, and they did a lot of their own research. I do remember, once, they called me and they said, Were trying to figure out the lighting in Mollie Burkharts house. And I said, Well, I know she had lighting, but  thats something I dont know. Youre on your own on that one.

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I was just rereading one of the scenes in Mollies house, and theres a bunch of stuff on smell but nothing on the lights.

One of the reasons I began the book with that opening scene, with Mollie in her house, was because there were so many underlying documents. I had multiple interviews from so many different investigators, and so you could reconstruct it so well, with such detail. But the one detail I did not think about was the exact lighting in the house.

How does Marty communicate? Was it all through intermediaries and assistants, or were you getting voice memos from Marty at 2 in the morning?

I was not. I had some conversations with him, but it was limited, early on when he was taking on the project. He had a wonderful producer who really deserves an enormous amount of credit for the depth of research in the film. Her name was Marianne Bower, and she was my primary contact, because she was doing so much of the historical research.

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The screenplay took a hard left turn during development. Once, it really followed Tom White, the FBI agent, through his investigation, and had the whodunit structure of the book. But at some point that changed, and the version thats on screen isnt a whodunit. We know pretty early on that we are watching the perpetrators. And the story is framed through the Osage and their experience of this. Did you know about this change when it happened, and what did you think about it?

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The book is really this sweeping history. It goes all the way back to when the Osage laid claim to much of the central part of the country. And its told in a kind of triptych: The first chronicle was told from the point of view of Mollie Burkhart. And the second part of the book is told from the perspective of Tom White. And then the third is told from the present, and shows that there really was this much deeper and darker conspiracy that the bureau never exposed. And in that section I interview the descendants of so many of the Osage victims, including a descendant of Mollie Burkhart, Margie. I never saw the first script, but they really were just doing the second part of the book, it sounded like. And then eventually DiCaprio called mehe was supposed to play Tom Whiteand he said they were going to shift the focus, and what did I think? And I said, Oh, I 100 percent would do that. I thought it was a smart thing to do. Its more faithful, actually, to the history in the book.

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The movie has this whole collection of Osage and native consultants to help them feel as though theyre getting it right. As you were researching and writing, how did you think about being a white guy telling the story, and how did you help yourself feel confident that you were getting it right and that you had the right to tell it?

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Whatever youre writing about, youre so conscious that youre an outsider. To any story you write about. I approached the Osage elders. I was transparent about what I was trying to do. And I spent many, many years spending time in the community, over more than half a decade, getting to know them, having them share their stories and trust me with their stories. If youre not worried about getting things right, then you should be doing something else. So Im always worried.

The one thing I asked of the publisher when the book came out was that they send me back to these small towns so I can present my research. So many members of the Nation came, and I spent all day with them just speaking about the book. And then that evening they invited me up to Gray Horse, up to the community house, and all the elders were there. And they presented me with a blanket. I dont think Ill ever have an experience like it again.

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I think that people who see the movie are going to have the same sense that you did, that this revised structure deepens our connection to the people in the movie, to the story of the movie, to the Osage Nation. But it also means that some of those stories of the FBI guys dont get told as thoroughly as they do in the book. And there is this whole fun subplot of this unusual team of investigators that White assembles for this long investigation into the murders, including an insurance salesman and guys posing as cattlemen. Who were all these guys?

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The bureaus early investigation of these crimes was plagued by many of the same problems that plagued law enforcement across the country at the time: inexperience, ineptitude, prejudice. J. Edgar Hoover turns to Tom White, one of these old frontier lawmen, who puts together an undercover team. They too were frontier lawmen, and most interestingly, one of them was an American Indian, John Wren. We dont know the precise number of American Indians who mightve been on the rolls at that time, but given Hoovers prejudice, its probably fair to assume he was the only one. And they went in undercover, posing as cattlemen, and one posed as an insurance salesman. And according to the record, he sold actual policies, which I know is slightly bewildering. And ultimately what they did is they followed the money, and in particular, who was profiting from the murders of Mollie Burkharts family. And of course it would lead them to somebody whom she loved and whom she thought had loved her, and whom she thought she could trust.

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But although the bureau was able to capture a few of these killers, there really was this much deeper and darker conspiracy that the bureau never exposed. And when I met with so many of those Osage elders, they began to tell me about these other killings in their families that had never been properly investigated. Over time, I realized that this was a story about this culture of killing, about these many people who were committing these crimesabout doctors who were ministering poisons, morticians who were covering up bullet wounds, businessmen and lawmen who were complicit in their silence. All because they were getting wealthy from what they referred to openly as the Indian business. Its much easier for us to think of it as just a singular evil figure, which, if we remove that figure from our community, everything is OK. But what if these crimes are being committed by ordinary and seemingly respectable people?

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Related From Slate Killers of the Flower Moons Ending Is More Than Just a Surprise Cameo Read More

Just to go back, you asked me earlier about the shift in focus. I remember speaking to DiCaprio when he said he wanted to shift from playing Tom White to Ernest Burkhart. My reaction was, I would do it if I were you. Because while White is a fascinating figure, Ernest gets at the very nature of these crimes, because Ernest represents the way that these seemingly ordinary people who had a conscience, who werent sociopaths, went along with these crimes, with an increasing level of complicity.

People who maybe even love their wives by the standards of their day, but who nonetheless were completely willing to go along with this system.

You cant understand the Osage reign of terror without understanding those people.

Last question: Is it true that now Scorsese is making The Wager?

Well, look, after seeing this film, when he and DiCaprios folks reached out and said they were interested in developing The Wager, it was the easiest decision I ever had to make.

Congratulations on being one of Martys guys.

Thank you.
Im never shopping here again.

Words no business owner wants to hear, yet words that can easily be triggered by a bad customer service experience. In this guide, well help you avoid these situations by sharing 16 customer service tips, along with examples of real-life companies who put them into practice.

What is Great Customer Service?

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Customer service in the U.S. is a multi-billion dollar industry, one thats growing all the time. But dont make the mistake of thinking that customer service is solely the domain of people in call centers answering complaints and questions.

Customer service happens anytime you and your employees provide effective and prompt assistance to people buying or considering your product or service. It might be a question you handle over the phone or an unhappy patron you and our team deal with in person. No matter the encounter, youre helping ensure your customers have a good experience.

No matter how large your company is, the person engaged in providing customer service becomes the face of your brand, meaning each customer experience can help determine your reputation and build repeat business. How do you make that happen? In our next section, well review 16 ways you can deliver great customer service.

16 Customer Service Tips and Examples for Ultimate Business Success

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Providing excellent customer service doesnt have to mean hiring new employees or overhauling your business. In many cases, its a matter of following a few best practices that make you and your team seem professional and relatable and that are the best fit for your company, the type of things businesses are striving for anyway.

From proper phone etiquette to rewarding customer loyalty, here are 16 tips  and some standout customer service examples from some well-known companies to get you started.

1. Always Answer the Phone (and Quickly!)

Good customer service means always answering the phone, and answering it promptly (conventional wisdom says more than four rings is too many).

If you know that you cant always have someone to deal with phone calls, consider using an online messaging system, one programmed to deal with common complaints and questions. Most customers wont mind talking to a robot in a chat box if theyre still receiving good customer service.

A single bad phone call can leave customers  or potential customers  with a negative impression of your business, even if theyve never purchased anything or set foot in your doors. When you respond to customer calls quickly and courteously (remember please and thank you!) youll have a better chance at providing a positive customer experience.

One company that puts this into practice is the online shoe/clothing brand Zappos, which says it has eschewed the phone tree in favor of having a live person answering each call, typically within one minute. The company also has no time limit for its calls, bragging on its blog about one call that lasted for nearly 11 hours.

2. Be Reliable

Good customer service means being reliable. Customers need to know youll pick up the phone or come out from your office when they have a problem. But they also need to see you have a system in place, otherwise, youre just providing lip service without any action.

Reliable customer service is customer service that customers can depend on to meet their needs with every visit. It will keep them coming back, and improve your bottom line.

Youll find this type of consistency on display at Disneys properties, where customers are always guests, and workers must follow strict etiquette guidelines to achieve customer satisfaction. (One way they do this is with a rule that states no team member is allowed to reply to a guest question with I dont know.)

3. Give Customer Issues and Complaints Your Utmost Attention

Unless youre on the way to the checkout, few people enjoy having a salesperson hovering over them while they try to shop. At the same time, customers will resent seeing staff members ignoring them when they have an issue or a complaint.

Even if youre in a business build around customer self service, people like knowing a staff member is on hand to answer questions about products. Its why it pays to make sure your team is staffed by people with sales and or customer service experience.

Aside from listening intently  rather than simply showering them with a lengthy product list  and not keeping them waiting, you can show your customers youre paying attention to how you choose to follow up with them.

If theyve indicated they prefer to get text messages from your company, dont send a bunch of emails their way.

One of the companies known for giving its full attention to customers is Trader Joes, where employees will open a product so shoppers can sample them, or  as one viral video showed  break into song to calm a toddler having a tantrum.

4. Have Empathy with Your Customers

Your business might be a collection of buildings and numbers in a bank account. But its run by people, and the great thing about people is their capacity for empathy, or the ability to understand other peoples feelings and needs.

Wed argue that empathy is one of the pillars of excellent customer service. Without the ability to put yourself in your customers position, you cant recognize their needs.

News about companies taking steps to help customers in times of need tends to go viral on social media pretty often. One that stuck out is a case from 2017 when Delta Airlines delivered pizza to stranded passengers across the southeast after severe thunderstorms shut down flights to Atlanta.

In this case, Delta thought about its customers needs and feelings  air travel isnt a pleasant experience even when there arent delays  and tried to remedy the situation with one of the nations great comfort foods.

5. Know Your Product Inside Out for the Best Customer Service

Customers appreciate seeing that they can count on you to answer questions about the products you make or the services you provide. If you cant speak knowledgeably about your products, you wont be able to help your customers and youll lose their trust.

On the flip side, the more product knowledge you can provide, the easier time youll have to provide positive customer experiences.

One brand that best illustrates this concept comes from Apple and the Genius Bar found at its stores, where nearly all customers problems with iPhones and Macbooks can be handled by the companys team of customer support experts.

6. Gain Repeat Customers by Building Relationships

A 2018 study by Microsoft found that 61 percent of customers will stop buying from a business based on a bad experience? So, how do you keep those customers from leaving and ensure they keep coming back? The most obvious way is by adopting the practices weve discussed so far and the ones still to come to deliver great customer service.

One brand thats been adept at delivering an outstanding customer experience is the airline JetBlue.

The companys reward program contains perks such as points that will never expire, the ability to earn new points by purchasing upgrades like added more legroom, and the chance to donate points to their favorite charity.

This program is just one way thats helped JetBlue to be ranked routinely at or near the top of the list of best airlines for loyalty.

7. Close the Conversation Correctly

While theres no one way to close a conversation with a customer, there is a right way: it means that the call was productive and the customer walked from the experience feeling like they were heard and their needs were met.

Make sure they have a chance to have the last word (Will that be all for today? or Is there anything else I can do?).

If customers contact you with a complaint, make sure you end the conversation on a positive note (Im glad we could resolve this. We appreciate your business.).

The same thing applies if theyre simply calling with a question about something. (Thank you for calling, please call back if you have further questions.)

8. Train Your Staff in Excellent Customer Service

One of the most important ways to deliver good customer service is making sure you have a staff thats trained in this field. Your staff doesnt have to be customer service professionals to provide professional customer service.

You can begin helping your support team hone their customer service skills by determining the types of interactions theyre likely to have with customers, whether thats over the phone, face-to-face, email, or even when doing social media for your business.

From there, you should try to define your customers needs and expectations, whether through interviews, focus groups, surveys, or social listening (checking whats being said by customers on your social media channels).

Whether you employ customer service teams or just one customer service representative, training your workers on providing excellent customer service will lead to better employee engagement. It will also keep customers coming back, which will, in turn, boost your profits.

One example of exceptional customer service in retail of this kind of commitment to customer support comes from  again  Zappos, which mandates all new hires take four weeks of customer service training, regardless of what their ultimate job will be at the company. The retailers actual customer service reps then go through an additional three weeks of training, meaning they get seven weeks of support team boot camp before they begin talking to customers.

9. Be Friendly and Approachable

Another hallmark of good customer service: a friendly attitude. No matter how irritated customers are, a cheerful, approachable demeanor can help alleviate the situation.

Some of the ways to deliver friendly service to customers include:

Smiling, even when youre on the phone. The consumers you deal with can hear a smile in your voice. Customer service agents are trained to answer each call with a smile.

Remain polite. One of the ways we can put customers at ease is by keeping our tone conversational, remembering to say please and thank you and ending the conversation with something like Good day.

Trying to match a customers tone. Dont reply to a formal-sounding email using a casual tone, and vice versa. Avoiding using some of your industrys more technical jargon when talking to consumers who might not be used to your company lingo.

Listen closely, taking pains not to interrupt. Small, trivial-seeming pieces of information can serve to personalize the conversation.

One great example of friendliness in customer service comes from Warby Parker. Read any list of businesses with solid customer service skills and youll see mentions of this eyewear maker.

One of their strengths? Having someone greet each customer at the door to make them feel welcome and to ensure they have the answers about where things are. Even in a self-service activity like browsing for new glasses, it helps to have a friendly face guiding the way.

It would be hard for me to overstate the importance of having someone friendly and knowledgeable greeting customers when they walk through the door of your business, writes Forbes contributor Michah Solomon in an appreciation of the Warby Parker customer support team. Beginnings and endings are crucial moments in the customer journey because of how they lodge themselves in a customers memory.

10. Always Go the Extra Mile

One way to provide excellent customer service is to go beyond whats expected. When we do that, we keep our customers. And as countless articles have pointed out over the years, it costs much more to sign new customers than to keep existing customers.

And people who have a happy customer experience tend to be people who spend more. A study by the Harvard Business Review found that happy customers spend 140 percent more than the least happy customers.

One of the best examples of a business going the extra mile to deliver great customer service is the story of Ritz Carlton Hotels and Joshie the giraffe. Back in 2012, Joshie got left behind by a vacationing family, and his young owner was naturally upset. Dont worry, his dad said. Joshie just stayed behind for an extended vacation.

Good customer service would mean mailing the giraffe back to his family, but what the hotels team members did instead moves their customer service into the category of great. In addition to mailing the giraffe home, they took pictures of him engaged in activities around the hotel (lounging by the pool, getting a massage, etc.)

Ritz Carltons efforts paid off, as the story went viral on social media, giving the hotel brand a ton of free press and good publicity.

11. Know Your Target Market

Identifying your target market allows you to focus your brand message on a specific subset of people that is more likely to be interested in your products and/or services. Its an efficient and cost-effective way to reach consumers and grow your business rather than hitting broader swaths of the market and hoping for the best.

You can do this by getting to know your customers. Study your client base, conduct interviews, and customer surveys, and analyze consumer data along with your products and services to determine what problems they help consumers solve.

When we know our customers pain points, we can begin to ease their pain, so to speak, which will lead to more sales and better customer retention.

One brand known for using market knowledge to its advantage is Starbucks, which carved out its place atop Mount Coffee by following cultural shifts, tracking social media, conducting in-store tests, and getting feedback from customers through its My Starbucks Idea Platform.

This tool lets customers and employees submit ideas for new products or changes to existing ones, with the coffee chain using these customer interactions as fuel for its marketing strategy.

12. Be Available

Focusing on availability is important for a few reasons. First, emergencies are impossible to predict, and your customers should know they can speak to one of your agents if something goes wrong.

Secondly, you might have customers who arent dealing with immediate problems but who  due to the gig economy or post-COVID landscape  dont keep regular hours.

One example of a company that knows how to be available to its customers is Shopify. The online delivery service determined which communication channels were using the most often to reach their agents and acted accordingly.

That includes creating a Twitter account devoted solely to offering customer support. People can tweet their problems and  theoretically  get a quick reply.

13. Reward Customer Loyalty

When you reward customers for their loyalty, your customers reward you. Repeat customers spend as much as 67 percent more in their third year of buying from a business than in the first six months.

Some ways to thank customers include:

Staring a loyalty card program that lets customers get a stamp with each purchase. After a certain number of stamps, they get a free purchase.

Rewarding customers who refer your business to friends

Invite your best customers to new product releases

Offering reduced prices on products or services for customers who have hit a specific spending goal (say, 15 percent off your next purchase when you spend $200)

One company known for its customer rewards is Sephora, whose Beauty Insider program has more than 25 million members, who account for a bulk of the beauty supply chains annual sales. Members get to choose how to use the points they earn from this program, whether thats on gift cards and discounts or more exclusive offerings such as in-store beauty tutorials.

14. Always Meet Expectations for Ultimate Customer Satisfaction

One thing customers expect from you, no matter what you sell, is a good return/refund policy. One figure we see cited pretty often is a Harris Poll result that found that 91 percent of consumers said that a stores policy on returns was an important factor when deciding on a purchase.

A good return policy will explain itself in simple language thats clear and to the point and in keeping with your brand. It will also give clear term limits for how long customers have to return their product.

Costco has become known for its return policy, which says it will refund the purchase price for any product to customers who arent satisfied. And because every purchase can be tied to a Costco membership, you dont need a receipt for a return to go through. There is a term of 90 days in which customers need to return purchases of appliances and technology.

15. Use Customer Feedback

Whether its a quick chat over the phone, a longer conversation in person, or just a glimpse at your social media pages, theres never a bad time to collect customer feedback.

The customer data your glean from these interactions can help you solve problems and improve your products and services. Youll measure customer satisfaction, but also show your customers that you value their opinions.

Apple provides a good illustration of this practice with its use of the Net Promoter Score (NPS), a system that asks customers how likely they are  on a scale of one to 10  to recommend Apple to a friend or coworker.

Apple considers anyone who rates their product lower than a 6 as unlikely to recommend them. The company uses those low scores to help identify what it could be doing better and adjust accordingly.

16. Provide Follow-Ups and Customer Support

When you follow up with customers, you improve their experience with your company, while also finding ways to potentially forestall problems.

A quick chat with a customer after a sale might help you solve any unforeseen issues, or let them ask questions that occurred to them after they left your store. Youll help ensure good reviews from customers, letting them  and the people they know see that you care about providing customer support after a sale concludes.

A good examplar of a company that exceeded customer expectations comes from the recall issued by Lexus in 1990. When the recall happened, the company issued an apology but also had its dealers come to the customers homes, pick up the cars and leave a loaner at no cost while the repairs were occurring.

In one case, a customer had bought his Lexus in the continental U.S. but lived in Alaska, so Lexus flew a technician from its offices in Los Angeles to make the repair. Whats more, every customer got their cars back washed, detailed, and with a full gas tank.

Customer Service Tips Summary

Principle/Strategy Description Example Personalize the Experience Tailor customer interactions, ensuring a unique, personal customer journey. Netflix Use Positive Language Communicate with an upbeat, proactive language to drive positive engagements. Generic Example Quick Response Time Minimize response time to customer inquiries for improved satisfaction. Amazon Know Your Product/Service Ensure representatives have thorough knowledge of products/services offered. Apple Use Customer Service Tools Implement tools for efficiency, tracking, and enhanced service capabilities. Salesforce Address Problems Right Away Solve customer issues promptly to maintain trust and satisfaction. Samsung Train Your Team Continuously train staff in customer service excellence and product knowledge. Zappos Show Appreciation Regularly express gratitude towards customers, fostering loyalty. Tiffany & Co. Ask for Feedback Proactively seek customer feedback to improve and evolve. Google Always Go the Extra Mile Exceed customer expectations to retain and delight them. Ritz Carlton Know Your Target Market Understand and focus on the specific needs and preferences of your audience. Starbucks Be Available Ensure your presence across various channels to assist customers anytime. Shopify Reward Customer Loyalty Acknowledge and incentivize repeat customers to enhance loyalty. Sephora Meet Expectations for Satisfaction Uphold a clear, customer-friendly return/refund policy for trust and clarity. Costco Use Customer Feedback Utilize customer opinions and data to refine and improve operations. Apple Provide Follow-Ups and Support Engage in post-service communication to enhance customer relations and trust. Lexus

Qualities of Good Customer Service Providers

Possessing A Good Knowledge Base

As we said earlier, having a detailed knowledge of your companys products or services will give your customers the confidence that you can handle their products, answer their questions and provide great customer service.

Conversely, if you cant speak in detail about your products as you chat with your customers, they may end up feeling like you cant deal with their questions and start looking for a business that can.

Friendliness

Theres a restaurant chain called Dicks Last Resort thats known for its team of rude and obnoxious waitstaff. Its apparently part of their brand, so they can get away with it. Everyone else should greet their customers with a courteous, if not cheerful, demeanor.

Charisma

Charisma doesnt just mean energy and enthusiasm. Great customer service providers need to be able to show theyre focused on the customer, demonstrate warmth, and convey that they have the power to change things for the better.

Resourcefulness

Resourcefulness and problem-solving abilities  our next entry  would seem like they go hand in hand, but wed argue resourcefulness is something a bit different: the ability to find a solution to a problem when one might not be obvious.

Problem Solving Abilities

Problem-solving abilities include a lot of the other skills on our list. You need to be a good listener, and you need to show empathy. Beyond that, youll need to know how to offer people alternatives: dont just fix the problem, take an extra step (offering an extra product or gift voucher, for example).

Good Listening Skills

In our next section, we bring up something called reflective listening. Its a communication strategy that involves trying to understand what a speaker is telling you, then repeating it back to make sure youve got the idea. Honing this skill is crucial to understanding your customers.

Patience

One of the bedrocks of the customer service industry, patience is key when dealing with customers who may be frustrated or even angry. Breathe, listen, and put all your focus on the customers problem.

Ability to Bring Up Alternatives

You can provide great customer service when you can bring up alternatives. For example, if a product arrives damaged, you could suggest replacing it for free and shipping it using a faster method.

What are the benefits of great customer service?

So far, weve discussed the different skills and tactics involved in providing great customer service. But whats the payoff to all this work? Good customer service will:

Generate repeat business. People will keep coming back to companies that treat them well.

Bolster your companys reputation.

Improve employee morale. Going out of our way to treat others well makes us feel good about ourselves.

Gives you a competitive edge.

Help small businesses offset higher prices. Locally-owned companies may not be able to offer the same discounts as national brands, but they can provide better service.



How do you handle difficult customers?

Even with all tools for proper customer satisfaction at your disposal, you still might run into customers who are angry or upset. In these scenarios, you can still find ways to deliver the best customer service:

Practice reflective listening. This means showing that youve understood their problem (What Im hearing is) and shows the customer that theyve been heard.

Demonstrate sympathy and give a genuine apology.

Ask the customer what type of resolution theyd like to see to the problem.

Stay calm and compassionate throughout the exchange, speaking in an even tone and keeping your body language relaxed. Remember that the customer isnt angry at you, but frustrated with the situation.

How do I start my own customer service business?

While most professionals engage in some level of customer service, not everybody is a customer service professional. If youve got a knack for customer service and think youd be a good full-time customer service rep, youll need to:

A business plan. Thats what wed tell somebody starting any sort of business.

Invest in customer relationship management software.

Hire and train customer support agents, making sure your team sticks to the same standards.

Communicate. Talk to your clients to make sure their needs are being met, but also speak to the customers your customer service professionals interact with to make sure theyre enjoying positive customer experiences.
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How can a craft business owner attract attention to their handmade goods? Its definitely possible to effectively promote handmade businesses through various marketing strategies, including social media marketing. Marketing a craft business requires careful planning, but with the right techniques, you can increase your customer base and drive sales.

Interested in proven craft business tips, with a particular emphasis on social media marketing? By incorporating the following strategies, you can take your craft business to the next level.

Marketing a Craft Business: 14 Amazing Strategies

Looking for proven marketing tips for your craft business? Well, look no further. Weve compiled 14 amazing strategies that can help you reach more customers, increase sales and build a strong brand.

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1. Make a Craft Business Marketing Plan

Crafting a marketing plan is crucial for any successful craft business. For a small business to thrive, its vital to identify not only your target customer but also the unique benefits that differentiate your crafts from the competition.

As you research your competition, be sure to analyze successful marketing strategies. Determine the best marketing channels to reach your target audience and set specific, measurable goals, as well as a budget.

Finally, create a timeline and a schedule for executing your marketing plan before continually evaluating and adjusting your strategies as needed to optimize results.

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2. Launch Your Own Website

In todays digital age, an innovative and engaging website is crucial for any business, including handmade craft businesses.

A business website not only provides a professional online presence, but it also serves as an essential tool for promoting your crafts and driving sales.

By creating an online store, you can reach a wider audience beyond your local community and sell your crafts 24/7.

A website also enables you to showcase your craft business, share your story and values and connect with customers through a blog or social media integration. With the right design and optimization, a website can significantly enhance the success of your handmade business.

3. Create a Social Media Presence

Having a strong social media presence is a must for any craft business looking to increase its visibility and connect with customers. Social sites and platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest are powerful digital marketing tools for sharing your crafts, building your brand and engaging your audience.

By regularly posting high-quality photos and videos of each handmade product and craft, and interacting with followers, while also using hashtags and other social media features, you can expand your reach, attract new customers and foster loyalty among your existing ones.

How can you use some of the top social media platforms to grow your craft business? Keep reading to see how social media strategies can help your handmade business succeed.

Facebook

Facebook is an excellent platform for handmade business owners to market their crafts.

With a Facebook business page, you can post high-quality photos and videos of your products, interact with customers through comments and messages, and run targeted ads to reach potential customers.

Instagram

Instagram is a visual platform thats perfect for promoting handmade crafts.

By creating an Instagram business profile and posting high-quality photos and videos of your products, you can showcase your work, engage with customers through comments and direct messages, and reach new audiences through hashtags and influencer partnerships.

Twitter

Twitter can be a useful marketing tool for handmade business owners looking to increase their brand awareness and reach new customers.

By regularly tweeting about your products, sharing behind-the-scenes glimpses of your craft process and engaging with followers, you can build a loyal following and amplify your online presence.

Utilizing relevant hashtags and Twitter chats can also help increase your visibility.

Pinterest

Pinterest is an ideal platform for handmade business owners to showcase their work and increase their reach.

By creating boards that highlight your crafts, using relevant keywords in your pins and engaging with other pinners, you can attract a loyal following, increase website traffic and drive sales.

Linkedin

While LinkedIn may not be the first platform that comes to mind for marketing a handmade business, it still can be useful for building connections and increasing visibility.

By sharing your crafting story, networking with other professionals and joining relevant LinkedIn groups, you can showcase your skills and connect with potential partners, clients and suppliers.

Youtube

Youtube is a great platform for handmade business owners to showcase their creativity, build their brands and engage with customers.

By creating video tutorials, sharing your craft process and featuring your products in action, you can increase brand awareness, connect with viewers and drive traffic to your website. Youtube is a powerful marketing tool for any handmade business.

Tik Tok

TikToks popularity has exploded in recent years, making it an ideal social network for handmade business owners to showcase their crafts and reach new customers. By creating fun and engaging short-form videos, using popular hashtags and leveraging influencer partnerships, you can leverage TikTok to build brand awareness, attract a young and engaged audience and increase sales.

Key Social Media Strategies for Craft Business Marketing

Consistent Branding Across Platforms: Use the same profile picture, color scheme, and messaging on all social media accounts for easy recognition. Create a memorable tagline that encapsulates your craft business.

Content Planning and Posting: Develop a content calendar to maintain regular posts on all platforms. Mix content types: behind-the-scenes looks, customer testimonials, and product spotlights.

Engagement and Community Building: Respond promptly to comments and messages. Host live sessions/Q&A, introducing new products or demonstrating craft techniques. Create community posts that encourage follower interaction.

Hashtag and SEO Best Practices: Research and use trending and relevant hashtags to improve discoverability. Craft compelling captions and use keywords naturally in post descriptions.

Influencer and Customer Collaborations: Partner with micro-influencers whose followers match your target demographic. Share user-generated content, giving credit to the original posters.

Analytics and Advertising: Regularly review analytics to understand content performance and audience preferences. Consider paid social media ads for targeted campaigns, product launches, or seasonal promotions.

Promotions and Social Proof: Run social media-exclusive discounts, competitions, or giveaways. Share customer reviews and press mentions as social proof.

Diversification and Platform-Specific Strategies: Tailor content for different platforms (e.g., reels for Instagram, videos for TikTok, professional networks on LinkedIn). Explore emerging platforms or trends for early-adopter marketing advantages.

Learning and Adaptation: Keep abreast of changes in platform algorithms and adapt strategies accordingly. Seek feedback from followers through polls or direct questions to understand their needs and preferences.



4. Open an Etsy shop

Online marketplaces often are the secret to success for modern handmade businesses.

Opening an Etsy shop can be a game-changer for handmade business owners looking to expand their reach and increase sales. With millions of active buyers and sellers, Etsy provides a ready-made online marketplace where craft businesses can easily sell their products online.

By creating a visually appealing Etsy store with high-quality photos and detailed product descriptions, businesses can showcase their unique crafts and build loyal customer bases.

Etsy also offers various other tools and resources to help sellers optimize their shop, such as analytics, SEO optimization and customer support.

Of course, dont feel like you have to limit your online marketplaces to an Etsy shop or any one platform for that matter.

Feel free to set up shop on other handmade platforms, including Amazon Handmade and eBay, among other popular e-commerce websites where you can sell handcrafted goods. After all, the more exposure, the better.

5. Attend Craft Fairs and Local Events

Would you like to showcase your craft business before an audience of shoppers uninterested in mass-produced goods  all in one physical location? Craft fairs provide an excellent opportunity for handmade businesses to showcase their crafts, connect with customers and increase sales within local markets.

By attending local craft fairs and other local events, businesses can build brand awareness, gather customer feedback and make valuable connections within their community.

To get the most benefit from attending craft fairs, businesses should create eye-catching booth displays that showcase their crafts and encourage people to take a closer look.

They also should prepare promotional materials, such as business cards and brochures, and offer special discounts or giveaways to incentivize purchases.

By establishing a presence at craft fairs and engaging with customers face-to-face, handmade businesses can build trust and credibility with their target audience and ultimately drive more sales.

6. Employ Email Marketing

Email marketing is a highly effective strategy for handmade businesses looking to increase customer engagement and drive sales. By creating a targeted email list and sending regular newsletters or promotions, businesses can stay top-of-mind with their customers and build brand loyalty.

To make the most of email marketing, businesses should personalize their emails, use eye-catching graphics, include clear calls-to-action and segment their lists to target specific audiences.

Handmade business owners also should optimize their emails for mobile devices and test their campaigns to ensure maximum effectiveness.

With its high ROI and ability to reach a targeted audience, email marketing is an essential tool for any handmade business looking to increase its online presence and boost sales.

7. Write a Handmade Business Blog

Blogging can be a highly effective strategy for handmade businesses looking to establish their brands, connect with customers and increase their online visibility. By creating blogs that showcase their craft processes, offer tips and insights into the industry and share their brand stories, businesses can establish themselves as thought leaders within their community and build a loyal following.

For blogging success, businesses should optimize their content for SEO, share their blog posts on social media and engage with their readers through comments and other forms of interaction.

With its ability to drive more traffic to a website and build a loyal following, a business blog is an essential tool for any handmade business looking to expand its marketing reach.

8. Use Paid Advertising

Paid advertising can be a highly effective strategy for handmade businesses looking to expand their reach, attract new customers and drive sales.

By running targeted ads on social media platforms, such as Facebook or Instagram, businesses can reach highly engaged audiences and promote their products to users who may not have discovered them otherwise.

Plus, by employing Google Ads, businesses can drive traffic to their websites and increase brand visibility on search engines. To get the most bang for their advertising bucks, businesses should carefully target their audiences and create visually compelling Google ads, while continually testing and adjusting their campaigns to optimize results.

9. Obtain Influencer Endorsements for Handmade Items

Influencer endorsements can be a highly effective strategy for handmade businesses looking to increase brand visibility and reach new customers.

By partnering with influencers who have a strong following within their niches, businesses can promote their products to highly engaged and relevant audiences.

Influencers can showcase the crafts in use, offer reviews or testimonials and provide valuable exposure to their followers.

For best results, businesses should carefully select influencers whose audiences align with their target customers and work with them to establish clear expectations and goals for the collaboration.

10. Donate Handmade Crafts to Charity

Donating handmade products to charities can be a powerful marketing strategy for craft businesses looking to build brand awareness and attract new customers.

By donating their products to charities or non-profit organizations, businesses can showcase their values and commitment to social causes while gaining valuable exposure and publicity.

Charitable donations also can lead to positive media coverage and social media mentions, which can help increase brand visibility and attract new customers.

To make the most of charitable donations, businesses should carefully select charities that align with their brand values and goals, while considering the potential returns on investment.

11. Partner with Other Craft Businesses

Partnering with other craft businesses can be a highly effective strategy for handmade businesses looking to expand their reach, attract new customers and collaborate with like-minded entrepreneurs.

By partnering with complementary brands, businesses can offer joint promotions, bundle their products and cross-promote to each others audiences.

Brand partnerships can lead to increased visibility, exposure to new customers and potentially increased sales. To make the most of partnerships, businesses should carefully select partners whose audiences align with their target customers and collaborate on a clear and mutually-beneficial promotion.

12. Run Competitions and Giveaways to Attract Potential Customers

Competitions and giveaways can be highly effective strategies for handmade businesses looking to attract new customers, increase engagement and build brand loyalty.

By offering prizes that align with their brands, businesses can generate excitement and incentivize customers to engage with their products.

Competitions and giveaways also can help increase brand awareness and social media reach, as participants are likely to share the promotion with their followers.

To make the most of competitions and giveaways, businesses should establish clear rules and guidelines, promote competitions through various channels and ensure that the prizes align with their target customers. Some of the most popular and effective prizes are gift baskets featuring an assortment of small businesses handmade goods.

13. Set Up Your Google Business Profile

A complete Google Business profile is a crucial element for a local business seeking to improve its online presence and attract customers in its area.

By verifying their business information and optimizing their profiles, local businesses can appear in Google search results and Google Maps, making it easier for potential customers to find them.

Google Business profiles also can showcase business hours, contact information and customer reviews, increasing brand credibility and customer trust.

By leveraging this free tool, local businesses can increase their search engine visibility in their communities and attract new customers within their local areas.

14. Give Business Cards to New Customers

Giving business cards to new customers can be a simple yet effective strategy for handmade businesses looking to increase brand awareness and attract repeat business.

By including key information such as the business name, website and contact information, business cards can serve as a tangible reminder of the brand and its products.

Business cards can offer customers more than identifying information.

By offering business cards with a personalized note or discount code, businesses can incentivize existing customers to return and make repeat purchases.

For best results, businesses should ensure business card designs are visually appealing and align with their brand identities.

By handing out business cards to new customers, handmade businesses can increase their visibility and encourage customer loyalty, leading to increased sales and growth.

Marketing a Craft Business Summary

Marketing Strategy Brief Description Craft Business Marketing Plan Define target customers, analyze competitors, and set structured, adaptable marketing goals. Launch Your Own Website Establish an online presence, display products, and enable e-commerce capabilities. Create a Social Media Presence Use various platforms to promote products, engage with customers, and expand reach. Open an Etsy Shop Join a popular marketplace to access a broader customer base and utilize built-in tools for sellers. Attend Craft Fairs and Local Events Directly engage with the community, showcase products, and build brand awareness. Employ Email Marketing Send targeted content and promotions to a subscription list to maintain customer interest and loyalty. Write a Handmade Business Blog Share insights, product creation processes, and industry knowledge to build a following and enhance SEO. Use Paid Advertising Invest in targeted ads on search engines and social media to increase visibility and reach potential customers. Obtain Influencer Endorsements Collaborate with influencers to tap into their follower base and enhance product credibility. Donate Handmade Crafts to Charity Boost brand image and awareness by supporting social causes and showcasing corporate responsibility. Partner with Other Craft Businesses Collaborate for cross-promotion, bundled offerings, and shared customer bases. Run Competitions and Giveaways Attract attention and engagement by offering prizes, encouraging social sharing, and creating brand excitement. Set Up Your Google Business Profile Enhance local search engine visibility and provide essential business information to potential customers. Give Business Cards to New Customers Distribute business details for customer retention and to encourage repeat business and referrals.

Why is marketing important for your craft business?

Marketing is crucial for any craft business looking to increase brand awareness, attract new customers and drive sales. Effective marketing strategies can help businesses reach a wider audience, establish trust and credibility with their target markets and differentiate themselves from competitors. By investing in marketing efforts, handmade businesses ultimately can increase their profitability and achieve long-term success in their industry.

How can you promote your craft business?

Craft businesses can promote their brands through a variety of effective marketing strategies, including social media marketing, email marketing, attending craft fairs, creating websites, paid advertising influencer partnerships and giveaways or competitions. By carefully selecting the right mix of promotional tactics that align with their brand values and target audiences, craft businesses can increase their visibility, build brand loyalty and ultimately drive more sales.

Are craft businesses profitable?

The profitability of craft businesses can vary depending on factors such as the quality and uniqueness of their products, pricing strategies, target markets and marketing efforts. While some handmade businesses might struggle to turn a profit due to the competitive nature of the industry and the cost of materials, others can be highly successful and profitable.

By creating high-quality and unique handmade products that resonate with their target markets and effectively marketing their brands, small businesses can achieve profitability and long-term success.

Read More:
The navies of Korea and the United States have conducted a weekslong anti-submarine exercise in waters off the coast of Guam, the South's Navy said Sunday.

The biennial exercise, known as Silent Shark, which began on Oct. 6 and lasted until Sunday, is designed to enhance the countries' anti-submarine warfare proficiency against North Korean threats, according to the armed service.

Korea earlier sent a 1,800-ton Son Won Il-class submarine and two P-3C patrol aircraft to participate in the drills, consisting of a joint search, track and attack exercise on a mock submarine.

The exercise comes at a time when Pyongyang has vowed to further strengthen its nuclear deterrence amid heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Early last month, North Korea said it launched a new "tactical nuclear attack submarine" capable of carrying out an underwater nuclear attack. (Yonhap)
A Nevada man has been handed a prison sentence for defrauding over half a million dollars meant for businesses struggling amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Brandon Casutt, 52, of Henderson, Nevada, was sentenced to 28 months in prison for his fraudulent acquisition of more than $500,000 through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program. These funds, guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the CARES Act, were established to provide relief to businesses hard hit by the pandemic.

Casutt submitted multiple fraudulent applications to the SBA and four SBA lenders on behalf of two companies he oversaw, seeking a whopping $5.7 million. Out of his bogus claims, two applications were successful: a $350,000 PPP loan for a business named Sky DeSign and a $150,000 EIDL loan for a charity named Skylers CF Foundation. Despite the applications falsely declaring significant payroll costs and numerous employees, both organizations had zero workers and had paid no wages.

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After acquiring the funds, Casutt executed a money-laundering operation, generating fake payroll checks, totaling around $8,330 each, directed to himself and those close to him. These checks were labeled as pandemic pay or back pay. After encashing these checks, the money was then rerouted to Casutts bank account. Ultimately, the fraudulently obtained funds were used to buy a house in Henderson.

This case stands as a warning for many small business owners navigating the complexities of financial relief during the pandemic. Misusing these critical funds, intended to aid businesses during these trying times, can lead to severe legal repercussions. Furthermore, such fraudulent activities could potentially undermine the overall aim of these relief programs, putting genuine businesses in jeopardy.

In light of increasing concerns about fraudulent activities related to pandemic relief, the Attorney General founded the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force in May 2021. This body was created to amplify efforts to identify, investigate, and prosecute those committing pandemic-related fraud.

This case underscores the importance of maintaining strict financial protocols for small businesses, especially when utilizing government relief funds. Furthermore, business owners should stay updated on the criteria and guidelines related to relief programs to ensure compliance.

Small Business Deals

Given the uptick in fraudulent cases since the CARES Acts inception, businesses need to be vigilant. The Fraud Section alone has prosecuted over 200 individuals, resulting in the seizure of over $78 million in cash proceeds derived from the fraudulently acquired PPP funds.

Already grappling with numerous challenges in these unprecedented times, small businesses must remember that transparency and integrity in financial operations are crucial. Not only can these values protect a business from legal trouble, but they also ensure that relief funds can reach the businesses that need them the most.

To report any suspicions of fraudulent activities involving COVID-19 relief, individuals can visit the NCDF Web Complaint Form at www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
Trying to get inside the mind of a customer is a complicated thing. It requires that you really dig in and look beyond the surface level details for meaningful takeaways. While youll probably discover a lot, theres one truth youll definitely uncover: customers crave personalization.

The Importance of a Personalized Experience

Enhanced Customer Satisfaction: Tailoring experiences to individual preferences shows customers that their specific needs are recognized and valued, leading to greater satisfaction and engagement.

Tailoring experiences to individual preferences shows customers that their specific needs are recognized and valued, leading to greater satisfaction and engagement. Increased Loyalty and Retention: Customers are more likely to return to a business that remembers their preferences and provides personalized service, fostering a sense of loyalty and increasing retention rates.

Customers are more likely to return to a business that remembers their preferences and provides personalized service, fostering a sense of loyalty and increasing retention rates. Higher Conversion Rates: Personalized interactions can guide customers through the sales funnel more effectively by aligning with their unique interests and needs, thereby boosting the likelihood of conversions and sales.

Personalized interactions can guide customers through the sales funnel more effectively by aligning with their unique interests and needs, thereby boosting the likelihood of conversions and sales. Positive Word-of-Mouth: Satisfied customers who have enjoyed a customized experience are more likely to share their positive impressions with others, creating valuable word-of-mouth marketing.

Satisfied customers who have enjoyed a customized experience are more likely to share their positive impressions with others, creating valuable word-of-mouth marketing. Competitive Differentiation: In a market saturated with competitors, offering personalized experiences helps businesses stand out, solidifying their reputation as a customer-centric and attentive organization.

How to Give Your Customers a Personalised Experience

Customers Crave Personalization

Todays customers are busy. Not only are many working more hours, but they also have more things competing for their attention in their free time. While there are other reasons for personalization, this is one of the biggest. Personalization makes shopping faster and more convenient  two things that are highly valued in todays society.

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According to a study of 3,000 consumers in the U.S. and the U.K., more than 70 percent of people say they expect personalized experiences when they interact with brands. Notice the wording there. They dont desire personalization  they expect it!

If you study American customers in particular, their expectations are even higher for businesses. They expect personalization, regardless of whether theyre interacting with an eCommerce company or a brick and mortar business.

The good news for businesses is that consumers are willing to work with you in order to receive personalized experiences. One study shows that 63 percent of millennial consumers and 58 percent of Gen X consumers are willing to share data with companies if it means receiving more personalized offers and discounts in exchange.

Connected customers want to be heard, understood, remembered, and respected, marketer Devon McGinnis says. Ultimately, they want to be treated like people  and smarter applications of customer data can help companies deliver experiences with a human touch, at scale.

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The fact that shoppers want to help businesses help them is wonderful. It means you can satisfy your customers cravings for personalization in a cost-effective manner. The only question is, are you doing so?

Sadly, most businesses are not. According to an infographic from Kahuna, a leading mobile marketing platform, 85 percent of businesses surveyed know that their audience segments are too broad, and less than 10 percent of top retailers believe their current strategies are effective. Roughly half of all marketers  48 percent, to be exact  know personalization leads to more sales, but the majority struggle to use it effectively.

The moral of the story is this: customers want personalization and are willing to help you improve in this area, but its up to you to take action. If you can do so, youll enjoy a lot of success in the coming years.

3 Ways to Create a Personalized Experience

The gap between knowing that customers want personalization and actually giving them personalized service is clearly large. Its actually fairly simple to get started, though.

Lets take a brief look at some ideas and principles youll find valuable.

1. Move Beyond Mass Production

Theres something to be said for mass production. Its the reason why people visit McDonalds for a burger and fries. They know that, regardless of whether theyre in Indiana, California, or the U.K., the meal will taste the same. Its also the reason why customers stick with the same brands when purchasing things like deodorant, trash bags and light bulbs. Theres convenience and consistency in mass production.

But mass production isnt always a good thing. There are certain products and services that are perceived as having more value when theres low-batch production and personalization  jewelry is one niche that fits this bill.

When a woman shows her engagement ring to friends, she wants to hear people ohh and ahh over her sparkling diamond. The last thing she wants is for someone to say, Oh, thats the same ring I have. Thats why leading jewelers custom design services as a way to personalize and differentiate.

Companies like Diamondere, for example, provide services allowing customers to design custom pieces. The process goes from idea to concept to finished product, allowing Diamondere to stand out in an industry thats otherwise very crowded.

Are there ways you could move beyond mass production and leverage the value of personalization? You may have to think outside the box in this area.

2. Offer a Loyalty or Rewards Program

Customers want to know that your company values their business. There are plenty of ways you can do this, but one tried and true method is to create a customer loyalty program that rewards people for shopping with you.

The classic example that most people are familiar with is Amazon. A few years ago, the company launched its Prime membership service, which is essentially a paid loyalty program that provides personalized value in the form of free (and fast) shipping, online video and music streaming, cloud storage and more.

More traditional loyalty programs include frequent flyer programs and discount credit cards that can be used with retailers at the point of sale  such as rewards programs offered by department stores like Kohls. Are there opportunities for you to offer personalization in the form of loyalty programs?

3. Personalize Email Communication

For eCommerce companies, one of the top things you can do is personalize emails. According to an Experian study, personalized emails have a 29 percent higher open rate and 41 percent better click rate than standard, non-personalized emails.

The great thing is that its fairly easy to personalize emails. If youre using an advanced email marketing service, you should have plenty of features already built in. The tricky thing is balancing your approach.

Before you go hog wild with personalization, youll want to consider what details youre going to include in your emails, marketer Diana Potter says. There is a fine line between helpful and creepy when it comes to personalized emails, and you dont want to step over that line.

Some of the things you can include are names, past purchasing behavior and noted preferences. Youll want to stay away from using personal financial information or anything that could be viewed as an intrusion of privacy. The goal is to make the customer feel like theyre known, but not exposed. Youll probably have to tinker around with this until you find the right balance.

Put the Customer First

If you want to provide personalized products and service offerings to your customers, you have to start putting customers first. Stop thinking about everything in terms of sales and revenue. Instead, look at things through the lens of what makes your customers feel valued.

While this may cost you up front, the end result will be better customer satisfaction, a higher percentage of repeat sales and healthier margins and revenue. In other words, youre making a long-term investment in which the reward is exponentially higher than the input.

Personalized Experience Summary

Key Point Details Examples/Statistics Customer Expectations Modern customers demand personalized experiences rather than generic ones. They want to feel understood and valued individually. - 70% of consumers expect personalized experiences.

- American customers have higher expectations for personalization. Consumer Cooperation Customers are ready to share personal data if it leads to more tailored services or products. - 63% of millennials and 58% of Gen X consumers agree to share data for personalized offers. Businesses Shortcomings Many businesses recognize the need for personalization but fail in its effective execution. - 85% know their audience segments are too broad.

- Less than 10% of top retailers find their strategies effective. Strategies for Personalization Businesses need to adopt specific strategies to bridge the personalization gap. 1. Low-batch production for value perception (e.g., jewelry).

2. Loyalty programs (e.g., Amazon Prime).

3. Personalized email communications. Benefits of Personalization Adopting personalization strategies leads to long-term business benefits despite initial costs. Leads to better customer satisfaction, higher repeat sales, and improved revenues.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20231021/participants-of-cairo-summit-reach-agreement-on-delivery-of-aid-to-gaza---reports-1114394484.html

Participants of Cairo Summit Reach Agreement on Delivery of Aid to Gaza - Reports

Participants of Cairo Summit Reach Agreement on Delivery of Aid to Gaza - Reports

Participants of the Cairo Summit for Peace reached an agreement on humanitarian aid being sent to the Gaza Strip on Saturday.

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Earlier on Saturday, the Sky News Arabia broadcaster reported that participants of the summit would not adopt a final statement due to disagreements between the Arab and European delegations over the wording "Israel's right to self-defense" and the issue of condemning Palestinian movement Hamas. The Cairo Summit for Peace is taking place in the Egyptian capital on Saturday with the participation of over 30 states and a series of international organizations. On October 7, Hamas launched a surprise large-scale rocket attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip and breached the border, killing and abducting people in neighboring Israeli communities. Israel launched retaliatory strikes and ordered a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to more than 2 million people, cutting off supplies of water, food and fuel. Thousands of dead and injured have been reported on both sides as a result of the escalation.

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Report: Chinese Warships Present in Middle East Amidst Israeli Violence in Gaza

Report: Chinese Warships Present in Middle East Amidst Israeli Violence in Gaza

Reports coming out this week revealed that Chinese ships have been stationed in the Middle East since May. They were recently joined by the warships sent by... 21.10.2023, Sputnik International

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As Israel continues its campaign of airstrikes in Gaza, new reports reveal the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army has stationed six warships in the Middle East this week.The PLAs 44th naval escort task force was in Oman conducting joint exercises with the countrys navy during routine operations that have seen the ships in the area since May. The ships included a guided-missile destroyer, an integrated supply ship, and a frigate.Meanwhile, the United States has sent ships to the eastern Mediterranean near Israel explicitly to protect US interests there, according to US National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby.The statement came after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkiye slammed the announced move, saying US military presence in the area would give Israel a green light to commit massacres in Gaza with implicit protection from the United States. The comment is significant as Turkiye and the United States are both NATO members.As of Thursday, the Dwight D Eisenhower carrier strike group was en route to the region, with the deployment of the USS Mount Whitney, another command ship, also announced.Israels bombing campaign in Gaza has killed 3,785 people so far according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.

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Air Base Shelled With Rockets in Western Iraq

Air Base Shelled With Rockets in Western Iraq

Ain al-Asad air base in western Iraq came under rocket fire last night, Reuters reported on Sunday, citing military sources.

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At least one of the blasts were heard inside the air base itself, according to the report.The Ain al-Asad base was shelled for three consecutive days. On the night of October 20, the base was attacked by drones and rockets, numerous explosions were heard inside, and the next day it was attacked by two drones. On October 22, a drone landed inside the base without causing any damage. The Ain al-Asad airbase hosts the US military as well as other members of the international anti-terror coalition.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231018/drone-strikes-air-base-in-iraq-housing-us-forces---reports-1114296289.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20231022/begging-for-more-money-internet-scoffs-at-zelenskys-peace-meeting-on-ukraine-1114403648.html

'Begging For More Money?' Internet Scoffs at Zelenskys Peace Meeting on Ukraine

'Begging For More Money?' Internet Scoffs at Zelenskys Peace Meeting on Ukraine

Internet users have swarmed on X social media platform to ridicule Volodymyr Zelenskys so-called peace meeting in Malta.

2023-10-22T12:31+0000

2023-10-22T12:31+0000

2023-10-22T12:31+0000

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Internet users have swarmed on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to weigh in on Volodymyr Zelenskys much-touted so-called "peace" meeting in Malta. Netizens questioned whether Zelensky actually knew what peace means, and asked if Russia would be invited.Earlier, sources were cited by a Ukrainian media outlet as saying that the next meeting to discuss Ukraines so-called Peace Formula would be held in Malta in late October. The Office of the President of Ukraine reportedly expected diplomatic representatives from more than 50 nations to attend the meeting. The Ukrainian President had gone on X (formerly Twitter) to praise the purportedly active preparations for the forthcoming meeting in Malta. Many influential nations from all across the world will be present. The number of participants is growing by the day, with more than 50 states already expected to attend, wrote Zelensky.However, internet users were more than skeptical. Many ridiculed any sort of alleged peace talks that did not involve Moscow, emphasizing that Russia was probably the best country to be there.As to the states that were ostensibly to be represented at the talks, people commented that they hoped these were not the same countries that encourage you, support you and finance the war, because then soon there will be no peace!Others pointed to the raging Palestine-Israel conflict, saying that a miffed Zelensky was probably worried lest the conflagration take attention away from the continuing NATO proxy war against Russia in Ukraine.At this point other internet users speculated that the money is running out from the USA.Quite a few on the internet mentioned the botched Ukrainian counteroffensive, which has witnessed huge losses in manpower and ordnance, despite the billions' worth of NATO weapons funneled to the Kiev regime.The thread on X (formerly Twitter) came days after the administration of US President Joe Biden asked Congress for $106 billion in funding to allow Washington to continue supporting its allies in three separate global flashpoints: Ukraine, Israel and Asia. The speech to the nation from the Oval Office on Thursday night, pledging to send an emergency budget request to Congress to secure the supplementary funding, referred to further assistance funneled to the Kiev regime as a "smart investment" that would pay dividends for future generations.As for talks, Moscow has repeatedly indicated that it is ready for negotiations, but Kiev has introduced a ban on them at a legislative level. Russia is ready for negotiations on Ukraine but will not consider any proposals of a ceasefire, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at the UN General Assembly in September."Yes, we are ready for negotiations [on Ukraine]. But we will not consider any proposals for a ceasefire because the one time we did consider it, you deceived us," Lavrov said. Speaking about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's 10-point "Peace Formula", Sergey Lavrov noted it is not remotely realistic, although the West regards it as the only basis for peace in Ukraine.He added: "We are guided by the ugly reality, and it is such that Zelensky and everyone who leads him from Washington, London and Brussels firmly says with one voice, 'There is no other basis for peace other than Zelensky's formula.' And Zelensky's formula, I don't even know, you can describe it in different ways, but it is absolutely not realizable, and everyone understands this."

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230923/zelenskys-peace-formula-cannot-be-fulfilled---russian-foreign-minister-lavrov--1113613431.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20231022/biden-discusses-situation-around-israel-with-leaders-of-5-allied-countries---white-house-1114413696.html

Biden Discusses Situation Around Israel With Leaders of 5 Allied Countries - White House

Biden Discusses Situation Around Israel With Leaders of 5 Allied Countries - White House

US President Joe Biden spoke with five leaders of allied countries about the situation in Israel and Palestine

2023-10-22T22:58+0000

2023-10-22T22:58+0000

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"President Biden convened a call this afternoon with Prime Minister Trudeau of Canada, President Macron of France, Chancellor Scholz of Germany, Prime Minister Meloni of Italy, and Prime Minister Sunak of the United Kingdom regarding the ongoing conflict between Israel and the terrorist organization Hamas," the White House said in a statement. On October 7, Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise large-scale rocket attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip. Israel launched retaliatory strikes and ordered a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to more than 2 million people, cutting off supplies of water, food and fuel. The blockade was later eased to allow trucks with humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. The escalation of the conflict has resulted in thousands of people killed and injured on both sides.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231022/live-updates-israeli-airstrike-on-cafe-in-gaza-strip-kills-10-people---reports-1114395929.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20231022/blinken-acting-lebanese-prime-minister-discuss-rising-tensions-on-border-with-israel-1114395744.html

Blinken, Acting Lebanese Prime Minister Discuss Rising Tensions on Border With Israel

Blinken, Acting Lebanese Prime Minister Discuss Rising Tensions on Border With Israel

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with acting Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and discussed rising tensions between the country and Israel.

2023-10-22T03:40+0000

2023-10-22T03:40+0000

2023-10-22T03:40+0000

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"Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke with Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati yesterday to affirm U.S. support for the Lebanese people and noted growing concern over rising tensions along Lebanons southern border. The Secretary reiterated the importance of respecting the interests of the Lebanese people, who would be affected by Lebanon being drawn into the conflict instigated by Hamas terrorist attack on Israel," the department said in a statement. Blinken also said that Washington continues to consider the Lebanese armed forces and internal security forces to be the "sole legitimate guarantors" of the country's stability and territorial integrity, the statement added. On October 7, Hamas launched a surprise large-scale rocket attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip and breached the border, killing and seizing people in neighboring Israeli communities. Israel launched retaliatory strikes and ordered a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to more than 2 million people, cutting off supplies of water, food and fuel. The escalation of the conflict has resulted in thousands of people killed and injured on both sides. Amid the escalation in the Gaza Strip, there are periodic exchanges of fire between Lebanese Shia movement Hezbollah and Israeli troops on the Lebanese-Israeli border.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231021/participants-of-cairo-summit-reach-agreement-on-delivery-of-aid-to-gaza---reports-1114394484.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20231022/erdogan-head-of-hamas-political-bureau-discuss-delivery-of-humanitarian-aid-1114395109.html

Erdogan, Head of Hamas Political Bureau Discuss Delivery of Humanitarian Aid

Erdogan, Head of Hamas Political Bureau Discuss Delivery of Humanitarian Aid

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had a phone conversation with Hamas' head of political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, discussing the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

2023-10-22T02:06+0000

2023-10-22T02:06+0000

2023-10-22T02:07+0000

world

recep tayyip erdogan

ismail haniyeh

turkiye

gaza strip

hamas

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palestine

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"President Erdogan stated that Turkiye is working to ensure that humanitarian aid reach Gaza, the injured be treated in Turkiye when necessary and for a ceasefire to be achieved in the region as soon as possible," the office said on X. The Turkish president reiterated that a "lasting solution in Israel-Palestine issue cannot be achieved without establishing an independent State of Palestine within the 1967 borders with East Al-Quds as its capital," the statement read, adding that Ankara would continue its efforts to establish a lasting peace. On October 7, Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise large-scale rocket attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip and breached the border, killing and seizing people in neighboring Israeli communities. Israel launched retaliatory strikes and ordered a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to more than 2 million people, cutting off supplies of water, food and fuel. The blockade was later eased to allow trucks with humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. The escalation of the conflict has resulted in thousands of people killed and injured on both sides.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20231022/germany-needs-nord-stream-2-to-dodge-looming-deindustrialization---bundestag-mp-1114409494.html

Germany Needs Nord Stream 2 to Dodge Looming Deindustrialization - Bundestag MP

Germany Needs Nord Stream 2 to Dodge Looming Deindustrialization - Bundestag MP

The branch of the Nord Stream pipeline that survived last years terrorist attack should be brought online in order to resume gas imports from Russia, a Bundestag MP for the AFD, Steffen Kotre, told Russian media.

2023-10-22T15:58+0000

2023-10-22T15:58+0000

2023-10-22T15:58+0000

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The branch of the Nord Stream pipeline that survived last years terrorist attack should be brought online in order to resume gas imports from Russia, a Bundestag MP for the AFD (Alternative fur Deutschland) has insisted. Only recommencing energy flows from Russia will help Germany avoid looming deindustrialization, according to Steffen Kotre.The lawmaker, who is also a member of the German parliamentary committee on energy and climate protection, told Russian media on Saturday that going along with the US-pushed and EU-embraced narrative of ditching Russian energy has been a grave error.The German lawmaker added that "What the Chancellor [Olaf Scholz] is happy about is devastating for companies and private consumers." Kotre was referring to Chancellor Olaf Scholzs remarks applauding Germanys efforts, albeit self-harming, to slash dependence on Russian energy.Despite one of the two branches of Nord Stream 2 surviving, German authorities have been reluctant to resume the certification process amid the rampant Western sanctions campaign targeting Moscow over Ukraine. Pointing out that Germany is forced to dish out more for alternative gas sources than it used to for cheap and reliable Russian energy, Steffen Kotre added:The US and EU have been pushing to wean themselves off Russian resources as part of a sanctions campaign over Ukraine, levelling swathes of sanctions on Moscow. While failing to cripple Russias economy, many of these restrictions have boomeranged, delivering tangible blowback on those who stooped to them. Major European economies like Germany have been facing the looming prospect of deindustrialization, mired in woes after dramatically scaling back imports of Russian oil and gas to try and punish Russia. As for the Nord Stream sabotage, Russia circulated in the UN Security Council a draft statement by the council's president calling for condemnation of last year's terrorist attack on the Nord Stream gas pipelines, Russia's First Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Dmitry Polyansky said on Telegram in late September. The draft statement, seen by Sputnik, says the UN Security Council condemned the terrorist act against the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines and called for a thorough investigation.No official results of the investigations have yet been announced, but Pulitzer Prize-winning US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh published a report in February 2023 alleging that the explosions was organized by the United States with the support of Norway. Washington has denied any involvement in the incident. Furthermore, in mid-July, media reported that Dutch military intelligence had informed the CIA of Ukraine's plans to sabotage the Nord Stream pipelines months before it happened.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230929/russias-unsc-draft-statement-calls-for-condemnation-of-nord-stream-terrorist-attack-1113783715.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230927/terrorist-attack-on-nord-stream-de-facto-organized-by-us-uk---kremlin-1113731507.html

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South Korea, the United States and Japan are set to kick off a joint aerial exercise for the first time near the Korean Peninsula on Sunday, sources said, amid efforts to bolster three-way security cooperation against North Korean threats.

The trilateral aerial exercise is scheduled for Sunday over the Korean Peninsula, involving the U.S. strategic bomber B-52 currently deployed to South Korea.

The joint aerial exercise involving South Korean, U.S. and Japanese air forces will consist of a formation flight with fighter jets from the three countries escorting the B-52, according to South Korean and U.S. military sources.

Although the B-52s  a key U.S. strategic asset  have previously been deployed over the Korean Peninsula for joint air drills with the South Korean Air Force, it marked the first time the bomber landed at an air base in the country.

The nuclear-capable B-52 landed in South Korea for the first time last Tuesday, after it staged a commemorative flight over a biennial defense trade show in the country and joint air drills with South Korean stealth fighter jets.

The latest move comes after the leaders of the three nations agreed to strengthen security cooperation in response to North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats during their summit in Camp David in August.

Earlier this month, Seoul, Washington and Tokyo staged a trilateral maritime interdiction exercise in waters south of the Korean Peninsula for the first time in seven years. (Yonhap)
https://sputnikglobe.com/20231022/idf-says-carries-out-airstrike-on-mosque-in-jenin-claims-hamas-terror-cell-inside-1114394956.html

IDF Says Carries Out Airstrike on Mosque in Jenin, Claims Hamas 'Terror Cell' Inside

IDF Says Carries Out Airstrike on Mosque in Jenin, Claims Hamas 'Terror Cell' Inside

Airstrikes by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) hit the Al-Ansar mosque in the West Bank city of Jenin, saying that the mosque was used by members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad movements.

2023-10-22T01:57+0000

2023-10-22T01:57+0000

2023-10-22T06:51+0000

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"In a joint IDF and ISA [Israel Securities Authority] activity, the IDF conducted an aerial strike on an underground terror compound in the Al-Ansar mosque in Jenin; The mosque contained a terror cell of Hamas and Islamic Jihad terror operatives who were organizing an imminent terror attack," the IDF said on Telegram, adding that the mosque was used "by the terrorists as a command center to plan the attacks and as a base for their execution."There have been conflicting reports on the number of casualties. Airstrikes by the IDF are rare in the West Bank, but this was the second such attack in recent days.The Al-Ansar mosque is located in the Jenin refugee camp. Yesterday, the IDF hit at Greek Orthodox church inside of Gaza.On October 7, Hamas launched a surprise large-scale rocket attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip and breached the border, killing and abducting people in neighboring Israeli communities. Israel launched retaliatory strikes and ordered a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to more than 2 million people, cutting off supplies of water, food and fuel. The blockade was later eased to allow trucks with humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. Thousands of dead and injured have been reported on both sides as a result of the escalation.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20231022/investigation-shows-ukraine-sells-western-weapons-to-the-middle-east---dpr-government-advisor-1114396626.html

Investigation Shows Ukraine Sells Western Weapons to the Middle East - DPR Government Advisor

Investigation Shows Ukraine Sells Western Weapons to the Middle East - DPR Government Advisor

A private investigation was conducted that confirmed the sale by Kiev of Western weapons supplied to Ukraine, the aide to the head of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), Yan Gagin, told Sputnik.

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A private investigation has confirmed that Kiev is selling weapons that the West donated to Ukraine, Yan Gagin, aide to the head of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), told Sputnik. The investigation was conducted by members of a special operational reaction group established by the chairman of the DPR government.According to him, darknet sites offered a wide selection - from missiles to small arms. "And all this was sold to anyone who would just pay money," Gagin added. Earlier, Gagin said that NATO weapons, once transferred to Kiev, could have been resold and are now being used against Israeli soldiers.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231009/russia-warned-about-us-weapons-for-ukraine-ending-on-black-market-months-before-bloodbath-in-israel-1114040821.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231008/arms-sent-to-ukraine-potentially-used-against-israel-dpr-government-adviser-says-1114015733.html

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Biden Discusses Israeli-Palestinian Conflict With Netanyahu - White House



US President Joe Biden spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and discussed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the provision of humanitarian aid to Gaza residents and the release of hostages taken by Hamas, the White House said on Sunday.

"The President welcomed the first two convoys of humanitarian assistance since Hamass October 7 terrorist attack, which crossed the border into Gaza and is being distributed to Palestinians in need. The leaders affirmed that there will now be continued flow of this critical assistance into Gaza  The leaders discussed ongoing efforts to secure the release of all the remaining hostages taken by Hamas  including US citizens  and to provide for safe passage for US citizens and other civilians in Gaza who wish to depart," the White House said in a statement.

Biden also thanked the Israeli government for "helping to accommodate the release of two American hostages," the statement added.

On Friday, spokesman for Al-Qassam Brigades, a military wing of Hamas, Abu Obaida, said that Palestinian movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip released two US hostages, a mother and her daughter, on "humanitarian grounds." On Saturday, Hamas said that it planned to release two more hostages, but the Israeli side allegedly rejected the offer.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20231022/netanyahu-under-fire-as-former-leaders-demand-his-resignation-amid-crisis-media-report-1114413543.html

Netanyahu Under Fire as Former Leaders Demand His Resignation Amid Crisis, Media Report

Netanyahu Under Fire as Former Leaders Demand His Resignation Amid Crisis, Media Report

Former Israeli military, political, and intelligence officials have criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his leadership amid the ongoing crisis caused by Hamas attacks on October 7.

2023-10-22T23:04+0000

2023-10-22T23:04+0000

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Prominent former Israeli figures, including ex-Prime Minister Ehud Barak, have voiced their concerns about Netanyahu's leadership during the crisis, as reported by British media. Barak described the Hamas attack as "the most severe blow Israel has suffered since its establishment." He expressed doubt in Netanyahu's ability to lead in the aftermath of such a devastating event.These criticisms come in the wake of growing concern within Israel about the government's efforts to secure the release of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. Some families have urged negotiations, while others support an immediate military operation to dismantle Hamas leadership, even at the risk of the hostages' safety.Critics argue that the government's response to the crisis has been inadequate. A former chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces has called for Netanyahu's resignation, citing the government's dysfunction, as quoted by UK media. This sentiment is shared by many Israelis who believe the government has mishandled the situation.Whileprotesters have gathered outside the Israeli military headquarters to express their concerns about Netanyahu's leadership, there remains trust in military leaders overseeing operations in Gaza. The crisis has prompted renewed calls for Netanyahu to step down and allow someone else to lead the country during these trying times.This situation also coincides with controversy surrounding Retired Brigadier General Gal Hirsch, who was appointed to coordinate the rescue of Israeli hostages abducted by Hamas. Defense officials have criticized Hirsch for his behavior and failure to effectively carry out his role, further highlighting leadership issues in the government.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231021/palestine-israel-conflict-retrospective-1114247462.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231021/humanitarian-aid-for-gaza-cross-egypts-rafah-checkpoint-1114385402.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20231022/putin-speaks-their-language-to-make-sure-they-hear-me-in-germany-1114404521.html

Putin Speaks Their Language: 'To Make Sure They Hear Me in Germany'

Putin Speaks Their Language: 'To Make Sure They Hear Me in Germany'

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned Germany in the German language about the dangers of getting closer to those who justify Nazism.

2023-10-22T13:14+0000

2023-10-22T13:14+0000

2023-10-22T13:14+0000

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In an interview with journalist Pavel Zarubin on "Moscow. Kremlin. Putin" on the Russia 1 television channel, the Russian president commented on attacks against former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.The journalist noted that Schroeder is currently being obstructed because of his connections with Russia, and that he is being kept away from important events just to prevent him from appearing in the same picture as the current chancellor, Olaf Scholz.He repeated his remarks about Schroeder and Rota in the German language.According to the Russian president, there are many decent people in Germany, and many of them will hear his message.In late September, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the Canadian Parliament. Among those invited to the session was 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka (Gunko), who was introduced as "a Ukrainian-Canadian World War II veteran who fought for Ukrainian independence against the Russians." The audience greeted him with applause. In reality, Hunka turned out to be a former fighter in the SS Galicia Division, which was made up of Ukrainian nationalists who not only fought against the Red Army, but also committed atrocities against Jews, Poles, Belarusians, and Slovaks.The honoring of the Waffen SS member caused outrage in Russia, Belarus, Poland, and other countries. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau apologized for the "terrible mistake," and Speaker of the House of Commons Anthony Rota resigned.In Russia, Hunka was charged in absentia with genocide of civilians during WWII.Schroeder is currently facing criticism for his friendly attitude towards Russia. In the spring, the former chancellor became the subject of a Polish investigation into the events in Ukraine. In addition, many German media outlets expressed concern about his presence at a formal reception at the Russian Embassy in Berlin on the occasion of the 78th anniversary of the Victory over Nazi Germany.According to President Putin, Germany should be proud of people like Schroeder because he really cares about his people and their interests. In support of his claim, the Russian leader cited Schroeder's role in the construction of the Nord Stream pipelines, noting what happened to the German economy after the pipelines were sabotaged.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230929/world-sees-trudeau-as-clown-after-ss-officer-incident---opposition-1113790103.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231022/us-forbade-ukraine-to-make-peace-with-russia-in-march-2022---former-german-chancellor-1114405707.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20231022/russian-foreign-ministry-confirms-lavrovs-talks-in-tehran-on-monday-1114404826.html

Russian Foreign Ministry Confirms Lavrovs Talks in Tehran on Monday

Russian Foreign Ministry Confirms Lavrovs Talks in Tehran on Monday

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova confirmed on Sunday Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's scheduled talks in Iran on Monday.

2023-10-22T11:19+0000

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"We confirm Lavrov's planned talks in Tehran on Monday," Zakharova told Sputnik.Earlier, Iranian media reported plans to hold such a meeting. According to them, the meeting will discuss issues of regional cooperation in political, economic, transport, energy and security spheres. It is planned to discuss the Azerbaijani-Armenian normalization process during the meeting.In addition to the representatives of Russia and Iran, the meeting will be attended by the ministers of Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231019/lavrov-palestinian-israeli-conflict-may-escalate-into-regional-one-1114307991.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20231022/trying-for-third-front-us-korea-and-japan-hold-unprecedented-three-way-aerial-drill-1114403327.html

Trying for Third Front? US, Korea and Japan Hold Unprecedented Three-Way Aerial Drill

Trying for Third Front? US, Korea and Japan Hold Unprecedented Three-Way Aerial Drill

The brief thaw in ties between Pyongyang and Washington built on a close personal rapport between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump quickly collapsed under Joe Biden, with the DPRK ramping up its missile testing in response to a spate of joint US, South Korean and Japanese military exercises near the nations borders.

2023-10-22T11:17+0000

2023-10-22T11:17+0000

2023-10-22T11:17+0000

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The United States, the Republic of Korea (South Koreas official name) and Japan carried out their first-ever three-way joint aerial drill south of the Korean Peninsula on Sunday.The drill dubbed the Spirit of Camp David exercise  saw American, Japanese and South Korean fighter escorts fly an escort mission alongside a US Air Force nuclear-capable B-52 strategic bomber, with the South Korean Air Force characterizing the show of force as a signal of joint security cooperation against North Koreas escalating nuclear and missile threats.The US fighter jet complement consisted of F-16 Fighting Falcons, with South Korea deploying F-15Ks, and Japan flying Mitsubishi F-2 fighters.The drills were held over waters overlapping both the South Korean and Japanese air defense identification zones.The three countries promised to conduct further annual, named, multi-domain trilateral exercises on a regular basis.The B-52 Stratofortress bomber involved in Sundays drill landed in South Korea for the first time ever earlier this week. The bomber took part in a separate drill with ROK Air Force stealth jets on Tuesday, carrying out a flight over Seoul Air Base during an air show before landing at an air base in Cheongju, about 115 km southeast of the South Korean capital.Sundays aerial exercise follows joint US-South Korean-Japanese maritime drills in Korean waters two weeks ago  the first of their kind since 2016. Those drills involvement from warships of the USS Ronald Reagan carrier strike group, a Japanese destroyer and an Aegis air and missile defense system-equipped South Korean vessel.Separately this week, South Korean officials revealed that the US and South Korean Navy warships had conducted a two-week anti-submarine drill off Guam known as Silent Shark.President Joe Biden hosted South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at Camp David in August, hailing a new era of cooperation between the three countries and the strengthening of a trilateral alliance against North Korea, including deepened defense cooperation and technology sharing.North Korean media warned Friday that the DPRK would reserve the right to target any US strategic nuclear forces stationed in South Korea, and characterized Sundays exercise as an intentional provocative maneuver for nuclear war by Washington.A week earlier, Pyongyang warned that it was ready to respond to any US provocations in connection with the deployment of the US carrier strike group in the region.The DPRK officially proclaimed itself a nuclear power in September 2022 and published details on its nuclear doctrine, which allows the country to use its nuclear weapons in the event of enemy nuclear aggression, or a potentially fatal conventional attack. The doctrine emphasizes that the North Koreas powerful means for defending the sovereignty, territorial integrity and fundamental interests of the state is designed to prevent a war in the Korean Peninsula and the northeast Asia region and ensur[e] the strategic stability of the world.North Koreas relations with the US and South Korea have worsened dramatically over the past two-and-a-half years, with the personal rapport between Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump replaced by coolness and outright hostility between Kim and Biden as the latter moved to resume large-scale US military drills in East Asia. Last years South Korean presidential elections strained tensions further, with the new government officially reverting to referring to the DPRK as an enemy state.During his two-day visit to Pyongyang this week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov expressed Moscows serious concern about the increase in military activity on the Korean Peninsula by the United States, Japan and South Korea, as well as Washingtons policy of transferring elements of strategic infrastructure, including its nuclear elements, to the region.Russia, Lavrov stressed, is in favor of regular talks without any preconditions to ease tensions on the peninsula.North Koreas Foreign Ministry has characterized the US, NATO and Washingtons Asian allies as a cancer tumor that puts the international UN-based order in jeopardy.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231020/n-korea-reserves-right-to-launch-preemptive-strike-on-us-strategic-force-in-s-korea-1114343647.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20231022/ukraines-dangerous-bet-on-us-atacms-a-gamble-with-civilians-lives-1114402421.html

Ukraine's Dangerous Bet on US ATACMS a 'Gamble With Civilians' Lives'

Ukraine's Dangerous Bet on US ATACMS a 'Gamble With Civilians' Lives'

The increased involvement of the Biden government in the Ukrainian conflict by providing the Zelensky-led government with ATACMS missiles containing cluster munitions has faced expert backlash due to their indiscriminate use and safe disposal challenges.

2023-10-22T13:36+0000

2023-10-22T13:36+0000

2023-10-22T13:38+0000

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The US President Joe Biden administration's decision to send ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System) missiles with cluster munitions to Ukraine disregards the longstanding human suffering caused by these indiscriminate weapons, Titus Peachey, a member of the US Cluster Munition Coalition Steering Committee and former chair of Legacies of War, told Sputnik. Peachey acknowledged that deploying cluster munitions violates international humanitarian law because they cannot differentiate between military targets and civilians. He further characterized the dangers of their use. Experts from GLOBSEC, in conjunction with the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, have determined that nearly 30 percent of Ukraine's landmass is marred by mines and unexploded ordnance. This has tragically transformed once thriving areas into zones of apprehension and danger.Peachey made it clear that cluster bombs carried by ATACMS are hazardous to civilians because they are small and carry 950 submunitions in their warheads. They pose a particularly insidious threat to the civilian population as they can easily blend into the environment. He stressed that the ATACMS missiles dispatched to Ukraine significantly elevate the risk of unexploded ordnance, establishing a long-term peril necessitating extensive measures for safe destruction.This week, the White House confirmed the delivery of ATACMS with a range of 165 kilometers to Ukraine. Despite the US governments reluctance to address the delivery publicly, sources privy to the matter confirmed that Ukraine has received less than a dozen missiles in the last few days.President Vladimir Putin criticized the recent decision made by the United States at a Beijing summit, labeling it another mistake by the United States.Nevertheless, Putin contended that such weapons transfers could "prolong their agony." ATACMS "cannot drastically change the situation along the line of contact. It is impossible.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230530/what-are-atacms-missiles-and-why-is-us-threatening-to-give-them-to-kiev-1110800837.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20231022/us-blind-support-for-israel-gives-china-powerful-advantage-to-woo-arab-world-1114412932.html

US Blind Support for Israel Gives China Powerful Advantage to Woo Arab World

US Blind Support for Israel Gives China Powerful Advantage to Woo Arab World

The fighting in southern Israel and the Gaza Strip has been accompanied by diplomatic battles waged at the United Nations by Israels staunchest allies on one side and countries seeking an urgent ceasefire on the other. Middle East politics expert Dr. Shaun Narine explains why Washingtons blind support for Tel Aviv may end up costing it dearly.

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The United States tabled a draft Security Council resolution on Saturday emphasizing Tel Avivs inherent right of individual and collective self-defense, condemning Hamas for its surprise October 7 offensive, demanding the immediate and unconditional release of hostages, and accusing Iran of supporting militias and terrorist groups threatening peace and security across the region.The American resolution, drafted after the US vetoed Russia and Brazil-sponsored resolutions calling for an urgent humanitarian pause to the conflict, makes no mention of a ceasefire.Russian deputy permanent representative to the UN Dmitry Polyanskiy berated his US counterparts for vetoing the Russian-proposed resolution. The masks are off. No matter how hard the Americans tried to appear as peacekeepers, they ultimately failed. A huge foreign policy failure for Washington, Polyanskiy said on Wednesday.Chinas Foreign Ministry expressed Beijings deep disappointment with Washingtons obstruction of the Security Councils efforts to put a stop to the violence. On Saturday, Chinese special Middle East Envoy Zhai Jun urged the UN to convene a more authoritative, influential and wide-ranging international peace conference on the Palestinian-Israeli crisis as soon as possible, so as to pool international consensus on promoting peace, as well as a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the Palestinian issue.Washingtons staunch support for Israel at the UN followed the publication of a State Department memo last week instructing American diplomats not to use words and phrases like ceasefire, end to violence/bloodshed, restoring calm, and de-escalation/ceasefire in reference to the Palestinian-Israeli crisis.Instead, President Biden staged a rare televised address to the nation on Thursday in which he promised unequivocal US support to our critical partners, including Israel and Ukraine, and vowed that the smart investment of $100+ billion in US taxpayer money would pay dividends for American security for generations to come.Buying TimeThe US is basically just running interference for Israel, Dr. Shaun Narine, a professor of international relations and political science at St. Thomas University in New Brunswick, Canada, told Sputnik.Commenting on the US-proposed UN draft resolutions language about Israels right to self-defense, Dr. Narine confirmed that theoretically, yes, according to international law, states have a right to self-defense. However, this right has to be proportional to the situation to which theyre responding, he stressed.But Israel doesnt appear overly concerned about the prospect of civilian casualties, in Narines estimation, with the professor pointing to Israels record of regularly mowing the grass in Gaza  a reference to the military operations the IDF seems to launch in the Strip on a regular basis.Israels response to attacks against it has always been disproportionate, the professor emphasized.Tel Aviv has already been violating international humanitarian law with its decade-and-a-half long blockade against Gaza, Narine noted, emphasizing that this is the larger context, or frankly, the smaller, slightly larger context in an even larger context of the Palestinian-Israeli crisis  which he said is rooted in successive Israeli governments staunch opposition to the idea of a viable Palestinian state.Americas Self-Destructive Israel PolicyUS policy toward Israel is driven primarily by domestic politics, the academic noted, with its response to the October 7 escalation dictated by the shock experienced by Jews inside the United States and around the world, resulting in Washingtons unlimited, unconditional support. Biden personally has been dedicated strongly to Israel for his entire political career, Dr. Narine recalled.Unfortunately for Washington, the USs blind support for Israel, and its seeming lack of concern about Palestinian lives to anywhere near the same degree as Israeli ones is proving politically damaging to US foreign policy, the academic noted, since it sends a very unfortunate message to the Arab World about Washingtons priorities.In that sense, Dr. Narine believes that viewed from the lens of Americas global competition with China, Beijing stands to gain quite a bit in the Arab World by taking a more evenhanded approach to the conflict between Palestine and Israel, but also even weighing more towards the Arab side in this.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231020/most-americans-disapprove-of-bidens-handling-of-palestinian-israeli-conflict---poll-1114344985.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231020/russian-draft-adoption-by-unsc-could-have-prevented-strike-on-al-ahli-hospital---moscow-1114342672.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231022/wests-backing-of-israel--ukraine-hypocrisy-over-cost-of-human-life-alienates-global-south-1114396994.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20231022/us-forbade-ukraine-to-make-peace-with-russia-in-march-2022---former-german-chancellor-1114405707.html

US Forbade Ukraine to Make Peace With Russia in March 2022 - Former German Chancellor

US Forbade Ukraine to Make Peace With Russia in March 2022 - Former German Chancellor

Ukraine was ready to make peace with Russia and give up its plans to join NATO during negotiations in March 2022, but eventually abandoned the idea due to pressure from the United States, former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder told the German newspaper.

2023-10-22T11:44+0000

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"The only people who could settle the war against Ukraine are the Americans. During the peace negotiations in March 2022 in Istanbul with [then-Ukrainian chief negotiator] Rustem Umerov, the Ukrainians did not agree on peace because they were not allowed to. They first had to ask the Americans about everything they discussed," Schroeder said in an interview with the newspaper on Saturday. The former German chancellor said that Kiev had contacted him in 2022 to learn whether he could mediate talks with Russia, after which he had meetings with Umerov and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Schroeder told the newspaper that the potential peace agreement included five key points. First, under the draft deal, Kiev was supposed to abandon its NATO aspirations. Secondly, Ukraine should have restored the official status of the Russian language. Thirdly, Donbas was supposed to remain part of Ukraine, but with a special territorial status, like South Tyrol, an autonomous province in Northern Italy. Fourthly, Ukraine should have received security guarantees from the permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany. The final, fifth issue under discussion was the status of Crimea, Schroeder told media. He said that Kiev had demonstrated willingness to compromise, including on the provision about NATO membership, but the talks still failed because everything "was decided in Washington." Moscow launched its special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022. The Russian and Ukrainian delegations have engaged in several rounds of peace talks since then, including those in Turkiye in March 2022, but the negotiations have ultimately reached an impasse. In October 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree stating that Kiev could not hold peace talks as long as Vladimir Putin was president of Russia.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230820/us-admits-it-missed-opportunity-for-peace-talks-in-ukraine--reports-1112735562.html

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A year after the deadly crowd crush in Seoul's Itaewon district that claimed 159 lives, survivors and bereaved families still seek the truth behind the bungled disaster response and a proper closure to their loss.

The crowd crush, the deadliest ever in Korea, took place in the nightlife district of Itaewon on Oct. 29, 2022, a Saturday night when about 100,000 people flocked to the area for Halloween celebrations.

Victims were crushed to death in a narrow 3.2-meter-wide downhill alley, where a massive crowd surged in and packed the path, piling onto one another. The accident was the worst disaster the country had seen since the sinking of the passenger ferry Sewol in 2014 off the southern coast, which killed 304 people.

For survivors and bereaved families, the tragedy from a year ago is far from over.

A mass mourning altar hung with portraits of the dead victims maintains its presence at a corner of the public grass plaza in front of Seoul City Hall, as bereaved families continue to call for the passage of a special law addressing the deadly accident.

"A year has already passed since the horrible memory, but not a single piece of truth has been disclosed properly, while no one has been punished yet," Lee Jung-min, a representative of bereaved families said, lamenting that the tragedy is vanishing fast from public memory. Lee lost his then 28-year-old daughter to the crowd crush.

"Things that are enjoyed by people in normal everyday lives, like happiness or warmth, are all gone for us."

Lee and some 100 other bereaved families want the passage of the special law mandating an independent counsel investigation into what went wrong and who was responsible for the deadly incident before the end of the year.

Currently, trials are under way for multiple police, firefighting and ward office officials indicted on charges related to the bungled disaster and first-aid response, including Yongsan Ward office chief Park Hee-young and former Yongsan Police Station chief Lee Im-jae.

Investigations have shown that 87 emergency calls urgently seeking help on the night of the tragedy went largely neglected and no prior disaster prevention measures were taken for the weekend's mass Halloween celebrations, suggesting the tragedy was "man-made."

"We're hoping that the legislation will pass within this year in order to seek the truth behind the tragedy and help victims, especially those who did not receive any substantial aid, be properly compensated," Cho In-young, a lawyer supporting the bereaved families, said.

The tragedy catapulted Korea into soul-searching about what went wrong and what should be done, and the government has since come up with a number of safety measures to prevent another such deadly accident.

Under the measures, regional governments are newly required to devise safety management plans for festivals or other mass public events to be held in their respective districts.

Harnessing information and communications technologies, a crowd management monitoring system will also be established to keep tabs on the density of crowds through surveillance cameras, and notify police and firefighters in the event of any danger.

By 2027, all regional governments nationwide will be required to operate a disaster situation room 24/7 and replace their surveillance cameras with AI-powered ones capable of crowd monitoring.

In the runup to the tragedy's first anniversary this week, hotels, amusement parks and discount stores have decided to forgo Halloween marketing this year. Many Halloween partygoers are also planning to shift their celebrations to another popular nightlife district near Hongik University instead of Itaewon.

On the anniversary day next Sunday, bereaved families plan to mark the tragedy with a public mourning event in central Seoul that includes a march from Itaewon to Seoul City Hall and a mass rally in the evening.

Song Hae-jin, the mother of the 159th victim, said she wants many people to join the Sunday commemoration to "console one another and think about what we could do in our respective places to not be hurt again."

Her son, a 16-year-old student, took his own life while grieving the death of two friends with whom he visited Itaewon on the night of the tragedy.

"I want more people to visit the accident site again and remember the people who were sacrificed there," Lee said, adding, "Remembering is mourning." (Yonhap)
https://sputnikglobe.com/20231022/us-prepares-draft-un-security-council-resolution-on-palestinian-israeli-conflict---source-1114394812.html

US Prepares Draft UN Security Council Resolution on Palestinian-Israeli Conflict - Source

US Prepares Draft UN Security Council Resolution on Palestinian-Israeli Conflict - Source

The United States has distributed a draft resolution on the conflict in Gaza which condemns Hamas and recognizes Israel's right to self-defense but does not call for a ceasefire.

2023-10-22T00:03+0000

2023-10-22T00:03+0000

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The draft does not call for a ceasefire, a source in the Security Council told Sputnik. The draft, obtained by Sputnik, read that it "unequivocally rejects and condemns the heinous terrorist attack by Hamas and other terrorist groups that took place in Israel starting October 7." The draft resolution also reaffirms "Israel's inherent right of individual and collective self-defense" and calls for the immediate and unconditional release of hostages "taken by Hamas," as well as respect for international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians. Washington has already vetoed draft resolutions from Russia and Brazil.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231018/russia-says-masks-are-off-after-us-vetoes-unsc-resolution-on-israel-palestine-ceasefire-1114294854.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20231022/wests-backing-of-israel--ukraine-hypocrisy-over-cost-of-human-life-alienates-global-south-1114396994.html

Wests Backing of Israel & Ukraine, 'Hypocrisy' Over Cost of Human Life Alienates Global South

Wests Backing of Israel & Ukraine, 'Hypocrisy' Over Cost of Human Life Alienates Global South

As the US-led West rushes to support Israel in its war against Hamas regardless of the escalating civilian death toll, the double standards regarding the value of life is alienating the Global South, warned Robinder Sachdev.

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As the US-led West rushes to support Israel in its war against Hamas regardless of the escalating civilian death toll, much of the Global South is questioning the perception of their different evaluations of the cost of human life, Robinder Sachdev, geopolitical and economic diplomacy analyst and founder president of India's The Imagindia Institute - a non-partisan think-tank - told Sputnik.Furthermore, under the present circumstances, it would be increasingly difficult for the West to continue to press the Global South to support the NATO proxy war against Russia in Ukraine, Sachdev emphasized. He agreed with a recent opinion cited in a US media report that claimed that unequivocal Western support for Israels pummeling of Gaza has poisoned efforts to build consensus with significant developing countries regarding supporting the Kiev regime.Western officials and diplomats had been cited as warning that the response to the 7 October attack on Israel by Hamas, coupled with Israels retaliatory actions, had exposed Washington, Brussels, and their allies to charges of hypocrisy". Amid the latest spiral of the Palestine-Israel conflict, there has been a flurry of shuttle diplomacy from Western officials, but although they avidly professed support for Israel, they have been faulted for failing to defend the interests of 2.3 million Palestinians.As it is, efforts of leading Western states to draw the Global South, such as India, Brazil and South Africa, away from Russia over the Ukraine conflagration had spectacularly failed. But backlash over the Western response to the Palestine-Israel conflict, officials reportedly said, only served to solidify positions in the developing world regarding Russia, and would probably derail future diplomatic efforts on Ukraine".We have definitely lost the battle in the Global South All the work we have done with the Global South [over Ukraine] has been lost They wont ever listen to us again, a senior G7 diplomat was cited as saying.In the present situation, when the death toll mounts in Gaza, the enclave is gripped by a humanitarian catastrophe, and Israels ground offensive looms, there are stark contradictions to which countries of the Global South are increasingly drawing attention, Sachdev said.Looking at it from a purely humanitarian perspective, as the developing countries were doing, when civilians are killed in the Gaza region, that is not a war crime  that is the narrative that appears to be pushed by the West, said the expert.Just recently, the United States showed its true intentions when it vetoed the UN Security Council resolution seeking a humanitarian pause in the Israel-Hamas war, Russian Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Dmitry Polyanskiy said. Washington had vetoed a Brazilian-drafted UN Security Council resolution that calls on Israel to rescind its evacuation order for Gazans. Russia and the United Kingdom had abstained. Russia had sought to amend the draft resolution to include a condemnation of "indiscriminate attacks" against civilians in Gaza, "in particular the heinous strike against al-Ahli hospital", and also to include a call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. The UN Security Council rejected both proposed amendments.The "comparative value of life in one situation, versus another situation - that's the big picture," and this is what is alienating the Global South, Sachdev said, adding:He added that public opinion in the global South will go more against the US interests as a consequence of this unfortunate conflict in the Gaza.After his brief visit to wartime Tel Aviv on Wednesday, US President Joe Biden, who voiced determination to support Tel Aviv, requested more than $105 billion from Congress in aid to Ukraine and Israel, along with other "national security needs". If greenlighted, a whopping $61.4 billion would be allocated to Ukraine, and $14.3 billion would go to Israel. The US and collective West will face challenges in their relations with the Global South, Sachdev emphasized. He added that the "public opinions in the countries of Global South will diminish their respect of the West".On Saturday, as the Cairo Summit for Peace took place in the Egyptian capital with the participation of over 30 states and a series of international organizations, the first 20 trucks with medical supplies and food for residents of the Gaza Strip passed through the Rafah checkpoint on the border with Egypt. Their cargo was handed over to the Palestinian Red Crescent, the Egyptian branch of the humanitarian organization said in a statement on 21 October. However, it was also reported that participants of the summit were unable to adopt a final statement because of disagreements between the Arab and European delegations over the wording "Israel's right to self-defense" and the issue of condemning Palestinian movement Hamas.Sachdev pointed to "group think in the West, when they are "not even thinking what this tragedy conflict means for the people in Gaza". The pundit's words ring particularly true as reports reveal that the United States has distributed to the UN Security Council a draft resolution on the conflict in the Gaza Strip, condemning Hamas, recognizing Israel's right to self-defense, but not calling for a ceasefire. The draft, obtained by Sputnik, reaffirms "Israel's inherent right of individual and collective self-defense" as well as respect for international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians.

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After posting a 32-1 upset in the elimination, Blue Star Mercury returned on Saturday (Oct. 21) evening at Century Mile to win the $110,710 Western Canada Pacing Derby from gate-to-wire.

Mike Hennessy wasted little time to secure the front from the rail with the Rod Hennessy trainee. Blue Star Mercury maintained a 1-1/2-length advantage as he tapped out panels in :27.4, :56.2 and 1:26.1. Down the lane, Blue Star Mercury continued his lead to the wire, winning by 1-1/2 lengths in a new career mark of 1:52.3. Over The Horizon (Nathan Sobey) finished second with Virtual Horizon (Brandon Campbell) closing sharply to take third.

Lorne Duffield co-owns the three-year-old gelded son of Mystician and the Rocknroll Hanover mare Lucky Lucka with Jean Crochetiere. Unraced as a freshman, Blue Star Mercury earned his fourth win in 19 starts this season. With a complete record of 4-6-3 and only missing the board once, he moved his career bankroll to $106,517. He paid $6.90 to win from 3-1 odds.

Campbell Earns Training Triple With Century Casino Filly Pace Triumph

Brandon Campbell drove himself to a training triple on Saturday evening. After posting victories with Rockin Roller ($2.40) in 1:51.3 and Tiempo Hanover ($5.30) in 1:53.1, Campbell steered Side Piece to her fifth win a row, taking the $134,300 Century Casino Filly Pace.

Side Piece took the early lead and never looked back as she handed out panels in :27.1, :56.4 and 1:25.3 before taking off to win by 4-1/2 lengths in 1:53.1. Iris Seelster (Nathan Sobey) finished second while Moonstruck (Kelly Hoerdt) took third.

Owned by J J J Stables and Jim Marino, Side Piece is a three-year-old daughter of Shadow Play and the Artsplace mare Queen Otra. With only one second-place finish, she earned her seventh victory in eight starts this season. In her career, Side Piece has accumulated $229,692 in earnings from a record of 11-1-0 in 14 starts. She returned a $2.90 win ticket.

Matteuse, Come On Santana Top Rocky Mountain Boys

Two divisions of the Rocky Mountain Boys Stakes for freshman colts and geldings were contested, each worth a $22,500 purse sum, with Matteuse earning bragging rights with the faster mile time.

With odds of 6-1, Matteuse and trainer Nathan Sobey accepted a pocket ride behind favoured Grey Horizon (Campbell) through panels in :28.1, :57.3 and 1:26.1. Down the lane, Matteuse sought a head on challenge with the leader as it came down to a photo finish at the wire. Matteuse won by a neck at the wire over Grey Horizon in a track record time of 1:53.2. Blueline Bruiser (Giesbrecht) rounded out the top three.

Matteuse (Custard The Dragon) is owned by Sobey, Robert Jones, Diane Bertrand and Robert Gilhespy. He earned his second career triumph and dropped his lifetime mark by three seconds for the victory. He paid $14.20 to win in the upset triumph.

Come On Santana used a gate-to-wire approach to top his field of five by nine lengths.

Jody Jamieson and the Jamie Gray student set the tempo through panels in :28, :59.1 and 1:29.2 before cruising home to an open lengths victory in 1:56. Big N Shiny (Giesbrecht) was second with Sharkasaurus (M. Hennessy) fourth, placed third.

Gray co-owns the freshman Santanna Blue Chip gelding with Max Gibb and Riley & Brie Gray. He moved his record to 4-2-1 in seven starts with $77,250 banked. He paid $3.10 to win as the favourite.

Born A Spy, Outlawguns N Roses Take Brad Gunn Splits

Outlawguns N Roses used a similar trip to Matteuse to win the faster of two Brad Gunn divisions for freshman fillies. Each division carried a $22,500 prize.

David Kelly and the Rod Starkewski trainee took the pocket trip behind favourite Byby Baby Byby (Hennessy) through panels in :27.4, :57.2 and 1:26.4. Kelly tugged on his right line in the final turn to send Outlawguns N Roses on the move and the pair opened up to win by 1-1/4 lengths in 1:54. Byby Baby Byby had to settle for second and Foothills Magic (Jamieson) took third.

Starkewski co-owns the Captive Audience filly with Clauzette Byckal as she moved her record to 4-2-0 in eight starts, accumulating $76,790 in career purse earnings. She paid $4.70 to win as the second choice.

Born A Spy and Giesbrecht took the second division by 7-3/4 lengths for trainer John Chappell.

Born A Spy got away second behind Y V Larceny (Sobey) as the first panel was hit in :28.3. Giesbrecht tugged on his right line to sweep to the top and the pair never looked back. After panels in :57.4 and 1:27.3, they opened up to cross the wire in 1:55.4. Caughtstealinghome (Jamieson) took second and Y V Larceny took the show spot.

Donna Wyse owns the freshman Smart Shark filly as she collected her fourth win and a new lifetime mark in six career outings. As the bettors' choice, she returned a $2.20 win ticket.

Shark Week Makes It 12 In Preferred

Despite an assigned outside post, Shark Week added another row of 'ones' to his lines as the Rod Hennessy trainee went gate-to-wire in the $14,000 Preferred Pace and earned his 12th victory in a row.

Mike Hennessy and Shark Week rocketed off the gate, but were beat to the pylons by Ernesto Delacruz (Jean Francois Gagne). Still powering from the outside, Shark Week was the first to the opening panel in :25.4. After assuming command, Shark Week clicked out two more panels in :54.4 and 1:23.3 before going on to win by 1-1/4 lengths in 1:50.2 to lower his own all-age track record. Ernesto Delacruz finished second and Samba Beat (Giesbrecht) completed the triactor.

Shark Week is owned by Rod Hennessy and Lorne Duffield. The five-year-old Vertical Horizon gelding has 17 wins in 21 starts this season and 37 career victories. He boasts $120,990 in seasonal earnings from $321,475 in career earnings. He paid $2.10 to win as the public choice.

To view Saturday's harness racing results, click the following link: Saturday Results - Century Mile.
Two $70,000 NJ Sire Stakes Standardbred Development Fund finals for two-year-old pacers took centre stage at Freehold Raceway on Saturday, Oct. 21.

The first of the two was for colts in race five where 6-5 co-favourites Caviart Justice and Wishyouwell faced off again. Both colts only raced in one leg and each won their division. They previously faced off in the Renaissance final for two-year-old colt pacers on Sept. 23, 2023. Wish You Well was victorious over Caviart Justice by 1-1/2 lengths.

Wishyouwell continued his streak in the SDF final after leaving from post seven with Jason Bartlett in the sulky. He went four-wide in the first turn where he faced off with Caviart Justice (Corey Callahan), who took the early lead from post three. By the time they reached the quarter pole in :27.2, Wishyouwell had cleared to the front, continued to set the pace and led the pack to the half in :57.2. Bet On Mac (Austin Siegelman) pulled as they approached the half and tried to challenge from first-over but was unsuccessful and remained parked for the second trip around the half-mile oval. Wish You Well continued to set the pace, reaching the three-quarter pole in 1:26 and completing the mile in 1:54.4. Arbitrage Hanover (Jack Pelling) rallied late to finish second. Bet On Mac held on for third, with Caviart Justice fourth.

Wishyouwell (Bettors Wish - Wheres Alice) is a homebred of Kovach Stables LLC of Milford, Delaware.

Bartlett was tabbed to win again by the bettors in the final for fillies in Race 8 as his mount was 1-5 Pulp Fiction from post three. However, Miki In Luv and Dan Dube came out on top for trainer Ron Coyne Jr.

In the first turn, it was 33-1 Im A Believer (Siegelman) who captured the early lead from post five. Always B Merry (Jim Marohn Jr.) settled in behind her, followed by Pulp Fiction and Miki In Luv. There was no movement as the field paced single-file behind Im A Believer, who reached the quarter in :28 and the half in :57.4. After the third turn, Pulp Fiction pulled to first-over and Miki In Luv took cover behind her. The pack reached the three-quarter pole in 1:26.1. The four fillies that controlled the 1-4 spots the entire race battled side-by-side down the stretch. But it was ultimately 7-1 Miki In Luv who got the best of them and paced in 1:55.1, paying $16.40 to win. Im A Believer was second, followed by Pulp Fiction then Always B Merry. An exacta paid $103.40 and a trifecta paid $371.90.

Miki In Luv (Always B Miki - Lovers Dream) is owned by Ron Coyne Stablesinc of Allentown, N.J., Blair Corbeil of, Leduc, Alta., Richard Carney of Hartsdale, N.Y. and Farrell Carney of Tuckahow, N.Y.

These races concluded the stakes calendar at Freehold Raceway for 2023, but live harness racing on Friday and Saturday afternoons starting at 12:30 p.m.

(Freehold Raceway)
Trainer Ake Svanstedt had trainees competing in 11 John Simpson Sr. Memorial stakes races this past week at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania. Those Svanstedt trainees won every one of those races, with two more coming home victorious on Saturday (Oct. 21) afternoon to complete an incredible sweep.

Svanstedt needed Khaosan Road and Cecil Hanover (pictured above) to deliver in their respective $30,900 Simpson divisions for three-year-old trotting colts and geldings to stay perfect on the week. They both did so handily as favourites with George Napolitano Jr. in the bike, with Khaosan Road winning in 1:54:4 and Cecil Hanover getting it done in 1:54.3. Calderone (Matt Kakaley), trained by ennifer Bongiorno, won the other split for three-year-old trotting colts and geldings (aka The Ayres group) in 1:55.

There were also three $32,700 Simpson races held on Saturday at Pocono for three-year-old pacing colts and geldings (The Albatross Group). The winners were Fulton (Matt Kakaley) in 1:51.2 for Linda Toscano; Ken Hanover (Tyler Buter) in 1:50.2 for Polie Mallar; and Sir Isaac Newton (Matt Kakaley) in 1:50.3 for Jim King Jr.

Live racing at Pocono resumes on Monday afternoon, Oct. 23 at 1 p.m. eastern. There are 12 races on the Pocono Monday program.

Baker Bags AHDC Dash at Pocono

Bruce Baker flew off cover to score a closing-stride victory in the $11,000 American Harness Drivers Club (AHDC) Trot.

Starting from post eight, Baker settled towards the rear of the field with Allindotime as Buzz (Tony Ciuffetelli) blitzed for the lead after making a break through the first turn. Buzz recovered and pressed into leader Brownie (Mike Polansky) after a :28.4 first quarter and through a :59.3 half. At this point, Baker tipped Allindotime off the pegs and found himself second over behind 8-5 favourite Newell Place (John Calabrese) moving for the backstretch.

Buzz cleared command up the backside and took the field by three-quarters in 1:29.3 before tiring off the final turn. Newell Place slid to the lead into the stretch and fought to no avail to keep Allindotime at bay in the final yards. Baker bolted off cover and surged to a nose victory in 2:00.4 with Sheen A Solider (Matt Zuccarello) back in third and Lindys Booze Cruz (Anthony Verruso) closing for fourth.

Bill MacKenzie conditions Allindotime, an eight-year-old gelding by Andover Hall, for owner Alma Iafelice. He paid $26.60 to win.

The AHDC Fall Trotting Series continues next Saturday, Oct. 28 at Pocono Downs with the seventh preliminary. The AHDC will also be in competition on Sunday afternoon, Oct. 22 at Harrahs Philadelphia for a pair of $9,900 pacing events on the 14-race card.

(Pocono / AHDC)
The prestigious O'Brien Awards, a celebration of excellence in Canadian harness racing, is set to make a triumphant return to Prince Edward Island on Feb. 3, 2024. This marks the first time in a decade that the event, presented by Standardbred Canada (SC) and named after legendary P.E.I. horseman Joe O'Brien, will grace the island's shores.

The awards ceremony has historically been a hallmark of glamour, excitement and anticipation within the Standardbred community. This year's gala promises to continue that tradition, bringing the celebration back to where it began paying homage to Joe O'Brien's indelible mark on the sport.

Event details are as follows:

Attire: The O'Brien Awards gala adheres to a black-tie dress code, ensuring an evening of elegance and style.

The O'Brien Awards gala adheres to a black-tie dress code, ensuring an evening of elegance and style. Cocktail Reception: The festivities will commence with a delightful cocktail reception, offering a perfect opportunity for guests to have their photo taken, enjoy the red-carpet show, and mingle with attendees and nominees.

The festivities will commence with a delightful cocktail reception, offering a perfect opportunity for guests to have their photo taken, enjoy the red-carpet show, and mingle with attendees and nominees. Dinner: The sumptuous four-course dinner will be served showcasing the finest culinary delights of Prince Edward Island to tantalize the taste buds of attendees.

The sumptuous four-course dinner will be served showcasing the finest culinary delights of Prince Edward Island to tantalize the taste buds of attendees. Awards Presentation: The highlight of the evening, the O'Brien Awards, will take place after dinner. A dazzling array of trophies and accolades will be presented to honour the remarkable achievements in harness racing during the year.

The highlight of the evening, the O'Brien Awards, will take place after dinner. A dazzling array of trophies and accolades will be presented to honour the remarkable achievements in harness racing during the year. After Party: Following the awards ceremony, guests are invited to continue the festivities at the after-party. It promises to be a night of dancing, celebration and memorable moments.

To secure your place at this grand celebration, please reserve your tickets promptly.

Tickets can be purchased for $150 + HST by contacting Jade Regina, SC Member & Stakeholder Relations Coordinator. Please email Jade at [email protected] or call at 905-858-3060 ext. 207.

For the comfort of out-of-town attendees, the official hotel for the event is the Delta Hotel. Guests can book their stay by following the provided group rate information:

Delta Hotel Booking Information: Book your Standardbred Canada Group Rate at The Delta Hotel by clicking here.

This year's O'Brien Awards are expected to be a memorable tribute to the legacy of Joe O'Brien and a night of glamour, camaraderie and recognition of the finest talents in Canadian harness racing. Don't miss your chance to be a part of this historic celebration!

Stay tuned to the SC website for further information and updates on the 35th O'Brien Awards.
REHOBOTH BEACH, Del.  Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Sunday said the United States expects the Israel-Hamas war to escalate through involvement by proxies of Iran and asserted that the Biden administration is prepared to respond if American personnel or armed forces become the target of any such hostilities.

This is not what we want, not what we're looking for. We don't want escalation, Blinken said. "We don't want to see our forces or our personnel come under fire. But if that happens, we're ready for it.

Austin, echoing Blinken, said what were seeing is a prospect of a significant escalation of attacks on our troops and our people throughout the region.

He said the U.S. has the right to self-defense and we won't hesitate to take the appropriate action.

The warning from the high-ranking U.S. officials came as Israel's military response to a deadly Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on civilians in communities in southern Israel entered its third week.

Israeli warplanes struck targets across Gaza overnight and into Sunday, as well as two airports in Syria and a mosque in the occupied West Bank allegedly used by militants as the war threatened to engulf more of the Middle East.

Israel has traded fire with Lebanons Hezbollah militant group on a near-daily basis since the war began, and tensions are soaring in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces have battled militants in refugee camps and carried out two airstrikes in recent days.

The U.S. announced Sunday that non-essential staff at its embassy in Iraq should leave the country.

Blinken, who recently spent several days in the region, spoke of a likelihood of escalation while saying no one wants to see a second or third front to the hostilities between Israel and Hamas, which rules Gaza.

He said he expects "escalation by Iranian proxies directed against our forces, directed against our personnel, and added: We are taking steps to make sure that we can effectively defend our people and respond decisively if we need to. Iran is an enemy of Israel.

Blinken, appearing on NBC's Meet the Press, noted that additional military assets had been deployed to the region, including two aircraft carrier battle groups, not to provoke, but to deter, to make clear that if anyone tries to do anything, we're there.

President Joe Biden, repeatedly has used one word to warn Israels enemies against trying to take advantage of the situation: Dont.

Meanwhile, trucks loaded with food, water and other supplies that Palestinians living in Gaza desperately need continued to enter the enclave on Sunday after a key crossing at the border with Egypt was opened a day earlier to allow humanitarian assistance to begin flowing.

But Cindy McCain, executive director of the U.N. World Food Program, said the situation in Gaza remained catastrophic." She said even more aid needs to be allowed in.

She said her organization was able to feed 200,000 people dinner on Saturday but that's not enough. That's a drop. We need secure and sustainable access in there, in that region, so we can feed people.

Four hundred aid trucks were entering Gaza daily before the latest war, she said.

This is a catastrophe happening and we just simply have to get these trucks in, she said.

Biden, who was at his home on the Delaware coast, was briefed by his national security team on the latest developments, the White House said. Biden also discussed the situation during separate conversations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Pope Francis.

Biden and Netanyahu talked about the need to prevent escalation in the region and to work toward a durable peace in the Middle East," the White House said. Israel has promised a military ground invasion of Gaza to destroy Hamas.

Biden also convened a call with the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom to discuss the conflict. Among topics discussed, the White House said the leaders committed to working closely to keep the war from spreading, while seeking a political solution.

The State Department on Sunday ordered non-essential U.S. diplomats and their families at the U.S. Embassy in Iraq and the U.S. consulate in Irbil to leave to the country due to the heightened tensions. In an updated message to Americans in Iraq, the department said the security situation in Iraq made it impossible to carry out normal operations.

Austin and McCain spoke on ABC's This Week.

Photos: Scenes from the Israel-Hamas war
While some regions in Syria witnessed escalating violence, Suweida's resistance remained notably peaceful, Khatib Badleh writes in al-Araby al-Jadeed.

Ongoing popular protests continue to shape the landscape of Jabal al-Arab and Karama Square in the city of Suweiada. The people of this mountainous region have consistently asserted their affiliation with Syria. Many view their uprising as a part of the broader Syrian revolution that commenced in March 2011. However, when dissenting voices accused them of seeking to separate from Syria, they urged those voices to revisit history, reflecting on their past and how they rejected an independent state a hundred years ago.

The people of this region have a rich history intertwined with the French presence in Syria. In a remarkable act of self-determination, they voluntarily relinquished the independence granted to them by the Mandate government in May 1921. Notably, the Great Syrian Revolution, which reached its zenith in 1925, ignited from the heart of this mountainous terrain, led by Sultan Pasha al-Atrash.

Despite these historical underpinnings, its crucial to highlight key disparities between their revolution and those in the northern regions. Firstly, womens participation is a striking divergence. In contrast to the north, where womens involvement was often limited, in Suweida, women stood shoulder to shoulder with men, actively participating in demonstrations, chanting popular songs, engaging in dances, and offering hospitality to the demonstrators.

Furthermore, the commitment to maintaining peace sets Suweida apart. While some regions in Syria witnessed escalating violence, Suweidas resistance remained notably peaceful.

Lastly, middle-class intellectuals have assumed a prominent role in leading the Suweida movement. This intellectual presence has led to the creation of thought-provoking banners reminiscent of the early days of the revolution. These banners call for the implementation of Security Council Resolution 2254, the release of detained national figures like Abdel Aziz Al-Khair and Zaki Cordillo, and extend greetings to influential figures in Syrian public life.

Importantly, the leaders in Suweida, represented by figures such as Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri, epitomize popular, non-religious leadership. They echo the slogan prominently featured in the 1925 revolutions statement, under the leadership of Sultan Pasha: Religion is for God, and the homeland is for all.

Despite the Assad regimes brutal repression in various Syrian governorates, Suweida has remained relatively untouched. This may be attributed to historical factors and the absence of an armed resistance in the region. The regime has been unable to accuse the people of Suweida of armed religious terrorism or compel them to send their children to military service, given their strong argument against Syrians killing Syrians.

In conclusion, the Suweida movement stands out for its inclusive and peaceful nature, strong intellectual leadership, and commitment to a united homeland. This unique blend of characteristics has allowed it to maintain its resilience even in the face of adversity, setting it apart from other revolutionary movements 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.
Assad called the attack on al-Ahli hospital "one of the most heinous and bloodiest atrocities against humanity in the modern era", according to Enab Baladi.

Following the Israeli attack on Ahli Hospital in Gaza, which resulted in the deaths of 471 Palestinians on October 17, the Presidency of the Republic issued a concise statement denouncing the attack as one of the most heinous and bloodiest atrocities against humanity in the modern era.

The statement went on to declare, Syria regards this atrocity as a savage act that reflects the extent of the Zionist entitys hatred, which, with its crimes, has exceeded the highest levels of aggression and murder.

In the wake of the assault on the Palestinian hospital, healthcare and administrative personnel in Syrian hospitals and health departments organized solidarity rallies to express support for the Palestinian people and condemn the aggression of the Zionist entity in Gaza, including the massacres it has committed, such as those at the Baptist Hospital. The Doctors Syndicate also denounced the attack, and the government of the regime declared three days of mourning beginning on October 18 in memory of the hospitals victims.

The regimes commentary on the Baptist Hospital incident came a week after a statement by the Syrian Civil Defense, which tallied the human and material losses caused by the escalation of the regimes forces in northwestern Syria, including the deaths of 46 individuals, 13 of whom were children, during the days of escalation following the attack on the Military College in Homs on October 5th. During this period, five medical facilities, including the Idlib National Hospital and the University Hospital, were directly targeted.

Displacement enrages the regime

In a telephone conversation with Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf, Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mikdad emphasized the importance of continuing to support the Palestinian people, preventing Israel from executing its policies of displacing Palestinians, and strengthening joint efforts.

Mikdads statements come amid Israeli attempts to displace Palestinians from Gaza to neighbouring countries under the pretext of conducting a ground military operation against resistance factions, a move strongly opposed by Egypt and Jordan.

In a similar vein, the Syrian regime has been responsible for the displacement of Palestinian refugees within Syria, as well as millions of Syrians who sought refuge in neighbouring countries. Displacement has also occurred in northwestern Syria, where approximately 1,635 Palestinian families reside in places like the Killi camp north of Idlib, Atma, Aqrabat, Deir Ballut, and the city of Idlib. There are also Palestinians from the 1948 Arab exodus who settled in Sarmada, in addition to their presence in Aleppos countryside, including Azaz, Afrin, Jindires, and Al-Bab.

Regime forces and their allies forcibly displaced many of these Palestinians from the Handarat camp in Aleppo, the Yarmouk camp, and Khan al-Shih south of Damascus to northern Syria, where they now live in residential complexes designated for displaced Palestinians, while some have integrated into urban areas.

Commenting on the Syrian regimes stance regarding the events in Gaza, Syrian journalist Alia Mansour shared a picture depicting a large crowd of residents from Yarmouk when it was besieged by regime forces before being taken over. She commented, Those who besieged and harmed the Palestinians now claim to save the people of Gaza.

Fayez Abu Eid, the head of the media department at the Action Group for the Palestinians of Syria, explained to Enab Baladi that the Syrian regime uses powerful and evocative slogans to support its positions and maintain its grip on power, as these slogans are directed toward both the domestic and Arab audience.

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.
American bases in Syria have recently come under attack, Athr Press reminds.

The International Coalition, led by the United States, has been actively deploying logistical equipment to the eastern regions of Syria, situated east of the Euphrates River. These areas include the Koniko Field, which had previously been the target of attacks by Iraqi resistance groups against American bases in both Syria and Iraq.

According to sources within Kurdish circles, American forces have significantly intensified their security and surveillance operations in close proximity to their bases, primarily due to concerns regarding potential activities by resistance cells. Additionally, live ammunition training has been underway for three consecutive days within the Al-Omar field base in the eastern outskirts of Deir-ez-Zor.

Reportedly, the American forces have also requested that the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) increase their patrols and security measures in the vicinity of American bases and along major roads, fearing the planting of explosive devices and mines by anticipated resistance cells that may become more active in the near future.

Sources have indicated that American drones are conducting periodic reconnaissance missions along the banks of the Euphrates River, as they anticipate infiltration attempts by resistance cells affiliated with Arab tribes towards the region. Occupation forces have also heightened their presence along the border with Iraq, extending from the eastern bank of the Euphrates River in Deir-ez-Zors countryside to areas east of the city of Al-Shaddadi in the southern outskirts of Al-Hasakah. This is to preempt possible infiltration by Iraqi resistance teams into Syria, with the intent of carrying out operations against American forces.

Furthermore, the SDF has been involved in a security operation in eastern Euphrates areas, aiming to locate weapons and ammunition in villages near the town of Dhiban. These areas have experienced sporadic clashes involving tribal groups opposed to the SDF.

Sources close to SDF leadership, within the Kurdish press, conveyed concerns about the division of armed Kurdish factions focus between the northern border, experiencing continuous escalation due to Turkish occupation, and eastern Euphrates areas with increased activity by tribal groups. These factors are hindering the SDF from fulfilling its duties as required by American forces.

These sources describe the current stage of the SDF as marked by exhaustion and military depletion of its human and material resources. They attribute this situation to American forces preoccupation with Turkish airstrikes and the safeguarding of their illegal bases. Additionally, American forces attention is directed towards bases like Rmelan, Himo, and Life Stone Resort, where US State Department personnel operate in Syria in violation of international law. These personnel maintain continuous communication with the SDF and oversee the activities of humanitarian organizations, primarily serving American interests.

Notably, Turkish airstrikes have intensified in recent times, with over 150 recorded drone attacks targeting key facilities occupied by the SDF. These facilities include oil fields, power plants, and weapons depots, prompting Kurdish factions to disperse the contents of warehouses across various locations to prevent the depletion of their military arsenal.

American bases in Syria have recently come under attack, with the most recent incident being the targeting of the Al-Omar oil field base in Deir-ez-Zor on the night of Friday, October 20th.

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.
Minister considers new bureau to oversee AI

By Nam Hyun-woo

The need to regulate the unlimited possibilities and risks of artificial intelligence (AI) is increasing in tandem with the expanding domain of the new technology.

Regulators across the world are starting to come up with rules and regulations for AI and President Yoon Suk Yeol reiterated the importance of establishing similar statutes during his latest diplomatic outings, aiming for Korea to take the initiative in global efforts to manage AI.

In line with this effort, Government Legislation Minister Lee Wan-kyu said his ministry, which examines laws and regulations and provides statutory interpretation, seeks to set up a future legislation division to cope with rules and regulations related to AI, because such measures require pan-government efforts and international cooperation.

In order to be the leader in a certain industry, related rules and orders must follow, Lee said during an interview with The Korea Times, Oct. 5.

What is important is that we should be the leader in setting those rules, not a follower of rules made by other countries. This will make exporting the countrys AI technologies easier. We all know that doing business according rules created by other countries is more difficult than setting our own rules.

So far, the Korean government, including the Ministry of Government Legislation (MOLEG), has been attempting to use AI technologies, especially generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, mostly out of curiosity and convenience. But Lee said it is time to expand the government's perspective to explore ways to regulate the AI industry as well as promote it.

The rules on AI should contain articles that can regulate the flip side of AI technologies, and at the same time, it should be mandated at establishing the grounds for the growth of the AI industry, Lee said.

According to the minister, MOLEG identifies three areas as the key points of AI-related rules -- nurturing the AI industry, regulating the bots from making up fake information and preventing violations of existing rules on copyrights, intellectual property and personal information.

As we use ChatGPT for homework, workplace research and other daily purposes, we oftentimes notice that the tool is making things up, especially when there are missing links in data that the AI has gathered, said Lee, a former prosecutor.

That raises the question of who will be responsible for proofreading and who will be liable for the fabrication? Similar questions mushroom when it comes to intellectual property and personal information.

To limit those risks, Koreas government and the National Assembly are now drafting their ideas on legislating AI-related rules.

Since 2020, the Ministry of Science and ICT has been running expert groups on AI legislation, on the issues of personal information, copyrights, credit information as well as categorizing risks that the bots can pose on human life and rights.

There are also multiple AI-related bills tabled at the National Assembly. Of them, ruling People Power Party lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo tabled a bill on AI Responsibility and Regulation, and attempts to set up a legal categorization of forbidden AI, high-risk AI and low-risk AI.

For example, the bill categorized AI used for energy, healthcare, crime investigation, credit information and other fields related to national infrastructure as high-risk AI, and enforce their developers to undergo risk assessment.

Since we are not the science ministry, we need to learn more about technological aspects in order to help the legislation of AI rules, Lee said. That is why I believe MOLEG should set up a future legislation division which is in charge of AI-related bills and other advanced legislations that span across sectors.

Legal information service

Lee said MOLEG is also conducting research on using generative AI tools to provide legal services to the public and even sharing this technology with developing countries.

Along with its role of handling government legislation, MOLEG is known to the public for its advanced legal information system, which enables people to have easier access to complex laws.

MOLEGs Korea Law Information Center provides not only acts, presidential decrees or other rules, but also judicial precedents and interconnect related laws to improve user accessibility. As this gained international recognition for its convenience, the ministry shared or is sharing this technology with other countries, including Myanmar, Indonesia and Vietnam.

However, the minister said the entire playing field has changed with the emergence of generative AI.

While our services are confined to show the full text of a certain law or tell which laws are related to which one, generative AI is almost providing legal services to users, he said.

For example, if you are illegally arrested, generative AI can tell you which laws are relevant to your case and even provide information on what kind of legal actions you should take.

Lee said the government believes it should not lag behind private companies at least in terms of the law, and the ministry began basic research on how to incorporate generative AI tools into its legal information service to let the public to use it for free.

However, Lee said it remains undecided to what extent MOLEG will provide legal information to the public.

If our AI-powered information system provides solutions to a legal case, such as legal counselling by lawyers, it could be an encroachment into their territory, Lee said.

It might be convenient for the public if we were to provide a solution, and it will not be violating laws because our services would be free. However, it still intrudes into their professional domain. Determining the precise boundary, where we avoid such encroachments, is a matter under consideration.

MOLEGs legal information service also provides information on overseas acts and laws to help Korean businesses enter foreign markets.

Ministry officials said foreign legal information services are receiving rave reviews from companies, and the ministry is seeking to expand its coverage to provide legal information on countries that are attractive markets for Korean firms.

We should expand our legal information database about Ukraine, Lee said. In order to play roles in Ukraines post-war restoration projects, the first step will be improving knowledge of the countrys laws and rules.

Decade of collective ideas on legislation

Along with these ideas, MOLEG will discuss ways for multilateral cooperation in legislation during the 11th Asian Legislative Experts Symposium (ALES).

Scheduled for Oct. 27 at the Glad Yeouido hotel in Seoul, ALES will gather legislative experts from Korea, Japan, Mongolia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and Laos under the theme of Asia United in Laws and Systems, Legislative Exchange and Cooperation for Mutual Development.

This years event will focus on expanding legislative exchanges between Asian nations to enable a comprehensive cooperation scheme across the region.

The event will be likely be a catalyst for a legislative cooperation scheme across Asia, Lee said.

The symposium will also help Korea consolidate its status as an advanced nation in legislative systems, as the event has been serving as a venue for memoranda of understanding and other agreements on legislative exchanges between Korea and other participating countries.
Your daily brief of the English-speaking press on Syria.

On Sunday, the SANA state news agency reported that Israeli air raids struck both main airports, resulting in the unfortunate death of a civilian worker at Damascus airport and injuring another. Simultaneously, in southern Syria, a military base housing U.S. troops for training purposes in the broader campaign against the Islamic State group faced a drone attack on Thursday, as disclosed by two U.S. officials to The Associated Press.

Syria says Israel hit Damascus, Aleppo airports again amid Gaza bombing

The SANA state news agency said on Sunday that Israeli air raids targeted the two main airports, leading to the death of a civilian worker at Damascus airport and wounding another.

Material damage to the airports runways put them out of service, it quoted an unnamed military source as saying in a statement.

Flights have been diverted to the airport in the port city of Latakia, the Syrian Ministry of Transport said in a statement.

According to Al-Jazeera, Israeli air raids have repeatedly targeted the two airports in the past, causing flights to be grounded and inflicting human casualties and material damage, but this is the second time simultaneous strikes have hit the facilities since the beginning of Israeli bombardment of besieged Gaza after Hamass October 7 attacks inside Israel that have killed more than 1,400 people.

Israeli bombardments have killed about 4,400 people in Gaza, according to the latest figures, with many victims being women and children.

Simultaneous air raids hit the airports in both cities on October 12, with Syria saying they knocked out the two at the time as well.

Israeli strikes targeted the Aleppo separately last weekend as well. A war monitor reported that the attack also put the airport out of service and wounded five people.

Earlier this month, a drone attack hit a military college in Syrias Homs province, which according to a war monitor killed more than 100 people.

Drones attack a US military base in southern Syria and there are minor injuries, US officials say

A military base in southern Syria where U.S. troops have maintained a presence to train forces as part of a broad campaign against the Islamic State group was attacked by drones on Thursday, two U.S. officials told The Associated Press.

One drone was shot down, but another caused in minor injuries, said one of the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the matter before an official announcement about the incident.

The attacks follow similar drone strikes over the past few days against U.S. and coalition bases in Iraq amid simmering anger in the region after an explosion at a Gaza hospital killed hundreds of people.

The al-Tanf garrison in southeastern Syria is located at a sensitive juncture often used by Iranian-backed militants to ferry weapons to Hezbollah.

Syrian opposition activists also said Thursday a drone attack was conducted on an oil facility in eastern Syria that houses American troops.

Omar Abu Layla, a Europe-based activist who heads the Deir Ezzor 24 media outlet, said three drones with explosives struck the Conoco gas field in the eastern province of Deir el-Zour that borders Iraq.

Rami Abdurrahman of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, confirmed that five explosions were heard at the Conoco gas field.

French Prosecutors Seek Arrest of Two Syrian Ex-Ministers over 2017 Bomb

French prosecutors have issued arrest warrants for two Syrian ex-defense ministers over a 2017 bomb that killed a French-Syrian man, a source said, in an unprecedented case that may trigger more quests for accountability in the 12-year war, Asharq al-Awsat reported.

Investigators at the Paris Tribunal are accusing Fahed Jassem al-Fraij and Ali Abdallah Aroub of responsibility for the barrel bomb in south Syria that killed Salah Abou Nabout at his home, according to the source familiar with the case.

Al-Fraij was defense minister and commander in chief of the army at the time while Aroub was chief of staff of the armed forces, later promoted to defense minister.

The pairs whereabouts were unknown and they could not be reached for comment.

Warrants were also issued for two other high-ranking officers, the source said.

Nabout died on June 7, 2017, when a barrel stuffed with explosives hit his three-storey home, which also served as a school, in the city of Daraa, said Nabouts son Omar.

The crude weapon has been used extensively by government forces, UN investigators say, generally dropped from helicopters without accurate aim. Syria denies their use.

Syrian authorities could not be reached for comment on the warrants, but Damascus has repeatedly denied accusations of indiscriminate bombing of civilians.

The Paris Tribunal declined to comment on the case.

Nabouts son Omar, a 21-year-old refugee in France at the time of his fathers death, and the Paris-based Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCMFE) both welcomed the arrest warrants.

If he could talk to his father now, Omar said in a video interview, I would tell him to sleep in peace, because the criminals will be held to account.

Thousands of bombs

SCMFE head Mazen Darwish said the warrants could pave the way for further investigations on indiscriminate bombardment both around war-ravaged Syria and in other places like Ukraine or the Palestinian territories.

Its the first time theres a case regarding the targeting of civilian infrastructure, specifically a school, for Syria, he told Reuters.

Syrias conflict began with peaceful protests against President Bashar al-Assad, whose forces responded with a brutal crackdown. As Assad began losing territory, his air force bombed opposition-held towns and were supported by Russian air strikes.

Both Syrian and Russian strikes hit open-air markets, hospitals, schools, and homes in what UN experts have said were indiscriminate bombardments and potential war crimes.

Maenza meets SDFs Abdi, calls on US to stop Turkish attacks on NE Syria

North Press reported that Former chair of the US Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) Nadine Maenza stated on Friday meeting with Commander in Chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), Mazloum Abdi, and called on the US to stop Turkey from conducting attacks in northeastern Syria.

Maenza called, on the social media platform X (previously Twitter),to support the SDF and the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) to build long-term peace and stability.

She added that the SDF and AANES were successful in filling the governance and security voids that otherwise would have been filled by Islamists and Iranian militias. This is how to build long-term peace and stability and keep ISIS from rising again. This also stops #Irans land bridge to Israel and Lebanon.

THIS is how to stop a forever war, she stated.

Maenza also called on the US to stop Turkey as they threaten another phase of attacks after the 200+ airstrikes that recently targeted electrical & water plants, hospitals, schools and other civilian infrastructure leaving 2 million without electricity and water. According to the Geneva Convention, these are war crimes.

From Oct.5th to Oct. 9th, Turkey attacked 104 sites in northern and northeastern Syria, including vital infrastructure such as power, gas, and water stations and educational facilities, with more than 580 air and ground strikes, according to a statement by the AANES.

It is our duty: The Syrian aid organisations rushing to Gaza

When Asmaa al-Daher, a pharmacist and aid worker based in Turkey, went home to Gaza for a visit just over two weeks ago, she had little idea that one of the most brutal military campaigns her besieged home had ever faced was about to begin.

Although she was already experienced in providing humanitarian relief to victims of war through her work in Syria with Al-Ameen for Humanitarian Support, al-Daher was not prepared for what was to come in Gaza.

Ive witnessed many wars during my life, but I never anything like this, the 27-year-old said in a voice message she sent to a colleague in Turkey by WhatsApp.

After being displaced five times inside Gaza within a couple of weeks, al-Daher is now in Rafah on the border with Egypt. In her five-minute WhatsApp recording, she tried to explain to Yasser al-Tarraf the reality she is living.

In a trembling, rushed voice as she tried to finish recording before the internet failed, she said: These are the worst days for the Palestinian people  genocide and massacres in all neighborhoods.

Al-Tarraf told Al Jazeera that al-Daher has been working around the clock to coordinate with authorities on the ground to get resources and aid where they are needed most.

Weve witnessed displacement and killing in Syria, so our sympathy with Gaza is great.

Al-Ameen, a Syrian organisation, has been working in the Gaza Strip for the past two years, providing humanitarian support and vocational training. Since the bombing began two weeks ago, it has focused on helping to distribute food and resources.

A matter of life or death for the besieged

There are a number of relief organisations that sprang up during Syrias civil war, to deal with the damage left by years of bombing campaigns, displacements and repeated sieges that different parts of Syria have undergone.

After a few years, some became strong enough to provide relief to victims of disasters in other countries and, recently, some of them began operating in Gaza.

The Emergency Response Team is a humanitarian organisation in northwestern Syria, outside the Syrian regimes control and as such has been able to operate overseas, including in Lebanon, Libya and Morocco, and Palestine since 2021.

Were trying to provide assistance to any country that needs it, head of operations Dulama Ali told Al Jazeera.
Roche Holding AG's lung cancer drug scored a big win against a standard therapy in a study this week. Now, the Swiss drugmaker is turning to artificial intelligence to find patients who can benefit.

When given after surgery to remove lung tumors, Roche's Alecensa cut the risk of either cancer recurrence or death by 76% compared with standard chemotherapy, according to results from a primary analysis of the trial released Wednesday. The drug could potentially alter the course of this disease, Roche Chief Medical Officer Levi Garraway said in a statement.

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But finding patients to treat may be difficult: The study examined the effects on people with an error in a gene called ALK that's found in only about 4% to 5% of lung cancer patients. Most of them are younger and less likely to have smoked than typical lung tumor patients, and often go undiagnosed early on.

To solve the problem, Roche will use an AI collaboration with Israeli tech company Medial EarlySign Ltd. to help doctors determine when to use CT scans. That will help find tumors before they spread and while needed surgery is still possible, said Charlie Fuchs, Roche's head of oncology and hematology drug development.

Sometimes when you really use deep data algorithms, you may find things that identify people who are non-smokers and yet at risk, Fuchs said in an interview. We hope more patients can be found early and benefit from this.

Roche has said it will file the Alecensa study results with regulators for approval. The full results will be presented Saturday at the European Society for Medical Oncology meeting in Madrid. Alecensa is already approved in the US, Europe, Japan and China for patients with ALK-positive metastatic lung cancer.

Analysts anticipate that Alecensa will generate 1.56 billion Swiss francs ($1.75 billion) in sales this year. That it would be a blockbuster medicine even though it treats such a small portion of lung cancer patients shows that effective drugs don't have to serve a big patient population to be scientific and financial successes, Fuchs said.

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Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED  Free Report) by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 99,028 shares of the utilities providers stock after acquiring an additional 2,136 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement Systems holdings in Consolidated Edison were worth $8,952,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Consolidated Edison by 2.0% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,949,371 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $761,387,000 after acquiring an additional 154,945 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Consolidated Edison by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,182,332 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $589,238,000 after buying an additional 56,681 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison by 1,869.2% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,786,202 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $29,777,000 after acquiring an additional 4,543,146 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison by 89,231.2% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,145,861 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $395,142,000 after acquiring an additional 4,141,220 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison by 33.3% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,128,579 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $393,495,000 after acquiring an additional 1,030,730 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.53% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on ED. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Consolidated Edison from $95.00 to $88.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 5th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Consolidated Edison from $103.00 to $96.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 16th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Consolidated Edison in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Argus lowered their price target on shares of Consolidated Edison from $104.00 to $93.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Consolidated Edison from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a report on Thursday, September 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $88.50.

Consolidated Edison Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE ED opened at $87.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.02. Consolidated Edison, Inc. has a one year low of $80.46 and a one year high of $100.92. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $88.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.58. The firm has a market cap of $30.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.53, a PEG ratio of 8.88 and a beta of 0.38.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. Consolidated Edison had a net margin of 15.84% and a return on equity of 8.27%. The company had revenue of $2.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Consolidated Edison, Inc. will post 4.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Consolidated Edison Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 14th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.72%. Consolidated Edisons payout ratio is currently 46.62%.

Consolidated Edison Profile

(Free Report)

Consolidated Edison, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the regulated electric, gas, and steam delivery businesses in the United States. It offers electric services to approximately 3.6 million customers in New York City and Westchester County; gas to approximately 1.1 million customers in Manhattan, the Bronx, parts of Queens, and Westchester County; and steam to approximately 1,530 customers in parts of Manhattan.

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LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of iShares S&P 100 ETF (NYSEARCA:OEF  Free Report) by 18.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 286,053 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 44,913 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.71% of iShares S&P 100 ETF worth $59,230,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Seneca House Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of iShares S&P 100 ETF by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Seneca House Advisors now owns 1,374 shares of the companys stock valued at $285,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in iShares S&P 100 ETF by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,140 shares of the companys stock worth $400,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. HighMark Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in iShares S&P 100 ETF by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,724 shares of the companys stock worth $322,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in iShares S&P 100 ETF by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,373 shares of the companys stock worth $818,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in iShares S&P 100 ETF by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 8,911 shares of the companys stock worth $1,667,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period.

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iShares S&P 100 ETF Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of OEF opened at $198.87 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.00 billion, a PE ratio of 18.54 and a beta of 0.99. iShares S&P 100 ETF has a 12 month low of $165.33 and a 12 month high of $214.79. The stocks 50-day moving average price is $205.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $201.72.

iShares S&P 100 ETF Company Profile

iShares S&P 100 ETF, formerly iShares S&P 100 Index Fund (the Fund), is an exchange-traded fund. The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the S&P 100 Index (the Index). The Index measures the performance of the large-capitalization sector of the United States equity market and consists of blue chip stocks from diverse industries in the S&P 500 Index.

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LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of JP Morgan BetaBuilders U.S. Equity ETF (BATS:BBUS  Free Report) by 6.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 774,699 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 48,868 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned about 3.78% of JP Morgan BetaBuilders U.S. Equity ETF worth $61,751,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in JP Morgan BetaBuilders U.S. Equity ETF by 41.3% during the 2nd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 600,150 shares of the companys stock worth $47,838,000 after purchasing an additional 175,392 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in JP Morgan BetaBuilders U.S. Equity ETF by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 577,294 shares of the companys stock worth $46,016,000 after purchasing an additional 7,350 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in JP Morgan BetaBuilders U.S. Equity ETF by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 415,503 shares of the companys stock worth $28,479,000 after purchasing an additional 32,852 shares in the last quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in JP Morgan BetaBuilders U.S. Equity ETF by 30.0% during the 1st quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 299,768 shares of the companys stock worth $22,042,000 after purchasing an additional 69,107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in JP Morgan BetaBuilders U.S. Equity ETF by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 163,217 shares of the companys stock worth $13,010,000 after purchasing an additional 3,414 shares in the last quarter.

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JP Morgan BetaBuilders U.S. Equity ETF Stock Performance

BBUS stock opened at $75.86 on Friday. The businesss 50-day moving average price is $78.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.81. The company has a market cap of $2.06 billion, a PE ratio of 18.40 and a beta of 1.02.

JP Morgan BetaBuilders U.S. Equity ETF Company Profile

The JPMorgan BetaBuilders U.S. Equity ETF (BBUS) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in total market equity. The fund tracks an index of US equities, selected and weighted by market cap. BBUS was launched on Mar 12, 2019 and is managed by JPMorgan Chase.

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LPL Financial LLC cut its holdings in Invesco Ultra Short Duration ETF (NYSEARCA:GSY  Free Report) by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,304,142 shares of the companys stock after selling 67,935 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 3.49% of Invesco Ultra Short Duration ETF worth $64,738,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in GSY. WealthPLAN Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Invesco Ultra Short Duration ETF during the second quarter valued at about $69,000. BlackDiamond Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Invesco Ultra Short Duration ETF by 27.3% during the second quarter. BlackDiamond Wealth Management Inc. now owns 13,920 shares of the companys stock valued at $691,000 after acquiring an additional 2,989 shares during the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Invesco Ultra Short Duration ETF during the second quarter valued at about $664,000. First Merchants Corp raised its stake in shares of Invesco Ultra Short Duration ETF by 29.8% during the second quarter. First Merchants Corp now owns 428,184 shares of the companys stock valued at $21,251,000 after acquiring an additional 98,216 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KWB Wealth bought a new position in shares of Invesco Ultra Short Duration ETF during the second quarter valued at about $286,000.

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Invesco Ultra Short Duration ETF Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSEARCA:GSY opened at $49.82 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $49.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.72. Invesco Ultra Short Duration ETF has a 12 month low of $49.23 and a 12 month high of $49.85.

Invesco Ultra Short Duration ETF Profile

The Invesco Ultra Short Duration ETF (GSY) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in investment grade fixed income. The fund seeks to outperform the Barclays Capital 1-3 Month U.S. Treasury Bill Index by investing in a diverse portfolio of investment-grade securities. GSY was launched on Feb 12, 2008 and is managed by Invesco.

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M&G Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO  Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 80,650 shares of the utilities providers stock, valued at approximately $5,646,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SO. Prudential PLC grew its stake in Southern by 23.4% in the 1st quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 19,438 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $1,409,000 after acquiring an additional 3,689 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in Southern by 33.5% in the 1st quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,727 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Southern by 63.0% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,902 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $138,000 after purchasing an additional 735 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 49,925 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $3,621,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in Southern by 35.8% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 907,132 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $65,776,000 after purchasing an additional 239,325 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.85% of the companys stock.

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Southern Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of SO opened at $65.73 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $71.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The companys 50-day moving average price is $67.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $70.05. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $58.85 and a 12-month high of $75.80.

Southern Dividend Announcement

Southern ( NYSE:SO Get Free Report ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $5.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.47 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 9.86% and a net margin of 11.17%. Southerns revenue was down 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.07 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 3.6 earnings per share for the current year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 20th will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 17th. Southerns dividend payout ratio is currently 98.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank raised shares of Southern from a sector perform rating to a sector outperform rating and set a $78.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Southern from a buy rating to a conviction-buy rating in a research note on Monday, July 3rd. Barclays reduced their price target on Southern from $68.00 to $64.00 in a report on Thursday, October 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Southern from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, September 21st. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their price target on Southern from $80.00 to $72.00 in a report on Monday, October 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $73.20.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.70, for a total transaction of $348,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,284 shares of the companys stock, valued at $8,801,994.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.70, for a total transaction of $348,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,284 shares of the companys stock, valued at $8,801,994.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,490 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.05, for a total value of $99,904.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 72,756 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,878,289.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,490 shares of company stock valued at $1,459,055 in the last three months. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Southern Profile

(Free Report)

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. It operates through three segments: Gas Distribution Operations, Gas Pipeline Investments, and Gas Marketing Services. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations.

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Victory Capital Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA  Free Report) by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 395,020 shares of the utilities providers stock after selling 8,225 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.52% of Avista worth $15,512,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in Avista by 146.9% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 632 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Avista by 156.1% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 950 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Cutler Group LLC CA purchased a new position in shares of Avista during the 1st quarter valued at $42,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in shares of Avista by 146.4% during the 1st quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,104 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Avista by 178.0% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,540 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 986 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the companys stock.

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Insider Transactions at Avista

In related news, VP David J. Meyer sold 1,050 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.90, for a total transaction of $38,745.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,727 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $211,326.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Chairman Scott L. Morris acquired 3,100 shares of Avista stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $32.39 per share, with a total value of $100,409.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chairman now owns 128,169 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,151,393.91. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP David J. Meyer sold 1,050 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.90, for a total value of $38,745.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,727 shares in the company, valued at $211,326.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.00% of the companys stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Avista from $36.00 to $33.00 and set an underperform rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 22nd. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on Avista from $33.00 to $26.00 in a report on Monday, October 9th. KeyCorp raised Avista from an underweight rating to a sector weight rating in a report on Friday, August 25th. TheStreet cut Avista from a b rating to a c rating in a report on Tuesday, September 5th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on Avista in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a sell rating on the stock.

Read Our Latest Report on AVA

Avista Stock Performance

NYSE:AVA opened at $31.50 on Friday. The businesss 50-day moving average price is $33.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.29. Avista Co. has a twelve month low of $30.53 and a twelve month high of $45.28. The stock has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.32, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08.

Avista (NYSE:AVA  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.08. Avista had a return on equity of 6.18% and a net margin of 8.38%. The firm had revenue of $379.94 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $398.20 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.16 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Avista Co. will post 2.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 18th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.84%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 17th. Avistas dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 95.34%.

About Avista

(Free Report)

Avista Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an electric and natural gas utility company. It operates in two segments, Avista Utilities and AEL&P. The Avista Utilities segment provides electric distribution and transmission, and natural gas distribution services in parts of eastern Washington and northern Idaho; and natural gas distribution services in parts of northeastern and southwestern Oregon, as well as generates electricity in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and Montana.

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